mequilter

Only Three Blocks to GO!

2012-01-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

So since I only have three blocks to go, they only need the two strips of the third dark. I decided to place the blocks I have done on the design wall. My poor design wall is hardly big enough for what I need but it is better than nothing.

As of 1.23.12

The colors look a little washed out here but it is shaping up nicely.

Happy Stitching!!

Center Stars

2012-01-19T20:50:00.000-07:00

Are all done!!

The last 7 stars

Happy Stitching!!

I won't do doing any sewing this weekend as I will be attending the Arizona Family History Expo!

Contact your Elected Officials

2012-01-18T07:36:00.003-07:00

First Project Done for 2012

2012-01-15T21:20:00.000-07:00

Well that is a bit of an exaggeration. I did finish this quilt last year. I had it lovingly handing for Christmas. On Christmas Morning our youngest son said, "Santa & the Snowman are missing their eyes aren't they suppose to have eyes." We also had a discussion about the angle's trumpet, he thought it was coming out of her eye, I said it was her mouth.

So last night I found the pattern to check out the eye placement. I sewed on all the seed beads. Birds, angel, snowman & Santa all have eyes and the angel has a halo. So here are the updated photos to prove I did the deed.

I even gave Santa nose. I can't believed I missed this last year. Better late than never.

Happy Stitching!

Forgot One

2012-01-08T21:49:00.001-07:00

After dinner I realized I forgot to post one of the little quilts I made last year.

Christmas Wreath 12/3/11

I need to get all the credit I can get!

This evening I finished 4 more star centers for Mr. B.'s quilt. All the star points are made, now to finish those last 3 stars!

Happy Stitiching!!

Review of Quilt Goals for 2011

2012-01-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

I had big dreams at the beginning of 2011 and they were not accomplished. It was a busy year and work was very busy. SO I feel I did the best I could and I am happy with what I accomplished. I am really pleased with Kierra's quilt and glad it is finished.

This was my list for 2011
Sea Breeze (PIG)
Dear Jane Scrappy Happy (WIP)
Dear Jane Nurses’ Swap (WHIMM)
Mystery Quilt 2010 (WIP)
Quilt of Valor (PIG)
Yellow Brick Road (PIG) Started
Caribbean Sea (WIP)
Washington Medallion the top only (WIP) just needs borders added
Farmer's Wife Sampler (WIP) Make more blocks did make some
2 Charity Quilts (Use Stash)
Kierra's Quilt Done
Richard's Quilt Started

The ones in italic are the ones I worked on. In Bold is what I finished.
My life just took a different path. But just so you don't feel bad for me let me show you the pictures of the things I did finish.

Fall Table Topper 1/1/11

Moon Santa 1/22/11

Flag Wall Hanging 4/4/11

Jelly Star 6/20/11

Fresh Picked Flowers

Flying Geese

Double Irish Chain

I am not making a list for 2012! I am going to be surprised. I'll peek at last year's list for inspiration.

EQ7 Special Effects

2012-01-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

I just realized I was behind in posting my EQ7 Quilt for this week. I think I am being a little ambitious with this idea. Mainly because I have been working on catching up on topics for my genealogy blog. Check it out you will read some fun stories about my own life, like high school, elementary school, worst & best subjects. Enjoy!

Now on to this weeks EQ7 idea. This is one of my dazzle tricks I teach in my Beginner's class.

Cross block

First you draw a block any block. Color it. This cross block is a nice example.

Special Effect Quilt Layout

Next pick one of the Special Effect quilt layout. This is one of the simple layouts but you could use any of the special effects layouts.

Pathways

Then add the blocks to the quilt layout. Remember to use the control key to add the blocks to all the block spaces at one time. I really like the effect of this quilt, it looks like paths or a game board.

I hope you try this with different blocks and see how different they can look.

Would I ever make this quilt, no way but that is the fun of EQ you can design things and not make them.

Happy EQ Designing!

Orion's Star Progress

2012-01-05T05:50:00.000-07:00

I am making some progress on Richard's (Mr. B.) Orion Star quilt. Of course now that I am back to work after the Holiday breaks and I have been busy writing up Personal stories on my Genealogy blog it seems like my progress is slow. Slow progress is better than no progress!

I have 7 more blocks almost done, I was hoping to finish the 3rd dark last night but I ran out of time. Working girls need to go to beed on time so they can get up in the morning. I still have the second third dark to add to all the blocks.

7 more blocks

I have ben thinking about the block arrangement and I think I will set it in a furrows pattern. I like that diagonial look of the colors across the quilt.

Happy Stitching!

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T20:26:00.000-07:00

May the New Year be good to you!

A New Quilt for Richard

2011-12-29T22:18:00.000-07:00

One of the goals I had this year was to make a quilt for Mr. B. Earlier this year I picked out some fabric and a quilt I wanted to do. He approved the fabric.

Well time slipped away and then I was sick while I was on vacation for Christmas, that was a bummer. We still had a nice Christmas I just didn't do some of the little extra stuff I do. No one noticed.

First Block

So on Monday the 26th I started Mr. B's quilt, it is called Orion's Star by Eleanor Burns. My husband likes red, white & blue, so that is what he is getting.

I made one block and there are a total of 15. I like to make one so I see the fabrics the way they are suppose to go. I really like the red and the blues, I am not happy about the lights, especially the middle one. He won't notice he will just like it any way.

7 more centers

First lights

I was able to make almost 7 of the centers.

Tonight I did some more sewing and I have the second light on all the 7 centers I have made. The stars take the most time.

Happy Stitching!

EQ7 Symmetry Tutorial

2011-12-26T12:25:00.001-07:00

After following Judy over at Virtual Quilter I feel a little inspired. Now I don't want to design a quilt a day but maybe a quilt a week. With some of my designs I might even make a little tutorial. So here is the first one. I also don't want to copy her designs but want to do my own, there maybe some similarities because lets face it a Log Cabin quilt is a Log Cabin quilt. I am doing this to challenge myself to play in EQ7 every week.

My first design is one I present in each of my Beginner's EQ7 classes. It is one of my "Let Me Dazzle You Tricks". I show this and another trick so they can go home and dazzle someone. It is easy and fun.

First you draw a 9 patch block and draw a diagonal line through the block. Next you color it with two high contrast colors. I actually saw a quilt made with this block by the daughter of the LQS owner many years ago. I have forgotten how she arranged her blocks on the quilt but it did leave an impression.

Just like this one!

That was easy. Now you take that block and set it in a 4 x 4 block quilt layout. No sashings, and don't even worry about borders now.

That was easy! Now for the dazzle part.

Click on the Symmetry icon.

Cursor

Take your cursor that now looks like the Symmetry Icon, and hold down the Ctrl (Control) Key and click the mouse. The Control key with the Symmetry icon allows you to change all the blocks in the quilt at the same time. The last time I used this tools I came up with 22 versions of the quilt.

Variation 1

Tips to make it work well, your block needs to be asymmetrical in it's appearance, so a log cabin block will work well also. High contrast colors work well also.

Variation 6

I am only going to show you two variations but like I said I counted 22.

Now go try it yourself! Have fun and post a comment if you have a question.

Happy Stitching and EQing!!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T08:03:00.000-07:00

We had a little Christmas here on Wednesday with Kierra and her husband Will since they both have to work today on Christmas. Let me just say the quilt was a hit!

Opening the quilt

They both said nice things such as "look at that design", "how cool", "I like this color for the thread". I forget the other comments.

Admiring the quilt

I think Mr. B. was making Kierra a little uncomfortable because he kept telling her the quilt cost $2000 and each time he would say that the price went up by $500. Will caught on to him and said, "The price keeps going up." He was including an hourly wage for me to make the quilt.

They also like the little PS I love you tab and how I signed the quilt. It sure makes you feel good when all the work is appreciated.

I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas! I hope it is a safe, happy and blessed day for you and yours. And with all the fun stuff take a moment to remember the joyous gift we received this day.

Double Irish Chain is Done!

2011-12-18T23:05:00.001-07:00

About an hour ago I finished Kierra's & Will's quilt. All 432 inches of binding sewed on by hand. It is a good feeling to get it done and not to being sewing on it at midnight on Christmas Eve.

Every night that I worked on the binding I had company from my cat. She would sit on the quilt that was in my lap and she made it hard for me to lift and move the quilt as I sewed.

Rosie on the quilt in my lab.

Rosie really shows up good on the orange fabric. I placed a little extra touch in the binding of the quilt. I think these little PS I love you tabs are so darn cute!!

PS Tag

I didn't add a label because she wants to use it as a reversible quilt.

But the quilt is labeled. I wrote with my Pigma pen between the bats. To Kierra & Will Christmas 2011, and a little further I wrote with Love Mary, Mesa AZ.

No label label

I can't wait until she sees it all finished!! I only have to wait until Wednesday since we are meeting then to celebrate Christmas.

