Another finish

I got the binding machine finished on this "Revised Chantal" which originally a Debby Kratovil pattern for Blank Quilting.  It is still on her free patterns page HERE but I will not link directly to it as it will open a pdf file.

I admit that this is not that pretty a quilt in pictures.  It looks better close up though when you can see the colors a bit better.  Perhaps it will make someone happy though.  One can hope.

I did a better job on the binding this time putting the binding on the back and pulling it to the front.  I still am not sure just where to set up the walking foot however.  On the back some of the stitching goes into the binding, some in the ditch and some about an 1/8 inch (or gasp, slightly more!) away.  I don't know that I would do this on my own personal quilts but the one good thing is that it is finished.  I laundered it and truthfully, it looks a bit better plus removed the stiffness I had created with the glue process.

SO what is next?   There is a third donation quilt to bind but I am going to do by hand and over time--some quilt meetings coming up after all.   I will re-do the modified Puss in the Corner block for my Farmers Wife Inspired Sampler.  Then I will get busy on my blog hop items.  Both hops actually.  I have a good reason to get them moved along and shut down the "shop" for a bit.

Recently DJ and I were talking and I mentioned not for the first time, that I would love to carpet removed from my sewing room and laminate or that type of flooring put down.  He said "you have some money to pay for it" so essence I could go for it.  Then did he think he and I could do the job or hire it out?  He is still recovering from surgery and that might be pushing it a bit.  Then there is all the stuff that is in every nook and cranny of this 10 x 10 foot room.  That part is a little daunting plus I would not want to have to move this big office desk out of the room.  The rest I could deal with finding other nooks and crannies here in the house or in the utility shed.  We already talked my taking things out there and stacking them before lawn mowing season would start.

This afternoon I went across the lane to talk to our neighbor.  I know that his wife had said that Robert had laid their flooring when they first moved in.  Since he does seasonal work, would he be interested in a business proposition?  We worked out the details, I showed him the room and said I would get it all emptied out except for maybe the desk--scoot it from one side to the other---as the floor goes down.  He'll rip up the carpet and dispose of it.  I'll purchase the supplies.  His son and his bride had recently finished putting down flooring in their kitchen and living room so we went over to see it and talked to them about it.

I moved a few things tonight already, LOL.  DJ knows me and said that I would probably want to do it all in one day or do it all "right now"  Well, not quite but I did need to see what exactly would fit in one corner of my bedroom that I was counting on. I can still go up higher though!!  I see that this gives me the opportunity to do a bit of purging at least of my desk.  Some other surfaces were cleared off for other smaller items. Some things will be moved at the last minute, like the computer.  I know DJ is not going to want stuff piled up in his bedroom or blocking his TV access.  He may have no choice, LOL.

So that's the story---lots of work but worth it.

BTW, I did update my tabs showing the finished items for 2013 in retrospect and also my quilting plans for 2014 with personal, pro bonos and gifties.  If you are interested in any of that, click on the tabs atop the posts.

A finish!

Woohoo! I've got my Popsicle Sticks quilt completed. The binding is done but get this. I had optimistically put "completed Sept 2013" on the label when I added it to the binding of the quilt. My friend and fellow guild member Denise had long arm quilted it for me and she returned it in early August. I did one long side and the sleeve and then it just sat, till yesterday afternoon.

I think you can see why I am not going to put it on my bed to get its picture taken. The matching pillowcases were made already, back in early September  HERE.

I also got the friendship block done this past weekend and it is winging its way to the person assigned to piece the top.  Nope, cannot share that one yet!  In addition the cuffs were finished on the quilt cases.  In fact, I pulled out the list of my submitted items and bagged them up.  No, the show is not until March but I cannot remember when they are supposed to be turned in. The only ones not in that stack are the Christmas quilt  on my bed and PopStix.   Well you see why---Christmas quilt waits till I take the decorations down.  Skyler will have to eventually get up, LOL.

So what is next?  I have those three pro bono quilts to quilt so sometime between now and the end of the year-----------

•  A modified "Chantal" quilt using Debby Kratovil's design for fabric company.  Circa Oct 2012
• Prairie Stroll. Actually I have two of these but one is not pinned.  I don't think that one is going to be a pro bono quilt.  Circa Aug 2012 .
• A strippy quilt of Aline's that I said I would quilt for Bama Belles---been awhile since I had it unfolded.

