String Fling!

Some of you may remember this lovely Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll (still a flimsy since it doesn't yet have a home and it is a pattern soon to be available in Bonnie K. Hunter's new book "String Fling" !!!!  I can hardly wait to get my hands on it!

Bonnie is now taking pre-orders and she will even sign them for you so what are you waiting for?  Get on over there and order one now.  If you go to http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2012/05/presenting-string-fling.html you will be able to see my eye candy from Bonnie's latest book and I know you are going to have to get it...and feel free to tell Bonnie that her "number one fan" sent you! 

This Orca Bay (Green Bay) is also in the book in case you missed out on making it with the mystery this past year!

Oh and did I tell you I ordered a shirt with that on the back and a Bonnie mystery quilt block on the front?  I need to get a picture of me in the shirt, but when I meet Bonnie I will have to wear it so she remembers who I am lol!

Two More Schnibbles Quilted!

Ros has been busy quilting up my Schnibbles!   I can't wait to get them back on Saturday!  These two aren't claimed yet but nice to have some in reserve for whatever comes up!  This one is Bibelot in Collections for a Cause fabric.



 Here is the back of Bibelot.

 And here is Summer Day.  I like this one and it will wind up being a girl baby gift at some point.  It is so sweet. 

This is the back of Summer Day.  This one was alloted to Rachel's baby in Norway.  But now we know for sure it is a boy, and Randy liked Doc much better with the brights so that is the one that will head to Norway and is next in line for quilting!

Anita's Arrowhead is Cut!

I didn't do any sewing yesterday and all I really have to show for an evening in my quilting studio is that this Anita's Arrowhead is cut and pinned!  Becky is working on one and I fell in love with the blocks so I had to copy her.  The pattern is free on quiltmaker.com http://www.quiltmaker.com/patterns/details.html?idx=12909 for a limited time if it grabs you too.  I sent it on to Ros and BJ  and June and so far Ros and BJ are planning to make one too.  It is an interesting pattern where you sew the squares all around except for two corners, then cut it diagonally and press and cut the pieces for the block from that.  We will see how easy it is, lol.

I am working today, a long day, so since I have discovered I can now read my blogs again in reader (they block lots of stuff on our computers and reader was blocked, but now suddenly it is not!) and I cannot tell you how happy I am to read them.  I am also blogging on my breaks, yippee!  Love my third job, lol it is challenging (video interpreting) but gives me time to knit and blog, and read too!

Hope your summer is off to a good start!

Another Year of Schnibbles Presents Doc!

Here is Doc Schnibbles rephotographed for a better look.  It is all ready for the parade (and the longarmer) before it ships off to Norway to Rachel's soon to be born son.  Thinking I might have to bind it in red too because the cornerstones really pop and that should bring it all together.  

Happy Memorial Day!

Some Actual Quilting Going On

 Happy to say I quilted this and added binding...almost have it all hand sewed down too.  Pretty sure this one will be a gift for someone for Christmas, since I have a Christmas one in different colors.

 Finished up listening to both these audio books.  Ros had borrowed me the Baldacci and Kathy brought the Picolult.  Neither were that great as far as I was concerned, but they did entertain me as I worked.  It might be the worst Picoult book I have ever read/heard.  Glad it is over.  Maybe the next one in will be better.  I should mention I started reading "A Season on Henry's Farm" and "The Shoemaker's Wife" on my Nook and am loving them both!

 Also quilted and bound this Bonnie K. Hunter pattern "Auntie's Anvil" and hung it up.  I like it, makes me smile!

 I rearranged the "Jack in the Box" blocks higher up on my design wall since it is hogging it and I need to use the space, but love looking at this one!  Can't wait to see what the color is for June on SoScrappy's blog.  Someone already guessed purple, but I am not sure yet.

I also spent some time cleaning up all the fabric on my little dresser in the quilting studio.  Kathy cut a bunch into strips for my drawers and I cut a bunch more bow tie pieces.  It is getting more manageable in there every time I work on it.  I also cut out a Diamondbacks surgical cap for my brother for Christmas.  He wants another Packer one (I repaired his old one) but I need more Packer fabric to make him one.  

