Crumb blocks are done

Over the holiday weekend, I managed to finish over 140 crumb blocks.

There aren't many crumby pieces left after it was all done.  I was really working at the end to make the blocks.

The next step is to make a ton (240) of HSTs with these babies.  They will finish at a bit over 4" I guess.

Crumby Christmas

One the kids were squared away and I could once again walk through my living room, I settled in at my new (to me) Singer 301.  It was my early Christmas present and it sews like buttah.  My hubs bought me a clamp that will hold my cell phone in a good spot to watch Netflix and away I went.  You can see a portion of it in the left side of the picture below.  It is a simple and nifty contraption.

Prior to today, I had all of my dark crumb blocks finished, trimmed, and pressed.  There are 130 in his pile that finish at 5".

I think I used up about a two gallon bag of crumbs here.

Today, I began the neutrals.  I think I need 100.  I finished nearly 50 today, but I haven't finished trimming them.  I am in dire need of a rotary blade.

What will I do with them you ask?  I have this vague plan to make about 200 HSTs with them and make a zig-zag pattern.  It will make a great couch quilt.  I don't plan very well with these things (a nice change from my Type A personality) so we shall see.

More to come crumb!

Yearly Xmas Ornament Extravaganza

One day each year I endeavor to create a new ornament for the Christmas tree.  In addition, this year I decided to make one for each of my coworkers to add to the fug mug swap(funny coffee mugs).

I saw some floating around online, so I looked up the pattern for folded fabric ornaments on YouTube.

I used a pot lid for my pattern.

I had an opportunity to use up some wonderful fabrics given to me by Joan of Keeping You in Stitches.  I just loved the Thimbleberries fabrics.  They were perfect for the project!

Here are the finished products!

...to add to my tree!

I have a plan this week to share with you my crumb block project.  I am almost half-way done with making the blocks, although it does not look like much yet.

Happy holidays to you all!

Child-sized Snail's Trail

Hey all,

A friend of mine was looking to have a quilt made for her soon-to-be nephew.  She indicated she wanted a more traditional design in two colors.  I poked around the internet, and found a snail's trail pattern. I just finished it yesterday, so I thought I would share it with you!

The quilt is about 42" by 54" and is backed with flannel.  All of the fabrics came from Connecting Threads.

I reached out to some fellow quilters to ask about designs, and it was suggested that I mark out concentric circles to go with the movement of the quilt.  Here I hope you will see some of the quilting in it.  I used a chalk pencil and spools of thread as spacing guides.

So much has happened since my last post.  I have a few antique machines to show off, and am working on a new crumb project.  I hope I can keep up the motivation to post again soon!

I've been sewing

It seems that even though I have more time left in the day ( I am on a full time internship that is less intensive than classroom instruction and externships), I still have a hard time with getting behind my machine.  Oh well, sunny Florida has given my family plenty to do, and it is nice to finally enjoy my weekends again.

I found some orphan blocks a week or so ago, and thought my friend and fellow intern might really like a quilt.  She told me she loves quilts but I don't think she has a real, handmade quilt.  She also has a bright personalty, so a quilt made so 30's prints is up her alley.  I can really only sew on the weekends because the only place to work is the dining room table and setting up takes a while.  Here are some picks of the progress.

Here is the top.

Here is my workspace.  I miss my old quilting space.  It was small, but a bit more roomy than this.

I quilted pears in the open spaces.  I might go over the pear outline again in pale yellow, but I am not yet certain.

Hopefully I will have more progress soon!

What do quilters do while children play?

Why, quilt of course!

My first vintage machine

Every once in a while I peruse EBay and Craigslist for Singer machines.  I want the Singer 221, but the featherweight seems like a hot item which drives up the price.  I saw a vintage machine on craigslist which was listed by a newish thrift store in a nearby town for $40, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to check it out.  I had no model number to go off of, just a picture.

...and she came home with me!

Don't you live my backdrop of boxes?  The cabinet is in great shape.  Turns out she is a working Singer 99.  It was from an estate sale.  The seller told me it was open and in use around the time the owner passed.  Just the kind of machine I was looking for.

I can't wait to try it out!

Post-Vacation Update

I had a nice post completed yesterday and when I hit post, it was lost.  If I had completed the post on my PC, a draft would have remained.  Since I completed it on my cell phone, no draft was saved.  Grrrrr.  I had to walk away from it for a day.  Today is a new day, so here I am!

