Schnibble Progress, Bluework and a Quilt History Block

I made a bunch of flying geese for my Schnibbles pattern. Once I got the hang of their plan I was really liking it...you start out with a large square and put two smaller squares on it sew, cut and add another small square to each cut and come out with four geese for each large square I believe (I did this last week and already forgot!) then I took them to my sister's house to trim since I was hanging out there Saturday and most of them were good, but I have a good handful that look awful! I caught the fabric in the top of the triangle and so you can see the back of part of it or something...some I just ripped and pulled out the bad piece no big deal, but some of them need a bit more help....so later on I will be having a flying geese clinic in my sewing room to fix the injuries! I am not sure if I was messing up when I started before I had the hang of it, or randomly here and there, but I think I prefer my Eleanor Burns rulers and doing it her way!

This is the September quilt history block (ya, I know you haven't seen August's yet...I had some difficulties with it--don't ask it has been a hell of a month and I bought a second kit to redo it, will detail that when I get it done) This block is in last month's Fon's and Porter Love of Quilting I believe in Roy's article. We reproduced one of the samples he had in the magazine since it is from our time period. This one was a little hard for me on the last two strips...sigh, it has been a month.

Did get some bluework done at my sister's too...this one I dragged around so long there is stuff on the block...I washed it by hand and now it looks worse, will take some time to soak it later.

This one is a little happier than the last bluework picture. I have one to go and I am caught up to what I have been given!

Went to the quilt store and out to lunch with my sewing and online quilting friends B.J. and June. We had fun chatting since we hadn't all been together in months! Time just gets away from us. Should be about three weeks til we all meet again when another online friend comes to visit (Nancy I met her last year!) and we all plan to have lunch and all that again. They helped renew my soul today with hugs, talking about quilting, sewing, machines, fabric, etc.--all the stuff that seems to bore my other friends!

New "old" Sewing Machine, Bluework Indian Girl Block and Ben...

I ordered myself a used book called "Small Endearments: Nineteenth-Century Quilts for Children and Dolls" by Sarah Fox and fell in love with many of the quilts in it! Here are some from the doll quilt chapter! I absolutely love this first one with all the green, but the little pieces look like more than I would want to deal with.

I also love this one!

Would really like to have some time to make a few of these or quilts inspired by these!

Last Sunday we went to my sister's house and here is one of a zillion pictures I took of my nephew Ben eating an ice cream cake cupcake from Cold Stone. He LOVED it. Did lots of licking and laughing and even sharing!





I finished my bluework Indian woman in the car on the way down and back to my sister's.

And I picked up this sewing machine and cabinet from my sister's friend for 15 bucks. It will need a tune up, but it has the book and attachments (which we left at my sister's!) so all I did was wipe it all off and take a few pictures but I can't wait to see what sewing on one of these is like! I figured for 15 bucks even if all I did was blog about it and drool over it, it was worth it!

Another Bluework Block, Lasagna and Taxes!

Last night our guests wound up backing out at the last minute due to illness so we wound up watching TV and movies and I did this entire bluework block. I discovered that I accidently did the second block in the wrong blue! Sigh. So I will most likely be redoing that one at some point. For this block I put my initials on it and in one of the circles it looked like a double zig zag or something and I made it an "M" for Mac since this will be for my son Mackenzie when it is all said and done.

We made lasagna today. I haven't made it in MANY years because the first two times I tried I messed up the timing of the noodles and it was a wasted effort. Kathy did the noodles this time and I took a picture before it went in the oven and forgot to take one when it came out! It was really tasty and we will be eating it leftover all weekend with Randy's help.

I went in to get my taxes done at H and R block tonight. The gal who did them was fabulous though my taxes are so complicated this year since I sold and bought a house, own my own business, switched regular jobs, have itemized medical, job, moving, and getting house ready to sell expenses. Despite my best efforts at having everything I needed, we left a few hours later with an itemized list of things to bring back on Sunday. So we spent two hours tonight finding everything else we needed (I am a keeper of these things it is just a matter of which place it got kept at!) and I added up all my medical stuff, etc since I had forgotten to do that....anyways five and a half hours later we are completely organized and ready to go back on Sunday. We were really excited to have a coupon to use for the tax service...20 bucks off. We asked before we left how much to get the taxes done (I was thinking 150 or so...last time I had them done was years ago and it was 60 or so) and she said so far our bill was about 601 DOLLARS. I am in shock. It really couldn't be avoided this year (usually I do my own) with all we had to do but sheesh. I should have been an accountant. Smile.
We tossed around the idea of driving to the ocean tomorrow because I haven't seen Pacific Ocean (except from the air) but added up costs in our head and decided to wait. Would have been a better way to spend the money than on taxes, but alas I am the responsible type!

