Oh No!

There is something wrong with my equator! Looks like I'll be *froggin* later instead of applying borders!

WIP Thursday

The northern and southern hemispheres of the Trip Around the World have been pieced. Now to build the equator!

Stash Busting Report Week #17

Note to self: Don't take children to the Quilt Store...they always find something to buy!

My report follows:

Fabric added this week: +22 yards
Fabric added this year: +53 yards

Fabric used this week: -13 yards
Fabric used this year: - 89 yards

Net Fabric for the year: -36 yards

What I accomplished this week:

• finished quilting Navajo Log Cabin
• bound and labeled Navajo Log Cabin
• started piecing Trip Around the World

Goals for next week:

• finish piecing TAW to a flimsy
• start quilting TAW

Trip Around The World Update

I'm following Beverly Ingram's Magic Trip Around The World pattern where you make 9 patches then you twist and sew to get the Trip Around The World pattern to emerge.

Here are my strip sets.

I cut the strip sets and arrange the sub-strips this way.

60 Block A's made!

I cut the second set of strips and arranged them this way.

60 Block B's made!

Here is the lower left quadrant on the design flannel.

I had pieced the upper left and lower right sections when I realized that I need to add more rows to the top and bottom. I was wondering why my pile of 9 patches wasn't decreasing very fast! :)

How Do You Store Your Selvage Stash?

Karen at the Selvage Blog was interested in how the Selvage Stash is being stored. Send her your picture and she may just post about it!

I 'lifted this idea' right from the Selvage Blog and Moda Lissa. I simply start with a wiffle golf ball and wrap the selvages around and around until the selvages don't wrap around. I've already started my second selvage ball. I toss the balls into this empty 5 quart pail to corral them.

I'm saving these selvages for Pam. I hope they are not too wrinkly or crinkly when she unwinds them. :)

Navajo Log Cabin

Navajo Log Cabin finished and on my bed...my second April 'Spring to a Finish'.

Here is the label I made prior to 'writing the stats'.

WIP Wednesday

Binding day.

Three sides sewn back.

One to go.

I snuck in some florals on my bed quilt.



DH requested NO BRIGHT COLORS, not a word about florals! :)

A Binding Dilemna

I had a binding dilemma this morning. Usually I place my double fold binding into a baggie then pin the baggie to the ironing board. The binding pulls out of the baggie beautifully for me with no wrinkles or crinkles. Today I knew that I wanted to use the ironing board to support the extra weight of the Navajo Log Cabin. Then I remembered this post of JoAnne's with an improvement of the baggie system!

She empties her garbage can (very important!), places a fresh bag in and places her double fold binding in 'the can'!

Here it is...alternative uses for 'things' in the sewing room...please look 'past the mess'...I'm NOT the neatest 'kid on the block'!

Thanks JoAnne for an improvement on a tip I had passed on! Visit JoAnne's nappinnana quilts blog to see what else she is doing! I'll give you a hint: She's been bitten by a 'bug' that is going around blogland currently. :) Now you'll just have to hop over there and *see* how she is doing! :)

Thanks Cate!

I won a fabric give away at Cate's blog, A Charmed Life.

Thanks, Cate! These little bits and pieces are really going to be 'zingers' in my quilts as this style of fabric I don't usually buy for myself.

Any estimate in yards? Anyone? maybe 2? maybe 3?

I Couldn't Resist...

...temptation! DD and I went to Patched Works yesterday for the Fat Quarter Frenzy Sale. We were lucky enough to meet Jen of Cre8tive Quilter but, she was so busy there was no time to chat. It is always fun to meet a fellow blogger *in person*, if only for a few minutes!

Here's what came home with us. DD picked the 2 bolts of brown/blue. Her birthday is the end of May and we are hosting a Crafting Birthday Sleepover for 6 girlfriends. I'll be making tote bags for the girls to 'tote' their goodies home. We are thinking about making pillows and stuffed frogs and maybe key chains, too. We are still in the planning stages but DD *knows* she wants the brown and blue theme. The floral fq's on the right are for my secret pal exchange. I signed up and this year I received 5 names, so a different secret pal every other month. 4 out of 5 listed floral (or gardening) as a fabric choice...score! The fq's on the left are for me...a few florals and an Oriental to go with my growing stash. Last but not least, the 2 yards of pink that was the reason for the trip to Patched Works.

