June OMG Finish

My goal was to finish the top for Crossroads.

I love this quilt and have a load of scraps to work with.

Linking up with Elm Street Quilts finish linkup.

Hugs,

Swooze

Wool Appliqué

Over the years I have collected wool applique patterns. I have never tried making one because I was afraid to ruin the wool. I had visions of jagged or frayed edges. When a wool applique class was offered at my local quilt store I jumped at the chance. They were offering a really cute pattern as a kit.

I showed up on the day with a few skeins of DMC floss, a package of embroidery needles and a pair of scissors. Everything else was provided. The instructor showed different methods of applique and provided the materials for each. She had a sample that had all the methods so you could feel the hand of the fabric and see the results. I went with the fusible using Heat N Bond.

She also had several types of scissors to try. She had Kay Buckley. I loved the feel of them in my hand but not the feel as I cut the wool. They did the job but when I tried the Fiskars Easy Action Micro Tip I fell in love with them. They cut smoothly and easily.

During class I managed to cut out the entire project and get all the fusing done. I had all the wool applique stitches done and only had backstitching of the letters and the embellishments left.

Here is the final project.

Wicked Chickens Lay Deviled Eggs. Hilarious!

The pattern can be found at Briar Root Primitives here.

It was a great class and I got over my fear of cutting into wool.

Hugs,

Swooze

Mini Quilt for Mesquite Quilt Show

The Mesquite Guild asked for mini quilts to be donated for silent auction to benefit the ROTC. The ROTC is going to be helping setup and take down the quilt racks for the show. The money raised will go to scholarships for ROTC students.

I finished this little mini back in January. I was just not pleased with it.

The binding was just not applied well and didn't match well. I tipped it off last week and applied a new one.

It was delivered today for the show on the 23rd and 24th of this month. I hope it raises a little money for the ROTC students.

Hugs,

Swooze

June OMG

June? Really?

I've been doing well with achieving my goals with the One Monthly Goal, hosted by Patty at Elm Street Quilts, this year.

Here us my June goal. I am going to finish this quilt top. It is my Crossroads BOM that was hosted by my LQS, Wattafind. It was only 6 months long so not too drawn out. I am currently working on month 5 and ready to tackle month 6 with all the pieces for that row already assembled.

Here is where I left off.

Wish me luck! I'm linking up with Elm Street Quilts.

Hugs,

Swooze

May OMG Finished!

My goal for May was to make two flimsies from my row by row quilt and to finish my bandana shirt. You've already seen the two flimsies:

They will be quilted later on.

Tonight I finished my bandana shirt. The iriginsl pattern called for using 6 bandanas. While I was shopping I decided to make it reversible. 12 bandanas. This is one of my 2Q goals for the finish along.

I plan to wear it as a windbreaker on the motorcycle.

Linking up with Elm Street Quilts and She Can Quilt for 2Q FAL. My list if FAL goals is here.

Hugs,

Swooze

May OMG Part 2

Here is the second wall hanging. I was thinking I had cut the border a little too narrow but now that it's sewn I think it looks great.

Now onto the bandana shirt!

Hugs,

Swooze

Away Sewing

I've been working on this quilt pretty regularly at different venues over the last month or so. This is round five of six. I have a green solid border that I'm adding and actually have the two sides done already. The sixth round is more slab borders with another pieced border that goes at the top and bottom. Those borders are already made and will just need to be cut to size and attached.

This quilt is called Crossroads and is designed by Ashley Newcomb of Film in The Fridge.


Hugs,

Swooze

OMG Part 1

My goal is to make 2 wall hangings flimsies and finish my bandana shirt. Yesterday I decided to quit moping around and DO something sewing wise at home.

Here is wall hanging one. I quite like it.

Here is planned wall hanging two. I layed everything out to get a sense of size of borders. I am going to cut 3.5" strips for the borders to make the most of the backing I bought for it.

Hoping this little bit of activity will get me moving again.

Hugs,

Swooze

Chronicles of Suzette

Yup. That's me. Suzette. Did you ever wonder why I was helping Sandra so much? Other than the fact I was unemployed with lots of free time on my hands? Well I am a bit of a clutterbug myself. I must admit I do hoard a bit in the fabric department. Reluctant to let things go and always accepting things from others. I do try to share with others as often as I can to keep it in check.

Rewind to last fall. My daughter moved out and I immediately took over her room creating a storage area for things like Christmas dishes, my sewing machine collection and tons of fabric! I setup my cutting table so that I could always leave it up. I was in heaven. Well a very messy cluttered heaven.

