Good Start to May

Every day last week I put in some time quilting DH's Boots quilt.  After quilting the majority of the quilt I began detailing the 12 boots.  This morning I made it up to the top row of boots when I discovered this.  The top of this boot had not been appliqued down.  Of course I did make them about 2 years ago but it was a shock when the hopping foot tried to take that piece of fabric out. 





I decided to cover this mistake with a curlicue stitching.  It took me longer than I expected to detail all of the boots because of the numerous thread changes due to the variety of colors I had used.  I must remember that when working on other applique projects. 

And early today I completed the quilting of this quilt.  I still need to cut the strips for the binding but that will have to wait until I can clear the cutting table.  I must figure out how to put things away so they don't pile up where I don't really want them. 













Below are two of the several quilt labels I am making.  I used to make my labels as I finished my quilts but I have fallen woefully behind.  But our guild is having a show in November so I am trying to get caught up. 

And last but not least, here is my
design wall today.  I decided to finally get busy working on my Celtic Solstice.  I had pieces but nothing put together so today I put 5 blocks together and up on the wall.  And I seem to have made a mistake: can you find it?  I guess I know what I will be doing tomorrow.  :-(



I will be linking with Patchwork Times along with several other talented quilters.  I never have time to read all the blogs that link there but if you go over there, too, between us we can get them all read.  :-)  Have a great week,  Gari

Celtic Solstice and a Little More

OK, so the plan was to just make a few blocks and use them as a table runner and maybe a couple of placemats.  Well, that is not going to happen, we will be making a quilt.  I still haven’t decided if it will be the smaller or larger one but I do love what I am seeing so far.  Now, none of these blocks are actually sewn together so I will be moving units around, probably for months.  I am not going to hurry this process: I am going to cut a little fabric and make a few units, then cut a little more.  Maybe by Spring I will have a new quilt ………… maybe.








I am about to put this Carol Doak mystery from last year on the frame.  But first I have to make a back for it.  The backing fabric I bought is just a smidge too small so I will be cutting it down the middle and adding a stripe of a different fabric.  I am not sure how I am going to quilt it but planning that will be on the agenda this week.










And here is my new knitting project.  I am trying to learn how to knit toe up socks and to knit two socks at a time.  So here are the tips of the two toes: that’s all the further I have gotten.  I learned the figure 8 cast-on and am working on the M1L and M1R (increasing).  We are going to have really cold weather here on Tuesday and Wednesday so I will be in the house, knitting.


Well, that’s not all I will be doing.  I have decided to change most of the furniture around in my bedroom.  I figure that since I won’t be able to be in the studio for a couple of days (no central heat) I will have plenty of time to push and pull stuff.  When I was younger I moved furniture all the time (poor DH fell over stuff from time to time) but not so much lately.  However, I am considering getting a tread climber or treadmill and need to see if it will fit in there.  Bet I stay warm with all that physical work. 


I see that we are going to be part of the artic blast that is coming out of Canada.  What will be making it down here will not be as bad as up north but for we thin skinned southerners it will be difficult.  I have dug out my sweat pants and heavy sweaters but mostly I plan to stay inside and keep warm.

So, keep busy and warm and have a great week.    Gari

And Away We Go

I guess the first thing to share are the two blocks that will make up Bonnie Hunter’s Celtic Solstice Quilt.  These are just the pieces put together on the wall to see the blocks.  And here is my dilemma.  Now that I see the blocks and what her quilt looks like, I am wanting to make the whole quilt.  My colors will look more spring-like than hers but it is going to be a beautiful quilt.  I am thinking that I will continue to make units and blocks for another month or two and see if I can get a whole quilt out of it.  If not, I pretty much have enough units for 2 placemats and a table runner.





And this is my current knitting project: a cowl that will have an eyehole to pull one end through.  I don’t have a pattern but am attempting to figure it out “all by myself.” 








