Back in the sewing room

 

So back in town from a wonderful visit with the kids for Christmas.  So much fun to see the grandkids too.  Ashleigh and I visited the yarn shop Woolie Ewe in Plano, Tx.  She's interested in taking knitting or crochet lessons this summer.  The nice lady at the shop gave her a crochet flower.  Then I made her another.  I was surprised that I still remember how to crochet.

After we got home, after putting stuff up and doing the laundry I got into the sewing room and put the final border on the quilt from a mystery hosted by Pasty in Happy Scrappers.  This is such a big quilt, I really have to pay attention to size and make things smaller from now on.  I have no place to keep these large quilts anymore.  I am going to get this quilted and maybe use it in the summer time.  So the next thing to do is get a back and binding made.

Tall and Skinny

 A challenge by Joyce Sias in our Happy Scrappers Group, Tall and Skinny.  Too bad it's not quilted yet, however, I'm bringing it tomorrow to our Christmas meeting.  We are also exchanging the table runners for those of us that brought them.  Our course, there will be food, Pasty always makes wonderful soups and everyone else bring things to go with that.  I'm making my Mississippi Mud cake.I'm glad I went on and used the block with the background going a different way.  Once I put it on top and it worked for me.  The sashing and border on top and bottom added what it needed.  I may go ahead and make a lap quilt with my pattern too, but there is so much I want to do.  I would need to buy more Kaffe Fassett materials...hmmm.

On the Wall

I recently have been working on a challenge called Tall and Skinny.  Requirements are to be 18 by 60 inches.  I had bought this Kaffe Fassett fabric and decided it would be a good choice for a challenge.  This is outside my box as far as type of fabric and color than I usually use.  I'm also not a big fan of machine applique, but didn't have time to do it any other way.  Blocks one and two went real well.  Block three I really like the colors, but the background is turned a different way and I can't decide if I like the look.  There have been several days of thinking on this.

Block one and two

Block three

  All the blocks together

 

As you see if I use the galloping horse rule, I could live with this.  But this morning I gave it some more thought and I might redo the third block.  Problem is I'm not doing anything since I can't make up my mind.  Meanwhile, I'm working on the sashing and top and bottom borders to come up to my 60 in.  The sides will finish 18 inches as they are.  Writing it out may help.

 

Latest knitting finish.  I like my Christmas stocking.  Maybe I'll do Paw Paw one next year.  Sure got me in the Christmas spirit and I put out Santas for the first time in years.  You can't see them all, but won't put up a tree. 

all I'm doing to decorate this year.  We'll be doing Christmas in Dallas with family.

On the design wall

My life seems to run on what project for a group I'm working on. I'm presently binding the table runner for Happy Scrapper's 
  I have now started the Tall and Skinny challenge. Granted it's due this month, but I may make it in time. It's in progress anyway.  It's going to be done with Kaffe Fassett materials and the backing will be on this stripe I picked up at the HQS and a black swirl on white.  Definitely out of my box.  So far, I'm enjoying getting better at my machine applique.

Tall and Skinny block one 

On another note, I took these pictures of orchards given to me by a friend Betty.  Her husband had raised these beauties in his hot house.  Aren't they lovely?

Knitting wise, I'm working on sock two for my first pair, and I've almost finished my Christmas stocking.

What I've been working on

This isn't current, but my latest knit project to finish.  I'm now working on my second sock and a Christmas stocking.  I sure enjoy my Friday knitting group and now I'm finishing more projects.

 

Thursday at the Beaumont Guild meeting the program was given by Besty Chutchian.  She made quilts based on a dairy from 1800's.  She told about her great great grandmother and her life after moving to Texas.  The book is called Gone to Texas.  On Saturday I went to her workshop and we made this block.  It finishes 12.5 inches and has lots of pieces.  I really had a good time!  I'm definitely doing this quilt.

 

 

This table runner is for the Christmas exchange at Happy Scrapper's party.  I took left over log cabin blocks and turned them on point.  To add more to it I decided to add the applique.  I used my Go cutter and two different dies to cut the flowers and leaves.  Since it's fusible I did a simple button hole stitch on the machine.  Granted it took most of the day, I have it done so now all I need to do is quilt it and bind it.  I should have that done soon.

