August UFO Challenge Project

WaaHoo! August's UFO Challenge is finally marked off the list. 

This is Hawaiian Sunset 1845.

This pattern is still available as a down load from Quilters Newsletter.

It really was a fun quilt to make.

I was so afraid to quilt it so I put it away for 6 long years.

How sad.

When I pulled it out of the bin, I was stumped as to what to quilt.

And then it came time to choose thread.

I decided a nice gray was perfect. 

I can't wait to wash it and see if the gray hides a bit more 

but if not, I'm happy with it.

While pin basting, I decided it was so busy it only needs a meander.

I was shocked that it only took 1 day to get it quilted. 

I sure do love my Sweet Sixteen.

It is now trimmed and ready for binding which was in strips in the binding box. 

That will happen today. 

When Ernie asked who it was for I told him I had no clue and

 that I really wanted to keep it for myself.

You can read all the stories about it here.

Friday Finish

I'm excited to say that Hawaiian Sunset 1845 is a complete quilt top.  I layed it out on my bed and it makes my room so bright.  I don't want to fold it up and put it on Mt. ToBeQuilted.  But I will.

This was number 2 on my Getting It Done Challenge list for January and it feels great to mark it off the list.

Thanks to my friends that taunted and teased me into starting this quilt.  You know who you are.

Design Wall Monday

Today's design wall is a box full of Hawaiian Sunset 1845. I put the box away the end of November and put the project on the Getting It Done Challenge for January. And by gosh, I am going to get it done!!!  The 4 patch borders are partially assembled.  Once I get started on it, it will go fast. With only 10 days left in the month I need to get to Getting It Done!!!

Also on today's agenda for resting time is this cute little Midge block.  I am almost tempted to machine stitch these but instead I am gong to hand stitch them.  I'll put on a movie and just get it done.  I'm fighting with yet another head cold so there has been lots of recliner knitting time that can be switched over to stitching time.

Check out Judy L's gorgeous design wall and other fabulous design walls here.  I love Monday in Blogland.  A cup of hot lemon tea with honey and I'm ready to wander.

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. 

Design Wall Monday

I'm so excited to be working on the borders for Hawaiian Sunset.  The top is all put together and I have about 30 more 4 patches to finishes.  That shouldn't take too long.

What is going to take a while is sewing all the blue wings on to them.  Or maybe not.  After all, I did the 600 flying geese in just a few days.  I love how bright and cheery this quilt is!

See other great design walls that have linked up to Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday

It has been gloomy, wet and cold here.

I needed something bright and cheery.

Hawaiian Sunset did the trick.

She is very bright and cheery.

What's on your design wall?

Check other design walls at Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday

Last night while putting some things away from retreat, I picked up the Hawaiian Sunset bin and opened it up to pet the block parts. I couldn't resist putting a few of them up on the wall.  Oh how I wish I had my sashing and cornerstone cut so they could be up there too. All this color just makes me happy.

Today will be catch up day for me from my fun weekend. If I have time to sew, I will be sewing on this.  Check other great design walls at Patchwork Times.

Fall Retreat #2 Report

 Retreats are so much fun.

Two retreats within 3 weeks sure leave me exhausted!

It's not a bad thing.

I made 6 more Pineapple Crazy blocks.

I now have 32 and my scrap basket is a whole lot fuller thanks to my friends.

This quilt is going to be filled with love from my friends.

It will be like a giant hug all the time.

I am so excited about the progress made on Hawaiian Sunset 1845.

I think sometime this week all the blocks will be put together.

I go home during the day to check on the chickens and 

let the dogs run and take care of their business.

Day 1 when I came back these bags of scraps were piled in my chair.

I wanted to cry with happiness.

I have such awesome friends.

Thank you Francie. 

Friday morning Cookie taught (or tried to teach) a group of us to make Temari Balls.

If you have never seen these, search Google Images and be amazed.

Above is what mine is supposed to look like and my beginning.

This is a horrid photo of side 1.

I'm saying not bad for my first attempt.

This is the beginning of side 2.

Better but I still need to work on it.

I really do like doing this. 

It terrifies me that I have another passion.

You know what I mean.

It was a perfect weekend full of friends and fun.

Well, there was that one incident that we won't talk about...........  

Design Wall Monday

Not much sewing time this week.

I did complete 4 more Pineapple Crazy blocks

but I didn't take a picture.

Friday I picked up Taylor and we did a bit of shopping for 

just the right blue and greens for the Hawaiian Sunset quilt.

I think we nailed it on the corner greens.

I'm making mine all the same to calm things down.

That means I have to exchange the corners in the one block I had complete.

But I'm on my way now.

