A great project to help with......

I ran across a great project that I can't wait to start helping with...The Mountain Baby Blankets Project hosted by Rachel Cox on her blog. It's now an off-shoot of the Christian Appalachin Project run in rural Kentucky. The main CAP project helps all the people in the whole Appalachia community, but Rachel has started a program to keep babies and children warm. Please go to her blog and read about how you can help by using up that "stash" and helping some kids in need. Click on these pictures on my side bar for more info.

Rachel also has some great tutorial and pattern links on her blog, plus some good recipes.

After you visit Rachel, stop over at Jenny's blog and see how she creates beautiful embroidered projects from photographs. She is sooooo talented!

I'm hard at work on several swaps for Easter. Ran out of time on my St. Pat's projects, so I'll have to finish them later, lol. When I'm all done, I'll post pics.

But until then...
Happy Quilting from Sharon and Katie

Swaps

Today I'm putting all my swaps in order, pulling patterns, matching fabrics, trying to play "catch-up" on all my commitments. Time to get back to what I love best--quilting.

Yesterday was Give-A-Hug Day at O'Susannah's Quilt Shop in Watkins Glen. We supply the woman-power and make the tops and Sue, the owner, supplies the fabric, batting, and long-arm quilting, and we make quilts for someone who needs a loving hug from a friend. Last month we made a child's quilt for an 8-year-old girl who was just diagnosed with cancer. She'll have a "HUG" with her during her chemo treatments. This time we made a full-size top for a woman that was so badly abused by her husband, she nearly died. Life is so unfair to so many people, that sometimes we need to stop and appreciate our own blessings.

We have been using the same charm quilt pattern from Moda. It's called Charm Tuesday and can be found at the Fat Quarter Factory. We cut down the size for children--roughly half the size of the normal pattern. It's a wonderful pattern for group sewing and works up really quick. We only sew from 10 am to 1 pm, and have about 8-10 people in the group, so you can see how fast it goes. And both quilts have come out great! I'll post a picture of the first one when I get it.

Another great blog for you to check out with some wonderful free patterns is Cindy Carter's Quilt Patterns From Seattle. Great ideas and nice blog. I've added her to my sidebar for easy linking.

Now back to work on my swaps!

Happy Quilting,
Sharon and Katie

I'm here in spirit only...

physically this has been a terrible month. Several medical problems, had to have a cat scan, and now hubby is hogging the bathroom with a bad bout of a gastro-intestinal virus (as the doctor calls it) or the "flu" as you and I call it. By whatever name, it's the PITS! And just as I was starting to feel better, I think he's making me sick again.

Hopefully we'll be back to normal in a few days, 'cause I've got lots of projects to get finished.

In the meantime, check out these neat websites and projects. Kim has a great St. Patrick's Day tabletopper for you to make.

The Moda Bake Shop has a great braided rug tutorial.

And Elizabeth from Oh, Fransson has posted a great stashbuster tutorial for ponytail scarves here.

Plus, there's a cute doll quilt coutesy of Alissa here.

I'll be back in a few days with pictures of the projects I'm working on. Until then, drink lots of fluids, get plenty of rest, and stay away from husbands that are sick!

Sharon

I’ve been tagged!

This is a first for me! I've been tagged by Toni, The Quilting Pirate, my one and lonely follower, lol! She's tagged me with the Honest Scrap Award! All I need to do for part 1 is reveal 10 facts about myself that I haven’t necessarily shared with anyone.

Does she really think I can come up with TEN things? I'm sure somebody will know at least some of these facts, I'm such a blabber-mouth it wouldn't be possible that I haven't told someone my life story! But here goes:
1-I played the coronet for a year. Trumpet, too.
2-My dad was in the Air Force and we lived in Florida when I got the mumps and we (Mom, Dad, me) were all quarantined at home for 3 weeks. (No vaccines back then.)
3-Spent the first day of my honeymoon throwing up from minor food poisoning from our breakfast.
4-Went to the Buffalo Zoo on my honeymoon.
5-I took Ballroom Dancing lessons in my youth.
6-Always wanted to own a Harley.
7-Both my husband and I were born in the same city we still live in and in the same hospital, but neither of my kids were born in our home state. One was born outside Philadelphia, PA and the other was born on a Navy Base in Maryland.
8-I'm running my first swap over at The Quilted Table Yahoo Group-kinda' scary, but fun.
9-I've been to more foreign countries than to states in the US.
10-I'd leave my husband in a minute if Sean Connery would come and whisk me away to the Highlands on a white charger.