Kathy's NYE and Sewing with Becky!

 I finally finished up the last row and borders (and backing) for Kathy's NYE Mystery from this year.  She was dragging it out so she could come visit often and now that she is moved in again she just never pulled it out and finished it.  We are doing Cal's mystery next weekend so had to get this one out of the way first.  No idea who will be getting this quilt.  Kathy doesn't like the white background so she has no idea who to give it to.  For now it will sit and wait for quilting.

Becky and I decided on a last minute get together in the afternoon and it was nice catching up with her!  She sewed a charity quilt and then worked on some Jack in the Box blocks.  After I worked on the NYE Mystery I did three more cheddar blocks and then added a row to the Cheddary Challenge which is finally getting to be a decent size!

 I am now about out of cut bow tie fabric.  I will have to get to cutting some more soon because I want to add one more long row (at least) to this quilt!  With the small size of the blocks it takes quite a bit to get this quilt to a decent size!

 Earlier in the day I quilted up these tiny doll quilts.  Nothing fancy but they are done and I am happy about that!  It was really a productive day in the sewing room.

Becky stayed for dinner and we played some Dutch Blitz and Five Crowns after which was fun.  She is a good card player and the only one that can consistently beat me at Dutch Blitz!

Picture borrowed from Quiltmaker.com

Becky also showed me a cool quilt she is making (forgot to take a picture of her blocks) Anita's Arrowhead,  it is a free pattern (for a limited time) from Quiltmaker you can find it at http://www.quiltmaker.com/patterns/details.html?idx=12909  I even have leftover fabric in this same line so I might just start with that.  It is a really interesting block construction so I can't wait to have time to try it!

Crown Quilt UFO is a Flimsy!

 Today I finished up my favorite sister Tina's Crown Quilt.  It is smaller than I originally envisioned, but I just wanted to get this one off my list!  It will look good folded over a chair or on the back of a couch at my sister's.  Her birthday is in August so this will be her gift.  She already likes it and has shared it on facebook so that makes me smile.

 I asked Kathy to take a picture of Doc Schnibbles outside for the parade...this is what I got back.  I will need to retake the picture so you can't see the rectangle thingy and so that is is on flat ground.  She tried, lol.
I also made some more bow ties and had a few done from the other day so I got another block together.  I also cut for more bow ties when I was feeling putzy this afternoon.  I am loving Fridays off and think I should implement it year round.  I have worked way too much in the last year and I need to recharge my batteries.  I am amazed at how one extra day makes me feel like I have time to do the things I want to do!

Kathy and I went to the Deaf Coffee chat at Starbucks tonight for a few hours.  I have made some good friends through that group and wish Kathy would learn some sign so it wouldn't be so boring for her.  She doesn't mind if I go alone, but I have been dragging her along.  :)

Pineapple Blossom Blooms!

Ros has made my Pineapple Blossom quilt BLOOM!  I love it.  I am really thinking I am going to bind up this quilt and give it to DJ so she has a rainbow quilt since she doesn't have a quilt from me.  We finally talked for an hour and half yesterday (on the phone through a terp) and I feel a little more settled about things.  This transition has been so hard and I miss her so much but it is what it is and I think it will get easier with time.  Her birthday is the end of this month and she will be out of town then but maybe when she gets back I can gift it to her.  The only problem is she is not telling her new girlfriend she is talking to me so that might be tough.  But I will figure it out if need be.  I made so many quilts for DJ's family members but since she was with me I didn't give her one.  One day she plans to come and sew with me, but that may be years from now so this quilt can keep her warm in the meantime.  We will see. 

Here is a closeup of Ros' quilting.  I am so lucky to have a fantastic (and quick) longarmer!  June has talked me into buying her Megaquilter since she can't keep it...one day I will learn to do something with it, but I don't know that I even want to be able to do what Ros can do!  I plan on storing the thing until I have more space (ie someone moves out of one of the bedrooms) so I can set it up and learn how to use it. 

