Another Old Project Finished

I'm sure I'm the only one with a bunch of unfinished projects - :)
I have been working on trying to get them done, just cause I'm tired of them laying around. Have no idea what I'm going to do with them, but at least the tops are finished and maybe I have some quilt tops that I can practice my free motion quilting on --  Lemons to Lemonade!

This is the latest, just finished it today.  It was a kit that I bought, came with the pattern - "Not Your Grandmothers Tubmling Blocks". I remember starting this at a retreat ( it was where I learned NEVER to cut the fabric for a quilt while at retreat --  I got so confused! ) and the pattern is a really cool way to make a tumbling block quilt. I might even sometime make another sometime in the future.  It's strip pieced! Cut it right and it goes together really easy.

But I also learned another thing from this project - that not all kits are created equal -- either I did something really wrong or they just didn't give enough.  There was just not quite enough fabric for the outer border.  The kit came pre-cut strips. Four strips for the outer border...that was all well and good, but I need just TWO MORE INCHES!~  Just TWO MORE!  I think they measured without the inner border.

So I got creative and added in a couple of strips at the bottom border.  A quilter short on fabric has to do what a quilter has to do ;D

So here it is! and I like it.

Christmas in August

Have you seen the book by "Art To Heart"  called Christmas Favorites?

I was at a local quilt show with a couple of my friends and we spied this book - my friend tirane thought it was just too cute for words,
 and of course we both just  had to have it..

( like we have nothing else to work on, sure, who am I kidding! ) But it's Oh So Cute!

This weekend, tirane and I got together and , it was like being a kid at school again, Where was the  glue and glitter?? We were tracing, drawing, fusing, cutting ( like paper dolls ) and we got two blocks finished. The same but Oh so Different!  

Can't wait to get to the next blocks :)

I've got the Joy Joy Joy Joy Down in My Heart! Down in my Heart! Down in my Heart!

It was a two quilt weekend --and! Plus one more!

It was one of my bee's retreat weekends, always a good time! I took a day of vacation so I could get some quality friend and sewing time -- you know how that is, you just get tired of being wife, mom, employee, all those different hats we wear, and you just have to get away, right? Right!

This was my time to just be me, quilter, and friend.

It was great!

Is was a quilt that I started about 6-7 years ago. One of my friends in the bee is really good at learning a technique then teaching everyone ( in fact she is now a teacher for Judy Niemeyer quilts and travels all over) so we all got together and she showed us all how to make a stack and whack quilt. This was mine. It's been sitting in a clean pizza box ( LOL, no, I didn't eat the pizza first, it was brand new, never been used) for all those years. All it needed was the sashimg cut, I had it sewn, just not cut, and I needed to make the corner stones. Oh, and sew the borders on. This is the fabric I used Isn't this pretty?

and VOILA,take this fabric with all the pretty colors, cut it into like pieces and POOF!

I like it.

 Not very practical cause it's white,

 but I do like it

#2

 I had found the border fabric a year or so ago and knew that I wanted to make a quilt with solids and use this fabric as the border. It took all this time for me to find the right one, and finally in this months Mccalls Quilting, I saw this pattern, and ignoring the colors, I knew the pattern would be just right.

This is what the magazine quilt looks like.a very versatile pattern, don't you think?

And --  this is mine! same but oh so different.. I really stepped out of MY box this time.

 I just love the lamp fabric. I sewed the borders just like the blocks, around the quilt, with a partial seam. Makes the lamps go "around" the quilt.

and last is #3. I made this quilt for a baby shower at work. In two evenings.

it's all minkee - soft and soft and gee, soft!. I used pink and white polka dots for the pink strips and the letters, and brown  - these are the colors she is using for the baby room decor.  It's not a very good picture - I rememberd to take it the morning before going to work ( I had to unwrap it! ). and I just sorta threw it down on the kitchen floor in a rush, so it's not straight or anything. - Its the only pic I have, oh well. Did I mention that this is SO SoFt!

