QUILTING PHOTOS

These are the block-of-the-month quilt blocks for the Mystery Designer Quilt I am doing. Each month the pattern and fabric for one block arrives. The fabric is the beautiful Moda fabric, "Glace'." I am really liking this quilt so far. The fabric is so pretty, and the blocks are fun. It's nice to have only one a month to work on...you don't feel rushed, and you can take your time making sure everything squares up, all the points are there, and the finished size is a perfect 12.5 inches.

These are the flying geese units for the Winter White Schnibble I am working on. There are36 units, to be framed around a single 4" square....the easy part!

The black, red, and white quilt should be laid out where the squares are "on point". I wasn't aware it was incorrect for this photo, and then my batteries died.....so there you are.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2009

Good morning! It's another beautiful one. Oh, I love these days that are so fall-like. Crisp, sunny....I mean really, who doesn't? What's not to like? Just for the record, even tho the calendar says it's fall, I have not put out my fall decorations or Autumn Walk scented candle. Nope. The ceramic pumpkins, pitcher filled with autumn leaves, and pumpkin wall hanging have to wait until the calendar turns over to October 1. That's the rule.

I have been busy quilting. And reading. It's a wonder my eyes can focus this morning. Yesterday afternoon I made 76---count 'em---76 flying geese units. Made and squared up. The rest of the schnibble challenge should go together quickly...which is the whole point about schnibbles. The finished product will be about 38" square, I believe, so I'm thinking it will make a table topper...or hang on some small wall space.

Sat up til 11:30 to finish "The Castaways." It was okay....I just wanted to be done with it and on to "The Lacemakers of Glenmara."

Michael working again this weekend. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful he's getting in some overtime. But since next weekend is the Ocean Shores quilt show, I'm hoping he'll be around....or it will be a hasty trip after church Sunday.

Speaking of church....we're thinking of finding a new one. Last weekend we attended a different one, and really liked the service. Which is our main complaint about our current church. Is that enough to make you seek out a new church? Just because you don't like the way the preacher .... preaches? We love the people...we've been there 11 years. I am their sec/treasurer. Michael is an usher. We fit in, we're so comfortable there, I enjoy my work there and feel the Lord is using me...but spiritually, something is lacking. If you find yourself planning your grocery list during the middle of the sermon, isn't something wrong? Is it with ME? Hmmmm. So we're going to look around...visit a few churches and test the waters. I gave a heads up to our deacon board chair, told him that we were looking, and told him why. I think he was stunned...leaving without saying a whole lot. But when I saw him yesterday, I got the whole spiel of how they don't want to lose me (of course they don't....they'd have to find a whole new person to do what I do...for free). He was stressed....depressed...and said he'd have a talk with the pastor on Monday, not wanting to get him riled up before he had to preach on Sunday. I know the pastor....he will not take kindly to criticism. And why should he be asked to change his methods on my account? The congregation is actually growing...strange to me, but true. I guess we all want different things...and so shouldn't we go seeking what we need? I'm praying about it, of course.

Time for shower...breakfast...and sewing on that schnibble. Have a great day!

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2009

First day of fall....gorgeous out. Is it really supposed to be 85 today? The furnace did not come on this morning, and it was 65 when we went to bed at 11:30 last night. How one day can be so different from another...

Expecting Sue, my UPS buddy, to be stopping in today with a bundle of fabric from the Fat Quarter Shop. Aster Manor, Mill House Inn, and Rouenneries...some of the delights I can't wait to get my hands on. Tho I'll probably do nothing more than pet them at this point. Fabric so beautiful demands the perfect setting, and so I'll be looking through my patterns to find just the right one.

I've got some Gobble Gobble put away, and should probably be thinking of a quick fall project for that. And of course, it's time to whip up something new for the Christmas holidays...a wall hanging, table runner, something quick.

In two weeks there is a quilt show at the Ocean Shores Convention Center. Lots of lovely quilts will be hanging for display...those by Cleo Merrill are always a favorite. The woman has such an eye for color, and she hand quilts everything, which of course is a trait I admire...and practice myself. I wonder if she has issues with arthritis like I do? I sometimes wonder how much longer I will be able to do that.

Besides beautiful quilts to admire, there are vendors of quilting tools, sewing machines, and fabric. My favorite is the Quilter's Roost, a shop out of Everett. Jodi Grenzner speaks my language, and I love shopping her booth. Owners of shops tend to stock what they love best, and I can always find something (many somethings!) I love at Jodi's. I've shopped online with her for several years, and it's been fun to get to know her in person at this annual event.
It's also a day for lunch out with my hubby, who enjoys this event as much as I do.

