I did it myself.
Don't ask why...I didn't even tell Momma why.
Friday, June 30, 2017
Feline Friday - 6/30/17
Just so you know...Momma didn't put me here...
I did it myself.
Don't ask why...I didn't even tell Momma why.
I did it myself.
Don't ask why...I didn't even tell Momma why.
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Monday, June 26, 2017
Design Wall Monday and some goodies but oldies
I put in a lot of time on my secret brown-bag-challenge project in the last week so there isn't a lot that I can share today. Luckily that project will be done before this weekend - a whole week early. Woohoo!
I'm now working on adding white sashing to a third blue rosette.
I had originally planned to take the sashed rosettes and the pile of yellow/orange rosettes and start putting them together while camping but I changed my mind!! Ha! I decided the pieces were too big to pack safely - I've got plenty of rosettes kitted up and I can continue to add white or gray sashing to any of the blue rosettes while camping.
I am also expecting to be asked to do another hexie trunk show later this summer so maybe it's also time to work on finishing some other smaller (ie quicker) projects that I can share. I just need to finalize what those little "quickies" will be. Don't worry, there are several to choose from! And BTW - I'll probably change my mind on all of this as the summer progresses (meaning before AND after camping).
I was again granted Friday's off work for July and August. They are historically labeled as No Housework Fridays meaning I can hike and sew to my hearts content All. Day. Long. Woohoo!!
I'm very excited that I just ordered a quilting ruler that I need to quilt my owl quilt and I also found out that a LQS is going to start carrying Westalee rulers. Just last week I printed out the 40+ page catalog and was trying to decide what to order, both for the owl quilt but also because I want a spirograph type design for the temp quilt. I doubt they will carry every ruler so that will help narrow my choices down!! My first Friday off will be 7/7 so you can expect to see some ruler quilting in the following blog post. That or just a picture of me in total breakdown mode, face shiny with tears. Lets hope for the first.
Dang this got wordy today. How about I share a couple goodies from my archives that I shared with Chantal yesterday:
This was from my foundation paper piecing days, before my current English paper piecing days. Yes!! I was once obsessed with something other than hexies.
I was too lazy to take it off the wall but the bottom is only 10" wide. I'm guessing that makes it just 12" or 13" high.
This wall hanging started from the snail trail cat pattern found in a magazine. I then learned of pieced letters from a blog and found the phrase on a cat-a-day calendar.
Can you see all the crosshatching around the cats? That was done by eye and it took FOREVER but it really makes the cats pop. The border has orange peels
I had intended to hang this over my bed when the bedroom was finally painted/redecorated but now I'm thinking it's kinda morbid for a bedroom (where I sleep alone/with my cat!) so I've decided to hang it in the Quilt Lab which is the next room to be redone. More people will see it in the lab so I think it's a win!
Linking to Design Wall Monday and Monday Making!
I'm now working on adding white sashing to a third blue rosette.
I had originally planned to take the sashed rosettes and the pile of yellow/orange rosettes and start putting them together while camping but I changed my mind!! Ha! I decided the pieces were too big to pack safely - I've got plenty of rosettes kitted up and I can continue to add white or gray sashing to any of the blue rosettes while camping.
I am also expecting to be asked to do another hexie trunk show later this summer so maybe it's also time to work on finishing some other smaller (ie quicker) projects that I can share. I just need to finalize what those little "quickies" will be. Don't worry, there are several to choose from! And BTW - I'll probably change my mind on all of this as the summer progresses (meaning before AND after camping).
I was again granted Friday's off work for July and August. They are historically labeled as No Housework Fridays meaning I can hike and sew to my hearts content All. Day. Long. Woohoo!!
I'm very excited that I just ordered a quilting ruler that I need to quilt my owl quilt and I also found out that a LQS is going to start carrying Westalee rulers. Just last week I printed out the 40+ page catalog and was trying to decide what to order, both for the owl quilt but also because I want a spirograph type design for the temp quilt. I doubt they will carry every ruler so that will help narrow my choices down!! My first Friday off will be 7/7 so you can expect to see some ruler quilting in the following blog post. That or just a picture of me in total breakdown mode, face shiny with tears. Lets hope for the first.
