Cats, Dogs and Geese and Some Knitting

Ros has quilted this extra baby quilt up for me...check out below to see the awesome scardy cats she quilted in there! I get a kick out of that...what a suprise!

Misty (a new Deaf friend of mine) has been staying with me for a few days and she wanted to learn how to knit. I have two videos and several books and took that class last summer...so I dug out the washcloth my friend Becky helped me start and did some ripping and knitting and ripping and knitting (repeat as many times as your imagination allows) until I finally got it figure out (and a call to Becky!) but it turned out alright. I think I went a few rows too far on the end so it isn't as square as it could be, but I am afraid to rip it out and make it worse. So I am satisfied with that one and we will use it!

I then practiced the purl stitch again (and so is Misty) for a bit and tried doing a pattern that is 5 knit, 5 purl all up the row. It was fun to do and I had the hang of it, but I think I need to practice more purling and visually knowing the difference in the stitches! So I decided to go back to this pattern and started a second one...hopefully I will improve on the second one! Meanwhile Misty is just knitting (or purling) and ripping out regularly! We also put on the movie Dune which I have never seen (and it is several hours long) and so have been semi entertained while we knit. Never did make it to the sewing room today, but maybe tomorrow!

Tagalong is Quilted and Flock of Triangles in Progress!

Ros has been busy quilting for me again :) This is Tagalong Schnibbles...turned out great!

And guess what I started working on? A Flock of Triangles from Denyse Schmidt's book. I am having fun making this one except that it is tough putting the rows together because of the stretching from the bias. I like it anyway and hopefully am getting better at not stretching it!

I added an extra set of triangles to the width of the pattern and am not sure how long it will wind up but hoping for a good lap size. Other than that, not a whole lot of sewing going on lately!

Here's Betsy!

Betsy is quilted and bound and labeled an everything! I did this in the Cherish Nature charm packs and panel I won from Bear Paw Quilts and Donna Henning and another charm pack I won from Carrie of Rosie's Quilt Company! I only added the browns for the borders....who knew they would know just what to send me that would match my bedroom! I will be posting a pic once it is hung in there too. Today I am going to buy something to hang it from. My wall color is the light bird's egg blue and the drapes are chocolate brown so this fits right in! I really want to have my Double Delight on my bed (which wouldn't match this so much) but because of the smallest dog's chewing I won't leave it on the bed. So considering buying a plain bedspread for now.

Here is a close up of the fabulous quilting Ros Atwood did for me, she never ceases to amaze me! I love the color thread she chose and the leaf design in the border! I couldn't be happier with this quilt!

This is the panel I used for the backing. I have a little bit of it leftover and some charms too so I think that is going to wind up as a matching tablerunner for the bedroom.

Well, we are off to run some errands and go see Shrek!

Two Finishes!

Isabella's Flying Geese Map Quilt is all quilted and bound and boxed up to go to Minnesota. I hope she enjoys snuggling with it for many years.

Also got my Zoe's Quilt history blocks quilt all bound, here is the front looking great...I am SO SO pleased with all the time and attention Ros put into quilting each of the blocks differently.

And here is the back...these are the blocks I wasn't nuts for so I put them in the back...Ros cut off the worst one half way through it and I am tickled pink with that since it was an awful block! Also I had a heck of a time with getting the backing the right size with the strip going the same way as the front blocks...I have up and so it is the other direction, gives it more character I say! I plan to bring it to Zoe's to show the group this Thursday night for quilt history class, then I may have to hang this one in the stairway or something. It makes me smile!

I went to Ros' with BJ yesterday and I started working on some birthday and Christmas presents...also started on my Quilt Hitory block for 2010...this year instead of doing a BOM we each are each picking a block we want from WWII time period and making 15 of them with some coordinating fabrics. Then we will all exchange so we will have a full quilt with different blocks. I have chosen my block and cut quite a bit cut and some sewing done too. I have until Dec. to get them done, so I am ahead of myself, that too makes me smile!

Night and Day Quilt Top and Backing Done :)

I spent pretty much all day (between doing laundry, stripping and making the bed, and riding the bike) finishing up the blocks and adding the borders for this Night and Day Quilt. It is queen size and is for my cousin Tara and her new hubby Tommy. Not the greatest picture, but it is so large that there isn't much else I can do! I also pieced the backing and it is all already in my car for Ros...smile Ros! I am oh so very happy to have this quilt off my list of quilts to make. Next big project is making memory quilts for my Dad's brother, girlfriend and my sister....I want to get them done and back and to the right people by September 9th because that will be a year since he passed. Amazing how the sun goes down and comes up even though people come and go...

