Crazed over UFO Quilts

Done! Finished!
The best part about being retired is having the time to finish my unfinished objects (UFO).

This crazy quilt sat in my closet for 5 years. I almost gave it away at our garage sale. It was too big for our motorhome and our small 2-ft tree. I decided if I trimmed it down, I could still use it. Once I trimmed the skirt down, I felt like the skirt was more manageable to work on.

Squirrel is inspecting the finished Crazy Christmas Tree Skirt

Little Angels

Some buttons

Bullion stitches.

Traditional spider web

Ribbon stitches

This is a Mckenna Ryan design called "Beary & Bright". I love her quilts. I decided to do painted threads after buying Melinda Bula's "Cutting Garden Quilts". I liked the idea of adding my own quilting designs for a different look. I added loops to the corners so I can hang the wall quilt in our front windshield with suction cups.

I'm ready for Christmas!

Leaving Behind My Friends and Project Linus

Chama Quilt Show 2008 and Quilting Retreat

Since leaving Albuquerque, I have felt a little lonely for my friends I left behind. Even though we are in contact by e-mails, I still miss our Saturday meetings, the conversations, and our show-n-tell of our most recent projects.


I would like to share some of my pictures of my friends and a few of the quilts I gave to Project Linus over the past few years. I often scan the material's patterns so I can use the appliqué pattern to enhance the quilt.

Tumbling Blocks with Retro Dog


Fractions Pattern with bright paints.

Scrappy quilt was a UFO (UnFinished Object) for many years. I decided the little green men would be perfect.

Jumping Rabbit quilt. I love the Crazy 8 pattern. It is quick and easy.

Another easy pattern with butterflies.

Miss You Guys! Happy Quilting!

Quilts From My Past

Misty’s "Grandmother’s Flower Garden"

Pepper loved to sit on the hoop while I did my quilting.

Cathedral Windows - good traveling project

Double Wedding Ring for Misty. Six years and two countries later, I finally finished her wedding present.

First granddaughter - Bry’s "Peek-a-Boo" baby quilt
Pattern from QuiltMaker

I took a picture of Squirrel while he was watching a bird in our backyard. I blew it up and made a pattern out the picture. The hummingbirds and trumpets came from Carol Armstrong's books.

Squirrel thinks he knows that cat.

Finished wall quilt "My Garden Visitors"

Bry’s "Appalachian Trail " Cat approved for comfort!

This quilt was made for a friend of mine. She did not think she would ever have a child. I wanted to give her a special gift for her precious gift. This pattern came from P.S. I love you.

Second granddaughter - Vi’s baby quilt "How does your garden grow" Sunflower pattern from Carol Armstrong and Sunbonnet Sue is from P.S. I love you.

Max approves of the butterflies.

Backing Up Just a Little

So I wanted to explain how I decided to take up quilting especially in the late 70s when it was not so popular. It was also hard to find cotton material or quilting information/instructions.

I have to admit my passion for quilts started when I was a child. My Grandma made each grandchild a flannel tied quilt. I still have that quilt. The comfort and warmth kept me feeling secure during our frequent moves as my Dad received new assignments to different Naval Air Bases. This quilt was also my connection to Grandma.

Moving became a part of my life again when I married Dan 34 years ago. The Air Force moved us every three years so we, along with our two children, saw a lot of the world during his 27-year career.

I used my son as an excuse to buy material. He was going to need a couple of larger blankets for his new bunk beds, right? Why not make a quilt instead of buying all of them. Of course, it took me three years to finish it. Ami Simms quilt “Train Tracks” caught my eye in the Quilt magazine for my choo-choo train-loving 3-year old son. I marked the material with pencil and plastic templates. I sewed it together on my Mom’s old Singer. After basting the quilt, I bought a very flimsy quilting hoop from variety store. My husband had to add more wood and screws because the hoop would lean over from the weigh of the quilt. Through trial and error, and studying my magazines, I taught myself how to quilt stitch the three layers together. I did not like the rocking stitch. Too big! I could not get them small enough so I started using the stab stitch. I still use that method as of today. My only regret is not taking a picture of my first quilt.

The older posts before this one came from our first blog: Too Many Cats I plan to keep this one all about quilts, quilt shops, my projects, and any quilt shows I come across during our travels.

A Whale of a Quilt Show

We drove around Grays Harbor to Ocean Shores so I could go to a quilt show and visit their quilt shop. The quilt show may have been small, but it had some beautiful handwork on display. I thoroughly enjoyed the quilts, listening to quilt talk, and checking out the vendors’ booths. I took lots of pictures for my quilting friends. You can see them in Whale of a Quilt Show in Webshots. Of course, I had to stop by the Cranberry Fabric store since I was in the area, right? Very nice! It is packed full of bolts of fabric. The help was very nice considering she was very busy and by herself.

Here are a couple of pictures of my quilt that I have been working on. The Koi have been appliquéd using the turn-under-as-you-go technique. I am adding water lilies now.

Work-Camping in Westport, WA

We are settled in Westport, WA until spring – when we may decide to head for Alaska. We started work-camping for American Sunset RV. We will be working two 6-hour days every 7 to 10 days. I know it’s rough but someone’s got to do it, right? The only thing we are not looking forward to is rain. It can rain up to 16 inches in some winter months, but we are prepared with rain gear. It is not unusual to have standing water from heavy rains. The standing water does go away as the tide goes out, but that will leave a wet and muddy area. Dan made a porch out of a pallet and outdoor carpet so we can wipe our feet and will not be stepping out the door into puddles.

Oh, and there is a quilt shop within a mile of the campground called Quilter's Stash. It is a small quilt shop, but this is a small town. I was surprised to see a quilt shop here. She has around 1,500 bolts of fabric and offers classes. Guess where I will be when I disappear. With a long wet winter ahead for us, I plan to spend a lot of time sewing. I hope to finish quite a few of my projects. Our next door neighbor is a co-worker and a quilter, so I will have someone to share my interests with during the long winter days.

The town is small and doesn’t offer a lot during the off season, but the beach, two state parks, and the marina will keep us entertained. We have already spent some time watching surfers and kite surfers. The kite surfers are very good, cutting through the waves at high speed and occasionally rising more than 10 feet into the air. Lot’s of energy flowing in the waves and winds.

We met all of our co-workers and they are very nice. They are all full-timers. Most of them have more experience than we do with the work camping.
We spent one evening sitting around our fire with a couple of our new friends on a beautiful evening. We have been going for walks along the docks looking for sea lions and seals. One dock system is over 1/3 mile to the end. Sometimes we go to the state park to walk along the beaches and look for whole sand dollars and shells. There is also a 2.5 mile pathway between Westport’s lookout tower and the lighthouse state park. The path is a lot of fun to ride our bikes. This is the first lighthouse we have been to that allows people to climb to the top.

It is so nice to go to sleep at night listening for the sea lions barking, the fog horn, and crashing waves.