Worth the Effort

I am making a small dent in my pile of tops waiting to get quilted. On the frame now is the crumb quilt that I posted about here.  My pile would go down faster if the ladies at church didn't keep producing tops. But that is what I want them to do. Here is the next one waiting in line. It is a  Roman Stripes variation.

All the strips for this were donated to our efforts at church when I went to a retreat a few years ago. Everyone thought I was nuts when I said I'd take the tangled mess of scraps in the two laundry baskets. They were brought for people to rummage through and help themselves. But I knew mom would enjoy sorting and pressing and trimming the threads. She liked to pick at things. I was right. It took her a while though. And yes, there are some blue and green strips left. These strips were from the pile of strips under
 2 1/2". I don't remember all the other piles she had going.

I remember when I first started organizing my scraps, they were a tangled mess too, though not as bad. I am SO glad I've kept them sorted ever since. No more ironing little scraps and all those messy threads from the fraying. Much more efficient, too. 

Thanks goes to Lousia for commenting on my previous post that the dark purple flower is spinning in the opposite direction. I didn't like that block anyway, so I will replace that. It will probably be easier for me to replace the whole block, than just the purple units. The purple block will join the orphan block pile.

Rough Draft

These blocks are the result of my experimenting with an idea I had. The idea wasn't fully formed, so I didn't draw the design. I call it a rough draft in case I decide to do another one and make any changes.

They started with a pile of 3 1/2" squares sitting in the scrap box that were getting old so I thought I ought to use them. So far this is what I have.   I have 6 more blocks almost done. It ought to be good for something by the time I am done with it. I can see if I did it again that three dimensional centers like the knots in the bowtie blocks would look cute on this.  Too bad I don't do cute. Very often anyways.
It's DesignWall Monday and you know what that means.

Bound to get 'em done

I'm not sure that my cutting marathon is over, but while I was at it, I thought I might as well cut the binding for these 6 quilts. I bet you never guessed that I was putting that job off. Actually, it might not be a bad idea if I go up in the quilt warehouse and see if there are any more quilts waiting to be bound. I really don't mind doing it and I do it all by machine so as long as my shoulders hold out it shouldn't take long.

Also thought you should know that my books are 50% off at http://www.shopMartingale.com. Actually they have everything on sale all holiday weekend long. What a deal. I suppose that means all the e-books and my e-patterns too.

We had quilting at church today.  One thing we took care of was sorting through our quilts to choose which ones were going to be delivered to which charities.. Guess who will make the delivery to Love, Inc. next week. I also brought another top home to quilt - someday. There was lots of show and tell this morning and when I checked the tub of kits I saw that it was starting to go down. So after Christmas I will plan to put more kits together. Maybe I will get a picture or two before they go.

My quilting is on hold now as I get ready for the holiday. Have a good one.

But Flying Geese ARE Birds in the Air

I finished the borders on this Last Monday night and I finally put it up on the wall to photograph. I must be a little tired of blue and green that I used the rust for the borders. I did try several and this was the best.

The cutting marathon continues. I'm finding all kinds of things to cut. I finished cutting the scraps of Civil War prints. One of my rotary cutters broke. It won't stay open. Glad I had a spare. And I am almost done with the quilt down in the studio. That's tonights project.

We don't usually do Thanksgiving dinner here but my fella friend bought a 20 pound turkey  for the 3 of us. After my sister asked to be included we decided to do it here. Not sure if daughter and friend will join us. I think this will become the usual now that mom and dad are both gone. It means a lot to this fella and my sister.
 It's Monday before Thanksgiving.I hope you all get a chance to hop over to Judy's to check out the design walls.

Cutting Marathon Begins

I need to do some serious cutting. "With the Nine-Patch in Furrows" top done and the "Flying Geese are Birds in the Air" top done and the Broken Dishes blocks done, it's time I plan a few more on-going projects. I liked having those big projects to work on a little at a time. Sure I have other PHD's to turn to, but what fun is that. Seriously, I like to cut and I have little already cut to grab and sew when I need to.

The Lemoyne Stars was on the top of the list. So I dug out my box of scrap Civil War prints and began cutting the diamonds. This led to cutting and kitting 4 more projects from that box. I always say there is no sense in handling those scraps more than necessary so cutting for 5 projects at once just makes sense. I will get back to cutting the background for the stars some other time. This  is what else I decided to cut:

1. My continuing charm quilt of Equilateral Triangles.
2. A new block to use most of the leftover squares and triangles already cut that were in the box.  It took a while to come up with an idea for those, but I think I will like it. It has no name yet.
3.  More Bowtie blocks to go with those I found with the orphan blocks when I dug out the old Lemoyne Star blocks.
4. While I sort and cut out of that box, I thought I may as well trim the smallest scraps for strips for another Log Cabin.They'll be perfect.
I guess this means I had a couple already started that I forgot about.  But my biggest problem is that I must be careful not to overdo cutting and remember to change the blade when it gets dull. No sense in cutting till I get sore. With that in mind, I am going to the studio to get some quilting done. After dinner anyways.

