One month update...

It is the first week of February and I can say I did get some finishes done last month.

My Pensive Quilt came back from Judy Lockhart, longarm quilter, and it looks great. Tonight I am cutting some red binding and should have a complete finish photo soon!

I also finished two tops. My Phynazy Swamp (Orca Bay/mystery) quilt and my Pink Lemonade. I had hoped to go to Mary Jo's and find a backing fabric for them but legs and eys are a bit fragile today so instead I'm sorting scraps. Maybe I'll go online instead. In any case, I consider a top a finish...at least a resting point.

Also, I finished this little schoolhouse quilt for my friend Shannon who was selected as county teacher of the year! Go Shannon! We all met last Sunday and four of us gave Shannon a little wallhanging to show how proud we are of her.

I met my goals on the Sprigs and stars project...I completed three applique blocks are ten stars. Also have a plan for a different border...thinking I may be crazy...but so is the original border! I am trying to be a bit "looser" in my fabric choices and so far am pretty happy with it!

Finally on the "starts." I have been pretty good about saying no to projects. I'm not doing the guild block of the month, I'm not doing another blog mystery, and I said no to a major restoration project (a 1930 Dresden plate partially eaten by a dog....) I do however have a couple of starts....

Locally they are building a house for an injured vet (see my last post.) A few of us decided we should make a quilt for the key ceremony. I had used Bonnie Hunters Strip and Twist pattern for a some quilts of Valor so I dug out the box with the 2-1/2 inch red, white and blues. There were already several blocks there left over from other quilts. I also had a left over house block from a quilt I made my Dad so with a bit of sashing I made a center block. Leftover 2-1/2 squares make up the pieced border. I leaving it out in the guest bedroom until the other members of the group can see it and make a decision if we want to finish it for him.

I also started a little quilt for a doll-bed (14x10 inches) given to me by a friend. I need to have this finished by Superbowl Sunday (that is this Sunday for all you international readers.) This week I made a mattress so a finish is definitely do-able!

I also started a project reproducing a small antique quilt. Just started so more on that later....

Homes for Troops

Yesterday I spent some time with the folks from Homes for Troops. They are building a specially adapted house for an injured U.S. Army veteran. Since it was a major construction day there wasn't too much I could do to help but I plan on going back for the landscaping day...then at least I'd qualify as semi-skilled labor!

There were several of my quilt friends there so of course we decided we needed to make the family a quilt for their new home...finally something I can do!

Homes for Troops is a great organization. www.homesfortroops.org They have build over 100 adapted homes at no cost to the injured vet. Having an accessible home makes caring for the injured veteran easier for the family and returns dignity to the injured vet by allowing him or her to do more activities for themselves.

It was also wonderful to see all the volunteers out there for the construction days. Everyone from professional builders (the guys doing the tough work on the roof) to members of a local sorority that maned the sign-in and information booths to the vets that provided the BBQ lunch. Lots of soldiers from the local fort were on hand. It was interesting to hear their reflections on the project. Several of them commented they had traveled the same stretch of highway in Iraq where SFC Giddens had been injured by an IED.

Homes for Troops builds all across the country. (I think they have upcoming projects in Massachusetts and Utah.)

No longer a project...

Back in the late 90's how many of you started a Millennium quilt? How many of you finished it? Obviously by that question you know I didn't finish. This was to be the center...now it is headed to the orphan block pile along with 6 blocks of 25 2-1/2 inch squares. That is one way of moving a project off the UFO list!

My friend Maggie made this fun hat for me this Christmas

...finally it was cold enough early this morning to wear it. It has been so warm here the frogs had started coming out of hibernation and were croaking down by the river...that usually happens in March! (For a few weeks it can get really loud!)

My guild is starting its next donation quilt this month. The pattern is very unlike me...very bright batiks. As I write that I have to confess to a secret stash of bright batiks...I just don't use them often. Anyway, the "pattern" is based on an article in an old Quilter's Newsletter on doing a pieced group quilt. We need to find a multi-colored bright batik for the background...

I have 5 yards of this multi-colored rose fabric (makes me think of solar flares!) but the others in the committee want a black multi-colored batik...which would be nice if we could find it! If I don't find anything suitable at MJ's next week then I am going to make a strong case for the rose using a few blocks I made up just in case....

Yesterday I played with some left-over bits (1-1/2 inch finished blocks) to make a little quilt for my new doll bed. Beds look so lonely without a quilt.

It's a top!

Can you believe it...Orca Bay (or in my world Phynizy Swamp) is a quilt top! This is a first step finish in my book!

Now to find a back for it. Which means Road-trip! Next week I'm going up to Mary Jo's with some other quilters. Should be fun. I have a short list of things I need look for...mainly some backings, a border, and some wools. All good.

