On and Off the Wall

On the Design Wall was Henrietta Whiskers, a Bunny Hill BOM.  The center was completed over a year ago and then put on my “completed” rack.  Every time I saw it I thought it was ready for quilting so on Saturday I took it off to measure so I could prepare the backing.  Was I ever surprised to find that it only had two borders sewn on.  So up on the design wall it went.  And, then I said “what was I thinking?”  I love orange but it just didn’t look good with this top.  So off they came and I started thinking up a new plan.




I found these two fabrics to join with the orange.  The plan: small darker border, orange border and then the wood like border.













However after putting the first little (1”) border on I decided the quilt was finished.  It is the perfect size for a wall hanging and I have the perfect wall for it.














I already had the backing fabric so before I could overthink it, off to the frame it all went.  I didn’t start the quilting but will this week.















I did spend some time at the sewing machine and got all the applique sewn down on the Owl wall hanging.  It will probably be the next thing on the frame.










I found some time to enjoy my  quilter’s hammock.













And even time for Abby who, every morning, pokes her head out of a quilt to ask if it is time to get up.





Hope everyone has a great week.  Gari

Linking with Patchwork Times.

Spring Quilting

We are well into Spring here in the South.  These are the trees at the front of our property and aren’t they filling out nicely.  We have several shades of green and even when it is raining we have a nice “rain forest” cover to take our daily walks through. 














But I haven’t spent all my time out in the woods.  After a couple of days of laundry/housework and deck/reading I finally got back into the studio and put my string placemats on the HQ. 










Instead of appliqueing them first, I decided to sew down each strip as part of the quilting process.  The idea also was to work on my control as part of this process.











It can be readily seen that although all the strips will eventually get sewn down, control is not yet achieved. 















I did some pebbling in just a few spaces and then small wavy lines in the rest with larger waves on the outside.





I really am pleased with how they turned out.  I have already started the binding; it is gold and I will show them on Monday.  All of these strips came from my Funky Chicken applique so these are very bright.  I have scraps coming from the fish (bright) and the owl (mostly brown) so there will be more placemats.  We use them all the time so more is more at our house.





When I was a child you were either a cat person or a dog person and we were only dog people.  But in this home we are both and so are the cats and dogs.  Each of these two have chosen this recliner as her own (or maybe it is the throw) but sharing is not out of the question.  My, they sure do make me smile.





Our hearts hurt for the people of Boston.  DH was born just south of there and spent his high school years in Boston so we have a special love for the town and it’s people.  Our prayers have been and are being said for those affected by this atrocity and for those who are working so hard to find the perpetrators. 

Gari

Edit:  Linking to Nina's Creative blog.

Small Projects

When I went to bed Saturday night this was what was sitting on my “design ironing board.”  Even then you could see what it was to become.














But how much better is this?  And it is on the real Design Wall.  It still needs applique stitching but I am very pleased with how he looks.  He is currently a free design at Justquiltin with Denise Russart.  Mine is going to be smaller because he is destined to fit on my bedroom door: he kind of looks like I do when I am on my way to bed each night.  He is made with batiks (sound familiar?). 







Earlier this week I finished the binding on my Carol Doak tabletopper and have put it to work.  It is a little small for our table but it does brighten up the room.









Next up on the HQ are my batik scraps placemats.  Here they are, hanging on the frame so that I can’t forget to get them going.










I found this fabric in my stash (leftover from someone else) and the colors are very similar to what is on the placemats so it is to be the backing for them. 








I had a very hard time getting into the studio on Saturday.  It was such a beautiful day I put the hammock out and then got on it.  What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.  Every so often I would put my book down and think “I really should get in there and get something done.”  Then I would swing a little, pick up the book and stay where I was.







However Sunday was very different.  This was what our weather looked like.  As of 4pm we had had 3” of rain and I had had a good day in the studio. 












One of the interesting things I found on the deck this week was this red leaf.  This is a 4 year old poinsettia plant and for some reason it is putting out a red leaf (actually 2).  I thought one had to hide the plant in the dark for a long time in order for this to happen but I guess not.  Anyway, I guess this means that the plant is happy, and so am I.

I am linking up with Patchwork Times. 

Have a great week,  Gari

Mid-Week Progress

Today I finished the quilting on this little table topper.  It is the first time I have quilted swirls and they were much easier than I thought they would be.














There was even sunshine so I could get a great shot of it












I even got the binding sewn onto the front.  I am trying a new, to me, way of doing the binding using a fancy stitch on the front.  But that is a job for tomorrow.










I did re-dress Fred today.  He is now wearing a navy middy in honor of my father who’s birthday is in April.  When I bought it I looked all over for the white hat to go with it but never could find one.  I’ll keep looking but today I realized that I don’t know how I would keep it on his head.  Anyway, he has changed chairs and is now sitting on the rocking chair DH gave me as a Christmas gift.

We have been having beautiful weather.  I have spent quite a lot of time on the deck with a good book.  And when it has been not so nice outside, I also have been playing with EQ and EQStitch.  You know, retirement has been so much fun.  In a couple of months it will be 7 years since I retired and I still marvel at how much I  enjoy it.

Have a good rest of the week!   Gari

Opps-Very Little Sewing/Quilting

The Plan:  Spend a lot of time in the studio sewing, quilting, and designing. 
What Happened:  Spent a lot of time on the computer, sitting on the deck-reading, and general procrastinating.

I finally did start quilting my Carol Doak table topper (seen here).  And on Sunday I went from the feathers and swirls to some ruler work on the star.










