Design Wall Monday 12/23/13

Well, last week after having the sewing machine pedal to the metal….this quilt top came off the design wall.
I love how it turned out.  Canuck Quilter will be putting the pattern up for sale shortly.  Please leave me a comment if you are interested in being notified when this happens. 
I am the type of person that can figure out how a quilt goes together, cutting sizes and just putting things together in general.  The directions are not what I would have come up with had I tried to piece this without a pattern.  You want this look…get the pattern.
We have company from last week until Christmas day.  Mom & Step-Dad left this morning and Dad arrives this afternoon.  Time to swap the guest room.  This means that my design wall looks like this….
With all the company here, it wasn’t time to start something new.
That doesn’t mean that the sew room is pulling one to come in…..
This is what one of the spare bed looks like.  Good thing no one needs it this holiday season.

And the floor.
Mom and I spent the evening going through and trying to organize.  It makes it so much easier to design if things are neat.  Folding and organizing is so much more fun when Mom is around.  Our next opportunity to visit in person is probably 3-6 months away. 
How much did we accomplish….
This was a mess before.  DH sat for awhile while the work was in progress. 
DH:  That piece is new.
Me: Yep.  (Yep, you haven’t seen it but it is almost 9 months old.  Be sure the next fabric is one that he has seen.)
Well, off to change the sheets.
Stop back over to Judy’s Patchwork Times and see the other Design Walls.
Just Another Quilter

Finish It Up Friday

My finishes with week include sashing and block for the Quilter’s Scrapbook.  It is coming together so nicely.  It may not look like much farther than the last time….but some cutting and pressing is going on for the next steps.

Just a tip or two for pressing in general.  Some pieces for this quilt are small (remember 1 1/2” squares”")….when working with small pieces starch your fabric prior to cutting.  The less your fabric moves around the better the sewing and matching of points.  Steam can either be your friend or your enemy.  If you give steam and a heavy hand on the iron your pieces will warp.  To keep your strip sets straight, pull out a ruler, press where you think straight is and confirm and adjust as needed.  It is better at this step to have things straight than fight with them later.  This is a great step for television or talking with friends. 

Stop by Crazy Mom Quilts and look at the other finishes today, Friday the 13th.

Just Another Quilter

Linky Tuesday—December 10th

Progress is being made on the Quilter’s Scrapbook.  The color in these blocks is amazing.  The colors were  so dull when this was going together.  The prominent color seemed to be beige & olive.  As I dove further into the stash the variety started to come out, and after deciding on the blue fabric for the borders any blue/turquoise/purple that I came across went into the blocks.

The border colors are being cut and will show up soon.  Some manhandling of the blocks was required yesterday.  Those small squares along with my imperfect 1/4” don’t always go together.  With a little starch, some steam and borders cut to the exact size, those imperfect blocks that were warped and not looking very square, look great.  Sure if you look hard you will see a parallelogram instead of a square every now and then, but I can live with that.

On the home front, MJJR played 2 games of basketball last night.  The game was 30 minutes away.  This is happening at least 2 nights a week.  DH left yesterday and returns tonight.  Lola comes home after finals on Friday. 

Sunday DH and I went over to Buffalo Wild Wings for one last get together with the co-workers.  We were stuck on the I-80 bridge over the Mississippi River for at least 40 minutes.  An accident backed up traffic, we were 30 minutes late for our own party!  The ladies waited.  Thank you ladies.  The weather was bad, a few didn’t make it…I was glad NOT to be driving.

Back to the bridge…the bridge design is the same as the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis that collapsed a few years back.  Since the collapse of that bridge, this bridge has under went numerous repairs.  The latest set of repairs were on the side we were stuck on…with paint still present about “No Vehicles” right where we were sitting.  The large semi’s going fast from the other direction & the length of the span across the river at this point, make the bridge rock and roll as you sit and watch not only the ice on the river but the tug boat that ran aground last week.  Did I mention that I wasn’t driving.  Had me a drink immediately upon arriving at BWW’s.

Off to pick up some chicken broth, making a soup similar to Olive Garden's, Zuppa Toscana.  Great for a chilly day on the bluffs of the river.

Stop down river and see the other links at Connie's Quilting by the River.

Just Another Quilter

December 9th-Design Wall Monday

The Quilter’s Scrapbook is coming along nicely.  The blocks are done and the white is cut.  Sashing is getting pinned on.  The blue is picked out.  The accent fabric has narrowed to 2 fabrics. 
The green in the top of the photo or the peach down in the bottom.  Either piece will look nice.  I have votes for both.  The color is pretty close in the photo…the blue is just slightly darker.


The green has a little more warmth than the picture and the blue is darker below.

Please vote for which one you like.  Tomorrow is probably the day for cutting the accent color.

Please stop over and see other Design Wall’s at Judy L.’s Patchwork Times.

Linky Tuesday

Today is Linky Tuesday at Connie’s Freemotion by the River.  Stop by and see what projects are happening.
My Quilter’s Scrapbook is coming along nicely.  The piles of strips made up of 10 - 1 1/2” squares are getting smaller.  Here is the current view.

The colors are amazing.  Each of these need at least 2 more rows.  I found the blue fabric in the stash.  There is adequate yardage and it needs to come out of the stash.  It was an impulse buy, binding for a quilt, it didn’t go. It is neat fabric.  Stop back and watch the progress my on Canuck Quilter’s new pattern. 
Today is the local guild’s Christmas Potluck.  I am taking some Chicken salad and crackers.  Also on today’s agenda, label on the Christmas Traditions Quilt, and making Saltine Toffee Cookies for the Traditions sale.  This recipe is one of my go to recipes for sweet treats.  The ingredients are items found in the average kitchen: butter, brown sugar, saltines, chocolate chips and optional nuts.  Total kitchen time: 10 minutes or less.  My kind of recipe.

Have a good day, 
Just Another Quilter

Design Wall Monday

Canuck Quilter was looking for someone to test her new pattern “The Quilter’s Scrapbook” before it goes on sale.  This design is awesome with great sashing around simple postage stamp blocks.   I volunteered to take the pattern for a test run. 
My design wall is on my thread holder right now.  There are 1200 small 1 1/2” squares to make up all those postage stamp blocks.  This has been great to get some of the smaller scraps out of the stash.  My scrap project in the past was working with 1 1/4” x 2” scraps.  So as I am cutting up and sewing for “The Quilter’s Scrapbook”, I have also been cutting the leftovers for my other project.  If the scraps can’t fit into one of these projects then it IS garbage.

Each of these piles is a block for “The Quilter’s Scrapbook”.   My piles currently count at 9, only 3 more blocks…300 more 1 1/2” squares.  Each stack of fabrics tend to have similar fabrics in them, so I want to make sure that all the stacks are done before sewing the strips together.  If those loud fabrics aren’t evenly distributed it might be noticeable.  Some of the later squares have been leftovers from Lola’s college quilt, these additions are LOUD.
In other news, the benefit for my former co-worker went great last night.  The profit was over $7000 and the quilt went to another co-worker.  She really wanted the quilt and bid $300 right off the bat.  She won and is planning on redecorating her room to go with the quilt.  It is so nice for the quilt to go to a home where it will be loved. 
Today I pick up the Christmas Traditions quilt.  It needs a label before Saturday.
Stop over and see other design walls at Judy L.’s Patchwork Times.
Just Another Quilter