Calling all quilters!

The Lord has laid something on my heart.  As ya'll know, I have started a prayer quilt ministry at my church.  We are still small in size though, so quilts are not made very fast.  We are in the process of making a quilt now, and it has been taking a few months.  There is a little girl in Arkansas in need of a prayer quilt.  Her grandmother was my English teacher in high school.  The little girl's name is Kenzie.  She is 7 and has cerebral palsy. 

She is a sweet little girl who's family loves her very much.  The Lord laid it on my heart that she needs a prayer quilt now, so I would like to ask if anyone would like to donate quilt blocks to make her a quilt  she can use in her wheel chair?  I'll sew the quilt together and quilt it.  She loves pink, so I was thinking of making the pinwheels pink and white and purple and white.  Now, go ahead and use your scraps, so if you have colors that would match pink and purple, you are welcome to use those also.
I found an awesome, easy tutorial that uses charm packs.  A charm square is five inches square so just use five inch squares to make your pinwheel.  You do not have to use this tutorial as long as all of the blocks are the same size.  If you can help I would really appreciate it.
She just had surgery(She had to have hamstrings lengthened, groin muscle lengthened, and her hip put back in place. It involved breaking her leg in 2 places and some other work to repair the cup that the ball joint sits in.) and I would really like to get this quilt to her as quickly as possible.


If someone has some pink material or a pink sheet or pink flannel or minky or anything like that, they can donate for the back also, that would be awesome!
I was going to make the quilt crib size, if anyone has any suggestions, they would be appreciated, you can see how she "wears" her blanket from the picture above.  Do you think crib size is big enough?

Don't you love her smile?
Here is the tutorial from the Missouri Star Quilt Company.
 http://blog.missouriquiltco.com/update-on-the-easy-pinwheels/  The block finishes out to 5 3/4 when using five inch squares to start with.
Remember, this is a prayer quilt so please pray for her as you make the blocks.
Thank you for your help!  I would like to get all of the blocks by February 14, is two weeks enough time to make a couple of blocks?  (If I end up with extra, I'll just use them for another prayer quilt for another little girl, I hope that will be the only problem we have!)
Thank you!
Missy

Bright Granny Square Update!

I had two goals for January, the first was to finish the quilting and binding on my postage stamp.  I finished that, which I have shared with you!  To read my post about my goals, you can see it here!


My second goal was to finish the top of my granny square quilt.  I need 20 blocks for a twin size quilt (with borders and sashing).  I got a little side tracked with my scrappy trip alongs.  I still would have been able to finish it though, but I ended up being out of town for two weeks for my uncle's funeral.  I really wish I had taken it with me, but I just did not think about it and did not plan on being gone for two weeks!  I did get three more blocks done today however.  That brings my count up to sixteen with only four more to go!

Of course I had help, Tiger's tail is like velcro and sent pieces flying everywhere!  It took me five minutes to find that last yellow square!  (No, I don't eat at the table, when I have company over I scrub the table and use a tablecloth!)

I have really been enjoying piecing my blocks on my hand crank.  Let me give you a hint.  When you go to take your bobbin out, make sure your needle is in the "up" position!  LOL  I was tired and could not get it out, such a "duh" moment on my part!
I'll have to do a better job on my goals for February, I'll share those goals with you on Friday!
Missy
P.S.  Sorry about the awful pictures, I had to use the bed to lay out my blocks and I have terrible lighting in the bedroom. I also linked to Patchwork time's Get it done.

I'm home again!

