Broken Crockery and Orca Bay

Most of you know by now that if there is a way to do it wrong I can find it...note the picture above...yep, somehow I messed them up. So much for going back to a clue after a break. The good news is no matter what the next sheet is I have a match. HaHa, looking on the bright side. So clue one didn't actually see any progress. Clue two fared much better...I made twenty more

blocks I believe so a total of 54 are made with 18 to go! They are depapered and trimmed.

These sunny blocks really make me smile. Can't wait to see what Bonnie does with them!

The pins each mark off ten. Learned awhile back there was much less counting involved it I just marked them as I went!

I also quilted and bound Hannah's Broken Crockery wallhanging. You may recall the extra blocks were leftover from Carolina Christmas...lots used in the front and some in the back. I am pretty happy with this little imperfect quilt and hope Hannah likes it.

The back may be cuter than the front!

Couldn't resist showing you Carolina Christmas again...this is just the top and it is laying on another quilt. I love Bonnie mysteries! Ros borrowed me a ton of audio-books last time I saw her. So I ma partway through this one and it is keeping me entertained as I sew.

Had a bad migraine today which involved throwing up at work and calling in sick to my second job. I did a lot of resting and feel much better but work at 6 AM tomorrow so really hoping that was the worst of it. UGH!

Orca Bay Clue Four in Progress!

Orca Bay finally got some time at the sewing machine on Saturday! I have lined up the clues from left to right so I can inventory where I am at! While I am on clue four, I am NOT done with clue one, two or three yet. I have 80 of clue one done with 12 more to be depapered (I need 224). I have 36 of the 72 clue two yellow string blocks done (half, happy dance). I have 95 plus a ton to be depapered and about five sheets to be cut of clue three. I think I need to sew one more page and then get them ironed and such and that clue will be done. And clue four, my green strings which become triangles, I have a total of 12 triangles done--I need 128 total. LOL.
Coming along. I see I mixed up my clue two and three baskets, but you get the idea.
Cutting them up.
Can you see all that depapering I need to do? Lots more to go, but I am happy that it is seeing progress. I am getting close to half way done and am liking my colors and having fun trying to keep up. Check out Bonnie's blog and quiltville.com and join in!

Planning for the NYE Mystery

I started my sock knitting class based on Cat Bordhi's book. It isn't so easy as the dishcloths I have made a million of. I have started over five times or so. This one has boo boo's in it but trying my best to just keep going for the practice of it. I was finally going along and doing well when I somehow turned things around and started knitting the inside and got a ridge I didn't want on my sock with the knit side inside the sock. I have pulled all that out and have tried to get it back in the needles to continue knitting....that isn't going so well so I keep pulling it out...DJ is currently trying to get it back on the needles. Meanwhile I am going to start another in. I am never going to get my sock homework done by Wednesday's class!

I finally took some time tonight to try to figure out what fabrics to use for Ann B. Smith's annual New Year's Eve Mystery quilt. Here are one of my choices...

And here is another choice...switched out the purple for a more red color.
And this is all the fabric I have in this line by Mark Lipinski that has been waiting for me to come up with something good to sew it into. Which colors would you use? We need a background (my only easy choice) and two mediums and a POP color. Some of my fabrics are medium and some are darks...I think that will be okay though. Usually I do these quilts with one color for each so this will be my first scrappy if I wind up doing it this way.

Sewed this up tonight for another Lil Twister..it is puckery as my auto tension wasn't doing its job or something. idk!

Sewed with AZ huggy bunch on the way up to a party in Cave Creek on Saturday. Here is Ros working on her butterflies and quilt bindings.

And here is BJ--way ahead of me on Orca Bay! She shared several good tips with me that she picked up reading the quiltville or quilt talk list. I am way behind on my mail too!

She was cruising on clue four in reds! We couldn't resist putting our clue threes together to see what they would look like! (hers are blue and mine are yellow).
I wanted to show you my presents arrived from Shannon. I am dying to open them but resisting so far! They don't even all fit in my Santa Sack!

Here is the view from the loft of our tree. We got home from being overnight at Mom and Dad's and cleaned (as in did the windows, washed the drapes, vacuumed, etc.) and set up the tree. Kathy came by with Rosie and hung out and gabbed with us while we worked hard. So very happy to have accomplished that this busy weekend!

A Christmas Finish...Can I Get a Whoot Whoot?

DJ and I worked on quilting this little guy quilt...hoping once it is washed and the sticky spray stuff comes out it lays a little better but it is for a little one and won't be in pristine condition for long anyway. DJ is just learning how to do all this, lol. I did some more sewing on Orca Bay clue 3 (and did the math to do a half size quilt too...figure that will motivate me to try to catch up half of each clue and as it comes together I may add to it as time allows, but at least that way I don't feel like I am running in place and burning no calories!) This is as far as the next 72 hst's got. So now I have 95--sort of!
And I finally got Hannah's Christmas Tree Skirt binding on! I started it earlier today (I worked at 6 30 AM and was home by 130..wrapped Christmas gifts, put my bad knee on ice and attached the binding til it was time to go back to work.) and finished it up after I was done working for the day--after icing the leg again. Lasted about two hours before I had to put my leg up and ice again. Knee is improving faster than I would ever believe, but too slow for this impatient person anyway!

