Wednesday, September 30, 2009

More Snail's Trail

I am always amazed that as I put together a quilt that I might not like the individual components but as a whole, I like it! That is what happened with the Snail's Trail. My favorite part of quilt making is assembling the top to *see* how all the *parts* look together.

I like it but the bottom doesn't seem complete.









Better. Much better. I added a row to the bottom to complete the black snails, although hard to see as I was standing on a chair and the camera was at the ceiling :)

13 x 15 set. 82 x 95 before quilting. and I only made one *arm* wrong and caught it before that *arm* made it into the quilt...woohoo!
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Monday, September 28, 2009

Design Wall Monday

JudyL is hosting 'Design Wall Monday'.

Half the Snail's Trail sewn together on the 'design floor'. Sorry for the fuzzy pic...but you get the idea. right?! :)

More Snail's Trail waiting to be sewn together.
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Sunday, September 27, 2009

Stash Report Week #39

I made 4 pillowcases which was all the stash I used. Nothing was added but I am waiting for a web order to arrive.

My report:

Fabric added this week: 0 yards
Fabric added this year: +169 yards

Fabric used this week: -6 yards
Fabric used this year: - 232.5 yards

Net fabric for the year: - 63.5 yards (used)

What I accomplished this week:
  • made 4 QOV pillowcases
  • posted package to Alycia
  • posted package to WTIL
  • worked on Snail's Trail quilt top

Goals for next week:

  • continue working on Snail's Trail
  • start another project

Thursday, September 24, 2009

More Snail's Trail Blocks

I made more Snail's Trail blocks today. I need to trim the dog-ears then place them on the design flannel to *see* how big the quilt is.




After visiting the Gammill booth at the Wisconsin Quilt Expo, I knew that Valerie (my longarm) was suffering from a case of vibration. I weighted down a quilt with #2 soup cans and the vibration was still there. This meant that the machine itself was vibrating on its wheels. While I messed with adjusted the wheels, I practiced a few of the quilting fill techniques described by Dawn of the Pajama Quilter . I think I traced the problem to the right front wheel that sits on the table. My Allen wrench and a wrench should help with the problem. :)

ps practice names have been covered to protect the innocent! :)

ps2 thanks to Mama Spark's instructions for *how* to strike out words in text :)


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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Gifts in the Mail

Look at the wonderful package of *Thank You* gifts that arrived today from my friend Maureen! Maureen and her DH were passing through Wisconsin and spent a couple days in the beginning of August with us. One day, Maureen and I sewed and the other day, we all went on the Miller Brewery Tour in Milwaukee.

I had participated in this Seasons Row by Row by Sandy Brawner in my Bee right before I moved away from DFW...going on three years now! Maureen was a sweetie and made an Apple row for me (complete with seeds from Paula!). Thanks Maureen. This will be the little push I need to complete this UFO...well, after the Fall 2009 quilts are complete.

Maureen also makes cards and the one she sent is awesome. I have been checking it out as DD and I are card making wanna-bees...lol. Hop on over to Maureen's craft blog to explore all the wonderful art she makes!

Thanks Maureen for everything and thanks to her DH for *swinging through our town* for a visit! :)
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Monday, September 21, 2009

Design Wall Monday

'Fess up time: as of yesterday or this morning (!), I didn't have anything on my design wall.

Originally, I was going to make 10 of the pieced blocks for the Snail's Trail pattern a day, then put the whole thing together. I changed my mind. :) I decided to piece a portion of the inner part and *see* how DS likes it. (He has rejected the clock fabric for another quilt I made not too long ago.)

I may need to switch *gears* again. :)

If you go to JudyL's Patchwork Times, you will be able to follow the links to *see* other design walls and what projects bloggers have going on.
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Sunday, September 20, 2009

Pillowcases

I used to be *pillowcase-phobic* until I found these directions from Quiltmaker here.

Today I made four pillowcases. The top cases are the trim and contrast. The bottom cases show the print I used. And yes, all four pillowcases are the same!
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Stash Report Week #38

I think that I have given up on Stash Busting this time, but will rather just keep track of the stash. I had more fabric used then added this week, which is going in the right direction. :)

Here is my report:

Fabric added this week: +7 yards
Fabric added this year: +169 yards

Fabric used this week: -11.5 yards
Fabric used this year: -226.5 yards

Net fabric for the year: -57.5 yards (used)

What I accomplished this week:

Goals for next week:

  • label and ship WTIL donation quilts
  • make 4 pillowcases
  • label and ship quilts/pillowcases to Alycia
  • continue making Snails Trails blocks
  • work on another project

My Auction Winnings...

