Christmas is over, back to real life!!  First my last weeks goals--

Cut more Irish Chain strips--Yes

Cut more Blue/Green bricks--No

Cut more Weekwacker strips--Yes

Decide Honeycomb quilt fabrics/size--Kinda

Cut for Caroline Chain quilt--Have plenty for now

Sew borders on 30's UFO--DONE

Now for goals until 2018--

Work on Orange 30's project

Cut more strips for ICC, Honeycomb, and Weekwacker

Decide background for Honeycomb

These will do.  I have lots of cutting to do, and I sew on other things for a break.  I also have to set 2018 goals.  

A few pictures-- 

The 30's orange UFO straight out of the bag--a tad wrinkled!

 A little bit better picture of the colors.  Its that wonderful 30's melon.  

I found a package of Super Hero capes and mask.  Four costumes for the four Thomas boys!

Here are the backs--Batman, Captain American, the Flash (??) and Spiderman.  

I miss summer.  I miss flowers.  So I planted an amaryllis bulb and it opened on Christmas Eve--

Four flowers, they are bigger than my hand.  I wish I had 10 more!  

I hope you had a great Christmas.  Four days until 2018--are you ready??

~Lori~

Motivation Friday

The pieced borders are on the 30's Granny's Strippy quilt--

Sorry about the dingy night photo--but I'm excited!  Now I can decide if I'm pulling out another UFO, or which one it might be.  

I've made a few Christmas treats, and cookie dough is chilling until later.  There is time to cut more strips for my ICC projects.  

~LORI~

 

Weekly Goals--Christmas Quilts--ICC

These were my goals from last week--

Sew Jelly Roll Twist blocks together--Done

Cut more Irish Chain Challenge Strips--Yes

Look at a 30's fabric UFO --on the wall

First the 30's fabric UFO--

Kat called it a Boston Commons type quilt.  Its from a Darlene Zimmerman book called Granny Quilts.  All the sashings are on, next are the pieced borders.  The night picture makes it look drab, the colors are more like this--

I'm linking up with Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.  

Love Laugh Quilt asked if we had Christmas quilts.  We have this one on our bed--

It was a long ago English paper piecing project done with Christmas fabrics.  Here is one more--

A Christmas tree quilt.  I was taking a picture of the Amaryllis--it is 27" tall from the top of the bulb to the tip of the plant.  No flower yet!  A Chinese Christmas Coins is on the spare bed, and a log cabin made with the last of the Christmas fabrics is under the tree.

All the decorations are out.  I'm starting to make a few Christmas treats.  

Weekly Goals--

Cut more Irish Chain strips

Cut more Blue/Green bricks

Cut more Weekwacker strips

Decide Honeycomb quilt fabrics/size

Cut for Caroline Chain quilt

Sew borders on 30's UFO

There are three starts that use "chains" to direct the eye--the Irish Chain, the Honeycomb, and Caroline Chain.  Carolina Chain just recently was released as a free pattern on the C&T website.  Thank you Bonnie Hunter!

I'm inviting you to join the ICC - Irish Chain Challenge.  The guidelines are simple--cut a project (or start sewing) before 2018.  The project has to have an eye drawing chain in any direction.  A finished flimsy by May 1st.  You can repurpose UFO's, leftover bits (many quilters say that have a stash of 9 patches) or start a new project.  You can buy fabric or use stash.  ITS JUST FOR FUN!!  I'll be posting what I'm doing here and on Stashbusters at Yahoo Groups. 

Christmas is this weekend and I still have baking and present wrapping to do.  

~LORI~

Design Wall Monday, Weekly Goals

These blocks are on the design wall--

Will play with the arrangement and sew them together. I'm linking up with--

Live Laugh Love, Quilting is More Fun than Housework, Cooking Up Quilts, and Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

2Rs was here a couple weeks ago and we shopped.   I bought from the sale table--borders, backgrounds, and bindings.

Asher had a birthday--he's six now--

Birthday cake and ice cream was had by all!  Moustache has become part of the family.  He got a new toy--

He tolerates Max quite well--

Moustache was sleeping on the couch and Max decided it was cuddle time.  

There's been lots of sewing here.  I finished putting together another set of Irish chain blocks from years ago--

It needs borders yet, one of these days I'll have a border sewing day.  For fun I made two Garlic Knot blocks--

just because I wanted to! 

