They have some delightful FREE stitcheries for tea towels. I just adore tea towels.
Remember, I am using what I have as much as possible so I got out the white Kona Cotton that I had and cut out 4 tea towels. This is the design that I chose. The blackbird with a pumpkin. There are lots of other designs to choose from.
I found this fat quarter in my stash and it seemed perfect.
I got out my Scallops Sew Easy book and my scallop ruler and began.
Got the design traced...............
The scallop edge sewn on and now I have something else to put in the basket.
I am still quilting the baby quilt each night. I might get to the 1/2 way mark by next week.
It is almost time to go home........... I have cleared my desk and made my list of "Must Do's" for tomorrow.
Tonight I will add more hand quilting to my baby quilt. I might even get a picture made tomorrow morning. Time will tell.
Lem is cooking tonight so all I have to do when I get home is to sew. I need to finish one more swirl and then do more marking. I try to mark four swirls each time and the goal is to do four a night. That surely does not happen. Some nights I just cannot move but sit and stare ahead.
Perhaps in the morning I will have time to work upstairs for an hour before work. I am piecing block number three of five from my first month of Honoring Our Quilting Heritage.... Since I joined late I have month two and three already. I really want to move along with this one.
All better now.............I have some kind of order again..... All of those baskets next to the wall have tops to be made.............. And three quilts going on the design wall.
The one that I am working on right now is the first month of Our Quilting Heritage.
How lovely it is to have my cutting table back again with my scrap containers under it. That is Bonnie Hunter's system and it is wonderful. The smaller drawers on top are for the scraps from my CW Repro fabrics. When I need some strips to finish a project I can usually find them in this scrap section.
Wall three........ These drawers contain notions and kits for quilts. There are many quilt tops in the making hidden here too.
This is the Field Desk where my dear Duchess resides. She does all of my piecing for me.
And a view of the other room where I hope to learn to machine quilt......... The table is all ready and surrounded by tops. The tops in the basket on the right are layered and ready to be quilted. The stacks under the window are tops with backing that need batting and to be layered.
On the stool there is a table runner that is almost machine quilted, a top that has the center quilted but not the borders and one quilt that needs the binding attached.
Now next time you want to go online and order another project or when you visit your local quilt shop and see the Latest Thing that everyone else is doing.......... consider this. I know that I have more than I will finish in many years and that on occasion we all need something new to refresh our muse but in the future I will try to finish at least two projects before BUYING anything new. Just to be clear. If something comes along that I want to try and I have the materials on hand for that project I can go right ahead but as to purchases, they will be on a need to finish only basis unless two have been completed.....................
Let's see how long that last.................VBG
Saturday, October 09, 2010
The problem with showing the house it that we put everything away.......... Sometimes thing get lost.........
Lem brought in the mail several weeks ago and there was a package for me. He put it upstairs in the studio. Then we got a call to show the house. I came home from work and we got the house ready. Removed the towels we use and put out the Show Towels. Put the Show Bedspread on the bed. Hid the pillow he uses on the couch removed all signs of owning a dog. Vacuumed and dusted. Put scented oil on the ceramic light bulb topper so the bedroom will smell like lilacs.....
This was before I cleaned up the studio. I went upstairs to hide the ironing board and to generally remove some of the most offending stacks. And accidentally covered the box that he had put upstairs for me.
You might remember that a few months ago I mentioned that we were expecting our first great grandchild. My dear friend Jean Mello that moved to Mequon several years ago had sent us a package. Jean is always doing for others and giving her time to others. When she lived on the Cape she was an officer in our Quilt Guild. She and several of her friends spent weeks before our Linus day making kits and organizing the location and getting everything ready. She always has a funny story to share and is never without a smile. Any room gets brighter when Jean walks in.
She had taken the time to buy not one but two little baby toys......
And she also took the time to crochet a lovely baby blanket. It is so soft and cuddly. Now I can mail it to the family in NC.............
Thank you Jean........... You are a dear friend............ Please forgive me for not saying thank you sooner.
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Why do I always have such a messy studio........... It is so hard to work and stay focused in all of this confusion.
