Bobbi's Quilting Nest

Snow-Kissed Star quilt

2011-10-19T11:52:00.000-07:00

When the recent McCall's Quilting magazine came in the mail I decided to make the quilt pictured on the cover, and so got to work. It went together fairly quick, using mostly jelly roll strips and some yardage.

Snow-Kissed Star

This shows a close-up of the quilting, a pantograph called Dragon's Breath, okay not the prettiest name, but it is a pretty design.

Getting off the fast track

2011-10-11T03:20:00.000-07:00

When I took on a part time job in January, in addition to my longarm quilting business, I thought that I would have no problem managing both. Just wanting a little extra money to attack some bills and have some treats now and then...then the hours got to be more and more...and I got stressed and stressed. My longarm business was getting harder and harder to manage, especially this time of year when people want quilts finished for Christmas. The worst part was that it left me no time at all for my own quilting, which if you are a quilter you know can be very therapeutic. So this past Saturday was my last day. I still find myself all revved up in the morning thinking that I have to rush as usual to fit everything in my day, and then I realize that I only need to focus on the longarm quilting. It is wonderful.

Happy Easter!!

2011-04-23T04:14:00.000-07:00

Over a month ago since I posted last, that is shameful. But the truth is I am unbelievably busy these days and will be for about another 3 weeks. I've been busy working my part time job and busy quilting full time which leaves little time for much else. Hubby still wants an occasional dinnner on the table, then there's the laundry, grocery shopping, vet appointments and pet chores, a quick cleaning here and there, well you all know the drill. Needless to day my own fun quilting has been a thing of the past.

I have been dreaming and yearning as to what project I could do when all of my other committments have been fulfilled. Hummm there are so many I want to do. But I am going to think about it, and maybe it will help speed up the rest of my obligations until I am caught up for a bit.

With a trip to Alaska looming in the horizon I am trying to finish up a multitude of have to's. Why am I going to Alaska? because my son and his wife are going to have a baby, which will be my first grandchild, and it's a boy. Do I have his quilt finished yet? No, the fabric is still sitting in a bag just like it came from the store, last november...yes last november. Shameful, just shameful. This is not one of those have to's it is one for pleasure but I feel like I must get all of the other customer quilts finished before I can treat myself to get going on the baby quilt.

Desk purchased for studio

2011-03-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

I did find a desk at Goodwill, but not the one I talked about before. It is another desk that I found at a Goodwill store in another city. It's white which is great because it matches the white laminated cubbies I already have. Though I am anxious to get going on re-organizing my desk area I am going to have to put it off. I have a whopper of a quilt I'm currently working on for a customer and it is taking up all of my time. But it's nice to know that I have my little desk ready when I'm ready...I don't have to paint this one...yeah!

Some changes in the studio?

2011-03-16T05:13:00.000-07:00

About 14 months ago I had a professional organizer help me with my studio and personal sewing room, 2 rooms that badly needed an overhaul. The sewing room is not seen by my customers and I don't worry about it as much, and truthfully I spend way more time in the studio where my longarm machine is. At the time we reorganized, I got rid of a mammoth oversized desk and went for a more streamlined look. Lots of cubbies, but what turned out to be over time, not much surface space for my laptop and writing space. I spent just under $200 on all the "units", but I want a real desk back. I found one at our local Goodwill that I really like. It's ugly, from the 60"s with tapered legs, but structurally sound. It has 5 drawers and will fit in my space with room to spare. I was going to paint it anyway, so surface marks didn't matter. The cost? $25.99, not too bad. So I'm brainstorming in my head, doing a lot of thnking and wondering if this desk I'm considering will really meet my needs. It's not so much the cost, but the time it will take to get it painted when I'm already pressed for time these days...and yet my current arrangement is beginning to get on my nerves as well. Decisions, Decisions...I do have a couple more places I want to look but I keep picturing the desk in my studio...

Clipping Coupons? Menu Service?

2011-02-25T04:10:00.000-08:00

When the kids were growing up I could never kee up with the coupons from Sunday's paper, or using the coupons for that matter, it always seemed that it was more bother than it was worth. Our local Sunday paper leaves much to be desired and besides, I"d rather be quilting than clipping coupons.

But several years ago I became a fan of e-mealz a subscription menu service catering to just two people or an entire family. It features not only different types of dietary considerations, but also what store you do your food shopping at. With just my hubby and I, we chose the meals for two, and this year I decided to go with the New Points System (Weight Watchers). Although we have a Publix where I like to purchase meats, the general bulk of my shopping is from WalMart, and with e-mealz you have that option. The menus are planned around the local grocery flyers so that you can take advantage of the specials. Oh and did I mention that the grocery shopping list is already provided for you, just print it off and take it to the store....!!

It was through the e-mealz site that I discovered The Coupon Clippers a service that does the coupon clipping for you, charges a very nominal handling fee and mails your coupons out to you for the cost of a regular postage stamp. At this site you can browse through all kinds of coupons that you might not have come across in your Sunday paper supplement. I spend about $4.50 every 10 days or so with The Coupon Clippers, and from that collection of coupons I usually save between $25 -$50 on my grocery bill.

What's not to love?

A day just for me?

2011-02-18T04:17:00.000-08:00

Since the year began I hit the ground running, knowing that I'd be busy with work outside the home, and my own quilting business. Both are very satisfying jobs and the variety I see on a day to day basis is inspiring. But I do miss the occasional afternoon when I could sit down and piece a top just for me to mindlessly sew. Granted these quilts of mine are almost always donated to a local charity, but it has always been a relaxing time for me.

I need to figure out a way to work that time back into my schedule because I really miss it.

Still Alive

2011-02-17T08:15:00.000-08:00

Yes I am still alive, but very busy these days, and not much in the way of pictures to share. We are warming up here in the South and except for a few colder days forcasted I think we are out of the winter and into spring. Gotta love it.

Green Bay Packers

2011-02-07T14:48:00.000-08:00

I am a huge Green Bay Packer fan being from Wisconsin. Yesterday's Super Bowl win was just the best! I'm so happy for them and what they've accomplished this year. GO PACK!!!

Thursday, a catch-up day

2011-02-03T03:03:00.000-08:00

As most of the midwest and east is shovelling snow, we are just cold and rainy. I remember those blizzards quite well, and though I miss snow, I don't miss those blizzards and treacherous roads. I remember watching the weather reports of threatening winter storms. I remember the trips to the grocery store to stock up on essentials, knowing that we'd be hunkered down for days.

Here in the South, we do the same for Hurricane season. Stock up, be prepared. Watch and wait, and hope for the best.

Today is a catch-up day for me. It's been an incredibly hectic week and I just want to take the day to regroup, but that won't happen. Too many chores, and errands to run, but I hope to save some time today for a moment to sip a nice cup of hot cocoa and remember all the snowy days of years' past that we endured.

Today, a day to regroup

2011-01-30T05:10:00.000-08:00

Life can get hectic that's for sure. I've been busy working on customer quilts, and this is a peek of the latest I've done.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to try something I'd seen on my Gammill Group on Yahoo, it's just two pieces of fleece, and I did wonky feathers by Pajama Quilter Dawn Ramirez

Today I have to get started on another quilt for a customer but I hope to have time to start on a rail fence quilt that I've been wanting to get to just for me. If I can just get the fabric ironed I'll be a happy camper.

Too many errands, too many tasks, not enough time in the day?

2011-01-28T03:16:00.000-08:00

It sure seems that way lately. I'm debating whether to go to water aerobics this morning. Of course I know I need to go, I know it would do me good, but I'm so tired I'd really like to just crawl back into bed. Today is already going to be busy enough, and tomorrow will start out that way as well. ugh! but you know once I'm in the water I'm always thankful that I made the effort...okay, all right, I'd better get ready...a quick banana and I'll be on my way to the Y.

I need to plan some "me" time this weekend. What do you like to do for "me" time?

Time to Post

2011-01-24T03:57:00.000-08:00

I have been extremly busy lately, and I find myself writing less and less on my blog. I have to make a better effort to do that with interesting stuff and more pictures. I have the next couple of days off from work, so I hope to catch up on all that is going by the wayside.

On another note, my team the Green Bay Packers, are going to the super bowl!!! Yeah!

Off to water aerobics

2011-01-21T03:29:00.000-08:00

I'm headed out to water aerobics and then I work today until 2pm. Also work tomorrow until 2pm. I finished a fleece quilt which I did wonky feathers on, inspired by The Pajama Quilter. Hope to get to a customer quilt later today.

Looking at my stash recently I think I am finally ready to start getting rid of stuff. Love the Sew Its For Sale yahoo group, and Fling It All from Stashbuster.

This coming Sunday is a big football game, at least to me anyway. The Packers vs The Bears! I'm a Packer Fan being from Wisconsin, and the Packers and Bears have always been big rivals. I can't wait.

