2 THINGS QUILTED OFF THE PILE WAITING

 

Last night before i went to bed i decided to see how tempermental my machine was i use for quilting ....of course she was very....So i  messed with it and got it to quilt so i decided to quilt a couple little things off the pile i have waiting to be done...

In the picture are the 2 items i did...i used the odd size leftover squares i had so they would not get mixed in with the reg sizes i use....i even picked the uglist back and binding i had lol....they are for me so it doesn't matter...

Today now i have to leave the sewing alone as i have a lot of house work to do  and some laundry....Dont know how much i will get done but every little bit helps...

I have a big pile of pinks, salmon, peach fabrics on the dining table to wash up and put away i hope to get to this month....but first i have to concentrate on an important chore i have to have done in 3 weeks....ok off to the kitchen first.....more later

LITTLE THINGS MEAN A LOT

You might have noticed that i haven't posted for a bit but i have been a busy gal...if you quilt then you know you have leftover fabric and odd blocks from other projects well i am not different lol....i was getting too many little bags in my clothes basket of blocks so i started looking through them and found several that would make good small items for giving 'just because'...so i started working on them a couple weeks ago and came up with a lot of goodies....too many for one picture....

I never seem to have trouble giving potholders away or the little mug rugs...so i end up making a lot of them...I still have more in the works but my machine is giving some trouble so not too eager to keep going on them at the moment till i get it back in good condition...its easier on my nerves lol....It hasn't taken down the amount of bags in that clothes basket though i still have way too many in there...

Today its supply day so gotta get out of the house for that and maybe a late lunch....have to see what happens....more later....

PINWHEELS & PATCHES READY FOR BORDERS

I have this quilt top put together this far as of yesterday...to the left of the picture are the reds i might want to use...all have to be washed and ironed from the stack of new fabric...and i am waiting on 1 more red in an order which i think i will use...for the first narrow border....the background fabric will be the last big border....it will be plain enough for good hand quilting to show up....Not sure when i will get to it to quilt...i have a big project coming to do that might take me all summer....more on this later....

The last time i straighted up my leftover stacks i made a few potholders from leftover blocks and borders from the stacks and strips ....i have a few more odd blocks i should do that with....not enough of them to put in a quilt or a runner...good way to use them up...i also made a couple mug rugs just using some of the strips i had laying on the table not really matching up anything....i will be giving them to a friend later in the week....sometimes putting things together at random works better than hours of planning....as did these mug rugs....

I irratated my bad leg using the leg lever on my sewing machine so much so yesterday i was out of commission giving into the pain and just resting....i think i slep most of the day and yes most of the night....i didn't know i was so tired....i should be caught up for awhile i would think....today my leg still hurts but i have to make a trip to the store for some groceries have to's....hope it goes well....more later.....

I'M ON A ROLL WITH ALL THE QUILTING

I have been on a roll this past month with hand quilting with a little blip this past week with a bummed up finger for a couple days....I had fabric leftover from my sons fish quilt i made couple years ago and i didn't know what i was going to do with the 2 yards taking up space in the cabinet so i made a quilt for a boy that will i think become my step great grandson one day...he adores my son and loves fishing as much as my son does...i hand quilted it and had just enough fabric to make the twin size quilt....

The next quilt i have had for about a year and there is another one about the same size waiting for its turn to be quilted also....this one is an oversized baby quilt i hand quilted after i got done with the fish quilt....it too is leftover fabric some from my grandsons football quilt back.....the border on this one is light blue not white as the picture shows....its a simple one with just alternating bricks but very striking....

I was cleaning off the chair that i had piled sewing stuff on and found a table topper ....i dont remember making it but i finished it also....gotta get new batteries for the camera then i can take more pics....by then i might have more to show....i hope to keep the momentum going with all this quilting....more later.....

CAN YOU HAVE TOO MANY BAGS?

Lots have been going on the past couple weeks...i had to go for lab work...an annual thing so i could renew my meds...then the dr appointment....now its more tests as my anemia has gotten worse....It seems its always something when you get past 70...

I have been sewing though, mostly on the flower garden quilt for my granddaughter but been doing a few bags when i could keep my mind on them....the one on the left is about 20 inches square...one day i saw a lot of yellow and different greens in my 2 in stack and thought maybe there was enough for a bag...so that is how that one came about.

