Life goes on

 No, my life did not end way back when after I posted about Charles and I getting married.  Far from it!  In some ways, it just began.  We recently celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary.  Another grandson was added to the mix in our Sam who recently turned 6.  We have a bonus grandson in Sam R from Jeff's lady Ashley.  We have two fraternal twin great-grandsons from Jeff's oldest son Trenton, about 6 1/2 months old at this writing.  Darel would be proud of his great-grandson who is just a bit older than the twins.  My mom passed away on MLK Day 2023, just shy of her 91st bday and their 72nd wedding anniversary.  Thankfully, Dad is still going strong.   We joined a local church.  I am the new church treasurer and could use a few prayers as this is new territory for me though I served that position on a bowling league many moons ago.  What do I know about payroll??

I don't do as much donation quilt work as I used to, but there are a few of my Mom's donation quilts to quilt along with a sizable stack of my own quilts.  COVID and members passing and moving away finally decimated Bama Belles down to two members so I pulled the plug.  However, we two are also in other groups together.  I am currently the president of the JOY Quilt Guild after serving as its secretary of two years.  Somehow I got sucked in after I said I needed a break, but I am about a year in now and enjoying it.  We just had our annual 3 day spring retreat which was a blast!

Our guild is having a PhD challenge for the first 6 months of the year.  We were to pick 6 of our half done projects and put them in whatever order we wished.  The coordinator rolls a die and whatever number 1 through 6 is what we have to complete before the next meeting for Show -n- Tell.  So far I have finished a Fidget Quilt, a Fall Quarter Square Log Cabin quilt I had started at the Fall Retreat 2023 and the long awaited Two of a Kind/Cheap Trick quilt I had started way back in April 2009.

 

It was the featured quilt on the 15th Anniversary American Patchwork and Quilting magazine April 2008, Issue 91.  As I said, I started it back in 2009 and had most of the top half of it done and a few of the shorter rows from the other half.  Who knows when it got set aside but like a lot of my stuff, it did, in favor of something newer and brighter, no doubt.  Well, it is finished now, thanks to the PhD push.  I used my beloved 30's repros along with some bits of vintage fabric from one of my aunts.  Ruth long arm quilted it beautifully with a Baptist Fans motif which I felt was true to the era.

Next up from the most recent dice roll is "Christmas Joy".  This is a row quilt begun with the Collinsville Rowers from about 2008 or 2009.  The rows have been done for a long time and I have to do 7 bands of red and white checkerboard between the rows.  168-4 patches in other words.  Boring sewing, really and how I spent my days at the recent retreat.  I had at least sewn all the strips and evened up the rows prior so some of the grunt work was done.

Life DOES go on.  I have to refer back to my blog for this and that every now and again for something, like "when did I start this project anyway?"   I kept telling myself I should update it though I doubt anyone really looks at it anymore except the scammers.  Whatever, it is my journal

this and that

Here is a little something I just finished-- sweet pea heart from Alex Anderson 12 Days of Redwork posted in late December-early January. Norma has started these hearts for a seasonal wallhanging. I had downloaded the designs but didn't trace them off till yesterday afternoon. She knew, and I knew, that I would probably cave, LOL. Between these hearts, the on-going Bird Brain Santa blocks and a series of redwork from Brownyn Hayes, I can stitch as much as I want when the mood strikes. But I love it!


Next up:
I had pulled out an old UFO to finish up the bottom row. How old is this project? Well, way back in 2000 I and another friend had headed up a row robin project on a quilt list I moderated for several years. I had picked a summer theme and had sent around a Country Threads book for inspiration. I did the top row of stars and sent it on. The girl that was also in charge did the appliqued row but it did not fit on the quilt---measurements had gotten off as they will on a group project. It sat.

I needed some filler pieces to compensate for the width of the project and I thought flying geese would work since they echo the birdhouse shape. I drew it up in EQ since it was a goofy length. I re-sized the applique piece slightly and used the green sashing that was originally there but much narrower. I supposed it should be bordered but this will hang on the sewing room door perfectly or another spot in the hallway so I'll pass on those. What colors would you use anyway? My pal Cher did the butterfly and veggie row. Two others were done with friends who I see on facebook. The bowtie and cat row, sadly, was made by a friend who has since passed away. I'll pin it at the next meeting and get it quilted up on my next quilting session.

