Quilting to Report! :)

For many months after Greg passed, I just couldn’t get back into my quilting. He was so involved in that part of my life. Very interested and so supportive. I just couldn’t get my mojo back. But, finally, the fire is burning within me again. I am working on my projects and it’s bringing me joy. I am trying to turn all my WIP’s into completed items. Or, at least make a good dent in them before I start on new ones. I know that I will not be able to refrain from starting a new thing, here or there, before I finish ALL my WIPs. In the past week, I have quite a little bit of new progress to report.

I finished my “chicken quilt”. Just a simple turning twenty made with mostly chicken themed fabrics, quilted with Willow Leaf studio’s Fancy This panto. I had everything but the binding finished close to two years ago, now. Now, it’s finally draped over the back of my sofa, ready to snuggle up in during the chilly Fall/Winter months. I actually took a little nap under it yesterday.

I pulled out a little pre-cut table runner kit I have had for probably three years now. I  bought it from Chery’s Quilt Corner, in Guymon. It was designed by Judy Rice. I am so happy to see it on my table in time for pumpkin season this year! I quilted it on my longarm. For the pumpkin vines that were supposed to be done by machine or hand embroidery, I just threaded my longarm with some green thread and did them as part of the quilting.

That little table runner just makes me smile. I love pumpkins!

Last night I loaded the Oklahoma Backroads (pattern from Bonnie Hunter’s Quiltville) quilt that I started making for my Mom, back before she was diagnosed with lymphoma. So, I know this has been a WIP for over two years. I pulled it off the longarm just a little bit ago. It’s a scrap quilt, with pretty much bits and pieces of any and ever quilt I had previously made in it. I could have done a better job with the fabric values, which would have made the stars and “roads” stand out better, but she will love it for snuggling up in. It’s so busy that I decided to do a freehand “paisley-ish” allover meander on it, just to give it a nice texture. Also, being that I really avoided my longarm for over a year, and the year before that it was barely used, these little projects are a good way to sharpen up my skills again. I’m a little rusty and these are good confidence builders. I am pleased to report that my longarm just took right off, and is working perfectly, even after all that sitting, waiting for me to come back to her. That was a big relief.

Now to get the binding and a label on it, and it’s soon to be a finish, as well. I’m ready for it to go live with Mom!

Greg was in one of my dreams last night. At first, I wanted so badly to dream about him, because it would feel, in a way, as if he was still here, as if I had seen and talked to him. And the funny thing is, those dreams didn’t come right away. Now, when they do, I have really mixed emotions about it. Waking up after one is certainly  more painful. Because, it does feel as if he was just here, as if I just talked with him, saw him, and possibly even touched him. And then, I wake up.

I alluded to a “special someone” in a previous recent post. Yes, I am seeing someone. But no, that takes nothing away from the loss of what I had.  And, he lives six hours away. Long, but sweet, story. Someday maybe I will share it here.

In the meantime, I will be trying to figure out the best way to reply to your comments. While I was away, it seems WordPress changed the comment notification emails. It used to be that I could reply directly, and privately to the commenter by replying through the notification email that WordPress sent. That is no longer the case. I can click on the email address of the commenter, and send a whole new email, which is probably what I will begin doing. If I reply through the WordPress email, it posts directly here on the blog, but I don’t know if the commenter gets notification that there has been a repy. Do any of you know? I do read all your comments and have been very lax about responding during these past many months. I intend to start doing better about that again! Thanks for stopping by, and thank you for all the cyber love you have sent my way.

Sunday Stash Quilting Report

I have stash reporting this week! I finished the quilting on my Gracie’s Star quilt.  The pattern is from http://www.quiltintia.com.  I quilted it with Jodie Beamish’s Rosie panto.  Seems I use that one a lot, but this is the only quilt of my very own with it.  Today I got the binding stitched to the front, ready for nighttime snuggling under it, while I do the hand stitching, watching TV.  I used 8 yards backing and binding.  I am going to enjoy using this quilt.  It just makes me feel good.

