Navy Quilt and Santa Swap 2

Carol is hosting a Santa Swap 2 and I was lucky enough to sign up before the deadline. Apparently there is a Santa Swap 1 that filled up and was hosted by someone else so that is why were are a 2. Check out Carol's blog if you don't already read it. She is fun!
http://carolscraftblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/my-george-quilt.html









Today she emailed me my swap partner and I have been stalking her blog tonight while watching "The Lincoln Lawyer" so I can get to know her better. Shannon in Idajo over at http://nunusquiltworld.blogspot.com/2011/07/h2h-finishes.html
is my partner! We will be sending each other little gifts from now til Christmas but we can't open them when we get them. I didn't realize that fine detail when I signed up. I am not so good with waiting, or secrets! Will be quite the challenge for me, they should have called it the Santa Swap 2 Challenge! LOL.

I did get some sewing in this morning but only took a picture of the progress with my phone. I started listening to this audiobook and the time flew by.

The small pic is okay because the quilt is puckery and needs a little bit of work. So no point in you seeing a close up, haha. I finally decided that my Viking Hus. Diamond needs a tune up. It has been almost two years since I got her (Oct. will be two years since I lost my Dad and part of my inheritance went into this machine then, I think of my Dad everyday) and she is used dang near everyday. I will haul up my Janome and see if I can improve the Navy quilt before I add borders. I really wanted a blue border once it got to this point...

but of course I have tons of red and tons of cream and only little scraps of blue left in my patriotic fabrics. So I think I will use some of the Navy fabric for a border and then use the leftovers for the backing and piece leftover fabrics into the back to make it the right size.

Today DJ was still not feeling well (she went to the doctor last Thursday and got meds but just slept tons all weekend and didn't feel she was improving) so off to the ER we went. We had the good sense to bring our little DVD player and stop at Redbox on the way. We watched "The Traveler" which wasn't all that great but it helped pass the time...and ofc I knitted too. I made a really fun colored dishcloth. It is done, but needs the ends weaved in then I will post a picture. I started another one too. I am using up all the tiny balls of yarn that I have collected in the past year. Anywho, DJ got more meds and finally is feeling better.
That took up the rest of my sewing day...by the time I got home, grocery shopping done and put away, chicken cooking for soup tomorow and the laundry done I pretty much just wanted to shower (and yay it rained here finally!) and to check out my new partner on the net. So it was a good weekend but I didn't finish the Navy quilt and I only have the one RRCB block done but I will keep on keeping on.

Saturday's Progress

My sister is turning forty this week so in honor of that she, and two of her best friends jumped out of a plane today. DJ and I went over to watch thinking we would be there for an hour or so. (I should have known better after the all day plane jump with the kids in June!). We were there about three and a half hours (some of which I finished knitting another dishcloth, look at my stack coming along!) and it is most definately the longest time I have spent outside in Arizona that didn't involve cool water. I don't know how anyone lost in the desert survives. They didn't have an indoor AC place for us to hang out in and it was a hot, sweaty morning. My sister and friends really enjoyed it and I can't wait to see the videos! It was worth it to see her doing something fun that didn't involve any alcohol. They are at the bar tonight though.

After that I took a shower and simply laid around trying to get cool and rehydrated. I finally went in the quilting studio and sewed one RRCB block up to see what it would look like.

I wish I would have picked one with more intriguing fabrics, but you get the idea. Oh and I had to unsew once because I was just sewing away not even paying attention once I was past the pinned parts. Finished this lame audiobook--yay.

I did manage to get started on my Amy's Passions BOM/Quilt of Valor for my nephew Navy quilt.

Added some more sashing...

Row two isn't sewn on yet, but later on tonight or tomorrow. I could be sewing, but don't have much motivation tonight. That sun zapped me!

I did do one more bow tie no pic on that yet. It is a cute one, oh who am I kidding those tiny bow ties are all cute!

Step 7 on Roll, Roll Cotton Boll is Half Done!

