busy

The whole household is busy, busy, busy this morning. I am prepping one of the applique blocks for the TSP. I don't care if Pat DOES see it---she still won't know entirely what I am up to, LOL.

I finished the re-stitching on the block that I had mis-cut due to a pattern error but mostly I am piddling at my own speed on this.

Skyler is sitting in the middle between the two areas of activity so he can go either way with the supervision he is providing. Mostly he is watching DJ at this point but not wanting to get TOO close.

And DJ? He is taking advantage of the cooler, early morning overcast weather to planting some dwarf nandina bushes in the space where he had taken out the bushes/shrubs, darned near trees previously.

Lowe's had them on sale in a mix and match sale 4 for $10. Can't argue about the price since they are normally about 6 bucks for a 2.5 qt. pot. We knew we wanted something that would stay fairly small and these are purported to only grow to about 3 feet in height. We have one near the end of our drive way that a previous homeowner planted. It will spread out horizontally and seems to survive in benign neglect though they should be pruned. (DJ was reading in his southern gardener books before we went to get them) He has never deliberately watered it and it still has thrived even in the drought years. Reminds me a bit of a burning bush with the fall color.

DJ says we can put down the weed barrier stuff black paper later but for now the what to plant question has been answered. I don't know if he still plans on putting down a barrier between the bed and yard or not. I don't want boards back down if they are going to rot out again or get insect infestation---again.

DJ and I were thrilled that our STL Cardinals were able to prevail and win the NL MLB wild card, even if I hate the wild card format. It was hard for us to root against the Braves and pull for whoever they were playing. Since we are out of the Midwest market and can't watch the Cards as often as we would like, the Braves are our secondary team. I do follow along on Gameday on the computer and he flips over to the ESPN crawl to check but it isn't the same as watching a game. Proud of both of our teams. STL has over come a lot of adversity this year to get where they are. Who'd a thunk it?

And sew it goes-------

meeting day

Okay, hiding behind the quilts in front are some of those fabric bins but this is how things looked when DJ helped me unload the car. There is also another quilt bag full of stuff and my purse somewhere in there, LOL.

The basket: three quilts that Shawnee volunteered to put labels on this morning. She and Nancy dropped by to pick up her quilt show entries. She said she would be back with them before I left to go home---and she was. THX!

The other stack you will see in a minute. All this had to be logged into the quilt document making sure they all had a number on the label and then stuck in the closet for now. I am going to have to find another spot to store them---like at someone else's house or we donate them earlier than planned.

Lois had completed this Scrappy Trips Around the World. Bonnie Hunter pattern found HERE. One of Lois' "go- to" patterns, I think she would tell you.

Next up, Lois had this 4 patch X quilt completed as well. Pattern Source: Bonnie Hunter's "Addicted to Scraps" column in Quiltmaker Sept-Oct. 2010. I think it would be fair to say that Lois likes this one too as she had two more tops made with the same blocks that we pinned today. LINK will take you to all of the "Bonnie blocks" featured in the magazine thus far though I don't think any patterns are provided.

Aline got the binding completed on her 2nd Romance Challenge quilts. She and her granddaughter teamed up to make a total of 4 quilts from the donated yardage we used. She calls this one "Dotty" Romance. No pattern---you just put about 3 inches of sashing all around some feature fabric (or blocks) on all 4 sides and then cut the resultant block at an angle with a square ruler. Just watch out for bias stretch when you handle or press them. Makes a fun quilt and a young lady is sure to enjoy this.

Bev had this cutie purse for show and tell. I think she made it for her granddaughter?? It includes a clip for her hair.

Bev came with armfuls of the same yardage she had shared with us last meeting. I know that Aline took some with her today for backing some tops she had at home. Bev also brought a friend with her and an Alabama top she had made to pin. Bev knows that I have to do the program at the JOY group in early October on this very subject. She and Julie stayed to help pin several others to return the favor.

I was off making copies of the hand out for the block we will be using for the sew in and didn't get a picture taken of Brenda's top that she made for a grandchild. That was one that we pinned in addition to Bev's top, Lois' two 4 patch X and one of Betsy's for DHR. Guess that waits till when she gets it done.

When I first got there I had discovered that someone had been doing some painting recently in the fellowship hall. I didn't know if we would be able to tolerate the lingering paint fumes. About that time the pastor had come thru and advised us to open the doors up to air things out. Just watch for creepy crawlies! I had left a box fan from home to help with the a/c situation earlier this summer so we used that too. The humidity was up pretty high this morning with a fog advisory. I don't think any of us were too comfortable with the air off necessarily, but you do what you must. It wasn't too bad by lunch time. If we had not had quilts to pin, we would have moved to one of the vacant Sunday school classrooms instead.

I didn't get a speck of embroidery done. I had even lugged the light box and supplies with me to tend to parts of the TSP. I followed the instructions on the pattern but unfortunately the trimming size listed was incorrect in one instance. Now I will have to re-do a stitchery block for the bday present. Trimmed, it will be an inch too short. Partly my fault because I didn't verify the accuracy of the numbers before I sliced it off----darn it! Good thing I like to embroider! I have to spend a little time sitting at the dentist office tomorrow so I'll tuck it in my purse.

Oh, my missing quilt entry was delivered to me this morning too........just as I thought it might be. We were right that it was hiding with the larger quilts.

