Monday, September 14, 2009

Design Wall Monday!!

Okay, I am still working on the border of the Goose quilt. Here is a pic of it laying on my bed while I was trying to get measurements. I did not know the cat was in the house, and when I came back to measure, look what I found!!
I had to take a picture! I have tried to keep the dogs (and their fur!!) out of my room, and I have been so careful to keep them away from my stuff!! lol!! yeah, that worked out well didn't it!! I mean, it was only on my bed a few minutes when he came and streched himself out on it...

So, I do have the red border on, and one of the side pieced borders - and the rest ready to be put on. The one I have not figured out yet, is the last 5" border and binding.... but I will. this one is almost a done top!!


This weeks project is to put borders on my Dissappearing 9 Patch.
And this is one of the quilts I found in one of the books I was looking through the other night. I like it. And I found myself starting to look for browns (something I don't really have alot of, but it is becoming more common!!). So, I have a tiny collection.
Then I went to my guild meeting.
One of the members has given a challenge to the group. A one-coloured quilt. NO other colour allowed. Only your choosen colour. And it is to be done completly by June - our year end party meeting. I wounderd what I would do?? My guild blks are already being done in one colour (blue) but it has alot of other colours throught out it, so that is out. Hmmmm, then it hits me!! Helllllooooo!!! Do the square quilt!! why not!?!? Not in the browns (some of my fabrics already have other colours in them), but in Blues!!! Do I have enough of a variety??? I had won a fun bingo game a couple years ago, and I got alot of FQ's as the prize!! Which counts for most of my stash!! And so I pulled out my plastic containers of my FQ's (trying to organize them!! good luck with that!! lol!!) and I have blues!! Dark blues, light blues, medium blues and blues in between!!! Whoooo Hoooo!!! I am in the challage!! And I will do it while working on the projects I want done!!! This 'new' quilt will be sewn as leader/enders while I work on my regular projects!!! Oh yeah!!! I rock!!!!! AND, I just might throw in the brown one while I'm at it - two for the time of one, or should I say, three, considering they will be done between the 'real' quilts!!!!
So, this is my weeks design wall plan. Goose will be done!!! D9P will have a border, and my challenge quilt will be worked on!
Excellant!!! (and once I learn to make beans from scratch - tried a recipe yesterday, and the beans are a little 'stiff'!! lol!! I will have this domestic stuff licked!! Rule #1, don't rush the soaking time!!) So, I will be trying my recipe again, and my family will be able to eat while I work on my quilting goals so my design wall will have something new to show next week!!!!
bye!!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

My Guild Meeting is Tonight!!

Tonight is the first meeting of the 'new' year for my guild. Today is the first day of the shop hop I love to go on, but I think I am missing it this year..... Okay, I've missed it before. The one thing I was very happy to see is a shop, that has not been included for the past couple years is in again this year!! Maybe I will find a way to go.......


And all the shops around my area have all their new class list posted - either by mail, email or on their web sites!! I have found a couple I want to learn a bit more about, but not today.. today I am fighting with the blks for the pieced border. So, I am, again, on a 'coffee' break!! Even went and had a shower. Have to get ready for tonight you know. ;-)


But, I have pulled out the top and layed it on my bed. No, the red border is not on it yet - that is why the center is all layed out. So I can measure and start on it. Another avoiding measure I have come up with. The problem?? The blks, one piece is not the right measurement when cut. It's the 4 7/8" measurement. I think it should just be cut at 5" and call it good. You can always cut it down, but you can't add anything on!!


And, I am not only a bit short on most of the pieces, but one of the fabric, I cut it even a bit smaller!!! aaaahhhh!!! Instead of the 4 7/8th measure, I cut it 4 3/4"!!! I am doing my best to just keep working on it, but all this fussyness, and making sure I have something to sew - on some pieces, I am defintly not using a 1/4" seam - so those places got backstiched alot as I sewed it down......... I keep telling myself, it's going to be fine and work, but I do stop alot to breathe for minute or two, and I leave the room, before I go back to keep on sewing this together!! This sewing thing normally 'takes me away'........ ( picture floating on air and just enjoying being in the sunshine and feeling so good that you just don't want to stop.......) then get hit with a pattern where it's not going together right.... *grrrrrrr* (smiles!!!) I have been enjoying this mystery since I started it oh so long ago, and it's been alot of fun to do. So, I will finish it (and get it quilted and bound too!!!!) and then I will have a project done in less than one year!!! Oh now wouldn't that be fun!! And I keep making little notes on my pattern page - so when I want to do it again, or someone wants to try it, they won't be stressing like I am.


And I did a bad thing last night - I pulled out few of my books to look through..... and wouldn't you know - I found something, or two, or three, or.... oh boy, not good!!! But oh so much fun!!!


I have found a quilt in "Coffee Times Quilts" by Cathy Wierzbicki, a few tops that I just love. And when I was looking for a link, I read that this book is out of print!! I am so glad I have mine.
This is one of the quilts tops I've made from this book. And there are a few more that I think are beautiful. This one was just for fun!! And I enjoyed making it and still really like it!!

