katiemaytoo quilts

back to the land of the living

2012-02-12T18:03:00.001-05:00

Last Sunday I started with a sore throat. Figuring it was yet another cold (my new workplace seems to be a germ incubator - yes, I'm a microbiologist, but this is the sickest I've ever been, so it's not ME), I thought little of it. By Tuesday it was STILL a sore throat and I came home from work early - exhausted and hurting, but hoping a long afternoon nap and an early bedtime would kick my immune system into high gear and I'd be over it soon. Wednesday morning it was worse and a trip to the doctor was in store.

Strep throat.

Bleh.

So after a course of antibiotics and lots of naps, I'm finally starting to feel like myself again. I am worried about my ear still being sore and wondering if I've got an ear infection too, but we'll see how that is tomorrow. Thanks to feeling awful and exhausted, I've done little - not quilting, not cooking, not even reading. Even watching television was sometimes just too much!

Today I decided it was time to get off the couch and back into the sewing room, if only for a short while. I'd dreamed up a pieced border for my 30's quilt (before I got sick) and wanted to get started.

It's pretty simple - just 4-patches - but I'm using up a few more scraps of fabric. I'll put a skinny white border between the blocks and this border and another skinny white outer border to frame things, too.

The blocks are not yet sewn together, but since it will require laying them all out and sewing carefully, it will probably wait until next weekend.

I've been working a bit on hand quilting my Rose of Sharon quilt, too, but not until yesterday. It's not calling to me, but we all know it's a UFO for a reason!

And now the hubby is sick. He thinks I gave him Strep throat, but he's really stuffed up in addition to his sore throat, so I think it's more likely he's got a head cold. For his sake, I hope it is. I went grocery shopping this morning and stocked up on juice, pudding, Jell-O, chicken soup and a few medicines to help ease the pain and congestion.

Sorry this post doesn't have much to show photo-wise - I hope by this time next week I'll have a lot more to share! (And that we'll all be healthy and happy again.)

Happy quilting!
Katie

february ufo work

2012-02-07T17:52:00.001-05:00

Sunday I decided it was time to start on the UFO for the month.

I gathered my supplies (and knew right where that quilting template was!)...

I dragged out an old lamp and screwed in the black light bulb I'd borrowed...

Anybody see the missing lines? Guess that black light story is wrong. Maybe if it was done sooner, but no good in my case.

I tried to line up the template with what had already been stitched, but ended up free-hand drawing it instead. It won't be perfect, but that's okay. This IS my first hand-quilted quilt - if not quite perfectly lined up cables are its biggest problem, I'll count myself lucky!

I didn't mark all of it because the Superbowl was starting and I wanted to watch the commercials. I listened to the game, but stopped sewing to watch the commercials.

I had help while stitching, of course...two views of my lap...

Tucker on my lap

and Emma on my knees.

It wasn't so bad because I was stitching borders and the quilt didn't need to move so much. But yesterday I worked a bit more on a block and everyone was cranky because I had to keep moving it to get around the curves.

This photo shows quite well what I've gotten done. It's coming along! I'm just eyeballing these because the blue pen I'm using now doesn't seem to want to come out. Go figure...

Here's a bit bigger and better photo of the quilt, though it's not all of it. (Definitely better than the UFO challenge photo I took back in December!)

It's 3x3 blocks and all of the quilting in the sashings was done when I pulled it out. I'd quilted about half of the cables in the borders - as in half of each cable, not halfway around the quilt. I finished one border while watching the Superbowl and you see the photo above of how far along the first block is. I started in the center, knowing that would be the hardest and hoping that would help motivate me to work on the other blocks.

The green is the same throughout, as are the sashing and borders, but the yellows that make up the flowers are all different between flowers.

I'm not finding hand quilting as frustrating as I remember, but I think a big part is that my amount of patience for this type of work has gotten better. Or maybe I'm just not trying to make it so perfect any more. I'm still not a convert, though!

Time to go stir the chili - hubby's dinner request, but it smells pretty good.

Happy quilting,

Katie

PS I've figured out borders (different from the pattern posted) for the 30s quilt, so I hope to get time to put the blocks together and add borders soon! When it's done you know I'll show photos.

stitching along

2012-02-05T14:14:00.000-05:00

I've been stitching along on Rolling Along this weekend. Saturday's step was to make the 17 alternate blocks. Judy said she was going to step up the pace from the focus blocks, and boy did she!

I cut and cut (lots of pieces since I can't strip piece!) and then ran out of fabric, so I made a trip to visit my mom and raid her stash a bit more. Good thing I decided to go scrappy on this! Wash, dry, press...continue cutting and finally sew!

Just a few minutes ago, I finished all 17!

And look at that sun! My sewing room faces south, so when it's sunny outside there's always sunny spots on the floor. Sometimes it's blinding me at my sewing machine, sometimes it's making nice patterns on the floor...no complaints for sunshine in January here!

There's a lot of pink. The fabrics from my first raid had bigger chunks of pink and therefore more pieces in these alternate blocks, but once they're dispersed into the quilt, I think it will be okay.

I look forward to putting these all together. Tomorrow will be step 7 and I expect that's what we'll be doing.

All this WITH an overnight for a niece and nephew. They went home quite early on Saturday, but that's when their parents arrived, so I'm not going to argue.

First, Adrian and I made Valentine's Party Mix. This proved to be a good snack for movie time a few hours later.

Though you can't see it, there are quite a few Valentine sprinkles in there. She had a blast, once she finally realized I was serious, just dumping the WHOLE container of sprinkles in there. (I had a few smaller containers that were half-used and figured why not!) She also decorated the tub this was stored in using Valentine stickers - another project where I let her have all I had and she could use them all without getting in trouble.

And then on to the project I teased you with a photo of supplies. It's not the best photo, but it came out bigger than I anticipated (me and math are not such good friends) and I had to take it outside because my house isn't big enough to string it all out AND get far enough away to get it all in the picture. It's okay it's this big, just hard to photograph.

Kathleen guessed it (more or less) - triangular pennants with "be my valentine" spelled out, one letter to a triangle. Two hearts on either end for fun. I had a bit of trouble with the Wonder Under paper not wanting to let go, but we got it done. She was very proud of it and so excited to give it to her mom. Mom liked it, too.

Once this was done, she requested to make homemade Valentine cards, so I dug out construction paper, crayons, markers, a glue stick and some paper scissors and let her go. She had a blast and wasn't even aware of how well supervised she was with those scissors! The hubby got one of those cards, so it's on our fridge.

And the bag she packed containing a personal DVD player and movies, non-working laptop (?) and 3 Shel Silverstein books was left largely untouched. (I wondered if she was preparing for Armageddon instead of an overnight at my house?!)

Now it's time for kitty snuggles and maybe a nap. I'm not feeling well AGAIN - what is it with this winter? I've been sick more than healthy which is really not normal for me. But it sure does make me appreciate the times when I am healthy.

Happy quilting!

Katie

february UFO: quilt from another century

2012-02-02T18:35:00.001-05:00

It seems wierd to think of 1999 as another century, but that's when this project was started.

This is most definitely my oldest UFO!

This project started when I moved into an apartment all by myself a few years after college. I bought some pretty yellow furniture (still have it, so I'll have to remember to get a photo of that too) and had an empty wall. I thought I'd try my hand at hand applique and this project was born.

The applique is lumpy (I was using freezer paper - this was before I learned needle turn), but it's done. Then I sandwiched and basted it and marked it for quilting. And I quilted some of it and then got tired of it and set it aside. Life happened (I got engaged, married, moved twice, etc, etc, etc) and it got more or less forgotten.

While all this was going on, the blue lines marked with water-erasable marker disappeared. At one point I did try to resurrect this and re-draw the lines, but nothing was lining up with the template and I gave up pretty quickly. Shoved it back in the bottom of a closet and forgot about it again.

And then I was digging around for UFOs for the 2012 challenge and found it again. And groaned. It needed to go on the list, but I can honestly say I tried REALLY hard to find something else unfinished to replace it with!

I hear a black light will re-illuminate the blue lines so they can be re-drawn and the hubby is able to borrow a portable light from work, so that's part of what I'll be doing this weekend. Though I sighed pretty loud and hard when #1 was drawn, I am glad to be getting this one out of the way while the weather is colder because who wants to sit under a quilt when it's 90+ outside?

I've considered ripping out the hand-quilting and putting it on the longarm, but I think I'll see this through the way I originally intended. I doubt I'll be a hand-quilting convert by the time this is done, but when I started this I never imagined I'd enjoy hand applique and those of you who have followed my blog for a while know I seem to take on one applique project after another without complaint.

In other quilty news, I've finally caught up on the Rolling Along quilt along. The step for Saturday was a small one followed by two bigger ones on Monday and Wednesday, so it was a bit of a struggle, but I'm proud to show off my 18 blocks! There will be 17 (I think) alternate blocks, but I have until Saturday to relax on this project.

As you can see, as the blocks get bigger, they get scrappier. I didn't have very large pieces of any fabric, so I'm making do. I just hope I have enough to finish the alternate blocks, but if not, my mom still has quite a few fabrics in her stash but it will require a trip to pick them out.

I kinda wish I'd made the whole star one print becuase I feel like the borders are fighting with the star for focus, but it's too late now!

What will I work on until I get the black light and the next step for the quilt along?

My niece and nephew are coming to spend Friday night with us again, so this is the start of a project for me and my niece. Anyone want to guess what this will be? I'll show photos when we're done, but until then this is all you get!

And I'll also be looking for my hand-quilting thread. Where oh where did I put that? (More likely someone furry stole it and batted it well under something else and I'll never find it...)

Happy quilting!

Katie

good news!

2012-01-28T13:54:00.000-05:00

This past Tuesday was my last weekday off...I was offered full-time Wednesday afternoon! Without hesitation I accepted, but then felt a little sad my last Tuesday of sewing was already over. I'll still have evenings and weekends as well as a little extra money in my pocket, so it's all good.

To prove that I can still get things done without a Tuesday off, here's what I've accomplished since then:

1. Trim the geese.

I've never been one to trim, but it made a world of difference.

2. Sew geese (and other newly cut pieces) into stars.

They look even more spring-like as stars, but the blocks aren't finished yet!

3. Make half-square triangles as the next step for this quilt.

I trimmed these too! This was today's (Saturday) step. It's nice that Judy is giving small steps - it means I'm more likely to get things done before the next step is posted. Of course, it also means I'll have time to clean the bathroom, a task I was hoping to put off a little longer!

For those of you who missed the link and the first post, I'm working on Judy L's January Quilts of Valor Quilt Along, a quilt she's named "Rolling Along." The steps are sprinkled throughout her blog posts, but I believe she's also adding them to her "Patterns for Free" tab so you can catch up or make it another day.

I'm still plugging along on the owls. I'll show them when I have a bit more done.

Happy quilting,

Katie

another tuesday sewing

2012-01-24T16:16:00.000-05:00

I didn't just sew today, but I'm excited about what I have sewn!

Judy L put up the first step for Rolling Along, the Quilts of Valor quilt along she's hosting, yesterday: make 72 flying geese units.

They'll finish 2.5"x1.25"!

How's that for springy on this cold, windy day?

Step two will be up tomorrow and I hope it will be another rather quick one so I can keep up.

I opted for plain white for a background on these. I hope I don't regret it.

Then I ironed some work clothes. Bleh.

That earned me working on the owls - more pieces needed to be cut.

They all get these "eyelid" pieces that outline the white eyes.

Once the eyes are sewn down, it will look something like this:

And then they'll get little buttons for eyeballs.

And beaks and feet.

