About Me

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New Jersey, United States
I am the wife of a wonderful husband and the mom of three super adult kids and their spouses. I also proudly have five adorable grandsons. I happily taught preschool for 25 years. When I'm not with my grandsons I spend much of my time indulging in my "Quilty Pleasures."

Monday, June 24, 2013

Make-A-List Monday

The Week of June 17, 2013
(In Review)


1.  Work on finishing the Building Blocks BOM that was sponsored by 
The Village Quilter  in Mt Holly, NJ.



This quilt consists of twelve 9" blocks and twelve 6" blocks with sashing and setting triangles set on point.

I used the Trellis Setting Pattern by Sharyn Craig.

I am hoping to find one of the fabrics I used in the quilt top for the backing.  

2.  Start cutting the background fabric for 

I am using a white dotted swiss fabric for the background.  I still haven't decided on the colors for this quilt but with a white background I am sure I will use bright colors.

3.  Begin working on a little quilt called "Square Dance."

This is a very simple quilt pattern so I am planning on moving this project to my BRODY project list.  I did all the cutting so now I just have to sew it all together.

4.  Work on a few paper pieced Dancing Stars blocks.


I planned on doing ten blocks but I only finished one.  
This block measures 6 1/2" unfinished.  This Quilt Along is sponsored by Amy Ellis of Amy's Creative Side.

AmysCreativeSide.com



5.  Work on the May and June blocks for my
 Paper Pieced Heart Sampler.

I did not get to this project.

6.  Work on the following BRODY Projects

Hopscotch in Neutrals
Blue Dresden Plate Quilt
Roll Roll Cotton Boll
Lazy Sunday
String of Pearls


The only BRODY Project I finished was Hopscotch in Neutrals.


This is an Alex Anderson quilt pattern distributed by JWD Publishing that I purchased a few years ago.  It wasn't until I finished all 100 blocks (6 1/2") that I realized there was a mistake in the pattern. 

 I figured that the publishers would want to know about the mistake so I went on the JWD website to send an email.  As I looked around the website I found the correction to the pattern.  I guess someone had already informed them of the error.  

Unfortunately I discovered the correction way too late for my quilt. I was not about to deconstruct all those blocks and redo them.   I ended up just taking my 100 mis-constructed blocks and joining them randomly to make a 60" X 60" lap quilt top.  

It looks okay mostly because it is very scrappy to begin with, but I am disappointed that it does not have the same effect as the original pattern.


I made a little progress on the other four projects.

7.  Spend 3 days with little Ryder.




8.  Attend the Byrne $5 Quilt Class.

Not only was I able to get my blocks for May and June but I also found two backing fabrics that I needed.  

9.  Continue to work on hand tacking some bindings.

I made a little progress on the binding of a table runner.

10.  Attend Strip Club at The Village Quilter in Mt. Holly, NJ.

I was unable to attend Strip Club because my DH had to use our car.  We have been able to get by with only one car for quite a long time mostly because my DH is able to ride his bike to work/school. 

 Unfortunately the time of the baseball game that he coaches was changed and so he had to take the car during Strip Club.  I was disappointed but hopefully I will be able to go next month.  




The Week of June 24, 2013

1.  Finish the nine "Dancing Stars" blocks that I did not finish last week.

2.  Work on the May and June blocks for my
 Paper Pieced Heart Sampler.

3.  Work on the following BRODY Projects:

Blue Dresden Plate Quilt
Roll Roll Cotton Boll
Lazy Sunday
String of Pearls
Square Dance

4.  Make a trip to The Village Quilter in Mt. Holly, NJ to pick up my strip club pattern and purchase backing fabric for Building Blocks BOM.

5.  Continue to work on hand tacking some bindings.

6.  Celebrate our 32nd Wedding Anniversary with my DH.  I'm not sure what we will do on this day so I will report on our day next week.  

7.  Work on some blocks for the  Skill Builder Block of the Month sponsored by Alyssa Lichner of  Pile O' Fabric.

Skill Builder BOM

8.  Try to find a pattern for a 5 yard bundle of coordinating fabric that I have.  

9.  Work on Lesson #1 for Aiming for Accuracy Quilt Along.

Aiming for Accuracy Quilt-Along

10.  Embroider Ryder's name on a beach towel he received for his birthday.

It looks like a busy week ahead.

Until Next Time.....Happy Stitching!!!

Sharyn


Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Show & Tell Tuesday

Show & Tell Tuesday

Today I will share two quilts that I made in the past few years.


Carolina Crush


 This is a quilt pattern offered by Bonnie Hunter in 2009 as one of her fall mysteries.  She called her quilt Carolina Christmas and it was made with red, green and neutrals.





     Bonnie designed this quilt in an attempt to use up red and green recycled fabrics, blending them with Christmas fabrics and other neutral scraps.  She used mostly scraps from her 2 1/2" strip bins.





I love the pieced border.


                                                              



It was my first attempt at making a scrappy quilt but I was not as adventurous as Bonnie.  My quilt is controlled scrappy.  





