Happy Mother's Day

Here's what I am working/playing on today.  Dug this out of my stash and loaded it onto Mo'e so that I can play before I get started on quilting the latest baby quilt ( the one with all the bugs on it).  Wait until you see what I'm using for backing LOL.... it's another one of those 'kits' printed onto yardage - this time for a Christmas vest.  There's no way I'd ever make the vest so I might as well use it for a backing.

Was going to switch back to cotton threads so that I could use my grass green thread, but I was having problems with the tension ( maybe because I didn't change needle sizes? ) and said "Forget it".  I have two new cones of a dark blue So-Fine and decided to use that... no empty bobbins so grabbed a prewound ( which I'm assuming is Bottom Line)... tension is great now.  I run my hand over the bottom/back of the quilt and feel nothing but smooth fabric - PERFECT!!  Doing simple stipple and 'pine branches' so far.. and following the outlines for the snow people and some of the lines for the trees behind them.  I have to remind myself not to stitch on EVERY line - *KISS* = Keep It Simple, Stupid.

And on that note, I'm back to playing.

TTYL

Bugs Baby Quilt

All of a sudden the other day, it dawned on me that I had some green yardage that might work great for the borders for the baby quilt... went and pulled it out & laid next to the blocks - PERFECT!  I decided to continue using the white for the sashing and the green for the borders.

Got the horizontal sashing in with no problem - too easy, huh?  Yep.... came time to add the vertical sashing and then the troubles began... first off, the strip was longer that the row of blocks, thought I could work with that, but then I couldn't get the horizontal sashing to match up.  I took the vertical strips and saturated them with Best Press then did the same with the row of blocks - then figured out how to mark the sashing strips so that the horizontal ones would match up... worked a.o.k.  :)...

Now I'm having to do the same with the outer sashing/inner borders.  Still some 'waving' but nowhere as bad as it was before Best Press and then steam & misted water.  We'll see how it goes once I get the outer border on and then get it loaded onto Mo'e ( and who knows when that will happen - hopefully sometime this month).

That's about it for me quilting wise - this 'lovely' Michigan weather has me taking more naps.... what is it about rainy days that make you sleepy??  I lay down for an hour, but find myself waking up THREE hours later.  I tried setting the alarm on my phone and that worked for awhile, but lately, I just reach up & turn it off then go back to sleep.

I did get part of a kitchen cupboard cleaned out yesterday... the one with 'tupperware' and spices... I purged about 1/2 of the 'tupperware' - orphaned dishes/lids without mates.  Let's see how long it stays neat and tidy... not long knowing my hubby ( who takes care of dishes from the dishwasher).  Oh well, at least I accomplished something.

Back to working on the quilt...

TTYL

Ok, got all the sashing/inner borders on... still SOME waving that hopefully will flatten out once I get the outer borders on.

So 'buggin' cute!!

Got the top DONE!!

Still some 'waves' in the white inner borders but I'm still hoping that they'll quilt out. 

Oh, and my new copy of Adoration Quilts arrived today... whew!!  now I can start collecting fabrics for the wall hanging I want to make my oldest for Christmas.

TTYL

Conundrum

That's what I found myself in this past weekend.  Trying to decide which fabrics to use for the current quilt in progress.  Wasn't quite happy with what I had specifically purchased for the borders... then I read Colette's blog and realized that I had picked the same exact print that she had for her Scalloped Potato quilt... nope, not going to work.  

Finally, late yesterday afternoon, I had an epiphany!! - well, kind of .. lol.  I suddenly remembered that I had some light green yardage that I had purchased but not used in my stash closet.  I grabbed one of the pieces and held it up to the green print and it looks to me like an almost perfect match.... wahoo!!  Nixed the red and the circle print for the sashing and borders... going with the same white that I used inside the blocks for the sashing and this 'newly found' green for the outer border. 

Had a bit of a problem with the sashing last night... I was TRYING to be careful with the blocks because the outer edges are on the bias and the sashing fabric also had too much stretch in it so it was making it more than a little hard to get my horizontal sashing to match up - they aren't going to match perfectly, but I'll do my best and hope that once quilted it won't be as obvious.  I took the two remaining inner sashing strips and heavily doused them with Best Press so they won't be so stretchy... and I may end up taking out the first vertical sashing strip to do the same with.  I'm thinking it wouldn't hurt to spray the blocks themselves, too.  I may have to make a run to The Hen House for more Best Press :).

