RECEIVED GREAT MAIL TODAY

Hello
Today was a cold and sort of depressing day since it's suppose to be SPRING here in Missouri. Well Mother Nature surprised us with another crappy snow storm. Thunder snow at that! 6-7inches so far and it's 9 pm and still just a snowin'.
Then something happen to make the day a brighter world for me. WOW the mailman had a big soft package for me and it was the blocks from the Friendship New Years Resolution Block Swap. The rules were to use the pattern from New Year's Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini in red, yellow,light green & blue, with white background.
Join me in giving these great quilters a big pat on the back for a job well done. Thanks especially to Cindy DeWulf for being the swap hostess.

Take a look at how beautiful the blocks are:

                                                             Cindy DeWulf-Block1

Cindy DeWulf- Block 2 

                                                                 Mary Crowther

Patricia Stefanowicz-Block 1 

Patricia Stefanowicz-Block 2 

Sue Kerrawn- Block 1 

Sue Kerrawn-Block 2 

Nancy Huggins-Block 1 (MINE) 

Nancy Huggins-Block 2 (Mine too) 

The quilt is suppose to be 12 blocks so guessing I will make 3 more to finish it or another UFO added to the huge list....ha ha

Super Great Meeting with Debra Henninger

Tuesday, March 22, 2011 was a night to remember. I attended the Bits & Pieces quilt quild in Ballwin, Missouri. Debra Henninger was the guest speaker and before she started I was able to speak with her and have some pictures taken. She is so sweet and kind. The stories she told were very interesting. Wish you all that are making the Hobo Quilt could have been there.

She signed my 1st. weeks block Be Afraid pg.33, how cool is that. I also was able to see & touch, oh yeah you always need to touch the mother quilt. ha ha

Here are some of the photos from that night. I had my first row finished and sashed to show her.

Her label from the Original quilt.

THE HOBO QUILT

Here are some other photos of her quilts she was showing from the book.

Photos are not so good, but here they are.

Hope you enjoyed them as much as I have.

Happy quilting

Bye Nancy

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

When you raise a pint on St. Patrick's Day, here are a few Irish Toasts:

SLAINTE  Gaelic for Cheers, a Toast or to Health

May God bring good health to your enemies' enemies,

May you live to be a hundred years, with one extra year to repent.

May you be in heaven one half hour before the devil knows your're dead.

May the best day of your past be the worst day of your future.

Health, and Long life to you
Land without rent to you
The partner of your heart to you and when you die, may your bones rest in Ireland.

May your neighbors respect you,
Troubles neglect you,
The angels protect you,
And Heaven accept you.

An old Irish receipe for longevity:
Leave the table hungry.
Leave the bed sleepy.
Leave the bar thirsty.

May you never forget what is worth remembering,
Or remember what is best forgotten.

May you have the hindsight to know where you've been,
The insight to know where you are,
and the foresight to know when you've gone too far.

NICE SURPRISE

Good Morning,
Here in St. Louis it is sunny & warm already. I opened an email from Rosa Robichaud and the surprise is that a fellow quilter, Susan in Texas, is celebrating her 3rd. year of blogging and is giving away 3 wonderful prizes. Go see for yourself at http://susanintexas.blogspot.com/ the fabrics are so yummy!
I entered and got 10 chances. YEAH!
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One of my current projects is the Hobo Quilt by Debra G. Henninger.
I've been working on some HOBO Quilt blocks which are good fun and pretty easy. Here are some of the blocks I have finished so far.

                                                          Sit-Down Feed Pg.#127

                                                                        Gentlemen Pg.# 81

At the Crossroads, Go this way Pg.# 19

 (My 1st. attempt at machine applique.) Love it!

Anything Goes Pg.#17

A Beating Awaits You Here  Pg.# 15

Here is the Place  Pg.# 93

Chain Gang  Pg.# 47

Don't Give Up  Pg.# 65

Bread  Pg.#39

Well-Guarded House  Pg.# 143

Be Afraid  Pg.# 33

When it is not right, it's just not right!

About my 1st. HOBO block:
Well after reading an email from another member and yes read the directions more carefully I made some changes.
First I wasn't happy with the muslin I use so I changed it to Kona Cotton-Cream and I love that look much better. It gives a more richness to the block.
I switched to a light grey thinner thread and a new needle (boy that should have been my first clue) and moved the needle postion over so I was using a scant 1/4 inch seam.
Groups like this sure do give a great deal of helpful information all you need do is ask.
The end result has brightened my day.

Here is the picture of the new block:

Hobo Quilt Adventure Begins Here today

Starting on a new adventure and I am so excited. Something about this book and quilt has me really drawn to it. Therefore I am going to do my best to blog, journal and enjoy the ride.

For those of you that have not heard about Hobo Quilts by Debra G. Henninger, then read on and follow along with me. I know you'll want to join in on the fun. Even if you don't plan on making this quilt it is very interesting reading and learning how the Hobo's lived and survived. We are a new Yahoo group run by Stephanie Gallegos. Thank you Stephanie for organizing this for everyone to enjoy.

Here is a picture of one of many layouts from the book that shows the finished quilt- designed by Debra Henninger  and  Pieced and appliqued by Debra Henninger and Sharon Janzen and quilted by Jeri Rennie are they some talented people or what?

For my 1St. Block -BE AFRAID these are the fabrics I chose. I want to stay as close to the book picture as I possibly can.

My cutting layout:

My finished block:

I have also been going through my stash and pulling out fabrics that I thought would work, and have made myself a shopping list so I don't repeat buying the same fabrics...ha ha admit it you do it too!

So now off to give some attention to my many other UFO's and WIP
For now, thanks for reading and come back to check on the progress of the HOBO QUILT and my other projects.
Bye Nancy in Sunny St. Louis, MO.