The Quilt I Couldn't Show

I haven't posted any quilty pics for a while because I was working on a quilt for a friend that she couldn't see. We had to take the grape fabric and add to it and make each other a quilt. The colors do not show very good in this pics. It is such a warm quilt in person. But here it is finally. the quilt I couldn't show. I sure hope you like it Giz!!!!! Now to get it quilted!

Sometimes you have to break your own rules.

So my rule for this year was to finish my UFO's and no new projects. Well except for a few that were pre planed. But when you combine really pretty fabric and a real bad week. Well then there go the rules. I really needed to sew and while I have lots of project that need to be finished I just really wanted to sew with this fabric.

And after wondering around my sewing room for a real long time not in the mood to touch any of the projects I was suppose to finish this month I decided I was going to start something new.

This is a ruler I bought back in November that I have been dying to try.l I haven't yet well because of that whole no new projects rule. Seeing as the rule went out the window I pulled out the ruler. Can I just say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE this ruler!!!!!

I have ALWAYS wanted to make one of these quilts and with this ruler it was soooo easy. And I really like how this fabric looks together for this quilt. I am actually enjoying being in my sewing room again. I will get one quilt top on the machine tonight before I sew some more so I won't feel to guilty.

And also I managed to piece my "Goodnight Sweetheart" Top at my Wed night sew. It just needs border so I have behaved a little bit.

Monday Again

Wow these Mondays sure have a way of sneaking up on you. I didn't post last week as I was away with the kids in VA for some sun and roller coasters. Not much has changed on the design wall. Not because I am not sewing but because what I am sewing on is not on the wall yet. I am working on the Quilt along which is now in strips next to the sewing machine. But on the design wall front the snowmen now have faces and I is missing.

Isn't this just a cute little face. The missing snowman is in my recliner have the binding sewn on. It is all quilted which was very nerve wracking cause I used my domestic and not my longarm. I think it came out pretty good considering I am not used to quilting that way. I just home my secret partner likes it. I will post another pic once the binding is on.

If you would like to look at more design walls head on over to Judy's site for Design Wall Monday.

Swap and Sew along

This post is also going to have to cover Design Wall Monday even though it is not yet Monday. As you can see it is not a pic of my design wall but it is what I have been working on this week.

It's not like I don't have enough to do but hey lets add more to the plate and join a swap. Hey while we are at it this quilt along looks real fun as well. Oh well who needs to get caught up right?

I am in a winter swap which I need to make a winter wall hanging seen here it is the one on the left. I know I know I made three but I was having fun. They just need faces and quilting. But not only do we need to make a wall hanging we need to send along a gift for the season as well. I decided to make my gift. Here it is. I just love it. It is dark and rainy here so the colors did not come in good in the pics. They are much prettier in person. I have a piece of fabric covering up a spot because I embroidered here name and this is a secret swap. If she saw her name that would be a giveaway.LOL

Here is the inside. Room for marking tools and seam ripper and what ever else you need for a quick take a long. Isn't it cute!!!! I sure hope she likes it! This was real fun to make.

Add to that I just signed up for a sew along here. As part of the sew along we need to post our fabric choice. So here are the fabrics I will be using. Again it is dark here so you can't tell how soft these colors look. I am thinking a quilt for a baby girl. Okay now I am off to eat some of that apple pie. Wouldn't want it to go to waste.

Another Monday

Okay so it is not quite Monday but I figured while I had time I would post now. There would be a lot more done since my last post but the entire family decided it would be a good time to get sick. Sewing was not an option for me. The only time off the couch was to make my way to the bed. I did get a lot done this weekend though now that I am feeling better and the rest of the family is feeling better.

The quilt on the right has another row added from the last post. Sorry so blurry. The blocks on the left are for a winter wall hanging swap. Well one is for the swap but I figured it was just as easy to make three as it was to make one.LOL They just need their faces and I have to figure out how to quilt them.

This is a baby quilt that I made that is in the process of having the binding attached. I was able to frame and quilt it today. this was started on Superbowl Sunday and only became a UFO for a few months.

