Design Wall Monday

It's retreat prep time!!! WahHoo!!!  I am soooo ready for retreat, spending sewing time with my daughter and lots of friends! I love to have everything cut and ready to sew. These 31 little blocks are going to be so much fun. Each one is different so the cutting time was long.  I have my Dresden quilt all kitted up and there is one more project that I want to prepare. It wouldn't be cool to run out of something to do.  It's not like I won't be coming home a couple times every day so I could grab something else if I need to.

This is what I saw when I let the dogs out this morning. Pretty much can't beat a cool morning sky! 

This lump of Miss Shirley wouldn't leave my lap last night. I'm trying to get the binding on this wall hanging and she was helping me stay seated and forced me to get it done. Then the dog walked by and we both lost focus. :-)  I'll show you this next week. 

Life on the farm is always fun. There were 4 babies last night. I wonder how many there are this morning. Have a wonder week everyone. I'm headed over to Patchwork Times to see what everyone is working on.  Morning coffee in Blogland......so much fun!

Slow Stitching Sunday

It's been a while since I've done a Slow Stitching post.  Over 2 months! But I've been stitching. I chose last year's BOM from The Hexi Blog as my next UFO to work on.  I have these 4 designs machine to applique to the background squares. Only the green 4 leaf clover is pinned on and I see I need to adjust it before stitching. The others are just laying there.  It feels good to be over half way now with the designs. The next block is a basket and it's half finished already.  My goal is one block every 2 or 3 days.  I think I can, I think I can!!!

It's been fun digging in the scrap bins that were sorted by color for just the right fabrics. I think my biggest challenge is finding pieces large enough to cover my 3/4" hexies. I am wondering if I will ever be able to lay something out on my bed without help from Miss Shirley. If that happens, I'm sure Miss Polly will be right there to help me.  I've raised very helpful kitties!

I have worked on my Castle Wall project too. Lots of hand stitching happening in my living room. Ernie asked me if I have given up knitting.  No Silly Man! Stitching is my current obsession, knitting will crowd it's way in again one of these days, don't you worry.

After the 20th block, I had to put it up on the wall to see and share.  It's now back in it's protective bin. The next block is in my to go box for working on at Wednesday's Binding Friends group.  I can talk and stitch and laugh with the ladies while making good progress on my block.

Check out what others are doing with their Slow Stitching Sunday at Kathy's Quilts.

Design Wall Monday

Miss Polly has inspected the blocks for Grand Illusion. She thinks they are all going the right way.

Now her mom needs to sew the border blocks together and get them attached. This is going to be an awesome quilt to snuggle under. I wish she would get to it.

Miss Polly is a little bossy. It felt good to sit down and sew but I didn't just sew....I'm organizing my disaster of a sewing room.  Work for 20 minutes, sew 2 rows together, work, sew, cut fabric scraps, sew...throw in some dinner time and sew again.

I'm excited with the progress on my quilt top. I think this is the slowest I have ever been getting a Bonnie mystery made into a completed top. Sometimes real life gets in the way of the sewing room.

See great design walls at Patchwork Times.  I am going to take a tour of Blogland while I enjoy a couple cups of coffee. Then real life starts up again. Have a great day.

The 2014 Bonnie UFO Challenge Finale

 TaaDah!

Two quilt tops finished!

Two quilt tops added to Mt. ToBeQuilted.

Bindings are made, labeled and stored away in the binding bin.

Plans for backings are drawn out.

It started here with a bag full of parts and a note to myself.

(Notes to myself are one of my best ideas ever!)

Actually it started in March 2008.

These quilts will be finished and gifted this summer.

It's always nice to have help from Miss Polly.

Not really!!

Thanks Jo for doing this challenge again this year!

I'm excited to have this one out of the bin!

Soon these will  be UFOs no more.

Check out Jo's beautiful quilt and 

see how others did with this challenge at Jo's Country Junction.

Bonnie UFO Challenge Success!

