Sunday Morning

"For God so loved the world that he gave 

his one and only Son,

that whosoever believes in Him

shall not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son

into the world to condemn the world,

but to save the world through Him."

John 3:16, 17

Merry Christmas Pillows

 I love my new sofa pillows. For lots of reasons:  Hexies, hand quilting, Christmas fabric, creamy background....but most of all because they were pieced by my friend Sharon Brandli. 

 One of the pillow tops was already quilted with chunky stitches so I finished the other two likewise. My stitches aren't as perfect as Sharon's but I love the surface texture on each one. 

 Sharon's hand-piecing took many hours of tiny stitching to put the hexagon together. Some of the papers were still intact and had to be removed but the tops were all finished when I brought them home with me from her sewing room.  A few yards of Osnaburg backing was all it took to turn them into pillows.

 These lovelies will be a very special reminder of her generous spirit in my holiday decor. I'm humbled to give them a good home.

 Merry Christmas to all of my blogging friends near and far.

(Just don't  get a tummy ache from eating too much candy!!)

Sunday Morning

"For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will

be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6

Dresden Love

Have you been noticing the popularity of Dresden Plate quilts these days? They seem to be popping up all over the place, even in some modern projects. This  pretty aqua, navy and green block is for Rene' who is this month's queen bee for the Mid-Century Modern Bee.

It was enjoyable picking the analogous fabrics from my stash to create the block. If you haven't tried one, you really should as they are fun and easy to make using the acrylic ruler by Darlene Zimmerman. The pattern, one of the most popular in the 1920's and 30's, gets it's name from Dresden, Germany, the center for 19th Century Romanticism movement in art including elaborately decorated plates.

My head has been turned by the lovely pattern in my own quilt making. Remember this? Well, after accidentally cutting all of the blades for my quilt a little larger than my original test block I had an extra block floating around. Needing a sweet dolly blanket for a certain grand daughter's Christmas gift, I immediately thought of my spare block.

 A search through the Lollyquiltz Stash Closet produced the perfect lavender background for my floral block. I quickly backed it pillowcase style and then top-stiched on the dresden, stitching in the ditch along each blade to quilt it as I machine appliqued the block to the quilt.

 The little pine bed came from IKEA and I spray painted it hot pink. At $19.99 it is a great bargain for such a sturdy little bed! The beds must really be in demand as Christmas gifts as they were out of stock and I had to wait for a new shipment! Whew...thank you elves, for your hard work! 

 The bed comes with a little blanket and mattress pad but they really weren't very cute so, of course, I made some bedding to coordinate with the doll quilt. I think that the fabric (again, from my stash) looks a little like vintage sheets, don't you?

Baby bear tested the mattress, pillow and quilt for me and found them to be quite comfortable.

There may have even been visions of sugar plum dancing in his head!

Sunday Morning

"For everything that was written in the past

was written to teach us,

so that through endurance and the encouragement

of the Scriptures we might have hope."

Romans 1:4

I'm an Author!

Well. Sort of.

 Every year I publish my blog posts into a book form. It is kind of expensive so I love to wait until there's a sale. The 20% off code arrived in my in-box last week so I was finally able to publish the 2013 edition of Lollyquiltz.

 There's even a dedication page just like in a "real" book. This year I paid homage to my wonderful paternal grandmother, Rossie Ann.

 Although there is an option to print the book exactly like the blog pages, to save on cost, I always choose to condense the words rather than print them under each photo. I also choose to print the pictures in medium size rather than my favored blog standard of extra large. (Love big close up shots of quilts!)

 Besides getting to choose a photo for the front of your book, you get to have a second picture on the back as well. Love that.

Maybe, like me, you would like to find a self-published book for yourself under the Christmas tree this year!

Blog2Print makes it really fast and easy. I highly recommend it..and no one is paying me to say that. Here's a spot that might save you 15% too.

Sunday Morning

"God -- you're my God!

I can't get enough of you!

I've worked up such hunger and thirst for God,

traveling across dry and weary deserts.

So here I am in the place of worship, eyes open,

drinking in your strength and glory."

Psalm 63: 1, 2 The Message

Sharon's Projects

Last week I shared with you that I'm now quilting with the frame and machine used by my quilting friend, Sharon Brandli, who passed away last spring. While organizing her stash and projects a few weeks ago, we came across quite a few WIP's and it was difficult to decide just how to proceed with them. Here's Sharon a few years ago at a quilt show put on by our Modern Quilt Guild.

The three of us, who were there to help, decided to each take 4 or 5 projects and complete them ourselves and give them to a charity. The other projects will, hopefully, be finished and likewise given by other members of the guild.
I already managed to quilt and bind this cute windmill top made by Sharon using reproduction fabrics. An easy stipple design with Sharon's machine was all that it took to get this one ready for a little child in the Birthday Blessings program.

I think that Sharon had a soft spot for reproduction fabrics as there was also a hexagon quilt top among the WIP's.

The top is a little larger than the windmill design and is beautifully hand pieced.

It's even attractive from the back! I love looking at all of her little stitches and thinking of her working on it. I'm not sure where this will end up or how I will quilt it, but I do know that it's super special.

You can tell a lot about a person from their projects, I think. Here's another beautiful hand pieced hexie project. This one is a pillow top and it's even got some hand quilting on it. There are two other's that coordinate with it. After some thought, I've decided to finish them for my sofa at Christmas time. I'll enjoy this remembrance. 

Three sets of quilt blocks also made their way to my house for me to turn into quilts and to give away for Sharon. Giving quilts is a favorite thing for me. It's humbling, though, to get to be the giver of Sharon's handiwork. It also makes me think about the WIP's that I have in my own stash and ponder.

 It's easy to flippantly begin. It's something else completely to finish.