The Lazy Quilter

Buzz, Buzz, Buzz

2012-01-29T14:10:00.003-06:00

I managed to get two creative prompts done!
#109 was Anniversary:

We were married by the sea, in a little gazebo, overlooking the ocean. I hope we can go there again someday, for an anniversary too! The gazebo we actually had was a lot prettier than this one, but you get the idea! Remember, you can click on the pictures for a larger version.

#115 was Flight:

Sometimes I just crack myself up!

I'm sorry I've neglected you!

2012-01-23T14:19:00.002-06:00

I feel like I have been gone, forever! I have just been terribly busy. That is my excuse, and I am sticking to it! I will not say that it is partially because it took me this long to figure out how to get photos from my Christmas camera, to the computer, without asking the Mister for help!

My studio is a mess of organized chaos!

You can see several quilt projects in the shot above. The hexagon quilt is in the foreground. The U is for Unicorn quilt is on the design wall. (It is supposed to be inspiring me to sit down and work on those borders!) There is the new Unicorn wall hanging and the latest block of My Tweets hanging there too.

I've been busy with guild stuff. I took the calendar quilt to show and tell and then donated it for our outreach program.

There were two quilts at the show and tell, that were made from blocks that these quilters had won. One lady made a quilt from her January Snowflake blocks and the other lady made her quilt from the June Black and White Bows block.

I am working on the block for the February block-of-the-month. It is entitled "Isn't She Lovely?" and features Sun Bonnet Sue and Straw Hat Sam.

I also finished block number eight in the "My Tweets" block-of-the-month. I am only four blocks behind now!

That is all I am going to write about today. Things will settle into a routine soon and I promise to try to post a little more often! Thanks for stopping by, and now, go sew something!!!

New Year, New Learning Curve

2012-01-08T17:04:00.002-06:00

I am still learning how to use the new camera. I would have posted long before now, but had issues getting the photos loaded!
We had a great holiday and I can't believe it is already over! It went by way too fast. I can't wait till next year!

The first thing I got done was this new bag:

It has a large cardinal print for the lining and teeny tiny cardinals on the darker outside fabric:

I also finished quilting the Calendar Quilt from the block-of-the-month I did for our guild last year. Each block finished at 12" square and had a theme related to each of the 12 months of the year:
In order of appearance: January/snowflake, February/cherries for President's Day, March/Irish chain for St. Patrick's Day, April/twister storm block, May/May Basket Day, June/black and white bow tie blocks for June weddings, July/flag block, August/hot sun, September/school house block, October/bear tracks, November/turkey block, December/tree star block. I will be donating this to our outreach program to be given to someone in need.

The first block for this year's guild block-of-the-month was a crazy block:

I made one and my daughter made one. I am hoping to win the drawing for all the blocks so I can send them to her to make into her first quilt!

Finally I will show you the poor needle plate that bit the dust:

If you click on the photograph you will see a closeup detail of just how messed up this needle plate was! I had to replace it because it was shredding thread as I tried to sew. I am a brute with a sewing machine! lol

I am working hard on trying to finish the My Tweets blocks but am woefully behind on them. NO NEW projects for me this year! At least not until the Unicorn quilt is done. I best get going and get er done! Happy sewing y'all! See ya next time.

See You Next Year!

2011-12-31T16:47:00.002-06:00

The tree was in my studio this year. I have a door I can shut to keep the cats out. It helps!
You can see me in the lower corner. (My computer is in front of me) My husband was trying out my new camera for me. I kept telling him to not take photos of me. This was our compromise!

Besides the camera, my favorite gift was this mouse pad:

My husband took a photo of "Beadee the Beading Fairy", an art quilt of mine, and had it made into my own personal mouse pad! I love it!

The Juki has a new needle plate and I hope to get some more quilting done tomorrow. Today was spent running around! Tonight will be low key and quiet. I doubt I will even make it till midnight!

I hope to see you all next year, sewing up some storms with me!

Happy New Year and Happy Sewing!!!

Two Quick Gifts

2011-12-17T07:52:00.003-06:00

I whipped up these two bags for some friends of mine. They have six pockets in them, three on each side. It is a fast pattern too. It only took a couple hours from start to finish to make these two!

The blue one has pebbles with uplifting sayings on them and the orangey one is for a friend that likes going to the casinos, so I used fabric that reminded me of different suits in a deck of cards. I hope they like them!

Just Messin' Around

2011-12-11T19:03:00.002-06:00

All this year I designed blocks for our guild. I always made more than one. Now I have put the 12 blocks I kept, together. This is my Calendar Quilt top, ready to be sandwiched and quilted:
The very last block was the December star block. I made a different one for the guild and used the Tree Topper pattern for my personal quilt. I got the pattern from Twiddletails Blog.

I even got a Creative Prompt done! This is number 108 - Abundance:

Tomorrow is our guild's party and auction. I also have some shopping to do afterwards. I love this time of year! I will have to take photos of my studio soon. We have our little tree put up in there, to keep the cats out of my favorite ornaments! They always think it is a tree of cat toys!

I think I will go sit and sew a bit before bedtime. I hope you are all doing well out there! Now go sew something!!!

Starry starry night....

2011-12-05T18:39:00.006-06:00

I just realized I have neglected my blog! I've been busy. It doesn't look like it here though. lol My studio has been taken over by holiday decorations as it is the only room I can lock the cats out of. I have some old ornaments that I will not allow them to bat around as a toy!

Speaking of cats, when I moved my Mom's old sewing machine cabinet, in the dining room, I found five elastic hair thingies! The cats think they make great mice!

Anyway, in the studio I worked on star blocks for the block of the month at my guild. I used the pattern from Twiddletails blog, called Tree Toppers.
Above are the pieces all cut out and some of the half square triangles sewn together. Below are the two blocks I finished.
Now you need to remember, I am the one who comes up with the designs for the blocks of the month. This month I told everyone to just choose their favorite star block. I saw this one and decided it was cute and unique. It was labor intensive too! I should read my OWN directions though. I said to make the star BLUE!!! Now I have two star blocks that I will need to figure out how to incorporate into some other project. I went back and made this block for the guild, instead:
I hope to get back to the U is for Unicorn quilt again. I have a gazillion flowers to stitch on!
I hope you are having fun getting ready for the holidays too! Till next time, go sew something!

Turkey Leftovers...

2011-11-20T08:55:00.004-06:00

This posting relates to the tutorial on my Turkey Trot block:

I found out that the wattle on a turkey can also be called a waddle and neither is the little red thingy on the turkey! That little red hangy downy thing is called a snood. Really!

Also, some have had issues with the download of the templates. If you do, please contact me or leave a comment and I can email you a pdf file for the templates.

Lastly, someone said my pattern was a direct copy that someone else did. I can assure you it is not. I was inspired by several Dresden Plate variations of turkey blocks and went into my EQ7 and MSPublishing programs to design my block. I did a search and found other people have used brown batiks. I did too. Other people have circles for heads or shaped heads or heads with necks. How many ways can one draw a turkey???

If my block looks like someone else's block, it is a coincidence. I really tried to make mine unique.

That's it for today! Happy Sewing everyone!

Turkey Trot Block Tutorial

2011-11-17T06:11:00.013-06:00

Today I am sharing this block tutorial with you. I was inspired by several Dresden Plate type turkey blocks that I've seen, to make my own idea of one! Madame Samm, over on Sew WE Quilt has a whole bunch of guest block makers on her blog this week. Mine is there too! I hope you enjoy!

TURKEY TROT BLOCK

Have you gotten your turkey for Thanksgiving yet, or are you still working on those pumpkin leftovers from Halloween? (I assume all that candy is already gone!) Why not give this turkey block a try! It would make a great table runner or perhaps an assortment of place-mats! Of course you could use it in a quilt too.

This block uses a combination of a Dresden Plate design and an appliqued block. The background fabric should be white or a lighter color. The block should be 12 1/2" square when you are done making it. (12” finished) I suggest using a 13” square of fabric for your background to start with, as often this type of pattern can get wonky as you sew each layer on. When you are done making your block, press it and then cut it to size. (12 ½” square).

FABRIC REQUIREMENTS:

One - 13” square of background fabric (tan, white, or other lighter color)
One - 5” square for the body
One - 2 ½” square for the head and a scrap of batting about the same size. (Batting is used to puff out the head).
One - 1 ½” x 1” rectangle of red for the *wattle (optional) *The wattle is the red thingy that hangs down along side the beak.
One strip - 2 ½” wide by 20” long, for the shorter tail feathers, cut in to five equal pieces (about 4” each) OR five 2 ½”x 4" of different colors.
*One - 3” x 4 ½” for center large tail feather
*Two - 3” x 4 ½” for two large tail feathers
*Two - 3” x 4 ½” for outer large tail feathers

*The large feathers shown in my pattern, are of three different colors. You may make them all the same color if you wish. You can also make the small tail feathers all the same color. This is your block, do it your way!

DIRECTIONS:

Trace the templates onto freezer paper. NOTE: You need five of each size of feather. (click here to download a pdf file to print out templates)

The dotted line is the seam allowance. When you trace the pattern pieces onto your freezer paper, you do not need to trace the dotted lines. You do need to allow for a quarter inch seam allowance on your fabric.

Iron the freezer paper onto the wrong side of your fabrics. Remember the shiny side of the freezer paper is the side that gets ironed to the fabric!

Cut out your fabric pieces allowing for a quarter inch seam allowance.

Mark the center of your background square. I do this by folding into fourths and then pressing the center point. Then I open it back up and my center mark is creased in place.

Lay out your cut fabric pieces in the order you want them to appear on your finished block.

Sew together your tail feathers. This is like sewing together a Dresden plate. Match up the tops of the feathers and sew, right sides together, from the top, down, to make your tail feather sets.

Sew the tail feathers together into one set of five larger tail feathers and one set five of smaller tail feathers.

Notice that the bottom of the tail feather sets do not have to be even.

Press seams open.

Clip a thread stitch or two at the top of each joined feather:

Then press the top points over about a quarter inch.

Position the small tail feather set onto the large tail feather set and stitch in the ditch from the top of the small tail feathers, down. This anchors your tail feather sets together.

Press the edges over on the two sides of your feather set, overlapping the small feathers over the large ones. You may want to trim the bottom of your tail feather set, just a little bit, to neaten it up.

Press over the seam allowance on the body.

I leave the freezer paper in, then press, then remove the paper.

Check the layout of your pieces. You can slide the body up or down to get the edges to line up with the tail feather edges.

Pin your feathers and body in place on your background square. Use only one pin, in the upper center of the body. Fold the body up and back, and using chalk or an invisible marker, mark your turkey's toes.

Using a tight zig-zag stitch and embroider your toes.

NO, not YOUR toes, your turkey's toes, silly!!!

I like using a piece of tear-a-way stabilizer on the back of my block for this step, to keep it from puckering. Don't forget to tear off your stabilizer when you are done. You may choose, instead, to embroider the feet by hand, after your block is done, for this step.

Lay the body piece back down and use a few more pins to hold it in place. Now you can appliqué around the outer edges by machine or hand. I like using a blanket stitch for this project. My sewing machine has a pre-programed setting for this. But you can use any method you like. Be sure the edges all stay turned under. You also need to applique or sew across the small tail feather points in the middle. Note: You do not have to sew across the bottom of the tail feathers.

An optional step at this point is to cut away the fabric on the back to reduce bulk.

Be careful not to nick the front fabrics!!!

Next we will work on the head piece. Hand-baste around the edge of the fabric about 1/8th of an inch in. (leave the freezer paper in for now)

Pull the ends of the thread to gather the edges in, and press well.

Remove the freezer paper and place it onto a scrap of batting. I've used cotton batting here:

Touch this gently with your iron to have it 'stick' in place or you can pin it. Cut out the batting by cutting just inside the freezer paper, so your batting piece will end up smaller than your fabric head piece did.

Remove the freezer paper and put your batting piece inside the head piece, tucking it under the folded over seam allowance. If you left your basting thread in, it will help you to get batting tucked inside too. You can then re-press the edges and remove the basting thread.

Take another small bit of stabilizer and put it on the back of your turkey's head, against the batting. Now you can stitch the beak, wattle, or eyes, if you wish. You can also make these pieces in any other way you want to! Some people use a bit of red felt for the wattle. Remove the stabilizer before attaching the head to the block.

I chose to stitch the beak and wattle with my machine. I haven't decided how I will do the eyes for this project, yet. Some ideas for you are to use would be to use a French knot for the eyes and outline a beak. OR use a bit of fabric to appliqué a beak. OR use two little buttons for the eyes. Again, this is YOUR block to finish YOUR way!!!

Position the head in place, on your block, and pin in place. Appliqué it down using the same stitch that you used for the body and feathers.

There you have it! Press well. Do not slide your iron or you will distort your block.

