Birthday Block swap

The block for November is for Laurie in Ontario. She asked for a Morning Glory and referenced a block at Quilters Cache. She has some other suggestions but I have no imagination and made the appliqued one. I think she will like it.

String Spiderweb

The blocks are finished and put together. I am still trying to determine if I like it or not. I do love the fabrics, bits and pieces of so many projects of so many people. There is all kinds of fabrics in there, Christmas, Easter, polka dots, stripes, solids, dull and bright. The background color is actually cheddar and not yellow, very bright, very cheerful. What I did not like was putting the blocks together. They are so cock-eyed I could hardly get any of the points to match. Fortunately, it is so busy you probably won't notice. I tried to press the seams open but that was no fun either. Ever time I press a seam, I would twist another. At one point my iron protested and spit on the background. I'm sure the spots will come out in the wash.

I think the next charity top I make will be super easy, like Mary's Boxed Squares. It will give me a good excuse to use up all those super bright loud fabrics I have been hoarding.

Strings

I just finished up making 64 string blocks for the current HGTV string block swap. As usual I have ended up with more strings in my collection than I started with. I've got stings in bags and boxes all over the place.

It would be easy enough to use up the long strings, but I have a lot of shorter strings.

As if I didn't have enough of the little stuff, my BFF Ann sent me a bag of crumbs. She didn't say it but I thought I heard that voice again saying "I dare you". I have sewn many of them together to make bigger scraps.

I have found the perfect pattern for little pieces, where else, but at Bonnie Hunters Quiltsville.
The pattern is called String Spiderweb.

Blog giveaways

http://afwife85.blogspot.com/2008/10/birthday-giveaway.html

http://janeweston.blogspot.com/2008/10/ark.html

Block Lotto

I won, I won, I finally won. Yes, I won the September lotto at About.com. So far I have received about half of the blocks with 20 more to come. The block is called Cracker Block (though I don't know why). Looks like it will end up a children's quilt top that I will send to Mary for finishing and donating. Nice colors!

I might also mention that the CYOC swap at HGTV is over. I did not have enough blocks to do much with so I traded a few more with about 4 swappers. Still there is not enough so I signed up for the next CYOC swap. The last 2 swaps went pretty well, even with blocks that were too small and some with some really crappy fabric. I am not so sure about this one. There are quite a few swappers requesting 30's prints and I have had to order some fabric as I don't have enough in my stash for that many blocks. The current batch of swappers are pretty specific in their requests. This color and brand of fabric in the center string, with such and such color on one side, with such and such color on the other side, with corner blocks measuring this much. One of the gals even went so far as to ask for this color block from you, you and you, and that color block from you, you and you. There are also several requests for Black on White and White on Black. I completely used up my stash with the last swap so I will have to purchase some more of that too. When and if I ever have enough blocks to make a decent size quilt, I'll post some pictures of the blocks I have received. As a reminder, I requested a white center string with floral strings on either side, easy, easy, easy.

Blocks for the JellyBean Quilt

There was a comment left by Anne on the September Zizzy-Dot Swap. She saw the picture of my postcard and thought it was a quilt block for the Princess JellyBean Quilt. Of course, why didn't I think of that? So I enlarged the design and made a block for the quilt. I tried to get the purple night colors.

I also made some simple heart blocks from nine patches.

More Baskets

My BFF Ann sent me some more fabric. There is a bunch of pink. These are for Alli's Princess Jellybean quilt. Ann even included a really big hunk for the backing. There on the right is several yards of pink with metallic silver stars.....just perfect.

She also sent some green and blue (and a piece of red with green dots) fabric. I suppose just because it's really cool fabric.

Then there was some small remnants of tan and brown. Not enough to make any sort of quilt so I made another basket.

Birthday Block Swap - October

The October block is for Susan in Indiana. She is asking for a 12" star block in the colors corresponding to the Moda Cowgirl Queen of the Ranch. I had a great block picked out, a little outside my comfort zone, in what I thought was just the right colors.

I was so careful, I was so precise and the block looks great but look again. Those darn points go right out to the very edge. I know if someone sent this to me I would bitch about it continuously. So I made a second block, a pattern I am more familiar with.

It is not quite as dramatic as the first but at least it is more usable. I will send both of them to Susan and hope she likes them both.

Some useless trivia

Here's what Cinderella's castle in the Magic Kingdom at Disney World Orlando looks like. You can't see it in this photo but there is a guide wire that runs from atop that tall spire, down to....well I'm not sure where. At the beginning of the fireworks show, a real live women, dressed as Tinkerbell, with a lot of LED lights on her wings, flies down that wire. It is something to see.

Here is what it looks like at night. It does change colors, and has seasonal colors as well.

The Disney imagineers used several different European castles as there inspiration, but the Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria was most influential.

Zizzy-Dot Swap September

Once a year, usually in September, my husband and I take my son, his wife and our 2 grandchildren to Disneyworld for a few days.This year was no exception. So it is pretty obvious what my postcard theme would be. We did manage to get in 3 of the four major parks. The Magic Kingdom was open until midnight so we got to see the spectacular fireworks. My card doesn't even vaguely capture the fantastic colors of the castle at night nor the fireworks that get shot off all around you. I did manage to mail the card from the hotel and I am hoping that it gets a Disneyworld postmark.

Dotti says "my poor pear tree ended up having only one pear on it. It will be ripe by the end of September". This is her way of sharing her one pear with me. This picture does not accurately represent her beautiful colors and workmanship.