Joy Denise's Blog

Settling in....

2011-12-22T08:16:00.000-08:00

I'm enjoying getting back to the Farmer's Wife blocks. I've done a couple more....

I did take a break and quilt Karen's baby quilt on my frame.... Love her mitered border! She bought a panel, cut it up, made squares of coordinating solids, arranged it to her liking, and called it done. I think it's Sew Cute!

And she pieced a binding with left over fabric and bound it. This was her first machine bound binding - very durable for frequent washings and baby chewing, etc!

Way to strike a project off the UFO list!

I caught this cute pic of Laurie wrapping her present for Jason (a humongous score at Target on Black Friday!)...

She eventually yelled for assistance/moral support from Karen....

And the job is done. That thing is in front of the tree now. It hides half of it! Mr. Jason will be thrilled!

Next up, another FW block tomorrow night, and the baking of our cookie tree for Mr. B.

This is the picture from the Wilton site showing how the tree should look. Ours never end up quite like that, but Mr. B. doesn't seem to mind!

Sigh!

2011-12-18T23:08:00.000-08:00

That big sigh was my reaction when I realized today that I had finished every single Christmas present, right down to the barbeque apron for my brother in law! (who does not read the blog, so I can show it!)

I love that one!

I finished a quilt today also that I can't show until after Christmas... heh heh!

All done! So I cleaned up the sewing room a bit, vac'd the floor real fast, and dragged out a project to work on. Back to my regularly scheduled projects!

Yvette had "assigned" us the next row of Farmers Wife back a couple months ago! I tackled my file of paper piecing sheets for the row and managed to get three blocks done today! It was fun to get back in the swing of this one! Once again, I used OleFrogEyes to pick colors and keep track of what blocks I'm doing!

After that, Karen had gotten all industrious and made a List of projects for 2012.... and her momentum carried her right through piecing the backing for the first project on her list. So once she was done, we set up the frame again and loaded this baby quilt.

I should be able to meander this one tomorrow afternoon and then she can bind it and mark one item off her 2012 List! And then it will be back to Farmers Wife blocks for me!

I'm contemplating making a project list for 2012 myself..... but I'm overwhelmed with the mere list making! Maybe I will tackle that this week.....

Black and white and red! It's all over!

2011-12-15T11:02:00.000-08:00

Black and white and red seems to be a very popular color combination these days. I've found myself drawn to red in my kitchen (all the fault of Mr. B who fell in love with and purchased a nice new deep red colored Kitchen Aid mixer!) Laurie likes the red/white/black combo....

And a young lady we've known since my girls were in high school recently married and she picked that combination for her new apartment. I did a quick search online for black/white/red fat quarter bundles, and scored some nice ones on a couple of ebay auctions. So far I've made two easy quilts from that pile of fats, and I have another one to go!

Here is some of what I used for Dani's quilt that I made as a wedding present.

Dani and my girls wore (and still wear) converse tennis shoes - I HAD to incorporate that fabric! I found some fabric with music notes on it also, to add for her new husband Steve, who is a musician!

Here I'm auditioning layouts on the floor.....

And here it is finished and ready to wrap!

When Dani saw the tennis shoe blocks, she pointed to the shoes she had on that very minute!

She can't wait to curl up with it and her new puppy Coda (Koda?), who by the way is adorable! And speaking of adorable? Here's our 'Studio Kitty', Tiger, doing her duty as Quality Assurance tester of the batting for the next black/white/red quilt (a piece is peeking out of the batting pile at the top of the frame). That quilt is now loaded and ready to machine quilt!

I'm slowly getting used to this new blogger method of posting - I think I like it for the most part!

It's been a while, obviously....

2011-12-12T22:50:00.000-08:00

Oh, good grief. It's been so long since I posted that now there is a new interface to use. Okay, this should be interesting.

First up, I've been making Christmas ornaments to give as gifts. These are way too much fun!

They take me about two hours apiece to make, but that's perfect to blow through a couple episodes of some old TV shows I've missed in the last decade or so. Netflix streaming is definitely a fun addition to the sewing room! Right now, I'm working my way through Dead Zone. I saw the first season and then somehow, never watched any more.

Here's a couple more....

Oh, now do tell. If loading pix is this easy, I am a fan of this new interface. Hitting "publish" will be the deciding factor, I guess!

Anyway, I also made a few kitchen appliance covers for my Mom for Christmas. She never reads the blog, so I can show them here..... She has collected owls for many years, and Dad says they've crossed the 500 mark for sure, so here's probably #537, #538 and #539 for her!

These will cover his mixer (a Kitchen Aid), her mixer (a smaller older model), and their toaster oven.

And just in case they get tired of the Owl Trio, I put other designs on the backs!

Now I want to make some for myself! With quilt related embroideries, of course!

Tomorrow is another day! I have a quilt on the frame to finish quilting, and our dear friend Dani is coming by to pick up our wedding present for her (a quilt, of course!). Then, I'm making a list, and checking it twice..... and it's a list of the UFOs in my sewing room! 2012 is going to be my year of FINISHES!

Okay, hitting 'publish'!! G'nite!

Regarding block 22

2011-10-17T23:12:00.000-07:00

Dear Yvette,

Please ignore the pattern I drew up for block 22. That is, if you would like to avoid four of the dreaded Y-seam occurrences.

What was I thinking?!?

I got through it, and done is good enough..... but it's a tad wonky and there is a much better way to construct it....

namely, the way the author intended. Imagine that.

Signed,

Chagrinned, Bemused and Relieved (a.k.a. Me, Myself and I)

The Margo Bag, and more

2011-10-16T22:22:00.000-07:00

Some pictures from the Margo bag I conquered! I had a ball figuring this one out, and now I can't wait to make another one. But, since it zips, I may try making a... gasp... single shoulder strap, and maybe on my third one, I'll add an inch or two to the overall size?

This one didn't look like a purse until the very end!

Also, ~~some~~ most of my pictures are sideways. Blogger hates me tonight. Oh well!

The weekend also included one of the Barbara Brachman Civil War blocks - I'm slowly catching up!

This mess actually became a block...

This is likely what I get for not having posted in over two months. Blogger has completely changed and I have no idea what works now. I shall post this, see what I get, and go to bed! G'nite!

P.S. I sure enjoyed seeing everyone at Orange Quilt Bee today! Must. Do. Again!

Farmer's Wife and Civil War BOW

2011-08-22T23:23:00.000-07:00

I've been playing the catch up game....

Here are some Farmer's Wife blocks...

And here are some Civil War Block of the Week (http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/) blocks.

I swear, I could stay in my sewing room for weeks. Just send in meals and I promise to shower daily. Please? Sigh.....

Vote for Snoodles and Moses!!

2011-08-21T09:35:00.001-07:00

Be sure and vote for the 2011 Pets Contest at SewCalGal - today is the last day!

Link:

I, of course, am partial to entry #55, Moses, in the CAT Category, a fabulous feline owned by my sister (Snoodles). There are some awesome prizes to be won by both the pets/owners, and those voting, and a number of ways to enter! Good luck to all!

Fairy Face Designs is giving away a Go! Baby!

2011-08-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

FairyFaceDesigns is hosting a Go! Baby giveaway! Check it out!!

Drawing is Sunday, August 7th! HURRY!!

I want one!!

A Go! Giveaway!

2011-08-04T18:06:00.000-07:00

LittleCottageComforts is giving a way a Baby GO! and three dies.....

Check it out!! I want the stars, the hearts and the Sunbonnet Sue dies. It was hard to narrow it down, but those are my three favorites.

She will be closing the giveaway at the end of this week, I think!

Good Luck!

Hands2Help Charity Quilt

2011-07-20T17:07:00.000-07:00

My Hands2Help Charity Quilt is done! This quilt is going to Romania and hopefully will make some little one a bit warmer next winter, and give them something bright and cheerful to warm their hearts too!

You can read about the Hands2Help Charity Challenge here. I hope this challenge is repeated again next year! It was fun and such a good reason to spend time in my Happy Place (my sewing room!).

Here's a last look at a couple of the cute dinosaur faces!

They made me smile the whole time I was making the quilt! Thank you Kathy, of TroublesomeCreekQuilts for picking such awesome fabrics to exchange with me!

:)

Happy Fourth!

2011-07-04T23:09:00.000-07:00

We had a quiet Fourth of July weekend. First I worked.... filling an entire Lawn Garbage bin to the top with weeds and overhanging lily fronds from our front border that were choking out the gardenia bushes. I yanked a bunch of dead petunias. Then I turned the soil a bit and worked in a couple bags of compost. And then I planted vincas. Then I collapsed. Then my lower back registered it's disapproval of the whole morning's events. Ow! I'm getting to old for this craziness!

When I was semi-recovered, I decorated the front porch a bit.

Then, I typed. Ugh. Enough said.

Then, I played! Sunday, the gang gathered at the Orange Quilt Bee and enjoyed a class with our favorite Teacher Extraordinairre, Janet. I had missed going and I managed to go two weeks in a row! I will wait now, for the next time there is a single class and then catch up with everyone again! It was fun!

Monday, I got up to the sewing room mid day, and I finished up the above two Sylvia blocks.

G6 and G7 are done!

