Sara's Scraps

Behind in the sock challenge

2012-01-31T20:13:00.000-05:00

I joined in the "12 in 2012" sock challenge of Denise at the beginning of the month, or maybe it was at the end of December. Anyway, the idea is to use up the yarn stash by knitting a pair of socks each month, OR a total of 12 during the year.

You can see that my progress is only covering the feet up to the ankle. That gray line of waste yarn is where I will knit in the "afterthought heel" when the leg portion is finished. So meanwhile it looks like tube socks.

My hope is that I will get a lot of knitting done in February when we are driving down to St. Louis and spending time with DD and her family. First finish this pair, and then go on to another.

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Quilting event: String Mania

I decided to pull out some strings from my String BIN to take along on retreat this Thursday. I need to move some of those strings along to a quilt top. The trouble was that when I had a pile on my table, I went on to cut them into 18" lengths, for no good reason other than the length of my cutting mat. And then I started sewing "a few" together. Until today I had 18" x 10" sections that were mixed colors, and all red, all black, all green, all blue.

Then I went on to cut a few into 8.5" squares and make HSTs.

But now I'm going to STOP working with these strings!

I need to organize my other projects for the retreat.
I need to go to the dentist.
I need to make treats for the group.
I need to go grocery shopping.
I need to pack.
I need to sleep.
I do NOT need to sew any more strings together!

Sara

Gratitudes:

A day with no appointments, never left the house.
I had fun with strings.
Charlie brought home BBQ rib tips for dinner

Design Wall Monday = Bargello

2012-01-30T17:08:00.000-05:00

Here is the state of the Scrap Bargello quilt. The segments are sewn together and then I added a scrap neutral inner border. Next will be the red strip hanging there, and then dark blue.

This is another of those projects that just "happen". I found three strata and just took off from there. First I thought it would become two neonatal quilts, but not so, it's turned into a twin.

Before I leave for the RumpledQuiltKins retreat on Thursday, I hope to have the borders on and the backing put together.
[I also found some printed panels that are pretty awful, but could go together for a BACK.]

Sara

Gratitudes:

Leftover spaghetti for dinner, so not much cooking
Medical massage loosened up my shoulder
12-hour decongestant

Finally looks like winter

2012-01-28T11:08:00.001-05:00

And I don't have to go out all day! I can sew or sit in front of the TV.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Sharp cheddar cheese
Making progress on the bargello quilt
Symphony concert tonight

Still another find

2012-01-27T23:22:00.000-05:00

The beginnings of a Scrap Bargello showed up in a little basket. I don't know how long ago the three strata were made, but today I cross-cut them into 2.5" strips and re-sewed them into these bargello sections.

I think it needs another section to make it wide enough and also to make it into a balanced "M" or "W".

Most of the strata is together; need to keep working so this does NOT become another UFO!

Sara

Gratitudes:

Swap box was mailed
Charlie provided a new dinner
Friday date night

UFO progress

2012-01-26T13:55:00.000-05:00

The Batik Charms quilt has gone to the LA quilter with the backing. I have the binding here at home for when it returns.

This was #5 on my list of UFOs for the Judy Liquidara Challenge [finish one a month, according to whichever number she draws].

And the leftover scraps were made into a doll quilt which I finished quilting myself yesterday on my home machine. It is about 24" square.

Today I put the borders on my second #5 UFO," Red and Brown Rectangles". I have so many UFOs that I but a second one next to each number on the list with an asterisk. If I have time I'm going to work on that one also.

I made these blocks last year while we were in Florida. This is a Judy Liquidara design. When we packed up to come home, I never opened the package again! With 20 blocks made I decided this would be a good size for a lap/toddler quilt.

I'll see if I am willing to quilt this at home, or if I want to send it out.

Now to consider what I should pack in a Priority Postal box for the World Wide Swap on Liberated Quilters list. I'm going to start my re-examining my Orphan box, and the pile of UFOs. Someone else can try being "liberated" with things I'm tired of.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Day old sticky buns for breakfast
Taking a nap after lunch
More birds at the feeder

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-25T13:51:00.000-05:00

Monday Design Wall

2012-01-23T16:53:00.000-05:00

My "jelly roll" strips, which I constructed out of FQs and hourglass blocks, is now all sewn together end-to-end and pressed. Photo shows them pinned to a wall screen with the insides showing.

The sewing did not take very long at all, but I unthinkingly always turned the strips all in the same direction as I laid them together. This resulted in a spiral of 79 [approximately] twists in the one long strip. I discovered this when I was pressing them, and thought, "Oh, I can line these up as I press so that they are already for that first loooong seam." That made the twists show up right away.

Usually one can get rid of twists by simply holding the strip up in the air and it will slowly untangle itself. This one was WAY too long to hold up. So a lot of time untwisting by hand.

All done now. Just need to put it away somehow for the retreat so it doesn't get tangled again!

Sara

Gratitudes:

In A.M. able to make up some lost sleep
ONE brownie a day
Medical massage took away some aches

Jelly Roll Race preparation

2012-01-22T20:53:00.000-05:00

I am going on a quilting retreat in two weeks, and one of the "exercises" is going to be a Jelly Roll Race. Each person prepares a jelly roll by sewing all the pieces together end-to-end. When the race begins the two ends are brought together and the long edge sewn together, making a two-strip strata. Then that piece is sewn together on the lang edge, making a four strip strata. Etc. until we each have a lap sized quilt top. And we race each other to get it sewn together. The race takes 30 to 60 minutes.

So I don't want to spend the money to buy a Jelly Roll, about $30, when I have plenty of fabric in my stash. I decided to use a set of eight Fat Quarters in bright colors, and I cut them into the 2.5" strips required. Of course these strips are HALF the length I am supposed to have, meaning I need 80, therefore I added a few other fabrics to make up the amount I need. And I am going to lose some length in the extra seams, so I added in some of the hourglass "parts" I made for Bonnie Hunter's latest mystery [which I have decided not to finish after making only two parts].

Now I need to sew all these strips together end-to-end.

It's a break from what I have been doing.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Got to church after missing two weeks
Lynne made chicken and dumplings for dinner
Peter and Lynne's company during the football

Another find

2012-01-20T22:40:00.000-05:00

Moving the daybed out of my sewing room has resulted in finds. "Lost" ancient artifacts appear in strange boxes and containers that I am now opening. These triangles were once cut for a Kalidiescope quilt. After I sewed a few sections into circles that had humps in the middle, I gave up and stashed the triangles away.

Later I found them and decided to sew them into strips for borders because the circles weren't working. I didn't really need the borders, it was just another day that I needed come "mindless" sewing time. Then they were put away again.

Now they came out of the bottom of a box that was only half full, so I was distributing the contents into OTHER containers. [I call this progress!]

It looks to me now that this could be put together, not as borders, but as a baby quilt for our neonatal unit. And now that I have taken a photograph, I have to put the photo into my album of UFOs, thus making my UFO list longer.

On the other hand, I HAVE finished [to the stage to sending it out to be long-arm quilted] my UFO for this month's Liquidara Challenge. Therefore I can do whatever I want for the rest of the month! Are these triangles what I want to work on? Maybe. At least if I get them together as a TOP I will have made some progress. It might even be small enough to quilt on my machine......

Still thinking as I leave the room.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Good ideas about financial decisions
Quiet afternoon
Dinner at Tre Cugini with Peter and Lynne

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-18T15:12:00.000-05:00

Monday Design Wall

2012-01-16T23:03:00.000-05:00

Two quilt tops that I have recently described are now on the design wall so that I can imagine what will do for their backings.

I have two tops ready with their backings for my friend Catherine to run through her long-arm machine. I want to add the toddler quilt to that pile for delivery this week.

And then I want to get the doll quilt totally finished and off my list.

Good news! The Batik Charms top is all sewn together, and I found the backing that was bought for it a couple of years ago. So that is one that is ready for Catherine. This is my UFO #5 for the Liquidara Challenge. I cut the binding, so that is ready too.

