Wednesday, November 28, 2012

A surprise, flimsies, a challenge, and a winner!

This lovely little quilt arrived in the mail this week as a birthday gift from my sweet friend, Doniene. This woman knows me. Purple reproduction fabric churn dash blocks--love it!! It doesn't get any better than this! If you look closely you can see a bit of the beautiful hand quilting. I tried, but couldn't get a shot that showed the quilting better than this. Thanks you so much for this treasure!
All of the tops for my grandsons' Christmas quilts are sewn up. The baseball quilt got scrapped. I think little brother will want a Star Wars quilt when he sees big brother get one, no matter how much he loves baseball. These two are twin size.
And the youngest of my grandsons LOVES trains, so this quilt will be his. This is a crib quilt.



I need to get my November SewCalGal FMQ Challenge posted, so this seems like as good a time as any. I love to quilt swirls in random patterns, but found it a major challenge to swirl within the lines. First I practiced tracing over the printed design this month's expert, Sarah Vedeler, provided. Then I pounced grid lines on some swirl fabric left from the Star Wars quilts (seemed appropriate). I used a Design With Lines stencil from Pam Clarke.
The quilting did not go well. I tried going very slowly, but it didn't improve the swirls. On the black piece to the left I did the swirls all going the same direction. On the blue piece to the left I tried reversing the direction of the swirl each time. It felt very awkward trying to keep the swirl within the square. I had to finish up with some free swirling on the right, just for fun. I quilted one of my Halloween minis with the random swirls and really liked it.

There isn't more quilting to show because I have been doing too much of this...
...making all of the soap I need to get us through the holiday gift-giving (and supply our family's needs until I find time to make it again in the new year). For a few days after a soap making session the essential oils sure make the house smell nice.

Before I announce the giveaway winner, I want to let 5 bloggers know they are "no reply" bloggers, which means no one can respond to your comments because there is no email address attached to your account. So Dstitcher, Linda, Marcia, Carole in Nebraska and Anne Simonot, your accounts are either on "no reply" by default (that is the setting when you set up your account and it stays that way unless you change it), or you prefer not to be contacted, but that also means you lose out on giveaways where there is no way to contact you if you win. Many people don't know they are a "no reply" blogger, so I thought I would let you know.

Okay, that said, the winner of my "little" birthday giveaway is Mrs. Goodneedle! Since I already have your address, Mrs. G., I will get this in the mail to you tomorrow. Congratulations, my friend!

I will leave you with this photo I took yesterday of the moon rising over the mountains. Interestingly enough, Robin, of Solstice Studio blog (who lives a couple of hours away along the same mountain range) took a similar photo that evening and posted it here. Hers is a much closer, prettier view. Check it out.
Hopefully next post will have more quilty content. I need to get crackin' on my Barrister Sow-along blocks before Randy posts the next batch!
Until then,
Janet O.

28 comments:

  1. Lucky people on your gift list! I LOVE handmade soaps! Before I saw you mention what they were, I thought you had made a ton of fancy (and huge!) chocolates. :-)

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  2. The quilt from Doniene is beautiful!! And congratulations to Mrs Goodneedle!! Wow - look at all those soaps - I bet the house does smell nice!! (I thought they were chocolates too!) Your quilts for your grandsons turned out well - they will love them I am sure. Good on you making the deadline with the fmq-ing challenge, I've been fighting with those spirals today as well!! (Whew, long comment - lots to say!!)

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  3. From here those quilted swirls look fantastic! Thank you, thank you, thank you for the giveaway (I can't believe I won!) the moon photo is amazing, you live in such a peaceful and picturesque setting. I can just smell those bars of soap curing... mmmmm!! :)

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  4. When I first saw the picture of the soaps, I thought you were baking cookies and rolls. That's a lot of soap bars and such nice shapes. I know you do that for your family each year. Must be a lot of work.

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  5. What a beautiful little quilt Doniene sent!
    The boys quilts look great and it sure looks like you're prepared with plenty of suds :)

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  6. Oh Janet...we like to see what you are up to even if it doesn't involve quilting. The soap looks just wonderful, and I love that view of the mountains. Happy belated birthday to you! It sounds like you had a good day. I love the doily you bought.

