Saturday, February 26, 2011

Alzheimer's Quilt Auction


My AAQI quilt is up for auction starting March 1st. Bid early! Bid often!  It is number 6193 and is called Hobbit House.  It was designed by Tonye Belinda Phillips and used with her permission. Thanks Tonye!

I just finished reading a book  by Thomas DeBaggio called Losing My Mind, An Intimate Look at Like with Alzheimer's. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at age 58. I see on Amazon he wrote another book When it Gets Dark. I think it was worth reading but it won't be for everyone.

I did a google search today wondering what had happened to him and his family and found out he died  this past week at age 69. If you are interested you can read a little about him at The Washington Post.

My brain is feeling a little heavy today but I do have a funny tale for you.
Every now and then my mom will get something going in her brain and she will not let it rest. My mom thinks someone stole her snow shovel.  Since she moved she has never had a snow shovel. For about a month now, especially every time it snows she talks about the stolen shovel. Yesterday she told me one of her neighbors has her Montana snow shovel and has been using it on the sidewalks after it snows.Most of the time I ignore it and let it pass, but yesterday I said why is it your Montana snow shovel. She answers, "I brought it from Montana with me!" I said, wow, that's a super old shovel then- at least 40 years old. She gave me the funniest look and I reminded her that she had been with Carl for about 20 years in Idaho and Dick about 20 years in Oregon. (Gee, I even forgot to add my dad who she was with about 20 years in WA) She hasn't lived in Montana since she was about 19 years old. It did prompt her memory but it was all I could do not to LMAO!!

BTW, here's my artist statement on my AAQI quilt: Trying to keep a sense of humor is important when dealing with Alzheimer's. The Hobbit House makes me smile.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Bouncing Around From This to That

 Here's the primitive doll quilt I gave you a sneak peak of a couple of posts ago. I signed up for a swap and this quilt now resides with Dorothy in Australia.
 This was a quilt that Cheri started online. I had vines down the center but really wasn't that thrilled with how mine looked so I took them off, quilted it and called it done. I'd call this one primitive too!
 I took out my Blind man's Fancy blocks and plan on working on them. I had the centers made I just need to finish the blocks. The two on the left are the newest ones. The original quilt has flying geese sashing. I'm sure that will take me some time to do. The blocks are fun and very random as far as colors.
Look what came today. Three quilts from my quilter!! I guess I'll be working on some binding too.

Have a wonderful quilty week!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Little Quilts and drawing winner

I received my wonderful doll quilt from Dorothy yesterday. Isn't it amazing?! And yes, that is hand quilting!! Thank you so much Dorothy, it will surely be a treasure in my home.
 Here's a little quilt I made for a friend. A larger version was designed by my other friend Jill. You can find the pattern free at the Baum website.
Here is another quilt I finished but because it is for a special challenge I cannot show it. We each got an old block in red or wine (like the blue one on the back of mine) and we had to make a 24" quilt. We could slice, dice or keep in whole. The unveiling is next month and I'll be able to show it then.

Thank you all for posting your photos or sending me a photo of your Midnight Stars. I had my hubby draw a number which was 7- Maureen from Pursuit of Quilts! Congratulations Maureen. Please email me with your address and I'll get the package in the mail.

Have a wonderful quilty day!!

Monday, February 14, 2011

I have actually been getting a little done this past week. Today the wind is blowing like crazy and figured it would be a good time to get caught up.


Here's block number 2 of Jan Patek's Bible quilt.
Block #10 of Beyond the Cherry Tree.
I have really enjoyed seeing all the versions of Midnight Stars!! Thanks you so much for playing along and posting them! When I first thought of doing Cheddar Cheese & Crackers I asked a fellow blogger if she thought anyone would play along. I had no idea I'd ever do more than one quiltalong. It has been so much fun!! Here is the lovely little stack of blue fat quarters for the drawing. Of course, I had to put in one FQer of cheddar!! That's what started it right? I'll draw a number Wednesday morning from the entries.
Happy Valentines Day!!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Midnight Stars Quilt Show- Add Yours!



I hope I've given everyone enough time to at finish your Midnight Stars quilt top. It doesn't need to be quilted to add your link. I'd love to see all the different versions.

