Lilac Grove (aka: Carolina Christmas) top done

Lilac Grove (80 x 96)

Finishing up the last of the Carolina Christmas---now Lilac Grove quilt didn't take quite an hour. I can't really call it Carolina Christmas, can I? Not with purples and greens! And I did change up the layout from Bonnie's original.... As I was sewing on the last of the borders this morning, the exact thoughts of "what am I going to call this?" were running through my mind. Purples and greens? {{shrug}}. The only thing I kept picturing was lilacs.....{{that, and Barney, the purple dinosaur! But.....nah....NOT going to go there!}}

I want to give a shout-out to Alycia (alyciaquilts) for guilting me into finishing it!!!! Her quilter's accountability 6/30 post was enough to push me into pulling my top out and just gettin' it done! THANKS ALYCIA!!!!! I bet you didn't even know you had that kind of power, did you!?!?!? ;0)



Oh and...I set a new Personal Record last month! FIFTY-SEVEN posts during the month of June. Yup--yup...DEFINITELY a new record! {{and really wondering who in their right mind out there actually read all 57 of them!?!?}}

SO...how 'bout a thumb's up??

Or maybe just a self-pat-on-the-back? ;0)

Stash Manicure's montly giveaway

Just a quick lil' post...

stashmanicure blog is having their monthly drawing. Linda (living4quilting) posted about it and sent me over. Maybe some of her luck will rub off!!!! ;0)

It's Friday of a holiday weekend in the USA. I'll be heading out-of-town sometime today, but I'll "let the wind carry me" as it will today. I know i need some time in the garden to water everything; I want to get SOME time downstairs. I took most of the day off yesterday! I DID work on my Carolina Christmas for about an hour, and I think I have one more hour ahead of me to finish off the top!!! Would love to give you a pic before heading out.

Okay---now that my day has some direction; I'm off!

Moondance recipient smiled :0) and....needle threader!!!

The picture says it all. She said she loved it {{and I believe her}}
I shared the story of the Too Good to Cut Challenge, so that tickled her fancy even MORE, knowing that she was receiving fabric that was "too pretty for me to cut into." I truly truly truly LOVE giving quilts away when the recipients are as appreciative as Dolly!!!



Do you have a threader on your machine?
Do you LIKE your threader??

{{pout-pout}}
I LIKE MINE TOO!

but you see that piece of metal???

And now the question becomes: Just HOW important is this threader to me? Enough to give up my machine for a few days for it to be fixed??? Or can it wait until my annual servicing???

{{shrug}}

I'm fine without it {{I GUESS}} if it means I can sew, sew, sew!!!

Alycia's quilter's accountability post today guilted me, challenged me into pulling out my Carolina Christmas partial top to git 'r done! I am in the process of borders; I can't exactly remember. So, that's my goal tomorrow!

Carolina Christmas & Stash Report May 10-16

Carolina Christmas saw a little progress today. I am not following the layout Bonnie suggested; rather this layout was more appealing to me (someone from QuiltvilleChat drafted it up and shared it).


Other news of the day: DH and I started weeding one of the strawberry patches. Goodness gracious---those plants have sprouted all over the place!!!!

And now, I'm pooped! I got sucked into a movie at midnight last night!!! And it was 2:00 before I finally took care of my shut-eye, and then back up at 6:30 a.m., WIDE AWAKE! Dummy me!

So.....
Stash Report: May 10 - 16
Used this week: 4.597 yards
Purchased this week: 0 yards
Used-to-date 2010: 121.633 yards
Purchased-to-date 2010: 131.75 yards
Net used: -10.117 yards

off to bathe the girls, and then an early bedtime for me tonight!

A week in review; 4 finishes; Bernina back *yippee*; Stash Report 3/8-3/14

First things first----
after another week of mostly NO sewing, my Bernina shop guy called me Friday afternoon to let me know she was fixed. Directly after school, I hauled my lil' tuckus down to Eau Claire to pick it up before the shop closed at 6:00. I JUST made it!!!! With a few other stops on the way back home, I waltzed in around 8:30; too late to really begin any sewing.

