Slim the Snowman

Oh isn't he cute!  

A little washed out but that is my crappola photo skills again.

When Libby and I were at the Quilt shop last week.  Debbie wanted to show me a few of the samples she had made for the shop. Slim the Snowman was one of them.  You see last year when I was there, we got to talking about primitive decorating and fabrics and wool etc and I asked Debbie if she had seen Primitive Quilts & Projects magazine.  She had not so the next time I went I brought my copies for her.   Long story short-she loved it and became a subscriber and also started carrying it in her shop.  

Too cool.

I get the magazine, drool over every project, earmark 'em and then after a week or so I forget.  

Slim was in the last issue (Winter 2012). 

 Oh and I want to hook the rug in this issue too!  Actually I think there is a rug in every issue and I want to hook them all.....OK I'm dreaming now....

Tonight is guild and Rebecca Silbaugh of Ruby Blue Quilting & her mom will be doing a trunk show and then on Tuesday all day workshops.  I have to work on Tuesday and am sorry now that I didn't think to ask off. 

We've been asked to bring snowman theme quilts for display. I have 3 and Slim makes four.  

I just looked outside and it's started snowing.  

Appropriate.

dresden pillow

has it's binding. 

I bought this book a few weeks ago.  

Thursday I loaded my Modern Misfits quilt, thinking that I was just going to put on the channel locks and straight line quilt it. 

I put the channel locks on and then had a nagging little noise in the back of my head.  I stopped and flipped through Angela's book for a minute. It was sitting right there...And then it came back to me, I had changed my mind and wanted to try these swirls w/pebbles that  she shows in the book.

oh I'm in l.o.v.e.  

It takes a little time and I have the quilt loaded longways so a row seems like it's going on forever, but now I'm almost 1/2 way done. I'm quilting with the lights off-the machine lights and most of the overhead lights.  The antique thread I bought for this quilt matches the background fabric so perfectly that I can't see it well enough with the lights on. I'm throwing in a random square or triangle or rectangle to break up the swirls.  I thought of this after it was loaded so I have no way of spacing them. 

I almost didn't do this but then thought heck it's a learning experience and it's a modern look I'm going for and...yada yada yada...Oh yeah, it's MY quilt!  

(why do I have these conversations with myself?)

I'm also not quilting swirls in the pieced blocks just the background.  I'm not sure what I'll do with those, will see when I get there. :)

modern misfits 68 x 95

******

PENGUINS HOCKEY TODAY!!

FINALLY!!

The withdraw symptoms in this house have been awful.

fun times, fun times.

Life is good.

now I'm

binding and binding and binding.  

Almost done!

I made new kitchen curtains (toppers) on Monday.  They are from osenburg fabric and I love them.

   

I also quilted my Dresden pillow.

I was going to bind it too-love that look on a pillow but just wanted to get 'er done.

Now that a few days have passed, yes I do want to bind it.  I'm thinking a black binding, that I conveniently already have made.

I also had a not planned sewing session in which I pieced the backing for my Modern Misfits top

 I used leftover strips, chunks, some fat quarters etc.  And in pulling these out I had to re organize the ever-shrinking stash.

win-win.
One of these days soon I hope to empty these of their contents...strips chunks and sew new 'yardage' from them.

oh and another Baby Life quilt in the works, actually 2.  The other one is still just fused letters.  I do love this quilt pattern.  I've changed it a bit by just cutting the background piece in half (after adding a 1/2 inch for the seam!).  This way I only have to deal with half the fabric while machine blanket stitching those letters---that's a lot of fabric manipulation.  I don't think the seam will be distracting after it's been quilted.
I may even adjust the cutting of the next one further now that I have the size of the area where the words are.
I will wait and see how the blanket stitching goes on this one.

A morning trip to a quilt shop with Libby today. whoop-whoop.

I quilted

and quilted and quilted

and I had some tension issues! YIKES! The top thread popped out of the upper tension discs.  I noticed it and fixed it but didn't check the back of the quilt-I was on a roll ya' know!

I didn't see this until I rolled the quilt a few times.  

Yes I gasped out loud! Luckily with all the looping it was easy to rip out. and since I had stitched the spine first and then went back to do the feathers the stitching line was still there to follow. 

whew!

And double whew! that this happened on my own top and not a customers-which would have had me hyperventilating for a minute.

And in spite of all the thread wasted and my concern for running out- I didn't. 

The new cone is on it's way :)  

I was able to photograph this on the deck-it was 66 degrees yesterday!

It's in the 30's again today.  

