A Scrappy Picnic - finished

A Scrappy Picnic (73" x 73")

I started with this grid-circuit style quilting, but soon tired of it......

so one row has some swirls....

some playing with stars and fillers....

some zigzaggy randomness....

and some loopy-loops.

I knew this quilt would be staying with me, so I figured I could play around with some quilting.  It's something that I never do!  I stay with my pantographs;  my comfort zone.....I never allow for "play and practice" time.  

I know practice makes perfect, but....... I think I'll be sticking with my pantographs. 

:D

UFO - DONE!

A finish!

NYE 2012 (73" x 87")

Yup.  I put the binding on tonight (no new picture).  The binding is the same green that shows up throughout the quilt.  And although Candace shared some wonderful name suggestions, I think it'll simply remain as NYE 2012.

So, it has been folded and added to my stash bag of finished quilts.  (OH!  You can see the binding in this picture!)

At the same time, I unfolded and refolded a few quilts that have been not-so-patiently waiting on my QOV pile.  They will eventually make their way to you, Alycia!!!

And then....... wanting to stay on a motivational movement, I loaded Scrappy Picnic and finished off one bobbin's worth of quilting.  I am keeping the pantographs put away, and am trying a free-motion "circuit" pattern.  (Yes Angela---I loaded this BEFORE I read your email response to my 'quilting competition' comment.) :D

This post is taking a bit longer than usual to type up because we have the 10 o'clock news on in the background.  The flooding damage in Duluth is the lead story.   (We are the blue dot in the picture above....Duluth is about 80 miles due-north, right at the western tip of Lake Superior.) 

Here is one article of many that has been written throughout the day about the damage.  A boy amazingly survives a mile-long culvert 'trip,' a dozen animals perish from the Duluth Zoo....the stories continue to evolve.

The power of mother nature!  No matter where you live, there's always the potential for some type of natural disaster.  The good news........ the next 5-day extended forecast shows VERY LITTLE rain.  Time to wring out everything and take a breather.

Another UFO reaches Flimsy stage

"Scrappy Picnic" (74" x 74")

I was awake bright-n-early at 4:30 this morning.  We slept with the windows open (temps are predicted to hit 90 degrees today; summer is here!), and the curtain blew over a piggy bank, which woke me up.  I just laid there, eyes tightly closed against the slowly lighting sky, listening to the early birds singing.... and just said PHST!  Time to start my day.

So coffee, bagel and lots of blog reading later, I was downstairs by 6 AM, tidying up.  Within minutes of tidying, I found my Scrappy Picnic blocks from 2010's June early morning inspiration.  I guess it's only fitting that another June early morning found some motivation to put the finishing touches on the quilt top.

Three hours were spent piecing the rows and adding the borders.  I have now spent close to 8.5 hours working on this quilt.  The pattern is a Moda Bakeshop:  Avignon Picnic.

Now, time to nibble on some FRESH-n-WARM homemade donuts Paul is making.  Oh, the bad, bad man... they are soooooooo yummy, but oh so not-so-good for you. :D

Stash Report (6/28 - 7/4) & Design Wall Monday

Killing two reports with one post :0)
Although---if I were following suit to Jill, I would keep these two items separate as to get nearer to my 500th post!

Okay, chronological order.....

Stash report: June 28 - July 4
Used/week: 6.542 yards
Purchased/week: 5 yards {{I DIDN'T want to, but needed some "matchy fabric" for the backing on Moondance}}

Used/year 165.692 yards
Purchased/year: 173 yards

Net used: -7.308 yards
I'm slowing working my way back into the black. If I would just stay OUT of quilt shops, I may just make it this week!!!!!


I need to leave for an eye-appointment soon. But upon returning, I DO plan on getting into my sewing area!!!
First up for tackling: Step #5 of Judy's June Mystery. I can't really do much else since they are under the needle and taking up all my table space.

