A small gift for a neighbor....

A neighbor of mine who has been having some tough emotional times lately will be having her birthday at the end of this upcoming week.  She is one who really appreciates hand-crafted items as she is a crafter herself.  She loves to decorate with a beachy theme, so I made her a small topper for one of her tables or shelves.   (The shells were just put there for when I took the picture.)  She likes lighthouses, crabs, etc. and the back of the piece (which I didn't photograph...darn) has all kinds of sea creatures on it and you can see the lighthouses on the front, so she can really use it on either side.  I think she'll be surprised that I made this for her and will enjoy it. She doesn't read my blog, so it is safe to post this and not risk ruining the surprise!  (Of course, the pieces for this were cut entirely with the GO! cutter.)

4th of July sewing....

We had no plans for the 4th...and I had no work to do for my part-time job....so I spent the day making a table topper for us that I really like. The two photos here show a little bit of both sides of it.  (I like both sides enough that I will use it as a reversible topper!)  You can probably click (maybe double click) to see the photos enlarged.  I cut this with my GO! cutter...you know how I love that cutter. This might become a printed pattern and/or a class at the local quilt shop.  I'm glad this is now a finished project and not joining my UFO's!!!  I'm calling this one Vitamin C......because of the citrus fruit fabrics (as if you couldn't guess).

An update of sorts....

I have really been among the missing in Blogland...not posting much and not even able to keep up with reading other blogs and commenting on them.  I'm truly sorry about that.  My daughter is going through a divorce. She was married for 9 years to a man who was diagnosed a couple of years back as bi-polar (and won't stay on his meds).  He has had off and on alcoholism problems, too. She has tried so hard and given him more chances than most anyone else would, but it's time to call it quits.  (Verbal and emotional abuse to her and her daughter seemed to be bordering on physical abuse, so that was a sign that it was over.)  We have been back and forth to her place (nearly 3 hours from us) to help her move out (rental house....easier with them not owning property) and have been on an emotional roller coaster.  I have had our granddaughter for one week already and will have her a bit more over the summer because she enjoys time with us and also because there will be some blocks of time when her summer daycare isn't open.  So.....between all of that and also my part-time medical typing job as well as preparing for a couple of demos/classes on the GO cutter at the local quilt shop, time has just gotten by me in regards to blogs.  I can't promise it will get much better over this summer, either, but....at some point I'll be back on a more regular basis, so please don't give up on me...and please keep the prayers coming.  The picture posted here is a photo of a t-shirt dress my granddaughter made (with my help) when she was here last week.  She really seems to enjoy doing something on the sewing machine...and that made me happy, too!  She picked the fabric for the skirt and the gal who cut the fabric (and I) were truly shocked at her choice...we expected something cutesy and kid-like, but she chose something quite grown-up.  Can you tell she is proud of her work?

Get free patterns!

AccuQuilt is giving 22 free patterns to those who sign up to receive emails from them.  Whether or not you have an AccuQuilt GO! or GO! Baby cutter, it can't hurt to check this out by clicking HERE or by clicking on the icon on my right sidebar!  (And yes...to those who might wonder, I do get credit for all who sign up to receive emails by clicking there, so it would be helpful to me if you did that!)   You'll like the patterns, too!  And if you decide to get a GO! or GO! Baby, I promise you will LOVE them.  If you read my blog, you know I love my GO!

What name should I give this quilt?

This is a photo of the finished salad quilt top.  It will go to a friend in the area for long-arming soon.  Now that I've gotten to know a few long-armers, I have to spread the wealth around.   LOL   Anyway.....the photo was taken with a flash instead of natural light, so the coloring isn't perfect but it's pretty close. You can click twice on it to see it close-up.   I wanted the salad fabrics (lettuce...broccoli...carrots...red onions.....peppers...cucumber slices....tomatoes) to look like they were floating and I'm really happy with how this looks.  I cut the squares and the sashing out with my GO! cutter in a very short period of time (love that cutter!!!)   Since I was putting the blocks on point, I had to cut the setting triangles and corner triangles the regular, "old-fashioned" way with my rotary cutter, though.    I could use some suggestions for a name for this quilt.  So far, I seem to be stuck on "Balsamic Vinaigrette", but I'm not totally sold on that and am open to suggestions.  Who has some ideas?

The salad quilt is looking tasty!!!

I succeeded in getting 4 more fabrics I love for the salad quilt I mentioned in my previous post (and showed the first 3 fabrics for it there).  Here is a photo of the fabrics I got at the show yesterday to add to it.  I'm very happy with them!

 The show was very nice.  I really didn't buy much....just these salad fabrics and a few other things which I didn't take pictures of yet.  I'll do that soon and post them in a couple of days.  (Blogger isn't being friendly about posting multiple photos in one post lately for me.)   The other photo you see here (if it worked for me today) is of me at the show...snapped by my friend (and quilting partner), Kathy.  While at the show, I saw Pat Sloan first thing in the morning and got a hug from her.  Of course, we forgot to take a picture with Pat.  Oh, well.....I have a picture of me with her another time when I saw her.

I do have to comment on something...the traffic in that area around Washington, D.C., where we were yesterday is HORRENDOUS.  I don't know how folks drive that to work and back every day for years....UGH!!!   I was thankful we were on a bus and I didn't have to do the driving....that's for sure!

Quilt Show trip tomorrow!

Tomorrow I'll be on a bus trip to the Quilter's Unlimited show in Chantilly, VA.  It's a smaller show than most I've attended, but I've heard good things about it and have wanted to go for a few years now.  It should be a fun day.  I have a plan of what I want this time (many times at other shows I've gone and just wandered and bought things on the spur of the moment).  This time, I am looking for a yard of coffee-themed fabric for a good quilting friend, a belated b'day gift for another good quilting friend, and also some other fabrics to go along with those pictured here.  They will be for a salad-themed quilt for Christmas for my salad-loving daughter.  I think this will be another fun quilt for me...just like the snack-themed one I made for my granddaughter (shown in previous posts).