My Design Wall

My design wall is still pretty much the same.  It's the same picture as last week too! 

I do have some charms up there now; I'm making a 2nd  Charm party tote from a packet of charm squares, but only have the front and back panels (12 charms each) sewn together.

(no pictures)  I made this one first and as per usual, why make one when your can make two?

It was gifted to the "prez" of my Bunco group.  I had delusions of finding the perfect dice fabric and appliqueing "bunco beauties" (which we call ourselves--to hoots of laughter).  But the best laid plans I forgot about wanting to make it about 2 days after our last month's bunco and didn't remember until last week...bunco was on Saturday, the last one for the summer.  I did find dice buttons and I think it's quite sophisticated looking. 

More importantly the prez loved it. 

*****

I finished the Batik Sampler quilt. 

I do like it.  (she says hesitantly), no I really do, kinda

. 

 It's a fine example of feather over load. 

Ya know how I've said while I'm quilting something I'm scared how it will look as I can only see a small area of it? Well, the entire time I was quilting this I LOVED it.  (that will hopefully be a warning in the future). And couldn't wait to see it.

Ready.....

This picture doesn't quite do the OH MY GOSH THOSE FEATHERS ARE  SMACKING ME IN THE FACE!

So let's try this one....(hello Annie, you ham-dog!)

just click on the picture and DANG GIRL! ~~~ you'll see what I mean!

(Did you say "whoa"? I do every time I click on it...'whoa'.)

Hellllloooo feathers!

 Not the look I was going for.

I'm disappointed.  

But hey it's a learning process.  And (this is so typical of me) as soon as I unloaded it and got the WAMMO effect; I remembered practically word for word Kimmy Brunner's admonishment in her "Whirly Twirly Feathers video" to be careful how your use your feathers or you'll overwhelm the piecing..... :) ~~hee, hee, blush.

as my 6 year old nephew says and I quote:

 "Fun times, fun times...Life if Good."

(my sister, seriously, has no idea where he picked this up...)

   

******

The weekend was beautiful --Saturday was a 5 1/2 hour bike ride in the country, Amish country...where we saw horse and buggies and all kinds of farm critters and I forgot my camera.--Always forget something.  We got lost in Amish country too....that was fun!  

At one point Paul said to me loudly over his shoulder, "I'm getting a GPS holder for the bike!"

Good idea! 

we forgot the GPS too....

We got a 2 1/2 hour ride in on Sunday.

It's raining again today.

 fun times, fun times.....:)

Lotsa stuff going on and pictures too

My batik stars quilt is loaded, I've picked the bright variegated threads I want to use, but I haven't started. I know once I take a few minutes and start the first stitches the quilt will be half way done before I know it! 

(this picture is from last July-before the outer borders added-I don't seem to have a picture after this)

On Thursday Libby and I went to the Quilt Co.  If you spend $100 in the month of May, you get a Summer Shopping Pass which entitles you to 20% off your purchases in June/July/August.  Libby had a list a mile long; she's always very organized like that.

I spent the days before "thinking" about what I needed/wanted but sadly didn't write a list out (weird because I LUV to make lists).

I knew I needed a blue fabric for  the LeMoyne star border.  I also forgot to take the quilt top with me, so I bought 2 fabrics that I thought might work.  The Morris Tapestry fabric was perfect so that's what I used.

a flimsy

Now at some point last week I got out my box of Block-a-day blocks and was just looking at them, no plans to start ANOTHER quilt but I did pull out these 3 blocks.

The block on the left will be a "porch pillow", the maple leaf block will be a pillow as well and the block on the right I'm just going to make into a little table topper/candle mat quilt. I pieced leftover batting scraps together for them. 

When I got the plastic bins out that I keep these blocks in, I noticed another container. I forgot that I had last years Shop Hop blocks in it.  I pieced those as block-a-day substitutes when I didn't like a particular block in the Block-a-Day calendar. 

I had stopped working on these because I ran out of the black batik I was using. (the same batik in my Batik Stars sampler quilt) I did find a sorta maybe not really match and just lost interest in this one.

Since Shop Hop 2011 is in June I thought I should get this thing finished.

So I got it out and put it up on the wall. Before Libby and I left, I cut a snippet of the original batik and stuck it in my purse.  I was thrilled, amazed very happy to find a very close match, much better than the one I settled for earlier.  Since the rows were already together finishing this only took an hour or 2 (I lose track of time in my sewing room).



Close up I couldn't see the subtle difference in the fabric-they are that close to a match-but the camera shows it and I love the effect! Just have the outer border to sew on.  I was thinking about making 4 little star blocks for cornerstone blocks but have decided to leave it plain. 

 Meg came down to my room last night (Paul was out with 'the guys'). My camera was sitting there so she took this. 

Say cheese!

And finally a Leader/Ender saga.  I was planning on posting earlier in the week but blogger was having issues-hence all this 'catch-up'.

Not too long ago I started sewing  little 9-patch blocks together (with repro fabric of course),  I made tons of them and then put them away. They finish 4" I think.  So I wanted to just make another little doll quilt.  I don't quite understand this doll quilt fixation I have but I love making them.

First I put up just the 12 blocks on the right for the doll quilt and then I "just for fun" put the rest of the blocks up. As is my luck, I was 3 short.  So I made 3 more. I played with sashing ideas for about 2 minutes and decided I didn't have enough of any one fabric I liked and that would turn it into too much of a big project.

So I moved them all together.

Now in the meantime I am working on the LeMoyne stars and looking at the wall with these blocks  and at some point I thought 'what if I turned them on point?'

Now I missed taking a picture in here because when I turned them on point I was 4 blocks short AGAIN!  But I liked the look.  So I cut out some more pieces and miscounted and made 6 so now I still have leftover blocks....gees-Louise!

While I was pieced these extra blocks, I sewed the little doll quilt ones together

 and added the borders.

oops! it's sideways.



a Flimsy

*******

I prepped the fusible for the final Snow Bound block. The 11th block is fused but I have to do the machine blanket stitching on it. 

progress

Amidst a busy week and some funky unexpected things, I'm making good progress on the borders for this quilt. 

I thought I'd be further along by this point but I am that way about everything; (think I can do twice as much as I actually can).



Batik Sampler

Block a Day Batik Sampler

I finished sewing the rows together this morning.
 I like it.

It's pressed and neatly folded on a hanger where it will wait for inspiration (and time) to strike for the borders. 

This bunch of blocks are waiting to get up on the design wall.