Last Quilt of 2015!

 I was determined to finish the binding for Hawaii Sunset 1845 before the new year started.  We were gone on a cruise last week, and I seriously considered taking it along.  I didn't though, and so settled in for a marathon of binding sewing as soon as we got home and the laundry was underway.

I worked through Star Wars IV, V and VI, but it still wasn't done!  We did dinner and a movie with the kids for New Year's Eve, and there was still more binding to go!

Finally, at the end of Star Wars Episode I, I triuphantly reached the last corner in time to call this an official finish for 2015.  

This pattern was originally published in Quilter's Newsletter in the February/March issue for 2010.  I don't subscribe to the magazine, but I saw several people making the quilt, starting with Jo of Jo's Country Junction in June of 2012.  Fortunately, I was able to find a digital download and joined into the fun.  It is quilted with freehand Baptist Fans and backed with a soft steel blue floral that I got off the clearance shelf.  Lime green binding

What I Did Today

Sydney and her friend Sarah made cookies today.  I hope I can also convince them to clean up a little bit?

 

I was in the formal living room quilting madly.  SEW many straight lines.  They all started to blur after a while.  Each block got a little quilt scribble.  Lots of teardrops and swirly stars, a few wobbly lines.  Just enough to hold everything in place and even out the puffiness of the batting.  

 When I got tired of standing, I made up some binding for Hawaii Sunset.  Hand stitching it will make a nice relaxing evening plan.

 Eventually though, I got to the final row of the 6 inch sampler quilt.  TaDa!  Now I guess it is back to binding again.  Yeah!  A reason to sit some more.  While I was quilting, and quilting, and quilting, I had a brilliant idea as to how to rearrange the sewing room to keep the frame set up to full length all the time.  I will let you know if it works.  It sure would be easier than taking over most of the house.

Next Up?

So Hawaii Sunset has just come off of the frame! It needs a bright green binding, but I'm  not sure if I have just the right fabric.  I probably used it all up on the top.  I might just trim it out and wait until the next time I am in a binding mood.  Sorry for the dreary picture.  Even in Florida with a high today of 85, the days are still pretty short right now.
The Rainbow Scrap Challenge Sampler from 2014 is next on the frame.  I know just how I want to quilt it, so it gets to go before the quilt from this year.  I have officially taken over almost every room in the house.  The quilting frame is taking up the formal living room.  Three quilts are still draped over the dining room table.  I have Hawaii Sunset on the Family Room floor next to the Dear Jane that I have been finishing up near the coffee table where I spread out the new Rainbow Scrap Challenge fabrics for 2016.  The study and laundry room have been mine for years.  My husband is such a patient man.  Honestly, he is out having a beer with a friend from work in preparation for his last day of work.  Did I mention that he got a new job?  Friday will be his last day at the old job, but he won't start the new one until after the holidays.  It will be nice for him to have some time to putter around the house.  Maybe I should pick up some of these quilts so that he doesn't trip over them?
Just two more days of exams left.  I was working on finalizing the designs for the column along quilt while my kids were finishing their test today.  I just need to decide on a background fabric and I will be all set to start sewing.  My knee jerk reaction is always to go with a white or cream, but it would be so much fun to branch out this year. I am trying to minimize the background fabric as much as possible, but I am sure there will need to be some other fabrics mixed in now and again.  Contrast is a necessary part of block design after all.  

Sewing on a School Night

I hardly ever sew on a school night.  I was so happy though, to see a box of my replacement Handi Quilter rails waiting by the front door.  One whole day early!  I guess it should have occurred to me though, that a replacement rail isn't the same as a pair of rails.

Alas, I am making it work.  I am so happy to be working on down my list of tops to quilt that I just don't want to stop!  Hawaii Sunset was already on the frame.  It is getting Baptist Fans in Carolina blue thread.
Today was a full length school day, but with shorter classes to allow for the first exam.  We will do two exams on each of the next three days, but with early dismissal to give the kids more time to study in between.  Though it is pretty stressful for them, I can see the end in sight.  Just three more short days till winter break!  Can you tell that I am a little bit excited?

Hawaii Sunset Top Done

I just finished putting the pieced border on Hawaii Sunset.  TaDa!  I always want to skip the pieced border.  By the time the top is done I just want to get it finished and quilted.  But I am always glad that I completed the pieced borders. It is nicely pressed now and ready for finishing.  

 I have this nice grey and blue floral for the back.  I have picked up bits and pieces on sale but never had a good use for it.  Though it will take a bit of puzzling, I think there is plenty.

 These giant tumbler block were my leaders and enders.  I'm not sure where they are headed yet, but They are coming together nonetheless.

