Feline Friday - 9/28/12

Greetings on this Fine Friday morning to my Fellow Feline Furrreinds!!!

If you care to join your humans in the loo, please make sure the seat is down. Don't ask me how I know this.

This PSA was brought to you by Squeaky, who adds that no felines were harmed in the making of this PSA!

Final ADK photos

I promise these are the last pictures of the Adirondacks I will subject you to this year!

There were a couple chipmunks at our campsite. Alvin was naughty and would climb the tables and steal grapes or whatever was sitting there. Chippy, on the other hand, was a little shy. He would eat from this plate we left for him or eventually, he would eat from our fingers. Fun!

On Saturday we went to the Fabric & Fiber Festival at the Adk Museum. I didn't take a lot of pictures as it was cold and rainy - plus I had just been there in July. The festival included knitting, crocheting, art quilts and a lot of things in between. I bought some hand dyed antique buttons and 2 cutting boards cut like a sitting cat and a tiny piglet. Forgot to photograph those...

The museum has 2 over sized chairs and where better to relax than in an Adk Chair?!

This next quilt was one of my favorites. The lady had taken birch bark, backed it with something thin and used it for the borders of her picture quilts. With the piping, it looks just like typical Adirondack architectural elements. She said it dries out a little in the winters so she spritzes it with water and it's back to normal.

This next quilt is such a simple design but I have some of the very same chickadee fabric and now I know what to do with it :^)

This is Blue Mountain Lake and you can just barely make out the colors coming to the trees. It was a little more vibrant in person but the clouds masked a lot of it.

That's it for 2012 camping pictures. Next month I'll be able to book my site for next summer...I'm aiming for a lakeside site!

A day off!

I had yesterday off. I was supposed to go to a ceremony at Cordelia A. Green Library (I'm a trustee/secretary) where we were supposed to be presented a hefty check from our local Senator - but he cancelled his trip :^(

Instead I spent the day sewing and quilting!!!! Here's just a smidge of what I accomplished...

You will remember from Monday that I quickly pieced this runner over the weekend...I also decided to keep the quilting simple as it's for the Christmas Bazaar and less quilting means it's cheaper and therefore more likely to sell. I've had this FQ bundle for quite some time. It's pretty but turns out it's not good quality and I'm happy to have finally found a use for it.

I had a few pieces left over so I put together a quick Twister mug rug. The blue is the backside of the runner.

I also quilted another runner, again very simply.

It was good to have a day at home and I feel that I got a lot accomplished, even if I didn't show it all here.

Did you know that it's almost Missy's Birthday??!! Hop on over to her blog where she is having a Giveaway at the end of this week - don't miss out!

Design Wall Monday - 9/24/12

I whipped up this little table runner over the weekend based on a pattern handed out during our last Guild meeting. I am not sure of the original source as the pattern was typed on a computer but had hand drawn diagrams.

The front is made from just 3 fat quarters.

Sew 5.5", 2.5" and 7.5" strips together. Make 2 sets.

Subcut the strip sets into 4.5" units for a total of 8 units.

Rotate 4 of them 180 degrees and sew them together. Trim the ends to a point.

That was easy!

Feline Friday - 9/21/12

It's been a little chilly around here lately and that is the perfect reason to make burritos -
Feline Burritos!

And trust me, that purple afghan is mighty warm :)

OK Kitties - what have you all been you to?! Don't forget to tell your furr-einds to link up too! Do you think we can beat our record of 6 links?

Grandmothers Choice #3 Union Square

Two weeks ago, when I posted GC#1, I commented that I was hoping to find a ruler with 1/16 markings since the 4" blocks were a pain to make with all the crazy sizes I would need to cut. Lillian spoke up immediately to tell me about a ruler she had bought in the garment section of Joanne's. Our closest Joanne's is 50 miles away so I waited until my trip to the ADK last week and made a wide detour to the store on the way to the Thruway.

 I actually found 3 different rulers in the garment and quilting departments that would have worked. Two of them were thin and bendable and the last I found was thicker - and also the cheapest. Go Figure! Anyway, it was much easier to make this week's block with the new ruler. I think now the hardest part of the project will be finding a similar block in EQ7 (or drafting it so I can get the right sizes) since I don't have Blockbase yet. *Yet* being the key term...

