What was I thinking?

Is it Thanksgiving weekend?  Yep.
Is Christmas coming?  Yep.
Have we just moved into a new house and can only get in half the garage?  Yep.
Do I have way more stuff to put up than I have places to put it?  Yep.
Did I succumb to the Orca Bay Mystery quilt on Bonnie Hunter's website, Quiltville?  Yep!!!

So, what's a quilter to do?  Why, dig through strips and cut some fabric!  And sew and sew and sew.  Starting with 448 quarter square triangles.  I'm happy to be able to use from my 1.5" strips that have been cut over the years.  I did have to dig into my stash for the 1.5" strips of black since I used most (or all) of them when I made two quilts this summer.  So - instead of going to all my blacks, I decided to just cut all the black strips from the same fabric.

And then what to do with all those?  Why make 224 cute little hourglass blocks of course.  They will finish at 2" when the top is done.   Step one...and I'm about 40% done.

But that doesn't mean that I shouldn't spend a few minutes while family was visiting someone else over the weekend to pull out my garbage bag of strings and pull out all the blue strings for Step 2.  It's only 72 string blocks at 3.5" square -- in blue.  It's actually a pretty easy step but after making some practice blocks last nite after delivering son and his family to the airport 2 hours away -- I ran upstairs to see how this would work.  I'm using stationery from my father's business which is old and perfect for this.  It's 25 years old but I couldn't throw it out -- I knew there would be a use for it!  Was I right or what?

So -- I need to get my act together, get the house back in order, take care of leftovers, pick up the toys -- but I'm not gonna!  After church today, I'm going upstairs and sew because the house can wait.  At least for another day....

Did you see the new button on the right of my blog?  Quilter Blogs.com is a great service where almost 1800 quilting blogs are screened and published in one place as thumbnails and you can scroll through them to see what appeals to you.  It's great and worth an icon on your PC, iPhone or iPad so you can peruse all those blogs when the mood strikes!

I hope you're finding time to piece and surf Quilters Blog.com!  Jan

Do Over ... and I'm OK with that....

I love this quilt -- Kim McLean's Lollypop Trees.  If you've never had a chance to take a peek, it would be worth your while to check it out at Glorious Color.  I knew I had to make it when I first saw it.

Of the 16 blocks, this is the only I've made and I've decided that I love the black background -- but I think I would love it even more with a multi-color polka dot fabric that found its way into my shopping cart.  And with only one block done, I'm not too heavily invested -- unless you consider the countless hours I've spent thinking about it.  Then it's been on my mind for over a year!

I learned a lot from this one block.

1. I was able to brush up on my skills on my freezer paper appliqué .  
2. I bought one of those cute donuts of beautiful pre-wound bobbins in a rainbow of colors and can just be happy looking at it.  
3. I "had" to buy more Kaffe Fassett fabrics in order to have a wide variety to choose from.
4. I learned a lot about staying true to the focus colors for each block.   For this particular block, it looks like a clown was sick all over the black fabric - there's no continuity to the colors.  The blocks that have been posted on Glorious Applique (site devoted to Kim's patterns) are wonderful and I'm drawn to those that have one or two focus colors.  My block started out with purple and pink and then I got too carried away so I'm actually pleased with the chance to re-do the block and learn from all the things that could be better.  Just more fun with Kaffe fabrics.  

Now -- the hard part is that it has to stay on the back burner because of other priorities!  Alas.

I hope you're finding time to piece -- and appliqué!  Jan

Mental Health Weekend!

What a great weekend.....so much fun -- so much laughter -- and so much catching up.  

After being gone from Chicago for two months, two very dear friends came for a visit to see rural Kentucky, do a little quilting, and catch up on our lives.  Skype is good.  Texts are good.  Email is good.  Old fashioned phone calls are great -- but face to face is the best!  So much to show them and so much to do -- along with projects and brainstorming and dreaming/planning.

You may have read a previous post about Whittle's Fabrics.  Just 30 minutes from where I live is a fabric shop like no other I've been to before.  First run fabrics are $3.50-$7.00 per yard because of low overhead, no advertising, lower cost of living.  The selection is not like a quilt shop but if you're looking to build a stash, buy backings, buy neutrals, get some wide backs, pick up a few batiks, love Civil War prints - this is the place for you.  We estimate they bought 122 yards of fabric!  Seriously....122 yards.  And I should mention, I went back earlier this week and picked up about 30 more after "shopper's remorse" set in and sadness developed over not picking up "more" of some fabrics.

 In addition to a little shopping at Whittles, we were able to squeeze in a trip to the Zappo's outlet (2 pairs of boots, three pairs of shoes bought -- all for less than $200); visit Among Friends which is an incredible quilt shop in Louisville KY with so many samples that's it's almost overwhelming -- and a notions wall to die for.  I believe another 20 yards may have been purchased there.  And finally -- lunch at Lynn's Paradise Cafe which is an absolute hoot!  Wonderful food.  A decor unlike most that you've seen.  Good service.  And fun.....before the airport.  Alas.  Too soon they had to wing their way back to the Windy City....without me.

The good news (for me) is that I'm driving up next week to visit and get some long arming done on a Gammill that one of them graciously shares.  I'll have a car load of fabric and a little Featherweight that didn't make the trip back to Chicago so that some shoes/fabric could!

So-my quilting mojo is renewed, I've gotten to see people I care about "live and in person", and I am reminded that friends are friends -- wherever you are.  Acquaintances are "local" and usually stay acquaintances -- friends go with you in your heart, wherever your heart is!

I hope you are finding time to piece and sew and visit with friends!  Jan

PS -- the quilts in the post are relevant only in the fact that these were the ones on the beds that they slept it.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered!

