Monday, December 10, 2018

Design Wall Monday and Weekly Goals

These blocks are on my design wall--


For some reason not all the blocks were the same size (oops!)  I found an idea to fix them using this pattern--


A free pattern at Moda Bakeshop--

http://www.modabakeshop.com/2015/11/dashing-stars-quilt.html

You add sashings to two sides of your block and then alternate them, or whatever you like!   This week I want these 30's blocks sewn  together and OFF THE WALL!  Next I want to play with Stay Centered blocks--


Dee in Nebraska, Lorri2Rs, and I swapped one block of each color.  I have enough blocks for a boy quilt and a "me" quilt.  This was also a free pattern and if you have lots of strips but like a more coordinated look to your scrappy quilts try this one.  So so EASY!!  To make my quilt a bit bigger I added the color brown, brown is such a warm color.  

Last week Asher had a birthday (7yo) so I road tripped.  On Saturday I stopped to visit another quilter Mary in South Dakota.  She makes the most perfectly pieced quilts.  You have seen some of her quilts on my blog, she makes "boy" tops and I quilt them.  Then on to the kids, they had gone to the movies so I did a little shopping. At JoAnns I bought some precuts--



Both were on sale cheap and will add some variety to my stash.  I couldn't resist the Fat 8th--there are words on them, I love words on fabrics.  That will add 5.75 yds to my next stash report.  

JoAnn's has lots of other things for sale in their store--I bought 8oz pkgs of ready to use frosting for $2.49.   The round tip and a star tip are already on the pouch, and you can put different tips on if you have them.  There was a grandchild craft planned--


Easy peasy, just rice krispie bars with Christmas M&Ms, then melt vanilla almond bark on top.  Chill, cut into squares, and decorate!  We used the bagged frosting to stick the M&Ms to the bars plus draw with the frosting.  Max needed help squeezing the frosting out but he was all about sticking the M&Ms on!  

Asher and grandma had lunch together.  Asher loves pancakes so we went to Cracker Barrel.  He had a root beer to celebrate!


Next we shopped at Target for a b-day gift.  Asher wants to inspect every item on the shelves.  It was fun to watch.  

And I did some baking to share on my road trip--


Raspberry kuchen.   I used raspberry pie filling plus added some fresh raspberries.  

Weekly Goals--

Sew pink blocks together
Make green binding for Christmas Quilt
Add Stay Centered to design wall

That's all, Christmas preparations are also on my schedule.  I'm linking with Oh ScrapMonday Making, Design Wall Monday, Moving it Forward.

~Lori1R in South Dakota~

Monday, December 3, 2018

Design Wall Monday and Weekly Goals

A Four Patch quilt is on the wall--


Four long seams left.  Then its OFF THE WALL!!  Next I think I'll put these back on the wall and do the final placement of blocks--


Its from a magazine and is called Sunny Squares by Kate Colleran.  I found the sixteen patch blocks a few weeks ago and I remembered what they were for.  Made the alternate blocks and its ready to sew together.  

Weekly Goals--

Sew another set of blocks together
Sew on binding

Enough, I'll pull something else out if I get these done

Recently Myra posted this on Stashbusters--
  • Quilting is a Multi-million dollar a year industry
  • Quilting is international in scope
  • Quilters are considered artists
  • Quilters are young and old, male and female
  • Some quilts are worth five figures or more in money
  • There are numerous museums devoted entirely to quilts
  • There are academic studies devoted to quilts
  • Quilters donate their own time, money, supplies and skills to many charitable causes  
Quilters value yourselves!  


You know I hate how people park in "no parking" areas where there is dedicated parking for handicapped vans--


I saw the people who got in the car.  Definitely not handicapped.  Just lazy.  How sad.  Another Yankton Walmart parking lot picture.  

I plan to get lots of sewing done, I need to create tops to quilt in the New Year.

