Sunday Quilting Upate

I DID IT!! I finished the binding on the One Block Wonders for the French doors!!! I just got this wild idea I wanted them done and I wanted to do some hand sewing. So they are done! I'm happy.


My other project that has been hanging over my head is a quilt I'm quilting for a friend. It is a T-shirt quilt. She picked out minkie for the back and I was a little concerned about working with the minkie on the frame. I have quilted two passes on it so far. While I was quilting it, I realized, if I get it done in the next two weeks I can have some extra cash for the quilt get-a-way and the mini shop hop we always make on the trip up to Prescott.


I did make a little progress on my DJ Halloween quilt, I added some logs to a block and work on a lighting bolt strip. I had to rip the long seam out on the bolt and I think something is wrong with it, but I need to study it some more before I decide if I'm backwards. That might not be by next Sunday, I have a strong feeling I want to finish quilting a T-shirt quilt.

Well I need to go to bed. I'm trying to get to bed a littler earlier since I have started going back to the gym.
Take Care!

Sunday Quilting Upate

Today was a lazy day after a busy Saturday. I designed this little Monthly Mini to go with the other minis I have made. The designer from Patch Abilities made some really cute monthly designs, but she had pumpkins for September and they just don't work for me. I made that design last year and made it for November. This is from her series #1. So I had this bright idea last night just before going to bed and I finished designing it this morning. I have printed all my applique pieces and found the fabric for the applique pieces. I really want a bright border in a school theme or primary colors. Nothing like that in my stash. Or darn I have to go find some fabric.
I spent the rest of the day doing the binding by hand on one of my panels for the French doors. I have one long side done, two short sides and a half of the second long side. I was doing the binding while watching the PBS Sense and Sensibility DVD. Just too engrossing to sew fast.
This week I also joined all four flying geese borders. The are not attached to my Washington Medallion yet but hopefully this week. I just felt like hand sewing today. I'll have to take a picture in the morning. I'm off to bed now, I am beat. I stayed up too late last night (12:15 AM) and I have been up since 5:20 this morning. That's a short night for me and it is my fault. Some nights I just don't know when to quit.

Both Sides Are Up!

 

I sewed the sleeves on and the binding, my honey drilled the holes and screwed the screws in and we have the second side up!! He also measured them so they hang the same. After I come back from CO on the 23rd I'll start doing the binding on the back side by hand. I'm happy for now! The room is a lot darker now!

I have one side up!

I am so excited!! I finally have one side of the door panels up. I just have to go get the binding and the sleeves on the other side. You might noticed that the binding isn't sewed down on the back. The reason why is I don't have time right now and I wanted to get them up to block the light out.
 
This picture is from inside the bedroom.
 

This picture is with the door open to the Hobby Room. That's the corner of my computer desk there with a pile of things to take to the sewing room.

I downloaded Picasa the other day and this is the first time I have used it to edit pictures and upload them to my blog. I need to figure out how to get them on opposites sides of the post like I usually do.

I was also playing with my signature, because my maiden name is Mary Hartmann, I used to be teased a lot when that show by the same name but spelled differently was on TV. So my friends shortened it to Mary Mary. Which I still like. Don't ask me how I got them like that in the program I was using, because it was a pure accident.

Sunday Quilting Upate a Little Late

The reason why I'm posting late is, I couldn't find my camera last night when I went to take a picture of my progress. I had it earlier in the day but I couldn't find it. I retraced my steps and still couldn't find it. I even looked for it this morning for just a few minutes before I left for work. No luck. After dinner I made another round of looking. I finally found it under some fabric on my cutting table. I thought that was where it was and I had patted down the fabric a couple of times. Obviously that was enough, I had to pick the fabric up and move it to see the camera.
The first picture I took Saturday evening before loading it on my frame.



This second picture I took this evening before I did today's quilting. It is where I stopped last night. Tonight I finished all the pink centers and made it about a 1/3 of the way down the green borders.
My husband asked me after I finished eating dinner, when are you going to quilt on this again. I think he is a little anxious to have them finished. You see we had these young adults move back home, the oldest son and his wife and she works until 10:30PM. Which is after our bed time. The kitchen light shines right into our bedroom, so I'm going to use these to cover the glass in the door. And of course they have to fix something to eat. I did the same thing when I was their age, but I lived alone or had roommates so it wasn't a big deal. Us old farts just don't like our routines upset too much. Now I know I'm getting old!

