Design Wall Monday - 6/29/15 - Rewards!

On Saturday I was very productive in finishing or making progress on 2 hexie UFOs so I allowed myself to start a new little project.

First I finished the binding on this little table mat. I know I haven't worked on it this year so it's been at least 6 months to finish the last 4 sides of binding.

I also put in the 4 setting triangles and the borders on the Flying Swallows I showed last week. Another project that's been sitting 6+ months. I bought more brown for the backing yesterday and hope to get it spray basted tonight. I hope to have it quilted in the next few weeks so I can do the binding while camping and maybe enter it in the county fair in August.

4 more bat/diamonds to add...

And, as a treat, I let myself start stitching this little cutie together. The owner of the LQS adores owls so there are always new owl fabrics coming to the store. She told me I "had" to buy the fat quarter I used for this project because the selvage dots are bats! It was a bonus that I could fussy cut the owls in their Halloween costumes. I'm not sure if I'll add more to it or stick with just this simple mat. The hexies are 1.5"

Happy Monday!! The sun is shining and I went for a walk at lunch :)

Feline Friday - 6/26/15

I don't see it yet Momma...
When does the Ark arrive for the floods the weatherman is predicting for this weekend?

Can I have some galoshes so my tiny tootsies don't get wet?

Are we gonna stick to that whole two by two thing? I mean there are 3 of us pussy cats so who do we leave behind? Zorro??!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Denim Flower Class

Sadly there were only 2 students in my class last night at the Arts Council. The Director was saying that they may not continue the program next year because attendance has dropped so much over the 5 years they have held monthly Art Nights. Too bad...

I might pink the edges...

I forgot to share this other flower on Monday. It's about 3.5" across with a gorgeous antique mother of pearl button. I also want to make it in a smaller size. We didn't make this flower in class but I did demo the process and I'm sure both Sarah and Jackie could easily make them at home. Yes - there was a student named Sarah, a quilting friend, in class. Jackie would say something to 'Sarah' and we would both answer. LOL.

Mine is at the top. Sarah's is bottom left (love the variety of denim) and Jackie's is on the right (she's also a painter and she's going to add some color to her denim and then put it on a denim bag)

Flying Swallows

I didn't leave myself enough time this morning to decide which purple hexies to add to my denim pillow band so I grabbed another project to work on at lunch. It feels good to work on some of those UFOs I have been neglecting. I still have 3.5 months until my trunk shows in October and next May I have been book for a class/trunk show also so I'll be a hexie machine for the next 10 months. And all y'all know I'll be like a pig in mud! Thrilled to pieces!!

Design Wall Monday - 6/22/15

I had another busy weekend. I know - you're not surprised. You won't be surprised, either, to hear that I scheduled my quilt classes for the rest of the year. Yikes! Not sure what I was thinking scheduling that many classes and work days. Luckily I teach a lot of the basic classes every semester, which don't need tons of prep.

Saturday morning I worked at a pancake breakfast at our local airport. Saturday afternoon I was at the LQS to schedule classes and drop off our latest paperpieces.com order. My favorite online store, you know! Someday I want to go see the Hexie House in Paducah.

Sunday morning was housework and trimming fabric bits for current projects, then time with Dad and a rescue call. Finally after dinner I got to work on some hexies. I've put Value Prop on hold until my July vacation so I can make progress on some other projects.

Our local hexie group has a Birthday Club. We use a different shape each year and each girl lists her color choice. When it's your birthday all the other girls gift you basted EPP shapes for you to make what ever you want. 2 years ago we used .75" hexagons, last year was 1.5" diamonds and this year it's 2" chrysanthemums.

I have been working on my hexagon birthday project very slowly for some time. Check this link for my ultimate goal. I started by laying out 4 rosettes so I could balance all the fabrics (I added a lot of my own purple hexies) and now I am finally putting them together into a long strip. I have one panel done and this panel will be done today. I'll attach the panels together and then see how many hexies are still left. They have been stored in this beautiful blue Ball jar for eons now. I'll figure out how to add more so all the hexies are used up.

I am teaching this denim flower pin at our local Arts Council on Wednesday. It would be prettier with more variety in the denim but this is what I had. Wish me luck...

Feline Friday - 6/19/15 - Midgie's Big Adventure

Momma let me sit on her half-nekked fireman quilt!!

Sunday was a very rainy day - there were even more floods in the town where Momma works and her LQS is. I cried and howled most of the day cuz I wanted to go outside, something I very rarely want to do cuz there are a lot of scary things outside, including my brother, Zorro.

