Two Bonnie Quilts See Progress :)

 Last night I got the blue border on Smith Mountain Morning.  Next up is the outer border!  I tagged my best friend Monica on facebook and told her this one will be coming her way (it is about time she gets a quilt!) and this is what she said in response:   Andee, I saw this last night and I was speechless. I feel so blessed to have such a thoughtful, generous, and creative best friend. This quilt will be stunning in our bedroom, and I look forward to cuddling in it, especially this winter! From the bottom of my heart, thank you!  
This makes me oh so happy I have finally got just the right quilt to give to Monica.  Her birthday and anniversary are in October so with any luck I can get it out to her by then!
Then this afternoon I put the binding on Roll, Roll Cotton Boll!  I had to take the ladder outside to get pictures of it.  I am sure my neighbors think I am a nut!  I should have put shoes on because the cement was too hot to stand on!

 This quilt really has grown on me.  It was my first official string quilt and I was a bit worried about the wonkies, but in the end it is beautiful.  This one doesn't have a home yet and since it is a Bonnie quilt I am not likely to let it go too far!

Weekend So Far...

After work Friday Kathy, Bug and I drove north to spend the day with mom for her birthday.  We got pedicures again (usually I wait more than three weeks, but it is fun to go with mom!) and then we met a few of my mom's friends for drinks and eventually met up with my dad and sister and more friends to dance at the Station.  I had never been there, but the band was pretty good and it was nice to see some of mom and (step) dad's friends again.  We spent the night and dad made us all breakfast and then we headed home.  On the way up there we stopped off at Olde World Quilt Shoppe and I bought the only three double pinks they had for Hawaii Sunset 1848.  I also couldn't resist the fabric with the anchors on it..it was on clearance (along with four others from that line--I made a Schnibble in it awhile back) and I thought it would make a good background for a QOV down the line.  

 On the way home we stopped at the rug store that has fabric for 2.99 a yard to see what they had.  This pictures isn't so great, but I got one yard each of two light fabrics and two yards of the one with the blue flowers...thought it looked like a shirting and would wind up in a Bonnie Hunter quilt.  All for under ten bucks, yay.  Notice I didn't tell you the total for the earlier purchase, lol.

 I could hardly wait to get home to start working on the bindings for the quilts that Joanne quilted (over at http://insanelycheapquilting.blogspot.com/ ) which came in the mail the end of last week.  I am SO excited to get all three of my Dad's memory quilts (Mourning Crosses Quilts) all bound and labeled and in the boxes to be mailed!  WHOOT.  This first one is for my Uncle Jim in Minnesota.  He is going through some medical stuff right now and so the timing of this couldn't be better.  I also decided to send him my yellow Flock of Triangles quilt that I made the beginning of the summer two summers ago.  It is the quilt I was making when DJ and several other Deaf people were staying at my house (long before we got together) and it has alot of sentimental value for me for some reason...it was also the quilt that almost hung in the quilt show the first Christmas DJ and I were together and so I have resisted getting rid of it.  I decided my uncle needs a blanket of sunshine because he is truly the light of our family.  My Dad was a better Dad because of him and his unwavering faith has been an influence in my life.  I hope it helps heal him and lifts his spirits.  For this I can let it go :)

 The back of his quilt has a camping theme and is one I bought just after my dad died in the Trego quilt shop.  My Uncle Jim and Dad took me, my sister and my cousins, Carla and Tricia to the Boundary Waters several times when we were kids and we have so many good memories from those trips.  Learning to dig a trench (in the rain since us girls didn't think we really needed one) while our Dads watched from their own two man tent was one of the highlights.  They let us set our tent up on a hill with a slight incline once and we rolled downhill and kept taking turns being at the bottom of the tent all night too.  So anyway, that is how I decided on his backing fabric.

 This one is Margie's.  She is a serious flamingo collector and so that and bits of one of my Dad's shirts is on the back of her quilt.  So this little quilt is soon on its way to Spooner or Trego--wherever Margie decides to hang it.

 This one is for my sister.  Next trip North I will pass it one to her.  I love that the pocket is there from one of Dad's shirts and know my sister will love that too!

Here are all three of the labels, they are now all handsewn on too.  You can see the camping fabric a bit in this picture.  I used some of the leftovers to make a bow tie too.

 Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll is also quilted...still needs binding (the only one that didn't get done in the box of six completed quilts!).  Just had to add a picture of it though.

 I also did the binding for Kathy's NYE Mystery.  We used the backing fabric for binding and it looks great. Not sure, but this may wind up being a Christmas gift for Kathy's niece Ayla.

