Atlanta 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk

The weekend of the Atlanta 3 Day Breast Cancer walk is finally approaching and this time next week I'll be completing the final day of the walk. In preparation, Keith and I have been doing our last training walks; Friday we hiked 5 miles, Saturday we did 15, and today we'll do 10 miles. Tuesday I'll do one final hike and cross my fingers that I'm ready to walk 60 miles in 3 days.

(From L - R) My Mom, Aunt Lillian, and Aunt Dot

I've mentioned in a previous post that I'm walking in memory of my Aunt Lillian who died last year after losing her battle with breast cancer and for two of my sisters who have struggled with this disease. I'll be carrying a picture of my Mom with her sisters and one of me with mine on this walk.

(From L - R) Maureen, Mary, Debbie, and Ann

I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported me and made contributions that will help fund the fight against Breast Cancer. Contributions are still being accepted and can be made at the 3 Day site by clicking HERE. Thank you!

Spectacular Scraps

Judy posted a comment on Stashbusters about the challenge of using stash fabrics. My response to her and the group was about the color concepts used in the book Spectacular Scraps: A Simple Approach to Stunning Quilts by Judy Hooworth, Margaret Rolfe.

This purple and orange half square triangle was the first quilt I made using two color families and throwing in ALL the purple and orange fabrics I had. Yes, everything went into this quilt.

Although the book uses half square triangles (with a bunch of different layouts) I also used this concept when I made Becky's half log cabin quilt - this time in her favorite colors of purple and red.

I would recommend this book to anyone but especially to those people trying to use the fabric they already own! Make the quilts using half square triangles or take the color concepts and combinations and use with other patterns.

Colors of Autumn

If you can believe it, it took as long to pick out the stitching on that partial row as it did to quilt the entire top. Anyway, the good news is that the Colors of Autumn quilting is done and it's trimmed and ready for binding.

I ended up using the pantograph - Popcorn by Jodi Beamish - this pantograph looks like clouds to me so the colors and quilting makes me think of a breezy autumn day like today.

I listened to a new CD from one of my favorite bands while picking out the original stitching and quilting this top - Reunion: A Decade of Solas. If you like Irish music then I'd recommend any of the Solas CD's. I am slightly biased as one of my cousins (Seamus Egan) is a band member but I can't really say I know him since I haven't seen him since he was a child.

I hate picking out quilting stitches!

While sitting around all afternoon waiting for the dealership to call and say my car was ready to be picked up, I loaded my Colors of Autumn top on the longarm.

Keith is out of town (again) so I decided to come down and start quilting around 10PM - after quilting about half a row of the Windy Day pantograph I felt it was too much for the already busy scrap quilt. So I've spent the last hour picking out the quilting and probably have almost 2 hours left if what I've gotten done so far is any indication. Usually I pick out my quilting stitches from the back of my quilt but in this case I'm using Bottom Line thread and my tension is outstanding! The stitches are completely sunk into the flannel backing so I have no choice but to pick from the front.

After waiting all day for the call to pick up my car - it's going to be another day and this was already the 3rd day disrupted. I spent Monday afternoon at the dealership, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon waiting to pick the car up and so I'll cross my fingers and hope that it's actually finished tomorrow as promised.

I'm going to bed and will deal with the quilt and the car dealership tomorrow!

My first knitted sweater

I finished knitting my knitting my first sweater and it even has a hood. It turned out pretty cute I think!

Next I'm going to make him a turtleneck in red for the holidays.

Longarm

I've been debating what to do about my longarm when we move. Because we want to live downtown - the options we're looking at for housing won't accommodate my longarm PLUS my sewing machine, cutting table, and fabric all in a single bedroom.

So, I've decided to trade in my Classic Plus on a 12 foot table for a Premier Plus on a 10 foot table. Because I only quilt for myself and family and don't do any quilting for hire, I know I can make this work for me. I don't quilt many king size quilts and when I do have the need to - I can always quilt them in two pieces and then assemble them using *quilt as you go* methods.

I'm sure this move to Minneapolis won't be our last move over the next 10+ years and I think by downsizing my machine now I'll have more flexibility with this move and with any future ones.

Fat quarter binge

Since joining the Stashbuster list 2+ years ago I have - for the most part - controlled my fabric spending.

Today, I dropped my Pink Quilt off at Little Quilts and everywhere I turned there were bundles calling my name. I wanted to pick up some fat quarters (30's prints) to send my Mom otherwise I wouldn't even have stayed to look.

I found 2 fat eighth packs to send to Mom and 4 fat quarter bundles for me. I guess I felt the old fabric I was flinging was leaving room for some newcomers.

