Cut, cut

Tonight I decided to start doing some cutting. I am using some flannel leftover from a quilt I did several years ago. I also bought some bright flannels to add to the quilt. So here are a few that I have cut. I am going to make a Court House Steps block and do the hand quilting with perle cotton. It should be very cozy for the cold, winter months that are coming this way!

In stitches,
Judy

Snip, snip

Tonight I did some work on the snipping of Vincent's rag quilt. I worked until my hand got tired and now it is time for bed.

Overtime has kicked in again. We are still hoping that Saturday will be just for volunteers and I my hand is not going up. I am hoping to get to sister's craft day. We are supposed to be doing Christmas stuff. I have no idea what that entails. I am not really ready for Christmas to happen yet.

The cold is almost gone!!! I have been flushing it of my system with gallons of water. It is a shame that the only bathroom on the floor at work is on the other side of the building!! I am also getting more exercise this way

In stitches,
Judy

Design Wall Monday

The baby quilt is not finished but here are some of the components that are leftover. I have 14 of the nine patch and snowball blocks left. Not an even amount of each, just 14 blocks.

I also have 96 half square units leftover. So are they broken dishes, pinwheels or flying geese? Your guess is as mine. Check in at Patchwork Times and see what every one else has on their design wall.


In stitches,
Judy

Not much accomplished

No sewing today!! The head cold is taking it's course and I am feeling much better. Not exactly looking forward to overtime but thems the breaks. I have decided to start a new project and hope to have it cut out tomorrow. Or at least something new on the design
wall.

The baby quilt is not done yet. The head cold knocked me for a loop and now that I am feeling better I am hoping to finish it this week sometime. The shower was today but the gal at work said it was not necessary to have it done for the shower. It is her twin sister and she had plenty of things for the shower.

I am taking crotcheting to work tomorrow. The system  takes long to load that I should be able to make a few dish clothes this week. I would like to quilt but that is too hard to do at work, unless I have binding to do. And nothing is quite there yet.

Stash Report

I had such plans for my stash report this week. I so wanted to finish the baby quilt for the shower today, but life happens when you have other plans. I ended up with a nasty head cold and that stopped my sewing altogether. And then we got busy again at work and the mandatory is back!!!! Ten hours a week until they say it is over.

Used this Week: 0 yds
Used year to Date: 61.875 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 98.583 yards
Net Used for 2010: -36.708 yards
 
 
Now that it is fall check in at Judy;s to see if people are using their stash or using it for insulation for the upcoming winter months!!!
 
 
In stitches,
Judy

It's almost a top

The baby quilt is almost a top. I have about 3 rows left to sew together. I am going to finish it tonight and layer it tomorrow night. I have meeting to go to tomorrow night and once it is layered I will begin machine quilting it.



Somewhere along the way, I have picked up a head cold. Yippee!! I am tired now and want to find my bed but I want to get the top sewed together. No more overtime until Saturday which will be an all day affair. And finishing the binding at work after my shift. I will just crank up my music and settle in my chair and stitch. It is always cold in the office on the weekends so it will be toasty hand stitching the binding.

This is not the baby quilt. Just another one of the raffle quilts I have done along the way. Just some eye candy to look at.


In stitches,

Judy

I have found my limit

Recently I was diagnosed with Lupus and it has settled in my bone and joints. I am feeling pretty good right now but I am having trouble finding my limits. I found that after doing the Shop Hop you should not try working overtime. Ten hour days are hard on my body. I did a 10 hours yesterday and I was able to meet with my small quilting group. I did 10 more hours today and I came home and sat like a blob. No sewing was done.

I did design a quilt using the leftovers from the baby quilt I am working on. I had to redesign it as it was way too big and I was missing one block. On the bright side I will have a second quilt from the leftovers and it will different from any thing else I have done in a long time. It is always nice to get out of one's box.

This is one of the first quilts I made.This is before they licensed fabrics and I picked up this Cincinnati Reds fabric for a song at Ben Franklin and I made this Rail Fence quilt for my son while he was on his 8th grade class in 1996. He was so surprised to find this on his bed when he got back from Washington, D.C.  When I was in New York this past March for my birthday, I was able to take pictures of it. The quilt on the top of the page I made much later and it also lives in New York with my daughter-in-law. It's an Irish Chain.

In stitches,
Judy

Design Wall Monday

This is what was on my design wall earlier this weekend. Nine of the 49 blocks for my baby quilt. I thought I had made enough blocks for this quilt and I took all the blocks to my small quilt meeting. I layed everything out and starting pinning so I can when I get home from work tomorrow night. And I will be able to sew after work and after I make yet another trip to JoAnn's for more butterfly fabric. I am one block shy of the snowball blocks and I did something last night that I don't normally do. I cut the binding. If I had not cut the binding I would have had enough fabric for another block and the binding. I really like to make fabric runs.

