Design Wall Monday - August 6, 2012

We've been very busy here at our house this past week!  My poor husband blew out his knee on Tuesday and had to undergo arthroscopic surgery on Friday.  Poor dear is hobbling around on crutches and getting very bored with no activity!  And this weekend my daughter and granddaughter drove in to visit, and the three of us girls went school shopping to take advantage of the tax-free weekend.  I'd forgotten how much fun it is to shop for back-to-school things :*)

On my Design Wall .... I thought I would be done with Raney Days & Mondays last night, but it just didn't turn out that way.  I realized that my Twister Tool class is THIS Tuesday afternoon after Guild and that I had not done any of the fabric planning or cutting, much less sewing the pieces together as assigned - yikes!!!  So I had to put aside Raney Days for a few hours while I took care of the preparation for the Twister class project.  Today, I'll get Raney Days to the point that it is all ready for quilting, and sew up the squares for the Guild project.

The Twister Tool project is a Christmas-in-August type of project, which works really great for me, because I tend to put Christmasy things off too long and end up with no quilty projects done in time for the season.  *sigh*  However, this year I'll have a Twister Tree to display!

So far this is what I managed to get done yesterday.  All the 5" square pieces are cut and arranged in their places.  I should be able to get all the squares sewn together today and be ready for class Tuesday.  Whew!!! I know it doesn't look like much now, but it will look much better the next time you see it.......(wait for it...)

I used a lot of sparkly fabrics in this, to give it extra pizzazz!  These are for the ornaments and the star at the top of the tree.....

Then I went really scrappy with a lot of gold sparkly neutrals for the background - I just LOVE scrappy, don't you?!?  And these sparkly fabrics are some of my favorites in my stash.  I realized as I was cutting that I'm running low on them and need to restock :*)

 

The fun thing about this project is that if you are very careful in cutting the shapes, you can then use the tiny Twister tool and get a minature tree out of the remaining pieces!  Two trees instead of just the one - that just makes my thrifty soul sing!!!  And just wait until you see that cute little teeny-tiny Christmas Tree!! :*D

I have finally begun work on a new Calendar Quilt.....

Kim Schaeffer's August quilt from her book, Calendar Quilts

I don't know if I can finish it up in time to hang this month, but it is one of my favorite quilts in the collection, so I've decided to give it a priority and see what happens.  I'm really trying to practice not rushing through a project just to get it done, and making sure that I take time to enjoy the journey.

So far, all I've managed to get done is trace off the pattern onto the fusible, so I definitely have my work cut out for me - pun entirely intended!  :*)


Both the Twister Tree and the August Calendar Quilt are part of the 2012 NewFO Challenge for August going on over at Cat Patches.  Barbara would love a visit from you, so click on the cute button on my sidebar to check out the fun over at Three Cats Ranch! =^..^=

What's on your design wall today?  Go to Patchwork Times to see some of the amazing quilts others are creating :*)

Also linking up with....
Linky Party at Quilting by the River
Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story
Try It On Tuesday at Jo's Country Junction
TNT Thursday at Happy Quilting

Hugs & Blessings,
Teresa
=^..^=

Design Wall Monday - August 13, 2012

Hope ya'll had a lovely weekend!  It was kind of quiet at our house, and that was okay with us :*)  The PGA Championship was on TV, as well as the end of the Olympics, so we had plenty to keep us entertained while I stitched and Don's knee recuperated.

On Friday, I went to Joanne's and loaded my niece Raney's graduation quilt, Raney Days & Mondays.  You can see my post about the fabrics and the piecing for this Disappearing Nine-Patch quilt HERE.

It looks huge on the machine, but it is really only about 60x90, a long twin size.  I did iron it - promise! - but I had to fold it up in the bag for transport, and it sure doesn't look like an iron ever came near it :*)  It quilted out just fine though!

This is the fabric Laurie (Raney's mom and my sister) chose for the back...

Raney's baby quilt was a multi-colored polka-dot like this, so Laurie felt this piece would make the quilt even more special.  I think it is the perfect fabric :*)  Doesn't the quilting show up nice on it?  So cute!

My favorite panto - Daisies Galore.  Simple and fun and a little flirty - just like our sweet Raney! :*)

Here is the whole quilt (this was taken before quilting).....Don't you just love the design the Disappearing Nine-Patch makes?  And it is SO easy too :*)

I have the binding all made and ready to apply, which I will do this week.  And I also need to make a label for it so Raney will have the provenance of the quilt if she ever needs it someday :*)

Also completed this weekend - this block for the Promises & Borders BOM....finally!