I plan to make a table runner out of my turkeys. I made two blocks and will add a plain center block for length. I might put a full Dresden Plate in the center or I might just use a decorative quilting pattern, in a contrasting color, to dress up the center.

I hope you enjoyed making my block!

Thank you Madame Samm, for including me in your block tutorials this month! It was challenging for me AND fun!

More Peeking!

2011-11-16T16:09:00.002-06:00

Do you remember this quilt? I made it for one of those Keepsake challenges. It came back, and wasn't chosen for any of the prizes. That white blob wasn't on it though. I have the quilt hanging in front of my thread and bead racks. That blob might turn into a magical unicorn on this quilt. :)

That's all for today. Tomorrow promises a HUGE posting with a tutorial on it! Really!
Happy Sewing to you all! And to all, a good night!!!

Little Peek...

2011-11-08T15:40:00.002-06:00

Shhhhhh....don't make any noise to distract me! I am working on the border for the U is for Unicorn quilt. Gads it is slow going!!! That is a dragonfly under the machine needle.
Happy Sewing!

The Holidays Approach-eth!

2011-11-05T07:01:00.006-05:00

(Big deep breath!) I think I am back! My life was extra busy for a few weeks! What has been keeping me away from posting here, you ask? Ok, maybe you didn't ask. I am going to tell you anyway.
First off, my quilt guild has kept me hopping!

I was the chairman for a nominating committee to get new officers lined up.
I am the newsletter editor and had a couple of intense newsletters to produce.
I am the membership chairman and had a bunch of new members join.
Membership also had the kick off for renewing memberships for 2012.
I am turning over the membership position to another member now, and that has entailed getting information gathered and instructions made on how to do the job.
I am now the webmaster for the guild and have been working on learning how to manage that website.
I had trouble making this month's block and finally finished the umpteenth redo of both blocks last night!

I am rather pleased with how the blocks turned out.
This first one has embroidered eyes:

The second one has beads for eyes:

Besides doing all the guild stuff, we (my husband, son, and myself) were playing minstrels at a renaissance and fantasy faire last weekend:
This is us on stage for one of our performances on the first day. Leading up to that weekend were days and weekends of practicing and dress rehearsals. I had to modify costumes for my growing son and my shrinking self! It had been two years since we were last able to perform and my son grew a lot from age eight to ten! I shrunk several dress sizes over this past year and it was tricky, adjusting my costume to fit! We had a blast though and hope to do more of this next year.

I am slowly getting back into the swing of things here in the studio. Guess what is up on my design wall right now? Yes, it is the U is for Unicorn quilt!
I am back to work on the borders for it. I was making a castle yesterday. You can see the front of the border strip with part of the castle on it and the back with all the tear-a-way stabilizer here:

Last but not least, I finished another block for the My Tweets quilt:

This is block #7. I am only behind three blocks now!

Phew! When I do a catch up posting, I write a LOT! I hope to not be such a stranger on here. Believe it or not, the holidays seem to be a more relaxing time for me! I hope to get lots more sewing done! See you back here soon!

Over the next seven days, I need to...

2011-10-22T19:10:00.009-05:00

Finish quilt guild newsletter.
Update membership database and get notebook ready to turn over to new membership person.
Practice music for the two day show for next weekend.
Print newsletter.
Email newsletter to members.
Snail mail newsletter to members who don't get it by email.
Upload newsletter to web site.
Plan food, clothing, costumes, and instruments for upcoming trip.
Celebrate birthday.
Exercise 60 minutes daily.
Write notes up for house and pet sitter.
Pack van.
Check motel reservations.
Get laundry done early because we won't be here over the weekend.
Call front end alignment place to see if they will charge to do a better job.
Call repair place to see if they will re-fix the indoor, door trim on the van so it doesn't flop around.
Get groceries for trip and house sitter.
Get prizes to son's school for the fall festival.
I am sure there is more, but I am too tired to think about it!

(Things in light colors are done!!!)

There are a lot of new and fun things coming in November! See you then!
Now go sew something!!!

Creepy Creative Prompts

2011-10-17T12:35:00.004-05:00

With Halloween right around the corner, I've got costumes and creepy thoughts on the brain!
I did my Creative response to #120 - Willow. I made my version of a Will-o'-the-wisp in an old dead willow tree.
Spooky!

Creative Prompt #122 was Dress and I did a version of the costumes we wear when performing at renaissance faires. You wouldn't see me in purple and pink though! Those colors are not considered "period correct" for the costume inspectors.

Speaking of costumes, get a look at this:
This is me in my renfaire costume. I made most of the costume myself. The brown overdress is not made by me. I did have to take it in, about eight inches, because of all the weight I've lost!
The Me on the left is the newer me and the Me on the right is from about five years ago. As of today, I've lost almost 80 pounds. Thank goodness I am able to make the alterations!

I am busy with guild stuff this month. In fact, I am looking forward to November and the holidays because things tend to slow down for me then! You would think the holidays would be a stressful time, but not for me! I am looking forward to enjoying them and doing a lot of quilting too!

Making Turkeys

2011-10-07T12:25:00.006-05:00

I am not using an oven to bake this turkey! I am working on the November block-of-the-month for my guild. I had so much trouble with the October block, that I am trying to get this one farther along so I don't have so much to do at the end of the month when the newsletter needs to be published!
I made a basic black and white printout of my idea and am pulling fabrics for the parts in that first picture.

I am starting to machine applique the pieces onto the background block. My machine does a nice blanket stitch and I am using that for this project.

I finished the first block, but I didn't really like the wattle. That is the red part that hangs from the beak. Last night I did a little un-sewing and took it off. Picking out all those stitches was tedious but......

......I really like how the new one looks! Much better, don't ya think?

Next I have to interpret all the directions so the guild members can understand what I am telling them to do!

The weather has been fantastic here. The air is dry. The mornings are cool and the afternoons are warm. Halloween is just around the corner! So is my next birthday. I wonder how I will celebrate it this year? hmmmm???

Neglected Duties

2011-10-01T20:34:00.003-05:00

I am taking care of some odds and ends that I should have taken care of a while ago. For various reasons though, I didn't get projects done or caught up and didn't write about a gift that I received. Shame on me!!! I shall attempt to catch up some tonight.

I am still behind on some of my Creative Prompts. I managed to knock two more of them out yesterday and today. The first done is NUMBERS. I used a variety of numbers that had meaning to me:
The main one is the big #75. This signifies that I've lost 75 pounds! It's been quite a journey of sorts. I'm not quite sure why it is working this time. I have some ideas though and I am sure happy about it!

The next word I did was NORTH. I think the picture explains itself quite well.
I really enjoy doing the Creative Prompts. Sometimes it is the only creative thing I get done! You can join any time and you don't have to draw your responses. Visit Jaye's blog for more information.

The next thing I have neglected to do was to review this gift I won:
It shouldn't surprise you that I won it through Jaye's blog too! She really is a sweet lady and knows so much about artsy things, including quilting! I am happy to be able to call her a friend.

I wasn't too sure what to do with this 'whack pack' as you don't play a game of cards with it! For me, I like to take a random card out of the deck. I give myself at least a few minutes to read and absorb any meanings I take from the card I drew. When I am stuck on a project, these cards seem to get the brain cells working again.

I just drew a card from this deck, to use as an example here. One one side you get the 'insight' part of it. This particular card says "Those who approach life like a child playing a game, moving and pushing pieces, possess the power of kings." There is a drawing of a child wearing a crown and playing on a chess board.

The reverse side of the card gives several interpretations of the sayings. The message I took away from reading this card was to play more. You need to give yourself permission to play and not get bogged down in the seriousness of your creations. It ended with this saying "What can you play with in your situation. What can you laugh at?"

Whether you are working in artistic things or just contemplating life, these cards suggest different ways of looking at things. It really helps open your perspective on whatever your brain is working on or whatever answers you are looking for.

I admit, I don't use the cards as often as I probably should. Every time I have taken a card or two out, I have gained insights on things. It is a nice tool and a fun one because it has a sense of humor. I would never buy this for myself. But then I never realized its potential to expand the mind.

Okay, I have gotten a little deep here! I will finish by saying the last 'duty' I took care of was the last charity quilt I had to do. I finished two others and turned them in on time. This one will be a little late. It didn't matter that much, but having it sitting, waiting to be done, cluttered my mind!

Now that my mind is de-cluttered and stimulated, it's time to tackle some serious sewing!

Let's Talk Turkey!

2011-09-29T06:28:00.002-05:00

I know I will be busy when I have to get the November newsletter ready to print for my guild. I am working on the November Block-of-the-Month now, so I can be sure it is ready to go.
This is my first design idea. I am not sure if this will be what I actually go with yet. It is kinda cute though!
What do you think?

The Production Line is Open Again

2011-09-21T11:10:00.006-05:00

I am busy in the studio again. I am altering several renfaire costumes because Jingly Bits will be performing at the end of October and their lead lady musician has shrunk out of her clothes!!! (that would be yours truly, me!)

I have finished the goodies for my swap partners on the Fluffy Sheep swap. I can't say who they are yet though. I first made the mug rugs that I showed you in my last posting.

To go with each of those, I made little pouch bags. They have a flap over the top with a Velcro closure and a zippered pocket to boot!
I made one out of lime green and polka-dot fabric, with a bright orange flower appliqued on.

You can see the Altoid tin I put in the back pocket. The zippered pocket is in front.

I made a second bag out of this colorful batik. It has the same opening and also the same zippered pouch inside. I appliqued a heart on the outside of this one.

I also finished two Creative Prompts last night. The first one is #111 - FORWARD. I used a pushy cowboy trying an old pickup line on the girl for this one.

The next one is #112 - HEAT. I thought of someone crawling through the hot desert.

I have three blocks in the works from the My Tweets BOM. I am in the process of assembling all the bits and pieces and hope to be gluing them down soon so I can get back to the actual applique work!

That's all for today! Hope you are sewing up a storm where you are too!

Studio Time, Well Spent!

2011-09-15T19:00:00.002-05:00

I am doing a swap with Fluffy Sheep. Part of it is making mug rugs. What are mug rugs? They are over-sized coasters for your tea or coffee cup and a danish ... or a spoon ... or whatever you want to eat with your drink!
I made two paper-pieced mug rugs:

Thank goodness both my recipients have the same tastes in colors!

I am also working on the block of the month for our quilt guild, for October. That month's theme is "Bear Tracks" in autumn colors.

I always make two:

That's it for tonight! I have sew much to do and sew little time!

Don't enter this FABULOUS Give-a-Way!!!

2011-09-10T16:50:00.002-05:00

Why shouldn't you enter? Because I want to win this one! Rhonda, from Quilter in the Gap is having a contest on her blog. Click on the image above to go to the post and follow the EASY directions on how to enter. You have until September 15th. So why not wait until after that to enter? Then I would have a better chance at winning!

Back to School

2011-09-04T17:19:00.003-05:00

I have been working in the studio this weekend. I have all the pieces cut out for TWO of the My Tweets blocks. Next I have to starch and press the seams over for ALL these pieces!!!

I also finished two blocks for our guild's block-of-the-month. September's block is "The Little Red Schoolhouse". I keep one and the other one goes to the guild a week from tomorrow.
I am also working on the October BOM for guild and some nifty gifties for a swap I am in.

Gotta run! Happy Sewing Y'll!!!

Creative Prompts and Tweeting

2011-09-01T16:10:00.003-05:00

I finished two older Creative Prompt words today. #106 was KISS. Since I had been seeing promos for the new season of "Family Jewels" with leader of the group, Gene Simmons, this response seemed appropriate!

#110 was the word BECKON, and I interpreted it this way:

I still enjoy doing these prompts. Click on Clara the Cow at the right of my blog if you want to join in too! You don't have to be Picasso to participate!

I finished block number six in the My Tweets block of the month. I am behind by two blocks right now, but I am working on them!
I need to arrange my schedule better so I can do more in my studio! I have been too busy in other areas of my life. I think I should adjust that because I get wacky if I ignore my creative urges too much!

Crunch Time

2011-08-26T14:23:00.006-05:00

There are SO many things I would rather
be doing than creating this mess:

I am the newsletter editor for our guild. I also design a block-of-the-month for each issue. I had, what I thought was, an easy block to do for September. It turned into a block nightmare!!! All those scraps are the result of several days of trying to make sense of the block and trying to relate the directions to the readers of the newsletter.

I was not successful. I finally gave up and designed a whole different block from scratch. It will work, but I am still working on making the block and testing the directions. I have a lot of respect for pattern designers!

I have to finalize this issue by Monday so I can go to the printer on Tuesday. I think I can do that, but until it is done, I know I will fress about it!

I have two blocks for the My Tweets BOM that need to be worked on. I haven't even gotten all the pattern pieces cut for it yet. I am almost done with the sixth block in the series and will soon be needing block seven and eight ready to be appliqued down.

