Star struck; the girls' rooms & clothes, and the Farm have kept me away

Star Struck (55 x 72)
I had ALL intentions of updating Thursday evening and again on Friday before leaving for the last weekend I'll have "free" pretty much until volleyball is over....BUT, I'll get to that in a moment.
First...

I woke on Thursday very motivated to quilt something for myself, not that I plan on keeping this quilt for sure.

I spent the morning piecing a backing of random scrappy 10" squares. Once lunch was made, eaten, and cleaned up, I was able to spend the rest of the day quilting away.

By 4:00, I was starting the binding, and by 4:30, the binding was completed by machine. I used the "Curly Q" pantograph yet again---most definitely my favorite so far!

Then.....
I went to peek on the girls.
DH and I BOTH laid in on the girls that morning that "enough was enough! The rooms get cleaned TODAY!" So, they spent the entire day upstairs...since 9:30.

**sigh**
Thank GOODNESS I was still motivated, because "MOMMY-STYLE CLEANING" ensued.

Five hours, four garbage bags and 5 boxes loaded with donations later....the rooms AND loft were seriously cleaned AND decluttered! It was 10:00 when I finally carried everything to the main floor; DH said he would take care of all the donations first thing Friday morning. So, by that time, I wasn't interested in updating the blog anymore.

THEN...comes Friday. I had some bloodwork scheduled right away in the morning; DH kept the girls with him while he took care of the donations AND took a much-needed trip to the local garbage dump. On the way back from my appointment, I stopped in at school to check over some last minute things to ensure that everything was ready for Monday morning's practice. In my years of maturing, I've started to live my a new motto...."expect the worst so then you'll never be disappointed." It's a good thing I was expecting the worst, because....that's ALMOST what I encounted. However.....bringing everyone up to speed----I spent a few hours this weekend with paperwork, and....well...... I guess I'm prepared as best I can be for tomorrow morning.

Okay....backtracking to Friday. When I arrived home, DH was still out-n-about, so I took a moment to catch up on emails and had ALL intentions of updating the blog. Well----remember "Pineapple Blossoms"? I received an email that a lady in TX was interested in having the quilt finished, so I spent the next hour between talking with her on the phone, checking my stash to see what I had available for backing and batting....blah, blah, blah...... DH had great timing, because I had just decided I needed to just break down and purchase some yardage for backing when he arrived home. So....off I went to do a quick fabric shopping spree so that I could have everything ready come Monday when I plan to start to finish the project.

THEN....some quick lunch while DH and Caitlyn were out in the garden picking green beans, cucumbers.....the usual lot.

THEN....(okay, but now, it was only 1:00)...I schlepped Cassie upstairs and we (she) tried on EVERY single piece of clothing she had in her closet AND dresser. At one point, DH asked if I would be ready to leave (for the farm) by 3:00----I asked him what time it was and he said 2:30. (Ummm.......we weren't even halfway through her closet!!!!). She kicked it into a little bit of a higher gear at that point, and FINALLY at 4:00, we were done! One box for donation and two boxes for "hand-me-downs" later, her closet AND dresser were COMPLETELY organized and full of clothes that actually fit her. But, she was a bit skimpy on how many pants she had for school. Guess what we did on Saturday??? ;0) She's now COMPLETELY set for school after that shopping spree (she came away with 7 more pairs of pants/jeans).

Oh....but...stay with me! Still on Friday here.........."CAITLYN----your turn now!!!!" (I don't think DH was too happy, but I was on a ROLL and still motivated, and it NEEDED to get done!!!!"
Candace was feeling left out a little bit, so she joined in here-n-there too. By 5:30....both Caitlyn and Candace's closets were organized. Their dressers have YET to be done, but I wasn't going to push my luck TOO much with DH. By 6:00......we were packed and rolling on our way to the farm.

