One Hour a Day Challenge Quilt

Ta Da.................Here it is...............My quilt top. Judy, thank you for taking the time in your hectic schedule to plan such a fun adventure for all of us.........It was a great experience. I look at this quilt and see the things I have learned that will help make the next one better...... No, I will not confess at this time what they are. Mostly design decisions that I should have done differently. That will not matter. This quilt will still be so warm when it is finished.................

Wednesday Already

Boy, this week is flying by................ I am posting a picture of a Wedding Sampler I finished earlier this month. Only one more to do and I will have them all done. I will be thinking long and hard before I do another one. My best friends daughter, three precious neices and a dear friend were/are the recipients (the dear friend is still waiting for hers). DH is safely home and if all goes well I can get a picture of my hour a day quilt taken for tomorrow. I did manage to get some sewing done this morning on the Care Quilt for the Cyber Guild. I am going to try to machine quilt that one myself..... A holiday is coming up in a bit and I have signed on for a Mystery Quilt. Real problems finding the right fabric in my stash..... I finally came across the skirt taken from a dress I made years ago and outgrew. I would not part with the fabric and it will be in this quilt............... See me smile?

Monday, Monday

This is a picture of the wee cap and socks I am making as part of a set for premature infants.

The weekend has come and gone and I did not finish all I set out to do. I did get the bathroom floor painted and my hour a day quilt top completed. I did not get the grills painted for the pseudo-headboard I wanted to make for DH. He will be home tomorrow and in light of the rainy weather the headboard will have to wait. I did get 7 leaf bags of shredded paper taken to the trash…………..I shredded all of them this weekend… I plan to set up a “shredding station” in the guest room and keep chipping away at that task.

I did have dinner with a dear friend and was it delicious……….Home made chicken pot pie, biscuits, tossed salad and carrot cake for dessert. I also got a dessert made for a friend whose family is visiting.

I am looking forward to the return of DH and my laptop and camera tomorrow afternoon.

Another Finish

Thought I would show the latest pair of socks I have completed. I began them when DD was here and we were having lessons in "Heel Turning".

This will probably be my last post until Monday. The computer that I have to use at home is so slow that I have decided to spend the weekend on other projects.

I had dinner with a friend last night and came home to knit a few more tassels. The count is at 15 now. I am in the frame of mind to make them so I will as long as the muse is with me.

Great plans for tomorrow. I do not have to go anywhere..... I plan to stay at home and paint the bathroom floor, shred 4 bankers boxes of tax returns and complete the house blessing. At the same time I will be completing my Hour a Day quilt from Judy. As you might know she has been having problems with her blog. Here is the latest word on that front.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

MESSAGE FROM JUDY

I just received the following email from Judy at SunshineQuilts. She's having major blogger problems and has had to start a new blog. The link is in her note below.

"I suppose a few of you have noticed that I've been rather quiet and it was not by choice! Last Friday, after a second notice from Blogger that I should switch my blog over to the new beta version, and assurances that it would be a smooth transaction, I did it. It was NOT a smooth transaction and I cannot sign in to my blog. It seems that if you have a google account (gmail) which is the same name as your blog, then everything went wrong. I have a sunshinequilts@gmail.com account and the name of my blog is sunshinequilts and . . it just didn't work. Google's customer service has to make the worst customer service in the history of the world look good. They are just awful!
I have pretty much given up on getting back into the old blog so I started a new one and it is http://judylaquidara.blogspot.com. I hated using my name because the last name is so hard to spell but I guess in the back of my mind, I'm still hoping this is a temporary blog.

So, if you have the time (and desire), could you please mention on your blog how readers can find me.

I have the codes up but I do not have much else over there right now. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I was, at how lost I was without the blog and how unmotivated I felt. I just wanted it to work and it will not!

Life goes on . .

Thanks for your help in getting the word out about the new blog.

Judy L."

Taking an Oath

A fellow stitcher called last night to ask if we could work together for the evening. “Of course” I reply, “Which do you prefer coffee or wine”. Wine was the choice and I mentally reviewed my cupboard contents for something to serve with it. “Aha”, I have the vegetable cream cheese spread and a box of Town House crackers….All is well.

We stitched and chatted till late but had a wonderful time. I am knitting beaded tassels as wee gifties for the members of a local quilt guild. The pattern can be found at: http://www.swallowhillcreations.com/BeadedTasselwithpic.htm I will need 100 of them. I have 11 knitted but not sewn together. It takes one hour to spin the beads on the thread and knit the tassel. Our reasoning is that if I adhere to that schedule I can have them knitted by Columbus Day (Oct. 12^th). Then I should be able to stitch them together and finish them in a few evenings. I have a small tree with lights to hang them on and the members can take the one of their choice.

