Sunday, February 28, 2010

Sewing in the Sewing Party... Pt 3

Posted by Strlady at 3:41 PM 9 comments
I'm Back! My excursion to take some pics took no time at all and on my way back I stopped to pic up a bit of lunch!


Yummm...

I started piecing my blocks and I have been working diligently but for some reason they are just not going as quickly as I wanted. I have completed 4 blocks and have 12 more to go! UGG.


I really cannot see this one completed before the evening but I'm not giving up. I like the way it's turning out so even if I don't make it to the Parade of Schnibbles on Monday, it will get finished sooner than later.

Another update soon.

Sewing in the Sewing Party... Pt 2

Posted by Strlady at 10:04 AM 1 comments
Well yesterday was a bust. After starting the day off with great enthusiasm my quick car shopping experience became a whole day event. Honestly! I like the car, go crunch some numbers and then give me the papers to sign. Buying a car has become just as exhausting as buying a house. There are so many counter offers going on that it's ridiculous.

Anyway, I finally got home at 5:30 pm and made dinner before I got back to my project.

After finishing the cutting, I had to then organize the pieces into the sets that would make each block.


I have finally sat down to sew the small side squares that will become the center of the bow ties.


I'm using a new tool that I picked up last year at my local quilt show called Clearly Perfect Angles, it's a vinyl version of the Angler 2. I honestly think that I like the Masking Tape that I used at my quilt retreat better but I'm giving the thing a try and won't rip it off the machine just yet.

I have to meet with a friend in a bit who wants me to take a family portrait at noon, so pray that it doesn't become a drawn out affair and I can get back to the party soon.

I hope you all are having better progress!

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Sewing in the Sewing Party.. Pt 1

Posted by Strlady at 8:54 AM 7 comments
Woke up nice and early to get going on my Schnibble. I have to run out during the day to do some Car Shopping so I wanted to get a good start.


I pulled out my gorgeous charms, ironed my bkground fabric and started cutting.


I ran out of background so I'm going to have to improvise when I get around to the binding but I had enough for the top itself.


I love that background. I have used it on several other projects and this was the last of the stash. I'm not buying anymore because if I do I won't venture beyond and try something else. It just goes well with my general palette. It's Portobello by 3 Sisters.

Will update more later.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Spring Sewing Party and a Schnibble

Posted by Strlady at 9:15 PM 8 comments

The Charming Gals & Girls are having a Spring Sewing party this weekend. Kelly mentioned it last month and I knew I would be joining the fun but needed to find a project that said Spring. I pulled out magazines and books and roamed the net but I could not decide. It then occured to me that my Schnibble for this month screamed Spring.


It was not just that I would be using my charms of Cider Mill Road with it's pinks, teals and golds but the fact that Sunday Best reminds me of going to church with my parents on Easter. When I was young my dad use to wear a jacket and tie to church and my mom would dress my sister and I in our best polyester outfits but on Easter we went all out and wore our pink spring coats and our bonnets to Mass.

When this Schnibble was selected I really didn't think much about it but after selecting the fabric for the piece, it made me think of those years and that feeling I got putting on my Easter outfit. I think I'm going to love this one.

First update: 8:50 AM Saturday Morning
Second update: 10 AM Sunday Morning
Third update: 3:40 PM Sunday Afternoon
Final Outcome: 9AM Monday Morning

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

I know I shouldn't have... but I had to!!

Posted by Strlady at 11:03 AM 2 comments
Pumpkin Patch Primitives has the new Whimsical line in and made these 'to die for' Fat Quarter bundles.


I really shouldn't have but they are sooooo darn cute and I know I can find something wonderful to make with them! Look at those blues and neutrals and... There are two more waiting for someone to claim them so... If you HAVE to have it (like me) don't wait, just take the plunge! LOL!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Deliciousness...

Posted by Strlady at 4:25 PM 1 comments
The Pioneer Woman posted this outrageously delicious thing on Monday... We made it the same day it was posted.

image lifted from PW cooks because no one can take a better pic

Ug... I think I expanded three pants sizes. There was cream, and bacon, and half & half, and some really yummy stuff. It turned into some smokey flavored, succulantly sinful, outrageously delicous pasta. Sigh. I have to make it again this weekend because I'm getting back on plan come Monday morning! Doesn't mean you can't enjoy it though. go check it out at The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

Monday, February 22, 2010

Hidden Stars off to get quilted

Posted by Strlady at 9:11 AM 3 comments
Last weekend I finished my Hidden Stars top. I think I need to change the name for this piece since those stars aren't really hidden! LOL!