I also baked brownies (so quick when it's a mix from a box!), so I think I'll go enjoy one of those while I check out the blogs.

Happy quilting,

Katie

january ufo finished!

2012-01-21T17:13:00.000-05:00

I didn't have much left to do to finish January's UFO project when I stepped into my sewing room this morning, but I wasn't looking forward to it.

Borders...fussy cut and mitered corners.

But I surprised myself. Sewing those long seams for the borders wasn't so bad. Maybe because there was only one border. Maybe because there weren't very many points to match. Or maybe because I knew once they were on, I was done. UFO complete. Something to check off a list!

And the mitered corners were a new technique for me, but the pattern instructions were very easy to follow (for that step at least). Though not as easy as straight corners, I see myself using them again, but not too often!

I wanted to hang this outside and get a good photo and though it's warmed up to about 18 degrees (up from zero), I'm still not up for going out any more than I have to, so this photo of it draped across my longarm will have to do until spring. (Sorry, but when you walk on snow and it squeaks, it's too cold to "play" outside.)

(Not only is the quilt not flat, but there's a doorway to contend with...)

The pattern is "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" by Jackie Robinson.

I bought the pattern and border fabric quite a few years ago at a quilt show and intended it to become the back of this quilt:

From American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine, December 2000, "Looking Back" by Alice Berg.

But I got sidetracked on this one first. So the Daisies quilt never got started. Eventually I finished this top (it has solid red borders, but I can't find a photo of the quilt with them), but that's as far as it got.

And while I was procrastinating finishing this quilt, I sorta forgot about the Daisies project. Judy's UFO challenge got me digging into bins of projects stashed in my closet and I found it and decided it needed to be added to the list.

But...these will become two separate quilts. Since my quilt show decision to purchase the Daisies pattern, I've come to realize just how difficult a two-sided quilt of this nature will be to get together properly and I think having a quilt to rotate onto the bed instead of just flip sides, will be nicer.

(And I won't mention how often one of my furry beasties makes me a present in the middle of the night and I have to start a load of laundry at 2am and how nice it would be to have a different quilt to put on the bed instead of the old comforter the hubby's ex-girlfriend gave him...oh, oops...I mentioned it...)

Both of these quilts are scrap quilts, though I did buy the red and gold that are more prominent in the "Looking Back." My mom's scraps contributed almost all of the remainder of this quilt, but by the time I made "Daisies" I had a stash of my own to start with. Both are loads of fun to look at and remember where different fabrics came from, why they were purchased and what other quilts they've been used in. (I thought about showing photos, but that would make a big post!)

You all know I'm NOT a scrap quilter, but I wasn't really aware of it when I started "Looking Back." I knew it when "Daisies" was started, but since it's only two colors, I wasn't going too crazy and it was a good way to reduce my stash!

Two last photos - a reminder of where this was on January 1st:

And now I can start Judy's Quilts of Valor quilt along with a clear conscience!

Happy quilting,

Katie

PS I've been sewing owl parts down and will show that project off again soon!

january UFO - almost there!

2012-01-17T15:11:00.001-05:00

Another Tuesday off, another Tuesday sewing!

I had to move furniture to make my design floor big enough to lay this whole quilt out, but since the blocks are turned every direction to make a pattern, it wasn't one I could just look at a photo and get it right.

My ceilings aren't quite high enough to get the whole thing...

I sewed and sewed and then took a break for lunch and then sewed and sewed some more.

I had "help" too:

They're both laying on the furnace register. A favorite location in the winter. Sound asleep, but clearly happy. (See Emma smiling?)

Just a short while ago, I got this far and decided I could take a break.

Doesn't look much different (except one of the slumbering fuzzies is now holding things down), but all the blocks are sewn into a top!

It went together better than I expected, but having everything already arranged helped a lot. I tried not to have the same fabrics touching each other and, except for a few places, I managed, not that you'd notice now!

But before you go congratulating me on finishing the UFO for this month, it still needs borders. Just a single, fussy cut border, but a border no less. My plan is to get that on this weekend because on Monday, Judy L is going to post the first set of instructions for a Quilts of Valor Quilt Along. (Yes, I know I need another project like a hole in the head, but I couldn't resist.)

I raided my mom's stash of 30's prints this past weekend and dug through my whites for this to work with:

I'm not sure which white I'll use or how exactly I'll make the pattern work with these, but I will. I've been itching to make a 30's quilt lately and this seems just the thing.

And while I was digging, my sister-in-law was also digging for a project of hers. Not to be outdone, my mom decided to join in the fun, so we're having a 30's quilt challenge of our own. No real rules (though my brother did state that Rule #1 is that Mom can't win...), just a friendly challenge to motivate each of us. And help reduce mom's stash.

So, if I have the January UFO challenge completed, I can start another project, right?

I've had a wonderful quilty day off, but the kitties are asking for attention and I need to put the furniture back where it goes.

Happy quilting,

Katie

challenge complete!

2012-01-15T18:09:00.000-05:00

Thank you all for your kind comments about my mom's Orca Bay quilt. I'll be forwarding comments along to her and I know she's going to be overwhelmed by the positiveness from total strangers. (Well, you're total strangers to her!)

I sewed at her house yesterday and will show that in a bit, but first wanted to address the One Week, One Thing Challenge since I did finish my challenge. My challenge to myself was to get this stack of fabric turned into the start of a baby quilt - choose a background and cut out the owls.

I feel so lucky to be working with such a beautiful stack of fabrics. (Usually they're more boring because the quilt is for a grown-up.) They've been chopped up and cut into shapes, but this is where I am right now:

Not the best photo, but I forgot to snap one until it got dark. It does that far too early for my liking, but this shows I met my challenge. And...the three orange owl bodies are sewn down!

So I sewed all day Saturday at my mom's. I should have taken photos of what everyone else was working on, but I never think of it. Too busy sewing!

I worked on my log cabins for the January UFO challenge. They're ALL done! All 80!

Just goes to show what I can accomplish if I set my mind to it! And there's a third empty spool that could be in that photo! (To be fair, that little one was nearly gone, though I didn't realize it and had to raid my mom's thread stash to finish.)

My mom has a pretty good design floor (my dad is working on making her a design wall, but he's also busy finishing the rest of the basement in their house and he's very active with the Boy Scouts in his area, so it's slow going!) so I set these out so you can see how the blocks will end up going together to make a star in the center.

This quilt is going to be fun to look at later. I can tell you about a dozen quilts I've made that have contributed leftovers into this one. Maybe when I post the top, I'll also post photos of quilts that share the same fabrics?

And a couple of fun photos.

This first one is for A Left-Handed Quilter:

She showed a bolt of this fabric on her blog not long ago. I said my mom also had some of this fabric and as I was trying to get the cats to let me sleep in this morning, I spotted this block in the quilt that's on my bed. It's been on my bed since my senior year of college, but I'm not telling you when that was!

And this is what happens when you bake cupcakes (not so good recipe, so not sharing), make bread (Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day) and do laundry all Friday night and then go sew somewhere else all day Saturday...this happens while you unpack groceries on Sunday morning:

Tucker (in the middle) often gets on the counters and I let him stay so long as he's not in my way (unless I'm cooking for others) - he's actually pretty good about it. Emma (front) and Luka (back) are not usually that naughty. No idea what they were thinking, but it was funny. Please pardon my messy kitchen. It's usually a little better than this, but it's been a crazy week!

Happy quilting,

Katie

mom's orca bay

2012-01-14T21:08:00.000-05:00

When I saw the announcement for Bonnie Hunter's Orca Bay Mystery Quilt, I pointed my (no-blog) mom in her direction.

My mom is very much a scrap quilter and hates to see any piece of fabric go to waste and that just seemed right up Bonnie's alley. Add in that she loves a challenge and, being retired, has the time to take one on and I think it was a perfect fit!

She kept up with the clues - sewing like a madwoman at times I'm sure. (It seemed every time I called to chat she was busy sewing away!)

I think she really wanted to post progress pictures as she went along, but not having a blog made that difficult and I live too far away to drop by every week just for blog photos.

So...you get to see the final product!

(Well, the top at least!)

Orca Bay With A Twist of Lime

Pretty impressive, right? And she did all this in 6 weeks!

(Makes me want to be retired right now so I can keep up with her!)

And I should have taken a picture, but my mom was wearing funky striped socks that absolutely matched this quilt today.

So you've probably guessed, but I went to quilt with my mom today. My sister-in-law also joined us and we all made good progress on projects, but I'll save that for another post (soon!).

This quilt is fun to look at. My sister-in-law, myself and a few of my mom's quilting friends contributed scraps to this quilt to stretch the amazing stash she already had. We all get to claim little bits of the quilt, even though we didn't sew our own.

And those of you who comment on my ability to get a lot done in a little time...now do you see where I get that from? My mom is an even more driven quilter than I am. (Of course, being retired she theoretically has more time than I do!)

Happy quilting!
Katie

a problem = a decision

2012-01-10T14:16:00.003-05:00

I have today off.

(Since I'm not full-time yet, I usually get Tuesday off.)

Into the sewing room I go!

Another 26 blocks finished.

26 to go!

Then the hubby came home and wanted to sleep, so I had to switch to something quieter.

Why not the One Thing, One Week Challenge?

My challenge to myself: cut out the owls and choose a background.

That is one big pattern sheet! It's about the size of a newspaper when it's all unfolded!

Owls cut - check.

Lay things on the floor - check.

Uh oh.

Though the photo doesn't show quite all of the background fabric I have - I don't have enough of either for all 9 owls.

I can't get more of the top, busier fabric, so that makes my decision easy!

But just to be sure, I put the border fabrics on there and definitely think the less busy background is best.

Now I just have to go buy more background because I only have enough for 4 owls!

(Slight miscalculation?)

I'm not going to call this challenge complete until all the owls are pinned to their backgrounds.

That will make sure I don't run out before I can get more!

I also have another recipe link to share with you: Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup.

Since the hubby is on an oddball diet of his own making (and preparing) and it's cold here and I want more time to quilt (and read), I'm trying to make better use of my crock pot. I came across this recipe and thought 'why not?' and it is delicious!

(My only change was to use a whole quart of home-canned tomatoes and skip the water. Cheese and sour cream to garnish.)

I think I'll go read for a while. This running out of fabric has me hugely frustrated, so it's probably best I leave the scene for a while!

Happy quilting,

Katie

one thing, one week: challenge 9

2012-01-09T17:29:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since Amy has done a One Thing, One Week Challenge, but I'm ready!

This week I've challenged myself to turn this:

into owl pieces and decide on a background.

If I have to buy more fabric, so be it, but I'm hoping once I get the owls cut out it will make the process easier. (Thanks for that suggestion, my blog readers!)

With tomorrow off, I should have no trouble accomplishing this...unless those silly log cabin blocks take over again!

Happy quilting,

Katie

PS If you want to join in, the button at the top of the post should take you where you need to go. There's even a prize for one lucky finisher!

randomness

2012-01-07T14:46:00.000-05:00

I've been sewing along on my January UFO and have some true progress to share!

The first 24 blocks!

(There are 80 total...yikes!)

There are quite a few different blocks that will make up this quilt, but these are done! All red is kinda boring, but I think the rest are half red and half gold.

Those pieces in the corners will come together and make stars. I would have arranged them all on my design floor to show you, but the sinus cold I've been fighting for 3 days makes that job difficult, so you'll just have to use your imagination.

This quilt is going to be interesting to put together. I'm going to have to lay the whole thing out and sew carefully to make sure everything is going the right direction.

And I said I'd tell you about the dinner in my crock pot if it was good. It was good!

Slow Cooker Spicy Black-Eyed Peas (name is a link to the recipe) was so yummy! I didn't add the red bell pepper and put in less cumin than called for, but otherwise, followed directions.

