A Quilt and A Prayer: Summertime

Showing posts with label Summertime. Show all posts

Sunday, September 29, 2013

The Blue Screen of..... Uh Oh!!!

Talk about a scary way to start the day!!! I was just minding my own business this morning, happily enjoying a relaxed Sunday at home by reading some of my favorite blogs, when all of a sudden, the photo I was viewing pixelated in some totally weird ways, and then.....POOF!!! The Blue Screen of Death popped up!!! I wasn't quite sure what was happening, but I was pretty darn sure it wasn't good! Good thing my very own Personal Technical Expert (my wise and all-capable hubby) was in residence and came running when I screamed LOL!!!

Friends, I don't have a clue what he did to our computer - he tried to explain it to me.... something about drivers and service packs and downloading a bunch of stuff (of which I understood not one word) - but in no time flat he had it back up and running - Hooray!!!!

We do have another computer - our desktop system upstairs - but this laptop downstairs is so convenient and only a few years old. It would have been a shame to lose it. Plus, I'm pretty sure there are quite a few pictures on here that we have not backed up on CD or flash drive. You can be sure that will be taken care of this afternoon!!!

So, while my husband worked to keep our laptop from going to computer heaven, I picked up my Dreambird bag and headed out to the side patio to knit and calmly reclaim the peace of my Sunday!

I have 11 feathers done now and this project is really getting into a rhythm. It's going quickly now that I pretty much know what I'm doing. Of course, just saying that guarantees that my next feather will develop some sort of problem, right? LOL!

One of the bloggers who has been instrumental in inspiring me to pick up the knitting needles is Denise Russart at Just Quiltin. She is always knitting something new and beautiful, and making it look easy in the process too. She's also a very talented quilt designer and offers some amazing patterns, often for free. She's got a sale going on right now for a fun set of patterns - Dog Pound Pals Adoption Society. These are some really adorable dog patterns, so check it out HERE if you are interested. This past week, I received this fun mousepad that I won from Denise in a giveaway she held last month......

Don't you just love the design and colors?

Believe me, I was pretty tickled when I saw I was a winner!!!

Thanks Denise!!!

This weekend, I've managed to mark off a few tasks from my list....

I finished off the BABY BLUE scraps for the September Rainbow Scrap Challenge, making the above Lone Starburst block as well as my Hatchett blocks and left-over HST's (not pictured). I'm not sure what I was thinking when I put these together - how is that fabric in the bottom right a "baby blue"??? Oh well... sometimes my brain just goes on vacation! Thankfully, this is not a block by itself, and all these sections will be mixed up with the other colored sections I've been making all year for a scrappy rainbow quilt, and that darker section will fit in great with the overall quilt :*)

I managed a little slow-stitching embroidery on my Winter Wonderland, but not enough to post a new picture yet. I also prepared the next pattern for my Summertime wool applique project......

Darva's Daisies by
Mary Lou Designs

I just couldn't resist doing the cat block next!

=^..^=

The pattern needed to be reduced by 54% to get it to the 8-inch square-ish size to fit in with the other blocks for this project. I will probably not do the dragnfly unless I can find a way to make it fit without distorting the block. It also occurs to me that it might be fun to have a few colorful dragonflies floating free over the quilt... hmmmm.

My friend Daryl, who blogs at Patchouli Moon, shared a few tips with me about how she works with wool applique. She doesn't use fusible because she says it makes the pieces harder to stitch. She just uses an Elmer's Washable Glue stick and no staples. I think I'll try that with this next block :*)

The rest of this week, I think I'll be busy doing some quilting. Have to get ready for Oktoberfest the middle of October! What are you up to this gorgeous Sunday?

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

Linking up with:
SoScrappy - Rainbow Scrap Challenge
Kathy's Quilts - Slow Sunday Stitching
Freemotion by the River - Tuesday Linky Party

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Crazy About Wool Blog Hop!

When I agreed to join Denise Russell (Pieced Brain) in her fun Crazy About Wool Blog Hop, I really had to stop and think about it first. I am the lowliest beginner at wool applique!!! I've done only one wool project before this Hop, and that was almost 3 years ago. But.....of course, I can't resist a challenge!!!

This is the first block for my Summertime wool applique wall quilt!

My colors are a little washed out here - the yellow in particular is much more vibrant as you'll see in later photos.

Here is a picture of the original quilt by designer, Erica Kaprow....see my little block on the bottom left?

Quilt by Erica Kaprow, Designer
Photo courtesy of PatternSpot.com

The blocks are only 10", and I am only going to do 9 of them, so it will be small. It's tough deciding which 9 to do, too! Of course, I have to do the watermelon, and the teacups, and the birdhouse, and ..... well, you get the idea! Complicating my decision is this cute pattern I won in the silent auction at guild a couple weeks ago.....

Darva's Daisies by Mary Lou Designs

...... and I think it would make a totally CUTE addition to the quilt if I just reduce it in size to fit the size of the blocks. Gotta have a cat in such a fun quilt, right?

=^..^=

Here are a few closeup's of my first completed block ....

The happy little hosta in the front is going wild with blooms!!!
And how about those wonky stairs LOL!!!
One of the things I love about wool art is that it doesn't have to be perfect :*D

These leaves and berries were hard to keep in place because the fusible started separating
from the background as I worked on other pieces....

So I took a tip from a Pinterest pin and stapled them down until they were stitched securely!
Worked like a charm!!!

I have had this set of patterns since 2006 - yes, 7 years. Now, bear in mind, that I started quilting in 2006!!! Everything was still so new and exciting - and I had definitely "drunk the Kool-aid," as they say. My brain was totally rewired to think about nothing but quilts and quilting LOL!!!

One of my new quilting friends was working in wools on a similar set of designs by Erica and of course I was enthralled by all that color popping on the black background! :*D A quick visit to the Web revealed that she had a new set of patterns available - Summertime - and they were mine in the blink of an eye. Then the pattern sat... and sat.... and sat. I didn't have any wools and none of my LQS carried wools, so it just continued to sit.

A few years ago, though, I got smart! Yes, indeed, I really did! Don't you dare listen to anyone who tries to tell you that's not true LOL!!! Anywho.... I started picking up wool jackets at my local Goodwill.

These are 100% wool jackets, reduced regularly to $7.99 at Goodwill, but I get them for 99 cents on Wednesdays :*)

I had 3 black jackets in my stash - enough for 3 block backgrounds each......

I think I'm going to love the variety of blacks for this background!

And I cut them up into usable pieces.....

I also had some fun colors to play with!

Of course, I've also been picking up the odd wool piece here and there as I found them at quilt shops - and I've been collecting threads as I come across them too.... I found these on our way home from Runaway at a shop that is going out of business... $1.25 each - score!!!

Of course, now that I've discovered the joys of working with wool - and I have this stash of wools and threads that need to be used!!! - I'm finding projects everywhere that I'd like to do! One of my students at Runaway had this fun pin cushion that caught my interest immediately....

Isn't this just darling?!?

And I've already traced off the pieces in fusible for this fun ball of yarn that I found on Pinterest. It will be for a simple block that I will use as a pocket on a new knitting bag I plan to make someday.