Sunday Quilting Upate

After I finished the One Block Wonder for the window in the bedroom, I wasn't sure what project I wanted to work on. The decision was made for me by the late hours maintained by the young adults that have returned to live at home. Krystal works many nights until 10 PM. Of course when you get off of work that late you don't want to go right to sleep. I do remember that from the many years I worked 3 - 11:30 at the hospital. The kitchen light shines right into our bedroom. I'm one of those who likes it dark when I sleep. We do have mini blinds between the glass of our new French doors to our bedroom but light still comes through. So I'm working on the quilts to cover the windows in the doors.

After I had one of the rows joined I measured it against the window, it wasn't long enough, so I added one half a hexagon to each strip. I was going to place some at the top or the bottom depending on the pattern to keep the original balance I had wanted. Then I realized that won't work because it would throw my matching halves off. So I added them all to the top. I was in no mood to rearrange all those rows that were sewn together. Heck who would know but me anyway. And now all of you. I also added the triangle to made a floating border. I'm not sure about side borders yet. This is a design in progress. Isn't that what design walls are for.

I haven't sewn as fast I could because I have been watching a HBO mini-series about John Adams. I have it set to show all the stubborn facts. During the movies they show a historical fact on the bottom of the screen. So I look for those to read, they have been very informative. A lot of sacrifice has gone into making this country free. What a wonderful thing freedom is. I would recommend watching the series.

Sunday Quilting Upate

OK I know you have seen a dozen pictures of this quilt in all it stages, but I'm so happy to have it finished. This was to cover a new window added to our bedroom when the new room was added on to our home. The window faces East, so it gets strong AZ morning sun. The sun comes up about 5:15AM, which means it starts getting light about 4:45. That is early by anyone's standard. So first I lined the window with black out fabric, then I cover the window with my quilt. This morning was our first morning to wake up with it, and very little bright light showed through. I'm very happy with how it turned out. My husband even said it looks very nice. So here it is all it's glory! I finished this binding while in Page and on the car trip back to Mesa.

Saturday evening I drew the 10th blocks for my Caribbean Sea Block of the Month in EQ6 and started sewing it. Today I completed the block. Of course I had it all completed and took a picture of it, when I noticed one of the corners was reversed, so I did some ripping and re-sewing to get it right. Funny how it looks better when it is right.

Sunday Quilting Upate A Little Early

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it!! I really am. I started quilting this morning on my One Block Wonder. I was just going to do a few rows and do some other sewing. Well things were just going along very smoothly. The next thing I know is I have all the center quilted and all the outside border. So the only thing I had left to do was the green resting border. So I rewind the quilt on the frame and started the green border. I had a few issues there, mostly because I was using sulky thread and it was slipping out of the needle. So I took a break went to dinner with my honey and his sister and her husband our son Kinsen. We did a little groceries shopping. After checking email and blogs I decided to try to quilt some more. I'm happy to report that the quilting is done. Here is the all done on the frame picture. Doesn't everyone do this?
I'm going to trim the edges and prep and apply the binding. I'll leave the hand sewing part of the binding for my evenings on my work trip next week to Page AZ.

Here is a close up of the top border. I did a loop-de-loop meandering with leaves every once in a while. My husband finally noticed that the border fabric is the same as in the window curtains in our Hobby Room. How long has this quilt been on a design wall? Months! Well at least he noticed.

Here is a close up of the green border. I was doing a free style ribbons effect. Actually it is a row of double quilting. It is something Cindy Roth does. You just have to go with the flow. Not the easiest thing for me to do, but I'm learning.

Quilting Update Part 2

I was thinking last night, I sewed something else also, but what was it?? I finally remembered this morning. I sewed another 2 rows on my One Block wonder for the French doors in my room. So here is the picture of my progress on the those long rows of half hexagons. The square One Block Wonder will be the next item to go on the frame. I'm planning to do loop de loops meandering with leaves with a variegated.

Up Again in the Middle of the Night

I'm on call again for work, which does happen about two nights a month. I was paged about 1 AM, worked on the problem for about 30 minutes. Went back to bed and laid there until 3 AM. I couldn't stand it any more. I hate to lay in bed and not sleep. So I decided to make a blog entry. So here I am!
Nothing special to post, just my sewing for the last week!

First I have added all the borders to my One Block Wonder, on the one for the bed room window. They are looking good and I have the top and bottom borders line up, all by accident. I did match strips when I pieced the top & bottom borders.

