zag

 I got some of the "snowflake" blocks made.  Hated them.  Snowflakes are six sided.  The blocks are 8 point stars.  Plus they do not line up in the centers.  Yes, my seams are consistent and pretty accurate.  So, I redesigned that part too.


It still bugged me there wasn't any of the added in fabric in the center so  decided to take that apart and add some in.  In the process I decided to take the dark purple out of the center and just use it as an accent strip between the center and the border.  In the pic I just have squares pinned over the dark purple ones to see how it would look.  Since I had to take it apart to take out the dark purple and add in the border fabric I also enlarged it by one square each way.  With as many leaves as I have I thought it would probably look scrunched into the center space.

I have top and bottom border to add today and then I can baste and do the basic quilting on it before I start the applique.

                                                                                                                                                                                   

back up and punt

I finally get back to working on the wall hanging.  I'm working on the border blocks now.  I have the centers done (13 pieces and they're barely 3 inches big) and I look at the next set of instructions for the blocks.  The designer, in her infinite wisdom, broke up all the cutting instructions into each section of instructions instead of having all the cutting instructions at the beginning and just the assembly instructions broken into the sections.  Uhhh, I have no fabric and the instructions call for 80 2.24 inch squares.  So I start hunting for the scraps.  And I hunt.  And hunt some more.  The only scraps I find are from the leaf fabrics.  I suspect I used up all the main fabrics since I don't find any scraps at all and I have the binding fabric in the Art Bin with the rest of it.  While I was hunting for the scraps I saw a purpley gray that works really, really well with what I already have.  I'll take apart some of the block spacer units and add in the new fabric there and take the parts I take out of the spacer units and use them for some of the block corners.  It should mix the new fabric in well enough that you won't be able to tell.

I'm thinking about calling this one "Such a Winter's Day."

quilt guild "Opportunity" quilt ready for the quilter!!

I thought I was never going to get all the blanket stitch applique done on the borders of this quilt!!  Next it goes to another guild member with a longarm to be quilted.  After it's quilted it'll come back to me for binding.

If anybody is interested in an opportunity to own this quilt leave me a comment and how to get a hold of you.  Tickets will be sold on this quilt until the first weekend in December and we'll draw for the winner at the end of the local craft show.



bye-bye ketchup

The people that lived here before us painted the entry/kitchen area a dark red and a dark gold.  The red really looks like ketchup.  Today hubby is priming it.

quilt priorities

Sometimes you have to quit working on something and work on something else. My small guild does an opportunity quilt every year. This year the quilt has appliqued borders and a pieced center. I said I would do the blanket stitching around the appliques and to keep a consistent look it was decided that just one person would do that part.

I have the first border done and it looks really cool.

This is one of the end borders.  When it gets put on the quilt the corners are mitered and another of the large center flowers goes on each corner.  That's why the vine ends are hanging loose.  I need to have all of the borders done by the first weekend in June so they can be put on the quilt.  I need to have all of the applique done by the second weekend in June so it can go to the longarm quilter next.  After it's quilted it comes back to me for binding.

random bits

I took my girlfriend back home to Denver over the weekend. While I was there we went to Home Depot, Lowe's and Big Lots. I got more house plants at Home Depot and Lowe's and some flower pots and a rug for hubby's room at Big Lots. His room has tile on the floor and it's cold.

We made huge progress unpacking while she was here and there's not really much unpacking left to do now. Most of what's left is decorative stuff or things that need to wait until hubby paints. The hall upstairs and my closet and bedroom get painted next. The cookbook shelves go in the upstairs hall so the books are still packed for that shelf. The decorative stuff that goes in my bedroom is also still packed.

I'm going to just relax a bit this week and do laundry. We were so busy getting things unpacked I didn't do any of the laundry other than a couple of loads of clothes. I need to do tons of towels, sheets, and blankets now. I'll bet there are at least three loads of towels!

I should be able to get back to sewing in just a few days. I have a guild project I will have to work on next week. I'm doing the applique on the borders for our guild's "opportunity" quilt.

pacing

Hubby said he knew it was time to stop for the night when the cat started pacing the dash. We loaded the trucks and headed this way on Saturday. We stayed in a hotel about an hour from here. It was already 2:30am when we checked into the hotel so it was definitely time to rest for the day.

Good thing it comes off the trucks faster than it goes on! We unloaded the small truck Sunday and part of the big one and then finished unloading the big one Monday.

I really have to pace myself with all the unpacking or I'll be in a world of hurt. Since my girlfriend came with us we're getting a lot more done than I would by myself but we still have to limit ourselves on how much we do every day.

We've made a whole lot of progress over the last week even with pacing ourselves. The kitchen is mostly unpacked and in order. The sewing room is well underway.

Every wall in this house needs painted. The ones that aren't an ugly color are grungy. The previous owner had a day care and they had several dogs. The kitchen is currently painted in what can only be described as ketchup and mustard. It has one fairly bright red wall and the other walls are a dark yellow. The guest bedroom is currently painted blue with a dark navy blue wall. The master bedroom is... well... just ugly. I'm not even sure what you'd call that color.

So far hubby has painted the front living room a really nice medium olive green. The sewing room is now a nice sunny yellow and two walls in the family room downstairs have been painted a deep orange. The guest room and master bedroom will get painted a light sage green. The kitchen is going to be a pale orange behind the cabinets and the rest of the room will be a pale tan. The upstairs bathroom will be a light lavender.