Weekend trip

It was a great weekend...I took a trip to visit my sister and her husband in Indianapolis. My brother and his wife came from Ohio, too.  They both got to open up my quilted presents for them.  Success! I am so glad the green I had picked for my sisters' wall hanging matched with her house. She said she was going to hang it in her kitchen.


Driving through Chicago was not too bad.  I am always amazed by the sights of downtown at night with the lights in the high rises and the famous building. I tried a car picture: no deal. ( Oh, and the tool over the skyway bridge is a whopping 5 bucks, plus 2 others on the freeway following before getting on HWY 65.) I am also blown away by the hundreds of wind turbines north of Lafayette, Indiana.  ( Purdue home) At night they blink simultaneously, one second on, then one second off.

Any,way I safely returned and am back to a new work week.

The only quilting I have been able to do for the past week:

A) 2 more blocks to my log cabin quilt along.
 

B) I have only 4 more of circles to baste and iron for applique.

C) 4 more purple blocks of my RSC.


D) Several more blocks pieced together for Bonnie Hunter's mystery Only 2 left to put together, piece the borders and then put it together.


E) But I did do some knitting, which has sadly been put to the side for the past couple of months.

Fall Finish

Yes, it is January!  You would be hard pressed seeing brown and green grass and temperatures in the high 40s for Wisconsin.   But it is a fall finish none the less.

I  am so happy this is done:  First of all it is a UFO now crossed off the list. It is a project for my small quilt group challenge. ( 2 birds with one stone).  Plus I am proud of the stitching, and how my Y corners met. It took a while doing the ladder stitch around the edges while watching the Packer game.  We won't go into the results of that. But Sunday slow stitching for sure.


Further, I am keeping up to date with my Log Cabin Sew Along.



I decided to start the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Oh,  Quilt Squirrel for sure!  I have 4  6 inch blocks cut out. Here is the pattern I am making.  Good for scraps; Here is the link: Rainbow Scrap Challenge  I have the miniature pattern from Primitive Gatherings and have always wanted to make it.  This month is purple.
Here is the link for the challenge: Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2017





Not as much sewing this weekend as normal. My daughter had a birthday; we met her, her boyfriend,  and her friends for a Monster Truck Jam in downtown Milwaukee. He went all out and got her balloons, lunch, roses, and birthday tiara. And I was surprised by just how much fun we all had.  Then on Saturday, the whole family came over to celebrate; I had an extra turkey in the freezer and it was good with the stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy.  Food, family and fun!

Monday: Free day!

Don't you love having a 3 day weekend!  Oh, yes, more time to quilt.  So I am taking the time to do "putsy" stuff: lots of details and steps requiring concentration and time.

First off, a pot French Vanilla coffee made with a paper towel.  I need to get out to the grocery for those accumulating items on the list.

Next, I found a striped back perfect colors for the back and  layered the big Hexies. I found a batting that was smashed under my seat cushion of my sewing chair rather than the flannel I was thinking. ( for added height for me but had the reverse effect on the batting.)



I quilted a quarter inch around the center blocks, back stitching when I reached the starting point.
Now for the "putsy" part: I cut around the odd shaped edge and then trimmed the batting a quarter inch from there.  Now I am halfway pinning the top and the bottom having turned under both seam allowances.  Yes, putsy.


As I was getting bored, I decided to work on the applique for my Log Cabin quilt along. I cut a medium green on the diagonal 2 pieced for extra length and 2 shorter ones. I then found my bias bars from Clover.



After stitching down the long side, wrong sides together, I inserted the bias bar and pressed the trimmed seam to one side. I felt like an inchworm pushing it down the tube and then pressing each new length. After being pulled out, I repressed them to get rid of the wrinkly ridges.  Ta Da!  Great bias stems for curved seams. Pardon the dirty ironing board.


Onto the the berries, I found a red with yellow crows feet for them. I get to make 54 of these 1 inch beauties.  I am using  Karen Kay Buckley's Perfect Circles.




 You cut the fabric a quarter inch bigger than the round template, gather the edge, and then press with sizing. Perfect!  the package has so many different sized circles up to 2 inches, with multiples of each and a binder ring to string them on.

Progress on projects

I got many things accomplished!  I even cleaned off my cutting table which had been mounded with luscious colors for my Log Cabin quilt along.  In the process I even found some extra strips.

Plus I got a little more of En Provence together:  4 blocks and sashings strips. This is what it will look like. Just 5 more blocks to go. I am going to make it 3 by 3.




