a finish and planting

Did get this lil' thing done. 

Strip quilted a Moda grab bag featuring Rue 1800 designed by 3 Sisters purchased through Green fairy Quilts with a stash batik from my stash for the background and binding. 
Quilting was 1/4" echo stitched on the colored bands of the varying widths.  The  back side has a similar but different table runner so it's reversible.

Am always amazed that it seems to take me forever with life's interruptions and other fires presented throughout my day for me to finish my projects.  Now am finally realizing that it's me but with a state of grace and I do persevere and get some finished!  8~ /

Youngest grandson called me from his I pad.  He's getting quite shaggy and those aren't wings in his hairdo but the ceiling fan in his bedroom.  

 While visiting with him , I yelled DUCK!  He asked why - so mentioned the airplane coming down the runway toward his head.  He turned his perspective to see it and chuckled.  Of course couldn't quite capture that on film.  drats!   He admitted he was bored, and I mentioned it was too bad the social distancing was still going on, that my bathroom needed cleaning.  That's how I raised my children and grandchildren, if bored there is always a chore or two that needs attention.  Thank God they were never truly bored. hee hee   I don't mind him calling me because he's bored either.  we had a nice chat and then his sister who's 14 going on 18 now I'm sure, called me twice that afternoon too. 
Gotta love those offspring.  The eldest grand son who's 26 called too to say he missed us too.  And I know he likes it when we visit but we'll take him out for a meal if we're not hiking and I bring a picnic.  His choice of peanut butter and pickle sandwiches are easy to fix but the several hours to travel I could do without.  He's doing well but is lonely being alone. 

A peek/hint at my next project focus:

We've been gardening when the weather allows as we know when Spring is Truly here, ,it rolls in quickly. 
Stay well.

J

Happy Mother's Day

Our daughter and her family dropped by cautiously since she's an essential worker at the local hospital and has been working crazy extended hours to gift me with a local bakery special of Apple Caramel Pie.

Happy Mother's Day!  

Daffodils are dancing in the snow driven winds, thankfully the white crap doesn't stay long but those arctic temps are really getting to me!  Hovering near 32 F  and then consider the winds factored in  it's below zero.  Enough Already!!!

Recently we did get the colder crops planted in the garden.   Peas, Spinach, beets all done.   Will share what DH made to ease some of my garden chores.   Hopefully, it'll work great and be productive.

Off to finish a long awaited sofa table runner.  Love it so far and will share the finish soon.

More finishes and back from the Framers

November seemed successful to me.

Finished my tessellated heart which has been a WIP for way too long, I continuously wonder why I do that to myself!  A top is almost finished and then it sits there, aka: percolates as I wonder how I'll finish it.  With this I decided to just meander it while I did my asthma treatments in the sewing room.  Surprisingly, it didn't take long. Then I did the next step....and then the next.

While making the piping I inadvertently sewed one strip of grunge red fabric right side out and then the other needed strip was sewn with the wrong side out.  Calling it a happy accident because I ripped out the correctly sewn one and did 2 wrong so I could get the look I was looking for.  Click oon the picture to get a closer look of the piping.  It's barely visible here.

Finished with label.  Hand sewn while in Boston waiting for another last minute biopsy needed 2 days before Thanksgiving.

Another wool finish is a class I took while at my quilt retreat last month.  It's totally finished and just in time to put away.    My son and husband think it looks more like a  llama than a deer but what do those hunters know anyway!?  LOL

She's setting around here at this step.

The Secret Santa SAL a Mystery QAL sponsored through Temecula Quilt Company, I truly love small detailed items.  Finished step one in a  relative timely manner  but then was derailed as we had an unexpected trip to Boston for another biopsy needed to double check a couple of elevated numbers.

Even then, Tufts is great to work with.  The  phone call came on Monday morning, the 19th and being just before our Thanksgiving, I quickly asked, "how about tomorrow for the needed heart biopsy" as I didn't need to worry wonder and knew DH didn't need the added stress either.  Luckily they had an opening and we left within the hour to get to Boston.  That's finishing laundry, booking a hotel, vacuuming the floors - uh-humm... okay pushing roomba's button then packing.  Oh and calling his chiropractor to change his appointment as we had to leave immediately.  Luckily there too, they cancelled his appointment that was suppose to be in half an hour and said whenever we got there, they'd work him him immediately.