I will be re-arranging and organizing this weekend.............. It really is bad............
This is where the cutting table would be if it weren't in the other room being used for a basting table. I need to get it moved back in place and its little PVC pipes under its little legs again so that I can cut fabric. This card table just doesn't work.
And the three drawer cabinets are two deep because the ones on the front belong under the cutting table.
The sewing table is covered with items from the cutting table also.
A phone call this morning from the realtor tells us that we have two more opportunities for a buyer. One coming at 12:00 and one at 1:30.................... That meant getting up early and getting things put away and everything spiffed and polished.
Last night Lem helped me move the cutting table back into the studio. This morning I set up my Janome on the table in the other room upstairs. The little stack under the window is FOUR quilts with backing fabric that need to be layered, basted and quilted. The pile of fabric under the table is really a basket with fabric for string quilts.......... I want to use up some thread and this is the perfect way to do it. The basket on the right contains the green quilt I just basted and another quilt that has been waiting in the wings for several years. I really must get some of these tops finished. The stacks of tops, tops with backing fabric and basted ready to quilt tops will be growing soon.
Someone was asking about a layout for Dear Jane Christmas Swap blocks so I got out my Dear Jane Christmas swap quilt to show...........
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Sunday morning I got all ready to baste the quilt. I have my Overdrive player on my computer and a book from the library downloaded.
But first Lem wanted breakfast. He fried the bacon and I made French Toast...... I sliced the bread thick and it was just the best. Then I headed back upstairs to finish basting.
This morning I met the girls for breakfast. It is still raining here. Just raining harder today.
Peg gave me these small bits of yarn for me to use in my Mitered Square Afghan. Go HERE to find the pattern that LuAnn of Loose Threads shared.
Yes, that is the basting table. The quilt is finally basted and ready to be quilted. I learned that if I stay within the distance of my forearm I am fine but if I try to reach it causes the back problems. Now we know......................
I have finally finished the projects for the past weekend and I have started the project list for the upcoming weekend. And this is a holiday weekend so I am looking forward to one extra day.
Beans and Franks were delicious. Lem helped cook. There were several good suggestions to add to the meal.
Tonight is another pork meal................... Kielbasa cooked with apple, steamed broccoli and carrots and pinto beans.......... Maybe I will even bake some cheese biscuits to put this meal over the top. Really cheap eats.............. And these days that is a must. Will there be a picture later....perhaps.
Not as much rain today. But no sunshine forecast till Friday.
Now me, I am a sunshine girl. Remember I am from the south where they do have more sunshine. One hour more each day to be exact................ And it shines more days than it does here. Winters are especially difficult......... I have problems staying perky when there is no sunshine.
After work yesterday I worked on the baby quilt. By tomorrow I will have reached the 1/4 mark.
Lem wanted to watch the ball game last night so I went upstairs to work on basting the quilt. Still never finished. It caused my back to flare up again so I went downstairs and listened to a book while I stitched more on the baby quilt. I have one little section left to stitch and I can move up a bit and start to mark another row.
This morning I did a bit more basting on the green quilt. I should be able to finish that today and get more marked on the baby quilt to stitch tonight. I am anxious to get my cutting table back. I have some organizational ideas for the studio and I need that table in place to move forward with that.
Errands after work but an easy supper tonight. Lowly beans and franks. Any suggestions to what I can do to bring that menu up a notch? How about some cheese grated over the BnF's and a nice slice of bread with melted butter slathered on?
Monday, October 04, 2010
I finally did get 25 things out of the garage........ Part went to the transfer station today. Part will go to a thrift store later this week. Part (a small part) were put where they will live now in the house. Perhaps next weekend I can pack a dish pack or two of the things in the garage that need to be packed for the move.
I never did get the quilt basted. Maybe I can get it finished this week. I need to get it done so I can get my cutting table put back in place. I need to get my studio cleared out a bit and organized. That can be almost as much fun as sewing..........
I have beef barley soup in the crock pot for dinner tonight. They had beef roast on sale a few weeks ago for 99 cents a pound. We have had roast beef twice and there is just enough left for soup. It has turned colder here so it will be a good meal to have on a cool evening.
