Whack-a-Quilter!

So here I am again, popping in for a quick update.  I feel like that carnival game, Whack-a-Mole, where the mole pops up out of a hole and you have to try to whack it before it drops back down and then up again in a different hole 😜  (Better hit me quick, 'cause I'm popping back out again in a poof of smoke LOL!!!)

I just had to take a quick break this morning to check in with you all and say Hi!  I always miss you when I'm gone too long!  First, I have to thank you all for your sweet get well wishes!  I had a couple of rough days for sure, and was happy to bid that sinus infection farewell!  It did knock me back a bit on my schedule though, so I'm still playing a bit of catch-up.

I never found time to even touch my February OMG project.... Dreaming of Planes.  You can read about my thoughts and plans HERE if you're interested.

So that will now be my March OMG project 😎. I have a wonderfully relaxing week at Mountain Quiltfest coming up this month, so I'll just have everything prepped and ready to rock and roll during our evening sewing at the cabin.

Currently, I'm up to my armpits in quilting my February UFO Challenge project for Music City guild - Fantasia.  Here's an early shot just after I finished sandwiching it - better photos will follow in the Finish post :*)

A Rainbow Scrap Challenge project from several years ago

My original thought when I put quilting this top on the UFO list was to simply pull it out of the flimsy closet, choose a backing fabric, pop it on Joanne's longarm and knock it out in one afternoon.  Weeeeeellllllll, you all know me, right?  If I can make something complicated and much more work than it should be, I will!!!

First I couldn't decide on a backing fabric - which is always a problem for me when I'm backing blocks that are all a different color.  Finally I decided on black-and-white, but because I couldn't settle on just one fabric, the quilt demanded a pieced back!  No really ... It did ... It demanded!!!  So I had to get creative with that - I designed an enlarged block - 48" for the back ...

Then it demanded that I custom quilt it on my domestic machine ....

With RULERS!!!!

Yes, I'm nuts - certifiable.... especially considering this is my first time quilting with rulers.  But I do love how this is coming along ❤️  And needless to say, I am never without eyes watching me to be sure I do everything exactly as it should be done .....

So all that to say, this "quick" UFO finish has taken waaaaayyyyy longer than I anticipated, and it has to be done by this coming Tuesday morning!  I think I'm in a good rhythm and should be able to finish without killing myself so long as I keep at it.

On the yarn front, I wanted to share a new adventure!  Mason-Dixon Knitting is starting A Year of Techniques and although time is something I don't have just now, this is something fun that I just couldn't resist joining in!

The first Technique was just announced and it is how to work Helical stripes - below is a photo of Jen Arnall-Culliford's photo of her project using the technique.

Photo courtesy of Mason-Dixon Knitting

Don't know what Helical stripes are?  Me neither!  LOL 😜. But I was intrigued of course, and although I've done quite a bit of knitting the past few years, I'm mostly self-taught and jumped on the chance to learn new techniques and refine my skills.

Basically, this is a technique that allows you to knit stripes in the round in a way that does not cause the little "jog" in the fabric where the round joins.  It's a fun technique and I'm looking forward to playing with it once I get Fantasia quilted and my life is not all-quilting-all-the-time once again.

Each month you have the option of buying the yarn they recommend for the Technique.  I probably won't do that every month since it will mostly be practice for me and I can use some of my "crappy" or leftover stash for that.  But this month they offered Zauberballs - and I LOVE Zauberballs!  This is the one I ordered - it is called Tropical Fish - wowzers!!!

Of course, I won't start out using that yummy ball of yarn just yet.  I'll have to practice a bit.  And since the project is arm warmers which I don't often wear, I may even save that spectacular Zauberball for a pair of socks - YUM!!!

There was no way I could just not start though, right?  I mean, it's a new start for crying out loud ... I had to pick up the needles and at least cast on some yarn to practice, right?  I dug out some leftover sock yarn - remember these?

Won't that pink and yellow make nice Helical stripes?  Like Juicy Fruit gum!!!!  I can't wait to get to the point where I can see those stripes coming to life.

The Year of Techniques just started on March 1, so if you're interested go on over HERE for the information about how to get signed up!  (There's no charge to join but you do have to buy the book.)  And if you do, let me know so we can play together!

Okay - the Quilt Police just found me hiding in the closet trying to get this posted before they caught me, and they say I gotta go quilt!  This was such a nice visit with you all ❤️ Hope you have a lovely weekend my friends!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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Linking up

On the Needles

One Monthly Goal

Slow Stitching on Sunday

On Sundays, I look forward to taking a break from the hustle and bustle and doing some slow stitching with Kathy and friends at Kathy's Quilts.

