SNOWBALL QUILT IS FINISHED!

Well as I promised here is the picture of my daughters snowball quilt all done....so glad too!.... All hand quilted...In the center of each snowball is a quilted heart 1 row up and 1 row down so it looks right from either way....the borders are quilted....had 6 needles going for this one...I am happy with it and I think she will be very happy with it also....

 

So being I an done with this one I am moving on....I went looking for a batt piece big enough for my blue quilt I want to finish....

 

oh what  a mess....and of course none were the right size....I considered piecing the batts but it seems none were the same weight....so that was out...I opened another batt to relax...I really want to get that blue quilt done with so I can move on to more....I want to get as much done as possible before going back to the girls gfg quilts to quilt...that will take a lot of my time the size they are....

 

I have to make up my mind today what I am making for the quilt meeting tomorrow...its our annual Christmas dinner meeting....whatever I make I have to get the 'fixins' yet so cant wait much longer...plus I have some errands to do while out...and mother nature is 'smokin' again....lol...its really foggy again today...suppose to get really cold by this evening though...

 

ok I have a lot to do today so I better get going on it....look for more pics this week...I have a little teaser later....more later....

YESTERDAY, NOT WHAT I PLANNED! AND MORE HEXES?

Yesterday I finally put some effort into accomplishing something and had to have laundry soap so I went to $General to get it...then I thought ok I will pick up a chicken dinner at the store and I wont have to cook my supper....WELL, I got the soap and then on the way to the store I just kept on driving and found myself out in the country looking for fall colors....and ended up in a neighboring city with the idea of going to Walmart but I went by it too and ended up at a little fabric shop...I don't go there very often as they stock mostly primitive type fabric and some country....but I thought I could pick up some small yardages of florals I needed for my 'mini grandmothers flower garden' quilt....which I did!

 

Right about now you are thinking 'another flower garden quilt?'...well I had hexes from the 2 big ones I am making so I needed to do something with them... and I needed some hand sewing to do while sitting around...so I am making a smaller quilt with posies of 2 rows then the white , later I will add I hope applique floral borders...

 

and believe me it is going much faster than the full grandmothers flower garden quilts...only one problem I need a little more variety with this one...calico prints such as these are getting hard to find in favor of the brighter newer style fabric...

 

I did find a few fabrics that will blend ok in this quilt I think...

 

the yellow prints are the hardest to find....maybe I will have to have a swap with the quilt group to see if I can pick up some....

 

My plan yesterday was to wash up the fabric order I got this past week and some I had been putting off till I went on my little excursion...I hadn't done much else all week so I thought maybe that would get me back going again....so now today I will try it instead lol....In my order I got a couple blues for binding I thought would be good with that blue quilt I need to finish.....more later...

 

 

 

 

 

LOSS OF A FRIEND...

The past few days have been very depressing for me....I haven't been able to concentrate on much of anything....

My friend of 62 years has passed from years of health complications....she was getting worse but it is a true shock when it finally happened..

This week is also my death anniversary of my husband...all the memories of my friend and her family along with our memories have come flooding back to haunt me again...at the moment I am not feeling very well and I am sure it is from depression....

The quilt I have been working on is laying on top of the quilt frame ready for me to quilt the borders but I just haven't felt like doing it....hopefully this will pass soon but for now I will just have to deal with it....thank you for understanding....more later....

SNOWBALL QUILT IS LOOKING GOOD

The snowball quilt is coming along really well so far....I got it laid out Friday night...I had to take a lot of breaks because of my back...but I got to sit down to pin it which was a plus but toward the end the muscle spasms really kicked in but I kept at it....after they settled down I quilted for about 4 hours....Saturday and Sunday I quilted all day...so that was a total of 20 hours...Today I have quilted for 4 more hours ...taking a break for awhile....I took this picture a little bit ago.....

 

After spreading the quilt out I see I am about 2/3 the way finished with the center...you cant really see but there is an outline of a heart quilted in red in each of the white spaces...

 

I was going to use a leaf on the white border quilted in red but have decided it needed a heart something instead....so I am playing around with making a heart connected with ribbon along the  border all the way around....more on that later....

 

I think my daughter will be surprised at this quilt....this should fit into her 'primitive' décor that she likes....

 

My other daughter likes the other snowball quilt that I started last year and have 2 more rows vertically and horizontally to add....

