WIP Wednesday

This is what I am currently working on...



The blue and yellow Strip Twist (from Bonnie's site) and...


...quilting a donation quilt in honor of National Volunteer Week. I used the Heartstrings panto from Willow Leaf Studio.





I had a map panel that I bordered and backed with some star fabric and this is the result. I used the Simple Stars and Loops panto from Willow Leaf Studio. I was surprised that it used 3 bobbins full! and the quilt only measures 48 x70!

National Volunteer Week...April 27 - May 3

While I was blog hopping, I read on Mary's blog that it is National Volunteer Week. So in honor of volunteers everywhere, this week I'm going to try and quilt a few donation quilts. Once the quilts are ready, I will post the package to Pam for her M2M. Pam is planning a trip to Mexico to deliver quilts to children in an orphanage in August 2008. I think the deadline for sending quilts to Pam is in the middle of July 2008. I have a few tops that just need backs made, quilting, binding and labeling to be finished. Did I say, "JUST?!"

Stash Busting Report Week #17

This week found me doing 'a little' online shopping. I'm almost back to square one with the fabric in/out tallies. Why is it so easy to buy yet so hard to use it back into quilts? Did you ever wonder that?!

My report for this past week follows:

• fabric received in: 25 yards
• fabric out: 0 yards
• net fabric this week: +25 yards (in)

Net fabric for the year: - 2.5 yards (used)

What I accomplished this week:

• pieced Lake Country Mystery to a flimsy
• started piecing the b/y Strip Twist

Goals for next week:

• piece b/y Strip Twist to a flimsy
• cut and piece a Checkerboard to a flimsy
• quilt, quilt and quilt
• did I mention quilt?

Check back in and we'll see if I can keep my nose to the grindstone... :)

Stormy Day

Today was a day of storms in my corner of blogland! The power has been out at least three times during the last 24 hours.

I had started my next top, Strip Twist by Bonnie but when the power went off, I switched to finishing the hand sewing of two labels.


I am a little worried as there seems to be a low spot between our house and the neighbor's and with the quick rain, a river developed draining to the front pond in the backyard. This picture was taken between storms today. After tonight's storms, the water from the front pond has crested over the back to the second pond. At least it is heading in a direction away from our house and towards the third pond :) We will 'see' in the morning how much the water has receded.

WIP Wednesday

Today I worked on the borders of the R/W/B Lake Country Mystery.

The top finished to a flimsy.

So...this is what 23 yards of fabric looks like!

How did they ever fit it into such a small box?! I'd like to tell you that it all has a plan but the reality is a little of this and a little of that. A large chunk is for backings, both tops already made (UFO's) and future tops (to be UFO's?), a little bit for some postcards, and a few yards for future donations quilts. If I don't report back in for a spell, I'll be in the sewing room trying to make a dent in this latest internet purchase! :)

Stash Busting Report Week # 16

Overall, this was a good week in the sewing room. I was otherwise busy for a few days this past week but still managed to get some things done. My report for last week follows:

• fabric received in: 6 yards
  
• fabric used: 10 yards
  
• net fabric for the week: - 4 yards (used)

Net fabric year to date: -27.5 yards (used)

What I accomplished this week:

• finished Disappearing 9 Patch to a flimsy


• quilted 2 Tiny Teddy panels


• bound 3 Tiny Teddy panels
  

Goals for next week:

• continue piecing Lake Country Mystery (this is a carry-over)
  
• start to cut and piece next graduation quilt (should it be the blue/yellow or green/beige?)

I have batting on order so when it gets here, I will start quilting again.

Now for some pictures. I saw on CarolE's blog, Giraffe Dreams where she pinned her quilts to a clothesline and snapped a picture so I thought I would give it a try and outside too as spring has come to Wisconsin...well at least for today :)

This first Tiny Teddy is a lesson in what NOT to do. I quilted it but didn't baste the sides down and got horrible puckers in the border. I also wanted to try machine stitching the binding on. I used a zig-zag stitch and I don't like the look at all...too harsh IMO so I switched to a serpentine stitch with about 3 inches to go. This will be my car quilt and my humbling quilt, although DD slept under it last night and said it is a 'good sleeper' :)

This next Tiny Teddy is a favorite border treatment of mine. I used the Cotton Candy panto and a serpentine stitch on the binding.

