Finally finished the BIG ONE!!

My husband wanted a new quilt for our bed.  So last year in October I decided to make him one.

It's an Angela Walters pattern that I made bigger.  And since I bought a Sweet Sixteen I decided that this was going to be my practice quilt.

I finished it last Saturday, but today is his birthday so I gave it to him this morning.

I can't believe I didn't notice the tree shadow right in the middle of the quilt.

And a close up of the quilting.

And on the bed.

The backing could not have been better.

He absolutely loves it.

This quilt it 114 x 114, it took me a year to complete, and it has 627,058 quilting stitches.

I do piece work in the weekends and quilting each evening for an hour and a half, between work and dinner. 

Hoping you have more stitching time than I have.

Back From a Wonderful Retreat

I had a great "One Person Retreat".  The hotel had the perfect setup in the room.

The ironing board was pitiful but after sticking a nice thick hand towel under the pad (I say that lightly) it turned out tolerable.

When they would come to clean the room I went shopping.  I searched online before I went and I couldn't find a single quilt shop in Mobile, AL.  But, Joann's was less than half a mile away.  I also went to Michael's, Big Lots, Dirt Cheap and Belk.  At different times on different days.  And even with all of the shopping I still got all of the blocks of a baby quilt completed.

This is not the colors of choice if you're Bama fan.  Oh, but what we do for our children.  I will say that all of the fabric was left over from another Auburn quilt I had to make.

Now it's back to work so I can rest.

Wishing you more sewing time than I will have.
Rose

Almost time for my One Person Retreat

But first....


My weekday evenings are spent on working on the "Big One" for my husband.  I am so close to having the grey quilted.  Then on to the coral and teal.

The Big One

I reserved the weekends to work on other quilts.

Last month while scanning one of the link ups I came across this one where Jenny said she rolls dice to see what she will be working on this week.  I commented that my coworkers and I roll dice to see where we will be having lunch but I hadn't thought about using it for projects.  Thanks Jenny I took your advise, set up the top 6 projects and began rolling the dice.

Week before last I rolled a 4.  This Christmas quilt is a quilt along with a coworker.  

I completed a couple of blocks then waited for quite a while for her.  Then she completed several blocks. Now after rolling the dice we're back on track.

Then this week I rolled a 2.  This is a t-shirt quilt for my grandson.  I had the shirts cut and stabilized but nothing else.  It's been sitting.

After rolling a 2 on Friday all of the shirts have the grey surround and these 4 have the shadow attached.  I'm real pleased with my progress.

In a couple of weeks my weekend sewing time will be cut as the college football begins.  Roll Tide!!!  We host friends every Saturday during football season.

Now on to the title.....

My husband has to take continuing education every two years.  He usually takes it close enough that the commute isn't as far as my daily commute to work.  This year I told him if he would schedule it in Mobile, AL I would go with him and we could eat good.

I'm calling it a one person retreat because I am taking this with me.

And I plan to sit in the hotel room for 3 days and sew while he is in school.  I was going to work on a sting quilt but my DD has a friend that had a baby 8 weeks early and wants an Auburn University baby quilt.  I am sew looking forward to it (the retreat, not the Auburn quilt).  Doesn't it sound like fun?

Wishing you more quilting time than I will have.
Rose

When you win scraps, make a quilt.

A couple of months ago I won a giveaway from the Silly Mama Quilts. That was my first win and as I didn't really know what to expect I was a little surprised to receive an envelope of scraps.  When I put them on the design wall to see what I had, this is about half of what I saw.

I left them up on the wall while I racked my brain for what to do with them. I watched the Oh Scrap! Sundays for inspiration.  I did finally see one that piqued my interest.  Here is my version of what I saw.

I still have at least half of the scraps left.  I don't have much imagination so I will be searching for another idea.  Thanks for scrap sharing.

Wishing you more sewing time than I will have.

Rose

Linking with: Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.

What did Art Linkletter say? Kids say the darndest things.

Okay, I have been quilting the "Big One" and I finished a flimsy made of scraps won in a giveaway,  but haven't taken pics yet.  Maybe will get them tomorrow and share.

I just had to tell this story:  Some of you know that our son and his 6 yr old daughter live with us.  The other day she asked her daddy if she could have an ice cream sandwich.  He told her "after dinner".

