A Quilt for My Mama

Tomorrow is Mother's Day and I made my Mama a little quilt. I chose soft colors and low volume in fabrics that reminded me of her and a simple square block I could quilt myself. 

I used bits of leftovers for a scrappy binding.

The quilting is all straight lines on either side of each seam. This was the most fun I've had quilting, ever. I will use this again as it was such a pleasure and so relaxing.

I took the quilt to my parent's house and used their pretty brick wall for some photos.

You can see the soft, butter yellow backing fabric.

It is a very little quilt, only 42 x 60 after washing.

It might be small but it's perfect for my Mama.

Happy Mother's Day, Mama!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Can't Keep Up!

I'm running about 12 days behind on my blog reader. I've only made four posts so far this month. I haven't finished or finished-finished either of the two cross stitch pieces I showed you on Tuesday. My studio is in disarray, as happens when I create. Dash and I spent hours at the Apple Store getting the batteries in our phones and my iPad replaced. They broke my phone when they were working on it so I got a brand new one and a new iPad as well since they don't replace the batteries in those on site. This had me spending hours getting everything set back up, remembering passwords and waiting for updates and all that. I got to have lunch with a friend last week and we sat in Olive Garden for four hours talking! I get a little ahead on some things and way behind in others!

I did get the little quilt basted:

I set up my 8-foot folding table in the front room, clamp everything tight and pin the layers together. The quilt gets shifted to pin the sides, careful to not get the layers wonky.  A little quilt like this doesn't take long at all. The tool you see helps close the pins. Lots of people hate basting. I don't mind it at all. I've quilted all the ups and downs on the long rows and I'm ready to do the short ones, maybe today.

Miss Molly is still ornery as ever. Sometimes I stay up late and craft and Molly keeps me company. She will happily chew her bones or nap. Unlike while watching TV she's pestering constantly to play fetch! But often, late at night as I'm stitching and it's quiet, Molly lets out a long, low, snarling growl behind me for possibly thinking of stealing her bone! OMG! You crazy dog!

Mom! Stop coveting my bones!

I get a couple years of life scared out of me at least twice a week.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox 

Mystery Monday, Part 6, 7, 8 & 9

When I left off blogging about the Mystery Quilt I was sewing clue five which was lots of chocolate flying geese. I finally completed those and cut peach/melon triangles for clue six. 

Clue six was adding those triangles to the chocolate/aqua triangles I had already sewn.

These units didn't take much time once I sat my butt down and did them. It was the getting off the couch from tiredness that took the longest. I'm still recovering from the holidays, I think.

Then, Bonnie took a wild hare and started throwing clues at us - bam! Bam! Bam! Four days - four clues in a row! Without the weekly deadline for each clue, I've fallen way behind. I'm much better with deadlines.

Bam! Part seven was sewing peach/melon geese to chocolate geese.

Again, these were a fast clue. Again...I took forever!

My bobbin was running low so I decided to just chain until it went out. It went out right as I finished the pile of goosey pairs! Ha! I did a quick clean up of my machine and wound more bobbins.

Bam! Part eight was to put some units into blocks. Like this:

I have ONE completed. Oh, I see I lost a goose nose. I don't die over it but I will make a point to be a little more careful with the rest. Pun intended.

Before I make the rest of the blocks I gotta remove all these dog ears I was too lazy to remove earlier. Why, why was I so lazy??? I'm kidding, of course. But it is boring. Time consuming. Damn dog ears. 

Bam! Part nine is laying out the blocks I haven't finished with sashing I haven't sewn together and setting triangles I haven't cut yet. Stay tuned It's getting there. One day. First, I'm trimming these stupid dog ears...

I'm linking up with Mystery Monday Link-Up, Part 6, 7, 8, 9!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Mystery Quilt Week 5

Once again I'm late for the link up! Christmas busyness took the wind right out of my sewing sails. Always too much to do and never enough time...and we don't even do big celebrations. Whew!

This week's clue was a repeat of clue two - flying geese but in chocolate and neutrals. Easy enough, especially this busy week. HA! And I'm not even done!

This is all that are complete. Maybe 40?

My duty today is to turn the rest of these neat piles into a honking lot of flying geese before the next clue comes out tomorrow morning! And I will lose a few hours as I have sent a shopping list to Dash to pick up the items I need to cook Chinese/Thai for our dinner. I am in desperate need of stir-fry and Jasmine rice.

Better get hopping!

Linking up with Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Tuesday Link-Up, Part 5.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Mystery Quilt Week 4

I'm terribly late for the Mystery Monday Link Up, Part 4! So I'm having Mystery Monday on a Wednesday. Let's spice things up!