I went by my friend Ille's house this afternoon. This snowball quilt she is working on is wonderful! Love how she designed the center panel.

It has a lot of thread-painting on it.

We also looked at some of her vintage tops. She is thinking of selling this red and white Whigs Defeat top...

Now I have to spend some time putting up the fabrics I used for the Orca Bay and start to work on my next UFO...

or maybe play with the cat...cleaning is so overrated....

Little quilting...

Been a bit gimpy the last few days so not as much sewing going on as I'd like.

I did get my strawberry lemonade top put together...

The quilt inspector wasn't much help.

Seems there are others in line for the job...

only got one more border on my Orca Bay. It is a heavy quilt and after one border my arms needed a rest. Seems like smaller quilts will be on the agenda for a few weeks!

Poor Brownie had to go to the vets this morning. Her paw was bleeding last night and I was worried she had picked up a pin or something. There doesn't seem to be an injury but it is inflamed (as is her mouth this morning.) More steroids and antibiotics...Now I will be washing more fabric and the little quilt she laid on in this photo...

News Junkie Stitchin'

I confess to being a political news junkie...even when it is driving me crazy I will watch the debates, the pundits and the eventual election returns (doesn't matter which party is running.) How bad is it? Well when everyone else in line at the grocery store is stocking up on snacks for the football games my cart is packed with political debate snacks. (generally I try and buy things that will not hurt the TV is hurled at it from the couch....)

So as I can almost see South Carolina from the front of my house (ok I have to walk to the end of the street...) this has been a long week for us. On the other side I also plan some hand-sewing or quilting for this political extravaganza and have made good progress on some UFO's that needed binding and my Sprigs and Stars project. (My goal was 8 blocks a month and right now I have 10 finished for January!)

On the down side big projects like putting the borders on my Orca Bay mystery are harder to do while the TV is on. Also, it being a rainy day I can't lay the to out to pin the last two borders onto the quilt without danger of some muddy paw-prints crossing the quilt. (nice idea but not for this quilt!) It took a bit longer to make the borders than I expected.

When I laid out the blocks there were 6 missing. Of course I immediately blamed Brownie-the-block-thief and started searching all the usual places...found two under the couch. Decided it was easier to just remake the last four blocks...

Reading list and what-not

One of my sister's sent me a reading list for fans of Downton Abbey. Almost all of the books were nonfiction. Now I do like to read nonfiction but I think there are a lot of novels out there that can do an equally good job representing the time period.

For mysteries I like Anne Perry and Robin Paige. Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series includes lots of class struggles similar to the what we see on D.A. Paige's mysteries include some real-life characters and early "CSI" developments like photography and fingerprints. Both are great beach and airplane reading.

Do you have any recommendations for historical novels or mysteries set in the first quarter of the 20th century?

Back to quilts...can you believe someone found this quilt top in a dumpster?

That sort of thing never happens to me...

the fabrics in it are really interesting and once it got a good washing it is in great shape!

Home from retreat

Well I'm back from retreat...not sure what was the most fun-hours of uninterrupted sewing time in the "barn" or the Masterpiece theater pajama party (two episodes of season 2 of Downton Abbey and a Sherlock rerun) accompanied by good friends, chocolate wine and homemade German Chocolate cake.

There were lots of fun projects going on in the barn. I was happy to finish putting together the blocks of my Orca Bay Mystery quilt. Yikes....I have most the pieced borders together and should get this finished this week.

It was fun watching the changing design walls around the room....

This is a guild birthday quilt for Paula M. She obviously loves Christmas!

These scrappy arcs are part of wedding ring quilt being sewn by one of our members...love how these are coming together! (she got the leftover blocks from my Orca bay which were absorbed by this project!)

Now for a retreat recovery nap....

Packed and ready to go...

I am packed and ready to head out to my guild's retreat...I love retreats. We have a big room for all the quilters then head to the cabins in the woods at night. Most of us take turns cooking so we get together for dinners in a predetermined cabin...all fun.

My mystery quilt is all packed, my blue and green star quilt, and some applique for the springs and stars. Also have a couple of backs washed and press that still need to be sewn together. Should keep me busy for a few days.

A fellow quilter gave me these unfinished dresden plate blocks. Think they are from the 40's. Like I am so good at finishing my own UFO's that I can start taking in other quilters abandoned projects? but I do love there blocks...

I'm am sorry I am going to miss seeing the Pat's play Saturday night and a good political rally tomorrow...but quilting calls...

A start and a finish...

This is the "year of the finish" for me. Too many UFO's from last year's experimental frenzy...

Brownie "helping" with piecing backs for quilts...

