Why Do I Do This?

 

Finishing up a few projects these past months and have been digging around in

the sewing room to find a some new ones to start.

 

Ran across this book I have had for several years

 

 

The entire quilt is made using the English Paper Piecing method.

 

This is one of the projects I picked to start.  But first I need to:

 

Order the paper pieces

Start picking out fabrics (different sets for each block) - maybe 2-3 sets to start

Find common background for all blocks

 

Will keep you updated as this one progresses.

 

This also led me to another idea--

 

I need to applique the border on my other Tree of Life quilt

 

 

English Paper Piecing gave me the idea to make my flowers out of 1/2" hexs. 

So I'll also ordered some of these. 
I think Kari has some, but where???

 

Better off ordering my own.  By the time they arrive, I still would not have found her extras

 

Putting the borders together for First Ladies (2nd Saturday). 

Should have the blue color way ready for class

and the red color way will be the demo for

creating your own borders!

 

Now to finish the last side on my binding and add the label for Women of Courage.

 

It's nice to see some more people joining us for our

Summer Sew Challenge

 

Keep sewing and commenting.

 

 

 

 



Last of the Month Rush!

I have really been pushing myself this past few weeks.  Going from this---

 

 

 

to this---

 

 

and the finally finished top!

 

 

 

Now it's the quilter's problem (LOL) 

 

uh oh - I AM THE QUILTER!!

 

Also finished the July - Sadie's Keepsake Embroidery block

 

 

but--dear husband was putting in new shelving units for me while I was trying to square up this block!  Can you guess what happened between him asking a million questions?

 

Yes, it did not get cut on point.  Just a straight square! 

 

Decisions, decisions, decisions. 

 

 Do I re-stitch the entire block again?

 

  Do I add fabric on each side and recut? 

 

 Do I leave as is and put on point in the quilt (will anyone notice)? 

 

These are the questions I will be asking myself

and you will have to wait about about 4 months

when all the blocks are finished and I am starting to put the

quilt together~stay tuned!

 

 

Remember these from a few weeks ago?

 

Putting them together now! 

 



 

 

 



In Full Force Again

Everyone arrived safely this morning and has had their heads to the sewing machines.  

 

Carol has returned this afternoon and vows not to go to bed tonight until her pickets are on that quilt!  If she happens to fall asleep, I believe the quilt fairy will be visiting!

What a great thing to awaken to a finished quilt in the morning.

She has been on this project WAY TO LONG!!!

 

Loraine has quilted a table topper

 

 

Tackling the binding another day!

 

 

Margaret has been working on catching up on several Block of the Months.

 

Women of Courage is done

 

One block of Freedom Rings is done, but she has set the rest aside to do her

 

Chocolate Covered Cherries block

 

This was a pristine kit that was lost until this weekend.

It was finally found along with several other mystery kits!

Whew-Hew!

 

She also did one Freedom Rings block, but set those aside again to do her

Farmer's Wife blocks due on Monday.

 

 

Me~

 

I am caught up on my Women of the Bible blocks.  This is a weekly on line group I belong to.  We get one block every Sunday (54 blocks total).   But you know us quilters, we can't just do what we are supposed to-I need an additional 46 extra blocks to make the quilt I designed.

 

So, whenever we are given alternative blocks, I'll be doing those as well.

 

I finished 7 blocks last night and this morning for this.

 

 

These are 6" blocks.  The one on the right has 69 pieces-YEAH!

 

The block in the upper left was my nightmare last night.  With only the computer to draw it out on and no printer, I was old-schooling it for a pattern.  Turned out really good by the way.

 

Also got the first block for "Our Town" block of the month done for show and tell on Saturday.

 

 

 



This will start in March if anyone is interested.

 

Ready for dinner!

 

 

PS~Carol Update

 

Attention:  We have pickets!!

 

Blocks for this were our 2008 Dressed to the Nines Blockswappers.

Another UFO bites the dust at retreat!

 

 

Finish one-start two

Isn't that the rule?

 





·         Tree of Life (Blue Colorway) - Complete 3 blocks and then sew quilt together to applique border. DONE

·         Tree of Life (Cheddar Colorway) - Complete 5 3 blocks and then sew quilt together to applique border.   DONE

·         February Breakfast Club Mystery - Follow the blog and you may just get a glimpse of the Mystery quilt.

·         Amish With a Twist 2 - Start this (don't know how far I will get, but I would like at least 2 months)

·         Women of Courage (2nd quilt) - I need to get 2 months done for this to be caught up DONE + EXTRA MONTH

·         Women of the Bible - 4 months to be caught up DONE~but did 3 extra (total of 7)

·         Our Town - Our newest BOM starting in March - 1 block DONE

·         Civil War Love Letters - 3 blocks in 3 sizes to show at Farmer's Wife this month DONE

·         First Ladies - 4 blocks for the February 2nd Saturday DONE

·         A Quilt of Valor top

 

You've Got to Be Kidding!!!!

Snow!  Snow!!!