Leaf peeping from the top of Rocky Mt

Last Friday I climbed Rocky Mountain in the ADK Mountains. It was a shorter trip (only 1 mile round trip and 50 feet shorter in height) but it was a lot steeper than Bald Mt which I climbed in July. I'm not sure which I enjoyed more and it doesn't really matter cuz I hope to climb both again next summer :)

The mountain is appropriately named as there were rocks everywhere along the path and at the peak. Yes, this is part of the path.

 A lot of the trees had little dirt to grow in, instead growing over the rocks.

Because the trees are not well rooted, microbursts tend to do a lot of damage. These were recently knocked over as the leaves were still green.

The trail is often a little vague but marked with yellow trail markers. They are a little hard to see in the fall when the leaves are starting to turn from green to yellow-green. Can you find the marker in the next picture? I really needed to find this one and it was a little difficult. You will probably need to biggie size the photo.

However it's all worth it when you get to the top. You can see just how hazy it was on Friday - this was before the COLD front moved in much later in the day.

Looking north towards Inlet - Just a tinge of color



4th lake, looking south towards Eagle Bay.
One of those Mts is Bald Mt that I climbed in July.

 The tree colors were still very subtle. Maroons were most prevalent but by the end of the weekend there was more and more orange showing.

I know you'll believe me - but proof again that it was me at the top.

And just to warn you, at some point the thinner air gets to a person.

There were only a few other people that climbed the mountain while I was there, including a couple guys I did flirt with explain what I was working on.

I know it's hard to see thru the haze and dirty windshield but this is Rocky Mt taken from Eagle Bay looking north. The rocks at the peak are just to the right of that barn like building in the middle of the photo.

This was taken Sunday on my way home, heading south out of Inlet. You can see the cars parked at the trail head and the rock formation dead center, which is the peak. Look how much the leaves changed in just 3 days! Sunshine helps too.

I'll have one more set of photos to post next week...

Star Blossom #1 finished

This evening I am doing a demo at quilt guild on how to do hexies. I finished my Star Blossom as a part of my display items. Now I just need to decide on backing fabric...and then make another Blossom for the other end table.

Can you believe that I own not just one but two hexie shaped end tables??!! When I first got them a few years ago at an auction they were better than nothing and I had planned to change them out ASAP. They kinda grew on me (they do have storage underneath) and then I kinda became obsessed with hexies. 'Nuff said!

BTW - the papers for this project are a kit from PaperPieces. I got mine on sale but the pack is still quite affordable: http://paperpieces.com/contents/en-us/p898_13-7_8__Star_Blossom.html

DWM & HeLP!!

Hello! Hello! Yes, it is Design Wall Monday but it is also HeLP for Hexieaholics or Hexie Linky Party time. Woot Woot.

First a little housekeeping - my blog was spammed 50+ times this weekend with some wonderful drug buying opportunities so I had to turn on word verification. Trust me, I want if off as fast as you but I don't know how else to deter the spammers and I don't think moderation will do it but I am open to all suggestions. I'll leave it on for a week and hope they have moved on. Sorry :(

Sew, as some of you know, I went camping for another 4 days in the Adirondacks this past weekend. I took a few photos while leaf peeping and I'll post them later this week. I also got to do a lot of hexies!!! I worked on larger projects around the camp site but I also carried a smaller project on day trips to the museum, craft show and mountain climbing. Yup - I need a HeLP. LOL!

The first project I worked on was another Rose Star block. The pieces were already basted so I was able to get this block together my first evening. It needs a good pressing.

Again these Star Blossom pieces were all basted before my trip and the center was already together, but I got all the side sections together and just need to attach the last 4 to the mothership. I should be able to finish this in another evening. When I will have such an evening available, I do not yet know...

And last but not least, I also assembled these pre-basted kites into 4 centers for more hexie puzzles. I do not have the triangles basted yet but this is a nice small project I need to get packed for carrying around with me.

Oh and before I forget - look at the book that arrived while I was gone! I cannot wait to have some time to look this over - there are about a zillion ideas for piecing hexies in here. Have any of you ordered a copy yet? Kansas City Star/Pickeldish is selling them but if you order from the author she will autograph it. Lemme know if you need the web address.

