Catching Up and Getting Ready

I signed up the Thangles Buck a Block at Emma's Quilt Cupboard. They were kind enough to mail them to me. They have been collecting on my table and this week was the time to bring them up to date.

Here they are, January through June...........


You might remember this magazine.


Here is a picture of the entire quilt. I am using my favorite color palett.




This looked like a good bag to keep it all together in............


I even assembled a kit to go in the bag that has all the supplies I need for this project. A real grab and go.....




Instead of the pink border I decided on this fabric. It fits better with my diamonds and flowers.

I made a list of the number of pieces I would need and began. This project was started last fall. When we were in Virginia I picked up a few half yard pieces of white on white and when I got home I added to them with what I had on hand



This week I cut out all the white fabric and counted it out into snack bags. I can grab a few and add them to my kit as needed. The diamonds are all cut and some of them are assembled. Since the white fabric is not all the same I thought I needed to get the white ones completed. Next I will make the diamonds and begin to assemble the center part of the quilt. I will wait till that is done to cut anymore fabric.


This project and the GFG project I have downstairs I think I am covered for awhile. Just in case I am stuck without a sewing machine for a couple of months. It is time to stop prepping and start sewing again.

Up to Date

It is with great joy that I report being up to date on my Gail Pan blocks. I still have not found a fabric I like for these blocks but that will come in time.

Saturday was spent doing errands and Sunday was spent getting rid of things............

We are still going through the house and tossing excess items........... Where do they come from???

I also got the blocks prepped for the three Tisket Tasket blocks I am behind on. Now I am prepping my Insanity quilt................ When that is done I will begin to pack the sewing room.

If I do it correctly I can keep out one quilt to piece and have the others ready to move.

I hear Wade Hamilton..........He must be ready to go out.................

Ah......the day on my treadmill begins................

Weekly Finishes

Dear Peg is getting a Thangles Buck a Block for me from her friend in New York. This one started in December.




And I thought I would do another set with fabric I had on hand using the same pattern,


This week I finally finished stitching the blocks I have so far. Only four more to go. This is Thangles series 5.

I have a kit from Thangles series 4 from last year. I have been looking for the first three series but so far I have been unable to locate them. If anyone has any ideas on where I can purchase the first three series please let me know.

Now I will get back to stitching.

The Weekend

On the whole it was successful............. The best one I have had in months............ My nemesis was gone for most of the time and what was there could be controlled with medication.

We had an open house on Saturday but since we had shown the house on Thursday it was easy to get it ready.

Since I had to clean up my sewing room for the showing it was all ready for me yesterday.

I got all of the blocks printed and traced and ready to stitch for the "Veranda Views" BOM's. I need one more and that kit will be ready to go. Each block is traced and in a plastic sleeve with the instructions


I found these plastic sleeves at Staples and with the secure top it keeps everything clean and fresh.



And here they are in another Staples find. A plastic zipper case that keeps it all together including the thread.



Next I began bringing my Gail Pan BOM's up to date. All done. She says there are nine in the series and I have just prepped block 7.



Being three months behind in preparing my applique blocks for the Tisket Tasket BOM. I got out my BAGS of FABRIC and made the fabric selections for these blocks. I will still need to trace the design and cut out the pieces but at least this much is done.



This was originally one bag of fabric but it was too heavy for me to move so I divided it into two bags.............. Lots of quilts in these bags..............


I decided to make the fabric selection for my Faye Anderson blocks. I have 20 out of 50 completed and the day seemed right to pull the fabrics for those last 30 blocks. I emptied the fabric onto the floor and spent several hours on the floor with the fabric while I made the selections.



Here they are............. All 30 of the remaining blocks............ Ready for the design to be traced onto freezer paper and the applique to begin...........


This morning I placed each page with the fabric into a ziploc bag and all of the bags into a hatbox. Many hours of enjoyment reside in this small space.


Several weeks ago I began a "Nancy Quilt" in Nancy. Our dear Nancy likes the pastel colors of spring. I have very little of that pallet in my studio but I did find some 2 1/2 inch strips for sale at Keepsake Quilts. I ordered the package and began making the block. It is a small quilt so it is only 16 blocks......... I wanted something to be just about the size of the width of fabric..... After the blocks were assembled I took the quilt to Murray's and selected a couple of fabrics for the two borders I wanted......


