Friday, April 30, 2010

2 and 3 out of 4

Giddiness is starting to creep up from my toes!

I have diligently been working on  ripping and restitching my scallops.  Had to remove two from the second border, release a couple ends on two of the other scallops and then add the fifth and sixth scallops to complete the second border.  Here is the result of now having border #1 and # 2 onto the center of the quilt. 


Then I only had to remove one scallop, release a couple ends and then add the fifth and sixth scallops to complete the third border.  I did fudge a little  on this border, so each scallop is not  exactly in its allotted 9 23/25" space.  But, oh well, who is going to come along and measure, just as long as it fits the side of my quilt.


I now have a nice space for my cornerstone scallop.  Still have not laid out that particular scallop.  I am not ready to find out that it might not fit, but at this stage of the game, I am sure I can work something out if it doesn't.


I am running out of space on the floor to lay this quilt out.  I think once the last border is on (which I hope will be real soon) I will have to get dear husband to hold it up for pictures, then again, maybe his arms aren't long enough.  We'll see; but here you can see all three borders. 


Ok, I am off to start working on #4 border.  I'll be back soon. 

Sunday, April 25, 2010

No quilting today....

We went to Eastern Market yesterday and picked up a good 27 lbs. of asparagus and today was the day that my two daughters and I canned 23 pints of pickled, hot (spicey) asparagus.


It sure smelled good while the sauce was cooking.


We stuffed the jars and processed the pints in a hot water bath.


Now we have to wait at least five days before we can sample.

Daughter #1 has a whole schedule for us for the summer to can several things as they come into harvest.  We have done apple sauce so far, now the asparagus and in the future we will be doing pickled garlic, tomatoes, peach jam, pickled green beans, strawberry jam, some peaches and I would have to look at the schedule to remember everything else. 

I would say working with my daughters was worth missing a day of quilting though.  Never thought I would see them do things like this and I am so happy to share those days with them, too.  

Saturday, April 24, 2010

1 out of 4....

Yeah!  The first border is finished and attached to the top of the quilt.  Three more to go.


I only had to remove one of the scallops totally, and loosen up just a couple of the tips to squeeze them into their allotted space and then add the two outside scallops. 


Now if the next three borders go this well, I will have this top done in no time at all.
I am just posting a couple close-ups.  Can you tell I am excited?


Also, today I went to the Eastern Market with my daughter and her family.  I just had to take a picture of this sign because I loved the "No Grumpy People" rule.  Wish I could have gotten the kids to stand still long enough to get a good picture. 



We picked up nearly 30 lbs of asparagus today, so we will be canning that tomorrow morning and making spicy hot asparagus.  Gotta do that first before I can get to the next border.  Can't wait. 

Friday, April 23, 2010

What do pigs and quilting have in common?

Well, the answer to that may be a little delicate, but at a retreat that I went to a couple years ago, one of the gals had a relative who owned a pig farm and she brought a bag of these....how should I say it?.....pig castrating tools!  They work beautifully as thread cutters, but are so very, very sharp.  Very lethal. You don't want to touch them and you don't want to get too aggressive on your threads or fabric.



Anyways, that is what I am using to remove scallops on my borders for the Home Sweet Home quilt.  I did some re-measuring on my quilt center and the borders and found that I needed to alot 9 23/25" for each scallop.  Yeah, I know, that is a crazy number, but that is pretty much how it worked out. So I used a blue water soluable pen and marked off each section for each scallop.  On the first border, I removed only one of the scallops and loosened the tip of a couple of the scallops so that I could restitch them within their allotted space. 


I, also, marked the upper most point that the scallops needed to end.



Now, I have one of the end scallops basted on and will make the adjustment to the adjoining scallop so that they meet at the blue line.


Lesson learned.  Next time, measure, mark and make your adjustments long before you get the majority of your sewing done, but at least the problem wasn't as bad as I was remembering it to be.  Funny how things grow in your minds eye (as this job was getting bigger and bigger in my head than what it really is panning out to be).  One other thing I am doing this time around is working on only one border at a time. 

Next time you hear from me, you will be seeing a completed border that WILL fit the quilt. 

Monday, April 19, 2010

Out of the box.....

Ok, this is the next UFO that I am committed to finish and it is out of it's "acid-free" box.  As you can see, I started "Home Sweet Home" back in 2008 and my intention was to have the top done by June of 2009.