Judy challenged everyone to show their stash then work to use it up and then show another pic in January. Here is my stash. Now the first column bottom two are not mine they belong to my girls. After looking at some of the other stashes I don't really feel that I have an overly huge stash.

The stuff on this side is my backing fabrics some quilts that need quilting. I have some kits made up. And some fq bundles. I think all in all it is not a really big stash. It is big enough that when I want to make a quilt I can go to my stash. I don't like getting inspired and then having to wait until I can get to a quilt shop before I start. As you can tell I did not clean before I took the pics. What a mess.

Good Ol Summer Time Swap Done!

I signed up for a summer Mini Swap called The Good Ol' Summertime Mini Swap . I have really enjoyed making this quilt. I am not so sure about this fabric reading summer. I have decided that Spring, Fall and Winter all have colors that scream their season. I do not think that is the case with summer unless you want to make a beach scene which I did not want to do.

Now the back is a different story. I am sure that the back screams summer loud and clear. This is my mullet quilt. Business in the front and party in the back. I can't say where I am sending this as it is a secret partner swap. This quilt is square you just can't tell by the pick .

Now to get ready for my next swap. This is winter so it should be a lot easier.

What's on My Wall?

It is time for Judy's "What's on your Wall" Monday again. Not much has happened on my design wall this week. The braided quilt has come down now that the top is completed. The new quilt on the wall will get quilted this week then I will quilt the braided quilt.

Here is a close up. This was done at a Quilt til you Wilt all night sew. It was a blast but it was also quite a few years ago. It is time to get it done!

Monday Again

Wow hard to believe it is Monday again! This week sure flew. Was very excited to have one whole day of sun this week. This rain has to stop soon we already missed June! I am enjoying Judy's What 's on your wall Monday so here is my Wall. I know it looks the same as last week but there are a couple of changes. For one there is an extra BOM done so I have four done now. And at the bottom is 12 log cabin blocks for my cousin Susan Quilt. That makes that quilt half done.

And the top that was laying on the machine is now loaded on. We spent that weekend up at the lake so that took away a big chunk of my sewing time. I did finishing binding the cancer quilt and hope to deliver that this week.

We will be spending the Holiday weekend up at the lake again so I am hoping to get the above quilt quilted so I can work on my binding while we are at the camp.

Goals for this week.

Quilt and bind quilt on the machine

Continue working on Susan Quilt

Have fun with the kids at the lake!

Hope everyone has a happy fourth of July!

Fun with Friends

Neen and I hit the road after work to head to N.H. to have fun sewing with friends. Well okay I might have left work a tensie bit early for this but it was worth it. We headed to our favorite quilt shop The Quilt Patch For her Friday Frenzy. We sewed and then left for dinner then sewed some more. I'm not sure if I did more shopping or sewing though. My poor credit card is all worn out but look at these great fabrics I got for a swap I am in. I am doing a wall hanging for "Good Ol; Summertime Mini swap". I hope these fabrics read summer and who ever I get for a swap partner likes them.

If the fabrics above don't read summer the fabric I picked out for the backing sure does. Doesn't that fabric just make you want to go jump in the lake. Either that or go run on a treadmill for a few hours.LOL

And one goal done for the week. I did get one of my BOM blocks done. Not sure why the pic came out so light. Sure does not do this fabric justice at all.

Something Accomplished

I decided it was about time I got back into the sewing room. I never even unpacked my sewing machine from MQX in April. I made a promise though that no sewing until I got this quilt done. The top has been loaded on the machine for over a month. This is the quilt I made for my husband's friend who has cancer. He is a cop and very proud of it. The blue fabric is cop fabric. I got the back loaded night before last and started quilting it today.

And yeah I also finished quilting it today as well. I did an all over panto of swirls which I love. Now all I need to do is get the binding on this. I will get that sewed on this week and do the hand sewing Friday night at Friday Frenzy.

Here is a close up of the fabric. I really like how this quilt turned out. I was nervous with my fabric choices. I never know what to use when making a quilt for a guy. Most of my fabrics are either for females or kids.

To bribe myself to get the above quilt done I let myself start a new quilt. This quilt is on my UFO list so I don't feel guilty about starting it. I would alternate cutting the kit and attaching the other quilt to the frame.

