a reward project

How long has it been that I even used the words "reward" project for when I am slogging through the end of one project and aching to start on something new since I am a little bored with what I am working on?  Don't try to answer that one but suffice it to say, if you are not sewing or whatever it HAS been awhile.

I cut this one out this afternoon.  Aren't those bright colors a breath of fresh air for a gloomy, damp day?  I am going to make the Brioche & Baguette couch throw as shown on Connecting Threads who kitted up all this lovely stuff.   Click on the "view more images" button and you will see the quilt full open rather than arty catalog view.

BUT I have to get the taxes ready before I can play. I have the forms printed off and a few questions I had were answered by a read of the manual online.  Obviously he is not going to be signing any forms but we were married the entire year of 2013.   I may have mentioned that DJ normally would have had this stuff spread out on the kitchen table and started on it by the 3rd week of January.  Not this year as we were busy with the flooring project.  I always checked the form over to verify the math or ask "how did you come up with this number?"  so I hope that this will be no big deal.   Hope springs eternal?  I think I will need a bigger reward than sewing something I want to sew once I am done, don't you?

 I DID finish up my blog hop project yesterday and tried to get some pictures of it.  However, the light was not good so I will either use Glynda's fencing or get the morning light rather than afternoon in that location.  I am pleased with the embroidery but made a small sewing goof.  You'll see soon enough as it is staying that way.  Too late to start over, after all.

The only other "big" thing I have done today is put some bed risers under my pressing/cutting table legs.  The ones that DJ and I had rigged up with PVC pipe and end caps had worked well for years---as long as there was carpet on the floor.   I was finding the table a bit less than stable since we put the laminate down.  I sure didn't need it wiggling with a rotary cutter in my hand.  While it was not a barrel of fun to move all that stuff I had stacked up under it, it did not take too long.  I don't think it is up quite as high and for now, I am keeping the present skirting on the table though it could be dropped down about 2 inches.  It doesn't annoy me THAT much, LOL.   Cat perch covers and a dust ruffle on the other bed are more pressing.  Oh, if anyone wants my old set, let me know and I would happy to pass them on if you need about 5-6 inches of height on a fairly slender table leg.  I use a banquet table that does not fold.

a finish and a reward

A finish to report----finally!  I mentioned the QOV top #3 as being my priority item for the week.  As I stated in my last post, life kinda intervened.

We had two days of rocky weather and trust me, that does not lend itself to piecing when  you have to un-plug.  I blew out on mother board to a power surge and I don't want to replaced another.  At one point on Friday my two computerized machines wound up in the shower.  I figured if I had to be in the bathroom with the hard hat on, then two of my prized possessions were going with me.

I fused down the cut away stars and machine appliqued the down to a 7.5 inch finished squares.  I had the rail strips already cut but didn't really start stitching on this in earnest till Friday and Saturday.  All that I needed to do today is the last border.  I had said that it was amazing that a girl like me that HATES to put on borders would do a quilt that is nothing BUT borders.  5 of them actually.  The picture I put up on FB might actually show the last border a little better but whatever----this thing is done now!  Ready for Show and Tell at Friendship Quilters on Saturday.

I have one more QOV top to piece:  a 3-D bow tie, navy ties on white background with red "knots"  I need 76 of them and the project is one that I started at the fall sew in at guild. (Read about it HERE .)  I will have to pull it out to see just where it stands.  Seems to me that I had some up to the center joining seam but how many?  BUT having said only one more for a total of 5 I was half considering what to do with the cutaways from the pieced rails.  9 patches on point arranged zig zag style maybe?  I naturally over-cut ( almost always do).  There is  fabric leftover from the guild member that gave it to me for the Land of Liberty panel thing.   Maybe.

I need a break from "hafta/deadline" sewing, even if that deadline is self imposed.   The veteran's home is opening in the summer and the tops need to be turned in for quilting.  I need a break from red, white and blue.  I am so ready for a reward project!

And here is what I have in mind.  I prepped this little stitchery from Two Blonde Mice about a month ago.  It has just been waiting for me but I did do a little bit of two of the flowers on Wednesday.  It should work up pretty quickly.  Linda C left this pattern to share when she moved to TN.  Because I was the one who filed the loose pages, etc in the notebooks, I spotted it first, LOL.  It is shown in their graphic, which I borrowed, as a pillow but I want a spring wall hanging instead.  Cute, huh?  I do not own any of the Mary Engelbreit fabric that they used in their sample so will substitute something else that I DO have.  If I have enough of it, I know just which one I will use!