 

she wants it and says she likes her sisters quilt but she wants navy blue on hers lol...I forgot just how big it is at the moment so I don't know yet if there will be a big border...this quilt doesn't have the reds the other one does and is showing greens and blues, softer colors....it makes each of the quilts quite different from each other....more about this one later.....

 

Today has to be laundry day...running out of clothes being I have been sewing so much....work beckons ugh!....more later...

SNOWBALL QUILT READY FOR BORDERS

Today my thoughts are back on the snowball quilt I am working on....the center is done and now deciding on borders, how many and what width....so far it looks like there will be a 2 inch inner red border and then finish off with the wider 4 inch outer ivory border like the snowballs....

I was trying to figure out what kind of design I was going use on the outer border which would have decided the width and gave up drawing one but while thumbing through old quilt mags I found a leaf that is just perfect....

I can quilt it end to end and with a little jump make it continuous which will be a big help and its a 1 needle one...not only that but it is the width of the block so no big problems spacing....still have to decide on the corner though....maybe a leaf diagonally placed....

I have pretty much decided on quilting in red this time....the back will be just a shade darker than the snowballs (couldn't get the same color for the back)....I guess you would have to say I will be doing red work quilting instead of embroidery lol.....it will show up on the back well too....there will be a red quilted heart in each of the snowballs too...and diagonal quilting on both sides where the corners met the snowballs...it will show up like an on point box around the hearts....

Earlier I thought about using 4 patches for one of the borders but most of the ones I have made are not all 4 different...

they are mostly co ordinated or done with white etc and just not right I don't think so back in the bag they will go for another quilt.....

I have finally made I think all the decisions for this quilt unless something goes wrong and I think it will make a great gift....I am liking it already and it might be hard to give it up when the time comes.....more later.....

UFO GETTING ATTENTION TODAY

Today while drinking my coffee still trying to wake up I decided to look at the back pictures in my camera file to see if I missed anything....sometimes I take a lot of pics to use with posts here and I miss one now and then....well I am not sure but I think I found one lol....

This a UFO I started couple years ago...all it is lacking is the rust border maybe about 5 inches or so then it will be ready for quilting....I started it because I wanted a different layout for the string blocks...I call it southwest stars....it reminds me of the colors you would find there....the background looks white but it is a very light gray...these colors you wouldn't normally find together but they somehow work just like the sunsets in the southwest....it will be bed size when finished....this is on the agenda to finish before the year is up....

I seem to have a fascination with star blocks....

I keep going back to a challenge that I participated in while back and made this topper....I like the colors and the design of the topper ....I wonder if a large quilt would look good with them.....or something similar ....maybe more later on this one...

Update on the snowball quilt....I did get it to the narrow border stage after getting the rows done but didn't take a picture yet....I have been trying to decide on just how big to make the borders or how many....that will be the story for later this week lol.....

One of the first things I have to do today is do up the dishes and straighten up the kitchen....when I work on a project in sewing the kitchen always suffers ...I just eat and pile dishes and go back to sewing....so now it judgment time lol plus I gotta cook something today so I can do both at the same time lol....geez its a new week again....time is flying....and so am I lol....more later....

MAKING SNOWBALLS BUT THERE IS NO SNOW

Yes I am making snowballs today but its raining not snowing lol....as I mentioned in previous posts I am making a snowball quilt as a Christmas present and will hand quilt it so its get down to business and get the top done so I can get on with the quilting....

 

The 9 patches have been done and I started on the snowballs earlier in the week and between last night and today I have them ready for putting together....in the picture is the quilt so far in various stages....I used 1075 -2 inch squares in this quilt so far....I just might use up all my little squares lol....I could even possibly have enough 4 patches to use as a border....more on this later....

 

When I leave my blog I will go back to the sewing machine and start putting this quilt in rows and maybe be ready for a border later today or tomorrow....

 

I put a few together to see what it is beginning to look like....the ivory 'snowballs' will be ok I think as she does not like things to look 'too new'...I worry about the squares looking a little too bright but will have to see after it is put together....

 

I made her this small quilt for display in her old cabinet while back and the colors were bright but the background was dull and she thought it was ok....

 

I got the batt out today to relax on the couch, no pun intended lol but I don't have anywhere else to stretch one out...I thought about  fixing some mounting  things in a double doorway but the batt might get ripped as people would move it to go through the doorway....so will let things be the way they are..that is all the info I have about this quilt so far but more to come later....

 

The prism quilt???? its on the sidelines till I get the snowball top done and in the quilting frame then I can work on it when I get tired of  snowballs lol....

 

So I need to find some lunch now and then get back to sewing...more later...

