unfinished business

So, here's my ironing board after "The Clean".

Each one of those stacks
is a project in progress. 

Like they are waiting for a boarding pass, or something...

AKA:  U.F.O.

I was going to put them into

nice little zippy project bags. 

Or plastic storage briefcases-
-like the one that's leaning on the door...

and stack them,

oh, so orderly,

on the shelf in the closet.

Then I decided,

wait,

I know me...

Out of sight

is

out of mind.

Then they would never get finished. 

Most of them need just a few blocks added.

Or,

borders,

or

something minor like that.

So...

They are going to stay right there ...

on the ironing board...

and look at me.

From the ironing board,

they will make their presence known.

And hassle me

just enough

to make me finish up

the little bits of stitching they each need.

That will put them into the

NEXT STACK...

The Waiting to Be Quilted Area...

AKA:

Boarding area...

Hope you can stitch a little today
:)

confessions

are good for the soul,

or something like that,

I've been told...

My confession: 

My sewing studio looked like a bomb had gone off in it.

Then,

two secondary explosions happened-

one in the cutting table area,

the other in the opposite corner around the ironing board.

It wasn't quite to the hoarding stage,

but it was getting questionable, that's for sure.

What the heck happened in there?

I probably should have taken a picture

and shared with you to make myself see the full disaster -

you know,

like when you take a picture of

the layout of quilt pieces

to see how they look from a different vantage point?.

That would have probably scared a few of you off :)))!

I think that's exactly why I didn't take a "before" picture -

it would have really scared me!

So, the root of the problem? 

I think just trying to get too many things done,

all at the same time...

and not stopping or pausing to take a breath

(and maybe not trying to at least

push the leftover scrap stack

toward some semblance of order

before moving on to the next 10 things...).

So,

after sitting in many positions on the floor

and at the front of the table

and the back side of the table,

with many stacks of "stuff" around me,

for many hours

the other day,

it's looking up, baby!

And now I can see the floor

and the top of the sewing table

and the cutting table

and the front of the closet door,

and the etc, etc, etc,.

I have found all three of the rotary cutters.

The rulers are all back in their little wooden corral.

Fabric has been sorted

and folded

and stacked

and color-coordinated

and put on shelves.

I even ran a dust cloth over a couple of things.

And, I put a little polish on it before hand,

so now it smells fresh and clean in there, too.

Yep,

I confess,

I do feel better already, just sharing that!

Thanks for listening reading.

And now,

a whole weekend

of

stitching for me!

I can't wait!

And, yes, I'll try to keep the chaos under control...

Hope you can take the time to stitch a little too!

back to the meandering swing...

I sure have been enjoying

the snow and cold weather we've been having...

I know, I'm weird that way...

Lots of snow

and blowing

and drifting

and plowing. 

Well, not me plowing,

but Sweetie bundled up quite a few times

in the last couple of weeks to head out with the tractor!

My long-arm machine is back from the "spa". 

Poor Big DD,

she still has an issue with the rear handlebar wiring,

but is usable,

so here are the latest meanderings:

The first is for Always in Stitches,

it's an upcoming class from the book:

Double Take: Quilts With That Hopscotch Twist

and is a shower curtain!

Don't you love it???!!!

It's pictured on it's side -

the black/white print goes on the top and bottom. 

So pretend you walked into a book store

and

tilt your head to the left! :)

 And, second is a quilt of Andrea's...

I think this is only her second quilt! 

She's great at fabric choice, isn't she?  Love it, too!

Hope you are enjoying your winter,

and Happy Stitching!

cheddar

I do love cheddar...

especially an aged white cheddar.

With a Triscuit Cracked Pepper & Olive Oil cracker...

makes my mouth water, just thinking of it.

But, ladies,

this is NOT your mama's cheddar that I am thinking of...

More like your Great-Grandmama's

It IS mouth-watering, though...
this great "aged" cheddar,

by Marcus Brothers

called

Nineteenth Century Backgrounds.

This is the fabric used in the sashing and borders

of the quilt:  A Path to the Civil War.

If you love cheddar like I love cheddar,

and this is making your mouth water, 

then you need a little of this in your stash!

I'm telling you,

get yourself a little lot of this cheddar  -

or you'll be sorry later that you didn't.
(check with your LQS, it should be there now!)

snowman

The fabric kind...

I don't remember sharing this cute project.

I stitched it a few weeks ago,

added the pieced border, then machine quilted it

as a shop sample for the local quilt shop.

The pattern is by This & That, a Sherri Falls
Little Scraps design, and is called

Snow Much Fun.

The LQS has the pattern and a kit available.

The kit even has all of the flosses needed

so you don't have to go out and purchase seven new colors

or scrounge around for your old floss.

Click on the LQS link above and give them a call,

they'll be happy to mail it out to you- pronto.

