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| Began 2013, Finished 2018 |
Showing posts with label Glory Box. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Glory Box. Show all posts
Saturday, February 17, 2018
Saturday, February 3, 2018
Still Busting UFOs
I've been working on the wallhanging. Finished the flimsy Friday afternoon, and spent Friday evening unpacking boxes looking for my pins. I finally found a small, travel box with some pins and had almost enough. I'll have to work on a section and then finish pinning the rest. Hubby likes it and says it looks like a stained glass window. Of course, I was standing in front of a window while I was holding the flimsy up for him to see, so I guess it did.
I'm itching to quilt it using my new Westalee ruler foot. I just got it last week and haven't tried it out yet. I was going to practice on the wallhanging, but since Hubby likes that, I'll practice on some half-square string blocks I've been making as leaders and enders.
I like it! At least the top.
The back isn't that great. For one thing, I forgot to lower my feeddogs. But that really wasn't the problem. I had to adjust my needle tension by a couple of numbers. Then it looked better. I do want to find my magic gloves before quilting the wallhanging. Free motion with oversized dishwashing gloves is cumbersome.
Eventually, I plan on making a pinwheel quilt-as-you-go with these blocks.
Linking over to Tish's Adventures in Wonderland who is keeping me focused on finishing UFOs. Thanks Tish!
P.S. Hubby wasn't able to rent a hydraulic lift this weekend and that turned out to be a very good thing. This morning it was very windy and this afternoon, it rained with a few thunderclaps thrown in for good measure. Not a good time to be putting up an antenna. But we still had someone fall off a ladder today. It was Buddy. I don't know why he likes to climb ladders; he is not good at coming down them. Hubby had propped the big extension ladder against the shelves in the garage, and Buddy climbed up to one of the shelves. When I called him, I heard something fall up there, and then he started down. He made it about three steps rather quickly, and then the momentum must have been too much as he kind of slid down the rest of the steps and landed with a thud at the bottom.
I'm itching to quilt it using my new Westalee ruler foot. I just got it last week and haven't tried it out yet. I was going to practice on the wallhanging, but since Hubby likes that, I'll practice on some half-square string blocks I've been making as leaders and enders.
I like it! At least the top.
The back isn't that great. For one thing, I forgot to lower my feeddogs. But that really wasn't the problem. I had to adjust my needle tension by a couple of numbers. Then it looked better. I do want to find my magic gloves before quilting the wallhanging. Free motion with oversized dishwashing gloves is cumbersome.
Eventually, I plan on making a pinwheel quilt-as-you-go with these blocks.
Linking over to Tish's Adventures in Wonderland who is keeping me focused on finishing UFOs. Thanks Tish!
P.S. Hubby wasn't able to rent a hydraulic lift this weekend and that turned out to be a very good thing. This morning it was very windy and this afternoon, it rained with a few thunderclaps thrown in for good measure. Not a good time to be putting up an antenna. But we still had someone fall off a ladder today. It was Buddy. I don't know why he likes to climb ladders; he is not good at coming down them. Hubby had propped the big extension ladder against the shelves in the garage, and Buddy climbed up to one of the shelves. When I called him, I heard something fall up there, and then he started down. He made it about three steps rather quickly, and then the momentum must have been too much as he kind of slid down the rest of the steps and landed with a thud at the bottom.
Thursday, February 1, 2018
February One Monthly Goal - or Make That Two Goals
My February Goals are to finish, down to the labels, these two quilts:
I started working on this orphan block as soon as I finished my January UFO. It isn't one of my twelve UFOs to finish for the year, but I named it in my quarterly goals since I was almost finished with Cars at the time. It is on my table now and I hope to have it to the flimsy stage by tomorrow. I still need a name, but since I plan to practice FMQ on it, it may be named Wednesday's Trash by the time I'm done.
It's a lucky coincidence that I had decided to finish this Double Irish Chain quilt in my first quarter goals, because it is listed as number nine in my year's list of UFOs and that is the number chosen by American Patchwork and Quilting's UFO Challenge on facebook. I chose it because I knew where it was. LOL It is small and I think I can quilt it myself which will make it possible to finish before the end of the month. I guess I need to start working on June's UFO so I have time to send it out for quilting, right?
So that's what I'll be doing this month. What about you?
Linking to:
February Goal Setting at Elm Street Quilts
It's a lucky coincidence that I had decided to finish this Double Irish Chain quilt in my first quarter goals, because it is listed as number nine in my year's list of UFOs and that is the number chosen by American Patchwork and Quilting's UFO Challenge on facebook. I chose it because I knew where it was. LOL It is small and I think I can quilt it myself which will make it possible to finish before the end of the month. I guess I need to start working on June's UFO so I have time to send it out for quilting, right?
So that's what I'll be doing this month. What about you?
Linking to:
February Goal Setting at Elm Street Quilts
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
End of January Already!