Check out Judy's blog to see what else is going on.


In stitches,
Judy

Sunday stuff

I got lots done today!!! Not quite all the sewing done that I wanted to do but most of it and I am still on target to get the baby quilt done for the gal at work.

I had lunch with two gals from work. It is nice to have time with them away from the office. One of the gals works from home and we rarely see her.

Two of my sisters {Hi Karen and Becky} found a new to me bookcase for my sewing room. I have gotten quite a collection of quilt books and now they will have a new home. The bookcase is in Becky's trunk and I am seeing Becky on Wednesday. Pictures to follow.

This quilt is one from a stash busting class I took at the local quilt shop. My girl friend has called "dibs" on this one. I just need to quilt and bind it. It is only a top. I should layer it and it would give me something to practice my machine quilting on. Then I could surprise her by showing up on her doorstep with it. I should work on that.

Hope everyone has a good Monday. Every Monday is one more day closer to the weekend!!!

In stitches,
Judy

Stash Report

This is the report that shows the tail end of the shop hop and the several trips that I made to JoAnn's this week. The positive thing is that most of the fabric I bought this week is ear marked for projects that will be done this week. And then next week's report will look good. Today not so good.


Used this Week: 4 yds
Used year to Date: 61.875 yards
Added this Week: 17.5 yards
Added Year to Date: 98.583 yards
Net Used for 2010: -36.708 yards
 
Scoot over to patchwork times and see all the pretty quilts Judy has been working on.
 
 
In stitches,
Judy

Saturday stuff

It was a busy day today, but I got bunches accomplished. I worked 8 hours today not really overtime as I missed Wednesday. I went to JoAnn's to pick up a little more fabric because of a cutting mistake I made last night, then on to the grocery store, home to make dinner, some laundry and then cutting and ultimately some sewing. I have finished all 24 blocks for my snowball baby quilt. I have 20 nine patch blocks to make tomorrow.

Here are the blocks.

And here is a close up of where I sewed 1/4" away from the first stitching to make half square triangles out of  what would ususally go in the trash. I will have 96 half square triangle units for the next quilt. Proving my point, that you never really finish a quilt you just provide "starter" for the next quilt.

Here is my Moonflower plants. They are huge and taking over my deck. Last year it took over my deck and a chair. So far my chair is safe.

Here is one almost ready to bloom.

And here is one growing through my deck floor.

In stitches,
Judy

Friday Night Sew In

It's here!!! Friday Night Sew In and Jennifer and I had a good time. She worked on her Grandmother's Flower garden and I worked on a baby quilt for a gal at work. I went to JoAnn's and picked up a few pieces for this quilt and came home and started cutting. I managed to get 9 out of the 63 blocks put together and on the design wall so everyone could see them.

This is the focus fabric.

And this is the first 9 blocks of the baby quilt.

The baby shower is a week from Sunday and I am hoping to have it finished so the gal at work can give it to her sister at the baby shower.  I will keep you posted.

In stitches,
Judy

One More Day to Friday Night Sew In

Tomorrow is Friday Night Sew In and I am getting ready for this event. Jennifer is joining me, dinner is planned, {pasta under homemade spaghetti sauce, salad, and beer bread}, but the project is still iffy. I need to cut tonight but I am working overtime and having people over to work on my new home office. I cut in the same area that the home office is being worked on. I am either going to work on a baby quilt for a gal at work or finish snipping the flannel rag quilt for my nephew or any of the myriad of projects setting around here waiting patiently for attention. So many decisions so little time!!!

This is a quilt I made several years ago using my stash. I like bright and cheery and this one fits the bill. I am trying to share with you some of my finished work. Jennifer has been photographing my quilts and I have found lots of them now that I have installed Picasa on my computer. It is like revisiting old friends!!!!

In stitches,
Judy

Shop Hop finished!!

Jennifer and I finished up the shop hop tonight after work. I cannot show the rest of my purchases as they are for gifts, But we did have fun finishing up. And for sure we will be doing this again next year. Now we just have to wait to see if we won any of the door prizes. Probably not!!

The moonflowers are beginning to bloom. I started the seeds on the window sill at work and passed out the extra plants to several people at work. It has been discouraging to hear from my co-workers that their plants are blooming and mine is not. But one has to be patience with nature and see what I have been blessed with. They bloom only at night and they have the most amazing scent.