My mom sent some basket fabric and a couple of friends have offered some from their stash as well.  Because of that I am holding off cutting out the March Button Up and whipping it as my reward.  I still would like to do a bias applique thing for the handle and the piece Mom sent would need to be seamed perhaps a little more than I would like.  It won't go to waste though. The May Button Up is a basket as well.

I am taking tomorrow "off" and concentrating on straightening up the house.  With having the windows open recently, I need to dust and definitely vacuum up the strings from the week's sewing.  I get busy and things just get stacked and I can't stand the clutter for long.  Then stitchery for sure!

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Dishwasher saga update.  We thought they were coming Thursday to install the final dishwasher.  Remember we had gotten #2 a Frigidaire that was scratched and dented so it was not going to stay.  They called to say that the one at the store with our name on it looked like a forklift had backed into it.  They were going to get one from the Gadsden store but it would have to wait till Friday morning.  Okay, Friday comes.  They install it seemingly without a hitch.  Come Friday night about 830, I head out to the kitchen in my sock feet.  Socks get damp but I thought maybe DJ just dripped some water on the rug.  Few minutes later with my bare feet I realized that the rug in front of the dishwasher is soaked with water.  He shut off the water supply as well as the power while I fetched some towels to mop up the water and the phone.  Water was dripping off the supply line.  Loose connection or did they break the line?  Something had made me write down the plumbing contractors number off his van earlier in the day.  He came out yesterday morning and his helper had not gotten it tightened up enough or some such thing.  Seems to be fine now.  I pray that is the last of it---a journey of a month's duration.  Not all their fault.  DJ asked for an exchange after all.

We did have tornado warnings up on the north end of the county on Friday.  The weather dude was calling out our immediate area but there was no touchdown.  Present on radar but aloft, thankfully.  Some in the county were without power but that is minor compared to April 27th stuff.   Other parts of the country did not fare so well.  My heart goes out to the people in north Alabama who were just getting re-built from last April and are wiped out again.  The folks in Indiana and Kentucky, with loss of life.  E4's, I read.  It is just sad. It is going to be a long tornado season at this rate.

Our camellia seemed to rebound from the cold nights we had but tonight is another close to freezing night.  One of the azaleas is beginning to bloom and you can see hints of what is coming on the lilac bush.  The bradford pears are out in their full popcorn white and so lovely.  I get to enjoy my neighbor's pink dogwood from afar.  We tried three different times to have a dogwood only to lose them all.  DJ also pointed out that the yellow pollen stuff is starting to come around-----could live without that but it is part and parcel of a southern spring.

THX for stopping by------------

Another finish

No, not a quilt top but part of one, LOL. Actually I had most of this Bird Brain redwork "Here Comes Santa" block done back in August but set it aside. I had been to the point where I wanted to drop back to one strand for the finer work and perle cotton for the heavier detail. At this point 5 of the 12 blocks are completed and a 6th is started---one of my ongoing projects. If you DO click on the link you will see that the pattern also calls for little redwork motifs in the quilts cornerstones.

If you like to do little handwork projects, you might enjoy the freebie on the Bird Brain site, click HERE. This month's motif is a cute little snowman. The previous ones are archived and could certainly be used on something other than tea towels.

It is doubtful that there will be much quilty content for a few days since I am machine quilting when I can keep Skyler from parking on the top, that is. I have two fairly good sized donation tops made by the quilt group to do. I made good progress yesterday and hope to get the first one finished up this afternoon/evening.

I am considering what "reward project" I want to work on once this quilting is done. At some point I will post my top 10 for 2010 in the focus categories I have set up. The object is to hold myself accountable and try to stay on track this year. Also the plan focuses on moving some UFOs forward and includes that "carrot on a stick" reward with something new or fun that I want to do. That is what keeps the creativity flowing, after all!

Lately I don't mind having a quilt on my lap. Cold outside and cold in the house with the furnace trying to keep up. Outside they could probably be talking wind chill. LOL, my mom called the other day from central IL to see what our weather was like as they were at or near zero that day at certain points. 20's, I said but teens and even single digits lows are forecast this week. Even that word "snow" has been bandied about for Thursday/Friday. I know we are not the only ones in the US feeling the artic blast but our average temperatures for this time of year is low 50's. BRRRR quite a drop.

Hope you have a good day--stay warm!