Getting to the stage where I need to make the backing is always a slowing down point for me. I'm trying to get over the hump with these so they are really out of the way.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Woke up in my BED this morning, not the recliner
Made it through exercise class better than recently
Spaghetti, comfort food, for dinner

Doll quilt top from batik scraps

2012-01-13T21:19:00.000-05:00

While I put the Batik Charms quilt together, I have to take some of the batik charms and cut them for the cornerstones. But they don't all get used. As they began to pile up I started sewing them together into a small piece, and now I have added the borders. Since it came out to be 23" square, it must be a doll quilt.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Cramps in my left thigh seem to be calming down after nine days
Charlie carried all the Christmas decorations down to the basement
First snow of the season with some staying power

Design Wall Monday

2012-01-09T22:32:00.000-05:00

I'm working on UFO #5 from my list for Judy Liquidara's UFO challenge. She drew the number 5 for this month.

This UFO top begun in 2004 from batik 5" samples was 7 x 9 blocks, and there is additional sashing fabric and charms. So far I have completed 10 more blocks, and another 10 are in process.

My plan is to go on from here and cut binding and sashing strips from the charcoal fabric. That will be the limitation on how big the quilt can grow. I have PLENTY of batik charms to go on almost forever.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Medical Massage seems to have calmed my left thigh
Pot roast good for the third time
Energetic Chorus rehearsal tonight

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-04T16:03:00.000-05:00

Using old HSTs

2012-01-03T23:06:00.000-05:00

I found a number of green and neutral HSTs, and a smaller number of 3/4 STs [3/4 QSTs?] all of which had to be squared up. I started fussing with them and they weren't the same size. The HSTs squared up to 4.25 inches! What kind of a number is that for a quilter to work with??!

Well, I did. And now "at the end of the day", I have a baby quilt center that about 26" square, but don't quote me on that measurement or that it's really square.

There were two different green fabrics used, but the tone was very similar. One has stars outlined in white, which comes across as messy splotches.

Tomorrow I'm going to spiff this up with some colorful borders.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Physical therapy went well
The Christmas desserts are going away
Long conversation with DD re her health issues

Design Wall!!

2012-01-02T18:06:00.000-05:00

DS Peter is here this afternoon for football watching with Dad, but he took care of a few little jobs for me too. One was to hang up a Design Wall by Fons and Porter. It is vinyl on one side and flannel on the other, and has a 2 inch grid printed on the vinyl which shows through. And it has grommets on the top side, so it is easy to hang. As you can see from the photo, I have just enough room between two bookcases of fabric, now that the bed has been removed.

So now I can really post about what is on my Design Wall!

Here it is between the bookcases:

This is the completed top from the Planet Patchwork New Year's Day Mystery. I think they called it "Chips and Strips".

And here is the whole thing, including the bottom edge. The dimensions are about 54" x 72".

I changed their borders a little.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Design Wall!

Other little jobs cleared up

Shrimp dinner to go with the Rose Bowl (family tradition)

New Year's Day mystery & UFO plan

2012-01-01T20:18:00.002-05:00

I chose from my Red fabrics for the Jelly Roll they proposed. Starting at about 10:30 am I cut and sewed together 6 patches, 54 of them.

Then sewed light background strips on one side to make them square.

And they are now laid out like a Rail Fence; this is three rows out of nine.
I had to go rescue the pot roast from the crockpot for dinner.

And now that dinner is done and put away, I'm not very interested in this quilt. However, the inner border is already cut, and the outer border, cornerstones included. So I'll chug along to avoid leaving ANOTHER Unfinished Object right on the first day of the year!

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I have added a sidebar of the UFOs at the beginning of 2012. Judy Liquidara has a challenge to finish one a month. I'm listing TWO for each month with the plan that I will finish ONE and then do some work on the other. Hope I'm not shooting myself in the foot here.

She drew # 5 for January. So finish the Planet Patchwork mystery and then on to the Batik samples:

I wonder how many additional pieces there are in that bag. I know I have a box of more batik charms, but maybe not that charcoal fabric.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Lions didn't look as bad as they could have!
Pot roast success
Leftover cookies are mostly GONE

Stars and Year's Review

2011-12-31T23:03:00.000-05:00

Just at the end of the month I finished these two stars for a group exchange on the internet. The December Requestor provided a pattern and wanted the blocks to finish at 12.5", And then she said we could make them as wonky and strange as we liked. Well, I sent for wonky, but they came out less wonky than I intended. Maybe I should have "wonked" the center square of "made" fabric.

Now the Year in Review for finishes:

There were twelve months of the group block exchange mentioned above, but those weren't quilted.

#1 - "Extra Extra Fancy", queen sized, made from my orphan blocks and strips. Kept.

#2 - Disappearing Nine Patch, toddler sized, made from St. Patrick's fabrics, sent to Neonatal Unit.

#3 - Disappearing FOUR Patch, crib sized, green fabrics, sent to Neonatal Unit.

#4 - Checkerboard, crib sized, sent to Neonatal Unit.

#5 - Football quilt, twin bed sized, red and gray flannel, sent to Devon through Margaret's Hope Chest.

#6 - Strip Quilt, twin sized, mostly green fabrics, sent to Margaret's Hope Chest.

#7 - Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll, a Bonnie Hunter mystery, queen sized, given to DIL.

#8 Back map and front squares of crib quilt, sent to Neonatal Unit.

#9 Beep-Beep strip quilt, crib sized, sent to Samuel Potts.

#10 Sixteen Patch toddler quilt, sent to Margaret's Hope Chest.

#11 Strip Quilt, toddler sized, baseball fabrics, sent to Neonatal Unit.

#12 - King of the Ranch, toddler sized, sent to Margaret's Hope Chest.

#13 - Strip Quilt, toddler sized, soccer fabrics, sent to Neonatal Unit.

#14 - Susan's Magical Forest, wall sized, blocks from internet Block Lotto, given to Secret Sister.

#15 - "Lego" quilt, made from 1.5" squares and strips, double bed sized, fleece backing. kept here.

#16 - Six doll quilts, of which this is one, sent to Guild to accompany Christmas dolls.

A pretty good year for finishes!
However, I have also added a bunch of new UFOs, eight in fact. And then my Secret Sister gave me one, too.

That means my total of UFOs is 23. Judy Liquidara is challenging us all to finish one UFO a month in 2012. Looks like I need to finish TWO each month. Can I do that?

I think I had better just plan on 16 like I did this year. That will mean making some of the Neonatal quilts from my UFOs.

Best wishes for the New Year for all of you out there in cyberland.

Sara

Gratitudes:

A quiet New Year's Eve at home after a movie with my sweetie
Relative good health for my family
Plenty of food and warmth in the winter.

Roast Beast and Yorkshire pudding

2011-12-26T09:10:00.001-05:00

DIL produced a high and mighty Yorkshire pudding to go with the prime rib, and then, Voila!, all the food disappeared down people's throats.

And at the direction of the matriarch [me], we held civilized conversation without dissing our siblings throughout the meal.

Wow! Holiday madness!

Sara

Gratitudes:

Hilarious stocking gifts
TONS of help with the cooking and serving and cleaning up
Quiet when everyone left

Last cookies

2011-12-24T00:11:00.000-05:00

Grands are arriving a day later than originally expected. So Grandma and Grandpa have to finish up baking the cut-out cookies. Tomorrow there will be many helping hands to put on the icing and colored sugars.

That old biscuit cutter on the counter is always used to make the wreaths. The cutter came from my German grandmother's household, and maybe from her mother before that. Maybe I shouldn't put it away with the cookie cutters, but keep it out for making biscuits!

I have a cookie cutter goose and a large Father Christmas as well that have flat tin on the top side. I have fond memories of making these same shapes with Granny before Christmas with my cousins when I was in elementary school. The old cookie cutters that are only used once a year remind me that I made a conscious decision to use the inherited "good" china every Sunday for breakfast. That's so that I will actually enjoy it once a week, rather than leaving it always in the china cabinet. Perhaps there are other "treasures" that I could be using with more regularity.

Tomorrow I will pick up the prime rib roast for Christmas Day, we will decorate the cookies, eat clam chowder for supper, and for something new, have "church" at home with our three families and three generations.

A Blessed time for you all!