From Blogsy Photos

So now I'm all pumped up to get my projects done, why have these hanging around? Just because I might not like them any,ore, or because I haven't the foggiest idea on how to finish them, doesn't mean that they have to sit!

I'll be tough, I'll get motivated, I'll finish them!

Retreat this Weekend

I'm so excited!  And I just can't hide it - I'm about to loose control and I think I like it!

thanks Pointer Sisters

 I'm not ready - but I'm Excited!  what am I going to take? what can I get done?
 Should I take wine? Chocolate?
 ( well, now, that is just a stupid question)

take the big machine or the Featherweight?
How many projects should I pack?

I have an easy one that I want to cut out and sew ( Oh Golly, I can NOT cut when I'm at retreat - there is no telling what my measurements would be, so I always cut at home, alone, and then take the 'kit' with me - what do you do? Can you cut out at retreat? Be honest, now! )

I have to finish a baby quilt tonight  ((  that's another story! but the shower is tomorrow, oh my )

gotta go,,

I'm so excited - lalala im singing my song

The Best of the Best

)

Friendship. Belgium. Chocolate. Yes.

It only took me about 10years to finish this

I saw this quilt at a retreat several years ago and just had to have it. I went around and collected fabrics everywhere I saw them (LOL Boy did I collect them)

And you know, I started this so long ago I can't really remember the time line BUT

I made my 7 year old grandson's first baby quilt with these fabrics before he was born, and I'm making a quilt of stars with the left overs from the blocks. I remember working on this when I had to help my stepfather after his hip replacement surgery and he passed away a few years ago. I remember finding some great backing fabric that I knew would be just perfect - for $1.00 a yard... LOL and I still have it and just pulled it out (ha! Already washed, too! )

That's sad ,,, to keep something that long before finishing it! And there was no reason, when I pulled it out, all it needed was the borders and the stars in the corners.

I know a very talented quilter that can do great things with the plain borders - that were intentionally left plain so she can do her magic - and I think a red binding will be a nice finishing touch, don't you?

Now I'm inspired. I'm going to retreat in a couple of weeks,, wonder what I can finish then?!?

 

Scraps, Scraps and MORE Dang SCRAPS!

I havent been bloggy for almost all month, just nothing to say and a big lack of inspiration. The summer time blahs ---100+ degrees doesn't inspire much except trying to stay cool. Anyway, I am still part of the New Project Challenge at CATPATCHES and the new project I started in June was ,,,, are you ready?.. Working up my scraps! I got so tired of seeing bags of scraps around, always saved with the intention of doing something with them. Throwing fabric away just seems so wrong to me,, somewhere I read that if you think about it, it's like throwing $9.00 a yard fabric out the window. So, I save all of it and then, well, try to find something to do with them. Anyway I'm so proud of the progress,, there is a bag of strips,,



There is multiple bags of scraps by colors



And I cut all kinds of squares, too but I don't have a picture of those. And this is what I still have to go thru ( I ran out of steam,, I am SO tired of scraps !!!!



I did find a lot of little bitty pieces, and I put those all in a bag and I'll make some dog beds again for the Humane Society. OH! And I'm going to use old phone book pages and make some string quilts,,

reuse, recycle

.

New Project of the Month

I bravely trudge on starting a new project each month just to keep up with the NEW FO PROJECT that CATPATCHES is sponsoring--- see the button on the right? That what I'm talking about. Well this month I thought I would do one of my charity quilts, I needed something to make me feel good, you know, and when I found this group of fabric quarters I had squirreled away, it they brought a great big smile to my face and I knew it would make someone else smile. I found this pattern on the Moda Bakeshop, liked it, had to have it. It just so happened that my friend tirane and I had decided that we needed some sewing time together so we took off for a mini retreat ( a "stay-cation" -we found a two bedroom hotel room, turned the living room into a sewing room, and just sewed as much as we wanted) This is what I did! Over the weekend, I got it cut and all together except for the outer smashing. At home I got that done and even made a back for it. Whoo whee! I'm coking with gas now! Maybe this weekend I can get it sandwiched and ,,, well,, quilted, maybe? Sure uh-huh, who am I kidding ;)

He likes a quilt!

