Memorial Day 2010

Remember that our Freedoms don't come from our Government but from the Military personnel who pledge to defend them every day all over the world!


Hello, it's been awhile again! I spent most of May catching up on my customer quilts and getting ready to go on vacation with my husband. We had a glorious time cruising to Bermuda on Celebrity's Summit.
I did get several quilts quilted and sent home with their owners as well as making a panel for the Parkinsons Disease World Quilt Project. The panels had to be 2'x2' with 6" added around. I chose to show my husband's family and his hobbies past & present. It arrived in NY last Wednesday.
I have a new toy/tool for my Millie, it's the Quiltazoid. Think of it as a spirograph for quilts! I haven't tried it yet but this week I will finally have time to get to it, look for pics as soon as I can get them done!

Did you know that Bermuda doesn't have a Quilt Shop? or a Yarn Shop? How sad is that! I know it doesn't get too cold there but imagine life without being able to go and pet fabric or yarn! Oh NO! Those poor Bermudians need a quilt shop, they just don't know it!
Here are a few pics from the latest quilts....

Thimbleberrie's 3's Company, a combination of pieced and faux applique blocks. It was a BOM at Country Quiltworks.

This is Joan W's wedding quilt for her son & his wife.
There were 3 more but I can't show them to you yet as they are going to be in Donna Lynn Thomas' new book...I'll keep you posted as to when it will be published and then post my pics of the 3 quilts that I quilted for her!

Have a safe Memorial Day!

Happy May!



Yesterday was my sister's 50th birthday and we all helped her celebrate at the Windlass Restaurant in Lake Hopatcong, NJ. This cake not only celebrates her b-day but her first year of being cancer free. Celene had a double mastectomy last January(09) and completed her chemo last May. At this point she is doing great, her reconstruction was amazing and we all pray for her to remain healthy and for a cure to be found for breast cancer.

Now as to quilting I was going along, getting quilts done for my customers when LIFE interrupted. Family is important and when they need you, you need to be there for them. My husband's parents are now living in a senior apartment looking out over Red Bank, NJ and the Navesink River. It's a huge change for them but a necessary one, here's to hoping that they enjoy a healthy and happy life together there!

These are pics of several quilts that I managed to get quilted before the bump...
Above is a strip quilt made with a Jelly Roll, very happy and bright, Dream Wool batting was used and very small stipple as my customer wanted the quilt to be squishy.This is a cotton and Minkee quilt with Moda's Snuggle on the back, Snuggle is Moda's version of Minkee. It's very cute, I used Dream blend batting and outlined the bunny with meander in the body of the quilt to support the Snuggle's weight.

Below is a basket quilt made by my friend, Marcy as a gift for her friend in Nebraska. It's made with traditional colors and custom quilted. I stitched a trio of leaves in the center of each basket, did a small meander around the baskets and a sunflower in the setting blocks which run along the center of the quilt.

This is a large twin sampler made with all Batik fabrics, Fairfield Bamboo batting was supplied by my customer. I'd never used this batting before and was pleasantly surprised with it's stability, softness and how well it looked after quilting. The second quilt in the teals is the same sampler just done in different fabrics, they are college graduation gifts.
Notice how the contrasting fabrics in the cotton quilt show the blocks more clearly than the busy batik prints do. They are both pretty quilts but the cotton really shows the piecing.

March is marching on to spring and April!

Hello again, I hope that you all survived the winter to end all winters and are enjoying this little taste of spring! Bandit Queen of the Quilting Studio, above sends wet kisses!
I've been busy with family, planning a wedding and birthdays. I've quilted a couple of quilts for customers, two for grandkids, Grace and Emily. They were both bright, happy quilts and a pleasure to quilt for Joyce H. and Betsy P.
No photos yet, I took pics of Emily's quilt without the data card in my camera! I will take some at my guild's quilt show this weekend at Archbishop Wood High School. County Line Quilters are having their bi-annual show, it's all members quilts with no judging just a lot of beautiful quilts with the stories of why they were made.