High Hopes

I HAD high hopes for getting lots of quilting done last week, but I caught a cold and didn't have much energy.These are the Broken Dishes blocks that I cut from my scraps last week. I have enough blocks made now to make a good sized quilt. I just plan to alternate them with squares. That'll be quick.

 Once again I was glad I had some projects cut out to work on when I felt like it. I see I will have to hold another cutting marathon as my supply is running low,  and I will have to plan another few quilts to have as on-going projects. The Birds-in-the-Air quilt, the Nine-Patch in Furrows and the Broken Dishes were my "go to" quilts for a while and they are nearly all done.

Before I packed away the Lemoyne Stars I made last week, I dug out the others  I knew I had stashed with the orphan blocks. No, I don't care for them together even though they all use Civil War prints.  I will keep them in separate quilts. It was worth checking.

I'm almost done with the borders on the the Birds in the Air quilt. That's on the agenda this week. Last week was the meeting of the Ben Franklin quilt club. I picked up the directions for the next step of the mystery, so I have that to work on this week, too. I have to work on paperwork now and Mark will be home a few days this week too, so there is some distraction to deal with. With just a smidge of luck I will meet my goals for the week.
Thank you Judy for hosting the  Design Wall Monday Linky. It's really motivating.

Quilting First

Straightening my projects, closet or sewing room usually helps me to prioritize and focus on finishing things. At least that is what I always count on. I sorted the scrap basket first, filing away lots of 2 1/2" strips and  lots of smaller pieces for Crumb quilts and Log Cabins.  I cut enough 3" triangles for 16 more Broken Dishes Blocks.

I also sewed these leftover diamonds together for some 8-pointed stars. Here I have them stuck on a piece of plain muslin. The low contrast is very unusual for me, but it is the look I was after. I thought it might really look like an antique quilt. I like them well enough to cut and make some more. Before I get too deep in this project though I think I should finish up the pieced borders on the other two tops.

I was distracted this last week with Mark home a few days and  doctor appointments with my people. Not much on the calendar this week so I should be able to get lots done.

Oh Yes. It's Monday. Time to go check out some other blogs linked up to Judy's. 

Another short list

I made a mess in my room today and the closet needed some attention too, all so I could find something to work on next.  So I spent a little time organizing things to make it easier to prioritize my projects. Here's the short list.

1. In the plastic box are the leftover pieces from a Lemoyne star quilt I made a few years ago.  I'm ready to make another one, but this time use a bunch of faded reproduction prints and mix up the prints in each star.
The Lemoyne star is probably my favorite.

2. Also ready is the border for my Birds-in-the-Air quilt I made  - was that earlier this year. I ended up buying another rust fabric for the border. It is washed and cut and waiting.

3. My Ladies in Waiting quilt  is waiting for me to take it to a retreat somewhere. Anyone know of a good one close to me? Never mind that I also need to make a design decision.

4. The antique Dresden Plate quilt for church probably needs a little attention before our next meeting.

5. My basket of scraps is full enough to sort. This time I will pull out for my Broken Dishes ongoing project and file the rest.

6. I had some 3 1/2" squares that said "play with me". So I started a little pinwheel/flower block. I still have to cut the green and maybe add something to the center. Or maybe just quilt a center for each block.

7.  Binding for a small quilt that I am already using on my living room table.  -That reminds me. I wanted to make a Christmas quilt for that table. It is small so shouldn't take long.

8. My Smokey Mountain Star made in June I think still might benefit from a pieced border that I have in mind.

9. Oops. Edited to add the mystery quilt barely in the picture. I obviously have to wait for the directions for the next step on this one.

This is not a complete PHD list. Just the list of active projects which at any time I could shelve and label it dormant.  So, what to do? Maybe I will sleep on it and go downstairs to quilt. Sew long.

Nine-Patch in Furrows

My Nine-Patch in Furrows quilt top is still on the flannel wall. I experimented with my camera  to get the best picture and this is it. It turns out I don't want the sun to shine because it lights the quilt  unevenly.  Best to go with the flash on the big quilts.

I'm hoping to get some serious time in on the long arm for a while. Not sure what I want to piece next. But I do like having both some piecing and quilting going on at the same time.



I'm also hoping for the best for north eastern US as hurricane Sandy blows through. It's threatening to be pretty wicked. I hope you're all safe.

Going to check out the posts linked to Judy's at Patchwork Times.

I'm at it again!

Quilted in the studio this weekend. It felt pretty good, but I see I still need to slow down a bit. Does that mean I need a heavier machine??? Oh, that's right, I'm just rusty from not quilting for 2 months.

