Progress SUCCESS!

But it wasn't without a struggle... quite a bit of struggle in fact.  Below are how the bear paw blocks were supposed to look....

 Had this happen TWICE

 and this only once, thank goodness

 Before I could add the green inner border, I had to remove the black inner border because it was too narrow due to my somehow mis-cutting the center square.  I still ended up having to use a little fudging to get the green border to fit, but I got it!!

 Next came the pieced bear paw borders...

 Then came the outer border with appliqued bear paw prints.  I did not want to try and applique the paws onto a long strip of fabric let alone onto the border strip after it had been sewn onto the quilt top, so I needed to measure and cut pieces to fit on either end of each bear paw... that's when I ran out of black fabric and had to make a quick run over to Walmart yesterday.

 I was up about 7 this morning but still felt tired/sleepy so about 9, I went back to bed 'for a couple of hours'... I didn't get up until shortly after noon.  I felt good, though.  I really needed that extra sleep.

It was about 1:30 or so before I got into my sewing room... once I did, it didn't take too long to finish the outer borders... here it is.... a finished flimsy... I was going to cut/prep the binding while I was at it, but can't decide whether to use more of the black or use the green of the inner border.... decisions, decisions.

Once the bear quilt top was done, it was time to get to working on my second snow'man' for the fatcatpatterns BOW.  This one is a woman snowperson and Sindy designed her with small round earrings which I really didn't care for.  Instead of the earrings, I gave her eyelashes so you know it's a her.  :)   Two done - Nine to go.

Ok, bedtime ( according to Buddy lol)

take care....
ttyl....

More Progress

You'll have to 'stay tuned' until tomorrow, though.  It was a long day here trying to work on the bear quilt top.. and am close to finishing... had to run to Walmart to get more black fabric so I can complete the top tomorrow - by then, it was time for dinner ... and now I'm beat and calling it an early night.

take care
cya tomorrow :)

Progress is good

The day before  yesterday I finally got back to working on the dog quilt and succeeded in getting all the borders on.  Now to find backing fabric; I had something I thought I'd use but if I did, then I wouldn't be able to make the second baby quilt ( same pattern, same prints) like I've been wanting to.  The top has been folded up and is now hanging on the rack while I try and figure out what to do not only for backing but also for binding because there isn't enough of the teal left to use and I don't want a yellow binding.

Tuesday, while hubby and I were 'running errands', I stopped in to JoAnn's because my friend, Katie, showed me the Christmas prints she had bought and I needed something for the background for the BOTW that I joined at fatcatpatterns.com.  I was very good... only bought what I absolutely needed.. although it was a struggle because I saw so many lovelies.

Here it is.... the background fabric I bought and the first snowman....

Then it was time to get back to working on the bear quilt.....sigh... LOTS of half square triangle blocks need to be made.  I have them stitched, separated and pressed... now, I just need to square them up - which will mean a lot of standing unless I break it down like I tried to do today... 

I'll go back to work on this tomorrow... probably won't get it done, but it will be progress. 

Time to go kick back and relax for a bit.  Last night, I watched Jeff Dunham's new special on Netflix.... funny as usual.  Not sure what I'll watch tonight... maybe another episode of Person of Interest - really like this show.

take care.....
ttyl....

Quick Catch Up

For some reason, this is the last photo taken of my current project ( ok, one of my current projects).  I've gotten more done than this shows.  The sashing is all sewn on and the inside border and outside border has been cut; still need to cut the middle border.  It's just been one of those weeks when I'm not feeling so hot.

Wednesday was grocery shopping day, so no sewing that day and yesterday I was still 'recovering' from the shopping and getting my pedicure.  Today is the sew in for our guild and I was planning on going, but then the pkg. I was waiting for was slow getting here and I needed it for the project I was taking to the sew in.  It did come today, but I made other plans ( like resting my back) and so that isn't happening this weekend.

Since I wasn't going to sew in, I decided to call someone to come out and look at our dishwasher that we haven't used in almost nine months because it wasn't getting dishes clean.  I was lucky calling when I did because they had someone here within the hour... he fiddled around with it and told me to let it run two full cycles ... but I have a feeling he's going to have to come back out because it's been about two hours and the darned thing is still on the first cycle!

Anyway, hopefully tomorrow my back will feel good enough to let me get the borders onto the dog quilt... then, I just need to decide on backing fabric - WAIT!!  I think I have just what I need... will have to check to see if it's going to be enough.  Will let you know in a later post.

In the meantime, I'm going searching for my heating pad ...

take care....
ttyl.........