My Studio

I had several comments about my studio and bookcase and I'm going to miss both of them. How am I ever going to fit my longarm and all my stuff in a regular size bedroom?

Well, besides sorting through fabric, books, and notions I've been looking at my options with my longarm. I've tentatively decided I'm going to trade in my Classic Plus with its 12 foot table for a smaller Premier Plus on a 10 foot table. I'm hoping the increased space will make up for any inconvenience. My sister has a Premier on a 10 foot table and I've seen/used her setup so I'm confident I can make it work. The only question is how I'm going to time the exchange.

Unfortunately. since my bookcase is built in I won't be able to take it with me. I've been looking at the book Creating your perfect quilting space and loved the shelves used for fabric storage in one of the makeovers. I looked for them at the Ikea site but couldn't find them. However I did find another one that might work - what do you think?

I've put this off long enough!

With just the Colors of Autumn top to quilt as my remaining goal for October, I finally jumped in and seriously started sorting/cleaning my studio in preparation for the move.

I've gone through all my books and decided that I will keep most of them. Since I enjoy looking through the ones that I'll never make a quilt out of I'll just have to find space for them.

I also started sorting through my fabric - a lot of it is from Joann's and Hancock Fabric's that I bought in the first few years I was quilting. I still buy fabric there at times but I'm more discriminating so I'm sorting through the stuff I don't want to use and donating it. I'm keeping a lot of bits and pieces that will go into scrap quilts and some larger pieces that can be used for backing. Most of my quilt shop fabric is fat quarters but there are larger pieces bought for borders that I'm also keeping.

Pink Quilt

It's done and I love how it turned out! Thank you Judy for your Quilt for an Hour project and creating the design that inspired me.

It's ready to be donated and I'll take it by Little Quilts sometime next week and they'll send it in with their donations to Quilt Pink.

Amish Quilts

Amy and I had chatted before about her Amish quilt and the antique quilt I bought in Lancaster last year. She posted a picture of hers today so I thought I would also post one of mine.

I was told that this quilt dates back to the 1850's-1860's. It's beautifully hand quilted and although it has a few small stains, it's in very good condition. I want to have it appraised out of curiosity (did I pay more than it was worth?) but also because it's the only quilt I own that's probably worth anything. Regardless of the value - I LOVE this quilt.

When we were in Lancaster, I looked at a ton of quilts and the ones I was drawn to were not the ones being sold as Amish quilts but the antique quilts in the back room at Witmer's Quilt Shop. This was one of 3 quilts I had to make myself choose between. If you go to Lancaster make sure you check out the BACK room at Witmer Quilt Shop, 1070 W. Main St. in New Holland for the antique quilts.

Naming quilts

I was updating my Excel spreadsheet that I use to track my quilts and I realized that I'm terrible at naming quilts. These are some of the brilliant names I've come up with so far this year:

Twin Cabin #1
Twin Cabin #2
Baby Cabin
Crooked Hearts
Red/Purple Rail Fence
Butterfly Quilt
Adam's Jeans Quilt
Crayon Geese
Blue Braid #1
Blue Braid #2
Chris' wedding quilt
Pink Quilt (so named because it's Pink and I'm donating it to Quilt Pink)

Boring right? I started thinking about what name I would use for this year's autumn quilt and in the interest of coming up with a more interesting name than Autumn Quilt 2006, I did an internet search of Autumn and Poetry and came up with the following choices:

Autumn's Glory
An Autumn Day
Autumn Mosaic
The Colors of Autumn - this is the name I chose

The Colors of Autumn

in the North Georgia Mountains, November 2005

So how do the rest of you name your quilts?

Pantographs

I made a start today on my October goals by looking through my pantograph patterns to choose the quilting designs for the two quilts I'm going to do this month. Hopefully, I'll get the Pink Quilt loaded tonight. Both patterns are from Willow Leaf Studio.

Windy Day for the Autumn Quilt
Fay Feathers for the Pink Quilt

Checking more things off my to do list/October goals

Well, I think I'm making progress

• all the wedding stuff is done except I need to shorten my dress slightly. I'm not a sewer but it's just a tiny rolled hem and I think I can cut an inch and a half off the bottom and then resew it myself. We'll see how it goes.
• all the final plans were made for the Rehearsal dinner on Friday so now all I'll have to do is show up and have fun.
• finished quilting and shipped my Aunt's quilt to her
• finished the borders on the Autumn quilt

With the Breast Cancer Walk and the wedding the last two weekends of the month, I'm going to set just 2 goals for October.

• quilt the Pink Quilt
• quilt the Autumn Quilt

That's it!

