My new toys.

Alright!!! I did it. THERE IS THE PICTURE!!!

Ok, there is no picture...yet. If there was a picture you would see my new Easy Cut Circle ruler by Sharen Hultgren that I found at Walmart! Also in the picture is a pair of Cutter Bee scissors found at Walmart too! There is a pile of Bullseye blocks made from 30's repros. That is what I have been having fun playing around with the past few days.

The ruler is so handy for drawing circles. The directions tell you what size square to cut for the size circle you need. Then simply fold the square in half (give it a little press)and place the ruler along the folded edge. Run the rotary cutter in the appropriate slot and you've created a perfect circle! Of course, my little rotary cutter has a dull blade since the last thing I cut with it was NOT fabric (think home repair) so I drew a line with a pencil and cut the circle out with my new scissors. Wow, they are sharp! I found them in the scrapbooking isle. They are so cute with thier black and yellow handles. The packaging notes how sharp they are in several places so I had to see for myself!

I've been wanting to try a Bullseye quilt for a long time. Actually on my list of quilts to do I have a few Bullseye quilts...thirties, patriotic, halloween, christmas to name a few. I was cleaning up my fabric drawers last weekend and happened to be folding a whole bunch of fat quarters to neaten up the 30's drawer and things just clicked! Before I knew it, I was cutting circles! Needless to say, the 30's drawer is looking bare.

Do any of you quilt bloggers out there have Bullseye quilts? I'd love to see them.

A few posts from a past blog.

Thank goodness for happy little wallhangings!

[ 05:13 PM ] [ Saturday, February 25, 2006 ]

I am having trouble posting my pictures with my entries. This is one of the quilts I sent to the longarm quilter.

[ 10:12 PM ] [ Tuesday, March 7, 2006 ] [ 0 Com

I haven't posted recently because I have been so busy playing with the babies! My Mother and Niece brought my three nephews to visit from Thursday till today. They live right outside New Orleans. One is 9, the middle one is 14 months and the little one is three months. We had so much fun! However, I must admit when they left this afternoon I was worn completly out! I didn't get any quilting done while they were here but we did put the baby on his quilt top and he loved it. I still have to send it to the quilter. The middle baby's is there now being quilted. Tonight while watching 24 I worked on one of my Cinnamon Stitches applique blocks. I only have this one and one more before I can put the blocks together into a top. Off to bed for me...

[ 10:16 PM ] [ Monday, March 6, 2006

I often visit Bonnie Hunter's website Quiltville. Not too long ago she posted a scrappy tree block. Seeing that made me want to dig out an old UFO. All it needed was the borders. So, I put the borders on yesterday. Considering the fact that the setting triangles had the bias on the outside of the quilt and they were pretty wavy...I guess that's why I stopped working on it. I think that was 1991! I laughed when I looked at the back. All the little scappy squares were samples from the Keepsake catalog. The edges were pinked and I used them just like that! Since I rarely machine quilt this little quilt will have to go on the pile of tops and wait it's turn for handquilting. (Who am I kidding?)

[ 09:49 PM ] [ Monday, March 13, 2006 ]

I have been busy! Remember the three UFOs I dug out? Well, I finished the tops and when I went to see what was left in the box I found a top that was already done! Four UFOs ready to be quilted! So, I took a break from quilting and did a little stitchery. It's fun to do something quick. I'll find a frame for it next time I'm at Hobby Lobby. I wanted to show my new leader/ender project. That is Bonnie Hunter's term. Visit Quiltville and read all about it. This block is actually a pattern from Buggy Barn called Buggy Wheels. I like their quilts because they are so fun to make. However, this one calls for something like 700 half square triangles of light/dark! I already made 300 half square triangles of dark/dark. I am using the left overs from my swaps for a 2000 millenium quilt. I'm going to run out of dark squares but it doesn't matter if I repeat fabrics in this project. So I'll just go through my stash for the rest.

[ 09:33 PM ] [ Friday, March 17, 2006 ]

This is a picture of my daughter, Joanna, and Caleb (my one year old nephew).Isn't he the most adorable baby? I recently finished a quilt for him. It's BRIGHT! Lots of animals, bugs and shapes for him to point to. I'm also making his little brother, Hunter, a similar quilt which is at the longarm quilter. That's right! He and his brother are eleven months apart.

[ 12:24 PM ] [ Tuesday, April 18, 2006

It's finally done! I'm used to working with little pieces of fabric not tons of it. Anyway, it looks very pretty with the blue and white Irish Chain quilt. This is the summer quilt for my bed. It makes my bedroom feel cool and crisp which I need so desperately here in scorching hot Texas. LOL...can you tell I miss the beaches in Florida?

[ 09:40 AM ] [ Monday, April 17, 2006 ]

I needed something sparkly! Really, I bought this foot because I was having a terrible time with the 1/4" foot. I could not get an accurate seam allowance. It is basically the same foot but has an edge to keep the fabric edges at exactly the right distance from the needle. Who needs diamonds when you can get a perfect 1/4" seam? I've been piecing all day on a UFO. It's a Road To St. Louis pattern using leftover squares from the millinium swaps I did in 2000. This will be my third quilt from those swaps! I will still have squares leftover after I finish piecing this one! I did a little applique this afternoon but pooped out after about an hour. The internet was off all day due to storms last night. More expected tonight. We got our second email from our son who is in Iraq. This time he had a long list of things he needs. He is going to have some wild stories to tell when he gets home.

