I won!

I participate in an online BOM swap. I have shown some of the monthly blocks during this past year. When you join, you must commit to participate for the full year. Each month a block is posted with instructions and fabric selection rules, you make two and send them to the swap coordinator. She picks two names from those participating. Everyone that participates eventually wins a months block, this was my time to win, and I am so glad, because I thought these jar blocks were so much fun. Here are a couple of photos showing my winnings. Not the best photos- they were spread out on my dining room table as there is something already on the design wall, but you will get an idea.

JudyL's Arkansas Crossroads challenge

I've been having fun with this block, here's one that I put together using EQ6. I was trying to be seasonal and non-symetrical (trying to stretch my comfort zone).

Moving right along...

Yesterday and today I made quite a bit of progress on my next Christmas gift quilt. I must admit to being a bit taken back that it took most of today to make all the HSTs needed, that slowed me down some. I used the program Triangulations by Brenda Henning which prints out a grid onto regular printer paper from your home computer. It will make grids for hsts and QST of an incredible variety of sizes. HSTs for example from 12" finished size to 7.5" finished size. It was easy to do, but I need quite a number of them, so cutting things apart was quite time consuming, as will be tearing off the paper and pressing. 330+ of anything made by any technique will take a while to do! I did finally get enough made all the way so that I could make just four of the blocks in which they are used. So, without further ado, here is a peek at what this top will look like, and a close up to show the fabrics used. The color in the close up is more accurate. Progress feels good!

New Quilt Supervisor

Things around here may be picking up, I certainly hope so! I haven't gotten to do any quilting for a bit as things were so hectic. My youngest DS came home from college to see the dentist for what he thought was an awful toothache. It turns out it was an extremely serious Staph infection and he was on IV antibiotics for several days. I can tell you that I nearly went thru the floor when the doctor used 'life-threatening' 'lead to menningitis' and a few other words in the same sentence! I thank God for the dentist who not only admitted that she wasn't sure what it was, but that she wasn't the one to handle it, and then made a series of phone calls to both our family doctor and then to a specialist and got us in to the specialist within an hour. He is now recovered and back trying to catch up on his classes.

Meanwhile, DH has been referred for Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy to better adapt to his degenerating coordination and mobility. This is a very good thing, he will be safer and perhaps less depressed about what he can no longer do as they show him alternative methods to accomplish daily tasks. Of course, taking him for these visits will give me less time in the sewing room, but thats ok as long as it helps.

This weekend I finally got to spend some time sewing. YIPPEE. So much inspiration at the quilt shop and not getting to turn on the machine was frustrating! Judy's last hour a day is still on the design wall, but I cut out and have about 25% of the blocks for a new quilt sewn. I have to get the tops done for my Christmas gift quilts. I still have 5 tops to do, so all those HAD quilts will have to wait. Of course, once they are sewn, I still have to quilt all of them......I'm beginning to feel overwhelmed here! LOL

However, I have a new assistant and quilt supervisor that keeps a close eye on me as I cut and sew, carefully inspecting any bits that fall to the floor. I'm sure if I drop something that might be suitable for the scrap pile, I shall be informed. Meet Casey, the newest member to our household. We adopted him about 3 weeks ago. He is 5 yrs old and a real snuggler. Nic, as you may figure from the photo, is not impressed by the cute factor, but is ok as long as no one tries to eat from his food dish!

a few more photos...

Third installment of quilt show

Here we are, the next batch of photos from the quilt show. This colorful pineapple quilt was done with lots of strips, as you can see in the close up.

Then there is the amazing portrait. I apologize to the quilter/artist as the work was incredible, but my photo is a little blurry. All 'painted' with fabric.

The following two are a modern and a traditional take on squares, I don't know how the modern one was constructed, but looks like it could have been a nine patch too. The last two were interesting for the overall affect. One for the 'blend' the other for precision.

Second installment of quilt show pictures

Here are some more pictures from the quilt show. As I mentioned last time, there were a lot of brights this year. Here is one, and a close up. This is one of the quilts that had used strips or 'strings' to form fabric and then cut that fabric into pieces.

Dh was really impressed with the amount of skill and work that went into this applique, and look at all the quilting!!

In the last photo, those flowers, butterflies and such were cut from a print, sort of (forgive the spelling) broiderie purse. Such pretty colors.

