On The Needles

Holy Cow, I have been a slacker. It's been since July that I have done an On the Needles post. I really did have good intentions but you know how that works out sometimes.  

After finishing the 2 pair of socks I had on the needles, I finally get to start 2 more pair. This pattern is call Fruit Strip Gum. Isn't it fun. Super easy and it will become my new to go project. I am not even concerned that the stripes don't match up. Because these are fun!

The next pair is called Groovy Socks. This is the original yarn I wanted to use for the Fruit Stripe Gum socks but the color runs are really short. This is the pair I keep by my chair. Again, it's an easy pattern to follow so I can kind of pay attention to what's on tv or what's happening around me. 

These Plain Janes were started in January on the way to the beach and were my to go project. I don't go much so these took a while to complete.

Glacier Lake Toe Up were finished also. These were started in March.......oiye! I am so slow. I did really good then had some trouble understanding the instructions until I sat down in total silence and read them out loud and talked my self through the gusset part. Then it was easy peasy! I'm not sure if I'll do another toe up pair or not. I'm kind of an old dog and like my tired and true, 2 socks on 2 circulars. I know I need 60 stitches on my size needles with the yarn I like to use. So I'll just stick with that for a while longer.

Check out what others have on their needles at Patchwork Times.

NSM Days 7 - 13

Wow, I am a bit behind on my posting of my sew every day during National Sewing Month projects. I finished Tumalo Trails, not on Monday like I'd planned. It was finally finished on Thursday.

I sewed every day, just not much as I wanted to. Instead I canned beans and froze broccoli. I'm happy to have that finished.

Since finishing the quilt top, I've been Swooning. This is Vivian for daughter DeeDee. She wanted a cool bag to carry her work stuff in. She wants a cross body strap on it but I don't have the hardware for that. I'll give her the bag tomorrow and the strap when it's finished.

I love fun pockets. The pattern for Vivian calls for one inside pocket with a zipper. I put in a zipper pocket on each side. I used orange zippers and this fun fabric for the inside of the pockets. On Taylor's bag I used a fun print on one side and elk and deer on the other.  

In the evening I worked on Millefiore. Little by little It's getting there. Mostly this block spent time in my lap while I looked at it. ;)

I'm excited to see what this week brings. The next project is laying on the sewing table ready to start.

Design Wall Monday

It's been a super busy week in the sewing room.  Two finishes have me pretty excited. I pulled out my oldest UFO, basted and quilted it. Too bad my evening phone picture doesn't show the true bright colors of this quilt. It is bright!!! I also finished Hanky Panky. I have such a fabulous plan for these quilts and can't wait to share it with you.

 Next up is a simple 9 patch baby quilt. I participated in an online group swap of bright and white 9 patches. This is quilt number 2 from that swap. (Here is the other one.) The yellow polka dots came from my deep stash-You know it's deep stash because the fabric is a true 45" wide. Perfect for this quilt. I can't wait to start the quilting on this. Backing is ready, binding is waiting to be sewn together.

I also pulled out my bin of novelties for some large tumblers. I don't have any little boy quilts and thought these would make for a fun project.   Sometimes you just need to start something new! I love my GO! Cutter for cutting these 6" blocks. 

Bonnie has me excited about this year's leader/ender project-info can be found in her free patterns tab. I already had a bin of 3" tumblers cut and just needed to cut neutrals to go with them. Fast, easy and fun using my GO! cutter. So a really cool setting was all I needed to jump on this band wagon! I love a fun anything goes, scrappy, happy quilt.

My biggest challenge this weeks seems to be my Millefiore block. The triangles have gone through several transformations before selecting the one I used. This is my testing of the top of the triangles. I started them out with orange on all 3 sides but that was just too much. So I took off all the orange and replaced it with the light blue. Then someone posted their block completed with the top of the triangle a dark color and that seemed perfect for me. So I found some dark blue and that is where i am now. I have 7 more round 3 hexies to sew on to complete this block. Maybe this week. But maybe not, I started knitting on my socks again.

See fabulous Design Wall Monday links at Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday

I may as well start right out by blaming Teresa at A Quilt and A Prayer for shoving me overboard into the land of The New Hexagon Millefiore Quilt Along.  Almost 6 whole months I have resisted and then I read one post on her blog and I am on Amazon ordering the book and at Paper Pieces ordering the first set of templates.  I am head over heals in love with this quilt!

While I waited for my book and templates to arrive--3 loooong days!--I printed Rosette 1 pages from the website and joined the Facebook group and googled images of  the Millefiore quilt and decided on fabrics to use. I know I will add and subtract and maybe change my mind lots of times on which fabrics to use but I am so excited to get going.

