Design Wall Monday and Weekly Goals

Nothing on my design wall but I did load a top on the Princess--

Spool blocks I made 3 or 4 years ago for the Rainbow Scrappy Challenge.  Its ready to go whenever I get the urge to quilt.  Please see everyone's design wall posts at Patchwork Times.

Part 4 of Alletaire is being worked on--

Headless flying geese!  Its no secret I don't like diagonal seams.  There are 480 in this clue alone!  Arrggghh!!  The neutral bits need to be sewn to the red bits yet and then this step will be done.  There was a bit of frog stitching--

Both seams angled the same way

Red fabric wrong side up

I like my bits pressed flat.  Once all the parts were pressed I laid them neatly underneath a cutting square--

 Next I weigh the square down with a couple of quilting books--

This insures the pieces will be nice and flat when I come back to sew them together.  I know I know--OCD!!

There was baking today--

Spritz cookies!  Two batches--one of green trees and one of red wreaths.  Ken helped me dip the Buckeyes, Ritz/Peanut butter crackers, and I made a batch of Haystacks (corn flakes, coconut, nuts coated with chocolate and heaped in little mounds).  The outside freezer is where I store my goodies.  I need to store them further away--they are too close!!!  

Liz on Stashbusters issued a challenge/quilt-a-long.  Its Simply Woven at Moda Bakeshop (free pattern)--

Isn't it a great looking quilt?  NO DIAGONAL SEAMS!!  And its very stash friendly--you can cut it all from fabric you already own.  I found a jelly roll in the closet that contains these fabrics-

Its called "Sweet" by Moda for Urban Chiks.  The pattern calls for two jelly rolls, I'm not sure if I'll dig deeper in my stash for fabrics or possibly buy some.  If you'd like to sew along you can join Stashbusters at Yahoo Groups or just sew one.  

Weekly Goals--

I'm still "eating the elephant".  Its a good goal at this busy time of year.   More blocks need to go on the design wall and Alletaire and Star Struck are keeping me busy.  A few more Christmas goodies to be made.  There has been no time to sit in the chair and hand sew binding. 

Are you thinking about goals for 2016?  New Projects?  UFO's to finish?  Any goals that aren't quilty??  

~LORI~
 
 

Rainbow Scrappy Saturday

Are you thinking about next year?  I am!  I've even started a project--

Jacob's Ladder blocks with lime green HSTs. They will be part of my 2016 RSC.  I was influenced by seeing Vic's three finished quilts.

Vic's Three Jacob's Ladder Quilts

Aren't they lovely??  Its one of my favorite blocks and I'm using some 4 patches I made 3? 4? years ago for the RSC.  Any miscellaneous 4 patches I find go in a plastic Ziploc bag and I'm adding them to my Jacob's Ladder blocks.  Please see everyone's posts at SoScrappy.

In addition to the designated color blocks I made each month--I also made R/W/B blocks.  The Monkey Wrench/9 Patch blocks are a finished top--

A tight fit on the wall but I'm liking it.  The stash didn't have enough of a "dark" for a border and I was resigned to buying 2 yards.  (2 yards because I wanted the binding to be the same as the border).  I slept on it, and today I had one last place to look--Dee's box!  Dee in Nebraska had saved me a box of fabric from when she moved and cleaned her stash.  Yes, at the very bottom of the box was the border fabric!  Thanks Dee!  I think it goes perfectly with the blocks--

Dark navy, gray, silver, red, and white.  Now if I can just find some backing........

My design wall is empty--

Tomorrow I will find another set of blocks to cover it.  The empty wall is depressing! 

And because its Christmas and I LOVE Christmas a picture of our tree--

There are no lights on it--the needles are fiber optic and glow and change colors in waves.  I haven't seen one for sale in a store for years.  I have different red lights and snowman below it.  

In less than a week it will be Christmas.  There are presents to wrap and cookies to bake.  Are you ready for Christmas??

