Goodnight Irene!

 

Its complete! Well, the top is anyway. Since it's a scrappy quilt, I'm going to grab some of my odds and ends of fabrics that are less than half a yard but more than a fat quarter and piece them together for the backing before I take it all down to my neighbor quilter. I want a Baptist Fan quilting design on it but I don't want to do it myself. But before I do that, I want to get the tote bag finished...

This is the front side. I'm working on the side pieces and bottom next before moving on to the back and then the lining and handles.

  I also want to work more on the baby quilt in the hopes that I can get it quilted this week. I was so busy this week that I wasn't able to work on it at all and now, I'm going to have to mark it again.

My dear friend, Barb's, funeral was yesterday. I'm doing better mentally than I thought I would, but it's still hard. I keep wanting to call her and say " let's do lunch". I did leave a message on her fb messenger...just to say that I miss her. I'm really hoping that Katie is right and Barb has found her quilting friends in Heaven and they're having a good time catching up.

And on that note I'm going to call it a night. I have a couple things to do real quick before I forget - again. 

Take care and stay warm.

Oops! Baby quilt

 Yeah... oops! After having the duck baby quilt hanging on my design wall for a couple of weeks and finally getting it loaded onto my mid arm (Mo'e), it wasn't until after I marked the border and then started stitching chenille strips to the top border ---only then did I notice that two blocks were sewn in wrong --- as in somehow I twisted each block so that they are out of order. Arghhhh! It was suggested that I applique new blocks over them but that would require fabric that I don't have - I used it up. So, I'm going to leave it as it is and try to come up with an idea using some more of the chenille strips to make it look more like a creative decision and less like a "D@#@! I've screwed up again." 

In the meantime, I'm still plugging away at the Goodnight Irene quilt top... all the blocks are sewn into rows and some rows are even sewn together. I'm hoping to have it finished by Tuesday since this is a busy week for me and Tuesday is the only day I don't have something going on outside the house. I need to get it done, though, so that I can work on the tote bag for my hairdressers coworker - I said I'd have it done by the end of the month. It won't take long; I just want to get G.I. done first. The baby quilt doesn't need to be done until the end of March so I can work on it as I feel up to it. No fancy quilting, just adding chenille strips in the borders and, I think, simple straight line stitching in the center.

That's all for this week. 

Take care and stay warm 

Successful week

 Monday - I worked a little slower due to overdoing it on Sunday but I did make the final 10 16 patch blocks for the Goodnight Irene quilt top.

Tuesday - No sewing..had to take Buddy to the groomer and run a couple of errands.

Wednesday - more cutting and piecing for the Goodnight Irene quilt. AND, wait for it - oh yeah, never mind, you've already been waiting. Here it is! 

Vintage Tin finished 

And here's the back.... route 66 themed print

OH! And I surprised the gal who does my hair with this bag I made her.

She showed it to the other stylist who was there  - she loved it, too and wanted to know if I made any to sell. I told her no, but if she was willing to pay and if I could find more of the fabrics, I'd make her one.  Hers will be the only one at the price I quoted her, though, because it barely covers the fabric and the foam stabilizer...no way it covers thread and labor. I did find the same fabrics, although I used a different white background panel because I don't like to make two exactly alike.

Thursday  - I did wait until the next day to add the label and binding on Vintage Tin...

and finished that with time left to quilt and finish (label & binding) this small lap quilt.

Wait until you see the backing I used... gorgeous!!!

Here's the backing

Well, it's more gorgeous in person. I think I've forgotten how to edit photos on this page.

After this/that, I  worked some more on the Goodnight Irene quilt top.

Friday - I tried to clear workspace while looking for my chenille it strips and brush. I finally found them in my stash room - in one of the two bins of panels waiting to be used. I had decided that I wanted to use chenille strips on the baby quilt that I loaded onto Mo'e after removing the newly quilted one but I didn't know what I had - other than black - and what I needed until I was able to find them. Once found, I knew that 36" of pink wasn't going to be enough and, while I had white, I wasnt sure it was enough - might as well order it at the same time to be sure.

Then, I realized that I didn't have the threads in the colors I wanted - unless I wanted to use cotton thread and wind my own bobbins - no thank you. I went over to Quilted Joy and found a cone of pale pink on sale and then ordered yellow prewound bobbins that I wanted. 

Hopefully, I'm set for awhile. I lucked out and found my box of crib batting while looking for the chenille strips...I was going to use leftover batting pieced together, but I'd rather not  - at least on this project.