I used the red in this star for the binding.

I love this fabric, that is in some of the blocks, and I used it for backing, also.

I’m getting kind of antsy to start some new projects, but I’m trying to make myself finish some first.  I want some finishes before this year is finished! I do need to start a commissioned baby quilt soon, though.  I keep forgetting about that, and the baby is due the end of January.  Better start picking some fabric from my stash for that!

My Mom delivered the comfort quilt I made, for our friend with breast cancer, to her today.  She loved it.  She had a mastectomy a week ago Thursday. The test results have revealed that she had two different cancers in that breast.  There will be some chemo, but I think the prognosis is still good.  She has an appointment tomorrow, so maybe we will know more after that.

I’ve had a wonderful weekend, here at home, with my family.  I hope yours has been good, as well!

YTD totals:

• Incoming Yardage to date: 75 yds.
• Outgoing Yardage to date:  64.25 yds.
• Total Stash Busted to date: -10.75 yds.

Stash & Quilting Report

• Incoming Yardage to date: 75 yds.
• Outgoing Yardage to date:  56.25 yds.
• Total Stash Busted to date: -18.75 yds.

Ok, so my time in the positive was short lived.  But I love my new batiks! (see previous post for the full disclosure with photos you will drool over) So, I’m not feeling too bad about it.  Ok, not bad at all.   I don’t think I will, either, as long as there is movement going through my stash.  Some in, some out…just not all in, in, in.

During my lunch hours, or while I’m cooking something for dinner, and I’m waiting, I’ve been sitting down at the sewing machine and working on the pieced borders for my Boston Commons.

I also got labels made for my friend’s comfort quilt.  I haven’t finished trimming the jump threads, so just ignore them. It took me right at an hour to get the first one all programmed into the machine.  The stitchout was 74 minutes, and that did not include the time it took me to change thread colors.  I thought I was never going to get done with it.  I started on it after work one evening, so I was already tired, but it was worth it.  I also made a small label to go beside it, just stating that I made the quilt.  Couldn’t fit it on the other label.  A more experienced embroiderer might have been able to, but this was the best I could do.  I don’t have any embroidery software yet, so I have to sit at the machine and program each letter in one by one, and it will only let me put so many characters on a line.  So the machine stops after each line of stitching, and even if I’m not changing colors, I have to be close by to restart the machine.  I hate to invest a bunch of money in embroidery software that I’m not sure I will use that much.  There is a lot about the embroidery that still confuses me.  I may address some of that in a future post.  Maybe some of you embroidery gurus can clear up a question or two for me.

I started working on Joanna’s quilt a couple of days ago, but until today, I didn’t have anything to show for my efforts, except SID (stitch in the ditch).  I’m sure she is anxious to see how it’s coming, so if you can stand a dose of cuteness, I’ll show you a peek!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and have a great week, y’all!

Stash & Progress Report

First, I will get my complaining and whining out of the way.  I had great intentions to get so much accomplished this weekend.  Then wham! Wake up Saturday morning, early, with a headache.  Get up, take Imitrex, back to bed, next time I wake up it is after 9! And I still feel cruddy.  Head is better, but I feel cruddy, sluggish, achy all over.  So needless to say, my Saturday wasn’t what I hoped it to be.  I did manage to get the cute piggie quilt finished and ready to be delivered this week. Today, I felt better, but my shoulder & rib pain has really been ramped up the last few days, as well as my allergies.  Some of you know the latest on my issues with my shoulder blade & ribs, but for those that don’t, I am now seeing a physical therapist, at the urging of my chiropractor.  I had my evaluation with her Wednesday, and she agrees that it is not normal, the way my shoulder blade is moving.   No one can really figure out WHY I am having the issues I am having, which is frustrating.

