We spent the weekend at The Mount. 

It was family weekend.

During a break in the activities Paul and I drove the 15 minutes up to Gettysburg.  It was chilly and very overcast.

But we got in a short visit on the East side of Cemetery Hill.

The foliage is beautiful. This is a shot from the car on PA 76 right before going through the Allegheny Mountain tunnel on the way home.

We weren't able to head out until Friday evening as Paul couldn't take the day off and actually had to stay late.  So although that meant we missed the Friday evening activities for family weekend.  

It gave me some extra time at home.

I finished my little (36 x 36) community outreach baby quilt for the guild.  

I also got the quilting done on my two Urban runners.  I loaded them together on one piece of backing fabric. I wanted to take a picture before I cut them apart, but forgot.

I'm going to go make the binding now and hopefully finish them both today.  

OK so here was the design wall on Saturday.

About 5 minutes after taking this picture, the Twister Jack was taken down.   Something had to give and he was it!  I think having him up there and knowing it would require a huge chunk of time to do the "twister-ing up" was really bogging my mind down.  I'd come downstairs to work and see him and mentally feel a twinge "OH Man it's almost Halloween--gotta get that done"   :(

 Here's what's on the design walls now:

3 anvil blocks

I got the pattern here.

I "made" another slab of blue yesterday too.

 The two Urban Runner's are together and waiting for quilting.

I mentioned in my last post that I got Amanda's latest pattern.
While I was working on the Urban runner's I kept seeing the pattern sitting there begging me to stop everything and make it.
I didn't go that far but I did sew the panels for the front and back together.  I thought I'd just 'get started' on them but it was fun and once started how can you stop?  It did take me a couple hours and that's when I also pieced the blue slab.
So two things done at once, even though neither was what I started with;
sorta works-right?? 

I was on a sewing roll and spied the leftover curved pieces from this quilt.

And just sewed them together in a crazy rainbow-ish stack-no idea what will become of this- I'll stick it in a backing if nothing else.

But I feel better that it's sewn and not just sitting there.

I finally cut out the pieces for the Urban Pods bag I've been wanting to make for 3 months at least--going to try to get them sewn together today.

And I am still working on learning to use  rulers on my HQ.

It was frustrating and slow going at first.
AND that is an understatement!!

All thumbs I was.

Yes, see that bobble, I think my thumb was in the way...very difficult for me to keep my big fat thumb out of the way at first.
Now if it happens I get mad---I know better!

 I am gradually noticing I'm able to manipulate the ruler with more ease. I'm s-l-o-w-l-y figuring it out and just realized this morning that I can start/stop the machine without having to think about it or hit the wrong button on the handle.
I know that sounds funny, but having to concentrate on holding the ruler correctly--level, straight, just the right amount of pressure, make sure my thumb is out of the way-- AND start the machine and THEN start moving the machine was a lot for my brain to do.

I guess I'm starting to have a 'flow' going.  So progress on that front as well!

I started quilting the X's quilt thinking I would SID along all the pieced seams and do any design -with different rulers- in each of the blue areas.   

That  kind of worked for the first row.

But this is what happened.
I was doing too many new things at once and stinking at them all.
Not a good way to learn and feel like I was ever going to get it.

So I changed the plan to SID along all the seams to stabilize the quilt.
It's now off the machine and I can go back to it when I have some more free time and work on one design or with one ruler at a time.

Urban Runner

Yesterday I demo'ed the Quick Curve Ruler for the "Mod Squad", which is a sub group of my guild.  I didn't take my camera and was too nervous to remember anyway even if I had taken it.

The demo went well. I didn't cut a finger off !  Always good.  And a couple of the quilters actually had a few blocks of their own made by the end of our afternoon. 

I showed the cutting and sewing with these blocks

I ran out of the backing fabric, it's old and I doubt I will find it, and the one block up on the right has a different background but that's all I had of it so now am at a stand still with this. And that is fine because I REALLY wanted to start using my 

 new fabric I just bought anyway!! The line is called Winter Lane by Kate & Birdie Paper Co. (a new designer to me) and I  love the aqua, red and browns.

Last night I had the house to myself: 'glorious'!

 I sewed, 

 and sewed

 and sewed

until my eyes nearly fell out and I had to go to bed!

Fun-fun and so therapeutic!!

I work today but can't wait to get the 2nd runner together.  

Oh and last night I bought Amanda Jean's newest pattern.  

She had the original with her when she was in the 'burgh and we spend the day together. Everyone commented about how cute it was.  

  Now to find the time to make it! 

It's been a while

We went to OC Maryland.  I've never been on a boardwalk-it was cool.  2.5 miles long and we walked the whole thing up and back every morning.

I read two books, mostly sitting here on our hotel balcony.  

It was so windy on the beach I was happy to sit and watch it and listen to it from here. 

*****

I finished a couple quilts.

Made a couple snowmen for the guild's boutique. 

I've loaded my X's quilt on HQ

I'm using it to practice working with rulers.  We'll see how that goes.

I have a bunch of different rulers but have never really taken the time to practice.

