SOARING ON WINGS

MAKING A BIG CHANGE.............

2011-04-21T07:13:00.000-07:00

PLEASE NOTE - I WILL NOT BE POSTING TO THIS BLOG ANY MORE.

FROM NOW ON I WILL BE POSTING TO:

BONNIEWEIGHSIN.BLOGSPOT.COM

All the posts from this blog have been moved.

The reason for this change is complicated, but something I have wanted to do for a long time.

I will continue to post pictures of my quilting, knitting and stitching on the above referenced blog, and I will also be adding some personal thoughts now and then.

Stitching on The Book Store

2011-04-19T17:57:00.000-07:00

Moving right along on my stitching of The Book Store by Country Cottage Needleworks. It has been cold and rainy and grey where I live, so sitting in my cozy home and stitching has been delightful.

A little of this, a little of that........

2011-04-16T18:13:00.000-07:00

While listening to Car Talk and Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me on public radio this morning I did a little red work. This afternoon I spent some time on my Book Store counted cross-stitch. It doesn't look like I made much progress but you didn't see all the stitching I did on the tree to the left of the house and then discovered I had missed a whole section so had to take my stitching out. Three steps forward, two back. Then tonight I worked on my knitting. It was a day of making little bits of progress on three projects.

It was a good Saturday.

Book Store

2011-04-15T13:02:00.000-07:00

Are you the type of person who works on one project until it's done? Oh how I wish I could stay that focused. Not only do I not finish projects that I start, I don't even stick to the same craft. Right now I am working on four zillion quilts, several knitting pieces, some red work, some yo-yo's and I have picked up one of my many counted cross-stitch projects again. Eventually I finish most of the projects, but because I go back and forth between projects and crafts, it seems like I seldom finish anything. All this does not take into account the reading I do and the writing, and did I mention I like to sleep?

Here is the counted cross-stitch project I picked up the other day. I'm really enjoying getting back to some stitching. This little Book Store piece will fit nicely in my home. Everyone who knows me knows that my favorite retail therapy is going to a book store!

Quilt top done

2011-04-11T19:17:00.000-07:00

Finished this colorful quilt top today.

(Pattern name - Hometown Parade, designer Avis Shirer, in AllPeopleQuilt.com, June 2008 issue.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Also started working on Yo-Yo's for another quilt I plan to make. I decided that I want to use white for the background. This will be a hand project for the most part - a good project for taking on my vacation this year.

When I go on vacation I always take three or four books, a few hand sewing projects, some counted cross-stitch and at least one knitting project. Now ask me how much I get done! I'm ALWAYS optimistic.

What's going on here.......

2011-04-05T18:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I posted pictures of checkerboard houses and log cabin blocks. The idea and instructions came from a June 2008 magazine article by designer Avis Shirer of Joined At The Hip. I cut it out of the magazine so I'm not sure what magazine except that the name in the lower corner is "allpeoplequilt.com".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I saw this magazine cover and fell in low with the quilt - made with hundreds of Yo-Yos.

The Yo-Yo's can be easily made using Clover's Yo-Yo maker.

I have an overflowing container of 5 inch scrappy squares that are perfect for Yo-Yo's.

This is a great take-along project and a project to pick up at odd times when I have a few minutes. I can make a Yo-Yo in less than five minutes - and that's at my slow leisurely pace!

Checkerboard houses

2011-04-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

Today I finished cutting strips for some log cabin blocks.

Sewing the blocks together didn't take as long as I thought they would.

And here are the checkerboard houses I made previously.

Here are the blocks up on my design board.

The pattern is from a magazine. I am upstairs and the magazine is downstairs, so I will have to give the credit tomorrow to the designer and the magazine. There is a pieced border yet to be made. Stay tuned.

Binding done

2011-04-03T18:09:00.000-07:00

Finished the binding on Moe's flannel quilt.

Binding day

2011-04-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

Today I worked on binding a quilt for my friend Moe. It was cold in my basement Quilt Studio, but draping this flannel quilt over my lap while I sewed kept me nice and warm.

Charity quilts

2011-03-31T19:30:00.000-07:00

Our Guild has many charity projects including making these simple large-strip comfort quilts for hospice patients. One of the gals in my Bee group received some donated fabric so she washed it and cut it all into kits for making comfort quilts. I made the above two and finished up the bindings tonight.

Life has been busy in my little world and my crafting/sewing has mostly been put on the back burner. I noticed that I have not posted anything since March 9th. What I haven't posted is my machine quilting practice pieces, my Artist's Trading Card creations, some house blocks I made for a quilt-in-progress, several rows of knitting, and the writing I did for a newly formed Writing Club. (I have not been sitting around twiddling my thumbs.)

Mini Table Runner or Candle Mat

2011-03-09T11:36:00.000-08:00

This little mat was made from a kit purchased from Pieceful Gathering Quilt Shop in Fox River Grove, IL and was designed by Debbie Lazarski. The kit included the embroidered center square and all the fabrics. The finished size is 7-1/2 X 17 inches. Using the quilt-as-you-go method, the whole project went together easily and quickly. It will be a gift for a friend.

Organized and ready to proceed

2011-03-07T17:27:00.000-08:00

Yes, I finished organizing my fabric room. I feel great about knowing exactly what I have and where it is located. I still have many, many UFOs, but they are labeled and listed. Don't know why that makes me feel better, but it does.

Labeled containers make me happy.

Even the little area where I make an occasional greeting card got cleaned up. This table was stacked high with stuff that needed a home. Now I have a nice work area for creating some cards.

I can make cards in between finishing those 22 UFO projects and the 13 project kits that haven't even been started. I won't mention the 200 books with endless ideas and my three ring binders with hundreds of quilt ideas ripped out of magazines.

It is all worth it though when you get a phone call like I got tonight. My Texas cousin called to let me know she received the quilt that I made for her, and she was very happy with the quilt. It was so good to hear her voice and catch up on family news. I love making quilts for people who truly appreciate them.

Organize and play

2011-03-04T13:13:00.000-08:00

The other day I was at the dollar store and saw jigsaw puzzles - 500 piece jigsaw puzzles. I was very pleasantly surprised that the puzzle I purchased for $1.00 was well made and enjoyable to put together. All the pieces interlocked and although the pieces were small, they were just the right size to have them all within reach.

But, I was feeling guilty that I was not working on any of my many, many projects. So I made labels and sewed them on some recently completed quilts.

A burst of energy hit me yesterday and today so I started a much needed project - re-organizing and folding all my fabric neatly. Here are the reds, greens, blues and purples.

Today I worked on the beiges, golds, browns, patriotic, flowers, black & white, novelty, whites, flannels, and stripes.

When I took breaks, I worked on an expensive puzzle that I purchased at a book store.

This puzzle was hard to do and I did not like it anywhere near as much as the little puzzle from the dollar store. These pieces interlocked, but if I breathed wrong they would come apart. There is a lot of detail and therefore looked like it would be easy, but the details were so small that the pieces were hard to locate on the picture. Guess who is going back to the Dollar store! ! !

This morning I had an "aha" moment while I was doing some journaling. I worry about all the projects I have to do and about all the fabric, counted cross-stitch, yarn, and crafting supplies I purchased during my working years. I have felt like I need to use it all up and had set a goal for myself (a few years back) of being done in five years. Well, I realized this morning that my goal is impossible. There is no way I could possibly finish all the cross-stitch projects, use all the fabric, knit all the yarn, or make use of all the craft supplies. Nor can I read all the books I have at home. Nor can I get the house as clean as I think it should be or as organized as I envision in my day-dreams. My "aha" moment came when it hit me that this is a very good thing! If I weren't working on my projects and crafts, and if I weren't doing jigsaw puzzles or reading, it would mean that I was too old, too infirm, or disabled.

So today I am extremely grateful for the long, long list of things To Do.

Nine-Patch finished.....