I go back next Wednesday, and she is going to show me how to tape my shoulder blade, to try to stabilize it, and will have some exercises for me then, also. She has had one other patient in her eleven years that had similar symptoms. She said my shoulder blade is the only one she has felt doing what mine is doing. Apparently, it is moving around way more than it should, and going where it shouldn’t. And, my chiro has to keep putting my stupid ribs back in place. My entire right side rib cage is lower than the left, and there are three that keep “popping out of place”. He can get them back, and within days, they are out again. My shoulder blade sounds like it is grinding against bone. It sounds, and feels, terrible. Pain ranges from moderate to excruciating, and is near constant. I also think it causes some of my migraines. The PT said she hopes that we can get some improvement, but that it will probably never be all the way better. But some better is better than none better.  Sorry to bore you with all that, but you never know when someone else might be having the same problems, and either you help them with sharing your information, or they might help you with some advice or answers you haven’t found yet.

So now, back to stash reporting.  After today, my stash amount busted is now back in the positive for the year.  A whopping 4.25 yards!  I busted another 4 yds. this week, backing the comfort quilt for our friend with breast cancer.  I got the quilting finished on it today.

I love the pink thread over the cream strips.

I also managed to get zippers attached to my leaders on my longarm.  I hope I like using them.  I did NOT enjoy the process of attaching them! But they are on, and I am looking forward to giving them a try.

I’m looking forward to getting started on my next customer quilt, but I still have some finalizing of the quilting plan to finish.  Joanna, I hope to be sending you some more ideas over the next day or two, if all goes as planned.  I will try very hard to be able to get started on it this coming weekend.

Speaking of weekend, I am sad that it is almost over already, especially since I wasted most of Saturday, just trying to feel better.  Oh well.  Have a blessed & wonderful week y’all!

The center is complete!

I think the next step may take me awhile

I just kept sewing yesterday!

By the time yesterday was done,  I had worked a bit on FIVE different quilts.  Well six, if you count the prep work on a customer top I’m fixing to start quilting.  But I made a little bit of progress on five of my own WIP’s.  Yay!

I made great headway on my Boston Commons.  I have one more row like these, then adding white fabric around and between, a pieced border, and then I am going to add an additional plain border all around so I have some more space to quilt feathers in.  The original pattern, which is by Darlene Zimmerman, ends with a narrow border of the the squares and white triangles.

While I was sewing Gracie’s Star together, and while I was piecing on the above quilt, I worked on my leaders/enders quilt, Oklahoma Backroads, and I had my embroidery machine running, cranking out some blocks for a red & white Christmas quilt.

And then, when I went to bed, I took my 9P & stripe quilt with me, and worked on knotting and burying some of the thread tails I left on it.  I should have done it while I was going along on it…now it feel like I will never get them all done.    I’m glad I decided to go back to a backtack before I finished.  And I still have to bind it!

I did get my backing and binding picked out for Gracie’s Star.  Now I just have to decide on which quilting pattern I want to use.  I think it’s a bit dark & busy to spend a lot of time on custom, but a pretty allover will finish it off nicely.

The first part of this year I just kept starting new projects.  Maybe this last part will be about finishing!  I would like to finish these projects I have started with my stash fabrics!

Sewing, sewing sewing!

It may go into remission occasionally, but that Quilting Fever always comes back!  Gracie’s Star is now a flimsy!  I have to pick out my backing fabric and an allover quilting pattern for it.  I’m going to use Quilter’s Dream deluxe cotton batting.  It will be cozy!

And I quilted this cute pumpkin table topper for my friend, Betty.  If you are reading, I hope you like it, Betty Lou!  I will bring it to you Tuesday, unless you want to swing by and get it sooner.

Trying to decide which project I want to work on next, while I’m on such a good roll!

Sunday Reporting!

Hi y’all! I’m back from our trip.  Golf was not kind to my son last week.  But he kept an amazing attitude the whole time.  I am so proud of that kid.  He never lost his cool, and put every hole behind him and tried his best on the next one.

