Victoria's Quilts & Ramblings

MORE ROUND ROBINS

2012-01-09T10:20:00.005-05:00

Here are the other 2 centers I made to send out for my round robins. I am trying to ge the hang of paper piecing so I made one of them paper piecing to see whateveryone adds. I see a whole quilt of these blocks in my future. I really like them. Have to get busy on a baby duck quilt so should be posting soon. I'm on a break from purses after making 39.

Round Robins

2012-01-09T10:14:00.004-05:00

Well I got myself entered into 4 round robins so I had to sit down Saturday and get all my centers done. Here are 2 I am using.

3 MORE BOW-TUCKS

2011-12-28T13:45:00.006-05:00

Here are the 3 from this weekend and I have 3 more promised. I can't wait to try a new design or some pretty embroidered nook covers. These make 31, 32 & 33 bow-tuck purses. It's amazing how many people wanted this purse.

BOW TUCKS - ALMOST CAUGHT UP

2011-12-21T09:55:00.005-05:00

I'm beginning to think I'll be making these bow tuck purses forever. They are probably the most popular purse I've seen. I can easily understand why - they are pretty in just about every color.

This weekend I made 2 for special orders that normally I would not have made. I'm not a fan of the Gators or orange and blue together. The blue Gator purse was made for the veterinarian my daughter works for and the pink was requested by a friend for his wife. It's a special pink Gator fabric that is no longer in print. Pretty sure this is a one of a kind. Have about 4 more promised then I want to try some other styles.

BIRTHDAY DINNER

2011-12-21T09:53:00.004-05:00

Well Monday was my daughters birthday - she insists on having one every year. But, I can't complain as all she ever asks for is dinner and it has to be fried chicken, mashed potaotes, dumplings and chicken gravy. Here's Sunday's dinner.

FINALLY A QUILT NOT A PURSE

2011-12-13T09:24:00.004-05:00

I finally got a quilt done between purses. This was for the photo area at our ladies dessert and now hangs on my living room wall. My camera doesn't seem to like all these colors so has a hard time focusing. The grout is black with gold threads throughout. Really pretty. I think I'm keeping this one as I used all my Christmas golds I've been saving for years. There is a picture of it on my wall and another on the bench at church.

PURSES, PURSES, PURSES

2011-12-13T09:20:00.004-05:00

Here are the 2 purses I finished this week. I was also able to quilt and deliver a magic tile for a friend. She did a really great job but I didn't get a picture. The colors on these pictures don't do the purses justice. The green and red with the gold is beautiful and the green in the peacocks are really pretty. I just posted so you can see some other color options. I hope to add some new designs after I finish the other 7 promised. I never would have thought these purses would be so popular.

MORE PICTURES

2011-12-12T15:21:00.004-05:00

2011 LADIES DESSERT

2011-12-12T15:16:00.006-05:00

The following posts are just some of the pictures from our ladies dessert for 2011. The ladies did an absolutely amazing job on thier tables and the men that volunteer to serve us are absolutely the most awesome church men you could ask for.

JEAN'S HOLIDAY BOW TUCK

2011-12-07T09:46:00.003-05:00

This is Jean's newest holiday bow-tuck. It sure came out pretty.

BOW TUCKS I DONATED TO CHURCH DRAWING

2011-12-07T09:40:00.005-05:00

So contrary to popular belief I have been busy. I donated 4 purses to the church dessert as well as the quilts. The purses are used for door prizes. I have 6 more due by Christmas.

BED QUILT FINALLY FINISHED

2011-11-21T10:17:00.003-05:00

Last night I finally finished the diamond jubilee bargello for my bedroom. I couldn't get a full picture of it on the bed so I'm posting a picture of it full view prior to quilting and another one of it laying on the bed. When I get home I'm gonna add the matching pillow cases a friend made me and then I'll post the whole thing. It really came out pretty.

THIS IS ONE CRAZY CHICKEN

2011-11-15T16:10:00.003-05:00

This is Henrietta. At least that's what I named her cause well, cause she's a hen. We have wild chickens and roosters roaming Zhills. Each monring and evening they come in a flock down the street looking for crumbs, worms, whatever. Well I think Henrietta belongs to a neighbor but she comes everytime she hears the car for her crackers. I used to give her bread but one day I was out and gave her ritz crackers. Now she'll jump you if she sees the package. Ritz could use this baby in a commercial.

She'll even hop in the car if you open the door and she thinks you have her crackers.

TWO MORE OUT THE DOOR

2011-11-15T16:07:00.004-05:00

Here are two more items that are finished from my project list and have gone out to their new moms. On the left is a bow tuck purse for Kathleen. She said anything paisley and I thought the red and green was pretty together. She loves it.

On the right is a Christmas stocking that I just finished for a swap with my Austrailian online quilt group. It's big but it came out very nice.

TOTE BAG SWAP ALSO DONE

2011-11-15T09:13:00.003-05:00

I was also able to finish my required tote bag for the friendship swap in my online group. The deadline was 11/15 and amazingly I sent mine out 11/8. Unfortunately I missed getting a picture of it. Oh well I still get credit.