NEW TECHNOLOGY AND OLD SEWING MACHINES

I am all bummed out today....I wanted to start doing a lot of straight line machine quilting but I don't have a even feed foot for either machine...so I went looking for them....and I found that I cant get one for either of my sewing machines...now I did have doubts I would find one for this machine....its a Neechi...

I bought it in 1960 so it is ancient by todays standards lol...but my Husqvarna I bought in 1995 I thought would still be ok to find parts but I am finding not so....is it a fossil too??....I know technology has advanced with leaps and bounds the past 10 years I guess I haven't  lol.....but oh to start deciding which is the best machine to buy now is a challenge with all that they do....my Husqvarna does some lettering and fancy stitches but no embroidery....

I guess I will be looking for a new machine sometime in the future very soon.... but for now I have a snowball quilt I have to get done by Christmas so that comes first....then the winter months I will be working steadily on the girls grandmothers flower garden quilts hand quilting them...so it might be spring before it get around to looking seriously for a new machine...but I am keeping an open mind about all of them while I investigate.....

ok off to the machine....and quilt for the week end....more later....

FISH QUILT AND DESCRIPTION READY FOR CHRISTMAS

Here are pictures of my sons Fish Quilt I made for him this past 2 months and is hand quilted throughout....

I had gotten the fabric about 3 years ago...I found it on sale in one of the fabric catalogs...at the time I didn't know how I was going to make the quilt but at least I had the fabric...I particularly liked the collage fabric but I didn't have enough to do much else with it...in fact I just had enough to use as a border after I matched it...the ends had to be seamed to work.

 

I drew a fish to use as a stencil for the brown border and quilted it in navy blue...I put them in a line to look like a fish swimming....the ones at the top seem upside down but this is a directional quilt so if the quilt is upside down to my son when using it he can see the fish right side up....lol...I freehanded the cattails in the corners of the quilt....I think they should have been bigger now after looking at the quilt....

 

The back is still some of  the fabric I bought to go with the quilt at the same time....its an all over fish print...

 

I was going to use on the front somewhere but it seemed right for the back....the binding gave me some trouble...on the last side it kept twisting and causing ripples along the edge of the quilt so finally had to hand baste as I went along to get it to lay right........its the color of the narrow border around the panel in the center to tie it all together...the  batt seemed a little thick though it didn't say it was extra thick , it did turn out fine....I am glad this one is done and now 1 more to get done before Christmas....

 

I hope to keep up with the pictures lol....I just don't take the time to get the camera going....I could bombard you all with pictures if I took of all the  things I did in a day lol...but you would get tired of seeing them I am sure lol....but I will try to do better than I have.....more later

ANSWERING A COMMENT AND MORE INFO ON A QUILT

To answer a comment from the last post by Love of Quilts....at first I thought the border might be too bright too but after I remembered that am going to add a quilted heart of the block color in the center of each block I think that will make it better and also the border might not be that wide...I will play around with it some before deciding...thank you both sheri and love of quilts for your comments...I always like comments....

Sometimes I have a hard time deciding on a color for a border unless its very similar  or the fabric like the rest of the quilt....I don't seem to put a lot of contrasting borders on them....

I have to get the fish quilt done before October 3 for show and tell at the quilt meeting....maybe if I hustle I can have one of the small ones done too to show....but high on my list is PUT ALL THAT FABRIC AWAY!!!! .....more later

MORE QUILTS IN PROGRESS

The fall festival is over for another year....the weather was great, a little cool but ok.....the crowd was a little thinner I think and looking not buying unless it was food....that was the busy places...according to one vendor people just seemed to be out for a stroll lol....but then I kind of expected this as I hear every day on the tv that the economy is still not the best....

Here at home at this very moment I have 3 quilts started on the back corner of my table....I think all three will be at least  double bed size....you will see more of them as I work on them but I had to package them up to keep it all together...that becomes a problem sometimes as limited as I am for space...

 

I got my order Saturday with the border fabric I am going to use with the floating boxes quilt...that should make it twin size....

its another one of those conversation thingys that my family most likely will comment on....its kind of a fun quilt so why not put a fun border on it....it might go to the nursing home to brighten up someones life...more on that later.....

 

All those medium and pastel fabrics I had out when working on the sherbet colors quilt I decided to make another one only prism design....

years ago I made one with pastel prints where the colors are with white as a background....it went to my nephew's family and I liked it so well that it stuck in my mind and I said one day I would do another....the colors I had out seemed the right choice for this one instead of the prints....more on this later too....ok I am editing this...I was looking over the blog and found I had a picture on the right of the last prism quilt with the prints....so you can see what one looks like done....

