One more done

I started this this morning and, because it seemed so huge, I didn't think I'd get it done in one day, but I did.
I kept it simple and used acrylic circle templates in 2, 3, 4, & 5'' and just kind of placed them 'willy nilly' and took a break after every two rows.
I love the backing fabric that I pulled from my stash.
Thursday, it will go to the guild meeting so that someone else can put the binding and label on.
Tomorrow, it's on to the first of the last two HD T-shirt quilts.  Won't the girls be surprised when I show up with SIX quilted tops (three completely finished).

Short post

This is going to be short because I'm exhausted. I quilted this one yesterday.

Started the next one yesterday and

finished it this morning

before starting on this one which I made from scraps I had left from making two Dr. Seuss quilts for a couple of our great grandkids last Christmas..  

Quilting and trimming were done before dinner/supper and the binding & label were done after.  

I forgot about the two HD T-shirt quilt tops waiting their turns on Mo'e.  They will probably be next because I don't have backing ready for the third top from Carol /Katie (not sure who gave me which).

All in all, I think it was a very productive weekend.  I don't plan on sewing the binding onto Carol and Katie's charity quilts, but I will trim them and make binding for them.  I'm sure they'll be able to find another guild member willing to do the binding; I just have too much waiting for me to finish, let alone keep up on my BOMs and keep working on Christmas gifts, etc. etc.

Row by Row Road Trip

That's what I took yesterday along with three quilting friends.  Only three shops on our 'schedule', - The Stitchery in Howell, The Quilt Shop in Brighton and The Quilter's Garden in Fenton.
Three of us met up at 9 am and rode in my car to pick up quilter #4 on our way to Howell.  Traffic wasn't bad and within an hour, we arrived.  It was the first time any of us had visited The Stitchery - very nice shop.  Despite my resolve, I bought fabric ... just one yard each of two different fabrics; both are for aprons I'm making as Christmas gifts, and I ordered one of their Row by Row license plates which will be mailed to me once the new supply comes in.  And I found a cute frog quilt pattern, but didn't see the book that it's in ( I ordered it via Amazon.com once I got back home).... it's going to make a cute gift for youngest daughter :).
Next stop on the schedule was The Quilt Shop in Brighton, but we took a side trip over to Jennifer's in Pinckney.  A very small shop packed to the gills with beautiful fabrics... I found fabrics I just 'had' to have there, too.  Three yards of a beautiful blue for skies and 1.5 yards for water in my Row by Row quilt.
On to Brighton... that wasn't quite as easy as I had thought it would be.  The Quilt Shop had moved since the last time I was there.... but it was so worth it.  The previous shop was somewhat small; this new location is at least twice the size of the previous one... I found some beautiful fabric for the sky in my Mackinaw Bridge quilt ( to be done SOMEDAY).
I was disappointed that none of the stores had any license plates left.  The Quilt Shop offered to mail theirs to me once they came in, but I decided that I'd pass.  I wanted them to use in making traveling wristlets for gifts.  I'll wait and see if the two shops  here in  town have any left...if so, then I'll buy theirs... if they don't, I guess I won't be making more than one.
We had to wait for our free row by row pattern from The Quilt Shop to be printed. It's the Love Michigan pattern and I can  imagine it's been very popular.  Luckily, they are able to print them up right there in the store.
After The Quilt Shop, it was lunchtime.  When I had visited The Quilt Shop last time, my friend, Barb, wanted to take me to The Breakfast Club for lunch... and I liked it enough to want to take these friends there, too.  It took a bit of searching, but we found it.. and it was worth it.
Then it was on to Fenton... getting there wasn't too  bad.  Finding  The Quilter's Garden was a little harder... three of us had been there on one of last year's Row by Row road trips.  Nice big shop.  Again, I found fabric that I just couldn't leave without.... AFTER I made sure that I bought the row by row kits that two of my cousins requested.  The fabric I found was a Detroit Tigers (baseball team) print and a solid orange to go with it.  I thought it would be GREAT for the tote bag that my step daughter requested that I make for her ( she's a BIG Tiger fan).
This shop also had a printed out list of all the Michigan shops participating in this year's Row by Row so I perused through it looking for the shop that has a lighthouse that my friend, Marnie, is looking for.  She was living on the army base in the U.P. when her son was born and wants to include a lighthouse (and the Mackinaw bridge) on the quilt she plans on making for him.  I found it!... it's in  Bay City... too far for us to add to our trip yesterday, although maybe we were closer than we thought by the time we got lost lol. ( I was able to get ahold of a somewhat relative who lives in that area and she's going to try to get the pattern  for me on Monday).
Yes, we got lost... after leaving The Quilter's Garden, we went through McD's so that Vicki could get a drink.  I asked the gal in the window how to get to the freeway ... she gave us what sounded like simple directions... they weren't.  We ended up going through several small towns/villages, including Argentine.... ones we'd never heard of.  Out in the middle of 'cow country', we finally stopped again and asked a man for directions.  ( Needless to say, my phone's GPS was NOT working well yesterday).  The man was able to get us back to a free way... it took about 10 miles or so, but we made it.
Once back onto a freeway, it was straight back home with only one stop at a rest area until we got to Lansing... traffic was backed up on 496 right past the Jolly Rd. exit, so I got off on  Jolly Rd and took that into Lansing and showing my friends where my hubby lived and then where I was living when we met.
Nine hours and almost $200 (for me) later, we dropped off one friend at her home and I took the other two back to their vehicles at the Share a Ride where we had met up earlier that day.
The weather was good..not too hot, not too cold, the company was GREAT and LOTS of laughing made it a trip that was so worth it.
I left a message on Facebook for my two cousins telling them that they owe me BIG time and to contact me regarding 'ransom' for their kits - lol.
Today, I plan on  getting the charity quilt that's on Moe quilted and off the frame so that I can put #2 charity quilt on.  Ideally, I would like to get all four charity quilts done by Monday ( last day of August).  We'll see ....

