Crayon Quilt Challenge

We had our local guild meeting yesterday.  Our program was the reveal of our crayon quilt challenge.  We drew a color crayon last year and then were to make a quilt no larger than 30 x 30 inches using that color.  There were so, so many beautiful quilts.   We voted for a quilt in 3 different categories:  Best Use of Color, Most Creative, and Favorite Quilt.  I really had a hard time voting for my 3 favorites because there were so many amazing quilts.  After the voting was all counted, each person got up and told a little bit about their quilt.  I snapped a picture of each quilt and also one of the lady holding her quilt and telling about it.  Here's a direct link, if you'd like to have a look at all of the quilts: 
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/576333893myCesK

Here is a picture of my entry.  I didn't win any of the prizes but sure enjoyed working on this little quilt.

I didn't feel like this little quilt was quite finished because I wanted to add a few more woop-de-doos to the border.  Now it feels finished......and here it is:

What a Birthday!

I recently had a Birthday and it was one of the best ever.  First thing in the morning my husband, Rick,  greeted me with a couple of gifts I really like - he must have been paying attention to my chatter for the past couple of months.  One was a bee-proof hummingbird feeder.  I really enjoy feeding and watching the antics of the hummingbirds in our yard.  About 2 months ago, the bees found the feeder and swarmed it.  There were about 100 bees all around the feeder - yikes!  I went on the internet to find out what could be done and it gave me several ideas.  It said to dilute the sugar solution with more water than usual, which the bees wouldn't like, but the hummers wouldn't mind.  It also said that if I'd move the feeder even just a couple of feet, the hummers are curious and would find it, but the bees wouldn't.  Well I moved it to four different locations over the last couple of months and they've found it every time.  My last resort was a bee-poof hummingbird feeder, which I resisted getting because during an internet seach, it looked like it was going to be about $30-$40.  Rick found a bee-proof one at Home Depot for $10 and got it for me for my Birthday - what a guy.

He also heard me mention that I don't have a large enough set of dishes to have matching plates when my lunch bunch group comes over.  There are 10 of us and I have a set of 8 dishes.  He figured out what the name of the set was and got me a box with 4 additional place settings - what a nice surprise.

The day got off to such a good start and it just kept going in that direction all day.  I went to my Baltimore Album class so got to get lots of encouragement from fellow quilters, stopped and got an Italian Beef sandwich at my favorite Italian deli, got home and received calls and/or cards from some CO and AZ family and friends.  I'd just started working on my current Baltimore block when the doorbell rang and it was my granddaughter and daughter-in-law with yet another present - a family photo we took at Christmas time in a beautiful frame.

The Birthday celebration is still going on - love it when they keep going like this - today my good friend, Laura, took me out to lunch (Corner Bakery Cafe - yum!).  Then we came back to my house and played with the Wii Fit.  We had so much fun she wants to get one too.

Speaking of the Wii Fit - my Santa got me a Wii and Wii Fit for Christmas. I'm having a ball with it. So many fun games to do and get some exercise at the same time. My grandkids (son & his wife too) came over on Christmas day and we all played it together. Talk about laugh. I laughed so hard, tears were streaming down my face - especially watching my grandson doing the one where you flap your arms like wings to fly to a target. Oh my gosh, what a hoot.

Baltimore Album Quilt - month 8 - Misc. Blocks (ships, bird cages, and more)

This class fell in the month of December so handmade Christmas gifts, parties, and baking took precidence this month.  I decided to make a simple block just to keep the momentum going and will hopefully get to the block I really long to make, a bird cage, in the next few months.  Here's the little block I decided to make - cutwork baskets from Anita Shakelfords's book, "Applique with Folded Cutwork".

Baltimore Album Blocks - month 7 - Hearts

We worked on heart blocks for our seventh class.  Our instructor demonstrated how to make fabric roses and buds.  I made a heart that's called Filigreed Heart from Elly Sienkiewicz's "Fancy Applique" book and included some of the fabric roses on it.  I wanted to use a pale green fabric but I thought my fabric was a bit too light, so you guessed it, I tea dyed the green fabric, and now the color is just how I wanted it to look.

I have 2 more heart blocks traced and ready to go, but between a little surgery, and then getting gifts made for Christmas; only one is finished so far.  I'll add them in here as they're completed.