2011-02-28T15:05:00.000-08:00

All done - this nine-patch with flowers quilt - made for a cousin on the occasion of her milestone birthday. I will be sewing on the label tonight so that I can ship it out tomorrow.

Detail.

The back.

Pillow case to match.

Another quilt finished in 2011. This makes my 5th finish for 2011. If I can keep up this average for the rest of the year I will be one very happy quilter.

Quilt Smart

2011-02-24T17:26:00.000-08:00

Our guild, Northwest Suburban Quilter's Guild, had Mattie Rhoades from Quilt Smart as our speaker last Thursday and I took the Friday workshop (applique) with Mattie. It was a great class and I really enjoyed learning from Mattie.

I made 100 Bow tie blocks, and here they are haphazardly placed on my design wall.

All in one direction.

Boxed.

Wavy.

Now I am beginning the long process of sewing all the 100 bocks together. I started tonight after I decided to do the top layout - all one direction. After sewing several blocks together, I had to unsew them because they did not lock as neatly as I wanted. I changed the foot on the machine to a walking foot and it made all the difference. Only one row done, but at least it is a start.

Yet another -

2011-02-12T15:04:00.000-08:00

Yes, another quilt bound today. This one presented a problem as the quilt came with the binding already machine sewn to the BACK of the quilt. The quilt owner intended to then pull the binding to the front and machine sew it down. The problem then was for me to do as she intended, or decide to hand stitch it to the front. Also, everyone does things differently, and the corners were not as I would have sewn them. I tried the machine sewing method, but it looked sloppy and so I did some unsewing. Instead I opted to hand sew it to the front of the quilt and struggled with the corners. It is OK, but I'm not as proud of the end result as I would like to be.

No more quilts to bind. Guess I will have to create some of my own quilts!

Moving right along.....

2011-02-11T09:25:00.000-08:00

Two more quilts all bound.

Bonnie's Bindings is moving right along.............

New Business

2011-02-07T18:37:00.000-08:00

Recently I was discussing the possibility of starting a little business of my own, Bonnie's Bindings, where I would offer binding services. A friend overheard my conversation and asked to be my first customer. She had four quilts waiting for binding, a chore she dislikes intensely.

The first quilt she wanted done is a quilt she is donating to an auction to raise funds for an organization. It is a king-size quilt. Wouldn't you know that my first job would be the biggest possible! It was hard to maneuver the bulk and weight through my small domestic machine when I sewed the binding to the front of the quilt, however it was wonderful to do the hand sewing with the quilt draped over my legs, keeping them warm in my chilly house.

I love doing binding, even when it is miles of the same leopard print. The quilt is not mine to show, but here is a peek. Trust me, it is stunning!

Blizzard of 2011

2011-02-02T05:35:00.000-08:00

This is the view out of my front door. Yes, that drift is as high as the bush.

I don't think I will be leaving my house any time soon.

This is looking down my driveway and out into the street. Hmmm. The plow went through just a little while ago, but you cannot tell.

My back porch is snowed in. You cannot see, but there is a drift completely surrounding my porch.

Can you see how high the drift is around my porch? It is almost a foot above the chair-height rail.

What a great day to stay home and start a new quilt! ! !

Another finish

2011-01-31T18:20:00.000-08:00

Another finish - and it is still January!!!!!

This quilt idea came from a Sharon Craig book, Layer 'em Up #3, to which I added sashing. My friend Moe did the quilting.

Here is the backing.

This is a very small quilt and could be used as a table topper. It is going on my give-away pile.

Backing

2011-01-29T13:28:00.000-08:00

Piecing a backing for a large quilt is a challenge if you are also trying to use up old pieces of fabric. There was not enough room to lay out this backing for a nice picture, so here is the squashed-up wrinkled version. It is the backing for this quilt.

And here is the binding ready to attached when the quilt is quilted.

It is January 29th and my Christmas cactus is in glorious bloom.

So dramatic.

It is also the middle of the afternoon on Saturday as I write this blog and I have my choice of sewing some binding, knitting on a pair of socks, or doing some cross-stitch. Oh how I wish I could do all three at once - along with reading a good book and watching TV and snacking on popcorn. Alas, I have to choose. I'm grateful though that I have such lovely choices.

UFO #3 Finished

2011-01-24T10:41:00.000-08:00

Topsy Turvy Santa table runner #595 by Happy Hollow Designs - from 2005 - is now finished.

For those of you who may have seen the pattern or done this little table runner you will note that I did NOT do the border and therefore the accent buttons that come with the pattern were not used. Why? Well, due to the fact that this is a UFO and the parts got separated and I was not paying attention to the pattern, as soon as I finished the blanket-stitching around the appliqued Santas, I layered this little piece and started doing a little machine quilting before it dawned on me that the extra fabric in the box was for the borders! Oops. So the cute borders and corner stones with the peppermint buttons did not become a part of this table runner. I used the border fabric as the binding instead.

Here is a closer look at the stitching - and the reason it took me so long to get done. That blanket stitching (by machine) around all the little pieces was tedious.

It is cute though and will make a nice decoration next Christmas.

I looked over my list of 13 UFO's I want to finish in 2011 and realized why most of them became UFO's. They are either ready for quilting, or they have a huge problem to solve. I need to analyze whether the project is worth fixing the problem or not. I have done the easy UFO's, and now it is time to face the problems. Sigh.

Looking at the above statement in a more positive manner, I have greater challenges ahead of me - more opportunities to expand my expertise. Now, isn't that better?

UFO #2 Finished

2011-01-22T17:47:00.000-08:00

For 2011 I have a list of 13 UFO's I plan to finish and this is #2 - a flannel Mitten quilt (pattern from Country Threads), quilted by Country Threads. I finished the binding today.

The backing is a mitten print flannel and the binding is a plaid flannel. (Sorry for the fuzzy picture.)

Eleven more UFO's to go and there are 11 more months in 2011. At this point in the year I think I have a good chance of getting them all finished.

Side tracked...........

2011-01-19T07:02:00.000-08:00

In my attempt to finish up old projects, I got out Christmas At Hawk Run Hollow, Block #7, which I last worked on in May of 2010. Why did I put it away? Who knows, but it is fun to work on it again.

As long as I was pulling out old projects, I also pulled out this knitted poncho/shawl that I started in 2005. It is time to finish it up.

HOWEVER...........
It is so easy to get side tracked.............. A dear friend of mine gave me a bag of beautiful Brilla yarn,

and I have spent the last two evenings trying out pattern after pattern trying to figure out how best to use this wonderful yarn. Of course I wanted something spectacular yet very, very easy and quick. It had to be either a scarf or a shawl or something similarly one-size-fits-all type. Last night as I printed off the 12th free pattern that looked interesting, I suddenly got the brilliant thought that I don't have to figure this out today, or this week, or this month. It was a gift and I can choose to put it away and use it some other time.

So I'm going back to the old unfinished projects.............

Knitted scarf done

2011-01-15T18:42:00.000-08:00

First knitting project of 2011 finished - the curly (potato chip) scarf.

This is how it looks around my neck. I'm glad I made the center section in plain garter stitch as it lays nicely around my neck.

It is nice and warm too on a cold winter day here in the mid-west.

Kinda gonna check two things off the list.........

2011-01-13T19:22:00.000-08:00

Two things got done today that I can kinda check off the long list I made January 1st. I finished the LHN Reader. Is it considered finished yet? No, because it needs to be framed or made into a flat fold or a pillow or a small quilt. But since I have a whole drawer full of "finished" pieces, it will be a long, long time before I can permanently cross it off the list.

For the quilt "flimsy" that I showed yesterday I made a backing. The fabric I showed yesterday was not a big enough piece for the backing unless I did some creative cutting and re-piecing, so I decided that I might as well make a pieced backing for more interest. I used some of the leftover strips from the quilt in the very center, some odd colored fabric that I have not idea how it got into my stash, and the chosen fabric from yesterday.