It was night when I finally added a small border to the quilt. I wanted to frame the piece and I think the small 3.5" border was just right but I don't have a picture of the final product. I wanted to get it all wrapped up and out the door as soon as possible. Margaret, from Mainely Quilts of Love; is sure to make this one sparkle.

FYI: This pattern can be found in the book Layer Cake, Jelly Roll And Charm Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott. I just made it a bit larger.

Friday, February 19, 2010

BOM for January and Febuary

Posted by Strlady at 6:32 AM 2 comments
After the Nightmare of the first block, I was able to figure out how to go from there and completed the rest of the blocks from the January packet without much of a fuss. I had set that pack as my goal for the month but I was on a role and decided to just go for broke and catch up by making the February packet as well. These went even smoother than the others. I don't fool myself that it will be smooth sailing from here but I will cross that bridge when I get to it.


8 blocks down... a gazillion to go.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

A Ding?

Posted by Strlady at 9:27 AM 1 comments
Was over at my sister's blog this morning catching up with happenings over on her side of the world when I heard she got into a car accident while at the post office this week.

She survived, but you should head over there and hear the story since it was a bit funny.

Her accident reminded me that I had not posted to tell you all about my daughter's recent road adventures. Last summer my daughter finally got her drivers license (she is 22 - a college graduate and engaged - it was about time) and I gave her my old car to get her going. She upgraded to a Jeep Patriot in August and has been a happy camper since.

In October she had a close encounter with someone else's car while she was minding her own business waiting to merge into traffic.. Check out the damage to Kai (we name our cars)

Well on Monday poor Kai suffered severe trauma when Dre decided to avoid traffic on her way to work.


Yep. Not pretty.


The car is in ICU and we still don't know if it will make it through.

Dre is fine but has some heartache everytime she thinks about her baby at the shop.

Me? After getting the call ("Mom, I've been in an accident"), rushing to the scene (less than 2 miles from the house) and seeing the airbag deployed, the radiator fluid all over the pavement and the grill hanging from nothing... I'm just happy she didn't decide to buy the Hyndai Accent over the Jeep.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Snow falling on Texas

Posted by Strlady at 12:49 PM 2 comments

It's not often we get snow in Texas but today we saw some of the fluffy stuff. This season we have actually seen quite a bit of it. We had a white Christmas and all that but today... well, it was a bit over the top for Texas.


It is still coming down. Big fat snowflakes to paint our backyard white. I love the look of it and would love it more if the road crews were actually equiped to handle the 6" that has been reported.

 

With no salt on the road, no plows and people not use to driving in the white stuff , the 6" can be just as dangerous as the 24" seen back east to our commuters. I got to work and then came back home to finish my work day but my baby girl still has some dangerous roads to drive in before she gets home.


All you snow bunnies, stay safe and warm!

Update: Baby Girl is safe at home (made it home in 12 minutes! We live 4 miles from work)

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Block of the Month... The Nightmare Edition!

Posted by Strlady at 12:20 PM 4 comments
There is no love coming from me for this BOM that I'm working on. I'm going to start by saying this is the first kitted BOM I ever bought. It is also the first solely pieced BOM. I have picked up several applique series that have gone on to linger forever in the pattern drawer with little to no hope of being made. When I saw this Quilt I fell in love and said, I must make it. So, I invested a relatively small amount if you consider this kit includes the fabric and all the patterns for the BOM series (these puppies can be very expensive if you buy them on a monthly basis). I brought the kit home with high hopes for a beautiful Quilt in 12 months.

This weekend, I decided to tackle my first goal this year and push out those 4 blocks in the first month's packet.


Oh HELL! WTF! Are they joking?

That was my reaction after spending all day Sunday piecing ONE 6.5" block. Yes, just O-N-E block. ALL DAY! ARGG!!!!

Let's recap...

First I pull out the above instructions and did a double take. hmmm.. okay... no instructions on the piecing, just a little diagram to note where each piece should go.

