Back to Normal . . . . .

Last week was a crazy fun blog week, between my top two all time favorite quilts, my giveaway, your quirks, and the Super Bowl, there was always something going on. It feels good to be back to normal this week, blogging about another one of my finished quilts, it's like having a great vacation but being so happy to be home.

I went through a brief, very brief, Asian fabric craze. I made quilt #3, Irish Chain Nine Patch, from Asian fabric, then started on this pattern. This pattern was from the 2005 Easy Piecing Quilting magazine, is called Oriental Plates, and was designed by Gai Perry.

I went right to town making those plates, I made several from different fabrics thinking I could pick my favorites for this pattern. I couldn't find any fabric for the "shelves" in the pattern or a border fabric to please me so I started thinking about what to do.......

Look what I found in my binder with this pattern, my rough draft of how I would change this pattern. This was my fourth quilt and I was already changing up the pattern, something I continually do today. I just can't help myself, I remember my Mom continually saying, "Thelma, can't you leave well enough alone!" Guess not.

Here it is....so instead of going with the plates on a shelf idea, I decided just to sew some rows of plates together and make some smaller plates for the border.

This is quilt number 4, I made another just like it for a friend which is quilt number 16. Number 16 lives in Boulder, Colorado.

This is the second and third quilt I made from a pattern out of a magazine.

The background fabric is a white on white gingko pattern. I think the quilting sets off the plates nicely.

I kept all these fat quarters of Asian fabric until just few weeks ago when I finally admitted my Asian fabric stage was over, and gave them all to a friend. I'm happy to have the space and she was happy to get the fabric.

"Are You Ready For Some Football . . . .. . ."

Finally, the big day has arrived .....

We've committed the program guide to memory . . . . .

We've got the house decorated . . . . . .

We all have our gear on . . . . .

Coke in our Colts cups and popcorn in our Colts bowl . . . . . . .

Peyton's warming up in the family room . . . . . . but I guess it just wasn't our day to win!

Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints!! You played a great game!!

We also have a winner right here on "Cs n Ds"

(my grades in school, no, my bra size uhm no, Cupcakes n Daisies..how clever is that! No I didn't think that up, but I like it!)

First I would like to say, WOW to almost 150 comments for my 100th post. I thought it would be neat if I got 100 comments for my 100th post, but I really didn't think it would happen. I don't know how all you folks found me but THANKS for stopping by. I am humbled you take the time to read my blog, there are so many wonderful and clever blogs out there. I'll be responding to your comments and checking out all your blogs as soon as I can.

With regards to our quirks...we may be the next segment on Oprah, "Quirky Quilters"....Dr OZ we need help! If you've not read all the comments go back and do so, we may be quirky but we're also clever, you'll laugh out loud, I guarantee it!

I don't know about you, but I feel so much better about myself after reading all your comments.

We're definitely quirky about our tea and coffee, special cup, no styrofoam cups, cream in first, no coffee pot...but "Sew Much More" beat them all with her, "I like to drink hot water".

We also like to count and list, I'm right with there with you on those. And Mary, yes, I think it should be a law, food should stay in its own place on a plate, no touching. Mary, how many times have you heard, "well it all ends up in the same place"......non believers.....

To "Can't Believe I'm Sewing", who touches raw meat? Not me and evidently, not you! That's what plastic wrap is for. And chicken with bones, not in this house! And Jo Ann, if someone is in my parking place at Walmart, what's a girl to do...wait, that's what you do, yes, thank you! And Patty, my feet are never bare either....sandals, rarely, it's so hard to get your feet in sandals with socks on.

Several other quirks were listed that I didn't even realize were quirks, separating and eating m&m's by color, of course, I think that's in the fine print on the bag, and yes, blues first, always. Weighing yourself with one arm on the towel rack, that's the only way to get scales to work!

