wrestling a bear

It has taken the better part of a 24 hour period to get this round robin to this point. First viewed in this post when I asked for your help. I don't think you can tell just how wobbly it was on the outside edges.

I re-sewed the seams that were pulling apart, taking slightly bigger seams. Then I stay stitched it all around the outside as the fabric was raveling and I did not want to have to patch up more opening seams.

My mom had called to see if my day was going any better than yesterday. Well, that was good question as I had just discovered that I was Still a half inch off in either direction. She suggested doing an easing stitch like one would do in garment making--Cher and Pam concurred. It helped square it up but there are a few spots where I had to just trim out a quarter inch seam allowance on one side and re-sew to take up more so the borders will match up at the quarter points. What a giant pain! It is as squared up as it is going to get and laying down the best it will on the carpet.

Okay, the applique people will say that I should have done the applique off the quilt and mitered the corner. I know that is the normal course of action but it isn't happening with this thing. So what is next? Something simple like THIS like I did on Pat's quilt but without the bee hives and maybe less flowers. I have misplaced my templates for the dresden plates and the leaves but overcut the bias stuff on that round so should have enough to go around two opposing corners without cutting more.

Many of you have said that my experiences have kind of turned you off to the notion of making a round robin. Know the ones you work with, is all I can tell you and there are still no guarantees that it will all work out. My problem is that I had to follow someone who was an experienced seamstress but not necessarily a quilter. The seam allowance variances are enough for me to tell that, the fabric choices etc. Medallions are NOT for the accuracy in cutting and sewing challenged. This is the 2nd time I have had to really re-work something she has done. And look, it is a simple checkerboard that could be easily cut and sewn--should not be difficult, SIGH.

On a much happier note, I am going to get a new machine. My good ole Viking is going to be relegated to quilting or backup status. The timing is off yet again and will need service if I wish to sew with it or deal with a very short seam length. It will do okay with the walking foot on or at least this is the pattern we have gone through each year. The shop is about an hour away. I admit to being hard on my machine with all that quilting and charity quilt sewing, broken thread etc. You cannot open this to clean it out properly as the dealer is supposed to be the one who does it......blah, blah, blah.

Mom had mentioned a few months back that the Brother Pacesetter model she had was going to be closing out--those can be serviced here locally. I had been considering it or a baby lock that was a similiar model for that reason. I should have done something about it sooner but was saving up money for airfare to OR. She called the dealer for me today and I could get the model that replaced hers--Brother Innov-is (think that's right) NX450. Pam and Cher said that a working machine was more important; I should get it first and then start saving up again for my future trip. Mom will float me a loan for the balance and I should be able to bring it back with me when we gather for our family Christmas at my brother's home in the Nashville area. Thanks, Mom!

Our guest is staying over another night. I didn't have to cook tonight though I was prepared to make some chicken enchiladas if I had to. Sometimes he wants to go out but no one said anything when they left this morning for the golf course. Popped the chicken in the crockpot and it can wait if not needed. DJ, I knew would want to see part of the Illinois basketball game if possible and I needed to keep stitching. We got pizza instead.

Guess that's about it---applique prep tomorrow........the quilt that keeps annoying

some people have no clue..........

No picture of completed sewing to show so I'll re-post my favorite picture of Pippi which may have been on my defunct blog. Ignore the unmade bed but she makes it a little difficult to make a bed at times. The quilt? One made for me by the list members of a group I used to moderate--where I met Cher, Pam and Veronica and Ellen the founder of Wrap Them In Love among others. It is reversible with log cabins on one side and Sunbonnet Sue blocks on the other.

It has been one of those days--errands took longer than they should have today. Delays at one store due to lack of personnel. The guy behind me at the self checkout was quite impatient--I know I was exasperating him as I fed change into the machine but hey, there were three other lanes open, he could have gone on when he saw I had a week's worth of groceries. Sheesh. This afternoon I went into make part of our evening meal only to discover that I didn't have one of my grocery sacks--the last one I sacked up that had the celery in it. Not in the car, I know it wasn't in the grocery cart so that left the store---back I go again with receipt. Yep, there it is---surprised Mr. Impatient didn't make off with it.

Then the clincher today---and my reason for saying that some people have no clue. Way back in January-February this year I made this quilt for someone out of her deceased mother's clothing plus bits of my scrap bag. It's full sized but I quilted it on my home machine--ditched in the strips and crosshatched in the plain bands. And I waaaaaaaay undercharged her to do make it---my fault and I learned my lesson. The client was hard to reach, wouldn't call me back when I called etc and I was just happy to be done and paid though it took about 3 months to finally make connections.


Well, she called today and get this, wanted a T-shirt quilt done for her son for Christmas. Like I don't have anything else to do but whip up a quilt for her. There is no way---once I get that king sized t-quilt back I have to bind it as well as quilt the SEC tops, bind, label and put hanging sleeves on them.


I said it would have to go to the long armer as I won't quilt it even if I DID have time and the longarmer is booked up too. I won't get the previous one back until the 2nd week of December. BUT if she were still interested I knew that the longarmer would charge 200-250 dollars for a quilt start to finish. Nope, she didn't want to pay that much as she didn't pay that for this quilt you see here.


I reminded her that I had underestimated my costs and should have charged her at least twice what she paid for it. That was not what I had discussed with her initially so I was not asking for more then. Subsequent quilts would be more, I told her at the time of delivery--she mentioned a t-shirt quilt at a later date. She should consider that rate a gift and my time is worth something. The fabric alone was more than half what she paid for it. One month before Christmas was that later date, I guess. If she can find someone else to do it for cheap, then more power to her but it ain't going to be me. She will get the quality of work that she pays for too.


It took till about 4 till I could get started on fixing the round robin so I can do my work. Her stitching is coming apart in a spots and it flares a bit. I am taking those areas apart and taking a slightly deeper seam to try to bring it back in line a bit. DJ said "why are you doing that and why do you have to keep fixing her work?" Its the last round and too late know to hand it back to her. If she had the skills, she would have done it right to begin with. Then I am stay stitching the edge to keep it from pulling apart on the other seams where they haven't opened up yet. Two sides are patched up at this point.

I already decided that I best stay home tomorrow and work on the robin instead of going to our meeting to pin quilts. Theramae will be the door keeper.


In the midst of that aggravation my husband came in and asked for a seam ripper. His favorite jacket, a birthday present from me from 20 years ago, had shoulder seam coming apart. If he took the stitching out of the lining could I please fix it for him? Hard to tell him "no" if he did half the work plus he was lucky that I didn't have to change thread when he asked, LOL.


Some days it doesn't pay to get up..........sorry for the bitching but it has obviously NOT been my day.

some thoughts to consider

From a blog I follow from the old home town newspaper HERE

Sunday, November 26, 2006
Find ways to give thanks in everyday life
Filed under: Hearts at Home — Holly Schurter @ 2:00 am

By now the turkey leftovers have been consumed or consigned to the freezer. The Pilgrims and their Indian friends are being replaced by manger scenes and Christmas trees. Our focus is shifting away from what we are most thankful for to our Christmas to-do lists. Before we pack Thanksgiving completely away, it might be good to consider how to make giving thanks a part of our everyday lives.

Imagine what a difference it could make in our Christmas celebration if we practice a sense of thanksgiving throughout these harried days of preparation and celebration — and even afterward!

A sense of thanksgiving encourages us to focus on what is right and good in our lives, and helps us keep a sense of balance. Thankfulness tames our greed, and keeps us from being overwhelmed by advertising-induced wants. When we focus on what we appreciate and cherish, we have more of a sense of well-being.
The more we practice expressing a sense of gratitude, the more we notice all we have to be grateful for.

Here are some ways to make giving thanks a part of your Christmas celebration, as well as your everyday lives:
- When your kids make their Christmas lists, have them make another list of the things they are grateful for, then post that list where they can see it every day. Make a list of your own, and hang it up right beside the kids’ lists.

