I Guess I'm Not a Manor House Kind of Gal After All

I have been so focused in the office, you wouldn't even believe it.  Quarterly reports, end of the year reports, w-2's etc. are slowly being chipped off of my list.  Freedom is almost in sight.  Late yesterday afternoon, I decided that what I really needed was a quick little pick-me-up to help me survive the last couple of days in the office.  Something fun could be very, very good.

The manor house minus one chimney!

I was two blocks behind with the Random Sampler QAL and so I decided to try that.  First of all, I quickly vetoed the 16 patch blocks from the previous month.  Nah.  Not doing that right now.  Maybe at the end of the QAL for fill-ins or something.  I wanted FUN.

So, the manor house it was.  Only, somehow I couldn't get the roof to work out properly.  The directions called for laying a shorter rectangle on the corner of the long roof rectangle, sewing on a diagonal and then ironing it back.  I was getting all kinds of funky shaped roofs, but nothing looked remotely right until I came up with this.  Only problem was, I could only fit one chimney on my roof instead of the two the directions called for!

So this is what I have to work with so far....

I think my mind was tweaked from too much paperwork.  Whatever.  I finally just re-worked the top row of piecing to make one chimney look okay.  No way was I going to try the roof thing again!  My block will be a humble abode with cheery lights in the window instead of a fancy lah-de-dah house.  I guess nobody will ever accuse me of trying to be pretentious even with my quilts.*wink

And a few more stray blocks to help round things out.

I also have these larger orphaned half square triangle blocks to work with if I decide they have a place in the final quilt top.  I'm starting to get ideas about what other blocks I'd like to sew too.  Maybe some liberated star blocks and some ocean wave type blocks?  We'll see.  Lots of time left on this project....

I'd Really Rather Be Sewing

I am desperately wanting to get busy in the quilt room these days.  I think there is only about one more intense week of book work left and then I can get back to my regular schedule.  Fingers crossed!  I have managed to cut out some more of the drunkards path pieces.  I think this represents about 2/3's of the blocks!

More pieces cut out for drunkards path--
A new learning curve

Saturday night I shoved everything aside and plunged into some piecework for the low volume scrap attack quilt I started a couple months ago.  Sometimes you just need to sit down at the sewing machine and that is all there is to it.  I'm still playing with what exactly it is I want to do with my improv. blocks, but hopefully this little bit of work will be the jump start I need.  Right now it looks like a big fat nothing though! lol

A few hst's for Low Volume Quilt

I know things are going to have to break pretty soon because I ALMOST joined in with Lori's sweet little quilt-along over at Humble Quilts even though I have entirely too many quilt projects started!  Then, last night I fell asleep last night dreaming up a delicious pattern for a little baby quilt (I have two niece or nephews on the way this year). Uh uh.  Not going there yet!  There's just a few little things that need to get done first.  I have ufq's that are crying out for attention and probably a quilt room clean up to attend to waaaaay before I start in on a fun little baby quilt!

Lots to Think About

First of all, I want to apologize for any consternation that I caused by nominating any particular person for the Liebster Award!  Essentially it's a 'chain' award and although I feel like it doesn't require a mandatory response, people can definitely worry about that.  Don't!  I went along because it seemed fun and I was already burrowed into my office for the time being.  If I disappear into my quilting room, then I have to feel guilty because I'm not doing bookwork.  I mean, obviously.  I'm not even in the office.  But posting?  Oh yeah.  Total mind game.  In the office = working! lol

G'ma's Kaleidoscope quilt

Later in the day, my time is my own.  Well, except for fixing dinner, washing dishes, attending the kids basketball games etc. etc.  That's when I do little hand quilting usually.

G'ma's Kaleidoscope from another view

This quilt has been very interesting to work with.  I LOVE the colors and scrappiness.  For once the stark white doesn't bother me at all and I'm really not sure why?  I am quilting it very simply in approx. a 1/4" echo stitching around each block, although a little wider for the white patches.  They are a total nuisance. 

Looking at some of the fabric.

But it's not just the white fabric.  Some of the other fabric has a very tight weave too.  My new leather thimble is getting totally thrashed, my finger is getting bruised and I am just trying to plow through it all with a smile.  I do lots of thinking about my grandmother while I work on this quilt so that definitely helps.  Where did she get her fabric and why?  Was some of this fabric re-purposed?  I almost think so.  Lots to consider...