Saturday - my quilting friend, Joyce, and I decided that we'd go to a local (1/2 hr away)  indoor craft show and to lunch...and she wanted to stop at the quilt shop, too. First, it was lunch, longer trip than it should have been because my GPS didn't verbally tell me to take the next exit (my fault, of course). Then it was off to the quilt shop and, sheerly by chance, we ran into another former quilt guild member and her two daughter in laws. It was good to see her in person, it's been almost a year since we'd seen her.

I behaved myself in the quiltshop and only spent $16+tax to purchase some black and white print fabric for a bird quilt I want to do.

Then it was on to the indoor craft show which wasn't much... four or five vendors. I spent another $3.00 buying the sweetest little rag doll.

I couldn't believe they were only asking $3 for her but the husband said that it had been in storage for several years and it needed to go to a new home...and she did! She fits perfectly in the little doll writing desk that I've had for years. 

We finished looking at the other vendor's tables and then at the gift shop that was attached to where the vendors were. I finally had to call it quits because my back/hip area was really starting to feel like it was on fire.

That brings us to today where I didnt do a whole lot beyond rest up from all that I did this week (didn't tell everything cuz it's pretty boring). I did play around with the hair stylist's panel (yes, it came already) and some of Ricky Tim's Dazzle thread. It came out well enough that I ordered a spool of gold to also use on the panel...give it a little sparkle.

After I got home yesterday, my 93 year old neighbor sent me a text message asking if she could come over - just to visit. I told her "Of course!". She seems to be having a rougher time than usual this winter..my son tries to keep her driveway cleared for her because we know she likes to get out but he doesn't come til around noon most days and she likes to do errands in the morning. She's also dealing with memory loss and it's really upsetting her...and I understand.

Anyway, she saw my partially finished Goodnight Irene quilt up on the design wall and she commented that she loved it... I think I'll give it to her for her birthday this year. She mentioned that she sleeps under the one that I made her about 12 years ago every night..it's probably time for a new one.

Ok,  it's after nine and I want to get a couple rows of knitting done tonight if my left hand will allow it. It's cramping up on me and giving me shooting pains.

Til next week....take care and stay warm.

Still waiting?

 Well, things didn't go exactly as planned...but I did finally finish the Vintage Tin quilt that was on my quilt frame for most of last year. It's not trimmed or bound yet - that's been part of my delay - trying to either find the binding already cut along with a label made up or fabric enough left over from the quilt top to make binding along with making a quilt label. No pic yet either. I've made a new label and found enough fabric to make the binding, I hope.

I'm still in the process of straightening up my work table in the hopes that I'll find the already made up binding but hope is growing dim.

In the meantime, I made this quilt top for the young(er) woman who lives across the street from me.

I didn't have anything that I thought would work for a baby quilt so went online and ordered a cute print of ducks on a yellow background. It just arrived yesterday so I haven't had time/energy to take a photo. It's been a busy weekend. I hope to get this quilt on the frame for quilting sometime this week- it won't be done this week, though.

Almost forgot that I decided that I'd take the 2 1/2" leftover squares from the baby quilt and mix them in with other blocks of the same size and work on another quilt top. Years ago, when I was still a member of the quilt guild, at one of our Saturday sewing ins, a group of us made Goodnight Irene quilt tops and then made quilts with them. While trying to organize my 'stuff', I found the pattern again and decided to use those 2 1/2" squares to make a smaller version. 

Well, it didn't go as quickly as I had thought it would. The main blocks are done but are not sewn together --and I still have to make 26 border blocks...sigh. Anyway, here's what I have so far. 

Ok, so I think I've caught up on the past two weeks in my quilting world. Other than to tell about the Art Quilt that quilting friend, Joyce and I went to yesterday afternoon. It wasn't a huge show but there was plenty to look at and a couple of artists there to tell you about their work. One was a woman who created quilted sculptures and had two on display. Because it was very crowded and an art galley, I didn't try to take photos...and most would be hard to describe.

 Carol Bryer Fallert-Gentry had an entry...Wow! Never thought I'd see one in person. I asked the young woman at the desk how they happened to have one of her quilts. She said that they put out a world wide notice asking for art quilts for their show and she contacted them! This was in WILLIAMSTON - what was a farming community when I  (and my four younger siblings) attended school there is now a community with antique shops and condos...another 'bedroom' community to East Lansing and MSU.

If you look up Loewen Art Gallery in Williamston, Mi., you can see a bit of what we saw.

Ok, time to let the B's out to potty so they can have their bedtime treat - and quit buggin' me for it lol.