It's A Good Day...

...To Finish This Little Quilt

This is called Twisted Mystery.

It was Carol Doak's Mystery from

October 2011-February 2012

on her Yahoo group page. 

I am happy to report it is no longer a UFO

and after a spin through the washer and dryer,

I think it will hang beside my bed for a while.

It is so bright and cheery.

I used the walking foot to stitch somewhat straight lines.

And in the background, I did free motion little loops,

I intended them to be pebbles but

white on white is super hard for me to see so they are mostly loops.

I think it turned out fabulous!

I even lined up the hanging sleeve (on the right side)

with the back piecing.

I was happy when I trimmed the backing

and was able to use that piece for the sleeve. 

Now I need to put on my label that I forgot.

I'm calling this one done!!!

Next???

What a great way to start the day.

Design Wall Monday

I've been busy quilting away on my Carol Doak's Twisted Mystery wall hanging. (Is it wall hanging or wallhanging???)  I'm always surprised at how long straight (or somewhat straight) line quilting takes but I love the effect.  I've got all of the colored sections finished and now I'm quilting pebbles in the white background.

I've been lucky this past week to have a couple days of great amounts of uninterrupted quilting time.  Now that I am this close to being finished with this one, it's time to start thinking about what UFO I'll work on next.

I do have a sewing plans for the week. If I list it here, maybe I'll get to them.

• Finish this wall hanging.  (Tuesday morning--it's DONE!)
• Kit up blocks for Tell It To The Stars 
• Attach borders to Cathedral Stars
• Pin baste next UFO to quilt

This should keep me busy this week.

Check out fabulous design walls at Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday

This is my design bed. 

The design wall is empty.

I have been obsessed with my Circle Of Jewels project.

So sometimes I have to spread all the parts out just to see!

Sunday I felt puny so I spent hours cuddled up in the recliner.

Movie watching and jewel basting.

It was a good day. wink, wink

I did finish this sampler quilt Saturday.

I wrote about it here.

Next up to quilt is this UFO,

 Carol Doak Twisted Mystery that was started October 2011

and has been aging since Feburary 2012.

I think it's been long enough.

Batting, backing, binding are ready.

Threads have been chosen,

quilting designs figured out.

Time to empty out this bin!

See fabulous design walls at Patchwork Times.

Sending lots feel better wishes to Judy L.

October Retreat Round Up

This is Royal Ridges Retreat.

Our surroundings are beautiful.

I always go to retreat with a plan of action.

I try to follow my plan...for the most part.

I leave with a big list of new projects I want to do.

First up was to finish the 24 September log cabin blocks 

for Judy L's Back to Square One Mystery.

Next was to do the 12 star blocks.

The half square triangle papers were already pinned to the fabric.

I just had to sew, cut, press, then assemble the blocks.

The first 3 parts were easy. 

I got distracted with the assemble part and ended up unsewing a bit.

But all is well and the October step is complete. 

Yeah me!

The I got busy and sewed the bottom half of the log cabin quilt.

I was a bit a lot giddy with excitement when this was finished.

I love it and my friends loved it and that made me happy.

Sometimes I kind of worry about my scrappiness.

I have the attitude that most anything goes with everything else.

And on here it does. 

Then it was on to the assembly of the Sanctuary blocks.

This went together pretty fast and we all loved how cozy it is.

Now it is on the design wall/bed waiting for the border decision.

Then I worked on the mini quilt on the right called Busy Work.

It was a quilt along at Heartspun Quilts.

You can search her website for this project.

I loved the combination of the black and tan that I saw there so that's what I picked for mine.

The star on the left is block one of Carol Doak's new BOM on the Yahoo group.

You can find the link for the group on her website.

This quilt is called Scappy Scramble.

Perfect for me. 

I'm not happy with the center so I'll redo it today.  

All the while,

I'm working the Split 9 Patch leader/enders.

I couldn't believe I got 15 blocks made.

That's a lot of seams!!!

As always, retreat was a blast. 

Good friends,

good laughs, 

good ideas.

Can't wait for the next one.

Only 2 1/2 weeks.

I know, 

Lucky Me!

Retreat Day, Yeah!

