Grandkids

 

One last grandkid "sleepover" happened last night.  Jonah is 5 and he informed me that we left the best for last.  Grandpa spent some time in the back yard teaching him how to hit a softball off the tee, and worked on throwing and catching. 

 

This morning Jonah woke me up at 5:00 am and was ready to make banana muffins for breakfast.  It's still dark outside at that hour of the day!! But we made muffins, he played with Legos and watched some Mickey Mouse Club on TV. Now he's at the golf course with grandpa, and I'm at my desk processing some invoices while I have a chance. 

 

I'm guessing I'll need a nap when he goes home this afternoon. 

Visitors

I really enjoy my view most days.  My home office window looks out onto the front porch and the front yard.  I have a bird feeder to watch, but yesterday the birds visiting were not interested in the feeder.  We've had this flock of turkeys hanging around the neighborhood most of the summer. It appears to be 2 mama birds with a big bunch of babies.

 

Those babies are quickly growing up and are almost as big as the mamas now. Usually I only see them in the back yard, but yesterday they wandered into the front yard. Luckily our street isn't very busy so no cars scared them off.

 

Because we live near the edge of town we get a lot of wildlife in our yard.  There is a small ravine behind us and the critters come up the hill from open prairie.  We often have turkeys and deer, and our neighbors have seen mountain lions a couple of times. As far as we know the mountain lions haven't come up the hill however. 

Tuesday random thoughts

Technically I'm at work today, in a meeting.  But while the team is working on a task that doesn't involve me there is a bit of time to let my mind wander.  On my living room floor - my Saturday Sampler blocks are hanging out, waiting for some decisions.  I like this on-point layout with the black prints in between. It will be a fairly dark quilt with pops of color.

Our staff all work from home and today's meeting is at another project manager's house.  Four of us are working at her dining room table.  I spied this fabulous sign sitting on her kitchen window above the sink.  I love this sentiment. 

 

And finally - my youngest grandchild started preschool yesterday.  Jack is in a PRE-preK group.  The Batman backpack he picked out is almost bigger than he is. 

Red Birds ready to quilt

Another UFO is ready for quilting.  This pattern is called House Warming Party, but I kept calling it Red Bird Christmas, so I think the name change is going to stick.  Forgive the photo quality - it is so grey and dreary here today that I couldn't find a spot anywhere in the house to take a decent picture.  Once it's quilted and bound I'll get a good one.

 

 

The fabric in that outer border is a "strip it" fabric where it was printed in strips of different designs. So it looked like it was stitched into piano keys, but in reality it's just printed that way, which made that border much quicker to do. The same fabric was used in some of the pieced blocks too but was cut into much smaller pieces obviously so you couldn't tell.  The birdhouses were all pieced and the birds, perches, and round openings were all appliqued onto the birdhouses and into some of the other pieced blocks scattered around the quilt.   

 

 

 

I loved the colors, the fabrics, and the design of this and I couldn't resist buying the kit - a few years ago.  But like all UFOs it languished much too long before getting finished. I still have a bag with some good sized scraps that I can use for something like a table runner.  I think I may keep this one.

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A quilt to bind

One Block Wonder is ready to bind. The binding is that black/white polka dot. The backing I chose for this quilt is just as wild and colorful as the front.  

Time to get busy. I have borders to add to the redbird quilt and then the binding to prep for this one. But I really just feel like a nap.  

Baby steps

 

Baby steps seem to be all I'm able to accomplish this week on this UFO.  I have the side sashings cut and ready to piece into longer strips.  Then I can start sewing these sashings onto the quilt sections. 

 

There is also a dark green inner border (cut already) and a wider outer border that looks like piano keys.  But I probably won't have any sewing time until maybe Saturday.  I have a work meeting until noon tomorrow and then I'll have grandson Jonah here for a couple of days of fun.  But the hubbie will be gone all weekend to play in the state seniors golf tournament.  PIECE/PEACE and quiet those 2 days. 

Design Wall Monday - back to a UFO

With a morning off work, I pulled this UFO back out.  It's one of the August options on my APQ UFO Challenge list.  The only thing on the center section that still needed done was to applique the 5 red birds.  I've been using a simple blanket stitch on these applique pieces.

Then I rethreaded my machine and stitched up the top section and the bottom section.  Those side sections will be next. Several sashing pieces need to be added as well, but I'm starting to get excited about having this one getting closer to being a completed top.  It's very overcast again today so the lighting isn't showing the colors very well, but this will be a cheery Christmas-y quilt.