The weekend was very relaxing. Once I told myself I didn't need to be so ANAL about having perfect volleyball notes and that it was okay to have scribbles and things crossed off----that it didn't need to be rewritten AGAIN just for "meeting" stuff......I was able to kick back and enjoy the weekend. MIL and I headed in to Walmart (which is where we did the school shopping for Cassie). We (of course) had to check out the fabric section. Boy, I tell ya!....this is ONE Walmart that STILL carries fabric and GREAT fabric selections at that. I walked away with some backing for BOTH Green Beauty AND Shades of Green, which will be next on my quilting list once Pineapple Blossoms is finished. And then---she and I found a cute (free) pattern that both decided to make for certain individuals, so...we worked together to help pick out each other's fabric. Sorry----I haven't even THOUGHT about taking a picture of the fabric goodies---soon enough though.

Today....arrived home at 2:30 and went straight away into unpacking, starting laundry, picking produce from the garden, heading downstairs to press the newly purchased/washed fabric for Pineapple Blossom's backing, loaded it on the frame as to be ready for starting the quilting tomorrow afternoon, canning another 7 quarts of dill pickles, cleaning & cutting a large bowl full of green beans {will wait until the next picking in two days to actually can the whole lot}.....and now....finally sitting and UPDATING THE BLOG!

So.......
;0)

How was your weekend???? I'm off to look around and find out!

Shades of Green -- clippin' right along

Why stop after finishing Hannah's Rotation???

Shades of Green has reached a flimsy stage. 82"x100". I ended up doing the boring-border layout instead of a pieced one. So be it. {{Doesn't it match my blog colors nicely???}}

And it's only 8:10 p.m. Maybe Steppin' Out will see a flimsy stage tonight too??? All I have left with it is borders...

Along the same wavelength of "shades of green,"... our indoor greenhouse is in full bloom. Watermelon, cucumbers, beans, banana peppers, some other kind of peppers, and LOADS of tomatoes all sproutin' nicely. Two weekends away from Memorial Day here in the States; therefore two weeks away from planting the outdoor garden.

Happy Saturday

Sat. morning update...

First----Paul caught me "studying" online the other night and snapped a picture. I didn't even realize it until I uploaded pics to the computer.... Anyone dare to guess what I was "studying" on YouTube??? ;0)

Last night, I pulled out my Shades of Green top that was started LAST March! I had intentions of finishing it by quilting it in sections, but .... well....now that I'll have a frame (how far away is TUESDAY!?!?!?!), I pulled out the three sections and started piecing them together.
I needed to halt when getting to the borders, because I didn't have my original-planned border fabric anymore, so I needed to go shopping. {{yeah, Helper-Caitlyn couldn't resist posing}}


Since I needed fabrics for Black/Red Pineapple Blossoms and Steppin' Out and American Classic, and now Shades of Green, it was time to go shopping!!!

I choose THREE fabrics to use as a triple border for Shades of Green, bought some red for Pineapple Blossoms, some different "starry" red for American Classic,, an AMAZING fosil-fern (sp??) fabric for Steppin' Out, and OF COURSE....a few odds-n-ends in the form of FQ's ("shirtings" and some red/blues for the BOM). I also picked up some lovely double-pinks and pink paisley, in addition to a blue (reminds me of civil wars, but not quite sure since I've never really researched them)....And to finish it off, 10 yards of white (not pictured). I just LOVE LOVE LOVE quilts that use white in the background-----ANY color matches!

The only sewing I've accomplished so far is so put together a pillow for Cassie's horse latch-hook that she finished up last weekend. Simple pleasures..........she hasn't stopped hugging it.

So---we've had an early lunch and I'm back off to downstairs.
The house is a mess
Laundry is piled
Dishes are piled....

{{shrug}}
I sense a huge multi-task frenzy......but not now.

Maybe tomorrow?????
;0)

Baldwin BoosterShot 5K

The weather was as perfect as it can come for today's Baldwin Booster Shot 5K run. Julie and I met up around 7:30 am, and race started at 8:15.

WE TOOK OUR TIME :0) Coming in at 32:10 (around 10:22/mile). I hadn't realized how much of a rolling course this actually is (PROBABLY because normally I head to this race in shape, and those rollers aren't much of anything then.) We finished smiling, and enjoyed a little catch-up time during the run.

