Design Wall Monday--March 5, 2012

There is nothing on my design surface since I am working on quilting the two tablerunners for the UFO pick this month.  I got both pin basted and binding made for one, cut for the other, on Saturday.  Sunday I woke up tired and headachy and just couldn't seem to get going until mid afternoon.  It is typical for me to stall at the quilting design stage and this was true for the Baby Boxes runner.  Finally, after paging through the From Daisy to Paisley free motion quilting book by Leah Day, I settled on a simple design and practiced a little on a scrap sandwich to get the scale right before working on the real thing.

After three thread breaks in a foot of quilting and then running out of bobbin thread, I took off my gloves, tied and buried the thread ends, and stopped for the day. 

However, I do like this easy stippling version called Wandering Clover, though my stitching looks a lot more like puzzle pieces than how Leah stipples!  See more design walls on Judy's Patchwork Times.

Today is my youngest offspring's birthday--Happy 22nd, Erica!  I called her in Arizona last night but she said it wasn't officially her birthday yet so I still owe her a text or phone call tomorrow :)

Starting Off The Month Right

For once I am starting off the month with immediate progress on the UFO Challenge pick!  I swapped out the number chosen for an easier project on my list, these two tablerunners, both from Heather Mulder Peterson's On the Run pattern book.  First up, my scrap-bin Baby Boxes had borders cut and applied.  I opted out of the applique on the ends so cut the borders all the same width. 

I have plenty left of the $7 100% cotton twin sheet from Target's Room Essentials line for the backing as well as those borders.

Striped bias binding will be a nice finish for a summer topper for my sideboard or coffee table.  

Next I switched to finishing the applique on the Party Time tablerunner, also from the On the Run book. I went for subtle with pink thread buttonhole stitched around. This is the third project I made from one charm pack of Boutique by Chez Moi.  I love this line of fabric from several years ago.

 

A bright green dot backing and a striped bias binding will finish this one off.   Right, I'm off to wash and iron backing and pull batting to get these pin basted into sandwiches today!

My thoughts are with all of those affected by these terrible storms of the past week.  The devastation shown is mind boggling in it's range across the States and it seems Mother Nature is hell bent on more destruction in the next few days.  Sending courage and virtual support!   

Thursday Quote

UFO Challenge 2012 Update

So, here it is, February 29, and I don't have anywhere near a finish on my UFO Challenge 2012 pick of the month, Judy's Mystery Quilt.  But Judy said to post progress if there is no finish, and there has been progress!  I started with the pieced top only:

Here's the backing, which is having MATH problems...

...because as you can see, it does not hang down as far as the top.  I am about a foot short and have yet to remedy the problem.  There is enough fabric but it will mean more MATH and, as my regular visitors know, I am a WORD girl.  The extra seams required on the backing will not bother me but I have yet to come up with a quilting plan.  No finish for February, bummer!  There was no finish for January either but some progress, as I am still handquilting Patriotic Fields--got the binding on and all the blocks done, now working on the sashing and settting triangles.

Judy's draw for March is #8, which on my list is my Greenpiece BOM and there is a lot of work there.  I am going to switch that out for #9, two table runners needing finishing.  I figure that way I can continue to work on the January and February UFOs for a triple play at the end of March to cancel out my two strikes :)

Leap Day Madness

Hop on over to Bonnie's Quiltville and Pat Sloan's blog for a special Leap Day giveaway!  Some yummy quilty prizes are waiting to be won....drawing is tomorrow night!  Spread the word...

Tuesday's Orts--on Wednesday

Yeah, well, I've been on vacation, so I'm a little behind...

• Grant and I couldn't decide where to go for a couple days vacation plus we had oodles of stuff to do here, so we opted for a Staycation.  It's been nice.
• Our 9 year old dishwasher died so we've been visiting appliance stores. We first tried Sears and apparently we appeared cootie-covered because the pregnant saleslady stood about seven feet away from us.  Between her soft voice and a loud instructional video playing in the hardware department, I could not hear most of what she said.  
• What's up with the stainless steel fetish in appliances?
• Traffic Rant:  People who have no concept of the right of way at stop signs.  Don't sneer at me, you dope, when I waited for someone else's right of way and you came to the intersection after me--I get to go before you!  And use your turn signal, dummy!
• Yesterday it was time to tackle the sewing closet in the office.  It took hours longer than I expected but I cleared some things out and consolidated to smaller bins and that feels good.  Now to attack my computer desk (gulp).
• Meanwhile, in the backyard...

Some blocks are relaxing on the lounge chair. I plan to make some friends for them to party with later today.

Design Wall Monday--Feb 27, 2012

On my design surface today is a new project.  Since I'm having trouble with the Mystery Quilt, my UFO pick of the month (see my previous post, Math Is A Four Letter Word ), I'm salving the hurt with some planning and petting of luscious fabrics.  This project has been on my list since I saw it in the McCall's Quilting September/October 2010 magazine and I've been gathering fabrics for a while.  I picked up some of these deep red prints at the Road to California show from the Primitive Gatherings booth.

Yes, my love of red and green quilts continues, this time with deeper burgundy reds and a variety of greens.  I redrafted the pattern to make it 63" square and also am using my favorite version of a churn dash block.  There will be lots of different neutral background fabrics, including some stripes.  I'll start the cutting with the appliqued basket blocks.  See more design walls on Judy's Patchwork Times.