The Wedding Quilt

Chris and Becky are on their way here for the weekend to finalize the last details for the wedding. Since I'm going to give them the quilt to take back with them I can finally post a picture.

My Mom helped by piecing the blocks which I sewed together and then quilted. I think you can see the quilting better in the second picture - it's a pantograph but I think it suits the quilt.

I just realized when I went to post these pictures that I took them before I did the binding. I'll have to take a final picture before I let the kids take the quilt home.

Autumn top finished

I'm disappointed in this picture but I can't seem to get a one that's any better. There's not nearly as much contrast in the pieced border as it appears in this picture.

I love this top! It's going to be a beautiful quilt and it's a nice size at 65x83. Although I've been using stash to piece backs for all my recent quilts, I'm going to run out and buy some flannel for the back of this one.

I had intended to put this one on the shelf before quilting but I decided with a flannel back, this quilt will be perfect to take to Minneapolis for our temporary apartment. I've got another Autumn quilt at the condo that I finished last year that also has a flannel back so if I take both of them - Keith and I will both have toasty sofa quilts at the apartment.

Just in case someone hasn't seen the previous post about this quilt - it's based on a pattern at Bonnie Hunter's site called Pineapple Blossom. I made more blocks, didn't set mine with sashing and my borders are different but the inspiration and block are from Bonnie.

Checking things off my to do list

1. My Aunt's quilt - only the side borders left to quilt which I'll finish up after I get off the computer tonight.
2. Autumn quilt - 1st border is on, 2nd pieced border in process. This top should be finished in the next day or two.
3. Catering arranged for the lunch at my house for the day of the wedding.
4. 5 mile hike done this afternoon.
5. Successfully unraveled my scarf back to an error and fixed it - yeah! This is the first time I've been able to unravel and then get all my stitches back on the needle without twisting or dropping any.
6. Made arrangements for a temporary corporate apartment starting mid-November. We were lucky and found one right in Downtown Minneapolis.

Nancy's Nine Patch

I finally started quilting my Aunt's nine patch that I've been putting off. I usually quilt several tops for her each year and this is the last one I've got waiting to do for her. I got it loaded over a week ago but I wanted to piece my Autumn quilt so I hadn't started the quilting yet.

I also cut the fabric for the borders on the Autumn quilt. JudyL suggested purple but I don't have a shade that will work. I do have a pretty autumn red with leaves that I'll use and in between a narrow inner and a wide outer border of the red fabric, I'm going to piece a scrappy gold one with leftovers from my fat quarters.

I was out running errands this afternoon and decided to go to the yarn store. I wanted to buy more yarn to make a matching scarf for the blue/green hat I made the other day. I ended up buying yarn for a shawl, a hat, and the scarf.

I just donated two boxes of yarn that I wanted to get rid of before my move and I need to make sure I don't buy more yarn than I'm actually going to use. I also shipped off two hats and a scarf to my Mom. The blue hat is not nearly that bright in person - the camera flash is to blame I guess.

My dress for the wedding

Ok, I tried the dress on again this morning and I am going to keep it. These aren't the best pictures but you'll get the idea.

It's brown which I think is a perfectly appropriate color for a FALL wedding - what do you think? Here's a close-up of the top without the jacket.

My weekend

Not much going on here - we did watch the US lose the Ryder Cup and I was able to continue working on my knitting and crochet while watching. I finished a hat and scarf to send to my Mom - this one I like better than the chunky one I was making her.

I also got the blocks for my Autumn quilt sewn together. Just have to do the borders and that top will be done too.

We did a 5 mile hike yesterday and are supposed to get out for 10 today - we'll see if we get out early enough to get in the whole 10 miles.

Keith will be gone all week so I should make some progress on some of my projects. Chris and Becky come on Thursday night and there are some wedding preparations that need to be taken care of which will take up some of my time. I did find and buy a dress for the wedding yesterday. It was an impulsive decision and I've got to try it on again and make sure it's really OK. Keith liked it so that's a plus.

Hats, scarves, & shawls

Having lived in Florida and Georgia for the last 17 years I don't have any hats and scarves so I decided I need to prepare for the move to Minneapolis by making myself some.

I've been looking for books and patterns for hats, scarves, and shawls and have had trouble finding simple patterns to knit or crochet. The ones I found were either ugly or too complicated.

In the last 3 weeks I've found 3 books that I love and in the last 4 days, I finished 2 hats and am halfway through a scarf (hats go SO fast I love making them).

This first hat is not from one of the books but is from a pattern I got at the yarn store and is more of a recipe than a pattern. It shows you how to make several variations of this hat in any size with any yarn.