Weekly Goals--

Sew Jelly Roll Twist blocks together

Cut more Irish Chain Challenge Strips

Look at a 30's fabric UFO  

More than enough for this week. Christmas is coming and I'm not ready!  

~LORI~ 

Design Wall Monday and Weekly Goals

These blocks are on my wall-

Quarter Log Cabin blocks.  Its a free pattern.  

Remember when I cut a big basket of 2.5" strips to take in the camper in May?  This is one of the patterns I made with them.  I have enough Quarter Log Cabin blocks for two boy size tops.  I'm linking up with Quilting is more Fun than Housework. This pattern has NO BACKGROUND--perfect for making a Hug quilt. 

 It's been busy here.  Last week we picked up a "new to us" camper--

I hope we like it, one more slide and a rear kitchen--I like a rear kitchen in a camper.  

Last night I tried a new recipe--Plain Crumb Platz

  

I changed it a little, I added about 1/2 c. of mini chocolate chips sprinkled on the dough before the topping.  I followed the directions but think I needed a bigger pan than the recipe calls for--the dough really puffed up but it has a tender crumb and very good.

And I'm inviting you to join an Irish Chain Challenge.  We're doing this on Stashbusters and I'm inviting you to play along.  Irish Chain quilts can be anything you want--vintage to a more classic look.  This is the book I'm using--

Its a GREAT book--single, double, and triple Irish chains.  Charts for using 1.5", 2.0", or 2.5" strips.  Pressing directions.  It breaks each size down for yardage or number of strips. All sizes of quilts too. Search for Irish Chain images--and prepare to be overwhelmed.  Mine will be a triple, using a soft yellow background, and "mostly" scrappy.  This is a quilt for ME. 

Remember all those magazines and books I brought home from the guild's rummage sale?  I have a small stack beside the bed for late night reading--

Best purchase ever!  

Weekly Goals--

Cut Irish Chain Strips

Finish last six seams on Quarter Log Cabin

Put a new project on the design wall

Sew more binding

That will keep me busy.  Have you put your Christmas decorations up?  I'd like to put our tree up and find the Christmas quilts.

~Lori in South Dakota~   

I'm Back!

Its been a busy month. No more volunteering until next year.  

October 9th we moved the camper home.  October 12th I went to Sioux Falls for guild.  Friday I helped hang quilts for the quilt show.  Saturday was spent with the grands, and Lorri2Rs and I went to the quilt show on Sunday.  A few pictures from the show--

 

Quilt photos are missing the edges because I could not get any further away when taking pictures.  Did I buy anything at the quilt show?  Two boxes of used magazines and books for $2 each.  A hand quilting PVC quilt frame in the original box for $2.  That's it.

And when I got home with the camper we discovered OUR FRIDGE IN THE HOUSE WAS DYING! ARRGGH!

Luckily we have another fridge in the basement but it got old running up and down the steps.  This is the new fridge--a french door with freezer on the bottom.  No more bending when looking for leftovers.  This was delivered a couple weeks later.

The Monday after the quilt show I was doing this--

That's my job--running the combine.  A few small breakdowns but nothing major.  

My lunch box in the combine.  The pliers is to turn the heater on--the knob turns hard so I used a pliers.  The heater works well--nice and toasty but ITS NOISY.  I alternated turning the heater on and becoming deaf with turning it off and getting cold.  Oh well.  We got done!

Only one flat tire this year.  Yippee!!  We finished harvest the day before Halloween so I was able to visit the boys and hand out candy at their house while they went round the neighborhood with their parents.  Unfortunately they brought home more candy than I was able to hand out!

I'm stilling putting stuff away from the camper.  Very little sewing.  I did finish a few things--

I did not make these quilts.  All I had to do was quilt and bind them.  Judy in MO furnished two of the backings.  So the amount of yardage leaving my stash was 7.5yds. (The quilts finish about 75x90")  Thank you Liz, Mary, and Judy.  It was a pleasure to quilt your tops.  They have been donated to McCrossan Boys Ranch.   

