On To The Borders!

One last row to sew and then on to the borders for Mosaic Mystery quilt.  It will be nice to have this top ready for the next step.

I've been doing some cleaning and clearing of the cutting table and the ironing area, getting myself set up for the new year. 

I've been thinking about 2019 goals while I do this clearing.

I have a number of projects that are part of a class and these classes aren't over yet, so I will be working on those for 2019. 

I also want to finish a BOM that I started in 2011.  I'm doing this one with a small group of Gentle Souls who support each other in their quilting endeavors

My main goal is to finish any project I start in a class in 2019.  I have been taking more classes to expand my skills, so taking things to the finish line is a skill that needs to improve! 

What goals are you setting for 2019?

More Mosaic Mystery

More progress on Mosaic Mystery.  Another sashing added to the top.  Slow and Steady.

Christmas 2018

Wow, Christmas 2018 just took over our lives.  Hahahaha

We had a wonderful time with the grandchildren.  They are what makes Christmas so special to me.  

A walk to Minnehaha Falls..

What a fun time!

Time Is Flying!

Wow, time is flying!  I've been working on class projects.  A little more of the Mosaic Mystery is done.  And I've been working on my class project "Under The Sea".

"Under The Sea" is from this book, Diamond Chain Quilts by Barbara H. Cline.

It is the quilt shown on the front.  It starts with lots of little pieces and here are two double four patches that are finished.  Lots more to go!

No Snow/Sew Day

No Snow/Sew day today!  I'm very disappointed as we had 7.5 inches of snow.  It is beautiful.

A nice, heavy, wet snow.  Perfect for making snowmen if you wanted to.  But, it's off to work I go today.  Will do some sewing another time.  

Winter Storm Warning

This area of Southwest Iowa is in a Winter Storm Warning.  We are to get 5 - 8 inches of snow today plus we had freezing rain prior to the snow.  Today is going to be a perfect day to sew!

First up is the sashings on Mosaic Mystery quilt.  I would love to get this top finished or as close to finished as possible today.  The sashings have some parts that add to the design of the main sections that I showed in the previous post.  

Here's the first sashing:

And one more that looks like that. The other 4 will have 3 of the white sections to them.  Stay warm and safe where ever you are. 

Mystery Quilt Revealed

Thursday was the big Mystery Quilt Reveal.  I'm so excited.  I have all of my sections sewn together.  The rest of the instructions included sashing and setting of the quilt.  

My section.  I love the colors and what I really love is that all the fabric came from my stash.  Hard to believe I could dig up the fabric as I usually buy small pieces or fat quarters unless I really love the fabric or it's a great deal.  Some of these must have been that.

And here is Jean's finished quilt....  

New Clues

There were 2 new clues for the Mystery Quilt I am working on.  They are done!

Next week is the big reveal and I'm excited to see what I have been working on!

This past week was the Annual Wings Of Hope, Women Helping Women dinner.  These are the potholders we had been working on.

I used a charm pack called "Mixology" by Studio M for Moda Fabrics.  I also used fabrics I had leftover from other projects and made some from those. Patti ordered fabric from Spoonflower that had the Wings Of Hope logo. We used that as the center.  Hope the ladies like them.

All Day, Get Away

This past Saturday I was at an "All Day, Get Away" sewing day.  It was a fundraiser for a Relay For Life group.  What a fun day!  I worked on my clues for a Mystery Quilt being done by Jean through our local quilt shop, "Cut Up And Quilt".  

My fabrics

Clues #1 and #2

Clues #3 and #4

Clues #5, #6, and #9

The next clue comes out this Thursday, I'm pretty excited to see what we do next!

  

Retreat

I recently went on a retreat with friends to a new location, The Farmhouse.  Such a nice place.  

It was raining when I arrived but I got a picture of it through the windshield. And here is the inside.

The Kitchen

The dining area where we set up sewing.

The playroom where we set up pressing and cutting stations.

The living room where we also set up a cutting station.  To the right is our design wall.  And we also took our meals here.

I didn't get a picture of the bedrooms, but there were 4 with enough beds for us all.  We had a wonderful time.

And a beautiful sunset our last night at the Farm House.