I really love this yarn but I was told it was too fragile to be sock yarn so it has been sitting, staring at me while I tried to think what I wanted to do with it.  Then this week I realized that there are times when my neck is cold even when I am inside and I thought a pretty, and easy to take off, cowl would be nice.  I think this yarn will go with almost anything I wear and since I am doing a garter stitch all the “pretty” will come from the yarn.  I hope to make the  other end come to a kind of point so it will fit easily through the hole and have some visual interest.  Wish me luck.






I have had some people ask me what BOMs I am planning to do this year.  The first one, which has already started, is this Alphabet quilt from The Quilt Show.  The first part came out today and it consisted of three blocks.  Yes, I said 3 blocks.  As you can see they are both pieced and applique.  My plan is to make the pieced blocks out of all scraps but I will make the letters all one color.  What color, I hear you ask.  Well, I have no idea, I answer. 






Starting February 1 will be this Penguin Christmas quilt by FatCatPatterns.  I am really not into Christmas quilts but I can’t resist Sindy’s designs.  If I could I wouldn’t have done the Funky Chickens, The Wonderfully Fishys, and the Owls. 








And lastly, I hope, will be Head to Toe from Justquiltin which will start February 15th.  I am doing it because I have now knitted socks and hats so are mittens so far behind?  I see this one gracing the corner of my studio where I do most of my knitting.  Denise has already said that it will not be complete by Christmas next year so there are no plans to have it ready any time soon.








The last thing I have to share is this almost empty tin of candy we got from DS#3 and his lovely wife and child (see picture at the top of the blog).  We have been very careful to not eat too much of this at any one time because we did not want it to be gone.  However, we seem to be getting close to the end and we are very sad.  We have hinted that we think the gift should be a monthly gift but so far there has been nothing but silence from the givers.  Maybe we haven’t hinted loud enough.


DH is still on vacation: he returns to teaching on the 6th.  We went to see Saving Mr. Banks and found it a wonderful moving.  As a former psychotherapist I found it a wonderful case study of the effect of alcoholism on the child and of how one attempts to correct the problem and then how getting help from the outside makes it even better.  I went expecting a Mary Poppins type movie but found a funny and yet gripping biography.  I laughed and cried and almost felt I was working again except someone else was doing all the work.


Have a great weekend and I hope to have something new on the design wall to share on Sunday/Monday.    Gari

Merry Christmas to ALL

Our gifts are all wrapped and ready to open.  Now you may ask why they are up on the desk rather than under the Christmas tree.  Well, my faithful readers will remember that we recently adopted a rescue dachshund,




Sherlock. 




Now don’t misunderstand me, he is sweet, loving, and the most destructive dog we have ever had.  We have lost clothes, pillows, dog beds, a wall, and have holes in two quilts.  So I decided our gifts looked really good UP on the desk this year.


We did not have to put these gifts, from our son, daughter in law, and grandson in Colorado, up because we have already opened them.  Our tradition has been to open sent gifts on Christmas Eve (and what we give each other on Christmas morning) but with gifts that are sent directly from the store there isn’t any wrapping so by opening the mailer package the gift is already there.  So we are enjoying the coffee while we anticipate our Christmas. 







The same thing happened with the gift from our son, daughter in law and granddaughter in Maryland.  Can’t say I’m sorry cuz we have been enjoying little pieces of this wonderful candy.  I am trying to make sure there is still some for Christmas day but I’m not sure I will succeed. 






And here is what I have accomplished toward Celtic Solstice.  I really have made more units than this but this is representational of my efforts: steps 1-3.  I have not yet started step 4: I plan that for Thursday.  I really got behind on step 1 but now I that I have received my new rulers I will be able to catch up on them also.

I have been knitting, as reported in my last post, and have even started a new, small, project that will be the last gift on my list.

And now, again, Merry Christmas to all!

Ever Onward

Here are half of the pieces for Step 2 of Celtic Solstice.  I decided I would do some of each step, just like Bonnie suggested, so I cut about half of what I eventually will need.