Since every blog post needs a picture, I'll start with my current project, a UFO of course. I've reworked the plan several times until I came up with a design and sizes that will work. Not loving the colors yet, but I hope they will grow on me by the time it is finished. I need a name for it too. Nothing comes to mind yet.
This month has just flown by and I don't feel that I've accomplished much. Our home-in-progress has barely changed, although Hubby did get a bathroom somewhat usable, and the washing machine is now in it's permanent spot. Yay, I can wash with warm water again! He wanted a bathroom for two reasons. One, for the guys who came here for Amateur Radio Winter Field Day, and two, for the hvac and sheetrock guys when they spend all day here. Since we had the porta-potty picked up, workers have to drive to town if they are here very long. So far, we have had very few workers here for more than a couple of hours. But putting up sheetrock will take a day or two, so we really needed a bathroom for them. Although I have no idea when that will happen. Apparently, brick is next on our to-spend list. I've given up calling it a to-do list.
We started building last year around this time, and the weather was very pleasant. This year, January has been very windy. There have been only a few days where it was enjoyable outside. We have had a burn pile growing outside for months and haven't had the perfect conditions to burn it yet. Either it is too windy, or we are under a burn ban, or both. Ideally, we need a calm, drizzly day. Those days are rare. Last year, February wasn't bad either. There were a few windy days that kept the builders from putting up siding, but nothing like we have had so far this year. I hope this February will bring some nicer weather. We need to tear out a dam blocking the flow of water into a creek. It is causing spring rain to flood our lower pasture. We also need to do a lot of tree trimming before the poison ivy starts growing again so we can run the mower through there.
That sounds like goal setting. I've been thinking of my 2018 goals lately, and the statistics that show most people don't keep up their New Year's resolutions past January. I wonder if that is because they make their goals at the end of December and forget what they've written by the end of January. So I've decided to review my goals at the end of each month and see what progress I've made, if any, and what to concentrate on in the next month.
1. Organize my sewing space. Since I don't have a real sewing space, this one has been tough. Our new home is going to be half the space of our last house, and I really didn't have a dedicated sewing room there either. What I've decided to do here for the first few years is have my sewing desk and cutting table in the living room, and put my stash and accessories in a closet in the attic. Not ideal, but that's the space I have. To that end, I am rebuilding a cabinet and will put glass doors on it to keep out dust. So I can report success here.
2. Find and list my UFOs. I have found quite a few, but not all. We still have one storage unit in town, and it's possible that some are in boxes there. I can't go through those boxes like I can the boxes in the attic here, so if it isn't here, it will just have to wait. Semi-success here. In reviewing my list, I see that I left out an actual goal to work on UFOs. I talked about it on the same post and listed the UFOs I want to finish this year, but I need to make that an official goal when I revise this list. For now I'll call it goal #2b.
2b. Participate in monthly challenges on blogs and facebook to finish these UFOs. My 12 UFOs for both are 1. Cars, 2. Trailer Quilt, 3. Second Saturday Sampler, 4. Christmas Among Friends, 5. Antique Tile, 6. Gairden Walk, 7. Depression Blocks, 8. Baby Bow Tie, 9. Double Irish Chain, 10. Raggedy Hearts, 11. Sweet Sixteen, 12. Summer Crossroads. So far this is a success even though I did the January quilt in my order rather than the one called for by American Patchwork & Quilting.
3. Pull out fabrics bought to make specific quilts and put them in boxes with the patterns, thread, and everything needed to complete the quilt. Again hard to do. I've found a lot of the fabrics I know I bought for a special quilt, but I have no idea where the patterns are. With the above UFOs most likely. So far, this is a fail.
4. Organize scraps by color and participate in scraphappy's Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Luckily, I found my blue scraps and that was the January color. If she picks red or yellow for the February color, I'm in luck. I can't figure out where I could have put the rest of my scraps. Semi-success here
5. Participate in 2018 Monthly Color Challenge at Patterns by Jen. Well. That didn't work out for me at all. Her color this month was red, so that was good, but I had fits making the block. She gave directions for a twelve inch block and a six inch block, and I wanted to make the six inch. But the measurements didn't work for me. I don't need the aggravation right now, so that goal is out. Kaput. Fail!
6. Start the cross-stitch quilt block project that first made me want to learn to quilt. Luckily, I didn't say this had to start in January. I don't need to start any projects right now. So far, another fail.
7. Take up Kate's Life in Pieces now official 15 Minute Challenge. This one has been a success and is helping me stay on track.
8. Limit my current projects to four. Success here too. So far, I only have three projects going.
9. Start Christmas projects in June. This is neither a success or fail yet as it isn't June yet. No use getting a head start, right?
10. Go to guild meetings. Now this one is kind of odd. I printed the membership form and thought of going to the January meeting even though it wasn't something I was particularly interested in. But then I noticed the fine print that said membership was half price after January. I guess their year starts in August. So that is something I'll do next month.