 Here is Lincoln Schnibbles all quilted and bound.  This one will be a Christmas gift for someone.  I really like this one, but I have a red, white and blue one already so may have to part with this one!

 Here are the four boxes and Rachel's baby gift to go to Norway (still needs a box, but this one also got a label).  One of these boxes has Kathy's Irish themed mystery quilt for her dad.  She actually sewed her own label (dog) on too.  Her dad is in ICU in Mass. so hoping this quilty hug comforts him.  There is a Monday trip to the post office here!  So happy to be able to truly cross so many close finishes off my list!

I managed to make one bow tie block...have a whole stack of the little bow ties just waiting to become another row...if I get to sew tomorrow that is what I am shooting for.  August is almost over...where does the time go?  

Tomorrow we are supposed to go to a Hunger Games movie party with some fun friends.  Is it awful that I almost just want to stay home and sew?  I think it just recharges my batteries in a way nothing else does.  Kind of crazy, but right now I live to quilt!

More Pics and a Tiny Purchase

Forgot about taking photos this morning so late afternoon pics will have to do. At least I could spread it out in my yard. My neighbor across the way, one door down, came home as I was seemingly taking photos of my rocks and looked at me strangely. Not sure he realized there was a quilt there!

I have to say I love it more and more.



Stopped in at JoAnn's and got a few more yards of Denyse Schmidt's new line. I think I am satisfied by the five I picked though I wouldn't turn my nose up at any of the others! I really need to start cutting up some of this fabric.

Finished more knitted dishrags...found the southwest looking colors and am working on some of those. Will have plenty for Christmas gifts!

Finally bought a new vaccuum...ours died a few weeks ago. We don't have much carpet but the rugs and carpet we do have seem to attract dog hair. And since we dogsat Kathy's dogs for a total of seven dogs for about two weeks this past month...well it feels so good to have moved all the furniture and dusted and vaccuumed it all! Meatloaf and potatoes are in the oven, I am freshly showered and soon will go pick Randy up from the airport (he was in Ohio for two weeks). Oh and the laundry is about done too. I managed to get all the prep for this week's classes done and the only thing that I haven't found time for is sewing! Maybe late tonight I can sneak in a little sewing! I stopped and saw June today for a bit and it was nice catching up with her. DJ and I had accidently taken her rotary cutter home (we brought ours that is exactly the same and used it and then took both home!) so we returned that. OOPS!

Yesterday I got to meet up with the Phoenix Branch of the Modern Quilt Guild for the second time. We met at Jona's house and other than Laura and Margarite who came with me and Jona I think everyone else was new to me. I haven't been for like ten months but hope to start going regularily. It is a really nice group of friendly quilt loving people. I am amazed at all the talent in our group...I consider myself to be just a quilter...I don't design quilts or patterns (or want to!) and really am better suited to following those creative people's patterns! I am hoping Jona will post some of the pictures she took of our show and tell and I can borrow them over here. I fell in love with a cute little quilt made from Max and Whiskers fabric which I don't have! Really there were so many awesome quilts and great conversation!

Roll Roll Cotton Boll Flimsy is DONE!!!!!!!!!

I can't tell you the joy I feel at completing this top! The border took me several hours to get on the quilt correctly since my measurements weren't the same as Bonnie's. I really have a time with pieced borders, but in this case it was well worth it. This quilt has grown and grown on me and now that the border is on I really like it!

It was so huge and since it is dark out (blessedly cool since we had a monsoon two nights in a row so the whole house is opened up right now and I am soooo happy to have fresh cool air!) that I could barely get a decent picture of it. DJ had to stand on top of furniture while I held the dogs back to get this photo. I am sure I will take more out in the sunlight towmorrow. I am so glad to have this done in time for Bonnie's next mystery in November. I don't think I will be done with Smith Mountain Morning by then, but at least I can get back to it! WHOOT WHOOT. And no migraine today, bliss!

Ok, Really, Step Seven is Done!

Here is the proof. Step seven of Roll, Roll Cotton Boll is finally complete. Thre was a wee bit of unsewing at the end when I somehow mixed up which end the little triangle went on but now it is all together.

The border is is progress but don't know that I will get it to it this weekend since I haven't done didley for prep. Gonna start on that as soon as this blog is finished. I think this quilt has grown on me and think the border will make it even better!

We stopped at Goodwill today and I bought the last gnome on the left there for 4.99! It is so cute and has been added to my outdoor gnome collection which is rapidly fading in the Arizona sun. Off to prep!