Dang this got wordy today. How about I share a couple goodies from my archives that I shared with Chantal yesterday:
This was from my foundation paper piecing days, before my current English paper piecing days. Yes!! I was once obsessed with something other than hexies.
I was too lazy to take it off the wall but the bottom is only 10" wide. I'm guessing that makes it just 12" or 13" high.
This wall hanging started from the snail trail cat pattern found in a magazine. I then learned of pieced letters from a blog and found the phrase on a cat-a-day calendar.
Can you see all the crosshatching around the cats? That was done by eye and it took FOREVER but it really makes the cats pop. The border has orange peels
I had intended to hang this over my bed when the bedroom was finally painted/redecorated but now I'm thinking it's kinda morbid for a bedroom (where I sleep alone/with my cat!) so I've decided to hang it in the Quilt Lab which is the next room to be redone. More people will see it in the lab so I think it's a win!
Linking to Design Wall Monday and Monday Making!
Friday, June 23, 2017
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Wednesday Weather and Pieced Hexies
This week's weather was pretty standard for June in Western NY. Starting in the 70s, jumping to the 80s and then back down to the 60s. I think this week I'll start writing down the actual temperatures to include with these weather reports since I think that's more interesting than generalizations.
I suppose it's about time I also admit that I've ALWAYS been a weather junkie, like I almost considered it as a career kind of a junkie. Don't hold it against me...
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| Almost done with a second white "sashing" |
And I should have known better than to work on something simple last weekend for Quilt in Public Day - now it's all I want to work on instead of my secret swap project or the UFO that I was making great strides on. There's no deadline for the UFO but the secret project has to be done in 16 days so I best get out my best taskmaster voice and get myself back to it.
It's hard to tell in the photos but I've got about 25 different white on white fabrics to use for the white sashing. I darkened the contrast on this photo hoping you can see some of them. I've got hexies, gingerbread men, polka dots, strips, cowboy boots, snowflakes and just about anything else I can find :)
Linking to Midweek Makers.
Monday, June 19, 2017
Design Wall Monday - 6/19/17
If you read my last post, you knew that Saturday was Quilt in Public day at my LQS. 9 people came to sew, including the store owners. It was funny to see people either staring at us or completely oblivious as they drove by. We even got honked at a few times. Don't know that we have any new quilters in our neck of the woods but it was a gorgeous day to stitch with friends.
As all y'all already guessed I brought hexies to work on. I had a couple small, random things to finish and after that I wanted something simple to work on in my lap. Simple was good cuz it turned out to be a hot, breezy day. While sitting there for 4 hours I got a good start on adding the white hexies to this pieced hexie rosette. I finished the white yesterday at Mom & Dad's house.
If I lay the new white parts out with some of the other pieces I've made for this quilt, I think it looks fantastic. I gave up trying to get a better picture with the gray skies this morning - it's sew much better in real life. I love the way the gray, white, purples, blues, greens, yellows and oranges all play off each other...
This quilt will be my focus for this year's camping trip. I've got kits made up to make more rosettes on mountain tops and while I'm lounging around my camp site I'll work on adding the gray or white backgrounds to the blue rosettes. I can't wait to see how much I can get accomplished since I'm looking forward to stitching all the little bits into something larger! Don't get me wrong - there is still a LOOOONG way to go on this quilt but I want to get some of it together as inspiration to keep moving forward with it.
Linking to Design Wall Monday and Monday Makers.
As all y'all already guessed I brought hexies to work on. I had a couple small, random things to finish and after that I wanted something simple to work on in my lap. Simple was good cuz it turned out to be a hot, breezy day. While sitting there for 4 hours I got a good start on adding the white hexies to this pieced hexie rosette. I finished the white yesterday at Mom & Dad's house.
If I lay the new white parts out with some of the other pieces I've made for this quilt, I think it looks fantastic. I gave up trying to get a better picture with the gray skies this morning - it's sew much better in real life. I love the way the gray, white, purples, blues, greens, yellows and oranges all play off each other...
This quilt will be my focus for this year's camping trip. I've got kits made up to make more rosettes on mountain tops and while I'm lounging around my camp site I'll work on adding the gray or white backgrounds to the blue rosettes. I can't wait to see how much I can get accomplished since I'm looking forward to stitching all the little bits into something larger! Don't get me wrong - there is still a LOOOONG way to go on this quilt but I want to get some of it together as inspiration to keep moving forward with it.
