The Ups And Downs of Quilting

Design Wall Monday-January 30th, 2012

2012-01-30T08:18:00.001-06:00

We had some unexpected company over the weekend. My mom called on Thursday and asked if she and my step-dad could come for the weekend. Of course. It was so nice to see them. My parents have had a rough time. My step sister and I have both had some health issues recently. She has breast cancer (starts radiation next week) and I landed in the hospital just before Christmas (they think I have had a heart attack in the past—I am 43). I have had a battery of tests, they haven’t found anything significant. I am waiting for more results now. The worst right now is possibly a stint. My step sister is having a hard time with the diagnosis. She had a lumpectomy and is doing okay.
Sooo, to hasten up the waiting, I have been sewing. I finished the Christmas Quilt, knitting my socks and a small scarf (haven’t shown yet), added some quilting to a quilt (it will hang at the library for February) and started a new project. This is a project that I have had in mind for a while. The fabric is a couple years old from Hancock's. The prints are from their turn style display of fat quarters. The rainbow colors were a fat quarter roll I bought with a coupon. The blacks were just something I had in the stash. The frames are solid black. I ran out so the small squares are a swirl. Everything looks better in black. The framed blocks had been pinned and the rainbow colors were cut, prior to yesterday. Still lots to do, but progress.

I have enough of these blocks to go 7 x 9 with no borders. I hadn’t planned on a border, but I have a little left over, so it might get something. It should make a nice lap size quilt. The blocks finish at 8”.
Back to the hospital thing--the whole thing came at the most inopportune time-vacation time. We left for the airport just 3 hours after arriving home from the hospital. Many tests were run before they could ensure I could safely leave the country. A few items added to my bags, which were mostly packed, and we were off. We drove into Chicago that afternoon and picked up the plane the next morning.
We took a cruise over Christmas and New Years. We arrived home not much before the Costa Concordia ran aground. We were on the “Allure of the Seas”. The largest passenger boat out there. It was beautiful. This is the view from our room coming into the 1st port-St. Maarten.

We had to cancel two of the excursions planned—a zip lining adventure and underwater snuba (the old helmet style scuba gear). We ended up with a swimming with the sea lions (very relaxing) and Segway's on the beach (an avid drivers dream). The family time, sun and fun were just what the doctors ordered.

Enjoy every Day and Thank God for your blessings!

Just Another Quilter

Finish it Up Friday, January 27th 2012

2012-01-27T11:09:00.000-06:00

I had some goals that did not get accomplished last year for Judy L.’s UFO Challenge. My first fail was…JANUARY! I tried so hard on this quilt to get it done. You can see my progress here. I ended up having problems with the backing bleeding on to the light top fabric. The quilt has been picked up and some work has been done on it throughout last year. I wanted to get it done by the end of January 2012.
The back fabric that bled has now been removed and replaced. The outer fabrics were put back on after lots of quilting ripped out. The quilt became washed out with my efforts to remove the coloring that bled. The binding will be finished today. The binding is the original coloring. DH thought it would accent well, and required less work. I like it.

It is a disappointment that this quilt doesn’t look like I imagined. It is a beautiful quilt, but reminds me of the horrors every time I look at it. I am excited to be able to call it DONE!

Just Another Quilter

Yes, I am still out here!

2011-12-05T09:28:00.000-06:00

I can’t believe that it has been two months since the last post. It has been busy around here. Lola and I visited a local university as she is coming to the point of making a decision. She was on stage crew for the fall musical last month. MJJR needed a coach for her basketball team. Yep, I am helping, the record keeper and scrimmage player. I have hit the floor hard at least 2 times. MJJR became a teenager last month. The big sleepover happened with 10 teenage girls after pizza and laser tag in town. DH is still traveling a lot. He made a trip back to Nebraska and is currently in Chicago. My dad came out for Thanksgiving and my mom & step-dad come out on Thursday. My dad is scheduled to come back out the following weekend. Our church had their big “Christmas Traditions” on Saturday.   Goodies that my hands helped with: “Saltine Toffee”, dipped peanut butter balls, dipped coconut balls, and wrapped homemade caramels to name a few. During the event, I greeted those that came out in the rain.   And in the middle of all that, the blood pressure check-up. They upped my medicine again. My comment “Let’s get my blood pressure in control with where my busy life is, not where I would like it to be.”
On to the sewing/crafting front: the quilt for Christmas Traditions was finished with pillow shams (we did get our minimum bid on the quilt of $150). I taught my quilt class, it was a hit with 9 students. The students asked to have another class after the new year. That makes it a hit right! After trying to auction my services at Christmas Traditions and having no one sign up for a class at the LQS it felt good. Two Christmas presents are handmade this year.
My boss left back in October. Here is the quick quilt made from the leftovers of the quilt class quilt.
The fabric is called “Kashmir”. The 3 yards of fabric could not make a larger quilt if used as a border and what else do you do with all the cool border prints. The fabric was cut into 1.5 yards sections. The section with the small green rectangles on the edges is the middle. I started in the middle and “stitched and flipped” my way to the outside edges in a quilt as you go method. The quilt was started on Thursday and gifted the quilt on Sunday afternoon. It was right up her style. The binding was all put on by machine.

I have had problems getting comments to post. DH upgraded the main computer, is that part of the problem??   I will have to try from my laptop. I do keep up on blogs.

Hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Season.
Just Another Quilter

The Latest project

2011-10-09T17:58:00.000-05:00

I have been trying not to sit in front of the computer so much. We moved wood from the pile at the end of the yard today. We are trying to get the yard ready for the winter. We have a hard time moving the tractor in the snow. It isn’t that it doesn’t want to move, it just wants to slide on the snow right toward the water. So, we moved it today, now I can have a fire on the next cold day. The fireplace is cleaned out and I have wood.
I gave a little teaser of fabric sitting on the cutting board. This is the quilt I’m teaching next month. I wanted to get the top done.
It turned out well. The outside is a border print. The pattern was free from a LQS with the purchase 5-1yd cuts of fabric. The pattern and fabric have been sitting in my stash for a about 1 year. I changed one of the cuts from my original purchase of a dark orange mottled to the green & black print on the recommendation of Lola. I also had enough fabric to add an additional row of blocks…it needed to be slightly larger. Since it was a border print, I purchased more than the 1 yard cut. I did not want to run out. There still was not have enough to miter the corners, oh well. I think it still turned out nice. I still need to cut the binding.
Well, I am off to work on a project for my niece. I hope to show you pics next week.
Happy Sewing,
Just Another Quilter

Getting Down to Business

2011-10-06T14:00:00.000-05:00

I often loose track of time while I am on line surfing. Looking at quilt patterns, quilting blogs, fabric stores, etc. I am sure that you all know what I am talking about.
I wanted to get more done in life. Utilize the time I had better. I have actually not always kept up on blogs. I have had to play catch up at times and re-read items that I skimmed over before. What have I been doing………SEWING!
Here is the pic of the Christmas Traditions Quilt for the church. I need to quilt it yet. I certainly had help from the other church quilt ladies. The poinsettia print is leftovers from the soldier stockings made last year. The other fabrics came out of my stash.

After I finished getting the Christmas Traditions Quilt layered up, I picked up an older project. This other project had been my “leaders and enders” project. I worked on it quite a bit at retreat back in March. This is fabric my husband brought back from his business trip to Nebraska. I made a couple wrong cuts with the Turning Twenty Simply Sashed pattern. A few clicks of the mouse and the replacement fabric was in transit. I could not find that fabric at any of the LQS.

My version has all 4 corners the same raspberry color, thanks to my ooops (along with almost 1 yard of fabric for the stash). The fabric is “Rock Candy” by Mark H. (I can’t remember how to spell his last name.) His most notable fabric line is “Fairy Frost”. This “Rock Candy” line also has the metallic sheen “Fairy Frost” is know for.
Now to my current project….I WILL be teaching a class in November. I need to finish up the sample in the next few days. Here is the stack of goodies. The alternating block is done. I just have to sew the stack of cut fabric. There is a seam on each sides of the piece you see there, then the blocks are all done.

See how neat I am (NOT!!)
Hope to see you all in blogland.
Just keep on a quilting,
Just Another Quilter

The Latest Adventure

2011-08-21T14:47:00.003-05:00

We have returned from our latest adventure. The girls returned to school on Tuesday last week. I took Thursday to relax and have the ladies over for breakfast.

We joined DH on his business trip. We enjoyed the day at Niagara Falls. This is a view of the “American Falls”. This set of falls is on the US side. The pics are taken from the Canadian side. The observation deck is in the same location as the old border bridge that was taken off its foundation from an ice jam, many years ago.

This is the official “Niagara Falls”. Water from these falls is from 4 of the Great Lakes. The mist from the falls is so big that you can see it from miles away. If you enlarge this photo you will see the boat on the right side. This is a fairly large boat, holds a couple hundred people and is 2 stories high. We went on the boat. We were given rain jackets to wear. MJJR decided to not were the hood, her hair was completely drenched. The amount of water and the quickness of it coming was unbelievable. At night, the locals turn down the spigot and capture the energy for electricity. We enjoyed the day with some new friends. Another family from the same training DH was attending came to the falls with us. The family is from Spain. The 5 of us girls had a great time while the DH’s had training. We did some back to school shopping.

We also found a great museum. This children’s museum has a wonderful butterfly garden. They have both an indoor and outdoor garden. Not only did they have awesome butterflies, they also had a hatching center.

There was 2 big windows full of chrysalis’. This looks creepy at first. Butterflies are drying their wings and you can see some are moving trying to get out.

Now that things are getting back to normal (Yeah, right! Our well went out today and we are expecting a hotel visit for a couple days unless the fix is easier than expected), I am hoping to work on the dahlia quilt. I am still avoiding the work. I have done some extra cleaning, knitting and anything else to avoid the quilt.

Happy Quilting,

Just Another Quilter

The Ricky Tims’ Seminar

2011-08-08T15:40:00.002-05:00

I wanted to show a little about the seminar that came to town. I really learned how to quilt from watching Alex Anderson and stopping by the LQS and talking to a seamstress that would hold classes periodically. She would conduct business in the shop but doesn’t work in the LQS. So to have Alex Anderson come to town was BIG for me. I had made a Convergence Quilt by converting a Ricky Tims’ pattern for my dad. I loved how fast it went together. Mine was throw size and had 4 fabrics. Libby Lehman…didn’t know much about her before going into the seminar…just that she was a machine quilter.

I am not one to be awestruck, I was when I saw Alex. It was in very early the 1st day. I could talk to her it was so slow…I just couldn’t think of anything really to say. A quilter not having much to say? Me not talking? Who is this dumbfounded girl? I did manage to ask if I could get my picture taken with her. Yes, of course. (I have to decide now to show you the pic or just leave it up to your imagination. As I have 12 & 16 year old girls…I have to make sure that I make the same choices that I would like them to make. Facebook and sharing isn’t always good. For this reason I think that I will not put the pic in.) :{

It was soo cool to see some of the quilts that we see around.

I sat right in front of this Lonestar quilt. It was neat to look at this quilt over the 3 day seminar. Ricky and his father made this quilt together. The Rhapsody quilt was also up front. I love how such a bright red is the neutral color is this quilt. Ricky also mentioned how 10 spools of thread was not enough to machine applique down of the pieces.

I also love the way Libby has moved from her thread play to the color variations and reverse applique of her more current quilts. These quilts are generally simple piecing. She will draw a line and then stitch and cut out the outside or the inside. She then will satin stitch around the raw edge to cover it up. This is done before the layering. She uses a LOT of stabilizer.

This is Alex’s latest BOM. This is the brighter color variation. My pic with Alex is in front of the beige and brown variation. If you ever get the opportunity to go to something like this, do it. I am not sure that I learned many new things. I will try some of Ricky’s techniques and maybe Libby’s. Alex’s stuff…I would never sign up to make a quilt that looked like this one. My KING was intricate…but I did not see the final project until I was done. I would not have sign up to make that quilt if I had seen the finished project. I do thnik getting all those quilters in one place is fun. I have been to many retreats and classes. You just need to have quilters sharing ideas. Even if you don't think that you will use the technique...it may just be what the person sitting next to you needs to know to open them up and share that trick you is just what you need to know. I really am glad that I went. I enjoyed meeting new people (I ate with people I didn't know and even got to show them the Chocolate Manor.)