11 Great Quilt Blogs and the Liebster Award

Oh wow!  Nancy from Joy For Grace chose me as one of the recipients of the Liebster Award!  What does that mean?  Apparently it is an award for newbie bloggers like me with small followings who fit the requirement of having less than 200 followers and happen to be doing something the nominator really likes.*wink
Again--wowsers!  Now I need to do my little part in paying it forward:

• Answer 11 questions posted by the person who nominated me
• List 11 random and hopefully not too weird facts about myself
• Nominate & tag 11 new bloggers with 200 followers or less (harder than you might think)
• Write 11 questions for the bloggers I nominate

1.  What is my favorite kind of cheese?
--Havarti  or Tillamook cheddar.  It's a toss-up.

2.  Do you prefer wearing pants or dresses/skirts?
--I assume since it says 'pants' and not jeans, that means dress-up time.  I'd much rather wear a skirt.

3.  How long have you been involved in the topic(s) you blog about?
--I probably made my first quilt in 1992 or so.  It was a very simple, tied baby quilt.:)

4.  Do you have a pet and if so, write something about him/her.
--I don't have any pets personally, but my daughter has a chocolate Lab named Tator, and the 'family' has a very old blue-heeler/Australian shepherd mixed dog named Blue.

5.  What is your favorite season and why?
--I love the fall.  Perfect weather for taking walks and the colors never fails to amaze me!

6.  What color are your living room walls?
--Butter yellow and one wall is terracotta.  I like.

7.  Are you an early bird or a night owl?
--Definitely a night owl.  Don't call me before 9 a.m.

8.  How did you choose your blog title?
--Originally I chose it for the title of my family blog as a distinction.  I am the 'Quilty' part of the family.

9.  What one thing can you not live without?
--Pepsi.  Absolutely.  No, it's iced tea.  Do I really have to choose?

10.  What is your favorite color and color combinations and have they changed over time?
--I use some form of red or brown in almost every quilt I make.  20 years ago I would have used green.

11.  What is your favorite movie and how many times have you watched it?
--Princess Bride.  Not as many times as my youngest daughter.:)


11 random facts about me

1. I am one of 12 children
2. Best meal of my life was at 'Benetti's Italian Restaurant in Coos Baby Oregon
3. I hate the taste of coffee
4. I'm a huge (guilty pleasure confession) fan of 'The Voice'
5. I want to be Gwen Marston when I grow up
6. I'm really, really awkward around people I admire, but have not met previously
7. I'm a worrier
8. I don't have a smart phone.  Don't even want one.
9. I almost cried when I read the book 'The 1776 Quilt' by Pam Holland
10. I am terrified of lightening storms
11. Since we sold our Suburban, I miss the seat heaters dreadfully

11 wonderful questions for the new award recipients!

1. Coffee, tea or soda?
2. Name one guilty pleasure
3. What is your favorite quilt blog?  Please do not name Quilty Folk.  I want you to be honest.
4. What is the last thing you bought for yourself, not your children, husband or family.
5. What is your favorite dessert?
6. What make, model etc. is your sewing machine?  What would you buy if the sky was the limit?
7. Where do want to live when you grow up?
8. Describe yourself in 3 words
9. Did you get all organized after the first of the year or are things the same as always?
10. How often do you buy a new purse or wallet?
11. If  you had to totally give up buying one color of fabric, what color would that be?

Passing it on to some amazing blogs!

• Butterfly Threads Quilting
• Simple Bird Applique
• Kindred Quilts
• Quilting on the Crescent
• Every Stitch...
• Oh! Oh! Quilts!
• Textile Diva
• Patchwork Jitka
• Orange Crumpled Napkin
• Pomegranate Quilts

*(I had to remove my 11th nomination because of a recent Malware problem.  Will update it at a later date)

Thank you Nancy!  This was quite thought provoking and very much an honor.:)

Starting in on Another Forever Project

So this is my next Forever Project:  6 1/2" finished bow-tie blocks.  I know.  More bow-ties.  Only bigger! After thinking long and hard about all the possibilities, I finally came up with this for a variety of reasons.

Hand pieced bow-tie blocks

First of all, I really want to learn how to hand piece in the traditional manner.  Pair that with the fact that I'm extremely intimidated by some of the intricately pieced patterns available these days and my brain freezes!  What to do?  What to do?  This will positively haunt me if I discard it half way through.*wink

A forever project needs to seem important and relevant or it risks becoming tedious. The old fashioned charm of a classic pieced bow tie quilt just feels right, especially for now.  I'm seriously considering hand piecing the entire quilt, but first things first!  My husband keeps telling me that I have finally crossed the line into crazy.  Like certifiable. lol

Hopefully the background fabric will keep things interesting and fresh for me.  So far one block went together perfectly.  Number 2 was a struggle since I was talking too much while I was trying to sew something I'm terribly inexperienced at and the third block wanted to give me major trouble at the y-seams.  Time to slow things down a bit and figure out how to get things right.