Happy Stitching

EQ7 Twisted Ribbon Block to Border

2011-12-17T06:47:00.002-07:00

This post is my attempt to answer a question on the EQ7 list.
To make this block you start with a 9 Patch block add a couple of lines to make two half square triangles. Color the block in such a way that there looks like there is right side and a wrong side to the ribbon, or a light and dark sides. I tried this with the darker yellow where the light yellow and light yellow where the dark is but I didn’t like it as well. I originally saw this block on Judy Butcher’s Blog. It is in her Series
9 X 9.

See what I mean. You are going to have to play with your colors so it is pleasing to your eye. Also when I play in EQ7 I only use two or three colors, just so I am not wasting time coloring blocks and quilts. I play more with color when I have a special quilt in mind.

So how do you use this block as a border?

I have my quilt here without blocks so you focus on the border. I used a Block Border with an even number of blocks in the border on all sides. I rotated every other block to make them look like they are flowing from one to the other. This border is the same size as the blocks in the quilt but they don’t have to be. Just adjust the number of the blocks in the border to make them look good.

Here is the same size quilt with a narrower border but notice it has more blocks to give it the same effect. This one was drawn 2 inch border with 10 blocks each side.

I hope tis helps and have fun playing in EQ7!

It's Getting to Look A Lot Like Christmas

2011-12-14T22:36:00.000-07:00

My Main Nativity Set

I had the nicest compliment any one could pay me the other day about my house. My friend said, "Your house looks magical for Christmas." She thought my quilts added a lot. WOW did that make me feel good!

I have always thought it did but it was nice to hear it. When I told Mr. B. he agreed but he has never taken the time to mention it. So I am going to share some pictures of my "Magical Christmas Home"

My Angel Area

The big Angel is a tree topped but it too heavy to place on the top of the tree, so on the table it sits.

The sofa area

My little 3 candle holder, I like to put in the window of the front bedrooms but I would forget to plug them in, so this year I am trying the living room. I still have to add the candles to the spinning creche. I only light these on Christmas Eve and maybe Christmas morning.

Pyramid one lit

Lit in 2008 this one is from Germany

Jingle Corner

Santa in the kitchen

Tree and Stockings

You can read a post about my stockings and close up pictures of each one here. This is from my Genealogy blog and Christmas traditions and memories.

Christmas Quilts

Under the main Nativity

Santa Quilts

Merry Christmas!!

Quilting Update

2011-12-12T07:41:00.001-07:00

I finished my little twister wreath project. I found the perfect ribbon to place on the wreath. Here you can see some of the quilting, I used iridescent thread and it really looks nice.

The pictures hardly do it justice. I only quilted the background so the wreath colors would pop.

Wreath Center

Here it is all done and on the wall for Christmas. I bet this would look good in spring floral print for spring. Just what I need another idea for a quilt to make!

The other big news is Kierra's Double Irish chain is back from the long arm quilter and I really like how the quilting looks.

Celtic Scroll Quilt Design

I think I am pretty safe posting pictures here, I don't think she looks at my blog. I didn't post any pictures on Facebook because I know she looks there. I do want her to have some surprise on Christmas. I love the quilting and there is just a little puff. She doesn't like the flat look of cotton batting so this has a poly batting.

Here is with the backing showing. The binding has been sewed on by machine all 432 inches of it, and about 150 inches have been sewed by hand, many more to go!

Happy Stitching!

Have a Merry and Blessed Christmas!

Last Man Cave Update for 2011

2011-12-12T06:24:00.001-07:00

Front

Mr. B. has declared that the Man Cave is done! All the painting is finished and the air vents for the roof are in. He wants to do some more stuff inside but that will wait until February of next year. He was very excited the other night when I asked him to fix my Christmas Stocking holder. I had broken the wooden dowel off in the center post. He proudly took me to his shop and showed me how he drilled the broken off piece out and made the hole just a little bigger. He was really cute about it!! He is cute that is why I married him!

North Side

Call me Crazy...

2011-12-03T07:38:00.000-07:00

...But I have decided to sign up and Pledged to do the Free-Motion Quilting Challenge. I would love to improve my Free Motion Quilting skills and get some more creative juices flowing. This challenge is being hosted by SewCalGal, boy she sure has great ideas.

I sure hope I can keep up!! The challenge starts on January 1st and there is a new one every month. Here is to a year of learning new skills!! If you are interested you check out her site and join in!

2011 Christmas Quilt Show

2011-12-01T19:47:00.001-07:00

I saw this last year but I was to late to enter. This year I am on time! You can find out more information at SewCalGal's Blog, You have time to enter also if you hurry and enter before the 2nd. Oh that's tomorrow. I am going to check out some pretty Christmas quilts after I finish this post, just follow the link above and find the links to other blogs. The last count was 90, I am hoping to be number 91.

My first quilt in my show is my Christmas Crossword Quilt. I made this in 1997, I had only been quilting for 2 1/2 years at that time. It hangs in the place of honor in my living room every Christmas.

Christmas Crossword Quilt

Because I live in Arizona I have a fun Arizona Christmas themed wall hanging. I think I made this in 2000, I forgot to label it, shame on me!

Christmas Cactus

This is one I made last year, I call it Moon Santa, but it is really Believe. Actually I finished it on 1/22/11 the first one I made I gave away last year as a Blogoversary give away.

Believe or Moon Santa

I have so many fun Christmas quilts. I can't post them all here but I wrote a post here about all the Christmas quilts I have and this was a couple of years ago. I have more quilts now. Christmas quilts are my favorite but I don't need any more but I have seen two more I want to make.

Happy Stitching and a Merry Christmas!!

Good News Night

2011-11-30T21:52:00.001-07:00

Tonight while out running errands I received a call from the Quilt shop that the quilt was on the frame. I wasn't expecting it to go on until next week. I am not complaining. Matter of fact it cheered me right up after a hard day at work! They needed a batting that is why they called, they didn't have what I needed in the shop. So I ran down and took them a batting and took advantage of the moment and took a picture.

Kierra's Quilt on the frame

I wonder how long it will take to quilt it. Next job, doing 500 miles of binding!

Happy Stitching!

New Small Project

2011-11-29T11:30:00.001-07:00

After a king size quilt of black, red & grey I needed something small and quick with brighter colors to work on. I have seen several Twister wreaths around so I decided to make one also. This is how it looked when I first assembled the top. Not very interesting is it.

Pre-Wreath

This is how it looks now. The background fabric is really white with a gold design in it, not yellowish. My fabric are batiks. I still have to quilt it. I started it Saturday evening and got this far by Sunday evening. I also worked on my handouts for my Flying Geese class on Tuesday evening. Yes it was a busy weekend.

Twister Wreath

This is a fun technique, it is fun to see the design come together. Cutting out the squares is a little awkward, but doable. This is the mini twister tool I used which is 2.25 inches square. My top is about 18 inches square.

Happy Stitching!

Kierra's Quilt Top is Finished

2011-11-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

I spent Saturday adding the last two borders and picking out stay stitches that missed the seam allowance and pressing and pressing. It seemed to take forever to press that top. Kierra and I meet at the quilt shop and we picked out the quilting design, which is Celtic Scroll and she picked out the backing.

Kierra's Backing

She saw the fabric in a quilt and like it and there was just enough left for the backing so I purchased it for her. It makes her happy. This was the first time she was in the quilt shop with me and I think she saw some interesting things. She made a lot of observation while I was showing her different things. I doubt she will ever go back with me, but I enjoyed the moment.

I am glad to have this top done. When it comes back I will have 500 miles of binding to sew on. :-)

Happy Stitching!

Happy Blogiversary to ME

2011-11-28T21:33:00.000-07:00

I just logged on to my blog and I noticed that my Blog Anniversary counter said my anniversary was in 365 days. Well it really is today 3 years ago that I started my blog. What an adventure it has been I have meet lots of nice people and I really appreciate all my followers and all the wonderful comments that have been left.

On Thanksgiving I thought about m blogiversary but since I was busy with the feast here at the house I forgot to write a post.

The day I started was Thanksgiving in 2008. I am not sure what I was hoping the results would be but I really have enjoyed having the blog. I am such a ham and it is a good place for me to show off my quilting. As well as share the memories of our life and family.

Thanks to everyone who has followed along with my adventure!

Happy Stitching

Man Cave

2011-11-24T23:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Wednesday the 23 of November the Man Cave officially passed the city builders inspection. I don't have to to tell you that Mr. B. is very happy about this. He had a lot of fun showing it off today to our Thanksgiving day guests.

He started painting the trim and he still has some more of that to do.

And the door needs more paint. We even had guest eating out there for dinner today but I didn't get a picture, I was too busy eating. Up since 5 AM to cook by 12 noon I was starving. Plus smelling everything cooking all morning didn't help. And that little yogurt I ate for breakfast was long gone.

Tomorrow he wll do some more painting. Soon I hope to be showing pictures of the things he is making!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

2011-11-24T06:58:00.000-07:00

This little video says it very well. Have a great and safe day with family and friends.

Seminole Borders

2011-11-20T21:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Saturday I sewed on four framing borders and two Seminole borders. Here it is with Rosie doing her cat inspection. She likes it!