Lastly, here is a little wallhanging I recently made for Pam's birthday. She loves all things Mary Engelbreit so it seemed like a good fit for a charm pack I had on hand. It certainly went together a lot quicker than the large sized Cheap Trick/Two of Kind that I have been piecing off and on. It all came from my stash except that I had to order some more of that red dot to bind it. She shows it hanging in her kitchen gallery area HERE. She told me that she had already planned to make placemats, napkins from ME fabric for her kitchen. I guess that I just made an accessory for her, LOL.

What's next because I have had a few finishes lately? I have a few goals. Piecing, back to my bed sized Cheap Trick. Handquilting, the plain squares on RR crossing but that will be on-going. Machine quilting, 3 donation quilts are in my stack. Cutting, Big & Bold. Applique, the March Calendar block. UFO, maybe I will get around to finishing up my own convergence wall hanging. Embroidery, whatever strikes my fancy. Oh and a donation top to assemble---I'll do that tomorrow actually.

I hope you have fun with whatever you have planned for the weekend-----thanks for stopping by!

WIP Wednesday

Well, DJ's golfing friend has come and gone and the house is back to normal. Production came to a screeching halt for a couple of days as I was either cleaning or trying to keep it clean. That lasted till Monday. Once the boys hit the golf course, I didn't care anymore and sewing commenced. I pulled out my Cheap Trick/Two of a Kind and started piecing from the other end. What you see hanging on the hanger is the first half of the quilt. I need 7 more ever increasing in size rows to get this half done.

I should be working on my FAB challenge but I can't. I am short fabric and had thought I had width of the fabric cuts on hand. Nope, 11 x 18 inch sample type pieces instead. Won't work but I can use it for something else down the line minus the challenge fabric.

Now what? I am on deadline here and this pushes things back several days! I started looking thru some books and patterns again Monday night. I was mulling things over long after I went to bed. Well, one thought was the Frames pattern from Maple Island you see hanging in front of the sewing machine but I ruled it out as I didn't think some of the go-with's would work. I actually came up with 3 legitimately good ideas but what I am going with just came to me in a flash. That's it!! The needed fabric is ordered and on its way. I'll be ready to roll as soon as I see it.

In the meantime, Norma is leaving me astray again. She has been reading blogs and finding inspiration and then passing it on to me. Here we were doing so well to have some finishes and things crossed of our 10n10 lists! You can read all about it on her post HERE . "Trail Mix" from June 2004 APQ magazine. The idea is that we can use our scrap bag stuff and piece the blocks over time. It fits right in to the "on-going" category with no great rush to join the pieces. Should work.

Cher is interested in joining in but on a smaller scale---WTIL donation size. I re-drew a section of it in EQ for a "road map". This way we can count up how many of what type of block we need for the body of the quilt. I have thought about re-sizing the blocks from 6 to 8 inch finished though I have a lot of 3 1/2 inch squares cut for bowtie blocks that would work. The stuff I left uncolored in the sketch can be any medium or dark fabric.

I wonder what she will talk me into next, LOL?

Well, back to the sewing machine for me......all too soon it will be time to fix supper. Hope you have a great day in whatever you chose to do.

Sunday check in

Shown, the Two of a Kind/Cheap Trick a third of the way done. I have one other "mini row" on the pressing table and another pinned and ready to feed into the machine or I would have a start on the middle third---the long rows. As the quilt grows it is getting harder to tell exactly where each color will land but you know what? As long as it isn't the exact same piece or the same print in a different colorway, I am NOT taking it out. IIWII and I like it!

I stalled out the last couple days in the sewing department. It has been paper pushing and tossing, if the truth be told. Stuff stacks up when I am busy sewing though I separate out the things that need to be dealt with soon. The rest waits. The catch-all basket, desk cubby and top desk drawer are all cleared out leaving the recipe and quilt pattern printouts to be filed---or not, LOL

DJ asked "why are you taking a picture of that?" Blog fodder, I replied. He didn't know that I mentioned having the kudzu removed. Anyone in my family or friends who have visited our home know what it looked like back there too. Our neighbor DID come over and took a good bit of it out. A small section in the middle remains as not only was that area not level but we have a narrow area behind an overgrown bush or two that he could not fit through with the heavy equiprment. There are some tree stumps there as well. Anyway, there was no need to risk dumping the endloader or the ground giving way and falling from about 10 foot up. You see, they cut right through this hill to put the road in below. Our little lane is the OLD section of it that went up the incline and back down. That is why the across the road houses are on an even level with our house but the road is not visible between.