Little Bit here, Little Bit there

I did a little bit of quilting today... just can't show pic because it's a Christmas gift and in case someone finds out about my blog and decides to check it out, I don't want to spoil the surprise.
  After finishing it, I made another gift that didn't require any quilting on it.... then I set to work on making a little elephant pin cushion.   It's really cute and I'm glad I finally got around to making it - don't think I'll make another one, though - unless I enlarge the pattern.  The pattern is by Heather Bailey and called Effie and Ollie elephant.

It was just one of those days when I just felt like 'playing'... I slept until about 10:30 this morning, waking up just before receiving a call informing me that one of our long time members of the quilt guild passed away Friday.  We knew it was coming, but I don't think we were really prepared; I know I wasn't.  I'm grateful that she's no longer in pain, but I'm sure going to miss her.   Her memorial service will be Tuesday and I told hubby that I'll be going.

Slow but steady

OK, let's try this again.....lost what I had 'written' while trying to upload pics.

There's not a whole lot going on quilting wise - been busy with 'life'--taking hubby for blood work and a MRI, then having to go back to the hospital the next day because I forgot that I needed bloodwork done, too.....car has to go in for a minor repair, bills to be paid, yadda yadda yadda.

I did get a start on my first row for this year's Row by Row.

I've fused everything down except for the hats - they'll probably have to be stitched on after the quilt is completed.  I didn't follow the pattern exactly - I spaced/placed the women differently - looks more balanced this way.  I also didn't have the 'extras' like starfish,  bucket and tiny flowers for hat trim....still need to do the applique. ( did the applique later in the day)

Started working on tea towels that will be Christmas gifts for our 'girls'

Note to self--- don't use sharpie to label the pattern pieces.  You can see 'spots' showing through the white fabric.  I'm using the stabilizer that I bought from Beth Ferrier when she taught a class at our guild... Wash Away Applique Sheets.  Only one sheet of it left, but more is on it's way :).

 I don't know how many times it will have to be washed for the product to dissolve enough that you won't be able to see where I used the sharpie so I guess I'll wash this towel and find out.

Not sure what I'm going to work on today---exeutive meeting before the guild meeting.   I still have lots of 'life' needs - like laundry - that I should get to.

I'm still here

.... just haven't done a lot of quilting since I last posted.  I did go to the guild's sew in on Friday and Saturday, but Friday I just sat and talked with the others - just couldn't get up the energy to actually do something other than cut batting for some charity quilts I have to quilt - 3 for someone else in the guild and the Harley Davidson t shirt quilt that I'm doing.

Saturday was a little better, but not by much.  I took the remaining six H.D. t-shirt blocks and laid them out on the floor with scraps from other H.D. shirts ( did this part on Friday), then started sewing them together... it came out to make a nice size lap quilt.  I also got to see some of the blocks that Bill R. is making from the Infrognito pattern that I loaned him.  He's making EIGHTY blocks for a twin size and out of batiks - really neat!  I wish I had taken a pic to share with you. 

 The one pictured above is the one I did ( I added the lips and Give Me A - they weren't part of the pattern).

I also got to see one of Barb's quilts laid out into rows... another one that's all batik.  Really pretty.

Maybe I should break down and start using more batiks... I do like them, but it used to be I didn't buy them very often because they cost quite a bit more than the regular cottons that I use.

