Design Wall Monday...

 ...and The Retreat Report

These are ready to be put on the design wall! 

Bonnie of Quiltville fame shared pictures of her progress on these blocks.

I became obsessed with them so I figured out how to make the size I wanted and got busy.

My design calls for 36 of these. 

I had 5 finished because I had to be sure they were the right size and then kitted up the remaining 31.

This was my first project at retreat. 

I love having everything ready to pull out of the bag.

Next I made block 24 for my Splendid Sampler.

My new friend Liatris is also doing The Splendid Sampler.

It was fun to see her blocks. 

Then I started on my Dresden Plates.

I had everything for this kitted up also.

The plate fabrics came from my bin of 2 1/2" batiks strips that I've collected from retreat strip swaps.

I made this one at home to see how it would look.

I have 10 plates ready to applique.

Liatris was working on Jamestown Landing--and it is fabulous!!!

She sewed all of her rows together and 

I couldn't stop thinking of mine sitting at home all alone in the bin.

I didn't have a leader/ender project with me-weird!- so on one of my trips home,

I grabbed my bin and some fabric.

I got busy cutting half square triangles and pretty soon I had a nice stack ready to trim.

We continue to have our strip swaps.

Thank goodness we do, 

I've been using many of my  2 1/2" neutrals and need "new blood" in my own selection.

My friends continue to impress me with their neutral selections.

We also traded out 1 1/2" neutrals , 1 1/2 purples,

2 1/2" batiks and purples.

Another fun retreat in the books.

Now to plan for the next one...but that's not until October!

I have to get these project finished so I can show them off. 

See what else is happening in Blogland by visiting Patchwork Times-Design Wall Monday.

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!

Design Wall Monday

I spent most of last week at daughter Crystal's house with the grandskiddos while she and hubby went on a happy anniversary mini vacation. I took my to go rolling cart that holds my featherweight and all of the supplies I need to sew away from home. I could have used her wonderful sewing room but I like pretending I'm retreating. Silly me.

I took my Hopscotch Butterscotch (from Adventures of Leaders and Enders by Bonnie K. Hunter) parts and pieces and was surprised that I completed this top. Originally this was gong to be an upcoming retreat project so I made a sample block that soon became 12.  Now I need to give it a really good pressing.  And just now after finding the link for the book and seeing Bonnie's quilt again, I am thinking of taking the pieced border off and adding an inner neutral border to highlight the pieced border more. Yes, I think I will!!!  Oh the things I talk myself into while writing a blog post!

I came home very late Thursday night and Friday was sort of a blur as I held down the couch. I decided to pick up an embroidery block from The Splendid Sampler (I have been putting off the embroidery for some reason!). I was surprised at how fast I finished it. These are the last 4 blocks I've finished. 

 Just for the fun of it, since I've been working in our bus/motorhome, how about a tour of our converted school bus. We did this about 15 or so years ago. We haven't used it much in the past several years, life and work get in the way of traveling around. Now that hubby is somewhat retired, it's time to hit the road a bit. So that meant a major cleaning and clearing out. She will be on the road again this week as he embarks on a halibut fishing trip in north west Washington state.

Standing by the driver's seat looking to the back. 

Tony dog thinks if someone is in there, he should be too.

Across from the range is the fridge/freezer and a big pantry.

Bathroom with sink and toilet on left and full size shower and small closet on the right.

Above the sink is the original driver's mirror.

You know, the long narrow one the driver used to catch you doing things 

you weren't supposed to be doing!

I'm glad I kept that.

The beds were built over the wheel wells and underneath are fresh and gray water tanks.

The big nightstand has access to the gianormous diesel engine.

On the back wall are 2 storage cabinets.

Above each bed is clothes storage.

It's pretty basic and simple.

We love it!

Edited to add the outside picture.

Thanks for asking Nann, I forgot this picture .

I can't wait to get on the road again.

See what others are doing this week at Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday

Gosh, I don't think I sewed hardly at all this week. 

I've been crazy busy and I'm not sure with what.

