Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Doll Quilt Swap is Now Closed

We have 71 quilters participating in the swap!! Thank you all who joined. You should have received an email from me with the person you are sending to. If you did not,  please contact me.

If you want to see the quilts from last years swap and get some ideas HERE is the link.

I will repeat the rules here so they are in one place. 
Please take the time to make a quilt that you'd like to receive. 

24" x 24" or smaller. (It doesn't have to be square), Civil War reproductions, a label, with a deadline of mailing by May 30th.  

Fabric: 1775-1910 is a wide span of time but that is what we are looking for. Look HERE if you are unsure what reproduction fabric is.
We are not using 1920's-Current
Not primitive style, like Jan Patek, or cutesy like some of Primitive Gatherings or Joined at the Hip. (which I love, just not for this swap)
We want the quilt to look like it time traveled from days past.




  • Hand or machine quilting is fine. Quilted with a few ties is fine. Ties only is not.(please no yarn)
  • Please attach a label and add a note so the recipient knows who to thank.
  • Thank the person who sent you a quilt. 
  • If the workmanship is very poor and it looks like it was done very unthoughtfully I want to know and I'd like to see photos. 



  • We will have a linky party so we will be able to see all the little quilts!


  • I've got a good start on my quilt. Let's have fun!
    Happy Wednesday.

    Monday, April 27, 2015

    Doll Quilt Swap- Final Call and Rules

    DAR Collection

    Quiltindex.org
    If you haven't signed up yet for the doll quilt swap and have been meaning to, now would be a good time to do it. I will close signups Tuesday evening or Wednesday and send out your partner names no later than Wednesday night.
    The less rules the better, but here are a few needed ones:

    Fabric: 1775-1910 is a wide span of time but that is what we are looking for. Look HERE if you are unsure what reproduction fabric is.
    We are not using 1920's-Current
    Not primitive style, like Jan Patek, or cutesy like some of Primitive Gatherings or Joined at the Hip. (which I love, just not for this swap)
    We want the quilt to look like it time traveled from days past.



  • Hand or machine quilting is fine. Quilted with a few ties is fine. Ties only is not.(please no yarn)
  • Please attach a label and add a note so the recipient knows who to thank.
  • Thank the person who sent you a quilt. 
  • If the workmanship is very poor and it looks like it was done very unthoughtfully I want to know and I'd like to see photos. 
  • We will have a linky party so we will be able to see all the little quilts!


  • Any more questions, please ask. Have a wonderful day!

    The swap is now closed!

    Sunday, April 26, 2015

    Forever homes

    Our little pups have found their forever homes!




    I like that our humane society posts photos with the family when they adopt them. 

    Have a fantastic Sunday! I plan on gardening and sewing after church!

    Friday, April 24, 2015

    Ohio Sampler

    Here's a few more blocks from the Ohio Sampler.

     Oak Leaf adn Reel

     Ohio Star
    Bear paw
     I'm going to add some embroidery this weekend.
     My primitive little lamb from the original quilt.
    Here they are all together. A funky mix, for sure!

    You can see more blocks at KAREN'S, LUANN'S, CATHY'S, and NANCY's.

    And this is what I'm instagramming this week!

    Have a wonderful weekend!

    Wednesday, April 22, 2015

    Ten Reasons I Quilt

    I was asked to share a little something about my quilting at "Girls Night Out" which is an outreach ministry. I've never been before but thought, Yea, why not? Last night was my presentation. A few weeks ago I was thinking about what I could share in about 20 minutes. I thought 10 reasons I quilt giving me about 2 minutes per reason showing a quilt. It worked out great and I thought I'd share some of it here. (not all of these photos came from last nights talk, but these are the quilts I shared)

    I started by showing my first quilt and letting them know how I got started. (1993!)

    And in no particular order:
    For friendship: A Round Robin

    To Commemorate: My Jubilee Quilt

    To Commemorate: Our trip to Denmark

    Mental Therapy: A project to work on while at my dad's bedside in his last few months.




    Raise Awareness: Alzheimer's Art Quilt initiative. I donated and sold all of my little quilts, but brought Juliann's that I had purchased and told them about the project.

    Recreate History:

    Challenge Myself: 
    To Decorate:
    For Warmth:

    For comfort:  The woman who asked me to speak was the woman I made this quilt for with her husbands shirts.  When she was introducing me she told them what that quilt means to her. It was special.
    The Spirit Moves You:
    I ended with this quilt I put the binding on a couple weeks ago. The fabric has the words Love More and I had decided I would give her to the woman I went to Guatemala with. We shared something special and feel like I learned to "Love More" with her.



