Planning Ahead...

Well I was right about it being a hot summer! I am SO grateful for air conditioning. Even though we didn't always have it growing up, I would have a difficult time adjusting to a North Carolina summer without it now. I have been incredibly busy this June and July. In my last post, I mentioned I had gotten in the fabric to make new curtains for our living and dining rooms. I love the fabric I picked out, but the pattern has both a vertical and horizontal repeat to it so the curtains were a lot more complicated to make. I also lined them with a blackout lining. By the time I hung them with metal curtain rings, there was so much fabric and they were so heavy, they ended up pulling one of the curtain rods off the wall. My husband was able to reattach it with larger wall anchors and everything has been good for the last week or so. Hopefully we won't have any more problems. Despite all the issues I ran into making them, I LOVE them and I'm so glad I went to all the effort.

Dining Room curtains

Another little project I finished up was a new cover for my ironing board. My husband made my ironing board for me several years ago and it's 2' wide x 6' long. It's perfect for ironing large pieces of fabric like backings. Although my last cover was stapled on, I wanted to be able to take this one off and wash it. I like to use Magic Sizing or Mary Ellen's Best Press when ironing my blocks and over time it can build up on the surface of my ironing board.  Being able to take it off and wash it will keep it nice and fresh for several years.

It's hard to tell from the picture, but I used this Miss Kate print for the cover...

This summer has seen a few fun package deliveries headed my way.  I had a birthday not that long ago and received several gift certificates to quilt shops as gifts.  In planning ahead for some upcoming projects, I bought several bolts of fabric to use for backgrounds in quilts.

Essex Linen Oyster, Essex Linen White, Grunge Vanilla

The Fat Quarter Shop had a nice sale on Robert Kaufman's Essex Linen last month.  I've seen several quilts using it and heard good things so I'm eager to try it out.  I also wanted a bolt of Grunge fabric in a light color.  It is surprising how many light colors are available and it's very difficult to determine what the color differences are.  I went to a number of different quilt stores and bought a yard of what they had so I could compare them.  (FYI - the selvage id on the Grunge fabrics does not indicate which fabric it is.  If you want to keep track, you have to mark it yourself.)  Finally I decided I like the Grunge Vanilla best.

A local quilt store was also having their anniversary sale and I picked up the backing for 2 more quilts.  I prefer using solids for my backings because the quilting shows up so much better.  When I first started quilting, this was the same reason I didn't use solids on the back!  Boy how times change.

I've also ordered some of Aurifil's new 80 wt cotton thread that I want to use to machine quilt the baby quilt I'm working on.  I'm excited to try it.  I love using YLI 100 wt silk thread for machine quilting but I expect the baby quilt to be washed a lot so I think the cotton thread will be a better choice.  I'll let you know what I think after I try it out.

I know a lot of people here have really been struggling with allergies this year.  Our Gabriel deals with them every year, but she's been extra itchy this summer.  Poor girl!

She's trying to find ways to cope though...

"It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good."

Galatians 4:18 (NIV)

In between...

The week between Christmas and New Year's Day always seems to be a time in between for me.  It's not like the rest of the year.  Most of us are so busy leading up to Christmas Day and then... this week.

The weather's cold here and Mr. QuiltingBug and I are taking this time to relax, sleep, and spend time together.  It feels a little shameful to admit it, but I took 3 naps the day after Christmas (and no - I didn't get up early).

I hope you had a great Christmas and spent it with the ones you love most.  We drove down on Christmas Day to my sister's.  She has the only little ones in the family and it seems right that the kids get to wake up and celebrate Christmas in their own home.  And they were so very gracious about the gifts they received.  My nephew even exclaimed after opening one of his gifts that everyone really had gotten him too much.  And he's only 8!  It was a blessed time.   The drive back, however, was a little tense with all the rain, but we made it safely.

What was the gift you liked most this Christmas?  Mine was a rug cleaner that my sister completely surprised me with.  You can imagine how necessary it is with 6 pets in the household.  We had borrowed my parents long enough to clean all our carpets and were planning to buy one next year. (If someone had told me when I was a teenager that I'd be so excited over a steam cleaner, I would have thought they were joking.)

Mr. QuiltingBug and I didn't exchange gifts but he did make me an ironing board cover while he's been on vacation.

I got the dimensions from Tamah and he was very sweet and made it for me.  It sits over the top of my existing ironing board to extend the surface to 22" x 60".  Now I can easily iron large pieces of fabric - like the backings for quilts.  I ironed about 8 yards of fabric today and it made it so much easier.  I covered the surface with batting and some canvas I bought at JoAnns.

Not much sewing going on right now other than handwork.  Mr. QuiltingBug and I spent a good amount of time watching Dexter Season 4 in the last couple of days and I'd sit there and applique at the same time.  Tonight I finished block 6 of the Baltimore Halloween quilt.

There's less stitching in these blocks than on the ships, but the pieces also tend to be a lot smaller and more difficult to applique.  Still, I'm liking how they're turning out.

Until next time...