Why I Am not Sewing!

Well I think it has been four weeks if not five since I have sewn.  

I think I found out the reason why!

It is called Creative Explosion!! 

In case you don't believe it, here is the proof!

Yup this is the sewing room all torn up.  Looking for fabric for 56 plain triangles for the border of a Dear Jane Quilt, 

will create an explosion of fabric!

Look at the floor can you tell I was ripping paper out 

of paper pieced blocks. I miss the garbage can half the time.

Cutting table all cluttered.

Even the sewing table is a mess!

See those pretty fall fabrics, I am resisting starting on that project, because I know I won't get it done this fall so why try!

I have started cleaning and putting away but I still have more work to do.  I found all the fabric I will use for the last four triangles and the one corner that I still need to make for my Dear Jane.

That was part of the clean up, so hopefully I won't get this much explosion soon.

Here are the pictures of the last fabrics chosen for the triangles and corner.  All kitted with their cutting guide or templates. I have to put her away again so I can get another project done for a class sample.  One has priorities. 

More Happenings

We had another Birthday!

I figured this was the last year I could get away with a 

Minnie gift Bag.  So I went for it.

This is Little Bit and she is now in the double digit, age 10.

She is very expressive and makes the cutest faces.

Her face is full of joy and happiness most of the time. 

She wanted a new dress for her birthday.  The day before she kept asking me to see her new dress.  I said, "No, it needs to be a surprise."  She wasn't happy with that.  But on her birthday she was glad she had waited for the surprise. 

She also has a new bed set.  In pink her favorite color.  

She decorated her cake also.  She is doing her I blew out all the candles dance here.

Yup that is Little Bit being herself!

She has 35 kids in her class.  Next year will be the last year I have to buy cup cakes for her.  I almost didn't get them to school on time.  Just made it by the skin of my teeth.

I love this little munchkin so much.  She is so affectionate.

She is also creative and always thinks of fun things to do.

Some Happenings

We had a Birthday!

A Special Young Lady turned 12!

This is Bigger Bit!

She is so pretty but doesn't know it.  She worries about will people like me if I have scars, I am like thinking who doesn't like you and who doesn't have scars.  I reminder her that what is in side is more important than what is on the outside. I wish she could see herself as others see her.  Sweet, caring, helpful, thoughtful and smart. 

I love when she talks to me about the boys who like her at school.  She is smart, they ask to date her and she just says I am too young, but we can be friends and talk at school.  

I guess dating at this age is holding hands at school.  She rather play soccer and I am very happy with that.

I actually got her to wear this shirt once.  It has a little too much bling on it for her.  She likes her cloths simple.

I got her Teal nail polish her favorite color.

A new bed set, she picked it out and had forgotten.  

It is really cute.  I can't pick out things for her, our tastes are so different.  

Later with her cake she decorated and made.  

A couple of days later we went out to dinner with the our big adult daughter for her birthday.  I love this shirt on her but she doesn't like it.  It is too girly. It is from a grandmother. 

I just love this little munchkin who wants to be taller than I am. 

A Dear Jane Corner Completed

And all I can say is whew!!!

It was a doozy!

I took five different times, sitting at the sewing machine and sewing to get it done.  But it is done!

Done is better than perfect.

I traced part of the pattern, so I could paper piece parts of it. 

I made the top center square a little bigger, so the number 2000 would show completely.  It was the only part of the Millennium fabric that was really going to show. 

The four triangles I have left are all going to be complicated also.  Plus one more corner, it has two applique stars on it.  

Unfortunately I have to put her away for awhile.  My next project due for the Get RR Done group is My Design and Sew Quilt.  I would like to have the top done by the next meeting.  I really should have the quilt done for the next quarter of the teaching calendar at the shop, which starts in December because I plan to teach that class again, called EQ Design and Sew.  I teach the students how to design the blocks in EQ, and then they make the blocks.  Students like seeing the end results.  

Yesterday I remade my paper piecing Halloween patterns.  I made the little wall hanging ages ago.  I think the patterns were from Nancy Granny Paper Piecing Patterns.  Of course they don't make them any more, and all my paper piecing programs don't have the blocks I have in my Halloween sampler.  So I drafted them again in EQ7, so I have the patterns for class on Monday. 

Halloween Sampler

I haven't taught paper piecing in a good ten years, if not longer.  The teacher who was teaching at the shop, needs a break.  Actually she was one of my students ages ago, way back when I first taught paper piecing.  

Today I found my old handouts, and boy did I have to update them!  Some of the information is still relevant, and some wasn't.

Since I didn't really want to type the whole thing over.  I set up my Dragon Naturally Speaking program on my computer.  It worked like a charm. 

I was going to use it for this post but it won't work in Blogger.  So I went to word and now it is telling me, my operating system is set up to run this program.

