wip wednesday

Wow, it's been far too long since I've posted one of these. I guess that's a good thing, though, since I had a flurry of finishes over Christmas break. Believe it or not, I still have two quilts to show you! I don't yet have pictures, but that's what happens when you go into work at o'dark-thirty and leave again at o'dark-thirty. Maybe this weekend.

Grad-school is back in full swing and the stress has already skyrocketed.  I'm hoping it's just typical re-entry stress and that it will be gone in a week or so.  In the meantime, lots of chocolate....




In-Progress:  Oh My Stars and Bethlehem Star quilts.

I haven't touched the Bethlehem Star quilt and have only managed one star in the Oh My Star's Quilt Along.  One.  So sad.




Only 110 to go. *sigh*  I have the others in this "set" cut and the flying geese parts together.  Maybe I can get the blocks formed this weekend.


New Projects: Knitting and Sewing Room Makeover

I can't remember if I've shared this or not, but I started a beginners class with a friend Thursday before last and it's so fun.  Next class is tomorrow.  I'm supposed to have 10-inches done on my scarf and I have about two.  Guess what I'm doing tonight?  *cough*

first stitches (mine is the blue)

On the sewing room front, a friend of mine came over last Saturday and helped me get the ball rolling.  I'll be using Terrain as my inspiration fabric - there's a surprise.  The walls will be a light aqua/teal and we're re-purposing some old office furniture that was in our storage room (that used to be a home-office).   Next up: Cleaning out the room so I can paint.

Well, ok... next step is actually buying paint.  :)


Finishes:

I did manage to finish my latest iPad case and I've gotten an incredible amount of comments on it.  Once again, if you haven't checked out Faith's website you should check it out.  Fabulous tutorials for just about anything you can imagine.




And finally, thanks so much to everyone who voted for me in the Quilting Gallery contest last week and left such wonderful comments.  Jane's Black and White Quilt took first place!...y'all really know how to make a girl feel good.  :)

I'm working at Karen Gray's this weekend for one of her famously huge sales.  I hope all the locals will stop by.  I enjoy working for her and am actually in process of setting up my first teaching class there.  Woot!

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced...for the first time in what seems like forever.  Hope you'll hop over there and do the same!




Happy Wednesday!

something new

It's so nice to be finished with *almost* all of my quilts - I finished FOUR over my holiday break.  FOUR!!  Ok, ok, one is still in binding mode, but it will be done in the next day or so, well before classes start.  However, in reviewing them as well as those I made last year, I noticed something.





Do you see it????   They're all SQUARES!!

Except for the pinwheel in the black-and-white quilt, all of the quilt blocks are squares or some variation on a square.  Oy!  Same is true for the three quilts I've just finished but haven't shown you yet.  Yup.  Squares.

As you can imagine, I'm ready for something different, so I've decided to join the Oh My Stars! Quilt Along over at Thought and Found.  I've been eying it for a while, trying to decide what to do and I've finally decided to jump in.  I can't stop thinking about it so, if I can't beat 'em, I should join 'em, right?

I'll be using my Terrain (gasp!) fat-eighth bundle with a few coordinating solids peppered throughout.





I purchased this chunk of gorgeousness way back in October and have spent quite a bit of time admiring it.  I did break down and use an inch or two of one of the purple fabrics for a zipper pouch, but otherwise it still sits, all bundled up in a beautiful little stack.

Now, I will say up front that I won't be going at the same clip as the others in the QAL.  Second semester classes start up next week, so I'm not committing to any big projects.  I've turned down swaps, bees, and even my church group on new projects.  I just can't do it. 

My goal is one star set a week (a star set is one 12", two 8" and four 4" stars) and if I miss a week then I miss a week.  Not beating myself up over this one.  No deadline.  No rush.  No worries.  It gets done when it gets done.  This project is intended to be a stress reliever and a (hopeful) reward to finishing surviving the Spring semester.   The quilt is for me, the time to build it will be for me and, likewise, I'll be going at my own little pace.  :) 

The only other thing I'm trying to do is dedicate Sundays to my Bethlehem Star quilt.  My father-in-law came over last night with a train table for my boys, handmade to our specifications.  Now they have an awesome place to build their tracks and a little scenery without messing up their toy area.  If you remember, he also made my cutting table (which I adore!) and the quilt is a thank you to him.  I must finish this.  Goal is October for this one.  The quilt is more tedious than I ever imagined, so I need a deadline to keep me on it.  Prayers welcome.  ;o)

I'll try to keep y'all posted as I go with some WIP updates on both quilts.  Please don't worry too much if I get quiet.  I was really stressed out last semester, so I'm trying to learn from my mistakes.  Shortening my to-do list will help immensely. 