Boy, that was hard, but this next part is easy!
I have to name five addictions I have: (only five?)
1-fabric
2-internet
3-reading
4-sewing/quilting
5-cookies

Whew! I'm glad that's over. Now I have to tag five other people.......but, would anyone even know they've been tagged? Let's see-if I'm the tagger, then they would be the tag-ees, right? Or would they be tag-ets? With only one follower of my blog, I'll probably have to notify my tagees myself, so they'll know.

Now who do I want to know more about? There's Tracey in Australia, who sent me lovely Christmas gifts in Chookyblue's SSCS 2008, and Catherine in Australia, who I sent to in the same swap. For my third tagee, how about Carolyn, who is in several of the same Yahoo quilt groups that I"m in. Number four has to be Monica, the Happy Zombie, who's blog has loads of great projects and pictures, plus she does the wonderful Moda Bake Shop site. And last, but not least, NorthernDeb, from my Block Central Happy Blocks group. Deb makes gorgeous quilts and is very talented.

Well that's my tag list--now I'm off to notify my tag-ees that they've been tagg-ed. (Sorry, I'm getting slap-happy and just couldn't resist.) How fun is this! Until next time.......

Happy Quilting,
Sharon and Katie

A Free Stitchery BOM.....

has just started on Willowberry Designs. It's a beautiful stitchery and only 10 blocks to make a lovely quilt. The January design is up now,
so hurry and get it before the February one goes up. I'll have to go over to DD's and take back all my old cross-stitch supplies. I have 2 or 3 colors of floss now, but I had to buy a cheapie hoop to start another stitching BOM. But with 2 BOM's to follow, I think I need to have my good stuff back. She's not using it anyway, so it will save me lots of money.

We've started an Easter/Spring Table Runner/Topper Swap on my Yahoo Group, The Quilted Table. The group is a spin-off of the Stashbuster Group. We're trying to challenge members to make a runner or topper each month. Then we'll have lots of nice things for ourselves or gifts all ready made when we need one. It's a good way to get a head start on Christmas gifts, too. This is the first swap I've ever run, so I'm glad it's a small group. So far we have 11 swappers in 3 countries. Signups close Feb. 1st and I'll email swap partners on Feb. 3rd. Then we have til March 26th to mail our runner/topper so that it gets to it's new home by Easter. It should be a lot of fun.

This afternoon I made a big pot of Chili for supper tomorrow and sloppy joes for today. I should have done all the cooking on Friday, then I'd have been set for the weekend. I've been doing a lot of ironing and cutting this weekend. Cut my Happy Blocks, cut fabric for a lap quilt for me, cut up squares for TWO Valentine hangings, and cut the appliques for my St. Pat blocks. Phew! I'm all cut out! Tomorrow I'll start sewing. Yayyyy!

Until next time....

Happy Quilting,
Sharon and Katie

Another new site

A great new online store, WINFABRIC.COM is giving away two yards of FREE FABRIC every week beginning January 2, 2009. Simply visit the site at http: //www.winfabric.com and enter the drawing. You could be the first winner! Plus, in addition to great fabrics at the best prices-5% off all purchases will be donated to charity. Stop by today and check it out. I did and signed up for the free fabric drawing.

Happy Quilting,
Sharon and Katie

MY MITTEN BLOCKS ARE DONE...

and were mailed out Friday. Since there's no mail today because of the Martin Luther King holiday,
we might just have our blocks all swapped and back to us by next week. I can't wait to see them all. I made 2 sets of 6 blocks, kept 1 and sent 5 on. Forgot to take pics of all of them, but here are the ones I kept and some extra ones. This was really fun to do and I practiced my buttonhole stitch on all the blocks. I left mine plain and didn't go in for any embellishments, but after I see what we get in the exchange, I may go back and add some buttons or ribbon trim to some of them. I have a free pattern from Quick Quilts magazine web site and another free one from the Quiltmaker magazine web site. Both patterns are cute and easy to do; I just have to see which one the blocks tell me to do.

Toni, the Quilting Pirate,
has started signups for her next Miniature Booty Swap Round 3. Only 25 participants this time, with a kitchen theme. So if you're interested, hurry over to her blog and sign up.

Stop in at Mary Quilts and see the picture of her Happy Block quilt. She also has a free tutorial here on how to make that quilt or a Twisted Happy Block quilt. I've been telling you for months how much fun it is to make these blocks, now check out the nice quilt they make. I'm adding pictures of my January HB's and my February HB's. They're so easy to make, you can't stop with just a few, lol.