I am so tired of going out of town!  I have never gone out of town so much before in my life.Since April, I have gone out of town eight times!  I'm ready to stay at home and rest for a while.  I won't have to go out of town again until April for the North East Texas TOGA (a quilting retreat for people powered sewing machines!)
I forgot to take any quilting with me when I went to Lubbock for my uncle's funeral, nobody expected it to take nine days to bury my uncle!  My brother in law had bought a motor home, and since I needed to sew something I offered to make new curtains for it.  What a sewing machine drama that turned out to be!  Since I was not at home, I had to borrow a sewing machine.  Saturday, my mom, my niece, (Johnna who is seven), and I went to Joann's for material.  We needed ten yards, and of course that can get expensive, I really wanted to use Route 66 material, but after adding lining it would have been too expensive.
We found four yards of this floral material on clearance for $2.50 a yard!  We found the striped material to match and bought the last of it off the bolt, 5 1/8 of a yard, after cutting out all of the curtains, I had just enough material!

I forgot to take pictures of the rest of them, I added the stripe to the inside to make it wide enough.  I'm not sure what rods he will be using so my mom has to sew the loops on the top.  I got everything cut out and pieces sewn together.  I was not able to finish them, but the only thing my mom needs to do is sew the hems on the curtains.
I had to cut the material using scissors, a collapsible yard stick and a crayon!  LOL  How I wish I had my rotary cutter with me!
Here's the drama part of this:  I wanted to iron the curtains on Saturday while I was babysitting Johnna, my sister was working and her dad was at a meeting - but I could not find the iron anywhere!
John gave me the iron when he got home.
My sister had to go to work after church on Sunday, so I figured I would iron the material then, the steamer was not working and I could not get the wrinkles out, so I had to wait until my sister got home from work and brought me starch.  I finally got all the material ironed, and started cutting out the curtains on Monday.  Tuesday I wanted to sew the curtains.  My mom's bobbin winder did not work on her machine!  (Stupid cheap Brother!)  I used what little bit of thread was left on the bobbin to start sewing the curtains for Johnna's room.  She found some material she wanted, and since it was only $2.50 a yard I bought it for her (actually her dad paid for it).  I asked my mom if Aunt Ginny had a machine we could borrow, she did, but  they did not give it to me until Wednesday evening!  I finished Johnna's curtains Wednesday night.  They matched her pink sparkly curtains perfect!

The funeral was Thursday and my sister had the day off, so I only finished the two biggest sets of curtains, I had to piece the front divider curtain, and I finished that except for the hemming.  I left Friday, oh did I mention I was as sick as a dog the entire time I was there? I even got laryngitis!  I have done a lot of sleeping since I got home and feel a lot better now.  I hope my  mom finishes the curtains for me after all of the trouble I went to!
I really wish I had been able to sew the whole time, it relaxes me.  I had to take the bus, next time I hope I can drive and I'll pack my sewing machine and material up with me!
Since I've been home I've been working on my Scrappy trip alongs, slow process since I've been sleeping so much.  I'll give a better update later!
Missy

Do you speak the language?

I am still in Lubbock waiting for my uncle's funeral.  It is a county burial and they won't let us bury him until Thursday, Nine days after his death!!!  Isn't that crazy, so my one week trip has turned into a two week trip.  I wish I had brought some quilting with me.  My mom let me borrow her sewing machine and I offered to make curtains for my niece and curtain's for my brother-in-law's camper, got all the material cut, and would you believe I cannot get her sewing machine to work?  Give me an old people powered sewing machine any day - they are so easy to fix!  I don't suppose someone lives in Lubbock who would let me borrow a machine for two days?  LOL
I had this sitting in my drafts and thought this would be a perfect time to share it!

Do YOU speak the language?? 

BOM = Block of the Month
DSM = Domestic Sewing Machine
FART = Fabric Acquisition Road Trip
FOB = Fear of Binding
FQ = Fat Quarter
HST = Half-Square Triangle
LA = Longarmer
LAQ= Long Arm Quilter
LQS = Local Quilt Shop
MAQ = Mid-Arm Quilter
OBW = One Block Wonder
PhD = Projects half Done
PIGS = Projects in Grocery Sacks
PP = Paper Piecing
QAYG = Quilt As You Go
QST = Quarter Square Triangle
RR = Round Robin
SABLE = Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy
SID = Stitch In the Ditch
SnW = Stack and Whack = pile up and cut all at once block pattern
Squishy=Envelopes filled with swap fabric or gifts sent/received in the mail
STASH = Special Treasures All Secretly Hidden
TGIF = Thank God It's Finished!
TOT = Tone-on-Tone
UFO = UnFinshed Object
VIP = Very Important Project
WHIMM = Works Hidden In My Mind
WIP = Work In Progress
WISP = Work In Slow Progress
WWIT = What Was I Thinking
WOF = Width of Fabric
WOMBAT = Waste of Money, Batting, and Time
WOW = White On White

