Institches with Bonnie

Design Wall Monday 2-19-12

2012-02-20T13:12:00.000-05:00

It's a bit late but here's what's up on... oops on the tea cart...

These will become a little Hexagon quilt like one in Kathy Tracy's book. (Sorry, don't remember which book...) These are my pick up work whenever I feel like working on them. And, I'm getting much closer to finishing them... I've only got 3 more to do. That could happen this month (or next month or ...)Go see other design walls at Patchwork Times.

Yesterday was a dull grey day and then it started snowing in the early afternoon. And, right before Downton Abbey started the power went out. NOOOOooo. Luckily I have an Itty Bitty Book Light so I wasn't without all light. I could read for an hour or so in bed.

Two black dogs playing in the snow. They came in soaking wet. Heck, I was pretty darn wet just stepping out to take the picture.

We woke up to no power but at least the snow had quit. We finally decided to get up and do our regular work out at the Y cause they had power.

Here's what we saw on the way.

And, I was able to watch the season's finale of Downton Abbey. Such a lovely show... now I need to find the previous year's DVDs as I didn't start watching it until January or so.

I didn't do so well on last week's goals.

Week of February 13, 2012

Back to working on the FCQ Equilter’s donation quilt, 5 blocks needed not touched

Finish quilting & bind NY Day Mystery Quilt Still quilting – very slowly…

Make snowman blocks oops…

Begin cutting for next Scrap Squad Quilt double oops

Take computer in for some clean up and check up√

Work on the baby quilt Sharon made me start…lol √

Week of February 20, 2012

Back to working on the FCQ Equilter’s donation quilt 5 blocks needed

Finish quilting & bind NY Day Mystery Quilt

Make snowman blocks

Begin cutting for next Scrap Squad

Add rest of borders to green and blue x blocks

Keep plugging away on the baby quilt

Go to Mid-Atlantic Quilt Show
Happy Quilting All!

Gem Show

2012-02-18T21:33:00.000-05:00

The Gal Pals went to a gem show in northern Virginia on Friday. We were nearing the end of the day before I started taking pictures. Why didn't I think about this earlier?

Rows and rows of beads to do it yourself.

Supplies to string your own beads.

Diana and Jennie deciding on cord to string some beads.

We watched someone stringing some lovely beads and got a quick lesson. Now I'm waiting to see Jennie's beads finished as a necklace.

Honestly, I didn't think I would enjoy the gem show as much as just the fun time the three of us would have. But I'm all ready for next year's trip and plan to buy some beads to string.

I bought a couple of items but two of them I carefully put away in a purse... problem is it was Diana's purse. We have the exact same purse except hers is navy and mine is black. By the time we were half way home it was getting dark and I carefully put away my cell phone and purchases. Except, it was dark enough that I didn't realize I'd put everything away in her purse. When we got home I couldn't find my phone but finally checked her purse and retrieved my phone. I just didn't think to check for my purchases. Yep, had to call her to have her check her purse -- she had the pieces. Sigh. I'll try to post pictures of my new jewelry after I retrieve it from her!

No quilting got done but I had a great time!

Happy Quilting All!

Culinary Efforts

2012-02-15T10:43:00.000-05:00

Kevin and Aimee brought us home several Thai food products including a red curry paste from their honeymoon in Thailand. So while Sharon was here I decided we would give it a try. (Sharon spent several years in Thailand.) We used Chicken Pa Nang recipe from AllRecipes. com. I had gotten the ingredients I don't normally have around the house like coconut milk and fish sauce. We read several other curry recipes and proceeded to make our version of Chicken Pa Nang.

Our ingredients

Here we're stirring the mixture. Sharon made some wonderful sticky Jasmine rice. Because we didn't know how spicy the curry paste was we didn't get quite enough in.

Here's the meal plated and served. Yummy.

Thanks Kevin and Aimee for bringing us the curry paste.

Remember, I broke my camera so these photos are coming from my old (but new to me) iPhone. Not bad for a telephone camera.

If this isn't enough culinary effort I must share this gorgeous red velvet cake...

Jennie, my next door neighbor, brought us a happy valentine's day cake. And, it is scrumptious!

Check out the tri colored swirls... pretty neat. She told me how to do it but I doubt I could get any swirls to look like that.

Could you tell from the pictures above that we had already had some pieces? It was as delicious as it looks!

Hope everyone had a happy Valentine's Day. Pat and I went out to dinner but couldn't get into the little restaurant we had wanted to go to. I guess we'll try next weekend. (Of course, we did get out to dinner... Mexican which was yummy!)

Happy Quilting All!

Design Wall Monday 2-13-12

2012-02-13T11:11:00.000-05:00

My quilting buddy Sharon came down for a weekend visit. Sharon finished some of the quilting on her quilt. Then we were making little notebooks. Then I dug out this book by Anita Grossman Solomon. I've made blocks from the book before -- I especially like to use these directions when I am making blocks to give away as you can cut several blocks at the same time and there is no waste. I thought Sharon would get a kick out of trying one. So I grabbed some fabric from my wild purchase at the Nov. guild auction and cut them out. I showed Sharon how to cut the blocks out to make an X block.

Oops I made a mistake on this one. The cuts should be the same width horizontal and vertical. I cut the vertical one on the left too wide. Yikes. I didn't have much more of the light green fabric left but I was able to salvage some of these pieces. And, I had cut 6 blocks at a time so I lost two of them. Rats.

Sharon was having such a good time she kept making blocks. I was getting things ready for her to take to our guild in Md for the quilt show in April. She left Sunday and I kept sewing the blocks together. I have only 4 more blocks to do.

Then I plowed through some more fabric and I found some that will be great for a border. Hum, this could be a great baby quilt even if it isn't really baby colors or prints. I used 4 different fabrics in blues and greens. The stripe print adds a lot of interest but we didn't figure out to be careful how we placed the stripe until we'd made a few blocks. I wouldn't recommend a stripe if you want a fast quilt!

How do you like this for the border? Rats, you can't see it well in this picture but it is a green print with diagonal lighter green lines on it. Try clicking on it to see it a bit better.

Sharon also brought down a bunch of fabric to go with a flamingo challenge our Md guild is sponsoring. She hadn't been able to find any quilt that struck her as doable with the fabric. I saw something when I was hopping around the internet that she liked. I have a lot of children's prints so we combined fabric and she cut two quilts -- 1 for me and 1 for her. Might as well cut 2 squares for 25 fabrics as one. We both started ours as leader enders as we sewed the X blocks.

It's been quite a while since we were able to have a sewing weekend together. We had a wonderful time. Friday we went shopping -- two different quilt stores. And, lunch out -- which really hit the spot. Sat morning we attended my guild, Country Piecemakers. If you remember Sharon attended our retreat this past fall so folks were happy to say hi again. We had a wonderful program where members showed their antique quilts and told the stories that went with them. When the meeting was over we got some serious piecing done. Sunday morning we got a few more hours in before she had to head home. We really need to do this quarterly.

I didn't do so well on my goals this week... but I had a lot of distractions!

Week of February 6, 2012

Pick next 1800s bom and write directions√

Finish quilting & bind NY Day Mystery Quilt√ more rows quilted but not finished

Vacuum the house√

Back to working on the FCQ Equilter’s donation quilt 5 blocks needed

Make snowman blocks and FCQ’s bom√ but not the snowman blocks

Think about making blue and yellow pillow shams or cases

Decide on Carolina Christmas – make more blocks or leave as is? Not sure but have decided to put away for a bit….

Pick fabric for next Scrap Squad Quilt√

√√√√√Have a great time with Sharon

Week of February 13, 2012

Back to working on the FCQ Equilter’s donation quilt 5 blocks needed

Finish quilting & bind NY Day Mystery Quilt

Make snowman blocks

Begin cutting for next Scrap Squad Quilt

Take computer in for some clean up and check up

Finish the last x blocks and sew into rows

Work on the baby quilt Sharon made me start…lol

Don't forget to look at design walls across the internet by going to Patchwork Times.