~LORI~

Tuesday Check In

Whew--its a busy time of year!  So far this week its been two doctor appointments and some shopping.  Today was eye appointment in Mitchell and of course the weather is changing to rain/snow/sleet/ice.  Interstate 90 is closed from Chamberlain to Rapid City and I'm sure there will be lots of cancellations by morning.  Tomorrow a Christmas party is scheduled where Ken works, but with the weather I won't be surprised if its cancelled. 

First an updated stash report--

Stash in this week--8.00 yards
Stash in YTD--284.00 yards
Stash out this week--0 yards
Stash out YTD--175.00 yards

Stash is ahead 109 yards!

I need to use my calculator more often--I had a mistake on last weeks report!  This week I bought 8 yards of flannel for backing.  The numbers look bleak but there are 6 tops waiting for the hand sewing of the binding.  Five sets of blocks to set into tops.  I've laid out a big top to load on the Princess.  Two more in line.

Last week goals--

Quilt 2013 RSC 30's quilt--done with binding ready to hand sew

Finish Binding Galaxy of Friends--waiting by the recliner

Bind Baby Animals--in line

Sew more of the R/W/B blocks into rows--nope

2015 Quiltville mystery--all caught up

I pieced a backing, made a binding, finished more units for Star Struck (from last winter).  I think I have the 396 units needed, they are pressed and ready to start putting together--

 They will make these blocks--

This is a free pattern at Quiltville.  Thank you Bonnie Hunter.  My project was prompted by one my friend Liz made. 

Weekly Goals--

I think I'm going with "eat more elephant"!  Yes, its the phrase "how do you eat an elephant??  One bite at a time!"  I jump from project to project--but I like a little variety in how my elephant is served.  Progress is progress.  Imagine me madly sewing this week!  I need more tops to quilt for the Gauntlet Toss.

A few weeks ago Asher had his 4th birthday--

 Note the tilted candles, Asher put them in.  Grandma made sure the cake had plenty of frosting--that's Asher's favorite part!

Asher, Mason and Maxwell. 

Do you bake Christmas cookies?  How do you store them?  I use metal popcorn tins and other metal containers.  Last night I was searching in the basement for a favorite cookie tin and instead found this--

A box of fabric someone gave me and I had forgotten about it.  At least 6 yards of this bright print--a future backing??  

I never found the cookie tin so instead I did this--

'Tis the season for colds so make sure you get plenty of Vitamin C!  I like my orange juice with a little peach schnapps and cherries.  

Are you making plans for next year?  These fossil ferns and hand dyes are lurking in the closet--I am formulating a plan to use them.  

I'm in the mood to make cookies and other Christmas goodies.  Laura Beth likes Buckeyes, Nick and Ken like "Clusters", the boys love Peanut Butter stuffed Ritz crackers dipped in chocolate.  A new recipe will be added this year--Sally Ann's.  

http://wyomingbreezes.blogspot.com/2009/12/who-was-sally-ann.html

The dough is frozen in the freezer--I know the recipe willl be a keeper--I tasted the dough!  Thank you Nancy for sharing one of your family traditions!

If you are finishing up Christmas presents and Christmas Shopping you don't have much time left!  Our shopping is almost done and I didn't make any presents. 

~LORI~



 

 

Design Wall Monday and Weekly Goals

This is hanging on my wall waiting for inspiration on quilting--

Its from the class I took at my guild's quilt show Halloween weekend.  Isn't it eye catching?  Too bad its only 20"x25"!!  Lorri2Rs finishing putting it together for me while she was here.  Please see everyone's design wall posts at Patchwork Times.

Weekly Goals

Quilt 2013 RSC 30's quilt

Finish Binding Galaxy of Friends

Bind Baby Animals 

Sew more of the R/W/B blocks into rows

2015 Quiltville mystery

That's enough to keep me busy.  Last night I made the binding for the guild kit top--its ready to quilt when I find a backing.  Made and sewed the binding on the Baby Animals quilt.  Loaded the 2013 RSC 30's top.  Now I need to fold fabric and put it back on the shelves.  

