And Many More

Thank you for all the kind birthday wishes! Thought you would enjoy seeing  a couple of my presents. Stop right here if you are sick and tired of hearing about my birthday. (Not my fault. Sue -  you're the one who started this and let the cat out of the bag! LOL)

I needed a new pair of scissors. I received two! My daughter also bought the little dish and polka dot case in one of my favorite colors.

(Quilt: Papa's Shirts, Mama's Dresses Doll Quilt Club )

Sue B. gave me some beautiful antique quilt blocks. 

She has a set of blocks as well and we are going to put them together and make matching quilts  : ) 

You may remember that my daughter gave me a little "birdie" dish last year too. 

Perfect for pins.

I love pretty little ceramic dishes for my sewing bits and bobs and rings and earrings and such. 

Karen gave me a mini blue and white quilt patterned after the blue and white quilt she made for her challenge -

I got a real kick out of this tiny book my son bought for me as a joke - taken from an actual book on manners for wives published in 1913.  

Lots of good tips on how I can be a better wife (if he can possibly imagine a better wife, haha) - 

Honestly, I NEVER tell him about or bore him with the dreadful crimes our servants have committed during the day.  Wouldn't dream of it.

Where am I all the time?? The older I get, the harder it is to tell some days . . . .

My husband made me promise I would sit by the fire with him and sing to him every night. He said he would absolutely LOVE that . . . .

Julia made me a pretty blue necklace.

I got the mini Keurig I wanted.

All in all it was a good day. And, if you are rolling your eyes about now, I promise I will NOT mention my birthday ever again. Matter of fact, I might not even have one next year . . . 

Blue and White Challenge Quilt

We had a blue and white quilt challenge in my small quilt groups. Of course, I couldn't even think of not making something (blue is my favorite color).

Here's what inspired me: Some of you may remember my encounter with a mysterious coffee cups quilt awhile ago.  You can read about it here.  

Shortly after I wrote that post,  the mystery was solved.  I knew that a blue coffee cups quilt was in my future. This challenge was the perfect opportunity to achieve my goal.

I have to smile every time I look at it so it will surely end up hanging in my kitchen while I make my morning coffee, to perk me up. There will be a pattern available on my website soon so you can make your own. In YOUR favorite color.

Thanks to all of you who participated in this sweet little challenge! It was a joy to see the gorgeous quilts you made. Looking for quilting fun and inspiration? Join my group.

Sneak Peek

I'm giddy with excitement because there are some pictures of quilts from my new book up on Martingale's website.  This means we're getting close to publication, folks.

The book is due to ship to shops on December 6 or thereabouts. It's still a bit early but some of you have asked and yes, I will be taking pre-orders of signed books beginning in a few weeks. Check back here later. Also, talk to your local quilt shop about ordering books early. Some of them may be taking pre-orders as well. 

I have so many favorites in this book and I hope you will too. There will be a monthly "Club" in my small quilt groups beginning in January where we'll be making some of the quilts using the patterns in the book. Won't that be fun? (Yes, you have to buy the book in order to participate.) Quilt shops may be hosting Small & Scrappy clubs as well once the book is released. Always fun to do this in a small group of quilting friends. 

Hope you enjoyed seeing this sneak peek of  Small and Scrappy. They really did a fantastic job photographing my quilts.

September at Last

At my age I should not be asking for time to fly by fast but I am so ready for September and cool, cool weather. My garden has gone from bad to worse. If it's not hot hot hot here then it's raining. And my allergies are awful so I have not felt like spending time tending to anything in the front or backyard. Sad, but I'd rather be at the Chicago Botanic Garden, walking and taking in the fresh air and nicely groomed gardens there. 

Ahhhh

Guess my other excuse for not gardening is I've been busy quilting. I've still got two more quilts to hand quilt for my Papa's Shirts & Mama's Dresses doll quilt club.  You've already seen pattern # 1 from the club - 

Cherry Baskets 

Here's the quilt I designed for August - Pattern # 2 - Laundry Day.  

Don't you love it? Sue Bennett made this one (I picked the fabrics, she sewed). She even made a matching pincushion! Love to see quilters having fun with my patterns.

(Cute pincushion displayed with a few of the flowers that actually made it through the summer in my garden . . . .) 

Hope some of you are enjoying these little quilts. I know you are thinking -  Whaaaat? They're so-light colored. Where are the dark reproduction fabrics?? That's because the first two were from the hot hot days of summer (July and August) and if you look hard enough, the reproductions prints are still there, they're just lighter ones mixed with some of my favorite shirtings (lights). Don't worry -  the quilts in this club series get progressively darker as the seasons move along. (September's quilt has lots of reds and blue. And applique! October's quilt has some brown in it. . . . )  You can purchase the doll quilt club patterns here.

*   *   * 

I'm also working on finishing up a quilt for our small quilt group(s) challenge - which is to make a Blue & White quilt. (You'll get a real kick out of mine and I know some of you will want to make one for yourself. Maybe I'll make up a pattern.) We'll have an online show of the quilts on September 16. I've finished the top and still have to quilt it. These challenges are really a lot of fun. This time you can pick your own block or pattern and make it in blue and white. Simple is fine (sometimes better).  We had a great turnout for the Red & White show last December. Hope some of you will join us again. 

You've got 2 weeks - grab some blue and white fabric and go make something . . . .