I'm Still Among the Living

Believe it or not I am still among the living. We had a nice long weekend trip up to Amish Country. Hit the outlet centers. Ate too much of the wonderful food up there. Only got to Zook's for fabric. They were packed with customers. Long lines at the cutting tables. So I just grabbed a few pre-cut fat-quarter rolls and some charm packs. Both were at what I thought were awesome prices! We did go to the National Christmas Museum, first time we have visited it.

I saw these Keds Sneakers and had to have them. Though the shoes are not identical in the lay out of the fabric I still had to purchase them. I could not believe they had them to fit my huge feet! They reminded me of strip quilts and also selvages making them a must have purchase for $12.99

At the National Christmas Museum there was the most awesome quilt. Here is the information about the masterpiece...

Folks that is all tiny blocks of sewn fabric!!! You would swear it was an oil painting!

I was back in time for two Scrap Therapy Classes. The third and last meeting for "Bloomin' Steps. Which I have yet to finish!!! I really want to enlarge on it so it will fit our bed. Trying to decide if I have nerve to adjust the size. Thinking I'll enlarge on the middle section. And then the two borders accordingly. I still have one more row to do to make it the size pattern calls for it to be. I need to get a better picture put here's a close up of part of the middle section.

This is what the outer border looks like.

A closeup of the outer border.

I have made a few of the blocks for the inner border but not sewn any of them together yet.

The other class I don't have a picture of yet but it uses sections like the outer border and I have made two of those sections for it. It's a smaller quilt, more of a wall hanging size or small throw.

Last week my beloved Laptop computer started acting strange. It apparently is very sick. Friday I took it to the son-in-law who is a computer whiz. Haven't heard anything from him yet. I am sure that isn't good news. They'll be here Easter Sunday to eat so I am hoping and praying he will have her patched up and able to save the information and programs I had on it. Most of the stuff I have backed up but not all of it. So I'm now only have my OLD desktop to connect to cyberspace and blogland and bless her heart she is like me OLD and SLOW!!!

SCRAP THERAPY--CHARMING BUDS, cont.

On Sunday I worked on my "Blooming Buds" Scrap Therapy Quilt.
I took my units that looked like this-- And with my trusty Ginger rotary cutter, Olfa square and cutting mat with my friend Gucci keeping close in case I needed his expertise--

I got a pile of trimmings which you see here---

And got a pile of squares you see here---

I then sewed them into strips. Next I made the rows of sashing---and you see these two here----

Later in the week I sewed my strips and sashing together...here is a picture of them lying on the rug in order as I was going to sew them. HOWEVER....I can NEVER keep things in order---and the order got switched around several times. I'd find a print too close to each other and switch.

In the end I think I ended up with maybe one or two of the little cornerstone blocks in the sashing being a little closer than I would like to the matching print triangle in the row of blocks...but don't tell the Quilt Police!!!

Monday night I went to a meeting/class and there I sewed my last row in the middle joining the top and bottom units. Cut my borders. I did put the bottom border on and one of the sides borders on...I think the right side one. She taught us her way of doing the miter...NOW I hope I can remember how I did it. I've had the three grandbaby girls this week and tomorrow. I'm hoping that Saturday or Sunday I'll get the rest of the border and mitered corners completed and I'll post a picture of the finished top once I get it done.

No one on this green earth knows when I'll start quilting it. Think I'll machine quilt it on my sewing machine. I normally prefer to hand quilt. But really don't feel like getting the frame down from the attic over the garage, through the house, upstairs to large bedroom and set it up for a throw size quilt. Queen or King OK but not a throw size one. The border and the backing are going to be the same print. Floral on Black background. I may need to pick up a package of batting....I'm not sure I have the one I want to use in it on hand.