Tina's Crown UFO Progress

 Bug always has to get in the photos!  She seems to think when the camera comes out it is time to jump up over and over again til I pick her up.  This is why I have  a ton of pictures with her on everything I make and try to take a picture of!  So this is this month's UFO...it is seeing progress which is great, but I really just want this one done.  I need to add at least two more big blocks (and really four more after that) but I just want to get borders on it and call it done!  LOL.  In any event I plan to get the top done by the end of May to meet my goal and my sister will get whatever size it is at that point!

Feeling Blue

 In November of 2008 I made "A is for Adaminaby" as my first mini quilt.  It got me hooked on little quilts and I can remember how happy I was making it (I actually made two) since it wasn't long after we moved here and got into my quilting studio.  Today I cleaned through the bookshelf above and got rid of a ton of quilting magazines...see the space I made on the shelf?  LOL.  While doing so I ran across the magazine that had this little quilt in it and decided I should make it in blues and try to remember how happy I once was.  In the end I named it "Feeling Blue" since I am still blue though it makes me smile anyway.

 It is a super simple little quilt to make--twelve strips sewn together and cut apart again (1.5 inches) and then some unsewing and resewing and viola you have a cute little quilt.

 Here is is with one of the originals.

 I hung it up (other minis behind it) so I can look at it while I sew.  When I get the motivation I will hand tack it like I did the other one.

 The only other productive thing I did today (besides making spaghetti and trying to get some old frozen bread to rise) was help Kathy hang this pegboard and arrange my rulers.  I have wanted one of these in this exact spot since we moved here almost four years ago.  It will be so much easier to find my rulers and I was pleasantly surprised to find most of them had a hole for the hooks!  You can also see the little yellow pinwheels I made the other night on the design wall.

 

Tomorrow is another day, hoping it will be less blue :)

Blogger's Quilt Festival--Green Bay!

It is time again for:

Thanks Amy Ellis of Amy's Creative Side for hosting!

So I decided to enter my Orca Bay..renamed Green Bay for the Packers of course!  Here it is all quilted and bound.  This was Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt started last November and recently completed.  

This quilt is special to me because I am from Wisconsin and am at least a third generation Packer fan!  I love Bonnie's mystery quilts and the annual tradition that goes with making them.  I usually copy her color scheme exactly but went out on a limb with this one because I had so many greens and yellows and happy accident it is a Packers quilt!
Ros Atwood professionally quilted it for me with this football panto and surprised me with some special words on the quilt like "Go Pack Go" and "Green Bay Packers" which makes it even more special.  This is one of my favorite quilts ever!

 Enjoy the rest of the festival!

Preparing for Cal's Spring Mystery!

Kathy and I spent the day at June's working on her sewing room.  We got through all the rest of the fabric and sorted through all that was there for some organization.  We hauled a bunch of stuff back to June's for the sale.  There is still so much to do, but June and I are having a good time doing it anyway!  

Cal is doing a mystery on June 2nd and Ros, BJ, Kathy, June and I (and anyone else we can convince) will be gathering at Ros' to work on it.  I love mysteries but only seem to have time for one to two each year.  The first picture is of my fabric choices.  June passed on the cute suitcase fabric which I snapped up because it has "Paris" on it and my cousin Ashley loves all things Paris so this will be her wedding quilt for fall.  I had to pick some matching colors from my now substantial stash and came up with these.  I had to add more of the reddish color in another fabric too.  It was from the same line so it will work fine, but it has a pattern on it.  Oh well, I am NOT buying any fabric lol!  I think it will be cute and I will most likely put the other Paris fabric I bought which doesn't match and was only one yard on the back.  

Kathy decided to make her Dad a lap quilt since they are Irish.  She went with the snoopy stuff for the pop fabric with the solid as the second most fabric and the shamrock last.  I am sure it will be busy but her dad will love it!

So Kathy and I cut all the clues up and put them in labeled bags.  I also folded some bigger chunks of fabric and cut some bow ties for the Cheddary Challenge (I did sew up a half a dozen of them yesterday).  I also sewed some pinwheel blocks for Jack in the Box in yellow but didn't take a picture.  