Cute and quick for this winter weather we are having!

snowing and blowing

Last Tuesday,

I was fabric-napped

by a friend or two and made got to go to a LQS...

Yeah, they really had to twist my arm!  not...

This would be a good time to mention

the Quilting Conspiracy Buddies...
They planned the FART...(Fabric Acquistion Road Trip).

They drove about an hour to get to me,

then we drove another 40 minutes to get to the LQS.

 

Really, I can't blame them for a single thing -

I did my "acquisition thingy" by myself!

And we made the whole trip before the

ice and freezing rain came to visit on Wednesday.

Thursday, 6 to 7 inches of snow

came into the neighborhood.

Most schools sent the kids home early,

before the worst of the storm hit.

Today, Friday, the wind chill came to visit.

The wind chill was brought into the area by it's

friend the wind.

Sounds like they will both stay awhile.

I'm going back to my cave studio.

If I get the sewing machine whirring fast enough,

maybe it will create a little extra heat to ward off the chill!

Here's a peek at the "acquisitions" for A Path to the Civil War...

Stuff I got when my arm was twisted:

 Stuff I already had.

And, a nice tea for when the wind really picks up...

Good timing, don't you think?

Some new fabrics and project

just in time for

the snowing and blowing.

Happy Stitching!



another finish - utility quilt stitched

Do you remember me showing you these???

And then this???

(this is the one that I couldn't figure out what it was supposed to be

after I stitched it,

so instead of using it,

I stitched another Schmitz pattern to use instead... 

the bird holding a flag of the year

In fact, the whole group in the Sit & Stitch group at the LQS replaced this one...)

Anyway, I sent my big ole' quilting machine on vacation

for the Christmas and New Year's holidays

(yes, it needed a spa day- it is a year old now),

so I decided I would hand quilt something again. 

And this wall hanging was awaiting quilting,
and was the perfect take-along size for traveling & quilting.

"Ring in the New" by Kathy Schmitz:

(Click on the picture and then click again
and you can see some of the Utility stitches off to the right side in the black.)

I used the Utility Quilt Stitch...

at least that's what I call it. 

It was a stitch lesson from Great-Grandma B...

I think that this is the quilting stitch that I learned first,

that was a long time ago...

The Utility Stitch
is a big, hunking running stitch

using a big, hunking thread - like crochet thread or pearl cotton,

and a needle with a big ole' eye.

It's just like a normal quilting stitch,

where you rock up and down,

top to bottom to top to bottom to top through the layered quilt.

Then pull the thread through and repeat. 

Repeat until you get the whole line of quilting done. 

Then, repeat until you have the entire quilt done.

Normal,
except for the stitch length, anyway...

Instead of the 12 to 20 stitches per inch?

Well, it's only 4 to 10 stitches per inch. 

And because of the size?

Well, you can just whip through

a lap quilt or wall hanging

like it's a bowl of ice cream
on a 90 degree day!

Try it sometime,

I think you'll like it!

I was talking about the stitching,

but you can do the ice cream, too! :)

Who's In for Cheddar?

I am loving this new book -

A Path to the Civil War: 

 Aurelia's Journey Quilt.

Have you gals seen this book? 

So full of history and information.

I love the history part

of the book as much as the quilt blocks.

And as much as I love the colors! 

The colors are to gush over!

(hear me color gushing?!)

I'm hoping to have the top made by

April 12th, 2011 -

this date marks the

150th anniversary of

the start of the Civil War.

The book has 28- twelve inch blocks

and 16- nine inch blocks.

There are about 12 weeks between now and the 12th of April...

Sooo...

that's only 4.5 blocks a week for 10 weeks,

and two weeks for sashing and borders.

Sounds do-able, don't you think?

Are you in???

Let me know if you are going to work on this quilt, also.

(I'm thinking I may have a giveaway

of some of the Marcus fabrics that were used in making this quilt.)

hint: the Jo project

On my Snow Day/Sew Day

I cut a bunch of one inch strips.

And this is the project

that I worked on as it snowed and snowed.

 And snowed some more! :)

The Concentric Log Cabin

from the book
"Small Quilts with Vintage Charm".

I saw this small quilt at a LQS,

and they had a great kit at a great price. 

And I thought I had the book, so I bought the kit. 

Not something that I usually do - buy a kit...

But I thought the price was right -

and I loved the fabrics and colors they had chosen.

And I added some more

of my own reds and tans and creams

from my stash

to cut into one inch strips.

Then I started looking for the book...

I guess I no longer had it.

I'm sure I used to...

I don't know if someone borrowed it

or I donated it to the local guild for their fundraising sale.

Anyway,

I called all the LQSs and no one had the book.

I called my Quilting Conspiracy Buddies

 (QCB-that's another story for another day) and no one had the book.

I got online and found the book at a not so LQS.

So I ordered it...the book.