Now if you ask my family, they think I have enough quirks, but thanks to you, I'm picking up a few new ones...especially the Almond Joy/Mounds one. Thank You Cheryl. In the past I too have had a hard time deciding which one, nut or no nut, milk chocolate or dark...thanks for solving that one, get both! Yes I will now get both!! And Pokey, I didn't know you should always pass the salt WITH the pepper...I''ll get it right from this point forward, Thanks!!

If there was a prize for best quirk, I don't know how I would pick one, but here are a few of the top contenders:

Maureen shouts out words in the middle of the night, scaring her husband but not waking herself.

Kimberly rinses off her ice.....hmmm, really!

Lori must make her bed, even if it's right before she gets back in it.

Linda ate her first strawberry at 50!! What took you so long!

Jane can't sleep until her closet doors are closed, Monsters Inc must have really scared you.

Karen can't leave the house until she's shaved her underarms and legs and made her bed. There's one I think my husband would wish I would start!

And Dee, she has perfect toes!

There are many more, too many to mention, luckily they're all safe and saved on my blog for eternity. Or until Blogger deletes them.

OK, now, without further delay......

Random Number Generator selected #5. Dianne of Suburban Stitcher is the winner of my 100th post giveway. Dianne left the following comment, "I have to read books in order. Meaning, that if it's a series, I HAVE to read them in order. Or if it's just books all by the same author, I have to read them in order of published date. Strange, but true :) "

Congratulations Dianne!

Dianne has selected a Gift Certificate from Cotton Charm Quilts.

Thanks again for stopping by, your comments mean so much to me. And for you folks that don't normally comment, that's OK too, I know you're out there reading my blog.

No post tomorrow, but I'll be back on Tuesday, hope to see you then!

She's Done . . . . . . .Part I of III

When I held up Toulouse, after sewing on that last border, I thought to myself, "she's done"....then I was like, hey when did Toulouse become a girl! My quilts aren't just gender neutral, they're genderless! In the past it's always been it, it, it, when I think of my quilts, but this one is all female. And you remember how I thought the red and white background was a little too bold in the beginning? Now I like it, I think it makes her sassy! So that's her name, "Sassy Toulouse".

This is finished quilt number 55, she measures 75" X 75", and has 1,561 pieces. I started her right after the first of the year and finished her on 2/1/10. Two days later than my schedule but that's OK, sassy ladies always keep you waiting. This is a Miss Rosie's Quilt Company Pattern.

I used Maison de Noel by Three Sisters for Moda, the fabric Carrie used for her pattern.

Now that she's done, I can tell you that she was troublesome as a child. At first, it was just getting the fabric. This family of fabrics came out several years ago and is scarce! Then it was trying to decide how to best use the fabric that I got, then we all decided that "controlled scrappy" was the best way to assemble the blocks.

Then once I added the sashing and started connecting the rows, I had this problem . . .

See it..second row of 9 patches, third 9 patch from the left....see how it looks like an 8 patch, that right hand upper corner just blends in with the background fabric. It was scrappy red fabric, but that piece had too little red in it! I told myself it was OK, once I got all the piecing done it would not stand out. I told myself that all night long. What would you have done?

Well the next morning it was still really bugging me, but I knew if I took that one little one and a half inch square out, I risked getting a better color but with a poor fit. And truth be told, it looked OK up close, it was just when you stood back that it screamed, "lookie here, look at this 8 patch block". I knew myself well enough to admit that my eyes would be drawn to that corner every time I looked at that quilt. So I swapped it out, and it only took around 20 minutes! The best 20 minutes I've ever spent on a quilt.