(80 x 92)

...and the binding is sewn to the back now!
Dare I say that I am on a roll?
nah-that would jinx it.

I contemplated sewing the binding completely by machine.  I am pretty sure my thumb will split again with the hand sewing. But the thoughts of wrestling such a big and heavy quilt twice for binding was too much.  

I will deal with the thumb.

Dresden

Today I finally got the CW Dresden top together.

I have to put the borders on but for now it's down off the wall.  I am tired of looking at it...taunting me...

Chloe is 1/2 quilted!  

I am so happy to be quilting again!

All over freehand feathers. 

 I'm using Essential Pro 'caramel' thread and I have I feeling I'm going to run out.  I came upstairs to finish dinner and to order another spool!  If I order one, you know I will have enough on this cone to finish!!

   

********

Meg and I had massages today....oh my gosh!  

I think I need to do this more than every 5 years or so.

*******

January 8th

My house is almost un-decorated but that is another story.

At the beginning of 2012, I thought I had made  a very do-able goal list.  But as the year wound down I could not finish (quilt) the 3 tops that I have had on the list for the last two years now.  I'm bummed about this but hey that's how it goes!  

They are:

Chloe

Aster Manor
I can not find a picture of the completed top--yikes!

Jonquil & Stars

They are all big quilts full/queen size and I have the backing and batting ready too.

Chloe was loaded on Saturday.

I was back and forth over how to quilt it-always a dilemma! The thoughts of custom quilting it just makes me tired.  Of course I really wanted to do feathers on it but was thinking it was too busy.  Then I was making my bed later, um I still have my Christmas quilt on it.

I did all over feathers on it and it's a darn busy quilt and I love it.  Love the texture, love the feathers.  Decision made!

So now I just need to get started on the quilting.

My goal list is much smaller this year.

4 tops need quilted. The 3 above and Modern Misfits too.

I have 5 WIPS:

2 embroidery pieces – finish as pillows, frame etc.

Swirled Christmas tree wall quilt (applique)

Bunny Hill Designs BOM “Dresden Plate”

New York Beauty

Curve it Up Quilt Along (Blog) BoM

I did get my Christmas Swirls top fused.

I may save this for the quilt guild retreat. It might be a good little project to take along in case I get tired of one of the other things I'm working on.

For "NEW" projects this year I just have 

"use my Quick Curve Ruler." 

I've started making Urban Candy already. 

I have 10 blocks made.  It calls for 90.  

Making these modern quilt patterns is so far out of my norm and curves so out of my comfort zone that I shake my head over this change in me. A few years ago I would never have thought I would ever make a quilt like these.

So I start this year hopeful that I will finally finish up my UFO's and WIP.  I didn't even mention the 70+ block a day blocks that are still aging to perfection in a box under my cutting table (oh yes! I know exactly where they are) don't want to overwhelm myself. *wink*

****

In other aspects of my life I need to

- get back into a routine; this creature of habit needs it ....badly. 

-continue my walking and good eating; got away from me a bit this holiday season

but I'm back in the saddle again.

-s.l.o.w. down  

I'm a fast person, I do everything fast. Not as warp speed fast as when I was younger but still pretty fast. I move fast, I talk fast, I eat fast, I get ticked off fast (but I also get over it fast)

 :)  

I'm starting to get a little tired.  

*****

fun times, fun times.

Life is good.

Curve it Up

Block 5

I had a little trouble with this one but 'adjusted' the outside pieces and it is 16.5 x  16.5 so all's well.

I also have the January guild blocks done.  I came home from the meeting on the 17th and made them.  It was about all the sewing I did before Christmas.

I have started sewing the rows and sashing together on my Dresden quilt. These are now together-woo hoo.

I have the applique pieces all cut out for my final Christmas project for this year!

 I was planning on having it done for this year but that didn't happen.

My mom had a king size quilt that she had bought at JCPenney (yes one of those quilts!) It's 10-15 years old. She asked me a couple of months ago if I could cut it down to fit one of her twin beds.  After I had cut off 2 rows of blocks, she thought perhaps I could sew the leftovers, blocks and borders together so she would have a matching one, albeit wonky that would match for the other twin bed in the room!
    I didn't take a picture of the original and the 1st cut down twin is already with my mom. I gave it to her on Christmas.  Here is the wonky leftover one.  It is about 62 x 78.

I just sewed the sections together all 3 layers in tact RS together and then loaded it on HQ with a new white backing and straight stitched across the rows just to hold it together.  I did have to make new binding for this one- 1/2 yard I had in my stash.

I think she will be pleased.  I am.