Sara

Gratitudes:

Travelers arrived safely
Kitchen full of food
Christmas comes whether we are ready or not

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-21T17:21:00.000-05:00

Bed gone, lights on

2011-12-20T19:38:00.000-05:00

I did manage to clear off the piles of fabric and with much help from our son Peter the bed was moved from my sewing room to the basement rec room. Hmm, I guess there were things that even found their way UNDER the bed. After our Christmas visitors leave, I will need to rearrange everything in this room. Maybe I will even arrange for a "design wall" that is vertical, rather than the "design bed" I have been using!

Bit by bit some decorating is being done.

Peter also helped put a few lights in the yard to welcome night time callers, so far just a few deer.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Dear Son lives in our town
Eating dinner by the light of FOUR Advent candles
Cookie dough in the refrigerator

Lego Quilt finished

2011-12-17T16:51:00.000-05:00

And here it is on our queen-sized bed. I had decided to back it with polar fleece, and skip the batting. With all the seams on the front, this is a HEAVY quilt.

I asked Catherine to use an over-all quilting pattern with some curves to it. This scroll pattern shows up well on the back with the black thread, and really disappears on the front.

After I got the quilt back, I simply cut the fleece one inch bigger than the top, turned it to front and zig-zagged it down. A very easy finish as a break from my work on clearing the bed in the sewing room. But nice to be able to add one more finish to the list for 2011.

Sara

Gratitudes:

A light dusting of snow to brighten the ground
Progress on clearing the bed
Beginning the pre-Christmas "O" Antiphons tonight

Party and what's next

2011-12-16T14:55:00.000-05:00

The SpoolSpinner's Quilting Bee had their holiday party last evening. There was a beautiful house to meet in, LOT of talk, and way too much food, and the exchange of gifts, and the drawing of new Secret Sister names for next year.

Here is Adrienne showing the gift quilt she received, perfect for her love of lime green.

And here I am with my Secret Sister, Susan Shantz, showing off the "Magic Forest" quilt. She says she loves the bright colors, and has a high rod around her living room where she can hang several quilts, which also have black backgrounds so far, and this will go well with them.

I learned from this experience in the last few days, that working with black fabric and black thread is now going to be a PAST experience. I love the contrast, but my eyes just really cannot handle it any more. When I was doing the free-motion quilting, I couldn't tell how to space my work, and I missed several sections altogether. On sewing the binding down on the front by machine, my last step, I was a little dubious most of the time as to whether I was catching it down. Way too much tension was created in my neck and shoulders! So I apologized to Susan for any misses, and told her she was getting my last piece of "black work".

For next year we are going to handle the Secret Sister a little differently. We each brought five FQs of our own fabric in a Spartan bag [local grocery chain] with our profile information. Everyone grabbed one, not her own, and is to use these fabrics in next year's holiday gift, more added if we want.

So here are the five FQs I put in my bag -- my favorite combination of Red, Black and White. I tried to use a combination of various sizes of print design. I will be greatly interested in what turns up next December! What do you think you would do with these?

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Next project is not so much fun, but very necessary. This bed in the sewing room needs to be totally cleared off.

What, you don't see the bed?

Look down in the right corner, there's the corner of the bed frame. My dad made this frame down in his basement wood shop to surround a daybed and it had room under it for a pull-out additional narrow bed.

This bed needs to be transferred to our basement guest area, so one of the grandchildren will not have to sleep on the floor. The transfer helper is coming on Monday afternoon, so I have to start figuring out where all this stuff is going and how it is going to be organized. Plus I need to leave enough space in the room for the bed to be moved, it doesn't break down any more.

Hmm, I think it is only going to be accomplished if I use Fly Lady's method of "15 minutes at a time".

Sara

Gratitudes:

Found lovely red fabric for my black winter coat's new lining
Found a tailor who will do the job for me
Looks like a "free" weekend to slowly get Christmas prepared

Magical Forest DONE

2011-12-15T16:36:00.000-05:00

At 45" x 53" it was finished at 3:45 pm, and I need to leave for the Bee holiday party at about 5. So a whole hour to get everything wrapped and food packed and camera in hand.

The back has nativity pictures surrounded by a different evergreen forest.

Hope my Secret Sister has a place to enjoy this.

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Now to answer Julie's question about the Advent wreath quilt.... How do you add more flames as the weeks progress?

The flame and the aura are fused together and left detached from the quilt. I simply keep four of these in an envelope, and then PIN one more each Sunday above a candle. The aura has sparkles in it, so the pin heads mostly look like just another dot of white from any distance. At the end of the season the quilt is retired with just the candles on it, and the flames are returned to the envelope.

This quilt hangs on the kitchen wall opposite the big window to the driveway. I can see it reflected in the window while I'm at the sink, and also when I drive up to the house.

We also have a "real" Advent wreath on the dining room table. We use only that candle light for dinner each night. Getting a good deal brighter now that we have three candles lit!

Sara

Gratitudes:

Rain, not snow today
Spoolspinners party tonight
First experience with cortisone shots to the knees went well

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-14T17:18:00.000-05:00

Magical Forest pinned

2011-12-13T17:13:00.000-05:00

I finally decided that what the forest needed was some stars in the night sky. As I worked away, it began to seem that five was the right number, less than the columns of trees.

I began looking for the backing fabric. I was lucky I didn't find it right away, because I found this one instead! I had sent a snippet to BumbleBeans, and had quite a chunk left. Perfect! My Secret Sister can use the backside for the Christmas season and then turn it over to the front for the rest of the year.

Then into the kitchen to clean off the peninsula counter for layout and pinning. It didn't really take very long, but now my back is aching.

I'll have a "sit down" until dinnertime and let my unconscious work out the quilting design for this middle.

[After that's done, I'll add the star border and maybe a bottom border and quilt them separately at that point.]

Sara

Gratitudes:

A retired husband who does some Christmas shopping
Watching the birds at the feeders
A comfortable recliner

Magical Forest center

2011-12-09T22:36:00.001-05:00

Well, the center at least is all together for my Secret Sister. I am struggling with what to do next.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Getting some more Xmas presents purchased
Leisure time for reading
Can afford to pay for cleaning help!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-07T23:57:00.000-05:00

GRWC Concert

2011-12-04T10:30:00.000-05:00

OK, Julie asked what we were singing, and here's the answer.
Our winter concert is only half of the songs that will be in the spring concert. The Small Ensemble sings two songs at each.
The Last song, "Be like the bird", is a round, words by Victor Hugo. This one has really been running through my mind because it is beautiful and because of the setbacks I've noticed recently. Answer: just keep singing!

Sara

Gratitudes:

MUSIC!

Magical Forest coming together

2011-12-03T16:31:00.001-05:00

Couldn't face the idea of 350 HSTs, so I am putting together the blocks I received from Block Lotto earlier this year. This will be a gift to my Secret Sister at our December Bee meeting.

I have about 34 blocks with the black as background. And same reversed. I have the black ones put together for a center, and now I need to decide whether there will be the opposite coloration on the outside, or simply end it somehow. It's the "somehow" that takes a lot of time.

Concert tonight, need to take:
vestlike robe
cookies [chocolate covered pretzels]
tissues
cough drops
water bottle
stool [to stop my arthritic knees/back giving out]
cheat sheets, to study right up to curtain time

Wish me luck! But actually we're pretty awesome.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Drugs for pain and congestion
Enthusiastic and talented singers
Confidence because my section leader is standing right behind me!

Step 3 Orca Bay mystrery

2011-12-02T21:23:00.000-05:00

Bonnie says, "350 HSTs that measure 2 inches square".
I say, "I don't want to do it!"
I going to take the day off, and maybe tomorrow too.

Sara

Gratitudes:
Found and purchased one Christmas present today
Made my "cookies" for after the concert tomorrow
Got Block Lotto quilt blocks into the mail

Ready for Step 3

2011-12-01T22:03:00.000-05:00

What you see are the 72 string blocks required by Step 2 of Bonnie Hunter's Orca Bay mystery. They are jammed into the same basket that is holding the 224 [+6] hourglass blocks required by Step 1.

Wow! After being gone for five days over Thanksgiving, I thought I would be behind for another week. But, "gotter done".