Also got the binding ready to go for this quilt.

No pictures, but I also found time to Knit on my curly scarf and put some stitches on another counted cross-stitch project. It was a good crafting day here at my house.

It's all my cousin's fault.

2011-01-12T17:51:00.000-08:00

Yes, I put ANOTHER puzzle together and it is all my cousin's fault. She sent me this puzzle which arrived in today's mail and all my plans to do some quilting got shoved aside. I have zero resistance.

I did finish the puzzle in time to do some stitching and am almost done with this piece.

(The colors are very pale and difficult to photograph.)

My Christmas cactus is a little behind schedule and is just now beginning to show some buds.

Like the cactus, I'm a little behind schedule, but tomorrow I'm definitely going to work on a quilting project. Definitely.

Today's sewing

2011-01-10T19:14:00.000-08:00

Besides doing some stitching and knitting today, I put these blocks (made last summer) together. I played around with possible borders, but finally decided it looked fine without borders.

The dotted fabric will be the backing. I think there is enough of the flowered fabric to make the binding.

It will be a very small quilt, just big enough to put over your legs when there is a chill in the room.

Good Idea

2011-01-09T15:34:00.000-08:00

In the February 2011 issue of Good Housekeeping - page 32 - "Fresh Thinking" - there is a storage idea that I think is excellent.

Do you have a cupboard like mine where the plastic containers get thrown in and chaos results?

No matter how many times I re-arranged this cupboard, it soon would be all messy again because it was impossible to reach in the back. I would have to get on my knees (not easy at my advanced age) and pull everything out to find the right container.

The idea in Good Housekeeping is to use a baking sheet as a slide-out. Brilliant ! ! !

Now I can easily slide out the baking sheet

and make my container selection.

I just love good organizing ideas. This re-organization took approximately 15 minutes, no money, and put a happy smile on my face.

Cleaning

2011-01-08T18:59:00.000-08:00

Before

After

These shelves in my quilt studio hold beads and various other crafty supplies. Everything was in such a mess I was afraid it would all tumble. So I took everything off, disposed of stuff I will never use, re-organized and put it back in a neater fashion. I also promised myself that in a year's time, whatever I have not used or needed will get eliminated. The whole bottom shelf is beading stuff and I don't bead! I keep buying supplies and once in a great while I might add some beads to a small quilt, but is it necessary to have a whole shelf of beads, findings, wire, and tools?

You might also note that there is a plastic container on the end with painter's blue tape. What does this have to do with beading? Nothing. I use blue tape to mark lines when I quilt a quilt, and I use blue tape to tape down the layers when I am pin basting a quilt - and I have always kept the blue tape on the end of this shelf. I didn't want to move it because I would never remember where it's new home was, so I just found a nice plastic container to make it look neat.

Neat and organized shelves make me happy.

Today's Progress

2011-01-07T19:07:00.000-08:00

In my quilt studio there is a dry bar with two large cupboards underneath. Cupboards are great for hiding clutter. I had hundreds of bags stuffed into this cupboard along with empty boxes and old unused plastic Easter decorations. I didn't take a "before" picture, but here is an "after" picture of the cupboard all cleaned out and neat.

Another quilted quilt got the binding machine sewn on today and I will save the hand sewing for another time.

I also worked on my curly knitted scarf. Since the yarn is really too heavy for this pattern, I decided to knit the center section that would go around the neck in a plain garter stitch, then return to the curly pattern.

This morning I worked for a while on my counted cross-stitch project. (Picture does not show true colors.)

And tonight I worked on another counted cross-stitch project (no picture) but it was virtually a waste of time as I discovered my counting was off and I had to unstitch what I had just stitched. Sigh.

1st finished project of 2011

2011-01-06T17:16:00.000-08:00

This pattern from Bonnie Hunter is called Scrappy Mountain Majesty. Bonnie came to our quilt guild last year and I took her workshop. Since I had already done this quilt in oranges several years ago, I decided to use up some of my black and white stash for this quilt.

I chose a light gold for the inner border and the binding.

Then I made a huge four-patch for the backing.

Best of all, I finished the binding tonight and it is the first quilt UFO that I have finished in 2011. Just 12 more to go.

Progress on projects....

2011-01-05T18:42:00.000-08:00

Today I made a little progress on some projects................

A counted cross-stitch project.

A quilt binding project.

Backing

2011-01-04T19:28:00.000-08:00

The first project I worked on yesterday after cleaning off the cutting table was the backing for the blue and white nine-patch quilt and the binding. It can now be shipped to the long-arm quilter. I can't cross this project off my list, but it is getting closer to being finished.

Cutting table cleared....

2011-01-03T09:25:00.000-08:00

Here is my shameful cutting table piled high with Christmas quilts to be stored away, and various projects buried underneath.

All the quilts are put away and the table is cleared.

It is time to declare my list of projects I can do in 2011. (Please note, I would not have to purchase one single thing all year long except batting - no fabric, no patterns, no books, no tools, no thread. I have it ALL.)

13 Unfinished quilt projects in various stages of unfinishedness (new word I just made up.)
6 quilt kits
4 tools/ideas I hope to try
3 Unfinished knitting projects
5 Unfinished counted cross-stitch projects
3 other craft projects (Artist's trading cards, woolie, and a sewing project for church)

Oh my, how did this happen? I'm really, truly going to make an effort to keep track of the above list to see what I manage to finish in 2011. It is a challenge like never before, but I can't get any of it done sitting here in front of the computer!

Jealous

2011-01-02T17:47:00.000-08:00

So many quilters and stitcher's blogs are listing all their goals for 2011. There are challenges and groups to join. There are lists and inspirations galore. Frankly, I'm jealous. My quilt studio and my cutting table are such a mess I can't even find the UFO's to make a list. I feel like I have been left behind in the dust. Tomorrow though - ah yes tomorrow - I plan to clean up that cutting table, clean the quilt studio, organize all the unfinished projects, make a list, and move forward along with all the other ambitious quilters.

As for my stitching, I have the three projects which I showed yesterday along with my unfinished Christmas At Hawk Run Hollow. Those are the only UFO's in the stitching category. Of course I have lots and lots of patterns, some even kitted, but those are my backup in case I get snowed in for the rest of the winter.

Today, being Sunday, most of my day is taken up with church activities and lunch with the family. Once I got home I had to do the Sudoku puzzle in the newspaper, check email, and work on an article for the church newsletter. Then I finally settled down for a some stitching time and made a little progress on "Reading" as you can see in the picture below.

Yes, I am jealous of those more organized than I am, but the remedy will come tomorrow when you can see the dust flying from my house. If you hear reports of a whirlwind, check to see if it is northwest of Chicago.

2011 - The Start

2011-01-01T11:49:00.000-08:00

The final jigsaw puzzle has been completed. It is time now to quit this foolishness and get back to my crafts - quilting, stitching, and knitting. I have thoroughly enjoyed putting puzzles together this holiday season and will look forward to more puzzling perhaps on vacation (what about it MB?), and the 2011 holiday season.

Lest you think I have done nothing else, I have started three new counted cross-stitch projects. Why three? Why not three? It will keep me from getting bored with one project (of course I have several other non-finishes hiding in baskets - but we won't talk about those) and I have a lot of Little House Needleworks and Country Cottage patterns in my stash that I am anxious to do.

I suppose you noticed that when I say I "started" that one is coming along nicely, one has the beginning of the border and a snowflake, and the last has one tiny little border line. Well, it's a start!

Today I shall work on these pieces and perhaps do a little more knitting on my scarf. As for quilting - I still have the cutting table to clear off and a lot of putting away to do. It will be an all day project, so I am saving that for Monday.

Right now I am very optimistic about the new year and all that I hope to accomplish. Lots of bloggers list all of the projects they hope to complete in the new year, but my list is so long that I might crash Blogger. True! So I will spare you the details. One of my goals this year is to blog more often - use my blog as an on-going journal of my projects - so you will see plenty of projects as the year progresses.

