Find time? PSHT! MAKE TIME!

Hello
Hello
Hello
It's an official NEW record -- OVER TWO WEEKS of nothing from yours-truly :0(

BUT
Yesterday, I MADE time to get back downstairs to do some sewing. Yeah, I had a bazillion other things I should have been doing, but ....eh..... it was still there for me to tackle last night in front of Sunday Night Football.

I finished up the Christmas Lights step 2 from Bonnie Hunter (Quiltmaker magazine), and kept going since I just received the latest Quiltmaker in the mail on Saturday. I know this quilt won't be very large, but I still decided to quilt it in sections to really make the quilting pretty, so..... this is the current state and will wait patiently on the floor until I find a good day or two to quilt it. MAYBE, just MAYBE this weekend?!?!!?!? I should be able to catch up a bit with my life on Thursday and Friday since the students don't have school. We teachers have inservice....and I have NO TOURNAMENTS this weekend.....so......! It's looking promising!!!!


While working on the CL mystery, I was also sewing up the hour-glass blocks for Chunky Churndash as leaders-enders. Recall that this will be gifted to my parents for helping out this summer with the girls when I had so many math workshops.

Our school has survived yet another Homecoming week--this is my DEAR, DEAR coworker (and former mentor!). This lady is amazing---I coached under her for 8 years and she taught me so much. I never would have been able to accept the Head Coach position without her former guidance and leadership. Even now, her door is open when I need an "ear" with the vball season. This is also the lady whose family I made quilts for last Christmas (Masha's Wonky Nines, Andre's Out of this World, Isaac's My Blue Heaven, and Jan's Family Gems)


Okay everyone----I'm ACTUALLY off to catch up on some blogs, while watching the EVER-SO-AWAITED Packers vs. Vikings football game! I had told my DH before the game started that I'm staying neutral because I think Favre is an amazing athlete, yet ..... well....it's the PACKERS! However-------with 30 seconds left until half time, I have found myself rooting for the Packers! HA! (Afterall, isn't it easier to root for the under dog???) :0( Sorry Pack...but sadly Favre, along with Adrian Peterson, the Vikings are actually looking like a favored team this year.

But...alas.....my loyalty still stands.....GO PACK!

Happy Monday (Night Football!)

Jan's Family Gems

At 9:00, I headed downstairs to put the final touches on Jan's Family Gems borders. The loopy-meanders took about 15 minutes, and I was done. But then........I decided to do one more straight-stitch 5/8" from the edge of the quilt. *SIGH* Bad idea-----the wavy border appearance showed as soon as I did that! It was laying flat prior-----HONEST!

The outer border / binding has a short story behind it. I had put on the 2 inner borders, with one more 3" border yet to go. However, I knew I needed to add some batting since I had been short when sandwiching the other day. But, I just didn't have the ambition to piece a 4" strip of batting to each end though......so.......what to do, what to do, what to do. Instead, I "played." I ended up folding the backing to the front, creating roughly a 2" border on the edge, which also took on the roll of binding for this quilt. I ironed the edges over 1/2" and used a decorative stitch from my machine to top-stitch the "border binding" to the quilt.

So, my To-Do list today was accomplished. Yes...I even wrote the Algebra Team Test earlier AND made the key right away. I even created two extra credit problems, one for Math 8 and one for Algebra 8. *patting self on back*

Alright, alright---I have to admit that I still have one load sitting on the entry-way floor, but 'twill get done!

Happy Sunday! Here's to a short week!

Post #150; Jan's Family Gems gettin' there

I didn't realize I was clipping away on my posts--afterall I just hit 100 in August when Angela (Soscrappy) won my 100th Post Giveaway. I suppose I should start thinking about a giveaway for 200 so that once I get there, I'll be set :0) (chuckle)

Anyway, here is the lovely Quilter's cliche, but.......ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! What wonderful therapy I had yesterday!!!! I spent most of the day in front of the machine, quilting all three sections of Jan's Family Gems. The sections were two rows each (about 24-30 inches wide), so it was not a struggle under the machine AT ALL!!!!! Not a single pucker on the back, no sore neck or back muscles----yup! This 'quilting in sections' method is wonderful! But, for those of you who frequent my blog already know my opinion on this method. :0) Of course, there is ONE minor downfall with this method-----more hand sewing is needed than the normal method because of the need to hand-stitch the connector strips on the back. However, I finished piecing the sections together by 5:15 last night; came upstairs and made some meatballs and spaghetti for the girls and myself for supper, and then we plopped down for yet another movie, The Bridge to Taribithia. SERIOUSLY!!!! What a SAD, SAD movie (with a partial happy ending)......oh! I was NOT expecting the sadness of it.

