Design Wall Monday

This is my Santa rug.  I've actually got more done than this picture shows but not much.

This is a picture from a post in November 2009.

I've had this kit since oh I think the 90's...I just found the pattern here.

I'm really going to try to get this done.  I know I've said that before!  So I'll just say I'm going to try to get everything but the background finished this season.  I've been lurking around on some amazing rug hooking blogs and watching tutorials on You tube. 

 I've been using that 14 inch quilting hoop and I just don't like it.  I feel like I'm wobbly and off balance.  

So I need to decide on some kind of frame here in the near future.  I'm hoping to do more of this in 2012, after completing this poor, patient Santa.

Our oldest son, PM is home from seminary and will be staying with us for the week.  The sewing area has been taken over by him and his stuff.  

I gladly surrender it.

I'll try to post an update picture of Santa this week.

fun times, fun times. Life is Good!

Quilt guild tote

So I'm in the 'new bee's class' for the guild.  

It's a fun time once a month on Saturday morning.  I've made it to two of the classes in these last 4 months.  So I'm batting .500-pretty good if I were on a baseball team.

The first class we made our name tag.

Then we made a little Halloween project-I missed this class but did mine at home.

Last month we did PAPER PIECING-in hind sight it was a fun class; while in the class I was stressed out....

gawd I'm bad at paper piecing.

The class last week I was all prepared to go to---meaning it was on the calendar but I really hadn't got my supplies together.  

And then, as it always seems to happens in December-plans changed. 

 I spent the day with husband and Meghan. 

It was a very good day.

I got an email from the New bee's teacher, Thea reminding us to bring our tote bags to the next guild meeting for show n tell. 

So making mine has been on the 'to do list' all week and yesterday afternoon I figured it was now or never.

I'm not sure which is the front and which is the back-I like 'em both.  

The block in the first photo is another Bl-a-day block (woo-hoo).

Today I MUST clean.

have to

no excuses

clean, clean, clean.

I don't like today right now

Design Wall Monday

My design wall still has this bunch of leftovers I'm piecing for a backing.

I have some more large pieces of leftovers from my sewing this weekend so I'll be happy if I can grow this big enough today. 

***



This weekend I finished this little 12 x 12 inch candle mat.

I was digging around in my one  "leftover chunks" drawer and found a strip of 2.5" squares. I think they were leftover from sashing for one of my block a day tops.  I un sewed them at every 6th seam and put 'em back together. Well, it wasn't that straight forward, of course; a couple of the red patches were right next to each other no matter how I arranged them and I didn't like the look, so I did have to un-sew and move a couple of them-no biggie.

  I used a 12" bl-a-day block for the back.

I also finished the little Christmas 9-patch quilt I started a couple weeks ago.
I was just going to do 9-patches but I love the little pinwheel quilt

I made last February
using Kathleen Tracy's design from her blog.
So I made it again with just a little change on the borders to make it a wee bit bigger.

21 x 22

I "plan" on doing some hand quilting in the outer border, I don't like the puffy non-quilted look. The rest of it was just ditch stitched on my DSM.

I'm linking up to JudyL for design wall Monday and to spend a few minutes hours checking out other design walls!

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

Old St Nick

He was finished last night, well I don't have a label on him yet but I'm going to make one today, but technically he's finished.
I just couldn't wait another day hour to hang him up.

Once again my crappola photography skills are shining through and I see the lens of my camera needs cleaning. I noticed that a week or so ago and forgot....
...and the quilt is straight, I should have smoothed it before taking the picture. agghhh.

64x80

This picture shows the colors better.

Here's a shot of the other side of the room and my new skinny tree and Otis waiting patiently for breakfast.

he's still waiting....

Binding time...

I would have it much further along but

 OF COURSE the fabric I bought for the backing was the end of the bolt. 

Four yards, just what I needed. 

whew.  

And then I pieced it and realized.  

IT"S DIRECTIONAL!

I need another yard.

I went to another Jo Ann's yesterday....they had it.  

It's all good.

It was worth the extra day's wait to quilt it-having the words running sideways on the back would have bugged me to no end.

I 'believe' I'm pretty happy and will be even happier probably tomorrow sometime...

Seventy-three (I think)

Or Why I haven't started quilting yet today....

 I posted this morning and  Mary said this at the end of her comment:

"Surely you are getting near the end of your stash of block-a-day blocks?"

I think she's asked me this before and others too and I always think  that I need to get the box

box where the Bl-a-days live

 out and take a picture, count and gag in horror refresh my memory at how many I DO have left.

So I replied that I would get my camera and go see and if I didn't get distracted I'd try to write a little post about it.

After taking all these pictures

(notice the little note beside the pile of CW 12" blocks) I counted them all and the total is 77. 

Well instead of putting them away I started to think to myself "OH my gawd, I am never going to make a quilt with this, this this (pulling blocks out and tossing them).  For a moment I almost just put them all away but then I started to sew. No use having blocks that are weird in size or looks take up space in my room or my head.  

I found a drawer with leftover backing and orphans from previous quilts.  

As I was sewing these together I also sewed the little block-a-day quilt together that I posted about this morning. I moved it and the little Christmas 9-patch to the 2nd design wall.

Because now the big wall has this on it.

And this is why the post title is seventy-three--in all this sewing I used 4 blocks... I know there are more than 4 blocks on the wall but some of them were already in the reject drawer to they didn't get counted in the green box. 

**don't be alarmed...I know what I'm doing**

hahaha

So now it's past lunch time, I'm hungry, no quilting yet but I feel good because I wanted to get my Strings & Stars quilt done this month.  

I didn't have backing for it. 

 I do now.

Oh and I forgot to put it in the last post, because I was just kidding up there, I really don't KNOW WHAT I"M DOING MOST OF THE TIME!!!!

I finally got a box that would hold the 6 Quilts for Kids quilts that I made and they are on their way.  

I'm pretty sure I've made 11 this year.  The goal was 12 (one a month) not sure if I will get that twelfth one done, we'll see.

OK time for lunch!

I'm almost caught up

I've been quilting away

and soon hope to be able

 to load one of my own...

but not yet.

******

This quilt needed the borders redone and is now ready to load. It was hand pieced by a grandma who passed away 6 years ago. It will be a surprise Christmas gift for someone.  There is some fullness in the blocks but I think it will be OK; just having the borders on straight and square has helped tremendously.
It's been a good learning experience for me and am sure will continue today as I quilt it.

In the picture below, the blocks on the right are a little Christmas quilt I'm piecing for the heck of it

 *wink*

and the blocks on the left are from my 2010 block-a-days. I think they are the 9" blocks. I un-sewed one or two (?) and resewed to get this layout-that center star block with the 9-patch center is a 6.5" block.

 I have no idea where this is going, but one day last week  I was so tired of quilting and just wanted to piece something

 but didn't want to start anything...

really,

 but I did-

two things actually.

fun times, fun times.  

Life is good.