After that, I want to finish up the top for Dizzy, QOV Mystery #22. Step #6 was posted while I was gone over the wekeend. The layout looks SO COOL in pictures, so I can't wait to see it together!!!

THEN, we'll see what time is left for me to actually tackle what is up on my design wall....
....yeah...there hasn't been much change since last week since I finished up Moda Paintbox and Lilac Grove tops that had been calling to me for some time.

So, Happy Monday going out to all of you.

Design Wall, Two tops & Cassie's bag

Ooooo....RESISTING TEMPTATION TODAY!!!!!! I'm getting better! Judy L's Freeze Frame was reallllly enticing me this AM while out reading up on everyone's weekend. The house hadn't awakened yet, so I headed downstairs JUST to see what I had in my stash that could work out with the pattern. Hmmm......possibly! I'm not sold on the light purple as the "darker background." I have time to play with them! The LAST thing I need is to start yet another project!!!!!

Speaking of another new project....
Since my design wall had been emptied of the Paintbox blocks, I spent 15 minutes hanging my A Scrappy Picnic blocks. I have to do some moving around; and this actually isn't the dimensions of the top; it'll be more square than rectangle, but I wanted to get an idea of how the colors played together. BUT----I resisted the temptation (AGAIN) of piecing these blocks because I wanted to tackle the Paintbox.

Goal Accomplished!!! Moda Paintbox: 68" x 84" TOP DONE.
The Oh Fransson pattern didn't call for borders, but I'll admit! Even though there are times when I realllllly don't like adding borders, I'm a border gal! To me, borders just "finish" the quilt.

Yeah...and HOW long have I been sewing and quilting now? I think my brain was taking a nap when I started piecing the border. I can't believe I put the top & bottom on first!!!!! DUH! Maybe I SHOULDN'T have added borders because now my sides were too short!! At least I had some excess strips from the boo-boo'd sides. 8-)

And here's another lil' surprise :0)
For those of you following my BOM by Amy, I posted July's blocks a smidge early. All of them with a dedication to the month of July and America's Independence. I couldn't RESIST actually putting one of my designs to use from my 4:00 AM post a couple of weeks ago. Choosing 13 of the blocks that fit uniformly (mostly the 3x3 and 4x4 blocks), I pieced together my 13-block layout, with a few design changes along the way. I haven't come up with a name yet; Final dimensions ~ 58.5" x 84.5". Just to give you followers a heads-up: The remaining months will most likely be 6x6 or 8x8 layouts since most of my other blocks (not used in 13-layout) are 6x6 or 8x8; this way when I piece the 17-block layout, most of the blocks will be uniform in design. ;0)

After Cassie's appointment this AM, she was gung-ho to finish up her bag. With more assistance from me that we orginially planned, her bag is finished! I took over sewing the side seams and the lining to the outer bag.


And that lil' stinker! While I was putting her final bag together, suddenly I look over and she's cut some more squares AND pieced a front AND back for a small pillow (~10x10)!!! Shoot! I forgot to get a picture of her pillow.... Later then....we need to go shopping for some stuffing! I JUST donated all of my stuffing because I NEVER used it.

So, once I was done with the bag and she was done with the pillow-form, AND after reading Bonnie's TIMELY post today about Jen's daughter, I set Cassie off on making up some R/W/B string blocks. She plugged away for about 15 minutes and then left me :0( LOL....guess she had her bag and wanted to just admire it for the time being.

Boy, the day went by fast! 4:15 already. I have softball tonight, but it's too early to completely close up shop downstairs. Off to putz....

Hmmm...TWO tops finished today....would it REALLLLLY be that bad for me to cut into that fabric for Freeze Frame????

**(({{wink}}))**

Too many things to say 'em all in the title :0)

I began my day downstairs after lunch catching up on my QOV-Mysery: Dizzy. Step # 4....

and Step #5 - DONE :0)

I also wanted to work on the A Scrappy Picnic blocks some more today.

The "S" block took about 45 minutes...

and after 1.5 total hours today, both the 32-"S" and 32-"Z" blocks are ready to be pieced together. At this point, grand total = 5 hours.

