Resuming Civil War History blocks

I finished block #52 Christmas Star today.

Retreat Project

The first weekend in January some guild friends and I went to a retreat at Threads of Time in Danville. We had a great time! I started a project that I had bought at Quilters General Store in Rockford while I was on my way to a UU CMwD Women's Connection retreat in Kenosha, WI last October. The pattern is "Beasley" by Dawn Heese of Linen Closet Designs. I'm naming it "Mother's Gift" - the block pattern is the same as the quilt that was on my parents bed when I was growing up; and that title is one of my favorite songs by Shawna Carol. This is as far as I got at retreat.

Here is the finished top. (The photo cut off the bottom border.)

Free Motion Quilting Challenge January



Drawing design with pencil and paper



Stitching





Finished


I've signed the pledge for the Free Motion Quilting Challenge for 2012 on Sew Cal Gal's blog. I've watched the tutorial for January by Frances Moore and completed a practice sandwich. Most of my leaves are pretty - one of them is way wonky, I had a mind-body glitch apparently. A little more practice and I will try this on a quilt.

A New Year

One more finish for 2011!

Resuming my blogging as the new year begins - the secret project is finished and safely at its' destination before Christmas; (plus my camera was missing for a while, finally found it under the seat of the car!)

I finished the redwork Alphabet Sunbonnet Sue on the last day of the old year.(see above) I started embroidering the blocks in 2000 and finished that about 2005; the blocks were put away until I got them out earlier this year and put them together with sashing, machine quilted in the ditch and hand quilted in the blocks.

Jelly Ohs 1

And here is the finished secret project. My next youngest sister commisioned me to make a quilt for her to give to our youngest sister for Christmas. This is a jelly roll pattern designed by Joanna Figueroa she named Jelly-Ohs, (the block pattern is actually "Crown of Thorns".) I used some strips from the Shangra La collection jelly roll I've had for a while and added some strips of other fabric and the border is also Shangra La. It was fun to piece using Thangles for the hst.s, and I machine quilted it.