~Lori1R in South Dakota~

Saturday, December 1, 2018

OMG

My OMG for November (actually there are two) was to finish binding Mary's Orange quilt and keep up with Double Irish Stars QAL--



Mary's quilt is finished!  YAH!!  And I was able to sew Double Irish Stars rows together--


Its waiting for borders--nothing I like in my stash so will have to shop.  

Goals for December are--

1)Finish binding Mary's blue/brown quilt

 
2)sew all the rows together on the 2nd Corner Four Patch project (well, about half the blocks are made, I need to make the rest!)  Its a wonderfully versatile block, check out the link-


I need to make more blocks first--


 I'm linking with Elm Street Quilts

~Lori1R in South Dakota~

Monday, November 12, 2018

Design Wall Monday and Weekly Goals

The Honeycomb blocks are still on my wall--


I've been playing with block placement.  Double Irish Stars has been worked on--

I have 30 star blocks made.  Mine is scrappy so there is an assortment of colors.  Its a BOW at Piecing the Past Quilts.  Stars and an Irish Chain--perfect!

Weekly Goals--

Stay Centered
Honeycomb
Double Irish Stars
Keep on Binding
Fold some fabric

These are what I'll work on this week.  I'm linking with Oh Scrap, Moving it Forward, Monday Making, and Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.  

~Lori1R in South Dakota~

Friday, November 9, 2018

Motivation Friday

Time to check on my weekly goals--

Catch up With Double Irish Stars QAL--YES
Finish the Stay Center colored blocks--YES
Work on binding the orange quilt--YES
Put away some of the folded fabric--no

Here are the Star blocks I made this week--



Lots of flying geese in these blocks.  I am not fond of making flying geese but I love the star blocks--I make them a bit bigger and trim to fit--


Not the fastest way but it works for me.   Since the design wall was empty I put more blocks on it--




These are the Honeycomb blocks I worked on at the Nebraska retreat.   The wall is not big enough, there is still another row of blocks not up there.  I'll play with block placement for a while.

And my holiday cacti have decided to bloom--


That is one pot that has two different varieties in it--a fuschia/white and a yellow.  There used to be a white one but I think it died last spring--stalk rot.  These plants cover a piano bench.  There is one blooming in the sewing room, I wanted it next to this one but its too crowded.  I have a soft spot for holiday cactus, Ken's grandmother had a huge one, and his mother has a large one too.  Ken took good care of them this summer, he said he watered them once a week.  If he remembered.  

There is still fabric to fold and put away.  I have most my block parts cut for now so I can start putting fabric away.  Maybe this weekend.   

~Lori1R in South Dakota~

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Stash Report

This week I finished Strip Twist for 8 yds out.  But I bought a 20 strip jelly roll, 10 yards of solid black, and 8 yards of white with tiny navy triangles for a background.  My new stash report is--

Stash Report
Added this week--19.38 yds
Add YTD 201.88 yds
Out this week--8yds
Out YTD 207.65
I'm ahead 5.77 yards! 
I'm happy with these numbers, my goal is to turn my stash over to allow for new fabric.  

~Lori1R in South Dakota~

Monday, November 5, 2018

Design Wall Monday and Weekly Goals

The green blocks on the design wall are sewn together--


I might add a narrow border, right now the top is 70x80".  The design wall is now freed for other blocks!  I'm linking up with Oh Scrap, Moving it Forward, Monday Making, and Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

Weekly Goals--

Catch up With Double Irish Stars QAL
Finish the Stay Center colored blocks
Work on binding the orange quilt
Put away some of the folded fabric


That will be enough to keep me busy.   Putting away some of the folded fabric is part of my yearly goal of refolding/reorganizing a section of stash per month.  

~Lori1R in South Dakota~

Thursday, November 1, 2018

OMG

My October OMG was to finish binding Strip Twist--


YAH!!  Its done!  This will be a boys donation qulit.  I estimate 8yds of stash used.  The backing was donated by Judy B in MN--


Don't you love those skull & crossbones?  Thank you Judy B!!  I'm linking with Elm Creek Quilts.  My OMG for November--can I have two?  I will bind Mary's Orange quilt and keep up with Double Irish Stars QAL.  I'm linking with Elm Street Quilts OMG.

