Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Cabins to Castle - Building Blocks Tuesday

The show was wonderful!  The weather was perfect.  Well, OK a little warm for my jeans, but absolutely beautiful.

The Blue Jay Quilt Walk 2015:

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And these are just the quilts that were on my side of the street (I was white gloving all morning)!

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The theme of this year's walk was "Cabins to Castles".  We were challenged to create minis in this theme.  Unfortunately, I didn't quite have time to make one myself, but my fellow guild members did a fantastic job.

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We had use of one of the storefronts for some of our smaller quilts, and since I am one of the members that really likes to make minis - I had my own wall!

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We even had an exhibition from the Mountain Fife and Drums!

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And let's not forget the Quilt Auction.  This was the first year that I was able to actually watch it!  Usually I am white gloving across the street, but this year I got to "Vanna" and help parade the quilts around during the auction.

Can you believe some of the quilts below were auctioned for under $100?

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Even so, we still met our goal of $10,000!  Every dollar went to Camp Paivika.

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My NY Beauty quilt, there on the right edge of the photo above, went for $240, so that is something!

And we had several quilts made my Tonee White.  There was some very active bidding on her work.  This one was my favorite of hers from the day.

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This awesome bear, made by Kim Everhart, raised over $500!  I think it is worth 10 times that, but hubby had me on a strict allowance for the day.  :(  I didn't succeed bidding on any of the quilts I wanted.  But, I will be better prepared next year!

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Now the fun is over.  Until next year!  (I hope you will consider coming).

This is what my Monday accomplished:


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What blocks have you working on this week?  I would love to see.  Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open until the first Monday of next month, but I will repost it every Tuesday until a new month starts.


Quilter in the Closet

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr and Instagram pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!


Thanks for reading,

Jen



Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Crazyland - Building Blocks Tuesday

Greetings from Crazyland!

We bee with it September

I'm beginning to think that "crazy" is the new normal.

We Bee With it September

I made these cute blocks for Bobbie in the We Bee With It Bee.  I rather like the look of them and bet they will make an awesome fall quilt.

Yes, things are still crazy around here.  I've got half of my floors torn out of the new house, and the guys are working on getting the other half torn out by the end of the week.   Trying to pretend all the dust is just pretty glitter that has lost its shine, hasn't really been working for me.  But, I will persevere.

This weekend is the Blue Jay Quilt Walk in Blue Jay, CA.  It is a lovely outdoor show in a small, friendly town.  There is also a really magnificent quilt auction to benefit Camp Paivika, a handicap camp in the area.  If you are looking for some amazing deals on quilts, this is the place to be.  I saw several quilts at the last guild meeting that I was drooling over.  This will be the first year that I will be able to actually watch the auction.  I only hope I don't go crazy and buy everything.  The hubby would NOT approve considering the amount of fabric I have.

What blocks have you working on this week?  I would love to see.  Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open until the first Monday of next month, but I will repost it every Tuesday until a new month starts.


Quilter in the Closet

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr and Instagram pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!


Thanks for reading,

Jen



Tuesday, September 15, 2015

One less problem - Building Blocks Tuesday

"I got one less problem without-cha! I got, one less, one less pr-o-blem".  Yes, my girls have been singing this lately and it is stuck in my head!  I guess it could be worse, we finally let go of "Let it Go"!

I actually did some sewing last week!  It really felt good and I feel like I have one less problem as I am caught up on all my bee obligations.  It is a good thing too; we started to demo all the floors and a few of the bathrooms in the house yesterday (because the fun never stops around here).  I may not get back into my sewing room again until next week.

These are the last of the kaleidoscope blocks for Katie.

Kaleidoscope blocks for Katie

I wasn't the only one glad to have some time in the sewing room.  Tookie was happy to resume her duties as my assistant.

Tookie with Blocks

Don't worry, Katie, I will be sure to make sure any extra "fuzz" is removed before sending these to you.