Oh - and I still have three finished quilts to show you.  Eep!

because i have nothing else to do...

I spent the day at home, sick - again - today.   I'm really getting tired of this.  At least, though, I was healthy over Thanksgiving.  The long weekend was just wonderful.  My mom had to work on Thanksgiving Day, so my parents had us all over for dinner the night before.  That pretty much meant that Thursday - Saturday was uninterupted free time at my house.  Oh, yeah, and they kept the kids, too!  (don't throw things at me!)

Lots of quilting and cleaning.  We're in the process of shifting my sewing space into the school room and vice versa.  The boys will have a much bigger space downstairs, and I'll be more cozy in my little area.  On top of all that, and trying to finish Sierra's quilt, I've started three new quilts.  One for my dad for Christmas, one surprise that I can't show, and the GenX Quilters' Quilt Along.

I know, I know, I needed the quilt-along like I needed a bump on the head, but I just couldn't resist.  I had half of a Odyssea layer cake left over from another project, which divides perfectly into two charm packs.  There are options to make a crib quilt with one pack, or a lap with two.  The boys have been bugging me for another quilt in the living room, so here it is.  Maybe for Christmas???  We'll see...

The quilt is mostly charms with a few "highlight" blocks mixed in.  Stars, Churn Dash (or Greek Cross), Diamond in a Square, and Pinwheel.  I finished a star and churn dash earlier this week and then decided to reorganize.  I shifted gears, cut all the fabric for my highlight blocks, labelled the devil out of them with stickies and pins.  Stopping to organize helped a lot, though, as I finished all the diamond ones tonight and will soon have the others.  They go so much faster when I can chain piece!

 

As soon as my room gets set up, I'll be posting lots of pictures.  I will be painting, decorating, and doing all that fun stuff.  I wasn't able to do all that in the basement for, well, lack of walls.  

Oh... and hubs has told me he'd help me make a design wall.  Eep!!

Happy Monday, ya'll!

beachy things - and a quilt finished!

One week from tomorrow, I arrived on the island. Once week from tomorrow, I'll be leaving. This middle weekend is normally a time of reflection for me - one for reminiscing over the past days and relishing the fact that I have seven more remaining.   We're beyond blessed to get to spend two full weeks here, and I try hard not to take it for granted. 

I've managed to snap a few photos to share, and a video as well.  Photos can hardly convey the beauty of this place, nor the peaceful, laid-back atmosphere surrounding every aspect of life.  I'm quite serious when I say I want to retire here!

To start, here is a snapshot of the front of the house we rent.



It's our sixth year in this house, and we were the first to rent it way-back-when.  We go with the same set of friends - three families - with a few others rotating through with us. It's so familiar to us now that we hardly have to plan anything.  It's truly become a home away from home.  By the way - those are my two boys in the front.  :)

Here's the view from the top floor in the back:



This is where I typically go out in the mornings with my coffee and a good book. I'll spend a few minutes out here before starting my day, which includes a one-hour run every other day. I normally hate (hate, hate) running first thing in the morning, but the sun beats down unmercifully here, so I'd rather suck it up and run, then take a nap later.

Because the island is so isolated and, well, thin, there are only a handful of things to do here. We spend most of the days on the beach, then in the pool. One of our favorite things to do is take the Jeep to the beach. Hatteras is one of the few places where vehicles are still allowed in the sand.



There are areas where vehicles (and people) are not allowed due to some bird nestings...not the most popular thing with the locals...but this year the restrictions were very minimal. For the first time since I started coming down here, we made it to the end of the island.



The water above is Hatteras Inlet. The island just beyond it is Ocracoke. It is only accessible by ferry.

Here's a short video of one of our rides...



Of course, not everything we do is outside, and I've been able to finish one of the two quilts I brought with me...Molly's Quilt!!



This is the one I did as part of the Above All Fabric Quilt Along, using the Moda charm pack "Happy Daisy".



Of course, I think it's appropriate that I finished it at the beach. Just in time for some happy, sunny pictures.



Enjoy your week, everyone...and have a Happy Fourth of July!

packages

I love packages. Some I order and anxiously await, some come full of wonderful surprises. Both are fabulous.