Then I sewed some these units together.  Would you believe that there are 7 seams to each one of these 3 1/2” units?  And 5 trips to the ironing board.









And, of course, there is the necessary sewing mistake that I must do for every project I start.  I couldn’t believe it when I opened up this unit and saw that even though it was perfectly sewn it was wrong and had to be “unsewn” and done right.

Now the funny part.  With all the sewing I got done I only completed 10 units so I only have 90 more to go.  AND, Bonnie released Step 3 Friday.  But I won’t be starting it until the rulers I ordered arrive.  Maybe this will give me some time to catch up on Steps 1 & 2………maybe.





Today was the last performance of the Nutcracker in our town.  And here is DH who has played Drosselmeyer for over 30 years.  Even though he has been a teacher for 45 years and has put on numerous musicals and plays, he says that this part is his claim to fame.











And he came home from this performance with this nutcracker, a gift from the director and owner of the Andalusia Ballet.  I think this is just stunning and I must say that DH is very proud of it, kind of like his Oscar.












My contribution to our Christmas directions is my wonderful cactus.  It is almost bursting with buds and soon will be covered with flowers and Christmas will be here.




But before that happens there will be sewing and knitting (socks are still being worked on).  That’s what I will be doing.  So everybody, have a great week.    Gari

Bit by Bit

I have been working on Celtic Solstice, a little.  This is where I was this morning and since then I have added about thrice as many and started using the different purples.  I am still working on Step 1 but will be checking out Step 2 tomorrow, just prior to Step 3 coming out on Friday. 










I have a really good excuse for falling so far behind.  Saturday we had a great time at the Trans Siberian Orchestra concert.  Oh, my, what a fun experience.  Then early Sunday morning I woke up “not well.”  Getting over that has taken a while but mostly it has taken some days to begin to regain/sustain strength.  This is not the first time I have experienced this but it is so annoying to be slowed down when I really want to be up and going.  The up side?  I wasn’t hungry and seem to have an aversion to sugar, for the time being.  Wouldn’t it be nice if was a permanent “problem”? 



I spent most of yesterday  wrapping Christmas gifts, the ones that are being mailed (see, I am behind in this area, also).  And one package is even ready for mailing.  I seem to have run out of boxes so these will have to get sent tomorrow.









This is my wrapping station which still has to be available for local gift wrapping.  Did I ever mention how much I don’t like wrapping gifts?  I love making gifts, shopping for them, and buying them, but wrapping them?  Not so much.       Oh, I do like opening them when they are given to me. 







And what do good puppies do while Mom is wrapping gifts?  Why they sack out on the big flannel quilt, of course. 

Now, I’m off to bed to get a good rest so I can get something accomplished tomorrow.

Nite,   Gari

Celtic Solstice Started, Barely

For all the reasons I have listed before, plus a couple of new ones (reasons, not excuses), this is how far along I am on Step 1 of Bonnie Hunter’s Celtic Solstice.  It seems I have been pushed and pulled in every direction but the studio.  But late yesterday afternoon I got in there, cut strips and began cutting the centers of the first 3” finished blocks/pieces of blocks (?).  Today I will finish cutting these and then cut the side triangles and hopefully get some sewn together. 

To add to this lateness problem, it has been VERY warm here, perfect deck knitting weather.  The puppies love it because that is when they get to play outside without leashes, on the deck.  Unfortunately the new puppy, Sherlock, can climb anything so someone has to be out there with him to check on what he has figured out to climb on next.  For a short dog we have found him in some very high places.

Tomorrow we will be gone all day to see/hear the Trans Siberian Orchestra so I will be late in getting Step 2 of the mystery quilt.  Maybe I can figure out a way to just live in the studio on Sunday so I can at least get caught up.  Oh, my!

I hope everyone’s week goes well.  My prayers are going out to the folks in CO, where our middle son and his family live, as they are getting extremely cold weather and snow.  I want them all to be safe but especially my children as they are also dealing with her mother’s serious illness so many miles away from them.