...were nada, zero, zip! As LindaJ predicted, all of my luggage tags were sold and I didn't win any bids!

I didn't come away empty handed though. Here is the loot from my Secret Pal. August was the next month to do an exchange and look at all my goodies! Fabric, quilty stickers, a quilty pin, some ruler grabber dots and a cute flower pincushion! I can hardly wait for the reveal on this one so I can learn to make the pincushions, too.

In August, I was also one of the winners of the Fat Quarter Show and Tell Drawing. To play, one put a fat quarter *into the pot* then every time you had a show and tell---you placed your name in a bucket. And I was one of the lucky winners! It is such a fun assortment of fat quarters!


Nancy finished this Patriotic Warm Wishes quilt for the Quilt of Valor quilt drive. Since it was my turn in the rotation, I brought it home and quilted it up. I was thinking about Trailing Vine but didn't want the quilt to look overly feminine. Popcorn won again.


I also made up a few square in a square labels for the donation quilts that are hanging around the house. I hope to get the labels sewn on and the quilts ready to ship this week.
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Thursday, September 17, 2009

Oconomowoc Guild Fundraiser

Tonight is the annual fundraiser at the Oconomowoc Quilt Guild. It is a 'Make It-Bake It-Grow It' theme and this year I chose to make luggage tags.

The idea is that each member either 'makes it', 'bakes it' or 'grows it' then the other members bid on the items. Last year there was homemade spaghetti sauce made from someone's garden tomatoes! I'll be looking for the homemade apple pie filling and maybe, some luggage tags to buy! :)

Visit tomorrow to see *what* I won...
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Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Happy Birthday!

What do you get an 18 year old young lady who likes to cook and wants to be a 'numbers person' when she grows up?!

You make a *numbers* apron for her! :)

Here is the most recent 4 Corners Apron by Vanilla House Designs I have made. DS's GF wants to study accounting next year and her favorite color is green. I remembered the numbers fabric from the *Hungry Hungry Catepillar* line of fabric and was lucky enough to find it with the green background at the Ben Franklin. This picture is before the yo yo embellishments.

And the *after embellishing* picture. Pardon, I'm wearing my favorite pants...the ones I cleaned the bathroom in about...say...3 months! ago and spilled some bleach on! :)
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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Six Stars for Lady Liberty

I finished the binding this afternoon.










TaDa...here is 'Six Stars for Lady Liberty'.

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Monday, September 14, 2009

Design Wall Monday

I have a wide variety on the design wall today.

On the top left are two star blocks that didn't make it into the latest QOV.

Underneath the stars are two pinwheels made from the extra trimmings of the stars above. Don't look to close as I see that I am still pinwheel challenged! lol

The green and muslin buzz saw block is potentially for a Christmas project.

On the right middle are black and white 4 patches. The start of a Snails Trail or Indiana Puzzle quilt for DS.

Last but not least, in the middle are the parts for another 4 Corners Apron by Vanilla House Designs.

If you are interested in what other bloggers' have on their design walls, head on over to JudyL's Patchwork Times and click on the links.
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Sunday, September 13, 2009

A Quiet House

A quiet house and a *mouse* was in the basement quilting the Inkblot panto. :)
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Stash Report Week #37

Well, this last week I ordered fabric online and I also went to the Quilt Expo Show in Madison. My additions are more than my used this time around.

My report:

Fabric added this week: +14 yards
Fabric added this year: +162 yards

Fabric used this week: -3 yards
Fabric used this year: -215 yards

Net fabric for the year: -53 yards (used)

What I accomplished this week:
  • quilted and bound Rio Bears--4 Patch Posie
  • pieced a QOV

Goals for this week:

  • quilt and bind the current QOV
  • make a birthday gift for DS's GF
  • make *something* for guild donation

One item from my list and two add-ons. Should be an interesting week in the sewing room. :)

Saturday, September 12, 2009

A Small Finish

I finished the binding on the Rio Bears--4 Patch Posie--tonight.

Every finish counts--right?!
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Friday at the Quilt Expo Madison Wisconsin

On Friday, I met up with Amy from Inifinty Quilter at the Wisconsin Quilt Expo in Madison. Since she had seen most of the vendors by the time I got there, we decided to go through the Quilt Show gallery together first. The quilts were just exquisite! Very small and fine piecing and the quilting! oh my! My hands and eyes just ached thinking about all that micro stippling and pebble work!