Remember this pic?  See the post it notes on the wall??

Information on the current projects being worked on are stuck to the wall behind the Princess.  Size of the top, size of the backing if it has one.  I leave them up these until the top is quilted and binding on.  I have the brain of a goldfish and would never remember any of this!  If you wonder where the 117" comes from, the wide backing I dye is 117" after washing.  If a top goes into the closet to wait its turn it gets this--

A note with its size pinned to the top and the binding is attached to the hanger.  No backing, there's no backing measurement written on the note.  I hate having to remeasure. 

Most our Christmas shopping is done.  Ken and I ventured out Saturday and we did "one stop shopping".  We bought almost all the grandson's presents at ONE store.  (And it wasn't Walmart!)  Toys were "buy one, get 50% off another".  If some items were cheaper at another store I DON'T CARE!!!  Buying everything at one store makes it easy for returns.  We don't buy $$$ presents or lots of them,  the boys are young enough its all great fun.  Remember when Asher got pillowcases a few weeks ago??  

Although it was a pillowcase it made a better potato sack to hop in!  Kinda like the box being the best part of a present!  Some presents are enjoyed in unexpected ways.

Cooking baking is planned, the ingredients were purchased.  Sour Cream Sugar cookies with frosting, Peanut Butter Blossoms, Haystacks, Buckeyes, Cherry Nut Slices and of course Ritz Crackers filled with peanut butter dipped in chocolate and White Clusters.  I love Mincemeat cookies but I'm the only one.  :-(

What is your holiday tradition? Do you have a favorite cookie to bake?  A special meal?  Do you play Christmas Carols???  

~LORI~

Sunday Stash Report

There has been significant stash enhancing here--

Stash in this week--29.00 yards
Stash in YTD--276.00 yards
Stash out this week--9.0 yards
Stash out YTD--175.00 yards

Stash is ahead 119.5 yards!

Looks bleak doesn't it?  Not really!  I have at least four tops on the Happy Binding Pile.  At least four in the To Be Quilted Queue.  I know there are more lurking somewhere.  My aacquisitions are all good.  Lights, neutrals, blacks and gray, some for the 2015Quiltville Mystery and some because I know my stash is developing "holes".   But before I buy I do lots of this--

I rootle through the stash looking for possibilities! Please see everyone's stash reports at Patchwork Times Blog.

~LORI~  
 

Rainbow Scrappy Saturday and Weekly Goal Check In

December is the month to tidy up the Rainbow Scrappy Challenge projects.  These blocks are sashed and sewn into a top and next up to be quilted.  They are from RSC 2013--

By next weekend this top should be quilted.  God willing and the creek don't rise!  Hey, the way the snow is melting that's possible!  I've made my 2015 Gauntlet Toss goal--30's Ribbons was #4 and Little Farm Animals was #5.  Seven more to be quilted by May 1st.  Please see everyone's RSC posts at SoScrappy.

Finish binding Friends Among the Stars--worked on it

Load and Quilt 30's Ribbons--yes, done with binding sewn on

Sew more rows together on R/W/B blocks--worked on them

Trim 294 HSTs--nope

Load and quilt Little Farm Animals top--yes

 

At the last guild meeting I picked up a "kit" for a charity quilt.  6.5" squares neatly rolled up with a page of directions.   This was new to me, so when I opened the packet I was less than impressed.  There were 70 squares, the directions asked you to set them 7x10, and to "make it fun".  Really?  Did they LOOK at these fabrics?  Dark dirty purples with muddy green.  10 white squares.  A few salmon solids.  Mostly 3 fabrics with a few odd squares thrown in.  It sat for a few weeks as I wondered HOW I might salvage it.  Lorri2Rs and I did a little stash enhancing when she was here, and part of what I bought was some light lavenders to add to this "kit".  This is what I made--

A disappearing 9 Patch.  Remember that saying--"if the fabric is still ugly you didn't cut it small enough?"  Yes, that's what I did, sliced the dark purples and the white squares. It looks better in real daylight but you can see how dark the purples are--they look brown in the photo.  I think a lavender narrow border and it will be fine.  Its a nice size--52x69, not much border needed.  I'm not sure if this is the interpretation they wanted but its what I did!  