A big THANK YOU to all you bloggers out there that inspire me on a daily basis. My Google "Reader" list is long because there are so many wonderful quilters and stitchers that I count as my Internet friends.

OK..........time to go get started on my long list of projects.............

Guilty Pleasure

2010-12-31T20:07:00.000-08:00

Once I start a jigsaw puzzle, I can barely drag myself away from the table. Doing jigsaw puzzles is my guilty pleasure, so I try to do them only at the holiday season. This is my New Year's Eve puzzle, only I finished it by noon today. Oops. So I ran out to the store and bought another puzzle which I started tonight - New Year's Eve - and will finish tomorrow morning while watching the Rose Bowl Parade.

Next week I will get back to quilting again. The holidays are over, the puzzles will be completed, and it will be time to clear off my cutting table (that will take a day), make a list of my UFO's, and get busy making/finishing some quilts.

Happy New Year to all...........

Puzzle finished...

2010-12-27T13:03:00.000-08:00

Finished up this puzzle yesterday. It was not an easy puzzle to do. I kept having to refer to the picture on the box and sometimes I was just sure that a piece must belong to another puzzle. I do love putting puzzles together though, even when my back is aching from leaning over the table. I have another puzzle to do on New Year's Eve and then I am through with puzzles until next Christmas/New Years.

In roaming around Ravelry one day, I saw a pattern for a "potato chip" scarf. It is named "potato chip" because you supposedly cannot do just one. Clever. I am using some leftover yarn I had in my meager stash just to try out the pattern. It really should be done with a softer yarn. However, it is fun to knit, and occupies my hands while watching TV.

My New Year's To Do list (of craft projects) is long, long, long. Will this be the year I actually cross off every item on my list? I say YES. It is so easy to be optimistic around January 1st.

Merry Puzzle Time

2010-12-25T07:34:00.000-08:00

Each year, at Christmas and New Years, I allow myself the time to put some jigsaw puzzles together. 750 tiny pieces of puzzle pleasure. This is not an easy puzzle, so it may take me until New Years to get it done!

Hope you are having a Merry Day also.

Getting organized in 2011 (Don't laugh)

2010-12-22T14:10:00.000-08:00

As 2011 fast approaches, I am thinking about how I want to get myself organized. It all starts with my desk/office area. After seeing pictures in a few magazines of highly organized (and cute) desks, I am green with envy and determined to do something about my messes.

(Please note that the magazine pictures have NO wires showing, from the lamps or computers. And most of the desks don't even have a computer on it. Come on......... get real.)

Here are pictures of my messy office.

The wires.

The computer desk.

The auxiliary desk.

Under the auxiliary desk.

Today I spent several hours organizing the pictures on my computer. There were 450 files of pictures to organize. I have eliminated and re-organized 63 of those files and am up to the year 2006. Digital pictures are mighty convenient, but keeping them organized is a daunting task. (We won't even mention the boxes of unorganized printed pictures stored in my basement.)

I wrote out a LONG list of cleaning/organizing projects to occupy my time in 2011. Will I ever have time to quilt or stitch or knit? Yes I will. I have also decided to carve out time each day for all my crafts.

And now, since I don't have to do anything until 2011, I think I will go read a book.

Please do not remind me of the list I made for 2010 - or the seven year goals I set back three (four?) years ago.

Ever optimistic.................

No Sewing Here

2010-12-09T12:32:00.000-08:00

There is no sewing going on here. I have been busy with other things and although I am having fun and enjoying the Christmas season, I'm also looking forward to January when I can concentrate again on quilting, stitching and knitting projects.

Tonight I am having friends over for dinner and an evening of knitting and/or making some simple Christmas decorations. The table is set.

The wreath is up on the fireplace and a Christmas card from one of my favorite people is proudly displayed.

Although I decided that I would not decorate for Christmas this year, a few favorite things have found their way onto tables and walls. Here are a few favorite Santas.

Today (and every day) I am grateful for friends, good food, a fire in the fireplace, and wonderful smells coming from the kitchen.

Apron

2010-12-03T18:21:00.000-08:00

In the midst of working on various Christmas projects, I took an hour out to make this apron.

It is a panel - Cookie Jar Treats Apron by Wendy Edelson (licensed to Wilmington Prints). There are two pockets that are cut to perfectly match the fabric. I seldom purchase panels, but this one was well worth the price.

Christmas Decorating

2010-12-02T17:00:00.000-08:00

Today I put my tree up.

(OK, OK, so it's a little itty bitty thing - it's a Christmas Tree!)

I also put out these two place mats that I started two years ago and finally finished today.

Of course good old St. Nick (made by Lindsay) was hung in the place of honor in my living room.

A woolie made by Moe -

a quilt made by Melanie -

and a 12 Days of Christmas quilt (made by me) -

and a Scentsy warmer with the Nativity scene

complete most of my Christmas decorating for 2010

(Just love that Silent Night Scentsy warmer! ! )

Bonnie

Scarf

2010-11-17T19:08:00.000-08:00

Tonight I finished knitting the scarf to go with my very first knitted sweater. Now I have a complete ensemble for a very cold day.

Borders on

2010-11-16T19:31:00.000-08:00

My blue and white nine-patch quilt top is finished. The next step is making the backing and binding - and deciding whether to quilt it myself or send it out. (mmmmmm - me thinking - mmmmmmm) Who am I kidding? It will get sent out!

(Too bad the navy blue border does not photograph well - it goes so nicely with the quilt.)

Slow, slow progress

2010-11-15T18:54:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am making very slow progress on the projects posted recently on this blog. Today I had a chance to work on the borders for the blue & white nine-patch and hope to get them finished tomorrow.

My sewing time was made easier by the addition of a new bendable light given to me by my cousin. Every time I threaded my needle today I hit my target the first time - and I'm sure it was because of the good light spotlighting the needle and presser foot.

While watching TV tonight I also worked a little on this Halloween stitchery. This is a particularly slow project because the 32 count fabric is a real challenge for me to see. I can only do a little at a time before everything starts to get blurry. However, I so enjoy stitching, even though it goes so slowly.

Today I am grateful for -
1. Visiting with friends.
2. My new bendable light.
3. Enjoying Dancing With The Stars.
4. The Down comforter I recently purchased.

Progress on the nine-patch

2010-10-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

All the blocks, sashing and rows are sewn together.

Here is a close-up of the applique block.

Next I will add two borders - one small red border and one larger blue border.

Today I am grateful for -
1. Good friends
2. An excellent lunch with included French Fries coated with Truffle Oil.
3. The wonderful colors of Fall.

Japanese Paper Quilting

2010-10-26T17:58:00.000-07:00

Tonight I took a class in Japanese Paper Quilting at the local card/scrap book shop. I made four cards for Halloween. The class was well organized and productive. The teacher was patient with me as I was the only one that had not taken a previous class in the technique.

I will definitely take another class at this shop again. It was well worth the cost - plus you get a 10% discount on anything you buy. I bought some paper because I only have 10,000 pieces at home and I just might run out.

First Knitted Sweater - EVER

2010-10-25T14:58:00.000-07:00

Today I finished my first knitted sweater ever. It is by no means perfect, however, it is roomy, very warm, and will be wonderful for those cold, cold winter days when I am working in my basement studio.

I had a hard time figuring out how to take a picture of me actually wearing the sweater. This is the best I could do.

The sleeves are too long and extremely roomy and the sweater itself is a teeny bit short. I'm very proud of my accomplishment though, and it will get worn a lot at home.

Scrappy Quilt

2010-10-22T15:04:00.000-07:00

This little quilt is made entirely of scraps from my 2-1/2 inch container and my 4-1/2 inch container. My friend Moe did the machine quilting.

Here is the pieced back.

