Count with me...

ONE: Country Spirit

TWO: Double Wedding Ring wall-hanging (34" x 34") (for my bedroom)

THREE: Grandma & Me (66" x 66")

All finished TODAY!

Country Spirit was started on 1/18/09 and was made as a QOV, to be donated to Alycia's (Alycia Quilts) project. I haven't measure it yet, nor do I recall if I used 2" finished strips or 1.5" finished! June's UFO Challenge - DONE!

The Double Wedding Ring wall-hanging was a sample kit I purchased and started on 5/9/09 while on the way back from a Math convention. This is the pattern that my MIL and I are using to make the larger bed-size wedding quilt for a family friend. That one is STILL a WIP.

Grandma & Me started originally as Scrappy Baskets back on 5/11/08, and has gone through a few name changes (including Grandma & Katherine), but I have settled on Grandma & Me, mainly because when I look at it and I think of Grandma. The colors are "grandma," and much of the fabric and thread used was from Grandma's inheritance. THIS has been the monkey-on-my-back, without a doubt! February's UFO Challenge -- FINALLY DONE!

Ahhhhhhhhhhh......
I love seeing progess.

OH! And the most exciting and wonderful news of the day: while rummaging through the stash to find a backing for Grandma & Me, I took a moment to clean out the cutting cabinet drawers. Guess what I found?!?!?! My quilting gloves! Dear Candace must have hid them in their while playing "mommy" one day; I have been missing them for about a month. NOW, the quilting of the DWR will be a bit easier! Whew!

Happy Saturday.

FINALLY! Some "Amy" progress!

I didn't know what else to title this post with, but I felt that last night I FINALLY got back into the "quilting-grove" tempo!

I headed downstairs after dinner and didn't really surface again until 12:30!!!! (I did take a few moments at 9:00 to shoosh the girls to bed since DH was in the tub, relaxing after yet another HOT day of work.)

It was another lovely "one-thing-lead-to-another" evening. I needed to piece some backing for Granny Star's second section, and wouldn't you know it!---I was JUST short of white fabric by about 2 inches!!! So, rather than scappin' it totally, I simply took some of my scraps from sewing the top and pieced an 80" strip by 3 inches wide...and v'iola! A cute, slightly pieced, back! I didn't take pics of it, but it sure is cute. Kinda reminds me of what Crazy Mom Quilts does with her backs (see blogroll on left to visit her site).

I followed SOME of the suggested quilting from the magazine, but not all. The middle of the quilt is finished and even pieced together. It simply awaits borders now; which I just MAY get to today.

But first, I want to see if I can actually finish my June UFO Challenge, which I pulled out last night. You may recall seeing Country Spirit waaaaay back in January! As many projects do, it was set aside with other "to-do's" happened. But also, I didn't have the passion to really work on it much anymore because each block's quilting took a WHOLE HOUR! I was using a walking foot, and I got so tired of stopping and pivoting the quilt for the next "line" of quilting. It was so putzy!

When I pulled it out again last night, a light-bulb hit me----I thought of trying the BSR (bernina stitch regulator) with the "echo-quilting" foot instead of the normal FMQ foot. WOW! Was it quicker (since I didn't need to always turn the quilt in-and-out-and-around the machine bed! The lines didn't come out as "crisp" as they did when I used the walking foot, but.......

....it's DONE! (well, almost!) Binding still needs to be put on, as well as a label, and then I need to hand-sew the connector strip on the back. It is definitely small---a lap quilt, if that. Perfect for a wheel-chair! I missed the goal of getting this to Alycia (Alycia Quilts) by April, but she is already working on a collection for the next "deployment." This quilt WILL get finished today! (Specially since it's raining out right now and is forecast to rain all morning.)

Happy Saturday to y'all!

It wasn't meant to be---UGH!

Sitting at mom's right now, watching the newest National Treasure movie, NOT QUILTING!

After school yesterday, I entered "warp mode" to get packed up and on the road by 5:30 to get to mom's by 8:30. All in ONE HOUR, I put Cassie on "Shadow-duty" (feed our dog) and then she and Caitlyn were on "outfit duty"; each of them picked out a Sunday-church outfit and two other play-at-grandmas outfits while I packed up clothes for Candace. I threw a load of whites into the washer and folded up a few items that were awaiting in the dryer. After that, I headed downstairs to pack up all supplies I needed for quilting; Stars-n-Stripes, walking foot, quilting foot, scissors, Chloe's Colors, stacks of fabric to piece a backing for CC, two different colors of thread for quilting CC (since I hadn't finalized it yet), the machine, rotary cutter and ruler and batting for CC. I also grabbed the back-up batteries and charger for the camera. I checked my pile many times before thinking "good-to-go." So, 10 minutes later, everything was packed in the car and we were literally bolting out the door. WHEW!

