It Is Summer in AL

Saturday night it was 82F at 10:30 pm and Sunday it got up to 97F. For this reason I have spent a lot of time in the studio.


This is my design wall, today. I have had stuff on and off of it for the last week. Currently there are 10 string blocks and 4 Snowbound blocks (Bunny Hill BOM). I am almost caught up with the snowman, am only one behind. I figure I will make block 5 after block 6 comes out, do the two of them together.

Along with the above blocks I finally got the binding made and put on Purple Rails. I am very pleased with how this quilt turned out.

My big accomplishment is getting the quilting done on Baskets & Lace. Not only that but I embroidered a label and made the binding for it. I have the binding all sewn on the front and pinned down so I can hand sew it to the back.

Did I mention that these blocks are also Bunny Hill designs?

One of the advantages of summer is the flowers. I am in no way a gardner but each year I have tried to add a little something/color to our yard. We live in the middle of the woods and have done little to civilize it but I do like to add a few cultivated plants, now and then. I am especially proud of my hydrangeas. Isn't that a beautiful blue?

My roses are Knock Out roses and once they start blooming, all one has to do is water them and dead head them when the blooms fade.

Be sure to stop by Judy's blog so see what other quilters are up to.

Design Wall, etc.

This is still on my design wall. This picture shows the first row and first sashing sewn when in truth I have the second row and sashing also sewn and am almost done with the third. It is not as easy as usual because the lace is "slinky" and travels. After fighting with it for a while, I remembered that I had invested in fabric glue sticks. Now I am glueing the ends of each sashing piece before sewing them down. Then I am pinning the sides out of the way while I sew the sashing to the blocks, glueing the sides down and then stitching the sides of the lace to the sashing. To say this is time consuming would be an understatement. But in the end this will be a delightful, girly, quilt.

I have my comfort quilt rail fence on the frame and even have basted the top on. However, I am having tension issues, and low frustration tolerance issues, so it is still sitting there, unquilted. I will try again either today or tomorrow.

My quilt guild is having their end of the year dinner party in May and someone told me I was in charge of finding out what large dining rooms are available in our town. I don't know how that happened but part of my sewing time will be taken up with checking that out and making a list for consideration at the next meeting.

And lastly, but certainly not leastly, is the final product of our "first rose bud of spring." This beauty came out on Easter Sunday Morning. Isn't she beautiful? And now there are several more buds on the bushes so shortly we will have an abundance of color. Of course, all this spring growth has also produced growth in the yard so one day this week I will have to get the lawn mower out and get busy: the dogs are beginning to get lost out there. ;-)

A Bit of Both

Our Sad News first: our wonderful little Maltipoo died on Monday. Jessica was 11 years old and over the last year had been slowing down and displaying a little arthritis in her limbs. On Monday morning DH was awaken hearing her moaning and crying, a little. He also noted that her stomach was distended. So up he got and took her to the vet. I was called about two hours later to pick her up and when I got there the vet showed me her x-ray and showed me a tumor that appeared to be filling her stomach area. The vet who does the surgery was not in so we made arrangements to bring her back on Tuesday morning to decide what to do. I brought her home and she was a little listless: I figured that they had sedated her so they could poke and prod. She seemed to have disappeared but I found her sleeping in the bathroom so I left her to be able to be quiet. When DH got home that afternoon, he found that she had died in her sleep. It was with tears we buried her but with smiles and laughter as we remembered all the joy she brought to our home.

On a more positive note, I got my jelly roll block 3 done. Isn’t this pretty? I am really enjoying making these blocks. They are easy and the fabric is so pretty, kind of like an island paradise. I may have to make a second set so this can be a bigger spring/summer quilt.

And, I think, the reason for spring is the reminder of renewed life. Here is an updated shot of my first rosebud.

There are now several smaller buds on the bushes but this will be the first rose of spring and I am so excited.

Some work - Some play

So far this has been a great week. Monday I spent almost all day in the studio.


I squared up the Fish charity quilt, pieced batting (a tedious job) and found a piece of heavier shirting that was just the right size for backing. So Fish is on the HQ ready to quilt. I am still mulling over quilting ideas so I moved on to other things.

I worked on getting caught up on my calendar challenge strips: I had only completed through the middle of June so I had some catching up to do. I got June done, fabric picked out for all of July and August is almost complete. I also have strips ready for most of September and some for November and December. My next job in this area will be to get caught up on the appliqués for these strips. And I had been doing so well, too.

Then I spent some time on organization. Not the kind that results in a cleaner studio, oh, no! I made lists: UFOs, tops that need quilting, monthly BOMs and such, gifts I might make (ha, ha), and ideas for new projects. I put these in my day planner so I could refer to them as I go along and hopefully cross some off now and then. lol

Tuesday is laundry day at our house. So I spent the first few hours on the computer watching the first of two disks of “Mrs. King’s Gallery Baskets.” This is a workshop video to make fabric baskets and I can tell you that the DVD is very well done. It made me want to run right over to the studio, cut 1 ½” strips and get going. However, it still was laundry day and so far neither of the machines were making any noise. So I sorted and loaded the washer, good girl that I am, loaded the dishwasher, and decided what to fix for dinner (my turn in the kitchen). Then I decided that while everything was doing it’s thing, I would go grocery shopping. Now, I don’t know about you but the fact that the LQS is clear across town doesn’t mean that I can’t stop there before the grocery store, does it? So a few (quite a few) minutes were spent visiting with friends and buying fabric.

The picture is a little washed out, the background is a very pale green. This will be used as a backing for a gift quilt I am working on. That is all I bought. I usually do not buy fabric for a project, I prefer to buy because I like the fabric and then let it tell me when it wants to be used. But nothing in my stash wanted to be the backing for this particular quilt so I had to go fabric shopping. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

The last pictures are of my hydrangeas. Look at how cute they are.

The three new buds are on the already blooming bush and the one bud is on the other bush. These bushes are only about 2’ high and the blooms are about 3-4” around but I am so excited.

And of course the roses just keep blooming and blooming.

Oh, and the laundry did get done. lol

A Little This, A Little That

The weather has been wonderful: low 90s, sunshine and a nice breeze. I have found myself balancing piecing with reading (and of course housework). And look at what a week of rain and then sunshine has done for my plants. My hydrangea flower is getting bigger and my roses are outdoing themselves.








I did get all my Dresden plates done and have started working on a layout.






I also have been working on the A Tisket A Tasket BOM at Bunny Hill. I got a late start with these but have now gotten them done through May.

And, I have made another Quilt in a Cup.

They have come out with a lidded cup so, of course, I had to have one. It arrived Wednesday and Thursday I was busy making a little quilt for it.

See, I even made a label for it.

DH and I will be leaving for Maryland on Monday so I am putting together some things to work on while we are traveling and visiting. Each of the above BOM blocks have a small amount of hand embroidery to complete so I am bringing them along. I did a lot of hand embroidery MANY years ago so figure I can do a little now. LOL I will also be sewing down the binding on Alabama Escargot. Any bets on how much I actually get done?

I am currently enjoying an evening “home alone.” DH has been assisting with a college musical, Footloose, and the first performance is tonight. I went to the dress rehearsal last night and it was terrific. Tonight I am finishing the laundry, reading blogs, and beginning the planning for packing. And I guess that sitting here writing/reading on the computer isn’t getting any of that done so I better get off and get busy.