Of course once you start cutting you just have to get a little sewing done. So I did start on this but I promise I will get the binding done on the other quilt this week. I just need to sew a little more on the new quilt first.

On the non quilt front I got myself a new treadmill this week. The old treadmill has a new home at the RV. It is over 9 years old and needed to retire to a place where it would not get used as much. I am so excited about the new machine. It has auto incline and the tension on it is amazing plus built in speakers that my Ipod plugs into. Tomorrow is my first run on the new treadmill. The question is do I get up early or do it after work. Or do I get up early hit my snooze button and then run after work anyway.

Oh and the best part do you see the pretty red buttons. Well apparently the manufactures prefer blue buttons so this machine was $500.00 off because it has the old red buttons instead of the new blue buttons. I can live with red for the price difference and I prefer the read anyways!

Easily Distracted

I really have the best of intentions to make a big dent in my UFO list this year. But as we all know some times we have to stop and put something a little more important in the list. As I mentioned before a dear friend of my Husband has cancer so I had to stop and start make him a comfort quilt. I am now at my favorite part(NOT) of the quilt. The border! we all know how much I love borders. And to make matters worse this is a pieced border. So while sewing I was daydreaming about other quilts. Unfortunately not one of my UFO's but a a mystery challenge noted below from Judy's site. So I decided to do It. as you can see when I make up my mind a make it up right then. Yep I stopped mid strip to pick out and cut fabric. This used to drive my mother up the wall that I could just stop. So there this poor strip hung while I happily picked out and cut fabric.

Here are the lights that I picked out. I really love these fabrics. These all came from left over fq bundles. I took the remaining fabric and cut it up into 2 inch strips so that I can some day make a quilt from one of my 2 inch strip books.

Here are my darks. Don't love them as much as I love my lights but we will see what happens when it is done. It is just fun to be working on a quilt that doesn't already have a home and I can sew just because I want to.

Now I was a good girl and did finish that poor little strip after I was done and got the border almost all sewed. Now to make the corner stones and get this border on. Oh wait I see Judy has up the next set of directions. Maybe I will have to work on that first.

This and That

Isn't it amazing how you always run out of thread when you are almost done. Yep just this little corner to go and the whole quilt would have been quilted and I ran out of bobbin thread. But happy dance the quilt is quilted and I am half way done with the binding then this can go to it's new home.

I did have to stop for a while and start a quilt that is not on my UFO list. My husband friend was just diagnosed with terminal cancer just months after beating a different cancer. He is going to do the chemo so I start this lap quilt for him to take with him. He loves his jobs as a Police officer so I thought this fabric would be perfect for him. I was able to make the entire quilt from stash but I want to make it a little bigger so I did purchase some fabric for the border.

This quilt will knock two off my UFO list. This is my Super Bowl Sunday mystery quilt. I had a blast working on this. I had a couple of friends drive down from NH Saturday and spend the night. My husband woke up early and fixed us all breakfast. Then we got to spend the day at the quilt shop sewing up out quilts. This does have one more section to go and then a border. I am going to also use this for the baby quilt for my godchild so this will knock two quilts off my UFO list. I was really tempted to keep this quilt. I just love the colors.

I am wondering how long it is going to take my dogs to realize that they can just walk over the fence in the back yard. I snow is so high and the dogs are so light that they can walk on top of it. So far they haven't figured it out yet.

Borders

I don't know what it is about borders but every time I reach them my quilt always seems to come to a grinding stop! I promised myself that my current quilt would not become a UFO and that no other quilt would be worked on until this quilt was finished. I have been doing a great job keeping that promise well until last night when I reached the borders. ow I have never met a border that I like add to that this is a pieced king size border. Arg!!!! So I spent the night piecing.

An turning my pieces into strips. and dreaming about other quilts that I could be working on. I would start to stray but I would catch myself and come back and work on the borders some more. So I made a compromise. I finished and attached the pieced border. Proud of myself except there are still two more borders to go. But it is late and the thought of laying out the quilt is just to much to bear at this point. So I promise these borders will be done this weekend.

