On The Needles -February 27, 2015

And look!  They are needles and not hooks.  I haven't been very successful at knitting until yesterday.  I sat down and knit a little dishcloth and finished it!  I think it turned out pretty well.  I cast on another but this time in a basket weave pattern.  This one is going pretty slowly because it feels fiddly and I have to think about what I am doing.  My next one will be stockinet with a crochet edge.  Once I show my knitting mentor they will be put to good use.

To see what others have on their needles go to JudyLs.

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

Linda from Living 4 Quilting is our winner of the stash box.  When she posts her giveaway I will post it here.  I'll get Lindas box off in the mail by Saturday.

Thanks for playing.

Quilt Shop Hopping

I was talking with a friend of mine last week and mentioned that I had a gift certificate to Happiness is Quilting in McKinney, TX and that I was going to get my daughter to take me there on Friday.  That discussion led us to planning for her to pick me up Friday a.m. after her doctors appointment.

Friday morning I got the call that she was on her way to my house.  I gathered up my tote of necessaries and out the door we went.  First stop was Happiness is Quilting where I picked up rotary blades for my 28mm cutter, a cute pair of red embroidery scissors with heart shaped handles and a bobbin holder that attaches to your thread spool.  They have a nice shop.  This was the first time I visited their store.  Previously I had only shopped them at shows.

Next we went to The Quilt Asylum also in McKinney.  I picked up a few patterns and a pair of machinger gloves.  They too have a very nice shop.  It is very spacious.  I had been to their shop before.  I have a piece of Moda fabric that I was trying to find a close cousin to.  The ladies there were so helpful and gathered bolts for us to audition.  Nothing spoke to me.

My friend Linda"s sister lives in town and was celebrating a birthday the next day.  We stopped by and were given a tour of her gorgeous remodeled 1920s home.  I loved every detail.  We went out for a wonderful BBQ lunch too.  It was nice to spend time with these two ladies.  We took her sister home and continued on our journey.

The third stop was another shop in town called Stitched with Love.  This shop caters to the modern quilter.  I really did not know what to expect.  The shop was full of gorgeous fabrics with lots of light.  I found my fabrics cousin there, a FQ and several patterns.  I also picked up two pins.  One says UFO-ologist and the other says Runs with Scissors.  These ladies were also so helpful in locating fabric candidates for me.

When we left here we went to an antique mall in Allen.  The quilt below caught my eye.  It would fit a double bed and was quilted with the baptist fan pattern.  I love bubble gum pink quilts.  It was in beautiful condition and marked down to $65.  What a steal that is.  If I had better storage it would have come home with me.  I'll settle for recreating it in the future.  It is made with a variation of a shaded 4 pach.  Anyone know the block name?

Linda took me home after that shop.  We agreed that we needed to do this again.  I think the next trip should be to the shops in Kaufman, Seagoville and Terrell.  I have not been to any of these shops.  I went to the sew-in at that church and worked on my afghan.  While there I sold two duplicate rulers to a friend.  I decided that I needed to use that money to enhance my neutrals stash. 

Saturday my daughter took me to Pieced Together Studio.  I used the money from the ruler sale to buy several yards of neutrals.  I really want her shop to do well so was happy to spend money with her.

Stash Box Giveaway

I  received a stash box a few weeks ago.  I won the opportunity to receive the box, take the items I liked .and then  add my own items to pass along.  If you would like the same opportunity just leave a comment below.

Here is what was in the box

An assortment of patterns both pieced and appliqués.  Several charm packs.

More patterns, instruction booklets and FQs.

Notions.  More FQs and charm packs.

fQs and yardage.  There are two panels of labels.

Here is what I chose to keep (so far).  Several patterns, thread, some pin on flags that help you assemble your quilt top, charm packs and some yardage.  I am in the process of selecting items to place in the box and will blog about that later.

Everything fits in a large priority box so   if it fits it ships for whatever the latest rate is.  I think it is currently $15.25.  Ask a local friend to join with you and share that cost if you like.  I will draw the winner of the box on Thursday at 8 pm CST to give you time to enter.

Good luck!

On the Needles (Off the Hook) - February 20. 2015

Here are the three afghans my mother started and that I finished.  I out the last stitch in the brown one Friday night.  They are all freshly laundered and ready for use.  Now to choose the next project!

To see more projects On the Needles at Patchworktimes click here.

