Design Wall Monday, er, Tuesday Actually

Ok, I'll admit it.  I've been goofing off when it comes to blogging.  Yesterday I was thinking about it.  But I started reading a novel and didn't put it down until several hours later when I finished it.  And then I knew I HAD to paint baseboards in the studio or I was going to be putting DH way behind.  So, no posting yesterday when I normally would have.  And, I'll admit now, I probably won't be posting a Triangle Thursday either.  I have several things I need to finish before Friday and I just may not be able to dedicate the time to the triangles. 

I have no quilty things to show as I really only made 2 or 3 blocks and sewed a binding on.  None of those can be shown yet.  Here's what I was working on.  First, go back to last Monday's Design Wall and check out the picture of all the stuff on the bookshelves in my current studio. It's the third photo down.  Hum, hum, hum.  Are you back?  Good.  We emptied that entire set of shelves so that they could be moved.  

Here's the long hallway with the baseboards installed.  That's some of the 210' of baseboard I've painted.  And, argh, a lot of it I need to put the second coat on still. Double argh! 

The long hallway into the studio.

Another section of shelving installed and
 ready to load up. 

Shelving partially installed from the studio side.

Here's part of the stuff that was removed from the shelving.  I'd like to start putting it back on but I'm still trying to figure out where I want things to go.  

And, on to the goals. Evidently I put way too much on the goals list! 

Week of July 22, 2013

Finish “charity” blocks√

Empty 6 bookshelves by packing√

Tea at my house this week – cook√

Baste and begin quilting 1800 quilt√ well, basting is but studio progress took over.

Make brown bag block Didn’t even think of it!

Embroider some kids shirts YIKES, running out of time on these!

Make Jenny’s blocks maybe next week or so!

Week of July 29, 2013

Paint the rest of the baseboards

Baste and begin quilting 1800 quilt

Embroider some kids shirts

Start putting stuff back on shelves

Wrap BD presents

Enjoy the Sophia and Natalie’s birthday celebration

Hopefully next week I'll be on schedule for Design Wall Monday.  You can still go to Patchwork Times and see what's going on Design Walls around the internet. 

I've got to end now because Pat is ready to put shoe molding on and I'm only half done with the second coat of paint.  Honestly, my hip joints hurt so badly while trying to get these baseboard painted that I can only do an hour and then I need a break.  I'm too old to paint anything! (But I bet we do our own painting when the old studio gets repaired, refreshed and made into a grand kid cave!) 

I'm looking forward to actual quilting time but not much will be happening on that for a while! 

Happy Quilting all! 

Design Wall Monday 7-22-13

I finished the borders on the 1800 Quilt.  Ok, I know it isn't either of the options I showed a couple of weeks ago. Check it out here.  I sent photos of it to daughter Jenny and friend Sharon for comments.  Jen was all for the orange -- she likes brights.  I liked it too.  But Sharon's comment was it looks really Halloweeny.  Yikes, she was right all that black and orange, even if it was a subdued orange.  I went back to the box of left over fabrics and had so little of anything left.  What I did have was a pretty big hunk of the background fabric.  It worked.   I trimmed back the black so only 1" was showing and then only used a 2" (or was it 2 1/2" border?)  Hum, this is a completely square top so why does it look rectangular?

Here's the big question.  I would like to put some intricate stitching in the corners of the center tree of life block.  Can I mix hand quilting with machine quilting? I was thinking of SID between blocks and around the outside of the center area.  To me that would be so much easier to do by machine.  Then do the hand stitching in the blocks as needed and around the tree of life.  Of course, the first stencil I bought won't fit.  I was thinking feathers or some sort.  I guess I will be doing an online search today.  Plus I'm still looking for thread for this.  

And, I made one more of these blocks for Pam. The bottom one is the new one. And that is about all the stitching done this week. Don't forget to visit Patchwork Times to tour Design Walls around the internet. 

How about goals? 

Week of July 15, 2013

Paint all doors in studio√

Work on Orange Peels√ I did 3 or 4 this week

Decide on borders for 1800 quilt√

Make charity blocks√ this is code, but I at least cut one out

Embroider some kids shirts Need to get going on this one soon! 

Not bad. 

Week of July 22, 2013

Finish “charity” blocks

Empty 6 bookshelves by packing

Tea at my house this week – cook and clean!

