"A Good Drying Day"

It's a beautiful day in Lebanon, PA.  The sun is shining.  There is a nice breeze and as my mother use to say "it's a good drying day."  What better thing to do than hang the sheets out  on the clothesline.  We will be sleeping on sheets with a nice fresh scent tonight.

Wait! - Looks like more than just sheets on the clothesline.  What's that hiding in the back?  Is it?  Could it be? 

Oh my, it's the raffle quilt!  Yes, the long awaited raffle quilt that the Urban Cyclist  http://anurbancyclist.blogspot.com/  has been promising is finished. Well, almost finished, it still needs some binding but that's not a big deal.

Here's a closer shot.  It's the twister pattern  "Let's Twist".  The fabric is 100% cotton with a polyester batting.

The quilt measures 74" by 87".

A quilt blowing in the breeze is such a beautiful thing!

Those of you that saw the original choice of fabric and pattern might be confused.  I had a change of mind. It's a quilter's prerogative.  This quilt top was almost finished and I decided that instead of piecing another quilt I would just use this one.  The Urban Cyclist didn't know about this change so don't blame her if your heart was set on the original selection.

If you want to be the proud new owner of the quilt I am sure that the Urban Cyclist would be more than happy to tell you how to make this dream come true. http://anurbancyclist.blogspot.com/

If she doesn't have the info up yet, please give her a few minutes to do so.  She didn't know that I was going to be posting this today.

EXTRA INFORMATION

-  My good friend Lynn  http://cooks-patchwork.blogspot.com/  generously donated her time and skill to do the quilting.  Thanks Lynn.  You are the best.

- All proceeds (100%)  from the sale of the raffle tickets will go to benefit the Leukemia Lymphoma Society.

- Mari and Andrew (UC's Mom and brother) can really keep a secret.  Thanks guys.

- Happy Birthday to my absolute favorite brother-in-law Mike who happens to be the Urban Cyclist's Dad.  You really are the best Mike. 

- A great big shout out to Bethany, UC's sister.  I don't want you to feel left out Beth. 

Oops!

I almost forgot.  If you are interested in visiting Obie's, it's located on Rte. 23, ( Main Street), Goodville, PA.

 If fabric is your thing, also plan to stop at the fabric outlet across the street from Obie's.  Incredible selection of every kind of fabric imaginable at great prices. (I bought some doublefaced, pre-quilted fabric there  for $3.98/yd.)  Lots of notions too.  Of course, shopping always works up an appetite so plan to stop for a great smorgasboard at Shady Maple.  It's just a few miles down the road. 

A trip to Obies

I made a trip to Obie's today.  Obies is one of those places where there are just no words to describe it.  It must be seen to be believed.  These photos were taken a few months ago.  Don't let your jaw drop too far.

This is a shot of the Christmas aisle.  It's a little dark in there but the owner has a flash light that helps quite a bit.  If you want a bolt from the bottom, you need a friend to help you move bolts from the top of the stack.  Sometimes, creative use of your head or butt keeps the piles from falling on top of you.

Here's Jill checking out the incredible array of handmade quilts and other assorted goodies located on the second floor.

View of  first floor taken from the second floor.  That little speck of a person is Lynn.

Another shot from the second floor.

The quilts really are beautiful.  Great prices too.  Can you say handquilted?  Yep, they are.  Please notice the hot pads in the lower central area of the pic.  There are more coming up.

There is quite a variety here.  Odds are good that the fabric you are looking for is in stock.  Finding it is the key.  Not to worry though.  The owner knows everything she has and where it is located.  Really,  All you have to do is ask.

Here's my friend JoAnn.  She is checking out some jouvenile fabric.  Sorry for the blurry picture.  It's hard to get far enough away to get a good shot and still maintain some kind of control of the camera.

Choose your poison!  There are lots of great fleeces too.

and neutrals

Suck it in.  I think I see something I want in there.

Another shot of Lynn.  Don't trip over the bolts on the floor.

Very tight squeeze here.  Requires a real suck in to get through.  If you want to gather some strength, spiritual or otherwise, there is a church pew available.

There is a shot of some more hot pads here too.  Obie's has a lot of hot pads.  All handmade.

It's not just fabric.  There are all kinds of things.  Even some penny candy.  Wish I had taken a shot of the candy.  I guess you will just have to take my word for it or you could ask JoAnn.  She knows all about it.

Finally...Raffle Quilt

With a sincere apology to my niece, the urban cyclist http://anurbancyclist.blogspot.com/2012/01/this-just-in.html, I am finally ready to unveil the pattern and fabric for this year's raffle quilt to benefit the Leukemia Lymphona Society.  My niece will be riding her bicycle in a 100 mile century ride this summer and is looking for donations.  Check out her blog for more details on how you can win this quilt and you will also be able to follow the progress of the team in training as they prepare for the great ride.  She is much better at keeping her blog up to date than I am.