Before I left for vacation last week, I received two such packages.  One was a packet of 4-inch squares as part of Crafty Tammie's Swap a Rainbow that I participated in.  I forget how many people were involved - 20, maybe? - but we each sent a pack of 20 4-inch squares in each of 10 colors.  200 squares.  I sent mine from my current stash-on-hand and this is what I got back...



Plus a few extra charms from Tammie and a wonderful key-chain she made.  Here's a closer look a the squares.

The colors were yellow, blue, purple, orange...




...brown, black, green, teal...



... red and pink.




I've got a couple of ideas brewing for these...mostly involving half-square triangles.  I'm really happy with the fabrics that I received - high quality and a lot of fun.  I'm still new at this swap stuff, so sometimes I get a little nervous that I'll receive rejects.  Not so with this swap.  Of all the fabrics - over 200, remember - there was only two that were repeats.  Not bad, not bad!

Now, my other package was expected, but exciting none-the-less.



The package was from Fat Quarter Shop, and represents two quilts I'll be working on soon. The first is for my friend Jen, and is my first commissioned quilt. She is an excellent photographer and asked me for a quilt to use in her photo shoots. I had her pick out a few favorite collections, and she chose Oasis as her top pick, along with several other Moda collections. I chose the beige for the quilt back and the teal (or is it aqua...what's the difference?!) for the binding.




The remainder of the package is a collection of Stonehenge fabrics that I toiled over for days.  They had several pre-chosen collections, but none seemed to fit the bill for me.  Plus, I needed a yard of each color, so precuts wouldn't work.  I wanted blues and greens but with an earthy feel to them, so I added the grays for a granite look.




The tan/beige (next to bottom) is the background and the green/beige on the bottom is the back.  The remainder of the colors will be the diamonds in a Star of Bethlehem quilt.

The pattern is by Edyta Sitar and my church group is working on it through the summer.  I am behind already (there's a surprise!) because I forgot about the prep work and didn't have my fabrics in time for the first class.  I'll start working on cutting the fabric immediately after I get home and try desperately to catch up.

Once finished, the quilt will be 78-inches square - the biggest I have ever made.  It will be for my father-in-law.  He's the one who made my quilt table for my sewing room as well as doing countless other things around the house for us - including coming to my rescue at 5 AM one Saturday to free a possum from my dog lot.  If anyone deserves a quilt, he does.  But...shhhhhh!... it's a surprise.  (And right now, I'm glad he doesn't have internet!!).  :)

As far as current projects, I'm sewing the binding on Molly's quilt and Matt's Coffee quilt.  I'm missing my sewing machine terribly, but making do.  Today was an inside day with a lot of storms and rain.  Otherwise,  we're just not inside much - the rest of the week looks much better.   The guys and a couple of the kids went fishing, but only caught one Spanish Mackerel each.  Not a good fishing day.  Since we were stuck inside, I worked on the binding, made a few more hexagons and did some computer work.  I'm nearly halfway around Molly's and hope to be done by Saturday.  I also started on a new blog/group that I'm starting up - more info on that in another post...but if you are paying attention, you'll see a new button in my sidebar.  :)

Hope you're all having a great week!

time for a vacay

Well, I'm sad to say I didn't get my Guitar Quilt quilted on Wednesday. When I got to the local quilt store, all jazzed and excited, I found out they were closing at five. Not enough time to get the quilt done. Turns out their normal closing time is five, but they stay open later for classes on days they have classes. When I booked the appointment, there was a class scheduled until seven that night but no one signed up for the class, so it was cancelled. Therefore, the shop closed at five.

The ladies were super nice and tried to help me out, even offering for me to get started and leave it on the machine overnight. But with work being what it is and my evenings being booked solid, that just wasn't an option. So, I'm signed up for July 14th now. There is a class that day, too, but it's the middle of a Beginning Sewing series that already has people in it, so I should be ok. :)

So - instead of finishing that quilt at the beach, which was the plan, I'll now be finishing Molly's quilt (the Above All Fabric quilt along) and Matt's Coffee Quilt.  I was able to piece the back of Molly's Quilt and get it quilted on Saturday.  Here is the back...no pic of the quilting yet.

Both are already packed in the car, ready to go. We'll be gone for two weeks, which should be plenty of time to get the binding done.  I'm also taking my pile of hexies.  I've been working on these since last fall but Kristen at K*D Quilts has inspired me to get to work on them again.  I have about 150...but need about 1,100.

Tonight will be a fun night...girls night out to the Def Leppard concert in Raleigh.  Can't wait.  Then a day with the boys tomorrow, likely including Cars 2, and off to the Outer Banks with everyone Sunday.  This is our ninth trip together and we look forward to it all year long.  And I mean that quite literally - we start talking and yearning for "next year" the day that we leave.


