Binding

Spent the evening working on the binding for this baby blanket. Maybe tomorrow I will be able to finish it with a couple of good movies. Last night I installed EQ7 onto my computer and downloaded the AccuQuilt templates from the Electric Quilt website. I found a pumpkin and leaf appliqué and added them to my table runner. It's now ready for quilting, if I can decide what to do with it.

Small Projects Rock!

I determined that I get very discouraged when working on my large quilts and hand projects because I don't finish them very quickly. I decided that I needed to insert some small projects into my rotation to break up the monotony of Stars Around my Garden BOM that I've been working on since 2008. Here is a table runner I made up using a Gobble Gobble charm pack from Moda and the disappearing nine patch pattern. I also used a great iPhone app called QuiltFab to determine my setting triangles. I am next going to appliqué something in the negative dark space and then quilt it!

Doggie Sling?

So my little puppy James had surgery on his knee last week to correct his luxating patella. He is on strict movement control for 8 weeks. This is proving to be very hard for him, as he is still a puppy and doesn't understand why he must stay in his playpen. So I had friend who sent me this baby sling pattern and tried it out with some fleece I had at home. My thought is to use it for our evening walks so that he can get out of the house. We tried it out tonight just in the house and he seemed to like it ok for a little bit. It works pretty well if he's sitting/laying on his back. Plenty of room for his bad leg and it's not crushed. We'll try it out tomorrow for a short walk to see if it works or if the temptations of outside sights is too much.

Ready To Turn

This is the baby quilt I've been working on and I finally finished the quilting and made and attached the binding tonight. This week in the evenings I will turn the binding while watching tv and hopefully get it sent off by this weekend.

An Update!

Contrary to what the blog would havee you think I really have been working on stuff. My Google account was hacked into earlier in the year and then after that I couldn't do the mobile posting, which is mostly how I'd been posting what I'd been working on. So, to summarize what I've been working on:

• I've completed my hand applique sampler except for the vase. The vase I created doesn't fit anymore, so I need to find a new one.
• I finished the binding on The Quilt That Never Ends. It is now hanging in my kitchen.
• I just got back my Turning Thirty quilt from my quilter and it's waiting for binding.
• I worked on some of the applique for my BOM from 2008 and continued to cut out blocks.
• I have been working on a baby quilt for a friend and am almost done with the quilting.

The baby quilt is my first priority right now. Then I need to get ready for the quilt retreat in less than two weeks!!!!  I don't feel prepared but I still have one weekend to go. My biggest mistake last year was that I spent too much time cutting at the retreat. I've been working a lot to try and make sure that the current projects I am taking with me have as much cutting done before we go. I would love to finish the BOM from 2008 but I think that might be a pipe dream. I will still have fun though, no matter what I get accomplished!

Fabric Organization

Did this awhile back. I haven't shopped so very much from my stash since then, but I imagine the next time I do it will be glorious!

Well, I am still alive...

So I've not been blogging. This is true. I actually tried a few posts but they were rejected. This was also right after the time my Gmail account was hacked so I think there was some protection going on there. Trying to fix the mobile blogging today since that's the only way I'll probably ever post regularly with pictures.

So what have I been doing? Well, I've been doing some hand applique and I did finish The Quilt That Never Ends after it came back from the quilter. Right noe I'm working on a baby quilt for a friend and then I'm going back to applique for a bit.

Craftiness has been down and work has been up. It will probably be that way through the end of the summer. But I still have my monster sewing sessions 2-3 times a month, so it gets made up for. I also did some scrapping this month and am almost done with Miagi's book. It will be bittersweet and very hard to write that last page.

If I can get the mobile blogging back up you'll see a post in a few minutes on the baby quilt.

Under Construction

This is indeed a sad state of affairs. Life has gotten in the way in the past month and some has been accomplished but certainly not documented. The focus in the next two weeks is balance. Balance in work, crafty-ness, fitness and sleep. Tonight I started by tackling a small corner that has been bugging me for awhile. My crafting area is a giant mess and thongs have been piling up. Tonight I cleaned up some while talking with a friend on the phone. It's still a disaster.

Busy as a bee!

Thursday: binding on The Quilt That Never Ends.

Friday: ironing fabric

Saturday: Hand Appliqué class at Prairie Point Quilt Shop with Tina

Sunday: Appliqué project and binding during the Super Bowl

Monday: tonight I pinned on another stem on the hand appliqué project. Late day so not much accomplished but will catch up tomorrow with sewing.