Momma took me out on the porch a couple times but not for very long cuz it was cold and wet. Finally just before bed Momma was gonna take me out one last time. I saw my chance and bolted out into the dark. Momma said a naughty word and went in search of her flashlight and raincoat.

She spent an hour walking in the dark looking for me in the flower gardens, at the neighbors houses and at the village park behind our house. Surprisingly enough, Zorro followed Momma the whole she was searching for me, puddles and everything! Eventually Momma had to get to bed but she changed the bulb in the ugly fixture so she could leave the porch light on and put out some nice dry towels just in case I decided to come home. Momma wasn't sure I would cuz I am an old and wise girl and she worries that old kitties like to run off to the rainbow bridge.

Luckily when Momma got up early to come look for me again I had already decided to come home! I was on the towels on Zorro's table and he was also on the porch to protect me from that mean neighborhood kitty. Maybe Z really does like me?!?!

Momma cried a lot while she dried me off. I still wanna go back outside but Momma won't let me. I'm not sure why cuz I had a grand time!!

An InLinkz Link-up

HeLP for Hexie-aholics - 6/17/15

Hello and welcome to this months edition of Hexie Linky Party for Hexie-aholics!!

I'm going to keep this short so I can get back to stitching. LOL.

I have 14 parts completed and just 8 more to finish!!! Woohoo!!

Hmm...I was considering a selfie stick to take camping/mt climbing but maybe
 it would also work for this kind of shot instead of me climbing on chairs. :)

And now it's YOUR turn - please share your hexie projects. We would love to see an EPP project of any shape or vintage: antique, PIG, UFO, current or even just your dream project!!

Please pass the word to have your hexie friends join in the linky party. Now that life is almost back to normal I hope to get out and spread the word myself this summer. I think I even found a source to create a logo for us.

An InLinkz Link-up

Design Wall Monday - 6/15/15

After doing some rain dodging, weeding, plant rearranging, teaching a class and taking the ambulance on several rescue calls and standby at a 5K for the local Girl Scouts, I was actually able to get a little bit of sewing done. Woohoo! I'll share my hexie accomplishments on Wednesday for HeLP for Hexie-aholics...today you get to see my machine sewing.

Yipper, I still do own a working sewing machine. LOL. And since I was just approved for my summer Friday's off, I need to schedule a spa treatment for my Bernina. I actually take my machine to a lovely Mennonite place about 1.5 hours south of here because I can schedule an appointment and take my machine home with me in ~3 hours, instead of dropping my machine at the closer dealer and getting it back a week or more later. I also like the Penn Yann Sewing Center because they offer a map of local quilt stores, fabric stores, restaurants and other sights to see. Yes, there is a HUGE difference between quilt and fabric stores in Mennonite/Amish country!!

I have now finished 15 mini sister's choice blocks from my class with Bonnie Hunter. These blocks are 5" finished so I was thinking that if I put 1 more row of sister's choice blocks and then the fun "sticks & stones" border on each end, the table runner would end up 15" x 40"...a nice size for a mid-sized black and white cat who likes to adorn my table runner clad dining room table =^..^= I would really like 2 more rows of sister's choice blocks to keep it more symmetrical but then it would be longer than fabric is wide for the backing and I think I'm just too lazy to do that at this point...I'm aiming for a finish on this baby! I'll make a final decision after I finish 3 more blocks and 2 borders.

I also worked on some more box kite blocks for the Rainbow Scrappy Challenge. The theme color for June is light blue. As you can tell, my definition of 'light' blue wavers as I find different scraps to use! It's a little hard to tell from the photo but the middle block on the bottom row uses geese fabric for the neutral. It's a little too busy but I couldn't resist doing just one block with it. I'll be making more blocks as time allows...hopefully at least 4 more before month's end.

Feline Friday - 6/12/15

Every King needs a castle and this green one is mine.

Well, really, the whole house is my castle but you know what I mean.

Tiger Lilies!! Meow!!

Anyway, I love my green castle cuz there is plenty of room in the center to hide and there are many hidden passages to advance upon the enemy (Momma, sissie, Introoders, etc) without being seen.

waiting to get Momma's toes

Momma wants me to tell u she saw a Baltimore Oriole in my castle garden (or the back eighth, as she calls it) this morning. She is "pleased as punch" - whatever that means...

An InLinkz Link-up

Wednesdays in my Gardens

Empty spot on the bottom shelf is where his highness likes to sit and look out the window. I had the choice of making him space or having him jump to the top shelf and messing with the plants and the salt dips on the windowsill.