I also wanted to say I am loving using Google Reader to keep up with my blog reading.  I caught up with so many posts yesterday, and it was so easy.  I got my whole blogroll moved over to it, and will be adding some new ones to it, as it makes it soooo much easier to keep up with all y’all.

I looked for a cool quilt shop to visit while in Abilene, but wasn’t able to find one.  So, as far as my stash report, it remains unchanged.  None in, none out.  However, this weekend I have gotten to get back to quilting on my 9P & stripe, and it is a stash project. A big one. I have another set of borders finished, two to go.  And, I’m afraid the final two will be problematic, because I did not follow the rules.  I did not have enough fabric to leave myself enough extra backing on the edges.  Since it’s my own quilt, I’m going to try to forge ahead, but I may end up having to try to add some strips, which will not be easy at this point.  Someone slap me.  I know better, really.   Yesterday, I quilted the swags and beadboard, and today I did the Georgian feather strip.  I love feathers.  I love quilting feathers.  A few progress pics for you, even though they aren’t much different than what I’ve posted from this one before.  But, I’ve been seriously lacking blog content lately, and I guess same old, same old is better than none at all.

Stash Quilt Reporting

I don’t think my reports are about stash busting any more, but what I’ve done with my stash.  I added 5 yards of Kona white cotton back to the stash, since I’m using what I had in my Boston Commons.  That is a staple I like to keep on hand.  I finished by sawtooth star blocks, finally.  And, I think I might like them all together, after all.  If you’ve been following my progress on them, you may remember this previous post, where I posted the ones I had finished together, and then divided into different color groupings and settings.  Well, here is the whole lot of them, finished and laid out how I would sew them together, if I decide to follow the original pattern.

I think I do like it.  My husband likes it.  How about a poll?

To see how they looked divided into orange and no orange groups, click the link to the previous post, mentioned above.  I’m curious to see which one wins.  Doesn’t mean I’ll follow it, but I might!

Sunday Reporting, 6-7-09

This past week has sure been a busy one! I was very busy at my day job last week, so I didn’t get a lot done on my quilting projects last week.  I did get some more sewing in on my sawtooth star blocks, during my lunch hours.  And since I’m not sure how I’m going to use them, I th0ught I better make sure I had some border fabrics on hand, just in case, you know.

That means my stash report is all about fabric coming in this week.  And it felt good! 14 yummy yards to fondle and fold.

YTD numbers:

• Incoming Yardage to date: 52 yds.
• Outgoing Yardage to date:  35.75 yds.
• Total Stash Busted to date: – 16.25 yds.

Yeah, I’m going the wrong way.  Oh darn.

I have picked my knitting back up, for something to do when I’m just chillin’, watching TV and relaxing.  Or when it’s nice out and I want to sit in the yard under my shade trees.  However, I don’t think I’m ever going to graduate from knitting kindergarten.  Oh man, I seem to take out more knitting stitches than quilting stitches.  I make so many mistakes.  And I’m only doing a stockinette stitch.  I started this sweater completely over several times.  Hopefully, I’ll make it to the finish! And it will actually be wearable.

I bought some other quilty goodies this week. Connecting threads had a 30% off notions sale, and I have been wanting to try Clover yo-yo makers, so I got one of every size.

I’m a little too busy to be making yo-yos right now, though, so don’t expect to be seeing any soon.  I also got this cool stencil from Full Line Stencil.

They are made of a mesh like material. 

Even though I’m not using it on my 9P & Stripe, I tested it out on it, just to see how it works.  I like it!

And here is where some of my time has gone! Every minute worth it!  The first two pics are after the NTPGA junior tournament here in Perryton.  1st place with a four under par of 68!

And a first place in his age division at the Jim Hitch Memorial tournament in Guymon, OK.

I have gotten some more, though very little, quilting done on my 9P & stripe, but it’s just more of what you’ve already seen.  So I’ll save posting more pics til the end.

Have a great week, and remember to spend some time doing something you love,  and hopefully spend some quality time with someone you love!