Oh how sweet

2011-01-15T08:23:00.000-08:00

This is one of my customer's quilts that I finished. The pantograph pattern is called Curly Hearts. Just a sweet quilt all pink and pretty and now filled with pretty hearts.

Finally a quilty picture

2011-01-15T07:02:00.000-08:00

I've been working on getting some quilts ready to send out for the Returning Warriors Workshop in the Pensacola area. So here is one of the string quilts which was sent to me from Heartstrings Quilt Project.

In all I will be sending a total of 3 quilts to them, 2 of which came from Heartstrings.

It's been cold here in the Deep South and a perfect weekend for sewing the binding on the last 2 of these quilts while watching the football playoffs. Perhaps a cup of hot chocolate is in order.

Looking forward to the weekend

2011-01-14T03:36:00.000-08:00

A busy day today, work from 9am to 2pm and then off to the vet with our chocolate lab, Jake since he is due for his yearly exam and shots.

Then it's the weekend! Hooray! I can finish the Heartstrings quilts and send them on to the Returning Warriors workshop contact person.

I don't know about your, but I love to sit and sew the bindings on a quilt. Especially when it's cold outside! Can't wait.

How time flies

2011-01-13T04:33:00.000-08:00

I kept thinking I need to post, but life has been hectic. It's also very cold here in the Deep South. Working out of the home and from home plus the cold weather, has me a bit run down, and now I have a good cold. Trying to get through one day at a time.

I am currently working on two string quilts from Heartstrings Quilt Project. They came from one of our members in Minnesota and I've been quilting them to go to the Returning Warriors Workshop for the Pensacola area.

Information, please

2011-01-07T03:48:00.000-08:00

As you know I started working this week besides my quilting business, and I don't have a real schedule yet. I hope to get that taken care of today when I go in to work. It makes it hard to plan all of the other things I have going on. Isn't it amazing how one bit of information can affect one's life? And how everything links together? And isn't it difficult when there are unknowns? And how that affects everything we do? I like to have facts and information in front of me before I can function.

Not much time for posting

2011-01-03T05:35:00.000-08:00

My daughter arrived this morning, a long drive from Northern Missouri. I am starting my first day of work at Hancock Fabrics and I'll admit I'm a bit nervous, you know, like your first day of school...

I'm working on a customer quilt as well, and have a commission quilt going, needless to say it's going to be a busy week.

I did get the mystery quilt done from NYE, added two borders, but haven't had a chance to get a picture.

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T04:41:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it? Where did the year go? I am doing a NYE Mystery with QT Mystery Quilts but first I have to donate platelettes this am.

And I'm going to work on Monday, as in working for Hancock Fabrics. Yep, just kinda happened, and I will still be doing my longarm business. The Hancock job is part time so I should be okay after I get into a routine.

I will try and post my mystery quilt when I have a top.

The flannel quilt...

2010-12-28T11:24:00.000-08:00

A picture of the scrappy flannel quilt in wilderness prints. Nice and big at 78" by 90". Credit for the pattern goes to Prairie Designs called Stacked.

Yes I'm still alive

2010-12-28T07:15:00.000-08:00

The Holiday just sort of gobbled up the time, good as it was. I'm back to swimming in the wee hours of the morning and trying to get projects done. Currently I'm working on a dachshund dog quilt and that has been tedious with applique.

I did get my flannel quilt finished and I will post a picture shortly. It's very manly looking, and cuddly warm too. I'm not sure where it will wind up. The backing is actually a flannel sheet that I purchased at Goodwill, and of course it was used. But it just seemed to be the perfect backing for it. I will give it to one of my family members due to the fact that the backing isn't brand new.

But for now, it's off to do more dog quilty stuff.

Coming down the home stretch

2010-12-23T02:54:00.000-08:00

Christmas gifts have been bought, mailed and received. Christmas letters were mailed last week, the major components of Christmas dinner have been bought. Decorations, minimal but acceptable (less to put away later). One guest for Christmas dinner besides us so no stress there. Baking, I think not, we are both watching our weight.

So? Time to sew and not feel all stressed out about taking the time to do so. I am still working on the flannel quilt UFO that I've been trying to finish for so very long now. I have two more borders to do and then I can work on the backing. The backing is a flannel sheet that I got at a thrift shop a couple of years ago. It isn't the best match with the front, but at this point I don't care...remember this quilt is for the dogs. No really it IS for the dog's couch. Maybe I can get it on the longarm today.

Biting off more than I can chew

2010-12-22T03:36:00.000-08:00

Been working on a commission quilt with very slow progress. After doing myself in yesterday cutting out tiny applique pieces I think I deserve a day to myself to finish my flannel quilt (which is a UFO, the last to finish before my year end challenge with Stashbuster ). It just has to be a day for me. My body tells me when I've had enough, and it's screaming at me right now. Also, I need to finish some Linus quilts before our next meeting/sew-in. I also have a bunch of Heartstrings quilt tops that have been entrusted to me to quilt, and I have not had much time to get to. I think there is a theme here, which is: don't bite off more than you can chew.

The good thing is that it's just hubby and I for a quiet Christmas this year, no fuss with tons of company or big dinners...a prime rib roast in the smoker and a couple of sides and done.

Stitch-outs are finished

2010-12-18T12:19:00.000-08:00

I ended up doing 14 stitch-outs, here are some of them. A couple are variations off of a simple design. I finished putting the grommets on them this morning. I am working on a commission quilt today, I decided to wash some of the fabrics as they were reds, just never know about those and I'd hate to get them in a quilt and have them run. Next I have to iron all of them, yuck...but they are small pieces.

Beef stew is in the crock pot for tonight.

This & That & dreaming of snow

2010-12-17T05:46:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's only a week until Christmas Eve. Being a northern girl living in the deep south, it just doesn't feel quite like Christmas unless there is snow on the ground, or the hope of snow. Putting aside all of the perils of the white stuff, I have to admit I just love it. There is nothing better to me than watching the snow fall, or to see fresh snow glittering in the sunlight...a pot of soup or stew on the stove or in the crock pot, and yes, of course, colorful fabric scraps to sew & sew & sew....munching on cookies and sipping hot chocolate, ahhhh yes.

No snow, no hot chocolate or cookies, but a stir-fry for dinner and some sewing on the longarm...how does that sound? Well that's going to be today's plan. Remember I mentioned yesterday that I'd like to do some stitch outs of the Circle Lord templates? I looked over what I need and there will be quite a few, so with that in mind I decided to go with muslin. I know, not nearly as exciting, but will still serve the purpose. I have the muslin in the wash now. I have a customer picking up a quilt mid morning so while I'm waiting I hope to have the muslin on the machine and a few done before she comes. This should use up some batting scraps as well, so I'll be digging in the tubs shortly.

I've put aside my flannel quilt so that I can get the stitch outs done. I have some commission work to start on but I will get serious about that between Christmas and New Years.

A huge job done!

2010-12-16T13:10:00.000-08:00

It has taken me almost a week of working on and off, but I have finally re-organized all of my pantographs (patterns I use with my longarm machine). I'd already had a sample of each design in binders and then had alphabetized all the pantos into cubbies. But there were 6 to 7 in each cubbie and hard to keep straight, so...

I got some mailing tubes, put all of the pantos in numbered tubes which correspond to the number of the pattern in the binder. The binders are arranged by subject matter such as flowers, feathers etc. So that is done.

In addition I did a master sheet/spread sheet that lists the pantograph name, the number assigned and the theme. I sorted one alphabetically and one by theme. So I can quick look up the information on pantographs that are used often until I become familiar with the new system.

I also have giant templates from Circle Lord which are not in the binders. I have 8 of those so I'm thinking of doing a stitch-out for a sample of those. Maybe black fabric with a colorful thread.

I'm dragging today...

2010-12-15T08:41:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's guild meeting was nice and the luncheon was good. In the afternoon I tried out my new software for the quilt labels. They are from http://www.compuquilt.com/ and you use it in conjunction with word. It took me a while to get going with it, but I can say it's better than the old software I had. Never did get the wheels on my gammill, will have to save that for another day. I could use a nap, but today I've got laundry, and I've been working on some quilt labels. I like to print mine on muslin with the Bubble Jet stuff.

I am going to continue to work on the flannel quilt I am trying to finish called Stacked. It's ready for the design wall. I think that will do it for today.

Busy Tuesday

2010-12-14T06:15:00.000-08:00

Hit the pool at my usual time 5:45am. Got that workout in and headed home to get ready for our Guild's Christmas meeting and luncheon. Then this afternoon I am going to have hubbie help put on some new wheels for my Gammill, and I also got some software for making labels. I'll let you know how it all works out. I had an old HP label maker which I have fought with from day 1. In fairness to HP I am a computer dummy, but I had my husband try to navigate in the program and even he said it was not user friendly, oh and he used to work for HP hee hee. Anyway I will see how this new one works and I may have to eat my words and tell you that it's operator error.

