Somewhere in North Carolina

I am still here.  To be honest, I haven’t been quilting much.  I did quilt a couple of quilts for Quilts of Valor.  I have even made a few blocks. Like this silhouette of Holiday.  I know, I know.  And they eyes don’t look orange up close.  They are just dark brown.

I also made this bowl from clothesline.  Yes it is completely made from two different batik fabrics.  It was a bit of challenge to figure out how to do it, but I did.  I took photos to do a tutorial, but then thought no one would be interested.  Would that be of interest to anyone?

I also took a class with my local quilt guild.  I learned how to make a couple of blocks.  But I still haven’t finished them. It was just something cute that I thought was interesting.  But something else happened that day to upset my apple cart and I was out of sorts again.  It doesn’t seem to take much to throw me off my stride.

Over mother’s day we went to visit my oldest in his new city & state.  We met his girlfriend, her parents, and even got a tour of his office.  It was so nice to see him again and to meet her.  She is very pretty, and her family was very gracious.

I have been working more hours lately, and more than I would like.  I am now fostering TWO (yes, two dogs).  The first was to try to help Carter to have a friend and to heal.  The second was because the poor fella was just an old guy that needed a place to go.  He is 10, when boxers seldom live past 10.  So now I have 3 dogs that fill my days, but do not fill my heart.  I have a job that fills my time, but not my imagination.

And the path in the back yard has filled in.  What I once thought would be healing” just feels like something is missing.  Don’t worry, I’m not nearly this maudlin all the time.  That’s what blogs are for.

 

I Completed Clue 5

As I said, I now have a house full of visitors, but Clue 5 was a pretty small one, so I managed to do it quickly while everyone was sleeping in.  So it didn’t take long for me to put together the few blocks that we needed for this clue.  Then my daughter and I sat down and did some arranging with them.  I’m not sure if this makes sense given the number of each units, but it does make some interesting blocks.

I (Think I) Win the Scrappy Challenge!

Early in 2014, Judy L at Patchwork Times issued a Scrappy Challenge.  I started doing her January Challenge and by the time of her link up I had made 30 blocks.  If you find her January link up, you can see mine there.  I put a red in the center of each block, but after that, I gave no thought to anything except 1)  neutral background 2) light on the rectangles around the center 3) mediums on the big triangles, and 4) darks on the smaller triangles.

So with 64 “Big T” blocks, I took my selection of blacks and added them as sashing.  The red cornerstones in the sashing is a constant fabric.  I PURCHASED the border, which is black with multi-color polka dots.  The backing is also scrappy–I used yardage, but there are 4 fabrics in it–in long stripes.  Other than the border, I purchased NOTHING for this quilt.  Which is 98 x 98.  I quilted it myself using the a panto called “Hearts a flutter” and I love the way it looks.  Here it is on my queen size bed.  There is a full row of blocks hanging off either side.

Did you do anything scrappy this year?

De-Stashing September, 2014

September was a lot about the quilt show again  😦
But I did make a baby quilt for the a coworker.  I might make it to 50 yards, but will have to use about 3. 5 yards per month!

De-Stashed this Month: 5.00
De-Stashed year to Date: 73.25
Stashed this Month:  0
Stashed Year to Date: 34.25

Net De-Stashed for 2013: 39.00<<Goal for 2014: Greater than 50 yards De-stashed>>>
Additionally, I want to limit my purchases to no more than 5 yards per month.

For more stash reports, visit Patchwork Times.

To Bead, Or not to Bead?

Great Northwestern Alligator II

Beaded ladder back

Beaded fringe

I have a project of which I am very fond.  My alligator.  So fond, I’ve made two different versions of it.  The Alligator from the Great Northwest was the first quilt that I ever entered into a national show (Paducah).  The center for this quilt was actually the first alligator I made, the second alligator was the first one I finished.

Now I have decided to enter Great Northwestern Alligator II into another show.  And I am wondering if it needs something extra.  But this is a tough choice because the entire point is to take inspiration from the art of Indians of the Great Northwest–which, by definition is a very primitive.  The quilt is heavily quilted, except for the lower fringe, which is unquilted.