READY FOR THE SEASON

Fall. Tomorrow. I'm ready.

The furnace was running when I got up this morning, and soon it will be the time of a constant fire in the fireplace...the scent of wood smoke in the air, dust all over everything, and lots of little critters running around that come in with the wood. Yes, it has it's drawbacks, but it's lovely heat....and it smells so good!

I've got lots of books requested from the library, and now that I have finished with Farm Town on Face Book, I actually am taking the time to get some reading done. (How sad that a silly, addictive game could take up so much of one's time. And while you expect that of kids, perhaps, it's REALLY sad that a woman of my age would get hooked on something like that. Believe me, it was more of a chore at the end, but coupled with a determination to get to the finish. Which I did.)
Anyway, I have just finished reading "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society." What a fun, interesting, and educational read that was. The book takes place in England (Guernsey on the Channel Islands, to be exact) the year after WWII ends, and the story is told entirely in letters. It was fascinating to learn about life under German occupation as told through the eyes of the villagers, but there is much humor and a good story-line also. And of course there is that beautiful English language...so poetic...so genteel...it's a real shame we don't talk like that any more. I heartily recommend the book.

I've got lots of quilt projects going, and lots of new fabrics on the way. I'm doing a wonderful BOM (Block-of-the-month) in Glace' fabric, and have also joined in "A Year of Schnibbles"....one project a month using a Schnibble pattern from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. What's a schnibble? Technically a scrap of fabric...and these are small projects. Do-able in a weekend, I suppose, if one is dedicated. I also have the black, red, and white quilt to finish...border to put on, and then layer for quilting.

TWICE I have begun and then rejected a quilt I'm making (or not making, as the case may be) for the newest addition to the family. I don't understand it. I'm not sure why this project has been fighting me, and when I figure it out, I will begin again. Maybe.

BLACK AND WHITE

My black and white project is done. Turned out nice. I think my niece is going to like it.

The black, red, and white quilt is coming along nicely. All the blocks are done, squared up, and ready to put together. I'm worried tho. I did the binding by hand on the pictured item here, and it had my arthritis screaming at me before I was done. How am I ever going to hand-quilt an entire quilt? This could be a problem.

I still haven't started on a new baby quilt, but I have picked out the fabric and pattern. Going to be soooo much better.

TRY, TRY AGAIN

I am so displeased with the baby quilt I was working on (see previous post), that I am going to start all over and go in a completely different direction. Sigh. It doesn't happen often that I so dislike what I've put together, but when it does, I've learned to just let it go. It doesn't pay to try to fix it. It's just best to go on. And that's that.

On the other hand, the black, white, and red blocks are almost done. Singly, I love them. I told my niece the other day that if I didn't like them put together in the quilt top, Travis and Erica would be getting 31 potholders from me!! I think it will work, and I think they'll appreciate something that's a little outside the box.

I've got two books waiting for me at the library....the latest John Sandford, and "Water for Elephants." My niece recommended this one. We'll see....doesn't SOUND like my cup of tea, but I'm prepared to be delightfully surprised. She says it's one of her favorite books.

So.....lots of choices on what to do with this bright sunny day. Enjoy, everyone!

QUILTING

I've been doing a lot of quilting the last few weeks/month. I've completed the top for a baby quilt, for the newest member of our family...due in October. We don't know what we're having and I'm hoping this quilt isn't going to be too feminine. It has lots of 'neutral' colors so I'm sure it will work. It would have been nice to work on something pink and frilly. I guess I can always do that later if it turns out to be an Olivia instead of.........what? I don't know what the boy's name choices are.

This red, black and white quilt will be for Travis and Erica. They are getting married next May, which will give me enough time to put this together and get it quilted. I have had an offer to have it professionally quilted by "a friend of a friend"....but I don't know. I've always hand-quilted all my quilts, and I'm thinking a quilt so special as for a wedding should be hand-quilted. What do you think? Do you think it would matter to the newlyweds?

This one is a mystery. To you, not to me.

I've received lots of new fabric this past month, and have plans to be doing a lot of quilting this summer and into the fall and beyond. One of my projects is a BOM....block of the month. That is when the quilt shop sends you the fabric for one quilt block each month. At the end of a year you have all the blocks needed to put together into a quilt. This is a great way to make a large quilt and spread the cost out over a year. The fabric is from a new line from some designer, but various designers and makers of quilt patterns have each designed one of the blocks going into this quilt. I don't get to know what it looks like until it's all done...so this one is a mystery to me. I do know what the fabric line is, and it's beautiful. Maybe I'll post a photo each month as I get the blocks done.