Once I get done with this row, I have to devote some serious attention to completing a couple of flimsies. My Hands 2 Help quilt needs to be quilted and bound. And Dad called and said they sure could use a couple of quilts to auction for the Yellowstone Bible College fundraiser. His friend, Dr. Bill, is the president of the college and was telling Dad about the auction. Dad and I picked two from the stack of flimsies he and I have waiting, and I will quilt those and send them on up to him. I told Michael I need the dining room table for a month! As long as I am done before he starts his Master's program in August, it will be fine. Once his classes start, I think I can kiss my dining room table good bye for a Long Time! It will be his school desk!

Last thing I did tonight was make a Christmas present for a certain young man I know, who loves to barbeque.... It is an apron and this is what I put on the front of it. (Design from Emblibrary.com.)

HeeHee!

Back to the grindstone tomorrow, but it looks like it will be light. Maybe I'll be sewing by lunchtime!

A few more blocks...

2011-06-28T22:57:00.000-07:00

Let's see, first is Sylvia's Bridal Quilt... I got G2, G3, G4 and G5 done.... Yay!

Then I moved on to the Civil War Block of the Week that Barbara Brachman is offering, that Yvette and I had been eyeing for weeks (here), because, I really and truly NEEDED another ~~UFO~~ project.

Yvette had a really good idea that since they are now up to week 26, they are half done. So if we do two blocks a week, say #1 and #26, and next week #2 and #27..... we might just catch up at the end and finish on time.

I love these blocks. They are a nice change in both size and difficulty from the Sylvia blocks! Here are my first few blocks....

And look what I tripped over in my garden today!

A 2 pound zucchini!

It's almost too hot for this type of lettuce to grow, I think this might be the last batch I get of this variety. Salad and zucchini - Dinner's almost planned!

Learning Curves....

2011-06-09T00:10:00.000-07:00

I got my last two blocks done on my current row of my Farmer's Wife quilt....

Then I put the Farmer's Wife stuff into a drawer, and pulled out my Sylvia's Bridal Quilt. I am going to conquer row G.

First up was G-1, a block that the book did not give me a foundation paper piecing pattern for. No way was I going to tackle this one with just bits of fabric.... there were bias seams involved and... it was 'Y-Seam Hell' to boot! "Y-seam" and "six-inch block" should not be used in the same sentence, don't you agree?

I used the EQ program and tried to make my own foundation paper. There was a bit of a learning curve getting the finished paper piecing patterns to print. Wasn't a scaling issue - it was something else weird on my computer and once I deleted a few programs (hope they weren't important!), things printed just fine (I thought). Turns out it was a bit on the small size. I lost a half inch approximately, all around.....

So I slapped on thin borders and put it in the "finished" bag. No way was I going to redo that block!

On to G-2!!

Come on Weekend!

2011-05-26T22:44:00.000-07:00

I have a list a mile long and I'm so ready for a three day weekend. I'll work a bit in the mornings, but the afternoons are for fun!

I put some side pieces on two of the squares for the Hands2Help Charity Quilt....

You can click on my OleFrogEyes widget to see how it's going to look, when I get it done. I have some great fabric from my H2H partner to use for a border, and I'm thinking a simple black binding would frame it nicely. Or, since the quilt will meet size suggestions without the border, perhaps I will cut the border fabric in such a way that it could be a binding, with the design on the bias.... Decisions, decisions.

Hopefully this weekend, the Red Hot Sew'nSews will be meeting at the Orange Quilt Bee on Monday for a free sew! If we're able to meet, I'm bringing this project to work on. :)

Not much to show, but some progress!

2011-05-23T22:30:00.000-07:00

In the past few days I've done a few more FW blocks....

And a few more blocks for my Hands2Help Charity quilt. Here's another cute dragon, framed with his star block.

I got the rest of the blocks cut, and everything stacked and organized. I'll have 16 squares, each with a varied border. The quilt will be 60 inches square when I'm done, which is the size requested. This has been a fun one to work on. I don't have any grandchildren, but I would Sew buy some of this fabric and keep it to make one of these if/when the time comes. I love the pattern and it will be a keeper for sure!

I haz big purse!

2011-05-17T23:44:00.000-07:00

My old purse was tattered, torn, mended and just sad looking. Okay, so I switched to another one I made from fabric I love.... but I'm just not loving the purse. It doesn't hold things as conveniently or hold as much, has no pockets, and while it was a fun purse to make, I'm just not feeling the love.

Here's the one I'm not loving...

I still love that fabric, dog gone it!

Anyway, I wanted to try the Charm Tote pattern I got at Long Beach last year. At Easter, one of my prizes during the Easter Egg hunt at the Orange Quilt Bee was a charm pack! I got home with the one I picked out and raced upstairs to peek at my stash. Sure enough, I had a matching charm pack from another giveaway, from the same line. That meant I had enough to make the Charm Tote!

And for free!

It took me two evenings, because I kept getting sidetracked with NCIS episodes, but, I have a nice big bag that I really like!

It holds EVERYTHING, and has convenient pockets inside, etc. I even had enough charms to piece the handles out of charms.

Whoo hoo! I'm eyeing a few other charm packs and getting ideas! This one is more fall colors, I think. I would love to cut some red/white/blue charms and make one for summer. And I think I can score those right out of my stash. Yay for another frugal purse!

After finishing it, I moved on to a few more Farmer's Wife blocks.

I'm going to finish this row, and then I'm going to get serious about the next row on my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler. Farmer's Wife seems easier to me, but I will conquer the next Sylvia row. Or else!!

P.S. Look what lives at my Home Depot now!

The guys in the garden section put out feed for them every night. They've been living there over a year! I'm always glad to see them. Someday, I'll have a few of my own!

Gardening and Sewing

2011-05-10T21:55:00.000-07:00

A few pix of the garden... this is the terraced portion on the slope between our house and the neighbor.

Squash (yellow crookneck, yellow straight, zucchini, Mexican, etc!) In the back next to the fence, pole green beans which will climb (hopefully) the barely discernable net trellis stapled to fence. And near each fence post is a very tiny tomato plant which I will cage and tie (the cage) to the fence post. Hope springs!

My peas have found the trellis (I am SO late with the peas this year - hoping they produce before Blast Furnace Season bears down on us!).

One of Michael's roses. The name escapes me. I just call her Pretty!

And tonight's Farmer's Wife block.

It was a good day! :)

Pattern picked, test block completed!

2011-05-10T06:11:00.001-07:00

I was working on my next Farmer's Wife block last night, and midway through, I couldn't stand it any more, and I had to try my first block for the H2H Charity Quilt Challenge....

I know. I have QADD (quilter's attention deficit disorder).

The fabric Kathy sent me was just Sew Cute! I chose to fussy cut the dinosaurs and make them the center of star blocks. Here is the middle of the first block.

Here is the Lucky Stars pattern (definitely a keeper!), and more of the fabrics that will be used.

My H2H partner Kathy sent me some really colorful coordinating fabrics, and I pulled more from my stash. And then my sewing roommate pulled a few from her stash for me too! Thanks Karen!!

Now that I know my plan will work, I am going to cut all the fats and fussy cut all the dinosaur centers. I'll keep all the pieces in a basket and make several blocks a week (they go together very quickly!) in between my Farmer's Wife and Sylvia blocks. They are a nice change from the teentsy 6 inch blocks and I'm going to enjoy them!

Hovering Birds

2011-05-04T23:33:00.000-07:00

Several hours in the garden, despite my plans to only work there an hour and then head up to my sewing room. However, I still managed to get one Farmer's Wife block done.

Check out the link via OleFrogEyes - my quilt is growing!

I'm going to have to put this one aside though, and head back to my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler. Some really ornery blocks are waiting for me. Might as well push on through! I'll finish about five more Farmer's Wife blocks and then make the switch.

:)

One more...

2011-05-03T21:23:00.001-07:00

It was Hot today. H.O.T.

I decided to be a wuss and not work in the garden today. Instead I typed like mad all day and went up to my room after I finished. I made the "Strawberry Basket" block for Farmer's Wife tonight. It's a bit wonky because I wasn't paying attention and should have made one adjustment to avoid an inset seam.... ugh. But done, is done! By the time it's quilted, it won't be wonky!

I'm looking forward to the temps dropping over the next few days, and then I can hopefully get the rest of the garden in! Many more days like today, and my peas will give up before they grow up!

A few things....

2011-05-02T22:06:00.000-07:00

Just when Yvette and Ellen probably thought I was never going to get any more blocks done on Farmer's Wife....

And these are for Dad and Mom..... Dad calls me often to let me know that "the color of the day is WHITE" which means they have snow again....

For one brief moment or two, the color of the day here was WHITE-ish. We had hail a week or two ago. Yes, I am slow getting things blogged!

Our seedlings were not damaged by the hail, so all in all, it was just a glass of iced water for the garden plants! (I started some seeds in cups and containers because it has been a slow, laborious process digging and loosening the soil, smoothing compost all over the place, etc, and I didn't want my slowness to mean that Blast Furnace Season would be upon us before the seeds were planted. I'm so tired tonight from shoveling that I can't tell if that made sense.)

My garden has been consuming a huge amount of my time. I am looking forward to when it's down to just a nice walk through it daily, looking for weeds. Or if I'm successful, looking for my dinner!

