A Busy Saturday!

Up early, trying to straighten up the house a little.  I find I feel less "guilty" if I at least attempt to straighten up one room.  My grandchildren were here, so they "willingly" straightened up a little.  I cleaned the kitchen (including moping the floor) and washed a couple of loads of clothes (currently on the pool table unfolded).  That was enough to alleviate any guilt I might have.  Down to my "studio" I went and completed a baby quilt.  I don't know what it is with me and baby quilts these days.  This one is for one of my daughter's employees.  This young lady is having a difficult time, is pregnant and has received a "not so good" diagnosis that will require a major surgery after the birth of her baby.  She is a single mom and doesn't have very much so----what does a quilter do (?)---make a quilt.  This one is the bigger of the two I am making and I am also going to make a couple of flannel receiving blankets and embroidery something cute on them.

The baby is a boy and I think these are bright, non-traditional colors  will work well.  I found some bright green flannel that will be the back.  These are all my hand dyes---I am using up ALL stash fabrics if I can.  I sent a picture to my daughter and she loves it!!!!   The white is 200 ct. bleached muslin.  I am not sure I really like it though---the "hand" isn't very soft, but I think it is fine for this small quilt.  I sent my son a picture and he asked that I make TWO for a friend that is having twins!  The key is the different contrasting tones of the fabric, so I will look for anther combination.   It makes me feel good to use my God-given talent to help someone else.

Time Does Fly!

I can't believe it has been a month since I last posted.  I can not really explain why---I have been busy, but I have found time to read other blogs, not sure why I haven't posted.  I don't know, mine seems so ----well---boring!  But I have to remind myself, it actually is a personal journal in a way---documenting my life at this time in history.  I don't have to be witty---just realistic I guess.

Anywhoo----I have been quilting!  I have completed quilting several quilts, and made several.  I have also planted my "crops" for this year----so--

These are my tomato plants.  Our oldest son came from Baltimore just to help me with my spring yard work!  How sweet is that!!!!  The grandbabies built the "wall" around the plants and this year we covered them with netting to keep those birds away.  Four plants--two red, one purple and one yellow tomatoes.  I don't have a picture of the "other" garden.  That holds two watermelon plants, squash and sweet potatoes.  Not sure why I am enjoying this---but I am.  Wonder if it has anything to do with living in the south and growing old---maybe with my grandchildren as well since I want them to understand that things do grow and don't just come out of packages.

 We also planted flowers and cleaned out the beds.  The above shows Sweet Coal inspecting the growth process.

On the quilting front----

I am determined to use up my stash.  Diane gave me lots of 30's scraps a couple of years ago.  They have been sitting in a box waiting for me to get some energy!  I purchased the GO! tumbler die and so proceeded to cut both large and small tumblers.  I originally was going to make a quilt using both sizes, but when I put a couple of rows together, I thought it looked too chaotic.  I decided to make a baby quilt from the small tumblers.  There isn't a baby I have in mind, but I will either donate it to the charity our Guild is supporting, or save it for later.  Eventually a baby will come along.

I agreed to make a quilt for the "silent auction" the school of nursing where I teach is having in conjunction with a fund raiser.  Again, I had some 30"s jelly rows that I have also had for years!  I really like 30's, but it isn't my first choice in fabrics right now (my first choice changes frequently).  I had an old magazine with a hexagon quilt pattern in it made from jelly rows.  The quilt below was the left overs.  You can see it is lots of "mix and match" blocks.  I also purchased the new GO! half hexagon die that is a perfect complement.  You might know this is a Jaybird pattern.  I love it when things come together making the process easier.  I didn't have to use the special ruler, or make a plastic template.  I wish other patterns would do this.  This is a baby quilt and like the other, I am not sure what I will do with it.   It is already quilted and only needs binding.