Friday the Persephone Garden Club had their annual plant sale and I went. My pal Judy is a member and the quilt I just bound for her was going to be raffled as a fund raiser. (I thought it was for the Salvation Army auction though she is making one for them too) All the proceeds go to local charities at any rate. Last year they had to cancel it due to the drought conditions but that has been reversed so the sale was on. They even fed their customers sandwiches, desserts and punch/coffee! I asked Judy for suggestions on what to plant on Pippi's grave site since the frost zapped the marigolds we had planted earlier in the month. Hosta, it is. Will tolerate the full sun, like the afternoon shade and sound virtually indestructible. DJ pulled out the copy of Gardening in the South for the care reference and planted it for me.


Boy, has it warmed up around here! Recently I read a description of the 4 seasons in Alabama on a cooking blog. According to the author who lives somewhere in the state, they are as follows:

• Almost Summer
• Summer
• Still Summer
• Christmas

I had not heard THAT one yet but I think there is some truth to it. DJ is always insisting that we didn't have any spring. Well, yeah we did---it was when the pollen was blowing and we had 50's and 60's for highs. Still, I suppose that perception is reality in his case. We are into our 3rd or 4th day of high 80's and not ready for it though it is not as humid as it will be in a month or so which makes things fair less bearable. There are two closets in my bedroom, one of which I use for coats and off season clothing. I switched the winter stuff out yesterday and took 3 bags of stuff to the donation boxes. Spring purging. If that doesn't bring on colder weather, I don't know what will.

My only real goal today is to put away the Easter decorations. Personally I like the rabbits myself but it is time. I put two of the ones that were tucked away in the sewing/computer room in the living room to be sure they made it into the box and DJ made some crack about them reproducing. He also made some crack about being blinded by the light hitting off my white legs when I took the outside pictures too. What do you expect after winter and jeans? Funny guy or just thinks he is funny??

DJ did the laundry while I groceries so I still have things to put away--wash it if you will but let me fold, hang my stuff. You can see what Skyler thinks about it being laundry day. Just try and remove those from under him! Another shot I took of him shows him at full meow when DJ took out a few pieces. Looks like his blending right into those whites with that full belly exposure.

DJ has a birthday coming up on Tuesday. Normally we would go out for lunch on or near the date but I have quilt group. I think he has made his selection about where I am taking him. He was no help with deciding what kind of cake or pie he wanted--whatever you feel like fixing. Sigh, that is what I always do though I do take suggestions. Because I needed to get the supplies in, I finally decided on Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting from the Cake Mix Doctor cookbook. THIS would be a similar recipe. It was a little night time reading going through the two recipe books, LOL. Oh , I also spotted a really yummy sounding brownie recipe in the chocolate version of the cake mix book that I could take to quilt meeting sometime. Flag that page too!

Guess that is it for this installment--hope you have had a good weekend at your home.

WIP, etc

It was a busy week last week but not so much in the "creative" department. From Monday till Saturday afternoon, off and on, I was slogging on the binding on my version of Scrappy Bargello. Considering that I started this on Super Bowl weekend 08 that is a pretty fast finish of a personal quilt, thanks to Norma quilting it for me. Trust me, I have projects way older than this one.

Yesterday I got out the 'ol rotary cutter and raided the stash for the background yardage for my version of Two of a Kind/Cheap Trick. I had cut the print pieces about 10 days ago but after all, that binding I was itching to sew! The picture above shows where I left off last night when the storms began rolling into the county and I needed to power down.

As explanation, the reason that I keep using the name "Two of a Kind/Cheap Trick" is that I know of two versions of what is a very similar pattern. I found the "Two of a Kind" pattern in the American Patchwork and Quilting magazine April 08, Issue 91 designed by Darlene Zimmerman and her daughter Rachel Shelbourne. BUT Miss Rosie's Quilt Company issued a very similar pattern and called it "Cheap Trick" RQC #97. The sizes to cut the sectioning are different mostly because the "Cheap Trick" version that Sheila shared with me was designed to use charm squares, layer cakes or fat eighths rather than the scrappy yardage and fat quarters I had to work with. In my case I took the cutting instructions from one pattern and the piecing directions from the other

