This and that

Just when you think your brain is truely fried a little miracle comes along...for me it was this quilt. Last week was a really bad MS week but by Friday I dragged myself out to the LQS for some retail/fabric therapy. Cathy, who owns Quilt Shop on the Corner, asked if I could identify a quilt pattern for her. A local man had brought in this quilt made by his mother and he wanted to give it to his son.

Not feeling very confident I said yes. When she showed me the photo it was like having a finger snap in the brain...Trail....Indian Trail...no...China Trail...no. I knew I was close. I told her I would check Brackman's Enclyclopedia when I got home (for which Cathy called me a Quilt Geek...ok, it fits....) Anyway, halfway home it hit me....Mohawk Trail or China fans. Yay...the painkillers haven't eaten away all of my brain!


I thought I would show a few photos from my quilt guild. One of the things I really like about it is how many styles of quilts and quilting are represented by the members. For instance we have a new self taught quilter who showed this very vintage looking quilt at our last meeting. I'm generally not a yo-yo person but I loved this quilt!
But I also really like the bright and modern look of this quilt (by another quilter) made after a Diane Hires workshop.

Blogger is being difficult with uploading photos today so I will try again later....back to cleaning the house and hopefully putting some quilt binding on!

Note to Self....

"isn't is nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?"
Anne of Green Gables

Posting before coffee is such a mistake...hence my second post of the day.

What is worse? I made the same mistake three years ago! I am referring to the block in my earlier post. The first time I made it I turned a 10-1/2 inch block into a 9 inch thinking it made the math easier. It did make it easier but it also made it wrong! (there is another quote in there about simple solutions but I can't come up with it right now....)Anyway, I had even left myself a note. "This is an un-even patch. The center 4-patch finishes at the 4 inches and the corners at 3 inches." Of course in my midnight stitching frenzy did I look at the note...nooooo, I made three blocks just the one that I had the note pinned to reminding me that that block was a mistake!

Please tell me I am not the only one to ever do anything like this!

Radom acts of piecing...

It has been too hot and a bit too stressful to get much sleep in the past week so I have found myself piecing at odd hours of the night...Christmas-y four patches are good "brain-numbers" though I strongly advise against using rotary cutters after 1 am....not that I have had an accident yet but did make a strange slice on a fat quarter and had close call on the index finger (not the best way to trim a fingernail!)

I've also pulled out an old project. A few years ago I helped a local history museum with an exhibit of local antique and vintage quilts. This quilt was made in North Carolina. The owner had a very colorful story about her family being "bootleggers" and pictured her grandmother working on these blocks while she stood lookout. Who knows if it is true but it makes for a great story! The blocks are very scrappy and have a fun layout. It has been on my to "play with" list for awhile.

The original blocks are a strange size...10-1/4 inches? I changed it up to 9 just to make the math easier. I'm using my box of 1-1/2 inch strips a-la-Bonnie and my box of 2-inch squares. the only piece I am cutting from stash are the HST for the corners. Isn't it funny that in my mind this quilt was red and green but when I went back to find the photos of it well...no green to be found! I think I will continue with my current colorway...I am definitely in a green phase at the moment and I was only using the quilt as inspiration not trying to replicate it (that is my story and I'm sticking to it!)

Still working hard to get some quilts ready for our local show in October. Yesterday had a bit of a meltdown. I had the label ready for my husband's red white and blue quilt but when I went to the shelf in my sewing room...no quilt! So I checked the carry-all bag I brought to bee -no quilt. Blood pressure rising I checked my closet, the spare bedroom closet...heck I even checked the cabinets with quilt tops and yardage. No quilt. So during dinner I quietly asked my DH if he had seen the RWB the past few days. Not looking guilty at all he said, "I hid it in the bottom drawer of my dresser...I though you'd lose it." Like I have lost so many quilts in my life! (OK one almost finished quilt top but that may still show up....)