Lake Erie....Bucket list finished

It wont let me share the other video...says its too big.. :(

........... and now it looks like it won't let me share this one either.. and it's much smaller.  :(  SIGH... guess you all will just have to take my word for it... or become my friend on FB because it let me share the bigger file.  :)

Birthday Week

My kids came from Texas and Wyoming to help me celebrate this year.  They took hubby and I ( and Buddy) up to Mackinaw City and over to Mackinaw Island.  On the island, we had a private one hour tour which was wonderful!  We saw so many beautiful homes and learned so much about the island.  We did a bit of shopping and still had time for lunch before heading back over to the mainland.  Even the ferry ride was a bit exciting.  I'd ridden it before, but this time it took us under the Mackinaw Bridge on our way over to the island; it was certainly a different view of the bridge than what you see driving over it.  Which really isn't saying a whole lot since I have a fear of bridges and can only focus on the road right in front of me when driving across one... this time I even told hubby and son to not even talk to me while we were crossing.  I certainly don't make the effort to look out over the water.

The next day ( Tuesday) we drove up to Sault St. Marie where I was planning on dipping my toes in Lake Superior.  First up was lunch and we had been told of a little place where they come out to your car, take your order from the menu they provide, and bring it back to you in paper bags.  Then, you can either sit there in your car to eat or you can drive down this little road to a park ( which is what we did) and watch the ferry go back and forth from the island across from the park.

Then it was time for the actual toe dipping.  We realized that the first stop was not actually at the lake, it was in Superior Bay, but that was fine.

that's grandpuppy, Skipper, with son in law.

I think everyone except my husband stood in the water.  It was decided that we needed to go to the spot I originally picked to make it 'official'... (later, hubby told me that was in the bay, too).  It was a little surprising at this spot because, yes, the water was really cold when you first stepped in ( just like the first one), but if you gave it a few seconds, it started to warm up and I ended up standing in there for a few minutes because it felt so good.

There were LOTS of photos taken but none have made it into my laptop so I can't share with you at this point.

We came home the same day that we accomplished my goal of walking in Lake Superior and I told the kids that they needed to come pick up some stuff at the house... and I asked my son to hook the vcr/dvd player to my new tv.  There was a few things for my oldest daughter that needed to leave my house... and, while the girls & my son in law thought they were just waiting for my son to do the hook up, I went into my bedroom closet and pulled out ALL the quilts ( there were WAY more than I thought there were) and called the oldest daughter to come in and take what she wanted ( younger daughter was probably in her car talking to her current bf).  Then, I saw the younger daughter was back on our deck/porch and told her "Your sister is in here picking out quilts - if you want any you'd better get in here!"... and also told son in law and son to come pick some out, too.  The guys each took two and I lost count of how many the girls took.  I told them to read the labels because there were some that were intended for someone else so they couldn't have them... younger daughter didn't do as she was told and ended up taking one that wasn't on the 'free for all' list and had to bring it back the next day.  

The older daughter took quilts for all the grandkids ( our greats) for their birthdays that are all coming up between now and Dec. -- which means I don't have to stress about mailing them and worrying about them getting lost in transit.  YAY!  She also called 'dibs' on my Amish with a twist III? when I'm ready to part with it.

All in all, I think they took close to half of my collection... which is fine.  They were also told "You are not allowed to sell them!" (my oldest daughter has a booth in an antique market and I wanted to be sure she knew).   O.D. also asked about the tops waiting to be quilted that I mentioned in passing... I opened the door to the room they are in... the rack is a double one and it's full!  She asked "WHY?"... I told her that there are days when it's easier for me to sit and sew than to stand at the machine.  I didn't mention that sometimes they have to wait until I get batting and/or backing fabric for them... and sometimes I just have to wait for inspiration on how I want to quilt it.

Wednesday, the Texas kids headed back home while the younger daughter stayed here to finish up clearing out what she could of her storage locker.  I helped her do that yesterday and brought home stuff that she didn't want but was too good to just toss in trash ( stuffed animals, a large toy r.c. jeep that lost it's r.c., gson's bowling trophies & shoes... stuff like that).  Oh yeah, and a trunk full ( I'm not kidding!!) of plastic clothes hangers along with a beautiful quilt that she has no memory of - thought I'd made it... told her nope.  I think I remember where she got it.  Anyway, she didn't want it so I brought it home with me.  I gave the jeep to the boy across the street and his two little sisters each got a stuffed animal and then I went over to the neighbors behind us ( where Buddy's little girlfriend Bella lives) and asked if Bella and her sister could have some toys ( and explained where they came from).  Bella came over with me and I let her pick out a couple of stuffed animals and I had a sit and spin for her younger sister along with one of those annoying toys that have a long stick handle attached and it makes noise as you roll it along on the floor.  All the kids were excited and very politely said "Thank you".  I still have a few left which I'll probably donate to the clothing bank when I take the trunkfull of hangers down to them.

The bowling shoes and trophies I thought I'd talk to the owner of the bowling alley across the way to see if we can sell the shoes ( basically brand new) and contact the people who do the trophies for the kids to donate them to use in the future.  I'll take a photo of them first and then ask that they give me the 'badges' with his name & info on them.

Tomorrow will be the end of my birthday week.... I'm planning on driving over to Lake Erie and walk in it's waters... then I will have either walked or swam in all of the Great Lakes, floated in The Great Salt Lake, swam in the Atlantic Ocean, blew my chance to wade in the Pacific, walked in the waters of Lake Pontchartrain and the Gulf of Mexico.  It didn't start out as a 'bucket list', but it looks like it ended up as one.