Bonnie Hunter printed this on FB, and since I have been confused by some of these anagrams, I thought I would share!

I have a couple to add!
HQ = Hand Quilter
PPM = People Powered Machines
TO = Treadleon from Treadleon.net
HC = Hand Crank Sewing Machine
Tail = Electric Sewing Machine
TOBE = Treadle On Block Excange
Onion = people who are members of the treadleon.net site, basically anyone who uses people powered machines!

The hardest thing for me to figure out is the math on quilt sizes, I found this great chart that you can print off and share!
http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/images/PDFs/QuiltSizeCharts.pdf
It tells you how long to make your quilt depending on how much of an overhang you want!

Have a great day ya'll!
Missy

Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt

I just realized that I have not published any pictures of the quilt my sister got from our grandmother.  She got the grandmother's flower garden with the traditional green flower path.
For more of the story on these quilts you can go here.

I got the Martha Washington Flower Garden Quilt, which you can see here.

 I just love this quilt too!  My sister had it stuck in the closet when I came to visit because she was afraid it would get messed up.  I told her she needed to display it!  Quilts are meant to be seen or used!

I took some other pictures when we were at the hotel in Carlsbad Caverns, so excuse the ugly Motel 6 comforter you see under some of the pictures.

 I love polka dot material, and this brown is very pretty.  I've noticed my grandmother used a lot of brown in her quilts.

 She hand quilted and hand pieced the entire quilt!

 She had solid centers and a print for the middle petals and the traditional yellow for the centers.

 Aren't those huge green dots so retro?  Back then they were very popular though!

Unfortunately, this one has a burn mark also, just like my circle upon circle quilt does.

Here is some very good information on the history of hexagon quilts.  http://www.womenfolk.com/quilt_pattern_history/mosaic.htm

My husband got me a new quilting book for Christmas, Quilts from Grandmother's Flower Gsrden.

It has a lot of good information in it and I can't wait to make something from it!
I had told ya'll Monday that I was going to make a quilt for uncle.  I cut all the pieces out yesterday.  My mom called me this morning to let me know my uncle passed away last night.  I had planned to make his quilt last year.  If you are planning on making a quilt for someone, be sure to get it made, you might not have another day to finish it.
Missy

Sad news

Remember the baby shower cake I did here?

There was a tragic car accident on January first.  They were traveling back to Texas(from visiting family in Chicago) through Arkansas when they were hit by a drunk driver. Their two month old baby was killed in the accident along with a pastor in Little Rock and his grand daughter.  It was so sad.
In addition to losing their baby, their car was totalled, they lost all their Christmas presents for their three year old Olivia, who survived the crash, and are going to stay in Chicago because right now the mom, Becky, cannot emotionally handle coming back to Texas with all of the memories of her baby.  This means her husband needs to find a new job too.
My friend, Cara from A Time To Heal, is having a fund raiser for the family.  20% of all proceeds from her essential oils will go to the family. http://stores.mybutterflyoils.com/StoreFront.bok  She is running this though the whole month of January.
I love essential oils!  Lavender is great for burns and calming you.  It is also a great scent for soaps, air fresheners, sachet cases, to put in your fabric that is stored and make it smell good.
Peppermint helps with my asthma, is a great oil to add to vinegar and clean with since it is antibacterial, I put it in a diffuser and you can't smell my cats.
Cinnamon is great for killing germs and smells great also.  I use it mixed with distilled water for a mouth wash.
Check out Cara's blog for more information on essential oils.
I used essential oils in my hair rinse.
You can also use it in baking, but it is stronger than extracts so be careful!