11. I want to find a Sweet Sixteen sit down quilting machine. This probably isn't going to happen until we finish building, and I don't really think that's going to happen this year. So fail here.
12. Take a Craftsy fitting class. I may have to call this one Kaput too. Without a real sewing space, sewing clothing is on the back burner. I'll wait until next month to call this a fail though.
13. Make a clothing project once a month. This one I am calling a fail and kaput. No way is this going to be possible every month. Removing it from my list. Maybe next year.
14. Build something for the house every week until the cabinets and organizers are done. I may have been over-zealous when I wrote that one. I have been building every week, but can't complete anything until we have sheetrock and final dimensions. So a fail here.
15. Take a scroll saw class. I haven't done this, so is is also a fail so far.
16. Exercise 15-30 minutes a day. Now how hard can this be? And yet, I haven't done it. A definite FAIL.
17. Cut out sugar and find 15 good autoimmune recipes by the end of January. Didn't get that done, so it's a fail but I'm not going to abandon this goal, just changing it to the end of February.
18. Stick to an autoimmune diet in February and then re-evaluate for March. Since #17 was a bust, obviously, this is a fail also. I'm changing this to read March and April.
19. On days that are over 50 degrees, work on landscaping 15-30 minutes. I'm changing this one to read "wind chill over 50 degrees" as I am a total wimp and 50 degrees with the wind blowing is just miserable. I'm not calling this a fail just yet.
20. Join a book club. Well, finally. An out and out success. I have joined a book club and so far enjoying it.
My results this month were 7 successes, 10 fails, and 4 pending out of 21 goals. 2 of those failed goals will be removed from my list, which will help next month.
Recently, there was a segment on the local news that said people who write down their goals for the next day before going to bed tend to sleep better and longer than those who don't. I'm sure it is the peace of mind that comes from identifying a problem and planning the solution. That's one of the reasons I wanted to review my goals and hope I remember to do it again next month.
What about you? Do you review your goals every month or even more often? Now I am off to exercise, so January won't be a complete loss.
Linking to:
Works-in-progress On Wednesday at Esther's Quilt Blog
Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation
This month has just flown by and I don't feel that I've accomplished much. Our home-in-progress has barely changed, although Hubby did get a bathroom somewhat usable, and the washing machine is now in it's permanent spot. Yay, I can wash with warm water again! He wanted a bathroom for two reasons. One, for the guys who came here for Amateur Radio Winter Field Day, and two, for the hvac and sheetrock guys when they spend all day here. Since we had the porta-potty picked up, workers have to drive to town if they are here very long. So far, we have had very few workers here for more than a couple of hours. But putting up sheetrock will take a day or two, so we really needed a bathroom for them. Although I have no idea when that will happen. Apparently, brick is next on our to-spend list. I've given up calling it a to-do list.
We started building last year around this time, and the weather was very pleasant. This year, January has been very windy. There have been only a few days where it was enjoyable outside. We have had a burn pile growing outside for months and haven't had the perfect conditions to burn it yet. Either it is too windy, or we are under a burn ban, or both. Ideally, we need a calm, drizzly day. Those days are rare. Last year, February wasn't bad either. There were a few windy days that kept the builders from putting up siding, but nothing like we have had so far this year. I hope this February will bring some nicer weather. We need to tear out a dam blocking the flow of water into a creek. It is causing spring rain to flood our lower pasture. We also need to do a lot of tree trimming before the poison ivy starts growing again so we can run the mower through there.
That sounds like goal setting. I've been thinking of my 2018 goals lately, and the statistics that show most people don't keep up their New Year's resolutions past January. I wonder if that is because they make their goals at the end of December and forget what they've written by the end of January. So I've decided to review my goals at the end of each month and see what progress I've made, if any, and what to concentrate on in the next month.
1. Organize my sewing space. Since I don't have a real sewing space, this one has been tough. Our new home is going to be half the space of our last house, and I really didn't have a dedicated sewing room there either. What I've decided to do here for the first few years is have my sewing desk and cutting table in the living room, and put my stash and accessories in a closet in the attic. Not ideal, but that's the space I have. To that end, I am rebuilding a cabinet and will put glass doors on it to keep out dust. So I can report success here.
2. Find and list my UFOs. I have found quite a few, but not all. We still have one storage unit in town, and it's possible that some are in boxes there. I can't go through those boxes like I can the boxes in the attic here, so if it isn't here, it will just have to wait. Semi-success here. In reviewing my list, I see that I left out an actual goal to work on UFOs. I talked about it on the same post and listed the UFOs I want to finish this year, but I need to make that an official goal when I revise this list. For now I'll call it goal #2b.
