I AM SO EXCITED! SEE MY TAIL WAGGING?

I have so much to show you in this post.  First, the swap block packages.  This one came last week from Mary at Stash Heaven.  She and Katie think they are really slick, LOL.

Do you recognize the fabric at the bottom?  That is the fabric Katie used as a frame for one of her swap blocks (and she said she didn't have any left).  Mary sent me two glorious yards!  I am going to have so much fun.  Thank you ladies!

I came home today and found two packages.  This one is from Marsha (Grandma's Quilts).  I love the fabrics in the blocks, especially the little pink mice and the blue frame with stars (I have a thing for star fabrics, LOL). 

Sorry about the picture quality, I told you I was excited.  You see the little heart block at the bottom?  I am not sure what it is supposed to be, but it is quilted, the heart is hand appliqued and it has a rickrack hanger on it.  I am going to use it as a chatelaine for my embroidery needles.  Marsha, I love it.

The next package came from Kathleen of Seventhsister26.

I don't know what is going on with the program, but I can't get the picture to center.  Oh well!  Do you see all those lovely pieces of fabric she sent me?  Thank you, Kathleen, I love them, but most especially the cow fabric. 

And that fabric is one of the reasons I am so excited, too.  I don't know if you remember my mentioning I wanted to do a train quilt in green, white and black.  I think I mentioned it on the APQ blog, but I didn't have enough transfers at the time.  Well, here is a little bit of the project:

I have transfers for twelve different trains that I am working on.  Not sure exactly how the quilt is going to come together, yet, but what do you usually see when traveling across country in a train?  Farm fields, pasture, woods and COWS!   See this fabric?   It was a serendipitous find.

And then Kathleen sent me this:

You see why I am so excited!  The quilt is designing itself!  Now I see green patchwork fields and train tracks.  Do you see the same thing?

I know some of you have been working the Snowbound BOM 'cause I have been watching.  Well, I have too.  Here are two blocks that I have finished:

I don't know how clear the pictures turned out, but the background is light blue.  I am doing raw edge applique and using close blanket stitch to tack everything down.  The stars in the one above were cut, as is, directly from some fabric I have (told you I like stars, LOL).  I am working on #l now and I have #4 all set up for stitching.  I think I am going to combine these blocks with some of my crocheted "snowflake" doilies mounted on blue backgrounds.

Do you like my projects?

Liri 

DID YOU MISS ME?

I haven't posted for a little more than two weeks.  You see, I have known since February 1st that my department was being closed on March 31st.  That meant my coworker and I were losing our jobs.  Truth to tell, I had been expecting this for over a year, but I wasn't sure when it was going to happen.   Our company had been sold to another owner last December.  The new owners started cutting and kept it up.  I have seen so many people come in at 8:00 AM only to be saying goodbye by 10:00 AM (this happened to my dear Luis), I really expected it would happen to me.  I am only thankful we were given warning.  It is a real relief not to have to worry about that anymore.  So I posted everything I could think of, emailed out what I could not, and started setting things up for the layoff.  Updated the resume, resigned with the employment agency that got me the job originally, took stuff home, trained some people to take over some of the duties that would remain and tried to keep my fellow coworker on the upbeat.  She'd been working for them for 34 years.  It was the only job she's ever had.  Very sad.  But, I helped her as much as I could.  She said she was going to take some time to rest.  I think, after 34 years, she deserves a rest.  I gotta call her.

I am happy to tell you that I have another job already.  I am to start on Monday morning and it is only one block away from where I was working.  Remember all the sudden layoffs?  There was an agent down the street that was snapping our people up as fast as they were laid off.  Well, they have snapped me up, too.  Of course, it helped that three people who have worked with me are also employed there.  They all put in a really good word for me and I do so appreciate it.  Things are looking up!

In the meantime, I have had a lovely two week vacation and have things to show you.  First up, I received this package the first week of April from Katie (Katiemaytoo):

Katie, I love the blocks and the chocolate was delicious.  I am saving the little keychain for something special and the little pincushion is going on my bulletin board.  Do you have any of that lovely black and white flower fabric left?  I could do so much with that, LOL!

Joanne (Canuckquilter) sent me these blocks:

All blue and white!  Love the frame on the second block.  Looks like big blue orchids!  I like these so much, I am very tempted to compose a blue and white quilt using these blocks as the center piece.

I finished the rest of my blocks, too:

I hope the colors came out clear.  My husband's screen has a yellow caste to it.  I am going to try to upload these to the Flicker group, but I don't know how well it will work.  Joanne, I will be sending out your blocks very soon.

Now, remember the Sunbonnet girl pattern I won on Ebay that I couldn't find because I put it "away'?  Well, I found it.  Is this not the cutest?

