What are you going to be working on today? – head on over to Judy at Patchwork Times and see what everyone is working on. Me – Joseph’s Coat this Monday and for the first half of the week. The second half of the week I will be visiting family. My sister and brother who both live in Maryland are flying in on Thursday for a visit – we are all meeting in NW Arkansas where most of the family live. Mike is staying home seeing as he is back to work. I will be gone Thursday to Monday morning.
I will bring my computer along but haven’t a clue if I will have anything to blog about – when all of us sisters (4) get together there is a lot of talking going on! Shopping, eating, family gatherings – you get the picture? We haven’t had all 10 siblings together in town at the same time in about 4 years – one of my brothers though is on call for the weekend and lives 50 miles from the rest of them, so I don’t know if it will be 10 or 9 of us and of course some of the spouses, a lot of the “kids” several generations and my mom. Not the whole family but a lot of us.
Joseph’s Coat – this purple row finished – now to connect the row. I keep telling y’all this row is purple and really truly it is – I am trying another setting here, on my computer it looks more purple than it had – on your? Now though the other colors don’t quit look right.
One of my readers – Wanda from Exuberant Color says to try laying something gray behind the color and see if the purple will show better –and I am using that setting from the upper photo – it looks more true to the color in this photo. The next two dark colors – the first one on the left is purple the next a blue/purple and then the next are blues. They will be the next four colors used.
I think I have 14 more rows to go but it is hard to judge for sure unless I lay it all straight out and see it flat. I might do that when I get done stitching this row down – I will take it outside to the deck and see if I can get it all flat and start counting – Maybe with the lighting outside I can get the colors to turn out right.
Have a good week! Can you believe it is May tomorrow!!!
Progress! The last couple evenings I have been busy hand piecing on Joseph’s Coat and I am just about done with the purple row. I can’t for the life of me remember how I changed the color the other day so this purple row was purple! I changed something on the color setting and now it just looks blue – oh well – keep in mind it is actually purple! The segment on the white square is what I am currently working on – I have one melon left to piece on it and on the blue square is the last segment to be sewed before attaching it to the main body of the quilt top.
I did get in a little more quilting on Star Crazy as well yesterday and a little progress made on that one.
Today I need to get busy on the plants and it looks like it is starting the week out hot and might get up to 88 today! Jumping right on into summer it looks like! I better get busy and then be lazy in the heat of the day 
I think today I will start with more work on Joseph’s Coat. I worked on it a bit last night and it grew some more 
I always like that. This last purple row is just moving right along.
Why don’t you head on over to Judy at Patchwork Times and see what everyone is working on.
Like usual I might get in a little quilting on Star Crazy and I will decide today if I am going to make a new case for my laptop. I have the fabric out on my cutting table now I just need to look it over. I don’t have a pattern so I will have to make one up if I can’t find something with measurements on line.
As I make this purple row of Joseph’s Coat I can so tell how much shorter the rows are getting from the stack of pinned pieces of pieces stacked up in the box. This is what I have put together so far. I don’t remember what setting I used yesterday to try to get the purple at it’s true color so I selected this setting 
it might turn out different every time I do it.
I have been working on the tote bag I should you all the pattern for yesterday. I have all the pieces machine quilted – I am using Soft and Stable for the “batting” it is a firmer product that is great for bags. I also have the lining with the pockets on the inside sewed together.
Today I need to put all the pieces together. Just some of the pieces. I’ll show the whole bag when I get it done.
I think with some of the rest of the fabric from that bundle I will make a new cover for my Kindle as well.
That’s right I have gotten back to quilting on Star Crazy the last several evenings and made progress. I put my lap top at the top of the quilt frame resting on the back bars and put Netflix on and watch an old movie or series. I finished this end last night.
I turned the cranks and rolled it down a little bit more – you can truly see the end in sight now. Once I get done with all stars and the half square triangle border it will really go quickly with just straight lines on the simple ivory border.
But I will need to get through all these colorful pieces first! And that will take awhile. This stretch across I should be able to reach to the 3rd “row” of the stars –the way I measure this is that the stars – if broken down into segments consist of 4 rows – I should be able to reach through 3 of these easily.
I will have been working on this quilt for 5 months in the middle of May – I wonder if I can be done by then – I will really have to concentrate on it – and that means not concentrate on Joseph’s Coat as much – what a dilemma! LOL
I don’t always show this tool holder in the quilt pictures, it is hanging there but you don’t see the whole thing and I have had several people ask me what that is hanging down in the photo. This is referred to as “gooseneck wooden tray”. It hangs on the wooden bar that goes across the length of the frame. The wooden tray has all my tools – marking pens, ruler (1” wide) scissors, needles, thread, needle threader, hand held thimble and a little rubber gripper for pulling the needle through). This tray was included with the quilt frame when I bought it – a “free” gift. It has been so handy! Just do not put your coke can or a glass of water on it!! Yes found out the hard way years ago that if you bump it or whatever a liquid on the tray is not a good thing 
I mentioned in a previous post about Joseph’s Coat – the purple row looked more blue than purple and I tried to get a better shot of the color. I put two pieces on my sandpaper board which is black and then took the photo. Using the color adjuster button on the screen I was able to adjust the color a bit so you can see closer to what the true color is – on my screen it looks closer to the two shades of purple that it really is – on your computer? I don’t know – but this is more what it actually looks like. Thank you Wanda from Exuberant Color for the tip on taking photos of purple fabric – although the sandpaper board is black not gray as she suggested by playing with the color adjuster button I came close.