I finished my quilt in 2010.  It measures 96" X 96".

The pattern now appears in Bonnie's book:


This book is available HERE.



Autumn Chevron


The above quilt, Autumn Chevron, was also a mystery quilt.  I made this quilt in 2009 at Pennington Quilt Works.  



It is made completely with HST and two borders.  The finished quilt measures 54" X 78".  

I love to decorate with this quilt in the fall.


Until Next Time.....Happy Stitching!!!

Sharyn

Monday, June 17, 2013

Make-A-List Monday

The Week of June 10, 2013
(in review)


1.  Attend my DGS Ryder's First Birthday Party.

Dear Ryder's first birthday party was quite the celebration.


"Thanks Uncle JT and Auntie Shea for my new slide.  Wheeeeeee!"







"Hmmmmm!  If I knew cake tasted this good I would have had a birthday a long time ago."




















"Happy Birthday to ME!!!!"













"Are all these people here for me??"


"Where are all the presents?"
"There they are!!!"

"Birthday Parties are fun, Mommy!"





2.  Continue to work on hand tacking bindings.

I did a little work on bindings but not much.

3.  Continue to work on the following Brody Projects.

Going Buggy
Hopscotch in Neutrals
Blue Dresden Plate Quilt
Roll Roll Cotton Boll
Lazy Sunday

I finished the Going Buggy top.  I love the way it turned out.



I found just the right backing fabric in my stash.
It has been added to my Git-R-Done list.


4.  Prepare the backing for the Heather Spence Spring Mystery Quilt to Benefit Cancer Patients.




The backing fabric I ordered finally came.  I was able to find one of the background fabrics I used in the top, at Quiltshops.com and it was on sale!    The backing has been prepared and it has been added to my Git-R-Done list.

5.  Finish hand tacking the binding of "A Pirate's Life for Me" for Ryder's first birthday.




I can't wait for Ryder to be able to play with his new quilt.


6.  Finish 2 blocks and 4 triangles for my Dear Jane quilt.



All the blocks are now done.  I still have 8 triangles and 4 corners to do.  Currently my numbers are as follows:

Blocks       169
Triangles     44
Corners         0
Pieces      4512


7.  Make some blocks for my Just Takes 2 quilt.



I was able to finish 5 blocks.

8.  Spend two days with little Ryder.  (plus his party)




We had sooooo much fun together this week.

9.  Work on finishing the Building Blocks BOM that was sponsored by The Village Quilter in Mt Holly, NJ.

No progress this week.

10.  Spend some QT with my DFIL, DH and DS for Father's Day. 

 This was a very sad Father's Day for me but spending it with the great fathers I still have in my life made it easier.

It was wonderful to spend time with such important people to me.





The Week of June 17, 2013

1.  Work on finishing the Building Blocks BOM that was sponsored by The Village Quilter in Mt Holly, NJ.

I will once again try to get to this project.

2.  Start cutting the background fabric for 

3.  Begin working on a little quilt called "Square Dance."

4.  Work on a few paper pieced Dancing Stars blocks.

5.  Work on the May and June blocks for my
 Paper Pieced Heart Sampler.

6.  Work on the following Brody Projects

Hopscotch in Neutrals
Blue Dresden Plate Quilt
Roll Roll Cotton Boll
Lazy Sunday
String of Pearls

7.  Spend 3 days with little Ryder.

8.  Attend the Byrne $5 Quilt Class.

9.  Continue to work on hand tacking some bindings.

10.  Attend Strip Club at The Village Quilter in Mt. Holly, NJ.


Until Next Time.....Happy Stitching!!!

Sharyn

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Show & Tell Tuesday

Show & Tell Tuesday

Today I have two quilts to share; both of which were started at 
Pennington Quilt Works.

Lone Star


Lone Star (so named because of the one large Lone Star block found near the center of the quilt) is a large, beautiful quilt that has both piecing and machine applique.


Here are some close-up pictures of different parts of the quilt.







This is one of the two quilts I made at the 2009 PQW Saturday Sampler program.  I used many scrappy civil war reproduction fabrics for this quilt.  It even has a scrappy neutral background.



I completed the piecing and quilting on this quilt in 2010.  It measures 
84" X 86".  


Dogwood Days


Dogwood Days is a mystery quilt by Debbie Caffrey of Creative Moments.  

The pattern was entitled Undercover in Long Beach III.  I changed the name of the quilt to coincide with the dogwood fabric I used.

It is a "choose your own ending" quilt.  Once the blocks are complete you may set them in a variety of ways.  You are also free to change the borders in any way that you choose.

I was originally scheduled to attend this mystery class right when 
Hurricane Irene hit New Jersey in 2011.  Because of the severe flooding I was unable to attend.  It was rescheduled for a later date.



The finished quilt measures 48" X 55".  I pieced the backing from leftover 
10 1/2" squares.  It was completed in 2011.


Until Next Time.....Happy Stitching!!!