 The tumblers weren't out long before Lizzie came to check them out.  I think she approves.  I want to get Hawaii Sunset up and loaded on the frame so that I can work some more on Anna's T-shirt quilt.  She is pretty anxious for it to get finished up now that the missing fabric has arrived.

ScrapHappy Saturday - Rounding out Red

I got  few more red churn dashes and nine patches put together.  

 Here is the collection so far.  Slowly but surely.  Someday there will be enough for a quilt.

Being out of white background fabric left me wondering what to do next.  So I pulled out Hawaii Sunset which still needs borders.  All the four patches are done, it is just a matter of adding in the blue triangles to connect them all together on point.
Next Saturday is the first day of August, so there will be a new color to play with.  So that leaves just a few more days to get your odds and ends of red all cleared away.
Mister Linky is below so that we can all see what you have accomplished with your red.

Hawaii Sunset Blocks Together

 It took most of the day to get these blocks together.  There was an unfortunate moment when the dog got very excited and started running around in circles.

So maybe all of the blocks didn't end up exactly where I wanted them, but at least I finally found them all.  Its a really good thing I love my dog.  Though she would also make a nice pot roast.  Just kidding.
Borders tomorrow?  Maybe.  

Hawaii Sunset Progress

 Yesterday was super busy with no time at all to sew.  I was determined to make up for it today.  Amy recently finished her Hawaii Sunset top which inspired me to pull my blocks out again.  They have been done for ages, but I needed more sashing strips and some of the odd little setting triangles to be able to sew it all together.  I was able to get everything cut out while the kids were swimming this morning and now they have gone off to play and I am ready to start sewing the rows together.  I'd better get busy quickly before the dog comes and helps me rearrange things.

 Hopefully that will leave a bit of time for slow stitching the binding on Jamestown Landing.  Sundays require a bit of relaxation after all.

The main activity that kept us all running yesterday was a trip to St. Augustine to visit family in from out of town.  Aunt MaryAnne passes away this summer and everyone came down for the memorial service on Friday.  From the back left it is Kurt's mom and dad, Bonnie and Tom.  Next to him is his brother, Uncle Bob and his wife Aunt Barb.  Then there is Kurt on the right and the kids all in the front row.  The rest of the aunts and uncles headed out Saturday morning, but we spent the day exploring downtown and ended the day with a dinner out before heading home again.  It was so nice to be able to catch up and visit for a while.  We live so far away from everyone that it is easy to loose touch.
It was unbelievably HOT yesterday, but we tried to walk slowly in the shade and cool off with a bit of ice cream and some swimming.  I can't remember it ever being so hot for this long since we moved here 16 years ago.  Hoping for cooler weather next week.  Ryan had a football game yesterday as well, thankfully it was early in the morning before the real heat of the day set in. 

Muddling Through

Don 't forget to enter the giveaway from last Saturday.  I'll draw a name out of the hat before the start of ScrapHappy Saturday this week.  The lucky winner will receive a lovely collection of fabric hand-dyed by Vicki Welsh.  What better way is there to prepare for a new year than having fabulous fabric to inspire creative projects?

My sewing time hasn't been focused lately on what needs to be done, but rather on what can be done with a $99 machine.  I sewed for a lot of years with a brother from Wal-Mart, but I wasn't quite doing the same level of sewing then.  Hawaii Sunset just had a few more geese in need of finishing.  Paper piecing does well enough without a quarter inch foot, so those got crossed off the list.  I won't try putting any blocks together though, the bigger foot makes seeing intersections too difficult and the seams seem to keep getting un-nested or even flipped.  It is nice to have all the blocks finished though.  Every step is a little closer to a finished quilt.
I can do crumbs and strings well enough, so I think next on the list will be to finish the blocks for Bonny's Anniversary quilt.   We need to prepare some fabric for photo printing as well which will take a bit of time.

The semester is starting to wind down and I am anxious to get some serious sewing done during the break.  Just 10 more Dear Jane blocks in the center section! How cool would it be to have all of them done this year?  There are two quilts waiting for borders, Midgets and Jamestown.  Getting the quilting machine fired up would be so much fun right now.  Until then though, I still have a bit of binding to get done. 

ScrapHappy Saturday - Pink Roses for Hope

Today is the last pink Saturday, though there are still 6 pink days left in the month.
So here is a bit of pink trivia to start wrapping things up

• 
  

• First Lady, Mamie Eisenhower, who loved and wore pink so much it became known as “Mamie Pink”.

• Pink encourages friendliness while discouraging aggression and ill-will.

