check in/meeting

Finally!   It seems like I have been done nothing but binding lately but the last of the donation quilts is finished up.  Woohoo.  I packed up 6 quilts that I had made and sent them off to Wrap Them in Love headquarters yesterday afternoon.  You may not realize just how rare it is for this armoire not to have something quilty on top of it.  It either needs quilted, or bound, or labeled and it is not always MY quilts either.  Yeah, there are about 26 in the closet that need to be delivered somewhere but they are not piled up in plain site.  I am kind of caught up----though that is illusionary since I know there are three donation tops that I will quilt for others at the church.  Three more that either go to Friendship Quilters or Wrap 'Em are hanging in the closet.

To fill the box I added two of my personal quilts.  You know how you sometimes make a quilt just to try the technique?  Other times, you make a quilt to play with fabrics that you have in your stash, play with that combination of colors.  Doesn't mean that I have to keep it necessarily.  I need the storage room more than I "need" either of the barely used quilts.  One I had displayed on the wall for a couple months.  The other maybe used a couple times on the bed on an especially cold night.   I have others that will do the same thing.  Off came the personal label and on went the WTIL one instead. 

The last one to bind was this modified Prairie Window so here is the glamour shot.  It would go in the washer right after to get the  quilt markings out.

At the meeting the other day, Marilyn was wondering how she might cut up some Scooby Doo yardage for a quilt for her youngest grandson.  I said "you might want to consider NOT cutting it up at all.  How about something like this?"  and I pull out the quilt that I was binding.  We took a few quick measurements for the center panel and she was off and running.  LOL, she could have made it easier on herself piecing it had she treated the side panels like long triple rail sections and the corners as big Puss in the Corner blocks.  I think she might have done it that way except that she did not have all the yardage she needed with her.

Here are two others that were turned in at the meeting.  Silly me went off without my camera so I had to take the pictures once I was home.  I missed a lot of fun pictures that I would have shared too.

Bev's Watermelon 2 

How she had time to finish this up with all the holiday sewing she has been doing!  She had another Christmas quilt to pin---a neat folded pinwheel idea that she shared with us.  Another quilt was a commissioned quilt in black and white with skull fabric, of all things!  She said someone from out of state had begged her to make the quilt.

I had my machine with me to try that folded pinwheel technique but went off without the fabric I had cut for this purpose.  I have not tried it yet.  I found out that my Jem was sewing less than ideally anyway.  Tension a little messed up and when all else fails, change your needle!

Teresa's Flannel Rag quilt.   Pretty, huh?  Some of the flannel is from our donation bin and it is my belief that the print piece was some my mom passed on to us.  Leftovers from some gowns she had made for my grandmother, I think with additional fabrics from Teresa.  She made a couple of pink rag quilts this year for Breast Cancer fund raisers.  She had also made a black and white rag quilt that will be going to her school chum Gene's Ogden House project (at risk teens) but I do not have a picture of it.

 In addition, Beverly was able to use the cutting ruler that I had rigged up for her to use with the scaled down Twister wreath base.  A misunderstanding in directions led to this but we were able to find a way to make it work!  Actually it was kind of cute that way.  She had taken Marilyn's hint about quilting it with buttons and raided her momma's button box.  For that reason she thought one of her granddaughter's would appreciate the vintage feel---and having some of her great-grandma's things included in it.  Beverly said that she might be keeping the re-sized version for herself.

Teresa's sister Judy shared her first quilt---and I would have loved to share that with you.  Not sure of the pattern name she has used but they used a lot of tone on tone in it.  Lovely!  She and Teresa had made a batting and backing run before the meeting.  Hopefully I will get a picture of it once it is done.

Lois had a couple of tops to pin as well.  We had thought that a friend of Bev and Teresa's might be coming so we could help her with some binding questions she had but the friend was not feeling well.  Maybe next time.  I know that Aline was home re-working a border on a quilt her sister had made that I will be quilting for her.  Brenda was not letting a broken but surgically repaired left ankle hold her down and was sewing on her BQ top.   She had broken the right one in the past and had kept the wheel chair and crutches.  