But anyway, after dinner and while the movie was playing, I hand-sewed both connector strips down. I used a longer needle than usual this time---I think it went so much quicker because of it. FYI.




So----today's goals....

• Finish laundry (UGH!)
  
• Return movies
  
• Buy diapers and socks (for Cass!) MAN! Her feet grew overnight, I swear!!!
  
• Put borders on Jan's quilt and quilt them.
  
• Add binding and finish
  
• Write Algebra Team Test
  

Happy Sunday

Weekend goals...

This past week has been another "full" one. There were times I could have blogged, but seriously, any little bit of free time I had, I tried to get downstairs to continue working on the C'mas list.

Scot's Camo quilt top is about half done. The flying-geese border is complete, and another border has been added to that. More to come later....maybe by the end of the weekend I'll revisit it.

Yesterday, we had the day off of school. I've never quite understood why we have that day off, when we go back for Monday and Tuesday, and then we're off again. Many of us staff have the "gripe" session by saying..."good golly! Let's have school on Friday, give us Monday and Tuesday off (therefore have the whole week off for Thanksgiving), and then we'll find some other time in the year to make up the other day."

Anyway---back to yesterday. I had high hopes of accomplishing LOTS of quilting.....BUT......
the day started out by dropping the two little ones to daycare. (YUP! I'm trying to justify that by saying I'd have to pay for the day anyway since I've used up my 5 "free days" she allows us. I figured I'd get more accomplished without the two little ones underfoot----I hope you all understand that I DO Love my children and don't just mean to "pawn them off," but it's just "easier" some days by taking them to daycare EVEN when I have off. Judge as you wish.....)

THEN, my DH pleaded with me to take a drive with Cass to pick up the last batch of Pork meat from the butcher. *sigh* A whole hour away! So, there went 2 hours! By the time we got back home, it was almost 10:30, so.......off I went downstairs.

The other night, I pulled out Jan's Family Gems blocks and sewed them together into rows. THen, two rows at a time, I started piecing the top together. I HAD complete intentions of sewing the entire top together, get borders on, and then quilt. HOWEVER, as I was piecing the rows, I started brain-storming about the quilting. Simple meanders was what I initially was planning, however, suddenly the quilting pattern came to mind......

Inward "triangles" for each of the white tri's, and looping meanders for the white 4-patches. And, as you can see from the top picture, I'm using Quilting in Sections again. It is SO MUCH EASIER to work with the smaller sections under the machine rather than the whole thing! I never would keep it so smooth and pucker free----it's worth it (once again!) to put the extra time in.

So, I was able to quilt until about 12:30 when Cassie wanted some lunch. And, STUPID ME! I turned the TV on while lunch was preparing and while we were eating, and Cass and I "got into" a movie that started at 1:00. *SIGH* We don't have the DirectTV wired downstairs, so it wasn't as easy as "continue watching downstairs." Nope, nope, nope. So, I coudln't tear myself away, so........no more quilting happened (FOR THE WHOLE DAY!)

The movie ended a bit after 3:00. I needed to pick the girls up by 4:00, but wanted to hit the grocery store before that. So Cass and I bundled up, headed out, and make a quick stop at the Movie Rental place as well. We picked out 5 "oldies" and when I went to the counter the lady informed me we had a free rental coming so was wondering if we wanted a New Release as well. Well, golly--yeah! So we also rented Wall-E. AND OF COURSE, once we picked up the girls, came back home, had some dinner, all THREE of them were almost to the point of chanting "Wall-E, Wall-E, Wall-E." So.......I "got into" that one too.......and just didn't make it back downstairs, because directly after Wall-E, we watched Scooby Doo.

