She's a star

I don't usually name my quilts but this is for the daughter of a special friend. She is a star in every way, she has a scholarship to NC State University next year and she deserves a special quilt.





















My husband chose this backing. I had something else with lots of color and he said oh no. This is the man that usually doesn't notice my quilts at all. He really likes this young woman and has been so complimentary about this quilt. I used my beloved D9P but added a couple of liberated stars for visual interest.




















When I was at my daughters a couple of weeks ago I was looking at a quilt that I did for her a couple of years ago. I machine quilted it and when I looked back at it I thought that's not so bad. I brought my machine downstairs yesterday and put it on my dining room table. I had lots of room and the table supported the weight of the quilt. I will definitely do more machine quilting. This was just a random pattern but it was fun.




















The temperature is supposed to top 100 today. It is a good day to stay inside and sew. I am working hard to get my mojo back. What do you do when you get in a slump and are not motivated?

Garden Views

I love my daylillies! They are so easy to take care of and so spectacular.



















I dug these double oranges up from my uncles yard. They spread like crazy.



















This lantana came back from some I planted last year.




















My gardenia bush is huge. I cut it back every year and it always comes back. I have to tie it because there are so many blooms. You walk out the door and you can smell them.

I won!!

I finally won a giveaway. I only enter giveaways if it is something I want and I have never won one before. This bag is from upstatelisa. She has a very cool blog and does very creative work.
I am in a sort of black and white phase so this is perfect.



















Look at the cool inside. The other neat thing is that this bag is a perfect size for my Kindle. The other day I was thinking I need to look for a bag to carry my Kindle in. I came home and this was in the mail. Thank you so much Lisa, it is perfect.



















I promise this is the last time I will post pictures of my grandmother quilt that I found but I had to take a few more with my good camera. I wanted you to see the pattern. Does anyone have any idea what this is called. It is sort of an interlocking nine patch.





















My aunt and I are trying to figure out how it was put together.




















I am sure she started with the center nine patches and the borders around them. My grandmother used alternating fabrics for the center nine patches and the same fabrics for the border but after that it seems the fabric selection is random.




















There is no light next to dark and there are two squares with red plaid right next to each other. In the square here in the center she used several prints and to the left plainer fabrics. This is clearly a utility quilt.





















I just had to post this last picture. It seems that my grandmother was liberated! If she got to the end and the squares didn't match she just put them together anyway. If you look at the edge you can see that some squares were cut off!! So cool!!

The back of the quilt is a solid denim color cotton. It is hand quilted in sort of a herring bone pattern. My aunt says it is called elbow quilting. It looks like several people must have done the quilting because some of the lines meet!! My uncle says he remembers my grandmother having a quilt frame that could be lowered from the ceiling or raised when you were not using it.

Fabulous Find

You will not believe what I found this morning. I was looking for something to put in the bottom of the Pack and Play to make it more comfortable for our little one and I found this quilt.

















The minute I saw it I remembered it. I am sure that my grandmother made it.

















I even went out and bought a camera so I could post these pictures. I left my good one at home.


















It is hand quilted in a very interesting pattern, I don't really know how to describe it.



















I am getting together with my female cousins tonight. We are all supposed to bring something and I am going to bring this quilt.


















The daughter of one of my cousins is studying textiles at NC State and she will be there. These fabrics will be very interesting for her to see.


















I even have a small piece of this same pink fabric.



















The blocks are absolutely amazing. It is a nine patch square in a square. It is beautiful and to think of the work my grandmother put into it means so much to me.

Memorial Weekend at the beach

We left Friday afternoon with the dogs and kids. We decided to take the ferry. It is out of the way but it was a beautiful day for a ferry ride. It is short, about 20 minutes, but always fun.




















The weather was beautiful. Our little one is not as interested in the beach as the rest of us.





























Our older grandson loves the water just like his dad. He wants to be a surfer like his father.




















This huge tent was put up on the beach on Saturday. Saturday night there was a big dinner held under the tent. We could not resist the temptation to walk by and look. Sunday night was the wedding and reception under the same tent. It isn't unusual to have weddings on the beach where we are but I have never seen a tent this big set up out there.



















Back to sewing. I always have trouble putting together my batting, quilt top and backing. I noticed that a lot of folks use and recommend the binder clips. I looked for them but they just were not big enough for my dining room table. I have tried tape, using the floor everything. The other day I was in the dollar store waiting for the girl that cuts my hair and I spotted these hair clips. They worked great. I wish I had gotten the bigger ones but I got more by getting this size.

I keep a protective pad on my table and these worked well holding the batting and backing down.



















Back to the beach this weekend. All my female cousins (well almost all) are having a weekend together. I am so excited. My aunt is going to be with us too and a cousin's wife. It is a women's family weekend.