WIP Weds

Yesterday was essentially prepping and pinning day though I did take apart a small wall hanging to re-stitch it and prep it as well.

That gives me three small pieces to quilt---Autumn and Merry Christmas included in that count.

Also in this stack is my Gordian Knot that needs the binding finished.  Quilt up those small ones and the binding stack will get even bigger, LOL.  The black "cosmetic" case is what I keep my hand work/quilting supplies in for quick and easy retrieval.

Then there is the blue backed piece on the bottom, the quilt that keeps me from ever being caught up.  Yeah, I know it is only an illusion even if it were finished as I still have umpteen flimsies to deal with.  It is my Pioneer Sampler and this post is probably the last time it was seen on this blog opened full out.  Oh there might be one with Pippi sitting on it while I was trying to quilt it but hard to be sure.  The posts before that show the blocks close up.  The quilt was started back in 2005 (probably) when I did a Block of the Month of the blocks in an old Eleanor Burns book at the long gone quilt shop in Pell City.  The book only had 12 blocks and I made 30.  More than 30 actually, as some were rejects.  I am quilting this one in the ditch on the DSM which wasn't too much trouble till I got to the quilt's dead center.  I am bound and determined I will NOT start off with that one still on my list.  Not if I can help it.  I do have Cher's challenge and Norma's FAB present to do and that will take some time but I think it is possible.

I believe I need to make a UFO tab on the blog that will serve as a prompt this next year to get some of these long standing things dealt with.  Call it a visual reminder.

Let me wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.  It will be a quiet one for DJ and I.  We aren't going anywhere and we are not sharing a meal with anyone.  Low key.  Preparations today were minor.  I still had some homemade cranberry relish in the freezer from the last time I made it.  I made a butternut squash pie that I pulled from the oven at lunch time.  I had just a hair less than the 2 cups of pulp that I needed in the freezer so augmented it with a tad of pumpkin.  I'll put the turkey breast in the crockpot first thing in the morning and the side dishes won't be anything major.   Just another day with more food than usual, LOL. 

Now I am off to set up to quilt---see how far I get on something on top of the armoire. 

Not a design wall but about a quilt

Normally this would be a Design Wall Monday post. My Autumn In Seasons wall hanging is up there---and you just saw it although perhaps without its border. I also showed you my very recent finish on the Joined at the Hip Merry Christmas tree.

I did NOTHING on my creative to do list from yesterday. Instead I traded one machine for another---computer for the sewing machine or hand work. I took a note out my pal Norma's book and added tabbed pages to my blog for 2011 finishes, 2011 flimsies and 2008-2010 quilt files. The captions and quilt descriptions were a bit time consuming and I just gave up on the old files, LOL.  I figure you don't really want to see all the pro bono quilts from 1999-2007 if indeed, I could even find the files since the computer crashed along about 08.

So what am I going to blog about today?   Well, I would like to follow up on a post from back in September found HERE.   I had been to a sew-in date with the Friendship Quilters group in Pell City.  Betsy, Jane, Aline and I went from Calhoun County.     I was sewing so I picked a spot at a table with a lady named Mary.  I will include a portion of the note I had posted as background and it will explain what you are looking at here.

"Recently I had sent a good sized box of abandoned blocks to a guild member in response to a need for quilts in the Shoal Creek area of Alabama where there was significant tornado damage this spring. The lady I sent them to was my table mate today---in fact, Mary was quilting on her half of the table one.that will go to a young person."

"Mary pointed out a member of her small quilt group who had put a good many of those abandoned blocks into a top at the sew-in. She was preparing to put on the outer border when I arrived. The woman wondered if I had any information about who made the blocks. She knew she or her sister had made some of them. (  See the amended note below) I could point out the ones my mom or I had made fairly easily. ...............I went off without my camera--dang it! I'll ask Mary to have the other gal take a picture of it if she can. It made a pretty quilt for someone and will find a good use NOT hiding in my closet waiting for a "some day" to come along. "

I know now that the woman who was putting the quilt together is named Jill.  She joined the Friendship Quilters after the sew-in---or at least that is my understanding.  I asked her at the last meeting if she had any pictures of the quilt . Jill obliged by emailing them to me. and  The two previous shots showed some of the closeups. At left is the long range view.

