Swimming Upstream

That's how I've been feeling lately, like I'm swimming upstream. The more I do, the more is left to do! As a result, very little has gotten done. I started marking my MQX challenge quilt, then had to stop to "erase" an area that didn't quite lay out right. Now that it's dry, I'll have to remark it. I plan to get that on the machine so I can start the trapunto on it next week. I've sent in the entry form, so I have to get it done! :o)

I should have lots of time for quilting in the next few weeks, my DH will be in Europe. Now that my older daughter has passed her driver's test, she takes herself where she needs to go, so now I'm down to playing chauffeur for one child...that frees up a huge amount of time!

Last week when I gave my friend her journal, I wound up with orders for several more! Today I ran and picked up the fabric for those, so will have to make a pattern and get started. I'm thinking of making a load of journal covers and a few other items (eyeglass cases, notebook covers...any other suggestions?) and getting a table at a few of the local fall craft fairs to see if I can make a little money with them. Once school ends in June, I'd have the summer to stock up on them. If they don't sell I can always give them as Christmas gifts!

Journal Cover

I found a journal cover over on Covered Porches and Wooden Screen Doors blog and fell in love with it. I have a party to go to tonight and decided it would make a perfect gift. So I dug out some fabrics and had fun figuring out how to make it. My favorite part is the fabric covered button I made to close it...haven't seen those in years! Thanks for the inspiration, Mel!

Still Sewing...

I should get a day off more often, I get a lot accomplished! After finishing the Heartstrings blocks, I noticed my blue nine patch quilt hanging on the rocking chair. Since it hasn't turned out to be quite what I envisioned, I've decided to call it done...and use the quilt as an opportunity to continue with Judy's February Challenge. Three yards of blue fabric was pulled from my stash and it became the borders and binding for the quilt. I even have the binding made and ready to go on! Then I pulled this incredibly soft flannel from my stash...5 yards worth and plenty for the back! So, that will be my third piece of fabric pulled from the stash for the challenge. Now I have to get this quilt and my sunflower quilt done by the end of the month so they will count!

I have Monday off for President's Day...wonder what I can do then???

Icy Day...

I've spent most of my day indoors...just heading out long enough to clear about a half inch of ice off of my car and my daughter's car. The rest of the day has been spent at one sewing machine or another. I loaded a customer quilt and quilted about half of it. Then I made a cup of tea and headed up to my sewing room. I finished the Heartstrings quilt blocks that I had cut foundations for, so they are ready to send off to become quilts. I love how the blocks look when they are put together. I didn't realize that I had made one block that was all pastels, it looks odd in with the others!
Mr. UPS man stopped by this morning and dropped off my Checkers order. These three books were in it. The Clever Quarters books have a lot of great scrap quilts in them, all made from Fat Quarters. I'm thinking the Lone Star quilt book will be an inspiration book...I can't see myself making one of these any time soon! The quilts in this book are stunning.

I love having a day off! I hope all of you who are affected by the winter weather are safe, warm, dry and spending this Valentine's Day with the ones you love!

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope everyone has a very happy Valentine's Day! My day was made happy by a phone call at 4:30am telling me that we have a SNOW DAY!!! We got a few inches of snow yesterday, but it all turned to ice and freezing rain overnight. It's a mess out there! It's more of a rain/sleet mix now, but should continue most of the day.

Since I cleaned and did the laundry after work yesterday, that leaves my day free to sew! I have 3 or 4 more foundations cut out for Heartstrings blocks so I hope to make those today and send off the blocks I've been working on later in the week. I'll be loading a customer quilt and working on that today as well.

Enjoy your day!

Finally!

I feel like I've been working on these socks forever! The first sock was done before Christmas and I had hopes of having them done to wear on Christmas day. I'm happy to say they are finally done...in time for Valentine's Day! I'll wear them to school on Monday, we're having pajama day in Kindergarten, so it will be a fun day to wear them.

I did make it to the quilt show today and it's made me think. I was definitely underwhelmed by the quilts I saw there. It was a local show, but it seemed that many quilts were just large chunks of fabric thrown together and the machine quilting paid little attention to the style of the quilt. There was one beautiful basket quilt in 30s fabrics that was hanging upside down and the quilting on it was almost jarring to look at. There were, of course, many beautiful quilts as well and I enjoyed seeing them. It was almost impossible to take pictures because the rows of quilts were very close together. My DH and I were there for less than an hour. This show has made me consider the quilts I make and whether I'm just making quilts to use up stash or if I'm actually putting thought into the pattern. I love intricate quilts but they take a lot of time to make. Do I want to put that effort in? I know that I do, but often compromise for the sake of time. Maybe I'm putting too much emphasis on quantity over quality. I'll have to take all of this into consideration when I choose the next quilt I want to make! I still love the classics, which are simple blocks. I also love the string quilts we're making for Heartstrings. But I wonder if I really want to make more quilts that have you slice fabric, then put it back together with no matching seams and intersections. This could take me in a whole new direction...