Let's toss into this mix that I decided to do a virtual 5K run/walk at the end of October and will be training for that. Oh, and did I mention our group, Jingly Bits Minstrels, has a gig coming up at the end of October too? That means we need to practice every day to be ready for a great show! How about my birthday that happens at the same time? Then Halloween, oldest son's birthday, Thanksgiving, youngest son's birthday, husband's birthday, and Christmas! YIKES!

I hope September is quieter!

The Faster I Go, The Behinder I Get!

2011-08-20T18:41:00.004-05:00

I probably posted this picture a while ago, but I don't have anything new to show you today! It is block four of the My Tweets BOM. I am almost done with block five or is it six? I don't know!!! I, for sure, have seven and eight to cut out yet.
So I went and looked and this is block five. I had forgotten to take a picture of it when completed! I am almost done with block six. Phew! For a second there, I thought I had totally lost it! (YOU HUSH JAYE!!!)

It has been a busy week. I am still here and have been listening to podcasts and reading blogs. One blog that caught my eye was Noodlehead. There is a bag pattern or three on her site that are intriguing! I have several folks to make bags for.

I honestly hope to make time in the studio tomorrow. I have a block of the month to do for guild, resewing a summer dress I had to take in, and several other projects to choose from, to keep me "in stitches" here!

I hope you are having a great weekend with lots of quilty-ness and sewing!

Fresh Breath of Air

2011-08-10T08:38:00.004-05:00

Around 8am the skies darkened and the winds blew! This is the view to the east:
We had rain yesterday, that was very much needed! Although the clouds this morning looked full of rain, we mostly had wind and only a tiny spit of rain from them. This afternoon it is supposed to be in the nineties! I can't imagine the humidity that will produce!

Last night I finished two more Creative Prompts. I am getting caught up! This first one is #107 - Illuminate:
Currently there is a 'law' that no more traditional light-bulbs can be sold in the USA. I heard there was a movement to suppress that law though. I think it is a bit stupid because the energy efficient light-bulbs are not environmentally friendly when thrown in the landfills. Government talk gives me headaches! hahaha!

Next up is #104 - Sassy:

I had a devil of a time coming up with the idea for this one. I could picture a dog I knew years ago, named Sassy. I thought of how kids are sassy. Finally I came up with a girl with a poodle. She is headed to a renaissance festival. She will be a sassy wench and will flirt with all the knights and knaves there!

I am working on the charity quilts these days. I am almost done with the third top. Then I will sandwich them and start quilting. I hope they will jump-start my quilting drive so I get back at my own projects! I am not allowing myself to start a new project unless I finish at least ONE of my current UFO's. Wish me luck!

Bye for now and see you next time!

Mixed Bag of a Day

2011-08-06T20:26:00.004-05:00

It has been quite a weekend and it is only half over! We sold our RV today. It was not an easy decision! There are tons of great memories and "warm fuzzies" when I think about all our adventures in this rig. It is even quilt related because I started making the hexagon quilt in it when traveling to the shows we performed at. I hope the new owners have just as great a time with her as we did!

I finished four Creative Prompts.

The first is #98-Party:

I love how the olive turned out! I was thinking that this is more "when the party is over" but it is my interpretation, so there! hahaha

Next is #100-Memory:

Ever since I did a few quilt-lets for Ami Simms' cause: The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative, I think of losing one's memories.

Next up is #102-Vision:

My husband was working in the yard last weekend and a small piece of debris flew up from the weed-whacker, catching him in the corner of his eye! His sight was not compromised, thank goodness, though he still has blood spots in the white parts of that eye, a week later. Always wear glasses or safety glasses when working with power tools of ANY sort!!!

Last we have #103-Froth:

I thought of the white froth of a big waterfall.

That is it for now. Tomorrow I hope to do some actual sewing as this summer winds down. Only one more week of school vacation for the boy and then I have my house to myself during the daytime again! WooHoo!!!

Keeping Cool in the South

2011-08-04T18:12:00.003-05:00

I never wear shorts. Yesterday it was 114° here. I wore shorts!

I haven't done a lot in the studio because life has been just too hectic of late. I have a charity quilt on the design wall right now:

It is simple and basic, but such cheery colors!
I have two that will be identical.

I also made ten bobbins up for the U is for Unicorn quilt. When I do the free motion machine embroidery work on it, I use a LOT of thread.
Summer vacation is almost over here. Once my son is back in school, we should see a lot more progress in the studio! That is the plan. Really!

Sunday Updating

2011-07-24T11:47:00.003-05:00

I finished another Creative Prompt last night. This one is #99-Wicked:

I finished these two paper-pieced blocks for this month's block-of-the-month, for my quilting guild:
It is supposed to represent the hot August sun. I think I captured it in pattern as well as in color! It would make a stunning quilt too. I hope some of the guild members do this block. The winner of all the blocks will have a lot of work done to make this into a quilt!

My studio is a mess again. I hope to tidy up a bit and to work on the newsletter today. I am taking the day off in other ways, so I need to use my energies to catch up on projects!

Hope you are staying cool, where ever you may be, today!

Creative Prompt Catch-up!

2011-07-22T18:06:00.004-05:00

I am slowly getting caught up on my Creative Prompts!

The first one here is #97 - Sky:

At the time I was working on it, there was a show on about the end of the world and people were looking into the sky, seeing bombs going off in the distance. Yes, I know it is morbid. I have my moments, okay?

Next is #101-Pink:

This is happier! I took the opportunity to experiment with some of my drawing and coloring tools. I first laid down a pattern with white pencil and then did a wash over it with watercolor pencils. I was trying to mimic how the water dances in the light. It is faint, but you can see it if you look hard enough!

(Remember, you can click on my pictures to see a larger image too.)

Now we move on to #105-Ink:

I used this drawing to poke fun at Jaye, the instigator of the Creative Prompt Project!

Lastly we have #114:

There wasn't a word to go with the prompt. Instead she shared this photo:

It is from Philadelphia's Magic Gardens. Jaye recently came back from a trip to the east coast and had several photos that inspired her there. Maybe I have been in Arkansas too long and am turning into a red-neck? No, that is sunburn, not a true red-neck! I still had to go with my first thought though, and shot the bottle.

Sometimes doing the Creative Prompts is the only creative thing that gets done around here. Life tends to get in the way of my creative side. Why not give this a try too? It is for your own benefit, and it is not a competition. Join us for some fun!

A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That

2011-07-18T08:56:00.005-05:00

It has turned out to be a busy summer for me! I haven't turned the machines on much. I have been working on hand sewing a lot of things, plus making those bags earlier in summer.

Over the weekend our neighbors had a garage sale and I scored some neat stuff! I got three sets of knitting needles (I don't knit!), some embroidery floss (that I hope to use for the bird eyes in the My Tweets project), a thread holder stand, a medium size embroidery hoop, a wooden shelf, a little decorative table, and this:

It is a nice quilt rack! Everything all together was $20. Not a bad haul at all!

The fabric and batting on the rack is from my guild. I have three charity quilt projects I am doing for them. I figured it would jump start me to get back into the studio and to get to work on my own projects!
Here are some of the first blocks for one of the charity quilts, piled next to my Juki, waiting to be sewn together. I also have bits of scraps that I use to lead on and off with, while chain piecing. I make fabric from fabric scraps for odd projects!

I am pulling fabrics for the next block-of-the-month for the guild. It will be a paper-pieced block with a sun theme.

I did get two Creative Prompt Project words done too! I am not doing them in order, exactly. The latest two are:

#96-NEW

and:

#113-STEM

The word "NEW" wasn't easy for me to do. Nothing really came to mind that would translate onto paper. The word "STEM" was easier for me. I have been making lots of stems for the My Tweets quilt. I was inspired by that, to do the drawing above.

This last little bit of fabric is something I am going to try and use to re-do a challenge quilt. It is a secret for now and I am only sharing the fabric to tease you with it!
That's all for today! Keep cool and see you here next time!

PS: I forgot to mention that Jaye sent me a gift!
I love having something that speaks to the artist in me, not just the fabric artist side. Thanks Jaye!!!

PPS: The reason I got this deck of inspirational cards was because I contributed to the Creative Prompt Project when Jaye was having a give-a-way on her blog. You never know when she might do that! Come join the fun! Click on Clara the Cow on my sidebar! (Thanks again Jaye!!!)

I AM still here!

2011-07-10T10:59:00.005-05:00

I have very little to say though! We made it through the 4th of July, which was a very big deal this year. All my adult children and my son-in-law, came for the weekend. I did tease them that this cartoon could have been based on their visit:
It was a great time. We went through things I was holding onto for them. We went through photos. We watched old 8mm movies that my Dad had taken, from about 60 years ago!

I am still getting things back to normal here. Summer has turned out to be busier than expected. Not that this is a bad thing! School starts in five weeks too. Mostly I am putting the finishing touches on a minor reorganization of the studio, due to last weekend's visit. (I got rid of FOUR boxes of 'stuff')

Out the window it is hot. Every day sees temps over 90 and little to no rain. It is brutal out there! We are watering everything about twice a week. You can see the Morning Glory plants are happy:
That is them, climbing up a Shepherd's stake that is just outside my studio window. I am trying to keep up with several things at one time and this causes me to not be able to post much because there isn't much of my own news to post about! Suffice it to say, I am doing great though. I look forward to this fall when I can go for walks again and the weather is more conducive to sewing and quilting.

Off to the pool now! Thank goodness for the local public outdoor pool to go cool off at!

Flower Power

2011-06-23T08:55:00.003-05:00

I am almost ready to sew down the pieces for block six of the "My Tweets" project. I cannot decide which flower centers to use though! Pink or blue? hmmmmm

LATER:
I went with a different pink, that I had, for the flower centers. Now I am not sure about leaving the tail as it is. It is true to the pattern, but I am not sure I like it. Since it is all glued in place at this time, I don't know if I will try changing it or not. hmmmmmm...

Happy Father's Day?

2011-06-19T08:54:00.003-05:00

When you have a husband, such as mine, Father's Day can be almost as great as Mother's Day! My husband got two yards of this fabric for Father's Day:

And a yard and a half of this one:

He told me to order them for him. He wants me to keep them in my studio too. He also got five brand new shirts for work. Since he recently started a new job, these shirts were very much appreciated and were better quality ones than cheap quality ones we've bought over the past five years. It feels great to be back to a more normal life again!
I am lucky my son has such a wonderful father! Happy Father's Day, y'all!

Let's Go to the Beach!

2011-06-16T08:53:00.002-05:00

I have liked several books by several authors that are based on the east coast of the states. The latest one is by Marie Bostwick. I am reading her new book "Threading the Needle" this week. I also read Nancy Thayer's books. She is coming out with a new one too. I like her Hot Flash Club series the most. Both of these authors base their books in towns that are near the Atlantic Ocean and are more in the northeast than the southeast. Anyway, with beach season upon us, I revisited that piece of fabric I showed you last week:
I am not sure, but I want to say I got this as a gift when I either subscribed to a new magazine years ago, OR more likely it was when I joined the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles as a member when it first opened. (Shame on me, I never actually visited this place when I lived in San Jose!!!)

The fabric is about two yards of some type of bark-cloth. I have had it for many years and really never could figure out what to do with it. That is, until last weekend! I took the fabric and folded it over with right sides together and stitched all around. I left a small opening so I could turn it right side out and then pressed the seams.

I had a 50% off coupon for JoAnn Fabric Store and used that to buy some brown cotton webbing. I sewed the webbing on, sewed up the sides and viola! I now have a big roomy beach bag:

It is perfect to take our towels, sunscreen, water toys, and my purse, to the public swimming pool! Everything is hidden inside it!
It is totally machine washable too. It measures about 24" x 18" x 4". I never was crazy about the colors or design. As a beach bag though, the colors and designs work quite well! It is bright enough to see, unique enough to pick out in an array of other bags, and just dang handy, all the way around!

In other news, I was on Mark Lipinski's Creative Mojo yesterday! I HAD to call in when I found out my friend Jaye was going to be on as a co-host. I was so nervous though! I am not great at public speaking! We even did a plug for the Creative Prompt Project. Mark's show was heavily based on creativity this week. I found it very interesting!

We are all creative in ways that we may not even realize! I was in my mid-fifties before I would admit to myself that I was, indeed, an artist, or would even define myself as an artist! You don't have to sell your creations for money in order for you to be a real artist. Like the one guest on Mark's show said, 'we are all human, therefor we are all artistic'...or something like that!

Now go sew something, or just stop and smell the roses!

Let us Give Thanks...

2011-06-11T19:11:00.003-05:00

It isn't Thanksgiving in June, but I was inspired by several online friends when I made this Creative Prompt for the word: THANKS.

Jaye has always grounded me as well as inspired me, in ways she doesn't even realize. I love her blog and many of her creative ideas!

Some of the podcasters I've been listening too lately, have made me want to be creative again. There is so much talent out there! I could never do a podcast and I thoroughly enjoy listening to the ones I have found so far.