Then I started cutting the fabric and I realized that no thought was given to bias and how ALL the edges of this block would be bias edges. So many ways to cut fabric and they chose to cut so the edges are bias? hmm.. not very bright, or maybe just uncaring to those that are piecing the thing.

Okay.. After I cut the pieces (with bias edges all over the place) I proceeded to piece them together. To say the block turned out Wonky would be a kindness and on top of that, it was 1/2" too small.

(wonky block hidden underneath it's replacement)

After checking that my seam was set properly to a scant 1/4" allowance, I decided that the only way this block had any chance of making it into the quilt would be if I paper pieced it. That meant I had to draft the pattern (yes, I did first search for a 6" pp pattern of the Handy Andy block online). Because my brain had gone on vacation, I started hand drafting the bugger. Many attempts later I finally had a pattern.


It went beautifully from there but I knew I had a difficult road ahead of me. After enjoying the fruits of my labor (see above for the finished block) my brain returned to take residence in my head and I pulled up my EQ5 program and drafted the rest of the blocks in the packet.

I now had the correct measurements for each piece that made up each block and I could construct the blocks using any method I wanted that might yield the proper size piece (not a big fan of paper piecing and will not do it unless I absolutely HAVE to)

For Example, I needed a few flying geese for the next block and knowing they were a finished 1x2" size, I could use my Fit to Be Geese ruler to make them. 1" half-triangle squares? Cut the squares bigger and sew using the Angler guide to avoid the bias. Yup. Perfect little pieces that made perfectly sized blocks.


The other blocks have moved along fairly quickly but I need to figure out how to iron the seams so the blocks will lay flat. There are so many seams in such small blocks they end up bumpy and hard. Any suggestions?

So, that was my adventure into BOM land (still have one more block pending for this packet). Needless to say that I will not be buying more BOM kits without actually opening them and really looking at what I'm getting. The diagrams can tell you where to place the pieces you cut but without the measurements for the components of the blocks you are really winging it until the very end. If I knew how big the center piece should be I could have made proper adjustments along the way and not wasted the fabric the kit brought. I don't even want to think about the pieced borders....

Monday, February 8, 2010

February at a Glance

Posted by Strlady at 9:10 AM 5 comments
This is a short month and as such I need to baby step myself through the month. Goals for this one...

The year of the NO UFO's has started well. I attached the binding on one of the quilts I received back last month from Margaret so I've been working on binding that. I plan to attach the bindings on the other two quilts and get at least one more bound by the end of the month.


This month's Schnibble is Sunday's Best. I was very lucky that I already had this one in house since I picked it up last month with Madeline. I debated what fabric to use and was very close to buying Oz by Sanae (I love that line) to make it but recalled that I had several Charm packs from a mystery line that I bought when I went to Houston in October so I am going with the Zero expense this month and using that. I think the line is from Benetrax but I don't really know. If anyone knows the name of the line and can share, I would appreciate it.


I am going to start my BOM by sewing the first month's blocks. There are 4 blocks per month. I bought the kit last month while on retreat and since I decided to start this month I am really a month behind. If I can, I'll start on the next months but my goal will be to finish one month's block.


Hidden Stars is almost finished. I am adding the last few rows this weekend and then it's off to get quilted. If it arrives back by the end of the month I'll be binding it quickly to wrap up the month with that.

 

Not bad for a short month, but I really need to step it up. Can you believe that this coming weekend will put us in the middle of the month? I think I might need a day off just to get some quilting done. Hope your month is fruitful!!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Swoon worthy

Posted by Strlady at 3:09 PM 2 comments

Come on... You can click on it for a closer look... Isn't it B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!

It's my starter pack for my Two-Piece Puzzle Quilt.

When I got home from work on Monday there was a surprise waiting for me. Seems Tara from Sew Creative (and creative genius behind that Fabulous Quilt I'm drooling over) heard my cries for some Red Black and Neutrals so I could get started on my Two-Piece Puzzle Quilt, that she decided to help me along. I was floored by her generousity and I also was wondering how she got my address. Well sneaky her that she asked my favorite Pumpkin Lady and they conspired to surprise me. Well.. I definitely was surprised!


I'm loving the fabric and had to move it to a project box because I was fearing that I would wear them out just by going into the craft room and fondling the pieces on every chance I got. I'm now half way to gathering everything I need to start this one and I'm soo excited!

 

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