This weeks clue is a unit new to me, pieced triangles. I've never made them but following Bonnie's instructions, they are a breeze. Do you like my little Christmas tree?

I spent Friday and Saturday cutting the pieces. Bonnie's Essential Triangle Tool is fabulous for making these - so easy.

These are nice to sit down and cut and watch Netflix. 

Once I had the pieces cut, I sewed a trial unit and it came out perfect. I did forget to swipe to the "square" option on my camera...

Then it was easy to set all the aqua/turquoise out so I could get them randomly paired with the chocolates. Sew 20 and iron, finish sewing the 20 and iron and repeat and repeat. Half are finished, I've been dawdling in making them. Hey, I can't finish them too quickly or I'll have nothing to do until Friday when the next clue is released!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox 

Mystery Quilt Week Three

I finished up with the second clue right after Bonnie posted the third clue of our On Ringo Lake mystery quilt. I'm so pleased I've been keeping up!

Here are the first two clues all finished up. Aren't the colors scrumptious? I think the best thing about finding Bonnie Hunter's blog was learning to look at fabrics by the true color not the print. Best of all, I learned it early on in my quilting journey so I don't have to unlearn anything! 

As soon as I finished up clue two I got clue three all cut out. Cutting went quicker this time, I'm learning to trust this arm again!

Just a few more of clue three, left side to finish. Then we do this same block going the other direction. I do hope the ghost doesn't freak anybody out. There's plenty of wee mushrooms, bunnies, birdies and flowers to soothe.

Sewing is going a little slower as physical therapy on my broken arm is cutting into my free time.  The exercises are boring and painful. But hey! I can wash my hair with both hands again, yippee! 

I'm linking up with Mystery Monday Link-Up, Part 3.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Mystery Quilt Week Two

It's the second week of the Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt! This week we have a clue that not only can be a tricky block to make correctly...we have to make a lot of them!

With my broken arm still healing, cutting remains a challenge. I have no stamina. Three full days into this clue (plus some) and I am still cutting my pieces!

Flying Geese

I have all the peach/melon fabrics cut and I'm starting on the neutrals. The colors are so lovely. I did grab a few scrap fabrics and sewed a test block to make sure what method I wanted to use. Since I am so slow this year, I think I will do the tried-and-true line-drawing-on-squares rather than try the folded corners ruler. I did buy the ruler but will save learning it for another time.

I'm terribly pleased with the finished first clue. They are just so wonderful! The aqua/turquoise goes so well with the peach/melon. This is going to be a beautiful quilt.

You can join in too! All the instructions are free on Bonnie's blog but it's only free until about February, then you would have to purchase. You can download the all the clues each week and save them, even if you don't have time now to start it.

I'm linking up to Mystery Sunday Link Up, part 2.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

I Can Sew!

I can! I can sew just fine! I have no stamina, but with lots of breaks to rest my very tired arm, I can iron, cut and sew!

I had great news at the doctor's visit on Tuesday, my x-rays showed the bone was healing very nicely and I was instructed to go about sling-free and to move my arm as much as possible. I am free! Well, almost! I can't lift my arm very high and I have little strength but I start physical therapy next week to help with that. I spent the last three days happily pottering about in my studio.

I got all my strip sets sewn and cut. 

Before I knew it I had the first clue all finished! The second clue came out this morning and can start cutting those pretty peachy fabrics and sew flying geese. Lots and lots of flying geese.

The weather has been mild enough for me to leave the back door open and let Molly pretend to be an indoor/outdoor dog. She mercilessly teases the four little neighbor dogs and you can see some of them lined up at the fence,  begging for her attention.

"Sorry, Mom. I can't help it if those little yappy dogs bark like mad every time I run laps!"

Dash has been out of town all week for work and Molly has been quite worried. She will be so happy this evening when he returns! I still can't play fetch correctly, my aim has disappeared! Molly cheerfully fetches whatever object she's brought me to throw even though it went wonky. Probably good practise and exercise for me, as my hobbies are. All this cutting and sewing and moving...I think I can already move a little easier even though I'm pretty sore!

I am off to start more cutting and sewing. Flying geese, here I come!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Mystery Quilt Week One

When I broke my arm, I was in the big middle of cleaning and organizing my studio in preparation for the Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt On Ringo Lake. It's taken me every bit of effort to get the studio finished (mostly) and my fabrics purchased. Being one armed isn't for sissies!

I took a photo from every corner of my studio. The main thing I did was move one bookcase to stand beside it's brother and put the sewing cabinets back-to-back so Fern and Jake could be out at the same time. I only wish I had company...we could sew together!