 

Life is back to normal for me now lol....my brain is working overtime as usual so maybe I will come up with some goodies .....more later.....

HERE IS THE 'SHERBET' QUILT

Well here it is....the 'sherbet' quilt all finished with hand quilting....it too will go to the fall festival...not sure it will sell, the public is hard to figure for sales but at least my work will be out there to show...

 

While the pastel and medium color fabrics were out all over the sewing room I decided to make another pastel quilt larger baby size this time....4 different color triangles around a  light beige square....I made one of those only with plain white center and calico print triangles around the outside...as I recall the blocks were smaller and on point...but it made a beautiful baby quilt....my nephew got that one for his new one years ago...its pictured on the right with the caption 'Nicoles Quilt'...anyway I made 19 blocks which will be 4 1/4 inches square....not very big but the quilt will be very colorful as is this one I am showing today...

 

I am on the outside border of my sons fish quilt, may work on it later today some....right now I have so many things going its hard to keep track of them....I have got to get some order to things or I wont get much done just running here and there....

 

the weather has been so nice I feel I better be outside and enjoying it so I guess I will get a few groceries sometime to day....I really need some good ideas for meals lately I have been fed up with food lol...no time to sit and look for recipes so will have to wing it ....just roam the grocery store looking for something good.....more later....

A FEW MORE THINGS FINISHED THIS WEEK

Today feels like a fall day...and it wont be long till it is fall here in Illinois...and that means lots of sewing projects for Christmas....which right now my head is so full of quilty things that there are no ideas for anything else....

I have done a lot of sewing this last 3 months and I am not caught up yet....I finally got pictures taken and put in computer of things so I can post them for awhile till ya get tired of them lol

As some of you know I am participating in a fall festival with my gd later in the fall so have been making up some things....

 

couple of runners.....

 

 

At the moment I am trying to finish my sons 'fish' quilt top so I can sandwich it and start with the hand quilting....I have been talking about it for the past couple years or more and now finally getting started....I hope to finish by October for his birthday but if I don't there is always Christmas lol....or next year....I have learned not to make promises though the years....lol...

 

My new computer has taken a lot of my time lately trying to find things that are there but not where I would have liked them to be lol and today I had to load a couple more programs that didn't make it....first I had to look up the disk I knew was here....grrrr got mixed in with the empty cases....that took about 2 hrs to find....as you can tell I am not a very patient person lol....

 

Looking forward to Chicken salad sandwiches for supper tonight...I got hungry for them for some reason so thawed out chicken breasts, cooked them and will make it when I am done here...might save out one and use broth and have a 'dab' of chicken and noodles...

 

That seems to be all for today....not too gabby today but then I haven't been doing anything but sewing....I am sure there will be more later.......

 

 

HERE IS MY 2 GRANDMOTHERS FLOWER GARDEN QUILTS

Finally!!...i have had trouble trying to post this picture....here are my babies....these are my 2 Grandmothers Flower Garden quilts so far....the tops are done so the next step is to sandwich them and start hand quilting them....so it will probably be at least 6 months before they get done, maybe longer....they measure 74x92 inches and are all hand made and i didn't use any paper disks....as i dont like English paper piecing or any paper piecing for that matter lol

I am back on my laptop today...my new computer quit working....tech and i thought it was in the computer since he installed a new monitor and it still didn't work...but after he left....my mouse decided to die....so now i need to get a new one and hope that was the problem...to tired today to make the trip to get one....

I have been working in scraps most of last week and so far into today.....and this afternoon i worked on straightening up my work table....geez what a mess!!....i hope i can keep it cleaned off....FAT CHANCE!!...i did put some of the 'stuff' in bags sorted so that helped and maybe i wont be moving it around.....

Its been a long day so far and i need some food and i am tired, brain tired....hope you enjoy the gfg picture...the girls at the quilt meeting helped hold them up so pictures could be taken....they were a spectacular site seeing them both together.....so glad  i stuck with making them.....more later....