But Saturday-------whoa yeah!
Quilts for Kids - NICU quilt #1 quilted {{Precious One}}


Quilts for Kids - NICU quilt #2 quilted {{Beary Precious}}


And Quilts for Kids - NICU quilt #3 quilted {{another Beary Precious}} -- NO PIC.

Then I moved on to Paintbox quilting.....


Family time-out

Paul took Candace out fishing on Tuesday, with his brother and buddy. I don't have a picture of the ice TODAY (Paul didn't take the camera), but we have (finally) had some warm weather hit us since Tuesday---hitting near 60 today. Actually, I haven't checked actual temps today, but I would beg to say it was over 60 degrees. It was GORGEOUS today!!!!! Set up Cassie's basketball hoop, grabbed the shovel and moved some dirt around in the front yard......
(fish from last week....)

anyway......
back to sewing....
Today, I worked a bit on some WIP blocks.....
Carolina Christmas -- 15 more of step 4....


Another Hannah's Rotation. GOSH---putzy, putzy pattern. Very much like putting together a puzzle....


Paintbox - set number 8...



I usually don't set goals for a week, BUT...
I need to label 12 quilts this week so they can be handed over to MIL next weekend. She is setting up for a craft sale the last weekend of March and she is willing to put some of my quilts out...

• Class Act (baby/crib)
  
• Steppin' Out (full)
  
• Christmas Lights (throw)
  
• Irish Chain (lap)
  
• Lucidity (throw/twin)
  
• Double Wedding Ring (wall-hanging)
  
• Candy Dish (previously Now-n-Forever) (lap)
  
• Kaleidoscope (baby/crib)
  
• Paintbox (lap)
  
• Baby Pin (previously Pinwheels and Prairies) (baby/crib)
  
• and then the three Quilts for Kids labels
  

Stash Report: March 8 - 14
Used this week: 6.569 yards
Purchased this week: 0 yards
Used-to-date 2010: 77.304 yards
Purchased-to-date 2010: 86.25 yards
Net used: -8.946 yards

Happy Sunday

Happy PI Day too!!!!! (3.14159.......)

Paintbox 3, 4 & 5; Carolina Christmas part 5

I've been getting a couple of hours of sewing in each night....
Wednesday night: Paintbox set #3 (hit the blues)

Thursday night: Paintbox #4 (in come the greens)

Tonight: Paintbox #5 (and the yellows)
These are so fun and quick to sew up; right around an hour from cutting-start to pressing-finish. Oh----can you find the boo-boo on set #5? When I realized what I had done, I simple said..."psht! Hardly noticeable, specially once all 80 blocks will be sewn together." You see it yet?


And I've also been working on Carolina Christmas step 5's Pointsetta blocks; 10 completed Wednesday evening, and 11 more tonight.

I am SOOOO thankful I have my Brother as a backup machine. My piecing is DEFINITELY not as good using it, but.....hey! At least I can still sew!!!! I have plans to hit the road tomorrow AM a bit before 8:00 so I can get to the shop by 9:00 to drop off my Bernina. Sadly, I won't be able to get it back until the following weekend because it can't get looked at tomorrow. So LAUREL-----if you are around, I'll be at Sew Complete at 9:00!!! ;0) But I'll be turning around right away; I don't want to "waste" the day completely.

Happy Friday :0)

Determined, despite "surgery"...Now or Forever sees a finish!

The morning started later than usual, awaiting my parent's departure, but eventually I found myself chaining through 104 broken dishes for Carolina Christmas, part #4.

Then I grabbed Now or Forever and started quiltin' along....until ...."cher-chuck, chuck, clickity-click, click....."...

The sound sure wasn't normal, so I figured I'd give the machine a good cleaning and oiling. Sadly, it didn't help. I'm not a technician, but I have trouble-shooted it a bit----the needle/bobbin-case are "missing" each other. Either the needle is a fraction of a second too early, or the bobbin case is a bit late. ((**sigh**)). So, after sitting STUMPED for a few moments (maybe 10 ???), I finally faced the inevitable and packed her up for a trip to the shop. Sadly the shop is an hour away, so she'll have to wait until the weekend, which will mean at LEAST another week after THAT before I get her back....