Sara

Gratitudes:

Survived exercise class, tho' my back has been sore since Monday
Survived quarterly meeting with financial advisors
Getting better at the Hebrew song for Saturday concert

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-30T19:45:00.000-05:00

Orca Bay, Step #1

2011-11-29T19:47:00.000-05:00

Bonnie Hunter's latest mystery is called "Orca Bay", inspired by a scenic view she had there. Step #1 was making 224 hourglass blocks that are to be 2.5 inches square and made of black and neutrals. Here is a basket with the majority and a few on the mat to show the size.

Now I do need to tell you that I cut too many strips and ended up making about 305 of these blocks. But as it happened, some of them came out TOO SMALL. How that happened I don't know. However, about 230 of them are the RIGHT size.

I now have about 70 that I had to cut down to 2 inches [peaking out on the left of the photo]. This kind of error explains why I always have plenty of "orphan blocks". These will go in the drawer labelled "2 inch squares" for now, and at some future point they will be discovered to be Just The Thing I was needing for a doll quilt or some other project.

Bonnie's other colors for the mystery are Red and an accent of Blue. Step #2 requires the making of 72 strip pieced blocks, using her blue. I'm trying to decide . . . not real enamoured of the idea of Red and Blue. Maybe darker tones of yellow instead of blue? Need to make a decision and get going on these because Step #3 will come out on Friday.

Sara

Gratitudes:

DD Martha helped me learn a new step for my iPhone
Last GRWC before-concert rehearsal last night went well
A quiet day with lots of sewing time

Thanksgiving weekend results

2011-11-27T23:36:00.000-05:00

Finished this pair of socks on the 8-hour drive to and from St. Louis for Thanksgiving. I'm not sure how long ago they were started, but a long time.

They fit me right now, but I have put them in the wash to see how well this brand of SuperWash wool goes through the cycle. Then I'll try them on again.

Now I can start a new wool, and I have plenty to choose from.

SIL John making Thanksgiving rolls.

Last day's breakfast table.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Safe and fairly quick travel
Good times with the family
Getting to know Peter and Lynne's new puppy, Barak

2011 Doll Quilt #6

2011-11-20T21:09:00.000-05:00

Okay, I couldn't seem to stop. I made one more.

A single Log Cabin block made up of pinks and reds with a little orange thrown in too. And I found two strips of pink and white squares that seemed to fit.

And a strip of paper dolls left over from last year that could be inserted into the backing.

Now I REALLY have to work on the gift for my Secret Sister, which is due on December 15.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Enjoyed good china for Sunday breakfast
Cough is getting better with allergy pills
Tho TV is acting strange, I don't miss it

2011 Doll Quilt #4 & #5

2011-11-18T15:05:00.000-05:00

Those bright squares I showed you turned into this semi-African style doll quilt. The center is actually a sashed nine-patch. I had a little of the gray and white batik left in my stash, and I thought that would blend with sections of the blocks and make the whole thing more mysterious!

I used a totally traditional print on the back. Just my contrary nature displaying itself.

After I turned these in at our evening Bee meeting, I continued on with some Chinese Coins strips I had found in the Orphan Box.

With white sashing, it remained looking a little DULL. So in the end I chose a bright striped backing and a different orange stripe for the binding.

I think that is the end of the Doll Quilts for this year. They are pretty quick to make, and I have fun getting one done a day. But now, I need to work on other things.

1] Finish learning my music for the GRWC concert on the first Sat. in December.
2] Finish a gift for my Secret Sister.
3] Think some more about Bonnie Hunter's new mystery...do I want to commit myself or not?

Sara

Gratitudes:

Warm house, as the outside temps go down
Vernor's gingerale
Re-reading Stieg Larsson's novels

2011 Doll Quilt #3

2011-11-16T11:48:00.000-05:00

Five "orphan" asterisk blocks, also from Beaver Island Retreat last year. There was a sixth one, but it didn't have enough contrast for the asterisk to show well.

And here's the back.
This one is 17" square; they seem to be getting smaller as I imagine different kinds of dolls.

The Orphan box still has more goodies that can be utilized.

The next set of 3" blocks are eight in number. Perhaps the green of the cutting mat is not such a bad choice for sashing!

Sara

Gratitudes:

Sun shining as temps go down

Breakfast with friends

Grandson John's 14th birthday today

2011 Doll Quilt #2

2011-11-15T12:56:00.000-05:00

I made five wonky flower blocks at the Beaver Island Retreat last year, ands they rested in my Orphan box. Now they are the bases for another Doll Quilt with a good sized piece of hearts fabric.

The back is made up of more pink leftover strips.

This one is 20" x 20".

Sara

Gratitudes:

Balmy weather makes easy walking
More Orphan blocks still to use
Chorus friend died peacefully in her sleep

2011 Doll quilt #1

2011-11-13T19:42:00.000-05:00

Just remembered that this is our Guild month for collecting doll quilts to go with the dolls our Santa Claus Girls give away in December. Luckily I have some Orphan blocks biding their time for a project!

There were three of these chopped up Four-patches in the box, so I made a fourth, sewed them together and found some fabulous border and backing fabric. This is one HOT doll quilt!'

Now to turn the backing over to the front as binding...

Sara

Gratitudes:

Duvet on the bed for the winter cold nights
Helpful Orphan Box
Shrimp and crusty bread for dinner

"Many Trips"

2011-11-10T16:05:00.000-05:00

These nine 12.5" blocks are the November choice for the Block Lotto group. Required was a black or very dark diagonal. Between yesterday and today I finished the maximum allowed into the Lotto, which is nine this month.

These are fairly easy to make, and are a good way to use up some of the 2.5" strips I have stored in a box together. In less than a week I could have enough to make a charity quilt for Margaret's Hope Chest.

======
Peter fixed us a nice chicken dinner last night, and we showed our photos from the Mediterranean. That reminded us that we had a pretty darned good time!

Charlie waiting in Mykonos for the ferry to Delos next to an overloaded motorbike, not his.

My cough seems to be subsiding slowly. The prescribed cough syrup does allow me to sleep for most of the night. Chorus basses are having a sectional rehearsal tonight, and again I think I will mostly listen and try to record the correct notes. Winter Concert is December 3.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Trip to eye doctor today took less time than usual, tho' still needed an injection
Able to do a little sewing after only three hours of recovery
Snow in the air, but it is not sticking so far!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-09T22:01:00.000-05:00

Back from Mediterranean

2011-11-07T17:53:00.000-05:00

Here are a few highlights from our trip.

The front of the Duomo [cathedral] in Florence, decorated with many shades of marble.

The Bridge of Angels, statues by Bernini across the Tiber River in Rome.

View of Greek theater from the Acropolis in Athens.

Lion Gate to the ancient city of Mycenae [lions are carved in the triangle over the opening].

Wine tasting on the edge of the volcanic caldera of the Island of Santorini.

I came down with throat crud on the third day, sore throat and coughing, and still have it. Slowed me down some on the excursions. But what a lot of fabulous sites we saw!

+++++++++++++++++++

Now I am catching up on the mail, etc.

Today I finished two Scrap Bee blocks for Melinda. She asked for any style of STAR made of scraps in a particular color. So here's a wonky 8 pointed yellow star and an orange wonky Friendship Star.

+++++++++

Taking my sore throat to Women's Chorus rehearsal tonight to LISTEN, not sing or breathe on anyone.

Sara

Gratitudes:

All the travel connections went smoothly
Lost a half a pound!!!
Wonderful memories

Mediterranean Trip

2011-10-20T10:22:00.000-04:00

We are throwing the last things into our suitcases so we can start our trip to Italy and the Mediterranean. We'll have three days in Florence, three days in Rome and then off to the Greek islands for a week.

So I did finish a red polar fleece backing for the Lego quilt, and both will be deliver to my long-arm quilter tonight by a friend. So that quilt is out of the sewing room.
I'm taking some socks to finish knitting as we drive to and from Chicago's O'Hare Airport, and then I'm leaving that stuff in the car. No handwork for two weeks, just looking and looking at the scenery and antiquities.

