Design Wall Monday - 11/8/2010

Woohoo! School tax collection is pretty much over – just piddly little changes and boxing everything up when we are sure it’s done. This means that I can get back to sewing more and posting more!

The best news is that we now have a truly LQS - The Quilter's Daughter - it’s just a couple miles from my office and while that can be trouble, it also means that I can teach quilting classes to offset most of my purchases!! They are working on their website but I will post it as soon as it’s online.

My first class will be in a couple weeks on making the windmill table runners that I am addicted to. In January I’ll be making a table topper. Did you notice the same trend I did??!! Someone called me the tablerunner queen and it seems to continue...

I started by making these 4 blue and purple blocks from a pattern in the latest Quiltmaker magazine just to see how easy the pattern was. They are sewwww easy and just 2 FQs! Claudia saw them and wanted me to teach a class so I’ll be adding a flange with the dark purple pictured and a scalloped border of the dark blue. It will finish around 25” square. To make sure that we could complete all or most of the topper in a 3 hour class, I have started a second one and I’m timing myself. The colors seem to have more contrast at home so I hope that contrast eventually transfers to the final product, if not in the pictures.

Then, at a recent quilt show I found this fireman fabric. Really, who could resist and I only bought a yard. I’m making these red white and blue blocks and will somehow fashion those blocks around the fireman. I had originally thought of putting them on the back but that’s no fun. And no, I’m not cutting them up – they will serve as a “panel.” This baby is for my bed  ;)

Do you see what I see?

<-- Yup, snow!

Maybe it’s time to turn on the heat.

I mean, it was pretty cold

in the house this morning*** -->

<-- Pepper is trying to get as high as possible on the couch (heat rises, you know?)

Smokey knows the best place to stay warm -->

So…Where have I been?

1. I took on job#2 as school tax collector and it feels like I am never home with job#1, volunteer work and guilds, etc.

2. Instead of taking a lunch at job#1 (when I usually posted) I run to the school to do work and then back again after work

3. The church bazaar is in 14 days so I have been busy working finishing up projects and getting ready for that

4. I just haven’t taken any pictures because the camera card is full (refer to #1, the above are from my cell phone)

5. There's more that I won't bore you with

6. School taxes should be done in 2 or 3 weeks so I am looking forward to getting back to “normal”!!!! Of course, Town taxes start in just 8 weeks :)

*** The first digit doesn’t always work; it was cold but not that cold!

Ketchup

Didja think I got lost? Nah…it’s just been a whirlwind of activities. Shall we go in reverse order? Thought so!

Last night I made Caribbean Peach Chutney. Not such a feat in and of itself but there’s this little heat wave going on so while I questioned my timing and mopped my brow, the peaches had to be used or tossed. It smells divine but didn’t make very much, hence too much headspace in the jars that I did get. You can also see the rest of my garden in the background – my 5 (!) tomatoes just ripened while the cherry tomatoes continue to produce. Any ideas on what I can do with them? The eggplants are tomato size and the next wave of purple peppers is starting to arrive. The sunflowers opened last week – I bet the tallest is close to 9 or 10 feet tall! The Glads are spent and I am determined to plant more of them next year.

Not much sewing has happened in the last two weeks. Working half days at my day job and then working the rest of the day at the fair left little time for anything else. It was easier to bring my tatting with me. Then I spent all of my “free time” last week pulling escrows (I’m the school tax collector) and we had internet viruses so I couldn’t have posted if I wanted to.

I did buy a FQ bundle of ‘Sew Chick’ by Bernatex from the Quilter’s Daughter booth at the Fair. We’ve all been greatly anticipating this store as it’s a couple miles from my office and supposed to open September 25th! Claudia says I’ll be working for fabric on opening day which is ok because I need border fabric. This is a disappearing 9-patch variation that will end up about 4 x 5 blocks plus the borders. That makes 2 blocks of each of the colors shown. I’ll still have some “parts” from the FQs for table runners and such…

And last but not least – the pictures that I did take during the fair document this:

I chopped 13 inches off and will send the pony tail to Locks of Love or Wigs for Kids. The stylist showed me how to style it straight but I admit it’s much easier to let it go curly!