Another block done...

I've just finished block 8 of the Baltimore Halloween BOM.  This one only had 2 pieces so it went pretty quickly.  Now I really must put this aside and start working on another snowman and a ship.

And guess what arrived in today's mail?  None other than block 12 of this same quilt.  There are 12 10" blocks surrounding a 20" square medallion.  The medallion kit will come next month.

I've also spent some time today working on  more pillowcases.  They're fun to make and go together quickly.  Kind of an instant gratification. 

Until later...

One UFO down...

Yay!  I can cross my first UFO off my list.  That brings my total down to 43+.

Would you like to see the quilt made with these blocks?  I'm sorry.  I can't actually show it to you because I didn't make one.  There are 9 12.5" blocks in this pile all in the same colors.  They were a BOM that I got last year.  I enjoyed making them, but they're not really my colors.  So I offered them up to anyone who wanted them in my bee.  Hils pretty quickly jumped on them and I'm sure she'll make something beautiful.  Whenever she finishes it, I'll have to take a picture and share it.

But it still comes off my UFO list because I no longer own the blocks.  So as I said, one down...

Until next time...

A clean machine is a happy machine...

Did you know you should change your machine needle with every project?  You should also clean out your bobbin case every time you refill the bobbin.  And finally, they recommend you have your machine cleaned at least every 2 years. 

But how many of us really follow these recommendations?  I'm usually pretty good about changing the needle.  But I'll also spend the extra money for titanium needles so I don't have to change it as often.    And my Husqvarna Viking sewing machine has only been in for a cleaning twice in the 9 years I've owned it.  It's a workhouse and I'm glad it's kept going.  I just find it difficult to part with the ~$85 a cleaning usually costs, although I realize that would be a better investment than paying for a new machine!  I'll have to put that on my New Year's Resolution list.

As for cleaning out the bobbin, I'm hit or miss.  If I have deadlines looming, I tend to forget about it.  But when I do get around to it, I do a very thorough job.  I take apart all the pieces and use my tweezers to remove every bit of lint I can reach inside the machine.  With my machine, I can rotate the bobbin case to get all the way around.  (You probably have to see it to understand what I mean.)  At the retreat last week, Tamah (who also has a Viking) began to clean her machine and so reminded me I should as well.  Look at all the lint I managed to get out!  Gross huh?

Remember each square on the mat is one inch!

Now back to the things I sewed to accumulate all that fuzz...  I started a pieced BOM (block of the month) last year through Quakertown Quilts.  There were 12 blocks in varying shades of white, red, gold and green.  I had finished all but the last 5 blocks.  At the retreat, I managed to finish those as well.

 

 

 

  

I enjoyed working on them even though they aren't really my favorite colors.  Each block finished at 12" so they would make a nice lap size throw by the time you add sashing and borders. 

However, I have enough quilts that size and figured a small wall hanging would probably suit us better.  I don't know yet what arrangement I'll use.  It will continue to sit in the UFO pile until some time next year.  

But I have taken a couple of the blocks and made a table runner for my SS.  December is the last month of the secret sister program and the time of our big reveal.  I haven't quilted it yet, but when I do, I'll take a picture and share it with you.

Now for the next step in the ugly quilt saga.  Just to remind you, my sister picked out a fabric she absolutely loves and asked me to make her a very simple quilt for her living room.  It's gone through several iterations and has been pretty hideous through each of them.  I decided to throw it out the door and start over.  I never felt comfortable with that design and I should have listened to my instincts.  I played around with EQ5 (Electric Quilts software) last night and came up with a design that I liked much better.  Luckily my sister agrees with me - so I'll get started on (hopefully) my final attempt.

This was the first time I imported fabrics into the program, but it won't be the last.  It was so easy to do and you get a really good idea about what the finished product will look like.  When I finish it,you can judge for yourself!

Until later, take care!

Another finish!!!

Tonight I finally finished the embroidery on my 3rd Ladies of the Sea block, the Le Coureur. There are an awful lot of grapes and leaves on this one, but they all look so pretty. Sue Garman did a wonderful job designing this BOM. Each block is a labor of love. It takes me about 5 weeks of sewing at night to finish each block. And have I mentioned that there are 16 blocks in this quilt and 4 full borders? Yes, it will be many years before it's completely done, but my dear husband is so worth it!!! (I love you honey!)