- Instead of giving in to impatience when you are stuck in traffic or waiting in line, use the time to recount your blessings.

- As you make out your Christmas shopping and to-do lists, consider the ways you are blessed, not just in things but in relationships.

- Make a commitment to be thankful for the little things of the season: ingredients for Christmas cookies or special meals, the bright colors of wrapping papers, or the pleasure of Christmas cards from friends and family you love but don’t hear from often. Indulge in moments of gratitude for the good smells, the lovely music, the joyful greetings of friends.

- As you think about what you are thankful for, focus on different aspects of your life. Which relationships bring joy? What are you thankful for in nature? What opportunities do you appreciate? Which possessions are you thankful for? What activities do you enjoy? Think about these things and be grateful.

- Cultivate an attitude of affirmation: look around you for whatever is good, honorable or just. Acknowledge these things with gratitude.

- Make it a daily practice to look for what is going well in your lives, and be thankful for those things.

- Make a list of the people and things for which you are grateful. Keep it where you can read it easily. Add to it regularly.

- Make it a priority to say “thank you” whenever someone does something for you.

- Whenever you notice something you are thankful for, smile and whisper, “Thank you.”

- Make time to express your appreciation to others: write a note, make a phone call, send an e-mail saying thank you. Make those expressions of appreciation a habit.

- Share the abundance of good things in your lives with others. Look for ways to extend your blessings to them. This kind of sharing sharpens your appreciation of all you have.

- Keep a family journal of good things that happen. Invite family members to write down the things for which they are thankful.

- Make small celebrations a part of your family life. Use those times to practice the discipline of gratitude. Even taking time for cocoa and cookies on a tray after school or before bed can help you slow down and take time to recognize your everyday blessings.

- Say a prayer of thanksgiving before — or after — you share a meal.

- Write a family “thank-you prayer” on a regular basis.

- Surprise family members with notes of appreciation tucked into a lunchbox, a medicine cabinet or under a pillow.

Cultivate an attitude of thanksgiving in your family, not just on Thanksgiving, but every day, and enjoy the pleasure of season after season of thanksgiving.

goal met

I worked last evening until I had the 2nd SEC top to the same point as the 1st--needing only the vertical borders on both. I pre-washed all the muslin for the backs and a bit more besides and then spent about an hour and half ironing it all with time out to run for more sizing and wrinkle release. That stuff came out looking like it had been accordion pleated!

So when I took this picture I was working on the 2nd top or at least trying too, LOL. Pippi thinks the measuring tape is a cat toy. Not only was she attracted to the top itself but she wanted to play. I still got the series of measurements I needed but it wasn't easy. (That Vanderbilt block threw all my measurements off and it looks better now that the side borders are on.)

I met my goal of having the tops done by the end of this week. Both backs are pieced and all the binding strips joined and waiting to be pressed. Wanna guess where Pippi is sitting now?? Yep, right on a big pile of charcoal gray binding. What a silly kitty! Tomorrow, I'll probably press all that binding along with two other top's worth but it is house cleaning day. I'll lay off the sewing till Monday and then it is onto the round robin since the due date is looming (the evening of December 5th). DJ's friend is here to see him, not me and my only responsibility will be to cook them dinner. My routine is unchanged with the guest here.

Oh, the quilt on the bed? My first quilt--a huge sampler I made for DJ. It got huge because I forgot or didn't remember that the blocks share sashing as a rule. Handquilted in the quilt as you go method--my mom, bless her, sewed the sections together and it was NOT easy. Then of course, I was sick, sick, sick of it and eventually I paid her to quilt the triple borders---7 years in the making or something like that.

Guess that's it for now------

Peace and Plenty

Peace and Plenty

Good block for Thanksgiving weekend, I thought. #1201 attributed to Farm Journal but looking at me atop the computer and the "365 Quilt Blocks a Year" from Nancy Martin and That Patchwork Place. I have made this block before. One that can be approached several different ways actually but I recall foundation piecing it in 4 quadrants.

