Hello and Belated Happy New Year

Unbelievable that my last post was in August.  Once I got out of the habit, I really got out of the habit.  I've spent lots of time reading and doing other things besides sewing and quilting.

Not that I haven't done any sewing or quilting.  I managed to finish quilting my first BOM, the one with all those log cabin blocks, 80 to be exact.  I used Marti Michel's book, Machine Quilting in Sections, and it made this one a lot easier.

Sorry it's sideways!

It has a flannel back and wool batting.  It is the only quilt or blanket on our bed.  No need for anything else to keep us warm with that combo!

The past two weeks I have been hitting the sewing corner hard.  Two boxes of blocks are now tops, well, minus the borders anyway.  And, this little one is ready to go in the quilting queue.

It's Feeedsack Patches by Darlene Zimmerman.  I think this pattern was sent out by Quilter's World or some other magazine as a freebie.  I won this kit on a blog a two or three years ago and decided it needed to get pieced and off my shelf.

I also finally decided to get my Victory Quilt (by Eleanor Burns) blocks together. It's another big one with eighteen 12" blocks set on point.

With all that negative space, this one will go to the back of the quilting queue.  It also just isn't one of my faves and definitely is not in the quilting-by-checkbook budget.  I have the borders ready to go on today (fingers crossed).

The telephone block is not from book.  I found it in my perpetual quilt block calendar.

After getting this one together, I decided to move onto the Cozy Quarters' All Its Glory log cabin quilt.  It went together super easy!!

This one isn't quite finished either.  I still need to trim the edges, get the corner triangles on, and put the small black border on.

I've been quilting, too.  Finally pulled out my Fading Charms top, spent an afternoon basting, and put the pedal to the carpet!

This one is pretty straightforward and moving quickly.  Once I get started, the quilting comes easily.

For my first purchase of the year, I purchased two yards of neutrals from Hancock's of Paducah, along with some Aurifil thread and got the free shipping.  I'm trying to be mindful of what fabric I have and stay out of the shops.  However, I have another order from Connecting Threads coming with backing fabric and batting all purchased with free shipping and an online coupon. Gotta love a deal!

Hopefully I will start blogging on a regular basis and get back to tracking my fabric with Judy over at Patchwork Times. Have a great week!!

A long time..again (stash report week 35)

Howdy!

I still haven't figured out my photo dilemma.  I am out of space on Blogger/Picasa and can no longer link to Flickr since its recent upgrade using https:// in its links.

So, this one is current-project-photoless.  Unless, you would like to visit my Flickr page, "farmgirltransplant," to see what's been happening in my quilt corner.

Since school started at the beginning of the month, I have had some time to sew and listen to music or watch a movie or listen to an audio book fo rmore than 15 minutes.  Currently, I am stuck on Janet Evanovich audiobooks thanks to quilty friend Shannon!

from modabakeshop.com, mine is red and white

This week I managed to finish two tops!  WooHoo!  I am so tired of borders, 5 in all!

The Charming Stars quilt is now a completed top in the queue for quilting.  It measures 74x74, so the top used 5.3 yds.  I need to shop the stash and get a back ready this week.








And - drumroll please, Celtic Soltice is finished!!!  For versions other than mine, which is on Flickr, please visit Bonnie's blog post from January.

My top measures 77x77.  It was supposed to finish at 72x72 but to make the 2nd border, a pieced border, work and get an inner border that measured more than 1",  I had to add a blocks to the pieced border.  I love it!  It's finished for now!  It also used about 5.3 yds for the top.

I also purchased fabric from Ozark Fabric on Facebook.  I am such a sucker for a sale! Mostly it was FQs, half yards, and two yards of a nice Quilting Treasures neutral, which always seem to be in short supply in the stash.  There is one pretty blue batik FQ that quilty friend Joyce brought back from her visit to Missouri Star Quilt Co.

Oh - and some size 12 perle cotton.  I really must get back to my handwork and embroidery.  

Used this "week": 10.6
Used YTD: 15.87
Added this "week": 6.5
Gifted this week: 0
Added YTD: 44.67
Net used YTD: -28.80

Have a great week!!  Please also check out some more stash reports at Judy's Patchwork Times.