Exchange Blocks

My Exchange blocks are done!  They are a surprise, so will take a picture and will post it after they have been gifted.  I love how they turned out.  The pattern came from this book, "Sampler Quilt Blocks" by Amanda Weatherill.   

She blogs at "The Patchsmith" and I've included links for you.  Lots of cute mug rug designs and sampler blocks.  

Busy, Busy, Sick, Busy

I have been busy, busy, sick, busy.  There was a sewing for Wings Of Hope, a Retreat, a cold, and exchange blocks happening.  Whew!  

I have all of my Wings Of Hope gifts ready to add batting and quilt.  I have a Retreat coming up so I am planning on quilting them at that time.

I did Retreat last weekend at Log Cabin Quilt Shop.  It was also Exira's Fall Festival.  We headed over to the Community Center for the Quilt Show and also checked out the vendors at the Craft Mall.  All around town were scarecrows and pumpkins and cornstalks.  Perfect Fall decorations.  This guy was in front of the quilt shop.

I just had to have my picture taken with him!

 I caught a small cold this past week, but am pretty well over it now.  

Next up are exchange blocks I'm working on for my next Retreat.  I'll show those later, after the Retreat. They're a secret.  Shhhhhh...

Good Weekend

I hope everyone had a good weekend.  They go by so fast and I know it's because I'm trying to cram so much into those 2 days.  

Froze some apples from our Honey Crisp tree.  We planted the tree a few years ago and this is the first crop we have had.  

I also finished up this little candle mat.  I had about 20 minutes worth of hand sewing to do and I don't know why it's taken me this long to finish it.  But it's done!

Have a happy Monday!

Bernina

As we speak, my Bernina is in getting a makeover, I hope.  When I took it in, we did get it to recreate the skipped stitches again.  Detailed notes were left and I'm going to have them demo to me that it works before I leave.  It takes about 25 to 30 minutes to get there from my house.  It's not a super long drive, but it is a distance.

So I've been doing some cutting this week.  I have my CUAQ challenge to work on.  This month we are making "Firelight" a Villa Rosa Design.  Super simple pattern, but looks so cool.

I have some lime greens I'm using.  Will show you more once I have it sewn together.  

The garden is growing like crazy.  We have more tomatoes to can and some apples are ready to pick.  I hope to freeze some of the apples for this winter.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Frustrated

I'm very frustrated.  I took my Bernina in to be cleaned, oiled and to have the zigzag stitch checked out.   Saturday I sat down thinking I could spend some time getting the rug finished.  Guess what?  The zigzag stitch is still skipping.  UGH!   So I will be taking it back in.  I did ask if the stitch was fixed and they assured me it was.  And that there is a 90 day guarantee so that's a relief.

So I decided to play with my 99K. 

It's been a while since I have used this, so things were a little dusty.  I'm going to have a little spa day for the machine so I can oil up all the places that need oil.  I love these old machines.  I'm thinking I need to look for an older machine that does a zigzag.  Hahaha.  Or I need to buy a new Bernina.  I have loved my 1080 and it has been such a great machine, but I guess they don't last forever.  And I have used it a lot in the past 20 years.  I did start putting away money every month in case I would have to buy a new machine.  Time to start looking as it might be better to get it bought and paid for before I retire.

Fast

The three day weekend went by fast!  And of course, I didn't accomplish near the list of things I wanted to do.  But did do some things not on the list.  It also didn't help that is was rainy and dreary most of the days.  

I started cutting up jeans that will be used in the making of the Wings Of Hope Survivors Dinner gift.  Those gifts need to be done by the end of October.  We have some time, but it was nice to get that project out of the way.  This was one of the projects that wasn't on my list.  

While hand cutting apart the jeans I watch a disc from Netflix.  That wasn't on the list either, but I really enjoyed it.

Clean the bathroom was on the list and it got done.

Sew my jelly roll rug, that didn't get done.

Sew some of my Scrappy Mountain Majesties blocks, that didn't get done.

Oh well, it was a relaxing weekend and that was the important thing.

PopUp Retreat

Last weekend I went to a PopUp Retreat with my sister and 2 friends.  We didn't sew as much as normal, but we did a little shop hopping and stopped in at IKEA.  I finished about 10 more Scrappy Mountain Majesties blocks, so that was good.  