So......TODAY.....Goal: QUILT JAN'S QUILT! I have two sections basted and ready to go---the third section will need some finaggling to get a piece of batting cut to size as well as the backing.

OH!!!! I ALMOST FORGOT! One night, I DID have quite a bit of time to dedicate to quilting, BUT that was also the day that our Community Education coordinator talked to me about offering a quilting class or two come January time. I have never taken a class before and don't know much about all the whats/whens/wheres/etc. So, I researched "quilting classes" online for a couple of hours to get a base. If any of you have any tips/suggestions/info for me, PLEASE think about emailing me (or commenting). I'm thinking of Quilt Piecing Fundamentals (terminology, tools, perfecting that 1/4 inch!). BUt I don't know what to charge, what I should be providing (fabric, tools?), how many sessions I should have, evening classes? or a couple of saturdays?...... Lots of questions! I've also thought of basic quilting, but I don't think I'm to that point. However, I have also thought of offering a shorter class just on Quilting in Sections since I use it so much.

Anyway......time to start the day, have some coffee, and head downstairs......

The Quilting Fairy visited....

That's all I can say! She MUST have visited during the night and sprinkled me with Quilting Dust because NOTHING else can explain the sewing/quilting frenzy I've had this weekend!

I didn't even get downstairs until 11:00 this morning, because once Cassie woke up and I folded a few more loads of clothes, we decided to run into town to grab some donuts and return the movies before the "day really began." *hmpf!* :0)

Anyway, the first project I tackled was to baste and start quilting Isaac's Blue Heaven. The Packer game (Green Bay Packers) started at noon, so I turned the radio on and quilted the game away. By the time our punter missed the game winning fieldgoal, I was putting the finishing touches on it and did the "cheat binding" method again. The quilting was a simple meander in all the white areas.



Then, after a late lunch (DH drove into the yard as the game was ending), I headed back downstairs, and BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I decided to work on Derek's Storm at Sea. One sewing minute lead to another......and the rows were together within 30 minutes! Gosh, that thing has been a monkey on my back! Then.......holy buckets, after a little contemplating, a small red border was added to the sides. Then..........hmmmmmmmmmm......then I sat at looked, and looked, and debated. I still had almost a yard of the blue Nautical fabric yet, and I knew it would just sit to collect dust if I didn't use most of it up. So......the original "lap quilt" ended up being rather large. I needed to do a little visual measuring to match up the lines of the nautical objects since the border needed to be pieced. All-in-all, I have about 4 inches of the fabric left----and what's more!!!! THE TOP IS DONE! WOW!!!!! It is pictured on a King size bed, so.........its a wee bit larger than I originally intended! *grin*

I decided to shoot a pic of the OTR at the same time since I hadn't yet. This is almost done---still working on hand-sewing the binding down. This is going to be gifted to my brother for Christmas.




Masha's Wonky Nines was finished up yesterday. This quilting was quite fun to do, although it was difficult (as always) to "fight" the bulk in the sewing machine. There are puckers on the back, but overall, I like the flowery meander.

So, a dent was finally made in the C'mas project list.

• Isaac-DONE.
  
• Masha-DONE.
  
• Ron(brother)-BINDING.
  
• Derek-TOP DONE.
  
• Jan (BLOCKS MADE) that's right---I still need to get those out and snap a pic.
  
• Andre (NEXT to be quilted)
  
• Scot? Hmm......I suppose I can still set him as a goal by C'mas.
  

Finally, taking a moment AWAY from quilting.....I almost forgot to have Cass open up her birthday present from my sister so she could wear her new jacket. I had to call my sis to find out which box it was in since there are four of them sitting in the entry way. Cass's bday isn't until the 28th, but winter weather temperatures have been with us for awhile.


Okay-----I suppose. I wrote my three assessments for tomorrow: Pre-Calc HW Quiz; Math 8 Pre-test; Algebra 8 Pre-test. Everything else can wait....

Happy New Week!


o

FUN, FUN scrappy progress today!!!