My version of Bonnie's Sister's Choice #1 is a finished top. It's hard to tell but the border is brown with green leafy vines and itty bitty yellow and blue flowers. I'm going to find some blue for the binding. You can see it here if you want.  Another of my life's simple pleasures.....Miss Polly always posing for the camera.  We'll work on the lighting another day.

Sister's Choice #2 has one of the 6 rows sewn together with part of row 2 under the needle.  I didn't stack these blocks the right way to be able to web the top like I normally like to do. I don't know what I was thinking or even if I was. This is giving me lots of leader/ender action which is a good thing.  I am in get it done mode and I'm running out of time before the mystery kick off.

See how others are doing with their Bonnie UFO Challenge at Jo's Country Junction.

Design Wall Monday and...

 ...November Retreat Roundup

 And what a retreat it was.

I got so much done while having so much fun.

I have nothing on my design wall but I have great completed projects.

First thing I did was make the block for Wishes Quilt Along.

Then I did the borders for Tell It To The Stars.

Next up I made my final block (the one I just knew I had already made!

and will probably find someday in a different project box!!) 

and made the connector blocks for Friends and Companions.

Then put them all together, added the setting triangles and borders.

I love a good retreat TahDah!!!

And how fitting that my Friends were with me when I finished this top.

I added a few more Pineapple Crazy blocks.

(Not these particular ones,

I'm too lazy to get the bin out and take a picture.)

And added quite a few new to me scraps from friends.

It was fun to see when they found their fabrics.

We do strip swaps.

Usually 2 1/2"  black/whites, neutrals and batiks

but this retreat we added a new category.

1 1/2" neutrals!

Look at that selection.

35 different fabrics.

I am the swapper so I get the up close and personal look at all the great fabrics.

I am trilled to have added 60 strips to my stash!!

I had to stop Friday morning on my way in to Royal Ridges to take pictures.

The fall colors with the sunshine streaming in was just gorgeous!

I looked out my window to see these beauties up on the hill.

I will miss retreat season but

I am ready to hunker down at home for the winter.

Of course it hasn't officially arrived yet but it sure feels like it has.

Check fabulous design walls at Patchwork Times.

Slow Stitching Sunday

I can't believe it's been a month since I've posted about my Circle Of Jewels quilt. I work on it almost every evening and am making nice progress despite my helpers, Shirley and Polly.  They were doing very good on my lap last night--maybe because they were spayed Friday and still not quite themselves. For the most part, they settle right in to nap but then there are those other times when they have to be off my lap!! 

I am almost ready to add the last row of flowers, then the last row of jewels.  I had a bit of a panic moment when I thought I was out of one of my jewel fabrics. I did a strong search online for more but didn't find any anywhere. The other day I was digging in my knitting bag and there was a sandwich bag with a nice pile of jewels fabrics cut and ready to baste to papers.  Talk about a sigh of relief! I totally forgot about doing that......so now you know how long it's been since I've really spent time knitting more that just a row or 2.  All because I am obsessed with this quilt.

It's now time to figure out what to do for borders.  I think I have a plan but I need to sit down with graph paper and colored pencils to see if it will work.  Since it's going to be a rainy, dark and gloomy day, I see more lap time for the kittens.

See how others are spending their Slow Stitching Sunday at Kathy's Quilts.

Design Wall Monday

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Quilting has begun on number 3 on the UFO Parade from August.  Thursday morning I cut batting for the next 3 quilts I want to get quilted.  2 were on the list and one needs to be finished before it makes a list. UFO 2 has the backing made but I forgot to cut that batting. Binding for #s 2 and 3 are sewn and pressed waiting in the binding basket.

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This is Scrappy Twin Sister and she is finished.  She has aged from September 2010. I think that's plenty long enough. I found this block design in Quiltmaker magazine as one of Bonnie Hunter's Addicted to Scraps Column.  It was so fun to discover all the fun fabrics I put in this quilt.  The back is scrappy flannel squares.  I'll take pictures this week.  Of course I had to have a seam ripper moment. Thank goodness it wasn't more that this little circle.  Aren't those pink poodles a hoot!