Here it is. I need to adjust the size of the borders a wee bit so it will fit on a 45 inch width of fabric. I can see many more of these in quilts in my future. They are just the right size to learn to quilt with and would make nice little gifts................

A Thing of Beauty

is a joy forever.................

Amanda's quilt is finished at last and after the Pickle meeting on Tuesday I will be mailing it to her.....

It is such a bright, happy quilt. Judy Laquidara of Patchwork Times designed and and quilted it. If you have not made one of her designs you are missing a real treat....... Every design of Judy's that I have made turned out beautifully.......... I am always amazed at how complex they look when the construction is so simple.


I tried to take a picture of the quilting but it does not show up as well as I had hoped.


The backing is from Thousands of Bolts and was the perfect fabric.

Wish I could see her smile when she opens it...............

Another Project Preperared

Several years ago............. probably 5............. I began a Grandmother's Flower Garden.

This was when I first began quilting and had only fabric leftover from garment projects. After getting those cut up and ready to assemble I began to stop at Murray's each week and pick up fat quarters to make more. I had my design planned. I wanted to cut a border and applique the quilt to it so I would not have to cut any of the hexagons in half. I purchased the border fabric, binding fabric and backing.

Finally last year I got out the box of finished flowers and finished making the ones needed to complete the quilt.

One day Vickie and I laid them all out on her HUGE queen size cutting table. We marked them on the back and I brought them home to assemble.


I needed to cut the fabric and freezer paper for the pathway blocks and that was taking more time than I liked. Last week I finished stitching the binding on the last quilt I had ready and being in need of a 'sit at night project' I began a pair of socks.


One sock is done and one is half way finished. I am not as interested in the socks as I once was so for the last several days I have been cutting out the fabric for the pathways.

Than nice little box contains the rows ready to stitch and assemble. I will work on the sock at least one hour a day until it is done but the rest of my evening stitching will be on the GFG.

January to July

Here it is............. The Double Delight quilt that Bonnie Hunter designed for us in January. I did have to purchase some small pieces of filler fabric but 90 percent of this was fabric I had on hand. Even the backing is a piece I bought because I liked it....... I used to do that more often but mostly I purchase fabric for specific projects. I always by at least 1/2 yard extra just in case I make a wrong cut........... Then I have pieces left. The plan is to organize it on shelves according to color when I set up my studio. Right now it is scattered all through the house. Some in the basement in plastic totes and some upstairs in the studio in zip lock bags with the instructions. I even put a list on the sidebar.

At long last I got the Birthday Siggies ready to mail... They will go in the post today. Unless there is something I have forgotten, all of the projects are finished that were for other people.

Kathy came Monday for her quilt. It took a HUGE load off my back to get that out of here.

Yesterday we went to Boston. I had an appointment for an epidural steroid injection. That is the next step in trying to correct the damage to my spine from my fall 10 years ago. Who knew it would be such a problem now. It keeps me from doing as much sewing as I would like but perhaps we can get it resolved and move forward in better shape and get more stitching done.

We have had a rather exciting week. Making plans. Getting all of our ducks in a row.

Now the buyers have backed out................

I suppose we will be here for awhile.

Finished at Last

Two years ago I agreed to tie this quilt for someone.......... It came with thick poly batting. I began right away........ Then broke my wrist which put it on hold for some time.

Then I worked on it some more.........Till I ran out of thread. I got more thread but by then I was out of steam.....

Last weekend I got it out, purchased more thread and worked on it till finally the last spot was tied. I machine quilted the borders and went to the shop on Monday to get binding fabric. This past week I got the binding cut and on Saturday I put the last stitch in................

She is picking it up this afternoon. I feel lighter already knowing that this is off my plate.

We put an ad on Craig's list for items we did not want to move. I spent most of the weekend packing.................

The house inspection was on Friday. We have not heard from the buyer since. We had an inspection done ourselves last year to make sure there were no surprises......... But until we sign Purchase and Sales documents on July the 23rd there is still a chance that the Agreement we signed could go astray.............

I am still packing..................

News Alert

I have not posted in for over a week. Things have been upside down at our house since Monday, June 29th when our realtor called wanting to show our house to a "motivated buyer".

I went home from work to help Lem get the show towels hung and the show bedspread on the bed and to make sure everything was put away.

She called again on Tuesday to say that they wanted to look again. Things seemed to be looking up.

The lady of the house and her parents were looking but the husband was not going to be on Cape till Sunday........... Fourth of July weekend....................... Our realtor told us the were VERY INTERESTED.................... And wanted to close in 30 days...........