The next clue for the Quiltville 2015 mystery has been posted, I hope to find time to play with it this weekend.  

~LORI~

Design Wall Monday, Weekly Goals and MIA

The R/W/B Monkey Wrench/9 patch blocks are on my design wall--

I've started sewing them in rows.  Please see everyone's design wall posts at Patchwork Times.

Weekly Goals--

Finish binding Friends Among the Stars

Load and Quilt 30's Ribbons

Sew more rows together on R/W/B blocks

Trim 294 HSTs

Load and quilt Little Farm Animals top

Yes, I've been MIA.  Lorri2Rs was snowed in for week and we sewed like demons!  We also did a bit of stash enhancing so there will be new numbers for my stash report.  Thanksgiving weekend was spent with Laura Beth, Nick and the boys.  And now its snowing--again.  A few pics--

Mason with his new Avengers quilt.  Lorri2Rs pieced it and I quilted it.  The label says "made with love by Grandma"--yes, Lorri2Rs is a grandma so it wasn't a lie!

There were Avenger pillowcases, one for Mason and  Asher received an Avengers and a Dr. Suess pillowcase--he immediately turned them into bags to hop in.  He tried wearing one over his head and hopping in the other--his mother didn't think that was a good idea.  Can you say "crash"??  Ken did what he does well--

He babysat Maxwell while Nick and Laura Beth took Mason and Asher to see "The Good Dinosaur" movie.  Ruby the Quilting Dog goes with us, she's quite tolerant of the boys.  She mostly sleeps, she's 14yo and quite deaf and arthritic.  She's always happy to go and happy to get home--

And more snow--

Ken blew snow this afternoon and we have had at least this much again, you can't even tell he blew the sidewalks clear.  Sigh  But I did get a nice picture today--

Our blue spruce was quite pretty.  Liz suggested I turn it into a Christmas postcard, I think that's an excellent idea!

A new quilt has been started--

294 HSTs for the Quiltville Mystery Allietare.  Its no secret I hate diagonal seams.  I almost chucked the idea when the first clue came out, but I've seen some beautiful quilts from the mysteries so i pulled my big girl panties up and waded in.  Almost all the fabric needed can come from my stash, I did have to buy the gray constant--no gray (1.5yds) in my stash.  My phrase is "enjoy the process" and my words are "balance" and "focus".  I've decided I need to challenge myself with new things, so participating in the mystery sounded like a good opportunity.  

Gauntlet Toss--I said I would quilt 5 quilts by January 1, and 12 total by May 1st.  I quilted #3 last week--

The binding is on and it just needs the hand stitching, my favorite part.  The photo is pretty washed out, its much brighter than that.  These are some of those "found" 30's blocks from the sewing room reorganization.  

I'll try to post more regularly. Gina phoned me and asked if I was still recovering from Lorri2Rs visit?  I think she's still recovering from ME!!  

~LORI~

 

Sunday Stash Report

Time for new numbers.  This week I bought *gasp* 18.5 yards!

Stash in this week--18.50 yards
Stash in YTD--247.00 yards
Stash out this week--0.0 yards

Stash is ahead 99.5 yards!

12 yards of batiks from a quilt store that was closing.  

Some neutrals with a red, green, and blue.  Bait for Mojo calling!

Well, looks like I better start quilting!  See everyone's stash reports at Patchwork Times.  

