Returning to quilting....

Once I finished breaking dawn, it was time to for lunch----cheddarwursts (nothing too fancy).

Then, since C'mas is still looming and I decided to spend every free waking moment lately immersed in the fantasy world of Stephanie Meyer, I figured it was finally time to return to quilting.

I made progress on Scot's Camo quilt, to the point the top is ALMOST complete. I think I'll add 15 more inches of "borders" on the top and call it a pillow tuck. So far, it is 78" by 83". I will NOT be quilting this baby since it is mostly a heavy denim/flannel combo of camoflauge fabrics. It will simply be tied, so once the top is finished, the complete "finishing" won't be that far off.

I also have Derek's Storm at Sea awaiting quilting, which SHOULD have been completed this weekend...but.....well......*snicker* other things took priority :0) 'Tis alright, though, because once his is quilted, I have met all my goals! (and THEN some!)

Remember that Christmas Stocking quilt from last Wednesday???? I've decided to gift it to a coworker, an aide to our Special Education department. Without her, I would really be concerned for these kids---she has such a huge heart!



So----for the later part of the afternoon, I decided to tackle creating the labels for all the quilts, and have sewed almost all of them on. They all resemble Jan's Family Gems label, however, hers was the only one I added a "special message" to.

I suppose I'll tackle some hand sewing; I still have C'mas Stockings binding to sew down, as well as Jan's and Ron's Old Tobacco Roads label. Oh----and I STILL need to fix the corner's on Ron's OTR yet too.

The movie Bean is coming on at 6:00 and I figured we'd make it a family comedy night tonight. Perfect!

Happy Sunday

More Camo progress....

I was a bit tired last night, so by 8:00, right after putting the girls to bed, I plopped a DVD in the bedroom player and snuggled up in bed. I had COMPLETE intentions of falling asleep before the movie was over, but PSHT! It's one I haven't seen in a long time (The Interpreter), and I found myself watching it to the end, which was just a bit after 10:00. *sigh*

Regardless, I didn't sew at all last night, so by 6:00 tonight, I headed downstairs to see what else I could accomplish with Scot's Camo quilt. The inner squares (obviously) were pieced tonight as well as two small borders. Then I played around with some Flying Geese since I had a good handful of 2.5" scraps after cutting up the squares. I have 20 completed---I did a few different arrangements with them---trying them with a black brick inbetween each, with a camo brick between each, but in the end, one Flying Geese next to another really just looks the best. So.....I SHOULD need 24 for each side (the inner section with borders is measuring 48"x48") HOWEVER, with the 20 laid out......(seam allowance overlap already taken out of the equation)....ummm.....I don't think another FOUR will fit!!!!! *scratching head*..... I really can't see the border stretching that much. If I could find my stinkin' tape measure, I'd be able to double check the 48x48 measurements!

Anyway......I came up at 9:00 to grade a few papers, write a quiz, and now I'm checking in.

Happy Wednesday!

Insane Puzzle Play

After such a successful weekend, I wanted to keep going with the next project nearing completion. HOWEVER, when I went downstairs, for SOME reason, I found myself digging into one of my tubs to "remind myself what was in it," and I ended up pulling out all my denim-style camoflauge "scraps." These pieces are left over from many, many years ago when I created a bedspread for our (then-time) Queen bed for the colder winter months.

We still use ours, although we have graduated to a King bed. This is a very heavy quilt---the majority of the fabric is a nice, soft-brushed denim (even the backing!) Since it's creation (back in 2000?), it has spent the winter months on our bed, atop whatever other sheets/bedspreads we have on top, and during the summer months, it finds a home on the shelf in the closet.

Well.......what better than to start a NEW PROJECT?!?!??!? *voice-over of an insanity scream*

Actually, this DOES have a purpose. I HAD been working on a project for DH's boss, Scot. However, DH (nor myself) was liking how Scot's Leavenworth Nine-patch was coming along, so it has taken a spot on the shelf of "eh--don't think so" blocks. Those blocks WILL find completion someday---maybe as a simple lap quilt for one of DH's brothers, or as a snuggler for the farm. However, for now, since DH LOVES our quilt so much, I figured "why break something that isn't broken?" I'm recreating as much of our quilt as possible as a C'mas quilt for Scot and wife. *crossing fingers* I'm hoping this baby will go together rather quickly----not going to do anything fancy. OOO!! Except, as I've been cutting squares, I'm finding 2.5" strips being left over, so I've contemplated creating a pieced-flying-geese-border somewhere in the quilt. Most likley, bordering the main center medallion section. And there is NOT going to be any fancy quilting on this baby! Uh-uh! It will be HEAVY and THICK, so I'm thinking of even tying it, just like ours is done. IF I quilt it, it'll be VERY simple stitching-in-the-ditch.

