Design Wall Monday - Week 9

Nothing tremendously exciting this week.

Rows 4 & 5 for the Charm Pack Quilt Along - and 4 is done! Almost time to start piecing the back of that, too.

The bottom is the back of the sailboat quilt. It be piratey. (Arrrr!) I'll probably frame the whole thing in the water from the front.

My goal for the week is to get both of these done and basted so I can pop the walking foot on and do some quilting by Friday.

Check out everyone else's on Patchwork Times!

Sunday Stash Report - Week 9

A couple little purchases this week, and finally, the finishes are starting to roll in.

I bought another 1/4 yard of the purple Kona - which is actually Thistle, not Petunia - to finish up the borders. I ran over to my favorite quilt teacher's house to shop her stash when I realized I was exactly three 3.5" squares short on the triangle border. We found some that blended nicely, plus some actual vintage sheet that made a great second border.

I finished this quilt this afternoon, but you'll have to wait until Tuesday to see it. ;) It used up 3/4 yards of the purple, one charm pack + five extra squares, and 12" of the vintage sheet.

I finished the sailboat top and decided to weigh it, since there so much random piecing in it. I read that a yard weighs between 4.4 and 4.5 ounces, which makes the top about 1.82 yards.

Oh, and I bought 21" of a U.S. Navy print from the remnants at Hobby Lobby. Because I might not have enough military fabric.

Used this Week: 3.75

Used Year to Date: 22.14

Added this Week: 1.67
Added Year to Date: 39.44
Net Used for 2011: (17.3) yards

 

Check out everyone else at Patchwork Times!

Layer Cake Quilt Along - Blocks Eight & Nine

Catching up...again... I was waiting for a scrap for Block Eight, and Block Nine provided me with the perfect one.

 As I flipped through the remaining layer cake slices, I realized, once again, I needed to use the black. It looks okay here - the stripes all go the right direction, which is nice - but I don't love it. I might take out a couple seams and try to get it squarer, then play with the layout again.

 Love this one, though. I planned on making it with the star points, but it ended up looking better this way. The star got lost against the bright red, whereas the square looks more focused.

Now I'm only two blocks behind, and those two are still just waiting on the right scraps.

Come Sail Away - Top Finished

So as I mentioned yesterday, the sailboat quilt top is done!

I was wrong about the piecing - the water went together way faster than the sky. But at least that meant I got the hard part over with first!

There are a few places I wish there were less seams, or I had spent more time making sure the water "flowed" the right way, or I hadn't used the lightest colored sails against the sky, but overall, I'm pretty happy with how it came out.

It's about 50x45" - I'll get a better measure after I starch and press it.

I named it "Come Sail Away" because when my parents go on a cruise, my dad always calls as the ship pulls away from the dock to sing that song. Yeah, we have some weird family traditions.

Design Wall Monday - Week 8

Two things on the wall today.

On the bottom is Dream On, which I might have worked on this week even though I swore I wasn't going to. I realized I need to donate something to my Officers Spouse Club's Silent Auction next month, so there you go - purpose.

I really like the border triangles on the bottom, but the math indicates I'd be better off the way they are on the left side.

And this is the top...

Yes, I'm finally finishing the Charm Pack Quilt Along! I decided to toss up two rows at a time for leaders and enders, instead of being tempted to start something else for that purpose.

Notice what's not there? That's right, I finished the sailboat quilt yesterday. Told you I was focusing!

Check out everyone else on Patchwork Times!

Sunday Stash Report - Week 8

Just one purchase this week - 1/2 yard of the purple Kona (I think it's Petunia) for the Dream On quilt.

Nothing finished, but I'm on the cusp of completing several large things. I'm forcing myself to focus this week - I'm down to less than a month before Spring Break, and I want to be able to take the sailboat quilt and the charm pack quilt (not Dream On, but Love U) for my niece with us.

So until Spring Break, I will be FOCUSED. Really. And these numbers will go down. Next week. REALLY.

Used this Week: 0

Used Year to Date: 18.39

Added this Week: 0.5
Added Year to Date: 37.77
Net Used for 2011: (19.38) yards

 

Check out how everyone else is doing on Patchwork Times!

At my next house...

I'm going to make sure there's a big enough hard surface to baste a quilt bigger than baby size.

Because sitting under the kitchen table isn't as much fun as you'd think.

Design Wall Monday - Week 7

Still the sailboat quilt...

Hatteras is complete, I decided on my sizing between the sky and the water, and I really should, at a minimum, be adding sky to the boats on top of the water, since that's the easiest measurement.

But noooooo, what am I doing in the bottom right? Randomly slicing into a Dream On charm pack that has no place, whatsoever, on my project list.

I think I have quilting ADD. 

The top row, the triangles are 2" apart; second row, 1.5"; third row, 1". I think I like 1.5" the best. 

But seriously, I'm not going to cut the purple sashing until I've put sky on those boats. And quilted Bad Romance. And caught up on the Layer Cake Quilt Along. Seriously.

Check out Patchwork Times and see if other people have more focus. Sigh.

Sunday Stash Report - Week 7

I was going to be good and not buy the backing fabric for "Bad Romance" until Monday, since I knew I wasn't going to get the kitchen floor clean enough to baste until Monday.

