More Quilt Sharing

My, but my friend Carla has been busy. With Gayle's help, here are three more of the quilts she shared at our last gathering. That's what happens when you retire, I guess, you actually get time to finish your projects!

We are really enjoying our lovely weather. It's great to have some daylight to be outside in the evenings after work. On the coast there are lots of clouds, "May gray" and "June gloom", but this is the best time of year inland. The clouds, if there are any, burn off quickly and it's not too hot yet.

When I'm not at work, I've been getting the house and yard ready for visitors since this coming weekend is the baby shower. Some people have this funny idea that I keep everything spic and span all the time, but really it's just because I clean the dickens out of everything before we have guests.

Besides the shower, we have our son's visit this weekend to look forward to. I have done "empty nest" before, but this time it seemed to hit me harder. We 've started to talk about downsizing our home and planning in earnest for retirement. I guess we really are getting ready for the next phase in our lives.

More quilts to share

Here, Barbara helps Andine show her cute ladybug quilt. You can't tell from the pictures, but the quilting details supply the antennae. Andine made the top and Barbara did the quilting.

Here, Carla helps Gayle show her new bedroom quilt, done in cool and crisp shades of aqua, green and white. I love the simplicity and calm of this quilt design, so perfect for a bedroom. Gayle quilted this one herself. Carla has a longarm for her own use and is teaching Gayle how to use it.

I'm glad I have my friends' quilt pictures to share since I haven't been doing too much in that area myself this week. Instead, I've been spring cleaning and planting some colorful annuals to spruce up the flowerbeds. My flower quilt is still on the design wall, but with luck I'll get in there today to work on it.

Flower Quilts

Here are some of the flower quilts we made in our quilt group. Still on the design wall at home, my quilt is a lot like Barbara's (above) with a green background and bright colors. It looks like everyone liked my idea of staggering the blocks. They do look more lively that way. Doesn't my friend Gayle's quilt look great in her kitchen?


Here, Andine and Carla show their quilts.

We had a fun day of sewing and sharing. Great food, of course. Our project this time was making postcards for soldiers. They will be handed out rather than mailed.
My soldier's quilt is still a work in progress, too, but I have until the end of June to get it mailed. Regardless of my feelings about the war, I think it is important to support the troops.

Finally checking in...

Hey everyone, I'm finally back in blog land, hoping to catch up a bit. Thanks so much to everyone who emailed or left comments, I've missed you too! Life has been a little crazy busy, as it is for everyone at times. Above is a little experiment with fabric painting and stitching, something I love to do. I am holding out on sharing some of what I have done because I haven't yet selected which piece will be the "journal quilt" for this year. I have been hanging around reading "Quiltart" and have committed to submitting a journal quilt in 2007. As an art quilter, sometimes I feel like I am just "dabbling", but really it is where my heart is and one day I will be able to give it the time it deserves.

Here are a couple of pictures of my handsome and talented son ( totally unbiased opinion of course) at his graduation party. Yes! he is a college grad now and I couldn't be more proud. (And no more tuition checks, yay!) The mug says " Be the change you want to see".

The world is his oyster, really. I hope with all the love in a mother's heart that the world doesn't leave him cynical and disillusioned. He has a giving spirit and great idealism. He hopes to work for a non-profit.

And, last, here is a picture of me with a couple of sister-in-laws and neices after a long day of making "baby shower' decorations. We are giving a baby shower for my neice Amy on June 2. The little bassinets will serve as serving baskets for our lunch and the "diaper cakes" as centerpieces. We are all so excited to be welcoming a new baby into the family!

I have been working on my "quilt of valor" donation and have improved the layout greatly by setting the blocks on point and adding more stars. Honestly, it was boring the heck out of me before, but now I think it is getting better. No pictures yet, but soon, I promise.