Projects Complete for "Charming Girls" and "OPAM"

I know I'm posting my completed projects for October early, but we leave on our 11 day Carribean Cruise on Sunday morning, October 25th.

This red Hawaiian Dress for our adorable granddaughter, Gigi!













Fabric actually bought in Kona, Hawaii! (and my friend Lynn is making matching dresses for her two granddaughters!)








The pj bottoms with ruffles at the ankles



















that match the nightie top I made for Gigi last month!













Another Baby Girl Quilt, my pattern 4 Patches and Squares.
This one is backed with a cute "Suzy's Zoo" Panel and I used flannel for the "batting" to give it an extra soft feel!
The large pink squares are a coordinating "Suzy's Zoo" print!!



and 2 Flannel Burp Cloths, aka "Ni-nites" to Gigi. Two as gifts and two for Gigi to keep at Yaya and Papa's house for sleepovers!!













As for November projects, here's a couple I hope to complete:

Pin, machine quilt and bind Gigi's Hawaiian Quilt for her toddler bed:

A Christmas project for my SSCS (Secret Santa Christmas Swap partner). Since it's a secret, here's a hint-one of these possible patterns:
I could name a few more projects, but as we draw nearer to the holiday season, I know my time will be limited to sew. I think I will be a bit more cautious in my predictions of finishes.

A QUILT SHOW in San Jose

Last Wednesday I sent two friends (Nancy on the left of me and Lynn on the right, pictured below from the Brown Bag Retreat we attended in Sept), the following email (I know, corny, but I couldn't resist!):

Jury duty Complete! CHECK!
Working today and able to get some stuff for my good friend Nancy, and oh, by the way, do you need anything, Lynn?! CHECK!
Packing almost Complete! CHECK!
Boarding Pass Complete! CHECK!
Flying to be with good friends at a Quilt Show! PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then, Thursday morning I flew to San Jose to go to the Pacific International
Quilt Festival XVIII held at the Santa Clara Convention Center. My friend Lynn drove into town via Sacramento from Redding, spending the previous night at her daughter's house to get a "grandma fix," and picked me up at the airport. From there we headed to the Hyatt Regency/Convention Ctr for the quilt show, where we met up with 3 more quilting friends, Nancy, Barbara and Una, who drove up from the Buellton area, Central Coast of California.

When I say it is a big quilt show I mean it is an HUGE show--the biggest one I have seen, (more than triple the size of Southern California's Road to California Quilters Conference ) with hundreds and hundreds of gorgeous quilts to see as well as vendors of quilting supplies!

We hit the quilt show by 11 am., meeting 3 friends from Buellton. Two days of quilt shopping (fabrics, patterns, threads, notions, machines, etc) -- what could be more fun for 5 quilters?!?! Creativity was abounding, fabric was plentiful, and did we ever shop........................
We were so busy shopping we forgot to take pictures of ourselves, but here's a few of the beautiful quilts we saw:
To see more quilts from this quilt show, use this link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72308330@N00/sets/72157622630188058/

September Finishes-October TO DO's!!

My Brown Bag (quilting) Retreat was so much fun, as always!! We sewed non-stop, Friday from 8am-midnight, Saturday 9 am-12:30 am, and Sunday 8 am till the end at 3 pm, and, yet, I only finished two quilt tops!! I always think I will finish so much more, forgetting how time consuming some projects can be, for example, my "Moose Junction" (pattern by McKenna Ryan). All the animals, birds, fish, trees and mountain are machine appliqued on top, using a blanket stitch all around the raw edges. I timed myself while stitching around one of the mountain goats and it took 20 minutes to finish one!!! So this project was definitely labor intensive, but worth it.It's a favorite of Nick's, and I'm thinking of adding another border, making it a small throw for our motorhome--since it looks so great draped over our couch!

I also finished the quilt top, "Gigi's Hawaiian Quilt" for our toddler bed. I got the initial idea from a free pattern and changed it to make my own. The blocks are made with two 3 1/2" squares of different Hawaiian fabrics and two 4 patch squares. I love the way it turned it. The criss cross pattern formed by the 4 patch squares are actually a pale yellow fabric that has beachy items on it. This accent really brightens up the quilt.[I had planned on posting pictures from the retreat, however I left my camera at my friend, Lynn's house and won't be getting it back until we meet up at the Pacific International Quilt Show, Oct 15-17th in San Jose!}

I also managed to finish some other projects during September, including another Firefighter Baby Blanket...
a matching "Big Brother" Pillow case (pictured on the left below, both gifts for one of the firefighter's in my husband's dept!);
another "Big Sister" Pillow Case, for another new baby girl born to a member of the fire prevention team;

and lastly, I made a "nightgown" for my granddaughter, to match the nightgown of the little girl in her favorite book, "The Goodnight Book" (which was also one of my daughter's favorite books as a child!). (Picture will be posted once I have it!!)

My October TO DO List will be shorter than my September list was, for two reasons. First, because I was over ambitious last month, and second because I actually have less time to sew and quilt, since we are going on a cruise, leaving the last week of October.

I'm hoping to complete the following:

1) Pajama bottoms to match the pj top/nightgown (which is supposed to be the pj top-but it is longer on Gigi than I planned). The pajamas are made out of the softest fabric--100% bamboo!
2) Another Hawaiian dress for Gigi (made from Hawaiian fabric bought when we were in Kona, Hawaii a year ago (my friend Lynn will be making matching dresses for her two granddaughters as well!
3) Pin, quilt and bind "Gigi's Hawaiian Quilt" (pictured above)

4) Time permitting, pin, quilt, and bind the "Moose Junction" quilt.

And if there's more time, any other projects I've previously mentioned and haven't finished as yet!!!! Wish me luck!