Lem and I spent the holiday making a list of what needed to be done and making plans just in case.

The husband came on Monday........... They looked and it was reported by the neighbor that they sat on the patio and enjoyed the weather.

Yesterday they made an offer................... Needless to say there was some bargaining involved.

Lem just called to say that we had reached an agreement.

I suppose that means that we will be moving in 30 days. I am still in a state of shock. What hand project should I get prepped to tide me over till we move?

TaDa

The quilt is designed and quilted by Judy Laquidara. It is one of her Hour A Day quilts from some time back. I have actually finished it..................

I am always amazed when I finish one of Judy's designs that I actually am the maker of such a intricate looking quilt. She knows how to make simple to execute designs look much harder than they really are.

Since Kim likes Purple.......... I will send this quilt to her...... I haven't been quilting that long and I have so few finished. Right now I am using all my finished quilts but soon I will be parting with them. I did give one away this year and now this one will find another home. I have two more here that are going to other family members but I am holding on to them just in case I need them for house guests. There is only one blanket in this house now and it is a light cotton blanket for summer. I am using all quilts now. Now off to stitch the binding on the next one waiting.

A Package in the Mail and a Finish

While surfing one day I came across a site for knitted lace socks at Wendy Knits. She has some wonderful free patterns that seemed to be a bit more challenging the the plain sock pattern I have been knitting for years. Most of her patterns called for a size 0 needle and naturally I did not have one that size. I found a set of sock needles at Knit Picks that seemed just the thing. I purchased some sock yarn to go with the needles to take advantage of the free shipping. I will not start these socks right away as I have other irons in the fire.


I finished the last stitch in the shawl I started last year.



It is such an easy pattern and as I mentioned before the lace edging is knit right onto the shawl after the shawl is knit.



I made it big enough to keep the shoulders and upper arms warm on a cold winter evening. This is an easy pattern and I will probably make another one later.

Finishes

The top from Judy's last scrap quilt is complete. I did not have enough fabric to do the pieced border in different colors so I used what I did have. The pink in the pieced border is different from the last pink border. There is not enough material left from any of the fabric to use as a the binding except for one aqua that really does not look great so I am using half of each on the pink and alternating them.



I did get enough of the backing from Thousands of Bolts. It is cut and sewn together. Now it is ready to be mailed for quilting.


I finished the socks I was making. I picked up the yarn a couple of weeks ago because it was half price. How good it feels to use right away. Now to make socks from the yarn I have on hand.



I began this shawl last year. It is a free pattern from The Wooly West. A very easy shawl to make. The yarn is the real stuff........Fresh off the sheep. Not pleasant to work with but will really keep you warm. The lace edging is knit onto the shawl. I made a smaller edition of this shawl from blue yarn some time ago and used this brown as the lace edging.

Wade Hamilton

Lem took this picture yesterday. I just could not resist putting it on the blog. There is Wade Hamilton our little guard dog making sure all is well.

One Border, Vickie's Quilt

I finally began working on the pieced border for the quilt I am making using Judy's scrap quilt pattern. The scrap quilt part is where I ran into trouble. I did not have enough fabric from making the blocks to use the different colors in the pieced border so I used what I had.


It really gives the quilt a different look.




Tuesday night was Pickle. Vickie is making a quilt for her son-in-law.




Look at this amazing applique lobster she put on the bottom.


Such detail....... She is quite an artist. I am blessed to have her in my circle of friends.

Backing Ordered

I ordered the backing.....................

I called to make sure that I would get enough. There were several orders ahead of mine and if none of them ordered the same material I will get what I need. If not I will do something else. Just not sure what..................

Possible Backing

Here is part of the quilt...............


This fabric is on sale at Thousands of Bolts.............. I think it would be a great backing.

Getting My Groove Back

At last I am getting on track again. I began another pair of socks. I will work on this each evening till they are done.



This morning I discovered that I was not yet ready to add the pieced border to this quilt. There are 3 borders to be put on before the pieced border. I had only added one. Now there are two. If all goes well by tomorrow there will be three and I can begin work on the last step.


The rain makes the peony blossoms so heavy. I cut three to bring inside. The others that were open enough had too many buds so I left them for later.