Sorry for the ugly crock pot photo - I ate my bowl and let Emma lick it out (she approved, too) and then realized I should have gotten a photo. It was even better the next day!

And finally, the book stack progress.

(A few days late from my usual 4th.)

A few more books gone, but I haven't been reading as much lately. I can't really say why, though in the last week the UFO quilt has kept me busy in the evenings.

And now I am going to go take a nap. I have a feeling the football game the hubby is excited to watch later today is going to keep me up late with the cheering and hollering and this sinus cold is wearing me out.

Happy quilting,

Katie

cutting and cutting and cutting

2012-01-03T21:53:00.000-05:00

I'm off to a good start on this month's UFO already!

I dug through my stash to find fabrics that would work...washed those that needed it.

I had more than I thought.

And those skinny logs - there's little waste!

I cut and cut and cut.

Then I slept.

I got up this morning (it was my day off) and cut some more!

Reds are done (with a few golds cut while some fabrics were in the washer).

Yay I had enough reds with just my fabrics!

(Red on the edge is binding - yep, already!)

On to cutting gold. The rest of it.

Uh oh...I'm out of gold and only have about half of the pieces cut!

Quick, call mom! She's got a great stash and loves to share.

(I also donate my scraps that are too small for me to her stash - she loves a teensy-pieced scrap quilt!)

What a mess!

I should wash these, too, right?

Oh my, what have I done?

I think they grew or multiplied or something.

Good thing I have a new, fantastic iron!

Iron, cut, iron, cut, iron, cut.

(My feet hurt!)

Woohoo! All the pieces cut!

(Let's hope I counted correctly!)

Doesn't look like I used much of my mom's fabric does it? But they're all nice and fluffy - once they get smooshed back in her storage boxes, they'll flatten out a bunch.

(But I couldn't exactly return them to her in the state you saw above now could I? I mean, I was the one who decided they needed to be washed!)

Now it's late.

I have to work tomorrow.

Know what I want to do?

Yep, make log cabin blocks!

But those pieces will be there tomorrow when I get home from work.

I'm planning dinner in the crock pot (if it goes well, I'll tell you about the recipe) and the hubby got his game system back from the repair shop, so I can sew tomorrow evening - guilt-free.

Here's to hoping those directions I followed to cut about 4 bazillion pieces are correct!

Happy quilting!

Katie

(Emma, the fierce mouser.)

PS for Liri and Flit: It's ON! (tee hee hee)

first project(s) of 2012

2012-01-01T14:30:00.002-05:00

This week I found out my sister-in-law is expecting a girl. She'd called it - her mom had all girls and her sisters, so far, have all had girls. But I don't think it matters much to her, so long as the baby is healthy.

I had picked up the pattern "The Hoots!" by Amy Bradley Designs quite a while ago at a kinda-local quilt shop and was just waiting. My sis-in-law loves owls, so it's perfect!

I went through my stash of leftovers and chose quite a few fabrics that might work and planned to stop at JoAnn's after work one day next week, but yesterday the hubby's video game system fried itself, so off we went to get it repaired. We were so close to a JoAnn's and he was waiting, hoping it would be fixed quickly, so we stopped. (Well, the hubby waited in the car, but at least this time I knew his impatience wasn't MY fault!)

I had a lot of trouble choosing fabrics. The selection seemed to be quite picked over and nothing seemed to just feel right for the background. I may stop at Hobby Lobby this week for a second chance, but they were closed by the time we got there yesterday.

But you can help!

The yellows, pinks and oranges will be the owls. The pink with owls will be an outer border. The viney floral at the bottom will be the back of the quilt. And that's the pattern in the bottom left corner.

Which background would you use?

(I was hoping for something with a bit of a print, but those dots seem too small and the flowers too large.)

And which green?

I'm thinking to use it for binding as well as a skinny inner border, if I have enough.

The pinks are all new (I had only paler pinks), but all the yellows and oranges are from my stash - some of them are fabrics I picked up on impulse and have been giving me the evil eye for a while, so I'm glad to be using them.

Everybody has been washed, but not yet pressed. Doesn't that look so fun? I want to just dive in, but with my indecision (and unhappiness) with the background fabric, I'm hesitating.

But that's okay because Judy released the first 2012 UFO Challenge number:

Uh oh.

That would be the "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" quilt. Here's where I am:

I have the border fabric and pattern. Ummmm...there's a big chunk in the middle missing there! I do have some fabrics in my stash that will work for these, but I think my mom's stash will also get a reduction for this project! (I'm positive she won't complain.)

I was so hoping she'd pick something easier for the first month, but how could she have known this was one of the ones furthest from finishing? Ah well, get it out of the way!

I've opened the pattern and started figuring it out. It's not the easiest pattern I've seen, but there are lots of photos, so I should be okay. I counted and it will take 80 blocks to make a queen-size quilt. And the blocks will be 9.5" finished with 1.25" logs. Yikes!

And just in case I don't want to work on this, I have a few new books:

(The cat hair book was a "sort-of joke" from my mom for Christmas. Let's see how funny it is when they all get projects from this book for Christmas next year!)

Or I can go organize some stuff:

I found these at Target for $1! I bought all they had in this print and may go find another Target to get a few more. (So much cuter than the homemade ones I made a while ago - and filled up!)

What are you all doing on this first day of the new year?

Happy quilting!
Katie

2011 in review

2011-12-31T09:10:00.001-05:00

It's been a crazy year, but a good one. Mixed in with it all, I completed quite a few quilts, so I thought I'd make some fun collages to share. Yeah, I know lots of others are doing it, but it does make one feel quite satisfied to sit with a pile of photos knowing you've made all of that - start to finish.

Most recently shown, there were Christmas quilts:

Not to be outdone by wedding/anniversary quilts:

There were quite a few baby quilts this year - 4 boys:

(and I'm sure 2012 won't be a big change from there - I already know I'll have another niece come May!)

A few quilts donated to charity:

Relay for Life (top) and Quilts for Kids (bottom)

I made a couple of wall-hangings and both went to my mom this time:

(she loved them both)

A few odds and ends of projects that aren't entirely quilts:

There were also 8 UFOs completed into tops (which I am considering done until I decide what to do with them):

And last but not least, a quilt for me!

(this is on my couch and gets used regularly!)

It looks like a lot, but I never felt frantic about finishing anything. I'm a planner and I work best with a deadline and every one of these projects, except the one for me, had a deadline. Whether self-imposed (the UFO challenge) or not (you can't put off a baby for a month because his quilt isn't done!), it got me busy and they all got finished. On time. I wasn't even sewing labels on while the hubby drove to wherever it was we were going to give the quilt away! (Yes, I've done that - makes me horribly carsick - lesson learned.)

If you want more info on any of the quilts, I've listed them in the "2011 finishes" list on my left sidebar (they're all links to posts). Or you can leave a comment and, so long as I have a way to answer, I'll answer.

I hope you all had a wonderfully productive year, however you measure it, and will have an even better 2012.

Happy New Year!

Katie

the last UFO of 2011

2011-12-29T18:01:00.000-05:00

Though the officially assigned UFO for this month was my Garden Variety quilt, I finished that quite early this month...thanks to working ahead in other months.

With that completion, I'd finished 11 of 12 tasks for the 2011 UFO Challenge. I was feeling pretty good about what I had finished, but still a bit guilty for not finishing that one last project. I didn't want to get so close and not finish.

I've been putzing along, working a little here and a little there, but I think dreading the set-in seams kept me working at an even slower rate on this Lone Star-Whig Rose quilt. But I've had the last few days off and decided it was time to dig in and finish the top. I knew I could do it - the appliques were nearly done and the star was together before the challenge started - I just needed to DO it!

There are 4 squares and 4 triangles that get sewn into the star to make it square. The squares have been done a while and the triangles were getting there.

After about a whole season of Desperate Housewives (yay Netflix!), I got this far this afternoon and tried to call my mom to see what she was doing tomorrow. (Maybe talk her into sewing these into the star?) She didn't answer and I couldn't sit still knowing I was so close, so I took a chance on waking up the sleeping hubby and started sewing.

(After a quick google search on just how to sew these silly things in there!)

I got this far and Emma decided she was S-T-A-R-V-I-N-G. She's fed canned food twice a day and has crunchies all the time, but when it gets near mealtime, you'd think she was dying. I think each corner got worse and maybe it was because I had "help," but I think it was just beginner's luck.

We have a finish!

And it lays flat!

Guessing it measures about 50" square. (= lazy)

Now what to do with it?

It was started to be a wedding/anniversary gift for my brother-in-law, but that marriage ended more than 7 years ago (yep, it's been a UFO for a while). I've thought about giving it to my ex-sister-in-law because maybe she deserves it, but I'm not sure she'd want it. I've also debated donating it for some sort of raffle fund-raiser, but many of us know how poorly those often do. Any ideas? (Yes, yes, I know you'd all be happy if I shipped it to your house...)

So let's review where I started in January:

8 projects needing finishing, divided into 12 months of tasks. (Don't be fooled by the one in the upper right - it's a photo of the quilt from the pattern and was a kit I ordered in the process of making the 2011 blog post-list!)

And now we have:

8 finished tops!
(Oops - I got the wrong photo in there of the Lone Star-Whig Rose, but you've seen the one above and know it's finished, right?!)

I'm pretty darn proud of myself for getting them all done, though a little surprised that none of them have been quilted and given away yet!

(One I do have plans for, but don't need it until July, so you know I'll be finishing it IN July!)

Now I'm truly ready for the 2012 challenge.

Bring it on, Judy!

In a day or two, I'm going to put together a few more collages to show what else I got done this year because though the list is shorter than it was for 2011, the projects are bigger! And it's fun to see them all together. Makes me feel super productive.

Happy quilting!

Katie

Adrian's star flower quilt

2011-12-28T09:44:00.000-05:00

This Christmas was so much fun because I got to give away two quilts! The second went to my 7-year-old niece, Adrian - the one who wants so badly to learn to quilt.

Once she finally got it out of the bag (it was a tight fit!), she liked it. Her comment was "Yay, now I have one that's not been barfed on." I'm not exactly sure the back story on that, but since the only other quilt she has is her baby quilt, received before she was born, I can make a guess. I think her mom liked it more, or at least appreciated it more.

This started out as a semi-impulse buy while on a shop hop in the northern portion of my state. It was a kit with a pattern, intended to be 3x3 stars. Though I figured and worried over how much extra fabric to buy (and did buy), the kit actually had enough for everything and only the smaller flowers used in the borders were used to make it big enough for her twin-sized bed.

Many months ago, we started here...

...with a bunch of pieces that made me think of fruit slices.

And then there was the quilting...

...with just a tease for a photo when I was finished.

Now I want to show you a photo of how I quilted the blocks!

It was hard to get the lighting right for a good photo, so I hope you can see it in this. (Probably I shouldn't have waited until 3 minutes before it had to go in the gift bag to do this?) I believe the shop sample was quilted in a similar manner, but I can't remember for sure.

The important (but less interesting) info:

pattern: "Star Power"

by: Tracey Brookshier

fabric/kit: "Fun Flowers" by Lakehouse Dry Goods

size: 70"x90" (approximately)

I asked my niece if she would keep her room neat and tidy and her bed made every day so she could look at her new, awesome quilt. That earned me the "you've GOT to be kidding" look...funny kid.

I hope to have one more quilty finish this year - the Whig Rose/Lone Star quilt - and I'm plugging away at it. The applique really is quite close, but getting those set-in corners into the star portion of the quilt...does it count if I have my mom help? I had planned to use this as a learning opportunity, but since I'm down to the wire and did everything else myself, I think I'll try to talk her into letting me watch her and learn a little that way!