PICTURE OF FOOTBALL QUILT/MATCHING PILLOWCASES

Here is the picture of my grandsons quilt i finished and delivered....i am glad to have it done and gone....

and the pillowcases to match below

while quilting it i found i had quilted a couple huge wrinkles in the back....it took almost a day of ripping and smoothing and i finally got it ok....the back fabric was soft and easy to wrinkle....i am thinking maybe i could use spray starch on  the next back to see if that will help keep wrinkles at a minimum....i hope so....

i am having a lot of trouble with my left knee today...the arthritis has kicked up....i must have been up and down a lot the last few days and scooting my chair while sewing irritating my leg....i hope tylenol and my pain med will take the pain away enough for me to get to the store...got a few things i need that cant wait.....more later....

SHERBET QUILT IS ALMOST DONE!

i decided to start with something bright and cheery today...its clouding up so maybe it will rain some and cool down....as long as its hot i am contented to be inside where it is cool....i found these flowers in the garage along with some others and decided they might look nice on the deck even though they arent fresh....i have a bad habit of forgetting to water plants outside...my kids say i put them in 'dry dock' lol...

i am making progress on the 'sherbet' quilt...working on the border now...

got almost one side done last night and now the markings are gone for around the corner so will have to mark that and the next side...it moves pretty fast when i get started...i think it will be a 'striking' quilt when finished...i may put it up for sale at the festival but being its hand quilted i would price it higher....

i need to quit sewing for a bit and start putting fabric back in the cabinet...i have all the pastel and brights i used in the sherbet quilt still out and fabric from several of the runners too....2 piles on the machine arm makes it hard to sew and  piles behind the little ironing board makes it hard to press things and god forbid if i had to press a large piece of fabric....and i guess i will just have to gather all the scrap i have accumulated of late and just put in a bag for now as my scrap box is overflowing....i feel another string quilt coming on lol....

ok i either have to find something in the freezer for my supper or get out in the heat and go eat somewhere....i am leaning toward the latter lol....no cooking...its a good thing! lol....more later.....

PROGRESS ON THE 'SHERBET' COLORS QUILT

It sure is hot here in Illinois this week but then its the middle of July...from now through August we can expect this...i have seen it as hot as 114 degrees actual...it was so hot then that my husband had to carry our dog across the patio to the grass to do his business, just too hot for his little paws...almost too hot for everybody...i hope we dont see it that hot here again but this year of extremes who knows!

I put together the 'sherbet' quilt this week and now decided to hand quilt it....and i am almost done with the center of it....i got out a stencil that would fit the block and decided it had too much detail so i didn't mark a lot of the lines and found it created a 'wonky heart' design....i like it very much i will have to make a note to do that or later i might wonder where i found that idea lol...i am still deciding on the border...its 4 inches and i have a scollop design stencil i may use ....

Yah i am dragging my feet on pictures again but later today if i get bored with the quilt i will wind up the camera and come in and post again today or wait til tomorrow....geez i am so lazy lol....i will blame it on the weather lol....

Well back to the quilting....maybe i can get the center (20 blocks) done today....onward....more later....

STARTED A NEW QUILT

Today i started what i call a 'sherbet' quilt....well its not sherbet ice cream just a lot of colors you might find in sherbet...

I made one of these about 3 years ago and gave it away right away at a baby shower and it was a hit with all that saw it...i have posted here before....

well while back i started cutting strips and cutting big triangles after 2 strips were sewed together creating color combos...well last night about midnight i got started again and just kep puttin blocks together and i got enough done to make another baby quilt....

this past week i made another runner


it too is based on the scrappy quilts using various strips....i didn't have as many blues as i did the browns, oranges etc...

my granddaughter was here for a bit this afternoon and we kind of discussed our strategy for the fall festival sale we are planning on....it should be interesting to say the least....

i will have more pictures when i get the 'sherbet' quilt done...should be this week...just got to remember all i need a picture of......oh its fun to get old!!!!....more later!

PROGRESS IS MADE ON MODERN MAZE QUILT

Back when i was making the pastel 'maze' quilts i thought somewhere in time i would make one that was made with batiks with the same principle....so about a year ago i started drawing up a new pattern for one....you have seen the block in earlier posts and i have been working on it now and then....

i am almost done with the top...

i have been putting together sections in 9 square blocks (3x3) and have 2 more sections to go....i think i have enough 6 inch blocks to finish...then decide if it will be another row of 3 wider and longer....

here is a closeup of a 9 square section.

before i do that though i want to work on my grandsons quilt i started before my health problem....i have the back, gotta wash/iron it yet then sandwich and i can quilt....i hope i can do a good job on it on my little machine....then also quilt those pinwheel runners too....

yesterday i mostly spent in the kitchen trying to cook things that didn't have salt...that is one losing battle...i have doc appointment next wednesday so i thought cook reg but watch the salt very carefully and see if i am doing ok at the docs....i havent cooked with salt for years...my down fall is eating out!...i will have to get used to using unsalted products as i find them....i keep forgetting i can season them later with salt substitute....

a very good salt substitute is called "no salt"....i swear by it!

time for lunch so gotta run...more later....