I really like it laid out on top of Raney's quilt...

I'm thinking I may re-think the layout for this quilt!  I really love these colors surrouding it and giving it a lot of color punch!  Jenny's design calls for a 3-fabric sashing & borders, but this peek at what a bright scrappy sashing might look like is enticing me to experiment.... stay tuned! =^..^=

And I completed my Twister Tree - woohoo!!!  But I'll wait until another post to unveil that because I have lots of photos to share & I don't want to overload this post :*)  However, I will leave you with this little tease of the tiny tree our instructor made with her scraps from her big tree....

I didn't measure it for exact measurements, but this tiny quilt is only about 8x10 inches!!!  And it is TOO cute!!!  I've started trimming down my scraps to make mine... I can't wait!!!   Many thanks to Starr for teaching us this fun new technique :*)

I'm linking up with this week as always with Patchwork Times for Design Wall Mondays.  Also linking up with:

BOMs Away at What a Hoot

Tuesday Linky Party at Freemotion by the River

WIP Wednesdays at Freshly Pieced

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict 

Hugs & Blessings,

Teresa

=^..^=

The Nine-Patches are Disappearing :*)

I saw this on Facebook today and just had to share it....

Isn't this just hilarious!!  I wish I had a dollar for every time I've told Gypsy, 

"Make up your mind, in or out!!!"   LOL!!!!

***  =^..^=  ***  =^..^=  ***  =^..^=  ***

Now to get back to the serious stuff (*grin*)....

I am really enjoying working on these happy and quick Disappearing Nine-Patch blocks!
It's a good thing I chose this pattern for Raney's quilt, because now I can finish it up quickly and get it to her before she heads off to her first year of college :*)  I'm thinking of naming it "Raney Days & Mondays".... gotta love the Carpenters!!!!


I thought I'd share a little bit about the process for those who have not seen it before.  If you want to know more, there are a ton of tutorials on the web!


As a reminder from my post HERE, these are the fabrics I chose from the paint chips my sister sent me....

I had so much fun cutting into these sweet-as-cotton-candy pastels!  I started by cutting a number of 5-inch squares out of each fabric.  You can cut them any size, depending on how big you want your blocks and your final quilt to be.  I cut enough of the 5-inch squares out of the purple "zing" fabric to have one in the middle of each nine-patch.  

Then I sewed up a million nine-patches.... okay, maybe I'm exaggerating just a little bit :*)

This is where my 17-inch Olfa Rotating Mat really came in handy!

I just placed each nine-patch on the mat and cut it in half.  Then I turned the mat and cut it in half again.  Because I didn't have to move the pieces after the first cut, they stayed in place which made the second cut easy!

This gave me 4 blocks from each nine-patch that looked like this.

Now here's where the fun part begins!!!!  Just start rearranging the blocks to get a design that you like and sew them back together.  Easy peasy =^..^=

Here are all of my blocks on the design wall ready to be sewn together.  

This picture is not great because I took it rather late Tuesday night when I got finished arranging them.  I'll post a better picture in the light after they are all sewn together :*)


That's all there is to a Disappearing Nine-Patch!  The next time you are in a time crunch and need a quick quilt that still gives a lot of visual PUNCH... remember to try this pattern!  I've seen it done as a two color scrappy, in reds/whites/blacks.... the list of ways you can make this quilt is endless!


This quilt was my project for the NewFO Challenge for July!  Thanks Barbara =^..^=


I am also linking up with..... 
*    WIP Wednesdays at Freshly Pieced
*    Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
*    Really Random Thursday at Live a Colorful Life
*    Trying New Things Tuesday at Jo's Country Junction.


Hugs & Blessings!
Teresa
=^..^=

Stash Enhancement Report - Oldies Style!

Have you discovered Pandora Internet music?  I just love clicking on the ap on my iPhone and then sewing to the sounds of Motown and other oldies from the 50's, 60's and 70's ... they have loads of oldies stations!  Of course, if you're not an oldies fan, they have just about any music genre you love.  

These are some of the gems I sang along to yesterday.....  

Sam Cooke - Wonderful World!  ....don't know much about History ... but I do know that I love you... and I know that if you love me too, what a wonderful world this will be!

Otis Redding - Sitting on the Dock of the Bay!  Amazing song - takes me to the beach with the first notes!

Aretha - (You make me feel like) a Natural Woman! Ahhhh Aretha!  'Nuff said!  Give the diva some R-E-S-P-E-C-T!