Went to a quilt show today...

and did my share of ooohing and aaaahing. Took pictures to share here and to remind myself of setting ideas, block combinations, fabric combinations or whatever. I invited DH to go with me, it was his first quilt show and he was impressed. He pointed out things he liked. He was really impressed with the photo quilts, he didn't realize that it was possible to get photos onto fabric. I think he's going to request one.........he's already requested a mariners compass. This is the show that is given every other year by the East Cobb Quilt Guild in Marietta, GA. (hello Mary-you should have been here for the string quilts!) It is given in the Cobb Civic Center. The lower floor is all quilts, the upperfloor (an overgrown balcony overlooking the lower floor) was all vendors. My favorite quilt shop was there with two of the owners, but no Karen (Sewprimitive) who also works there. I'll share a few pictures at a time, since I don't have anything quilty of my own to show right now. Just remember my disclaimer: These are not my quilts, they were done by other, more talented quilters! Also, any appearance of quilts hung crooked is the fault of the photographer, they were all properly displayed!

The last quilt, the one that looks a little like the Northern Lights absolutely sparkled, it was quilted with metallic threads and may have been beaded in places. This year there were a number of sparkle embellished quilts, there were a lot of brights, a lot of batiks, too. Very few 30s or pastels. It was easy to see what the 'fashion' is in fabrics, too. Lots of dark and bold, many using string piecing in different variations. In the top quilt, the flowers are three dimensional.

I'm blue?? Not a surprise

Eileen (Designing Quilts) posted this color quiz. I was hoping for something more interesting and zippy than blue. Blue is beautiful, but 'ordinary'. Ah well, how would one explain that the color of one's soul was...puce or chartreuse??

What color is your soul painted? Blue Your soul is painted the color blue, which embodies the characteristics of peace, patience, understanding, health, tranquility, protection, spiritual awareness, unity, harmony, calmness, coolness, confidence, dependability, loyalty, idealism, tackiness, and wisdom. Blue is the color of the element Water, and is symbolic of the ocean, sleep, twilight, and the sky. Click Here to Take This Quiz

Quizzes and Personality Tests

Out of the closet and into the light....

Some of you are showing your UFOs in an effort to reduce the pile and have some accountability. I don't want to be accountable, I want to enjoy what I do and when I do it. I do have a number of UFOs and quite a few PIGs. I'm posting one of the oldest UFOs in my closet in the spirit of sharing, because I do hope to finish it one day... and because I have nothing else quilty to post until the HAD gets further along. These blocks are supposed to be a sampler quilt, the second class I took, perhaps 15 years ago now. Each block was intended to teach a different quilting skill because the teacher used different techniques for each. Sometimes we would tear the fabric, sometimes cut. Sometimes strip piece, sometimes homemade templates. Some blocks are hand pieced, some are machine stitched, some appliqued. There are supposed to be 12 blocks, I don't know what the last one was supposed to be anymore. I may pick one out on my own, or maybe eliminate the ones I like the least and just make a smaller quilt. Some I am really unhappy with but others I like and am surprised at how good they were for so early in my quilting experience. And of course, at least one of these blocks isn't entirely finished (mariner's compass)- a UFO within a UFO!

This weekend saw a little sewing, a little

visiting and a lot of eating!

First to the quilty stuff- crawling right along on the last Hour a Day quilt here is what is on the design wall while I consider (and reconsider, and then second guess) the placement of the colored pieces. There are one or two that I am not thrilled with the color of the 'color'pieces, but that is what I had and that is what will be used, I don't have enough of the eggplant to be making more.

Secondly, my youngest is now in his apartment and beginning classes. He has spent some time and effort in getting the place the way he wants it and is as finished as he can be with his limited budget at this time. He has some finishing touches he would like to make, but that will have to wait. He invited us for dinner on Sunday, and since he is a pretty good cook, we gladly accepted. We were not disappointed! He made everything from scratch. Take a look at our dessert, mmmmmmmm good!

It's taken more time than it should have,

but I finally got back into the sewing room to finish the Mariner's Compass that I started in class a few weeks ago. It wasn't the sewing that took so long, it was getting back to sew!

I can see room for improvement, but for a 'learning project', I guess I'm pleased. Hubby wants his Christmas gift quilt to be a large Mariner's Compass, sort of a medallion quilt. Hopefully, the one or two places I goofed on this one will be better on that one...if I ever get to it. Next up, finish the most recent hour a day quilt and get started on my son's Irish Chain.

By the way, the enxt time I get the bright idea to make quilts for the whole family, you have my permission to pound me flat and use me for batting! Sheesh, why do I do this to myself??

ON the quilty front

I haven't gotten a lot done lately. I'm learning a new and complex job at work, I come home happy but exhausted. I just want to veg out. So, I haven't worked on my hour a day since last week. I had signed up for a quilt class last Sunday, and went to that. Excellent class, enjoyed it very much and, more importantly, learned some new things. I haven't finished the block yet, but will post a picture when I do.

