Wednesday, May 30, 2018

On Ringo Lake - TIMES TWO!


While I was on a roll...I got busy and finished the borders for the second ORL Christmas quilt. I had to take a picture of both of them together just to prove I did actually make this TWICE! Haha!



Christmas blocks for miles!




If I had put the second quilt aside for a few weeks I know I would have dreaded going back to it. Get it done now! These quilts measure 56" by 66". They will be perfect at the foot of matching twin beds or as lap quilts.

Have you ever made two matching quilts? This was a first for me!

I still need to prepare the backings, but not today. I have a few parts and pieces leftover - I plan to make a table runner with them.

And then there's the overflowing box of parts and pieces to make On Ringo Lake in Bonnie's original colors. I think I have a plan for them and it will look even less like On Ringo Lake than these two Christmas quilts.

I haven't decided what I'll work on today - I need to update my spreadsheet!

Have a great day!





Monday, May 28, 2018

On Ringo Lake -



Woohoo! I finished one of two of my On Ringo Lake Christmas quilts. The second quilt is ready for it's last two borders - hopefully I'll make progress on them today.

As much as I gripe and groan whilst making a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt, I am always happy with the outcome - especially this one where I put it together my own way. The border turned out fun, didn't it?

Enjoy your Memorial Day!





Sunday, May 27, 2018

A Pillow Project


Stick with me...this is a long story. Last year I saw this adorable pillow available from the Magnolia shop - yes, Joanna Gaines of Fixer Upper - THAT Magnolia. I love the pattern and I love the different colored ball fringe. A couple of days later I tried to order one and it was sold out. Never came back in stock. 

I'm planning to decorate the remodeled lake house in pale gray, navy, and white. The pillow above is black and white, but would have worked. Maybe I can make one??????

I happened upon a used copy of this older John Flynn book while I was in Paducah last month. Hmmm, maybe the basis of a paper pieced pillow? I bought some cotton twill (heavier than quilting cotton) in navy and white and took it to retreat along with the patterns from the book I had copied on my printer.




This is what I have so far.  I plan to add a white center circle and have it monogrammed. I'll add a outer ring of navy. The back side of the pillow will be navy and yes, I'll add a ball fringe around the perimeter.

Now I also saw this quilt, Blue Bull's Eye by Becky Goldsmith, at Paducah. The center of this would make a fantastic round pillow! 



I looked up the pattern when I came home - Becky Goldsmith has a new book coming out with the pattern, but not until October. Until then, I think my pillow will be just fine. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

I've sewn some on the borders for my Christmas On Ringo Lake quilts - slowly but surely. Hope to have these tops finished soon.

Alberto is headed our way so we'll have lots of rain this week; lots of sewing should happen!

Have a great day!















Thursday, May 24, 2018

Arcs!


I'm making progress on the arc appliqué for Bring Me Flowers! I'm officially past the halfway mark. I had a fabulous day yesterday of hand stitching these and then I stitched more last night. 

Today I need to do some machine stitching - just a bit. And I'd like to get on those borders for my Christmas On Ringo Lake quilts. And we may run up to the lake to check on the progress there. Sounds like a busy day, but I slept late this morning so I'm ready to hit the ground running!

Enjoy your day!

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Back From Retreat


Man, am I tired!!!! But retreat was so much fun, as usual! I can't believe this is the only picture I took of my hard work there. Oh well...I'll share a better picture when I finish the quilt(s). Yes, this is my version of On Ringo Lake in Christmas colors. I didn't set it on point - and I added plain sashing, saving the pieced sashing pieces for the border. My friends helped me with the border - one friend especially - thanks, Ann! We are calling the red units in the border 'baubles'. I decided to make TWO Christmas quilts from all these blocks. They will be cute at the foot of the twin beds at the lake house.

I had enough blocks to make 2 quilts that have 20 blocks, along with all the borders. Unfortunately I didn't bring any of the lighter green fabric that I want to use in the border - see that little strip? But both quilts are put together, ready for the border. I also pieced all the 'baubles', so the border is ready to put together. It won't take long to finish these tops now! I plan to hire a friend to quilt them for me.