UPDATE: Mickey's blog is http://itsafiberlife.blogspot.com/ and you can buy the book at http://www.mdquilts.com/shop.html

Now then - lets get some HeLP for my fellow hexieaholics - share the projects you have been working on or even dreaming about! I don't care if you haven't picked up the project in a week or a year, lets see what your projects are. They can be any shape, as long as they are English Paper Piecing. The only rule is that you must link to a specific blog post and not to your blog as a whole. Let the HeLP-ing begin and don't forget the next party will be October 17th!
!

Feline Friday - 9/14/12

Today is a continuation of yesterday's little doll quilt. But maybe Pepper thinks it should be for him because he wanted to help me out!

At first he tried to hold down my leader/ender basket pieces but I convinced him to do otherwise. It was a little crowded with my mess to the left but I just don't care and he didn't seem to either   :)

OK, my friends, Let's see what you and your felines have been up to recently. Please remember to link to an individual blog post and not your entire blog. Let me know if you need help with that. The party will stay open until midnight Monday.

September Small Quilt Challenge

Have you been following along with Kathleen's Small Quilt Challenge over at A Sentimental Quilter? Kathleen has written several books featuring doll quilts and every month this year she has picked a pattern for us to make. She even set a schedule of spending one week each on picking fabric, piecing blocks, adding borders and finishing the quilt. Easy Peasy in theory, unless you have a crazy schedule like someone I know and that meant I spent more time dreaming than stitching. Until this month!!!

This month's project is a freebie posted on her website so of course I printed it out to add to the wish list. Last night I was trying to pick up the studio and was going to move the pattern to the pattern pile when I walked past several coordinated half yards that I had gotten in Houston last year. I just knew I could use those fabrics to make this darling quilt. Last night I cut out all the pieces except for the outer border and this morning I sewed the center block together. That pretty much puts me on schedule since I can put borders on next week.

These fabrics (Catkin) are adorable and I'm thrilled I finally found the right project! I hope you can pick out the stretching cats in the center yellow blocks.

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Grandmothers Choice block #2 - Amethyst - 4" 

Arrowhead Tablerunner

The picture is a little dark because it was so sunny out this morning ... a good problem to have!

A quick little table runner I've put together.

It's made with 3 full and 1 disassembled Anita's Arrowhead blocks. I'll do the ends different next time so I don't have to frog stitch so much.

I have the same floral fabric for the backing and I have a green for binding. This and maybe another will be finished for Christmas Bazaars.





Everyone has Matchbox cars on their windowsills, right?!

Design Wall Monday - 9/10/12

I have a single, very pathetic, picture for you today...

It's a cute and simple little mug rug based on something I saw online yesterday. All I had to do was pull some 3.5" squares out of a box and wa-la! I just need to find a backing in the scrap bins and I am sure I can find some binding scraps as well.

I added the lingerie fabric to spice up the picture for you! It's leftover from some scrap trimming I did over the weekend. I trimmed scraps for 3 scrappy projects and the rest went into strip bins. Not an overwhelming accomplishment but any progress is better than none, right?!

Ahh...the other upside is that I took that stupid, dead iron to Walmart and before even telling the lady the whole story, she said "it has problems" and told me to get a new one off the shelf - no questions, no receipt. It's the same iron so it could have the same problems but if they will keep replacing it, so be it. On the suggestion of several people, I did not add water to the iron for the whole weekend but by Sunday night I just couldn't take it any more and added water...I'm much happier :)

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Don't forget that next Monday is the 17th and will be the next installment of HeLP for Hexie-aholics. Please come back and join in our HExie Linky Party!!
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Feline Friday - 9/7/12

The kids are still having fun with the boxes. I've placed them all into the top box but Midgie is the only cat who jumps back up into it later - and not even for treats, just 'cuz...

What are your kids UP to? Be sure to link up below...

Selvages

Without an iron, there are only so many projects I am willing to work on but a recent squishy from Janet put me in the mood to work on my selvage blocks.

I sewed the pairs together into foursies and I paired each of Janets selvages with another selvage I already had. I'll continue making pairs at this point but once I can press the foursies, I'll measure them and see if I need another pair or two to make it the proper size. Then I can trim them to 6.5" square and add them to the quilt.

This is a nice easy long term project if anyone is interested in making one - and it's especially nice to include selvages from friends near and wide.

