What my Long armer did for me

I love piecing, and I like quilting, too - it is the end of the creative process. I cannot stand sandwiching the quilt - it takes so much time and I usually have to redo it.  I've tried all kinds of tips and still the back is wrinkly.  Then there's the time issue.  With a 3 year old, almost 4, who still wants me stop everything I'm doing and play and watch cartoons, well, that doesn't leave much time after all other household chores are attended to and I need my 8 hrs/night - I am an early bird, not a night owl.

I've had a couple of quilts done by a local long-armer due to time and lack of FMQ skills on my part.  She offered to baste quilts for me!  She did these 3 lap quilts for about $10 each.  Awesome!  Two days after getting them back, two of them are ditch quilted so I can remove the basting and add some FMQ.

(sorry about the sun glare!)

Sew, this afternoon I will be sitting with my feet propped up, having been to the gym already, watching the Colts play and removing basting stitches.

Clermont Farms quilt

A few posts ago I showed you the quilt  was workimg on for my LQS.  Photography in the morning, before the sun is up too high in the sky, doesn't really capture the colors.  This is the first time I've tried to photograph a quilt outdoors.

Here's a close up of the cornerstones.

And here's a close up of the quilting by a friend with her long arm.

I get the quilt back when the shop sells all the kits.  If you like the pattern, you can find it on the Fabri-Quilt web site.

A Package!

A few days ago a package arrived.  It was filled with goodies - see what I mean?!

Thank you, Leona!  

Charming Girls goals for the rest of '10

It's time to post some goals for the remainder of the year.  Over at Charming Girls Club, Kelly keeps us engaged while we all work through our projects and rewards us at the end when we meet some our goals. 

So, here's a list of projects that I realistically may finish this year:
1. bind the Mystery quilt
2. quilt and bind my niece's "Pretty in Pink" Christmas present
3. quilt the Cranberry Wishes split decision
4. piece a lap size quilt for my mom(already cut)
5. piece 2 Bean Bag Toss Game quilts (already cut)

Okay - only the 1st three projects are realistic.  Numbers 4 and 5 are wishful thinking, esp. with my piecing machine in the shop right now.

Do any of you have a domestic machine dedicated to quilting and another to piecing?  It's a symptom of quilter's ADD, I suppose, having so many projects to choose from that you never know from one day to the next if you will be piecing or quilting.

Are you ready to win?

You are? Then you have two stops to make in blogland.  Head over to Stray Stitches for a celebratory giveaway and then on to Leona's Quilting Adventure for another great giveaway.

Another parenting first

This afternoon we went to the emergency room. While playing and rough-housing with Ruby, my son fell and hit his head on the edge of the baseboard. He had a gash in the back of his head that clotted in the short time it took us to get to the hospital about 2 miles from our house. We were quite a sight in the ER, no one else came in with a laceration. After the shock wore off he was playing and talking and being 3.

Until the procedure began. I've never had to get stitches for a laceration, knew I didn't want to, and now - oh, hope we don't ever have to do this again - I almost cried along with him.

After a doctor approved nap he's fine. Kids certainly are resilient, maybe more so than their mamas.

Last roses

These may be my last roses.

The red ones are from a Knockout rosebush - you've seen them - everywhere. It really does hold up well - to black spot, drought, and those dreaded Japanese beetles.

The pink roses are from a David Austen bush that, despite my ignoring it and it's losing almost half its leaves every summer to black spot, still blooms.  They smell as lovely as they look.