Monday Meanderings 2 - 13 - 2023

Changes are coming . . . but first how did I do on my goals last week?  Not as well as I wanted to but not terrible either. 

2/6/23

Make 2 walker bags — nope, didn’t happen

✅Make Spider Web backing - done

✅Quilt Spider Web Quilt — not sure I like it, but I did it. **

Prep binding for Spider Web Quilt — started but not ready yet

✅Work on Feb UFO Challenge blocks

Prep binding for Moose quilt — didn’t do it

** I'm pretty sure I'm going to rip out the quilting as it doesn't look all that good. I tried a spiral with a curvy stitch -- ugh looked awful.  I only did a couple of rounds before I realized it looked terrible. That got ripped out.  

Second time I tried organic lines.  I did the whole quilt but in the end it wasn't enough quilting and it looked terrible so glad I didn't make the quilting denser.  I'm putting the quilt in time out for a few weeks.  I'll be having a lot of fun ripping stitches out for a while.  Any suggestions on what I should quilt on the Spider Web quilt?  

As an aside -- Ruthie the long arm is still not quite right.  For some reason she is stitching larger stitches when she is working from right to left or vice versa. Stitches going up and down are close to normal.  Still waiting to hear what must be done to fix this.  Sigh. 

Here's what's happening this week. 

2/13/2023

Make last 3 blocks of UFO challenge quilt 

Make a walker bag

Finish making binding for Spider Web Quilt 

Right eye gets a new lens on Thursday!  I probably won’t get any more sewing done until next week  

Since I really didn't get anything done to share I've pulled out the pictures from the last quilt I finished in 2022.  I received a bunch of Roman Stripes blocks using Asian fabrics from Faithful Circle Quilters in our monthly lottery.  Thank goodness one member put the date on her block so I know it was the September, 2009 lottery block.  I had it on my APQ UFO Challenge list last year.  It came up in September.  I finished the top and finally quilted it the last week of 2022. 

I had to make several additional blocks.  Sharon shared some of her Asian fabrics so I had a better variety. I used Saffron Blossom quilting design by Apricot Moon.  Recently I've been buying wide backs from Connecting Threads when they go on sale.  One of my favorites is Cobblestone. I used a soft lavender lavender Cobblestone for this quilt. And a darker Fossil Fern purple for the binding. (Talk about using older fabrics....) 

And a closeup view of the front...

All my sewing needs to be done by Wednesday evening this week. On Thursday I'm going in for cataract surgery.  Everyone tells me I'll be very happy with my vision afterwards.  Two weeks later I'll have the other eye done.  My big worry is what the colors will look like in the quilts I've done since my eyes started going bad.  They may be a little wilder than I think they are!

Hopefully I'll be able to blog next Monday using one eye for reading. I'm getting a fancier lens that will give me good distance and mid range vision but not up close.  Right now I tend to take my glasses off for reading.  It will take a while to have to put glasses on for reading.  Have you had cataract surgery? How easy was it to adjust to the changes?  

I'm linking up with my regular Linky parties. Take time to visit some of the blogs through these links.  

Oh Scrap

Design Wall Monday

Monday Musings 

To Do Tuesday

It's a busy week for me so we'll see what I can get done.  

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

What? Another Friday Finish?

Yes, I did have a finish this week.  It was small -- about 20 x 20" and it was mostly done by hand.  I finished Ellie's Flowers in time to turn it in to Virginia Star Quilt Guild.  It will be displayed with other "Card Challenges" at the Virginia State Fair that runs until Oct. 3, 2022. 

Here's a picture of the finished project.  I'm sorry but I didn't take a picture of the card that was my inspiration.  I will admit it was mostly the concept of flowers in a vase rather than my making it just like the card. 

I hand stitched all of the flowers, leaves and vase to the antique napkin. The napkin came from one of my grandmothers but I don't remember which one.  I made a couple of the flowers 3 dimensional.  Most were sewn with buttonhole stitches with a few whipstitched down. 

After the embroidery was done I hand sewed the lace to the black backing fabric.  Oh my goodness.  I stitched over every square of the first set of holes. Argh... it took forever.  But I felt it was important to get it stitched down evenly so no section would take the brunt of the weight. 

Next was sewing all the edges of the lace down. Those stitches were a bit farther apart. 

Once all that was done it was time to quilt and bind. I tried hand quilting using the big stitch concept.  Um, no, that would have taken me a lot longer than the time I actually had.  And, it didn't look all that good.  So I ripped out the hand stitches and did some machine stitching as seen above. I didn't stitch in the border. I bound it with the same black (that is more of a very dark grey and black mottled fabric.)  And, unlike what I normally do, I hand stitched the binding on the back.  