Better Late then Never (stash report week 26)

Wow! It's been 5 weeks since I posted! A break from every routine seems to be what I've needed this spring and summer.  For many of those weeks, I just didn't have anything much to say or show.

Our son has been at my parents' house this week and since summer is heating up, I took the opportunity to work on some projects.  Maybe I should do this chronologically, starting with a finish.

After piecing two throw pillows to match Easy Street on our bed, I finally got around to quilting and finishing them.  They are 20" so I figure each one used about 3/4 yd and that gives me a grand total of 1.5 yards to put in the "used" column.

Then, 5 quilty friends and I went to Branson at the beginning of June.  We stayed 2 nights and shopped along the way first at a winery (LOL!) and then at 3 shops in Springfield, MO: Merrily We Quilt Along, The Quilt Sampler, and the Fabric Outlet (which really is an outlet, not a quilt shop).  A few of us took a break on Saturday and visited a shop west of Branson called The Quilted Cow.

All of the shops had nice sales with bolts from $3.99-$5.99/yd. The Fabric Outlet had all cottons at $3.99/yd but you had to feel and look at what you picked up.

I came home with a whopping 5.75 yards of fabric.  Others came with lots more!!

from designsbycozyquarters.com

At our monthly gatherings I've been working on "In All Its Glory."  I cut everything for the next step beforehand so I can sit and stitch.  I managed to get all the block components ready and this week I put them together.  There are 9 of these star blocks with center logs finishing at 0.5".  Yes, I was cutting 1" logs for this step!

from modabakeshop.com, for my version visit Flickr

Once those were finished I decided to turn my attention to some larger projects since I had the house to myself with DS at his grandparents and DH at work.  I pulled out my red and white Moda Bake shop "Charming Stars" blocks, cut the sashing strips and cornerstones and got the center of the top in one piece.

I pulled some red and white that has been sitting in my stash for a few years for the final border and binding.  Borders will come later.

Then, I decided to put the Celtic Solstice blocks together.  With so many little pieces in these blocks, I'm pressing the seams open to help eliminate some bulk and putting them all together a bit easier.  This one isn't in one piece yet but it's on the design wall to keep me motivated. I just love the optical illusion of circles!

Hope y'all are having a wonderful summer!

P.S. I am sorry for the lack of photos.  Flickr has been undergoing changes this year and I have no idea how to link to my photos there anymore.  I am not a techie person and this is taking up lots of time.  If I cannot find a quick solution. I may not be blogging much and when I do, there most likely will not be any photos, which makes for very dull blogging.  Please follow me on Flickr "farmgirltransplant."

Used this "week": 1.5
Used YTD: 5.27
Added this "week": 5.75
Gifted this week: 0
Added YTD: 38.17
Net used YTD: -32.90

Have a great week!!  Please also check out some more stash reports at Judy's Patchwork Times.

"Hello Darlin', it's been a long time...." (stash report week 21)

It's race day - the 98th running!!!

It has been a while!  Spring sputtered into our area and I've been doing all kinds of landscaping chores and just plain ol' enjoying the out of doors after our cold winter.  We had a new deck put on, our old cedar was rotting and rickety.  Then, we got our patio furniture arranged under the deck (which is a story tall) and new rope lights put up, and, well, frankly, I'd rather be right there on the swing with a good book than just about anywhere these days.

Needless to say, not much has happened on the sewing/quilting front.  The borders are on the Curves Galore BOM and the backing fabric, from my stash btw, is washed and pressed and waiting for me to get into shape.

I got one Easy Street pillow put together with the binding attached  Now to get the other backing cut and sew both bindings down.

At our last group sew in I started another project.  One that I plan to work on when I'm with the group.  It's called In All Its Glory and it's a quilt that DH pointed out years ago when we vacationed in northern Wisconsin.

The fabric and pattern have been sitting around for at least 2 years, maybe 3, and I decided I should get cracking.  It's mostly courthouse blocks, nothing difficult about construction, but oh! the cutting of 1.5" and 1" strips!

I'm using 1.5" my Marti Michel log cabin ruler rather than strip piecing.  It makes everything so exact.  These are the blocks for step one all finished.

Sorry my pics are so small - I can't figure out how to get the Flickr photos to Blogger - uggh!

No changes in the numbers until I get the Curves Galore ready to quilt.

