Waiting...

I was reading Ashley's blog (Film In The Fridge) the other day...she had written a post about her unfinished quilts.  Go here to see what she has to say (and show).  

It got me to thinking that I really need to finish some wip's.  Good grief!  I have probably about 8 quilt tops done, but five of them actually have the backing ready and are completely ready to be finished!  So, what's the holdup?  I just need to get at them and get them done!  Right?  (And, you know what's even better?  I have the bindings ready for those five, too!!!)

Here they are, in no particular order...

Wonky Log Cabin (wow...I started this back in September of 2009!) 

Paris Park...this is for Kaylynn and was started 2 years ago...

Paul (son) and Rachel's wedding quilt...been married almost 3 years now...oops!

And, this whirlygig quilt that I am not totally in love with (but am sure I will be once it's quilted)...

Kashmir Filmstrip...

I also have this one waiting...it's from Kelley and it is all hand-pieced.  I've not done anything but prepare a backing for this yet because I keep thinking I should hand-quilt it.  We shall see what happens with it.  Need to make up my mind and get it done.

                      

 

Of course, you know that there are more in various stages, but I really need to get at those five that are waiting.  

Anyway.  Just taking stock.

And, trying to keep cool in this hot weather.  

Have a great Sunday!



"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

Back to Back...

I just finished the backing for the filmstrip quilt...YAY!  (more on it later).  While working on it, I thought about the backings I've put together for my other quilts.  Some quilters prefer to use a single fabric on the back...nothing fancy.  Why?  I suppose because it's meant to be 'the back'.  Ya know?  Who looks at the back when all the gorgeous piecework and fabrics are on the front!  I get that.  I really do.  

However.  I must say, I actually prefer pieced backings.  I almost always opt to put together my backing with fabrics left from piecing the front of the quilt .  I think it's just more interesting to have a fun back.  As I gazed with love and admiration upon the quilt backing I finished this morning {grin}, I thought that it might just be easier for me to make backings.  Only backings.  And, then, ya know...use them for fronts!  {grin} 

Here are some of my fave backings...with links to the original post so that you can see what the fronts look like, for more information on the quilt and, perhaps, additional photos of the backs.

Whirlygig - I love this big floral fabric!  I pieced two pieces together almost perfectly...follow the link to see a photo of that. 

Carole's Quilt  - This is a single fabric backing, too.  I made this quilt in a hurry, so opted for simple.  This is one of my all-time fave quilts.

 

Postage Stamp Quilt - Another single fabric quilt backing...so many fabrics used in the squares (1296), that simple seemed better.  Plus, I suppose the hours and hours put into making the front did me in.  Well, probably not, but it could have been that I just wanted to be done with it, couldn't it have? 

Okay, so that's enough of that!  Now on to the pieced backings...the ones that are more fun to look at...more interesting...

 My First Quilt - Piecing my backings started with my very first quilt.  I'm not sure how much reading of quilter blogs I had read by that point...probably not many.  But, apparently, pieced vs single fabric was an early decision.  Actually, though, for this one, I think I only had a small bit of fabric left.  I know I don't have scraps of it anywhere.  (And, by the way, this is the only quilt with the brown dog label...I really should do something with that idea.)

Iced Mocha - This blue, chocolate and cream colored quilt was made for me Mum's birthday.  I used to get a bit perturbed because she liked this back so much.  I kept asking her if she knew how much time was put into making the front...but she didn't care.  She thought this looked awesome.  Or something.  {grin}

 

Ashley's Blush Quilt - This backing is so simple...just 4 rectangles put together.  What makes this one special to me is how the rectangular spiral done with brown thread looks on these solid colored pieces. 

  

Ashley's doll quilt - Usually, the smaller quilts are backed very simply.  But, I couldn't resist playing around with this one (and a few others done at the same time). 

Tag's Blanket - Joanne of Snippets & Scraps of My Mind sent fabrics for this little quilt for Tag.  I couldn't resist fancying up the back (a piece of muslin) with the little blocks in the center.  Case you're wondering...yes, he does lay on this blanket.

Sherbet Pips Wonky Charms Quilt - I think this backing is quite fun! 

Summer Sampler Quilt -  This, though.  One of my very most favorite backings.  I wanted to keep some of the Hope Valley fabric for another quilt, so had only so much that I was willing to use for the backing...but it worked out perfectly!  I love it.  LOVE.  

Kashmir Filmstrip (no link...first time shown) - I think that this may become my all-time fave of the faves.  I cannot wait...can. not. wait. to put this quilt together!  To quilt, bind, and finish it!

So.  What about you?  Which do you prefer...single fabric backings or pieced backings?  Do you have a fave?  Of mine...or of yours?  


Inquiring mind and all that.







"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

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