Happy quilting!

Katie

Alora's MSU quilt

2011-12-25T20:04:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!

Today I FINALLY gave away two quilts I've been working on for quite a while. You've seen bits and pieces of them as I've been working, but now I finally get to show off the whole thing.

First I'll show off my hubby's favorite: Alora's MSU quilt.

My niece, Alora, is a HUGE Michigan State University fan. She also has just one quilt from me, so I decided to change that with a late-night design inspiration.

I had this pieced and into a top in record time, but I was really excited about it, so it was easy to keep going.

I hit a small bit of trouble when I found out her bed is a double, not a twin, but since it was already rather wide, those checkerboards on the side fixed things right up.

I showed this sneak peak when I had finished quilting it a few weeks ago, and it's the only photo close-up of the quilting (oops!). Most of it is in the ditch or 1/4" on either side. I wanted to keep it simple since there's a lot going on in the quilt itself.

And finally, since Christmas was hosted at her dad's house (my brother-in-law), the quilt got put to use immediately!

Can you guess she was really excited?

She's spending the night tonight with her cousins and had to be told no, she couldn't take the quilt with her to their house!

I also gave away the Star Flower quilt this afternoon, but will save that for another post.

I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday. I have to work tomorrow (Monday), but then have the rest of the week off thanks to rolling holidays. I plan to work on the Whig Rose applique and HOPE to get it all sewn together so I can start the new year with all my 2011 UFOs completed.

Happy quilting,

Katie

PS If you're looking for a good dip-appetizer recipe, try this Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip. It gets a bit runny, so use a big plate, but it's REALLY good! (Sorry no photo - I put it together at my parents and didn't have my camera along.)

2012 ufo challenge - my list

2011-12-20T18:01:00.000-05:00

Last year Judy L, via her blog, Patchwork Times, put out a challenge to finish up unfinished projects. I joined and did quite well. She's planning to do it again this year and so am I!

This year took a bit more digging to find projects that were buried deeper and I'm not sure how many I'll actually finish (last year I took it a bit easy), but my goal for this year is to at least work on the projects every month and finishing will be a bonus, because some of them require a LOT of work...probably why they're UFOs!

So the deal (for those of you who don't already know): dig out your UFOs, number them. Each month Judy will randomly choose a number and the project with that number is the one to work on. It's kinda like having random homework assignments and I know I do better with a goal in mind, so this is perfect for me!

Now don't you fret - the sister-in-law who is pregnant will still get a baby quilt though it's not on this list. And the 30-year-old brother-in-law with his first serious girlfriend will also get a quilt if a situation arises that requires one. But this will keep me quilting without starting anything new that I don't need in between those times. At least one can hope.

Enough reading, right? Time for the list...with photos (and after a camera battery change, I have them all!)...and ~~excuses~~ stories why they're still not done...

#1 Rose of Sharon quilt

I don't like hand quilting. I think that says enough about why this has been around since about 1999.

#2 Charles Wysocki cat cross stitch

Counting for counted cross stitch is apparently not my strong point. I got off by a few and this densely-stitched project got set aside. I'm GOING to fix it one way or another.

#3 Felt Christmas stocking

I 'm not even sure why I started this. Blanket stitching takes a while. Lexie likes to help with the thread (in a not-so-good way), but I'll get this done. Then what?

#4 Sheet inspiration

This is the flat sheet from my favorite set of childhood sheets. I snagged it with the intention of using it for a quilt back. (Cause the fitted sheet was worn through.) That's as far as I got. This year I want to finish that idea.

#5 "Please Don't Eat the Daisies"

So the pattern takes a special border fabric - check. The rest of the quilt...um...no check... (Darn those quilt show vendors!)

#6 When Children Dream

Boy was I ambitious when I started this. I've got a few blocks done and I'm thinking they may become a wall-hanging and call it good. We'll see...that's a lot of pieces!

#7 Toad in a Puddle - Asian Style

I love the Asian kitty fabric in there (center bottom - tan background) and planned to make a quilt for my guest room bed. Then realized I didn't have enough of the white-on-off-white (with the Chinese characters) and looked high and low and couldn't find more. I bought an alternate, started cutting, and decided I didn't like it. Time to find an alternative I like or suck it up and use the other one.

#8 Lily Field rescue

This UFO is definitely my most recent one. And it's technically not even mine...well, now it is (story here) and I really, really want to finish this in honor of the quilter who couldn't. Let's hope everything I need is in there!

#9 Adorable Puppies

So I bought this kit, planning to have a baby quilt in reserve. But we all know (well, you do now) that I'm not good without a deadline, so here it sits. Maybe I'll make this pattern, maybe not. But those fabrics are too cute to sit on a shelf.

#10 Giddy fabric and Twister ruler

Once again...no deadline = no finish. I need to do more reserach about that Twister and decide if that turqouise matches well enough with the charm pack, but I hope to get at least a baby-size quilt out of this.

#11 Family names embroidery

I intended this to be a family reunion quilt for my cousin who hosted my mom's family reunion this year. Other details of life got in the way and my mom made one too, but I would like to finish this. Then maybe my cousin will get two quilts...

#12 Vintage Homestead panel

Can you say impulse buy? I bought only the panel (pattern was free) and now what will I do? Perhaps when Judy draws #12, I'll decide to gift this to someone who will use it! Maybe I'll be ambitious enough to make it - it probably would look nice in my old farmhouse...I wonder how my mom's stash looks for these colors...?

Bonus #13 Impulse Buys

Ooohhh....pretty... Bad Katie. I bought these fabrics wanting to make something for myself and then, well, no deadline again. So maybe this year the perfect pattern will smack me in the face or I'll find an extra day of the week the rest of you don't know about and make something. Maybe. But probably not all of them in one project...yikes!

So there you have it. My list. If you saw my list from last year, you'll see this list is much more ambitious. But I did finish most of my goals (at the time of writing this, I'm still working on the Whig Rose applique project) and I'm up for it. And if things don't get finished, that's okay - forward progress is the goal this year. (And hey, if I don't finish a single one, I've got my 2013 UFO list pre-made!)

Are you interested in joining the fun? You can join on Judy's blog - at the 2012 UFO Challenge page. Dig out projects you want to finish, define what "finish" is for you, link up with a list and have fun! I've had a ton of fun doing it this year and found some great new blogs this way. I expect to find a few more this year, but be warned - you might come up with a new list of quilts you want to make, too, when viewing all the other projects people are working on...I did, but am trying VERY hard to not go look at those right now!

Happy quilting in 2012!

Katie

pillow improv

2011-12-18T15:47:00.000-05:00

I finally got the binding finished and labels made and sewn onto the Christmas gift quilts, so I started looking at what was next. (I can't wait to show pictures!)

I thought the blue water-erasable pen was finally out of my niece's embroidery (43 spritzes later), so I decided to get busy making those projects into a pillow for her.

Then I ironed it...oops...a bit of blue came back, but it was too late then, so I just kept going. It's not too bad and I'd be willing to bet it will fade in time.

I made it up as I went along...

...add some borders...

...add a back and batting so it can be a bit quilted...

...quilt in the ditch around the embroidery piece...

(...try not to make up too many naughty words to focus at the "walking" foot that doesn't often "walk"...)

(yeah, I had it on right)

...sew the two pieces together...

...uh oh...

(I cut the head of the pin off to get the pillow out - red arrow - and can you see where the pointy side of the pin came out? - blue arrow - yikes! A few more tools later and I was back in business.)

...stuff, stuff, stuff, stuff, stuff, stuff, stuff...

(darn that stuffing mooshes down fast!)

...Adrian's side...

...my side...

The ric-rac fabric is left over from the binding on her quilt, but shhhh! She won't know it coordinates for another week.

Her mom works the same place as my hubby, so I think I'll send this to work with him this week.

Now I just need to make kitty toys. Last Christmas I gave my niece-kitty some homemade catnip toys and short while ago she gave me a thank-you note and mentioned she'd worn them all out. I think that's a hint and since they're super easy to make, I'll make her another batch.

Happy quilting!

Katie

december UFO done

2011-12-17T08:54:00.000-05:00

It's been done a while (I actually finished it on the 1st!), so it's about time it got its own blog post - my December UFO is finished!

Look at all that snow!

(It's all gone now - it was 58 on Wednesday...what?)

(It was back to freezing on Friday.)

I even made binding!

This quilt was featured in the Summer 2010 issue of Quilts and More and I found the kit at Fat Quarter Shop about a year ago. As I was making my 2010 UFO list, I found the kit on sale, ordered it and added it to my UFO list.

Name: Garden Variety

Designer: Holly Holderman

Size: 54"x60"

I haven't been doing much sewing lately, but I have plans to finish binding and labelling Christmas present quilts today. I've been saying that for far too long now, but I think today it will actually happen. I got up early and did all my chores, so now all I need is the hubby to keep his promise that he's done Christmas shopping and he won't drag me out to do more. Soon I'll be able to show photos of those projects!

Happy quilting,

Katie

sewing with a niece

2011-12-11T11:02:00.000-05:00

Yesterday evening, we had my brother-in-law's kids while he and his wife had to work.

My nephew, 11, loves to play video games and so does the hubby. You've heard about this pair before - they do well together.

But what to do with the 7-year-old niece? She is desperate to make a quilt, but afraid of the sewing machine. She also has the patience of a gnat. (Gotta love 7-year-olds!) Hmmm...

First, she helped me make bread. In my bread machine. She kept asking when we got to punch it down? The machine does that. What do we do with it when it's done? We eat it - I think she was expecting to have to knead it. Finally I convinced her that the machine did ALL the work and then she decided her mom needs one. :)

Next, on to dessert.

I've seen these candy acorns out in blogland a few places and though fall is over, they were fun to make. Hershey's kisses, Nutter Butter mini cookies and chocolate chips, held together with chocolate frosting. We made a big mess, ate our mistakes, ate some for dessert after dinner (beef stew in the crock pot - another mystery I had to somewhat explain - her mom DOES cook) and there were even quite a few for her to take home. These are my share.

And then we sewed. I decided embroidery might be fun - and teaching her to wield a needle and thread can't be bad even if she decides she doesn't like this particular technique. I let her draw on some white fabric with a blue water-erasable pen and showed her how to do a backstitch and running stitch.

There's not great contrast because she used every pink shade of DMC floss I have, but she had a blast. Figured out if you take bigger stitches you get done faster, though I don't think that ANY of what she stitched looks like what she drew. Maybe I should have left the blue lines there, but there was a LOT of blue - it's on the 4th spritz and still not all gone. (Though some of it bled through onto my carpet!)

In between helping tie knots, rethread the needles, and finding the needle (I finally got her to stick it in the pin cushion by telling her the next time she lost it she was DONE), I managed to sew some swirls. (I'll show a photo later.) The piece is about 8" and I plan to use both hers and mine to make a little pillow. I'll date hers and put her name on it. She was so proud of herself. I'm proud of her, too. And she got significantly better as she went along.

Now it's Sunday and I have a delicious coffee cake recipe to share.

Yesterday, A Left-Handed Quilter posted a link for this recipe - no photo. But you know me, I love to bake, so I clicked on the link. Looks yummy! This didn't last 30 minutes. The hubby and I devoured it - ALL. It is fantastic-amazing-delicious-givememore good! And easy. Easy Cherry-Almond Coffee Cake from Pillsbury is a W-I-N-N-E-R.

And now I hope to get some more binding sewn down on the 2nd Christmas-gift quilt. It's about half done, but I'm ready to have these projects done and off the list!