I decided to machine sew the binding as usual to the front, and then sew in the ditch to finish the back side of the binding. I have never done that before and although the back side is not perfectly even and some of the stitching is a little wobbly, it still looks OK because it is black.

This little piece of stitchery is one I purchased recently. Unfortunately I did not look closely at what I was buying and was dismayed to discover that the fabric is 32 count. With my poor eyesight, 32 count is a real challenge. I have my eyeball practically on top of the magnifying glass to find my place. Thank goodness this is a small project!

The sweater I was knitting is now finished. I just need to sew it together and steam block it. Pictures to come soon. There was one skein of yarn leftover so I decided to make a matching scarf, adding another skein of contrasting color from the same yarn family. I am knitting it length-wise, so there are 275 stitches on my circular needle.

Today I am grateful for -
1. A scrambled egg for breakfast.
2. A phone call from a dear friend.
3. The freedom to choose which project (from many) that I want to work on and which to ignore.

Glorious weather

2010-10-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

No quilting or knitting or stitching to blog about. However, I had company here this past week and we had a great time shopping, going to the theater (Billy Elliot - fabulous), eating, laughing, talking, and thoroughly enjoying each other's company.

One day we drove to Lake Geneva Wisconsin and while they all investigated the shops, I sat down by the shore, watching the seagulls, and enjoying the sunshine. The wind was strong off of the lake and kept the sun from being too hot on my face. Every once in a while, the wind would pick up some sand and I could feel it pricking my face. All the seagulls stood facing the sun too, and when the wind whipped that sand around, the seagulls all turned their faces to the right like a precision marching troupe.

These pictures were taken on my phone, facing into the sun so that I could not see the screen at all. Yes, that is my thumb on the one picture. Of course the pictures do not capture the atmosphere as I felt it. I will not forget my time by the lake, drinking in the glorious fall afternoon.

Lake Geneva is a beautiful lake with magnificent homes along it's shores. I wish I could have seen where my camera lens was pointing so that I could have gotten better pictures. Oh well, the pictures I took are lousy, but they will remind me of a special time.

On my design wall.......

2010-10-10T16:27:00.000-07:00

On my design wall is a simple nine-patch with sashing and cornerstones - and I added two applique blocks to give more visual interest.

I still have more sashing to cut - and of course the whole thing needs to be sewn together and have some colorful borders added. It is definitely a work in progress. The picture is not good, so in case you cannot tell, the blocks are dark blues and creamy white.

9-patch and knitting

2010-10-06T19:01:00.000-07:00

On my design wall is the beginning of a simple 9-patch with sashing that I started today. I'm trying to use up more of my blue stash.

I got a nice start on my second sleeve tonight while watching TV. Only 111 more rows to go.

Today I am grateful for -
1. My quiet home
2. Unending fabric stash
3. Challenging Sudoku puzzles.

A finish and a start

2010-10-05T19:46:00.000-07:00

Finished the mini quilt tonight.......................

and started the second sleeve of my sweater.

Today I am grateful for -
1. juicy red grapes
2. shopping at the local quilt shop
3. reliable twice-weekly garbage pickup
4. reading my favorite blogs

Miniature Quilt

2010-10-04T18:59:00.000-07:00

Today I worked on a miniature quilt for our guild's upcoming Mini Auction. Doing a paper pieced log cabin, I found it easier to do it assembly line style.

I got the quilt finished and quilted. All I have left to do is add the hanging sleeve, sew down the binding, sew on the decorative butterfly buttons, and sew on the label.

Little by little I have been working on the sleeve of my sweater, and tonight I finished knitting the first sleeve.

I love a day when I can see visible progress on my projects!

'Tis the Halloween season.......

2010-09-26T18:26:00.000-07:00

Is it too early for the Halloween decorations? Fall is my favorite time of the year and it always seems too short so I thought I would get out the Halloween quilts early and enjoy them a little longer.

These two quilts were made by my friend Melanie.

And this quilt is one I made years ago.

My quilting friends know that I moan and groan about my inability to do machine quilting and yet I look at this old quilt - that I quilted on my machine - and am amazed at how decent my quilting looks. When did I get so fearful and self deprecating?

Here is a close-up of the spider web I put in the corner.

Not the best spider-web in the world, but acceptable I think.

(The spider is plastic.)

Knitting.........

2010-09-25T15:01:00.000-07:00

This old knitting project (see below), a sweater that I started in 2008 is once again on my project agenda. I put away the project back in March 2008. I had finished the back and was working on the front when I had to stop because I did not understand the next instruction.

In quilting, most patterns are for piecing and end up with the instruction, "quilt as desired". For the novice quilter that instruction is daunting, impossible and frustrating.

In knitting, the same is true. I can do a knit stitch and I can do a pearl stitch. Beyond that, I have to look at an instruction book, ask someone, or look it up on the internet.

Determined to figure out the instruction and not waste all that money that I spent on good yarn, I re-read the instructions over and over again until I was pretty sure I understood. The stitch count was wrong, but I proceeded anyway and finished the front of the sweater. (I hope it is correct.)

Today I started in on the first sleeve and the instruction said to "increase at the beginning and end of every fourth row." The fourth row happened to be a pearl row. Not one of my three instruction books had help for increasing at the beginning and end of a pearl row. After looking at several You Tube videos and instructions from various websites, I came up with the method that made the most sense to me and went with that. So far it is working just fine.

It has taken me years and years of being with other quilters to absorb knowledge, get ideas, and learn good skills. I belong to the best Bee group in the world. The women in my Bee group are so helpful and so generous in sharing good techniques, and I have learned volumes from them.

Perhaps I need to find a good knitting group if I plan to continue doing any serious knitting.

Top finished.....

2010-09-20T13:54:00.000-07:00

Top finished just in time for Bee tonight.

This is a lesson in contrasts. The olive green blocks do not have enough contrast and the blue with the large print does not work. However, it is DONE (except for the quilting) and will be a charity quilt - and I learned that although some fabrics look good together, they do not necessarily work well if the block needs high contrast.

Progress........

2010-09-15T17:51:00.000-07:00

All the sashing is sewn onto the blocks and the first two rows are sewn together. Tomorrow I will be out of the house most of the day, so I hope to finish up this quilt top on Friday. Border? I'm pulling and auditioning fabrics, but may decide it is finished without a border.

Quilting Practice

2010-09-11T18:32:00.000-07:00

First thing this morning I made the binding for the black and white quilt.

Then I got out my new gadget - a Supreme Slider - and the new Magic Bobbin Washers - and set-up my machine to do some practice on machine quilting.

The stippling is getting better and the meandering circles aren't bad, but everything else is pretty sloppy. It is easier with the slider, but I am just not steady enough, nor can I think fast enough to move in the right direction. I tried following a drawn pattern and it was a disaster. Not all of us have the same talents and I guess I just don't have the talent of machine quilting. For now I'll stick to straight-line quilting.

In my inventory of unfinished projects are these blocks. They are all kind of dark and put together make a rather dull looking quilt. I decided that maybe sashing would help. After trying out many many colors of sashing, I finally decided to try white. I have seen many blogs from young quilters doing "Modern" quilts and they use a lot of white. I cut some white fabric sashing strips to try it out and I think I like it.

In fact, the white sashing brightens it up so much it makes it like a new project and therefore will give me the incentive to finish it up!

Another new project and NO quilting......

2010-09-10T18:48:00.000-07:00

Another new project necessitated a trip to JoAnn's to get supplies. I cannot show pictures of what I am making because it is a secret, so I am showing the bag instead. (I'm so clever.)

However, tomorrow I have promised myself that I will work on an unfinished project. No more new projects. Promise.

Start and Finish

2010-09-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

Although there are oodles of unfinished projects in my Quilt Studio, I was not in the mood today to work on any of them. So I pulled out my book of Quilt Ideas - articles that I have torn out of magazines.