This is the FIRST knitted hat I've ever made - it's knitted in the round on circular needles and then double pointed needles are used to shape the crown. I'm so PROUD of myself because it turned out great. I've got to go back to the store and get more yarn to make a matching scarf.

Just when I had given up on finding a crochet hat that wasn't ugly and bulky I found the book Crochet a Dozen Hats. This hat is crocheted in Lions Brand Homespun yarn and is cute and warm.

I finished making the Chenille hat and scarf for my Mom but I hate it - it's big and bulky. Since this turned out so nice I'm going to make another one like this for Mom rather than sending her the ugly one.

Here are the 3 books I found. I especially love the last book by Carri Hammett - in addition to great patterns she has wonderful *lessons* and tips.

Crochet A Dozen Hats
ByNancy Brown

Big Book of Knit Hats & Scarves for Everyone (Leisure Arts #4484) (Paperback)

Scarves and Shawls for Yarn Lovers: Knitting with Simple Patterns and Amazing Yarns
by Carri Hammett

Autumn Quilt

I finished my Autumn blocks this afternoon - I haven't started to arrange them yet. They're just laid out in the order I finished them.

I probably won't get the top put together right away. I've got lots of hiking to do this week, we're going to go up to Big Canoe for the weekend, and I really need to start quilting my Aunt's top too. For now I'll leave them laid out and start moving them around until I find a pleasing arrangement.

Not sure about an inner border yet either. I've pulled some fabrics from stash but so far nothing is quite right.

Adam was home briefly today. We had just enough time to meet Keith for lunch and to get him fitted for his tux for the wedding. He'll be Chris' best man.

For those of you who didn't read my previous post - this is a pattern from Bonnie Hunter's website.

Sunday

Another 5 blocks finished on the Autumn quilt and the final 10 in process. Keith has a business dinner tomorrow night so I hope to finish the blocks late afternoon or early evening tomorrow.

Adam, my younger son, will be coming home to get fitted for his tux for the wedding tomorrow. He's just 2 and 1/2 hours away on the other side of Atlanta but he works ALL the time and we don't see him much. He's only got the day off so he'll drive home, go to lunch with us, get fitted for his tux, and head back.

****

On the topic of my trash, I had several interesting comments. Angie makes doggie beds and Eileen puts hers in a canning jar. I like the idea of a large jar or vase with the layers showing the different quilts I'm making. When the jar gets full - the scraps could go into a doggie bed and be donated. I have tons of batting scraps too so maybe Angie can tell me how she goes about making the doggie beds.

I LOVE my trash!

Strange I know but when I'm cutting and piecing a quilt my trash looks so pretty! And yes there are some small squares in the pink trash but I can't save every scrap!

The larger pieces in the Autumn trash are from the ends of strips. Bonnie's directions call for cutting strips to the length needed for each round but I'm a lazy log cabin piecer. I cut my strips the width I need them and then cut them to the right size AFTER sewing them.

I've got 20 Autumn blocks finished and 9 more in process so I've made good progress today. Keith just called and he's on the way home from the airport so I'm going to stop for the day.

Stashbuster's Weekend Retreat

I got an early start this morning - up and cutting out my Autumn quilt at 6:30AM. Very unusual for me because I usually sleep late (not just on the weekends either!) which is one of the wonderful things about not working.

I debated which pattern to use for this year's Autumn quilt - I really like Judy's October quilt for an hour pattern - Leaf Season but I've been wanting to do Bonnie's Pineapple Blossom for a long time too. In the end I chose to do the Pineapple Blossom because I think it will best with my fabrics. Do you see some purple in these blocks? Last year was the first time I'd used purple in one of my autumn quilts - trust me it works!

Keith won't be home until dinner time and I hiked 10 miles yesterday so today will be spent working on this top.

Quilt Pink

I finished my top tonight - I started out making Judy's Quilt but as you see it became my Pink Quilt inspired by Judy's 1 hour Quilt. I had so much fun seeing everyone's version of this quilt and I loved playing along and creating my own.

Once it's quilted it will be donated to help raise money for the fight against Breast Cancer through Quilt Pink.

Copyright discussion

I'm going to add to the discussion I've been reading about on other blogs and on the Stashbuster list.

I bought two books last week in Virginia - Big 'n Easy by Judy Hopkins and Bundles of Fun by Karen Snyder and both books had a version of a half log cabin quilt. I also made a quilt using a half log cabin block last year. I posted a picture on my blog after some discussion on the Stashbuster list about a pattern called Bento Box which uses a half log cabin block AND Jeanne posted a picture of a Mystery quilt she did which was basically the same quilt.

