what do you do to get out of a slug-fest?

Do you ever get into a sewing/quilting funk? 
If so, what do you do to get out?

Since I don't really know what started my 'sluggishness'
about a month ago,
I didn't know what to do or how to get back 
to my normal, stitching, self.

But what I finally did?
I learned something new!!!
I made myself do something that
I've been going to do for over a year -
but kept putting off...
I loaded some fabric onto the long-arm machine
and did some free-motion Baptist Fans!!

Doesn't look too bad from this far away. Ha ha.
Not the greatest quilting I've ever done;
but not at bad as I thought it would be 
for a first time effort.

I started by marking blue, inch-apart-dots on only the first two fans, 
which you can kind of see in the above picture.
I only marked those first two fans, 
thinking I'd get the feel of the spacing and rhythm 
while moving the long-arm machine and going dot-to-dot.
My hope was that after those first two fans, 
I'd be able to replicate that spacing and rhythm across the loaded fabric sandwich.  And it worked...
there are areas in which I'll need to improve...
as I don't like the rounded-ness of the end of the arcs, 
show here:

But, there is the whole 
"if you can't see it while going by on a galloping horse" theory, right?
It sure feels good to out of the slug-fest!

Happy Thursday!

still being sluggish

I don't know what's going on with me!
The weather, the phase of the moon, the season?
Whatever it is,
it needs to GO!
No more being a blog slug!
The only stitching I HAVE been doing?
Binding and more binding.

I do have a baby quilt gift completely finished though,
and the baby was just born yesterday!!
Welcome Poppy!

 I even used more from the stash for the backing.

So, back to my sluggishness...
Maybe only doing bindings is my problem?
How many pictures of binding
can I share on here without it looking like a re-run? :)

So, I made myself go load some fabric on the long-arm machine.
And then did something that I've been telling myself to do for over a year!

I tried something new.  (Thanks Great-Grandma B!*)
And that is my way to get out of my 'being a slug' routine!
(* if you've not read about my 'out loud' promise to my Great-Grandma B,
you can CLICK HERE to find out more.)
I'll share pictures tomorrow of my newest project-of-learning.
It's a plan.  I'm no longer a slug!
Happy Wednesday to you!

I've been a blog slug

The busyness of Summer-time hit me the last few weeks,
and I've been having fun, fun, fun.

After a really nice family vacation and 
then three really, really nice family reunions
(two of them held here at my home)
I'm about family reunioned out. :)
For the past three weeks,
I didn't even take the time to visit my favorite blogs.
(I miss you guys & gals!)
 
I was past ready to start this week with some meandering!
I did some free-motion climbing roses
on some great floral fabrics:

on a lap quilt that Vicki made,
for her daughter's 50th birthday:

Isn't it a beauty?
Just the break that I needed!

Now, I off to 'put up' some more squash,
as this week I've been zucchini-ed. 
:)

(Zucchini-ed: VERB - the act of dropping an abundance of squash, or other vegetables, off on unsuspecting neighbor's porches.

a full body workout

In anticipation of my paternal family reunion,
I washed all of the house windows, inside and out.
Does anyone besides me think that 
window washing should qualify as a full-body workout?
Really - 38 windows inside and out, 
and 6 of them are sliding glass doors.
(I was so achy the next day that I thought I might just need to take a day off!)

But here's the rub (teehee - rub :)
I had purchased a new product about a month or so ago -
a product that the sales gal said she just loves to use on her windows, including her car windshield.

So, after my 38 windows were all squeaky-clean,
I went to the cleaning cupboard and grabbed 
(what I thought was) the new Waxy-cleaning-stuff.
Read the directions, and squirted wax on the inside of 
my first sliding patio door and rubbed away.  
Looked pretty good!
Did the other three sliding patio doors (inside).
Then did them on the outside, too.
Called it a day.
I went and showered and had a sit-down/relaxing stitching time 
in my lazy-girl chair before bedtime.
The next morning, as the sun rose on my house
(and windows),
I realized that my squeaky-clean windows were a
waxy, smeary mess!!
And me so tired and achy that I just had to laugh!

Fast forward to the end of this week,
and I'm still cleaning in anticipation of the reunion...
and what do I find in the food pantry???
(I don't know why the food pantry, but that's where it was.)
The Glass Wax product that I had purchased!
Me, oh my.
So, today, I rewashed all of the waxed windows and sliders.

And then I waxed ONE of the sliders so see what happened
if I used the right product.

SO much better! and the see what happens with the right product?

Bad window washing job

a very good wax - NOT for windows!

I crack myself up.
So, now my windows look so much better.
AND, I've had two full body workouts this week!

 

needle turning time

Yep, I've done it again.
Signed up for another sew-along.
Happy time!
Or, maybe crazy time. :)

Karen (at Log Cabin Quilter blog)
asked if anyone wanted to join in, (and there were takers), 
so she organized a Sew Along.
The book being used is by Jeana Kimball
called Old Voices New Impressions.
I think most of the gals joining in 
are going to do the quilt on the back cover -
called Cranberry Album.
And the so-called rules for this sew-along are to
just share four blocks you've made, the end of each month.

Of course, I really wanted to start another project!!
I already had the out-of-print book...
Well, I had lent it out a long time ago, 
so I really didn't have it, have it.
But after some searching and asking around,
it's come back home, so I DO have it now.
AND!, I already have my sashing/border fabric:

The picture, above, shows my border fabric, 
some snowy-white muslin,
and the Cranberry Album quilt pictured on the back of the book.
I was going to use the above white muslin for my background fabric of the applique blocks,
but I did just restock (while on vacation) my light-colored repro-print background fabrics:

(Pardon the green campfire/marshmallow/s'more fabric in the above picture,
that's for the grandkiddos eye-spy quilt stash)

So, for the July-end-of-the-month sharing in the 
Old Voices, New Impressions Sew Along,
I don't have four blocks stitched,
but I do have my fabrics chosen! :)

Happy Day!

goodbye July, goodbye beach

July has flown by already!
I had 10 days (with most of the immediate family) at the beach,
and that also flew by.
I took along a whole tote bag of quilts that needed the
binding hand-stitched, but with the sunny beach calling my name,
just a little stitching happened. :)

My tote of quilts awaiting the hand-stitching binding

This is nearly the same 14-hour driving trip 
I've made three times in the last year and a half,
and this is the FIRST time 
I've been in a quilt shop on the way back or forth!
Some might say I have great restraint, :)
but in reality, it's just been a timing thing.
Anyway, this time I passed a Tennessee quilt shop during open hours, and found these:

Civil War reproduction lights for an upcoming project,
and a piece of cute campfire/marshmallow/s'mores 
to add to the eye-spy stash.

Now to motivate myself to get back to the
house cleaning and reunion prep!
Oh, and a little more stitching, too.

Happy Friday!

I had mail!

I so look forward to getting
'squish'y mail!

Don't you love the cover girl? :)
And now I can dream about more great quilts to make!
Because I don't have enough ideas of my own already!! haha

Oh, and look at those new fat-quarters that were packed into my envelope.
Drool!
Not a single one of them has a selvage with maker or designer though, 
so I don't know what they are. Yet.