Better Than Candy...

A package arrived the other day delivering all this yummy goodness...

Unfortunately, I don't get to keep it all.  It will be split up among my quilt bee.  We often place group orders when we find a good sale.  However, I can look at it and imagine all the lovely things I could make until it leaves my house!

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again rejoice! 

Philippians 4:4 (NLT)

Finally Sailing Again...

It's been more than a year since I've finished one of these blocks.  I didn't look back to see exactly how long, because I'd probably feel guilty for not working on this more (even though there's no deadline).

This is the Chinese Pirate Junk of 1807.  The pattern is Ladies of the Sea by Sue Garman and this marks my 13th ship completed out of 16.

I would have finished it a few days ago, but after I completed all of the applique I decided I didn't like one of the fabrics and decided to replace it.  Even though it took a bit longer, I think it was a good call.

I usually work on the ships in pairs which means I've almost finished another one as well.  Hopefully I'll be back with it in another week or so.  This quilt is a labor of love for my husband and so far I think I've been working on it for about 4 years.  He's started to joke about whether he'll live to see it completed.  I still have the remaining ships and 4 full borders, so I'm not sure how to answer him!

By the way, I'm having some trouble getting comments lately.  So if I haven't responded, please know that's the reason why!

"Be bold and strong! Banish fear and doubt! For remember, the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." 

Joshua 1:9 (LB)

Questionable Taste?

A friend was over recently and noticed a stack of freshly washed fabrics I was in the middle of ironing.  She wondered what quilt I was planning to make with them.  It was only after I told her they weren't for a quilt that she admitted she really didn't think they went together.  Looking at them, I have to agree.

However, when you group them into pairs, they start to make more sense.  Can you guess what I'm using them for now?

Here's another clue...

If you guessed HST's (half-square triangles), you're absolutely right!  My quilt bee is still exchanging sets of them every month and I thought I'd work ahead.  It's almost as easy to make 8 sets as it is to make one.  (I do love seeing neatly ordered stacks of fabric.  It's just so colorful and pretty!)

Sew, sew, sew.  Cut, cut, cut.  Press, press, press.  And voila!  Another 256 HST's ready to trade.

Once they've been swapped, I can add them to the 960+ I already have.  By my calculations, that gives me enough for a quilt 102" x 105".  For now though, I'm just collecting them.  I have yet to decide on the quilt(s) I'll make.  Although, I really am going to have to get another container to store them.  I've pretty much filled these completely up.

I snapped this picture of Gabriel the other day and just love the expression on her face.  Like most people around here, she's having to deal with seasonal allergies right now.  Poor girl.

“Fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable.” 

Philippians 4:8 (TEV)

Gotta Love Him...

(Please excuse all the cell phone pictures.)

Not too long ago, I moved a chair from another part of the house into my sewing room.  I had several reasons for doing so, but the main one was to entice our cat Sam to spend more time up there with me.  She has some health issues that will most likely shorten her life a lot and I'd like her close while she's still with us.  I've already shared pictures in previous posts that show what a hit it is for all of the pets, but Sam definitely spends the most time in it.  She naps there while I'm sewing and occasionally wakes for some attention.

Although the chair is fine in there for now, I really wanted something better suited to the space and honestly a bit softer.  To that end, I went furniture shopping!  I invited my husband to go with me, but he declined for a couple of reasons.  First, since the piece was going in my sewing room, he felt the decision should be mine and second (and probably most important) he had no desire to go furniture shopping.  I warned him that if I was having trouble making a decision, I might text him some pictures and ask for his opinion.

I went to Lazboy Furniture Galleries and found several contenders.  After much deliberation, I was able to narrow it down to 2 choices.  The following is the text conversation between my husband and I.

Me:  Which do you like better?  Ignore the fabric.  This one fully reclines.

Me: This one doesn't recline.

Him:  Wow they're both colorful.  Up to you.

Him:  But the first one is less hideous.

Me:  I would pick different fabric.

Him:  Oh I missed that.

Me:  So which do you like?

Him:  Let me look again.

Him:  Number one looks more comfortable.

Him:  Sorry number 2 looks more comfortable.

Him:  But number one looks like it fits the room better.
-------------------------------------------------------

So how helpful would you find that conversation in making a decision?  I finally picked one and didn't even bother to ask his opinion on fabric selection.  It's supposed to take 8-10 weeks to get here, but I'm hoping it comes a little sooner.  Hopefully it meets with this one's approval...

God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. 

Psalm 46:1-2 (NLT)

Welcome Spring...

After a long cold winter, I finally see signs of Spring coming to life.  My neighbors Bradford Pear trees are in full bloom and the neighborhood has a bunch of flowering pink trees that are just gorgeous!  (I'm not a gardener so I'm not sure if they're Cherry Blossoms or something else, but they're beautiful.)  Having said that, I actually woke up to snow this morning.  My deck was covered with just a thin layer of slushy white snow along with our cars and a neighbor's roof.  Otherwise, there wasn't a speck of it anywhere.  It was also 46 degrees when I got up this morning, so how we ended up with snow is a complete mystery...