My design wall was still covered with the Paintbox blocks, and I didn't want to just take 'em down without actually piecing them to make room for the A Scrappy Picnic blocks. And since the "random" choice seemed to be bringing in the most votes...off I went. I needed to cut up 2 yards of white to get the ball rolling (WHEW!!! I needed to burn some stash numbers this week---see why later in the post...)

...OOhhH! This was fun too! This is the "patch" that shows up on the back. Here I decided to use more of a chromatic layout. I need to give a HUGE thank you out to Carol - cornfield quilter because these fabrics were from a jelly roll she gifted me as part of the PIF of 2009. She sent them along with my Perkiomen Daydreams that she quilted. As IF that wasn't enough!!!!!

Cassie spent some time ironing today.

...AND some ripping. Yup, yup---there were two seams that were QUITE a bit off! (more like a 3/4" seam rather than a 1/4"). Even she agreed it needed to be resewn! :0)


Cassie has made it a bit further than just these 4-patches pictured. She is already sewing some rows together. She decided to make a book-bag to start. I think that's a GREAT idea! We hope to finish it up together tomorrow!!!!! In the end, I think she put in right around 5 hours on-n-off today. Very pleasing ;0)

Cailtyn and Candace grabbed the camera again while I was piecing away....
Caitlyn with Candace as photographer...

Candace with Caitlyn as photogragpher.


Yeah, Okay.....cute pose of Cailtyn, reaalllllly showing off the MESS that my make-shift sewing area is {{until my room gets finished}}. Mind you, this is also where the girls "hang-out" quite a lot while I'm sewing, hence, the puzzle pieces and other toys in the frontal part of the photo.

Today, my purchase from Thousandsofbolts.com arrived. THE ONLY reason I placed an order was because of my $10.00 gift certificate won by Lori's "Name her Machine" post. I didn't go TOO overboard, but definitely spent more than just the $10.00. ;0) I'll tell ya, though.....GREAT PRICES!!!!!!!! If you haven't been to this site, YOU REALLY NEED TO!!!!! Really!!!!!! These FQ's actually DO have a project already in mind. I wanted to make up some more of the Buckeye-Beauty blocks for a swap I'm involved in, and to build my own quilt a bit larger. The theme is "fall colors"---these fit nicely :0)

And remember the other day when I needed some red thread to finish quilting up the Olivia Quilts 4 Kids?...
I DID try to resist the "sale table," but these two were just chanting out to me! Seriously! And at $2.00/yard SALE PRICE, it didn't take much twisting of my arm. Oh...and get this. I finished off each bolt. They BOTH came to exactly 2 3/8 yards. So...does a "Fate of Fabrics" exist out there? Maybe these two were destined to be together! They look nice next to each other....yeah...maybe I'll need to keep my eye out for a two-fabric design. Or maybe a third....a nice soft yellow? cream?....

And so, here I end my evening, updating and enjoying a drink. I haven't had an Amaretto-Sour in quite awhile, but it sure is tasting yummy!

And I couldn't resist, {{even though the girls are in their skimpies! Don't report me, okay???}}. This image doesn't happen all that often. It's almost 10:51, and they are still watching the movie right in front of my ottoman. ..... Actually, I just glanced down and Candace has finally given up the fight. She's out. Cassie is still going strong and Cailtyn was just sharing a biiiiggg yawn.

So, I'm off to see how everyone else spent their day :0)

OH!! I almost forgot! I EVEN got into the garden tonight for a couple of hours before the rain came (AGAIN!) One nice thing about this consistent rain over the past 3 weeks----I don't need to WATER the garden!

Cassie's progress...

Cassie kept her nose to the grindstone for a solid HOUR...

...