Plain Jane Has Blossomed

I have been very busy the last couple days trying to catch up on book work.  Garhhhrr!!  It's a disaster in my little den of an office and I have to admit that my toe hurts from where I tried to kick something.  Nuff said about that! except that I'm afraid I have many more days like that before the end is in sight.  Thankfully I have lots of rewarding projects to take my mind off of all that wearisome work waiting for me.*wink

Plain Jane--Sugar bowl quilt
Looking very sweet these days.:)

You can see that I got the border work done on Plain Jane.  Personally, I think she looks very pretty these days and extremely happy with her make-over!  My oldest daughter couldn't quite get the 'Simplify', but in order to understand that, you have to go clear back to the beginning.  Originally, I had intended to put a very fancy border on this quilt with swags and formal looking flowers.  By the time I was putting borders on the quilt, it was obvious that it needed pared down a lot.  In fact, after putting the scrappy blues on the border I figured the quilt was done (finite).

Plain Jane--Sugar bowl quilt
A better look at the borders.....

Then I pulled it out of the drawer the other day and starting re-thinking the plain border.  Hmm...  Maybe I did the quilt a bit of a disservice.  It really looks like it could manage a touch of added sweetness, something simple and free from affectation.....  So what do you think?  I know I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out!

Look what I won!!!

Also, I wanted to show you the package that was in the mail yesterday!  I won this beautiful package of fabric and pattern from Temecula Quilt Co. on Christmas Eve!  So very exciting.  It felt like I was getting another Christmas present!  The strips of reproduction fabric are literally making me drool. lol

Keeping it real.....

And just so you know what my quilt room looks like when I'm busy elsewhere and have to sneak in my little chunks of quilting time.  Ahhhh... January.  The one month I just can't get away with avoiding the office....

In the Hoop

When I was digging through all my completed quilt tops the other day, I pulled out this Kaleidoscope quilt.  I made it almost ten years ago in tribute to my grandmother.  She was a wonderful person and I loved her dearly.  After she died, my mother gathered up all of the scraps and pieces of her fabric together for my sisters and I to use in our quilting endeavors or however else we chose to use them.

G'ma's Kaleidoscope Quilt

The scraps were dumped out on the table and we picked one fabric each until all the of the fabric was gone.  After I had the opportunity to consider what there was to work with, I decided to make a kaleidoscope quilt out of templates.  I figured it was a good way to be efficient with all the little bits and pieces I ended up with!  Anyway, the quilt pattern was a little above my pay grade and the piecing did not go well at all.  I basically threw the quilt top in the back of my closet in extreme disappointment and decided to have it machine quilted someday whenever I got around to it.  Maybe even the fifth of never.  lol

Kaleidoscope Quilt close up

Up until the other day, I had never once seriously considered hand quilting it.  The white fabric is one that I added to go with the scraps and it just so happens to be one of those painted on type of fabrics or whatever they're called--very difficult fabrics to hand quilt.  Am I crazy?  My grandmother hand quilted every single quilt she ever made in her life and I think she'd be proud of me for the effort.  The kaleidoscope is a quilt that has been neglected for much too long and now it's finally in the hoop where it should have been years ago.

Full pic of Antique Medallion

Sorry for the blurry picture of the Antique Medallion.  Someone asked to see this entire quilt in a photo after all of the quilting was completed.  Best I can do for now!

Once again I'm linking up to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching and 'filling up the well' with some quality time spent on hand quilting today.

The Learning Curve

The hand quilting is all complete on the Antique Medallion!  I got this quilt sandwiched and ready to go on November 12, 2012 so I consider this very good work on my part.  I wish they all went this smoothly!  After my last stitch, I had to lay the quilt out on the floor and admire it--for a really long time!  In fact, I wanted to call all of the family in and do jumping jacks or something I was so excited!

Centerpiece of Antique Medallion quilt

I remember when I first started the center part of this quilt back in about 2009.  The pattern came out in the American Patchwork and Quilting magazine in April of 2001--one I immediately tore out and stuck in my inspiration book.  I always wanted to make the pineapple/pomegranite part of the pattern, but was so very intimidated.  Scared spit less of it actually because of all the precise-ness of it.  What a perfect way to showcase my mistake making skills!

Sponging out the quilt markings

Years and years later, I finally got up the courage to get started on it and I AM SO GLAD!  This project taught me an invaluable lesson.  Face your fears head on and plow right on through them!  It seems incredible now how frightened of this kind of applique I was!  There are definitely mistakes if you look close enough, but this quilt will always have special meaning to me for what it's done for my confidence ever since.

Ready for binding!