I've been doing a little bit of sewing lately.  I finally managed to catch up on all the clues for the Mystery quilts.  Just as I finished ironing the last seam of the last piece and was ready to put it all away, I noticed something wasn't quite right.  After looking at the directions again, I realized I had sewed 23 out of 24 units completely wrong.  I was supposed to sew a strip to each side of a HST and of course I sewed them to the wrong sides.  So then I spent the next couple of hours ripping everything out and redoing it.  Fortunately it's been a long time since I've made a mistake like that (and hopefully it will be much, much longer before I do it again!)

I'm still waiting on my sewing glasses to come in so I haven't been able to work on my hand applique.  I'm almost finished with a block, so I'm a little anxious to get back to it.  Each block takes such a long time, that it's exciting to get to the final few pieces.

In the meantime, I've been practicing my knitting.  I've watched and re-watched the Improve Your Knitting and Explorations in Cable classes on Craftsy.  Both of them are chock full of information and I'm sure I'll keep going back to them.  I've learned how to make cables without a cable needle (which sounds a lot scarier than it actually is.)  I've made a few samples and my knitting is definitely getting better...

I've also started on a prayer shawl in a pattern I never would have attempted before.  I've learned how to un-knit as well, a skill that is coming in handy far too frequently!  (Don't you just love learning new things?  I do)

I'm hoping to get back to quilting some projects starting tomorrow.  I have too many half-quilted projects lying around and it would be nice to start finishing them up.

I hope that you're starting to thaw out wherever you are.  I expect that in the northern states, you're in for bit more winter before Spring arrives, but hopefully it comes soon.  Of course, if you're on the other side of the world, you're probably looking forward to some cooler weather after a hot summer.  I told my husband to remind me of how much I longed for warm weather when it's 100+ degrees outside this summer.  I'm so grateful God created different seasons.  About the time we're tired of one, another comes along to take it's place.

“Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.” 

Psalm 139:14 (NLT)

Hobbies...

Although I've been quiet, I'm still puttering away over here.  Lately, I've been working on the current step of a mystery quilt(s).  I'm in the process of making 72 scrappy 9-patches.  Not hard, but not very picture worthy either.

Pieces for the Mystery Quilts

To be honest though, I'm finding my focus drifting in another direction right now.  Normally I do hand applique at night while sitting in front of the TV, but lately my vision has deteriorated to where I can't see fine details any more.  I've been told (multiple times) that I'm approaching that 'age' where it's just going to get worse.  By that, they mean I'm just a hop, skip and a jump away from 40.  I'm waiting on some prescription reading glasses to come in that I hope will allow me to get back to my hand stitching.  (This is my first time getting them.)

In any case, the inability to hand stitch has let my mind drift in other directions and I've found myself with the sudden desire to knit something.  I took myself off to Ravelry and after much searching have decided to make this cowl, Vesper by Wondrlanding.

I think I should probably mention that I'm a beginner knitter.  I've made a few things in the past, but thanks to Craftsy and YouTube, I'm hoping I can pull it off.  (By the way, Craftsy is having a great sale on all their classes right now.  I don't know how long it's going to last though.)  I've been practicing, practicing, practicing my stitches with progressively harder patterns and I'm feeling pretty comfortable with them right now.

FYI - I really recommend the Improve Your Knitting class with Patty Lyons.  She has some great pactical tips for beginning and advanced knitters.  She also demonstrates the different types of knitting - Continental vs. English vs. Eastern, etc.  It's one I'm sure I'll watch again and again.

Recently, I moved a chair into my sewing room.  I wanted to see if the scale would work in the space before buying a new one.  It quickly became a big hit.

Now I'll go furniture shopping to find one that's just right for the space.  I'll have to make sure it's comfy enough for them as well.

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. 

Ephesians 4:2 (NLT)

Cutting Mat Advice?

Several years ago I bought my first rotating cutting mat.  I heard so many people raving about them, I was excited to get one.  When I finally got mine though, I found I didn't really care for it.  The size was nice, as was the cutting surface, my only complaint was how difficult it was to turn.  For supposedly being a rotating mat, it didn't rotate very well.  I had to use both hands to get it to turn.  Over the years, I still used the mat as a portable cutting surface, but I would pick up my pieces and move them rather than turn it.  In fact, I've used it so much, it now looks like this...

Fast forward to the end of last year when I was unpacking my sewing supplies after finishing my quilt room renovation.  When I unpacked this mat,  I found that it suddenly turns smoothly.  If it had worked like this from the beginning, I could completely understand why everyone loved it!  I have no idea why it changed from the time I packed it up to when I unpacked it though.

In any case, it is just so worn, I needed to replace it.  I took a chance and ordered another one just the same.  I was hopeful that it would turn smoothly right out of the box.

But it doesn't.  In order to get it to turn at all, I have to hold the base with one hand and turn the top with the other.  It's stiff and jerky.  So I need some advice.  It seems like a lot of you out there have this type of mat.  Do you have the same problem with yours?  Have you found a way around it?  I want to get this one turning as smoothly as the old one now does, but have no idea how to make that happen.  I appreciate any and all suggestions!  I'm truly perplexed.

In the meantime, here's yet another picture of Gabriel on the window seat.  She has such a sweet face, doesn't she?

“God cares about honesty in the workplace; your business is his business.” 

Proverbs 16:11 (MSG)