Would you believe the chiropractor even tried to find last minute lodging for us too?  He is such a great person!  DH told him I already procured lodging and I was returning the cans at the redemption center and currently at the bank for $$ while he was there.  Sometimes things just fall into perspective with many blessings and a little luck.
While waiting on Biopsy day, my daughter  sent me a text and said she'd bring 2 pies and supply quite a few of the side dishes to help out for our dinner.  Sounded great to my ears!  (And they were delicious too. )

Since her Birthday was on the Holiday we celebrated with those pies, cake, Austrian tea cake and ice cream after a full Thanksgiving feast.  Played games, vegged in front of the TV and just hung out.

Thankfully we rec'd word the night before Thanksgiving his Biopsy was ZERO!   Yeah!!
Much to be grateful for.

Also back from the Framers was this:


I absolutely love the finish Michael's store offered locally.  
The mat, frame and workmanship was perfect for what I had visualized.


Nancy's Needle "Autumn Medley" in the called for threads and canvas.  The only personal-ization I did was in the diamond  squares, (the smallest squares showing in the top and bottom rows).  

love, Love LOVE  it!   smiles and giggling!

TTFN,
Jane

That is #3  Totally finished UFOs and a new kitted  project in November!   Yippee!

Happy Thanksgiving and November's recap

Hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving celebrations with family and friends. 

I am thankful for all the blessings we have in our lives.  My gratitudes are typically expressed each morning upon waking and when I retire when the day is done.   So I try to live each day with gratitude in my heart.  Some other be phrases to use and I think are appropriate is:

be focused,
be unique,
be nice,
be on time! (a personal pet peeve of mine),
be true to yourself and to others,
be persistent,
be  loyal,
be your best,
and most of all........ BE CREATIVE!

This bouquet of flowers lasted over 2 weeks.  My DH gave them to me for my uh hum...th  Birthday on the 10th.  He surprised me with having them on the dining room table when I returned home on the 9th from my guild meeting in Glens Falls.  The roses didn't last as long and were shabby after the first week, but the rest lasted quite a while and I thought of the photo Mom took of her bouquet and thought this would be a terrific bookmark for moi and a reminder of that love when I read each night.  ;)







The November's goals I had were to:

1- Quilt Wee Wander Baby Blanket ( no intention declared for this yet, just to have it done and on hand.) I'm attributing this project as my ALYOF project with Melissa and H20 girl at Fiber of all sorts.  FINISHED!!! including a blank label to attach when I know where it's going.   Used a minkee plush fabric on the back with a variegated thread.  Photos below......
2- Quilt the Horse quilt PGD#1 made for the boy in Nicaragua. Also, I need to cut the binding so she can learn the binding making technique at one of our upcoming sewing sessions.    It's layered but not stitched a bit yet.  This will be moved to December's ALYOF project.
3- Quilt and Bind the Community Project quilt for WFQG.  Nada-zip, this will stay on my list for December
4- Make two stuffed animal quilts for CVQG.  Check!  Photos shared here.....
5- Do something for myself, this will be my wild card.   Check!  Made a table runner with leaves scattered on the center panel for that sofa table.  A nice easy finish.
6- Help PGD#1 finish her pillow she started with the cupcake kids. Almost done and it is too cute. She's planning on giving this to her Mom for her Birthday on the 22nd. Will be done this week! I'll post and share photos after the finish.   Check! 
7- Mend the vinyl on my Brother in Law's snap on weather protector for his backhoe. Hopefully right after I get off this computer. Edited 11/4- Attempted without success, but now I can cross this one off my list.  Check!
8- For Slow stitching Sundays I want need to start another cross stitch project. Maybe another small one like the recent finish, a Shepherds Bush Christmas fob.  Started a Lizzie Kate winter alphabet.  Planning on getting one square stitched each week -minimum! shown below...



Plush minkee used on backing.
Had an issue of that "fringing" effect so
had to rip out and redo with a thin bat between.
 




My favorite part of the panel ......
 

For next month's challenge....
It's laying on top of the sewing area to quilt in
December for the ALYOF challenge!
 

Started on November  13, 2014
using the threads called for.

So all in all, I'm content and feeling inspired to continue more.  Don't get me wrong I still have numerous UFOs pigs and plenty to get done on my lists, but if I can just keep all of these balls in the air and now focus on some exercise each day to boot and I'll be feeling mighty grand. 