----
For those who wondered: SaraRachel, DGD aged 13, developed an abysmally low platelet count, no blood clotting whatsoever. She is in St. Louis Children's Hospital for two days at least for improvement. She is not in pain and is enjoying their fulsome attention. Mom is frazzled.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Have good enough health for this trip
Have enough wealth for this trip
Have Road Scholar [Elderhostel] to do all the arrangements and teaching

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-19T13:04:00.000-04:00

Sara

Retiring a phone

2011-10-18T16:51:00.000-04:00

This phone is going into retirement. It has been eligible for retirement since May we found out.

Since we are on a Family Plan phone contract with our son and DIL, I had to get permission from my son to change phones, and I had to get two different passwords. So there were about five phone calls between the Apple Store and Peter before I was able to walk out with the new phone in my possession and working.

My new iPhone, shown resting on the old phone, is NOT the just issued version, but a previous edition at a much lower price. Nevertheless, it does a kajillion things that the old phone did not do. And I am in deep technologic ignorance.

So far I have entered all the phone numbers from my old phone, but today all but six of them are gone. On the other hand, all six that I have kept, now have their email addresses listed, which I did NOT enter. Hmm.
Ain't technology wonderful?

I did, I think, manage to record three songs that the Women's Chorus was practicing last night. And they did download to my computer, where I could name them, and delete the most incomplete. [The director keeps interrupting us!] But then I couldn't/didn't find the way to "sync" the tunes back onto my phone so I could listen to them.

Enough talk of that.

I finished up the light strips going onto the Lego quilt as the first border.

It worked out to be four strips on most of the sides. I saw a royal blue fleece at JoAnn's that I think I will use on the back. Maybe I will turn it to the front also for the binding. So what to go between those light strips and a royal blue binding?

I think I'm going to see what red and orange strips I have that are already cut to 3 or 3.5 inches.

Sara

Gratitudes:

AAA membership took care of last night's flat tire
Anticipating two week trip to the Mediterranean
A few nights of no late-night baseball
Childrens' Hospital in St. Louis taking care of granddaughter Sara Rachel

Lego - first border

2011-10-16T14:55:00.000-04:00

But FIRST of all, here is the drawer that held all my 1.5 inch strips and squares. The squares were in the inner box, and the strips were PACKED around that.

And now the first border:

At the suggestion of one of my blog readers, I pulled out a bunch of the light strips and saved them for a border. I am sewing them around and around until I run out of them, which hasn't happened yet.

What, if anything, will happen after that is yet to be seen.

And here's the current state of the project, lying on the living room rug, which is 6 feet by 9 feet.

Sara

Gratitudes:

An empty drawer!
Leftover lentil soup for lunch
Going to Lake Michigan this afternoon

Lego conundrum

2011-10-14T15:20:00.000-04:00

I'm now sewing the Lego blocks together. Here's what I have so far:

I have more blocks to add on the bottom. I was planning on having ONE non-railfence block in the next row. Either another checkerboard:

Or this other block:

Whichever one I don't use on the front can go on the back. Or not.

Maybe I need one more row to make this long enough to cover an adult person. Do I have enough 1.5 inch strips to make more? [Can always cut 3" strips in half.]

And on the subject of the back..... I'm thinking that this is going to be pretty HEAVY with all those seams, so I'm considering a fleece back and no batting.

What do you think on all these heavy decisions? Go ahead and weigh in!

Sara

Gratitudes:

None of these decisions are life threatening
Breakfast with old friends
Tigers won last night!

LEGO continues

2011-10-13T13:24:00.000-04:00

These blocks are not yet sewn together, I just wanted to see how they looked laid out. Each block is 12.5", so this would make a 36" X 48" piece.

What I DO have sewn together is this piece which is 24" X 48":

I'm aiming for something like this:

which would be about 60" X 72.

Need to make some more blocks. This is good because I am finally seeing the drawer of 1.5" strips getting closer to EMPTY.

I have given up my idea of quilting this "As You Go", or even doing it myself at all. This is going to the LA quilter when the top is done!

Sara

Gratitudes:
That I have a LA Quilter
Survived another exercise class
Mixed pesto into the lunch salad dressing, and WOW, that's good!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-12T15:50:00.000-04:00

Sara

Lego progress

2011-10-06T22:45:00.000-04:00

So I have put together four of the 12 inch Lego blocks, and I have sewn them to two sides of the large "inchie" block. I am gung-ho to add more on each side, BUT maybe I should quilt this much before adding anything more [?]. I'm not sure which to do next. This piece is 24 inches wide and 48 inches long. That seems to be a good size to get quilted.

Guess I'll go watch the Tiger-Yankees baseball game and leave this decision until tomorrow.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Warm, sunny day with leave beginning to turn
Spent about an hour downtown looking at Art Prize entries
Tigers are ahead!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-05T20:32:00.001-04:00

Sara

Inchie center

2011-10-02T21:23:00.001-04:00

The center of the Lego quilt is put together. I only have to decide in which rotation to sew these four blocks together. [One of my blogging friends commented that she calls these little squares "inchies".] There are a few HSTs and one 9-patch in the mix.

My plan at the moment is to frame this in some shades of gray-- a subtle frame that might go unnoticed for a short while. I'll have to see if I have the right grays for that plan. OR I might use a pile of red and white HSTs, left over from a Bonnie Hunter romp, and make the frame out of them. Not so subtle. Then the Lego Blocks will go around the outside.

======

We accomplished a lot of music learning and eating and fun at the Women's Chorus two day workshop. Next Saturday there is another workshop in choral singing by a local expert in which we can individually participate; not using OUR music, of course. I'll go and see what more I can learn.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Sun twinkling on the frosty grass and leaves this morning
A dog who likes cantaloupe rinds
Tigers beat the Yankees!

I was warned

2011-09-30T19:30:00.001-04:00

When I woke this morning I KNEW how to use up more of those pesky 1.5 inch squares that I had created some years ago. Sew them into "twosies".

The sew those into "4-sies" and then "8-sies", and then "11-sies".

Then sew those strips all together into one big block.

My plan is to make FOUR of these blocks to put in the middle of my LEGO quilt. That will make a bigger square that is 22 finished inches across. I can add a one inch sashing [to separate it a little from the Lego squares], and that will bring it up to 24 inches, perfect to match the 12 inch finished Lego blocks.

Here's an imperfect glimpse of what that might look like:

So with all this construction going on today, I got NOTHING done about cleaning up my sewing room. I WAS WARNED by Clare that this Lego business is a huge distraction from cleaning. [Ask her how she knows!]

Sara

Gratitudes:

Grand Rapids Women's Chorus fall workshop tomorrow and Sunday
With Charlie's push out the door I walked for 41 minutes today
SlimFast makes for a quick lunch
Baseball playoffs start tonight, Go Tigers! Go Cardinals!

"Lego" blocks

2011-09-29T21:58:00.004-04:00

Tonya Ricucci of lazygalquilting has a tutorial for making a "Lego" quilt top, and now I have seen several bloggers that are following her lead. It uses scraps that are 1.5 inch in width, and I have a whole drawer full of those that I need to get rid of!

So I am sewing them end to end until I have about four yards in length.

Then I am sewing the two lengths together along the LONG dimension.

After pressing that seam, I cut the double strip into 12.5 inch lengths, and sew two of them together.

I now have a stack of 30 of these sets of four strips.
And I'm not making them into "12sies" until I have more made. Don't want to have to put the same fabric next to itself, you know. And maybe I'll start using more pieces that are longer.

Anyway later three of these will be joined into a 12.5 inch block. Something like the last photo.

These are, or can be set in alternate directions, like a rail fence.

Tonya's looks like she is using a lot of short pieces, so her blocks look more like they are made of Legos. I'm just throwing in 1.2 - 3 inch pieces every third time, because I am impatient.

But this has now caught my attention. Will it turn into ANOTHER ufo? I'm planning on getting that drawer fairly empty because in general I don't want to work with pieces that small.

Meanwhile I am mentally gearing up for a clean-up and clearing-out of my sewing room. There is too much chaos here and it has become less than welcoming to creativity. I need to cull out the projects that no longer give me joy. Doing that will make me more productive....I hope.

