by Karen on November 30, 2011
in quilts
Sew Cal Girl is holding a Quilt Festival 2011 this year. I believe this is the 2nd year but maybe 3? I do not have many quilts of a Christmas theme – actually I have one table covering and one large wall hanging – so I will show the wall hanging. Most of you have probably seen it before. I quilted it last year and finished it in time to hang for the Christmas Season. Sew Cal Girl has gotten quite a few sponsors for the show this year and prizes will be given. Also this weekend you can vote for your favorite quilt by going to her site and find out how. Run on over and see all the quilts.
This quilt I just call “Christmas Baltimore Album” it is designed by Connie Sue Haidle from Apple Blossom Quilts. It is a little long for this wall and the bottom border hangs in back of the couch. I needle turned appliqued this quilt and hand quilted it. It took me about a year of on and off again work to do the applique and then about 10 months of on and off work quilting it.
The whole quilt – you see why I have to tuck it behind the couch 
This is a close up from when I was quilting it- the blue lines washed out really well once again. I used the blue pen “Mark B Gone”.
Why don’t you go on over to Sew Cal Girl and see all the quilts – I think it is getting close to 100 quilts on it now – I have got some catching up to do as I do not think I have even looked at one yet!
by Karen on November 30, 2011
in quilts
Now that “Looking Through the Fence” is finished I need to concentrate on my table runner and get this project finished.
I don’t really have a name for the table runner but it is coming along quickly now and will be finished soon. I have not decided how I will quilt it as of yet. I have some appliqued pinned in place on the right side and then have the other end to do as well. Pay no mind to the different shades of carpet that this is laying on – my shadow was projected to the floor and shading also was provided by the coffee table – I will get a better photo when it is finished. I still don’t know if I care for this table runner all that much – it is so totally not something I would normally make and do not know why the pattern was calling to me when I started it!! I will finish it though and see how I like it then.
Head on over to Lee at Freshly Pieced and see other works in progress.
by Karen on November 29, 2011
in quilts
I got the “Looking Through the Fence” completed last night. All that was left to do on it was to finish the binding which I had started before our short trip to Wisconsin. This hand pieced- hand quilted quilt ended up being 53 inches by 53 inches. I thought it was little bigger than that – but this will make a good child sized quilt.
I did have an “oops” moment though when I took it out of the dryer this morning and saw that I had missed a spot of quilting – 1 whole piece!
Very obvious after washing and having the shrinkage that I like.
Had to find the thread and get back to work on that piece. I got it wet again and tossed it back into the dryer and it looked just fine.
A close up
And of the back.
This quilt was hand pieced while we were on our 6 week trip through the south west with just a couple blocks needing to be finished when we got home. I started to quilt it by October 26 so that makes it one month of quilting/binding minus a week while we were gone for Thanksgiving – pretty fast for me. To think if I could do one this fast if I did a large quilt 100” x 100” in the hoop instead of the large frame I wonder if I would do it as fast?
by Karen on November 28, 2011
in quilts
Seems like I have been doing nothing but traveling the last three months! We got home late this afternoon and after we had begun to unpack I decided to make supper easy and order pizza! After a quick clean up of the kitchen and finished unpacking I thought I would do a quick post then settle in and turn on the tv and work on the binding for the quilt that I left part way finished before we left. I was going to take it along but didn’t as I thought it might be a little too big to work on comfortably in the car.
We left the St. Louis, Missouri area by 8:30 this morning and got going. It was misting a bit and a little bit of snow flurries but not a lot. It stayed cloudy and chilly though most of the day.
Traveling through Missouri is different than Illinois – Illinois is farm land, flat land mostly – Missouri is hilly and bluffs and trees.
We stopped in Springfield Missouri for over an hour for a break – the trees still had a little leaves on them. This one had a lot of leaves on it – most were almost gone.