Monday night I signed up for two more classes in March on Monday nights. One is one night and the other will be three nights. I bought fabric to do two quilts for the class that is one night. Since that is the week we are planning to go to Lancaster, PA---weather permitting and also when DD can get off to go with us and her DH can get off to take care of the three grandbaby girls and the three kitties and two doggies. But, that one should be a breeze so I at least have the pattern to do it. The other one is much much larger and I do want to attend those classes/meetings and also the fourth night for a cutting swap.

Sunday Afternoon

I spent this afternoon trimming my "Charming Buds" quilt squares. Cutting the sashing strips. Sewing the strips to the sides of the blocks and sewed them into the required number of rows.

I need to sew more of the strips to squares for the sashing that goes between the rows I made this evening.

Tomorrow evening I go back to Nancy's Calico Patch for the second class on "Charming Buds". We are to have as much as we can of the top finished except for the outer boarder. We'll work on the top and put the border on and miter the corners. We are to do the quilting at home whenever we have the time.

I took a couple pictures this afternoon and want to take some more later tonight and will post them later.

Good news...Friday evening I took feline Daisy and K-9 Legend to see the doctor. Legend was due for shots, get his ears checked and lumps on his hind legs. Lumps are fatty tumors. Good news. Daisy who Dec. 26 recheck from a few days earlier lab work was told she most likely has lymphoma or leukemia of the bone marrow. She test negative for Feline Leukemia. She is a former show cat by previous owner and may have been in contact with FL at the shows but in her developed into a different type. Or may not be related. Good news her blood came up from 13 to 28 without any medications...so now doctor feels she does not have cancer. She does have kidney disease in one kidney but doing fine without special diet. She's been ill for over a year with a really bad kidney infection and been on powerful antibiotics until just before Christmas.

RECENT SEWING

Here's a turtleneck I did for 'Lil Miss Rachel. Her Mommy brought the shirt back with the ones I did for Laura and Rachel with Christmas motifs before Christmas.
The frog has a tutu on. It's from "Playful Pals" one of the Crafter's Collection division by OESD. You can order it online. I bought mine at my Bernina Dealer and Quilt Shop---Nancy's Calico Patch. Where I went this morning to buy more Kona in black for my Blooming Buds quilt. While there I picked up a fat quarter of roses on a yellow background for the said quilt. I had bought fabric for the backing and outer boarder previously. Though I like the fabric a lot I was not overly happy with it for this particular quilt. Today I found just what I had in mind for it. I'll have to add a picture of the fabric I bought later. I've been cutting more squares, cutting them into triangles and sewing them to strips to make more blocks. I need to get cracking on it...Monday night we put the strips together and do the binding.

Scrap Therapy--Charming Buds Quilt

Last night I went down to my local quilt store, Nancy's Calico Patch for a Quilt Therapy Session/Class. We're working on the Scrap Therapy's Charming Buds quilt. A month or more ago I went for a cutting session where we cut our scraps into squares. Here are some of my squares.

Last night we cut these squares in half diagonally and got these:

Next we cut strips and got a stack of these:

We sewed the triangles and the strips getting a bunch of these:

Then with right sides together matching points of the triangles and sewed the unsewn (is that a word?) sides of the strips together and got these:

Next we are to square these units, trimming off the extra.

During the next two weeks we are to make more units, squaring the units. Cut our sashing, sew together the various rows.

In two weeks we meet again and will sew squares to sashing until we get our quilt top. And we are to cut and add the borders with mitering the corners.

Scrappy Crumb Quilting

A while back I mentioned I was working on my variation of a Scrappy Crumb Quilt andthats I want to do some doll size ones for the three youngest granddaughters and a large one for myself. Several asked me what is a Crumb Quilt and how do you do it. I also promised to post some pictures of what I had done so far.

I started with scraps left over from cutting scraps for Bonnie Hunter's Scrap method and for the Scrap Therapy method. I had stuffed a shopping bag with them. I sat down with some strips of fabrics various widths from one inch to a couple inches wide. Length didn't matter. I put the strip under the presser foot right side up and sew with 1/4" seam though that really doesn't have to be accurate and grab a scrap from the bag put it on top of the strip with right sides together. and sew. When I get the first scrap sewn down I picked up the next scrap and sew it to the strip. Sometimes I just sewed scrap to scrap. Both ways it's just keep a chain going from strip to the next strip or scrap to scrap.