More from Houston

Finally turned on my computer to retrieve this picture from my email.  Now that I have an Ipad I rarely use my computer.  I had so much fun at the Quilt show and Joan was such a great traveling companion.  We were leaving that last day and saw some folks taking pictures under this sign, so we got them to take our picture.

News from here and there

Our latest project with Slightly Bias Bee is to make baby or young children quilts for the Children's hospital in New Orleans.  I ended up using the block I had previously made for a border.  I think I see a mistake in the lower right corner, but it's quilted now so can't help that.My friend quilted it on her machine for me, while I pretty much watched. Very nice friend to do that.  We also are doing receiving blankets for new born babies whose mothers have none for their babies. 

Since I posted last I've been to the Houston Quilt Show.  I had a good time shopping and looking at quilts.  I didn't buy much, but I looked a lot.  I didn't see a lot of folks I knew, but meet a lot a nice people. 

One quilt I was really interested in was this Carrie Hall quilt I've been working on.  The makers of this quilt substituted this beautiful block for one in the pattern.  I would love to add this to mine but have to figure out how to enlarge the small picture I have.  Then I would like to finish this quilt.  I love the added features they put into the quilt and the quilting which was all echo quilting.  Beautiful quilt.

This quilt was done by Mono Riddick from the Beaumont group.  She did this all by hand even the quilting.  It turned out beautifully.  I talked with her about this quilt at a retreat 2 years ago and I still want to do this some day by hand.

Where have I've been? Not blogging!

It's hard to get started with this post.  I wanted to keep it strictly on quilting, but sometimes life intrudes.  My nephew died from a 2 1/2 year battle with cancer and it won.  My heart breaks for my sister, his son and wife.  He was 43 and we all should be given more time than that with our mom's, children and spouses.  Yes, but life does what it does. 

I did get a couple of tops done before heading to Ms.  One was a current project with the Kim Delhi's group at the LQS.  This was published in an American Patchwork and Quilting this year. 

 

 

I also put together the blocks I had done with the the Sylvia Bridal Sample.  I had seen a quilt online that used another block in the center.  I had a pieced orphan block and finished it out. I liked it after finishing it.



 

The last thing I finished was a knitting project.  I had purchased this yarn at the IHQS in Houston last year.  I loved working with this yarn.  I shall enjoy wearing this scarf.

 

Too early in the morning for decisions

It's 5 AM!! Yes, it's way too early in the morning for these border decisions, however, couldn't leave it alone.  I want to finish this top and mark another thing off my list. A little history here, this quilt is a mystery quilt and the pattern has a simple border of white, squares, white.  Others that did this mystery set theirs that way, some are talking applique by machine.  I sure didn't want to do applique and the other border was way too plain.  I saw this pattern somewhere, and thought it might work.  I hope the result will stop the pattern and also add an outside border of blue for finishing.  Do hope it works out that way. By the way decided on setting #1

Rejected blue too much!

 Now how to set the blocks

Setting #1

Setting #2

Setting #3

Finally getting some quilting done

Due to back problems and another knee replacement, sewing has been on the back burner.  I did decide to applique while recovering from my knee surgery and so I finally finished the blocks from a very old project.  I didn't want to do all the additional applique for borders, so I put down the pattern and made a pieced border.  I've been studying other quilts and I like the pieced and hand applique together.  I'm very pleased with the results.

Quilting with Ashleigh

Ashleigh started a new quilt

Ashleigh" quilt the Miss Polly quilted for Ashleigh

 

Ashleigh came this summer and we got some sewing done.  We were able to get my friend Polly Bunch to quilt the quilt that Ashleigh made last year.  Then she started a new quilt.  She wanted flowers and proceeded to go through all the florals we could find in my room.  I wanted her to advance futher in her skills and showed her how to make a four patch.  She combined that with plain squares and she did great.  As she worked she started putting up blocks and too soon her week was over.  She did a wonderful job and is learning to be a great quilter, and she loves it too.



Ashleigh sewing this summer


 

Ashleigh's progress

This is an antique hexagon quilt  I've been looking at for a while. I really would love to do this quilt.   I need strips to do this many of the same  color and just begin.  I'm working on a mini pyramid paper pieced project now that I haven't worked on for a while.  I've been trying to applique and knit. Anyway, I wanted to perserve the picture.  Doesnt this just look like me?