The next project I have to start on is the St. Patrick's Day block swap on my Yahoo group, Quilted Angels. Those are due February 6th, so I have to get going on them. Anyone have any cute small applique patterns for the theme that they'd like to share? So far, I think I'll do a shamrock, a derby hat, a pipe, and a pot of gold. Need 2 more things, at least. I'd love a little leprechaun pattern, but so far I haven't found one I like that is not too complicated. The blocks are supposed to finish at 6 inches, and everything I've found has been way too big. I don't paper-piece yet, so that limits me in what I can do. If you have something to share, email me at quiltingmama20 at stny dot rr dot com.

In the meantime, I think I have just enough time to make a little Valentine's Day wallhanging.

I found another new site for you to check out. Quilter Blogs.com, where you can read dozens of quilting-related blogs from dozens of quilters in one place! Quilter Blogs scans the blogs in its database many times a day and displays snippets of the quilting-related blog on the updates page. They also feature a search engine for online quilt stores. You can search hundreds of sites for specific fabric, thread, quilt patterns, projects, and notions.

Until next time...
Happy Quilting,
Sharon and Katie

Another new BOM....

and a new website with darling patterns. Make sure you vist Anne Sutton's site Bunny Hill Designs and look at all her great stuff. Then check out her blog with a free new BOM and download the instructions and first block. It's darling! This looks like a totally different type of BOM. I can't wait for next month. Click on the icon on my sidebar to visit the blog. On Anne's blog are a lot of other free pattern downloads also. Of course I had to save them all! Now to start making a list for this year's projects I want to do....and add them to last year's list that didn't get done. Oh boy, more UFO's coming, lol. But how can I resist all these great projects?

Uh-oh. Katie says to get off the computer and into the sewing room so we can get some of these projects DONE, instead of just dreaming about them! Boy, is she bossy!


Until next time...
Happy Quilting,
Sharon and Katie

Great New 2009 BOM

Wow! I just found the neatest website. Ellie's Quiltplace. She is starting a BOM Calendar for 2009 and the first block and instructions are up. If you like little stitcheries, check out her site. The January one is a cute snowman. And they'll make up into little wallhangings you can change for each month of the year--how neat! Check out the link on my side bar and make sure you visit her.

There are also some great new quilts and blocks shown on Block Central. Make sure you check out the neat projects Kim is planning for this year.

Have to get back to sewing.

Until next time....
Happy Quilting from Sharon and Katie

Happy New Year !

My family's holidays are now officially over and I must say I'm happy to have some quiet time ahead. Time to regroup and take a look at the projects I didn't finish last year and see if I really want to do them now or just skip them entirely. I do know I'm going to cut back on my swap list. Too many deadlines, too close together, and I get too stressed. I really enjoyed all the swaps I participated in, but I have to realize I can't do them all, no matter how much I want to. I do love the Happy Blocks swap each month on Block Central, so that one I'll stay with. It's a great way to use up stash and try different theme combinations, plus I have orphan blocks for quickie gifts.

Toni's Miniature Booty Swap Special Holiday Edition was fun, especially when I found out that John (whose name I had) had me in Doll Quilt Swap 5! I had been reading his blog and watching the progress on his give-away quilt for ideas on the quilt I had to make for him, when lo, and behold! I received my DQS5 in the mail and it was John's! How funny to have each other in different swaps. When he got my MBSSHE quilt he sure was confused for a minute. And to make things more ironic--he's originally from New York, too.

This is the lovely quilt John made me for DQS5 shown by 2 of his darling children. And this is a closeup of the quilt. I love it!

Here is the quilt I made John for his MBSSHE gift. I used a pattern called First Snow designed by Chris Malone. This was a fun project EXCEPT for hand sewing on all those buttons! If I make it again, I think I'll skip the line of buttons and just use the falling snowflake ones. This is my label. I love making them on the computer now. I can personalize every one differently and use any colors I want. The hardest part was sewing them on, but now I've purchased the iron-on labels from Printed Treasures, so that problem is eliminated.

I received my gift in Toni's MBSSHE from Cheryl in Maryland-what a beautiful Christmas Card Holder. I put it to good use right away and hung it on my livingroom wall. Thanks so much, Cheryl; it's decorative and useful! Love it!

My gift to Bonnie in DQS5 was this little quilt made from 1 1/2-inch HST's in Fall colors. I had started a lap quilt and a wallhanging for myself from these colors in the Maple Leaf block, but never finished them. I had lots of these HST's left over, so I started laying them out in different ways. Next thing I know, they were pinwheels. I had a piece of fabric in complimentary colors with little flowers on it, so my "Pinwheel Posies" quilt was born. This is the smallest quilt I've ever made...it's only about 12-inches square. Those little pieces were really a challenge to work with. Bonnie emailed me that she really likes it, so I'm happy.

