car time . . .

One of the reasons that I really like quilt-as-you-go projects is because, if I'm hand quilting them, I can pick them up and take them just about anywhere, and quilt to my heart's content.  Today we had a lot of errands to run (with Todd driving) so that afforded me the opportunity to do my '15 minutes' (and then some) in the passenger seat!

Last night I finished this block (which I watched the crushing defeat of my team, bless their hearts) . . .

And marked these two blocks . . .

And I'm aware (and apologize) that you really can't see what I've quilted or marked.  But trust me, it's there.

This morning we got in the car and headed out and about.  I took one of the blocks with me and busily got to work:

I know some folks struggle with working like this in the car (or even reading), but I've been blessed with the ability, so I take advantage of it when I can. And please ignore my cuticles.  I didn't realize how bad they looked until I took this photo!

In the middle of our errand-running, we met a some dear friends for lunch.  We ate at Rosie's, our very favorite Mexican restaurant.

Todd and I get the cheese dip and then split this plate of Nachos Al Carbon (fajita nachos).  Yum!!

From the restaurant, we finished up our errands and I finished up my block:

Yay!

And then we headed over [Todd's secret plan] to the movie theater to see The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug. For the second time!  Yes -- we do like it *that* much!  We'll probably see it in the theater one more time!

We hit the grocery store on the way home (our last, last, last stop) and then got ourselves tucked in for the evening.  My friend gave me this cool tea infuser . . . 

It's a strawberry! I wanted to give it a try right away, so I pulled out my favorite herbal mint tea.

I love the little pad to cover your cup -- or rest the infuser in when you're done!

Isn't that cute?? Tea in hand, I'm now off to work on the next orange block until bedtime. When it's finished, I'll have only five more blocks to quilt before I'm ready to assemble them!  Whoohoo!!

:)

just a'stitching . . .

Mostly this week I've been doing hand-stitching, working on the My Orange Crush blocks.  I finished the first of the four that I prepped last Friday, quilted with the hearts . . . 

And then I decided on a second stencil . . . 

And now the second block is marked and ready to go.

I really like quilting this way because I can easily take it with me and work on it in the car (if Todd's driving) or while I'm watching a grandbaby (if they're asleep, and I can take my eyes off of them).  Plus I can easily work on them while I'm doing my 40 minutes of ultra sound treatment each day and in the evenings, while we're watching TV or Todd's playing on the xbox.

Really, given all the times I can work on them, there's no excuse for them not to all be done by now!

Fiddle-dee--dee . . . there's always today!

Oops, maybe not ... today I'm off to spend a day with Ellie and Joc.  And I forgot to get a new marking pen when I was out on Tuesday, so I'll probably take care of that, too.  And run by Bed, Bath & Beyond to pick up some coffee for the Keurig.  And who knows what else.  Maybe the weekend?  I'm not betting on it.  LOL!

Happy Friday!!

:)

quilt of another color . . .

After Thursdays headaches (even though it all worked out in the end), I chose to NOT work on The Pineapple Quilt yesterday.  I figured that was best for both my sanity and the quilt itself.  Most definitely. 

Instead I worked on some other projects.  My Orange Crush being one of those.  All sixteen of the blocks are completed and four of them are sashed (and quilted).  I needed to put a dent in this, so I resolved to get all the corners blocks sashed.  I'm pleased, then, to be able to show this:

Yay!  Only the four corners will be sashed in the purple ... the remaining blocks will be sashed in the orange.

And I even got one marked for quilting . . .

For this one I chose a looping heart pattern.  This should give my hands something to do in the evenings and when I'm doing my ultrasound treatment on my foot!

Today is all about the guild's newsletter . . . and this evening?  I'm so excited!  It's family dinner night at the fire station, so Sawyer and I are going to go have dinner with Paw-paw and the rest of the crew.  It will be Sawyer's first trip to the fire station ... and I can't wait!!  You can bet my camera will be busy, busy, busy!

:)

take twenty-five . . .

Heading towards the design wall today is a special block.  Our guild (Heritage Quilters of Huntsville) is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and in recognition of that milestone, we are doing a BOM that features 10" blocks with 25 pieces.