So Bonnie wanted to know if he liked the quilt...what do you think!

taking a break

Have you ever found yourself so unable to sleep that you just park yourself in your sewing room and randomly run things through the machine? Well that was me last night. I finished a quick table runner with the Christmas fabrics (nothing fancy but it will be covered by food dishes so...) and put the last few rows of a batik around the world...I finally took a break around 0300. Yikes.

Even Brownie was confused...not confused enough to stay out of the way though...
So today I took it easy. I did make some of the Father in law's famous potato salad...that is him above in "his" kichen. (for "his" put in any kitchen in which he is standing!) After ten years of being married to his son he finally gave me the secret recipe. Maybe at 20 years I get his recipe for biscuits and turkey hash?

And finally more peaches...this time of year they are just too good to leave at the farm stand...

Pity Purchase

Pity purchases can go two ways. First, is the really beaten up quilt top found at the antique mall that I don't really need but it soooo needs a good home. A pity purchase of which I have a closet full. The second is when I come home after a doctors appointment and think I deserve a treat so I go online to Amazon or any of a dozen fabric shopping sites. A pity purchase arrived today in a big box from Amazon!

I can't wait to dig into these but my rational was I would need lots of reading material for next month when I am laid up for a couple of weeks. Ya right, like I have that sort of self control! I'd have been better off if my DH had found the box and hid it for me!
Today was my guild's daytime bee. It was held at a local quilt shop, Jeff's Sewing and Vacuum. While I was there I picked up some Christmas fabric to make some table runners...

I like the way they look "modern" while still having traditional colors. Good match with my Santa (who yes, has been out since Christmas and will most likely stay out until next Christmas....)

This year I am planning on making a lot of my gifts. I already have a couple of quilts ready. I have several bags cut out for nieces and I have been saving jars to use for cookies and spiced pecans during the past year. Now some of you are thinking - she is already planning for Christmas?! I'm told my Grandmother started planning for next Christmas on New Year's Day so I come by this naturally. Even now dinner on the 26th of December is like an after action report...what comes off the buffet menu for next year's Christmas Eve (big party) because it was too much work or didn't get eaten, or what do we make more of because (heaven forbid) we ran out!

Planning is good...now what I actually accomplish? We'll see!

Same but different...

I had a professor that used that phrase a lot - "same but different." That was sort of my approach to two projects I worked on yesterday.

First is my basket block for Victoria's Pixie Dust Gathering. I did a basket using the pinks and greens she sent.

That morning I read Barbara Brackman's blog, http//barbarabrackman.blogspot.com, where she showed the block she made for the American Quilt Study Groups Endowment Committee fundraiser. So inspired I also made a 4 inch block with some of my reproduction scraps. I wish I could make it to the Seminar this fall in California but it looks like I will have to wait another year. If you are interested in quilt history you should check out this orgnaization and Barbara Brackman's blog.I will have a lot of envelopes to put in the mail today....

Pixie Dust...

Today I am going to work on my block for the Pixie Dust project (?) Vickie over at Bumblebeans sent out some pink and green fabrics for each of us to make a block. At first I was going to applique but after gazing at the fabric for awhile I decided to piece a basket. (baskets are one of my favorite blocks....)

The fabrics remind me of this little statue I brought back from England....
I did applique last night and made one of the blocks from the Grandmother's quilt. Nothing like appliqueing a pitcher of lemonade on a hot day....

Two more blocks are kitted up. I need to dig in the sewing room for my applique thread. I used what was on hand for the first block and am not thrilled. So excavating I go....

Speaking of excavating - have you seen the U.S. version of Time Team? It is a PBS show that follows a team of archeologists and historians that go to a site and help the local folks using lots of high tech gadgets. (For you UK folks I know this is a take-off of the one done it by BBC which I loved to watch while I was there!)

Now back to my own excavation while Macbeth takes his sunspot nap....

Itchy fingers....

I have been on a finishing spree the past month and it is starting to wear on me! Last night as I pushed another quilt through the machine attaching yet another binding my eyes kept drifting over to the fabric shelves....uhmmmmmm.
I know this is totally rationalizing bad behavior...so what! This morning I let myself have some time to pull fabric for a small applique project. I bought this pattern a few weeks ago (I never pass up a fabric or pattern with a Scottie dog on it - my DH says it is a sickness...) The pattern is called Grandma's Kitchen by Lori Holt. Some other quilters in my guild are also making it so it is sort of a group thing.