I did buy two yards (of batik) today... because it was only $9 a yard and then 20% off that and because it was pretty close to what I was thinking of using for the background for the Scooby Doo quilt that I want to make for a friend in Scotland.

The colors are much brighter in person... I took the pic with my notebook and haven't learned how to brighten the pics I take with it.

This noon, I went down to Cassie's ( Sweet Bee Quilts) to get a 1/2 yard of red, a 1/2 yard of brown and a package of Soft and Stable... and I got them -- along with the batik and two free squash ( 1 zucchini and 1 summer squash which I'll slice and saute with an onion - yummy).

The red and brown will be used for the appliques that I'll be putting onto tea towels that I'm giving to our girls ( daughters and granddaughters) for Christmas.

The Soft and Stable is for something that I'm keeping a secret right now... will disclose later :).

Playing with paint

OK, here's a shot of the quilt I started yesterday; finished piecing today.

 Now, I'm experimenting with ways that I can possibly add the sandpipers.

Here's my first try -- traced onto 'sand' fabric with a brown pigma pen and then painted with Jacquard textile paints.

 Did you know that if you mix Russett with White, you get pink?  I didn't - I expected a lighter brown, like tan. Now, I have to let it set for 24 hours before I heat set with an iron.  It's not exactly what I'm looking for so will try something else tomorrow.

Feeling some accomplishment

Here's the finished T-shirt quilt top; got it done yesterday.  I tried to post the pic on here after it was finished, but had some issues with Google & my tablet and by the time I got it worked out, I didn't feel like blogging.

Got up this morning and heard a yet to be made  quilt top calling me.  I went and retrieved the tub it's been in for at least two or three years as I accumulated other fabrics to go into it.  I bought the original piece - its a preprinted panel - the last time I went to retreat with some of the other guild members.

Anyway, I got the fabrics out of the bin and realized that I needed more---BUT I had just the ones I needed in my fabric stash that I was using for last year's Row by Row--PERFECT!!

It's not done yet. -  have about 1/3 left to do and I think I might want to go down to The Hen House to see if she has a rusty red that I can use for the outer border and binding.  Here's what I have done so far--two more panel blocks to add to the top after I add the sashing row over the life jacket.

This fabric was also in the bin and I'd like to use it for the backing but there's only a half yard so I'm going to check a couple of quilt shops to see if it's still available.

I think I'm going to put the sandpiper and some of the shells down in the sand areas on the front- just not sure yet how I'm going to do it - I can cut the pieces out of this fabric piece or I can trace & transfer to a piece of light colored (white or pale tan) and then use either fabric paints or thread paint before or after appliqueing them to the quilt top or I can paint them directly onto the 'sand' .....decisions, decisions.

Great Deal gone bad :(

Last night at guild, one of the members had a baggie full of needle cases that she was trying to sell for a friend.  Another member and I dove right into them as soon as I spotted the brand name that we use for our long arms; we sifted through, picked out what we wanted, made arrangements for payment and took our 1/2 priced deals home with us.
Looking the needles up at SuperiorThreads.com, we kind of came to the conclusion that these are not the right needles for our machines, sigh.  The other member called our local dealer to find out for sure... nope, they're not for our machines and if we tried to use them in our machines, we could meet deadly and costly consequences ( as in messing up the timing).  So the needles will go back to the member who brought them in, sigh again.

In the meantime, I found more Harley Davidson t-shirts in the tub yesterday so I've been cutting them apart and applying fusible interfacing to the backs of the shirt fronts and some of the shirt backs.  I already had 10 done, so need 10 more to make a complete top.  At first I thought I wouldn't have enough and would have to fill a block or two with a blank shirt back, but then I went back in to check the tub one more time and found even more.  This time, I thoroughly checked to make sure I had them all.  Now I have enough for one complete top -   16" blocks - 4 across by 5 down - and I'm not sure how many extras; will count after I get the first one done.

After the guild meeting last night, I decided that I'd look for a design that I'd like for the blank blocks in my Daisy Dance ( by Fons & Porter) quilt top.  I found one that I like and that I can do; traced it out onto Golden Thread paper then laid it out on one of the blocks... just a smidgen too big - oh well, back to the drawing board - or my  copy of 502 New Quilting Motifs (Quiltmaker magazine) where I found the first design/motif - and found another one that will fit (and I like) so that's probably what I will go with.... but have to finish at least the one H.D. quilt first.