The top row of this picture shows a strip with the various scraps sewn to it. You'll notice the scraps are all odd shapes for the most part. You cut the strip apart between the scraps and with scissors or rotary cutter whack them apart. I just eyeball doing that...doesn't have to be all that straight. Even up the four sides some. Then take those pieces and sew to another strip or another piece of fabric or pieces sewn together. The next row in this picture shows where some of those sewn together were sewn to another strip.

Here are some small pieces. First one shows a green pink scrap from Lilly P. fabric (from when I was in college and my aunt sent me fabric from Florida to make my version of a Lilly P. look alike) sewn to a larger nautical scrap from my almost 15 year old grandson's little rompers I made for him. Ont the far right one you'll see a blue scrap sewn to a pumpkin scrap sewn to another blue scrap sewn to a pink plaid blouse I cut up.

Here are some of the units sewn together. In the upper left corner of the far right unit you'll notice the selvage showing int the blue piece next to the black with pink flowers print.

A couple of the units sewn together making some small rectangles or blocks.

Here are some small units. The ant fabric in the middle is sewn to a blue print wit selvage showing. The piece to the left you'll see a stripe sewn to a giraffe print which on the side is a blue odd shaped piece sewn together to even up that side.

Some more units the one on the left upper are two different green prints sewn together and that sewn to a stripe and then to another strip. Basically the same thing but much tinier pieces below that one.

As you have noticed there is no rhyme or reason to the method I used in sewing the scraps together.

Here are two larger blocks I ended up with making. Just kept adding units to units or to strips and before long....

And another one. These two will most likely end up being sewn to more and being a doll quilt.

OR I may take a square ruler and lay it down just any ole way and rotary cut around it to have a wacky-wonky block and sew to a solid color strip to join the same size blocks together. On this bottom picture you can see where I sewed a unit (daisy on purple to a bubble looking one with selvage showing which was sewn to a dark paisley to a blue gingham) to another unit about the same size ( blue gingham with two tiny scraps to a butterfly print and navy gingham) Those two units were sewn to some more units about the same length or width and then to some strips.

Quilt for Robyn

My daughter Robyn started attending the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival with me in 2006. That year I purchased a kit for a wall-hanging for her two week old daughter's room, which she picked out. I've yet to finish that wall-hanging. Really need to dig it out and finish it ASAP. In 2007 (the day before she delivered her second daughter) she picked out a roll of fat quarters for a throw size quilt for herself in pinks and browns and the pattern she liked. I normally hand quilt my quilts but this one I tried to do it on my Bernina 180. Some of it turned out pretty good I thought and some of it didn't meet my standards I had set for myself. She loves it so that is all that matters.

This is the front of the pink and brown quilt

And this the back of the pink and brown quilt.

It does lay flat with out the ripples you see in these two pictures of it.

This year there she didn't pick out anything...I guess she is still wondering where Laura's wall-hanging is!!! I do keep her two precious babies during the weekdays while she and her husband are working. Some weeks he has two days off but most of the time he has to testify in court on his off days so I have my precious darlings anyway.

Regardless of my limited sewing time I still buy stash!!! and MORE STASH!!! I have a roll of fat quarters to do me at throw in yellow and blues. Bought kits this year at Mid-Atlantic for two throws or wall-hangings. Plus ones for tote-bags. And just last week bought a pattern and fabric for one in French blues and yellows from my favorite quilt fabric store. Of course that's not counting the bags of fabrics I have in various closets, the dresser full of fabric and a closet of shelves full of fabric. And the attic which has plastic totes and suitcases of fabrics. I know my husband is right that I'll never live to use up all the fabric I own. Sad thing is he's only seen the tip of the iceberg of fabric.