Paul and I spent yesterday on the bike, possibly the last beautiful day of the season-it got up to 83 degrees!

We went to Franklin, PA for their Applefest.  Oh my gosh, what a beautiful town!  And the antique car show all along the streets had Paul and my BIL beside themselves!!!
It was so much fun.

Today the temp. never made it to 60!
We lucked out!

Monday again

First some randomness.

Could this be the reason Otis has been diagnosed with 

hip dysplasia? 

********

I was making a new name tag for the first quilt guild meeting of the year last night.  Meghan came down with a cup of tea. 

She started to mess with my dry erase board and I said, not seeing what she was doing, "don't leave anything on there-those markers are hard to erase after awhile."

Later when I was done, she had already gone back upstairs; 

this is what I found.

(I added the "grrrrr" at the top)

******

I had lunch with a dear friend last week and as I was getting ready to meet her I had this thought pop into my head that I needed to give her a quilt.

She loved it.  I'm so glad.  

We're been friends since the 4th grade.

I was the new girl in the class.  

My family moved into our newly built house before the carpet was installed and other 'finishes' so us kids could start in the new school district.  

I was terribly shy.  Susan and I somehow, I can't remember exactly, started talking about horses.  We are both horse crazy. Susan still rides, takes event lessons and horse riding vacations with some of her riding friends --Spain, Ireland; how cool is that.

Anyway, with any luck we'll still be getting together for lunch for another 40 years. 

 The quilt gift was overdue.

******

Here is the customer quilt I gave a peek at a post of two ago.

Concentric circles looks really good on this quilt.

This lady brings me a top and always already knows the thread colors she wants and the quilting design! 

*****

I made this quilt in just a few days.  It's from Mary.  I made mine a little wider (had to piece the strips) but it's for a baby who's already 5 months old so I wanted it a bit bigger.

******

the beginnings or a baby quilt for MY SOON TO BE GRANDDAUGHTER!

I am a wee bit excited.

I am doing the blanket stitching now.  I really need to take my machine in for servicing afterwards, the stitch length is messed up. It has been but I've been just adjusting and adjusting.  It's going to bite me in the butt one of these days and soon I'm afraid.  

The thoughts of getting the older machine out and set up, oiled and refresh myself with it keeps me procrastinating.  Why oh why?

****

And the Gees Bend style quilt I spoke of last week.

I will be swapping it for another top that needs quilted.  

It's so nice to quilt it and pass it along for someone else to bind.

Saturday I went to the monthly meeting of the "Mod Squad". It's a spin off group from my guild.  

It was started last March.  

They've met during the summer but I had to take time off from meeting since there were too many other things going on.

I volunteered to demo the Quick Curve Ruler at our next meeting in October.

Yikes!

Is anyone else amazed that the first week of September is gone??

I did finally get my CW Desden top together.

But I forgot to take a 'flimsy' picture before folding it up.  I do have the above picture, which was for a blog post that never happened.  

The rouge light blue block up on the wall is a string pieced anvil block from Bumble Beans I just happened on her post and thought I would try one. I wish I would have used a lighter background or darker...ohhh must stop thinking like this--it's how new projects happen.

I'm quilting a donation quilt right now.  It's for a new shelter that is scheduled to open in Nov.  

The shelter will have 50 beds and they want a quilt for each bed.  I believe they have enough pieced but are getting down to the wire on the quilting and binding.

Some have been pieced in the Gees Bend style, which is the one I have to work on so I'm quilting modern designs in the large areas-- will take and post a picture soon. 

as they say 

"I owe, I owe...it's off to work I go..."

happy Friday

I am super happy to show that my two stitcheries are finished. Stitchin Annie now hangs in my sewing room.  The pillow doesn't know where it's going to live yet.

They were on my 2013 Goals list--not anymore.  yea!

X's is together.

It is 72 x 96 right now.  I may call it done but I have a HUGE bag of strip scraps and think a scrappy string border would be good.  I would want to put a narrow blue stop border on first and not sure if I have enough blue to do it. I'm at a point here with projects (?) that the thoughts of buying more fabric just to make it bigger seems wrong, weird...a waste...I don't know.

Maybe I just need another cup of coffee!

Another fun quilt by Libby that I quilted up for her. 

The dinosaur print she used for the backing is soo adorable!

The start of another customer quilt-concentric circles ala Angela Walters.

I just l.o.v.e the texture this pattern makes.  It's a big quilt 89x89 so I'll be 'circling it' for a few days.

And here is the start (OMGOSH what am I doing) shame on me 

of MetroHoops.

I used a partially used Jellyroll and some 2.5" strips from the stash.  I'm laying these out right now with four matching 'hoops' in each block, but I know a few blocks are going to be a mishmash so I hope I can control myself and NOT start to sew the blocks together until I have them all made.

Don't these look a bit labor intensive???  

They are so stinkin' quick it just amazes me every time I make one. 

Since one of my favorite things is watching a quilt 'grow' on the design wall, it's going to be hard for me to not keep making these hoops instead of finishing up other projects first...