While on vacation in beautiful Maine, I made great progress on my EPP project.  I also kept up with my exercise, which made me happy.  Exercise is such a huge part of my routine; without it, I feel like a slug.  I won't bother you with any post-exercise pictures (I wouldn't take any anyway), but I have some hexie photos to share.

I finished a stack of 28 blue hexie flowers.  They now wait for their turn to add to the mother ship.

I also made great progress on the ring of neutrals which will be next to add to the mother ship.  Out of 30 needed, I have 19.  Perhaps these will be done before I move to Florida at the end of the month.  As I look at the design, I think I will add another ring of neutrals.  I want the band of neutrals to be a bit thicker than what is shown.  Thoughts on that?

Finally, I want to share with you a somber sight.  I packed up my sewing area this past weekend.  I hope I can find a small corner of our (smaller) Florida digs to set up station.  I will post pictures when that happens.

Also, I wanted to thank some of my fellow bloggers, including JulieK, Sharon, and others who went out of their way to contact me and inform me I was listed as a "no reply" blogger.  I hope I have fixed the issue!

I have linked up to Life Under Quilts to share my hexie journey.  Check them out!

Maine

A cool, wet morning here in Maine!  When the rain finally stopped after more than 12 hours straight, I jogged about 2.5 miles and then settled in for some hexie basting.  Time to start on some neutrals.

Look at this lovely view!

Hexie Update 427/???

Greetings all!

Time to update everyone on Hexie Part Deux!  I have made a lot of progress this week.  Thus far, 427 hexies have been added to the mother ship.  I will use Civil War neutrals to make the next ring of hexies, followed by a ring of orange or red, then the blues.  I suppose after that, it will be time to start lengthening the quilt, because it will be quite wide after the next two rings.

Just as a comparison, I am including a picture taken one month ago (below).  I suppose time stuck in an airport and on planes helps with EPP projects!

Check out Life Under Quilts for more EPP Projects!

Fiesta Chairs

Hi readers!

Next month, my family is packing up and moving to Florida so I can finish my internship year.  In one year, I will fulfill my ultimate dream of being a clinical psychologist!  Even the thought of it is exciting.  Anyway, I found a townhouse (rental) a week ago, and am planning out furnishings.  We are moving from about 2000 square feet to about 1500.  Some things will end up in our storage shed (so that we may rent out the house we own) and others we will rely upon family to care for.  Our dining room table is large and will not fit well in the new space, so I am borrowing an old, distressed table from my parents.

The table and chairs have quite the history.  It has been a "starting out" table for a few decades now.  When I was young, my father had to build a top that fit over the existing table top as an inexpensive way of expanding the table for my family.  I had it for close to 10 years, then returned it to him when I did not need it anymore.  It ended up in my father's garage.  The chairs ended up (outside) on his deck.  You can see they make a new meaning of the word "distressed."

It will make my work easy I suppose!  I really like fiesta ware and have the place settings in all colors.  Fitting for a scrappy quilter, huh?  Based on this idea, I decided to paint each of the chairs a different color.  Here are two so far.  I still have another good coat to put on the chairs, but I imagine (and want) the chairs to maintain a distressed, used look.

Here is the blue chair.

Here is the yellow chair.

Two more to go!  I will show more pictures when everything is done.  I don't know yet what shape the table is in, but it has at least been stored indoors.

Hexie Part Deux

I was laying out my next ring of hexie flowers and realized I can't count...I have to make ten more red flowers.  I might just have to go shopping for more reds!

This is not the best picture.  7 of the outer red flowers are attached and the rest are just waiting for free time.  I guess I will start counting and keeping track of my progress as an incentive to continue.  I will count my hexies once they are attached to the mother ship.  So far, the mother ship has 308 hexies; this week I have completed 49 of them.  So I guess I would rate my progress as 49/308/???.  I actually have no idea how many will be in the finished project.

This week I have also basted 196 hexies and cut out fabric for more than 200 (my neutral ring).  I bought a pack of civil war neutral scraps from etsy a few weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised with the variety.  I think I purchased about 1.25 yards worth for 9.50 (after shipping).  Not too bad.  I cut about 90% of them for this project.  I use my dining room table for my cutting.

I am linking up with Life Under Quilts to share my hexie progress!

A Calf is Born

I am about to take some pictures to update everyone on Hexie Part Deux, but first I wanted to share with everyone an amazing Father's Day present - my father's first calf is born.

My father is the son of a dairy farmer.  He grew up on a small dairy farm so he has always been around livestock.  While he has always had some livestock around, he moved away from cows about 4 or 5 years ago when feed prices rose.  He has not bred his own cows as an adult though.  About two years ago, he purchased two young Charlet cows (sisters); he intended to breed them and then use the calves as meat cows.  Fast forward.  Both cows were pregnant (we call them 5 and 9) and the first had her calf yesterday afternoon.

Here she is.  My father went up to check on them and saw that 5 had given birth.  The calf is laying down while 5 is cleaning her up.

Momma is helping her up.

The calf starts looking for milk.  she was sucking on knees, udders, her Momma's face.  After 5 minutes or so....score!

We named her Anna, after my grandmother.  If the next calf is female, she will be Pearl.  I suppose it isn't the best idea to name a calf you will eventually eat after your grandmother, but she was too pretty not to name!

I will update again soon with some hexie news!

She's gone to the shop!

Is this what a mother feels like when a child goes to camp?  My sewing machine went for routine maintenance a day or so ago to a shop about an hour away.  It will be 7 to 10 days before I get to pick her up.  She surely needs the visit, but I will miss her!

Below is a picture of my sewing area (all empty looking without my Viking Sapphire).  it is in a little alcove off of my dining room.  The hampers to the right of my sewing table are full of scraps.  Crumbs are collected in the small bluish container on top of the desk.  I tell my husband someday I want a giant studio.  His response?  "When I get a man cave" (whatever that means).

I have been working on my next ring of hexies in the meantime.  I am packing slowly for our move and wishing the market was more favorable for a sale.  Oh well.  If my house does not sell in the near future, my family will make due as it always has.

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Flight Prep

Today I am stuck in the house because my oldest is sick with a head cold.  Poor thing.  Thankfully a weekend full of events seems to have prevented my youngest from being stir crazy - he is such an active kid!

Later this month I travel to FL to find housing while I finish my internship year.  The airport time will give me an ample opportunity to work on my hexie project.  Here is the project to date.  I finished the green/yellow later.

I mentioned in the last post that my hexies were 1.25," but I was mistaken.  I am using 1" hexagons for this project.  In the last week, I have spent time on cutting out cardstock hexagons, cutting fabric, and basting.  Here is my main hexie sewing kit.  Recognize anything, Joan?  I have the next round of reds ready to assemble.  My grandmother unloaded a bunch of cheap thread (Coats and Clark) on me which has come in handy with the basting process.

I am more than halfway through basting a blue layer I will need later on in the pattern.  I wanted to be sure I had enough for my upcoming Maine vacation AND the flight to FL.  I am making good progress.  I purchased a cheap pair of 4" scissors which I hope will make it through airport security.

Next I will need to start collecting more civil war neutrals.  I don't have many, and will need plenty for the "background" of this hexie quilt.  This weekend, my LQS is having an anniversary sale, so I will go then to see what I can get my hands on (which will include the outer border for Acappella).

Have a fun week!

Acappella Center is Finished

Yesterday and this morning I took some time to finish the center of Acappella.  I love it!

I will be using the same fabric that framed the center blocks for the inner border.  My LQS did not have enough of the fabric, so I looked online and purchased a yard from ebay.  Soon, I will be taking my machine in to the shop for a tuneup, so I don't know if I will finish the borders before or after that is done.  I have not yet had my machine in for a tuneup, so it is about time.  I think I have had my machine for about 3-4 years now.

My other project, hexie part deux, has seen some action too.  I started this three years ago, I think.  Out of three years, I think it was sitting on my sewing table untouched for two.  The hexagons are 1.5;" all of the fabrics are civil wars.

I really did not like the original design I drew, but couldn't think of anything better.  A few days ago, I took out some graph paper, and started over.  This is what I came up with.

The center will be rotated a bit more nicely, but I wasn't about to start over.  The white areas will be all made of civil war neutrals with random flowers in it.

It is nice to be back in the blogging world again, and also to keep up with many of your projects.  I lost all of my pictures and many of the blogs I have followed, but slowly I am finding them again!  Take care all of you!

Long time no post!

After nearly two years, I am xcited to be at my machine again.  I am now finished with my classroom instruction and am waiting to start my predoctoral internship in a federal prison later this year...almost done!

Two years ago, I started working on ACappella, a lovely pattern from Jamie Elfert available through Black Cat Creations.  Jaime has her own blog, L'Fair Quilts.  In the last two weeks or so, I dug it out and resumed working on it.  Here is my progress to date!

Catch up with you all soon!