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.

Dad and other stuff

Who is this handsome man? This is my father as he was when I was a toddler. He has been gone for 19 years and today would have been his 89^th birthday. Happy Birthday Dad.

So far this has been a very productive week. First I finished quilting Purple Rails, a comfort quilt.

I had a lot of tension problems but when I decided to quilt it unregulated, the problems went away. I am not sure why it worked that way but it did. The other problem I had was that I positioned the panto about 4” down from the top so I had to go back and fill it in so it looked like I knew what I was doing. I still have to make the binding and get it bound but it has moved back down the “to do” list for the time being.

The 5^th Jelly Roll Sampler block was announced Monday and here is mine, today.

Once again, I was not impressed with the block when it was presented, but with these fabrics it really looks good. When it was done I just had to see how it looks with the other blocks and this is what I have.

I am not sure how many blocks we will be doing but it should be interesting to figure out a layout.

And as though I didn’t have enough projects going on all at one time, I got these out to start another.

Great Outdoors

Disign wall Monday, again. And this week I have something new.

I was picking up "stuff" and came across the leftovers of The City of Roses. When I looked at the pices of strata I began to see the makings of a new purse.

And this is how far I have gotten. On the left is the body of the purse including a front pocket. The next picture is the lining. The front, lining, and batting are all put together and quilted.

Check

Judy's blog for other projects.

This is a close up of the quilting. And now I really want a computerized quilting system. This was done by machine embroidery, four hoopings. This are the best feathers I will ever do. ;-)

I once again tried quilting Purple Rail and this is the panto I am using.

I really like how it looks but I am having problems with tension, thread breaking and so this is all I have gotten done, so far. I have cleaned the bobbin case, under the throat plate, changed the needle, and tried everything I can think of. It has gotten a little better but for some reason it is not working as well as usual.

So Sunday afternoon DH and I put this gazebo together and spent the rest of the day reading in the shade.