I cant believe that is has been a year since my last post. I apologize. Instagram is now holding all of my photos and I have to try better this year to post more regularly and consistently on this platform and Instagram.

Here’s to a great 2023 and all the best to you and yours. May you quilt alot this year and have fun doing it.

Ruth

I am hoping that you will have a great year and get lots of sewing and quilting done.

Take care and keep safe. I am hoping to begin posting pictures once again. I needed

a break from blogging last year but I will be back at it again this year. See you soon.

Ruth

Spring is getting closer, only 13 more days to go.

I hope that you are enjoying the sunshine.

Anita made this hand pieced quilt. Can you see how small her stitches are? Wow!

I was impressed! A floral design was stitched all over the quilt top.

This blue and white quilt is lovely. Swirls were quilted all over it.

The pink quilt is a for a very special little girl so hearts were stitched all over it.

A large swirly sun was stitched on the second quilt.Hope that you are getting lots of

stitching done as well.

I even started spring cleaning today. Yes, I have an illness. I just want

to get it done and over with.

Don’t forget to check out my Instagram site, this blog will be

ending in September, 2021. Time for a change, so you can

catch me on Instgram.

I’m not sure about you but I am so excited that

spring is less than three weeks away.

These next two wallhangings also helped to put me in the

springtime mood.

Arlene made this beautiful wallhanging. Kathy McNeil is the designer of this wallhanging.

I did alot of stitching in the ditch around all of the applique pieces on this quilt.

In the background areas, I stitched in straight lines because Arlene did not

want alot of stitching in the background. I must admit, I was stumped about

what to put in the background areas but I am glad I went with straight lines.

It makes the wallhanging look a bit more modern but I really like the look of

it.

I really like the little birds in the bottom of the quilt. I added in some more

trees and curvy lines. The backing of the quilt shows off all the lovely

texture of the quilting as well.

Sheila made this fun wallhanging. It basically tells the story of her life. I had so much

fun stitching this. I had to keep myself in check so that I didn’t keep stitching in

details. I really love the beehive and the bumble bees. I love the water wheel

and all the rocks. Hope you have fun checking out all the details on this

quilt.

Hope you have a good week and that you are looking forward to

spring as much as I am.

Here are a few things that I have been working on lately.

I finished my block for The Quilt Show BOM. This is my Mariner’s Compass for the center

of the quilt. Recently, I bought a new book and am looking forward to trying out some new

ideas with the help of my printer. Also, using some painted papers that I have, I have created

some scenes of the woods around my house. So much fun and so little time to try everything

out!

What are you working on this week?

This is the cutest baby quilt! I love all the animals. I quilted the leaves/forest pretty heavily

and left the animals faces and ears alone. They are so cute and don’t really need much stitching

at all. The backing shows all the lovely texture.

Anne made this baby quilt. It has prairie points on the edges and I had to figure out a way

to keep the corners clean and not have any backing fabric showing through. I stitched

all way round the four sides first and then tucked in the corners. Start and loops are

stitched all over the top. Quite cute as well.

My daughter made her second quilt. She loves chickens and farms so thus the reason for all the

animals on the back of this quilt.

Ina made this beautiful quilt. I stitched in the ditch all over the quilt. It didn’t need anything

more.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your week.

It seems like everyone is taking this opportunity to stay home and

quilt, which is great for me. Here are a few more quilts that I have

had the opportunity to complete for some very creative quilters.

Evelyn made this quilts for a special young man and for her husband. Her husband loves the

color purple and trains so she combined them both. Railroad tracks, trains, and a train crossing

sign were all stitched into the quilt. Can you see them all? The yellow backing quilt that has

wrenches on the front, is for a special young man. A grid was quilted all over the quilt top in

a light blue thread.

These two quilts were made, by me, for a special little boy. He loves cars and the color

blue so I combined his two loves into one. Cars were stitched all over both quilts but in

a different pattern.

Laura loves Halloween, as you can see by this quilt. I must say that the color orange is growing

on me as well. I outlined the cats and the dark border. The backing of the quilt also looks really

nice, I love the texture on the backs of quilts.

Hope you are staying safe and sane.

See you next week.

I love this time of the year, even though it’s cold outside.

Spring is just around the corner and that thought cheers

me up immensely.

These 2 quilts,made by Brenda,were cheering me up

last week. Let’s see if they cheer you up too.

These batik dragonflies were fun to work on. The background fill is a tight, small meander.

I added in some lines in the cattails and in the outer border. All the stitch in the ditch work

was accomplishedby using a clear monofilament thread. It matches the color of the background

fabrics so I don’t have to keep switching out thread colors. It saves alot of time.