And a Rant/Pet Peeve.  Parking in handicapped spaces or where there is NO PARKING drives me crazy.  This was the second time in a couple weeks the same vehicle parked this way (Walmart Yankton SD)--


This vehicle is parked where the handicapped vans park, the extra room is for parallel parking.  If a handicapped van that needs the extra room for a ramp/lift wants to park there--they can't.  It caught my eye because its from the same county in South Dakota I am from--

There wasn't a handicapped license plate or hanging card.  Ken says I am assuming they were not handicapped etc, but that is no excuse for parking there.  Its a NO PARKING ZONE.  And they blocked the handicapped space!   Off my soapbox now.  

LORI1R in South Dakota

Monday, October 29, 2018

Blue Stay Centered blocks

This week Stay Centered saw the first blocks pieced--


A few of the light blue blocks are pretty light but I think they will be fine when put in the entire quilt.  Stay Centered is a free pattern you can find here. 
  
The design wall still has these blocks on it--


2Rs made these blocks--she has the book.   Yesterday I sewed the blocks into rows and today I pressed the seams.  I'm not taking them OFF the design wall until they are sewn together.

And I completed the first week of Double Irish Stars--


Its a free QAL and I LOVE the pattern.  

That's how my week has gone.  The camper is home, unpacked and mostly put away.  I had to sort/organize a bit in the sewing room to get to the design wall but there is a narrow goat path now.   

Lori1R in South Dakota
 

Friday, October 5, 2018

Friday

More wildlife photos!  A small Bull Snake.  They are a very aggressive species, he definitely was NOT happy at visiting the Visitor Center.  See the "S" shape he's in, ready to strike at us.  And strike he did--but he was just a small snake, maybe 14" long.  We were careful to stay out of reach, although not poisonous, they DO bite and the small teeth can break off in a wound. 

We released him behind the Visitor Center in the Native Prairie plant beds--


See how well he blends in with the dirt?  Bull Snakes eat anything they can, from insects to lizards, frogs & toads, mice/moles, and will climb in trees and bushes to raid bird nests for eggs and hatchlings.

The tomato plants are still blooming--


I don't think they will make tomatoes this year!

I opened my bargain jelly rolls--


Very happy with the mix of colors and patterns!  Yellow/greens to blues to teals to grass greens and purples.   No plan for them yet.  

Its been a gamut of fall weather.   From 30-40F to 89F with bright sun on Wednesday, then a cold front blew in from the north--almost blew us off the top of the hill!  Thursday was rain rain and more rain.  Cold and soggy.  I stayed in the camper ALL DAY!!  Summer is over, fall is here and it will be time to pack up the camper and head home.  Sigh  I LOVE summer!  

~Lori1R in Soggy Nebraska~

Monday, October 1, 2018

OMG - October and Stash Report

Time to pick an October OMG.  I need to finish binding Jelly Roll Twist quilt.  Its been waiting for six months.   Time to "Git R Done"!


I'm linking up with Elm Street Quilts for my October OMG. 

A few pictures from the Nebraska retreat--


Dee thought her car had lots of stuff in it.  Hey, she could still see out the back, enough room for more projects!


She started working on her Wedge project.  Umm, something wrong with this picture!  She switched to her L/E project--Beaded Lanterns.  


Another Oops!  The two neutrals were supposed to be on either side of the purple square!   Beaded Lanterns is a free pattern, be sure to check it out.  I plan to make one, I'm undecided on the background color.  Liz used a dark pink--


And Dee used a neutral (and her shower rod!)


