Back at it!

I'm back at work. Yay.

(was that convincing?)

The problem with working is that it keeps me from doing other things.  I put together another quilt top this weekend, but I have so many more to go!

The 4th top I've assembled so far.

4 more blocks arrived on Saturday - thanks Marlene from New Zealand and Robin from CA!  Aren't they pretty?

And I finished one open block on my Scrappy String Star quilt, but there are 3 more of those to fill up.

I'm loving the look, even if I did orient it sideways.  Looks very folk artsy to me. 

Close up of my big stitches with embroidery floss

I made 4 freehand mugs for November's Block Lotto, but I'd love to make the maximum 9 blocks so I have more chances to win.

Instead, I'm at work.

Better get back to it.

Happy Monday, everyone. (in my best Eeyore voice)

Sweatshop!

The blocks keep pouring in!  Thank goodness for time away from work for Thanksgiving so I can get down in my sewing room and SEW!  I'm about to turn that room into a SWEATSHOP, with some time set aside to EAT!  My brother is hosting this year, so that takes a huge weight off my shoulders.  Plus, I just finished a major project at work, so that is a relief, too.  I've been working my tail off lately, getting only 4 and 5 hours of sleep most nights - I can't survive like that for long!

So here's what came on Monday:

95 quilt blocks (including 42 from 1 person!) - thanks, Sue S, Teri J, Barbara R, Karen W, Susan R, Gloria B, and Judy C! 

And here's today's mail:

3 blocks from Michele in Ontario - thanks, Michele!

a cheater cloth backing from Lynda in Nevada - so cool!

And a batting and some yardage from Lynda, too - thanks, Lynda! 

Monday was also the third meeting of my quilting class at the elementary school.  Since they had deconstructed lots of jeans at our first meeting, I cut the denim down to 7.5" squares, and they started sewing them together, rag quilt style with some up-cycled linens on the back.

only 2 rows of 5 are sewn together so far with one more set of five ready to be added 

We also started to work on our county fair entry quilt.  It is to be a combination of colored (with crayons) and embroidered blocks, so they started with some embroidered blocks, using a simple backstitch, to spell out "CENTRAL ELEMENTARY, READY TO QUILT".  Some of them took right to it and completed or nearly completed their letters.

Some of the completed or nearly completed letters - we used red, blue and green variegated #8 perle cotton 

Close up of one of the letters - bigger stitches than I suggested, but for these kids' first time, I think they did great! 

Others really struggled, and I have some knotted messes to untangle before next time, but all in all, it was probably our best class yet.  Right at dismissal, one of the girls came up and hugged me and said, "I love you!"  My heart swelled so much it hurt!

OK, here I go, less typing, more sewing!  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone!

One hundred and fifty-three

153 - That's how many quilt blocks arrived in the mail yesterday.  112 were the disappearing 4 patch, and 41 more were donated 16-patches.  I also received backing material and additional money for batting.  You guys are amazing!  We are going to make so many people warmer this winter!

Donald was excited to help with all the packages that were left outside our mailbox in this plastic bag . Even more blocks were in envelopes INSIDE my mailbox.  Wow!  I'm sure the mail carrier is curious about what is going on!

112 12.5" disappearing 4-patches covers A LOT of floor space! I use this spot in the basement to sandwich large quilts. 

I'm excited to make some other donation quilts with these donated blocks. 

Thank you, Nancy B, Patricia C, Becki W, Carol J, Sharon V, Barbara H, Robin B, Carol C, (unknown first name) Reiner, Barbara A, Charmaine T, (unknown first name) Thomsen, Terri J, Pat M, Susan L, Barbara W, Beth S, and Marilyn P!  You are on my ever-growing list of HEROES!

I managed to sew together most of one top last night.  I had hoped to do more, but my husband's team had a scrimmage and we went out to support him.  Of course, I went to THE WRONG UNIVERSITY!  What a bonehead!  Luckily, the two universities are only about 20 minutes apart.  While watching the game , I made some progress embroidering my mini.  For a tiny quilt, it sure is taking me longer than expected!

I wonder what today's mail call will look like?

Lotto, Love and Lollipops

I finally ran out of solid white fabric, so I am done making Block LOTTO blocks.  I ended up with seven, and I think I'll put 4 into the Block Lotto pot, and keep 3 for myself.  I figure, with 3, I could make a table runner, right?  But ideally, I'll win and have a bunch of blocks to put together into a fun, crisp quilt!  I really like the looks of these.

Hmmm, which to keep, and which to give away?

I received some LOVE in the mail this weekend from "my best friend that I've never actually met", Em.

This photo is from her Facebook page because my photo of it did not come out well. She did bind it, and it is awesomely textured with her creative quilting.

In addition to this quilted L, she included some cool novelty fabric,

and this iron on Cowgirl patch that I ADORE!!!

I've always wanted to be a real cowgirl.  I want to put the patch on something, but what?  I might need to make myself a denim bag just to have something to affix it to that I can use/wear daily.  Thank you, Em!

Saturday night, we went to the final weekend at Hull's Drive-In for a costume contest, Trunk-or-Treating, and to see Hotel Transylvania.  At the last minute, I decided to dress up, revisiting my vampire costume from 4 years ago.  Apparently, I wasn't very scary that time, so this time I added a scraggly wig, and put black make-up around my eyes, and painted my fingernails black, and put some blood dripping down from my blackened lips.  Then, I decorated my trunk as a graveyard, using some Halloween fabric as a backdrop and stringing some cobwebs for the kiddos to reach through to pluck a LOLLIPOP from my black cauldron.  There were a couple little ones who were afraid to approach me.  Hee, hee, hee!

Trunk-or-treating at Hull's Drive-In 2012

Halloween is so much more fun if you just go with the flow and dress up and act WICKED.

Speaking of WICKED, are any of you getting caught up in the Wicked Blog Hop?  Oh my goodness!  I spent several wonderfully wicked hours over the weekend visiting blogs and entering giveaways and bookmarking blogs I want to revisit or blocks I want to make!  Fun, fun, fun!  And they inspired me to make a new Halloween pillow cover for one of my couch pillows, but more on that tomorrow (when it will be done).  Until then, be well, my pretties!  Cackle, cackle, cackle!!!

(and Mobenda, if you are reading this, please email me so I can get your address and fabric preferences to send you your fat quarter for commenting on my last post)

A new friend!

Not a lot of quilting news to share.  I received a squishy package from a Christmas fabric swap partner.  Not only did she send fabric, but also CHOCOLATE (can you tell that half the bag is missing already?) and a wonderful pair of scissors with a holder.  Thanks, Leslie!!

But I didn't sew at all this weekend.  Instead, I went on a 23-hour date with my husband!  He somehow got a free night at a hotel in a town about 30 minutes from here, so we invited another family to come kid/pet/housesit for us, and the two of us went to dinner and a movie, spent the night in a fabulous hotel, slept in, and then went to brunch.  I think it's so important to spend time as a couple and remember what it is we love about each other when the kids are out of the equation.  Contrary to my boys' belief (they cry if we even suggest that one day they will have to move out!), one day, it will just be the two of us in the house, and we certainly don't want to be strangers.

Speaking of strangers, a couple months ago I met a woman at the library and her three boys.  She had recently moved here from New Hampshire (another Yankee!) and her boys were looking for a cub scout pack (I was wearing my Den Leader uniform after our meeting).  We chatted and I gave her my number, but I never heard from her again. 

Fast forward to today:  I met her at the library again today (both of our oldest sons are in the local Guys Read bookclub), and we talked a bit.  She noticed that I had some quilting magazines in front of me, and she's a quilter, too!!!  Add to that the fact that we are (practically) the same age, and that she has/had a crafty blog (http://earthycraftymommy.blogspot.com/ although she hasn't posted in a while), and I am SO EXCITED to be making a new friend with so much in common with me!!  (are you reading this Michelle?  Hi!!  We'll have to invite you and the boys over so they can play and we can play with FABRIC!)

Scrap attack!

Have you noticed I haven't done much quilting lately? Reading, yes. Sewing up little gifts and whatnot, yes. But quilting, no. I couldn't take it anymore! I had to get up to my elbows in scraps and work on a quilt (or two, or three).

I started by helping Donald work on a quilt. His student teacher is leaving at the end of the week, and he wanted to make a quilt for her, so I helped him sew up blocks for a signature quilt using some pre-cut 5.5" squares that I inherited from someone somewhere down the line. He picked out the fabrics to use (from a stack of coordinating sqaures), he used the presser foot while I steering the fabric under the needle, he cut the chain pieced segments apart, and he pressed them open on the ironing board. He got a bit tired of it all, and started lamenting the fact that there were 23 kids in his class.

"I should have done this last year in kindergarten when there were only 11 of us," he sighed.

I sent the blocks in with him this morning for the teacher to have all the kids sign one, and then we'll hopefully put it together tonight with the upper and lower borders that you can see in the photo above that I made to make it more square. It is only about 30" square, and I plan to machine quilt with some straight stitches. I've even already made the binding!

I also made a couple more of my leader and ender blocks using 1.5" squares (these blocks finish 6.5" square, and the whole purpose is to use up that black floral - I had a bunch of pre-cut 4.5" squares of it that I wanted OUT of my scraps tin).