A HEART ATTACK IS SLOWING ME DOWN!

If i was missed this past week i had a good reason, not a happy one though the outcome so far turned out better than expected....i had a heart attack!...my lungs was filling with fluid smothering the heart....i think i had all the tests in the hospital before they were through....i came home today with lots of instruction and lots of bp meds....so it will take some getting used to and a lot of trial and error....i dont mind telling you it will be a hard thing to do...

I am so tired and they took my arthritis meds away because of the health risk so now my arthritis is really kicking up a fuss....i can hardly move without pain....so lots to get used to there too...

sewing may have to take a back seat or i might not be able to do as much as i have in the past...but i will do as much as possible...i have so much to do!....

that is it in a nutshell about me for now so i have to wear a new groove in my life...is it too late to teach old dogs new tricks?? guess we will find out....more later....

QUILTER CACHE INSPIRED RUNNER

In the midst of all the other sewing i have been doing i found time to make a new runner....

It was inspired by Quilters Cache...i dont know why i went there, lord knows i have enough ideas to work out of my head but its always nice to find a new idea, right??...lol....its not entirely like the one they had pictured but similar....and i think their blocks were bigger in the center and i wanted triangles around the pinwheel...that is light yellow sashes around the pinwheel and a funky color green triangles...glad that one is used up...i still wonder why i bought it....that will need machine quilting this week sometime...

its such a very dreary day today i think the rest of the day will be spent putting blocks in therows of the gfg quilts and see if i can get a row done on each of them....got leftovers for supper so no cooking this evening, good time to just keep on sewing and forget the weather...now if the tv will co-operate and have something decent to watch while doing this lol....

by the time i get all that done i will probably have some sore fingers so maybe the rest of the week i can get caught up on the machine quilting...hope so.....more later...

GRANDSON'S "FOOTBALL" QUILT

First i have to say what a wild and not so nice a week this past one was....the flooding in the midwest, here included, the explosions in Boston and Texas...it makes a person sit up and take notice what is going on around them...i know i am more alert of my surroundings...just hope this next week and beyond is more safe for all of us....

while sitting here drinking my coffee reading some of the blogs i thought i better get some pictures taken...so here is my grandsons quilt with the final red border on it...i made up all the black blocks as much fabric as i had...

i would have liked 1 more row on the sides but it didn't work out....then i ran out of red fabric...then my order came with red in it for another project and it worked for the quilt so added another border...it still isn't as big as i would have liked it...but he can wrap up in it anyway....

i got out his pillowcases that match it and you can see a closeup of the football print...

i had planned on giving all the grandkids pillowcases but some were dragging feet about what they wanted so i still hadn't given those i had done to them....this is going to work out well...he will have a quilt and cases to take with him when he goes off to college this fall...

the sun is out today and it looks like a really nice day so i think i will get out and shop a little...didn't go to the store other night as i planned so more groceries to get....getting tired of the same ole, same ole meals here so i think another good idea is to make out menus for this next week and follow them...i got out more in the winter than i thought so didn't use a lot of the stock i gathered for bad weather so i should use it now...

going to cut the backing ready to piece for grandsons quilt later today too and then wash the pieces...i would rather iron 2 smaller pieces than 1 big one...have to piece it anyway as the quilt is 50x 72 then i can pin ready for quilting....trying to get brave enough to machine this one....trying to do a bigger one each time till i get comfortable doing large quilts by machine...oh i wish i had a longarm!....

i was dreaming while relaxing last night....about building an oversized 1 car garage up close to the house and making it into a sewing studio....i could  do that there is enough room and with a few short steps from the house even...oh that would be so nice...my sewing room is small and its jam packed...i am sure you all know about that in your world too.....well off to do whatever....more later....