I am sure you are wondering WHY I would put this quilt away when most of the work was done.  Well, it is because of these borders.


Well, actually it was my being anxious to get it done at this point and instead of measuring and remeasuring, I figured I would just cut out the borders to the size the pattern called for and slap those silly scallops down and just applique them in place.  If I made sure that I didn't stretch them or distort them, they should fit to size....right?  Wrong!!!  and of course I had sixteen of them stitched down before I tried to put the outter ones on and at that point I thought I had better see if I needed to do some adjusting.   Welllllll, there was just too much adjusting that needed to be done and I got frustrated and that's where the acid free box came in. 


All the other scallops have been waiting patiently, but I need to sit down and take proper measurements and then I have to make a decision as to whether or not I want to start tearing out stitches (not sure how easy that is going to be with silk thread and very close stitches) or cut new borders and 16 new scallops.  I have enough scallop fabric to do that and I thought I had enough of the background fabric to make new borders but it wasn't in the box, so I will have to do some hunting before making any major decisions. 

I am going to see just what kind of work this is going to entail.  Maybe I won't have to remove ALL the scallops. That sure would make life easier.  I AM DETERMINED to get this top done this time around though. 

Any suggestions?

#7 is DONE!!!

Did my embroidery on this block and it is now done.  All cherries are no longer floating in air.


Started this block on the 10th and it is done on the 18th (very late).  I  think I made pretty good time on this one. 

Next on the agenda is.....almost hate to say it out loud, but I have a UFO that I had planned on having done (at least the top) back in June 2009.  Ran into a problem because I failed to take some measurements and because it didn't fit, I got frustrated and stuck it away.  I promised myself I would work on this one next.  I may be either starting new borders or ripping out applique on the present borders.  

Now, I did hear from my quilter and my black and cream toile quilt AND the painted daisy quilt are done, so that does mean bindings have to be made and attached, but I am going to force myself to stick to my guns and work on the "for now" unnamed quilt.  Once I figure out what I am going to do (have to do some measuring and refiguring), I will post a picture of the center of my quilt. 

For now....I have until the 10th of May before the next Beyond the Cherry Trees BOM comes out, so that should give me plenty of time to get some other things accomplished. 



Sunday, April 18, 2010

Coming to life.....

Just laying out the "large"(and I do say that with tongue in cheek) cherries onto the block, I can see this block coming to life.  Who would have thought that these little large cherries would make such a difference?


Here are the circle templates used to create the two different sized cherries.


They are SMALL!!!  Large and small....are small. 

This pile consists of the smaller cherries.



Now that all the cherries are stitched down, there is some embroidery that needs to be done for some of the thin stems attaching some of the cherries to the larger stems. 



I do have to admit that doing a quilt like this, it is so less daunting when doing it as a BOM or the sheer number of cherries, or the number of leaves would just make you want to run the other way; but in the end, I think I may have a very beautiful  quilt that will be desired by one of my children...hopefully!

So, I am going to get to that embroidery and the next time you see this block, it will be DONE!!!

Friday, April 16, 2010

Grandkids day here....

I had two of the boys today, so to keep the oldest occupied, I got out this gift that Nancy gave me at Christmas to do with Cameron.


The contents were the cookie mix, snowflake sprinkles and the cookie cutter.


All I needed to add was egg and butter. 



Mixed it up and put it in the fridge to chill for an hour. 



Cameron waited patiently for that hour to pass......



and for little Cole to go to bed for his nap.

I didn't get any pictures of us while we were in the midst of rolling out, decorating and baking the cookies because I was in the "midst" of it, too.


But again Cameron had to use his patience while waiting for the snowflake cookies to cool; and then.....


he got to enjoy!  Love the looks on his face. 

The cookies turned out really yummy and he and I enjoyed our time together today. 

Thanks Nancy!  for the gift that I got to share with my grandson. 

Now to get back to those cherries for the #7 BOM. 


Hope you all had a great day, too!!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Block #7 is about to sprout.....

True to my word, I waited until the 10th (which is when the new block is normally posted on)  to start this block and worked on something else until then.  I am trying to keep up with the BOM and then in between work on some UFOs  and even some new stuff at times.


Anyways, Block # 7  is almost to the point of putting on the berries/flower buds (not sure which they are) which are green and red.  This block is driving me a little crazy because it really isn't truly correct in how the stems go into the vase, but I am sticking with the original antique quilt design even though I am not sticking with the colors. 