Bonnie Hunter's mystery On Ringo Lake starts soon.  The color choices are favorites--melony orange, teal, and brown.   Saturday I did a little stash enhancing--

My stash has some of the melons, but I needed teals and brown.  I bought one brown-that is all the quilt store had where I shopped.  (Its a small store).  My stash has little teal or brown because I LOVE those colors and use them up as fast as I buy them!  Bonnie said try a salmony pink so I bought one of those too.

Oh, during all this my DISH TV in the sewing room needed fixing, and I had to move stash off the shelves (the cable runs behind them).  The first tech didn't have the part, and I waited another week for the 2nd tech.  He was here Saturday and I've been sorting and refolding stash.  The pinks, purples, oranges, yellows, golds, and browns have been resorted and moved.  Well, guess that takes care of one section of stash sorted this month!

Still plenty of sorting and putting away.  There are binding projects beside my chair.  Maybe now I can get back to sewing.  This summer I made several sets of blocks.  Fall in the City is still on the design wall, only three long seams left on it.  

And Moustache has moved in with Laura Beth, Nick, and the boys--

He sleeps on LB and Nick's bed, says its the very soft.  And he loves his new mother!  If its story time he climbs up and settles in.  I'll try to check in more often now. 

Lori in South Dakota
 

Motivation Friday

I have a finish!  

The album blocks were made in 2014 & 2015 just for fun.  All sorts of red, white, blue, and tan fabrics.  It finishes 75X88" and will be donated as a QOV after the quilt show next weekend.  I promised Dee in Nebraska she could have it, her quilting group has a need for QOV.  And--Lorri2Rs and I can use it as an excuse to visit her!  Cecely held it for me to photograph, the Visitor Center has a good spot to take photos.  Thank you Cecely!  I'm estimating it used 14 yards of stash.  

~Lori in Nebraska~

OMG for October

Time to set goals for October!  I have two--finish the Easy Hourglass blocks I have already sewn into 4 patches and finish binding the the horse quilt.  That will keep me busy this month.  I think I have enough 4 patches to make 96 more Easy Hourglass Units.

Next weekend is my guild's quilt show and I have entered a few quilts.  I'm linking up to Elm Street Quilts OMG.

Saturday we celebrated Mason's 9th birthday--

Can't believe he's nine already! 

Being a grandparent is so much fun!  Happy 9th birthday Mason!

~Lori in Nebraska~

Wednesday Update and OMG

Summer has LOTS of wildlife posts.  Yesterday was a Hoary Bat, a species we had not seen here before--

They are native to the area, we just hadn't seen any up close and personal like this!  Look carefully and you can see his ears, eyes and nose.  

My OMG for September was 40 more Easy Hourglass blocks.  The pile was pretty big so I recounted what I had.  

68 Easy Hourglass blocks.  So the total count is 140 (I had 72).  There are enough 4 patches for 96 more blocks.  Looks like I'll have enough blocks for TWO quilts.  OMG for September completed!  I'm linking up with Elm Creek Quilts.

Most the time I am pretty careful about which way my seams go.  But sometimes they get twisted--

Sometimes I fix them, sometimes I don't!   

It was a cold and rainy weekend, I made White Chicken Chili--

It was perfect for the rainy weekend.  

No goals this weekend, its a busy week.  Still on the list are the quilt labels for my guild show entries.  

~Lori in Nebraska~

Two Finishes for Motivation Friday

The last week I've been busy binding.  Remember when I swapped strips with Teresa from TX and Lorri2Rs?  We used the pattern Apple Crisp by Evelyn Sloppy.  I made LOTS of blocks--enough for two quilts.  One I set on point--

Its 84x92 and used 15 yards of fabric.  The 2nd quilt I set the blocks straight-

This one is 70x85 and used 14 yards of fabric.  (Thank you Karla for holding these quilts for pictures). The first one I dyed a backing dark lavender, the 2nd one a soft mint green.  Both are entered in my guild's quilt show in October, and the straight set will be donated after the show. It was so much fun to swap strips and I loved every minute of making these quilts.  

Recently Stashbusters were discussing whether or not you make a quilt/pattern twice?  Some people like the challenge of a new pattern every time.  Me--I can repeat and repeat.  Its like seeing old friends!  There's no right or wrong to this--quilters are diverse people--but share the love of quilting.  

~Lori1R in Nebraska~