some production

I have been getting a little production done, though somewhat slowly since I last posted. Not completely stalled out but not really raring to go if you know what I mean?

I made a few more blocks for a 5 x 7 block set of a Heartstrings quilt for the Bama Belles and I. It sat overnight as I tried to decide if I needed to add some borders. LOL, you can see that I thought it needed them if only to carry the red color out to the edges and frame the quilt. I think that any bias pull was probably stabilized on the edges by the muslin backing but I think the next ones I do will be on old phone book pages. I am a foundation piecer from way back so pulling the paper doesn't bother me all that much. I do want to do some diamond shaped ones so have been saving my old used color catcher sheets to do some like Norma shows in her recent post.

Strings are the ultimate in stash busting, aren't they? I hope that the boy that gets this one will have fun picking out the dogs,cats, M & M, sports figures, etc that are hiding in here. The backing is some that I pulled out of the donation bin at the church. The binding is more of the red since it will go with the backing print.

I also managed to finish up the July bluework snowman while watching the Civil Rights Baseball game Saturday night and started on the August one. Those dinky little stars were not easy to stitch making me wish that I had decided to use little buttons or whatever to embellish this block. One finish, however small, for March on the personal quilting front.

Here is the kitty picture for the post. I wanted a quick stitching project but by day two all I have done with this top is all the blocks and three rows joined though Pippi is parked on just two at the time. Bad kitty Mama moved the quilts Pippi had been dozing on to use the pressing surface. This is a series type quilt using the same prints as the quilt seen HERE--just switching things up a bit to make the top bit different. I may border it with gold print to make it a bit bigger. Normally I don't make square quilts but this will be an exception.

That strip hanging there is a cat toy, BTW. She had taken some token swipes at it just before I took the picture. Naturally, being a cat, she stopped.

Around the house---DJ finally got to play golf after taking off a week due to a procedure he had done. I am keeping up my committment to walk 5 to 6 days out of 7 though today was one day I took off. I think all that pollen is finally catching up with me and I've got the headache from HE** this morning. We just got back from getting me a new pair of walking shoes so I guess DJ is doing his part to encourage me in my endeavor. I hope this will put an end to the blisters that have alternately been popping on my heels from my old pair.

Our spring sew-in days will be next week---Monday and Tuesday right after Easter. I would like to cut out a Building Blocks top or two though I have plenty of other things that I could work on while we are there including the beetle quilt I had started last week. I think that the Belles would like the pattern is they saw how quickly it goes together. Pam whipped up three of them in no time flat making them a good sew-in choice.

I had gotten a call about possibly sitting with a couple next week--the husband is critically ill but the wife who is the primary caregiver has to have a surgery that cannot be put off . Just found out that the family stepped up and have help her make other arrangements. That's okay. It would have been hard from me to be gone away from home for 5 days (counting the sew-in) anyway. I was just going to do it to help out a friend of a friend, more or less.

About time to heat up our lunch so I will close and hopefully catch up with you later this evening-----

heartstrings, snowmen and quilt meetings

Yesterday was the Belles meeting day. Busy as usual! I believe that they pinned 6 tops yesterday and 5 were turned in. I think we all are enjoying the new quilt hanging method because there are plenty of "oohs and ahhs" as the finished quilts are hung. Carolyn got a digital camera for Christmas so she was taking pics too so she could share them with her family--one of the quilts was one she had made but that didn't matter. Some of the girls kept to the pinning table, one was cutting strips again from the donation fabrics, one was quilting and 4 of us did get some machine time in---me included!

One thing I had found was I should have used a different foot. I had the Janome and the quarter inch lipped foot was on -- the open toed one was at home. I kept catching the fabric base in that lip. Really I think my blocks looked a lot better and smoother on the back when I had just used my walking foot out of not wanting to bother to take it off the Viking just to put it back on.