....so ol' standy-by "Brother" made an appearance.
I was soooooooo close to being finished with the quilting, and I remember the frustration I used to have with the Brother when it came to FMQ...BUT, after a practice patch and adjustment of the tension, I was off-n-runnin' again! By mid-afternoon, the quilting was completed and binding sewn on, still awaiting hand-stitching though. I don't have a walking foot for the Brother and I SURE MISS IT!!!!!! In fact, there are a FEW things I am now taking for granted on the Bernina 440 QE that my Brother doesn't have...
1) The needle up/down feature
2) the on/off button when FMQ
3) the stitch regulator! But it sure was fun and relaxing to take the quilting at a nice leisurely pace.
4) the needle threader (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
5) the 1/4" foot
6) the bigger "table"
...to name a few...
but, she came through when I needed her.

And then.......with only an hour left of guilt-free quilting time, I figured it was a perfect opportunity to tackle the "true" Paintbox quiltalong. (See side bar for link).
Carol (Cornfield Quilter) sent this BEAUTIFUL jelly roll of Moda fabrics when she returned Perkiomen Daydreams from quilting. What a lovely PIF gift!!!!!!!!!

The quilt-along uses 10" squares for the "focal" fabric part, but the pattern works perfectly with 2.5" strips too! I first cut off 2.5" square, then a 2.5"x3.5" rectangle for the back, then need to thin the strip to 1.75"....

JUST enough is available in the strip to cut 2 each of 6.5" 5", 4", and 2.5" rectangles!!! It's was meant to be.


My first set of Oh Fransson Paintbox's :0)

I'm a bit behind, but should be able to catch up in no time. As clearly shown in the picture, I am doing the variation with white. Thanks again CANDACE for the beautiful motivational Paintboxes on your blog!!!!

Quiltathon - Pineapple Blossoms, Scrappy Log Cabins, Paintbox, Carolina Christmas, March BOM... whew!

Not that it's a biggy, but ....
THIS IS MY 350th post! 50 more posts and you can expect a goodie-of-a-giveaway! Four is my favorite number, so 400 SURE should be worth something, huh??....

Anyway....how'd I do on my goals, you wonder????
Take a peek....

Goal #1 - Ten more Pineapple Blossom - CHECK.
(And bonus triangle pinwheels.)

Goal #2 - Ten more Scrappy Log Cabins - CHECK.

Goal #3 - Sew together Paintbox blocks - CHECK.
(I even threw on one small border.)

Goal #5 - Work on March BOM - CHECK.
All three blocks have been sewn together; now just to find time to type up the directions. How d'ya like the size of the one HST??? 1" FINISHED! HA!
As mentioned in the caption, I also took 30 minutes (or so) to press the HST's from Carolina Christmas's part #4. Before leaving the machine, I partially began sewing the Broken Dishes units; those are on the agenda to be finished up for tomorrow.

Goal #4 was the only one I didn't tackle today, but I really should make it my main goal for tomorrow. A finish would be nice. :0)

My mom picked up this collection of (mostly) C'mas fabrics at her local Goodwill for a couple of dollars....

And tonight, Cassie surprised ALL of us with Valentine's bags full of goodies. Caitlyn and Candace each got some candy and a V'day t-shirt, "Dad" got some silly high-flying saucer something-er-others, and **I** got this LOVELY V'day fabric. How thoughtful!!!!! (She went shopping with G'ma yesterday) ;0)

So, one more day of weekend for me tomorrow; looking forward to another day of sewing! :0)
Happy Sunday everyone.

No pics, but have been quilting; Math 8 Quilt Design winner

I didn't realize it's been a week since I last posted---I've been out-n-about all week reading blogs daily, but simply never got around to posting on my own.

I have finished Step 2 and 3 of Bonnie Hunter's Carolina Christmas, and have cut most of step 4.

