May is almost over....

Well, May is about gone, and I think I finished all of the things I wanted to for May for Me.

Here is the quilt I made for the Quilt Book Club. It is all finished and given to the recipient. Fun and easy. I'm looking forward to the next one.

I gave this one to my granddaughter-in-law, Eva, for her graduation. She really liked it. Here's a pic of the label:

And here's a picture of myself, my grandson, Robbie, and other grandson, Cody, with wife Eva and baby, Carter.

I also got the top put together for the May for Me quilt a-long. I love the way this came out.

And lastly, finished today a block for a lotto in my little group, ABCQuilters. It's called Sarah's Block, I think. My sister Patty picked it out, 16" square. Very neat!

Oops!! Forgot one. I made this kite for Carter from a tutorial at Moda Bakeshop. It is so cute, I m going to make one for each of the other great grandkids.

So, I was quite productive this month, doing only things that I wanted to do, but then again, I usually only do what I want to do, lol. Ahhh, retirement.

Later,
WilmaNC

Making Quilt Labels.....

...without your own graphics program.

I needed a quilt label for a quilt I finished the other day. I usually use Paint Shop Pro for doing graphics, but that program will only work with windows, not on my Mac, and I didn't feel like pulling out the laptop, so...

I went to Avery site, the address label people. They have a really nice free program there to print labels of all kinds. I have used it for many sheets of address labels, small quilt tags, and even business cards.

You start here:

Then pick the category, Specialty Products

Then pick printable fabric sheet from menu.

It brought up this screen, which had the choice I wanted, something for a graduation gift. Click on the picture you want, or upload your own.

It brings up this screen:

Then you rotate and size the picture, remembering it will print on a 8.5 x11" sheet.

Add your text:

Then print it out on pretreated fabric ironed onto freezer paper. Voila, a quilt label!!

Here's mine on the back of the quilt.

I had added a few extra words, but you can get the idea. It was so weird that the one picture from the Avery site was exactly what I wanted and was even the right colors!!!!

No excuse for not putting on a nice label now, is there??

Have a great day.

WilmaNC

And the winner is:

I numbered the comments in the order in which they were made. (I can't figure out how to get them numbered already in blogger...)

Here are the prizes:

I used the random number generator to pick the winner:

And the winner is:

ROMA
Congratulations Roma.
I'll be sending you an email so I can send you your prizes.

Thanks to all who participated.

WilmaNC

Giveaway on 1 Choice for Quilting

Just wanted to give you a heads up on a new giveaway on 1 Choice for Quilting. There will be great prizes, plus the shop had great deals. Go see!!!

wilmaNC

Hipster dufus

First, just to let everyone know, I will draw for the winner of my giveaway on Sunday, early am.

Now on to quilty things. I absolutely hate carrying a purse, or even a shoulder bag ,(I hate the way the bag makes my boob pooch out, lol), and have tried many ways to carry my stuff. So, I finally had to make my own. I used bits and pieces from patterns of other bags I have made, and came up with a nice hipster bag. ( I always think of hipster dufus from Seinfeld...)

I sewed together strips of leftovers from that neverending Bliss fat quarter bundle, layered them and quilted to make a rectangular piece of fabric. I sewed the zipper in, then rotated it down about 3 inches before sewing up the sides and rounded bottom. I made a strap, then sewed the bag to the strap using the area above the zipper. the ends of the strap are connected with 2 d-rings. It workd perfectly, and it hangs right on my hips, and holds my wallet, keys, ipod, and cell phone. I am a happy lady, and my hands are always free.



Oh Oh OH!!!! Look what was in my yard a little bit ago....a storm with hail came through and left this in my yard just for a few minutes.

You could see both ends, but I couldn't get them in the same picture. Very weird. No pot o' gold though.


I will see you all on Sunday for the giveaway announcement.

Later,
WilmaNC

Self Portrait Quilts and a Giveaway

Tonya, from Hillbilly Handiworks, had wanted me to repost the guest post I did on Stash Manicure for May for Me, about my self portrait quilt. So here it is. If you find it too boring, skip to the bottom, I'm having a little giveaway!!

A few years ago, I was challenged to make a self portrait quilt. What came to mind was a mosaic picture of myself or a piece with my picture on it somewhere, but that just didn't seem to tell much about me, except what I look like. So I went another direction. Here is what I made. I will explain each aspect, and hopefully you will learn a little more about me.

                                                       

The background is the sky, as well as Tarheel blue, for NC.

The center square shows the things that are in the forefront of my life. The large AT symbol stands for the Appalachian Trail, of which I am a lover and supporter. I love nature, it brings me down to earth and makes me feel very humble. I think that nature also guides me in my choices in fabrics and colors, I don't look at the pattern per se, it just has to be pretty and make me feel happy.

The little red cross denotes my chosen profession, nursing, from which I retired in December after 32 years. ( I just can't say "retirement" enough, to which my regular blog readers can attest.)

 The infinity symbol, with the D (Dave) and the W (Wilma) is for the enduring relationship I have with my husband. ( 38 years). He totally supports my quilting and is probably responsible for 80% of the spending I do on fabric.

