Monday, July 30, 2018

Splendid Sampler 2- Row 1


I realized yesterday that I have enough blocks made to make the first row of my Splendid Sampler 2 quilt. I'm using a dark gray grunge and a white-ish grunge to make the alternate blocks. My Accuquilt 2.5 inch strip die made quick work of cutting the fabric.

I had the afternoon free and decided to get to work on this. Now that I have this row complete, I plan to work on these alternate blocks as a leader/ender project.

The lake house is nearing completion. Yay! This week will be the final big push, I hear. Next week will be for small finishes and clean up. We plan to get the TV's and Internet hooked up late next week. Move in will probably be the following week. Getting excited!

Friday, July 27, 2018

Christmas in July


I made the last row of pinwheels and stitched it in place. I also added white strips on either side so it has an inner border now. The idea I'd had for an outer border didn't work - the colors of the fabric I was going to use were right for this project. So now I need a Plan B. Maybe next week I'll figure out what exactly Plan B is! Ha!

Today I think I'll make the next BOM block for guild and maybe I'll work on the next SS2 block.  It's too hot to get out - sweltering....

Thursday, July 26, 2018

My Birthday Present...


Among other wonderful things (a new purse, and new springform pans) I received an embroidery module for my Bernina.  It came Saturday, but I didn't open the box until yesterday. Was it hard to figure out? Not really. I had a few things to learn, but overall it wasn't too difficult.


My first project - my initial. Okay, I know it's not much, but it was my first try. I can see that now I'll need to collect stabilizers and rayon thread! This will be fun with which to play!

Yesterday was also a car day. My car had to go to the shop for a broken rear blinker. Hubby's car wouldn't start. By afternoon all was fixed. And the UHaul shop paid to get my blinker fixed because it turns out they messed it up when they installed my trailer hitch earlier this year. All is well now!

Today I do hope to get back on my schedule and work on my Christmas row quilt!

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Rose and Dot


I'm totally whackadoodle on my schedule at the moment. Yesterday I made the latest SS2 block - Rose and Dot. I really like the applique blocks ...except that elephant - haha! But I did save the elephant pattern, so you never know, I might still make it.


Monday, July 23, 2018

Drunkard's Path


This is all the sewing I have to show for the last few days. It's a sample for the next Accuquilt Club meeting. We'll be learning to cut and sew curves.

Friday was spent at the lake getting the damaged Seadoo to the marina - this took much longer than expected because we discovered the engine was also damaged in the storm (not just the hull). But we did it and next time we see it...we hope it will run and look good again!

Saturday we were busy with family - always fun!

Yesterday I sewed just a bit. I've also been working on a presentation on my computer. I'll be speaking to a large group of women (mostly non-quilters) on the subject of Quilting in Alabama in a couple of weeks. I'm almost done with my presentation - yay!!!




Friday, July 20, 2018

Hexie Pillow


Yesterday was Christmas quilts day, but I made a pillow instead. Haha - I had gone to bed the night before thinking about the pillow and just had to get up and make it. I used my Bullseye Nested dies for my Accuquilt Studio cutter.



I picked out the size I wanted to cut - 2" per side...


...and then selected the appropriate 'blank' to go in the middle.


Yes indeed, more denim! It's a fun little pillow, I think.

We have to go to the lake this morning to get the Seadoo out of the water and take it to the marina for repair estimates. I'm not sure if I'll find time to sew today, but we'll see.

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

SS2 Block




I finished another Splendid Sampler 2 block - not too happy with my work. It's puckered and wonky. These tiny pieces slay me! I'll try pressing it better and maybe that will help? I skipped the circus elephant - just not my style...


And here is this week's midcentury modern house. Done!


I always bring a snack to Accuquilt Club meeting - we were talking about fusible dies on Saturday - such as the owl - aren't these the cutest crackers ever??? Hubby found them for me at Walmart. Next month we'll be talking about curves - hmmm, any snack ideas?

Yesterday was a whirlwind. Morning sewing. Laundry - 2 loads. Bathrooms scrubbed. A quick trip to the lake house. A trip to a fireplace store. And in the evening I cut up some jeans and worked on Bring Me Flowers. 

Enjoy your day!