Let's all see what is on other Design Walls today:  http://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

Bikes and blocks

It felt like Sunday today, but my calendar assured me it was really just Saturday. I think it must be because the MN Vikings game was on TV this afternoon and football should be Sunday afternoons.  I did a little sewing on my RSC18 blocks for August. These blocks are a 1930s era block pattern called State of Georgia, which I really like.  This month’s color was orange and I discovered that I don’t have much orange except for Halloween prints. So 2 of the blocks have the same fabrics in them but reversed locations. 

We had company too - daughter #1 and her friend came to Mitchell early this morning to ride their bicycles in the Tour de Corn. They chose to ride the 62 mile route.  It was a tough ride I guess due to the heat and a stiff breeze.  It’s a great hobby that they enjoy, even though their husbands don’t join in.  These ladies did the 5 day Tour de Nebraska early in the summer, and have done various other rides around the region too.  And yes - they usually dress to match each other when they do these rides.  Today they even matched their bikes. 

Construction zone

We've been living in a construction zone all week.  But we can see the light - literally - at the end of the construction tunnel.  After 12 years in this house we finally decided to add more egress windows in the basement.

 

 

The family room has always felt like a dungeon.  It runs the length of the house and had one tiny little basement window high up on the wall.  And there was landscaping in front of it besides.  So this is the window that excites us the most. We put in a double egress window here and it has already changed the whole feel of the room. Let there be light!!!

 

They'll come back and do the finish work inside and outside next week.  You can see why it took 5 days to get the windows set in, because we have brick exterior.  Which meant there was a LOT of prep work.  One young man spent his week digging the big hole for this double window and a smaller hole for the single bedroom window. The main guy removed brick and chiseled his way through the brick and the concrete and the rebar. 

 

 

 

 

The contractor just shook his head and said our house was certainly built right.  It took most of their time this week to just get the openings made.  At least for the smaller window in the bedroom they didn't have to remove lots of brick.  The masonry guy will hopefully get everything back to normal next week too.   

 

 

Saturday Sampler

 

The final 2 blocks for Saturday Sampler are complete.  This block looked kind of complicated but was actually very easy to put together.  Blue was the only color I hadn't used yet.  It took me almost as long to decide on my fabrics as it did to sew the blocks.

 

 

I didn't have to work yesterday so there was plenty of time to play with these.  The layout provided to us was OK, but I wasn't excited about it. That layout used pieced alternate blocks. I made one and decided not to go that route.  But I liked the idea of alternate blocks, so I spent some time rearranging some options on my design "floor".  Now my plan is to go with an "on point" layout with 5 rows of 4 pieced blocks, separated by black print blocks. That will use 20 of the 21 blocks I've made.

 

I had a white with black print that I tried first as alternate blocks but it read very grey from a distance and made the colors look washed out.  So I dug back into that bin of black/white prints and found lots of black background prints.  Most of these have a fairly large print.  I will need to buy a couple more black prints for a bit more variety, plus I don't have enough to use for the setting triangles around the edges of the quilt.  Will I have this top done in time to show at the next Saturday Sampler class in September?  That is the plan.  

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

 

The best phone call I've gotten this week - was to tell me I had won this gorgeous quilt.

 

In late spring, The Pin Cushion held a Butterfly Bash party one evening. They had lots of fun butterfly themed events for the enjoyment of all who attended.  A local landscape company even did a program on butterfly gardens.

 

Each attendee received a pattern and fabric for a vintage style appliqued butterfly block.  If we returned the block finished, then our name was entered into a drawing to win the quilt that the shop planned to make to reproduce a vintage quilt they had displayed.  Our names also went into the drawing when we made purchases.

 

 

 

This is the beautiful quilt they made using everyone's blocks.  The fabrics are all 1930s reproductions, which I absolutely love. Isn't this a happy quilt?  And I'm the lucky winner!

 

 

 

Disappearing 4-patch top

The plan was to add a border to this, but now I'm not so sure I want to do that. I think I need to let this one hang on the design wall for awhile and let the idea keep percolating.

There are still a few charm squares left from the French General pack, but I only had enough of the background to do these 16 squares.  It's about the right size now - 32" square - to lay on my big round coffee table or to hang on the wall.  So if I do end up adding a border it will probably be a fairly narrow one. The leftover charm squares will go into the scrap bins to use another time.