Sent from my iPhone

February 2011 Quilting Projects

I can't believe January is over! I didn't finish everything I had wanted, but still did some good work.

I finished the Turning Twenty quilt top and the first row of Civil War Stars. I also worked on the binding for Building Nests. That continues to be a good tv/movie activity.

I also signed up for a Hand Quilting class at Prairie Points Quilt Shop with Tina. It isn't until April though so I'll need to work on some other stuff for awhile. I wanted to sign up for the Hand Applique class but it's full. I'm on a waitlist though. Fingers Crossed!

February's plan:

UFO: Binding on The Quilt That Never Ends - Finish

Civil War Stars: Row 2
Stars Around the Garden: Stems on Center Applique
Scrap Happy: Cutting
Pink Bliss: Row 1

Civil War Stars: Row 1

This is the first row of my Civil War Stars quilt. This was a row by row project that I picked up at Rustic Yearnings back in 2008 and just never got to. This year I plan to do one row a month so that I complete it before the year is up.

Turning Thirty Done

I still haven't placed it on a bed to see if it needs another border but it is finished as long as it doesn't need the extra border. I put the blocks together at Quilt Block Party and the border was sewn at Jodie's Cabin Quilt Group.

Now I'm really a slacker!

I have not crafted much this month, which is odd since it's been so cold and snowy. Work-work has been so busy lately that I've been spending a lot of evenings catching up at home. I did go Scrapbooking one evening at Archivers, so that helps balance everything out. I'm trying to get more work done at work and less work in the evenings at home.

Tomorrow is Quilt Block Party. I'm taking my Turning Twenty and hoping to get the blocks together. I'd also like to buy the border fabric while I am at JoAnns. I might take Civil War Stars to cut out the first row (optomistic, I know).

Although I've been slacking a bunch, I have done some binding on The Quilt That Never Ends. Just a couple of movie nights away from being finished I hope.

Scraping Organization

Tonight I sat in front of the TV and organized my scrapbook paper into sleeves. This is the first part of my cleaning up and out of my scrapbooking supplies. Next task is to organize letters and embellishments in a cropper hopper I have.

Blocks Completed

Tonight I pieced together the Turning Twenty blocks while watching the A&M game. Hopefully will finish the top this weekend.

I'm a slacker

I didn't work on anything last night. Just too tired getting back into the swing of things. But tonight I finished cutting the fabric for my Turning Twenty quilt. Plan is to have blocks put together by this weekend so I can go get border and background fabric.

Turning Twenty Cutting

It's actually Turning Thirty. I chose to make the larger version so that I can use it on a bed. I started cutting out the blocks tonight bit of course got bored very quickly. I hate cutting, especially this type where I have to turn the fabric and subcut. Just not my thing. I'm hoping to finish the cutting tomorrow and start sewing this week.

Happy New Year 2011!

I haven't been posting a lot lately but I was working my butt off trying to finish some sewing and scrapbooking Christmas projects. I made baked potato cookers, tissue box cozies and vacation scrapbooks as Christmas presents. I really went all Iola Boylen this year!

We've also had a death in the family. My cat Miagi died on Christmas night from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. It's basically heart disease for cats. We only had a week from the time he was diagnosed until we had to send him to Heaven to spend with him, and I tried to make the most of it. I've been having a hard time, crying at the drop of the hat. But it will get better.

I'm trying to look forward to the new year and how I want to organize my crafting. I feel like I got a little burned out last year working on one project until it was done. So I think I want to take some of the larger projects I have and break them up into smaller chunks which can be tackled in one month. Then I can plan to get a little done on each project each month.

I was pleasantly surprised to get both my Big Block Throw and The Quilt That Never Ends back from the quilter before Christmas. I worked on the binding for those quilts on the long drive to and from Texas and while we were at my mom's house. I finished the Big Block Throw while in Texas and began the binding for the other on the way back.

My plan for January is as follows:

UFO: Binding on The Quilt That Never Ends

Civil War Stars: Row 1
Stars Around the Garden: Stems on Center Applique
Scrap Happy: Cutting
Pink Bliss: Row 1

Other Projects:
Turning Twenty

I'm sure there will be some other projects added as I can think of them but this is the plan for January.