All of this is to ask you to help this couple out by making a purchase through Cara's website.
I have a video to share with you, a memorial of the baby, Robert Cecola Jr.

Please help this young couple out in their time of need.
Missy

Design Wall Monday

 This week I need to work on my granny squares since I want my top to be finished by the end of January.
I worked on my scrappy trip along just a little bit this weekend.  My goal was to have four finished to show you on this post.  Quilting calms me and I was upset about something last night, so I pulled out my hand crank and was working on my Scrappy Trips while I listened to a sermon online.  I felt better afterwards, but my block did not turn out right, luckily I caught it before I had sewn more of it.  I love to use trays, it makes it easy to transport my block from the cutting table to the sewing machine.

 This one did not fare as well, I'm not exactly sure what I did wrong, but I'll have to figure it out.  My seam ripper is waiting on me to fix it.

 These ones I had finished Saturday night, so they are fine!  LOL  Can you see they are starting to get scrappy now?  I only had 5-10 strips of most of my fabric.  I'm trying to keep the strips in order as far as the colors go.  My orange is all the orange I have, so that row will probably be replaced with brown.  The purple row is some purple and some pink.  I don't think I have enough yellow for the entire quilt, I wish I did, I went yellows through that whole row, we'll see what happens.  The neutrals are easy, I have a lot of creams and whites, but they all look different.  I only had five strips of the birdhouses leftover from a previous quilt.  I have lots of turquoise for the turquoise strip though.  My only constant is the royal blue that will be running though the middle of all of the blocks.  I had 50 strips of that (I need 81 blocks) and a lot of other blues to fill in with.  It will get a lot scrappier as I go along!

I had planned on making a denim rag quilt for my Uncle Glenn for Christmas.  I learned last night that he was pretty sick and his COPD was really scaring him.  I decided I need to go ahead and make his quilt and send it to him.  I pulled out my box of denim and my box of flannel so I can get started on it.  All of the denim is washed, but I'll need to wash the flannel.

It should not take me long to finish since I won't be adding batting and I don't need to quilt it.
But first, I'll have to fix those blocks or they will be driving me crazy!
Have a great day ya'll!
Missy

Farm cake and party

We had a surprise birthday party for my friend Chrystal.  We had a country theme.  She likes horses, so I made a horse.  Her kitchen is in cows, so I made a cow.  They will be moving to MO and are going to raise sheep, so I made a sheep.  I had that cute mold for the lady that I put next to a haystack.  And of course the number 30 for her age.  I made a buttermilk layer cake, you can find that recipe here.

She was very surprised!

 I used quilts for part of the decoration.  I covered an ugly white bench here for her to sit and open presents. Julia made the birthday sign.

 I put out some board games and covered two of the back tables with quilts to sit and play games at.

I made her a table runner for her birthday and used it as part of the directions.

Making the cake, the table runner and planning the party has kept me pretty busy this week!
Have a wonderful Sunday tomorrow, I'll be spending the day in church!
Missy

Scrappy Trip Around the World

Okay, I succumbed!  I'm not much of a follower, there are just so many projects I want to finish, but I kept seeing everybody's Scrappy Trips Around the World and I just had to make one for myself!

I started cutting a lot of material into 2 1/2 inch strips.  I have a lot of royal blue material, so I am going to put that in the middle of all my squares to be my one color that ties it all together, so I guess it is a controlled scrappy!  LOL

I got the one block and three tubes ready to cut.

Then I made another block, so I now have 2 blocks made!

I wish I had more of that orangey yellow, I love it!
We also got the neutral great granny square basted today.

I also finished quilting and binding my penguin quilt!  I love how crinkled it got after I washed it!  My stitches are not even, but I can only get better!

