Just thought I would share a few pictures of the beautiful handmade snowflakes that I got from Barb K at our Christmas get together.  Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Best Wishes in the New Year from the line dancing chickens...

Wisconsin-Fall-Quilts-Friends - Does it get any better?!?

It sure was a treat to see so many of you last Saturday at the quilt get-together!!

It was fun seeing the variety of wearables -

Like my socks?!

   Knit sweater
 A fun apron or wearable sewing caddy....

 

Beautiful knit vest & sweater

                      

An apron with a story to tell!

Does this purse look good on me?! (:

Love this jacket - so fun!!

     Beautiful scarves.......

Ah..... such talent!

Trick or Treat?

Sorry, couldn't help myself :-D

  Blame the Harvest Moon!

T-Shirt Quilt - Ready to Go!

Not a really good picture, I realize.  None the less, the quilt is quilted, bound, and in a gift bag.  Jacob's birthday is this week, but he won't actually get the quilt until they come home for Thanksgiving.  I thought about sending it, but I really want to watch him open it. 

 

The next picture is the back label.  It is really so Jacob!

 

I have to admit that a t-shirt quilt isn't a favorite of mine, as far as putting it together, but I'm quite certain that whoever receives a t-shirt quilt really appreciates it for all those memories involved.



September Projects and Gifts

Yikes!  This is the second attempt at posting this!  Not sure what happened the first time :-(  It will probably show up twice now, fully illustrating my complete lack of computer skills.
This is a candle mat I made for my DIL in
Kansas.  I also gave my local DIL a fall candle mat from the pattern I shared with the group last fall.


This went together so well I decided to make three more. These were for my sister and sister-in-law when we had a get together in Appleton
recently.

The last picture is a pincushion made for me
by Wendy Schneider.  She is the best at finding
great items to upcycle!

Challenge Complete!!

I finally cut my challenge fabric recently & was able to get three small projects out of it - woohoo!!!

I love checkerboards, so I made a tablerunner based on a pattern I had seen somewhere & sketched. I quilted stars & loops in the big tan squares & cross-hatched through the checkerboard.

  With the leftover squares, I made a case for my Kindle:  I think the button (from JoAnns) is my favorite part. :)

I still had a little bit leftover, so I made a card case - for myself! I think I have made over 30 of these, but never had kept one.

Here's the inside of both cases - I adapted the Kindle case from a tutorial online - ended up changing it & adding a pocket on the left as well as a velcro tab to close it. 

These sure will be wonderful reminders of a great group of quilters & friends - Happy October!!!  

Grandmother Dorothea's Quilts

My grandmother was a wonderful quilter & I grew up underneath her quilts.  Although I never got to see her quilt or learn from her, I'm sure that's where my love & appreciation for quilts was born.  Recently, some of my cousins have been posting pictures of the quilts (& a couple of cute cat pillows!) they got from Grandma, too!  Thought I'd share them - did any of you have quilters in the family?

                                                  Arkansas Star quilt that my cousin gave me

                      I think this is a Dresden Plate but what about the other block design?

                                                                      My doll quilt :)

                                                               A cousin's log cabin quilt

 This one is interesting - 25 squares in each patch??  Not sure if this has a certain name??

                                 Double wedding ring quilt - my cousin told me that Grandma liked orange!

                                I didn't know Grandma made pillows & these are so cute!!
Oct. 1 update:

My Aunt added another quilt to the album - said that it was in her cedar chest as a surprise gift for her wedding in 1946 - neat!! I was wondering if anyone recognizes the pattern?? It looks vaguely familiar to me, but I don't know the name of it.

 This one is from my brother - he doesn't remember when or how he got it but it's another of Grandma Dora's quilts.  Looks like Tumbler blocks to me.

 What amazes me from this newspaper article is that the group made 32 quilts in one year - & I know they were all hand quilted!!! That's almost 3 per month - so impressive, especially when I think about everything else they had to do!

Quilt Group Meeting

Our Saturday quilt meeting was fun, as always.  The project was a pincushion that Mary had shown us a while back.  They are so much easier than they look!

I think they kind of look like water lilies!  I made one for myself, and one to use as a gift.  They are so fun to make I actually wish I needed more for gifts.  Thanks, Mary for sharing this idea.  We missed you on Saturday.  And I do hope Barb K. is feeling better, too!

Strangest project ever?!

OK - here's a question for you!!! What's the strangest, weirdest, or maybe ugliest project you've ever made, stitched or created? 

Here is mine - I just made fly boots for my sister's miniature donkeys! They help protect their little hocks from those nasty fly bites & are pretty expensive to buy. So - burlap, velcro, zip-ties & ta-da! We have boots!

Looking forward to hearing about or seeing pictures of some of yours - have a great week!

Judi

It is the end of summer and fall will soon begin.  So here is a fall project... the leaves are made of wool and it is for my sister.

Labor Day greetings

Hello, Friendship Quilters - Wishing all of you a nice Labor Day weekend!  Hope you have the chance to spend time with friends and family...and maybe sneak  in a little quilting, too!  I'm working on a t-shirt quilt for my grandson, but took a little time out for a few quick, easy projects that I will bring to our next get-together.  Here's a sneak preview -

 

 

I also have a wallhanging to go with this little table topper.  Thought I'd just share this one today, testing out the great blog Judi created for us.

Happy 20th Anniversary!!

A look back.......I dug out some old photos the other day to get a better idea of when our little group started - the beginning seeds were planted back in 1993 when 2 friends, Judi  (that's me!) & Kim , decided to form a Friendship Quilters group & taught our first class in the back meeting room of a credit union in Port Edwards, WI.  

Can you believe it?!?!  That makes our group 20 years old this year - woohoo!!!!  What a great way to celebrate by starting this blog so we can connect, share projects, inspiration & friendship no matter where life takes us!!

Our regular group classes started soon after, when The Cotton Thimble opened on West Grand Ave, Wis Rapids.  I remember Mary R in the early years just learning how to rotary cut - now she could literally cut circles around me!!! :D

Over the years, our friendships grew as much as our skills did.  We welcomed new faces, missed others when they couldn't make it & enjoyed projects & laughter.  Our annual picnic & UFO nights grew to be favorites - it was fun to have the whole shop to ourselves!!



 Another special part of our group was the service projects we did - a quilt for the Habitat for Humanity house (thanks Judy B!), a signature quilt for Marshfield's Hope Lodge, small pillowcases for children at the Ronald McDonald house, & pillows & totes for breast cancer patients to name a few.




  2011 brought more change - Barb S. took over being the group coordinator when I left to get married & start a new adventure in northern Virginia.  The group has found a wonderful new home as well, & Barb has introduced more fun & games along with projects.  Each person adds a special touch to the group, has shared ideas & experiences (& maybe a few patterns along the way, too!) & now it is time to add one more facet to the group - sharing online!! Inspired by Jennifer Chiavarini's book, "The Cross-Country Quilters", this Cross Country Friendship Quilters blog can keep us all connected & I can't wait to see what's next!!