So she loved her quilt...

Betsy and her quilt

A big picture so hopefully you can click on it and see the quilting...Judy quilted it with silver superior thread METALLIC...GREAT job Judy....



So she loved her quilt ....and of course you knew she would...
This is Betsy our birthday girl...well one of the three(three of us have birthdays back to back starting with mine on Nov.21, Rachel on the 22 and Betsy on the 23rd and we use it as an excuse to have a party every year... but the Betsy is having a milestone birthday.

We couldnt wait to give her the quilt. Ille and Connie hanging it...right under Betsys nose...she was too busy talking to Kay  to notice.
SOOO SHE finally noticed...

and she started to   cry ...and then she cried some more!
Kay had to lend emotional support to the very shocked Betsy!! She has reacted just like we knew she would....Ille and Betsy admiring the quilt
Just in case you didnt see it...heres another picture of it..The crowd gathers round to stare at the quilt...the some of the seamstresses just stood and stared at it...probably in disbelief that we had finished it in less than a month from beginning to end
Ille showing off the back of the quilt...amazing what you can get off the Hancocks Paducah closeouts...$4 a yard...and it matches the skater to a T..

Ille was in charge of rushing it to Atlanta for our friend Judy to quilt it...and then Judy quilted it and squared it up and then priority mailed it back to Marie and her mom Shelvy so they could put the binding on it..REMEMBER this was Thanksgiving weekend!

Betsy admiring the quilt yet again with help from Rachel...

Hurry up Rachel YOU ARE LATE:>
Betsy could NOT take her eyes off her quilt.....at dinner she sat facing the quilt so she could see it.....bytw she does not have a bed sized quilt...all the ones she has ever made she has given away.
So are we admiring the quilt ladies  or are we chatting??? I can hear Linda(in the grey) saying bad words about me and my blue metallic Superior thread that gave her fits...worked fine in my 180 LINDA:>
Definitely chatting...and its time to eat..HEY have you all served dinner yet???..great dinner ille...two kinds of lasagna, a jillion deserts, fabulous salad...now off to the Y to exercise one of those cream puffs that Nancy brought OFF:>

So would you believe its

done ..started as this on Oct 28 and finished by Nov 24...amazing what a wild group of women can do in a month...and have GREAT fun along the way

...quilted by our good friend Judy Lockhart...quilter extrodinaire...she took this pic too while it was still at her house....

BUT Marie and Shelvy have sewn on the binding AND a sleeve over Thanksgiving weekend...AND its all done...now to give it to Betsy on Tuesday...she will be sooo tickled...and we KNOW shes going to cry..our bad right:>

So the top is nearing

completion and we think its pretty spectacular...but then we would:>

this is a queen sized top and will be off to our friend Judy to quilt tomorrow....and may even have the binding sewn on it by this weekend...who would have thought it would get done that fast. It was a monumental effort...it took 11 people on one sunday afternoon, four people the next sunday and nine people last sunday PLUS quite a bit of homework on the part of some of the people to get it to this point. Ille will be sewing on the borders today...they are all buttonhole stitched in Navy blue now..that took me three hours just to do mine...the right hand border...

I told them anymore birthday quilts had to be started WELL ahead of the deadline....no more lets do it a month ahead of time...

the ice skater is coming along

still have to thread paint her hair and her face BUT most of her is done.. and what to do about the shadowing on her legs? ...they are getting a little stiff from all the fabric behind them...but there may be another set of legs in her future!!!



the blocks are all sewn together...there are still a few more icicles to sew together...next weekend is our deadline for sewing it all together...anyone want to cut the border>>


We all rushed upstairs for a birdseye view of the quilt from the landing...BYTW would someone please finish paintting the stair wall while u are up there? I KNOW you have nothing better to do....

Connie and Kay on the stairs approving the quilt....and Marsha sneaking down...does she have some polka dot fabric under her shirt???