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  7. Doniene's gift to you is beautiful! She does wonderful work, as do you. Your grandsons will cherish the quilts you made for them. When I first looked at the soap picture, I thought you had been in the kitchen making some mighty fancy fudge!!! I hope you have a day full of blessings!

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  8. Congratulations to Debbie! She's a most lucky winner.

    I am not clear on what way your post is not quilty related, when I could count 7 quilt photos, lol!

    The soap looks like candy.

    Beautiful moonrise!

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  9. Oh that Doniene! Isn't she a treasure? Such a pretty piece and her quilting is divine.
    The boys' quilts are just wonderful! Don't you know they will be over the moon when they unwrap those!! I love the way you put them together.
    I really like that swirly quilting pattern - must try that.
    Oh my! You have been a busy soap maker! Those will make lovely gifts!

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  10. Like some of the other gals mentioned, I thought you had been busy making chocolate candies - and now I see that they're actually soap! Glad I didn't try to sneak a taste of one! LOL What a lovely little quilt you received -

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  11. Your swirls are quite lovely and free-flowing. I found it difficult to confine them to the grid as well. But it was a fun exercise anyway!
    Love your grandbaby Christmas quilts - all of mine are also receiving quilts this year. Seems like a good year for grandchild quilts somehow!

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  12. What a great little quilt. I love churn dash blocks. Now you have a replacement for the basket wallhanging you sent to me! And the view if always breathtaking!

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  13. That little quilt is beautiful. I have a hard time finding repro purples and I love them so much.

    I have a hard time quilting swirls and getting them going in different directions too.

    Look at all of that soap! It looks so yummy! I need to get myself in gear and get some soap made here. We are completely out of homemade soap.

    Have a wonderful and Blessed day
    Kristie

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  14. There seems to be a lot of references to the moon this week - I guess I should have stopped to take the photo of the orange moon earlier this week to share...

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  15. Gurrrllll, that little Churn Dash quilt is to DYE for!!! I have an ongoing love affair with purple (my birthstone color) and churn dash blocks. This one is really really gorgeous. :D Lordy, look at all of that soap---do you sell any of it? I would be interested in some if you do. :) Love your moon photo. Some day I would like a camera that I could take moon shots with.

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  16. The soaps are wonderful. You've been busy. I remember you mentioned that you like churn dash blocks, so nice to have that little quilt. The moon is lovely as is your view.

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  17. Thanks for letting me know about my setting problem with the comments. I hope that I've fixed it.

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  18. wow - your soaps are amazing - so many and so many different sizes ad shapes - incredible!
    your swirls look great

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  19. Fun! Love your gift from Doniene...very special.
    Great kids quilts - they will love them.
    I too thought the soaps were baked goods until I kept reading.
    Love your view.
    Thank you for sharing!

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  20. I love to see all that you've been up to! Looks like fun!!
    Wow! That's a lot of soap. I'm sure the recipients love it as much as I did!!

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  21. Congrats, Mrs. Goodneedle!

    The moon rising tonight was gorgeous! But I just couldn't get a good shot with my iPhone (I didn't have my camera with me).

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  22. Lucky you getting that pretty quilt from Doniene!
    Congrats to Mrs. Good needle. That was a generous giveaway.
    I have trouble with swirls, too. Now you know random works better for you.
    Wow! Lots of soap! I can't just imagine the scent!

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  23. What a special gift from Doniene! Holy cow for the soap...you have been busy! I know first hand how lovely your soap smells. The swirls look very difficult but looks like you've caught on. Congrats to Mrs. Goodneedle, what a fun win!

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  24. Janet, you are much too hard a critic of your lovely swirls of quilting! And your photo of the misty moon by the mountains is strikingly beautiful. I think that your whole family is very lucky to have the benefits of your creative talents. Those grands will snuggle up!

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  25. Popping in quickly this am to see your happenings. I always enjoy.

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  26. Thanks for letting me know that! Hmmm, not sure how to change it, but I'll try to figure it out.
    Anne Simonot
    annesimonot@sasktel.net

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  27. Your grandson's quilts are as cute as they can be...Oh my, I can almost smell your yummy soaps.

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  28. Janet -- your soaps are *marvelous*! And smell so WONDERFUL! :)

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