Silly me had went off without my 9.5 ruler so I just "got them ready for their closeup". The June snowman snuck in too as I had just finished it right before I trimmed down the blocks. (I started it Monday evening and did a bit more of it last night so there was not much more to go this morning)--no biggie)

I had brought the 2 inch strip baskets along with the red centers and bases I had cut. Pictured above is the string output. These strips were part of a diminishing box of 2 inchers that Ellen, the WTIL founder had sent a couple years back. It was a xerox paper box packed to the brim!! I've made log cabins, RR crossings and drug them to the meeting a time or two and they are getting down but then I have added more to them as well. I had mentioned before about my cutting my way through a scrap basket that measures about 13 high by about 20 wide that stuffed to the gills last year. I vowed then that I was NOT going to keep a scrap bag or basket anymore and have stuck to my guns. I have 1 1/2, 2 and 2 1/2 inch strips, 3 1/2 inch strips and 3 1/2 inch cut squares mainly on hand. I told the girls that at our next meeting that maybe we can whip up some bowtie blocks (or make some nine patches.) All part of stash busting---just a little at a time.

I keep thinking that I should also cut some rectangular strips as well so some of the short pieces can be made up into a RR crossing or Chinese coins. What stops me is that I have a foundation pieced pineapple log cabin started with 7 inch finished blocks and it also uses the short ones. While I agree with the concept of leaders and enders, I do not work well with divided attention---next thing you know I am off piecing 8 patches instead of the project I was originally sewing, LOL.

Pictured at right, or I am guessing that it around there somewhere, is Lois' top. I was not sure exactly what to call the pattern--Stars yes, but there are also Puss in the Corner elements. The green print has sail boats on it and I thought it was cute that she quilted in a fish motif in the PIC element.

Both Lois and Carolyn reported that their husbands had really taken a liking to quilts they had done for the kids. I told them if they really wanted to keep it, I would understand and they could substitute something else in its place. It made them feel good to think that if they liked them, then one of the boys would as well. Sometimes I think it is easier to make a girls quilt because we KNOW what we like.

I spent yesterday afternoon/evening tying up some loose ends for the Belles. Updating my quilt document, assigning numbers, prepping labels for the ones I brought home, edited the pictures. One person needed a handout that I had run out of and couldn't copy so emailed that out. Another needed a recipe from a long ago sew-in to serve her circle. Another left her scissors and did she need them soon? Who all would be going to the UFO sewing retreat next month call to our hostess. Cleaned out my tote bag and my purse and put most of the stuff away though one bag is parked in front of the front door till I go out to the car in a bit. In the hurry to leave I just more or less dump anything anywhere, LOL to get it out the door. The machine foot is NOT with machine. The cone thread and holder stay out in the car and so on. Still need to run to the bank and will go in a minute. All part of being the group leader. Few other things to attend to but it can wait for another morning.

Between DJ and I the laundry is done. Lunch will be easy as I pulled some veg beef soup out of the freezer, dumped it all in the crockpot and added some more leftover beef from the freezer, broth and frozen vegs last night. Since the fabric is not here yet for the t-shirt quilt, I'm going to quilt one of the tops that Marilyn has asked me to do for her. Next thing I know it will be time to fix supper and head to bed to start it all over again. I am rarely bored when I keep busy doing what I love.

this and that on a Friday

At left you see the blocks I have completed so far towards a heartstrings quilt for the Boy's Ranch. Blog fodder, LOL. I finished piecing these on Wednesday and then put the strings up for the time being. I had told the group to bring their machines for our next meeting and I'd bring the strips and the backing muslin if they want to lend a hand and make a block or two.

Yesterday I wound a "bazillion" number of bobbins because I need to hit the machine quilting for a few days. Oddest thing, since my motherboard was replaced on the Viking, I cannot fill the bobbins as full. Anyway, I have some for pay that will help towards my new machine purchase and some for WTIL. I'll get back to my big 30's sampler sometime this month though as that one is my choice for personal unfinished project goal from the Top 10 list. I got one top done (see below) and still had the time and inclination to work another hour so pulled out the plaid bricks that had started on last month and put a few more lines in it.

