December session at Lori's

Courtesy of Li, we have this lovely picture of the spread we sat down to eat last Sunday. We had risotto, pork loin, salmon, sweet potato burritos, orange fluff, shrimp and fudge while listening to Christmas music, and then had to sit and stitch because we were too full to move!

Thanks, Lori, for hosting. Looking forward to seeing everyone in the New Year!

Shawls

Okay, another not quilting post but I'm excited to have finished these two projects!
This is my first blocked shawl. I think it came out well.
Here's Declan helping me block my second shawl (although I'd completed the knitting for this one quite a while ago). Fortunately he's laying on the spine so you can't tell that I didn't quite get it straight.

International Quilt Study Center

Last week I visited the Quilt Study Center while in Lincoln to teach the CACC. I stayed over an extra day specifically to visit the Center. My friend Ann came over from Iowa to ooh, ahh, and enable my yarn habit - in all fairness, my trip helped her in the same area.

Here's a couple of the quilts we saw that I think you might find interesting.
Quilt made of the quilter's father's ties, including the one he wore at his wedding in 1931.

Part of an exhibit on English paper piecing and mosaic quilts. Sorry the images aren't more clear.
Isn't this one incredible? Most of the hexagons are about 1" across at their widest point! (Same is true of the detail from a different quilt above.)
Crazy quilt made by a group.

Purple disappearing 9-patch

Here is the top, without borders.  I used a $3 scrap bag from the Block Party Quilt show "member boutique", and fabrics from my stash. 

Disappearing 9-patch

http://valentinequiltworks.blogspot.com/2009/02/disappearing-9-patch-quilt.html

Remember those 5" charm squares of transportation fabrics that I sent to S&B a while ago?  Maybe it was last year.   This super simple pattern is the PERFECT way to use them.  I bought some purple florals scraps at the Block Party Quilt show last month.  I used a tone-on-tone dark purple for the center squares, otherwise, mixed lights and darks around.  But, you can make it in a more organized fashion like this example with red center and black and white around.  I think we could use the transportation novelty prints in the 4 corners, and a "solid" for the center, and perhaps black/white prints for the other 4 squares, or maybe blue tone-on-tones.  I haven't taken a photo yet of the purple florals yet, but I'll have the top done (without borders) by tonight (I think).  

courtesy of QQ

As some of you know, I get together quarterly with other quilters (hence the name Quarterly Quilters) to make quilts for various charity groups - usually kids. After one of the sessions earlier this year, some of the women asked Celia to bring me a bunch of scraps - two large bagfuls. The red/white/blue lap quilt and the strip premie quilt resulted from that generosity with a lot of help from Elaine - who I roped in by sending her a box of the larger scraps. Elaine also made 4 other premie quilts from various scraps and used a bunch of flannel that had been donated to the group for the backs on those quilts.


This last quilt's one that Elaine made to use up some forlorn squares that I love making but was tired of seeing. The border fabric is one we found in Island Quilter's sale rack - too fun, how could people not have seen the possibilities but lucky for us, they hadn't!

Something old, something new, something finished - woo-hoo!

Some pictures from the October session of S&B at Jane's house:

This is a quilt Jane made after a class. She made it a bit bigger than the class project. Can you spot the mis-aligned block?

The 2012 CFC quilt is finished! Thanks to Kim H. (and USA for running an NCIS marathon) for doing the binding. The quilting is really fantastic

Another project based on a Lintott book. This one was inspired by Elaine who needs pink quilts for a sister-in-law and two neighbor girls. I like the way the Phillip Jacobs border print keeps the top from being too saccharine sweet. (Nope, this isn't one I bought on Vachon. I bought it at Artful Quilter during their closing sale specifically for this quilt.) This was a very fast top to complete (once the strips were cut.)