I also made a backing for my Four Patch Plaid quilt that has been done for forever!!  (Actually since November of 2013.)

Look at these cute little patterns from Bird Brain Designs!  I want to make little memory quilts or pillows for my past pets.

My Bernina is back from her spa time and I hope she's ready to jump into it with me over the weekend.  I'd love to finish my jelly roll rug and a few more blocks.

My Rug

Making progress on my rug, as you can see.

My zigzag stitch was starting to act up, so I took my machine in to be cleaned and oiled.  It was going to be about 10 days before I got it back.  Today it has been at the shop for a week, so any day now I should be called to let me know my machine is done.  I'm excited to get my machine back so I can finish the rug.  I love the scrappy look of it.  I think it's going to brighten up my kitchen this winter.  

I also bought the other pattern to try it, the straight strips.  These rugs are fun to make!  If you get a chance to take a class, do so!  (You could even do it on your own.)

Ready

I'm ready for class this Wednesday.  The rope/cord for the rug is all sewn and in a ball.

I am looking forward to seeing how this looks as a rug.  I used strips from my medium drawer of 2.5 inch strips.  So I'm hoping it's bright and cheery.  Keeping my fingers crossed!

Prepped

Scrappy Mountain Majesties are all prepped for sewing.  

Hoping these go together fast!  Now to finish my "rope/cord" for my rug.  I need to get that ready for my class next Wednesday.

Jumped On The Bandwagon

I jumped on the bandwagon and signed up for a jelly roll rug class.  I bought the pattern and thought I would try it.  Then the class came available, so I went for it.  Sometimes signing up for a class makes me get started and just do it!  The first class was last night.

I made my own jelly roll from my 2.5 inch strips that are from Bonnie's Scrap User's System.  I also made my own batting strips to use.  (That wasn't hard, I just don't like how batting gets into the cutting mat.)   Got a good start and we meet one more time for tips on sewing the rug together.

Cutting Table

The cutting table is always a mess.  I start things or cut extra items to make one for me and set them aside and there they sit.  I have found some extra fabric boxes that I had cut out and pinned together and then another project took over.  (Don't you love how projects have a life of their own?)  I got those sewn together and quilted, but now I am at the stitching it into a box part.

I did work on the Scrappy Mountain Majesties blocks.  I now have 20 made.  This block is so easy, but for me a little time consuming.  I'm hoping I get faster the more I make.

All different shades of blue for the "sky" and homespun's for the mountains.

Vest Number Three

Vest number three is finished.  It only had one side seam and top stitching left to do.  So it was easy to finish up.

I used a cotton/poly mix fabric for the gold as it matched the look I wanted, but I sure don't like how it finished.  Cotton looks so crisp and this still looks wrinkled after a good pressing.  This may be part of the reason I like to use 100% cotton for my quilts.  But you use what you can sometimes.

Vest Number Two

Vest number two has made it to the finish line and is off to live somewhere else.

These vests are reversible.  So you can get 2 different looks out of one vest.  I loved wearing them, especially when we traveled to visit friends or family.  I had two vests for one.  Used less space in the suitcase and I felt I had different outfits!  And other people seemed to like them too as they sold fast at the craft fairs.

Confession Time

Confession time!  I really wanted to quilt on my quilt last week, but I managed to procrastinate and not do it after Monday.  Why is it I'm having such a hard time with finishing this quilt?  I think some of it has to do with the "wrestling" in order to get it quilted.  It's not easy.  I'm hoping to get back in the groove this week.

I did finish this hexie though.  I've been working on these for a number of years also.  I saw this quilt at "stitched in color" and fell in love with the setting.  I've been inspired to work on the hexies again.  

Bag Of Scraps

I have a bag a scraps in my cupboard that needed to be sorted out and cut up.  So I decided a couple of weeks ago to start on that.  In the bag I found 3 vests from over 20 years ago when I did craft fairs and sold vests and sweatshirts.  I have gotten rid of all the sweatshirts as I showed in this blog post and here.  

All the vests needed was to have the side seams sewn and top stitching done.  So vest number 1 is done.

