Not so much...

I've been trying to take care of a problem with Google...seems I have conflicting accounts.  Yeah, I have no idea.  Well, I sort of do, but would really rather not have to deal with it.  {sigh}  

In the meantime, I was not able to sign in to my blog for almost a week!  Not good at all. 

But, as  you can see, I found the way.  For now, anyway.

I have been a bit productive.  Just a bit, though.  I took those filmstrip panels I showed a few posts ago, and added sashing and borders to make this quilt top.  I am in love.  (yes, again.)  I am hoping to get the backing done soon. 

 

I made full-length curtains for the big 3-pane window in the kitchen.  Not so much in love with them...but that's okay.  They are serving a purpose.  There is no photo.

Kaylynn was here 2 weekends ago.  I took her to see the movie, "Madagascar 3"...we had a great time!  I'm hoping to take her with me on a mini-vacation in a few weeks.

I was almost in a panic when I couldn't write a post to my blog.  Apparently, there was no need to get all hysterical about it...seems that not so much is going on around here these days.  

Oh!  But, hey!  Here's something to look forward to...Sharon and I are about to begin piecing the fabric blocks for our Snow Days quilts.  She'll probably get started this week...I may need to finish up a few things before I start in on that part of the project. 

Hot, hot, hot weather this week.  Central air is on. 

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Too Soon...

Too young.
Too good.
Too beautiful.
Too brave.
Too much.
Way too soon.

My friend, Doreen, died today.  Surrounded by her family, she let herself slip away.  She is gone from this world.  I know that I should be happy...she is now pain-free and with our Father in heaven.  But really?  I miss her.  Already.  It's selfish, I know. 

When I was there to visit a month ago, we talked and talked...of the good times...of how we met...of how we stayed friends over the years (40 of them!)...of how much we valued each other.  We laughed.  We cried.  Knowing that it was probably the last time we would see each other, we said what we wanted to say.  And, we said goodbye.  

Since then she's had good days and not so good days.  Last Friday was her last good day.  

Waiting for the right moment...and today she found it.  

Goodbye my dear friend.

 
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."    Jeremiah 29:11

Redwork.

I was looking for a small project to work on the other evening...came up with this pattern from Bird Brain Designs.  So simple...no having to choose color of floss nor which stitch to use.  Love it! 

I worked it in backstitch, using buttonhole stitch around the leaves on the berry...measures about 4 x 6 inches.  Dang cute if I do say so myself! 

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."    Jeremiah 29:11

What I Did On My Weekend...

I managed to get a few things done.  Made curtains for the sunroom.  This olive green is the original fabric I bought 4 years ago.  The other fabrics that go with it are not quite what I want to use at this time (4 years later).  So, these are the only ones I made.  And, I changed my original plan of having the curtain rods extend beyond the window frame so that the curtains could hang out over there and not be blowing around in front of the open windows (the two on the sides open).  

 This photo was taken during the day...

This one was taken at night...

The actual color is about halfway between the two colors shown.  As you can see, the panels hang with rings, so they are able to be moved very easily.

Remember this little quilt?  I started it back here.  I did actually finish it by the time I had wanted.  Completely finished.  I hated it!  I had tried to do swirls with my quilting and I just did not like the way they looked.  So.  There it sat.  For over a month.  All crinkly and soft and full of quilting I did not like.  At. All. 

So.  I ripped out all of the quilting.  Tied it with ecru embroidery floss...one little tie in each little middle square of each little churn dash.  Washed/dried it again.  It measures about 19.5 inches square.  Now?  I LOVE it!  {grin}

For those of you who may have been wondering about the brown boy...here he is...waiting for Kisa to come out and play.  The gate is up solely to keep him out of Julie's bedroom.  Kisa comes and goes through the space that you see there.  Or lays there and teases Tag.

Is that all I did this weekend?  Well, I did a bit of household chores, read, watched a movie ("Haywire"...not that good), listened to music and played with the brown boy.  That is pretty much it...except for a little project that I started today.  Very simple...in fact, I am almost done with it.  Involves the color red.  