Thank you Bonnie Hunter, this is the perfect.  Today I will surround myself with quilters at our annual spring retreat!  Let the Shenanigans begin!!!

My bag and rolling cart are packed.  I have all my tools in the green handled bin, under the frogs is my beloved featherweight with the foot/cord, iron,power strip and my much needed lamp. And some other very important things.  In the bag is my ironing pad and towel, can't live without Kleenex, strips for the swap, cutting mat, greedy gift and Chinese auction item.

I've spent time organizing my projects so I don't pack everything I own. On the left is project 1, the Batik UFO I have been working on-today it will become a finished top!!!  In the pink box is my Carol Doak BOM ready to make into a top.  In the green, a new project with all the flannel cut (strips from previous retreat swaps) and ready to sew. and the blue box holds step 5 of Judy L's mystery, along with 9-- yes 9!, cut and ready to sew Grandmother's Choice blocks (these are projects 2 and 3).

If I run out of things to do, I can always grab something more when I come home to check on things during the day.  I have 2 more projects ready just in case. I love retreating so close to home and being able to sleep in my own bed.  I will miss the shenanigans of the cabin life but I will not miss those Army bunks-I have a hard enough time sleeping in my own bed.  And I must check on my babies.

Don't worry about me, I'll be having fun.

More Good News

Today I split my to do list up.

I  listed my must dos then added 45 minutes of sewing.

In 2 sessions, I completed my Carol Doak BOM blocks.

I'm ready for the big reveal.

I must say, I hope she has the center like I have mine.

I really like that.

Back to the list!

Design Wall Monday

It's almost time for the reveal of the 2012-13 BOM at the Carol Doak Yahoo Quilting Group.  And guess who is 3 blocks behind???  Yes, it's me!  Everything is cut and kitted up, I just need to sit and sew.  Today will be a good day for that.  If I put my nose to the grindstone aka sewing machine, I will have them done in a jiffy.

See fabulous design walls that quilters are sharing at Patchwork Times.  I think I'll spend some serious coffee time there this morning while I get used to that Daylight Savings Time thing!

Sandie has asked for info on the fabrics I'm using.  Sandie, you are a no-reply commentor so I'll answer you here. I bought both at our LQS where she has a room of 40% off fabrics, that's where I found these.  The back ground is Elizabeth Golz Rush for Robert Kaufman, Shell Grotto, Screen Print # 8484.  The pink is called In the Pink 2, designed by The Buggy Barn for Henry Glss & Co, Pattern 1746.

January 2013 Getting It Done

Judy L at Patchwork Times is changing the UFO Challenge to Getting It Done.  I failed miserable at the 2012 UFO Challenge so I'm hoping with small monthly goals I can mark things off my list.

Here is my January List.

1--Keep current with ongoing weekly/monthly projects.

(Grandmother's Choice, Rainbow Challenge, Carol Doak's BOM, Judy L's mystery, Midget Blocks)

2--Finish adding the border to Hawaiian Sunset.

3--Quilt and bind last year's Carol Doak Mystery.

4--Quilt and bind Ultimate Scrap Quilt Like Julie's.

Go to Patchwork Times and see what others hope to accomplish is January. 

Quilty Thoughts for 2013

I've spent a few nights not getting much sleep.  I've been thinking and sometimes I can't turn off my brain.  I've been thinking of long term projects that I have started, projects I want to start and my word for 2013.

Long term projects include my Pineapple Crazy quilt, 

Grandmother's Choice Sampler, 

Carol Doak's BOM

Then there are all the fabulous new projects that I won't be able to resist starting. Like Angela's Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I've already played in EQ7.

  I know I want to do either a row quilt like this.

Or maybe like this. 

I don't know.  I also think using Quiltville's Chunky Churndash (my personal favorite) set with black and white quarter square triangles would be fun.  I'll think about it some more.  Probably between the hours of 1 am and 4 am.  

As if I didn't have enough projects already, there is Mt. To Be Quilted that needs to be lowered. OhBoy! The choices I have to make.........that's it!  My word for 2013:  Choices!  Wow, that was easy! 

Saturday Sewing

While Ernie is off searching for the ever elusive elk, 

I'm having an at home quilt retreat.

