Ta-Da!!!! Let's celebrate with a Giveaway!

Presenting Cathedral Stars. Quilted, binded, and ALMOST labeled. It will be delivered next weekend to my Dad, who requested me to make a quilt for his VFW's (Veteran's of Foreign Wars) raffle at the end of the month. (Is it bad to want to win the raffle yourself?!?!?) *snicker*





The binding was sewn on last night and finished with hand-sewing this morning; the label will be added tomorrow once it's made. So, what better than to celebrate with a tiny giveaway?!?!! When cleaning up today, I came across a pile of extra 2" strips I used for the 4-patches.
To be given away: 10 2" strips of jewel-toned fabric. Simple rules: leave me a comment on this post telling me what your favorite "sewing gadget" is. Drawing date: Sunday, January 11th, 9:00 PM (Central time zone; Chicago)


Here are all of the rulers I own; my favorite purple handled scissors, and my lovely yellow OLFA rotary cutter. Quilting now-a-days; it's a given that just about everyone uses a rotary cutter. My FAVORITE tool: THE EASY ANGLE RULER! Since Bonnie (quiltville.com) introduced it to me with Carolina Crossroads, I have used it for MANY of my quilts! It mades HST's SOOO easy! (hence the name, huh?)



Back to family now.......
After putting the last quilting stitch in last night and trimming off the excess, I decided it was time to have some fun with Cassie. She has been begging and pleading since Wednesday to put together her "Build-a-Bear" puppy that she got from Julie.
She unpacked it all, and got everything ready; she cut her own string, measuring it out on the cutting mat; she sewed using a straight-stitch to piece the front/back together. The pattern was quite easy for her to follow since there were pre-"punched" holes along the edge for her to sew through. Do any of you remember those cardboard sewing "forms"?...they had holes along the edge and then you used colored (or plain) shoestrings to "sew" up/down through the holes....they usually were in the shapes of animals. Anyway, this reminded me of those.
Being a "sew-mom" (get it??? kinda like "soccer-mom"??? HA!) (okay, stupid, I know....)
Anyway....being a sew-mom, I reinforced the stitches by zipping it under the sewing machine before turning it right-side-out and stuffing it.
In the end, it turned about darn cute! She hasn't let it leave her side since we finished it! She even took it fishing with her today when she, Candace and DH went ice fishing.

Today, after finishing CS, I headed to the LQS to show it off to Deb, owner. I purchased many 1/4 yard cuts of the jewel fabrics, so I wanted her to see it finished. What a DREAM job---Working in a quilt shop! When I arrived, she was working on another store sampler to hang. The shop was quiet. We chatted, talked about Bonnie's site (I'm still trying to convince her to look at Quiltville.com----afterall, just LOOK at what can be accomplished...*pointing to the top pic!!!) :0)
Anyway, I was very good today and only walked away with 2 half-yard cuts of fabrics; both intended for DoubleDelight. HOWEVER, I am YET AGAIN deliberating on when / IF I'll be doing the mystery. (chuckle).
After leaving the Quiltshop, I had 100% intentions of getting home, and digging right in to DD! But, I first decided to tidy up a bit (hence, when I found the giveaway strips), and a little bit more tidying...then I figured I set the timer for 30 minutes of "scrap-busting" to tackle the piles of scraps on the floor (1st photo) and in the basket on the floor (2nd photo). Afterall, I DID set a New Years Resolution to "tidy" the sewing room. Well...30 minutes turned into 60...90...120...240...360!!!! YES! SIX HOURS of "tidying" and "scrap-busting!" Caitlyn was enjoying a couple of Barbie movies downstairs with me and the other two were fishing with DH, so.....!

Yeah...*GASP*! I KNOW! And sadly-----I STILL have some more to go! The basket has been emptied and everything nicely ironed and folded amongst the stash. The fat-quarter bin has moved into its 2nd drawer! :0) And.......I CAN SEE THE FLOOR! Caitlyn even said..."Mom, why is it so clean in here?" *giggle!*

I don't know if I'll feel motivated to finish up the "tidying" tomorrow. No biggy, if not. BUT, I'm still thinking that rather than start the mystery (now), I want to cross off Oklahoma Backroads OR Scrappy Irish Chain off my WIP list.

OH! That just reminded me! I can write in my FIRST finish of 2009 (even though half of it was done in 2008.)

Okay---I suppose, time to pay some attention to DH (even though he's watching the FB game--it went to overtime!) Colts vs. Chargers: I'm not partial to either one more than the other.

Grrrrrrrr!!!! WHO is the math teacher?

Argh! I need a TIMEOUT! Good thing it's time for lunch so I had a reason to leave the machine!

The morning was running smoothly ONCE I finally logged off and got to work. The girls were preoccupied with cartoons when I headed downstairs, so I was able to piece all sections together AND fill in the missing quilted sections all rather quickly. Moving to the borders, I started doing the math calculations......
the center was measuring JUST over 74", so I figured 74" as the finished center. Since each of the 4-patch pieces are 3", I figured 25 per side (25 x 3" = 75"), and a black corner stone to finish it off. So, since each side needed to be 75", I cut 1.5" strips so I could have my 1 inch border needed.........

The first border strips were being put on when Candace decided to join me, playing "TENT" with the quilt under the table. A while later with all borders on (and the girls getting a bit antsy), I put Candace and Cassie to work. Cassie had the job of stacking the 4-patches into piles of 25 to see how many more I needed to piece. Would you believe that I had EXACTLY 100 4-patches??? The exact amount I needed......HA! Unbelievable!


Cassie helped me lay them out to make sure they were "randomly" placed without duplicate colors next to each other. As she completed the first side's layout, I took them to the machine while she worked on the others......

lalalalala.....give or take----15 minutes later I was laying them along the edges of the quilt....
and...

ummm....

*scratching head*...

WHY are they NOT fitting?!?!?!?! I'm about 2" inches OFF?!?!? Huh????


Okay.....now go back and reread.....
the center was measuring JUST over 74", so I figured 74" as the finished center. Since each of the 4-patch pieces are 3", I figured 25 per side (25 x 3" = 75"), and a black corner stone to finish it off. So, since each side needed to be 75", I cut 1.5" strips so I could have my 1 inch border needed.........

Do YOU see my mistake!?!?!!?!?
Once it finally sunk in to my head WHAT I did!?!!?! UGH! I only needed 1 inch TOTAL as "inner border", which means I SHOULD have divided that amount in half to be EACH side border! GOSH!
However, knowing now what those measurements needed to be, I would NOT have made a border that small.....so.......

I'll "fix" it up by adding (or removing?) whatever amount I need in 4-patches........AFTER lunch and AFTER I've simmered down....

*shaking head*...
((Chuckling))

Live, sew, and learn........

2008 Project Rundown

Okay---here's MY 2008 Project rundown, in no particular order. I had only listed 21 "quilts" on the sidebar in 2008, however not all of them were quilts, so this run down is the majority of my quilts AND projects completed. Note: For those that are in the "older quilter magazines" I will update this information when I come across them again.


Carolina Crossroads: Bonnie Hunter designed mystery--gifted to my mother: Mother's Day 2008
Cathy's Aunt Sukey: Marti Mitchel designed (Quiltmaker Jan/Feb '08)--gifted to Cathy Sutarik: 60th Birthday
Cassie's 30's quilt: blocks inspired by Keepsake Quilting catalog--gifted to Cassie
Around the Raggedy World: Self designed--snuggly at the Farm
Out of this World -- gifted to Andre Todd C'mas 2008
Andrea's Garden: Andrea Miranda (student) designed: hanging in classroom


Christmas Stockings: Self designed -- gifted to Patti Naglosky C'mas 2008
Storm at Sea: design in old magazine -- gifted to Derek Berquist C'mas 2008
Fun with Bricks: Bonnie Hunter designed -- gifted to Jen Keding Thanksgiving 2008
My Blue Heaven: block design found at Quilt Blocks Galore -- gifted to Isaac Todd C'mas 2008
Family Gems: block design in old magazine -- gifted to Jan Todd C'mas 2008
Wonky Nines -- gifted to Masha Todd C'mas 2008