Grandmothers Choice #1

Have you all seen the new Grandmother's Choice blog? Barbara Brackman is doing another block of the week that will share the history of US women seeking the right to vote. Blocks will be posted each Saturday and there will be 49 blocks total.

I've decided to do mine in batiks, given the recent stash enhancement! The black I am using is also a batik - it has a little blue in it but it's so small I don't think it will show up much. The blog shows 3 different color ways for each block and I'll be doing mine as if it's a 2 color quilt but each block will have a different batik.

The first block was posted on Saturday, 9/1/12 and I completed mine almost on schedule :)

There were 2 problems with making my block, however.

1.

I decided to do the 4" block size. Have y'all tried cutting pieces that are 1 3/16"? I would appreciate suggestions for a good acrylic ruler that has 16ths on it. For now we'll ignore that my block isn't perfect - and we can because it will all be hidden in the seam allowance.

2.

My iron was banished to the front sidewalk. As you may recall from this post back in April, the iron wasn't yet 6 months old and leaking. This weekend it was making some extra noises and then I smelled something awful. Burning plastic! The thing was smoking up a storm and smelled horrid for hours. I unplugged the cord immediately and fought to get it unwound from my table so that I could deposit it outside. Harumph. My GC block and several others were finished with a "wooden iron" but it's just not the same. Mom and Dad think I should take the iron back to Walmart and demand a refund...

Giveaway winners!

Today is the day when I get to announce winners for my giveaways! Yeah!!! I hope y'all like the prizes as much as I do.

I had two sponsors that helped me greatly with these prizes:

Creekside Fabrics and Quilts . 237 Main St, Arcade, NY 14009. 585-492-4226
Sandy donated the 3 cat related fabrics. I asked for a panel and a few fat quarters and she generously sent much more than that. I've saved a small bit to be used in a future hexie linky party giveaway - probably for my birthday in a few months. Last I heard, Sandy still had more of the cat fabrics if you wanted to call and order more. Tell her I sent you...

PaperPieces.com 1-800-337-1537
JoAnne was very generous when I wrote and asked if they would donate to my giveaway. I was expecting a few items but she offered books and asked what else I would like. I may not be their biggest customer (I get all my EPP supplies from them (or my local store who buys from them), which makes them my fav online store!) but they were happy to spread this obsession I call hexies! I do hope you'll check out their website for free patterns and lots of supplies. It's very user friendly and you can order online or give them a jingle on their toll free number. My latest fav item are the acrylic templates. I never thought I would use them until I got into fussy cutting fabric...and now I can't seem to live without them. Again, let them know I sent you if you buy something.

Ok, onto the prizes!!!

The first giveaway was for Feline Friday - 8/17/12. We had 10 entries and I asked random.org to pick a number.

Oh, you are never gonna guess who that is! Denise??!!! Are you there??!!

Denise you win this adorable cat panel. I have one myself that I can't decide what to do with - so I'm waiting very patiently to see what you do.

 

The next giveaways were for my 500th post which turned out to be the first monthly hexie linky party. There are 2 that contain the same items. One prize is for hexie linky party name suggestions and the other will be picked by random.org.

These packages include the Hex-A-Holic Handbook, 3/4" and 2" hexie papers as well as a 2" hexie acrylic template. I think the cat fabric would be adorable fussy cut for 2" hexies. I also threw in some hexie fabric, chocolate and a spool of my favorite hexie thread: Bottom Line. The tea bags are from a local source. Paws from the unwilling model are NOT included. I will however throw in an additional FQ of the winners fav color.

It was hard choosing a winner for helping with the hexie name but Mr. Random helped me out in the end. The funniest suggestion came from Judy and I just couldn't resist laughing. PMS Hexies was just hilarious to me - it's short for Pepper Midgie and Squeaky, my kids! I may figure out a way to use that for something else.

The last winner was picked by Mr Random and it just happens that I had decided to use Ruth's idea for a name. Ruth suggested that we call the party HELP, which stands for HExie Linky Party. I'm going with HELP for Hexieaholics. Do you like it or am I totally off my rocker?

Anyway...if Judy and Ruth get back to me (I'll send you emails later today, work is crazy) I'll get your packages out to you. Congrats to all and I'm looking forward to your hexie updates on Monday, 9/17/12.