Ready for the design wall

2010-12-12T03:24:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I completed 30 blocks which will go into the center of this quilt called Stacked by Prairie Designs. These blocks are going to finish at 12". I'm using flannel. There is going to be a solid brown flannel border and then a pieced outer border. It will be a nice twin size. The fabrics are from several older projects and very scrappy, no surprise there. Believe it or not this will be a covering for our couch. We have 3 dogs who use our couch, or should I say "their" couch!!

And a finish!

2010-12-10T08:41:00.000-08:00

Called Morning Frost by Sherri K Falls, published by This & That in the pattern booklet, Woodroses in Winter. What makes this one special to me is that the fabric was purchased in Fairbanks several years ago while visiting my son and his wife. Though the fabric could have been purchased anywhere, because it was purchased in Fairbanks makes it special to me.

I'm nearing the end of my customer comittments for this year and looking forward to some more quilting of my own, maybe even starting something new instead of trying to work on just UFO's.

Working on Linus Quilts

2010-12-08T07:06:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was another diversion but a nice one. I met with a group of ladies to work on Linus projects, shared a nice luncheon and fellowship, and came home refreshed.

Today it's back to work at the longarm. Since I am no longer accepting quilts for the remainder of the year, my load is getting lighter and I may have a chance at working on some of my own here soon. Never did get the Morning Frost top of mine done. Maybe this weekend???

I'm thinking of ordering new wheels for my longarm. Not that they are worn out, but things are ever-changing and being updated, and I'm all for making my life easier...so if the new and improved wheels can same me time and effort they are worth it.

And another bag

2010-12-06T10:40:00.000-08:00

Since I had leftovers from the first bag I made another smaller one. This one is from Crafty Bags by Cindy Taylor Oates.

This one is stuffed with 1/2 yard cuts for another gifty occasion coming up.

I'm still playing with the 4" squares and finding uses for them. Since I also have a good accumulation of 2.5" strips I was looking for a pattern that would use both. I remembered Bonnie Hunter's Crayon Box pattern on quiltville.com. Only thing was it uses 4.5" center squares in the block and mine are only 4". So yesterday I took some time to adjust the pattern. I decided to make a couple of practice blocks to be sure my calculations were right, and this is one of the blocks. It will finish at 11.5", still a decent size.

Done! Pinafore Bag

2010-12-05T02:38:00.000-08:00

Well I'm pleased with the way it turned out but it took me 8 hours from start to finish. I hope that if I were to make another it would go a little faster. That was a big chunk of time with everything else going on.

Pinafore Bag by Me and My Sister Designs

Diversions

2010-12-04T02:56:00.000-08:00

Shhh! It's for a gift coming up, kind of a last minute thing

So now you know what I'll be doing today. This pattern is called The Pinafore Bag by Me and My Sister Designs. It looks pretty straight forward, but I've made some bags that turn into trouble, so wish me luck.

Platelettes donation was a go

2010-12-03T11:58:00.000-08:00

Yep, was able to donate today, but no Zumba tomorrow, as per post donation instructions...well they didn't specifically say zumba, but they did say strenuous activity. I don't know about you but Zumba is pretty strenuous to me. It does give me some extra time to work on a quilt that I 'm not getting too much done on this afternoon.

got my nose to the grindstone

2010-12-03T06:01:00.000-08:00

I'm still here, just got really involved customer quilting the last few days. Today I've already been to water aerobics. I have an appointment with Life South to donate platelettes...at least I hope so. Last time I tried to donate my count was low and I gave whole blood instead. Yesterday I ran in so they could draw some blood to see if I my platelette count was up so I can donate today. Haven't heard back from them yet, I was told that the test takes a day to come back. So I can't really plan on much this morning. This afternoon I have another quilt to do, and then I hope that after Zumba tomorrow I can get my Morning Frost top quilted. It would be nice to sit and bind it on Sunday while watching football. We'll see how things actually go.

Morning Frost top completed

2010-12-01T11:10:00.000-08:00

Remember this quilt when it was just a pile of subunits? Finally it is a top. I hope to get it worked in with my quilting schedule soon. Pattern is from This & That, Sherri K Falls Woodroses in Winter.

A plan for those 4" squares?

2010-11-30T03:48:00.000-08:00

I was reading the Heartstrings Quilt Project blog a few moments ago. One of the ladies mentioned making and giving placemats to the people who deliver for Meals on Wheels. She went on to say that one of the men who delivered Meals gave the placemats to people whom he noticed did not have many visitors or family.

I got to thinking about those 4" squares that are sitting idle waiting to be called up for a purpose, and I do believe that I have found a mission for them in placemats for the home-bound.

I'm not sure how many I can whip up in time for distribution, but I am going to look into it.

Today however, I have customer needs to attend to, appointments and quilting to get done, and yes, a sewing room to put back together after cleaning the carpet.

Awhh! Look...

2010-11-29T18:55:00.000-08:00

BEFORE

AFTER

Progress!

2010-11-29T14:32:00.000-08:00

I was able to get the rest of the sewing room de-cluttered to the point that I decided to clean the carpet.
While it was drying I went to work on my Morning Frost quilt that has been sitting idle for oh so long! At this point the top is half finished.

Remember the silliness half square triangles that were leftover from my ohio star exchange blocks??...well I put those together and have decided it will be a mug rug. Maybe I can get it quilted and bound tomorrow. It's cute...

Not quite done yet..

2010-11-29T04:11:00.000-08:00

I really thought I'd have my sewing room all done and spanky clean by now, but it turned out to be more than I could handle yesterday. I got into the closets and those were a bigger challenge that I'd anticipated. Needless to say, I want to spend some time today finishing up. But I've got to say, I ache from head to toe. Note to self;, don't wait so long to tidy up, the more it goes unattended the worse it is to declutter. Maybe my new years resolution will be to spend 10 minutes at the end of each day to put away and tidy up.

I'm also going to list my UFO's on Stashbuster and send in my fat quarters for the upcoming year. That and the No buy challenge are what kept me out of big trouble this year, and I must do it all again for 2011.

Micro-organizing: newly found 4" squares, hummm?

2010-11-28T03:07:00.000-08:00

A while back I tried to organize my sewing room. A year or so ago it was ship-shape. My longarm machine is in my little longarm studio in another area of the house, but my personal sewing room is in a bedroom. Truth be told, it mainly holds fabric, but has work areas for cutting and sewing. I'm trying to get there once again. I spent most of yesterday putting items back where they belong.

My fabric is on shelving arranged by color. When I pull fabric out to audition it for a project, I can't seem to train my brain to put it back, nope it piles up until my workspace is covered. Then there is scrap control. You all know my passion is scrappy quilts, but it can be a time consuming task taming the scrap bin. When I'm cutting fabric for a quilt I usually am on the lookout for an opportunity to cut 2.5" strips, and if a leftover piece of fabric isn't that wide I'll cut a 2", but most of the time it goes in the string bin. I have more strings than I know what to do with, as a result I've have to bin them according to color families. Beyond the strips, I have what I call chunks, which are pieces of fabric that can be trimmed to 5" charms. If I can get a 10" square out of it, that's really a plus. I try to work with 2.5" squares, strips, 5" charms, 10" squares and I like to cut bricks which are 3.5" by 6.5". Have you seen Bonnie Hunter's Bricks and Stepping Stones pattern? At times if I'm in a hurry, I'll just leave it at a 3.5" strip and trim it later. I also use 4.5" strips for her Streak of Sunshine pattern. The only time that I will cut 1.5" strips is if I absolutely HAVE to for a quilt project. But I'll try and avoid those at all cost, I'm just not into anything that small. It's this chunk bin that usually begins to overflow while waiting to be attended to, so I've switched to a smaller one which means I have to deal with it sooner more than later.

Some of my yardage

I find that over the years I don't use other size squares, but at one time I did cut scraps into whatever size the piece could yield. So I have a bunch of 4", 4.5", 6.5" and some 8.5" squares. Unfortunately they were all swimming together in a large drawer. Last night, I was fighting the sleepies, I knew I couldn't go to bed at 7:30pm, so I pulled out the drawer of mixed squares and sorted them, micro-organizing!!! I was surprised at how many 4" squares I had, and scratched my head wondering what on earth I was planning to do with them? So they finish at 3.5", which doesn't go with much of anything other than just sewing blocks together row upon row until they get to a nice quilt size, maybe throw on a border and done?

My other problem area is batting scraps. The small pieces I use for cleaning my longarm tracks. The more respectable pieces I zig zag together for donation quilts or my personal quilts. Just as long as I keep same batting with same batting, ie, I don't sew a blend together with 100% cotton. I try not to have more than 1 or 2 seams in my pieced batting. When I've got a size that I like sewn together I'll mark the measurements on a small piece of paper and pin it on before I put it in a big plastic tub. On the outside of the tub I keep a list of the sizes I have available in the tub. That way when I need a batting, I just check the label on the outside of the tub and i can see at a glance what sizes I have. Whenever I have batting pieces I try to get those taken care of ASAP because it can get out of hand.

