Four Quilts in Progress

Last week I posted that I had decided on four quilts to work on for the time being.

1. Stars Upon Stars

This quilt will take forever! But I know I'll love it! Here's the block I'm currently working on. This is only the second block. Yes, lots to go on this! I'm considering this to be a hand work project. I do make those little pieced diamonds by machine, but I've found it easier to do the rest by hand - it fits together better and it turns out to be the correct size.

2. Happy Birds!

This one has been hiding for a long time. Above are the birds I've previously completed. (I think one may be missing - hope I find it!)

I found this little 'kit' I'd made for the next bird.

Over the weekend I got this far on it. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy wool applique.

3. Cheddar Bowties

I'll keep this one going - it's mindless and if I continue to make 4 blocks per day, it will be finished before too long.

4. Green/Gray Lozenges

I really love the colors in this quilt. It's another mindless quilt once I have a pile of pieces cut...which I do.

These four quilts will keep me busy in December and we'll see how far along I get.

I picked up Appalachian Autumn and my bullseye quilt from the quilter Saturday. Over the weekend I made the binding for both and machine stitched it in place. So that's more handwork - stitching down the binding on both - a happy job.

I dropped two more quilt tops and backing off with her. I've had finished quilt tops hanging in a closet for years. I realize that since my surgery machine quilting all of these will be impossible. I will still quilt some of my own quilts, but I'm ready to cull down my unfinished tops and get them done! 

Stay safe!

 

Back On-line!

 

I got a new computer! I've known for months that I needed one, but I was trying to put it off. It was finally time! I'm still working on putting all my stuff on it, but I'm making progress. And Hubby has inherited my old one. He cleared off all my TONS of stuff, gotten a new charge cord, and he is thrilled, too. 

We have our tree up! Yes, we decorated early along with the rest of the world. We had to buy a new tree - we only had a small tabletop one at the cottage. I love this 9 foot skinny tree! 

I said recently I wanted to finish some works in progress - so I pulled this one out. I have a pile of pieces cut and plan to make a few blocks each day. Yay! This morning I also pulled to two of my several quilt tops from a closet and found yardage in my stash for their backing. I'll take them to be long arm quilted when I pick up the two she has now.  I'm clearing out the UFO's!!!! I'm currently working on four quilts - will summarize them in an upcoming post.

Remember these little Christmas tree blocks? They became a Christmas table runner.

This is minimally quilted - just enough to get the binding on. I plan to add big stitch quilting at some point.

And what else is new? Cooper had surgery. He had a growth on his leg and we had it removed, fearing it would be the beginning of the end of his life. But it ended up being benign. Yay!

Enjoy Thanksgiving tomorrow. There will only be four of us for a simple meal. But we will give thanks for all the 'YAYS' in our life. There are many!

Stay safe!

Busy Week!

I finished the Appalachian Autumn quilt top! Okay, it's not my best work, but I do love it anyway! It's now in the hands of a long arm quilter.

Last week I celebrated my 2 year anniversary of my mastectomy - a day that has become more important than my birthday. I treated myself to this breast cancer t-shirt - I love it because it doesn't SCREAM breast cancer. Perfect for me!

My fabric labeling has continued. I can see the color of each drawer at a glance. I still have to make 3 more laminated labels.

I have to say a word about Alex Trebek. RIP..... Here's a photo of me and our girls with him at the Pillbury Bake-Off many years ago. He was so kind to us. He even autographed the little Doughboy I'm holding in the picture. Alex hosted the TV show about the Bake-Off that year. It was such a pleasure to meet him.

I've changed my mind about Bonnie Hunter's mystery - I think I'll save the instructions as they are released, but for now I think I'll pass. I have so many UFO's and I think I'll continue to tackle them instead. It has felt so good to get some of these finished this year. I have a Christmas table runner that I want to quilt (picture soon!). I haven't sewn the last few days because I've been working on my labels on my fabric. Also I've been having computer woes. I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and buy a new one soon. Ugh! 

That's all from here! Stay safe!

Moving Along with Appalachian Autumn

I finished the leaf blocks this week! Today I added the first border and one side of the outer border. This quilt top is almost in the rear view mirror. I've thoroughly enjoyed this Bonnie Hunter pattern. It's not as fiddly as some of her patterns. And what could be better than to make an Autumn quilt during AUTUMN! The colorful leaves were falling from the trees on the golf course behind us as I've been sewing.

But what about Bonnie's mystery? Grassy Creek? Hmmm.... 

I pulled fabrics from my stash. So I guess that means I'm going for it? You know me - I don't love red, so my stash is sorely lacking in this hue. So I did what I had to do....I went online to Whittle's Fabrics. They always have a tab at the top for the latest Bonnie Hunter mystery. Yes, I ordered a couple of fat quarter packs of assorted reds. Their prices are the BEST!

This is another project I've been working on. I've been making large labels for my stash drawers. I'm using paint samples to indicate the fabric color and printing labels for other drawer items. I have laminated them. Now they need trimming and installing (with cable ties). 

Cheddar Bowties are still ongoing - each day I still make four of these. I think that I'll cut more scraps for these over the weekend - I'm getting low. 

Stay safe!

Back to My Daily Quilting Progress...

I've now made enough Appalachian Autumn blocks that I wanted to start sashing them. Because the background colors I chose are very close in value, Bonnie Hunter's sashing design would have been lost. So I decided to do my own thing with the sashing. I have had this fine wale corduroy in my stash for years and it fit the bill.

I'm liking it! Just a few more leaf blocks to go and I'll be ready for the pieced borders!

Yesterday I made the last four-block unit of cheddar bowties for another large block unit. Now I have two of these. I'm loving this!

Yesterday we decided to open doors and windows and burn off the fumes from our fireplace. We wanted to do this on a day that Sadie wasn't here. Cooper really appreciated the fire. Okay, now we're ready for cooler weather.

Stay safe!