Ironing is slow going! I'm glad to have the Oliso so I don't have to lift so much! The ironing motion is very close to one of the exercises I need to do so I'm doing that and looking very silly! I do most of my cutting on the end of the ironing station. Power Cutting, you don't need much room!

Not much ever changes at the stitchy desk where the computer lives.

I must close the door to get a ruler or my mini ironing board. Or the dog gate if Molly is being obnoxious! She loves to herd the spray starch!

Here are most of my Mystery Quilt fabrics. Mostly fat quarters and a bit of yardage. A lot of the neutrals are still on the shelf when this photo was taken.

I still have to iron most of the chocolate and all the aqua before I can move on to more cutting and then sewing. 

I do have all the neutrals ironed and the strips cut for the first clue. I have a broken arm and it takes forever to do stuff! But I am doing it! I don't even know if I can sew yet...I guess I will find out!

Linking up (late) to the first Mystery Monday Link Up Party!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Long Haul

The New Moon is today...have you polished your ORT jars? My broken arm doesn't allow me to do much but I have been able to put a few stitches in. Look! Two whole ORTs!

I'm five weeks in now with this arm. Slow going, but I'm in it for the long haul, right? Speaking of long hauls, the last time les moutons came out to play was 2009, started in 2007.

I can't say I've enjoyed stitching the last few bits here but at least I can stitch if I set my mind to it. I can't make an upsweep with my arm to pull the thread through but a few tugs on the thread brings it up. Long haul. Sigh!

I can't wait to use my arm again!

=^..^=

Now it is YOUR turn...we want to see your ORTs! Leave a comment on this post with a link to your November TUSAL post so we can come visit! If I hold a Totally Useless giveaway your comment will earn you an extra entry.

Wondering what a TUSAL is and why all these people are posting pictures of rubbish? Click here to learn more and join the fun!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Stuff & Thangs

Too much life and not enough sewing...I need more free time! Lots of what free time I do have has been spent watching the Andy Tube channel on YouTube. Andy teaches vintage sewing machines. I am learning so much about my machines and have been gathering supplies needed to take one apart and restore it. Andy is doing a series right now on a Singer 404, step by step, take it apart, clean it and put it back together. It is so interesting!

The other day I stopped by Walmart to get a French bread, ham and Swiss cheese to make sandwiches for dinner. Heading to checkout I passed by the fabric area and discovered it packed full of clearance fabric. I picked up an entire bolt of this navy blue print on white, perfect for the backing on the Dresden plate quilt! Best of all the fabric was $1.50 a yard so I got 8.5 yards for $12.75! I am not kidding! 

How is the Dresden plate coming along? Slowly. It would go faster if I actually sewed on it, right? I tried a few of the scrappy corners and I think I like the look so I am working on the rest of those today.

These blocks are so big! They seem to have taken over my studio. Big blocks will probably make for a lightening fast "putting together" when I get to it.

I need to come up with a border idea for this one. Suggestions?

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Dresden Fun

I nearly titled this post, "The Dresden Files" but figured that was too nerdy, ha ha! Since returning home from retreat I continued on with the Dresden Plate blocks. These are insanely fun to create. Sewing all the points, snipping corners and turning them out, pressing then sewing again. 

The mini ironing board was invaluable and the little Steamfast iron cannot come more highly recommended! I must remember how handy this set-up is the next time I have blocks requiring a lot of pressing in between sewing. It was so nice to just turn and press instead of gathering everything up and taking it all to the pressing station then carrying it all back to the machine. Plus, I can sew my seam and press it right off instead of waiting and pressing everything at the end.

Once I got all the plates together and stitched to the block it was time to make circles. I found a round jar top that covered my holes neatly and drew circles on the wrong side of my fabric. I used iron-on interfacing, glue side toward the right side of my fabric and stitched right on the drawn line. I cut them out and made a little slit in the interfacing, and turned the fabric making sure it lay smooth and round.

These got ironed onto the centers on the plates.

Then again using the blanket stitch got secured. It's almost invisible but when you do see the sewing it is pretty stitches to see!

Now I have all 16 plates finished. It's quite a pile! I need to decide how I want to put them together. 

I have the idea to sew a folded corner square to each inside corner, giving me an on point square when the blocks are sewn. This would eliminate the large area of blank white space between the plates. I just can't decide how large? Ideas? The white blocks themselves are 21 inches. Decision time. These cry out to be finished! I also need to go run that long arm again before I forget everything!

I have been on a bit of an adventure these past couple of weeks and maybe my next post will tell you about it? I think it's quite exciting and I am looking forward to sharing with you!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox