Do’s, Don’ts, and Maybe’s

I finally got backings done for two quilt tops. And I got one loaded.

Can you see what is wrong with this picture? No, not the wrinkles in the backing, those will come out when I roll it back and forth.

Somehow, probably because I was so excited to be finally getting something done and on the frame, I forgot to put the backing on right, under the second bar.

Here is the quilt, backing/batting/top, on correctly. Can you see the difference? It is amazing how much of a difference that one bar makes.

I didn’t do any quilting after I got it on the frame, saving it for today. I did work on valance restructuring a too large t-shirt (didn’t want to give it away) and put these blocks back up on the design wall.

They are the leftovers from a BOM (2005, I think). I used 7 of them for the valance in my bedroom and these three have been languishing on the UFO shelf for, oh my, 5 years. I have only been quilting for 10 years. Anyway, the fabric in front of the wall is what I plan to use to complete a lap quilt. The blocks are 15” and I think I may have to do pieced sashing and maybe even a border to match. One of my “jobs” for today is to play with EQ7 to see if I can come up with something I like.

See, I always have big plans for my days…….not so good on the follow through.

What fool decided……..

to make 3” Drunkard’s Path blocks? Me, that’s who. And how many do I have to make, a little over 100. And all of this because I just had to design my own quilt rather than copy one in the book. Oh, my. The first picture is of the template I bought to make these little blocks. It comes with great instructions and since both parts are in one piece, I was really grateful for them.

This is how my sewing table has looked for the last couple of days. I make four at a time and then put them on the design wall so I can see how it is looking.

This is how many I have completed so far. I think I have that many again to make. For some reason I can’t find the design I drew so I am having to guess until I either find it or draw it again (oh, my).

I did get the outer borders on the DNP comfort quilt so it is ready to quilt whenever the frame is empty.

And I just had to share pictures of my puppy, Abby.

This first one is of her barking furiously at the cat that insists on walking through our back yard, daily. Abby has been so happy since I moved the couch to the window: it affords her such a good view. But when I called to her, several times, this was the look I got:

Can’t you just hear her saying “What?”

I guess the South decided it didn’t want to be left out in the Winter Storms of the Century so this is what we are looking at.

Our DD called and asked if I would like to go to the store with her and it was just like I remember from a 32” snowstorm we had in Chicago: lots and lots of people buying groceries like they would not be able to get to a store for at least a week. It was really funny. We are told we may get up to 4” which will close down most everything since we are not prepared either to clear the streets or to drive on them.

The sane part of my day was spent putting together the DNP blocks I finished earlier in the week.

I also put a 1” inner border on: the blue stripe came from stash. Next I plan a 4-5” gray border and it will then be ready for quilting.

Earlier this week I also got my last block done for the Eleanor Burns BOM. This picture was taken prior to piecing the pieces.

This was fun: I made it a paper pieced block. I enjoyed making this one and may have to use it more in a quilt of it’s own. I also found templates for 3” drunkard’s path blocks I want to use for this quilt so I will start cutting fabric for them.

So, as I post this the weatherman is almost hyperventilating as he shows the snow coming. All schools and government offices are going to be closed. This is a really big deal here: 4".

Have a happy Valentine's Day and be sure to hug someone, it feels good.

Super Bowl Weekend

I got a call from DS#3 Saturday morning. He lives in MD (metro DC) and was buried in snow.

He offered for me to come up to visit (not likely) and sent a picture of his car.

He did say that the dog, granddog Ponce, was loving it, but they were not as happy since the power went off during the night. When we got off the phone I went online to see the radar and it looked like not only were they in for a lot more storm but that the storm was not moving very fast, if at all.

This morning, however, he wrote on Facebook that the temp in the house was down to 45F and without power they were going to miss the Super Bowl so they were off to the in-laws. See, I didn’t raise a complete dummy!

Design Wall:

While we were not enjoying snow here in the South I was sewing on my DNP blocks for my comfort quilt. These were my trial blocks. Notice anything wrong?

Well, it seems that 5.5” squares can’t be cut in half at 3”. Did I ever mention that I never took geometry? Anyway, I cut both of the trial blocks the same way so I seem to be a slow learner.

But I did learn and am cutting the real blocks right. I have 6 of the 12 blocks cut so I should have this top done sometime this week.

Check out Judy’s blog for other design wall projects.

Sunday I was going to work on two BOMs but instead I decided to visit a quilt shop that was having a Super Bowl sale. I walked through the store twice, going in the opposite direction each time, and look what I found on my second trip through.

Aren’t these luscious? I could almost see a quilt just looking at the yardage. And I do see polka dots in my future: no gift quilt here!

A Little Of Nothing

All day we have been expecting rain.

There is a big rain storm coming up from New Orleans and I expected it to dump on us but it has circled around us, so far. This is a good thing since our ground is still soaked from the storms we have had the last few weeks. Anyway, it has been a good day to sit and sew.

There are weeks when one works a lot but there is little to show for it and this has been one of those weeks. In order to get this baby quilt on the frame I had to sew fabrics together to make a backing and then sew pieces of batting together in order to have a full piece. Then I learned to do something I have never done. I learned how to set my serger up to do a chain stitch and stitched the backing onto the leaders. Even counting the time it took me to figure out how to change from overlock to chain on the serger, it still was quicker than pinning. I am so proud of myself.

I also decided what fabrics I would use for my next comfort quilt. It will more subdued in the middle and geared more to boys. I am doing another DNP but I can’t decide which way to make the blocks .

I will be cutting them down the center so should I cut plain squares or the stripes? I think if I cut the stripes I will turn them sidewise.