Last night i checked the leftover squares i had left and decided that i had enough for a cosmetic bag so i made the one here in the picture.....if i look on the table i probably could find more color combos to use for more bags...

My sewing table looks worse than ever right now...i thought i was making headway in the scrap using but i think i am just creating more mess.....i took one day and made several different blocks as i found scrap that would fit them...so a few quilts gained some blocks...

That is about it for now....maybe i will get out a quilt and put the border on it now that i have the piano keys done for it....i am a little anxious to see what it will look like when put together.....more later....

ANOTHER NEW QUILT THIS TIME FROM A UFO

I needed something to do last night while watching the Emmys so I drug out my clothes basket of quilting blocks packaged up.....while rummaging through it I found a quilt I started years ago....

 

 

the more I worked on it the less I liked it....the blocks were just too big for the size the quilt was going to be.... and I just plain didn't like the layout...so I put it back and basically forgot about it till last night....

 

I sat there tearing this quilt apart trying to think of how I could use the triangle squares and 4 patches without tearing them apart too...well before I went to bed I thought of something....its a wonder I slept lol....so this morning I went in and started sewing a new block design using them....this is what I came up with.....

 

I must say I do like it better....I am going to call it 'Butterflies on my roses' quilt lol....I used to have rose bushes that color and the dark looks like butterflies lol....I have enough of all the colors to make a big quilt if I want so we will see just how this evolves but the scale of the blocks will be better I think than a huge 24 inch block.....

 

My basket of blocks????.....I had to get a bigger basket this time as the smaller one was overflowing ....

 

well I did sort it out and found some scrap material to use in my upcoming scrap quilts so that eliminated 2 bags in there ....trying to figure out how to use the bag of  odd blocks for things....ok time to figure out my supper now after all this....more later.....

MAKING A NEW 'CHALLENGE QUILT'

Finally I am posting....I have been busy with stuff here at home trying to get caught up with stuff I need to do that I haven't taken time to post much....

This past week I had a water line break in the basement...thank god I was home or I would have had a flood down there....a lot of water sprayed all over as it is....plumber will have to come back to fix...he didn't have time that day to do the repair...I am glad he didn't have to have the water shut off all over the house just the line to the downstairs sink....

I have been working on string strips again trying not to let the scrap stuff get to far ahead of me....and I started a new quilt of stars and 9 patch...the original pattern for the block is in Quilters Cache....I made it for a challenge while back...here is that one in archives...I love this pattern....

 

 

Speaking of challenges I joined another challenge of sorts....the online quilt group I belong to posted a pattern for a 'scrap basket' quilt....and I am going great guns on it right now....here are some of the panels I have put together so far....I need 25 in all...

 

I have to put it aside today at least till I get the flowers fixed for the cemetery...Memorial day crept up on me again this year....I guess because I was raised with the holiday being the 30th weekend not before that ....so confusing sometimes lol...

 

My 'Dewey' blocks are put aside for the time being....and I dug out the 4 patches I had and putting a ivory triangle around each side to put them on point for a good size quilt....I have about half the blocks done for that....

 

I need to take more pics...I finally finished the small childs quilt I was hand quilting....don't know why I didn't finish before only took me 2 hrs to finish quilting and couple more to bind....grrr...lol....

 

Well this catches me up for now and just maybe I can get the camera wound up again sometime this week...I know there is more to show....

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.....

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...

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.......

 

 

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....

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....

CHALLENGE PROJECT POSTED

I am posting a picture of a recent challenge i participated in , in my quilting group....the host just posted the pictures so i can post mine....

the challenge was how we viewed 'Apple Pandowdy'....i chose to let the fabric colors be it....a description as follows:
starting with the outside row....the red is the apples...the next row in which is a brown instead of white with red is the dough, the white in the next layer is the cream i would put on to and the next layer is more apples and the center is the dough....i know its far fetched but i dont have an embroidery machine to do graphic things and i didn't want to do applique so that was my version lol...i wouldn't blame you if it left you scratchig your head lol.....

i finally got a quilt laid out and put in my quilting frame....

where you see the light blue space in diagonal rows is where i am quilting a long feather the length of a row in each of those light blue spaces....i am also doing something a little different for me too...i am using navy thread for hand quilting this time....i wanted to show the feather and take up some of the blank space....dont know what i am going to quilt the border yet...got a little time before it get to it...lol...

we have gotten a lot of snow this past 2 weeks today included....i got out yesterday for some groceries before i got snowed in again so i will have plenty of time for quilting....the really only problem i have is my sore fingers if they arent sore from quilting i make them sore from working on the girls' grandmothers flower garden....but such is life!....more later....