Brenda made this beauty too. I love applique quilts. They always stitch out beautifully.

This one is no exception. You can see all the texture on the back of the quilt. I love that

texture!!

I think that my most favorite part of this quilt is the outer border. I love all the movement in

this part of the quilt. And who can resist feathers? I’m not sure if you realize how small these

feathers really are.

The pattern was created by Kerry Burke of Simple Bird Studio.

Hoping that you are enjoying all the sunshine, even hough it’s cold outside.

I have some news to share too. I am planning on switching over to Instagram totally.

I won’t be doing this until September, 2021 but I am giving the heads up starting

this month. It’s time to try something new. Hope to see you over there.

I’m not sure if you have noticed or not but there is more

daylight hours than a month ago. It was getting dark at 5pm

but now it is getting dark at 6 pm. Yeah!! More daylight hours!!

This is one of my favorite times of the year because of this.

Now onto the quilt show.

Love the colors in this quilt. A swirly design was stitched all over the quilt top, using a

cream polyester thread. The backing is pretty cool too, love the texture that the

quilting adds.

Joan makes ALOT of quilts that she gives away for charity. What a generous person she is. I love

how she can take blocks and come up with all different forms of composition.

A swirly design was stitched all over the quilt using a cream polyester thread.

Joan made this quilt using a fabric book , which she sewed together to form this cute baby quilt.

I quilted a meandering design all over the quilt.

Linda made this beauty. She loves feathers and so do I. So, she chose a gold thread for the

quilting and chose an allover pattern for the quilting. I love the back as much as the front.

I can’t remember who made this quilt. Again, more swirls to add movement to the quilt top.

Here are several sneak peeks of quilts I have been working on. On the left, are 3 blocks of

completed Crane blocks for my daughter’s quilt. The bears and the fox is part of a really

cute baby quilt that I worked on last week. And the vase on the right, is Brenda’s beautiful

quilt! I worked on it last week too and I will upload some pictures for you next week. Have

a great week and stay safe.

Wondering how the weather is where you live?

We have had a snowy day so it’s perfect for staying indoors and quilting.

Here are some recent quilts that I have completed for customers.

I love the geometric lines in this quilt. A swirly design was stitched all over to add some movement to the

straight lines. A cream polyester thread was used for the top and a light polyester thread for the backing.

I love all the colors in this quilt. What a great quilt to work on when its so gray and snowy outside. It cheers

me up instantly. Its like getting a shot of vitamin D from the sunshine but without the sunshine. Swirls were

again stitched all over the quilt top, using a monofilament thread this time. When working on colorful

quilts, its hard to pick a thread color to match all the colors of the quilt. This can be avoided by using a

monofilament thread, it blends in with all the colors.

Here’s another colorful quilt. My niece loves candy so she would be dreaming of candy while sleeping

under this fun quilt. Swirls were again stitched all over it in a navy color for the top and the backing.

I think that this was a sampler quilt, looking at all the blocks. What a great way to learn how to quilt.

The pieced backing is lovely too. More swirls for the quilting. Seems to have been a theme for this post.

Hope you are staying safe and maybe I will post some pictures of painted interfacing and digital printing.

I saw the idea on you tube and am falling in love with the technique. I purchased her book today so

I am anxiously awaiting its arrival on Monday. I will keep you updated.

I apologize for all the wierd spacing in this post. I am still learning how this new WordPress editing

program works so please bear with me.

What does cheesecloth, a piano, and a BOM all have in common?

Due to Covid and all that surrounds it, I thought I would challenge myself

with learning some new skills. I will explain a little more in the post.

Anne made this for her daughter for Christmas. She loves it and is deciding where to hang it in her house.

It is beautiful!!Lots of stitching in the background areas.

This is the BOM I am working on for this year from the Quilt Show. I like houses for some reason and the

circular design appeals to me. On the right side, is the picture of the houses that I have completed thus far.

The paper piecing method used is very helpful, in that you don’t have to sew through the paper foundation.

No ripping out paper after it is sewn, yahoo!!

Lastly, I am taking an online class with Mary Pal. She specializes in cheesecloth

landscapes and portraits. I wanted to learn how she does this and now I know.

She uses glue to sculpt layers of cheesecloth. She is also a Canadian

artist so I had to take her class. I think the platform she uses is called “Craft Course.”

She has alot of videos and explains her technique really well.

I hope that you are staying safe and hoping that you are learning some new skills

to get through this hard time.

See you next week.