Step 7.9, LOL

I am STILL on step 7...thought I had it completed but today when I went to look at the layout of the rows I discovered that is still step 7. Bonnie, my favorite scrappy designer and quilter, likes LONG steps with lots of pieces. (and I guess, so do I, hahah!) So here is today's sewing progress.

Ah, oops. Both ends were hanging the wrong way despite my pinning...I had to do a bit of unsewing on this row.

Growing!

I think this is the half way point. I had had enough by this time and so I switched gears and did some sewing and ironing of the SMM and the border for RRCB. Got the stack next to my machine all sewn and half ironed. I also did some fabric folding today. I still love the pieced blocks, but am not nuts for the string blocks with them yet. That is okay, hopefully someone else will love it since it is likely to become a gift.

My latest Fat Quarter Shop Schnibbles patterns arrived today too! Loving the ones in the front of the picture and less nuts for those in the back. They may windup as gifts or in a giveaway since I really need to get it together and do one soon!





Here is a sneak peek of the SMM centers of one of the blocks. Loving them. Amy posted her top today (made with some of the same swap fabrics) and if that is motivating me to get going on this I don't know what would!

I was interpreting for an instructor the other day and he was saying that the point of blogs was to say to everyone "look at me, I am important" or something to that effect...it got me to thinking that I read blogs for inspiration and motivation and hope that others read my blog for the same. While ofc I am posting about my accomplishments and what I have done the point for me isn't to say look at me. I feel like us quilters are mostly one big happy family and we just enjoying getting to know each other!

I went to JoAnn's today with my coupons and got two yards of each of these fabrics in Denyse Schmidt's new Sugar Creek line. I want the green one with the flowers which I didn't find at that particular store and then maybe a half yard of the others but I controlled myself since shop hop is coming up in a few weeks and I don't even have a project in mind for these fabrics. I love the blue and the green though...it really reminds me of my Grandma Char whose favorite colors were blue and green. Her formal living room and dining room were in those colors and she collected green depression glass. I know she would really have loved this fabric. My daughter's middle name is Charlene for her. She has been gone now almost 24 years but she still lives on in my heart. Home again, home again....

RRCB Step 7 is Officially Done!

I wrote my entire blog post then accidently highlighted it and deleted it. GRRR! So once again...I have officially finished step 7 of RRCB! I trimmed all the string blocks to 11 inches while watching "Three Men and a Little Lady" which I somehow had never seen. It wasn't great, but helped make the trimming more enjoyable. Not sure why I couldn't have gotten to that sooner. Some of the blocks are still a little wonkier than I would like, but I think the top will turn out fine. I did discover I had one fabric sewn in backwards, I noticed it earlier, but am leaving it for posterity, lol.

Next to my machine you can see I am working on step 8 too...this is the border coming together. Next to that is the in progress centers of some of the Smith Mountain Morning blocks. I am Bonnie's number one fan!

This is what I am listening to lately. It isn't great but I keep listening. It is about a group of high school girls who make a pact to get pregnant. That is the only believeable part of the whole thing. It all just doesn't ring true.

I am excited to work two hours tomorrow and then be off work for three whole days. I have some prep work to do (powerpoints, tests, packets, etc.) but I plan on getting in plenty of sewing time! I am hoping my next blog post will have a row or two of RRCB sewn together!

Crown Quilt Sees Progress

Last night I trimmed a ton of hst's for my favorite sister Tina's Crown Quilt...DJ ripped the papers and we made quick work of these yellow and violet hst's! I still have a few more to make in these colors and a ton more with the dark purple too. This quilt is sort of lazily in progress. I just got wild and sewed what I had pinned and got it going.

I have done a little sewing on Smith Mountain Morning too...no photo yet. Baby steps!

In case you are dying to know...I still haven't trimmed the RRCB blocks. Somehow I just keep putting that off! I have plans to get it done this weekend. I wound up agreeing to sub a class on Saturday but other than that I have a long weekend and I plan to enjoy it!

Late Night Sewing

DJ fell asleep early and I decided to head back to my quilting studio....I did some sewing, ironing and pinning on Smith Mountain Morning. This picture shows you what is done so far for that quilt. I have a LONG way to go--I don't even have the logs and all cut and haven't begun to figure out the star tips. There are templates in the book and I need to ask Amy if she used them or had some other idea of Mathmatical genius and uses the Easy Angle or something. I am not big on templates but am even less big on Math (even though I have interpreted College Algebra and all the courses leading up to it almost as many times as I have fingers!)
I also did some pinning on the Roll, Roll Cotton Boll borders. These are going to come together much quicker than the trimming of the string blocks I think.