Hope you enjoy the pics.
Just Another Quilter

The Dahlia

2011-08-06T06:57:00.001-05:00

This Dahlia, as I stated before is from a long time ago. The top was the greatest colors, back in the day. Now I still like the design and I do like the colors, but I don’t have any drive to finish this quilt. I have taken this quilt to retreat so many times. It is a standing joke just to ask if it is done. I might actually have it done by the time retreat rolls around. I don’t think this will make the monthly goal. The quilt needs to have the outside triangles put on it and a large green border (this is where I thought some gentle Ricky Tims’ curves) sewn on. A back needs to be found, layered and quilting completed. The girls go back to school this month, but we have one more traveling adventure before that happens. I will be excited if the quilting is underway. I have been working on the small “crazy” triangles for about 2 years. I hate this technique, I only have 4 left to go. I am so glad that this quilt will have a whole month dedicated to it.

On another note, this is fabric that DH brought me back from Nebraska last fall. The design is in one of the newer Turning Twenty books. I have been using this as a leader and ender project for the last 6 months. It is starting to shape up.

Here is also the knitting project that I have been working on. It is the standard “dishcloth” pattern…yo after 1st and knit to the end, turn and repeat. I think that I may want it to be larger. I am out of yarn.

I may see if I can find some, but think that I will start a new project or pull out the celtic knot (applique) for the trip. I just need to make a decision. I borrowed the knitting needles. I know that I shouldn't have problems traveling with them, but am not sure that I want to take the chance.

Hope you are all having a great summer.

Just Another Quilter

The Latest Rollercoaster and July UFO

2011-08-04T22:33:00.000-05:00

I can’t believe it was 2 weeks ago that I was sitting watching Alex Anderson, Ricky Tims and Libby Lehman. I will get the pics of the seminar up soon. DH has been traveling for work. He was gone during the week of the seminar. The girls had a couple of long days, while I was at the seminar and Dad was out of town. We had 2 days together before the family all went different ways. Lola went to Journalism camp (south) for 3 days, DH headed off for more training (west) and MJJR and I headed off to visit with family and hang out at the beach on Lake Michigan (east). We all returned home Thursday night. I managed to get some time and finished the July UFO done late Sunday night. I still might put another brown strip around the outside.
I can’t wait to work on the next UFO. For August, the UFO is #7. This is my Dahlia quilt. The top is one that has gentle curves. I took the class before I was ready to try curves. I finished the dahlia several years ago. I find it funny that this quilt was chosen at this time. I struggle to find excitement in this quilt. It is a lovely top. It has very little left to finish the top. After watching how Ricky Tims’ achieves his gentle curves, I thought during the seminar that my dahlia quilt might accept this technique quite well. Now this quilt has been drawn for finishing, and so close to learning the technique and dreaming of the techniques on this quilt. I believe that it is the way it was meant to be. . . this quilt couldn’t have been drawn until I learned the technique. I don't have any pics of the dahlia quilt. I will get some soon.

I got my picture taken with my. idol...

2011-07-21T15:47:00.000-05:00

I have spent my wad, 4 pieces of Ricky Tims fabric, a book by Ricky, a book by Alex, and some machine embroidery needles. I did get my picture taken with Alex, didn't even think to take it with the cell phone. I will post all the pics of the quilts tonight. Things start in about 10 minutes.

Just Another (very excited) Quilter

It’s Finally Here

2011-07-20T22:15:00.000-05:00

I don’t think that I happened to mention that I am going to the Ricky Tims Seminar. This Extravaganza also includes Alex Anderson and Libby Lehman. It starts in our area…….tomorrow! It has been a 2 year wait. Our local quilt guild has been working to bring us this show for….ever! One of my buddies called today asking if I was going. I am looking forward to seeing her there. I can’t believe that we are going to get to spend almost 3 days together.

I really learned how to quilt from watching Alex for so many years. My children would go out to the bus stop and could watch them get on the bus from my seat in front of the show. I was very consistent about watching it. I learned more from her than any other quilter. I have at least 2 VCR tapes of her shows. I still put them in occasionally. The techniques still are pertinent even years later.

Check in is at 2:30 pm tomorrow and the programs run until Saturday afternoon. The church ladies are coming to the house in the morning to start the “Christmas Traditions” quilt. I have been frantically cleaning. Usually we meet at the church to work, but I didn’t want to have to haul the sewing machines in and then unload the car before I head into town to go to the quilt show. So the house needs to be picked up. DH is out of town until Friday night, so I better do the cleaning now so that I don’t have so much to do later. He should arrive home while I am at the seminar.

It will be a weekend of quilting fun! OOOHHHH. I better get the camera out in the car now! Thanks you all for reminding me.

Just Another Quilter having some fun….quilting.

Two Color Binding

2011-07-03T07:26:00.000-05:00

I love this technique. It allows you the have the binding match both the front and the back of the quilt. It also lets you stretch some of your fabric. For the 3-D Mariner’s Compass Quilt, I had very little for the paisley print left. I could get by with the 1 inch strip for the perimeter of the quilt. I also could cut up whatever for the back of the binding. I didn't have a lot of choices as I was at retreat. This white on muslin print I thought was pretty safe. I finished the binding in the traditional way by hand tacking it.

For the table runner, I had plenty of fabric but I wanted it to match either the batik side or the Christmas side.

The paperwork I have is from Dorothy Hook, photographs by Marcia Cameron.
This link is a visual of the technique. I am sure there are other links. This link has good pictures.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Two-Tone-Quilt-Binding/
7 Easy Steps
1. Cut strips according to the table.
2. Sew the strips together if necessary for proper length around the perimeter.
3. Sew the 2 different colored strips together w/ right sides together. Try not to have the above seams line up.
4. Press (I pressed mine toward the front binding fabric, it gives the binding some good body. Some talk about pressing open.)
5. Press in half lengthwise wrong sides together, matching raw edges, as you would any other french binding.
6. Sew on binding (w/appropriate seam allowance--see table) being sure to miter corners at the beginning and end as in other french bindings.
7. Roll to the back and finish sewing binding down (by hand or machine).
The paperwork I have includes the following table:

Seam Allowance for sewing binding on	Finished Front Binding	Finished Back Binding	Cut Front Binding	Cut Back Binding
1/4" Seam Allowance	3/8"	1/2"	1"	2"
1/4" Seam Allowance	3/8"	3/8"	7/8"	1 5/8"
1/4" Seam Allowance	1/2"	3/8"	1"	1 5/8"
1/4" Seam Allowance	3/8"	1/2"	7/8"	1 7/8"
3/8" Seam Allowance	3/8" +	3/8" +	1 1/8"	2"
3/8" Seam Allowance	3/8"	3/8"	1"	1 7/8"

I like to choose the back binding larger than the front binding, if I am finishing the quilt by machine. The extra 1/8” lets you top stitch the back binding nicely, and not stitch through your binding on the "front side". Also keep in mind front and back are relative terms. You choose what side you want to role the binding onto for the final sewing. This might be the front. (I kinda think of the batik side as the front of the table runner, even though, when I was layering it, I pretended it was the back--bottom of the sandwich.) Sooo, if I am going to machine sew the binding down, I like the back of the quilt to be the front binding (in the table), and to roll that (back) binding to the front of the quilt and topstitch it down. This topstitching will just look like a row of quilting on the back of the just 1/4" around the perimeter of the quilt. NOW, if you understand that you have had your coffee for the morning!

I think a sit n sew group put all the information together and did a little class one day. I missed the class, but a friend grabbed me a set of the paperwork. I keep just such stuff in a 3 ring binder with clear sheet protectors. I keep different patterns or techniques in there that I will or just might need in the future. I like to be able to pull out the information get the binding done and slide the paperwork back into the sheet protector when I am done. I am terrible about sitting the paperwork for something like this down and then it getting shuffled into some other stack of papers.

Enjoy the family this holiday weekend! More about the day with my brothers' family on the next post.

Just Another Quilter

Another Completed UFO!

2011-07-01T21:15:00.000-05:00

Yeah! I completed another UFO. I have checked off 4 projects this year now. This is the latest completed projects. The table runner is on my cedar chest under the television. I usually have the pictures of the girls on either side of the box. This box was a gift quite a few years ago. It holds many votive candles. It is the inspiration for the Hoffman diamond quilt (it is the challenge for July).

I really like how it turned out. The bonus part….it is two sided. It has a Christmas runner on the other side.I made 2-sided binding. I will have to find the site my directions are from. I printed them out several years ago. I like the directions I have because it gives cutting directions for several different versions and includes pictures.

Next….#2 was drawn (Hoffman Turquoise Diamond Quilt). That is the quilt that was inspired by the box above. I work on this quilt back in February at retreat. I have the quilt sewn into rows already. It shouldn’t take much to finish up the top. That is the goal. I may see if I can get it layered. This is an old picture of the quilt.

My brother and his family arrive tonight….actually tomorrow morning very early. We will enjoy a day on the lake tomorrow. The temps are well into the 90’s and the humidity is high. Only real place to be is in the water.
I also had an old quilting friend come over today. She moved a couple towns away about 5 yrs. ago. We had a great time, just it was too short. We vowed to make it happen again. It was almost 3 years from the last time we saw each other.
Have a Happy 4th of July.
Just Another Quilter

Design Wall Monday

2011-06-13T19:00:00.002-05:00

I was given a rooster at Quilt retreat back in March. I just love my little rooster. Later this week I am helping with Vacation Bible School. I have a spinner coming to demonstrate! I thought that I would give her the larger rooster. I am also hoping to get a mug rug done for her.

I think that my version turned out real cute. It is made with two nine patches. I had everything in stock! Even better.

Lola….decided that she wants to sew!!!! She found a pattern at Hancock’s. She was hoping for a cute t-shirt dress, we ended up with a fitted sundress. Now, let me first say, I can sew….blankets that aren’t ever actually square or rectangular and blankets that only lay flat after of the puckers are quilted out of them. I am also good at making pj pants that never step foot outside of the house. Lola asked if I was as excited about this project as she was….”No, I am just nervous and anxious.”

Here is the top bodice….Look at all those pleats. This is the other side of the bodice. The pattern is Simplicity 2250. I am sure that all will be okay. God has dropped a great seamstress I know in my life twice now. We saw her 1st on the day at the store…this was great in helping picking out lining and interfacing. I saw her again today at Wal-mart. I haven’t seen her more than 3 times in the last few years. Now I have seen her twice in 2 weeks (devine intervention).

Lola’s Moment: I just would like to add that I am not intending to become a “sewing fiend”, I just want to make something that no one else has. Be prepared to see pictures of my future epic masterpiece! xo Lola!

I have started on the quilting for the table runner. The light squares are done. I am having trouble with the tension. The light squares have light thread on both sides, and you can’t see the polka dots. The red and dark squares I have ripped out twice now.

June UFO Project

2011-06-04T11:04:00.000-05:00

Judy L over at The Patchwork Times pulled #8 for the UFO Project. I am really enjoying this challenge. I find the finishing of projects cathartic. I find myself going through many different states. I feel joy as I pull out the much anticipated project, or apprehension at pulling out a more challenging project. I once heard that you should finish a project while it is still exciting. I believe that this is why many projects end up getting set aside. The new project has excitement that the old and familiar does not. I think working through some of the problems on the project is helping me work through some of “lifes” problems.
Here is # 8. It is a 2 sided table runner. I have it all basted in place. I did a crappy job. I will have to redo it.

I made it over Christmas with my mother. I needed some time in the sew room with all the company present. A friend from church had made several tops in this style and these runners looked so simple but turned out so nice once the small meandering I did was done. I am looking forward to finishing this one. The batik side with the stripe matches this quilt that is slated for the couch in the living room. The table runner will go on the cedar chest under the TV. The chest was a gift from my brother (he made it) for Christmas in 1998. I will be able to just flip it for holiday decorating.