Three borders are on, and two mitered corners are done. I was going to add the two last borders today but I ran out of steam. All that stray stitching on the edges of the Seminole borders and cutting off the extra triangles. Intense!

It is a little bunched up in the middle so we can see both mitered corners. I hope I have time tomorrow after work to add the last seminol border! I am so ready to be done with this quilt!!

Happy Stitching!

Let us not forget the Man Cave

2011-11-20T16:37:00.000-07:00

Mr. B. has been working hard on his Man Cave.

By Saturday the 12 he had finished all of the outside construction. The last piece of wood is in place. All the caulking was finished and some primer paint on.

Mr. B. has lots of vacation time to use up so he took three days off from work during the week and finished all the painting inside and outside except for the trim and door. The color matches our house.

Painted outside

This inside picture was after the primer paint.

Painted in side

Here he is surveying his domain and looking very happy with himself.

A man in his Cave

He is getting things organized and in their proper place.

This work bench was his Dad's

Getting Organized

The man cave will be hosting the overflow of Thanksgiving dinner guess on Thursday, I think it will be all the boys.

How did I make that Seminole Border

2011-11-20T07:53:00.000-07:00

I thought it might be fun to post some pictures of how I made the Seminole border. You saw the strips in the last post, they are 2 1/4 inch strips.

Here they are cut again, these are also 2 1/4 inch strips.

Next you lay them into pairs and notice they are off set by one square.

Here they are sewn.

You keep sewing the pairs together until they are all gone.

Each one of these are from one set of strips cut from selvage to selvage. I made eight of them.

Well some of these pictures where from Friday the 11th and the last one from later in the week.

Happy Stitching!

Border Progress on the Double Irish Chain

2011-11-20T07:17:00.000-07:00

It never fails when I have lots of stuff to post about my hard drive experienced a failure. It is only an eight month old computer also. Lucky for me Mr. B is a desk top engineer and he was able to find the un-fixable problem, and since it was still on warranty he ordered a new hard drive and installed it. He was also able to save all my files and load them onto my new hard drive! Thanks you Mr. B!!!
So now to catch up on all I have been doing. I have being seeing red, grey and black all over.
I have been taking lots of strips of fabric...

...and making border sections. After you sew those strips together you cut them again and sew them off set to make the Seminole border. A fun process.

I even had lots of company but no help from my cat Rosie. She is the only cat I have ever had that sits in my lap and not on the table but the machine. She doesn't usually stay long because I am not paying her attention.

This is how things were on Thursday Nov. 10.

Irish Chain Update

2011-11-08T21:44:00.000-07:00

I spent Saturday teaching EQ7 Beyond the Basics Class, it was a lot of fun. My students where all having fun and saying a lot of, "I didn't know that", "Really" and "WOW that is cool". It is so fun when the class is so enthusiastic.

I was able to find some sewing time on Sunday & tonight. I think I did a couple of other evenings of sewing last week, but I forget how many.

Center completed

Well this might not look different then last weeks picture but it really is, the 8th column was added on and all eight rows were sewn together.

Tonight I moved on to the border and completed the first section of 10. I wasn't sewing in a hurry just relaxed and watching TV. When I plan to do some more I am going to follow the directions in the book closer so I can save some time. I have a date with the long arm quilter to get this baby quilted and I don't plan to be late. This quilt is way to big to place on my frame.

First border section

Man Cave Update

2011-11-08T16:39:00.000-07:00

Mr. B. is getting excited to finish the man cave. He was so excited yesterday that after work but before we went to a pot luck dinner he was adding caulking to the new wood he put up on Saturday. It also has been raining so he wanted to get the caulking in before moisture entered behind the wood.

South side eave done

The problem with this was he was in his good going to work cloths and good outside cool weather jacket.
Now does anyone else see a problem of being in your good work cloths besides me??
You guessed it he now has caulking on his pants and he jacket and he comes in to the house and said, "I tried to be so careful." Really?!?!?! When does a man and caulking and careful all go in the same sentence?

North side eave started

He wants to work on it after work this week but of course, he has something to do every evening this week.

Progress Made on the Double Irish Chain

2011-10-31T21:39:00.001-07:00

Look I made some progress on our daughter's Double Irish Chain!! Yesterday I had four rows done today I added three more rows. I only have 8 more blocks to add. All the blocks are chained stitched together. After I sew on the last eight blocks, I'll start sewing the rows together in the other direction.

I am planning on doing a Seminole border. This will be a king size quilt. I haven't done a quilt this big in awhile. It is big!
It has been fun to get some sewing done. Back to work tomorrow.

To take this photo, I draped the blocks on a mattress that is in our soon to be guest room. The bed is leaning against the wall, so we can remove the popcorn ceiling and replace the carpet. A project to start next year.

Happy Stitching!

Man Cave Update

2011-10-30T21:14:00.001-07:00

I am a week late posting this but I wanted to catch up. Mr. B. finished all the siding on his man cave!! All he needs to do is caulking and painting. I almost forgot he needs to close in two ends of the eaves. Getting closer to being done!

Fun Fun Easy Easy Project

2011-10-30T21:04:00.001-07:00

While at the Quilter's Mercantile in Williams Arizona one of the gals brought in a cute table runner she had made that morning. The fun thing is I know this gal, her name is Debbie and I have been to quilt camp with her. She is the only person I know who lives in Williams AZ. It was really fun to see her. I was so excited about this fun little table runner and I am thinking fun gift idea. So I watched a little demo on how to make the table runner and purchased some fabric to make one.

Teal Fabric from Williams AZ

After we left Williams we drove to Cottonwood, AZ a see the quilt shop there. At Quilter's Quarters I found some fall fabric which what I really wanted but couldn't find in Williams. So I purchased some.

Fall Fabric

I didn't time the teal runner, I did time the fall runner and it took me 30 minutes but I was taking pictures of each step and I was watching TV. I see Christmas gifts for co-workers.

Happy Stitching!!

Class Sample Is Done!

2011-10-29T20:20:00.000-07:00

My Sweet honey took me on a little trip to Williams Arizona to take the train to the Grand Canyon. Of course I like to bring some handwork with me. I worked on the binding for my Fly to the Star Class sample. Here it is on my lab in the car.

Here it is all finished and ready to take the shop as a class sample. I quilted it during the week and added the binding so I could do the hand stitching on the trip. I finished it about 1/2 an hour before we arrived at our home.

I did simple quilting, in the ditch, and a 1/4 inch inside the square of the star and some of the geese. Around the three dimensional geese I quilted the background of the blocks in a small meandering so the geese would pop. I don't think it shows real well in the photo. I did larger meandering in the border. You can double click on the picture to see it bigger.

Happy Stitching and Happy Halloween!

Class Sample

2011-10-25T20:50:00.000-07:00

I offered to teach a class on different ways to make Flying Geese. It is for newer quilters and I will also teach them how to use their rulers for cutting 45 degree angles. I found some fabric I really liked and started thinking about a layout.

Not my real fabrics

Of course I played with some layouts in EQ7. I even scanned in my fabrics for a realistic look. Here is one of my first ideas. The problem was I liked both of my colored fabrics and I could not decide which one to use the most. So I was trying to go for balance of both colors. What a mistake that was.

First layout

This is what kind of craziness you get when you cannot decide on colors. The next morning I woke up and had a great idea. So after work on Monday night I did some frog stitching and made more flying geese and a star.

Final Layout

I planed it out in EQ7 and loved it right away. I named it Fly to the Star. The red geese I am just going to make a single strip hanging. No waste here.

Here it is all basted and ready for quilting. I have five different ways to make the flying geese. There are more ways then that but a couple of them are too strange for new quilters. Plus I won't want to use them myself so why teach them.

One of the fun techniques I am teaching are three dimensional. See the rulers tucked in the folds? Here is where I learned how to do the goose on the left. The one on the right I learned on the Dear Jane list many years ago, when I made a one inch star.

Now to go start the quilting!

On Sunday I also finished my Beyond the Basics EQ7 class handouts I will be teaching on the 5th. I have been a busy girl!

Happy Stitching!

The Quilt Has Crossed the Pond

2011-10-21T19:14:00.002-07:00

Today I received an email from my cousin in England below is what she wrote. This was nice to receive before going to work.

Wow Mary

The parcel has arrived this morning. Thank you so much. Michael thinks I am a very lucky girl! The book and sea turtle all arrived safely.

I have been walking around the house trying to find the best place to display the quilt. Probable place is on the stair landing. We shall see. Picture will be taken to send to you.

Thank you, thank you.

Much love from your cousin Sue. xxxxx

I think she likes it!!
Now I can unveil the label.

I did the flower design with my machine using the same variegated thread I used for the quilting of the borders.

Man Cave is Progressing

2011-10-16T21:52:00.001-07:00

Mr. B. is making more progress!! He has all the siding on the South side of his Man Cave.

South Side

He is also more than half way up the East side!

