Back to work....

Good evening all,

Tomorrow I go back to work in the real world! My teaching job! It's been a great two weeks off and  I am rested and refreshed.

I also wanted to post a picture of what I have been working on during break! I finished my Celtic Solstice Mystery quilt from Quiltville.

I am really pleased with the way it turned out but I think I used some blues that were a little to light in color and should have been darker but other than that, it's a keeper. I still have to quilt it but that will have to wait a while! There were lots of pieces to sew together and I got to use lots of scraps and finished up some fabric. Unfortunately I have so much fabric I can't even tell I used any from my stash! LOL

I hope you all had a good start to your new year. I am currently working on a small baby afghan. I had some granny squares started and a row put together so now I am making more squares. I hope to have this project finished by the weekend and will post pictures then.

Please add some pictures and let me know what you are working on. I would love to see your projects!!

If you are in the snow areas, please stay warm and remember to bring in your pets!

Marie

Finish...my new mantra

Good Morning and welcome to the last few days of 2013. I have to say I am not sad to see this year leave, it certainly hasn't been a great one but I have hope that 2014 will be much better. I hope you have a wonderful new year celebration and if you are on the roads be very safe, find a designated driver.

My new mantra for the new year is to finish projects. I know many of us say that and I too have been saying that for several years. My last post was about quilts I had finished in 2013. However, I plan to do more finishing this year and maybe starting less new quilts. I found many blocks that have been started for quilts but I have no idea what their actual home would be. So I get to play with the blocks and create something new and wonderful. Most of these quilts will be donated to charity as my children have plenty of quilts and if they want something they are pretty specific about it!

Here is a Christmas Snails Trail quilt that was started several
years ago and I quilted it and bound it. Not sure where
this will end up just yet!

I think I have to find another way to take pictures instead of having my hubby hold them up! Another quilt that finally was quilted and bound was my first attempt at a red work quilt. The blocks were done as we traveled on summer vacations and then put into a quilt top. My younger daughter has claimed this one!

This quilt was stippled around the red work. I am sorry
 this last picture is tilted. It wasn't that way on my screen.
I enjoyed working on this quilt but not sure there is another

one in my future!

I saved the best for last though. This is a western themed quilt for my oldest daughter. I love how it turned out and she did too. This was a kit that I bought while we were on vacation in Maggie Valley, NC. I love their quilt shop. Here is a link to their site Maggie Valley NC Quilt shop. Go check out their website.

This is the western quilt. I loved all the fabrics.
 I quilted the Raindrops and Oak leaves pattern on this
quilt. 

Today I have found some pink blocks that look like hearts and I think I am going to put them into a baby quilt for a special friend who is having a baby girl. I also finished a long over due wedding quilt but can't post pictures of that just yet. I know I said no more new quilts but I had to start a quilt from my new book from Bonnie Hunter. It's her Star Gazing pattern, here is one block and now I have to figure out how to finish it! It's a great pattern for me because it uses 2 1/2 in strips and that is the same size as the bindings for all my quilts! I love how fast it went together, before I knew it I had 11 blocks done! 

What are you finishing this year? Be sure to visit the patterns for sale page and favorite it. I will have some changes coming to that page over the next few days. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR~     WELCOME 2014

Quilts I have finished...

Hope everyone had a great Christmas. We did and now the house is settling down again. Actually it started to settle last night after all the dinner dishes were loaded in the dishwasher and I got to put my feet up. We had a great day with our family and talking to friends and extended family online. What did we all do before facebook and twitter, etc. Ma Bell was our best friend then and we also had more face to face contact.

This is our dog Jake, sometimes he makes
it challenging for me to quilt when
he lays his head near my foot pedal! 

This is a very scrappy quilt
made from left over blocks from
other quilts. This was also
donated to church.

I have been busy working on a variety of things but today I was able to put the binding on a baby quilt (no picture yet until the mom gets it at her shower) and a charity quilt.

.

This is my daughter Carol's black and white quilt. It came out really well and she loves it. I finished this earlier in the year.

This is a 4 patch baby quilt I put the binding on today. I am going to donate this to the homeless mission at our church.


I am also working on the Celtic Mystery from Quiltville http://quiltville.blogspot.com/  My quilt sections are coming along nicely but I ran out of orange so my daughter and I made a quick trip to the fabric store today. From working on this quilt I learned that I have a fairly decent amount of yellows and greens but hardly any orange. I think I am ok for now however. Here are my sections. Tomorrow we get step 5 I can't wait!!!

I hope you have a great night! I am off to find something else to finish. I would like to get some projects done before the new year starts! What will you be working on? Please post pictures and comments. I would love to hear from you!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I didn't realize so much time had past since my last update. My goal is to help people shop for toys and quilts without having to venture outside this winter holiday season.

I hope you had a chance to visit my Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/shop/CalicoJunctionInc and browse and shop. Remember you can custom order the dolls until 10 December to ensure a timely arrival for your special child.

Remember the smaller dolls (the beanies) make a wonderful teacher gift as well.

Do you have someone expecting a baby? Special order their baby quilt in time for the baby shower!

If you have special order and don't see the color or type listed here or in my shop just drop me an email. I am sure we can work something out for you!

Marie

Good Morning everyone!

I am working on my second cup of coffee now and thought I would check in with everyone. I will have some patterns up here in a little while. If you see one you like let me know.

Today will require me to do a little work sewing. Please check out the website at http://dustbeegone.com/

These are great masks to wear and made in the USA by ME!!! My husband used his when he was insulating our house and just loved it. I think he still has them too! Have fun checking out the website and leave me your thoughts. They are well worth the money!

I am in the process of designing a Halloween wall hanging and my goal today is to complete two blocks for that. Once I have the blocks done I can start writing the directions. Don't worry these will be very easy to follow. I recently put a horse quilt together for my oldest daughter with the worst directions I have ever seen. I purchased it years ago and I won't say where or when or by whom but after struggling with the design I finally put it together. I feel sorry for any newbie to quilting who purchased that pattern. It's a lesson learned to me, keep things simple and have lots of pictures.

YOUR mission for today is to check out the Etsy shop and let me know your thoughts! If you see something you like or have questions on please let me know here. If you DON'T see something you would like, also let me know. I will see what can be done.

Have a super Saturday, the sun is shining here!

Marie

Welcome to Calico Junction!! This is a place for life to happen and also for quilting to happen!!

Grab a cup of coffee and come sit on the porch with me and we can talk quilts. I would love to see what you are working on and I will share my quilts with you as well. 

My goal this year is to actually complete the quilts that I have either just started or blocks and sections of quilts that have been sitting around forever. Some will be for sale, for charity and some just for me and my family!

I will have patterns to share and for you to purchase as I sort through my studios and also some fabric. Over the years I have accumulated lots of patterns that I will never use or try. I also have lots of magazine's that need to find a new home. I will be posting those here too and will happily send them to their new owners. 

To get things started I will share this quilt today. It's a log cabin design that I made for my daughter. She picked out the fabrics and she is in love with this. I have to admit that I really like the way this came out. I had my doubts at first because black and white aren't my normal color palette that I work from but once it was all done and on the bed!!! WOW!!!

So please share what you are working on. This is the first blog so there will be changes coming each time you check back until I get this exactly how I want it so please be patient.