So, with no further ado...A Drum Roll Please

This year's quilt will be the Stir Crazy Quilt from Brenda Henning's pattern in "Strip Therapy 2".  Yes, quilters do enjoy stripping.

The fabrics will be different.  Here's a shot of them.  (For those of you with OCD, I already know that I could have done a better job arranging the fabrics.  At this point, I thought it best just to get the photo and post it.)  You should know that I am a better quilter than photographer or fabric arranger.

Feast your eyes on this and please check back occasionally for updates on the quilt's progress.

I will also advise the Urban Cyclist to post the link in her blog.  Got that MEL?

Catch-Up #2

Surprise, Surprise.  I have returned!

Here are a couple of pics of my Philhaven quilt.  It was part of the Lebanon Quilt Guild's communinty service project.  I finally turned it in at the May meeting.  Many thanks to Theresa C. who machine quilted it for me.  I am pleased with the finished project.

Warning!

I saw this post from Bonnie over at Quiltville.  http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2011/07/whats-in-your-wallet.html

I think it bears repeating.

I met someone just a week ago that had this happen to him and three other friends.  He thinks their credit/bank cards were scanned (from their pockets!) when they were eating together at a restaurant.  All four of them had to deal with the aftermath of straightening up the issues that occurred from the identity theft.  This is the first time I actually knew of someone that it had happened to.  It makes it all very real.

Bonnie offers a temporary prevention solution.  Please check it out and pass the word along to your friends.  Many thanks to Bonnie for the post.

Catch-Up Time

It has been quite awhile since I last blogged.  I am not going to get into the why's and what's.  Let's just say that sometimes life gets in the way and best intentions don't always translate into accomplishments.  Hopefully, I can catch things up a little with some entries.  I have lots of photos.  So...Let's get started.

This is Betsy.  She's one of my quilt retreat buddies.  She was setting up her stuff and put her plugged in iron on the table not realizing that it was still turned on from the last retreat.  The photo tells the rest of the story.  Funny thing is the melting of the resin didn't smell or smoke.  We didn't know it was happening until Betsy noticed that the bottom of the iron wasn't level with the table anymore.  Removing the iron was like a taffy pull or perhaps melted mozzarella cheese that didn't want to break free from itself.  That resin is tough stuff.  I tried to smooth out some of the lumps from the table top with a wood shaver and a sander.  Didn't even touch it.  Betsy is still using the table.  She just put a flat surface over it.  Good ole PA Dutch ingenuity.  Way to go Betsy! 

What I have been doing

Well, I feel like I have made some progress.  I have the Philhaven quilt top pieced.  Just need to get it quilted.  The colors did not show up true.  Wish the photo was better.  Perhaps the picture of  the quilted version will be better.

I also have my fabrics ready to go for my next project.  I am really looking forward to working on my first promise stitch quilt.  It is the flower box pattern (hence the floral fabrics) and done by hand.  Tammy at http://treadleworksbytammy.blogspot.com/  is my mentor.  If you want to find out more about the Promise Stitch check out Tammy's 2/11/11 post.  She is working on the flower box as well.  You can see one of the blocks there.  I am grateful to all of the advice she has given me and look forward to making progress with this project.   I enjoy hand piecing and like having a portable project.  This one is perfect.  Time to get cutting.  I'll give you a peek when I get some blocks pieced.

Clarification

I need to clarify.  The photo shown in my previous blog entry was not made by me.  It is a copy of the photo in the magazine.  I will be following the same pattern for my quilt.  I apologize for any confusion.

New Quilt in the Works

My quilt guid has taken on a community service project to make quilts for patients at Philhaven, a local psychiatric hospital.  This quilt was originally on my "to do" list with Patchwork Penquin's http://patchworkpenguin.blogspot.com/2011/02/gyleen-fitzgerald-amazing.html monthly project challenge.  However, time is running out and I want to get this project going.  I had already chosen the pattern and fabric (from my stash).  Today I prepared and cut all of the necessary pieces.  Hopefully tomorrow I can make a dent in sewing it.  The quilt pattern is Squares and Stripes and it is located in Fons and Porter's Learn to Quilt Magazine 12/2010.

The fabric we were to base our color scheme on is Hancock's Challenge fabric which is a teal.  I coordinated some other fabrics around it.  If things go as planned tomorrow perhaps I will have a quilt top to show.

On a different note, my friend Lynn over at Lynn's Obsession http://cooks-patchwork.blogspot.com/2011/02/melt-down.html#comment-form has finished an overwhelming 87 quilts for the residents of the VA Hospital in Wilkes Barre, PA.  Tomorrow is delivery day and she is having a major melt down because she's afraid the fellows won't like them.  I don't know how they couldn't.  Each one is its own masterpiece and filled with an amazing amount of love from Lynn.  I can't wait to hear all about her adventure.  I am adding photos with just a few of her quilts. 













She has so many more.  Each one made by her.  The fabric is mostly from her stash.

Great job Lynn!  We are all so proud of you and are amazed at what you have been able to accomplish.

