My 2010 Work in Progress Project

This is the Mumbo Gumbo, by Pie in The Sky Quilts, pattern I'll be working on this year. I started this last August and have 12 of 48 blocks done as I continue to collect lots and lots strips of different widths. One just can't have too many!!

The quilt is very simple to make and looks great when all 48 blocks are sewn together. There are no borders, so once all the blocks are complete, it should go together quickly.

I do plan to complete this by years end, really.

My Hugs Quilt

A Hugs Quilt is something you really want to get, but don't want to do what you have to do to get one. After breaking my shoulder, my Wacko friends came together and surprised me with a Hugs Quilt.

All the brights just cheer you up immediately and will bring you the biggest smile ever. I love this quilt and have used it every day since I got it last month. I just kinda of feel like a little kid with their security blanket.

As my grandson, Sebastian, says, I cried happy tears when I got it.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!!

I WON!!!

My very very first on-line win and I'm so excited. Melinda, who is the sister of my friend Robin, had a giveaway in November, or maybe it was December on her blog http://melinful.blogspot.com/ and I entered and WON.

This is such a cute pin cushion made from salvages and backed in red fabric. The best part, I have a collection of pin cushions, this will be added as one of my special ones.

Melinda is one of the busiest quilters I follow. She is a long arm quilter, a teacher of quilting and blogs it all to share with us.

For this giveaway, I think there were to be three winners, however, once the deadline was met, she decided to make and give one to everyone who entered. How sweet was that??

(this was a prior posting, deleted by mistake)

A Slow Return

Well, I'm off to a very slow start in 2010. I took a very bad fall on New Years Eve and broke my shoulder.

I wanted to you let you know I'm on the road to recovery, this is my first day trying to type, however, it will be some time before I can sit at my sewing machine.


I do want to take this time to thank my family and friends for all your good wishes, flowers, cards, visits and best of all the good meals that were brought to Carlos and I. I love you all for the help and support.

The photo is an applique I did this last year and the flowers were from my friend Pat B., just a picture of what I have had the opportunity to do this last month, sit back and enjoy my coffee and smell the flowers.


Will be back to posting real soon.
Pamela O.
(this was a prior posting, deleted by mistake)

Happy Birthday Joanne

Joanne is a long time friend of my daughters, who happens to share the same birthday as my son Michael, New Years Day. My son has not turned 40 yet but Joanne will this Friday, 1/1/2010.

In honor of her 40th, I made her this quilt. Joanne and her family are from England and I happen to find this fabric that has London written all over it. I loved the colors.

The pattern is called "Enigma" by Pressed For Time Quiltworks. The main part of the quilt is made mostly out of fat quarters., very fast and easy. I backed the quilt in flannel, which I do with a lot of my quilts.

The label reads:

Joanne,

Happy 40th Birthday!

Made with love just for you by Pamela Osorio

Hope you enjoy the quilt Joanne.

Happy Birthday

In the World of my Sister's Pottery

This last Thanksgiving my husband and I went out to my sister's home in Topanga Canyon, CA. Of course I have been there many many times, but this time I took some pictures so I could share with you the world of a potter.

Life has been very good to her, she lives in a beautiful home in the canyon. This picture is taken on the walkway from the main house down to the studio where she does her work.

These next two pictures show some of the pieces she is working on, displayed so beautiful on wood shelves in the studio. She makes the most amazing dishes, mugs, bowls , vases and whatever else comes into her head. She has a great eye for color, the glazes she uses are brilliant and colors I would love to use in a quilt.

Patti is a wonderful teacher of her craft. Many times when my grand kids comes to visit, she is ready with a project for them to do. The kids absolutely love it...and they get to go home with something they have made. Patti is expecting her first grandson this spring, she will teach him well the craft of pottery.

She a HUGE collector of fine art and pottery. I'll come back later and show you some of her collections, but, this is one of the pieces in her home that I love. I'm not sure who the artist is but they have portrayed my sister so well at her potter's wheel and her wood shelves behind her displaying her work. It's just so her.

I feel Patti is quite modest, at times, when it comes to her work, but no one could be prouder than I am of all that she does. I love and adore everything about her.

I was born lucky, Patti, to have you as my twin sister.

The Wacko Christmas Party

This past Wednesday was the Wacko Christmas Party, one my favorite parties of the season. Good friends, good food and a Christmas exchange of gifts that is just so fun. These gifts are little tokens of our friendship made with love, let me show you:

These are the little ornaments I made for each of the Wackos out of red, white and green wool, added french knots and crystal's.






I put them in a bright bag, with a sewing kit in a jar and decorative matches for the holidays.











In return, I received many hand made items, a door hanger, small wallet, candles, dish towel, pin cushion's a hand made lapel pin and Santa that is just too cute to use as a pot holder. I love them all.




The evening was perfect, full of games, laughter and good conversation. Linda sums it up for all of us in a poem she wrote and gave with her gift .

To My Dear Wackos
The scissors are cutting
The needle is poised
For your next handmade project
For good girls and boys.
You love to create
It's the key to your heart
Sewing a quilt
Is your form of art.
Handmade with love
Is what you do.
And I'm very thankful
For friends like you!