I'm excited to have all the hand stitching done on the May Bertie's Year BOM!

That simple border stitch was a nice break from some of the more intense stitch patterns
of previous months.  Not that I'm complaining - I love learning new stitches!!!

This is one of my favorite months - Bertie is so happy to help Spring come to her neck of the woods!  She's even willing to help it along by carting in some of those lovely, colorful Spring flowers :)  That's a look of determination on her face my friends!  I don't think she'd let too much get in her way, do you?  And wouldn't you just LOVE to have a Spring hat like that one?  Bertie is such a fashionista!!!

These flowers turned out really bright and colorful after I substituted some of the flannels in the kit :)

I also plan to work on the Tree Vase block for The Blue Collection this afternoon ...

Progress so far......

Since it won't be very long before I have the vase finished, I'll also spend some time this afternoon preparing these leaves for applique next....

There are quite a few of these, but they are fun and fairly quick to prepare, and will be just as fun to stitch down too.  I will take this project to my sit-n-sew tomorrow morning and enjoy stitching and chatting with friends - Life is Good!!!

One cute little hand repair project that took WAAAAYYYYY too long to get around to....

I love my little Diva Chickie pin cushion!!!  I bought her at a retreat about 5 years ago from a girl who had made up about a dozen of them to sell for $4 each.  Doesn't she look like something I would fall in love with immediately?  Of course I picked out the brightest and most colorful one *VBG* 

But it didn't take me long to realize that a pincushion filled with this...

                            ...  will not sit still while you pull pins out or poke them back in!  

After several attempts at trying to pull out a large pin without the pin cushion flying across the room, I gave up and just kept it as a decoration on my shelf in the sewing studio.  I kept thinking "someday" I would take that worthless stuffing out and fill it with something heavier like crushed walnut shells.  

Well, this week "someday" finally arrived!!!!  Diva Chickie was wheeled into the operating room and went under the needle - no anesthesia either, my friends!  This is one tough chick now that she is made of sterner stuff :*)  Here she is in the post-op room, almost stitched up and resting comfortably on her side after her brave ordeal.  

I'm happy to announce that the surgery was a huge success and she is back at work, thrilled to be doing what Diva Chickies do best :*)  Just look at her proudly sporting pins and needles with a big ole smile on her face!!!

As for larger projects on my Design Wall this week, my biggest goal is to finish the sashing on Fantasia.  I pieced quite a few sashing pieces at my Divas Club meeting last week, but I still have a lot to do.....

Sorry this is a little dark - we've had storms this afternoon!

And I've cut pieces for 4 more Happy Dance blocks!  

Ooooooo I just love this quilt so far!!!!

You can see more Design Wall lovelies at Judy's Patchwork Times every Monday!
Also linking up with Connie's fun Tuesday Linky Party!

Wishing everyone a wonderfully fruitful week!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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Charity is Another Word for Love

One of the "charity" projects our Guild sponsors is Phyllis's Angel Babies - making baby quilts for children born with Down Syndrome (DS) in the Nashville area.  We began making quilts for these precious little ones after one of our members (Phyllis) welcomed a Down Syndrome grandson into the family.  Today, that child's mother, Alecia Talbott, is the director of the Down Syndrome Association in Middle Tennessee.

Needless to say, this is a charity that is near and dear to many of our hearts!  So when one of our members was gifted with a large amount of fabric, she gave it to the DS Committee for making Phyllis' Angel Babies quilts.  And this past Thursday at our monthly sit-n-sew, a large group of us got together and made quilt tops.  The committee chose a simple pattern - the Scrappy Bargello from Quiltville (Bonnie Hunter) which you can find HERE.  

This is my finished quilt top....

The ladies on this committee spent MANY hours cutting all that fabric into strips!

This picture was taken about half-way through the day, so this is only HALF of the strips we started with!!!  By the end of the day, it honestly didn't look like a whole lot less either.  I think we'll be making these again at our next month's sit-n-sew :*)

While we were working away, Alecia (on the right below) came in and thanked us all for making quilts for these sweet children!  Then she announced that she would be presenting a quilt that day to a little DS girl who had been struck by a car last month.  We were very excited to see a child receive one of our quilts!

This precious little girl innocently chased a ball into traffic and was struck by a car.  Fortunately, she survived, even though she will still have to undergo surgery for some remaining brain injury.  She is a very brave and sweet girl... you can tell she was pretty overwhelmed by the sight of all of us in that big room staring at her LOL!!!!