Friday

Not much quilty is happening here. I've managed to finish 5 log cabin blocks and that's it! I do like how they're turning out, although I need to give a little more consideration to what I'm using as lights and darks. Some are very medium and could go either way! A busy weekend is ahead...tomorrow is the Love Apples Quilt Guild show and I'm hoping to be able to get there, but the weekend is full already and I'm not sure I'll have time. If not, I'll definitely spend some time in my sewing room! Have a great weekend...

Stripping...

I've been wanting to start a new project, knew I wanted to make it scrappy, but I'm so tired of working with the Thimbleberries strips that I cut last summer. After all, I've made two quilts out of them and have been using them in my Heartstrings blocks. But the colors are so boring....

Yesterday it occurred to me that Judy said we should pull a fabric from our stash and make something out of it for February...so why couldn't I pull a whole bunch and make my scrappy quilt more interesting and...fun! So, I spent last night and this afternoon ironing lots of old (very old!) fat quarters and cutting them into strips. I've decided to make a log cabin quilt for my bed for the summer. I don't expect it to be done at the end of February, but since I'm pulling lots of fabrics from my stash I figure I can take a little longer. The centers will be red and the logs will be all sorts of colors. While I'm cutting, I'm also cutting some strips larger than the 1.5" strips I need so that I can add them to the strips for my Heartstrings blocks to make those sing a little too!

So my bins are filling up...can't wait to get started!

New Blogger!

Just wanted to let you know that there's a new blogger out there! Judy and I met online many years ago when we were both making the "Grandma's Country Album Quilt" by Robert Callaham that was published in McCall's Quilting magazine. We had a little support group going and cheered each other along as we worked on these blocks. My quilt has been in the flimsy stage for several years now (yes, like the cobbler whose children had no shoes, the machine quilter rarely gets to quilt her own tops!) but Judy's has been finished for a long time. If you have a minute, head over and meet her at Irishlakequilter. Tell her I sent you! :o)

Judy's Challenge

Over on Judy's Blog she has issued a Stash Busting Challenge. I've decided to take her up on it! This fabric is something I purchased about 6 years ago, shortly after moving back to New Jersey. I got 3 yards of it when I went to the Love Apples Quilt Show. There show is coming up again in 2 weeks! I just fell in love with it and purchased another 3 yards shortly after the show, in a quilt shop. Whenever I would start a new project, I would pull this out, pair it up with my other fabrics and be disappointed...nothing quite matched. It just didn't play well with others!

Of course, this was the first fabric I thought of when I read Judy's Challenge. I pulled it off the shelf and finally had one of those light bulb moments! If it wouldn't play nicely, I could put it on the BACK of a quilt!!! Ironically, I've been searching online to find a backing fabric for my Sunflower quilt that I made over the summer. It was already washed, so this afternoon I sewed the 2 pieces together, trimmed the selvages, ironed it and now it's all ready to become the back of my quilt. This quilt is for ME so I can enjoy the backing fabric too. :o)

Now I have the month of February to get this quilt finished...and I'll have busted 6 yards of stash! I think I may have to pull another favorite to make a quilt top with as well. I love this challenge, Judy...thanks!

Productive Headache

I was in Kindergarten this morning and got a nasty headache. And it wasn't even from the kids! :o) I went to the gym after work, but cut my workout short because my head was pounding. When I got home, I took some Motrin, but didn't want to sit down. I loaded a customer quilt, took my daughter to wrestling (she's the team manager) and was going to start quilting. But...when I leaned over the machine, my head would pound! I just couldn't do nothing, knew I couldn't focus on knitting or applique, so started making Heartstrings blocks. So...my head still hurts, but at least I have something to show for it!

I haven't sat down at the machine for over a week and felt like I was going through withdrawal. I had done lots of applique, a little knitting and had quilted 2 or 3 quilts, but there's nothing like piecing blocks and having something wonderful when you've finished.

Update on my Women of the Bible Quilt I haven't had time to make the blocks, many of them are very involved and intricate. I still plan to do them, but have set them aside for now to finish up customer quilts and my challenge. I am keeping up with the Bible Study though...I figure that is the important part!

Customer Service

This morning I decided to pull out my new Featherz template for my Circle Lord. I couldn't quite figure out how to use it, so I sent an email to Michael at Loricles Quilting. Within about 15 minutes, ON A SUNDAY, my phone rings and it's Michael! After realizing that I hadn't received the instruction book that should have come with my template, he gave me instructions on how to use it, then emailed the instruction booklet to me. I am so impressed with their customer service! Whenever I have had a question, concern or wanted to place an order, I have had a response within a very short period of time.

After downloading the manual, I marked my template as he suggested. It looks like this now...


Before I had the instructions, I made this feather wreath which I wasn't thrilled with...I was backtracking far too often because I didn't know which way to go, and with the high contrast thread it just looked awful!
And here are the after pictures. I'm sorry they're hard to see, but you get can get the idea! It was so much easier knowing what to do. The instructions were simple to follow and I'm so pleased with the Featherz template! I can see I'll use this a lot. Thanks Michael, for you help and your amazing customer service!

applique question

I know that many of you do applique and I have a quick question. I've been working on my challenge quilt, which has to be machine quilted. (It IS going to a machine quilting show, after all!) My plan is to add applique leaves to my vine, but I'd like to make 3-dimensional flowers to add. So, as a longarmer, I plan to do the quilting before I add the flowers so that they don't interfere with the machine. Is there any sort of problem doing this? It just seems to make the most sense to me!

