Bits and Pieces

A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking. 

Jerry Seinfeld

No, I haven't fallen off the side of the earth.  I'm still around and hopefully I'll be making my presence know a little more often here.  When I got back from Texas I began seeing a nutritionist to try and get some help with a few chronic health issues that have been causing me to have very little energy and other problems.  After 2 months on my new diet I am beginning to feel better and have a little more energy.  

As I was explaining what I am to be eating to a friend a few weeks ago she said "Oh, I'm familiar with that diet.  If it tastes good spit it out."  Of course it isn't quite that bad.  It's really a clean food diet, as organic as I can make it but I'm not too obsessed with that point.  No gluten, very few carbs.  I don't know about you but changing the way you eat takes a lot of time and mental energy.  My husband and I had gotten used to eating out a little too often but sometimes we just don't want to cook.  Now I am back to cooking more and eating a lot of salads.  This and the more frequent trips to the grocery store have of course changed my daily routine more than a little.

I have managed to get a little sewing done in the studio.  Here is some of the things that I have done for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I am behind in my posting them so I am sharing all I've made so far.

I got the directions for this block off a blog a few years ago.  I love the movement of it.  I would give you a name for it and who designed it but I have no idea.  The PDF was not copyrighted nor did it have the blog name on it.  I know it was off a popular blog but I haven't a clue as to which one it was.  If you know let me know.  If you don't let this be a lesson that if you want credit for something... PUT YOUR NAME ON IT!!!

 Perhaps you remember that I wanted to make this Storm at Sea Quilt.  

I have all the blocks finished except the Square in a Square ones are missing the final triangle.  I left it off until I get them on the design wall and decide if I want to use the color layout that was in the magazine or not.  The layout will decide the color of the last triangle so that is why I'm waiting.  I'm using the hand dyed fabrics that I ordered from Vicki Welsh for this quilt.  I had a set of 5 batik fat quarters that worked for the center squares.  I'm not sure what I will be doing for the borders.  I'm pretty sure I don't want to do the Monkey Wrench blocks that was in the magazine.

I did use Marti Michell's templates to cut it out and it went well in the cutting and sewing.  I know many people paper piece Square in a Square blocks but I don't see the point.  If you cut them carefully they go together well.  The magazine had templates for all of the blocks to be paper pieced but I didn't  make them like that.

I went ahead and finished the colorways.  Since the pink and red, yellow and orange were both in the same blocks it doesn't follow the monthly colors picked exactly.  I'm kinda curious to see how it will look all together.  The only thing I didn't like so far is I would have liked a little more value difference in the purple blocks.  They are together now and not likely to change.

I have a few more things to share but I'll share those another day.  Tell me if you have had to change your diet drastically and what results you had in the comments.  I'd love to have a little empathy.  LOL

Linking with:  Rainbow Scrap Challenge and Design Wall Monday 
                  and Show and Tell Tuesday

A Do Over

Live this day as if it will be your last. Remember that you will only find tomorrow on the calendars of fools. Forget yesterday's defeats and ignore the problems of tomorrow. This is it. Doomsday. All you have. Make it the best day of your year. The saddest words you can ever utter are, If I had my life to live over again. Take the baton, now. Run with it! This is your day! Beginning today, treat everyone you meet, friend or foe, loved one or stranger, as if they were going to be dead at midnight. Extend to each person, no matter how trivial the contact, all the care and kindness and understanding and love that you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again. 

Og Mandino

Sometimes in life we get the chance to do things over again.  Not very often. Perhaps as quilters and sewists we do.  The seam ripper is a great tool sometimes for eradicating mistakes.  Sometimes things turn out better the second or third time around.  Words and actions in relationships are a bit harder to correct.  Hopefully you don't have to correct many of those situations in your life.

This week I changed the hem on a pair of pillowcases.  I made these for my Mother a few years before she died and gave them to her with a new set of pillows.  After she died they came back home to me.  They are made of a wonderfully silky feeling lawn.  It might be a Liberty print, I don't remember.  Since I have a king size bed I decided to take the hem out and add an eyelet edging that I had in my stash so they would be long enough for king size pillows.

  

There are still a few creases that would not iron out but that will disappear in the wash.  They will be a nice memory for me when I use them.

I was so excited that the hand dyed fabrics I ordered from Vicki Welsh arrived.  They will be used in part for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2015.  I spent some time yesterday looking at the patterns I had planned to work on for the year.  Now to get up the courage to actually cut into these beauties.  There will be no chance of a do over when that happens so I want to be sure of what I want them to become.

I also figured out that I need 5 more of the checkerboard blocks I showed in the last post.  I got the strips sewn for them and now just need to make the blocks.  Then I can play with the layout on the design wall.

Guess I need to get on with it.  Hope things are going well for you without the need for a do over.

Rainbows and Fun

Walk in the rain, jump in mud puddles, collect rocks, rainbows and roses, smell flowers, blow bubbles, stop along the way, build sandcastles, say hello to everyone, go barefoot, go on adventures, act silly, fly kites, have a merry heart, talk with animals, sing in the shower, read childrens' books, take bubble baths, get new sneakers, hold hands and hug and kiss, dance, laugh and cry for the health of it, wonder and wander around, feel happy and precious and innocent, feel scared, feel sad, feel mad, give up worry and guilt and shame, say yes, say no, say the magic words, ask lots of questions, ride bicycles, draw and paint, see things differently, fall down and get up again, look at the sky, watch the sun rise and sun set, watch clouds and name their shapes, watch the moon and stars come out, trust the universe, stay up late, climb trees, daydream, do nothing and do it very well, learn new stuff, be excited about everything, be a clown, enjoy having a body, listen to music, find out how things work, make up new rules, tell stories, save the world, make friends with the other kids on the block, and do anything else that brings more happiness, celebration, health, love, joy, creativity, pleasure, abundance, grace, self-esteem, courage, balance, spontaneity, passion, beauty, peace, relaxation, communication and life energy to...all living beings on this planet. 

Bruce Williamson

Doesn't this list look like a great one for New Year's Resolutions?  I have already done the first one a few times and a few others.  Our year has been pretty soggy so far with more rain coming today.  That's OK you need the rain to get flowers and rainbows but I hope it stops before I get too blue.

I started the year off with a trip to the movies with my two younger children.  We had been trying to find a day when we were free to see The Hobbit and finally did.  Dear husband wasn't feeling up to it.  He has been a little under the weather the last few weeks but is finally feeling a little better and is planning to go see it today.

The movie of course was great.  I was a little sad when it was over because I have enjoyed all of Peter Jackson's journeys into Middle Earth so much and they are over now.  They have made me want to take a trip to New Zealand too.  If only it weren't so far away.

I will just have to focus on trips I can make for now.  This year I plan to make a trip around the Rainbow again by joining the Rainbow Scrap Challenge again.

I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of a hand dyed packet of fabrics from Vicki Welsh to use in my monthly blocks.  I will also try to make some progress on two of the other projects that I had planned to work on last year.  Here are some pictures in case you have forgotten what they were.

A Storm at Sea variation and this Amish Batik Beauty.

You may remember that I made blocks for this one.  I still need to add the corner triangles and work on the border units.

Here is what they were looking like one of the last times they were on my design wall.  Just in case you need to refresh your memory.  I made more including some green ones but I don't know if I got a picture of them all together before I took them down.

Right now I have the whole set of the ones below on my design wall.  I need to get of picture as soon as I am done swapping them about for the final layout.  I made a total of 31 blocks.

I was surprised that my husband said he really liked them.  They are very bold and modern.  I think I am almost over my solid fabric faze for a while.

Of course the top I did get finished was my Soul Searching one.  I had so much fun with that one that I might have to make another one this year.  Do you think I should?

I know you probably aren't interested in the clothes I wear.  Honestly, I think it would be a little strange if you were.  However I wanted to share this fun shirt I found while I was Christmas shopping a few weeks ago.  If you have been reading my blog for very long you know I have a thing about owls.  This one just flew into my hands and had to come home with me especially since it was the right size.

Isn't it a Hoot!  Love the glasses!  By the way it is laying on my bed.  I'm not that flat.  LOL

I'll be back with more to tell soon.  I need to get to my studio and work on something to share with you.  I haven't even made it down there yet this year.  

Learning the Art

To know how to grow old is the master work of wisdom, and one of the most difficult chapters in the great art of living. 