Back to the skirt, the pattern is on Moda Bake Shop "Fruitcake Under the Tree" and I love how it came out. I hope my daughter does too. She requested a tree skirt last year and umm here it is now!
I hope she didn't buy one in the mean time! I backed it with some muslin I got for free from my knitting teacher's fabric giveaway! I figured no point in putting 15 dollars worth of fabric no one will see on the back. My matching skirt is still a flimsy and I am not taking bets it will be done before next Christmas. Too many irons in the fire (or needles in the machine) to get to stuff for me! I really am pleased as punch with this one! Especially since I quilted it myself and it isn't bad :)

In other news I enjoyed participating in SewCalGal's quilt show...I managed to get the most votes overall (by my count) but somehow I didn't win--I am guessing some of my votes were thrown out or something (some were anon since facebookers came over and commented and many of them don't do blogs, etc. but I can tell you they were voting because they were commenting on my facebook!) but I did win a random prize which I will share when I get it. Mom always told me life isn't fair and so again mom is right, lol. SMILE, the winners' quilts were amazing so I resisted the urge to ask how the counting was done and moved on, but I had to say something! Oh well, I am a work in progress.

Hope your Holiday items are getting sewn and you are ticking things off your list!

Orca Bay Clue Three in Progress!

I have had a knee injury and so spent the weekend literally on the pull out couch downstairs. Tonight I finally made it up the stairs to my quilting studio so I could at least say I started Orca Bay (Long Lake, lol) clue three! I managed to put together eight more of clue two (total nine done, 63 to go) and did a sheet of clue three as well!

Clue one at the top, two in the middle and three on the bottom (complete with my mess up on clue two which may get trimmed down as a happy mistake for clue three).

I had to play a little bit too!

So there 23 of clue three done and only 327 to go, roflmfao. Perhaps I should half this quilt? On the up side, only one more week of regular classes left then it is finals week. I should be able to have NOTHING work related to do for at least a week or so over break before I bust in to getting ready for next semester. Only two ASL classes to prep for next semester though and I taught them this semester so much of the work is now done! YAY.

Even though I don't have much time to sew, I am loving every blasted minute of Orca Bay! If you are one of the rare folks who hasn't heard of it or isn't doing it...it isn't too late! Go to quiltville.com and find the clues!

Shamelessly Asking for Your Vote!

I entered my Holiday Lights quilt in the Christmas Quilt show at http://sewcalgal.blogspot.com/2011/12/vote-for-your-favorite-entries.html?showComment=1322976209771#c900000109098973934 so feel free to go and vote for my quilt (#42) in the Christmas category if you want to help me win! THANKS!

Designed by Bonnie K. Hunter for Quiltmaker Magazine. Thanks again Bonnie!
Oh and quilted by the amazing Ros Atwood. Check out my header to see the Christmas Lights she quilted in there! I LOVE THIS QUILT!

Orca Bay Update and Quilt Swap, Oh My!

You may recall my small quilt swap Lil' Twister that is currently on its way to Karen (still unpicking the red border one...) but here is a little parade of some of the other swap quilts. I hope Mary doesn't mind I lifted these pictures from her blog...and I am not sure if there are more or if these are it.



Love how they are all completely different! Just wait, I will show you mine but first...
I have one teeny tiny block sewn for Orca Bay clue two...but I did get yellow strips all cut up and ready to go and DJ cut the phone book papers to size. I have been battling the migraines and just haven't had energy for sewing (or much else) the past two days. It will get done though and I am truly enjoying all the blog posts about everyone else's progress!

Karen over at http://karen-logcabinquilter.blogspot.com/2011/11/swap-quilt-finished.html was my partner (her quilt is on its way to her now!) and this beauty arrived late Saturday when we remembered to check the mail. I absolutely love it. It is nothing I would ever attempt myself (you may recall the one blue and yellow Baltimore album applique block I did a long while back...the pieces are ironed on but now actual appliqueing ever took place!) The reproduction fabrics are so beautiful and and I really appreciate all the hard work Karen put into this. Of course, she hand quilted it too...I will absolutely treasure it forever. This is my first quilt exchange and proving Karen is half as happy as I am, it will not be my last. I have a thing for mini quilts anyway and am getting quite a little collection going too!

You can see all that hand quilting on the back...she even added a hanging sleeve (something I didn't even think of) and a label too. Shout out to Mary at http://mary-myneedlethread.blogspot.com/ for this genius idea and the work of coordinating everything. Count me in for the next one Mary!

I already moved other quilts to make way to hang this beauty. It is in the upstairs hallway right outside my quilting studio so I will see it as I come up the stairs and wander in and out of the room.
In case any of you want to know the pattern is from a Lori Smith pattern called "From My Heart to Your Hands" and it is exquisite. Do you love it as much as I do? Thanks Karen, this honestly might be my favorite gift this year!