In our orange tree, we have a nest! I watched one day as some of the rock pigeons flew in and out of this tree.... We have a group of them that return each year. We call them doves even though technically, I think they are not. They are sweet, peaceful birds. I got suspicious since the male was constantly grabbing twigs!

Later in the evening, Karen and I were on the slope working in the garden and she snapped this picture!

And at one point, despite our best efforts, we scared the Mom away and Karen quickly took a picture of the egg! We've not gotten close enough to see if there is more than one - I don't want to spook the Mom!

I will think of a dozen other things I wanted to post, but I am Le Tired. Good night!

Hands 2 Help Charity Quilt Challenge 2011

2011-04-13T10:30:00.000-07:00

Just a quickie - I signed up to participate in Hands 2 Help Charity Quilt Challenge 2011! Please take a sec to read about it - There is plenty of time to complete a simple 60x60 quilt (it is to be completed from fabric you will receive from someone else AND your own stash, if I read correctly - and I was reading fast, so don't quote me!). This is a collaborative effort between greenfairyquilts and confessionsofafabricaddict and I'm looking forward to participating!

I found out about it while peeking at the gallery on OleFrogEyes to see if anyone had added new blocks to their design walls....

Success with a few Farmer's Wife blocks

2011-03-27T22:58:00.001-07:00

Yay.... This was fun today! I completed three blocks for my Farmers' Wife quilt.

I like checking my progress using the OleFrogEyes virtual design wall. I noticed today I need to incorporate some RED in my Farmers' Wife - fast! Such a useful tool to see it all right in front of me, without having Kimi hijack a block off the floor and take it to her bed to snuggle with it! It really helps with my color selections for my Sylvia blocks too!

A gift idea....

2011-03-27T07:28:00.000-07:00

I took a break from the tiny Sylvias and Farmers' Wife blocks, and made two nice big 12 inch blocks from stash, and a pattern from http://www.quilterscache.com/. Then I snagged two pillow forms from Joann's with a 25% off coupon.... *Yay!*

The result:

A bit of spring time color for my Mom who has a birthday next week!

And I think I'm going to make another set for perhaps Mother's Day, that is patriotic red/white/blue in another quilt block pattern.... She can unbutton the springy ones and button on some new ones for Flag Day and Fourth of July. A set in fall colors would be a nice surprise in September. And obviously she could use a set in Christmas fabrics in December. And I think I will double the whole idea, cos I want a set too!

Today, it's back to my regular challenge: Making progress on Farmers' Wife blocks. I'm 75% done with "Birds in the Air".

More pix later!

Oh yes, she did!

2011-03-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

Laurie made another quilt! this one is for Courtney (Jason's daughter) for her 16th birthday.

She designed the layout herself, planned the heart center, added some patches for some of Courtney's favorite bands and some cute sayings, and there are more on order that can be added later.

We couldn't find an L7 patch or a Face to Face patch, so we duplicated them with machine embroidery or applique! She's off to Modesto this weekend to celebrate Courtney's birthday and give her the quilt.

I'm eyeing this weekend, and thinking I will split any free time between garden (making a few raised beds) and sewing room. Come on, Friday!

F9

2011-03-06T22:21:00.000-08:00

I have no idea where February went. Seriously.

And I have not a whole lot to show....but click on the OleFrogEyes widget to see my progress on my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler....

I completed F9 tonight.

This one.... there are ~~no words~~ no printable words. Even with making triangles to avoid the dreaded "Y" seams.... It was confusing. It involved unsewing. It turned out too big.

I have resolved that I will absorb the extra quarter inch of extra size by making skinnier sashes around that block. So there.

I think the next block will be easier - if for no other reason than there are paper piecing options. Yay!

After F10, I'm switching over to Farmer's Wife for about ten blocks..... And I hope to get together with Karene next weekend and tackle a Lovebird Lane block.

The projects are never ending. I have so many things I want to make. My garden is calling me. I seriously must figure out how to get over this "work" thing.

It's taking up way too much of my quilting and gardening time!

Farmer's Wife has begun!

2011-01-31T00:07:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I sat in my sewing room and cranked out blocks. I worked on some Farmer's Wife blocks today. I had done one with Ellen a week or so ago. I think Ellen and I are going to have our work cut out for us, to keep up with Yvette!

The first block we did was an easy snowball.... Here is mine...

The second was not hard - although my mad photography skillz make it look WAY more wonky than it is in reality.

But this third one.... Well, it totally dispelled the theory I had that perhaps Farmer's Wife was going to be a little easier than Sylvia's Bridal. Wrong!

At one point, I had a complete set of the paper pieces cut out and assembled, and another set with seam allowances that I was using to actually construct the block. In a weird way, it helped me keep track of all 4,592 pieces!

Okay, it's technically Monday. I'm off to bed!

Road to California, 2011

2011-01-24T11:43:00.000-08:00

RoadToCalifornia2011

Click linkie after properly attiring yourself, i.e., get out your bibs. These are the pictures I took, and I will add Karen's pictures later, if they are not duplicates of mine.

The gentleman you will see in two pics, sitting quilting, is John Flynn, who was this year's Featured Artist. I did not see anyone else that I recognized. Eleanor Burns and Bonnie Hunter were teaching and we were unable to do the fan girl thing..... I thought that Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson came to this show, but no such luck. Mr. Flynn was really involved with his hand quilting and I didn't bother him.

Oh, and one thing to pay attention to in particular.... The first couple of pictures (seven, I think), were of a quilt that had everyone's jaw on the floor. The quilter has been quilting for three years. She designed the quilt herself. She pieced the quilt, and QUILTED the quilt, on a 20 year old regular sewing machine. She has three preschoolers and she accomplished this beauty in six months.

There are some close ups of her incredible quilting in the slide show. Again, these are, I hope, the first seven pix that come up for you.

I don't think we've seen the last of this young lady! She is pictured in the sixth picture, in the center, in white outfit. She looks pretty normal, but I am in awe of her ability to make that quilt, in six months, and quilt/embellish it herself. Wow!

I came away from the show inspired to get back in my sewing room and get busy!!

Another block of Safe Haven...

2010-11-04T23:38:00.000-07:00

I've been working on Christmas gifts, embroidering a few things, making lists, checking them twice.... you know the drill. :)

While my embroidery machine was working on a tea towel, I was working on a block for Safe Haven.

I knew something was wrong with this block before I pressed this portion.... duh!

This is much better.

And here's the whole block. These blocks are 20 inches square, which seems ginormous after a week's worth of Sylvia's Bridal Sampler blocks!!

I have lots of left overs each month. This BOM is several years old. Embarrassingly old.... but boy, I love how much fabric they included. Jacque called dibs on my left-overs from this one, and as you can see, she'll likely have enough to make the exact same set of blocks, with only an occasional dip into her stash for anything she's short on.

I have no idea what I am trying to do here, but I'm playing with some of Karen and my favorite cartoon characters.... and I'm having a ball trying to figure it all out.

Isn't that what it's all about!?!

D1, conquered!

2010-10-31T22:15:00.000-07:00

I caught up the rest of row C for my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler this week. This was a fun row for the most part!

And then there was D1 looming on the horizon. Yvette had warned me that this one was a tad difficult.

But with lots of pins.

And scratching the cobwebs of my cranium and recalling the things my Nana and my Mom taught me about stay stitching and easing curves, etc.... And some better luck with my Y-seams....

I got 'er done!

If you click on the oldFROGeyes widget at the top right side of my blog, you can see my progress on my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler (and others). I love being able to see my quilts growing!!

I've peeked at the rest of row D, and I think it's going to be a good row. Challenging in places, but still, quite doable. I noticed that one block at the end involved curves and the book gave both applique templates and piecing instructions. There is a more difficult block, D7, that does not suggest applique, but I think it is a block that would definitely be easier that way. Why not? If it's okay on one block, why not on another?

I will ponder that as I work my way across that row. I have Saturday sampler to catch up, and my Red/White/Blue sampler to work on also, along with some Christmas gifts and some baking/freezing to accomplish.

I think I need a nap, just from thinking about it all! :)

oleFROGeyes!!!

2010-10-26T22:47:00.000-07:00

I was whining to my sister not long ago. (Not that that is anything new, but this was important!) I was telling her I wished there was a template or spreadsheet or something, that I could use to post pictures of my quilt blocks into, so that I could see what I was doing.... without constantly handling and re-handling my blocks, and having to spread them all over the floor, etc.

(Not to mention, having to pick the dog hair and threads off them each and every time because we are oh, so, neat and clean in this house!)

Jacque's daughter 'Elby' just graduated from college this year (summa cum laude!! yay!!) and one of her areas of expertise is web design, etc.... the conversations that were overheard by my niece gradually came around to the idea of a virtual design wall for quilters. And she was off and running with the idea!

If you click on the oleFROGeyes widget on the right side of my blog page, it will take you to MY quilt gallery. I already have three quilts up and I'm having a ball with this website she has designed. (Click on 'select a quilt' or 'view all', etc.)

It took me maybe three pictures, to learn what I needed to learn in order to resize the pix for uploading into the blocks of any quilt I design.

Elby made a cute tutorial with a narrator that I believe is the big green frog himself (and he sounds distinctly like Winston Churchill!) and I quickly figured out how to run the tutorial right beside my pictures as I edited them. After the first three pictures, I had the process down pat. I have not had to use the tutorial since then. I know exactly which values work best in the three areas that changes can be made, and I put eight blocks up tonight in no time!

