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Saturday, January 29, 2011

What's my favorite number?

My favorite number is................













HQ Sixteen, that is.



Looky, looky what was delivered to me yesterday. All set up ready to quilt away. I've been wanting one of these FOREVER! Kept looking and hoping and finally found a very, very good deal. Or course DH says it's my Christmas present for the next five years, but that's ok with me. (hope he's kidding) I played with my new toy for awhile this afternoon but then life took over again. It's a lot bigger than I thought, so I have to move around my room a bit.





I missed posting my updates yesterday, I thought you might understand when you saw why. Anyway I did finish up the fall quilt and started a new one using Blush almost finished with the flimsy.









Gone to play with a cute "Sixteen" before son's basketball game.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Surprise delay

The surprise I was soooo excited about has been delayed, will be a day late. We had snow in our area (again!) and things in the south do not go according to plan when it snows. I think everything shuts down except hospitals, police, tow trucks and the place where I work. So bear with me and I will have something to show tomorrow.

In the mean time, tell me what is your favorite number? There is reason for my asking.





I had a few comments on the quilt in my header. I made this quilt for my niece's graduation from law school about 5 years ago. The little munchin is my son Stevie, who is now 8. The same niece had a baby girl this past August and when I went to see her I was very surprised to see the quilt on her couch and they use it all the time.








Because I am at work and limited to the pictures that I can use, I thought you like a non-quilting picture. This is Stevie in 2005, he is about 3 years old. He found his grandfathers grass mowing hat and insisted on wearing it. In fact he wore it most of that summer and into the fall until he walked on it, smashed it, sat on it, threw it, etc until the straw unraveled and the hat band was gone. Then he got his daddy's hat,a big black cowboy hat.

He loved his hats. Love him to death, can't imagine life without him.
Please excuse the messy dinner table, my mother couldn't resist taking this picture as they were eating dinner. She thought he was cute eating his boiled corn with that hat on. I am telling you he wore the thing all the time.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Friday night I didn't get as much done as I had wanted. (isn't that the case most of the time) but I was able to sew quite a bit on Saturday, made progress. Sewed more sashing on the Fall quilt. I want so bad to put it away and start on something else, but I stuck with it. Since by son wakes up at the crack of dawn, I sewed a little while before church, probably a little too long since we were late for church, missed all of the music and barely sat down before the offering plate was passed. Almost turned around and went home because we were soooo late, but decided to go anyway. After church I fixed a quickie lunch, husband watching football games, son wanting to play Wii, I wanted to sew. We all compromised. DH watched football down stairs, I moved the Wii upstairs (we have 2 Wii, upstairs and downstairs, but during Christmas school break I took the one upstairs to my parents house for Stevie to play. With all of the snow I have never brought it home, cause I never know when he is going to be out of school and spend the day with them.)to the bonus/sewing room and I sewed while Stevie played the Wii. Every once in awhile I had to read something to him or go "Wowww you won!! Great" as I was sewing. I FINISHED (insert happy dance here) the Fall quilt, sashing, borders everything!!! Now to get it quilted.

I started another quilt last night, after I carefully folded (yeah, right) the Fall quilt (need to give it a better name now). Very excited about it,the new quilt that is, don't really know why, except I am using Blush by Moda. Pinks, auqa,and browns, being a mom to two boys, I don't get to sew with pink very often.

I have a BIG BIG secret but......Can't tell you about it until Thursday. Check back on Thursday to see what my secret is.

My father went for some test today. His medical doctor brought up the BIG C word but the specialist today was more optimistic and he has to go for more test. Please say a little prayer for him.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Whoop Whoop

Joined Sarah in the weekly Whoop Whoop. Grab the button and follow along.

I was able to finish 2 rows of sashing and joining 3 more blocks on my fall quilt. See pictures below, I'll try and update pictures after I work on it tonight. It is getting so big, I don't think the whole thing will fit on my design wall. Maybe DH will hold it up, since he is 6'4", you should be able to see the whole thing. Hope to have the whole flimsy done this weekend. Then I have to decide if I want to try and quilt it or send it out to be quilted.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Slow and Steady



Making progress on a UFO. This was a block of the month I started alittle over a year ago. That's when we sold our house and I had to pack up and move. I have made several quilts since moving, but never went back to this quilt. Thanks to Susan I joined her UFO bust this year. This is on my list. All of the stars are finished and I'm now working on the sashing and borders. The star blocks are 16" finished, sashing is 6" finished. This is going to be one big quilt.




I love the leaves and fall colors. All of the star points are the same, but each one has a different middle. I plan on using this quilt on my bed next fall. I hope to have the top finished this weekend.

I bought a new book, City Quilts, and there are a few quilts in the book that I want to make.