Since I do the newsletter, I'm very familiar with not just our logo . . .

But also with the color scheme of our logo that changes monthly . . . 

Since the chairman of the 25th Anniversary Committee suggested we go scrappy with our blocks, I thought, "Why not go scrappy in HQH's monthly color scheme?"  

And then I thought, "Why not put each block together as a quilt-as-you-go project and then use it for the FMQ challenge?!?"  Great idea.

So here is the first block (I'll do the second option) . . .

And here are the colors I'll use for it . . . 

I love it when a plan comes together!

I'm headed to Jocelyn's today to play with Ellie . . . y'all head on over to Judy Laquidara's Patchwork Times to check out additional design walls!

Happy Monday!

:)

book giveaway . . .

Several folks have expressed interest in the quilt as you go method of quilting.  You would be *very* interested, then, to learn that Gene Black of Gene Black an Alabama Artist, is hosting a giveaway for this book:

Finish (almost) Any Quilt:  A Simple Guide to Adapting Quilts to Finish As You Go (Volume 1), by Marguerita McManus.  And it will be autographed!  Hop on over to Gene's blog to check it out!

(And Pat, thank you for the head's up!)

:)

put the design wall to bed . . .

I'm really excited about my design space this morning. I've made some great progress over the last week and things are moving along.

This project wasn't even in my thoughts last Monday. But when I saw it on Michelle's blog, I fell in love with it and just knew I wanted to make it for my darling Ellie. I finished piecing the top last night:

I love how this turned out!! I also really like the sashing in the pink, too. I was worried the hearts wouldn't stand out nicely, but I think they do. Since I'd used a lot of scraps of fabric with sentimental value, I wanted to use some from Everett's nursery fabrics, even though they didn't really fit the color scheme. But I didn't want to do that with out checking with Joc and making sure it was okay. I was so tickled when she was so pleased with the idea.

Now I've got to piece a back (which will probably be all from the fabrics we used for her curtains and one more of Everett's owls) and decide how I'm going to quilt it. It won't be ready by the time Ellie is born, but it will be well on its way. All of a sudden I had the urgent need to make sure there was an Ellie quilt in the works before she was born. I can't explain why I couldn't do it any earlier, except to say that I just couldn't. This will be called Ellie Has My Heart. :)

The other thing on my ... mattress top ... this morning is The Pineapple Quilt's center (January's UFO project). These are the two pieces I've got to work with next.

I'll have to trim the center piece and then sash it in the red (both pieces are already quilted).

I love the center. I'm pretty certain that it's my all-time favorite piece of work.

I hand appliqued and quilted it (unlike the blocks and the sashing, which I machine quilted). I used a very colorful variegated thread for the quilting in the black, so it really pops!! Looking at it makes me *smile*!

It's appropriate that I've got it all laid out on my bed . . . I'll need to keep it up here (like this) to figure out how much needs to be trimmed off the center block. As much as I love the center, you can understand why I'll be anxious about cutting on it. One wrong snip . . . LOL!

I'll have my hands full for the rest of the month, so I really hope I have some time to work on this and get it finished! It's just so gorgeous, I can't wait to have it on my bed instead of that yucky old brown thing that came with the RV!

Be sure to stop by and check out what others have up on their design spaces this happy Monday morning over at Judy Laquidara's Patchwork Times!

:)

how'd that happen . . .

What a great trip we had! We actually left late Thursday afternoon, because the radio show starts at 7:00 a.m. and it's a two and a half hour drive to Birmingham ... we decided we'd rather drive the night before and not get up until 5:30 a.m., instead of having to *leave* the house at 4:00 a.m. Yikes!

Not long after we started our trek, it was dark, so I pulled out my hands-free beam 'n read so I could continue to stitch. It's plenty bright enough for me to see what I'm working on (and in this pic it's only on 3 LED). Todd assured me several times that the light didn't bother him at all.