I also started sewing the French Window panels together into rows, I have five of them done. I made a few mistakes and did some unsewing. It gets confusing with those lone rows. If I was to do it again I would lay them out horizontally.

National Quilting Day!

That is correct the 3rd Saturday of March is National Quilting Day. So if you are a quilter what did you do to celebrate??

I celebrated by wearing my new quilt pin, made of wood.

I taught the second part of my One Block Wonder class. Here are the girls a month ago, getting ready to cut their fabric.

Here are their hexagons all laid out. I forgot my camera so I took these pictures on my phone, standing on a chair, so they are not the best of pictures. They also don't show how really cool these lay outs look!

No sooner had I arrived home, when my husband calls me and says, clean off your computer desk, which was really a table, and he meant really clean, nothing on it but the computer, monitors and printers. He had a surprise for me.

He had been to an auction and purchased this four piece L-shape desk for me. What a surprise! I had been looking at some but they were too big or too much money. He purchased this for $200. It's in good condition. So we tore down the old set up and set up the new desk. I even had time to change my curtains in the window behind my desk to my spring curtains. Tomorrow I'll tackle the ones behind his desk.

Yes I love my dual monitors and the furniture has been cat approved.

Sunday Quilting Upate a Little Late

OK so it is Monday again, where does that weekend go?? It just speeds by.
Last night as I started put the second borders on my one block wonder, you'll never guess what I found under my border fabric on the back of my sewing chair? Did you guess? Well it was a piece of the black binding I needed for the Mystery Quilt. I could have sworn I had a piece left and I was right. I didn't think to look under the other fabric. All the left over pieces of fabric for the Mystery Quilt were in their appropriate colored fabric bins. So when I didn't find the black with my other blacks I thought it must be all gone. OH Well it was just have to be as it is. ;-)
Border Audition.

I made some progress on the One Block Wonder but stopped when it came to the borders. I originally want to use the climbing rose section, but it was going to be too wide, so I cut the strip section, but it looks so washed out next to the center. So I previewed them both, and I will be sticking with my first choice. It will be a little larger than I originally wanted but it will be all good. The larger size might work better.
Well I'm off to the sewing room for an hour before bed.

Sunday Quilting Upate

By the time I finished sewing last Sunday night I was too tired to do an update. So this one has two weeks worth of sewing news. I have been busy with my on line class from Quilt University .com, Math for Quilter. I have learned a lot and have lots of reading, drawing & math home work do to. I have gotten behind with the cataract surgery, plus I took part of my lesson to work to punch holes in the electric hole punch on Friday & forgot to bring it home.

Yesterday I taught part 1 of the One Block Wonder class, one student didn't show. The two I had left loved the class, who won't with such personal help. Part 2 is in 4weeks. I wanted them to have enough time to finish sewing all those hexagon halves. They are a couple of nice ladies.

I sewed one another blocks with my Square N a Square ruler. I had to enlarge this one to match the sizes of my other blocks. I used a trick I learned in my Math for Quilters class. That's this lone block here.

The other fun thing I have been doing is this extra project I'm doing. I'm calling it Caribbean Sea. Some of my local quilt friends have been doing this block of the month using earth tones, they are calling it Mother Earth. I like their blocks so much I decided to join in, but I don't like earth tones, so I'm doing blues, greens, cool colors, that's why the name Caribbean Sea. I have all my cool tone Batiks on my cutting table, trying to find stuff with enough contrast can be a challenge with Batiks. I'm liking my results. In the slide show you will notice I draft the blocks in EQ6. I almost like my EQ6 colors better than my real colors, but you have to make do with what you have. No this was not one of my goal quilts, but I really felt like doing some piecing, so I did.

Boy Have I Been Busy

Busy doing what I'm not sure. No I know. Besides sewing I prepared a talk for church over the last two weeks and gave it on Sunday. It went very well and my husband did a great job also, even if I didn't leave him enough time. I was tired after church and after dinner I just sat and watched a movie, PS I Love You and I cried through most of it. So I didn't do my usual Sunday Night update. I was too drained.

I did some sewing last week not my usual wild flurry of activity. I made six Square in a Square blocks. After seeing the demo the weekend before I just had to try it. I'm using some my stash. I think I'm just going to make a sampler of these blocks. I also sewed one more strip of wedges for my One Block Wonder but didn't add it to the other part.