I've been looking in on all your blogs and noticed that Jeanne (Spiral) posted then/now pictures of her sons. Oddly, over the weekend I had been looking through our pictures and came across one of my favorite pictures of my two younger sons. Looking at them grown, I remembered some of the pictures of them together as very young boys and asked DH to crop and superimpose the young picture over the grown picture. So, I will also share the then/now picture of two of my three. Caveat: while I love the 'now' picture, the son on the right hates it, doesn't like how he looks. He is currently searching his pictures for a photo to replace the 'awful' now picture. LOL

Haven't gotten very far....

Julie asked to see the fabrics that I am using for my hour a day. So here they are, the hummingbird print, the eggplant, and some of the fabrics that will be in the ‘pastel’ blocks. You may not be able to tell from the photo that the dark with light little figure is eggplant and not brown or black, also, the brighter colors are colors that are in the hummingbirds, not just randomly chosen. I’m quite behind in this quilt, started late, caught up and then fell behind again, but I am doing it!

Friday I had Miss Thang again. This time she was in the mood to work on her purse again. We still need to press, attach the handle and do a finishing edge or two, but here it is so far. She’s excited about it, now that it looks like something, and hopes it will be finished in time for her to take with her when school starts on Aug. 6.

After finishing that Christmas gift top... and Judy, Judy, Judy

I made my BOMs for this month and mailed them off. I like the blocks for this month-simple rail fence, exactly what I needed. Something easy and quick to get done and into the mail. I wouldn't mind winning this month, I can see putting a bunch of these together into a top. The Moda Marble black is the required background, then for this month a shirting and a red. I like it better than the last few months with odd looking flowers. This BOM is something that I kind of wish that I hadn't committed to. It means a monthly 'gotta do' whether or not I have time or like it. It sounded fun, and sometimes is. I have learned a few things, done some things I hadn't tried before. However, it is a 'gotta do'. With something like Judy's hr a day, I can see the quilt ahead of time, and if I don't like it, I can pass on it. .......Not that that's happened yet. She keeps doing these terrific ones that I have to try, even though I should be starting another Christmas top. If I don' t have my quilts done for Christmas, it will all be Judy's fault; that's my story and I'm sticking to it! So, I do an hr a day for me, a Christmas gift top for one of the family, an hr a day for me, a Christmas gift........you get the idea.

Speaking of the hour a day quilts, after I put the BOM in the mail, I cut strips for JudyL's July hour a day. I have also sewn strips together, but that's as far as I have gotten so far. I love the one that Judy did, would love to do that nice black and white and either pastels or brights, but that's not what was in my stash. So, I'm doing a Judy quilt in a Judy challenge kind of way. In place of the black is a fabric that has been in my stash for years, sort of an eggplant color. It was supposed to be part of something else which never was made (surprised, anyone?) In place of the white is a fabric I bought because it was just so pretty and I loved it, then was afraid to cut into it. Man, has it been cut into now! They are ok together, and then the colors will be scraps and some FQs of colors that happen to be in the pretty print, to brighten things up. At least that is what I am hoping. We will see how it all works out, but in the meantime, I'm getting 2 pieces of yardage and a number of FQs out of my stash. Of course, I'll probably have to buy backing, but we'll see. I've done all of the hour a day quilts so far and from a relatively small stash. So tell me, when should I be able to notice that my stash is getting smaller??

Progress !

Well, its been another eventful week around here. (Get some cheese out while I serve up a little whine before I get to the good news). This weekend it was my turn to visit the ER. I took an over-the-counter med on Friday, by Saturday was having an allergic reaction for which the Dr. told me to take benadryl . Sunday morning things were worse, went to the ER and was put on iv for a while. That stuff worked quickly and well! Since then I have been on pills, and they work fairly well, but I can tell when they are starting to wear off and it takes a good while after the next dose before they start kicking in again. Things get really colorful and itchy during those times. Of course, I must count my blessings that it is only hives/rash/itches/general discomfort and not breathing problems, true pain or the like. The meds also have the side effect of drowsiness, or sleeplessness. I think I am seeing improvement, sure hope so.

Anyway, on to the good news. I have finished one of the Christmas gift tops. I was so eager to get a picture outside in the sun (while it lasts) that I didn't even pull off threads or press it. The wind is delightful today, expect for silly quilters trying to get a good photo. Please forgive the shadows and breeze, I'm just so glad to have it finished this far. Now I have to think of how I want to quilt it. I'll be using my mid-arm. I could always stipple/meander, or clamshell, or Baptist fan, some sort of swirl. I sort of like the idea of making use of the sq in a sq instead of all over, though. I don't want to bite off more than I can chew, but I am so tempted to try something new. Ideas anyone?

