I was busy today. It was cloudy and not as nice of a day – I stayed inside other than leaving first thing this morning for exercise – then back home.
I got six more blocks done. I like them just as they are and will be sewed block to block, row after row. Final order will most likely be different than the order they are in now, I will run out of room soon.
Assembly line work, I get all the strips cut the correct measurements for each block – stack them do some seams and then press and start over again. I worked six at a time today.
This many done.
Star Crazy moving along today as well – I finished up this “row” and it is ready to give it another crank down.
I’ll show the next area to be quilted tomorrow.
Wow it was nice yesterday – I think it got up to 64 degrees out here in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. I didn’t do near what I planned to on the quilting front as I was outside clearing out some brush instead. But towards the end of the day I did get busy and got the sewing machine going on some of those new blocks that I am working on.
Six blocks done. Right now I do not know how they will all come together. If I will just put them together row by row, maybe some sashing in between – maybe not? someone suggested the Bento Box quilt pattern – cut each block in quarters and mix them up and sew them back together again – hadn’t thought of that one. We will see. I don’t know how many blocks I will end up with, I’m horrible at math and hadn’t even thought to figure that one out!
I also got some hand piecing done on the Joseph’s Coat quilt – 5 more segments to piece and then I can start to put the row together. I have gotten this bunch pressed and put back in the box – I will work on the rest of them today I hope. (not all of these done today of course-this is from a weeks worth at least if not going on two weeks with as busy as I was last week out of town).
I didn’t get around to quilting on the frame until late, not much progress to show on that one. I will work on the Farmers Wife quilting on Thursday night at group and on Friday morning – maybe I will have some progress to show then.
by Karen on January 30, 2012
in quilts
I missed last week for sharing so this week I have 3 projects that I will be hopping around with. Go on over to Judy at Patchwork Times and see what everyone is working on.
As if I didn’t have enough projects to work on I have started another – yes I know I said I was going to work on only two until I finished them – not going to happen! I get bored too easily I guess.
My new project – name to be decided on – working with the red/black/white strips. Thanks for your opinions on the strips yesterday. All of the strips are from the same set called “After Hours” from Connecting Threads. It is weird how that one set of strips didn’t seem to go with the rest but with the way I am using them – it will work out. These will finish at 10 inches I believe although with my usual inaccurate machine piecing they might be trimmed to 10 inches and then finished at 9 1/2
The strips if you didn’t see them yesterday:
I will also get in some hand quilting today on Star Crazy, this is the area I left off on yesterday.
And Joseph’s Coat – hand piecing,
Surely 3 projects rotating should keep me occupied. The Farmer’s Wife quilt is a hand quilting project and that will be my take along to quilt group project for now – so I guess I better change that to 4 projects. This is the next area to start quilting on Friday:
So what are you working on today? 
by Karen on January 29, 2012
in quilts
Thinking ahead – hmm should I start another project or continue on the ones I have been working on. How come we are never satisfied with working on one project at a time!!
I got some 2 1/2 inch strips from Connecting Threads several years ago that I have not touched. In truth I have barely looked at them since I got them. I paid very little for them – a very big after Thanksgiving sale several years back – this whole lot cost me right under $10.00!!!! Black, reds, and whites – what to make? I have 56 strips, I divided them up into color groups for now:
Black
Red – question on color – should the 3 strips on the left side of the red group be considered red or white?
White: question? should the 3 strips on the left of the white grouping be considered white or black?
Of course there is also the question of what to make!! I need to give it some thought – I’m not rushing into it 
Once again I felt like I was going to get a cold only to wake up the next day thinking maybe I wasn’t after all – I wonder at times if mental and physical exhaustion can make you feel like you are getting a cold? Two good nights sleep and although I still feel a little sleepy I no longer feel like I am getting a cold 
that makes me feel better all by itself! Back to exercise and regular routine this week.
Last night I sat at the quilting frame and got back to quilting and you know it made my sleepiness go away for awhile. As the quilt gets rolled up on the frame the extension of the area I quilt seems to become smaller – I do believe that roll at the bottom makes it harder to reach out therefore I quilt less width of space and the cranking of the quilt will go faster but needs more turns to get as much done if you know what I mean. I got done with the areas of the top of the black star and the areas on the sides of it last night.
