Thursday Quilt League progress

Well, I decided I needed to start getting some of these tops quilted so I chose my second House of Mercy quilt:



I am doing just a very open loopy pattern on it because it is large and it is HEAVY. I only got about 1/3 of this quilted and had to stop because my arms and shoulders were killing me. Why is it so heavy? Because I am using this old blanket as batting:



Remember these blankets?? They must have been from the 70's. It is going to make this sooo warm which is important because this quilt is going to House of Mercy for the homeless. Should keep someone nice and toasty!! While it is hard to move this baby around while quilting, it is actually very smooth and easy to quilt through.

While piecing the last few tops, I have managed to get a little pile of my 9 patch leaders and enders done:



They measure in at 3 inches finished. Here they are added into the leaders and enders quilt top:



A close up:



I really love the way this is turning out. Not sure what to work on next. I have a retreat to go to in 4 weeks that I need to have stuff done for, I have black and bold swap blocks I need to work on and a million other projects. I was sick at the beginning of the week and while I am feeling better, I still am wiped out so I might just call it an early night and settle in the tub with a good book. Sigh...such decisions!

This one is for Sue!

My pal Shellie and I went to check out a new quilt shop that opened up in my town. It is called Cafe Sewciety Quilts. LOVED the shop! Just what this town needed. Anywho, as I am scoping out the place, guess what I see?



Pick Four by our own Sue Abrey!! Of course I just SNATCHED up the book and had to tell the owner about "knowing" Sue! She said that a friend of hers..I believe her name was Dorothy...at Martingale told her that this was a book she had to sell! So..she is!! I had been trying like the dickens to win a copy, but I bought mine at this fine shop and am thrilled with it!

I did also buy a few pieces of fabric that I needed for a block swap. Great trip!

Then Shellie and I headed off to the older quilt shop in town. I have never been a fan of this one...not very friendly if you are not part of their little clique. anywho..nothing there.

So, off to Joann's. Shellie was in search for a tote for her machine and I still needed to get some material for a retreat we are going on in a month. Guess what???!!




MORE Pick Four!!!! At Joann's!!!!????? That is HUGE, Sue..to be picked up by a big chain like this!!!! Unfortunately, there was no one around there that we could brag that we "knew" the author! (DRAT!!) lol

Sue...I am soooooo THRILLED for you that I can't even tell ya!!! Hope this made your day!!

A little more Toads

Thought you might like a close up of Toads in Bowties so that you could see the colors a little bit better. Still deciding if I should add that extra border to it. We will see.

Lots of cleaning and canning to do today, so I better get on it so I can get some sewing time in tonight!!

Toads in Bowties

Well, here it is! Toads in Bowties. I do think I am going to add one more border to it. That will have to wait until tomorrow as I work 9-7 today. What do you think?

Woohoo!

I finished the last border on my bowtie quilt tonight!! Woohoooo! I am naming this one Toads in Bowties! lol Toads for the toad green in it and the bow ties are self explanatory. It is 77" x 90". Unfortunately, that means I don't have any floor space big enough to lay it down and take a pic tonight. I might be able to get a pic tomorrow before work, but it probably won't be until Saturday. I really like the way this one turned out. I am trying to talk myself out of adding one more border. lol I need to just let it be done! lol

Well, posts without pics are boring, so here is another one of the mystery packs I bought a few weeks ago:



Very cool! Let's look inside!!



Oh cool!! Some of these have sayings written on them:

A true friend is a forever friend
Friendship is a work of heart
Your friend is the one who knows all about you and still likes you
Happy is the house that shelters a friend
Friendship is a sheltering tree
The language of friendship is not words but meaning

These ones are machine stitched and I have no idea how to place them together, but I will figure it out one of these days. Any ideas??

My Kind of Saturday

It starts with my perfect weather...high of about 64. Yay! I LOVE this weather! I have more energy now than at any other time of the year. I love cool weather dinners..I am sick to DEATH of bbq!!
So, lasagna is on the menu tonight (with another one made and frozen for another night), beans are soaking for chili tomorrow night plus lots extra to can, laundry is going, I am deep cleaning multiple rooms at one time and I got the final border on my Delfina's Baskets quilt.



It measures in at 77 1/2 in x 91". There is some hand stitching that is done on the original one from the pattern and I may get to that tonight while watching tv. This is one of Edyta Sitar's patterns, tho I did the borders just a little different.

Well, off to see what else I can accomplish this wonderful, perfect day!

Christmas quiltalong update

Yay! My Scatty Christmas Stars is done and I just LOVE it! Mine is made all out of men's shirts. So, I am renaming mine, A Simple Man's Christmas. Thanks so much, Sue and Cathi for this pattern! I just loved it. Though I do have to admit my heart was in my throat when I had to cut the triangles off! lol

I did some more work on my Delfina's Baskets quilt top, also, but no pictures of that to show yet.

Tomorrow is cleaning the house and putting up a ton of tomatoes so I doubt I will get any sewing in, but so glad that I got this finished!! Now my pile of tops to be quilted is getting too big, though, so guess quilting some of these up is next on my list!!

Night and thanks for sharing the quiltalong with me! Oh...and I still have lots more of our surprise packages to share with you so stay tuned!

Sidetracked but back on it now!!

Well, I hit the farmer's market this morning for some peaches, picked my daughter up from work and then my oldest daughter and her hub arrived. So much for any sewing! It is now 8:30 and I am just STARTING my Christmas quiltalong. I hope you stop by tomorrow to see what I get done! I will continue to post updates tonight.