SO what is left to do...oh LACES on the ice skates!!! NEXT SUNDAY Ladies at my house to sew the top together...BE THERE or be in trouble:>

So how much can 11 quilters accomplish in

THE CENTER MEDALLION
still needs its silver ribbon edge added around the medallion oval...right now its a squoval..thats a square oval...

one day??? Well if you are a member of the WWWQ-Wonderful Women Who Quilt- QUITE alot

we got all the EIGHTEEN blocks sewn together..the skates and stars fused to them.......nd along the way we had a great time...and are all completely wrung out with HOMEWORK to do...more border to piece, thread paint the medallion and add the silver edging to it...hmmm OH buttonhole stitch the skates

The cartoon for the center...when i was tracing the pieces off on the fuseable I forgot to reverse it so now the skater is going in the opposite direction ...oh well....

ILLE and Sharon cutting out the block backgrounds

the center medallion pieced and fused...SUE and KAY having too much fun cutting out the fuseables for the skates and stars

the paper pieced ICICLE border is well underway...its pieced on washaway paper to save time tearing out the paper when we are done and its randomly done...the icicles are all different sized triangles.........they will be straightened across the points to make the outside border

HMMM DO WE need a blue one next or a white one???

Rachel and Connie really need to get to work and quit having fun...no wonder they only got NINE of the icicle strips sewn:> Thats our presser Marsha in the background....she had FEAR of FUSING...we got her over that...
Ille was tickled because she got to use her press to fuse all the blocks...18 blocks fused in less than an hour...

Thank goodness for Madeline!!! We had to send Madeline out for more fuseables...great to have a teenager around who LOVES to drive and go to Walmart because we were just TOO tired to want to go...

So I have been designing a quilt

for a friends 60th birthday...she loves to ice skate...and this is the sketch so far...just a rough sketch of the design ...it will be a queen sized quilt...for the wall or for the bed...


we celebrate our bee members memorable birthdays with a quilt...Betsy is a sweety...and her birthday is NOV 23 so this one will be done in a hurry...and applique is fast...this will all be fused and buttonholed stitched...THe blocks will be scrappy backgrounds in blues ..as well as the center medallion background...

She loves to ice skate and works at the local rink giving parties for the kids...we will probably put our autographs on the stars...but possibly on the skates too...I HOPE it looks like the skates are twirling around...what do you think?

FOR SALE FOR SALE...

help me i am drowning in books...most are quilting books...a few drawing books..no more buying those....before i am drowning in them!!:>


SO HERE IS THE LIST:> Condition is listed on the expensive ones. Prices determined by what amazon is selling them for.

Shipping $3.98
If you are buying the $1 you must buy two to make it worth my time to mail them to you! Thanks.:>



$75 - Andersen, Charlotte Warr. Faces and Places. Applique techniques of this international award winning art quilter. Signed by author. Appliqué. Good condition.

$20 - AQS challenge series. Double wedding ring quilts: new quilts from an old favorite. Amazing adaptations of the double wedding ring . Good condition

$35 - AQS challenge series. Kaleidoscope: new quilts from old favorites. Versatile adaptations of this block. Good condition.

$10 THE Art quilt magazine Issue #11 – only one I ever got:<

$10 - Bailey, elinor peace. Put ons. Pin dolls from THE doll maker. $10

$10 - Bailey, elinor peace. How many angels can dance. 20 small dolls $10

$10 - Bailey, elinor peace. 20 pick pocket wearables. More pin dolls $10

$1 - Barber, Barbara. Foolproof curves: quilting with bias strips and continuous paper piecing.

$5 - Batt, Tanya. The fabrics of fairytale: stories spun from far and wide. The weaving of Fabulous worlds with fabric and stories. Beautiful story book with fabric illustrations.

$1 - Bawden, Juliet. The cushion book, creating pillows, bolsters, and decorative accents. $5 If you love pillows and making them…this is a fabulous book of extrodinary pillows.

$1 - Bird, Charlotte. Sew a work of art inside and out. For the fan of unique wearable art.

$10 – Black, Lynette. Dream sewing spaces. Organizing the chaos in your sewing room!