Linking to Design Wall Monday and Monday Makers.
Saturday, June 17, 2017
HeLP for Hexie-aholics - 6/17/17
I'm prepping this post on Friday so I thought I would first share my yard from last night...We had a "little" storm pass through late yesterday afternoon which dropped almost 2.5" of rain at my house! Yikes. I know it's hard to see through the screen door but I outlined the "puddle" (twice as big as if it were a random spring thaw) which starts in Larry's yard and flows into mine where part is then diverted between our houses towards the street and the rest flows across my back yard and ends up in the low spot of Tina's yard.
We did need some rain (my clay yard was beginning to crack) but for now Mother Nature has left a lot of people with wet basements, fallen trees/limbs and flooded farm fields. I will admit to shedding a tear over my 2 remaining white peony blossoms that were mutilated. Boohoo.
Anyway...you aren't here to hear about the weather at my house...You're here to hear about hexie projects.
Oh wait - since I can't show you my secret brown-bag-challenge project for Hexie Club, we are back to the weather. Sorry!
Here's the last month of my Hexie Temperature Quilt!!
You can see the ups and downs that we had - we had lows in the high 50s (bright green) all the way up to the upper 80s (red). Today is another red hot day. A muggy, red hot day thanks to the rain.
Are you making a temperature quilt? Have you started stitching yours or are you waiting for a special day? Maybe you're just getting your fabrics ready? We would love to see your progress and I do hope you'll share photos of your temp quilt or any other hexie project. Remember - we love to see any project, of any age or paper shape.
One last bonus - today is Quilt in Public Day and if the weather holds, our Hexie Club will be hexing on the front lawn of our LQS. Is there some place you can quilt in public today and interest a new friend in learning EPP?!?
Friday, June 16, 2017
Feline Friday - 6/16/17
I'm not sure why Momma was grimacing and mumbling something about the Family Jewels when she was taking this picture...
I was just snoopervising her while she was sewing...
I luv to help Momma!
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Wednesday Weather Report, a squishy and flowers!
It's been a red hot week.
Yesterday there was a house fire a few streets from where I work. Those poor fire(wo)men with all their gear on in that bright afternoon sun were just sweating buckets. I'm sure they got tired of me pushing bottles of water and Gatorade at them but they needed it. They did jokingly ask for a portajohn but I couldn't help them with that. LOL. Now if only I had had some sunscreen with me...
Thankfully today is much, much cooler.
Today is an orange day, since you asked. Barely an orange day.
Earlier this week I received a squishy from Denise!!! Every other month we send each other a squishy based on a predetermined theme. This month was cats & birds. We were supposed to send one bird FQ, one cat FQ and either a cat or bird related gift. Neither of us follows the rules explicitly, as you already noticed.
I tried to get the approval of my new cat socks from the resident approver of all things here at Casa Grande but he was more interested in attacking my Sketchers.
And last but not least, I raided my garden this morning! Pink and white peonies, yellow iris and 2 kinds of hosta leaves. My office smells divine!
Linking to Midweek Makers #76.
Monday, June 12, 2017
Design Wall Monday - 6/12/17
Unfortunately I can't share the hexie project I'm working on with you. It's a surprise for hexie club - earlier this year we exchanged lunch bags of scraps in order to make something for the fabric owner and the item needs to be finished by our July meeting. I'm not sure if my person reads my blog so it's just better to keep it a secret until after the meeting. It's real pretty, I promise!
Instead, lets catch up on some recent projects and happenings...
The most exciting thing last week was meeting Ruth from The Yarnarian!!! I can't remember how long we've been emailing between our blogs but it's sooooo fun to meet another blogger. I've met 2 bloggers now.
We spent the morning exchanging gifts, sharing show-n-tell and gabbing on and on. Then we walked to down town Canandaigua, NY to a crepe place for lunch, Yumm!! We spent the afternoon stitching in the hotel lobby while Ruth's husband checked on us periodically during his conference. It's too bad he's retiring and won't be attending more conferences in NY so that we can meet up again. On the other hand...any time I'm down to NYC I have an invite :)
Here's the 2nd of my red and blue rosettes for our hexie club vet quilt project. It's not my favorite fussing cutting design but I was using scraps and this is what I had. Now to fussy cut the third rosette...
