finished to flimsy #2

After leisurely sewing for the last 4 days I finish the pro bono top and finished up my afternoon by prepping the backing fabric and binding.  Not pressed, nor is the other tops but I'm done.

Pattern source:  Billie Lauder's Uneven Nine Patch from More Quick Quiilt Tricks.  Quick?  Maybe not so much but I started with 5 inch squares, not sections I could strip piece.   I have always wanted to try the "Battlefield" block from the same book which starts with 10,5 inch squares.  Maybe one day, I will. when some fabric comes along that seems suited to it.

 I used Judy's leftover Oriental fabrics and kitted this up with the same background print she had used in her quilt, that Lake colored Fusion from Robert Kaufmann.  She had originally made a baby quilt for a friend's long awaited grandchild .  She really likes the blended looking quilt and combines neutrals beautifully.  The way the pink pops out and makes this prints form their own motifs it looks like I blended too.  Experimenting here.

I have made alternating colored Puss in the Corner blocks before but the background stayed the same and  it was sashed and  had cornerstones.  Seen below from one of our fabric challenge reveals back in Dec 2008. Lois

Lois had done one as well but hers looks totally different than either of the ones I am showing today-----It's all in the fabric itself and the placement in the block, I guess..

Soon I will be off to Olive Garden for our Belle's Christmas lunch and then a reveal of that Mumm fabric.  One of the gals has said she would like to pin her daughter's Christmas quilt.  Normally we would not do this on party day but she needs to get it done and I'll help.  Also I want to get pictures taken of the donation quilts Lois has ready to turn in.  Spare the husband the holding them up and complaints that his shoulder hurts.   If they look suitable for teens 12-17 then they are going to go to Gene's Angel Quilt project.  I just need to get them logged in the quilt document, number assigned and the pics taken.  If he is available, I hope to drop them off on the way home as I would be going right past where he works on the way.

DJ's surgery is coming up on Thursday and I do have some handwork to prep before then so that is next up.  That and a holiday pillowcase for that recent tree skirt and maybe a few quick bags for quilt entries while the serger is out.  Never stops here for long, LOL.

home sew-in

I was supposed to go to the guild "impromptu" sew-in today and tomorrow but elected to stay home and concentrate on sewing here at home.  Minus about 4 hours of driving time, the fee for the sew-in and whatever I spent for lunch/gas.

I had to put my plans for doing "On Parade" on hold as I do no have enough of the background fabric it would require.  I did order something but it will not be here for a few days and I will be busy with something else by then, LOL.  You know I will!  I'll be serging pillowcases  (probably!)  and then quilting those three donation quilts soon enough.

I pulled out something that has been in my storage stack for a long, long time intended for a donation top.  Chances are, I would have been working on something pro bono there.  The friendship block can wait a day or two and requires some hand embellishment.  I will have plenty time to do that at the hospital next week.  This particular quilt kit, a large 4 patch on point with a zigzag setting, was taking up a ton of room since I had the backing and all the extra fabrics stuffed in with it.  I elected to move it along, get it out of there.

In the midst of sewing these ginormous 4 patches I elected to change my mind about the design.  Now I am doing Billie Lauder style Puss in Corner or uneven nine patches alternating the background colors and what fabric will show up in the corners of the blocks.

I think what clinched my decision was a picture of a scrappy one that cycles through on my screen saver but this will be more planned as I had a stack of leftover Oriental fabrics in pinks, aqua, yellow one of the Belles had passed on.

Here is the older quilt from August 2012 but I have made others over the years.  Triple Rails, bowties and Puss in the Corners are often my go-to scrappy quilts.

Well, I have a stack of blocks pinned and ready to feed though the machine so best get back to it!  I can talk about piecing or I can actually DO it.  Hope you have had a good day.  You know where to find me this weekend!

unintended net break

 It is one thing to take some planned time off from blogging or your computer. That is not what happened in my case. I've got the pictures to show you why I was offline. First let me say, I know that this is so minor compared to what others went thru with the tornadoes two months ago. I am not complaining---it could have been worse---but relaying the story. 

DJ and I had just sat down to a bowl of homemade vegetable beef soup on Friday evening. As has happened fairly often this month, our area was under a severe thunderstorm watch/warning situation. It was getting darker and windy-er by the minute. A few bites in and off went the power and out came the candles. I don't know that I have ever eaten soup by candle light so I was just hoping that I didn't end up wearing more than I was ingesting, LOL.

About twenty minutes later our power came back on but the neighbor woman was knocking on the door. There is a tree limb from her tree in the back yard on our power line, cable etc. I don't know if you can see it or not, with the picture being so dark but that upright line in the middle of the picture above is the pole that is situated right on the property line. The other pole you see in the extreme right is across the road at the house you see in the distance. Back to the story..........