I'm planning to try to get my quilt top sandwiched, quilted and bound by our next meeting on May 6.  I've also volunteered to bind some for those who are only able to sew up the tops.  It really makes me feel good to know that my Guild is part of a greater community of people who give to others in need.  And I am humbled to think that a little child will someday own this simple quilt I have made, and hopefully feel all the love and joy and prayers I have poured into each stitch!

The Scrappy Bargello baby quilt is now OFF the Design Wall!  But I still have Fantasia ...

and Happy Dance ...

           .....up on the Design Wall, ready to receive some love.  I've resolved to make 4 of these Happy Dance blocks each week so it doesn't get stagnant - they are so much fun and go so quickly, I don't think that will be a problem :)

Check out the other projects on design walls at Judy's Patchwork Times!

And I'm linking this up with Sharon's Let's Book It linky party
because Bonnie's Scrappy Bargello has been in my Patterns to Try book for ages now!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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Design Wall Monday - 4/14/14

I finally made a decision on how to set my Fantasia blocks!

These are my blocks from the Rainbow Scrap Challenge last year over at SoScrappy.  I put getting them assembled into a flimsy down for my #7 item on my Guild's UFO Challenge this year, and you guessed it - #7 was called for April!  Coming up with a creative way to assemble these blocks quickly has been a real challenge for me!  I really didn't want to just sash and border with chunks of fabric.... these blocks deserve something more than that!

 I remember that Sew Kind of Wonderful used a great curved sashing for their Curve It Up QAL blocks last year, which I just loved.  Since I used the Quick Curve Ruler to make the curves in these blocks, I thought that sashing treatment might look good with them.  The first thing I did was draft it up in EQ7....

The more I play around with this software, the more I like it!  It's really helpful to be able to see lots of options before I cut even one piece of fabric.  I'm still trying to decide about binding (black or multi?) And maybe the stripe or dots on the outside edge?  But I really do like the look of this sashing!

One of my biggest problems was what fabric to use to tie them all together.  Rainbow blocks are a lot of fun, but no one fabric really works with all of them.  In the end, I went with my usual favorite - black!  A nice black with a white polka dot worked perfectly.

After some trial and error, I finally worked out a method to make a strip that looks like the original and works for me.  Here is how it will look in the actual quilt....

And a close-up view.....

So now I just need to get busy stitching it up!  

I may actually get this Guild Challenge project done in time for the next meeting after all :*)

What's on your Design Wall?

Share with us at Judy's Patchwork Times!!!
Also linking up with today's RSC linky party HERE

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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Colorful Hooties Everywhere :)

Today is Saturday, and of course that means Rainbow Scrap Challenge link up day!

Meet the newest sibling in the Hootie family....

I traced and fused the pieces down for PURPLE Hootie yesterday - isn't he so cute???  I still have to stitch them down, but that's for another day.  Now that I have four of them, I decided to put them on the design wall just to see how they are going to play together....

Awwwww... they're adorable!!!!

The layout will have 3 Hooties each in 3 rows sitting on a brown branch (which is really just a sashing row of brown fabric).  That's when they will get their little feet.....

The bottom is left unfused so I can insert the feet when the blocks are sewn to the brown sashing....

... or is that claws?  Anyway, I'm sure PINK Hootie will be happy about that, because she seems to be a little worried about not having any feet, don't you think?

I also put up  my Fantasia blocks from the Rainbow Scrap Challenge last year to try to figure out how I want to set them together .....

Honestly, right now I have no idea!!!  But this is my Guild Challenge project for April, so I'd better come up with some ideas soon :*)

Be sure to go over to Angela's Rainbow Scrap Challenge to see all the other PURPLE projects in process... hmmmm, say THAT three times real fast LOL!!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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Design Wall Monday - 4/8/14

Yes, I'm a day late, but I have several exciting-to-me projects currently in the works....

These Diamonds are Forever blocks are just too much fun to let them sit idle for too long!  They're like potato chips - I can't resist dipping my hand into those luscious strips and starting just one more block.... and then just one more.... well, maybe just one more LOL!!!

I love all these wonderful colors and playing in the scrappy strips - and don't these lime pieces look like a row of ties?  LOL!!!  Yes, late last night I was getting a little loopy and in need of sleep :*)  You can see by the number of "ties" that I still have quite a few blocks to go on this project, so you'll be seeing it again - just thought I'd warn you!

I also spent a very relaxing and enjoyable couple of hours this weekend preparing the applique pieces for my last vase in The Blue Collection.