Happy quilting,

Katie

tuesday sewing: gavin needs a stocking!

2011-12-06T15:35:00.000-05:00

I realized earlier this week that my new nephew, Gavin, doesn't have a stocking! Well, at least not one that I've made that matches the ones I made for his mom, dad, and big brother and big sister. (I know he's only a week and a half old, but I really feel like I should have seen this coming...I did have about 7 months...)

It's my day off for the week, so I dug into sewing. The hubby is back on a shift that brings him home around noon, so I can get up early and use the sewing machine without worrying I'll wake him.

I had to scramble to get enough fabric for another one. I had a pack of coordinated homespun red and green fat quarters and boy did I squeeze this out. Let's hope there aren't any more little ones for this family or I'll have to buy more fabric!

(Oh the horror!)

When I made the first three (mom, dad, and big sister), I never thought about what would happen if they added to the family. I had to scramble to make big brother Ethan a stocking a few years ago - mom (sis-in-law) asked - so I figured I'd better get ahead of the game with Gavin's stocking!

Oh, it's looking like a stocking! I had enough...but I don't have any more!

I had some help, too. Funny that she was more interested in me paying attention to her than the thread I was using to tie with! Eventually she gave up and went for a nap on the cat climbing tree that's inches away from my cutting table.

Almost finished!

Phew! Done in plenty of time (I thought it would take more than a morning) and the few squares of fabric that don't match are partially cut off to make the toe and mostly under the cuff.

(I still need to press the cuff once the water I sprayed to get the blue pen out is dry. It looks a bit wrinkly right now.)

And since I forgot to show my book stack on the 4th, you get to see it here!

Just one book shorter than a month ago...better than none, right?

I'll be working on binding the Star Flower quilt this afternoon and snuggling my sweet Tucker, who had an unpleasant experience going to the vet today. It seems he has acid reflux - I never knew cats could get that! Let's hope the Pepsid I picked up on the way home is the key. The vet says if it's going to work, it should work quickly.

I also mentioned I'd finished my December UFO, but I'm going to wait to show it a while because I'm trying to finish up the Whig Rose applique and I'd like to do it all in one post. (That way the linky on Patchwork Times can be just one from me.)

Happy quilting,

Katie

meet gavin

2011-12-03T09:17:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I went to meet my new newphew, Gavin.

Born November 25, 2011, weighing 8lbs 13oz and I think 19" long.

(Mom had a c-section for those of you gasping at his size.)

He's a little sweetie. He makes these awful faces like he's going to let out a huge scream and then settles back down again and doesn't make a peep!

He was welcomed home with this quilt:

(that I forgot to take a photo of with binding - it's green like the borders)

The quilt details:
"Nursery Rhyme" pattern

from the book Rock-A-Bye Quilts

by Leisure Arts

38"x49"

pieced and quilted by me!

The hubby helped pick out the pattern and suprized me since the original was done in turquoise and purple plaids! I expected he'd cringe at that color combo, but maybe he shared my vision that the cows didn't have to be purple?

This will be the last little one for this sister-in-law, but the other sister-in-law on that side of the family is due in May! In January she plans to find out of she's having a girl or boy, so that's when the fun will begin again and you know you'll be invited along for the quilty journey!

I haven't been quilting much lately, though I did finish my December UFO on the 1st. I didn't have much left to do, as I'd been working on it already this year, so don't hate me! I still have the Whig Rose applique to work on, so I'm really hoping I can complete 12/12...and then dig deeper to see what I can come up with for the 2012 challenge.

After my post on Tuesday, we lost power. The 9" of heavy, wet snow didn't mix well with power lines (never mind roads) and around 8:45 that night, we saw a beautiful flash of blue and green lightning (yep, a real snowSTORM!) and the power went out. It came on around noon the next day and I'm very thankful that it was a warmer snowstorm, because our house wasn't THAT cold. The worst part is that we have our own well, so no power means no water. You get ONE toilet flush, so you'd better make it count! (But we were prepared with a few jugs of water, too.) But power outages like that make me so much more appreciative of having what we do. It made it a little easier to write out that larger check to pay for the gas/electric service this month!

Today we have a family Christmas party and are then bowling with friends. And though I may not see the game, I'll definitely be cheering for my college team in their football playoff game to determine if they get to go to the Rose Bowl this year! Though they're not expected to win, they beat this team once already this year...GO STATE!

Happy quilting,

Katie

november ufo done: creepy birdies

2011-11-29T18:37:00.001-05:00

I procrastinated effectively this month and only finished my UFO yesterday - two days to spare.

I thought I'd come home from work tonight and go snap a photo quick using the clothesline before the sun really set.

Ahem...there was just a bit of slushy snow on the ground when I left work...1.25 hours later there's about an inch of wet white stuff and LOTS more coming down. The first true snowfall of the year put lots of people in the ditch (and I'm torn between feeling bad for them and shaking my finger at them for driving too fast) and slowed my commute significantly (it's usually 30 minutes or less). But I made it home safely, though my photographing abilities are quite hindered. It's also dark!

So I made do - throw a few pillows off the couch and snap a quick photo - prove it's done!

It's a pattern from Connecting Threads called "Birdies on a Wire" but those eyeball-less birdies are creepy, so I think for now it's "Creepy Birdies". The fabric is also from CT - Cheep Talk - and I purchased the kit nearly 2 years ago. 60"x66".

(The birdies do get button eyeballs, but I've chosen to leave those off until after it's quilted.)

In December last year, this is what I had:

Well, maybe it was a bit further along than this - quite a few birdie parts had been sewn down, so it didn't take much to complete, which is probably why I was so good at procrastinating. I knew I could get it done in just a short time.

Look at those long rows to sew together - yech! But I buckled down last night and power sewed and got them all together. I had kitties nagging (why wasn't I reading a book so they could sit and snuggle?) and nearly missed my bedtime, but it's DONE!

10/11 monthly ufo challenges done! (And I'm working on #11.)

Here's a closer look at some of the fabrics:

the strips between the rows of creepy birdies

And look - I even made binding!

I hope you're all staying warm and dry - I'm off to cook a hot, tasty dinner to warm me from the inside out.

Happy quilting!
Katie

PS I forgot to mention that this ufo challenge is from Judy L over at Patchwork Times. She's been motivating a lot of us for almost a whole year now, so a big THANK YOU and ginormous HUGS to Judy for this!

found it!

2011-11-27T21:26:00.000-05:00

I had hoped to be showing photos of my finished November UFO tonight, but I got sidetracked...

My mom has a quilting friend who I guess I could also call my quilting friend, but my mom knows her better and has known her longer, so we'll call her my mom's friend for now.

This friend had another quilting friend who, just a short while ago was diagnosed with terminal lukemia, so she sat down with my mom's friend and worked out a plan to liquidate her quilty stuff. Sadly this was necessary because her hubby wouldn't do it. The friend passed away just three weeks after her diagnosis and my mom's friend enlisted the help of her quilty friends to prepare for the sale.

My mom got called to help. The friend has the space to do such a sale, but needed help sorting, measuring, pricing and organizing. Can you imagine what your quilty stuff would look like if you had only 3 weeks to prepare to get rid of it ALL? And I mean ALL...cabinets, storage, fabric, UFOs, everything! (Never mind fighting a terminal disease.)

So today the sale started and I went to help the final organization and got to shop a bit before the sale opened. I was good, I only bought one UFO:

Not exactly my usual color choices (and they're a little off here because I couldn't wait for daylight to get photos, so I tried my kitchen, the brightest light in the house and I think it messed up my flash!), but so pretty.

But no pattern!

So on my drive home (an hour), I got to thinking: What are the fabrics? There should be info on the selvedge, right? Maybe they're all from the same line...that might give me a clue where to start. I got home and looked at a few: Thimbleberries "Apron Strings." But no date. At least not on the few I looked at.

I love the internet. I found the fabric line, but no clues about the quilt pattern. Hmmm...maybe it's a Thimbleberries pattern by another name? If all the fabrics are Thimbleberries, couldn't it be possible she also used a Thimbleberries pattern? My search landed me on eBay with a seller that had graciously put up photos of some of the projects in a Thimbleberries book...we have a winner!

The book is "At Home with Thimbleberries Quilts" by Lynette Jensen and you can see a photo of what these will become here. (It's the fourth photo in the lineup - that is, until the book sells!) I still don't know the name, but I at least know how the quilt goes together!

Some of those fabrics don't seem to be used in the blocks, so I'm going to have to pull them all out of the bag and do some figuring, but I'm excited. This whole pile was $15! Such a steal, though I'm saddened by the fact that someone had to lose a battle with cancer for me to come by it. I hope she's looking down at all of us quilters who visited the sale today, smiling because she knows we'll keep her UFOs (and everything else) from the trash bin. And we'll love every second of the task!

The sale was wonderful. It was a little crazy and there were armloads (literally) of fabric going out the door with most shoppers, but everyone was friendly, polite, patient and kind. I got to work the chekcout and I honestly thought there might be some nastiness, but this just proved again what wonderful people quilters are. And it makes me happy to know that I get to include myself in that group.

One more photo of the beautiful block that sucked me in. :)

I can't wait to get started making more of these, but I think I'm going to wait until I have the book, so I can be sure I'm doing it right. (I'm confident I could do it without the book, but if I can borrow it, why not wait...it's not as though I don't have a few other projects needing finishing first...)

I didn't get much quilting done this past week. So much going on thanks to the holiday (which was great, thank you!), but I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things soon. It may take a bit longer than it should, thanks to another schedule change for the hubby, but he's happy with the change, so I'll be happy too.

I hope those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving had a wonderful holiday weekend filled with good food, great friends and, if you dared it, successful shopping!

I'll be back soon with my (fingers crossed) finished November UFO. It's SO close!

Happy quilting,

Katie

another quilty saturday (and some new quilting terms)

2011-11-19T18:02:00.001-05:00

I remembered to get my batting out last night, so it was all relaxed when I was ready to sew today. Yay!

It takes a while to prep everything and get the quilt ready to be quilted...oiling, cleaning wheels, winding bobbins (through about 7 guides), threading the machine (through about 15 guides), loading the back, wrestling the batting, straightening the top, checking the tension, adjusting the tension, checking the tension, adjusting the tension, checking the tension, adjusting the tension...

Finally I was ready to sew!

I think this is by far the brightest quilt this machine has seen. It was such a grey, dreary day, this was nice to look at.

I chose to use a variegated thread for this - pink, orange, purple and yellow - something I didn't think I'd ever choose. But what color would you have chosen for this if you didn't want to fuss with changing threads often?

I had a lot of fun, but had a definite timeline. I had a birthday party for my hubby's best friend's 3-year-old to attend this afternoon! (She got a quilt for turning 2 - remember Makayla's I Spy quilt? This year she got a Barbie tent and clothes. More exciting for her, less fun for me - no, I didn't sew any of that.)

I made it - just in time to print out directions to their new house and slap some wrapping paper around the gifts.

Another tease! I will get better photos of both this and the MSU quilt soon.

Ready for binding!

I love the quilting I did in the centers of the big stars. The quilt on display where I bought this kit was quilted in a similar manner, but I only vaguely remember it. Part of me wishes I'd studied it more, but most of me is thrilled with how it came out.

The hubby even complimented my technique! Of course, the part he complimented (the star centers) was done freehand and supposed to be less than perfect, so go figure. I didn't let on, though...I'll take that compliment.

And speaking of the hubby...I forgot to share this with the last post. Some of you may remember my story from quite a while ago where he was attempting to "speak biddy" and mentioned casually something about a "fat half" because he'd heard me talking about fat quarters. He was teasing and had no idea there was such a thing, but he's now been dubbed my fat half. (Don't worry, he can defend himself just fine.)