List of pieced batting

Then there's the book scene, one of these days I will have to get some software to document what I all have, but for now the books are on shelves and off the floor, that's a good thing, right?

The binders on the upper right hand shelf contain patterns I've printed off the computer, or patterns that could otherwise get lost

The red and green containers at the very top are magazines, I try not to keep more than what these can hold. The rest is more books

Today I hope to tackle the work area and other half of the room.

A finish!!

2010-11-26T11:09:00.000-08:00

It's a lazy day today, I'm actually taking a day for just me. I finished this quilt last week, but never got around to posting it. This quilt was made in the spirit of the Heartstrings Quilt Project and uses the standard 9" finished block with a red center (the other is a blue center). This one will be donated.

I'm a fan of just about any quilt, but my favorites are scrappy quilts, the more scrappy the better.

Yummy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T17:05:00.000-08:00

It was just hubby and I for dinner, since we just recently bought an electric smoker we were anxious to try it out. No we didn't do turkey, we actually bought a small prime rib roast and smoked it. I was not real sure about whether I'd like it, but I have to say it was absolutely delicious. 2 hours in the smoker and 20 minutes in the regular oven to get a nice crust. Yum, Yum!

Lizzards everywhere

2010-11-23T13:45:00.000-08:00

I just finished a quilt for a customer and I thought I'd share the back of the quilt with you. It's black and the flash makes it look gray, but check out the geckos.

My placemats are finished!

2010-11-23T06:33:00.000-08:00

These started out as a leader/ender project for piecing on the machine. I then decided to hand quilt these, just because I wanted the practice. They are 2" finished squares and each placemat measures 12" by 18".

New cookware

2010-11-22T06:21:00.000-08:00

I'm not the gourmet chef by any means, so I never really had a gourmet set of cookware, but mine have always gotten a good workout. I've gone through several sets, mainly because I've always chosen the non-stick type. It doesn't seem to matter how expensive the set has been, after a time the coating starts to break down. So I decided to try the stainless. So starts another exciting adventure!

This and that

2010-11-20T05:27:00.000-08:00

Friday was kind of a playing hookey day. My goal was to get a customer quilt on the longarm machine, but the backing needed to be de-wrinkled. Rather than ironing the backing which is huge, I layed it across my machine rollers and spritz it with water. It releases the wrinkles but the drawback is that I have to wait for it to dry before I proceed. So what to do?

I played with those silly triangle units from the quilt block exchange and found a layout for this teeney tiny "quilt"

Each of these squares measures 1.25" so .75" finished, but this is what I've come up with so far. I guess I might have to add more red to create anything of usable size and at this point the only thing that comes to mind is a potholder.

Next I worked on some hand quilting. I am quilting my last placemat, there is an end in sight. I am not a great hand quilter by any means, but done sounds good to me. And it's been great practice on a very humble project.

I also went to one of our local churches for an alternative gift show. The products featured are from SERRV where artists from impoverished countries are able to sell their crafts to better their futures.

I got 2 lovely baskets, this first one is a basket from Ghana

And the next one is a basket from Vietnam, near Ho Chi Minh City and this one is made from PAPER!

Silliness

2010-11-19T09:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I spent a good part of the day finishing up a customer's quilt. Today I got back from water aerobics and got to work on blocks for our December block exchange at our Guild meeting. The Ohio Star block is always a winner, and those flying geese units...that triangle part that gets trimmed, well I couldn't just throw those away. Now I really don't have time for messing with those, but I did anyway, so that is just silliness! And besides what am I going to do with these little guys? I only have 24 of these and they are little.

The last time I did something crazy like this I made a tablerunner, but those blocks were much bigger to trim from and there were many of them.

Time to load another quilt on the machine. I guess while I'm doing that I can ponder on my teeny weeny blocks.

My evenings have been spent trying to finish the set of 4 placemats that I am in the process of hand quilting...still.

Back Home

2010-11-16T05:44:00.000-08:00

Our trip was wonderful and now it's back to the routine again. I finished two of the 4 placemats (hand quilting) that I took with me, but that's about all that got done. We had lots of time to visit so that's what matters.

Pineapple tablerunner

2010-11-09T12:36:00.000-08:00

It's finished! All labeled and ready to go. The colors are that of the USMA Black Knights of West Point. The tablerunner is a hostess gift for a couple who's husband attended the military academy and was commissioned there. Hence the black, gold and gray. In the spirit of the approaching football game in early december between the Army Cadets and the Navy Midshipmen...Go Army!!! Beat Navy!!!

I did the design in EQ6, found a pineapple block that I liked and set them on point. EQ6 filled in the side blocks very nicely for me. I decided to paper piece this one, though it had options for rotary cutting and templates.

I did get my daughter's t-shirt quilt finished...but she may read this blog, so I'd best show it to her first. I get to see her Thursday, I can't wait.

Time change wreaks havoc

2010-11-08T01:10:00.000-08:00

Every time we do the Daylight Savings I am messed up for about 2 weeks. As I write this it is 3:01 AM and I've already been up, taken the dogs out, made coffee and checked all of my Yahoo and AOL mail. Don't know why it does me in, but it does!

Goals today:

Mail 2 quilts back to Minnesota. These are donations that came from Heartstrings Quilt Project, the quilts were pieced by some fantastic ladies, I quilted them and they are going back to be finished and donated for a very special project there.
I finished the table runner top that I was working on. It needs to be quilted today. This one I"m going to do on the domestic machine because I want to stitch in the ditch, did you know that quilting stitch in the ditch on the longarm is one of the most difficult things to do? Since this project is small my domestic machine will be just fine. Besides I need to load a customer quilt on the machine to do.
I'm still working on kitting up the rest of the hand sewing work that we are taking on our trip.

There should be a 4 & 5 but I may need a nap after 1, 2 and 3.

Getting ready for a trip

2010-11-07T01:17:00.000-07:00

DH and I are heading up to Missouri soon for a yearly fall family gathering. I don't know about you, but when I hear Road Trip I think of what sewing project to take. Never mind about the clothes, I just throw a few things together...but I do put some thought into what quilty things I can take along to work on.

So the first item/s I am packing is a set of 4 scrappy placemats that I decided to hand quilt some time ago. This is definitely a UFO, all 4 placemats are on one backing because that's how I basted it on my longarm. I have one placemat almost done, only 3 more to go.

The next item is another UFO, an orphan block which I also decided to hand quilt back in 2001-2002?

And to mix things up a bit I decided to kit up some hand piecing from a book called 101 Patchwork Potholders by Linda Causee.

The blocks in this book are made from templates and the block finishes at 8". I think a few of these will be fun and different to work on, nice and small and quick to stitch. First thought was to really make some potholders, but a quilt made from all kinds of different blocks would be fun. The blocks are either a 4 patch or a 9 patch base so all of the blocks based on a 4 patch would go together and the same with the 9 patch.

Now then, we are only going away for a long weekend, but it would be awful to run out of things to do, so I always pack more than I need, especially if I keep the projects small.

Coming up for air...

2010-11-05T03:00:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to get some customer quilts finished up so that I could clear a block of time to work on some charity quilts, I've got several from Heartstrings, and a couple from our own Linus Project with the Azalea City Quilt Guild in Mobile, AL.

Yesterday I did a binding marathon to prepare bindings for 4 quilts. I hope to get those sewn on today and get one of the Heartstring quilts on the longarm. I love to work on donation quilts, my mind always drifts away, imagining who might get the quilt...

But at this very moment, I need to get ready for water aerobics. Off I go...

Productive weekend

2010-11-01T03:23:00.000-07:00

The dogs got me up at 4am, thank you very much...just as well, I have plenty to do. But I got a bunch done as well.

I got the customer quilt finished on Friday, just a stipple as she wanted.
I worked until I got all of the t-shirt blocks finished for my daughter

Now I'm ready to put it all together!

3. I started working on a tablerunner for a hostess gift. I did the design on EQ 6 ( I haven't bought 7 yet) This tablerunner is the colors of the United States Military Academy Black Knights GO ARMY, BEAT NAVY!!

This pineapple pattern could have been done with templates, rotary cutting, or my choice on this one, foundation piecing. This is a good start. I have one more main block to finish which would be the third center block on point, and then I have to fill in with 3 more side halves. I need to have it finished by mid Nov, we will be headed up to Northern Missouri for a family reunion.

I was a bad girl yesterday and pigged out on pizza, not that pizza is bad, it isn't in moderation, but I wasn't moderate...so my tummy is a bit off today, serves me right.

Working on a t-shirt quilt for DD

2010-10-31T03:22:00.000-07:00

It's early Sunday morning and I don't know where the weekend went! I've been pedal to the metal working on Nikki's t-shirt quilt so that I can give it to her when I see her in mid Nov. Nikki wears an XXS (extra extra small) most of the time, sometimes and XS. That said, you can imagine how little her shirts are. Try and make a quilt out of that. So I had to get creative. Thank goodness she gave me a nice full sack of shirts. The pictures show how I had to back the neckline to get anything out of the shirt.

Later on today I will try to get the shirts into some sort of layout. She also gave me some of her old jeans, they are teeny too, but I was hoping to get the border out of strips of jeans. I'm hoping.....I really haven't taken a good look at them. I was going to put the seat/pocket part of the jeans in the quilt, but it makes it too bulky in my opinion, I'd rather keep the entire quilt as soft and squishy as possible.

Friday checklist

2010-10-29T06:11:00.000-07:00

water aerobics Done!
customer quilt
work on daughter's t-shirt quilt

And the usual household stuff. On Fridays, I usually change sheets and clean some for the weekend.

I remember my Mom had a strict schedule, Monday was washday no matter what, tuesday was ironing and baking, etc These days I don't think that holds true as much, we try to fit things in wherever there is a sliver of time.

The picture above is a group of quilt tops and blocks for Heartstrings Quilt Project. I need to do the quilting on these and then they can be donated. The blocks are for me to put together in a setting of my choice. If you don't know about Heartstrings Quilt Project here is the link. You might also find some wonderful patterns to make lovely quilts for any occasion, but especially charity quilts at MaryQuilts.com link here.

And here is a peek at the customer quilt for today by Pat T.

Buried in customer quilts!

2010-10-29T02:33:00.000-07:00

You know that is a very good thing. But by the time Friday rolls around I'm tired, and I really don't want to go to water aerobics, which is unusual for me. I also have some personal projects to finish by mid november, one of them is my daughter's t-shirt quilt. So I'm in a quandry, should I go to water aerobics or not? I think it would be a good stress reliever for sure. hummm....

Have you had your mammogram?

2010-10-26T09:30:00.000-07:00

It is October, and Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I had my mammogram today. Since October is my birthday month, I usually have my yearly tests done during this month. Good to have all that finished for another year.

You know it's 84 degrees out while I am writing this, can you believe it? And it is still hurricane season. While other parts of the country are getting ready for cooler weather, we are still dealing with warmth, however much less humidity, yippee!

Early post today

2010-10-25T03:28:00.000-07:00

I'm up early as usual, the dogs get me up early. It is stormy out, thunder and lightning, which the dogs hate. I have fasting blood work today, so I'm trying not to think about breakfast which I usually eat early too. Test isn't until 8:30am so it seems like such a long time to wait.

I worked on the t-shirt quilt for my daughter yesterday while watching football, and made more progress than I thought I would.

I have also been researching how to wash feather/down pillows. I inherited all of the feather pillows in our family when my grandmother, and then mom passed away. Some of them are looking pretty bad, and not smelling too good either. Many places recommend washing them in a front loader, which means I'd have to go to the laundromat. My home washer is a top loader. Even though I'd check for weak spots in the pillow ticking and put on a pillow cover, I'd be so afraid to lose all the feathers in someone's commercial washer if something were to happen. I'm going to do more research while I wait for some good weather again. I know that drying them thoroughly is important, and I'd like to hang them outside when we have few good dry days.

Company has gone, back to the old routine

2010-10-24T14:06:00.000-07:00

Our company left Saturday morning, sheets are washed and back on the bed, towels are washed and hanging back up in the bathroom. Back to the normal routine but with good memories to look back on. I'm currently working on a T-shirt quilt for my daughter. Hamburger Vegetable soup is in the crock pot. It's raining here today, after a long spell without.

Bellingrath Gardens

2010-10-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law and I went to Bellingrath Gardens in Mobile, AL. The weather was perfect. There was still plenty in bloom, and workers were busy stringing Christmas lights about the gardens in preparation for their Christmas lights show which begins the day after Thanksgiving.

Monday Blues

2010-10-18T09:14:00.000-07:00

My daughter has gone home, the weekend went by way too fast. And oh do I miss her. With a lump in my throat I am going about the day's activities. The good thing is that my sister-in-law & her hubby are coming in from San Diego for a visit, so I'm keeping myself busy. They will arrive this evening.

Owie Owie & Goodie Goodie

2010-10-16T05:13:00.000-07:00

As luck would have it I did something to my lower back on Wednesday. I've been flinging things to drop off at Goodwill, so it's no wonder. I really thought that water aerobics would help me on Thursday, and while I was in the water I was feeling rather good. Got out and it was another story...By Friday morning I was in the hurt locker. Couldn't stand, couldn't sit. I got in to see the chiropractor yesterday morning and found relief for about 8-9 hours before it all started to flare up again. (owie)

My daughter Nikki came in last night from Missouri!! (goodie) She is in town for a wedding today. I thought we could go to Zumba together this morning, but that's out of the question, still having back issues and just don't want to take any chances as more company is coming in on Monday. Of course the nursing school decided to give a test next week, so Nikki is going to be studying during her free time anyway, so best laid plans....it will be a quick weekend with her anyway as she has to fly back to MO tomorrow.

Where did the week go?

2010-10-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

I've been busy with customers, getting some cleaning done, and no personal quilting at all. My plan this weekend is to finish straightening the sewing room. I have so many projects that I want to finish before the end of the year, which when I think about it, will be here before I know it. Yikes!! My hubby did help me hang some quilts in the bedroom that I just painted.

Bed quilt, I think this was one of the Turning Twenty patterns

Original wallhanging using some of the fabrics from the bed quilt in the room

This quilt reminds me of the mountains of Colorado where we once lived.
Quilt is called Garden Gate by Rosemary Walker from the book called Bright Quilts From Downunder, 13 color-charged projects

This quilt was purchased at a store in Estes Park Colorado. It is handquilted and made by an Amish woman

Table runner called Spicy Spiral Table Runner from School House Quilts
This was made with bridal fabrics, just for fun because I thought it would make a nice dresser scarf.

Valance

2010-10-12T15:54:00.001-07:00

The valance pattern is from Simplicity #9566

Finally something to show for my efforts!

2010-10-12T08:23:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend getting some odds and ends finished in the bedroom that I just painted. I have some quilts to hang on the walls, but I did get a lined valance finished.

This took a lot of fabric, it called for 4 yards of main fabric and 4 yards of lining. There was some waste but it sure busted a bunch of stash fabric. I am a member of Stashbuster and have been participating in the 100 yard dash from the stash for this year. To date I have used over 179 yards of fabric. Can you believe it? That's a lot of fabric.

yummy stuffed squash

2010-10-09T16:58:00.000-07:00

The first link with the stuffed squash recipe in my last post was so good. I didn't have currants so I used dried cranberries, craisins. This recipe would be good in acorn squash too.

Sweet Dumpling Squash

2010-10-09T03:49:00.000-07:00

We were at the produce stand on Thursday and I bought some squash I had never seen before called sweet dumpling squash:

Sweet dumpling squash

I found 2 links for recipes:

http://inspiredbites.blogspot.com/2008/10/stuffed-sweet-dumpling-squash.html

Sweet Dumpling Squash

The first link sounds good for a main meal so I may try it tonight.

Not much quilting this week

2010-10-08T15:09:00.000-07:00

I started to tackle the guest bedroom on Wednesday. Painting is done, carpet is cleaned. Today DH and I moved the furniture back in. I still have to hang the blinds back up, and I need to make a curtain, or some kind of window treatment. I did buy some new rugs for the room. I'm going to hang some of my small quilts on the walls, I might as well use them. I will post pics when I get my window curtain finished. So glad that we didn't have the problems that we had in the bathroom.

New crop of strings

2010-10-06T03:36:00.000-07:00

Does it ever end?

I did get all of my unruly scraps cut into nice stacks, but you know it generated a whole bunch of strings! That's not bad, it refreshes my string and crumb collection, giving it new life. But it never ceases to amaze me how far one piece of fabric goes, even a fat quarter! I've never followed & documented the life of a fabric in my possession but wouldn't that be interesting?

New crop of strings and crumbs

These strings are more generously sized than normal, truth is, I was getting tired of cutting and just wanted to finish. But I have found in the past that some fatter strings are nice to have.

Scraps are project-ready

2010-10-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

It took me a couple of days but I was able to get that pile of scraps cut into nice stacks of 10" squares, 5" squares and a nice bunch of 2.5" strips. Now I can get out my pattern books and think of which pattern to make with these goodies.

Before

After

Some goals for the week...

2010-10-04T03:54:00.000-07:00

I sometimes hesitate to list goals because life takes different turns and I'm always adjusting to get through the day. But things do seem to be piling up and there has to be some control!

