TREES and more trees

 Not very much PLAYING going on over here...  

I took about 20 minutes to play with

these scrappy Christmas blocks... so I wouldn't go crazy...

 I need one Xmas quilt gift for sure this year, and figured I better get on it.

The past two weeks have been crammed with deadlines!

(sneak peak above!  Yes,white! You'll see them later in the year.)

Happily, I will have those deadlines reached by Friday.

I feel so out of touch with everyone!

  I'm sorry I haven't even gotten to my emails!

I will, I promise!

When Shelly came she gave me this little tree quilt as a giftie. Isn't it sweet?

Thank you girl!

So then I had to make a tree... LOL! (binding is not done)  Isn't it cute?

And then she made a TREE block while she was here, 

based on an old TREE quilt I have here....

What is it with us two and TREES??

Last year when she was here we made a set of trees... 

I made mine up into a this TREEHOUSE TOP. (it is still sitting here) LOL!

She has no idea where she put hers... hehe!

Speaking of which.....

 We both started a collaboration quilt together based on this tree...

Hmmm, now where did I put that? 

It's in my hands to work on it, but it may take some

digging to find it...  

I think we seriously need to evaluate what it is about the two of us making trees!

 In my free minutes, I have been sketching like crazy.... Something I have not done in a while...

lot's of leaves... (No TREES?) haha  (yet)

Anyone have any thoughts on this odd tree development?

Friday Finishes

This little one has been sent off to it's new home. A scrap swap with Shelly... She is the one who got me on these batiks!

They have been so much fun, and I've learned a lot on my machine quilting from her.
So thank you Shelly! I hope you enjoy!




We are going back to NYC today, as B has her Black Belt test in Tae Kwon Do!
She has worked so hard. She's quite excited!

You all have a great weekend!

round up

A few finishes this week and a good start on the new cross quilt...
My Crazy patch quilt is done. Jenny Egg, the minute I laid it down decided it was hers...

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I've used up almost all my scraps for these crumb blocks. They are 7" square, and I have no idea what I will do with them. I'd like to get a few more together out of the bits I have left. We'll see. But I am so loving the batiks... Why did this take me so long to play with them??


I've been working on my machine quilting! What fun! I can manage the big stuff but haven't taken my time with small things, So I am making the effort.

I hope you all have a had a lovely CREATIVE week!

Have a great weekend!

A quilt grows .... & grows...

WARNING: Hard hat area : A quilt is under construction here...

I've been showing the progress of this quilt through the various thinking/playing phases.

It's no where near finished, all though, I see it in my mind how it will be.

Stay tuned. It ain't over til the big quilt sings...

And it's starting to "hummmm" along with me.

I've got three things I keep bouncing around on.
The big quilt above, this little batik above, and the crazy patch below.

I just can't decide which one I want done first, and I am thinking they will all get done on the same day if I keep going at this rate. A little on each every day....

Does anyone happen to know of a pink cherry fabric with white polka dots? I've seen some around but don't know who makes it... It's very similar to the vintage blue cherries on this quilt above.... but with a pink background, if anyone knows, shoot me a email. thanks!


Besides quilting, I meant to get to the weeds again in my garden today, we've had so much rain they just keep springing up its' hard to keep up. But I had no energy and think I may be getting the sniffles/sore throat... BOOO!! I actually had to turn the heat on today in house a little, as it was so wet damp and chilly... the breezes off the ocean go right to your bones. Even though I'm a few miles away...

I've been itching to do some more photography, other than my quilts etc. So I dug through some old stuff for inspiration. My sketch book is waiting, also, for me to sharpen a pencil or two... the brain is a ticking....

One little stitch, One little breath, One little step at a time...

Enjoy a creative day.

one more day!

Moody Blues

Shelly rcv'd her little swap quilt I did for her yesterday, so now I can show it! She made the inner blue square, and i added the borders and touches, and then hand quilted it... Her machine quilting is amazing so I wasn't going to try to do that!
I've been trying very hard to be more creative with hand quilting... Small pieces are definitely easier to do so on... I had a hard time STOPPING working on this little one... it was fun to work on something for someone else, and it most definitely got me to try new things and push the boundaries.


