Back again

I'm back - hopefully for more regular posts.  I'll try to make short posts - and not take too long and correct every word! ha!

Today was not a quilting day - very tired.  Mickey's class today - always fun - and nice after her month's vacation.  I had nothing to show over this month, working ON things but not finishing.  The Octagon quilt is going slowly - it is going to be beautiful!  I chose the blue kit that Cecile made - wish I had chosen the happy multicolor one, but it's hard to select fabric. I will be very happy with the blue anyway - it's displayed in her shop, and I love it.

Yesterday I read a post about organizing a sewing room - just up my alley!  The first item on the list is to take a before picture, and to list UFOs, then list quilts I'd like to make.  I'm pretty well organized already, but had never listed them.  I searched my quilt piles for the completed tops, and of course had to search ALL my quilts to make sure I'd not forgotten to put them in my quilt book.  Found finished tops - 6 of them - some to quilt and some to send out.  I ordered fabric for the back of one on craftsy - batik for 5.17/yard - 4 yds will be just right - $29 with tax and shipping.  Now on to unfinished quilt tops - some have been in boxes for years!  Found 10, and listed what needed to be done yet.  And there are 13 items in my closet with pattern and all the fabric ready to go - some are kits.

Am inspired to quilt - maybe tomorrow will have more energy.  Mickey wants us to bring fabric for the next block in our row-by-row, and my MQG gave us fabric to make our BOM.  We pull tickets to win all blocks made.  I brought my 18" hanging last week to share with the other members.  The members sure do pretty work.  Mine will get better - need more creativity.

Tomorrow our friendship group will work on our group quilt to be auctioned at the bi-yearly Flying Geese Quilt Auction.  The snowman face blocks are going to be great!

OK, 20 minutes - not going to agonize over every word.  Tomorrow is another day.

A whole year

Ha!  It's been a YEAR since my last post.  I vow to post more - really because it helps me focus on what I'm doing and document my decision-making.  This is what I've been doing...

At our holiday party in December, we had another quilt block race! We made this philanthropy quilt top in less than an hour!
  

The last Mickey class of the year     A workshop with David Taylor

         

In summer, several of us went on a road trip to a wonderful modern quilt shop in Temecula.  I got lots of fabric and the kit to make this table topper.
   

Our friendship group made this butterfly quilt to be auctioned at the guild show last summer.
I entered this spring flowers quilt in the show also.



Our group made friendship quilts using blocks we exchanged with our name and a quilty quote.


I've been focused on emptying my orphan blocks box.

I made these 16-patches from Wanda Hanson's blog post a few years ago.  Mickey suggested alternating the blocks with plain blocks and setting them on point.  Here is a mockup on my design wall:


These hand-appliqued blocks were made as part Mickey's class many years ago.  I didn't finish all the blocks for the quilt and didn't know what to do with these.  I like them for a table runner, and I'll sash and border it with the speckled fabric.



These two blocks were part of a Becky Goldsmith quilt class.  I didn't finish the rest of the blocks, so I sashed these and made a small hanging.


The 3D flowers were made in Mickey's class.  I found the perfect fabric for binding - I hope there is enough!


and here is our neighborhood egret!  I love the shadow!


Hopefully I will continue to post...

Sewing Machine Troubles

My sewing machines are not cooperating...

I went to our guild's sew-in today to make pillowcases for philanthropy.  I had made 12 pillowcase kits - using up some of my inherited stash.  They're old-fashioned but I think they're pretty.  I sewed 3 pillowcases at the sew-in, but it was hard going.  My baby-lock gathers, and I had to stretch the fabric seam as I sewed.  Very frustrating.  I adjusted the tension up then down but nothing seemed to help.  I  will take it to San Juan Capistrano to a fix-it shop down there that I've used.  Janet was making a zipper bag, and said she would help me on the next sew-in.

I did make 2 of Mickey's octagon mug rugs.  I used some of my new internet-bought fabric.  I even machine quilted a little in the center.  I also started machine quilting the witch quilt (at 2 am), and the Bernina's tension is off there.  I'm using invisible thread on the top and black in the bobbin, and the black shows as dots on the top!  I again tried adjusting the tension up and down but nothing helped there either.  The backing is black, so I need to match it.  I'll delay doing more work on it until I figure it out.

I need to find out and fix both machines.  In the meantime, I can sew on the Bernina I think.  The problem is using the invisible thread.  I will choose fabric for the 'Bloom' challenge quilt.  I should be able to make the blocks and decide how they're configured.

Progress

Journaling is a way of pushing me to work so that I have something TO journal!

So, I finished the paper-pieced house and tree at least - may work more on it another time.  But I FINISHED the 2 blocks I started.  Cute - isn't it!

At our guild meeting, we were encouraged to make pillow cases to put toward the million pillowcase challenge. Our philanthropy chair made 75 kits for us to take home and make.  I just chose 3 because I've never made one.  These are the easy turn-inside-out ones.  Here is my first one - that I FINISHED, didn't leave half-done.

