two down, one to go!

woohoo! Strip Twist is finished up with days to spare. Looks pretty good if I do say so, LOL.

Of course, the little black and white quilt inspector had to give it his stamp of approval. So did DJ, apparently.

It is still pretty warm and muggy around here and no quilt is needed at this point---not when we still need ceiling fans at night. He can have it back after the quilt show.

That leaves the raffle quilt and I already have most of one short side done. Hopefully, this is all finished up by Monday at the latest.

finished to flimsy

I had set a goal to get the blocks of my strip twist out of the sack they were in and to flimsy by the evening of December 5th. I didn't make it. By the time I had put up the Christmas decoration one day last week, I sure didn't feel like sewing that evening though the quilt was about half done at that point. What difference did one day make anyway---it was still the weekend and a self imposed goal.

The pattern was designed by Gudrun Erla of G. E. Designs. It is set up for jelly roll using a partial seam technique. It is the project we chose to do at the FAB + 2 retreat this past August. Because I needed to make a ton more blocks and had other obligations, I was lagging behind.

All of our quilts have all turned out so differently! You can see Norma's version HERE. She and I both went with a fall type theme. Cher's version can be seen HERE. While it is not Cher's usual palette, she had pulled fabrics from her stash and the quilt was gifted for someone who needed a comfort quilt. Pat went with a Christmas version. It was quilted this past week and she is probably working on the binding as I write this. I can't wait to see the Christmas pig fabric she said she used for backing! For a pre-border, pre-quilted version click HERE. Pam was working on 30's version at the retreat but wants to make more blocks for a completion. I think the only posted picture I know of her blocks can be found HERE.

I had hoped to get the backing pieced last evening but petered out after wrestling rows and halves around. The extra blocks will go back there in a nothing fancy set but make my available yardage wide enough for the long armer. As pretty as it looks on my bed, it actually will fit DJ's queen a little better so I am going to give it to him once it is done. It is what I have been thinking about doing as I worked on the blocks anyway if he indicated he liked it at all. Our anniversary is coming up and of course, his birthday is not far off either.

You see, most of my work gets a typical DJ reaction--- a nod, "oh yeah" or "that's nice" reaction from him meaning "no big deal--you are just going to start on something else next. You are never finished" When he told me to make it warm, that meant he will use it. ( Gee, don't make me twist your arm or anything. I do love it enough to be take it back!) Moreover, he can give me my full sized Boston Commons quilt back that is a little small on his bed. Oh don't think I haven't made him one before and that the poor man has been deprived of a Linda made quilt! He has a big, almost king sized, sampler I made years ago-- my first quilt as a matter of fact. It is too big and too heavy so he has preferred the one he had borrowed from me more. For a view of that one, try this LINK to a previous post about quilt beginnings.

I am working on the reward system---so now that this is almost put behind me what is next up? Postponed pleasure, LOL. Piecing will always be my first love but I do have some obligations that need tending too. That means some machine quilting first. I have a comfort quilt to quilt for my friend's Jane and Aline's guild bee for pay and 4 donation tops to move along to finish up this program year for the Belles. My reward project will need to be cut out but I have all the fabric on hand to make the Sisterhood Gratitude quilt from the panel that Cher gifted us with at the retreat. I hope that in another week, I can get started on it. That's my self imposed, arbitrary goal anyway!

Hope you have a good day and thanks for stopping by------

WIP Weds

Another installment of WIP Weds---another week gone and about to switch the calendar over to another month already!

So what am I doing this week? LOL, same thing as last week actually but a little further along. I had decided that I want my Strip Twist quilt to be an 11 x 12 set (8 inch finished blocks) for a quilt that finishes about the size of my Scrappy Bargello as that is working well. I need just a touch more length to go over the pillows though.

As of last night, I had 96 blocks done and 36 more to go. I had purchased 4 more fabrics in the Hearth and Home fabrics so looks like 9 blocks of ea. one. My goal is to have these finished up by week's end. I plan to start with the strip sets during game listening time tonight.

The flimsy assembly will probably wait as I think I need to get started machine quilting on the donation stack which numbers 8 at the moment. 2 of them are my own. I know of about 4 more to be pinned as Linda C has been a busy, busy girl, LOL. More for the stack, in other words! Most are simple zoom lines, stitch in the ditch so should not take too long. Then I will have binding for the quilt group volunteers to work on. Also Marilyn has asked me to quilt up a couple small tops sometime in the coming month. There is also a possibility of another t-shirt commissioned top, I have found out.

The other stack you see on the table above is my FAB friendship quilt. I need to mark the off squares and the setting triangles. I had ordered a couple of stencils from the Stencil Company since I would like to hand quilt that stuff and I hope one of these will work in those areas. Good for a stand up job. (I will stitch in the ditch on the blocks themselves). I hope to get this one pinned at our next meeting as well.

Earlier in the week Lois had called me about making that run up to Boaz and the long arm quilter at Out of the Box. You may recall that we had planned to go a couple weeks ago but that fell through at the time. BUT Lois got her name put on Susan's list of quilts but the poor girl is really covered up with the influx of quilt show entries and ones destined to be Christmas gifts. There was not as big rush to get it up to Susan for that reason. Beverly was able to get away today too.