I can identify that some of these are some from my mom and others are from me.  I thought a few might be Aline's but they were hand pieced and she would have used the machine-------

• Top row last block--me or mom.  Here and There is an usual pattern and we both have made quilts using that block.  
•  2nd row, 1st block was my mom's and the 4th one, mine.  
• 3rd row, 1st block mom and the 5th one a duplicate from Betsy B--the last one might be mom's as well.  
• 4th row,  4th one is mom's and the 5th  one is mine (old Pell City BOM) and the 6th one is mom's. 
•  5th row, 1st one is mine (I think, LOL) while the 3rd is one of  mom's, 5th one mom's (or mine) 
•  6th row, 5th block is mom's and the 6th is mine.  
• Last row, 3rd and 6th are mine--and the other butterfly is mom's.   

AMENDED NOTE:  Jill has told me that some of the random blocks in the quilt were made by quilters from t he Northwest Quilters Guild of Portland, Oregon and her sister Becky Ray.  

BUT regardless of who made what didn't it make a wonderful quilt for someone?  Again, I am glad that they found a  use for them as they were not going anywhere tucked away in my closet.

Jill announced at our last meeting that there had been an article in the St. Clair County (AL) paper about this.  Their small group had given 70 quilts to the County Baptist Association for the relief efforts.  The quilts went to people in the Shoal Creek area that was hit so hard (with fatalities) and in the Ragland area as well.  Jill, if you are reading this please tell me if I have not gotten the story straight in some manner.  You guys might take my upcoming office as secretary away if I can't keep my facts in order!!  This last picture is one that Beth took and included in the Friendship Quilter album when Jill (L), Mary (R) and I were consulting.  I "borrowed" it complete my story.

It has gotten too warm again and overnight lows just in the 50's.  We may well be in for storms again tomorrow, like last week.  This is the secondary tornado season in Dixie Alley so anything is possible.

Thanks for stopping by and letting me tell you as Paul Harvey would say "the rest of the story."

this might work

This findings might work to embellish my "Charley Brown" Christmas tree.  The snowflakes are too light for this background but I have another idea in mind for them.  The candy canes and gingerbread men are  "maybe's" . This is not the only Christmas quilt I have in the works--they won't go to waste, LOL.

I am really leaning more towards the sparkly "Holly Jolly" findings as it makes would pick up on the red border.

So what do I do today in the creative department?  There is no shortage of ideas, really.  I can take my pick really-----

• embroider on my basket block
• hand quilt Bird Brain "Here Comes Santa"
• prep this wall hanging and Autumn for machine quilting
• make some more bow tie blocks for the Belles Scrappy Challenge
• Finish up the Pineapple Blossom top
• Hand finish the binding on Gordian Knot

Come to think of it, I could pick something different for just about every day of the next week----and might!

Thanks for stopping by!

finished to flimsy----already!

It still needs embellishments of some sort on it and a tad of buttonhole applique around the star but the flimsy is complete.

The pattern calls for 18- 1 1/4 inch key tags from an office supply store for pseudo ornaments.  I think you color them in with markers or something.  That would be light weight but I think I'll go with buttons, small yo-yo's or small ornaments instead.

I also need to make the hanging loops and seam some binding but that will wait till after supper.  Norma is moving right along with hers as well.  I had a head start this morning as she needed to cut hers out!  Can't wait to see how hers turned since she was using batiks.

Hurray for another finish!

moving on to a reward project

I love reward projects!   I think everyone needs a fun project that was  not necessarily on their radar to keep one's interests up.   Yes, I have a challenge project to do and another one to finish up.  Yes, I have a FAB bday present to make for my pal Norma but it looks like her celebration/sew date is going to be pushed back a couple months.  BUT I have gotten a few other items at least to flimsy, quilted several and such.  I make the "rules" so I'm going for it!

SOOO with Christmas coming, I want a button up hanging that will reflect the holiday.  I have the December stocking pattern that I could make but I love this "Charley Brown" looking tree.  This is "Merry Christmas"  BU#21 from Joined at the Hip button up pattern collection.  Not to say that I won't eventually make the stocking button up but this will be a quicker finish.  Norma is joining me in making our wall hangings this weekend---that is always a fun time for us!

Instead of working on the Autumn buttonhole applique yesterday, I set to pulling fabrics and cutting the 

wall hanging out.  At right you see my "quilt kit"  minus the stuff for the tree trunk sections, that is.

If you look at the pattern,  you can see that the green tree sections are in a staggering length with background on either ends.  The trunk sections remain a constant cut----that can be strip pieced!  Oh, I'll follow directions when they make sense to me but I'll streamline the process if I think it will help. 

At left, tree trunks waiting to be sub-cut.  One small problem though, LOL.  I knew that the background piece that goes atop the tree was cut 4 1/2 x 20 1/2 inches.  My strip pieced thing measured 22 1/2 inches.  Yep, I cut it at 11 inches x 29 inches instead of 10 inches wide.  Easily fixed but stumped me for a few minutes.