So, the first thing I realized that I forgot was the camera when I wanted to get a pic of the girls last night! Sure, I have the backup batteries and charger, but what good are they without a camera?!?! Okay....minor! No biggy.

Then this morning at 9:00, I headed downstairs to start quilting. I didn't even get the machine out of the case when it hit me-----OH NO! I FORGOT THE POWER CORD! Aghhhhhhhhhh!!! Seriouly Amy! Not more than 5 minutes later, DH called to see how things were going and if the drive down went smoothly. Naturally, I was still fuming at my stupidity of forgetting the power cord! And his chuckling DID NOT help! *NOW, I'm able to chuckle though* Anyway, so I brainstormed and thought maybe Hancock Fabrics might carry a power cord-----yeah, it was a long shot, but what was I to do in a panic'd state that I was in!?!??!?

But----I DID have a moment of brillance! I called my MIL, who THANKFULLY happened to be home this weekend, and she had NO PLANS of using her machine today. So---10 minutes later, I was at the in-laws picking up her Janome to use for the day. Wooo-hoooo! And another 20 minutes later, I was back at mom's sewing away. I worked on putting the final border squares on Chloe's Colors, and then started piecing the backing. By lunch time, I was up for a break, so mom and I took the girls over to the in-laws for the afternoon while we went to town to pick up a few things. Naturally, we needed to stop in Hancock Fabrics. And, like usual,-----BAD IDEA! :0) HUUUUUUUGE sale today! All Absolute Cottons were 40% off, many cottons were 60% off, some fabrics were on a 2.95-3.95 table........HEAVEN! I walked away with my share of goodies (amount undisclosed since DH might be reading this later on) :0) HI HUNNY! Nahhhh, I didn't go overboard, but sure enjoyed sifting through all the selections.

Anyway, back at mom's without the girls, I was able to layout the 10.5" squares that I was piecing for the backing to CC. By the time the in-laws showed up for dinner, I was ready to baste.

And then.......ummmmmmmmm............ looking around the basement............ double-checking the car..........looking in the bedrooms............NO BATTING!!!! Seriously! I KNOW it was on the pile to be packed into the car!!!! BUT, I when I really sat and thought about what I all carried to it, batting was never in my arms!! UGH! One of the girls most likley "played" with it while I was getting other things packed up, and it left the must-go-in-the-car pile. *SIGH!* SERIOUSLY! I just wasn't meant to get very far on quilting this weekend!!!

So, I'm done. I packed up MIL's machine and sent it back with her when she left tonight. And now...I'm out putzing on the net.

I hope to hit the road back home around noon tomorrow which will bring us in the driveway around 3:00. I really should work on my school work tonight so I don't have to tomorrow, but.......need I say that "i jes don't wanna!"

So....Happy Saturday. Hopefully your day has been more productive than mine :0)

"Bernina--We have a problem..."

*sigh*
So tell me.....what do you see missing from this picture?
Hmmmmm.......maybe you need to know that this is my location where I sew.....and that's the table I sew on......
all my sewing supplies are there...the little scissors, extra bobbins, my magnetic pin holder, even little 1.5" squares for my L-n-E Perkiomen Daydreams quilt......

but.....no Bernina.

I started the day very lazy and didn't get downstairs until 8:30. I pin-basted the Country Spirt quilt into two sections so I could start and hopefully finish quilting it today. By 10:00, I was quilting....

I ended up going with my brainstorm of concentric stars pulsating out from the center of the rail blocks. It was a bit tedious, specially once the stars were too large for them to be continuously quilted. Lots of stopping/starting/"knotting"/backstitching. I had three done, each taking about 20 minutes, and was working on the fourth. I don't think I heard a noise, but suddenly.... things were just "weird." My bobbin thread was breaking, so threw in a newly wound bobbin; things seemed smooth for a few minutes at least. Then, when I started a new line of the star, suddenly I realized that my needle was off-center. At least, that was the illusion, but I checked all my buttons and the screen....all seemed fine. ???? So, I sewed a few more lines. A few moments later, when I went to life the foot.......NOTHING! It wouldn't lift! After a moment of tinkering, I got it to lift, but then.....it wouldn't lower. So finally, enough was enough. I took the cover off to see if a spring or screw came loose, but I couldn't see anything. And not wanting to take any chances and do something STUPID on a machine that costs as much as some used cars, I went upstairs and googled for the nearest Bernina dealer to me. I called the shop where I bought the machine, but I'm sure my daily readers remember that it is THREE AND A HALF hours away, so THAT was not an option, but I wanted to ask her what her advice was. In the end, the nearest dealer to me is near 70 miles away.........
Ten minutes later, with machine and girls in tow, we were making our way down to Eau Claire. The trip was uneventful, just long. I was able to get a front row parking spot (woo-hoo!), so Caitlyn and Cass chose to stay in the car to continue watching their movie on the DVD while Candace came in with me. The shop is very small and quaint. There was a nice group of ladies sewing up a storm, and after 20 minutes, I was back on my way home, no machine in hand. *sigh* It will remain in the shop until the technician can look at it on Monday. SO, no Bernina until next weekend when I make the trip BACK down to pick it up.