Tissue Holder Tutorial

As promised, here is the plan for making a fabric tissue holder.

Cut you fabric 5 1/2" by 8" and turn the 5 1/2" edges in a full 1/4 of an inch. I know the photo says 1/8 to 1/4 but make it the full 1/4".   Stitch along the folded edge.  I used regular thread on top and invisible thread in the bobbin.  This way the invisible thread is on the right side of the fabric and the bobbin thread is on the inside and not seen.  You won't have to change thread colors every time you change the fabric color.  If you are making several at a time this really helps with the chain pieceing.

Next, pressed the sewn edges.  (these were not pressed before I took this photo and it really makes a difference in the look of the finished product.)

Fold end edges into the center and overlap the edges a full 1/4".  Pin in place and double stitch up seam sides. Stay close to the edge on the first row of stitches so that you have room for the second row.  Use a small stitch for strength.  I used a double needle for the double stitch to save some time.

Turn it right side out and there's your tissue holder!

What I have been doing

Dear blog reader (both of you),

It has been over a month since I added to my blog.  Apologies for taking so long.  I have accomplished a few things that I would like to share with you.  As you may recall, I signed up for a UFO challenge with Nancy over at Patchwork Penquin.  http://patchworkpenguin.blogspot.com/  The first number chosen was 3 which meant I was to work on bazaar items.  This was not my first choice and had a little trouble getting motivated for it.  However, come bazaar time in October, I will be happy to have these little babies done.  My plan was to make 30 tissue holders and 30 fabric flower pins. 

Here's my progress:

This what a finished flower pin looks like.

The tissue holders are finished but unfortunately the flowers didn't quite make it.  Hopefully I will have them finished by the end of this month.

For those of you who are interested I will be posting a tutorial of the tissue holders.  http://stashslashproject.blogspot.com/2011/02/tissue-holder-tutorial.html  This would normally be a straight forward project but I managed to make a few severe mistakes along the way.  Can you say "Let's rip invisible stitches from 60 seams?"  From recently gained experience I can state that it is possible but not fun.

I also have a few "firsts" on my list of accomplishments this month.  I made my first fabric postcard and actually mailed it.  Still haven't heard if it made it to its destination or not.  It's a fussy project but lots of fun.  I will definitely be making more of these.  I would love to become involved in a postcard swap.

Joe and I made a trip to Nokomis, Florida to visit his grandmother and two aunts.  As a thank you gift for their hospitality I made two towels for them to use by the pool.  I purchased the bathing beauty fabric at a quilt shop while I was there.

I'm the lady in the green two-piece with the tatoo in the middle of my back.  I know that there is a name for a tatoo in this particular spot on the body but don't recall what it is.  I'll be mailing the towels tomorrow.  I hope they like them.

And, last but not least, I jumped into the world of working with selvage edges.  I love it.  It's amazing how those previously thought of as junk pieces become little artworks all of their own.  When digging through the selvage stash and deciding which one to use next, I found myself putting aside some "special" ones that I thought could be better used in a different project.  I even have a favorite edge.  It has "Rosie" on it.  You better believe that one will really go on something special and given proper treatment.  Here's my first selvage project.  It's a 12" bow-tie block.

This was good practice for me because my challenge for the month is to complete a selvage project.  I have one in mind but we'll see if it's the final choice.

UFO Challenge

With a little encouragement from Lynn of Lynn's Obsession,  http://cooks-patchwork.blogspot.com/  I have decided to jump into the UFO challenge being sponsored by Patchwork Penquin.  http://patchworkpenguin.blogspot.com/ 

In order to do this, I need to make a list of ten projects that I want to complete during 2011.  Here is my list.

1.  Triple Irish Chain - 30's reproduction fabrics
2.  Donations for Cornwall Manor Bazaar
3.  Community Service Project for Lebanon Quilt Guild
4.  Hana Wall Hanging
5.  Pillowcases to slash stash
6.  Quilt using my Daiwabo fat quarters.  Pattern TBD
7.  Trash to Treasure Pineapple Quilt
8.  Project using collected selvage edges.  TBD
9.  Quilt kit with Australian aborigine fabrics from Lancaster Show
10.  Quilted Jacket from Lancaster Show

Lebanon Quilters Guild Annual Quilt Show

During the first week in December my quilt guild held its annual quilt show in conjunction with the Festival of Trees.  There is so much talent in our guild.  It was a great show.  I took a few photos of quilts to share.  I apologize for the quality of some of the pictures.  My hand must have been a little shaky.

         This quilt was made by Connie Wilson.  It is a variation of a Ginny Beyer Pattern.

Georgeanne's quilt made with original feedsacks

JoAnne's Blooming Nine Patch

Close up of Annette's scrap quilt

Maggie demonstrating hand quilting on her frame at the show

Rosemary demonstrating her postage stamp quilt

Georgeanne demonstrating how to make fabric flowers.  Her twister quilt is behind her.

Myrna's Quilt

Close up of Myrna's Quilt