Category Archive: quilts
While looking for another fabric, I saw this box on the shelf. I thought I had accounted for all the kits and started items, but NO. This box had mostly fabrics with patterns and then this one placemat. Years ago, I took a beginner class in paper piecing. I didn’t like this pattern and I didn’t like paper piecing. So this went to a dark hole. All it needed was binding and that was in the package. It is now finished.
Sunbonnet flimsies done
kj
The dark border really complements these little girls. All 3 of the quilts are now on hangers and ready to quilt. I also took the other quilts off the board and put them on hangers. Then I counted. I now have 10 quilts waiting in line. Hopefully next week I can get started on them.
Churn Dash play
Since I’m still coughing up a storm and can’t really concentrate on quilting yet, I decided to play with some 10″ squares given to me. I took 8 squares, folded them in half and cut them using this GO cutter die, which yielded 4 blocks. This is what I have so far. (too much on the wall to hang these up)
Until I get a middle done, I won’t be sewing the block together. These squares are reds, gold, beige and greens. I think I’d like to find ornament embroideries to made the centers. And yes, when I say the word embroidery, it may well take until next Christmas to get it done. I also need to think about sashing. In addition to which, when I quit coughing, I have quilts waiting to get quilted.
Yeah! it’s Friday
And here is the third quilt with Sunbonnets.
She also sent this red fabric which I did not realize was for a second border. I like it, so the plan is to put it on the three quilts done so far. I’m going to hold off on making the last one for right now. I MUST get the quilting going as too many quilts are stacking up. They are now 6 deep on just this board.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Tired Thursday?
I am so ready to have this be the end of the week so I can have a Sabbath Day’s rest. One more day.
Today we spent much energy and time toting the rest of last years hay over to the sheep pen and spreading it out so they could stay out of the mud. I don’t remember having this much mud before. We have fewer sheep and more mud. I guess it’s all that rain.
My sister did a marvelous job on all these Sunbonnet’s. She had the first one all put together and the second one, I finished with the sewing time I had today.
The sashing is all cut out for two more and there are 35 little girls left, so I think I’ll do another one like these two and then put a solid corner on the last one – but wait – that means I need 16 girls and there are only 15. I wonder if she has any of these fabrics left -though I doubt it. Any thoughts on how I can make 15 work out? If I added another girl from my fabrics, it wouldn’t match any of the fabrics she used. Tomorrow, I really need to get back to the quilting, as I now have 5 quilts hanging on the board with one on the machine and 4 more hanging in the closet ready to be quilted.
Never bored
Boring is rarely in our vocabulary. Usually we use it to say that we would like less going on. This was today’s not so boring activity. I came home from the gym and was making lunch when there was a loud noise and the dogs took off, stopped suddenly and just looked. They apparently didn’t think the neighbor’s tree falling across the fence constituted a threat, so wandered back to their cover as it was raining very hard. This photo was taken in the daytime, but the skies were just that dark today.
I was able to get a few rows together, then noticed that the Psalms were not printed to exactly match the blocks around them, so there may be a few seams changed when I put the rows together I’ll put e other 4 rows together and then see what needs to be done.
Heavenly Psalms
This is the current quilt for which I found a kit hiding in a box (Honest, they are reproducing) It is now cut out 
These 18 blocks are put together
These are sewn and will
press into 31 of these blocks which will then need to be trimmed the smallest amount.
Quilting old and new and a festival
Finally, I chose a flannel backing and have mounted this ready to quilt – which won’t be this week. All these trips are taking their toll on my time and me. I am getting much less done, because after all this driving, I’m to tired to tackle anything big. Now the legal work is done and we only have to sign the house deed over to our trust when that paperwork is done. So happy we don’t have to think about dying any more, I can get back to living! I still have a few more treatments before I know if the work he is doing to avoid knee surgery is doing the job.
Isn’t this a beautiful piece of fabric. It will become a part of my next quilt, which will be pieced without any applique. I have pressed the pieces and will cut them tomorrow.
This was my first spinning wheel – the one upon which I learned. It is a wonderful wheel, in fact, it is still being made today by Clems and Clems. They are now charging over $800 plus $30 for each extra bobbins. So on Craigslist it will go this weekend. Can I call this downsizing? Hopefully, someone who doesn’t want to float a loan will have the opportunity to learn. If I had to pay that kind of money to learn, it wouldn’t have happened. By the way, if you live in the Seattle-Tacoma area, the big fiber festival is Thursday (and free). You will find it by googling Madrona fiber festival in Tacoma. I have not been before, but I’m planning to be there this year. I will be checking everything out – not taking a class this first time. And of course, I’ll try to remember photos for those who can’t go.
kl
Exercise, spinning and gardening
I started the day with exercise and then a knee treatment.
By 1 PM, I was ready for a rest. I spun another 30 inches of roving (I tore the roving into 30″ lengths – just 28 more of this particular one to do at one a day). When the roving is spun, I’ll ply it and look for a sweater pattern
Then to the greenhouse where I thought there might be some potatoes from last year that we missed.
This is what we found – about 1/3 bucket of potatoes and one single leek. Enough for a couple meals. There were a number of tiny potatoes, so we left them to grow new plants. I need to get someone to dig the beds outside as I have about 50 potatoes with 6-8″ long sprouts that need to be planted. Maybe what I need is a whole week of sun without appointments.
I looked again at working up these two kits and decided they need to go in a very back spot. The designer gave all the patterns and fabrics, but not much in instructions. And applique is not my favorite thing to do. Maybe when I get old………..I can drag them out again.
Meanwhile, I think tomorrow, I’ll go sign some legal documents, and by then it might be warm enough to go play in the dirt and I can get a few of these potatoes into the ground. And I need to buy peas and get them started soon.
Cooking and Cleaning
I was looking for something else, but this is what I found. Somehow, they were put in a tub and the tub was put on a shelf and though I knew I had them, I didn’t know where. I don’t even remember how old they are. The giraffe is the only one open so far and the pattern date is 2002, although, it probably was purchased in a later year. They are kits, so the fabric is with them. They are reasonably small – the giraffes are 25 x 23, the owls are 36 x 42 – and the elephants 25 x 33 I may just make each of them into a baby quilt. The instructions are a bit scarce and the giraffe pattern is only of the three giraffes, but they include fabric to make legs, hooves, and faces. Too bad, they didn’t create the pattern that way. These will be next on my list, if only to get them done and out of a box. I can at least get them to the flimsy state, which is where I seem to be stopping this year. Maybe that’s a good thing as I’m supposed to be able to see better after the April cataract surgery.
The rest of my day was spent at the gym, making a lasagna, washing clothes, and cleaning house. Yes, I cleaned the house, but not the studio. It’s nearly time for a deep spring cleaning and since I no longer climb step stools, I have a younger friend that will help me at that point. Do you take everything out of your cupboards and closets, and clean and do all the woodwork as well? I like to get that all done at one time. Then I feel I can garden and enjoy the summer without that hanging over my head. And this weekend, I will try to start the tomatoes, greens and peppers. No promises though.