PS - I notice that once again, since the contrast between the blues is much less than I originally thought, you will have to click on a photo to be able to see the difference.

Ok, I'm back...and I have a question for you

Would you believe NO chocolate in the house? Actually, the cupboards were pretty bare of everything. I've been on a diet (lost 50 lbs.) and now am trying to maintain the loss for a while before trying to lose more. In order to facilitate dieting, I haven't been buying anything which could tempt me to cheat. On top of that,my son has been home and cooking and eating up a storm. He is a creative cook. He is fearless, imaginative and always seems to hit the mark, taste wise. However, creative in his case also means messy and disorganized. We really have to clean up after he cleans up! LOL And we never seem to know that he has used the last of something. I can't complain, I enjoy eating his meals, and on the nights he cooks and dh cleans up, I am happier than if I went out to eat. I am amused by it all, perhaps bemused is a better word. He is also very health conscious and will get after me if I eat something 'wrong'.

What he doesn't know is that when I have my granddaughter on Fridays (just for the summer) we usually manage to stop for a treat some where. According to my sage cutie, "Grammy, cookies make everything better". Pretty cool- I have lots of frustrations, but far more blessings.

Now- to quilting: I'm attaching a few pictures of the Christmas gift quilt that I am currently working on. Can't mention the intended "giftee" in case they happen to see this. I've gotten the individual rows assembled and now need to finish pressing and then join them. Two borders will surround the blocks. The inner one will be the blue from the toile sq in a sq, the outer border will be the darker print from the 9 patch sq in a sq. When I picked out the fabrics, I loved the combination. I still do, but now that the pieces are assembled, there isn't as much contrast between these to blues as I thought. (you may have to click on the photo to enlarge it to actually see the 2 fabrics) I would have preferred more contrast, but I still like it.
This is as much as I could get onto the design wall for now.

I have discovered that I love 9 patches and 4 patches. I have noticed that many of the quilts or patterns that I am drawn to have 9 or 4 patches in them. I wonder why that is? Also realized that a few years back I would have loved making them by strip piecing and getting them done quickly, now I prefer to do them square by square. (it helps that, for me, the results are also more accurate this way- I really, really like accurate) Anyway, that made me wonder, what kind of pattern appeals to you? (stars, hsts, medallion, appliqué, 4 patch..etc.)

Slow going

Over the last few weeks I have been making slow progress on one of my Christmas gift quilts. Slow for a couple of reasons....lack of inspiration and, generally, life.

About 2 weeks ago we woke up to a phone call from a neighbor apologizing for callling so early, but the silver car in our drive way had just rolled down the drive, across the street, jumped the curb and rolled into another neighbor's yard. That would be my son's pride and joy that did fierce combat with our mailbox and several pinetrees. NOT the way to start your day! We have been dealing with getting that all corrected.

Then there was a trip to the ER with dh (ok now) . Arrived home from that and managed to grab a few hours sleep before taking mother for some diagnostic tests. She has some dementia and can't understand that she had some tests, she woke up thinking she had had some sort of attack or accident and that she is sick. She also can't understand that she isn't 'contagious' because she isn't sick. FRUSTRATING.

Added to that, my boss has assigned me to another (read that additional) job, which is ok, it looks quite interesting and the people involved are nice. However, in order to do that job, I have to do some training and get more clearances. Fine, I like learning new things and gaining new skills. I apply for clearances following the prescribed procedure and get rejection notices because I didn't use the proper procedure. They refer me to the correct procedure, which just happens to be the procedure I followed. DUH Will someone please introduce the right hand to the left hand!?

Sometimes I just want to lock myself inside the sewing room and not come out. Oh- wait- I'm in "lack of inspiration" mode. Maybe I can lock the door and just slash and wack away at stuff till I blow off some steam. LOL Of course, I could straighten up the sewing room, stuff is pulled out from chosing fabrics to use in the above mentioned Christmas quilts. And things that were organized on and under a table are all over because my son (also mentioned above)needed a table to use. Hmmm, no, that would be too much like cleaning, definitely not one of my favorite things. Even more definitely not inspirational! I would try some retail therapy, by the LQS is closed for the 4th. Instead I will try some chocolate therapy. There must be chocolate somewhere in the house, I'll be back after I scrounge up some chocolate!