Sharyn

Monday, June 10, 2013

Make-A-List Monday

Here we go again.  Our Internet has been out for three days.  Comcast had a recording saying it should be restored by 10PM Sunday night ... NOT!

I'm at my DS and DDIL's house today so I am going to try to get this posted using their Internet.  Unfortunately, without Internet, I was unable to get many photos in this post.  

I have also recently switched to a photo holding website called Dropbox that I have not entirely figured out.  My DS told me that this is the best way to save my photos.  It may be, but now I can't find them.  AGHHHH!

Who stole all my photos???

Well, I'm sure they are somewhere floating out in the universe.  If you find a bunch of pictures of a cute almost-one-year-old and a lot of quilts and quilt blocks please let me know.  :D



The Week of June 3, 2013
(in review)

1.  Work on hand finishing the bindings on some of the many quilts that are piled in my living room.

Only one finished binding this week but at least that is some progress.  

2.  Complete the first PQW Saturday Sampler block and attend the class this weekend.  




3.  Continue to work on the following Brody Projects.

Going Buggy
Hopscotch in Neutrals
Blue Dresden Plate Quilt
Roll Roll Cotton Boll
Lazy Sunday

I made a little progress on Going Buggy, Hopscotch in Neutrals and Roll Roll Cotton Boll.  I don't really have any pictures to show yet.

4.  Prepare the backing for the Heather Spence Spring Mystery Quilt to Benefit Cancer Patients.

I was hoping I would have received the backing I ordered this week but it still has not arrived.

5.  Bind the Pirate Tumbler Quilt that I just finished quilting on my longarm quilting machine, Annie.

I've attached the binding and label.  I will hand tack it this week.  It is a birthday present for my DGS Ryder.

6.  Bind the Heather Spence Fall Mystery Quilt to Benefit Cancer Patients that I just finished quilting on Annie.

The binding has been attached and the quilt has been added to my "Hand-Tack Binding" tower.

7.  Piece a batting for the 2012 NJ Shop Hop Quilt currently loaded on Annie.

I pieced a crazy large batting ... 95" X 95".

8.  Put the finishing touches on a special shirt I am making for Ryder to wear to his first birthday party.

The shirt is done.  I actually made it in two sizes because I wasn't sure which would fit the best.  I will show pictures next week after Ryder's birthday party.

9.  Work on the next block for the Pieceful Nights Quilt Along sponsored by Jo Kramer of Jo's Country Junction.



10.  Gather fabric and complete the first step of
 Christa's String of Pearls Quilt Along 

I've chosen to use a white background, navy blue frames and bright colors for the "pearls."  The first step required me to do all the cutting.  Step complete.



The Week of June 10, 2013

1.  Attend my DGS Ryder's First Birthday Party.

2.  Continue to work on hand tacking bindings.

3.  Continue to work on the following Brody Projects.

Going Buggy
Hopscotch in Neutrals
Blue Dresden Plate Quilt
Roll Roll Cotton Boll
Lazy Sunday

4.  Prepare the backing for the Heather Spence Spring Mystery Quilt to Benefit Cancer Patients.

5.  Finish hand tacking "A Pirate's Life for Me" for Ryder's first birthday.

6.  Finish 2 blocks and 4 triangles for my Dear Jane quilt.

7.  Make some blocks for my Just Takes 2 quilt.

8.  Spend two days with little Ryder.  (plus his party)

9.  Work on finishing the Building Blocks BOM that was sponsored by The Village Quilter in Mt Holly, NJ.

10.  Spend some QT with my DFIL, DH and DS for Father's Day.  This will be a very sad Father's Day for me but spending it with the wonderful fathers I still have in my life will make it easier.


Our Puppy, BRODY, has been a little under the weather lately.


We took him to the vet and they suspect a parasite.  They prescribed some medication for him to take as we await the results of the tests.  Thankfully he seems to be feeling a lot better.  He is back to his VERY energetic and healthy self.  So glad you're feeling better, Boy.

Until Next Time.....Happy Stitching!!!

Sharyn

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Show & Tell Tuesday

Show & Tell Tuesday

I have a quilt and a bed runner to share today.


Mexican Winter Star


I made the quilt above at a class in Allentown, NJ.  


Mexican Winter Stars is a unique wall hanging using the designer's 
"straight seam piecing with curved results" method.


This wall hanging was made in 2008.  It was one of the first quilts I've ever made.  It measures 35" X 35".



The pattern is available HERE.



Serene Strips


Serene Strips was made from a Jelly Roll.  One Jelly Roll was enough fabric to make two bed runners.  I made another one for my DMIL for Mother's Day last year (2012).  




Nothing could be more simple than this bed runner.  It was designed by Kathy Brown and it measures 92" X 36".  This pattern can easily be adapted for any bed size.  This size is perfect for a king sized bed.

I LOVE the way this bed runner looks at the end of my bed.  I use it every spring.   I would love to make one for the other three seasons of the year.  

The pattern appears in the book:


by Kathy Brown and it is available at Barnes & Noble.


Until Next Time.....Happy Stitching!!!

Sharyn