Henri Frederic Amiel

Well, I have been getting a few things done but obviously not blogging about them.  October started out as it always does with my birthday a few days into it.  This was a big one ending in 0.  My husband and I went to the movies and then did a little shopping for me ;-)  then he left me alone for the evening and went to a football game.  The next day my oldest son hosted our whole family at his house for dinner.  It was really nice for all of us to get together.  With 4 adult children it is hard to make schedules mesh for that to happen.  Soon it will be time for Thanksgiving and hopefully it will happen again.  I'll be hosting that this year.

I finally got a quilt loaded on the longarm and have been quilting it.  I'm planning to get it finished this week.  Here is a peek.

I'm doing a pantograph on it.  This is a charity quilt that has been hanging around for too long.  It is a fun one I think.  I had fun making it last year while I was avoiding the stairs because of knee problems.

I pieced the back and am trying to get the design centered more or less.  I will see how good my planning was soon.  Here is a look at it from underneath. 

And a longer shot.  Homespuns aren't everyone's favorite but these are fun and bright.

I also got my Soul Searching top finished.  Yeah!!! I decided to depart from the pattern and added a row of Black and White strips between the blocks vertically.  

I would have added two rows but it would have made it too long.  That would have been more visually balanced since there are two squares between the colors horizontally.

Here is a view from the other direction.  How do you think it turned out?  Do you like the added rows between?  Should there be two?

I have been doing these blocks each month with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I had big plans at the first of the year to work on 3 projects but I've only made progress on 2.  That's OK.  I think I will just save the other one for next year.  Maybe I can get the 30s print one finished this year.

Linking with:  Design Wall Monday  and  Anything Goes Monday  and  So Scrappy

Chaining Blocks Together

America is not like a blanket: one piece of unbroken cloth, the same color, the same texture, the same size. America is more like a quilt: many patches, many pieces, many colors, many sizes, all woven and held together by a common thread. 

Jesse Jackson

Want to see more green?  I should have shared these back in August but as I said in my last post I was distracted by other things happening in my life.  So here are some of my green blocks.

I can't say that 30s prints are my favorites but they do make me smile!  I have learned over all the years of quilting that I have under my belt that with blocks that have directional triangles that it is best to chain piece the blocks together after the smaller units are done.  If you do this the chances of getting the triangles turned wrong are much smaller.

Here is what I do:

First make all the smaller units

Next sew the first two units in each row of the block together.

If you look closely you can see the threads connecting the block rows.

(They would have gone through the machine sideways to what is pictured.)

Next add the last row still leaving the threads uncut.  The last thing to do is to sew the last two seams going across the block.  I made 48 blocks for this quilt and only twice did any of the triangles get turned in the wrong direction. I don't think any of the 4 patches did.   I usually work on a group of about 6 blocks at a time chaining through the same step on each of them.  When I work is small groups of blocks I always get a few finished blocks done even when I don't have a lot of time at the machine.  Nothing like a little immediate gratification!

Of course not all blocks are nine patches.  This method can be used no matter how many rows or pieces are needed.  I also use the same method for joining blocks into rows to complete the quilt top.

I hope this simple tip will save you some time and keep you from having to pick out things that get turned the wrong way.  If you have any hints that save you time leave them in the comments below.

Linking with: Anything Goes Mondays

Awake

The dignity of the artist lies in his duty of keeping awake the sense of wonder in the world. In this long vigil he often has to vary his methods of stimulation; but in this long vigil he is also himself striving against a continual tendency to sleep. 

Marc Chagall

I didn't mean to be gone for so many weeks!  August was a bit crazy with day trips and the need to run hither and hon for various appointments.  My dear sweet doggie has been plagued with various allergies that made her restless and kept us awake for many nights.

She is now getting better after several trips to the vet and we are getting a little more sleep.

September started off nice with some of my kids coming over for a while Labor Day.  The rest of the week didn't go so well.  I had an unexpected trip to the ER with a kidney stone.  Fortunately it was gone in about 48 hours but it took a few more days to get the drugs out of my system.  Can't say that I enjoyed that experience at all.  Pain that intense isn't fun at all!!!  Needless to say I didn't get much done for a few days.

Happily I'm back to normal again!  I have made progress on a few things.  Want to see?

I made my last two Soul Searching blocks.  I had skipped August because I wasn't sure I wanted another green.  I love the orange one!  Then after thinking about it for weeks I decided that I would make a dark green one.

So what do you think?  Now I have nine made and can sew them all together.  

Back in August I also made some more 30s blocks in green.  Don't seem to have those pictures loaded from the camera yet so I'll share those later.