As you can see, I'm linking to Amy's Creative Side's Bloggers Quilt Festival.  There are lots and lots of wonderful quilts featured...so be sure to check it out.  You won't be sorry but you will need an extra Diet Coke or cup of tea!  She's an incredibly creative quilter and sponsors this opportunity for additional sharing among bloggers throughout the world!

This little quilt has had a long and unwanted life.  I finished it about 2 years ago and even put the binding on -- just didn't stitch it down.  I loved it but never could decide "who" it should be gifted to.  So, it lingered in the UFO pile and I'd pull it out, do a little stitching on the binding, and put it up.  It was truly an orphan.

I had finally decided that our four poster bed needed a quilt and that one done in 30's reproduction fabrics would be perfect.  This block has lots of names, I think, but it was called "Grandmother's Choice" in the pattern book I found.  I downsized the blocks to finish at 5" because I thought smaller blocks were more appropriate for the tiny motifs in the fabrics.  I calculated I would need 72 pieced blocks for the full size bed.

I WAS WRONG!  By about half, I think.  Ultimately, I made the 72 blocks and started to lay out the quilt and all of a sudden, it was a large lap and a long way from being a full size quilt with some drape.  I was done -- I had no desire to repeat history and make more blocks.  It was time to move on and do something else.  All of that probably contributed to my apathy in getting it done and presented to someone.

But, the good news is that "all's well that ends well".  Our search for a home has been a journey with lots of twists and turns and our realtor has been a gem.  We have used her twice before and she's been wonderful when we decided to retire and return to Kentucky but couldn't find a home that met what I was looking for.  She actually "cold called" the people that ultimately sold us their home.  She had seen a "for sale by owner" sign months earlier and knew the location and size were what we were looking for so she called to see if they would like to do a private listing for some "out of town" clients.

Once our sale was final, she scheduled some much needed and fairly serious surgery.  My husband asked if we had a quilt for her as a token of thanks and I knew exactly which one to give her.  We just had to have  our furniture delivered so I could find it!  All I had to do was finish the binding to give it to her before her surgery this week.  I think this must have been who it had been waiting for as it's perfect for her.  So - it has a home, she has a snuggle quilt to use in her recovery over the next month, and I'm happy it's finally where it needs to be.

I hope you're finding lots of time to quilt (and are NOT having math issues!).  Jan

PS - don't you love the shadow of the "invisible man" behind the quilt?

Over and over and over....again

 Another wedding quilt...but with a slightly different approach.

I learned very quickly in the making of this quilt that I am not cut out for 80 blocks of the same fabrics and same pattern.  I thought this would never end...

This pattern was selected after the mother-of-the-groom and I went on a great shopping trip for fabric.  She had never shopped for a quilt before but she knew exactly what colors she was looking for since the bride said she wanted to decorate her bedroom in brown and a deep rich red.  Easy to say until you get a in a great shop with lots of selection and then it's not so easy -- but it is such fun.

Ultimately -- she chose beautiful Moda fabrics in those colors (with a little bit of blue) and I used various creams from my stash.   And from there, I had to choose a pattern and then make 80 blocks!

No more!  The wedding quilt made out of scraps that I'm working on these days is much more satisfying.  I had always thought I'd make a two color quilt -- they are so elegant -- I no longer think that's likely to happen!

I hope you're finding time to piece!  Jan

Repurposed .... and loved

This will never go down in history as one of my "most creative" or "most intricate" quilts -- but it may be one of the most appreciated.

When my brother-in-law's aunt died, he and his brothers were charged with cleaning out the house and dividing up property since she had no children.  As the only quilter in the extended family, I was given a little cardboard box that had these eight pieced blocks, the cardboard templates, her little rusty pins, her drawing of the block on the back of stationery from her work (I love that part!) and the scraps of leftover red fabric and what appears to have been a sheet or a man's shirt that was being repurposed.  One block actually has the writing from the cleaners on it.

Now -- what in the world do you do with this?  You put it on the shelf and forget about it -- that's what you do!  And I did.

A few years later, I found the box and was looking at the blocks -- can you see the boo-boo she made in setting one of the corner blocks--and decided maybe I could make my brother-in-law a quilt for Christmas out of Aunt Hortense's blocks.  He did not have a quilt from me and I wasn't sure he would really even like to have one -- but I felt certain that he would appreciate the effort.

So - I played with layouts and knew that to stretch eight hand pieced blocks into a large lap quilt, it was going to take a lot of fabric, setting blocks, and letting go of some of my "rules".

And it began: I laid it out a number of ways, "scooched" and wiggled the blocks to square them, and made this quilt.  All I can say is -- it was so worth it!  This is a treasured and appreciated piece by my brother-in-law and may be one of the most loved quilts I've made.

Perhaps someone will come along who doesn't know me and finish something I've started one of these days....I hope you're finding time to piece and quilt!  Jan

Is patience really a virtue?

I want to quilt....

I don't want to

~ clean
~ deal with contractors who don't show up on time
~ make decisions that really don't matter
~ live without furniture and most of my fabric
~ buy stuff that's not fabric or for people I love
~ feel anchor less

But -- for another 2 weeks, those things have to happen and I have to squeeze in a bit of quilting and a bit of family and a bit of "me" time.

I know it will be worth it because I see the progress but I miss my furniture and having a comfortable chair to sit in.  Somehow, sitting on the stairs doesn't really suffice!

I will have to continue to whine and live through all the wonderful things you all are doing.  Have you seen Janet's Trailing Vines quilt -- while I have 15 Lollypops blocks by Kim McLean to do -- I think I want to do the Susan McCord quilt that Janet is graciously writing instructions for.  See -- I have better things to do than clean....

Keep piecing and I'll try not to whine again!  Jan