Before we'd left, I had decided to go ahead and take all the panels that needed handwork, just in case. We had the drive down, down time in the hotel (Todd had brought his XBox, so it was hand work or read), time I waited while he conducted the interview, and then the drive back. I was so glad I had done that, because on the way down there, I finished one of the full panels and one side of the shorter panels.

By the time we pulled into Birmingham and near our hotel, it was going on 8 p.m., and we were both hungry. We spotted this sign . . .

A Milo's! Neither of us had ever eaten at a Milo's, but their sweet tea is good, so we decided we'd get a couple of burgers and give something new a try. I got a double cheeseburger, fries, diet coke and an apple pie. I was very glad I got that apple pie, because . . . well, let's just say it was my main course. We definitely won't ever do Milo's again. LOL!

Our next stop was our last stop for the night . . .

The Best Western! We had a terrific room -- very comfortable and very roomy! Todd hooked up his XBox and I curled up on the bed to start stitching some more. Do you want to know what I found?!?

I was done stitching.

I had no recollection of doing any of the hand stitching on this piece, but evidently I'd done quite a bit. How funny it is that the pieces I chose to work on were the only pieces that needed stitching. Even the back side of the short panel I'd worked was already stitched down. Huh. I'm sure glad my Kindle was charged and ready to go! Anyway, since the bed was king-sized, I figured I'd lay out the panels and take a couple of photos.

This will be a pretty decent sized quilt once it's all put together. There's a 6" border that will be attached, after I've gotten the center piece figured out and attached. What you're seeing above is actually four different panels.

In this photo I've separated the panels so you can see what I'm working with.

The two long panels are the top and bottom rows. Once I've got my center piece sashed, I'll attach it to the two short panels, and then attach the top and bottom rows to it. I still can't believe it was as far along as it was. The only thing I can figure is that I stopped working on it because I knew that once I'd finished the hand work, the only thing left for me to work on would be that dreaded sashing the center. Haha!

Anyway, the next morning we were up and enjoyed a nice shower (that's what this fulltime RVing girl enjoys most about an overnight hotel stay) and a *great* buffet breakfast, and then we headed over to the studio.

The show was lots of fun and it's rather like you're sitting there listening in on a three-hour long conversation between a bunch of guys who are very good friends. Lots of hilarity. And they all made their way over and chatted with us between segments.

And of course we had our pictures taken with them after the show. It was good fun and I'm glad we went.

From there we high-tailed it North to Gardendale, Alabama, where Todd was interview the pastor of Gardendale First Baptist Church. The interview usually takes between sixty and ninety minutes, and I'd told Todd that I'd be happy just sitting in the car, reading and checking e-mail and playing games on my phone. So he went in and I stayed put in the parking lot. How were we to know that the pastor of FBC Gardendale was a very chatty fellow and that Todd would be gone for two and a half hours?!? LOL! It was okay -- I enjoyed all my Kindle time and played a couple of great games of Cribbage on my phone. But I was very, *very* hungry after all that waiting . . . and since Todd had gotten such a great interview we decided a trip to our favorite interstate restaurant was in order . . .

Yay for Cracker Barrel restaurants!!

Today will be a quiet day; Todd's working and I'll be playing with Ellie's heart quilt -- the perfect activity for a cold, rainy day. In the meantime, I'm going to share a darling clip that's totally captured my heart . . .

Click here if video doesn't load.

How good is that, right?! Oh how it makes me smile!

:)

travel = handwork . . .

Todd and I are in Birmingham today to sit in the "golden ticket seats" at the Rick & Bubba Show. I'm so excited . . . I cannot wait!

We've listened to the guys for years. Their show is syndicated and heard all over the place, including Alaska! The guys are hilarious ... and we're kind of hoping, since it's a Friday and the BCS bowl game is on Monday, that maybe, just maybe Lou Holtz will make an appearance. Haha!

I've been trying to get tickets for ages ... they're free, but they go FAST!

After the show, we are heading down the road to Gardendale First Baptist Church.

Todd is going to interview the pastor there for his 100 Pastor Project. While Todd conducts his interview, I plan on working on stitching down the connecting strips on one of the rows of The Pineapple Quilt. This is my UFO project that needs to be finished for January.