If you've never been to the Outer Banks, you need to add it to your list of things to see.  We are partial to the southern part, Hatteras Island in particular.  You just can't beat it.  Tiny villages full of houses, vast beaches, and gorgeous sunsets.  Wanna see?  Here's a google images search on "Outer Banks NC".   No traffic, no noise, no hoardes of people.  Sheer, wonderful, all-out peace.  Island life is the life for me.

It takes forever to get there...nearly six hours from our friends house...but it's worth it.  Because the islands are so far from the mainland, there are only two places to cross - Manteo/Nags Head has a set of bridges or you can take the Swan Quarter ferry to Ocracoke and another to Hatteras.   We opt for the former as Ash gets seasick and the SQ ferry is about two hours long.  In some areas on Hwy 12, you can see water on both sides, the island is so thin.  Very cool...except in hurricanes.   

So in a little over 48 hours I'll be unpacking and settling into what has now become our home away from home.  I'm still trying to convince Matt that we need to retire there.  Almost there.  :)

Can't promise a lot of activity here, but I'll try.  I'm sure you'll understand, though, if I make myself scarce.  After all, someone has to watch the kids while they play.  :)

WIP Busting - Summer challenge

Finally!! A challenge I can jump into *without* starting a new project! Just what I need right now.

Sew Shine has posted a WIP busting Summer Challenge...and boy, what perfect timing.

Basically, you get an entry into their contest for each WIP you finish between now and August 31st.  How cool is that?  Given my list from Wednesday, I've got a few good chances - assuming I can finish.

They ask for a pic of our WIP bin, but I have no said bin.  Mine are all over the place and most won't fit in a bin at this point.  But, that's not going to stop me from trying.

Do you have some WIPs laying around??  Let's get busting!  

busy days

This is our first year with both boys in baseball. While I love, love, love it, it can sure make for some hectic weeks. Last night I got some good shots of my youngest at bat.

He made it to first base, then slowly around to second and third, but then was left stranded and never made it back to home plate. He's got a good swing and can really nail it when his timing is right. But his running.... well, let's just say we have to work on speeding up his little jog. LOL!

Being a little pressed for time in my Mug-Rug Swap, I took my latest one to the field with me to finish off the binding in between innings and during the slow spots. And given we are watching 6 and 7 year-olds, there were plenty of slow spots!

Once home, I took some time to catch up on my Spring Quilt Along. Even though I got started a day or two late, I'm still keeping up pretty well with everything. I was able to finish my last 9-patch and add my sashing last night. Not too bad.  Borders will be next, maybe tonight or tomorrow...we'll see.

All in all it was a fairly productive night. I managed to finish the mug rug and I hope to get it in the mail tomorrow. I had planned on today, but things got a bit crazy...again. Looking forward to a slow, restful weekend.

Happy Easter, everyone!

progress report

Things have been a little nuts here, and I'm heading to Atlanta for the weekend. Not much sewing, but I did get a few things done on my checklist (see it over on the right?) and started on two others. Boy, it feels good to knock off a few things!

I finished basting Matt's coffee quilt earlier this week - Sunday, I think - and it's downstairs ready to quilt.  I had debated about long-arming it, but I think I'm just going to go with a straight-line quilt now.

The accomplishments for the week are my four blocks - two for a local Block of the Month I am in, and two for my church group, the Pinedale Quilters (PDQs).  I used the BOM pattern for this month for all of them, because it's easy that way!  :)

The blocks on the top are the BOM ones, with the fabrics that the quilt store chose.  I'm not partial to the Civil War type colors, but I'm doing them anyway. The other two are the PDQ blocks... a boy block and one with polka-dots.

I was also able to start a couple of projects. The first is a ticker-tape block for my TwitterB group. I had never even heard of this type of block before...much less tried it. It's slow going, for sure, but I am enjoying the process.

Finally...and I've been waiting to start this one...the Spring Quilt Along with Above All Fabric. I got started a day late, but still managed to get my sashing and borders cut and arranged one of the nine-patches.

Now...three days with no machine. Can I make it????

Are You Ready?!

The quilt along starts tomorrow!! It's going to be so much fun. 

Here is my fabric:

It's going to be a nice spring-y quilt, meant for hosting lots of picnics and viewing tons of little-league games.  Can't wait to get started.  :)

There's probably still time to jump in if you want, especially if you have a charm pack laying around.   Join us!!