In stitches,
Judy

More about the Shop Hop

It has been a busy week and it is only Tuesday. I still have two more shops to visit to finish the shop hop. I am hoping to finish them on Saturday. I have signed up for overtime for this week except for Friday, when Jennifer will be here for Friday Night Sew In.  I am going to work on a baby quilt for a gal at work. She is surprising her sister with the quilt. I have no idea what Jennifer is going to do. Perhaps more flowers for her grandmother's flower garden.

Here is what else followed me home from the Shop Hop. This is a piece that looks good with the aqua/turquoise pieces I bought Labor Day. I  am thinking about something for my bathroom as all the fixtures are that color.

A few more pieces of flannel for my flannel quilt.

And another piece of 30's print and yet another shot of the bathroom fabric.


I am hoping to get to the sewing room this weekend. I miss sewing, but the Shop Hop was a blast. I think I have satisfied my sewing fix for a while.

In stitches,
Judy

Stash Report

Here is the final tally from the shop hop. I did not do to bad with fabric. I will have pictures tomorrow. The camera is out n the car and I am too tired to go and get it.

Used this Week: 0 yds
Used year to Date: 57.875 yards
Added this Week: 6.583 yards
Added Year to Date: 81.083 yards
Net Used for 2010: -23.208 yards


Judy L's blog is the place to stop in and see how everyone else is coming along with their stashes.

In stitches,
Judy

Lunch on the Shop Hop

Jennifer and I decided to pack a picnic lunch that we could eat whenever we chose to. Of course, it was raining on and off and by the time we were ready to there was no park in sight. We settled on a large Walmart parking and chose a spot way out away from everyone one else.

In such a big open parking lot, can anyone explain why someone would park right next to us. Two ladies enjoying lunch and people watching.

We are in the Neon on the right and a young man with a Wright Patt Air Force Base sticker in his window parked smack dab next to us. Go figure!!!


In stiches,
Judy

Shop Hop Part 2

We had an exciting day so far and we have visited 6 out of the 11 shops that are participating in the shop hop.

Here we are at the first shop we visited. I was looking for just three things. More flannel, more 30's prints, and two books. Here is what I have found so far.

The flannel.

Some 30's prints.

Some more 30's prints.

One of the books.

A pattern for  a snowman. I adore snowmen.

A back pack pattern. My mom said she wanted one.

In stitches,

Judy

Shop Hop Part One

I am up and getting ready for the Shop Hop. I am so excited!!! I still have not gotten something for lunch. I  will storp somewhere while we are out and get some humus and go with that. Everything else is done except for loading the cooler and leaving, but Jennifer is not due here for almost an hour.

I am finding pictures of quilts I have done in the past. Here is a quilt I made several years ago for my niece, Kate, for her first communion. She loves Penquins!!! She was so surprised. Her cousin made her first communion that day and she also loves Penquins and I made her a pillow with a single Penquin on it. I later made Kate a matching pillow.

I need to go and finish getting ready for the day. I will post again tonight with my purchases and anything interesting we see along the way!!!

Remember those who left us too soon nine years ago today.

In stitches,
Judy

Friday Night Check List

This is a raffle quilt I did about 5-6 years ago for Miami Literacy Council in Dayton, Ohio. It was quick and easy to do and one of my early attempts at machine quilting.

Tomorrow is the Tri State Shop Hop and I am working on check list.

Camera and new batteries---check
Water in freezer---check
Pop in frig---to do
Pack a lunch---to do
List of items to be on look for---check
Get box ready to ship UPS---to do
Stuff for Jennifer---check
Excitement---check

I think I have everything under control I have spent most of the evening loading and playing with Picaso. Two of my sisters are using this program (Hi Becky and Karen). It is addictive like computer games.

In stitches,
Judy

No sew Thursday

I did not sew tonight but I did work on EQ7 working on the flannel quilt design. I am trying not to buy more flannel. It just becomes a viciuous cycle. The blocks are 12" finished and I am thinking about doing 6 x 7 and if I want it bigger I can always add a border. It will make a nice cuddle quilt and I am going to hand quilt it with perle cotton.

I am also going to start a baby quilt for my daughter in law. She is NOT pregnant but when she does becomae pregnant I want to be able to send this quilt to her and my son. I designed it on EQ7 and I have purchased some sweet baby fabric for this quilt. And once we know the sex of the baby I will make a gender specific quilt.

In stitches,
Judy

Thoughts

I have figured out that I will never use all of my stash. Each project I start is really a continuation of the last project. I just finished a rag quilt for my nephew for Christmas and I went out over the weekend and purchased some more blue flannel to make a Court House Steps flannel quilt for myself. I found a bunch of flannel strips from a quilt I did years ago and now I am adding some more flannel to that to make yet another quilt. I am hoping not buy much more flannel to finish this quilt. I don't want to grow more flannel in a dark corner of my stash!