And another book - "Home for the Holidays" by Lynda Milligan & Nancy Smith has a couple things that caught my eye last night.

Well, thanks for sharing my coffee break with me, and now I will get back to the grind stone and get this border done before I have to go to my meeting tonight!!

And now I have more plans to stop myself from starting!!! Oh good trouble is heading my way!!!

Monday, September 7, 2009

Design Wall Monday!!

I have realized I am not a writer!! I re-read yesterdays post and, well, it doesn't make much sense when I am talking about what my design wall plans are. So, here is the right way to say what I am doing.

I am planning on working on the Goose blks. The goose blk pattern has a solid border, then it has a pieced border. I need to sew on the red solid border, then work on the pieced border. Not "get on the border then work on the border blk" !!! What!?!? You wouldn't know what I ment!! I barely knew what I ment and I wrote it!!! lol!!!


Here are some of the blks. I have had fun with this project - And it's going to be so nice to have it done with the borders on, So this is my project this week - plus the binding on my daughters quilt!! I am over half way done with it - and I have been thinking, I should learn how to do it with the machine!!! But there is a part of me that likes this last step. Sitting there, quilt all over me keeping me warm, sometimes a little to warm!! And just sewing the binding down so it looks like it's part of the material - practice my handsewing skills!! This is why I sometimes wounder if I would like to hand sew pieces for a quilt..... then I shake my head and that thought is gone!!!!

The one thing I do have to learn though, and it's another reason I don't get these things finished - is how to wash them. They are not like the blankets I buy at the store and can stuff in the macine and let it go. No, these need to be handled a little differently, and well, I don't much like fussy.........

Anyways, I am going to go and get busy cutting out the fabrics for the border blks I need to work on. For anyone who watches "The View" - I love to start my day with this show!! Tomorrow they are back!! So, I can again start my day with a laugh. When I get my job, I am going to miss this part of my day!!!

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Bonnie's Mystery - Step Two - DONE!!

Here they are!! Ilike them!!!


I really like the gold star ones. So, now it's off to work on the binding on my daughters quilt. I wanted to be done these blks by 4 o'clock and here they are!! Now to think of what is my project for my design wall. I am thinking it's going to be the goose blks - get on the border then work on the border blks and have this project finished this week. It's a plan and I think it's a good one!!

Stash Busting Week 36

Stash - 180 3/4 yrds

Old Stash Counted- 5 1/2 yds

F.A.Y.T.D. - 25 1/2 yrds

Fabric Used - (13 1/4 yrds) the reason I have this in brackets is because it's what I used last week, but I didn't do a proper report last week, so I have here, reported the way I usually do!!

New Stash Total - 173 yrds



I am having a great week!! I am back to my sewing room, sewing!!! Bonnie Huners mystery, the second step is almost half way done and the best thing I did this yesterday was, pull out my daughters quilt that I made for her 2 years ago. It only needed binding - and I put it away because I was not 100% sure what I was doing..... this spring I pulled it out of hiding and sewed the binding on. And put it away again...... Yesterday, after working on step 2 blks, with my daughers music playing to loud for me to handle much longer, I left my sewing room (we share a wall, and I remember being a kid!!! So, I just went somewhere else for a bit!!) I pulled out the quilt.... I sat and sewed 1 1/2 sides of binding on!!!

As I am working on it - it's a queen size quilt - I woundered why I took so long to do this. I did not beat myself up about it though. I was just woundering. And one of the answers is, she painted her room all back - walls and ceiling - with purple trim.

This quilt is done in browns. It's a log cabin with a heart in the middle - yes, I will get a picture on here once I have it bound. I just went looking for one that I know I already have, and I don't know where it is.

And so I just put it away till the time was right. Two years is to much!! Then, I had people tell me they would help me with putting the binding on. And everytime they would say it, I felt really tense about it. I did not want help!! This is my second 'real' quilt. The first one was for my 1st baby - a trip around the world and I had alot of fun. This one is for my second baby - and I want to do it all myself. Yeah, it's taken me alot longer than I wanted it too, but I am on my way to having it finished. And it feels good!!



So this is my report for today!!! Off to see what everyone else is up to at Judy's.







Thursday, September 3, 2009

Bonnie's Mystery - Step One - DONE!!

I did all the cutting and sewing and ironing and - OH!! - ah, uh, well, pressing. (remember, we don't iron.......)
I did the pressing!! Kept working at them and I think they look good.
My black fabric, the one with the candy cane hearts nice in these bocks. And the best part, picking my fabrics for this project, I thought I wouldn't have enough - well, it turns out - I had some left over!!! yeah!!! And now my blks are ready for step two!!!

Here are my blocks so far:
Here is everyone together on my wall.

These are some of the 4 patch bocks.

My gold and black blks.



And the last step of part one, my green blks.