This is the quilt for the auction.  It is a large almost twin size.  I was trying to make something that would appeal to many, yet would not take forever for me to finish.  The quilt is not unisex, but is very female in appearance--but still hopefully will result in a good return.  I plan on leaving the edges scalloped to further add to it (at least I think so).

I have several more quilt tops that need to be quilted, and "dyeing season" has begun.  I purchased some dyes at AQS and plan on getting out and having fun with dyes.  I need to clean my corner though and so will need to get my  energy up a little more!

Well, no promises, but I will honestly try to blog more frequently.

Guess Who Is Back!

Yep---I have been "out of pocket" for a little over a month!  As usual, life has "gotten in the way", and I haven't had the time or in some cases, the energy, to be creative and write an entry.  I have been busy though with quilting and will have some updated pictures to share next time (I hope).   So what have I been up to????

AQS Paducah!!!!!

Diane came from Florida for our our annual trip to Paducah.  We have been doing this for about 7 years now and really look forward to it!  As usual we drive up on Wednesday to shop!  This year was no exception except we both have remarked that we are much more selective.  You can really spot the "first timers", their carts and bags are filled to overflowing and they have this look on their faces that clearly indicate the "WOW" factor.  What I found interesting though is although I had a budget (which was a little more this year than last) and followed pretty closely, (I was about $50 over), I seemed to get less.  One reason is the things I want appear to be more costly.  My pride purchase this year was four Bloc Loc Rulers.  They are quite pricey, but although I do have a GO! cutter, I still need to square up often and I am truly "squaring up challenged".  The more I quilt, the more I realize how important consistency is (at least that was my justification for paying this premium price for pieces of plastic).  Other pricey purchases were a couple of GO! dies(I got 30% off as the show special) and a $23 pattern I purchased by mistake.  Mistake because I thought the price was $13!  I AM going to make this quilt for sure!!!!

We also spread some of our AQS money around at local shops.  I absolutely LOVE Grunge, so at one quilt shop the fabric was 30% off so I purchased a total of 17 yards of three different colors.   Of course it was the usual thread, fabrics and patterns, but not quite as much as in previous years.

We went back on Saturday on a Guild bus to look at the quilts.  They were beautiful, but I have to say a little disappointing when I read that the "Best of Show" had also won at the Lancaster show.  That doesn't seem quite fair to me since there were other quilts that certainly could have had a better chance.  I am wondering then will I see the same quilts at the Chattanooga show?  There are now 7 AQS shows and I think they might be spreading themselves a little thin.  Rather than giving more opportunities for quilt entries, since one quilt can now enter many shows, it seems kind of discouraging.

On the quilt front, I have been working on a couple of quilts that I put aside to finish quilting the quilts I have of Diane's.  I plan to get back to them though so I can use some of the new patterns I got at AQS.

Oh yea!  For the big news, Diane purchased a long arm.  She will soon have a Nolting Mid-arm!!!!  I loved the feel of the machine and really think she made a wise choice.  I also have decided to have my machine upgraded with a stitch regulator.  I must say however, the person's I talk to who represent the make of my machine weren't very friendly or forthcoming at all, so since my warranty is up anyway, I am going to get an Intellistitch.  It is about $3000.00 cheaper and will accomplish what I want.  I hope to have it in place by the middle of summer (gotta save a little more).

Anyway, this is all for now.  I will take some pictures and make my post more interesting next time!  Have a great day/week!

What Do You Think?!?!??

This is my version of a Gee's Bend Quilt called "Coat of Many Colors".  I saw a scrap version (like mine) on Pinterest.  I love it!  It is comprised of 2 x 4.5 inch rectangles and is sewn together with Y seams.  I have gotten the "hang" of it so the going is much faster.  It actually takes more time to cut the rectangles than it does to sew them together.  This is a "long term" project, since I really am going to have to get back to my "shirt" quilt, but I do need something to break the "sameness" of working on just one quilt.  I don't think this will be a bed size quilt though, more a large lap size.  This will be the last quilt I make with these particular scraps though (this will be the fourth one I think). After a while, the quilts all sorta look alike, so after this quilt, I will discard what I have left and start over.  I am already discarding the small pieces I have left from cutting the rectangles and am not feeling the least bit guilty about it either.