Below are 2 quilts that I finished, the first is Ruth's Spring Birds stack'n'whack, a very pretty and well made quilt. In order to not detract from the designs created by the fabric we opted to do continous curves in the stars and then stipple the background to make the stars pop.
This is part of a layette set made by Millie, she used Winnie the Pooh fabrics to make a quilt, a quilted pillow cover and a wall hanging. I quilted feathers in the pinwheels and cross hatched the center of the quilt. It's a very sweet baby quilt!
Happy Spring!

Rainy Days & Mondays by Melimba & Beccabury for Riley Blake Designs - Fat Quarter Shop's Jolly Jabber

Rainy Days & Mondays by Melimba & Beccabury for Riley Blake Designs - Fat Quarter Shop's Jolly Jabber

February--Groundhog Day, Sally & Mary's birthday!

Good Morning, it's cloudy here and we had a red sky this morning so I guess Phil was right and we are going to have more winter! I am not surprised since spring is on the calendar for late March anyway! :)
I am happy to announce that Julie of http:www.jaybirdquilts.com has her first quilt published in Quiltmaker Magazine http://www.quiltmaker.com/patterns/index.html !
Congratulations Julie! Cornflower Fields is beautiful and I was fortunate to be able to quilt it for Julie last fall! It was marathon quilting!
I worked with Julie at Country Quiltworks in Montgomeryville, PA and she is so energetic and excited by all things quilty!
Julie has several Moda Bakeshop projects on their website as well as quilts that were hung at Fall Quilt Market in Houston. Her Hunky Dory pattern is being kitted and sold by Fat Quarter Shop and Hancock's of Paducah! Way to go Julie! I am looking forward to see what else Julie has coming!
I was pleasantly surprised to receive an advance copy of Quiltmaker in the mail, just because I was listed as the quilter! How nice is that????

On my to do list are several baby quilts, I need to sew the last 2 rows of my Farm Fresh quilt that I am going to teach as a beginner class at Country Quiltworks www.countryquiltworks.net this spring. It's so bright and happy, all fruits and veggie farbics with had dyed solids, makes me yearn for my garden.

Helping Haiti - A Silent Auction - Fat Quarter Shop's Jolly Jabber

Helping Haiti - A Silent Auction - Fat Quarter Shop's Jolly Jabber

Happy 2010

Hello again, it's been awhile. I spent a good part of December finishing up my customer quilts, decorating, baking and getting ready for Christmas and my nephew's wedding the day after up in CT! It was crazy hectic but fun. Christmas was different with a blizzard here the day before we were to go to my sister in laws so we missed out on that! We did a quick exchange in the hotel the morning after the wedding. The bride was beautiful, the groom very handsome and the reception was fun!
For New Years we crashed John & I. We stayed home in the quiet and took care of the pups, all 4 of them.
New Year's started off fantastic after that as our daughter became engaged at midnight on the beach in Honolulu! We'll soon have a new family member as the wedding will be this October!

I don't make resolutions but for my quilting I'd like to finish as many WIPs as possible and with that goal I spent last Weds at my friend Sally's cutting and pinning several projects. I put the borders on a Pumpkin wall hanging that's been languishing for a few years! Now to back it and quilt it! I am almost done with the binding on Flower Show, a kit from Benartex that I bought at spring quilt market a few years ago, it's going to my daughter-in-law, Andrea to add to her collection. So that's 2, I cut out a veggie fabric quilt and the hand dyed solids that go with it, I can't wait to sew it! I also cut up Kaffe Fassett fabrics that really aren't 'me' to get them out of my stash and they will make bright quilt for someone! That's four!!! I am giving 2 flannel quilts to a friends 7 &9 year old daughters and the labels are ready to be sewn on. I machine sewed the binding on a Thimbleberries tree skirt that needs to go to Alaska and the newlyweds which just needs to be hand sewn down.

So far 2010 has been productive, I've made a list of what needs to be done for birthdays, weddings and other special occasions. Here's to getting them done! Keep warm and keep piecing!