Trying something new!

Christie and I were going to try and quilt the quilts we made together a couple of weeks ago. Friday is Christie's day off, but I got asked to sub on Friday - so we decided to do it this afternoon. We got her backing pieced and I found a great green piece in my stash that will work for my backing. Loading on the machine went much quicker with both of us working on it! Nines - I told her about our old schedule of you coming over on Tuesdays, we would load your quilt on, you would quilt it, and then we would load my quilt on. I might have to start paying Christie just to come over and help me pin the quilts on!

We decided to do a a big meander. I demonstrated by doing about two thirds of a row and then Christie took over. Christie couldn't seem to find that free and easy movement you need for a good meander. We are going to load a practice piece on next! So I finished up while she stood and watched. She would hold one handle while I guided it using the other handle.

Anyway, we finished her quilt really quickly and it turned out VERY cute. I love the greens and browns together.
Hope everyone has a great weekend. Hope everyone gets to spend a lot of time quilting! My DD's birthday is on Sunday - she will nine. Saturday Christie and her daughter (also 9) might join Madeleine and I on a movie, lunch, and shopping trip to Columbus Georgia. We have already warned the girls that if we go to Columbus, we might have to hit our favorite quilt store!

You can just imagine the moans and groans!

Remember this quilt?

If you have survived this blog for the past 2.5 years, you might remember when I inherited this quilt top from my mom. She made the top for my nephew but then after it was together, she didn't like it. So she gave it to me......... and here it has sat for two and a half years. Mom keeps asking me when I am going to get around to quilting it. I have been ageing it to perfection!

When Mom and Dad were here a few weeks ago, we dug out the top for her to look at again. She decided that she did want to finish it. So I ever so graciously gave it back to her.

Now she is having second thoughts (or third or fourth). She asked me to post a picture of the quilt and ask all of my quilt expert friends a couple of questions. Are you ready to feel smart and influential?

#1 - Should she take the top apart and put some sort of sashing between the blocks? And maybe a matching border?

#2 - Should she take the time to hand quilt it or trust the quilting to the likes of me? Or maybe Nina? (haha!!!)

#3 - What do you think?

Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance for the ideas!

Is it purple enough?

A week or so ago, I heard through the grapevine, that the 15 year old daughter of a friend from college was having surgery to remove a tumor from the base of her brain. The surgery went well and they were able to remove most of the tumor. Yesterday they moved her to St. Jude's hospital in Memphis. Monday they will be finding out about the doctors' plans for chemo and radiation. The daughter's favorite color is purple - can you tell? I thought she needed a lovey. I bought the fabric on Wednesday and just finished putting the binding on. Not bad! I want to get it in the mail to her on Monday.

In the light purple strips I quilted words - love, faith, hope, believe, family and her name.

Better, no?

OK, when I had some time to think about it, I realized there were only 12 blocks in the whole quilt. How long would it really take for me to fix it? Answer - about an hour. And I like it SO MUCH better!

What have YOU been up to?

I have finished up the last of the three baby quilts I had in the hopper. The next baby (Maddie's teacher's) isn't due until June - so I have some time off to do other quilting!

Tomorrow I am hosting a baby shower for a girl from church. The bedding she has chosen, from what I can tell from the on-line pictures, looks kind of shabby chic to me. So let's hope she likes the quilt!

My friend Christie decided to work part time this year at a pre-school. Fridays are her day off. Last Friday we drove down to Columbus and both spent an obscene amount at the quilt store there. I was spending someone else's money - I have been "commissioned" to make a queen size brown and pink quilt by a college student at church. She has already given me $100 towards the fabric. It is lots of fun spending someone elses money!! We also bought some cool new patterns. Christie bought a bag pattern and I bought a pattern called BQ by Maple Island Quilts.

We were so anxious to try out the new pattern that we decided to have a crafty day this Friday. Christie hauled her machine and rotary cutting mat over here and we got started. I got my blocks sewn together but Christie only got her strips sewn together. Anyway she took the pattern home with her to finish up the blocks. As you can see, I sewd my blocks together wrong - but I am not changing it. I like it anyway!

I think this would make a great pattern for a Quilt of Valor. You could use blue for the dark brown parts and do the big squares in all different kinds of red prints.

So, what have you been up to?

How did you meet your sweetie?

I spent most of this afternoon stuck in a highway back up caused by an accident that happened at 2;30 this morning. They had to call in a crane to get the vehicle out of the ditch and they chose this afternoon to block the interstate. So the trip that should have taken 45 minutes took three and a half hours. To top it off, I had an 8.5 month pregnant woman with me!! We had gone to Montgomery to get some fabric for me to make a curtain for the babies room. Anna and I had a nice talk about everything from our irritable bowels to our crazy mother-in-laws. We also discussed how we met our hubbies.

When I was in college in Tampa, me and my sister started going to church with my future brother-in-law. This is the same congregation where DH's grandparents were members. So I knew his grandparents for several years before I even met him. His grandfather is also named Stacy - a family name. Anyway, one Sunday morning Stacy's grandma came toddling up to me and my room mate and says that she wants us to meet her grandson. We looked at each other and with our eyes said "Do we really have to?" Grandma Norman was a nut and we were a bit worried about the genetics of the situation. Anyway, she introduced us and he developed a crush on my roomie. I moved 1000 miles away to finish college for a year and a half. After graduating, I moved back to Florida to be near my sister. Everything clicked - we dated for 8 months, got engaged, and were married 8 months later. We have been married for 14 years now. Here are our cute selves!

How did you meet your honey?

Back to the curtains - here is the baby quilt we were trying to match. We went with the brown with pink polka dots for the main portion and the diamond print for the valance part. Anna loved the baby quilt. She asked me the other night if she could pay me to make a curtain for the nursery to match the quilt. So today we went on a search for the fabric to match.

So while searching for fabric, we got to know each other better and became much better friends. making a friend while stuck in traffic! Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.