My committment to a healthier lifestyle is a major part of my day/week. Making it to the YMCA for workouts and then eating healthy can really take up some time. My quilting business is a major focus and I try to keep customer quilts moving and finished on time. Then there is the usual household stuff, laundry, grocery shopping, blah blah. I also hope to get a bedroom painted this week, clean the carpet in that room, and find a new curtain, hang up pictures, etc. I hope this endeavor goes better than the bathroom "sprucing up".

And then there is this:

Chunks

My fabric stash is huge, I'll admit to that. But the yardage is all arranged nice and neat on shelves by color. Fat quarters and half yard pieces are all organized in bins, 2.5" strips, smaller strips and smaller blocks are all tucked away, but for some reason I always have two bins full of what I call chunks. That is anything smaller than a fat quarter, or a regular 1/4 yd. And it includes all the trimming from my backings after I finish one of my personal quilts or charity quilts. And it grows and grows.

The problem is that I usually hesitate to cut scraps up until I know what I'm going to need them for, but after a while it gets out of hand. So my thought for this week's, down and relaxation time, is to cut 10" squares like layer cakes, and 5" charms from this unruly pile. What is left can be cut in 2.5" strips, which I use a lot. After that the small stuff goes into my string and crumb bins, which are all sorted by colors. I'd really like to get all of the above into packages like this:

Here is the the result of a couple of hours yesterday, cutting into 10", 5" squares and 2.5" strips. Since I have a fair amount of quilting books that use cake layers and charms in the patterns, I'm hoping that I can get a handle on this mess. That little bag of neatly trimmed squares sure looks better than the piles.

Some potholders finished!

2010-10-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

Since I went on and on about the potholders earlier I figured I'd better get some posted for you all to see.

These are going to get put away for Christmas gifts. And as you can see, I used crumbs and strings. Yards and yards of pretty fabric, and I have to play with scraps, but I can't help myself.

Pot holders, Potholders, Hot Pads...Oven mitts...What do you call them?

2010-10-03T03:41:00.000-07:00

My Sunday is going to be a quiet one. DH will be sleeping most of the day, he worked last night. I'm looking forward to watching some football, but you know I can't just watch TV, I have to be working on something "fabricky". I thought I'd make a few potholders, hot pads, whatever you call them. I like to have some items ready to gift for the Christimas season. Yesterday I did a search for free patterns but nothing really got me all that excited...I guess maybe potholders are not all that exciting...but they could be. I did find a few patterns from my searches which I will share a bit later.

Oven mitts are fairly straight forward in my opinion, an oversize shape of a hand, make two sandwiches, sew them together and turn inside out. Trim with bias tape, Got it.

I like oven mitts but I prefer the flat hot pad with a pocket for your hand and no thumbs. One of my favorite purchased patterns is from Calico Moon Handcrafts and the pattern is called Too Hot To Handle. It features 5 different patterns with a common theme of a rectangle or square shape with a pocket. Hence the Five Pocket Potholders. The pattern is written with such humor that one can't resist the impulse to sit down and make a few right then and there.

The pattern on the left is another of my favorites. Handy Heart Potholders by Classic Crafts, Eva Holen, 425-827-2313 and has an email address seweva@hotmail.com but you can find it here on Lisa Moore's website, Quilts With A Twist, Lisa Moore from Sitka Alaska. I use this pattern if I'm being fancy shmancy.

I did find some free patterns in my search yesterday, I promised I'd share with you. The first one is from Moda Bake Shop and it's a Chenille Hot Pad and there is another free pattern on Moda Bake Shop called Quilted Hot Pads by Bonnie from Cotton Way. Both are worthy of a try. The third and favorite free pattern I found is Retro Fun: Quilted Mitt Pot Holders from http://www.sew4home.com/. Be sure to check this one out because it is cute, cute cute!!

If my creative juices are flowing I can come up with a few of my own creations and I like to start with a sandwich that I do on my longarm machine. This one pictured is a layer of that silvery stuff, a layer of Insul-Bright, a layer of cotton batting and a layer of terry cloth (100% cotton). I make the sandwich about 36" long by about 20-22 inches wide, or as wide as a chunk of Insul-Bright (by Warm Company). Then I quilt the whole thing in a few quick swipes and I have the base of a hot pad.

From here I slice the size I want and add a top pocket of whatever I choose. Remember those Halloween pot holders;

I flipped the terry cloth side facing up of course and added a pocket inspired from the Too Hot To Handle Pattern. BUT I should have rounded the corners on these, and I will on my next ones.

I'm not a huge fan of that silvery stuff, but I purchased 2 yards of it (what was I thinking?) and it is taking me forever to use it up. If I don't want to use good fabric on the side of the hot pad that will get hot, I like to use a heavier fabric, and that old fashioned pillow ticking works good. But a heavy cotton twill or duck cloth would work, I'd think. I've heard of people using old blue jeans too.

There's a big discussion in cyber space about what to fill hot pads with. All agree that cotton batting is the safest, polyester batting will melt with the heat. But how many layers, whether to use the Insul-Bright, and how about old bath towels as a padding inside, sure why not? I say, keep safety in mind at all times, but use what you have on hand. Back in the day there was no such thing as Insul-Bright. And as for the outer fabric, heck use from your stash, scraps, strings, use it up, make it scrappy or make it fancy shmancy, after all they are just hot pads? pot holders? mitts?

TGIF Got my car back

2010-10-01T14:16:00.000-07:00

I'm glad that it's Friday, I finally got my car back today after going without for the week. It wasn't that bad being down to one vehicle, but my husband's truck is so big and I have trouble parking it, backing it up...I remember my parent's only having one car for many many years. We didn't just hop in the car on a whimm, everything was planned as we did our errands & shopping. And I think I turned out okay.

I still managed to make it to my water aerobics all this week. And it was nice to be home more than I usually am. I worked on a customer quilt today and finished it. Tomorrow is Zumba!

Low Platelettes

2010-09-30T02:59:00.000-07:00

I was not able to give my usual platelette donation yesterday because my count was too low. First time that has happened to me in the two years I've been donating. They were able to take a pint of whole blood. My iron count was very good, can't explain the platelettes though. It was disappointing to me because I know how badly platelettes are needed. But on the other hand, whole blood is needed as well, so I guess I should be proud of that.

I spent the remainder of yesterday working on a T-shirt quilt for a customer who is a runner. Her shirts are really cute. I hope to have them all trimmed into the correct size blocks today and then do a layout. Her layout is going to be different because she has one center shirt as the focal point, and then all of the other shirts are to be arranged in chronological order around the center block and grouped by the kind of run it was. I have a CAD program to help me with the layout, but I have never been able to get the hang of it. In my opinion it is not very user friendly. So I usually end up pulling out the graph paper and doing the layout the old-fashioned way. The customer wants sashing also, so wish me luck.

I haven't gotten any farther on the Morning Frost quilt of mine. Hey, there are only so many hours in a day!

Correction on that pattern; previous posting Morning Frost not Winter Frost

2010-09-29T04:17:00.000-07:00

That pattern is called Morning Frost, why I always call it Winter Frost is beyond me. But I must give credit accurately. It is from the book Woodroses in Winter by This & That by Sherry K Falls.

I'm off to give blood platelettes today.

Winter Frost is on the design wall

2010-09-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

This one seems to be a long time coming, I've had the blocks and sashing pieces done for some time. I think because there are so many pieces to the sashing. I was dragging my feet about it. I put it on the design wall so that I could avoid getting the same fabrics next to each other. I will spend some time switching things around as I walk past now and then, but at a certain point I say, enough is enough and I start sewing the rows together. I hope to get the top done by the weekend, but I'm in the midst of preparing T-shirts for a customer that wants a quilt made. Those can be time consuming but very enjoyable at the same time.

Winter Frost is from the book Woodroses in Winter by This & That.

Out with the old, in with the new!

2010-09-27T07:16:00.000-07:00

Many of you know that I have been on quest for a healthier lifestyle since oh, about June. Although I still struggle to keep my weight going in the right direction, down instead of up, I have noticed my clothes are fitting differently. I've held off with the transition of going to smaller sized clothing because of the expense, (I'm such a miser, I only shop sales and find most of my clothing at Blair.com or an occasional Denim & Co purchase from QVC). But you know when you reach a point of embarrasment, and just have to bite the bullet? Well I reached that. I have gone down two dress sizes, now that sounds funny, you rarely will ever see me in a dress, but you know what I mean...so it was time to clean out the closet after purchasing a minimal amount of new duds. And here is the result:

Clothing being donated

I ended up with two large plastic tubs ready for donation. Whew! My closet looks really good! You know, sometimes simpler IS better.