Over the past few weeks there had been trouble at her place. She easn't getting along with her roommate. He holds the lease. So no surprise she was asked to move out. She hurriedly tried to find a place. She found one and we thought things were going to work out. Then there was an incorrect negative item on her credit report. No choice. She moved back in with me last week while we get her report corrected.

I got home last Thursday and there she was with three helpers. We made a plan of where things would go and they started moving. Most of my stuff is now stacked in my living room behind my recliner so I don't have to see it, if I don't look. I made sure my sewing room didn't get totally blocked off and that I still have free access to my long arm.

By the next day she was all moved back into her room. I was once again surrounded by all my stuff.

I had plans to go sew at the church with my friends Friday night. This whole experience took a direct hit on my mojo. I got there and I was missing things from my sewing bag like pins and scissors. I had misplaced my final months kit for the BOM I'm working on so that weighed on my mind. I didn't bring the extra fabric from the month I was currently working on and needed a few things from it. It was just not a happy time. I persevered and managed to get one border side done and the majority of the second done.

I went home. Not relaxed nor energized. I sat in the middle of my stuff all weekend and never made a single stitch. I did manage to locate the missing kit. To say I am overwhelmed is an understatement. I need to do something.

My plan tonight is to work on something for a short amount of time to try and get myself rolling again. It's been hard since I felt I had really made some progress on getting things under control. The clutter was way down. I will persevere.

Sorry this is such a downer post. Hopefully I'll have some quilty content soon.

Hugs,

Swooze

Row Options

I've been considering the possibilities. Here are some additional options.

Clamshells with the beach scene. I love it just as it is with no additional borders. Will have to do more ripping and sewing on this.

I thought I would audition the splash or wave row with the umbrellas. I don't love this. I'll have to continue stewing on this for a bit.

Hugs,

Swooze

Row by Row Destruct

I took my row by row apart. I have some rows still sewn together that I might group.

The armadillo row will be surrounded with bluebonnets more than likely.

The magician fish will probably be surrounded by a fireworks print I just bought. There will be words appliqued on it too.

Finally the umbrella row. I am not sure what to do with that one. I may play with the 30's prints used in the umbrellas.

Open to suggestions on any of these.

The remaining four rows are in two sections now. I'm seriously considering sewing them together. I have fabric that has starfish and other shells on it. I also have anchor fabric. I really need suggestions on what to do with these rows.

Please give your ideas!

Hugs,

Swooze

May OMG

As I was finishing up last months goal I started thinking about what I would work on this month. I even posted a list of potential "nexts". As I typed I thought how ridiculous it was that I had not finished my bandana shirt. I also got a response from one of my readers that knows I'm struggling with confidence on my longarm. She suggested I go with my row by row which will create lots of small projects that may help me get on my machine more.

So my goal is to finish my reversible bandana shirt.

To make the goal a little more of a stretch I'm also going to disassemble my row by row quilt and add borders to at least two of them to make wall hangings.

Join us at Elm Street Quilts and set an achievable goal. Then link up at the end of the month with your finish. You could win a prize! I have won a few times now.

Hugs,

Swooze

What's Next

I just finished my 3D bowtie quilt. Piecing it at least. I find myself at that point of deciding what's next.

Lately I have had a project I work on only when I go sew with friends. When I'm home sewing I have been working on a different project. The bowtie quilt was my home project so I'm trying to choose something that fits for my workspace.

What does that mean? I tend to do cutting of borders and major cutting away from home where I have a little more room to spread out. I could do these things at home but that would require me to clean off my cutting table. I'm still on lifting and bending restrictions so that will happen after that is over. Although I could enlist others to help me clean it up.

So what do I have on my very long list of projects in progress? There are many that just require quilting. I even have one on my machine. I really should just work on that and get more practice at quilting. My plan is to spend at least 15 minutes a day on quilting something to get me into that habit. I have some things that have piled up in front of the frame so another cleaning project. Again I coukd enlist others help.

Other piecing options are:
- Crossroads. My current away project
- Garden Party. Needs borders.
- Dizzy. Basically it needs a decision of whether I want to add borders
- Double 4 Patch. This one needs a good round of cutting then piecing
- Bandana shirt. I just need to hem the sleeves and waist then close the neck.
- Double Wedding Ring. I have all the pieced arcs. Need to cut the centers and melons. I am hoping my GO die matches the size of the arcs
- Row by row Quilt. I won a prize with this quilt but don't love it. I plan to cut it down and make wall hangings out of the rows

So you've just heard a whole bunch of excuses. What do you think my next home project should be?