NEW PURSES

2011-11-15T09:05:00.004-05:00

On the left is a purse I did for an online swap where we could make something for a fellow quilter. This is one of the Lorilee fabrics and the designs are all sewing items. My partner said she loved. I received a very pretty cotton jacket.

The purse on the right is one I made for my boss. She loved the fabric in my last quilt so I used the leftover for her purse.

MY OWN QUILT

2011-11-15T08:58:00.004-05:00

I just finished this and don't ask, it's mine. I know, doesn't that sound greedy? Well I went from 10 years of quilting and owning 0 quilts to owning 5. As soon as the bargello comes off the frame I'll own 6. This started as a 4 patch posey pattern but the end result is my own. I made her squares but the rest of her pattern was unattractive, way too busy and a very confused pattern.

So I used the blocks and some cream triangles and designed my own finished design. I really like the outcome. I'll be using this on my red chair in my bedroom. Doesn't match the teal and brown going on the bed but when you love quilts, does that really matter?

FINALLY SOME THINGS ARE FINISHED

2011-11-15T08:53:00.003-05:00

I think we all go thru periods where it seems like we're working but there are no finished projects to validate all the hard work. I finally have a couple finished and ready to go out the door. Or stay home, whichever may be the case.

This is a quilt for a fireman in Texas. After the wildfires a few months ago there were 16 firemen in one station that lost their own homes while fighting fires elsewhere. Of of the ladies in my online group asked for volunteers to make a quilt for each. I was lucky enough to get in on the project. It gave me a reminder how hard it can sometimes be to make a "manly" quilt. I gotta start buying more masculine fabrics for my stash.

ONE MORE OUT THE DOOR

2011-10-31T16:44:00.002-04:00

This is another one off my UFO list. The only work I did on this quilt was the last round of flying geese. It's one of the round robin's from my Aussie group. Really came out pretty and it went out in todays mail.

Hard to see it all as the quilt was too big for us to hold the whole thing up. Each side of the last round has flying geese in different halloween prints.

SEEMS LIKE I HAVE NOTHING DONE

2011-10-28T10:38:00.004-04:00

So the ladies and I decided to make a list of our UFO's (unfinished objects), our WIP's works in progress) and our PhD's (projects half done). I was stunned when mine listed out at 54. There were 62 as of October 1 but I finished several before we made our official lists. We have the choice how to work on them so I dedcided to start by due/promised date then do the easiest ones to finish and get off the list.

This week I've been working on yard work so not much accomplished. I did get to finish a round robin that was due out for October. This is not all my work. I only did the last round which is the yellow flying geese. The block is really fun to make). It's now on my NID (now it's done) list.

2011-10-17T09:34:00.000-04:00

http://shape-moth.blogspot.com/2011/10/go-baby-giveaway.html?showComment=1318858427134#c5643036670085422075

Click on this link and you will find a really unique blog. Her talents are amazing.

MY VIRTUAL SON'S QUILT

2011-09-26T14:35:00.002-04:00

My daughters friend (never met him in person but love him like a son) has a birthday this week and I heard he loves halloween. Again this quilt looks much better in person. The digital camera picked up the dots and made it look really busy but it came out great. I hope he loves it. Posted it in the mail today.

I almost posted on facebook before I realized he's a friend on there and would have seen it before the mail arrived. One look and he's know it was his. I took the picture before I added the binding but I used the green from the blocks for the binding as well.

CHURCH DONATION

2011-09-26T14:32:00.002-04:00

I finally have some done enough for pictures. This is the second one that will be donated to the church for our annual Ladies Dessert. The event is 100% proceeds to the benevolence fund and we raffle off 2 quilts as well. These colors look better in person than in picture.

BOW TUCK AGAIN

2011-09-21T10:44:00.001-04:00

Have several bow tuck purses in the works and one gone with no picture but here is the latest. This came out really cute.

SEEMS LIKE I'M DOING NOTHING

2011-09-12T11:30:00.002-04:00

I can't believe that I seem to be so busy for the first time I am missing committments yet I look back on my blog and it doesn't look like I'm getting any quilts done this year. However on reflection I realized I did finish the 2 for the ladies dessert (one just got binding yesterday so not posted yet), 2 baby quilts, a pink and yellow for my neighbor, the carpenter star for friend at church, the Day and Night for dessert tablecloth and have a number of them started.

Here's half of my new bargello. This one will be going on my bed.

BARGELLO IN THE WORKS

2011-09-06T10:31:00.003-04:00

I took a Diamond Jubliee bargello class Saturday. I had forgotten how much work the bargello's are but they are just amazing when they are finished. Here are the colors I'll be using. Once I have the top half put together I'll post a picture. It's made in 2 identical halves and joined top and bottom for the total look. This one I'm not giving away so don't ask.

FINALLY ONE WITH A PICTURE

2011-09-06T10:26:00.003-04:00

I feel like I haven't actually finished anything cause there are no pictures here. But after the 2 baby quilts (which I forgot to photograph) I did finish one for the ladies dessert. As soon as the binding is done I will post that one here. However this past week I got one completely finished.