Enjoy your blessings,
Jane





 

Stash Report 7 of 2013

Judy Laquidera of Patchwork times is our fearless leader in looking at our stashes in this manner.  Thanks Judy, it adds a whole new perspective to my craft of quilting and keeps it real. 

Stash In: 0 Yards

Stash Out: 1.5 Yards

YTD In: 17.5 Yards

YTD Used/Out the Door: 17.0 yards

 

I'm able to count one and a half yards used up this past week with several little finishes!  That means my numbers are ever so close that they may actually flip to the dark side by next week.  Yahoo!   Even better yet is that the runner was in my Get R Done challenge for February! 

 

The celtic table runner is totally finished.  You've seen it probably a thousand times already, but I just have to show another picture of it but this time in a different layout and light.   Sorry, still no glamour shots of it.

 

 

As you can see I quilted a generic stipple in the green field area, leaving the pinwheels be, so they'd expand away from the surface.  I did start quilting around the phrase on each end section, but it detracted from the look I wanted so a lot of ripping out had to happen so I could bind it.

 

 

Wonder clips are just beautiful to work with.  Didn't seem to have a thread tangle going on with these like I did with the hair clips I used to use. 
I highly endorse them!

 

All done now and it's just what I want, perfect!

 

 

Also I was able to finish up the four makeovered pot holders yesterday.  Here they are.

I quilted around each motif through the top and the well worn terry cloth scrotched older parts I recycled.  After using a black heavy duck cloth for the back (binding too) I machine quilted those parts together using the lines of the different colored squares surrounding the peppers.  Then attached the binding by sewing it to the back, turning it over the edge and then topstitching the binding with my hem stitch foot #10 close to the edge.  Remember how nasty they looked before.  BIG DIFFERENCE!
This could also be a New FO for the February's challenge cheerleaded by Barb.

 

I have one or perhaps two more pot holders that I'd like to make today before those fabrics  all get put away.  I used to hate putting my fabric away after a project.  That's why I always sewed in a room that looked like it was hit by a twister.  Now, I love putting them away in an orderly fashion.  Letting them sit there politely on the shelves just waiting patiently for me to play with them another day.   I think the reason they behave so well now is perhaps because I've sent some of their family to CHARM SCHOOL and they've witnessed this. Mwahhh, haha! (Inserting evil laugh here.)  But let me tell you, if any of them are unmangeable, off to charm school they will go!

 

All in all, only a net gain of 1/2 a yard YTD.  "Not bad" if I do say so myself.

Long Lines no more, Yippee!

Happy Dancing It's done. Check it out. The long lines side quilted with black thread.



The scrappy reversible side where I used my 1" x 4.5" logs I had used as a humpjumper into making a 4.5" square block, then did a weave style layout on point for the table runner. Also, if ric rac is not sewn just right it will turn up and curl after being washed, so I did stitch down in a center line by machine but then I hand stitched each point to the cloth to keep it down. What a bugger of a job that was. Quite often that bright yellow thread would show on the reverse side so I'd have to rippit and redo. But I am happy with my results.



Showing the details of the ric rac side with the quilting loopy loops that was used. Superior varigated thread that was a dream to work with was used for the scrappy side with a solid black thread(not Pictured) on the other. Another technique that I wanted to try and I was able to do it on this runner was Sharon Schamber's binding technique. I had already sewn the binding onto the runner, but to finish it after rolling it over the edge to handstitch, I used her glue technique that was video taped on You tube. It was a little bit messy for me since my fingers kept getting into the glue while trying to turn the edge over, but I finally did get the hang of it and then only had to hand stitch it down without any pins or clips getting tangled with the thread. I know many people that use a machine stitch to get their project finished, but I do enjoy the rhythm of the needle. I just have to take my time with the numbness and pain in my fingers and hands. Now it's Tout fini!



So my first finish for 2010, Long lines/happy scrappy table runner that took a long time in my book. Making this reversible without a pattern was tricky and took me quite awhile. With trying to think through each step, foresee any difficulties and getting everything aligned just right in the construction phase besides figuring out how best to proceed is my only excuse on the length of time it took. But, I am pleased with my process and completion.

Happy Stitching,
Jane