I knew it had been a while since I blogged, but I really thought I tuned in at least ONCE this week...
sorry-----

I managed to finish up Isaac's Blue Heaven this week. The blocks went together VERY quickly, finishing at 12"x12" each. I slapped on some borders to wrap it up (I THINK that was Thursday night), measuring 3.5" wide finished. So, if you do the math, that makes this quilt right around 55"x67". This is going to be gifted to a Jan's son, Isaac. Isaac was adopted when he was a baby and is the same age as Cassie--2nd grader.

So now, ALL three quilts to go to Jan's children are finished....(well, the TOPS are finished)

We had Masha's Wonky Nines (completed at the end of August, 2008). Masha is in 5th grade right now; she is one of Jan's adopted Russian children. She currently is competing in gymnastics at the local club and being "promoted" to the next level after just about every meet.




We had Andre's Out of this World (completed October, 2008). Andre is in 6th grade and is also one of Jan's adopted Russian children. He is a soccer fanatic; basically a born athlete in almost every sport. Both Andre and Masha were from the same orphanage in Russia; they became Jan's children three years ago. :0) Wow---does Jan have some stories to share!!!!





So FINALLY, I can begin on Jan's quilt! Quite a while ago, I was browsing through some old (1990's) quilt magazines and saw this BEAUTIFUL "jewel" scrap quilt. I had it marked, knowing I was going to make it SOME DAY. I recently pulled that stack of magazines out again, seeing the jewel pattern, and I KNEW it was going to be perfect for Jan.

Jan is going through some very difficult family times right now, and she flat-out adores her children. (I know that's a dumb comment, because what parent DOESN'T love their children??!?!?!) psht----I'm a teacher; and I see some very sad "families" because the children come second to the parent's wishes.

Anyway, when I saw the pattern, the wheels started playing in my mind and I decided that I would use all the scraps from the kids' quilts to make hers. This morning at 10:00, I started cutting away and power-sewing strips and half-triangles. I now know what Bonnie meant when I read her words----they said something similar to .... "I love scrap quilts; seeing all the different styles and designs of fabric being placed in the sewing machine." Although all the kids' quilts are somewhat scrappy in their own, Andre's and Isaac's still got to a "boring" stage of sewing because of the redundant colors. Side note: Hmmm.......maybe that's why Derek's Storm at Sea is STILL waiting to be completed-----ugh

Anyway---Jan's Family Gems was begun today, and I have LOVED every second of seeing the blocks come together. I would end one stage (creating some 4-patches) and would need to go on to the next stage (creating HST's) and then needed to go to the next stage (sewing together) because I was just DYING to see part of the finished product. After taking this picture of the first 10 blocks, I deliberated about the final size of this quilt. Minimum: 4x6 layout (that would be 48"x72" before any borders), but I probably will use a 5x6 layout (60"x72" before borders). So, 5x6 means 30 blocks. I have 10 completed, so I'm 1/3 of the way there :0)

In fact, I was somewhat of a "bad mommy" at lunch time because I didn't want to stop. It's a good thing that Cassie is getting older and knows who to work a microwave :0) She made hotdogs for the other two and herself; and they all also helped themselves to a bowl of cereal. I hope you all can understand and not call the "bad mommy police" on me. DH has been cashed out in the bed for most of the day -- I TOLD him to. Yup---yup---I did! I told him to just take the DAY OFF and kick back. 15 minutes later, he was zonked (that was at 11:15). He JUST crawled out of the room and is having a snack next to me right now.

I'd love to head back downstairs right now to whip out some more blocks. HOWEVER, I'm off to shower. DH and I are going to have "somewhat" of a night out. We all (DH, myself and girls) went to the girl's Regional Semi-final volleyball game last night and our girls won. Prior to last night's game, DH hadn't had intentions of going to tonight's Regional Final, BUT he's a lover of volleyball and last night's game WAS exciting!!! He was "itching" to see the Final's, so I told him I would line up a babysitter. So, we're going to go the game---just the two of us---(well, sorta!) I called up Jan and told her our girls won, so she's going to head up to the Final's too. Jan and I coached volleyball together for seven years which is where we really built the awesome relationship we have! She was my mentor; and BOY, I respect her immensely!

Alrighty folks----have a wonderful night/evening/day.
Happy Saturday