I have never been good with rulers but have decided that the only way to get even a little better is to work with them.









So that is what I am doing.  It seems really funny that the part of this quilting that is easy is “feathers” which less than a year ago I was afraid of trying.













Over the weekend I did get two BOM blocks fused. 

















Here is my April teapot: it is the 9th so we have only 3 more to go.  I guess it is time to begin planning the layout since I already have a place for it.  Right now it looks like layered fabric but when the stitching is done it will blend together.








Here is Rhonda’s.  Isn’t it neat how fabric makes such a difference?












And once again I had the opportunity to dive into my batik stash to come up with a unique fish.  And the funny thing is that I have already started thinking up a unique setting plan for them and we still have 8 more months to go.  Pooh!





So, what did I do with all my other extra time?





Well, I got all of these tools out.












Then I tipped our dining table over.  You see I have always wanted wheels on this table.  So a couple of weeks ago I bought 2 sets of wheels and waited for just the right day to begin this project.












Each of the wheels had to be pounded into the plastic plug that I put in the leg.  Fortunately all that pounding was no problem for the table as it is solid steel and HEAVY.







So, when it came time to  pick the table back up I realized that now, with the wheels on, I needed something to keep the table from just rolling away rather than tilting up.  So I put an electrical cord down by the wheels.  But right away I could see that the cord would just move, too.









So I added a yoga mat and then placed a magazine holder on top of that so it wouldn’t move.  And it worked.  Now I must say that it was not easy to get that VERY HEAVY table up off the floor but ‘the old girl still has it.’






Then after all that exercise I went for a walk in our woods with the puppies.  All of the trees and bushes have young leaves but you still can just barely see the house and studio.  Pretty cool, huh?




This week I hope to finish my table topper and start work on an Esther Aliu UFO.  I also have two mug rugs I would like to work on, one more BOM, and another UFO that needs the borders put on.  It’s not like I don’t have things to work on, I just was taking a little break, I guess.

I will be sharing on Patchwork Times and What a Hoot

Mid Week Lack of Sewing

This has been the week of tying up loose ends.  We finally got our income taxes done and in the mail.  I always feel so much better when that task is complete.

Then today I had an appointment with my doctor.  I have put off seeing him for a time but since I have experienced a few episodes with my heart I decided it was time to get back with him and get back on the medication I had kind of stopped taking.  Actually I started back on the meds a couple of weeks ago but needed him to renew my long overdue prescriptions.  And the news today was that my heart sounds great and all is well, if I do what I am supposed to do.

As a reward I took myself to the Village Inn for eggs benedict.  And, luck me, it was “free pie day” so I came home with a piece of lemon pie to share with DH.  Maybe I need to do the right thing more often.







Then, as a further reward for good behavior, I visited the largest fabric store around.  Here are two pieces of batik (on sale) that will go into the stash, probably for applique.  But look at how many colors are in the bottom piece.  I can feel the little gray cells working on how to use this.










These two pieces, also on sale, were purchased especially as backing fabrics for two quilt tops I already have completed.  Backings seem to be what keeps tops from getting quilted so now at least two will have no excuse.













We are making progress with the cats.  Here are three, of 5, that now quickly jump into the cage to eat.  I think we are going to have success carting them off soon.









Lastly I submit my blooming Christmas cactus.  I am so impressed: one full bloom, one almost bloom, one large bud, and, as of now, two small buds.  Every day I get more excited about this little plant and what it is doing to brighten up my life.


Now, after half a week with no sewing, I think I am going to have some dedicated studio time.
Gari

Design Wall Monday

Here is what is on my Design Wall this morning.  I started making these scrap blocks several months ago and then they got put aside for more organized projects.  But right now I am between projects so out they came.  I hope to have another comfort quilt ready to quilt by sometime next week.  The blocks still need to be squared: some even need an additional strip or two.  But I think they are going to make a fun little quilt.











I put this on the frame last week and there it sat until yesterday.  I had a terrible time coming up with a quilting plan.













I played with my plexiglass and finally came up with a plan so the quilting started yesterday afternoon.













Even though this is a small quilt, it really took me a long time to get started on this.














I am liking what I am doing in the borders and the large triangles.  We’ll see how I do when it comes time to stitch on the star.












We have been overrun by wild cats.  We started out with a couple and even got two, who chose to be sociable, spade.  However the others shy away from us but not each other.  Right now we have four dark gray cats and a light gray older kitten.  AND this past week we saw two small gray kittens come out from under the house.  It is time for them to go.  We have tried to think of how to get them together and off to the shelter and just this past weekend an idea came.  This is a birdcage we haven’t been using.  I have put it on the deck and we will be feeding the cats in there for a few days.  Also I will be sitting on the deck while they eat so they get used to me being around. 





Two of the cats went in to eat but the rest refused.  Here is one who is hiding behind the Norfolk Pine, peeking out at me to see what I am doing.  I don’t think he trusts me. 








Anyway, for a first day I think we made good progress.  I don’t want to harm these cats, I just want them to live somewhere else.













One thing that is living here and making me very happy is my Christmas Cactus.  We now have 5 blooms coming.  Two are very big, one is ready to begin growing and two are just starting.  They weren’t open for Easter but I am just so excited to see real blooms.


I spent a lot of the weekend repotting plants and attempting to resuscitate some of the plants we had wintering in the house.  I think all but one will live (looking a little rough) so we will have hanging baskets and a few deck plants.  I do not have a green thumb but I do like the look of healthy plants decorating my house and deck.


I will be linking up with Patchwork Times where creativity lives on Mondays.