She had no power, no phone to call in the outage, etc. DJ's mind automatically leapt to the last time this happened, 5 years ago. (I probably even have a picture of it on here.) Why the tree assassin people did not cut half of this tree off, I do not know! They sure annilated many others around here. DJ said it was because it was in someone's back easement and they didn't want to drive their trucks back there. He may be right but there are a couple more limbs that come down and do this again---at 250 a pop and a 500 deductible on our house insurance so that is no help with the expenses. Again, he asks "what next?"

So anyway, the weight of the tree limb was pulling on our stand pipe. DJ was worried that it would break it off, tear up our roof and all that. We have cable internet and use Vonage for our phone---that is, when it is intact we do, LOL. The cable is broken off in all this mess you see in the picture to the right.

I was able to use my cell phone to get through to the power company on Stacy's behalf. I also got thru to the cable company but the out of state office. Typically, all bad repair things always happen on the weekend or when offices are closed, right?? We helped her out by stashing her things from the freezer into our chest freezer and found some refrigerator space so her food would be salvaged as well. She called her family to come get her so she didn't have to stay in a dark, hot house overnight.

Here you see the stand pipe bending over. The power company came in the wee small hours of Saturday morning to cut the limb free from the wire and get the neighbor powered up. This relieved a lot of the pressure on the line and kept this from bending clear over or snapping off.

Fast forward to Monday----still no cable guy, so still no phone, no internet. I was waiting and keeping the cell phone on my person at all times and charged up. I was promised that I was still "on the list" by the cable company. I was back up and running about 5 p.m., almost 72 hours without service. (and a 20 buck credit off my bill after the 3rd phone call reaching the local office, finally. ) Thank you, Mr. Cable Guy! He pulled out and the electrician guy pulls in to give us an estimate on what he will charge to fix the stand pipe.

Again, this is so minor compared to others without power, running water, no phone etc, no roof over their head. I did have a cell to use even if I missed being online. One more day and I would have gone into town to use the computers at the library. My biggest problem might have been my husband's impatience to have the phone back in service. I knew that I had done everything I could to get the cable guy out here. I was not the only one with this problem. The power company said they had about 35,000 people without power in a multi county area with that round of tstorms. Cable and the phone company, probably the same thing. We were guessing straight line winds, this time around?

Monday morning DJ used the cell to schedule the Power Company to be here on Thursday morning along with the electrician to repair the stand pipe. It does not appear that the shingles were damaged from down the ground anyway The neighbor's step-dad came and cut the tree limb into more manageable pieces but it is still on the ground on our property. We are still under a burning ban so I don't know if they will haul it away or what. DJ noticed last evening that there is another limb split on another of their trees but that one is actually planted right on the property line. We know it is theirs as the deceased home owner told us she planted all three of them from volunteers and nurtured them over the years. I am not even sure what kind of trees they are but none of them is in good shape.

The weather this year has been quite unusual for us. Something I read in the Sunday Anniston Star from Shane Harris, one of the extension agents for the Alabama Cooperative Extension System probably described this best in his gardening column. (He was talking about how it is hurting home grown tomatoes). He wrote "The first half of 2011 will be remembered as a time of crazy and weird weather. First was snow and ice in January. Then there was a very early spring in March, followed by record deadly tornados in late April. In late May, we had several days of very cool coat weather and frosts. Suddenly, the pendulum swung the other way, and June brought very dry conditions and extreme heat as if it was already August. Who knows what the next six months will be like?"

Got me but let's just say, La Nina was not a very nice girl!

Read more: Anniston Star - On Gardening Weird weather hurting home grown tomatoes

The next day's round of storms brought quarter sized hail. This morning's, just a little rain. Skyler is spending a good bit of time hiding under the bed with the alert radio goes off and the thunder boomers start. One bright spot, is that we are catching up with our rainfall totals a bit more. The grass is back and green from its earlier frying.

In the meantime, I did a little embroidery and read a couple of books. Sunday afternoon, parts of Monday, this morning, I worked on this Puss in the Corner or 4=9 uneven nine patch, as Billie Lauder would call it. (I am using her technique from her Quick Quilt Tricks booklet. )

I have a pile of blocks ready to add the last cut strip to them stacked by the machine. To keep from getting the sequence "messed up" and to keep my interest up, I did one row of blocks at a time and attached them. It is conceivable that I could have the top done or near done by days end if I wanted to push it. This one counts toward another Belles Scrap challenge tops for 2011. So does the diagonal 4 patch chain you see in the printout by the machine but I only have 2 rows of it completed (hanging under the PIC)

But in some ways, I really do not feel like doing much. You see, I have been having some balance issues again for the last two weeks almost. BPPV to use the medical name for it--benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. I wish it would go away like it has before but I guess that is the "paroxysmal" part of the deal. This time just turning my head or bending over is enough to set me off, rolling over in bed---ugh. I can't be driving and riding in the car is not any better, in fact maybe worse. Hills, curves and light strobing between the trees----not good. This has kept me pretty close to hearth and home especially if I have to take some meds for it.

