OBW # 3

(50 x 60)

the back, the strip is the original fabric used

close up of my free hand of the panto Raindrops 

My spacing is not perfect  but I think it's an acceptable interpretation.  The size for 1 pass was 6 inches.  I laid a ruler across top and put a long piece of blue painters tape along it to mark the bottom edge. I did the first 2 rows like that but found the bottom raindrops where a little hard to execute so I tightened the row spacing to 5 1/2 and that was better for me.  It doesn't sound like a half an inch would make a difference but it seemed to. Or perhaps I was just getting more comfortable with the pattern. 

Now that I have the movements memorized I think this would be a cool design to just let go with and do smaller and not linear.  

And finally my dear Annie.  

She will be 11 years old on Wednesday.

DWMonday

It is all together!! 

whoop-whoop!

Someone asked last week if I had a picture of the original fabric.  That's it on the floor.  

I auditioned a few fabrics I had in the stash for borders but didn't like them.  I'm going to set this aside for a bit and ponder it.

****

Small Treasures is on the wall now

I have to sew the 3rd row of flying geese together and then decide on fabrics for the rest of the quilt.  You can see a picture of the finished quilt at the end of this post here.

******

My Henrietta Whiskers top is loaded on HQ so hopefully I'll get that done this week too.


I'm linking up to Patchwork Times -a great way to see what others are working on.

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.

DWMonday

Here is my wall.

I have 4 rows sewn and the first 2 are sewn together.  Of course, the race horse in me would like all these rows together for next Monday's design wall! 

 I'm going to try but the goal on 'THE LIST' is to just get 1/2 of them together--there are 18 rows. 

Check out other design walls at Patchwork Times by Judy Laquidara.

*******

This is an update picture from my previous post.

Sunday evening

TA-DA!
(and we're still married!)


The completed upgrade track and pole system for my HQ16!
  It is so smooth I had a bit of a learning curve with it.
The quilt loaded is a donation quilt for the guild so I'm not stressing  over it.
Now that we have it together and know how to do it.  It wasn't hard.
The actually doing it took hours....
well worth the time and  effort...
and did I mention--


we're still married.
 :)


Fun times, fun times.  Life is Good!

DWMonday

The wall is the same as last week.  I was hoping to get at least one row on the OBW sewn together but it wasn't to be.

So here is a picture of my 2nd design wall.  It's the same as before Christmas except for the bottom left. The four patch rows I got together yesterday and the four flying geese blocks...

...I only need 104 more for my small treasures mini quilt. I snagged the picture from the All People Quilt web site. 

I'm not even going to comment on the rest of the second design wall who knows how long that stuff will be there.

I've already visited a few other design walls via Judy's.

Design Wall Monday

My 3rd One Block Wonder quilt and my 1st UFO for 2012.  You can read more about it in this post if you're curious.

I've had a nice week between Christmas and New Year's, not a lot of sewing or quilting.  But the break has been good.  Paul goes back to work tomorrow and Meg back to school.  

I'm kinda looking forward to the 'ole routine again.  

In case your wondering we had a crazy, wild New Year's eve.  I was so out of control Annie and Otis had to physically restrain me.

(12:05 am 1/1/12  -5 more minutes and we'll all be asleep)

The temperature on New Year's Day was in the 50's here.  So we bundled up and went on a little "polar bear run" of our own!  A nice 40 minute ride. 

I'm going to link up to Judy's for the first design wall Monday of the new year!

fun times, fun times!

Life is Good.

OBWonder #3

Here's the original fabric for the One Block Wonder.  

Thanks for the input on playing with the hexi's~

Here is my design wall.  The first row is already sewn together and I am not un-stitching that so they will stay as is.  I'm going to look at this for a day or 2 but I think it might be OK the way it is.  It might be cool to move just one of the very dark hexi's near the left side over into the peach or blues in the lower-ish center/right. Just to have something pop out at you.  Perhaps that one brown one that looks like a starfish 2nd row center.  Nah, I don't think it will pop enough...but I will try it and see, most likely one of the others.

here is the stitchery I posted about this morning.  It needs something, an angel a star or two. Or maybe I will completely re-think and it will remain a UFO for a bit longer. What's another year or two when it's been waiting for about 8 already?

maybe 10x12 ...9x11 

Here is my finished FFF stitchery.  I LOVE the top and bottom border with  "Believe" on it.