You've got to be kidding.  I woke up this morning and thought I was having a nightmare.  We were supposed to have 45-50 degree weather and we got snow!

 

 

Sorry for not posting last night.  Was ready to write and then we had no internet connection here in the boonies.  Office reset in when they came in this morning.

 

 

Chris finished her Menopause top!  Yeah!

 

 

This was our 2011/12 2nd Saturday quilt that just ended in July. 

 

I wouldn't consider this a UFO for at least a few more years, so Chris you are really ahead.

 

 

Susan worked on a few months of the current Frist Ladies 2nd Saturday.

 

 

Carol is still working away on her picket fences.

It will be supurb when finished.

 

And me-----

Well, I finished the other colorway of Tree of Life

 



 

This one is going to Jill Rulon, fantastic artist in Hardin, Calhoun County, IL

Jill and I have a barter going on.

She is painting a barn quilt for me, duplicating two of my mini quilts and I am making this quilt for her.  Next border, applique!

 

I also got caught up on Women of Courage blocks~January and February.

 

 

16 sets on the left and 8 sets on the right.

I wonder if I can get ahead with March?

 

·         Tree of Life (Blue Colorway) - Complete 3 blocks and then sew quilt together to applique border. DONE

·         Tree of Life (Cheddar Colorway) - Complete 5 3 blocks and then sew quilt together to applique border.   DONE

·         February Breakfast Club Mystery - Follow the blog and you may just get a glimpse of the Mystery quilt.

·         Amish With a Twist 2 - Start this (don't know how far I will get, but I would like at least 2 months)

·         Women of Courage (2nd quilt) - I need to get 2 months done for this to be caught up DONE

·         Women of the Bible - 4 months to be caught up

·         Our Town - Our newest BOM starting in March - 1 block

·         Civil War Love Letters - 3 blocks in 3 sizes to show at Farmer's Wife this month

·         First Ladies - 4 blocks for the February 2nd Saturday

·         A Quilt of Valor top

 

 



Late Afternoon Progress

We have several projects to show you. 

 

 First, Chris has finished her Tree of Life blocks for January.

 

Susan had won a set of Lottery Blocks from Heartland Guild several years ago.  She sewed them together into a fantastic quilt.  By the way, the blocks are 3D!  How cool is that.

 

AND - she pieced a backing from the leftover fabrics from the front.  Way to go. 

 

Carol?  Well, Carol is busy making 100 pickets for the picket fence border that will surround her floral nine patch blocks.  This is a 2008 UFO!  Like I said, we have cleaned out and are finishing some of those UFO projects.

 

(I think the February coupon for quilting didn't hurt~)

 

After much debate and thought, I finally decided on the color for the setting around my blocks.  Since I couldn't agree on just one color, I chose my two favorites.

 

I liked the rusty color because it really tied into the center medallion.  But I loved the green because it brought another diminsion to the quilt.  Soooo-this is the result.  This idea may not have worked as well, but the fabrics were the same print.  So the prints would not be fighting with each other.

 

I can now mark this project as completed to this point (applique border is next, but that is for another retreat).  On to the other blue colorway.  I should have that one to show before bed.  Getting ready to go out for dinner.



 

 



Great Day

Great end to an wonderful day of sewing.  Managed to finish the final two blocks (x 2 colorways) so that I can put the together tomorrow. 

Have the setting triangles cut out for the blue colorway-blue.  Will have to audition fabrics for the other colorway.  Don't really know what I will put there.

Off to bed to browse through my new American Patchwork and Quilting magazine that came yesterday (or should I have said on Thursday).

Week 5

Starting the end of the week of just right - AT RETREAT!!!!  I am here with two groups. 
Margaret F, Chris P, Susan S, Carol S and I are here till Sunday afternoon. Margaret and I will be here Sunday night by ourselves till Monday morning  when Edna A, Marie S, Loraine J will be coming in until Thursday afternoon. Carol S will rejoin us Monday evening for a day.

My list to complete during this wonderful 7 days of retreat - yes 7 full days of sewing-ahh, what could be better.  And Connie, we even have the ripping chair complete with the heat massager. 

• Tree of Life (Blue Colorway) - Complete 3 blocks and then sew quilt together to applique border.
• Tree of Life (Cheddar Colorway) - Complete 5  3 blocks and then sew quilt together to applique border.
• February Breakfast Club Mystery - Follow the blog and you may just get a glimpse of the Mystery quilt.
• Amish With a Twist 2 - Start this (don't know how far I will get, but I would like at least 2 months)
• Women of Courage (2nd quilt) - I need to get 2 months done for this to be caught up
• Women of the Bible - 4 months to be caught up
• Our Town - Our newest BOM starting in March - 1 block
• Civil War Love Letters - 3 blocks in 3 sizes to show at Farmer's Wife this month
• First Ladies - 4 blocks for the February 2nd Saturday
• A Quilt of Valor top

 

 

More to come after dinner!

 

 

Margaret got borders on this top!

Around the Block (A Naked Without My Quilts pattern)

Made from charm packs!