Design Wall 5/16/11

Well, doesn’t this wall look busy? First off, on the left, we have the first 5 blocks of Esther’s Heart’s Desire BOM. All done and boy, was I ever proud of my accomplishment. She gave us the center block one month and then in March she gave us the outer four and two months in which to do them. It took me all of that two months but I finished at the last moment. I was looking forward to the next block until I looked at it Saturday night. It is a beautiful block but we have four, again, to do but this time we only have one…YES, I SAID ONE… month to get them done. I will probably not even try to get them done on time but tomorrow I will begin prepping. You really should go over to Esther’s blog to see our new task/treat.

The little colored squares are the beginning of a batik quilt. I designed a block for this quilt but as I began piecing I have changed my mind and right now I am just making little blocks, lots and lots of them, and will decide how they will be placed, later. I really love how the batiks pop when sashed with black.

Unfortunately, you can also see my feathered star, still without a border. This UFO is not getting done at this rate. But it is still on the wall, just to keep me from forgetting it.

Now, don’t you forget to go to Patchwork Times to see how other quilters are getting along.

Design Deck

Since this is the only thing on the Design wall, looking very lonely, I decided to photograph it outside.  This is the latest block for the LCQAL from Moose on the Porch.  I really like this block and may have to make a quilt using it.

However, this is what I worked on Sunday.  I am still trying to get all that 30s fabric used up so I sewed 2” strips together to begin making 16 patches for a comfort quilt. 

 

So I laid them out on the cutting mat and cut them in 2” segments.

And now they are piled up waiting for me to come back to the studio and sew them together.

 

 

One other thing I did was to start drawing the applique shapes for Esther’s BOM onto the fusible.  I think I have everything drawn for one Block #3 but I will have to do it again, twice so I have to figure out enough fabric for all three.

 

 

I did take a little break to read some of this new novel.  I have read everyone of her books so I feel I know this family well, both current and historical.

 

Friday DH and I were in Pensacola.  Our routine there is that I drop him at Barnes & Nobel and I head to the local fabric store.  I have a new project in mind and went to get fabric that I couldn’t find in my stash.  Here it almost looks like a Halloween quilt but, no, it isn’t.  More to come later.

And while I was in town I visited Martelli’s home store.  I have driven by there several times but had never stopped.  And I was not familiar with their products.  But as you can see from this picture, I am going to become familiar.  They were really very nice, took a lot of time showing me many of their products and invited me to come back Tuesday for their “National Quilting Day” celebration.  Can’t go but enjoyed my visit.

After all my spending, DH and I drove to Daphne, AL where we spent the night so we could be close by  Fairhope, AL and be early for their annual Arts Festival.  We usually drive down from home (140 miles) getting there around noon when it is hot and filled with LOTS of people.  This time it was still cool and not crowded.  And once again it was wonderful.  I love seeing other people’s creativity and all the diversity of mediums.  Later this week I will share a couple of the things we bought but mostly we just looked.

Now, if you made it down this far, be sure to go over to Judy’s blog to see what other quilters have on their design walls.

Ongoing Progress

This is block 9 of the LCQAL at Moose Quilts. I liked that she gave us four different layouts to choose from, and each one was great.

And here are all nine blocks, together. I am beginning to get an idea of what I may want to do with them but of course I will have to wait for the next 3.

On Monday I got my Hearts Desire Block 1 all appliqued down. The color is really a little brighter but it was dark when I finally got a chance to take this picture.

And that is all I am going to be able to sew this week. Tomorrow is my long day in FL teaching Weight Watchers. Then on Friday DH wants to go look at a car he thinks I would like. This happened because I mentioned that people were driving with the tops down on their cars last Thursday. I have had a convertible for many years but my current car is a hardtop. DH LOVES to trade cars and this was all he needed to start internet shopping. Anyway, he has found two dealers within driving distance and I guess we will be checking them out on Friday.

And Saturday we are going to finally get to celebrate our anniversary that was postponed in January (see post). But Saturday we will be driving down to Orlando and visiting with both my sister and brother-in-law and Harry Potter. I am stoked!! We will be gone until Wednesday of next week but I will taking pictures and checking in along the way.

Design Wall Monday

Well, there is nothing on the design wall but on my design ironing surface there is this.

These are the “baubles” I will be appliqueing for the Christmas BOW. I have one started but I am finding them a little difficult. I have never done applique with little pieces and my fusible isn’t behaving. I am going to try a different one today and see if it works better.

I only have a little bit of the background fabric so I can’t redo any of these. Here you can see the baubles drawn on the back of the fabric, ready for me to cut out and applique.

I did do some fabric shopping this weekend.

I bought this layer cake to use in the new BO2W that Moose on the Porch will be starting in November. I have never bought a layer cake before but I spent some time looking for a light group of fabrics for this one.

And this fabric is for a new quilted sweatshirt jacket for me. I have three already but when I lost weight last year those jackets have gotten too big. I have been wanting a blue jacket, thus the two blue fabrics. And I am planning on the lighter fabric to be the lining: or maybe I’ll do something else with it. Who, knows.

Be sure to check out what the other great quilters are doing over at Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Wednesday

OK, that’s only to say there is something different on my design wall today. I have been working on my Esther Eliu BOW and have got the 12 paper pieced blocks done.

They don’t go into a star, I don’t think, but it was fun to play with them as I put them on the wall. For some reason I had difficulty with these: I think I have forgotten how to count. Anyway they are done and I started tracing out the applique (I will be using the fused applique method).

I am only two weeks behind and of course I won’t be able to sew for the next 2-3 days. But everything is set up, ready for me to get back to over the weekend.

I did finish the Hugs & Kisses quilt and it was gifted today. I really think it looks great with the green binding.

And we have one new thing at our house. It rained here yesterday, first time in three weeks, and DH became worried that the cats (outside cats) were getting wet. So he made this “lean-to” for them. It is sitting on the deck, next to the front door. I know one of the cats has found the top for afternoon naps but I don’t know if they have tried the inside or not. This is real country living.

Design Wall Monday

Anyone who reads my blog knows that I participate in Design Wall Monday’s at Patchwork Times. It is a wonderful place to share and see the works of several other quilters. But I sometimes wonder if everyone who lists their blog there reads all the other blogs. I do. But I read them 10 at a time and sometimes it takes me all week to get through them all.

Here is what is on my wall this week.

All quilted and ready for binding.

I also have strips cut to begin paper piecing Esther Eliu’s 12 Days of Christmas BOW (block of the week). I haven’t let myself start this until I get the above quilt done.

I have sewn the binding together and will be

pressing it and sewing it on today.

So, that is where I am, how about you?