I heard him say after dinner but I didn't hear what she had asked for.  I could guess.

I started back to the sewing room and she came running after me.  "Gigi"
Me:  Yes ma'am?
Lump:  Can I have an ice cream sandwich?
Me:  Didn't your daddy say after dinner?
Lump:  Why can't I have one?
Me:  Because your daddy said after dinner.

I proceeded to the sewing room then came back and asked her daddy if he had told her she could have an ice cream sandwich after dinner?  He loooooked at her and said "did you ask gigi for an ice cream sandwich after I already told you after dinner?"

She looked at him and said "Well, Gigi is the boss of this house."  We all had a great laugh.  Her poppy said he liked the way she thinks.  But we also let her know that when daddy tells her something that gigi is not going to against him.

Isn't she a precious lump? (Thus the name Lump)

Wishing you more sewing time than I will have.

Rose

I can't decide

I'm joining  Meadow Mist Designs for the Mosaic Mystery Quilt.  I can't decide on the fabric choice.

Maybe I will make both.

Red, white and gray with black background.

Or:

Red, blue and yellow with low volume background.

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July

I've been working on quilting the "Big One" but, I did get a little bit of piecing time this week.  I finished the Threadology quilt top.  This was completed (except for the borders) from the scrap bins.

The back of this is also pieced. It is now in cue for quilting.

Wishing you more quilting time than I will have.

Rose

linking with Quilting is More Fun Than Housework and Confessions of a Fabric Addict

The BIG ONE

I haven't had a finish in a while.  I have a lot of BOMs and QALs going on but nothing complete.

I did have kind of a finish this week.  I finally got THE BIG quilt sandwiched.

This is an Angela Walters quilt and I can't wait to practice free motion quilting on it with the HQ Sweet Sixteen.  I haven't had much practice and I've had it a year now.  I made it a bit bigger than pattern it's 112" x 112" so I had to borrow 4 long tables and a facility to get this done. 

I had bought 8 pool noodles a the dollar store and went to the home improvement store to get pvc pipe to hold them together.  A man in line behind me asked if the pvc was going in the pool noodle and I told him yes.  He just knew it had something to do with a pool and the weekend (it was Memorial Day).  He acted like he was disappointed when I told him it had to do with the weekend but not a pool.  It was a good laugh. 

 It seems that June Tailor has changed the formula of the basting spray and I don't like it.  It did smell better, but it was a lot stickier, the button was hard to press, the spray got all over my finger, then the button came off the can because it was stuck to my finger.  Then, it took 4 washings and one scrubbing to get it off my hands.  How am I supposed to believe it will wash out of a quilt?

Sometimes I feel like my blog posts ramble, but that's how my thoughts are.

Wishing you more quilting time than I will have.

Rose

Hands 2 Help finish

This is in the box ready to go.  We have a company that comes to our workplace on occasion selling books and gadgets and such.  They were there this week so I picked up some board books to send with the quilt to Jack's Basket.

Thanks Sarah for hosting this.  It's my first but I promise it won't be my last.

Rose

Segment 1 complete

Segment 1 of the Mystery Sew Let's Quilt Along is complete.  It made for lots of practice on that 1/4 inch seam allowance.  I enjoyed the first two the most.  They didn't have 9 pages of instructions.

I enjoyed being able to personalize some of them.  I have Bama brand thread and a bench for the DH in front of the Put Your Heart In It quilt shop.

Looking forward to Segment 2.

Hoping you have more sewing time than I will.

Rose

Finally some finishes

Hey all.  I hope you have had weather similar to ours.  It has been in the upper 70's to mid 80's.  Great weather to open the windows in the sewing room and let the air flow through.

I actually had a couple of finishes this week.

This is the first time I have ever participated in the Hands to Help hosted by Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  I have this small finish for Jack's Basket.

I hope to have one or two more finished to send, but I am only a week away from my trip to Washington DC with my granddaughters 5th grade class.  I went with my grandson 6 years ago.  That trip was cut short.  It happened to be the week of the Boston Marathon bomb.  I'm looking forward to seeing the things we missed on that trip.

I also finished block 5 of the Threadology BOM by Jolly Jabber.

So the progress of the FIVE BoMs look like this:

From the left is the Mystery Let's Sew Along with Slice of Pi, then Threadology by Jolly Jabber, in the middle at the bottom is a Merry Meets Modern by Lavender Lime (this is a quilt along with a coworker), then Clementine by Jolly Jabber and finally Build a Quilt with Quilting is My Therapy.

The Threadology blocks each have four 6 inch blocks to match and the Clementine blocks each have a 20 inch block to match.  Both of these are made entirely with scraps.

The Clementine blocks all have the seams pressed open.  NOT FUN!  But, after reading every post by Mari I realized I didn't have to make all of them.  Thanks Mari.  Here are the results.

I have a Mini Clem and I'm really liking it.  It finished at 52 x 72.  I will add it to the stack to be quilted.  See the error design change in the large block in the middle?  I posted about this when Bernie from Needle and Foot wanted us to own our imperfections.  I chose not to correct it.

Okay, headed to the grocery store.  Wishing you more quilting time than I will have.

Rose

What to do with them?

I just found these while trying to organize and rid myself of plastic tubs.  That's a lie!  I need to organize and rid myself of plastic tubs, but I was actually trying to find (in those tubs) some labels that I KNOW I have.

There are 13 of them and they're about 15 inches, not real square but that could be corrected.  The scraps are all attached to a larger piece of fabric, possibly an old sheet.  They were made by my mom with a little help from me when I was a child. 
I remember having clothes made with some of the fabrics.  I had a skirt made with the brown and a dress made with the red.  The dress was for a school picture when I was in 1st grade, I think.

She started stitching around them, but didn't get very far.  I wonder if she planned to put a back on them.

I have no clue what to do with them.  Maybe I'll just sew them all together, well, 12 of them.  Any ideas?

I never did find those labels.  I have one of the H2H quilts ready to bind for Jack's Basket.

That's it for now.  Wishing you more sewing time than I will have.

Rose

Scraps and Precuts

Sometimes I buy precuts just because I like them.  No real plan in mind.  Sometimes there is no plan for a while (years).

When I gave up my sewing room I only kept my precuts, the fabric that I had a plan for and a small tub of scraps.   

After getting the new sewing room ready I sorted the scraps by color.  I never used them, just collected more.  When I had a quilt I wanted to make I bought just the fabric for that project.  That was before I found Bonnie.  She uses scraps and she sorts them by size.  So I rearranged my scraps and sorted by size.

When I decided to join, not one but four, QAL/BOMs this year I tried not buying any new fabric.  I can do this using scraps like Bonnie does.  I have done most of the blocks so far with the scraps but I did cut into a couple of the fat quarter bundles and even a jellyroll for H2H.

This came from one of the fat quarter bundles.  It may be about time to put it to use. Ya think?

Several of the corners in these blocks are made with these pieces.

This is Block 3 from Clementine from Jolly Jabber.  It was the 2018 QAL.  Have I mentioned that I don't like pressing seams open?  But it's so necessary in these blocks.

Then I found Mari.  She uses scraps too and she sorts by color.  Did I also mention that I don't like digging through multiple tubs trying to find fabric because it's in several different sizes.This weekend I am planning to recruit Lump to help me rearrange the scraps back to colors.  

I have enjoyed both Bonnie and Mari's blogs.  You should check them out.

Wishing you more sewing time than I will have.

Rose

Again?

I can't believe I did it again!!!

Churn dash gone wrong

This time I had to make amends with my ripper. 

I have been trying to squeeze in a few minutes of sewing during the week.  I usually get home from work at 4:30 and start supper at 6:00.  That gives me about an hour and a half to sew at least a few seams.  Yesterday I got in my car at work and was thinking of getting home to sew a little.  Less than half way home the traffic stopped.  A wreck caused the interstate to be closed.  I didn't get home until it was time to start supper.  So tonight when I got home I had my chance.  And this is what I did.  HaHa.

More fodder for Needle and Foot.  

Wishing you more quilting time than I will have this week.

Rose

Blooper or Blunder?

I'm reposting this picture because Bernie at Needle and Foot is asking quilters own our imperfections.  By sharing our bloops and blunders we may be able to help new quilters to realize we weren't born great quilters.  I don't consider myself a great quilter anyway.  

But here's my latest blunder.

This is Block 2 from the Clementine QAL with Jolly Jabber.  The green and I didn't get along.  Two of the corners in the small green block are wrong side up and the large block is, well, obvious.  

I sent a text with the picture of it to a coworker (she's slightly ocd).  Her response back to me was WHY!?!  I told her because I wasn't paying attention. 

We had a great laugh.  She thought it was a new quilting style.  LOL!

My ripper and I don't get along either so I am leaving it as is.

Wishing you a week with more quilting time than I will have.

Rose

Oliver and Clover quilts are complete are complete.

This is organic quilting, there isn't  a straight line on it.

Clover's has feathers.

I also completed 2 batches of strawberry jam this week.  I really wanted to make more but I can't handle being on my feet as long as I used to

And finally,

Lump had spring break this week so I took Thursday off and we went to the Zoo.

Wishing you more quilting time than I will have.

Rose

It's amazing how time consuming smoking is.  Today is day 13 without.  My son commented that I don't come down from the sewing room to go out to smoke.  I managed to get, not one but, two quilt tops done today.

A friend of mine became a grandmother to twins last week.  A boy and a girl.  I asked if they were using blue and pink in the nursery.  She said no, they were using earth tones and woodland animals.  I thought that is great for a boy.  I had a really hard time making a baby girl quilt with earth tones.

This one is Oliver's.  I saw it on pinterest yesterday, thought it over last evening and made it happen this morning.   I have never done this without a pattern before.  I did add a border on top and bottom.  I wanted them to both be about the same size and not square.

Then, because of the trouble with an earth tone girls quilt, I went with this for Clover.

The sun was coming in the window when I took this picture.  It was already 6:00.  I should get a glass of wine and start quilting them.

I haven't had a whole lot of quilting time on the Sweet 16.  SOOOOO looking forward to that.  I plan to do some ruler work on Oliver's and some swirls on Clover's.  Unless I can get some blue Pounce before I get to hers.

I've been wanting to go to a new "to me" quilt shop (it's an hour and a half away) but, Saturday is my only sewing day so I hate to spend it on the road.  I'm thinking maybe next Saturday DH and I can take a road trip and I will take a day off the next week.  Lump is on spring break and March is one of the two months in the year that we don't have a holiday.  Any ole excuse for a day off will do.

Wishing you more quilting time than I will have.

Rose

Clementine Block 2

This is block number two of Clementine, last years BOM with The Jolly Jabber.  It took me all weekend to complete and pieces were already cut!  The seams are all pressed open.    I didn't realize how time consuming that would be.

The green and I didn't get along.  The small block has two corners with the wrong side up and the big block, well, it's kind of obvious.  Oh Well.  My ripper and I don't get along either.

Occasionally we get together with two other couples have "Bowling League" on Fridays at the Cox Cabana (friends back porch).  We Wii bowl on their back porch and then have dinner.  It's so much fun.  She has drapes around the porch and table top heaters on the tables so we can pay even if it's cold.  Friday while bowling DH had a health episode and had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital.  He has had this kind of episode before.  As a matter of fact the Dr at the hospital said the EKG was exactly the same as it was in 2017.  They gave a us a big medical name for what is happening.  I google it and according to the Mayo Clinic site, he's having fainting spells.  So when he goes to his Dr about this, I'm going to have him ask if we really need an ambulance ride for this.  It is quite scary at the time, but now that I know what it is maybe it won't be so bad.

You know, after the fact, you can kinda joke about it.  Our son said he needs to quit acting like a teenager.  And I told him I'm glad he didn't mess up my sewing day.  This getting old is hell.

I wish I could get some quilts finished that I could send/take to Beauregard.

And lastly, today is day 7 of no smoking.

Have a smoke free, issue free, sewing week.

Rose

I made the quilt in the header picture for my mom years ago.  She loved scotty dogs.  It is the only paper piecing I have ever done (not my thing).  I have enough of the paper with patterns printed on them to make another quilt. 

The quilt came back to me when my mom passed away in 2013.  I lost it.  Searched the house multiple times.  The last time I remembered seeing it was at my grandson's high school football game in 2016.  I have asked family members if they had it or had seen it.  Nobody had.  My son (Lump's dad) often uses the golf cart to go across the neighborhood to visit friends and I asked if he had left it at the friends house.  The answer was no.  I planned on having dear SIL post it on FB to see if any football parents had seen it. 

I haven't really been dwelling on the fact that I lost the quilt, but it does cross my mind often and it bothers me.

I was sitting here today blog hopping when something hit me in the head.  My son was cleaning his room and found the quilt in his closet and dropped it from upstairs.  All I could say was THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.  My moms quilt is back home.

Wishing you more quilting time than I will have.

Rose

I have just completed reading all of the posts from 2005 on Bonnie Hunters blog http://quiltville.blogspot.com.  I have also read all of 2009 by Erin on http://whynotsew.blogspot.com, she is more my style of quilting.  Since I am new to blogging Bonnie taught me that I don't have to wait until I have a quilt or flimsy completed to post.  I can post about...life.

Sooooo, here goes.  I have a full time job so quilting time is limited.  Yesterday I stayed home with my granddaughter (that lives with us, she's 6) because she was sick.  The doctor said she was a full blown POSITIVE for Flu A.  At some point on Monday at work my back started having just a dull pain.  Yesterday, while home with Lump (she's my Precious Lump so I call her Lump), even though my back was not well, I got some sewing done. Well today I'm not completely down but the back is getting worse.

I have a king sized quilt top completed but I have no place to spread it out to sandwich. It's on from Angela Walter of Quilting is my Therapy.  This one is for my bed because my DH has been begging me for a new one.  It's BIG - 112" x 112".  I'm thinking about going to the dollar store and buying pool noodles and getting some PVC pipe that will fit snug enough inside to hold them together and then rolling each part of the sandwich, then spray baste as I unroll.  I am so anxious to get this one sandwiched because I got my HQ Sweet Sixteen last May and this is going to be the one that I try all kinds of quilting on.

I feel like I'm rambling so I'll save some for another day.
Rose

A couple items completed this week.

Two more medical pouches completed.  There won't be a fourth. I accidentally cut the zipper before opening it and lost the pull tab.  My seam ripper and I aren't very good friends and I already had to use it on one of these.

I finished block number three on the Build a Quilt with Quilting is my therapy

And when I read the Academic Quilter's post about the Tiny Foursome that she uses as leaders and enders I remembered this mystery quilt that was cut years ago before I gave up my sewing room.  What a great idea!  So I got the box out and set it beside my sewing machine.

Hope everyone has a great week.

Two finishes so far this year.

Christmas Day my 8 year old grandson had an allergic reaction to almonds.  It wasn't as serious as it could have been, but life changes after something like that.  So...I went to work.

This is the first of four I plan to make.  I was almost finished with the second one when the needle broke.  Time to quit for the day (week).  Back to work tomorrow.

The second finish is a retirement quilt.  Some time back I purchased two fat quarter bundles.  This is the fourth quilt I have made for retiring coworkers with those bundles and some background fabric.  The bundles are gone now.  I had to piece small pieces for the scrappy binding.  It is also my first feathers on the Sweet Sixteen.  I'm kinda proud of them.

My youngest granddaughter (5) saw this on the design wall and said "that looks like a brick wall."

I almost waited too late in the day to take the picture.  At least the sun was shining.  

This quilt will be gifted on Thursday at the retirement party.  

Hope everyone has a great week.

I love quilting.  I created this blog so I could share my quilting finishes.  In 2015 I gave up my sewing room to make room for family members that needed to have a place to call home.  I gave 11 tubs of fabric to a friend, not knowing how long it would be before I had my sewing space again.  I made baby quilts on a treadle sewing machine because that's the only one I had access to at the time.  In the spring of 2017 I had saved up to have heat and air added to the room over our garage.  Low and behold, my new sewing space. My friend was afraid I was going to want my fabric back.  I told her I would start over.  The only thing is, I don't have my mom anymore to decide that she wasn't going to quilt anymore and give me her stash. That happened multiple times. 

I saw a sign in a quilt stop that said "My husband lets me buy all the fabric I can hide".  That's me.

I purchased a sit-down mid arm quilting machine in May, 2018. Prior to that I did all of my free motion quilting on my 40 year old Kenmore domestic sewing machine which I still use for my piecing.  I LOVE QUILTING.