Well, time to throw something together for supper. What exactly I don't know but I do not feel like messing around in the kitchen long. Definitely not that pot roast I had initially planned, just sayin'. DJ just had soup and sandwich for lunch so he'll need something heartier than that.

And sew it goes----------

Gadsden Quilt show 2011

A few of the quilts that captured my attention. Some of them I know the maker-exhibitor and/or the pattern. There is no printed program, I didn't make any notes and just liked them. Notes will follow the picture.

Made by Miss Reba in the Gadsden quilt group. Itty bitty yo-yo's arranged in nine patches. She was celebrating her 80th birthday on Saturday at the show. Miss Reba also had two sizes of Cathedral Window in the show. Obviously she loves hand work!

This lovely French Braid quilt was made by my friend Aline's daughter Fran for her husband Rick who has not see it yet. It was awarded a 2nd place ribbon.  Fran is currently living in Puerto Rico, waiting to sell their home so they can move back stateside when her husband retires from the AFIS food service from the military.  This has been a long, slow process for her.

Both entries by Edna Carr, a friend from the Jacksonville (AL) Piecemaker's Quilt Group. The winter scene on the right was awarded the Best of Show. LOL, I liked her African themed one on the left better but hey, I was not judging the show. The BOS was more improvisational, her own design, raw edge appliqued which may have appealed more to the judges.

This one received a blue ribbon in its category but I know nothing about it.

A pretty bargello in my favorite color. I was working with the lady on set up day pinning on sleeves but did not know her.

I do not know the maker or the pattern beyond nine patches but isn't it striking!?  ( ED NOTE:  I have some more information, thanks to a reader and commenter who told me  "Hi! that's a "Blooming Nine Patch" with alternating solid and nine-patch squares. Widely seen at quilt shows! From the book "Tradition with a Twist", 1996, by Blanche Young and Dalene Young Stone. Enjoyed seeing this one. "

THX!!!  I know that has been taught at a quilt show in Birmingham in the past.  I guess I just haven't seen many of them all finished up at a show!  I think even two of my FAB pals have made a version of it, years ago!  Just didn't recognize it as the same quilt.   Too often the entry forms or the person entering a quilt does not provide pattern source information on their submission---too bad, IMHO.)

Made by Gayle Naugher of Golden Springs Baptist (Anniston, AL) Stitch and a Prayer group. Gayle is like me in that we both love 30's fabrics and she has several 30's quilts that I have seen exhibited before. It was awarded a 3rd place ribbon in the bed category.

Made by Judy Boozer of the Friendship Quilters group in St. Clair Co.  She called it "Totally Caffienated". It received a 2nd place ribbon in the bed quilt category. Very well done!

Brenda M from my quilting group, Lick Skillet Quilt guild and her own Wednesday night group made this one which took a 1st place ribbon in the applique category. I believe that this was the Robert Callahan Grandmother's (something) quilt that was featured in McCall's Quilting magazine some time back. I'll see her tomorrow to confirm that. Believe it or not, this was her first quilt!! She noted that she did not realize at the time that it was beyond her abilities at the time. Very well done!

Shawnee with her "Suitable for Framing" quilt that she made for her daughter. You can see how thrilled she was with her 2nd place ribbon in the applique division. Her daughter who was with her said "she took it right off my bed!" I told her that we make these quilts and give them to our family and friends but come quilt show time, we take them back to enter and display them, LOL.

A beautiful sampler quilt that I don't know much about other than it got a 1st place ribbon in the bed category. It may have been blocks that the Stitch and Prayer group did as BOM.

Lastly, Sue Ann R from the Jacksonville Piecemaker's group made this one for her mom. Hand quilted. Very striking and the border very unusual. It was the first one you saw as you came into the exhibit.

That's it for this note

Design Wall Monday--wk. 40?

The grand sum total of my quilting process this weekend was thinking about it, LOL. Friday, I got the re-binding and labeling done on the scrappy bargello as planned but that was it. To be fair, I was gone a good chunk of Saturday with girl's day out. Yesterday was paperwork day and the grocery run. I also had to fix TWO meals, not just one since there were no leftovers on hand. Anything on the list just did not get done plus who says that there is anything wrong with NOT sewing?

The other thing that took some time yesterday was that Jane and Hugh had brought my quilt show entries along with Shawnee's back on Sunday afternoon. I knew that they would be worn out after taking down the show so I had told her not to rush over Saturday night. Hugh said that they had "worked (him) harder than a borrowed mule." Pretty apt description actually. He was the guy wielding the power tools and up and down the ladders all day for set up. Take down, same thing---only it goes faster. His usual partner in set up had been ill and could not help this time around, which may account for some of that statement. Jane said that they had to be out of the building by 630 even if the quilts were not all folded up and put in the proper numbered pillow cases. There was an event scheduled for the building on Sunday and it needed to be set up Saturday evening.

Anyway, my quilts and wall hangings needed to be put away or re-hung once they left. The wall hanging situation shifted around again . I seem to be missing my place mat entry and one pillow case that it could be in but it will show up, I'm sure. I also seem to have misplaced a small wire quilt hanger that I use for my calendar quilts, somewhere in this house!! I have things separated out and stacked up for the next show though not in separate pillow cases yet.