I went to the Quilting Live Show last week.  I had wanted to go to Chattanooga to the
AQS show but after feeling poorly for a week I decided not to push it by being on the road alone.  I think that was the right decision.  We also had to cancel a weekend in the mountains because of my wonderful little kidney stone.  Who knew that something the size of a split pea could cause so much trouble?

I managed to console myself at the Show with some shopping.  I'll share pictures of some of the goodies I bought next time.

I've been making progress on a few other things too that I'll be sharing soon.  I've actually been getting some borders sewn on to projects!  This is a good thing!  I would hate to show you how many tops I have that are all done except for the borders.  I hope to get two that were design issues done this weekend.  Maybe I'll get the nine Soul Searching blocks on the design wall too!

Linking with: So Scrappy and Patchwork Times

The Color is RED

A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving. 

Albert Einstein

For the Giveaway for my Followers CLICK HERE

Now for a look at what I have been up to lately.  I have been on a bit of a reading binge for a few weeks but I have also gotten a bit of piecing done.  I spent some time figuring out how I am coming on my Reading Challenge over the weekend and will be updating my list soon.  The tab for the page about it is at the top of the blog.  The Month Challenge is almost complete but I am not making very much progress on the Color Challenge.  I need to check out some books with colors in the title at the library.

I am so enjoying the Soul Searching blocks that I have been making for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I think I will have to make another one just because they are so easy and rewarding.  This month is RED.

I wish it would photography as bright as it really is.  Some of the fabrics are slightly orange-red and they just aren't showing up that way even with my color adjustments.

I have also been sewing away at these 9 inch Jacob's Ladder variation blocks.  The pretty little 30s prints aren't showing up in the photos but they look nice and bright in real life.  The pattern calls for 48 and this is the ones I've done so far.  I still have a stack of green ones to go as well as some repeats of colors I've used in some of these.

There are some RED ones and a lot of pink and blue.  I don't have much purple and only one peach.  It's tempting to go buy a few more but that would not be using up what I have.

The pattern calls for a small triangle to be sewn on the corners of the plain white squares.  I haven't decided if I am going to do that yet.

I have a chain piecing system going for making these that I'll share with you if anyone is interested in seeing it.  It make things go fairly quickly and keeps the triangles from getting turned in the wrong direction about 98 percent of the time.  LOL  I've still managed to get 2 or 3 flipped.

The pattern called for the blocks to be all one fabric like this.  I thought when I was cutting it out that I might like them to be two colors with a different print for the chain.  I laid a couple out that way and was shocked that I didn't like it.  

Here is the layout.  If I turn the blocks like this and don't add the corner triangles there will be big white squares there.  I'm still debating.  I do like the pieced border although the symmetry is off.  There are 2 dark corners and 2 white corners.  Does things like that bother you?

Linking with: Freemotion by the River and Building Blocks Tuesday and Patchwork Times

June Report

Summer is a promissory note signed in June, its long days spent and gone before you know it, and due to be repaid next January. 

Hal Borland

Summer is definitely here!  The temps this week have been hovering in the upper 90s and in the cars over 100.  I hope all of you who were complaining about the long cold winter are enjoying it.

We started out the Summer with a bang of expenses.  We had to replace the main floor AC and the grill.  Glad we got it done before this week's heat hit!  The grill arrived Tuesday and we will be using it tomorrow.  All the kids are to come over and the grands.  It's been a while since they were all here and they will get to meet little Maggie Rose.

In case you haven't met her yet here she is:

This is what she does most of the time - sleep.  That is a good thing!

I finally got back to my studio in the past week and added to the Sound Check blocks.  Here is the collection so far.  The pattern calls for 30 so I'm over halfway there.  I've finished 3 more this week that aren't pictured and have the rest at least cut out and started.  I think I'm over my crush on solids now and just want these finished and done.

The colors aren't showing up very well in the photos.  There is no yellow, that is a lime green. Each block is a color and black or a color and gray.  I've got two shades of gray below and there is a third going in the final blocks.  I don't think there will be any duplicate blocks.  The same color may be used twice but it will be once with black and once with gray.  A couple of the blues are really close in value though so they may look alike but they are different when side by side.  This is a roll over for the Let's Book It Challenge since it is taking more than one month to complete.

I also found time to get the June yellow Soul Searching block made for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  Again it didn't show up well color wise in the photo.  These are all mostly bright lemon yellows with just the darker ones leaning towards gold.  I need to add another light to my design wall for photography.