TOO MANY COLORS IN HEXES MAKES BLOCK PLACEMENT HARDER

Lately i have been working on the 2 grandmothers flower garden quilts i am making for my girls...but i have been having trouble with placement of the blocks because of color combos....after i analyzed the problem i have decided that it is because i am incorporating too many colors into the block....

most of the main color hexes in the blocks have more than one color in them...and lately i seem to be putting 2 other contrasting colors as part of the the block with it....in the picture above a good example is the bottom hex combo and the top hex combo the colors should be a little more mono chromatic .....it makes it easier to place blocks in the row so that not the same contrasting colors are not close to each other....

In my box of hex combos that i have ready for working on i am going to go through them and make them more user friendly....i have more solid colors in my stash and quite a variety of colors so it should not be a problem, just more cutting lol....from the looks of the contents in the box it could use some better organization too lol....

By using floral prints most have 2 or colors in the flowers so i will have to watch that i dont add too many colors or each block will end up with the same colors...and we cant have that lol....

Later today i am going to quilt the 3 runners i have ready on the table and get them ready to bind then be done with them...maybe get pics ready for the rest of the week....i spent last evening for a couple hours going through quilt mags hunting ideas for small things...didn't find much...i did find an idea for string blocks i want to try....more on this later....

I have been working on the 4sq-4patch quilt...putting sashes around the ones done and hunting fabric combos for more....i have 45 and if i make the top the size i want i need 70 sooo i have a few more to do....more on this too later....

Its very cold this week so good time to be inside...weather man says warmer next week up in the 30's....good by then i will need supplies so i should start my list now....

My energy for sewing has waned some this past week so i am hoping that quilting those runners will get me going again......more later

MY GRANDDAUGHTERS MODERN QUILT

I finally got the camera going and took a picture of my granddaughters quilt all done....it has been a year in the making...i kept putting it aside for other projects through the year and last month i made up my mind to get it done...here it is....

but you know there is always something right behind it ready to be done and i have quite a selection to pick from lol...

its a toss up between the color study quilt i call 'MAZE TO NOWHERE'...cant remember now if it is no. 1 or 2....this one has a green border...the other one that is done has a blue border (in the first pic)....both are pictured below...they are alike except for the borders....a case of making too many blocks lol...

this is my own block that i designed and it is a very easy block to sew ...the seams dont meet so you dont have to deal with bulk there and it goes fast ...it does take a lot of variety of colors though...it took me a long time before i got what i wanted to use gathered up but it gave me time to figure out just what kind of block i was going to make...

and the other quilt to be quilted is this one...

.

i would like to get it done too...i have the back for it that i want to use but dragging my feet on what to quilt in the light space....i love feathers and i think i have a stencil that will work....i will hand quilt i think as i am not good enough to do feathers on machine and i would like to give this one away as a gift later....more on my dilemma later lol

for right now i am nursing a back ache...i aggrivated an old injury last week carrying something i shouldn't have and now i suffer for it....and believe me winter weather isn't helping...but our weather could be worse and i am glad so far that the snow is north of us but soon i think we will have some....then i will have plenty of time to sew just hope my back settles down by then...

well lunch is coming  later this morning so i dont have to cook.... i better get dressed and i could use more coffee to get woke up...happy sewing....more later....

2 QUILTS FINISHED

It's been a busy week here at home...this new sewing streak has me moving from one thing to another all day long but i am getting things done...