How about you?  What'd you get done? 

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."    Jeremiah 29:11

I Found It!!

Yup, I did!

I found it!

My motivation.

My inspiration.

My desire to create.

My joy of sewing.

YAY!

It's been a few weeks since I felt like doing much of anything.  Having company, dealing with extra stresses at work, having a few serious issues on my mind, the inability to relax when I get home...and, of course, the finales of DWTS and American Idol!...all of those have played a part in my not getting much of anything done.  Ya know?   

But, first!  And, I won't bore you with the long story.  The short version is this...I am in need of curtains and was really pushing myself to make them using the fabric I had purchased 4 years ago, which isn't nearly as fun as I thought it was back then...and so I had a fabulous idea to use my Kashmir III fabric...started putting panels together...decided that they were much too pretty to use as curtains.  I know!  It didn't take long for me to think that they would make better table/dresser runners and...a quilt!  For me!  Like I need another quilt.  Yet, I have always planned to make a quilt for myself with this fabric.  

Kashmir III is the fabric I used to make this quilt.    

So.  Here are the panels for my quilt.  If you were to rotate the photo 90 degrees, you could easily see how these would make fabulous curtain panels!  Yes?

I am at the point of deciding what to use for the sashing and borders.  Perhaps a trip to my lqs is in order.  And, I have 3 more panels with the reds/golds/blacks of the Kashmir III collection that I'll make the runners with.  

I still have the project waiting that I mentioned a few weeks ago.  With the Curio fabric collection.  Everything is together and waiting on my cutting table.  And, you know, Snow Days is still waiting!  Pure bliss, I tell ya.  To think about working on those 2 projects. 

  

So.  That's it.  I am off and running on this Saturday morning!   I hope to have more to show you by the end of the weekend.

Have a great day!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."    Jeremiah 29:11

Blogger's Quilt Festival - Spring 2012

It's that time of year again!

Each spring and fall,

Amy hosts the festival...

a fun time for all blogging quilters

to share a special quilt and its story.   

It is so much fun to visit all
of the blogs to see everyone's
entry and to read all the stories...

and comments! 

Click on the button to check out and

be inspired by all of the special quilts.

This is my 4th time taking part in this festival.

It's always difficult to choose which

quilt I want to showcase...

they are all my faves.

Ya know?  {grin}

But, choose I did.

And, here it is...

my Snow in the Valley quilt!

I had pneumonia last year and

it took several weeks for me to feel better

and to build up my stamina.

There came a point in my recuperation

where I could finally sit and sew

for a bit without becoming overly fatigued.

So, I started a sampler quilt!

If you would like to read about this quiltalong,

go here for more information. 

 Once I got these 9 blocks done,

I knew this was where I wanted to quit. 

 However, I really felt that this

needed some kind of border...

both for definition and

to increase the size of the quilt.

So, this is what I did...

added a row of hst's and

then another plain border. 

I quilted it in my usual

stippling/meandering manner...

And, ended up with this.

In order to get the size backing I needed,

I used up every single scrap piece

larger than 5 inches that I could find!

I love this backing almost

as much as I love the front!

Here are the stats: 

Started: September 6, 2011.

Finished: October 5, 2011.

Fabrics:  Hope Valley by Denyse Schmidt

& Kona cotton solid in Snow.

Size:  Approx. 58 inches square after laundering.

Pattern:  Summer Sampler Series found here.

Thank you for stopping by!

I hope you enjoyed viewing

and reading about my entry.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."    Jeremiah 29:11

Catching Up...

It's been over a week since I last wrote. 

Guess I didn't have much to say.

A quick catch-up for you...

I went to visit Doreen last week.

It was so good to spend time with her.
She's doing okay for now.
Her pain is being managed.

I went up one day, stayed the night,

and came back the next day.

A nice drive...less than 3 hours.

I will go back in a few weeks.

Here she is with her kids, Chad & Stacey.

 

 oh...and her dog, Jerry.

I've been knitting...
did up a bunch of face washcloths.