 Just for fun, Shirley and Polly have discovered the empty dishwasher. I had to spin the spray arm above them. They are so funny!  No kitties were harmed in the loading of the dishwasher.

Last week's list:

• Finish Tell It To The Stars   Done-waiting for the November clue
• Pin baste a quilt  Not only pin basted but quilted and finished!
• Next block for Wishes, work of border and sashing  Block in finished but didn't start on sashing or border
• Next step for Friends and Companions  Block is finished.

This week I plan to:

• Finish the pinwheel quilt
• Work on Friends and Companions.
• Work on Wishes.

I can't wait to have Monday morning coffee with friends of DWM at Patchwork Times.

On The Needles

I'm working on the No Purl Monkey Socks again. It is Socktoberfest Season after all. I want to knit a couple pair of socks this month. Or at least finish these. I have so much fun sock yarn to play with and I miss knitting. 2 more color sections were added last night before I was interrupted by someone needing loves . I will leave my knitting bag next to my chair and try to knit at least a color section each evening.

Miss Shirley Kitty is learning to lay on Momma's lap/legs without playing with the yarn. She is doing really good. What you can't see is the little dog that is napping on my right hip.

See what others have on their needles at Patchwork Times today.  I might be adding a new pattern to my collection.

Design Wall Monday

I've started quilting this batik beast.

The sashings and borders are done.

Simple stitch in the ditch in the sashing and

the border is just a continuation of the sashing with 1" rows.

The blocks are about half done.

I am challenging myself with different designs in each block.

Shirley showed up for her first quilting lesson.

Isn't she adorable!!

But mostly, I have been working on theses.

I have named my new quilt Circle of Jewels.

The triangle shapes are called jewels and can be found 

here at Paper Pieces and match the 1" hexies.

See what my friends are up to when they link to Patchwork Times today.

Design Wall Monday

I started a new project.

I am spending a couple days with the grands so I took it with me to work on.

This is what we did this morning.

It's more fun than a puzzle.

I haven't just been hexing.

I marked this UFO off my list.

I got it out last November to work on it and promptly ignored the poor thing.

One good hot afternoon last week,

 8 more blocks were made instead of 6 like I had planned.

A couple more afternoons, it was finished!

See other design walls at Patchwork Times.

Oh and the latest kitty update. 

They have all found their forever homes.

On the Needles

I've been sneaking in as much hook time as I can.

This is where I am with the Stitch-cation Summer Challenge project.

It's really hard to work on the squares now.

These guys have figured out how to climb up into mom's chair.

I guess I shouldn't have bottle fed them there.

Every time I sit in my chair they come running and crying for food.

They are now 6 weeks old and eating on their own.

2 days without the bottle was pure torture for me. 

All the crying and begging, broke my heart.

I gave in once but that was all.

Some times I close the bathroom door while they are in there just to have some quiet time. LOL

I did knit this week!

We went for a drive Saturday and I worked on another dishcloth.

I finished Number 10 while at Wednesday stitching group and gave it to my friend without taking a picture.

Number 11 is started.

See awesome needle projects at Patchwork Times.

On The Needles

Still On The Hook

The Lacy Crochet Market Bag is not quite finished.  The yellow/white are 2 balls of an unknown cotton like Sugar'n Cream which is what the blue/green yarn is.  All 3 came from the bin of yarn from my friend's mother's stash.  Good news is the bin is almost empty so my color choices are limited. That's not a bad thing, right?!?

I have sat down to work on my project, there isn't much stitching time. Those cute little kitties take up a lot of quiet time. They are now 4 weeks old so I've started introducing some cat food which is more fun to play with than to eat. They do pretty good with the wet food but it might be too early for the dry food.

Visit Patchwork Times today to see what others have on their needles.

Design Wall Monday

Back up on the wall are some of the blocks for Cathedral Stars.