Orange Crush: Bonnie Hunter designed mystery -- self owned! :0)
Old Tobacco Roads: Bonnie Hunter designed mystery -- gifted to Ron Keding C'mas 2008
Baby Boy Rag - Baseball: Self designed -- donated to Zion Lutheran Church, Stratford, Wis
Countryview Camo: Self designed -- gifted to Scot Boutwell C'mas 2008
Spinning Rails: Self designed -- no owner (yet)
Stars-n-Stripes: design found in old magazine -- gifted to Nub (stepdad), Retirement 2008


Zion's Year of the Bible: Blocks made by Zion Lutheran Church congregation; donated to ZLC
Hearts of Kharma: Kit given to me by Kim Waak (coworker); gifted 2x3 to Kim, kept 3x3
Christmas Trees: design found in old magazine -- kept for self
G'ma Vollert's Tablecloth: Stitched by G'ma Vollert, quilting done by me
Lazy Days Tote: Published by AllPeopleQuilt.com-- gifted to self (sewing bag); gifted another to Angela (Soscrappy) as Give-away gift
Tablerunners: sandwiched by MIL; quilting done by me.

One more day, maybe? Cathedral Stars...

Morning everyone! Up bright and early today--couldn't sleep anymore after 5:00, so rolled out of bed at 5:15, made some muffins and coffee, logged in and read all the latest Quiltville posts, and am finally loggin in to update the blog with yesterdays' Cathedral Stars progress.

I started the day by sandwiching the corner pieces, so I could get the quilting rolling! I don't really know how long it took me; I just threw in a movie (umm.....I "watched" so many today, I can't remember all of them, but some titles were "Legend" (OLD Tom Cruise movie), "Ice Age," "Happy Feet," "Matrix," Devil's Advocate", "Constantine.") Hmpf.....I didn't realize how many Keanu Reeves movies I had! I also have "Lake House" (THE BEST chick flick ever, BTW).......

Anyway.....there were a few quilting "gaps" that I needed to correct from yesterday (er---Wednesday!). A few of the 4-patches didn't have the swirly quilting because I wasn't sure what I was going to do with some of them as they neared the border, but...that was solved once I laid the top corner and the middle section together and "studied" the patterns. Around lunch time, I had the top and middle sections MOSTLY complete, with only the outer black triangles to go yet. So, after lunch, I browsed through some quilting magazines to see if I could find a quilting motif. Ya know....Quiltmaker is one of the BEST magazines when it comes to sharing quilting motifs. Just about everyone of them has motifs printed that can be traced instead of JUST the "quilting placement diagram" that does us NO GOOD if we don't actually have the motifs. Duh, right?

Anyway----I found TWO that when put together worked nicely. Then the next hour consisted of figuring out how to get the design onto the fabric. In the past, I have used an X-acto knife with some of that quilter's template material. But that is SUCH a pain in the butt! Not only is it difficult to trace/cut curves with an X-acto knife, but then I had always used some quilter's pens to trace/copy those designs to the quilt top. Ugh! Tedious!

Brainstorm----I traced the patterns onto the template material. Then, I installed a size 90 needle into the machine (I NEVER use needles that big, but I had a "sample" from when I bought the machine.) And I punched holes into the template material, kinda like dot-to-dot.


I have read in a few different places about the "pounce" idea -- well, the HOMEMADE pounce ideas, anyway. In one of Grandma's quilting books, the lady suggested using cinnimon (how DO you spell that??? I keep getting the red-squigglies-of-death) or cornstarch, depending on the color of fabric. In a recent quilting magazine, a reader wrote in this little tip: "Cut a circle/square of fabric about 4 inches and fill with cornstarch; tie up together to be used as a pounce."

Well, I didn't use the fabric pounce, I simply sprinkled the powder on the template and rubbed it in the holes. Also, I only had a small bit of corn starch left, so, what else does a mother have on hand? Baby powder.

It worked beautifully! And SO MUCH quicker than any other method I had been thinking of.