And two weekends ago, I cleaned all the surfaces in the Quilt Lab and then did some trimming and stitching.
I fussy cut purple and oranges to make a (future) Quatro Color quilt. I have the perfect purple and orange batik for the borders. I'm thinking this will be a good backup project to take camping since it fits so nicely in this yellow bin from Harbor Freight.
In an effort to clean up a box of blue, yellow and orange fabrics I am saving for my pieced hexie project I put together these 14 sets of pieced squares to make "cog" rosettes. These are going with the other blue and yellow/orange sets I had put together for my camping trip coming up soon. Between these and the Quatro Color I have plenty of work. These go together pretty fast so I'll still probably throw in a couple other projects for a change of pace.
Oh and BTW - remember the adage to measure twice/cut once?
I highly suggest to READ THE DIRECTIONS TWICE then measure twice and finally cut once. I had cut all the strips for these blocks to discover they were too big when it was time to sew. Luckily they were too big and not too small but it wasted a lot of time to trim them down later.
Piecing the hexie blocks also gave me the opportunity to work with some leader enders. I haven't worked on my puss in the Corner blocks in a long time so it was fun to make these as the scraps were getting trimmed from the Lab surfaces.
As a little ego thing - I finished another 5K on Saturday: I was the first finisher to walk the entire event (as opposed to alternating walking and running). Does it really matter? Only to me.
Even better...yesterday I went for a walk. Did I think I would go for such a long walk? Not quite so far but when I got to the Letchworth State Park entrance I thought I should go somewhere in the park. Had I planned to walk so far I would have started much, much earlier, before it got to be so damn hot. This is about my worst pace ever but given the heat, hills and wind it's not bad. As I've said before - I'm in it for the endurance. I've got mountains to climb this summer!!!!
Happy Monday!
Linking to Design Wall Monday and Monday Making!
Instead, lets catch up on some recent projects and happenings...
The most exciting thing last week was meeting Ruth from The Yarnarian!!! I can't remember how long we've been emailing between our blogs but it's sooooo fun to meet another blogger. I've met 2 bloggers now.
We spent the morning exchanging gifts, sharing show-n-tell and gabbing on and on. Then we walked to down town Canandaigua, NY to a crepe place for lunch, Yumm!! We spent the afternoon stitching in the hotel lobby while Ruth's husband checked on us periodically during his conference. It's too bad he's retiring and won't be attending more conferences in NY so that we can meet up again. On the other hand...any time I'm down to NYC I have an invite :)
Here's the 2nd of my red and blue rosettes for our hexie club vet quilt project. It's not my favorite fussing cutting design but I was using scraps and this is what I had. Now to fussy cut the third rosette...
And two weekends ago, I cleaned all the surfaces in the Quilt Lab and then did some trimming and stitching.
I fussy cut purple and oranges to make a (future) Quatro Color quilt. I have the perfect purple and orange batik for the borders. I'm thinking this will be a good backup project to take camping since it fits so nicely in this yellow bin from Harbor Freight.
In an effort to clean up a box of blue, yellow and orange fabrics I am saving for my pieced hexie project I put together these 14 sets of pieced squares to make "cog" rosettes. These are going with the other blue and yellow/orange sets I had put together for my camping trip coming up soon. Between these and the Quatro Color I have plenty of work. These go together pretty fast so I'll still probably throw in a couple other projects for a change of pace.
 |
| Matched with center reds and papers all marked. |
Oh and BTW - remember the adage to measure twice/cut once?
I highly suggest to READ THE DIRECTIONS TWICE then measure twice and finally cut once. I had cut all the strips for these blocks to discover they were too big when it was time to sew. Luckily they were too big and not too small but it wasted a lot of time to trim them down later.
Piecing the hexie blocks also gave me the opportunity to work with some leader enders. I haven't worked on my puss in the Corner blocks in a long time so it was fun to make these as the scraps were getting trimmed from the Lab surfaces.
Even better...yesterday I went for a walk. Did I think I would go for such a long walk? Not quite so far but when I got to the Letchworth State Park entrance I thought I should go somewhere in the park. Had I planned to walk so far I would have started much, much earlier, before it got to be so damn hot. This is about my worst pace ever but given the heat, hills and wind it's not bad. As I've said before - I'm in it for the endurance. I've got mountains to climb this summer!!!!