I also worked on whittling down my stash of strings because they no longer fit in my strings tin. I whipped up a couple more Virginia Bound blocks (an adaptation of a Bonnie Hunter quilt in her Scraps and Shirttails book). I love these blocks, and can't wait until I have enough to sew them together and have a quilt already! (only 37 more blocks to go...ugh! when I put it that way, it seems like it will NEVER happen!)


I've also had time this past week to work on hand quilting my Pick and Choose quilt.

No new photos, but slowly, slowly, it is coming along. Dare I say that I hope to have it done before Christmas? Did I just jinx myself?

I also want to share with everyone the bag that I received from Janet. I won a giveaway on her blog, and she made me this bag. I love it!

She made the handles in a very clever way so you can use them either long or short - genius! And check out her free motion quilting - I am in awe and so envious of her ability!

She included a beautiful fabric postcard that she made, but I forgot to take a photo of it. Thanks so much, Janet!

PRESENTS!

Thursday was all about PRESENTS! In the mail, I received my heart in the form of a necklace from my soul sister, Em - thanks, love!


I also received another of my Let's Bee Together blocks.


I started working on a present for one of karate instructors, whose birthday party is this Sunday evening. It is a quick and easy Ticker Tape or Mosaic Tile quilt. I just hope it is quick enough to complete by Sunday at 5 PM. The R is her initial, and I'll be making 9 bands of color to correspond to the nine colors of the belts we earn in karate.

I also finished making and sewing together my modified Flurry blocks for my Christmas quilt. Now for borders...I think I'm going to do a braid on either side, partially to make it wider but also to use up more of these hideous Christmas fabrics.

And finally, this has nothing to do with a present, but I finished my second Pindrop block.

Today, I worked only half a day, then met my kids at the city pool and swam 20 invigorating blocks. Now I'm sitting on my porch, enjoying a refreshing breeze and the gorgeous views while I shuck corn and snap beans for dinner. What a great start to the weekend!

Que pases un buen fin de semana!

Done and done

The boys practiced their square knots and finished up the Cub Scout quilt. I can't wait to have them display it at their Blue and Gold ceremony on Saturday. Even though the birthing process was a hassle at the time, now, the quilt is DONE and done feels great!

I've had some squishy mail lately. First, some unexpected Katie Jump Rope scraps from Angela - thanks, Angela!

And then the fabric for my February Bee Block. Pink and brown - pretty!

The instructions were to make a 9.5" Shoofly block and add scrappy sashing to two sides. My first instinct was to make one of those scrappy sashing blocks a mini shoofly block, but I goofed and the points got cut off - that's OK for a quilt that I'm keeping, but not for a block that I'm sending off to someone else.

So I substituted that mini shoofly with a mini 9-patch - I don't like it as much, but it'll do. I hope she likes it!

Am I wrong?

This morning, I sat in a meeting from 8:30 AM until 12:15 PM, a succession of people from across the University making 20-minute presentations to a group of us, one after another. I came prepared with some hand quilting to keep me focused. However, one of my co-workers looked at me askance and said, "Are you really going to quilt while the President is talking?"

I thought nothing of it - when my hands are focused on quilting, my mind can zero in on what is being said. The same is true if I'm watching TV; without something for my hands to be doing, my mind often wanders (or shuts off and I start to snooze). But it made me wonder, was that rude of me? Would YOU bring handwork to a presentation, whether it be quilting or knitting or embroidery? Would you be offended if someone were doing handwork while you were giving a presentation? Inquiring minds want to know!


By the way, I got a block quilted on my 4th of July Tablerunner during the meeting - 3 blocks down, 2 blocks and the border to go. At this rate, it might actually be ready for next 4th of July! I'm not sure why I am quilting a tablerunner so heavily...


I also received some squishy mail earlier this week, some early birthday love from Char at Cloth Stitched - lovely fabric and a sweet handmade card. Thanks, Char!

Pick-me-up and Patience

Wow. The amount of work waiting for me after two weeks off was staggering! I got in bed at 7:30 PM last night - no joke. I'm trying to stay up until 9:30 or 10 tonight, just so I can feel like a grown-up. I am BEAT!


But there was a pick-me-up waiting for me when I got home yesterday - SQUISHY MAIL! Remember the giveaway I won from True Creations? Not only did she send the book, but also four fat quarters.


Aren't they YUMMY?


I should go put a load of laundry in so they will be ready to use when inspiration strikes. (Well, that and the hamper is overflowing AGAIN! How can two small children soil so many clothes?)


I'm not going to linger on here tonight. Gotta make some progress on my hand quilting. Now that I missed my self-imposed deadline, it is hard to stay motivated, but I'm trying.


Oh, and on the PATIENCE front, I didn't raise my voice at either kid all day. I'm not sure if that's because they were really good of if I am making progress, but either way, I'll take it!