$5 - Browning, Marie. Handcrafted journals, albums, scrapbooks and more. Journaling at its best.

$10 – Buto. Shibori. Gorgeous silk shibori how to.

$25 – Colvin, Joan. The nature of design: a quilt artist personal journey. Excellent condition. The definitive book by this well known art quilter.

$1 – Reike, Ursula. Class Act quilts: 18 eclectic quilts by teachers and their students. Wide range of quilts from art quilts to pieced.

$10 - Craig, Sharon. Twist ‘n’ turn. Never know what to do with all those orphan blocks. Use this fun technique to make them all easy to set!

$30 – OBO -Dales, Judy B. Curves in motion: quilt designs and techniques. Ever wondered how to piece all those curves? Use Judy’s techniques to make it a snap. Almost new condition.

$3 - Dressed by the best: waearble art projects by ten well known designers including Lois Erickson, Maggie Walker, Mary Mashuta, Virgina Avery, Lorraine Torrence & more. Gorgeous wearables.

$3 -Eckley, Ginney. Quilted sea tapestries. Machine appliqué underwater scenes.

$40 – Eddy, Ellen Ann. Thread Magic: The Enchanted World of Ellen Anne Eddy (Paperback, 1997)the original copy. Great condition.

$20 - Edie, Marge. A new slant on bargello. Precision awesome pieced bargellos with the amazing Marge Edie. Good condition.

$10 - Edie, Marge. Bargello quilts. Her first bargello book. Out of print. Precision awesome pieced bargellos with the amazing Marge Edie.

$10 - Erickson, Lois Opening & closing. Unique closures for clothing. Known for her amazing wearables ….a jillion ways to close them!


$5 - Flynn, John. Feathered Sun: step by step. $1 All machine pieced.

$10 - Flynn, John. Double wedding ring:step by step workbook. $1 All machine pieced.

$10 - Hargrave, Harriet. From fiber to fabric: the essential guide to quiltmaking textiles. The definitive book. Easy to understand directions to test for fiber content, thread count, light fastness, washfastness, and shrinkage, storing quilts, batting selection charts & more

$1 - Hiney, Mary Jo. Two hour vests. A wide variety of vests all made in two hours. Another book for the wearable art lover.

$5 - Hopkins, Judy. Design your own quilt. Create quilts with your own person imprint. Take a ho hum quilt and bump it up to art category.

$10 -Hutchens, Rita. Totally tubular quilts: a new strip-piecing technique. How many ways can you make a strip pieced quilt?

$1 - Landman, Sylvia Ann. Make your quilting pay for itself.

$1 - Laurie, Jean Ray. Fabric stamping handbook. From the quilting diva

$10 -Lark Books. Quilt National: the best contemporary quilts. Eye candy for the art quilter. Out of print.

$1 - Leone, Diana & Cindy Walter. Fine hand quilting. Definitive hand quilting.

$5 - Libby, Shirley Sea and Shore. Paper piece any form of sea life.

$5 - Lund, Tricia & Judy Pollard. Classic Quilts: with precise foundation piecing.

$5 - MacGregor, Shirley. Treasure Underfoot: quilting with manhole covers, round 2. Applique inspired by the original manhole covers in Japan.

$60 – Marculewicz, Nancy Making monotypes: using a gelatin plate. Print making without a press. Excellent condition.

$10 - Marshall, John. Make your own Japanese clothes: patterns and ideas for modern wear. From the master of Japanese clothing. Definitive guide.

$18 - Masopust, Katie Pasquini. Ghost Layers and Color Washes. Amazing quilts from the master Good condtion

$30 - McDowell, Ruth B. Art & Inspirations. Signed. Amazing quilts from the master. Excellent condition.

$20 OBO Mori, Dr. Joyce. Sampler quilt blocks from native American designs. Some water damage in margins. Does not effect the directions. Sells for $60 on amazon. $20

$1 - Murrah, Judy. Jacket Jazz. The grandmother of the wearable movement…original book.