Sara

Gratitudes:

I own enough stuff to make a mess
Other bloggers inspire me with projects and the urge to clean-up
Amazing night of baseball on the night of game(s) 162

SCRAP Bee for October

2011-09-27T22:01:00.000-04:00

Got to work and finished the October blocks for an internet Bee today, a little early, but wanted to get them off my list of things to do. This is a fun way to make a Liberated Fan half-block. I don't know if the recipient is going to add a background for the other half-triangle or sew two of these together.

I also sent three baby quilts to the Guild meeting for our hospital's Neonatal Unit.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Charlie left me to sleep in late this morning
Detroit Tigers are on a fantastic hitting streak
Kindle books can now be downloaded from the public library

Quick trip to St. Louis

2011-09-26T17:12:00.000-04:00

Vicky and Patrick wanted to see the St. Louis Cardinals play the Chicago Cubs in baseball, AND Patrick has a four passenger Cessna. So he flew us down to St. Louis on Friday.

We had good seats at the game.

On Saturday we were able to visit our daughter's family. We saw an 8th grade football game and observed two teenagers sleeping on the family room sofa for much of the afternoon.

Sunday we went to church at the cathedral and then went out to Grant's Farm to see some of the Clydesdale horses owned by Budweiser.

Then we had a great view of downtown and the arch as we flew away to Michigan!

Sara

Gratitudes:

Fun to fly in a small plane
Saw grandson John catch a pass and score a touchdown!
Back home safely

SCRAP Bee for September

2011-09-22T16:22:00.000-04:00

Green block for Victoria's collection in September of green BOM blocks for a quilt for a homeless family.

Dark block is another for Victoria. She sent out scraps from camouflage uniforms to be used with our own "made from scraps" fabric. Now that they are both finished, I can send them to her in one envelope.

Sara

Gratitudes:
Managed to walk continuously for 43 minutes today!
Trekking poles help.
Roasting butternut squash pieces with chicken and onions

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-21T14:31:00.000-04:00

Sara

More Retreat

2011-09-20T19:50:00.000-04:00

I also finished the borders, quilting and binding on the "King of the Ranch" boy quilt while on retreat. This was made from two charm packs and some stash fabrics.

And here is the back of that one.

I also took along a set of Fat Quarters I had won about five years ago. They are all Christmasy and in muted colors. Not my style. But they have been sitting around for so long, when I found them I felt I needed to put them to use. This is as far as I got, there will be three more rows of four-patches around this center. This part is quilted now and the rest will be added QAYG, but I didn't have backing fabric along with me.

As I left the house, I grabbed a stack of 3" squares that were packed tight in a drawer, so that I could use them as my "leaders and enders" during the retreat. Here is the stack of four-in-a-row that resulted.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Restful, quiet day at home

Discovered that our dog can howl when sirens blow on the highway

Another BLT supper

SpoolSpinner Retreat

2011-09-20T00:34:00.001-04:00

I was on retreat with my quilting bee, the SpoolSpinners, from last Thursday through Sunday. One of the quilts I worked on, and FINISHED was the Soccer Boy quilt.

It is simply a "strippy" quilt with soccer fabrics alternating with non-soccer fabrics. But it has no flowers and no pinks, so maybe some father with a boy in the neo-natal unit will like it for his child.

Here's the back.

I also worked on the Liberated Round Robin's "curves" borders.

I used double wide, packaged seam binding in black and red rickrack. I am still in the process of sewing these down and doing the quilting.

We also were shown and then made a cloth wrapper for a small gift. Our teacher gave us each two 8.5" square flowered fabrics and instructions which we could complete in about 20 minutes. Example on the right.

Later I tried my own fabrics and cut the squares 9.5" to see how much larger the package would end up. The different is this: the original could hold six Hershey's nuggets, and the larger version could hold eight. [We had the nuggets available on our snack table.]

Sara

Gratitudes:
Another retreat earlier in the week with my spiritual accountability group
Dinner tonight with our DDIL Lynne
Singing "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" at Grand Rapids Women's Chorus rehearsal tonight

Quilting "King of the Ranch"

2011-08-30T20:03:00.001-04:00

I spent longer than anticipated today sandwiching the front, batting, and backing fabric for the "King of the Ranch" boy quilt. The fusible batting did not stick very well to then two fabrics, but I went ahead and carried the sandwich to the sewing machine and got started.

Not really even on the first pass down the tan strips. I hope I improve with practice!

And I got a little clean-up done in the sewing room. Not really noticeable, but I know that some things were put "away".

Sara

Gratitudes:

Footcare nurses trimmed my toenails
U.S. Open tennis continues
Didn't have to do any cooking today

Started another "boy" quilt

2011-08-29T22:12:00.000-04:00

I purchased two Charm Packs of "King of the Ranch" on-line, thinking they would include lots of horses, like the one pictured. Well, there are only two prints of horses in each colorway, and the charms are cut so that the larger print only has a portion of a single horse. Silly me, I thought they would cut the fabric the way I would cut it, to show the best of the figures/horses.

So I go on to use them anyway. I will have two strips of each of the four colors, and I constructed a 9th strip to act as the center. I will quilt this portion tomorrow, and then add the other strips QAYG. At least the colors should appeal to a boy.

Charlie is going on a five day baseball trip, so I will have lots of "free" time to quilt, but also to work on organizing the sewing room.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Beautiful days here, sunny and in the 70's

More fresh tomatoes, cucumber, and corn

Increased exercise makes for better sleeping

On to Soccer Boy

2011-08-20T15:24:00.000-04:00

I know it looks very "busy", but what was I to do with all those soccer balls on the fabrics?

This is the center part of the front of the quilt-to-be. Now I am going to layer and quilt this section before adding some borders by the Quilt-As-You-Go method.

---------

Charlie and I drove off to visit the beach of Lake Michigan at Meinert Park this AM and arrived just as the rain started. So we re-grouped and went in to the farmers' market in Montegue for corn, tomatoes, blueberries and peaches. The rain started there just as we were paying up. Drove home through pelting rain, lessening as we went east. Got home and had lunch set up on the porch just in time for the rain to blow in THERE! OK, OK, I'm staying inside for a while listening to the opera on WBLU.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Another "save" for Papa Grande and our Tigers last night

Chatting with my sweetie about his trip to the game

Temperature so warm, it doesn't really matter if we get wet

Baseball Boy done

2011-08-18T15:00:00.002-04:00

I finished the red border and the striped binding today so this is ready to show at our Bee meeting tonight.

The QAYG method makes for a nicely centered border on the back of the quilt.

Another photo of the back showing a lot of the binding.

I have the other fabrics on hand to make a Soccer Boy Quilt, but I think I want a change of pace. Maybe I had better go back an do the "curved" border on the Liberated Round Robin..

Sara

Gratitudes:

Finished mowing the labyrinth
Fourth mystery by Louise Penny
Cool breezes on the porch

Baseball boy quilt

2011-08-16T20:47:00.000-04:00

I found a couple of "boy" fabrics at Joann's last week-- two baseball fabrics and two soccer fabrics. Currently I am making an easy strip quilt using the baseball fabrics and a few others from the stash. I am planning to use up the theme fabrics by making it more of a rectangle, using the QAYG method, and this is going quickly.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Sunny day, temperature not too high....SUMMERTIME!
Managed to get half of the labyrinth mowed
Juicy steak and corn on the cob for dinner, thanks Charlie!

16-patch finished

2011-08-14T15:49:00.000-04:00

Front with diagonal quilting.

Back butterflies and a few scraps.

Folded up, showing binding.

Sara

Gratitudes:

"I Am the Bread of Life" sung as communion hymn this morning
Free books for my Kindle
Joe Pye Weed ready to bloom

16-patch getting binding

2011-08-13T22:30:00.000-04:00

Not quite finished with the binding because I decided to add a border first. This photo shows the backing of blue with butterflies, then the back border of pale blue, and then the striped binding being applied.

And here's a part of the front with the border of butterfly fabric.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Sleeping late because today was a "free" day
Exciting thunderstorm this afternoon
Hamburgers with fresh tomato and cucumber for salad

Charlie's birthday

2011-08-12T23:11:00.000-04:00

Lunch at Marco's with Ray and Dianne. We had lobster rolls and thought about previous trips to Maine.

Dinner provided by Peter and Lynne at Meijer Gardens as we awaited an outdoor concert by Garrison Keillor.