I also got a little cutting out done.  I've cut out a few recieving blankets that will just need a hem.  I might make some bibs from the scraps.

I also got most of the 30s prints cut for this one:

I had wanted to be working along on it and another one with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge but have not got around to getting it started.  The Soul Searching Quilt only has 9 blocks so I will need something to fill in the Fall months anyway.  I'm hoping I can get the batik one going soon too.  It looks like this:

The year is half over now so I should get going on what I planned to start in January don't you think?  I'm trying to decide if I want to go to the AQS Show in Charlotte or Chattanooga or both.  Any of you going?  It might be fun to meet up.

For all my USA readers I hope you have a great 4th of July Weekend!  I'm planning to do a Lo Country Boil.  I haven't tried it before so I hope it turns out will.  DH is hinting for some cheesecake too.  I think I better get going on the housework and grocery shopping!

I'll be starting the Giveaway for my followers next week.  It is coming, just be patient.

Linking with:  Let's Book It and Rainbow Scrap Challenge and Something Old Something New and Let's Bee Social

May Report

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost. 

Martha Graham

I did get a few things done in May that I wanted to share with you.  The first project is a new one.  When I saw this design I wanted to try it.  I already had my solids and some black fabric out so I decided to go for it.

Here are the blocks I have finished so far.  I didn't follow the construction directions in the magazine but the results are the same.

I also finished this top.  I told you about this project back in this post.  The link to the Missouri Star video is there too.  This is a great project!  Just two seams per block.  It used a jelly roll and 5 inch squares.  It turned out about 65" x 93".  I may decide to shorten it by one row but since the fabrics are unwashed it will probably lose at least 3 inches in the quilting and shrinkage in the wash.  I think it will be just about right for a twin bed.  I don't plan on adding a border at this point.
  

I also got my Soul Searching block done for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge in green.  I went with mostly lime greens.

It's nice to see the progress I made in May.  Now I need to find some time in June to get some longarm quilting done.  I am way behind there.  I think I will make my June goal to get at least two tops quilted.  It won't be happening while I'm pulling Grandma duty next week with little Miss Maggie.  If you didn't meet her look at my previous post.  I have the weekend off  while the new family has some bonding time at home.  New Dad goes back to work Monday so I'll be busy then.

Linking with:  Rainbow Scrap Challenge and Something Old Something New and Finish it up Friday

Taking Care of the Essentials

The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

Joseph Addison

I am enjoying the warmer weather although it has still been cool.  That's fine with me because I don't like hot.  It is to get into the 80s this weekend.  Spring is definitely here because my world is covered in a yellow haze of pollen.  My sinuses can attest to this also.  I know from some of the blogs I read that snow is still around in some of the Northern Hemisphere so I'll share some more flowers to help warm your day or give you Spring envy at least.  My irises have been putting on a great show! 

 This is my smaller patch.  They have been blooming for over a week now.  I was happy to see more purples this year.  When I planted them they were in a single row about 4 feet away from the crepe myrtle.  They will soon surround it if we don't thin them out.

Here is a closer view.  The purple is much deeper than this.  I couldn't get it to show true color even with a little adjusting.

This is the batch in the center island.  They have just started opening.  This picture is several days ago.  Yesterday all those buds you see were open.  I'll try to get more pictures today.  I think a few purple ones should be open in this group today too.

I have one more batch of colored iris that blooms later.  I'm hoping I won't miss them while we are on vacation later this month.

Ready for some more purple?  Here is my Rainbow Scrap Challenge block.  The colors in it are much richer than they show here too.  Some of these look blue but they really are purple.

I have flourescent lights in the studio that just change colors even though they are daylight bulbs.  There is too much pollen to lay it outside.  It would turn yellow I'm sure.  LOL

Here is a peek at what I'm working on at the longarm.  Not too fancy but it is getting
DONE!  Yeah!  

I haven't done the wavy lines this way before.  I'm really liking it!  One day I won't chicken out of doing the ruler work.  Still more skills to master.  I'll get there one day I hope.  This is a good thing - refer to the quote above.  LOL

How's this post for a Happy Trifecta? Flowers, quilts and something for the Grandbaby.  I hope your day is a happy one too!

Linking with:  Really Random Thursday and Let's Bee Social and Linky Tuesday