Authentic 40's

This top took longer than I like to get to this point. I was busy finalizing plans for Book 9.  But I am pretty happy with this top  so maybe it was worth the wait. I want to get it quilted soon Those fabrics aren't getting any younger.  But first I have another on the frame to finish and I haven't been quilting much because my back and shoulders are a bit sore.

Mark did me a favor yesterday and left me alone a few hours so while he was out I cleaned out my closet. Wow! What good feelings. Lots of clutter was relocated. Some was designated for the church rummage sale, some just belongs in the basement and some stuff goes to other people.  I didn't tally up my ufo's, but I'll tell you that I have 5 empty boxes that are still waiting for those kits I want to put together. I wanted to get that closet cleaned out before another bunch of ladies begins to meet here for sampler class. That group will begin in another few weeks.

The friday night gals are switching to Wed.nights. I hope that works better for them. My daughter and her friend have also decided to start quilting. Her friend hasn't used a machine before and was having a hard time getting the hang of sewing a straight line.  I hope she doesn't give up to soon. I remember learning to sew 45 years ago! Our teacher had us use the machine without thread as we practiced sewing on paper. This may very well help this gal, but first she needs to learn to lighten up her grip. She was hanging on so tight that the fabric couldn't feed through the machine.  Now that I know what I am dealing with I will be quite a bit more explicit. Still she was successful in making 2 ricebags. I was very pleased with how my daughter did when she sat to work on a 13 year old ufo. 
I hope to get them to the point that they can join the ladies at church or the Wed night group. Occasionally anyway.

On Valentine's Day the snowshoes I ordered arrived. We've been enjoying them pretty much since. I won't go out when it is below 20 degrees. And we did have rain one day. Now we have some pretty icy snow. So now everyone else has had enough of winter, and I  could go a little longer.  I don't wan't spring to come to soon cause I have things I need to get done indoors before it gets so nice that I'd rather be outdoors. It would be nice if it were a bit warmer though, like 20's and 30's.

If you blog at all, you know it is never to late to enjoy the links at Judy's. But since it is time for Design Wall Monday that is what I am going to do.

Almost Together

What a perfect day for sewing. Snow, snow and more snow. We had to make a quick trip into town before the roads got bad, then I worked on finalizing some pages of the book. The rest of the afternoon  was spent joining these blocks.

I just have the corner triangles to add before the borders. I want to quilt this one soon, so that means I better put something else on the longarm to do a warmup. Hopefully sometime this week.

Tonight I hope to get back to the book. I'm getting real close to calling it done. This one has not been so easy to work on with Mark around, so it may well be my last book. Nine (books) is a good number, so I may settle for that.

It's not done snowing, but when it stops, I can expect Mark to be out plowing for 4 or 5 hours. 5" so far.  That will be a good time for getting more work done. Till then, I think I will go blogging. Too bad we won't be bumping into each other. I'm going to Judy's first for Design Wall Monday.

I hope your all enjoying the snow if you have it - like me.

So much for the kit

I guess I couldn't resist sitting down to sew up these blocks right away.  The dark half of all the blocks are sewn. I still have to cut the large muslin triangles for the other side of the block. I should be able to get those done lickety-split, but one never knows what kind of interruptions  are in store for us.

One more round of blocks gets added to this layout. I ended up turning these blocks on point. So that means I cut too many little squares. I already have something planned to do with those, but I will wait to see if I add to the collection of scraps so there is some difference in prints between the two quilts. 

Mark has been retired for 13 months now and I suppose were as adjusted as were ever going to be. He is a mite bored this winter due to the extreme cold and snow. I was hoping and even expecting to get him to do some longarm quilting, but not so far. We did just order some snowshoes though. There is still plenty of winter left to use them this year and the temps are likely to start rising to something tolerable. I'm looking forward to enjoying the snow and exercise. Till then, I will enjoy the blogs linked up to Judy's today and probably a little sewing.

A Kit has been Cut

When I put my own kits together, I like to cut most of it before I put the box on the shelf. I also like to make a block or two. Sometimes I don't have a clue what setting I will use for the blocks.  I don't usually use any directions so the block is a good quick visual of what I am planning to do. If I have a plan,  I might print out a diagram from Electric Quilt, that goes in the box, too.
 

I have the little squares and red triangles cut for  the Delectable Mountains variation I am doing using my old scraps. The block is similar to the Split 9-patch block. The difference being that in the Split 9-patch, instead of one large light triangle the light side of the block has the same number of light colored squares and triangles as the dark side. And like the log cabin, there are dozens of settings for the blocks.  I am planning to do the traditional barn raising setting. For some reason, I am having trouble showing that to you.  I am guessing its related to Windows v.8. Haven't got it mastered yet.



I was anxious to see how they looked so I sewed up 4 sets. I'm loving it so far, so it will be interesting to see if the kit ever makes it to the closet shelf. Stay tuned to see if I can resist sewing it up right away or if I cut another kit instead.

Golden Sunshine and Shadows

So I guess this is a Sunshine and Shadows. It sure went together quickly. My notes said it took half an hour to cut and it took me about 5 hours to sew it.  I especially liked having it all kitted up ahead of time.
Since I put the Sunshine and Shadows quilt top together I have been considering what other quilts I ought to kit up. I've got at least these 5 on my mind.

1.    wild goose chase in blue with oranges and pinks
2.    a stack and slash squares with more red, green, black and taupe
3.    a feathered star medallion wall quilt
4.    checkerboard stars with 9-patch centers in scraps
5.    a variation on Delectable Mountains in my authentic 1930's scraps.

I guess I'd like to plan more. First, I am going to Judy's to check out the Design Walls linked there.
Happy Quilting.