But the purpose had been to have a flat area to cut out curtains for my daughter in law.
I was able to make a valence and a set of curtains for her kitchen. These are a great teal, blues, and brown or a cream background.


She and I and the 2 grandsons picked out the fabric over Christmas vacation. Decorator fabric was on sale and I had a coupon for an additional 15 dollars off.

The project went quickly with this gadget, which also has straight lines on the back. I don't like to buy gadgets only to leave them in a drawer. But this one is a life saver!  All I had to do was press the fabric up to the line and iron. Roll again for the hem  which was a 3 inch double rolled one. or the top which was 1 and 1/2 inch casing. The sides were just double rolled. Top stitch and then done. I was able to do both in an hour and a half... Done.



Lastly, I decided to work on finishing a UFO, and my hexie project for next month.  I had seen the table topper in a magazine and the pattern is on All People Quilt.  But I found my own clip art images and made a hexagon to fit a charm pack. the fabric is an old Sandy Gervais fall line. The embroidery was completed the last 2 summers on a car trip with a small outline stitch and 2 pieces of embroidery floss.

I traced around my paper pattern either with a fine mechanical pencil, Frixon pen or a white chalk pencil for the sewing line depending on the color on the back of the fabric..  I then cut the quarter inch seam allowance.  Great project in front of the Packer game.  Another win!  Go Pack Go!




Then I machine stitched each line together, pinning carefully at each corner and back stitching both at the beginning and end of each seam. It is like a Y seam. But the marking lines were so helpful as was the consistent seam allowance.

 Photos at night don't do the rich chocolate brown, warm butter yellow, or rust justice. Oh, I can tell some moved on the transfer from living room to sewing machine. It will just have to stay. On the back I pressed my seams open.  Now for a flannel layer instead of batting and a backing. I will turn under the quarter inch hem.

Goals, goals, goals

I am finding happiness in just sewing and sharing this blog. It is keeping me focused and motivated.
I feel good about what I have already accomplished. And I love knowing there is this group of quilters out there who are so positive and supportive.

Each day I keep thinking of the little steps I need to accomplish. Well, when I actually have time at home.  Work interferes oh, dear; and I do have 3 evenings where I help with my adorable grandsons. This week was hard in that the stomach flu hit. Both Mom and oldest boy were down for the count. It was just so sad to see this little guy a "zombie"; he is normally a ball of energy. But they have improved.

So far....so good as far as monthly/ weekly goals.
Stash bee....  check

Guild's BOM... meeting canceled due to ice and rain.....check  Still have 3 of last month's for the next meeting.

Mini group: Got the top done for a lap quilt for a wheelchair to donate. (Ooops another UFO to layer and quilt.)

This month's goal:  Hexies : I am gathering ideas and deciding if I should indeed start the mini 1/2 inch ones I have bought, or do the table runner I have planned.  Right now I am leaning towards getting my fall one done of embroidery and a charm pack. ( It is on my UFO list anyway. Plus I finished the embroidery this past summer.) This is the picture form All People Quilt. NOT mine.



Keeping up with weekly Log Cabin:   Started the prep work for applique. I am loving Kim Diehl's applique paper. I had bought it on sale on a whim and it was sitting in my stash.   You trace your patterns on one sheet of her paper. Iron the waxy side to a second waxy side. It makes a nice stiff pattern, better than freezer paper.
Extra blocks even made.

  







Bonnie Hunter' mystery: 4 blocks sewn out of 9.  Needing to cut and sew additional clues for the extra 9th block, partially done.  Check   Even several sashings.  Not ironed, but looking good.



Now to attack the UFO sitting on my back table.

Sunday funday!

Sunday is the perfect time to work on projects.

I made progress on my Log Cabin Quilt along with Bea and Cecile in France.



I am loving the richness and warmth of the fabrics.  I am so glad I found this pattern on Pinterest, only to then find it in a book I already owned.  Love Kim Diehl's designs.  Now I just need to attack the applique.


Then I thought I should at least get one block of my En Provence together.


Bonnie Hunter's mystery has lots of pieces. This 15 inch block has 76 pieces.  But I like the overall design.

To finish up I got the rest of my binding done on a  project. It's good to have something to do during the Packer game. Go Pack Go!

Homespun Bull's eye

It's the weekend; I am back quilting. Yeah.

And It is the ONE MONTH ANNIVERSARY for the blog.  Hooray for me! 834 views. 7 countries, and many supportive comments.  Thank you!