I have managed to sew up the string blocks into their appropriate sizes and numbers. I will say I did not enjoy it much. I found sewing on the bias to be a pain in my rear end. I had to play with my machine to figure out how to adjust the tension so it would not be too loose or pull to tightly. I learned something new about my machine (how to do that on my fancy machine) so that was the good part. I found that after I ironed (seriously tried to just press but grrrr) these blocks are a bit wonky no matter what I do. I have yet to trim them, but I know that isn't going to fix my troubles. I am just going to deal. If anyone has suggestions for how to do this better (for next time, God help me if there is a next time) I would appreciate it!

See the wonkiness? GRRRRR! And to top it off I am listening to "Girl in the Garden" (Bonnie isn't the only one listening to books as she sews, grin) and I am not crazy for it. The narrator is a eleven year old girl but her "voice" isn't believable. I am constantly annoyed with word choices and eleven year old would never use and the story just hasn't really gone anywhere in general. I have "State of Wonder" also from the library and I can't wait to finish the former to get to it! I should just stop listening but I am stubborn and so go to the end.

Way too much wave in those square blocks for me.

I did make two little bow ties though they aren't in a block yet.

And here is they Navy backing fabric for Christopher's quilt...I need to get on that soon!

Still knitting away making a dishcloth every day or two days..building up my Christmas giving stash. I need to get started on my master list of who is getting what. Am I the only one that does this? I have a book I keep the lists in usually and they go back about twenty years. Helps me recally what I gave who so someone doesn't get the same gift two years in a row!

Also Strung Out, and RRCB STep 7 in Progress!

I have been remiss in showing you my recent purchases! I stopped up at Quiltz while Mom was in the hopsital (it was so close and we were killing time while she was in for a procedure) and got the orange kid friendly fabric and the one next to it...they were on the clearance shelf! One can always use light prints like that for Bonnie quilts and I seem to be forever making baby quilts so the orange one I couldn't resist. Then there was a wee little order from Fat Quarter Shop...they had a giveaway which I didn't win, but the winner picked her fabric to include this cute little pinwheel and I don't know why I love it so, but I do. It is likely to wind up in a Bonnie quilt too. Can one have too many Bonnie quilts? LOL. Of course I went ahead and got it in pink too. The red diamondy looking fabric was on clearance and I really like it. I shopped my stash for red for RRCB and realized I had few choices, so now I have one for the next quilt that needs red.

This morning before work I managed to string nine blocks and even trimmed a few...then after work more trimming....

and more sewing and trimming...and suddenly I had sixty blocks strung out! RRCB clue three is finally complete. Many thanks go out to those of you encouraging me along on these blocks and especially to Amy over at Amy's Passions who was strung out before me and encouraged me to hit the bottle too, err the blocks, the blocks and get them strung out!

Just had to point out I discovered this block had a fabric upside down (the one between the cream and the little flowers) and I am leaving it. Good conversation piece down the road!

After dinner there was no more sewing, but the ripping, cutting, and pinning did commence. We watched several episodes of The Deadliest Catch" and DJ did the phone book ripping. Poor thing has been sick for several days and went to the doctor today and discovered she has a bad uti. She got a shot in the behind, strong antibiotics and pain pills so tonight was better.

I had to show you my laziest block. Seriously, this is the widest strip i had, again conversation piece. This block whipped up in no time!

Here are all the string blocks cut in half! I tripple checked the direction of the cuts and they were done in no time.

Step 7 is coming along...I pinned all but four of them to make the twosies...just hope I remember not to sew them all into foursies...sometimes I get on a roll and well RRCB will come to a standstill if that happens.

Then I pinned and prepped the actual blocks. I tend to skip this step and regret it, so since I was in front of the tv I went ahead and did the right thing. I know I will be happy about that when I get to sewing them!

I didn't get a picture, but I started pinning the borders (I was on a roll...) until I just about ran out of pins. I work all day tomorrow so this weekend I will be back at it. I can't wait.

I also want to get the sashings and borders on my Amy's Passions BOM blocks for my nephew Christopher's Christmas quilt (and I forgot to take a pic of the Navy backing fabric I got a steal on the other day too!) So weekend goals are Christopher's quilt top, all the twosies, then the foursies that I need and get started on the thirty actual blocks. That is the part I most want to do, so saving it for last to motivate me more!

