A Second Helping of Jane This Week

This is "LS2, Barb's Diamond", an intermediate-level triangle which I paper pieced and then added the small diamond using the raw-edge machine-buttonhole stitch applique method.

If I can keep up this pace, my goal is to have the entire top finished by the January 3rd meeting of my Laurel Janes support group. After that, the headache of piecing will be replaced with the headache of adding a scalloped border, machine quilting the entire thing, and then binding a scalloped edge...My heads hurts just thinking about it already!

Thanksgiving with Jane

This is how I spent part of my holiday weekend...

This is "LS6, Susie Q", an intermediate-level triangle which I paper-pieced and then added the melon-shaped piece using the raw-edge machine-buttonhole stitch applique method.

Only seven more triangles and four corner kite-shaped pieces to go!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wish all my readers a very happy Thanksgiving tomorrow. I hope you spend the day with family and friends, if not in person, then in spirit over the phone, computer, whatever.

And in the spirit of the Thanksgiving season, this is my latest charity quilt. It's boxed up and will be mailed today to Basics, a charity in NYC, all part of my mission to make charity quilts for teenagers. The next distribution day for Basics is December 1st, so this should make it in time.

The back is pieced from leftovers...

Free-motion loopy quilting with variegated thread...

You can see the first quilt I sent to Basics here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Blessings

This Thanksgiving season I am reminded how blessed I am (and how blessed I have been all my life).

These nine pillowcases (and another three Christmas-themed ones) are on their way to be donated to ConKerr Cancer. I hope they will bring a smile to some children who are going through a tough time in their lives.

I used up 12 yards of fabric from my stash for these pillowcases...and NO, I am not going shopping on Thanksgiving, or Black Friday, or any other holiday to buy more. Holidays are meant to be spent with family and friends, not for spending money on stuff we don't need!

Maybe I'm Hungry

There seems to be a food theme going on here....last week it was "Connie's Brownies", this week it's "LS11, Kathy's Cake". It is a beginner-level triangle which I paper-pieced and then used the raw-edge machine-buttonhole stitch applique method for the tiny melon and the curved piece at the base.

New Blog To Check Out

This picture has nothing to do with what today's blog post is about, but we don't like posts without photos, do we? It's just a binding that I'm currently working on. You'll see the finished product soon.

In the meantime, go over to Cotton Cellar, a new blog from my fellow guild member Kathy. Take a look at the projects that she's working on -- her purses are to die for! And she sells them, too...both online and at our local quilt shop.

Go ahead, check Kathy's blog out and tell her I said "hi" and welcome her to blogging!

Moosewood Monday

Another great recipe from the famous Moosewood Restaurant. This time it's Southwestern Black Bean Burgers. I made them smaller than the recipe suggests and served them as a side dish for a Tex-Mex meal for guests instead of on a roll with various toppings like a burger as they do in the restaurant. I also made a fresh mole salsa to garnish them with. Everyone gave their thumbs up, so this one is a keeper!

Down to Single Digits

This is "LS3, Connie's Brownies", an intermediate-level triangle which I paper-pieced and then used the raw-edge machine-buttonhole stitch applique method for the two melon-shaped pieces.

This now brings me to only nine triangles remaining, along with the four corner kites. I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel...

Closeup

This is my version of the Jelly Roll 1600 Race quilt....the strips are all from vintage sheets found in thrift stores. See my previous post for a photo of some other quilts of the same pattern but with different fabrics.
Edited 8:00 AM -- to see what my friend Susan has done with her quilt, click here. I think the borders she added are a great improvement!

And They're Off...

What do you get when you put ten quilters together in a room for a Jelly Roll race?

A fun time and a lot of really cool-looking quilts!

Click on the picture for a larger view.

This past weekend, ten members of the Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild held their own version of the Jelly Roll 1600 Race. Before the start of the race, we sewed our 40 strips together into one long 1600-inch long strip each. Some used pre-made jelly rolls, others cut strips from their stash, and my friend Susan and I cut strips from our collections of vintage sheets. Once the race began (boy, you should have heard those sewing machines!), the winner finished hers in just under an hour. I finished mine in 63 minutes and the longest took just about 70 minutes.

Now I know what it's like to work in a sewing sweatshop... But this one was lots of fun!

A great time was had by all and the quilts look great, don't they?

Feel Good Quilting

This month I have a special reason to encourage everyone to check out AAQI -- they recently awarded a grant for Alzheimer's research to a professor at my son's university (Cornell). You can read all about it here.

In addition to that, AAQI is quite busy raising money this month with a Stanley Cup Quilt-Off as well as selling 1500 donated quilts  in Houston (including a few of mine).

With the announcement about the Cornell grant, I've decided to make an AAQI quilt in the Cornell colors of red and white. Won't you make an AAQI quilt, too? For details on how to do that, read here.

More Quilts Needed

Last week I blogged about a quilt that I sent to Basics. Victoria of Bumble Beans is asking for more help in time for their early December distribution date. She recently won a community service award for all of the work she has put into this project (a very well-deserved award) and blogged about it here. Be sure to read down to the bottom of her post for info on how to donate. As she says, you can find one of your old quilt tops (we all have them, don't we?) and just quickly finish it up. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. Just a completed quilt that will bring a smile to the face of someone in need. And pass the word...

Thank you!