And this shows you that he is really a "radio" man. He frequently turned his back to the audience and kept singing or talking. He doesn't "play" to the crowd except during the "News from Lake Wobegon".

We had a VERY enjoyable time on a lovely evening of good weather.

-------------

Earlier I finished the quilting on the 16-patch quilt made from a Moda Layer Cake.

Tomorrow: the binding.

Sara

Gratitudes:

THREE meals out!

Starting a walking program: today 17 minutes

Day old cherry tart from a new bakery

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-10T21:29:00.000-04:00

Second "boy baby" quilt finished

2011-08-09T19:23:00.000-04:00

Out of the dryer just after dinner, this strip quilt is going to the young son of a friend from Holy Cross Church. Here's a close-up of the vehicles and the "Beep Beep" fabric:

The backing is numerical flannel with the "triangle corner" label method.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Lengthy breakfast with Peter on his 43rd birthday

Two more Louise Penny mysteries from the library

BLTs and fresh corn for dinner, Hooray for summer!

Not" baby" cucumbers

2011-08-05T16:56:00.001-04:00

We forgot about the cucumbers, under all their leaves. Yesterday I found three, only one the regular size. And then Charlie found five more of the huge ones, growing on the outside of the garden fence. Luckily they taste okay, we just have to cut out all the seeds in the middle.

Then we remembered to look at the beans. They were pretty large too. We are going to try cooking them tonight to see if they are edible.

And we are going to try this one Serrano pepper to see how hot it is. We are not familiar with these, and there are several more. This is the one pepper plant that is doing well.

--------------

The first Boy Baby quilt is done; bordered, quilted, and bound.

Somehow I got the back on straight enough to include the whole map. Next time I'm going to add some borders on the backing so that I don't have to finagle around with it so much!

Sara

Gratitudes:

Lots of cucumber for my lunch salads

Several people who will take two huge cucumbers off my hands!

Leftover gaspacho for supper tonight

Back to Boy Baby quilts

2011-08-04T22:34:00.000-04:00

Found this cute fabric for a baby quilt backing, at JoAnn's, so I bought two.

And here's the front it is now quilted onto:

This was made from a couple charm packs.
I have the binding made, and may even get it applied tonight.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Finally got some plants in the ground that had been waiting for cooler weather
May have a place to stay in Florida next March, near the Cardinals spring training
Color in the sky at sunset, when it looked like none was coming

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-03T21:22:00.000-04:00

9:20 pm

Blocks done

2011-08-02T22:45:00.000-04:00

Today I finished making all the pieces of the layer cake into blocks.

However I lost one of them! Where is that 40th block? Hmm. Must be time to clean up the sewing room.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Lots of blueberries for breakfast
Sitting on the porch with a breeze and a view of the lake
Enjoying a new to me mystery writer, Louise Penny

More 16-patches

2011-07-31T20:20:00.001-04:00

Blocks made yesterday and today. I'm more inspired by these fabrics and this project than I am with anything else that's lying around trying to make me feel guilty.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Verlander got another win for the Tigers
Cardinals on TV tonight
Went to church and the Rector announced, "No sermon today."

Making four 16-patch blocks at a time

2011-07-30T20:49:00.000-04:00

So here are the details.
I choose four of the ten inch square fabrics from the Layer Cake and carefully stack them: right side up, right side down, right side up, right side down.

Then I cut them into 2.5" slices.

I sew two sets of each of these pairs together, and then I re-arrange the other strips so each fabric is matched with a different fabric than the first set. See below how the two red strips are matched once with the two green and once with the two purple. This will give me different final checkerboards instead of two that are the same.

I sew the matching pairs of strips into four Rail Fence blocks and press.

Next, slice the Rail Fence blocks into four 2.5" strips perpendicularly. Flip every other one top to bottom.

Sew each set together and press again.

There they are; four at once! And each one is a different pairing of fabrics.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Fresh raspberries and blueberries for breakfast
A dry day, and the humidity not too bad either
Charlie baking cookies to send to our camper

Using up a "Layer Cake"

2011-07-29T12:43:00.001-04:00

I received this Moda layer cake of 10" squares as a lottery gift from Margaret's Hope Chest. Now I see that another of their friends, Amanda is leading an internet workshop on 36-Patch blocks. They look really fun set right next to each other.

But I don't want to use that many pieces on my next project.. . . so I'm making 16-patch blocks from the layer cake.

It's pretty quick to make four at a time, so in 10 batches I will have used up all the fabric and have 40 blocks. That's enough to make a 48" x 48" center [6 blocks x 6 blocks] and have 4 left for cornerstones in the borders.

And not too much THINKING will be necessary. A good thing in this high heat and humidity.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Oscillating fans
Ice cube maker
Airconditioned public library

New Baby Boy quilt

2011-07-28T22:44:00.000-04:00

Two different groups that collect quilts for kids say that they quickly run short of quilts for BOYS. When I saw these two fabrics I imagined a simple strip quilt, and I have now sewn one set together.

Now to get a backing and do a quick quilting job.

Sara

Gratitudes:

No more rain after sunrise today [5 inches yesterday!]
Once again survived exercise class
Leftovers made a good, cold supper

SCRAP Bee for August

2011-07-26T22:53:00.001-04:00

I got to work yesterday and cut out hearts for the SCRAP Bee. In this Bee we must start with "made" fabric. So the hearts are cut out from the "made" fabric.

I zig-zagged them down onto the pieces of red and pink fabric that were provided for the background. I then put them in an envelope and addressed it. I set the envelope on the kitchen counter to mail the next day or two.

Then I went to my computer and read the post by Victoria and looked at HER hearts in the photo.

Hmm, she only used red and pink fabrics for HER hearts. . . . . Was that what I was supposed to do too? Maybe I had better go and read the original instructions which came out a while ago. Oh, no! She did say "Use your red and pink fabrics"! Guess that didn't stick in my memory.

So how do I preserve the background fabrics ? Think, think, think.....

Oh, yes.... REVERSE applique.

I cut CAREFULLY around the "wrong" hearts. I made a bigger piece of made red & pink fabric and put it UNDER the hole. Then I did the zig-zag thing again.

All fixed. Even made a couple small ones.

Back in the envelope.

Ready to mail tomorrow.

Whew! Glad I caught that error before I mailed them out!

Sara

Gratitudes:

Beautiful summer day, only up to about 80 degrees.

Dinner was fish Marti caught in our own lake

The four of us went to performance of HONK

LRR, Round 4 finished on 2 sides

2011-07-24T20:23:00.000-04:00

The fourth step of the Liberated Round Robin [a "nested" round robin, which means it stays at home for the whole process] is "Strips or Strings". I had a long band of red and white strips that were left over from an earlier project. I had sewn the little pieces together as Leaders and Enders during that project, and the band was in my Orphan Box. I added a ticking strip on each side.

Current size is 25" X 43".

The next step is already announced as "Curves", so I will make something for the two long sides.

----------

First of the tomatoes to start reddening!

Queen of the Prairie in bloom.

Sara

Gratitudes:

BLT for lunch with local tomato
Progress on SpoolSpinners' quilt idea for Guild raffle
Lots of people came to raise money for Sue Brown tonight

LRR, Round 3 finished on 4 sides

2011-07-21T23:16:00.001-04:00

Finished this round tonight, and quilted the last [bottom] border after adding it. I wasn't sure I wanted to add on all four sides, so there was an "incubation" period while I watched a waited for direction. Finally with the change in colors and size, it seemed like the right thing to also add a bottom border in squares.

The top squares are printed on the fabric, so no complicated construction was required. I liked the idea of having one "regular" set of checkerboards that were NOT wonky to show that this was indeed intended to be a "squares" border.

The other three borders were pieced in a slightly wonky way.

So far the "quilt as you go" method is working well.

--------------

Family vacation without a sewing machine made for little quilting in the last 2.5 weeks. Now I'm back at work, and hope to finish a new baby quilt soon.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Attic fan to cool house in the hot evenings

A/C in the cars

Eye doctor says no shot needed this time

Family birthday party for Samantha

Liberated Round Robin, Step 3

2011-07-08T10:04:00.000-04:00

I've been making squares for the next step of the Liberated Round Robin on the internet. And I decided that the paisley print on the bottom was making my next decisions difficult. Took it off and replaced with polka dots.