Here is the Best In Show. Amy and I were lucky enough to be viewing the quilt with the artist, Mildred Sorrellis. That's her in the pink pants! She had a little gathering of quilters by her, so we had to wait for a clearing to take the picture. :)

One special exhibit was 'Through the Portal' Challenge and being the geek-y science person I am, I thought this quilt by Deb Kinder was cool. So did the judges as it took First Place! On the workbench, Deb even included 'microscope slides'. Very cool!







Here is a quilt that I would be able to make...a Log Cabin by Tom Kobza. I could visualize it in cremes/reds and blues.















Of course, I did do some damage for the stash report. I couldn't resist the idea of the 5 yard quilt from Bolines. They had a whole table full of 5 yard packs to choose from. I was looking for stars and strips but, alas they were all sold out. I did find a Valentine theme pack. Suppose it will be finished for Valentine's Day 2010 or 2011?! You also received 4 different quilt patterns that use 5 yards of fabric. I also brought a packet of note cards from the Go Red For Heart Campaign.

I arrived home with a few hours until dinner, so I sewed the outer border onto this QOV. The stars were inspired from the Signature Stars quilt. DS thought the red and blue stars were cool and I should include them in the design!
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Wednesday, September 9, 2009

WIP Wednesday

Baking and Binding today.

First: The Baking

I am one of the *Snack Moms* at tomorrow's day guild meeting. The Cinnamon Streusel is from a Betty Crocker box mix simply made up as the quick bread recipe on the back of the box. The Chocolate Chip Pumpkin bread is from a Taste of Home recipe (found here) that I have been making for more years than I can remember! LOL One loaf will go with me to the meeting and the other is for the family. The kids actually devour this bread and can polish off a loaf in an afternoon!


Second: Binding

I made and attached the binding to the 4 Patch Posie Rio Bears. Here it is waiting for me to start the hand sewing...most likely that will be tonight's project.
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Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Fall Quilting Goals 2009

Labor Day signals the end of Summer and the beginning of Fall for me. I accomplished most of my Summer Quilting Goals (scroll down to find the list :)) but there are a couple of carry-overs. With the Holiday Season approaching, I have more projects *to do*. There is my nephew's wedding reception in October, two nephews who asked for quilts--yes I am a mean Aunt and insist if a niece or nephew would like a quilt--she/he must ask for one!--and two commissioned quilts, along with my various other sewing activities. In no particular order and since I work better with a list, here is mine:

Fall Quilting Goals 2009
  • DS's bed quilt
  • DS's t-shirt quilt
  • Weddding gift
  • Christmas A
  • Christmas B
  • Christmas C
  • Christmas D
  • Green crumb
  • QOV--Alycia
  • Halloween (for me!)
  • Christmas Strip Twist--FAB Retreat project (for me! again)
  • assorted Christmas gifts
  • Wacky FAB Challenge #3--'Baby It's Cold Outside' mail date 2-1-2010

Thought I better include the next FAB Challenge as due dates tend to sneak up on me!

My list sorta reminds me of the old saying---

'How do you eat an elephant?! One bite at a time, of course!' :)

Monday, September 7, 2009

Design Wall Monday

I'm playing with the 4 Patch Posie by HD Designs pattern. I used a whole yard of the thrift store Rio Bears (at the bargain basement price of 50 cents, too!) I found while on vacation. Unfortunately, the repeat was only a little over 8 inches so I used the whole yard to make all 18 blocks. I think I could have gotten 2 more blocks if I hadn't mis-cut the first set! Oh well~live and learn! and for only 50 cents!
It should finish to about 36 x 36~a perfect size for the local hospital neo-natal unit.
The before picture.
Thanks to Linda and Norma who were cutting and sewing a 4 Patch Posie for Pam while at retreat so I could *see* first hand the *methodology*! :)Posted by Picasa

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Labor Day Project

My community service Labor Day project was to quilt this Signature Stars Quilt of Valor. My friend, Mary and her sewing group from the Oconomowoc Quilt Guild pieced this quilt using signature squares the Guild had gathered during the Oconomowoc Art Festival in August. Mary and her group are very prolific as this is their third quilt for the Upper Midwest Quilts of Valor and they have plans for 2 more!

I took a few extra pictures so that the gals will have to put into the album about the construction of this quilt when it goes to it's Forever Home.

Popcorn from Willow Leaf Studio was on the table so Mary suggested that I use that panto, which is definitely okay by me! :)


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