In the last 2 weeks i have made a little girls quilt with butterflies from irish chain pattern...hard to see the butterflies in the picture...

i have had the print fabric i know for at least 14 years...i remember where i bought it ...i am very suprised i haven't used it before this..the fabric is very pretty in person...the quilt is one width by about 45 inches....then while i was working on it and during the time when i got bored with it i started another quilt i mentioned in previous post...the red/blue hole in barn door quilt....well i am finished with it now...got it done this morning...

its the little boys quilt i decided to make when i found this combo staring at me when i opened the cabinet...i have just a scrap left of the very busy blue print....the color works in this quilt but i passed over it lots of times wondering what to do with it , it always seemed to busy to work in anything up till now and this time it seemed to be just right...

After all this sewing i been doing i have a stack of small pieces of batt ....i already has some stuffed in here and there in a shelf but now there is a whole lot more...looks like all those string  blocks i made will be made into bigger blocks and used for potholders....

 

this is just the smaller stack of small pieces of batt...the other one sits on the floor in family room behind the chair for now...this stack i will work on first i think it has the smallest pieces in it....the other stack has bigger pieces that maybe i can piece together for runners...without making too many seams...

got to take a break from sewing later today and buy some groceries....i think i will make out menus for this next week with things that i can make ahead so i dont have to stop sewing for long...good thing i like leftovers lol...

it is such a pretty day this friday that i should take advantage of it and go do a little other shopping....fall is really showing up now....hard to keep the house warm at night but i am going to be frugal and not heat the house i hope till late october or november....more later about that lol....

well its back to sewing after lunch....i have a table runner all pinned ready to machine quilt....i have been lagging in that department for awhile while hand quilting those quilts....so now its back to  practicing again....i also want to machine quilt that hexagon table topper i posted earlier for my daughter so most likely that will get done sometime over the week end...so for now its ta-ta....more later ....

4 SQUARE 4 PATCH BLOCKS

I got a good start to my day today....up early with shower and couple cups of coffee and i was in sewing on those 4-4-patch blocks..i had co ordinating sashing lined up for some of them so i had something to show for my time quick.....

i didn't count the ones that are done but i must have 16 done so far....yesterday when i was looking through bags i found some like these that i had already done...so this idea has been in my head for quite a while i think...that added 10 more blocks than i had planned on...this quilt i think is going to be bigger than i thought....but i dont want to seperate it into 2 and i would like to use up the 4 patches and get them out of my basket....

 

just finished this one while back...with the 16 little patches...and i found more 16 patch blocks other day and have worked them up into a small quilt....more on that one later....not making anymore of those little things....

time to get back to work....maybe i can get the sashing all done today and see what i have....i think i might have to make 1-2 more blocks if i counted right this time....more later......

THINKING ABOUT CHRISTMAS SEWING

I guess the cooler weather we have at the moment got me thinking about Christmas sewing...its been on my mind all this week....last year i got the brainy idea of making A christmas quilt to use some of my christmas stash...well as time went on i found i was doing ok and decided tomake 2 of them...and that in turn developed into 4 quilts...about 40x55, one each for my 2 daughters, sons gf and my granddaughter....

they are all shown here with the finished quilts....i started them back in late August 2011 and had good luck with all ...granted they weren't hard as they were simple 4 and 9 patches...i wanted them similar but not exactly alike and that was achieved....i am just happy i got them done in time to present them at Thanksgiving dinner for 4 suprised girls...and it was the biggest undertaking i had done all at one time....

as i mentioned in one of the last posts i have some Christmas place mats to finish...but now i am looking for more patterns of things to make.... years ago i got another brainy idea but didn't follow through with it....i wanted to dress old  world santas....i gathered some vintage items and went so far as making a clay head for one that would fit the hole in the top of an empty soda bottle to use as a base....ha! my clay head looks more like Freddie Krueger of nightmare on elm street so my daughter says....but with some white for a beard and a little white hair and eyebrows i think he would work....i have dressed dolls in the past and dressing santas wouldn't be that much of a difference for me...i might look into that again and see if i can make it work this time....more on this later....

I  want to make a couple fall table runners...in the past i have been gathering fall fabrics, oranges, browns, rusts and now i am lacking a few neutral tans....i dont do much fall decorating but would like a nice runner for my table if and when its cleaned off and i can put it there with my candle sconces...which lately hasn't happened....

time for me to get going on my day....its noon lol and i am still sleepy but i have a lot to do today and hope i can get most of it out of my way before i quit for the day....happy sewing....more later....