THAT'S MY QUILT

What a fun two days I have had!  One of my quilts was selected by the Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau to hang in the Marriott Hotel to accompany their Welcome to Chattanooga Banner for an incoming convention group.

It was exciting to see my quilt hanging in the lobby.  It is the first thing you see as you enter the door.

So, my rendition of Jan Patek's Girl Gang 2010 quilt just went downtown!!!

                                                            -sandi
 

QUILT CON 2013

Quilt Con 2013 is in the books.  It was the first time I had met so many modern quilters in one place; the first time I had spent so much time with my local quilty buddies; the first time I had the chance to chat informally with so many "notables" in one place; and the first time I had ever been in Austin!  Wow, that is a lot of firsts.

Meeting so many modern quilters from all over the world was so entertaining and informative.  All of us were so enthusiastic and excited to be together.

This is the Best in Show Ribbon that went to Victoria Findley Wolfe for this gorgeous quilt.

This is Victoria standing with her quilt. 

 

 

Another important entry in the show was from Chattanooga's very own Jean Larson whose piece was hung in the collection of Small Quilts/ Use of Negative Space.

 

Isn't that a great piece?  I just love it!!  Congratulations, Jean!!!!

We are all proud of you for getting a quilt hung in this first show of Modern Quilters.

 

And, of course, being with these wonderful gals from Chattanooga made the whole adventure that much more fun.

This is Gayle, Ava, Pam, and me.  I think Jean was taking the picture and I think Janet was still in class.

Now, we have located Jean for a picture in Moda's Bake Shop and Janet is still AWOL.

 

This was a marvelous, fun four days!!!!

 

 

-sandi

 

VALENTINE'S DAY

Wall Hanging for all of my badges.

This is a snip and stitch technique that I did several years ago.  It is perfect for hanging all of this paraphernalia on in between meetings.

 

So, it's Valentine's Day and I am asking:

How do you love yourself?

The answers to how do I love myself is what this post is about.

So, how do I love myself?
 

I surround myself with wonderful people and beautiful things. I choose to enjoy the scenery around me.

Of course, these tulips are left over from last spring but I still think about how beautiful they were.
 

Of course, my hubby and my family are the most important people in the world to me. 

I am not sure what Papa is saying, but some of the family thought it was interesting.  Others needed to be checking on their "social life".  LOL

I could never leave out my precious companion and pet, LilBit.



Here she is helping me with my knitting.  She loves to sit on my lap and be in the middle of everything.

 

 

Another source of my happiness is being with my quilty buddies.

 

Linda and Carol are discussing how to quilt this cute little panel and pieced baby quilt.

 

Sandy's stacks of pieces for making her puppy dog baby quilt.

 

Suzan's guild is doing Pizza Box Exchange and Suzan is studying the fabrics and the pattern she chose.

 

Phyllis has the ribbon border on her 2012 BOM we did in Piecemakers Bee Group.

 We are a small group and we laugh and cry together as well as quilt and take road trips.

 

Another fun group I play with are the gals in Chattanooga Modern Quilt Guild.  This is a picture of the recent Madrona Road Challenge project that we all participated in.  These are some beautiful fabrics provided to us from Michael Miller Fabrics Company and we all took a random packet and made large blocks to put together. 
They look so serious in this picture.  I don't know how that happened.  They are usually laughing and sharing.
 

We had lots of wonderful Show and Tell too.

This is Melody Johnson's QAYG Log Cabin quilt with beautiful hand dyed fabrics as well as some commercial.  Check out more of Melody's work over at  http://www.fibermania.blogspot.com

 

 

Joan did this beautiful Owl in the Trees Monochromatic Piece.

 

 

Love Janet's "Tunnel Vision" sewing machine cover.

Ava's BOM Exchange Quilt using the "Ugly Fabric" that she is pointing to in this pic.

 

 

Gerri's version of a Jelly Roll Race.

Here are the samples of Gayle's Monthly Block Lottery Project that she has presented for us as an upcoming challenge.  I love these blocks.

 

So on this Valentine's Day, I am smiling at the great people who make my life "just loverly".

Hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day too!!!!


-sandi 

 

 

 





MADRONA ROAD CHALLENGE BLOCKS

These were the fabrics in my packet for the Madrona Road Challenge Blocks that my Modern Quilt  Guild is participating in.

Fabrics were provided by Michael Miller Fabrics.