So who gets credit for *designing* this quilt? Is everyone else (including me) guilty of *stealing* the design?

I am inspired by quilts in books, at shows, in magazines, and on the internet but 9 times out of 10 when it comes time for me to make a quilt I sit down at my computer, open EQ5 and design my quilt.

Tools of the trade

A new ironing board cover to go with my new iron - such a treat!

I don't think I mentioned it in my blog but my iron died a couple weeks ago and I replaced my Panasonic iron which I liked with a Rowenta iron that said it was anti-drip at low temperatures. With the automatic shut off I was getting some spitting as the iron was heating back up.

I've read a lot of negative feedback about Rowenta irons but I LOVE this iron. It's like the difference between a vacuum with great suction and one with not so great suction. You work a lot harder going back and forth over the same area if your vacuum doesn't have good suction. Well with this iron, one pass will do - you don't have to go back and forth over the seams or over the block or fabric. It's great!

On another note - I was having trouble sewing over seams in my 1 hour quilt - the seams were a little thick but nothing that should have been a problem. I adjusted my presser foot height but still struggled.

Finally, I opened up my bobbin case to clean it out and took a look at the feed dog area. I found a lot of compressed lint between the feed dogs. I'm really good about cleaning the lint out of my bobbin case but had never noticed it building up in this area before. I picked out the lint and my blocks are feeding through beautifully!

Chesty's found a new spot to sit when I'm piecing

Piecing again

After a week or so away from my machine I managed to squeeze in a couple hours today to work on my 1 hour quilt.

It's veering slightly off course but that's pretty typical for me. It's not unusual for me to change a pattern as a quilt goes along. Sometimes it's a simple change in quilt size or in the borders, sometimes a change in setting. I think I'll leave you guessing for now since I won't post a picture until I have more blocks finished.

Since I didn't meet my goal of loading and starting the quilting on my Aunt's top before my last trip to Virginia I'll make that one of my goals for this week.

I'm sure you all have sticking points in your quilting - the one step that you put off - for me that step is loading a quilt on the longarm. Once it's loaded I quickly finish the quilting and if it's my quilt the binding gets done right away too. I don't know what it is about loading a quilt that stops my progress.

Home

No quilting this weekend. I got home from Virginia late Friday - we hiked 15 miles on Saturday and then went to a friend's house for dinner. Hiked 15 miles again today and after eating take out I started to work on a hat and scarf for my Mom. The hat is crocheted but I'm knitting the scarf.

Keith will be traveling this week from Tuesday through Saturday so I hope to get some quilting time in while he's gone.

Virginia

I'm back in Virginia for the week and Mom had her 2nd cataract surgery this morning. It went well and we've just been sitting around this afternoon - I'm feeling lazy so I'm working on a knitted baby afghan rather than quilting.

1 Hour Pink Quilt

It's Saturday night and we decided to come home after dinner rather than in the morning so I had a chance to get started on my 1 hour Pink Quilt.

I had two fat quarters with a white background and I debated whether there would be enough contrast to use them for the blocks. After sewing up one set of 1/2 square triangles I felt there was enough contrast to see the block pattern and since I have limited fabric choices for this quilt I decided to leave them in.

As you can see from the picture I used Thangles to make my half square triangles. I use them for block sizes 4 inches and smaller otherwise I use the square method - drawing a line and sewing on either side of it to get 2 1/2 square triangle blocks.

I also rummaged through my stash and found two light pink fabrics that can be combined for the backing - I was afraid I wouldn't have anything that would work and would need to buy more fabric. Since I piece almost all of my backs from my stash I was glad I had something that would work - after all my goal is to use what I have whenever possible!

Applique

We're up at Big Canoe until Sunday morning so I can't start my 1 hour quilt yet but I did do some knitting this evening watching TV. I've been working on this baby afghan a while since it stays here at the condo and I don't usually do more than a few rows at a time.

So many Stash Quilt members share their wonderful applique projects I thought I'd share one of mine. My favorite quilts to make are scrappy, pieced patterns but every now and then I like to do some simple applique. I've tried several methods but pretty much stick to one now - I pick large simple pieces, I use fusible web, and then I blanket stitch them by HAND. I dislike machine applique and I don't have the patience for intricate needle turn projects.

This quilt was made last year from one of the McCall's magazines and I gave it to my sister Ann. For some reason I don't have a picture of it with the binding on.

What I'm reading

I finished piecing the 9 patch top so I can start September and a new quilt with a clear conscience! It will join my other finished tops and age on the shelf for a while.

I haven't posted my reading list recently but I've still been reading plenty. Here are the most recent ones.