We also chit-chatted about our racing schedule and goals over the next 8 weeks until we meet up again for the annual Paavo Nurmi Marathon-relay (August 8). There was paperwork at today's run for some upcoming "local" races, and we may decide on one or more of these: (just making note for my future reference)

Lumber Jack Days (10 mi, 5K) - July 26
14th Apple River Walk/Run (10K, 5K, 2 mi) - August 1 (contact: Dave Belisle 247-5995)

---

While uploading pics to the computer tonight, I found this gem! Dear Candace (#3) must have snapped it when I was weeding the other day.






Okay---game plan tomorrow: start the day off RIGHT with a 2-4 mile run (all depending how I'm feeling, but I should start packing on some EZ miles, so I'll shoot for 4.) THEN, I don't think I will work outside (although DH might persuade me to head out), but I'd really like to see a finish to SOMETHING, so maybe I'll pull my Shades of Green (formerly known as Marching Greens) out to prep for quilting.

gonna enjoy the weekend.....

It's Saturday morning, and I'm waiting patiently for the coffee to finish brewing and the muffins to finish baking. I was a determined and motivated lady last night: grading ALL of my tests from the day since I was out of the District for a workshop (14-Web Design quizzes, 25-Math 8 tests, 23-Algebra 8 HW-quizzes), prepped for all my classes next week; folded loads-n-loads of laundry that had been stock-piling over the past couple of days; washed and folded a couple other loads; boxed up some of the girls' clothes for GoodWill; boxed up the "better" of the girls' clothes for a friend's little girl; boxed up the clothes that still have TAGS on them to put up on eBay (oh yeah...gotta remember to find some time today to do that). Sure---it was literally midnight when I finally settled down to read a few pages of Breaking Dawn (the 4th book of the Twilight saga--re-reading) before calling it a night.

But now------*sigh*------I have the rest of the weekend to sew and quilt! Nothing (much) hanging over my head (I do have some more prepping I could do on computer for next week, but that won't take much time).

In between loads of laundry last night, I also was downstairs sewing up 24 more Shades of Green blocks. I now have 44 complete and they are laying out on the floor. No pics yet.....but maybe tonight?
So...what's on the agenda? I really should try to finish up the quilting on DD, then piece the 2 sections together, add the borders, and be DONE with it. I could (should) have that finished by the close of the weekend.
I could also work on finishing up the remaining blocks for Shades of Green, or do some more quilting on Steppin' Out. Ahhhh.....so many fun projects all awaiting.....

Okay---muffins just buzzed.
Have a great day!!!

"March" quilt tutorial

Many members at Quiltville Chat are planning to create a Green Quilt for the month of March. Bonnie's Jared Takes a Wife is the pattern being suggested by Bonnie, but I wasn't feeling up to that quilt. Instead, this quilt (pictured from a 2005 Fons & Porter calendar) has caught my eye. The directions have been long-lost, I'm sure! I found this in a box of goodies from my mother last summer. Here is what I've put together to make this baby though..... I'm simply calling it Shades of Green.


Fabric selections.
Greens: 13 FQ's & and a 1-yard cut that I plan to use for a border
Lights/creams/golds: I started with 8 quarter-yard cuts, but needed to add more. In the end, I think I used 14 quarter-yard cuts (that's 3.5 yards of fabric total)

From each green FQ, cut three 3.5" strips & three 2" strips. (note: you shouldn't need the 3rd strip unless you want to create some sort of pieced border or maybe you'll want some pieced binding???). I was also able to cut a 1.5" strip to toss into the 1.5 strip bins (SOME FQ's allowed me to cut a 4th 2" strip instead of the 1.5". I've set all the extra 2" strips aside for now.

From each of my original light 1/4 yard fabrics (there were 8 of them), I cut one 3.5" strip and three 2" strips. (Yeah, that's half an inch MORE than 1/4 yard, but my lady always allows for a smidge more! WHEW! If yours doesn't, you may need more than the suggested amount listed above in the fabric list.) When I needed to supplement some more, I only cut what I needed. Sorry that I don't have exact amounts here!!! But I'm fairly confident 14 quarter yard cuts will suffice.