This weekend, I hit the shelves at Walmart to find fabrics for the 3rd Annual Math 8 Best Quilt Design winner:
At this time, the name is Hannah's Rotation (yeah...boring! I'll talk with Hannah to see if she has any suggestions for a name).

pst....pst......I also purchased fabric for the runner-up as well this year, simply because I REALLY like it and won't take all that much effort to make.
I'm going to see if I can find some thin, black, bias iron-able tape that I've seen advertised in quilting magazines. Purpose: to use on the seams as shown in the picture---I THINK that's why I like this design----Jade (student) used a black sharpie to outline the pieces which makes it look like a stained-glass-window. Something new to try.... Tentative name: Jade's Heart

I'm tired tonight even though I really WISH I was motivated. The fabric for the quilts has been washed and partially pressed and cut already. I want to keep going, but the will just isn't strong enough tonight. My back is sore and "tired"---feeling lazy, and may just slide into the tub until half-time is over (Vikings vs. Saints). Maybe then I'll be recharged to tackle some more cutting and pressing.

Happy Sunday!

Weekly stash report to be announced later---I don't have my numbers readily available.

Sunday's Quiltathon status and Stash Report

I actually SET my alarm for this AM so I could get cracking bright-n-early at quilting. Funny though, I snoozed for about 45 minutes anyway!
But by 8:00, I was rockin-n-rollin!


Row 1:
8:00 am - Started cutting template pieces for February's BOM (**GASP**)! Yes, TEMPLATE pieces will be coming in February, ladies!
9:15 am - Trimmin' off some dogears
10:30 am - Sneak-peak at one of the completed February BOM.
10:35 am - Cutting HST's for the 2nd February BOM
Row 2:
10:53 am - Cutting complete -- time to sew some HST's
11:10 am - Pieces pressed (yup ladies! ALL those pieces are going into ONE 12" block---and there are a few more than just these)
12:00 pm - Pulling out Steppin' Out - dyed. No WONDER I set this project aside---I only have a GaZILLION HST's to square up....
12:30 pm -- still squarin' up!
Row 3:
12:40 pm - pieces squared
12:45 pm - Adjourning to the upstairs to watch the game and press
1:12 pm - Pressed and dogears removed
1:30 pm - family arrived home and Caitlyn helped me put labels on my Swap Blocks
Row 4:
2:39 pm - Carolina Christmas Step 2 pieces cut
4:18 pm - Carolina Christmas Step 3 pieces cut
6:09 pm - Back downstairs, more CC pieces getting cut
7:02 pm - The status of my sewing table after calling it a night. CC Step #2's first part was just chain-pieced and will await pressing for tomorrow evening.

LOVELY LOVELY weekend! Sadly, YES, I DO have school tomorrow---we never have Martin Luther King day off----hm! Wonder why!

Follow other Quiltathon-er's progress!

Stash Report: January 11-17
Used this week: 9.75 yards
Purchased this week: 4 yards
Used-to-date 2010: 21.375 yards
Purchased-to-date 2010: 13 yards
Net used: 8.375 yards

Did you ever feel like you're putting together a puzzle when quilting?

often I do!

This was my status last night before throwing my hands up...no longer motivated because I didn't know how to "finish this puzzle"...((Back-pedaling)) Yesterday found me by-passing Chunky Churndash because I was suddenly motivated and inspired to finish up Lucidity. And although this quilt LOOKS simple, for those of you that aren't border-making lovers, this would be a monkey on your back with all those lonnnnng blasted sashing strips!!! Really---it was like putting 11 borders on one quilt! As stated, this was my status as of 8:00 last night....backing ALLLLMOST pieced, and I simply didn't have any passion left after being 6 INCHES short!!!!!!! Bad calculation?? No, I just crossed my fingers and hoped it would fit...... sadly, it didn't...

