Orca Bay

I'm making some progress with Orca Bay. I have about 5 more rows to connect and I'm ready to work on the borders. Of course, Dusty had to give it a sit-upon and make sure he liked it. I think it brings out his gray fur very nicely!

Generals Wives' Block of the Month

I love a good block of the month, don't you?! I am participating at JoJos Quilt Shop with "The Generals' Wives" block of the month. Each month we receive fabric, a block pattern, and a little history about one of the wives of a Civil War era General. It is hard to imagine the hardships they endured! Here's a picture of the finished quilt.

We've done 4 blocks so far, The first represents Anna Marie Hood, wife of Gen. John Bell Hood, CSA; The second represents Eliza Brooks Bragg, wife of Gen. Braxton Bragg, CSA; The third represents Eleanor Sherman, wife of Gen. William T Sherman, US; and the fourth represents Irene Rucker Sheridan, wife of Gen. Philip Sheridan, US. You can learn more about each woman at this wonderful blog:  http://www.civilwarwomenblog.com/

I'm keeping up with the blocks and have even done some of the setting blocks. This should be a beautiful quilt some day. Can't wait to see it all quilted and on my 4-poster bed!

Jo Morton - Little Women and Courthouse Steps

Our Little Women Group did a great job with their Courthouse Steps quilts.

We had a fabulous turnout of Courthouse Steps quilts at our December meeting. Again, our group was very creative with the design and color of the quilts. The original design called for 1 inch cut strips, creating a 5 inch finished block. The finished size of the original quilt is 15.5 inches by 20.5 inches. Don't you love their creativity! You all did a great job, girls! 

Patter Cross Hymn Challenge for 2012

I am a follower of Patter Cross' blog...www.triplethescraps.blogspot.com and am participating in her Scripture Challenge this year, which is studying the writers of some of our favorite Christian hymns. This year I am making 5 inch x 7 inch pages similar to Patter's. She is a true artist, and I'm a beginner scrapbooker, and I am learning lots from her. The first hymn on January 1, 2012 was "Amazing Grace" and the second hymn on January 15 was "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus." I hope you enjoy my simple efforts!
  "Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face.
    And the things of this world will grow strangely dim
     in the light of His glory and grace."

see http://www.triplethescraps.blogspot.com/

Orca Bay Quilt by Bonnie Hunter

Bonnie Hunter is a prolific quiltmaker and master of the scrap quilt. You can check her out at  http://www.quiltville.com/ . My friend Pam talked me into making "Orca Bay" with her. Orca Bay is a mystery quilt--we didn't know what the finished product would look like when we started making the quilt. It will only be on Bonnie's website until May as it will appear in one of her upcoming books.

I LOVE making reproduction quilts, and for this project I chose a completely different color pallette. I had a fat quarter bundle of Mary Engelbreit fabrics (the yellow and red fabrics with the teapots are hers) and was influenced by another quilter that goes by "American Jane." Where Bonnie Hunter's instructions called for blues, I chose yellows.

I'm making really good progress and will keep you posted as my quilt grows. Bonnie's instructions include steps such as "make 240 2-inch finished quarter square triangles." Well, Bonnie (and Pam!) this was a super good challenge, and one I am determined to finish. I hope you enjoy my progress so far.

Jo Morton - Little Women and Lizzie's Little Quilt

I am part of a "Jo Morton Little Women" group at JoJo's Quilt Shop in Chesterfield, Virginia. We are currently working our way through Jo's group 10. I'd like to post some of our "Lizzie's Little Quilts" that we showed back in October. In future posts, I'd like to show you some of our other Little Women quilts. Our members were very creative with "Lizzie", making her larger, or using all different color combinations. Enjoy the show!