Baste and begin quilting 1800 quilt

Make brown bag block

Embroider some kids shirts

Make Jenny’s blocks 

Just to give you an idea of what I need to pack up and then find some place to stash. And I've already taken out 3 boxes of paperback books. I had them 3 layers deep on one of the shelves.  It might be time to take some to the used bookstore. 

I end this post with this very interesting spider's web.  Beautifully made.  As I stepped back to look at it I realized this was one very busy spider.  There was another web at the back of the deck that was 3 dimensional.  There was a very organized front web that looked like the web in the picture.  But behind it was a mass of webbing that looked chaotic.  It was several layers deep.  I didn't see the spider at any of the webs around the deck.  The mist was just right to get this photo. 

Happy Quilting All! 

Surprise, Surprise

Have you ever forgotten all about a project?  As in not in personal memory, not in a UFO list, not in a box marked prominently as to what it is?  If so, you must know exactly how I felt when I was moving stuff around in hopes of getting a few more things packed up for the move to the new studio.  

This is mystery #12 from Mysteries for Relay from Marge Gordon. For a $5 donation to the American Cancer Society, Marge creates mysteries on her Yahoo group of the same name. I have been doing her mysteries on and off for years and have to share -- she writes a great mystery.  And, I've finished almost every one I've started. 

I have a feeling this might have been the last mystery I did before moving from PA to Va.  Or it is the first one I did here in Va.  It was the bottom quilt of various PHDs, that is projects half done, stored in a plastic box.  All this one needs are borders and then in to the line to be quilted.  There were some other miscellaneous blocks and the beginning of another quilt in there.  Hum, I need to get some things finished one of these days! And, I think all the fabrics came from stash.  Or nearly all, that green and the background fabric were definitely from the stash.  At least I had written a list of what was in the box but this quilt was listed in small letters on the other side of the card I had in there.  Sigh.  

Here's what else I've been doing recently.

This was yesterday's garden bounty.  We are over run with tomatoes.  We only have three plants - a cherry tomato plant, a roma and a better boy.  And we can't keep up.  We're having tomatoes morning, noon and night. The beans are coming in too and the plants are overshadowed by the tomatoes.  Pat blanches them and freezes them for later eating. 

I decided to make some marinara sauce as it called for fresh Romas rather than canned tomatoes.  



I had to remove the skins on three pounds of tomatoes before I could make the sauce.  With a little internet help I realized all I needed to do is pop them in boiling water for less than a minute. Plunge them in ice water and peel.  The skins came right off! 

  

And here's the Marinara sauce ready to be put into containers to go into the freezer.  The question now is what to do with all of the little tomatoes?  We pop them like candy all day long and still have lots left.  And the bushes are still producing. 

Do you have any tomato recipes you want to share?  This coming week I'm making a quiche with ham and tomatoes.  I'm open to other ideas.  Maybe it's time for tomato pie again. 

Happy quilting all! 

Triangle Thursday #20

Scrap Zig Zag

This design is number 1334 in Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns. Barbara Brackman says it might be attributed to Nancy Cabot but she doubts that. Hum, must be a mystery block. I’d like to see this with lots of different blocks.  I think I would keep the fabrics the same as I did here but then use all sorts of differently colored blocks.  Click here for a printer ready version of these instructions. 

Cutting directions are for 6”

Fabric	Number to cut	6”
Rectangles (med or light)	4	Cut 2” x 3 ½” rectangles
Triangles (same med or light)	4	Use 1 ½” template
Squares (dark)	4	Cut 2” x 2” squares
Triangles (same dark)	4	Use 1 ½” template

 Next lay out the pieces as shown in the finished block.

Sew the half square triangles to the square, press the seam to the square. Make sure you have the fabrics in the correct position.  Next sew the half square triangle unit to the rectangle.  Lay out the block again so you get everything in the correct order.

Sew the units into rows and then sew the rows together.  Voila! You are done with this block. One thing I like about this block is there is little that much match.  Just the center and it’s all the same color.









Poor Raggs.  He'd love to come help in the studio finishing but we won't let him.  Lonely little dog.  Kona could care less!

The floor has been started!  And, since I took this there's even more floor down.  But there is a lot of floor still to lay.  

Happy Quilting All! 

