Outdoor Quilt Show

Good morning to you! I hope you had a great weekend enjoying the last month of summer. On Saturday hubby and I headed up to the mountains, where on of my favorite stores~Lyon's Quilt Store was having a wonderful outdoor show. It did not disappoint and continued inside as well. I couldn't let the opportunity pass me by to purchase a little something~no fabric but a pattern for a large tote. It looks very challenging for me, but with the online tutorial I may be successful. If I struggle I have some good friends that I can seek out for help. Hubby only took photos of the quilts I really liked, so here are a few and tomorrow I'll post a few as well. Enjoy. The first one had lots of embroidery on it and it was so sweet.

It reminded me of the song-Over the hill and through the Woods, to grandmother's house we go.

A square in a square, easy but so pretty.

I love batiks, so what's not to love about this one.

Loved the colors on this one as well as the quilting.

Too cute.

Loved the colors on this one.

Now to the quilted wall hanging pattern I bought last fall in Maine~I call it Autumn in New England. I've hung it in our hall way near the staircase and it fits perfectly.  Needless to say that it is up a bit early, but considering we already feel fall in the air, I'm happy having it done.

Hope you have a great Monday.
Joy to you!
Noreen

Happy Friday

What a good day I've had, busy but good. I had my monthly mini quilt group meeting, there are about 13 of us and it can get a bit crowded but it is always such fun sharing what we've been doing. I am also organizing some Road trips-mini shop hops where we will gather and drive to three different stores. So today our hostess had this wonderful quilt rack in her basement that her cousin made. I loved the design and the fact that it is in a corner and the quilts can be pushed up against the wall. I'm now looking at corners in our basement to see if there is a place it would fit.

One of the gals showed us her latest table runner and I loved it.  She did say the directions were written so poorly, so like most quilters she figured out an easier way to make it.  This gal is the one that taught me how to make the table toppers last year.

Our meetings are always filled with good food, laughter and encouragement.
Tonight I am attending a Beth Moore conference and it will continue tomorrow morning.  I've seen her via simulcast before, but so excited to see her in person. I'm sure at least a 1,000 other ladies will be in attendance and feel the same way.  Five other gals from my quilt group were going as well; none of us together though.
I hope you have a great Friday and fantastic weekend.
Joy to you!
Noreen

Happy Friday to you!  I finally put all my Patriotic decorations away, but I'm not quite ready to get all my fall ones out yet.  I've mentioned that once a month I attend a quilting club held at a store; I just joined in February and so glad I did.  We come away with a pattern for a block each month and a separate special project-maybe a table runner, apron etc etc.  By the December meeting our quilt top will be together-yeah!  These are 7 out of 8 blocks that will be the center with sashing, another pinwheel border and a wider border.  What I love about this club is that the teacher/owner of the store shows us the block, gives special hints and has very detailed instructions-which I really appreciate.  I will say I've redone a couple of blocks because I didn't like the color combo.  I'm not into really scrappy quilts and love the civil war colors on this.  It's been fun to see the blocks all the other ladies have made-some are floral, some oriental, some scrappy and lots of color variations.  By the time December rolls around, I will have finished my red & white wall hanging from Sisters, have a good portion of my "Sea" quilt done if not finished and be ready to quilt this.  I have several Christmas projects I'll be working on as well.  It sounds early to think about it, but trust me when I say it will be here before you know it.
I hope you have a great day and weekend!
Hugs,
Noreen

For the Love of Fabric

Happy Wednesday to you! I mentioned that Aletha and I drove down to a couple of my favorite quilt stores yesterday; I was needing more fabric in order to start the quilt. I did get the second bundle of fabrics that matched the first one I had found.  Initially, I thought my colors would be red, a tan/light color and blue, but it ends up that the three predominant colors will be red, tan and brown. I do have some blue I may use in the border.   It was successful and I was happy to be able to say I believe I have enough fabric now. Here are the fabrics I came away with.