RRCB Step SIX (6), yes 6 is Done! (and three baby quilts are bound!)

Finally found some time to bind three baby quilts on my Janome. I am improving with the zigzag and I am just glad these are done. This first one is most likely for my pregnant co-worker.

Here is a close up of the quilting and binding. I am not winning any awards, but it is functional and I am proud I did it myself. This quilt is for Downy Quiltz for Kids.

This third one is also for Downy Quiltz for Kids. They sent me these kits and I didn't get to them as fast as I would have liked, but now they are done and ready for two little ones to enjoy. Will get them mailed out this week. I realized after the fact that the binding I used was actually supposed to be an inner border. I was wondering why the binding was so narrow. But the binding was already attached and things were quilted, so no harm done I suppose.

Three baby quilts, YAY!

This morning I spent a few hours working on clue six of RRCB (I didn't realize it was clue six--have been calling it clue five for several posts, now fixed my other posts--so no wonder I felt like I was running in place! I made three more string blocks (12 to go!) Then after chilling in bed with my laptop waiting on my headache to go away we went and saw Harry Potter 7. It was good, we enjoyed it. Best part was there were only 8 of us in the theater! When we got home I powersewed for another hour or so and DJ helped with the trimming and ironing. So now I can happily say clue six is done and I am on clue 7! WHOOT WHOOT.

So here is my completed stack of the second half of clue six.

I can harldy wait to start getting the blocks into blocks. This is where all this hard work finally comes to fruition!
Update on mom, they are keeping her overnight again tonight since the infection she is one that she can't take oral antibiotics for. Hopefully tomorrow she will come home.

RRCB Step 6 and a Half....

DJ's newborn niece is in town in the hospital (they live in Yuma) so Friday night we went and saw her before heading up to see my Mom, who wound up going to the hospital in the middle of the night. I didn't get much sleep and so when we got home at 7 PM tonight, we showered and immediately fell into bed. I woke around 10 and just had to sew for a bit since tomorrow we will go back to visit the sick...Izzy (niece) may have a bowel obstruction and my mother had an infection in her breast cancer radiation site. Mom is doing MUCH better now that they drained it and put her on high power antibiotics. Niece is not feeling so great and they will wait to do some more tests on Monday. In related news, my cousin Tara had a baby back in Wisconsin the same day Izzy was born. She had a boy she named Koi. He went in the hospital on Friday too...strange coincidence. He was given a feeding tube and they are trying to figure out why he want to sleep all the time, won't eat and is losing weight. If you are the praying type, please throw up a few prayers for these two week old babies and my mom.
So on to the sewing which is what keeps me sane. I am STILL, lol, working on Step 6 of Roll, Roll Cotton Boll. I sewed the brown triangles on forty of the strips and trimmed dog ears and ironed them. I don't know how many are left but LOTS!

I also made three more little bow ties and attached them. This little cheddary quilt makes me smile :)

Knitting Dishcloths and RRCB Step 6

I have been knitting dishcloths again like crazy. It took me about three to get them up to looking right...the first one went in my sink, and here is the rest of the stack. Getting one day every day or every other day mostly at work between calls or while the line is ringing. I know it sounds like I am not doing anything at work, but seriously there are lots of calls and rarely do I seem to get a call where I am on hold, but I have learned how to knit and answer the phone and inform the hearing caller that the line is ringing...it is amazing how much knitting I can get done during the course of a 5 or 7 hour shift. It helps pass the time! Now there are two gals at work that want me to teach them how to knit. Cracks me up since this is about all I can do!

I am happy to report that step 6 (the first half) has 120 of these little babies all sewn up. They are ironed and pinned in 12's. I figured four to a block so three blocks worth together made more sense than ten when that is two and a half blocks.

I have the second half of clue six at the machine and ready to go. But I need to get bloodwork done tomorrow (if the fourth time is the charm) and I work at 10 AM. I will be home about 4 PM, but we are going to Suli's graduation party and then up to my mom and dad's to spend the night so I am not sure much sewing will get done until Saturday night or Sunday.