Our planned rest stop/exercise stop – the Bass Pro shop – I thought I would look for some of those flannel lined jeans that I couldn’t find at the beginning of our trip when we stopped at Cabela’s – no luck here either – they did have some flannel lined pants, but no jeans which is what I wanted – I thought I would try on the twill pants I found that were lined but thought the waist band sat up higher than I like and were uncomfortable. – I didn’t get any but Mike found a pair for him, they had jeans in the men’s 
so I guess it was not a wasted side trip. Black Friday sales probably sold all the women’s lined jeans.
After getting back on the road we quickly arrived at Branson, Missouri a short way down the road – the sky started to clear up
The scenery started to change even more as we crossed over into Arkansas and we were very much in the Ozarks Mountains. The temperature started to warm up a little more as we drove south and got closer to home – reaching a high of about 40 — LOL – what a chilly day.
Streams
Mainly we were on a curvy highway for the last 2 hours home – we are used to this road though as we have been on it many times over the years – when one knows the road it isn’t as bad as it can be if you have never been on it.
All photos taken through the windshield so not as good as could be. I will be back to being a quilting blog tomorrow – now I need to sit down and make out a grocery list, things to do tomorrow besides grocery shopping – laundry, I brought home a weeks worth – guess I will be busy tomorrow!!
by Karen on November 28, 2011
in quilts
I got a little bit of applique done while at our daughters house in Wisconsin and on the drive. My design wall/lap will be getting more applique done on the table runner. I very much doubt I will get more than a couple pieces done on the way home today, but it is getting close – I might get done with it by the end of the week!
Head on over to Judy at Patchwork Times and see what everyone else is working on. I will be back to quilting on the big frame and working on more hand piecing on Joseph’s Coat tomorrow. One more applique piece to do on the straight side which might be the only piece I do today as the ends have curved edges as you can see and I’m thinking I will have a bit of pinning to do – not going to happen in the car after I dropped my needle yesterday while we were driving – had to do a bit of looking to find it and turned out I was sitting on it! Good thing it settled into a seam of the seat where I could get it!
by Karen on November 27, 2011
in Travel
We left Wisconsin bright and early – well not really all that early – 9:30 this morning we hit the cold road for home. It was only about 36 to 39 degrees all day! Our coldest day since we headed north on Tuesday.
And what did we see today:
cold wintery skies
Farms, big, small, old and new.
Crossed the Mississippi River at St. Louis, Missouri
When I saw the welcome to Missouri sign I felt like we were getting close to home – welcome to the south – what the heck it is still 38 degrees!! Where was the southern blue sky – the warmth of the sun? Not today – maybe tomorrow – another 6 to 8 hours or so (depending on how many stretch breaks and run to the bathroom stops we make) and we will be home.
When we get home I will soon be getting out the Christmas decorations and getting the house all pretty for the holidays. I had not intended to get any Christmas shopping done while visiting but on Saturday Jessica needed to make a run to the grocery store, I went along and we decided to stop at Target – found Christmas presents for the kids with her advice. I then got wrapping paper and some of the shopping is done and hidden in her closet – I saved on shipping charges 
nice! And I know it is things they will like – some of the downfalls of not being near your grandchildren is that you sometimes think you will be buying things they like and really they don’t always.
by Karen on November 25, 2011
in quilts
Do you try to get in on the Black Friday Sales (after Thanksgiving to those of you not in the states – might not know what I mean) – I have never gone shopping the day after Thanksgiving in the very early morning as some do. I have once in awhile gone in the afternoon after the crowds are gone. Today – no shopping 
we went to Downtown Madison instead and wandered around some museums and then cut across the capital grounds to a restaurant called “The Great Dane” – good place!
A photo of our younger daughter and family – the ones we are currently visiting. They have lived here in Wisconsin near Madison for almost 5 years now.
The grandchildren goofing off at the History Museum on a tractor available for children to try out sitting on and playing with the gears.
I saw this little machine behind glass at the history museum – it is a singer but what model? couldn’t get close. The sign by it said it was from 1886.
the kids listening to a video on times in the 1800’s
A pretty quilt -
Info on the quilt above.
