I need variety!

 I've got a friend with a big surgery coming up in a couple of months, so I want to give them a quilt.  When considering my (considerable) UFOs, my plaid string quilt seemed like a good option for them, based on Julie's beautiful creation.

It's up on the design wall and I've completed a few more 9-patches and sashings, but man! Now I remember why I fizzled out with this quilt.  I'm excited about how it is going to look, but it is so boring for me to create.  Part of why I love scrap quilts is that there are so many different fabrics playing together.  With this one, it's just plaid.  I'm gonna do it, but I need something to spice up my sewing stints as well.

Today I finished my January Bee Blocks:

Finished sewing together all of the 2022 Stashbuster blocks that I had precut:

I'm going for a non-traditional holiday quilt look

And worked on this scrappy bear paw variation that I started over winter break:

I also did some purging, identifying some orphan blocks, some fabric and some thread that I plan to take to Swansons to swap out for some quilting scraps, and along the way I unearthed some of the quilts I started hand quilting but never finished.  I need to commit to getting back to them.  There's the one I made for my bed around 15 years ago but never finished:

And this scrap quilt where I was playing with big stitch quilting in a rainbow of colors - I completely forgot this quilt even existed:

There's this mini twister quilt made from salvaged pillowcases:

Completely forgot about this sailboat baby quilt:

And this self-portrait:

There were others, too.  I amaze myself sometimes with how much I DON'T finish!  Time to change that!

Catching up

I'm back in Massachusetts after a wonderful couple of days relaxing with my husband and kids.  I knitted, I quilted, and I binge-watched TV shows.  I LOVE VACATION!

After an uneventful drive home, I finished up Clue #5 for my Good Fortune Mystery Quilt.

Clue #5 done and trimmed

I'll start Clue #6 tomorrow before heading up to NH to spend Christmas #2 with my sisters and their families.  In the meantime, I'm quilting like crazy, trying to finish my 8-month-old niece's quilt before her first birthday!

I've really enjoyed hand quilting these last few days.  Why do I set it aside for so long???

I'm linking up with Oh Scrap and Monday Making.

Crafting on the road

I'm on the road again, this time visiting Vanderbilt University in Nashville.  While waiting for today's programming to start, I had to wander over to see the Parthenon replica and read about why it is here.

Turns out, it was built for Tennessee's Centennial celebration.  Cool, but seems pretty random to be plopped down here in the middle of Nashville

I doubt I'll be stranded here for two extra days like I was during my trip to Washington University in St. Louis last month (knock on wood), but I'm prepared, just in case.  In addition to more hexies to stitch together,

I only brought 5 flowers worth of hexies to stitch together.  I should be able to finish that in a mere evening of watching Heartland on Netflix.

I brought my current mindless knitting project,

Based on the Dourado pattern, but I'm altering it to work with the Katia Ombre yarn that I have.

as well as three paperback books and three audiobooks.  One of them, of course, is a crafty cozy mystery:

I've read the first in this series, and was waiting to read this third installation until I had read the second, but it was the smallest paperback on my shelf that I hadn't read, perfect for travel, so the second will have to wait.

Back home, I've been plugging away at my myriad current projects - hand quilting the quilt for my new niece who arrived on Friday,

I still have a long way to go.  Not marking, just quilting organically concentric echoes to fill the white spaces.  Not sure yet what I'll do with the colored spaces.

My new niece with her older sister and brother.  Love fest!

I spent most of Saturday doing just this.

making more 3" nine patches for my 5" Sister's Choice project,

Nine patches are so simple but make me so happy!

Why, oh why, do I love tiny piecing so much???  It's going to take A LOT of blocks to make a useable quilt out of 5" blocks, but I'm not going to think of it that way, just gonna enjoy the process.

On Ringo Lake has been on the back burner, as has my Flutterby project, but I'm still up to date on my Temperature Quilt.  I do like having a choice about what I want to work on every time I sit down at my machine.

I'm linking up with Oh Scrap and Monday Making.

Fickle me

Sometimes I lament how long it takes me to finish a project.  I can't help but compare myself to the amazing quilters whose blogs I follow who seem to be able to crank out a new project every few weeks.  I have to remind myself that my process is different, and that we aren't here to compare ourselves to each other.  And when I take stock of everything I AM doing, it's actually quite a bit; it's just spread out across several projects.  What can I say - I'm fickle.  What I feel like working on today isn't necessarily what I'll feel like working on tomorrow.

The project that received most of my attention today is my Sister's Choice quilt.  It's simple and fun and since I already have so many precut scraps, the blocks go together quickly.

I've decided to keep the alternate blocks constant, as several of you suggested.

I also managed two more On Ringo Lake blocks, bringing my total up to 30, and three more Flutterby blocks, bringing that total up to 39 blocks.  My temperature quilt is also up to date.  It was a satisfying day at the sewing machine, which is good because I also took my kids bowling today, and my 7 year old nephew kicked my butt!

Yesterday was mostly spent hand quilting my new niece/nephew's quilt.  I bought a wide backing from my LQS rather than piece a backing,

In addition to the Judie Rothermel backing, I picked up a few WoW remnants - can never have enough of those.

and I've enjoyed watching Heartland while I work on it.  My niece calls the show "a TV version of a country song," and I guess she's right.  But I love country music, have always daydreamed about being a cowgirl, and the scenery is breathtaking, so it works for me!

Yesterday, there was actually SUN so I could quilt with natural light.  Spring, I am ready for you to arrive!

I've also been working on a new knitting project, loosely following a pattern, but modifying it to use up all of the yarn I've designated for the project.  I played yarn chicken, hoping to get to the end of the row before a color change, and I won!  Whew!  I made it with just inches to spare!

The pattern is Dourado on Ravelry, but I am modifying it to use up my mini skeins of Katia Ombre yarn

And look!  I've continued to unpack from our move in August, and came across this pixellated heart that I had forgotten I had pieced!  I think it needs some other hearts to keep it company so it can be made into a useable sized quilt, don't you think?  But I'll save that project for another day - I have plenty to keep me busy these days.

Made with 2" squares from my scrap bins

In the meantime, all my quilty adoption items were shipped out on Tuesday, and I've started to hear that they've made it to their new homes.  I hope to see what they become in someone else's hands.

Long Winter Weekend

One perk of boarding school life is the vacations.  Today marks the start of Long Winter Weekend, a four and a half day weekend for us.  The timing is perfect - I'm starting to feel a bit under the weather, and I can use the rest.

But I'm determined to enjoy this time off.  In a perfect world, this time off would include:

• Knitting!  I want to complete this hat that I started earlier this week,

• and make some progress on this simple rolled cuff sweater I started several years ago.  I added the neck one night while watching a movie at the drive-in movies, and was dismayed to learn in the light of the following morning that I had picked up the stitches wrong, creating an unwanted ridge.  My plan this weekend is to take the neck off and put it back on correctly.

• Reading! I have many unread books waiting in the wings, but I've selected Unraveled by Maggie Sefton and Raven Threads by K.D. McCrite as quick and easy reads for the weekend.

• Quilting!  It's time to baste my next hand quilting project.  And my fabric order from Missouri Star Quilt Company arrived today (man, they are FAST!) so I plan to catch up on the blocks for my Temperature Quilt.  

• And more quilting! I'd like to get 20 of the 50 blocks done on my On Ringo Lake quilt; I currently have 5 done, so 15 to go.

In between times, I'll be going to a couple of my son's basketball games and hosting a Super Bowl viewing party.  I'll let you know on Monday how well I did achieving my weekend goals.

Quilts Show 2016

Our local quilt show was held at the end of July at the county fair.  I meant to post photos right away, but...

As usual, I was putting my last stitches in my quilt as they were hanging the last quilts.  When will I ever stop procrastinating??? Despite the proliferation of machine quilted quilts these days (which I totally understand and admire and am NOT knocking!), I love that nearly 15% of the quilts in this year's show were hand quilted!  Here's mine:

3rd place small/medium hand quilted

Close up of the hand quilting

I volunteered to be a hostess at the show and enjoy the quilts at my leisure.  Here are some of my favorites:

1st place hand quilted small/medium by Maureen G.

2nd place hand quilted small/medium by my friend, Sandra S

Surprisingly, the only 'modern' quilt in the show, by my friend, Sue L

She realized she was never going to finish her hex quilt, so she chose a different setting, by Maureen G

The colors of this grabbed me, by my friend Joan W

This one is also by Joan W.  Can you tell she doesn't do muted colors?

Isn't the quilting fabulous?  Quilted by my friend, Gail C.

Best in Show by Cynthia A - I love traditional quilts!

Close up of Best in Show winner

The quilt I'd most like to snuggle up with.  My friend, Gail C, always includes so many fabrics and fun details in her quilts.

Isn't it fun?  Stars & circles & butterflies & ric rac & yo-yos & buttons, oh my!

I admire Judy Niemeyer quilts so much, probably in part because I know I'd never be brave enough to attempt one.  This one was made by Gwyn C.

I love color!  This one by my friend, Helen W. 

When I first saw this one, I thought it was a photograph!  By Lori H S

I love minis, and the scrappier, the better!

And finally, Judge's Choice was this wonderful crazy quilt.

Can you see those wonderful details?  I could study this quilt for hours!

Ah, finally, I can free up some room on my phone for more photos, yet still enjoy this year's quilt show here online.  I'm already hoping to submit TWO quilts next year, including a mini.  I love them, but have never made one.  I think it is time!