Happy Monday!
Linking to Design Wall Monday and Monday Making!
Friday, June 09, 2017
Feline Friday - 6/9/17
Some people say that Life is a Box of Chocolates but I like to say that Life is Balancing Act.
One has to balance the "OMG, what did you get in to??" factor...
...with the awwwwww factor to keep Momma happy!
Anything to keep Momma happy!
Well that and my kibble bowl full!!!!!!!!!!!!
One has to balance the "OMG, what did you get in to??" factor...
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| Momma wants to know why are all my white furs are covered in mud and my black furs are full of sticker seeds? I have no idea... |
...with the awwwwww factor to keep Momma happy!
 |
| Don't I look innocent? |
Anything to keep Momma happy!
Well that and my kibble bowl full!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, June 07, 2017
Wednesday Weather Report #3
It's Wednesday, so of course we are going to start with a Weekly Weather Report. There were a few days where the temps were only 1 degree away from the next color up or down but in the end they were all in the 60s or 70s. Today it looks like another borderline day which I think will be in the 60s when 1pm rolls around.
I'm still trying to get ahead on cutting temperature squares. I know I'm going to have multiples of each fabric in the quilt so I'm just trying to get "ahead" on the variety. I finally invested a whole $2.99 for a coupon holder and labeled each section with the corresponding temperature. It's working so far but it's getting pretty full with summer colors...
Our local hexie club is modifying my design to make a Quilt of Valor for a local event. We will each make 3 red & blue rosettes to be appliqued to a white background. The November event is called Red, White & Gratitude. There will be a quilt show of all the donated quilts, along with raffled items, and then the quilts will be donated to vets from my county in Western NY/USA. I have an idea for a quilt that I also hope to make...just need to get it started.
And the most fun was meeting an out-of-state bloggy friend yesterday - a bloggy friend who likes hexies!! I won't post who it was until I know they are home safe and sound - no need to advertise empty houses!!
Happy Hump Day!
I'll be topping off my day by hiking with friends at our local state park after work :)
 |
| Maybe you can see that I decided to use a narrow blanket stitch with variegated neutral thread. It seems to be blending well, almost taking on some of the fabric colors. |
I'm still trying to get ahead on cutting temperature squares. I know I'm going to have multiples of each fabric in the quilt so I'm just trying to get "ahead" on the variety. I finally invested a whole $2.99 for a coupon holder and labeled each section with the corresponding temperature. It's working so far but it's getting pretty full with summer colors...
Our local hexie club is modifying my design to make a Quilt of Valor for a local event. We will each make 3 red & blue rosettes to be appliqued to a white background. The November event is called Red, White & Gratitude. There will be a quilt show of all the donated quilts, along with raffled items, and then the quilts will be donated to vets from my county in Western NY/USA. I have an idea for a quilt that I also hope to make...just need to get it started.
 |
| One down...2 to go... |
And the most fun was meeting an out-of-state bloggy friend yesterday - a bloggy friend who likes hexies!! I won't post who it was until I know they are home safe and sound - no need to advertise empty houses!!
Happy Hump Day!
I'll be topping off my day by hiking with friends at our local state park after work :)
Tuesday, June 06, 2017
The Bibliophile Files - 6/6/17
Dang - there is no getting ahead - I've finished 12 books this month and goodreads.com says I'm still 1 book behind schedule to finish 90 by year's end. Still, I have finished 37 books this year, an average of 7.4 books a month! Not bad...in my book!!Anyway...welcome to the my latest book report, known as The Bibliophile Files!
FINISHED
The Verdict
The Paying Guests
Turbo 23
Teenage Diaries: Then & Now
Bronx Masquerade
The Gathering
Devonshire Scream
Insidious
Deep Blue
15th Affair
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Gangster
IN PROGRESS:
on my iPhone: The Dead House
on my home stereo: Scarpetta
And now it's your turn - what have you read this month? New novel? Quilt magazine? Cereal box? Please share cuz, apparently, I need to read some more books.
Bawahahahahahaha!
Yeah, I've lost it - too much sun recently...