I was lucky enough to have my own personal Angel this Christmas, too.
Her name is Lisa and she lives in Australia. When Kate needed an angel for her Another Little Quilt Swap because someone disappeared, Lisa volunteered. And boy, am I glad she did! She made me the cutest little log cabin quilt. The colors are wonderful and I can't wait to hang it! Right now I have it draped over my stereo speaker so everyone can see it. It's funny, but when I checked the ALQS blog to see the quilts as Kate posted them, when this one was added I was really attracted to it and kept thinking "I hope mine's as neat as that". Isn't life funny sometimes-my wish came true. Thanks, Lisa, you are the best!

So from our home to yours, may your New Year's be bright and filled with good health and happiness. Until next time....

Happy Quilting,
Sharon and Katie

Merry Christmas !

Today is Christmas Eve and I already received a wonderful present! We got a Christmas card in the mail today from the sailor we "angeled" through Soldiers Angels. He is now safely home and will celebrate Christmas with his beautiful wife and children. Now that's a great present! If only all our service men and women could be as lucky.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if our battle-weary troops could be given a Christmas cease-fire like the troops in World War I?
On and around Christmas Day 1914, the sounds of rifles firing and shells exploding faded in a number of places along the Western Front in favor of holiday celebrations in the trenches and gestures of goodwill between enemies. Starting on Christmas Eve, many German and British troops sang Christmas carols to each other across the lines, and at certain points the Allied soldiers even heard brass bands joining the Germans in their joyous singing. At the first light of dawn on Christmas Day, some German soldiers emerged from their trenches and approached the Allied lines across no-man's-land, calling out "Merry Christmas" in their enemies' native tongues. At first, the Allied soldiers feared it was a trick, but seeing the Germans unarmed they climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with the enemy soldiers. The men exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings and sang carols and songs. There was even a documented case of soldiers from opposing sides playing a good-natured game of soccer. The so-called Christmas Truce of 1914 came only five months after the outbreak of war in Europe and was one of the last examples of the outdated notion of chivalry between enemies in warfare. It was never repeated—future attempts at holiday ceasefires were quashed by officers' threats of disciplinary action—but it served as heartening proof, however brief, that beneath the brutal clash of weapons, the soldiers' essential humanity endured.





I came across this and thought I would share it:

I had no Christmas spirit when I breathed a weary sigh,
and looked across the table where the bills were piled too high.
The laundry wasn't finished and the car I had to fix,
My stocks were down another point, the Dolphins lost by six.

And so with only minutes till my son got home from school
I gave up on the drudgery and grabbed a wooden stool.
The burdens that I carried were about all I could take,
and so I flipped the TV on to catch a little break.

I came upon a desert scene in shades of tan and rust,
No snowflakes hung upon the wind, just clouds of swirling dust.
And where the reindeer should have stood before a laden sleigh,
eight hummers ran a column right behind an M1A.

A group of boys walked past the tank, not one was past his teens,
Their eyes were hard as polished flint, their faces drawn and lean.
They walked the street in armor with their rifles shouldered tight,
their dearest wish for Christmas, just to have a silent night.

Other soldiers gathered, hunkered down against the wind,
To share a scrap of mail and dreams of going home again.
There wasn't much at all to put their lonely hearts at ease,
They had no Christmas turkey, just a pack of MREs.

They didn't have a garland or a stocking I could see,
They didn't need an ornament-- they lacked a Christmas Tree.
They didn’t have a present even though it was tradition,
the only boxes I could see were labeled "ammunition."

I felt a little tug and found my son now by my side,
He asked me what it was I feared, and why it was I cried.
I swept him up into my arms and held him oh so near
and kissed him on the forehead as I whispered in his ear.

There’s nothing wrong my little son, for safe we sleep tonight,
our heroes stand on foreign land to give us all the right,
to worry on the things in life that mean nothing at all,
instead of wondering if we will be the next to fall.

He looked at me as children do and said its always right,
to thank the ones who help us and perhaps that we should write.
And so we pushed aside the bills and sat to draft a note,
to thank the many far from home, and this is what we wrote:

God Bless You all and keep you safe, and speed your way back home.
Remember that we love you so, and that you’re not alone.
The gift you give you share with all, a present every day,
You give the gift of liberty and that we can’t repay.

-Author Unknown

"...this is an open and grateful tribute to the men and women
who serve every day to keep our nation safe."





