WIP Thursday

In a word----more binding, LOL. 3rd side, the top with the sleeve so some progress is being made.

Look who made himself right at home though I must admit, I almost expected him to be rooting around for a spot UNDER the quilt rather than on top.

Who knows? I might be sleeping under this tomorrow night!

two finishes

In Season "Spring"---binding done but I still need to apply the buttons and some embroidered elements that will also help in the quilting department. Technically NOT finished but I will still count it. That part won't take long and I hope to have this hung in the living room this weekend. I just pinned it up on the design wall for the time being while I.................











.....................moved on to this one. I just took the last stitches in the binding and asked DJ to hold it up. "French Blue" medallion from Connecting Threads which was surely named after the fabrics Debbie Beaves used not the pattern itself. ( Pieced by my mom but quilted by me.) I will hang it in the gallery space above my bed during the summer months.

I am setting up the forward table/sewing table similarly to what I do when I quilt but facing a different direction in the room. Time to take on the binding and sleeve on my Daisy Chain quilt. This is a big one and I need some space to pile up the excess. I think the last time it was pictured on the blog was HERE back in Jan 2010 when I finished the top. I did take pics back in late October when I picked it up from the long arm quilter but posted them on facebook instead.

The infamous pile on the armoire that is normally piled with pinned quilts or quilts waiting binding is down to one after Daisy Chain is done!! WOOHOO! Pinning will commence on a couple of tops at the next meeting and I will get back to April Button Up applique and that donation 4 patch diagonal chain top for piecing.


I couldn't resist taking this picture of my two boys. Since DJ got this "new to him" recliner, Skyler has taken to laying on the foot rest between DJ's legs. The old one had a space between the foot rest and the chair seat and he couldn't do this. It used to be that he would sit right next to DJ but only in the evening hours during TV viewing time. DJ would get up to get something to eat or drink and then Skyler would take over the chair. Well, I guess he still does that part, LOL.

Well, best get cracking. The next thing I know it will be time to think about fixing supper.

a detour

The instruction manual says 35-40 minutes to assemble. HA! What a joke there. Or maybe it is just the two of us attempting it---we skew the stats. I read and follow directions while DJ is a "git 'er done" kinda guy. Can you see that we have very different styles of approaching a project like this??

I was inventorying and identifying the parts when he started on the frame. So far so good, we thought--- until we stood it up. That thing was more crooked than a dog's hind legs. Turns out on the re-reading and review we found that he had parts reversed and the wheel side is different. And so it went---put it together and take it apart because we messed up. I was looking at the spanish version half the time just to help him ID the screws, washers and such while he read the book, LOL.

We started this assembly process on Sunday afternoon. Monday's snafu was that the knobs would not go on with the mark in the right direction. I told him repeatedly that I thought he just had the valve/hose thing upside down. No, he says, that can't be it. Fine, don't listen to me! I was not in the mood to argue about it any further. You couldn't really tell one way or the other from the manual photo either---he could have been right. Finally, 6 hrs later and after looking at two stores floor models, he must have figured "what do I have to lose?" and switched it, LOL. There was nothing wrong with the knobs. All together we have made 3 calls to customer service.

Fast forward to Tuesday. He needed some verification about a step with the venturi tube for the side burner first but that was resolved quickly. He finished up with attaching the lid just before lunch and we wheeled it outside. We all were thinking it was part of the landscape by then. Skyler was messing with the drip cup to see if there was anything in there for him.

So the grill is outside and he is trying to hook up the tank. Now he tells me that "it isn't working". I can see that there might be another call made to Customer Service. Just in the time I was typing this, he found the problem and it IS working. Praise be! It threads down differently than our last one and he must not have had it seated properly. It passed the leak test, even better.