Saturday Ernie left the house super early 

and when I finally woke up I decided to get ready for retreat. 

I saw this Dresden design somewhere on line and played in EQ7 to create one of my own.

I love the way she used different background colors but close shades.

I had to make mine a bit different so I could see what was happening/

Here is my mess. I think it took a good 2 full sappy movies to get it all cut.

All of the plates were cut from 33 strips that I've collected from strip swaps. 

I have such fun digging for just the right one.

Of course I had to include some of my not so favorites 

because if I didn't use them, I 'd have a bin full of strips that I'd never use.

And who wants that!!

And isn't this disappointing!
Back in the day, our fabrics were torn, not cut.

Then we washed and dried them and pulled to get things in shape.

I couldn't believe how crooked this was.

I'm glad I ripped.

I had one more cut on the last fabric before my weekend guest arrived.

Granddaughter Mae helped me finish up in the bus. 

We had such a good time talking and dreaming of trips in the bus. 

I'm headed over to Patchwork Times eto visit a few friends and find out what they have happening.

Clam Chowder

Blehhhhh, I do not like clam chowder but my husband loves it! So much so that once in a while, he will want to go to the beach just to have lunch at his favorite place that makes the best (according to him) clam chowder he has ever had.

The other day I happened on this video of a gal making clam chowder base.  (I tried to load the video here but I'm not that smart.) I was curious so I watched it. She said the recipe came from the Ball Blue Book.

We have lots of clams in the freezer and since they are not my favorite thing to smell, touch or cook, I seldom do. So I  decided to put on the big girl pants and make this base for my husband. Because a girl can never have enough good wife points.

It didn't take too long before 9 pints and 2 half pints were in the canner. Everything sealed, my house smell horrific and hubby was happy after testing out a jar for dinner.

Next time I will drain most of the liquid, reserving it, and heat with the heavy cream and butter and add liquid if needed.  He said a little salt and pepper was all it needed.  If I make this again, I will double the amount and get a good supply from the one stinky mess.

Now where will I spend those good wife points.....

Design Wall Monday

Not much quilty sewing this week.

I'm working on setting triangles. 

When I drew up my quilt in EQ7, this is how my triangles came out.

I like the look of them and might continue on

or I might do something different.

I'm in the not quite sure stage right now.

So I put it on the back burner.

Our motor home is a school bus that we converted years ago.

Like maybe 18.

One of these days I will write a blog post about it.

We are planning on traveling quite a bit in the near future.

The couch was never upholstered.

We always just threw a blanket over it and were on our way.

I decided now was the time.

JoAnn's had upholstery fabric for 60% off.

That made it a little easier to buy.

It's not fancy, it's functional.

Or as I like to say, rustic.

I'm quite please to have it done.

How do you like our tv/vcr???

Old school but back a few years ago, it was fancy.

Will I buy a new tv?

Probably not, this one works just fine and we have lots of movies.

Next up is to use this fabric from the deep stash as a backing for a wall hanging.

I love when the dates are on the selvage.

Today is my favorite day in Blogland.

Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times.

WooHoo!

Design Wall Monday

I spent some time this week working on my Splendid Sampler blocks. I have the 2 embroidery blocks to finish and the new block from Sunday and I'll be all caught up. Hopefully before the new block comes out on Thursday.

I got my first t-shirt finished. I still need to teak the pattern just a bit but I really like this one. It has a black back. Like I said before, that pile of knits is going to be use up. Mixing fabrics has never been a problem for me. LOL

I also worked my scrap problem...I was looking for a certain piece of fabric and while digging, I decided to make a pile of cut it up fabric. So there are new tumblers, strips and strings along with enough backing squares for another quilt as you go string quilt. With the Sampler blocks, several sets of 2 tumblers were sewn together waiting to be mixed in with the new fabrics.

It was a good week in the sewing room. See what others are working on at Patchwork Times. I was quite excited to see Judy L is sewing again.

Design Wall Monday

Since my grand plan for April is focused on new t-shirts for myself. 