The table runner goes with this quilt. It is #2 on my UFO list. I did some work on it at Retreat in February. It’s goal is to have the top done. Depending on when that number is pulled, I may get further on it than just the top done.
I am looking forward to the fact that this month is a smaller project. The girls are out of school. The husband is working lots. The garden and lake are calling my name, along with the car to do some traveling.
Back to finishing these UFO projects. Why is it most projects only get finished because of a deadline? These projects are those with no “home”. These are projects are ones we really wanted to make. You know, life will not be complete unless we have this quilt in our collection. However, life gets in the way, our collection is not complete, the excitement is gone. Sometimes working through those hard parts is what we need to do.

I am still going to Weight Watchers. I am about 7 lbs. from my maximum ideal weight. I also would like to lose another 7 lbs. after that. The meetings talk of support. Where do you get it? Who are your sabotager’s? Are you changing yourself? Doing the hard work? Being okay, finishing the job without the excitement of a new project. Taking something to completion? It is a learning process. I eat when no one is around. I eat when I am lonely. I eat to indulge when I think I need the indulgence. . . . I don't need the food for sustenance. I am not a terribly large person. I am close to the goal weight, but I find myself at a plateau. I need to do the hard work to get over the hump to achieve my goal.

Just Another Quilter learning to live with myself.

May's UFO---SOCKS!

2011-05-30T21:00:00.000-05:00

Boy are the knitting ladies going to be excited to hear that my socks I started back in October are the UFO of the month. I can't wait to show them a finished project.

I finished them yesterday!

It has been very chaotic here this month. We have had car accidents, boss' retire unexpectedly, extra hours at work and a venture or two into the basement with tornado warnings.

My socks!

I watched a neighbor child the other night. We made a quick quilt. It turned out so cute. I am hoping to get some pics.

I hoping to have more time next month to write. I have been lurking and keeping on all the blogs.
My big news is that I have lost 12 lbs. with weight watchers.

April UFO is Done!

2011-05-01T08:28:00.000-05:00

Here it is. I decided to stay up late. Sew lots and do not much else for the last 2 days. I did take a break to mow the lawn, do laundry and attend a choir concert. It has lots of strings that need to be trimmed and binding that needs tacking. I am also not thoroughly impressed with my quilting in the orange border. I like the concept, but, Lola thinks it looks like toes. She has some strange feet phobia. I am patiently waiting to find out what the May UFO Challenge is. Lola would really like it if I went back and finished January’s UFO, the dreaded Alaskan Christmas Quilt. Can you say problems? It is the “lets have the fabric bleed all over everything quilt”. I am hoping for #8….Christmas Table Runner. This would be a quick one and it would give me time to paint the inside of the house before the girls finish school for the year.
Here’s to a few days of not quilting….the family would like to spend some time with me.
I would love to hear from you mom’s out there. What would you like for Mother’s Day? I am thinking of a few things for mine. I am always open to creative ideas. I also am having a hard time answering that question for my own daughters. It was suggested that I get the gift of the family straightening my sew room—NOOOOOOO! Lola also has a little OCD about organization. I find this funny when I open her dresser drawers.
Happy Quilting,
Just Another Quilter

April UFO & a peak at the Japanese Fabric

2011-04-23T18:07:00.000-05:00

I have done some work on the April UFO. I certainly can’t believe that I will finish it before the end of the month. I still have lots of work. I am looking forward to the month when an almost done quilt is chosen. Life did some getting in the way of the quilting.
DH spent some time in Tokyo, I joined Weight Watchers, and I picked up some extra time at work.

You can see I have a few more rows of applique to sew down. This quilt is going much slower than I thought that it would. It is irritating how much I have to scrunch the quilt and make it fit under the machine. You can see the close up of the flowers. I have to make the red inside of all the flowers.
The prints that came home from Japan are border prints. All but one of the prints have the border on both ends of the print. I love the variety of the prints and can’t believe the beautiful colors. When DH said he found me some fabric, this was not what I was expecting.

The “store” was just a street vendor. I am looking forward to working with them.

Hope to keep in touch,
Just Another Quilter

Current status

2011-04-18T14:12:00.000-05:00

I thought I would just give a quick update.

DH returned last week Wednesday from Japan. He went through about 5 earthquakes. He is fine. He returned with fabric. I will get some pics and show later. Today is my only day with no girls and no work this week. He also brought home some Saki, chopsticks and Chai tea for me.

I went to Weight Watchers today. Last week I was down 7.5 lbs. This week 2.5 lbs. I am so excited. I just would be happy to make it through this week and stay even. The key for the week: Plan ahead. Decide when to use your points for the week BEFORE you get to Easter dinner. I will weigh in again on Monday after Easter. That is a little scary.

We ended up at the Bull vs. Pacers play-off game on Saturday. What a great game. I hope they can pull off another win tonight.

We got to see friends in Chicago while we were there. What a great surprise that was.

Better get quilting. I only have an hour left before the girls arrive home.

I did work out today. : )

Just Another Quilter

Our little trip to Jamaica

2011-04-05T19:50:00.002-05:00

We flew down on St. Patrick’s Day to the island paradise of Jamaica, Mon. We decided to ask some neighbors if they were interested in going. So 4 adults and 4 kids headed off. We had adjoining rooms. We had a little surprise…they upgraded our room. (This was our 4th trip to the island.) The kids enjoyed making a crocodile….then a few days later we saw a few more.

The real crocs were very docile. The locals must feed them some because the crocs would let the workers actually touch them. We all thought them as a little crazy. The Jamaican’s aren’t known for great roads and more than a few of us got sick on the road to see the crocs. The crocs are located in the brack or brae water (half salt/half fresh water) of the Black River. We visited the YS Falls just north of the crocs. You can walk up into the falls. There is zip-lines that fly up over the falls. We only got to spend about 1 hour here. Next time we will try to spend the whole day there.

The next place we headed off to was the Appleton Rum Factory. We have been fans of the Appleton Rum for years. This distillery has been making rum since 1749. Many of the old ways are still in practice. This is also the only woman senior rum blender in the world.

The view from the room is gorgeous and I can’t wait to go back. I must say, besides the humor and events of our own group this was our least eventful trip in a long time. We always seem to find eventful situations or it finding us (people lost at sea, fires closing roads, social uprisings, police shootings and famous people showing up).

My socks are coming along well after lots of airport/airplane time. I also read 2 almost 3 books.

I wrote this up just before DH left for Tokyo. I finally had some time to gather up the photos. Things are going pretty good. I did sign up for Weight Watchers on Thursday before the "Are you sitting down?" call. I am doing pretty good considering. I have taken off most of the Jamiaca weight. My worst time is after the girls go to bed.

Just Another Quilter

Life is a rollercoaster

2011-04-02T08:05:00.000-05:00

On Thursday about 4:30pm my husband called my cell phone asked if I was sitting down. I mentioned that I was driving and his comment was “good you are sitting down”. He said that his work asked him to go to Tokyo. He left about an hour ago for the airport, less than 48 hours after the initial conversation. His return ticket is for 2 weeks from now. However, the exact length of his trip is unknown. His work decided that he might have knowledge to help with the earthquake disaster cleanup. He is not excited about going but also thinks that he may be able to help.
He has traveled for work before. It was always inside of the US and often for advanced training. We have been making calls and getting him packed. We sent water in his suitcase and forks/spoons (so at least he can eat with them in his room). I have encouraged my girls to eat with chopsticks when we have oriental food, he never does.
Us girls will be just fine, and he will be also. It just reminds us all how small the world really is and how things can change so quickly.
Please keep us all in your prayers.

Just Another Quilter

March is Done

2011-04-01T12:44:00.000-05:00

As most of you know.....I finished my March UFO!!!!
Here is the pic. I finished quilting and sewed on binding at Retreat at the beginning of the month. The binding is now finished and strings are all trimmed. The April UFO is my stacked coins top that needs to be quilted. I will have to dig it out to get pics. You can see others finished projects at The Patchwork Times.

Life here is a little crazy. When it settles down in a couple days I will fill you all in. Keep our family in your prayers.

Just Another Quilter

Take a Look at This!

2011-03-27T18:01:00.000-05:00

Last year at retreat I fell in love with the “Two Hour Purse” that many of the participants had. The purse was made at the previous retreat that I hadn’t been able to attend. I looked for the pattern and finally found it. I made mine this retreat.

I quite a bit enjoyed the bag as I carried it through Customs going to Jamaica. It was also great when it was time to carry the camera, book and knitting to the beach. Pics of our time in Jamaica will come soon. I did make some adjustments and some mistakes. Do you really think that it is a 2 hour project? This is left over backing from the “KING”.

I have managed to get caught up on the blogs and the laundry is going. We arrived home late last night. The camera (new and I don’t know how to run it) battery is dead. I managed to get 1 quick picture off of it (above) before it died again.
I am off to do some more laundry and I need to workout….boy do I need to work out. The food was great.

The airplane project was my never ending pair of socks. They are getting close.

Just Another Quilter

Recent Quilting Retreat

2011-03-14T13:24:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I headed out of town. I landed in a small town with a church camp. I did lots of sewing. The March UFO Challenge by Judy L. was completed. I am so excited that I finally finished a project. This quilt is an old leader and ender project. One retreat I made lots of 4 patches. After returning home I started playing with them on the design wall and decided on this pattern. It can be found on Quiltville.com under 16patch & pinwheels. I just was careful with the coloring.
The blocks are quilted with baptist fans. The green with a large meandering. The eggplant has just a line through it. This gives me some time to work on the UFO quilts from January and February.
More pictures and stories to come. I am taking another week off and will post again later in the month.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

2011-02-25T09:35:00.000-06:00

The snow came again through the night. The sun is now out and the snow is beautiful. Another inch is to come this afternoon. I‘m sure this last stuff won’t stay too long. That inch should make this the snowiest February in our history.

I thought that I would show you the socks. I like to take these to the girls appointments. They are coming along nicely. The knitting group gives me a hard time that they are not done yet. They also give me a hard time that I chose the hardest thing to start with. They forget I don't work on these very often.

I am waiting for the dishwasher to finish to start the next loaves of bread. I also picked up Bonnie Hunters’ “Scraps & Shirttails”. I ordered it into my local library. I wish I could find one of Judy L.’s books in the library system. I am looking forward to quilting on my Round Robin today.

Two design Walls in a Row!

2011-02-21T10:55:00.000-06:00

I just want to start by thanking you all for the wonderful outpouring of care and consideration last week. I am feeling much better. Things are very rough at work and when my time off is rough too…let’s just say, I am doing better.

The girls are off today with President’s Day. Lola decided to go on a shopping spree. With a friend they are traveling an hour to the outlet mall. They have arrived. We gave the girls about 5-6 hours there. MJJR and I are home and cooking. I check out the book Judy L. raves about “Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day”. Here is the first loaf. It isn’t very big. It looks great and smells wonderful. MJJR was wanting to cut into it before it was even out of the oven.
MJJR decided to do some of her own cooking. She made no bake Special K squares with Peanut Butter. MJJR has deemed them “good.” (A direct quote).

On to the design wall. It looks the same as last week. I did get it put back up, it started to fall back down again. That’s okay. I haven’t been working on this project anyway. I have been quilting on my UFO Challenge Quilt.

This is the Round Robin from 2004. If you click you can see some close up of the quilting I have finished. I have 3 more borders to finish. I don’t think that I will finish this before the end of the month. The last border is applique, I figured out the leaves are prepped yet. I am very excited that I am closer that I ever thought that I would be. I am hoping to take this to my sit n sew group on Thursday night and show them my progress. This is the group that created the Round Robins. I haven’t mentioned to any of them I was going to quilt it. I think only 2-3(there is about 9 of them) of the quilts have been finished.
I still don’t know what type of binding to use. I may go and purchase something, I have a $5 off a $10 purchase from my LQS.

One of these days, Judy L. will pull one of my easier challenge #’s. I did make most of my challenges, a real challenge. I am hoping to catch up on one of the slower months.

I also am heading to retreat next month 4 whole days of quilting. If she can pull a good # I might be able to finish at least January’s in addition to March.

Design Wall Monday

2011-02-14T09:06:00.000-06:00

First, Here is the Design Wall. This is the story of my life. I am falling apart. This is the just one corner of the sew room.
After the family getting sick over the last month or so, I finally lost the battle. My ears are plugged, the skin hurts and am just plain falling apart.

