New cushions

A few years ago I found this adorable iron loveseat and table for the yard at an antique store in town. Between the weather and the neighborhood cats, the cushions finally started to shred.

So I covered them in this sale fabric I had in my stash. I had this little pillow I made from an old dishtowel and the setting was complete. Notice the lovely chalk drawing all over the table. Either Macy or Parker did that.

The cats will be staying out of our yard now. Buddy, our new dog will be taking care of that.

Too bad I can't do anything about the weather......

Trading

What do you like to trade with your friends?... Recipes?... Baseball cards?.... Quilt blocks?....

Yes! Quilt blocks! That's what my friends and I love to trade. For the last 9 years, a large group of us get together every July and January. We have a party where we have a wonderful potluck and trade our blocks and learn about the new block due in six months.

This month we did the apple block. I have about 60 now and here is just a sample.

Last January we traded these birdhouse blocks. I still need to make my blocks into a quilt. Here are a few blocks up on my design wall.

In these blocks we had to use Kaffe Fasset and Amy Butler fabric.

Christmas Houses. I made over 70 of these blocks. I used 9 in this quilt. I need to get busy and make more quilts out of the ones left over.

Flower Basket Quilt. I call it my Friendship Basket Quilt.

Red Posie Quilt.

This is a Nine Patch Block. We were to use 1930's reproduction fabrics. I put mine together for my granddaughter Brooklyn for her 3rd birthday. She is 7 now.

Black and White Stars. This one I made for my friend Eva. Hi Eva! I miss you.

Civil war block. I love this quilt. Why haven't I quilted it yet? Get going gal!

Autograph Quilt. We were to use men's shirts.

Blue and White pinwheel. I gave this one to my sweet daughter in law, Anita, for Christmas one year.

Maple Leaf Quilt. Perfect for the fall.

"Square in a Square" with batik fabric. I made this for my son Scott while he was in college. I don't know what he is doing in this picture, but isn't he cute?

The very first block we traded 9 years ago was this Bullseye quilt. It's the quilt everyone in my family likes to wrap up in while watching TV.

That's it. Those are the quilts that I have made from our group swaps. In January we are trading a block we call Confetti. We are supposed to use bright colors in poka dots and lots of contrast.

We trim our blocks after we trade. Should be fun and simple to make.

Through the years many of our friends have moved away, and new friends have joined our groups. These quilts I have made remind me of all my quilting friends and all the fun memories we've shared. I hope we all continue this tradition for many years to come.

Audrey's first quilt

My friend Audrey is about to have her first baby. She wanted to make her baby a quilt, but didn't know how...... so that's where I come in. When she was looking through all my many patterns, she came across this adorable chicken pattern and knew that was the one she wanted to make.

Then we played with my stash of fabric and she picked out the ones she wanted to have in her quilt. ( I'm showing a picture of part of my stash because, well, I just cleaned and organized it and I love the way it looks. It won't be long before it's a wild mess again). Audrey did the fusing and buttonhole stitching around the chickens and pieced the top. She wasn't quite ready for machine quilting, so I quilted it for her.

Last night was a baby shower for Audrey and she showed her quilt she made. Notice that she even changed the pattern to make it her own. Everyone loved it. Isn't it adorable? Audrey's pretty adorable as well.

For her shower, I made these baby blocks. My friend Jeanne Pryor made this pattern and it was published in the Quilts and More magazine (spring 08 issue). I cut my squares 4" instead of 3". They are easy and fun to make and babies love them. Who wouldn't? They're soft and squishy.

Quilting is such a wonderful hobby and craft, and it's great to get the younger generation interested. They add alot of creativity and youthfullness. I hope Audrey continues making quilts, and will ask me for help along the way. She was a great student and I am impressed with how well she did. It was lots of fun.