Recently I was on a blog called Finishing Lines, looking at an art journal and was inspired to use my watercolor pencils. I really liked her journaling. In fact, I am toying with a more artistic journal myself again!

The little birdie on the first letter is because of the "My Tweets" block of the month, hosted and inspired by Erin Russek. She has some awesome applique patterns, tips, photos, and almost anything you could think of to ask about appliqueing!

All these people out here in cyberspace have no clue, just how much they may influence and inspire others. I hope I inspire people too! Have a great weekend everyone! I know I will!!!

X Marks the Spot!

2011-06-10T15:46:00.003-05:00

When you don't have an X, then use a dot!!!

I don't always share ideas or techniques with you. Shame on me! I just don't think to do this! In listening to podcasts and reading some of the excellent blogs by fellow quilters, seems to be rubbing off on me! So, today when I solved a reoccurring problem, I thought I would share my solution!

There have been times when I have made blocks that needed to be squared up. When parts of your block are done on point instead of at right angles to the sides, it can be tricky to see your centers. Many rulers have a half inch measurement that fools the eye, as to just where that center is, on the block. Some rulers may have the centers marked, but the 12.5" ruler I have, does not have any marking that indicates the exact center.
Solution:
First I used a paper punch to punch out a little dot on the end of a sheet of mailing labels. I peeled away the paper backing and now had a sticky dot.

Next I measured out the exact center of my ruler and placed the dot on it:

I could use the diagonal lines on the ruler to make sure things were squared up. You can see the dot in the center and the edges that will be trimmed off on the photo below:
I know, I know, I should probably be able to make a block that comes out as a perfect 12.5" unfinished block without having to trim it up, but I AM the LAZY quilter! I prefer my way.
I really liked how slick this worked out! I could have used removable tape as well, but this white dot shows up better. It is so tiny, that you can still see through the ruler to see your fabric below. It is easily removed too.

I figured I should show that I really AM working on those borders for the U is for Unicorn quilt. They really are very labor intensive. I just don't have the stamina to work on them for hours on end.

I am currently using a metallic thread to make the veins in the wings of dragonflies:

I work on them for about a half an hour before having to walk away for a while. It will take time, but at least it will be done...some day!

Not only am I lazy, my cat is too! Moqui likes to lay by the front door because it is a warm spot in our house. Cats don't appreciate air conditioning like we do, I guess.

Yes, he really sleeps like this, half upside down, in the corner.

I also finished a second block for the guild. That was the one I was using to show the 'dot' method I talked about earlier. What a fun and challenging block this has been!
Now I have to write out the directions for it. Sometimes making your own blocks can be very daunting! Trying to explain in words, what my eyes tell me to do, is not always easy!

I think I will go to the pool for a while, with my ten year old son. Then home to make supper! I hope you are keeping cool too and getting your "sewey" on! lol

Baby It's Hot Outside!

2011-06-09T15:38:00.002-05:00

It is hot in the studio too, but not temperature wise! Thank goodness for air conditioning!

I made another bag from the same pattern I used for the teacher bags. This one has a seashell theme:
It might show up better if you clicked on the photo below, but there is a little detail trim sewn around the top:
I put two little bamboo skewers in one of the pockets of the bag to show pockets. This is also why I think these would be great knitting or crocheting bags!
I am almost done sewing together the second test block for the guild's July block of the month:
Finally today I took a little photo of the fabric I make from fabric! I sew scraps together and trim and sew more together. Once I have big enough pieces, I make quilt tops with them. I love having these busy scrappy patches to play with.
They are made when I sew on or off the machine. I keep a pile of bits next to both machines so they are always at the ready!

I hope you are keeping cool today!
Happy Sewing!

Sunday Addendum: Lost and Found

2011-06-05T16:23:00.003-05:00

I decided to post a few quilty photos, because it is my blog and I can do what I want to on here! :D
First off, as I mentioned, I am cleaning out a closet and I found some old quilts. One was the Renfaire inspired Celtic knot wall hanging that you see on the left. There is a small stained glass flower quiltlet next to it and a few miscellaneous quilts underneath them both.
I also found my quilt "Reflections" that I have put Shisha mirrors in as well as lots of beading and other embellishments.

I forgot how I got this fabric. It is bark cloth from Jamaica I think. I might get rid of it though, as I just don't know what I would do with it!

Last but not least is the block for the guild's July block-of-the-month challenge. I still have to write out the instructions. It looks hard but isn't really as hard as I thought it was going to be! The directions will take forever to write though! lol

That is now all for this Sunday. Time to go BBQ some meat for supper! See you next time!

She's Back in the Saddle Again!

2011-06-05T11:05:00.004-05:00

I am doing the Creative Prompt Project again! Jaye had put this on hiatus for a bit as interest had lagged and responses were lacking in numbers. She's bringing it back up to speed and I was happy to realize I was ready to do these again!

The deal is this...each week, traditionally on Friday, Jaye posts a new word on her blog. You can then challenge your personal creative juices to draw, photograph, doodle, write a paragraph, or interpret that word in whatever way you want in any medium you want to use! There is NO right way and NO wrong way to do this!

After you've done your word there is a Flickr group that you can share your work with others who've done the same word! There are no deadlines, rules, or restrictions that I can think of. I am sure Jaye will correct me if I am wrong!

I am catching up from where I left off and have done three so far:

The first word is #92 - "Move"

I started just drawing a center doodle line from left to right. That led me into making a fish! I think of the movement of the fish, waves, and the weird jellyfish as my way of drawing the word, Move.

The next word was #93 - "Twinkle" which I did as my take on twinkle toes:

The last word I completed this time was #94 - "Twist". Believe it or not, I only just this past week learned how to twist my hair up into a hair clip! To celebrate that, I drew hair caught up in one of the clamps I can now use to put MY hair up!

I've been working in the studio too, but I don't have photos to share just yet. I am working out the pattern for the July block-of-the-month for the quilt guild. It is a very tricky one to do! I am also hand sewing down the appliqued pieces for blocks four and five of the "My Tweets" BOM. I even sewed for about half an hour on the U is for Unicorn border!

Phew! I didn't realize I was doing so much! I haven't even mentioned the two hours a day I am out of the house running errands and going down to the center for my daily hour of exercise, or the closet that we emptied out into the dining room, or the gardening I am trying to do in 100° heat! Time for me to get back at it. I hope to have more sewing related photos next week!

Keep on Sewing!!!

Apple for the Teacher?

2011-05-28T19:25:00.003-05:00

How about a bag instead?
My fourth grade son has four teachers that he wants to get something for at the end of this school year. I found this free nifty bag pattern online and made these up in just a few hours, over a couple days, from start to finish.

His homeroom teacher is getting this bag with pebbles all over it that have positive words.

His social studies teacher loves Snoopy, so this will be her bag.

His choir and music teacher is getting this bag. I thought the deep blue lining with the yellow/green lines reminded me of sound waves.

Finally, his advanced math and reading teacher is getting this bag.

All the bags have pockets around the outside that would be perfect for sunglasses or a cell phone. These would also work for knitting needles and yarn.
I hope his teachers like them. You can click on the pictures to see a larger photo that shows more detail if you want.

Now I am on to working on my regular quilting projects! I am having so much fun!!!

Are We Having Fun Yet?

2011-05-27T17:05:00.003-05:00

YES we are! I love being back in the groove that is my studio! Here is a glimpse of some of the lovely mess:
The little pieces are from "My Tweets" and the block in front is the last of the first batch of log cabin blocks I've been working on for a while. I have 14 blocks done and plans for more to make a king size quilt for our bed.

I also started sewing the teacher bags together. They are going together very easily and I think the teachers will like them!

I got the blocks finished for the guild's block-of-the-month too. I would love to make a black and white quilt like this! Maybe if I win the drawing for a bunch of these, I could do that!

Last, but not least...I redid part of block two in the "My Tweets" project. Can you tell what I changed?

I like it better the new way.

Time to take a break and make supper. With the long weekend ahead, I should get some serious 'play time' in the studio! My goal is to have the bags sewn by Monday night and to have started back on sewing the U is for Unicorn borders that I have left lay too long!

Have a great weekend! Happy Sewing!

It's a Mystery

2011-05-26T13:21:00.003-05:00

If memory serves me right, (and I AM old, so it doesn't always) there is such a thing as a mystery bag out there. Sometimes a mystery bag is a door prize that you don't know the contents of until you get it. In my case, it isn't really a mystery. I am making bags for my son's 4th grade teachers. I have the fabrics and batting all cut out and ready to start sewing:
I know, I know, it is hard to tell what the heck all that stuff is! The paperclip fabric in the front is easy to figure out. There is a little bit of a Snoopy print there on the left. The other two bags aren't as easy to pick out. Gee, I guess you will have to come back to see more photos in a few days, huh?!!!

I am still sewing together the easy blocks for our guild's block-of-the-month:

The only reason they (two of them) are not done is because I am starting and stopping another project at the same time. I use these sets to lead in and to finish off as I sew. I hope to finish these blocks today though.

Sandy, over on Quilting for the Rest of Us was talking about lavender plants a few weeks ago. I just HAD to buy some! I originally planted them in four different places. One by one though, they all ended up in this spot. It gets the most sun and drains well. The two darker plants have been there the longest and seem to be VERY happy!
Those dark pointy leaves that look like weeds are from a yellow flowering plant that refuses to give up this spot. I keep plucking them out so they don't kill off the lavender. I have transplanted them all over the property. They must have liked their old digs here, because they just won't die off!

Here is my mystery plant:

I don't know for sure what this is. It looks like some type of onion though. If it ever blooms, I will share a photo of that too.

Finally, my ten year old son planted Morning Glories for me this spring. He calls them 'his' plants and loves checking on them daily, to see their progress. Just in this past week, they have sprouted their little trailers and are starting to climb.

That is all the latest from these parts. I need to get back to the machine and get those bags done. I don't want to be rushed into doing a sloppy job! The teachers getting these are deserving of my best work!

Until next time, happy sewing!!!

Walking in the Rain.....

2011-05-23T16:00:00.004-05:00

We've been getting much needed rain. Thankfully it has only been rain and not high winds! It wasn't long after this photo that it came down so hard you could hardly see across the street! Unfortunately my batteries were going wacky and I wasn't able to get that shot.

The bird bath is all filled up again!

At this stage of the 'Tweets' block, it gets pretty tedious. I have several more green leaves left to turn and press before moving on to the other block. Then I will glue them all in place at the same time, before hand sewing them down.
Do you see my little purple dumbbell? Besides exercising with them, I use them to hold the fabric in place on top of the pattern. It works quite well!

I also settled on the fabrics for the guild's block-of-the-month:

All in all it has been a productive day! I might work on some end of the year gifts for my son's teachers tomorrow. I am just not sure what to make for them this year! My friend Jaye has made pillows. They are SO creative! I love how she personalized them with each teacher's subject.

That is all for today. I need to start supper now and then settle in for some hand sewing while watching TV tonight. I hope you are having a great day!

It Was a Dark and Stormy ....

2011-05-20T13:44:00.003-05:00

It was a dark and stormy night? At 1:00 in the afternoon though? The skies were so dark that the yard light and street lights came on! It was just a good old fashioned heavy rain though.
We needed it too. The yard was turning brown already and it isn't even summer!
If you look REAL close you can see a tree with a birdbath in front of it, in the center of that photo above.

So far today, I did my morning exercises at the center, picked up my bike from the shop, stopped at another shop to check on repairs to an old watch, went to my son's school for a few hours of their field day, and am now taking a quick break to type this up. Thank goodness the rains held off until after field day was over!

I am in the tedious process of starching and turning under all the bits for the next two "My Tweets" blocks.
The starch scorches easily, even though it is diluted. This is a scrap of plywood with a scrap of batting and a piece of cheapo muslin covering it. This way I don't muck up my ironing board pad. I can change it out when it gets so bad I can't stand it anymore! Of course it looks like I should already be changing it!

This is one of the three pieces that become topknots on the birds. The penny is to show scale. Though tedious, I really AM enjoying this process and project. I am enjoying being productive in the studio even more!

Tweedle Dee

2011-05-16T17:45:00.002-05:00

It is 'loverly' to be back in the studio again! I have all the pieces for "My Tweets" blocks four and five, cut out and ready to turn under.

Block Four:

Block Five:

Tomorrow I have planned to do a lot more in the studio. Mostly I will be starching and turning these pieces, but I also have to finish the block of the month for the guild and get those directions written out.

It is a beautiful day in the neighborhood! (especially here!)

Yippity Skippity, it is Friday the 13th!

2011-05-13T12:34:00.003-05:00

I am back in the studio!!! I worked on a few things yesterday and am doing even more today! It feels SO GOOD!!!

Here is a view out my window from yesterday:

You might not be able to tell it, but the studio is cleaned up and usable again:

I do have some bins that need to be sorted and brought back in, but I have the spaces ready for them to come home to. On the back wall you can see a bunch of clothing that I ironed. I am going to sell them at a consignment shop. There are a few blocks from the Leafy Quilt that I am working on, on the design wall too.