Doc Schnibbles Flimsy and Christmas Through the Year for May

Doc Schnibbles for Rachel Clark's baby in Norway

I finished up the borders and got them on Doc Schnibbles!  I also made a backing so it is all set for quilting next time I see Ros.  Randy took one look at this one and told me this one should go to his daughter in Norway who is pregnant with her first baby.  She is my honorary daughter so this baby will be my honorary grandbaby right?  I know Rachel will love it, this Schnibbles is a bit bigger than most of the ones I have done and will be perfect for a little one.  I love, love, love how it turned out!

I decided for Christmas Through the Year I would show you the stack of dishrags (and one Tribble) that I have been working on.  I am almost always working on one and they make great gifts so I will continue to add to my stack all year but this is May's project since May has almost gotten away from me and I need to get some work in on my sister's Crown quilt this weekend! 

Today would have been a year and half for DJ and I.  Seriously have good days and bad days but mostly I miss her.  She is someone I don't know now and really isn't even texting to me much less signing to me, breaks my heart and I don't understand.  Best I can figure she is mad I got back with Kathy.  How do people leave their partners and then blame it all on that same partner?  I have let the past go and am ready to focus on the future, but I am used to being friends with my exes and am taking losing her one hundred percent really hard.  It has been almost two months and while I am doing better than I was I still am heartbroken.  Life should not be so hard.  Sigh.

Tomorrow Kathy and I will be going to June's apartment again and will work on organizing her sewing room some more.  She is settling in but likes the company and enjoys me lighting a fire under her butt, I think anyway!  

Santa Sack Swap!

I just joined another fun venture.  I think signups are closed and I got the last spot.  It must be my lucky day.  I really enjoyed the swap I was in last year...both the giving and recieiving.  So I am excited to get a new partner and cyber stalk her again!  http://santasackswap.blogspot.com/

Doc Schnibbles in Progress

Still knitting dishcloths...finished this one in the car on the way to work.  It mostly got done while on hold at work or between calls.  I love the colors of this yarn.  So relaxing and peaceful..I need all the relaxing and peaceful I can get!  I have already picked out the next ball of yarn and will get going on it here at work (yes I am blogging from work) I get a sentence typed, answer the phone and repeat lol!  Love my jobs! 

Last night I finally hit it hard with Doc Schnibbles which is a card trick block.  Finally picked up some speed on it too!  I had three blocks done in as many days, but last night I managed to whip up six blocks (with Kathy trimming the blocks as we went :)) and get the sashing and cornerstones on each block so I have a flimsy without borders.  All the border block hst's are made so should make short work of finishing this up tonight after work.  So excited to have this one almost done.  I love the way it looks, but it was a bit putsy for me. I should never say never though because I really do like the overall look of this and I would never have tried it if not for the Schnibble challenge so thanks Sinta, Sherry and Carrie (and Miss Rosie) for inspiring me into doing this, lol.  Even my cutting screw up wound up working out :)  This one will be a baby quilt gift down the line I am sure. 

Doc Schnibbles is Slow but Steady

Still helping June unpack and organize and get ready for the mother load of thrift sales.  She has been going through her fabric and is getting rid of quite a bit of it.  There just isn't room for all of it in her new sewing room.  We didn't realize how much fabric she had until most of it was in the room and there was no where for us to be!  The good news is June is paying me in fabric so I can take any of the to be sold fabric that I want.  And since I just got tons of fabric at that estate/thrift sale I really don't have lots of room (or need) for lots of fabric but it is fun trying to pick some that I might use for certain things.  I picked out some kiddie fabric to make more burp cloths (I already gifted two of my Christmas through the year ones to Janae when I sent her the bunny baby quilt) and I decided to participate in the Florabunda strip swap on quiltvilleswap.  I don't have much by way of yellows or florals so I picked some out from June's discards and will be cutting them up and exchanging them so I will have a wide variety to make Florabunda with someday!  I don't plan to start it anytime soon, but thought it couldn't hurt to have all the cut pieces set aside all ready to go!  And I don't have to try to collect a whole bunch of different florals and yellows on my own!  If I get really ambitious maybe I will do enough to suprise June with a set of different fabrics all ready to go too! 