What do you think? Is the sew room falling apart?

You can see my UFO #10 in the machine. There is usually a quilt hanging in front of the pictures over the counter, it keeps falling down. I put it back up yesterday, that is why the stool is in front of the counter. The UFO quilt isn’t getting much work since I am felling so nasty. Is this going to be another month of not accomplishing the UFO? You can see my failure for January’s UFO.
I will say that I am getting more things done. We turned off the TV yesterday, I am doing a little work on my socks since I can lay in bed and knit.
Lola went to Sadie Hawkins. She had a good time. MJJR had a basketball tournament. They won a game, first time in a while that they have won. The last game for the year.
Check over to The Patchwork Times and find more Design Walls.
Enjoy the Life You Have,
Just Another Quilter

February’s UFO

2011-02-03T07:18:00.000-06:00

Now I know that I did not finish my January UFO. It did have some extra ordinary problems. I now need to decide if I am going to work to finish January (there is probably 1 week of work left) or start on February.
Here is the quick peek at February…
This quilt was a Round Robin adventure by our Sit n Sew. The top was completed in 2005 and took 18 months. We did not get to see our quilts during the whole 18 month period. Each person in the group added a border to the quilt. I made the center star with the red.
As you can see it is my standard colors. I initially had wanted to make this quilt a little larger and put it on my King Size bed. The lights in this quilt did not go with the wall hanging that is above the headboard. I kept looking at the quilt and trying to decide how to bring in more rose color from the wall hanging and tone down the “lights” that the wall hanging didn’t contain. The wall hanging is my variation of Buggy Barn’s Crazy Ray. In the end I decided to take the remaining Crazy Ray block and begin another quilt similar to the Round Robin. That is how the KING was started. At that point the Round Robin was sent to the corner, rarely to be seen. I am excited about working on it. I think that I will probably put the Christmas quilt on the back burner for a few days and see how much this quilt will entail to finish it. My quilting ideas are starting to flow.
I did a few modifications to this quilt. My quilt seemed to have missed the applique round, so I added the burgundy swirls. I also have some coxcomb flowers and bias to finish up the outer border. I think that I will sew the applique down and quilt it at the same time. Back to quilting. Oh by the way, I am not sure that some of this fabric won’t run….Joy.

Stop over and see Judy L. at "The Patchwork Times". She is the one organizing the UFO Challenge.

Just Another Quilter….Enjoying another challenge.

My January UFO…Finished or Unfinished?

2011-02-02T17:49:00.000-06:00

Well,
Here it it February 2nd. The UFO Challenge Project that is running at “The Patchwork Times” has come to an end. I have worked many days on my quilt. I must say those that follow me on Blogger are already aware of the issue I had.
My project was the Alaskan Christmas Quilt. I had lots of quilting to do. I was well on the way to finishing. On January 9th, all that remained was quilting on 1 small border and 1 large border. I was thrilled with my progress. As I was spraying the “blue pen” out of the inner border, it appeared to not come out. In the end, it was the back fabric that bled onto the front and not the evil “blue pen” that we have all heard stories about. I made the problem worse.
So for the last few days, I have ripped. I ripped the back fabric off, I ripped off the borders, I ripped out quilting. Monday…I found fabric that matches the new quilt. Did I mentioned that I tried to remove the color bleed with the RIT dye remover. The whole quilt ended up losing the browns. The quilt is now a different color. Soooo, I can not just remove the bad fabric and replace it with the same fabric…they are not the same color anymore.
I replaced the back fabric today. I bought fabric to match the new color. Yes, I could find some. What do you think? You can still see the areas that I haven’t replaced yet. Most of it is just top stitched down. I am no longer making the heirloom Christmas quilt. Now it is a quilt full of stories. If you click on the quilt you will see the green that I am going to have to live with. You might also see the change in some of the colors.
I did do a little work on some of the other projects while trying to decide how to tackle my problems. I almost finished my top for project #2. I did some work on my socks (project #9).
Here are a couple picks of the snow that came through. We ended up with 16-18 inches. The kids were out early yesterday, today and they just called it for tomorrow. I am wondering if they have some damage at the school. The roads aren’t that bad now. Lola said last week some of the ceiling was coming in after a big snow.?.? DH & I hit the driveway at 4:15am with our his and hers snow blowers. What fun. You have to understand…both of us did our stint in a part of the country that easily gets more than 120” of snow a year. It is no big deal to drive in the stuff and we don’t mind clearing it. DH went and picked up 2 coworkers to carpool into work. They had to walk about 1/2mile, that is as close as DH could get to their homes. It took about 30 minutes for him to go about 10 miles.

Enjoy every day.

Just Another Quilter

A Devastating Failure

2011-01-20T11:36:00.000-06:00

Well,
I just want to start this post by saying GO WITH YOUR GUT!
Next,
My January UFO Challenge will probably not be done by the due date of January 31st. I still might surprise myself. We will see.
I developed a great design to quilt in the outer border. It took a few days to get the lines the way I wanted them. I busily worked. I had 3 sides done. It looked great. I need to spray out the last 2 sides that I just finished. I sprayed the first, then the second side. To my amazement, the blue pen color was right on the stitching line. I sprayed some more but it was not coming out of about 2” wide x 10” long section I had just quilted. I folded back the quilt, saw that the water had saturated to the back side, a solid deep green flannel (perfect for a Christmas quilt). I let the quilt dry and decided I would come back to it later. As days went on, I tried rubbing alcohol (this works great for grease and Sharpie pens) and Oxi-Clean carpet spray cleaner. I finally did some research on-line about the blue pens. I had never had a pen do this to me. Let me say one more time, after using the pen on the whole quilt, only 2 x 10 section in the stitching line was blue. I couldn’t understand how the other mirror image side of the quilting wasn’t blue. Neither was the area to the right or left of the quilted section, or the entire center of the quilt. The blue was only in THAT section. After reading the internet and a little coaching from the family, I decided to soak the section. Maybe I just hadn’t wet it enough. I took a shoe box size plastic tote and filled it with water and put the section in. I also had pulled out the dye catchers that I have earlier and put it in the water. In the quilt went…oh how the water turned that same shade of blue. Water soluble blue, you know the shade rather bright, almost iridescent. I stuck a little more of the quilt in the water as the color moved farther across the quilt. I finally decided to call it quits. I pulled the quilt out of the water after sticking almost 1 side of the quilt into the small tote. Let me tell you that I filled and emptied the tote about 4-5 times as the water kept turning THAT shade of blue. I put the quilt in the tub and went to bed. The next day, off to the store, bought a new box of color catchers. I put the quilt in with the washer machine with half the box of color catchers. I figured it was worth the trouble. Now, the inner light border was all blue, especially around the stitching.
Then, I had an epiphany. The blue is not from the pen. It is from the green back. Remember when I said “When I sprayed the first time, the blue didn’t come out so I sprayed some more.” “The blue is exactly on the quilting line.” “When I turned over the quilt, it (the water) had saturated through to the back side.” I also realized…I pieced the back. The great deep green color is only around the outside of the quilt, where I pieced the back. The plaid fabric wasn’t big enough. Here are some of the pics.

My plan at this point….RIP, RIP, RIP. I will RIP out the quilting on the inner light border. I will RIP off the outer borders, and I will RIP all the green off the back.
This quilt fabric is from our family vacation in Alaska, with my mom and step dad and both girls. How can I not RIP? As much as I would like it to R.I.P., I must RIP. I can say, I have not cried, been very close more than once. I can say, it will be finished, just not by the end of the month.

Happy Quilting (or RIPPING),
Just Another Quilter,
on just another day.

UFO Challenge

2011-01-09T14:28:00.000-06:00

The inside motifs are now done! I am so excited. I have started trying to figure out how to quilt the inner background border. I have 1 thing sketched out. I don't like it. I will have to keep trying. I am taking some time off and will work on the socks. I keep alternating between the two projects. I will have UFO Challenge #9 done before they even draw the number if I keep it up! I am ready to start the gusset of the socks--after that comes the leg and cast off.

Not wasting so much time,

Just Another Quilter

A Little Free motion Quilting

2011-01-06T14:24:00.000-06:00

I really started my quilting career not knowing what I was or wasn’t suppose to do. I didn’t know about 1/4” seams so at least 2 projects have mostly hidden points. I didn’t know that free motion quilting was hard so I just did what I needed to do. No one told me. I started free motion quilting about 15 years ago with my mother’s old Singer machine I call the “Green Machine”. You all know the type—steel frame, olive green, very heavy with a few extras. This machine has “cams”. It lets you sew decorative stitches way back in the 70’s. It did not have the ability to lower feed dogs. But it was mine—a gift from Mom. Now I have a Juki industrial machine with a larger arm that will go faster than anyone can handle.

A quilter at the LQS let me borrow a stencil. She told me to take off all the feet, hoop the project and start practicing. Away I went.

I thought that I would show you how I make some of these better motifs today. It is in the same fashion as 15 years ago.
I find that when working on a specific motif to be quilted, it always looks better in the end if I hoop it. I don’t hoop things if I am just going to meander some pattern. I like an embroidery hoop. Here is my favorite.
I like this one because it is easy to get under the foot of the machine and has enough space to get a decent size motif in it. You do not want a thick quilting hoop, it is too tall. I like to use a stencil and blue pen to draw the motif onto my quilt. I try to have a pen that is older, I don’t want so much pen that it will be forever getting it out. I like a little older pen. I will pull off the end and add a little water to it. This will make it so it isn’t so much work to transfer the motif. Sometimes I use a chalk pencil. This pattern is to ornate to easily tell where I am going with the chalk.
When I hoop a motif I keep in mind that only so much of the hoop will fit between the foot of the machine and the arm (the throat plate area). I try to place the motif so that I do not have to rotate the hoop to reach all the areas of the motif. Some larger motifs this is not an option. This one is small and I could get to all the parts easily.

I use the hoop for 2 main reasons:
I like how the hoop spreads out the motif. This helps everything lay flat. I do not have to worry about that while trying to maneuver around the motif. The second reason is it gives me better control in moving the fabric. I place the hoop with the flat side down, opposite of how you would hold the hoop for embroidery. See how I am holding the hoop. I have the hoop in both hands. Usually I just go fast when I am meandering. For this technique, I take my time. I do not have to stay exactly on the line—but I want the consistency of both shape and size. I will often draw many motifs on and sew them out so that I do not have to take the hoop out from under the machine. I will just slide the next motif under the needle and hoop that part of the quilt.

I also wanted to show you my practice piece. I draw this motif on a small sandwich and run it around the machine a few times. I like for the muscle memory to start kicking in. I want to be able to know if I my hands keep wanting to make a concave curve vs. a convex curve. If you click on this you will see that I sew this shape 3 or 4 times. I have about 4 of these shapes on the sandwich.

I then spray the quilt when I am done. I don’t soak it too heavily. I often spray it 4-5 times. I will let it dry, then spray again, until all of the blue is out. Sometimes it will take awhile. This is why you don’t want that brand new pen. I will lay it over the back of the couch to dry at the end of a work session or between sprayings.
The key for me has always been practice. Nothing nerve wracking. I have 2-3 sandwiches that I often practice on. When the kids are looking for something to do—Why not rip! They love it. Then I will use the same sandwich next time.
Just Quilting Away,
Just Another Quilter

Day 3 of UFO Challenge

2011-01-03T19:51:00.001-06:00

Well,
Decided to work on the Challenge Quilt today. Finished now are all the red triangles. I decided to go back and do a little extra quilting on the Christmas print. I buried some threads and made binding yesterday. I also decided on the quilt design for the background fabric. This is a slight alteration from the original stencil.

I think that it is going to turn out well. This shape is found in the sashing between all 9 of the blocks. That only leaves the inner border to figure out. I started practicing with this shape. It helps so much to take 5-6 trips around the shape prior to starting on the real thing. I started on the real thing—broke a thread right off the start. Decided that I made enough progress and called it a night. The girls were home from school and decided to hear all about lunch, teachers, study hall, etc. It will be a few days before I can get back to it.