You should be hearing from me on a more regular basis now, especially since I figured out how to do all this on the home machine.  I don't know how busy I will be at my new job, but I will let you know how things work out.

Liri

TESSELATED WEDDING

Recently I have seen this book crop up in a couple of blogs:

They all think this book is fabulous and, I must say, they are absolutely correct.  I have had this book for over a year, now, and it still fascinates me.  You will find this quilt in this book:

It is called Underwater World.  Pretty, isn't it?   Now, let me introduce you to my dear friend, Luis and his wife, Andy!

Luis and Andy were married in June of 2009.  As a wedding gift, I made the Underwater World quilt.  Here are the fabrics I chose:

Do you like?   Here is how the quilt turned out:

The quilt in the book is a lap quilt.  The major tesselated pattern and first border fit perfectly on top of their queen-size bed.  The additional borders are the drape.  Matching pillow shams, of course:

I worked on this for 3 months and completed the quilt only a week before the wedding.  The shams got done a while later.  They love the quilt.  Makes my heart skip a beat.

Liri

MORE APQ SWAP BLOCKS

OK, here is another installment of 8 blocks:

Thanks so much for your encouraging words with regard to my imperfect blocks.  Please understand that I am not a perfectionist.  When I make a quilt, I expect imperfections.  I figure it is the nature of the beast!  If I give the quilt away (and so far, I have, every one), I don't expect the recipient to examine it with a microscope and broadcast all the imperfections.  In fact, I feel they don't have the right to criticize my work unless they can do better (and they don't sew, so they can't, lol).  Which brings me to these blocks. 

I know that you can do better, I have seen your work.  You all have the right to examine my blocks and point out the imperfections.  I don't want my blocks to be perfect for me, I want them to be perfect FOR YOU!   I am not stressed trying to make the blocks perfect.  In fact, I am regarding it as a learning experience and enjoying every minute of it.  Such a challenge, making blocks for fellow quilters.

That being said, I am so glad you love the colors and find them fun.  Theri cracked me up when she volunteered for all the imperfect blocks and, Love, you are a wonderful cheerleader.  And you are right, all of you,  perhaps I am too hard on myself!

So, how do you like this batch?

Liri

TWO MORE SETS OF APQ BLOCKS

Here are two more sets of blocks for the APQ Block Swap!

For some reason, some of my blocks are turning out less than perfect - the inside points don't quite meet perfectly or the outside block seams don't match as well as they should.  I wouldn't dream of sending those out.  So I have decided that, since I want a full-size bed quilt anyway, I am going to keep the less-than-perfect blocks and only send out the mostly perfect ones!  

Do you like these?

Liri 

FIRST SIX APQ SWAP BLOCKS COMPLETED

Well, here you go ladies!  Prepare yourselves!

Six down and 20 to go.  Do you like?  Should I tone the rest down?

Liri

EBAY ROCKS!

Remember way back when Mary blogged about not winning the chicken wall hanging pattern on Ebay?  I think she told you that Marsha had alerted her to the pattern and Mary, in turn, alerted me to what was posted because there were several redwork patterns up for bid as well.  (And everyone knows how much I like that!)  Well, I didn't win the patterns I wanted, but I did win a Sunbonnet Sue "tweener" (isn't that what they call 11-13 year olds now?) applique pattern.  It is really cute.  The dresses and bonnets are appliqued and the details are embroidered.  One Sue plays with a puppy, another is holding a watering can, you get the idea.  Unfortunately, I put the pattern away so I wouldn't lose it and then "lost" where "away" was, so I can't show you the cover.  Sigh...

In any case, for some reason I kept an eye on that particular vendor, and she (I am assuming it is a she) put up some more items.  I placed the asking bid on this embroidery pattern.  I think they look like the Campbell Soup kids.

Not too bad for $2.99, huh?  (Though God knows I don't need any more transfer patterns. I think it's a sickness, really I do.)

Among the other items up for bid, 3 caught my eye described variously as 6x6 inch Asian prints, 50 or 40+ or 49+ pieces and the asking bid was $7.99.  There was one bid on the 50 piece package.  I was pretty sure I knew what was being offered and bid on the other two.  There were no other bids and I won!   The package arrived yesterday.  Here is a sample:

I must tell you that I am thrilled.  These are exactly what I thought they were.  There are at least 90 6x6 inch squares and they are all different fabrics (well, there are 3 or 4 that have a twin) and all Asian prints.  I have some Asian print yardage that I have been accumulating, hoping to have enough to make a quilt someday (the fabric is really expensive).  I think I may have enough now, don't you?

Liri