Monday, November 30, 2015

Where Did November Go?

I am obviously lost in time somewhere.  I looked at the calendar and realized that today is the last day of November.  I went back and looked at my goals and thought UGH!  I don't think I made it far.

1.  I have 6 charity quilts that need to be quilted. I finished quilting one, and have been working at burying the ends.
2.  Farmer's Wife cornerstones and sashing.  This quilt has moved from cutting table, to ironing board, to 
floor, but not a thing has been done on it.

3.  Turkey Table Runner Quilted and Bound.  See more quilting to do here too!



All quilted bound, and was on the table for Thanksgiving!  I need to make a label for it. 

4. BOM from online Quilt group.  Another one didn't even touch it other than to move it from spot to spot.

5.  I would like to get the next border on my Ripples and Reflections quilt.   This one is finished to a flimsy! 
It is going to be a bear to quilt though.  Lots of bias edges, it is going to stretch like crazy.

I did play with some other things though. 



Ribbon star blocks.  Easy block, but I kind of put it aside so that I could get my table runner done.

 I got my bag lady blocks back, and decided to make 4 more.  I have a small idea but need to figure out some sort of sashing.
I picked up a UFO which is applique.  I started working on one row.  I am slow on the hand applique part.
I also worked on one row from the Row by Row that I had to have.  This one was from a shop in Cody, Wyoming.  I actually ordered it online because the shop was closed the day we were in Cody.




I started the Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt Allietare!  First step 294 HST of your constant and a neutral.  
I am about 1/3 of the way, but the majority of them will need to be trimmed.

I found this cute reindeer pattern from Quiltmaker Magazine 100 blocks.  Lots of tiny pieces but once you get one done it is pretty easy to put together.  I see some small quilty gifties in my future.

I have also been making lots of 2 1/2 inch tumblers as a leader and ender project. 


Not a bad month, but not spectacular when it comes to getting a lot finished on my goals list.  I did manage to get 10 books read this month also. 

Oh and tomorrow begins the virtual cookie exchange.  That is me on day 2!

December 1

December 2

December 3

December 4
                                                              Carol at Just Let Me Quilt

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Surviving the Holiday

I survived the holiday!

Dinner went well.  I was on my best behavior.  "wink, wink"

I finished my turkey runner, even the binding (sans eyes- I didn't have any buttons that small).  It went on the table for a couple of hours and came off before everyone sat down for dinner.

Girl turkey

Boy turkey
Friday I watched the minions so not a whole lot of sewing was done. Friday evening though I got my sewing space back in the great room.  DH even helped.

Saturday I started on the Bonnie Hunter Mystery QAL called Allietare!  The first step is 294 HST.  I started cutting, sewing and trimming.  I have about 30 done so far, those that are all squared up, and about another 90 which are cut, or cut and sewn.  I have a lot more to do. 

The dark gray is my constant. 

What I really wanted to do though was make a few reindeer.
How he got turned I have no clue.  I cut out a bunch of these, this is my first one, which I will call a rough draft.  The next group I will assembly line.  I think it is very cute though.  It took me a while to walk through the pattern so that I understood it completely. 

I never did find any small buttons for the turkey table runner, so I decided to just use these iridescent beads.
I think it looks mighty cute. 

Oh I did a tiny bit of shopping for Christmas, but I refuse to go to the stores on Black Friday, most of my shopping is online.  Four weeks until the Big Day!

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Three Days and Counting

Thanksgiving, and the holiday season are on its way whether I am ready or not.  I just can't seem to get much accomplished.  I did do a deep clean in the bathroom, and we managed to get all the laundry finished, and a lot of the house picked up.  We even took all of the clothes to the donation box today!

I decided that I needed to get my quilting done before I put my things up.  Of course when you have a task to do it is when things just don't go as planned.

I had some stars to finish on the charity quilt, and decided it would be easier on a domestic machine with a walking foot.  I was also using the same color thread to quilt my turkey table runner.

I did this on the squares, there are a few which are kind of crazy, but most overall are ok.  I then started to stipple behind the turkey and broke my thread.  When I looked at the spool this is what I had left.  Definitely not enough to finish the stars, and stippling behind the turkeys.

 The spool was old, so I had to go and find the color so that I could purchase another spool to finish my quilting.  Thank goodness for the internet.  The color is called Hemp.

So as you can see I made even more of a mess than I had earlier.  At least the quilt frame is empty.
I worked on the Pumpkins quilt.  The acorns, acorn tops and leaves are for row one.

I am working on the hand sewing of this row.  I also started the next row, getting these parts traced  so I can transfer to the Heat & Bond. 





I made 4 more stars for my brown bagger quilt.  Now to figure out how I want to lay it out.  I thought about using these 4 stars at the corners.  I also need to determine sashing.  I am kind of at stop until something pops into my wee brain. 
I also finished one more ribbon star.  I have an empty project box so at least all of the strips and start are put aside so I can lay hands on them easily when I am have time to work on them.

Is it just me or does it seem like time is speeding by?