Of course it being year's end I am thinking about what projects I would like to do.   Which UFOs do I want to see moved along?  Two or three spring to mind.  What new projects are tempting me?  A few more are on that mental list.  I know I will be participating in the "Please Don't Stop Me" blog at the end of January and plan on joining in more.  Also there are a couple promised items---a thread catcher for Cher and a purse for my mom.  You know I don't ever have too much down time, LOL but I'll probably just concentrate on a little embroidery on Christmas Eve and Christmas if I do anything creative besides cook.  Those quilts can wait a few more days, after all.

Merry Christmas!

good day

Woohoo!  Not only did I get my Christmas Patience Corner quilt binding done but the #2 Alabama Crimson Tide just beat the #3 Georgia Bulldogs to win the SEC Championship and the opportunity to face Notre Dame for the BCS Championship for the 2nd year in a row.  Roll Tide.

The quilt measures 83.5 x 95 and really is a perfect fit for my bed with that oversized pillow top mattress.  Thanks again to those that gave me fabrics to include in it and especially to Norma for quilting it.  I am thrilled!

Today was the Christmas parade in our little corner of NE Central Alabama.  I took the camera with me today to get some pictures.  You can see that it was a gorgeous day----hit close to 70 so there were quite a few people out.

This first one shows some of the elementary school kids dressed as Christmas packages.

Hauling a gazebo down the street to promote some builder---couldn't believe it!  Candy to toss out to the kids in the back.

Color Guard with an area band coming up behind them

The Shrine group always look like they are having a great time with their little go karts.

One of two Christmas "trees" --- too cute!  (That gas station has been closed for a long time---that is NOT the price of gas here locally)

The local band approaching-----

The man of the hour---normally he rides in on the fire truck but that lead off the parade instead---

another finish/birthday dinner story

Another finish 8-10-2012 Friday p.m.  By the time we left for our supper at Outback Steakhouse I only had the last long side to go.  Looks pretty good on that Button Up base, doesn't it?

Funny story about our meal out.  Part of my reason for picking Outback for my birthday dinner was because we had some of the money left on a gift card that DJ's son and his family had given us for Christmas.  Well, that and the coconut shrimp, LOL.  I had encouraged him to take a trip down there for a good meal when I was on vacation but he didn't go.  I figured the remaining monies would pay for one of us and less money out of his pocket.  Tracy's birthday is just 5 days earlier than mine so between the two of us, the checkbook takes a hit.

I spotted a new addition to the menu---the coconut shrimp was offered with a sirloin steak of varying sizes along with two sides.  I proposed that we order that item, split the baked potato and let him pick the 2nd side (vegetable medley) and I would get a house salad.  I would eat the shrimp and he could have the 6 oz. steak which he felt would be plenty and give me a bite.  Tab would be around 17 bucks and add on the tax and tip, water with lemon was fine too. ( There was 17 bucks left on the card.  Cheap date!)

Well, fairly quickly someone came from the kitchen with a steak and baked potato and a plate of ahi tuna. In retrospect, too quickly really.  Not our waitress though.  UH, not our order---we asked for the sirloin steak with coconut shrimp combination.  He left the steak plate and took the tuna away.   DJ assumed he was supposed to have it.  It didn't occur to us that it was bigger than it should have been and half the meal was missing.  Yep, you got it.  It belonged to a couple sitting behind us.  DJ had already cut into it when the waitress announced the error.

Out came my salad.  He shared a couple bites of steak, we split the baked potato.  At some point out comes our original order.  All of it---another baked potato, the smaller sirloin, the vegetable medley and my shrimp. I guess we know what DJ will eat for lunch tomorrow now!  Two whole meals then for the cost of tax and a more generous than usual tip.  DJ said he felt bad about the waitress getting gypped out of tip for a 2nd meal because we had shared a plate.  As you get older you often don't have as much of an appetite so no doubt other couples do that or take half of it home.

I have guild today so will check back in a couple days-----------hope you are having a good weekend in whatever you chose to do.

a finish

Woohooo!  Except for sewing down the label this puppy is done!