Just so ya don't think I sat around all day, here is what kept me busy for a good part of the afternoon:



I put up 9 quarts of peaches and 7 half pints of peach jam. Does my kitchen smell NUMMY!!

Here is another one of the surprise packages:



Hmm..looks interesting. Now let's take them out:



Now THESE look vintage to me. There are 11 blocks with 4 more center pieces cut. They measure anywhere from 8 1/2 in to 9 in. Hmm..might have to square these up a bit! They also are all handstitched..and well done, I might add. I LIKE these ones. No ideas on what to do with them yet, but that's okay.

Now..FINALLY off to stitching!

Jingle Bells and more!

Yay! Today is the Christmas
Quiltalong! It is never too late to join us in getting a jump on the holiday season. I have loved all the Christmas projects that I have gotten done on these Saturdays through the year. Thanks so much to Sue and Cathi for hosting this!!!

On today's list will be the Scatty Christmas Stars. I am finally all caught up and can't wait to receive the next step today!

That is the only definite on my list. The rest I am going to work on as the mood strikes me. Other items on today's agenda are: more canning, laundry, Hannah's senior pics and a visit from my oldest daughter, Jess, and her hub, Greg. Looks like it is going to be a great weekend!

I stopped at Craft Bits and Pieces the other day after work and look what I bought!



These are all someone else's ufo's. Why I need to purchase someone else's when I have plenty of my own, I don't know, but I ALWAYS do this! I didn't even look to see what they were. Just grabbed them and left. So, let's open these together! Each update I will post one of the bags and the goodies held inside. You can enjoy the surprise with me!

First up:



The tag says, "Vintage-3 rows finished and fabric to do more" hmm...cool!

This is inside:



Hmm..I dunno about vintage..unless you consider the 1980's vintage. What decade do the fabrics look to you? The pieces are all handstitched:



Not sure what the plan was for these...borders, maybe? Any ideas?

Well, off to get stitching. Will check back in soon!

Hot blue, toad green...and plum??

Yup. Only in my world do those colors look good together lol. I decided to use a plum fabric for my set in triangles after I had to rip out the original toad green ones. So, after getting them in and the corner triangles on, the center is now complete.



I know..I know...go ahead and say it. My feelings won't be hurt. I KNOW I have an odd color sense. In the one and only quilt class I ever took, when we showed the teacher what fabrics we were going to use, she said to me, "No, really..what fabrics are you going to use?" I couldn't convince her that the ones I was showing her were the ones I was REALLY going to use until I started sewing them in front of her. But hey..that is what quilting is about, right? Making things that please YOU. Individualizing an old pattern with YOUR fabrics and colors. I happen to LOVE these colors in this quilt and since it is for me, that's perfect! When I make one for someone else, I do try to tone down my choices to fit their likes.

It measures in at 66" x 79 1/2" right now. It shows up really wrinkly, but that is my laziness/excitement to post it that I didn't take the time to press it out. It does lie flat now! Yay! I still haven't decided on what I am going to do for the borders. Lots of ideas in my head, but none standing out right now. So, on to other projects.

I FINALLY got all my blocks done for the Scatty Christmas Stars and got all the rows put together:



I know..the pictures of both of these are lousy. The light in my house is awful and since I do my sewing at night, my finishes all come at night when I can't take outside pics! This one is made out of shirts. I really like the country feel it has to it. On the next Christmas quiltalong, I will take a pic of it outside so you can see the colors better.

I also got batting pieced together, made 3 more quarts of dill pickles, 6 pints of salsa canned, did loads of laundry and even managed to go to a picnic this weekend. I am not done for the night yet. I am so motivated by getting these 2 done tonight that I might see what else I can work on.

Catch you soon!!

**Update**

Well, when I went to find something else to work on, I found the blocks I had made for the Mysteries for Relay Mystery #17. This one is called November Stars. Everything went completely wrong for me on this one. My color choices were horrible and the stars wouldn't come out right no matter how many times I tried them. So, frustrated, I just put them away. Tonight I just decided to go ahead and put them together anyway. I don't even know if I can donate this one. It might just have to stay here and be used UNDER another quilt lol. I just don't get it. Everyone else who did the mystery had quilts that turned out beautifully!! Oh well, that's the way it works sometimes. I don't even think I am going to put borders on this one. Just leave it as is.




Now, off to bath, book and bed. I better get busy this week quilting some of these!!

Hot blue and toad green..

What do they have to do with each other? Well, absolutely nothing, but those are the colors that are starring in my bowtie quilt. Thursday night at my quilting league, I was sooooo excited to get all the center put together!! Well, all but the corner pieces. Got it all together, laid it out on the floor to take a peek and EEEKK!!! What is this??? It is all puckered and gathered!!!



That is what happens when you try to do math at night when you are tired. You cut the wrong size set-in triangles!!! Arghhh! Of course I do not have enough toad green to make the RIGHT sized ones to redo it, so this morning Patrick and I will be ripping out those set-in triangles and making new ones of a different fabric. Hub is at a golf tournament today, so Patrick and I are declaring today a quilt tournament and we are going to stitch away! All the canning, cleaning and mundane stuff will just have to wait!!

Oh, Hannah and I stopped at Goodwill the other day and look what I got:



7 YARDS of this Christmas batik for $3.99!!! It is going to make a wonderful back for a Christmas quilt top I have. I also got 4 large fleece blankets for $1.99 each that I will use for batting. Gotta love Goodwill!

Off to audition new fabrics for those triangles. Hope everyone is enjoying their Labor day weekend!!