Lucy Boston

Thursday, October 24, 2013

June Lucy Boston Patchwork of the Crosses

My Lucy obsession continues-
I have been pretty good on doing one block a week
(mostly meeting my goal of a block a week for this year).

(Though I haven't been good about sharing pictures!!!  
I have to blame it on not have a computer that I could add pics easily... Sorry!)
Anyway, here are my June blocks:
my June Patchwork of the Crosses/Lucy blocks
I've noticed that my June blocks
are maybe a little more springy/summery in color
than previous month's blocks. 
Looking back at my other blocks,
I think I was unintentionally choosing seasonal colors. 

With these June block finishes it means that half of the year is gone...
also means that
HALF of my LUCY blocks are DONE!!! 
YAY!!
Which then leads me to thinking
that I should probably get off the horse and
choose the fabric for the connecting squares.
That way I could get my Lucy
more quilt-like lookin'
than just a bunch of quilt-blocks. :)

Sunday, October 20, 2013

binding question & WINNER

Well, to my surprise,
 there ARE folks out there in blog land
that expressed interest in my leftover strips from my table topper!
So I chose a winner by random draw.
But before I get to the winner -
there was a question/comment about the binding on my finish:
 
I cut binding at 2 1/4 inches for a double-fold, not the usual 2 1/2". 
When attaching binding (by machine) onto the quilt top, 
I move my needle over (away from the raw edge) 
to make the binding itself
just a little more than a quarter inch wide.
 
Just that 1/4 inch cutting difference &
a few threads over in needle-moving
makes a binding that I really like -
reminds me of the thin binding on antique quilts!
Hopes that answers that question.
Now,
on to the WINNER!
 
The winner of my
strip-y string-y leftover
thingies
is
Karen -
the first comment left!
Congratulations, Karen.
Karen, get me your snail mail address,
and I'll get the string-y thingies in the mail asap!
**********************************
Now, on to my English paper piecing project -
somehow I've not posted my finished blocks for the last handful of months! Oops!
Don't know why, but haven't shared since May! 
So I'll be back soon with my
"I'm still lovin' my Lucy blocks!"...
more Lucy Boston- Patchwork of the Crosses blocks to share!

Hope your weekend was a great one!
Debra

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Stripping. And strip give away.

Last week or so I shared with you the stripy quilt table-topper
that I made with some of my left-over stripy-strings of fabric:
I think it might be my favorite quilt ever!!!
(But I guess I say that after every finish, don't I? :)

And I heard back from quite a few of you that you also
STRIP
do the Strip-y String quilt thing too.
There are some really GREAT quilts and quilters out in blogland!

At first, I thought I'd make another quilt with the left-overs. 
If you can imagine, 
I didn't use all of my Autumn colored strings. :)

(see that nice pile of Strips below my finished quilt?)
After more thought
 ("who am I trying to kid- A.D.D kicking in here!"),
I decided I'd rather move on 
had already moved on to another project.
I've had so many comments and compliments
(thank you very much!)
about my little quilt,
that I thought that there might be someone who'd like
to have my left-over stripy-strings.
They are random width & length strings -
predominately browns, with some blues, golds and brick reds thrown in. 
Most of the fabrics are reproduction fabrics, but a couple are not. 

If you are interested
in adding these STRINGS to your collection,
just leave me a comment on this post
before MIDNIGHT, Saturday, October 19th.
If there are multiple folks that would like them,
I'll do a random draw  on Sunday, the 20th.
Make sure I have a way
to contact you in your comment;
as I'll send you an email
to get your snail mail address.
 
Happy stripping Stitching!


Monday, October 14, 2013

group, gang, rafter or flock?

 
Wild turkeys are in town!!
(no, not the alcohol, but the bird!)

There has been this large 'group' of turkeys  
in our rural neighborhood the last couple of months.
Seven to ten birds strolling the fields and meadows...
I snagged this photo from longislandpress dot com
'cause the wild turkeys in our neighborhood
are more than a little camera shy.
I think that these wild turkeys are beautiful. 
And evidently they are doing a good job hiding from the coyotes,
as the contingency is staying in high numbers!
Then, there are domesticated turkeys:
Stole this pic from my sis -
my niece and nephew had wonderful turkeys
for the County Fair this year.
I think that these turkeys are beautiful, too.

So then comes the discussion:
What is a Group or Gang of turkeys called?
Rafter? or Flock?
I said: Rafter of turkeys.
Neighbor said: Flock of turkeys.
 
We did an on-line search - guess it depends on which site you use.
Rafter AND Flock are both correct. 
Though we did find that 
rafter is used for domesticated turkeys
 and flock is for wild turkeys. 
But then, there was exactly the opposite. 
No matter - neither my neighbor or I
are going to go on some trivia/game show
where we'd need to know this answer.

Anyway, I've been enjoying seeing
the coming and going of this bird family...
and though I have a very nice turkey call,
I haven't used it to lure them in.  Yet. :)

Maybe I'll make me a
Turkey of a Quilt
errr, quilt of a turkey
 to remember this turkey event. 
Then I'd HAVE to know the answer to the question -  
Rafter or Flock? for my quilt label. :)
 
Happy October, and
hope you get to stitch a little this week!

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

I String Thing... Do you?

String piecing with foundation, that is.

A friend got me started on these stringy things...

Don't know if she is
more of an inspirational instigator
or trouble-maker, :)
but, I do thank you, friend - you know who you are.

Like most quilters, I have plenty of scraps to use...
 String Things sure make for great use of scraps.
And use scraps I did!
I used some of the great colors of Autumn for my strings -
browns of all shades:  
from warm golden browns to deep, almost blackish-browns.
Throw in a little Autumnal accent:
brick-y red, some mossy-greenish-teal and dark, stormy blues.
I made four- 20" string squares and put them together for
a very nice table-topper size.
Since the strips on top were random in size and spacing,
I quilted using randomly spaced squares also:

Perfect for my Autumn table!

Thanks again, friend, for getting me started with a new addiction.
Just what I needed - another fabric addiction!
Albeit an addiction that's totally worth it!!!

If you do the String Thing, let me know...
I may just have some Autumnal Strings to share!

Happy early October Stitching!

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

signs that Autumn has arrived

Pumpkins
(my quilt, pattern and quilting)
 
Apples
(and apple pickers).
 
Nights cool enough to need a quilt
and turning leaves.

Happy October!