overload

I went to my first every quilt guild meeting last night. 

I would guess there were about 50+ people there; mostly women but a few men too.

I signed up to help at the quilt show in November. 

I took a kit to make a pillowcase from the community service basket. 

I knew a few people so that was nice.

And I sat and enjoyed seeing some lovely show-n-tell quilts. 

I'm glad I finally was able to make it to a meeting. 

October 1st is the deadline for quilt entry in the show.  I decided to enter 2 quilts (that's the limit).

Stargazing. 

It's completely ready, with hanging sleeve and everything. woohoo. And yes, that was a factor in it getting picked.

And Evening Shadows.

Ah, the binding is not finished and it will need a hanging sleeve... 

I AM going to work on this TODAY. 

Really. 

I'm not just saying this. 

I am.

H. Whiskers is all together and I have the border appliques fused on-just have to blanket-stitch them. Dang nammit I thought I had a picture....ahgggg the brain scatters are going to make me nutzy -er I swear.

I will take a picture TODAY too. 

Really.

I'm not just saying this.

I am.

Edit: Here's the picture.



I finally got some pictures

In no particular order.

close up of quilting -free-hand feather meander

  

back of Madeline

Evening Shadows-custom

"Irene" (formerly LCQA quilt)

Jelly roll quilt -stippled

back of Jelly roll Races quilt

Last night I started to load My Apple Orchard. I'm just going to do an all-over either stipple or maybe a double ribbon, but probably the stipple. 

I still have 6 big quilt tops that need quilting. They are all from  my 2010 block-a-day personal challenge.

Apple Orchard was the smallest at 73 x 93, which is why I picked it. 

I got a new laptop yesterday, have to take my computer for them to transfer what they can from it. I'm hoping for an easy transition from desktop to laptop-I did get a wireless mouse for it though.  I'm using Meg's laptop for this post and I'm ok w/it but I've been using it everyday for a month or more and I think I'm as good as I'm gonna get, I just like the mouse better.

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Our oldest son Paul is visiting with us. 

I'm not sure if I've shared in the past that he is a religious brother in the Oratory of St Philip Neri.  Last week he received his acceptance letter from Mount St. Mary's into the 2nd year of their pre-theology program.  In 5 years (by God's grace) he will be ordained.  We are excited for him as he takes this next step in discerning his vocation. 

My husband is excited also that Mt. St.Mary's is 10 minutes from Gettysburg, PA! 

We've got it figured out

I think!

Molly's 1st night with us



Molly is a shy, sweet English Setter.  Otis fell in love w/her at first sight. 

Dominate Annie did not share this feeling, she couldn't even conjure up polite hospitality-as her humans would require- or even mild disinterest. Nope, Annie wants to fight.  I understand the dog hierarchy thing. 

 I'm a bossy control freak, I admit it.  Call me the Alpha and I will say 'damn right'.

If my family were behind me right now, they'd be nodding their heads up and down furiously in agreement. But even my alpha-ness hasn't been able to make Annie tolerate Molly. Unfortunately, Otis got in the way and Annie went after him-I didn't anticipate that one! So now Otis is staying far, far away from Annie, which really makes us feel bad. 

So we're keeping them separated. 

It's a pain, yes, but workable. Annie and Otis upstairs and when no humans are around Annie in a bedroom away from Otis, for Otis's peace of mind.  Molly is in the basement.Saturday night and last night she slept there, where we put her bed. 

Happily, I have a working bathroom down there and the priming is done on the walls so I plan on quilting this week, as I normally would and keep Molly company.   I quilted on HQ last night; my Evening Shadows Bl-a-Day sampler, and Molly slept the whole

 time. 

Yesterday afternoon I was down sewing some strings blocks and realized I was bored out of my mind.  So I counted how many blocks I had (35) and made one more. I arranged them 6 x 6 on my design wall and am calling it quits on the string quilts.  (for now anyway)

I realized, while trying to put the blocks on my design wall, my HQ is too close to the wall for me to work comfortably.  So now I need to try to rethink HQ's spot or a new place for the design wall. 

******

Oh man it is getting so dark here and I can hear thunder rumbling.  Otis and Molly are afraid of storms....this should be interesting.

******

Fun times, fun times...Life is Good!

"Seppy"

32 x 37

Once I quilted this I fell in love with it. Before it was quilted I felt a bit so-so about it.  I'm glad I took the extra time to quilt the feathers in the border.  I used a blue thread on that, it sorta blends but not completely.  I wonder if I'll ever get brave enough to quilt feathers with a high (higher) contrasting thread.  I hope so. :)

I just made the label and will sew it on with the binding, catching the bottom edge in the seam of the binding~so happy I remembered to do this; half the time I forget and then have to sew 4 sides of the label to the quilt back, which isn't hard to do just one more step that I like to avoid.  It also means that the label is on there really well!  If I remember (and can get to my fabrics) I should prep the hanging sleeve and catch the top side of it in the binding seam as well.  I'm thinking of putting 2 hanging sleeves on as I can't decide which way I'd like this to hang.

This morning I loaded Evening Stars, then the guys arrived and I covered the whole thing with plastic and they resealed the area off.  Sadly, I had also started laundry, but I will have to wait until they leave to finish it---ya I'm really crying over that!