This last Tiny Teddy is a simple triple border to get the quilt to size. I used the Happy Times panto and serpentine stitch on the binding. All three need their labels stitched down then I think a wash 'just to see' what happens. Just in case you are wondering, I brought the Tiny Teddy panels while visiting quilt-y friends in Texas last year. Our very sweet bee friend had a sewing retreat last May at her lake house and I hopped a plane and had a great weekend of sewing fun :)

CarolE is also having a blog give-away. If you go to her blog and comment you are then entered to win a copy of Anne Zemke's book, "They Named Me Majorie". It's about a girl and her travels with the Orphan Train that inspired Finn to start her Orphan Train Blog.

A Blog Win and A Blog Warming Party

I was lucky to win a prize over at Paula's blog, A Latte Quilts. My package arrived yeaterday and look at all the goodies! Not only the pattern but Paula included a lot of other fun stuff, too! Thanks Paula...your package made my day :)


Becca at Becca's Quilts is having a Blog Warming Party and Give-away to celebrate the starting of her blog. (She won a prize over at Paula's blog, too) Becca's prizes are some beautiful plaid fabrics, a Turning Twenty...Again Pattern and some Christmas-y 9patches. She is holding her drawing on Friday April 25th so there still is time to hop over there and check it out. me? I'm kinda liking the pattern...

What I see...

Lori from Dakota City Quilter asked, "What do you see when you are sitting at your sewing machine?"
My sewing room is in the basement aka 'the dungeon' and I see a white brick wall. Hey, at least the previous owners painted the brick! But don't feel too bad for me because I swing around in my chair and look right at the design flannel and cozy up to the heater :).

On my flannel is my take on Helen's Disappearing 9 Patch. I was trying to use up some of my florals and was thinking leaves and dirt walking path but think I kinda missed the mark! :) but as Pam would say...IIWII (it is what it is...my new favorite saying, by the way!) I was trying to decide if I should quilt it with a leaf motif or a floral? What do you think?

A sad day here in 'the dungeon'...I used the last of the batting :(
It was 30 yards of 120" Hobbs 80/20. Sad to say, that the few places I checked won't ship the 120" any more because of the high cost and drat, wouldn't you know, I didn't save any out for my queen quilt :( Guess the 108" will have to do...

On a happier note, nothing says 'SPRING' to me like a new pair of shoes! These are my new shoes. Everyone got new shoes but no one would let me take a picture in their shoes for worry that their feet would show up on the blog! They know me sooo well. *g*

This about 'SUMS IT UP' at my corner of the world. DH is due home after 3 sleeps away.

Fun Mail

Thanks to Fabric Mom, I received some fun mail yesterday! Just what I needed after a long class day :) Some eye candy and the kitties are sooo cute! Hop over to Fabric Mom's blog and enter to win a fat quarter. She gives one away every week! Better hurry though as she is due to give birth soon :)

What I Did Today

This is what I did today! I went to Janesville and took the first long arm class where you learn about setting up/ running pantos, starting up a quilting business and machine maintenance. I'm definitely on BRAIN OVERLOAD!

But alas, no rest for the weary...DD informed me and I quote, "I HAVE NO JEANS TO WEAR" waaaaa. There outta be a law about doin' laundry at 10:30 at night!

Stash Busting Report Week #15 and Q#3 D2

I thought for today, I would combine my stash busting report and Quilt-a-thon #3 Day 2. It seems that although I have been piecing a few tops together, I did not quilt any tops. I decided to count the fabric out of my stash when the piece is quilted but perhaps not bound. That's my story and I sticking to it!

The report for week #15:

• fabric received in: 7 yards


• fabric used: 0 yards (oh my!)