So I got the rest of the center pieced then I had this to deal with.....

as I've mentioned in other blogs, Lisa/Stashmaster and Nicole/Sister's Choice were sewing along on this quilt pattern too. Lisa had the Maison de Noel fabric and we did a little exchange where Lisa provided the fabric, we both made 4 flying geese from each set of fabric, then mailed 2 and kept 2. I was thrilled with my assortment of geese, but liked to drove myself crazy getting the perfect order. I arranged them in 4 rows, the first attempt took an hour. Two hours later I came back and made a few changes, then went to bed. I dreamed that I took all the geese down, wrote down all the possible combinations and started again. I did not do that, but I did move a few around that morning. One more look-see, a few more tweaks, then I sewed the geese into rows. Lisa grabbed one from her stack then one from my stack and sewed. I can hardly wait to see how that worked out......oh to have such faith in the quilting fairies!

There are several things that I really like about this pattern, one is the sashing...see those little one inch pieces..I love that sashing..how clever was that!

And these stars in the corners....perfect. Additionally, this quilt came together like no other. I sewed those geese together and they fit on that border perfectly, no fudging required.

Thanks Carrie Nelson, designer extraordinaire!

Also, thanks to the folks who helped me with my fabric acquisitions, I couldn't have done it without you.

And finally, now that's it all done, what I like most about this quilt is that I made it with friends.

Lisa and Nicole are blogging about their Toulouse quilts today too, go check them out, I've yet to see them myself, I can hardly wait!

On another note, if you've not shared something quirky about yourself yet, don't forget to do so on yesterday's post to qualify for my 100th Post Giveaway! If you have left a comment, go back and read them all, they are really funny. I laughed all day yesterday as they came in.

And finally, my blogging friend Rene is celebrating her 100th post today. We started our blogs about the same time. I'm sure she has something fun planned too, we better go check it out!

It's Here . . . My 100th Post . . . .

Before I get into the quilt and giveaway reveal I would just like to say THANKS! Thanks for stopping by, thanks for passing along your opinions, thanks for leaving heartfelt warm support, thanks for the remarks that make me really laugh out loud and thanks most importantly for your friendship.

OK....now for the fun part of today's programming!

Here's my most favorite finished quilt . . . .

This is my 39th quilt named Hibiscus at My Caribbean Cabin. It's 97" X 114". I spent 4 months working on this quilt top, a long time for me. I usually average a top a month. The top has 80 nine inch log cabin blocks. The border has too many strips to count!

I'd been wanting to make a log cabin quilt for a long time. The options are endless. You could spend your whole quilting career making log cabin quilts and never get bored.

I think Judy Martin has a wonderful book for log cabin patterns and ideas. My log cabin quilt isn't a specific pattern from her book, but a combination of several.

I started with this colorway. But I did not like the center or border.

I liked the center of this top so I modified it to fit into mine.

There are probably several ways to make log cabin blocks, the main two being cutting every strip the correct size then sewing, or sewing strips then trimming. Judy think's the blocks are more accurate if you cut all the strips to their exact width and length then sew. That's how I made my blocks and they came out perfect every time.

I was very happy with the quilting for this top. When my quilter got my top she asked me what was in the center, I told her they were supposed to be flowers. She did a good job of bringing the flowers to life, or making them more recognizable as flowers.

There are four of these designs surrounding the center star.

And feathers running up and down the dark and light pattern of the log cabin blocks. There are several things about this quilt that make it my favorite, but I think the main things are the colors and the quilting. It's a very cheery quilt.

And now for the Giveaway. The winner may pick one of the following:

1. My Vanilla Stars Quilt - Quilt # 43

2. My Elegant Tea Garden Quilt - Quilt # 17

3. Any kit from Quilt Soup, click here.

Or

4. $100 Gift Certificate from your favorite online quilt shop, Fat Quarter Shop, Hancocks of Paducah, Bonnie Blue Quilts, if they offer gift certificates you can have it.

The winner is to decide after they have been selected.

So here are the rules; leave a comment on this post by noon, Central Standard Time, Saturday, February 6th, 2010. In your comment tell us one quirky thing about you. The winner will be determined by a random drawing and announced Super Bowl Sunday (that's February 7th for you nonfootball fans) ! That's it!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you come back, and Good Luck!!