Just a quick note about the show because I will be posting pics in another post. Calhoun County was well represented at the show. Brenda won a first place in applique division while Shawnee's quilt placed 2nd. Aline won a 2nd place ribbon for her twin sized pieced quilt. I got two 3rd place ribbons for Happy Halloween and my FAB challenge place mats. Friends from other county quilt groups also had various ribbons for their entries.

I seem to be all over the place with this post, LOL. Okay, today is Monday. I finally pressed that binding in Friday's post this morning. The foremost thing on my list is the FAB bday TSP which still needs the embroidered elements trimmed down. I drug out the fall fabrics and some of the other bin colors that will be required. BUT I have to move all those container to get at the cutting board and then press the fabric I pull to use for the next step of TSP. That machine may not get fired up today either at this rate since I have a few errands to run this morning. Tomorrow is Bama Belles day and I have to get myself organized for that. Hand work or sewing??

The other thing----one of my crowns fell off from a lower left molar when we were eating lunch. I was just eating a piece of home made pizza so had not bit down into anything hard or crunchy. Worse still, I also had a filling fall off/out of the tooth adjacent to it. I am thinking it will probably needs a crown as well, judging from the gap I am feeling. Oh, great! I'll be calling the dentist in a few minutes to see if I can get in to pop the crown back on before the base starts breaking down.

And sew it goes or in this case, goes slowly............ or not at all, LOL

change of plans

This is what I should be working on today. Press this pile of binding and work on the TSP. The embroidery elements are now complete but other parts remain. Blocks need trimming, fabrics pulled, etc. To be honest, I don't think my back is up to pulling down fabric from the top shelves of the sewing room book cases. It is still squawking at me from yesterday's endeavors. Parts of it may get done this weekend, parts not. Just sayin', LOL.

After my rant about submitting quilts without sleeves yesterday, I knew I better practice what I preach. From writing up a quilt data worksheet earlier this month I knew that one of my planned entries for a later show would need some attention. The document is marked as such as a prompt.

I swear that my scrappy bargello had one on it once! It has been in a quilt show before but I vaguely remember taking it off and re-stitching the binding. I think, LOL. Maybe I had just pinned on something temporarily. BUT it didn't have a label on it either. Yeah, some of my quilts don't have them. Some have the data entered in pigma pen. Anyway labeling of some sort is a requirement for the Pell City show coming up in early November. I can tell you that is does help if there is some sort of labeling when there is some confusion about numbers and names. Check the personal label to verify the data. You know if you have the right one to hang or if you need to keep looking.

Last night in spite of how tired I was, I un-stitched the top binding and a spot down in the lower right of the quilt back. I had enough of the backing fabric left filed away in the green container and prepped it. Prepped the label as well. I stitched that all into the quilt this morning and set up a back table to work on re-stitching the binding. Luckily I was able to stitch thru all the layers without putting on the walking foot. The thing is not easy to get off and on my Brother.

LOL, I told DJ when it came time to put a quilt on his bed NOT to use his Strip Twist just yet. I am entering it in the next show so I'm washing it up. Use my "World Series" quilt, please. I think he likes it better anyway. Skyler does too, come to think of it. (Mom, if we turn it sideways it fits the queen sized just fine for his purposes.) I may have to re-think which one goes on MY bed as the weather gets cooler!

First day of fall. It looks like we are in for some more rain today. There were a couple rounds of rain fall and thunder boomers yesterday and in the overnight hours. How it will affect the high school football games will remain to be seen. Cooler but muggy with that cloud cover.

Major league baseball is winding down and my St. Louis Cardinals are trying for a wild card berth but have to beat our secondary team the Braves to do it. The Cards have a series with the Cubs, their biggest and longest rival this weekend. Anything can and will happen. DJ's son and grandson are going to one of the games, he said. Lucky ducks!

And sew it goes------

quilt show season

Looks like I am driving a quilt-mobile here. Between Shawnee's and my entries for the quilt show and the quilt meeting related stuff that stays in the car the description probably fits.

I left the house a little after 8 and got home from helping set up the Gadsden Quilt show at about 5. The guild is small and older than me in most cases. No way can they be climbing up and down the ladders or crawling around on the floor prepping the base units. Gary is happy to have volunteers from his other quilt groups over on our side of the county line---including some quilt husbands with tools and ladders.

So the show is all set up---lots of quilts, more than he really could hang as it turned out. Maybe that is a good problem to have. One of mine will not be displayed but one that I entered as an afterthought. There were probably about 8 others that can be re-entered next year. They are also displaying some of the QOV quilts that will be going to the veteran's home in Pell City. Some of those will have to be folded and displayed that way.

I am going to go back on Saturday with a couple of girlfriends and will take my camera to get some pictures to share. Girls day out, dontcha know?

My low back is killing me mostly from having to bend over to the tables to pin sleeves on the quilt. It is amazing to me that people would enter a quilt in a show and not bother to at least pin on a temporary sleeve themselves. How do they think it is going to get displayed anyway?? IMHO any quilt without a sleeve should either not be accepted or not hung if they drop it off that way but I'm not in charge. Actually two helpers who did have entries in the show minus sleeves said that they did not know to do that---the entry forms do not have instructions for that on it, so maybe. Let me tell you, when they had to sort thru the quilt piles looking for sleeves and had to help pin them on they saw the need! Hard on the back, hard on the temper esp when the quilt hanger folks are hollering for one you are frantically hurrying to work on.