As hard as I tried to resist starting, I had to make the center....just to see what it looks like! I have never fussy cut like this before and think I have done an OK job on this. I used this tutorial on Fussy Cutting written by LuAnn of Loose Threads.  Now I need to put this on hold because I want to finish my Castle Wall blocks. I only need to make 6 more before I am ready to set them into a quilt top. Sometimes staying focused is so hard for me!!!

At the machine, I have a few more quilts to mark off the UFO list before I concentrate (become obsessed) with any one project (Millefiore). I finished this Crossroads quilt using a flannel backing. It is so toasty. Connie at Freemotion by the River has written a great tutorial for this quilt. What will I quilt next???  I know, how about Hanky Panky--it's been lounging around for almost 5 years, now it's time to provide some warmth!

Fun things are happening at Patchwork Times Design Wall Monday today!  I can't wait to play along.

Design Wall Monday

I had one of those weeks where I was all over the place.

I finished this Framed 9 Patch.

I think it turned out very sweet.

I pieced batting for the next quilt.

Even with the table set up, 

I couldn't force myself to layer and pin baste.

It just wasn't in me.

I'm hoping with the temperatures up into the 90s today

that I'll hide in the cool house and get this basted.

What was in me was mindless sewing.

I turned on a movie and started making 4 1/2" blocks.. 

I wonder if I will ever use up all my neutral strings.

I hope not!

See what others are working on at Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday

It's that time of year again...Retreat Time!! WhooHoo. I need a retreat!  I decided this retreat was all about working from my stash. Instead of focusing on Pineapple Crazy like I have at past retreats, I decided to make a couple new quilt tops.  They have a purpose, I just can't talk about it yet and NO, there are no new babies or weddings planned that I know of.  

I went to my stash of batik strips and strip books to create one project. I had another kit started and finished cutting for the blocks for the second. Then yesterday I was wanting to consolidate a couple of UFO bins into one and found these tumblers all cut with a note that said 12 x 12. To the wall I went! There were 7 different fabrics so I started playing. This is the design I went with. They are all stacked and pinned into rows, ready to sew. But with a project like this where each row needs to be sewn together one at a time, I need a good stash of leader/enders. I need to think of this one a bit!

 I found a bag with this charm pack and 2 pieces of yardage together. I had a plan at one time but there are no notes. I haven't a clue what I was thinking. I have a couple books with charm pack designs so I'll figure something out.  I also found this jelly roll and 2 yards of the green and 4 yards of the tan batik together in a bag. No note, no clue, no problem, again to the books I'll go.

I finished A Little Bit Hexi! found on Quiltville's free pattern page.  I can't wait to hang it on my wall. I learned that my Morse machine is not a good machine for free motion quilting but I had fun using it. (I could be the machine operator too.)

Last weeks plans went pretty good. I still haven't taken my Brother machine to the shop. Won't happen this week either because it's Retreat Week!!!  Lots to do before I go.  Lots planned to do while I'm there!

See great projects happening at Patchwork Times-Design Wall Monday.

April Quilt Finishes

My second Scrappy Sister's Choice.

Fun with Batiks.

The Elk Quilt for Hunting Club.

Being ready for the hunting club picnic early feels good.

Not near as good as crossing 2 more UFOs off my list.

Next!

Design Wall Monday

I have nothing on my design wall.

It will be a week full of quilting.

I had a very successful week of reaching my goals from last week's Design Wall Monday post.

So successful that I was able to start quilting this quilt Saturday afternoon 

after basting it and another in the morning. 

Why not baste 2, the tables were already set up 

and Jersey Boys was on tv.

The elk quilt for hunting club is finished!!! 

(I need to hang it up to take a full picture.)

Yeah-2 months ahead of time.

Monday afternoon I sewed the binding on and started to stitch it down that night.

Then a bit more on Tuesday.

Wednesday I took it go Binding Friends group

and left there with it finished!!!  

Great help from Marian and Granddaughter Taylor 

(who is now officially a Binding Friend since this was her first binding.)

Thank you so much ladies!

Next up I finished the Della Wallets from Swoon Patterns.

I delivered them to Taylor and Lacey.

They both loved them. 

Friday afternoon I made backs for the next 2 quilts.

Goals for this week are pretty simple:

• Finish the batik boxy quilt.
• Start quilting the 2nd Sister's Choice.

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!!

2015 Finish #1

I'm so happy to have this quilt finished.

Pieced Hexies started October 2013.

 Finished January 6, 2014.