Expecting more snow tomorrow, so maybe I will get off from work early. Have more time to quilt.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Good weekend

I met Sarah http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/and the quilting ladies in the quilting ministry on Saturday. I was blown away. I guess I was expecting a few ladies, 4 or 5, but there were a lot of women. I didn't count but I would guess 20 maybe 25. They were all so nice and talked with me as if we were old friends. Made me feel very welcomed. We worked on blocks for a young man. I never did hear the circumstances but that didn't really matter, just a young man in need. The humming of the machine were like angels singing. Each lady was giving a little of herself to help someone in need. Some had sewed before, some quilt, some didn't have a machine, but extra machines were there to use. Each lady had a smile on her face and was excited to be part of it. Each one proud of their blocks. Sarah did say we made enough blocks that day for 2 quilts. We used material that had been donated, Sarah thought maybe it was salesman samples, little squares maybe 2x4. We just sewed them together, a piece big enought to be squared to 10 inches, sashing and borders will be added. Wonderful ministry and it doesn't look like it will slowing down anytime real soon. I can't even explain how I felt that day when I left. I heard so many stories and so many times that day I heard "It's a God thing" and I agree. If you have fabric in your stash that you don't need or can't remember what you bought it for or if you need room to buy more fabric send it to Sarah. She and the quilt ladies can put it to good use. They have a way of taking a not so pretty fabric and making it beautiful.


Remember this is what I won on the Holly Jolly Bingo game.....


and this is what I made. Used a pattern by Cluck Cluck Sew, made a few changes. I love the way it turned out.




Had a busy sewing weekend. I worked on one of my UFO's.


made one more block






Then another.... and another.....





I ended up finishing all 7 blocks that I needed. Cut out sashing and started sewing it together,6 inch pieced sashing.

Hope you had a good weekend. Back to work tomorrow.

Friday, January 14, 2011

not much progress

Not a lot of progess here on UFO's or anything really. The snow has messed up my regular schedule and there has not been much sewing time at night. I usually sew after my son goes to bed, but since school has been out all week, due to the snow, he hasn't been going to bed at his regular time. We finally have sunshine today!!! Hopefully the snow will melt. My sister lives near Bufflo, NY and my niece lives near Cleveland, OH. I don't know how they live with snow all winter. They don't talk in inches, when they say "we have 3 on the ground", they mean feet. I can't imagine snow up past the window sills, or my shrubs covered in snow. If you live in one of these areas, I commend you I don't think I could do it every year. I don't know which is worst our humidity in the summer or snow all winter.

I am very excited....tomorrow I am meeting up with Sarah from http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/ and help with makin quilts for the Quilt Ministry. I am excited to meet Sarah and the Group of ladies. I'll see if they mind pictures and share my day with you.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Moving right along

I have been working on the black and white quilt. I finished all the piecing last night and then discovered I didn't have fabric for the borders. If the snow lets up, I might be able to run by JoAnns or Hobby Lobby on my way home from work and pick out some fabric. I would prefer my LQS but they will be closed before I get off from work and I don't want to wait until Saturday.

Weather is still the big news here. Snowing again today. This is just a bit much for us Southerners. Kids are having another vacation from school. If it is going to snow then I wish it would snow enough that I could stay home from work.

Worked a little on my UFO batiks quilt, you know the one from #*?*. Trying to free motion quilt it, but having a few issues. Seems to be worse (issues) since I went and tried out a long arm. (which I loved, by the way, and want one really, really bad). Have tried to talk myself out of it but...... still debating with self.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

This is what I did instead of sewing today. This is a wall in my sewing room. May not look like a lot, but took me several hours. The hard part wasn't cutting the letters out on my Cricut, but getting them straight on the wall. Thanks to Sweetwater I bought the jar labels.
They used baby food jars but I had these and decided to use them instead.



I love the way it turned out. (sorry for the flash glare)The quilt block is one that was left over from a quilt years and years ago but I thought the colors went well with everything else and fit into a 8X8 frome that I had.


I am working on something and I hope to have all the piecing finished tonight. It's not on my UFO list but I decided to make 1 new project and then finish a UFO and then a new project, etc. I know most people would have finished an UFO then started something new, but I had to do something with the fat quarters I won during the Holly Jolly Bingo game.


I should have something to show you using this sometime this week. My favorite color...black.

I have to run..have to go to the store and stock up with bread and eggs(don't like milk) due to the big snow storm we are suppose to get tonight and tomorrow. Krogers probably doesn't have a loaf of bread on the shelf. Did I go out during the daytime time ....no, I wait till it's dark. But in defense I was working on my wall and watching football. Since the Titans are out I was pulling for the Saints but now they are out.