Four Patch Posies

I finished this quilt top:

It is very busy. Very busy!!  It is really out of my comfort zone. But I will definitely finish it. I have a plan in mind-and it is very do-able on my frame.

Look for updates!

Another Finish!

The quilt from you know where is finally done.  As I quilted it I kept saying, “I really hate this quilt!” ( Cue Dylan in the background saying, “Momo!  Don’t say hate!”)

So now it is done.  After it was bound and washed I looked at it and said “I guess it really doesn’t look that bad…”  There are some lovely mistakes quilted in but overall, I am pleased and  I am glad that I did not give up on the quilt.  What do you think?

Movie Monday

I thought it might be fun to share videos that I have found on line each week.  Some may be instructional; some may be just for fun or some, like today’s may inspire you.

Meet Diane, a quilter from Texas.  I almost didn’t watch it but now I am glad I did.  She has a great attitude.  Surprisingly she became a quilter AFTER she lost her sight.

Blind Quilter

Finally…Finale

Today my husband, my grandson Michael and I went to see the final Harry Potter movie.  Michael and I prepared by watching Part 1 (and the Yankees) last night.

It.    Was.    Awesome.

When I finished reading the last book (and, by the way, I have read and or listened to each book at least 3 times) I was disappointed that the series was over   The movie, although dark and somber at times was surprisingly uplifting. The short scenes of comic relief were appropriate and not at all forced. I was concerned the last scene (the characters as adults) would be cheesy, but it was very well played.

As a child going to the movies, I remember booing at the bad guys, cheering the heroes and applauding at the end.  We showed our appreciation of a good movie.  Many people at the theater showed those same reactions today (although Michael told me he thought that no one clapped as loud as I did).

I have started listening to the books again on CD. (Do yourself a favor and listen to the great Jim Dale reading this series.) Hopefully when I finish all six books, the video for this movie will have been released and I can enjoy it all over again!

P.S. Look for something new on Monday!

Happy Birthday Leonard!

Adrienne, Joe and Leonard visited this weekend.  Friday is Lenny’s birthday (one year old already!) so we had a party yesterday.  Of course we also celebrated the 4th of July!

Yesterday we had beautiful weather for a party.  All the kids (and some of the moms and dads) enjoyed swimming and we had lots and lots of food.  A good time was had by all!

Katie made some cookies and a cake.  Don’t they look delicious? Lauren made a trifle-it was too yummy!

Surprise! A red white and blue cake!

Lenny is eating his special cake, made by mom Adrienne.

Amanda and Lenny-Amanda is Lauren’s boyfriend’s sister.

And now, Adrienne, Joe and Leonard are back in Maryland.  I miss you all but we will see you in August!

Something New

We just can’t work on one project at a time, now can we?  Although I could be finishing up LOTS of things, I chose to start something new. 

I have a four patch posie (the correct spelling is posy, but I like ie better)  pattern.  You cut 4 exact repeats of fabric, layer them and then cut squares.

This is the fabric I chose:

And here are some of the blocks:

I found fabric in my stash for sashing and posts between the blocks.  See, I am using my stash!

By the way,  Happy Father’s Day to my wonderful husband and sons-in-law.  You have all brought me-and my family- great joy.  I love you guys!!

A Dog’s Life

Starting Over…Again

I have been trying to quilt this:

As I said, I am not pleased with this quilt.  I decided to do an overall stipple and Katie looked at it and said, “You always do the same thing…”

So I picked out three rows of quilting.  I had an idea to do a kind of feather idea but to get the effect I wanted.  Unfortunately, the border was too wide and I picked all that out… 

Difficult to see but imagine LOTS of little threads and holes on the quilt top.

So I am going to meander-but smaller- the borders and put a little design in the blocks.  Sorry Katie, but it is going to look the same.

I am beginning to hate this quilt…

On a brighter note, I got some fabrics for my civil war quilt!

 

Can I tell you that each quarter cost me about $1.50 and the total shipping was $4.50?  I am very pleased!

Look What I Can Do!

Craftgawker

No pictures today but I tried my hardest!

I originally found Craftgawker as an app for my ipad.  It is a free app that shows lots and lots of links to all kinds of projects on the web. I spent mucho time looking at lots of links last night! The I found the website:

http://craftgawker.com/

So even if you don’t have an iphone or ipad, go take a look!

More Blocks

I guess I am slowing down.  I only have three more blocks to show today.  I decided that I need more fabric (!) for the blocks so I am now searching for more.

I am not too sure about the top block.  Any two of the three fabrics are all right together, but all three….I don’t know.  The third block is paper pieced.

I am finding that she uses the 25 patch often (as in the middle block).  I am going to make some templates to use for these blocks to use with my rotary cutter.  I may do that with the 7 x 7 grids also.