More quilting done on the baby quilt. I will need to mark a bit more so that I can quilt tonight.
Sunday, October 03, 2010
Bake Muffins
Bake Bread
And while I was in the kitchen I thought I would try a French Onion soup recipe that a friend shared this past week............ It came from The Pioneer Woman. The hardest part was slicing the onions.
Then to add a few more ingredients............. She has a play by play account on her blog.
She calls for French bread to be toasted and placed on top. Since my fresh bread came out of the oven at the same time as the onions did it could cool while the soup was finishing. Then a couple of thick slices topped with cheese..........
The perfect Saturday dinner when the weather is getting cold. I thought the price was right because we will get two meals out of it.
That just leaves the last two items on the list. I really do not think I will make it but I will give it a try. No I will not take a before and after picture of the garage. My mother would haunt me....
Baste First Green Star Quilt.
Remove 25 items from the garage that do not belong there.
This was the original list for the weekend.................
Bake Bread.
Bake Muffins.
Baste First Green Star Quilt.
Remove 25 items from the garage that do not belong there.
Instead of doing any of those things I have...........................
Wandered around the yard looking for something to cut and bring inside.........
Ahhhh...... Lily of the Valley makes these lovely red berries. I might as well get them before the birds do......
and the ubiquitous greenery.................... Two homey touches before the Looky Loos arrive.
(Wife liked the house .... Husband did not.......... Let me mention that they called to come early because he did not like any of the other four they looked at today.)
LuAnn over at Loose Threads mentioned this little mitered square made from sock yarn. She is so right...... They are just like potato chips.... I had to try them......... Then I had to call my dear friend Peg to see if she had any little balls of sock yarn she wanted to get rid of....... She will bring them with her to breakfast on Wednesday morning.
And the new BOM from Homestead Hearth came in................ I just could not resist. It began in July and I did not call till the first of September. They had one opening left so I knew that spot was mine. They sent July and August right away and September arrived yesterday. There are 5 of the 59 blocks in each month.
Yes, I did have to try the first one..........No, I do not know what I was thinking. I probably wasn't thinking...............
We also had to get to the grocery store and this morning I found two new recipes to try. And by then it was lunch time and then being the weekend I indulged in a wee toes up......... So here it is 3:00 and nothing is removed from the list......
Well, as Scarlet says, "I will think about that tomorrow."
of mice and men do often gang aglee.................
And that sure happened to me already. The people that looked at the house yesterday decided that it was too small.......... AND at the same time the realtor called to say we could come home she said that the people that looked at it Thursday want to look at it again today at 11:00......
SO......that means I can't start the baking first thing this morning as I had planned. I couldn't even get much done last night because we did not want to get anything out of place in the house.
That being said I have decided to eat dessert first and work on a NEW project. More pictures later.
Remove 25 items from the garage that do not belong there.
And the Final Item.............Actually follow through on a project that has been percolating in the back of your mind for a long time now...........
Remove EVERYTHING from the STUDIO except for the current projects on the list. This is going to be really hard. I gather things to be done around me as though I am going to run out. I will NEVER run out.......... These future projects keep me over stimulated. Ideas produce more ideas and if you visit a blog or two you will get EVEN MORE IDEAS.
So in the interest of actually finishing something this year I am going to remove the excess.
Judy at Patchwork Times has Design Wall Monday. An opportunity to share with others what is on your design wall or design floor or where ever you check your blocks for placement.
Today I can show that I have finally finished the 'Road Less Traveled' quilt I began in 2008. I am trying to complete the projects that were already begun before starting others. Of course people like Judy at Patchwork Times and Kaaren at the Painted Quilt make it difficult by sharing such lovely things with others to make so I do stray from time to time but basically I am completing the items that are in my studio at the moment and believe me there are LOTS of them.
I took two pictures and could not decide which one I liked best so I decided to show them both.
The back was an issue this weekend so I did not get as much done as I wanted to but I did get one quilt all pressed and ready to baste.