Used this week: 0
Used YTD: 3.77
Added this week: 0
Gifted this week: 0
Added YTD: 32.42
Net used YTD: -28.25

Have a great week!!  Please also check out some more stash reports at Judy's Patchwork Times.

Happy Easter! (stash report week 16)

It is a beautiful weekend!  

The flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, some sewing is done!!

Dare I say it again?  After so many false starts and even snow this past Monday evening?  Spring has sprung!

With such lovely weather, not much has been happening in the quilting corner. There is nothing I like better this time of year than just hanging out on the back yard swing watching Mother Nature work her magic.  I even had a titmouse land on my head a few days ago - guess s/he needed some hair for its nest!

Yesterday was our sew day and I sat and stitched and stitched on Celtic Solstice until I couldn't stand being indoors any longer.  Of course, I also finished 22 of the 24 54-50 or Fight blocks.

Apparently I didn't count accurately so I have 7 more triangle units to put together so I can finish up all the blocks.  That's right - 2 more blocks til they're all done!  WooHoo!!

I used a gift certificate from Christmas and got a king size batting and 2 yards of black from Hancock's of Paducah this week.  I plan to start on the log cabin pattern that hubby picked out a few years ago (LOL).


Used this week: 0
Used YTD: 3.77
Added this week: 2
Gifted this week: 0
Added YTD: 32.42
Net used YTD: -28.25

Have a great week!!  Please also check out some more stash reports at Judy's Patchwork Times.

More Celtic Solstice (stash report week 13)

Last Friday's loveliness went away too quickly and we were left once again with temps in the 20s, 30s, and 40s.  So, spring has not sprung upon us, yet.  The outlook for today is better, but it also promises to be an anomaly this week among needed rain and lower temps.

So, I decided to sew.  And I needed to sit and stitch, not mess with borders, bindings, or laying out blocks.  When that need arises, I pull out my latest Bonnie Hunter project and "just keep stitching."

I spent last, chilly, windy Sunday afternoon cutting all the pieces for Celtic Solstice clue #5.  Then, stitched up a few.  It's so nice to leave pieces right next to the machine to pick up where I left off. 

All the block components are complete and 11 blocks are finished!  It is so gratifying to put the blocks together after all those hundreds of components are pieced.  I didn't want to stop!

Hhhmmm...that Bonnie really knows what she's doing to keep us interested, doesn't she?

One advantage to sewing slowly is that I get to see what others have done with their mystery quilts.  Celtic Solstice is made of two alternating blocks.




Some people, either accidentally or purposefully, changed the direction of chevron units and this block...

9.5" unfinished

...became this block.

Linus and Snoopy!

I really like the starburst!  I'm going to use both versions of the block.  

Progress made, but not on the numbers!

Used this week: 0
Used YTD: 3.77
Added this week: 0
Gifted this week: 0
Added YTD: 30.42
Net used YTD: -26.25

Have a great week!!  Please also check out some more stash reports at Judy's Patchwork Times.

Celtic Solstice update (stash report week 12)

Now in bloom!

This week was spring break.  We didn't do anything special. Luckily, the weather was nice most days and DS and his friends on our street got to play outside.  However, by Friday, they were so "bored" that they even helped me gather leaves into the tarp and throw them over our back fence into the wooded ravine.  Now, they didn't last long at the task, but that was four loads that I didn't have to do alone!

Friday out temps reached over 72 degrees and it was the only day that I really got to do some outdoor cleaning on both patios.  Prior to that, I was running errands and inside tending to housework - uggh.

However, on Thursday, I'd had enough and escaped to my sewing corner while the boys were at someone else's house.  I just needed to stitch.  I didn't need to think or put on a binding or cut any fabric, I just needed to stitch.  So, out came Clue #4 of Celtic Solstice.

 And all 120 four patches are done.  Geesh, I love strip piecing!  Of course, I now have about 20 or so more 4 patches than I need - lol!

That's it - I haven't shopped or finished another project this week.  So the numbers remain unchanged.

Used this week: 0
Used YTD: 3.77
Added this week: 0
Gifted this week: 0
Added YTD: 30.42
Net used YTD: -26.25

Have a great week!!  Please also check out some more stash reports at Judy's Patchwork Times.