2008 TQS Block of the Month - Here it is! All hand, needle turned applique. I loved every stitch, and it helped me become quite a fan of needle turn applique.

Arkansas Grandson Fan - Our oldest grandson (13 ) lives in Arkansas and is a Arkansas Razorback fan. His request for the quilt he wanted was an Arkansas Razorback quilt. I told him by the time I finished this quilt I was almost a Razorback Fan!

"Christmas Star" - I made this quilt for myself for Christmas in 1993. I also made a table runner to match it. I display both of them each Christmas. I made a second quilt and table runner, which I gave to auction off for the Women of Faith ministry here. This is one of my favorite quilts.

TQS BOM 2008 - This is the 2008 BOM I've ALMOST finished piecing the top.....but I've got other projects that have taken higher priority. So I'm not sure when I'll finish this. Just wanted to show it. I'm very happy with how it came out.

Maureen's Memorial Quilt - This was a memorial quilt for my sister-in-law's sister, who passed away from cancer two years ago. She was an avid gardener and scrabble player. So I took some pics of here, and got some scrabble tiles form amazon, and came up with this memorial quilt. The words describe what kind of lady she was. The flower applique is from the quilt pattern Sunshine Rose Garden which was in the Quilters' Newsletter Magazine.

"Alaskan Berry Picker" - This was a class I took in Eagle River, Alaska. The block was adapted from paintings by Barbara Lavalle, a local artist in Anchorage, Alaska. Everyone who sees this quilt asks me to make one for them just like it. It is one of my favorite quilts, too.

"Double Wedding Ring" - I took a class at "The Quilted Apple" in Phoenix AZ from Laurene Siminea. She owned the Quilt Store. The pattern is by Mary Ellen Hopkins. Laurene has sinced passed away from cancer -- but her store is still open. (Unfortunately this quilt has two stains from the quilt rack I had it displayed on. I don't know if they will come out or not.)

Solera Sunrise - When we bought a winter home in Arizona in 2001 this seemed like the perfect choice for our decor. Not too over the top southwest. It was a flip and sew technique done directly on the flannel batting and backing, so no quilting was needed. That suited me just fine because I was still a new quilter. It still hangs on my wall even though we have moved here permanently and I have changed from the southwest decor. It can be hung either direction.

I get by with a little help from my friends - I used "mile a minute" fabric to make the rick-racks but ran out long before I was finished. I begged, borrowed and stole fabric scraps from friends and ended up with bags full! I still have containers left of scraps to make more.

Bailey's Boat Yard - The quilt top design was supplied by Deb Levy for an on-line custom quilting class I took with her. The quilting design came about after a week of sketching ideas and finally deciding that the border would represent the beautiful west coast of British Columbia with mountains, setting sun, seagulls, rocky shoreline and trees. Because we were to stretch our skills I free handed a linked cable in the middle border with micro-stipple to make it pop out, water meander through-out the boat blocks and a quilting design mimicking the traditional "crossed canoes" block in the dark 4-patch blocks.

Wash Day - This was a really fun quilt to make. We made it at a retreat called Winterfest (well, I finished at home after the retreat). It was a mystery quilt...my first! And it was a real mystery, because they provided the fabric for us. I loved the vintage flavor of the fabrics. This was my first curved binding/edge. It was fun to do. My niece loves red, and she is the godmother to my daughter, so I gave it to her for Christmas this year. I think she was really surprised. She is pictured with the quilt.

Vintage Baby Quilt - If you need a quilt you can make in a couple of days, this is the one! It goes together really fast. The squares were raw-edged applique'd on and frayed nicely. It was quite cute after being washed!

Stars for Mom and Dad - I made this quilt thorough the Buck-A-Block program at a local craft store. They provided the fabrics for the blocks, I selected the fabrics for the sashing and borders. It was fun to make, and the fabrics made me think of my mother. So, I made it for my mom and dad as a Christmas gift. My dad isn't much of a sentimental guy, but I got the nicest thank you card from him that reall touched me. He even said to my mom, "She's quite the artist!" after he saw it. It really made me feel good. It really looked nice on their guest bedroom bed, which is what I made it for.

The First - A rather botched attempt at following instructions. One should not be on the phone when cutting fabric. May be adding some recently thought up embellishments.

The Next Chapter - This is Mt. St. Helens which is rebuilding itself. It reminds me of life, our past life and the future. Look at the future with optimism!

Tree Dimensional - The first mini by George Siciliano wasn't too bad so I tried another. 70 pieces in a 3" block. 31 blocks total. Most of them were made by machine, 3 I make by hand while I was on vacation. There was no wine while making this little monster. Really I was so pleased every time one of those little blocks came out correctly. Well worth the effort. I did use George's fabric.

Blues for Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk - This queen-size (96-inches square), machine-quilted beauty is in all cotton scraps from my stash. I made it to raise money for the Atlanta Breast Cancer 3-day walk. I'll be walking 60 miles in October to raise money for breast cancer research (Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust Fund). I need to raise at least $2,300 to do the walk. For every $5 you donate to the cause, I'll put your name in the drawing once. Winner (October 1 drawing) gets the quilt to keep. Find me at www.the3day.org to make a donation. Thanks!

The begining - This is where it all began for me. I started an adult education course in handmade patchwork and quilting. Then became hooked.