So, then......once I had the corners marked, I started quilting away using the Jewel toned verigated thread. (Okay...there's another word that I have to practice spelling because I have the red squiggle yelling at me again!) However, once I had the first triangle completed, I didn't like how it looked! The yellow part of the thread stood out SO MUCH compared to the rest, and well....it just didn't look that great to me. So.....RIP! Then....I figured RED to bring out the red from the HST, but that was just TOO BOLD! RIP!.......It would have been nice to have had a rich burgandy thread, but I only had bright red---*shudder!* So...back to my thread stash.

In the end, I chose a medium blue that blends nicely, yet is light enough to appreciate the pattern. At 9:50pm, I finally packed up for the day----off-n-on, I put in probably 10 hours today (yesterday.) WOW!



At this point, I have the top and middle section completely quilted and pieced together. I had to muscle the joined quilt under the machine to fill in some swirly quilting to keep the quilting uniform once the sections were brought together. It wasn't too bad! The bottom corner piece is ALL quilted, and will be joined to the main body today (Friday). I'll need to fill in the quilting gaps once joined, but then I'll be done with the majority of the quilting. Next---borders. I'm planning a 2" red border, followed by a pieced-border using the UMPTEEN bazillion left over 4-patches I have. I got a little gung-ho sewing them and have just about enough to make a pieced-border. I just have to whip out 4 more, I think, to finish it.

So.....there ya go.
Happy Friday!

RIngin' in the New Year...

Other than the USA time zones, just about everyone has rung in the New Year already. Angela (soscrappy) is half an hour away (Julie---you too???); I am one-n-a-half hours away; Andi (The Modern Diary) is 2- OR 3 1/2 hours away. (Arizona and New Mexico time zones always confuse me---I know one never changes, but the other does.

Anyway...Angela wrote her post tonight laying out some of her New Year's Goals and Resolutions. (Yes, Angela! I have read it, I'll get around to commenting tomorrow) I had already been thinking about some goals (also) while putzin' in my quilting room tonight. However, those will be mentioned a bit later. First, a catch up on the day.

I awoke at 6:15am with my alarm, and went "NOPE!" and put my head back down. DH had his turn with the nasty lil' bug throughout the night, and I am a VERY light sleeper, so ..... everytime he got out of bed, I awoke as well. So, by 7:30, I finally drug myself out of bed just because I KNEW today was a day to accomplish a lot! I scheduled daycare for the day for ALL THREE GIRLS; I had the days to blow yet before the year ended---nothing like saving it for the last day. So....yada, yada, breakfast, dressed, driven, and I was back at home, ready to tackle Cathedral Stars by 9:00. It took me all day (with a 2 hour grocery & other shopping break mixed in), but I have the middle section quilted. I putzed this morning (boy...I must like that word---I say it a lot) with how I was going to actually quilt it all. I decided on vertical stitch-in-ditch lines with red thread, splitting the red/black HST; I used a decorative stitch 1/4 inch inside the white triangles using white thread; I used a swirly-vertical-loop using "jewel-toned" verigated (sp?) thread. DH and I decided NOT to visit families this weekend after all, so I am going to relax on my original deadline a bit. However, I HAVE set a goal that I finish Cathedral Stars before starting Bonnie's new mystery.

Oh yes, which, BTW, I HAD completely decided that I WAS NOT going to take part in. Seriously---when I went downstairs tonight, I started digging through my stash, which then turned into cleaning, organizing, and ATTEMPTING to find fabrics from my stash that would "fit the bill." (Pictures coming shortly to show the disaster area my Quilting "studio?" has turned in to. HOWEVER, I am proud of my newly created "Fat Quarter" bin....really...look....

Anyway, but 7:00pm, I had finally decided: I was NOT going to take part in the mystery. I couldn't find any brown in the amount requested---I had 1 yard cuts, but no 1 1/2 cuts. I had a few FQ's that I could put together as "scrappy" browns, but....well....I'll admit....there is a collection of browns/pinks/lights that are in this FQ drawer that I'm having a hard time digging in to.....YET. I'm still waiting on a perfect pattern.

Anyway----ironing, folding, restacking commenced, which is when I started thinking of 2009 goals.