I did sew a little bit earlier but haven't taken pics yet, so will save that for tomorrow's post.

Some Bluework and Going to the Quilt Show Tomorrow!

Spring Break has arrived!!!!! Kathy and I celebrated by hitting Olive Garden for lunch. I am so excited tomorrow I am going to the Arizona Quilt Guild Show "A Symphony of Quilts" and here is a picture of the opportunity quilt (I gotta buy a few tickets for this!) Picture from AQG site.Mesa Convention Center263 N. Center St., Mesa
Admission: $5 for AQG members/$10 non-membersParking is FREE.
For more information please visitthe ‘2009 Quilt Show’ page of this website. I am meeting several online friends from my Quilt Talk group...BJ I met once, and several gals I haven't met yet. Hoping I will get a picture of us and post it after.

Here is my colonial quilt bluework second block I have done. Not sure I have the technique down but not bad if you stand back and hold on to your horse as it gallops by! I will start the next one in a few minutes since it is all traced out.

If any of you are going to the quilt show, give a shout and maybe we can actually meet! I will be carrying my Pickle Posse bag and on the look out for other pickles who may be there too!

My Fun Tablerunner is DONE! Quilt History, Bluework and Blocks

This morning I got the binding made and machine sewn on!

Then tonight while watching "A Lesson Before Dying" which I have seen before and read the book...(still sobbed, sigh) I handsewed the binding down. I love the crazy lemon backing! It is already under my laptop while I type and the cat is laying on one end of it. Yay for one done UFO!

I also got the binding made and machine sewed on the A is for Adiminaby...so soon I will hand sew that too. So relaxing while sitting in front of the telly. (I have always wanted to use that word, lol).

Randy and I made a run out to JoAnn's where I picked up some blue DMC floss and pearl cotton thread for bluework...one of the gals at the quilt history group told me to get #412 (or at least that is what I wrote down) but upon getting to the store I saw that there wasn't a 412 slot much less thread! So then I wasn't sure what to get and there were no books I could find to tell me and the staff didn't even know what bluework or redwork was! So I took a chance and got 412 (which I most likely already have upstairs!) in case I just didn't have the number right. Then I saw Perle cotton--the only blue one was 823 so I got that too...it is WAY too dark. A navy really but I am sure I will find a use for it. Meanwhile I just did some quick internet research and discovered that bluework is 797 (dark blue) or 813 (light blue) according to at least one source, while other sources listed them and 798, 312, 824 and 311 Perle cotton and in case you want to know for redwork DMC 498 (turkey red) or 321, 304 and 817. Now you may be curious just what bluework I suddenly am undertaking...my quilt history group is planning to do a few of these Colonial History blocks each month since Roberta (fabulous quilt historian in our group) has a quilt with them on it. She is drafting up patterns for us though some are hard to see on her quilt and even in this picture I found online. I can't make it much bigger without a lot of distortion so...the first block she is having us do is the third row down, second block in.

It says "One Penny" on it. I am not sure what the significance of that is, it looks like a coat or arms or emblem but google didn't tell me much. It will be fun to learn more about colonial history while stitching these up (if I like it lol). I was thinking that Mackenzie (my 16 year old son) might appreciate the end product which maybe wil be done in time for his graduation in 2.5 years. He is a son of the American Revolution on his dad's side and loves history so I think of anyone he would enjoy this quilt. Ruby Short McKim was the designer of all this redwork and apparently her granddaughter is recreating and redistributing her patterns but hasn't gotten to this one yet. http://www.mckimstudios.com/04treasures/quiltspecial/quiltspecial.shtml

I have it all traced out here.

I also got the block together for next month's quilt history class as much as I can since I am supposed to do some stitching in the center "Zoe's Trunk Quilt History" and a design picture. I am thinking about leaving out the pictures and enlarging the words. I don't want to get too crazy, lol. The block is called "Double X" and was designed by Marie D. Webster, Brackman Block Number 2179. Here it is on the design wall...will straighten it out when it gets sewn together!

And we voted and decided that there would be all three of these choices every month (a pieced, a bluework or two and then the ladies). I am not real experienced with applique as we all know but decide to give this one a try. Not sure I will do one each month for two reasons...1) I am not sure I will be great at applique and I have other applique stuff to do and 2) I have no idea who this one would go to when it is done. Not my daughter's tastes, nor mine or anyone I can think of! Some of the gals were really smitten with doing this one though! Well if you stayed with me all the way to the end of this post you are a true friend! Happy quilting!