A Mini Quilt Swap & Roll Call

It's been a while so I thought I'd give you an update on what's been happening Under the Willow Tree.

Liz and I decided to do a mini quilt swap ... we had way too much fun, only a few rules and a lot of nail-biting (for me at least).  Our "rules" were pretty simple : we were to work with each other's favorite two-color combination, use half-square triangles and not be bigger than 12" square ...

My color combination was turquoise and red

Liz's was lemon and lime.


Imagine my total pleasure when I opened this!!!  I love it ... just what I wanted :)  It's already hanging and and eventually more of this will be displayed with it.

I  had fun to trying to meet Liz's requirements and I was in a real hotbed of quilting frenzy there for a while. Lemon and lime - like literally - like their skin colors?  Well, no, more organic really like apples and pears ... ok ... so I pulled tons of fabs and began cutting and cutting, playing and rotating.  I "cheated" a little and added a few sticks of red apple to come up with this.

But then I had quite a few triangles left over.  The only answer - USE THEM UP.  But be different.  So I added one of my favorite solid blues and voilá,  an entirely different quilt.  The triangles are 1" finished and I'm really pleased with the results.  My favorite bit ... the little vintage lemon beads I used as an accent cover-up.  It was rather hard to part with this little beauty, but because I was laid up my swap got mailed much much later than it should have so this was my consolation piece for Liz.

And since it has been so long I thought I'd do a little roll call too and update you on what the other girls have been doing Under the Willow Tree.

Maria has been a busy bee ... and already had two finished quilt tops under her belt by January 9th.  On top of that she keeps my mouth watering on a regular basis with all her yummy baking and cooking ... if only I could somehow transport myself into her kitchen on a regular basis.  Be sure to check out her blog to read and see more!

I actually haven't spoken to Dana for a little while but when we do talk it's like it was yesterday.  Man that girl can make me laugh.  She had me GREEN with envy with this adorable little snowman she stitched up for the holidays! He's an adaptation of Bunny Hill Design's March 2010 block of the month "Snowbound".

And Deb?  Well, Deb is going through a really rough time at the moment.  She could surely, surely use our thoughts and prayers right now.  She's been on my mind every day ... and when I don't think it will sound trivial or come at a bad moment, I'll ask what she's been working on and see if you'll post some of her beauties for you to goggle at.

A First Time For Everything

When Jovita asked me if I would like to join some friends and blog "under the willow tree", I thought, "sure why not-I've never done that before." That is actually my story of how I started quilting. It was 2001, and my then "over the fence" friend and neighbor (who shall remain nameless and blameless), would invite me on outings, which would always end up at a quilt shop. "You don't mind do you", she would ask. What could I say, she was driving. What I didn't expect was the sensory overload that awaited me. I was in a foreign country full of mind-boggling patterns, delicious colors, and sumptuous textures. In short, I was a goner! There was only one small problem-I had parked my sewing machine 30 years before, because I HATED to sew. And, over my somewhat plump, dead body would I ever drag it out again. But what to do with all that beautiful fabric? I continued to drool over and fondle fabric for several months, when my friend (noticing my dilema), swore on her cat's grave, that all I needed to sew was a quarter inch seam, and voila!, I was in business.I hauled out the offensive machine (which my neighbor said sounded like a Harley Davidson motorcycle),dusted it off and took my first class, and made my first quilt.
Thus, began a love affair with quilting and quilters,which lasts to this day.
So here I am, having reached full circle with my history-I had never quilted before that time with my friend, and I had never blogged before until this evening. There is a first time for everything, and everyone, and I hope you, perhaps first time readers and quilters, will join us under the willow tree for many a chat, and regale us with stories of your own adventures in quilting.