• Since the color pink is said to have a tranquilizing effect, sport's teams sometimes use pink to paint the locker room used by opposing teams.
• In 1947, fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli introduced the color "hot pink" to western fashion. She dubbed the shade "Shocking Pink," though today the color is more well-known as "magenta."

• Pastries taste better when they come out of pink boxes or served on pink plates (it only works with sweets). Pink makes us crave sugar.

 I am running out of pink scraps, but putting the last bits to use in these pink framed geese that I am desperate to finish for Hawaii Sunset.  How about you?  Still sorting through the last bits of pink?  Ready to share your pink projects for the month?  Use the Linky below to link to your post full of pink.  

Design Wall Monday January 21, 2013

Thanks to Martin Luther King, I have an extra day to sew this weekend.  I chipped away at the geese for Hawaii Sunset this weekend and worked on a few more pink scraps.  Mostly though, I did some much needed cleaning and organizing.  I'm off to the dentist first thing, not a holiday for them which means I don't have to take any time off.  Anna is working hard on her science fair board.  She is the last of three and I won't be sad to see the end of science fair season.  Head over to Patchwork Times to see what everyone else has up on their design walls.  

Design Wall Monay September 24, 2012

It was a busy weekend with little bits of progress on lots of projects rather than lots of progress on one.  Made quite a few geese and finished up two more Hawaii Sunset blocks. 

There are 108 Midgets up on the wall.  Its full now, so I'll have to add another section to get the extra three rows that I would like to make fit.  I am thinking that a square quilt would be nice in a 12 by 12 setting.  I should really sew those together, they keep falling off. 

Last night we settled in to watch a movie as a family and I finished (finally) hand sewing the binding on Irish Chain.  I got a good start on Orca Bay binding as well which got quilted Saturday, but no photos of that till I take the last stitch. What else?  Cut a scrappy back for Sydney's Teal Crumbs.  Loaded Smith Mountain on the frame.  Didn't even get my school work out of the car.  I'll be regretting it later today I am sure, but I enjoyed the weekend full of quilting fun.  Head over to Judy's blog to see what everyone else is up to on Design Wall Monday.  There are always lots of fun projects for inspiration. 

More Fabric!!

I had an extra special 30% off of everything  coupon.  It was a Friday after a day of training so a quick shopping trip seemed just right.  Now I just need to get some serious sewing done!  Happy weekend. 

An Official Start

Having tied off a few loose ends, I felt better about starting a new project.  So after the kids were in bed I settled in for a little bit of new project sewing.  The 25 nine patches are done, with the first 10 bordered and on the wall.  There are 31 four patches pinned together as well and all ready for the border.  I don't have a lot of pinks for the geese, but I will see what I can come up with the next time I have time to sew.  Time is a little harder to find during the week, so it might not be right away.  With that said, I'd better turn in so I can be up bright and early to start the day. 

Just a Few LnE

These blocks are definitely NOT the start of a new quilt.  They are just a few blocks that came out as leaders and enders while I was being very good and finishing pieced borders.  Smith Mountain Morning AND Orca bay are now ready to have the final pieced borders sewn on.  Maybe I can sneak a few more nine patches through while I am at it?  It is a three day weekend after all. 

Just One Block

I am not starting a new quilt right now.  I just wanted to try out one block to see how it would look.  I think bright might be the right word.  It will sure contrast nicely with the dark blue lattice strips. 

Hawaiian Geese

I'm not starting a new quilt yet.  I am definitely going to finish off a few things first before I "officially" start something new.  This isn't a start you see, it is just trying out a pattern.  The geese are supposed to be 1.75 by 3 inches.  That seemed kind of fiddly to do with the sew and flip method, so I decided to try drafting a paper piecing pattern.  I drew it out on graph paper last night and made a few copies today at school.  I don't have any official fabric picked out, since I haven't actually started yet, but I did dig through the scrap user drawers to find some things that might work.  Tonight I might dig through the drawer of 2 inch squares and find some that will work for the nine patches in the middle.  They will only be leaders and enders of course, so that doesn't count as starting a new quilt quite yet. 

Bandwagons

There are lots of people who have started the Hawaiian Sunset 1845 quilt.  I resisted for a while because I have plenty of projects going on.  Today I finally succumbed to peer pressure.  I just went to the Quilt Sew and Shop website and downloaded a digital pattern before heading over to Connecting Threads and loading up on fabrics in lime, avocado, pink and navy.  I like the sites that let you shop by color or by theme.  I won't start until a couple of projects on the list are done, but this one can go on the list for later.  Maybe as leaders and enders?  Time will tell.