On a less stressful note, I traced the patterns for the remaining two 16" blocks for the Vintage Tin quilt ... leaving me with only three more to trace and stitch after I finish embroidering these.  Then I get to start the piecing that goes around each block.  I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel with this one... it's just a faint little spot of light, but I can see it.  :)

Have to go get some groceries and other errands today so probably won't get much done in the sewing room.  I've been waiting for today - weatherman had said it was going to be sunny and warm - looking out the window, I can tell that he was WRONG AGAIN.  :(  It might get warmish, but I certainly don't see much chance for sunny.  Come on Mother Nature - it's MAY!  We struggled through yet another cold, annoying winter - bring us the Spring you promised us!!

TTYL

End of the week/month catch up

Despite all my plans to blog daily - or at least every other day - just isn't happening.  It's not like I haven't been busy and have nothing to share because I have been and I do - I just couldn't seem to sit down and actually post.

First off is the pic of my new bag/purse that I told about in my last entry.  I've been using it for about a week now and I'm really liking it... not too big, not too small and plenty of room for everything I sometimes feel the need to carry with me.

After finishing the bag, I decided to start working on ANYTHING in the hopes that it would distract me enough so that I could find that missing pattern and pattern book.  No such luck but here's the top I did manage to do.

A couple of years ago - maybe three?, I went to a quilt show in Jackson with Vicki, Joyce and Cathy V.... Someone from the show was selling jelly rolls for $10 each; the proceeds went to their charity quilt fund, I believe.  I'm assuming that one or more members of the guild donated strips to make the jelly rolls.  Vicki and I each bought one; I think she made her's into a 1600 quilt top and, after it was quilted, donated it to Siren.  

Well, mine has been sitting here waiting for inspiration.. I finally found it.    It's called Rail on a Row... laptop size. I found some blue fabric of my own to do the inner border and then found the OLD ( so old some was faded and had to be tossed) burgundy and blue floral for the outer borders.

The next day, I decided to work on the Bright Scrappy Throw.  The blocks were pieced and I had enough for the large lap quilt, but I had thought I'd like to make it bigger - like maybe queen size.... nixed that idea the other day and stitched the blocks together to make this one...

I do love this pattern.  A few years ago I had made it using scraps and had a polka dot on black print for the sashing and borders - very loosely quilted since it was before I had my long arm.  So cozy.  I used it here on the couch in the family room until recently when I decided to wash it ( again) and pack it away for a few months.  Replaced it with my Goodnight Irene quilt for now.

I haven't taken a pic of what I've been working on the past two days... just of some of the fabrics - did those only because I'm not quite sure what I want to use.

This was my initial choice... the white are squares set on point and then made square with the green print... the red for sashing  & inner border and the last print for the outer borders.

Now I'm wondering if that circle print will work.... the colors are good - it's the print itself that has me wondering.  Another option is this....

There will still be the white squares on point... only change is switching white for the red and then the red for the outer border.  That choice seems to be the 'safest' - but is it what I want??  I still have another day or so before I finish the blocks and have to make a decision.

I kind of broke my rule about only using fabrics from my stash with this one - first off, because I don't have yardage of white.. then I found that I didn't have yardage to use for the sashing and borders.  It's going to be an adorable baby quilt - which will probably go in my stash/collection for a future great grandbaby.  Well, at least the green print and the fabrics I'm using for the motifs are from the stash :).

Need to go find something for dinner... hope to finish the remaining blocks for this quilt tonight - if not tonight, then definitely tomorrow.

TTYL

Just a quickie

I'm STILL looking for the book and the pattern that I declared were MIA yesterday, but working on other things ( including housework -yuck) in the meantime.

Finished this this morning...

Ok, so I embellished it a tiny bit  LOL... it just 'screamed' for me to do it.

Times up... hubby's mowing the lawn and I need to get laundry started.