There is also a little bit of difference in how you approach the piecing in the two versions but not dramatically so. Basically there are NO real blocks---it is pieced as a bar quilt and the pieces go on point to give the illusion of overlapping sections, like a modified Card Trick quilt in a way.

edited: 4/21 My mom told me recently that she had seen a Hanky Panky quilt at a quilt show in Bloomington (IL) that reminded her of the "Two of a Kind" (2oK)quilt. She thought it might be easier to piece IT than the one I am tackling. It turns out Zimmerman and Shelbourne designed it too! I like that one too but I believe that this is new take on a old block. It is attributed by Barbara Brackman's numbering system to Farm Journal is called Squares Upon Squares #1104 . Not that I would piece it the same way as shown HERE but Quilter's Cache has a version of this block. Another one that is similar and again, an old block from the Nancy Cabot days is Squares Within Squares #1102 b. If I were doing either one of them, I would be eliminating some seam lines especially if it is sewing the same colored squares together! Rectangles surely would work. Another day perhaps.

Because the magazine and pattern both show a smaller quilt than I wanted, I drew it up full/queen sized in EQ, more to help in calculating how many strips, squares, etc to cut. The coloring is more or less what I am following to aid in laying out the sections. You really need to watch what you are doing when you pick those pieces up. I have found that if I isolate just the row I am working on by folding over sections of my printout and block out the preceeding rows I have better luck verifying the layout. Then I concentrate on just sewing each "mini" row at a time before moving onto the lower half. So far, no ripping----yet!


So what else have I been up to since I last posted? The Bama Belles met on Tuesday for one. Several of the quilts that were out for binding were turned in so I had pictures to take. Mostly it was the aforementioned binding for me though the girls did pin several tops while a couple others sewed.

Unfortunately my camera battery ran out before I had a chance to take a picture of a top I thought I might be dealing with on our next "move it forward" day. ( I had promised Norma a picture of it as it might be one of my oldest tops---15 years old maybe?) Still, I had the opportunity to spread it out and measure it---only to find out that it is about an inch bigger at the top than the bottom! I had planned to put two borders on it but no way will it lay flat with that descrepancy. Part of the quilt was done as a pass around project with about 8 other piecers involved. That might account for why there is a difference since I pieced the 2/3rds on my own machine later. I don't remember having to ease the two sections together and it doesn't appear to be wonky to the naked eye. Back to a no borders quilt as originally planned?? I need to think on this a a bit more. What is a few more days at this point when you consider how long the top has been antique-ing, LOL?
The Belles were having a potluck dinner on Saturday evening hosted by Judy and her husband Conray. All the spouses were invited to attend this one. ( I had spent some time earlier this month sending out the invites after updating the roster) Judy asked me to ride shot gun with her over to Atlanta so she could get some food and supplies for the party. Sure, glad to go! Our first stop was at Tiny Stitches in Marietta. I knew from emails, blog reading and comments back and forth that Melinda works at the shop. I emailed her to see if she would be working--she wasn't but lives fairly close, she said and came over to meet us. Lovely lady! She pointed out some of the pieces she had made and quilted in the shop and gave me one of her sister's foldable to purse size Tote Along bags. Thanks again for that! Link is HERE for the pattern but they have them at Tiny Stitches too or as Melinda put it, they are the "East Coast distributor", LOL. I got one while Judy found the yardage she needed for her project as it is such a clever idea.
We also made runs to Trader Joe's, a party store in the same shopping center and after lunch, Costco. We had a yummy lunch at The Brickery. To be honest, I didn't have much a clue just where in the Atlanta area we were most of the day. Somewhere around Marietta--Sandy Springs maybe? -- but Judy knew where she was going so that's all that mattters! I got home about 6 pm on the dot. Judy shared some filled chicken ravioli that she picked up at Costco so I threw that in the pan, fixed some Italian green beans and garlic bread so we didn't have to go out for supper after all.

We had a good turnout at the party. I had met almost all the husbands over the years but I don't know that many of the guys had. A few maybe. We had talked about doing this for some time so it was fun to see everyone in a social setting. I had said if the guys were balking at coming then we should remind them that they would get a better meal and have better company if they came along with their wife, LOL. Delicious food but I already knew we had some good cooks in the group.