But we got thru it-------I'll be happy to stay home tomorrow and work on TSP. Rest up, LOL.

another finish to flimsy

.........And here is the latest finished top. I had fussy cut some of the shell elements to put them in the corner units. The stripe seems to set things off nicely but I sorta wish I had cut the sashing just a tad narrower.

The backing is prepped and the top added to the rest of the "to be pinned" at some point, hanging in my clothes closet. Good thing I don't have that many clothes anymore is all I got to say.

The binding is cut on the bias to set off the stripe. It is all seamed though obviously needs to be pressed. Story of my life lately, LOL.

On to some TSP sewing for me-----

Hope you have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by.

Design Wall Monday? not quite!

So far I have gotten a little bit further with the hand stitching on TSP----almost done with that part of the process, but not quite. Still, I feel a bit like sewing so this is the kit I pulled to satisfy THAT urge. Skyler is in the window seat keeping me company.

The pattern is Prairie Window from quiltwoman. The seashell fabric was found in one of the scrap bags we set up for the Belles Scrappy Challenge. I am pretty sure the stripe was something from the donation bin but who knows for sure. The rest is from my stash. One piece reminds of wet sand actually----fitting! I have elected NOT to do the outer border bits for this one but still make a good sized pro bono quilt fairly quickly.

I swapped out the summer quilt pieces for the more fall themed items yesterday. I might be rushing the season a little bit since fall starts on the 23rd but it was time in my book. A few of my wall hangings are unavailable right now because of the pending quilt shows so I hung this one. I don't think it has been on my blog before or it has been awhile anyway, LOL.

It is a scaled down version of Tonee White's "Animal Stack" from her book Appliquilt: Whimsical One-Step Applique and Quilting. Yeah, it is country and folky but I like that stuff too.

This will be a little bit of a chopped up week for me. DJ wants to go out for lunch tomorrow. Thursday, I am going to go help set up at the Gadsden Quilt show. I am going back up to the show on Saturday with a girlfriend(s) along with a stop at Hobby Lobby and lunch out. Fun stuff but it cuts into sewing time. I will need to get working on the remainder of Pat's TSP giftie in earnest somewhere along in there----and then there is all that quilting to do with TSP and quilt show entry right at the top of the list! Just working out the action plan in my head.

But for today, I sew! Standby, Quilt Holder.

well, that's about done!

The boring sewing is almost done.

Pictured is binding for 9 quilts. Most of it I pressed as I finished it rather than piling it all up like I usually do for days on end. All neat and tidy and marked with which top it goes with. My mom had sent the half cardboard in something she mailed me recently. That is how she stores her prepared binding. I just followed suit. You can see that I ran out of steam for wanting to do all that red dot stuff. Since it is two quilt's worth, that might explain why, LOL. At that point I still needed to seam the last quilt back so I moved on. It's done now and laundered to soften the fabric up. It should be fine for our purposes.

I had thought briefly about starting a Prairie Window kit that I had made up using some of the Belles challenge fabrics. Naw, not today. Maybe some handwork but more likely I will work the puzzles in the local paper instead. Or read.

And sew it goes-----day's goals almost met.

Sew-In day/check in

Fun day with the gals from the Friendship Quilters group. It is far easier to visit with folks across the table than in the guild meeting set up where you basically set in a chair and vote on this and that, LOL. Except for the time before and directly after the meeting you just don't have that chatting time.

I was having some machine tension issues with the Jem so I did not get too far with the project I cut out yesterday. I had said that if I had to spend my day doing "boring sewing" i.e. seaming backs, cutting, sewing binding then I wanted to do something fun and "new to me" at the sew-in. It meant more cutting, of course. This is Billie Lauder's "Reflections" using a batik layer cake pack that my pal Pam sent to me. I did try one half of the block but really want my Brother for this one. No, I do not know where this one will be going. Some of the colors are right up QOV alley but is it allowed to put in other colors, like red, green and orange?? Does it really matter? I suppose those are campaign ribbon colors so maybe. I didn't touch the folded eight point star which I found on delaware quilts as a free pattern---later with that one.

I did get started on a pile of QOV 3-D bow ties. These will have red knots throughout which I did not color that way for the layout in EQ. That was mostly for counting purposes. I need 76 pieced blocks and will have to buy some WOW for the alternating spaces.

Of course I had to demo the bow tie block to a few of the gals. That and the EZ flippy corner version to a newbie quilter. She spotted the printout in my work space. I told her I could show her a really easy way to do them --the ez one and a FUN "how did you do that?!" one, LOL.

Our vice prez/program person gave us instructions on how to make those cute little bags from mesh pet screen and a sewing themed fabric. Fun! Of course, you can do them any size but this is what they had kitted up for us. My tablemate showed me the cute tomato like pincushion they had done yesterday. Tomorrow they are doing a convergence class but you can go even if you don't want to have the class and work on your own stuff. I don't plan on going but they were certainly encouraging me to do so. The pals that I went with today are going over to East Cobb Quilters bi-annual show in Marietta tomorrow.