$65 - Nadelstern, Paula. Kaleidoscope quilts. The definitive book on piecing these wonders. Full of eye candy. Almost new condition.

$40 - Nadlestern, Paula. Snowflakes. $40 More eye candy for the quilter. NEW condition.

$5 – Nicolaides. Natural way to draw. Authoritative since the is it the 30s?

$5 - Noble, Maurine, and Elizabeth Hendricks. Machine quilting with decorative threads. Eleven easy exercises to teach you to work with decorative threads.

$20- OBO -Orban, Nancy. Fiberarts design book six. Eye candy. Full of amazing quilts. Good condition.

$10 - Oroyan, Susanna. Designing the doll. How to make her amazing dolls.

$10 - Oroyan, Susanna. Fantastic figures(doll series) More how to make her amazing dolls…

$10 - Oroyan, Susanna. Finishing the figure(dolls series) And even more:>

$10 - Packham, Jo. Where women create. Twenty creative female artists workspaces.

$10 - Packham, Jo. Create your own craftspace. Companion to Where women create.

$ 60 OBO - Parks, Carol. Make your own GREAT VESTS. 90 ways to jazz up your wardrobe. Price out of print book is skyrocketing. Great condition.

$1 - Pellman, Rachel and Kenneth. How to make an amish quilt. Definitive authority.


$40 - Piece of cake. Stars in the garden. Applique the piece of cake way. Good condition.

$1 - Porcella, Yvonne. Sixcolorworld. Creating hand painted fabrics & design exercises.

$5 - Quilt Lovers Favorites –Better Homes and Gardens

$1 - Quilters Travel Companion 8th Edition 2004-2006-definitive guide to quilt shops across the country. $1

$20 – Rankin. Fast sketching. How to draw what you see quickly and accurately.

$1 - Rodale. Perfect piecing. How to sew an accurate ¾ inch seam every time, innovative tricks for strip and string piecing, secrets for matching seams, five easy ways to make half square triangles.

$5 - Silver, Burton. Why paint cats. Did you know that some people actually paint their cats…gorgeous coffee table book.

$5 - Simmons, Judy. Creative marbling on fabric: a guide to making one of a kind marbled fabrics.

$5 - Simmons, Judy. Machine Needlelace and other embellishment techniques.
Singer. Fabric artistry. Explores innovative texturizing techniques like bubbling, crinkling and pleating, felting, pin weaving, trapunto, decorative stitching, devore.

$1 - Speckmann, Doreen. Adventures of Peaky and Spike. Piecing with the irrepressible Doreen

$15 - Speth, Pat & Charlene Thode. Nickel quilts. How to use up all those 5” squares we all have.

$40 - Sudo, Kumiko. Circles of the east: quilt designs from ancient Japanese family quilts. Almost new condition

$15 -Sudo, Kumiko. East meets west. Fresh new designs for quilt blocks with a Japanese twist.

$50 Sudo, Kumiko. Fabled Flowers. Japanese inspired appliqué. Almost new condition


$10 - Sudo, Kumiko. Omiyage. Balls, teapots and more.

$1 - Tauton Press. The new quilt:Dairy Barn National, 1991. Eyecandy

$1 - Townswick, Jane. Color blend appliqué. Stitch roses, orchids, poppies and more.

$10 -Visions quilt expressions…some signatures. Eye candy

$25 - Wada, Yoshiko. Shibori(paperback) from the Queen of all things shibori. Definitive guide.

$5 - Wolfrom, Joen. Patchwork persuasion. Definitive guide to innovative appliqué.

$20 - Wolfrom, Joen. Make a block any size. The name says it all. Almost new condition

A Challenge revisited and some daily drawings and a

a couple of daily sketches...well i did two of those last nite...
While doing the scissor challenge...i kept finding more scissors so SUNDAY i decided to fill up the other page with a pair of two of small scissors...the top pair is a pair of chicken scissors i bought for a friend who died...so I now have them again....and a pair of fly tying scissors...and my fiskars...
MONDAY This is a teapot that I have had for a while...would you believe we have teaparties with it...its drawn with derwent watercolor pencils in the small watercolor molie...