This is a comfort quilt that Lois put together. She always adds her own fabric to the bag she picks up at church. Here she added the blue sashing and border fabric. She sure makes our scraps look good. I used a circle template for the sashing and quilted the rest freehand.

I need to decide which top to put on the frame next. Should it be mine or one for church? I have the backs and batting ready for half a dozen. I think I'll be quilting a panto (edge-to-edge) design on most of them. Maybe I should just take the first one on the pile. Duh.

Uneven 9-patches

It didn't take long to make these blocks for the next step of the mystery quilt I'm working on. I'm thinking I shoulda been smart enough to predict this outcome. Of course, it isn't finished yet so maybe I should refrain from expressing an opinion till it's further along.

I also finished the quilting on the 9-patch comfort quilt. As I suspected, I was a bit rusty. I hope I can put a little more time on that machine now that it is cooling off outside. Once Mark retires I suspect I will be spending lots of time  hiding working in the studio. Time will tell.

Out and Back

 I've been gone so I haven't had a chance to sew. Before I left I cut out the fabric for a mystery I am doing with the Oconomowoc shop. I rarely join in the fun, but I thought once I followed directions and chose my fabric, I wouldn't have to make anymore decisions for that quilt. So I chose these fabrics and did my cutting. I will NOT try to solve the mystery, but instead do what I am told. Will it be fun??? I chose some orange prints and some older fabrics. Wish I knew how they will be used.

 The Stringtown Quilters of northern Kentucky are a bunch of fun quilt-loving ladies. I hauled my two trunks of quilts for a program Thursday night with workshops following on Friday and Saturday. I think we found each other equally inspiring.  As usual, the ladies in the "Savor the Scraps" workshop were very enthused about my Thirtysomething techniques and encouraged me to get going on the block book. All along my goal has been to get a book proposal accepted by the end of the year. I guess I better get going.

On the way to the airport, Mark asked what town I was going to, but I couldn't remember.  Did I ever feel dumb when I realized I was going to Burlington, KY. How could I forget that when Burlington, WI is just 10 miles from here??? I stayed at the lovely Willis Graves B & B in a home built in the 1830's. Breakfast was absolutely the best of my life. I'd be thrilled to go back.

It's cloudy and rainy today and that is fine with me.  I finished my nine-patch quilt but didn't get a picture yet cause it is so dark inside and out. Check later this week for that picture. We are sure to get more sun and I'll try to get a good one then. Meanwhile I will start sewing  on the mystery - and putting together that proposal.

Things I could do better

I had hoped to finish my nine-patch in furrows quilt tonight, but I didn't count right. I needed one more nine-patch and 72 more large triangles! I can't imagine where I went wrong. Good thing it doesn't matter. I have no deadlines and LOTS more fabric. I could cut a gazillion more triangles.

I should be thinking ahead of what I want to work on next. Maybe it's time I make a new list. I think some long arm quilting should be at the top. I ought to warm up with a few comfort quilts before I dive into doing any custom work on my quilts, don't you think? Notice I am still inspired by Judy's masterpiece. When she gets pictures up on her website, I'll let you know.

I missed the meeting at church this week. I had other things on my mind.  I am sure the ladies would have liked a report on how well we sold at the Fall Festival at church on the 7th. I know they were thrilled that they sold as well as they did. I think it means we could up our prices (They already decided to do it again next year) especially since people hardly even looooked at the prices.

Well, back to my sewing.

Two Corners

I sewed the blocks together last night during the football game.  (Go Pack!) Now for the pieced border.
When I arranged the half-square triangle blocks for a border, I didn't like the design unless I added a single row of more nine-patches and triangle/squares to the two long sides of the quilt first. Because of the diagonal arrangement of the blocks, I will have two corners that look like this.

The other two corners will look like this. Sewn together, of course. I used 2" squares to make the nine patches. The triangles were cut from 5 3/8" squares cut once diagonally. The  blocks finish  4.5" and the quilt will be 72" x 90". Unless. . .You get the idea?

My friend, Judy called me over the other day to see this masterpiece Baltimore Album she quilted. Soooo inspiring. I've had the same  9patch comfort quilt loaded on the machine for the last two months. Obviously nothing exciting there.  I'll have to finish that thing soon so I can start working again on my own custom quilting. I'd love to do even a mini-masterpiece like Judy's. And no I won't applique one, but then neither did Judy. It belongs to her customer.
Thanks for visiting. Let's go check out some other design walls.

Peak II

Okay, it's not quilty. But who doesn't love these oaks?

This is a bit of the view outside my sewing room window. Yeah, yeah. The sugar maples are pretty. But around here they are usually more yellow than - this. I  have a few young oaks in my yard showing lots of color. Can't wait till they are bigger.  Did I mention that we have two peaks of autumn color around here?  This is the second.