But, you know how it goes. The LQS had a sale. 20% off if you finish a bolt four yards or less. I needed 3.33 yards for the backing, so I had to find a bolt that was over 3 but under 4 yards.

3.75 yards of perfection! (RJR Momma's Apron Strings)

All the right colors, and the plaid echoes the postage stamp in the top.

I also picked up the kit for the next block for the Saturday Sampler.

Used this Week: 0.0
Used Year to Date: 18.39

Added this Week: 4.0
Added Year to Date: 37.27
Net Used for 2011: (18.88) yards

 

So I'm still under 20 yards up, and I will be very motivated to finish projects once the Dude gets back to school on Monday!

Check out how everyone else is doing at Patchwork Times!

LQS Saturday Sampler - Block 1

Apparently some people had issues with this block, but I thought it was pretty easy. It helped that I have the Tri-Recs templates and didn't have to paper piece the equilateral triangles.

It is freaking hard to do a block when the instructions are in black & white, though. I think over the next month, I'm going to color the pattern so I can follow it better. I screwed up the placement in the HST corners several times.

Snow Days

On Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, there was a whole lot of this.

 

Which meant there was a whole lot of this.

And a whole lot of this.

(Crayons on the left, chocolates on the right. So far no one has eaten or colored off the wrong plate...)

But not a whole lot of sewing!

Layer Cake Quilt Along - Block Seven & Lighthouse Block

I know, I skipped a block. I'm not sure what I'm doing for Block Six - I don't really like the block. I'm trying to figure out something similar.

Like, say, Block Seven. I really liked the design. Didn't like the border.

I tried to figure out the ratio to enlarge the triangles (let's see, if the square is 2.75" and mine will be 3.5", that means it increased by...uh...) Then when I looked at the sketch of the block in 12.5", I realized it could be done in half square triangles.

Oh my goodness, love love love this one. Love. All the stripes even worked out. Love.

I also made this, which makes me quite proud.

No pattern, I just built Hatteras Lighthouse based on pictures. It's even slightly tapered - the base is 5.5" wide; the top is 4.5" wide.

It goes in my nephew's sailboat quilt, hence the waterline.

I'm entering both in the Block Party. Check it out, there's lots of cool blocks listed!

Design Wall Monday - Week 6

Not much of a change from two weeks ago, but all the boats have hulls now, and the lighthouse is coming together.

I have a couple more sailboats that I'd like to make, plus topping off the lighthouse and deciding where it falls on the water line, then it's time to start piecing it together!

And the gap is widening. REALLY need to make a tooth pillow. Even though Tooth #2 disappeared, too. I think it's a plot to keep me from hoarding saving them.

Check out more design walls on Patchwork Times!

Sunday Stash Report - Week 6

I was very good this week. I went to Hobby Lobby to get fabric for the Steelers banner, and couldn't find any in the correct shade of gold. Except in a fat quarter pack. But I didn't need all the other fat quarters. So... I didn't buy it! The banner worked just as well with just black and Steelers fabric.

So with a couple of finishes, I busted a decent amount this week with very little shopping. (Yes, the Steelers fabric was from my stash. I love my husband THAT MUCH.)

Used this Week: 7.5
Used Year to Date: 18.39

Added this Week: 0.25
Added Year to Date: 33.27
Net Used for 2011: (14.88) yards

Check out everyone else at Patchwork Times!

Go Team!

This may be my husband's office.

The door may lead to his assistant's office, who may be from Wisconsin.

Should be fun tomorrow, and even more fun on Monday.

A First

Apparently we need a tooth pillow!

The Dude spent the entire weekend telling his aunt that teeth don't come out. He denied having any that even wiggled. He's not the first in his K class to lose one, so I don't get the denial.

He was eating an apple and didn't even realize the tooth came out. His dad noticed when he hugged the Dude goodbye. By that time, the tooth was long gone - he denies swallowing it, but we can't find it anywhere.

Mom "emailed" the Tooth Fairy so she'd know about the missing tooth, and he got a shiny $1 coin. Which he thinks is a large penny, since it has a 1 on it. *sigh*

I'm off to make a tooth robot!

Postage Stamp Quilt Along - Finished Top

It was rough, but I got it done in time for the contest!

 I named it "Bad Romance" in honor of Valentine's Day.

Last week, I was sure it wouldn't get done. At one point, three of the five of us were on antibiotics (me, the Dude and one of the cats.) 

And then the best thing to do when you can barely walk? Fly halfway across the country for your dad's 60th birthday party. Totally worth it, and the Dude was awesomely helpful throughout the whole process. Makes me consider taking him on much longer flights.

The cat is less than helpful.

We barely made it home Monday night before the blizzard started, which was followed by two snow days, which makes sewing harder. 

(BTW, snow in Oklahoma is the weirdest thing. We had to check the radar to see if it was still snowing because it looked like the wind was just whipping snow off the roof. We have places with 2' drifts and places you can see the grass.)

The leftover strips will make a great little runner for my coffee table.

I still need to decide on backing, though I'm pretty sure I'm using the teal flowers as the binding (second block, second row from right.)

And now I'm going to take a nap because that used up all my energy for the day.