Bear in mind that we only got a new grill since the old one needed both grates replaced, and a new ignitor and the cover replaced. By the time you start adding that stuff up in replacement parts you could have a new grill. Yeah if you have three days to put one together, LOL. Now I suppose we need to figure out how to disassemble the other one so we can dispose of it properly----but I won't bring THAT subject up for a while.


I have gotten the bday Button Up bound, which I cannot show you yet. I took the last stitches in my Welcome Button Up last evening. This one hangs when you don't have the monthly or seasonal ones done---I will do the February and March ones at the end. Two finishes for the counts----woohoo!

I made a crab pasta salad for supper already this morning so it is smooth sailing this afternoon to get busy on another quilted top. The spring piece or the "Mom" wall hanging is next up. I'm no dummy and am saving that quilt sized quilt for last since it is likely to take me about 3 days to finish it.

Oh, I dug around in my notebooks and found the pattern source. She had used one called "French Blue Medallion Quilt" from Connecting Threads in tropical colors. If I recall correctly her local quilt group or some local quilting friends did this as a mystery quilt?? Or they may have planned to do it as a mystery quilt at a retreat and needed someone to test the directions first. She'll tell me.

BUT she had also made re-sized version making it rectangular instead of square for her Merkitty challenge quilt shown HERE. Knowing this helps me to date the wall hanging and the challenge quilt to circa 2007. Long enough of a wait, in other words.

So I best get the fingers flying-------I hope you have had a good day.

spring has sprung

Every where you look these days, there is a flowering shrub or tree beginning to leaf out. Good bye shades of brown and tan! Hello, yellow pollen. Paper says juniper, maple and elm are the main culprits for the medium to high pollen counts.

I really enjoyed my trip to town this past Tuesday through the old established neighborhoods. Dogwood trees and their white canopy of blossoms are everywhere along with wisteria dripping down in other spots. I saw quite a few flowering cheery trees too with just the lightest hint of pink.


Some had irises in bloom but it might be a little early for most of the azaleas---including ours above. If you look closely you will spot a hint of red. Our lupines are up as well but I forgot to snap a shot of them.


The neighbor's dogwood tree is at right. I happen to know that this is a native dogwood that "came from Cheeha Mountain" He told DJ that when we were struggling to grow a succession of dogwoods of our own. I didn't think you were supposed to take things like plants from state parks but maybe it was okay then?? We lost two pink ones and a white and gave up. The last one was the hardiest but it was no match for three drought years..





The camellia, our state flower, is out though maybe not as loaded with blossoms as it sometimes is. I took these pics on Tuesday and we can only hope that the light frost we had yesterday did not do a lot of damage to the bush.








And the lilac bush---not native to Alabama so DJ has to take care to augment the soil and fertilize it. We were not sure it was going to make it for a while this past winter but it looks like it is doing better than we thought. One azalea bush really DOES need to be replaced.

DJ was just out planting some cosmos seeds that came in the mail. We will see what happens with those, LOL.

Today there is rain in the forecast and possibly bad weather---hail and such. We under a tornado watch currently and DJ said that was predicted till Tuesday. So far it is just cooler, overcast and some sprinkles.

Me personally? I quilted three wall hangings of various sizes (2-22 x 43's giftie and welcome, 1-18 x 22 Spring) on Thursday. Friday while I was still in the mood to quilt I did one more a 42 inch square medallion quilt that my mom had made and gifted to me. I will have to do a little research to remember the correct name but it was a pattern she had gotten from Connecting Threads a few years back.

Now the binding blitz begins---first the giftie since the recipient has an early April date coming up. My plans are to do the four pieces I just quilted and the Daisy Chain queen sized quilt that has been waiting atop the armoire. Mom's wall hanging was also one that WAS in the stack but I have dealt with it. That just leaves one full sized quilt left that just needs 7 or 8 more blocks quilted and something done with the borders. I am gaining on it. Woohoo!

Brenda's series of quilts

Recently at our quilt meeting, Brenda brought her series of quilts designed by the "Little Quilts" group over in Marietta, GA. She plans displaying them all on a wall in her sewing room.