From the green 3.5" strips and using the EZAngle ruler, you want to cut 5 SETS of 4 half-square-triangles (HST) from each fabric. (That's 20 total from each fabric). AND you want to cut five 3.5" squares. Cut wisely! I started by cutting the 20 HST's from the strips, then used the "scraps" to cut the squares. I was only left with a small sliver of fabric from the first two strips, and about 2 inches of scrap from the 3rd.


When completed, you'll have 20 HST's (5 sets of 4) and 5 3.5" squares from each fabric. Once you've cut all 13 fabrics, you'll have 260 HST's and 65 3.5" squares. (NOTE: You only need 252 HST's and 63 squares---the extras, I'm setting aside for now until I decide what to do with them.)


Using the 3.5" light strips, cut 260 HST's using the EZAngle ruler. These DO NOT need to be in any sets; complete randomness is they way to go. Again, you only need 252 HST's, but I went ahead and cut the other 8 just to have "matches" to go with the extra green HSTs.


Lay out one set of HST's; all 4 greens match and the lights should be random. (If you elect, go all scrappy with the greens as well! Your choice! :0) ) I'm keeping my quilt somewhat "Controlled Scrappy."





Sew right sides together. One nice thing about laying them out before sewing is you can try to match up notched pieces together. It doesn't always work out though. Press towards the greens, and clip those lovely Dog-Ears!! :0)




Using 25 of the 2" green strips and 13 of the 2" light strips (recall, my greens were cut from FQ's and my lights were cut from WOF), strip-piece together and press towards the greens. (Note: I threw in one more green strip (26 total) to complete the 13th light WOF strip). Subcut strips into 2" pieces; each strip-set should yield 10 cuts which should result in 260 total. You only need 248 for the proposed layout, but again, the more the merrier to be used in the extra blocks or to be used in a pieced border.

Sew into 4-patches, keeping them as random as possible. You will need 124 4-patches for the proposed layout; you'll have a few extra if you've cut 260 subcuts from above.





Using 26 2" light strips, strip-piece together randomly. Note: Before I sewed, I cut each strip in half (to make two 20-22" long strips) just to create more of a variety. Once pieced, press to either side and subcut into 2" sections. Make FAST work here by stocking up the cutting mat and cut away! 260 subcuts should be the result; We only need 256.



Sew into 4-patches, keeping them as random as possible again. There is no rhyme or reason here----go scrappy! You will need 128 4-patches for the proposed layout, you'll have a few extra if you've cut 260 subcuts from above.





Using one set of pieced HST's, one matching 3.5" green square and 4 "light" 4-patches, layout the "light block." Piece and press seams in one direction. You will need 32 Light Blocks total.






Using one set of pieced HST's, one matching 3.5" green square and 4 "green" 4-patches, layout the "Spinning Star" block. NOTICE the placement of the 4-patches! You want the greens to be diagonal-ing out from the center. Piece and press seams in one direction. You will need 31 Spinning Star Blocks total.



Once all the blocks are finished (I have only the 2 samples done at this point), here is my proposed layout. Please excuse the non-completeness of it. I drafted in up on Excel; but Excel doesn't allow me to color triangle-shaped pieces. So, I started hand coloring on the print-out until I had enough to see the pattern, but then I stopped. I think it should still be enough for you to get the idea. At this point, if you have a perfect 1/4 inch seam (I STILL don't, know matter how hard I try!!), the quilt measures 63"x81" before any borders.


Go creative with the border. I am AMAZED at some of the borders I see when reading blogs off the Quiltville group. For example, take a look at Threadbare's border on her DoubleDelight. That is AMAZING!

Okay, this should do it. I've double-read all the steps, and I don't think I've left anything out. Are there mistakes?? Probably! Just let me know if you have questions or if something seems to be incorrect!

Happy Quilting!

Update

Andee's version: Green Bay Packers
(http://moderndiary.blogspot.com
/2014/08/green-bay-packers.html)
LOVE!













Regina (Bitnbyaquiltingbug) shared her pre-finished layout with me. What creativeness on the color placements of her 4-patches!







Here is a shot of Judi's (in Ohio).