January 14th Quilt Celebrations!

Are we getting ready for the quilt show, or what?!?

Joann shared these 3 bright and beautiful flower quilts.

Nice work, Joann!

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Joan brought this beauty, made for her sister Valerie.

"What Happens in Dallas, Stays in Dallas"

Another stunning Jacob's Quilt.

Beautiful, Joan!

Happy Quilting!!

"Almost" Roca Toffee Cookies

Here is the recipe for Sharon Hatch's cookies!

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 sleeves saltine crackers
1 package Toll House chocolate chips
1 cup chopped cashews or walnuts

Directions:

• Heat butter and sugar on stove until bubbly and brown (caramelized).
• Lay saltines out on a buttered piece of aluminum foil on a cookie sheet.
• Quickly and evenly pour caramelized sugar over crackers, using a pastry brush to smooth.
• (Note: The cooler the sugar gets the harder it is to spread.)
• Place sugared crackers in overn at 360 degrees for 8-10 minutes until bubbly.
• Remove from oven and pour package of chocolate chips evenly over crackers.
• With a spatula, coat the crackers.
• The chocolate will easily spread after a few miinutes.
• Sprinkle chopped nuts over top and press down with wax paper and refrigerate.
• Break into squares and serve.

January 7th Quilt Celebrations!

Well, I'd say we were back with a vengeance tonight!!  What fun!  It was so good to see everyone again, and what a wonderful array of quilts to share!

Sharon started us off with her first appliqued quilt.  So wonderfully colorful!

And she also showed us a beaded piece of an Indian woman.  So lovely.

I'm sorry to not have gotten a close-up of it.

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Then Pat shared two of hers.

I regret I can't remember the name of this one,

but isn't it a fun one to just sit and contemplate the pattern?

Beautiful border treatment!

And then this is a tumbler made to

show off a pantograph pattern she purchased.

The colors are so comfortable.

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Carolann shared two with us, as well.

The first is from the $5 club at Quilter's Junction

and became a memorial quilt for Tony, her husband.

It is such a beautiful piece.

And then this one, which she calls Baptist Fan

because of the quilting pattern Barb used on it.

It's a wonderful nine-patch and rails, something I would like to do.  Someday.  :-)

Both are lovely, Carolann.

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Joan shared her Pavers with us, made for her 7 year old granddaughter.

Do I have that right?  The colors are great!

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Then Theresa shared two with us.

The first is her 2005 Shop Hop quilt, which she is giving to Linus.

It's so cheerful and pretty.  She hopes a young girl will get it.

And then this one depicts her young adult life in school

and her first oil company jobs.

I particularly liked the names of musical artists around the outside border.

I recognized a lot of them, too.

Fun ones, Theresa.

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And then Geralyn brought Virginia's quilt to show and to be passed to some of the last people who will contribute to the quilting.  Isn't it just lovely?

Geralyn, you've done a fabulous job of coordinating this!

Happy Quilting!!

December 17th Quilt Celebrations!

As you can see, I'm pretty well behind it here!  But here they are, at last......

June shared this darling table topper, done in red and brown this time.

I really like this pattern!

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Theresa shared several quilts.  She had two family quilts that she's been working on from the pile originating from her mother-in-law.  She's getting them done!

And a cute nine-patch!

And a Sister's donation revamp!

I like this and am so glad the sailboats went to another top!

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Then Susy shared her Cowboy outfits she's making for her grandkids.

Cute, cute!!

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Sharon brought this amazing creation which is photos of her husband's handmade kaleidoscope and actual pictures of images from inside.  It was a collaborative effort of Sharon piecing and her husband quilting.  Very cool!

Happy Quilting!!!

December 10th Quilt Celebrations!

Tuesday evening we had a very small gathering at quilting.  Probably the weather and the holidays claiming attention.  But, we had a couple of projects to celebrate!

Cynthia brought a lovely reverse applique pillow.

Calla Lilies in red.  Isn't it gorgeous?!

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And Connie brought Sammy's Racetrack.

She designed and sewed it as a Quillow and added the cars, too!

Such a fun piece, Connie!

Happy Quilting!!

December 3rd Christmas Party and Quilt Celebrations!

We had such a wonderful time on Tuesday night celebrating Christmas together.  We shared a delightful potluck meal together, brought a pile of donations for the Mission in town, celebrated a few quilts,  listened to Connie read a tear-jerker Christmas story, and then exchanged ornaments.  I love the memories we make every time we get together!

I took some pictures of the evening, as did Ruth Decker, and here they are......

Gifts and the Nativity

Lots of food!

Five tables almost full!  There were 30 of us!

Fun Decorations!

Including these darling angels that Barb suggested we make 

and use for the tables and as a take-home.

 Our donation pile.

Getting ready for quilt celebrations....

I designed and made a Christmas quilt for 2013 

under the guise that I was making it for myself.

I used Moda's Wintergreen charm squares

and two other pieces from the same line.

Very simple pattern to show off the fabrics.

I had planned for months that the reveal would be

at our Christmas party, and it worked!

Jessie was completely surprised!

Score!

Connie shared a quilt that had started with being a donation to Linus,

but didn't seem quite appropriate, so Connie finished it

and is giving it to a friend who has battled cancer and is still on the journey.

It's all cats and there is something for each month of the year.

The back has cats on it, too!

Cute!

And Shirley Taylor shared this whole cloth quilt with us.

Beautiful!

She used a green thread for the quilting.

It's for one of her grandchildren.

Isn't it stunning?!

Then Connie read to us.....

.....then we had our ornament exchange.

As always, it was great fun.

Highlight of the evening, however, was the fact that June

scored the highest in being stolen from.

She was heard quietly saying, amid great laughter,

"I don't know why anyone would want to steal from me."

I think it was around the fifth or sixth time,

and eventually she just sat down next to Annie at the gift table

where she could easily reach a gift the next time.

Which happened at least twice more.

Physical comedy at its best!

And here's a shot of most of us that I patched together from 6 different pictures!

You can click on it to see it larger.

And here is the group shot!!

Blessed Christmas to each of you!