Uh-Oh

Someone's design wall has project overload!!

1/2 way there

I've been making good progress on the NYB blocks.  

I have a customer quilt that needs finished this week and then I need to start quilting the guild's raffle quilt. 

It's going to be a busy couple of weeks!

Fun times - fun times!

Life is good.

Sew day

Today ML came over to sew- it was great! So much to catch up with so much to sew.

I had great expectations!

First I made some fabric...it takes a lot longer when you spend more time gabbing than sewing 😊

Next I worked on my NYBeauty blocks.

OK I only worked on and completed this one arc ( I really thought I'd get at least two blocks pieced) 2 as in one block has 4 arcs!!!

 These ones I already had done:

This project was on the goal list for 2014.

       Um it didn't happen 

I don't think paper piecing and I will ever be besties but I'm determined that this quilt will grace a wall in this house this year!!  There I said it.

I have 11 + months.  

I ain't worried

         ....yet

November and December

Lots of customer quilting went on

I spent the day with my granddaughter and she pieced her first quilt top!!

I made three "Jingle Pillows" 

One for me...

two were gifted!

We celebrated Jo's first birthday!

And Paul was home for his Candidacy Mass.

He will be ordained a Deacon in May.

and the quilting continued 

helped Meghan make a snowman tree!!

-I made the nose out of felt

 and painted the 3 button ornaments while she was as work-

she did the rest!

It is so cute.

 Finally the hair grew long enough to donate.

10 1/2 inches--that was a bit scary.

The new me...my neck was cold for days ha ha!

Jo is walking now though she still crawls when she really wants to get somewhere fast!

**notice the chair blocking the hallway...we now have a gate**

We spent Christmas morning with the grands and had brunch at their house too.

Oh where did October go?

At the beginning of the month My CW Dresden was BOUND, LABELED and ON THE BED!!

I do believe this is the first quilt I've ever made that actually fits my bed perfectly.  

I'm not kidding.

woot-woot!

***

Meg and I traveled to The Mount (Mount St. Mary's Seminary & University) for the seminary's family weekend.  

The weather was perfect-warmer than we expected---I packed wrong!!

****

I put this top together, it's from all the blocks I collected from the members of  The Mod Squad group from guild.  

I demo'd the blocks last spring at one of our meetings and asked if anyone was interested in making a block or two, I would make a quilt from them  and we could donate it to our community outreach committee. The only guideline was white background fabric.

The row of small blocks in the center were pieced from the hst cut offs from the larger blocks-love it!

 ****

I agreed to be the chairperson for our guild's next raffle quilt.

I don't, ehem, play well with others; so I am a committee of one.

Well, I do hope I'll be able to get someone to sew that dang binding on for me-haha!

The last raffle quilt was made with CW repro fabrics so I wanted to go in a different direction with this one.

After much deliberation with myself, I kid you not; I decided to make Swoon!  It's been hovering on my want/need to make list anyway right??

Then I spent a good week deciding on fabrics and then waffling on the "committee's" pattern choice!

geeze-Louise

I finally picked Somerset by Fig Tree and then spent another couple days waffling over that!  

Could you just imagine if I actually had to discuss these options with others and deal with their opinions?!

me either -- M.I.G.R.A.I.N.E.

The blocks are 24 inches big.  

Each block takes 2 fat quarters, with no room for error!  

Here are the first 3, I have 7 made now but can't seem to find a picture-perhaps I forgot to take one.

The plan is to make 12 blocks, which will make an 80 x 106 quilt.

I've been trolling wasting time on Pinterest and have found a few alternate layouts which I may play with a bit after the blocks are done.  

****

I've cut back my days at the card shop and the last two weeks I'm starting to feel like I'm not spinning quite so fast. 

Always trying to find that elusive balance-- 

aren't we all? 

fun times, fun times.

Life is good!

Finish X3

My two door banners are finished.  

I thought to make quilted curtains in the windows when I was quilting the  2nd one--bummer 'cuz I think it's soo cute--just like I made curtains in my house windows when I was a little kid!

And a Penn State quilt for my nephew as well.  

(E's and 3's in navy blue thread)

*********

I put the blocks from the Mod Squad group up on the wall.  I don't think I'll get any more blocks from members, so I thought I'd start playing with the layout.  

I've started cutting 2.5 inch strips for sashing and will either make one more little block for the center row or spread them out.

It  will make a happy donation quilt for the guild from our Modern group!

  

I really can't believe it's Autumn already!  

We've had a whirlwind summer-3 weddings!  another one on Saturday-whoa!  I'm getting pretty good at reception dancing!!!  Although I am sad that the Electric Slide seems to have gone out of fashion-just when I finally get the moves down. 

Quilting has been ongoing, although s.l.o.w. going!  I did just finish the quilting on my CW Dresden!  big whoo-hoo.  Let's not talk about binding right now!

I did SID around the sashing squares and all the plate blades.  A swirl in the centers and an echo hook design in the background of the blocks and cornerstones.

This was on HQ for over a month, which is just crazy.

You might notice that I changed the design I started in the cornerstones to match the background fill of the blocks. I had only quilted the first row of cornerstones with my original design (booo) so only had to pick out for about an hour or two or three... a pain in the back for sure.

I got the wide backing from Connecting Threads online.  It was on clearance and couldn't be more perfect.  

At some point in August I needed a little piecing time so I made two of these. 

(this picture is from the Joined at the Hip website.) 

Both are loaded and about 1/2 way done on the quilting. I made two 'cuz I figured it was just as easy to pull fabric from my stash and cut for two as one.  

I really needed some 'piecing therapy' that day I guess!!

*****

I have agreed to be the chairman for our guild Raffle quilt.  Our next show is Nov. 2015.  I'm a tad nervous about this as I'm usually a loner type quilter.

I 'think' I have the pattern decided on; this will probably be the hardest decision. So it shouldn't be too bad of a gig.

******

I have been wanting to make the Swoon quilt for a long while now. I have the pattern but so far that's it.  I did make a sample block awhile ago;

 then on Pinterest last week I found a alternate block with simpler piecing- tutorial here, but alas it was also a smaller block (16 inches). The Swoon pattern block is 24 inches big!

I made this sample block with the 'easier' piecing. 

It was. 

 I like it, but I want the 24 inch block size-- so once again,

Swoon sits.

Sometimes you just need to sit and wait for the sun to go down and the fire to start; whether it's in a fire pit in the backyard...

...or in the sewing room.  

****

Little Jo is crawling like a champ, dances (hilarious), and continues to fill a spot in my heart that I didn't know was there, much less empty.

(the 'Pebbles' hair kills me!!) hahaha

fun times, fun times!

Life is Good.