TTYL 

Frustration

I am so tired of 'losing' things.  This morning I wanted to finish cutting the background blocks for both the Christmas Row by Row and the Vintage Tin quilts that I'm working on.  Everything went fine with the Christmas RxR... things changed once I switched over to the Vintage Tin.  I've kept both projects in separate boxes so that everything is organized when I have the time ( and in the right mood) to work on either one.

I remember taking the lid off from the Vintage Tin box and seeing the pattern for the next block I want to embroider.  I moved it to get to the fabric underneath.... that's when my Hell began.  I don't know where I set it when I moved it - obviously not someplace close by or obvious because now I CANT find it!!!!   I've moved things, searched through the box several times, checked to see if it had fallen on the floor - looked UNDER the box which was sitting in my chair... even moved the freezer out a bit to see if it had fallen behind when I was putting the fabric onto the freezer top ( my cutting surface).   I went through every page of the pattern... every pattern there except this one - which is actually two patterns on the same paper.   It's nowhere to be found!!!!

And this isn't the only thing missing.  I've also been searching high and low for my pattern book that I used to make step-daughter a nativity wall hanging and table runner a few years ago.  Now that I want to make them for my oldest daughter, I can't find it.  I don't know if I loaned it out, donated it to the UFO auction or if it's just 'hiding in a really good place'.

Enough is enough!  I'm taking a nap.

TTYL

Ok, took a nap ( about 2 1/2 hours) ... still no sight of either of the MIA pattern/book.  So, after the nap I went looking for the pattern to make one of those small 'snap' bags - made with metal measuring tape - I found one, but it's larger than what I want to make.  Can I find the pattern for the smaller one???  OHN (oh, h--- no).

Apparently, it's just not my day to get things done in my sewing room.  It's getting ridiculous, though.... I've been cleaning the room over the past couple of weeks so it's not like the Vintage Tin pattern could get 'lost' in a pile - especially since I didn't set it aside to work on later.  I was in a small 3 foot by 3 foot area - it COULDN'T have gotten that far away.  I am really getting frustrated - even  asked St. Anthony to help me, but he is either ignoring me while he searches for more important things - or he realized that I'm a Southern Baptist  LOL.

I've gone through the drawers in the file cabinet and looked through one of the pattern boxes out here in the living room looking for the snap bag pattern... no luck so far, but have other places to check for that.  I just thought that while I still had the fabric scraps out in front of me from making my new purse/bag ( one that I've been wanting to do for at least two years) yesterday, I'd make me a little change purse and maybe a tissue case to match it.  I guess I'll have to set the fabric scraps aside ( and probably lose them, too) until I find the pattern.  It hung on the gray shelves for the longest time; I saw it daily.  I'm thinking I stashed it away when I replace that set of shelves - just WHERE is the question.

Almost dinner time... then back to doing SOMETHING in my sewing room until it's time for my Sunday evening shows.

TTYL
Update: 12:04 a.m.

I found the missing Vintage Tin pattern.... it wasn't in the box it was supposed to be after all... I must have thought I had moved it but moved something else instead.  It was in the Amish with a Twist BOM box!!   Thank you St. Anthony <3 <3   Now, please help me find the other two items I'm searching for, pretty please.  :)

Caught It!

 I started out so good this morning.  Using up leftover 2" squares from the Scalloped Potato quilt class, I've been making blocks for another quilt ( I think I mentioned it yesterday).  Stitched up one this morning and laid out pieces for another one.

Then I decided that I'd work on my blocks for my Judi Madsen Iquilt class using the backing fabric leftover from the I Love My All Stars quilt since it's still on the frame (Mo'e).  Found some 'scrap batting and laid it out... laid out the traditional block, basted it along the top and proceeded to stitch in the ditch like Judi instructed.  Got half way around when I noticed this...

my finger is on the lower corner of the top

and here's where the backing ends

I'm so glad that I caught it in time.  Yes, I had already stitched in the ditch half way around, but it was easy enough to take the stitches out - took less than 10 minutes. 

So now, the backing still sits on Mo'e.  I'm going to call Ethel to see if I can put her embroidered snowmen on with the backing 'scrap'.  As long as it's already loaded, I want to use it.

TTYL