Okay.....Just about 10:30----time to head to bed.

Happy Monday.

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

OTR at a standstill.... what next?

This is as far as I can go on the OTR at this time. I will be quilting it in sections (2 sections), so I am not able to sew the borders on yet. That actually will happen once both quilted sections get sewn together, and I'll be homefree! I don't have anything in mind for a backing yet, so I'm at a standstill. Also, I don't think I have any batting left in my stock!! OH DEAR!!! I haven't bought any all summer because I had been getting so much "donated" to me from family members----but I'm EMPTY now!

I don't expect to go shopping until this weekend, so now I have to think about what to work on next. Of course, I have many many UFO's, but I'm contemplating that C'mas list! Time is really ticking away FAST now that school has started, and my quilting time is definitely limited now. I've started Scot's (DH's boss) Camo quilt, but I think I've actually found a pattern for my BIL's "nautical" quilt. It's a "Storm at Sea" pattern..... So......

I'm tired AGAIN! No running tonight even though I should have. The next night I MIGHT be able to run will be Friday since DH has to work tomorrow night and I have to work the Vball game Thur night. I suppose I could always jump on the treadmill (DREADmill), but that get's SOOOOO BORRRRRRING for any amount of time longer than 30 minutes!

Okay----I'm off to do some last minute email checking, and then I'm off to bed again by 9:00.
Happy Tuesday

Old Tobacco Road Mystery; and other updates...

I'm sitting here, watching "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton." Quite the silly "chick-flick" right now; I know it's been out forever, but this is the first time I've seen it. And, of COURSE, I had intentions of being downstairs piecing tonight---I guess that won't happen until 9:00 now. And by THAT time, I'll have to start getting my clothes ready for tomorrow's athletic-packed agenda; 9K race @ 8:00; Volleyball tournament @ 10:00 - ???. So, I might NOT get downstairs, afterall.

Okay...so what have I been doing downstairs?? Last night, I FINALLY was able to get down there again---the first since Monday night, I think! Yeah, yeah....when I finished Masha's Wonky Nines. Anyway, so I pulled out the camoflauge fabric and started cutting 3.5" strips for Scot's quilt. I haven't come up with a name yet----I suppose I'll just call it Scot's Camo Leavenworth, after the pattern of the block. I pieced one full block before calling it a night. Then, today, I went to school for a few hours, stopped at the bank, the pharmacy, and the post office to send off Angela's package *wink*, and then headed home to start working on the OTR mystery. Woo-hoo.

HOWEVER, on the way home, I did a "U-eee" back to a garage sale that had a bunk-bed out front----This photo isn't one that I took; I just found a pic on the internet that showed a bunk set that is exactly like the ONE I BOUGHT for the girls. The lady had a CRAZY price tag on it, and I offered her HALF what she wanted. She pondered for a while, then took my offer. Wooo-hoooo! When DH got home from work tonight, we went to pick it up; and then spent the next hour cleaning out Candace's and Caitlyn's rooms (removing the twin beds and putting them downstairs) and set up the Bunk. HOWEVER, guess where all the "old" twin beds are being stored right now/?!?!? Yup---downstairs DIRECTLY on my carpet area where I lay out of my "quilts-in-progess." SO......sometime SOON, I'll have to spend a day cleaning and rearranging things downstairs so I can have my carpet back.

Okay, anyway, after I got home, I grabbed some lunch (something better than JUST a candybar at a gas station *wink*) and then headed downstairs to work on the Part 1 of OTR. By 3:30, I finished up the 184 4-blocks; YET to be ironed, though. I haven't made the 8 half-corner-thingies (I can NEVER remember what those little corner blocks are called!) I haven't really pulled any fabrics together for the 3.5" strips that Bonnie has recommended; and I ended up using my plaid men's shirts I purchased earlier this summer for my 4-patch blocks. Oh---and my "lights" were very controlled----ALL WHITE! Quite simple, huh? I'll get pics up on here by Monday night, but I doubt if it'll happen before then.

Okay, well the movie just ended. I think I'm going to get my clothes together quick and then head downstairs for JUST a wee-little bit tonight! After tomorrow's running and vball day, we are heading up to the farm. The girls are already up there with BOTH sets of G'parents, so we need to go up to get them AND spend some time relaxing on Sunday.