Thanks to Denise B. of Friendship Quilters for quilting it for me.

I'll post some pictures from the quilt show  in the next couple days.   There were some pretty quilts including some from my own quilt group that I had not seen before.  Bev had made a slew of QOV quilts and Brenda had some pretty ones as well as Beverly's Christmas quilt that I had not seen either.

3 more finishes

two small finishes and one more button up is officially done.

 The basket block will need some velcro added to the back in order to hang it and ir really needs some embellishment.  Yo- yo's with buttons, I'm thinking.

"Bloom" is also officially done.  I had it bound and the buttons were sewn on but I did the bee's flight lines this morning.

Late for this Easter but early for next----the March button up but I left the month off so it had  a longer shelf life.

What is next??  I would dearly love to take a break to piece something---like maybe finish up my set aside Popsicle Stix last seen in early February HERE or in the following post when I had to pack it up to work on the 3 QOV quilts I had committed to do.  BUT I still have binding to put on one of those QoV's and the row quilt QOV to quilt.

The other thing that needs to be done is cut for Cher's FAB day.  I may do that first and then get started on the QOV stuff.   We have learned that the facility is to open in early July so that does buy a little more time but I need those outta here.   Okay plan is made.   Jammie time for this girl!

Done, done, done

Actually the quilt is in the washer right now to get the blue marks out of the border but it does not look a whole lot different that this picture.   If you are seeing pins, then that is why, LOL.

This is a BOM started in Pell City in 05, blocks added to and completed in June 2006.   The source:  Eleanor Burns Pioneer Sampler but I added 18 other blocks in the public domain, etc.   I machine quilted a good bit of it several years back and stalled out with 5 to go.  

Then I made the commitment to get this done this year back in November----and I did with about two weeks to go.  My husband may not be excited for me or proud of my efforts but I am!  

I'll get some other shots so you can see the border cables at least.   Now to move it from the UFO tab to the 2011 finish tab.  

Another one done! edited

GORDIAN KNOT 1
Designed by Mary Whitehead but piecing instructions written up and class given by Nancy Allain
Completed the top on March 1, 2011 and officially finished November 28, 2011.

It just fits the rod above my bed!  So far Skyler has not noticed the change out of the quilts and tried to climb in behind it, LOL.

Today I quilt on that big monster so wish me luck. 

Edited note:  This was later donated to WTIL in the fall of 2012.  Sometimes you just made quilts to try a technique but that doesn't mean they have to continue to live at your house.

checking in Monday

 I have another finish to report.  Woohoo!  Merry Christmas BU #21 is ready to hang when I am ready to decorate---another week away anyway.

I've been binding like crazy this past weekend.  I thought that I would get at those 5 blocks in the long lagging bed sized Pioneer Plus Sampler today but I am backing off that.  I only have one more quilt to bind (Gordian Knot 1) and I want that decked cleared rather than having it hanging over my head.  It needs to be  done by the Friendship Quilter's Christmas luncheon on Dec. 9th.  I would have plenty of time except for the other things I would like to have done first, LOL.  What's another day at this juncture?

DJ has been scouring the ads for months now in an effort to replace our microwave.  Our old one had a  light that no longer worked and the 1 button had given up the ghost.  You can live with some of that but not if you need a power level 1 or want to stand there and baby sit the thing to avoid overheating whatever it was you stuck in there.

My criteria was a 15 inch diameter turntable and a digital dial.  I didn't really want stainless steel either.  I had other errands of my own to run.  Also I had to be home by a certain time since someone was dropping by.  He could either wait for me or go check it out himself.   He got home 5 minutes after me.  This was marked down 50 bucks and he got an additional amount knocked off with a rewards card sign up.  Of course, I will need to read up before I can operate it!  Apparently you can code in frozen convenience foods in some manner and it automatically sets or some such thing?  Not that it applies much to us.

It is a gloomy, damp day---still raining too.  We have about 3.5 inches in our gauge since yesterday. I was awake a good bit of the night and it sounded like it was pouring and windy.  Today I see that a good many of the trees have lost their leaves but not necessarily the underbrush.  Dismal, dismal day with some remote snow possibilities in our area tonight.  The temps will have to drop from the mid to mid 40s for that to happen though.