This quilt is going to a soldier in the middle east. I don't know his name yet but hopefully will once it's been delivered. I wish more people would get involved in this. I think every one of our men and women need to be reminded we are thinking of and praying for them.

QUEEN QUILT OFF THE FRAME

2011-08-30T11:40:00.004-04:00

This is a quilt top I just quilted for a friend. She did a beautiful job and the top measures around 86 x 105 - 8,804 square inches. She requested small curls allover so ended up over 2100 yards of thread. I am so mad when my new frame broke with only 2 rows left to go. Poor Shannon had to hold the rail in place for the last 30 minutes. Good thing the Grace Company is Fed Ex'ing a new piece today.

I have a few more works in progress so will be posting more soon. Seems like they are taking longer and longer to finish. The 2 new ones are ones I picked to work on my skills so they are going to be in progress for a while.

QUILT CREDIT

2011-08-22T11:03:00.001-04:00

I forgot I did get one more baby quilt finished. Well it's for a baby but I can't say it's a baby quilt. They wanted football players. The fabric is kinda gray on gray footplayers so I added fabric with actual footballs. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture but it was cute.

QUILT NEWS

2011-08-22T10:58:00.002-04:00

I did get 2 tops for Linda and two for Robin quilted this past 2 weeks. I also quilted one for myself but am not too happy with it. I decided to practice hearts and flowers and they aren't done too well so it kind of ruined the overall look of the quilt. It's a shame cause I really liked the quilt and was making it for me for the holidays. As soon as I add the binding I'll post a picture here.

I also have a soldier quilt due this week I haven't started and have several more planned. I better get these purses finished. They are fun to see how the colors work out though.

BOWTUCK BAGS EVERYWHERE

2011-08-22T10:55:00.002-04:00

Here is bowtuck #7. Shannon has been driving me crazy for a halloween purse. She has this obsession with pumpkins so here it is. I can't believe how these purses are taking over my life. Linda wants another 3 to display in their auto shop. The boss wants one and Jean needs one for her sister in law. Oh yeah and a couple of the girls in Tuesday night group want one as well. These babies are getting expensive.

LINDA'S BOWTUCK

2011-08-22T10:54:00.002-04:00

Linda went thru her stash and found some really pretty blue fabric with birds. So here is bow tuck #6. I think it came out really cute. She wants three more to put n their shop for sale.

PURSES, PURSES, PURSES

2011-08-22T10:51:00.004-04:00

I haven't gotten much in the line of quilting done lately cause everyone wants a bow tuck purse. These purses are just too cute. The ones attached here are parrots for me and a purple one as a pick me for Jean's friend. Her husband is battling cancer and she needed a little something to remind her we were thinking about her.

Jean's Purse

2011-08-08T10:09:00.005-04:00

Of course once I finished those purses I realized Jean would want one so here is hers.

NEW PROJECTS - Bow Tuck Purse

2011-08-08T10:06:00.002-04:00

This weekend I was going to quilt a top for a friend but she didn't bring enough batting and I couldn't decide what new project to start so I made a new purse for Shannon (daughter). Liked it so well I made one myself. Shannon's is the blue one. She wanted longer straps to carry across her chest and a smaller version. Mine is the shoe purse. I love them. Will be making more of these. Shannon usually doesn't like handmade things but has already picked out fabric for 2 or 3 more.

NEW BABY QUILT

2011-08-08T09:59:00.003-04:00

I've been a little busy around the house and quilting a couple of tops for friends but I finally got another one completed and out the door. This is for one of the ladies atmy son-in-laws office. I used the 3D pinwheels and it came out super cute.

QUILT FINISHED ALSO

2011-07-21T10:12:00.003-04:00

In all the mess of tile grout and dirt all over my house I was able to finish one quilt. It was for the young woman staying temporarily next door. She befriended us while she was here and was just amazed at how people make quilts. She wanted to learn but had to move back with family in another town so I made her one before she left. Shannon (my daughter) picked out the fabrics and it really came out pretty.

INTERIOR SHOWER

2011-07-21T10:08:00.004-04:00

I love the shelves built into each end. It was such a good idea so you have room for shower things and only took up 6 inches total from length of shower. So now that it is all done I can just clean the grourt residue a couple of times and the bathroom is ready. We have one wall left to paint and will eventually regrout the floor but I love my shower. If if leaks we'll fix that when it happens.

SHOWER DONE

2011-07-21T10:04:00.003-04:00

Well it went from my $925 estimate to almost $2,300 but the shower is done. Have to reclean grout residue a few times before all gone but I love this shower. Since the area was so small we added one of the curved rods - what a difference. It's like a hotel shower. Have to take pictures of small areas at a time cause couldn't get everything in one picture.

WALL SHELVES

2011-07-21T10:01:00.004-04:00

We added shelves on the wall as the bathroom has no linen area. I think they look great and they hold all the towels and my favorite pig picture from Jean.