Work on the kitchen cabinets are proceeding.  The green matches fairly closely to the green below the chair rail that is one three walls of the kitchen.  My curtains and appliance covers are a different shade of green but I am not likely to ever want to re-make either of those.

Actually I now have two of the doors back on as of about 15 minutes ago but I took these on Tuesday afternoon.   He had been a busy boy while I was at quilt group, rolling the rest of the wall mounted stuff with a little touch up still needed.  The doors are up over the cups and glasses as well as the plates and bowl cupboards.

He has not done any painting on the small doors about the stove and fridge---no bonding primer or the green.  When I posted this on facebook, my SIL asked if he was going to go the bottom cupboards as well.  Yes, that is the plan in case you were wondering.  Long drawn out process especially since the outside weather has not been exactly conducive to putting them stuff out on the saw horses.  Things are migrating back to the fridge top so he better step it up, LOL.

Now for my upcoming plans---first, this room has got to be straightened up before I can get any cutting done!  My desk top is shrinking with little piles of stuff eating up work space.   The projects I would like to address have not changed but just got shunted aside while I dealt with the quilt stack in the other room.  I find that making a list like this helps clarify what I want to do and more importantly, holds me a bit accountable. 

• Harvest banner to cut and sew---modifying the pattern so it is a sew and then cut proposition
• Sew Tons of Black Challenge piece----may do that at the sew-in date Saturday.  I do not think I am going tomorrow or I would be out in the kitchen baking cookies now instead of pecking at this keyboard. 
• Allison's Christmas Tree Skirt and keep the fabric out to work on my version of the Oxmoor House Christmas quilt

 AND bind my Christmas Patience Corner when it arrives from Norma.    She has done such a lovely job on the quilting and sent me pictures of it the other night showing it draped over her long arm machine as well as a closeup shot.   I asked her if I could post them here as there is no way for me to get as good a picture of it even if is not trimmed or bound yet in this shot.  Can you tell I am excited about this??  I've got the binding seamed but not pressed.   Add that to the list, LOL.

 And sew it goes-------best make this stuff happen!

WIP Weds

 Well, I haven't worked on it yet today but I will.  I quilted up this Habitat Patience Corner top pieced back in January 2011.  I like the block but the quilt not so much.  Hopefully all  this particular donation/challenge fabric is now gone!

The green is the Habitat fabric in question.  The larger figured piece was the main fabric but we did not have enough of it to go around so others got the companion print.  I made two quilts:  a Jungle Nine Patch and in series, made a Puss in the Corner from the leftovers.  You can see those quilts and what the others did with it in THIS POST.  Mine are clear down at the bottom.   Turns out I only thought I was done with that stuff, LOL.  Others leftovers landed at my doorstep and this was how I elected to use them.  The floral print was not one that I could ever find a use for either so bam!  all in the same quilt.  That reminds me too--that I still have a panel section of the Michael Miller Romance to do something with as well but that was a little easier to work with though my challenge top is not even pinned yet as I need to mark it first.  I can always find a ton of other things to do first though I have come close a time or two.

Next top up will be Staggered Bricks that dates back to August 2011.  I'll start on it once I get the binding applied on the one pictured----after lunch.

What else have I been doing?  Walked--went okay but a small blister that had developed on my right heel was bleeding by the time I got home.  I had tried wearing a thin pair of cotton socks under my "diabetic/circulatory socks" and there must have been a little bit of sheer.  Left foot is fine which is just the opposite of two weeks.  Still I got my walking in and will go out again tomorrow with nu-skin and large bandaids on my heels.  The shoes feel fine.

I was also playing with my Farmer's Wife Sampler quilt layout again. I cannot resist tinkering when I see some other blocks I  like better.  At this point I am not sure how many of the original blocks even exist in my version but I will find out, LOL.   I know that the book has 111.  Last week I had 176 block in my sketchbook and I have 188 now.  A couple are a few I "discovered" by tweaking with the EQ7 Serendipity button---what fun with that one!!  Frame, tilt, merge two blocks, clip and flip, shrink and flip, Kaleidoscope and Fancy Star.  One block called attic window I did include but tilted.  Now I like it on point a lot better.