I added a little pocket on the back to hold the card from Ellie and a little card with the artist statement.  Both will be displayed with the quilt.  I was very pleased with the finished product.  Hopefully Ellie will be attending the Fair with us Saturday afternoon and will be able to see "her" flowers. 

I also have finished all three RSC light blue blocks over the last week or two.  I've also finished three lottery blocks for my retreat the first week of October.  I hope to make two or three more to enter in the drawing. 

Linda asked about the directions for the colorful star blocks.  I checked the info that was sent with our retreat information.  It is called Criss Cross Stars and you can find a You Tube video by Lori Holt here. I was tickled that I had two dies so I could cut these with my Accuquilt Go.  Whoop! Whoop! 

I'm linking up with the following parties: 

Needle and Thread Thursday

Finished or Not Friday

Beauties Pageant 

Soscrappy 

I'll link up to the RSC on Saturday when it is posted.  Take some time to visit these great parties.  You never know what you might see that will get your creativity revved up!  

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie 

Progress Being Made

I've had my nose to the grindstone so far this week.  Here's what I've gotten done or made further progress.

After finding this top I was able to get borders on all sides.  The side borders are the same size as the center sashing.  The top and bottom borders are the same size as the strings in the Roman Stripes blocks. I'd love to get this quilted in the next two weeks but I don't think I have backing fabric. And none of my new backings would work. 

I decided to add a small border on the top and bottom of Picket Stars. You can read about my thoughts and how it looked before the little borders here. I tried something bigger but it took away from the stars.  So this one is also ready to go to the quilt closet.  Yep, no backing for this one either. (Although I could use the turquoise one I showed last week but that means the top I planned to use it for won't get done. Sigh.)

Here's what I've gotten done on the Card Challenge. Doesn't it look weird? 

Every evening I get some of the hand stitching done.  It needs to be finished and turned in Wed, 9/21. Hopefully I'll get all the flowers on, stitch the old linen on to a fabric piece and then quilt and bind the quilt. (Probably by hand. ARGH. Do I really have enough time?) 

This is what it might look like.  Maybe I'll put a few more little yellow flowers in the mix.  After I turn it in I'll post about the finish. It will be hanging in the Virginia Star Quilter's booth at the Virginia State Fair from Sept 23 until Oct 2. (Pat and I will be working the both the evening of Oct 1.) 

Here are the parties I'm linking up to.  Enjoy spending some time surfing lots of quilting blogs and getting all sorts of new ideas. 

Midweek Makers 

Needle and Thread Thursday 

Finished or Not Friday 

Beauties Pageant

Have a great weekend. 

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie 

Retreat Eye Candy!

Here are some of the projects that got worked on during retreat.  NONE of these are my projects but I sure wouldn't mind owning some of them! 

Do you remember this quilt from this post? Yes, you get to see my darling grands again but scroll down to the bottom.  There's the same quilt without borders.  Thanks go to Janice H. for suggesting the smaller pink border.  Sharon took the quilt home with her and happened to read the comments before picking out the borders.  She loved the idea and followed through with it. Janice was definitely right about this one!  I've got it to quilt it and then on it will go to Project Linus. These blocks were won at a retreat lottery several years back. 

Sharon started working on these hot chilies near the end of the retreat.  She laid them out on two different backgrounds to decide which she liked better the black or the red.  She and I both said the black as soon as we saw them together but I'm not sure I don't like the red better.  Glad it isn't my decision to make! 

MaryBeth was tickled to get this top finished -- unless she decides to put borders on it.

Sharon started and finished this cute Fourth of July wall hanging.  Directions were in  one of Quiltmaker's magazines this year. (Maybe the May June issue?) 

Michele made a tuffet for her grandmother. 

Bea put this together.  I'm not sure if it was a kit or not but I do know she started it at retreat and got it this far along. I think some borders come next. 

Dorothy was working on log cabin circles.  Don't you love her t-shirt?  There were a lot of different quilty shirts to enjoy at retreat. 

That's the end of pictures that I took at retreat.  There were a lot more projects being worked on but I just wasn't fast enough to snap pictures.  

I'll be linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday and Can I Have a Whoop, Whoop? (This isn't posted yet so I'll check back tomorrow to update it.) Take some time to visit blogs and get some great inspiration! 

Small rant -- Why does Blogger make it so hard to work with pictures?!!?  I had planned to show these pictures in a different order but as I started at the top I realized I could no longer move any pictures up or down.  Grumble, grumble.  In the end it probably doesn't make any difference at all but really, I wish it worked better.  I probably should look at Word Press one of these days. I know there are a lot more things I could control with it.... Sigh. 

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie