First Blog Post in a Long Long Time

Well, Why not begin by stating the incredibly obvious!

You would be bored if I told you why. No special reason, I just got caught up in doing other things, and got out of the habit. The more time that went by, the harder it was to begin again. It started out with not having much to blog about, because the projects I was working on were not projects I felt comfortable sharing, for one reason or another, then, I just got out of the habit. 

Well, I have to start back someplace, right?

Here is what I have been working on most recently. 

This is a graduation from college gift for a young man who is the son of someone I who has been one of my dearest friends since high school. I know that I have mentioned Susan to you before. Last year she bought these 2 quilts from me.

Now I am working on a graduation present for her son, J.D., who will be graduating from college this coming spring. I think it is the Theater department of Oklahoma City University that he is graduating from, but I get confused on the details when it comes to things like "University of" vs. "something University". I think it's the theater department, but it could be drama, or performing arts, or something like that. Anyway, if I wait until I get all of those details straight, I'll never start posting again.

Here's the the top 2 thirds of the quilt on my design wall:

And, here is part of the bottom third waiting to be sewn together, on my portable design wall.

  
So that is what I have been up to recently. That, and hibernating  from the cold. I know it is a lot warmer in Georgia than it is up north, but, it has been colder than I am accustomed to. At least there has been more cold weather than I am accustomed to.

I hope you are finding a way to stay warm, wherever you are. Nothing like your current quilting project to take your mind off the cold. If that doesn't work, my advise is to try hot chocolate. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Return from Virginia and DWM

     Well, it does not seem possible, but I have been home from Virginia a week. I have spent the last week doing all of those things you need to do when you have been away a week- the bank, bills, laundry, grocery shopping, unloading/unpacking (ugh!), and just generally playing catch up.

     Since it is Monday, I will save showing my photos from the Blue Ridge Quilt Festival for a future post, and show the quilt I worked on in the booth while I was there. 

      This quilt is going to involve a lot of hand applique, which I rarely do. It is going to be my "carry around" quilt for the awhile I think. I arranged my plates at the last retreat, and have been working on piecing background sections since then.

     I spent a day sewing at my friend Mary's house last week also. We wanted to get a sewing day in before the summer break is over and she has to go back to teaching. I used the time to cut out a couple of sections of background. Here is one:

      There is a similar section in the lower right hand side of the quilt, so this will go in the upper left.

     On the way home from Virginia, I stopped and visited my friend, Barbara, who recently moved to Franklin, North Carolina. She wanted to start blogging, and I tried to show her what little I know about setting up a blog. 

      I am so excited about this new blog. I think it will be wonderful. She is a very creative, and fun loving person, with many interests, and plans to blog about her gardening, and her journey in a new job and home as well as her quilting. I can't wait to see what she puts together. The name of her blog is: Silver Toad Splendid, and I have added it to my blog list ion the side bar of this blog. Be sure and give it a look.

     At last, I have finished piecing Susan's quilt, both the top, and the back. I didn't take a photo of the completed top. It has been so rainy, and wet here lately, and the Dresden plate quilt was on the design wall already. I was afraid that if I put it up over the Dresden plates, I would knock them off. I send most of my quilts to Regina Carter. Excepting those that I try quilting myself, and that is rare. Here is photo of one half of it, I took before I sent it off.

    So that is what I have been up to. Go to http://www.patchworktimes.com/2014/07/21/design-wall-july-21-2014/, and see how other quilters are starting their week.

     Thanks for stopping by!

Design Wall Monday, June 30th

     I don't want to alarm anyone, but I just realized that as of today, 2014 is exactly half over! Wow!

     Well, there's nothing I can do about that but keep on keepin' on.

     I am still working on Susan's quilt. I got all of the wedges sewn together. I cut out all of the triangles that will make the corners of the blocks.
 

     Now I am sewing the corners onto each block.

      I started out pressing a crease in the center of each triangle, then lining up the crease with the center of the wedge. I didn't take me long to decide that it wasn't necessary. I just centered the point of the triangles with the point of the wedges. I am doing a quadrant at a time, then sewing the blocks of that quadrant together. I have 2 quadrants completely done, and I am working on the 3rd.

     I think this quilt looks a bit more yellow in the photo than it really is because of the lighting. I also took the photo after dark to post it on DWM. I expect to be done with the top by the end of the week. I have some light peach fabric ordered for the back. It is on it's way. 

     The other thing I have to do this week is make some pincushions,

      note cards, and collate some patterns for the show in Virginia I will be vending at next week. It is called The Blue Ridge Quilt Festival. Come by and see me if you are in the area. 

     That is what I have on my plate this week. Go and see what some other quilters are up to at:http://www.patchworktimes.com/2014/06/30/design-wall-june-30-2014/

     Thanks for stopping by!


     

Would You Believe Another Wedding?-And Design Wall Monday

     First things first. It is Monday (AKA Design Wall Monday). I am still working on Susan's blocks. I am about 3/4 of the way finished with them. I hope to finish them this week. Actually, I hope to finish several weeks ago, but other things keep cropping up.

      The blocks that should go in the blank spot are on the portable design wall that I can put next to my sewing machine.

      This weekend I had yet another lovely wedding to go to. Sonja is a member of our sewing friendship group, which usually meets around twice a month, but has not met in weeks because 2 people in our group have been busy planning weddings. Paula is her daughter, and she got married this past Saturday, on the summer solstice.  As I write this, I am regretting the fact that right now, I don't have a photo of either Paula, or last weekend's bride Emily. I am not the sort of person who always remembers to take photos while the event is happening. I know there will be plenty of photos circulating in the coming weeks, but both brides were so beautiful, and looked so happy, it would have been nice to be able to share a photo with you. 

     So, instead I will share photos of the table runner that I made for Paula, and her new husband, Keith.

       Last week I made her a table runner for a wedding gift, but didn't blog about it because I didn't want any of my friends to see it before the wedding. First, I chose fabrics and used them to make a strip set. 

      Next, I spray basted a length of batting onto a back for my table runner.  I cross cut the strip set, and for fun, I varied my cross cut sizes a bit. Next I laid one cross cut piece, right side facing up, down the length of the table runner, on top of the batting. I laid a second cross cut strip, right side down on top of the first piece, and pinned along the edge.
    

     
      Then, using a walking foot, I stitched along the edge of the strips. I sewed through 2 strips, the batting, and the back of the runner.

      Since I wanted this runner to be symmetrical, I  kept adding strips on either side of the center strip until the table runner was as wide as I wanted it to be. After each strip was added, I just turned over and pressed it.

 

      Then, all that was left was to put the binding on.

     So, that is what I have been up to this week. There are plenty more projects to see over at

 http://www.patchworktimes.com/2014/06/23/design-wall-june-23-2014/

      Hope you week and your official summer are both off to a great start. Thanks for stopping by!







    

Design Wall Monday 6-16

    I am still piecing the blocks for my Anastasia order. I have the blocks on one side pieced. There is an uneven number of columns, so I am a bit more that halfway there.

    Still working on this side.

 

     The blank section is has been transferred to a more portable surface that can be moved right next to my sewing machine. That way I can keep my blocks organized correctly, while sewing them together.

     I mean to get this part of the piecing finished this week.

     That is what I have been up to. There is lots more to see at Judy Laquidara's http://www.patchworktimes.com/2014/06/16/design-wall-june-16-2014/

      It is worth you while to check it out. Thanks for stopping by! 

Purging, Organizing and Learning

    I hope everyone is enjoying their spring. There seems to be so much happening these days. Weddings, graduations, trying to get the yard cleaned up, and the garden growing. I have been doing some organizing myself. Remember earlier this year when I was trying to get rid of the dressers I was storing my fabric in? My friend Barbara took them, and they look wonderful in her mountain house. I am so glad she was able to use them. She was also kind enough to share some goodies with me, that have proven to be very useful. I already had some of these metal structures that another friend gave me. I tried to get more at Home Depot, but could not find them. Well, Barbara had some that she actually wanted to get rid of Perfect! Look how well organized and visible that fabric is now.

 

     There is even room to grow! (AKA-buy more fabric) Take a look at the other end of the room. Oops! I should have put my sewing machine back up before I took the photo, so it looks like a real sewing room. Thanks to Barbara for the lovely blinds too. They work great in there.

      Next, I tackled the other upstairs room. That room has not been this neat since I moved to this house, over 4 years ago.

 

     Look at all of those (mostly) clear surfaces! I should have taken "before pictures", so you could see how far these rooms have come, but I would have been embarrassed to show them to you. 

     I have also been watching a lot of YouTube videos about how to do different technological things. Notice I have what is called an "Etsy Mini" on the right hand side of the blog now. You can click on it and go directly to my Etsy shop. I always had a link to my Etsy shop on the blog, but it was so tiny, I am sure I was the only one who knew it was there. It looks like I have a couple of duplicates in the mini, but I don't. I often have 2 listings with the same quilt photo, but one is the actual quilt, and the other is the pattern for that quilt. Next up-to figure out how to actually USE that Face Book page I have had for the last couple of years. Anything can happen. Honestly, I am so, so pokey when it comes to this technological stuff. I also mean to add a Pintrest Button to the blog since I am on Pintrest now.

   Why yes, I HAVE done some actual sewing. I have been working on this quilt order:

     So far, all of the star bodies are made, and the color combinations are approved. Now, I am working on putting the background together. It is all arranged on the design wall, and I am transferring it to the kitchen on a piece of insulation board covered in flannel. I sew in the kitchen during the summer, because it stays cooler with less air conditioning on the bottom floor of the house, where the kitchen is.

     Note: even though pins are not necessary to keep the pieces in the design wall, I do use pins to keep the pieces in place while maneuvering the insulation board around furniture. It only takes one split second at the wrong angle, for all of those pieces to fall off. It's a physics thing, I guess.  

    I am really feeling some deja vu while making this quilt. Not only have I made this quilt before, But I was blogging when I made the first quilt. It fact it was my VERY FIRST blog post. If you are curious about that, and want to see more about how I put the blocks together, check out HERE

      So, that's what I've been up to. Hope your spring is proving to be productive. Thanks for stopping by!