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

I Finished Cooper!


Ta-DAH! I finished Cooper in Denim! I had ordered the specific sizes of stretcher bars and they came on Saturday. Yesterday I put it all together, stapling the edges around the back side. I am SO happy with this! It measures 28 inches by 36 inches. Larger than life! My family is telling me it's one of their favorites of all the quilt projects that I've ever made.

The good news is that I still have TONS of old jeans left...I'll be making more of these. Next one will probably be a bit smaller though! Ha!

I missed Machine Quilting Monday - I was out and about in town. Today I hope to do my midcentury home block and maybe even machine quilt a bit...we'll see. There are also bathrooms to clean and laundry piling up.

Saturday, July 14, 2018

Report from the Lake House


We spent several hours at the lake house yesterday. It was one of those good news-bad news kind of days. But mostly good. Above is the new coffee bar - custom made by the cabinet people and topped with quartz. Good news!

All countertops are now in - good news!

Chimney sweep came - fireplace is not safe to use at this time - repairs will be pricey - bad news...

Termite inspector came - no bugs or damage - good news!

Termite inspector wants to do a special treatment ('according to state regulations'). Not sure if I believe him that it is necessary- will do research to see - bad news...

New barn door was built and installed while we were there - good news!

We discovered significant damage on our pier and our Seadoo was tied off and not on its lift. Turns out a recent storm knocked the Seadoo into the water and it continued to bang against the pier. A kind neighbor saved the Seadoo from floating away and tied it off. The pier and Seadoo will both need repair - the pier will have to wait until winter when the water level is down - bad news...

All in all it is good. The house is progressing well and will be finished before long. Very good news!


On the way home we took a load of old metal outdoor furniture to a sand blasting/powder coating facility - truly fascinating! Above is where they powder coat items, which are hung from the big rolling rack. The rack is given an electrical charge which passes through the item to be sprayed. The powder coating will then stick to the item.


Next the item goes into this huge oven at 450 degrees F. The powder coating melts into a nice even surface. They have lots of colors to pick from - we went with a dark bronze color. I have taken all the furniture cushions to an upholsterer to be recovered.

No sewing. This morning I teach the local Accuquilt Club class. And maybe I'll get a bit of sewing in later????

Friday, July 13, 2018

Another Row in the Christmas Quilt


I added another row to the Christmas quilt - the bottom one - pinwheels.  I only need one more row! I'm running low on fabric... I'm thinking of adding another pinwheel row to the top. I have a fun border planned after that. This might just get finished by Christmas!

FYI: I also finished my Cooper in Denim project! Woohoo! But I'll wait to share it until I have acquired the stretcher bars and stapled it around them...hopefully early next week.

Today we're headed to the lake to check on things there - there was a lot going on there this week. Can't wait to see!

Happy Friday the 13th!

Thursday, July 12, 2018

Birthday Fun!



I didn't sew yesterday, but I thought I'd show you what I'm making from the cut-off seams from the pile of blue jeans: placemats for the lake! Won't they be fun? And very durable!

Hubby and I had a wonderfully fun day yesterday. He let me pick our agenda. I decided we'd go thrifting. We've been watching a show on Netflix called 'Money For Nothing' - it's a British show about a woman who picks things from the 'tip' (dump) and she and other artists turn them into wonderful things.

We didn't find anything to reinvent, but we did come home with some fun finds. We went to 4 thrift/reclaim stores and bought something from all of them. Among other things, we came home with a pile of movies for the lake, a lovely tall planter, and more jeans for me to deconstruct.


We went for lunch at one of my favorite restaurants: a delicious wedge salad and firecracker shrimp along with a margarita. 

Today I'll get back on track with sewing.





Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Another House


This is a cute little house, isn't it? I'm really trying to learn to add a bit of red here and there in some of my scrap quilts, and that red roof looks good! All these fabrics (except the background) came from that big load of fabric I bought recently.


I also had time to work on Cooper in Denim. I am stitching (free motion) around the edges of all the little pieces.


When deconstructing all the blue jeans, I cut out all the heavy seams - I have a lovely bowl full of them - big plans here! You'll see soon!

Happy Birthday to .... ME!

Machine Quilting Was Done!