Too bad you can't really see it.  I'm glad I went with the red binding, it really brings out the reds in the quilt.  This is my first quilt that I am keeping for myself!
I used a jelly roll for this quilt and strip pieced it.   Go here for a closer look at the penguin!
I have 79 more blocks to make for the trip around the world in order to make a king size quilt.  It's going to take me a while!  If you want to make one for yourself, here's Bonnie's tutorial!
Check out the flicker group too!
The scrappy trip is just like the postage stamp quilt, just one more step!  I'm glad I made the postage first.  I am loving 2 1/2 squares, they are in all three of these quilts!
What are you working on?
Missy

Design Wall Monday

 We got the top done for the granny square quilt for the prayer quilt ministry!

 Joeann embroidered our names(she misspelled her own name!LOL) and either a prayer or scripture reference around the inner border.  Tomorrow at the quilt along, we'll baste it and begin hand quilting.  Today I'll sew the back together for it.  The binding is going to be the navy blue from the black ground.

 I finished quilting my postage stamp quilt!  I did a stipple/meandering all over it.  (Pippi thinks this is her quilt)

I traced a few snowflakes, I wish I had put more. (You can see it better on the back)

Make sure that ALL pieces of fabric is picked up off the table before quilting.  The fleece attracts it!  Yep, I sewed it right on!  LOL

Just remember when looking at it, that this is my first free motion quilting!  I got bored with the meandering and wrote Missy loves Chris in one spot, another spot says Praise the Lord, I drew a cat's face in one spot, a happy face and a flower!  LOL  I was just having fun with it! I traced penguins from a cookie cutter around the border.

Here is the how the penguin looks after I traced parts of it.

 There are all kinds of mistakes, but it was my first time and this quilt is for me, so that's okay!  The next one will be better!

I'll give close ups of my "pictures" after I wash it.  Of course Pipp was helping!

 The only thing left to do is the binding!

My hand and arm cramped so bad from the FMQing, that the night I finished it, it was numb with pain while I was trying to sleep.  I could not get comfortable at all!  My husband bought me a pair of quilting gloves the next day!  He's so sweet!
What are you working on?
Missy

"New" Sewing Room

As I told ya'll in this post, we got an organ that was my daddy's and brought it home from AR.  We got home very late on Christmas Eve and had to get up Christmas morning and rearrange furniture because I wanted to put the organ where my treadle was and the treadle where my desk was and my desk went to the other side of the living room!
I was not sure I wanted to move my treadle because I had my quilt right behind it, but since I got this quilt of my grandmother's, I'm happy with it!

My dinning room table has my electric and the treadle opens up and fits perfectly on the table so I don't have to worry about anything getting scratched and I can leave it open.  I'm hoping this way I will start using it!
I had this green sewing machine cabinet with a machine that did not work.  I was wanting to put my Redeye 66 hand crank in it, but it will take some work, so for now it has my other hand crank sitting over the hole.

 Pippi (below) and Squeeky (above) love the quilt I put over my office chair.  They are ready to sew!  I have to keep something over my machine when I walk away because Pippi likes to pull the thread out, the little stinker!

Look what my husband got me for Christmas!  An Ottlite, they are selling them for $19 at Walmart!  (It was not this dark, it was because of the flash and the light being on at the same time)

 It works amazing!  As you know, I do not have a light on my handcrank or treadle, so this way I can easily move it to either machine.

I am really happy with the way my dining room sewing room looks now!  It is so much easier to use, I don't have to move machines out of the way to use other machines now!  When I have company, all I have to do is close the cabinets and my treadle is on wheels so I can just roll it closer to the green cabinet!  I have a towel under the lid on top of the treadle to keep it from scratching.  I had wanted to put my Redeye there, but it was too heavy.

My Redeye is in the corner until I can either get a base or convert the green cabinet.

Thank you for visiting my "new" room!  I just realized the last time I did a major rearrange of this room was last January!  LOL
Missy