I took this picture of Skyler last night.  He looked so cute cuddled up on the back of the love seat.  Earlier with the paw/leg up over the eyes but of course by the time you get the camera he is no longer doing that.  Mostly I am glad that he was laying somewhere besides the kitchen chair.  He would lay on that thing for hours unless I roust him to his window perch or another locale.

Well, noon whistle is about to blow here and DJ will be asking me about lunch.

Hope you have a good day in whatever you chose to do.

expansion complete

Expansion blocks, bottom row and side right, all finished up.  Top measures 84 x 96 so should fit my bed fairly well.

I took the picture on DJ's bed so you could see the entire quilt from a slightly different angle than the Dec 2010 "finish".  Had to laugh when I went to put the quilt on the bed though.  Skyler was hiding UNDER the quilt.   I didn't know that till I was removing the pillows from the bed and he started meowing at me.  I waited till he moved to take the pictures but of course, he had to test out the top.

I plan on prepping the backing after supper.  The binding is already cut so I can sew it as well.  Hurray for another "finish!

ED NOTE:  12-20 well, that backing prep didn't quite happen.  Something about laundering, prepping and ironing 9 yards of fabric just  takes all the ambition right out of you.  Guess what is tops on today's goal list, LOL?

back to sewing

Skyler has made himself quite comfortable on the newest quilt.  I cannot get him off of it long enough to make the bed, as you can see.   I wanted to be sure it was completely dry before I put it up in the armoire or hung it on the quilt rack so slept under it last night.  I want the darker Scrappy Bargello on the bed though for the winter months.  Surely he will get up at some point, LOL.  I would say it certainly passed the kitty "tested and approved" criteria!

I am giving my fingers a break from tons of binding and finger cracks to sew.  Oh, I could quilt up my Thanksgiving turkey button up but not when I am in a Christmas frame of mind!  The expansion project of the Christmas Patience Corner, it is then.  I thought I was done with this LAST year about this time.  You can see it HERE in this post.  I know that picture makes it look like it has a dark green border but that is the aforementioned bargello quilt underneath the top.  I like the looks of it but I have elected to go borderless.    Here are some of the leftover charm squares and two packets I got recently from Connecting Threads to add a little variety to the mix.  The stripe you see cut on the bias will be the binding so some of those bright greens and such will work with this perfectly!

I've got three of the 14 blocks I need completed as I am making the top 7 x 8 blocks set for a finish around 84 x 96.   I have to be mindful not only of the colors on the right side and bottom of the quilt (when I get there, LOL) but how the seams are pressed as well.

Really Patience Corner is an easy block and a fun way to use focus fabrics or charm packs but you DO need to be watchful about where you put the sashing bits, esp if you have a directional print.  I totally messed up the 4th quadrant of the 3rd block in the column, where you see the white trees on the green background.  We made a bunch of these at Bama Belles one year.  The mantra was a" laying down figure of 8" should be the result.  If not, get out the ripper.

And sew it goes-----this won't be a long term project.   I am considering what I will work on to follow it up this week.  I have sort of promised myself that I would get those 6 donation quilts in the closet quilted up and outta here.   I do not want to start the New Year behind already!

It can be so nuts this time of year so I hope you have found some time to savor the moment.  If you aren't enjoying all you "hafta" do, then you have to wonder if it is worth the time and effort.

Design wall Monday, wk. 4---amended

Not much on the "wall"---the next donation quilt top from the fabric that keeps on giving. This is the last of the green habitat fabric, it and its companion print that some of the group got when we did the challenge. I don't have enough fabric to make another BQ 2 from this same stuff so I came up with this instead. The Patience Corner top will be the 4th one I made using this particular challenge fabric. Apparently the challenges continue long after they are officially completed, LOL. I stumbled upon some of the paint splash stuff from the 1st one the other day!! And there is still some of the most recent Romance stuff left. Some point down the line, I will come up with a plan.

No, I am not crazy about this combo but I am busting stash. I found the tan print the other day when I was hunting for backing yardage. It had been used for backing and/or some long ago quilt. Nice Moda Marble left from a previous project too---a past t-shirt quilt if I recall. It is only 12 blocks and maybe it will be okay.