~LORI~

Rainbow Scrappy Saturday

I'm debating on a new RSC project--

A simple plan--use 2.5 inch strips around a central square.  Use only variations of two colors--I used lime green and pink for this one.  When all the blocks are made you slice them into quarters--add black sashings and sew them back together.  Simple but very effective.

I found this in an old magazine I bought at the quilt show.  I'm thinking of making enough for one quilt over the next year.  Please see everyone's posts at So Scrappy.

More album blocks to round out my colors--

Black/dark blue

Reds with navy dots

Reds and cream

How did this weeks goals fare?

 

Finish 30's border and prepare a backing--top done but no backing

Prepare backing for another UFO--nope

Work on Star Struck--yes

Finish small guild class project--no

 

I was able to do some quilting--

Milky Way

After tossing the gauntlet down I decided I better do some quilting!  

Has this happened to you?  I have a finished quilt "somewhere".  Ken and I have looked everywhere for it.  Well, obviously not EVERYWHERE or we would have found it.  But while looking for the quilt I found three more tops to quilt.  And I brought home a QOV from guild to quilt.  

While staying with LB and family I did a little shopping.  Some fabric to declare on my stash report tomorrow, but also bought a 6,000yd cone of poly wrap white thread.  I use a lot of white when I quilt and I don't want to stop and wait for a thread order when I'm quilting!  The Princess doesn't like 100% cotton thread.  Too much stress to use as the top thread--high speed, turns on points etc and it breaks easily.  I can use it in the bobbin with no problem.  So I'm working at the thread stash using what I can as a bottom thread.  90% of my quilting is done using a white or off white thread.  I so regret buying all the variegated I have!  Life is a "live and learn" process.  

~LORI~

 

Design Wall Monday and Weekly Goals

This week I worked with the "found" 30's blocks (broken dishes pattern) from last winter--

They were partially set together with alternating white blocks and I didn't like that anymore--too much white.  I instead whacked them apart and now I call them "30's Streamers"--remember the crepe paper you would hang from the ceiling to decorate with??  One last border to put on and it will be a finished top to quilt.  Please see everyone's Design Wall Posts at Patchwork Times.

Weekly Goals--

Finish 30's border and prepare a backing

Prepare backing for another UFO

Work on Star Struck

Finish small guild class project

That is a nice variety for the next week.  

We're been busy preparing for winter.  Yesterday we worked outside cleaning the flower beds, putting away lawn chairs, pulling down the vines from the deck and pergola.  I still want to tackle pruning back the lilacs on the lot we bought next door, no one has done that for many years.  Does anyone have any advice on how or whether to do this?  I want to trim them back to four foot, they shield us from the street and west winds.  There are a lot of dead branches to be taken out.  I am hoping this will revitalize them.

Last week I bought a lovely Cinderella pumpkin--

 I try to grow them but this year the growing season was too short--they need 125 days.  I bought this one--I had never seen them in the store before.  Its a variety grown for eating and cooking.

I felt bad doing this to it--

 Much easier to cut using a hammer to tap the knife.

It was a big pumpkin--22# and yielded 12 pints of pumpkin puree.  Stephenie from Australia told me they grow like WEEDS there and other than roasting with other veggies they aren't eaten much.  Pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread (much better than banana bread) and pumpkin cake and bars are popular at our house and pretty much in all of the USA.  Do you use pumpkin in cooking??  Is it a USA only thing?

I threw the gauntlet down on Stashbusters--I challenged everyone to join me in a sewing/quilting marathon.  My goals are five tops quilted by January 1st and a total of 12 by May 1st.  Its a steep goal--I only have four tops ready to quilt.  But I'm going to try!  Would you like to join me?  Do you have projects you want to finish or need a set goal date for?  Maybe a UFO languishing in a box--you still love it but just haven't had the nudge to work on it!  This is what I see when I press--my shelves are directly in front of my ironing board--

Can you hear them?  They are yelling ''LET ME OUT--WORK ON ME NEXT!!!"  Do you have a project calling you??

~LORI~