72 x 86

This is one of my block-a-day tops and on my quilting goals for 2011 list.

I wanted it done in June but July is good too.

Well, they're hammering pretty hard down there and the water is off for a while so I think this is my cue to go shopping.  I'm getting real comfortable in Lowe's! This is probably not a good thing. *wink*

Progress continues

on the feathered quilt, but yesterday when I went downstairs in the morning to start some laundry I felt like sewing.  But I really had nothing little to sew.  (I know; "gasp") It's sorta weird after all last year always having blocks to sew and sewing was the main event every day.

If you remember, I wasn't sure about an outer border for Evening Shadows.  I was thinking of sewing random leftover jelly roll strips together.  But I did that on another quilt and didn't like the look.  Well, as I stood there in my jammies pondering what I could do for a quick sewing 'fix', I started putting the strips on the wall and I liked it, so I sewed a few together just to be sure; and yep I liked it.  So 3 hours later, with a load of laundry sitting in the washer, me still in jammies (embarrassing) and starving for lunch I had the borders figured out.  I was  just going to put on 2 rows but had enough for 3 rows and that makes the finish size 68 x 86 and I thought that was a good size.

In the afternoon, I was putting up my few valentine's decorations (2 small quilts) and I remembered that last year I had bought some die cut hearts (already cut out with fusible on them) at The Quilt Co. They had them in a little bowl by the check out so I bought 6.

I got them out and thought I would make 2 pillows, this is what I came up with.

12" x 16" pillow tops

The one on the right I've already blanket-stitched around with a King Tut red-it really helps since they are so pale they blend in.  I forgot to put a piece of batting on the back so my stitching would also be my quilting--agggghhh. I have a little bag of assorted heart buttons, but I'm just not an 'embellish-er' so not sure I'll add them. 

******

last week I sewed the last of the "found" HST together into flying geese, but I'm still loving the flying geese so I pulled out all my pre-cut 2.5 x 4.5 med/dark bricks, ala BonnieH, and a bunch of light 2.5 squares and have been sewing them together L/E. The little triangles you cut off I'm sewing together into little pinwheels (they're measuring 3" unfinished).  At first I was throwing the little things away, but then I felt guilty (what's up with that!) so I got them out of the waste basket and when I sewed them together, awww they're just so cute. 

I know, the little pinwheel by itself is spinning the wrong way--- an orphan among leftovers, so sad.



Design Wall Monday 1/31/11

Another week with Evening Shadows on the wall. 

but I did get the stop borders sewn on and that was what was on the 'to do list' for it. (yea me!)

I did take it down for a few days to arrange and piece 2 donation quilts.
Here's one, I guess I didn't take a picture of the other one, it has mostly red, yellow and orange squares.

 I'll quilt them after I finish Libby's quilt that's loaded now and I'm doing the Wh-Twirly Feathers on.  SO much room for improvement but I'm still real happy with these first results.

 Center of quilt

area between where one of the big star points come together.

Too see what others are working on check out Patchwork Times.

I'll be visiting too, but my computer is being a pain and commenting seems to be an issue.  :(

We are teetering on the edge of a new computer but dang it I just don't want to have the added expense right now.  So we're going to try and deal.....

for a while anyway. Sometimes it just feels like a Rosanna Danna week....it's always sumthin, if it's not one thing it's another...

*****

Design Wall Monday (1/24/2011)

My design wall was the same as last week...

Evening Shadows

Finally, decided on a name for this one so no more calling it a bl-a-day top,

but I didn't feel like sewing on borders.....so I took it down and put up these squares to made another Quilts for Kids quilt.  I'm thinking because of all the block construction I did last year I'm just rebelling and enjoying mindless sewing and quick completions. 

This morning after spending over an hour cleaning out the refrigerator. (what? you don't normally clean out your fridge at 6:45am?) 

Oh me either, but when I reached in to get the Coffee mate Peppermint Mocha creamer for my coffee I somehow knocked over a covered pitcher with about 2 cups of iced tea in it.  Of course it tipped over easily since it was almost empty and the lid came off all the sticky iced tea goodness went  towards the back of the fridge and ran down to under the produce drawers.....I could not react fast enough to stop it!

Only on a Monday.

*smile* 

I also finished the binding on my Crumbs Quilt.

I have a label ready in EQ6 but my stupid old computer troubles have started again and now my printer isn't being recognized....uninstall, reinstall, trip to Best Buy new connector thingy, do it again.....hot steam coming out of my ears (that would be the bad words I'm trying not to say).  

I give up. It's not the printer-- it's the ole computer...Perhaps tomorrow I will venture out and be overwhelmed by all the new computer options and how smart these 12 year old Geek squad people are, and how uneducated I am about such techno stuff.  I see how they try really hard not to crack a smile when I ask my questions.  (I can almost hear them thinking "oh man, she's just like my mom!") At least I hope that's what their thinking!!!

... or maybe if I just shut this down everything will be better when I boot it back up later..or tomorrow, it probably just needs a  good rest.  I know wishful thinking and actually, I already tried it.

If only it were that easy.

 And dang it!

I think it should be.