I called my mom on the ride home to share the day's events, and she sarcastically, jokingly said..."How are you going to survive??! You'll go into withdrawal----one week with no quilting??!?!?!"

"HA!" I said......little did she remember that I still have my Brother....... Shortly after returning home, I headed downstairs to take the Brother our of her case. Gave her a good oiling and actually did the 1/4" "test" that Bonnie suggests on her site. My GOODNESS! It was no WONDER I had so many difficulties with accurate piecing in the past! My Brother's 1/4 foot is WAY off! A good 1/8 off---seriously!!!! So......

I'm bummed, but yet, everything happens for a reason!
The PROS of this "situation"....
i) My quilting class begins in 3 weeks, so I needed to practice on a "not-so-good" machine anyway so I knew how to assist my "students" (BTW--I was just updated yesterday that I have 3 people signed up so far. If I don't get anymore, I really won't mind! It was marketed as a Beginner's course, so I may have individuals who don't even know how to USE a sewing machine!"
ii) I can continue working on the Scrappy Irish Chain and the Oklahoma Backroads quilts to try to finish piecing the tops
iii) The Bernina was requesting a tune-up last weekend anyway, so......it's due!

The CONS...
i) I don't have my baby, my pride-n-joy!
ii) I wanted to finish the Country Spirit to get it mailed out to Alycia's QOV project by Monday.
iii) I was in the quilting mood and wanted to also tackle the Lake -n- Lodge wallhanging tomorrow.

*shrug*
whadya do?

Happy Saturday!

Losing to an 8 year old......

For C'mas, Cassie got the game "Allowance" from my sister. We broke into it yesterday, and she wooped my butt! $21.00 her vs. $3.00 me. THEN, tonight, we played again. I did a bit better this time, but she still beat me! $20.00 her vs. $17.00 me. There isn't much strategy involved....(Okay, there is NO strategy involved), but it's a great game for her to practice money; making change and exchanging currency. Great 2nd grade game.


Once the girls were in bed, it was time to head back down to see what I could do with the borders. I didn't have enough fabric to do 4" sashings along the outer border, BUT I DID have enough to do a 2" outside so I was able to "finish" the stars. Yeah ;0) The top is pieced, but I'll still play with possible borders. I may just leave it as is though and use a blue binding. The top is roughly 52" x 68" right now.......good throw size. And even though it is smaller, I will still quilt this into 2 sections. It's just easier! I'm kinda thinking of concentric stars pulsating out of the center of the rail blocks. Not sure about the sashing yet.....but...I have time to think on that. Tomorrow night I have to work a Basketball game and then Wednesday night I have volleyball.

Happy Monday!

A boo-boo, but moving forward anyway....

I said my share of explicative words this evening when I saw this! I suppose that's what I get for altering the pattern and not double checking with ONE sashing before cutting and sewing all of them. Short version: the sashings were cut at 4" (3.5 finished); and the corner triangles/squares were cut at 2". DUH! Ummmm.....I have NO idea what I was thinking----I guess it simply was one of those brain-fart moments! BUT, I continued plugging away anyway; I'm not going to kick myself too hard over 1/2 inch on the completed star. I am confident that it'll all still come together nicely and look just fine.


The blocks and sashings came together quickly, obviously. I started playing around with borders before shutting the lights off for the night. A dark blue seemed to make sense to me, but .... well, it really doesn't look that great. (Bottom right). I found this dark blue/black and red paisley fabric and tried that out. (Bottom edge). It almost looks brown in the pic. I'm not sold on either yet. I suppose I'll do what many of you do...I'll leave it lay for a day and "admire it" until a lightening bolt hits.

