Working on the Border....

The New York Beauty may soon get a border!  I have made a decision {pretty sure anyway}....

To mimic the pointy parts of the block....I want a pointy border....

I drafted this pattern so that it would fit between two {NYB} quarter blocks on each end....

So it is a 10 inch finished border...

And will be flanked by quarter blocks....at least that is the plan....

Still working on the hexagons....if you haven't tried them yet....give them a try! They are cute little stinkers :)

The weekend is almost here!!!!  YAY!  I get to go to work....which for me is too much fun!

mary 

Hanging....

I have finished 4 blocks of the New York Beauty and that may be all I do....but I am still hanging on what to do with the borders....I need to consider it some more....

I like quilts with an odd number of blocks....but this one may break with tradition....

these are not sewn together yet....sorry for the wrinkly blocks...and the bad picture...I need a new camera

Today I took down a quilt I have had hanging for a very long time...and replaced it with my Dresden Plate quilt....I am getting mixed reviews....

Everyone loves the quilt - just not sure if they love it hanging.  It is very bright....which I like...but maybe too bright for my great room?  So now that I have made my husband add more holes to the wall to hang this larger quilt...what am I to do?  I guess I will just have to make a quilt for that space....hmmmm.

  

Did you watch the wedding?  She was a lovely bride!

mary

A Party!

I want to officially invite everyone to a Party!!! 

Jennifer at Ellison Lane Quilts is having a BIG 5 Blog Party beginning May 2nd.!  She has planned a fantastic Giveaway and you have the opportunity to meet 5 different bloggers {one is little old me!} each day next week!!!!

  

So pop over to Ellison Lane and check out all that is going on!!!

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I have my hubby home for two weeks....both a blessing and a curse....we have house stuff to work on and he will be doing most of the work  {the blessing} and we have house stuff to work on {the curse}!!!

So to prepare, I spent ALL of yesterday cleaning my closet....and once you start one closet you have to clean others!  So I cleaned closets, and organized my stash {WHEW!}  

Today I was able to get a little sewing done....

I am working on the last block for the New York Beauty Quilt....

   

Now trying to decide on the style of border.  I love piano key borders, but I do those quite a bit.  So I am thinking of a half drop diamond border....we will see.  What kind of border do you like?  Or no border at all?  Would love to hear your thoughts on borders.

I want to finish this one....I am itching to do another Material Obsession Quilt :)

Hope you are having a Wonderful Wednesday!

mary 

A Lifetime Quilt....

A few weeks ago I posted a picture from a Traditional American Arts book.... a quilt that I would love to have.... a Grandmother's Flower Garden....

Well, this quilt keeps haunting me....I found one 'not for sale' at an antique shop....one of my student's brought in a beautiful sample made by her grandma....then I found it again in this old book of mine....

So, I am taking this as a sign....and I started working on this quilt as a 'lifetime project'.  Hopefully, it won't really take a lifetime, but it just may.  This beauty is all hand pieced.  I have seen different versions of this quilt, but I am in LOVE with the one from the book....

I have seen hexagons floating around on the blogs for some time now...I am a little late on that bandwagon.... but these are fun to make and a bit addicting!

There will be 3 more rows added to this one....I quickly figured out how to do them so they fit together a little better than this one....it is a bit goopy in the corner....BTW don't you love that fabric in the background?  

This will be a late night/early morning project.....

Now back to work on the NYB....and then the QAL.....and then the Eloise Quilt.....geesh, I really need another project!!!!

mary

A Royal Wedding Package....

Well....Molly has been cooking up a little surprise for someone.  Molly's friend has a grandma from Nottingham.  We all love the grandma!  And since the royal wedding is quickly approaching {oh what will I wear?}, Molly decided to surprise her with a few treats.

So for my part....I made a Union Jack pillow!

I had to square up the pillow to a nice 20 inches square....added some lovely dark blue stitching....

And there you have a pillow fit for a queen....hmmmm....

And Molly stitched a tea towel....

She used about a yard of toweling...hemmed both ends....

Added some trim!  We are going to complete this surprise gift with some tea and yummy cookies/biscuits!  She will love it!

I worked on another block for the New York Beauty....

Now I need to go clean my closet....ugh!

mary

Almost Wordless....

I have spent the day thinking and thinking....and changing my mind....

I was going to do the NYB in quarters....but changed my mind....

Just so you don't think I am a total slacker....I did do laundry :)

mary

A Star Is Born!

Working up some more New York Beauty blocks.  I am pretty sure I am going to arrange the blocks as quarter blocks....just the quadrants....sort of fan style.  Then add a cool spike sashing and some cute star corner blocks.....how does that sound?

not sure if I will keep these colors but this helps me visualize the quilt

And this is a Happy Block!!!!  Actually, only a quarter of a block :)

We have welcomed winter back to Ohio....I think it is in the 40's today....rainy and blustery....

But I was able to sneak outside my front door to snap a shot of these little sweeties before the wind rips them apart....

I am off to pick a prescription for Molly....a sinus infection :(  Booo....

Hope the sun is shining on your part of the world today!

mary

Working Out Some Design Options.....

My usual routine has been a bit altered this morning, but I needed to work out some design options....something similar to a wedding ring but with less parts and faster to complete.  So I have been working out the options....

I am loving this cute little block....

  this is a sample of the quilt

This design is not for me....but I am thinking I might really like to use it.  The block is called Flowering Snowball :)

This block {above} was made a bit more "liberated" by piecing the fabric and then cutting out the oval/petal parts.....

I think it is a great little block especially for those new to curved piecing....very gentle curves that go together so smoothly.  Yep, I am liking this block :)

And, I have decided on a background fabric for my NYB....

It is a periwinkle dot by Kaffe....

I have another great NYB block to work on and a couple of options for the arrangement that I need to nail down!

See you later!

mary