I did tell my kids that this birthday was so great that I'm going to turn 70 again next year - hint, hint lol  The younger daughter and I were talking about going somewhere different -- maybe Holland, Mi.  I think we've all been there, but not in the last decade... last century for a couple of them.

In the meantime, I really need to get working on my quilt guild challenge which is due in just over a month.. and I have basically done nothing other than minor prep work ( gathered some fabrics and had the photo enlarged).

I'll try and add some photos from my phone... if it doesn't work, I'll get them transferred over here to my laptop and show some at a later day.

Family photo taken in Mackinaw City.... son on left then youngest daughter, son in law and my older daughter, then myself and my wonderful husband (and Buddy behind me)

Now, I'm off to find myself some lunch ( leftovers from Applebee's dinner last night)... Yummm

take care....

ttyl........

while trying to load these photos and attempting to do the same with a video, I received news that the guild challenge deadline has been moved to Nov... wheee!!  more time - love it!

Labor Day weekend

When my kids were younger, I used to tell them that Labor Day was a day for them to help me clean the house.  Of course, it didn't take them long to figure out that their mom was full of hot air/bologna.  <smile>  I followed my own 'advice' this past holiday weekend, although not by spending the time cleaning house.  I decided to spend most of the time in my sewing room doing a little cleaning/ clearing of space and also by sewing up some projects and using up some scraps.

The first project I worked on on Saturday was some fabric pieces and directions for a card play block that I received in the 'ufo' collection of a quilting friend who passed away earlier this year.

Once it was completed, I wanted to find out what the block was for, thinking that if it was for a president's block, that it should go to that past president of our guild.  That's not what it was for, though... now, I'm not quite sure what I will do with it - definitely not going to let it lay around and languish on precious real estate in my sewing room.

Just remembered that I hadn't shared this photo yet...

This is a car 'diddy' bag... actually, I made two last Thursday, but only took a photo of one... both basically look the same.  Not hard to do at all... the original pattern included a zippered pocket and a second pocket, but I want to use these as 'trash bag holders so pockets weren't necessary... http://www.sewcanshe.com/blog/2016/4/26/car-diddy-bag-free-sewing-tutorial

No sewing on Friday - not sure why, lazy day, I guess - or maybe I was too busy doing YIKES housework.

Next up was Saturday and I worked on a secret project first off, then the card trick block, and then a NEW project...

This was one of the three patterns I had bought while at the AQS quilt show in Grand Rapids last month.  All fabrics were from my stash.  It came out so cute and was pretty easy -- and I might make a few more for Christmas gifts - or maybe the church's bazaar this fall.  The pattern is from Bloomin' Minds Half to Have and is called ... #642 I Know.

On Sunday, first up was doing my RSC for Sept.... Purple!  You can't really tell from the photo but there are 5 blocks...

Then, while trying to do a little cleaning/clearing, I decided that I would add the orphan blocks I'd found to the rows I'd sewn at the last sew in, but, no, that wasn't enough for me... I went ahead and stitched the rows into a quilt top....  It's folded up in the photo.. I wasn't going to ask hubby to hold it up so I could take a pic.. it can wait until after it's been quilted.  6" finished blocks 11 blocks across and 12 rows... should finish at approx. 66" x 72". And, most probably, a charity quilt.  Glad that's out of my room!

Then, while sorting, re-organizing ( trying to find something/ looking for dog patterns), I came across a pattern for a dog scarf.  I knew exactly where the M.S.U. ( Go Green!) fabric was, so I made this scarf for Buddy. 

He LOVES it... even patiently waited so I could take his photo. ( Mr. Prissy in the background)

Once I found the dog patterns again ( I had put them away in a bin... sigh).  Here are the three blocks that I started on Saturday night and finished last night...

 This guy had a complete wardrobe change :)

.... and I have a fourth one traced onto paper back fusible and roughly cut & ready to fuse onto fabrics once I find the ones I want to use.  That will leave only one more block yet to be done; once that's done, it will be time to find sashing fabric(s).

Then, I need to get to this one.  I have the appliqued bear paw blocks done, but still need to do the pieced ones - LOTS of half square triangle blocks - not my favorite.  :(

I NEED to get these done and off the design wall so that I can get to work on the guild challenge that is due NEXT MONTH!!!  Why oh why did I wait so long?!?!?!  I have done the prep work, but should have been a little further along than what I am... and with being gone for four days next week, it might end up a little too close for comfort in getting it done.  Of course, if I don't find the inspiration picture that I was assigned, it might be all for naught! :(.  Well, I'm not going to fuss about it... not much chance of winning anyway ( I've seen one of the competition's), just a new technique for me to try.

And, on that note, I've got to scoot... need to go get groceries and, hopefully, new tires on the car today.

take care.......
ttyl.....