Went to the local quilt shop today, after heading to the doctor. I bought 4 fat quarters—needed a little fix after being told to loose weight, stop itching the eczema and to relax. Blood pressure pills are now needed because of the inability to relax.

I did exercise, change the bed, do dishes (big pans that I was avoiding) and actually called the doctor for the appointment today.

Happy Quilting,
Just Another Quilter

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T16:25:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!

Hope all are finding 2011 Fun & Exciting

My goals this year:

To Move More
To Quilt More
To Eat Better
To Keep in Touch with Friends & Family More (that includes here)
To not spend so much time doing unproductive things

Trying to Remember What is Really Important in Life.

Just Another Quilter

The UFO Project. January #6

2011-01-01T07:28:00.002-06:00

Judy L. over at The Patchwork Times drew her number. She drew the # 6.

Now I just want to explain something. I have many quilts that are in process. Some quilts are quilts that need to be finished. Some quilts are so far from being done that I was going to have some big explaining to do when they suddenly showed up in my life. I was laying in bed trying to imagine what project on the list was going to be picked. How am I going to rationalize the putting away of quilts or projects (socks) that I have been putting a lot of time into? How is the family going to take it? Can you see the anxiety building?

Well the number that was drawn-6. I put my quilts in no particular order. Does one remember that order? No. The anxiety is building as I go to the blog. What am I going to be going working on?

Let just say God is on my side. I will be working on the “Alaskan Christmas Quilt”. Last year this quilt was given to the family for Christmas. I told them I would finish it in the next few months. That was over 1 year ago. It is made from fabric purchased in Alaska in 2008. This trip included my mother and step-father accompanying us. The hubby had to come get me from the quilt shop so that I did not miss the bus. (I had plenty of time.)

This is probably the best and most appropriate quilt for me to be working on. I worked on this quilt yesterday. Where am I at right now? The medallions are quilted, two more sets of triangles around the medallions still need to be quilted. The quilt patterns are in the final stages for the cream background.

I look forward to accomplishing this goal.

Just Another Quilter

Trying out Windows Live Writer

2010-12-23T14:22:00.001-06:00

Bonnie Hunter mentioned that she tried Windows Live Writer. A few months back I ended up with a new laptop. I thought that I would try it also.
The quilts and runners for Christmas Traditions were gone before pictures were taken. For Christmas Traditions, I helped with one of the open houses. One of our quilters in the group opened up her house. Two doors down is another woman from our group. She is a long time quilter. She stopped quilting back in 2001. She was a handquilter and a handpiecer. On display were over 25 quilts. I was asked to help turn quilts and talk about patterns. It was enjoyable, not only to spend time with a friend, but also to see area women (all visitors were women). It was fun to see her inspire those around us. She is now 85 years old. She square dances and is very active. I can only hope that one day I will be brave enough for an open house and show my work.
I have failed pretty miserably to complete quilts in my UFO list for 2010. I did some quilting on one of the quilts but did not finish a single quilt on the list. That is not to say that I did not work on any quilts. It is to say that I only finished the Christmas Traditions quilt.
I have decided to sign up for Judy L.’s UFO challenge. I really need a deadline. Here is how it is working. We pick 12 projects and number them. Each month she will pull and number. We will have to finish that project within the month. We also need to adapt the challenge for ourselves. I have some tops that need to be finished and some tops that need to be quilted.
Here is my list:
1. Scrappy 4 patches (quilt & bind)

2. Hoffman Turquoise Diamonds (finish top)

3. Floral Charm Quilt (quilt & bind)
4. Bright Chinese Coin w/ Applique (finish applique & quilt)
5. Sister to the Lodge Quilt (finish hand quilting & bind)
6. Christmas Alaskan Quilt (finish machine quilting & bind)
7. Dahlia
8. Christmas Table Runner (layered & small)
9. Socks—Knitted but I think they qualify
10. Round Robin Quilt
11. Grandmother’s Plates (fix the top & quilt)
12. Bonnie Hunter—Red, White & Blue Quilt (finish quilt as you go & be done!)

I will keep you informed on how things are moving along. What number do you think will get drawn first? I have my favorites. I just hope that I can make some progress and show finished projects.

Happy Late Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T08:36:00.000-06:00

The Thanksgiving Day came and went for our family. Last year we went to visit friends, this year we stayed home. Lola has her first job. She worked Wednesday until 8pm. We really didn't want to start driving in the dark for family 6 hours away. With the speed of life lately, we decided to stay home and just slow down. If we slow down too much though we get grumpy with each other, too much together time causes family blow ups in our house.

We made the traditional turkey, 15lbs. A lot for just the 4 of us. I couldn't talk anyone into coming this year. They are all coming around Christmas and don't want to make so many trips in a short period of time. We made turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, dressing, and pumpkin pie. We have so much food left. Lola & hubby went out shopping on Friday. They were out for quite awhile. We have managed to get most of the shopping done.

We also watched a few movies. I was looking forward to seeing "Eat, Pray, Love". I was disappointed with the movie. The book is so much better.

Lola and I went to watch "Harry Potter". I have read the books, Lola has not. We really enjoyed the movie. We always try to see it on a "IMAX" screen. I don't remember how it started, but after the first time seeing the wand fights on that really big screen, you just can't see them any other way. One of the local cinemas just replaced a screen with an IMAX. Before we have to travel almost an hour to the museum to see them. I liked to walk around the museum before the movie. We just hit the theater this time. We didn't want to drive so far. Lola drove there, that is always an adventure. She is definitely getting better. She is scheduled to get her license just after the holidays.

We had decided to take day trip to break up the weekend (ward off those blow ups). We went shopping to one of the local college towns. Only Lola had been to the mall before. We ate at Bennigans in the mall. The local college game was on, it was fun to hear the crowd....touchdown!

The Christmas Traditions Quilt is just about done. The outer borders are now on and the binding is being sewn down. I am a little disappointed. You can begin to see in the this pic that the blue and red coins are a little full. The snowman quilting that was so great in the beginning, has shrunk the white fabric enough to have the colors puckering. These coins were quilt as you go. I was hoping to be done with this be now. I quilted 3 lines lengthwise down the quilt, hoping to take in some of the fullness. It wasn't enough. So now I am meandering between those lines. It isn't hard just taking longer than I wanted. Christmas Traditions is next weekend. I am again waiting until the last minute to finish.

I really enjoy The Patchwork Times by Judy L. I have enjoyed watching her sock collection. As a child I learned to tat, crochet, knit, cook, bake, garden, and quilt from my grandma's. I did not enjoy knitting. I could never get the hang of holding those long needles. I had so many other crafts that I just learned and then never knitted again. I watched Judy making socks. She is quite the quilter, but I love to see her socks. She collects yarn like a quilter collects fabric (she has a great stash too!). I decided that I needed to try to make some socks. So I am. I started them while I was off taking care of my dad. They are going slow. I had to reteach myself how to knit. It wasn't that bad. I have dropped stitches...I have to fix this myself now. Grandma always did that for me before. It is coming along though. I should have started with thicker yarn and bigger needles. I find this out later. Oh well. I am dreading getting to the heel. I will need to take a lesson when I get there, I think. I am holding off taking the lesson until I really need it. I am having a ball (hahaha!) working on them. The technique is 2 socks on 2 circular needles, so when you are done you don't have to start over to make the second sock.

Happy Knitting or Quilting!

Just Another Quilter (Knitter)

More Bibs

2010-10-25T14:36:00.000-05:00

Thought I would show you the latest in my bib collection. I wanted to make sure to get pics before I sent them off. Meet the newest member of our family. This precious thing came into the world in August. We just found out about it-MEN!#?

She belongs to my husbands godson. Check out 4 of the bibs I made. I am hoping to quilt up a top that needs finishing.

If you click I the pic I think that it will enlarge it so you can see my Grandneice better. We have been greataunts & uncle for amost 16 years.

Remember to make the most out of life.

Just Another Quilter

Food & Fabric for thought

2010-10-23T10:16:00.003-05:00

Things are just crazy around our house. The husband has been away on business. Lola started a new job, is working on the stage crew for her third play now and babysitting is picking up for her. Not to mention her stomach is giving her fits (can we say stress--she just can't see it). Lola gets her license in January. So to add to these chauffeuring duties lets add: MJJR started basketball practice, had a band concert, and was on the bottom of the pile in a basketball pile up (her head is tingling--can we say possible concussion). It all seemed to come together when Lola's job was ending (doors locking, building closing for the night) while the concert was 1 hr into the 2 bands, 2 choirs & joint pieces for both the band and choir. I realized this at 1pm. Lots of fun! A few calls with lots of pleases took care of the situation. Boy, it would be nice to have some family in the area to help now and then.

The retreat that I usually attend is also this weekend. DH told me a couple of weeks ago to just GO. I laughed. He suggested that I take off after school started on Friday (did I mention he is back in town but on call--currently working at 9am Saturday morn. I really did need some of that quilting bonding time that comes with retreat, soo, I headed off on Thursday for about 3 hours. I squared up some blocks and worked on a little hand quilting. I had soup for lunch and talked with long lost friends. It was great.

But this Saturday morning, it is cooler than recent days and raining. We really need the rain, but I could do with out the dreariness. To brighten my mood, I cook. A neighbor offered a butternut squash last week and I took it. Lola loves squash soup--found a recipe and made it up. I thought I better try it & realized that I also love squash soup. Yesterday, found me a few more squash--a quilting buddy with a farm. She offered me 3! More soup! This will turn into OurBestBites.com Butternut Squash Soup. I really enjoy this site. This pot was hit with a hand blender and quickly turned into a marvelous lunch. Today the squash was a little smaller and I covered the pot. Last time it had the consistency of mashed potatoes--I added some half & half. Today it is a little thin.

Next item to share--FABRIC! Over the last few months, our family has taken a few trips, hit a few shops and just added to the stash because--well--I really wasn't sewing and wanted to feel like I was doing some quilting. Imagining great quilts out of new fabric makes me feel that way.

The fabric is my souvenir from Maui. The left was at the Maui Quilt Shop on the south side. The right was at the quilt shop in the mall--yes, the mall. The mall is right by the airport.

DH headed off to Nebraska for work a few weeks ago. The quilt shop had this quilt on display and he really liked it. He brought everything home so he could have one too!

Last thing--next week I am off to stay with my dad who got a new hip. I will be in katiemaytoo 's neck of the woods.

Off to work on some bibs.

Happy Quilting,

Just Another Quilter

A couple of projects

2010-10-05T20:44:00.000-05:00

I have been working on bibs for mjjr's coach. She has had the same coach for a couple of sports for 2 years now. These bibs are for their new baby. Can you imagine have a baby and a 11 year old? I am too old for that.

Here are 2 of the 4 that I made. More are coming. A coworker is having a shower on Sunday. I haven't started hers yet.

This is the Christmas Traditions quilt and the up close quilting. It is a quilt as you go for the coins. I think that our group will have to do a little more quilting on the coins.The coins are a little baggy because the dense quilting is shrinking the white. The ends still have snowmen fabric to put on.

happy quilting.

Just Another Quilter

I WON!!!

2010-10-04T16:05:00.000-05:00

My mother came in town for the weekend. We haven't seen much of each other the last few years. My daughter had surgery last summer. Mom took a bad spill on her bicycle and couldn't travel much.

I have taken her for my quilters retreat before. We don't really do any crafts together when she comes. We just talk and I show her what I am working on and she tells me about hers. (She picked up a new machine last month.)

Mom & I were hunting through the internet for sock patterns and just looking around. I love the socks Judy L. makes over at the Patchwork Times. She is so funny. Today is "Design Wall Monday". Stop over and see what everyone is working on. We found some hat patterns that might be interesting as Christmas is approaching.

While we were hunting around I saw a new post from "KatieMaytoo". She was announcing the winners for her recent giveaway. I WON!!!! I was so excited! My mom came over, confused. What did you win? How did you win? I just had to explain all about friends on the internet.

Earlier this year, I picked up a 5 gallon bucket of homegrown plums at church. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them....but I would find something. I made something called Plum Buckle. Boy was it good. We also now have enough jam for the year!