He never likes my quilts. I hear him say "why do you cut apart fabric just to sew it together again? You could save time by just going to Walmart" How do you explain it to a ... (Well, the word I was thinking of can't be said here ) LOL. How to explain this to a ... Geez, can't even say MAN cause there are great male quilters.

This pattern started off as an idea for the 2012 New Project Challenge that CATPATCHES started. I shad the fat quarters, saw the pattern at OH FRASSON ( it's called birthday cake) took everything to retreat the first weekend in April and did the top in one day---cut it out and sewed it up in one day. I did just easy straight line quilting, nothing fancy, and it's done==Yee Haw!

And he likes this quilt.

I knew he would come around one day ;) <vbg>

 

April New Project Challenge

I was shocked when I logged in today and saw that the last time I posted was to talked about my March New Project challenge.  Bad Blogger!
But life gets busy, and in the way and ,,, well,,,  you know the story.

So, today is April 30 - last day of the month and I haven't done anything about the April challenge. I signed up for the challenge and I will follow thru.

Lucky me!! All I have to do is basically think about the project - well, pull some fabrics...  LOL! I can do this!

I really did decide what I want to do - and worked it up in EQ6,, looking at it again, I really do like it.
and, here are some fabrics I pulled to make it -- 

Not a real good picture, but you get the idea - blue and white, white and blue. Border will be dark blue.

This is my April New Project - and I like it!

New Project Challenge - March

March has not been a very good month for me - for quilting. I can't tell a story, I haven't really been very good at keeping up with anything - oh well, we all are entitled to months like this, right?

So anyway, my new project for March is going to be the Birthday Quilt from ohfransson.com. Mine is going to be in tans, cremes and browns. Tres Neutral.. and I think I'll do some straight line quilting on it so I can call this one completely done by me

2010 by Elizabeth Hartman / www.ohfransson.com

All rights reserved. This pattern is intended for personal use by home sewers and may not be republished or distributed without the permission of the author.

Here are my fat quarters, the ones on the top are for the light and dark stripes in the middle of the blocks. Whatchathink?  I think it will be a great looking quilt ( I hope! )

I have a retreat coming up in a couple of weeks. I'll get it cut out and take with me --  think I can get it done in a day?

What do YOU think about Pinterest?

So the debate is on - to Pinterest or not to Pinterest.  What do you think? I'm still scratching my head and going 'hmmm' about the whole deal.

On one hand, I hope EVERYONE pins what I have made from my blog so the whole wide world can see it.
On the other hand, I understand copyright questions.

And, if you have something on the internet, is it free for all or not?

See me scratching?

I LOVED going to all the different boards on Pinterest and seeing all the cool stuff that people found, all the great food ideas and recipes, all the terrific quilts and sewing thingys that people found.  It was a good addiction to me.

Does it hurt anyone? I don't know. I don't want to hurt anyone. I even closed my account so I wouldn't accidentally hurt anyone or make someone upset.

I don't want to steal someone's ideas. Or take money from their pockets.

But gee, I enjoyed seeing everything.
And I enjoyed "pinning" - it was fun.

So what are ya'll thinking about the Pinterest debate? To Pin, or Not To Pin, that is the question.

Do you See it?

this is one of the Just Takes 2 blocks ---  aarrrggghhhh --  do you see it??

Blue and White Quilt blocks - Just Takes 2

I just made the deadline to have this set of blocks done - whew! but don't tell anyone, the applique still needs to be done on the last block :)  But they're done!  And guess which one I don't want to do again? I'm not going to tell, you have to guess ( hint - the side white pieces were a bugger to sew in )

On to the next set...  oh wow, and I've seen them --  oh wow...

Sewing makes Me Feel Good!

