A new beginning…..I hope!

 

Happy New Year!

Wilmalee

Blog Time

I’m going to try to get back to blogging now and again. At the very least there will be quilting posts, and of course pics of my dogs, and family.

To start out, here’s a mystery quilt from Merry Mayhem  I did with my sister on NY Day.  Love the way it came out.

 And this is the QAYG Hexies as was shown on the Missouri Star Quilt Show on YouTube. Great use for scraps.

I’m working on other projects that I will share when they are finished.

Fun to be back!

Wilma Lee

What I've Been Up To

Hello. Summer is almost here, Yay! It has been nice to get out and about and enjoy the sunshine. Our garden is planted, such that it is. We only planted tomatoes, green beans, zucchini squash and green peppers. Can't wait for fresh tomatoes. And I'm hoping the birds leave my blueberries alone.

Most of my fruits are in my recent quilts. 😎

This is a top I did in another Lori Holt Sew Along. Its called Sweetie Pie. 

This top was done with the centers cut from the flowers in the Sweetie Pie Quilt.

 I just finished making these strawberries today. I still need to sew on sashings and 2 borders. Love this one!!!  All 3 tops need quilting. Thats next on the list.

Mackenzie is making this as her next project. You can see in the next picture she has the squares sewn together. Her Aunt Patty Hall gave her the pieces in a kit. She's doing well. Tomorrow we will layer and quilt it. Then she will make the baby on her next visit.

I have always loved David Bowie and his music. It was so sad when I heard he died. A few weeks later I heard that the UK was coming out with a commemorative stamp set to honor him. One of my friends from Scotland, Betty Brook, was kind enough to order and mail a set to me. I plan to get a nice frame for them.

And, finally, my new do. LOL. It looked like that for 1 day, and I have not been successful at recreating the look.

Hope all is well with all my quilting friends.

Later,
WilmaNC

Here today, gone tomorrow

Here today, gone tomorrow. That can certainly be used to describe many situations. Like, how we had all that snow on a Friday, freezing temps on Saturday, then on Tuesday, all better with temps in the 60's.

That goes the same for many things in our country. Or maybe it's the opposite. I really thought racial and gender equality was a done deal. I always thought that when all the old people who remembered segregation and bigotry were dead and gone, that it would be a non issue. I guess I forgot that those people have children and that they teach those children everything they know. Now it looks like all the bad stuff will be coming right back home to roost. It's a sad day for our country. Hopefully we can overcome this also.

Quilts are also here today, gone tomorrow. At least they are gone from the UFO pile, and many times gone from our house to go live somewhere else. I have been reducing my finished quilt stacks by giving quilts for every occasion I can think of, lol. But I still have way too many.

This is my latest quilt to finish up. It was from  a Lori Holt quilt along done in 2016. I love the brightness of her patterns. And I love this quilt.

I mentioned in my last post that my GGD, Mackenzie, was going to start trying her hand at the sewing machine. She did so good!!!  She's a natural. 

This is a swag she made to let her get the feel of running fabric through the machine. . She was very proud. Her sister, Khloe, will learn the machine after I'm done with Mackenzie. (She was cold so was wearing one of my sweaters, lol. )

When she was finished with the swag, she made this little quilt. She sewed it all together. All I did was sew the binding onto the back so she could sew it down on the front, and I put her name on it.

Yesterday she came over and made this pillow for her sister. She did all the sewing on this. It was a printed fabric, but she quilted down the lines.

And for no reason whatsoever, here are my sweet dogs. The little one is Mona. The big one is Star.

Next on my agenda is making a couple of sets of the microwave bowl holders for my DIL. That shouldn't take too long. Then back to my sew alongs. In addition to the Winter Solstice, which is so very easy, I'm starting another Lori Holt project. It should be fun.

I'll keep you posted. haha.

WilmaNC

Brrrrr!!!!

We are in the midst of a very cold snap, although its warming up a bit, so I have spent lots of time in my sewing room. Yesterday the high was like 17F, today is going to be up to 36F, tomorrow mid 40's, Thursday low 60's  then Friday mid 60's. Gotta love the south.

Did the 3rd block in Pat Sloan's Winter Solstice sewalong. I guess I will stick with the blues since that seems to be the way I am heading.

Framed up the Moda Neighborhood quilt, almost done in the picture.

Here it is all done! It came out great. And I am so delighted that I quilted the whole thing without any thread breaks or tension issues. I love it when that happens.

I saw this posted somewhere so I thought I would give it a try. I am somewhat lax about labeling quilts, so when I saw this, I got excited. So easy and I like the way it looks. Next time I will add a little more info. I used my usual 2 1/2" strips to make the binding. After folding it in half and pressing, just program your machine's alphabet to spell out what you want. Sew it close to the folded edge, then be sure you have your binding pinned/clipped the right way so the letters are on the correct side. 

While I was rooting around I found this quilt half finished. The jars were done in a swap in 2003, and I know I pieced the top a couple of years later. I plan to finish quilting this on the Janome. I don't think an all over quilting would do it justice.

