The children are nestled...

All snug in their beds. And it is almost time for Christmas. I hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday. Enjoy the magic of the season, count your blessings and hug your lived ones.

Merry Christmas to all and best wishes for the coming year!

Quilt Alliance Quilts

Okay, so I woke up early this morning and since I can't get back to sleep, this seems like the best time to get back to posting. And I really wanted to share with you the Quilt Alliance Quilt that I bid on and won!

My quilt is by Gayle Simpson from Thousand Oaks, CA and Coeur d'Alene, ID. It is just the coolest quilt and had some special things on it that I didn't even see when I was bidding on it. A pleasant surprise for sure.

This one was called "All Homes Need Quilts" and has her special vintage chairs in the design.
Wonderful applique.

There are lace curtains at the windows too.

And I wish my picture was a little clearer but the stitching in the window boxes look like flowers!

And the best is the sewing machine in the upstairs window. Perfect! You can see more of Gayle's work on her website at Gayle Simpson Some pretty amazing work.

Now you can try for a quilt of your own by going to Quilt Alliance Quilts  They are all so unique and hard to resist. One of the quilts is over $1,000!

A good night...

The Good Enough Quilters met this week and I really enjoyed sharing my finishes. I usually am admiring everyone else's but thanks to my quilter I have three Christmas gifts ready to go. 

My first share was the top for a baby quilt I made. I re-used a pattern I used before. I love the pattern and the bright colors in this one. I have to quilt it now and have it ready by January.

This is gift number one. It is a hundred wishes quilt with 100 different squares of fabric. I love the backing on this one too. And the quilting that Ruth did for me. She is a master.

Below is quilt number 2. I think I may have shared this before but not upright. And I'm just so thrilled to have it finished!

The companion quilt which is also another gift. Aren't these fabric colors wonderful?

We met at my house and everyone just had to admire the great apple quilt that Lynn had given me when I retired. Don't you love it!

Cindy was sharing and asking for advice. This is a wonderful and very colorful batik quilt she made but can't decide how to finish. Everyone had an opinion and we were pretty much in agreement on the choice. Can't wait to see it really finished.

Laura shared her baby quilt top. The six flowers are appliqued and the edge is ruffled. So cute and girly!

This was Laura's other share. It is a huge bed quilt and oh so pretty. We almost didn't have room to share it.

Lynn's finish was her daughter's graduation quilt. We all loved the colors in the quilt and even though you can't see it, the straight line quilting she used is perfect. Vanessa is one lucky girl!

I really enjoyed having things to share. Hope this puts me on a roll!

Pick up a quilt and some fabric too.

I was only going to the quilt shop to pick up my finished quilt. And you know what that means! But first the quilt. 

Here it is. I love the bright colors and the best thing is now it is finished.

I tried a close up to show the quilting. Ruth, my quilter, did a wonderful wave throughout the quilt. It looks great.

This is the back of the quilt. Two views. When I made the backing, there wasn't enough of the fabric but then I just used some stash fabric. I'm so proud!

When I have it quilted, I also have her do the binding. She has a wonderful binding that she does with piping added. I tried to show you a close up of that so I hope you can see it.

And my true confession, here is the fabric I encountered as I walked in the door. How do you say, product placement. Just loved the individual "seed" packets, all related to sewing.

And these fat quarters are part of the line. See the tape measure. Wonder what I will do with this? The line is called Tidings of Great Joy for Quilting Treasures. Not sure how that fits. Maybe when you have a finish...

Now, heading back to work on the baby quilt for this weekend. Pressure!!

We're off to see the quilter...

I'm doing the happy dance right now. My two quilts are all set and ready to go to the quilters! Quilt top, backing, piping and binding are ready to be delivered.

I think I know what I would do if I won the lottery. I would continue quilting and then have every one of my quilts quilted by someone else. What a wonderful luxury that would be.

Oh, and I would hire a cleaning lady too!

What would you do?

Love those strips!

I started with these fabrics a few days ago. I cut them all into 2 1/2" strips and now I have...

 this one...

and this one...

I am a bit under deadline. These are intended to be Christmas gifts and I promised to get them to the quilter by the end of the week. Have to love those deadlines to get me moving!

More about these later!

Best Intentions

Where does the time go? I had the best intentions to get back to regular posts on this blog. Hmmm. And now the busy time begins. I woke up at 4 am and started thinking... Always a mistake. It is October 17 and I was thinking of all the things I must do before Christmas! And we start to set up for the Christmas Market in Philadelphia in 4 weeks!

I have no sewing to share, yet, but can show the other sewing that was brought to our last Good Enough Quilters meeting. Cindy shared her embroidery project. I love the look of this and know it has a special name but now can't remember it. Cindy? Looks like it would be so relaxing.

Fran showed us her find! She bought this for a song at a yard sale. It is so nice and we were all really jealous.

A finish for Lynn. Don't you love those pinwheels. Front and back it really looks good.

The quilt below is one that was made from fabric that was donated. I know there is more to the story but I waited too long to tell it. Lesson learned about posting quickly.

Now, I'm happy to say that I have some time in the next few days and really hope to get back with a sewing report. Fingers crossed!

Have a good day. Sewing perhaps?