been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time . . .

For my blog, that is. And while I'll make no excuses for the absence, I do miss blogging. So I thought perhaps a little 'refreshing' and clean-up might be in order (though I haven't posted in seven months, I *do* use my blog for the links and to reminisce). And then it looked so clean and pretty I thought it maybe needed a new post. Ha.

This past guild year (our guild year runs from September to August) has marked our guild's 30th anniversary. The theme our president selected for the year was "A Quilter's Journey" and we've had a lot of fun tying the theme into all of our activities. My position this year has been to document (in our newsletter, The Fanfare) different aspects of a quilter's journey. It's been fun and I've enjoyed writing the articles . . . and thought it might be fun to share them here. So that's what I'm going to do, starting today, and then (perhaps) once a week until they're all shared.

But first, I feel I need to share the one-year journey of the littlest of my grandchildren littles:

Edith Rose turned ONE on April 20th. Isn't she a dear little dolly??! 

My new blog header is actually the header I developed for my newsletter article (except I've changed the words, of course). What can I say? I liked it! Anyway, without further ado . . .

From the quilter who’s stitched hundreds of quilts over the years, to the quilter who’s just purchased her first fat quarter, there is commonality . . . a bond that stretches unseen, but is definitely felt. Quilters all have a story to tell: Why did you start quilting and what made you continue?

For some it was the desire to create. For some it was a gift from a quilting mother or grandmother, who passed along their love and knowledge from an early age. For some it was the desire to be a part of a group. And for some, what started out as a desire to make a simple baby gift turned into a passion to make ‘quilts for everyone’! 

Some of us get hooked on the gadgetry, some of us have a secret (or not-so-secret) passion for fabric collecting, and some of us have stacks of patterns that would rival the stock of Fons & Porter! (Lord help my husband the families of those quilters who do all three!) We collect quilting magazines, subscribe to quilter’s blogs, we watch Bonnie Hunter on her webcam, join our local quilting guild, spend hours shop hopping the online quilt shops, take classes (and fondle fabrics – one of my favorite pastimes) at our local quilt shops (LQS), and spend hours (and lots of $$$) at quilt shows, near and far. 

We find niches of quilting that appeal to us more than another. Do you applique? Machine or hand? Needle-turned or rough edge? Machine quilting versus hand quilting? If you machine quilt, is it on your sewing machine or a quilting machine? Straight line or free motion? Do you wash your fabric before using it? Do you use precuts? There are miniature quilts—which differ from small quilts—and crazy quilts; embroidered quilts, redwork quilts, and two-color quilts. Do you go strictly by a pattern, or do you embellish upon it? Do you create your own patterns? For some stitching on the binding is their favorite part; for others, it’s a nightmare! 

From beginner to seasoned quilter, one thing is certain: everyone has a quilter’s journey story. And everyone’s story is unique. As we celebrate Heritage Quilters of Huntsville’s 30th anniversary over the next year, we’ll highlight some of these stories, sharing the passion and joys, the highs and the lows, the triumphant finishes and the UFOs. We’ll look back on the changes in quilt-making over the past thirty years, and look forward to expectations for the coming years. We’ll smile and nod in agreement and enjoy the camaraderie that we love to share. We’ll celebrate our craft and get to know one another even better.

My name is Denise and I’m a quilter. :) 

busy, busy, busy . . .

A happy finish ... well, piecing finish, anyway . . .

I so love the way this pretty little Christmas twisted hexie looks!!  The basting stitches are still intact -- I haven't removed my template pieces, yet.  Now my quest to find an appropriate 'skirt' for it!  I think it will make a gorgeous holiday table covering!

I put my fall fabrics to good use and made another spirograph topper.  I think this may be my go-to project for a pretty little hostess gift.

But I think I may play around a bit with the center applique, too. Any thoughts? I made the center of this one a bit smaller than my original, and I don't think I'll do that again.  I *did* miter the corners of the borders on this one -- and I *will* do that again!

I got out and about a bit this weekend.  Our church had a huge yard sale to benefit the children and youth ministries.  I was mostly good.  I found a couple of fun things for Ellie's dress-up trunk and lucked into this group of silk ties . . .

For a buck!  I figured that between Easter eggs and crazy quilting, I'd be able to put these to very good use!

I also headed over to one of my favorite quilt shops.  I needed backing fabric for Pixelated and Hooked on Quilting was having a guild appreciation sale -- 25% off! So I headed there and found the brown Civil War print (on the left):

It works well with the muted red binding and the front, I think, and will be good for a son to roll around in. I've decided I really do need to machine quilt this, since it is for James ... now I just need to settle on how I'm going to quilt it.  Both the pattern *and* the logistics in the RV!  

I also grabbed some 'burgundy' (the photo doesn't translate that well, I'm afraid) for our guild's 2-1/2" strip exchange that starts next month.  

And I filled up my Martindale card and picked up this book on Baltimore Album blocks (which I *WILL* make one day).  Now I get a freebie book!  Yay!

I also have this fun thing pieced and ready to put a back to:

I'd won the strip kit for it in March and got a hankering to put it together. So I did (minky is a *mess* to work with, by the way!).  But then I needed a back in keeping with the front!  I swung by Sirs, where I remembered seeing the Dr. Seuss prints in wide minky.  Sure enough, I found what I think will make the perfect backing from that same line:

Don't you think?  Technically this won't be a quilt -- the minky is so thick, it really doesn't need batting.  I'm going to stitch the outside edges together (with the right sides facing), then pull it inside-out and 'quilt' down the vertical lines. It'll be an interesting finish!

All that fabric shopping injected another healthy dose into my August stash report, but I also will have some big yardage finishes to include, which will help balance things out!  Linking up this post to Judy Laquidara's Patchwork Times and Design Wall Monday and Kathy's Quilts Slow Sunday Stitching.

Before I head out to tackle the world, thought I'd share some of my favorite peeps . . .

Todd is *thoroughly* enjoying retirement and the ability to grow a beard!  I have to admit that I find him quite dashing in the beard and I'm enjoying the "Duck Dynasty" commando look!

Sawyer is now a dragon whisperer.  Seriously.

He's making up wonderful dragon stories and everything -- his imagination is quite vivid!  I got the dinosaur costume for him last October -- and he'd carry it, but refused to wear it.  Until just this past month or so. Gotta love it!

Ellie's driving.

Good gravy, slow the growing down!!  That's a smile she's sporting, just in case you're not sure.  She's pretty much able to give Sawyer a run for his money these day!  She's a clever little chatterbox, too -- Joc asked her to sing her ABC's and Ellie replied, "A, B, C . . . no more!"  Sassy pants!

June is ... well, at home she's called the Princess Baby.  

I think that means she's queen of the show -- I know she's got both daddy and big brother wrapped around her little fingers! 

With a smile (and giggle) like that, who can resist?!

Have a GREAT week!

:)