Teresa used a dark blue--


I like their colors better than the gray.   My strips look very "bleah" with gray.  I ordered some colored backgrounds for possible choices--

Country solids were on sale at JoAnns 70% off, that made them $1.80@yd.  I bought 10 yards of light yellow, 6 yards of teal, and 5 yards of a very light teal/green.  There were 20 strip jelly rolls not far from the checkout, and I used a 50% off and a 40% off coupon--which make 40 batik strips $14.29.  A good price.  They are blues/greens/purples/yellows, I'm not sure where I will use them.  My updated stash report is--

Stash Report
Added this week--23.70 yds
Add YTD 182.5 yds
Out this week--0yds
Out YTD 199.65
I'm ahead 17.15 yards!


My OTT light was used at retreat--


When I sew dark strips on the black featherweight I need the OTT light.  It has four settings and a port for a USB cord to charge my phone/tablet.  There is no way to change the light bulb(?) so I guess you just use it until it dies!  We'll see how long that is.  

Saturday I sewed on Honeycomb--I finished the last 28 alternate blocks.  


There's not enough room in the camper to lay them all out, so they're packed away to wait for the design wall at home.  Sorta like an Irish Chain but not quite.  I think I will have to make another one of these, perhaps all greens or oranges or browns.  I'm linking to Monday Making, Oh Scrap, Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, and Moving it Forward.

More volunteering this week.  My only sewing might be binding, but progress is progress!  

~Lori1R in Nebraska~

Friday, September 28, 2018

Friday Updates

A few updates here.  The clematis I think is a Niobe




The lighter stripe in the center of the petals matches that variety.  The Lays potato chip people have sent me a nice letter saying they are following up on the glove I found in my bag.  


Tracking it to the point of manufacture.  Profuse apology.  They also sent me oodles of coupons.  But the Reinhart Food Service--NADA!  No response like they promised.  I wonder if they followed up at all on this driver/incident?  Very disappointing. 


And Tuesday while at HyVee (local grocery store) a car drove through the pedestrian crossing in front of me.  I yelled "that's a stop sign *******"!!  I apologize to everyone who might have heard me.  He stopped at the first stop sign (there are two crossings, one for each door) did he think that meant he didn't have to stop at the second one?  

Last night I practiced using the convection oven.  I found a recipe for "Slab Apple Pie".


It turned out pretty good, except the bottom crust is a bit soggy.  I followed the recipe with no changes.  

No sewing so far this week.  Volunteering, laundry, and staying warm is all I've been doing.  A little heat is on in the camper, its a bit chilly.  I am not ready for cold weather!   I am buried under tomatoes, who knew five plants could produce so many fruits.  

I'm trying to look forward to being "home" and sewing.  Hard for me to do, I enjoy the summer so much!  But I am planning new starts and finishing others.  

Are you "into" fall?  Do you have some sewing planned?  What is your favorite part of fall?  

~Lori1R in Nebraska~

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Design Wall Monday on Tuesday

Over the weekend I sewed with a group of Nebraska ladies at a retreat.  We stayed at Camp Moses Merrill in Linwood Nebraska.  Wonderful facilities, good food, and quilters--it was a perfect weekend.  I worked on Honeycomb--


First I made the triple 9 patch blocks-I needed 28 of them.  Next I worked on the alternate blocks--these used 4 patches--


I used brown, orange, green, blue and purple in the blocks.   All the 4 patches are made and I have the background pieces cut.  It just needs assembling now.  The pattern called for 1.5" strips but I used 2" strips, I liked the final quilt but wanted it a bit bigger.  These strips were pulled from my tote of 2" strips cut from scraps and stash.   My goal is to have it put together completely by January 15th.  I'm linking with Oh Scrap, Monday Making, and Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, and Free Motion by the River.  

This week is full of volunteering.  Soon we'll have to take the camper home--that's always a depressing job.  I MISS volunteering--going home ushers in cold weather and winter--not my favorite time of year!

~Lori1R in Nebraska~

Playing Catchup

Its been busy!  Thanksgiving has come and gone, soon it will be Christmas.  We got our vaccinations a couple weeks ago--Covid, RSV, Influena...