{Cassie}: Mom, so is this, like, my machine now?
{Me}: Hmm...how 'bout after 36 hours of sewing on it, we can call it your machine?
{Cassie}: REALLY? How 'bout I start a chart of my sewing time?
{Me}: Well, Cassie, if you create one quilt, you'll be well on your way to 36 hours...
{Cassie}: Can I make one for Cailtyn and Candace, too?
{Me}: That is a great idea, honey

....
{After another 30 minutes on "her" sewing machine}

{Cassie}: So, like, can we go shopping for some of my own fabric?

LOL

A monster has been created!!!!!!!

We had some errands to run this morning, and the girls are all still hanging out in my car watching some movie. {{shaking head}}. They'll be in there for a while, GUARANTEED!

So, with coffee in hand, I'm off to play with my design wall. I still don't know which layout I like the best for the Paintbox blocks, so maybe I'll just leave them be for the time being and work on my A Scrappy Picnic blocks. Please consider giving me your own feedback about which layout YOU like the best for the Paintbox blocks. If the "vote" stays kinda even, I may just end up tossing a coin! ;0)

I said I love Him, right?

Okay---"Patience is a Virtue,"

BUT I'm NOT VERY VIRTUOUS!

That's it?!?!?!? 5 hours of "working," and THIS IS ALL YOU HAVE TO SHOW FOR IT!?!?!?!?!?

{{**sigh**}}

I love you honey....I know---I need to be patient. "Rome wasn't built in a day!"

I could well imagine someone looking at this pic and saying...."That's it?!?!?!? 5 hours of "working," and THIS IS ALL YOU HAVE TO SHOW FOR IT!?!?!?!?!?. {{okay, more like 3.5 hours}}.....that's my latest log time; all 4 colorways set for me to tackle today :0) Kinda a fun lil' project so far. AND made a decent little dent in the 2.5" strip bin.

Okay, back to Paul to show he actually WAS working.....

well, he was working for MOST of the time. Boy---he's on the phone more than a teenage girl!

So, when he was talking through this conversation, I grabbed the camera and went for a little walk around the yard.

It seems every year, we have a family of Killdeer birds that nest on the side of our driveway. Three weeks ago, I needed to mow and I hadn't spotted the nest yet. I LOOKED AND LOOKED AND LOOKED for that nest, all the while Mama and Papa bird were frantically trying to lure me away. Have you ever seen what a killdeer does; they play "wounded" and make a whole ruckus!!! Anyway....I GAVE UP!!!!! I couldn't find it! So, I mowed.

And I didn't see Mama and Papa anymore. :0(

But then, just this week, they showed back up!!!! So, off I went searching again. STILL with no luck. But leave it to eagle-eye-DH! He found 'em.
And all the while I was admiring the nest to take this picture, Mama bird was going through her "lure-the-predator-away" act. (the two previous pics). "Tis okay Mama...I only wanted to look."

Oh yeah!!!! Here's another animal, FAMILY of animals that have "nested" in our yard...
Oh suuuuuuure.......he's all cute and adorable looking in the picture.....

BUT....if you have groundhogs in YOUR yard, GARDEN and STRAWBERRY PATCHES, you wouldn't think they were all that cute!

Dun-da-daaaaaaaaaaa
Where'd you see it honey? I'll get that wascally gwoundhog!

In the end, he ended up with two groundhogs bagged and maybe wounded another, because he couldn't find the one he was searching for in the picture above.

I stand corrected.....DH informed me...."BTW, it's a GOPHER, not a groundhog. A groundhog is like 3 times that size." {{I guess he DOES read my blog afterall}}

Yeah, yeah....PETA would love us.... You know what we have to say to that??? "Deal with it!"

I had been putting off making the label for Kool Kat, Quilt 4 Kids, but I put my nose to the grind stone for 20 minutes last night to check this task off my list.
All four quilts are now packaged up to be shipped today.

And for as BADLY as I want my walls, that project will be put on hold until DH returns from his other job. He's working on a slight remodel for his sister's Fitness Center, so he's heading out of town for the weekend. I could tag along, but I don't wanna. There's plenty here to keep me busy :0)