The elderly people represent the fact that we live with Dave's elderly mother, who is 89. When I made the quilt, his step dad was still alive too, and was the reason we had to move in here.

The sun. Well, what can I say. I love the feel of the sun on my face, even in the dead of winter.  I might have a few blemishes on my skin from earlier years, but if I couldn't go out in the sun, I might as well hang it up.

The little person on top of the mountain represents my love for hiking. At first glance of my physique, you wouldn't think I ever got off of the couch, but we hike at least once a week, weather permitting, for anywhere from 3-6 miles. Living in western North Carolina there is no end to the trails available. And the views from the higher elevations are spectacular. I always feel like Rocky when we get to the top. I even love hiking in the winter mainly because there are NO ticks and NO snakes. 

The little waving quilt tells it all for me. Quilting is in every aspect of my life. If I see a pretty view, I think what a beautiful quilt it would make. I can't imagine my life without fabric and quilts. I have made at least 1 quilt for each of my family members and friends, and have dozens in piles here at home. My sister asks me what I am going to do with them. (Hmmm. I always thought that when the electric grid fails, I would trade them for food. Without electricity, people will need quilts for warmth......right? ) 

The symbols in the border show things that have shaped my life in other ways. 

First, I am  Buckeye at heart, always will be, even though I have come to love NC. Where you are born and bred is where your roots are, it can't be changed.

The ecology symbol represents my passion for this planet, and making it sustainable for all of our generations to come.

The dove....well everyone wants peace, don't they??

And golf. We all have to have one cross to bear, lol. I love golf, but it is a fickle friend, and messes with my head all the time. But it is outdoors, most of the courses are beautiful, and it is very good exercise. 

So, this little wall hanging holds much more information about me than a picture ever could. Hopefully someday someone in my family will pull this out and have great insights into the life of Great Great Grandma Wilma, the one who made all the quilts. And with no picture, they will assume that I am beautiful!!!

I challenge you to make a self portrait quilt for yourself. Future quilting generations will be glad you did. 

GIVEAWAY

OK!!! Now about that giveaway. I hate the multi-posting requirements for giveaways, so all you have to do is leave a comment to this post. I will pick a winner before I do my next post, probably the end of this week. I will be giving away a charm pack of Bliss fabrics, plus a little key chain, and maybe a couple more little ditties thrown in as a surprise, so that this can be "May for You"!!

Hope everyone has a great week.

Later,

WilmaNC

Mother's Day

Thinking about my mom this Mother's Day weekend. My mom was the sweetest person, very rarely got angry, and appreciated every card she ever got.

She was widowed at age 30 and left to raise 7 children ( I was about 3 months old) with very little money. Plus her health was bad. She did a great job though, I think. I was the youngest of the 7 kids, so I never realized how tight finances were, as by the time I was old enough to care, most everyone else was gone, and it was a little easier for us. She died at age 58, way too young. I, and my sisters, still miss her every day.

Finished up some pineapple blocks for the block lotto, I love these. I won this past month, again, but I like these blocks so much, that I will take them if I win again, then the rest of the year I will donate my chances for others to win. Can't be too greedy, lol.

And now will start on the Book Club quilt for my grandson's girl.

She wanted light blue and black. It will be very pretty.

Plus, I'm caught up on the May for Me quilt along. I'm using a Strawberry Fields charm pack. I'm excited to see how this one will turn out.

Have to go to Weight watchers this morning. Hope the scale went down. 

Later,

WilmaNC

A Hike for Me

We did a little work around the house in the morning then decided we needed to play instead. Drove up to Julian Price State Park on the Parkway, and hiked a nice (strenuous) 5 mile loop called the Boone Fork Trail. Had a great day.

Was feeling pretty good about the hike, then got pictures from my son, the scientist, in California of his "hike" to the top of Mt. Whitney. Makes ours look like a walk in the woods, lol. And this from a son, who up until the past couple of years, preferred golf to hiking!!! I am so proud!! He's the one in the white shirt.

We're going out there for a visit in July and plan to do some hiking in Yosemite. Nothing like the mountain climb though, lol.

Hoping to get some sewing done today, but I think I will have to help with getting the garden ready. That shouldn't take all day though...

Later,
WilmaNC

It's May!!!!!

Well, May is finally here!!!! Now to concentrate on me. That shouldn't be too hard, lol.

I finished quilting 2 charity quilts before today so I could do my favorite part, sewing on binding, during this month.

I'm going to participate in the Mystery Quilt and Stitch Along, and also do a project with the Quilting Book Club.

I decided to read Great Expectations again, for pleasure this time instead of an assignment in high school. Good thing I don't remember any of it. I hope to finish it this month.

I think I will also have a little giveaway sometime during the month. I plan to make up a charm pack out of the leftovers from my Bliss winnings from earlier this year. That fat quarter bundle has really gone a LONG way!!!

So for now, that will be it.

Go see all the others who are participating in the May for Me and see what they will be doing..

Oh, I forgot a big important thing, continuing to stick to the Weight watchers program!!! I have lost 20 pounds so far and want to get to my goal weight by the end of summer. Don't think I can do it all in May, lol.

Later,
WilmaNC