So my first finish of the year is this falling leaves quilt. Think it was on the cover of a magazine but I can't find the pattern...heck I was lucky to find the UFO! Anyway, I sewed the final border on this morning. I'll hand it off to my friend Maggie, a long-arm quilter, at retreat this weekend. This will count as my January finish! Whoohooo....

Now I am allowing myself one start this year. I've had the pattern for Spigs and Stars for over a year and have been putting aside fabrics as I've worked on other quilts. Two of my quilting friends, Paula and Judy, also are going to do this quilt however they are all going to look very different (mine sort of traditional, Judy in Kaffe Fassets on a lime green background, and Paula is using wools and silks and piping on a red background.)

We plan to make 8 blocks a month. So far I have pieced four stars and have four applique blocks prepped to bring to retreat. The piecing is no problem. We'll see how long these applique blocks take!

Now back to organizing and packing for retreat...need to bake that pound cake and make sure I have enough projects....

Fun stuff in the mailbox.

Making my sewing space more workable (and safe!) and turning into a lot of work! Needless to say I have uncovered yet more UFO's and bags of fabric that was put aside for a project long forgotten. The UFO below just needs three inner-borders and then the blue outer border and it will be finished!

So with my body tired from all this stash maintenance I was still really excited to get a squishy in the mail from Dawn at collectorwithaneedle.blogspot.com I do have a separate shelf for my Kaffe Fasset and moderns. I use them as sparks. There are at least three UFO's (based on my drooling over the Material Obsession Books) that could use a bit of these! Thank you Dawn!

Also some non-fabric but still quilt-y goodness. This polymer logcabin pin and earrings from Jennifer Patterson at Polymer Clay Jewelry. I wear pins all the time and have the perfect lime green sweater for this one! I also have a red,white, and blue patriotic one by Jennifer that I wear every national holiday.

In addition to cleaning and organizing (with occasional fun moments to drink tea and open mail...) I am packing for my guild retreat. Every year we have a four day quilting retreat up at Hickory Knob State Park. I always bring too much. This year I am bringing my Bonnie Hunter mystery, some hand applique and maybe my blue and green stars....

A few folks are bringing antique/vintage quilts for me to look at...so now I am debating bringing my trunk of reference materials? Aye...good think I have a lot of storage space in my car....

What was I thinking...

During the holidays I had to round up many sewing projects and corral them back into the sewing studio...unfortunately there are more project bags and boxes than square feet in the studio. Whoops...

Last Year's Mystery Quilt...RRCB....

So every day I empty at least one bag/box and makes decisions....mostly I am amazed at just how many projects were started last year. What was I thinking...not much obviously! There has been progress...

Inspiration for these blocks came from somewhere on the web...

I have filled one large bag with yarn from yet another attempt to lean to knit...happens every five years or so...my neighbor has started knitting so was happy to get the yarn.

This year's mystery quilt...

I have two large bags of scraps that I will not use...so they are coming to retreat next week and not coming back with me. There are several folks there who will be glad to give them good homes.

UFO's are going into clear boxes with labels. There are at present over 36 boxes...some have more than one project....

Made a dozen too many leaves so made 8 more...not quite sure where they are going yet...

I pulled tops out of the closet that I can use as practice tops for free motion quilting this year. At least now I can see the other tops better.

Strip technique from a guild workshop...have enough made to make a donation quilt...

How do these UFO's stack up you wonder? I can sort of group them into these causes: abandoned class or workshop projects...abandoned because I either didn't like the technique or I decided I wanted to use different fabrics and started over (so yes, some have multiple abandonments!)

The blue scraps in this little quilt are from the strings used in my current Bonnie Hunter Mystery

Then there are the "left-overs." These are the natural and sometimes just scraps from a quilt that I start working with long after the original project is bound and finished.

Blocks from the cover of a magazine...magazine currently lost in the fabric piles!

These little blocks are the "leftovers" of the cover blocks...

Perhaps my greatest UFO generator is the internet. Yes bloggers, shop hoppers, and all the other quilt content producers you have caused a traffic jam in my studio! It used to be easier to "control" my quilt ADD...magazines only came once a month or so. Now? I have less focus than my Scottish Terrier....

Well, back to sorting....

Out and about...

Today I went to my morning guild meeting...felt like it had been ages since I had seen all these folks!

Of course my favorite part is show and tell...we have some really good quilters in this group!

This Christmas decoration started with grandchildren's hand-prints and some photo transfers...

There are always some new ideas on bags because you know how we quilters love to have lots of bags for all our "stuff!"

The "King Daliea..."

The program was on projects for Valentine's day including how to work with doilies to make a heart themed wall-hanging.

I'm thinking this would be fun with a wild background and maybe some stamping and paint on the doily...but not matter what I wouldn't have it ready for next month so I am not starting...in fact with all this activity I'm going for a nap....