• net fabric for the week: +7 yards

Net fabric year to date: -23.5 yards (used)

What I accomplished this week:

• pieced pineapple blossom to a flimsy


• sewed binding back on kitty biker strippie


• cut then sewed 1/2 of Lake Country mystery


• sewed kitty 9 Patch Pizzazz to a flimsy (with the ZFAB's :) )
  

Goals for this week:

• practice quilting (a carryover from last week)


• cut and start piecing floral Disappearing 9 Patch


• continue piecing Lake Country mystery

Now for the Quilt-a-thon Update (are you still with me?)

I was able to cut a few of the florals pieces and

I did manage to sew 1 block together! well, I have almost all the florals cut, the 'green sash' blocks and the 'dirt path' blocks.

Amazing how long it took me to cut this many!

but when I finish cutting this pile then I'll be good to sew a few of these quilt tops together.

Quilt-a-thon #3 Day 1

Today JudyL hosted Quilt-a-thon #3. Today was also the cyber-sew-in for the ZFAB's. The ZFAB's had chosen to make the Lily Pond Quilt from Judy Sisnero's 9 Patch Pizzazz.

I started sewing at 8:30 am central time and at 10:00 am I had my 'dancing' and 'mooshy' 9 patches completed. (I had sewn strip sets the day before but cut and completed the 9 patches today.) After checking in and chatting a bit, I headed back downstairs to the sewing room.

At 12:30 pm, I took a lunch break and had sewn my inner top together! Just the borders remaining. I really didn't think I would progress so far and as a result, I hadn't thought too much about the borders. Time to go to the closet...I was stuck because this quilt (when finished) will be joining Pam's M2M and I didn't want it to be too girl-y. So I choose a multi-colored dot on black. not sure I like the borders but sometimes, finished is a good thing.

At 3:30 pm, this is my end result. A quilt top flimsy that is about 46 x 53!

Thank You to the ZFAB's for inviting me to the cyber sew-in today! It was fun, 'fiend' :)

My Birthday October 17

Your Birthdate: October 17

You tend to find yourself lucky - both in business and in life. And while being wealthy is nice, you enjoy sharing your abundance with others. You put your luck to good use: you are very ambitious and goal oriented. Often times, you get over excited and take on more than you can manage. Your strength: Your ability to make your own luck Your weakness: Thinking you can do it all Your power color: Bronze Your power symbol: Half Moon Your power month: August Find out what your birth date means here.

Update on Lake Country Mystery and 9PP Prep

I was able to sew two more churn dashes on my Lake Country mystery quilt. I also put the sashing on the flannel cuz I wanted a pix so I could remember the placement. Then I thought, why not just sew it together this far? So I sewed half of the inner pieced blocks together. I still need to make 6 more churn dashes but at least now I know what the placement is when I pull the parts out of the shoebox :) This is a pattern that was shared by one of our members so I don't 'know its origin'. If you know, please leave a comment. I would appreciate it. This quilt should finish in the range of 55 x 70...a better size for a teenager to snuggle in!

I also did some prep work on my 9 Patch Pizzazz for the FAB sew-in. I took Pam's advice and placed the bigger pieces on the flannel for a 'map' of how it should go together. I wonder why don't I ever follow directions?! This would be easier if I had! Instead my focus and companion fabrics for the big pieces are the same (a whole lot of kitties are playing here) while my focus and companion fabric for the 9 patches are different from the big pieces, my pink is blue and my green is yellow...are you confused yet? I know I am...LOL. Maybe check back in over the weekend and 'see' if I can sort through it all and produce a quilt top :)

I sewed my 'dancing strip sets' and my 'mooshy strip sets' but no stitching the 9 patches 'til morning :)

9 Patch Pizzazz Weekend

The ladies of the FAB's (Pam, LindaJ, Norma, and Cher) graciously invited me to a cyber sew-in with them this weekend.