What blocks have you working on this week?  I would love to see.  Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open until the first Monday of next month, but I will repost it every Tuesday until a new month starts.


Quilter in the Closet

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr and Instagram pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!


Thanks for reading,

Jen



Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Cranky and determined - Building Blocks Tuesday

I know, it is Wednesday.  LATE Wednesday.  But I was determined not to post this week until I had actually sewn something!  Forgive me.


Mineral block for Ella


Now, why I chose this block to end my long hiatus from my machine, I will never know.  I mean, yes, I needed to make this mineral block for Ella in the Bee Hive Bee, but wow!  It made me a bit cranky making it.  This is not necessarily a difficult block.  The components are super easy to put together.  Sewing the 3.5 inch components together gets a little more intense if you want things to line up properly.  Really though, it was all the little pieces that got me cranky.  Not including the cutting of all those little 1.25 inch and 1.75 inch squares, it took me a little too long to make this one block.  I should have started out with something easier and more satisfying.  But hey, I guess it IS done and I can cross it off my list of "to do's".

What blocks have you working on this week?  I would love to see.  Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open until the first Monday of next month, but I will repost it every Tuesday until a new month starts.


Quilter in the Closet

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr and Instagram pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!


Thanks for reading,

Jen



Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Trapped in a Time Vortex or Am I Lazy? - Building Blocks Tuesday

I must be trapped in a time vortex.  That is the only explanation.  Here it is Wednesday and not only did I forget to post a new link up yesterday, I also never got to sit down at my machine and make anything as I planned to do every day since last Tuesday.  Where does the time go?

I do have some quilty pictures to show you though....

RW&B New York Beauty


Remember this UFO?  My Red, White and Blue New York Beauty.  I got as far as piecing the top together and just put it aside.  Most of my UFO's get to that point and stall.  I think it is because I always have grand plans to quilt my quilts very intensely and I it takes me a while to get up enough energy to actually DO it.  Or I am lazy.  It could very well be that too!

RW&B New York Beauty Quilt


I did not quilt this NY Beauty.  I came to my senses and determined that it may never get finished unless I just let go of it and let someone else quilt it.  This quilt was destined to be a charity quilt from the start, so when Debra, a fellow guild member offered to quilt it up on her longarm in time to finish it for the auction later this month, I said, "YES!".

I think she did a lovely job of it, and I feel pretty great that a pretty quilt of mine will be in the auction this year.  I usually have at least one, but I didn't have anything ready for this year.

Speaking of.....if you are in the Southern California area and fancy a quilty day of fun, please check out our guild's outdoor quilt show and auction.  It is Saturday, September 26th from 10 am to 4 pm in the little town of Blue Jay, CA (near Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear).  It is a great venue, and I love touring the quilts outside.  It gives the experience a completely different feel than if you go to a show in a convention center or museum.  The guild also has a charity auction starting a 1 pm to benefit Camp Paivika, an outstanding camp for handicap people (not just kids).  It always shocks me how little some of the truly amazing quilts sell for.  So if you are looking for quilts at a bargain, the auction could be for you!  Last year we raised over $8,000 for the camp, and our goal this year is $10,000.  I hope you join us!


Before I wrap it up for the week, I wanted to share a pic of our new family member, Reagan.

Reagan and I out for a hike


Our new home is situated near a bunch of hiking and equestrian trails, and going for a hike is one of his favorite things to do.  I keep telling myself that with all these hills, I will be my high school size in no time (it hasn't quite happened as I thought).  He is such a sweet boy.  Still not a huge fan of the hubby, but we have at least reached a point of mutual tolerance.  On the other hand, I thought we had reached that point with the cat too and she has been ambushing Reagan for a whack or two while he sleeps at night.  Poor puppy.  Wish us luck as time goes on.

What blocks have you working on this week?  I would love to see.  Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open until the first Monday of next month, but I will repost it every Tuesday until a new month starts.


Quilter in the Closet

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr and Instagram pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!


Thanks for reading,

Jen