It is very hot here; 95 degrees yesterday and about 90 degrees today. Today there is a little breeze and it seems to be less humid. The upstairs is very warm so I have abandoned my sewing room.   Of course tomorrow is the day we are having central air conditioning installed.  Yay!  After 30 years!

My Little Secret

OK-this is a little embarrassing but I have a confession to make.

I am glued to the television watching the Casey Anthony trial.  Today Katie and I had to run out to run some errands and it was very difficult to leave the house.  Thank goodness for Nancy Grace and Dr. Drew!  I can get updates on what I miss.  There are also a couple websites I visit.

Why is it so compelling?  I wish I knew.  Maybe I am trying to understand her psyche; how she could continue to lie even when presented with her inconsistencies.  Yes, I believe she was somehow involved but I doubt we will ever know the real truth.  One reporter/commentator stated that he believes that everyone in the family is lying about something.

So that the time is not completely wasted I have been sewing-in my sewing room until it gets too warm and then in the afternoon I watch while working on this sashiko project I picked up in Baltimore.

The fabric is light blue and I am using white thread.  Of course I looked up directions after I started.  Traditionally, you work in rows, starting at the out side edges.  So I guess that that almost completed flower was done incorrectly.  I also do not have the finger thimble I have seen in several pictures.  Oh well-at least it looks like others I have seen!

Have you tried sashiko yet?

Three More Blocks

I have 3 more Civil War quilt blocks:

So far, they are coming together fairly quickly.  The third block in my pictures is not symmetrical to me but I did follow the directions.  The measurements have included lots of 1/8” increments but they have not been too difficult to do.

On the Frame

I put this quilt on my frame the other day.

I loved the fabric when I bought it.  The background fabric is actually white with mini dots of the same colors in the blocks.

I liked the pattern, too.  It went together very quickly.  It is also big; it fits well on a queen sized bed.

But now I really don’t like the quilt.  I put the piping border on incorrectly (long, boring story) so it is uneven in spots.  I made the borders 10” wide to accommodate the blocks I put in the corners, so I can’t use the quilting pattern I wanted to use won’t work (I only have a 7 1/2” throat on my sewing machine).

So I am going to try to make the best of it.  I am going to try using a pantograph to quilt this quilt.  I have not used pantographs yet; I mostly meander or quilt through tissue paper patterns.  I am a little nervous but I really want to learn to quilt from the “back of my machine” (i.e., using more all over pantographs.

I will keep you posted on my progress!

Civil War Blocks

Here are the first three blocks:

So far, so good.  The blocks finish at 6” and in some cases I oversized parts of the block and trimmed them down.  The outsides of the middle block are on the bias, but I starched them up so I hope they don’t stretch too much.

Wow! I only have 118 more blocks to make!

Civil War Quilt

I have a quilt on the frame.  I have a quilt that needs its outer border quilted (I am doing it on my Bernina-which is in the shop for cleaning and updates).  I have a binding to put on another quilt.  So why am I itching to start something new??

I bought this book a couple of years ago.  That was when I started collecting reproduction fabrics in earnest.

Barbara Brackman has started  a blog to celebrate the sesquicentennial of the Civil War. She is sharing one block each week.  You can see her blocks here.

I was going to follow along with her using her fabrics (in fact I was all ready to order them) but today I decided to use the above book and my own fabrics.  See-I can use what I already have!

I know-should I really start another project?  There are 121 blocks in the book.  I made the first two today (will post tomorrow).  I figure that I have 4 years to finish the quilt, right?

Are you starting or making a civil war quilt this year?

Kitty Cover

I don’t think I will keep the foot pedal in the pocket but I do like the way the cover turned out!

By the way, I did some test sewing on the machine and it really works well!  The 1/4” foot works well and while the stitch options are limited they are great for piecing and even some applique work.  I think that we will be great friends!

Recent Purchases

I went to four quilt shops while visiting Adrienne and Joe-and I squeezed in a trip to Ikea!  I bought over 20 yards of fabric. Yeah.  That is a lot of fabric.  I seriously have to stop buying fabric.  I just have to convince myself it is OK to use the fabric.

(Do you do that? Save fabric for that “special” project?  How special does it have to be???)

Anyway, here are some pictures of my goodies.The bag was a nice gift from the Seminole Sampler in Catonsville. The manager said that Adrienne and I were very entertaining! Please go visit if you are in the area!

Memories of Baltimore

I really had a great time in Baltimore.  I still think it is way too hot, but Adrienne and Joe were so good to me that I really didn’t mind.

Sunday I went out early for a last shopping spree and when I got home I took a little nap.  I woke up to this:

Joe had gone out and gotten TWO pounds of shrimp!  We had quite the feast.  Joe finished his shrimp but I had to stop with a few left in the box.  I am still thinking about them…

Thank you Joe and Adrienne for a great time!  I can’t wait to see you again-at Lenny’s 1st birthday party in July.  I miss you!

A Yankee in Camden Yards