Two more to go!  Nice to create some space in the cupboard to store something I use more often.

Quilting

I did my 15 minutes of quilting yesterday.  More like 15 minutes of wrestling a quilt.  I really should have decided on a different way of quilting.  But I'm not ripping it out as I feel like I'm making progress.  I did do a little piecing after my wrestling match.  

This is a kit I picked up on my bus trip last Fall.  I have another one to make like this using the Minnesota Shop Hop fabric.  The table topper went together very fast.  Now to find backing so I can get this one finished. 

Quilting

I need to do some quilting.  I have a number of projects that I have pinned backing, batting and top together and are waiting to be quilted.  One I have been working on (looking at) for over 2 years, Lillian.  I blogged about it here.  

So this week I'm going to quilt at least 15 minutes every day.  If I want to do some piecing, I can, but only after my 15 minutes of quilting.  Hope this works!!

Top Is Done

Texas Tumbleweeds top is done!  I love how this turned out.  All the fabric was stash fabric except for the blue ladder blocks.  I really wonder how they would have looked scrappy. 

I didn't have enough of the blue for the small inside border so I used purple.  The outside border is a Hoffman floral from the 1990's.  Love how this all came together and how I used up some stash!  I really need to come up with a plan for backings. (One that I really will execute.)

Texas Tumbleweeds

The center of Texas Tumbleweeds is completed!  I always enjoy seeing how scrap quilts come together with all the mix of old and new fabrics.  The blue used is a new fabric and all the spinning star blocks were made from 2.5 inch strips I have in my Scrap User's System.  (As were most of the white on white and white on beige fabrics.)

So I shopped my stash for the 2 borders needed on this quilt.  I'm excited to see how it will look altogether!  Stop back soon, I hope to get the top done this week.  

First Row

The first row of Texas Tumbleweeds is complete!

The next rows are coming right along.  I have some fabric from the stash picked out to see how it will look as the 2 borders.  There is a very narrow border and a bigger border to bring it to twin bed size.  I'll show you what I picked out once the center is completed.

Little Parts

Little parts are becoming bigger parts!  I love scrap quilts!

Spinning star 

All the ladder blocks are done!  So am I half way done with the blocks?  Hard to say, since the spinning star blocks have so many pieces.

Ladder blocks

Texas Tumbleweeds

I'm still plugging along with my Texas Tumbleweeds blocks.  Here are some units I have done for the spinning star part of the blocks.

So many little parts, but I love how they look.  I am using these as Leaders and Enders as it comes from Bonnie Hunter's book, "More Adventures In Leaders And Enders".  But sometimes I just send a batch through the machine.  I have to press them open, so I try not to do that very often.  I like pressing just a couple at a time.

I also wanted to share with you that I still don't get notified of comments.  I thought I had a fix, but it didn't help.  So I will answer you back on the blog for now.  Thanks for your patience with all this.

Plugging Along

Plugging along has it's benefits, I now have a new quilt top.  Bubbles is done!

All seams are sewn.

I'm so excited about the way this one turned out, I want to make another.  Only this time I want to set it different and use all different fabrics for a really scrappy look. (Plus to use up some of the shorter scraps.)

Now to go shop the stash and see what I can find for a backing....

I Have A Question.

I have a question for you.  What do you do with your pattern after you finish a project?  Do you keep it?  Toss it?  Give it away?  Hold on to it, in case you want to make it again?  I know I won't make it again, so why do I hold onto the pattern?  

I've been going through some of my magazines and free patterns I have printed off.  Some I have tossed as I know the desire to make a quilt or project like that has dissipated.  But others, I haven't.  I've also noticed a trend with some of the patterns.  Some start to look alike.  I'm taking that as a sign to make a quilt similar to that.  

Some free patterns or patterns found in a magazine I take to my stash and pull fabrics to get that quilt started.  Such was the case with this pattern I found while going through some old magazines.  Here is the pattern, "Harley & Howie's Gang" by Tony Jacobson. And the fabric. It was in a Fons & Porter's Easy Quilts magazine from Spring 2014.  I just need the background fabric.  Will check further into my stash and see if I have something that will work.  Otherwise, next shop hop I know what to buy.

The Pattern

The Fabric