Hugs,

Swooze

April OMG is Finished!!

I went back to work on the 10th full time. Mix in with that two eye surgeries and a couple eye procedures. Then we have a little dog that misses me now that I'm gone all day so we've been sitting in our chair watching tv. I havent teally been working on my bowtie quilt.

Last night I pressed two sections of the quilt and sewed them together. In the process I made a fold in the seam. I left it figuring if I did the same to the second section I woukd fix them at the same time.

Today I gave myself a little talking to. I told myself it's ridiculous that I can't take the time to finish piecing this top together. After watching a recorded show and eating dinner I pressed and sewed the second section with ease. I quickly unpicked my troublesome seam on the first section and resewed it. I then sewed the two sections together.

I give you my finished 3D bowtie quilt top. My goal for my April OMG.

Linking up with Elm Street Quilts.

Hugs,

Swooze

Design Wall Monday

Last week I managed to get the last of the four quadrants sewn together for my 3D bowtie. I stopped there because I wanted to press them on the big board at the church Friday night. I only got one pressed and had to leave. Over the weekend I cleaned off my own ironing board and will press the remaining three quadrants and then assemble the top this week. This quilt top is my one monthly goal for April.

I'm linking up with Judy at Patchworktimes.

Hugs,

Swooze

Design Wall Monday

I've been working on my One Monthly Goal for April. I had rows of blocks pieced together when I set the goal. I figured out how big the quilt would be with the blocks i had at the point I purchased the UFO from the estate sale. I figured out how many blocks I would need to achieve my desired size then determined if i had enough fabric to make them.

Great news. I had enough. I cut the strips and then subcut them at a retreat a week ago. Over the past week I started making the blocks I needed completing them all today.

Because I made them in batches, I had enough blocks to make the remaining rows for two of the quadrants first. Saturday afternoon I completed the first.

Sunday morning I began working on the second quadrant. I was trying to hurry to finish it before company arrived.

Oops! I still had time to rip out the bad row and reattach it.

Better. After our Easter dinner with friends and family I decided to continue sewing. I finished the rest of the blocks then I sewed together the rows I had already made for the third quadrant. Three more rows to make and attach.

It looks like I'm on target to complete my goal this month.

I had a very small bleed in my surgical eye. I bent a little too far unintentionally and felt a little pop. Luckily it cleared up and did nit effect my vision. I have the right eye done Tuesday. This is the more troublesome of the two. I plan to be even more careful with this one during recovery.

Linking up with Patchworktimes for Design Wall Monday.

Hugs,

Swooze

Chronicles of Sandra Backsliding

I went to Sandra's house the Monday before my surgery last week. It was going to be my last chance at heavy lifting until after my cataract surgeries and recoveries. There were a few things i wanted to do and a few things Sandra wanted me to do.

i worked at these tasks and sat down to visit with her for awhile afterwards. She had eight large stacks of magazines on the floor. We talked about the fact that she could spend my recovery time going through those magazines and getting them all cleared out so that we can move onto other things in her home. She said yes she could take her time and work on them. I left hopeful that she would do just that and really conquer a lot of paper clutter in her home. I even mentioned that there were two totes full of bills and newsletters that she needed to go through and shred as she had time.

I have to admit it was a little sad when I left after I had been spending so much time with her knowing that I was going back to work and wouldn't get to see her quite as often. I think she felt the same and we took a long time to say our goodbyes and see you laters when I left.

Surgery happened. Post surgery happened. All went well. I asked Linda if she wanted to go and visit Sandra on Thursday. We went and picked up lunch and took it to her. We arrived to her quickly bagging up the magazines in small batches and putting them in her wagon so that she could take them out to the patio. She probably exclaimed she was trying to get them all outside so that we would be surprised at how good things are looking there. I was a little bit dismayed because I was hoping she would go through them and get rid of them that way rather than stash them somewhere. Linda helped her get those that she had bagged up outside and she put them away but the rest sat there while we visited and had lunch. We visited and talked about her goal of going through one bag a week and we suggested that maybe she should go through a couple bags a day. I of course made my inspection rounds. She is clinging tightly to keeping her laundry area clear. Sadly there are things starting to line up in the hall. We left and said our goodbyes again talking about the fact that I was returning to work the following Monday and that my visits would be fewer.