I made 2 midget blocks, I'll show you those on Tiny Tuesday.

See that green hunk under my ruler?

It's a hunk of shelf liner.

I learned about it from this post at Pat Speth's blog.

That little tip is one of the best around.

This is the November block for Carol Doak's BOM.

This is a block for the Sow-A-Long at Barrister's Block.

And another Sow-A-Long block.

I love having my little box of bonus half square triangles.

I am still 3 behind but I've got them ready to sew.

The rest of the day will be dinner and knitting and a movie.

I can't wait to see what happens tomorrow.

Design Wall Monday

After retreat my brain cannot shut down. I woke up this morning way too early and started to think about what my goals are for the rest of the month. This month's UFO Challenge number is 6 and my project is my Carol Doak Twisted Mystery from last year.  I last worked on it here and when I woke up I started thinking about how I want to quilt it.  Weird, huh???  So when I get into the sewing room today, I'll give it a good press and go from there.

I won this book and 3 charm packs as part of my greedy gift package that I boldly stole from Cheryl.  Sorry Cheryl. For quite a while every gift she open, someone stole it from her.  Greedy gift is such a fun game!

Check out other fabulous design walls at Patchwork Times today.

October Quiltathon Final Report

I can't believe how much I accomplished in the last 4 days.

Day 1--I made 1 block and cut all the sashings and border fabrics for the Grandmother's Choice Sampler.

Day 2--Baking, knitting and 3 more GCS blocks.

Day 3--2 more GCS blocks and a Carol Doak paper pieced BOM and time spent laying out the Sow-A-Long pink and brown blocks, sewed a few of them together.  More time spent knitting.

Day 4--today......I baked more zucchini bread and a really good apple crisp.  Then about 11, I headed to the sewing room and worked on sewing more blocks into rows.  I've got the top half sewn together. I don't know how much longer I'm going to work on this today. I'm tired and thinking about taking a nap...or knitting.  Maybe I'll sew later tonight or maybe not.

Thanks Judy L for another fun Quiltathon.  Can we do it again next month?? You can see how others spent their Quiltathon time here.

Quiltathon Day 4

I finished up this Carol Doak BOM last night and after I posted my progress, I went back in and figured out what I was doing with my setting triangles ...I forgot to put a sashing piece on. Duh! Then I spent some time knitting on my Circle Socks and watching some of my TV shows that I had recorded. Do you watch Parenthood? And do you cry during each episode????  I love that show.

This morning I decided to get more zucchini bread in the oven, so four loaves are cooling waiting to be packaged for the freezer.  I've tried putting the grated zucchini in the freezer but I never remember to take it out before we want bread.  The next batch will be made into muffins and packaged 2 per baggie so I can just put them in Ernie's lunch.  Now there is an apple crisp in the oven and I have my mess cleaned up and I'm ready to sew.

NSM-Day 10

On my weekend list of sewing projects (that was interrupted several times) was the BOM for the Carol Doak Yahoo group.  Today was the day it made it to the top of the list.  The pages were already printed, the fabric is in it's own tote so everything was ready to start cutting the fabric pieces.  I love that Carol figures out the sizes of the fabrics for us.

After cutting, numbering and stacking, I was ready to sew, press, trim and pretty quick another cool block was placed with the others.

Day 10 of National Sewing Month is another huge success.  The bow tie blocks are finished.  They are now in the process of becoming twosies.  The final Sow-A-Long block is complete.  Next up on my list is to work on this month's UFO.

Blocks and A Top

This week my sewing time has been grabbed in a few minutes here, a few there. 

 Or one episode of The Guardian on Netflix. 

That Simon Baker is adorable!

How did I miss this show when it was on TV?!?

My blocks for the 2010 Moose On The Porch Jelly Roll Sampler have been turned into a fabulous quilt top. It feels good to put that empty bag away.  

I'm thinking about finding something for an outer border. 

I may have to shop for that.  

I think this will make a perfect cuddle on the couch quilt.

This is the July block for the Carol Doak Yahoo group mystery.  

And this is the block for August.  

I have never been ahead in a block of the month project.

I like it.

Don't let me fall in September when she posts the new block.

Busy Busy

Tuesday and Wednesday morning, I made time for block making and strip cutting.