Okay, okay----Night all!

Productive day...

When I headed downstairs, I still wasn't quite sure what I wanted to work on. However, I really DID want to start on "Cathy's 60th" quilt (the quilt that needs to be made by the end of August for the friend of the family. For lack of a better name right now---Cathy's 60th is it! since it's her 60th birthday.)

But, lo-n-behold----I hadn't washed ANY of the fabrics yet. So...off to the machine----and what to do in the meantime???

Putz, of course!

First, I thought I'd add some simple little hangers to the trial block I made. Now I just need to find a nicer hanger than just this little dowel :0)










Then, I really felt inspired when I came across these pieces I had cut out and stored in one of my Grandma's "old" quilt books. The book is downstairs right now, but (going from memory) the block is called Mohawk Trail. I had SO MUCH FUN using the blanket stitch feature on my machine. Ohhhhhh......it's soooooooo easy to do applique with a machine that handles a NICE blanket stitch! For now, the finished block (17.5" unfinished) will sit until I decide what to do with it. I don't know if I'll feel inspired to create an entire quilt of these blocks, or if this block will join in with other orphan blocks for a crazy sampler quilt.

By this time, the fabrics had been moved into the dryer----so more putzing.
DH has asked me to make a quilt for his head-contractor, Scot, for Christmas. Naturally, being a hunter of all sorts, a Camoflauge quilt was requested. I've been slowly adding to my camo stash since about last Christmas, and these are the fabrics I have chosen for him so far. I've also been looking around for different patterns, and I might actually make a "controlled" Chunky Churndash.


Lunch time! DH threw this recipe together a couple of weeks ago, and I wanted something quick, so I made the "mini-bagel-pizza" for lunch. Very simple-----throw half a bagel in the toaster; then layer with pizza sauce, pepperoni and cheese. Put under a lo-broiler for a few minutes, and v'iola! Instant "easy" lunch that the kids love!!!


Post-lunch: A few weeks back, this was a goodie that I won as a give-away. Still waiting for the fabrics to get dry, I figured I'd tackle getting this sandwiched and basted. And of course, even though the dryer timer went off while basting, I couldn't just LEAVE the darn thing laying out on the floor-----it needed INSTANT quilting. So----Not only did I have a day with my lovely Blanket stitch earlier----now I could try my first real SATIN stitch. Ooooooooo------so COOL!!!! I don't have pics yet, but will put them up tomorrow for sure. I just received my Connecting Threads order, where I had ordered some "Fall Virigated" (sp?) thread. PERFECT! But---boy! It sure took a long time to go all the way around the edge of the scarecrow.

So, finally came the time when I needed to take a break from down-stairs. DH was home early due to being "rained out" (even though it wasn't raining by us). So, the girls got their suits on and headed out to the "turtle pool" again; DH headed to the garden, and I WAS going to get some mowing done, but the mower had other things in mind. The belt needed replacing, and we didn't have the correct belt handy to get it going---so....... (now, here comes the whining)----it was TOOO MUGGGGGY for me! I had no ambition of helping in the garden, so, back downstairs I went, fabric from the dryer in tow.

I wasn't downstairs long when "drama" was breaking out upstairs. Ooooo----those girls can drive each other crazy (and ME too!) So, for the next couple of hours, I was upstairs, toggling between preparing supper, refereeing the girls, and ripping out the baby blanket quilting. (Slowly making progress on that---but no big hurry!)

By 8:00, I was able to head back downstairs to finish up the ironing. I even cut out ALMOST all the pieces. Well, all the pieces are cut out, but some of the strips need cutting yet into half-triangles, etc.

At 9:00, I took a quick time-out to shush the girls off to bed. Sorry---bad mommy tonight; no stories. They were all pretty much pooped out anyway, so bedtime wasn't a struggle tonight! Whew......

To wrap up the evening, I needed to get SOME piecing done on Cathy's quilt, so I took the mauve and cream strips, pieced them, and make about half of the required 4-blocks needed.

Oh---and that reminds me! This pattern REALLLY over-estimated the fabrics needed. The picture above showing all the pieces----yeah, well, on the left of that picture is all the excess fabric I have! I can definitely see some pillow shams being created!!!!

Whew----Nice productive day :0) Tomorrow needs to be a family day, though. DH will be working on some of his side-jobs, so it'll just be me and the girls again. However, I need to do something "organized" with them to keep them sane. Baking cookies is on the agenda for sure---not sure if the day will involve an "outing" or not.