Please add a link to the blog post that has your Midnight Stars quilt on it, not just your blog. I'm using a new linky service so hopefully it will be just as easy as we used before. I can post photos if you do not have a blog. Just send them to me.

I added a couple of no bloggers photos to my Picasa web album. You can see the little thumbnail, but cannot enlarge them. You can see them here.
I'll have a giveaway and everybody that made the quilt is eligible to win!

Friday, February 4, 2011

Bible Quilt and More

I saw on Jan Patek's blog that she was going to be doing her Bible quilt as a BOM. That reminded me that I had the patterns. I haven't seen her say anymore about it, but I plan on doing one block a month. It will be a mix of wool and cotton. Here's block 1 for January. Not too bad considering I started it on the 30th! It has been awhile since I've done anything very primitive so I'm looking forward to this.

Here is block #8 of Beyond the Cherry Tree quilt. Pretty boring all by itself, but together with the other blocks it will be a wonderful quilt.

 I joined a doll swap that Christine organized. My doll quilt is ready to ship off to Dorothy in the Land of Oz. I'm only allowed to give a sneak peak until it arrives at its new home. By the way, be sure to check out Dorothy's amazing quilts! Her header quilt alone will knock yer socks off!
I ordered this cute necklace from Etsy's One Stitch Off. Pam and Debbie, fellow quilters are responsible for making these. I hate to remove it from the packaging it is so cute!! Mostly they make quilty kind of necklaces, but I believe they take special orders too. It is nice when we can support each other! Thank you ladies! I love it! (it looks like they've added some new things on Etsy!!)

I hope everyone came through the cyclone and snow storms OK. We've been sunny, cold and dry in Central Oregon.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

My Journey With the Jane Stickle Quilt

Many of you have asked for more information on my Jane Stickle quilt. I was intrigued by this quilt the first time I saw the book which would have been early 1997. I picked it up, looked at it, then put it back down. How could I possibly even think about doing this quilt?! I must have went back a couple of days later and took the plunge. I had no idea then that it would be a 14+ year project!!
I found a small online support group for a few other people who were going to do this quilt. I have the email from SadieRose that the list started Feb 15, 1997 with 17 members!
I made mine in the way of Jane Stickle also doing the around the world colors with the center block being the green one that reminds me of a shamrock.  On Sept 5, 1998 I had one more triangle to make. My book is all written over with wonderful notes about where I was or what was happening when I pieced that block. We did a lot of fabric swapping and I also jotted down who I got the fabric from. It was a lot of fun to revisit my notes.
As I show close ups please remember the name of my blog is Humble Quilts! Old quilts are humble and hardly ever perfect.
I love the pink squiggly fabric. How 'bout the pink cotton bolls?I still have some of that left in brown! Wow, it is really old huh?
I like the way my block was too big so I just sewed it anyway! I do love that fabric.
Even the ugly fabrics fit into the quilt so well! Again, really great applique! LOL
When I made my quilt there wasn't any special rulers, CD's, or computer programs. I made a grid on Word and stuck little swatches of block fabric on it so I could keep track.

I did find another email that said I wanted to have it quilted within a year of finishing the top.... September 1998- January 2011 is a little more than a year.....

Thanks for coming along with me to revisit my Jane Stickle quilt.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Wow! I'm a Winner!

I won a giveaway from Tara on Sew Unique Creations blog. Wow! I couldn't be happier with this gorgeous book. The subtitle says it all for me, "Small Scrap Quilts of Yesteryear". Does it sound like the perfect book for my library?! I wish I could purchase every new book that I want, or every new line of fabric that was gorgeous. Don't wait a second longer to get this book. Kansas City Star did an awesome job. The photos, the color, the paper- everything about it is top notch. Actually it is one of the best quality quilting books I have ever seen. Good job Tara and KCS!!!

I never knew Moda made muslin is so many different shades. There is a nice stack of these charms for me to use. And the other reproductions are just gorgeous! BTW, nobody ever told me these charms are messy!

Thanks again Tara.

It is dry, cold and sunshiny in Central Oregon. I wish we'd get a bit of that snow that I know a lot of you are experiencing. Stay warm and safe!