Design Wall Monday

Look at me recycling an old photo of my Pineapple Crazy blocks.  I'm too lazy to go take a picture of the newest blocks and I love how it looks with them layed out. It inspires me to sew like a mad woman.

Sadly these have been put on hold while I work on the elk quilt for the hunting club. Sort of on hold, I ran out of papers and coincidentally out of printer ink. So new ink has been bought and installed and as I write this post, blocks are being printed. I'm hoping to stay focused on the elk quilt and not call squirrel on itty bitty pieces of fabric.

After some household chores this morning, the tables will be set up and the basting of the elk quilt will begin.  Maybe the quilting will start today too.  What I really want to work on though are these Pineapple Crazy blocks.

I have a list of goals for my sewing this week.

• baste, quilt and bind the elk quilt 
• I think I need to buy some brown thread for the binding-I'd better check on that
• finish the wallet I'm working on
• make a few more Pineapple Crazy blocks

That's probably enough for this week.  First I am going to see what others are working on at Patchwork Times and drink another cup of coffee.

On The Needles

You know that sometimes I need to work on something new feeling?

I had that this week.

I was clearing out some stuff and came across a bag that had the Dreambird shawl in it.

I knew I would never, ever finish it.

I just isn't me. 

So I pulled it out, or I tired to.

Not an easy unknit.

I decided to make myself a Lillian scarf.

The yarn is Chroma Fingering Yarn from KnitPicks.

Don't you love the colors of the verigated?

Grays to pinks to lavender. 

The pattern doesn't call for fingering yarn or size 5 needles.

I cast on double the amount of stitches.

Cross your fingers that it works out for me.

I've made Lillian before.

This one was gifted to daughter Dee last year.

She loves it.

Again, not the yarn or needle size called for in the pattern.

Will I ever make this according to the pattern?
I just might.

See what others have on their needles at Patchwork Times.

PS: the Blueberry Waffle socks from last week have been fixed

and more progress was made on toe up socks-I'm almost at the gusset.

Design Wall Monday

I've spent my sewing time working on this quilt for the hunting club using the BQ4 design. I have most of the blocks put together. I think there are 6 left to finish sewing.  I'd sure like to have the top and back finished this week.

I decided this quilt needed a flannel back and I'll do a large meander for the quilting. Binding is a dark brown.

Granddaughter Taylor was here this weekend and fell in love with it and hopes to win it. She won last year's quilt, her mother won the year before.

Check out other  great design walls today at Patchwork Times.

On The Needles

The real title of this post should be

Sock Week

(Notice that play on Shark Week???)

Saturday we went to a banquet.

The drive was almost an hour so I made some good progress on my Plain Janes.

It was pouring rain so I just put my head down and the needles were flying.

I finished my Blueberry Waffle Socks.

They are too small.

I swear I measured 7" before I started to decrease the for the toe.

I need to stop swearing!

I am going to take this out and make the foot longer.

I want to wear these without regret!

The lesson learned here is to not use a tape measure but

use the 7" knitting needle I keep in my knitting bag instead.

Then the numbers won't confuse me!!!

Remember these funky socks I started back in January?

I pulled them out and started over.

One day I'll make this pattern but I'll do a stockinette sole

and probably start from the top.

I wasn't happy with having the pattern on the sole.

Even though it probably wouldn't be a problem.

Or I was more worried about the gusset and heel turn.

I wanted to make toe up so I found Glacier Lake Toe Up Socks.

Simple pattern, good instructions. 

She has very good row by row instructions for the gusset and heel turn.

I'll use one of my good fitting socks to measure against 

for when to start the gusset.

See what others are working on this week at Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday

I've been having a blast in the scrap bags this week. 

I finished the 5 blocks that were started last week and

finished 10 more!!!

And they have all been de-papered.

My totals now are 130 pineapple blocks and 25 border blocks.

They are now all put away because a new project must be started.

It's that time of year again when I make the hunting club a quilt as a raffle prize for our annual picnic.

These are the fabrics I am using this year.

I'm using the BQ4 pattern to show off this fabulous elk fabric.

My friends were at the Sew Expo in Puyallup and spotted the fabric for me at one of the vendors.

A quick phone call to me and an internet search and my focus fabric was secured!

I do have the best friends!!!

See what others are working on at Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday

With everything that has been happening around here,

sewing time has been at a minimum.

The weather has been awesome-sorry to anyone that is snow bound-

so lots of time has been spent outside.

I've been working on my Castle Wall blocks.

The bear block was the first one I cut out and

tried to sew, I wasn't happy with it so it didn't get finished.

Then I decided it belonged in the quilt as it is part of this story.

Now I'm happy with it.

These are blocks 13-17 of the 56 I need.

(Old photo alert!)

I also worked on Pineapple Crazy.

I finished the 5 blocks in this photo, 

finished 5 more and

started a new set of 5.

The bags of scraps don't seem to be getting any smaller!

See what others have on their design wall this week at Patchwork Times.

Time to grab a cuppa and spend time with my friends in Blogland.

Design Wall Monday

There is nothing on the design wall.

No sad face here.

My version of Bonnie's Sister's Choice (#1 of 2) is done!

I quilted and quilted and finally I was able to bind and wash and dry.

My favorite part of quilting is taking the quilt warm from the dryer.

It gets a big hug before inspecting.

That means another UFO marked off the list.

The next one is already for basting.

That long UFO list is getting shorter and shorter!

I love a pieced back.

The light blue and green fabrics came from friends at a retreat.

If I remember right, someone's aunt had these fabrics.

I feel bad because I can't remember who brought them.

I thanked them then, I thank them now.

I needed 2 widths of fabric so I  added some of my own fabric, 

snipped and ripped and made a fun back.

Shirley tested it.

I swear trying to lay out a quilt with her around is more work that if there were 5 toddlers!

Fun story time.

Saturday afternoon I was on the phone with daughter Crystal about our sewing.

She was working on a wallet using a Swoon pattern.

They have the best patterns!!!

That lead me to look at their page again which lead me to buy 2 new patterns.

That lead me to post on Facebook how much I enjoy talking to my daughter about sewing

and that lead me to buying patterns.

That also lead to a conversation with someone else and that lead them to buying patterns.

*snicker, snicker*

I asked Ernie if he wanted to run into town so I could go to JA's so I could get some bag making supplies and we could go out to dinner.

I wanted a cheeseburger from Carl's Jr.

I picked out fabrics and supplies for 2 bags.

I had to go to the cotton fabric section to look for lining fabrics.

As I'm walking down the isle, this bicycle fabric jumped into my basket.

A brand new bolt!

Someone posted it to the Quiltville Open Studio Facebook page 

and bicycle fabric is all the rage for the back of Grand Illusion.

How could I not buy it!

For Christmas, I received gift cards for JoAnn's.

When I was using them, the gal asked if I wanted the $2.32 left on the card

or did I want the cash.

I took the cash.

I have never used a gift card that I didn't have to add money to.

After dinner, 

I told Ernie that this was the perfect date night.

He went to the Sportsman's store and I got the perfect fabric.

And we ate dinner at our favorite hamburger place.

Check out all the fabulous Design Wall Monday posts at

Patchwork Times. 

I love Monday in Blogland!!