For any quilt I design on the site, I can decide how many blocks I need, and in what order. Lattice? Cornerstones? Borders? I can add them in any color under the sun!
I have two simple 12-block quilts going in my gallery so far, and one monstrous Sylvia's Bridal Sampler too (140 blocks?!).

I have only been using the site a couple of weeks, but I love it!! I keep my laptop in my sewing room, so when I'm working on my SBS, for example, I am constantly picking out what colors I want the next little block to be. I can see at a glance, on the oleFROGeyes site, what colors are around the block I'm planning, and whether I need to avoid a color that has been used nearby, etc.

I put my Red, White and Blue sampler up on the site tonight, and immediately, I was struck by the fact that I have too much light blue centrally located in the quilt, and I absolutely HATE block 7. It needs more contrast and I made a huge error with one section. I will be making that one over. I'll probably switch one of the remaining blocks with that light blue for another block, such as the #3, or top right block. I can change the quilt blocks on the site and when the time comes to actually sew the blocks together, I can use the gallery picture as a reference so that hopefully it goes together just like I want it to.

All in all, I think this site is well worth the roughly $2.50 a month the membership works out to cost. And I'm not saying it just because she's my awesome niece! It's worth every penny and I'm glad she was nearby that day when I was whining to Jacque!!

P.S. I hear there may be some further modifications to the site! For example, I mentioned I'd love the ability to post blocks on point.... since Yvette, Ellen and I are thinking about doing Farmers Wife next year! (I should be bald by then, from tearing my hair out over SBS, so why not!!)

P.P.S. Look at this pretty quilt Ms. Ellen is working on!!!

I got to see these paper pieced blocks on Saturday when she and I had a fun afternoon stitching away on our projects. They are stunning!

Much better....

2010-10-23T00:20:00.000-07:00

Not a single hair was harmed in the making of these four blocks!

It was a productive evening in the sewing room, although the place was a bit trashed after I was done.

Block B10, four half-square triangles and you're done!

Block C1, which I think is called Contrary Husband.

Block C2, the name of which had something to do with a Wedding Ring, so I used the gold for the ring.

And block C3. The name escapes me, and the book is upstairs and I'm downstairs. And lazy. It could be called Easy Peasy!

Again, I am quitting while I'm ahead. C4 is a little more difficult, but not really hard, I don't think. I'll tackle that one later!

Tomorrow, I'm off to Ms. Ellen's for work on my Web Sampler blocks, or perhaps my Saturday Sampler... Yay for a QUILTY WEEKEND!!

B7, B8 and B9

2010-10-21T23:48:00.000-07:00

After fixing a pair of drapes for a friend..... (I took one pleated, lined panel of heavy suede-like fabric and made two panels out of it... they were very loooooooooooooooong drapes!), I decided to tackle a few Sylvia blocks.

B7 was not all that difficult, but for some reason, I got kind of wonky results.

But B8 redefined difficult. Challenging. That scream you heard last night, in the distance? That was me. B8 kicked my butt around the sewing room. It's getting to be a habit, coming away from a Sylvia session covered with bruises.

I have only a few hairs left on my head. And they are gray. The name of this block is "Mrs. Cleveland's Choice."

I would like to respectfully suggest that Mrs. Cleveland get her head examined. Or maybe I should. Sigh!

The next block obviously was designed to stress as few of my remaining nerve endings as possible. B9 was a simple Irish Chain.

Whew. I'm going to bed while I'm ahead!

:)

Productive Couple of Days - Woot!

2010-10-18T19:37:00.000-07:00

The weekend was full of work for me, both the typing kind, and the household kind. But, in between cleaning, typing and errands, Yvette and I carved out a few hours on Sunday to make a new purse pattern. You can see hers here.

Here's mine....

And if I get tired of so much of the green?

Well, there's this side. It's reversible!

I love this one. The only change I would make is I would add a magnetic closure next time for both the purse body, and the pockets. :)

These purses are addictive. And who can't use another way to use her stash??!!

Because I typed my heart out this weekend (til one in the morning, today!), I had a wide open afternoon. I was bound and determined to get my Irish Chain finished, and get the box (waiting by the door to be shipped to Dad and Mom) taped shut, labeled and over to FedEx!

I was going to cross hatch, but, this is almost a double sized quilt, and by the time I had finished the rows slanting in one direction, it dawned on me that it was quilted every 3 inches. And that is ENOUGH! Yahoo! Done!

I had some problems with the fabric sort of "chevronning" as I stitched first one direction, then the other. I was trying to reduce the amount of torque I'd be putting on it, as I sewed those rows. I used my walking foot, but still got a bit of creepage that resulted in the faint chevronning. Sigh. Hopefully after it washes and is used a bit, it won't be noticable.

I bound it, and it is spinning in the dryer right now... The box of quilts (six, I think?) will be in Wyoming by Friday!!

I'm looking forward to catching up on some BOM's next. I'm only about a month or so behind myself and I want to get current!

Our Ms. Ellen is flinging open the door to her house on Saturday, and I'm hoping to see her, Jenny, and Karene (looks like Yvett can't make it, and Karen has a class, *pout*). Anyway, it will be good to start working on some blocks (and hear what's happening with everyone!). It's been way too long, my friends!

First shot of wheat grass!

2010-10-11T09:57:00.000-07:00

Not bad at all!

It was easy to assemble (even having to take time to read a few directions this first time!).

It works just like the extruder I used to use to make my homemade tomato sauces. The spent grass is extruded on one side..... and that is a very dry grass "rope"! This thing really gets the liquid out!

The juice collects here.

Tastes like a salad.... only.... in the words of Mr. Patrick, "Where's the Ranch?"

I think seven little flats like this would give us enough for two or three people to have a shot a day. (And that would be enough, given that Mr. B would sooner swallow a razor blade than anything dark green!) Soon as we finish a flat, we should start a new one. Takes mere seconds to put seeds in a bowl to soak. Takes maybe two minutes to fill the flat with dirt, sprinkle soaked seeds on, and top with a bit more dirt. Watering daily is obviously not going to eat up much time. We'll see. The Great Wheatgrass Experiment will continue.

There are a ton of things this is supposed to do for you. The ones that interest me the most are stabilizing blood sugar and lowering blood pressure. Again, we'll see. There is a LOT of research information out there supporting a lot of claims. There are a few naysayers. My own blood sugar levels and blood pressure readings will be as much of a deciding factor to me as the research done by other institutions.

Oh, and I expect to be leaping tall buildings by noon! :)

Meow! Finished!

2010-10-09T23:53:00.000-07:00

Karen took off for parts unknown tonight to see a movie with a friend, so it was just me in the sewing room. I tackled the rest of the kitty quilting and then bound it. Here's a pic of the whole quilt, or as much as I could get in the camera from my perch on the stairs.

The pink binding really set it off!

Look at Karene's little fussy cut corners! Cute!!

And here is the backing that I chose from Ms. Ellen's stash contributions!!

Is that a perfect match for the purples and the overall flavor of the quilt?! I think so! Love it!

Went to the Orange Quilt Bee to get my next block this morning..... dangerous territory. I saw several things I'd just LOVE to make!

This black, white and red quilt has everything! Pretty blocks, the Sunbonnet kids, and even a touch of embroidery, I think!

This is a chicken pattern that was free for the taking! I can't wait to make a few of these!

Karen spied two quilts that use the pattern that she got a kit for at Long Beach. She fell big time, for that quilt, and when she stood up again, she was clutching the quilt kit in one hand and her charge card in the other. She hopes to start it after this semester is done... mid December!

This one is intriguing! I don't know why it appeals to me, but I love it. I think it's the way the flower petals and background reverse on each bloom.

This picture is horrible, but the quilt is gorgeous. Karen sees things very spacially (spaceally? where is spell check on this blog?!). Anyway, she took one quick glance and announced that they had taken a square, cut it up, and used various pieces throughout the quilt. And that they had done that 20 times. She then turned over the pattern, and sure enough, it calls for 20 fat quarters to do the 20 blocks and the applique! I love the combination of the blocks and the applique. I finally tore myself away and we went home. Without the pattern. Because I remembered that if I buy one more thing, my sewing room is going to explode.

This is a picture of the great wheatgrass experiment. Supposedly drinking the juice of this stuff lowers blood pressure and helps stabilize blood sugar, and does a host of other good things. I decided to try growing it.... Tomorrow, we will try making a bit of the juice and we'll see how it goes. If I start mooing at night, instead of snoring.... I may have to rethink the whole thing! (apparently you only have to drink a small shot of it daily to reap all the rewards healthwise......)

And yes, that is an eyeball sitting in the flower pot with the aloe vera plant.

And yes, my windows need washed. Moving on!

You want weirder? I can do weirder! I am growing alfalfa sprouts in my pantry!

I made Morning Glory Muffins (http://mennonitegirlscancook.blogspot.com/2010/06/morning-glory-muffins.html) and stashed some for breakfasts next week and froze some for later on. I hear these can make a morning commute a more peaceful experience. I'll report back on that after Karen grabs one Monday morning on her way out the door. Somewhat healthy, with whole wheat, coconut, shredded carrot, nuts, etc.