East Side

He still has to close in the underside of the roof on the North & South sides. Of course painting will come after that and I think he has to do something on the roof. He is a whole lot closer to being done than he was a year ago.

Here are two links to where he was a year ago, give or take a week or two. Here and here.
See he has made progress!

Fresh Picked Flowers is Done!

2011-10-13T21:50:00.000-07:00

Yes my quilt for my cousin is all finished!! The label is on, I even sewed it on by hand. I usually just fuse them on, but this is a special quilt so I designed the label and I sewed it on by hand.

These pictures aren't the best but I already have the quilt wrapped and packed to be mailed tomorrow. I am not sure how long it will take to get to England but I am sure I will hear when it arrives.

I love the cute little tags I found to insert between the seam and binding. I found the cute little tags on Saturday when the binding was completed. I ripped out some of the stitches to insert the tab. It says PS I Love You. I have covered the label so if my cousin looks at my blog, she won't see it, I mean she should have some little surprise. I am not a very good secret keeper am I?

Happy Stitching!

mequilter

2011-10-11T18:30:00.000-07:00

What is in a Name?
Dawn over at As Sweet as Cinnamon is asking how did you name your blog. Naming a blog is very personal and I have seen some I really like and some are so simple but great. Some are very clever and I am not all that clever.

I named mine after my Web Shot Album, which was the first online thing I did that required a name. So I wanted to keep the same name. How did I come to mequilter. Well my initial as M. E. for Mary Elizabeth, I frequently sign notes me. So it just seemed natural to me to use mequilter.

Maybe we have too many me's around here.

While thinking about this post I was thinking maybe the title should be M. E. Quilter but I am accustom to it being run together. So that is how it will stay for today.

Frankie

My blog is about me, my quilting, my family, and whatever else I happen to be into. It has been fun and I have enjoyed all the friends I have made.

Here is a picture of a little Halloween quilt I made, just because I believe every post should have a picture or two in it.

I sign my blog Mary Mary because that has been my nick name for a long time, way back when a TV show said the name twice, Mary Hartman Mary Hartman. Well that was my name and everyone took it in vain but they got tired of saying the full name twice so it was shorten to Mary Mary.

Man Cave Update

2011-10-09T19:05:00.001-07:00

Guess who has been making progress on his Man Cave, you got it Mr. B. He is working on the last two sides at the same time.

East Side

This is the East side and below is the South side. I tried to stand in the corner but I couldn't get the full view of both pictures so you get two pictures.

South Side

Final Funkin

2011-10-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

Well I cut out the other set of points and I am happy with the results. And the little flame-less candle gives off enough light now.

Here it is in my front window set sitting on the witch's hand. It just needed some more work.

Craving a Funkin

2011-10-08T10:02:00.000-07:00

Before Craving

Last year I was leaving a quilt shop and someone walked in with a Funkin craved with a quilt block design on it. I didn't get to study her design, thinking I could do this no sweat. So I purchased a Funkin on sale after Halloween.

Didn't light up well

So when I took out my Halloween stuff for this year I just had to crave my Funkin, I searched the web to see if anyone else had craved a quilt block on theirs. No such luck. I thought I wanted a Mariner's Compass and had just the block in mind but the pattern I had was too large for the space I had. So I went to EQ7 and found a compass block I liked sized it to 5" and printed it. I taped it on the Funkin and I made little holds first along the lines of the pattern. I had a real candle lite in this to show this much light, that would be a fire hazard. So back to the drawing board.

Cut out some more

Last night I cut out some of the points and it looks a lot better and I think tonight I will cut out the other points.

I am thinking I should have looked at what she had done not that I would have remembered a year later. This may have been one of those great ideas that was better in my brain than in reality, but nothing ventured nothing gained.

Lite with points out

If I don't like this one I can always try on the other side and then buy another one on sale at the end of the season.

Fresh Picked Flowers

2011-10-02T21:28:00.000-07:00

This was a quiet and restful weekend lots of at home time and I accomplished a lot.

First I basted the quilt. Of course I had to move my cutting table away from the wall to baste it but it works real well.

Here is a close up of the quilting. I quilted all the white triangles with a free motion fuller design on Saturday.

Today I quilted the boarders with a pastel variegated thread and in a free motion loop de loop design. The binding is on and one and 1/4 edges is sewed down. I feel so good to have this project to this point. It was nice to sit and do some hand sewing today!

Isn't my backing fun! My back seldom match my fronts.

I also sewed three pairs of the Double Irish Chain blocks together.

Happy Stitching!!

Double Irish Chain Update

2011-09-25T21:23:00.000-07:00

All the blocks are done! They have been done for a week and it took me evenings during the week to give them a final press. They are all nicely pressed and I will start squaring them up, but I am going to do that one row at a time.

All the blocks are done!

Saturday was my Scrapbooking day with friends and I made a few more pages. Here is one here and you an see the other 3 here. I have about four more pages in an almost completed status.

Memories

I thought this page fits in well here on my quilting blog.

Have fun what ever you do!

Man Cave Progress

2011-09-25T16:38:00.000-07:00

Mr. B. has been making some progress on the Man Cave. Today I found out what is motivating him to work on it each Saturday and a little in the evening after work. We decided we wanted a Wii Fit for Christmas this year. And it will need a new TV, which means he needs to make a new TV stand because the one we have will not fit a new TV. If I had known that was going to motivate him, I would have mentioned it sooner!

9/17/11 Progress

Last weekend he added some siding to the last two sides and used primer paint on all the raw wood on all four sides.

9/24/11 Progress

This weekend he finished closing in the eave on the North side. He also had to place the cross bean support under the eave. This really wears him out with all the going up and down the ladder.

Saturday in the Park

2011-09-17T22:22:00.000-07:00

Block 2

Well not really it was still too hot out today. I made ten of these instead of going to the park! Plus I run errands and went out to dinner with Mr. B.

On the Design Wall

This is what it is starting to look like. This is when I wish I had a bigger design wall. This baby is going to be a king size when ti is done. The colors are growing on me, this is so way out of my comfort zone. One of my friends saw it today and feels the colors are very rich. It is funny how sometimes the right words can make you see something in a different light.

Happy Stitching!!

Friday Night Sewing!

2011-09-16T22:53:00.000-07:00

I like Friday Nights!

It is the end of the work week and the beginning of the weekend. Tonight after dinner and watch a show with my Mr. B. I went to my sewing room and made 8 of these blocks. After running errands tomorrow I hope to get some more done! I am wishing I had a design wall big enough to place this quilt on.

Happy Stitching!

It is EQ7 Night

2011-09-13T19:22:00.000-07:00

Class Slide

I have a new EQ7 class I am teaching in November and I have been working on the class slides for a while. Just adding a little more each time I work on it. My Beginner's class is easier to prepare but this is a Beyond the Basics class and it it hard to decide what to include and what not to include. I focus more on drawing blocks which I think is a lot of fun. I will throw in a little on quilt design, I think if I have time. Maybe I should make two classes, one on block drawing and one on quilt design. Well I am glad I started working on this early. I haven't taught a Beyond the Basics class since EQ5.

Well I better get back to preparing!

Mini Quilt Weekend

2011-09-12T22:15:00.000-07:00

Well here are today's results. Tomorrow it is back to work as normal.

I made more strips and blocks. As you can see I still have more to make and a few more black centers to cut. I also called my quilt shop to place this baby on the wait list to be quilted. There is no way I am tackling this on my 9 inch machine even if it is on a frame.

Quilting Update

2011-09-11T22:23:00.000-07:00

Well I have done some sewing and some more Family History scrapbook pages in the last two weeks. I put the scrapbooking away for a few days. I usually go to quilt camp the weekend after Labor Day but I wasn't able to go this year. Long story and I am not going there. So I decided that this Saturday, Sunday & Monday I would get as much sewing down as possible.

First I need to catch you up what I finished last week.
I finished appliqueing the scallops down on the fourth border of Fresh Picked Flowers. It is all nicely pressed. Now I am thinking of how to quilt it. I think my idea is to do something in each white area so the flowers and colored areas pop more. We shall see. I hope to work on that on Monday. No picture because it won't look at lot different then what you have seen.

Almost empty box of Yo-Yos

I also tacked down all the small Yo-Yos I had finished and started making more. I didn't get far, I only made 5 more. I think I need to put the Yo-Yos away for awhile and work on finishing Fresh Flowers and Kierra's Double Irish Chain quilt. I have to make more blocks to finish off those large Yo-Yos but I am not making more blocks until these are finished.

Yo-Yo blocks

Yo - Yo Tally:

25 Blocks finished

9 partially done

Saturday I started our daughter's and her husband's new quilt. She loved the black and red one I made for her when she was 15, She wanted black and red again this time, and the same pattern was fine. We did add a third color. I cut a lot of my strips yesterday and started making Block A. Today I was bored with Block A and started some Block B. Just to mix things up a bit.

Double Irish Chain

I placed some blocks up on the design wall to see how they are going to look. The piles of blocks are on the ironing board. In front are my mock up for making my strip sets. I think it is going to look very nice.