 I made June's block for Carol Daok's yahoo group BOM/Mystery.

I cut my strips for my first strip swap with the QuiltvilleSwap group.

Then made a trip to the post office to get them sent off.
I CANNOT wait until I get my package back!

The strips on the left go into my 2 1/2" bin.
The strips in the middle go into the 2" bin.
The lone strip on the right goes into the 1 1/2" bin.

Then I made blocks 26 and 27 for the Sow-Along at Barrister's Block.

This morning she posted blocks 32 and 33.  

I want to be caught up by next Wednesday when she posts more.

Wish me luck!

I continue to work on my Bow Tie Blocks for the 2011 Bow Tie Leader/Ender Challenge from Quiltville.

I started making my blocks here, in August 2011.

I stopped working on them for quite a while.
I picked them up again here, April 2012.

The yellow basket holds my pinned together block parts.

I work on 5 BT blocks at a time.

I pin 10 completed together and put them in the bin.

I don't know how many I have or how many I will need.

While going through a stack of books and magazines,
I found this booklet published in 2005 by Billie Lauder called
Let's Make Bow Ties & Spools of Thread.
I tried to find a link on the web but couldn't find one.
It has all kinds of layouts in it.
I'm having a hard time picking the one I want to use.

Now I'm going to spend time with my Binding Friends.
I wish I were working on binding but won' be.
Still having issues with skipped stitches on the quilting machine. 

I'll work on that later.

Maybe I'll crochet or knit or stitch.
I better go figure that out.  

I Cannot Resist

Carol Doak has started a new Mystery/BOM.  This is my block for May.  I tried so hard to resist, really I did...like 10 whole minutes!!  Life is too short to resist a mystery.  That's my story...

I love her designs and I love a mystery and I love a good BOM.  This is a 2 color quilt.  I think this will be my third 2 fabric quilt ever.

I had to go shopping--I know, darn!  because I don't have much yardage.  I found this seashell print first and loved it.  Then the pink kind of fell off the shelf. Really it did, I was pulling out another bolt and this one came with it.  I think it's perfect.  It took me all of 5 minutes to find my fabrics.  I did wander and pet fabrics and found 3 other pieces to finish a UFO.  Great day in the quilt shop.

If you want more info on this project, go here.

Design Wall Monday

Last week I put the Carol Doak Twisted Mystery on the Design Wall.  During the week I worked on it.  Yesterday I put the final border on and started taking off the paper.

Not my favorite job.

These are my tools for paper removal.  My recliner, my favorite green bin, an itty bitty crochet hook that will never be used by me for crochet, tweezers and making tape.

Masking tape? you ask.  Yes.  Before you stand up, take a length of tape, wrap it around your hand with the sticky side out and clean yourself of the tiny bits of paper.  You will still have to get out the vacuum cleaner.  Its a messy job but not as messy if you use the tape. 

Sometime today, I am going to park myself back in the recliner, turn on the tv and get the rest of the paper off this fabulous top so I can give it a good press and maybe, just maybe it will be finished this week.

Wish me luck!

Now I am going to refill my coffee cup and go visiting throughout Blogland.  I'm starting here, the road map to Design Wall Monday.

Design Wall Monday

This is my Twisted Mystery from Carol Doak Quilting Group at Yahoo.  This was started in the fall of 2011.  I took the final steps to work on at one of my fall retreats and was so distracted that I put it away and forgot to get it out again.

Tuesday I wanted to sew something at my Binding Friends quilt group the next day so I pulled out this bin and paper pieced the last clue.  It was fun to make good progress on something while visiting with friends.  Sunday I decided to put it up on the wall to see how it would look.  It's a good thing I did.  I am missing 4 pieces.  They have to be somewhere close by.  I had to have sewn them because I have no fabric pieces left over.
*** Thank goodness I found them.  They weren't really lost, they were in the bin-right where they belonged--hiding under the border fabric.


Between laundry loads and bed remaking today, I hope to find my missing pieces and finish sewing this together.  I think this will be the perfect spring wall hanging.

Visit Patchwork Times to see what others are working on.   Also today is Orca Bay link up at Quiltville.  Isn't Monday in Blogland fun!!!