Greatgrandma's Double Wedding Ring Quilt

Please scroll down to read my quilt's story!

Photos of Some UFO's

This is a Lattice Quilt...one of my favorites. Wait until I finish the piano key border with scallops!



This is a close-up of "Turning Twenty." I love florals and enjoyed dipping into my stash for this quilt. It just needs to be quilted.

TOO MANY UFO'S

I tend to work on several quilts at a time! Here are some projects I am working on:

• Lattice quilt (working on piano key border with scallops)
• Scrappy Trips Around the World (having lots of fun on this one)
• Log Cabin with applique flowers (blocks are pieced but applique has not been started)
• Red and White Checkerboard Log Cabin (just needs to be quilted)
• Block of the Month using Thangles (one more block to finish, assemble rows, add borders, and handquilt for a special baby girl)
• Patience Quilters Block of the Month Folkart Applique Quilt (just started)
• Scrappy Stars (two rows of blocks with pieced sashing have been completed)
• Beth's Photo Memory Quilt (quite an undertaking this one)
  
• Americana Quilt (almost done handquilting this one!) FINISHED!!!!!
• Monkey Maze Kid's Quilt (needs to be machine quilted)
• Red and White Square in a Square (needs to be quilted--would LOVE to get someone to quilt this in n overall floral pattern on a longarm machine) FINISHED!!!!!!
• Michael's 25-Patch Batik Quilt (hope to finish this one for his birthday or Christmas)
• Lindsay's Asian Square in a Square (hope to finish this one for her birthday or Christmas)
• Eli's John Deere Quilt (PawPaw chose fabric and has been bugging me to get going on this for months)
• Baby Lattice Quilt in 1930's Reproduction Fabrics pieced in diagonal setting (almost done piecing)
• "I Spy" Quilt
• Plus more....
  

Eli's Zoo Quilt

One of My UFO's

I started this BEFORE Eli was born and still haven't finished. I want to embroider his birthday, weight and height at birth, and place where he was born in the open space under "ELI" with my embroidery machine. I just haven't quite figured out how to use it!

Eli and His Sock Monkey

How I Met the Patience Quilters

I have been interested in quilting well, forever. One day I saw a notice in the paper that the Patience Quilt Guild met the second Tuesday of each month at the Methodist Church. I decided then and there that I would attend a meeting. Since it was 45 miles from my home, my overprotective husband insisted on driving me there (more about him in a later post). He said he would go to Lowe's (typical man) while I was at the meeting. As he dropped me off at the entrance, he asked, "Are you SURE you want to do this?" (like I was having liposuction, breast reduction, or some other elective surgery with the likelihood of serious side effects!) I said I would be OK...what could possibly happen to me with a bunch of ladies at the Methodist Church????? I'll tell you what happened...I have made new friends, improved my quilting skills, became involved in community service projects, and learned how to play "strip poker."

Strip Poker

Well, we played "Strip Poker" at our last quilt guild sleepover, and I won! Talk about beginner's luck!!!! I came home with a mountain of 2 1/2 in. x 44/45 in. strips. I used many of the strips in a donation quilt which turned out so cute... I just sewed the strips together in rows and even made the borders with more strips. My friend Jackie quilted it on her long-arm machine. It was given to a homeless child...I hope she loves it and keeps it always.

I Love the Patience Quilters

I'm so lucky to be a member of the Patience Quilt Guild...this is a great group of quilters, and I've learned so much from them. Not only have I improved my quilting skills, but I'm involved in a variety of community service projects. We make quilts for hospitalized children, homeless and displaced children, and patients in the Veterans Hospital. We also make a raffle quilt each year, donating the funds to worthy causes such as the March of Dimes and the Cancer Society, among others. We donate food and toiletries to local shelters, and school supplies to needy children. We have sleepovers (FUN FUN FUN), sit-and-sews, and classes taught by certified teachers where we learn new techniques. Something was definitely missing in my life until I met the Patience Quilters!!!!

Eli's Halloween Quilt

I had FUN FUN FUN making this for little Eli's first Halloween! You can't see it in the photo, but I machine-quilted it in a huge spider web pattern. My goal was to make him a quilt for every holiday. That didn't work out, but my daughter said he couldn't possibly use that many quilts anyway! Which makes perfect sense now that I think about it!