This is the fabric I will be using...a break from the repros I've been playing with the past few projects. I'll be using a lot more red in the quilt than the purple shown onthe pattern. I've kitted up three of the blocks today so they will be handy for me to start next month. So, got the playing with fabric out of my system and I can go back to finishing the projects I promised for the show.

My Dh and I went to the farmers market this morning. I had a real craving for peaches and the ones at the market always seem better than those from the store shelves. Just the smell of them is gorgeous. Tonight I will grill some with the yogurt chicken kababs and maybe make a cobbler using the last of my blueberries with the peaches.Mac met a little femal scottie at the market. She didn't know quite what to make of him! His tail was moving so fast it blurrs in the photo!

Up to the Challenge

It feels good to have the challenge quilt for my guild's show done...and it isn't even October (the month of our show.) Normally I am one of those quilters putting the label on my quilt after it has been hung in the show....

For our challenge we were each given a paperbag with a vintage block. (The blocks had been donated to the guild by a local family when they were clearing out an estate.) This is the block I was given...

And this is the little table topper I made from it...

The original block was hand-pieced so I hand-quilted it. The black plaid is a polyblend so didn't shrink as much as the cotton 9-patches. That was a major reason for my cutting down the plaid. The madder print on the binding was a happy accident - I was rummaging through the plaids when this fabric literally fell on my head (luckily it was only a fat-quarter!)Brownie is being difficult these days...a new neighbor is being adamant about adherence to the leash laws for all animals - including cats. This guy could be a real pain....and he is definatley making it more difficult for me to finish putting these bindings on the rest of the quilt pile!

Blogging has been a bit sporadic this summer...my apologies.

Lots going on - bindings being made, sleeves ready for quilts, piles of fabrics with sketches lay hidden in the spare bathroom cabinets, and new pain meds have me dreaming of quilting with Mark Harman (quilting...now I know either I am getting old or the meds are truly messing with me mind!)

Not much in the way of photos right now but while I was posting some to family I wondered what was I taking photos of the same time last year? (Photos are one of the few organized places in my life - (the photo of the hexagon quilt on the top of this post shows my "still missing from the move top....)
So in 2008 I was learning to sheer sheep in England...these three were bottle feed and very spoiled. Which also made it very easy to take photos of them. Could be three of the most photographed sheep in Enland (folks in the village just shook their head when they saw me walking down the road with my camera around my neck!)
July of 2007 has lots of English garden photos...I went to an open garden event almost every week. It was a great way to see the countryside and the gardens were gorgeous. The photo above was taken in a village around Beedon Hill in Worcestershire.The photo of the lavendar fields was taken only a few miles away from the gardens in the Cotswolds. I will always have some lavender in my garden...though never as much as I saw that day. They were just starting the distilling operations...

Finally in 2006 I spent the month of July in Massachusetts...this is the Light house in Scituate near our summer cottage.

Prior year's photo's are on my other computer and on disks in the other room...maybe I'm not as organized as I thought?! It was fun cruising the files today...but I'd best get back to stitching....

Double D Done!

Despite Brownie's best efforts to block my work late last night I put the final stitches into my double delight binding! My Dh has decided this one should also hang in the living room because it "goes" with the red white and blue quilt. Say what?! What-ever...as long as he likes them....This was my first time using the cheddar/gold with the purple and green. Love this combination with the shirting fabrics. The double delight was a mystery quilt on Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville site. What is truly amazing is I started and finished this quilt in the same calendar year! (A first I may add!)
I am going to give myself a binding break for the next couple of days. My hands are acting up a bit so I think a clean the sewing room or play in fabric day is called for.....

break time...