I can walk all the way around the cutting table now!

I love my new layout! I can iron and see TV or my computer screen much easier!

I also started working on the June block of the month for my quilt guild:
Ahhhhhh, being productive like this always puts me in a great frame of mind! I hope you are having a wonderful Friday the 13th too!

What a Bunch of Croc(s)

2011-05-10T20:08:00.002-05:00

I may not be sewing, but I am having lots of SEX! (Stash Enhancing eXperiences) I had won a gift certificate for a local quilt shop. When I found out that they were having a 25% off sale last week, I HAD to take advantage of it!!! For 97¢ I got five fat quarters of luscious colors!
Ok, so two of them are reds. I was short of reds in my stash! These will all be used in the "My Tweets" quilt that I am working on. For Mother's Day I was gifted with more fabric by my well trained family! I will share a photo of it in a future posting.

A few weeks ago we got something like ten inches of rain here. We were already waterlogged! We don't have the flooding issues like so many do though. It is not normal, however, for our front yard to have standing water!!!

I will leave you today with a picture of my bunch of Crocs:

I love these shoes! I also have a black pair that I have almost worn out! Don't worry though, if you look REAL close, you can see the toe of the replacement black Crocs in the upper left corner!

Till next time! Tootle-loo!

What is REALLY Going on Here?

2011-05-05T16:48:00.005-05:00

I was reading Jaye's blog today, as per usual. Today she was talking about her UFO's and how she tackles her projects, etc. It made me think about my projects.
In no particular order I have the following projects that are screaming for my attention:

Finish cleaning the studio (there really isn't much left to do!)
U is for Unicorn Quilt (borders have been hanging on the design wall for over a month)
Hexagon Quilt (it sits on the frame, sad, alone, untouched since January)
My Tweets Quilt (this is a block of the month that I am a month behind on)
Cathedral Windows Quilt (currently getting my attention each evening)
Leafy Log Cabin Quilt (half cut, almost all of first half sewn together)
Three Arches Quilt (needs embellishing)

I wonder why I am avoiding doing the work on any of these projects? Part of the reason is because I leave the house every morning to work out at the gym. I never used to do that. After exercising, I run errands. I average being gone four hours each morning now.

When I get home, I just don't feel like sitting and sewing. What do I do instead though? I sit at the computer!!! Then I get my son at school. Soon after that it is time to start supper. After supper I don't feel like going in the studio either. This will NOT do!!!

I kinda know why I don't like working on some of the projects right now. The U is for Unicorn is at an intensely, hard, intricate, major, time consuming, stage right now. I just am not looking forward to finishing up the borders.

The Hexagon Quilt is being hand quilted. It is very very time consuming and is a king size quilt. Just to set up to stitch takes time. It cannot sit out where I do most of my hand work, because the cats want to use it for a bed. This means I have to wrestle it back into the studio again, when done. It seems like a lot of work to do for just an hour of hand work.

I am waiting for the next block for the My Tweets quilt. Then I will do the two of them at the same time. It really isn't a problem, other than I would rather work on it than any of the other projects!

Cathedral Windows is the same. I work on it, in between the My Tweets.

I am not sure why I haven't proceeded on the Leafy Log Cabin quilt. It is made from pre-cut strips, so half the cutting is already done! And the Three Arches quilt is just hanging there. I want to embellish it more, but have not been inspired as to how.

The studio...am I avoiding finishing the studio so I can continue to avoid sewing? If so, why??? I did clear a spot around the machine and sewed up a tote for my yoga mat yesterday. That took less than thirty minutes to do and turned out great!

I am sure I will figure it out soon enough. It might be that I just need to get that balance between life outside the house and life inside the house, well, balanced! In the meantime, I will read Jaye's blog, listen to Sandy's podcast, and work on my quilt guild newsletter and block of the month patterns for it. At least that keeps me in the neighborhood of quilters and quilting. :)

Proof of Progress!

2011-05-03T12:18:00.003-05:00

I really AM making a little bit of progress!

I even framed "Clara the Cow" of Creative Prompt fame!

Lunch Break!

2011-05-01T12:29:00.002-05:00

I am using one of the new bowls I found. I think I will get more of these dishes. They are SO ME!!!
This is a studio shot out my window. The table is no longer in front of it, so you would normally be able to see more. It was noon when I took this shot. Does it look like night time to you? That is because we are getting storms here again! They are saying over five inches of rain will fall before this is done. Then it is supposed to rain more! I just hope the wind doesn't come and blow down trees due to waterlogged tree roots!!!
Here is a shot through the screen. It just looks wet out there. You can't really tell that there are lots of petals on the street from the tree above.

I am working on my studio too. I have set a goal to be sewing by the end of the day! Enjoy having power and dry feet out there!!! AND go sew something!!!

No More Excuses!!!

2011-04-29T15:59:00.003-05:00

I could use this picture to defend why the studio is not really progressing:

That was the radar shot from Tuesday. We live in the center of the state, under the 'spider star' I put on the picture. It has been rather dicey in our state, as well as others, down here in the south! I feel terrible about how many lives have been lost. It has been really bad. The worst that happened to us was that our electricity has gone out for about a day. That pales in comparison to the losses others have suffered.

I did manage to get our guild's newsletter done, even though it was late due to the storms and power outages. I don't have much of an excuse for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday though. I managed to get the bins that were under the frame table, moved by the front window. I love being able to get closer to my windows! I hope to try to tackle more of the mess over the weekend. REALLY!!!

Lastly, here is my latest obsession:

I came across three bowls in the thrift shop and fell in love! An artist by the name of Sue Zipkin is the designer. Her designs remind me of quilting. I haven't a clue as to why! I might try to cobble together a set of dinnerware with one of her designs. I have wanted a new set of dishes for years now!

That is all the latest from here. I am doing very well these days. No depression and I am just doing better all the way around! I love it when life is this nice to me! I feel VERY blessed to be alive these days.

Now, YOU, go sew something!

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night...

2011-04-25T10:22:00.005-05:00

It was a dark and stormy night....and is now a dark and stormy day! I just got done listening to Sandy's podcast over on Quilting for the Rest of Us. I like her style of pod-casting! It has also kept me away from what I 'should' be doing here! I still have a major mess in the studio.

I could look out the window and pretend it isn't there!

Trouble is, as soon as I turn away from the window, the mess comes crashing into view!

It is now several hours since I started this blog posting. Don't you just hate it when your motivation has moseyed on out the door! I am going to close this posting, rather clumsily, and see if I can't get SOMETHING done in the studio over the next hour! Wish me luck!!!!

Messier, Messier, Messier!!!

2011-04-17T16:27:00.002-05:00

I sold my frame and machine and now am getting the table out that they were on, to make more room in the studio. The only clean spot is the frame table! Everything is piled high, over on the cutting table:

You can't even see there IS a table under all this stuff!!!

Can you make out the plastic storage drawers over by the design wall? They WERE under the frame table. I have to relocate them or replace them. The two cabinet pieces that were on either end of the frame table are over there under my threads.
They will be put together and one of my large cutting mats will be on it. I like this idea. I will put all the rotary cutters, blades, and maybe extra rulers in the drawers! I will have a regular cutting station. I feel SO professional.

That is it for today. It is so nice outside that I have been gardening. Now it is almost supper time. I will work on the studio all week. Then I can take the after shots!

Now go sew something too!

Tweet, Tweet, Tweet

2011-04-15T19:54:00.001-05:00

This is the third block of the "My Tweets" series. I just finished it this evening. The forth block pattern just came out today too, so I can get started on that one, right away!

Of Good Friends and Messy Spaces

2011-04-14T16:37:00.003-05:00

"The Mister" will be starting a new job on Monday. He is finishing out his old job this week. He used to be on night shift but is on day shift to finish out his time at the old job. He will also be on straight day shift at the new place. This all means I have more time to get into 'trouble' as I have the house to myself during the day. I love it!!! I have been going and doing all kinds of things for the past two days now! Tomorrow I should be able to finish up my running around for a while and pay more attention to things at home!

I recently sold my HandiQuilter frame and have piled the specialty table up with stuff. That is one thing I need to attend to soon! What a mess!!!

I have not decided how I will re-arrange the studio, but I am looking forward to a bit more elbow room. I may sell my Pfaff GrandQuilter too. I am very comfortable with this downsizing.

I have good friends. Out of the blue, my dear online quilting buddy, Cheryl from Kentucky, sent me this:
There is a very cute quilt pattern, three spools of Mettler threads and the cutest FQ of fabric that SO reminds me of my quilting buddies. The fabric feels really nice too. Thank you Cheryl! You are such a sweetheart!!!

One of my other online quilty friends, Jaye, has been tempting me with books this week. The one with several sewing projects in it, has me most tempted to spend a few bucks on. She promises me another one is coming up soon that I will like even better! I have such wonderful friends!

Time to work on the supper for tonight. I am thinking about doing more on the "U is for Unicorn" quilt borders soon. It would be nice to have that project finished up!

For the rest of you...GO SEW SOMETHING!!!

Ahhhhh, Fabric Therapy Day!

2011-04-10T15:38:00.002-05:00

I didn't spend much time in the studio, but made progress on several fronts. I used "Leaf Quilt" blocks to start and finish off chain-piecing:
I am going to SO love this quilt as a pretty utility quilt that is made for autumn viewing!

I finished the second basket block. I always make two blocks for the guild block of the month. I keep one and share one for the monthly drawings.

Here is a closer view of the second basket:

This will be the one I will keep.

I also realized I had not put up a photo of the second block completed in the "My Tweets" block of the month!

I am almost done with the third block too. I haven't decided how to finish the eyes of the birds yet though. I am already dreading the quilting of this quilt!!! It needs to be done really well!

That is it for today! Tomorrow is my guild meeting. I always look forward to going to it. Hope you are having a great weekend too!

April Showers and May Flower(basket)s

2011-04-04T12:14:00.002-05:00

It has been a whirlwind week and a half here! All good though, just mind boggling. Even so, I knew I needed some fabric therapy and did get that yesterday!

I am working on the May block-of-the-month for the guild. I am going with the theme of May Baskets:

Here is the first one I did:

Technically, neither one is done yet! I like how they are turning out though!!!

I also promised Jaye some more stars. I ended up making eight instead of four, as I originally planned.
Hanging to the left of the almost completed star blocks are the four borders to the U is for Unicorn quilt. They are waiting for me to start satin stitching allllllllllll those little itty bitty flowers!!!!!

That is about it for today. There are major changes in the air at the homestead. These changes should lead to a lot more quilting time!!! I can't complain about that! :)

Slow Times

2011-03-30T18:57:00.002-05:00

I have been too busy to really do much in the studio. Life gets that way sometimes! Today I finally did manage to eek out some fabric therapy though. I needed some!

I made a few more stars for Jaye's quilt. She is making several quilts for a family that was burned out of their home. She will still accept more blocks and the "rules" are very simple! Pop over to her blog to see how you can help too, if you want.
These four are all ready to be appliqued to the blue background. They are simple ones, but should make for nice filler blocks on the quilts. The first ones I sent were paper-pieced. I just don't have the energy to spare to make more paper-pieced ones!

I had so much trouble making the April block-of-the-month for my quilt guild last month, that I decided to get a head start on May's block.
This is going to be lots easier, even with all the triangles. I hope to encourage others to try a fancy handle on their blocks too.

That is all there is right now! I know, it is pathetic! I miss my studio time!!! I hope things settle down very soon. I miss my regular therapy sessions! hahahaha

Birds and Tornadoes

2011-03-23T14:24:00.003-05:00

This is the layout for block three of My Tweets. I made one change from the picture above to the picture below:

The block of the month for the guild is "Twister." I am not sure if I should do something like this one:

Or this one:

I like the four different colors in the first one, but it makes for a very difficult block to do! The second one is only two colors and has a border. I will probably go with the second one since it also prints out easier in the newsletter.

It is 80° outside and I am going for a walk. I think it will be a short one!!!

Miss Kelly -"My Tweets" center block

2011-03-16T12:20:00.001-05:00

I finished it last night. Now on to the second small block. The third block is supposed to come out on Friday too! I sure am enjoying this project!

I Like Sundays

2011-03-13T09:49:00.003-05:00

I am almost done sewing down the pieces on the center of my "My Tweets" quilt. I discovered two elements I didn't like. I took out the stitches and redid those parts. Can you tell the difference?

Most of today was spent sewing blocks together:

Spring is trying to come here in central Arkansas. We planted crocuses last fall and they all came up! There are purple ones:

My favorites are the purple striped ones:

There are also some white ones:

Time to get back to the sewing machine. If I finish what I have cut out, I will have 14 blocks. I have enough fabric to make 10-14 more blocks, but I am not sure how big I want to make this quilt yet.

I hope you have a super Sunday too!