OH WAIT!!!! 10:59 for me........3 - 2 - 1 --- HAPPY NEW YEAR ANGELA, CANDACE, and all others in the Eastern Time zone.....


Anyway---so, one of my goals (HA!!! We'll see if it happens!!!) is to FINALLY try to make sense of my chaotic sewing room. WOW! It is ALMOST 1 full year since I threw the room together downstairs; turning it from the "collector-of-all-excess-house-"junk"" to my "make-shift" sewing room. I don't think it'll ever have "real walls," which is fine by me, BUT I do want to make good use of the space as well as have ALL my stash nice and neat and organized.

Yeah.....well......then.....after finding a basket of non-ironed, but washed, fabric.........I think it was "Someone's" way of saying, "Amy, you MUST take part in Bonnie's mystery." Because......there IT was. A beautiful, 2 YARDS WORTH of brown with tiny pink diamonds. I don't remember buying it, have no idea how long it's been in the basket WAITING to be ironed (probably since about June!!!---Remember that post???---I just spent 5 minutes trying to find it, but I give up---it must have been BEFORE June!)

So, yup.....here are the colors that will be used for the Double Delight Mystery ONCE I start it. I MUST finish the Cathedral Stars FIRST before I dive into this one. I MUST be disciplined enough!!! (oooohhhh...but it's SO HARD NOT to start a fun, new, exciting project at the same time everyone else is!!!!) But check out that Shopko fabric price ticket! Please recall that I have only been in "serious-obsessed-quilting" mode for about a year and half, once I inherited my Grandmother's stash. Well, CLEARLY this baby is from her stash---I can't even remember when Shopko sold fabric!!! I was a kid, for sure, and that's 20-30 years ago!

Okay, OTHER 2009 goals
1) OF COURSE, running must be discussed. I hope to get my butt in gear starting TOMORROW to workout (running, weights) at least 20 minutes everyday (excluding ONE day/week--most likely Sundays) to get myself back into training shape. By February 1st, I hope to start training for a Half-marathon in May; and beyond that, I still hope for PR's in all my races. My years are starting to tick away, so I won't have much longer anymore to MAKE those PR's!

2) OF COURSE, quilting must also be discussed. I'll admit that I'm going to take this one right from Angela; I have 10 WIPs/UFOs listed; I hope to tackle one of those a month in addition to other "surprises/projects" that will come along. Other than that, I just hope to keep turning out projects to have people enjoy, whether they be someone I know or as given as donation/charity quilts.

Having said that, I already know 2 quilts that need to be made in 2009. Julie, (my runny buddy gone astray) was home visiting her family and stopped in at the house tonight to give some C'mas gifts to the girls. I showed her the Cathedral Stars, and she brought up the "blue quilt" yet again and how she was going to steal it from me..... This "blue quilt" that I call Scrappy Hearts - Blue was made years ago before I really was obsessed with quilting. It is only tied-not quilted. The HSTs NOR squares line up AT ALL! ; the backing is torn in 2 different spots. Yet, everytime she is at the house, she HAS to mention it and threaten that she is going to steal it away. It's MY baby; in fact, I'm wrapped up with it on my lap as I type-----So, yes....I HAVE to make a lap quilt for her similar to this one.

Also, her sister, Nikki, has taken over as our family babysitter (ever since Julie went off to school). Nikki graduates this year, so it's a GIVEN that a Graduation Quilt will be made. I have a beautiful pattern picked out---it's more perfect for a wedding, but still beautiful! I'm not completely decided on that pattern yet, or not, so.....hmmm.....an idea JUST came to me! Maybe this DoubleDelight mystery could work for one of them....

So, how am I ringin' in the New Year? ....

Bloggin'; wrapped up in a quilt,; rockin' in my glider while DH flips through stations on the TV. It really can't get much better than this relaxed life----unless, of course, if I could get off my butt for a brief moment to make some lemon-flavored Green Tea.

14 minutes left for me. This post took some time to type up; I was disturbed for a few moments, though, when DH snuck up on me (well...TRIED to....!) He had been resting on the couch since 7:00, fell asleep, and when I came up at 10:00, I found him all tucked in and cuddled up in bed already. How romantic, huh?? :0) Then, he stirred....I HEARD him even though he INSISTS he scared me by sneaking up! Come on, dear! You're talking to a TEACHER here! We have EARS like a Hawk has eyes!