My quilt bee is having a table runner exchange. That needs to be complete and mailed by November 1^st. We are also participating in a Care Project and I need a small quilt complete by Oct 1^st.

The deadlines for the two Row Janes I have in my studio has long since passed. It was discovered too late that most of us are Postally Challenged and the dates for completion have been discarded in favor of “Just getting the one you have” mailed.

I will finish the Hour a Day quilt top before Monday. Then I will have another quilt top to fret over. Do I quilt it myself or do I send it away. I might just start collecting the finished tops until I work up the courage to learn to machine quilt.

I joined the Nine Patch Nutters in April and I would really like to have that quilt finished by Nov. 9^th. So far I have completed the nine patch blocks for 8 rows and I need 32. A wee bit short don’t you think.

Now that I have put it on paper I will be able to see what is possible and what is a dream.

Not to mention that all the talk of “Use Your Stash” is starting to permeate my thick skull. I saw a pattern in a magazine this morning that I knew I had to make. YES, YES, YES I have just what I need to make that quilt right at hand.

So, here’s the plan…………… I will add this information to the side bar on the blog. I will put blinders on until I have made some forward progress on the items listed above. Well, here is my promise in writing.

Our Tray

DD and I like to have a tray to put all our implements on. Then when we move to another spot we can take it all with us. We found these trays at a local store and since they had the Adirondack chairs on them we knew they were for us. We also purchased the container on the left to hold bits of thread and the toothpicks on the right to help poke the stray bits in place that are reluctant to behave. I bought a set for her and she bought a set for me. Even though she is far away, we can sit together in spirit and stitch.

Quilting with Dear Daughter

DH is going out of town for a week. This afternoon I will have to help him pack instead of stitching. He is taking the camera and my laptop with him. I will be able to check in using his computer but it will not be the same as having the one I am accustom to using.

I have taken pictures ahead in order to have something to show while he is gone. I should finish my Hour a Day Challenge quilt and one of my Row Jane projects before he returns so those pictures will have to wait till next week to share.

While DD was visiting we indulged ourselves with pink fabric. We are using the pattern on the front of the book “Quilts from the Henry Ford” by Fons and Porter. It is shown in Red and White but we are doing Pinks………… We divided the fabric and she will do ½ of the blocks twice and I will do ½ of the blocks twice. When we swap, we will each have a quilt. Our deadline to have the blocks done is February 14, 2007. Then my task will be to assemble both quilts while she is appliquéing hearts on the borders for both quilts. How fun is that?

One Hour a Day Challenge Quilt

This picture is not the greatest but it is the one I have. Yes, there is a block missing. One had an oops.... and needs repair. This project is really moving along.

Not much sleep last night. Awake at 2:30 AM. Decided at 3:30 to give up chasing Morpheus and got up to stitch for awhile. Slept again for a couple more hours after 5:00AM and then got up for the day.

I have my morning routine complete, and even an item or two on the evening routine. The laundry is done for the day and lunch is fixed for DH for today and tomorrow. He will leave on Wednesday morning for a week and I will not have that task to do again till next week…………

I have the sashing and cornerstones cut for my Judy Challenge quilt and I can stitch on it this afternoon.

Love Needle Art

Love Needle Art

I am still having difficulties navigating the Blogs. I will catch on, but it may take a while. DH and I had an Advisory Board Meeting today. It lasted longer than we hoped but that isn't uncommon. We had Fried Chicken and veggies for supper. I am back to cooking tomorrow. I plan to get up in the morning to cook his breakfast and prepare his lunch. Right now DH is helping me apply for jobs. Completing resumes is no fun. I have my Sitting Room set up and everything laid out to prepare blocks to complete tomorrow. I look forward to the time in my Sitting Room to get blocks ready to work on during the evenings. More Calico Garden and Pink Quilt to Follow.

A Quiet Day

Almost time to add the vegetables to the beef stew but DH has been showing me how to add clip art. I hope I get this right.

I worked some on my Judy Challenge Quilt, I knit a bit on a sock. Mostly DH and I just hung out together today and watched the race. Tomorrow is time enough to get back on track and begin accomplishing again.

My Honey and His Honey

I have been attempting all day to accomplish one goal. To put the next border on 20 blocks. To no avail........

I did get to work in the studio this morning for about 3 hours. That time was spent making one PP block and prepping one other block for a Row Jane. If I get that prepped block sewn tonight, I will have one more set ready to mail.........Oh happy day...............

Then I began the house blessing. Well, two rooms were blessed. I had promised DH that I would help him with some data entry and we got it all done.

7:00 PM and I can officially stop all the duties I had assigned to today and stitch. After I hem a pair of pants for DH that is.