Here is the pink with the other fabrics for the Trip Around the World. The rose print will be the border and I am going to do two rounds of the pattern for a queen size. If all goes as planned, this quilt will measure about 88 x 103. Ooops, I just noticed that I had the pattern upside down...I really ought to look a little closer before I take a picture :)


A special thanks to Cher of Marathon Quilter as she sent me a link for a Wonky Butterfly Tutorial. She found an excellent Wonky Butterfly Tutorial on Millie's The Patchery Menagerie blog. The Wonky Butterfly Tutorial is here if you would like to make some!

Stash Busting Report Week #16

WooHoo! I had my first April Spring to a Finish this week! My numbers are a'changing!
Here is my report:

Fabric added this week: 1 yard (I won at Strip Poker)
Fabric added this year: 32 yards

Fabric used this week: -12.5 yards
Fabric used this year: - 88.5 yards

Net fabric for the year: -56.5 yards (used)

What I accomplished this week:

• bind Hollywood Big Quilt
• pieced UFO (now renamed Navajo Log Cabin) to a flimsy
• started the quilting on Navajo Log Cabin

Goals for next week:

• finish quilting on Navajo Log Cabin
• bind Navajo Log Cabin
• sleep under Navajo Log Cabin :)
• start piecing next quilt: Magic Trip Around the World

Okay...that ought to keep me out of trouble but I feel the urge to buy about 2 yards of pink to make the Magic Trip Around the World. This pattern was gifted to me by Maureen last September.

Saturday Quilt-a-thon Update

JudyL is hosting a Quilt-a-thon this weekend.

I was able to load the Navajo Log Cabin and the backing yesterday so today I started the quilting. I'm using the Plumage panto from Willow Leaf Studio. I was able to quilt 5 rows today and I'm almost to the halfway point. Hopefully, tomorrow I will be able to finish up the quilting!

I'm not sure if you can tell from this picture but I am using the whole 100 inches available on the backing rollers. My quilt measured 93 x 93 as a flimsy and this is the biggest quilt to date that Valerie and I have quilted! and it's for me!

Woohoo!

My Winnings

Since about half the members from the night guild were absent tonight...we think they are at the quilt show in Chicago...we decided to have a Poker Game Night. Lucky for me that some of the ladies have played before and were willing to share their knowledge. The game we played was a little different from the one I played before and I have to admit, I liked this second version much better! It relied more on chance than skill! :) and I came away winning more strips than I took. 'Things' were looking pretty bleak before my turn at dealer but, wowza, what a haul I made on that last hand! Poor Mary went bust and she isn't even stash busting :) I figured I'm about 1 yard in the plus column for my night's winnings.

I think I have more than enough strips to make a Boxed Squares Quilt of Valor, see Mary's blog here.

WIP Wednesday

On Tuesday, I opened the pizza box containing my log cabin block UFO for my bed. I blogged about the blocks here, 14 months ago.

I followed Eleanor Burns' method for her Log Cabin Quilt in a Day. In this particular book, she has many (like maybe 20!) different settings for log cabin blocks.

I showed DH the different settings and he liked the 'Navajo' set best.

Here it is. 36 blocks.

I decided to add more blocks and smaller borders instead of fewer blocks and larger borders. For two main reasons: 1. I had more blocks and 2. I had less border fabric. :)

Funny how it all seems to work out. Tomorrow I will be working on adding the borders.

I'd like to thank my friend, Joan of Quilt Country for this quilt inspiration. Back when we were bee friends (like a gazillion years ago when I lived in North Texas!), I was whining that I wanted to make a quilt for my bed and DH said positively NO BRIGHT COLORS! Joanie looked at me and deadpanned, "whatcha ya gonna do?! Make a BROWN quilt?!" This conversation took place like in 2004 before brown was an 'in' quilting color! Joanie has probably long since forgotten her off handed (and perhaps, just a tiniest bit sarcastic (!?)) comment to me...but it was enough to plant a seed for this quilt in my mind way back when...

Hollywood Big Quilt

My first finish for April.

Hollywood Big Quilt...well, I do need to make the label but I always seem to stall at the label part.

72 x 90. The pattern is called BQ from Maple Island Quilts. You will need to scroll down a bit on the website to find the BQ pattern.




Daisy Dog keeping a watchful eye.

A simple pieced back using the $1.00/yard mis-print Moda Batik that I found when my friend, Paula took me fabric shopping last September.


Daisy Dog still watching :)

The Happy Times quilting shows better on the back.