Salsa was made, zucchini bread frozen, spaghetti sauce frozen, basil dried, pesto frozen, apple chips drying, apple/pear cheddar cheese pie ready to eat and one carrot cake eaten and one frozen. Maybe the summer was busy & I wasn't so lazy.

Next to come---bibs, tablerunners and fabric.

What I did on my summer vacation.

2010-09-27T11:31:00.000-05:00

Here are the some pics to follow up with my return.

First are some pics from Hawaii. We stayed off Black Rock in Maui. We always seem to have an exciting time. The excitement seems to follow us. While there, fires shut down the road that connects Lahaina to the rest of Maui. Teen idol Zack Ephron was present for a Movie Festival. The end of the vacation was saddened by the disappearance of a snorkeler right in front of our room. Four or five days emergency personnel were present in the ocean, of land and even in the parking lot. We stayed out of the ocean for part of the day. The Lola was afraid that she would have a life altering event. Here is a pic of the area where we would wait for the bus. We enjoyed the trip to the other side of the island. This "ginger" bloom was just gorgeous. We also went to the top of Haleakala. This old volcano looks like something more from moon.

At the top of the mountain is the strangest looking plant.

This plant looks like it is metallic.

It grows for up to 25 years before it blooms and then dies.

The last pic is of the view in the evening from our window. What a way to go to bed at night.

Well I am saving some pics for next time.

Just Another Quilter

Where have I been????

2010-09-26T10:01:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that I have been gone for so long. The kids finished school and it was suddenly busy.

What I did on my summer vacation:

Went to Maui for 2 weeks and---saw sea turtles, shopped, found a quilt shop in a mall, went for walks, saw cool flowers, hiked, went to an aquarium, watched a water bottle collapse coming down a mountain, and read a few books.
Watched some awesome fireworks for the 4th of July
A daughter got her braces off
Went to visit family in another state
Picked up hours at work
Watched lots of softball games
Helped with Bible school
Picked blueberries
Picked tomatoes
Made spaghetti sauce
Made salsa
Made plum jam
Made zucchini bread
Went swimming
Went fishing
Went to Mayo for a conference
Sent the youngest kid to a new school (Middle School)
Did very little quilting!

What I did since the kids went back to school.

Remind dad to schedule the hip surgery that he really needs.
Hear that mother has yet again fallen of the bike.
Made scarf made from fabric purchased while at Mayo
Finished bibs for baby born in July. Still not delivered.
Started a quilt as you go project for the Christmas Traditions
Buy a new car
Take old car in for brake problems
Take other old car in for wheel bearing problems
Go to local quilt show for 2 hours--not long enough but got to go.
Take child for enlarged ear???? Infection? Allergies? Bite?
Pick up hours at work
Made a mission meal

I will get some pics in the next post. Of food, flowers, cars, & quilt related stuff. Tomorrow??!!!??

Just Another Quilter
where life gets in the way of quilting.

The Red White & Green header

2010-05-28T16:43:00.000-05:00

I was asked about the item I added behind the "The Ups & Downs of Quilting". Several blogs I checked out had all the same formatting, colors & pictures. I wanted to change things up a little bit. So I added the picture. The picture is of the fabric that I purchased in Alaska. It can be seen in this quilt. The fabric is blown up so much that it turned out pretty cool when I blurred it a little in the editing software.

I thought that this went well with the current blog colors & was fairly easy to just cover the picture that was already there.

Just Another Quilter

What's been going on!

2010-05-28T11:51:00.001-05:00

We have been very busy lately. The house is bustling with guests. Mom & Step-dad left yesterday. MJJR was promoted to the Middle School next year. Lola finished with school too. She is driving with her permit--her driving is coming along. MJJR is playing softball. Pictures were last night. We didn't quite make it in time. She has several pictures over the years. We will take some pics before another game. We were getting the teeth cleaned. No cavities for either one of us. DH & I went to the Dr. yesterday. He is working at getting his very large varicose veins "microwaved". There are some branching and they will put him under to remove them. The veins keep him from being more active (like going for walks with me). I organized the refreshment stands for the elementary schools Field days. It is always a fun time but lots of work. It was a warm day, some of the 450 Popsicles melted but we all made do. It is always fun to watch the kids play. The older kids even had a tug o war. MJJR's class did well in the tug o war.

Here is a pic of the lettuce that I planted back in early April. I thought that you all would like to see how it looks now. I have harvested twice now. The taller green stuff is the spinach. I ended up putting the pot outside a little too early and fried the small shoots. OOPS. I lost some of the plants. I thought of replanting the empty areas but decided not too. We still have a good crop there. The smaller plants will thicken up as they have growing room. I moved the planter to the north side of the house as the heat is starting already. It seems we went into full hot muggy summer all at once.

I haven't done much sewing with all the softball games, concerts, award banquets, graduation parties and such. I am hoping to pick up a book or two in the next few weeks.

I often check out audio books from the library. I enjoy this with my 30-40 commute, along with sewing or folding laundry while I listen. I just finished listening to a great book. It has some graphic parts that could have been left out or toned down but do help to establish the character. The beginning is slow but the book is very interesting and intriguing. The book is "The girl with the Dragon Tattoo". The book is by Steig Larsson. He passed away in 2004 after turning in manuscripts for 3 novels. I was lead to this book by our book club at work. I am unable to attend because of the chauffeuring that I do, but enjoy reading and discussing the books when able to.

Enjoy the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend.

Just Another Quilter

Blogger's Spring Quilt Festival

2010-05-21T13:16:00.004-05:00

The Blogger's Spring Quilt Festival has arrived. I have enjoyed looking at others picks, this year I thought I would also put in an entry. I can sit for hours and look at blogs. Some of the entries in the past are now blogs that I follow. It is certainly not a quilt show that can be looked at in 1 day.

The quilt that I chose for the Blogger Spring Quilt Festival is the only quilt that I have actually finished this year. It is unnamed. Have a name idea. Leave me a comment. I made it from "Wedgeworks II 3-D Mariners Compass". I had hoped to teach the class at the local quilt shop. I chose a bad day and had no one sign up. The piece is still hanging in the shop. The design was ready, the fabric was purchased. I just needed to find time to get the sewing done. I took everything to the sewing retreat in February. It is amazing how little fabric you can actually have left over. I was not leaving retreat to purchase more fabric. I did buy the green & blue batik off a fellow quilter. The binding is two sided because I did not have enough fabric for regular binding. The backing fabric I brought was not big enough. I found something big enough in stash fabric for another project. The outer small navy sashing is different from the sashing around the blocks (it isn't noticeable) because I didn't have enough yardage again. I finished quilting it the Monday after retreat. Then no one signed up for the class. I will try to teach again in a few months when life slows back down. (After the kids go back to school.) I will be turning the wall hanging on its side and hanging it in my sew room over my cutting counter. It will have an inset light over each compass. It may require some redecorating of the remaining sew room. It think that after almost 10 years, it might be do for an update.

Enjoy the quilt show. Stop by and see Amy that organizes the show.

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T13:27:00.004-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all you mother's out there, to all you that are mother's to be, and to all you that take a moment to remember your mother even though she is no longer on this earth.

We started out with a very quiet Mother's Day. The girls were hard at work finishing my Mother's Day surprise. They spent time yesterday and today working on it in secret. They would be excited when I would leave the house for an hour, or would get me outside to bring some wood next to the house so we wouldn't have to turn the furnace on for the expected frost last night. Also the youngest was very enthusiastic to help me cover the tender plants.

It is definitely spring. The birds are around. Because of the water, we have a great assortment of birds and wildlife. I enjoy seeing the birds that didn't frequent our house as a child. The bluebirds are beautiful, a pair has taken up residence in the bluebird house that was vacant for the last couple years. The Canadian Geese family stopped by the other day with babies in tow. They took to sunning themselves on the dam. They usually don't stay long. The Kingfisher is present gliding just above the water surface to take up watch on a neighboring dock. The ancient looking Great Heron is also present jumping over the docks to see what is on the other side.

This morning a hesitant gold finch was perched on the top of the birdfeeder, trying to decide how to make it a few inches lower to eat the seed. I believe daddy finch was taking new baby off for a trip to the local feeding grounds. The bird was so hesitant, trying a couple angles and several minutes before making across the finish line to the black thistle they love so much.

Well, I have called both of mom's phones and have left messages. No answer. Maybe at my brother's for the morning. I have talked to her more in the last couple days. The husband had a call from work and left just before church, so the girls and I are quietly enjoying the day.

Oh, the much anticipated present. The life of the MJJR from birth to present. All the really great photos, memorable moments and goofy smiles in 91 pics. Some scanned and some transferred. It was great to see so many moments in one place at one time. Now if I can just get the Lola to transfer her life onto the it also. Lola did much of the work for MMJR. Lola picked me up a new Wii game of oldie songs and dance moves. She says it is a hoot. We will have to try it later.

Enjoy the day!

Missing in Action

2010-04-27T17:31:00.005-05:00

I feel like I have been lurking around lately. I thought that maybe I would check in. No pics in this one.

The orthodontist office is furnishing me with morning caffeine on Monday mornings for 2 weeks in a row. Both mornings before 8am. I also started taking a Bible Study class on Mondays. I tend to post on Monday mornings after the weekend. One reason why I am MIA.

I have never taken a Bible Study class before. As a regular attendee at church, I help out occasionally. I thought it was time to add some more depth to my spiritual journey. My spiritual journey like any other has ups and downs. The age difference is apparent in this group. I am again quite a bit younger. This group has wonderfully accepted my viewpoint. Recently I was asked to be in a play to be put on during the Sunday service. I am working on memorizing my lines.

DH ordered me my own laptop. After longing over my daughter Lola's laptop that showed up last summer I now have one of my own. Little is set up on it yet. I am looking at setting up a new email address to get some of the Hancock's, Joann's, Herrschners, etc. mail out of the family email address. Any suggestions. Lola has lots of opinions but she doesn't like any of mine. Post me some ideas.

No one ever signed up for my class a couple weeks ago. It was a busy time and with the Rosemont show later in the week and Paducah the following weekend, I wasn't surprised. Poor planning on my part. I was a little disappointed, I wasn't surprised. I was however, approached about teaching the class in a neighboring town. I need to get the sample over to my neighbor so she can talk to the person that has pull! I will keep you updated. I still need to pick up the quilt from the shop.

I was home today from work as MJJR has started with migraines. She doesn't get them enough to hit the dr. yet. As the hormones are flowing in her 11 yr. old body, I think it is a matter of time until they get worse. She gets the nausea & vomitting with it.

I hope to be more active than of late.

The handquilting project is moving along well. The outer border needs to have the pattern blown up from the sashing. Haven't done that yet. The software to blow up the pattern is on the new computer, just need to try it out. Another flower needs to be drafted to put in the last light section of the quilt. On a good note, the binding was cut and pressed today.

Just Another Quilter

Design Wall Monday w/ a few extras thrown in

2010-04-12T08:20:00.009-05:00

Well, it is Monday.

I am trying to get back into life. Here is my design wall. Looks the same from a couple weeks ago. It is storing my blocks that are pinned but haven't made it through the sewing machine yet. Why you ask? Because my walking foot is on the machine.

At the first of the year our sit n sew group decided to work on a group project. Unsure of where to look for a project, I suggested Quiltville.com. Bonnie has great instructions as we all know and several different string styles available. Our group has grown in the last couple years and with lots of newer quilters these are great projects. Since I was the one who suggested the project, I thought I better participate. A new project really wasn't needed right now, it won't be done any time soon, but it is a quilt that I wanted to make in the future. Most of the ladies are going full steam ahead. One is completely done, one needs binding, at least 1 other top is done. I have 10 blocks done. I decided to try to convert the pattern to a quilt as you go (don't need another top to finish--already have a stack of them). So I moved the current project to the floor. Check out the mess it makes at the machine. My plan is to have blue and white come together for hourglasses between the red stripes.

As always, more than one project is going at a time. The "Sister to the Lodge" is in the final stages of quilting. I don't feel like I have completed anything all year. The class sample is done, but this is the only one. The "Sister" quilt is getting close. Due to work, I don't hand quilt on Mondays and Tuesday, i.e. the need for other projects. After some thought, the beige thread called to me. It is scary putting all those stitches on the red where they will really show.

