Moira: Lots of blocks on multiple projects

Last week I started working on updating some of my older patterns that I've had posted on my website.  This started after dealing again with lots of unusual traffic on my blog from Russia that came through my website.  So the website is offline at this point, and I"m deciding what to do with the patterns that I had up on it.  I'm not sure if I'm going to keep the website going or not because I really don't have time to maintain it like I should.

At any rate, I made new sample blocks for two applique patterns (angels), and have completed the patterns as of today.  And am working on a third one.   They should be uploaded by tomorrow.




























Also made two more teddy bear blocks for that commissioned quilt.













































And then started two more quilts...one a commissioned quilt featuring origami swans and one for me using some of my paternal Grandmother's hankies.  There will be 42 blocks in the quilt and each one will be a different combination of fabrics.  Fabrics for the swans is coming out of my umpteen bags of scraps.  I'm having fun pulling fabrics for the blocks.   I've got 7 blocks fused (4 stitched) and fabrics for 26 more blocks as of this morning.









This is the first block of the hankie quilt.   Still thinking about what color thread to use to stitch the hankies down with, probably will go with a white or a light grey.  The final pic shows the assortment that I'm choosing from for the blocks.  The item at the bottom right of that pic isn't actually a hankie so I'm going to use it in an appliqued dress block of some sort.   Have a couple of ideas for that.  I might make a couple of other dress blocks out of the hankies that have the crocheted corners to go with it and then put them in a diagonal row in the quilt.

Susan: Scrap Vortex

No stitching time this week, and almost no sewing, but I did get into the sewing room for a while yesterday. I was stressed and not in the mood for anything that required thinking, so I turned to the puzzle-pieces, aka Scrap Vortex. This is very relaxing. It involves the brain peripherally, and it is fun to see what emerges.

Start of day yesterday, only the top part together, though still in halves:

End of day yesterday:

Two pieces entirely together!

This probably represents about 3 square feet altogether.

Moira - Spring Break

Not a lot done last week because of everything going on around here - getting ready for spring break (which I'm on now!), doc appt's, getting things in place for surgery on 4/23 (still more to do on this), driver's ed training activities......and work.   One of these days the not-so-fun merry-go-round will slow down for me.  

In the meantime, I did get the top panel for the pumpkin quilt fused and ready to do the buttonhole stitching on.   Don't know if I'll get to actually work on that till the quilt retreat I'm going the middle of April, but at least it's ready for me now.

In the meantime, I finally have all the materials needed for the felted wool slippers that I need to get made and have started cutting the wool.   Will be using dk grey fleece to line the red wool.   Should be an interesting experience as I experiment with making them because of the heaviness of the wool sweater after being felted.  More on that later after I finish them.  =)

Judy~ Quilt Show Photos (UPDATE)

This past Friday I went to the Block Party Quilters annual show and took a whole bunch of photos, way too many for one post.  In addition to the quilts, there were lots of vendors and the temptations were mighty.  I resisted....mostly. As you can kind of see, the quilts on the first floor were surrounded by the vendors, and then smaller quilts were shown on the second floor which is a balcony that makes picture-taking a challenge. Update: More photos on my blog.

Janet Fogg was the featured quilter.  I really liked her cat quilts!

Here's a cat that reminded me of one of mine from log ago.

Isn't this beautiful butterfly colorful?

Whenever I go to quilt shows, I look for crazy quilts, and they are usually few in number and hard to find. This time, small but interesting, they were all on on one wall up in the balcony.

Here's one more shot of Janet's work from the balcony, a daisy, a seahorse, and another cat, and a partial view of two others.

That's it for this installment. (Remember, if you double click on the photos, you can see the details.) I'm off to the grocery store.  Bye.

Susan: No Handwork

Another one of those weeks. I can't seem to get away from them. I thought with fall coming round, life would slow down, but I was wrong. Bah, humbug! But I did get borders on this one Saturday:

I also have this one small block for a swap ready for hand-stitching the sewing machine:

Today, I helped two people with applique, one needle-turn and one wool, so that was my stitching good-deed for the week. I don't seem to have a lot of umph by the time I have a minute to sew.

Susan: Other Projects

No CQ this week, but I did finish this top for American Heroes:

I also have this one almost finished. It would be done, except I sewed the two halves together on the wrong sides. Have to take it out and sew it correctly:

I also managed a couple of these:

Deborah: CQ progress

I'm afraid it's been another week without much to show for it. But here are some details from the CQ which is progressing about as quickly as pouring molasses in January:

Judy, my sister-in-law and I had a great time at the Sewing and Quilting Expo where we spent the day on Saturday. Some photos of the quilts that were on display - a nice mix of traditional and modern. The traditional quilts were older tops that had been machine quilted.

This one was one of my favorites.

I saw this quilt and it's "sister" at the Georgia Quilt Show last fall. I really love the textures.

Photos were taken with my phone (totally forgot my camera) so they are just so-so.

One more photo. Last week was my birthday and here is what I asked for:

Ha. I'm a cheap date, right? Shelving from Ikea. There's still a full closet and a bunch of plastic tubs. to empty out. Oh well. Back to Ikea on Sunday I guess. 

Have a great week!

Judy~ Two Quilts Done! Shocking, Isn't It?

Our oldest grand son turned NINE yesterday; how can that be?  It seems such a short time ago that we flew off to Chicago to hold him for the first time.  He said it was -5 there yesterday, so I think the quilt arrived just in time.  It was a fun kit that I got a long time ago when he first showed interest in outer space.  It's backed with fleece even though I've learned it doesn't keep its cuddly softness very long.

And now I hope Debra is sitting down. Sun Bonnet Sue is DONE!!! (Better late than never right? Only now I have to decide what to do with it. You can see the fold marks?)  Sorry for the not so great photo.  We aren't freezing here, but it's still really dark in the morning, foggy, too.

For you newbies, in 2012 our group followed the new weekly stitch and incorporated them into our work.  As I already had 12 stamped Sunbonnet Sue blocks, I decided to do one per month and add the requisite stitches along with the ones suggested on the pattern. It was a fun challenge, but it took me forever and a day to get the binding sewn on as other projects kept moving ahead of her.  Stella's arrival also cut down my sewing time. Imagine that! 

Here are two fuzzy close-ups, in case you're interested.  I actually did a bit of embroidery on the label but forgot to ask DH to take a picture of it.  A friend in my quilt group did the quilting and made Sue pop.  Had I known how to do trapunto, that would have been a way to make her even more pronounced.

In our cedar chest a number of other quilt UFOs are lurking, not to mention numerous other cross stitch, embroidery, and knitting projects that are in bags and drawers elsewhere.  My goal this year is to finish them and also whittle down my stash(es)!  There, I said it, now please hold me to it!  Have a happy week!