Knitting: A Novel Anne Bartlett
I like reading novels where the characters have the same interests that I do. In this case its knitting and I liked this book OK - but the beginning was better than the end.

Lover's Knot Emilie Richards
On a similar note but this time with quilting. I've mentioned before that I like series where I can get to know a group of characters. This Shenandoah Album series is really light reading but I enjoy them.

Duchess: A Novel of Sarah Churchill Susan Holloway Scott
If you like historical fiction then I'd recommend this one.

Beautiful Lies Lisa Unger
This was a good mystery, it looks like it was her first but she's got another book coming out in January 2007 so I'll add her to my list of authors.

Motive John Lescroart
Another good mystery with recurring characters. I like all of his books.

The Things We Do for Love Kristin Hannah
I also enjoyed this book - it was about family relationships AND it was on the bargain table which is always a plus!

and last but not least a book recommended by Sam

The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade Ann Fessler
Very interesting and sad - I read this in the car a couple weekends ago on the way to the wedding shower for Becky. Keith and I had some really intense discussions about the topic as I'd read a bit and then feel the need to discuss and he just happened to be trapped in the car with me for 10+ hours.

Quilt Pink and Judy's 1 hour Quilt

August is almost over and that means I can get ready to start a new quilt. I'll probably run right to the bookstore too and buy a bunch of quilt books just to make up for the month without any. I don't think I will challenge myself to not buy books again however not starting a new project was good for me.

I've been wanting to do both Judy's 1 hour quilt and make a quilt for Quilt Pink. Since I've got limited time in September for quilting I'm going to combine both and make the 1 hour quilt out of my pink fat quarters and donate it. I'll have to buy some of one of the pink fabrics for a border but I already have the fat quarters and background so it will be mostly from stash. Now if I can just finish piecing the Nine patch top before I start my 1 hour Pink Quilt I'll feel like I actually accomplished something with my August Challenge.

Home from Seattle

I didn't get any quilting or piecing done today but I did work on some quilt related activities. I worked with some members of my bee group showing them how to resize and upload pictures to the guild's picturetrail account and then we met up with other members of our group.

They treated me to lunch and gave me a gift certificate for a quilt shop in Minneapolis as a goodbye present. Although I'm not moving yet I will only be able to attend one more meeting before leaving so it was really nice to see them all.

We had a great time in Seattle and did lots of walking around the city. On Saturday, Keith and I took a walk on the Elliott Bay Trail. In this picture we were heading back to the city - it was beautiful!

Is anyone still looking for Judy

She requested that everyone help get her new blog address out there so if anyone is still uninformed, Judy's old blog Sunshine Quilts is no longer active and you can find her now at Judy's Blog.

http://judylaquidara.blogspot.com

Churchmouse Yarns & Teas

This is really stupid but I didn't even think to check to weather in Seattle before leaving Atlanta - it's August so I packed shorts. The first thing I had to do this morning was buy a sweatshirt. I'd worn jeans on the plane but didn't think to pack a jacket or sweatshirt - did I mention it's AUGUST?! This probably indicates how unprepared I am to live in Minneapolis!!

I've had a wonderful day - walking all over downtown Seattle, taking a ferry to Bainbridge Island and walking around there, and visiting Churchmouse Yarns & Teas.

I'd visited Seattle last summer for the first time and found this yarn shop - they were SO helpful and encouraging that I decided I could teach myself to knit. I bought a great book and some yarn and have been knitting (very simple things that don't have to fit) ever since. I wanted to visit them again this year and get yarn for a hat and scarf. They spent time helping me find simple patterns and yarn. I love this place!

No progress

I haven't made any progress on any of my quilting projects over the last couple days. Yesterday I did a 15 mile hike which took most of my day and today I did a quick 4 miles on the treadmill in between doing laundry and getting ready for another trip.

This time we're off to Seattle until Sunday night. Keith will be working most of the trip but I'll get to explore the city.

Patti commented on my posts about hiking. She was wondering whether I was walking or hiking when I'd post a 5 or 10 mile hike. I've got to do a ton of miles to prepare for the Breast Cancer Walk in October and although most of the training walks are supposed to be *easy* miles I prefer to be out on the trail rather than walking on a treadmill or even around my neighborhood. Most of the trails we're hiking are rated moderately difficult and I'm hoping that by working harder now the 60 miles will be easier in October.

As the suggested training miles have increased I have started doing some of them on the treadmill just because I don't always have time to drive out to a trail. Days like today, I'm lucky to log any miles at all so I just bite the bullet and jump on the treadmill no matter how much I hate it!

We're back from the Bridal Shower

Becky's in the middle with Chris on her right. Adam is on the left ignoring us all as usual!