 I was contemplating (procrastinating) on how to perfect the fit of my shirt 

and decided to squeeze in some piecing time.

After all, when I get into full blown t-shirt mode, 

there will be no sewing anything else.

You understand that focus thing, right?!?

I don't really have anything going at the moment so I pulled out my tumbler leaders/enders bin.

I gave my progress the once over and remembered someone said 

they were doing a border with their darks.

So I got out my seam ripper,

made myself a little add on room and got busy.

I needed more variety so I got out a stack of I want it gone fabric and started cutting.

In the process of cutting, I added lots more pieces to my string bin.

That's a good thing.

I also learned just how sharp those blades are in the dies.

That wasn't a good thing.

I got a bit more life out of this cutting mat 

and then I heard it snap.

It's now waiting for the garbage man to take it to it's new home.

Thank goodness I had another one to use.

I need to add a new one to my shopping list.

When I took my bins in to put them away,

I had to sit down and sew just for a little while.

I now have a nice long string of tumbler pairs to press. 

I love a good leader/ender project gone awry. 

Next up at the Go cutter is this pile of I want it gone fabrics.

What will they become???

I probably will cut tumblers from some of them

and I have an apple core die that needs to be used again

and of course, I will create more strings.

What's on your design wall? I'm headed to Patchwork Times 

this morning to see what others are working on.

April Scrap Busting Plan

I have a Grand Plan.
(Don't I always!!)

I really, really want to get my scraps and my stash under control.

For April, I plan to use up this stack of t-shirt knits.

In my past sewing life, I made clothes.

Lots of clothes for me and my kiddos.

Jeans, western shirts, t shirts, shorts, pjs, cute undies, cute dresses...

Right now I am in desperate need of new shirts.

I hate to go shopping for clothes so it's time to get this done.

And I want to free up that space the basket of fashion fabrics is taking up.

I love sewing with my serger so this gives me a lot of serger time.

(Can you believe my spell check didn't include the word serger?!? I does now!)

The bottom knit is already a shirt.

It is my "muslin" for fit.

It's not too bad,

I'll wear it around home or to sleep in.

I'm excited to use these up.

This morning I'm listening to the latest Quiltcam.

She read an email from someone that was cutting with her Go Cutter.

The light bulb in my head turned on bright.

I put Bonnie on pause and got out my own cutter and small tumbler die.

I need more variety in my tumbler boxes and while making string blocks, 

I found a nice bunch of fabrics in my string bin that were too big to turn into strings.

It's time to get working on my tumblers again.

They will not be my focus this month but will be ready when I'm ready to work on them.

This morning I will finalize my basic t-shirt pattern

and maybe cut out a couple more shirts.

It's fun to have a plan.

And now I must get to it!

The Sting Quilt Story

2016 Finish #7

Thursday I finished my string quilt.

The one I've been working on as part of the Scrap Problem challenge from 

Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

I brought it out and layed in over the recliner and

before I picked up my phone to take a quick picture,

Miss Polly jumped up and made herself comfy!

I love that cat!

I posted this picture on Facebook because cats on quilts are adorable.

I knew I would get great comments from my friends and family.

It always makes me feel good to know they like what I do.

I did not expect Cousin Julie to want to buy my quilt.

She did.

This is the first time I've sold a quilt.

I love that she loves it and wants it.

Today it will get de-threaded and take a spin through the washer and dryer.

Then I'll lovingly box it up and get it ready to ship.

One of the funnest things for me is after 2  blocks or rows are sewn together,

I look at the back. I never worry about if 2 of the same fabrics are next to each other.

I call it blind artistic expression.

It is a great way to use up my not favorite fabrics.

It's also amazing how much I really like some of these after they have been used in a quilt.

Weird, I know!

Thanks Julie for loving what I do so much that you want it to be part of your life. 

Now I need to decided what to focus on for my next Scrap Problem challenge.

My Scrap Problem Progress

At the beginning of March, I found this blog post by Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

She had me raising my hand up high!

Yes, I have a scrap problem.

So I focused this month on strings.