Eli's Sock Monkey Quilt

I made this quilt using the "square in a square" method (which looks a lot easier than it really is.) I don't think I want to make another quilt using this method (not my thing) but I just LOVE the monkeys! So does Eli!

Eli's Maze Quilt

This is my grandson's "maze" quilt. Can you find 2 different ways the monkeys in one corner can find the bananas in the opposite corner? This was intended to be one of the 5 donation quilts I promised to make for my guild's community service projects. One day as I was showing my daughter Lindsay the quilt, Eli threw himself on it, spread out his arms, and looked at me as if to say "THIS IS MY QUILT." Pretty good communication skills for a 15 month old with a pacifier in his mouth! When I showed the quilt at my monthly guild meeting, apologizing for not donating this particular one, my fellow quilters understood but made me promise to make another just like it!

Abbey's Quilt

Here is a quilt I recently made for my son's girlfriend Abbey. I enjoyed piecing and quilting this for the girl who has made Mike so happy!

Greatgrandma's Quilt Personified

Even though I'm made of feedsacks
And I'm tattered, old, and torn
You treasure me---you love me
You wrap yourself up in me,
And I surround you with my warmth.
I am your greatgrandma's arms and welcoming smile
I envelope you in my hug
I love you too.

Some Finished Projects

This quilt was made for my niece's daughter Lilly. I made this from start to finish during Hurricane Gustave, thanks to my husband who hooked my sewing machine and iron up to a generator! We didn't have electric power for five days, but I got to sew!




This one was made for my grandson's little friend Alexis. It was my first "crumb" quilt.

I made this "tipsy squares" quilt for my cousin Eileen's daughter, Aubin. It was fun and easy to make, and I loved working with the bright colors.

I had a blast making this pinwheel quilt for my cousin Rebecca's baby boy. I put it together quickly using leftover triangles from a sailboat quilt I had made for my cousin Emily's baby, Sam.

This "jigsaw puzzle" quilt was made for my cousin Emily's daughter, Grace. It was as challenging as a real jigsaw puzzle!

I guess you have figured out by now that I am my family's designated baby quilt maker!

The True Confessions of Carolscrapquilter

1. I buy too much fabric.

2. Call me old-fashioned, but I love florals, especially tiny rosebud prints in muted shades of pink, green, and off-white.

3. I have a vast collection of quilt magazines, and I can't bear to part with even one of them.

4. I spend more time dreaming about making quilts than actually making them.

5. I have too many unfinished projects. I intend to do an inventory and post my list of unfinished quilts soon.

6. I just gave away three unfinished quilt tops to reduce my list of unfinished projects.

7. Every time I actually finish a project, I start two or three more.

8. It took me over 26 years to finish a quilt for my daughter. I will never ever attempt another Grandmother's Flower Garden!

9. I prefer to make small quilts...bed-size quilts are overwhelming and rarely get finished.

10. My fabric and notions are not well organized. I tend to throw things everywhere, but I'm trying to reform.

11. When I'm not making a quilt, I'm thinking about making a quilt.

12. I'm obsessed with buying remnants and scrap bags, and believe it or not, when I get home I wash, dry, and iron every single little scrap of fabric. That's why I call myself "carolscrapquilter."

Witty Quilt Sayings...Well, I Think So!

When I come across witty quilt-related sayings, I usually jot them down on little scraps of paper. The New Year seems an appropriate time to gather my collection in one place. Here's a few I've managed to find stashed in various places in my sewing room...

"Life is a stitch."

"Any day spent quilting is a good day."

"To quilt is human...to finish divine."

"Give a quilter an inch...she'll think she's a ruler."

"May your bobbin always be full."

Quilters aren't greedy...they're just materialistic!"

364 More Days to Go

Well, I made it through January 1, 2009, without purchasing any new fabric, not even a fat eighth! I could scarcely bear to look as we drove by Hancock Fabric with its large, bold yellow banner flapping in the breeze announcing in large, bold black letters, "Half-Price Sale!" I almost said to my husband, "Let's make a fabric stop. Hancock's is having its year-end clearance sale!" But, then (almost too late) I remembered my resolution. I can't mess up on January 1! I've been down that self-defeating road too many times when my resolution was to lose weight! So far, so good, carolscrapquilter!