I just wanted a scrappy red and green quilt and that is the way I am going with this one.  There are almost 50 small circles that will be added to this once the leaves are done, but I wanted to share this with you now so that you can see my progress.

Ok...gotta finish those leaves and then get started on all those tiny, tiny circles. 

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Is that your final answer?

Well, maybe not my "final answer", but my "final decision".   These blocks were laid out on the floor for a few days and everytime I passed them, I rearranged a few.  So tonight I thought enough was enough and I sewed them all together.   



Now I just need to find a great backing and it will be ready for the quilter. 

Next project is to get #7 block of the Beyond the Cherry Trees started.  So....happy quilting!

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Going to sit on this one for a day or two.....

I  want to look at this layout for a day or two to see if anything needs to be moved around.

The blocks went together super easy and even though I was worried about the really "light" blocks, I think they were needed in this quilt and they give it some spark. I have taken a few pictures of different arrangements and this is the final one for today.  If I am still liking it in a day or two, then the rows will be sewn  together and then I will have to find something for a backing.  This will go to the quilter when I go to pick up my daisy quilt and the black/cream toile quilt. 

Don't you just love a "finish"?!!!! (well....almost in this case)

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Quick fix quilt....

If you are looking for a quick fix, this Zen quilt is the one.  I bought this fabric yesterday and it is so easy to make.  Wish I had started it earlier today, because then I would have all the blocks made.


The top row consists of all the solid blocks.  I believe there are 31 of those. There will be 32 pieced blocks (that is if I make it as large as the pattern calls for).  Thirteen are pieced.


Eighteen are prepped and ready to be stitched.  I still need to make one more, but will wait to see which color (light or dark) that will work best when I have them all done and laid out.  I did find my leopard batik in my stash, so I am a happy camper. 

I am hoping that once everyone leaves tomorrow after our Easter festivities, I will have time to sew the rest of these blocks together. 

So.....since it will be a busy morning tomorrow. ....

I wish you a Happy Easter and may you enjoy your families as I will. 

Friday, April 2, 2010

Not one stitch taken.....

Wow!  I can't believe a whole week has gone by and I have not taken one stitch since finishing block #6.  Hope that doesn't mean I am burning out.

I have been planning on working on this quilt that my friend Rilla had made and showed at our retreat last June.   She sent me the pattern, but I think if I dig deep enough in my closet, I may have the magazine that it was featured in (American Patchwork and Quilting, Feb.2009).


Anyways, my plan for this quilt was to do it in browns with a touch of an animal print in it.  Of course, today when I went shopping with Sharon (http://totallyobsessedwithallthingscreative.blogspot.com/), I could NOT find the animal print, so I will have to look through my Hancock's of Paducah catalog to see if there is any available.  But for now, this is my pallette. 



 
I will probably be making this quilt more than once, too, as my son saw the pattern lying around and he said that he would love to have it (queen-sized) in blues and green.  What's a mom to do?!!!  :D

Also, while I was out today, I had to add a couple more pieces of Rounneries to my stash for the Cherry Tree quilt and I found a couple greens for the leaves along with some more green silk thread.....since I used all mine up and have been stitching with taupe...which means I have to take some pretty perfect stitches so that the taupe doesn't show up on the reds and greens. 


So, my plan for today's shopping trip was to find the brown batiks, the extra reds and greens were just an added bonus; but when we stopped at a stitchery store, I had to force myself to "STEP AWAY FROM THE KITS".  I fell in love with a Santa and his stockings  stitchery kit and I REALLY DO NOT need another project brought in this house.....and this is from the gal who just bought fabric for another quilt; but I made a deal with myself that if I finished a couple needle punch kits that I bought eons ago, that just maybe....MAYBE....I could go back and buy the Santa/stocking kit.....seeing that I have to go back to that particular shop in about a week because I ordered something for myself and my quilty friends for Christmas...if you can believe that!?!!!    Maybe I can recover from the "wanting" after a week or so, but it sure would be nice to get a couple needle punch kits done in the meantime, too. 

Oh well...I am off to check out my catalog AND see about cutting out my batik quilt.  I am thinking this quilt will make up fast, so it could quite possibly be a quick fix! 

Happy Quilting everyone!

Michigan quilters, take note

  Come see us at our first Quilter's to Quilter's sale.   Don't know what that is?  Well, it will be 28 quilters/vendors selling...