The other thing that has slowed me down is the need to do a little crocheting. The Sugar N Cream somehow jumped into the cart, 2 dishrags jumped into the drawer a few days later.

The sun is scheduled to arrive in the afternoon with highs in the 70's again. Better get my other work done. The paddle boat is calling for a spin once the sun arrives.

Stop over to Judy L. to see other Design Wall Mondays.

Just Another Quilter

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

2010-04-11T21:35:00.003-05:00

Today was a beautiful day. We enjoyed the day with family and mother nature. Some of the yard work is getting done. The paddle boat went in yesterday. Took MJJR out for a boat ride. Got a little exercise. Also took the girls to the bowling alley. I had the top scores of 96 & 74. Enjoyed the morning at church. Service was about having faith. How some of us struggle with faith all our lives, others just take it at face value and just believe. It ties into the fact that Jesus rose. Who believed, who had to see it for themselves and who always questioned.

Here are some pics that show God touched my world today. When we first moved to the house, we put in a magnolia tree by the basement door. The tree was planted in the spring and didn't bloom the next year. We called back and the landscape company supplied us with a new tree. We decided to get a different variety and plant it some place it wouldn't be in the harsh winter elements. Above is the pic of the new magnolia tree planted 10 years ago. Here is the pic of the 1st magnolia tree. We decided not to go to the trouble of digging out the tree. It lost over half of the branches during that 1st winter. After about 6 years we decided that we would dig it up if it didn't bloom in the spring. Sure enough, that spring it started blooming again. Patience & Faith. It is just starting to get blooms. It looks like it will be full of blossoms in a few days!

Enjoy life. Have faith. The best things in life take time.

Just Another Quilter

Design Wall Monday--What a mess

2010-03-22T09:39:00.005-05:00

Recently I snuck away for a long weekend of sewing. While there I finished my sample for an upcoming quilting class I am going to teach (my first class). After finishing the sample I could mess with my fun stuff. On my wall currently is the 3 compass' that were made prior to making the sample for the class. Here is the fun fabric made into compass' that I played with before I cut into the LQS fabric. I am hoping to make more of the compass' with the green stripes. The 9 patch diamonds are something that I put together last year. The pattern calls for all 2 1/2" strips. I would rather not use strips for the outer edges, so template making went into play. These blocks are now too big for the case they were carried to retreat in. I brought them back next to the cutting mat and plopped them on the wall until I have more time to work on them.

To get a break from the quilts--I made a pincushion out of a peanut butter container. I like to put sand in the cushion, it always feels better to me when sticking the pins in. Our family loves fresh lettuce. It is time to start the planting. My favorite way to grow lettuce is in a pot. This allows you to move it for a longer harvest. The pot is inside on the cold days, outside in the sun on the warm days (60's right now for us), and will let me move it to a shady spot as the temperatures rise into the 80's. Lettuce is a crop that gets very bitter when it is in full sun for the summer. This mix has parsley, spinach, beets (for greens only) and curly red lettuce. Nothing is better than a fresh salad straight from the garder. Others are always commenting how good it looks. This pot is about 6 days old. I start with plastic wrap over the top and remove it as the sprouts grow.

Still working on the hand quilting. I am getting ready to mark the borders.

See the other post for Design Wall Monday's at Judy's Blog

Hope you can get those fingers dirty & throw a few stitches in here and there. Just Another Quilter in the Midwest!

Recent Retreat

2010-03-20T08:48:00.009-05:00

I had the pleasure of getting out of town for a few days. It was at the beginning of the month. I am a little slow getting pics here. I didn't take very many. I thought that I would show you 2 of the great quilts. I am not sure that they were actually made there. I know the Christmas one was not. I really like how the colors work in this Christmas quilt. I am not sure that I will make it in Christmas colors, but I think that this quilt goes into my future quilt list.

The other quilt is made from antique blocks that were purchased. I really like how she finished the top. Not something that I would have come up with. The blocks don't show well but they look like shirt plaids.

Myself, I worked on the sample piece for the upcoming class. I am excited that it is finished. The cutting directions are done. I have spent the time quilting it. I turned it in to the LQS on Monday. The big day is tax day--April 15th. Here is the final pic. I think that it turned out great. I really like the "good" fabric.
Man did I make the most of the fabric I had. More than once I didn't think I would have enough. The two blue sashings are different. I bumped up fabric yardage for that fabric. The blue green batik is also not what I purchased for that area. What nice shopping can be done at "Retreat" when others open their stash for you.

I have been back to hand quilting on the "Sister to the Lodge" quilt. I am almost to the outer borders. It will be nice to finish something. To date the teaching piece is the only one finished in 2010. I am looking forward to showing my design wall on Monday. It is a mess!

Oh. The oldest started drivers ed. Scary. The husband is taking her out now that she has her permit.

Keep sewing away.

Just Another Quilter

What makes a good day

2010-02-25T09:55:00.003-06:00

Life has been so busy lately. Our house is starting to slow down. It will not stay here but the lull is rejuvenating.

A good day today is:

A great haircut yesterday and it looks almost as good as the stylist's today!

Time to work on quilts.

A fire in the fireplace.

A talk with a good friend.

Laundry is a cooking.

Fresh sheets on the bed.

Getting warm fuzzies while reading a the bible.

Remember, the day is what you make it.

All this after a nauseating migraine this morning.

Enjoy life.

Just Another Quilter

Design Wall Monday

2010-02-22T07:19:00.004-06:00

I really enjoy looking at Design Wall around the world. A few weeks ago mine looked very similar to one in Louisiana. Though I still have borders to put on the quilt, I have set it aside. The borders will be cut probably today. The pinning and sewing will occur at retreat in 10 days!!

Judy at The Patchwork Times can show you all the links for today.

After talking to the LQS, I get to teach a class. I have taught before, but never at a LQS for paying customers. With the support from all of you, I'm going to try. Here is my first attempt at a block that I wanted to teach. It is 3-D, not paper pieced and not so bad with all the little bias edges. After reading the directions again (oops-probably should have read them good the first time) I decided that I wanted to add the outside of the circle before sewing the whole thing together. Since I need more practice before I cut into the real fabric (LQS set it aside), I am trying again. Here is what I did yesterday.

I now need to square up the quadrants and insert the dark brown w/ polka dots. Give me luck. Today the girls went to school (it was questionable) even with a big snow last night. The driveway is done but I am not sure with the packed down spots I can make it up the drive if I go out. That is too bad. Must I stay home and sew. ;)

Recent buys

2010-02-19T13:12:00.000-06:00

Recently my birthday came and went. The family was very busy the day of and a few gifts were opened the day before. Noteworthy were 2 magazines/books. Quiltmaker will be sending out all 100 blocks to readers that correctly identified designers of the blocks. I can only hope a great block comes my way!

Also, on the way home from work on Tuesday, I enjoyed a quick jaunt to the local Hancock Fabric store. I like checking out the clearance aisle. This time I think that I did pretty good. Over the years, picking up a BOM at a pretty good price. You can see one purchased a few years back, on the design wall last week. The newest purchase has a total of 12 blocks, all the same pattern. I think a quilt filled of these flowers in different colors (easy to add in some triangles in my own) will go together nicely. Dancing flowers with cute faces in frames or maybe windows of a house. It is something in the way out future, but will work out. All for the low price of $6. Also in the bag coming home is some "quilt hanging hardware". A nice rod and clips will hang just about anything--a bargain for $1.

Off to the school for a weekend of basketball. Get to run the concession stand! Yipee! Actually it will be rather fun. The whole family is in on the event. Lola (DD1) is looking forward to seeing her BF (B-Boy) and working the admission table with him. Good clean fun!

Have a great weekend.

Just Another quilter in the world.

The Design Wall

2010-02-11T21:20:00.010-06:00

A couple weeks ago I showed the design wall. It was my Leaders & Enders project. This was a great project for middle of the night sewing (sleep doesn't always happen for me). The borders are not attached yet. I think that I will put them on while at retreat in March. OOOH! I am going to retreat!!!!

Here is the current middle of the night project. I picked these BOM's up from Joann's back in 2004. I purchased them for no more than $3 a piece. The bird print was the back of my youngest daughter's quilt. The leftovers stayed in the stash for 7-8 years until last week when I gave most of the bird print away. Now, the print looks really well with the blocks. The women has offered to give it back, I offered to let the women come and pull something new. The colors are so old, I am afraid unless I find something else old, the colors it will be hard to match.

Can you find the block that was put together wrong in the middle of the night? That is what happens at 3am.

I am going to retreat! I don't always get to go, so it is very exciting. What to bring? What to bring? Why of course, everything. The borders for the Leaders & Enders project. I need to finish the quilting on the "Sister to the Lodge" so the binding can go on. The binding might be attached at retreat. Also, I need to make 3 equilateral triangles in the stitch & flip method. I hate making these blocks. This is for the Dahlia that is forever haunting me. I also need to make the sample for the class I hope to teach.

I have a clean house, laundry cooking and food on the table. Time to get back to the stitching now!

Have a great weekend. We are off to a small town for a Basketball tourney tomorrow. DD1 is off to Speech Sectionals. She will be back tomorrow for a babysitting job. I might see her on Sunday. She is hoping to spend some time with the boyfriend on Sunday, too.

The First Quilt

2010-02-08T10:20:00.006-06:00

The question has been posed what is your first quilt. My grandmother quilted, but like many families it skipped a generation. My mothersewed and would keep me out of her hair by having me trace around squares made from a cereal box. I cut out the squares and sewed them together. The fabric I used is leftovers from the clothing my mother made me. It is every thing from corduroy, polyester and even some older prints. How this piece didn't end up in the trash or charity box is beyond me.

My mom's machine included a "CAM" system. This was how you made the fancy stitches back in the 1970's. These CAM's were used to finish the edge of the piece. The stitching is so nicely done that it overlaps and has 2 rows of stitching for about 6 inches. It is precious and shows my tender age of 10 or under. Rug yarn was used to tie the quilt. This was my first quilt. Many years passed and as adulthood set in I picked up sewing again. Here is a small wall hanging made in the early 1990's. I copied a piece I purchased, made to match the colors that were needed for the room. I had yet to hear of the 1/4" seam. I could not understand why mine looked so different from the purchased one. Where did my points go to?

Both of these pieces are in my sew room. The doll quilt hangs on the wall mounted TV stand and the second one is on the wall next to my sewing machine. The Celtic pieces I have been working on and are kept safe by sticking to the small wall hanging. Someday, maybe the family will appreciate these pieces for where one starts when one chooses a new hobby.

Enjoy!

Happy quilting to you from

Just Another Quilter

Design Wall Monday!

2010-01-25T08:11:00.011-06:00

After AllPeopleQuilt.com changed their blogs I moved my blog over here. I have recently found the Design Wall Mondays at http://www.patchworktimes.com/ by Judy L.

After lurking for a couple weeks, I thought it was time to make a contribution.

My developing "leaders and enders" project is at a standstill. I am hoping to hit the LQS this morning to see if I can find more of the dark brown. That is all I have. I am going to replace the turquoise with the dark brown. Because of the smooth fabric, everything keeps falling off! UGH! So that part is alittle disheveled. I am hoping for the old farm look, but if you don't have the turquoise 1/2 squares in there, you can't see the pattern.

The other project that I am working on is the "Wedge Works II" pattern by Cherly Phillips. It is time to step outside my comfort zone and teach a class at a LQS. This is an older book and is a 3 dimensional block with not much more than stitching the wedges together. Here is my sample before I cut into the real fabric. And below is the real fabric.

Can't wait to get started on the real thing. Still can't figure out what I am going to do with the sample. I can tell you that the brown stripe for the center points is nothing but skinny little strips. I could not even get the last triangle out of it, one of those points has a seam running almost through the middle.

Hope to see you next week.

Just Another Quilter

2010-01-24T21:35:00.002-06:00

Beth asked--If the quilts are for something such as a raffle quilt. They are not. Many of my quilts leave the house. Marriages, babies and such are starting to slow down and more of the quilts have no home--I like the way Bonnie Hunter puts it in "Quiltville"--if we were painters no one would ask why we are painting another landscape...or painting again. It is part of the artist. These quilts are because I have more fabric and I believe that there are many fabulous quilts stuck in my stash waiting to get out! I am excited to get them out. Now if I could just get some more of them quilted.