The other pictures I used for filler--the lilac in more bloom than the original one I posted about a month back. The smaller azalea is open now and the white encore variety is starting to bloom now too. The tulips were more or less a surprise as we thought those bulbs were long done. He did save the bulbs from the tulips he purchased for our anniversary in January putting them in cold storage in the fridge. He planted them in late March but those aren't them! And Skyler? It is now part of his nightly routine to run up to the top of the pass through. He starts yowling like crazy, showing off that he is up there. If that were not enough he stands up on his back legs merkat fashion or runs back and forth being anything but careful.

Other happenings in the neighborhood. We think that one or both of the people across the hard road are moving out. U-haul there over the weekend. Next door they continue to work on remodeling and painting the interior of the house. The step-dad tore down an old shed in back and even had the across the lane neighbor come in with the endloader and clear out the old kudzu mess on the bank at the edge of the lot. We need to have that done to keep DJ from spending two or three evenings each week during its growing season trimming back the new growth! We have a much longer lot ( a narrow acre) and more to have scraped off. We didn't know you could do anything with it short of burning it up and risk starting everything one the hill below on fire doing it. He talked to the neighbor about his fee--very reasonable. He'll be over when the ground dries up a bit from our latest rainfall. DJ has been doing some repair work on the eaves as well as some painting and caulking, some of it up on the roof. Definitely need to get any roof activity done before the summer heat gets here and those shingles get like hot tar.

Guess that's about it for this post. Thanks for stopping by!

Move It Forward weekend

Norma and I planned another Move It Forward sewing day for Friday since that had worked out so well for us last month.  The idea is to kick start a project that had lingered too long on the shelf.  It might be borders, binding, assembling blocks into a top.  Since I didn’t get as much done on the 4 patch posie as I hoped last month, I knew what to pull off the shelf as my choice.

First though I needed to clear up some of my “mess” from Thursday’s project.  My mom had sent that box you see below full of some 30’s scraps and fats but I had also put in my leftovers from the Cheese and Crackers top that I had recently made in there too.  I wanted to cut out a full sized version of “Two of a Kind/Cheap Trick” and started cutting my way through the box.  Two of a Kind called for 3 inch squares and 3 x 5 1/2 rectangles so I was able to just take the seam ripper to the CNC pieces as they were the same size.The larger pieces of yardage I set back but essentially I kept cutting and stacking them up into 8  color groups. 

By Friday morning I had some nice piles but no clue just how many I had towards the 240 sections that I needed.  I had worked my way through Mom’s stuff and the smaller pieces I had stored in the Longaberger basket.  I was down to a leftover pile of scraps like you see to the right of the pizza box---not sure what I want to do with them at this point so I just bagged them up for storage.  I was a bit shy of 240 but not by much. Then I pulled a little more fabric out of the stash to have at least 30 sections of each color.  The “before” and “after” pictures if you will.  Still need to cut backgrounds.
I didn’t get started back on my 4 patch posie top till after lunch. Last time out all I had gotten done was pre-sashing all 64 blocks and one row of the 8 I needed assembled.  By 9 p.m. all the rows were assembled and just the center seam left to join the top and bottom halves.  Not bad for a day’s sewing! 
The weather was awful yesterday---strong winds and lots of sirens going off.  I had to keep shutting off the computer and the sewing machine so it is wonder I got that much done.  Still, others had it far worse and the tornado warnings we had were about 12 miles north of us and 20 or so south of where we live.
I had already decided that I was NOT going to piece in a itty-bitty border cut 1 inch as the framing sashing had been done.  Instead I cut strips 1 1/4 for a flap insert between the body of the quilt and the outside border.  I had already cut and sewn the binding for the quilt but not folded and pressed it so took care of that while the iron was hot.  Pressed back the binding on the bargello quilt while I was at it as that is due up next around here.

So TADA!  Here’s the finished top----I hope it will click bigger.  (Blogger didn’t want to load pics tonight so I am writing this in Live Writer)  If not, I’ll try to replace it later.    DJ was having a little trouble holding it all the way out straight but I think you can see what the starting fabric was in the borders.  I told my mom when she called that I thought some of those iris stems were probably going to grow sideways on the top and bottom but I really did not care, LOL.

The machine is put away, pins picked up from the floor, the threads all vacuumed up.  My goal for the coming week is to get the binding done on my bargello quilt and cut the backgrounds for the “Two of a Kind.  For the rest of the evening, I think I will pull out my Santa redwork and move IT forward too.