I delivered one charity quilt back to it's piecer last night so that she can put the binding on... and opened my big mouth and volunteered to quilt another one.  That makes three for the charity quilt pile, not counting the HD quilt(s).  They're just scrap quilts so won't take me long to quilt them once I get them onto the frame.  I was going to put Daisy Dance on next, but it's going to take me a few days to do, so I'll probably do the charity quilts first.

Found a pattern for some cute baby girl Mary Jane shoes at http://www.thestitchingscientist.com .  One of my cousins has a granddaughter due to be born in  mid. Oct; I think I'll try and make a pair for her.  Then grandma can have the pattern incase she wants to make some, too

Ok, back to  cutting out and fusing t-shirts.

Correction

In my last blog entry, I said that I thought I only had one UFO left to finish - then found an OLD one that is applique'.  I was wrong... I had two left before finding the applique' one - 1. I call this Donna's quilt.  It's for a distant cousin and it's being made mostly from fabrics that I inherited when her sister passed away.  2. is The Quilter's Teddy Bear.. which is paper piecing and is probably at least 1/2 done; it's just a matter of getting it back out of the tub and finishing it up.  I haven't worked on it in probably three years... I messed up and didn't follow the designer's instructions to put the paper on the top of the fabric; I did it the way I had learned in previous paper piecing projects.  This wasn't a problem until I got to one particular spot - and that's where I stopped because I was totally confused until I read the directions again.  3. is the applique' quilt... baskets of flowers.  I haven't checked so I'm hoping that I still have the fabric I was using for the baskets and I know I'll have to come up with other fabrics for the flowers. and then I found number  4. and possibly 5.  I still have Harley Davidson t-shirt blocks that one of my brothers gave to me to make into quilts for patients at the VA hospital.  I know there's enough blocks (and t-shirts waiting to be cut into blocks) for at least one quilt.. and there might be some shirts left that I could make into another quilt if I mix the 'prints' from the fronts with solids from the backs of the shirts.  I also have the scraps left from the t shirts that were already cut up and used for quilts and I think I should take at least some of them and make another quilt ( or two); they won't be 'fancy' with images or prints but I'll bet they'll still be warm and cozy.  Somewhere in my stash are some preprinted blocks that are partially embroidered; I should get around to finishing them, too... not counting them as a  UFO for some reason; I really should.

Monday, I went to one of our local quilt shops hoping to get another yard of the cute dog print that I used in the center of the quilt I showed in my last blog.  They had it... just 1 1/2 yds left on the bolt... it came home with me and I'll get to make a second 'big border' quilt, this time for my personal stash ( which means it will be saved for a future grandbaby).  When I purchased the fabric for the first one, I got 3 yds of the 'backing' fabric, so I'm sure I have enough.  If not, the shop still has quite a bit of that print left plus two others that co-ordinate with the 'center' fabric.

Tuesday, we had people here replacing our home's skirting and our front storm door... As one of the men was leaving, he asked me what that big machine was in the living room and I told him it was my long arm quilting machine.  He said it looked pretty scarey to him lol.

Yesterday morning, I finished a doll quilt for donation. - a smaller version of the puppy quilt.

I've also been making fabric hearts for The Preemie Project.  I tried taking a pic of the three I've done so far, but my camera was acting up and wouldn't let me.  So cute and simple to do...and for a great cause.  They are given to parents when their baby is admitted to the NICU.  The heart is worn against the parent's skin so that it absorbs their scent;  the heart is then placed in the infant's bed.  Check out their website and join in if you feel called to do so.... http://www.thepreemieproject.com

With all that I've been doing ( doll quilts, fabric hearts and Strings for Siren), you'd think that my scrap stash would be getting smaller, but it's not!  I really believe that it's multiplying!!

I'm dieing to start a new quilt top, but am refusing to until I get some of the already completed tops onto - and then off from - Mo'e.  But I always come up with some reason not to load any onto 'him'... I need to practice feathers for the Sticks and Stonehenge and the San Antonio Star quilts, I need a new template/acrylic tool to do the Baptist Fan on the Mountain Majestic, etc. etc.  I'm going to the Grand Rapids AQS show next Wednesday and I'm hoping that I'll find the Baptist Fan tool there... if not, I'll have to order it online so there's no sense in loading that top on until I have the tool.  I should just 'bite the bullet' and load a practice piece onto Mo'e and get to the feathers; I just don't feel like it :(.

There is still so much that I want to try and quilts I want to do... just can't seem to get myself around to do it.  I don't have the energy/ambition; always feeling like I need a nap.  Going in for blood work on the 17th and when the dr. has the results I'm going to talk  to him & try to figure out what's going on.  I should not be feeling this 'tired'; I shouldn't be needing a nap three hours after I get up from six hours of sleep.