And there's more. For a while now I have subscribed on and off to a program called e-mealz. It's a meal plan that you subscribe to for $5 a month. You can select any type of meal plan that you want, for families, or for just two people. Then you can choose what type of plan you want, regular, low fat, vegetarian, low carb, weight watcher's point system...and then you can select the grocery list provided with the menu from where you shop, Walmart, Publix, any store...so for us, we do the meal plan for two, point system, from Walmart. Check it out, it might be for you.

Oh, Oh, not again

2010-09-25T17:54:00.000-07:00

I went to zumba this morning, and came home to shower, but realized I had to get to the post office before they closed. As I was nearing the Post office parking lot to mail a package, my warning lights all came on again in my car. Remember, just a short time ago the same thing happened? I pulled into a parking spot, mailed my package and called DH. He drove my car to the dealer while I drove behind him in his truck. We were fortunate to make it to the dealer without any problems. It turns out that on the Prius there is a water pump that cools the big hybrid battery, and that was broken. It would have been covered under warranty but our warranty ran out 5 months ago. But the service dept. said they would not charge us as a courtesy...good thing because that may have been part of the problem I had on the 14th. Bad thing is that they don't have the part in stock, and don't know when it will be available until they talk with someone on Monday....hummmm so no car for a while. Back to one vehicle until it gets fixed.

On another subject, I am sick of fabric strings, and decided I would try and make a shaggy rag rug from the strips of fabric. I'm going to try two methods. The first method is to take the canvas that is used for latch hooking, cut my strips about 4" long by 1/2" wide, and use the latch hook to pull the fabric through to knot. The second thing I'm going to try is just sewing 2" or so strips to a base of fabric along the length of fabric strip. I think if I keep sewing row after row close together it will eventually look like chenille. Any thoughts?

And a finish!

2010-09-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

Finally a finish! The tablerunner, 4 placemats and a pair of potholders are finished. I sent them all to my friend in Colorado Springs today. The tablerunner is my own design, but the placemats are from Cozy Modern Quilts by Kim Schaefer.

And there may be more...

2010-09-22T05:37:00.000-07:00

Yes the halloween tablerunner top is ready to quilt, and that was/is on the list for today. But I remembered that I had some fat quarters that were halloween related, so I decided to pull them out of my stash this morning. It seems that from the fabric I bought for the tablerunner, plus the fat quarters I pulled there is quite a pile of halloween fabric that I'd like to use up. Personally, I am not a big halloween fan, so I really don't want all of this themed fabric to take up room. I want to use it up!

My thought was to make some placemats to send along with the tablerunner to my friend. It means delaying the quilting on the tablerunner, assembling 4 placemats and maybe quilting everything all at once. I know that I won't have the selection of fabric to make 4 exactly matching mats, but I don't think that it matters that they will be mixed up. I just recently got some new pattern books, and in one of them I found some placemat patterns in the back of the book that would be perfect with these fabric pieces.

Cozy Modern Quilts by Kim Schaefer

Yesterday I worked on a customer quilt, and it's okay if I show parts of this one:

Front

Back

The quilting pattern is from the Giant template pattern Spirals, from Circle Lord and I used a variegated thread with primary colors.

And next in line...

2010-09-21T13:53:00.000-07:00

The Halloween tablerunner! It will be quilted tomorrow, humm, have to think about how I want it quilted. Custom and fancy would be nice, but I want it DONE, so maybe something all over...I already have the machine set up for the giant templates from Circle Lord so I may stick with one of those. I want to send it to my friend well before Halloween so she has some time to use it. I can tell you that she has probably had Halloween decorations out for a couple of weeks now. Gotta love her.

Halloween Tablerunner

2010-09-21T07:55:00.000-07:00

Yes we have a top!

Looking for some down time

2010-09-20T14:49:00.000-07:00

My day started out with a zumba class. I'd get so much more out of it, if I could learn the steps/routine. But I'm the one in the back flailing my arms and legs out of sync. At least I'm moving and having fun to the music.

Next I finished a small quilt for our Linus Project. After lunch I got a customer's quilt on the machine and ready for tomorrow. Since I had a customer dropping off a T shirt quilt, I got out my T shirt samples and some quilt patterns that would be appropriate.

In between all of this I did the laundry. Finally done with that I sat down to work on the Halloween table runner, and made some small steps towards getting the top finished. There are some new shows on tonight so I can watch TV and work a bit more on the runner.

Good intentions, but gosh I'm tired.

Thinking Halloween

2010-09-19T04:16:00.000-07:00

There is one project, a UFO which I have been wanting to get finished for a long time now. I have let a few too many distractions get in the way, (okay some distractions were really important) but I think today is the day to get this one underway. What is it? A halloween tablerunner for a friend in Colorado Springs, who has no idea I'm even making it for her.

On the right are two pieces of a border print that I somehow acquired, who know when or where...and with it a piece of the black background print with the gold moons and stars. To the left I have some fabrics that I pulled to try and coordinate. I'm hung up on the design of the tablerunner, and frankly I'm making it more difficult than it has to be. I should just keep it simple and get going on it already.

Vanity doors and a rubber hammer?!?

2010-09-18T09:11:00.000-07:00

The first thing I tackled today was getting the hardware back on the vanity doors and drawers. For some reason, after I got the hinges on the doors and then went to put them on the cabinet, the previous screw holes wouldn't line up. Since there are 4 doors I tried to switch them around to see which one matched up the best. How hard could it be to just match them up? No luck, then DH came in to help, and after about 30 minutes got out the rubber hammer, I kid you not. For some reason the two doors in the center won't fit together anymore. I think there are gremlins in that bathroom, because I have had nothing but problems with it. Really how difficult could this be? But no.....

Bathroom vanity

doors won't line up

After all that I headed to Zumba this morning to shake out my frustration and hopefully keep my weight going in the right direction. To reward myself I'd really like to sit and eat a package of cookies, but there is not a cookie to be found in the house, (some smart idea that was, not buying any) but an apple just doesn't hold the same appeal as sweet yummy crunchy-goodness cookies. So what's a girl to do but have the darn apple and go quilt!

Yesterday I finished the string quilt top that I'd been working on over Labor Day weekend so I want to get that quilted today. And yesterday while I had some time I worked on my Strips and Strings lob cabin blocks. It seems I got carried away because I have more logs to add but my blocks are looking like they will be more than 9.5", so I will have to trim them up or not add as many logs.

A rubber hammer, can you believe it?

Friday line-up

2010-09-17T04:40:00.000-07:00

I am admittedly missing water aerobics today so that I can focus on getting organized for the weekend. I have a customer quilt to address today and then I can spend some time on my other goals.

I am working on some Hearstrings Log Cabin blocks. Here is a picture of some of them early on, I have since added another round of each light and dark, but didn't get a picture, it was getting late in the day. I don't know about you, but I just can't sit and watch TV without doing something else. Whether it's sketching a quilt block layout, ( I do have EQ also) or sewing at the dining room table with a view to the TV, I have to be doing something.

Strips and Strings Log Cabin blocks, Mary Johnson's pattern from Maryquilts.com

That one block in the lower right hand corner has a really UGLY fabric, the one with the purple and orange dot! Achhhh! But should be fine in the big scheme of things.

I am still working in the guest bathroom, what a long and drawn out ordeal that has been...and I don't even want to think about painting the guest bedroom, but really how bad could that be? Just have to paint the walls....hee hee.

The sewing room needs some more attention, I started cleaning it and got side tracked, but I really want to get back in there and tidy up some areas. It's always such a good feeling to have ample work space and be able to locate everything. I'm fortunate to have my longarm machine in another room, it allows me some separation between "business" and personal space.

I'm going to attempt Zumba again tomorrow morning. This class I'm looking at going to is not at the Y, but at a local roller skating rink, (no we're not doing skating zumba, although I guess you could adapt it for that), it's a large space to accomodate a crowd. The instructor is named Lisa and if you click here you can find out about her and the class.

Catching up on things

2010-09-15T15:38:00.000-07:00

The laundry was the first thing to get going this morning. Then I put a coat of polyurethane on the vanity top. I did spray it with the Stone spray and I'm pleased enough with it to leave it as it is, it just needs a couple coats of the sealer. You can see where I have the sink taped off and covered so the spray wouldn't get everywhere.

Next I headed to the bank, then to the Thrift shop where I found this nice shirt for $3.50 in a size smaller than I'm used to wearing. Yeah!

From there I went to our local Hancock Fabrics to leave more business cards for my longarm quilting service. We don't have any quilt shops in our immediate area, they have all closed.

And then the dreaded grocery shopping, why does eating healthy seem to cost so much more?

Then home to put away groceries and continue with laundry. I also got in touch with a person from Heartstrings Quilt Project and I am going to be volunteering my time to quilt for them. Looking forward to that. In between the remaining loads of laundry I started the center squares to do Mary Johnson's strips & Strings log cabin blocks. These are another project that I've been wanting to work on. I got a big bunch of those finished and worked on sewing string blocks together from my sew-in over Labor Day Weekend. I have some pressing to do this evening on the string blocks and the log cabin centers. That will be a good project while I'm waiting for Survivor to come on.

