I can't believe that it has been over a month since I last posted.  I had a wonderful trip and lots of time with my children and grandchildren.  Now I am back in Florida and working hard on sample quilts for the local quilt shop which is opening a second location next month.  The picture isn't great, but this is a pin-basted quilt that would be perfect for a little boy.  I need to get it machine quilted and then I plan to finish up a t-shirt quilt for my son-in-law.  I will post a picture of it next week.

I have fallen way behind in Esther's BOM quilt.  I hope to be able to catch up over the next few months.  Her blocks are so beautiful and this is the first time since I joined her group that I haven't been able to keep up.

Back to work on the machine quilting.  I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Here I am in very chilly upstate New York.  It started raining about an hour after I arrived last Friday evening and hasn't stopped since.  Makes me miss the Sunshine State!

Having a great visit with younger son and his family and visiting with old friends.  I am here until June 22nd, when I head north to older son's home and the high school graduation of my granddaughter.  In my packing frenzy last week, I almost forgot to pack the graduation quilt!   But it is here with me safe and sound.

I have several hand sewing projects with me but haven't made a lot of headway with anything.  But I have this afternoon free, so I will get to work on something.  I have an Hawaiian applique project about half done, and I have last month installment of Esther's BOM, also about half done.  And then at the last minute, I cut out the pieces for Esther's Cherry Thieves table runner, which has been on my wish list for quite some time now.

So now I am off to Esther's blog, to catch up on my reading over there.  Hope you all have a great week!

Block number 2 of the current BOM is done!  Or really just done for now.  I plan to add beads to it when the entire quilt is assembled.  It feels good to be up-to-date with it.  I have already started the wild rose and lilac block for this month.  I rarely use fusible applique, but on this one I am trying it on the lilac flowers.  I had to go to the quilt shop yesterday as my stash was seriously without purple fabrics. 

We have been busy this week, packing the van for John's trip to Tacoma.  He plans to leave on Saturday.  I will be here in Florida until May 30th, when I head to New York for 3 weeks and Atlanta for 1 week.  Having our families 3000 miles apart sometimes makes for an awkward summer.  We each have a granddaughter graduating in June.  I am a very uncomfortable flyer and tend to avoid it as much as possible.  But who knows..... I may decide to fly to Seattle from Atlanta, we will have to see.  Or head back to Florida and enjoy lots of extra sewing time!  I am still working on mastering EQ7 and using my new Handi Quilter machine. 

Current work is all hand applique, Esther's BOM and a small mystery quilt from EQ.  Sewing room needs some attention, there are fabrics all over it while I decide on which ones to use.  I really need to make some time to organize it again.

That's it for this week.  Thanks for reading and have a great week!

Finally have finished the first block of Forget Me Not.  I am working on block 2, just about finished with that one too. 

We have had a busy week here, beginning to get ready for summer trips.  John is heading to Washington State on the 19th and I am heading to New York at the end of the month.  This morning we worked in the yard for quite a while, putting down new mulch and cutting back the hisbiscus bushes that are having a very good year.  We had to cut off many buds, but we couldn't let them continue to grow or they would be totally out of control by the time we return from our travels.

I was able to complete the French Braid quilt and it is ready to travel to New York with me.  Most of my work this week has been hand work. 

 I have one UFO left to complete this year, a hand applique queen size that has been waiting for quilting for quite some time now, at least 2 years.  I hope to be able to quilt it sometime this summer.   I am loving quilting on my Sweet Sixteen!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Hunters Star

Finished up this quick project and hung it yesterday. I needed something for a spot on our red wall, lol.  It is a fun quilt to make, just 32 inches square so it was a chance to practice on my HQ Sweet Sixteen.  I am getting a bit better with even stitches, but I still tend to wobble a bit with it.  They are introducing a stitch regulator for it in June, but I am not sure I want to invest anymore in it.  I will definitely test drive it before deciding. 

Still working on my French braid, with two more borders to quilt.  Granddaughter graduates next month, so I need to concentrate on finishing it.  I have almost completed my first block for Esthers new BOM, but I am really running behind on that one.  I need to get organized and cut my pieces for the calla lily block.  I will have lots of time on my New York trip to hand applique. 

I am off to finish cleaning up my sewing area, then time to work on that French braid.  I hope everyone has a great week!

Here is a peak at my French Braid quilt.  I have purchased the backing and batting and am ready to sandwich sometime this week.  As usual, my dilemma is HOW to quilt it.  Anyone have any suggestions?  I am anxious to use my Handi Quilter Sweet Sixteen as soon as I decide the quilting pattern.  This quilt is to be a graduation quilt for my grandson Alex who will graduate high school in 2013.  I completed two graduation quilts in the Hollow Cubes patterns for this years graduates, Jackie and Sarah. 

My major accomplishment this week was completing my Peaceful Pathways!  It is a stunning quilt, a beautiful free BOM by Esther Aliu.  I am struggling to keep up with the new BOM, Forget Me Not.  I am about halfway thru with my Peony block from last month.  Quiet time to hand applique has eluded me for the past couple of weeks.  We have been busy with some remodeling and decorating, but that is almost finished so I hope to catch up soon.  My choice for this months block is the Calla Lily which looks to be less labor intensive than the peony! 

Have a great week!

A Day Late

This just sums up my life this week.  I am trying to play catch up, but seem to keep falling even farther behind.
I continue to plug along with my quilting on Peaceful Pathways, I should finish the next to last border this afternoon.  The final HST border should be easy and maybe done by next week.  Then on to the binding, and I am done.  My plan is to give it to my older son and his wife when they celebrate their 25th anniversary, two years from now. 
Progress on my first block in the Forget Me Not quilt has also been very slow.  I didn't like the greens that I was using so I scrapped the first block and started over again, using some yellow-greens instead of the original blue-greens.  I am much happier with it but I only have the stems done and one leaf so far.  I need to finish cutting the rest of the leaves and try to catch up by the 15th.  I will have quite a bit of time to do handwork starting in June, when I go to New York for an extended visit so I may have to count on getting caught up then.  My mom, who is 100, enjoys watching me stitch while I visit with her, in the nursing home.
I still need to plan my Easter dinner menu and make a shopping list..... nothing like waiting until the last minute.  This should be my last entertaining in Florida for the season.  Last weekend we hosted the neighborhood block party here at our house.  The weather did not cooperate, we had 50 mile winds and lost the tents that we had set up earlier in the day.  Then it rained......... so 47 people had to eat and visit in the house instead of outside as planned.  It went well, all things considered, lol.

I hope you all have a great week!  Keep sharing your photos of Forget Me Not.... I need the motivation!