Man Cave Update

2011-09-11T21:43:00.000-07:00

Mr. B. took a five day weekend for the Labor Day weekend and did some work on his Man Cave. He only worked on it two of those five days and had the siding to the top of the windows. This Saturday he finished the North side. Only two more sides to go. I hope they go faster since there are no windows on those sides. One side does have a wall unit air conditioner.

Saturday evening we had a some rain and before it was pouring real hard, Mr. B. was standing on his ladder under the eave caulking the some of the seams. I went to get my camera to take a picture but I was too late. Now that is dedication, no actually he was just in the mood to do the caulking.

Just so you know...

2011-08-30T22:12:00.000-07:00

...I didn't forget my first love of quilting. I finished appliqueing some Yo-Yos down on three blocks. Making my totals =
Complete 25 blocks and 9 with centers sewed down.

25 blocks done

I still don't know how big I will make this quilt. Time will tell.

I am kind of stalled on my cousins's quilt. I only have one border of scallops to machine applique but I keep drawing a blank on how I am going to quilt it. Maybe the inspiration fairy will come this weekend. I am looking forward to my 3 day weekend to do some more stitching.

Happy Stitching and a safe Labor Day weekend.

I have been busy

2011-08-28T17:28:00.000-07:00

But it hasn't been quilting. I have been busy making scrapbook pages for the life stories of my parents. I finished six new pages this week and have two more in the works. These pages are mostly to document my parents life or what I know of their life and you can see them on my genealogy blog.

All right I couldn't resist putting two of them here because after all a blog post with pictures is more interested. The first picture is of my first page of my life story I couldn't resist using this fun little page called here's what happened. This was for 1948 the year I was born. The next picture is of my maternal grandmother Minnie Elizabeth this picture was taken in 1905 when she graduated from nursing school in Manhattan and I think she's beautiful.

If you would like to see more pictures of pages you can see them here.

Man Cave Update

2011-08-20T21:58:00.000-07:00

Yes it has been a long time since I have post on Mr. B.'s progress. He has been working slowing and I didn't want to bore you with each little piece of wood he added. Today he hit a milestone so I decided to post a picture.

Today he finished enclosing the eaves on the west side of the "Man Cave".

At the end he added some primer paint on the edges of the wood to protect it from the rain. I am hoping he will start picking up the pace on this but it won't be until the weather starts to cool off a little.

More Sewing

2011-08-15T19:30:00.001-07:00

During the last week I was able to do some sewing. Work has been very busy and I've worked some extra-long days so I didn't have a lot of energy to do a lot of sewing.

Appliqued Scallops

I have started to appliqué the scallops down on the Fresh Picked Flowers quilt. This is the most machine appliqué I have done with my new machine. Of course with any new machine there is a little adjustment time and a little troubleshooting time. On Sunday evening I broken needle and of course the tip fell down into the machine. I took the needle plate off to try and find the tip. I never found it. So I put everything back together again and tried to sew and then my fabric wouldn't move. I repositioned everything and tried again and still no luck my fabric wouldn't move. So I took off the plate again and much to my surprise I found a nest of thread. I was able to remove all the thread and was able to sew without any more difficulty. What a relief!

Even though I have push button stop and go on my new machine I find I am more comfortable doing machine appliqué and using the foot controller. I like to be able to slow down and speed up as needed.

A Quilter needs to know her machine!

If you double click on the pictures you will see an enlarged picture.

Sometimes when I'm sewing I have an interruption from my very favorite kitty cat companion Rosie. For some reason she likes to get between me and the machine. Here's a picture of her look at me and wanting attention. Of course she got the attention then I pushed her off my lap so I could sew. This isn't the best picture Rosie because she is right in my face and I could not move the camera back far enough to take a good picture. She is pretty and a sweet cat.

Rosie

Yo-Yo Tally:

Here are all the Yo-Yos I have (22) finished, as of tonight, 3 with tacked on yo-yos and (10) with just centers. No pictures this week, I will wait until the are all appliqued down.

What a Great Weekend!

2011-08-07T21:37:00.001-07:00

Maybe great is a bit of a stretch but I sure enjoyed it. It was nice to have a Saturday with out any obligations or errands to run! So what did I do, I reorganized my sewing room just a little to make turning on my light over my chair where I do hand sewing easier to turn on. I removed some extra wires I didn't need any more, an old extension cord and a phone cord. I clean off some flat surfaces. I tend to be a piler, so it is nice to see clear space again. Then I sewed.

I finally added the last two borders to my Fresh Picked Flowers.

Borders on Fresh Picked Flowers

I really like it now that all the borders are on. My next step is to machine applique down those scallops. I still haven't come up with how I am going to quilt it, but I'll leave that for another day.

Then I pulled out my Farmer's Wife Sampler book and fabric and between Saturday and Sunday I made four blocks. I haven't worked on this in a while and it really felt good! I realized as I went to bed that makes my total 77 blocks, so I hit the 75 blocks completed Achiever's List!

I did also tack down Yo-Yos on two blocks! Not pictured here.

Happy Stitching!

I am not doing a lot...

2011-08-03T20:44:00.000-07:00

But I'm doing something!

Work has been really busy and I come home really tired so I don't feel like doing any sewing even hand sewing. Plus Mr. B. And I have been doing a a Harry Potter movie marathon. When I watch TV with my honey I sit in the TV room. The recliner in the TV room is not as comfortable to sew in as my small rocking chair in my sewing room. So that also contributed to the lack sewing completed.

I appliquéd all the center yo-yos on the blocks I've completed this point, previously they were only tacked down. Here is a picture of them all in a pile, I didn't feel like putting the backup on the design wall. I wanted this picture right by this little paragraph but I couldn't get it to go here no matter how much I tried so there it is up above out of place.

The block on the bottom left is the one I appliqued all the yo-yos on. I also made a bunch of more yo-yos. I found some different fabrics to use.

Tally:

Here are all the Yo-Yos I have (20) finished, as of tonight, and (14) with just centers.

Summer Time Desert

2011-07-25T21:41:00.001-07:00

It is summer time, it is hot and a good time for a cool and refreshing desert. This is Lemonade Ice Cream cake. Very easy to make and very tasty! I made it for a scrapbook gathering on Saturday and it was a hit.

Pink Lemonade Ice Cream Cake

Recipe:

1 - two quart container of Vanilla Ice Cream

1 - six ounce of Frozen Lemonade Concentrate

Graham Cracker Crust

a 9 x 13 pan or two 8" square pans.

I make the graham cracker crust like the directions on the box of graham cracker crumbs. Soften the ice cream and the concentrate. Mix the two together and pour into the crust and freeze.

I noticed after I purchased the ice cream it is now a 1.5 quart container. I haven't been able to find 6 ounces of concentrate in a long time, I use the 12 ounces and it is just fine, not too strong of a lemon favor. This time I used pink lemonade just to see, it is a nice light pink in color.

Well enjoy!!

Quilting Update

2011-07-17T21:28:00.001-07:00

Here are all the Yo-Yos I have (19) finished, (1) almost finished as of tonight, and (14) with just centers. When I am up close to the design wall I think when all the blocks are done I'll have to balance the blocks for color but when I see a picture like this I think the colors look just fine. Well I am sure I won't be able to resist moving some of those blocks around or at least twisting them around. I need to make more Yo-Yos I am almost out of them, again.

I have also been working on my Fresh Picked Flowers. I spent a lot of time thinking about those borders. I had even thought of a pieced border but the design I liked wouldn't fit the size of the quilt.

I finally have two borders on. When I saw the sample the scallops were only one thickness of the white fabric, so you could see the border fabric through the white scallops. I did not like the look of that. So I decided to make the scallops double thickness. This then caused a problem with the direction the border will be pressed because of the thickness in the seam.

The top border has been removed once. I first centered the scallops on the border after it was together I noticed the scallops where off center to the squares. So I centered them to the squares on the bottom border and that looked better. Of course I hate ripping but it had to be done. It looks better now. I am planning on doing a decorative stitch around those scallops.

I still haven't come up with any great ideas for quilting it. Those are thoughts for another day.

I also had a lot of fun playing in EQ7 this week, drawing blocks and learning how to rotate photos on a quilt layout. Those basket are now going the right way. I also scanned in my fabric I have for the setting triangles and borders. I think it will be lovely when it is finished.

Happy Stitching!

Farmer's Wife Sampler and EQ7

2011-07-09T11:23:00.001-07:00

I am a member of the Yahoo group for the Farmer's Wife's. I don't post there a lot but I follow the posts. I haven't worked on this quilt since last August, I put it away to go to Quilt Camp last year and I have not pulled it out since.

One of my friends and EQ7 students asked me how to make this progress chart she had seen discussed on the list. I checked out the blogs that had the charts and knew I could do it. The problem was it was after 9 PM after a long day so my tired little brain had trouble adding the blocks to the quilt layout. I knew there had to be a simple solution and I even thought there has to be a set tool. I was just too tired to figure it out.