I asked her to spread them out on the table so the group could see them and took some pictures standing on a chair behind them.

I told her it would be hard to pick a favorite from the bunch but I am really drawn to the basket quilt wall hanging---but then there is the blue and yellow one right next to it too, HMMMMM



Enjoy the little quilt show! And thanks, Brenda for sharing.

WIP Weds

Our quilt group met yesterday. Good turnout and a potluck lunch. I think we were only missing two people! I got my two wall hangings pinned and the pinning table with busy with 5 donation quilts after that. A couple of the girls were busy at the machines, two were binding. I was basting tulip stems.

At left is Leann and her grandmother Aline's "Romance" challenge quilt. This one is definitely a group effort. Leann had already used most of her yardage on another top and had the center part done when she sent it on to Aline with the request that she finish up. The Belles pinned it, I quilted it, Aline put on the binding and Jane hand finished it.

So here is what has/had my attention today---I was doing the button hole applique on the April Button Up when I took this picture. Monday I had gotten the Welcome Button Up applique components taken care of along with the "giftie" . When I got home from the quilt meeting, I did the honors on the Spring In Season piece. This was the last remaining applique for this round of quilts---done now.


Quilting Welcome and giftie next but I want to get borders on Spring first. I tend to get all the tasks done that I need to do on one machine and with the same foot. The walking foot on the Viking is a bit of a pain to take off and on. If you can see it--the green mottled piece is for the borders, the green check, the binding which I will cut on the bias. I had thought about using that light piece of backing but decided to go with the light green dogwood piece that you see being the letter "P" in spring instead.

I have already been on a "amethyst" thread and itty bitty black button run this morning so I've got some time to sew/quilt before I have to head out to the kitchen to prep a chicken stir fry dish for supper.

Tomorrow I will share a few more quilt pictures from the meeting plus I have some shots of the outside flowers/shrubs to share in another post----a teaser, LOL.

Design table Monday

So here is Sunday's project moving into today.

LOL, that bottom border was sewn up on this once but I opened it up so I can insert the tulip stems into the seam and not have to worry about finishing one end of the tube. I pinned it up with a fold just to fit it in the picture. These finish about 22 x 43 so those long stems WILL fit in that space.

I realize too that the borders are fairly light. I did not have any decent spring looking floral in the stash, or enough of it in one case. I liked this yellow piece with a hint of lavender/purple and will think of my friend Theramae when I look at this wall hanging as it was from her stash. I plan to bind it with the purple you see in the letters and one of the tulips. The pattern called for pinks and reds for the tulips an a couple of yellow ones. Because of the border fabric choice, I wanted to add some purple ones as well. That, and it is my fav color, LOL. The only fabric that was NOT from my stash was enough of the pine green Moda Marble. I picked up a few fats of that on the quilt shop run last weekend. There lots of quilts hiding in the stash! Aren't we supposed to shop our stash first?

I have decided to hand applique this piece, everything but the letters. I did the umbrella last night so I could get the giant piece of freezer paper out of there, LOL----after I took this picture. I want to baste down the stems today but will set the whole deal aside to do a bit of button hole applique on "Welcome" and the "giftie" with hopes of pinning them tomorrow at the quilt meeting. Truth be told, I should probably reverse that plan just to make sure I am ready----buttonhole and then baste in the time I have left.

I have been up for a little over an hour and whipped up some egg salad for lunch and just finished putting together some beef stew in the crockpot for supper. I am not quite done in the kitchen yet though as I still need to get the ingredients together for our potluck lunch tomorrow. I decided to make some quick cheese bread but not bake it till we are there so will need to gather the bowls, pans, etc and pre-measure of the ingredients. There are also a few errands to run and a few laps in the park while I am in town. Think I should get dressed before I head out???

Busy day so far and to come, it would appear. Hope you have a good one and thanks for stopping by------------