...so, after tucking Candace into bed last night (and seeing what I had done with HER pieced backing), I was inspired this morning to throw in a strip of left over blocks. CrazyMom throws these dandies into her backings quite often too. I'm growing quite fond of them myself. This decision meant that I needed to rip out the seam I made last night and spent a good hour piecing (and cutting) the extra strip for the backing...
But my puzzle play wasn't through...noooooooooo. Next, I went to my roll of batting, not really knowing how much I had left on the roll. 20 inches SHORT across the entire width!!!!!! Scrounging in my storage cabinet, I found one package of 60x60 batting, but didn't want to cut into that yet. Hmpf.... I should have taken a picture of the what the downstairs looks like right now, because I dug (DEEP) into my bag(s) of leftover batting, tossing batting all over the place in hopes to organize it somehow.... All sizes; some large, some long strips, you name it. I ended up piecing 8 total long/little/stubby pieces together to have enough batting.

Back to work....
...with my Princess helper. Caitlyn prepped my basting pins for me and even helped me put a few in. She was so proud.
Nothing fancy with the quilting. I chose one of my decorative stitches and travelled the length of each sashing strip in purple thread...
...and Lucidity sees a finish! Binding-n-all (just no label YET).
Plans for this one??? Not sure, but it's wrapped around me as I type. The colors are lovely, lines are crisp and clean.

And tomorrow---Goal: Finish Christmas Lights I'm ALMOST done with that one too (worked on it yesterday). I only have binding left on it. SO, I'm doing well on my goals I posted about last week:
1) Finish Chunky Churndash (We'll see how close I get to that, because I'll work on that tomorrow as well, EVEN if I need to stay up until Midnight!!! Oh, wait! I'll probably be doing that anyway!)
2) Finish Lucidity. CHECK!
3) Finish Christmas Lights . CHECK! (Almost) I'll only need a couple of hours to check this one off my list.
4) Start Carolina Christmas. CHECK! I'm doing the last part of step #1 as a leader-ender right now.

Nice way to finish off 2009....stayed tuned for a final '09 post tomorrow evening!

Happy Wednesday!

It's almost here...

C'mas vacation, that is.

Some of you fellow teachers around the nation have already started rubbin' it in that you're on break----we have school through Wednesday yet.

I have only been putzing with some sewing a couple of hours here, a couple of hours there. I have really missed the obsession of needing to sew nearly 24/7...but soon! Soon! The time will return!

Two main quilt tops I've been working on simultaneously, toggling between each of them, acting as leaders-n-enders to each other.....
Lucidity...

and Chunky Churndash (for my parents).
Chunky Churndash is going to have to take the front burner now, since it will be a C'mas gift to my parents; but thankfully we won't be celebrating with them for another couple of weeks. Therefore, I'll have all of break to work on it. (NOT that I'm going to----take all break, that is).

Actually, I have some ambitious goals set over my vacation...
1) Finish Chunky Churndash
2) Finish Lucidity
3) Finish Christmas Lights (it's been in "wait-mode" for a couple of months; all sandwiched and basted already, so once I really get motivated on it, it shouldn't take much more than a day...)
4) Start crackin' away on Bonnie's Carolina Christmas mystery. I needed a new leader-n-ender today as I neared the end of sewing Chunky Churndash rows, so I start strip sewing Step 1... (see below)

Christmas Lights awaiting quilting...

The start of Carolina Christmas... Colors chosen are greens, purples, white and black. I have yet to miss one of Bonnie's mysteries, so... time (SOON!) to start cracking away at it.


Christmas is right around the corner---holy buckets! Where has this year gone? The girls went to the library last Monday for the annual reading of "T'was the Night Before Christmas" by Santa.

Snow finally hit last week, too, so it actually feels like Christmas now.

Cass had her Winter Program Tuesday evening. DH drove on the way home and picked a fight with a big doe. Sadly, no one really won the fight; the car is sitting dead in the driveway (still), and the deer didn't fare too well either. However, we all walked away without a single scratch. We're still waiting to hear from the insurance company to see what the game-plan will be... until then, I've been bumming rides with DH and coworkers.

Finally, has your family turned into a "tech family?" Pictured: Cassie playing on her DS, Candace playing on the ipod touch, Me on the laptop, and Caitlyn on the other laptop. DH couldn't resist taking the pic when he saw this; it's not QUITE the norm, but pretty close....
(anyone recognize the book on the floor????) ;0)

Happy Sunday!