I'm looking at ideas for our 'Bloom' guild challenge - here is an idea I found online.  I'm thinking about making a large flower off-center and petals here and there - or scattered improvisational as the designer suggests.  It's and orange peel, using a stitch-and-flip method.








One of our guild members suggested a group BOM block and will email us the pattern.

Well, it's a start, and I'm hoping to continue working in February.

No finishes

Not much progress this month - lots of 'starting' and 'still working on', but no finished.  I sure hope to change that.  One reason is that I've still been doing a lot of reading - more Linda Barnes, Nora Roberts' bride series again, and restarting J. D. Robb's 'in Death' series.  A new book is 'Outlander' -  I loved it - looking forward to the second in that series.  I've also been doing PT and I think it may be helping some.

I have several projects in work.  The butterfly quilt my friendship group is doing is coming along - I wish we were working at a slower pace though.  My monday quilt group is doing a paper-pieced house hanging - it will be beautiful, but is really slow-going.  I've done paper-piecing once long ago, and have a hard time starting each unit.  I have almost finished 1 house and half a tree - haha.  There are 4 houses and a tree in each of 5 rows I think.

Flying Geese Guild is starting a UFO challenge - hosted by our friend Marjie!  I made my list of 6 items: the witch hanging, philanthropy baby quilt, Christmas cat, hunter star, the Mama quilt, and the sashiko moon and waves.  The first one is due in March.

Our Modern Quilt Guild met last night is always so inspiring! - the show and tell quilts and people going to Quiltcon in Austin.  I shared my new book - 100 Modern Quilt Blocks - several members had the book already.  Our current guild challenge is a Bloom quilt - due at March meeting.  I'm thinking about what I will do for it.  The national modern quilt guild is supporting a riley blake challenge - Cottage Garden fabric - due in July - we post pics in instagram.

On to quilt!

New Year

New year - yayyy!  I promise to quilt more - I swear!  I don't make new years' resolutions, but there are a few things that I do every year - clean out my purse, my wallet, the refrigerator (anything that's green and not a veggie), and the freezer (anything that's all frost).  I also ready an envelope to hold the income tax forms that will come soon.

I still read a lot - 15 books in the last 3 weeks.  I finished the Asimovs, caught up on Evanovitch and Grafton, and found a few new authors (Linda Barnes) that I like.  And I have a new toy - an iPhone 6+ that I LOVE!  And I have really fallen for SIRI - say good morning to her even - except that she's not speaking to me right now - I need to call the apple store.

My Bernina is being serviced - it's still under warrantee.  I took it in the day before Christmas and it will be gone a month!!  I can use my go-to machine but I don't really want to, and there are things I want to start!!  My friendship group, the battGirls, is making a butterfly quilt - a stack and slash(?).  We chose the fabrics and cut them, and I have a portion to do and hope my group won't be disappointed that I'm not starting for 3 weeks.  Here it is:

 At Christmas time, I got a photo of all my grandchildren with me - not often that they are all in place at one time.

At our MQG Christmas party, we had a block race.  Here are my race mates and me - we got 2nd place.

 We brought lots of dishes, talked a bunch, and took a group picture - that I haven't got a copy of yet.

I made a table runner for our Yankee Swap - a friendship braid.  I'm very proud of it!  I've forgotten the name of the fabric I used, but the binding is a Philip Jacobs that matched it perfectly.  The person who ended up with it was really happy with it! I'm told the fabric I used is by Anna Marie Horner.


Well, now that I've caught up, I will quilt more and blog less.

Books and Fabric

I've decided to blog about anything at all that I am interested in - not just about quilts.

Books:  I've finished the series of J.D.Robb's 'In Death' series through 'Concealed in Death.'   I don't think her latest two are up to the standards of her 30-some earlier ones.

I decided to read Asimov's science fiction series.  Here they are in logical order (not published order):

• the Robot Novels: I, Robot, Caves of Steel, Naked Sun, Robots of Dawn, Robots and Empire
• Galactic Empire Novels: Currents of Space, Stars Like Dust, Pebble in the Sky
• Foundation Series: Prelude to Foundation, Forward the Foundation, Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation, Foundation's Edge, Foundation and Earth

Fabric: Most of my fabric is inherited and 20-30 years old.  I have used very little of it, and it's time to get rid of it - find new homes for it if possible.  I want to get new fabric - contemporary fabric, and have very little of it.  The old fabric is in grocery bags ready to go, but Joan suggested I wait awhile until I'm sure that it should go, and I think that's a good idea.  Now, what fabric will I get.  One of the ladies in the Modern Quilt Guild uses very contemporary fabric, and I talked to her to find how she finds her fabric.  There are several really good ones there at Moore's and I will get some of it today maybe.  Some of it is "Paint" by Carrie Bloomston for Windham, and I've been looking online at her other lines.  I found another online - "Meadowlark" by Melanie Teste for Windham also.  It's fun to browse online!  I'll also look among my fabrics for the designers I like.