Luckily my house has this lovely bump out at the end of my ridiculously large living room (14'x24' - back when it was a parsonage it was actually 2 rooms). The bump out adds another 2 feet to the room and faces northeast which my violets appear to love.

I'm a brown-thumbed gardener, at best, both in the house and out, but somehow I got it right again with the violets since several of them are in bloom or about to bloom.

Everyone needs a gnome in their garden!!

You can see that many of the plant pots are in plastic dishes, which makes watering easier from the bottom, and most have some kind of plant stake, partly for decoration and partly to make sure they stay rotated. It's been a while since any of them were rotated so I need to get back into that now that the summer sun has graced us.

I love the purple spots on the plant on the left - I think when I bought it it even had one full purple blossom.

I know that several need to be re-potted and removed of suckers but I just haven't gotten to it yet since they always seem to struggle after I do that. Not sure why...could be that brown thumb!

 I was trying to figure out why the plant on the left had curled leaves when I discovered more buds. Whoo Hoo.
I think the plant on the right is my fav but I couldn't find the label on the pot...

I keep saying I am going to take pictures of the blossoms and label the pots better but it never happens. Do any of you have violet tips to share?  

Bonnie show-n-tell pictures

Cathy, Bonnie and Sarah

This is one of the 2 minis made with Sister's Choice blocks made with 1.5" strips instead of 2.5". I just noticed today her color placement of the 9patches and star points. I might have to try that someday too. I was particularly intrigued with the border: really just a 3.5" strip plus a 1.5" square rotated every other strip. 

Love this Star Struck "mini" version - made with 1.5" strips instead of 2.5"

This is the pieced backing that I loved - it looks like a zipper!

The lady in the blue top made them and she suggested that you start with 2.5" strips as well as coordinating the side-by-side fabrics in the pieced back above. 

I would guess, depending on your quilt size, that 2 strips sewn side by side, subcut into 2.5" twosies and then sewn end to end would be the easiest way to accomplish this great backing.

Backing on a much larger quilt. I would guess this would be a great way to use 2 lengths of yardage for a backing. I couldn't really tell you anymore what the front was but I do remember that it coordinated nicely with the zipper backing.

I thought this was a nice setting for people who didn't care for the full Grand Illusion mystery pattern. There was another quilt that had replaced the center turq/yellow 4patch with a single fabric square which really changed the look of the overall quilt.

 I have my blocks started but they slowed due to the bustle of the holidays and then stalled when the final pattern didn't appeal to me.

And to think, I was this close to putting all the bits away and to the orphan bins just to get some countertop space back...

This is the new pattern I fell in love with called Fourplay. Check out the next photo, it's all four patches and sashing except it only uses 1" strips!!! I have an Omigosh quilt started so I can't start a Fourplay until I finish OMG. I best get those 1" strips out and get back to work!!

BTW - I really think the wide brown border sets off the busy center. I googled the pattern and it appears this quilt was based on an antique quilt which also had wide brown borders.

Sorry it's out of focus :-( 

I really like the color placement in some of these blocks - there are a lot of ways to manipulate what the eye sees with such strategic placement.

Design Wall Monday - 6/8/15

Yesterday was a lovely drive followed by a class with my fav quilter followed by another lovely drive and then some sewing at home time before collapsing in bed. Ha!

Yipper!! Yesterday was the day my friend Cathy and I drove 2 hours down to Jamestown, NY to take a Sister's Choice class with Bonnie Hunter!! Woohoo!!

Funny thing is, she remembered me from the class last fall in Amherst. Couldn't remember my name but she said my face was familiar and asked if I had changed my hair (yes!).

I brought three things for show-n-share but didn't get any pictures of me and my quilts so you'll have to check Bonnies post for me with my Value Prop, Sister's Choice (still deciding borders) and my ruby colored Blue Ridge Beauty from my last class with Bonnie. She loved them all! You'll also have to check this other post about the class in general to see pictures of me and Cathy.

By the end of the class I had finished the following: 5 completed blocks (shown with 1 test block since I had reduced the size. I asked Bonnie to sign the test block/2nd from the left), 10 more 9 patches and 6 leader/ender D4P puss in the corner blocks. Phew!

After I got home I finished 4 more blocks and made some more tilted hexie fabric blocks. I'll need to cut more yellow for the star points so I can make more blocks.

Having made a SC quilt top already I decided to make a table runner with half size blocks (5" finished) - we'll see if I decide on a runner or doll quilt since someone had shared a doll quilt with a gorgeous border. I'll share that photo another day since no matter what I make I'll be using their border idea. LOL.