That other stuff in the picture? Well, I didn't get to the binding sewing and in fact, need to cut more. I DID get the boring sewing stuff mostly done, other than that. By 930 PM, I quit sewing, though my brain was still in overdrive planning something else for down the line. Not so conducive to sleep, let me tell you. I have one more quilt back to go though (the other 4 are done). Then the green stuff needs washed as it is a little stiff feeling. Tomorrow........Sunday, I am going to do hand work. Next week probably start quilting since the machine I use for that is set up right now.

Yesterday afternoon Jane had called to see if I had any binding to do as she didn't really want to take her machine to the sew-in. She had no particular project that she was itching to do. m I had to take a little detour last night to get one bound for her to work on and it took a little time to get the quilt prepped---a re-do is always harder than the "from scratch". Aline wasn't sewing either but she had binding to finish up on a quilt entry for next week and was hand quilting on her redwork Sunbonnet Sue quilt. Betsy was working on QOV pillow cases.

Oh, I had a "treat" shortly after I got there! Recently I had sent a good sized box of abandoned blocks to a guild member in response to a need for quilts in the Shoal Creek area of Alabama where there was significant tornado damage this spring. The lady I sent them to was my table mate today---in fact, Mary was quilting on her half of the table on one that will go to a young person . Mary pointed out a member of her small quilt group who had put a good many of those abandoned blocks into a top at the sew-in. She was preparing to put on the outer border when I arrived. The woman wondered if I had any information about who made the blocks. She knew a couple as either she or her sister had made some of them. I could point out the ones my mom or I had made farily easily. A few I thought were Aline's but they were hand pieced and Aline would have used the machine. BUT I went off without my camera--dang it! I'll ask Mary to have the other gal take one if she can. It made a pretty quilt for someone and will find a good use NOT hiding in my closet waiting for a "some day" to come along.

And sew it goes--------thanks for stopping by

quilt pics

These a few of the quilt turned in at the meeting on Tuesday.

Snoopy Kitty

Linda C's pieced and appliqued 30's quilt.

I do not know the pattern source but think it might be Darlene Zimmerman's Oopsie Daisy??

Linda C Twisted Sister---Ami Simm's pattern

Lois Twin Sisters---Eleanor Burns' pattern from her book

Quilts Through the Seasons

Lois 4 in 9 patch zigzag. The pattern is from a Quilter's World magazine October 2009

Lois Carolina Chain

source: Bonnie Hunter's Addicted to Scraps column in the May/June '10 issue of Quiltmaker magazine

Hope you enjoyed the mini quilt show. Skyler sure did but he liked laying on them even better, LOL. Surprised that I didn't get nipped making him move from the first picture and then the clothes basket that contained the ones that we hadn't taken picture of yet.

I hope they click bigger. For some reason when I post from Chrome some do and some don't.

WIP Weds. wk 38

well it WAS a WIP but here is the finished top as of 10 minutes ago. Maybe it still is a WIP as I need to look for some backing fabric and piece it as well as the binding. I know it looks kind of blah out on the edge but the red dot binding will complete it once it is quilted. This is one of the "Pay It Forward" challenge pieces, thanks to Over the Rainbow.

I had two rows and borders to do on this one but I was busy till about 3:30 doing other things all day. Bama Belles paperwork, getting things ready to take to the post office and some minor re-organization in the sewing room.

Tomorrow will be a boring day of piecing backs and binding. I also will need to pack up for the sew-in day on Friday. Plans are to meet at 8:30 to drive over to Pell City where it will be held.

And sew it goes-------

quilt meeting

When I go off to a Bama Belles quilt meeting, I never know just how the day might shape up. I thought I would get a little bit of stitching done on TSP and help pin. LOL, you just know that is not where the day led, dontcha?

We are a relaxed bunch so there is no need to have a meeting agenda, elect officers and all that. People come when they want, leave when they must. Help pin, sew if you want, bring things for show and tell, get some quilting opinions, just stop by to chat, whatever.

I get there ahead of everyone because I am the one with the key to the Fellowship Hall and the group's leader. The first thing I spotted once I opened our closet to pull out the library cart was a bunch of printouts and magazines that need to go in a notebook for our use. We have known for awhile that one of the gals (Linda C) would be moving to TN at some point so she is weeding things out at home. This is not the first time that I have had to file printouts or stuff she had torn out of magazines. I filed what I could at the meeting but still needed to stop at Fred's on the way home for sheet protectors and another notebook.

Oh, the stack of fabric you see above? I raided the donation bin as my 15, almost 16 donation tops in the closet need backings before I bring any of them in to be pinned. Some of this stuff might work. If not on what I have made so far, then down the line. Some need backs, some don't but I couldn't tell you which ones without taking them out and checking at this point. Binding yes, backing maybe not. I am thinking that the brown print right above the white with black shirting stuff will work on the Prairie Stroll top but will need piecing.

The next thing I spotted in the closet was more yardage in the donation bin and tops. Some of the tops were paired up with backing. 3 of them were already pinned but that is as far as it got. SIGH. I know I am going to have to quilt those down the line even though I begged her to try herself first. There were a few finished quilts in the stack, as it turned out.