2b. Participate in monthly challenges on blogs and facebook to finish these UFOs. My 12 UFOs for both are 1. Cars, 2. Trailer Quilt, 3. Second Saturday Sampler, 4. Christmas Among Friends, 5. Antique Tile, 6. Gairden Walk, 7. Depression Blocks, 8. Baby Bow Tie, 9. Double Irish Chain, 10. Raggedy Hearts, 11. Sweet Sixteen, 12. Summer Crossroads. So far this is a success even though I did the January quilt in my order rather than the one called for by American Patchwork & Quilting.
3. Pull out fabrics bought to make specific quilts and put them in boxes with the patterns, thread, and everything needed to complete the quilt. Again hard to do. I've found a lot of the fabrics I know I bought for a special quilt, but I have no idea where the patterns are. With the above UFOs most likely. So far, this is a fail.
4. Organize scraps by color and participate in scraphappy's Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Luckily, I found my blue scraps and that was the January color. If she picks red or yellow for the February color, I'm in luck. I can't figure out where I could have put the rest of my scraps. Semi-success here
5. Participate in 2018 Monthly Color Challenge at Patterns by Jen. Well. That didn't work out for me at all. Her color this month was red, so that was good, but I had fits making the block. She gave directions for a twelve inch block and a six inch block, and I wanted to make the six inch. But the measurements didn't work for me. I don't need the aggravation right now, so that goal is out. Kaput. Fail!
6. Start the cross-stitch quilt block project that first made me want to learn to quilt. Luckily, I didn't say this had to start in January. I don't need to start any projects right now. So far, another fail.
7. Take up Kate's Life in Pieces now official 15 Minute Challenge. This one has been a success and is helping me stay on track.
8. Limit my current projects to four. Success here too. So far, I only have three projects going.
9. Start Christmas projects in June. This is neither a success or fail yet as it isn't June yet. No use getting a head start, right?
10. Go to guild meetings. Now this one is kind of odd. I printed the membership form and thought of going to the January meeting even though it wasn't something I was particularly interested in. But then I noticed the fine print that said membership was half price after January. I guess their year starts in August. So that is something I'll do next month.
11. I want to find a Sweet Sixteen sit down quilting machine. This probably isn't going to happen until we finish building, and I don't really think that's going to happen this year. So fail here.
12. Take a Craftsy fitting class. I may have to call this one Kaput too. Without a real sewing space, sewing clothing is on the back burner. I'll wait until next month to call this a fail though.
13. Make a clothing project once a month. This one I am calling a fail and kaput. No way is this going to be possible every month. Removing it from my list. Maybe next year.
14. Build something for the house every week until the cabinets and organizers are done. I may have been over-zealous when I wrote that one. I have been building every week, but can't complete anything until we have sheetrock and final dimensions. So a fail here.
15. Take a scroll saw class. I haven't done this, so is is also a fail so far.
16. Exercise 15-30 minutes a day. Now how hard can this be? And yet, I haven't done it. A definite FAIL.
17. Cut out sugar and find 15 good autoimmune recipes by the end of January. Didn't get that done, so it's a fail but I'm not going to abandon this goal, just changing it to the end of February.
18. Stick to an autoimmune diet in February and then re-evaluate for March. Since #17 was a bust, obviously, this is a fail also. I'm changing this to read March and April.
19. On days that are over 50 degrees, work on landscaping 15-30 minutes. I'm changing this one to read "wind chill over 50 degrees" as I am a total wimp and 50 degrees with the wind blowing is just miserable. I'm not calling this a fail just yet.
20. Join a book club. Well, finally. An out and out success. I have joined a book club and so far enjoying it.
My results this month were 7 successes, 10 fails, and 4 pending out of 21 goals. 2 of those failed goals will be removed from my list, which will help next month.
Recently, there was a segment on the local news that said people who write down their goals for the next day before going to bed tend to sleep better and longer than those who don't. I'm sure it is the peace of mind that comes from identifying a problem and planning the solution. That's one of the reasons I wanted to review my goals and hope I remember to do it again next month.
What about you? Do you review your goals every month or even more often? Now I am off to exercise, so January won't be a complete loss.
Linking to:
Works-in-progress On Wednesday at Esther's Quilt Blog
Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation
Saturday, January 20, 2018
A Day of Loss Is a Day of Discovery
That's actually what the guy at Walmart told me as he was helping me. My day started out with me getting out of bed on time. Before you say 'so what?' in your head, let me tell you how unusual that is. I have a terrible time waking up in the morning. Insomnia does that to me; I feel like a big blob of molasses in the morning. The alarm rings and I turn if off and fall back into bed, melting back into my warm spot. But this morning I had a meeting at the library where someone was going to teach knitting and I actually stayed in solid form after turning off the alarm.