Mark Lipinksi's Walk in the Park!

Ros has done her magic again and quilted my Quilter's Home "Walk in the Park" quilt! This one was my UFO challenge quilt that my readers voted for me to finish before July and tada it is almost done! (Still needs binding and a label.)

I started this quilt in Wisconsin (it was from one of the first issues of Quilter's Home I believe) and put in lots of hours since this is really my first applique quilt. I moved it to Arizona in block form and tried several times to applique it...first with colored thread, then with invisible thread, etc. I solicited lots of advice from lots of great quilters, but was never happy with it when I would do it, so I would unsew it! I even signed up for an applique class and worked on some tablerunners to try to get better with the process, but all I discovered is that I am not really patient enough to see it through. My tablerunner is also unfinished!

So after joined the blocks and adding the borders, I begged Ros to take this quilt unappliqued and just quilt all over the dang thing to get it out of my UFO pile (of which there is only one left!) and on its way to someone. I am not positive who will be getting this one yet, I am going to have to mull that over. Ros used a monopoly invisible thread to quilt around the edges of the applique (praise God) and then to quilt all around the rest of it. I could not be happier with this quilt...as always Ros does amazing work!

In other sewing news...I spent much of the weekend at my sister's house, but I brought along Tara and Tommy's strips and with Kathy's help I got them all cut and pinned...so the last third is in progress! I also hand stitiched the binding and the label on the Zoe's Quilt History quilt though I need to get a done picture to post on here! So I was quite happy with the amount of stuff I got done sewing wise and I got to hang out with my mom and sister and Tiffany (brother's gf) and make a ton of pasties.

Will have to post some pictures of that but it took over seven hours and we all have a ton of pasties! Then Sunday we went to my brother's house for my nephew Ben's third birthday party. At work now but hope to get to sewing again tonight. Still riding the bike everday, whoot, whoot. A record for me...and up to 30 minutes now with resistance!

Ros has been Busy!

Ros has already quilted Betsy! Here is the front and back!

And here is Issabella's baby quilt too! Nice to have a longarmer that can keep up with me! Thanks Ros, they look great!

Another Baby Geese Quilt Done

I handsewed the labels on all but the one quilt I still need to bind (and the few still with Ros) so at least that much is done! I also decided to use the extra flying geese I had (since I can't calculate that you get four geese and not two from the two squares!) to make another baby geese quilt. That isn't what Alex Anderson calls it, but I already forgot! I had this cat and dog fabric leftover from this quilt I made about eight years ago for my honorary daughter Rachel, who lives in Norway. It was nice to use up that leftover fabric for the baby quilt. And it is always good to have a baby quilt or two onhand!
Off to work video relay...no more sewing for me today, but maybe tonight!

My Own Little Parade of Schnibbles!

My own little parade of Schnibbles so far!

Winter White

Cindy Lou Who

Pincushion..Tuffets

Picnic
Madeline
Sunday Best
Roundabout
Tagalong
Betsy
And there are still several more months to go...now to finish handsewing the labels on these darling quilts!

A Schnibbles Win and a Purchase!

Carrie from Miss Rosie's Quilt Company sent me this fabulous prize just for participating in the Schnibbles monthly contest! Of all the months to win, I have to say this is like the grand prize! Thank you Carrie!

I got the coolest little zip up pouch to put stuff in and two different charm packs of fabric. I love Cherish Nature and used up what I had for last month's Schnibble Betsy..it matches my bedroom and so may wind up as a tablerunner for in there. This is my first peek at the other Avingon pack and it is a pretty set too. Come to think of it, I don't often see fabric I don't like :) But best of all is that I got the Schnibbles Times Two book and...

Carrie autographed it for me! How exciting is that? There are so many great quilts in here I can barely decide which one, or two, or three to do. I know that I will be doing some of them anyway and other than fabric my favorite thing in the world is books! Thanks again Carrie!

Today we went and visited Megan's apartment she just moved into. After that we went to lunch at Cheeburger Cheeburger...they have the best coconut cream pie malts! From there my good foot choices all went to heck, seriously...we stopped at Ikea (I had never been there) and found Diam candy pieces like they sell in Norway...9 of them equals 230 calories or something like that. In the course of the day I believe I ate more than 9...however I did manange to continue my exercise streak and rode my bike. Tomorrow is a new day.

Last but not least, we wound up at Quilter's Ranch and I couldn't resist buying some fabric for an apron I want to make. I ordered the pattern last night online (Indygo Junction) and the store happened to have it, but for 6 dollars more, so even with shipping I got a better deal. It came in handy for checking how much fabric I needed for the apron anyway. If it goes well, I want to make up several aprons for Christmas items..how good is that it is May and I am thinking about my Christmas list! In other good news, I am off from my regular college interpreting job and just working Sorenson Video Relay and occassional freelance for the summer. Now I can use up some of that fabric I have stashed away.