All the 9 patches have their sashing and cornerstones ready to be sewn on.

I received this fabulous postcard in the mail Saturday.

Thank you so much Annie.

I squealed with delight~it was such an amazing surprise.

I will hang it right where I can see it and smile.

If you aren't a reader of Annie's blog, you should visit her.

She does such great thing.

Head over to Patchwork Times and see other fabulous design walls.

I love Monday in Blogland!

October Retreat Report

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My Bags Are Packed...

...I'm ready to go. Not on a jet plane but in a Honda Accord.  I'm headed out to retreat.  That's right, 4 days of fun with friends~~sewing, laughing, snacking, yakking, and any other ing that enhances our retreat!  Mind you it's only 3 miles from home and I have to come home during the day to check the dogs and chickens and I come home at night to sleep in my own bed but still, I'm at retreat!

I always pack for retreat with a plan of action.  This time I'm working on Pineapple Crazy, Hawaiian Sunset, 2 Sow-A-Long blocks and a few Midget blocks.  I packed my travel sock and maybe I can get that finished. I have just a few rows left on the toe of sock 2. Maybe I'll knit some, maybe not......

In the red Memory Star rolling cart, I have my featherweight, iron and board, lamp, power cord, tool box, greedy gift, under machine pad with pockets and trash bag/pin cushion and my notebook with my blocks cut and ready to sew.

The red bag holds 2 project bins and bins of scraps plus a bag of chocolate covered pretzels.....my retreat guilty pleasure.

Let's get this thing started........I'm Outta Here!!!

Happy Dancing

I'm happy dancing today because 600 flying geese are now 100 units!  I am ready to start working on some 4 and 9 patches for the Hawaiian Sunset 1845 quilt.

See the lone goose in front?  I thought I was one short so I made another one.  Then when I was doing the final pressing and stacking, one unit looked funny.  It has 7 geese...so now there is a lonely little bird.

I think next I will pin these into groups of 4 since that is what goes into each block.  I am so happy with how these turned out.  

I almost forgot to sew yesterday.  The father of these 2 lovelies put in a new sliding glass door for us.  I was pretty busy being Gramma and then when they went home, I kind of collapsed into the recliner for a while.  After dinner, I started knitting and the next thing I know, I'm in bed.  Then I remembered I hadn't sewed yet so I got up and sewed for a few minutes........seriously.  Am I nuts or what! So it's now 27 days of sewing every day!!!

What's next for me today?  The garden......green beans need to be picked and canned.  Good thing I got that sewing out of the way early today.

Design Wall Monday

Hawaiian Sunset 1845---please don't let me get tired of flying geese.  I am so close to the end of these and anxious to start the 9 and 4 patches....so anxious that I have started pulling strips out for them.  Just a few, it's going to take lots more.  I see progress on others and it makes me want to forget about the box of apples and the bucket of green beans I have waiting for me this morning.

And my precious bow ties.....I have 4 more twosies to sew together and then I can get the remaining 4 patches finished.  Daughter Crystal was here the other day and didn't like the way I had them paired up so she rearranged some for me.  She doesn't know it yet but when the 4 patches are laid out, she has to work her magic on them.  

Day 24 of National Sewing Month--I continue on my journey of sewing every day.  I'm quite amazed with myself...I thought I would fizzle out after the first few days but haven't.  Let's hope the mojo sticks around for a few more days. I'm thinking of buying myself a nice prize when I complete the month.  Something special, sewing related of course!

Check out what Judy L has on her wall today and what other fabulous projects are being shown on DWM.

Families of Geese

It's time for these geese to find their soul mates.  I've always heard that geese mate for life.  I'm kind of the same way......we just celebrated our 40th anniversary so I've been thinking a lot about that.

I know, my mind is kind of quirky sometimes but I'm OK with that.  I have to think things through in my own way. You know what I mean!  And see that little pile of bow tie twosies?  That's all that remains of the twosie leader/ender pile.  Soooo close to making foursies.  And the timer set at 22 minutes........yip, that is still going on. Wonder why I didn't set it for 23 minutes??? 

 The geese units were counted and pinned into sets of 10 as they were finished.  When all 600 were complete (sigh of relief!), I pulled out 20 sets to use as the completer geese.  Then I started sewing them into pairs.  When the 400 geese have found their soul mates, I will start to make a families of 4.

Then I'll make the complete family of 6 using the completers.  You know I had to make 1 family so the rest of the flock will follow.  99 families to go before we can have the family reunion.............

See the extras in the top of the photo?  The goose on the left is single.......the one on the right needs a left wing and will hopefully be needed and the pinks are all that I had leftover.  Funny/not so funny:  I tried sewing 26 wings on without bobbin thread. 26!!!  I'm shocked my machine didn't eat the top thread but it didn't, it let me go on and on and on...