My crammed full, can't put another piece of fabric into it, sting bin.

I started out making 3" blocks,

using phone book pages and scrap papers as my foundation.

I am a tear the paper off the back as soon as they are trimmed up girl.

For me, it's easier to do it small bits rather than in one huge paper tearing session.

This is the results of my month of little blocks.

(Not a good angle to see how high the blocks piles really are!)

I do have a plan for these and when Bonnie Hunter's new book comes out,

(She shared the picture on Facebook and for the life of me I can't find it again.

But it is in my head.)

I'll have a good head start on that quilt.

For now, these will just wait for that time.

There is a good stack of twosies on the right waiting to be pressed.

And the 4 stacks are waiting their turn to be leaders/enders.

When these are made into foursies,

I will be done making 3" string blocks for a while.

After the first week of sewing on 3" string blocks every day,

I decided to go bigger.

The batting scrap box came out and I started making 9" quilt as you go blocks.

That helped in reducing the strings.

50 blocks were made.

(I only needed 48 but 2 blocks had cutting booboos and will become a pillow.)

Yesterday I started sewing the blocks into a quilt.

I have all the joining strips cut to size and I'm ready to get this quilt finished.

But this week we have sunshine, 

so sewing time is limited to early in the day.

I tried to get a picture of how much scraps I used.

Miss Shirley loves attention and insisted on being in the bin.

She wins!

I win!

Not only is my string collection reduced,

I used up quite a bit of not my fabric fabrics for the backings

and my box of small batting scraps is greatly reduced.

Thank you so much Sarah for confessing you problem and 

encouraging me to confess mine and do something about it.

I'm going to finish my blocks and finish my quilt.

Today Sarah shares how she did and

 is having a link up party for others working on the scrap problem. 

Read all about it here at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Design Wall Monday

OhMyGoodness, how did Monday get here so fast!

I'm continuing to sew every day.

Whether it's string blocks or hand piecing.

This is the center hexi for Rosette 9 of Millefiore.

Her name is Judy.

I call her the Center of Attention.

I'm still thinking of replacing the center with an orange hexi.

snicker, snicker

This is round 1. 

With six different fabrics, 

it took me a bit of time to figure out which layout I liked best.

I think I changed it 9 different times.

And I haven't started sewing it together yet,

so I could change my mind 9 more times.

I bought a Moda Scrap Bag from somewhere.

It was perfect for this rosette.

I spent quite a bit of sewing time this week joining my rosettes.

I cannot begin to say how excited I am with this.

Once I add rosette 9 and join rosettes 5 and 2,

I'll have a better idea for color balance in the bottom of the quilt.

This has been such a fun, fun project.

Sometimes I have to earn Good Wife points.

Mending is at the bottom of the fun list but

some things have to be done. 

To replace this rain-wear is expensive.

The elastic suspenders have stretched out beyond their usefulness.

The last time he wore them, 

I had to pin the elastic up.

So I bought a pair of suspenders for the good elastic

and replaced them.

I should get extra Good Wife points for this.

The suspenders were wider than the elastic on the pants

and I needed to use the buckle.

So I fought with it and won.

Function or fashion.

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

Scrap Addict Wednesday

.

I do have a scrap problem!

And a phone book problem!

Not really.

I don't see these as problems.

I see them as projects.

I've lost my paper that had my 3" block count on it.

I turned it into a block and didn't realize it until I took the paper off.

I decided to stop counting.

I'm well over my goal of 155 for the month.

I'm pretty much sticking to my sew every day.

Yesterday was the first day I didn't sew strings.

I sat on the couch nursing my sore hip and hand stitched.

(Tripped over the dog, had to catch myself, tweaked my hip instead of falling.)

(This morning I'm fine.)

Miss Shirley also needed quite a bit of attention.

Today's post at Confessions of a Scrap Addict is full of scrappy inspiration.

Oh boy, I think I see a squirrel!

Danger, danger, danger.

I will stay focused on my strings. 

I will stay focused on my strings.

I will stay focused on my strings.

SQUIRREL........