Thanks for your advice!

It's Monday

and I feel like I should be getting a lot more done than I am! I did find some time over the weekend to spend in my sewing room. As I was sitting in front of the window (feeling like I was on display!), the heat was coming up from the baseboards and I felt like I was having an enormous hot flash. Well, I get enough hot flashes without creating them while I quilt, so my husband and I moved my sewing table to the corner AWAY from the sunny window and FAR AWAY from the baseboards. So now maybe I won't overheat while I'm quilting and I'll spend more time in my sewing room! Here is my table, back where it started.



I have been working on something...my challenge for the MQX show in April. I can't show you all of it here, but I will show you the stashbusting part! I made this bias strip years ago for a round robin. I had about 6 feet left, so rather than make new bias strip, I pulled this out and busted it from my stash! That's got to be what, an eighth of a yard busted?? :o) Now to make some flowers and leaves to applique on!

Quilts and Scones...

Last night I finished a beautiful customer quilt. This was made by the friend of mine who came to visit me in August. She does beautiful work, I've shown her quilts before in my blog. This is her latest masterpiece!



I quilted freehand feathers all over...it was such fun!


And this afternoon, I whipped up a batch of cinnamon scones using my new mini scone pan which I bought with my gift card to Sur La Table. They turned out good, but would probably be much better if I added some cinnamon chips to them. I'll have to check the grocery store and see if I can get them. If not, they sell them in the King Arthur Flour Baker's Catalog.


My next project is working on the borders for my Challenge Quilt for MQX. They will be appliqued...once I design them! I don't think I'll work as quickly as Ann did on her borders though...nor will they look as beautiful!

Nancy, watch the mail!

These blocks will be heading to Nancy on Tuesday, in honor of her birthday. Once I clear up a few commitments, I'll be making more blocks to send for the Heartstrings project. These blocks are such fun to make!

Delilah Block

And here is my Delilah block for my Women of the Bible Quilt, completed. Paperpiecing all those little triangles was tedious, but I love how the block turned out!

HeartStrings Blocks

Happy Birthday Nancy! Here are two blocks to celebrate your birthday. Let me know where to send these.

I'm thinking these blocks can be very addicting...

Sunday Evening

and life is good! The Philadelphia Eagles just beat the New York Giants and will move on in the playoffs. My DH was at the game, I'm sure he's soaked, but I know he's happy!

This afternoon I loaded the first customer quilt of the year onto my longarm. Then I headed into my sewing room and worked on the blue and muslin 9 patch quilt I've been creating. It's very simple, just nine patches with sashing and cornerstones.



Then I began paper piecing the next block for my Women of the Bible Quilt. This is the center of it...the star is 3 inches across. It will have lots of little half square triangles around the edges. I love how it's turning out.





I've also taken Nancy up on her birthday wish and I've joined the Heartstrings group and will be making some string pieced blocks for Nancy's birthday. For the past few years I've quilted for Rosie's Calico Cupboard's Camp Reach for the Sky for children with cancer. I've quilted my last quilt for them and was looking for a new way to contribute. I've decided that Mary's Heartstrings group will be my charity project for this year. Thanks Mary for getting this started!

UFO's

I've been thinking a lot about UFO's. I said a few weeks ago that I don't really have any UFO's. I do have a few tops that need to be quilted, some blocks that need to be pieced into quilts, some fabrics for quilts that are planned. But...I've never considered these UFO's. For me, if it's labeled a UFO, then it's NEVER going to get finished! My one true UFO is no longer a UFO...it was repurposed and became several tablerunners and what's left will be a tabletopper.

So what do I call these projects that are just not done but are waiting for the next step? They are my Projects That Aren't Quite Finished. Most are just "seasoning", taking a well deserved break while they wait for their turn to become Projects That are Nearly Finished. Then they will continue on (after more seasoning, I'm sure!) to become Projects That Really Are Finished. I've started a list of these projects over on my sidebar, now that it's so easy to do it in blogger!

In the meantime, one of my Projects That Really Are Finished has gone to a new home. This quilt which I made over the summer languished on top of my sewing closet, waiting for a home. I just couldn't decide what to do with it, but was sure it was meant for someone special. Last week, my DH mentioned that a friend who he visits often and felt very close to had just been diagnosed with cancer. She had her first chemo treatment yesterday and from what I've been told, when you have chemo you tend to get very cold. As soon as he told me, I said, "That's where the quilt has to go!" and we boxed it up and shipped it. Yesterday she received it and called him. She was so appreciative! I'm thinking it would be good to have a few quilts on hand which have no purpose, yet would be appreciated in difficult times. Quilts that are ready to go at a moment's notice. So this is what I would like to work on this year as my stashbusting project.