So here we have Skyler snug as bug in his little kitty cube.  He will pay attention to this for a few days and then I'll have to put it up once the novelty wears off.  He will run past it, not through it when we play.  I don't suppose that we people are much different in that regard.   Things become part of the landscape if they sit long enough.

About time to feed the boys so off I go.  I'll hopefully have another finish to share in the next day or so.  The Closer is back tonight so I know I won't be working past 8 CST, LOL.

a finish

Woohoo!  A finish this morning.  Pattern source:  Nancy Halvorsen "In Seasons".  This officially completes the series of 4 quilt-lets.

I was determined to get this done so it could hang at least a few days until I get the urge to do the Christmas decorating.  Normally I wait till we are about a week into December and then take then down after New Year's Day.

My plan for the day is to quilt the Merry Christmas "Charley Brown looking tree"  Button  Up next.  It's all marked and ready to roll.  Hanging loops, binding, label are all ready too.  Hopefully THAT hand finishing will be done when I decide to hang the Christmas pieces. But for now I will re-hang and enjoy the "I Love My Cat" that Pat made for my bday----too cute!

And speaking of cats,  I have one patiently sitting on the desk next to the keyboard and waiting for me to walk out with him to the kitchen for a taste of Fancy Feast.  Real turkey, he wouldn't touch but give him some foul smelling salmon stuff and he's in!  LOL.

Have a great day in whatever you chose to do.  You know where to find me--------

Sunday check in

Completing "Summer" was yesterday's project. Label, hanging sleeve sections, binding. the remaining embroidered elements and buttons----all done. Woohoo! The quilt show it is entered in is 3 weeks away. No last minute binding rush required, LOL.  (Before picture)

After lunch yesterday, I went out to help DJ with the area out in front of the house. Our little nandina bushes appear to be doing well since their planting.

We haven't really had any rain to speak of so DJ waters them daily and was even misting them. That might be a job that will fall on me soon with the no bending rule in effect when he has his eye surgeries. We put down the last of the black barrier stuff and used all the bags of rock that he bought a few days ago. We are up to 12 bags down now. I helped him with 6 of them just to keep the paper from billowing up. There are gaps and it is not on there very heavily. We are guessing we need 4 or 5 more depending whether or not we put some around the holly bush on the end. The edging stuff will be added but not till late next month. I'm guessing. He wants to mow one more time---whatever he has on the list gets done tomorrow or waits till Doctor gives him the okay.

This is the other nandina bush that we have albeit, one that has never been pruned, watered or fertilized and generally ignored, been here since we moved in 97. It doesn't get too tall and fills out horizontally.

We have the laundry all done, groceries are bought and the next thing I know it will be time to start supper. I should work on something but I think quilting can wait another day---Gordian knot will be next. I plan on working on binding while I wait for DJ at the hospital on Tuesday. Lord knows, they will have us there hours before the procedure is scheduled. SIGH. Oh, I am thinking about doing some embroidery on the leaves of the July Button Up as well as the binding.

Hand quilt on Bird Brain Santas or finish up Honey and Biscuits block? HMMMMMMM If I have a finish to show you soon you know which one I picked, LOL. It's good to have options, don't you think?

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

It's official!

5th finish for this latest group of quilts. The binding blitz is complete till I get some tops pinned and quilted. (Daisy Chain designed by Terry Atkinson.) Back from the long arm quilter in late October 2010 so this one really didn't wait all THAT long.

One lone pinned quilt remains with about a 1/4 of it to go. I am still considering some hand quilting in the border on that one. If I DO go that route, it will be awhile before I bind it.





Here is a closeup of some of the fabrics and the fabulous quilting that Susan did for me. Skyler probably would have been giving it the kitty roll of approval but he was napping with DJ in the recliner. Besides that he had gotten quite a bit of rolling when he "helped" me put on the quilt sheets.

So what is next for me you might ask? Maybe you aren't asking but I find it helpful to make a list or at the very least, a mental note

• Buttons and embroidery on the In Season "Spring" piece this afternoon
• Hand applique on April Button Up
• Piece 4 patch diagonal blocks
• Cut out/then sew a very special friend's bday gift. Her day comes at month's end. I know what I am making but will need to get the ball rolling on it.

