A day off

Yesterday I had the day off. 

I had so many things on 'the to do list' it was crazy.

I started doing gardening stuff in the morning and in a patch of myrtle along the AC unit at the side of the house I found the Poison Ivy that started my itching a couple weeks ago.  YIKES!

So into the house all clothes in washer-me in shower.  No new itchies so I guess I got it in time.  

I do believe all the ground cover in this area will be removed and mulch will take it's place.  I will not be doing this again!

*****

The weather was so lovely that I didn't want to be cooped up doing binding in the house.

I found that I hadn't finished sewing the binding to the back of this quilt when I had to move it out of the closet for the carpet install.

The label says finished Sept 2011!

oops!

I also spent some time practicing a new to me E2E quilting design. It's a free panto from Stone House quilting called raindrops. I already had it downloaded on my computer but forgot about it until I saw this post from Kathy over at Tamarack Shack.

Since I haven't taken the time to learn how to do pantos yet and I won't have the time for a while...I'm just going to freehand this one.  

It was fun to practice this and I should be ready to quilt with it this evening after work.

and here is the latest Libby quilt I forgot to post a picture with all the biking fun last week.

It's her Dr. Seuss quilt.  I did a meander with a squiggily ribbon candy type thing-y here and there.  

I found the idea in my Pajama quilter reloaded book. 

and another customer table runner

*****

although I don't like to blog about it (afraid of jinxing ya'know) I need to document a little on my walking routine.

I'm still walking.

that's all. 

ha ha

No seriously, 

I am still walking 3-4 miles most days.  I've also (I'm embarrassed to say) adding a little jogging to the walks.  I'm embarrassed because I was so adamant  that I would 'never run again' and walking was enough. But I'm now in pretty good walking shape and don't feel like I'm getting my heart rate up enough so I jog a little and then walk again.  

And dang it, I like it.  

I bought running shoes...well they were cute and on sale for $16-seriously Asics for $16. I just spied them and they fit and are comfy...sigh, I love a good bargain and I had really no intention of actually running in them.

You see a long, long time ago in a land far, far away (the 80's) I was a runner. I even ran in Pittsburgh's "10K Great Race"- ran the whole thing, which was my goal actually.

Then we moved and I could give you a whole slew of excuses but I twisted my ankle and got out of the habit and that was that.

I have no intention of becoming a runner again. My sister runs half marathons, not me. My other sister ice climbs mountains DEFINITELY not me.

I'm the walker who jogs a bit who has finally got her BMI well into the normal range for her height and is comfortable in her clothes and skin again. 

It's been over a year of walking and eating as healthy as I can without being crazy.

Changing the lifestyle has worked--who'd of thunk it!

Now just to maintain for the rest of my life...

always a catch isn't there.

Fun times, fun times.

Life is Good.  

Almost another finish...

I quilted a free hand all-over swirly feathery flowery design, just winged it.  I figured the top is so busy doing something like feathers would just be a waste of time. 

I like it.

Morris (A 2010 Bl-a-Day quilt) 68 x 78

The back

 I spent about 20 stressed out minutes looking EVERYWHERE for the binding for this quilt.  I had it in my notes that I had made the binding, but where oh where could it be. It wasn't anywhere it "should" be but things have been moved around so much in the deconstruction/renovations that I was just looking in every drawer.  And then it hit me. Oh Ya, I took off that outside border and I had made the binding with the same fabric...and there it was sitting in a little heap on a shelf in the closet with the border pieces.   
So I found fabric that would work and made new binding and was getting ready to sew it on

 when I realized I didn't have a label made. So that's why I'm at the computer now, to make a label. I figured I have time for a little post before Paul gets home and it's time to do the dinner making thing.  yuk~!


I'm starting to think it's time to make some more Quilts for Kids donation quilts.  I quietly told myself at the beginning of the year that I would like to make 1 a month.  But I just made a bunch at the beginning of the year (5 or 6) and mailed them in and then got distracted with other things. It's time to get crackin' on those again...soon.