Castles in the Air

2011-03-07T07:22:00.002-06:00

The two side borders are ready for sewing. There will be more flowers put on that what is shown. Since the flowers are layered on, I need to put down the base ones first, before adding the rest.

Here are all four borders:

The two on the left are the bottom and top borders.

That is is for today. The studio has ground to a halt almost, with all the 'stuff' that is going on here. We may have a huge move coming up in a few months. Then again, we might not! Whatever the case, change is in the wind here again!

South of the Southern Border

2011-03-04T14:52:00.002-06:00

This is the bottom border for the U is for Unicorn quilt. I haven't done the stitching yet, just the layout. These pieces are all fused down. Next will be the left and right borders. Then I sit down and satin stitch till I wear out the machine or my brain!

Not Real Happy With this One

2011-03-02T14:57:00.002-06:00

This is a large 12.5" paper-pieced block. I don't like it. I am going to have to re-think this block design for the guild's April block of the month. Designing ain't easy!!!

South of the Border

2011-02-28T10:03:00.002-06:00

The bottom border is starting to take shape on my U is for Unicorn quilt:
Those orange dots will be little oranges on a twig. This shows the left half of the bottom border. The right half will be worked on soon!

The two side borders will have castles on them. I have the cutouts placed for those castles here:

This will give you an idea of how daunting these borders are! I didn't count how many dozens of flowers had to be cut out! This is showing a pile of flowers and leaves, along with the two castles:
See the nickle near the leaves? That is to give you an idea of how small they are. The ruler is a 6.5" square one. It is also there to show size and scale. I will have to satin stitch around each and every one of those flowers when I go to attach them permanently!

What did YOU do this weekend?

Spring Flowers Anyone?

2011-02-24T18:14:00.002-06:00

These are the beginnings of special flowers that are on the bottom border of my U is for Unicorn quilt. The border strip is six inches wide. That makes these flowers about two inches tall. We're getting there! This quilt might be done before Christmas!

It's Been One of THOSE Days!

2011-02-21T18:55:00.004-06:00

I think it started late yesterday afternoon. I went to get a few groceries and they were out of skim milk. Then the clerk dropped the raspberries all over the floor at checkout. Then the second carton of raspberries was dumped as the cart was pulled away from the checkout lane and the bag had hooked on something. After that, I was almost hit by a driver going the wrong way, in the parking lot.

I made it home though. And the raspberries had no flavor. They were awful! hahaha

I had worked almost all day on block number two of my "My Tweets". I was in the process of gluing the pieces in place, in preparation to sewing them down. ALL those leaves were so labor intensive!
I liked how it was looking as I put it together. Then last night, I looked at it again. There was something about it that wasn't quite right. I took a photo of the completed block. I wish I could show it to you, but I accidentally deleted it from my computer AND camera! I told you, it has been one of those days! (even though it seems to have started yesterday)

I wasn't happy with the lack of contrast in some spots and too much contrast in others. Thank goodness Roxanne's basting glue is water soluble so I could remove the offensive bird parts! hahahaha

So I spent half of this afternoon, redoing the wings, some tail feathers, and the big center flower. I reshaped two bell flowers too. I think I am going with this one:

This is block two then, ready to be sewn down!

If you are still reading this, that means you are NOT sewing! Get out of here and ... GO SEW SOMETHING!!! (you know you want to!)

Messy, messy, messy

2011-02-20T09:05:00.003-06:00

Block number two is out for the My Tweets quilt. I have a lot of prep work to do for all the pieces on it! Here are several petals and leaves, ready to be starched:

Here is my cutting table, covered in block two possibilities:

Here is the block, on the light table:

I've decided to go a different colorway as compared to the maker of the patterns. Since my first block and the center medallion both have peacocks in them, I wanted to make these birds a little different.

Today I have planned to be in the studio most all day! Now let's hope everyone else cooperates with that desire!

Short, Sweet, and Simple

2011-02-13T15:57:00.003-06:00

My "My Tweets" block one is now finished!

Camping Weather?

2011-02-11T17:46:00.004-06:00

I haven't seen this much snow around our RV since the snowstorm in Calaveras county back in 2006. It was mid-March and we were performing at a renaissance faire. You normally would not see that much snow that late in California unless you were maybe in the mountains!
It isn't normal for Arkansas either! I made good use of the time indoors. I have fabric cut out for about half the blocks for my Leaf Quilt. The rest of the fabric arrives Monday!
I got a lot of fussy cutting done for the borders on the U is for Unicorn quilt too. There are oodles of tiny flowers that have to be made!

There are little birdies and strawberries and leaves:

There are also big birds and dragons with pesky dragonflies!

I love being so productive. I am not changing my name though. I still am a lazy quilter! Kinda, sorta! hahaha

Now, go sew something too!

It was a Calm Storm

2011-02-09T15:36:00.005-06:00

It has been quite the day here!
The snow started around 8:00 this morning.

By 3:00pm this afternoon, it had dumped a pretty good amount!

It looks to be over six inches.

In spite of the snow, or maybe because of it,
I went for a walk with my German Shepherd, Ziva.
She loves the snow!

Inside, I played too. I started sewing some of the blocks together on the 'Leafy Log' quilt. I also dug out the four border pieces for the U is for Unicorn quilt. I have a bunch of applique' to do on it.
I find I have to be careful because the "My Tweets" quilt is influencing me! They are both applique' type quilts but they are made, using very different methods! I need to mind the color choices too. It will all turn out ok, but I found it funny that I have such a bird (on the) brain.
I have homemade chili in the crock-pot for supper. Soon I will put the cornbread in the oven to bake. We are enjoying our winter day home!

Are YOU sewing something? No? Well then,
Go Sew Something!!!

Problem Solved!!!

2011-02-08T15:49:00.004-06:00

I was able to find another Bali-Pops Butterscotch pack!

It has been ordered and is on the way here.
Now I KNOW the Leaf Quilt will turn out better!

Then there was a slight problem.
I saw Bali-Pops Pink Lemonade.
Those colors are perfect for using in my "My Tweets" quilt.

I accidentally hit the wrong button and they accidentally fell into my online shopping cart. Darn. I guess I will just have to suffer with using such luscious colors!

I hope you are all having such problems as mine today! I am all ready to get snowed in tomorrow! I even have the fixings for healthy low-fat oatmeal cookies! I will make half of them with cherry flavored Craisons. I live a decadent life!

Now go sew something!!!

So That Didn't Exactly Work Out!

2011-02-07T18:33:00.002-06:00

For some reason, yesterday started well and turned into a disaster! First the good stuff! The block for the guild, turned out great! I even got all the directions done for it...AND...they make sense! It is just a simple single Irish chain block. I think it will be awesome done in all the different greens that the members use for their blocks!

Then I tried making the guild block for April. That one was to be a paper-pieced block. One thing that I forgot though, was that the pattern for it would not fit in the newsletter! I toyed with the idea of having them make several small blocks and joining them together into the large block. I quickly realized that most would not have a way to print out multiple copies. They might lack the patience and skills required to sew four paper-pieced blocks together. (I know I do!!!) I need lots of blocks turned in to make this work. I don't want to discourage anyone! I will have to try doing this in a different way.

Next I tried the tessellated block. I can't explain why it wasn't going to work, but it wasn't going to! I would have had to cut all 80 strips down in size. It would have taken all the fun out of making the quilt! I thought about it for a while and came up with the idea of making a log cabin quilt. I have never made one before! I even had the perfect red fabric to put in the center!

I think I have enough fabric to make 20 blocks, maybe more. I made one block to puzzle out the cutting and such. Of course I made it a little wrong. Believe it or not, there IS a difference! The lighter strips were supposed to be where the darker ones are and vice versa. Guess what? I am NOT going to rip this out and make it over again. I am going with this layout. So there!!! hahaha
I think this will be a pretty quilt and should even be done near next Autumn, when the leaves are falling again!

They are predicting yet another snow storm for central Arkansas this week. We think we will be snowed in again. At least we have all day tomorrow to prepare for it!

I am going to kick the 'boys' off the Wii and sit and watch some good TV and sew on my applique block. Have a nice evening, everyone!

Oh, and GO SEW SOMETHING!!!

This is NOT for the Birds!

2011-02-06T09:01:00.003-06:00

I thought you might be tired of seeing my latest distraction; my "My Tweets" quilt. Today is Superbowl Sunday. I plan to spend it in the studio. I have several projects that are vying for my attention today!

I do a block-of-the-month for my quilt guild. I make the block patterns and have to test the patterns and the instructions! This means I usually make more than one block of the same pattern.

One of the future BOM's will be a paper-pieced block called "Twisters"

The next test block I have is for my personal
"Fallin' Leaves" quilt:

I am using a jelly roll with this one. This will be a challenge for me, in more than one way. First off, it is a tessellated quilt. That means it has to interlace and repeat a pattern that you can see in more than one colorway. I am not explaining this too well! I guess you will have to come back to see if I am successful with this test block.

This is another BOM for the guild, ready to be tested:

Jaye put a comment in her blog a few days ago, about my Unicorn quilt. This is for Jaye...I am LOOKING at the book to see what the next steps are!!! She is such a nag! j/k

Finally, in the evenings, I am working on sewing

down (appliqueing) block one of my "My Tweets" quilt.

I hope that most of this keeps me busy today. I am not a Superbowl fanatic. In fact, I have podcasts and recorded movies to listen to or watch in the studio. If I didn't have to make supper or use the bathroom, I wouldn't have to come out of here all day!

I hope your Superbowl Sunday is a Super Day!

Now go sew something!

Center of Tweets

2011-02-03T15:24:00.003-06:00

I am doing the center medallion for the "My Tweets" quilt. I don't have block number one sewn down yet, but I am working on it. In the meantime, I am also working on the center pattern for this quilt.

When I attached the fabrics to the first block, I had some glue go through and stick on the paper. This time I put plastic wrap down over the paper pattern. It worked like a charm! Where the glue made it through, the plastic pulled right off with no ill affects! I also used less glue than I did on the first block. I will try to use even less on the next block!

Here are some of the pieces, ready to be glued down:

Besides using my weights for exercising, they make great pattern holder-downers!

Here is the center medallion, glued and ready to be sewn down:

I love how this turned out! My husband has been a great help with some of the fabric color choices too! It took almost as long to pick out fabrics as it did to prepare the snippets and glue them down! I want this to be as close to perfect in every way!

Snow is in the forecast for tomorrow. This is VERY unusual for this part of the south! I am ok with it, as long as no one gets hurt. I think I will watch some movies tomorrow and sit and sew on the block. Of course I have to get groceries first, and run a few errands. But later...later...a girl can dream of down time to relax and sew, with a needle and thread!!!

Now, YOU go sew something!

What a Bird's Nest!

2011-01-31T16:50:00.003-06:00

I've been working on the center piece for my "My Tweets" quilt. Progress is slow, but rewarding! However, my studio is a MESS!!! Snips of fabric, and paper, and threads, and patterns, and, and, and!!!

I have made a lot of progress on this block though! Each fabric has been a major decision for me. Right now I am auditioning a flower in the center of the pot. I don't think it is bright enough though, so I may have to change it.
The block below is block one in the series. I just put it up to show the two together. My threads came today and I hope to make a lot of progress on the smaller block.

Snow and cold is predicted for tomorrow in some parts of the state. It sounds like a great day to stay home and sew!!! That's it for today!

Now go sew something!!!

Falling Tweets!

2011-01-26T18:34:00.003-06:00

Just kidding! My, "My Tweets" is just fine. I am going to have to figure out a different way to do those leaves though! My oh my they were tedious!!! Here they are, laying like they fell out of a tree. You can see the pile of white freezer paper, off to the right, that I took out of the leaves:
I don't have a fancy light box to place under my block to guide me in placing all the pieces correctly. But I have devised a little system that works for me. You can just see the little light in the center of that block:

Here is the light, sitting on top of the block:

One of my sewing machines came with an extension table made from clear acrylic. It sits on four legs, about four inches off the table. Since my machines are in cabinets, this has gone unused for years! I just slide that little LED battery operated light underneath and I can see the pattern, just fine! I can move it around if I need to highlight an area more. I can glue the pieces down in preparation for appliqueing.

Here I have pulled the block back away from the edge so you can see more of the table:

Here is my block in the process of being appliqued.

I have half the stems done and a few leaves.

I went to a quilt shop today and bought Mettler 60wt cotton embroidery thread to use on this project. Mettler is written in green on these spools. I find that makes it easier to pick them out from ALL the other pretty threads! I actually had one spool of this stuff on one of my thread racks, and it was a color I could use on the stems! The maker of "My Tweets"- Erin Russek recommended using this thread on her applique projects.

In all my years of quilting, I have never really gotten into using the 'right' threads. I figured it was just whatever was the rage out there. Other than Coats and Clark threads, I figured the 'more expensive' threads were all going to be good threads. It isn't true! I am slowly learning that too.