This is Lois' top from her quilt shop class. She said that one of the shops has an afternoon where they demonstrate the use of a ruler or technique and this "Peaky and Spike" was one of them. As near as I can tell THIS is probably roughly the same pattern. Darlene Zimmerman who designed the Tri Recs ruler and the pattern called it "Granny's Flower Patch".

While we were pinning it, I commented that it would not be too hard to do one continuous line on this,. Not her favorite part of the process so I said that I would do it for her. I flipped the corner though so you could see the neat back she chose. Our Hancock's had a good sale on boy type prints for a buck a yard, I was told. Anyway, Lois wants to take it to the next quilt shop afternoon and show the instructor(s) that some DO finish their projects. I passed it on to her to day to finish up --she gets it back for binding though I would have sewn it on had we had the strips cut and pressed. Today she told me she felt like a weight had been lifted off her. This isn't supposed to be a chore and I don't mind doing them.

Today several of us from our quilt group and the guild in Jacksonville went to our friends bee. On the 2nd Friday of the month they open their home to whoever wants to come and serve us soup and cornbread for lunch. I had not been out in awhile but Marilyn wanted to go and was not sure on the way to get out there. Initially Marilyn was to drive and bring another friend along and pick me up on the way. Change of plans at the last minute and her husband dropped her off at my house so I needed to drive. No problem. We swung by the pre-arranged spot to meet up with Lois who was going to follow in her car. I got about half way there and my gas signal light came on and stayed on---NOW I had a problem! We were way out in the country and no service stations anywhere around. I thought there might be one on the route we turn onto but the pumps were no longer in service. We got to our destination and then inquired where the nearest station was. Gary put what little bit of gas he had in it to get me that far but I sure felt better once I got about 10 bucks worth in it. Lois was prepared to drive us back home to get either of our husbands and/or the gas can. Since it all ended happily, I doubt that I will confess my goof up--spare myself the "lecture"

My table insert came for my new Brother yesterday. Unfortunately, no bubble wrap or styrofoam packing was put around it and something heavy had fallen on the box. Yep, the section that goes on the front part of the machine is almost snapped clean through. Since there was a 800 number on the label from the company that makes and ship them, I called there first as I did not think it was the shop I ordered it from fault/problem. Turns out that was not the proper procedure but the person who answered the phone was able to look back to get all the information and said to toss that one and they will drop ship another at no charge. She indicated that they had new shipping boxes and the guys didn't seem to think they needed any padding. Trust me, I said, they do at least in my case. Want to have to keep replacing them for free, then don't pad them. Still haven't plugged the thing in BUT it will be a reward for quilting when I do get all my ducks in a row.

Not much else going on here on the home front. Our siding project is complete and the weather warmed up enough (low 60's) so my husband was able to start painting it much sooner than he though. The same contractors will be back to do a wood repair job around the chimney over the weekend. I do not want DJ up on the roof doing it--leave that to the professionals.

Guess I'll put a few more stitches in my May snowman block as it is too late in the evening to want to quilt. Pippi is napping on it anyway, LOL. I don't want it THAT bad. Norma said she was about done with her January block so I hope she posts a picture soon. Pam is going to join us as well. With these two pushing me maybe I'll get them done this year?

Happy Birthday!

Those of you who read around the stash webring probably read Nancy's invitation to help her celebrate her birthday today by making some string quilts to aid the Heartstrings group. The blocks can either be sent to Nancy or one of the other volunteers to assemble the top with the resulting quilts being donated for those in need OR kept in our own communities to fulfill a need there. I'm planning doing both, LOL.

So Ms. Nancy, Happy Birthday to you--the red ones are to honor you on your special day. I could not resist sticking a bit of cat fabric in there but you might have to enlarge it to see better. The blue ones are to honor your dad's life as you said yesterday would have been HIS birthday. (A tad of cat fabric there too).

I'll get them in the mail tomorrow when I run errands.

Finn, any of those fabrics look familiar to you? Told you I was going to put those into use! Off to start on a few of my own now. I left the walking foot on--it might be helping to keep these things in line on the muslin base but truth be told, it is a PITA to remove it and I'm being lazy. This is not rocket science after all and is meant to be fun.

Hope you all are having a good Sunday------