As a quick reward for finishing some projects I let myself work on something entirely different...I made a batik trip around the world a few months ago for the girl who walked Mac for me for years and who is now going off to university. I must have been in another world when I cut the strips for her quilt because after I finished her dorm quilt I still had enough strips to almost make another! (this is in no way a reflection of the directions on Bonnie's website but a comment on my general spacey-ness!) So I pulled a few more fabrics and here is the university twin almost done in a day quilt...

I let myself play in the fabric piles pulling some for a quilt for my sister-in-law. Now it is time to print labels and then go back to binding.....

Inching towards the finish line

Two down and seven to go....it is progress even if small. I did learn it takes one movie for me to hand-stitch down binding on a twin size quilt. (That is without cat interference!)
The first quilt is my King Size Log Cabin. This is the largest quilt I have ever made! (Hangs past the bottom of the matress on a King size bed) I made this using a large basket of 1-1/2 inch strips that I cut out of odd ends of repros and from repros that didn't quite "read" right to me. It was quilted by Judy Lockhart with Batptist Fans. The blocks were my leaders and enders (re Bonnie Hunter) and were next to my sewing machine for at least two years. I still have a small pile of blocks and a large basket of strips.....The second finish is (wait for it.....) the #@%& red, white and blue quilt for my DH. It is finished...it is truely finished (apologies to Sally Field....) This small quilt has been over SIX years in the making! My Dh saw a quilt like this in one of my antique quilt books and said he would like one. Since this was the first quilt he showed any intest in I immediately pulled fabrics. He then selected one red, one blue and asked for a solid white. Say what? Well because it took so long to get to the border I had to add two more fabrics. Bonnie quilted in an all over pattern and I put the binding on last night watching "Gran Torino."

Can you say DONE! (Happy Dance......)

Now back to watching the morning news and pinning down binding on the Double Delight....

The big dig...

Trying to find something in the closet in my quilting room is akin to an archeological dig...the things I find. I was searching for binding that I made when I finished a quilt top. That I finished the top two moves ago puts it in the "ancient history" file. It was a long shot but as I really dislike making binding and don't have any of the fabric left on the shelf I thought the expedition would be worth the trouble.

Well I didn't find the binding but I did unearth two UFO's that may work for my Silent Auction donation for our October show. This little broken dishes quilt is about 24 inches square and was stitched by hand. I think I made this around 1998! Should be ready to be quilted now...

This Christmas wallhanging or table runner was made around the same time. The pattern was in a magazine (my apologies for not giving credit to the designer...not intentional.)
If I baste one of these they could go onto the top of the hand-quilting pile and could be finished in time for the show. Which do you think I should work on?

(This is the look both Mac and my Dh get when I talk about finishing quilts...do you think the Dog Whisperer could train both of them to stop rolling their eyes?)!

Bound to Bind

How did this happen...I am sooo far behind in binding quilts it is making me crazy! Two boxes from Bonnie, one from , and two quilts from the LQS did make a dent in my top pile but now has my binding shelf overflowing....Granted binding is my least favorite part of quilting (followed closely by putting on the sleeve...) I guess my heart is in starting projects not finishing. That said I now am at an all time bottleneck and spent the weekend scrounging through the fabric piles for binding that I so diligently made when I finished the quiltop (never located), fabric to make bindings for each of the quilttops (successful for all but one) and making a quick trip to the fabric store for some plain red (to make my Dh happy for his Red, White and Blue...note how his quilt is the most work....just another High Maintenance Moment.)

The cats are not helping...the moment a quilt appears Brownie claims it as her own. Decoys don't work either (I tried putting an old quit on the recliner for her to lay on - only lasted eight stitches...maybe that is a new way of telling time "cat stitches" equate to about 10 seconds vs a normal stitch which is only 4-5....I digress....)

