another attempt at making a purse

This was a fun project.  I used 3 fat quarters for the exterior of the purse and some cotton fabric I had in my stash to make the lining.  I need to learn how to put in a big snap or one of those magnetic closers . I used white velcro. It keeps the purse closed but it does not look so great.

My attempt to follow a pattern from a quilting magazine!

I found this pattern several months ago in a quilt magazine. I just had to try it.  Looks a lot harder to do than it really was.  It was a neat pattern to follow.  I usually make up my own stuff but I liked this one so I went for it.  I added strips on each side to make it big enough for  a King size bed. 
What do you think?

What do you do with a bunch of 4 inch squares?

I was going through my fabric closet and found a pile of 4 inch squares that I had bought on EBay several years ago.   I figured it was time to use them.  These two quilts fit on a queen sized bed.  They came out pretty good I think.  All I have left to do is finish the binding on them.  They were fun to make!

thrift store treasures (quilt tops)

I found this quilt top at a local thrift store...I paid $8 dollars for it.  It is very large, it is wide enough to hang over 24 inches off each side of my king size bed .  All - ALL-  ALL- hand pieced. It must have come from a quilt shop that did quilting classes and they put all of their blocks together.  An incredible find.  I machine quilted it and we use it on our bed in the winter.   I would have preferred to hand quilt it but my hand quilting days are over. .Several years ago I had an accident while on a sail boat in the middle of the British Virgin Islands and I broke, actually crushed my right elbow.  I have 3 plates and 17 screws holding the arm together and my hand and wrist can not turn like they used to.  Oh well, I can at least machine quilt the tops I make and find. 

 Here is another great thrift store find.  All hand pieced.  Beautiful. It fits on the queen sized bed in our guest room.  I machine quilted it with a butterfly design. It came out really nice.  Oh, and this one cost me $6.00.  I just could not pass it up.  Every piece is no larger than 2 inches square!  Quite impressive on a bed.

I found this one at a thrift store too.  Paid $5 for it.  All hand pieced also.  I machine quilted it.  It fits nicely on a twin bed.  The fabrics are all vintage. It is really beautiful..I put an off white fabric on the back of all three of these great quilts.

a butterfly quilt

I made this butterfly quilt for my friend that lives in Colorado Springs, CO.  The butterflies  are flying north but one of the butterflies is flying south.  A   hint that I would love for her to move back here to Louisiana.

my grandbabies

These are my baby boys.  They are both 2 years old.  Alden is 5 months older! We love having these babies here with us as often as we can.  We take care of Reed everyday, his mom is a teacher.  We try to have Alden here at least once a week so they can play together.  They are so funny to watch.  Alden is on the left and Reed is on the right.  Hope you like the picture! 

Cloth diapers

A friend of mine wanted to use cloth diapers when she takes care of her grandbaby.  I made a few for her.  She loves them.  I thought I would post  a couple of pictures. I think they are so cute!

cat quilt

here is a photo of my cousin's quilt that I quilted.

another project

Yesterday I pulled out a pattern that I bought at a Quilt show in Houston, Texas about 4  years ago.  I have never made a purse like this before.  I usually make it up as I go along but this time I followed the pattern. Not so hard to do.
I am posting a picture here.

Another Day

Yesterday I was given my first shot of Humira for my rheumotoid arthritis.  It was not fun at all. It really hurt but for just a few seconds.  I hope it helps with the ankle and knee and hand pain I am having. I am also having an itching problem with a stupid rash that won't go away.  I am praying that the Humira works and that I can feel like a normal person again.

Over the weekend my cousin, Pat,  came over for a visit and we quilted her cat quilt on my quilting frame with my machine.  I am going to ask her to send a photo of her quilt so I can show it to everyone. She decided to invest in a quilt frame too.  I can not wait to see it.

For the online quilting bee I have the month of July.  I need to decide what I want for my turn.   I am looking forward to doing a new square for everyone each month.

I love creating.  The best part of quilting is putting the quilt tops together.  I usually have 5 or 6 tops waiting for their turn on the quilting rack..  I use that time to pray and think of other projects.  I retired at 51 back in 2004 and I have made well over 100 quilts of various sizes.  I have given most of them away and sold a few.  I became a grandmother a little over 2 years ago. Our sons became dads in 2008 within 5 months of each other. We were thrilled.  They both had been married 9+ years and we had been patiently waiting for them to start their families.   My husband is also retired and together we take care of one of the babies so his mom can work without having the worry of daycare.  He will be in a preschool next Fall. I am not in my sewing room as much as before but I figured the babies are little just a little while and I do not want to miss that.  I usually spend a little time in my sewing room each evening. We also have the other grandbaby as often as we can.  He usually spends the night once a week.  I love it when they are both here.  They are learning how to play together instead of just playing next to each other. Grandbabies are such a joy to have.  I will write more later.

We are having beautiful weather here in South Louisiana.  Sunny and cool. 
I just started another quilt using black and white prints.  I will post it when I get it together.  I can not wait to start with the online quilting bee. Looks like we will have more than 12 and that will be great!