And just to keep Michael from thinking I've gone off the deep end, what with the moo grass.... I mean wheat grass, and the healthy muffins, I made some Brownie Cookies for him to munch on this weekend. Got the recipe (and the muffin one) from MennoniteGirlsCanCook website. He pronounced them a hit when he got home from the Land of Lost Packages today.

That's all! (moo!)

Seeing double...

2010-10-08T23:19:00.000-07:00

With our usual sense of good timing, Karen and I waited until the last minute to get our Saturday Sampler block for this month done. Tiger joined us in the sewing room and played her part as our "studio cat".

She is most content lying between our chairs, while we talk and listen to music, with our machines humming.... occasionally muttering to ourselves when the blocks or the machines aren't cooperating.

She eventually wakes up covered with bits of cloth. :)

Here are our blocks, #9 in the series, for Saturday Sampler at the Orange Quilt Bee. I am so loving this quilt. This one is going to stay here at Chez Bury! Mine, mine, mine. :)

And after that one, I went backwards a month to finish the block I missed while I was in Wyoming last month.

Here's #8. Now, I'm caught up on big blocks. I have 6 mini blocks to make up and I'll be right on time. I want to start setting the blocks into the setting triangles too, so that all of that is not left until the end.

I pick up a new block tomorrow morning. :)

Meow!

2010-10-08T07:19:00.001-07:00

I stitched in the ditch on Karene's kitty quilt last night. Then I tackled the inner portion of the big blocks. Echo quilting seemed like the best option.

These cats are Sew Cute! I have three more blocks, I think, and then I can bind it and get pix of it before stashing it in the next box to Cody!

Meow! :)

A finish!

2010-10-07T07:46:00.000-07:00

Karene made this adorable quilt top for the Crisis Intervention Service home project we've been working on. It's bigger than a crib, smaller than a twin. Perfect for a little toddler/young boy to snuggle up with!

I dug deep in the stash to find something to back it with. I had a piece of red flannel that is the exact shade of the reds in Karene's quilt top!

This will be SO cozy! Interestingly, this particular piece of backing was the most awesome fabric I have ever used for that purpose. It behaved perfectly, didn't creep around, didn't stretch. I will definitely be looking for more of this! However, since it was left over from my daughters' childhood years, I might have a bit of difficulty scoring anything quite like it again!

I stitched in the ditch for this one.

Stash to the rescue again - I had dark green for binding that was the perfect match for the leaves in the green outer border.

Thank you Sew Much, Karene! This is such a cute quilt!

(I've set aside the rest of that particular fabric to use as binding on the big string quilt Dad and I made, because I found a huge length of stash forest green to back that quilt with. I love seeing the stash jumping into boxes headed for the Crisis Centers, in the form of finished quilts!!)

Next up? Today I pin a sweet purple/pink/aqua kitty quilt top that Karene made for the Crisis Center. I found a piece of purple stars fabric to use as backing that is just a perfect match! (Thank you Ms. Ellen!!!) We're getting this done, ladies!!! And not a moment too soon. It's getting colder up there in Big Sky Country!!

B3, B4 and B5

2010-09-27T09:48:00.001-07:00

I spent some time converting The Big Green Closet Formerly Known as Laurie's Bedroom back into a bedroom yesterday. That's a job that will be ongoing for quite a while. We're shifting things around a bit and I'm trying to reorganize my sewing area. I was able to consolidate some of the bags of grouped fabrics into bins, and label them. I discovered an entirely forgotten bin of strings. And the box with everything needed to finish my Home Is wallhangings. I will finish those, and then strip any left overs and add to the string box. Next year. Maybe.

Anyway, when I was at the point that I could not see straight and could walk around upstairs without risking personal injury again, I sat down to take a break and work on some Sylvias.

B3 (above) was paper pieced. I'm finding that I have a love/hate relationship with paper piecing. As in, I sometimes am not fond of it while I'm doing it, due to my occasional need for unsewing and resewing... And I LOVE the finished product.

B4 was designed to lull me into a false sense of serenity. I whipped through this one in no time.

B5 whipped me. I have not ever done a hexagon (Grandmother's Flower Garden) before. And I can say with absolute assurance that though I think they are Oh Sew Cute? Especially in 30's reproductions? I don't ever plan to do another one! I do, however, have plans to cut some hexagons and plaster them on some flower pots.... cos I'm weird that way, and there is no hand sewing involved. Heh heh!

If I ever have time do carry through on that flower pot idea (pencilling it in for 2012), I will post pix. Okay, back to my Monday. I have a vet appointment for Ms. Sadie, and a new dictation system arriving today (I think). Hopefully, I can quilt Karene's quilt tops starting tonight! Happy Monday all! Hopefully we will not melt with the 105 degree temps today!

:) (Note to self: do not use resized pix on blog..... they don't embiggen!) Sorry!

Yahoo! Karen's Happy Hour!

2010-09-24T22:09:00.000-07:00

Karen decided to donate one of her UFO's for the Crisis Center homes. She made this Happy Hour twin-sized pattern quite a while ago, and did an awesome job! She even quilted it herself, stitching in the ditch, and putting a different purple button in the center of each block. The binding was all that was needed and I put that on tonight!

Such pretty colors!

Thank you Karen! One more quilt is in the box to head north. Tomorrow, I will start on the two quilt tops Karene made. They are Sew Cute!! We're getting closer to our goal of a quilt on every bed in the two Homes!! :)

Jacque's second 4-patch floral is quilted and bound...

2010-09-24T07:40:00.000-07:00

Yay! A finish for the Crisis Intervention Service home! This is the second quilt top that Jacque made, which should have been completed before I left for Cody. However, the universe laughed at me, and my dictation system became terminally ill the night before my 6 AM flight, and no quilting got done that night!

All is better. My new Bytescribe system is on its way to me. We're limping along on the old one and looking forward to the arrival of the new one. And last night I went upstairs and bound this quilt, two weeks later than planned!

Thank you Jacque! It's in the bottom of a big box I purchased to bring my strings back home.... Still not sure how they grew so much while I was in Cody! Next up, will be two adorable quilt tops that Karene made! They are way bigger than crib, a bit less than twin size, so these will be for the two toddler beds at the home.

After that, I have an Irish Chain to quilt and bind. And then I tackle the two double size quilts. Tops are made, and quilting will probably be done very simply, in the ditch, etc, on my Janome off the frame, on the dining room table.

We're still short at least one twin, possibly two. If anyone has any ideas, or wishes to help knock out another string quilt (I have a string twin in progress, five 20 inch blocks out of the twelve needed are already constructed), or wants to help make a fast (BIG blocks) fractured nine-patch top, let me know!! Cold weather is fast approaching Big Sky Country!

I'm off to tackle my Friday! I want to get my work out of the way so I can quilt for Crisis Centers Saturday and maybe get a few of my Sylvias done on Sunday!

Catching up....#4

2010-09-17T20:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is the last post from my trip... I think. I feel like I've forgotten some stuff, but maybe those things will come to me when I consolidate my different folders of pictures, and I'll post more if that's the case.

This post concerns the seemingly innocent box of strips that I brought with me on my trip, to work on a string quilt for the Crisis Center home, with Dad, while I was here.

Now, we started off with a bang, as you could see in an earlier post.

This is the infamous box of strings.

Then I got side tracked for a day with quilting Jacque's quilt top. :)

Dad soldiered on, churning out square after square! I finished Jacque's top, and rejoined the string block effort, and we produced string blocks until we were having nightmares about them. The quilt kept getting bigger. The box of strips did not seem to get proportionately smaller!

Dad's hand gave him fits from time to time, but he just chalked it up to his old friend Arthur Itis, and kept on sewing.

Last night, he had the honor of stitching and ironing the very last block.

And then he put it into place....

And I commenced with sewing those last three rows together. Then I joined the two portions of quilt together. DONE! One double-sized quilt top for the Crisis Center!

It wasn't until today that Dad noticed that his thumb was not just sore, but swollen on the hand that he recently had caught in a kind of crush injury between a saw and a large piece of wood. So while we were at the Wellness Center this morning, he had a few x-rays. Guess who has been sewing with a fractured thumb all week!?

It's a hairline fracture, but it's an extensive one. His thumb is now immobilized for three weeks!!

We came home from the doctor's office, and before we packed up the quilt top to come home with me for quilting, we took some pix on the front porch. It's a wonder you can see the quilt, because it was windy enough that I thought it might blow over to Southfork.

I love this quilt.... I may have to make myself one!

Mom got under it and we almost lost her! It's BIG.

Now, having folded the top and put it in the bottom of the box, I picked up the box of strips, which should have been way smaller than when I got here.

There is something very wrong with this picture. Why hasn't the quantity of strips gone down! I came up here with one box; I'm going home with two. And I didn't buy any fabric or souveniers!

Dad has a theory...... he thinks they are "being fruitful and multiplying" while we are not looking. Anybody want to join me in another string quilt project??!!

Okay, I'm off to get some rest - there's a ticket in my bag that says I have to be on that plane when it takes off at 6:00 AM tomorrow.

(I miss my parents already! I'm coming back in the spring and it can't happen soon enough!)

Catching up....#3

2010-09-17T20:35:00.000-07:00

Which is really #4, because the Mayor's house was really Catching Up #3, but anyway!!!

These are some pictures from the late yesterday and today - I will put it up as #3 and #4....

Another gorgeous Cody sunrise.