Design Wall Monday 7-15-2013

Here's what I sewed on this week.  I'm going to make one or two more and then send these blocks to Pam who is a member of FCQEquilters. I find it interesting how the corner blocks are set.  Hum, it didn't say anything about light and dark in those blocks.  Evidently I used the dark in opposite positions. These are going into table runners so Pam will have to make some decisions when she gets them all in.  All of us are being really slow on these blocks.  One of the five of us has sent hers and the rest of us are lollygagging around!  Soon, Pam, soon.  If only because I'm afraid I will lose them when all the studio moving commences.  

Fran has just sent us directions for her block.  And, I love it for being so scrappy! It will give me an opportunity to use up stray scraps.  Woop! Woop! 

I'm linking up with Patchwork Times so scoot on over to see what others have on their design walls.

What I spent most of my time on this week was painting the new studio.  And painting, and painting ... you get the idea.  It is a big space.  Ceiling is done, the walls are done and now I'm painting doors and trim.  Hopefully we'll be done with that by Wednesday and Pat can start laying the floor on Thursday. All that progress means I need to get busy packing the "stuff" on my wall of bookshelves in the current studio.  I'll be focusing on that when Pat's doing the floor. The walls are a soft grey which I thought would work as a neutral when I start working on my design wall. 

Yea for a good week on goal accomplishment! 

Week of July 8, 2003

Begin painting walls of new studio√

Put 1800 quilt together√

Batt up 1800 quilt oops, I still need to put borders on! 

Bind charity quilt√

Keep packing and organizing studio for move√

Week of July 15, 2013

Paint all doors and trim in studio

Work on Orange Peels

Decide on borders for 1800 quilt

Make charity blocks

Embroider some kids shirts

That's it for this week.  I hope to get some sewing done today along with using some of the roma tomatoes from the garden.  We are covered in tomatoes from only 3 bushes.  It's amazing what a deluge of rain will do for the garden. 

Happy Quilting All! 

Missing in Paint

I didn't get my Triangle Thursday sewn or posted this past week.  I even had an idea to share with everyone.  Alas, I was other wise engaged. Yuck. 

 Here's what I was doing instead of sewing.  Sigh.... 

Since this picture was taken the entire room and closet has been painted except doors and window trim.  I'm planning on doing one door a day over the next several days.  That way I can do other things too.  Pat will be doing the window trim or so he says.  

I actually sewed a bit yesterday after the quilt guild meeting and picnic/pool party yesterday.  Well, indoor picnic.  No one wanted to spend time outside as the humidity was in the 70% range.  And, it's not much better today.  Air conditioning feels great. 

I'm planning on doing the Triangle Thursday this coming Thursday.  That means I'll be getting some stitching done over the next few days. 

Happy Quilting All! 

Design Wall Monday 7-8-13

Only one thing on the design wall today and not all that much is getting done on it. I'm trying to decide on borders. I have enough of the orange in the bottom left and the green (that looks more black than green) on the top.  I don't have enough of the print fabric to border it. Any suggestions?  I am putting a flange of black between the tree of life and the outer blocks.  It's all ready to go but I've been painting. 

So how did I do with my goals? Not bad. Painting ceilings is hard work and wore me out even though Pat did the majority of it. However I wiped down all the walls and ceilings with the tack cloth before we started the painting. And, I am pretty good at cleaning rollers and paint brushes though.  

Week of July 1, 2013

Put 1800 blocks together into top√ started

Paint ceiling in studio√

Paint closet in studio – didn't start, we're using it to store supplies now

Pack up first 3 bookshelves in preperation to move √ a little is started

Work on Orange Peels√ maybe one was done! 

Week of July 8, 2003

Begin painting walls of new studio

Put 1800 quilt together

Batt up 1800 quilt

Bind charity quilt

Keep packing and organizing studio for move

I leave you with this butterfly feeding at a cone flower in my garden.  I have a wonderful Pat Sloan pattern of cone flowers that I plan to make ... someday! Evidently deer do not like cone flowers as we have some flowers.  It took the deer a long time to eat our hostas because of all the scaffolding and stuff in front of the house.  But now that it's gone the deers are enjoying the smorgasbord!  

Visit Judy Laquidara's web site to start your tour of Design Walls this morning. 

Happy Quilting!