It has been a very busy day and I am delighted to be headed to my comfy chair to sit and watch a bit of TV while working on my block. I hope you all had a wonderful day as well!

Now go sew something!!!

Tweetin' Away

2011-01-23T14:32:00.003-06:00

I've spent several hours today, working on my "My Tweets" BOM. It is good it is a BOM (block-of-the-month) because it will take at least that long to prepare one block to be sewn!!!

I am really taking my time though. When something isn't right, I am redoing it to make it right! So far I have not had to re-cut any fabric, but I may have to redo the blue trim under the wings. Believe it or not, this is a newer thing for me to do...to take time to make it right. So many times in the past, I just go at a project and if something goes wrong, I just don't care about quality any more and make it work, wrong.

That bad habit leads to little imperfections throughout my quilts that I am not proud of! I am getting better about it now though. If I am not making it right, I quit working on the project and set it aside to come back to later, when I am in a better mood!

This first photo shows you my iron and special ironing surface. In the bottle is diluted starch. I don't want starch all over my ironing board so I have a special board on top. All it is, is a piece of quarter inch plywood covered with a little batting and low quality cheap muslin. It sets right on my ironing board for use. I could have it on my cutting table too, if I wanted.
I have some of the pieces prepared and ready to glue together before sewing to the background. I did not realize how tedious this was going to be! It is such a pleasing piece to work on though, that is is worth the fuss and bother!
I started this last night and hope to get the feathers, flowers, and leaves done yet today. Tomorrow I hope to work on the stems. I needed a little break though, so I thought I would give this little update on the blog. Time to get back at it! I hope you all are enjoying your weekend too!

Hey Mr Postman! Gotta Letter for Me?

2011-01-21T19:39:00.004-06:00

Above are some of the fabrics I have pulled for my "My Tweets" block-of-the-month, block one. See the sidebar and click on it if you want to check the whole deal. I just found out QuiltRat is playing along too! She also does some kick-@ss Creative Prompt responses! You should go see them!

Anyway, it is Christmas here today! The doorbell rang around noon and it was the postman with a huge box! In it were some of the products I needed (well wanted is more like it) to start this quilt! The batting was on sale and is for my batting stash. More specifically for this project though, I did get some special freezer paper sheets, Mylar template sheets, and a fingertip thimble that I am going to try.When I checked our mailbox there was the center pattern for this same quilt, that I had ordered. Yippee!!!Now all that is left is for UPS to bring my eQuilter order with the background fabric! I can hardly wait!!!

MUCH later this same day........FINALLY a little after 7pm, the UPS man arrived with my last order! I got some cardinal fabric because Mom always liked cardinals: Some Aurilfil threads: Some green fabric to go in a future old-fashioned retro type quilt: And finally the pale blue, I plan to use in the background of my "My Tweets" quilt! Yippee!!! I get to start in earnest on this tomorrow!

AWAY! HI HO SILVER, AWAY!!! to the washer to get this prepped!

Ok world, you can slow down now!

2011-01-18T17:46:00.005-06:00

Note to self: It messes up your whole day if you don't get going before nine in the morning!!! I feel I have been running late all day! hahaha

In no particular order though, here are some highlights of my day. I was finally able to listen to some podcast stuff! I haven't been able to do this for one reason or another. It has just been such a busy time of year. Today though, I was able to catch part of one of my favorites, "Quilting for the Rest of Us" with Sandy. I like her next door neighbor podcasts that are also informative. The one I was listening to was from January 8th I think. I wish my routes today had been long enough to listen to the whole thing! It is worth it to catch her podcasts though. They are always upbeat and entertaining! AND educational too!

My friend Jaye was writing about scrap quilts and organizing scraps a bit, over on her blog. I used to have one three-drawer plastic bin for my scraps. I organized them into lights, mediums, and darks. That worked a long time for me. However, I so often had to dig through a lot of fabric to find a particular color! So I reorganized my scraps. Now they are in six drawers:
I have them divided up into red/pink, yellow/orange/brown, greens, blues, purples, and last are the black or white or black and white. Of course there are gray areas...no, wait the grays go in with the black and white fabrics. I DO have to make some best guess ideas though, on some of the colors.

I like these two smaller bin sets. They are on rollers and I can bring them to whatever area I am working in, in the studio. Someday I might invest in a label maker to label boxes and bins. For now I just wing it.

Finally today, I have a closeup shot of the creative prompt fabric thing I am doing. It shows the metallic 'twinkling' lights on the house eves. You can make out some of the detail work too. I do thread painting/embellishing on these types of projects.
I haven't decided what type of eyes to give my little 'wicked' monster yet. I am thinking of making them slits like a cat's eye.

I have fabric coming and accessories too, from two different places! I am gathering things so I can do the "My Tweets" block of the month. I think this is going to be very fun!

That's it for today! Now go sew something!!!

A few blocks

2011-01-16T11:21:00.002-06:00

My friend Jaye over on the Artquiltmaker blog, has requested star blocks for a family that lost their home to a fire. I sent two blocks to her a month ago. She asked for more blocks from anyone who wanted to make some, so I made four more and will send them to her next week.
I love this paper-pieced star pattern! I am going to ask her if she might be interested in that fabric next to the star blocks.

I made a second "Cherries Jubilee" block for the guild's block-of-the-month project. Now I have two! I tried a different color and technique for the stems too.
I ordered my background fabric for the "My Tweets" quilt project. I went with a pale blue background instead of plain white or stark black. I have made too many quilts with black backgrounds. I wanted this one to be a bright girly quilt! I think it will be too!

Hope everyone is doing ok out there! We are expecting rain. It will wash away the remnants of the snow we had. Have fun today! Now go sew something!!!

Well THAT was Interesting!

2011-01-15T13:39:00.005-06:00

I have had an interesting time of it! I landed in the hospital on Thursday with severe vertigo! I have NEVER been that dizzy, for that long of a time. They got the symptoms under control and checked for the more serious problems it could have been. Good news is that it was not a stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, or a brain tumor. I see my regular doctor on Monday to begin to do more investigation to see what it might be. Meantime I feel like I had the flu and am mostly tired, therefore I am resting a lot.

Since I have been told to stay home and stay in bed or sitting for three days, I have had time to be in the studio, sitting, and planning one of my next quilts! I am NOT overdoing this though! No nagging please! :D

I am sure you have noticed the new badge on my sidebar. I am going to attempt a block-of-the-month applique' project called "My Tweets." I have never followed antibody's pattern this closely but I love the colors so much, that I wanted to make this into 'my' quilt with my froo-froo colors!

Here is block one:
Here are the fabrics I am pulling for it. The flowers and tail feathers will be in these fabrics:

The leaves and stems in these greens:

And I think I will do the birds in these fabrics:

Of course all this could change! I have to order the background fabric for the blocks. For now I am working on cutting out the freezer paper pattern pieces. Click on the badge to go and find out more about this project. The maker is Erin Russek. The 12 blocks will be free patterns and the center medallion is only $10 on her Etsy page.
I think this will be a fun hand applique' project for me to work on. I really like that it is only one block a month for now. :)

Now go sew something!

I thought Christmas was over?

2011-01-11T09:40:00.002-06:00

You wouldn't know it from the snowfall we got! It looks like a white Christmas outside!!! We got about six inches of snow Sunday night. Sadly this meant the quilt guild meeting was canceled. I really miss that!!! I always get inspired to work in the studio after a guild meeting! Next meeting won't be till the middle of February. (grumble grumble)

This is a shot outside my studio window:

It will take a bit of work to clear the vehicles of snow!

I worked on the Creative Prompt quilt a bit. I added a twisty road.

I know I had said the girl was dancing the twist, but that just didn't settle with my brain. The girl will show the word 'move' and the road is now 'twist' for the prompts.

I am getting ready to sew more today. First I need to go for a short walk in the snow to get my blood circulating! Then I plan to spend the better part of the day, working in the studio. Supper is already in the crock pot and there are three man-boys in the house to steer clear from! They are playing Wii and other games. Too bad there isn't a football game for them to watch too! (NOT) hahahaha

Now go sew something!!!

Finally catching up on Creative Prompts!

2011-01-04T15:57:00.002-06:00

There are several Creative Prompts in this picture.

New: The new beginning of an art project
Move: The dancing lady
Twist: The dance the lady is dancing
Twinkle: Lights on the house eaves
Sky: Blue Sky
Wicked: What is that in the bushes???
Memory: The children dancing "Ring Around the Rosie"

I still need to add "Thanks" and "Party"

Shades of Christmas Past

2011-01-02T13:04:00.002-06:00

I took this shot out the studio window, right around Christmas. It was raining out at the time.

I have been trying to do my Creative Prompts in fabric for this next go-a-round. Trouble is, it isn't working as well as I'd hoped. I don't know if I should just work on this as a separate piece and go back to the drawing book for the "real" Creative Prompts?

Bye, bye 2010, HELLLLOOOOO 2011!!!

2010-12-31T20:40:00.002-06:00

To all my family, friends, and fellow artisans of all types, may 2011 bring you more joy, peace, and fulfillment than you ever imagined!

Happy New Year, y'all. :)

Merry Christmas 2010!

2010-12-25T18:06:00.004-06:00

It was a quiet but wonderful Christmas at our house. Though we missed having any company, we all outdid ourselves in buying just the right gifts! Nothing has to be returned OR exchanged. :)
All too soon, things will get back to normal. I will be putting out my guild's newsletter, early next week. I had to hurry up and test run the Block-of-the-Month before publication! The first one (of 12 total throughout this next year) is a charming snowflake block:
I made three total blocks and might make one more before I am happy with the results!

February's block is "Cherries Jubilee" and will feature three pieced cherries:

I think I am going to add some appliqued green leaves so they don't look like balloons!

I hope everyone is having a blessed holiday season and will have a better new year!

Whole lotta loot!

2010-12-18T15:58:00.002-06:00

I finished my Christmas shopping this morning, getting just one more little gift! Now I can move on to baking treats and planning our special dinner. We are very decadent this year and are having prime rib roast! Yummy!

My studio is still taken over by the tree and presents:

The poinsettia, that the dental hygienist gave me, is doing well too! The Mr. is enjoying being Santa this year. With over a year at his job, he feels more secure. He is able to spoil me and the child a LOT!!! I can't wait to see all the things behind all that wrapping! :) Of course HE will be spoiled back!
I want to mention a super give-away over at The Quilting Gallery. Click on the picture of the chocolate cake to enter for a chance to win some awesome prizes! DO look around her website as well. She has a nice newsletter and some fun swaps and things to partake in.

I wanted to make a quick mention that I am selling my HandiQuilter frame and Pfaff GrandQuilter machine. If you're interested, email me.

Time to make supper and then relax and watch TV while crocheting some winter hats for last minute gift giving. I hope you are all warm and toasty!

Happy Holidays!

Almost Ready!!!

2010-12-10T18:13:00.002-06:00

It's been a very productive day today! I got all the presents wrapped, boxed up, addressed, and shipped off to my adult children, for Christmas! I even sent someone a little present because she is having a tough time of it all with some major health issues.
The tree is in my studio this year, to save the ornaments AND the tree from cats. They think all this stuff is just their new cat toys! You can also see the poinsettia that my dental hygienist gave to me:
I was so surprised! This is a new office we are trying out and so far, we feel quite spoiled! I think we will keep going there.

I want to remember to always make each of my kids a little ornament for their trees. This year was simple but still cute:
Each one is open at the top in case they ever want to put candy or a little gift inside in the future.

I am almost done with the ornament for my child's teacher too:

One side is Snoopy and the other has my son's photo and date on it.

I want to attach a bit of trim around the photo to finish this off.

I am almost done Christmas shopping too. I cannot believe how good THAT feels!!! I have one more big gift to buy and one smaller one to pick up. Several things are on order but should be here in time. I sure hope so anyway!

I am looking forward to our guild meeting and party on Monday. I hope to make some Oreo cookie chocolate balls for the occasion. I have a lot more decorating I could do, but will only do what feels right to me. I am not going to push myself to exhaustion!!!

Cheers with eggnog on it!!!

Feelin' Grinchy

2010-12-05T15:08:00.002-06:00

Since my wrist won't allow me to work on hand quilting the big hexagon quilt, I have gone back to the Cathedral Windows quilt. Here we see a bunch of 'pillows' waiting to be pressed:
Once they are pressed, the corners are folded into the centers and tacked down. I also came across some Charlie Brown/Snoopy Christmas fabric. I might make them into ornaments later.

I ironed down several pieces of my CPP:

The whole 'canvas' is about 30" square.

I am WAY behind on my words. I think this will be move and twinkle, but I am not sure yet.
Not much else to report. I need to decorate the house and can't get in the mood to do so! I think I will go try to find the Grinch and ask him where he tucked away my holiday spirit!

Starry, starry, night

2010-12-01T12:41:00.001-06:00

I made two paper pieced star blocks for a quilt to help a family that was burned out of their home recently. I love paper piecing when I only have to make one or two blocks! I cannot imagine a whole quilt of paper pieced patterns!!!