Stash Report Week #15

Well, I did some sewing this week but no finishes. Here is my report:

Fabric added this week: 4 yards
Fabric added this year: 31 yards

Fabric used this week: 0 yards
Fabric used this year: -76 yards

Net fabric this year: -45 yards (used)

What I accomplished this week:

• pieced Hollywood BQ to a flimsy
• started quilting Hollywood BQ

Goals for next week:

• finish quilting Hollywood BQ
• bind Hollywood BQ
• work on an UFO

The Hollywood BQ was a good choice to work on this week as it is a fast quilt made up of *big* 18 inch blocks. I needed something fast and easy! Since the kids are on Spring Break, I thought I would pull out an UFO and work towards moving one along. (yes, like most quilters...there are more than a few UFO's hiding around the sewing room. I'm just really good at ignoring them!)

I want to wish everyone a JOYOUS PASSOVER and HAPPY EASTER...enjoy your CELEBRATION!

Photo from Google Search 'cute bunnies'

Quilting!

Started the quilting on Hollywood BQ. DS picked the panto Happy Times aka Calgary Flames logo here at Bell Creek Quilts.

Here is a pinwheel. Geesh, the thread color really blends in the picture. Plus my battery was dying, so not the best of pictures. sorry...more in focus pictures to come, I promise.

Here is the Hollywood.













I joined Jacquie from Tallgrass Prairie Studio's Spring to a Finish Challenge. I decided I needed some extra motivation to finish a few 'bigger' projects and for each project that I complete, my name goes into a drawing for a really cool prize. I've added her link to my sidebar if you are interested in checking it out.

Tie Dye Easter Eggs

DD and I made 'Tie Dye Easter Eggs' this morning using this method found here after a visit to the St. Vincent de Paul store.

Eggs in tie wraps.

Eggs in plain outer wraps.

Eggs in the 'hot tub'.

The Results.

I wished I had tied the wraps tighter as there is quite a bit of white showing!

Eggs #1 and #2.

Eggs #3 and #4.

Eggs #5 and #6.

Egg #5 is really really light as the silk dye didn't hardly transfer at all.

After we run our errands, we are going to try and dye another batch of 6 eggs!

EDIT:

DD suggested rubberbands instead of string and here is the resulting eggs...round #2.

FAB Challenge #2 Reveal

Many thanks to Norma, who was my Swap Partner for this FAB Challenge #2! This is a totally awesome 4 Patch Posey, pattern by HD Designs! I've been *thinking about* making this design and now I own one! and see how creatively she used the Challenge Fabric! Thanks Norma! This quilt is awesome!

Many thanks also to my friend, Maureen! She was so very patient with me as I bounced idea after idea after idea off of her! Thanks for being such a great friend Maureen. Visit her quilting blog here! She makes the most beautiful quilts and loves to paper piece! The idea we finally settled on is a derivative of this Seasonal Row by Row Quilt by Sandy Brawner. My bee in Texas actually did this quilt as a Row by Row exchange but that's a whole 'nother story for another time. Suffice it to say that my row was the boats before! :)

This little wall hanging went to Pam of My Creative Mind.

This is suppose to represent
'Summer' and since Pam lives in the Pacific Northwest and often visits the beach...these are a few 'things' I thought she might see on a summer day at the beach. Hope you like it Pam!

The five Friendship Stars represent the five FAB's (pretty sappy, eh?)

The sun is paper pieced...one of my first attempts at paper piecing...just don't look too close at it! LOL I found the rising sun shape here.

The wonky butterflies (5, again :)) were from a blog on the Liberated Quilters Ring. If these wonky butterflies are your design or you know who designed them...please leave me a comment as I would love to link back to the designer! I just sorta winged it once I studied her butterflies. I also tried to embellish the butterflies with antenii.

The sailboats are from the Row by Row.

The fish hanging out in the water are from the pattern Gone Fishing, found here.

I tried reversing the Challenge Fabric to make the butterfly wings but decided that I didn't like the look. So, I made it into the label! I didn't take a picture of the back but the fabric has all sorts of flip-flops on it~a summer staple in Pam's wardrobe, if I remember correctly! :)

Take a minute and visit the other FAB's who swapped and *see* all the different ways the Challenge Fabric was used!

Cher, Linda, Norma and Pam.

Wonderful work Ladies! :) Stayed tuned for our next Challenge...someone is brewing it up! :)