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.

 

another day

I finished this little quilt yesterday-free hand baptist fans (a little wonky) but I like it.

I just need to throw it in the wash to crinkle it up a bit.

The watermelon quilt requested by my SIL.  After I snapped this picture I remembered she wants it about 12x17 to fit a specific spot in her kitchen.  This is too wide so I'll need to re-do the borders.  It's from a pattern in At Home with Thimbleberrries by Lynette Jensen (link).  I've had the book for years.

***picture was lost in computer glitch I mean because of user error in other words. I lost the dang thing.***

So here's another one:

 

and the 4th block of Henrietta Whiskers is done.

I had cut out a bunch of 1.5 x 2.5 strips for a coin quilt from the book Remembering Adelia by Kathleen Tracy.  (I'll link later, my computer is doing background scans and going so slow I'm about to rip my hair out.  (breathe in...breathe out...patience the virtue I didn't get--bet the line was too long and I....never mind)

EDIT Here's the  link

I was going to do the coins L/E but couldn't stand it.  So I sewed them up.

Today, after a dental visit (joy; oh joy!) I'm picking up Libby and my SIL (another one not the watermelon one) and we're heading to a quilt shop to purchase our passports for June's Western PA shop hop.  If you get them today, they'll stamp it  "VIQ" Very Important Quilter--which will entitle the shop hopper to extra treats and such during shop hop.  We're not really concerned with that- but it's a great excuse to HAVE to go to a quilt shop (or 2) and out to lunch. 

My SIL is not a quilter, I'd love to bring her over to the dark  fun side of life, so we'll call  this is a 'covert' operation!  buwahahaha

LCQA Block #12

I also sewed together this little doll quilt.  I found the free pattern on Kathleen Tracy's blog. 

I've been enjoying her book Remembering Adelia and just ordered Prairie Children & their Quilts.

Block Four of Henrietta Whiskers came out and I have it traced...too much fun.

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.

******

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. 

Finishing UFO's and making more....

So today I finished quilting my Batik 9-Patch quilt.  I have to put the binding on so it's not "technically" finished but that's ok.

It's one of the 11 UFO's I have on my list for 2011 and the 5th one finished. 

the leftovers backing....

 

The quilting I just did rows of C-hooks across the blocks in both directions and in the outer border

and this little swirly design in the setting triangles around the outside.

  I used King Tut thread in the top and the stitches really show up.

Awhile back I started making flying geese blocks as  leader/ender's since I didn't want to start another leader/ender quilt as I still have the crab apple one to put together....  The little triangles that get cut off of the flying geese I sewed into HST and then into pinwheel blocks. 

The flying geese blocks I was able to incorporate into my CW Repro top as filler blocks. That was very nice having them already made and amazingly the right size too.

(You can see them in the first round of blocks and in the outside row.)

and  no, I still haven't sewn the final borders on yet...

Well, after letting the pinwheels grow on my wall for a while I got tired of making them and didn't want to make more flying geese so I  switched to making 9-patch blocks.

 (are they called

puss in the corner blocks?  or something else...I can't remember but seems to me there is a name for them.)

I have over 50 of them now and am starting to think about how I want to put them together.

And then I thought, well what the heck am I going to do with the pinwheels? First things first and all that. 

During the last few weeks when the projects I'm working on haven't held my interest, I played with the pinwheels. Yesterday I finished piecing this little top it's about 23x27.

 I have it ready to quilt.  I'm going to quilt it with small free hand baptist fans. Just not sure whether I will hand quilt or put it on HQ.  Earlier this week I was slicing bagels and I slipped and cut my pointer finger...rather nasty actually.  I was able to get the bleeding stopped and a nice snug bandage has done the trick but it's impeding my doing stuff. 

**quilt-y stuff, I mean...I'm taking full advantage of not being able to do 'domestic' chores with such a terrible boo-boo.**

 Threads get caught in the adhesive at the edge of the bandage and it snags on everything.  I am able to quilt on HQ with my finger pointing up in the air;  as if I'm having a constant "ah-hah!" moment.

At some point I have to re-load "oh Man!...".

I have it hanging in the living room for now and the other night I noticed that I missed a section of quilting. It's in the top right side setting triangle around the center block.

  I have only "squiggle stitched" 1/2 of that triangle!  How the heck did I do that! I'm actually thinking of donating it but not sure if it's OK. (it's the right size for Quilts for Kids) I mean obviously it would be for a girl but I'm going back and forth about it. Is is 'little girl-y' enough, appropriate enough?

Your thoughts?

*****

I've finally got the IPod figured out and all the software working (oh knock-on wood--please do not jinx me).

I'm L-O-V-I-N-G listening to books on it.  I have an account set up with the library and my 'wish-list' is really long.  I'm trying to walk every day and having these to listen to while I'm walking is fantastic.  If only the silly weather would improve even slightly I'd probably be giddy with happiness about trekking through the park near our home.  When the kids were in school, I walked every morning after the bus picked them up. I started when Meghan was in kindergarten (she'll be 24 in July) but then when they got into high school something changed, I can't remember what exactly, if anything, got in the way but walking left the schedule.   I've tried over and over to get it back into it but always fall out of the habit before it's cemented in....so I try again.

I've been quilting...

64 x 84

Finished my first leader/ender quilt. I really like it--wish I would have made it queen size for my bed.

A close up:

I just did a meander in the blocks and a spineless feather in the outer border. 

And the pieced backing using some of my 'extra' block-a-day blocks.

*********

I quilted "OH man! This is gonna be bad" quilt yesterday.

It's not so bad after all.
These are a bunch of random block-a- day blocks that I didn't think would work as I was playing around with them on the design wall; hence the name of the quilt.

*******

I'm still working on sewing the outside row of blocks on my CW Medallion. It's slow going as I've been concentrating on quilting on HQ lately and enjoying it. 

Tonight I loaded my 9-patch challenge quilt and started on the outside border I hope to get it done this weekend.