FORGET SEWING, NEEDING AN "ARK"

YES forget sewing and start building an ark....we got 6+ inches of rain in a 24 hr period and now no one can get in or out of town as water is over the roadsand bridges that lead out of town....i havent seen the water that high since 1979....and those bridges are high off fields below...there are a few creeks that run into the spoon river and it can really go on a rampage....in fact i dont know when we got this much rain in the same time period before...and its not over yet....more rain is forcast today and tonight at least 2-3 more inches....then friday its to get colder and  "snow"???? geez whats next!!!!

i have water in the basement....i knew i would have ...it seeps in around the blocks at the base of the floor and runs to the drain when we get a lot of rain...i havent been down to look yet how bad and just hope no one put things back on the floor....i usually keep things off the floor because of that....am not looking forward to going down the steps as they are hard for me to navigate with my bad arthritis and i dont want to fall....

i worked on the modern quilt today trying to keep my mind off the basement and started putting the blocks together and trying to decide just how big to make this quilt...its looking good so far...

i should go to the store after supplies but the milk man and bread guy probably didn't make it so shelves will be empty and that is what i need lol...i could make some french bread it dont use milk  but i dont have a cow so am out of luck in that dept. i can cook around no milk though so no problem...got hamburger out but no ideas yet what to cook later...i'm more interested in sewing lol.....

schools are all closed all over the county today some are trying to clean up...others because they are rural and cant get to the students....bet the kids are happy! lol....

oh yea! its starting to rain again....well its 'backstroke' to the kitchen for me.....more later.....

SO MANY QUILTS -SO LITTLE TIME!!

Right now i have so many quilts going...i am beginning to feel bogged down....i know, its my own fault lol...but i can explain lol....

i have the snowball quilt you saw in last post but i was looking in the cabinet and found the fabric that was left from the pillowcases i made my grandson...i guess i havent taken a pic of those yet...

anyway i only had about 1 yard of the fabric left so i made blocks out of it alternating with red and blue to make it go farther....ran out of red and didn't think it was going to be big enough for him but i had ordered red for another project and it matched what i ran out of so after i wash it i can put the last border on it...will get pics when i get that border on....

then i got out the blocks of the modern quilt i have been working on all year now and then....

this is a pic i had in the archives but i have almost 70 blocks now and will make quite a few more before i decide just how big it will be....its going to be very striking in color....the pic dont do it justice....will try to get a better one later....

i have the backs for all the quilts now except the modern one so i can get going....and i also have 15 new blocks for the gfg quilts and will start again setting them in rows....

had a good after surgery checkup at the eye docs other day....i never went back for the check up when i was suppose to so he gave me a lecture lol....and i promised to go sooner than 5 years lol....i know i shouldn't take it lightly as i have had eye problems in the past and still have one that will go out of this world with me....

i got steel in my eye years ago and had to have rust scraped from the cornea dead center and it created a shadow that i see when i move my eyes and the new lens from cataract  surgery makes it more prominent to see...

rain, rain all week so i guess i will be sewing more maybe i can get caught up with the pics to show ya....more later....

WORKING ON ANOTHER UFO AND THE GFG'S

I got out another ufo recently and started looking it over and decided to make it bigger at the request of my daughter....

when i am finished it will be bed size...it is a snowball quilt made with mostly floral calico prints that i have had forever it seems...so when i went to make it bigger i dug everywhere i might find the same pieces to use that are in the quilt...and luckily i found just what i needed...

i have to sew the side and the bottom onto the main part yet .

there are squares of this print in the quilt and i have just enough to make a good size border around...

when i ordered the backing i was crossing my fingers that it would be something i liked....the name was 'ivory crinkle texture' something so i was worried it really would be crinkled and not smooth but when i t came i was very happy...it was just a hint of patterned ivory and the texture was great and the color was close to the color of the center of the blocks...

daily working on the gfg quilts is taking time from the other quilts but i do have to keep working on them if i am to get them done...i did 6 more blocks ready to add to rows this week so far....when i get to ten more i will post a pic of them too...you will get pretty tired of hearing about those quilts before i get them done i am thinking lol.....something different next time...maybe....more later...

MORE WORK ON FLOWER GARDEN QUILTS

Ever since i got the blue quilt done i worked on a few of the other quilts that i have started as i posted before but i went back all last week working more and more on the Grandmothers Flower Garden quilts...working on 2 at a time is a lot slower getting somewhere believe me!...

When i started the very first row at the beginning i didn't think to add the white around the outside half way before putting the block in the row so now i had to go back and add the white ones this week as i wanted to work on the the next row from this end...

I sure am glad i figured out to add the white to the blocks before i put them into rows now because to finish the top row i had to wrestle all the quilt to work on it putting the white on later....late last night i finished with all the little white ones so now i can start putting blocks in the row...those go faster being they are almost done when i do that....the above is a good tip for working on these using this method!...