I do have my blocks ready to sew together. Maybe tonight while the ball game is on. Enjoy.

It's a Life

I finally got an hour to sew tonight. I decided to make the nine-patches and triangle-squares into fourpatch blocks. I only got these 10 blocks together so far and I thought  it was great, cause I finally have something to post on my blog. Unfortunately, it's nothin' new, except that you can see the configuration of the units in the fourpatch needed to build this design. It's either this or photos of my patterns other quilters have made and sent to me.  I love that they send them to me, but there are clearly  favorite patterns and I'd be showing the same ones often.

 I've been a bit too busy to sew lately. Last weekend I was in Rockford visiting the guild there. They have an afternoon and an evening meeting, so that means two lectures. They requested two different lectures. Then the following two days we booked workshops. The classes were great fun as the ladies discovered how many different designs could be made with the two different Thirtysomething units. Click on the posts labeled "mystery" on the right to see what we worked with. After Friday's class, my hostess Teresa took me to the quilt shop Lucky 2 B Quilting in Pecatonica. I really liked the shop and Polly's taste in fabric. 


It sure would have been nice if Mark took care of the laundry while I was gone or . . .  Besides the usual household stuff to do, I have been finishing up paperwork for probate on mom's estate and Mark is retiring, so there is extra paperwork there and all that other stuff of life. Add to that, I have been getting some walks in with Sue. It's been soooooo pretty this fall, I can't resist. I hope your having better luck finding time for some stitching.

My 3rd choice

I've made enough of each the nine-patches and the half-square triangles to make a twin sized quilt. Is that big enough??? Then, as usual, I tried the blocks in different settings on my flannel wall. I liked the stars, but I'm going with my original plan. I usually arrange them all on the flannel wall before starting to sew them together. Though it would be easier if  I make these units into four-patches first.  Give me a few days to think about it.

I'm still spending time outside. The weather has been perfect for enjoying the beautiful fall colors. Fall is my favorite season and I far prefer going for walks in this weather as opposed to summer or winter. There are lots of places around here for taking hikes: County park, State Natural Area at Beulah Bog, Prairie Preserve subdivision, bike trail, farm fields and the woods. Sue and I often hit the trails together.  Yesterday we went for a walk and I musta stopped to admire the trees too often cause I just about missed my ride with Judy to the quilting meeting in Oconomowoc (Easier to spell than pronounce at first). More later, Sew long.

Ready to Fall

The leaves are ready to fall on this little tree. They've been ready for almost 15 years when I made the tree for a guild challenge. I forgot the guidelines for the challenge, I just remember that I never finished it and took it to the meeting. I found it a month or two ago in the cedar chest and finally added the border, quilted and bound it.

 The leaves on my Autumn Applause Ash trees are about ready to fall too. The trees in our area have reached their first peak this weekend. In a few more weeks the rest of the trees including the oaks will then reach their peak fall color. I love them all. I hope you get to enjoy the pretty leaves this fall. And now maybe some other design walls linked up at Judy's.

Sugar Creek Maples

She said, "It's Perfect". Really.  And I have to agree. Of course, Sue might have been talking about the border, or the setting, or the green squares. She was here while I was making my decision, and though it is nice to have her stamp of approval, I don't need it. To be honest, I couldn't be happier with my Maple Leaf quilt. I could be happier with the camera though.

Next on the agenda is cutting and sewing triangles for my nine-patch in furrows quilt. With it cooling off, and getting darker earlier I am likely to get back to the longarm quilting again, too. I think it has been over a month since I've been down in the cellar.

Break Time

Please tell me that I am not the only one that goes back and forth between projects. I've always done that so I can do what I want when I want. What I am trying to say is, I set the leaves aside and picked up my box of  nine-patches and sewed some more of those. They were all cut and I didn't feel like cutting for the leaves. I was starting to get a little carried away, so stopped to count and sure enough 132 later, I decided I've enough of those till I start to arrange them into a quilt top. Lots of triangles to cut and sew first.

This is a rough idea of what I am doing with them. Not sure if I am going to set them diagonally or straight, it's the same thing either way. I thought I might even set them in a barn raising layout, but I just did that with the Birds in the Air quilt. So as usual, we'll see.
 
September has been beautiful so far. I've been puttering in the garden lots. I have big plans to redo my big flower beds over the next few years. I find I only work outside for 45 minutes before I am ready for a break.  During break time I read or sew, then go back out to the garden again. So during breaks,  I've been able to get all 72 leaves done, and not a green one in sight. I know how I plan to arrange them, but didn't want to take the time this weekend to arrange them on the phlannel  flannel wall. Maybe tonight. First I'm stopping by Judy's to check out some other design walls. Sew long.