Binding and Hexagons

Today I finished the binding on the table runner I made yesterday.  I love working with colorful batiks.  Such yummy colors!

The popularity of hexagons led me to purchase one package of hexagon papers and now I am trying my hand at this old-but-new-again piecing. 

(The blurry part  in the upper right hand corner must be my thumb.)

…and this afternoon….

I decided to use a package of batik charm squares that was gifted to me last year and make a table runner from a free pattern found at www.prairiepointjunction.com.
Trimmed and ready for binding….

Showing the backing….

With binding sewn down (hand sewing not done yet.) It is very colorful and was a breeze to make as it is quilt-as-you-go.

Also made some cards this afternoon, using my Cuddlebug and a new technique my cousin shared with me (the green card) and using some beautiful Japanese paper for the little flowers (white card).
It was a good crafty day.

So far this morning….

……I made a couple of Lazy Girl bags – a little gift for a friend who does not read this blog.  I think I will add some nice zipper pulls.

And I made a little Quiltsmart bag for myself to house library books and/or my Kindle.  I’ve made many of these bags and right now they are all in use housing knitted scarf projects.

The afternoon stretches before me and I’m not sure which project to work on next.  There are so many!  I can’t think on an empty stomach though, so first it is time for a salad lunch.

Fabric buys

While my friends were here we went to three quilt shops.  Even though I don’t NEED fabric, I felt compelled to purchase something at each store.  After all, I don’t want any of them to go out of business.  (Aren’t I wonderful?)

Some fabric to perhaps make a Modern quilt.

And some fabric to add to my Christmas stash.

Fabric can be so yummy!

Gift Quilts

Keeping a secret is not easy.  I made four quilts for my four friends that visit twice a year.  They call me the Queen and I call them my Princesses.  They have been coming for some 35 years now and we talk, laugh, eat and shop until we are exhausted and/or invigorated.  This year I arranged for a photography session in which I would give them the quilts I made – Christmas quilts.

Here are the gals with their quilts, and I am in the middle with the quilt I made out of gifted fabric from the photographer!  Notice that we are wearing our crowns.


There is always one crazy thing that happens each visit and this time it was our restaurant choices.  Wednesday night we ate at the California Pizza Kitchen at Woodfield, Friday night we ate at the California Pizza Kitchen at Deer Park, and Saturday night we ate at the California Pizza Kitchen in downtown Arlington Heights.  We kinda like California Pizza Kitchen!

Today I got a picture from one of the gals showing her quilt placed on the back of her sofa with Tiki guarding it.


What fun it is to surprise friends with the gift of a quilt.  I’m not rich with money, but I sure am rich with a wonderful family and wonderful friends.

Priceless Rings

My friends and I wearing our LED strobe light plastic rings.  We are always at the height of fashion.  (Thank you MB.)

It’s a different world

My friends are visiting and we are sitting around the breakfast table.  Now-a-days we have our iPads and Kindles at hand to look stuff up.

On my design wall

A very bad photo of what is on my design wall……

….a black and white tumbler quilt in the process of being pieced.
See more design walls at Judy’s blog.

Blog envy

Some bloggers that I follow post several times a day, some daily, and some weekly.  I envy those bloggers because they are consistent.  I, on the other hand, am very inconsistent, blogging in spurts and sometimes not blogging at all for weeks on end.  Not promising anything, but I really am going to try to blog more often…….maybe.

You see, it is embarrassing to blog about putting another jigsaw puzzle together when you have endless UFOs waiting to be finished. 

What have I been working on?  Here is my latest project – all ready to be quilted.  It is a banner for my church and will be used on Christmas Eve.

Some of the holly leaves are dimensional. There is a star in the center of the upper circle which will have gold thread hand sewn around it after quilting and maybe the flames also.  (For those that might not know, the three purple candles, one pink candle and one white candle make up what is called an Advent Wreath.)  I made the candles oversized because this banner will be seen from a distance.

Non-Reply

Several people have asked me about the pattern for my pumpkin quilt.  First of all, the comments were “non-reply” and when I was able to at least get to your blog, you had no email address listed.  I cannot answer questions if you do not give me an email address.  Either change your settings so that the “non-reply” is eliminated and it shows your email address, or send me a regular email instead of just a comment.

Also, asking about the “pumpkin” quilt is not specific enough.  There were pumpkins in three of the quilts I showed on my blog.  Which quilt are you asking about?

I will be glad to share information, so please give me your contact information.  Thanks.

Bonnie