Embiggen to see herd of antelope in the distance. It's still very early in the morning.

For my VW bus-loving husband!! They cut a section out of this one, I guess, but I love the paint job!

This young buck is maybe 15 feet from my car window! We saw these deer on the way to the Wellness Center (where I had a session on the Dreadmill, and my knee lived to tell the tale!)

Hanging out in the 'hood!

So graceful!

Dinner at the Mayor's

2010-09-17T19:27:00.000-07:00

Mom mentioned to me that we'd be going out to dinner Thursday night. She didn't say much else until just about time to go. Then she advised me to clean up a bit and "maybe wear some earrings!" My eyebrows shot up!

"Where are we going?!" She announced that "we were going to the Mayor's house for dinner." I nearly had a heart attack. She took pity on me and showed me a pamphlet. The old Mayor's_House had been taken from its original location in 1997 and placed on a lot in town and it has been made into a gorgeous dinner spot. Here are some pix from the evening, and hopefully, I'll be able to properly insert captions under them!

This is the Mayor's House. I could love a house like that! So much history and character!

A Victrola! (See the hand crank on the side?)

A gentleman's "secretary".

Of course my eyes landed on the sewing machine! Look at the ladies' boots hanging from one side!

I'm gawking at the tin type ceiling....

The fireplace in the parlor.... and what's that on the hearth?

A chicken! :)

The old rotary phone in the hallway.

The parlor....home of the Victrola, a pretty piano, and the fireplace with the chicken.

Another interesting ceiling. I wonder if I could hang wallpaper on a ceiling?!

I know that pretty lady!

Mom and Dad sharing a tiny lemon sorbet we were given between courses.

The meal was perfection. Dad had some grilled shrimp, Mom had buffalo medallions and I had a huge grilled chicken dish. We played musical plates at one point, so we could each savor each other's dishes. I got two of the shrimp, a buffalo medallion, and they got to try my chicken, etc. My chicken was so big we brought home enough for them to have lunch the next day! The food was absolutely wonderful and for how delicious it was, very reasonably priced, I thought. The different sauces were flavorful without being overpowering and I savored the meal from start to finish. Then, there was dessert!

Mom's favorite: Red velvet cake with a creamy icing!

After dinner we got a peek at one of the bedrooms in the home. (It is a bed/breakfast business.)

And there was a quilt on the brass bed!

I'll blog more later!!

Catching up....#2

2010-09-17T19:10:00.000-07:00

Hi handsome!

Oh, my, two handsome fellows!

And this little one sitting very very still, in the hope that I won't see him!

One of our sunrises....

As usual, click any pix to "embiggen"

.......going to start another post....

Catching up.... #1

2010-09-17T18:12:00.000-07:00

I am going to try to catch up on my week - it's been so much fun and between having all that fun, and some working that had to take place, I've not had a chance to update!

Again, these are in no particular order!

Jacque's quilt top became a quilt! She did an awesome job of piecing it, and I brought it with me to finish here.

We pinned it at the church, using several of their large tables in the education center and Mom caught this picture of all the pins before we closed them! Isn't that an interesting perspective!

I have another one at home (that is quilted but not bound, in the same pattern) that Jacque also made. That one, I did loop-de-loops all over on my short-arm frame. This one, I decided to stitch in the ditch, and I also chose a higher loft for the batting. This is going to be one WARM quilt. I was pretty toasty while working with it!

It's a happy quilt, isn't it! It just shouts "springtime!"

Thank you Jacque! That one is on the stack for delivery to the second Crisis Intervention home.

We had some awesome weather one afternoon. Here's a "mare's tail" rain cloud moving through the area.

More rain moving in.

See why they call it big sky country?

I want a windmill like this one day! (Hooked up to my meter so I can save on my power bill, thank you very much!)

Here's a set of pix taken in my favorite kind of light, in the evening. The storm is moving on, and the evening light makes things so especially pretty!

(my favorite!)

I'll do another post with more pictures.... Blogger gets testy if I try to put in too many in one post!

What I've Been Up To.....

2010-09-12T20:01:00.000-07:00

In no apparent order of occurence or importance.... here's some pix from the last two days.

On a run over to the Friends & Co. Quilt Shop, we passed a field with a good sized herd of antelope. So graceful and pretty! They took off when we slowed down to take the pix.

Click to embiggen!

I caught Mom in a rare moment of relaxation with "Julie", at her feet.

Dad and I started a string quilt. I had packed my belongings in a box that only filled it about 1/3 full. Then I dumped in 10 inches of strings!

Dad wasn't all that sure about the process, but he gamely offered to help and we had dueling sewing machines hard at work.

His first block:

Here, he found another "snake" in the string box. There were some strings that were the entire width of the fabric and he found that rather amusing as he kept pulling and pulling trying to find the end of his string.

And after about two hours, we had the one fourth of a twin quilt put together! Do we rock, or what???

For my niece Wiffie: a picture of the neatest treehouse I've seen in a long time. It's not really a tree house, but I guess the owners called it that. It belonged to the son of some friends of my parents - he's grown now.... but I have a feeling this 'treehouse' will be around for his children someday!

While I've been typing or sewing, chores here have gone on as usual. Dad's monitored his irrigation lines....

Mom's done a ton of laundry after their recent trip and cooked us some FANTASTIC dinners. Simple, healthy and delicious - my kind of yummy. We had an omlet the other night made from eggs laid by the chickens that day! Fresh eggs are SO good! Here, Dad was holding one of his favorite chickens, who thinks she's a lap pet.

Friends of theirs at a neighboring ranch were going to be out for the evening, and asked Mom and Dad to feed their labs and their kitties. It felt just like a dog sit! We hustled down and I met Bailey (a very young white lab) and then watched the feeding system for the barn cats.

This was rigged up to get their food to the top of the hay bales, and onto a rafter in the top of the barn. That keeps other creatures from stealing it, including a rather unmannerly magpie that loves their kitty food. Once a day, the container is brought down and filled up and hoisted back.

The kitties showed Mom their appreciation for the food and the back rubs!

And I sat down today with the intention of knocking out four Sylvia blocks. Ha!

Here's B1, which kicked my butt around the sewing room. I started to cheat and just cut out basket shaped pieces and applique them on. Then I decided I wanted to stretch and grow as a quilter and do it right. Ugh. I will go with my first instinct next time. I still need to applique stitch the handles, but the block was made per the directions in the book.

And here's B2. I was tired, and I'm finding that I need to do a really scant 1/4 inch seam on the machine I'm using. This one is wonky. But you know what? I'm over it. Wonky but finished is fine with me! Moving on to B3 later this week. But I'm also working on the string quilt and quilting a flimsy that I brought with me, to drop off at the crisis center.

So me thinks I'm going to be a dud at the Sylvias until I get home. But I will catch up! I will keep trying to work on them here, too.

Oh, and guess what was sitting in the back room of the Friends & Co Quilt Shop??? A Fusion and an Avante!

Drool!

G'nite all!!

2010-09-12T05:44:00.001-07:00

Checking on the chickens!

2010-09-10T17:07:00.000-07:00

I had great flights, arrived in Wyoming without any mishaps and have set up my "office away from my office" in Dad's office. Once that was taken care of, we headed for the Yellowstone Quilt Fest! On the way to the quilt show, Mom and Dad and I stopped at the hen house to check on them and get some eggs.... Here's a quick video of the chickens.

I want chickens someday! :)

Quilt porn tomorrow, from the quilt show. I am Le Tired and I'm going to bed early! G'nite!

Enter to win a GO!!

2010-08-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

Sweet P Quilting is giving away a GO!!

Enter here: http://sweetp-paulette.blogspot.com/2010/08/its-go-time-good-luck.html

And if you win, please invite me over to play!!

Long Beach International Quilt Show 2010

2010-07-26T23:30:00.000-07:00

Long Beach International Quilt Show 2010

If you'd like to look at the pictures individually, here is the link to the webshots page where they can be found:

http://community.webshots.com/album/578260680rNjVMI

Hope that link works!

After two days at the show, I can't wait to start stitching again! I got several patterns and gadgets!

And the countdown has already begun for next year!!

:)

Drive Carefully, Mr. Patrick!

2010-07-12T09:13:00.000-07:00

I hate goodbyes!

But it's that time. Patrick has left to go and live in Birmingham (or somewhere thereabouts depending on where he finds work).

He came by to say goodbye this morning - Karen was able to grab a last hug before she dashed off to work.

Michael and I wish him ALL THE BEST! Because he is the best! (He's the best son I never had!)

I know he will have a better life there, seriously! Lower costs of living, better job opportunities (he already has four possibilities lined up!) and his family is there. His real family! We've enjoyed being his California family for a long time, and we'll still always be here (or somewhere!) for him, but this is good, for Patrick! And that's what's important. :)

But I'm still sad. I'm going to go pout now.

(I hope the grill makes it!! There's a python in that car somewhere, too!)

WE LOVE YOU MR. PATRICK!!

The First of The Five

2010-07-11T20:52:00.000-07:00

Twin One got loaded on the frame......

Quilted!

Taken off and quilted a bit more......... in the centers of the flower wreaths.

Bound and boxed! I need to hurry and get it to FedEx. Karen has decided that there's been a huge mistake and it's supposed to be for HER bed. Just say'n..... Those are some pretty blocks!!