And then...I saw this pattern

Oh yea, the Me too, me too! struck.  Yea that gets me sometimes and next thing I know I'm off on another quilt project.  This time it was a blog entry at Jo Morton's blog that caught my eye.  She brought up the topic of a bucket list of quilts she wanted to make.  She decided to put aside one day a month to work only on that quilt.  Sounds like a plan to me.  I already have one on my bucket list, the small bow ties blocks from Bonnie Hunter blog that I'm working on.  Jo had a quilt from a 2010 Quilter's newsletter and next thing I know I find myself buying the digital copy of the magazine and copying the pattern.  It's a quilt from a 1800 era.  I couldn't resist.  It has poison green and chrome yellow as well as cheddar.  I like the pattern the more I look at it.  Lots of flying geese and will be a leader-ender project for a while too.  Yea,  the "Me too's" strike again.

On the Wall

I haven't posted in a long while.  Have had some back problems and just now getting back to sewing room.  Good things going on there.

My Sylvia Bridal Sampler Blocks or most of them.  Decided to use a large pieced block to add to the quilt.

Started to add sashing and corner stones.  Work in progress.

This is the project that is leaders and enders and finish 3 ".  I love these blocks so I'm making more, don't know how many I'll make.

Tray I found at wall mart, great for putting small pieces to sew.

New book I bought by Edyta Sitar.  I love it.

I want to do this one

and this one....

Now working on the second block with Apple Crisper's exchange.  This is a small segment of what the quilt will look like.  Wow!

Update on progress

Thought Id give an update on what I've been working on.   Everything is in progress right now, or so it seems.  Also, bought a new laptop and don't have everything I need transferred yet.

Let's see, my leader and ender project the small bow ties on cheddar is coming right along.  The little pile is getting bigger.  I saw a quilt with 1,840 little bow ties I loved, but I don't know about that.  Just a thought.

Next is the mystery that PJ is sponsoring in Happy Scrappers.  I've put a lot of time into that and finished the inside of the quilt at retreat last week.  Next are a couple of borders.

At the QB shop, I'm working on a Kim Diehl quilt from American Patchwork and Quilting magazine last issue.   I have the applique and a few more outside hour glass blocks to do yet.

I am in the process of sewing sashing and cornerstones on the Sylvia Bridal Sample blocks a little at a time.  Took me while to decide on the fabrics as usual.  I never counted exactly how many blocks I have, but I did find a large pieced block to put in the center to make a medallion style quilt.

Lastly, the project with JoAnne, Angel, Laurella and I for the Beaumont Guild Auction.  I have the 50 yo, yo's made and am now in the process of  sewing these onto 3.5 in. squares.  Slow work there.

Working on the Yo, Yo's

What's Up

I am sitting at a scrap booking retreat in Bowie ,TX, right this minute.  This is a 3 days retreat I do every year with my daughter.  She's scraping and I'm playing on the computer doing a small amount of applique.  Last week I was at the annual Happy Scrapper retreat in Drycreek, LA.  I was there 5 days and sewed my heart out.

Leigh is scraping with fabric and felt, needle and thread.  How cool!

On the Wall, or on the sewing table

Been a while I know, but I have been caught up in cleaning out the quilting room as well as cutting and sewing several projects at once.
Yes, I added another quilt to the list of things I'm working on.

Basically, been sewing or straightening up, or cutting.  Been fun too.  Finishing something, not so much.  In addition, a knitting group has formed at the LQS.  Thank goodness is all I'm saying, now I'm more focused on keeping up my hand work also.  I have done some things this month and One finish after all.

Latest set of blocks for Apple Crisper's, already time for one more set



Buttons finished off this project




Ashleigh's quilt top we're calling finished.  She came to visit for her Spring Break in TX.





Mickey likes my quilt

 

 Finishing something, not so much.  In addition, a knitting group has formed at the LQS.  Thank goodness is all I'm saying, now I'm more focused on keeping up my hand work also.  



                                                    The issue which is our first project for the Let's make a Diehl group
.

Fabric choices for Kim Diehl's quilt, added more as I cut



The fabric has Samrocks for March



March block for Slighty Bias Group