I bought my needles and yarn a couple of weeks ago and took it to the library last Saturday only to learn I had come on the wrong day. So I just left my supplies in the back seat so I would have them today. Except they weren't there. That's the bad thing about sharing a car. Hubby cleaned out the car so he could use it, and he remembers bringing in my needles and yarn, but he doesn't know where they are now. So I went to the library to tell them I wasn't coming, or rather wasn't participating and drove on to the next town to get some fabric for one of my quilting UFOs. That was the first frustration of my day.
The next frustration was not being able to find my scrap fabrics. I knew I only needed a few little strips of each fabric, and I really didn't want to go to the store. But last night I searched through at least twenty boxes and I never found even a scrap of fabric. I found a box marked winter clothes, so not all time wasted. But it meant a trip to town. And since I was going to town, I decided to take a pattern I made for foundation paper piecing. Somewhere, we have a printer with a scanner, but it must be in storage because I didn't find it in any of those boxes either. So my first stop was Office Depot. They have fancy new self-serve copiers since I last used them, and I couldn't figure them out. When I pressed the start button, it wanted a name and password. I had to wait in line at the printing desk while someone ordered business cards, and then I asked if there were directions how to use the machines and set up a password. The guy there said that wasn't needed, just push the cancel button and hit print. So I did. And it only printed half my pattern. Now there were three more people in line. So I just left.
Next stop was for fabric. Normally, I would pay for fabric with my credit card, but our card had fraudulent activity on it this week, so it was cancelled and we won't have new cards until next week. So I needed the cash I keep in my billfold in the car. Since I stopped carrying a purse, I don't carry cash with me. Just a driver license, credit card, phone, and keys weigh me down these days. My shoulder thanks me. Everything I used to carry in a purse, I now carry in the console of the car. But remember how I said Hubby cleaned out the car? Yeah, no billfold in the console either. I was limited to the twenty dollar bill I tucked into my pocket before I left home. I don't know if I've ever bought fabric for less than twenty dollars. This was going to be hard. I was going to have to tell myself no. And no. And no again.
That brings me back to the clerk-in-training at the store. I must have had a sour look on my face, or maybe that's just my usual look. I prefer to call it consternation as I deliberated the fabric choices and my limited budget. Finally, I made my decisions and he, being the chatty sort, asked me what I was going to make, and what all I needed to make it, and why not buy the batting and backing now too. That brought out my confession about losing stuff today. "Well," says the young philosopher, "your day of loss is also your day of discovery" as he pointed to the fabrics I picked out to complete my UFO. "You're a delightful optimist," I said, bringing a beaming smile to his face. "Of course, you aren't the one who lost your billfold either." Now I'm home, and ready to start working on this UFO. This is one of the UFOs on my first quarter list for Marci Girl Designs Finish-a-long.
This is the plan I made last night in MS Paint. I intend to use patterned fabric, but that's not on option in Paint.
And these are the fabrics I bought, some of which I may or may not use. I just didn't want to have to go back to the store once I get going.
Linking to:
UFO Busting at Tish's Adventures in Wonderland
MOP at Tweety Loves Quilting
I bought my needles and yarn a couple of weeks ago and took it to the library last Saturday only to learn I had come on the wrong day. So I just left my supplies in the back seat so I would have them today. Except they weren't there. That's the bad thing about sharing a car. Hubby cleaned out the car so he could use it, and he remembers bringing in my needles and yarn, but he doesn't know where they are now. So I went to the library to tell them I wasn't coming, or rather wasn't participating and drove on to the next town to get some fabric for one of my quilting UFOs. That was the first frustration of my day.
The next frustration was not being able to find my scrap fabrics. I knew I only needed a few little strips of each fabric, and I really didn't want to go to the store. But last night I searched through at least twenty boxes and I never found even a scrap of fabric. I found a box marked winter clothes, so not all time wasted. But it meant a trip to town. And since I was going to town, I decided to take a pattern I made for foundation paper piecing. Somewhere, we have a printer with a scanner, but it must be in storage because I didn't find it in any of those boxes either. So my first stop was Office Depot. They have fancy new self-serve copiers since I last used them, and I couldn't figure them out. When I pressed the start button, it wanted a name and password. I had to wait in line at the printing desk while someone ordered business cards, and then I asked if there were directions how to use the machines and set up a password. The guy there said that wasn't needed, just push the cancel button and hit print. So I did. And it only printed half my pattern. Now there were three more people in line. So I just left.
Next stop was for fabric. Normally, I would pay for fabric with my credit card, but our card had fraudulent activity on it this week, so it was cancelled and we won't have new cards until next week. So I needed the cash I keep in my billfold in the car. Since I stopped carrying a purse, I don't carry cash with me. Just a driver license, credit card, phone, and keys weigh me down these days. My shoulder thanks me. Everything I used to carry in a purse, I now carry in the console of the car. But remember how I said Hubby cleaned out the car? Yeah, no billfold in the console either. I was limited to the twenty dollar bill I tucked into my pocket before I left home. I don't know if I've ever bought fabric for less than twenty dollars. This was going to be hard. I was going to have to tell myself no. And no. And no again.