Sharing some tidbits

2010-11-27T20:07:00.003-06:00

I am just dropping in for a quick visit. I don't think I took a picture of the latest rag rug I recently finished. It is made from leftover fabrics that used to be curtains and such. My neighbor gave them to me last summer. It made a nice rag rug!

This evening I finished a crocheted hat. The yarn was a small amount leftover from an afghan my Mom made years ago. My gosh, it has been over ten years since Mom has passed! Anyway, this is the first hat I have ever made and I love it! It fits very well and is quite warm. The yarn is soft and bumpy with lots of texture.

Before Jaye nags me about being way behind on my Creative Prompts, I needed to show some progress! Here is the fabric and stabilizer, ready to be cut to size:

I have started cutting out shapes that I hope will convert into my interpretations of Creative Prompt words:

I also ordered a premier copy of the Craft Sanity magazine. I have often used their ideas for crafts or they have inspired me to create something based on their ideas! I think it is really neat that they are making a magazine now!

Tomorrow my youngest turns ten! Where has the time gone???

Black Friday

2010-11-26T13:01:00.005-06:00

I am not one of those who goes out on "Black Friday" to shop. Actually, I have most of my Christmas shopping done this year! It was an easy year for me.

Thanksgiving was pretty quiet, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I was laid up with a horrific cold! I am on the mend now and hope to spend time divided between crafting and decorating for Christmas.

I have a crib blanket ready to sell. It is an adorable Pooh print on one side and a flannel in white with little blue flowers, on the back side. I am asking $25.00 for it. Batting is polyester. It measures 53" x 37" and is a lightweight quilted blanket. Click on the photos for a closer look.

Showing the backside too:

I have started cutting out the strips for my "Leaf Quilt":

Here is Tom with the cabbage he grew this summer:

We really neglected it a lot and in spite of that, it grew anyway!

I am working on the guild's newsletter, a Christmas table runner, and this:
I hope to make a jacket out of the gray wool blend and might add the green to it! Of course most things I 'plan' to do, never turn out as planned, so we shall see!

Ok, time to get to it! Happy (day after) Thanksgiving!!!

Influential Day

2010-11-19T13:50:00.005-06:00

So, I was driving around town today had had quite an interesting time of it all. I started out to only return the work boots I had picked up for The Mr. He needed a different width. I left at 11 and thought I would be home by noon.

I was listening to the latest "Mark Lipinski's Creative Mojo" podcast while tootling around. (this comes into play towards the end of my posting today)

The store I had to return the boots to, did not have the right size. They did, however, have some nice shirts on clearance for $5 each! The Mr. is hard on clothes. While in this store, my cell phone rings and I was concerned it might have been my husband who is supposed to be sleeping! It wasn't. It was the Dodge salesman asking me if I had ever found a new car. I was able to tell him that I not only bought a car, but I bought a brand new one, not a used one! I said I never had any problems with him and actually liked him, but that his dealership treated me so badly, that I would never go back there again. I digress. This dealership saga is a story that is too big to go into here. Mostly it was just odd that I had gotten any sort of call on my cell phone. No one calls me on it!!!

Anyway, I left that store and went to a furniture store because it was on the way to the grocery store that I planned to stop at. I am looking for chairs for my dining room. They didn't have anything that was quite right though.

Next I decided, on a whim, to stop at a mega- shoe store. They did have the right styled work boots, in the right size, and they were $5 less than the first store! They also had a buy one pair and get the second half off.

Now mind you, I live in my Crocs all the time; year round. I have a few pairs of dressier shoes and one pair of horrible old hurt-my-feet-so-bad tennis shoes. I ended up and found a pair of women's shoes (I normally have to buy men's shoes to fit me) that came in the wide width I needed, were on sale, looked decent, and were way more expensive than I would normally buy! While trying to decide what to get I heard them announce over the loud speaker that the first customer with a library card who comes up to the front of the store gets a spin on their "Wheel of Fortune."

A clerk was helping me find the right shoes, so I didn't bother to react to that announcement. When they announced it a third time, I told the clerk that I would be back and had to go see about this announcement. I had a library card with me and so spun the wheel and won $2 off my purchase for that day. I ended up and spent only $135 and got the great work boots for The Mr, and also a pair of Sketchers for myself! Now I have NO excuse to not go to the gym to exercise.

My cell phone rings again and this time it is AT&T saying that my home phone has been repaired. I found it so odd to get phone calls twice, while out and about today!
I left the shoe store, very happy with my purchases.

By this time I was pretty tired and it was 1:30 in the afternoon! I never did stop at the grocery store. hahaha

While listening to Mark's broadcast I have been inspired! You may know that I am not adding anymore things to my Creative Prompt Page that I worked on for months. I am about to start a new one. I have three words to get on there too! (Move, Twinkle, and Twist) Mark had a guest on with him, that talked about pictures made with fabric and such. I am seriously thinking that I am going to up the ante on my personal creative prompts and this time, I will add on each word, each week, and I will do it in fabric! I wonder how many words I will be able to get on something like that???

Ok, if you are still with me, you need to get a life!!! I am off to get my son from school and to finish up all this stuff I was going to do before I left the house to "just return some boots" at the store. :)

Now go create something!!!

Reporting in

2010-11-14T13:18:00.003-06:00

At the little quilt show I mentioned that I bought some fabric. One of those fabrics was a cute froggy print. I have a young adult niece that loves frogs and even though we don't exchange gifts, I had to make something for her from this fabric!

I decided a pillowcase might work for her, as she is in college:

(It is folded in half for this photo)

There was about an eight inch strip leftover from the pillowcase. It was just enough to make a little zippered bag:
The pillowcase will fit inside the bag too! I think she will like this present a lot. I liked that the frogs were cutsie but not baby-ish.

I have made those Christmas blocks into a table runner. I was going to use the white to bind it and thought I had measured it right. I hadn't! This is on hold for a bit.

I finished the autumn table runner. I used fabrics that I didn't care for and to my amazement, this didn't turn out half bad!

This is an old old Christmas print of Winnie the Pooh. There is just enough to make it into a baby blanket. However, I don't have any babies to gift it to! I have it pin basted and ready to quilt.

Finally, here is a shot out the window of my studio.

We are still needing rain.

That's it for now! Go sew something!!!

Autumn Fun

2010-11-12T17:25:00.004-06:00

TGIF everyone! What a beautiful late autumn day we've had here in North Little Rock, Arkansas! The temperature hovered around 80°F and the sun was shining on all the pretty colored trees. They say rain and cooler temps are in the forecast and that is fine with me too. I love this time of year!

The Mister and I went to a little quilt show today. It was a small one, but that made it just the right size for me! My feet get too tired and sore from walking at those bigger shows! I took a few photos, but I don't have the right cables to transfer them from camera phone to computer!

They had six vendors. One had the best deal on fabric! I was amazed to find batiks and fossil ferns for $5.65 and $6.65 per yard! Fat Quarters were a buck apiece! I wish his store was closer! I didn't price everyone's fabric there, but did see a lot of $10/yd stuff. I am glad I have a well stocked stash with these prices going up and up on cottons.

In spite of my stash at home, I was coerced into buying a couple fat quarters for an old-fashion styled quilt coming up in a year, a couple yards of a brilliant red batik, (cuz I need more reds in my stash), and an adorable frog print that will be made into a gift for a very special person I know!

What better way to close out a perfect autumn day than with my Creative Prompt picture for the word Autumn:
There are now 34 Creative Prompt words in this picture. I started it on March 12th of this year. The last one is Autumn, given out October 29th.
Can you find them all?
3/12 – Quiet, 3/19 – Steam, 3/26 – Sweet, 4/2 – Branch, 4/9 – Coffee, 4/16 – Cafe’, 4/23 – Flower, 4/30 – Arches, 5/7- Home, 5/14 – Leaf, 5/21 – Oval, 5/28 – Quirky, 6/4 – Salmon, 6/11 – Eye, 6/18 – Ice, 6/25 – Glyph, 7/2 – Celebration, 7/9 – Violet, 7/16 – Night, 7/23 – Flutter, 7/30 – Burst, 8/6 – Grid, 8/13 – Heart, 8/20 – Middle, 8/27 – Curve, 9/3 – Compass, 9/10 – Crimson, 9/17 – Awaken, 9/24 – Lines, 10/1 – Linger, 10/8 – Marble, 10/15 – Pale, 10/22 – Symbol, and 10/29 – Autumn.

Since Move is the next word, I have decided to finally move on to start my next complex drawing of Creative Prompts! I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did!

Now go sew something!!!

This and That and more of That

2010-11-09T12:11:00.002-06:00

I don't know why I am not blogging as much as I used to. I've been distracted and never seem to take time to sit down and do this! I have been in the studio though, working on a variety of smaller projects.

I had to hem about eight pairs of pants and jeans for the men-folk in this house. I finished that up today. (I didn't take a photo of them)

I finished up the bag of quilts for the guild. I did the binding on five, quilting and binding on four more, and made one from scratch. I turned those in yesterday.

I put out all the rest of the things I have for sale at the shop. None of my Halloween bags sold. Bummer! I am going to quit trying to sell stuff there on December 1st. It just isn't worth it. I break even on the cost of the rent vs the sales. Plus, I don't have the self discipline to keep making new product to sell.

I did manage to sell that Skull Bag I made a month ago. I can't say who bought it, because they are giving it as a gift. I was more anxious to get the buyer's critique of the work done, than the money from the sale. She said it was well crafted. That made me feel more confident! She also offered a few suggestions that I will take to heart when I start the next bags.

Do you remember that quilt I entered in the contest, earlier this year? It came back home about a month ago. It measures 30"x 30". I was thinking of making it into a bag when my husband suggested making it into a pillow cover. I liked his idea better.

I am making it so you can still remove it for washing.

All I did was to bring up each corner to the center. I sewed most of it closed, and left the flap open. I will put a button inside with a stretchy band to hold the flap shut while it is being used. I thought it turned out pretty cool!

We recently had some work done to update our TV service. The technician that came out noticed I did some quilting! Gee, I wonder what his first clue was? He asked if I would make a quilt for his kids. He wanted their names on it and chose the purple fabric with all kinds of neat positive sayings printed on.
The technician had returned from a tour of duty in Iraq and was going to be deployed again soon, to Afghanistan. He doesn't know it yet, but I am not going to charge him for this lap quilt. It will be my small way of saying thank you to him and all the service men and women out there. Besides that, he was a terrific technician who went out of his way to install things the right way in our home! I wish all techs and contracted people were like this guy was!

Another project I worked on was putting together the extra bug jar blocks I had. These were the prototypes for a block-of-the-month at my quilt guild. I hope to make a small quilt that I can donate to the guild for our outreach programs. So far, I only have the four blocks sewn together in a row.

I experimented with some fabrics and made this simple table runner:

I am not too crazy about it, but it did turn out ok. It still needs to be sandwiched and quilted.

I did decide to make those three Christmas blocks into a table runner too. I need to sandwich it and quilt it. I will make binding that is from the same white fabric that is in the smallest squares.

Lots of projects are floating around these parts. I am working on the hexagon quilt almost every night. I still hope to finish that one in 2011 sometime. I WANT to work on the Cathedral Window quilt, but I know if I do, the hexagon quilt will suffer from lack of attention. I did give in and started working on a rag rug though. Sometimes my hands get tired when quilting by hand. The rag rug is a great distraction!

So that is all from these parts. I hope to visit a small, locale quilt show on Friday. I am also going to try to find a magazine that might have printed my Christmas cookie recipe! I will let you know if they did.

Now go sew something!!!

Creative Prompts: Pale and Symbol

2010-10-28T11:49:00.002-05:00

I am finally getting around to posting my Creative Prompts! I don't know why this time of year seems to be so extra busy!
Pale as a ghost is one response and of course the Symbol I used was from the Ghost Busters movie.

A Day to Celebrate!

2010-10-26T12:51:00.004-05:00

For several months I had been thinking I was going to be TWO years older than I really am!!! I feel so young now, aging just one year instead of two, today. My wonderful daughter and her husband sent me flowers:

I have been working on guild quilts a lot. I quilted and bound four, did the binding only on five more, and then made one from scratch from my stash. That is a total of ten to turn in at the next meeting. I feel so productive!

I must be on a roll. I put the last panels together on the U is for Unicorn quilt and now have the center of this quilt done. Next will be the wide appliqued borders!

I made three blocks from some very old stash fabrics I have:

I think I will try to make a table runner from them.

I liked the block so much that I did a variation for this month's BOM for the guild too!

I am thinking I will make a challenge quilt I got back, into a pillow. I have some fabrics ready to cut up for the next big quilt. This will be a tessellated one! Of course I now have the applique work on the Unicorn quilt borders to do. It will be interesting to see which way my brain decides to go next!

Now go sew something!