The straight lines of the border section will take little time today and then I go back to the center of the quilt and work my way to the right side. The weather though looks to be very nice today so I wonder how much time I will sit at the frame today. It is very sunny but quite chilly still this morning – maybe 60 degrees though by afternoon.
Whenever I show a photo of my quilting and my hand held thimble is shown laying on the quilt I almost always get a comment asking what is that “stick, flat thing” on your quilt so I will leave a link again – it is a hand held thimble it works and it is the only thimble I use for hand quilting.
A little work has been done on Joseph’s Coat at well – these pieces are for the red diagonal line are just laying in place, segments hand pieced but not attached to the row.
The top of the row – I was a little confused this morning when laying these out to see how it was looking and how much left to do on this row – instead of laying the segments out at the top of the quilt I started at the bottom and it just doesn’t work that way – you have to lay them in the correct order for it to come together right! Luckily instead of starting to take pieces apart I thought maybe it will work out if I start them from the top instead of the bottom and it did – thank goodness! You see this top segment has 4 red pieces for it to lay out right– all the rest of them have 3 pieces – when starting from the bottom I had one red piece too many.
I ended up ordering a few more colors of bali watercolor batik for the flow of some of the next colors to look right. I hope to get the fabric this week although I don’t need them yet I want to make sure I have the color flowing right in the colors to come.
I guess even though I am only buying when needed to make a project come out right I really shouldn’t even start the year out saying I am not going to buy fabric for the year – it just never happens!! I am trying to keep myself under control though!!
by Karen on January 28, 2012
in quilts
I think little sis passed her cold on to me this past week 
I have no energy today even though I slept 8 1/2 hours last night! Off and on today I have been doing a little clean up though in the sewing room – I haven’t felt like quilting today. Too busy sniffling!
I have a fairly clean table top now – you should have seen it before – I guess I should have taken a before and after shot! Those 3 tiny things on the table – chocolate – I need them for energy 
Recently some book shelves that we used to store some books in the bedroom entry way have gotten cleared off – we have been boxing books and passing them on to Goodwill type of stores – since we have gotten our Kindles last year we have not been buying hardbacks and softbacks much and decided we needed to de-clutter – passing books we will not read again to others. In the meantime – I now finally had some room to move quilting books out from under the quilting frame to the shelves.
Most of these quilting books had been stacked on the above shelves. They don’t fit standing up so have to be stacked but now they are at eye level so I can find them easier.
Plastic bins that you see there have numerous print outs of patterns from the computer – why I keep printing them out is beyond me – I haven’t looked through these in ages and the same with that pink ring binder – I just glanced at that when I stacked it and the first pattern I saw I immediately thought how pretty it was and why had I forgotten about it – maybe because there are so many “have to makes”.
Now I just need to figure out what to do with that big pile of tote bags that I have stuck under the quilt frame as well – why do I tend to collect up so many – I do believe some of them are going to Goodwill as well! That little shelving unit is going out! I need to organize the rest of the mess this week – would be nice to have it cleaned up under the quilting frame.
by Karen on January 27, 2012
in quilts
Before I left to stay with my mother for two days I noticed up by the driveway as I was leaving Wednesday morning that one of the daffodils was about to open – sure enough when I got home the daffodil was open! I do not remember ever having a blossom so early in the – spring – winter – spring – I think the plants are confused as to what season it is and so I’m I!
My first flower of 2012 
and there are a lot more buds up there and closer to the house – spring is coming early – of course we might get a snow yet or some really cold weather – but that flower sure looks welcoming to me.
Anyway I am home – mom is doing great, she is getting around really well for someone who is wheelchair confined all the time. Well enough that I thought I could come home. Of course I know she was having some of the family drop in to see her this afternoon and evening and more tomorrow – people checking up on her. Remarkable how fast recovery is from surgery now days even for the elderly. We never did get the pathology report back this week so hopefully that will be early next week so she will know for sure what is going on.