As I went to take the quilts out to the car, a woman who I had not met before pulled up asking if this was where the quilt group met. We did the introduction thing; she told me that she goes to the Lick Skillet Guild and the JOY guild. I don't go to either of those groups but I do know folks from both, including some of the Belles. Bev said that she had come in possession of mega yards of fabric from a friend. Some of her local friends suggested we might be able to use some for our donation quilts. She had brought 5 yard sections of 3 different ones. Bless her, and bless the friends that suggested it!

I needed to get the existing tops organized a bit. Some where just folded up, others have been hanging up but what tops needed backs and just how many are there? I think I counted at least 7. Was any of the fabric she put in this pile intended to go with her tops? And, thanks to Bev, would any of it work with the fabric she just brought? LOL, we blew thru about 12 yards of it in no time at all! Those three tops on hangers on my bed that you see above?? Too wide for the backing and will have to be pieced. I'll get this taken care of later in the week and haul them back next meeting. Perhaps with a few of my own.

Next Bev's friend and neighbor Shawnee dropped by as she had Gadsden Quilt Show forms to drop off---today is the deadline. Shawnee still had binding to put on one of her entries so I suggested she drop them off at my house next week as Jane will be coming by to get mine. As long as she had it up to my on the 21st sometime, it will work. And I could have kissed her----Shawnee asked if she could take a couple of the tops to practice quilting. Girl, you don't have to ask ME twice! Which ones would you like and do want some of the batting?? No hurry either since they waited for me this long and would wait even longer for me to get caught up.

The subject turned to basting, pinning and the like. Bev was not familiar with the process being a fairly new quilter who so far had used a long armer, I guess. I said "stick around and we can do this one I just paired with backing." About that time, Beverly and Lois arrived. Yep, Beverly had a quilt for a new baby in the family, Lois had some completed tops too. We definitely could walk her through the process and provide the hands on opportunity. And did, LOL.

I had finally gotten this corner of my bedroom cleared out not long ago. Now look at it---back to quilt central appearance. See the stack on the hamper? 6 pinned tops in the stack---the one on top is Aline's that I offered to do. The one below that is one of my own tops, pinned earlier this year. The middle reddish fabric one, Linda C's, pinned today. The three below it are the ones I found in the closet today. I can't put them on top of the armoire where they normally go as my Gadsden quilt show entries are up there. But they can't stay on top of the hamper. It would take me a 10 days to 2 weeks to get them all quilted. None have binding either. SIGH.

Then the finished quilts are in the basket. I went off without my camera today so "Quilt Holder" did the honors when I got home. There are 9 in the basket, 5 "new" ones. They need to be logged into the document and roughly half need a label applied and number assigned if they are to be donated locally. I'll do the documenting but I am going to drag the label-less ones to the next meeting and ask the girls to help get those on the quilts. I prefer to sew them on the corner of the quilt, stitching it down on two sides with the machines and then putting the binding up over it. Easier to do right after they are quilted, not after the fact but that didn't happen. A few of these might fit in the closet behind till we decide where they are going but someone else may have to provide the storage space from here on out.

The other thing that needed attention? One of the members of the group stopped by with a friend, each carrying a box. Rosa had quilt magazines to share. She had recently sold her home and moved but was in the hospital with a broken ankle followed by 21 days of rehab when this all happened. She didn't have our phone numbers to call, that was packed up. She didn't get much time to go thru things before the move and is having to do it now. I separated those by publication and stacked them up on the library cart. I need to see what issue of APQ I am looking for that has the Mabeth Oxenreider pattern "Trail Mix" in it. (Brenda said she might have it in her collection. )

Half the group had brought something for lunch but those of us who didn't made the Wendy's run for half salads. We love that apple pecan chicken salad! The next thing I knew it was 2 p.m. and time to go home. Well home after I did the Fred's run. I needed two more 20 qt. bins as I am slowly replacing my storage systems baskets. Another project for later in the week, LOL.

I had thought that I would finish the last two rows on my BQ 1 tonight but that looks doubtful. They are pinned and ready to chain through the machine but I know it will have to wait till tomorrow. After all, I still have "homework" to tend to today. The stacks on the cutting/pressing table cannot stay there if I am going to sew. Don't ask me where they are going till I can get my own tops inventoried.

Since I do have pictures of the finished quilts to share, I will share those in another post. That's all for this one, LOL.

Monday check-in

Skyler has had a busier morning than me! I had a wakeful night so made up for some missing hours of sleep from 6 to 830. He was monitoring the window seat in the meantime.

Then his buddy Chico, the neighborhood cat, came by to visit so he was busy running from the front door to the car port door to see him. They can head and body bump thru the front door since the glass goes all the way down but spoiled kitty gets a chair to hop on for car port viewing.

I left on a couple quick errands and he was waiting to run and play with me when I got back. Puffball tossing, catnip mouse clawing, shadow boxing and maniacal running ensued. Now the tired kitty is sacked out on the kitchen chair.

Meanwhile my BQ block pile is waiting to be pressed. I chained the section stuff through the machine yesterday but stopped at this point. It will not take long to chain the 30 blocks to completion and then start the assembly. I doubt that I will get the top done today since I plan to border it. New episodes---maybe the season finales actually of "The Closer" and "Rizzoli and Isles" are on tonight so I will be right by the TV and may push it.

Tomorrow the quilt group meets so I will probably get back to some hand work. TSP just needs a little bit more done and I could start the pieced elements. I may do one more top before I can concentrate my efforts on TSP.