Here are blocks laid out on my little design boards ready to sew together.

This is a pile of 14 blocks that need to be taken apart and sewn the right way.

The diagonal center against the red is supposed to be the colors not the neutrals.

2 sewing sessions wasted!

No wasted was the time spent finishing Mae's quilt.

Granddaughter Taylor won the elk quilt at the hunting club picnic!

It was a great week for these 2 girls!

No time was wasted here either.

wink, wink

I've been hand feeding these cuties over a week now.

Hard to believe they are already 3 1/2 weeks old.

I'm happy to report they are all fat and sassy!

Good news is they are starting to nibble at the food.

Best news is they are starting to use the litter box.

Check out other fabulous design walls at Patchwork Times.

On The Needles (Hook)

I am so easily influenced! I saw this Lacy Crochet Market Bag Challenge on one of my Facebook pages (there's a knit pattern too that I want to make) called The Crochet Crowd and I couldn't stop thinking about it. One day I decided to just try it to see if I could do the stitch. (Yes Judy L, you can teach an old dog a new trick.) Before I got to making the star, I read this about Market Bag Issues. There is a wonderful video tutorial that makes this stitch super easy.  So now I am breezing along and cannot wait to use my bag. And reduce the amount of cotton yarn in my bin.  This isn't the yarn called for in the instructions but it will make for a nice, strong bag.

I've been working on my In Love With Color Throw but now as much as I would like to.  I am on round 3 of the border. I think a couple good tv nights this week and it will be finished.

These 6 little cuties are keeping me from my evening yarn projects.  Momma Sally sneaked outside one morning and didn't come back. We are having a time with coyotes and are afraid one might have got her. So I have been feeding these cuties with a syringe. It takes about an hour to get them all happy and napping again. This is my first time ever hand rearing kittens! It's quite an experience. I'm hoping they will start to eat food soon and start using a litter box. They are 3 weeks old. Am I pushing it too fast?

Check out what others are working on at Patchwork Times On The Needles.

Knitting and Other Stuff

I am such a pushover! I am like Dory in Finding Nemo. I see something shiny and off I go! The latest shiny object is a pair of Paraphernalia socks. I tried to be strong. Really I did. But Judy L showed her's here and I had to jump on the band wagon. I went to my sock yarn stash and found this yarn that I bought quite a while back from Knit Picks. It probably wasn't the best choice to use but I'm fine with it. I will have a pair of socks with cables, whether they can be seen or not is fine with me. If they turn out good, I'll be happy to show them to you. LOL

I am not doing the knit along that she is doing but I am getting over my fear of cables. I thought this would be a good pattern to try and with Judy's encouragement, I am doing it. I'm sure there is a mistake or 2 but what sock of mine would be complete without one. :-)

So I can no longer say I am afraid of cables because I'm not. As long as I have my clicker and paper and pencil.

I am back to working on these socks too. It's been a while since I did anything on them and I really want them so I am back to knitting a few rows a night before I pick up the cable socks.

I've been spending some time perusing Goodwill for treasures. One day I found this fabulous curved plate to use as serving dish, 14 wide mouth pint jars and a bunch of forks and spoons.


After talking to the hostess of the hunting club picnic, I decided to get a stack of plates and silverware for big gatherings. Like she says, I can wash dishes but I hate buying, eating off of and throwing away paper plates. Sure got me thinking and now I'm all set.

Yesterday I found this cute little Tupperware child size cake carrier and it HAD to be mine. I wanted to buy Corelle dinner plates but the last time I was at Goodwill, there were none. Yesterday there were 28 dinner plates and 3 salad plates. I think I'm good for now. I'll still keep my eye out for a few more but not 28 at once. And I added a few more jars, forks and spoons to my collection.

My Mondays and Tuesdays are spent with Jonah. His new best friends and our new family members are Dozer and Turbo. Right now they are all cuddled up in the chair taking naps. It's hard to be 7 and get up at 5:30 to go to Gramma's. Some mornings require naps!