This morning when I was out grocery shopping for mom before I left I ran into Rogers to the quilt shop there to see if I could match up more fabric for Joseph’s Coat – I need to find a pinkish/red/purple if that makes any sense. The shop is the Rabbits Lair and they just do not carry many almost solids and I don’t believe any batiks at all. I found the 3rd fabric from the left which helps carry out the flow of colors very well I think. And that was just about the only purchase – 1 yard!
But while at mom’s I almost lost my stick on metal thimble that I use for applique and hand piecing and seeing as they had one on their notions wall I decided to get a spare seeing as I wouldn’t have to pay shipping and handling. What a big spender I am I really and truly am trying to stick to my 2012 policy of using what I have and only buy if needed. It sure was hard though when seeing all the beautiful jelly rolls and charm packages – books, rulers – oh my could go on and on and that is a small quilt shop! I think I mentioned this shop last month or the month before – they also have yarn – it used to be half the shop was yarn, half fabric. They moved the yarn out to it’s own store – I misunderstood last time and said the store would be next door – it is is around the block but still in the cobblestone area for anyone who happens to be going in that direction. I don’t remember the name for it.
I got very little piecing done. I had planned on it while sitting and talking with mom, but between all the housework I did and little sleep at night I just didn’t get around to it! I’m sure I will get busy this week after I get a good nights sleep tonight – I hope!
by Karen on January 27, 2012
in quilts
Last night I was reading well wishes to mom from the computer – she was absolutely blown away to be getting well wishes from people all over the United States and from as far away as England, Spain, Australia and other countries around the world. She is not very computer literate but as I compared it to pen pals from around the world she understands it. She said to tell everyone thank you for the well wishes and also to tell everyone she is feeling much better and and is amazed at people that don’t know her to send best wishes.
Thanks everyone!
by Karen on January 26, 2012
in quilts
LOL – not what I would like to do! It was house cleaning day at my mom’s apartment – this was my friend today!
And this:
I did get a little quilting done last night though on the Farmer’s Wife, – but not a lot – it was just too warm as I thought it might be. Mom keeps her heat at 74 degrees because she gets very chilly as a lot of older people do – I keep mine at 68 – I brought t-shirts that I wear in warm weather instead of my usual long sleeve shirts that I normally wear at this time of year!
For a change I really and truly do not intend to put a lot of quilting in this quilt – there will be enough just not excessive!! I might put one line around the inside edges of the white blocks – not sure – we will see.
Tonight now that all the house work is done I will work on the Joseph’s Coat pieces instead of the quilt – I already moved that back out to the car so it was out of my way. Tomorrow I head back home after doing grocery shopping for mom. She is feeling much better and is getting on as normal now. Pathology should be back tomorrow or Monday I guess.
by Karen on January 24, 2012
in quilts
I thought today just for fun I would play with machine quilting – which we all know is not my specialty 
so what did I do – I dropped the feed dogs and thought I would see what I could do. I set my speed setting on my Janome Platinum 720 to a fairly slow speed and gave it a whirl – expert I am not!!
This is the stencil flower that I will be using on the Farmers Wife blank blocks although those blocks are little smaller than this and I think it will just be the flower not the leaves. I have all different sizes of stitches on this! I could not control it well.
A little more of a close up – you can see my wild uneven stitches here. All I know about machine quilting is a little bit that I have picked up from books really – last year I went over to CJ’s house and doodled with her long arm for fun – but we all know that is different than using your domestic machine. I was following laser dots that time.
LOL, the back is a real mess!
I thought I would give it one more try before I gave up for the afternoon. I actually did better on stitch length control.
A close up
The back side – hmm – tension wasn’t right! Oh well, just practice – haven’t a clue if I would try to do anything like this on one of my quilts but maybe more straight line stitching instead – easier and neater in the long run for me!! How do you guys do this!! LOL, I might have to stick with what I do best.
Now back to my specialty – hand quilting on Star Crazy this evening. I didn’t rinse out the blue lines when I took this photo. I will be behind my tentative schedule for getting this quilt done with all the running I have been doing to my moms – but I will still try to get it done by April – we will see!!