Can you believe it??? I actually machine quilted! This is a simple little nine patch quilt that will be a gift. Easy, peasy, diagonal grid quilting. I am halfway done!!!

I also found time to work on the Denim Cooper quilt. I made the background and have him pinned in place. Next step will be to do free motion stitching around every single piece. This will not be a quilt - no layers. I plan to staple it around a stretcher frame.

So today I'll make a midcentury house and then I might just work on Cooper again. I'm also heading to Michael's to see if I can buy the stretcher frame pieces. 

Have a good one!



Monday, July 9, 2018

Cooper Has A Neck!


The evening light yellowed this photo a bit, but you get the drift. I worked on this a LOT yesterday! Cooper is ready for his background! I'd love to work on that today. I know---it's supposed to be machine quilting day... we'll see what I do...

Sunday, July 8, 2018

SS2 and Denim Cooper


I had put this Splendid Sampler block aside, not really feeling it. I think it was because there is no contrast between the clamshells. And I wasn't a fan of the embroidered flowers in the pattern.  Light bulb moment came Friday.

I used Perle Cotton in a variegated green to edge stitch around the clamshells - a definite improvement. Then I redesigned the flowers and appliquéd the centers and a few petals, using red Perle Cotton to back stitch the rest of the petals. Okay. I like it now.

Next is an elephant - UGH! I'm not an elephant fan, but I'll make it anyway.


I worked on Denim Cooper a good bit yesterday. I added the spots on his forehead and I did his ear.  Now I'm ready to move down his neck. I want to finish this soon! We want to hang it at the lake house which will be finished before we know it!

Friday, July 6, 2018

Sewing and Sewing



I didn't sew on the 4th so yesterday I hit the ground running. I sewed the row of Christmas presents to the quilt and added a sashing row below. Still need a couple more rows.


I also made the plus blocks for the week.


I made TWO banana pound cakes, placing them in the closed laundry room to cool. Well, Mr. Cooper was able to devour part of one cake later in the day while he was supposed to be eating his supper. At this point we just laugh when Cooper steals food.

Hubby and I will pick around on the half eaten one. I'll cut the other cake up to share with some our new neighbors who have recently moved on our street. I guess a half eaten cake is better than none???

Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Another House Block



I'll have to admit there was a bit of teeth gnashing and ripping out in the making of this block. But it did survive and get finished. I ran out of the polka dot fabric for the background so I used a different fabric for the 'ground'. The door, the door. Not happy with it. I think it needs a pop of color, don't you? 

I'm not going to start over; I think I'll appliqué a new door on top.

Happy 4th of July!!!!

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

I Needed Fabric????





A couple of days ago I asked Hubby if he had some cash. I told him I bought something on a Facebook yard sale site. "What did you buy?" he asked. "Fabric," I replied.

"Well," he said, "you needed fabric." Hahahaha! He and I both know it's the last thing I need!

I absolutely couldn't resist - I know - it's like a disease, isn't it? Two huge ziplock totes filled to the brim with quarter yard cuts. AND it's all neatly wrapped around comic book cardboard pieces. WOW! The two bins cover an entire queen size bed!



Tell me...could you have resisted?




I had never seen these Ziplock bins before. They are sturdy and fit under a bed really well. I think I'll order more of these - I love to store things under beds.




The woman selling them had an appliqué business but is no longer doing this. I can't even imagine how many quilts I can make from this. I plan to sort through it all in the next few days. I think I got a really good deal - I got her down 20% off the asking price. I counted the pieces in one bin - 207 different fabrics, a quarter yard of most of them. At $2.50 each that would be over $500 retail. And that's only one of the bins. How much would you pay for this? I'll tell you in a couple of days how much I paid....

I plan to use some of this myself, make some charity quilts out of some of it, and share some with my close friends.

Monday Machine Quilting did not happen - we had family visiting. It's always fine with me if I miss Machine Quilting day - haha! I have been working a bit on the next Splendid Sampler 2 block, but I really don't like it - this will be a good block to skip.

Over the weekend we attended two different cook-outs in our neighborhood. It's very social around here! We feel like we have already celebrated Independence Day, so we will have a quiet 4th. We might go watch some local fireworks, and then again, we may not.

Have a good one!