Happy Thanksgiving

In spite of all of the commercialism, this is a great day to stop and count your blessings.  To open your heart and do something for someone else.   A small gesture (like a smile or a hello) can make someone happy.

Yesterday at the market the checkout line was long so I started a conversation with the person behind me.  We talked about how large the yams were this year and how good they are for you.  She said her grandmother used to bake them whole and put butter and sugar on them right out of the oven - which is how we used to eat them!  We shared a few more childhood food memories and it made me realize how much we all have in common.  The market requires that you bring your own bags (no more plastic bags) and she had forgotten hers.  They were giving away free bags with purchase so I gave her mine.  Pay it forward - booyah!

I follow Pat Bravo of Art Gallery's blog and she shared photos of her overflowing scrap bins.  She wanted to used them to make quilts to donate to Project Linus.  I make quilts for Quilts for Kids a few times a year so I offered to make one for her.  Here are the scraps I received:

So pretty all starched and ironed and sorted by size.  This was my first time working with her fabrics.  Thought I would have to add lots of solids to break up the scrapiness but only a few cream triangles were needed.  The collections are so well coordinated that it went together like magic!  This is the front.

This is the back.

So cute and so much fun!  I know that it will bring a smile to a child.  Well I have to wrap this up and do a little cooking.  My large and in charge family is gathering for a potluck at my oldest sister's house and I was assigned vegetables...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Love and light,
Patsy

I'm Back - Sort of...

Haven't posted in a while - just wasn't much in the sharing mood.  Our weather, along with the rest of the world, has been strange.  The photo above is a rose and some lavender that is starting to bloom in my garden today.  It's currently 73 degrees and they think it's spring - supposed to be 78 degrees tomorrow!  I'm wearing shorts, a tank top and flip flops in November for pete's sake!
 

This is a mess!  The president of our quilt guild is a wizard at making circles - not applique, inset!  She's an engineer and says it's easy.  She makes big ones, little ones, patchwork ones, ovals, etc.- she's amazing!  I sat down one Sunday morning and decided to teach myself.  Pulled some scraps leftover from our Habitat challenge and managed to inset 3 circles.  It ain't easy folks...  two snaps, a circle, and props to Latifah!!!  Can't let anything go to waste (waste not, want not), so I patched them together using the quilt as you go method (QAYG) so that I could squeeze in some free motion quilting (FMQ) practice.  The result in a small 18x24 quilt.  All of my practice pieces are quilted and bound and I use them around the house for my 2 cats to sleep on.  They keep them warm, catches the shedding, and adds an interesting artsy flavor to the room.

Speaking of Habitat - that Jay McCarroll is a hoot!  He skypped into our challenge meeting Monday night and we were able to share our items with him.  He must have enjoyed it because he kept cussing and telling each of us to bring our items "closer, closer" to the screen so that he could see the details.  Very funny, very talented guy.   Oh, I made pillows which I haven't photoed, so I'll have to post them another time.

This is one of the things I'm working on this week.  The fabric designer had barrels of scraps and wanted to make them into quilts to donate to charity.  I'm always up for making quilts for charity, so I volunteered.  This is my bag of scraps all ironed and sorted by size.  The top is almost complete and I'll share it with you later.   

Lastly, this is a quilt I made a few months ago.  Decided to start posting some of my earlier quilts to show my range.  This is my $.83 quilt.  YES, I SAID 83 CENTS.  The animal print was a remnant of just under a yard which I purchased for 83 cents.  The solids were from my stash.  The design is make with prarie points.  It is hand quilted with natural perle cotton.  My goal is to show that quilting is a craft that doesn't require a lot of money - just practice, practice.  I like it!  Take care and see ya later aligator!