I have finished my "African Abacus".  I forgot to take a picture of that, and right now don't want to go back downstairs to do so, so I will post tomorrow.  I am currently quilting one of only two quilts I have left for Diane, so after I finish the one on the frame, I will load Abacus on and quilt it.

I have also finished quilting two baby quilts for donation and just need to bind them (I am doing so by machine), so although I haven't been blogging, I have been busy.  I have one more baby quilt to quilt and bind before the next guild meeting and then I will past those on.  I think I will stop for a while since that will make 20 I think I have made and donated.

Well, just wanted to check in!  Have a great remainder of the week!

Checking In!

Life has been "getting in the way"---but as always, I am making sure I put some time aside to quilt.  At the end of the day I am so tired sometimes, I don't have the energy to quilt AND blog, so guess which wins out!!!

Above is the quilt I started to get my "creative juices" going to finish the shirt quilt.  I used a special ruler to make these shapes.  I have never had such an easy time sewing curves---don't even need pins.  The fabric is from my small collection of African fabrics.  The grey of the background with the black strips is a good combination I think.

This is the latest BOM from the Brockman site.  This is not as much fun as I thought it would be, mainly because if you are making the ticking blocks you get absolutely no help in how to make it.  If I wasn't so very stubborn, I would just move on, but I really "think" I could like it.  I do think though, I am going to use a ticking in a contrasting color.  As it is, I don't think you can see the pattern very well.

Well, I will try hard to be more diligent in posting.  Thanks for stopping by!

This was HARD!!!!!

I have joined the Barbara Brackman new BOM.  There is a person who has been a member of her group of BOMers for a while, and is using ticking for the blocks (his name is Dustin).  I love the modern look of it and decided to give it a try.  Oh my goodness, was this ever hard!!!!  I have been quilting for years but couldn't seem to get my mind around this.  I used probably a quarter yard trying to make this "baby".  The Civil War Era is not my favorite time in history, but I must say that Barbara Brackman does a good job in adding humanity in the stories she tells in association with the blocks.  Go over to her Civil War Blog and read the latest story about President George Washington's wife's slave Ona and how she escaped.    Let's hope the other blocks are not as hard!

Checking In!!

Life's responsibilities have gotten in the way and kept me from blogging as often as I really wanted.  Really, my blogging subject (quilting) has been going a little slowly so I guess it was just as well I didn't blog.

I got a little bored with the shirt quilt, and so put it aside to do some fast invigorating quilting.  Another co-worker had twin grandbabies.  They were very medically fragile a (born too early) and so I delayed making her anything until their conditions had stabilized.  They are now at home---a boy and a girl and doing much better....still fragile, but improving daily.  Since these are first children of a couple and family who could (and probably have) get them a LOT---I asked her first if her daughter-in-law would appreciate a homemade quilt.  She assured me that she would, that she loved things not mass produced---so I got to work.  I wanted to make simple quilts---something they could roll around on and love, and what could become their "special" blankie and something I could make fast without a lot of stress.   I kept my promise to myself and shopped my stash first and came up with some appropriate charm packs----

This is for Baby Girl---the backing is a soft minkie (I had in my stash, purchased as a remnant) and although the top is "traditional" baby girl, I think the back makes it more modern.  Quilted with a simple meander---not too tight so it is nice and cuddly!  In looking at the picture, I can see the pale yellow thread I used on the back, but oh-well, it will be okay.

This the one for Baby Boy.  The prezzie print can be a little weird on the eyes, but hopefully it will be okay.  I think it is cute though and if I were a new mom I would like this quilt.  I purchased a soft colored turquoise minkie for the back (I had to purchase this---I had flannel, but I really wanted minkie on the back of both).  I will quilt it this week-end, bind them both and have them ready for gifting on Tuesday when I return to school.