So I pulled more homespuns in blues and reds, cut more circles, layered and sewed them down, and then cut and reassembled them. I finished 5 new blocks in addition to the previous 4 totally 9.


Lay out is 3 by 3 with a border in darker plaids, having additional quarter circles in the centers.



It is baby sized, currently 32 inches square; I will need to add one last border: 2 inches on one side,  4 on the other to finish off at 36 by 40 inches.

Border on:




All that is left is to back it with a fleece I purchased, quilt on the sewn lines and then bind it. The intended purpose is to donate it to a nursing home for a wheelchair/lap quilt.

First week of January

Well, in this northern land, we are experiencing cold, and I mean COLD.  Our chill factor this morning was 20 below, regular temp negative 4. Each time I am outside, my body is stiff and I feel the chill into my bones. It takes, multiple layers to warm up at night., (We're talking a microfiber robe on top of my clothes and 3 layers of socks along with a hot cup of tea. to warm up.)

So that limits my productivity on the machine, plus the fact that I am back to school and assisting with the grandchildren.

All I have accomplished is the additional blocks for En Provence. Not even putting blocks together yet. Hopefully tomorrow I can get back to the machine.

No Reply blogger????

Fellow quilters,

I have a small problem, that I hope you can assist me with.  My blog is hosted through Blogger.
It has been a fairly easy format to use. And many options are getting easier with practice. Plus it is free.

So it is not the blog per se that is the issue:   I am somehow a no reply blogger.  What?? I didn't even know there was such a thing. Two of my readers or other bloggers have let me know this.

I want to fix it.  I have tried a couple things, such as changing my profile page, sending feedback by tab on the bottom of my screen. One link that was kindly sent to me by Ramona, seemed to be in a different version of google.

Help, please!!!!

Starting and finishing

Here are the projects I am working on today.  First is a wall hanging I made of wild and goosey 3 and a half inch paper pieced blocks. I arranged them into this design, bordering groups of four, and adding middle cornerstones and square in a square  blocks. All that is needed is binding.

And the second is the beginning of the log cabin quilt along. These are the first 2 blocks for week 1 of the expected 16. The pattern from Kim Diehl's pattern in Simple Appeal. I need to get started on the applique. This is mostly old Thimbleberries fabrics, nice rich colors.  

New Year and New Goals

2017  Goals

I continue to learn as I float around the internet's blogs and sites,  I have seen several year end posts, new year's goals, and more.  I hope that by being more reflective as I blog and putting all my ideas/goals out, will increase my changes of accomplishing them. Indirectly, I am making you my readers, the incentive to make me be better accountable.  

So Monthly goals:

1) Stash Bee: I was able to join for the new year and am looking forward to following someone else's tutorial/ idea. Then in September, I get to reap the rewards, and ask for a block from my hive mates.
Here are the magical trees for January.

2) Complete the BOM of the month for my quilt guild. Here is the January block.

3) Complete a mini challenge for my mini group of friends: January's idea is circles, and I have posted on my bull's eye blocks from homespuns. In stages, 4 circles made, several 1/4 blocks done.

Quasi goals ( several weeks but in the 1st quarter of 2017)

4) Log Cabin Quilt Along: sponsored by Bea and Cecile in France.   16 blocks due by March.

I have selected a Kim Diehl pattern with a 9 patch center.  It has a beautiful applique border. Extra incentive : 2 chances at giveaways if it is done.  Here are my centers.

5)  Complete Bonnie Hunter's En Provence mystery. (Making a small version for now)
Latest clue completed.

Long term goals  UFOs 

Those projects I was once drawn to and began, but were sidelined for others.  Still interested in finishing:  yes!

All People Quilt UFO goal. Objective to get headway on the accumulating projects. Several have to be done : my sister's present, and my 30s hearts for our guild show. Making the list to post.
Here is the link for the document to fill out:

http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/sites/allpeoplequilt.com/files/uploads/ufo_challenge_2017.pdf


And I know I will have others fun things I want to do: right now: some mug rugs for my mom and mother in law for January as well as to make a project with Valentine fabrics I have had for a couple years. 

So here I go. Hope you ready for the new year, and getting started on your goals as well.

Goals not related to quilting

A) Exercise:  Hopefully early A.M. before getting ready for work: thinking yoga for now.

B) Spiritual: I need to do some study and devotions. I don't have specifics for this area yet.....