Monday, November 16, 2015

Turkey Day Countdown

I love the holidays, but I also hate the holidays.  I love the cooking, and having family around, I hate when family turns it into drama.  I was kind of hoping that Thanksgiving could slip by when I was told by the MIL she was going to DH sister's house.  The youngest daughter was going to cook at her home, so I thought just maybe, DH and I could have a low key no hassle holiday.  I could sew, and do nothing for a few days.  Also I am a little worried about the holiday.  This will be my first holiday with being pre diabetic.  Many of the staples for Thanksgiving I cannot eat.  No rolls, punch, mashed potatoes, jello salads, dressing, and the one I am really going to miss--Pumpkin Pie!

Then the oldest daughter called and asked "What are you doing for Thanksgiving, and you are making dinner aren't you?  DH told her that he had to talk about it with me, and we would let them know. All I could think of is I have 10 days to get this under control!

This is the dining room table.  I have been using it to cut and trim fabric.  In front of the china cabinet is a sewing machine set up with a special foot, and portions of the drunkard's path blocks.  At the end of the table is a machine I use to machine quilt, and right now it is stacked with two quilts to work on.  The other side of the door is a featherweight machine in a featherweight table where I have been piecing.

One dining room chair has scraps piled on it, and draped over the back. 

Under the featherweight table is the Viking which I pull out to do some sewing and quilting using the walking foot.  Then there is my quilting frame, and the machine on it. There are two chairs with project boxes on them.  One the project is finished, and the remaining fabric needs to be put into my scraps system, or put away.  On the cross members of the quilt frame are the blocks I have been working on with an online group. 

My little kitchen table which has charity quilts, a mini ironing board, and a pan of corn which has been prepped for making corn bags. Underneath is my batting I use for small projects, and a tote with my cross stitch.   I need to get this all picked up and put away before Thanksgiving. 

And just look at the table top!  I am embarrassed at how bad it is. 
Templates, rulers, strips, patterns, pins, and fabric and a couple of totes with projects too!

Now I don't know about you, but I do know if I put this stuff away, it will take me forever to find it again.  Before I put everything away I was going to do my darnedest to get some of the scraps cut up.  Now normally as I cut I have piles sitting to the side.  Hexies, tumblers, squares, strips, and I knock them off the table, constantly.  I have my 2 1/2 inch squares, and 2 1/2 inch strip boxes sitting out, as well as my stings box, and a dog pillow which I fill with stuff that is too small to use.  But I needed to figure out how to keep the other stuff from getting lost in the shuffle.  I decided to use Dawn's idea from Sew You Quilt 2 that utilizes the plastic boxes that you get your veggies in.  Once my day of cutting was finished then I put the pieces in the appropriate boxes. 
I cut a bunch of tumblers.
Hexagons, and strips to be made into hexagons.


My box of 2 1/2 inch strips runneth over, as well as my strings box, which you can see under the table. I think that I may need to consider breaking those up into color families soon.  Which means I will need more boxes!   Yep there are more scraps to cut to the left there too, and you can see the dog pillow that I put the trimmings in that are too small to use.  
I put quite a dent in my scraps and started working on cleaning up the area.  I need to get things prepped so that I have projects to work on after everything is put away, and they are easy to "grab and go".  Oh the holidays!













Sunday, November 15, 2015

Something Old is New

Thursday was quilt guild.  We had a really cool presentation on feedsacks.  I also got my bag lady blocks back. 

Mine is the middle star, and the other eight are from the ladies who participated in the group. I had enough fabric left over that I am going to make 4 more blocks similar to the one I made.  These are only 9 inch blocks so I may be able to make a small lap quilt, because I still have some fabric left. 

Since I had finished the Ripples and Reflections quilt to the flimsy stage -- I could start working on something new, or maybe I should grab up an old UFO?  My choice?  I grabbed a BOM which I had participated in purchased years ago, but had never started.  Is that a UFO? 


The pattern is from a book called Pumpkin Patch Threads by Need'l Love, and the quilt is called Pumpkin Patch. 

All of the months except for month one, which I was working on.  The quilt in the book was made with wool felt on homespuns.  The shop where I purchased the BOM had two options, a wool, and homespun.  I chose the homespun.  There were no instructions with the monthly packet, just a label for which month was enclosed. 

These are the directions for the whole quilt.  The only real instructions are do the applique' with your preferred method.  I have only slightly dabbled in applique'.  Being that the fabrics are a lot of homespuns, I decided that I am going to do raw edge applique, because I think that attempting needle turn would be a nightmare for my first attempt, especially with all of the inside and outside curves.  Since I knew that I couldn't find my Steam a Seam, I decided to make a foray to JAF.  Love it when you have a 50% off coupon, so I figured that I could get away with 5 yards of Heat and Bond Lite. After today I am thinking I probably severely underestimated the amount which I am going to need.

I watched a couple of videos about raw edge fusible applique', reread the instructions and finally decided to just jump in, and start drawing the motifs on the Heat & Bond Lite.  

I did realize that I did not like working with a huge sheet of Heat & Bond, so I decided to use 12 inch lengths.  I also decided that I would do regular images, and also reverse  images, and I prepped enough of the motifs per the instructions, so that I have enough  for two rows all drawn out. 

I partially finished the charity quilt on the frame.  I am just going to say that I am really unhappy with the results, and it was a fight the whole time.  You can't tell, but the sides stretched all over the place. 
I still have some blocks where I will be putting a large star, then to bury the threads, and put on a binding.  I will do that using a different machine.  One charity quilt down, 5 more to go. 

I am looking forward to starting something new, and learning something new also.