Today on Saturday another gal posted instructions with the one detail I needed to make it work. And when I saw the step I slapped my forehead and said, "Duh, I knew that." Thanks Rebecca. I even had the photo set tool on my tool bar.

Progress Chart

So here is my Farmer's Wife progress chart. I want to make mine a king size quilt, so this a king size layout. I will not be following the layout in the book and will be going more for a balance of color. On this chart I just dropped the blocks in. I have my border and triangle setting fabric, so I will scan them and add them to the layout but not right now. The chart made me realize I am almost half way done. So I should get working on this again. Wait I have more important family project to work on.

Some other suggestions I would make.

When you save your blocks name them with the full block name from the book, and the block number. So when you import them into EQ7 you will have that information for the block notecard. Use the same naming convention with each block.
After you scan your blocks and size them in your photo editing software, make them the same size and small. For my blog post I sized all my blocks 1200 x 1200 for EQ7 I am resizing them to 300 x 300. This will help EQ7 open faster. The blocks look fine.
Went back and tried 150 x 150 and that works fine also.
When importing your imagine do it from the Library not the Photo Worktable. On the Photo Worktable you can only import one block at a time. From the Library you can import multiple blocks. I won't do more than 10 at a time so your program doesn't freeze up. Ask me how I know.

Have fun!!
Happy Stitching!

They are Multiplying but not Fast Enough

2011-07-05T18:34:00.001-07:00

What are multiplying you may ask? I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count. You got it Yo-Yos.

I added all the center Yo-Yos to the blocks I have made now, which are thirty-four. I am going to wait awhile before I make more blocks.

Here are all the Yo-Yos I have finished (15) or almost finished (1) as of this afternoon, and (18) with just centers.

I am having a hard time trying to work on other projects I am enjoying this one so much. I really do need to get to some of those other projects for family members.

If you would like to check out this two posts on my other blog, you will see what I have been up to and see why July 5th is a special day to me.
http://meandmyancestors.blogspot.com/2011/07/4th-of-july.html

http://meandmyancestors.blogspot.com/2011/07/on-this-day-in-my-personal-history.html

Enjoy and Happy Stitching!

Travel Sewing

2011-06-27T16:00:00.002-07:00

Hotel Sewing Again

I did find a few minutes to do some hand sewing between work and site seeing. I did the sewing mostly after work each night to unwind before going to sleep. This is what it looked like when I first set up.

What I accomplished

And here is what I accomplished. The Yo-Yo's are all tacked down and the centers are appliqued down and some of the small ones are also appliqued down.

Yo-Yo total

Here are all the Yo-Yos I have finished (10) or almost finished (5) as of this morning, and (10) with just centers. I spent time Saturday and last evening

making more Yo-Yo's the supply sure seem to dwindle fast.

I Have Been Traveling

2011-06-27T09:47:00.002-07:00

Yes it was travel for work time. This time I was in Wheatland, Wyoming and this time I had company. My Mr. B. went with me. He had some vacation time to use up so he kept me company. I was working 2 PM to 10:30 PM but he had a pleasant time off even if he did wish he had stayed home and worked on his Man Cave. I enjoyed having his company. He would have missed me if he didn't come.

Richard in a Wagon Wheel Rut

We did find time to see some of the local sites. One morning we went over to Guernsey Wyoming to see the Oregon Trail Landmarks. First we went to the Oregon Trail Ruts.
It is amazing to me that so many wheels driving over this sand stone could make such deep ruts. One place we read they are as deep as five feet in some places. Mr. B. did take his key out of his pocket and sure enough it took no energy at all to scape a line in the sand stone. We did not crave our names into the stone.

The Trail West

It was interesting to learn more about the pioneers and their trip West. I am grateful they had the courage to do such a thing. I am also grateful that when I moved West I had a nice air conditioned car to do it in.

Our second stop on this morning was the Register Cliff. Here many pioneers carved their names into the sand stone. One industrious trader blasted a root cellar storage area into the mountain, see the hold in the wall behind the sign.

Close up without fence

Close up with fence

There were a lot of names craved and the wall was protected by a fence to prevent modern day would be carvers.

Mr. & Mrs. B at Fort Laramie

Our second day of site seeing took us to Fort Laramie. This was very interesting and I would have liked to spend some more time there, but I had to be to work by 2 PM. One of my co-workers went with us so here is a picture of both of us together.

Covered Wagon & Handcart

When the fort was in its heyday it had 187 buildings and a 1000 people living there. Now there are 23 buildings in different stages of repair.

We stopped so I could get out of the car and take a picture of this plaque. Here I meet a Welshman who was following one of his ancestor's. His ancestor had joined the Mormons and he was following the trail all the way from Omaha, Nebraska to Salt Lake City, Utah. We were having a hard time getting the picture. He ended up standing on the fence rail in front of the monument and he offered to take one for me. I noticed his accent and asked where he was from, he said Wales. I mentioned I have a second cousin in Wales but of course I don't know the area he where lives. My other second cousin told me but I forgot. This was all the conversation we had. But the exchange left an impression on me. I wished we had exchanged names or something. I have thought of him often and wonder how his trip is going. What did he hope to accomplish and has he accomplished his goal? I wish him well on his journey!

We had lovely weather while in Wyoming nice cool evenings and pleasant days. We came home to 111 degrees and when you have been away and come back it sure hits you hard.

A Little Quilting Update

2011-06-19T18:20:00.000-07:00

Yes it is finished!

Last Saturday I did go to Zoe’s trunk to find the binding fabric that I was short on. I didn't want to use the brown and since I could find what I wanted it all worked. It was the last fat quarter in the store. It is a small finish but it is a finish and it feels good. I have it hanging on the wall by my computer.

Still making progress on Fresh Picked Flowers for my cousin. Pressing all those seams is a pain. I am still thinking about how I want to do the borders. I might do something different then the suggestion in the pattern, but I haven't played in EQ7 to work out the dimensions.

Speaking of EQ7 I started working on my handouts for a Beyond the Basics class for the fall. I am starting early because I have a lot to decide on what to teach. See here is my first slide, I am reusing some of the slides from when I had a Beyond the Basics of EQ5. To see more you have to come take the class.

I also spent some time making more Yo-Yos. I had a bunch made and I want to make a lot more. I am going to need a lot, I am not counting how many I will need, that would be too discouraging.

What I had made before June

Here are what I made during the last two weeks. Well 15 more is better then none.

I am trying to find different colors to add to my collection so I raided my reds and yellows and cut a bunch of squares, all ready to make more Yo-Yos.

Happy Stitching Everyone and thanks for stopping by!

Man Cave Update

2011-06-12T09:58:00.000-07:00

Yes it has been a long time!

Mr. B. has been taking a break on his Man Cave. Yesterday he had the urge to work on it plus he had helping hands and a new toy. He purchased a new saw to cut wider widths. Now he can cut the cement siding in one cut.

I can see my reflection in the glass!

Mr. B. was so very proud of that circle cut out around the light fixture. It was a perfect fit and lined up perfectly. He did a great job of measuring twice and cutting once. He wasn't too happy about the right side over the door but I suggested a notch out and he was very happy with my suggestion. Of course I didn't know the name of it and when I described it he knew what I meant and the name. He is so sweet and told me that is the perfect solution. Sometimes it takes two.

Beautiful Blog Award

2011-06-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

My Genealogy & quilting blog friend Cheryl over at Heritage Happens gave my blog the Beautiful Blog Award. Thanks Cheryl this was very thoughtful of you. May your blog, quilting and genealogy have continued success.

Now I have the honor of sharing this award with five other blogs. These are five blogs I follow and enjoy. Hopefully you will also.

A Little Bit Lorene

Bountiful Heirlooms

The Shy Genealogist

Colleen's Quilting Journal

Hartman's in Gilbert

Each one of the gals are very talented enjoy visiting their blogs!

Side Tracked Quilter

2011-06-06T22:02:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I am a little AADD, Adult Attention Deficit Disorder. That translates to sometimes I jump from project to project. The last project I had started was for my cousin in England, and I did work on it but it was the thing I worked on this week.

Jelly Stars

I started a small project/kit that I had purchased at the quilt show in March. I don't know why I got the bug to finish it but I did get the bug and all I have left to do is the binding. The other small quilt that was in this same kits was the small flag quilt I made earlier this year. You can see it on the small flag link.

The patterns are from The Bread & Butter Society. The sponsoring quilt shop is Zoe's Trunk.

I did change the pattern a little and I made one fabric substitution. I didn't like the brown they had for the patch block so I changed it to something I had and I liked better. I wanted my small border to be a little wider, 1 inch instead of a 1/2". The fabrics that was the small border was also to be the binding, so I don't have enough for the binding. The brown I used for the patch blocks I will use for the binding. I like how it turned out. I just wanted a little something to quilt on my new machine. I quilted in the ditch and straight stitching in the brown patches. I did a design from my machine in the large outer border.