Oh, I also had time to knit a new hat. A friend had made me one with this yarn, but it was too big, so I unraveled it and made this one that does fit. I don't look good in a hat, but it sure does keep my head warm.

I saw these somewhere too. Tags to put on your quilty gifts. Kind of passive aggressive, but that's how I roll, lol.

I have to finish pinning this quilt on the frame then can get to quilting it. It was from a Lori Holt sew along from last year.

My GGD, Kenzie, is here for her first lesson on the machine today. I have a cute project and will show you when she finishes. We are both excited.

Have a great day!

WilmaNC

Just Sharing

Finished a few more things and thought I'd show you.

First, I totally finished the barn quilt and it's hanging on the wall. I just love this quilt!!

Finished a Moda sew along Homestead Hearth. It was so much fun to make. I'm going to go get batting today so I can get it on the frame for quilting.

Now I am doing the Winter Solstice sew along with Pat Sloan. Weekly blocks should be doable. It will be pretty.

Today is my 44th wedding anniversary. It seems like a long time, but then it also seems like yesterday. And I still love him! wow!

Us then:

Us now

Look exactly the same, don't we, lol.

Later,
WilmaNC

More projects

I said I would show you more of the things I have done lately. And since I am a woman of my word, here are a few.

My son gave me a kit to make this pin cushion for Christmas last year. I finally got it made. They even have these in a full size foot stool!! Don't think I will make one of those soon though.

In 2011 I started embroidering these barns to make a Barn Quilt. I found them a few weeks ago and finished the last 4. Now to make the sashings. Its going to be so pretty!!

I am doing the Moda Quilt-a-long, Be My Neighbor. It is a fun weekly project. Here are my first 3 blocks. They are 18" blocks, so the pieces are big. It's going to be awesome.

I have 2 pieces of "art", both prints of paintings. The big one was given to me by the artist, Kin Shogren, when I was doing home health care in 1990. It is one of my prized possessions. The small one is a little print by Sally Nixon. She did paintings of herself doing normal things that a girl does when alone. That is exactly me in my couch nest with my snacks, book, laptop etc within reach, covered by a quilt. It is a tiny print, 4", but I had to have it!

And finally, after watching way too many episodes of Fixer Upper, I wanted a wooden wall above my bed. We found the distressed white wood at a surplus store. The guy charged us 20.00 for the wood and cut it to size for free. WIN!!! And I love the way it looks.

I'm waiting for the cooler weather to come. This heat is getting me down. It's fall, technically, but we won't be cooling off until next week. I guess I can wait.

Take care all.

Later,

WilmaNC

Hello!!

It has been a while. My life has changed, the girls are back with their mom and after a summer filled with a lot of vacationing, things are getting back to normal. I have gotten back into sewing finally!! 

I really missed getting totally immersed in a project.

Heres a small table runner I made for fall. Cute and quick.

My first attempt at a Quilters Wallet. I learned a lot of things I will do differently on my next one.

This is a zipper bag my sister helped me with. I love it, and as on the wallet, I learned how I will do things on the next ones. I have 2 already cut out.

I have done a couple of other things that I will post later. Plus, Im doing the Be My Neighbor Quiltalong being hosted by Moda. It will be a fun project.

Its nice to be back.

WilmaNC

Could it be spring??

I love spring! Our daffodils are blooming and the weather is finally warming up. The only thing I don't like is stupid Daylight Savings Time.

That's how I feel. It needs to stop!!

On a sad note, a friend of mine, and an especially close friend to my sister, Patty, passed away recently from kidney failure while waiting for a transplant. It was so sad. The internet quilt group I am involved with, ABC Quilters, made blocks and I put them together for a quilt in her memory. I donated the quilt, plus another to the dialysis center near me. They were so happy to receive them. Dialysis patients are hooked up to the machines for an average of 4 hours, 3 days a week. They get very cold and always need blankets. Keep dialysis centers in mind when you have lap quilts to donate.

This quilt was a round robin from The Quilting Bee Forum.  

This is the quilt and label of the quilt by ABC Quilters. Jane will be missed by so many. She was a lovely person and an awesome quilter.

I'm currently making Itty Bitty Quilts from a book by Mari Martin. They are very sweet and quick. I'm making 2 extra sets for Christmas gifts this year.

January

February

March

Life's been good to me so far. (Did you sing that?? lol.  Hope it's good for you too.

Later,
WilmaNC

Sewing Room Moved Again!!

I swear, my sewing room has been in almost all the rooms in this house (I exaggerate) and now is right back to where it started. But I am very happy with this arrangement.

It is in the semi-finished side of the garage which has gotten much use going from Our room when we first moved here, then my sewing room, than grandson lived there, then it was a playroom for the girls, then back to grandson, and now back to sewing room. Whew. The best part is when it's all moved, for a short while it is very neat. You can see it for yourself.

The quilt on the frame is finished as soon as I get the binding sewn down. I quilted this top for my oldest sister, Joanne. She found it at a rummage sale and asked me to finish it for her. I expect a really nice birthday present from her this year. :) It's such a simple quilt, but pretty and a great easy way to use up a bunch of scraps.

I'm beginning to get more productive with cooler weather coming on.

Keep Warm.

WilmaNC