That brings me back to the clerk-in-training at the store. I must have had a sour look on my face, or maybe that's just my usual look. I prefer to call it consternation as I deliberated the fabric choices and my limited budget. Finally, I made my decisions and he, being the chatty sort, asked me what I was going to make, and what all I needed to make it, and why not buy the batting and backing now too. That brought out my confession about losing stuff today. "Well," says the young philosopher, "your day of loss is also your day of discovery" as he pointed to the fabrics I picked out to complete my UFO. "You're a delightful optimist," I said, bringing a beaming smile to his face. "Of course, you aren't the one who lost your billfold either." Now I'm home, and ready to start working on this UFO. This is one of the UFOs on my first quarter list for Marci Girl Designs Finish-a-long.
This is the plan I made last night in MS Paint. I intend to use patterned fabric, but that's not on option in Paint.
And these are the fabrics I bought, some of which I may or may not use. I just didn't want to have to go back to the store once I get going.
Linking to:
UFO Busting at Tish's Adventures in Wonderland
MOP at Tweety Loves Quilting
Monday, January 15, 2018
Friday, January 12, 2018
2018 Finish A-Long First Quarter Goals
Leanne at she can quilt posted her 2018 First Quarter Linky the other day. I could just link to my year's UFO goals, but I decided to do a separate post for the Quarterly goals because I've almost finished my January UFO goal and because I haven't found where all my UFO's are packed yet.
1. Double Irish Chain.
2. I would really like to finish my trailer quilt. I keep thinking it will be in the next box I unpack, and so far, it hasn't been found. I never even took a picture of the blocks as I was making them, so I have nothing to show and I can't remember for sure how far along I had gotten on it. So I should mark this as a maybe. If I can't find the trailer quilt, I'll finish the Jacob's Ladder top.
3. Then there is this little orphan block.
It's been in the way for a few weeks now and I really need to make use of it in something before it gets messed up. I could make a bin for orphans but that would only encourage them to grow. No, I need to do something with it.
So there is my list, and I am linking to she can quilt because I. Am. In!
Now if I can just remember to link up again at the end of the quarter.
1. Double Irish Chain.
2. I would really like to finish my trailer quilt. I keep thinking it will be in the next box I unpack, and so far, it hasn't been found. I never even took a picture of the blocks as I was making them, so I have nothing to show and I can't remember for sure how far along I had gotten on it. So I should mark this as a maybe. If I can't find the trailer quilt, I'll finish the Jacob's Ladder top.
3. Then there is this little orphan block.
It's been in the way for a few weeks now and I really need to make use of it in something before it gets messed up. I could make a bin for orphans but that would only encourage them to grow. No, I need to do something with it.
So there is my list, and I am linking to she can quilt because I. Am. In!
Now if I can just remember to link up again at the end of the quarter.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Quilter's, Brainstorm with Me Please
Several of you have asked why I don't like the Little Glory quilt, and I confessed that one reason is because I cheaped out and used some polyester fabric in it. The medium blue (center and corner blocks) are not only polyester, but they have a thin blue stripe as well. The polyester doesn't flatten with the iron, it ravels more, and it has a different sheen than the cotton. That is probably why most quilters don't use it. I don't know where I got it, but I had three yards of it, so thought I'd use it. So that's one reason I'm not crazy about this quilt.
Then, there's the way it fits the bed. This is the way I planned it to fit the bed, but now that I've seen it on the bed, I don't like the way the blocks hang off.
Ignore the stuff on the tables, this is a room in progress.
The only thing I can think of, besides just living with it, is turning it sideways and making a king out of it. But to do that, I have to introduce even more blues because I am out of all the blue used in the blocks, and I don't really want to use any more polyester. And I really hate to keep working on a quilt that I am never going to love. Can you see any other options, especially any that keep this a twin size?
Then, there's the way it fits the bed. This is the way I planned it to fit the bed, but now that I've seen it on the bed, I don't like the way the blocks hang off.
Ignore the stuff on the tables, this is a room in progress.
The only thing I can think of, besides just living with it, is turning it sideways and making a king out of it. But to do that, I have to introduce even more blues because I am out of all the blue used in the blocks, and I don't really want to use any more polyester. And I really hate to keep working on a quilt that I am never going to love. Can you see any other options, especially any that keep this a twin size?
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
15 Minute Challenge
I only sewed one day this week, and that was only because I forced myself to finish the top of this quilt. The more I look at this quilt, the less I like it, but that's not the reason I only sewed one day. That was because of my sewing machine. It struggles going over seams and I don't want to quilt this top with it. I'll wait until I have another machine.
I want to thank everyone who gave me their opinions on my last sewing machine post. I have decided that those of you who said to repair mom's machine and give it a trial are right. If I don't like it after that, I'll give it to my daughter and buy a new machine. Like Hubby said, whether I keep it or give it to her, it still needs to be serviced.
