Works In Progress

Yesterday was a very busy day.

  It was like I drank a gallon of coffee. 

(I did not).

I loaded and quilted a 2nd donation quilt top; the one with the red binding in the picture.  I did a randomly spaced wavy line all the way across, took it off, reloaded and did it again in the opposite direction. 

I've been wanting to try this and think it looks nice. The quilt on the left is the 1st donation quilt-it was the one I did to see how the new poles and track system on HQ work

(Annie wanted in the picture since Otis keeps hogging the header photo.) 

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I also put the borders on this little spring table runner.  

(22 x 46)

I put the main part together during guild's newbie class, which was all about using pre-cuts.
I used an older April Cornell charm pack I had just sitting around waiting for just such a project.
 I found the yellow (inner border) in the stash but had to buy the outer border.
I have the binding made from the same blue border fabric.

I also made great progress on the OB-Wonder #3

I always am amazed at how a project that hogs the entire design wall shrinks so much as the rows are sewn together.  I have a tremendous desire to move all those un-sew rows on the right closer to the sewn together rows on the left.  It's goofy... and I won't do it.... waste of time... 

but I really want to.

Have you seen the t-shirt that says

yep I get that.

Oh and you might remember my Snow Bound quilt and how I wasn't happy with the quilting.  

Well, I got it out and the quilting is fine. Apparently, it just needed to sit in a dark closet for 6 months.  

I put it up yesterday and just kept looking at it and shaking my head as to why I was so bummed about it originally.

Oh and when I was getting Snow Bound out 

this quilt came out too. 

Remember My Apple Orchard?

 GUESS WHAT???   

The binding isn't sewn down!!!  

I think I must have put this away around vacation time and forgot about it!!! 

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Oh and I gave both the dogs baths!  

They are very sad to be smellin' all nice and clean....

 but that is the price they must pay to live in the house with us people.

1ST Post on my new laptop

I feel like I'm all thumbs!

I wanted the Geeks at Best Buy to transfer all my files for me (I'm lazy like that). 

I did back up my photos and some other quilty documents myself, but not everything, don't ask me why (I'm lazy like that).  I got a call from them that the hard drive was bad and they couldn't get anything off it.  Bummer!  

On one hand, I lost all my music; only about 100 Cd's worth. I hardly ever listened to them through the computer anyway so it wasn't critical but I would have backed them up if I had remembered them though.

On the other hand,  I feel very good that I got every last penny's worth out of the old computer.  

So I've been spending the last few days learning the new stuff, kinda fun since this computer actually works right and doesn't freeze and mess me up.  I forgot how nice it is. I did finally install the wireless mouse yesterday and in typical "me" fashion, I couldn't get it to work.  I was really getting upset-I even went on-line and downloaded a bunch of stuff for such situations, changed the batteries -twice. I had been at it for over 1/2 hour and was starting to say bad words. Paul had been sitting on the couch reading the paper quietly while I muttered away at how I KNEW I should have just got the wired mouse. Why do I listen to those guys at Best Buy. I know ME I can't do stuff like this....

 Paul said, "let me take a look at it." 

Just for the record: I'm better at computers; which isn't saying much, so therefore I don't think it can be called bragging or anything-just wanted to clarify.

 :)

He opened the mouse and in 2 seconds said,

 "You have the battery in backwards."

I love that guy.

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So I've been a very good binder and have all the binding sewn on to the quilts I quilting over the last couple weeks.  I only have the hand sewing part done on Madeline and Winter White.

But I'm pretty happy with that.

Finally got my first tomato! Yum.

 

I quilted My Apple Orchard. I stippled the center and did a curling feather in the 9-patch and outer black border. 

I made the 8th block for HWhiskers BOM.



Here is a picture of the top so far.  Just one more block to go.

Oh and I thought you might like to see a picture of Annie with her inner tube collar.  I posted about it a couple weeks ago. 

She's all healed now. Yeah.

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I spent part of today walking around the downstairs with a tape measure trying to decide on furniture arrangements.  I've come to the conclusion that some of the stuff has to go or be repurposed.  I measure and say "hmmmm"  alot. 

Oh man, I just accidently changed the view on my screen to 125%---wow I can read it way better! 

 lol.