But that's not the recent story - he's at it again. I was talking about stitching in the ditch on the MSU quilt...mostly just thinking out loud. Well, either he heard wrong or he's teasing again, but he thought he heard ditch starting with a B. I giggled again because, well, isn't stitching in the ditch a bit of a pain in the behind?

Happy quilting!
Katie

saturday quilting

2011-11-12T17:12:00.000-05:00

I've been working more hours each week and slowly adjusting back into the schedule of not being home all day...I'm exhausted every night and don't get much quilting done, but with Christmas looming nearer every day and two quilts needing finished for gifts, I decided today to dig in and quilt one.

I didn't get as early of a start as I wanted, but I'd forgotten to get my batting out of the package last night, so I did chores around the house for a while and let it relax a bit.

So at around 10:30 this morning, my longarm looked like this:

I'd ordered green thread and it arrived Monday so I was excited all week to get started on this quilt. I crossed my fingers that the thread would behave (with this machine, I can definitely tell a difference in thread quality - it will sew with everything I've tried, but the better the thread, the less trouble I have) and got going.

It went well. And I got braver as I went.

Two M-size bobbins later, around 4:30 (which included a phone call from my mom and take-out from Wendy's for lunch), this is what my longarm looked like:

Quilt done, removed and trimmed, ready for binding!

I had fun with those swirlies in the checkerboard. I've loved them since before I got my longarm and am so excited to be able to do them reasonably well. Now I have to learn how to cover a quilt with them - so far I've just done borders.

I'll get a better photo and show the whole quilt, but since it's a Christmas present, I don't want to spoil anything just in case this blog is found by the recipient!

Did you quilt today?

Happy quilting!

Katie

another book stack!

2011-11-05T10:22:00.000-04:00

I realized this morning that it's already the 5th of November.

Time sure does fly now that I've got a job again!

A few more books gone since last month, but my progress has slowed again.

On the quilty front, #3 has been chosen as this month's UFO. So I'll be doing a bit more hand applique before this becomes a top.

It's further along than this photo (many of the birds are sewn down), but there's still a bunch to go. I still love this, so maybe I'll really finish it?

The baby quilt I showed in my last post has been bound. Seems I made the binding green, but that works too. I still have to label it and once it's been given (soon!), I'll show off the final product.

Quilting the baby quilt has given me the courage and motivation to get the two Christmas quilts done, so I hope to show sneak peaks of those soon. I had to order thread to match, otherwise I might be quilting instead of blogging right now!

And the job is looking up - more up. Earlier this week, a coworker resigned. Though I feel bad for the scramble it has caused, it has opened up the possibility of me being full-time much sooner than I anticipated.

Have you seen the announcement that Bonnie Hunter is starting her newest mystery quilt? I'm going to participate because every other one I've seen has been goergous, but now I'm trying to decide if I have enough to make it from my stash, if I should raid my mom's stash (she surely has enough!) or make it less scrappy and buy fabrics...hmmm... My mom is going to make it too! I'm excited to start a new project!

And this post is a bit short on photos...hmmm...

Luka LOVES crunchy cat food. If you give him a handful on the floor, he gobbles it up like it's the best treats ever. This chair is just outside the kitchen and where big bags of food get set down before being put away - when they come in with the other groceries. He claims the food for his own, though this is actually barn kitty food and he gets the most expensive cat food in the world, thanks to bladder troubles. He likes that food, too.

Happy quilting!

Katie

before noon

2011-11-01T11:15:00.000-04:00

I got up this morning with a half-planned idea in my head to quilt the cow baby quilt. My sister-in-law is due (by c-section) late this month, but I was procrastinating. I never really did set the plan fully in my head, just started working.

I doodled with my finger to get some ideas how I wanted to quilt various sections and then just dug in. My machine was being a bit tempermental when I was making clockwise spirals somewhere around 7 and 9, but otherwise, not much trouble. Yay!

I like how it turned out, even if my stitching in the ditch on either side of those yellow borders didn't go so well all the way across...

Here's a close-up of some of the quilting (please don't judge too harshly!):

I love the wave-looking swirls in the borders. This was good practice for that. And I wanted to outline the appliques, but decided go to with a meander instead. Less need for clinging to the longarm handles for dear life with that choice! The big spirals are in the pinwheel blocks and aren't great, but they'll hold the quilt together in the event the new baby decides to drag this around with him.

Binding is next. I think I made it yellow... And then a label, of course. Maybe I can get the baby's name out of my sis-in-law before he's born this time?!

And now let me share you the story of Prince and the Pea:

There is a kitty named Tucker who lives in a land with four seasons. But he doesn't mind because he is a well-loved indoor kitty. He started out life somewhere unknown, but lived a short time in a shelter. A nice man came one day and adopted him (and another kitty) and took him to a place where something called a "quilter" lived. Little did he know that meant he'd have piles of soft things to lie on, but it did. He is living happily ever after and when his lady-human decided she wants a turn with the "cat hammock" (known to humans as a longarm sewing machine), he is allowed to lounge and supervise on the pile of unfinished quilts.

Happy quilting,

Katie

a quilty saturday

2011-10-30T08:13:00.003-04:00

Though it didn't really get planned until late Thursday, my sister-in-law and I met at my mom's house for a quilty Saturday.

My dad and brother went to a gun show - after lasagna for lunch and before picking up pizza for our dinner, so they were around, but were not encouraged to help quilt!

I didn't get much sewing done. I took my Garden Variety quilt pieces with me and sewed pieces into rows, but then stalled out. Because there are so many rows with so many pieces, I had visions of every row being an inch or three different in length and didn't want to deal with that.

Eventually I did buckle down and start sewing, but I didn't get far...there are 15 rows that get sewn together to make the top...

I sewed seven...I guess I got further than I thought!

Since this is on my UFO list and its number hasn't been called yet, I'm not worrying too much about it. It will get finished this year!

What did I do instead?

I consulted and supervised!

My mom had some stack-and-wack-ish Dresden plate fans and was trying to figure out what to do with them. Since they're set on point, there needed to be alternate blocks. She didn't really like them (what starts out looking like it will work doesn't always go that way...), so she'd put it off. Though she didn't want to work on it, she had a top at the end of the day. (I wish I'd taken photos!)

My sister-in-law was working on a project she'd gotten from a FabShopHop she'd done a while back. (Online shop hop that you get block patterns for visiting...) The quilt had been designed to have the blocks around an Around the World-type center and she was working on the center. What a headache! I sat on the floor and helped rearrange, un-sew and pin while she sewed. The center was together and she was adding borders before we left. (Again, I TOOK the camera...)

And though I don't have much to show, we had a great time. I laughed till I cried a few times and we ate well. But now it's back to the "real" world today.

But first, I was able to give my mom her pumpkins wall-hanging. She put it right up over her fireplace, so I got a good photo!

She loved it!

(And then teased me that I'd mixed up the letters and spelled pumpkins wrong!)

It's always nice when someone tells you they love something, but then hang it right up in their house. Then you KNOW!

The pattern can be found in the October 2011 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting. (There's a free version of the pattern available on their website, too.)

And since I'm here and you're still reading, I can give you a short update about my new job. Having been there two weeks, I still love it. The people are still great, the work is still interesting and I'm enjoying it. We went on a company outing last week, first to see a robotic milker at a dairy farm (crazy technology! - oh, did I mention my job is to test milk and blood samples from dairy cows?) and then to a local cider mill for a corn maze, wine tasting and large slingshots that shoot apples. It was a great time and I felt like I fit right in already. I'm so happy to be working there.

And with that, I need to get going. My immediate supervisor's birthday is Monday and the tech who is training me has a birthday on Tuesday, so CHEESECAKE! (I gotta show these people what real cheesecake is since my supervisor told me she wouldn't eat the fruit that came in the packet in the box with the cheesecake mix...there are so many things wrong with that statement, I'll just start with...what box?!) It's a new recipe, so I'll share how it turns out...Marbled New York-Style Cheesecake.

Happy quilting!

Katie

blogger's quilt festival: Penny's quilt

2011-10-28T08:13:00.000-04:00

As I was looking through my quilty posts, I couldn't believe I hadn't posted about this quilt, finished, yet, so I saved it for the Blogger's Quilt Festival to really show it off.

A few years back, Judy Laquidara offered a quilt along, block of the month pattern that I honestly can't remember what it was called. (Sorry Judy!) There were a number of star blocks, all a little different, and a bunch of borders. (But what quilt of Judy's would be complete without oodles of borders?)

Anyways, I really wanted to do it, but couldn't think of a good reason. I knew if I started it without a reason to finish it, I'd never finish it. And then it hit me: a good friend of the family, Penny, would be turning 40 in about a year and a half. Since the timing on the quilt was a year, I'd have a top finished in plenty of time to get it longarmed and give it for her birthday.

To the store for fabrics!

(For those of you who are familiar with her quilt you'll see I used the same colors as her first one - I liked it so much, I decided not to change it!)

Each month I awaited the new block instructions. Judy writes impeccable instructions and I was thrilled to work them. I even learned how to cut a 1/16" increment for some pieces!

I can't even find photos of all the blocks...but here are a few...

I struggled more with some blocks than others, but in the end, they all look great.

And then came borders. Judy had lots of borders, but by the time I'd made 12 blocks and sashings, I was wearing down. So I went with simple borders.

I think the solid borders frame it nicely.

I used a very pink pink on the back. Penny is a girly girl and LOVES pink (even at 40!), and I toyed with the idea of making the top itself quite girly, but it's king-size and I wanted it to be used on the bed she and her hubby share. Though he's a pretty laid-back guy, I figured a pinky-pink quilt might not make him terribly happy. (Especially if Penny decided she needed to redecorate the room to match!)

The quilting is just an overall pattern of viney leaves. I wanted to have a more custom job done, but money was tight and I don't think hurts the quilt at all.

I took it to her 40th birthday party, where we'd been instructed to NOT bring presents. Well... She pulled it out of the bag, did a happy dance, hugged it and ran OUTSIDE (her birthday is in November and we live where there's usually snow on the ground by then) to show everyone out there "helping" deep fry chicken wings! I think she liked it...

So this is my entry for the Blogger's Quilt Festival. Go check out the rest of the beautiful quilts!

Katie

Happy quilting,

two days - I like it!

2011-10-19T17:51:00.000-04:00

I've worked two days at my new job and I like it. The people are great, the work is interesting and though the computer stuff is confusing, it's getting easier already.

But it's only part-time, so I've got some days off to quilt. Yesterday I started with a pile of scraps and a new piece of pink purchased at the quilt shop closing blowout sale. By the time I went to bed, I had this:

This isn't a great photo, but it's cold and windy and rainy and getting dark outside (which means the lighting inside isn't great, too), but you get the idea. The browns were leftovers from a baby quilt that I think I showed on my old blog. (I'll have to remember to repost that one soon...) Simple, but it worked for the size pieces I had. It's about 36x42.

This one will go to Quilts for Kids when it's done,

along with these two:

The froggie print was leftover from making myself some pajama pants. Sorry, you won't see me model those... I guess it's kinda hard to tell those are froggie faces in the circles, but they are!

The poppy print and peach are leftover from Krystal's quilt. The tan is leftover from the quilt I made for my hubby's parents (another one I need to reblog).

Actually the pinks and browns were a baby quilt for Krystal...

I have a few more fabrics I'm working on figuring out how to turn into a few more charity quilts, so more to come!

And then I really need to gear up with the longarm and get some truly finished!

Time to go get some dinner...