If you are looking for the February 1800s block of the month look here.

One more thing to share with you ---

I dropped my camera and I think it is gone, dead, done in, expired... I'll be using my iPhone for photos for a bit.

Happy Quilting All!

Block of the Month 1800's Quilt February

2012-02-12T21:27:00.000-05:00

February

February’s block is a simple Sawtooth Star. Because I’ve seen many versions of this block in early 1800 quilts, I chose one quilt from the International Quilt Study Group’s (IQSG) web site to represent the many Sawtooth Star quilts that were made in the early 1800’s. You can see the photograph of a wonderful quilt made between 1820 and 1840 by Elisabeth C. Jones. (Have you labeled all of the quilts you have made? Because Elisabeth did, we know who made this beautiful two-color quilt.) Go to http://tinyurl.com/7vo46v5

If you would like to see more quilts from the IQSG go to http://www.quiltstudy.org/index.html , which is its web page. If you scroll down you’ll be able to Search The Collections. You can search on variety of terms. I used dates of 1820 t0 1850 along with pieced quilts as the technique. Enjoy browsing through these pioneering quilts. I will be using several of the blocks I found in this collection in our quilt.

Cutting:

From background fabric cut 4 - 2 ¾” squares.

From background fabric cut 4 - 5 x 2 ¾” rectangles.

From colored fabric cut 8 - 2 – ¾” squares for the points

From colored fabric cut 1 - 5” square for the center

Sewing:

Draw a diagonal line down the center of the 8 colored 2 ¾” squares. Draw a second line just shy of ½” away from the first line. Place one of these colored blocks on one side of the 5 x 2 ¾” rectangles as shown.

Sew on the center marked line. Sew the second line. (Be sure when you place these blocks down that the second line is actually in the area that will be cut off.) Cut off the excess fabrics leaving a ¼” seam. Repeat for the other side making a flying goose unit. Press all to the dark. Set the extra half square triangles aside. (There are lots of ways to make flying geese – choose your favorites if you’d like to do it a different way.)

Sew into rows as shown. Top and bottom rows press to the background pieces. Center row press to the middle piece. Sew the rows together.

The second block is now done.

Trim the leftover half square triangles to 1-1/2”. Stash these in a plastic baggie to be used later in the year.

If you have any questions please leave me a comment or send me an email: brsinstitches @ gmail.com (just take out the spaces.)

Coming Soon -- Scrap Squad Quilt

2012-02-07T10:09:00.003-05:00

Yes, the newest issue of Quiltmaker is now available on new stands and at your favorite quilting stores. That means that sometime over the next few weeks I'll be showing off my version of Chain Reaction. You can read more about the Scrap Squad on Quiltmaker's blog, Quilty Pleasures. As Jean F. said in a comment

"Yay to the Scrap Squad members!! Go forth and be scrapalicious!!!!!!!"

Don't you love that word? Scrapalicious and doesn't it look fabulous in red!
Stay tuned for my first Scrap Squad quilt. I'm not sure when I will reveal it but it's coming soon to this very blog!

Chain Reaction was designed by Lee Heinrich. You can read her blog Fresh Lemons. She's got some wonderful tutorials you might want to check out.

I'm off to the Y, a little shopping, a little vacuuming (bleh!) and then some quilting.

Happy quilting all!

Design Wall Monday 2-6-12

2012-02-06T09:31:00.000-05:00

First up -- 9 blocks done fom Carolina Christmas....

But wait, there's more ... I actually have 11 blocks done. I think I'll make at least one more block for this quilt.

And, I have a few left over pieces for more blocks. I know I'll make one more block but whether I make any more than that.... who knows. I would like to finish this quilt but I would also like to be able to use it on a bed over Christmas. I think I'll make the gold/red block and then decide if I want to add more. I guess the issue would be whether I want to make 7 more blocks as that is probably what I'd need to do to have a big enough quilt. I still need to check out border designs. I don't have any directions for borders for this quilt. Anyone know if there were there directions for a border?

Last weeks goals with almost everything checked off.
Week of Jan 30, 2012

Make binding and bind the Scrap Squad quilt √

Quilt and bind the NY Day Mystery quilt√ started quilting

Make 3 more of the Mourning Quilt blocks, √ put it together√, quilt it

Quilt Twister quilt √ and bound

Finish clue 5 of Carolina Christmas√

Back to working on the FCQ Equilter’s donation quilt 5 blocks needed

Clean 2 more shelves of the refrigerator√

Clean the stovetop really well√

This weeks goals... not as much sewing as I've got to clean the house.

Week of February 6, 2012

Pick next 1800s bom and write directions

Finish quilting and bind NY Day Mystery Quilt

Vacuum the house

Back to working on the FCQ Equilter’s donation quilt 5 blocks needed

Make snowman blocks and FCQ’s bom

Think about making blue and yellow pillow shams or cases

Decide on Carolina Christmas – make more blocks or leave as is?

Pick fabric for next Scrap Squad Quilt

Have a great time with Sharon visiting

This week will be busy -- laundry, cleaning, working out and my quilting buddy from Maryland, Sharon, coming for a visit. We'll be trying to have 2 sewing machines set up in my studio... or I'll finish the quilt on Ruthie, get the binding sewn on and then hand sew the other side down.

Do you want to see what else people are working on? Go check out Patchwork Times.

The first day of next month I hope to put up a Mr. Linky for those of you who would like to keep track of your fabric usage every month. Join me as we try to USE more fabric than we acquire. Also, stop by next Sunday afternoon to see the latest block of the month for the 1800's quilt.

Happy quilting all.

1st Month Stash Busting Statistics

2012-02-01T12:33:00.000-05:00

I am so happy to shed the statistics showing how much fabric I bought last year. To refresh your memory -- I ended with 114 yards MORE fabric than I used. Some of it will be going to a peddler table at Faithful Circle's show in April. Some has actually been used. January was a good start for USING fabric rather than buying fabric... although I did have to get some fabric for specific tasks.

MONTH OF JANUARY

Fabric In	3 - 7/8 yards
Fabric Out	6 - ¾ yards
Net Fabric Out	2 - 7/8 yards

Way to Go! Start the year off with fabric USED rather than fabric IN!

With that information firmly in my head I think I'll go upstairs and prep the NY Day Mystery for loading on the long arm.... that way I'll start February with a finished.

Happy Quilting All!

Design Wall Monday 1-30-12

2012-01-30T08:45:00.000-05:00

A very productive week. Here's what I was working on yesterday --

The borders are on the Planet Patchwork New Year's Day Mystery. Yikes that pink looks, well, really pink.
Unfortunately this was a narrow fabric so I actually had to piece all four borders. But doing it on the diagonal helps hide the seam and I can't tell where the seams are from this photo.
I hope to get this on Ruthie today so that maybe I can have another finished quilt for January. I've been buying a little fabric so I need some bigger finishes if I don't want to start the year out by buying more than I use!

I also decided to start the Small Quilt of the Month challenge on Kathy Tracy's Small Quilt Talk group on yahoo. She announces a quilt from one of her books each month and members make that quilt. If we are diligent we'll have 12 little quilts made. I wasn't going to make it but decided to give it a try yesterday. I'm making this Mourning Quilt with just 4 blocks -- Yikes these greens seem really bright to me. I think they are a bit more subdued. Last night I cut out 3 more blocks. I'm using some fabrics that are reproductions from two quilts in the Smithsonian's collection. One is Little Sister quilt and the other is Rising Sun, if I remember correctly. I've had what is equivalent of a Layer Cake for many years. (Heck, over 15 years... yikes time flies when you are having fun!) I've only began using them in the last 2 years or so.

For my Leader Ender project I'm putting the pieces together of my Carolina Christmas, a former mystery on Quiltville. I'm working on putting together the sub units that eventually become this unit. I'm getting very close to getting all the sub units done so I can make these blocks. Then, it's putting it all together. I look forward to getting it done before Christmas! LOL.