P.S. I forgot to say that the best part of winning is that Carrie posted my Schnibbles pic on her blog http://lavieenrosie.typepad.com/lavieenrosie/2010/05/miw.html if you want to see the whole post!

Red Quiltalong Blocks Done

I didn't wind up making curtains...wound up picking some up along with some new rods and with the help of Randy I got them hung up this afternoon. I think I may wind up buying two more panels since they are almost exactly the right size and I like them bunched up more. Leave it to me to guess and not measure first! The chocolate brown drapes look great against the robin's egg blue walls. I can't wait to get back my Betsy Schnibbles from Ros because I think that is going up on the wall and voila--the bedroom appears decorated!

I also did some cleaning in the bedroom and bathroom up there and my bike again today...then I happily sat down and sewed up six snowball blocks and six nine patches in shades of red for the Quiltalong I have been participating in.

Catching Up on the Labels!

Mac, me, and Hannah

Hannah and I.

Hannah a few weekends ago...she ran a 5K.

Coleman and I at my graduation a few years back.

Yesterday, BJ brought all of us a cool mystery quilt pattern because we had admired a quilt she made from it!

Today I decided to get it together and get to labeling my quilts...somehow I hadn't labeled a single Schnibble! I made about ten labels in all (some after this photo) and ironed them all on the correct quilt. I sewed two so that the NYE quilts can get in the mail this week and the rest await!

My label is the I love you hand and Kathy's is the dog. We both worked on the NYE quilts, but label goes to who did the most on the quilt I guess.

Also did some cleaning up in the quilting studio. Not moving real fast today for some reason! Happy Mother's Day for all you moms out there. I wish I was with my three grown up kiddos...

Sewing Day at June's with BJ and Ros!

I had a great day sewing and gabbing at June's house with her, BJ and Ros! BJ and Ros brought chicken salad sandwiches, watermelon, sausage rolls, and biscotti. It was all really tasty and I can't wait to get their recipes. It was nice of them to bring stuff and give June a break from feeding us! I brought donuts for the morning and managed to resist eating one, that may be a first!
I accomplished so much while I was there and really enjoyed myself. I was supposed to go up to my sister's house to celebrate my stepdad's brithday and mother's day with my mom, but the plan changed three times and in the end I didn't go. I am feeling guilty though and so I may go up early tomorrow. In any event I will be seeing them next weekend (some of the plans got changed to next weekend without my opinion on it) and my nephew Ben turned three and my brother is having a party for him next Sunday. It is about an hour to their houses and ahem I always seem to have to be the one doing all the driving and they almost never come here. Seriously I have been here two years and my sister has been here twice, and my brother once. Anyway, enough on that...I love them, but well, you know.
On to happier topics...I made the rest of the May blocks for Amy's Passion BOM 2010! This first one is Ohio Star and went together quickly and looks fine.

This next one is called Follow the Leader and I will say that it is growing on me. I didn't like it AT ALL when I first saw it, it went together nicely and now that I look at I see more of the design than I saw earlier, so it is growing on me.

Roslyn brought me my Roundabout Schnibbles all quilted (and my Quilt History BOM 2009) and I machine attached the binding to it and the other...then tonight while watching some TV (after riding my bike!) I hand sewed the binding on. I love, love, love this Schnibble! Might be my favorite, but I also love Cindy Lou Who...and Winter White...and...

I also managed to complete the second third of the Night and Day blocks and get another row on Tara and Tommy's quilt! I have another partial row done and am down to just the last third of the strips and blocks to do! I really like how it is coming out as it is growing!

So all in all, a very productive sewing day and I couldn't be happier. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Quilt History BOM for 2009 and the May Schnibbles Reveal

Tomorrow I will be seeing Ros (and BJ and June!) and getting back my Quilt History BOM for 2009 that she quilted. She did each individual block differently and the pictures look great! How exciting for me!

I came home from work and rode my bike and then went right to sewing! I finished up the my choice Schnibbles for May--Betsy!

You may remember I won a gorgeous bunch of fabric from Bear Paw Quilts and More at http://www.bearpawquiltsandmore.com/ and I figured it only fitting that I use it for a Schnibble! I had the border and binding fabric, but otherwise this all came from the bundle I won! I am going to use the panel to make a backing too I think. It is quite busy, but the colors are relaxing!

I also got another row (that's three) done on the Night and Day quilt.