I've started humming Christmas carols....
I know it's horrible, but I have a good reason.  In between binding searching, and binding making and deciding on the borders for H. Whiskers'

(I still have to prep the final appliques for the borders)


I loaded my Merry Christmas Sampler top! 
It's a block-a-day quilt too and this one is for our bed during the holidays, It's also on my 2011 Goals list.
I'm going to do feathers on it, of course I am, what else would I want to do.  :)

(80 x 80)


Well, dang, hubby's home gotta go cook something scrumptious!


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

Rip-it, Rip-it

Frogging, unsewing, ripping it out.

  We've all been there.

  Yesterday, I thought I would load my Morris Block-a-day, which I last posted about here. That was August 2010!  I loaded the leftover fabric pieced backing and when I laid out the top; well gag me with a spoon-the border fabric is not working!   Oh, I remembered that I didn't have enough Morris fabric for an outer border and I remembered that I bought a "coordinating" fabric from a sale table at a LQS and I remember looking at it.... and looking at it.....

 and Yep talking myself into it. 

It looks fine in this picture you say. 

Well, yes, I'm a crapolla photographer-the color is not quite right, which in this case is a good thing!

So now 2 of the borders are off and I'm considering just unloading the back and putting on another flimsy to quilt while I start a new search for a new outer border fabric.  Actually, as I'm looking at this picture on the computer screen here, I'm thinking that perhaps the checkerboard border can be the outer border--must ALL my quilts be queen size.

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

*****

On a new front, this morning I am attending a "new bee" meeting for the quilt guild that I've belonged to for the past 2 years, but have never gone to a meeting.  Ha! I'm going to give it a try. 



Quiltathon Day 2-final update

Well, this was a fun and productive 2 day adventure. 

 I am tired. 

This evening at 7:15 I finished the final border on Morris (we're on a first name basis now that we've spent so much time together).

I didn't have enough yardage of Morris wkshop fabric for the outer border but I did have something in the stash that works well.  The top measures 81.5 x 90.  I have the binding strips cut but will sew them tomorrow. 

I didn't get to my Jelly roll blocks.

But I did get these arranged.

I brought the big churn dash block up with me (block in lower left)-I just can't take that dark brown---toooo dark.  So I'm going to un stitch the block tonight while staring at the TV and re-sew it with a less dominating fabric tomorrow.

Quiltathon Day 2-update

Ok, first a picture of the Snow bound blocks.  I put them away--enough of them for a while.

I went down to sew at about 10am.  First though I spent about 10 minutes drawing out the "spineless feathers" I posted about a few days ago.  I'm going to do a separate post after this one. 

Then I just started to sew the 2.5" squares together. 34 per strip, 3 strips on each side, 2 strips on top and bottom.

I've stopped for lunch and COFFEE.
 I have the side borders sewn on and the top 2 strips pieced but not sewn together yet.  Whew!  I'm loving it! 

So, ok a little blog surfing while the coffee brews, the other post about the spineless feathers and back to fun, I mean work.  :)

I'm going to eat a sandwich today--the brownies are all gone! Dang!

Quiltathon update 5:30

Here's what I got done this afternoon.

The 3 SnowBound blocks on the right are blanket-stitched.  The one with the tree has 2 more blocks underneath that still need done and above that is the print out for the 8th blocks-- I printed it out today.  It must have just been put on the Bunny Hill site.  I thought I checked it a day or 2 ago and it wasn't up yet.  So now I have another one to prepare as well!

On the very left side of the picture you can just see 3 stacks of 2.5" squares. I cut them out after deciding on a checkerboard 2nd border for Morris WS top.  I cut 322 squares.  I'm going to do 2 rows on the top and bottom (4-patch) and 3 rows (9-patch) on the sides, that should give me an 80 x 90 finished top-after I add the final 6" border. 

So for lunch I had coffee and 2 brownies!!  I'm starved so time for din-din.  Paul won't be home from work until late tonight and Meg is working.  The dogs are sleeping by the AC vents-it's so hot out they won't go out.  So I have all evening to sew.