I thought that I would follow that up with something about our guild. Our guild is quite large--almost 350 members. We have a show every other year & a "Sewing Expo" on the off years. We have continuous Charity projects. Several of us cut out fabric ( I love to cut)--the committee put the together "pizza boxes" with everything needed for a quilt. Members that love to sew--sew them up. Sometimes the members quilt them, others turn in the completed top and several members get together every month and tie the other ones. We have fabric swaps every other month, and blocks to raffle every other month or so. We are blessed with national speakers-- Carol Doak is coming soon! We have 2 retreats a year and buses that will take you to regional shows. We have the "Show and Tell" at the end of every meeting. Members teach classes along with the speakers that come into town for the meetings. Many of the members have smaller "Sit N Sew" groups. There are groups that meet at the churches, libraries--more than 1 and at historic homes that open to the public. They have even set up mini retreats. These let you bring your stuff and leave it there for the weekend. You just can't sleep there. But no distractions and lots of quilting friends who can help you get over the hard parts of the badly written pattern.

I will say that a guild is what you put into it. If you participate you will make friends and stay busy. If you let others do all the work and just show up for the meetings once a month you might not talk to anyone for the whole meeting. Most guilds have so many long time members that sometimes the thrill of seeing the friend keeps them from venturing out to talk to others they don't know. Also I think some are quieter than the average person, at least until you get them talking about quilting.

So enough talk.

It is bed time for me. I am looking forward to working on a my projects tomorrow and lunch with a good friend.

Just Another Quilter

What to do with muslin scraps

2010-01-23T09:41:00.006-06:00

Stitch Niche asked me what we do with the 2 1/2" X 6 1/2" rectangles. I often cut for the guild. I am younger than most members (in my 40's) and have a little steadier hand and cut a little more accurate. The end product comes together better when you start with good cutting. Our favorite quilt to make simple squares with sashing and cornerstones. The muslin is for sashing. This will go with everything. You can mix up the blocks and make the whole thing scrappy and pull it together with a border. We also take some of the great fabrics that turned into uglies. These are often donated when they are no longer in style. We take the print and put muslin as sashing and use a matching cornerstone and the same cornerstone for the border. Often we take all the same color like blue/purples and make a quilt or below with florals.

For a little more work you can set the whole thing on point. This is what was done here. After participating in many 6" floral swaps, I didn't want to look at them any longer (A watercolor quilt was calling me....it no longer calls me). Here is the quilt top I finished with muslin sashing. The muslin doesn't have the plain look it has in older quilts. The bright orange/red, yellow and blue keeps the muslin looking the cleaniest and brightest white and that makes it crisp. This muslin sashing is actually from the leftovers . It is cut 2" by 6" because that is what my floral squares were. I am so glad that I found a quilt to use up all those squares.

I always say my favorites are the simple patterns that look like more than they are and let the fabric do some of the work for you.

Just Another Quilter

Check out the design wall brown option

2010-01-22T07:30:00.011-06:00

Man---Sometimes the stash just surprises you. I found a piece of brown that might work in my stash. What a pleasant surprise. Where did it come from you ask? Why from the Simple Abundance fat quarter bundle I won after quilt market in the fall!

Check this pic out. I placed the fat quarter behind some of the other blocks. My hope is to have this quilt read as something you might find in an old farm house.

I only have 1 fat quarter of it. I might look and see if I can find some more at the LQS. All the beige 1/2 square triangles were made with only 1 fat quarter--but there was 2 more FQ's available. This is the only one that is in the stash. Just hate to find myself a couple triangles short. I have not figured out how it will transition into a border.

Here is the pic of the overall pattern. What do you think? The dark brown would alternate "stripes" with the beige stripe. These 2 simple blocks come together to look like so much more than what they actually are. My favorite kind of layout.

On another note, our guild makes charity quilts like many guild, often I help cut. It is easier to take the fabric home and cut at my leisure within the next month. My all time favorite part of quilting is cutting, touching, ironing, straightening ( the OCD in me comes out), playing with the shapes after they are cut and trying to figure out what other usable pieces I can get out of the small chunks that are left. Here is the stack from yesterday. Here is the over 700 2 1/2" x 6 1/2" rectangles for sashing. The guild likes this pattern because if you have a whole lot of ugly fabric you can make it all go away.

Just Another Quilter

Help! My Design Wall Needs Help!

2010-01-20T16:38:00.003-06:00

My design wall needs some input. It is crying Help! to all you quilters.

This has been my leader and ender project for awhile. Most things look good with a little black so I took fabric and made black 4 patches. Later I realized that I would have been better with scrappy 4 patches, but they were there so I tried to make something nice. I like the overall look of the project...BUT...I just placed the turquoise in to fill in the white to get an idea what the overall pattern will look like. It does not go with the rest of the colors. Now the hard part...what will go with the rest of the colors. I was thinking that the other strips of color surrounding the 4 patch squares would be darker than the brownish/tan that I have up there. I was thinking of another red but think that will look to strip like with the other reds in the quilt.

I need some serious help!

A Busy Week

2010-01-19T20:49:00.004-06:00

We are in the midst of a very busy week. Over the weekend our oldest who is on the Speech Team had a competition about 2 hrs. away. She needed to be the school at 5am. The neighborhood homeowners association had the yearly meeting. The DH finally found someone to take over the presidency. The youngest played basketball between the JV and Varsity games. This game took place during the HO Assoc. mtg. After the Varsity game the bus rolls in to return the Speech Team. On Sunday, the oldest & 8 of her best friends had the rarely allowed sleepover. To keep the peace the youngest had 2 additional friends over!

Nothing like 9 highschoolers and 3 elementary kids. (Poor husband--the only boy in the house.) A Twister tournament, hourly drawings (every ones name in the hat), and Band Hero marathon were entertaining to both the adults and the kids. The sleds came out and the air hockey tournament was fit in at about 10am.

Upcoming is the Spelling Bee in 2 days. The oldest is organizing it. I am just the gopher girl.

The quilt on the design wall is moving along. I need some advice on the colors. Thurs. I will get the pics on. I also managed to get some quilting done on the Sister to the Lodge. Though the quilting is figured out for the Christmas quilt, I haven't found time to work on it.
One more day to work. Thursday the 3rd graders get a lesson on being in the spelling bee & the real thing on Thursday night.
Happy Quilting,
Bust that Stash!
Just Another Quilter

Upcoming Events

2010-01-13T12:55:00.002-06:00

We have several upcoming events for our family.

Lola is coordinating the district spelling bee. She participated in it for years. She even moved on to the regional bee more than once. Last year the coordinator decided to resign and I asked her if she would enjoy organizing the event she participated in for so many years. The bee is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 21st. We still need to make the # tags for the contestants & judges gifts. Refreshments are available after the bee.

Our family will contribute Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Rounds. I modified the recipe by adding 3 oz. of cool melted unsweetened chocolate. Just stir it in after the egg and butter.

By making the dough today, baking will be a breeze on the day of the bee. After a brief stay in the frig, it is ready to be cut into easy cookie size pieces. Then the dough will go in the freezer and is all ready to just break apart and put on the oven. Cooking instructions along with the cookbook page are written on scratch paper and in the bag.

Between laundry, exercising, and making up the cookie dough, I managed to work on some hand quilting. Check out the great swirls. Can't wait to finish this project. Some of the swirls are to large to leave. I am planning on starting the swirls going the other direction. This project was put on hold for awhile. Lost the darn thread. Just hate it when you know you put it in a safe place....you just can't remember where that place is! Thank you to my quilting buddies girlfriend. Yes, through the grapevine I ended up with 2 new spools of matching thread. Still haven't been able to find it in town, but I am back to quilting!

Christmas Quilt for the Family

2010-01-11T10:51:00.006-06:00

In 2008, I had the pleasure of visiting Alaska. My family along with my mother and step-father had a beautiful trip that included a train ride and a cruise ship. We saw some beautiful places and I brought home some great souvenirs. Like many quilters, I would rather have fabric as a souvenir then a cup or spoon. While in Fairbanks, I stopped at a great shop just behind our hotel. I picked up a beautiful red, white and green print. Our family does not have a Christmas quilt and I thought this fabric might make a great quilt someday.

Around November, on the AllPeopleQuilt.com site, this picture of a lovely Christmas quilt kept coming up. Now, we have a slower internet connection than many of our friends (not dial-up) and I get the opportunity to look at some pictures longer than others as the page is loading. That month I saw the picture very frequently. I kept coming back in my mind to the fabric from Alaska.

I took the brave step of cutting into the fabric, fussy cutting out the design that I wanted to highlight. Many times cutting into the prize fabric is sooooo hard. After the second square was cut, I was an old pro. This quilt worked up very fast. It can be found in the December 2009 American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine.

The green stripe and the Christmas border print were purchased at the local Hancocks on 50% Christmas fabric. The other fabrics I found in the stash. I have just figured out the quilting. For me, this is one of the harder things about quilting. The quilt top was made in secret and found under the tree on Christmas morning. The family always knows that these quilts are not going to leave the house. So many times quilts are made and then given away. The family always enjoys having one that will stay here.

The background fabric is a Fossil Fern that is left over from the KING. I thought that it looked like snow falling from the sky.

(Oh by the way--It is nice not to have to resize the photos to put them on the website--It does take alittle longer to upload them though.)

I hope to have a quilt or 2 completed by March. This is one of them!

Happy Quilting from Just Another Quilter

My first in Blogspot

2010-01-09T11:56:00.000-06:00

Well,

I have made the conversion. I hope that I like it over here. It will take some time to get acquainted with the new set up.

I show that I have been blogging at Allpeoplequilt.com for almost 2 years. I started in February of 2008. I have printed and saved the previous blog for the family to read at a later date.

For those new readers--I am a woman in her 40's with a great family. We live on a small lake just off the Mighty Mississippi River. I work part-time in the medical field. My husband and I met in college and have 2 beautiful girls (Lola & MJ).

I have been quilting for over 15 years. I love patterns that have simple piecing but looks harder than what it is. I like to let the fabric do some of the work for me.

Hope to get the site personalized soon.

Signing off for now as

Just Another Quilter

What is taking so long.

2010-01-09T11:54:00.001-06:00

I thought I posted my first blog here. I am so used to changing the time from my other post that I think I set it to post way in the future. I will try this one.

I am now thinking that it will post in 2 minutes!!!

The Ups And Downs of Quilting

Design Wall Monday-January 30th, 2012

Finish it Up Friday, January 27th 2012

Yes, I am still out here!

The Latest project

Getting Down to Business

The Latest Adventure

The Ricky Tims’ Seminar

The Dahlia

The Latest Rollercoaster and July UFO

I got my picture taken with my. idol...

It’s Finally Here

Two Color Binding

Another Completed UFO!

Design Wall Monday

June UFO Project

May's UFO---SOCKS!

April UFO is Done!

April UFO & a peak at the Japanese Fabric

Current status

Our little trip to Jamaica

Life is a rollercoaster

March is Done

Take a Look at This!

Recent Quilting Retreat

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Two design Walls in a Row!

Design Wall Monday

February’s UFO

My January UFO…Finished or Unfinished?

A Devastating Failure

UFO Challenge

A Little Free motion Quilting

Day 3 of UFO Challenge

Happy New Year

The UFO Project. January #6

Trying out Windows Live Writer

Happy Late Thanksgiving

More Bibs

Food & Fabric for thought

A couple of projects

I WON!!!

What I did on my summer vacation.

Where have I been????

The Red White & Green header

What's been going on!

Blogger's Spring Quilt Festival

Happy Mother's Day

Missing in Action

Design Wall Monday w/ a few extras thrown in

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Similar experiences to a recent post

Design Wall Monday--What a mess

Recent Retreat

What makes a good day

Design Wall Monday

Recent buys

The Design Wall

The First Quilt

Design Wall Monday!

What to do with muslin scraps

Check out the design wall brown option

Help! My Design Wall Needs Help!

A Busy Week

Upcoming Events

Christmas Quilt for the Family

My first in Blogspot

What is taking so long.