I picked out this cute Allpeoplequilt.com pattern of houses and log cabins. In my bedroom is a Grandma Moses picture of a checkerboard house, so I am making my houses in three different checkerboard fabrics. I got two houses/blocks put together and then I was ready to go back to something that needed finishing.

I put the borders on my black and white quilt -

and made a four-patch backing.

Welcome Sign

2010-09-07T18:58:00.001-07:00

Finished this Welcome sign a while back and just remembered to hang it up on my porch. My other sign was faded from being outside several years. This one looks all fresh and bright.Now I need to get busy and make one for Christmas.

Labor Day labor......

2010-09-06T19:14:00.000-07:00

My quilting labor today was concentrated on binding. It is a big quilt so there is a lot of binding to sew down.

On the table beside my sewing chair is this new little pin cushion made by my friend Brenda. Her stitching is always wonderful and I feel lucky to have many gifts in my home stitched by her.

New Tool

2010-08-27T19:17:00.000-07:00

This combination magnifier and light was advertised in the Keepsake Quilting catalog and since the price was within reason, I decided to purchase it. It says "fits most sewing machines". Guess what - it didn't fit mine. Errrrgh. Well, it does "fit", but the magnifier and the light were at the wrong angle. I would have to lower my chair so much that my arms would be below the machine. I decided I would have to send it back. I hated to give up though and I finally tried this solution............

I turned it sideways and then I could adjust the magnifier and light to the right angle to see through when my chair is in the normal high position. YES. It makes it a whole lot easier for me to thread my machine - and hopefully will help me sew a straighter line.

Table Runner finished

2010-08-25T18:30:00.001-07:00

The table runner I made the other day is now all quilted and bound.

(Pattern - Little Charmers IV by Heather Mulder Peterson

for Anka's Treasures)

Although the deep colors are good for Fall, it came out darker than I had wanted, so to make it sparkle a little I added some crystals.

The reverse side is a nice yellow with red flowers which I could use in the Spring.

Table runner

2010-08-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

Sewing was low on my priority list this week as I have been fighting a sore throat and the accompanying lack of energy/ambition that goes along with being sick.

Today though I put together a simple table runner using 5" squares. I had a package of Moda squares in my stash and they worked well for the pattern.

For the backing I think I will use the yellow flower print so that I can use one side for Fall and one side for Spring. The red will be the binding.

This was a good project for a lazy Saturday afternoon.

Crazy 9 patch - again

2010-08-11T18:43:00.000-07:00

Along came a spider.........This big black spider has been appearing in my Quilt Studio day after day in a different spot. I'm much too squeamish to step on it, and besides, stepping on it would leave a spot on the carpet. Picking it up with a paper towel was out of the question. The poor spider wasn't doing anything except sitting there, so I left him alone.

My quilting friends know that one of my favorite patterns is the crazy 9-patch. I took a break from my black and white quilt to make this quick table topper of blue 9-patches, trying to use up some stash fabric.

This wonderful batik will be the backing and the binding.

Oh, and about the spider...............I kept carefully walking around Blackie, and then the phone rang. I went running to answer it. Oops. I turned around and looked. Oh no! I had been so careful all day not to step on Blackie and at a thoughtless moment my big foot ended Blackie's life here on earth. I then had to remove the squished body with a paper towel. Ick.

In progress.......

2010-08-09T16:41:00.000-07:00

Since it is hot and humid where I live, the cool basement Quilt Studio seemed a nice place to spend some time today. All the blocks were completed for this black and white quilt when I was on my quilt retreat and now I am slowly sewing the blocks together. The two top rows got sewn today.

I have a great border planned. I'm hoping that my plans are as wonderful when completed as they are in my imagination.

To my family and friends I would like to tell you that any time you see a quilt on my blog that you would like for yourself or for a gift or for a special charity, please tell me. I cannot possibly use all the quilts I make and I am more than happy to give them away. A few years ago I had so many quilts stacked up that my cousin found a women's shelter in Indianapolis where I sent 20 of my quilts. Or if you would like a special quilt made just for you - a certain color or a certain pattern - ask me! If the pattern is too hard for my skills, I might suggest something else. Even quilts I make especially for my house or my beds I would be willing to give away to a family member or dear friend. I can always make more!

Stash buster quilt

2010-08-06T18:11:00.000-07:00

The binding is all done on this stash busting quilt. This picture shows the corner of the quilt and the green (with snowflakes) backing.

My friend, Moe, did the quilting. She used varigated thread, did some meandering, and also put in some wonderful feathers.

I used scraps I grabbed from my stash without thought as to any color plan. This fabric of weather vanes I purchased in an antique shop many years ago.

Here is the finished quilt. Pattern by Judy L. of Patchworktimes.com and can be found on her website.

Vegetables on my table.......

2010-08-04T18:54:00.000-07:00

The LQS had this table runner kit which caught my eye because of the very real looking vegetables. I quilted it myself with a cross hatch. I use painter's blue tape and sew my straight lines beside the tape.

The finished table runner on my kitchen table. Will it inspire me to eat healthier?

Purse Organizer Insert

2010-07-29T09:12:00.001-07:00

At the last quilt shop I visited, I purchased a "Portapockets" pattern from Studio Kat Designs. I carry a rather large tote bag and am always digging in my bag for tissues or a pen or mints. I thought this organizer was a great idea for my tote bag.The pattern has LOTS of pieces and six pages of instructions. Since I have the attention span of a teenage gnat, I was soon out of patience for "lining A and Part #3 interfacing........."
After spending a good deal of yesterday wrestling with the instructions and the many, many pieces, I put the project aside. This morning I looked on the internet for purse organizers and found many, many choices, but my favorite was $24.95 plus shipping and handling. Now $24.95 may not seem like a great deal of money, but to a retired person on a fixed income a few of those $24.95 purchases add up quickly. Soon I find myself digging into the line of credit - no, no, no - not wise.

So I went back to my project and finished it without the help of the instructions. I just did my own thing. It is poorly constructed and the finishing is non-existent. However, it will reside in the depths of my purse and keep me a little more organized. That was the goal and the goal has been reached.

Quilt Retreat 2010

2010-07-20T17:10:00.000-07:00

For the 7th year some of the women in our Bee group have gone on a quilt retreat. Carol invites us to her summer home in upper Wisconsin where she kept the lower level empty so that she could invite us each year.

As we sew, we look out onto this beautiful lake.

Carol rents tables so that each one of us has a nice large sewing space. The room is clean and inviting.

The right door leads to the convenient half-bath, and the dark doorway leads to the outside.

(The rifle is handy in case anyone tries to steal our fabric!)

Lindsay worked very hard on this wonderful quilt for an auction/fundraiser.

She also made borders for this UFO scrappy project.

Carol completed this precisely pieced quilt with the smashing border.

Aline sweated over the calculations to get these stars to fit around her adorable redwork.

She also assembled these flower pinwheels and put the first border on making it ready for some applique.

Here I am with a vegetable tablerunner, a pile of black and white blocks, a sample "plaid" block, and the beginning of a quilt for Quilts of Valor.

The four of us - Aline, me, Lindsay and Carol.

Baby love.......

2010-07-09T09:29:00.000-07:00

What is more beautiful and fun than a baby! My grand niece and her daughter, my great grand niece, came for a visit this morning. What a delight! Isn't it amazing how a precious little baby can put a great big smile on your face and heart.

It seemed like only yesterday that this baby's mother was a baby, and her mother (who is now the grandmother) was a baby not all that long ago either.

Baby's first year is so short and so wonderfully sweet. (I couldn't stop touching her chubby little legs with that incredibly soft skin.....) Come back again for a visit real soon!

Finished (Smile)

2010-07-03T18:01:00.000-07:00

Quilted and bound.

I started this quilt last year in July at the annual quilt retreat I go on with Bee friends. I recently got it back from the long-arm quilter and finished the binding tonight. The pattern is Come-on-a-my-house by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.