Last week's goals -- almost all done and some even more than planned!

Week of Jan 23, 2012

Quilt Twister quilt

Quilt 12 Days of Christmas quilt √ and bound

Sew secret project together √ and quilted

Spend 15 minutes a day cutting scraps into usable sizes not too many times this week

Clean the oven (ok, set it so it cleans itself but I hate the smell of it…so avoid it frequently!) √ And did the racks too!

Clean top two shelves in the refrigerator (blah!) √

Finish putting the rows together of NY Day mystery√

Post at least one more blog during the week √

Week of Jan 30, 2012

Make binding and bind the still secret Scrap Squad quilt

Quilt and bind the NY Day Mystery quilt

Make 3 more of the Mourning Quilt blocks, put it together, quilt it

Quilt Twister quilt

Finish clue 5 of Carolina Christmas

Back to working on the FCQ Equilter’s donation quilt 5 blocks needed

Clean 2 more shelves of the refrigerator

Clean the stovetop really well

Have you checked out what other folks are working on? Remember to check out Patchwork Times. Judy has her QOV quilt along top posted. Hum, I have some of those stars from a different project. Maybe I'll make I'll set them this way rather than put them with the other blocks which don't look right together.... just thinking here...

Happy Quilting All!

Sigh -- either my iPhoto or blogger is messing me up here. All of my pictures were cropped to just show the blocks -- not the extra on the side. But I reloaded them twice and each time I get the original picture which isn't showing in iPhoto. Sigh. And, spacing, and... oh well, it is what it is. B.

12 Days of Christmas is DONE!

2012-01-28T22:45:00.000-05:00

I put the final stitches in the binding last night. It took me about 24 or so days to get my 12 Days of Christmas mini quilt done. But I do love it in the reds and whites. Sad thing is I don't have enough wall space for all of the Valentine's Day quilts I've made. And, my dog is notorious for getting things off of tables so I doubt it will be sitting on a table like it was for this photograph. I hand quilted in each of the blocks except #1 as I didn't have a stencil nearby at the time. I did not quilt in the little border either. I made my borders narrower than what the pattern called for. I thought the borders as given in the directions overpowered the little blocks.

Today I loaded my first Scrap Squad quilt on Ruthie. She was purring away with no problems. YEAH! She has been feeling neglected as I haven't had any thing to put on her since late November. After I finished with the quilting, I began putting the borders on the quilt I showed Monday. I'm going with the pink borders and should get them on tomorrow. And thanks to all the folks who gave their opinions. I need to figure out how to use that tan/brown fabric that was choice #3. I've had it for a good long while! Maybe I'll be able to put this quilt on Ruthie on Monday. I have the backing -- can't remember if I need to piece it or not. Probably. Bummer.

That's all that's new here.

Happy Quilting Everyone!

I've Got a Favorite, How About You?

2012-01-24T10:50:00.000-05:00

I got quite a bit done in the studio yesterday and now have to make a decision. Want to help?

Here are three photos of borders for my New Years Day mystery from Planet Patchwork.

Choice one as written in the instructions -- using the background fabric as the bigger border.

Choice two -- using a pink homespun plaid (very little contrast in the plaid...)

Choice three -- using a beige/light tan fabric that happens to have little trees on it.

When I started grabbing strips for this quilt I decided to use up as many of my green strips as I had precut. Then I started throwing in some floral prints with green in them. And, eventually I pulled some of the colors from the prints and added bits of those colors. I added mostly pinks, burgundies and golds if I remember.

I know which one I like best but which do you like? My favorite is the pink as I think it makes the top sing. The two others are fine but ho-hum. The pink is a loosely woven homespun so I will need to do some serious quilting in the borders. And, I think I'll have to piece the borders but that is fine with me.

Let me know what you think. I won't be working on this again until at least Wednesday, maybe later.

Happy Quilting All!

Design Wall Monday 1-23-12

2012-01-23T08:54:00.000-05:00

Good Morning!
I'm not showing my design wall today because 1) go to this pic and mentally add 6 more, and 2) what I am working on I can't show yet. I did get this lonely heart made for a block of the month opportunity. Most months Faithful Circle Quilters (in Columbia, Maryland and where I am still a member) gives us the opportunity to make as many blocks as we want to enter into a drawing. I try to always do at least one because it is an easy way to USE up fabric with out getting more fabric back. Well, unless you win the blocks. They have the option to not have your name in the drawing. I generally do NOT have my name in the drawing as I have several block sets I've won in the past.

I finished the borders on my 12 Days of Christmas presented by Temecula Quilt Company. (scroll down to day one, you'll have to click on newer posts to see all 12 days. When I started to spray baste the quilt to batt it up I decided I show you how I batt my small quilts. First, I cover my cutting table with lots of paper -- I don't want any adhesive droplets hitting any thing extra.

I lay out the backing, wrong side up and spray the adhesive over it. Next I roll my batting up. With just a little batting loose from the roll I carefully line up one edge and let it down to the batting. Luckily I can reposition this if I need to. Then I roll out the batting being careful to not get lumps or air bubbles.

There it is smoothed over the backing fabric.

The top doesn't roll as well so I just folded it over so I was only dealing with a small bit of the fabric first. For some reason I like working from the bottom up. I make sure I have enough backing around the edges of the quilt. Then I unfold the top and smooth it out.

Here it is all ready for me to hand quilt it. I am trying Sulky KK2200 Temporary Spray Adhesive. It comes in a small can but I've been told it lasts as long as the larger cans of other brands. I always do my spraying in my studio and this one leaves no yucky order. In fact, you can't smell it. (Or at least I can't.) The spray comes out in a fine mist which makes it very easy to use. Hopefully the sprayer part won't clog over time. The down side is it is temporary. Evidently it's hold will release within the next few days. I got 3/4th of this quilted last night so I don't think it will be a problem.

Last week's goals . . . . YEA! I did pretty well on all of them...

Week of Jan 16, 2012

Visit Jenny, Brian and Sophia √

Finish all blocks for secret project not quite – last 6 blocks in progress

Bind baby quilt-as-you-go √ all done

Make and mail out BOM for Faithful Circle Quilters √ will go in the mail today

Spend 15 minutes a day cutting scraps into usable sizes √ I didn’t do it every time I was up in the studio but most days I spent 20 minutes plus!

Keep the cutting table cleaned off at the end of the day √

Week of Jan 23, 2012

Quilt Twister quilt

Quilt 12 Days of Christmas quilt

Sew secret project together

Spend 15 minutes a day cutting scraps into usable sizes

Clean the oven (ok, set it so it cleans itself but I hate the smell of it...so avoid it frequently!)

Clean top two shelves in the refrigerator (blah!)

Finish putting the rows together of NY Day mystery
Post at least one more blog during the week.

Forgive me for throwing in housekeeping goals but I figure it will get done if I admit I have to do it. I noticed I haven't been posting many blogs between Mondays so I'm adding that to my goals for the week.

Here's a new picture of Sophia -- she was cuddling with the cat on her changing table...

Have you looked at other design walls across the internet? Check out Judy's Patchwork Times.

Happy Quilting All!

Design Wall Monday 1-16-12

2012-01-16T09:12:00.000-05:00

Here's what I'm working on:

After our regular meeting at Country Piecemakers we had a baby quilt sew-in. This is done in strips and quilt-as-you-go. I precut my strips to fit the size batting I had in my stash. And, I didn't really want to spend days working on this charity quilt so I cut bigger strips. So my striped fabric in the center was about 7" wide if I remember. That is laid down first right side up* on top of the batting and backing which is pinned together.

Then you just put the next strips on right sides together and sew along the 1/4" seam. Flip, iron and put another strip down. In a couple of hours I had a 36 x 45" quilt ready for binding. I had to sew a line of decorative stitches across the pink to hold it in place as it was pretty large. I plan on using the pink to make the binding. * Except, I didn't follow directions exactly. That pink is actually right side down and it is staying that way! I have to decide if I want to use the wrong side for the binding or use the right side. Decisions, decisions.