In the mean time just look what I dug out of my UFO pile. I wasn't tired so I figured I could do a little piecing. Just had to take a few minutes to remember where I left off.

Went through the box and refreshed my memory with the directions. Made sure I had all the pieces. And started to sew on something that wasn't a border. Ahh it is so much more relaxing to sew this way. Of course eventually I will hit the borders with this quilt as well. at least it is not a king size border.

And look how much it grew. I am making this for my niece and she has been waiting a very long time for me to finish this. Once the Soccer quilt is finished this will be the next one I complete this year. Well until I reach the borders.LOL

On a side not it is only -3 outside. I am not liking this could weather. I am used to it but still not liking it.

Have actually been sewing

I finally feel like I have made a dent in my UFO's and have gotten some sewing done. I promised myself that this year I was going to remember to enjoy the process of quilting again. No more rushing. I just put in a book on tape and go along.

This first quilt was a mystery quilt done at my local quilt shop "The Calico Basket" Sorry they don't have a web site. A group of us got together(Me, Melissa N.H., Sue and Susan) This was done on Superbowl Sunday. We had such a good time sewing and eating. Melissa and I got a little nervous with some of the directions but that made it even more fun. We left with completed tops that just need borders. Mine is now quilted and bound. I used the same pantograph that Lori used on Giz's quilt.

And here is a close up of the quilting. don't look to close though.

I am going to give this quilt to my Mom.

I didn't make this next quilt. It was made by a friend during a challenge we had a couple of years back. I have finally decided how it is going to be quilted. (BIG GULP) I am going to hand quilt this one. I have the stencil bought and and the thread and hope to get it basted in the next couple of weeks.

I also finished this years Nashua challenge but can't show it yet. It is all quilted bond and washed. I just love how it came out and I can't wait to mail it out!

And finally a got a BOM for Christmas and I have two blocks done. I just received block number three in the mail and am going to work on it this weekend.

My Mom got me this as my gift this year and I am soooo excited. I plan on staying up to date on this quilt!

Till next time.

Temptations Part 2

Just heard back from the quilt shop. Not only did they not get my money but there was another $900.00 floating out there that they never got. Turns out it was batched wrong with the credit card machine. The is a big chunk of profit for a little store. Money has now been deducted from my account and a lot of others.

I feel better and no Neen I did not get a discount.LOL

Temptations

Every year a group of friends and I go to a Quilt show in NH. One of our favorite vendors we have nick named Temptations. Well this time around they have really earned their name. It all started out with the most beautiful bundle of fabric above. It is the "Love Is" Line by Nancy Halverson. I just love all her fabric. Now this was the year I was suppose to be good so I didn't buy it but couldn't stop thinking about. I decided that if it was still there by the end of the day I would get it because it would be meant to be. Well good thing for me Melissa NH also fell in love with it and she bought it. Phew! or so I thought!

The owners said they had one more and would bring it in for me the next day. Wasn't that nice of them.NOT! So the next day I HAD to buy it. After all they brought it in especially for me.

I am a check book balancer and I balance my check book every week. I watched each day as all the purchases from that weekend left my account. I noticed that the beautiful fabric above never seemed to leave my account. Ahhh what to do what to do! I started wondering if maybe I used a different card but know it didn't show up on any of my accounts. I have to admit another temptation creeped in. Thinking well it is not my fault if they didn't remember to charge me. Hey I am only human and I think anyone would be tempted. Well I figured enough time has gone by and something had to have happened. I figured nope they are not gonna charge me for the fabric. I also knew that there was no way I could cut this fabric and enjoy sewing it knowing that a quilt vendor never got their money even if it wasn't my fault. I just got off the phone with them and they seemed shocked that I called to say hey are you gonna charge me. And I feel so much better knowing I made the call! And now I am gonna enjoy my gorgeous fabric.

Zippers Part 2

Once all of the layers are zippered on add your batting and basted. Then stretch your top over and bast. You are now loaded and ready to quilt.
And then every quilters favorite saying quilt as desired.

And now you have a quilted top. The best part if you run out of thread or want to work on something else all you have to do is unzip.

Happy Quilting

Dawn-Marie