Quilting in the Garden

Quilting in the Garden is tomorrow in Napa, with a tribute to über quilter Yvonne Porcella organized by Pokey Bolton. I have a quilt in the exhibit:

I call it "A Toast to Yvonne - and to Strong Women Everywhere. "

What I'm working on, and Gramps is up!

I am busy working on a new quilt with a June deadline. I can't talk about it in specifics or show anything, but I hope I can say I am having lots of fun playing with fabrics. I love this part of the process!

Grandpa T, aka Gramps, is awake now, very active and busy wandering all over our back yard. 

Inside, the baby tortoises are celebrating his awakening,

As are Bob and Denise and Alex's babies, part of the same litter. They are visiting for the weekend. 

There is further evidence of tortoise love throughout the house:

Perhaps I have overdone it?

One more Quilt Con photo

Here's one more photo from Quilt Con, taken by Julie. That's me with the Tomato Traveler purse.  It sure was a great quilt festival!

I am working on quilts that I wish I could share, but you know the routine. I will show them when the right time comes. One is for the Flying Geese Quilters fabric challenge, "All Creatures Great and Small." The top quilts will be submitted to the big show in Paducah, so this is something to hope for. I've never been to Paducah, never even entered a quilt. 

The other quilt is for the Dinner @ Eight invitational. And then there's that Valentine quilt I've been meaning to make, for that sweet little Valentine in my life! Lots to do, and I'm excited about it. 

What I'm working on now

Yes, I have been working on quilty projects. I can't talk about them all, but here are some snaps that I can share. 

Sewing on label and sleeves. 

A little guy I finished recently. Mostly Guatemalan fabrics from Alpha. 

Baby quilt slowly progressing....

Another cockamamie project. Photo promised when it is finished. 

What I'm working on

As I said before, I am working on three quilts, two art and one baby. So here is a peek:

It still needs to be attached to the canvas frame. These are mostly Guatemalan fabrics from my centenarian friend Alpha, who passed away last year at 101. OMG, this woman had quite a stash! 

And these are blocks for Warren and Cia's baby. I will be making several more blocks. Windmill blocks, template given to me years ago by my friend Lynda. 

Pre-k Graduation in NY

While we were in NY, we got to attend our granddaughter's graduation from Pre-K. I was amazed to see the little tikes in real caps and gowns!

They were given their diplomas on the stage and celebrated afterward with ice cream. Then we went to Michaels in Watertown for a delicious dinner. 

Just a few more trip photos to go. Meanwhile, we are busy here at home. I am working on three quilts - two are art quilts and one is a baby quilt. I'm excited about them all and will share photos of two of them very soon. The third is for a juried show, so I can't talk about it yet. 

 

Spring Fling Blog Hop starts today!

The Spring Fling Blog Hop starts on Monday! This is the one where we show the wonderful things we made with Sizzix flower dies.  Here is the schedule.  That's me on Thursday, yay!

Mon, April 6 - Jamie Fingal

Wed, April 8 - Leslie Tucker Jenison

Thurs, April 9 - Cindy Cooksey

Fri, April 10 - Victoria Findlay Wolfe

Sat, April 11 - Sue Bleiweiss

Sizzix sneak peek

Here is my granddaughter playing with some leftover flowers I cut with Sizzix dies. I am making something for a fun Sizzix blog Hop coming up in early April, so this is just a sneak peek. 

She had so much fun with the flowers. There will be more info soon about the Sizzix blog hop, when you can see what I am making and Sammy's finished project, too!

Artful tour of Oregon

Here are a few random shots from our trip to Portland last week. The rooster was in the lobby of the hotel we stayed at in Eugene. 5th Avenue Inn was the name I think.

My friend Vickie also had a quilt in the Coming Up Roses exhibit at Quilt Knit Stitch, "Sleeping Beauty". Isn't it beautiful? I also took a photo of a quilt I liked by Berene Campbell, "Rapunzel Rapunzel." It was in one of the many other exhibits.


There's a photo taken on the Max as i crossed the river between The convention center and our hotel. We stayed at the Heathman.
And another photo taken of the piano at Pioneer Square. 

The last photos are of the harbor view from our tiny hotel room in San Francisco, and some of the favorite things I found at Quilt! Knit! Stitch! Valdani threads and a packet of cool fabric. I will add the name of the designer later.

What I'm working on

What I really want to talk about is the fun multi media project I'm working on for my First Friday Artists group. We each made a list of 5 things we would put in a box to signify us. Then we drew the lists out of a hat, to do with whatever we wish. It will be a gift for the person who made the list, so I can't share it now. But I will in December!

So I am posting photos of a group quilt I'm involved with for an auction,  for Flying Geese Quilters. I'm making embroidery stitches on the handles while we figure out how to quilt it. Suggestions?

Boston visit

After we left family in New York, we stayed a night on Cape Cod. Then we spent our final time in Boston. Our hotel room had a great view of the harbor.

One day we braved the subway system, the MTA, and visited the wonderful Museum of Fine Art. There was an exhibit of the Pilgrim and Roy collection of quilts. There was some framed art to complement the quilts. Quite nice.

Fiber festival in NY

I forgot to mention one of the highlights of our trip, a visit to a fiber festival in central NY, with Martine, Sammy, and friends Heather and Claire. It featured several tents full of vendors and exhibits, with yarn, roving, and lots of animals: sheep, angora rabbits, alpaca, llamas and goats. There was all sorts of yarn spinning equipment. Very interesting! One booth was about rug hooking and had a barrel of wool fabric scraps, so i stuffed a bag full. Perfect for quilting! Also I couldn't resist this pretty skein of yarn. I'm thinking hat and/or fingerless gloves. I took more photos of the fun.  This is just a preview.

Detritus from trip

Here is a pile of mementos from our recent trip to central NY and Boston.  It includes subway pass, tickets to the Museum of Fine Art in Boston, Colgate Inn info, etc. It was really fun, with a special birthday party, a trip on the Erie Canal, a visit to the Pilgrim and Roy collection of quilts, a ride on the MTA, and more. I will be posting photos in the coming weeks, so enjoy!