Each block is 18" square, so the row is about 6' wide. If you're not familiar with the quilt as you go (QAYG) method, it's very simple and finishes quickly.

In the above picture, you can see that I've machine attached the cover strip much like the first side of a binding is attached. That's done on both sides (see below photo) ... with the strips sewn on the opposing blocks. (I.e., the strip above is machine stitched to the red block on the front and will fold over and be hand stitched onto the front of turquoise block. The second strip is machine stitched to the back of the turquoise block--which is the dark blue--and then folded over and hand stitched to the back of the red block--which is the purple.) Then once the strips are attached, the two blocks are butted up against each other and zig-zag stitched together.

Once the strip is hand stitched down (like applique or binding, with tiny, hidden stitches), it will cover the zig-zag stitches that connect the block and look like sashing.

So today may be a long day, but I'll have plenty to keep me occupied while I wait. Tomorrow I'll be back in the quilt room, ready to continue working on Ellie's Got My Heart quilt!

:)

when old is new again . . .

So. On my design wall this first Monday morning of the new year is an old project. In fact, this is the oldest project I have. I decided to take up Judy Laquidara's "12 in 2012" UFO (UnFinished Object) challenge and yesterday she announced that #5 on our lists would be the UFO we should finish for January. Ummm... according to my UFO 2012 page, my #5 quilt is this one . . .

Rut roh. The Pineapple Quilt.

Actually I guess it's not really as bad as it seems in my head. This was a BOM project from Patches & Stitches in 2007. I love the wild color play in this quilt! In fact, it was seeing this quilt and wanting to participate in the BOM that got me to finish my 2006 BOM from Patches & Stitches -- which also happened to be my very first quilt.

The Pineapple Quilt was a queen-sized quilt-as-you-go project. And it's not all that far from being completed. All the blocks have been pieced and quilted and they've been lined up into rows and sewn together. I think I need to hand-stitch the edging strips down between blocks, but that's really a simple matter of a couple of evening's work. Good work to have on hand while I'm waiting for a baby to be born!

My center is finished, too ...

The center was optional to the project, but since it was one of my favorite parts of the quilt, I had to do it! It looks better in person -- I think this photo may be pre-quilting.

What's tough is the next step . . . adding the red sashing to the center, and making it square up to fit inside my rows.

I think this photo was taken from the sampler quilt in the shop.

My red sashing is quilted and ready ... I've just never worked up the nerve/courage to fit it around my center and cut it to size. Once this is done, I'll stitch my rows together and sew on the borders (which are ready). Then it will be a simple matter of binding, because the quilting part is done.

All right January, one less UFO will be in my coffers, come February 1!

Check out who else might have a UFO re-visiting their design wall by visiting Judy's Patchwork Times.

Yesterday was quite lovely.  The rain from the early morning gave way to sunshine and every glistened and sparkled just like the first day in a new year should.  I got things out and together for today's wall and post.  I did a little reading . . . a very interesting book called The Minimalists Woman's Guide to Having it All.   I don't know that I agree with everything she says in the book, but she makes some great points and suggestions and I'll probably end up sharing more about it later in the week/month.  

My split pea soup came out nicely -- it's a nice crock pot recipe -- and was good for lunch and dinner.   I also had a few of my new favorites . . . the graham cracker toffee cookies (or candies -- I'm not sure which is more appropriate).  I sent the rest of with Todd to the fire station.  No need in keeping the whole tin here.  That's just trouble waiting to happen!

I did some housekeeping, made some notes in my planner, planned our menu for the coming week and made a grocery list, and wrote out my thank you notes and some other cards, all while I watched a couple of movies.  I watched Steel Magnolias (I was struck by the fact that no one stands when the bride walks the aisle in Shelby's wedding -- I'd never realized that in the hundred times I'd watched it before), The Devil Wears Prada, Little Shop Around the Corner (the original You've Got Mail), and Beauty and the Beast.  Yup.  It was a marvelous day.  :)

And guess what? It's MONDAY -- my *favorite*!! Have a terrific day!!

:)