I have seen Sandra socially a few times since that visit and have talked her on the phone a few times as well. Most recently she proudly returned one of the totes I gad taken over there for her to keep her things in until she can go through them. She described how she emptied one of her totes so she could transfer the things. My interpretation is there is a bigger mess now. My last conversation made me hopeful. She happily described all the things she had bagged up ready to go out the door to family members she is seeing at Easter. She also has some quilty items ready to go out as well. I have accupuncture once a week near her house. I plan to stop in afterwards each week to see how I can help. I can't wait until May when my restrictions
from surgery are lifted.

Hugs,

Swooze

Design Wall Monday

I went to a day retreat at my local quilt store on Sunday. It went from 10 AM to 6 PM but I had to stop around 4:30 because I just ran out of steam.

When I sew outside of my house I like to do cutting of strips because I typically have more room and I like to work on things that require a little more precision using my Singer 301.

While I was at the retreat I cut the rest of the pieces that I need for my 3-D bow tie quilt. I don't mind sewing that one at home on my Janome. I also worked on my Crossroads quilt. I prefer to work on this one on my 301 because it has very small pieces and I can be very accurate on that machine.

Crossroads is a 6 month BOM. I managed to finish the fourth month/round today. The fifth month/round has a bunch of churndash blocks. It's going to take a good bit of time to get this round complete.

We had really good food at the retreat and also a really fun time. Would anyone like to buy a vowel?

I'm linking up with Judy at Patchworktimes.

Hugs,

Swooze

p.s. My first eye surgery was a success. I'm preparing for the next one on the 18th. Also starting my new job tomorrow.

Second Quarter 2017 Finish Along

Rhonda at Rhonda's Ramblings hosts a Finish Along each quarter. You link to her blog, or one of the other hostesses, with a post about your proposed finishes.

My goal this year is to be a finisher. There are two UFO challenges I participate in. To prepare for those I listed 12 I really wanted to get finished this year. Those will be the main focus of this quarter along with some smaller items.

1 Strip Stacks - purple borders
2 Strip Stacks - red border
3 tumbler
4 4 patch on point - black green pink
5 Avignon Picnic
6 Matchstick Marimba
7 Strip Stacks - green and pink
8 Renee's navy top
9 Nancie's Floral and White Blocks
10 Pieced together contest
11 Pink Poppy BQ
12 Bandana shirt
13 Turquoise blocks
14 Ricci's quilt
15 3D Bowtie
16 Double 4 patch
17 - ? Find and quilt all the charity quilts I have lingering here

15 and 16 require piecing. The rest need to be quilted and bound.

Wish me luck!

Swooze

Chronicles of Sandra The Patio

Linda, Nick and I went to Sandra's Saturday a.m. My plan was to have Linda sit with Sandra while Nick and I worked on the patio. Nate was supposed to join us but he was a no show.

Sandra's talk of just letting all the magazines go was just that. Talk. Linda sorted through one large stack while Sandra sorted through other paper. Linda acted as a gopher for us coming and grabbing more things from me to take to sort or bringing me trash bags or whatever else.

Nick helped totally clear out the far end of the patio that I was not able to do. Too much heavy lifting. We got things cleared out on that end then Nick went through with the blower to get all the bits and pieces off the floor. At that point we put back what was staying. There is now a clear path all the way through.

A lot of consolidation happened. We got rid of beaten up boxes and rehomed things into sealed totes. Sandra and I had discussed baskets and she agreed they no longer worked in her home. We found at least a dozen on the patio and took them straight to the truck to go. She let go of a broken wooden chair and a small decorative wicker couch. These things were taking up a lot of space!

Still too much stuff out there but the trash is gone. Large unwanted items are gone. I only found a few more magazines out there. I'm hoping we have reached the end of those but I'm sure there are more lurking in the other rooms.

Now that the flow of paper will slow down I think Sandra will be seeing great progress in her living room.

We talked yesterday about what's next. I only have today for any heavy lifting for awhile. I'm having cataract surgery tomorrow and then on the 18th. Lifting and bending restrictions come with it. I'll be out of commission for the rest of April.

Let's add to this that I have been unemployed since October. I got a job offer and go back to work on the 10th. Any more time I spend there will be on the weekends and for shorter periods of time. I will probably be taking people with me as they are available to make as big an impact as I can. I think Sandra is closer to being able to work on things herself. Just a little more work and she'll be there.

Ill leave you with this little treasure I found on the patio. Sandra, 10, is on the left and Grace, 12, is on the right. Sandra told me her Dad used to carry this picture set with him whenever he travelled. What a sweet story. It is safely inside the house now. Whenever I talk to Grace she thanks me profusely for helping Sandra. I'm just glad Sandra allowed me to.

Hugs,

Swooze