Here are my day's purchases then. I found a nice rich brown and that middle chunk of yardage on the left was on sale as a flat fold but will work great for part of the backing on the Strip Twist at Out of the Box as it measured out at 6 yards. Perfect! I plan on using any leftover Hearth and Home yardage that is not destined to be binding to get the backing up to the extra required width (8-10 inches over the two widths of yardage)

Next we ran over to Wilson's Discount Fabrics. There I found the lighter plaid that I will work into the mix for that Strip Twist back. I also found a background cream on cream for background for the Atkinson Design's that Norma and I have been talking about doing for several months. The other two 30's repros will be used in the place of the green and yellow posie areas of the design chain. We ran into a woman from the JOY group that Lois and Beverly both knew at the shop. I asked if she wanted to join us for lunch at the Mill Street Deli as it was our next stop but turned out her husband was waiting for her in the car.

I picked up the little striped bundle of 4 fats at Hobby Lobby as we stopped in Gadsden on the way back to Calhoun County. I want to try Robbie's "4 Fats and All That" purse pattern that I got the quilt show. A little coordinated set should work fine to test it out. Only 5 bucks so not much lost if I don't like the process or goof it up in some manner.

We have had a couple of cool nights and gorgeous days, low humidity levels. The internal house temperature is down in the high 60's instead of high 70's/low 80's that I find so miserable. Last night was the first time I have slept without the ceiling fan on in months and months. I had the window cracked even though our thermometer registered mid 40's at daybreak and had a quilt pulled up. Gotta love it! What's more, I do not even want to hear "we need to turn on the furnace" come out of DJ's mouth till the daytime temps get down in the 50's and stay there. Get a blanket or put on a sweater if you are cold! I did switch the fall/winter wardrobe to the forefront this morning and put most of the shorts outfits and sandals away. Watch it get up in the 80's again, LOL. Not much sign of leaves changing color at least where I live yet but fall is here.

Hope you have had a good day in your neck of the woods and thanks for stopping by---------

WIP Tuesday

Yeah, I know---a day early with the progress report post. DJ has plans for me tomorrow but more on that later.

I have been sewing off and on for the last couple days on the strip sets for my version of Strip Twist. I elected to keep the center squares and "arms" the same throughout the blocks. I am NOT following the directions in the pattern but that is my choice. My decision to go this route is sort of backfiring as my sections are cut a 1/4 inch bigger and then I can't quite get out enough cuts from the fat quarter strips that were in the kit-- close but no cigar. I may need to get some more of the Hearth and Home fabric depending on how many blocks I am able to squeeze out for the top. I am thinking I need a bit more green in the mix anyway. Some unsewing and creative re-piecing and/or fudging the pieces that are "oh so close" will probably be in order as well. If it worked for our quilting foremothers, it will work for me too.

As I work I have been listening to either Gameday Audio and listening to the Cardinals play ball or listening to the e-audiobooks offered through our local library system. Woohoo on the baseball games--out in front by 10.5 games as of this morning so maybe a chance at the post season? It helps to pass the time to listen to this stuff especially when doing the rather boring strip work. The blocks themselves will be more fun and get me closer to a top. I am shooting for bedsized if possible--90 blocks.

Skyler cracked me up with the way he was laying on the couch yesterday. Lately he has been started to lay on his back with the belly up and inviting some pets. The fact that he would allow belly rubs just showed how wiped out he was from his maniac running earlier in the day.

My baking adventures continue. I made a batch of gorditas last week that turned out quite well. I used a tutorial and recipe from the King Arthur blog Baker's Banter but there is a printable recipe for "Caesar Grilled Chicken of Soft Wrap Bread" HERE. DJ who doesn't have a clue what I am doing in the kitchen most of the time could not believe that I made the bread myself even though I had been in and out of there a good bit of the morning, LOL. (I used a rotis chicken and bought the caesar dressing this time around)

The week before I had tried to make a whole wheat pizza crust from Taste of Home found HERE. I believe that I had a problem with the yeast---not the fault of the recipe, just the user. It was taking so long to rise that I panicked and made an different recipe to use. DJ had cautioned me not to try another recipe as "mess with a working monkey". Finally it got to the point where I could punch it down but of course, we didn't need a 2nd batch of dough then. Not having any directions as to what to do at that point, I threw it in the freezer in a greased bag. I thawed it in the fridge overnight and fixed it yesterday. Much to my surprise, it worked! Nice taste to the crust too. DJ is always telling me how much he likes my homemade pizza and he doesn't know why I am not more confident about it. Ah, maybe because I am trying to learn a new skill and I don't want to ruin dinner??

One of the local hardware stores had a moonlight madness sale last week with two hours of 20% off prices. DJ and I had talked about getting a ceiling fan for the kitchen which at this point is the only room other than the bathrooms without one. He has been so busy with yard work this summer that I told him this could wait till things slow down for him--a month or two if need be. He wants to get started on it early tomorrow morning and will need my help. I said we should wait till we know the hardware stores are open. I know from past experience that inevitably we will need something we don't have on hand. The biggest thing is we are dealing with a vaulted ceiling and a drop rod.

Since I have sat down to write this note he got a phone call from his golfing friend from IL. Looks like they will be here late Tuesday and plan on golfing Weds and Thursday. Labor Day will be just that----cleaning the house up. Shortly after that call on old friend who now lives in NJ also called---old home week, I guess.

That's about it for me-----off to cut some strip sets.