The Plan

Well, I have my next quilt pretty much laid out on my planning board (otherwise knows as a sheet on the floor). Before doing that, I played around with individual half square triangles to get the flow of the colors just the way I thought I wanted it.


But after getting my completed blocks on the sheet, I changed my plan once again. You can see that some of the blocks are finished and there are others yet to go.



So far, all the completed blocks have the same fabric in the center and diagonal corner of the 9 patch blocks. The remaining blocks will have varying central colors which will alternate with the current ones. If that doesn't make sense, stay tuned and I'll update you as I progress. (You probably already know that I don't get to my quilting too often, so that may be a while!)

By the way, sorry about the extra little objects in my photos; I forgot to crop them when I first downloaded them and now can't figure out how to go back and do that. (Will I ever be techno savvy?) So you'll just have to live with seeing my very favorite at home shoes--my trusty Berks!

IT'S ABOUT TIME

Well, I guess my week off is over and long gone. Time for me to get back with the program, I guess!

I haven't been back to quilting since our Easter, but here's a glimpse in to what I should be returning to next week. The fabrics are from an exchange I was part of; each participant sent a dark and light fabric. I am keeping the sets together and putting the initials of the contributor in the center of each block.


I have done a bit more knitting, though. I've finished the baby blanket for a shower for next week.


It's time for me to get back to the sweater.


I've just been too lazy to have to read the pattern again, but I must to get back to it next time I sit down with the needles!

A RESPITE

I will be taking a bit of a break as this week Orthodox Christians throughout the world celebrate Holy Week and Pascha (Easter) on April 27.

Where am I?

Golly it's been so long since I've blogged that I don't remember what photos I have taken to share with you. I guess I'll just have to go browse and see.
Hmm, well, I guess I don't have any new photos taken; I'll need to wait until daylight to take some to share with you. I do have a couple things to show you once I get those photos taken.
I have been to a beginner's machine quilting class and had lots of fun with free motion; I need a lot of practice to get the hang of it, but it's definitely in my future for my smaller size quilts.

In the meantime, remember the baby blankets that I knit in December for the expected twins of my daughter's best childhood friend?


I was so honored this week to receive the birth announcement with her twins wrapped in these very blankets! Sorry, I wouldn't share the photo without her permission, and I'm sure she's got a lot more to do than talk to me when she's taking care of 2 month old twins!

So tata for now, and I'll see you again after I've had my camera out and busier.

GLUE ? YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING

No way. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, basting my quilt binding in place with school glue? Well, I decided to try it and it does work-- quite well, in fact.

I learned of this method from an on-line quilting friend who pointed me to Sharon Schamber's U tube site demo which gives an excellent 3 part tutorial. I was readily convinced to use this method for the machine stitching; I wasn't quite so sure about the method for the final hand sewing in the back side. (My previous trial with the baby blanket I had done stitch in the ditch for the final step, so I didn't have a trial run for the hand stitching yet.) Well, after gluing only one of the four sides for the final step, I pinned the other 3 sides--creature of habit, unwilling to change, you know. I must say, I wish I had glued all 4 sides. It is really a great way to do it.


No matter how I did it, though, it is done! YIPPEE.
Not sure exactly how I am going to leave it in its home. It's a bit more pink than I like it the room,


so my inclination is to keep it folded at the end of the bed. What do you think?


Meanwhile I am still knitting with 3 WIPs:

a baby blanket, my granddaughter's sweater, and some 6x9' blocks that will be part of an afghan for one of our soldiers. I learned about this project from yet another on-line friend. If anyone is interested, come along and join us in giving back just a bit to those who sacrifice so much for each of us.

SOME OLD AND SOME NEW

Hmm, I guess I'm just kind of finishing up some projects, starting others, and waiting to finish yet some more.

The baby blankie I was knitting is finished, and I just completed the quilt to go with it today. I must say that even though I have made many baby quilts, this one was quite exciting: #1, I used my walking foot for the first time to do just a "tad" of free motion quilting. (I'm taking a beginning machine quilting class next month, so I decided to wait for that before I decide to get too fancy!). #2, I used fabric glue to baste my binding. Of course, I used the walking foot for the binding too. Both these new experiences in quilting were awesome!

(This quilt, blankie, and receiving blanket will be a gift.)
The little bit of machine embroidery that I did on this quilt is new for me also. Aaaaand how great it was to be able to do multitask quilting. While my Janome was doing the embroidery yesterday, I was busy on my little Brother making half square triangles.


Now that the baby blankie is knitted, I have started a sweater for my soon to be 13 year old granddaughter. Is it cheating too horribly to only do 2 inches instead of 4 for a guage check swatch?


As far as quilting goes, I'm waiting to pick up my Buckeye Beauty quilt from the LA quilter on Tuesday, but I'll have my binding all ready to go,

and I'll have a new bottle of glue too, instead of the glue stick that I used today.

So now to get back to my half square triangles from the exchange fabric.

A day in the studio

Ah, what fun I had with my daughters and families this weekend. As Orthodox Christians did not celebrate Easter quite yet (It will be celebrated this year on April 27.), it was not a holiday weekend for us--just time to be together because the cousins were on spring break.

On Saturday while the girls and I did a bit of antique/flea market shopping and just hanging out, the guys made marshmallow guns out of pvc pipe. You can imagine just how many mini marshmallows there were around the yard with 3 boys, ages 8-10; and I believe 6 yo Isabela got in on that action too!

But for me seeing what's new in Anna Maria's studio is always the highlight of a trip to Nashville:
All the rolls of her new Drawing Room and Garden Party fabric,


and even getting to fondle it a bit as Eleni and I helped pack it in to little bundles for prizes and her on-line shop.


And this trip, I had the extra bonus of watching the girls put together a photo for Anna Maria's upcoming book, from camera set up


to hair


and make up.


The make up artist, is granddaughter Juliana, and the model daughter Eleni.

All in all a great weekend. So now that I'm home it's time to get back to work with some knitting and quilting!