The drive was a pain but we enjoyed seeing Chris and Becky. They got lots of presents mainly for the kitchen - someone's going to have to start cooking more!

I don't think I've shared a picture of the kids so I pulled this one from the trip we took to Virginia in June to introduce Becky to my family. Adam was able to get off work and came with us too.

We got back in time yesterday to do a 5 mile hike and then I started piecing the blocks together for the nine patch quilt.

Another UFO

I was looking for a backing for another quilt yesterday and came across this blue that was perfect for some nine patch blocks that have been sitting around forever. After a 10 mile hike yesterday afternoon I got the blue cut and laid out the blocks for a small donation quilt.

We're off to Kingsland, GA for a bridal shower for Becky. Keith is coming along for the 5 and 1/2 hour drive and we'll take the kids out to dinner tonight before heading back in the morning.

Donation Quilts

August is the month we turn in quilts for our guild's community service project and donation quilts will be collected at this month's meeting and given to the local Ronald McDonald House. I turned mine in early since I'll miss the meeting next week.

Hexagon Flowers

I'm making progress on my 3 tasks. Last night I got the binding made and machine stitched down on the wedding quilt. I even had the label made so I sewed it into the corner as I was putting the binding on. Now I just have to hand stitch them down.

Since I can't show a picture of that quilt I'll show one of my other UFO's I'm working on. I love making Hexagon flowers as a take along project but will NEVER make a traditional grandmother's flower garden quilt.

I had intended to set these flowers with an alternate block that would create a chain but then I saw a strippie quilt in one of the Australian magazines and decided to go with that setting. I don't have much of the pink and cream fabric so it will be a lap size donation quilt and I probably have enough flowers already made. I need to make the leaves and then stitch it all down.

Finished the first task

The borders are on the blue/green scrap quilt. This is a donation quilt that was pieced from 2.5 inch strips. I'm not sure it doesn't have too many light fabrics but I worked with what I had left. I think the first one I made from my Red/Purple strips turned out better - the rail fence pattern is more defined in that version.

This is another UFO and I don't even remember what I had originally planned to use these strips for but when my Mom needed some blue and green 2.5 inch strips for a quilt for her sister's grandson, we picked over the best strips and used them for that quilt first. I'm slowly gathering some strips in sizes I commonly use so the unused strips went into the bin with my other 2.5 inch strips.

The top will go on the shelf to age a while since I have a few waiting in line for quilting.

I was going to crop more of my mess out of this picture but I noticed Chesty was watching me from the bottom left corner so I left him in.

What I'm reading

Covenant by Naomi Ragen
In view of the situation in the Middle East this book is especially poignant. I haven't read any of the other books by this author but I will look for and read some of her previous ones now.

Looking for Peyton Place by Barbara Delinsky
I like books by Delinsky - she writes about relationships. In this book it's the relationship and resentments between 3 sisters that interested me. With my Mom getting older and having some health issues I saw some parallels between the sisters in this book and my relationship with my 3 sisters.

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
The plot is somewhat odd but I like books by Kingsolver - I didn't realize until I wrote this post that this book is from 1998 - I'm not sure how I missed it when it first came out.

The Courts of Love: The Story of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Jean Plaidy
I like historical fiction - this is one of many written by Plaidy and I enjoyed it.

Priorities

My to do list

The next couple weeks are going to be busy with a overnight trip for a wedding shower, a 5 day trip to Seattle, and miles to hike to continue my preparation for the Breast Cancer 3 day walk.

My quilting goals during that time are to:

1. bind and label the wedding quilt
2. load my aunt's top on the longarm and start quilting it
3. put borders on the scrappy blue and green rail fence that I worked on last week at Mom's

I didn't get started today because I needed to walk 13 miles to keep up with my training. I didn't feel well enough to be out on the trail so I broke down and did all 13 miles on the treadmill - 10 this afternoon and the final 3 after dinner. I think as the training miles increase I'll have to do more of them here at home.

Flying

I head back home in the morning and hopefully the delay for screening at the airport won't be too bad. I fly back to Atlanta through the Newport News/ Williamsburg airport which is pretty small (although it's gotten really busy in the last year or so) and I'm planning to carry on only my book and purse. Of course just because I'm not carrying on a ton of baggage that has to be screened doesn't mean everyone else won't!

Judy posted how much she dislikes flying but luckily I don't mind it. I love to travel and with all my family living some distance and Keith traveling frequently for work I usually fly at least once or twice a month. People always tell me how much they hate the airport in Atlanta but it's been been our *home* airport for the last 4 years and when you're used to flying out of there it doesn't seem so crazy. However, I'm sure the delays out of Atlanta will be bad until the threat level goes back down. Maybe things will settle down before we fly to Seattle on the 23rd.