And i have been making more blocks...doing some in various stages...today i basted several blocks and clipped them back to work on them further when the mood hits me....yesterday i finished some that you see in the picture below...

 that now just need the white around half way before they are placed in a row...i have almost the 7th row done on 1 quilt and now that i have the white across the top and i can add the 7th row to this quilt...yay! i am over half way on both of them....i havent been stopping to take out the basting after they are put in rows lately so one day i will just have to sit at the table and work on that before it is too big a job....

Thursday this week is the quilt ladies meeting again for the month so i will be showing the blue quilt and maybe a couple 4 patch and 9 patch runners to show they can be just as effective as an elaborate  block quilt with the use of nice color combos....i hope i can get them to see that lol...

i am going to keep working on the gfg quilts this week too now that i am on a roll with them...and for now back to work on them after i get the dishes done....more later....

FINISHED QUILT PICTURE AND STORY

I finally got the camera wound up today...i shouldn't wait so long to take the pics for the blog as i can forget things that i have done for a week when i skip around working on things....

the first one is the finished blue quilt with the detail picture of the quilting...it doesn't show up on the big pic of the whole quilt...i had bought the backing fabric about 2 years ago when i first started this quilt...

there is a story with this quilt....it started out as a 9 patch with white as the other color....after i got the quilt top finished i hated it....so i tore it up into blocks and packaged it up....then a couple years later i tore it up back to squares and started over adding the blue for 4 patches....it was a good idea because i think all the colors worked well.... 

my daughter was here last week and she held this quilt in her lap for a long time...i do think she wants it lol....she has had an interest in it from the beginning and she is a big lover of blue...lol

over the week end we got more snow...i dont think i have ever seen it snow for 3 days like it did this time....thank god it was almost a rain for part of it at times to keep the totals from accumulating more than it did....this morning i went out and shoveled off my back walk before anyone walked on it making it easier to shovel....now the sun is out so it should melt some today....got to make a trip to town to pick up meds this week so trying to get the snow out of my way so i dont fall...

today i had dinner brought in so i am about to go enjoy it...i made a big bowl of potato salad yesterday to have as something quick to go along with my meal to make cooking easier this week while i am sewing....good idea i think!...

i will have more things to talk about tomorrow or the next day depending on how busy i get....lately i am busier than usual or extra slow lol...see you later with more....

2 FINISHES

I

the fold back part is the pretty back ....i found this fabric and knew i had to use it as the back....it goes with the quilt so good..i may have quilted it too close i think...another ufo off my list...

this is the very last quilt made with the old courthouse step blocks i made a very long time ago...this was one of the first blocks i made when i really got into quilting big time....i must have made a thousand of them cause i sure have  made a lot of small quilts with them....guess i should have made a big bed quilt from them...but i thought i had them all done then found more...

here is the 'mini square' quilt i showed in another post all done now with a dark ruby red binding....it will go to my daughter as i mentioned before..

Well its off to quilt on the blue quilt...and hang up the 3rd load i have in the dryer....and make sense of my day....more later....

TABLE TOPPER FINISHED AND CURRENT QUILT DETAIL

I finally got going on the camera again....here is a closeup of the stitching on the blue quilt i have in the frame....the thread is navy and it is quilted on the diagonal ....its taking a little getting used to standing out like it is but i am getting used to it....

i have 3 light blue rows done so far...the quilting in the dark squares is jus outlining the squares on the inside of the square so the quilt is quilted pretty close....i have a small problem i noticed today...i have a wrinkle in the area of the back that i am working on that will require me to be very careful to work out....

here is a small blue table topper that i finished recently during our first snowstorm...it had been waiting to be done for quite awhile....i am glad to get it off my table....

today i worked more on the quilt in the frame for most of the day stopping long enough to get a meatloaf ready to bake...this time its a big one....i am used to making mini meatloaves so i dont have leftovers but i think meatloaf sandwiches will taste good for a change...i also got a  bowl of bake beans in the oven too....i will add a big lettuce salad and call it supper...haha and i might as well make enough salad for tomorrow cause i will be having the same thing tomorrow lol and the next day lol...

we have about 16 inches of snow on the ground right now and rain coming the last part of the week....it may cause some flooding around the area as it will start to melt all that snow....just hope i dont end up with water in the basement...there is mud everywhere so the ground isn't froze either....

i have more pictures to post so keep watching for more and of course i am always working on something...cant stand to have my hands idle anymore....so many things so little time!!!! lol....more later....