We were back home in time to watch the Arkansas Razorbacks game which had begun to record, but we got caught up with it – I watch football but I am not a fanatic – I got bored with it and came here to the computer instead. (they lost anyhow) I did get more of the table runner worked on – some progress on that – I will get a photo of it tomorrow. I’m not sure what we are doing the last day here – looks like rain.
The little featherweight had a work out today – my nine year granddaughter finished a doll quilt that she started last year. Most of the little quilt was hand pieced. Right here she is putting on the final borders.
We decided that if she was going to finish this little project that it would be machine quilting – just to get it done!! Kind of the blind leading the blind seeing as I have not done many that way. I had no safety pins along with me. Quilters Dream batting was used so most of the time the fabric and the batting held together pretty well. We have a little bit of wrinkles on the back but it isn’t bad.
Ciera attaching the final borders and did the machine quilting – I showed her how to do the first little bit and then she took over and did it herself. I got the binding on for her and the hand stitching – done!
Ciera and her scrappy hand pieced (almost all of it) done mostly by herself with a little help from her mom during the past year. I haven’t a clue if she will ever want to do this again, but she has tried it and now I will sit back and see if she shows interest in doing more.
Some of the Thanksgiving feast.
The pretty table.
Grandson Utah watching tv after getting home from hunting with his dad – no lucky but there is always another day for that.
Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving.
by Karen on November 22, 2011
in quilts
A relaxing walk through a shopping mall that is – around 5 PM so it wasn’t busy in the least. 
just the way I like it. We got half way to our daughters and that was it for today – we just do not do long, long drives anymore – 7 hours was plenty.
We decided to get a little exercise by walking through a shopping mall. This mall was really kind of nice as malls go (I’m not a mall person anymore). Most of the shops were outlets – but I wasn’t shopping, I was just walking. The only store I was interested in was Cabela’s. If you are not familiar with it – this is an outdoor retail store. You can buy all kinds of camping equipment, hunting, ect. (kind of like the Bass Pro Shop) For those of you in Arkansas or Missouri – northwest Arkansas in Rogers will have a Cabelas in the upcoming summer.
Their catalog has a pair of flannel lined jeans for women – I wanted to find a pair to try on see how they feel – find out what size I wear – you know how jeans are for women – different size depending on what brand they are – frustrating to say the least. If you order on line, you never know what size to get!
Couldn’t find them – finally found a sales lady and asked her – they aren’t putting them out until after Thanksgiving! darn it, I guess I will have to order after all – I think I will order two sizes and see which one fits and send the one back that doesn’t fit.
Some of Cabela’s that is fun to look at:
an aquarium with big turtles in it.
Displays of animals (dead of course – taxidermy)
Oh well, looked around and continued on our walk and then back to the hotel after we stopped and ate – hit the road again tomorrow. Only a little bit of rain today, last night at home == 5 inches!! enough already.
Have a great holiday all of you in the US.
by Karen on November 21, 2011
in quilts
I was able to give the quilt on the big frame another crank down and the end is about in sight. One more turn of the crank and the final border will be completely in sight!
I would say I am 2/3rd’s of the way done. This is not a really large quilt. I don’t remember the what size this quilt is! I would have to go back in my post’s to find it. I do know that it is right under 60 inches wide, I think – not sure – that it is around 75 inches long at least.
Arkansas is getting more rain than it needs right now. Luckily the worst of it missed us but the Little Rock area has had plenty to the point of some flash flooding in areas. We are having rain as I type – hopefully it will not be bad storms.
We leave in the morning for Wisconsin for the Thanksgiving holiday. I am of course bringing my computer along as I don’t leave it behind for more than a day 
hmm wonder if we will have any snow up north while we are visit our daughter, son in law and our two extra special grandchildren? I’ll bring a pair of boots just in case – and my gloves and winter jacket!