Later in the week some of the gals and I will be going to a sew-in the Friendship Quilters group is hosting. It is for 3 days but I am just going on Friday or DJ would be telling me I am "gone too much". I will give some thought to what I want to work on while there. I am leaning towards my RWB 3-D bowties that would be one of my QOV contributions.

They may still have a pile of Moda "Just One Stars" that need to be worked into tops yet. The woman in charge of the project with Friendship Quilters is a veteran. She had gotten a box of at least 200 (I could check the minutes to find out) if not more from Moda that their employees and others had made up. HERE is a link to the post where Moda mentioned a goal 1800 blocks and 100 quilts by Flag Day. The pattern is downloadable in pdf format. Apparently they also shipped a bunch of the finished blocks out for quilt groups to make MORE quilts. Hey, the deadline may be passed but it is a perfectly good pattern to use to make more QOV quilts, right?

Never any shortage of things to stitch if I feel like it, right? And sew it goes--------

a preview

I had cut this kit way back in February so now it is time to get it to the flimsy stage. My notes got cold and as usual, I had over-cut the number of strips. How many of these actually needed to be sewn up??? I have not made one of these for a while so the memory needed refreshing.

Sewing strip sets is boring! But it is a necessary part of making an original version BQ quilt. (There are now 3 versions). I personally would hate to have to cut and sew each individual piece. I told Norma that as soon as I had on wider piece section done, I was going to make a test block to break things up a bit. The smaller section strips are all stitched while most of the wider ones are just pinned and ready to feed through the machine.

Now, you might be asking "BQ??? What kind of a quilt name is that?" It stands for "Big Quilt" and the pattern has directions for 18 inch finished blocks along this half sized version. In the past with the help of EQ, I have done them even smaller to accommodate whatever focus fabrics that I was using. Pattern source: Maple Island Quilts--scroll about half way down the page or do Ctrl +F and enter "BQ". I have also made the BQ2 version and actually like it a bit more than this one.

This is where I am headed with my top. The picnic themed fabric, I told you, was part of a "Pay It Forward" challenge from Over the Rainbow. The red dot was among some donation fabric that came my way from somewhere. It may well have some poly in it but I am going to use it anyway. The photo is making it look a bit more orange-y than it really is in person.

I think it will be a cute quilt for a boy or girl. That really is all that matter, isn't it?

And sew it goes---------

finished to flimsy

I have been piddling with this off and all afternoon but Prairie Stroll is finished to flimsy. Woohoo!

I cut binding the same as the outer border and then changed my mind and will go with something darker. Pat, you remember that brown Ginny Beyer you sent that was "too ugly to live" or something to that effect. Yep, should be perfect for this!

And here was Skyler while we waited for "Quilt Holder". I had dug his kitty cube out of the closet and he is having the best time with it, sleeping in it and running through it at 90 miles an hour. When I laid the quilt top over the top of it, it was just too, too tempting NOT to crawl under it.

Other than that, it has been a pretty quiet day. A little hand stitching this morning, grilled out for lunch, leftovers for supper and sewing.

And sew it goes-----

WIP Thursday, wk 37

A start of Prairie Stroll---roughly half of it.

In retrospect I wish I had switched the position of the two greens as the Country Threads green with print figures is a little too close in color to the Red Cardinal print (probably an old Hoffman print). Having said that, it does give it sort of "depth" to the block itself. I was NOT going to take it all apart--and that would be what it took--to fix it as the two small squares would not have been in the same position. IIWII, namely a stash quilt from donation fabric.

It is going together pretty quickly since it is just two blocks, every other one rotated in orientation. Either they didn't say or I didn't pay attention (more likely, LOL) but that top bar should have been pressed towards the rest of the block IF you have pressed the smaller rectangles away from the half 4 patch unit. Otherwise, be prepared to re-press or flip seams----ask me how I know!

I will probably get this up to borders today and do a bit more hand stitching on TSP. Meanwhile I'll consider what kit I want to dig into next. Maybe I should just open one of the drawers, dig around and whatever I pull out, is the one? I was able to pick up my Brother after its being gone for about a week for servicing and I would like to check that it is indeed up to snuff. I just opened and pulled----BQ1, it is which if part of the "Pay it Forward Challenge" offered by Over the Rainbow earlier this year.

And sew it goes------thanks for stopping by!

Silly kitty

To bolster my request that these calendar quilt-lets be displayed all together pinned to the same sheet at the quilt show I laid them all out to get a measurement (40 x 60, if anyone is asking, LOL). Before I got the camera out, he had been playing with the bell on the September school house block.

Mind you, he was no where around when I started laying them out on DJ's bedroom floor! He actually left his seat on warm laundry to see what I was doing.

If you are a new reader, all these quilt-lets were my self assigned 2010 "quilt-let of the month" project. Designed by Nancy Halvorsen, featured in her book Calendar Quilts and Stitcheries. It was an evolving project in that I started with applique and then jumped to stitchery instead. I even took a brief detour on the background color for a couple of months, LOL.

Individual pictures would be scattered through out the blog in 2010 but this link will take you to close up shots of the last 5 of them, August through December. See what they look like with out the kitty parked on them, LOL. Yes, of course I was lagging behind, just like I am with the Button Ups this year; it will carry over, for sure. I DO love being able to change out the quilts for the months, holidays or special occasions!