So despite having a less crazy work schedule this week I still haven't gotten in much sewing!  Kathy and I went and picked up our new glasses last night then did some more work at June's house.  I managed to make a third Doc Schnibbles block last night (on the bottom) and like the way they look...can't wait to see this quilt come all together though I still think it will be my only card trick ever, lol! 

Doc Schnibbles in Progress

Hopefully tonight there will be sewing at my house from 7 PM on!  I just need a me night, lol!  Besides this Schnibbles I also have my favorite sister Tina's Crown Quilt to work on (only two blocks done and it is the UFO challenge for the month, yikes!) and I haven't even cut the Doll quilt challenge for this month and though I really like the one that was picked this month I may wind up skipping it because the last thing I need is to start off June behind the eight ball.
In other news I got a few summer classes to interpret this summer which is great and helps keep me from working too many hours on my video relay job which makes me a happy girl.  Happy Hump Day.  (Now if my work shift would just go quickly so I can get home and sew!)

The Uglies and More

I joined an Ugly Challenge swap because Ros and BJ were doing one and I thought it would be fun for us all to do the same thing.  I think I also talked them both into doing Cal's Mystery quilt on June 2nd!  So my partner is Robyn in TX and here is what she sent me.  I love the two on the lower right and can deal with the others in the bottom row but the top row...well let us just say Robyn did a great job picking out the uglies!  But I will most likely follow Bonnie Hunter's advice and cut it up really small til it looks great!

The Uglies Robyn in TX sent me

 Ros was not at all happy with the fabric she got.  Some of it wasn't even cotton so she was going to ditch the idea of participating but BJ had other ideas and brought her (and me, SURPRISE) a bag of uglies she had picked from her stash.  I love the two on the right end!  So I am not sure if I will be making two uglies or if I will throw it all again together or what but it will get used!

The Uglies BJ gifted me

 Here are the Uglies I sent to Robyn in TX.  At one time I did actually like the three on the right, but I am over them now!  Can't wait to see what she does with them.

The Uglies I sent to Robyn in TX

While at AZ Huggy Bunch at Ros' yesterday (for two hours only then off to help my parents unpack and hang pictures) I sewed up the HST's for this card trick block for Doc.  When I got home I attempted to put a block together and I do mean attempted.  I think this is the most complicated Schnibble I have done to date.  Someone else blogged about having problems with the directions so I should have taken notice.  I mistakenly cut the charm squares into quarters when the directions clearly say to cut the background into quarters and the charm squares into a half and two quarters.  UGH!  SO I had to seam up two quarters to get a half again and then sew them.  Now I need to trim this first block so it can become a block.  Another day.  

 I have been knitting dishcloths though so that just may become my Christmas through the year for this month because I am just not getting in enough sewing time!  I do make them all year long to give at Christmas anyway so that is fine.  I work on them in the car and at work if I get lucky enough to be on hold.

 So May is halfway over (Happy Mother's Day to all you mom's out there--my oldest son made me breakfast, my daughter sent me a bonsai tree and the yougest actually acknowledged the holiday and said if he had his new debit card I would have had flowers!  Kathy took me out for sushi too so it was a great holdiay! ) and I still have my Doc Schnibbles to do and my sister's Crown quilt top for the UFO challenge not to mention I haven't even cut the doll quilt for Kathleen Tracy's challenge.  I have the book and really like this month's quilt so I will get to it.  My sister's Crown Quilt has seen progress...Kathy has been cutting apart bags and I have two blocks together and pieces for more.  I suspect that quilt is just going to be alot smaller than planned.  Done is better than nothing.  I think because it is made of Crown bags it may not wash up great so I don't think I should go nuts on the size and my sister will be happy to get it for the back of a couch and not for the top of a bed!  At least that is what I am telling myself because that is one quilt I never really wanted to make.

Today we are going to June's to help her unpack and organize things.  I would like to get into her sewing room and do that but we will see what she needs done.