And now it is all set up for me to baste. I can take as long as I need to work on this but I do want to finish soon because I need one of those tables back in the studio. It is my cutting table. I have two spectrum lights because I found them on a clearance table for $5.00 each. I could not pass up that sale and they have been quite useful.
I did not get as much hand quilting done as I had hoped this weekend but maybe this week will be better. I sure do hope so. I really don't like lying there looking at the ceiling unable to move. I did get a book loaded on my MP3 player so it wasn't a total loss.
and I am already making list of things to get done........
Several weeks ago I sent an email to the salesman for the office supply company we use asking for his best price on another table for my studio. He was kind enough to offer a used one for FREE.... and he delivered it this week. It is a really nice heavy one and doesn't have a scratch anywhere on it. That means I will have two 5 foot tables to put together for basting. That is so much better. I put them in the upstairs bedroom and this weekend I plan to begin basting two more quilts. I hope to baste one of the green quilts and to finish adding the sashing to "The Road Less Traveled" and get it basted. I will have used up all of the batting I have on hand and since I can't get more right now I will be forced to stop putting off learning to machine quilt. All of my excuses are gone. I have a good machine and now I have a table big enough to handle the quilt top.
As soon as those quilts are basted I can put my cutting table back in place. I am planning to remove a few more projects from the studio. Some are still in the planning stage and some are already begun but there is no place for the eye to rest. I will be making a list of them and I can get them out as soon as I clear the ones I have already begun.
Having spent 2008 and part of 2009 minimizing the items in the living area it is time to begin the same in the studio. It is so easy to keep the house in order and I enjoy that it always looks nice if anyone should stop by. I know that the studio will be a more pleasant place to work if there is little clutter there also. I will not be adding the list of projects to my side bar. It is too long and I refuse to embarrass myself........VBG.....
Easy meals are planned for the weekend and I am going to tackle making baguettes..... This is looking like it will be a fun filled weekend.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Let's start off by understanding that I am a TOPPER. All of my friends know this.............. I have finished a few quilts but you should see the tops I have. It seems that when I get the top finished I get to the paralyzing part of WHAT DO I DO NEXT................ It is not feasible to hand quilt all the tops and besides there is not enough time to do that. Most of them are utility quilts and I would not spend my time hand quilting utility quilts. But even before you get that far there is the LAYERING................ Yes, I do have friends and yes they have all offered to help me at any time but that is not always convenient for everyone.........
Well, today is the day that I am going to actually do this with a larger project.
Since I am facing unemployment funding for my projects has come to a screeching halt so I am having to make do with what I have. This is my cutting table. The legs are in PVC pipe that has been cut to bring the table up to the perfect height for me to cut fabric. Under the table is the drawers holding the leftover pieces of fabric based on the Bonnie Hunter system of scraps. That will have to be moved away from the wall and lowered to normal height........
First I spread the backing right side down to be cut.
Then I placed the batting on top of it so that I could cut them at the same time. Next came the pieced top and I trimmed off the excess backing and batting.
Here it is all cut and ready to layer.
It is recommended that the backing and the top be pressed and starched three times. That took the entire morning.
To help pass the time I downloaded a talking book on my laptop from the library. I might as well enjoy a good book while I am pressing.
Lem helped me move the table from the corner and now it is filling the center of the studio. All of the things that were on the cutting table are stashed just anywhere I could find a place.
The backing and the top are being rolled up on the boards.
Then turn them around and start the layering process. First the backing with the wrong side up.
Then the batting on top of that.
And now to begin unrolling the top.
Needles, thread, scissors and we can begin to baste.
It did take the rest of the weekend because there were interruptions. A break for meals... then to get the house in order because someone wanted to see it on Sunday...... Lem did the vacuuming and I did the other things. Two loaves of bread were made and a dozen muffins.
By Sunday evening I managed to get one part marked so that I could begin the quilting. This morning I went back upstairs to finish marking one section all the way across.
I can see that I will be working on this exclusively for some time to come.
The studio is a disaster but there are several other quilts that I would like to layer before I move the table back to the corner. After they are layered I can get the studio back to normal....... And then perhaps I will practice my machine quilting skill.