Busy Saturday

2010-06-26T18:45:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to make a sample block from Sharon Craig's new book, Layer 'Em Up #3, so I chose an easy block and before I knew it, I had a whole quilt top done. It is a good table-topper size, not my colors at all, and the pink sashing kind of takes center stage.

Here is a close-up of one of the fabrics - a scrap piece of musical instruments that has been in my stash for years.

As long as I got the top done, I decided to also pick out a backing and make a binding. I found this wild wavy stripe in my stash and thought it would finish off the quilt nicely.

After spending part of Friday with my friend, Brenda, who is a master stitcher, I decided to start a new stitching project. This piece also has bright colors that are not my usual choice.

I must be in a wild and crazy mood. : )

Today I am very grateful for air conditioning and my nice, chilly Quilt Studio (in the basement).

Quilting Today

2010-06-23T18:19:00.000-07:00

A finished quilt - pieced, quilted and bound. It is a crazy 9-patch with added rectangles.

The back of the quilt.

A sample of the wonderful quilting my friend Moe did on her new mid-arm quilting machine.

Last Friday I took a class with Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville fame. These are the blocks I made in class.

The rest of the blocks are prepared and ready to sew, but I am going to save the sewing for my upcoming quilting retreat.

This is my latest quilt book purchase and I wanted to try out the technique and make some blocks. I got 8 blocks made tonight and will take pictures tomorrow.

It was so nice to have a day at home and time in my Quilt Studio.

No Self-Motivation

2010-06-16T11:35:00.000-07:00

Here I sit at my desk, not paying bills or taking care of emails, but taking the time to blog about how I lack self-motivation. Not every day, but on more days than I like to admit, I have so little motivation or energy or get-up-and-go that I get upset with myself and then get depressed.

This is one pile of unfinished projects. One out of many.

This is a quilt top that I started to pin baste but got discouraged because I don't think the back is taut enough and I probably will have to pull all the pins out and start over again. Big sigh.

Here is a quilt that I am finishing the hand sewing of the binding. This I enjoy doing, but save it for when there is a good television show. Not many good television shows, so that project is stalled.

This is one of several piles of magazines that I am slowly going through to pull out ideas or techniques. So many, many magazines.........

These are containers of knitting projects - on the needles and far from being completed. It would be so nice to get at least one of those big knitting projects finished.

I need a kick in the pants, or a slap upside the head, or company coming, or a deadline, or notice of inspection, or amazing inspiration. Or perhaps I just need a vanilla cone from McDonald's or a Java Chip from Starbucks.

Thanks for reading my tale of woe. I feel better now. I think I will go mop the kitchen floor.

Finish and Begin

2010-06-11T18:43:00.000-07:00

Finished the binding on two little quilts for friend Moe.

Finished the binding on my little patchwork pumpkin quilt.

I will be taking a class next week and need to have 8.5 inch squares cut for the class. I decided on a black and white theme.

Tonight I got all the black squares cut - and thus begins a new quilt.

DONE !

2010-06-10T19:11:00.001-07:00

Finished the second valance and packed it for taking to church.

This project is DONE ! ! !

A Good Day

2010-06-09T18:35:00.000-07:00

This little stocking was fun to stitch. It is from Blackbird Designs in the Sweet August booklet. Although the suggested fabric count is 30, I made it on 28ct and although the suggested beads are Czech glass beads, I used some little wooden beads I had in my stash.

This is the backing fabric I chose.

On to the valance project for church.............I made a sample to make sure I knew what I was doing. The lining has to smaller than the front so that when it is ironed, the backing will not show.

The lining fabric - a 50% off bargain at JoAnn's.

Cutting the lining fabric.

Sewing the lining to the front.

Sewing the rod pocket.

One valance completely done. And I had time this evening to get started on the second valance.

Now, for all my family and friends who think that I am always neat and organized, please enjoy this photo of my very messy fabric/cutting room. This is the way it usually looks. I clean it up only when expecting company.

In addition to the stitching finish and the valance finish, I also worked on some binding. It was a good day!

What did I get myself into????

2010-06-07T12:30:00.000-07:00

This is a HUGE roll of toile fabric and a sample valance. I have been asked to make two more valances for the windows in a hallway at church. Straight sewing, right? How hard could it be?Well, getting the ten-year-old cellophane off the roll was the first challenge, then maneuvering it so that I could iron enough fabric to begin cutting.
Then maneuvering the roll back to the cutting table and straight enough to cut. I ended up clipping the edges to the cutting board so that it would not slip and slide while I cut.
I did that much last night, managing to get three lengths cut successfully. I hope to get more cut tonight and begin to sew the lengths together. The window width is 96 inches so I need to make the valance double that, or 192 inches. Oh my. That's a lot of fabric to handle - AND, it has to be lined.

In the meantime, I received my EQ7 upgrade and have been playing. What fun to design quilts. Just wish it were as easy to sew them!

Perfectionism (A long wordy post)

2010-05-30T16:40:00.000-07:00

Quite often I find myself not wanting to quilt because the thought that I am not perfect at this craft stops me cold. I look at magazines and see award winning quilts and instead of enjoying the beautiful quilts, I lament that I have never acquired that level of expertise. I decide in my mind that everything is too hard, would take too long, and I couldn’t think up the designs in the first place. So why should I bother at all? Then someone will remind me that you have to work at the craft; that the expertise only comes from years of practice and failing. Sorry, but that does NOT inspire me. It just increases the size of the mountain I must climb.

Oh, I have periods of not letting the perfectionism factor stop me. I sew, I quilt, I buy fabric, I continue haphazardly, enjoying the colors and patterns. Most of all though, I love my fellow quilters – the friends in my Bee group, women I admire in my Guild, and many, many quilting bloggers.

As the years have gone by I increasingly lament the fact that I am not good at quilting. As I bemoan my shortcomings I have begun to notice that my listeners are getting tired of hearing my sob story.

My unhappiness got so bad that there have been many times recently when I seriously considered throwing out or giving away ALL my fabric and quilt books – thousands and thousands of dollars worth of quilting stuff. It was not bringing pleasure into my life and instead was making me miserable.

Enjoying lunch with my friend Brenda the other day, she patiently sat listening to me once more go on and on about poor me, lousy quilter me, never good enough me. What do I expect people to say? “Yes you are lousy. You better quit quilting.” Hardly. The usual response is “Oh Bonnie, I love your quilts. You’re too hard on yourself. Your quilting is fine.” They might as well be saying, “blah, blah, blah” for all that I listen to that reply. But Brenda replied with something that I have heard before, but have never felt as deeply. She gave me the “enjoy the process” speech – and it penetrated my thick brain that the whole point of quilting or stitching or knitting or reading or eating or being with your friends or just about anything that you do is to enjoy the process.

The people I admire most in the world are those that have enthusiasm – about what they are doing or what they just acquired or where they are going or what they had to eat or what they are reading. Who wants to be around someone like me who whines and complains about being less than adequate? Not me. I want to be around the person who can’t wait to show me their latest garage sale find, who just has to tell me about a good book, who got some fabulous new fabric, who had a great idea for a quilt project and who made a wild, crazy, wonky quilt. I don’t care if the quilt they show me is perfect – all I care about is the enthusiasm and pride with which they share their craft.

So right here on this public blog, I am vowing to stop the negative thinking and begin to truly enjoy the process of quilting – picking out the fabric, deciding on a pattern, cutting everything apart, sewing it all back together again, and sometimes doing my imperfect but unique (and wonderful) machine quilting.

If I slip up on my vow, would you please remind me? Thanks!

Happy Saturday

2010-05-29T17:33:00.000-07:00

It was a happy Saturday at my house. I machine quilted (cross-hatch) this little pieced pumpkin quilt and it is now ready for me to hand sew down the binding. My machine quilting is a little less than perfect, but it is OK with me. I like the over-all effect and will think of it as "quirky" quilting.