Decisions, decisions.

Sunday progress

Ten blocks are done and the other 6 are ready to cut. The disappearing 4-patch is so easy. Cuts are made 1 inch from the center seams.

Then a little rearranging and sew them back together.


Check out Design Wall Monday at: http://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

It's the journey, not the destination

As much as I need want to finish lots of UFOs, sometimes I just have to pull out something new and PLAY.  It's good for my soul and my overall attitude.  With just an hour to sew this morning here is what I played with - a disappearing 4-patch.

I've been seeing this block again online lately and it's been on my "someday" list for a long time. I even watched the Missouri Star Quilt Company video tutorial early this morning before looking into my charm pack drawer. This French General charm pack just begged to be chosen, and I had just enough of the cream print in the stash to use as a background. Only 3 blocks are done so far but it was a fun start. Maybe this evening (after work) I can make a few more while my husband is at a golf tournament dinner with the son-in-law.

Using just the one charm pack will result in  about 18-20 blocks so this might end up being a bed runner or a lap quilt. The nice thing about using the French General fabrics is that I can go to my local quilt shop and probably find a perfect blending yardage to add borders, even though this charm pack was from previous lines.

OBW top is complete

I stopped in at The Pin Cushion yesterday and knew the ladies there would help me find a good option for border fabrics. The black dotted inner border is exactly what I had in mind. 

But for the outside border I was thinking lime green or pink - until Cindy suggested the aqua Grunge with the large polka dots. Great decision and I love it. 

One Block Wonder

This definitely needs borders not only to make it larger, but to make it look more complete.  But I like how it’s turned out so far. 

Design Wall Monday

After several days of having grandkids and other family around, today is a sewing and laundry day around here.  I spent most of the morning sewing.  The center of this UFO was under the needle.  The bird houses are assembled and ready for appliqué of birdhouse holes, perches, and more little red birds.  It’s nice to have some progress to put on the design wall.  Check out other design walls here:  http://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

Then I added the last 4 vertical rows to my One Block Wonder. I want to add a narrow border and a wide border to OBW to make it larger, so I think a trip to my local quilt store is in order.  The Pin Cushion will most likely have some excellent choices and the ladies there all have a good eye for color so I appreciate their input too. 

And finally, I added borders to a little wall hanging.  I’ll share photos of this another time.

Watermelon runner

This watermelon table runner is one of my favorites.  I made this about a dozen years ago, and it's still a table runner that makes me smile when I pull it out each summer.  It was a pattern that I saw in a magazine and just had to make it.  Isn't this just a happy piece?



I remember that I made it slightly longer than the pattern called for. With only 1 of the 2 leaves put into my table it's almost too long, but when both are in the length is just right.  It's hand appliqued and hand quilted. 

UFO Challenge #8

On my UFO list I've called this Red Bird Christmas, but now that I've pulled this project out again I'm reminded that it's really called House Warming Party.  The APQ UFO Challenge number for August is 8, and this is on my list in that spot so I hope to work on something to bring this project forward.  And luckily I had all of the patterns and fabric, and the finished sections, all kept together so I didn't have to search for anything.



I have all of the blocks done- except for the large center block with the bird houses.  Except for the 5 little bird appliques, this center section looks pretty easy to do. 

This was originally done as a BOM but I just purchased the whole kit.  The fabrics are very pretty, and I would have never picked out as good of a collection as this. 



I'm thinking this must be the year for Christmas quilts, since this is the third one I've worked on this year. 

August goals

I have to be realistic about setting goals for the month of August.  I'll have family staying with us for 3 of the weekends in August, and there isn't going to be any sewing while those grandkids are here.  So I'll be lucky to keep up with Saturday Sampler.

Modest goals are in order:

• Final 2 blocks for Saturday Sampler
• 3 new blocks for RSC18
• bind my cousin's flannel quilt
• finish One Block Wonder top and decide on borders

I've really fallen down on the UFO Challenge projects.  I didn't work on any UFOs from the list for June or July.  I just didn't feel like working on any of them.  No UFO mojo!!

The number 8 was drawn today for August, and I did already finish one of three projects I have on the list.  It's unlikely that I'll pull out that 1930s Row Quilt. It's just too warm to hand quilt a big bed quilt this time of year. It's a UFO from about 15 years ago, so it can wait some more.  LOL.  But I could definitely work on the red bird quilt blocks. Time to pull that project box out of the cabinet and see what is left to do on that one.