Tuesday, what a day

2010-09-15T04:03:00.000-07:00

My Tuesday started out at the pool for water aerobics, next I headed to my guild meeting and took with me a stack of 4 quilts which were donated to our Linus project.

In the stack were two string quilts which were large, one quilt made with Bonnie Hunters's pattern Bricks and Stepping-Stones from her website at www. quiltville.com which was done in red, white and blue, perfect for Quilts of Valor, which our guild also contributes to. The last quilt was the small pink and white D9P that I just finished. It's always nice to give a stack of quilts away to a good cause, but it tugs on my heart just a bit to part with them, each one has a little of my heart & soul in it.

I had some great plans for the afternoon, I was going to play and take a break from the routine. I wanted to go to a local shoe store to purchase a pair of shoes to wear to Zumba. They are much like the cheerleading shoes, with a circle on the bottom which helps to pivot. I need all the help I can get, anyway after that I was going to head to a Thrift Shop at a local church just down the street, just felt like perusing. BUT that didn't happen!

You see, on the way home I started having problems with my Prius. It's a 2005 and I've never had a problem with it, always is on schedule with maintenance, but to make a long story short I had to have it towed to the dealership. It turned out to be the small battery and it needed to be replaced. My car has 2 batteries, a small one and the big one with the hybrid system. To my amazement, from the time the warning lights came on to the time the car actually locked up was only a couple of miles. I was trying to head to our dealership, when the car just locked up on me, of course at a red light. Which turned green...I put my emergency flashers on, but I was on a busy street, only one mile from the dealership, stuck there. The car wouldn't go in neutral, I couldn't pull the "key" out, it was just locked up. I called for a tow truck but in the meantime, I got out of the car, and stood off to the side of the road. Because the cars were coming up fast in my lane, and at the last minute they were seeing my flashers, and then in a panic, trying to get over to the other lane, I was just worried that my car would get hit from behind, and I didn't want to be in it! Fortunately that didn't happen and the tow truck came promptly. He towed the car all of a mile, and I sat while the techs figured out what happened (at that point I didn't know what was wrong with the car). And then I'm wondering, how much is THIS going to cost...And then I found out; battery $166.44. labor $95 misc charges and tax, $30 and $18.66 for a grand total of $310.10, oh and don't forget the tow, $45.00. Being able to get home safe and sound, priceless!!

Needless to say, didn't get to the shoe store and definitely not the thrift shop. But, my DH and I went out for dinner to Cracker Barrel, and the shoe store was right nearby, so I was able to run in and get my shoes.

Today I have laundry spilling out of our hamper, and other things to take care of , but I am going to get to the thrift shop for sure.

Monday afternoon, so sleepy

2010-09-13T14:48:00.000-07:00

This monday has me dragging. 3 miles on the treadmill this morning at the Y, then did a customer quilt, and paperwork for my business. Now it's time to get dinner started, but all I want is a nap. I took out a pork tenderloin for dinner last night, but sent DH for KFC grilled chicken instead. So tonight there are no excuses. Pork tenderloin it is.

2 Quilts Finished

2010-09-13T07:11:00.000-07:00

Good weekend, I was able to get 2 small quilts finished. The tops had been waiting to get quilted and I just made the time.
Both of the quilts were done with the spiral template from Circle Lord. These both involved the leader-ender technique from Bonnie Hunter http://www.quiltville.com/. The lighting is not right, the sun was creating shadows.

Front

Back

T-Shirt quilt finished!!

2010-09-12T08:52:00.000-07:00

I finished the binding on my quilt last night:

And here is the back.

Later today I hope to get 2 small quilts finished on the longarm, but first I am working on the vanity. I decided to go with another "paint", and see how it works. If that doesn't work we go to plan C which is a new vanity. Let's hope we don't have to go to plan C.

A Productive Day

2010-09-11T16:29:00.000-07:00

It was a busy and productive day. I painted the doors and drawers from our bathroom vanity. While that was drying I finished a customer's quilt. Then I put another coat on the doors and drawers. I loaded one of my personal quilts that I've been wanting to get finished. After lunch I got it quilted.

It's a t-shirt quilt from all of my platelette donations, you know they always give a goodie. I quilted this with the wave template from Circle Lord, I shifted every other row to get the design. If you look at the take up roller at the top of the picture you will see a Hershey's Kisses fabric. This is actually a flat flannel sheet that I found at our local Goodwill. It was just too cute to pass up. I thought it would make a good backing. I have the binding sewn to the front, so while I watch the Penn State, Alabama game I will hand stitch it to the back. I'll get a picture posted tomorrow

I also spent some time in my sewing room. I spent 30 minutes working in there today because I had the time. I made some good progress.

I was able to clear off quite a bit of space on these 2 tables. It won't take much to finish those. I have a couple of other problem areas but I'll share those another day.

And then there was the bathroom project. DH put another coat of that Rustoleum coating on the formica countertop, but I am not happy with it, it's splotchy and a mess to work with. I may have to go with plan B which is Stone Creations, a spray with texture. Only problem with that is it has a rough finish, not good on a bathroom counter. But a couple coats of clear polyurethane might fill in around the texture and make it smoother. Plan C, a new vanity top. $$$$Cha Ching!!

My 10 minute challenge

2010-09-10T09:37:00.000-07:00

I did the 10 minute challenge this morning and here is what the tables looked like before in my sewing room.

And here is the table nearest to the camera after 10 minutes.

So a little bit better? I folded and put away some background neutral fabrics, yellow fabrics, blue fabrics and a bunch of scrap batting. Another couple of sessions and we might actually see a portion of the table. Yeah! Just want to clarify that my longarm is in another room, and that room is somewhat presentable because it's what my customers see.

Got my new glasses, did the grocery shopping and after lunch it's quilting time on the longarm.

Friday line up

2010-09-10T06:44:00.000-07:00

Well the Saints vs Vikings game was good but I just couldn't stay up till the end. When I went to bed the Vikings were ahead, but as I found out this morning the Saints won. Good for the Saints! And even though Brett Favre and the Vikings lost, I was glad that Favre didn't get beat up during the game. After all he is almost 41.

I got my tired bod to the pool this morning and did my thing. I weighed myself this AM and found that I had gained 2 pounds. That is the WRONG direction. So I have to get to the gym a little more often and really watch what I'm eating so that I can get going in the RIGHT direction again. At 55 it is so tough to lose weight, I keep asking myself why I got this way in the first place, well duh I love to eat! I was raised in a midwest area, by parents whose traditions all revolved around food. And not rabbit food, no no, meat, potatoes, gravy, cakes, pies, uh huh, you get the picture.

So the big discussion on the Heartstrings Project Group at Yahoo is all about cleaning our sewing rooms. Earlier this year I paid a professional organizer to help me get things right. And it was all good for a couple of months, and now the room is in a sad state of affairs again. Oh yes there is a place for everything, but my problem is that I just don't take the time to put things away when I am done using them. My worst problem is pulling fabric off my neatly stacked shelves and then NOT putting it back when I'm done. Well it seems I'm not alone as the discussion is growing about cleaning our sewing rooms. And one smart lady came forward to post a challenge, take 10 minutes each day to clean your sewing room. Now that may seem like a simple and sensible idea, but the fact that she made it a challenge makes me want to get going and do at least the 10 minutes a day.

If your sewing room needs a bit of straightening, how about joining us in the challenge. 10 minutes, I'll bet we can get a lot done in that amount of time, and not be overwhelmed.

Back to the Friday line-up.

10 min in the sewing room
make a grocery list
Call Walmart to find out why my new glasses aren't in yet.
Shop
load customer quilt on machine
quilt quilt quilt
get supplies ready to finish the bathroom on Saturday, ( I can't stand all of the paint cans, brushes...all over the place, enough is enough).
If I have time I want to work on Mary Johnson's log cabin blocks
Remember that Winter Frost UFO? , well I think it's time to get the blocks up on the design wall.

DH just came home from working nights and expressed an interest in going to Olive Garden tonight for dinner...should I tell him I was just there yesterday? I don't think so. Hee hee.

I'm heading to the sewing room right now, how about you?

A little work and a little play

2010-09-09T14:14:00.000-07:00

I didn't want to go to water aerobics but I found myself there anyway, glad I went. Once I'm there I enjoy my class, but the getting there is really exercise for the brain.

I did a quick customer quilt today with a pattern called Ambrosia;

And for the play part, I met a group of friends at Olive Garden for lunch. Yum, Soup, Salad and Breadsticks.

And tonight the Saints and Vikings are on TV, I hope Brett Favre does a good job tonight, because I love to watch him play, but you've got to love the Saints.