I also got a little package in the mail today with a single crayon in it. You might be wondering why just one crayon? Well, I signed up for yet another online challenge. This one is the 2nd annual Crayola Challenge. The challenge is going to be used to raise money for a Ronald McDonald House in California this time. Each person who volunteers makes a quilt (54"x70" or larger) to be raffled off. The rules for the challenge are that you can only use fabric the color of the crayon you receive. It can be any shade of that crayon though. In addition, you can pick one other crayon and use that shade only as an additional fabric selection. So are you ready to see the color I got?

It's... WILD STRAWBERRY

Doesn't it sound delicious? Yum. I've already been thinking of what other color I'll add. Perhaps a sunshiney yellow... or maybe orange sherbert... or a leafy green... or who knows? I think so many colors would look good with this choice. (I should probably invest in a box of crayons though to make sure whatever I choose is also in the box.)

When I got my crayon, I went to the web to learn a little bit more about it. Did you know it's the favorite color of Tiger Woods? Or the it has only been around since 1990? You can learn such useless information on the web. I also learned the RGB code for my color. I put it into Paint and this is what is showed...


A little bit bright huh? Actually, I don't think it's a great representation of the crayon in person. The crayon is not so in your face. Why don't I show you and let you decide for yourself.


By coloring with different pressures, you start to get an idea of the possible shades. The quilt doesn't have to be completed until Feb. 1, 2010 so I'm in no rush to get started. (Other than the fact that I get to buy more fabric of course.)

I did go out to a couple of LQS's on Monday with Jan to pick up a few bits and pieces that I need to finish current quilts. And while out, I bought some fabric to make a very special someone a surprise. I'm not going to say anymore about it other than to hope she'll love it. It won't get done immediately, but I'll show a picture after it's in her possession. (I know she sometimes reads my blog and I don't want to give it away.)

Well, I'd better head off to bed now. I've got a very busy day tomorrow filled with dog groomers, acupuncturists and my very favorite quilting buddies. Until later...

Zipping along...

Well, I've been to see the acupuncturist twice now and I do admit I'm feeling much better after the second treatment. I've been able to get some more sewing done this past week and I'm in a better mood. I finished putting together the Sew Unique Pieced and Appliqued block of the months from last year. I like the bird one better than the pieced one. I like all of the flying geese in the borders of it. There are 12 birds in it - all of them are supposed to be native to NC. I don't know enough about birds to verify it though. I did machine applique on this quilt because I didn't know how to do hand applique when I started it.


You probably can't tell from the picture but it's a little wrinkled in the center. That's because I soaked it after sewing the center together and it shrank quite a bit. I had some recalculating to do in order to get my border math to work out. I need to think carefully about my quilting design in order to hide those spots.

This is the pieced top. Earlier I mentioned I was going to try a different layout. But the fabrics are so different, I just though it looked too busy. So I went back to a simple layout. I think I'm going to quickly quilt this one and donate it to a wounded soldier. The colors are darker which I think of as more masculine and the size is right. My quilting bee is traveling to Ft Bragg in September to deliver a bunch of quilts to the soldiers. I have 2 ready and I need to get this one quilted and bound by then as well.


Last weekend we pet sit my mother-in-law's golden retriever. He's a pretty old guy and very mellow. His name is Winston. I just love his sweet disposition. My husband wasn't quite so enamored when he peed on the floor twice. He's potty trained; I just think he was suffering from a little separation anxiety. After the first day, he didn't have any more accidents and Dennis was able to see how sweet he really is.


You can see he's pretty big too. Surprisingly our youngest dog, Gabriel, became very clingy while he was here. She didn't like us sharing our attention with him. Of course, she's an attention hog anyway (but loveable). Whenever we would give all the dogs a bone, she would wait until he was distracted and then steal his from him. I'd give it back to him and within another 5 minutes she had managed to steal it again. She's quick that way.

Well, this weekend I want to continue to work on my Scraps to Challenge quilt top and make a purse for my SS's August package. It looks like she's going to remain in the hospital for another 12-16 weeks, so please add her to your prayers.

In the grind...

I just got back from my Wednesday quilting bee. I always have a great time chatting and sewing and today was no different. And Tamah made a wonderful blueberry pound cake. Yummm! I didn't get much stitching done, but I'm trying to take it easy so that's ok. I did learn about a book from Carol Armstrong called Butterflies and Blooms that I think I'll need to order. It has great applique frogs, turtles, butterflies and insects.