In Love and Friendship,
Sharon and Katie

Happy Holidays

Today Hanukkah begins at sundown. It is celebrated with excellent food, an exchange of gifts, and the lighting of beautiful menorahs (special Hanukkah candelabras)
filled with brightly colored candles.

According to the Jewish Outreach Institute, "Many Jewish holidays commemorate events invested with historical and religious meaning, and Hanukkah is no exception. Hanukkah means "rededication," and it commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration by foreign forces. The celebration also reaffirms the continuing struggle to live by God's commandments and to lead Jewish lives. In a period of eight days, Hanukkah offers us a glimpse of the Divine, an opportunity to dedicate ourselves to all that is holy in the world, in our family, and in ourselves. We hope that the lights of Hanukkah illumine your path in the world, and through your life's journey."

Unlike some of the other Jewish holidays, which require intense spiritual reflection or elaborate preparation, Hanukkah is easy to celebrate. Spinning the dreidel is part of the fun. Take a minute, learn something fun, and join in part of the Jewish celebration. Click here to play. Then click on Spin the Dreidel on the sidebar.

To everyone who celebrates this holiday, many blessings to you in the coming year and a wish that we can all deal peacefully with each other.

Until next time....
Happy Quilting,
Sharon

I'm Baaaaack!

Sorry for the long absence, but life and illness got in the way for a while! You know you've been bad when your kids tell you you need to sit down and update the blog, lol. This is my official excuse--and I'm stickin' to it! So now I'm trying to catch up with everything at once.

Let's start with the ALQS swap. Kate emailed me to tell me that my quilt to Margaret in Australia was well received and that she loved all her goodies. I had fun making a wallhanging I called "Falling Maple Leaves." Since I live on a street with Maple in the name and it's mile after mile of maple trees, I thought the Maple Leaf block would be perfect for a Fall quilt. Those are my favorite colors, too! I also included a coffee mug with maple and oak leaves on it, some locally made maple sugar candy and fancy coffee, a FQ, and some post-its.
And of course, Katie has to be right in the middle of everything and put her stamp of approval on it! I hope Margaret's not allergic to cats, lol. But so far, I haven't received my quilt yet. I can't stand the suspense of waiting for it to come. Kate (that runs the swap) said it'll be coming along, to just be patient. Does she know who she's talking to???


My next project was the Halloween Trick or Treat swap. Here's the lovely package I received from Roslyn in the UK. A beautiful hand-made padded box, some Halloween pictures that I framed, a bookmark cross-stitched with my name, some yummy chocolates, pretty ribbons and charms, a tissue holder and tissues, and a darling cross-stitched pumpkin.
It was a wonderful package to receive and I starting using the box right away to hold my hand-sewing items. Thanks so much, Roslyn.

In between those, DD had her 40th birthday and we gave her a Turning Twenty lap quilt I made for her, among other things.
Then we went to Outback Steakhouse with her kids for dinner, 'cause that's her favorite place to go. I confess I love their cheese and bacon covered fries! I know they're so bad for me, loaded with fat and cholesterol, but once a year won't hurt, will it?

I was lucky enough to win half of the November Happy Blocks, so after the holidays I'll be starting a great fall quilt. The blocks I've been receiving are just terrific, so I'll have a wonderfully scrappy quilt when I'm done. Thanks to all the ladies who made them.

I mailed out my swap quilt for Chookyblue's Secret Santa Christmas Swap on the 5th of December, so it should be there this week. I hope the person likes it. Katie and I had a difference of opinion when I made it. She thought the decorations on it were for her to play with and bite off, and I told her they weren't! She doesn't like "NO" any better than my kids did, vbg. BAD KITTY ! This was a fun project and I love making my labels on the computer. I received my package for the swap from Tracy in Australia. She takes wonderful photographs and makes them into notecards and post cards and she sent me some of them. She also made me a darling round bucket, a small tote bag with a kitty on it that looks a lot like Katie, and a Christmas hanging pad. Also a zippered pouch that is perfect to keep my cosmetics altogether in my purse. A great package of gifts to receive!
I sent out my package for the Quilted Angels Secret Santa swap last week also, but I forgot to take a picture of the things I sent Debbie. I received a really cute pincushion basket that held lots of spools of thread and a Santa hinged box, with an ornament inside it, wrapped in a fabric bag just perfect for potpourri, from Kat in the same swap.

Next time I should have pics from the Miniature Booty Swap and Doll Quilt Swap 5. I promise it won't be so long before my next post. Until then.........

Happy QuiltingSharon