Happy quilting,

Katie

two projects quilted

2011-10-16T16:13:00.000-04:00

Since I will be starting a new job tomorrow (yep, the 2nd interview led to an offer), I decided to get in gear and quilt some tops.

First up, because black thread was still in the machine, the Steelers quilt for Quilts for Kids.

It's WAY too windy to take a photo outside, so this will have to do for now. It's just an overall big stipple - nothing fancy. After I took this, I made binding and attached it completely. I used the machine-finish technique and it went well this time. (I still don't like it, though!)

And then, still with the black, I decided to quilt the pumpkin wall-hanging. I had to talk myself into it, but it's done.

These colors don't look quite right, but again, too windy to get natural light.

I'm not sure I like the squiggle in the top half (wishing I'd had gold thread), but I didn't want to get too fancy and overpower the pumpkins. And I can't see it in the small photo (maybe if you blow it up), but I tried to outline the letters in "pumpkins"...I got better as I went along...

I still plan to put wood-look buttons in the black strip and loop the tag strings around them. The binding is half-sewn and the other half will be hand-sewn soon.

It feels like a lot, but I don't feel like I accomplished much this weekend. Part of me is antsy to get as much done as I can before I start working and part of me is too busy being nervous! The new job will start out part-time (3 days a week), but the plan is, as the workload increases, for it to become full-time. I'm excited to start - I'll let you know how it's going in a few days.

And just in case you were worried I didn't have good company while I sewed... This is one end of my longarm table. I had quite a few quilts and backs hung over the bars (keeps the cats off of them!) and they needed to be moved. Not 10 minutes after they were piled here, Tucker burrowed under the extra batting and made himself a comfy spot. If he weren't so darn cute, I might be angry.

Happy quilting!

Katie

october ufo finished!

2011-10-12T18:13:00.000-04:00

It's early in the month again, but my UFO for October is done already!

If you remember, my mom got me a jelly roll for my birthday last year...

And not quite a year ago, I took a week off work to have a stay-at-home quilt retreat. The hubby was out of town, so I set up to work in the living room and sewed like mad.

I had seen the Basket Case quilt pattern and liked it and thought these fabrics could be perfect, so let's get out that rotary cutter!

By the end of Tuesday, I had a top.

It needed borders and I wanted to do something a little fancier than the original pattern. And here it stalled out.

This is probably where it would be without Judy's UFO challenge. But this month she pulled its number, so I sat down and started cutting and sewing.

I knew I wanted a pieced border and, considering the limitations on piece size, I opted for flying geese over applique. But then should the geese go all the way around, or just part way?

(Emma is helping decide...or something...)

Though I was leaning towards part-way, I let bloggy friends help. Part way won and I'm glad. I made enough geese to go all the way around, so now I'll have something interesting to put on the back...if I ever finish it past a top...

So here it is...I guess you'd call that sideways since the longer side is hanging from the clothesline, but otherwise it dragged on the ground...

Finished.

Well, a top finished, and that's all I required of myself for the UFO challenge.

After my last post, I went out and took this photo, along with quite a few others of tops I've been working on and have only shown pieces of. I'll save those for another post in a few days.

Happy quilting,

Katie

a whole lot of random

2011-10-10T15:10:00.001-04:00

Lots of little bits to share, so let's combine them all into one big post, shall we?

First we'll start with quilty. :)

Here's the "Eli's Wheels" quilt in rows. I sewed it all together after the photo and forgot to take another. I think it needs a skinny white border on the top and bottom and then it will be done.

I've also completed the blue/green quilt and the Steeler's quilt tops, both to go to Quilts for Kids. I have two more in the works (you've seen the photos) and two or three more I'm pondering. I should have taken more photos...but because it's NOT windy, I wouldn't do that now would I?

The Basket Case quilt has its borders too. I really SHOULD go take some photos...

I sewed this at my parent's house on Saturday. It was so warm they decided to have a bonfire, so I went early and quilted with my mom...well, I sewed and she tried to, but kept having to go check on dinner...

When my brother arrived with his three girls, s'mores were requested. My mom didn't have marshmallows (she didn't plan for s'mores), so my 13-year-old niece and I ran to the store.

This is what happens when you let the kids go along...you end up with ginormous marshmallows. That's a normal-sized marshmallow next to it. These are nearly the size of your fist! The kids LOVED them, though I think more were consumed raw than toasted...

And then there was the book sale. Much smaller than the one I go to in July, but the prices are better. I was good!

Only 7 books!

But let's add those to the stack and see how it looks...

...uh oh...it's almost back to where I started!

Maybe if I wasn't busy doing things like this...

...I'd have more time to read?

These are for a fund-raiser at the hubby's work. They'll charge $1 per cupcake and the money will go to United Way. I had fun making them, though I had to eat a little bit of icing as I went along! (They eyes were purchased and are candy-edible, in case you're wondering.)

So what have you all been up to?

I have a second interview this Wednesday with the company I interviewed with last Wednesday. I don't want to jinx it, but I think this is a good thing!

Happy quilting!

Katie

october book stack and more projects!

2011-10-05T15:29:00.000-04:00

The days seem to be flying by. I didn't even realize yesterday I should have shown you my book stack! Not much progress, but I've been quilting, the book I'm reading is a difficult read and my hubby bought me a Stephen King book of short stories that are way more interesting. But here it is anyways:

The blue sticky note still shows how tall it started. But it's going to get worse...there's another book sale here in town this weekend...

On the quilty front, as I was sorting through my fabrics, looking to complete scrapbook pages with swatches, I realized I have A LOT more fabric than I realized. I see it sitting there, I dig through it every so often, but until I REALLY dug through it, I don't think I realized how much it was. And pieces that were focal prints or backs of quilts were stored separately from the plainer stuff that I usually dig through first when deciding on a new project which I didn't really consider that often.

Since my cash flow for new fabrics is limited and my time isn't, I decided to keep on digging and pair things up and see what I could come up with for more Quilts for Kids. I found fabrics that coordinated well enough and I had enough for 4 more quilts!

I washed those that hadn't been, ironed and carefully refolded (I think the refolding is my absolutely least favorite part of quilting!) them all and then started cutting! Whee with the rotary cutter...by the end I had to keep reminding myself (almost aloud) to keep my focus so I didn't lose a finger!

What a mess on my ironing board, but it's all ready to sew. (And I still have all my fingers.) The hubby usually works third shift, but on Monday nights he goes in later to stay later Tuesday morning for a meeting. So Tuesday mornings are manic sewing mornings (I shower after he gets home even!)...

I thought I'd document my process...

After 1 hour:

Doesn't look like much yet, but I did stop to press the red/white/blue combo. 9 strips takes a bit of time. :)

After about 1.5 hours:

Oh, now it's starting to look like something MESSY! All the strips are sewn together and ready to be pressed and cut.

After about 2 hours:

Slice, slice, slice with the rotary cutter! And look, some sunbeams lighting up my ironing board! This is about the point the hubby got home so I only had about 30 minutes left while he showered...

About 2.5 hours after starting, I stopped here:

The next steps for all involve more sewing, so I was forced to stop here, but how's that for just a few hours? There's a lot to be said for planning ahead so when your sewing time comes around you can go-go-go!

I know some of you are going to accuse me of maniacal sewing speeds (which I do not do - see I STILL have all 10 fingers!) or not sleeping (which I do plenty of) or having some other super power to accomplish this much, but I'd be willing to bet most of you, given the level of preparation I had put in prior to sewing, would be able to accomplish just as much in that time. I was just sewing straight lines! The next steps will be more time-consuming, but I'm excited to start them!

The set on the far right (red/white/blue) is a pattern called Eli's Wheels and can be found at the Moda Bake Shop. It caught my eye and I knew I had enough red, blue and green to make it and decided patriotic would be nice for a teen boy...or girl...or non-teen kid!

The other three are the basic Quilts for Kids pattern, which can be found on their website, called simply Four Patch. It's the same pattern I used for the other three and goes together quick and easily. The Steelers quilt will be one row longer - hoping for another teen boy quilt, though this one may have to make its way to Pennsylvania first!

And last but not least, I had another interview today! A different company from the one two weeks ago, which is encouraging. I like what I heard, saw and was told today, so that's got me excited - I hope to hear by the end of this week on both jobs!

I hope you all are having a great week. It's been absolutely beautiful here. Gorgeous fall weather - chilly nights, but low 70s during the days - windows open, sweatshirts off! I'm enjoying it as much as I can because I know the snow is coming! (I wonder if it's too windy to sew outside...?)

Happy quilting!

Katie

so much to share!

2011-10-03T10:42:00.000-04:00

First up, the big decision...geese all the way around or not?

Look close! They are different, though I was having trouble getting it all in the photo.

There will be a skinny off-white border on either side of the geese, though I didn't unfold the fabric much, so you don't get a good idea there, either. Sorry!

And since this stalled out, I decided to get to work again on the teen boy quilt...

...the last 24 blocks pinned and ready to start sewing...

...what a mess...those papers snarl up worse than just fabrics...

...but it was worth it!

I plan to add a green border, but after seeing it here, I'm wondering if maybe I should squeeze a really skinny grey border in there first? (Darn it, I've already picked it up!)

And now the hubby is sleeping, so it's time to occupy myself with quieter things.

But I want to show some of the other fun I've had...

I had a birthday and my brother and his quilter wife and my parents all got me fabrics:

(Darn...another not so good photo...I think a new camera is going on my Christmas list!)

The jelly roll is "Max and Whiskers" and very cute kitties and doggies. The "drink" is just a batch of coordinating fabrics (fat quarters, I think) but packaged so cute. I have no idea what I"ll use either for, but I want to!

And I also bought myself a new iron...again...

I've used it quite a bit in the last 2 days and LOVE it. I can't believe how much better it works than the old one. Maybe the old one used to work this well, but I don't think so. It just glides over seams (no hanging up), things come out smooth the first time and I don't have to mash it down with all my might either! I'm so happy...and I was very skeptical after the last one I bought turned out to be no better than the one it was replacing.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. It was a bit chilly here, but the sun was beautiful. I kinda felt guilty being inside, but I'm not much of a fan of cold!

Happy quilting!

Katie

october UFO start and an amazing sale

2011-10-01T19:49:00.000-04:00

Can you believe it's October already?

That means it's time for the next UFO challenge!

This month Judy picked #5.

That would be my Basket Case quilt.

It needs some sort of borders.

First a skinny white, then...

I'd been toying with flying geese or applique, but had only a jelly roll of the fabric. That would limit what I could do with applique, so geese it is!

Ready to sew, but I had to take a break about now.

My mom arrived.

In the local paper last weekend, there was an ad "Material $5 Yard."

What?

So off we went - NO idea what we were getting into.

Turns out a relatively new quilt shop not so far from here had gone out of business (which I knew by driving by and seeing the sign gone) and this was her clearance sale.

My purchases.

(And the ad, if you don't believe me!)

The ric-rac will go on the back of the star flower quilt.

The green flowers will go on the back of the MSU quilt.

About 16 yards.

But that's not all that was bought...

(Lexie is checking it out!)

Everything else was 50% off the marked price.

My mom got backs for 3 quilts, quite a few books and patterns and some other odds and ends.

Long story short: we had a blast!

And my mom left here with a list of 5 quilts she wants to measure for when she comes back and we go again! (I'm betting there will be more than 5 quilts on that list when she returns.)

I also asked to raid her stash to finish the blue/green teen boy quilt, since I'd run out of fabrics in the right colors. Those have been washed and pressed (her stash, like mine, is a mix of prewashed and unwashed) and are ready to cut already.

But instead of going back to that, I thought I'd work on my montly "assignment" so I can be sure to keep up!