This weekend starts Tri-State Shop Hop in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. This is the binder that was provided for the shop hop.  This will be the first time I have gone in a long time.  Jennifer is going with me and this will be here first time. I am looking for a little bit of flannel for my newest project. (see above) I can always use more 30's for my two projects I am cutting out now. And there are two books I am looking for. We are packing a picnic lunch to eat while we are out. We will be doing most of it on Saturday and finishing up locally on Sunday.

I did a bit of sewing tonight. I mended a pair of gym shorts for a gal's daughter at work and I made my belt. Not an exciting evening but I did get some things accomplished. Along with one load of laundry. And I am hoping that tomorrow night my Moon Flower will bloom. I must have at least 75 smallish buds on the plant and one bloom. These plants only bloom at night. And they smell awesome!!!

Hey, tomorrow is Wednesday!!

I did not do any stitching tonight. I did the grocery store thing after work and some dishes and a late dinner. I talked to my daughter in law on Facebook and worked on her Christmas list. They will not be joining for Christmas this year and we would like to have their Christmas stuff for them at Thanksgiving. I need to get busy!!


In stiches,
Judy

Labor Day

In my next life I am going to learn how to read. I got up this morning, took my shower, and gathered up all the stuff I needed at work today and went merrily to work. Once I got there I found out  I was not on the schedule. But since I am cross trained on both systems and there was a lot of work in the newest system I was welcome to stay. I worked for about 4 hours and then made a trip to JoAnn's just to look. And look what followed me home!

The Warm and Natural and the four pieces of flannel is for a flannel quilt using my scraps in the courthouse steps pattern. The blue will be for the centers and that matches the blue from Vincent's rag quilt.

The purple pieces are being added to the purple I have on hand to make a Split Decision quilt for my mom. The only place in my house the aqua/turquoise fabric would work is in my bathroom. My house is older and all the fixtures in bathroom are those colors. But then a small wallhanging in the bathroom would not be such a bad idea.

In stitches,
Judy

Sunday afternoon fun

I had the best day today. I drove out and spent the day with my sister (Hi Karen) and her grandbabies, Bella and Maddie. Bella is 4 and Maddie is 6 months old and teething. We did regular things like blowing bubbles, running around the house, snuggling on the sofa and let's pretend this is dinner with rocks and bubble wands. Bella would pretend to cook things for us to eat like meatloaf with corn and soup and sprinkles on top. Yum!!

In stitches,
Judy

Stash report

It is amazing!! I actually started and finished projects this week. I made a rag quilt for my nephew and three shopping bags. The shopping bags were done completely with stash. I did no sewing today and I am working tomorrow.

Used this Week: 9 yds

Used year to Date: 57.875 yard

Added this Week: 7 yards
Added Year to Date: 74.5 yards
Net Used for 2010: -16.625 yards
 
I have been reading the Patchwork Time blog all weekend and I am sure Judy has a big number to share with us.
 
In stitches,
Judy

Family Time

We had a family get together today celebrating Labor Day!! Good food and fun. The shopping bags were a big hit. As I finished them up they seemed to get bigger. I think my mom could have carried her 6 month old great grandbaby in hers.  Tomorrow I am going to spend part of the day with my sister, Karen and her grandbabies. It should be fun. And I want to finish snipping the rag quilt.

In stitches,
Judy

Friday Night Sew In

Yes, it is that time again!! Are you going to join this time? I know that I am. I have not picked out my project yet, but I have a good idea what I am going to do. I have an order for a baby quilt and that is what I am going to work on. Mark your calendars for September 17th. The button does not work so try this link inside. Friday Night Sew In

In stitches,
Judy

Friday night finish

Tomorrow we are celebrating Labor Day at my mom's and I decided that would be a perfect time to gift my family with shopping bags. The purple one is for my mom and the others will go to my sisters. I will now have to do one for myself. The first one I made was a nice size and now they seem have gotten a mind of their own and have grown. I am going to make mine a bit smaller.

I still have to make my salad for dinner. It is started but not finished. I will do it in the morning. I am doing 8 hours of overtime and I am going in at 7am. So I am going to bed now.

In stitches,
Judy

No Sew Thursday

Work has increased and voluntary overtime is back!!!! I worked 10 hours on Thursday and I will be back at work one hour early on Friday and all day Saturday and I will be laboring on Labor Day. I promised shopping bags to my sisters and my mom and thought I would be able to finish by Saturday. I have three sisters and I am almost done with the third one and I still have to my mom's purple bag. I will do that tonight, Jennifer is coming after work for our weekly sew in.

In stitches,
Judy