I wish I had enough of the white star fabric to go along the outside border again. That way, I could finish off the "outer stars" and just be done with borders completely. (Pretty much like the actual pattern shows). But I have less than 1/2 yard left, and it just isn't enough. :0( :0( :0(




I double-sewed all the sashing corners, so........17+14=31 total sashing strips. 4 corners each.......31x4=124! I have 124 bonus triangles that can be trimmed up to 1.5 inches, OR I can just leave them as is and maybe use them in a border somehow as well. 124....I guess I could trim them up to 1.5". That wouldn't take THAT long..... It's another idea to ponder.....


AFTERTHOUGHT!
Oooo.....just looking back at the photo of the layout......brainstorm here to try out for tomorrow night. Cut the white-star fabric at 2 inches to create some "mini-sashing" along the outside edge. Cut the red fabric at 2" as well......this will finish off the outside stars..... I'll have to see if I would have enough fabric to do that....

ANOTHER AFTERTHOUGHT....
*confusled look* Okay, I went back to the pattern to see how I made my mistake of not have the star-points coming together nicely once they get sewn to the sashing strips/squares. But.....really folks....I'm a bit confused! The pattern wants the sashings cut at 3.5" and then the red squares (to make the corners) at 1.75". Ummm.....1.75" is half of 3.5" *scratching head*.....even if I would have followed the pattern, the corners STILL would not come together at a point once sewn to the 3.5" squares....... ???????
*shaking head*
Whatever---it's too late to really put too much more thought and concern into it. It'll all be fine...

Anyway.....Happy Sunday Night.

Smooth Sailing finish; Country Spirit begins

I was NOT up bright-n-early by any means this AM, however, I was still the only one awake for about 45 minutes from 7:00 to about 7:45. So, I made use of my quiet time by creating a label for Luke's Smooth Sailing and get it sewn on. My mom is more than pleased with the results, and was VERY surprised when I handed over the pillow yesterday afternoon. She amazed at a few things.......1) I quilt; 2) I FINISH projects; 3) the projects are good quality; 4) I finish projects FAST (and even FASTER when there is a good purpose).

I saw these little "circle-hangers" on a quilt once and thought they were so much easier than putting a sleeve on the back and then finding/buying a dowel to hang it. So, for the past year, whenever I am making a quilt for hanging, I sew these on. They are found in the crafting section; I THINK they have a purpose for knitting?? I really don't know, because other than sewing/quilting and cross-stitching, I don't have any other "crafting" talents (at least none that really mean much anymore).

So.....number two for 2009 is done. Smooth Sailing


Once my parents left at 10:30, I decided to head downstairs to see what fabrics I could find for the Country Spirit pattern I found at McCall's Quilting.com. I pulled all of my blues and reds from my 2" draw, plus cut up just a few more strips from other scraps I still have laying around. I found this perfect "light-star" fabric hiding on my bottom drawer. I am shy about 1/4 yard from what the pattern requests, but I already know I'll be adapting the design a bit from the actual. I've had this red paisley sitting on my shelf for a year, so in it goes as well.
DH and Caitlyn went fishing for the afternoon; Cassie went sledding with a friend, so it was just Candace and me. We threw KungFu Panda into the DVD player, and I went cutting and sewing away while she rested. At first, I had complete intentions of strip-piecing and then sub-cutting into the 6.5" sections. BUT, my strip were at such odd and non-consistent lengths, so I decided to cut all of them prior to sewing. 96 lights and 48 reds/blues each were cut; 2"x6.5". The sewing was mindless; and I can't really even remember where my mind all wandered today. I thought ahead to the week and how I would use the days since we lost Thursday and Friday. The end of the semester is coming this Friday, so I'll just have to throw out the lessons planned from those days; spend one more day tomorrow with a "wrap-up" lesson in each class, have a TeamTest on Tuesday, do a final review on Wednesday, and then give the finals on Thursday. Friday will be used for any makeups.

Anyway, by 4:00, the 12 rail-fence blocks were made. They are very scrappy and nothing is really "holding" them together right now. However, once I cut into the light-star and red-paisley yardage for the sashing, I think it'll come together nicely.

Taking a short break---DH arrived home a bit ago and it "cleaning up" supper. Caitlyn is beat and is resting on the couch with a Barbie movie. Cassie JUST got home from her friend's; they made cupcakes and spent much of the afternoon being pulled around on a sled with a snowmobile.

I might be heading back downstairs after the girls get to bed. Tonight is BATH NIGHT! Tomorrow, life gets back to a normal schedule again.......
This has been a wonderful 4-day unplanned weekend!
Happy Sunday