NEW CABINETS

2011-07-21T09:58:00.004-04:00

I love the chocolate color so much decided to do bathroom in chocolate and white. I can open the door and nothing falls out plus I get little baskets on the bottom shelf.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2011-07-21T09:53:00.003-04:00

Daughter and son-in-law are living with me for a while and son-in-law decided if I was having a new shower I should have new cabinets as well since the old ones were really crappy. So back to Lowes to choose what I wanted for an early Christmas and Mothers Day gift. I really loved the new Allen & Roth Espresso colors. I got a smaller vanity so I could have shelves as well. Here's the old ones son-in-law took out.

NEW CONTRACTOR

2011-07-21T09:45:00.003-04:00

So on day 3 of the 2 day job found out the contractor I hired was just not going to work. Showed up high and cussing up a storm. Still didn't finish and that night I found out when he bought supplies from Lowes also added $100 or so in tools to my Lowes card. Needless to say fired him and contwcted Lowe's regarding contractor they recommended. Will have to sue to get my money back but lesson learned. New contractor was supposed to finish but claims entire job needed to be ripped out and done over as no liner was put over sub-floor. That was going to be another $3,000. Checked around and had plumber out. He capped off tub spout and agreed it was wrong. However he suggested he would last for some time if I did not have the extra $3k - I did not. Here's what I did not know. Every shower eventually leaks as grout is not waterproof - huh? Why's it in a shower then? Eventually it pulls away from tile and water runs through. That water is caught in liner and runs out drain. I have no liner so it will run under shower which is concrete foundation and wood base floor added for shower. Plumber said we could finish as is and make a point of redoing grout once a year as well as silicone caulk all edges. Thats the route I took.

Tub Saga

2011-07-21T09:40:00.002-04:00

Hired contractor and he got started. Found out they fit the tub into the wall so it had to be cut in half and hammered out. Sure the contractor loved that part. Next found whoever built the bathroom filled in under tub with sand bags instead of building a sub-floor. And by sand bags I mean grocery bags filled with sand not sand bags you purchase. These were some crazy people. I checked with city who says addition was done by licensed contractor and inspected by city when finished - good thing he inspected after they finished. I seen some weird things but this is up there on the list.

SHOWER DRAMA

2011-07-21T09:33:00.004-04:00

Here we go with pictures of my shower horror. When I bought my house it was obvious in master bath that the previous owner did not clean the shower or grout well. Once I started scrubing the finish came off the tub and caused more mildew. Found out from the plumber the owner had put a rubber coating on tub to make it look new. You cannot scrub it or it comes off. With allergies I cannot live with mildew. It had to go. Now that we did most of the lawn work it was time to get rid of the tub. The area is only 54 x 25 so I decided on just pulling the tub, tile the rest of the wall and floor and just make it a walk in shower. Besides I hate glas doors on tubs and showers. Makes me feel locked in. Here's ugly tub before we started.

TO HAPPY COTTAGE QUILTER

2011-07-05T13:14:00.002-04:00

To answer you - I love this combo. The frame is really so much nicer than I thought I would be getting for the money. And the Juki sews like a dream. It's the 2000 which I can not see the difference but is the one after the 98. I have had a Juki 98-TLQ for 3+ years and I LOVE it. It sews great, never had a problem. Only time I encountered issue was thread shredding and turned out just needed larger needle. I would really recommend the combo to anyone.

HI Kheli - Frame Question

2011-07-05T13:10:00.001-04:00

I just bought the Grace Start Right Juki 2000 combo last week. The frame is steel instead of wood so easy to assemble and flows so smooth. I added the stitch regulator which was an additional $500 but now realize though I like it, if your used to free motion quilting on your domentic machine then you have a lot of practice controlling your stitch length already. I could have put off for a while but it does make everything even. The frame and machine are great. I've had a juki 98-TLQ for 3+ years and is a great machine.

July 5, 2011 1:06 PM

NEXT UFO FINISHED

2011-07-05T10:33:00.004-04:00

Just finished the carpenter star I had pinned on frame. It's only the second one done on the quilitng frame and I think it came out really nice. I wanted to make this for my friend Ed. It's so nice to bless people that will really enjoy something. I hope he liked the colors. They remind me of him - outgoing and bold.

CARPENTER'S STAR

2011-06-27T09:04:00.001-04:00

Here is the newest quilt I'm working on. It's a Carpenter's Star I just put on the frame to start working on. Once I have it finished I'll post a full picture. It's going to a gentlemen at church for his help with the ladies dessert.

JULY UFO/DESSERT

2011-06-27T09:01:00.002-04:00

Here is the first quilt for the FLC Ladies Dessert raffle for 2011. I did not quilt this on the frame but it came out very nice. I'm not sure what I want to do yet for the 2nd raffle quilt. I am torn between Christmas or something you can leave out all year.

FRAME QUILTING

2011-06-27T08:58:00.003-04:00

What a new experience. I did one small quilt on the frame and unfortunately it's a conglomeration of things freehand. After that I decided to do Jean's quilt on the frame. It's a Day & Night she started for her daughter. I finished up the blocks and quilted it. I wanted to have the swirls and heart vines on the edges so I added those free motion table top after I quilted the middle. I think for my first ever quilt done on a frame it came out quite nice.