Wishing you and your family a Happy Holiday Season!!!!

Helping Santa

WOW!
I did not realize it has been so long, November 9 was my last posting, that was 5 weeks ago.

Don't give up on me, I'll be back soon. Have been helping Santa.

Merry Christmas to all,
Pam

I had to go shopping.

I realized when I went to get a runner down for that Thanksgiving Holiday, that I didn't have one. When it comes to anything with the Autumn colors, I only have Halloween. I thought that to be a good reason to go shopping for fabric.

This past weekend my husband and I went to Temecula, with friends. Temecula has two great Quilt Shops.

Our first stop was the Temecula Quilt Co., they carry the Reproduction prints. This shop was featured in the Fall/Winter 2009 issue of Quilt Sampler Magazine with their Back to School Pattern. Not the best picture, the quilt is also on the cover of the magazine. Just had to buy the kit and I would say, Autumn colors.

Second stop, Quilter's Coop in Old Town Temecula. I picked the pattern below and one of the shop keepers help me pull all of these beautiful fabrics, browns, greens, burnt oranges, tans all just wonderful Autumn colors. I'm so excited!

The Pattern is called Fall Harvest (18" x 36") which is the bottom picture on the pattern and Pumpkins and Pinwheels ((24" x 24") which is the top picture on the pattern. I have more than enough fabric to complete both.

I would end this by saying, stay tuned in the next week or so, but that so won't happen. I will say, stay turned by next November, I will be ready with my Thanksgiving decor.

Can't wait to get started on these.

Group Quilt by Quilting Wackos

Our Guild, Quilters by the Sea, has their quilt show every two years. This year it was held in April and they had a category for a Group Quilt. The Wackos decided we would enter. The idea was to make a block by decorating a skirt as it fits your personality. This could be pieced or applique.

This is not the best picture of the quilt but there is a poodle skirt, there is a red, white and blue skirt, a Mexican skirt an Asian skirt, all of them are just great. The shoes are to die for and some are holding a purse or walking their dog. After it was put together, Linda did the quilting.

But see the block, center/bottom? There is our slogan:

Wackos's Rule!

OH WAIT....we have no rules

Robin took a picture of herself in jeans and flip-flops and printed it on fabric. No skirt there.

This is my block, me in crop pants which I usually wear. No skirt there. I even went further, if you look real close, you'll see a tattoo on my left ankle. I always said, when I turn that certain age, I was going to get a tattoo. Well that certain age has come and gone and I still don't have a real tattoo. Just showing a rebellious side of my personality. LOL.

This quilt took 1st Place Group Quilt in the 2009, Quilters by the Sea , Quilt Show.

YEAH Wackos!!!

Christmas in July...but it's October??

Remember, Wacko's Rule, OH WAIT....we have no rules.

Back, before summer, the Wacko's decided we would do Christmas in July. Well, July got pushed out to September, and September got pushed to October. Last night, we finally all met at Robin's house to celebrate our Christmas in July, September, October. We all picked names, I picked Sue. The idea was to take the word, CHRISTMAS, and find a little gift for each of the letters.

This is what I came up with for Sue:
C - Candle
H - Herbs
R - Runner (small, I made for her)
I - I Luv Suchi (gift certificate local restaurant)
S - Screen Saver
T - Tote (LLB pattern, I made for her)
M - Magic Rock (paper weight)
A - Anti-Bacterial Hand Soap
S - Stash (she loves orange and lime green)

By chance, Sue picked my name and this is what she came up with:

C - Cupcake pin cushion (she made)
H - Half yard of Lamb Fabric (my quilting mascot)
R - Red Rick Rack
I - Ice Ornament's
S - Starbuck's Gift Card
T - Tree Fat Quarter Pack
M - Mittens
A - Apron - (she made)
S - Snowman Kit (felt balls to glue together, cute)

This was great fun, good friends, good food and the fact we could celebrate Christmas, almost all year, was the best.

Wacko's Rule!

I think I may have written a little about my friendship group, The Wednesday Wacko's. We started about seven years ago taking a class that Robin taught. We liked the class so much, we sighed up for another class, and so the group began. We have a few that have left the group and a few more that have started, but basically we have kept the group around twelve people.

We first started with the classes in a local quilt shop and we were there for quite a while. We now meet in a class room where my husband works at the High School. Every Wednesday may seem like a lot, but it really isn't. We know life gets in the way and if we don't make it one week, we'll be back the next.

I, myself, feel so fortunate to have each and every one of these ladies in my life. There is not one I can't count on at any given moment. We do retreats together, quilt shows, dinner and movies...and it's just so nice to have people that enjoy doing what you do, quilting and all of life's little pleasures.
I love each one of the Wackos's and my wish would be that every women could belong to a friendship group like I have.


Of course, being a group, we have tried to set rules but it never works, there is always someone that will bend the rule slightly.

Thus, we created our slogan:
Wacko's Rule!
OH WAIT...we have no rules


Just wanted to give you some insight of the Wacko's. In my next two blogs, I'll be writing about some of the activities we have done this year.

Stand by.