These fun stars are from Bonnie Hunter's Carolina Christmas several years ago. I got frustrated with the the whole project when I first started. I've pulled it out a couple of times and not gotten very far. But for some reason I'm having great luck with it now as an ender project. So I'll keep plugging away on it. It'll be half size unless I have a wild hair to cut more of everything.

Last week's goals:

Week of Jan 9, 2012

Make heart block or two √ at least 1

Make sample blocks of BOM for Guild √ go to yesterday's blog if you'd like to join us

Write up and print out instructions for BOM √

Make and mail out block for Faithful Circle Quilters didn’t happen

Keep making blocks for the secret project… at least 6 √ most are done

Keep making blocks for the Komen donation quilt oops

Clean off cutting table regularly √

Spend 15 minutes a day cutting scraps into usable sizes √

Make star blocks from Carolina Christmas as leader/ender project√ several are done but not all

Week of Jan 16, 2012

Visit Jenny, Brian and Sophia

Finish all blocks for secret project

Bind baby quilt-as-you-go

Make and mail out BOM for Faithful Circle Quilters

Spend 15 minutes a day cutting scraps into usable sizes

Keep the cutting table cleaned off at the end of the day

I have started a block of the month quilt for my guild and will be posting it on this blog the Sunday after the second Saturday each month until November. Please check it out by clicking here. I'm doing reproduction fabrics for mine but it definitely would work in any of your favorite fabrics. Since it is a sampler quilt I'm not giving fabric requirements. I've gathered about 20 pieces of fabric that I want to use. I do plan on buying some background fabric so it can "hold

together" the quilt. Let me know if you are joining in.

And, on another note. Does anyone know how to make buttons that folks share to draw attention to their blog or sew along? I'd like to have one for the bom but I don't have a clue how. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

That's what's happening in my corner of the internet. Check out Patchwork Times to see what's going on in other places.

Happy Quilting All!

**** Is it just me or does blogger drive you crazy when you can't keep the space between the lines even? When I copy and paste the goals I get more space in between. But all the other text on this post was typed directly into blogger. And, it isn't all the same distance from the lines above and below. ARGH! Thanks for letting me rant.... b.

Join Me in a Block of the Month 1800's Quilt

2012-01-15T19:43:00.000-05:00

I volunteered to plan and run a block of the month for my local guild. I thought I would share it with my readers if you'd like to play along.

Every month at least one 9” block that was used during the 1800’s will be presented. Hopefully I will be able to give you a little history of either the block or the quilt I found it in. There will be 12 blocks plus a pieced center medallion on point. I chose 19^th century reproduction fabrics to go with the time frame of the blocks. I have been collecting them since the 1990’s when modern fabrics were patterned after two quilts in the Smithsonian Institution collection. I have added to it over the years as reproduction fabrics have become very popular. I have added a cream background fabric although I am guessing I will have to buy a bigger piece than the ½ yard I currently have. Because this is a sampler quilt I have not figured yardage to make it. Pictured below is the general look of the quilt.

January Pinwheel Variation

The first block was chosen from a pinwheel quilt made in Maryland circa 1812 to 1814. It is said that the quilt was made while the men were away fighting the War of 1812, 200 years ago. The quilt is part of the Textile Collection of the National Museum of American History. Instructions for the reproduction quilt and a picture of the original can be found in the book, Quilts from the Smithsonian by Mimi Dietrich, (That Patchwork Place, ©1995 Smithsonian Institution) The block is a variation of a 9 patch using pinwheels. The original quilt is made up of 55 pinwheel variation blocks with plain blocks between. We’ll be doing only one block! To learn more about the National Museum of American History’s National Quilt Collection you can

Take a Tour of the National Quilt Collection

Cutting: from a light fabric cut 4 - 3.5” squares.

From both light and dark fabric cut 10 - 2.5” squares. (20 squares in total.)

The Smithsonian quilt used the same light for both the pinwheels and the alternating blocks for the 9 patch as shown above. I used different fabrics because I didn’t have enough of the lighter fabric in the pinwheels.

Sewing: Draw a diagonal line down the center of each light fabric. Pair up each light square with a dark square, right sides together. Sew a scant ¼” from the line on both sides. Cut on the drawn line. Square up to 2” unfinished. If your blocks are not quite big enough to square up cut the beginning squares to 2 5/8th inches. Or use your favorite method of making 20 half square triangles that finish 1.5” or unfinished 2”.

With the 20 half square triangles make 5 pinwheel blocks. Sew the pinwheels as shown in the block. Fan open the center seam to help eliminate bulk. See picture.

Sew into rows as shown. Press to the plain pieces. Sew the rows together.

The first block is now done.

I will be posting one or two blocks or parts of blocks on the Sunday after the second Saturday of each month. I plan to have the entire quilt done by November. It should measure 36" by 36" before borders. At this time I don't plan to put borders on it but once all the blocks are done I may change my mind. If you have any questions feel free to comment or send me an email at brsinstitches@gmail.com

Happy Quilting All!

UFOS into 2012

2012-01-11T22:37:00.000-05:00

Have you listed your UFOs (unfinished objects) for 2012? I spent a little time today cleaning up last year's list and adding things I started over year and didn't finish. From what I remember, I finished 6 UFO's last year. Some were really old -- 1993. Some had been started the previous year. I was happy to wipe those 6 items off my list. I added a few unfinished projects to the list but I still need to review my project boxes and see if I have any other projects that are being held over. I think I came up with one less project.

Here's how I keep track of these UFOs. Hum, try clicking on the photo to see if enlarges. The last column is for when the project is finished. I have 36 UFOs. And, the saddest part of the whole thing, I've already started 3 projects this year. One had to go to the back burner almost immediately. Sigh.

Some time over the next few weeks I'll pick 8 or 10 projects to focus on finishing during the year. I may not get all of them done but hopefully I'll move forward on all of them with at least half getting completed.

I also will list and print out a list of quilts/patterns I want to make sometime during the year. I wasn't as successful with that list last year. I think I had 8 or 10 items on that and I did two.

I have been diligently working on my secret project. I have 12 more blocks cut and started. Somewhere I need to find 2 more pieces of fabric as I need 14 blocks. (Bummer...)

I have begun to put the sashing on the 12 Days of Christmas Mystery. With luck that will be finished tomorrow. Well, at least the top will be done.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll get to the studio earlier than I have recently. To do that I need to go to the Y earlier. Which means I need to get moving earlier... etc. etc.

Happy Quilting All!

Design Wall Monday 1-9-12

2012-01-09T08:48:00.001-05:00

First -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEVIN... 29 years ago my son was born. Hope your year is fantastic.

On to the design wall...

Sorry, not much to show you. I am working on something that can't be shown for awhile.

But here are the three quilties I received from the swap last month. First is by Tove in Phoenix, Az.

Next by Laura Pringle

And, last by Sandy Rowe. Hers was a bit bigger than the rules but it is so darn cute. All the bells tingled and jingled when I carried it down from the studio. Love the buttons too.

Last Week's Goals

Finish the 12 Days of Christmas Mystery √ at least all blocks are done

Put the Chip and Strips top, mystery from Planet Patchwork √ all blocks are done

Baste and quilt Twister Quilt um, no, didn’t happen

Make practice block for secret project √

Cut out the rest of the secret project and begin stitching √ 6 blocks done more cut out

Make 4 more blocks for EFCQuilter’s Komen donation quilt √ I’ve lost count – need 5, maybe 6 more as I duplicated one of the blocks. Bummer.

Yuck, vacuum the downstairs. √ and even did a great pre-clean up vacuuming of the studio.