I found some beads I thought might enhance it.  One option is to bead the “ladder back” of the alligator with some circular beads that I found.  The color in this beaded back photo is terrible.  The true red is really a rust red, and the blacks range from charcoal to black.  The beads are a lighter grey, but because of the oyster shell type finish, they have a somewhat rustic look.

Another option is to use the beads to add to the fringe.  The color in this photo is much more true.  A deeper red and the beads are actually slightly darker than they are “in real life”.  This would be a minimal approach.

 

Playing it Close

Yesterday I finished quilting a QOV just in time–I didn’t realize I was playing it quite that close with the thread.  In fact, it would have been closer, because when i realized how quickly the thread was going down, I changed the top thread each time I had to tack down the edge when advancing the row.  The bottom thread was a slightly different shade of blue.  I really didn’t want to mix them, so I’m very glad that I was able to make it to the end of the quilt with some left over.  Hopefully, enough to do the binding!

A New Year

Hard to believe I haven’t posted anything for a month.  I have done very little sewing.  I have been following along with the Quiltville mystery “Easy Street” and was actually doing pretty well–until she got to the last 3 Clues–which were all 3 issued within 5 days.  Too much for me with company in my home.
At this point, I am nearly done with step 7 (the triangles on the left and bottom of the picture, and did a block from step 8, even though “technically” I am not there yet.  My colors were wildly different,so it may be sort of unrecognizable.  I have been trying to spend some time each day–although admittedly I am not getting a lot of time in. To see more “Easy Street” mysteries, check out Bonnies blog:  http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2013/01/mystery-monday-link-up-jan-7th.html 

For the last month, I have had my daughter and her fiance here.  Nerves were grating between her fiance and myself.  He has been unemployed since he graduated from college in May 2011 (except for about 6 weeks).  My daughter is in grad school. I think the most frustrating thing about their visit was that he likes to stay up all night and sleep all day.   And since I work from my home….that schedule is pretty distracting.  And December and January are my busiest times of the year, typically.

UFO Update: Some Progress

I checked out the UFO of the month at Patchwork Times.  It’s #12!  Hooray.  I have no #12 listed, so that means I can use it for whatever I want.  I actually have 2 UFOs  I have been working on:  The Alligator–which is mostly quilted and needs binding.  I have a plan for a special binding on this one that I need to get to work on.  Worked some on it last weekend and the idea needs more work.

Unfortunately, I am also working on the string quilt, which had 52 machine appliqued blocks that go with the strings.  I finished the last of those yesterday and am now assembling the top.  Now THAT is progress.  Hopefully we’ll have at least one finish this month.

I have updated My UFO List.

Stash Report 2012 – Week 20

Happy Mother’s Day!  Yesterday I attended my son’s college graduation.  He is 26.  There are many times I thought this day would not come.  He took the long way around, but he got there.  I am very proud of him.  After several starts and stops, he transferred to the College of Charleston and did so well there that he received several honors from the school of Business.  What a great way to finish!  And as we all know, finished is good!

Here is my stash report for the week.  I made the boxer quilt bag and some bindings.  That is all.

Busted this Week:         2.25
Busted year to Date:   90.25
Stashed this Week:       0.00
Stashed Year to Date: 84.00

Net Busted for 2011: 6.25<<< Still within my goal>>> 2012 Goal: + /- 25.00

For more stash reports, visit Patchwork Times.

Stash Report 2012 – Week 18

I considered just not posting my report this week.  I seem to be getting farther and farther behind.   Just from embarrassment, not from shame.   Everything I start takes longer than it should.  Nothing seems to be getting completed.  I am still not feeling totally up to par, which is really stupid.  This cold has dragged on for 2 1/2 weeks now and that’s just absurd.  The good news is that everything I purchased this week has a purpose.  Nothing in this report was purchased just because “it spoke to me”.  I can’t always say that…..

Busted this Week:        3.00
Busted year to Date:   77.25
Stashed this Week:       8.00
Stashed Year to Date: 84.00

Net Stashed for 2011: 6.75  <<< Still within my goal>>> 2012 Goal: + /- 25.00

For more stash reports, visit Patchwork Times.