Then I added some plain red small borders to rest the eye between triangles and square-to-com.

Then I read Melody's posts about Quilt-As-You-Go borders. Why, I could do that with this whole quilt. Round Robins are just adding one border after another!

So I was distracted by the need to quilt what I had for the middle already before moving on.

Here's where I am on that right now.

But I just couldn't wait to add a border in the quilt as you go method.
This is how you do it:

Top border fabric [black and white check] face-to-face with the top; backing border fabric [green] face-to-face with the back. Pin all three edges together. No batting at this point!

Sew these three layers together. I'm using a quarter-inch seam.

Now take your strip of batting and BUTT it against the edge of the three fabrics you just sewed together. Using a zig-zag stitch sew together, just catching each side without overlaping them.

Here's what it looks like when you are done.

Then you flip the two border fabrics over that seam and press.

Now you quilt this border.

Trim off the excess batting and fabric.

Front has grown by one border side [black and white check].

And the back has grown by one border side [darker green].

-------------------

Today we are leaving for a week of vacation at a cottage near South Haven, Michigan. We will be nine family members together. I'm on duty with the oldest grandchild to make dinner tonight. After that I'm going to enjoy the dinners cooked by other teams of two.

Sara

Gratitudes:
Family able to be together this year
Finished my reports for our Board meeting
Garden flowers in bloom

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-29T20:57:00.000-04:00

Sara

Orchid and turtle

2011-06-16T23:25:00.000-04:00

I want you to see that the orchid that began blooming on January 8 is still holding on to its last two blooms six months later.

This is the first orchid I have ever had, and I am amazed at how long the blooms last. I certainly brightened up my kitchen all through the winter.

And here is a very fuzzy shot of a snapping turtle on a log in our little lake. That's its head sticking out to the right, and two legs in the center and left! Me and my camera were way at the top of the hill with no tripod, so that's why the photo is poor. I estimate the turtle to have been at least 10" in diameter. Usually we see dark, smooth-backed turtles sunning themselves there that are about 4-5" max.

----------
I'm trying to get back my sewing mojo by making HSTs from 5" squares.

Sara

Gratitudes:
Soft rain for two days
Charlie found local strawberries at the Farmers' Market
Gift of fresh veggies from Lynne

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-08T13:42:00.000-04:00

A few more L & I

2011-06-07T14:34:00.000-04:00

These came today from Melinda [top row] and Alexis [bottom row]. Should be getting two more envelopes and then I can start "designing" the top.

Hot, hot summer weather, nevertheless I put onions, lettuce and spinach into the vegetable garden. They might not like this heat! However, it looks like the radish seeds are sprouting.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Oscillating fans!
Ice-cube maker in the refrigerator!
Shady porch for breakfast and lunch.
Finally an idea for Secret Sister.

Vegetable garden start

2011-06-03T23:33:00.000-04:00

Workmen wrapping the fence posts with wire fencing to keep out rabbits and deer.

The completed "Cage".

Plants in the ground: sugar snap peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, bush beans.

On the brick wall side: peppers, Swiss chard, more tomatoes.

Yeah!

But boy are my knees aching after doing all that crouching.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Feels like summertime!
Porch still keeps me safe from mosquitoes
Rhubarb crisp

Wordless Wednesdday

2011-06-01T16:29:00.000-04:00

05-27

05-31

Increasing Lakes & Islands

2011-05-31T13:38:00.002-04:00

18 blocks with Lakes

15 blocks with Islands

11 blocks of Fields

That's what have accumulated up to this last day of May. I'm expecting a few more in the mail. And then the arranging and rearranging will start in order to make a TOP out of them. A good project for JUNE.

-------------

Meanwhile the chives are blooming in the herb garden, and there are a few annuals to plant, alysium and impatiens.

The wild phlox are in full bloom on the hill down to the lake.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Vegetable garden bed being built

Picnic on our deck with new neighbors yesterday

Every where there is lush green, green, green

LRR, Round 2 finished

2011-05-21T12:10:00.000-04:00

Got this done very quickly because:
1) the Initial Block was sitting out where I could see it, and
2) the spikey triangles block was all done in my Orphan box. and
3) the red/white HSTs were bonuses from a Bonnie Hunter mystery last year.

Do you think the large paisley print helps tone it down?

Next Round will be assigned in June sometime.

------------
Womens' Chorus technical rehearsal last evening had us on our feet for two hours with a couple of short breaks. My feet and knees were/are suffering arthritis pain. I hope I will be able to sit down tonight while our visiting artists are performing, usually we stay standing on the risers. I'm sure I will make it through the concert, but enjoying the reception may not be possible.

Sara

Gratitudes:

The music is challenging and fun
"End of the World" around here consists of the first mosquito hatch
Green, green, green all around us

Liberated Round Robin, Step 2

2011-05-20T21:32:00.000-04:00

The instructions were out today to "add Triangles". So I am trying out some "spikes" that were in my orphan box.

And I am trying different black, or gray, or white, or red strips before the spikes. Lots to think about.

Sara

Gratitudes:

I mowed the labyrinth between rains
My feet survived the Chorus's tech rehearsal tonight, barely
Have my part of the reception food ready

More Lakes and Islands

2011-05-19T17:09:00.001-04:00

From Sandy, five blocks and three extra islands!

From Cindy five blocks, and WOW look at that eNORmous island!

And for Spoolspinners' Bee this evening, more Fireworks blocks:

Seemed like we should have some 3.5" to fit between/among the 6.5" blocks.

Sara

Gratitudes:

A plan has evolved for a vegetable garden
Survived exercise class today
Soup and strawberry shortcake for dinner

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-18T17:19:00.000-04:00

Liberated Round Robin start

2011-05-14T19:59:00.000-04:00

I've joined the Liberated Round Robin and we need to be choosing/preparing our beginning block.
Once I looked in my Orphan Block Box and decided to use up some red/white/black blocks in this project, this block jumped out as a starting point:

Lovely Hershey kisses fabric, isn't it? A perfectly fine Shoo-Fly block. But a little SIMPLE since it was 12.5 inches square. You can barely see that I began slicing it up. I inserted black strips as if making an "asterisk" or "fireworks" block.

I decided to cut a little off-center, and one of the strips was created by ripping off a wedge to straighten a piece of fabric. Oh well, just used the wedge. And all this somehow made the block 12.25 inches square. Hmm, rather odd.

There, I've got the start of the Round Robin. Next instruction in a week. [We are not going to pass this around, but do all the borders/additions ourselves. No mailing.]

----------

And in the Progress of Spring department, we have three Redbuds on the left side of the hill down to the lake.

And we have some new anemones:

And the first iris:

Sara

Gratitudes:

Lots of Scouts came to pull garlic mustard at Peace Park
Labyrinth mowed before last night's rain
Roasted parsnips & new potatoes

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-11T14:35:00.000-04:00

Lakes & Islands, coming in!

2011-05-10T20:37:00.001-04:00

I have been getting some FUN fat envelopes in the mail - blocks for my Lakes & Islands quilt from the members of the SCRAP bee [15 Minutes of Play blog].

The three above from Glen, along with an extra Island.

These five from Beebee in Baton Rouge.

And these two from Victoria in NYC.

Meanwhile, spring is continuing to develop in western Michigan:
peonies sprouting next to the late daffodils,

Juneberry, also called serviceberry, blooming,

two kinds of trilium in the woods [the one in front has inconspicuous flowers],

and the saucer or tulip magnolia in full bloom.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Gardening helpers
UNeventful doctor visit
Re-reading favorite books

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-04T23:03:00.002-04:00

Springing Along

2011-04-30T18:28:00.000-04:00

A little walk around the house when the temperature was around 55 showed me that spring is coming along.

Spent a day watching The Wedding yesterday. Today I was simply lazy, reading while watching house fix-up TV shows. Now we're off to see "The Barber of Seville", Rossini's version.

Sara

Gratitudes:

I won a Thank You prize from Margaret's Hope Chest!
Pepperoni pizza with double green olives
Frogs jumping in the pond when I walk by