Quilter's Eye Candy

February's Show and Tell

with the Nimble Thimbles Quilt Guild

was like a basket full

of
Eye Candy

So many wonderful quilts!

 Kathy K. finished 

Easy Street

the Mystery Quilt offered 

through Bonnie Hunter

of Quiltsville

 I've noticed so many beautiful versions of this quilt floating

around Blogland.

Kathy is our program director and has arranged 

for Bonnie to come teach at our guild next year.

We can hardly wait!

 Lynette received a bundle of batiks at 

a guild meeting a while back,

and had never sewn with them before.

 She commented that now that she has played with them,

she is addicted to batiks!

 Ruth's Spider Web

I have this pattern on my to-do list

and really want to make one of these.

Such a great way to use up scraps.

 Every spider web needs a spider.

Do you see Ruth's spider in the orange fabric

on the bottom left?

What a fun idea.

 Since it's still February, a few

Valentine projects joined the line-up.

Ruth made some interchangeable pillow slips

with an embroidery machine.

 and Gudrun brought a 

Valentine wall hanging

 I really loved the 3-D effect of the hearts.

 It's not too early to gather ideas for next year:)

 Judy has been taking classes each month

from Carrie Nelson

of Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.

 This quilt is comprised of two blocks.

 Can you identify them?

 Another project from a class with Carrie.

 (sorry, I can't remember who brought this one) ??

I'll be posting more quilts

from Show and Tell 

tomorrow!

Art of Quilting Show

 I'm getting pretty excited!

The 8th Annual

Art of Quilting Show

starts in 2 weeks!

The show runs from

March 5th-May 31st

at the Gilbert Historical Museum.

If you happen to be in Arizona

during this time,

make sure to stop by and 

see this fun little event.

 Over 100 quilts will be on display,

and this year the show will be featuring

Polyester Quilts From The 1970's

Now, that catches my curiosity!

(Did anything beautiful come from polyester?)

I will have my camera in hand

and be checking out these quilts

for sure :)

There will be special demonstrations

on most Saturday's

raffles, silent auctions

and opportunities to meet

fiber artist

Kathy MacCleary

 This is a self guided show with quilt displays in several rooms 

through out the museum.

I especially like seeing vintage mixed

with current designs.

The Gilbert Museum is located at

10 S. Gilbert Rd.

in old Downtown Gilbert

open Tuesday- Saturday 9-4

Spiral Eye Needles

 When ever I have a few minutes

to sit

I pull out my 

Festive Cheer quilt

 and relax 

with some hand work.

 I am in the process of hand appliqueing

60 circles

to the center of each block.

Call me crazy, but I find hand work

therapeutic.

Never the less, all those circles

means a lot of threading of needles,

my least favorite part of the process.

 When I reached my 40's those little holes

in the needles seemed to get smaller and smaller,

and now that I'm in my 50's

they are a complete blur.

Pulling out the reading glasses 

doesn't even help much.

 I was pretty excited when I was contacted recently 

by Pam Turner

and asked if I would review

Spiral Eye Needles

the side threading needle.

I need this needle!

Simply wrap the thread around the base 

of the needle,

pull up until you feel the thread reach the notch

and then pull down

securing the thread.

It's as easy as that!

Spiral Eye Needles

are 100% stainless steel

and made here in America. 

*Pam is the inventor!

To learn more about 

sizes and options

make sure to visit Pam's web site

HERE

My main concern was wondering

if the thread would stay threaded.

Answer: Yes!

I'm using the basic sharp SE 8-Q

for short stitches as I applique

and I find the needle a little thicker than

I am used to, but other than that

I'm a fan of 

Spiral Eye Needles

and will be using them again and again.

People Are Like Cactus

 Mr. Cactus and I enjoyed 

a wonderful hike

through the

San Tan Regional Park

not far from our home in Chandler, Arizona

 A glorious Saturday morning with

sunny skies and

perfect temperatures

hovering near the mid-70's

 Spring is in the air

as new growth bursts

through out the desert.

 The Ocatillo's were budding,

 and even the Cholla's looked happy

 to be sloughing off

the dead of winter.

As we passed 

thousands upon thousands

of majestic Suguaro's

I asked Mr. Cactus to find the perfect specimen

of a Cacti.

 You know the image I'm talking about:

A perfectly formed Suguaro

with two evenly spaced arms.

 But, as we walked and walked 

along the 

4.5 mile trail,

we could not find one perfect specimen.

Which made us realize that

People Are Like Cactus

How often do we go about our day

erroneously thinking 

most cacti (and people)

fit the image worthy of a logo,

and me, 

well, I'm just trying to make due with one arm?

 In reality

People Are Like Cactus

and come in all shapes and forms.

Some are short

and some are quite tall.

 Some rebeliouslly say 

"I really have no desire to grow any arms at all."

and others shout

"Look at Me!  I can grow three heads!"

 Many think positively and surmise

"Maybe if I work really hard

eventually 

eventually

my little starts will turn into beautiful arms."

And others just hope to be useful.

"I can be a clothesline,

or even double as a

cell phone tower!
Any one need a coat rack?"

 Some have absolutely no idea

where they are heading at all.

Up 

Down

Doesn't matter

And many, many times 

some of us are just 

A Complete Mess!

Which is OK!

Because Cactus, Like People

are each individually
created
and loved
by God
completely
for our unique differences.

Star In A Star Quilt Block

 One of my quilting goals

for 2013 

is to

finish up!

I am determined to be

more focused and 

complete as many 

UFO's

(unfinished objects)

as possible.

Last year I worked on 

Jackie's 

Blogger's Block of the Month

Did a great job keeping up

(even made 2 blocks most months :)

until the final block in September.

Now, it's time to pull out my Kaffe fabrics

and get going again.

 I really love block 12

Star In A Star

designed by the

very talented Sarah Fielke

of The Last Piece

*free pattern and tutorial

offered HERE

 And because this block is so much fun to make,

I pulled out more Kaffe fabrics and constructed two versions.

 My quilt is going to be a little larger than the original design by Jackie.

As I've laid out all of the blocks, I needed one
 more for the setting. 

I went back to the instructions and made another

Block 1

designed by

my friend Sherri McConnell (A Quilting Life)

With all of the blocks now complete,

I've promised myself to 

stay focused

and place them in their final setting 

right away.

I'll keep you posted.