5 Quirky Things . . . . .

Since day one on my blog, I've had a list of "5 Quirky things about me". Just a little something to give folks who visit a feel for who I am. I've gotten several questions about my list so I figured for my 99th post, I would expand on each one a little.

1. Been to Oprah and Price is Right Shows.

I saw the Oprah show about 15 years ago, as a matter of fact, I was able to see two shows filmed. I saw Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks promoting something, I forget what, and I saw Billy Graham. The process of filming a show was interesting but the thing I remember most is after the shows were filmed, Oprah kicked off her shoes and fielded every question that the audience had. She could not have been more gracious or generous with her time.

I went to the Price is Right show a couple of years ago, just a couple of months before Bob Barker retired. It's a long day, trying to get in and on that show. You write ahead for tickets, but having a ticket doesn't guarantee you get into the show, just the right to TRY to get into the show. They must pass out at least 400 tickets, but only 275 get into the show. I guess they want to make sure the audience is full so they pass out more tickets than seats. So you have to get to the studio really early and wait in line to get an assigned seat. I got to the studio around 5 am and was in the middle of the line. Three hours later I found out I was one of the last to get into the show. Then groups of 25 are interviewed to determine who gets to "come on down". You have a nanosecond to make an impression, evidently I wasn't very impressive!

When I was preparing to go to the show, I noticed that most of the people who were selected to play the games wore hand made shirts with different sayings so I decided to improve my odds by making this shirt. Simon was our dog at the time. Once I got to the show I realized the reason so many people selected for the show wore specials shirts was because everyone had on special shirts. If you were in street clothes you were more special. I didn't get selected to play any games but after experiencing the whole process of seat assignments, I was thrilled just to get to see the show filmed. There were so many people who had traveled a long way to see the show that never made it past the front gate. And I know you hear this a lot about shows, but it DOES look so much bigger on TV! Bob Barker was great and it was a really fun experience.

2. I drink coffee every morning from a Christmas mug.

My Papaw gave me these Christmas mugs at least 15 years ago, they are by Debbi Mumm. Every year I would get them out and use them from Thanksgiving until New Years Day. About four year ago, when I was thinking about how sad I was to be packing them up it dawned on me that I could drink out of them everyday, there are no decoration police. So I do, I love Christmas, drinking my morning coffee out of these mugs is like a little bit of Christmas everyday of the year.

3. David Letterman's mom baked me a pie.

When we lived in Indiana, my husband and I went to a fund raiser where all sorts of sports memorabilia was being auctioned off to support a charter school for inner city children. There were all kinds of signed jerseys, balls, and posters. And among all the really great sports stuff was a certificate for a homemade pie by David Letterman's Mom. My husband was really wanting a basketball signed by someone, but pie is my favorite food and I've always thought Dave's Mom was a real character anytime she was on his show, so my husband said "go for the pie"and we won.

I didn't get to personally meet her but I did get to pick the kind of pie I wanted. Dave's Mom said that apple was her best so that's what we went with. We also got to pick the day we wanted the pie. In addition to the pie she gave us the blue pie plate shown above and her cookbook, signed. She also included a note telling me that thin pie pans made the best crust. Say what you want about David Letterman but his Mom is a real Indiana treasure, a very good natured and benevolent lady.

4. I've only lived in Illinois, Indiana and Iowa...one more "I" state to go!

5. Proof positive, I was a majorette in high school.

I was a whizz with a baton....look at those boots!!

So that's pretty much the skinny on my Quirky list!

I've also gotten a few questions about the holder I use for my quilt pictures. Here it is!

It's really a frame for holding photography backdrops. Not only does it hold my quilts, inside or out, for pictures, I can also hang fleece from it and use it as a design wall.

It came with 8 of these clips.

And it all fits in this handy travel bag. I ordered it from the EOS Lighting Company.

So tomorrow's my 100 post where I'll blog about my most favorite quilt and have a giveaway, hope you can come back!