We are making the Lily Pond Pattern from Judy Siserno's 9 Patch Pizzazz book.
We all received one yard of the challenge fabric...yellow with white dots and blue stars. I'm using the cats as my focus and companion fabrics, the yellow with stars as the main 9patch fabric, the blue and pale yellow to make the remaining parts of the 9patches. One set of patches should be 'bright' and the other 'mooshy' according to Judy Siserno. We will see how I do as I think I'm not a real 'mooshy' color person, if you get my drift. Our completed quilts will then be donated to Pam's Mission to Mexico (or M2M). If you haven't stopped by and checked out what Pam does...hop on over...it will warm your heart that the needs of children in Mexico are being met one loving quilt at a time :)

WIP Wednesday on Thursday

WIP Wednesday...well it's already Thursday but I'm usually a day late and a dollar short! What can I say?
In any event, I choose to do a patriotic color scheme for the Lake Country Mystery today (Thursday). This was as far as the directions gave. I cut for the 4 block wallhanging but I might add blocks to make it throw size. DS is commenting that all the quilts in the family room are too short...they are mostly my first quilts that I made and back then I didn't make anything bigger than 40 x 50 so I guess it is time to make a bigger quilt or two for those people in my family who are taller than 5' 2" :)

John Deere Tractor, Laundry and Sewing Slug

What do the John Deere Tractor, the laundry and a sewing slug all have in common?

ME!

Last week, I was definitely slug material as I got very little done in the sewing room!

While I was waiting for the tractor to be delivered from winter storage, I did my DH's laundry.

Must have been about 2 weeks since it was last done!

I was also able to sew down the binding of the kitty biker quilt since I wanted to stay on the main floor and wait for the tractor delivery and babysit the laundry (you know, take it out of the dryer as soon as it's dry instead of letting it get all wrinkled).

At noon, still no tractor so I headed downstairs to the sewing room. I was able to sew the borders onto the green/white pineapple blossom quilt for Rachel's Graduation from Michigan State University this May. (sorry for the design floor picture but it was too big for the flannel in the sewing room :)

I'm happy to say that the binding and borders were two goals that I wanted to accomplish this week. yeah, two down about a gazillion to go :) I was also motivated to cold-call a few possible Presenters for my day guild. I booked one Presenter for November 2008 and left messages for two more possible Presenters! That feels good to get the ball rolling on programs for the 2008-2009 year.

Stash Busting Report Week #14

I seemed to have lost my focus in the sewing room this week and as a result, I have a few carryover goals heading into the new week. My report for this past week follows:

• fabric received in: 3 yards
• fabric used: 5 yards
• net fabric for the week: -2 yards

Net fabric year to date: -30.5 yards (used)

What I accomplished this week:

• quilted 1 Tiny Teddy Panel
• machine sewed binding to front of kitty biker strippie
• pieced a 4Patch ISPY to a flimsy

Goals for this week:

• hand sew binding back on kitty biker strippie
• piece Green/white pineapple blossom to flimsy (this is a carryover)
• practice quilting on Tiny Teddy panels (this is a carryover)
• find, cut and begin piecing for day guild mystery (oh my...due Thurs!)
• cut and start piecing a floral disappearing 9Patch

I also have a few miscellaneous items to take care for my day guild this week. I better get to it so that I will have something to report on Thursday :)

What Was I Thinking?

I machined sewed the binding on the third strippie quilt and now I have the hand work to do. What was I thinking when I brought this fabric? Sure the girl biker kitty on the back is pretty cute and in some way reminded me of a time when I used to ride on the back of our bike.

So I ask you...how did I miss this 'cat' smoking his cigar?! Please forgive me to whomever will receive this quilt...at least my heart was in the *right* place even if I did overlooked this 'cat with a cigar'!

Pam asked, "What is under your cutting table?" Well, Mary has these wonderful mesh bins. Me? Recycled paper grocery bags with 3 x 5 card labels sorted by color families...maybe someday I will upgrade! Oh...I also spy a little bit of cuttings trash and some, is that fabric?, in a priority mail box!

WIP Wednesday

It seems there are many projects waiting patiently for me in the sewing room...

a strippie quilt to be trimmed and bound...

fabrics to be pressed...

quilts to be quilted.

Yet I find myself not doing any of these things but instead *playing* with 4-patches and 6.5 inch I SPY type squares :)