Hope that everyone that celebrates our American holiday had a wonderful day with family and/or friends. Ours was a quiet one with just the two of us since we live some distance from our family. Local friends have their own plans. I could have gotten a ride up to IL and flown back but I didn't want to leave DJ alone on the holiday.

I got smart Weds morning when I was making pecan pie and cranberry sauce---if you need chopped celery and onions for supper and for dressing the next day, do it once!! A light bulb moment and how long have I been cooking?? Mostly I just don't plan that far ahead though as I may not know exactly what I am going to make till I get in the kitchen and usually have a couple of options based on ingredients on hand. Who knows what you feel like eating 4 days in advance?

At one point, I wondered why I was knocking myself out trying to get a meal on the table at noon? I don't cook a noon meal--we had leftovers from Weds night. DJ didn't care one way or the other either. It was a holiday was the only reason and I'm not sure that was enough justification. When I had one of those nights with little sleep and had to drag out of bed to take care of a turkey breast, I really had to wonder why I was doing that. BUT, I piled back in for an hour after it hit the pot. DJ was all chipper and chatty and I just wanted him to NOT to really wake me up. It is a wonder the crockpot even got turned on in that hazy brained state of mind, LOL.

He watched a little football, cleaned his bathroom, did some piddling outside and I sewed. One SEC top is completed except for the two vertical borders. Today the other one. I had to re-adjust all my cutting due to an initial cutting error (too short) and trim the blocks down. Every subsequent added strip has needed trimming down as well so it is taking a bit longer. I believe that round 2 will go a little smoother today. Lunch and then one small errand to run and I'll be back at it. I just might make my goal!

See who had to test things out?

some progress

Some progress being made on the two SEC quilts. The drawing at left is kind of where I am headed with this though I may flip the 3rd row with the 4th. I used a double attic window set last time for the person who commissioned them. After I showed what it might look like in the picture frame set, he said to go for it. Picture of one (3 identical) can be found HERE . There is not a variety of color in these teams---most all are a shade of red/crimson or navy/blue. LSU's purple and Tennessee's almost fluorescent orange are the exception.

I finished up the cutting yesterday afternoon after strip piecing the offset and the shadow section with the exception of what fits around the two odd sized blocks and the borders. I left off last night with about 3/4 of the first tan frames completely shown. LOL, I might have kept plugging on it but I got up to talk to DJ a minute and Pippi thought she would try out my chair. Okay, I guess I'm done. By the time she vacated I was out of the notion.

Cher and I were both cutting on Sunday and in between chatting. Actually we do that quite a bit--Pam too--and spur each other on. That way we don't let the miles between us keep us from working together.

Not much else going on around here. Grocery errands yesterday. We received word that DJ's golfing buddy will be here late Sunday evening so hopefully the weather will cooperate. He is heading further South from here and meet his wife Jacksonville, FL. She flies in from central IL to see friends in the area and sometimes they come back through here and other times, head to NC to visit their son--kind of an "and/or" proposition. I'll know more about those arrangements on Monday. Meantime, I'll keep on sewing and moving these two tops along.

slow Saturday

Try this again--apparently I cannot post from Picassa with beta blogger as I lost another post. Anyone else having problems? Also I cannot seem to get edit html to open----hmmmm. BUT pictures seem to load from blogger okay for a change. Bloglines isn't notifying either but the "plumber" was visiting last night----hmmm again.

I thank you for the positive comments that you made about my butterfly challenge quilt. Several of you asked about the pattern or block. I should have re-stated the pattern source and had neglected to do that in my post. It is Trudie Hughes "Interlocking Squares" from Crib Quilts. A lot of cool patterns in that book to try out and eventually I will.