January, HERE

February, HERE

March and April, HERE

May, June, July can be found HERE

OR they are also loaded individually in one of my facebook albums. This public link should take you to it. That might have been easier, in retrospect.
______________________________
Onward and upwards-----

I had the best night's sleep in a while last night! House was cool, the room dark and quiet without the sounds of barking dogs and cars to disturb me. Light quilt pulled up. Wonderful. This does not happen often so I can count last night as a blessing. We were pretty much stuck in the mid 50's all day yesterday and into the night. Today looks like more of the same, overcast and cool though they had predicted low 70's----you got to get rid of that cloud cover first.

I plan on a little more stitchery today on TSP. See how far I get-------and sew it goes.

organized much?

In spite of the best of intentions, I got neither sewing or stitching done yesterday. I found myself off on yet another tangent after an off hand comment from Pat and Norma in chat yesterday.

You see, the girls are always complimenting and/or teasing me about my organizational abilities. I am not even sure if that is the right term. I do have a good memory or at least, I USED to have. Sometimes, lately I have my doubts about that. I normally can find what I am looking for in my files or in practice fairly quickly so that might be what impresses them. Who knows?

So what started this latest organizational binge? Well, there are two quilt shows coming up. One of my pals and fellow Belles had asked me last month if I would have any quilts for the Gadsden (AL) Quilt at Falls show. I said "yes" at the time but I didn't get any entry forms from her. I am not a member of this group but because their group is fairly small, Gary opens it up to other quilters in the surrounding area. I usually have something that can be shared. Turns out it is coming up September 23-24th and the deadline for entries is the 13th, like next week Tuesday. You cannot, nor should you, enter the same items twice on this one so my biggest concern was "just what had I had shown there before?"

The other show: Friendship Quilters in Pell City (AL) is November 5-6. I am a guild member and will help with set up. Deadline for entries for this one---this coming Saturday, the 10th. Mostly I have to be sure that my entries have a 4 inch sleeve for bed, twin, laps and 2 inch on the others----plus all labeled or marked in some manner. The hanging system is different than the one Gadsden uses and requires the extra depth, not like a closet rod pole.

YIKES! Why do I always think I have more time than I do when I am procrastinating? Two reasons to get those danged forms filled out. I hate dragging the quilts out just to measure them to fill out these forms and then have to fold them back just right to fit on the quilt rack, in the armoire and the blanket chest. That off hand comment in chat made me wish I had recorded the needed data somewhere so I would not have to go that process every time I needed quilt show entries.

To that end I set up a document. I broke it down into the usual categories of sizes with the name, width, length, whether it had a sleeve (and how big of one) plus where it had been shown. Then I did exactly what I was dreading---dragging them out and measuring. Not ALL the quilts, mind you but the ones I was most likely to enter.

Then I separated them out into which ones would go to what show. Looks like I do have to put on one large bedsized temporary sleeve---again and oddly, I put no label on it either. This is the pile that will go to the Gadsden show already in their own separate pillow case, as required which is marked with my name in some manner. The other envelope is one entries for Pell City that I will run to the post office in a bit.

I'll see Gary on Thursday night to hand deliver the entry forms. I am not sure if I have to fill out a separate form for all 12 of my little Calendar quilt stitcheries or if they can be entered as one. It will be easier for him to see what the heck I am talking about if I just show them to him. Jane thought they could all be pinned to the same sheet on the same rack.

Oh, the other thing I did. I typed up the form for Pell City so I could TYPE in the information. I had done that before with the Gadsden form so I knew it worked well. Trust me, typing is always a good idea. Years of charting as a nurse have made my already somewhat difficult handwriting harder to read. I half print and half cursive, the "n's and m's" looks like " u's or v's"---DJ can't decipher it. UGH! Anymore I am so used to using a keyboard to communicate that I'm rusty. When I botched up three forms trying to fill in the description part, I knew there was an easier way.

LOL, I even entered this one which isn't finished so I would do the honors and quilt it. The "Winter" and "Spring" pieces are going to the same show. "Autumn" is not even started. Oh, I also need to finish that name tag thing next to it in time for the show. Add it to the mental "list".

Today is a cool, damp and drippy day. Tropical Storm Lee dumped about 4.2 inches in our rain gauge. We were under a tornado watch and also flash flood warnings much of the day yesterday. At one point even high wind advisories were in effect though I don't think that was really a problem. Blessedly, the temperature has dropped to the mid 50's over night. I had the window cracked and slept under my light quilt last night. I have been waiting for this for months! The temps in the house finally dropped to something reasonable 70-73 instead of the usual 80 with the a/c on once it hits 81-82. See what I mean by reasonable, LOL? DJ, of course, is "cold" and put on an undershirt and has his throw pulled up over him in the recliner but I am still going to keep my windows open a bit.

Sewing goal for the day: continue the hand work on Pat's bday gift. I probably won't be able to get it all finished today but make a bit of headway anyway. I am hopeful that my Brother will be ready for pick up sometime this week. I want to get back to the Prairie Stroll top tomorrow. It would not matter at this point which machine I use for assembly since the blocks are all done and the quarter inch variances wouldn't matter with little seam matching.

And sew it goes-------