Alright---I suppose I can go cuddle up with DH! (giggle)

Happy New Year everyone! May 2009 bring much joy and lots of life for you!

The world is still good (Post 172!)

First of all, wow! Post #172 already!

Second of all, I am finally feeling MUCH better. Tummy muscles are still a bit sore -- at least one good thing about vomiting: the stomach muscles get a good workout! *chuckle*

Thirdly, the world is still good regardless of all the "ick" that shows up in the news. I am watching the 6:00 news, and there was just a story that brought me to tears! We get news from the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN). There was a large apartment fire; HUGE apartment complex, in Burnsville, MN. Everything is gone, burned to the ground. I guess living in a town called Burnsville might bring on some irony here.... But all kidding-ness aside, one lady was interviewed, and the background caught my attention. The lighting and colors made me think of a Quilt Shop, and sure enough, it was. She was giving herself some "therapy" from the ordeal by shopping her LQS. The story continued by sharing her passion for quilting and the loss of some dear quilts in the fire, as well as all her quilting supplies. One of her quilts remain, however, because it is on display at the shop. The story closed by showing her trying out some of the shop's machines so she could get back to her hobby (she has moved into her boyfriend's apartment); and the Shop owner brought out a Bernina 440QE. The machine was gifted to her, and it completely brought herself (AND ME!) to tears!

Happy Tuesday night!

Ugh---The bug showed it's ugly face!

Yup--it WAS inevitable!

I know all of you were hoping for me NOT to end up with the bug, but come on.....after playing nurse to three vomiting girls for the past week, there was NO WAY of avoiding this beast!
Ugh--I promise not to whine and moan too much, but I simply can not STAND that ewwy nausea feeling! It's been a night of tossing & turning & moaning & ......well, ....... visiting our bathroom on more than one occasion. I can't even really tell you if I slept at all.


I know different parts of the world have different "remedies" for soothing ill individuals and getting them back on their feet. I grew up with sipping on "Sprite" or "7up." Both are clear carbonated drinks; lemon/lime flavored. Most people say to avoid Coca-cola or other "dark" sodas, however, there was one time when I drank some Coke and I felt better very shortly after that. I suppose that makes a bit of sense since there have been documentaries on Coke "eating through" an American penny and different types of metals. What bug would stand a chance? We have some 7up on hand because of the past week, thank goodness! Typically, we don't have soda in the house---gosh! I'm gonna be one of "those moms" that never allows her children to drink pop! *chuckle* Nahhh....it's just too expensive, and my girls would rather drink Milk or water.

Anyway, so today will be a lounging day. The Cathedral Stars is almost ready for quilting. Backing was pieced last night before wrapping up at 9:00. When I came upstairs, DH was amazed I had called it an "early night." I wasn't feeling well already; tired and drained. I guess my body was already preparing for what was coming.

I have had some wonderful response to my Quilter's Block request. I will spend some time this morning playing around with drawings in a notebook as well as some research online for some motifs. IF I finally find myself with some energy and not feeling I need to stay curled up in the fetal position, I'll make my way downstairs to put the sandwiches together.

I think there will definitely be a much needed nap coming later, too.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Cathedral Stars---"Quilter's block"

We all know about "writer's block," but I am now faced with "quilter's block." I am working on putting the diagonals together and started brain-storming about how to quilt it. I am stumped---flat out have NO IDEA how to quilt it.

I only know that I'll be quilting this in 3 sections---one upper corner (that you see pictured top left), one lower corner that will be the same size as the upper, and a middle diagonal section that is 3 diagonals wide.

I'm hoping some of you may have some tips/ideas for me so that by the time I get the diagonals sewn and the 3 pieces sandwiched, I can start quilting away and finish this baby in time to start Bonnie's DD New Years Mystery. Perhaps some of you know some sites that have different quilting designs on them that you could share with me?

THANKS for any suggestions!

(Note: You can click on the picture to enlarge it)