I just could not resist. I began the Raggedy Ann BOM that Kaaren of The Painted Quilt is sharing with us. (See the button on my sidebar for the link.)

I got the embroidery done on the first month and last night I began the embroidery on the second month. I should be up to date by the weekend.

I know you are supposed to assemble the block and then do the embroidery but it works better for me to do the embroidery first. I tried to go back to sleep but I kept thinking about that block. Because I had insomnia last night I went upstairs at 2:00 AM to assemble the first block.

I got the two bags of scraps out of the closet and dumped them on the floor. It would be better if I had a table to put them on but I don't so I end up crawling around on the floor.


And here it is.........................Block One...............................


I was downstairs this morning looking for something and while I was there I checked to see if I had anything I could use for the sashing................ Lo and behold I found the perfect fabric. That means this quilt will be made entirely from fabric I have on hand.

I sure got these blocks put together quickly. Amazing............ Almost done I thought.

But I sure thought wrong. I takes time to assemble the rows and if you are as gifted as I am you can put the last two rows on upside down...


So that they have to be removed and re-assembled.

I was in such a hurry to put the next UFO up to be completed that I totally forgot the borders on the baby quilt. Oh well, that can be done this week. Then to get it quilted and mailed.

This quilt is The Road Less Traveled designed by Lori Smith of From My Heart to Your Hands. It was a BOM from Homestead Hearth that I began in 2008. I finally realized why so many things are from the year 2008. That was when I dismantled my studio in the basement and moved it upstairs. We were getting the house ready to put on the market and many things got misplaced. Now I am beginning to find them and hopefully get some completed.

I had finished five rows of the seven needed. Only three blocks remained to be completed for row six. Having remembered how much I liked Lori Smith's designs and how much fun they are to complete I signed up for another one at Homestead Hearth.




Several weeks ago Peg gave me some books she no longer needed. This was one of them..

There is a pattern for this placemat in the book that looked interesting. Of course I had to pause in my quest of finishing projects to start new one.


I have one placemat sewn together and now to add the applique windows, door and moon. I started putting the windows on but I am not happy with them. I will take off what I have done and do a better job of getting them all the same size.


I want to make several so yesterday I cut out the house and roof for a few more.


If all goes well today I could even finish the embroidery for my first Raggedy Ann block.

I know that this is not a good picture but with limited space this is the best I could do. At least you can get the idea. This top is finally finished. Now it can join the other unfinished tops that I have. I plan to have this one quilted professionally so first I must save for awhile.


The next item on the agenda is the baby quilt. I did get it cut out over the weekend.



And I even have a design wall to put it on while I am making it. Perhaps the next picture will have part of the quilt already pieced.




And last night I decided to begin the Raggedy Ann quilt that Kaaren of Painted Quilt fame is sharing with us. There is a button on the right hand side of my blog if you want to join in.

I am already one month behind but here are the two blocks from the first month ready to stitch. I had planned to get some stitching done last night but I was unable to do much of anything. I get so annoyed when that happens.

This is the beginning of my new design wall. Three sheets of one inch Owens Corning Insulation. I realize now that I should have asked for Styrofoam....... But I didn't..... Quite frankly I am glad. It did cost a bit more but having made one small design wall out of the styrofoam I will say that I prefer the insulation. It is more dense.....cuts easier.........and is tongue and groove so that it goes together easier. Yesterday Vickie and I discussed ways to keep it stable but they were not necessary.

Lem brought the sheets upstairs........


This is the wall where the wall is going..........


Joanie suggested cutting it with a serrated knife. I brought the electric knife up just in case.




I got my tools ready to mark the cutting line.





I had measured the wall three times. I measured the styrofoam and marked it with a straight line.




Then I scored it on the marked line with the knife. It was so easy to cut that the electric knife was not needed.



Lem helped me carry it into the studio and get it all taped together.


I then wrapped it in flannel that was secured on the back with small pins..............

Now to get out my blocks and place them on the design wall.





Here it is.......I had to stand in the hall to get this picture. I need to finish one block and there is some fine tuning to be done on several others. I should have this one together this week.

It seems like several exciting events are happening at once.......... Vickie and I went to Manchester, NH yesterday for the New England Quilt show. It was WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Much more about that later............

I am within a few stitches of being ready to assemble my House and Garden quilt. This was the Jan Patek quilt from 2008..................

BUT............before I begin that I want to get my new design wall put together and standing so that I can assemble the blocks on the design wall and then assemble the quilt.

Peg gave me a Jan Patek book that has some placemats in it that I would like to make for myself and friends.................

I have a baby quilt to make from start to finish before October.....................

I have a BOM from Homestead Hearth that was begun in 2008.......... (and wouldn't you know that I looked up there site so that I could put the link in and found another wonderful BOM. Now I am thinking that since I have one almost finished I could start another one.) The 2008 BOM was a Lori Smith design. She does those wonderful quilts with dozens of fabrics. You can fine her at From My Hand to Your Heart. The quilt I am making is The Road Less Traveled. I have five rows of seven complete..... Row six only lacks two blocks to be compete and then Row seven and then ASSEMBLY.................

Back to 2008 once again.....That was the year that Judy at Patchwork Times offered a challenge to make a Log Cabin Quilt with her. You can find the information here..........Patchwork Times

All of the little pieces left from making Flying Geese for the last several years have finally been sewn together. One day they might be pressed and used for a border or something but for now they are just sewn. Peg did give me a nice bag of more but I want a break from HST and since I had uncovered the box that contained the fabric already cut for Judy's quilt I am going to use it as my Leader/Ender..............

Today I will start my design wall. We shall see just how far I get.