TUESDAY NITE- The Westminister dog show was on last nite so i drew a picture of Jazz lying in state on the new pillows like she had just won the dog show....she is best in show to us!!!

I also drew a series of very quick sketches of Tom kept trying to annoy big kitty thru the window last nite...big kitty cant get in and tom was rubbing it in...


My brother in laws bday quilt finished on Saturday...even the binding...its has wool batting...

A log cabin...going to add a small red border and a black and white polka dot with fused applique border...think it will be gorgeous...of course at the rate i am sewing that will take a year or two since all i seem to do is draw...i have not even bought a scrap of fabric this month...i must be SICKKKK ...if i dont it will be the first month in hmmm ten years??? Wonder if i can make it...half way there!

THEY ARE DONE!:>

As some of you may know I have been working away finishing up Jeff's , Connie and my collaborative quilts and I am thrilled to announce that they are done...next we are going to start a collaborative project...the whole thing from scratch AFTER jeff delivers the 25 pieces of art work this Saturday...

Reposting this one because the colors were soooo of in the last post of it...love the pink and black edges...and a couple of details of this quilt I love this one...I think it has my favorite patchwork on it...its a quilt I started in a class with Dianne Hires and was just hanging around not getting done so I gave it to Jeff and said slice it up...I could nt have done it but didnt it make a GREAT border for these powerful figures...DOING the Laundry...I also gave Jeff a piece of pick up sticks that I pieced at least a year ago...leftovers from a project or a reject from one ...he sliced it up..we added the strips donwn the middle and YOWSA this sketch quilt was singing...throw in that chartreuse stripey "sparkle" border and the wonky outside "binding" and this is one GREAT sketch quilt I think...I really like the droopy top edge on it...looks like a sheet hanging on the line to me....Details of this quilt...

Play day products -Tommy tulip and a quilt or two

What better cat to put in a post also about quilts than the quilt cat Tom himself...he helped pin quilts together all weekend..he was in quilt cat heaven...then he decided to pose by the tulips...I think this needs a little more work...but not sure what...more white in the eyes...have to find my white gel pen.....and I woke up thinking of a great background color BUT now i can not remember what it was...it will return right?

Okay so why was tommy so fascinated with DEAD tulips...we had driven him crazy all day with quilts...my friend Connie and I sewed together a turning twenty top and pinned it for my brother in law...my dh asked for brown...I had to perk it up a little with the green....I am thinking it looks like camoflauge? anyway everyone loved it....laid out on the kitchen floor to be replaced by Jeffs fabulous art work...no comparison...but you will have to come to the show in Aiken to see the paintings...:> my bad...but you can check his work out at his website...this is another posting of the card for the art show at the aiken center for the arts

He painted...while Connie and Rachel pinned Rach's FIRST grandchilds quilt...and its as cute as can be...I quilted it for her...piece of cake in a few hours...Connie fed us...we all went home exhausted but happy about 9 pm....me sneezing and kept saying I am not sick i am not sick i am NOTTT sick but with those kindergartners coughing and sneezing and flaking out all over the place i feel like grunge today...KERCHOOOOO...see my new bookcases??? dont they look great!!!

THe last two quilts are oldies but goldies...one recently quilted by that dynamo quilter Bonnie Hunter...awesome job...hope you can see it in the pic....this is one of the very first quilts i made when i started quilting again...almost cut my finger off making it with a rotary cutter...all the way across my index finger...but I saw some of my fav scraps of fabric in this ...alot of Hoffman batiks and flower prints...yummmy stufff......its huge king sized and will go to my moms if i ever have time to get binding on it...but HEY mom ...its here!!!!and a thread painting that I did of Santa who comes out just for Christmas...hmm then why is he still out:> Lazy me...havent put up all the decorations...maybe by june...hummmm maybe leave them up all year:>