I couldn't resist laying out all the parts of the blocks so I could have some idea of what it will look like. Looking good. I can hardly wait to start putting these blocks together-I am seriously tempted to skip ahead to this part! I still have 15 more string blocks to do too. Everyone says I am making progress on this but it just isn't fast enough for me. Not sure why I am so driven to get things done, I should just enjoy the process and it will get done when it gets done. Oh, I am now listening to "The Safron Kitchen" from the used book store and I need to stop in at the library to pick up the audiobooks I ordered that are in.

Roll Roll Cotton Boll Step SIX Coming Along and some Cheddar

Sewed up 48 of these sets for RRCB step six today. I only had to unsew a few!

And here is my Cheddary Challenge Bow Ties coming along. They are so dang tiny and cute!

Quiltz for Kids--Two Almost Done

The only sewing I got to do today (before and after work) was quilting up these two Downy Quiltz for Kids. DJ helped with the thread cutting and trimming and I attached the binding.

I now have three quilts in line to be machine bound and one for hand binding. I need to set up my other machine and take my time again so that I improve on that!

I wish I had more time to work on RRCB, but since I have to pay the bills I have to work! It eats up way too much of my day!

DJ did mail out my Smith Mountain Morning Swap today so I am looking forward to getting my swap stuff back later on and that gives me an excuse not to get too much more done on SMM so I can focus on RRCB again!

Navy Star Block and the Start of the Cheddary Challenge

I started out my day by sewing my five string blocks. I now have 45 made and 15 to go! Five a day is doable if I give myelf some days off as a reward, lol. I also cut all 344 brown triangles for step six late in the evening.














I also cut and sewed the Navy Star block but changed the outiside of the block because well, just because lol. It took over an hour to make this block while listening to "The Lady and the Unicorn" for the second time. I made a trip to Bookman's (used book store) and picked up a new audiobook for when this one is done, I am on the last CD already. I also put in for several audiobooks for the library since that is better for my budget!

This block will be the twelve block for my Amy's Passions red, white and blue blocks which will become a Quilt of Valor (sort of) for my nephew Christopher who is in the Navy. I need to find the perfect sashing and I want to get some Navy fabric for the backing.
I also started out my leaders and enders project for Sisters, Sisters Challenge or the Cheddary Challenge as I am seem to call it. This little bow tie was from scraps Michelle gave me, I love it!

A Happy Saturday

All of the hst's for SMM are sewn and paper ripped off and ready to be ironed...only a few are ironed beyond those that are ready for the Quiltville Swap!

Here they all are almost ready to hit the post office. Hopefully I did this right...I think this is only the second mail swap I have participated in. We will see how it goes if I do it again...I put two hst's in a ziploc with my name and email address twenty times, then five sets of five blue and five brown 1.5 inch strips and three sets of each color of the 4 1/8 inch strips. Again all sets were in a separate bag with label. All that went in another bag and tomorrow I will get them in the envelope and get things addressed to go.
Now for the RRCB progress...yes step five is DONE! All finally ironed. Tomorrow I hope to cut the brown triangles for step six. I also squeezed in five more string blocks (the last few after midnight!) So I have forty made and twenty to go.

I also did some cleaning up and reorganizing of the sewing room (and even vaccuumed!) and got the box out of there that had my gifted fabric from Michelle. We have been cutting up strips the past few weeks and did more tonight and finally all my fabric fits either in the strip drawers, not yet strip drawers, and the shelf where it is folded nice and uniformly. Of course some of it is jammed in stacked up containers as projects. But it feels more organized in there.

We hit JoAnn's earlier and I bought the muslim needed for SMM and the yellow and light purple needed for my sister's Crown quilt. Also got another little gnome (70 percent off and he was the last lonely gnome in the store) that says "welcome" on his little sign. Forgot to get a picture of him though.

We spent about four hours helping DJ's grandfather move in to the new Deaf apartments (Apache ASL Trails) in Tempe. Fortunately we were mostly unpacking, washing dishes and putting everything to rights. The happiest part of that was opening a box and finding the quilt he has. He was busy getting his videophone installed so I didn't get to ask him where he got it, but DJ thinks her great aunt gave it to him..but we will get details. I did take some quick pics of it on my phone though.

And a close up.

Guess I better close the computer and get to sleep!