I used a varigated thread that had yellow, gold, orange and beige which adds to the quirky nature of this little quilt.

There was time also to work on this little piece of stitchery which is from Blackbird Designs - one of the August miniature stockings.

Finally, I made a little progress on my latest binding project.

Time went by very quickly today as I enjoyed working with needle and thread.

More poppies

2010-05-21T17:53:00.001-07:00

Lots of quilters are also gardeners. I am not among those green-thumb people. This year I hired my grand-nephew to plant a few flowers so that I won't be the ugly yard on the block.

Some marigolds and petunias,

and some impatiens.

The star of my garden though are the poppies that were planted last year. I just can't get over how beautiful they look - that bright red against the green grass and the lavender centers - simply stunning.

As far as quilting goes, I spent the day organizing and making lists. There are so many unfinished projects in my home, it overwhelms me. By making a list of exactly what needs to be done I can now prioritize and start making some progress. I did manage to sew binding onto a rather large quilt that just came back from the long-arm quilter, so that is one thing already to cross off my list.

Today I am grateful for a nice gentle rain. (I don't have to water the plants!)

Sewing today

2010-05-15T14:24:00.001-07:00

All the stitching around the letters is complete for my Welcome banner and I started working on the stars.

I also finished the binding on this little quilt for friend Moe.

That is today's sewing report from my house.

Poppies

2010-05-13T13:18:00.000-07:00

My favorite flower is a red poppy. This is a painting done by my friend, Donn Warden. It hangs in my office and is my favorite painting.

This round robin quilt hangs in my bedroom and is my favorite quilt.

This beautiful poppy with a lavender center appeared in my garden this morning after a night of pouring rain. Lovely!

Fun in the Quilt Studio

2010-05-06T15:58:00.000-07:00

This is the Welcome banner that hangs on my front porch. It has been there a long time and is looking rather faded and worn out.

Time to make a new banner. I gathered together a pattern and some fabric choices and began

This is what I got done this afternoon. The house is all sewn together. Now I need to sew the borders, add the WELCOME at the bottom and the stars along the side panel. A lot of my original fabric choices were changed, but that was the fun - digging through my stash and saying No, No, No, or Yes, Yes Yes.

I will add a button for the door knob and sew in some window sashings. The door looks huge and entirely out of proportion, but that makes it all the more charming. The patterns are by joinedatthehip.com. At last count, there were 48 patterns in this series and I want to make more - at least one for every month.

Mitten, Mitten

2010-05-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

The borders are on the Mitten quilt and

the backing is made. The cute mitten flannel I saved for this quilt was not quite wide enough for the backing, so I had to put a strip of the border fabric down the middle.

Also made the binding so that it is ready to go when this project is quilted.

My cutting table and sewing table are cleaned up and ready for me to begin a new project, OR finish an old project.

Sewing and gluing......

2010-05-01T15:23:00.000-07:00

The mitten blocks are all sewn together and the sashing has been added. Next comes the borders and I have enough of the sashing fabric (I think) for borders and binding.

Using the instructions from Vonna (thetwistedstitcher.blogspot.com) I made my first flat-fold. There is a lot of gluing involved and Vonna suggests in her instructions that you have water available for cleaning your hands. I put wet paper towels in a plastic bucket and used those wet towels constantly. My results are not any where near as good as Vonna's, but I learned a lot doing this little project.

Next time I will purchased larger sized trim. My skinny trim does not cover the edges very well. I also opted to put the trim inside the bottom tab and perhaps I should have gone outside the tab.

Also finished up another binding for my friend Moe. This sweet print on the back of her quilt made the binding time fun.

My carriage awaits......

2010-04-29T14:47:00.000-07:00

Little House Needleworks

Dream

stitched on 28 count Jobelan Dusty Green using Belle Soie threads

The pattern calls for an inner white border, but I have opted not to stitch it. Because I made some major mistakes and had to remove quite a bit of my stitching, I almost ran out of thread. There are 10 stitches of DMC thread somewhere on this piece, but it is my secret.

Mittens all made

2010-04-28T19:08:00.000-07:00

All the mitten blocks are made for my mitten quilt. Next is the sashing between each row and a plain border. There is enough flannel left in my stash to make about 20 more of these quilts. I swear my stash reproduces when I'm not looking.....

Sewing fun

2010-04-21T14:05:00.000-07:00

Trading services is a great idea. I am going to do binding for friend Moe who does not like to bind in exchange for some machine quilting which I don't like to do. Here are some small quilts she gave me to bind.
This is the back of the first one I did - a Halloween woolie. Isn't the backing fabric cute?
I won't show the quilt front because that is for Moe to do, but I will give a sneak peak at her wonderful stitching of this adorable spider.
Besides the binding, I am working on this mitten quilt (Country Threads pattern) and got seven more mittens done today.
The time goes by so fast when I am having sewing fun, and the laundry that was on my To Do list today did not get done. Oh well.........

Binding

2010-04-07T13:42:00.001-07:00

One thing I pride myself on doing well is binding. Today I sewed the intersections on this binding - all nine intersections - and went to iron them only to discover that I had done them all backwards! I guess I must have left my brain upstairs.

Besides my sewing machine, this is my most valuable and used tool.
Rip-it, rip-it, rip-it.
Sigh

New Project

2010-04-03T06:45:00.000-07:00

This flannel fabric has been patiently waiting for me to make the Country Threads mitten quilt. I saw the quilt years and years ago when my sister and I visited Country Threads in Iowa. Then several years later I spotted this fabric at the local quilt shop and purchased enough for the backing to my anticipated mitten quilt.Now, in the Spring of 2010, when the bin of flannels is embarrassingly full, I picked out a stack of colors that pleased me and began cutting.
Here are a few blocks that I made. The pattern is so old that the directions require using templates, so I figured out an easier rotary cutting method that I wanted to test out.

In the meantime, the visiting cat found a cozy spot - the recycle basket I keep on the porch. The temperature was warm yesterday and the sun was shining, and he looks very content in this airy, yet confined space.

Yesterday was warm and sunny. Today it is cooler and rainy. Perhaps I will make time today to cut and sew more mitten blocks. Seems silly to be doing this Winter quilt in the Spring, but I'm determined to use up stash and the flannel bin was the fullest.

And now for something completely different.....

2010-04-02T07:38:00.000-07:00

This blog is about my quilting, my counted cross-stitch, and a few other things that happen in my life like a cat visiting me for a while. Since I struggle with food/weight issues, I decided to start an additional blog which will journal my struggle with these issues.

Please come visit this new blog bonnieweighsin.blogspot.com. Thank you.

Fair weather friend

2010-04-01T14:22:00.001-07:00

I got up for one minute to grab a tissue and when I returned to my porch chair, Mr. Visiting Cat had taken over the whole cushion. I'm sure I heard him murmur, "April Fool".

Ready for quilting

2010-03-29T13:42:00.001-07:00

My dear visiting cat, Elliot, enjoys waking me up around 5:00am. After I feed him he goes downstairs, snuggles up against Grace, and sleeps the rest of the morning. I've shown this quilt top before, but today I got it out to prepare the backing and binding for quilting. Elliot decided to pose on the quilt and then I couldn't get him off to measure the size of the backing.
Here he is, unconcerned that he is in the way. I pieced the center of the backing with leftover fabric from the quilt top.
The sides of the backing are this pretty polka dot fabric.
Getting up at 5:00am means I either go to bed early or take an afternoon nap - or both! A Queen needs her beauty sleep.

Cat company

2010-03-26T09:02:00.000-07:00

Elliot, the visiting cat, keeps me company all day long.

He waits next to Mr. Bear while I shower and get dressed for the day.

He cuddles up next to Grace (the colorful bear in my Quilt Studio) while I sew.

Comfortably resting on a side chair, he keeps a watchful eye on me as I sit at the computer.
Every where I go, Elliot comes running, my constant companion.