QUILT FRAME SET UP

2011-06-27T08:53:00.002-04:00

Here's the new Grace Start Right frame set up and ready to go. Just need to add the machine and I'm ready to give it a try.

NEW QUILTING FRAME

2011-06-20T13:21:00.002-04:00

The new quilitng frame has arrived. Here is myself and a couple of friends loading the 9.5 foot, 108# box into my SUV. Tried my practice quilt. I'll load that photo when I get home.

UFO JUNE

2011-06-20T11:19:00.003-04:00

Here is the UFO for June. I think I posted this quilt before but it is now finished and has gone on to it's new mom, Karen. I have 3 more almost ready to go. Will post those as they are finished.

NEWS

2011-06-10T08:40:00.002-04:00

Well wish me luck as I'm starting on a new adventure. I'm going to try my hand at FMQ on a frame instead of using the machine table top. I ordered a new Grace Start Right Frame and Juki 2000 combo. I taught myself to free motion quilt on my table top machine and taught myself a few different stitches so hopefully I can learn this. Jean needs to get busy and get me some tops ready to quilt. I'll let you know how it goes.

By the way quilted 2 tops this week so should have pictures in next few days when I finish the binding.

DAY & NIGHT FINISHED

2011-06-02T09:16:00.004-04:00

Here's the other quilt I finally quilted. The picture looks a little green but it's black with a gold imprint and the white is the same fabric. Came out really pretty and I was glad I added the accent red. I'll be using this for my table covering at the annual ladies dessert for our church. I think this and a vase of red roses is all I need for table decorations.

PICTURES FINALLY

2011-06-02T09:11:00.003-04:00

Here are finally some pictures which means I finally finished a quilt or 2. This is the round robin I was doing with the local group. The corset center is mine then once it arrived home I basted, quilted it and added the binding. Can't wait to hang this on my bedroom wall. Or maybe the quilt room wall - who knows for sure.

FINISHED

2011-06-01T10:48:00.001-04:00

I was able to get 3 UFO's quilted last week while I was on vacation. One needs the binding still but I'll post the pictures tonight.

Just Rambling

2011-05-16T10:51:00.002-04:00

I vegitated (new word) this weekend so have no quilts to show (awwww). But today I decided to ramble what's on my mind. Every meet people (in this case just verbally in an online group) that were just mean or complainers? People that felt the need to respond to group post and such that were clearly addressed to someone else but they just needed to jump in and slam you for something you're not clear on or something they "felt" you meant? I met one of those this weekend. Each time I post on my online quilt group regarding a swap that went wrong it's because the group owner requested an update. Each time there is one member that mailed wrong who feels the need to post some nasty comment about I need to forget and move on. Then I get private emails from one or two about don't pick on her. What is the deal with that? I simply posted the requested update. Anyway I thought about it over the weekend and I've made a decision, I am simply removing negative people from of my circle of life. Life is far too short to not apprecaite it and the people you allow within your life. So I am done rambling now. Hopefully I'll bind that quilt tonight and have one to post.

ROUND ROBIN - FINALLY

2011-05-10T09:07:00.004-04:00

Well I don't usually post pictures until I have the quilt finished but I promised this one to Joy 3 or 4 months ago. Then I got sick and tax season hit so I was never able to get it quilted. Here it is finally quilted and I will add the binding this weekend. I have some ladies in corsets in bathtubs I'll use for binding.

This was the round robin I did with Lori, Kathy, Sandi, Robin and Joy. All the ladies did an amazing job and I love the last round Joy added. It's all panties and bras.

PICTURES COMING

2011-05-05T16:04:00.002-04:00

I was able to get 2 tops quilted this week and have 2 or 3 more pending. Pictures should be coming soon.

NEW ROUND ROBIN

2011-04-19T10:31:00.003-04:00

I have started a new round robin with the Tumbaweeds group. The ladies are all very nice and the tops are just amazing to see what colors and such everone adds. I wanted that was very summery and Florida looking. I can't wait to see what the Aussie and Texas ladies add. I'll post theirs here as I get them in and my row added as well.

Also tonight I'll be starting the quilting on the local rr I did and I can post a pick of the finished quilt top. It is really cute.

OBNE MORE PICTURE

2011-04-19T10:19:00.008-04:00

Well hopefully this will help find things. I can't belive how often I buy things and then can't find them.

PICTURES OF QUILT ROOM

2011-04-19T09:59:00.004-04:00

This was originally the dining room of my new house but we have to have priorities right? I need to sew more than I need a fancy dining room. So last night I worked on arranging it and getting things cleaned up. Kathy even got me some fancy boxes so we can find things. The cabinet is a lateral file cabinet where I hide all my stash.

