It's getting closer to the holidays...

I finished the 'greats' dresses and the dresses for their dolls, too.... just not by the time I had hoped to complete them.  For some reason, the last two doll dresses gave me such a hard time... I couldn't get the pleats right ( had a little trouble with the third 'greats' dress from the same pattern, too); the dress starts out as a rectangle and you fold the fabric at the top and then stitch each pleat down so many inches ( just about waist level I'd guess) before folding the next pair of pleats. I finally decided that they are doll dresses and no one is going to measure the pleats to make sure they are all the same size.
 Took a pic of all of them together, but it's on my 'notebook' and I can't figure out how to get it from there to here.
I do have pics of two of the dresses..

 Camryn's ( looks just like the ones made for Rhyanna and Avery)

Kayleigh's

I found white 't-shirts' for two of the girls to wear under their dress, and found a white turtleneck for the third and a sweet white sweater to wear over her dress for Kayleigh.

Today, I started on the tablerunner... 

steps 1 and 2

step 3

step 4

and for 8 of the 12 required...there's a step 5

When I tried the practice piece, it was so easy that I thought I could almost whip the actual table runner together in no time.... IT DECEIVED ME!  These are turning out to be quite a bit more difficult to do than the practice piece was ( and it was from the same pattern?!?!)  What gives???

The curves are not stitching up as easily as they did my first try... I find I'm having to go back and pick out some stitches and re-stitching them.

I'm about 1/2 way through half of these 'blocks'... once all 12 are done, I'll still need to do some 4 patches before I can start assembling the 'blocks'; I think I need 4. 

  Having the top done by Wednesday is my goal and hoping to quilt it right after Thanksgiving.  If I succeed, then I can make microwave bowl holders and a bun holder to match over the weekend.  If  I don't make my goal, then I'll have to work around my house cleaning schedule because I have to start that on Monday (Dec. 1st).  Then, somewhere amongst the cleaning, I have to do my Christmas baking. wrap gifts, AND make sure that we have motel reservations for our trip to & from Dallas over Christmas.  Still watching the weather, hoping and praying that it won't keep us from going.

I'm getting there....

Wednesday, we delivered the quilts to the V.A. hospital and, once back in town, I delivered 8 quilts to Siren. Both places were very appreciative of our donations.

 Of course, we couldn't do a road trip without stopping to eat and shop.  The four of us checked out a quilt shop in Battle Creek where I found a few bargains, but managed to hold myself back by buying two fat quarters and a cloth book 'kit' about a dragon.  The next shop was the Marshall House where I probably spent more than I should....  I bought two yards of fabric ( a gold print and a solid black) to go with the other fabrics I need for the table runner for the oldest daughter ( yes, she's getting it even if she doesn't remember what it looked like online) and a few more fat quarters for the bowl holders. Oh yeah, and a pattern for a smaller version of the Christmas tree that I just completed ( will make good Christmas gift next year).   I started right on the book and one set of the bowl holders that night - finished them up the next morning.

great grandson will get the book

Being the 'skinflint' that I am... I cut my squares at 9" instead of the 10" a lot of patterns call for; that way, I could get 4 squares from each fat quarter.  

Here's the first dress completed... I started it Friday night - finished everything but the hem yesterday - that I finished tonight while watching tv.  It still needs the buttons sewn onto the back ( the back ends of the straps button onto the inside back of the dress), but I want to wait until she can try the dress  on and I can be sure where to place the buttons.  I'm going to make a dress for her doll out of the same fabric - just trying  to decide on which doll dress pattern looks the most like her dress.

Below is the second dress - started last night and finished today.  It's not as "easy peasy" as the designer claims... somehow I didn't get the pleats on the front the right size despite my measuring & marking and even pinning; I had to take a couple out and re-do them.  It was going so well in the beginning that I thought I'd have it done by noon today.... well, noon came & went and it was almost dinner time before I finally finished.  The doll's dress was hard, but easier than the full size version ( I did that one yesterday before starting on the larger one - if I messed up badly, it wasn't a major loss of fabric).

Even hubby appeared to like them... he chuckled when I showed them to him, which is a sign of approval.

Tomorrow I'll start on dress # 3 along with a second doll dress... and, hopefully, Tuesday will see the 4th and final dress done along with two doll dresses.  That's my goal anyway since Wed. I have to run errands, do some more Christmas shopping and buy a few groceries and Thurs. I'm taking my final group of guild members to the museum to see the art quilts.  

I'd like to have all the Christmas gifts made/purchased before Thanksgiving - that's my goal anyway.  I'll start working on making more of the bowls in between working on the table runner and also the weiner dog for my step-son starting on Friday- that will give me six days... if it's not enough, I still have the rest of the month to get them done .... but they have to be done by Nov. 30th because....

Dec. 1st starts the YUCKKY housecleaning... I'll have two weeks to get it clean before we leave for Texas to have spend Christmas and our 21st wedding anniversary with two of my kids, two grandsons and my three 'greats'.  The gal who's cats I watched while she went on vacation last summer will be coming in daily to take care of our cats and I really don't want to be embarrassed by an unkept house - yeah, she's a quilter, too, and knows that quilting comes before housework... but, remember, I've seen her house and it's spotless!  Besides, it will be nice to come home to a clean house.  :)

WoooHooo! It's Done - and hanging

But not without some minor glitches here and there.  For instance, while doing the feathers in the green, Mo'e would sometimes go off in one direction that wasn't where I was trying to direct him - especially in the middle over the tree trunk ( I put this on with the tree skirt end on first).  Then, just as I'm getting to the border at the top of the tree, he started acting 'funny'... I did some investigating and this is what I found...