Kierra's Double Irish Chain

The other project I started was for my daughter Kierra. I wanted to put a couple of the blocks together to make sure she liked the fabrics she had picked out before I purchased the rest of the fabric. Kierra knows what she likes and it is very different than from what I like, so I wanted to make sure she liked it. She does like it! This is very similar to the quilt I made her when she was 15. Then it was a solid black & solid red double Irish Chain. She has made progress and I have some texture and a third color. I even found a picture of it stretched on a frame to baste.

1997 Quilt

The first two or three years that I quilted I scrapbooked a quilt journal. I don't have time for that anymore. I use my blog as a journal of my quilts. I was able to order the fabric on line since three of my favorite shops here in the valley did not have the two I need. The black came today but the red is on back order and should ship about the 15th of the month.

Fresh Picked Flowers

And finally I did work on my special project. I have the rows together and next I will do the other seams.

I did a lot of sewing last week. It was fun, hopefully I will do more this week.

A Special Project

2011-05-29T22:55:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to make a quilt for my cousin in England who has been so helpful with my my mother's family line. We meet last May by email and she is a delightful person. I have been tossing around the idea of a quilt for her for about 6 months. First I thought I would make her something Southwest but decided that probably wouldn't be her style. So I finally asked what she would like. She told me she likes flowers but would cherish anything I made. That made me feel good. I remembered I had this simple little pattern and a kit with flowers. I am thinking this is a perfect match!

I started laying out the charm squares, I was suppose to use on the charms included and kind of put lights with the medium shades. I didn't think there was enough contrast, I like contrast. On the border there was some white fabric to make a scalloped shape on the border, so I decided to use white in my blocks. The results are above. I do like it, I used three different white backgrounds. I think it is going to be darling when it is finished.

I am calling this quilt Fresh Picked Flowers. I don't think she reads my quilting blog a lot, so I hope I am safe posting this here. It's not a total surprise, she knows I am making her something.

Yo-Yo Update

2011-05-23T05:00:00.003-07:00

Here are all the current Yo-Yos I have in all their stages of development. 10 are complete, 11 with either appliqued or tacked down centers. I don't know how many more I have to make and I am not counting. I am enjoying this project for now! I think I need some brighter Yo-Yos and some lighter ones. Designs walls sure helps with color selection.

Yo-Yos

Happy Stitching!

Traveling and Quilting Do Go Together

2011-05-22T22:00:00.006-07:00

Last Sunday the 15th I left my home to go travel for a week to work at a go-live. I was in a little town in Colorado. I was able to get a lot of hand sewing done. Since I wasn't here for two weeks like I was two years I didn't borrow a sewing machine. Here is what I did two years ago when I was in Colorado.

Ready to hand sew

That is my traveling Yo-Yo making kit. And my cell phone to keep me up to date on email and Facebook.

What I finished in a week

I also worked on Dear Jane Blue Work. Above are all the Yo-Yos I tacked on or appliqued on. I made a lot of progress. See what happens when I don't have a computer.

In case you didn't notice I learned how to add one of my own pictures to my blogger background. That is a picture of my Boo Swap Dear Jane. I like showing off my work this way, and it will be different than any other blog.

Happy Stitching!

A Special Gift

2011-05-22T20:06:00.000-07:00

I have a special friend in Miami Florida. I first meet her when I went to work at then Variety Children's Hospital and was asked to work in NICU one night. Shortly after that night I transfer to the NICU & PICU. So we have been friends for a long time. I went to visit her in May of 2009. The date is the link to the first of 11 post on our vacation to visit Linda in Florida.

Front

On Friday the 13th a gift arrived for me, it was my Christmas, Birthday, Christmas & Birthday gift. Linda started working on it after my visit two years ago. It is really cool and I am looking forward to using it at my next quilt retreat, which may not be until next year.

Close up of front

On the close up of the front you can see two pictures of Mr. B. and I when we were in Florida two years ago. Linda calls this Caribbean Memories. So you think OK this is a nice tote bag but it is more than a tote.

Inside Front

When you open the tote it has three sides that hang down from your chair. There are different pockets on each side. This one holds a nice size cutting mat.

A Side

This side has a place for pencils or markers, a clear zipper pocket and a large pocket for books or patterns.

The other side

This side a pocket for a ruler and two clear zipper pockets. She had to be careful to get those pockets going the right direction.

Label

Here is a close up of the label she made on inside. I really like my special gift and all the nice touches she added. There is a luggage label on the outside shaped like a palm tree. A flip flog shaped key ring with the Southernmost Point marker on it. Linda knows I miss Florida. She also included two cushions to make those uncomfortable folding chairs more comfortable.

Thanks Linda you did a beautiful job!

Quilting Phone App

2011-05-14T07:24:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I was speaking with one of my quilting friends about smart phones and tables. We were visiting at her work, a LQS. She said, "I would like to have an app for my phone when I get one". So I am thinking this is a great idea and I pulled out my droid phone went to market and search for quilt. Two or three apps came up and I clicked on Quilting Calculators, with a little logo of RK that matches the color scheme of the imagine below.

This is their add for iPhone, but it is out for droids also. The app has 8 formulas and they really work. It takes a few moments for it to load. After it loads there is a banner screen to skip.

The formulas are:

Fabric Measurement, converts into decimal form and fractional form.
Backing & Batting
Piece Count
Pieces to the Yardage Area
Binding
Broader Yardage
Square in a Square
Set-in and Corner Triangle

After I found the app, a costumer came in who needed borders for her quilt. I did the calculations on my phone app and my friend did them on a quilting calculator she had at the shop. Our results matched.

So my suggestion is download it! I have no affiliation with this company, I am just a satisfied user.

Happy Stitching!

Remember That Charm Quilt

2011-05-10T18:53:00.000-07:00

Well it has been sitting on my frame since February. I wrote about it here. My original quilting idea didn't work and I have spent months doodling trying to find the right flow of a design. Last night I looked at it and said enough already, I am tired of looking at it on the frame, hanging there waiting.

At the bottom

So today after work I just tackled it. I just did my old standby of loop-de-loops. So I finished the center and the bottom boarder. Tomorrow I will turn it and do the two side boarders and call it done. It isn't my best work and it isn't my worst. But I can move on.

Waiting to be turned

It is a good thing I unwound it from the frame and checked how I did the top boarder or the bottom boarder would have been different. I forgot to take a picture of the quilting on the top border to remind me for when I got to the bottom border.

Happy Stitching!

Another Setting for Blue Work & Dutch Treat

2011-05-09T21:02:00.001-07:00

Setting #2

Well I have been thinking on this on & off all day. This is another setting I thought of a couple of years ago for the Dutch Treat blocks. I had to redraw the block because some how I had lost the original file. I did rearrange the blocks a little and I like this setting so far. It also means I would do less Dutch Treat blocks.

I copied the idea from the quilt on the cover of the book The Art of Machine Piecing by Sally Collins.

Setting #3

Here is a variation of the setting!

Planning Ahead

2011-05-09T06:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I decided to lay out my Dear Jane Blue Work blocks I have done and to combined them with my Dutch Treat blocks I have done. I like the look of the two kinds of blocks mixed together. My first setting that came to mind was a Storm of Sea setting.

Believe me when I say this looks a lot better in EQ7 then it looks here. I think this also looks better in my mind's eye then in EQ7. So I am not sure now what I want to do but since I have 7 more Dutch Treat blocks to make I don't have to decide today.

I mostly played in EQ7 this week in preparation for my class I am teaching on Saturday the 14th. I did make more Yo-Yos but no real progress to report.

I have added a new feature to my blog on the right hand side bar you can now follow by blog by email. When you sign up for this you will receive an email stating the blog has been updated.

New Machine Update!

2011-05-01T21:36:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday I took a PTO day to take a class on my new machine. It is the first machine class I have ever taken but I decide to give it a go. And I am glad I did. I learned a lot of tricks and that is always good. I was the only student so I had a 1: 1 at my speed. After my class I came home and made a practice piece of stitches and learned some more things.

First Stitch practice

I learned I could make some smaller and larger, I need to know which direction the machine is going to go. Some I see will need stabilizer, I didn't use any in this piece. Notice I made notes of the sizes I used and the number of the stitch. I didn't make all 460 stitches the machine has, I don't have that kind of time. Now to use them some place.

Yes it does circles!

The machine has a circle attachment and I can stitch in a circle. I don't think I will use this a lot but I think for my Yo-Yo quilt I'll make a circle label. There is a chart to use to measure the designs so they match up at the end but I didn't use that this time, maybe the next time. I also noticed if I didn't pay close enough attention my fabric drifted and my circle are less then round. But for my first time I did well!

This has been really fun and I feel more bonded with my machine.

I also did more Yo-Yos. I noticed the edges are getting a little frayed. I have taken them to show friends who are in rehab after surgery. They will have to stay home now, no more traveling.

Yo-Yos 5.1.11

I also spent a lot of time working on my EQ7 Class I am teaching on May 14th. I am hoping my new format works well.

Happy Stitching!

Man Cave Update!

2011-04-24T17:58:00.000-07:00

The Siding has been started.