WOW TIME FLYS

2011-04-19T09:54:00.002-04:00

I feel like I've been away from my blog for months. Oh wait, I think I have. Tax season ended yesterday so hopefully I will have a lot more time to post and get some projects finished. I actually have been sewing here and there but you know I hate to post my pictures before I quilt them and have a finished quilt. In fact I think I have 4 tops to quilt and 3 or 4 for Kathy.

I've been working about 10-12 hours a day but that ended today. So last night I cleaned the quilting room and I'm ready to get started quilting all those tops. Oh yeah, I obviously went to the quilt shops yesterday afternoon to celebrate tax season being over. Got some fabric to make new pattern called 4 patch posies. I'll let you know how it goes.

NOTHING NEW, YET

2011-03-22T16:03:00.002-04:00

Sorry I am so far behind in posting anything new. I'd like to say I've been so busy I forgot to post the pictures but truth is I've been too sick. I got a terrible bout of pneumonia in January that put me out for over a week then I got sick again with a respitory infection that has left me flat on my back the last 2 weeks. As soon as I can shed the remains of it I'll get busy again and have some photos to post.

#4 for 2011 - Ready to Roll

2011-02-11T13:18:00.002-05:00

Here is # 4 for the year ready to go. It doesn't have the yellow it looks like in the picture. I took a picture at night in the bedroom and I think the lamp was over shadowing the light so it looks to have a bit of yellow. It's dominate color is purple. Again it's a no buy so that makes 3 for 2011. This is Strip Twist from quiltville.com pattern page.

2011 NO BUY QUILTS

2011-02-11T13:13:00.003-05:00

Well I have managed to finish up another no buy quilt for 2011. It actually falls into no buy as well as a UFO. This is one I started way back - probably a year at least. I found the orange print and wondered what it would match. I made one square to see how it looked and then cut the pieces and packed it up. So here it is. I love the orange but it might be a bit bright.

# 2 QUILT FOR 2011 FINISHED

2011-02-01T10:10:00.003-05:00

This is another UFO. I started it several months ago but just never did the basting, quilting and binding. Too much house drama in between. I had a friend over for my housewarming who loved the bright, vivid colors of the Slide Show and this was the same fabrics. Well as you know I send them where the Lord tells me to, so it just seemed he wanted her to have this one. So it got quilted, bound and lives with it's new mom Dawn. I'm pretty sure she'll love it forever.

DIRT PROGRESS

2011-02-01T10:04:00.004-05:00

OK finally had to accept the fact that son-in-law and I are simply too old to spread a dump truck full of dirt in a timely fashion. After working on it 2 evenings I finally hired my nephew. More money but he's 18 so he can work harder. After ony 4 or 5 hours work the dirt is spread. Now to wait a week or so to settle then mulch and trim back the trees. Parking situation solved. I hope cause soon I'll have a $1000 yard.

STILL WORKING ON YARD

2011-02-01T09:41:00.003-05:00

So the yard is still our biggest thing at this point as driveway floods when it rains. I am trying to make a parking area outside front fence for Shannon and her husband to park their cars while they're living with me that way I and guests can use the driveway without moving cars constantly. However too much water flows across drive. Solution, fill dirt. Did you know if you ask for a "load" of dirt it sounds small - 18 yards. Ha thats not much. Here's my dirt before it was spread. Just FYI - 18 yards is a lot.

BACKYARD

2011-01-07T08:41:00.004-05:00

Here is my backyard mulched. What a difference. I can't wait to touch up he step by the door and paint the concrete slab. It will look really nice then. I am highly favored and truly blessed.

FINALLY FINISHED ANOTHER

2011-01-07T08:37:00.002-05:00

Seems like my newest quilts are longer and longer between posting them. If I wait and post them when they are completely finished it gives me a record of when they were done. This is one called Slide Show. I really loved the pattern.

Shannon wanted a quilt for a friend done in purples and oranges. I used as many shades of purple and orange as I could but I also added in several shades of green. The batiks are all leftovers of my Prism quilt which I'll post next week as soon as I get if quilted.

OH MY GOODNESS

2011-01-05T14:55:00.003-05:00

The landscaper (Kyle by the way) said as he cleaned up and started grading the yard he found more and more stuff buried. Wanted to know what kind of nuts buried drywall, bricks, boards, etc. He said if he finds a body he's not taking it. This is what he found clean and grading just the back yard. He certanly earned his money today. I wonder if my backyard is just one giant hole now. He'll be back tomorrow to put down the mulch.

MORE YARD PICTURES

2011-01-05T14:45:00.004-05:00

Just a couple more pictures of the back yard. I can't wait to see it cleaned up.

THE DREADED YARD

2011-01-05T14:40:00.004-05:00

Ok my budget said do the yard in a few months but with the backyard just black dirt and it coming in windows when open or as mud when it rains I can't stand it any more. I finally bit the bullet and hired a landscaper to at least get started a little at a time. Here's what the backyard looked like today before he started. I was using the patio furniture to cover the little stumps they left all over yard and I kept falling over.

I MIGHT GO MISSING - LOL

2010-12-29T09:10:00.001-05:00

I forgot to mention, if I don't post for a while it's just I was busy. Tax season is coming again and as usual I have let myself get months (I mean months) behind in my brothers bookkeeping for 2010 so I'll be working on that along with the new overtime schedule at the office.