 Marvin Gaye - I Heard It Through The Grapevine! I bet you're wonderin' how I knew.... 

Ummmmm, what was the point of this post again?  Oh yeah, now I remember.... 

Stash Enhancement Report :*)
I have some finishes to report again this week - woohoo!!!  I used about 6.5 yards for the backing and binding of Raney Days.  And I used about 1.5 yards in the Twister Tree top.  My only addition is one yard I bought for the border of the Twister Tree.  I'll post pictures on tomorrow's Design Wall post =^..^=

Stash Enhancement Report - August 12, 2012 

Used this week: 8.00 yards

Used YTD 2012: 101.75 yards

Added this week: 1.00 yards

Added YTD 2012: 173.50 yards

Net Used for 2012: -71.75 yards

How's your stash looking?  To see how others are doing with theirs, go to Patchwork Times and visit some really fun blogs!

Hugs & Blessings,
Teresa
=^..^=

What Will it Be?

Have you been joining in the fun of the NewFO Challenge over at Cat Patches?

I love this challenge because it gives me the freedom to start new things without guilt!  Yep, I love being guilt free!  So what did I start this month?

Well, I started (and finished) my niece’s graduation quilt, Raney Days & Mondays….

And I also had a blast starting my Twister Trees projects, which are completely pieced but not yet quilted…..

Now I’m trying to decide what to start in September for the Challenge, and it’s really hard to decide because there are a couple of quilts calling my name!

Let's see....Will it be Hawaiian Sunset? 

I just love the colors in this quilt, but I’m not sure I want to start on something so piecing intensive right now.  SoScrappy - who is NOT starting hers yet – sure is tempting me!  She’s already stitched up a block – just to make sure she’ll enjoy working on it of course.  But she’s not starting a new project yet… she’s really not … *wink*  And Jo over at Jo’s Country Junction has started working on hers too, and is inviting us all to join her.   What an enabler!!!! =^..^=

Or maybe I’ll start this….

Oh my gosh!!!  Have you seen these Butterflies by Debra Gabel?  

My fingers are itching to start this quilt!!!  I think it would be great fun to stitch with a group – maybe we could have a quilt-a-long?!?  Oh yeah – that would be FUN!!!  If you're interested let me know.... I’m ordering the patterns, but not sure if I should start it just yet….  Hmmmm….

And then again, I may just start something small and sweet, like the September Calendar Quilt…..although I have to say this is not one of my favorites of her quilts and I may skip this month and just try to finish up the August quilt instead (which I like much better) :*)

Oh dear, I just can’t decide!  I’ll be plenty busy this month working on my Dots on Dots blocks. But I’m taking a week off to go on to Runaway Quilters Retreat too, so plenty of sewing time there – yippee!!!!

Are you thinking of starting something new in the coming month?   Join the NewFO Challenge fun and share it with us at Cat Patches!

Linking up with ......

Hugs & Blessings,

Teresa

=^..^=

A Wonderful Addition to the Stash!

Friday, I came home to find that the mailman had left me a box from Connecting threads!  Oh YUM!!!

A few weeks ago, I was completely thrilled to learn that I had won a fabulous giveaway from Connie at Quilting by the River for a Light & Bright Batiks Sampler collection from Connecting Threads!  I waited on pins and needles, anxious for it to arrive, and much to my surprise and delight, it didn't take very long at all!!! =^..^=

There are 24 batik fat quarters in the Sampler, in some of the most gorgeous colors you have ever seen!  I'll just share the eye candy today and let the fabric do the talking :*)

I want to THANK Connie so much for hosting this amazing giveaway for Connecting Threads!  I couldn't be more delighted!!!  I haven't yet decided how these beauties are going to be used in a quilt, but you'll be the first to know when I do! =^..^=


And for the Stash Report this week.... * Drum Roll * .... I have a finish!!!!  By the end of the day I will have Raney Days & Mondays completely pieced and ready to quilt - yoohoo!!!  I'll post a final picture on the Display Wall Monday post tomorrow.  I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out :*)  


Thanks to all of you who have commented and encouraged me on this project!

Stash Enhancement Report - August 5, 2012 

Used this week: 10.50 yards

Used YTD 2012: 93.75 yards

Added this week: 6.00 yards

Added YTD 2012: 172.50 yards

Net Used for 2012: -78.75 yards

How's your stash management coming along?  Share with us at Patchwork Times!


Hugs & Blessings,
Teresa
=^..^=