A good mix of hand work, machine sewing, cutting and prepping. Throw in some more embroidery and I would be a most happy camper. Quilting if it happens would have to be the mostly done Pioneer Sampler as the quilt group doesn't meet till the 12th and nothing else is pinned. OR hand quilt on another project that was not included in the counts. No way I am ever bored with my hobby!

Thanks for stopping by---------

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.

Design Wall Monday

"Winter" officially finished when I sewed on the beads this morning. Glamour shot, LOL.

Now moving on to the design wall part----Twisted Sister blocks below. I decided on the "truly twisted" version for the blocks. Half twist clockwise and the other half, counterclockwise just by flipping the strip set over and cutting from the wrong side.






The other blocks are orphan blocks from my mom but the primrose star thing is one of mine. One of these days I will assemble all of them, plus more, into a donation top.

I have 13 of the required 24 for the top done. I'll get back to piecing in a few minutes though I doubt it will get the top assembled for a few days anyway.

Tomorrow I clean up in here since company is coming soon. I doubt that the pile of binding will still be sitting there for much longer. Of course, cleaning up gets me a few days of handwork as I don't want to make a big mess and track strings all over the place----again, LOL.

And so it goes-----------

almost finished

I set to work on finishing up my little Winter wall hanging today. Quilter's DO buttons when they are used as embellishments, LOL. This would be finished except for the fact that I need 10-4 mm glass beads to put on the area under the cardinal to dress up the twigs like berries. I had already decided I was NOT going to try to do the embroidered "welcome" on the top and bottom borders. I thought there would be no way to mark it where I could actually see it on that black print with those gray/white lines. SO I am going to count as the 3rd finish for the year anyway.

First I had to refresh my memory as to were I had put the beads in the first place. Then I had only 7 of the perfect color but a little too big. The others I had were too small and orange. It will wait till I can see if there are any available or give up and order some.

I think that the roads will be passable tomorrow. Already I hear more traffic on the main road and even a couple cars on the lane. The newspaper carrier delivered Monday and Tuesday's edition about 30 minutes ago but no mail person yet. The snow is melting off the ground enough to see the grass in places. But the sky really looks like we could have more precipitation---that dull gray sky but no clouds that I can see that makes you think rain. We did see some flurries for about 5 minutes this morning actually.

Yesterday afternoon I had gone out to knock the snow off my car's surfaces before it got anything more crusted to it. I measured an inch of snow and a layer of icy sleety stuff on top of that but it cleared off fairly easily. Then I used the snow shovel to clear off the mess I made on the drive so hopefully it will not be icy when I finally get to drive. The neighbor was out walking the dog, husband was inside and here I am wielding the shovel. I told Robbie that we had debated about bringing it with us when we moved and actually it was MY shovel. First time I think we have had to use it since we moved in 97.

Well, guess I better find something else to work on. Binding maybe or piece one of the donation projects from my pizza box or storage unit?? I don't feel like cutting out setting squares and triangles for what I thought would be next. HMMMM guess you will see when I do a WIP post.

WIP Weds, wk. 46

I took the last stitches in my Calendar Quilt-lets about 4 this afternoon. If you want to see the individual blocks a little better, go back to THIS post.

I had taken a picture like this of last year's "Be Attitude" blocks so I thought I would spread them out and do the same thing. LOL, Skyler came out from hiding under the quilt on DJ's bed just to plunk himself right in the middle of the action. DJ of course is supervising and said "why did you make these two so small?" pointing to the two appliqued blocks at the top. UHHH because those one I actually followed the directions. Then I got smart, switched to stitcheries and scanned and re-sized them. Originally they would have been a bit smaller than the appliqued ones, if you can believe that!

So, I'm done and thinking about what I want to do for my next seasonal/BOM type thing. At the moment Amy Bradley's Seasoned Quilter and Nancy Halvorsen's In Season are strong contenders. Okay, maybe leaning more to the latter as I pulled some fabrics that would work for the background parts of the winter wall hanging, LOL. The applique pieces look a good deal bigger than the Calendar Quilts so that's good!

Thanks for stopping by-----