But we all know I'll still be sewing when I can so I'll try and post when things are finished.

HOUSE UPDATE

2010-12-29T08:54:00.002-05:00

It's now been a month I've had the new house. I still thank God for it every day. There are things that I've repaired and many things left to repair but I have plenty of time to get them done and what I don't the next person can fix. I'm all moved in but still trying to make room with all Shannon's stuff. When they move they are gonna need a huge apartment or house. They have about 3 times the stuff I do.

I think short of painting the living room that room pretty much ready. The paint in there isn't too bad and there are a lot of other things to spend the money on so it will wait. I've gotten the necessary items like the shower repaired and Bo replaced the living room outlets so now it's just one room at a time but I'll get there.

Housewarming party is January 8 and it won't be as finished as I'd like but it's clean so thats all that matters.

TOTO WE'RE NOT IN FLORIDA ANYMORE

2010-12-29T08:48:00.003-05:00

Ok are we still in Florida? I laughed at clients that told me I'd be much colder when I bought my new house because I moved "north". Thats nuts it's only 30 minutes north and a little inland. Well I wasn't laughing this am. It was 24 degrees when I left for work. I just check it with the sun up and shining it's only 27. I actually had to scrape ice off my windshield this am. That was a first. Welcome to Zephryhills. But then I looked at the weather forecast and realized, yes we're still in Florida. Last night was in the low 20's with todays high in low 50's. Friday, Satruday and Sunday it's forecast for mid 50's at night and low to mid 70's during the day. What's that old phrase in Florida? Don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes.

To all my northern firends that are gonna email and tell me it's warm here, don't bother. I could never live where they have snow in May.

ONE ROOM DOWN

2010-12-27T10:10:00.002-05:00

Well I've now owned my own home for a month. I think all that is normal so far is the lving room. I haven't painted it yet but the paint in there isn't all that bad so it's pretty far down on the "fix me" list. Therefore since I washed the windows this weekend I'm declaring one room finished. Here's a picture of half the room. The other half has Shannon's sofa and the TV area. I'll post that as soon as I take a picture.

LATEST PROJECT

2010-12-27T10:00:00.002-05:00

Here is a picture of the latest round robin top I just finished for the Aussie group. The last round with the braids is my addition. The greens are a little more muted than they look in the picture and I think it came out well. I just love the look of braid quilts.

I also finshed some orange star blocks I was working on and started a top for a friend of my daughters. I'll post those here ater they are finished.

Be watching for them and have a blessed 2011.

Round Robin's

2010-12-21T13:53:00.008-05:00

Finally back to sewing after moving and the ladies dessert fundraiser. This week I worked on my round robin's I need to have mailed out by Dec. 30. I love the robin's because they push you to stretch outside your usual color schemes as someone before you did the previous round. Here are the two I mailed out today. The last row on each is the one I added. The halloween one was really outside my comfort zone. I saw round 1 and 2 and had my pumpkin fabric already but it arrived green and purple. I think it's really wild with the cats and dots. And just FYI - halloween fabric is not easy to find in December.

A QUILT IS FINISHED

2010-12-07T09:55:00.003-05:00

Here is one of the quilts I just finished this week. It was donated to our church annual fundraiser. We have a ladies dessert each year and raise gift cards which are donated to the church benevolence fund and I donate 2 quilts each year to be raffled off. I did not get a picture of the other but I have asked the winner to take one and send to me so hopefully I can post soon.

NEW ONES SOON

2010-12-01T10:04:00.001-05:00

I'll take some more pics this week as we get rooms arranged. I won't even mention the yard yet. But as I said the Lord sent me a home of my own that I love and I have 30 years to fix everything.

THIS IS PLAIN CRAZY

2010-12-01T10:00:00.002-05:00

I had to post this picture for fun. What's wrong with this door? Look close and it is just bizarre.

This house has a lot of doors like one from living room to the dining room and one from dining room to kitchen. We didn't realize this crazy door till Shannon closed it while we were cleaning. When she turned the knob and it wouldn't open we noticed what was wrong. It has 2 doorknobs. Yeah I said 2. What crazy person came up with this. Eventually I'll replace it but right now it's a good conversation piece.

QUILT ROOM STAGE 1

2010-12-01T09:56:00.003-05:00

The house has a long narrow dinig room so rather than have a dining room I decided to have a quilt room. We have to have priorities right?

Here is day one before the boxes arrived. Looks like it needs paint but that will have to wait till I finish the quilts for the church fundraiser next week. The second picture is after the boxes arrived. No those boxes are not all fabric. Don't get me wrong I had numerous boxes but that wasn't them, lol.

REDNECK PHONE

2010-12-01T09:54:00.003-05:00

Brighthouse has come and gone and we discovered new things about the house. I know I bought a 50 year old home so there are always weird things like old outlets, repairs, etc. but check this out. The only phone plug is installed in the middle of the wall, shoulder high. I never noticed unti lthe Brighthouse guys arrived. I see a shelf in my future. In the meantime it still looks crazy. Maybe a big picture.