Working on another UFO

Thanks for the comments about my Mom. She had her cataract surgery this morning and did fine. She's resting quietly today because she's a little woozy from the medication they gave her and I worked some on another UFO.

I'm not as organized as some other members of our group with my scraps but when I'm cutting for a scrap quilt I do try to think ahead 2 or 3 quilts and cut for more than one at a time. Before leaving home Saturday, I grabbed my blue and green strips that have been waiting to be made into a donation quilt.

The strips I'm using have been picked over a couple times and so far I'm not liking the combination as well as I thought I would. I'm just using a simple 2 rail fence pattern like this one made from the leftovers of a quilt I made for Becky (Chris' fiance).

I'm back in Virginia/What I'm reading

I flew back to Mom's on Saturday and for the last few days I've visited with Mom and my sister.

Ann has been working on a wall-hanging that she wasn't completely happy with so we looked through Mom's books and found some additional applique to add to it. She finished the wall-hanging before she left for home today and seemed to be happy with it now.

Mom has cataract surgery tomorrow so we'll be up and out of the house early. When we get back I hope to get to work on another UFO I brought with me.

The latest books I've read:

Angels Fall by Nora Roberts
Break No Bones: A Temperance Brennan Novel by Kathy Reichs
Vanishing Point by Marcia Muller

I liked the novels by Reichs and Muller and I was disappointed in the Nora Roberts one. I don't expect a lot from Nora Roberts - usually just an light entertaining read but this one was just OK.

Just one more post before I get off the computer

I finally caught up, visited everyone's blogs and just have to post one more picture.

Patti posted several pictures of scrap quilts on her blog, I have many of the same books and loved them all. I also have a quilt made for me by my Mom from one of the patterns she showed. It goes perfectly over the quilt on my guest bed.

By the way, the quilt on this bed is the same color scheme as the wedding quilt that I'm not going to post a picture of - yet.

Challenges

All these challenges going on this month have got me thinking. I'm already on minimal buying for fabric - mainly just backgrounds and borders when needed for a specific project but I read that someone added books to their challenge. Now that's one I can stand to participate in.

Cher and Hanne have also made personal challenges so I'll jump in too. Right now the two hardest things for me are limiting my quilt book purchases and NOT beginning new projects (I've got a set of fat quarters sitting on my cutting table just calling my name).

So my personal challenge for August will be to not purchase any quilt books and to not start any new projects. If it goes well I may even extend it into September. I think I'm going to go move those fat quarters - hopefully out of sight will be out of mind.

Help

I finished quilting the wedding quilt today and it's off the machine and trimmed. Just have to bind it and make a label and that will be one more thing checked off my list.

Next up is a top my Aunt Nancy sent me to quilt. I'm going to quilt feather wreaths in the plain blocks but I'm not sure what to do in the borders. I'm thinking about feathers - I'd like to quilt half the feather in the dark and half in the light in two of them but there are 4 borders. What would I put in the other two? Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Another 10 miles and progress on Chris' quilt

To respond to recent comments about my hiking, I'm still preparing for the Breast Cancer 3 day walk in October so regardless of the weather I feel I have to be out there *training*. It's tough with the heat and humidity but I drink LOTS of water.

Keith has been out of town since Monday morning and was waiting for me today when I got in from another 10 mile hike. He took me to dinner at one of my favorite places - PF Chang's - and because it was unexpected it was especially nice!

I've only got about 1/4 of the quilting left on the Wedding Quilt - this pantograph is taking a little longer than usual but I like how it's looking.

I won't post a picture of the quilt so it will be somewhat of a surprise but Chris does know the color scheme - scrappy red/beige - and the pattern - double 4 patch - so I'll post my EQ5 drawing of the quilt. You'll have to image the quilt as scrappy and the lights ranging from cream to tan. I like quilts without borders and this one doesn't have one. To see this in green - check out Mom's version that I quilted for her a month or so ago.

Yesterday

Yesterday I loaded Chris' wedding quilt on the longarm and started quilting it. It's a scrappy red/beige double four patch - the reds were from Mom's stash and the beiges from mine. I'm using a pantograph called Rhapsody - its the pantograph I decided not to use on the Butterfly quilt.

I washed and dried 4 of the 9 donation quilts that will go to both project Linus and the Ronald McDonald House this month.

I also shipped Mom's 2 quilts back to her along with another quilt pattern and some books.

And finally, I had a wonderful 2 hour massage!

Today I'll work some on Chris' wedding quilt and do a 10 mile hike.