It was wonderful to have a few days of non-stop sewing to get these two quilts to this point! Of course, I still have all the parts and pieces of On Ringo Lake in Bonnie's colors...I'm not even excited about attacking them. I have a feeling that when I do pull out that box that it will end up looking NOTHING like On Ringo Lake. Haha! I do think I have a plan though.....

We stopped at a quilt shop in McDonough, GA on the way to retreat and another one in Decatur, GA on the way back. Of course, I didn't NEED anything. But I managed to find stuff to buy at both shops.   When you see something you've never seen... you'd better grab it, right? A quilter's mentality...

I'll share my purchases soon.....

Have a great day!

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Why is This so Hard??? (Retreat packing)



I've been fretting about what to take to retreat later this week. I've have projects piled up on the guest bed. Every few hours I take one project out and add another in its place. Maybe it would be nice to work on this one? Or should I take that one? What about the other one?

I've never had so much dilemma over what what to take!!!!

What I've finally decided is that in order for a project to go along with me...it has to pass the 'think' test. Retreat is perfect for mindless sewing. Lots of machine piecing. You don't want to have to  think too much, right? I'll be spending 3.5 days with some of my very best friends. We'll be talking away the hours. I don't want to have to think!

So here's what has made the cut:

On Ringo Lake - both.
You may remember I made all the parts and pieces twice - one quilt in Christmas colors and one in Bonnie's colors.

Bring Me Flowers.
I'm bringing the stack of blocks that need arcs appliquéd - in case I get tired of machine sewing.

My Small World.
I've only made one block for this quilt. But I think I'll take it to relieve the endless chain piecing that On Ringo Lake will require.

In From the Cold
What is this???!!!!  I've had this quilt on my radar for quite some time. Find the free pattern HERE. Yes, it's another Christmas quilt! I'm going to have a pile of Christmas quilts in the next couple of years.... I've had a huge fat quarter pack of fabric in my stash that is perfect for this quilt. This will be another 'relieve-the-monotony-of-On-Ringo-Lake' project.

I think that will be just right!



I did something I rarely do yesterday. I watched a movie all by myself - it was the Prince Harry and Meagan Markle story. I love this pillow I spotted in the movie! Would it be pretty in blues and grays for the lake house? I have lots of pillows I want to make - thought about making pillow covers at retreat, but then I thought again - too much thinking involved!!! Haha!

Sunday, May 13, 2018

Mother's Day and Random Things




I've been working more on arc appliqué for Bring Me Flowers - I've made a pretty good dent in my stack of squares.


Mickey's favorite activity? Golf cart rides around the neighborhood!


Yes, there's a 5 foot by 5 foot upholstered ottoman living in my sewing room until the lake house reno is complete. Yes, this is already a small room. But there is no where else to put it! Haha!


Fact: I'm leaving in a few days for a quilt retreat and I have so many (too many!) projects underway that I can't decide what to take with me. Yesterday I made a spreadsheet with my current projects - and no, this isn't all of them! I kept thinking of more while I was going to sleep last night... ugh....

That's okay. It's about the process - I don't need to fret. I love every single one of them!


I felt like really cooking last night! So good to feel well! 

By the way, Craftsy has a free weekend going on now. Yesterday I watched Perfect Pizzas and learned so much about making homemade pizzas. I think I'll find another class to watch today.

Happy Mother's Day to you all, whether you are a mom to kids or a mom to pets! And a special Happy Mother's Day to my mom, Melba Cheape!

Friday, May 11, 2018

Sewing Again!


I'm happy to report that I'm feeling MUCH better! Thanks for all the good wishes. Yesterday I felt like getting out and so we did. In retirement, Hubby plays golf a LOT, and that's fine by me. But he always saves one day per week for together time. This works great for me because typically when he's playing golf....I'm quilting.

We decided to head to the lake house yesterday - we needed to pick up our utility trailer and bring it back to town so we could pick up a huge ottoman from the upholstery shop. This guy was hanging out at the lake - so beautiful and perfect!

It was fun to see the progress happening in the remodel at the lake - the project is moving forward quickly!