I did some more quilting on my Mystery Quilt and marked the last row of blocks, so I'm ready to start making more feathers. They are improving but they still have a long way to go. See the bottom borders are starting to show.
Friday Night I started a new class from QuiltUniversity.Com, called Math for Quilters. I have already learned a few good pointers and I'm sure I will learn more. It has a good review of fractions, decimals, ration & proportion.

I went out to lunch with my friend Christina and started celebrating my Birthday which is on the 12th. Christina and I had a great visit, we went to Olive Garden, soup, bread sticks and salad, very good company & food.
Last night I took my two great nieces out for dinner, Amy & Heather. We have been going out to eat for our birthdays for about 7 years now. Amy's is in January, Heather's is the 5th of Feb & mine is the 12th. We had a grand time and they both talked about the previous times we went out to eat. I enjoy these two girls. I use to teach them how to quilt and they told me last night they both still have their quilts. I was so bummed when I got home I realized I forgot to get a picture of us all together. And I carried my camera around with me all day to do that. You can see pictures of this adorable girls on my webshots link on the right, look for sewing with Amy & Heather. Also my Thanksgiving slideshow has recent pictures of them.
I'm also reading These Is My Words by Nancy Turner, it is about an AZ women pioneer. Very interesting and the trials she had are hard. Talk about hard work every day, Indians and all kinds of stuff. I am enjoying the story.

Sunday Quilting Upate

Well only 2 people saw the misplaced half hexagons out of 7 votes. First I thought there was only two, then I saw a third one when I downloaded the pictures last Wednesday. Tonight as I started ripping I found two more for a total of five. So here is a picture with four of them out lined, so you can see them. Double click on the picture to enlarge it.


Here is a picture with them pined in their right place. Look for colored flower head pins.

So this evening I spent time riping them out and sewing them back together. I only have one seam left to do!! Then it will be time for borders. Here it is waiting for that last seam to be sewn. Maybe tomorrow or Tuesday.

Can you see the mistake?

Was sitting in my sewing room talking on the phone to my friend Jane. I had just finished sewing the last pair of my One Block Wonder together. I was feeling good and thinking I might sew a two pairs together. Than I noticed a mistake. Jane told me not to worry about, no one will see it. I'm thinking I'll see it. So I took some pictures to see if any one else can see the mistake. After I took the pictures and I'm looking at it, I see another mistake. I'm not doing any thing about it tonight.



Here is a full view of the One Block Wonder and how far it has progressed.

Sunday Quilting Upate

It has been a busy week again! What else is new? I always have busy weeks. Wednesday I had the EQ6 Club meeting down at Cutting Edge. Which means I spent Monday & Tuesday evening after work doing my handouts. I did manage to sew some more rows of my One Block Wonder together. Saturday I had an Beginner's EQ6 class, at Mulqueen's which was 3 hours long. I had 7 students and they all did very well and asked some questions I hadn't thought off before. So once again I learned some new stuff.
Friday & Saturday was spend with out of town family.
I did finally get to do some sewing today. I didn't get a lot done. I was watching the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. Some times sewing comes to a complete stop when I watch movies like that.


Here is the picture of my progress. It took me awhile to figure out how to do the floating borders, but I finally got it. See the light green on the left top & bottom. I also took some pictures for my class I'll be teaching in February.

Time to go to bed. I had planned to go to bed earlier, but I didn't make it! That's a bad habit I need to break.

Sunday Night Quilting Updates

Well it has been a very productive week! I finished my Mini Valentine of Falling Hearts, this will hang on my cubical wall at work. I finished my Winter Wonderland 9 Patch Pizzazz.

I laid out my One Block Wonder and even started sewing it into rows. Here it is with the border

fabric. The light green will be for the floating borders around the hexagons. Then the dark ruby for a narrow resting border. On the square window, I'll use the wide border.

The One Block Wonder will be curtains for the Master Bedroom. We had to add a window in the bedroom when we closed in the back patio. So one part is for the windows, I'm thinking of doing it like a Roman Shade.

You can see pictures of the room being added on in my Webshots link to the right. Go to the album Our House.

The other two panels are for the French doors we used to replace the sliding glass door that went to the patio. I will use the narrow border on this, the narrow ruby and a narrow light green for the floating border.

This is how far I made it with sewing the rows. Now they are on strips, I have six done with four more to go. I'll have to do some measuring of the center to make sure it will fit my window, I might take off the last strip on this lay out.