Janie's Amaretto Cottage

 up on the design wall in my studio.

We arranged all of the pieced blocks

with the medallion center in a final layout

along with the setting triangles we cut today.

Wonderful colors and fabrics

Janie took them home to piece the blocks and triangles. 

Next will be the borders and then... 

quilting a finished top. Yea

Completely off my goals from January. Didn't set any for February and ended up spending three of the weekends on new projects. Love the bags Beckie and I made and finished. Over the weekend Steppin' Up the Squares, a last minute decision to join in a guild workshop with Mary Kay Davis the first weekend, that quilt top is quilted. Getting back to Amaretto Cottage, that fits into my goals. Yep, happy!

Enjoy whats left of the week and month

Tot Ziens, Jo

Finished bag

My Favorite Bag with the sash finished this evening

Lots of pockets too

inside and out

Enjoy your week!
 jo

Our Favorite Bags

Check out what Beckie and I made this weekend!

 This is Beckie's finished bag

(the bag in the background is made by Stephanie ;0)

My bag in progress

Almost finished, here adding the grommets. This bag ended up so thick that, even with Micheal's help, we had trouble snapping in the grommets. The pattern calls for 8 total and a sash gets threaded thru them. 

Beckie's went on in a snap, literally :0) The little round ones were not so easy and they cracked so I stopped at two. It was really scary cutting holes in the bag at this point and there is no going back! Still have the sash to finish once I decide on the grommet situation.

The green is the fabric I will use for the sash.

The bag has lots of pockets, outside and inside too! Everything has a layer of batting sewn into it so it holds it's shape. Inside looks like a Bucket Boss with 6 pockets. Pattern called for 6 on the outside as well but Beckie and I both decided that 4 large ones would be better for us. Pattern is "The Little My Favorite Bag" by Kati Cupcake. Beckie and I found it last Fall while we were on our own little shop hop visiting Friends Around the Block in Colusa, CA and then Sew So Shop in Yuba City (also my Innova dealer). Pattern for our bags and our fabrics were purchased at the Sew So Shop. 

Love how the two bags look so different from the same pattern, just like quilts. Beckie's leather look fabric that she found in the Sew So Shop made a very classy bag! Mine will be a project bag to hold quilting tools and supplies for workshops.

We had the best Valentine's weekend, sewing a project start to finish, we went out for lunch and Micheal made treats for us plus chocolate! We meet for lunch every Monday along with Donna, Nancy and occasionally more sewists join us. Beckie and I will be sporting our new bags today! Enjoy your day, especially if you have the day off :0) 

Me, off to finish that sash and load a quilt.

Enjoy your President's Day!

Tot Ziens, Jo

Happy Valentine's weekend

Wishing for all, a lovely long weekend

with lots of time to spend quilting or a project you love

and a Happy Valentine's Day

to spend with the person you love :0)

Groetjes van Jo

Steppin' Up the Squares finished top

 Steppin' Up the Squares

Pattern by Mary Kay Davis
Threads on the Floor 

Top is a finish :0)

Quilting yet to be done and I have some good ideas for this one.  Hummmm... a label and binding. OK technically it's a UFO. Still, happy that the top is completed! This was a fun fast project made in a workshop with Mary Kay on Friday. If you like fussy cutting and a quick project, check out Mary Kay's other patterns as well! Well written and illustrated. We all purchased more :0) What impressed me the most tho, was Mary Kay's challenge quilts. Wow, they are gorgeous! Check them out :0)

Update... Mary Kay posted a pic of my top on her Quilt Friends page of her website!!!

Fun! Thank you Mary Kay

Happy with the mitered borders. Most of the fabrics are a collection by Andover purchased at a quilt store in Genoa, Nevada when I lived in South Lake Tahoe many moons ago!

Earlier I watched a program on PBS on Quilts ~ Why Quilts Matter. This episode was from 2011 about quilts in museums. Some wonderful old quilts and they mentioned Gees Bend. Off to watch some of the Grammy's and then Downton Abby.

Enjoy your week

Tot Ziens, Jo

 "We will be known forever by the tracks we leave."
Native American Proverb

Steppin' Up progress

Yesterday I finished the center field and cut the inner borders for Steppin' Up the Squares, Friday's workshop project with Mary Kay Davis. 

During the workshop we talked about different layouts for this pattern and I played around with my blocks. I like the layout on the left but in different fabrics...

I am sticking with the original layout and design, on the right, because IMHO it works well with the Native American fabrics pulled for this quilt.

After fussy cutting the inner border fabric I decided the corners needed to be mitered so I put it off until this morning. All of the borders are now cut, pieced and laid out on the design wall...

Ready to be sewn this afternoon. 

I am going to finish this quilt top today!

It's been raining since early this morning and no wind today. Yea! Friday we had a large  Walnut Tree branch break and fall, luckily missing any structures or the fence.

Enjoy your Sunday

Tot Ziens, Jo

Workshop with Mary Kay Davis

Mary Kay Davis with Shimmering Sight

Mary Kay Davis was our speaker at Thursday nights Annie's Star guild meeting. I went early and met Mary Kay for dinner with Beth and Judy before the meeting. Really nice person, close to kindred spirits as we had allot in common :0) Plus it was great getting to the meeting early for a front row seat and a good view of her quilts during her trunk show. Follow the link to see more of her work. Wonderful speaker as well. 

Shifting Focus

by Mary Kay Davis

Pictured above are just two of many challenge quilts Mary Kay has made. I was hooked and showed up yesterday for her workshop. We made quilts from one of her patterns ~ Steppin' Up the Squares. Fun pattern that can be made in a day. Perfect for large prints and fussy cutting. 

Three of the group actually finished their tops! Cindy, Tess and Char were almost finished when I left early. We had the best day :0) plus we kept venturing out of the classroom and into Honey Run Quilters to make different fabric choices! One of the fun parts of a workshop! Our tops in progress...

Top & layout by Tess
I really like this pattern done scrappy!

 Cindy G

Both of these quilts will be going to the Wounded Warriors project at Morning Star Quilts.

Char

who fixed the goof on the layout before her blocks went together :0)

This quilt will be donated as well to a cancer organization

These three were the "over achievers" who finished their tops! Yea!!!

This is Mary L's. LOVE her fabric choices! 

The border fabric on the left is an addition from Honey Run and it's perfect!!!

My border fabrics pinned next to the few blocks I had sewn before leaving.

It will be finished today this weekend because I am not going to have another UFO added to the ones not getting finished! It's raining and windy today, the perfect day to quilt :0)

Thank you Mary Kay. It was so much fun to spend this time with you! Hope you made it home safe last night with this storm and that we will see you this Fall at our quilt show.

Tot Ziens! Jo

btw, if anyone is interested... Sue Spargo will be doing 5 days of workshops at Honey Run Quilters at Cathys in March!!! Link to HRQ with a photo of one of the projects! There are a few spaces open :0)