Jane (my plain Jane Janome 1600 that I use for quilting and binding) suffered a Work Related Injury when she and my tether on one side got tangled and my spool pin snapped. I have yet to locate any sort of solution online. I'm thinking about calling a Janome dealer, but if there is no inexpensive solution? I plan to first attempt to glue it. If that is a Fail, then I will sand down the nub that is left, and see if I can put a thin wooden square there (superglue?) with a new spool pin sticking up from it. Even a silly long nail would do. Just something to act like a spool pin. There are supposed to be two, so that you can rewind and replace bobbins without having to go through ~~the tortures of the doomed~~ the tedious process of rethreading every three passes across the quilt (the bobbins run out fast!)....

She's still running fine, so we'll just keep on quilting while we figure out what to do about the spool pin!

More "Done is Good" and Wonkiness

2010-07-05T23:05:00.000-07:00

Let's consider making Wonky the new Black. 'kay?

Alrighty, wrapping up my Weekend of Mini Blocks.....First some Sylvia's Bridal Sampler blocks!

A8 - I really liked this one. I approached it with fear and trepidation, paper pieced it and it worked pretty well for me. Yay!

Blocks 1-8... this is really going to be a pretty quilt! I'm loving the bright colors against the black, even if it does mean I have to be really careful. If they were prints, little mistakes might get lost a bit - I feel like the solids are not very forgiving, but they're pretty!

And where would we be without a chicken towel? I stitched this out while sewing a block.

Chicken with a Grasshopper!

Then, I moved on to A9. It looked fairly easy. Aha! I let my guard down, relaxed, and sewed it backwards.

Mad face!

Here is A9, fixed but wonky in one portion. Too bad. :)

And again, a chicken towel:

Chicken with a baby chick!

The end of Row 1 was in sight, so I jumped onto block A10. Yvette had warned me that this one was tricky AND (bless her!) provided me with a cheat sheet. Once I realized the cheat sheet involved half square triangles, I was home free. I printed off a sheet of paper to sew those puppies and trimmed them to "perfect" and then constructed the block. Easy Peasy!

A10!! Row 1 is done. We're going to wait until August to do Row 2. I have five twin quilt tops to quilt for the Women's Crisis Centers so that will be the real goal for the rest of July. :)

And last but not least, tonight I tackled the three mini blocks that go with the Saturday Sampler from the Orange Quilt Bee. Again, wonkiness is everywhere, but I kinda like that navy/red one. (If I had about 25 yards of that fabric, (discontinued, from Kansas Troubles) I'd upholster my entire house with it. Even the toilet covers.

That's all folks!

A5, A6 and A7.... and another chicken!

2010-07-03T22:30:00.000-07:00

Got another chicken tea towel done last night.... Chicken in the feed sack!

I stitched that out while I tackled block A5 for Sylvia's Bridal Sampler.

A5 wasn't too bad!

Then I started A-6. Block A-6 had me questioning my ability to do this quilt.... But then I scrapped the Y-seams and used triangles that formed the necessary parts, and tonight, I finished it! Not perfect, but again, Done is Good!

Then I moved on and made A7 tonight, too. A6 took me two nights. A7 took me one hour! Sheesh!

I am making no predictions about A8! It looks a bit tricky to me!

Happy Fourth of July!!

What have I done?

2010-07-01T23:15:00.000-07:00

I was determined to get A4 out of the way tonight.

And I did.

Only it took almost until tomorrow! Sheesh! I'm minus a few gray hairs, and thinking I might want to go ahead and make a reservation at the Funny Farm for the not too distant future! Some of these blocks are going to kick my butt around the sewing room! I'm not very good at blanket stitching teentsy pieces, but, it's done. Done is Good.

The next block looks easier!

And Chicken with a Flower is looking good on a tea towel! Christmas present stitching has begun!

Let the Weekend Begin!

Bullets

2010-06-30T23:18:00.000-07:00

I am Le Tired. But I have things I want to post. I thought bullets might be a fun way to be brief.

I finished quilting my black floral. Drumroll!!

And then I bound it.

I am not fond of loop-de-loops for quilting. I think I prefer/am better at meandering.

My sister is a Star! Look at the two quilt tops she sent me this week, to be quilted for the crisis centers in Wyoming. They are right out of the box and not ironed - but I was so excited I just wanted to take pix and get them on the blog. Thank you Sew Much, Jacque!!

We are trying to make decisions about redoing our kitchen. Almost 17 years later, my microwave, when it is in the mood to work, is opened and shut with a duct tape handle. My oven is 25-50 degrees off.... in either direction.... My sink has buckets under it that I empty daily. My spigot is wrapped with a terry towel, because otherwise, the person doing dishes (that would be me, usually!) gets a shower from the leak in the joint of the spigot! In other words, it's time! And did I mention I HATE 4 inch white tile counter tops? Because they are broken, and there is not a grout cleaner on the planet that will truely clean grout. I know this. I've bought them all.

I met my New Love at an appliance store. I love it. I plan to marry it. We will live happily ever after, eventually. First, we have to take our built-in oven out, and remove the cooktop directly over it. Then, we will (after some minor demolition) have an appropriate hole to slide the Magnificence That Is My New Oven, into its new home. I can't wait. Feast your eyes on this puppy and tell me he doesn't scream "I. Can. Cook. Seriously."

I am taking a short break from Crisis Quilts and catching up on some BOMs and perhaps even a Sylvia block or two. :) Then I have FOUR twins to quilt! Yahooo! The Red Hot Sew'n Sews are rocking this project!
The end.

Gotta work on that bullet thing. I think centering the pix might have made it look more like I had a clue what I was doing....

Saturday Sampler and more...

2010-06-16T23:50:00.000-07:00

At Ellen's house on Sunday, Ellen and I worked on our Saturday Sampler blocks.
Ta Dah!!!!

Yvette worked on her Sylvia's Bridal and she's definitely picking up speed! She zipped on by a few that we need to ponder and think on and she whipped out three blocks before she had to go home... And Jenny worked on a gorgeous chocolate brown and teal quilt... I am loving it - and I should have gotten a picture!

On Monday or Tuesday, I don't know which.... this week is a blur... I finally got around to making Pioneer-Woman's Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies, which Michael was really hinting that he hoped we'd try. If you read the recipe post about them, they eventually turn into chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches with sprinkles.

My ingredients.....

My mess as Karen and I attempted to assemble them.

One of the wrapped frozen ice cream sandwiches.... Pioneer Woman's turned out prettier, but mine were pronounced a success by The Peanut Gallery!

And tonight I really lit into that first twin quilt.... First I quilted the center pink and blue portion on the short arm frame.... Here's a shot of it hanging off the frame after it was done.

Then I decided to try an experiment and I traced a quilting design onto paper and darkened the lines with a sharpie. This I slipped under the setting triangles all around the quilted portion of the quilt.

I traced the pattern on the quilt top with a water soluble marker.

And then stitched it. I have extremely wonky quilting, because I need lots of P3 (practice, practice, practice) in free motion quilting, but I kind of like it! Here's a view from the back.

I plan to just straight stitch two lines around the outer border of the quilt, about 2 inches apart, and these will overlap in all four corners. After that, it will be bound and boxed up for the Crisis Center. Yay!

A little bit of this....and that....

2010-06-12T23:51:00.000-07:00

First off, a big drum roll for Dad! His "Thunderbolt" crib quilt is quilted, and bound!

Don't you just love it?

Whoo hooo!!!

There are FIVE quilts going up this week to Wyoming. A double, and three cribs! I have four twins to quilt next, and I have set up the Handyquilter frame and got Plain Jane (my Janome 1600) all oiled and ready.... I have an entire bolt of batting waiting in the wings. Let the quilting begin!

This morning was Saturday Sampler.... I saw Janet "Sensai" busily blowing up balloons to help celebrate the one year anniversary sale at the Bee. I can't wait til the embroidery class Karene and I are taking from Janet next Friday!

While we were at the Orange Quilt Bee, before we looked at this month's Saturday Sampler block:

Gretchen had a quick "show 'n tell". I wasn't expecting it, and missed getting a picture of the first BEAUTIFUL quilt that was shown. :(

But here is one Gretchen showed us. She wanted to learn how to successfully make the star around the border of this one.... I'd say she nailed it. Sew Pretty! And look a the rest of it - awesome!

And another lady had this to show...

I have no idea of the pattern name, just know that I love it!

And one more lady had some mini's to share.

These are only 1 and 7/8 inch square!!! I thought my 5-inch squares for the Saturday Sampler, and Yvette's "Nearly Insane" blocks were tiny.... These redefine "tiny!" They are so cute! She said each one takes about two hours!

I got a few things done tonight in the sewing room. Little by little, I'm clearing out a few small projects.... such as a pillow case for my "son from another mother", Patrick (the dragon one), and two for a certain someone around this house that is a huge Superman fan (shhhh! he can't have them til Father's Day!).

And I did another batch of squares for that Nine-Patch-Project!

Here's a peek in my 9-patch drawer! Some of these will look familiar to Ms. Ellen because they are from her stash! Thanks Ellen!

Tomorrow I'm headed to Ms. Ellen's for a quilting bee.... I'm going to try to get my Saturday Sampler block for this month and also my Web Sampler block for this month finished. And then I will focus completely on quilting those twins this week!