One more day and we are off to the cabin Friday to Monday night in MN... The lake is Nest lake. Just a little slip of a thing, neighboring a much larger lake, green lake. It's all very quaint, and I am looking forward to enjoying time away from NY.

I won't be gone all summer though! some comments thought I was off til Sept... nope...

I boogie out of the city apartment, to go to our weekend home outside of the city... I know it sounds all fancy, but sometimes, the NYC rat race can wear you down...

So many people live in a tiny apartment in they city and have a house out of the city for weekends and summers to get away...

So as of June 5th, I will be at our house for the rest of the summer, and I will be online.

I just won't be quilting as much, because ...

1. all my machines are in the city, and
2.who really wants a big quilt on your lap in the hot summer?

well, not me anyway... I don't know how you folks do it in Florida etc... But I treasure those warm days to much, and want to be outside in the garden working, or going to the beach, painting, drawing, cooking etc...

But for now, me and my family get a chance to be away from TV, computers, phones, at our tiny little one bedroom cabin...

B gets to run outside without being attached to us 24 hours a day. (Something that does not happen in NYC, or at our house for that matter.)

We BBQ, fish, relax, have bonfires, play, ride bikes, boat rides, go to the DQ, and visit with friends... then collapse at night from all the fresh air!

Ahhh. sounds like heaven.

weeks review

I was wandering around NYC the other day, and I wandered into Anthropologie. Always so many cute things, and vintage rip offs. (cute just the same) I like to watch their sales, because often you can get linens, and napkins, for great prices... And then I take them home cut them up etc... you know. get crafty with them...

Well, these hand towels caught my eye. They're so soft! And after taking my Matisse quilt as a picnic blanket to the park, I realized I need a thin, easily rolled up blanket for such excursions...

So, I bought three packs, of three hand towels, and have sewn them together. And will throw a simple backing on it, that I can whip up quickly and take a long for those little trips when you need to just spread out and sit on the grass, curb, etc.

So much for not starting anymore quilts before summer... I may need to count up my UFO's. I was so good about getting the others finished, I must have about another 15...at least...

Hmm, I guess this is about done.
This is a piece Shelly sent me to quilt and finish for a little swap we did.
One last sneak peak, and it's off to the P.O.!

My nutty dogs... Kia, trying to sit on the 4" wide arm of the chair, and Jenny Egg messing with my pillows!

Those pillows made me think,
When you need a quick sewing fix, do you start a new project?

whip up a lap or wall quilt? embroider?

whats your quick go to project?

new things

I'm trying a few new things myself around here... APPLIQUE... It's never been my thing, but I found this old piece of fabric in my stash, sort of a shiny damask, with this great flower, filigree repeat, that I wanted to try something new... I figure it will be a good project to work on over the summer...

I also tried some serious piecing... it makes my brain hurt... I may finish this one, and never do another... I just don't feel my creative stride working on things like this.

Although I LOVE the way they look when someone else does them! I envy people who can do this kind of work... I'd love to say I made one.
But not sure I have it in me...

Oh, and the fabric is donated, very generously, from
Stacy @ Pixiedust fabrics, I will be making some donation quilts from it,
stay tuned, I may have a call to help.... ;-)

Shelly and I have done a little swap. She asked me to send her a little piece to quilt, and in return she sent me something to quilt... If you haven't seen what I sent her, and she returned to me, go see the pictures at her blog, you can click her images and see better the quilting... Her machine quilting is pretty amazing!

And for now, i am hand quilting her little piece, but I am not giving any sneak peaks, it may take me a bit to finish it...

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Here's a follow up to those who made the three minute challenge quilts with me...
I just LOVE LOVE LOVE how they turned out.

I am very Impressed by all your quilting styles. And think it's pretty cool to see them all together to see what bits touched us all.

I get it's not everyone taste in quilting, It's an exercise. And I applaud those of you who gave it a whirl!

below left to right is: Dagmar, Shelly
below that is: Dionne and Shiobhan
below that, Mine & the inspiration picture