Of course I couldn't resist adding to my cheddary challenge bow ties. I have enough to put another block together now. I think these would be really cute in tiny doll quilts, but I can envision a huge one of these that gets passed down in my family so I am going to try for that. (and maybe do a tiny doll quilt out of doubles or something).

Meanwhile I have been keeping an eye on Hurricane Irene. Seriously a huge storm and I can't imagine what it is like for all those in the path. I have never been near a hurricane (though I do have a little tornado experience...When I was young back in July of 1980 my county in Wisconsin had four tornados (F1 to F3) and the power was out for days after. I can recall how strange it was and how we couldn't break the habit of flipping light switches as we entered rooms. Also the huge cookouts everyone had because we could still grill and our meat was going to go bad. I stayed with my great Grandma Myrt for the week to help her out. I was actually up at Long Lake during the tornados and I remember one heck of a storm, but wasn't in town when it all happened. Nature just leaves me in awe. Prayers going up for our East Coast Americans.

Sewing Day at June's House

Here is June.

And here is DJ. She was working on cutting up the Crown Royal bags and cutting all the hst's for that quilt (think we have almost a third or so done of the hst's sewn and cut).


In addition to sewing up the light purple and yellow hsts, I sewed all of these border units.

See them piling up?

And they are all ironed. The left side shows the 12 corner units, and the start of the side units. These are, of course for Roll, Roll Cotton Boll! I brought my blocks with me and was really hoping to trim them but didn't get that far.

I also had to get a picture of June's Roll, Roll Cotton Boll block colors. Her red is brighter and her green in bluer (looks greener in the photo) and I really like them. June likes my colors. LOL, maybe we should trade if we ever get them done!

We had a nice day (went way too quick) and ate potato salad and ribs and lots of coffee (for me, see my bottomless mug? Herve keeps the coffee pot on at all times! Thanks Herve!) We had to leave earlier than we wanted for a work party I had to get to. Not sure you can see in this tiny picture, but Organ Stop Pizza has a huge organ and lots of noise and lights and such. I was glad to see it all, but in no hurry to go back again. Luckily we all know sign language so we could "talk" just fine through all the chaos!



We came home and cleaned up and immediately put on light clothes and are sitting by our bedroom AC. The house AC isn't keeping up. It is still eighty degrees in here. I have a ton of work related stuff to get done tomorrow and all I can think about it getting back to my sewing machine.

(Not So) Pictureless Post

I was debating blogging since I haven't done so all week and didn't snap any photos today..hey wait I did put one on facebook I can go get, lol. I have been crazy busy back to work. Interpreting college classes and teaching three of them too. All told I survived the Arizona heat despite wearing black most everyday (to contrast with my hands) and having to hike seriously from the farthest points across campus daily. Before work today I quickly quilted my Paganini quilt (hey I have a pic of that on fb too!) so I could get the foot changed out!








Then off to work I went. I finished work today and went out for lunch at a Thai place with my friend and co-worker Christine. Was nice catching up with her and not long after she was in a car accident but her and the kids with her are all fine. I am so glad for that, she is an amazing lady and we have lots in common so I wouldn't want anything to happen to her. And at lunch one of the things we talked about was losing a child and how we couldn't cope with that.
Anyway, I came home and got right to sewing and DJ got right to cutting out the stuff for my sister's Crown Royal Quilt! I managed to make a few blocks but only took a picture of the one.

Once I get four done you will be able to see the star pattern it makes. I was shooting for that tonight, but the Packer game was on and I no longer have cable TVin my sewing room (instead the TV is a videophone for DJ) so I managed to catch the last, best, five minutes of the game and never went back in to sew. I did however haul all the stuff to my bedroom and pinned for an hour. So I have my center blocks pinned for Smith Mountain Morning, four more of the other center blocks pinned, lots of crown yellow/blue hst sheets pinned, and my RRCB border and twelve corner blocks pinned. I should have taken pictures because that is alot of progress!

I work tomorrow for two hours and then I am heading to June's house to sew. That is the reason I pinned the night away. Makes it real easy to gab with June if I don't have to think at all while I sew. I will be sure to get some photos tomorrow!

I also want to put some prayers up for Randy's youngest grandaughter who is in ICU right now from an accident overdose. She isn't even two and is in a coma until the drug gets out of her system. Very scary. Also praying for anyone who may be in the path of Hurricane Irene. Lots going on in the world right now.