17x19

PS.  The pillow from this morning is still coffee staining in a plastic bag as Wanda suggested in her comment. (thanks a bunch)

Coffee dying

As I write this I am coffee dying this little pillow that I stitched together yesterday. 

I made these years ago, I think around 2003.

I just stuck a piece of leftover batting behind them and did random lines of sewing to hold it together and then just sewed them together leaving an opening for stuffing.  

I have one more stitchery that I forgot to get a picture of that says "Light fades stars appear Evening Angels gather here" I think that's right.  

I need to either stitch a little angel to it or applique one on.... it needs something...

Yesterday I got a 2nd stitchery from Kaaren's FFF together and quilted.

(17 x 22)

I just need to sew those binding strips together and this one will be done as well.  I should get that finished today. The 2 side borders are flannel and they stretched and are pretty wavy after my dense quilting.  I'm probably going to have to block this and swear at it pretty good :) to get it to behave.

I've been watching You tube videos of beginning knitting tutorials.  They are a great time waster mesmerizing.  

I do think now I am ready to try again to teach myself to knit.  I tried a couple days ago, just following a little beginner booklet and I just couldn't understand what the hell the pictures were conveying.  Now I think I get it.  Oh man this is so dangerous to write "I think I get it"  and then I won't and it will be so embarrassing.

When I couldn't get the hang of casting on with REAL knitting needles, I got out my Knifty Knitter loom and started this

I love it, it's nice and soft and I can't wait to use it.

I'm trying to do this knitting and my rug hooking "10 minutes" at a time.  Well, that's what I'm trying for but I think 20 minutes at a time would be more productive since I'm slow I don't get much done in 10 minutes and I like to see results.

The pieced backing I was working on is finally big enough (80x80).  I ran down during the Pens game intermissions and sewed...sewed through most of the 2nd period too!

I didn't take a picture but it is now loaded on HQ and ready for quilting. 

Today I've been distracted by this computer, phone calls, the dogs--just one of those kinds of days.

Since my design wall is empty I've pulled out this project.

It will be my first UFO for 2012.  You may remember when I took the One Block Wonder class one of the students in that class ended up hating hers and after getting them in rows decided she wasn't going to finish them ever.  So I bought them and all her leftover fabric from her for $20.  

I was going to put them up and maybe rearrange which is why, I think, they've languished for so long.  I have this picture from the class where she's just starting her layout but nothing else.

I liked it then and still do. So my next decision is should I just sew them together as she has them, or should I put them up on the wall and maybe play around with them...

I do so like to play with blocks... 

I think that answers that question.

Well, I just checked my coffee dying and I'm not happy.  the muslin is a little darker but not like I want.  I want staining.  I must try again.  

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

Sea Stars 74 x 90

The binding and label were finished last night.

The hanging sleeve finished this morning.

The pictures are still warm in the camera!

Drop off for the quilt show is next Tuesday...no sweat!

  I did an all-over "Swirly Echo" from 

The Pajama Quilter Reloaded workbook.  I used KingTut #907 in the top and a med. blue vareigated Aurafil in the bobbin. I forgot to take a picture of the backing, it's just a medium blue paisley I already had.

Playing with cubes

After dinner I made a few cube blocks for the 2nd OBW.  It's slow going as there are a lot more pieces in each hexagon!  But they aren't difficult at all. There are several different variations. I'm going to try them all and see what works/I like best. 

One Block Wonder #2

The first layout. 

I haven't played with them yet and I don't have any left over. 

 I'm going to get the 2nd book One Block Wonder Encore out and look through it again (while watching the Pens game).  I want to put a few cube blocks in this quilt.