I am trying to get the heavy stuff done this week. For heavy stuff read getting the binding stitched down by machine so only the hand work is left. I may have surgery next week so this will let me have lots of ready work at standby that doesn't take lots of concentration.
So what makes up this pile of misery.....First is the Log Cabin King which need less than one side stitched down, a sleeve and the label - this one is very, very close. Next is my DH's Red, White and Blue which has the binding made...now if I could distract Brownie this would have a chance of being finished. My Double Delight is quilted...I love this quilt...I have cut the binding strips. The 30's trip around the world is becoming a favorite and will use up some small pieces of 30's fabrics I have left over for a strippy binding. The MS blues is very fun and will have a dark blue border using three fabrics. Vintage Teddington/English Rose is a sampler quilt and will have a striped brown and pink binding. Crumbly ChurnDash is ready and will use binding crumbs - re leftovers from the other 8 quilts.

I will post photos of a few of these tomorrow...

I am acually glad I have a lot to keep me busy. I am usually a bit of a news hound and leave CNN/Fox/MSNBC (pretty nondescriminate in my news...there are only a few commentators I refuse to have on the TV.) The last few days however I have only watched tennis and old movies...I can't handle another Michael Jackson report. Sorry...I liked his music but please....

Happy 4th...

Happy 4th of July ya'll!
I'm still a bit groggy this morning...fireworks down by the river made the pets a bit anxious hence no one got any sleep until well past midnight.

Today I am working on the binding for my RWB quilt for my DH...seems appropriate. We are also going to a typical American cookout with some friends about to move overseas. Their 11 year old daughter is starting to freak so I am going to have to spend a lot of time with her telling her great things about living in Europe...I had an email requesting a photo of the full quilt with the dancing daisy...I'll try and find one and if not I'll unpack it and take one. Until then here is another of my favorite blocks from that quilt. It was made on the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland. The blocks are signed and have towns from both states (though all the states are border states.)

Too late Thursday....

So I missed wordless Wednesday...heck I missed Monday and Tuesday too. I have all sorts of fun photos to share but cannot for the life of me find the cord so I can upload them! Seems they will have to wait...instead you get a photo of one of my vintage quilts. Most likely those funny tea colored squares were green when the Pennsylvania quilter made this which would have made the quilt much brighter. Now it has a great shabby chic look and it feels wonderful due to so many washings. The rest of the fabrics are holding up great.Above is another example of how green had some tough years....the blue would have originally been green, the beige leaves read greener in real life and the green leaves would have had a black print on them (barely visible.) I love how this block looks like the flower has dancing feet....

I did get my donation quilt applique block done in time for the Saturday work session! And amazingly I was not the last person to turn in their block...I must be slipping. Tonya at Lazy Gal says she claims the title of Queen of Procrastination so I have been demoted to Princess of Putting Things Off....

Things are pretty busy right now. I am helping a friend get ready to move overseas. Today we drive to Charleston to drop off her car at the port to be shipped. That was always a "milestone" for me...once the car was on the ship then I must really be serious about moving! I'm hoping we can make a quick sidetrip to People, Places and Quilts in Summerville on the way back. That is one of my top five quilt stores!

I am also in binding "hell." I have 7 quilts that need binding. My goal for this weekend is to get all the binding made and machine sewn to the quilts. (I hate putting the walking foot on the machine so I want to get them all done at one throw....) Then I will have lots of hand work for watching movies this summer.....they just need to be finished by October for the guild show. I don't want to be one of those quilters who is finishing the binding as the quilt is being hung...whoops, I have been one of those quilters! (and yes the sleeve was awkwardly pinned to the top...bad quilt-mama-me)

So as I contemplate the growing number of almost finished quilts (load thunderous cheer here) I am also dreaming about my next group of projects. One is a quick finish - I need to make a Pink and Yellow quilt for my sister in law. I know not my typical colorway but that is what she asked for! I even brought her to a quilt shop and sure enough she pulled a fabric with a yellow background and little pink roses on it. This will be interesting. The second is inspired by this wonderful book I bought at a boot sale in England.
It is from around 1910 and has wonderful drawings of a wide range of styles. The author was a graphic instructor. Wouldn't the design on the cover make a great applique border?!
Here is a photo of one of the inside plates...love this book. I would like to use some of the new Morris prints that just came out and maybe do something with a nod to the Welsh stippy quilts though with more applique than intricate quilting.

Time to run..rather drive.