Mostly to give as Mother's Day gifts.

Used all 100% cotton yarns...

so soft on the face.

Here are just a few of them...

I haven't been able to really 

put much thought into sewing/quilting.

Too much going on in my head.

But, in a few days, I will be 

making up a space of my own. 

And, I need to sew curtains for my space.

I bought the fabric, thread, curtain rings

and curtain rods over 4 years ago.

All this time, I've had this idea

of how I want the curtains to look.  

Just haven't gotten them made.

Thinking now is a good time, hey?

 

Jill and Tim were here last weekend...

Joyce and Jody will be here this weekend.

More on that later.

That's all for now...hope your week is good.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

The Sun Shines Just For Her...

Doreen is a beautiful person.

She's been my friend for over 40 years.

I love her so very much.

You all first met her here.
 

She is now in hospice.

I need to spend a bit of time with her.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."    Jeremiah 29:11

Just in Time for Summer...

Something special arrived in the mail today...

Summersville by Lucie Summers for Moda...

alphabetty, avenue and town in coal.

I've been busy knitting.

Never did start my big quilt project.

Will get to that one day very soon.

Getting ready for company.  

 


"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

A Break from Sewing...

I haven't been doing much sewing this week.   I finished my little churn dash quilt last Sunday...and I don't like it.  Not.  At.  All.  I am so disappointed in myself.  I made two choices that were not (read NOT) the right ones for this quilt...the binding and the quilting.  It bothers me that I dislike it.  It bothers me that I made those choices.  So.  I have mostly stayed out of my sewing room.  And, that's that.  Better luck next time, I guess.  {sigh}

So, to take a break from sewing, I've been knitting.  I can easily do that while watching tv in the evening.  Did I tell you?  My LYS (local yarn shop) has a discounted area...one is able to bring in new & in original packaging skeins of yarn and receive either store credit or cash...and those skeins of yarn are available to customers for a discounted price!  This week, I bought 4 skeins of yarn for $10.00, saving just over $15.00!! 

I was inspired by these at Purl Bee.  I made mine to measure about 7"...I think they are just so fun!  The perfect size for washing one's face!  The cotton I used is thicker than what they are on Purl Bee...I wanted them to be a tightly-knit cloth.  I will definitely be doing more of these...with different colors and different cotton yarns!  

It's a rainy dreary day.  I think I'll make lunch and read.  Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.  

Oh, and just so you don't worry...my week long break from sewing is over...cannot keep me from it for long.  I will be starting a new quilt project - a big one! - this weekend.  Stay tuned!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

What Inspires Me...

I see a lot of things I like...and that I would like to make, but not all of them truly inspire me.  This, on the other hand...definitely does.  This quilt is made up of churn dash and monkey wrench blocks...

as well as plenty of half-square triangles.  Isn't it fabulous?  (I apologize...I never noted where I saw the photo so am unable to give credit to the person who made it.)  What I love about this quilt is that there is a method to its madness, yet it looks so random.  It so inspired me that when I belonged to the Bee Addicted 3 block swap two years ago, churn dash and monkey wrench blocks were what I asked for.  Alas, those blocks are still waiting to be worked with.  I think at the time it seemed like such a huge project.  Perhaps I'll get to it this year.

Take a look at these churn dash quilts made by Erin of Why Not Sew?.  She stitched one by hand and one by machine...

Be sure to click on the photo to enlarge it.  I love her use of fabrics...these small quilts look so old and soft and already loved.  Don't you think?

You may remember that our first block in the hand-pieced quiltalong, with Erin of Why Not Sew?  was the churn dash block.  Here's mine...

Last but not least, my latest inspiration...this small quilt I saw at Purl Bee.

They call it Masking Tape Quilt...because of the way the little square blocks of fabric look.  I think it is dang cute.

Wondering where all of this is leading?  Why, to this little churn dash quilt I am working on.  All the blocks are pieced...and this is about as random as I get.  And, yet, there is some kind of order to it.  The top is finished...I would love to have it completely done before Sunday night comes.

What inspires you?

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11