It has been a long time since I have done a Man Cave update because the progress has been slow and not very obvious. On Saturday, Mr. B. started working on the siding, and this is how much he was able to accomplished. It already has primer on it so it will be ready for painting. This is a cement board siding. Looking good!

How Many Yo-Yos this Week??

2011-04-18T20:54:00.000-07:00

Well I didn't really count them!

In this picture I have 4 appliqued down, two blocks basted and 3 centers basted. I am getting smarter as I go, I have 3 needles threaded one each of light, middle or dark thread, so I can use a blending thread when I make the Yo-Yos. Less needle threading! I vote for that.

I also drew it in EQ7 just because it is fun to play in EQ7.

I didn't color each block scrappy but I could. The quilt in the book is about 80 plus blocks but I think I am going to do 36. I have 32 background blocks sewn, so I only have to sew four more. What color I will use for the border will all depend on how it looks once I get it together.

The other playing I did in EQ7 is for my daughter's quilt, she wants another Irish Chain quilt. I made her a black and red one when she was 15. Now she wants black red and gray. I haven't started it yet, but we have the fabric picked out and that is a good start.

I also worked on my handouts for my EQ7 class I'll be teaching on May 14th. I guess I have been busy.

Happy Stitching!

Yo-Yos every where

2011-04-11T22:10:00.000-07:00

Yo-Yos on 4.11.11

Not much to report on this week, so it will be quick and sweet. I have made more of them, I have sewed some down and basted more on. The top two blocks are are stitched down and look great. If I do say so myself. The rest are just basted. I make a few I baste them on, make a few more then stitch them down. I am enjoying the process. I think I just need to slow down at this time in my life.

Our Little Trip

2011-04-05T07:11:00.000-07:00

Mr. B. and I took a little trip for our 19th wedding anniversary up to or really over to Safford, AZ. We wanted to go to the new temple there that has been opened less than a year.

I enjoy seeing the rock formations. I miss the green of Florida but I do like the mountains and rock formations. the more interesting they are the better I like them.

The Gila Valley Temple at night.

During the day.

On Friday afternoon we went to the Kartchner Caverns. The caverns have only been open to the public for about 10 years. We were able to see the Big Room, which will be close in about 10 days, when the bats return. No pictures are allowed to be taken inside the caverns, so I purchased a few postcards. It was a very interesting tour.

More Yo-Yos and a Finish

2011-04-04T20:52:00.000-07:00

Making Progress

I have made some progress on my Yo-Yo quilt. I basted down the Yo-Yos on these two blocks and began the hand applique of the Yo-Yos. You might see the needle on the block on the right. Last week, I only had the Yo-Yos pinned to the design wall.

My traveling Tin

Mr. B. and I took a little anniversary trip to Safford, AZ and Benson, AZ. I took my projects with me in a plastic container. When I came home I found this fun tin and thought this would work great for storing my blocks and Yo-Yos as I work on them.

While we were driving to Safford, I finished the binding on my little flag quilt.

C-9 DJ Blue work

I was also able to do some work

on my Blue Work Dear Jane Blocks. While riding in the car. I am not sure how many of these I am going to make. I will have do a mock up in EQ7. I have nine done now and I am working on number 10.

A-13 DJ Blue Work

These blocks look so much better in person. If you think you are seeing cat hair on them you are. My all black cat loves to sit in my lap when I do hand sewing.

Happy Stitching!

My First Projects on the New Machine

2011-03-28T19:33:00.000-07:00

First a commercial break. I had removed the moderate comments functionality on my blog, but I missed two weeks worth of comments. I really enjoy reading your comments and I didn't see them until tonight. So I turned it back on so I can read them when they come in. Thanks for all the great comments you all have left!

Now on to the business at hand. My first projects on my new machine. First I made an extra block for my Farmer's Wife Sampler. I paper pieced it, simple and fun!

Labels for Blue Moon

The first label I made is for the Blue Moon quilt. I have to admit I did a practice piece on muslin, just to see the size of the letters. They were big! Then I realized I could make them small, so I did. These are the small letters here. The second label is from the quilt show.

Mystical Horses labels

Here is my Mystical Horse labels. I have both sizes of letters in this label. I forgot to change the size of the font when I did the name of the quilt, that is why it is larger. My name & Mesa AZ is saved in my machine's memory. How cool is that? On my old machine I had to reset it every time. Maybe that is why I didn't use it a lot.

YoYo Blocks

Well during the quilt show I found this wonderful book called Simple Grace. There is this amazing YoYo quilt in it that I fell in love with. So on Saturday I bought some background fabric. I plan to use scraps from my stash for the yo-yos. I made about 36 background blocks. You see all the yo-yos I have made so far. I plan to work on these when I am traveling for work this summer.

Happy Stitching!

She will be Missed

2011-03-28T07:44:00.000-07:00

My old machine

This is a picture of my old sewing machine. It was the machine I purchased when I had been quilting about a year and a half. We became buddies in February of 1997. We have been to camp together, she fell out of a truck once and kept on sewing. She was a good friend. A couple of my cats even liked her.

Smokey

It is always amazing to me how they can get into such small places. My current cat Rosie doesn't get anywhere near the machine, she only sits in my lap and comes between me and my machine.

Avalanche

Three Saturdays ago I sat at my machine and started to make labels for my quilts when she suddenly stopped. Lights won't come on the needle won't move. I took her to the repair shop and had hopes it would be an easy fix. She was there almost a week and they got her running again. They could not find a new motherboard because she is so old. How insulting to say she is old. I was told she might last 2 days or 2 years. I had hopes for 2 years. She lasted 3 days.

On Saturday the 19th I spent all day going from one machine shop to another. I tried Pfaff, Bernina, Vikings, Janomes & a Brother. I was so exhausted I couldn't decide. I had an idea that the machine I would like was a little more then we had agreed to spend. I talked it over with Mr. B. and he told me to go ahead and get the machine I wanted since I will use it a lot any way. Isn't he great!!.

New Machine

Monday after work on the 21st I went and picked up my new machine. Here she is, isn't she a beauty! It is so different to have push button controls. I do not have to use the pedal to make it go if I don't want to. I had to use the pedal to do machine applique. It sews so fast I have to keep it at the medium speed level. She is so quiet and smooth.

After work I'll post the pictures of the things I sewed this week. Sorry to keep you in suspense but I do have to go to work.

Sewing Room Closet

2011-03-20T21:41:00.002-07:00

Before Picture of my closet

A few post back I shared a picture of my sewing room closet with a dresser in it. It was full of my fabric. Her it is so you don't have to search for it. Well I finally made a decision on how I would manage this closet.

Monday Night

Last Monday I started moving things out. I clean off all the stuff from the top of the dresser and placed them in the empty bedroom, soon to be guest room.

The drawers are out

Tuesday evening I moved all the drawers and put them in the Food Storage room. There are 10 drawers and some were full to the top and some are half empty. Each drawer had a color or type of fabric in them.

Dresser is out.

Thursday night I moved all the stuff that was in front of the closet like my rocking chair, stacks of magazines. Mr. B & I went to Home Depot after our Friday night dinner and purchased the shelves and all the accessories to hang them in the closet. It is amazing how expensive those things are. The shelves aren't bad it the brackets that hold them up. He & I also carried the dresser out of the sewing room to the room across the hall. I am sure glad it wasn't any further.

New Shelves

Saturday when I came home from shopping for a new sewing machine, Mr. B had all the shelves in place. He and I did adjust the heights a little bit so I can fit a couple short and long buckets on the bottom. I went to Target and purchased more bucket or plastic bins for my fabric.

Sorting batiks

I spent Saturday evening and most of Sunday sorting my fabric. Here are my batiks that I was sorting, I ended up with 4 buckets, one for lights, mediums, darks & Christmas. I really did vacuum the floor before I started, now I have to do it again.

Almost done!

Here is the last picture for today, I am almost done! What a good feeling! See that tall bottom shelve, those taller buckets fit there just perfectly and now I don't have to stand on a foot stool to reach for them any more. They were on the very top shelve over my cutting table. Now to make labels for my boxes.

After the Quilt Show

2011-03-15T07:53:00.000-07:00

Well it never fails after you have been to a quilt show you feel like sewing because of all the inspiration you have just seen. I wanted something quick and fun. So I started this little flag kit I purchased at the show.

Flag

I did stitch in the ditch on the strips and deep waves on the borders. The quilting is hard to see since my thread blends in perfectly.

Border quilting

This should give you an idea of my quilting. I did blue stars in the blue field but the picture didn't turn out. I did stars in the corners.

Stars in the Corners

Tonight I'll add the binding. It has been fun. There is a second quilt in this little kits. Who knows I might do it next.

Happy Stitching!!

Some Inspiration!

2011-03-14T21:47:00.001-07:00

This is the third time I have come across this little video. It wonderful. A non-quilting friend sent it to me. Tonight I watched it again and decided to share it here on my blog. Enjoy and share it!

I have to also admit I enjoy the music and
my feet start tapping!