This weekend I will be concentrating more on making the large tote bag from this pattern and not be quilting or piecing as much. This is an easy pattern, but I do not make this sort of thing often – I normally just make quilts. I find this harder than making a quilt! I am using Kate Spain fabric as I mentioned the other day – the lining and the straps will be from a Bali Water Color Batik that I have on the shelf. I hope it turns out! I will show a photo when I am done with it – and if it doesn’t turn out you can all have a laugh!
First don’t forget the GIVEAWAY ends at 5 this afternoon. You still have time to enter if you wish to – leave a comment here.
What a busy day yesterday was for quilting/sewing. I got all the pieces cut out for the next row in Joseph’s Coat, laid out on the floor, and pinned together. The photos make the fabric look bluer than it is – it is much more a purple color than it looks. There are two different colors of purple batiks in this new row. – they blend so well it is hard to tell the difference in them. I tried with a flash and without and it still doesn’t have the true color. Today it is raining or I would try taking it outside to get a photo. As you can see the rows are definitely getting shorter now.
I quilted on Star Crazy for several hours last night and made progress. I might get back to it today and finish this section and then I can crank it down again.
The part that still needs quilting before turning the quilt down some more. The point I quilt to is about the area right to where it is pinned on the sides at.
I picked up a pattern yesterday at Hobby Lobby for a large tote bag. I want to make one to bring with me to Paducah next week – it will start out nearly empty with just a coin purse and keys/telephone/camera in it and leave plenty of room left over for purchases. I want to get started on the bag later today. I don’t make bags and things like that very often so I hope it will turn out ok. I am using some Kate Spain fabric from a bundle that I won several years ago. I used some of it in a quilt and still had plenty leftover for a bag (if I recall I won about 12 fat quarters in the Fandago line). I will let you all know if it turned out or if it was a complete failure!
Done with the purple row – I got all the circles finished this morning. I didn’t have to bring it outside this time to take a photo – but I bet the next time I will have to. No room to move this big heavy coffee table – and really it is about too heavy for me to move other than shoving it up against the couch.
Most of what I have in this quilt top are Bali water color batiks and Moda marbles. There are a few other bits and pieces thrown in that I don’t recall what they are. Most of what I had were fat quarters and half yard cuts that I had saved up over the last 3 or 4 years thinking one day to put them all together in a quilt and this is what I ended up with. As you can see it is getting closer to the finish line. I have next to use several more purples that are going more and more to blue tones.
Here are some close ups of the colors – you can’t always see what they look like good from a distance I think. Quilting is going to be very easy on this quilt!! Outline all the way, outline the melons a 1/4 inch inside the seam line and the odd shape background pieces – there too outline stitch. If I feel it needs an echo I can do that too. These photos will be going left to right.
I can’t wait to get the next colors going 
I have a feeling this quilt top is going to be taking priority – when I get close like this it gets kind of exciting to see the end in sight but also to see what the final look will be. Instead of putting a different quilt top on the quilt frame when I get Star Crazy off this one might be going on it next – I want it done so bad!! I think this one is going to be a very favorite!!
I must admit to not doing much in the line of sewing today although I did get the 15 circles made that I needed to have to go with the 2 left over from last time. I have 7 of the circles stitched – 10 more to go – maybe tonight?
I’m not sure how much I will get done tonight. I think I need to spend a little time cutting scraps – somehow – as I knew – I have gotten side tracked and haven’t worked on scraps other than briefly late Monday afternoon. I should try to cut a little bit this evening before I settle in on the couch for some tv.
I’ll let you know if I succeed in scrap organizing tonight.
Today I want to get the black circles done (made) for the purple row. I don’t know if I will get them all sewed on but I’m going to try. I had two leftover circles already made so I just need to make 15 more. Head on over to Lee at Freshly Pieced and see what everyone else has for the WIP Wednesday and don’t’ forget to check out my giveaway – time is running out – winner announced on late Friday.
I would have gotten to it yesterday – but yesterday was grass cutting day! One area:
Another area:
And:
And there was more but I won’t bore you with all of it. We have just under 4 acres and about 2 acres at least I keep mowed – thank heavens for our small John Deere riding lawnmower! I had to get off the lawnmower when I was cutting the stretch right in front of the area at the bottom of the photo – I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! I counted 13 red bud trees growing along the ditch – tiny – but there. Today I need to get out some markers and get these trees marked so they won’t get cut down – how pretty they will be when they grow larger – I will have a row of pretty blossoms in the springs.
I actually had time to get a little quilting done late in the day and did an hour on Star Crazy – at this rate it will be well on six months before I finish it.
First of all don’t forget to enter here for the give away of 3 patterns – 1 each to 3 lucky winners on early Friday evening – open to all.
I worked on Joseph’s Coat last night – I was near finishing the row to be added to the body of the quilt and I got it done! Now of course I need to hand stitch the row – I will begin working on that today.
I have been asked how does one “square” up a quilt of this type? It really isn’t that hard – you just do it one row at a time. I am not great with words for explaining but here is an attempt with photos – which I think explains most everything.
When I finished the first purple row I needed to add one more purple melon to finish the “circle” off as I didn’t know for sure this was going to be the end row I hadn’t done that so that needed to be done before this final row will be attached.
Now that I knew the end of this purple/bluish color row will be the end of this side this is the way each bottom piece will be finished. This makes the end of each row.
You can see how this makes each row shorter for sure here and “squares” the ends up with the melons.
The next colors will be chosen from these shades.
I have to start feeling it out a bit now. I won’t be able to use all the fabrics that I have stacked up as “possibles” for this quilt. I will be running out of room shortly as each row gets shorter. All of these yummy colors to look through as I end each row. I can tell right now that very dark blue will go – it would not flow right.
Next up is more purple – then blues – then greens. The end is truly in sight now. But first I need to sew that purple row on to the quilt body – add the black circles then get started cutting more pieces!