For now it's hanging on the railing in my quilting room to pet as I walk past. I confess that I have started a new project that is all about conquering my fears as well.  Those nasty drunkards path blocks.  Uggghhh....  I am not quite ready to say that I've mastered curved piecing, so I guess I'm gonna drown in it for awhile.  May the prep work take months.*wink

A new learning curve....

Plain Jane Seems to Want Some Attention

Always looking ahead, that's me.  I went digging through my completed quilt tops to see which quilt needed to go in the hoop next and stumbled across my sugar bowl quilt.  This quilt (which I call Plain Jane) has been living happily in the drawers with all the other finished quilt tops until this week, when for some reason she demanded to be prettied up a bit.

Plain Jane (Sugar Bowl Blocks)

Strange how that happens.  I really thought this particular quilt was perfectly content as it was.  Hmmm... I do wonder if I'm putting off working on other projects that I'm right in the middle of?  Oh well.  When inspiration strikes, it's best not to ignore it for too long.*wink  I promise it won't be overkill.

Prep for Plain Jane border work

I'm a list girl so it's pretty easy to see what projects are ready for attention you know.  My 'To Do' list is always in a color that jumps out at me and I place it directly to the left of my sewing table.  Hello?  Don't forget about me!

To Do list

Hand Quilting Again and Some Frugal Thinking

It is starting to look like I am making very REAL progress on the Antique Medallion quilt!  Once I start working on the very outside edge of any quilt, I always get this feeling of excitement.  Yay me!  Of course the outer border is forever long when you figure you have to go all the way around the quilt.*wink

More hand quilting

I wanted to say 'Thank You' for all the wonderful comments I got in response to my mentioning our reduced budget as it may apply to my quilting hobby.  I really have no intention of giving up quilting, I was just trying to explain why I may be making weird or unusual  fabric choices--something that may not be immediately obvious as a frugal decision.  It's perfectly okay with me if you just think I'm being eccentric, because that's probably a correct assumption as well.  lol  

My biggest problem is that I get to feeling GUILTY.  How important is this quilting thing in relation to our growing family needs and obligations?  I'm very aware that there are lots of people in reduced financial straights these days and I'm always reading about a good tip for up-cycling, stash busting, and making do etc.  It sounds crazy, but I love it even when I'm annoyed about it.  Personally, I know that it helps me to not be so lazy.  It makes me dig a little deeper into my fabric totes.  I have to weigh my fabric buying choices more carefully.  It leads me to make more unique design decisions and take more time with each quilt.  I'm almost always broke so my entertainment is more home based; ie, I quilt more!

But yes, I will still be buying the occasional big chunk of background fabric (I just bought the yardage I need for my next forever project last month).  But I will buy it on sale or with a gift card.  Not be impulsive and buy the wrong color only to go back the next week and buy a different color!  If I get desperate, I will no doubt be knocking on my mom's door and offering a fabulous trade in return for raiding her quilting supplies.

In closing, I will also mention that I'm linking up with Kathy's Quilting today.  Slow quilting is very much a part of my quilting experience--one of the best parts actually.  It's so good to slow down and think things through occasionally.

Looking Back at My 2012 Finishes

A quick look-back at my 2012 finishes.  Every quilt pictured was hand quilted except for 'Lil Retro Baby.  My goal at the beginning of the year was to try and finish one quilt every two months and it looks like I at least accomplished that!

Prairie Vine

Be Thankful

'Lil Retro Baby

Almost Amish

Scrappy Triangles

Little Bow-ties

Christmas Table Runner

Monkey Wrench

I have lots of ideas for quilts I want to work on in 2013.  Mostly I intend to try and work on quilts that speak to me personally through design, set challenges, frugality, and/or color and fabric choice.  The last three years have been increasingly tough on us financially and last year was the worst year yet.  I don't want to give up my quilting hobby as I feel that it most definitely helps me to cope with all the difficulties that come from having a sharply decreased income (not to mention the stress of dealing with teenagers).  It would be so incredibly self-defeating if I resented not having the wherewithal to continually buy all of the new and shiny!  I need to constantly remind myself:  The Internet quilting community is my inspiration, not the dividing line between the have and the have-nots.

I feel that the biggest challenge for me in the here and now is to continue to work at having quilting projects that inspire and propel me towards the next project, without feeling the need to go out and make large fabric purchases to implement them.  Concentrating on series work, scrap quilts, and fabric/color play in all my new projects will definitely help in that endeavor.  I have already found that buying the occasional new fat quarter or two works wonders at bringing new life to older fabric selections too--positive endorphins!  Of course I will probably squeeze what I need out of the grocery money whenever I need to buy a border fabric and I have never been above begging my beloved husband for quilt store gift cards for birthdays etc.*wink