  

Seriously!!  I just finished a 3 page hand out and hour ago.  

Mr. B. upgraded me to Windows 10 and now I can't find the screen capture icon that I used a lot with Windows 8. So I can't take a screen shot of that message to show you. 

I just found my Snipping tool.  So here is that error message I received. I still can't get Dragon to work.  Grrrr

Plus I just realized I didn't load Snag-it with all my other software.  And I don't have time to go get the external DVD machine.  

He loaded 10 on three other computers, no problems.  Mine it failed five time if not more.  So he ended up setting my computer back to factory settings and I lost all my software.  Luckily he backed up all my files, so those weren't lost. 

Sometimes as much as I love computers I hate them also.

Well I better go, it is time to get the girls from school. 

Happy Stitching!!

Dear Jane Borders

Well I have been busy sewing between being busy with other stuff, like kids, homework, playing chauffeur, and spending time with Mr. B. who took some time off from works.  So we went on a date to breakfast and a movie. We had two birthday celebrations for Little Bit who turn 10.  I took in a movie with the girls. Plus I taught a four hour class, my Stick Witch class.  Gosh I am making myself tired just listing all this out. 

So now all four borders are constructed, minus the four triangles that are missing.  See the white spots below. 

I found out that I last worked on these triangles in 2005, so it has only been 10 years since I last worked on the quilt, instead 12 years. 

It was really fun to go though all the fabrics I had put aside for the plain triangles. Some of the fabrics are Millennium fabrics, I included them, since that was my original plan.  Since these fabrics have been tucked away for ten years, I also cut a small square from each of the fabrics to make Yo-Yos for my Yo-Yo quilt.  See the side bar, Yo-Yo to see old post on the progress of the quilt. 

Close up of the top half of the triangles.

Close up of the bottom half of the triangles. 

Now to go make four triangles and two corners.  I am hoping now that the borders are almost completed I will have more momentum or at least not loose any.

I know why I put it away, I got intimidated by those last four triangles I had to make as well as putting on those borders. 

It feels good to be getting to this point. I want to finish this!

Heidi's Quilt

The other project I finished which had nothing to do with my "Get RR Done" group is a quilt for Heidi.  She made it for her daughter who has gone off to college.  

It is a fun double sided T-Shirt quilt. That is right the back is also made of T-Shirts.  I like to follow a patter or go around the designs of the front, but I had to keep reminding myself it isn't going to work that way on the back and to just go for it. 

Here is the front.  I didn't take a picture of the back. 

Look at how nice and puffy it will be even with low-loft batting.

 My favorite block.  This T-shirt is from the first quilt shop I ever taught at.  Quilter's Emporium.  My best friend was the owner and she asked me to teach paper piecing because I was the only person she knew who knew how to paper piece.  Man I have good memories of that place.  I miss it and I miss Rosie.  Rosie is now in the Heavenly Quilt group.  I will be eternally grateful to her for introducing me to quilting, we took our first classes together.  And for inviting me to teach at her shop which expanded to teaching all kinds of classes. I also did the monthly newsletter for the shop.  

Progress on Projects

Do you ever get those feelings, of I can't move on to this or the next project until I finish or get so far on such and such.  Well that is were I have been with the Pink Princess.  I am not always sure if that means I am stalling on starting the next project or if that means the current project just needs to be done.  

Today I finally finished added the last borders and once I did that I was able to pull out what is left to do on my Dear Jane. 

So here is my Pink Princess.  I like how it looks. 

I cut the borders wrong, I cut two strips 4" and two 3.5 inches.   My plan was for 3.5" all the way around.  I just couldn't cut the 4" ones down so I left them at 4".  I put them on the top and bottom since a longer quilt never hurt and I knew I was going to have add on to the side borders and I had one piece left over that would give me two 3.5" pieces.  

When I added on the extra pieces for the side borders, one of the pieces had the words below, Her Royal Majesty, and one of my side borders did also.  So one border has that on it three times.  

It looks like I have a thread to clip.

The other side has Adorable on it in three places. It was so cute I was thinking about changing the name of the quilt to Adorable.  

I am going to quilt this on my frame.

So after this I pulled out all my DJ stuff, except for the backing, and binding.

I went through all my triangles to see which ones are missing, I need to make four and I need to make 2 corners. 

I am not sure why I stopped so close to the end.  I think I got a little intimidated by constructing the borders and 

having it all fit together. 

Here is center of the quilt has it has been since, 2002 or 2003.

Is is part of the top row. 

The other part of the top row.

The bottom row of triangles, all of the pieced triangles are done. 

Left side and right side triangles, each border is missing two triangles. One triangle on the right side border is missing a little triangle, but I think I left it off since the print I had used was cool by itself, as it has a large flower right in the center. I might leave it that way.  After all it is my quilt. 

I have to pick out fabric for all those plain triangles.  Grrrr