Week of Jan 9, 2012

Make heart block or two

Make sample blocks of BOM for Guild

Write up and print out instructions for BOM

Make and mail out BOM for Faithful Circle Quilters

Keep making blocks for the secret project… at least 6

Keep making blocks for the Komen donation quilt

Clean off cutting table regularly

Spend 15 minutes a day cutting scraps into usable sizes

Make star blocks from Carolina Christmas as leader/ender project

There you go folks. Our second design wall of the new year. Go to Patchwork Times to see other design walls.

Happy Quilting All!

Clean Up & Organization Day

2012-01-06T21:45:00.000-05:00

A big thank you to my pal, Diana, for spending the day helping me clean up and add a little more organization to my studio. And, she said she enjoyed herself. Really?

I had already done a bit of clean up of the cutting table yesterday. We're actually dealing with my ridiculous collection of plastic bags... I moved a bunch to the downstairs, trashed some and put others neatly in the basket and changed where the basket lived on the shelves. Hum the E Quilter's Komen donation quilt on the design wall is making progress. I changed the corners on the two blocks on the top right. I added some white to lighten them up. I want to make at least one more block with a pale pink background and use some more of the light green that I used in the green and yellow star. 6 more to go on those.

Argh -- look at all the junk in the top right corner. What a waste of space. This was taken in process so it looks like I have open shelf space because we were working with the basket of plastic bags.

Here's the other side of the stash collection before the clean up. You can't really appreciate my cute little duck collection above, they're all mixed together. But, trust me, below they are spread out!

And, here's one after picture. I bet you didn't even realize I had boxes and baskets of fat quarters on the top of my shelving. I need to take pictures that are exactly what I had taken in the before pictures so you can really see what's been done.

My sewing machine is to the left of this L shaped space. Honestly, you could not see the blue counter here before. Didn't get a picture of it though. We didn't start in on the shelf so I'm booking her again in a few weeks! My "homework" is to cut up and put away a bunch of scraps. I keep 2.5", 2" and 1.5" strips in the plastic drawer unit on the left. The boxes and tins have half square triangles in them and different sizes of squares. The white basket on top has triangles that I can sew into half square triangles... I finally got to the point today that I threw away some of my scraps... I just couldn't take it any more! I did get most of the 80+ yards of fabric I bought at the guild auction folded and put away before today.

Tomorrow I need to work on getting some of my goals done for this week. I have a sneaky feeling I'm not going to be checking off a whole bunch of stuff this week!

Happy Quilting All!

The First Design Wall Monday of 2012

2012-01-02T09:57:00.000-05:00

Here's what I've been working on. I started Planet Patchwork's New Years Day mystery yesterday. Oops -- I started a new quilt, didn't I? Here's what I got done in one day. This is one clue. I spent the whole day working on this. It called for 2.5" strips which I was happy to use from my collection of strips. Except a lot of mine were short pieces 3" to 5". It would have gone much faster if I had used 22" long strips. This is what took me nearly the whole day. I'll sew the next clue this morning since I pinned them together last night. And then I'm watching the Tournament of Roses parade and the Rose Bowl game.

Goals for Week of 12/26/11

Finish Christmas cards and mail√

Make 4 blocks for FCQ Equilters Komen donation quilts√

Make more log cabin blocks√

Work on Carolina Christmas (finish clue 4) Almost done with all of these

Cut fabric for Planet Patchwork’s New Year’s Day Mystery√

Start the Temecula Quilt Store 12 Days of Christmas Mystery√

Begin working on another secret project. Shoot, what was this secret project??? Oh yes, fabric is selected….

I did pretty well on getting things done this past week. So what's coming up this first week of 2012.

Week of Jan 2, 2012

Finish the 12 Days of Christmas Mystery

Put the Chip and Strips top, mystery from Planet Patchwork

Baste and quilt Twister Quilt

Make practice block for secret project

Cut out the rest of the secret project and begin stitching

Make 4 more blocks for EFCQuilter’s Komen donation quilt

Yuck, vacuum the downstairs.

Don't forget to visit Patchwork Times to see what is new on design walls across the internet.

Happy Quilting All!

December Stash Report and the Beginning of the New Year

2012-01-01T20:50:00.000-05:00

Month of December and the end of the year report

Fabric used: 7.5 yards

Fabric purchased (acquired): 6 7/8 yards

Net fabric used:5/8 yards

YEAR To Date

Year to date fabric used: 72 yards

Year to date fabric purchased: 186.5 yards

Net Year to Date Acquired : 114.5 yards

Just to put this into perspective let's look at the last few years of fabric in and out.

Year Fabric In Fabric Out + / -
2009 91.75 91. +.75 great year!
2010 65 70.25 - 5.25 super year! More used than acquired.
2011 186.5 72 +114.5 ARGH -- Too much fabric in and not enough going out. However I was pretty consistent in amount of fabric used these last two years. But I need to up the number of quilts finished so I can use some of this stash! Or give it away.

Now on to an exciting addition to my quilting life in 2012. I have been selected to be a member of Quiltmaker magazine's 2012 Scrap Squad. Yippee. I'm looking forward to working on 6 quilts for the magazine during the year. If you don't know what the Scrap Squad does each member makes the same quilt from an issue of the magazine before it is published. I've got the directions for the first quilt and have pulled the fabric. So look for more secret projects in my goals each week.

Here's a peak at the 12 Days of Christmas Mystery. I've got 8 blocks to show you now. Although Temecula Quilt Co. sold kits to make this little gem, I'm super pleased with my red and whites.

After seeing another blogger show all the empty thread spools she had to show for a year's worth of quilting, I decided to do the same thing. So, here's the thread I've used up this year. Hum, doesn't look like all that much considering this is both piecing and quilting on Ruthie. But take a look at this next picture.

Last year, Pat bought me two cones of thread from Connecting Threads. One was silver grey and the other was black. So, yes, I have been using a lot of thread but it was only the silver on my big cone. I unwrapped the black today to show how much I've actually used of the silver this year. Yep, quite a bit. I figure I'll finish the silver by about May or so. Then I think I'll use some of the beige cotton thread I have hanging around before I buy more. And, the poor black? I have two additional large spools that I haven't made it through yet so I don't think this cone will be seeing any use for a while! And, I seldom use black unless the quilt is mostly dark. Grey is my preferred piecing thread.

Happy Quilting Everyone!

Winding Down 2011 with Quilting

2011-12-29T11:57:00.000-05:00

A few more days left to finish some things, make progress on others and, yes, start something new...

First a look at a finish from earlier that had to remain a secret until opened.

I love this quilt ... I may have to duplicate it but I probably never will. The design elements were from primitive bom kits I got many years ago. I didn't even realize what I'd signed up for until I started getting them. After about 4 months and never making them I quit. I just don't really do primitives. One of the kits I donated to a silent auction at Faithful Circle Quilters in Md. The gal who won the bid made it into a wonderful quilt for her husband. Sorry I don't have pictures to share. The rooster and the flower were from two different months. I used some of my fabrics and some from the kits. I used wonder under or the like to attach the elements except the fence. I hand buttonholed around every thing but the fence. There is a little bit of embroidery on the rooster... rats, his eye isn't big enough...should have redone it. The fence was ripped fabric stitched down the center on the machine. I used pearl cotton and big stitches to hand quilt it. It was so much fun to do. And I hope Patti likes it half as much as I do! I tried the technique of cutting out the inside of the wonder under on the rooster. It makes the whole piece feel softer. I may start doing that on a regular basis.

On to what I've been working on the past two days...

More blocks for the FCQ Equilter's donation quilt to Komen. I've decided I need to keep the outside of the blocks light and not use too much of the darker fabrics. Hopefully I'll get 8 more blocks done over the weekend.

Have you checked out Temecula Quilt Company's 12 Days of Christmas Mystery? It is a lot of fun and you would only have 4 blocks to catch up. Oh, did I forget to tell you they are 3" finished blocks? One a day for the 12 days of Christmas. there were fabric kits available but are all sold out. So, I'm using reds and creams. Here's a picture of the 4 blocks revealed so far. Um, notice one piece block, two pieces block, three pieces block, and four pieces block. Yep, there is definitely a pattern going on. They've said not to worry about 12 pieces in a 3" finished block. Are they crazy? Well, we'll see. In the meantime I'm having a lot of fun and keeping up with no problem. The blocks are available on their blog which is the site listed above. Come join me.