[ 09:37 PM ] [ Thursday, April 20, 2006

This is a UFO I pulled out last night. I only had three blocks done and didn't like them. So I really debated whether to abandon the whole idea or start making blocks that I do like. I cut some strips this morning and started sewing. Now I just need 64 more blocks!

[ 01:11 PM ] [ Saturday, April 29, 2006 ]

I'm trying to finish an applique block right now so I don't have a picture to show you. How about this one! This is my daughter's cat, Turtle. She loves bags and bows just like every good kitty does. I don't think she wanted to WEAR them though. It's cheap entertainment, what can I say?

[ 09:11 PM ] [ Saturday, April 22, 2006

Binding

How long does it take you to tack the binding down on the back of a quilt? I'm asking because it takes me a long time! I just finished a binding on a lap quilt and I'll bet it took me 3 or 4 nights of two to three hours each. I don't mind hand work so it's not a chore. I just was wondering if anyone else has this "problem".

[ 11:59 PM ] [ Thursday, May 4, 2006 ]

I finished the 11th block for the Cinnamon Stitches quilt. I started on the last block and am looking forward to putting this quilt together.

[ 10:26 PM ] [ Monday, May 1, 2006 ]

The Infirmary
This will be a great post to start off a blog! LOL Everyone in my house has the flu. It may not be the bird flu but it might as well be because several times in the past few days I've felt like I'm going to die.If I'm going to lay around in bed all day I want to enjoy it! I am going to try to post a picture of my healing quilt. In 2001 I got very sick and basically I did not get well until the summer of 2004. That's all I am saying about that...anyway my precious friends made a quilt for me to wrap up in. They used my favorite 30's prints and hand quilted it! I think the pattern is Carpenter's Wheel. What do you know, the quilt worked! I got well! This is the most special gift I have ever recieved. I hope the picture makes it... So, today I feel human enough to get on the computer and the first thing I thought of was the quilt I am wrapped up in. At one point this afternoon I offered to cover my daughter in it (she's on the couch ). She said, "No, it has your germs on it right now!" LOL She did accept the millinium quilt on the back of the couch and mentioned how appropriate it was because she said she thought this flu bug was going to last 2000 years.

An old post from another blog...

Today in our part of Texas the temperature hovered in the 20s! Too chilly for me to go out. It's nice and warm inside...a perfect day to spend in the quilt room. Thursday night I started a quilt for my youngest nephew, Hunter. It is BRIGHT! As soon as my daughter brings the digital camera home I'll post a picture. Caleb's quilt is at the longarm quilter. He is my 1 year old nephew and his quilt is BRIGHT too. When I pick up his quilt I'll give her Hunter's quilt and start on a quilt for the oldest nephew, Colin. His will have a matchbox car theme. He's nine. I started adding up (in my head) the cost for those three quilts! Yikes! Almost $200 each. They are made from the Yellow Brick Road pattern so each took 12 FQs and two yards for border and binding. Then, 3.5 yards for the backing. The longarm quilter is charging $89.00 plus tax for each. I guess I've been making scrap quilts (free) using my stash for too long. All that thinking gave me sticker shock! It's moving time! My daughter and son-in-law are moving from our house to their new apartment. They are almost settled in and that means the kitties will go over there with them around the middle of next week. It's going to be lonely in my sewing room. Those are two quilt loving cats! As soon as I figure out how I'll post a few pictures of them and their antics.

On a yahoo list (Primfolk Applique) I belong to we've been talking about take-along projects. You know, the one you sew on while sitting in the waiting room or watching your kids games...for years I've been working on this yo-yo coverlet. I have three rows left to finish. There are over 3,000 yo-yos! The setting is Boston Commons. What is your take-along project? How long have you been working on it?

[ 11:48 AM ] [ Wednesday, May 17, 2006 ]

THE QUILTS have left the building!

Finally THE QUILTS are on their way! What quilts? All four quilts for my nephews and my sister (the Grandmother...well, the Mimi LOL) I made the three boys a YBR in fabrics that suit their personality. Colin's (10) quilt has a race car theme, Caleb (1) and Hunter (11 mo) get bright and crazy bugs, animals and shapes. Mimi's quilt is made with all the leftovers.

Today is my daughter and son-in-law's 8th anniversary. They are celebrating with a trip to the casino in Shreveport. My nephew and his wife are driving up from Lacombe to join them. Ok, where is this going and what does it have to do with THE QUILTS anyway? Well, I sent the quilts with Annie and Brian to hand over to Stephen and Nicole to take home. Of course I gave strict instructions not to leave THE QUILTS in the car just in case a renegade gang of quilt thieves passes by.

So, I hope to hear from the gang on Wednesday to say they LOVE THE QUILTS. I took pictures but had to use my 35mm instead of the digital since the battery was out of juice. That means no picture posting until I get them developed. How convenient since I haven't figured out how to post pictures with blogger.