Since I did not get my blocks finished and could not get a picture of them, I went through my files and found one of DH and our Jack Russell, Honey taken Christmas 2005

Love Needle Art

Love Needle Art

We are up this morning and I rebooted laundry, made the bed and cooked breakfast for DH. He had a fried egg and bacon sandwich. I had apricots. I finished painting yesterday and DH is going to help me hang shelves and arrange the furniture. As soon as we get the shelves up I will send pictures. I will still have to apply the glaze coat. I plan to take that on one wall at the time.

My Hour a Day Quilt

I did complete all of my blocks for the Hour a Day Quilt. Tomorrow morning I will cut the fabric for the sashing and cornerstones for each block and with the help of the Duchess I will get them sewn on. I will also get out a magnifier and try to see the print in the tiny book that came with her. She might need a drop of oil and I do want her running smoothly. I am going to use a solid strip of deep rose with cornerstones for my blocks. The fabric will look so much better on my bed in quilt form than it does in a stack in my studio.

Time to Stitch at Last

The day is drawing to a close and I have time to stitch. I usually start each day with an hour of sewing but today I had a friend in for breakfast before we went off to work.

Did errands after work. DH was supposed to cook but he forgot....... Oops........ I started a couple of potatoes baking and we walked to the local butcher shop for a couple of chops. Yes, WALKED. It is only 1/2 mile round trip but I am very out of condition. He is so good to drag me along even when I grumble. I suppose he really wants me to be around longer.

Tonight I will be appliquing a block for a swap and working on the heart blocks that DD and I will be trading. I might even get to knit on the Blue Socks for an hour and get another star on my card.

The weather is mild so the windows are open. The sounds of summer are filtering in to keep us company. I can hear the band at a near by eatery and children playing in the yard next door. Here I sit with my tea and a good book on tape.

So many blessings from God today that I cannot even count...............

Ready for Hour 3

The Duchess (my new featherweight) and I will have tea together this afternoon and work on Hour Three together. She is all set up and ready to go. It will be our first time of working together.

I had planned to begin the House Blessing this morning but that did not occur. Instead I got all of DD's things ready to mail to her.

I also finished and began another block for a Row Jane. I did not get to work in the studio this morning. I am hoping to get all my chores complete so that I can spend Saturday stitching. I should be able to complete at least the two Care Quilt tops for my cyber quilt group. I need to get the Priority list complete so I can begin anew on the other projects.

We will go to the grocery store after I get off work so I cannot begin sewing till about 4:30 but at least I can sew until time to cook. Manwich tonight. What could be easier?

My First Hour

I saw on Hanne's blog that she was working an hour a day on a quilt with Judy of Sunshine Quilts. Naturally I wanted to play with them also.

I checked my stash as soon as I got home from work. I found three fabrics that I was "SAVING". I have a lot of fabric in that category. I wonder now what I am saving it for......... I made an immediate decision not to SAVE fabric any longer. I plan to use what I have starting right now. Here are my blocks for the quilt we are working on. I have a deep rose to add to that as the strips in the quilt. It is going to be lovely.

I am also pleased to report that I prepped 2 more blocks for a Row Jane I am in need of completing and cut out strips for 2 care quilts for my cyper quilt group.

DD and I committed to get ourselves in order by Flying - www.flylady.net

Along that path, I can report that the house is straight, my sink in shining, I completed the morning routine and even a couple of steps from the evening routine. My meal for tonight is planned, I wiped out the refrigerator, and I know where my laundry is. This means that when I get home I can get some wonderful stitching accomplished...............

Celine's Blocks Completed

You might have noticed that I have marked through Celine's Row Jane Blocks. Well, here they are. No, I did not attach them. I tried to attach Bridgitte's 3 times to no avail. I just was not able to get it right. I chose not to even try to attach Celine's blocks. I am however most pleased with how they turned out. Now I am stitching Gay's blocks.

My wonderful daughter and son-in-law found and purchased a Singer Featherweight for me. Isn't it the sweetest machine you have ever seen? It sews like a dream.............. It will be great to have this winter when it is too cold to sew in the studio.

We had cousins for Saturday. I even cooked a meal. I do this so rarely that it was quite beside myself much of the time. All went well and we had a grand time together.

Sunday was spent recovering..... and a little stitching also. I am pleased to report that I was able to knit 2 more beaded tassels for the quilt guild and work on a block for a quilt DD and I are making as a swap.

This morning I finished the blocks for a Row Jane I am a member of. Pictures to be taken later. I also was able to prep 6 blocks for the next one that needs to get out..................

Where did July disappear to? DD came to stay for several weeks and we were out and about the entire time. Here is DD on Nauset Beach in Orleans, Massachusetts. We had summer while she was here. 3 full days of it. Checked out the local quilt shops, took a class in applique and learned how to turn a heel on a sock. In general, just all those wonderful things we can do together.