I have a picture of Bonnie with Cathy and myself but my iPhone isn't playing nice. Maybe tomorrow I'll share that photo and some photos I did get from show-n-share.

It's raining cats & dogs today and we even had a tornado warning (not the norm for these here parts!) so I guess I won't be mowing this evening. Instead I'll be making tiny Sister's Choice blocks for my "Baby Sister" project :)

Feline Friday - 5/6/15

Momma here...
We had a pretty little visitor last weekend at Casa Grande!!

I've seen her(?) across the street at the vacant house and always assumed she was a Siamese but her face tells a different story. She's a beautiful cat and I hope she visits again!

A few weeks ago I happened to walk past my porch door when I saw her just standing on my porch. Sadly when I softly spoke to her thru the screen she dashed off.

Last Sunday I was walking thru the dining room and saw her peeking in thru the window!!! Hmmm.... who taught her that trick? Zorro?! Before I could sneak back with the camera she had stepped down from the window sill. This picture was taken through the door window, hence the fuzziness. You might be able to see she's wet from the rainy day we were having.

A neighbor around the corner leaves food out for the strays but now that the weather is finally warming up, it's time for me to find that water bowl. You know, the one Z likes to knock over. Might be time for a bigger bowl he can't knock over and other "introoders" can drink from.

An InLinkz Link-up

The Bibliophile Files - 6/2/15

Hello all and welcome to another rendition of The Bibliophile Files - my monthly report on the books I've read. I had hoped to finish Bones Never Lie last night is but alas with errands, the fire siren and a blackberry sangria cake to bake it just wasn't meant to be. Maybe tomorrow I'll have time. I certainly hope so 'cuz I wanna know whodunnit!

Cadillac Beach - please remember to take your ritalin before getting anywhere close to this book. The story line takes a lot of twists and turns and it can take some brain power to keep up but I promise it's a laugh a minute. This is the second book I've read in this series and I can't wait to order another. 

Black Order - this book had quite the slow start for me with a prologue that made me think I had read the wrong book description. It eventually became evident where the prologue fit in. Not my fav book but it belongs in a fairly new series to me (Sigma Force) so maybe this is their style.

Odd Hours

Double Fudge Brownie Murder 

Still on my stereo and about to be finished: Bones Never Lie

Still on my car stereo: Quaker Cafe - this book is an mp3 and only 1 disc long even tho it's 11 hours of reading. I think I'll have to find another mp3 book for my camping trip - I really don't like changing disks doing 75mph on the thruway or going over curvy mountain roads. It's a decent story so far about racial tensions in a small Quaker town. Strangly the reader is the same person who read the last racial tension book I read. 

Ok my friends, now it's turn to share your reads for the month. We want to hear about novels, cookbooks, magazines, new quilt books and even cereal boxes!!

Design Wall Monday - 6/1/15

I spent all of my rainy, chilly Sunday in my quilt studio. And I do mean ALL of my Sunday...I forgot just how slow and tedious it can be to sew 16 rows of a quilt together. In between rows I worked on my green rainbow scrappy blocks and played a "couple" of games of Spider Solitaire on the computer. LOL. I also spent considerable time drying off his highness every time he wanted back in the house for him to ring the bell to go back outside 5 minutes later. Little furry stinker =^..^=

I made cheese & choco danish to go with my tea (I told you it was chilly, right? Sunday's high was way less than Saturday's low). It was yummy but I think next time I would make only half the filling or make two danishes as it was pretty sweet. It was a super simple recipe: cream cheese brick + 1/4 cup sugar + a glug of vanilla, spread it over croissant dough, braid the sides and bake. I will be making this again!

Here is my quilt, accordian folded to make it easier to sew the very last seam. You can see my green RSC blocks in the background/on the design wall, amongst all the other goodies - mostly hexies, of course. I'll post a better pick of these and my D4P blocks soon.

And finally I had the last seam sewn and pressed open. Just before I collapsed on the couch with a little fluff ball I folded it in quarters for this shot. I'm not quite sure it's big enough tho - it's for Mom&Dad's bed but I want to sneak to their house and try it on for size. It's a secret! I know it's correct for the mattress but then I realized it might need to be bigger to fit 2 people under it!

Either way it's good enough for show-n-tell at a Bonnie Hunter class next weekend in Jamestown, NY. I started the red/white quilt at a class I took with Bonnie back in October.

See all y'all back here tomorrow for The Bibliophile Files!!