Are any of you planning on doing mystery quilts this weekend? I had the choice between two. One is Ann Smith's New Year's Eve mystery. I've done Ann's mysteries for years over at Fabricholics Annonymous on Yahoo Groups. (It's also available on beginners_and_beyond@yahoogroups.com , misfit_quilters@yahoogroups.com , PickleRoadStudio@yahoogroups.com , qtmysteryquilts@yahoogroups.com , quilt-talk@yahoogroups.com , quiltingtofriendship@yahoogroups.com , and thequiltingpost@yahoogroups.com. ) FA closes membership two weeks before the mystery. I don't know if any of the other groups do or not. But you might want to check it out. Ann writes a great mystery. I'll be saving the steps and might do it later. Of course, I will be looking before I make it... I'm not good at not peeking!

The other is Planet Patchwork's New Year's Day mystery. But this year the Merry Mayhem Chips and Strips mystery tickled my interest. It uses 2.5" strips -- either use a jelly roll or use strips from your stash... I'm using my stash strips. I've picked the go-with fabric but need to go through the strip drawer to gather the rest of the requirements. This will be presented on New Year's Day. Normally I would be watching the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game but it's Sunday so all of those festivities will be postponed until Monday. So, I'm making Chips and Strips. It will start at 10 am and go until 2 pm. Six clues posted hourly... except it seems to me that 6 clues hourly would go until 3 pm. There are prizes and places to post your finished project or top. So, join me and thousands of others doing Chips and Strips.

As long time readers may realize, I'm forever taking self portraits of Sophia and me. Here's the latest -- taken with an older iPhone on Christmas day. At least I got a "good" part of Sophi! But, my chin? Yuck!

Time for me to hit the Y and then on to sewing. I've got stuff to sew and other stuff to get ready for the mystery. I'm shopping a bit tomorrow.

Happy quilting! beginners_and_beyond@yahoogroups.commisfit_quilters@yahoogroups.com

Design Wall Monday

2011-12-26T20:27:00.000-05:00

Nothing to show on the design wall but I can show you a finished Christmas present.

No, not the tree, the tree skirt. This was a gift for Kevin and Aimee. The green print was fabric that Kevin and Aimee got during their honeymoon in India. I purchased the go-with fabrics on the trip to Mary Jo's. The backing came directly from the stash. They were thrilled to receive it especially with the fabric from their honeymoon.

Here are a couple of photos taken on Christmas day. We all gathered at Kevin and Aimee's house for their first Christmas. This year Sophia understood Christmas a bit more than she did last year.

She was fascinated with the curling ribbon. And, wow, her first bike according to Uncle Kevin.

The two turkey cooks! Or perhaps cookers of the turkey.

And this last picture -- Four Dogs and a Toddler. Kona, Homer, Cassie, Raggs and Sophia.

Goals for Week of 12/19/11 Yikes less than a week ‘til Christmas!

Finish secret Christmas present. √

Find pattern, start and finish another secret project √

Bind a third secret project and mail it out √

Send off FCQ Equilters blocks for Joan√

Finish Christmas cards and mail Partly done and mailed, 12 or so to go √

Wrap presents √

Last minute shopping? √

Work on Carolina Christmas √

Work on black and white √

Work on FCQ Equilters Komen donation quilt didn’t do anything on this one

Goals for Week of 12/26/11

Finish Christmas cards and mail

Make 4 blocks for FCQ Equilters Komen donation quilts

Make more log cabin blocks

Work on Carolina Christmas (finish clue 4)

Cut fabric for Planet Patchwork’s New Year’s Day Mystery

Start the Temecula Quilt Store 12 Days of Christmas Mystery

Begin working on another secret project.

Don't forget to visit Patchwork Times to visit Design Walls across the internet. I'm hoping to spend a lot of time in the studio -- some sewing going on and some neatening of the space.

3 Sleeps 'til Christmas

2011-12-22T10:27:00.000-05:00

I think I'd better start out with a nice cuppa... cranberry tea. I usually drink just one or two cups a day if the tea is caffeinated. I'm super sensitive to caffeine.

Here's what I've been doing lately --

Log cabins as enders

Hearts for the new Quiltville Heart group

And secret project that is almost done. Yeah!

The other good news is I found the pattern and directions for the other secret project. The third secret project is ready to be boxed up and shipped out. 2/3rds of the Christmas cards are done and ready to take to the post office. Even if folks don't get them before Christmas, at least they will be post marked before Christmas.

And, now, with no further to do, I'm out of here ---

zip------------off to the studio. Oops, got to get my clothes on first. And finish breakfast and... Sigh. Eventually I'll be off to the studio.

Happy Quilting All!

Design Wall Monday 12-19-11

2011-12-19T08:54:00.000-05:00

Christmas Crunch time has arrived. I've got 6 days to finish two projects, wrap all the Christmas presents, make a bunch of cards and get them in the mail. Hey, no problem. Or at least it seems like it is all doable.

Here's what's on the design wall this morning. Little bits of several projects. The most obvious is the FCQ Equilter's Komen donation quilt. As I have time I keep making blocks for it. It definitely goes to the front burner right after the holidays. I may need to replace some of the really dark blocks with lighter blocks or at least blocks that can "ease" in the darker blocks. Sigh. What does everyone think about them? Some too dark? Perhaps I should remake some of the blocks and put the white in them? I'm thinking about the last two blocks in the top row. If I took out the green/yellow and replaced with white yellow? Same with the far right -- replaced the dark pink with white? Opinions needed, if you have time please.

The log cabin continues as an ender. And down at the bottom is a secret project that still needs a binding and to get in the mail early this week. Don't to forget to visit Patchwork Times to see bloggers across the internet start to panic as we all try to finish our projects in time for Christmas!

On the voting front. See last post for the details. Evidently there was an error and the voting has been extended through midnight, so I'm asking everyone who hasn't voted to go to Quilting Bloggers to vote for my quilt, Aged Christmas Pineapple. I'm very close to second place and I'd love to come in 2nd or first would be lovely too. Here's the link: http://tinyurl.com/89swj9v

Goals for Week of 12/12/11

Make a block for the FCQ Equilters Komen donation quilt

Finish secret Christmas present worked on it but not done yet!

Start and finish another secret Christmas present argh need to find the pattern

Make Christmas cards and mail off started…

Work on Carolina Christmas √

Work on black & white log cabin blocks √

Post my Occupy My Studio finishes (hopefully!) √

Raggs in for grooming√ he smells so much better

Hair Cut √

Little Christmas shopping √

I did pretty well on last week's goals... on to this week...

Goals for Week of 12/19/11 Yikes less than a week ‘til Christmas!

Finish secret Christmas present.

Find pattern, start and finish another secret project

Bind a third secret project and mail it out

Send off FCQ Equilters blocks for Joan

Finish Christmas cards and mail

Wrap presents

Last minute shopping?

Work on Carolina Christmas

Work on black and white

Work on FCQ Equilters Komen donation quilt

On to the studio. Oops, need to eat and get dressed first and then -- on to the studio. If I can get the three secret projects done it would help a lot. Here's hoping there are enough hours in the days for all of you. Happy sewing.

Will You Vote for Me?

2011-12-17T10:23:00.000-05:00

I have entered my pineapple quilt in the Christmas Quilt Contest at Quilting Gallery. I'd love you to stop by and vote for my quilt! It's called Aged Christmas Pineapple as it took me more than 15 years to get the quilt finished. Any way, I sure would appreciate a vote from any of your computers/cell phones. Anything with a new IP address. Here's the tiny URL to get there:

http://tinyurl.com/89swj9v

After you scroll through the quilts you can vote. Thanks to each and every one of you! Reminder to self -- vote from the iPhone....

I've been doing pretty well on my goals this week. I mailed off the little quilties but, bummer, I forgot to take a picture of the finished products. I got the Christmas presents that needed to be shipped, out in the mail. I've got a good start on the Christmas cards. I ended up making mine although I probably should just buy ready made cards. Today I'm planning on vacuuming up the glitter from the cards and work on one of the secret projects.

Tomorrow is Lessons and Carols at church followed by a choir party... not much will be getting done then. So today is a studio day whether I'm working on the cards or quilting. Happy quilting all!

Occupy Your Sewing Room Results

2011-12-14T10:09:00.000-05:00

Yea! Some results even if there is nothing finished to show you. Here's some of the things I worked on. I have lots of these blocks in various stages. So I did get way more done than just what is shown here. And, I have a surprise project that is an hour away from finishing but hit the back burner for a week.

These are actually two different projects but I like how they go together. When I finally finish the log cabin quilt I may have to try a border with these half square triangles. Well, not these exact ones... these belong to Carolina Christmas that I am now using as a leader ender. I think I will be putting the blocks together after this clue.

See the little button on the right side bar? I'm trading quilties at Sandra Kaye? These are two of my three quilties. They need to go in the mail TODAY. I still need to label and hand stitch the binding. 1 hour tops. But this internet is sucking me in today. I think I will vanish from here and head to the studio to finish these babies.

Happy Quilting All!

Design Wall Monday 12-12-11

2011-12-12T08:27:00.000-05:00

A week or so ago I finished sewing the rows together on this scrap quilt. I was ready to move on to the border ... but oh no! I couldn't find the box with the directions, the triangle borders, 2 straight borders, and the extra 16 patches for another border. But I knew where the quilt was. I searched in all the clear boxes where I thought the pieces would be but nada, zip -- no pieces and directions!

But the other day I was looking for something and had to move a basket and there they were... yeah! Today I hung them on one of the design walls to get an idea of how it will look. Am I really working on this? Probably not until January. Heck, I'm already working on 3 quilts as is!

Here's my neighbor Jennie growling at Pat after she rode the Lion's Club float in our local parade. Ooops, I missed the parade but Jennie wanted to share her "scary" self with us. She was probably the warmest person at the parade. Love the nose Jennie.

Have you finished your holiday shopping? Nope, me neither. I'm going to try to get a few things for the shortest person in our family today. I know she doesn't read the blog so I can say that I have to make her a stocking to match all the others and also that I need to buy stuff to fill the stocking. Hum, socks come to mind but will have to find little things to go with.

Goals for Week of 12/5/11

Occupy my Studio √

Finish secret little quilt put this away as my partner is leaving town before I could get it to her so will finish it this week and then mail late in the week.

Begin secret Christmas present √

Make 3 quilties almost done...

Mail off quilties, small quilt and a return

Start Christmas cards

Put Christmas quilt on bed, √ hang 2 others √√

Tie off threads on red, white and blue and give to charity√

Work on Carolina Christmas√

Work on black & white log cabin blocks √

Make and wrap ornament for guild exchange gave up on this...

Wrap cookie cutter for guild’s exchange √

Goals for Week of 12/12/11

Finish quilties and get in the mail

Make 2 blocks for the FCQ Equilters Komen donation quilt

Finish secret Christmas present

Start and finish another stocking for Sophia

Make Christmas cards and mail off

Work on Carolina Christmas

Work on black & white log cabin blocks

Post my Occupy My Studio activities

Raggs in for grooming

Hair Cut

Little Christmas Shopping

Only 2 more Design Wall Monday's this year. Wow, the year has flown by but I'm happy to report I have made a lot of quilts this year. I'm especially proud of all the UFO's I pulled out and finished. Hopefully, I haven't started and left unfinished a lot more projects! Hop on over to Patchwork Times to see what every one else has been working on.

Happy Quilting!

Have You Shopped for Batting Recently?

2011-12-09T21:49:00.000-05:00

Honestly, I don't think I've spent much time looking at battings recently. But today I was looking at the battings at JoAnns. I saw some of the regular ones I'm used to -- poly, Rose Cotton (I think that is what it was called), Warm and White, Warm and Natural... all the regular ones. But I also saw three battings on a flat "roll" or bolt. I'd never noticed before.

What? Soy blended with cotton. 48" wide isn't bad for lap sized quilt tops but not so good for queen or king. Stitching can be 8 to 10" apart. Doesn't say anything about shrinkage.

And, here's rayon. I'm assuming it is all rayon. Quite a bit of shrinkage but stitching can be 8 to 10" apart. But notice that gentle wash. Hum, does that mean once quilted it can be only washed in a gentle cycle?

And, how about rayon from bamboo along with rayon. YUCK -- hand soak, no wringing dry flat. I guess I want to throw my finished quilts in the washing machine. And, this is $12.99 a yard. Hum, I wonder how wide it is. I think it might be the same as the other two. Wish I had thought to look at the prices on the other two. I was so focused on getting a picture where I could read what was in each batting I didn't pay any attention to the price. But I do like the Made in USA information. I may have to give this one a try just because it is made in the US.

What's your favorite batting? I think Quilter's Dream either the cotton or the cotton poly would be high on my list. And, I tried a package of Tuscany that I won a year or two ago and I really liked it. I mostly quilt on my long arm and I've had good luck with them. When I first got the long arm I bought a roll of warm and white. I have just a little bit left of it now. Since cotton has gotten so expensive I don't think I will be buying a roll of it again even with 50% off from JoAnns.

I'm still working away on my goals and a few things that should have been on the goal list but didn't make it. Sigh.

I'm back to stitching on a label and a binding. Happy Quilting All!

Can't Show Much

2011-12-08T10:52:00.000-05:00

Here's one of the blocks I've finished for the Komen donation quilt. Oooh... I may need to fix that big miss on the corners in the bottom quarter square triangle... how did that happen?

And, just to tease someone -- Hi Patti! -- Here's a little peak at something I am currently working on in private. Hum, looks a bit wrinkly there. Perhaps it is suppose to!

I'm hard at work on a couple of swaps as the deadlines are looming. Hope to spend the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon working on these projects and listening to an audio book.

Happy Quilting All!

Design Wall Monday 12-5-11

2011-12-05T08:27:00.000-05:00

I still have the applique block now with 3 blocks around it on the design wall. I'll show it again as I have more blocks done but I'm giving you a break for the time being. Here's what is on my cutting table doing dual purpose as my design wall.... kind of!

I blame Elaine Adair for these blocks. They are ALL her fault. She has made several really cool log cabin quilts that kind of dance across the quilt because they get cut apart and then resewn into a slightly different block before she sews them together. I had to try it! And, then she posted a tutorial on her blog. Well, you see why I had to make them.

Two Christmases ago Jenny gave me a roll of black and whites which I thought would go perfectly in this quilt and even better, they are 5" wide so I can get a lot of 1.5" strips out of them. It was kismet -- how could I not do them? So they are like my second leader and ender project. (I know, I know how can I do two ender projects? Easy -- sew a couple of the Carolina Christmas units and then a couple of the logs onto strips. While I was visiting Jenny I raided her scrap bag. She made a black, white and red bargello quilt several years ago. I grabbed a bunch of her blacks, whites, reds for the center pieces and darn, a soft purple, a yellow a... well you get the idea. Her stash is way newer than mine and I like it! I wasn't planning on counting it until I realized how much I took. So, now I'm measuring the strips and will add it to my statistics in December. Why not, I've added so much to my stash this year I'll never make a dent in it again. Ever. Honest!

Goals for Week of 11/28/11

Secret little quilt for a swap… √

Layout beige and turquoise quilt, start sewing rows together (put on the back burner)

Make more blocks for the FCQ Equilter’s Komen quilt √

Finish Clue 4 of Carolina Christmas, √ start putting blocks together √

Make a quiltie started all three…

Baby sit Sophia √

Sew with Sharon √

Not a bad week in terms of getting my list done. This week's is a bit longer but hopefully just as doable.

Goals for Week of 12/5/11

Occupy my Studio

Finish secret little quilt

Begin secret Christmas present

Finish 3 quilties

Mail off quilties, small quilt and a return

Start Christmas cards

Put Christmas quilt on bed, hang 2 others

Tie off threads on red, white and blue and give to charity

Work on Carolina Christmas

Work on black & white log cabin blocks

Make and wrap ornament for guild exchange

Wrap cookie cutter for guils exchange
Make a couple of pillowcases to go with the Christmas quilt (?)
Make more blocks for the FCQ Equilter’s Komen quilt
What are you working on? Have you seen what folks are working on all over the web? Go to Patchwork Times to take a look.

Occupy Your Sewing Room

2011-12-04T13:28:00.000-05:00

You may have noticed the button to the left saying Occupy Your Sewing Room. It has already started but there is no reason you can't join in on the fun. Plan to spend a day in your studio doing what you want to do. In my case, I need to finish a few swap things and start and finish a Christmas present. Click on the link and sign up to work in your sewing room this week. Barbara is running a give away in conjunction with her Occupy Your Sewing Room event. She has some lovely prizes to give away.

I was just over visiting the blog she linked the button to. And, good news, it isn't too late to commit to working in your studio this week. So, rush right over and sign up. Grab her button and play (or work) in your studio. You'll have fun and get further along on your projects whether they are for Christmas or not.

THE END.

Well, if I don't finish this I won't get anything done... so ***poof*** I'm off to the studio.

Happy Quilting.

High Tea

2011-12-02T20:38:00.000-05:00

Thursday I spent with Sharon. We were suppose to be stitching together but she suggested we go to tea out in Sykesville. So off we went for our adventure.

Sykesville is a cute little town with interesting shops on the main street. Here's the outside of the tea shop we visited. You can visit it online here Sweet Simplici-Tea.

It was a quiet day at the tea store so we enjoyed a leisurely tea. The wonderful thing here is we could try as many different types of tea as we wanted to. I started with Cranberry -- can't remember what other type of tea was in it but it was wonderful. We also tried vanilla tea and Buccaneer tea. We tried many more. We bought some Buccaneer tea that we split and I bought the cranberry.

Here's the first two pots of teas in their fancy tea cozies. I untied one to see if I could figure out how to make one. Sure I can -- it was very simple. I'll have to try to make one to see how well it fits my tea pots.

There was a lot to look at also. Definitely Victorian style with lots of little things around the room. And, it was all decorated for Christmas. I may have to "borrow" some of the ideas. Except Raggs would probably want to "play with" (read that as eat) the decorations.

Here's our main food. Yummy! Do you see the little cupcakes on the second tier? They are red velvet cupcakes with peppermint frosting. The little red bits are actually miniature candy canes. Too cute. And I found some just like them at the next place we went to.

After our tea we went to Columbia to shop at Ann's House of Nuts outlet store. Cool. I love nuts and the prices were right! Sharon didn't get as much as I did but I bought a bunch of stuff. If you live near Columbia, Maryland and you like NUTS it is well worth visiting.

Sharon and I didn't have any time to sew at all Thursday. By the time we got home it was time for me to head back to Jen's. One thing I am very careful about is trying to travel before or after rush hour. So it was already an hour after I thought I should have gone back to Jenny's by the time I left. The good news is there was no traffic the way I went and I didn't have to get on the Washington Beltway. Made a world of difference that's for sure! Of course, I didn't really do what Gypsy (gps) suggested unlike driving up to Jenny's when I missed a turn and Gypsy sent me straight through Washington, D.C. Luckily it was early afternoon and I didn't have a problem although it took me a good 30 minutes longer than it should have. Sigh.

Now to get some more work done on my secret project. I have made a little progress and it is going fairly quickly.

Happy Quilting All!

November Stash Report EEK!

2011-12-01T07:30:00.001-05:00

I finally measured all the fabric I bought at the guild auction. I didn't realize I would be so very lucky ??? to get so much fabric for a mere $31. And once I blew my numbers sky high I decided to support the buy local event the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Where did I go? To a local quilt store. Might as well!

Month of November

Fabric used: 3.125 yards

Fabric purchased (acquired): 87.375 yards oh my!

Net fabric ADDED to stash: 84.253 yards OH DOUBLE MY!

YEAR To Date

Year to date fabric used: 64.5 yards

Year to date fabric purchased: 179.625yards

Net Year to Date Acquired : 115.125 yards

Ok, so maybe next year I should skip the guild auction held in November. I ended up with more than 85 yards of fabric, not including the non-cottons. Well, except I think one other piece is a mixture of fabric and will make something really cute for Sophia. (Note to self -- measure and delete that amount from the incoming fabric...)

You might have noticed I got very little done in the way of finished projects this month. I actually finished a twin size quilt but most of the blocks were sent to me from the FCQ Equilter group. I don't count them coming in or going out. They sent me so many that I didn't have any of my own blocks in the quilt. I counted the 2 yards used for the backing and binding. I bought it last month at Mary Jo's. It was a fat back that I counted as 2 yards in, so only 2 yards out. I knew I would use it up fairly fast. Sigh. I should have at least one or two finishes in December even if they aren't very big.

I'm up at Jenny's house to watch Sophie while Jenny's at a rehearsal for her horn quartet. Her Daddy is out of town. Sophie and I were playing peek a boo before she went to bed...

Where's Sophie? Here I am!

Happy Sophia!

These were taken with my cell phone so not great quality but we were having a great time. Then it was off to bed with a healthy set of lungs letting me know I wasn't Mommy. But, she soon gave in and grabbed Ducky. She sat up looking around for 15 or 20 minutes and all of a sudden she was down and out. I love the new video monitors available now. It's fun to see what she is doing in her bed.

I'm off to do a little bit of stitching on my "secret" project. I am hoping to have it almost finished by the end of the weekend. Happy Quilting All!

Design Wall Monday 11-28-11

2011-11-28T08:52:00.000-05:00

Not too many Design Wall Mondays left this year. See what others are working on by going to Patchwork Times. Here's what is on my wall. YEAH! Progress is being made on this quilt!

I have one more block nearly done but ran out of time yesterday. I need to make at least 9 more, possibly 13 more. I'm hoping I can get by with a 1" coping border. Beth sent me a formula to use but it was coming up with a 5" border. I realized the applique part is 26" and I could add 3 9" blocks and they would equal 27". So, couldn't I do a 1" border and have it work? That's what I'm thinking. Of course, I'm going to have to find more of that luscious goldy yellow. I don't have much. Or, I have a print that all the colors were taken from. I may need to audition it as the little border. Or at least use some of it in the blocks. I think the blocks need to be a bit lighter -- what do you think? And more pink. Do you have any favorite 9" blocks you'd like to suggest. I'm hoping for something more involved than a 9 patch but not a million pieces!

Goals for Week of 11/21/11

Make a snap purse

Finish blocks for beige and turquoise, sew into top made some but don’t know how many more I need!

Add another round to pink floral quilt √ at least the next row is started

Sew rows together of 16 patch quilt √

Finish clue 3 and start clue 4 of Carolina Christmas √

Pick a UFO to work on Do I need another one to work on?

Have a great Thanksgiving √

Not too bad overall. Do I really need another snap purse? Maybe not.

Goals for Week of 11/28/11

Make secret little quilt for a swap…

Layout beige and turquoise quilt, start sewing rows together

Make more blocks for the FCQ Equilter’s Komen quilt

Finish Clue 4 of Carolina Christmas, start putting blocks together

Make a quiltie

Baby sit Sophia

Sew with Sharon

I'm traveling this week so I may not get all of these goals completed -- but I should be able to work a bit on all of them. I'm looking forward to snuggle time with Sophia. I haven't seen her for 6 weeks. I wonder what she is saying now!

Happy Quilting All!