Sewing makes me feel good!
How about you?

Touched my Heart and I had to Share

I'm a huge dog lover and 4-legged buddies have always come from rescues.  This video is so touching! Maybe when I retire, I can be a foster mom to 4-legged guys.



Watch Christian Videos and Read the Online Bible at GodVine.com

New Project Challenge - February

See the button on the right ( or is it left? ) for the New FO Challenge?  Well I started my February project yesterday over at tirane's house where I spent a very pleasant rainy afternoon.
The FO Challenge is a twist on the UFO challenges that are around -- in this one, you START a new project every month. You don't have to finish it, just start it. It was very exciting just thinking about what I wanted to do, pulling all the fabrics and beginning something new.  Old stuff is old stuff and it just ain't gonna change.

I found this pattern in a McCalls magazine  and was drawn to it because I have a whole bunch of greens, and this would be great to maybe use up some of them and I also just like the pattern.  When I got to reading the instructions, it dawned on me that it was just like this one  that I bought a long time ago ( I might have paid $5 for it and it came with the acrylic triangle you need, too! ) - (it was on my "someday" list, guess I can check it off!)

The magazine pattern mixes lights and darks to make the block, and you cut each piece individually -- the Magic Triangle pattern uses strip piecing for making the blocks ( yipee! ) but the blocks are all the same colorway.  I didn't like all of either one, so I combined them, my quilt my way.  So I'm strip piecing and my blocks are alternating dark and light.

But there is a price to this - I had to do math to figure out how much of what to cut...  math, eewww :(
I just started cutting strips.
Then I started sewing strips

  and sewing more strips that turned into blocks, then I sewing more blocks - oh I had fun!

I spent a wonderful day today working on this.
And my math ?  I had cut enough strips to make a double size quilt!  No math, just experience, or instinct, or plain old luck :)

too bad I have to go to work tomorrow - maybe I have a cough coming on? cough cough

Valentine's Day - Happy!

Just thought I would share this ( NO, not the chocolate coverd strawberries, those would be all mine! ) but the rose history below

 -- I got orangy ones :) LOl Wonder what is on his mind??!

Roses - Significance and Meaning of Each Color

Roses come in a wide range of colors. Each different color has a different meaning, or significance. It sends a silent, yet extremely important message from the sender to receiver.
Who originally defined the rose color meanings? We don't know. But, you should make sure you are sending the right message when you select roses for someone. Otherwise, he or she will get the wrong message!


What does a Color Mean?


Red Love, beauty, courage and respect


White Purity and innocence, silence or secrecy, also reverence and humility


Pink Appreciation,"Thank you", grace, perfect happiness, and admiration


Dark Pink Appreciation, gratitude


Light Pink admiration, sympathy


Yellow Joy, gladness, friendship, delight, the promise of a new beginning


Orange Desire, and enthusiasm


Red and White Given together, these signify unity.


Red Rosebud A symbol of purity and loveliness


White Rosebud Symbolic of girlhood


Thornless Rose Signifies "Love at first sight".

Just Takes 2 - Blocks 12 and 13 - I think

Just Takes 2 blocks,, Yeah! I'm keeping up!  I like these two, and I really like the star.  Best of all they are paperpieced so all the points are there :)

I'm Keeping Up! - Just Takes Two

The last block in the January 15 blocks --  I printed it out and paper pieced it - it was a lot easier!  don't laugh at my leaning wall, or the checks that aren't strait HEY, my house isn't "straight" either !

But I'm giving myself big pats on the back for keeping up!

Now I can start on the "OH My Stars" quilt along by Thought and Found.
doing the happy dance  :)

I really did DO something today - really!

A new block for the Just Takes Two Challenge and the other one I redid as paper piecing - much better 1/4 inch on the points.

The fan kicked me.  No fun.

This was all I did. I'll admit it.

Back to work tomorrow - because after all Tomorrow is another day! {did you catch the Gone With The Wind reference?} grins