Happy stitching!

That Nine-Patch Project

2010-06-06T23:25:00.000-07:00

Yep, I started that one too! It just makes sense. I have so many scraps and some of them are just begging to be used together in another quilt!

Here's today's block (of which I made eight, four each of mirror images).

One a day! This is doable!! In August, I believe, there will be pattern suggestions for finishing a quilt with our stacks of 9-patches.

(And take a look at the tutorial about making two-for-one 9-patches from large squares! Pretty efficient!! Right now, I'm working with left-over strips, so I'm doing it more traditionally, but I think the tutorial shows a method that would really save time!! I will try that also!)

I'm all wound down! G'nite all!

I heard that "hint, hint!"

2010-06-06T23:07:00.000-07:00

Yvette hinted that she'd like to see my first block of Sylvia's Bridal Quilt....

I have never done paper piecing before. We will be doing this quilt for the next ~~4,592 weeks~~ couple years, and Ellen is maybe going to join us when she gets a few projects finished...

(That's what I should be doing, is waiting.... ahem... I was never very good at waiting!)

So Ellen gave me a crash course in paper piecing the last time we were at Orange Quilt Bee for a free sew. Thank you Ellen!

I decided I was going to try a few blocks because this is a big new thing for me to learn and I wanted to get going and see what paper piecing is like! (see "never very good at waiting" above!)

I got almost done, and had to call Yvette with a question or two.

But I got my first block finished.

And then.... I kept going!

So here is A1, A2 and A3. I stopped then, and switched back to Prairie Spools, because my brain was tired. And A4 is a challenging block!

Although I have some ideas about how I'm going to get that one done!

:)

The Second Oldest UFO in my Sewing Room

2010-06-06T22:29:00.000-07:00

The oldest UFO in my sewing room is the first quilt I ever made. It was a sampler, and I almost finished it. It was completely hand quilted. I stopped with about two blocks yet to be quilted, and started another quilt just like it, for my Mom for Christmas! Hers got finished, and then I was off and running with another quilt class. 20 years later, I've not finished that quilt!

But I will! It's just a wall hanging, and I want to hand it in my office!

Anyway, the class I went charging off to, after finishing Mom's quilt, was one I took in Texas. It was the very first time I had left the girls alone for an extended period of time. I packed up my sewing stuff, eye'd the sky a bit anxiously as it was not looking pretty, and after going over all the instructions for the girls to follow while I was away, I climbed in the VW van and headed out across the prairie to the little town where my class was.

The sky got worse. Then it got kind of an eerie green. I knew what that meant, so I was looking around for tornados as I drove. The wind and rain picked up and suddenly I was in a hail storm so severe I just KNEW the VW van was going to have sustained damage. I could hear Michael wailing in the background of my mind, over the wind and rain! He loves that car. It wasn't our old decrepit VW, it was the new red/white Vanagan that he adored (and adores still - it has a place of honor in the garage, all these years later!)

I made it to the little quilt store, only to be met by the teachers rushing out to my car, saying, "your daughters are on the phone!"

This was before the days of cell phones, and I hurried into the store with my stuff and stood there dripping, and listened as Karen and Laurie informed me that they were getting a terrific storm now.... The hail was scaring them, and they knew what greenish skies meant, and they were apparently hiding in the bathroom saying "Our Fathers". And calling on the phone they had stretched into the bathroom with them!

As most storms do in Texas, this one passed quickly. I was able to stay and take my class; the girls had a great day building confidence taking care of themselves and our dog. Somehow after the class, the quilt got put away... weeks passed... I never got back to it.

We moved to California, and I just didn't have time for much sewing.... I was running my business and doing the Mom thing, and my sewing consisted of making costumes, prom dresses, and sewing on buttons!

Eventually, I had the good fortune to take a class from Janet - about zipped bags. But she talked about quilting and the class was in a quilt shop.... About two years later, I started seriously trying to quilt again... Karene and I signed up for Janet's class at Leah's and there's been no stopping us since!! During that class we met Yvette and Ellen and Jenny and so many wonderful quilters!

But still, this project remained buried in the chaos that is my sewing room.

Until last week! I was cleaning out yet another bin of fabrics, and I found it.

I wasn't even sure what it was at first.

Strips of fabric, some random triangles....

Then I found a square....

And the "pattern", such as it was! But no template, except for the one drawn on the typed page.

And I immediately sat down to try to see if I could pick up where I left off. After squaring up the few blocks I had completed in class, I was able to figure out what I had been doing.

And I'm making progress on this UFO!! It is called "Prairie Spools" and I think it will be a GREAT addition to the crisis center quilts!! (If I have enough fabric!) I'm going to just keep sewing until I get about 120 blocks. The squares are 6.5 inches, so a set of four is a 12 inch block. 120 blocks will give me a decent twin top, if I put 6 inch borders on it. If I've grossly misjudged how many squares I can make, I for sure will end up with enough for a crib quilt or a toddler bed quilt. So it will get used!!

:)

Crisis Center Quilt Project - Progress!

2010-06-06T21:56:00.001-07:00

Lookie!! My dad sent me a quilt top he made for one of the cribs at the crisis center. He made this pattern up himself, fussy-cutting it so that the tractors were carefully included in the blocks.

I am in awe! I could not figure out how he did it, but he said he took a piece of cardboard and made a cut out portion in it that was the size he wanted. He would carefully center it over each block he needed to cut, and then mark it and cut it!

I stitched in the ditch to quilt it, and then put a binding on it. He originally had left me enough fabric on the backing to bring it forward for a quick and easy binding - and I absently snipped right into it when I was trimming away my batting! I recovered my fumble by pulling some black from my stash and I think it goes well with the black in the tractor fabric.

I'm so impressed with it - Dad, you did an AWESOME job!! - this quilt is going to be just the perfect blankie for a little boy to curl up with and rest!

I want to take this quick opportunity to tell you ALL how much I appreciate your help with this project. I am truly touched by how we have all jumped in and helped in so many different ways! From donated fabric stash, to donated blocks that are being repurposed into gorgeous quilt tops, to finished quilts that are so cute, to quilt tops, to shirts with our quilt group name on them, to time and effort helping me sew these quilts.... Thank you, thank you, thank you!

The ladies are going to just LOVE them! I hope we are able to help warm both the bodies and the hearts of those who will use them.

The Red Hot Sew'nSews RULE!

Next up? I'll be quilting Dad's crib quilt that he made from a pattern called "Thunderbolt"!

Didn't he do a great job on this one too?

After that, I have several twin sized quilts to tackle! We're making this happen!!

:)

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-06T21:33:00.000-07:00

I just found some pictures from Karen, TiJae and Richard's birthday party. They celebrated together over at Patrick and TiJae's place, and Michael and I dropped by so that I could give TiJae her present.

There were decorations.

And more decorations....

And two pretty girls........

And a 30-year-old and a 60-year-old.... There was a 55-year-old there too, but I managed to steer clear of the camera! :)

Cage got to pick the first tomato of the season.

After which he announced he wasn't really crazy about tomatos! :)

And TiJae LOVES cupcake potholders!

On the way home, we passed the cutest apartment complex EVER. It had a sign stating it was the "DEWELLA".

I would love to live there - so cute!

And, it's Jacaranda season again!

Is it just me, or are the years FLYING past!? It seems like just a couple months ago I was admiring the jacarandas!

:)

The Red Hot Sew'nSews Represent!!

2010-06-06T20:09:00.000-07:00

While Jenny's Dad/Ellen's hubby was on a recent business trip, he did something Sew Special for us Red Hot Sew'nSews....

He got us SHIRTS!! We were so surprised and quite delighted! We promptly wore them to a Free Sew day at our Orange Quilt Bee! Thank you SO much Paul! I thought that was so sweet of him - What a thoughtful thing to do for us!!

We have two more shirts coming, one for Yvette who is pictured in white.... and one for my sister in S.C.

We had a great sewing session that day! Here's Ellen's finished block! Sew Pretty!

Karen wasn't feeling the love for her block, as you can see. She was getting side tracked, I guess...

Which resulted in the mad face.... She fixed it, only to have it happen again.

Encore on the mad face! But she perservered and her finished block was perfect!

Our S.C. Red Hot Sew'n Sew, Jacque, is about to get order restored in her new basement family room/office/sewing area - so she will be sewing along with us on the Web Sampler again soon. Right now, she's starting her second quilt top for the crisis centers, using the pattern from the Weekend Quilting Wonders book. Can't remember if I posted a picture of my finished top or not, but this is what the pattern looks like.

We thought it was a good quick pattern, and I had a ton of pastel florals, lavenders, yellows, etc. So I bundled them off to her thinking she could do ONE. Apparently, I underestimated - She has enough fabric for TWO. She supplemented with some green of her own for the second one, but we'll have two more great quilts for the crisis centers! Yay! I'll ask her to send us a pic soon!

I have added a few Sunbonnet Sue's to the stack for that quilt top. It occurred to me that rather than making 35 Sues, I could make 19, and that would give me 15 on the top of the bed, and one Sue in each corner, and I could insert a floral border - instead of having Sues go all around the border. They are fun to make, but 35 is a lot! Winter comes early in Wyoming, so I think I'll go with 19!

I'm going to stop here.... I will add another entry. Blogger drives me crazy when I have a lot of pictures!

:)