My tools of the trade for Starch Applique preparation

Edit - One friend just pointed out that she found it amazing that diced pimentos would be part of my applique tools LOL!!!!!  Of course, that's just the jar that I keep the liquid starch in for traveling :*)

This is the vase that holds the center tree, and I totally love this piece of Jenny Beyer border fabric I found for it!  There is only a fat quarter of it, so I have had to be very careful about cutting it.  There are a lot of pieces to this block, and of course those angles are already threatening to give me headaches.  Looks like I'm going to have to re-cut the bottom right piece because it is not lining up :( 

The Blue Collection is one of those dreaded Dinosaur UFO's that I really, really, really want to get done this year!!!  Once this block is done, I will have the outer border applique remaining, with about a million leaves (see below picture of the original by Maggie Walker), but most of those are going to be done with raw edge fusible.  I'm sorry but I'm just not crazy enough to sew all of those leaves down by hand!!!  And there is still the motif block at the center top that needs to be completed as well.  But I'm beginning to smell a finish here and it feels GREAT!!!!

This is the Designer, Maggie Walker's quilt.....

Courtesy of Maggie Walker

The number pulled for my Guild UFO this month is #7 - which is to assemble my Fantasia blocks from the Rainbow Scrap Challenge last year into a top for the contest at our next meeting.  Ugh!  I have no idea how I want to set those blocks!  At least I DO have all of them done, which gives me a great shot at maybe meeting that goal.  Here's the RED block for reference :)




The May Bertie's Year BOM block should arrive this week and I'm looking forward to playing with her - we're quickly becoming very good friends.

And that's about it for me.  What is on your Design Wall?  Some see all the pretties at Judy's Patchwork Times today!  Also linking up with Connie's Linky Tuesday party!  Hey, wait a minute.... that MY Cottontail bunny she's featuring today!!!!  Yippee :*)

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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Baby Blues - How Appropriate!

The September color for our Rainbow Scrap Challenge is BABY BLUE.... and I couldn't help but smile when I thought about how appropriate that color is for me, because we just found out that our little grandchild due in December is going to be a little BOY!!!

So sweet!!!  .... little fingers and toes to kiss.... little fluttering eyelashes to watch in fascination ...... little bellybuttons to gaze at in awe ..... little cries for Grandma to hold him ....

a future little Baby Boy knitting project???  LOL!!!

Okay, pulling myself back from the edge of the Baby Love precipice!  

Suffice it to say, we are very excited!!!

Sew ........... to get back to quilting..... 

Even though we have a new little boy on the way, I do not have very many BABY BLUE scraps - anyone surprised by that announcement?  No, I didn't think so!  LOL!!!  Actually, I don't even have very many BABY BLUES in my stash either.  But I did pull a few fat quarters to add to my scraps to make enough different fabrics for my RSC blocks this month.

A lot of my chosen fabrics are not technically "baby" blues.  Some veer off into the lavenders, some are more aqua.  But all of them are more pastel than bold colors, so they're going in.  I suppose I'll have to call my blocks PASTEL BLUES-ISH rather than baby blues :*D

And of course, I saved the selvedges for another project, another day :*)

I'm in love with those sweet oriental fans!

And how appropriate is this fabric?  Backyard Baby in baby blue - too cute!!!

With all that being said (I know, more than you really wanted to wade through, right?) here is my first block for September....  Fantasia in PASTEL BLUES-ISH!

Angela pointed out in her post that a lot of us tend to want to stick to the bright rainbow colors - and of course you know I'm all about bright colors, right?!?  But I also think those bright colors pop so much better when they have the lighter colors to back them up and let them take the spotlight.  I think these baby blues will really help the bright colors shine so much more brightly in the finished quilt :*)

On a final note, I'd like to introduce to you my newest member of the family - although she is definitely not a baby and she is not blue, I really think she is gorgeous!!!

I haven't yet named her, but she is a 1957 Featherweight - a very proper, well-behaved older lady with impeccable manners.  I'm in love!!!  My first Featherweight died in March - she just decided to grind to halt at a retreat and refused to sew another stitch.  I guess you could say I sewed her to death LOL!!!  So I have been without a good working light-weight machine for sit-n-sews since then.  I'd been keeping my eyes open for an affordable Featherweight in good working condition - and this one exceeds all my hopes!  She is a beauty with hardly even a scratch on her pristine surface.  This little lady has been keeping herself for me it seems :*)  We sewed together very happily today, and I couldn't be more delighted with her!

And lest I forget the other "little lady" in this house - not so well-behaved and with slightly less impeccable manners - this is what Gypsy was doing while I was working so hard on my RSC blocks....  do you think she has enough pillows there?  LOL!!!

In case you can't read cat expressions, she is telling me to go away and mind my own #@*&^% business!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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