I DID draft up the alternating star block in EQ but mainly because I wanted to foundation piece the flying geese type units. Drew up the interlocking square too but that was after the fact and more or less for the challenge of doing so. In paging through BlockBase by pattern type I thought that it most generally resembled the units in Spider Web #292 and use that as a jumping off point and eliminated/added some of the lines. I wasn't having problems with wonkiness or seam allowances on these so I just made them as directed----well, amend that. I kept goofing up the triangles on the outside edge and a few minor snafus along the way but it wasn't Trudie's fault!

Paul at the The Quilter had asked if we knew how to draft. Oh yes, I do! And here is proof. I had taken a workshop from Evanston (IL) quilter Judy Anne Walters in the early 90's at my guild at the time Hands All Around Quilt Guild in central Illinois. She called the block "Interlocking Square" but technically that is incorrect. AFTER I drew mine up I found it in BlockBase called "Interlocked Square" #2618 and attributed to KC Star 1932. No matter though. Judy had drafted up a lot of multi-pieced blocks that many would not have attempted to machine piece and this one was on them. The templates were provided BUT these are xeroxed papers. I was always taught not to trust the printout for accuracy and to draw it up on graph paper to verify and make my own templates. I knew about grids a long time ago and can follow Joen Wolfrom's advice to "Make Any Block Any Size" and draw it up. I may use EQ now but these skills help in that process as well.

Speaking of which, my upgrade copy of EQ6 arrived yesterday afternoon but I was busy cutting squares for the SEC quilts and did not load it till last evening. DJ wanted to watch a DVD together but he was not ready when I was. That just gave me time enough to get engrossed in EQ. Kinda weird having both 5 and 6 available on the same computer. I thought that the project files and all my downloaded palettes would move but I need to check the help files or the manual to see what I need to do there. I drew up the Picture Frame file that I need for the project in custom set so am better able to cut the sashing strips today.

Two plus years ago I had cut squares when I made three SEC quilts--2 for each school (except for Vanderbilt) using both the emblem and the mascot and set those aside for the man's son's quilt that I will be asked to make in the future (he's the one who is getting that king sized t-shirt quilt) SOOO I needed to take stock of what remained of the yardage and cut all that down to usable squares. Had to rob one square from young Vaughn's bag though. Tennessee only had the word VOLS spelled out and it is longer than the 10 1/2 inches that everything is cut and Vanderbilt did not have any licensed fabric available so we have to use T-shirts for that----also oversized. Everything but the sashing fabrics is NOT traditional quilters cotton---canvas weight, what looks like sheets and the t-shirts which will need to be interfaced yet.

The other pictures is my Pippi, of course, curled up in my new bag Cher brought me. She was keeping me company as I worked last night. It is hard to keep her off anything new she spots. Last night after supper I came in here to find her curled up in the bag that was holding the cut squares--she moved before I could get a picture. Then she noticed that I had moved a stack of fabric from the book shelf and she could squeeze in the baskets there. She hadn't been up there in months so I needed the space more for fabric than kitties and took it back from her. Another example: our neighbor brought us some angel trumpet and Confederate rose cuttings to propagate over winter. Bob had cautioned DJ to not put them in the shed as it would be too cold so he stuck them in a container near his recliner and one of narrow windows by the fireplace. Miss Nosy Nose had to circle around there to see what was up within hours of his putting them back there. Like trying to sneak daylight passed a rooster, LOL.

Other than that--big football game on today. Alabama and Auburn (two state rivals) are playing each other in the Iron Bowl. Auburn is leading as they head into half time. DJ watches them both and probably should not admit to not leaning towards one or the other. Fierce rivalry and you are expected to declare allegiance to one over the other. (I think I heard him snoring a bit ago.) He says it is easier on the nerves for him to watch this as he doesn't care one way or the other who wins or loses.

Almost time to think about supper preparation--I think I might go start anyway as we are having chicken chow mein and there is a far amount of slicing and dicing to be done. Not long to cook though. After I change the blade (again--that was a new one but its shot with that crap fabric), I will get to cutting the sashing strips so I can start sewing. I would really like these two tops done by the end of the week. Round robin right after that.

Hope you all are having a good weekend at your spot.......