I'd been watching this crock on Craigslist for a couple of weeks and it was still available. So after we picked up the trailer we headed to Wetumpka (40 minutes out of the way) and met the seller. Yes, this will end up at the lake house.  And then it was back to Auburn to pick up the ottoman (which will also live at the lake). Our little cottage is becoming more and more crammed with stuff to go to the lake house when it is completed. We had such a fun day!


And last night I felt up to hand stitching - I'm still working on arcs for Bring Me Flowers.

Today I'm getting out for a bit to run a couple of errands. And I hope to sew more later. So good to feel well!

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

The Ear Infection....


I haven't blogged in a few days because I haven't felt like sewing. This ear infection has made me so dizzy and foggy. It's been hard to sew, read, or even watch television. Monday I began trying to get an ENT appointment. Unfortunately the ENT's here in town could not see me for 2 weeks - ugh! So I got an appointment in Birmingham for Tuesday afternoon. Hubby drove me - a dizzy girl doesn't need to drive that far!

Prognosis: inner ear infection, but fluid in ear is getting better. No hearing loss - thank goodness! He's given me yet another round of steroids and said I should feel much better after 2 days. Hope so! I do feel better this morning than I did yesterday, so that is hopeful.

Above is the ONLY sewing I've managed over several days - a second taupe block - this one was pretty simple.



Here are a couple of my African violets that have begun to bloom - such sweet little flowers!

Today my goals are not lofty. I hope to do some laundry. That's it. If I feel like sewing that will be a bonus!

Saturday, May 5, 2018

Denim Cooper


In Paducah I was able to see an exhibit of Ian Berry's denim artwork - these were not quilts, but artwork. He uses glue to hold everything together. No stitching. I adore his work! And yes, I want to try my hand at a denim portrait.


Yesterday Cooper and I ran a couple of errands; he needed to go to the vet to get some medicine for his itchy paws. Before we left home I made a pattern from an old Cooper photo. Our first stop was to the copy shop to get the pattern blown up to poster size. After the vet visit we headed home and he posed for this photo.


 I have a pile of old denim at the ready. I can't decide if I want to work on this at an upcoming retreat or not. It may end up being too involved to take to retreat. And I'll need LOTS of table space - think it might need to stay home.

Retreat is coming us fast! I really need to get organized and plan what projects I'll take with me. I think I'll work on that today in fact. On Ringo Lake is definitely a retreat project.

Enjoy your day!



Thursday, May 3, 2018

A Special Christmas Quilt


A few friends and I took on a fun challenge this year. We each picked a theme and made a 48" long row of blocks to begin. We each put our row, instructions, and any additional fabric in a brown paper bag. Each month the five of us passed our bag to another person to add a row to the bag. So each of us made a row for every quilt.

I picked a Christmas theme for mine - I made the row of Christmas trees in the middle. I LOVE what my friends made for their rows. Those bows on the wreaths are dimensional. The centers of the log cabin blocks are fussy cut. I plan to add a few more rows and then maybe a pieced border. Or maybe an appliquéd border if I get more ambitious. Wonder if I'll have it done by Christmas???

Summer is here - yesterday it went up to 87 degrees F - I think I must have missed Spring when I was sick. Bring back Spring!

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Hexie Quilts from Paducah


You knew it was coming, didn't you? You know I'm always drawn to hexie quilts! So here are a couple from Paducah. I'm all about making hexie flowers and appliquéing them to a background - so this one was awesome. One block at time - it's not an endless project.



And this was a WOWZER! 'Limeberry Tart' - can you see the brown tart crust around the edges?



And there's so much fussy cutting! Amazing work!


Here is more lake house progress. This vaulted ceiling was covered with that cottage cheese texture before. Now it is covered with lovely tongue in groove planks and there are 3 new beams. So much better! I adore the people who are handling our project. It's a company run by women and they have great sub-contractors. We get update photos all the time and don't have to be there. What a blessing!

I'm still not sewing much - still struggling with my ear. BUT, when I woke up this morning I felt like a veil had been lifted - I think I'm finally making progress! I'm on Week 3 of this ear infection - ugh! Today I think I'll feel like sewing!

I saw this link this morning about Yoko Saito - my taupe inspiration. Don't you love the house mystery quilt???

Enjoy your day!