Serendipity

I'm in a small group of 9 quilters who call ourselves "Spring Chicks" because the first time we met as an official group, it was the first day of spring. We did a block exchange last year and are now working on 2 projects: a Row Robin and a small art quilt. For the latter, we decide on a word to inspire the project we'll make every other month. This time the word was "Serendipity". We agreed the quilt would be 18" x 18".

As soon as I heard the word I knew exactly what I'd attempt to make. About 5 years ago, I received a lovely birthday card from my good friend Lee, with an image on the front I loved from the minute I saw it as it reminded me of her joyful spirit. In fact, I bought a frame for that card as soon as I received it and it's been in my living room ever since. This friend passed away a couple of years ago and I miss her terribly but that image makes me think so fondly of her and how she was always optimistic and had such a great view of life even though she knew she probably wouldn't be with us long. She passed away of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at the age of 61. I posted about a couple of quilts I finished for here here.

 The card's artist is Masha D'yans and I've reproduced her image in fabric, yarn and beads, for my own use and enjoyment which I'm sure won't upset any copywrite laws.

I think of myself as a traditional quilter but I try new things with fabric as often as possible to keep me from getting stale. Sometimes I try something that really works and it makes me feel like I've still 'got it', that you CAN teach an old dog new tricks. Being part of a group that is not intimidated by possible failure is such a growth experience--I highly recommend it! I actually learn and am inspired so much by the blogs I read from Judy's Design Wall Monday. I feel like it's one of my fun quilting groups!

Color Challenge

I'm just loving this challenge. I'm not making a quilt every month, just a block--the same block every month--and at the end of the year, I'll make a quilt out of it and donate it to the community service group from my quilt guild in Yuba City, CA.

I liked this month's colors better than any other month so far. Something about aqua and orange, probably the best combination of complimentary colors on the color wheel in my opinion.

Check out what everyone else has posted on Judy's blog!

A Commuity Service Day

First things first: Have you seen Judy's new and beautiful quilt on page 56 of the May/June '12 issue of Quiltmaker Magazine? It's a real winner--just like all Judy's quilts! Check it out here !

So, Saturday, my Calendar Girls group got together to make quilts for community service. Our guild makes over 200 quilts a year for the New Beginnings Birthing Center, for Foster kids and for the beds at Juvenile Hall in our northern California town. We decided to each bring a Jelly Roll and any patterns we had that used them and spend the day quilting.

The Sew So Quilt Shop generously allowed us to use their wonderful classroom (with really comfortable chairs!) and we worked from 10 until 4. I could kick myself for not talking more photos but I did get one of the top I made. I'd hoped to at least pin it before heading home but I didn't. Add another UFO to my list!

Good thing we decided to reveal our finished quilts at our next guild meeting and present them to the Community Service group. That will get me to finish it in a timely manner!!

Have YOU added your photo to Judy's Design Wall Monday yet?

Color Challenge Block

This is my color challenge for March. I'm making identical blocks then will put them together into a quilt at the end of the year. I have so many BOMs and quilt groups with project deadlines that a block is about all I can muster but I'm just LOVING this experiment in color.

I've recently become very fond of gray. You know why it's difficult to find a really true gray and not a brownish gray or a bluish gray? Because you use brown and blue to MAKE gray--not black and white as I always thought. Know how I know that? We painted our hose gray a couple of years ago and the painter explained it to me!

I sure am enjoying seeing what everyone else is creating with this color challenge that Judy has treated us with! Take a look and see what everyone else's blog has to show!

A Row Quilt

Have you ever done a Row Quilt? It's sort of like a Round Robin except instead of making a block and having a few borders sewn around it, you make a row and everyone else makes a row to go with it. Then, you put all the rows (usually 5 or 6) together and finish it. My Spring Chicks group started a Row Robin a couple of months ago and we had an exchange of our first rows recently. First, here's the one I made for Betsy: Her original row is on the top and the one I made, with the apple trees and fence, is on the bottom. She wanted houses and paper-pieced elements.

  

In this photo, Julie holds the row she made (on top) with my original row on the bottom. I just LOVE the kitties she made for me!!! These are MY kitties--Bobo and Tippy. It will be a bright, fun wall hanging for my foyer!

In my last post, you saw the center of this "owl" quilt I've been commissioned to make for my daughter's best friend's little girl. I've added the borders and am in the process of quilting it.  ***Thanks to Judy for treating us to Design Wall Monday!***

UFO #8 finished!

Number 8 was the perfect number UFO for Judy to pick! It was was presented to my daughter's friend for her third baby born March 1st. I put bright yellow Minkee on the back and turned it to the front to form the binding. I took a storybook panel apart for the blocks and made primary-color pinwheels as sashing. Little Oliver Roux (almost 10 pounds at birth!) is going to love its softness!

Quilt Show Success

My guild's quilt show was last weekend and I entered two of my quilts to be judged. I got a 2nd place and a 3rd place ribbon! The judging of the quilts was last Friday and I attended the all-day judging. If you've never watched quilts being judged, it's a real learning experience and I encourage you to do so. For one thing, if you've ever seen a quilt that has a ribbon on it and wonder why in the world it won, you'll learn why and, on the other hand, if you've ever seen an amazing quilt with no ribbon on it and wondered why they didn't win, you'll learn why that happens too.

Remember the Civil War quilt I started last year for my Civil War buff husband? The one on which I hand-appliqued 150 leaves on to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War? I finished it and gave it to him for CHRISTMAS and he LOVES it. The 2nd place ribbon you see is proof that the judge did too! (The quilt that won first place in the same division ended up with Best of Show so I'm very happy).

Did you take a look at all the other great quilts on Judy's Design Wall Monday?