WOW - GOT BOXES?

2010-12-01T09:51:00.002-05:00

I thought I had plenty of room but I was shoocked how much stuff we needed to fit into my new house. Here is the second trip the movers made. We were simply wall to wall boxes. Luckily we realized it simply won't all fit. I discarded a bunch of stuff and kids will have to store a bunch as well. This was on moving day and it looks much better now.

BEFORE THE MOVERS

2010-12-01T09:48:00.002-05:00

Here is the living room before the movers came. I walked around thinking wow what a big house. Once the movers made the second trip with daughter and son-in-laws stuff I realized I did't get a big enough house. Let the cleaning and unpacking begin.

KITCHEN PRIOR

2010-12-01T09:43:00.002-05:00

So here is the kitchen when the previous owner lived there and then again after Shannon and I scrubbed every inch. I realized we would not be able to scrub every wall and paint every one before we moved in. I simply can't paint so I'll need help. Anyway we moved in and Lowes brought the new appliances. The microwave had to wait for Tony to come install but that was done this weekend and the kitchen at least has reached normal. I think I like the stainless randge better than the black anyway.

KITCHEN FLOOR

2010-12-01T09:37:00.004-05:00

Here is the floor in the kitchen and the fridge after Shannon finished scrubbing them. They certainly look and SMELL better. We're about 50% gone of the curry odor at this point. Thank the Lord I did not have to replace the fridge.

You'll notice she did not put her beer in there until after the smell was gone, ha-ha.

BEDROOM

2010-12-01T09:34:00.002-05:00

I was told by a client that a great way to get rid of curry smell was elbow grease and paint. She also suggested adding 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract to the gallon of paint. Wow it really did work. Here is Bo painting. He painted half my bedroom so we could bring in the bed. I have a large waterbed so once it's in, it's in. No moving it later without draining the water.

CLEAN BEHIND YOUR FRIDGE

2010-12-01T09:27:00.003-05:00

If you ever need a reason to pull your fridge out and clean behind it, here it is. This is what Shannon found behind the fridge. She was kind enough to do the scrub down of the kitchen floors before we moved in. More curry odor gone once it was cleaned.

KITCHEN CLEANING

2010-12-01T09:22:00.003-05:00

So after closing and finding out that curry smell is apparently according to cleaning companies the hardest smell to remove, we deicded that was our first priorty. The smell had to GO. I was told there was no way it would come out of the microwave and range so off to Lowes.com for a new microwave and range. An unplanned expense but it was needed. After that we moved the old appliances to the yard (redneck yes I know) and assured the neighbors we wouldn't leave them there. Shannon cleaned behind the fridge and stove and it started to smell a little better. Little being the important part here.

NEW HOUSE MOVE IN

2010-12-01T09:19:00.002-05:00

Well I have been in my new house 10 days now. It's been a long 10 days and we discovered new and exciting things about home ownership. I found your home inspector will never see a lot of things if the owners still live there and make sure they cover up. There are a lot of repairs and cleaning to do but God sent me a home I love and he will send me what I need to take care of everything. He is good all day, every day.

I've posted some pictures here so you can see what we've been doing for 10 days.

PS - If you ever look at a home to buy and the owners cooked with curry - DO NOT BUY THIS HOUSE unless you plan on replacing and painting everything.

ALMOST FORGOT - NEW HOUSE

2010-10-22T09:20:00.003-04:00

Here is a picture of my new house. I can't wait to move in. God certainly opened every door so we're ready to close Nov 16.

BORDER CLOSE UP

2010-10-22T09:04:00.003-04:00

Here is the border close up. I have one I am binding during resting from my packing so I'll post it once it's ready

NEXT ONE FINALLY FINISHED

2010-10-22T08:58:00.005-04:00

Well as you know I had 5 waiting to be quilted and 2 just waiting on binding. Here is one that needed quilting and binding. This is probably my favorite so far. I'm closing on my new house mid November and I've decided this will look great on my living room wall. I think these colors matched the border so well and it's surprising since they were bought at different times. The colors in the border are much richer than the camera shows. They look a little pale in picture. Luckily I quilt better than I take photos. Finished this last week but just hadn't had time to post.

ONE FINALLY FINISHED

2010-10-05T17:13:00.001-04:00

As I might have mentioned (repeatedly), I try not to post my quilts till they are finished including the binding. Here is one I just finished for my great nephew. I bought him a Winnie the Pooh bed so he needed a Pooh quilt. The batting was puffier than I expected but it came out very nice.

Will have a few more soon but I'm buying a house so will be busy with that.

PRISM TOP FINISHED

2010-10-01T10:21:00.004-04:00

I don't usually post my quilts till they are quilted and the binding done but here is the result of my Friday Night Sew in. I finished putting the top toether then Saturday morning I got and added the borders. Worked out great cause this was my sample quilt for the class I was teaching that day. I love the colors. Can't wait to quilt it.