I see where I can do some tweeking, but overall I'm "having a heart-attack" happy with it!!

*****

I did a hand stand today! 

Actually I did 2 pretty good ones after about 7 or 8 crappy ones.  I was out in the yard with the dogs playing around and all of a sudden I thought, "I wonder if I can still do a hand stand?" 

I can. 

I'm feeling muscles now that I forgot were in there but that's about it.

I told Paul when he got home from work and he looked at me kinda funny and said something about wondering what the neighbors would think if they saw me out in the yard- alone doing handstands. 

Cracked me up! 

It's so nice out

A beautiful day here in the 'burgh, 78 degrees and sunny.  I hadn't listened to the weather forecast so it was a lovely surprise!  
I actually fused the first 6 blocks for A Tisket, a Tasket BOM today and sat on the porch and cut them all out! I have a nice divet in my thumb from the scissors for my effort! 

I fused them and am real happy with my color/fabric choices. 

If you click on the picture and look at the bunny in the top far right block--I did not fussy cut that, but after I fused it, I thought it looked like an eye, right where his little eye should be!

I also got another FFF ready to stitch.  It's the April one, Stitching Annie.

The Pens are on tonight, so I will stitch while watching the game.

Also this morning before I did the baskets, I sewed 10 more OBW hexi's together, I only have 30 more to do.  woo-hoo!

Jelly Roll Block #5 and ETC...

I made it yesterday.  I also sewed together 20 hexi's for the OBW.

2 more piles of 20 and I'll be ready for the fun part of arranging them!  Last night I bought OBW Encore.  I do want to try and put a few cubes in this quilt.  

Last week after I posted about my swirly feathers on Libby's quilt I got some very nice compliments, and I thank you all kindly.   Mary emailed me that the quilting looked like something her sister did but she quilted it way smaller as a background fill.  I had a Pat Sloan Tall and Skinny wall quilt called Daisy Baskets.  The pattern was in Amer. Patchwork & quilting June 2005 issue.  I quilted it with 1" wide sort of echo's using my dsm, which was all I had at the time and never liked the quilting, but loved the wall hanging and it was finished. So on Friday I unsewed it and re-did it. Quilting this design teeny takes A LONG time, sheesh! but I really like it now.  Here are a few pictures while I was working on it:

And here is a picture I literally just took (because I forgot to take an "after" shot when I finished it).

LUV it!!

Design Wall Monday (week 17)

Empty again!  I had the crumb blocks on the wall almost all week and did make a few more but took it down to put up this one:

This is the Many Thanks top (59 x 59) with its borders.  It is going to be loaded today and quilted this week.

I had no plans to work on this I want it done by November for Thanksgiving. (I had the blocks all put together. It just needed the borders.) But that's how I get off track...

I was putting something away in the closet and spied it hanging there.  I pieced the scrappy inner border Friday night.

Block-a-Days and other stuff

So I finished my block-a-days for this week.

 

While I had the block-a-days out I played with them a little bit.  Here is a picture of them all stacked up from largest to smallest. The stack is about 4 inches high!

These are all the 16" blocks.  The red/green and white one will soon be a pillow for the porch.  If you look closer you can see it's not Christmas fabrics but watermelon and ants!

I got the final border on the blue OBW and made the binding. The outside border I cut 10.5" and used the original fabric. I'm real happy with it.  It measures 74 x 90.  I have about a 3" strip of fabric left!

*****

And on Monday my mom brought over the Anniverary quilt I made for them for their 50th wedding anniverary.  I want to quilt around their wedding picture, it's too puffy.  When I quilted it, I was renting the HQ and I was a pretty new long armer and I was afraid to ruin it.  I just did the minimal to keep it together and was never happy with their picture in the center. 

I've been working on the Mariner Compass...adding more quilting to the center and liking it. yea!

I also pieced the Jelly roll block.

And here is my 6th block for Shannon's BOM. 

I really like it.  I laid out all the blocks and my blank center piece (no I haven't started the applique for the center yet).