Now for the other news-----I have also decided I am going to enter a quilt in the AQS Chattanooga show!!!!  I made a quilt with just this in mind (dyed the fabric myself) and completed it this fall.  I have just been so hesitate to begin to quilt it, fearing it will not turn out well.  When I look at the other quilts in the show, they are so very perfect and I know mine will not be.  It also will not be "bejeweled" and is probably rather plain, but it represents what many quilters are doing.   I decided  to try to enter, not to win, but for the experience.  I loaded it---started quilting (I am playing it safe and using a panto) and of course, I had problems.  The quilting isn't as uniform as I would like (I don't have a stitch regulator), but it doesn't look really bad.  The thread blends well, so hopefully unless you look really close you will not see my "oops"!  I am going to complete it and go for it.  I am going to try to get a really good picture and hopefully, it will make the cut.  No picture--don't want to jinx myself.

Well---lots of work to do today so I will "see" you later!!!!

Clarification!

Just a short note:

It occurred to me that my blog readers may be thinking my latest quilt is my original.  Just want to clarify that I found this pattern in a book by Elsie Campbell entitled "String Quilts".  In fact it is on the cover.   Although my quilt is from this pattern, I have increased the size, (the blocks are smaller though in mine based on the size of my GO! die) and of course am using my own shirts, so from that perspective I have made it my "own".   I just wanted to clarify since I find it so unfair (and unethical) to not give credit where appropriate to the creative genius of others.

Progress!

Not sure why it is sideways---but this is four rows.  I guess this way you get the idea though.   Four down 6 more to go and then the borders.

The beginnings of the next two rows with some good contrast.  I found another box of darks to add some variety.  It is "Spirit Week" at my Grandson's school next week with a 'theme" for each day.  The focus on Monday is "cartoon character".  He wants to be the "Joker" so we have a trip to Goodwin this afternoon to look for a purple blazer (yea right).  While there, I am going to look at the shirts and get a light and a dark to add some variety to the blocks.  No more than two though and in the "color" tag of the day, so I could possibly get a XXL or larger for $1.50!  I am too proud of myself---not saving little scraps--throwing them away!

More later!

Slow but Steady!

I have been working daily on this UFO.  I am trying very hard to resist the urge to start something else.  Doing so would probably leaving this UFO for another day.  I really don't want to though, that has happened too many times.  I had originally said I wasn't going to cut up any more shirts, but unfortunately, I am having to "de-bone" some light shirts.  After I complete that process, I will begin making blocks again.  This is how far I have gotten:

It looks crooked because of the way it is placed on the design wall, but I am anticipating once it is really put together, it will be straighter.  My challenge though is keeping those edges straight.  The shirts have been washed quite a few times and so are easily stretched.

My other task that has been keeping me busy is "juicing".  Like most people, I always have a resolution to lose weight and eat better.  Since there is only three people consistently in the house and one is a very picky eater, I really don't cook like I once did.  When I do, I always cook too much and so end up eating the same thing for days.  I still work, and so in addition, I am often really worn out when I come home.  It is certainly much easier to stop for "take-out".  To address the lack of fruits and veggies in our diet, I am now "juicing".  My husband bought a juicer as a house gift for Christmas.  I must say, it is fun to mix fruit and veggies.  My grandchildren enjoy it as well and are so surprised to hear what is "really" in the juice.

The makings for my "breakfast juice".  Apples, oranges, carrots and ginger.  

Isn't it pretty?  and it taste great!  The only drawback is what to do with the pulp.  I am investigating making muffins and adding it to the batter.  I think it would make a pretty good muffin, particularly the breakfast blend.  I am going to find a simple recipe and try it.  If all fails, it will make great compose.

At any rate, I do not intend to have a "juice" only diet, but certainly, although not perfect, it is "better than nothing" in adding nutrients to our diet.