 

Our challenge was to use these fabrics in as many blocks as possible made in a wonky log cabin style that was introduced in our program book,  Quilting Modern, written by Jacquie Gering and Katie Pedersen.

 I made two blocks.

We will turn these in to the chairman of the Challenge at the February meeting. 

TIP OF THE DAY:

A little tip I have when you make blocks that you will be sharing with a group and blocks that will be handled several times before use is to back them with Freezer Paper.  This keeps the edges from fraying and the Freezer Paper can be peeled away when it is time to sew the blocks together.

 

 

 

I had enough fabric left over to make these little "pods".  These are great little fillers or they can be used in a border for accent.

I offered a tutorial on how to make the pod blocks on this site.

http://www.frogpondstudio.blogspot.com 

January 18, 2013

 

 

Our Modern Quilt Guild is so much fun!!!  We are growing in membership and having lots of good sharing of ideas in our meetings.

 

-sandi 

LET FEBRUARY BEGIN

February 1st has come and gone.  That day was devoted to wishing my daughter a special "Happy Birthday".

 

Now I am ready to talk quilts.  I am going to show you some of the projects that I have going that are all being done by hand.  These take me longer to do.  Hoping to keep an update of these projects as the weeks and months go along.

 

The first one is a pair of socks I am knitting.  This is only the second pair of socks I have ever made.  When I made the first pair I used one set of double pointed needles and made one sock at a time.  When I reached the end of the first sock and still had to do a second sock, it was a little harder to get myself going.  So, my solution to this was to use a discount coupon and buy another set of needles so I could do both socks at the same time.

I am trying to set aside about an hour or hour and a half about 3 mornings a week to work on this and then work on it again while I watch television with DH for Wheel and Jeopardy after dinner each night.  I am not a very fast knitter.

 

I am using this self-striping yarn and I tell myself that I will knit through a certain color then switch to the other sock and do the same thing.

So far it is working.

So you can see where I am as I start this month. Doing the heel is the next step.  I will do the heel on one sock then do it on the other sock.

 

  

The next project I am showing is an applique that was all done in needle turn method.  I used batiks and I love it.  This year I have sandwiched it and am hand quilting it.  This is the project to take to my hand quilting group that meets twice a month.  We are together for about 3 hours each time.  This will give me time to really make some progress on this little wall hanging and I will be able to finish it before the year is out.  After it is hand quilted I will add some buttons for embellishment.

 

Lil Bit likes to oversee things.  This project is about 24 inches square so this gives you a "little" idea about how small LilBit is. 

 

 

 

 

My third project is quite a large project.  It is my Hexie Star Table Topper in very contemporary colors.

 

I am choosing to work on this one when I get together with another of my hand groups.  We meet once a month for a few hours and during that time it is easy to work on the hexies.

 

 

 

 I have not worked on this since before Christmas, so I have a ways to go.

  

 

Well, this all sounds well and good.  Let's see if I stay focused and don't wander off on some other project.  Sometimes I get off track.  It reminds me of the way it is when I take LilBit for a walk.  She just has her nose to the ground and follows every scent she comes across.  That's why a harness and leash are important.  Too bad I don't have a harness and leash to keep me focused.

 

Stay tuned for updates.

 

 

-sandi

THIS IS A SPECIAL DAY!!

Today is my daughter's birthday!!!  This is the most special day in my life!  I remember waiting for her for a long time and when she finally came it was love at first sight.

She had the most beautiful eyes and the sweetest little smile.  It still thrills me to see her face.  There is a natural beauty that comes from the inner soul of a woman of grace.

It has been a few years now since her arrival and we have shared many wonderful times and things.   We have not always agreed on matters, but we have always ended with "I love you."

I have always loved this little mug that she gave me.  I always wanted her to know that I was that soft spot for her to land on when she needed it.  The other thing I hope I have taught her is there is no limit to what one can do.  Just set your goals and go for it.  I am watching her teach her children the same things.

She has proven many times how strong and persevering she is.  She is a highly respected businesswoman in her field and has recently enjoyed another promotion.  She continually sets goals for herself and works until she  accomplishes them.

No matter how successful she is in business, I know that her first priority is her family.  She has two wonderful boys who are growing into fine young men under her tutelage.  Her husband is one of the most caring, giving men you would ever want to have for a role model for your grandchildren.  Together they are building a strong family relationship that will carry these boys into their futures with confidence.  She gives her all when it comes to teaching her children and caring for her family.

So, today, Happy Birthday, Heather!!  I love you so much!


                                                -mom, aka sandi