I was a couple of inches shy of backing fabric... sigh...  luckily, there was a LOT of backing fabric at the other end ( I usually don't roll it as far as I did this time before loading batting & top), so I took it off the frame, cut the excess off the bottom, stitched it to the backing top and put it back on the frame so I could finish quilting it.  I was glad I was able to 'fix' it so easily.

After trimming, squaring up, binding & adding label & hanging sleeve - back it went on the frame this morning so that I could add the crystals ( approximately 206) in three different sizes.  I wish they would show; I'm quite pleased with the results.  Even that part gave me a bit of trouble this morning when I couldn't find the 'heat set tool' right off- because it was 'taken care of' ( I must learn to stop doing  that lol).  I ran my hand over it several times to make sure that I set each and every crystal - it took about three tries before I finally had them all affixed.

I dug out cookie cutters and traced around them before stippling/meandering on the white background - some show up better in the picture than others do, but you get the idea,  right?

I sat and cut out & stitched penquins while watching tv last night ( Hart to Hart and then McMillan & Wife - two oldie but goodies)... and added eyes & hanging ribbons to all that still needed them.  Three more left to do and I can cross that task off my to-do list.

Tomorrow, the plan is to go with three other guild members to deliver the quilts to the V.A. hospital... and, on my way to meet the others, I'll stop at Siren to drop off eight other quilts.  The members did a great job, as usual.  There are 35 twin size quilts including one afghan, 34 pillowcases, 1 wheelchair quilt, 2 bags and six pillows, plus the 8 for Siren.

This coming weekend is our guild's monthly sew in and my plan is to work on the dresses for the greats (great granddaughters) and their dolls.  Once those are done, I'll only have the doxi dog to make for my step-son before Christmas.  Looks like I'll have to wait until after the new year to finish up the Garden Quilts... along with my Fiesta de Talevera and my TQS 2014 BOM ( it just needs borders added).  Since we're going to be gone for the holidays and someone is going to be coming in to tend to our cats, I've GOT to clean house and I have Christmas baking that needs to be done - It won't be Christmas without my mom's fudge and cookies from Maga ( what my grands & greats call me).

Got some great patterns at JoAnn's yesterday - 5 for $5.00 - got a duplicate of the pattern for largest size 'greats' dress, but in half size, which I  think will fit her better, a pattern for some cute 'monster' pillows, one for dog clothes, another for 18" doll and the final one is a pattern for making stuffed polar bears, penquins & seals. --  everything except the dress can wait til after the new year when I can make them for Christmas '15.

I almost forgot -  I made another gift this past week; it's for the daughter of one of my grandsons' current girlfriend ( which means I hope she'll soon be a former girlfriend).  One of the guild members brought one in to the meeting one night and it dawned on me that it would be perfect for this little girl. -- so simple and inexpensive to do.  Anyway, here it is... a doll bed, quilt & pillow made with a 'rubbermaid' tub ( about 16" long thats been covered with  a couple layers of batting and then a 'sheet' which is hot glued to the underside of the lid which comes off so that the quilt & pillow ( and doll?) can be stored inside.  

The easiest way for me to make the ruffle around the upper edge of the container itself was to zig zag stitch over 1/8" ribbon which I  tied into a bow after I evened out the ruffles and hot glued them down.  To make sure the bow didn't come loose, I hot glued a 'jewel' in the middle of it.  I think she's going to love it; I know I had fun making it (except for the two times I burned my fingers with the hot glue) -- and I think I'm going to make up some more for future gifts/donations.

FINISHED!!

Well, at least this one is.....

Unfortunately, it's so long that I couldn't get the entire thing into the shot.

Here's a close up.....

 Oh!!  Son of a quilter!!   I just noticed that I missed quilting in the arcs...... be back later ( after I fix them and get back from guild meeting).


Ok, I'm home.... everyone at guild seemed to like the quilt and the quilting I did on  it.  I'm pretty pleased with it - there are some imperfect spots but for the most part, it's pretty darned good.  :)
I just don't want to have to do any more quilts where I spend as much time burying threads as I do quilting.  There has to be a better way to handle the tails at the  beginning and ending of each 'seam'.

Tomorrow I plan on loading our Christmas tree quilted wall hanging

 ( it's TALL) onto the frame, but probably won't start on it for a few days.... I told my dear hubby that I would YIKES do some housework - YUCK.  And there are a couple of dr. appts. for him coming up - and I'm planning on taking another group to M.S.U. museum to see the quilt exhibit there ( I've been twice in the past six weeks already).... and I want to help deliver the quilts to the V.A. hospital in Battle Creek.

When I load it on, I'm going to put it tree skirt and trunk first so that I can comfortably do feathers on the tree - probably 3 feathers across each section.  On the background, I'm going to trace some Christmas cookie cutters and  quilt them with white thread with stippling all around the shapes.  I'm not sure how I want to do the skirt part -  maybe I can write Merry Christmas in different directions on the red part - I'm not touching the green & white because the pieces are so small.

Still have more penquins to make up/finish, too.  Here's the pic I said I'd take & post...

Obviously, the purple one still needs eyes - most of them do; I plan on glueing eyes on a bunch of the penquins at the same time... will do the same with the hangers.  Still haven't figured out how I'll name & date them... I tried making 'ribbon' from white cotton and writing with pigma pen, but I was really  unhappy with it.......... just had a thought!!... what I did before was like making bias tape so it was pretty bulky... maybe I could just cut the strips with pinking shears, that should work better.

Ok, I'm beat and going to call it a night here.... remember I'm going to be doing housework, etc for the next couple of weeks - but if you don't hear anything from me by Thanksgiving week - call the Quilt Police EMTs because I'm probably either in quilting withdrawal or have gone into a self induced coma to get out of doing the housework  LOL.