Even with my pitiful showing, I'm linking to Kate's Life in Pieces. Join in over there to see how others have met the challenge.
This month, Kate's subject has been talking about quilting, or the ways we talk about quilting, ask others for advice, encouragement, and problem solving. It's been really interesting, though I haven't had anything to offer. However, that changed last night after attending our local quilt guild meeting. I haven't been to one of these meetings in five or six years. I was first invited by a local quilter who was the guest speaker right after I began quilting and was all but avoided by the other members. Then, a couple of years later, I went with a new neighbor who was also a quilter, and again, we went through the entire evening without a hello from anyone. I don't know if the group was just extremely clickish and didn't want outsiders (common in a small town), if they were so involved with their activities that they didn't notice that we were visiting, or if they just didn't know how to talk to strangers. In any case, neither of us ever went back.
But last night was different. I went with the same neighbor again, and another neighbor who has begun quilting. At the meeting, they had everyone sign in before entering the auditorium, with a separate sheet for visitors, and they gave each visitor a colorful lei necklace. The current president came over to greet us; she had been a college roommate of my first quilting neighbor, and she stood with us a long time telling us about the guild and introducing us to people who came up. People in general seemed much friendlier than my previous visits, and both my original neighbor and I think we will join next month. So there is another way to talk about quilting.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
15 Minute Challenge, One Step Forward and Two Steps Back
I don't think I made any progress this week. I sewed every two rows together and was about to sew all the sets when I noticed I had put in THREE blocks backwards. They were all near the outer edge on their row, but still, it meant a lot of ripping. Today, I'm finally back to having every two rows sewn together with all the blocks turned correctly. (I put an ARGH in there but thought about the being positive thing, so took it out. But you know I'm still thinking it. *grin*)
On my design floor is the Little Glory with a few strips of yellow inner border. The main quilt has twelve inch blocks with two inch blue blocks around it. I cut the yellow border at four inches but I'm not sure I like the look of it. What do you think? Should it be less than four inches? If so what? Two, or three?
Hop over to Life in Pieces to see how others have done with their challenge this week.
There is (1) link in this post - to Life in Pieces.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
February New FO
I haven't started a sewing project in such a long time that it seems this one has gone on forever. But I just started it a few weeks ago, and I am determined to finish it in March. Now I need to think of a project to start in March. Rather, I need to narrow down my choices for a project to start in March.
I'm linking this to Cat Patches today.
I'm linking this to Cat Patches today.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
15 Minute Challenge
I began the week working on the Quilt Along, but soon decided I couldn't do those and finish my Little Glory. I spent way too much time Tuesday just gathering up fabric and working on the blocks. One of them had tiny pieces and I can't do it without either paper piecing or using a quarter-inch foot. And I don't know where that quarter foot is. Probably with my long ruler. The block I made Tuesday was no where close to the nine and a half inches it was supposed to be.
So I devoted my energies to working on the Little Glory so I can get that mess out of the dining room.
I've made progress on the Little Glory, finishing all the center blocks. Now I need to work on borders and then put it all together.
Why is it I always get sick on weekends? I started feeling bad Saturday and drank lots of fluids and took some over the counter medicine, thinking I could wait until Monday to go to the doctor, and hoping I'd actually kick it and not have to go at all. By Monday I did feel better, so thought I'd just keep doing what I was doing and avoid going to the doctor. But last night I started feeling horrible and regretted not going to the doctor to get checked out. I didn't think I was going to make it through the night, but finally the dawn broke and I called the doctor's office, only to be told they couldn't get me in until 4:30. So I opted for a doc in the box. Now I'm home with antibiotics and pain killers and hope it takes care of it. I don't' think I'm going to get fifteen minutes in today. In fact, it's all I can do to keep my eyes open to type this.
Check out Kate's blog Life in Pieces and see how others have used their fifteen minutes a day. Kate has some good tips for organizing our sewing spaces too.
So I devoted my energies to working on the Little Glory so I can get that mess out of the dining room.
I've made progress on the Little Glory, finishing all the center blocks. Now I need to work on borders and then put it all together.
Why is it I always get sick on weekends? I started feeling bad Saturday and drank lots of fluids and took some over the counter medicine, thinking I could wait until Monday to go to the doctor, and hoping I'd actually kick it and not have to go at all. By Monday I did feel better, so thought I'd just keep doing what I was doing and avoid going to the doctor. But last night I started feeling horrible and regretted not going to the doctor to get checked out. I didn't think I was going to make it through the night, but finally the dawn broke and I called the doctor's office, only to be told they couldn't get me in until 4:30. So I opted for a doc in the box. Now I'm home with antibiotics and pain killers and hope it takes care of it. I don't' think I'm going to get fifteen minutes in today. In fact, it's all I can do to keep my eyes open to type this.