By my calculations, I'll need 110 geese to go all the way around, though I'm not sure I want to go all the way around. Better to have too many, though, right?

My supervisor.

Shortly before she decided she was S-T-A-R-V-I-N-G

and needed to be a pest.

109 geese.

Oops!

So what do you think...

Geese all around (with solid cornerstones)?

Geese in an L around two corners?

Something different?

I want to go back and sew, but I think I need to scratch my head over this a bit longer.

Happy quilting,

Katie

another project!

2011-09-28T10:09:00.000-04:00

Before you ask, yes the MSU quilt top is done. :)

(I'll get a photo when I can get it all in.)

That means I can start something new, right?

Quilts for Kids is asking for quilts that would be appropriate for teenage boys.

And I was inspired by the quilt in this post.

(Before I knew about the quilts for boys.)

Lightbulb!

So I dug through my fabrics with a color scheme in mind. And I drafted the block as a paper pieced project because I'd like those skinny pieces to all be the same size.

Yep, with my OLD QuiltPro, I can do these paper pieced blocks and they all come out the same size. It may be old, but it still works well for my purposes. (And I understand the software is still out there - newer versions, of course.)

(No they didn't pay me to say that!)

The celestial print you see peeking in there will be the back.

And I sewed a few just to get me going...

30 more blocks to go!

And green borders.

So what do you think...will a teenage boy like this?

(But I may have to raid my mom's stash for more grey...)

Happy quilting,

Katie

change of plans

2011-09-25T17:16:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week I was happily sewing along on the

Garden Variety quilt.

All sorts of pieces ready to go into rows and the rows into a top. Even the stripey binding has been cut. And a stack of "lost" corners challenging me to use them.

And then Thursday night I decided to sit down and design that MSU quilt I've been wanting to make for my niece. It's been an idea in my head for a while now, but I kept putting it off because, well, I had to DESIGN it!

I showed it to the hubby and Friday afternoon I found myself at Hobby Lobby...

Dark green, white, a bit of black for accent and a print for borders.

Wash, dry, iron, refold.

Sleep.

cut

sew

cut

sew

cut

sew

cut

sew

cut

sew

Sleep.

Return to Hobby Lobby for a bit more fabric.

Wash, dry, iron, refold.

cut

Design paper piecing templates for M, W and N.

sew

Wrestle cats for unimpeded use of the "design floor."
Stand on furniture not meant to be stood on.

Hold camera flush with ceiling.

Hope for good photo.

(Thank goodness for digital cameras!)

I still need to add sashing rows and short pieces to make it all fit, but the majority of the work is done.

You can't see it well, but there is a 2-wide checkerboard on either side because I found out after I designed this that her bed is a double, not a twin. And it will probably get at least one more border, but I'm not sure what it will be yet.

I think I need a nap now.

Happy quilting,

Katie

star flower top!

2011-09-22T08:28:00.000-04:00

I just can't wait to show this off!

It's a finished top!

Already!

It's for Christmas, so I have some time to get it quilted.

I absolutely love it.

(Can I keep it?!)

I also pieced some extra of the little flower strips (all I had left!) to get a cuff on a matching pillowcase.

This will be for her 7th birthday in early November. She won't know it coordinates until Christmas, though.

Yesterday I went to hang out with my mom, so I got the quilt photo, along with two others that have been added to my "parade of tops" page. They have a balcony that works great for quilt photos, though yesterday the lighting was a bit wacky - outside! (Maybe it's my camera?)

We visited all sorts of fun places: scrapbooking outlet (I need to get back to scrapbooking my quilts!), quilt shop, JoAnn Fabrics, Hobby Lobby and of course lunch! It was a fun day, though most of what I bought were pages for my scrapbook efforts and big packages of batting, so nothing fun to show.

Happy quilting,

Katie

hello angler, my old friend

2011-09-20T19:16:00.002-04:00

The interview went well today. I should hear something in about two weeks, once they finish interviewing everyone else. But, I was contacted by another potential employer today, so I hope once I fill out the additional paperwork they're asking for I'll have another interview soon! When it rains, it pours, right?!

Some of you have asked about the Star Flower fabric... No, I didn't sew those curves, they were big flowers, the same as in the center of the blocks, fussy cut to fit.

(Don't you just love those leaves along the edge? They weren't used in the quilt, but I'm going to try to figure out how to use them in throw pillows or something because I think they're adorable!)

And the top is done! I have to get a photo - being 72x92" it's a bit too big for the hubby or the clothesline. Soon I hope!

And since that was done and I'm caught up on all but the Whig Rose applique UFOs, I thought I'd work ahead.

Remember this quilt?

It's called "Garden Variety" and was in the

Summer 2010 Quilts and More magazine.

I found the kit on clearance about the time the UFO challenge was getting underway.

It's been sitting there since, waiting, as UFO #12.

Since this is the UFO requiring the most work of those left on the list, I decided to dig in while I know I have a lot of time. Getting ahead is always a good idea, right? And it keeps me from starting something else new - something that isn't already on the UFO list even if it has the potential to use up scraps.

Cutting while the hubby was sleeping...

Some fabrics required a bit more fussy cutting than others...

I absolutely LOVE this fabric and it's the reason I decided to buy such a PINK quilt kit. But it was pretty hard to cut chunks out of the middle of it. Heck, it was hard to cut strips to be used as sashing out of it! I just want to wrap myself up in it and smile!

And then I worked on making flying geese over the past few days.

Ah, hello Angler! It's been a while since I tucked you away last time. You make things so much easier than having to draw all those pencil lines!

These were made with the "lost corner" technique, so I sewed a second seam before trimming and now I have lots of half-square triangles again. There are a number of other block pieces that will generate more, too...

I seem to have a lot of quilty mojo this week, so I hope to show more progress on this quilt soon.

Happy quilting,

Katie

ps I forgot to mention the new tab at the top "parade of tops" - I figure my finished quilts get their own links over on the side, but there are quite a few finished tops that get forgotten, so I decided to give them a chance to shine. And maybe it's secret motivation for myself to not start anything else I don't have intentions to finish...maybe...

fruit slices to stars

2011-09-17T12:15:00.001-04:00

Last time you saw these fabrics, they were all cut up into what looked like a pile of fruit slices. Now they're star blocks!

Next they'll be sewn into a top and then the fun begins: figuring out how to make it a bit larger for a twin-size bed. I've got more coordinating fabrics, but I haven't exactly figured out how to use them.

I'm excited at how fast this quilt seems to be coming together (I only worked on sewing these Sunday last week and today) and really excited to give it to my niece. It's going to be hard to wait until Christmas!

Time to get back to the sewing machine!

Happy quilting!
Katie

home stretch?

2011-09-15T17:02:00.000-04:00

I think I see a light at the end of the tunnel on the whig rose appliques!

Pinned and ready. I even started stitching down some pieces earlier today.

These triangle corners aren't as complicated as the squares, so they'll go faster.

I hope!

And...

I don't want to jinx it, but I got a call to interview for a job!

Tuesday the 20th at 2pm, please everyone cross everything you can find for me!

You know I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, I need to find out if my suit fits and think of the three bad things about myself because interviewers always ask that question. (We all hate it, so I guess it's a rite of passage maybe?)

Happy quilting!

Katie

september UFO done!

2011-09-12T12:40:00.003-04:00

I know it's early in the month, but I'm going to show it off anyways!

You'd think I live in "The Windy City" - Chicago - but I don't. I guess I just have bad timing for photography?

Time for plan B. That plan should have included tying my hair back...

This project started out the UFO year as blocks pieced and appliqued, but for the most part not embroidered. The embroidery turned out to be taking longer than I anticipated and most of them weren't very pretty. I redrew a few of them, but wish I had looked more closely at this kit before purchasing. I don't think I would have bought it - the embroidery, not the colors, drew me in. Lesson learned. :)

There are a lot of places on the quilt where beads would probably add a lot of interest, but since I don't know how well longarm quilting goes with beads present, I'll add those later...if I ever finish it beyond this point. For now it's been hidden in the sewing room closet - hung up with a bunch of other tops I started for no reason and now don't know what to do with! (They store easier as tops, folks!)

The official info:
"Floral Breeze" kit from JoAnn Fabric
82" x 91"

But this isn't all I finished on Saturday!

Another top!

That green really made this quilt green. Yikes! But it's not a bad thing.

This is for my sister-in-law's second baby, due by c-section the day after Thanksgiving. (That's November 25th for those of you who don't live in the US.) Plenty of time to get it quilted (once I figure out what to do), but you all know I'll be sewing the binding down Thanksgiving morning!

I'm really pleased with how this came out. You may remember the original, shown in my post here (scroll down a bit). How very different with brighter colors!

And then I made dinner. :) Feta and Bacon Stuffed Chicken with Onion Mashed Potatoes but I don't recommend the potatoes. They were a bit bland and dry.

Sunday afternoon = more football, so back up the sewing room. I'd found my cutting table (it was somewhere under all the baby quilt fabric!) and clearned some space on the ironing board from the UFO blocks, so I allowed myself to start something new. Something with a deadline!

Kinda makes me think of fruit slices...

Remember this?

Remember I talked about the head scratching and hair pulling to figure out how much extra fabric to buy? Turns out I didn't need it. ARGH! But that means I have extra in case I make any mistakes (cutting these was not as easy as you might first think) or for throw pillows if I don't!

It took a few deep breaths to cut into this fabric, though. Three flowers are needed for each block and each of these three is a different size. Lots to keep track of, but I think it's all good.

I haven't started sewing anything yet, but I hope to soon.

And the pink fabric was for pillowcases, but I'm going to try to get this quilt done (top at least) first and see if I have enough left over to use for cuffs on the pillowcases. The pillowcases will be for my niece's birthday (in November), but how cool would it be that a month later she gets a quilt that matches for Christmas?! I hope it works out.

I just hope I can make myself part with this when it's done because it's really cute!

So that's mostly what I've been up to.

Happy quilting,

Katie

PS I nearly forgot to add this!

Proof I passed! (MPS = Minimun Pass Score)

too many projects!

2011-09-10T12:55:00.001-04:00

Now that I've passed the world's hardest test, I can focus my non-job hunting time on quilty stuff, so here's an update on what I've been doing.

The blocks for this month's UFO. Embroidery: done = blocks done.

I still think I'll be adding some beads once this is quilted, but don't want to have to work around them or remove and resew them, so I'll wait.

The cows have tails! These were so easy and went so fast, I don't know why I kept putting them off. I don't remember who suggested it, but the idea to embroider them was perfect!
Thank you!

I'll be skipping eyes. Pretty much everyone agreed on that choice.

Gromets and strings added to the pumpkin tags and now pinned to the background. Even with the seam allowances taken out, I think the tags I cut were larger than those in the original - they don't fit well, but they're all on there.

I also bought fabric for the back of the Winterberry/Pure quilt top.

So the plan for today, while the hubby watches football:

1. Finish the cow quilt top. (It just needs borders.)

2. Trim the floral breeze blocks that need it and put the top together.

3. Piece the back for the Winterberry/Pure quilt.

4. Start the big star quilt for my niece.

There's also the pumpkin project to be worked on, but while the hubby is up, I'd better take advantage of the opportunity to use the noisy machine!

I hope you're all having a good quilty weekend. It's pretty nice here and yesterday we went into town where they're having the local festival: Frontier Days. Lots of tents with vendors (nothing I couldn't live without) and lots of good food trailers. I had a Philly steak and cheese sandwich and the hubby had nachos, which we followed with a shared elephant ear. Yummy! (And miraculously neither of us ended up wearing any cheese!)

Happy quilting,

Katie

i passed!

2011-09-06T14:30:00.002-04:00

hardest.

test.

ever.