Not too bad for resisting the Hawaiian Sunset  1845 quilt.  And the best news of all???  I have sewn everyday of September as I celebrate National Sewing Month.  Even today before 6:30 am I have had the machine on and sewed 2 seams.  But there will be more sewing later today.  I have families to complete!

September Quiltathon Final Report

 What a wonderful Quiltathon weekend this was for me.  Even with all the other things going on this weekend, I managed to get so many Hawaiian Sunset flying geese done.  There are 420!  I can't believe it.

I ran out of chunks yesterday so I had to cut more this morning and cut more pink squares.  It's so hard to judge when you aren't counting.  I know I don't have 180 chunks cut but now I'm going to wait until these are done and then I'll just cut what I need.

Thanks Judy L for hosting a great weekend.  Can't wait until next month.  Check Judy's post here to see what others did this weekend.

Quiltathon Day 3

First things first.  

This is my Facebook status for today.

For better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish....

Happy 40th Anniversary to my best friend. 

Up early again this morning.  

Added 70 move geese to the bin.

Sewed the left wings on the remaining chunks.

Now it's time for grand kiddos soccer games 

and picnic lunch.

Quiltathon Day 2

Quiltathon Day 2 started early for me.  I have a dr. appt this morning so I decided to go into the sewing room and finish up the flock of geese that I never returned to yesterday.  There were 93 geese in that pile.

As of 7:30 this morning, I have a total of 240 geese and 3 more to start the next flock with.  See those scissors on the right side there?  Those are Karen Kay Buckley Perfect Scissors. On QuiltCam the other night, Bonnie Hunter was saying how great they are and let me tell you, they are!!!  I am so glad I ordered them.  I think I have finally found the perfect scissors! 

I'm linking up with Judy L's progress post here.  I'll be back later.

6:30 pm   

Dr appt. went well.  No more sewing has gone on yet.  Had a great visit with daughter DeeDee.  Not too often does she get to come out on a weekday.  Then dinner went into the oven and while it was cooking, more pink strips were cut to make squares.  Then a few more strips of goose fabric was chunked up and added to the pile.  I think I'm real close to the 600 needed if I guesstimated right.  I'm not going to cut any more until I get all those chunks turned into geese just to see how close I am.  I love to play simple, silly games with myself.

Now that dinner is over, I'm going to head in and sew for just a while.  I'll tell you about that later.

Oh, and my National Sewing Month goal to sew every day???  I haven't missed a day!  That makes me happy.  

September Quiltathon

Judy L at Patchwork Times is hosting a Quiltathon.  I love a good Quiltathon!  And she is posting progress updates throughout the day.  That sounds fun.

So here is my sewing table.  Grey's Anatomy is on the tablet.  I'm making scrappy flying geese for the Hawaiian Sunset quilt.  In the background you can see my bow tie twosies that I'm using for l/e.

I had 83 finished this morning before I started sewing.  I now have 151 complete.  I'm having a gooseathon instead of a quiltathon.  LOL........sometimes I crack myself up!

This pile is waiting for pressing and trimming and the second side sewn on.  I have no clue how many are here.  From the looks of my pink squares pile, I'm going to have to cut more.

But first.......I have a load of laundry to hang out, I am going on a short walk about and then fix some lunch.  Then I better dance with the vacuum cleaner before I go back and sew.

3:30  hung out clothes, went for short walk, ate lunch, napped   :0)  Hubster just got home from work......he's gonna want dinner.

Peer Pressure

Look Angela, I started Hawaiian Sunset 1845.

If you are being weighted down by peer pressure,

(or if you are like me and fell in love with this quilt)

you can order your own digital copy of 

Quilter's Newsletter right here. 

The pattern starts on page 56.

Do I blame Jo of Jo's Country Junction?

That's where I first saw the picture and fell in love with it.

Do I blame Angela of soscrappy?

Because on August 29th she posts 3 blog posts about this quilt?

And because she is constantly goading me to start?  

What about Amy of Amy's Passions.  

She showing her cute little 4 and 9 patches.

And so many others are making this great quilt

What's a follower to do?

She orders her own digital copy of the magazine.

Work like a crazy woman to get a few things sewn up 

and then start making a few flying geese.

You know, just to see if they will be cute or not!

Of course they are cute!

So now I need to cut more pink squares 

and more geese bodies.

And find some great pieces of fabric for cute little 4 patches and 9 patches.

~~~~~Oh the pressure~~~~~

Just kidding!

I love this quilt and had planned to make it someday.

I just didn't think it would be now.