Design wall

 I found that I can rotary cut without it hurting my back. 

I can also do laundry but that's not near as much fun!

*wink*

This is a quilt from Remembering Adelia.  I wanted to use Thangles to make it but wasn't thinking (naturally). Thangles gives me 2 identical HST units.  I only want one since every blocks wants to be it's scrappiest! 

So after trying a sample block with thangles I just cut all the rest of the hst's using my Easy Angle ruler and my stash of 3.5" strips.

By the end of the afternoon my back was starting to hurt but I seriously think it was the laundry that did me in.

My other design wall  has my first Schnibbles on it.

Lincoln I sewed the rail fence blocks as L/E.

  I thought I was Soooooo clever using it for a L/E. You know kill 2 birds with one stone (yuk) and all that.  However, it took no time at all to get the rail blocks together.  The charm pack I'm using is from Minick &Simpson  American Primer collection.

Today I am going to try to quilt.

The house needs cleaned but I really doubt my poor back is ready for that-why risk it!



bindings

Thursday evening I sewed the binding on the 1st donation quilt.

Friday I got up early and after doing a few house-y things sewed the binding on the 2nd donation quilt on the backing side and then turned it to the front and  machine finished it.  The 1st one I forgot to do that so I had to hand stitch it to the back.  I don't know if it makes a difference but I think doing it all by machine might be more sturdy for a quilt that gets a lot of washing in a hospital setting.

I took a deep breath and wrestled the bear sewed the binding on Calming Circles too!  whew!

I have about 3 feet of it hand stitched down but the weekend is full of activities so I'm thinking it will take  3 or 4 days/evenings to get it finished. 

I hurt my lower back today digging out way to big Shasta daisies and several other overgrown perennials.  I should've listened to my body when I started to get tired but you know how it it....just a few more...almost done, why stop and have to get all dirty again tomorrow or the next time we have a nice day and by then they'll really be too big to move.

 I've taken Aleeve, iced it, hot showered....I'm sure hoping at my age I finally learn to be more careful.  Oh that's funny and it hurts to laugh too.  

wisdom and patience....wisdom and patience...

Dwirling from the back

and the front.

I really like how it turned out.  Will have to wait for some quilt holders and a less windy day to get a good picture of the entire quilt.

This quilt named "Calming Circles" unless I can think of something better, was on my 2011 quilting goals list. 

This makes 6 of the 11 original quilts listed done (well except for the binding on this one-gag)
Of course, the flimsy list is longer now and unless something changes, I will end up with more quilts to quilt at the end of the year than I started with.

Not how I wanted/expected things to go. 

It is what it is.

I'm quite aware of how lucky blessed I am to be able to do all this sewing and quilting.  Back when I was working full-time, I think I finished 1 top in 2 years.  Egads! 

 But the year is still young and with summer and the nice weather I will not be in the basement sewing as much, well hopefully quilting as much and sewing less...

I also got the borders on the 1600 Jelly roll top I made a few weeks ago.



73 x 77



I still haven't put the bindings on the 2 donation quilts I finished....just kept moving the 1st one out of the way...I have to make something delicious and amazing for dinner. ( nah, just chili!) 

And then HOPEFULLY I will sew on the bindings tonight, at least one.

LCQA

I finished putting my LCQA top together about 1/2 hour ago. I had a picture but it's gone, I think.

 

I loaded this monster 99 x 99 on Monday. 

I'm doing the topoghaphic/dwirling pattern on it.  I have a ways to go, but can't wait to see what it looks like when it's done. 

I'm already dreading sewing the binding on!  -hahaha.

 

***

Spring has sprung!!

Finally!

Quilting

Since we attended our church's Easter Vigil Mass and  we go to my brother's house for Easter dinner (and all I had to make was the green bean casserole), Easter Sunday at our house is quiet.

A far cry from when the kids were young and Easter baskets had to be searched for, breakfast that was only half chocolate prepared  and all of us getting ready for mass-5 people 1 bathroom!  Yikes!

I have to say that right now I'm enjoying this quiet kind of holiday.  I don't have much to do and that's nice, for a change.

But not having much to do is also boring.  The weather was warm but drizzly so no yard work, instead

I quilted two tops for Quilts for Kids.

The one on the right I did my swirly feathers on in a variegated thread. Of course, I forgot to take a finish picture (because I'm crappola when it comes to that camera!)

The one on the left I tried a topographic all-over.  I first saw it on Shannon's blog and new I wanted to try to do my own version of it but like most things I just put it away in my head somewhere.  I saw it again on another blog Jenny's Doodling Needle while I was lurking around. 

Since she had used a donation quilt to practice this pattern a light bulb went off in my head. 

I love it.  It's my new header picture too.  It reminds me of Dawn Ramirez's "dwirling" but more circle-y.  I L-U-V the texture it adds. I can't wait to get the binding on and wash/dry this and see the crinkly results. 

I want to do this one again. 

Soon.

It was too much fun.





LCQA Progress

For all my whining about not piecing more tops, here is my design wall.

Edit: 9/1/11 apparently I deleted the original picture from my computer so I don't have LCQA design wall picture, here is a picture of it a few months later fresh off the frame.
blog and learn, blog and learn!

In my defense *wink* finishing this quilt is on my "Official 2011 Quilting Goals" list.

******

I finished a customer quilt today, using a new to me e2e design I'm calling Wiggly Greek Key. I practiced on paper and my white board for awhile to get the size and how to get the direction worked out.

  I LUV the texture is gives and it was a fun to do.

I'm thinking of doing it on one or both of the 2 donation quilts; help cement it in my memory. 

the front

the back

I used Connecting Threads "Tea-dye" in top and Bottom Line "Taupe" in the bobbin.  I like the back as much as the front.

And in a rare moment of organization, after I got it done I loaded my sample piece and stitched out a little ex. of it.

And now to watch the Penguins....losing 4-0 in the 2nd.....OH MY. :(

....by the time I spell checked this the score is 5-0  BLAHHH.

******

HAPPY EASTER!

Today...

I finished a quilt for Libby.
  I used Superior's  King Tut "Caravan" (#925) in the top.  It was a partially used cone....more than half actually.  I went back and forth on whether I should even  use it but it was the perfect color choice.  When I was done, there is maybe 5 feet of thread left on the cone.  (I was sweating the closer I got to the end of the quilt.)  I know I've read other posts where quilters have had nothing left on the cone.....crazy how that works out sometime.

Libby's Dancing Stars

 

OOOOhhhh!

I just got off the phone with Libby-tomorrow we're going to check out a 'new to us' quilt shop!

and probably have to go out to lunch too. 

 

 

*****

And after my last post where I said I really need to stop making tops for a while.... I went and made another donation top. 

I need backing fabric for them.

I think they will both fit in the box I have ready to ship so that will go a good thing.

The color is a little off...they are a bit brighter in real life!