I told Norma yesterday that I may be in the process of making the world's ugliest quilt. I thought that there should be a name for committing this "crime"----quilticide or fabric abuse, maybe? Yeah, I am stash busting but at what cost to the eyes for this combo?? I like the EQ printout, LOL...... and if I were not whining, I would have to admit to having made or quilted worse in the last 11 years, I guess.

The previous shot shows the pile that I had chained thru Sunday evening,adding the short strips to each square. At right is another trick I picked up from my friend Joy. Hiding under the block components is a flannel (actually this one has heavy dressmaker weight felt on it) covered piece of cardboard/foamboard. She suggested that you lay the block out as it should be pieced---always a good idea. It is easy to get confused about what goes at the top and sides on this pattern. Ask me how I know! The board is big enough to cover the bottom of a pizza box for transporting and light weight enough to carry it to your machine. In my case I will pull out the desk flat surface so it is right at my workspace and ready to nab a section.

Hopefully the weather will hold off on the precip and freezing temp combo so we can have our quilt meeting. I have already started making the strawberry pretzel salad/dessert that I was taking for the potluck part. Just waiting for the crust to cool down a bit and then the strawberry jello/frozen strawberry part can happen. I'll prep our supper taco toppings while I am out there. Because I shared our Sunday supper with our recently hospitalized friend, I'll have to fix lunch today too. I am beginning to feel like I am taking up residence in the kitchen but some days are like that. I really don't mind as it is just another way of being creative, right?

Better get going or I will be chopping tomatoes at noon!

getting ready to roll

I'm getting ready to roll on out of here for the retreat tomorrow afternoon. A load of laundry is tumbling in the dryer. The wardrobe selections have been narrowed down--some lighter clothes if the room is too hot and sweaters if it is not. The suitcase is on the bed ready to be packed. Pippi is not sure that she likes THAT idea since it is encroaching on HER space. The car trunk is emptied of non-essentials since I need to make room for Aline's luggage and sewing things too.

My sewing projects that I would like to work on are all set and packed up as of yesterday afternoon incorporating something old and something new. Do-able in that time that I have to work:

• Bargello--WIP
• 4 patch posie--UFO
• Christmas Patience Corner--PIM

We had thunderstorms and tornadic activity here in Alabama on Sunday and I had intended to get some bargello sewing done. Instead I had to bail from the computer and sewing machine for a good chunk of the afternoon. To make good use of the time, I cut bargello strips and paired them up for sewing the last two stratas. In the end, the only sewing that got done Sunday was joining the subcut sections for the 3rd panel and adding it to the two I had done already. Then on Monday, between errands, walking and a haircut appointment , I got the 4th panel done and the 5th panel up to the subcut stage---it is about done, in other words. I hope to find some border fabric at the quilt shop this weekend as I know I do not have any long enough dark green yardage--at least so far I am thinking green will work. I need it all to be spread out and look at it first.

I did some cutting yesterday trimming a pile of print Christmas squares to a uniform 5 inches for the Patience Corner I intend to make (like Finn's and Norma's). You see who had to test it out at least temporarily. Earlier in the afternoon I had cut a stack of squares from a scrap bag from the Christmas Cloth Store. I had purchased it a month or so back when Norma and I were talking about my making one of these quilts. (The website/store is merging with the fatquartershop.com site today and the site indicates that. ) So anyway, the Patience Corner is all cut and kitted up in the pizza box, minus the cat, of course. I also cut out the sashing strips for the 4 patch stacked posie UFO so I am ready! It won't take me long to grab my sewing supplies though I know I have to wind a pile of bobbins for the machine I am taking first.

I plan on quilting a bit this afternoon and tomorrow morning so best get the packing part done. In some ways it would just be easier to stay home and sew by myself like always but no way, no how would I want to miss out on this fun time with my friends! DJ is acting like I am abandoning him and pulling that "poor me" act but it won't hurt him to miss me a little. Good company, good food and shopping plus a break from the home routine? No contest. I'm there!