And, of course, I had to add some fabric to the order!

So the book wouldn't

feel all lonely

in the box as it shipped cross country...

you know what I'm saying?

maybe I should buy a lottery ticket

Another win!!!

I can't believe it!

I just received another envelope in the mail box!

This great packet came from Buttermilk Basin.

This is the kit that I won!... to make a snowman mitten!

Look at all of this yummy wool!

I followed a  blog hop:  Home for the Holidays -

and this group of designers shared a cookie recipe

AND a free pattern

a couple of times a week, November into December.

(I grabbed this pic from Stacy's blog: Buttermilk Basin-

that's her cute pattern and her cookies!)

Isn't it the cutest!!!

 Stacy emailed that she was feeling yucky after the holidays

so understandably was a little late in mailing out the goodies. 

Because she was a little tardy in mailing out the winnings,

she added even more goodies to the winnings:

Thanks, Stacy, for all of the loot! 

 Glad to hear you are on the mend!

And, thanks, girls for the great

 Home for the Holidays Blog Hop.

I am seriously thinking I should buy a lottery ticket...

More cuteness!

YAY- snow day/sew day

Another

 four to six inches

of snow today!  

I say YAY!

Also, Yippee and Yahoo!

(I know, I have a snow problem...or so I've been told.)

That means another project day...

So I cut some more one inch strips

to add to something I started a week ago or so...

Here's a peek:

Can you guess what it is?

I'll give you a hint - it's another Jo project...

Snowing and sewing - what a great day!

Hope yours is too!

Quilts, the end of 2010

I saved a couple of quilt photos that I did the end of last year...

yes, last year already!...

The first pic is a quilt I made

 from the fabric line
"a Kitten's Tale by Red Rooster".

 It was supposed to be 60" by 60",

but I changed up the borders, so it finished at 72 inches square,
and I quilted it with a loopy flower pattern.

It was a gifty-gift for a sweet little four year old girl. 
And she loved it!

Next pic is my
Snowball Challenge (& fabric swap) quilt
from last year. 

The top was finished within the time frame of the challenge...
last January!
Don't know why I waited, but....I finally quilted it. 

And, I stitched the binding to it on the drive out of state this past week.

It's really a big one (I think 90+" square)...
(I added to the pattern by adding rows to complete the pattern of the stars,
then added another row of creams/whites
so the star points didn't touch the red binding).
(I think I'll re-take the pic

with the quilt on the bed to show the borders hanging evenly.)

Here's a pic of the backing - a great red on cream,
I think a Jennifer Chiaverini print?

 

Anyway, I, too, love my quilt. 

I named it "Snowballs and Snow Swirls"....

snowballs for the pattern

and snow swirls for the quilting I did on it.

Here's the new pic...
sorry it's tilted and looks like the whole bed is going to slide out of the picture...

When I was taking the photo, I thought this angle would show more of the quilt...

instead, it looks like it's sliding and the quilt is not on the be evenly. :) hang on!

Anyway, I washed the quilt,
using even more of those great little color-catcher sheets!, 
and, yes,
 it bled again,
and it crinkled up oh-so-nicely, and
I really love it.

Thanks, Allyson and Nicole for the snowball challenge.

More finishes to share at a later date!

How are your projects coming along???

Hope you can stitch a little today...

Weird post

Yes, I will start out by warning

that this is a

totally weird post...

about

OB Tampons.

Or, more correctly,

the total absence of OB Tampons...

This story could fall into the realm of Too Much Information,

and if you feel so, I apologize in advance...

but as a quilter, well, you'll see.

I personally use the OB Tampon.

I like the fact that there is no plastic trash from an applicator going into the landfills.  I like the fact that there is less energy being used to manufacture this product because it has no type of applicator to be made.

I have used this product all of my menstruating life - so for a long time.

Recently, while shopping, I tried to stock up, and

guess what?  No OB's on the shelf.

Stopped at another store...none there either.

Stopped at two pharmacies - ditto.

No OB Tampons in the metropolitan area!

At the last local pharmacy, I asked the pharmacist

about the total emptiness of the OB's shelf...

He informed me that it was a manufacturing issue...

and I could check it out online with the FDA: 

"the ob mystery and the fda"

The pharmacy tech said that

she heard it was a

COTTON issue...

"Cotton?" I ask... knowing that she knows I am a quilter...

"Didn't you hear about the cotton shortage?" she replies.

As quilters, we have heard about the lack of cotton being produced, and the rising cost of our cotton fabrics and battings that we love to use for our hobby and our livelihoods. 

This cotton production deficit

is being blamed on the floods,

 shortage of workers,

the high cost of fuel, and

the subsequent cost of shipping

the said cotton products.

And, now, the lack of OB Tampons?!

So,

I had to purchase something else besides OB tampons.

Not liking it. Period! (no pun intended).