Stopping for Fuel

Lem is flying home today. His plane left Raleigh. NC but it has to go to Atlanta, GA before it can fly to Boston, MA. His brother took him to the airport. Rebekah left Kinston this morning too. She was driving to Atlanta. She got on her way and Lem and his brother stopped for breakfast and then to Raleigh. Probably an hour and half drive. But you have to get there 2 hours before flight time. His flight was at 3:28. Fly Atlanta, two hour layover and then on to Boston to arrive at 9:30PM.

Rebekah is two miles from home. She lives on the same side of Atlanta as the airport. In fact in the summer they sit on the deck at night and watch the planes stack up for landing.

Lemuel is not there yet. His plane had to stop in Greenville SC for FUEL....................

He is still in Greenville SC and the clock is ticking on his two hour layover. This could be interesting.

A Finish or Two

Lem and I had gone to Plymouth a couple of Saturday's ago. I wanted to get some red heart yarn to make some hats for Joan while we were there.


Mindless knitting provides therapy for the troubled mind. Here are three hats that I have finished. A blueberry, a pumpkin and a lime............

After getting tired of making hats I moved on to the ubiquitous sock. I started this pair last winter for my sister and had finished one sock and the next one was knit to the heel. She will be surprised when she gets them.


Amanda continues to improve. There is talk of moving her out of ICU later this week. Now she is thinking of all the things she would like to eat. Of course it has to be pureed because of the loss of the teeth.

Sunday

Amanda had surgery today to repair some of the damage to her nose. Thank you for all your prayers. They are making a difference. Our Heavenly Father is guiding the hands of the doctors and she is healing faster than expected.

The surgery went better than they had hoped. She was going to require some skin grafts to the tip of her nose but that might not be necessary after all. This a blessing because this graft is usually taken from the forehead and she had none left there.

I miss having Lem here. Honey and Wade Hamilton take up more time than Jason and Rebekah did. Everytime I pick up my knitting Wade Hamilton decides that he needs to be petted. If I pick him up and put him on the sofa with me he tries to eat my knitting needles.

Who knows, I might get something done before long.... Time will tell.

Update

Rebekah called this morning with my update on Amanda.

They are going to set her nose either Sunday or Tuesday. They need to wait for more of the swelling to go down. Right now she can see through one eye but the other one remains swollen shut. Her spirits are good. She told Rebekah that maybe God wanted her to have this experience so that she would have more understanding of her patients (she is in nursing school).

I am still holding down the fort here. Although Wade and Honey are doing their best to test my patience. I am trying to do a little knitting in the evenings but it is difficult when Wade tries to eat the end of the knitting needles.

Every day

shows improvement.

Kim had surgery on her wrist yesterday. They were able to place a stainless steel plate in her wrist so further surgeries will not be necessary.

Amanda continues to heal.

I know they are both doing as well as they are because of the healing hand of our Heavenly Father and the prayers of our friends.

With Lem out of town I am having to take up the slack. Wade Hamilton requires so much attention. Honey is old and sleeps most of the time anyway but Wade is accustomed to having someone with him all the time. No more can I get up early and sew before work. Both dogs have to be walked and I have learned to do that separately. One needs to be pulled and the other one pulls me along. Then it is time to feed them. No longer can I have a brief rest when I get home. Time to walk the dogs again and feed them once more and give them their vitamins. And if I sit to knit Wade wants someone to play with him. How can you say no to such a sweet face.

Lem will be back next Tuesday so I can sew a bit then.

Thank You

to everyone for your prayers.

We are so thankful this morning to our Heavenly Father for His faithfulness to us.

The report is that Amanda is improving. A good part of the brain swelling has gone down and she is rapidly improving.

She still has a long road to recovery ahead and several surgeries. She can get most of her care in Greenville but will have to travel to Chapel Hill NC for treatment for the burns on her arms and legs from the battery acid that spilled onto her.

Please keep holding her up to our Father as she recovers.

Kim will need surgery on her wrist as the bones were shattered. They are going to attempt to get that all back together and working again.

Jason, Amanda and Kim

Our dear Kim and Amanda were in an automobile accident yesterday. They were both injured and Amanda is still hospitalized.

They are so far away and here we pray and await more news.

The news at this time is that Kim has a broken wrist and two broken ribs. She has cuts and bruising from the set belt.

Amanda was thrown from the vehicle and has sustained a head injury. She is in an induced coma but the Doctors are optimistic that there will be no permanent brain damage. There will however be some plastic surgery needed.

Lemuel will be flying to NC tomorrow and I will remain here to keep these home fires burning.