Now I'm ready to roll again!  The only other thing in the stitching process that I am going to do is be mindful of the direction I sew the strips.  Since there are 9 sections of tree and trunk, I am going to join them as pairs sewing from one direction with the smaller tree piece on top.  When I join the "2-sies" to make "4-sies", I will sew from the opposite end.  This eases in any fullness and keeps the strata from bowing in the middle.  Not sure if it says that in the directions as I didn't read the pattern all the way through.  Should have maybe done that, like a recipe.

I DID get the button hole applique done but last night after supper.  My plan is to quilt it along with this piece at the same time.  Then miles of binding will await since I also need to get the Gordian Knot finished up in time for the Friendship Quilter's holiday luncheon.

And sew it goes----(grrr not sure where anything is going to land on this page.   I may need to change back to the previous set up.)

Autumn progess

Woohoo!  Some progress made on this little fun project.  I had most of it done last night with the exception of the angel motif.  That needed a little more digging in the fabric bins and mulling over.  I just finished prepping it a few minutes ago. 

There will be some button embellishments added:  A star with the crescent moon, pumpkin buttons on the angels dress.  If there is not a heart button available for the turkey, I'll check the button box or just cut and fuse one from some red felt.   I also have some fall leaf buttons I found recently and used on Pat's FAB bday present that could be scattered on here if I chose.   I could start the button hole applique on this today if I can come to some decision about the borders.

I scanned this from the back of the book so you can see where I am sort of headed with this.   I love Nancy Halvorsen's choices here but as I said yesterday, I don't quite have the rusty red color of fabric on hand.   A dark red that looks like cracked paint, I do have but I am not sure I like it for this.   HMMMMMM do I even like that dark color out in that area??  I had already decided that I did not want to embroider the word "welcome on it" so I could use a print, rather than something tone on tone.

When I was digging in the plaid bin last night for what I thought I wanted for the angel's dress, I found this neat brown, tan, tealy plaid that I think would look great for binding.  I have also had this tan primitive print on the shelf for some time.   I think I like this combination and I like it enough to have it up in my living room with the tan furniture and green carpet.  There is enough fabric to use it for backing as well.  LOL, sounds like my plan just came together. 

We are back to a sunshiny day with  temperatures more in the seasonal range.  They said the tornado that hit in the Auburn area yesterday was an EF 2 and the one in Demopolis and EF   0.  Property damage but no injuries that I know of.  We had about 3/4 of an inch of rain out of the rain bands, DJ said.  I think that the wind and rain probably took a bunch of the leaves down yesterday.   At least some in my immediate view are looking a lot more bare while the large trees that ring my across the lane neighbor's acreage and the near by subdivision are still hanging in there.  When those lose their leaves, it will make you think that winter is about here. 

I've got a couple of errands to run and then you know where I'll be and what I'll be doing, LOL--finishing another top to flimsy. Hope you have a good day in whatever you chose to do.

WIP Weds comes around again

I have temporarily put the bow tie project aside again but this is were I left off on Monday evening.  I asked "Quilt Holder" to do the honors but handed it to him with the short side up.  I had pulled the cut squares I want for the remaining 35 blocks and cut the muslin background for this and the cornerstones for the Pineapple Blossom while I was I had the mat, ruler and rotary cutter out.

This is what I truly intend to work on today.  I realize that it does not look like much but it is the background squares for the "Autumn" In Seasons wall hanging.  I have a few pieces pulled for the motifs as well.  I don't know  have that a clue what I have that could be used for the borders.  The book shows a dark brick red with a red plaid for binding---not something I have but I am not married to that plan anyway.  This decision may need a quilt shop run once the motifs are applied.    But for now, I will can proceed.

We had a little excitement this morning when there was a tornado spotted in the area.   The sirens and the NOA radio were both sounding so DJ turned on the TV to hear just where the storm was located.  Pell City, Lincoln were being called out----all towns I travel thru when I go to quilt guild.  My friend Teresa lives near there, right around the Talledega/Calhoun County line.  She called and said they were okay.  Then we hear Alabama Rt 144 and 204 into Jacksonville. Still a little bit north of our home by about 6- 8 miles. HERE is a shot  of a big, black, ugly and hanging really low to the ground taken just north of us.  If that won't work, then try THIS link to their flickr album instead.    We ARE in the secondary Dixie Alley tornado season.  You could tell that it was much too warm and terribly muggy in recent days and this might happen.  So far no real reports of damage being reported though a second storm was happening in southern Alabama about the same time.  There ARE reports of damage in Auburn, I just read.  

Off to sew a bit--------------