I've been busy grinding away on little things. I made some 9-patch blocks for a charity quilt. I'm also going to applique 4 flower blocks but I'm waiting on the background for those.


Sometimes it's nice doing some semi-mindless sewing. I also cut out and sewed together about 200 flying geese units. I need 62 for one border and 92 for another. The extras I'll just save for some other project. I still need to press them all. I used the one-seam flying geese method for making them. I also finished assembling the center of the same quilt. It will have 3 borders - 2 of which are the flying geese.


There are 12 birds in this quilt, all of them native to North Carolina I believe. This was the block of the month for 2008 by Sew Unique. I also found some time to 'put up' my temporary design wall again. ( It's really just 4 c-clamps, 4 1x2 boards and some batting.) However, I wanted to lay out the blocks for another BOM so I could see if my design and placement will work. I'm not sure about it though. There are so many very different colors in this quilt. It might just be one I put together to say it's done and not because I love it.


To me, it's not very cohesive. I know there will be black sashing in between the rows as well, but I don't think that will make too much difference. What do you think?

I'm going to leave you with a picture of our cat Moses. She mostly keeps to herself until she wants attention and then she demands it. My parents refer to her as our fake cat because she hides whenever anyone visits.


I'm expecting a package in the mail and I'll have to share the contents with you next time. Until later, have a blessed day!

Back in the groove of things

Well, I have lots more pictures to show of some new fabric I got in yesterday. First of all, I received a package from HOP (Hancocks of Paducah) that contains some more of the Williamsburg Heritage collection from Windham. And it was all on clearance! How great is that? This pretty much rounds out my collection. I realize there are a few more prints that I don't have, but that's ok. I have plenty to make a beautiful quilt. I have yet to pick out the pattern to use this on. I want it to be something that will showcase the beautiful colors.


I also ordered 1.5 yards of a Marcus Bros. Strip It fabric. It contains 18 different 2.5" strips of black and white fabrics. I still need to cut it apart and place it in my 'noodle' drawer. Can't you just imagine it in a B&W quilt with a pop of color (maybe red). That's definitely on my todo list for the future. I tried to fold the fabric so you can get a peak of all the different strips that run the length of the fabric.


Now on to my purchases from Whittle's fabrics. Someone from the HGTV Quilting & Needlework Forum introduced me to this online store and I'm SO glad they did. You can't believe their prices. Most fabrics are $3.50 to $4 per yard and they're the same fabrics you would get in quilt shops. They can sell out quickly though so shop early for best selection. They just added the Mocha Meringue collection from Marcus Brothers. The fabrics are a blend of greys, browns and blacks. They're just beautiful and the feel of the fabric is like silk.



This collection also includes several batiks in these colors. Aren't they wonderful?


Ok, enough about my growing fabric collection... I've managed to complete a few things this morning. I finished the November and December blocks for the BOM from Sew Unique. All 12 of the blocks have a different bird in them and when placed together look like a winter tree full of birds. It's a different looking BOM and I really like it.




I've designed my own borders for this quilt that necessitate my making at least 150 flying geese units in 2 sizes. I use the one-seam flying geese method to make them and it goes pretty fast. However, I have some other projects I need to work on before starting those.

Like new sofa pillows. My husband and I found a curtain panel that we really liked and I'm making some pillows for the living room furniture out of them. Here's the first one I finished.


There's quite a bit of glare to the picture, but you can get the general idea. I going to make a few more in this fabric and a couple in another silk fabric I have. I thought about adding trim to these, but I think that would frou frou up the living room too much. In any case, my husband has just walked in to take me to the bookstore and for a bite to eat, so until later...

Another UFO done!

Wow, after a marathon sewing session today, I've managed to finish another UFO. I started this quilt several years ago. It's one of the BOM (block of the months) from JoAnn Fabrics. I've heard that the quality of their kit fabric has improved in recent years along with the precutting. However, this was one of the older ones and so had some problems. I'm just glad to be finished with the top! It looks better than I thought it would though.


I sewed for at least 6 hours today and I expect I'll pay for it tomorrow. It's just a relief to have it together. I don't like working on projects just to get them done, but I also can't see never finishing one if it's halfway there. I can always donate it to charity. I'm going to have to heavily quilt it when I get the chance to make up for the poor quality of the fabrics and the miscut pieces.