The two books I was looking for were not available, so I ended up with Eleanor Burns book.  I would still like the other book that I was really searching for, but think I've spent enough money on fabric.
Today is Aletha's birthday~we went out to dinner last night to celebrate.  The guys have golf and  I am taking her to several really fun shops as well as out to lunch.  Happy Birthday Aletha; we've shared 48 birthdays, where has the time gone.  You are such an incredible friend, wife, mom, teacher and woman.  I'm proud to call  you friend!!! Love you so much.
Our days and years pass so quickly, we must embrace and cherish every day. 
I hope your day is filled with blessings and love!
Noreen

My Latest Quilt

Hello friends, Happy Thursday to you! Today, I'm thankful for several things-firstly we are having our new air conditioner installed(before the hot weather returns and secondly I have finally finished my latest quilt and my phone is working-I'll share more of that at the end. Between recovering from surgery and taking our trip to Ireland, this has been a lengthy project. I would have to say it took me several months to complete the quilting(the piecing went much quicker); some of the reason is that I kept deciding to add a little bit more. Hand quilting is relaxing and a bit addictive. Now that I'm done with it, I'm not sure I'll do that much quilting in the future. This will sit on our guest bed and it is about a double bed size.

The vertical rows are 1/4" apart and much of the rest of the quilting is outlining.  It goes with the colors in the guest bedroom and I do love it's look. I think when you've worked on a quilt as long as I worked on this, you are glad its done. 
Yesterday, I mentioned that my Iphone was having issues and I couldn't get it on.  Well, when you don't have a land line, you tend to panic when your cell isn't working.  I called the store and they told me how to reboot it; once I did it and it came on I realized how it happened-you see on Tuesday I was at swim lessons with my grands and girls and we talked about my cover/case.  I took it off saying I needed a new one; apparently when I put it back on it was just a smidge out of the position it needed to be in and the soft plastic apparently was pushing down on the on/off button.  I will be buying a new, better case at Wal*art soon.  At least it didn't cost me a new phone.
That's it for about now; I've had a busy morning~met a friend to go over shower details for my girlfriends daughter and stopped by swim lessons.  Also, ran to the hardware store for hubby and then came home.  It's lunch time and I'm hungry.  We have our two oldest grandsons over for a sleepover tonight, should be fun.
I hope you have a wonderful day and find peace in the moment.
Hugs,
Noreen

Greetings from beautiful northern Colorado. I so love these crisp mornings, when the sun shines on the snow covered Rockies. I just got back from walking Hunter, with our friends Kam and Lexie. My ears are still cold, but I feel full of energy. Yesterday I finished my latest quilt top; now the real work will start.

When I purchased this last summer, I didn't realize that it would go so well with the colors in our guest room. This was such a fun pattern to make and although it is much busier than I typically make, I think it will make a nice nap quilt for our guests. I will probably use a tan fabric for the back; I have no idea what quilting pattern I will use on it.
 Today is a very busy day; I'm taking Kam to lunch, a belated birthday lunch and then I have a haircut this afternoon. It will be good to have it taken care of prior to my surgery. I still haven't heard anything, but imagine my Doctor is dealing with the insurance company. We don't have much planned for tomorrow or the weekend. Hopefully the weather will be as nice as they are predicting and hubby and I can get out and go for some nice walks.
I hope your day is filled with sunshine, contentment and peace.
Joy to you!
Noreen

Blessings from the Hollow

Well, it has taken me long enough but I've finally got this quilt top finished and will be pinning it this weekend, in order to begin quilting it. Now that most of our vacations are over, quilts are being pulled out and worked on. It feels good to have this top done; quilting will be simple and pretty basic, which means it will go fast unless I add more stitching as I go(which happens occasionally). I do love the scrappy look of this pattern and it is called Blessings in the Hollow; I love the name of it.
 Now that fall is here, are you getting craft projects out to work on? I used to just quilt in the fall and winter(football season, because I didn't watch football then)but several years ago started quilting year round. You'd think I'd be much more prolific but since I hand quilt, each quilt takes a fair amount of time.
 I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Noreen & Hunter

More Quilts

Good Morning Friends~I hope you had a wonderful weekend! We had a good one and I am so glad to have these two quilts completed. Yesterday, I took the baby quilt over to our girl's house so she could have it for the hospital. She is due any day but I'm hoping she can wait until she is over her bronchitis; she ended up in the ER on Friday evening because of she has having a hard time breathing and didn't want to take any chances. Thankfully, she was sent home with antibiotics. She was without a voice all weekend but today feels more like herself;I will say she is very anxious to have her little guy but I keep saying that she needs to get her strength back before she goes into labor.

She was thrilled with the quilt-which always makes this mama happy.

Hard to tell but I outlined all the figures in the center squares.    In fact, the quilting on the borders is a bit difficult to see as well.  Any of you quilters out there who also happen to be good photographers, please share some tips with me.  I had my Nikon on the setting for close ups but still had a hard time getting the quilting.  I'm such a novice when it comes to photography, as you all know, I can use all the tips and help I can get.

This is a wall hanging I started when we moved here; I put it away when we moved into our current home and just recently pulled it out.  All I had to do was put the binding on so I did that yesterday.  I have two other purple wall hangings that go with this; this reminds me of California Wine Country.

Again, the quilting is hard to see but I have this in all the white squares.  I did use a template on these circles and disappearing ink.  I am very happy with the way this turned out; now that it is done I can get out my next project and begin working on that.  I will say it was such fun last night to sit and watch our Broncos play a good football game while hand stitching.
May your day be filled with beauty and creativity in all areas of your life.
Hugs, Noreen 

Happy Monday to you.  Can you believe that Thanksgiving is this week?  As you know, we are having family here this week so I was anxious to to get my quilt top done before they arrived; just so I could clean up my sewing room and have things tidy.  Many of you wanted me to post a photo, so friends here it is.
It is quite different from anything I've done before but I'm beginning to really like it.  I'm not sure what type of hand quilting I will do yet; I figure that it will be on my design wall until after Christmas.  I still have another quilt to bind before I start quilting this.
Are you going to be cooking all week?  We will be cooking a turkey and yams as well as some small side dishes.  As excited as I am about Thanksgiving, I'm itching to begin decorating! 
I hope you have a perfect day, followed by a perfect week.
Hugs, Noreen

Greetings friends,  More than half the day is gone and I'm just now sitting down to try to post this Thankful Thursday.  Firstly, I want to thank all our family and friends who have served our great country.  I salute you and truly say thank you. 
This is the Autumn quilt I just finished; I think it is my favorite and I am going to be using it until the first of December.  I love the colors and richness and it is hard to believe it was the easiest quilt I've ever made.
We woke up to several inches of snow this morning; it was wet so made traveling to my ladies study relatively easy.  The study was incredible as always; I think Beth's lessons touch each of us regardless of what circumstances we are in.  After the study, we met at our leaders house for a simple salad lunch and fellowship; such deep and loving bonds we've formed and before you knew it two and a half hours had passed and it was time to depart.  This group and study have blessed me so much; I am thankful that the Lord uses Beth's studies to touch the lives of many. 
The rest of the day should be relatively quiet and relaxed.  I am looking ahead to our family girls tea party in December and will have to begin making ornaments for all the grands. 
I hope you are staying warm, inside and out, and resting in the blessings He bestows.
Hugs, Noreen 

My Brother's Present

As I've shared previously, the reason for our trip to California was to celebrate my brother's 70th birthday at the end of the month. My brother has done so much for us over the years and the generosity he and his wife have showered us with, especially our daughters, can not be compared. I've never met anyone so giving and generous, ready to help out no matter what.
So it went without question last year when I approached my sister in law about his birthday, I told her that whatever she planned, we would all be in attendance to honor him. As I pondered what I could possibly give him, the idea came to me that I could make him a quilt. He is an avid animal lover(it is in my genes) so when I found this fabric that reminded me of the Rockies, I couldn't pass it up. I thought if he could put this in his office, then he/they would be continually reminded of the beauty of our area and want to visit more. He was so very thrilled at having his own quilted wall hanging, even if he only uses it as a lap throw it will make me happy.

We've got lots of great photos from his party that I will post, once I go through them.

Today we were back in the saddle again, so to speak, over at daughter's painting first thing this morning. It has been a good project but my friends, I'm here to say that I won't be sad to finish it or to see hubby be able to relax a bit more. Have a wonderful day.

Hugs, Noreen