Other Crafting

One of my goals this year was to work on "other" crafts that I like to do. My friend Linda B was making this afghan and I just fell in love with it. It reminded me of a Mile a Minute afghan I had started but was not having much luck with. I was not getting my strips to come out to the same length even when all the row counts were a perfect match.

I ripped all those strips out and followed Linda's pattern. The result is below. I am working on the edging now and hope to finish it this week. This one is for ME!! Don't you love how the front and back have such a different look.

The front.




















The back.

Bloomers Topped

I bought this kit, actually two of them, last year in Louisiana. I took them to my mother's with the intention of sewing them both with her. Here is hers and mine is cut out. I just added the borders and pieced the backing. It is now waiting at the quilters.

I assumed it was a lap size and didn't really think much about it. But when I added the borders it came out to 68 x 90. I think that is a full! Now to work on mine.

Baby BQ Bordered

I came up with a border that pleased my eye. Now to quilt it.




















UFO #6 from Judy's Challenge is finished.

Sew In Pics

UFO #6 topped with red borders.




















Baby BQ - playing with border ideas.

Bloomers center. I added borders and have to finish mitering them. More pics when that is done.

Is it Done?

I think asking the question answers it for me. I will probably add borders to get it as close to 45 x 60 as I can. I really do like it though.

Progress on UFO #6

In between getting caught up on some work and recorded TV I made 2 more blocks. Just have to make 2 half blocks now.

UFO #6

I thought I had left this in Louisiana. I had my sit and sew at the church tonight and while gathering for that I saw that I had it with me. In the project bag it goes.




















I sewed on it for a few hours and finished three of the five whole blocks I need. I will also need two half blocks. Not too bad for a few hours sewing. When I made this pattern before I added borders to bring it up to 45 x 60. The pattern shows no borders and is 31 x 48 I think. Is that too small for a baby quilt?



















I believe I have enough pieces cut to make three of these so that is my plan. I will top three of these then decide on a quilting plan.

Planning for the Coming Year

I am interested in several crafts but don't seem to get around to them all. I know I don't make the best use of my time so I decided to lay out a plan of what I want to work on this year. Here is my list for the year.

Quilting

• gavan t-shirt quilt
• darcy t-shirt quilt
• denim and flannel quilt
• bust animal prints
• mom's bloomers quilt
• marks pool quilt
• marks texas hold em quilt
• marks asian quilt
• baby bq
• matchstick marimba
• UFOs

Cross Stitch

• needle rolls
• bell pulls

Crocheting

• striped afghan
• hot pads
• socks

Knitting

• shawls
• pot scrubbers

Tatting

• anything

I will be using this list to help me organize. If it isn't on the list I will need to put it away, out of sight. If it is on the list I will make sure it is easily accessible. Wish me luck!

Judy's UFO Challenge

She picked #6. This is a Strip Stack which I have made before but will be in primary colors. I have cut it out already. I am guessing I have enough cut for three tops but we will see. I will piece them all at the same time thereby working on 3 UFOs at once.

Judy L's UFO Challenge

I was on the fence as to whether I would join or not. What the heck. I can drop out if I like but I can't beg in later. I don't have the right name on the 2nd UFO listed here but will correct it when I get the pattern in my hand.

Bring it on Judy!

1. Bloomers (mine)
2. matchstitch marimba
3. baby BQ
4. Bloomers (Mom's)
5. strip stacks primary
6. strip stacks primary
7. strip stacks primary
8. raising cane
9. hugs and kisses
10. super size 9 patch
11. super size 9 patch
12. super size 9 patch

I have multiples of some of these quilts as I made multiples. Good luck everyone!

RATS!!

See that wire? That is the lead to my fuel injector. Any guesses as to what happened?

A RAT climbed up onto my engine and chewed that wire! The mechanic suggested I put poison on the engine block. A friend of mine recommended I not. If for some reason the rat ate the poison and my dogs got him they would die from the poison. I am wondering if I should set a trap under my car.

Overwhelmed

I stepped into my sewing room and decided to start at the door and work my way around. I folded the fabric near the door and put it in a stack to be put away. I took a few items and flung them to the place in the room where their "relatives" reside. I looked up at the stack of cross stitch stuff and froze. Knowing how long it takes me to cross stitch an item I stopped my sorting. I was overwhelmed with how much stuff I have in just that one category!

I started writing my categories of things that I have in my room and then general categories under that such as thread, fabric, tools. I am hoping this will help me focus and find the right organizational tools for the job.

I will be putting my big girl panties on shortly and heading back in there to deal with it. Even if I make a small amount of progress in there I will be ahead of where I started the journey. This is already one big reality check for me!

Reflection on the Year and a Mystery Quilt



I was honored to have Dorothy Young from A Pocket Full of Mysteries allow me to test her latest mystery. The final clue was revealed so now I can post my finished top. She did not offer border options so I have to decide how I will finish this.



















I have spent the past week or so looking through my blog to see what I accomplished quilty wise. I live in two places and have found that when I am home in Texas I don't seem to accomplish as much with my quilting as I do in Louisiana.

Part of the problem is that my sewing room is very crowded and I don't really have the room to work in there. If I need to cut anything I have to shuffle, shuffle, shuffle. Otherwise I can do what I need to in there.

You may have noticed I recently picked up my crocheting again. This I spend a lot of time on when I am in Texas. My thoughts were that I would work on my quilting in LA and my crocheting in TX. As I write this I just think, just clean out your darn room! I do want to do that as well. I will be working on it this week.

As part of the cleaning process I wanted to see how many quilts I made so that I can arrange things in a way that allows me to have my planned projects for the year more accessible. This year I did the following:

• completed 6 BQ throw size
• completed Saratoga Lights - double size
• made 4 baby tops - stacked strips and hugs and kisses
• Pampered Pooch top
• Bloomers top - lap size
• 4th of July wall hanging
• made 4 fleece blankets - 3 baby and one twin size
• 2 aprons and 2 pillow cases
• Added borders to and bound Mom's sampler quilt
• Participated in a round robin

I can't decide if that is a lot or not. It definately is a guideline for the coming year. I already have a short list of things I want to do in the new year. I will have to finish creating that list so that I accomplish them. Anything beyond that will be bonus. I do know that I want to make smaller items this year and to try several tools that I have bought over the years and sit idle.

Have you thought about your goals for the new year?

Thanks Uncle Bill and Aunt Gloria

The orange is for Bill and green for Gloria. These are thank you gifts for helping my parents over the past few years. I finished the binding on Bill's tonight and they will go in the mail tomorrow.

Pillowcases Done

Remember this quilt? I like how these turned out.

Yikes!!

While I was driving yesterday I noticed the silly band I was wearing had rolled up my arm. That indentation was quite deep. An hour later there wasn't much difference.




















Three hours later.... Scary! Watch those kiddos!

What I Asked For....What I Got

The first picture shows what I asked for and what was more recently done.

On my first attempt to get this I got what is shown below. The "tips" were placed in such a way that they appeared to start in the middle of my nail bed. I also asked for the white part to be much shorter. I want my nails to look nice but not call unnecessary attention.

I described in detail what I wanted and the gal acknowledged every word I said. It became very apparent that she did not speak much English and understood even less of it. She did ask me at the end if I was happy and I said no. She understood that but made no attempt to correct the issue.

I am not much for confrontation. I paid and I left. How would you handle this situation? Am I the only wimp out there??

Need to Focus

I met a couple ladies Thursday night for an impromptu knit/crochet night. In the process of setting this up I found out there was a knit only group already scheduled. I popped over to see that group as well since I knew a few of them from the church sew ins I attend.

I have been playing with crocheting instead of:
- making DDs pillow cases
- making aprons
- binding Uncle's quilt

I will get back to these as soon as I finish my second hot pad 5 minutes) and get my packages ready for mailing in the morning. Yes my shopping is finished! I think.

I Am Enjoying Hooking



I found this pattern on ravelry and thought I would try it out. I started it yesterday or maybe even today. It went very quickly. This will be gifted to a friend of mine for Christmas.

I like doing something in addition to quilting for a little added interest.

One Down

I made this BQ for my Aunt. My Uncle's will be bound next. Just have the handwork left to do.