I missed going out to the sewing date last Friday. Betsy said that the plans had changed for Ben's QOV anyway---he has one from another source apparently. We will make him one once he is home from the rehab facility, I guess. I can hang on to the blocks or use them in one of the veteran's quilts or the next QOV. I am also missing our field trip today to a quilt shop in Mableton, GA. :-(

We all have physical problems and such. I try not to dwell on this. If this is how life is going to be, I best adjust and get on with it. Thanks for hanging in---------

a little progress?

In the past days I have gotten a little bit more done in several areas.

I almost have 4 blocks completely hand quilted on the Bird Brain Santa. I am still looking for a cable idea for the sashing and have a few on order that MIGHT work. I think it needs something more than in the ditch. I did check in my inventory at home and have one that may be more in keeping with what I am visualizing though. I have NOT looked in any of my quilting motif books yet either.



Next we have most of the flower stems hand appliqued down on this project---the one on the extreme left is only partially stitched. Note: this is April's quilt of the month of the Joined at the Hip Button Up. I am so far behind since I elected to go with hand work. Oh well, that is why the" Welcome" one is done and hanging. I am considering jumping ahead to July since I so far behind and catch finish this up more at my leisure. Actually if you leave off the July wording, this one would work for any of the patriotic US holidays. HMMMM

I am also thinking that I should pull the stuff for the "In Seasons" Summer wall hanging. DJ even was commenting on the fact that the one hanging says "Spring" but it sure feels like Summer is here with a vengeance. Not by the calendar of course but tell that to the jet stream, LOL. I am drawn more to THAT than what I was working on yesterday though. Maybe it will get me out of my doldrums a bit?? I can hope.


This was what I was piddling with yesterday but did not get too far. I am using the Puss in the Corner method from Billie Lauder's Quick Quilt Tricks book #2 for this. This is not what she calls it, however; "Four = Nine Uneven Nine Patch " is its name in the book. Anyway, you start with a big 4 patch to make the finished block. This is part of my scrap bag challenge for the quilt group. One of many kits and a few started projects in that area.

I was going to cut some 6 1/2 inch blue blocks and try the disappearing 4 patch blocks that my pal Pat had featured on her blog but have not done it yet. I was thinking that they might work for a veteran's home quilt. Just two colors like hers shown HERE --classic look, don't you think? So striking in the green fabric she chose making me wonder why they all insist on RWB or service related colors. Shades of blue might work for the Air Force folks though. HMMM again.

I took this bit of embroidery with me on my trip last month but barely touched it. It was a fast trip and I really did not have a lot of time to just sit and stitch plus we were sharing driving duties in order to get up there and back in one day. It is the Button basket block from Bee Tree Designs. Scroll back to previous post to find the link from the Flickr page if you want it. (Being lazy, LOL) There is a ton of stitching on this thing and I think the next one, honey and biscuits, is a similar situation! But I am liking how the green floss looks. This will be my meeting project. I have quilt guild coming up this Saturday and a Belle's gathering on Tuesday.



And here is the other thing I have been doing---reading. Some days, it is all I can do to look at the local newspaper but I enjoy reading. It reminds me of when I was a kid and we used to head up to the town library almost daily in the sumer to check out some books, read them and head back to get another stack. Some of these, my mom just sent back with me and a couple I had on my shelves. I finished up the Kristin Hannah book last evening and started on 3 Nights in August right after that. The next thing I knew it was almost midnight and Skyler has been waking me up around 5:30 in the morning. Short nights!

Normally I prefer fictional works but this book written by Buzz Bissinger, the same guy who wrote Friday Night Lights is an interesting account of Tony LaRussa and managing the St. Louis Cardinals. Since I often wonder why they make the moves they do in the course of the game, it ia enlightening. Actually I remember the 3 games the title refers to--classic Cubs/Cardinal series played in STL. Since it was written back in 2005 and the events took place in August of 2003, you see the turnover in position players and pitchers. I would have to visit the MLB site to even know if some of these guys are still in baseball or when others began their time with the team. Chris Carpenter and Albert Pujols might be the only holdovers that spring to mind.

And so it goes----not getting much done but doing what I want to do even if I still feel like I am in a slump. Hope you are having a good day and thanks for stopping by

WIP Weds, wk 10

Haven't sewn a lick yet but I AM getting ready to. I even vacuumed up my mess from the last few days........just to make another mess, LOL.

I may have cut up all my available yardage of this particular Moda Marble into nickel squares. Remarkably, I have just enough moda squares to do the project! Woohoo. 5 inch squares are find for piecing the 4 patch units but DUH! I also need 4 1/2 inch squares to complete the 8 inch finished blocks. My donation sized quilt needs 46-49 of them depending on how I treat the lower right corner. To my way of thinking the last block needs one 4 patch unit plus one square. The other block section could be cut as a rectangle to eliminate a seam, providing I have some yardage.


And this is where I am headed---the quilt at right. I may also be piecing some huge 4 patches for Puss in the Corner blocks while I am in the nickel grouping container. Those will have a muslin background so I think I can keep things straight.

Hope you have a fun day stitching at your house---------