I know I am behind on commenting on blogs and answering emails. I will get that caught up soon.

The top dark strip is the November block for my Jan Patek House and Garden quilt. The December block needs to be finished and then I can begin to assemble this quilt. Perhaps this weekend I will even get the new design wall up to use as and assembly aid............

Not much sewing done this weekend. I did finish the Third of Three Star Quilts. Now to get them layered and quilted.




This is a picture of the other half of the bedroom I have been using for taking pictures of quilts.

The four WB Mason boxes you see along with the air mattress and bedspread are going to become a make believe bed.

The rest of the boxes will be repacked and moved to another location.



View Two of the room.............


And view three



Well, here it is. The boxes were unpacked and some items were placed in the WB Mason boxes. I blew up the air mattresses and put them on top of the four boxes. Some items were placed in the plastic bags you draw the air out of and placed under the bed. The remaining things were put in the studio to be completed this winter. I put the vacuum cleaner away and now the room looks much better.


Still one sewing machine here but there is not room in the studio for both machines......... At least not at the moment. One never knows what will happen around here.

I spent Saturday getting this room cleaned and ready. Sunday was spent downstairs getting that part cleaned and polished. We had people looking at the house this morning and someone is coming on Wednesday morning.

Lem and I have a Really Clean house to enjoy this week and maybe I will get to put in a stitch or two.

I am still waiting for my flannel to be delivered so that I can get my design board done. Perhaps I will get the last block of my Jan Patek quilt done and I can put it on the design wall.

Here is Green Quilt Two.......... Final border on and ready to layer.



I used the solid green fabrics in the box of green fabrics that Peg gave me for the backing. I have made good use of her fabrics. Now to finish the peach colored one.

At last I have a bit of progress to show from my night time stitching. Here are the blocks for August, September and October on the Jan Patek quilt. Only November and December left and then it will be time for assembly.

Yesterday I stopped at the local lumber store for Styrofoam insulation. The price has gone up a bit since I bought my last piece but it was still affordable. I ordered the extra wide flannel on line and it should arrive any day now. If all goes well, I can get my larger design wall installed upstairs. I have been putting it off thinking we would be moving but since it seems that we will be here through another winter I decided to go ahead and put up a larger design wall. I might even invest in another folding table. I am still thinking about that expense. We shall see.

I am trying to spend the first 15 minutes of my sewing time each day in putting things away and getting some order in my studio.

Last winter someone gave me a small piece of the new bamboo batting. I wanted to find out how well it worked for hand quilting.

I pieced a small heart and did the hand quilting. The little piece has been moved from one place to another in the studio while I tried to find something to make with it. After all, nothing should go to waste.

One of my decorative pillows had finally reached the point of no return. I took the cover off and washed the pillow form inside. I had intended to make a cover for it but it too was just moved from one place to another in the studio.

This week I decided to make a pillow cover with my little quilted piece. I picked up a piece of fabric left over from the peach quilt to use.


I trimmed the center.................



Added a couple of borders and made some piping...............


Using my Dritz Guide I trimmed the corners. This is the second time I have used this new addition to my tool box. I am delighted that I purchased it. Kaaren at The Painted Quilt has gotten me started making little pillows and this helps get the corners right.





Two years ago while in Virginia I found this for trimming piping. It works a treat.


Voila................... Pillow done. No it was not on my list but it took only one morning and now I have at least one finish............................

Well, here it is............... I decided to get these quilts finished instead of adding three borders to each one. Here is the first green quilt. Completely assembled.


The backing is from a bolt of material I bought years ago. I must have been on medication when I made that purchase. I do remember that it was not expensive. Good thing too because after I got it home I decided that I did not like it. I have been using it for backings and such and there was enough left to make the back for this quilt and still have 2 yards left. The binding is the same as the outer border. The binding is cut and ready. Of course then you are left with the problem of finishing.....................

I called Vickie and asked that she schedule me in when she can. She has the perfect table for pinning a quilt. I will try to do this one by my self................I really need to learn and this will be a good opportunity.


I will be starting something new this week after all. I have need of a baby quilt in October. It seems that I am going to be a Great Grandmother........................ This is supposed to be a quick and easy quilt.

The children came to visit. We met them at the bus drop in Barnstable. We haven't seen them since Thanksgiving 2008 and it was wonderful to see them again.


On Friday they helped Lem and I with some chores. Jason installed the dishwasher, got the clothes dryer to work. Cleaned out light fixtures, adjusted the water heater and a multitude of things...........

Rebekah and I did the grocery shopping, cooking, and loaded and ran the dishwasher.

Jason has never been here in the summer so he wanted to go to the beach. We fit that in on Saturday..... It was a perfect day. I remembered why I don't go to the beach often. I am always cold there..............



On Monday we spent the day in Provincetown. I took some pictures of different things that caught my eye.


Yes, Wade Hamilton went with us. He was filthy when we got home so Rebekah gave him a bath. I splurged on lobsters for us. Capt Elmer's cooks them for you. Delicious.
















I got some pictures of two potted plants that caught my eye.








At one point we stopped at the Crown and Anchor for lunch. The fish and chips were superb.






We had to sit at two tables in order to stay out of the sun.








Tuesday they headed back to NC. Their flight was canceled and they ended up flying to Detroit in order to get home.................

Lem had his last procedure on Friday. That was another all day affair. He was diagnosed with prostrate cancer this spring. He spent 5 days a week for 5 weeks getting radiation therapy. Friday they did a seed implant. He now glows in the dark.... (not really)..............

He is home now and resting up. I am getting things put away after having guest. Lem asked the realtor not to show the house last week but Monday we will be back on that treadmill.
It will be good to sell out and move closer to the children.