My plan for the rest of the morning is fabric cutting in the studio.  I plan to say a prayer for every slice, maybe a way to make that tedious task be of more value.

Have a great rest of the week,  Gari

What I Did On My Mini Vacation

Today I am showing my “design ironing board.”  Before we left for Biloxi I pulled fabric for Bonnie Hunter’s Celtic Solstice mystery that starts 11/29/13.  I had pulled blues and bright greens but all of a sudden I decided that I really wanted to do something with purple so I made a change in the green, too.  I think I am going to use the dotted fabric as the neutrals even though I originally pulled black on white prints.




Then we were off to see Kenny G.  He was every bit as good as he is on my albums.  I think I grinned all through the 2 hour program.

















Both on the way to Biloxi and back home we visited some antique malls.  The first thing I bought was this set of shelves.  I love that they have sides and that they rotate up and down.  I also got a copper coffee pot, made in Turkey.  I love copper and have started collecting items for my kitchen.  I hope one day to cover my kitchen island with copper…..someday.  Also on the shelves is a sailor hat.  I looked for one last April when I bought a Navy Middy Blouse for Fred, but I couldn’t find one.  Yesterday I found this one in a mall.  It was $25 but when we got to the register it seems it was 65% off.  Boy, Fred is going to look really good when he gets dressed up to celebrate my father’s birthday month in April.







We also visited two really nice quilt shops on the MS Gulf Coast.  This fabric is from a Northcutt line called Stone Chips (I think).  It was really difficult to choose which fabrics to buy, they were all so luscious. 







The stripe fabric is not from the same line but goes well with it.  However who knows how any of this will get used.











Just when I was ready to move the shelves into the studio, there was Stubby, making herself at home.  I didn’t move her, I just started “walking” the shelves and she decided she didn’t need the aggravation. 












And this is how the shelves are really being used.  I have put the three BOMs I am working on on the shelves.  When I go to make a new block I like to see all of the others up on the design wall so I can make sure the colors are different or a different mixture.  With them on these shelves I don’t have to thumb through other BOMs or blocks to find the one’s I want.  Also they are out in the open where I can see them and, hopefully, keep up.

Not too bad as a beginning of Birthday Month, huh?  There was one other highlight:





I got this on our way to Biloxi.  It was so good that DH bought me two more slices on our way home: there is still one in the refrigerator.  Breakfast?

That’s all folks.  Hope everyone has a great week.    GARI

Kenny G & Me

Guess where we are going?  Guess who we will be seeing and hearing?  I am so excited.  This is an early birthday gift from DH (my birthday is on Thanksgiving this year). 

When I got my HQ I found that I enjoyed quilting best when I was listening to jazz so I started buying Kenny G albums.  He, along with others, has gotten me through a lot of quilts. 





These are the fruits of my labor for the beginning of the week. 


















This is one of the smaller owls.  The pattern calls for a pieced border around but I am thinking that I will use a sashing fabric for each of the blocks.













And this is my most recent fish.  I have tried to use this green fabric a couple of times but this was the first time this fabric fit a fish. 













I also spent this afternoon picking out fabrics for Bonnie Hunter’s new mystery that is starting the day after my birthday.  The colors she has picked out are the ones I used for last year’s mystery so I had to put my thinking cap on and come up with my own combination.  I have pulled yellow, moss green, blue, and rust, for now.  I am not really sure of this as I would really like to use purple, I think.  I really don’t like mysteries because I like to know what I am doing.  But my Easy Street from last year turned out so great that I am willing to give Celtic Solstice a try.

Now, I think I will spend some time cleaning the studio so I don’t loose all those little pieces Bonnie is going to have me/us cut.  I had baggies all over the place last year so I figure it will be the same this time.  And without some clean surfaces I will loose those little parts and just have a mess.  So I have 23 days to get my space ready…..better get at it. 
Gari