Check out Kate's blog Life in Pieces and see how others have used their fifteen minutes a day. Kate has some good tips for organizing our sewing spaces too.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
15 Minute Challenge
I had another good sewing week. I'm not sure I like the way the Little Glory Quilt is turning out, but it's a utilitarian quilt, so I guess it doesn't really matter that much. The drawing below shows how I originally wanted to make it, but I didn't have enough dark blue or yellow. Visit Kate at Life in Pieces to see how others have met the challenge and join in yourself.
This week Kate talks about sewing room organization. She is using a hanging file system for her fat quarters. This is how I store my fabric at the moment. I have nine of these plastic boxes, with fabric wrapped around a cardboard square so they are uniform size and fit into the box just right. The boxes fit under a guest bed, and while the system is not perfect (it's a pain to crawl around on the floor pulling out boxes), it's what works for me right now. My goal is to get rid of my stash and then the boxes will go away.
I read someone's blog (can't remember which one) about a Quilt Along beginning February 18. The link I followed from that blog was to Barbara Brackman's Material Culture blog. It is actually a kind of a Moda quilt pattern blog hop with three patterns revealed every day. Barbara is a Moda designer and her pattern is one of the first day patterns. If you read her blog post from Monday, Feb 18, you'll get the details.
It looks like it will be fun although I almost changed my mind when I saw Barbara's pattern. Flying geese are not my favorite blocks but I managed to get it done and somewhat square. I just took a peek at today's blocks and there are circles. Eeek!
While I had a pretty good week, I can't say as much for Buddy the cat. I began carrier training Wednesday by taking the carrier apart and leaving the pieces in the floor of the kitchen for him to investigate. On Thursday, I put the bottom half of the carrier in the garage and put his self feeder in it. He looked at it, and then at me, and then stretched to see if he could reach his food without touching the carrier. He couldn't. So he stood there looking at it until I backed up, and then he put his front feet in it so he could eat.
Since he is on antibiotics, the vet said to remove his food in the evening so he will be really hungry by morning and eat the medicated food. And he does. By morning, he is ravenous. Hubby said Buddy tried to climb his leg when Hubby poured his cereal in a bowl Friday morning. Then he went over and stood in the carrier bottom where the self feeder was and looked pathetic.
He still won't get completely into the carrier bottom while he is eating, but today I am going to put a table over the carrier bottom and see if it bothers him.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
15 Minute Challenge
It's been a long time since I've done any sewing. So long, in fact, that I couldn't find my long ruler, my favorite rotary cutter, or my quarter inch foot. It's also the first time I've really used my new (a year old now) sewing machine. I bought it because the sewing center said my old one would cost more to repair than to buy a new comparable machine. And I thought I would either get another machine with a few perks for home use and keep this for a travel machine. But that never happened. With my old machine, I could have compensated for not having a quarter inch foot by moving the needle. This machine doesn't have that feature.
But I managed to locate a twelve inch ruler, my cutting mat, and some fabric, and set up a sewing center at the end of the dining room. Funny that Kate's challenge this week included asking us to show our sewing space. I'm working on creating a space in a guest room, but for now, this is it.
This bedroom is where I used to have my sewing space, and will again soon. But the new sewing space has to be more versatile than it was before. With a sewing desk in the room, it was impossible to pull out the trundle bed without moving the desk out of the room. Not only was the desk heavy, but there was no where else to put it. So I am working on sewing table and cutting table that are mobile and easy to store when the room needs to be a bedroom. Until then, I'm in the dining room.
So getting back to the challenge, this is what I got done this week.
I don't have much to show for my time. Much of my time was spent working on a color combination I like. I have several orphan blocks to show for my time, one finished block, and a few stacks of pieces. I tried using just three fabrics for a simple look, but didn't have enough, so it will have more of a patchwork look to it.
Join us at Kate's Life in Pieces.
You know you want to!
But I managed to locate a twelve inch ruler, my cutting mat, and some fabric, and set up a sewing center at the end of the dining room. Funny that Kate's challenge this week included asking us to show our sewing space. I'm working on creating a space in a guest room, but for now, this is it.
This bedroom is where I used to have my sewing space, and will again soon. But the new sewing space has to be more versatile than it was before. With a sewing desk in the room, it was impossible to pull out the trundle bed without moving the desk out of the room. Not only was the desk heavy, but there was no where else to put it. So I am working on sewing table and cutting table that are mobile and easy to store when the room needs to be a bedroom. Until then, I'm in the dining room.
So getting back to the challenge, this is what I got done this week.
I don't have much to show for my time. Much of my time was spent working on a color combination I like. I have several orphan blocks to show for my time, one finished block, and a few stacks of pieces. I tried using just three fabrics for a simple look, but didn't have enough, so it will have more of a patchwork look to it.
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| Trial block |
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| Final block |
Join us at Kate's Life in Pieces.
You know you want to!
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