    I totally caught her off guard, but it was a perfect way to end the presentation.

    I think speaking in front of people got me ready to do that in a few weeks at the guild workshop and lecture. 
    Happy Wednesday!


    Tuesday, April 21, 2015

    Doll Quilt Swap- Update

    I've changed the mail date to be May 30th. There are several quilters heading to Paducah or Nantes for quilt shows that I want to make sure they get a chance to sign up if they want.
    Even though you won't have your person's name for another week, it is Civil War repros, so no reason not to get started if you want. I've just drawn my quilt out on Electric Quilt and am going to go make a test block.

    The swap is now closed

    Monday, April 20, 2015

    Doll Quilt Swap 2


    My received quilt from Pia 
    Last March I hosted a doll swap and as far as I was concerned it was a huge success! There were 60+ participants and only one complaint of a poorly constructed quilt.

    I'm going to start with this: If this ONE person signs up, I will tell you that you were the one that did a crappy job on your quilt. It isn't fair when you receive a quilt with lots of thought and care but you give something very disappointing.
    This workmanship is not acceptable. 

    Here's the rules:

    24" x 24" or smaller. (It doesn't have to be square), Civil War reproductions, a label, with a deadline of mailing by May 30th.  

    If you cannot (for whatever reason) send international please let me know.

    If you are interested please send me your full name, mailing address and if you do NOT want an international partner. loridweightwatchers@gmail.com   
    I will send you your swap partner soon. 

    You do not need to have a blog to participate, but I would prefer if I know you or you are a regular commenter on my blog.

    The swap is now closed

    Sunday, April 19, 2015

    Workshop in Ferndale, Washington

    Beautiful spring bouquet- not my workshop
    I had a couple people contact me about the workshop and lecture I'm doing in a couple of weeks. I cannot find your emails! So sorry, please email me again if you are interested in attending. I'll be finding out soon if there is room. 
    The workshop will be May 12 10AM-4PM and the lecture is at 7PM. 
    Thanks!

    Friday, April 17, 2015

    Samplers & Stars

    Here are my Stars in a Time Warp for this week and last. Last week's theme was printed plaids, this week was ombres.
    Here are 5 more fun blocks for the Ohio sampler
    Old Tom (drawn from the Ohio Miami sampler book) 
    Pomegranate
    A wreath
    I thought I was making this to replace my drunkard's path, but it is the wrong size, so I'll try and find a place for it somewhere.
    Sweet gum blocks. Aren't they adorable?

    See Karen's blocks HERE.

    It has been quite a week! My mom was suddenly sick and ended up in the hospital. She does good in her own surroundings, but mentally slips when she is out of her element. She kept asking me last night if she could go to the dining room to eat. I'm hoping the dr releases her today. It was strange being in the hospital, as the last time we'd been there was when my FIL died last spring.

    Here's what's been on Instagram this week if you missed it! 

    Wednesday, April 15, 2015

    Two Finishes!

    I finally got back to a few quilts that needed binding.  Here's a little log cabin table topper.
    Simple primitive quilting to match the simple quilt.
    This backing came from my friend Jill's sewing room after she passed away last year. It reminds me of the cute little things we collect and cherish.
    Here's the Love More I made with the P&B fabric. After my trip to Guatemala I think it means more to me now than when I made it.
    Here's a close up you can see the fabric. I'm going to give this to the woman I went to Guatemala with as we shared so much and we both learned to deepen our love to others.
    Here's the scrappy backing.

    Happy Wednesday!

    Monday, April 13, 2015

    Another Label, Mabel!

    Since the response and comments about my quilt label post were many and varied, I thought I'd show a few other label options. Please, label your quilts!


    You can purchase some like this. Iron a bit of freezer paper to the back to stabilize, then fill in the blanks and sew to your quilt. Easy, but not always appropriate for your quilt.

    I have lots of books for ideas and tracing. I mostly use these for special occasion quilts that I'm giving away.

    Sometimes The "label' is writing on the back of the quilt. 

    I'm giving away a recently made quilt and *gasp* it didn't have a label! I've added this to the back adding a small little flower copied from a tole painting book. (there is a reason I never did tole painting!)
    A simple no-hand-sewing label can be made like this. Take a square of fabric you will use for your label. and fold in half diagonally.
    I always happen to have freezer paper in my sewing room, so for this professional photo I grabbed a used piece and ironed it on one half to stabilize.
    Write what you will. (My lines were made with frixion and ironed away later) 
    Put in a corner of your quilt, pin, then add your binding and it will be sewn right in. It doesn't get much easier than that!

    Happy Monday!