On the Needles (hook) - February 13, 2015

This afghan was started by my mother back in the 70's for my father.  There were just squares and skeins of yarn.  No pattern.  No notes.  When I was in NY last year I lay them on the floor to try to figure out the pattern or plan.  I had to make a few blocks and fix a few where the yarn wash broken or cut or?

It is an odd shape.  Long and skinny.  It will be good enough for a lap.  I am tying in ends.  I have the light color ends all done.  I work on this in front of the tv until I get bored with it.  It's going a lot faster than I thought.  Once I finish tying the ends I will crochet an edge on this.  Any crocheters with suggestions?

If you go back one more post you can see that I completed the second afghan UFO of my mother's.

I am linking up with Judy Ls "On the Needles" post.  Always lots of yarny goodness to see there.

A Finish and a New Project

Here is the finished afghan.  I worked on it diligently as I am off work and have been on the road.  I had to fudge a little as I ran out of yarn.  Only one yarn that I used bugs me but it is done and usable.  I will put it through the wash and make sure nothing comes undone.

I recently travelled to Michigan.  While I was there my boyfriends sister in law asked if I could repair her sons baby quilt.  Her recollection was that it needed a new back.  When we opened it there were several holes.  Some are through and through.  When she realized the extent of the damage she said never mind.  Knowing my history of fixing some very damaged linens I was not daunted.  I brought it home with me.

I have now taken it down to the top, back and center.  The backing is in terrible shape and is destined for the trash.  It is some poly blend stuff.  The center feels like flannel.  I was considering patching it but may just replace it.  The top looks and feels like bed sheet material.  It is all so soft.  I am going to cut away the edges as the quilt was birthed and the edges are very frayed.  One side where there is a hole all the way through will be cut a little deeper and give me the pieces I will use to repair the other damage.  I will show a close up once the repair is complete.

Here is Buddy sunning himself.  We have been experiencing 70 degree days.  Much better than the -1 we had the day we left Michigan.  Yard and garden work has begun.  I am looking forward to more outdoor time and motorcycle rides!

On the Needles (hook) - January 23, 2015

I inherited three afghan UFOs when my mother passed a year and a half ago.  One was for my Dad.  I finished it enough that he got to use it before his passing.  I still have ends to tie in.  There was a baby afghan.  I completely finished that one.  I kept it and use it to get a hug from my mother from time to time.

This is the third afghan.  She had almost completed one of the strips that you see on the left.  She had completed all the pink clusters for the centers if the granny squares and put the next row on a few then finished a single square.  This, along with the pattern gave me enough information to know which pattern from the booklet she was following.

I have completed all the pieces and am now in the process of assembling the granny square borders and tying in ends.  I am about to finish the third border and will likely complete the fourth border today. I am tying a few ends as I go but will probably finish most of it once the top is complete.  There are two rounds to crochet once the top is assembled.

There was not enough of the pink or off whit yarn from her stash.  I found close enough matches to continue on.  Anyone that notices the mismatch has too much time on their hands!  You now know what I have been doing with my time rather than quilting.

I am linking up with Judy L at Patchworktimes.

Sara's Big Bag

I made this for my best friend for Christmas.  It lives up to its name.  It's BIG!

Sorry for the fuzzy photos.  This is all pre-quilted fabric.you wrap the handles around a thick cording.  More hand work than machine work but it goes quickly.  It's hard to tell but the bag is reversible.  I have the fabric to make myself one.  Will share that when it's done.

FYi the blog title is the pattern name.  I have been unable to locate a source for the pattern.

Hugs,

Swooze

Happy New Year

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year.  I hope its a good one.

I have been reading peoples accounting of their 2014 quilting accomplishments for 2014". While I did not accomplish as much as I would have liked I did more than I thought.  I competed 2 Harley Davidson quilts, both bed size.  I made a microwave bowl and I made great progress on my dd's t-shirt quilt.

In addition to quilting I managed to finish a crocheted afghan throw and completed a baby afghan my mother had started.  I also finished another of her afghans that was intended for my father.  I count it complete but still have lots of threads to weave in.  Mom had one more afghan that I am currently working on and hope to complete soon.

I started Bonnie Hunters mystery and just took her New Year mystery class at Fabric Fanatics.  I hope this will keep me going forward with my sewing into this year.

I will share pics going forward.  Hope you will comment to let me know you are still reading my blog.

Hugs,

Swooze

The Quilt, The Quilter. The Recipient

3 judges with scores of 77, 92 and 83.  252 out of 300.  It is strange to me how wide the scores were.  It was fun and I will enter again!

Going to the Show!

Got my acceptance letter!

 

Got my hanging sleeve applied and the quilt bundled up and labeled as required.  Drop off at 3 p.m.!

Harley Davidson Quilt #1 - Deisgn Wall Monday

This is the first Harley Quilt that I made.  Ray drives a Road King and calls it Purple Haze.  The third picture shows the great texture that was achieved when Allison quilted flames from top to bottom in red and gold threads.  She made the suggestions of the word personalization and I was really impressed with her attention to detail and her work.

I will show more of this quilt later this week as it is going to be the first quilt I have entered into a show.   It will be hanging in the Mesquite Quilt Show in Mesquite Texas at the Rutherford recreation building.

Go see Judy at Patchworktimes for moire great design walls.

Design Wall Monday June 9, 2014

It's been awhile since I have posted my design wall.  Ths one was finished up Friday and dropped in the mail Saturday.  This is the second Harley quilt I have made.  The first is in the binding stages.  I will post more about it this week.

For more design walls go to Patchworktimes.

Together Again

Dad passed away quietly at my home Saturday the 31st.  I tried to will him to hang on until the 1st because I didn't want him to pass on my nephews birthday.  Alas, it was not meant to be.  Dad and Mom are together again with my baby sisters.

Rest in peace Dad.

Harley Davidson 2 Quilted

Remember me mentioning Allison?  This was quilted by her.  I asked for a simple all over medium scale pattern.  I also requested the logo be outlined.  I love the texture and especially how the logo stands out.  

You can find Allison in Plano just google Allison's Machine Quilting and Machine Repair.  She does beautiful work and gives great communication on where you are in queue with updates on progress if there is a delay.  Our schedules were a little off so she made herself available outside her regular hours to help me get this job done!

Binding strips are cut.  Watch here for updates on that task. Nthis one is long overdue but my friend understands that life interrupted.

Quilty hugs!

Swooze

Meet Buddy

I want to introduce you to Buddy, my Dad's little companion since he retired in 2001.  Wait a minute...that is Buddy's bed but that is NOT Buddy.  That is Duke.  

So about Buddy.  No that looks like his bed but that isn't him.  That is Sadie.

Here is Buddy!  Chillaxing in his chair at Dad's house before his big adventure.  He is a bit round and was enjoying treats three times a day.  If you forgot he would run to the cabinet and point out that you had forgotten.  His last vet visit in NY had him weighing in at 34 pounds.  He loved all the activity of the move and all the people that came to the house just to see him and give him a big send off.

Dad always talked about him not being a very good passenger.  Because of this he got to ride with Ray who has an iron fist when it comes to pet's behaving themselves.  He did not cause one single bit of trouble.  In fact we will blame Ray for this one.  While on the way to Texas Dad stopped in Ohio because he just could not go any further.  He was not well and needed lots of extra help to get him into the hotel.  Ray and I circled back so that we could assist.  I was smuggled into the hotel because I wasn't supposed to be there.  I was very good and did not cause one bit of trouble.



When I got to Texas I got to see Duke again.  We already made friends.  I tried to tell Duke how things were going to go when I met him at my house last year but alas, he set me straight.  We are good together now.  In fact I was told I was going to love Sadie.  Well she plays too rough with me and I am afraid of her.  I spend a lot of time whining about her to anyone that will listen.  Sometimes we get into a tussle and Duke has to get involved to straighten us out.  Once day I hope I will learn how to play with her.  You won't see Augie this post but he and I get along just fine.  He is very gentle with me.  He has moire interest in Darcy so we are not around each other very much.

Here I am hanging out on the porch with Darcy.  She thought I needed glasses.  While I look very smart with them I don't think I need them.  By now I have already met the vet.  I had this cough they thought was caused by my heart.  Turns out I had bronchitis,  All the temperature changes and stress were a little hard on me.  Steroids and antibiotics to the rescue.  They stopped feeding me treats three times a day AND they made me share with the other dogs in the house.  I am down to a trim 27 pounds with the vet mentioning that another 5 would benefit me.  It's always those last 5 pounds that get you!



Dad was so so sick and was in the hospital for 2 weeks.  I was moping around and missing him terribly.  They told me Dad was missing me too.  Ray took the rolling sewing machine case and stuck me inside then smuggled me in to see Dad.  Dad doesn't remember but I did and I was much happier!  I was really glad when Dad came home.



Here is a rare sighting.  This is me sleeping in MY bed.  I didn't use it in NY but it's a pretty nice piece of real estate when everyone's laps are full!  Until next time!



Buddy and