Scary, the things that can crack me up.



Design Wall Monday 4/18/11

This will be a Quilt for Kids donation quilt.

I have 4 ready to send but the box I bought to ship them in has room for one or two more. So I figured I'd wait and fill the box first.

And I'm very happy to say that my version of Bonnie Hunter's Crab Apples  quilt is a flimsy!

Edit 9/1/11 lost the original picture from post, here is one of quilt already quilted.

I'm calling it "My Apple Orchard".  

I changed the block size to 12 inch finish and only have 18 blocks.  A couple weeks ago, or maybe longer, I bought  fabric on sale that I thought would be good for backing.  When I got it home, I washed it and pieced it so it would be ready and it is big enough for this one. (woo-hoo)

So this is now in the closet waiting for quilting.

I r-e-a-l-l-y need to stop piecing tops for a month or so and get my tops quilted.  I thought I was going to try to do that this month, but I've failed.  (oh well).  Perhaps May will be the marathon quilting month.

 

When it rains all day

you should stay inside and sew with a friend.

Libby came over today.

We set up our machines and at 10:15 we started our 1600  quilt. It took us 2 1/2 hours to piece. 

Libby's "Berry Bliss" bali pop

My "Spumoni" balipops

We both agreed it was a lot of fun.  I'm going to put a 2" stop border and then a wider outside border. I think Libby is doing to same with hers. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon working on other projects.  Libby worked on her Many Thanks blocks and I worked on Tree quilt

I don't have enough of the checkerboard border made, but I don't think it will take too long to sew what I need.  I'm a little stressed that these borders are going to need some 'adjusting' since I changed the block size...heehee...but we'll see.

 

Design Wall Monday 4/4/11

I decided to get Crab apples up on the wall and finish it.
 Hope to get it together this week.

sorry it's sideways!

I finished my little pinwheels quilt

I quilted free-hand baptist fans and even put the binding and label on!  I just forgot to take a finish picture.  My brother and SIL stopped over tonight and I gave it to her.  (she was over a couple days ago saw it and really liked it) We'll be going to their house for Easter dinner so I'll try to get a picture then. 

Spring...AKA migraine season.....

I woke up at 4:30 this morning feeling like doo-doo, ya' know: crap.

After tossing and muttering and waking up Paul (oops he still had 1/2 to go before the alarm), I got up and ate a yogurt so I could take meds.  I was planning on going back to bed; the medicine only took the edge off, which is great, but it wasn't enough that I thought I could sleep.  So down to my sewing room for some distraction.

I sewed the outer border on the CW Medallion quilt-yeah!  It measures 94 x 94! yikes.

No finished picture-- I've been looking at the dang thing on the design wall for so long I just folded it up, put the notes on it about backing, batting and that I have the binding ready and hung it in the closet.

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Then I almost got out the crap  Crab apple blocks to work on,

*edit: whoops, blame it on the headache~ :)*

 

but I looked over my list for 2011 and saw Jonquils & Stars. It's a WIP just like the Crab apples but I only needed to cut and sew on the final outer borders.  I bought the fabric last month...maybe in January and have no idea why I didn't just finish it then. 

ta-da it's now a flimsy. 

The Scarf, Aster Manor and Crab Apples

My first scarf is finished!!  It is going to keep me very warm.  It's about 60" long.  I just kept knitting and knitting, figured it was better to use it and have a very long scarf than stop and have a little ball of yard leftover and nothing to do with it.

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In between housework and other stuff I've been working on A.Manor. The sashing strips are all together along the right side.  The 2 bottom rows are already sewn together. I did that right away to get the bottom row off the floor, since Annie thinks fabric of any kind on the floor is her cue to make a nest!

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I only put together 1 block a day this week, the log cabin one on the left; hoping to catch up on those today and tomorrow.

The block on the right is my sample block for my next L/E using 2" squares. The quilt is called Crab Apples by B. Hunter. It's in her latest book, Adventures with Leaders and Enders.   However, the blocks in her quilt are smaller since she used 1.5" squares.   I wanted to use 2" squares to make the blocks finish 12".  So that meant re-sizing the paper piece pattern for the trunk part of the block!

It actually worked and since the p.pc. section is only 4 fabrics I was able to make it the first time correctly!  :)