weather

More little blocks, and spring rain

by Karen on March 9, 2010

in Dear Jane - "Insanity Revisited", gardening, quilts, weather

Yesterday seeing as I am still waiting patiently (almost) for my batting to arrive I worked up another little Dear Jane block for “Insanity Revisited”.  I will get another one prepped today.  After running in to the problem of two separate companies out of the batting I use and having to wait for them to send it I decided when I go to Paducah in April to make sure to stock up on several sizes of batting and bring them home and store them under the quilting frame.  The packages will be out of my way and there when I need them.  I love Quilters Dream 100% cotton batting – it is the only kind I use – I have experimented with numerous brands and just find I like that one the most.

The beginning of Row K (#11) this is block number 1.

The beginning of Row K (#11) this is block number 1.

Yesterday brought a visit from our daughter Melanie and her husband Ric.  This was a visit that had not been planned far in advance but a delight.  Melanie and I took a nice walk at the trails while her husband was visiting his mother – who luckily lives only 2 miles away from us which makes visiting easy for them – then we made supper and Ric came over to visit for awhile  and eat then they went back to his mom’s house to visit there too.  With Melanie’s hours at work not being very flexible we appreciate a visit when they can squeeze us in ;)   I don’t know how it works for most people but we have found it is easy for them to make a visit to both sides of the family easily because of how close we live to his mom.

It rained last night – we had not had much rain lately so seeing as it was not sever storms and it was at night it was welcome.  My little garden plot is ready for planting.

My little plot next to the wood pile. There is a reason for this. I figured because I wanted to plant early - salad type of veggies that grow good at this time of year - but anyway because it is early I want to be able to protect from cold weather. So the plastic over the wood will be pulled over the garden instead and held down and the heat can stay in the area by the plants! Instant green house :)

My little plot next to the wood pile. There is a reason for this. I figured because I wanted to plant early - salad type of veggies that grow good at this time of year - but anyway because it is early I want to be able to protect from cold weather. So the plastic over the wood will be pulled over the garden instead and held down and the heat can stay in the area by the plants! Instant green house :) I still need to get some chicken wire to put a small fence around it too keep out the rabbits. Right now I plan on planted two kinds of lettuce, spinach, radishes, carrots, green peas and beets (not a salad veggies but I like them) all of these should be ready within one to two and half months which works out well seeing as we will be gone for a good chunk of summer. By putting plastic over it part of the time it should encourage them to grow faster (I hope). I would have liked to have tomato plants too but I don't feel I would have enough time to use them all and I hate to waste them.

a little wild area of plants. The little green that doesn't have flowers on it yet are lily's

a little wild area of plants. The little green that doesn't have flowers on it yet are lily's

The big tree in the center of the yard always gets these reddish buds all over it before the leaves come. They look pretty but sure do make a mess in another two weeks or so when they fall off the tree and the leaves grow. I have to blow them all off of the porch and the deck then, but they are pretty.

The big tree in the center of the yard always gets these reddish buds all over it before the leaves come. They look pretty but sure do make a mess in another two weeks or so when they fall off the tree and the leaves grow. I have to blow them all off of the porch and the deck then, but they are pretty. The picture is not as clear as I hoped. In fact a lot of the photos I took this morning did not turn out and were out of focus. I'm still working on that.

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“Insanity Revisited” Dear Jane

by Karen on March 7, 2010

in Dear Jane - "Insanity Revisited", gardening, weather

I finished sewing the 10th row onto the body of the quilt and it is looking good I think! :)   There are over 2,000 pieces in it at this point and around 250 hours of hand piecing I think – I have it written down. This second Dear Jane is actually being done faster than the first one was – I checked in my journal to see how long it had taken me on the first one at the end of 10 rows and it was about 50 hours longer — guess I am used to dealing with this bitty pieces.

Me with 10 rows of Dear Jane, "Insanity Revisited"

Me with 10 rows of Dear Jane, "Insanity Revisited"

I think I mentioned to you all that I am a scrap quilter, well even though I have plenty of  fabric for this quilt I can’t stop myself from saving my scraps.  You see from the photo that some of the pieces are smaller than a quarter! I tend to save scraps and use them up for the tiny pieces as you will see from these photos.

Some of the pieces in this quilt are more the size of a dime than a quarter - but a quarter was what was handy.

Some of the pieces in this quilt are more the size of a dime than a quarter - but a quarter was what was handy.

a pile of scraps leftover that I couldn't use for this 1st block on row 11 - they were too small :(

a pile of scraps leftover that I couldn't use for this 1st block on row 11 - they were not needed or too small :(

the scraps I did use!

the scraps I did use plus a larger piece that was already cut and left over from previous blocks.

So as you can see if you save small pieces from your leftovers when you are making Dear Jane it is very likely that you can use them up, especially if you are doing a two color Dear Jane like this one is.

It was a wonderful day outside today – it got up to a big 68 degrees!!!  I hadn’t planned on doing a garden this summer because we will be gone for part of it but then I thought well maybe a little bit that could be ready by the end of June?  Mike tilled up a small piece of land for me down by the wood pile that is in the sun all the time.  I need to rake it out a little this week and get it ready.  Right now I have some seeds for carrots, beets, and sweet peas.  I might get some leaf lettuce and radishes too.  Maybe a tomato plant if it is really big and has blossoms on it already – not sure on that.  We might be getting some rain this week, so my gardening plans might have to wait until next week if it gets muddy.

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Spring, squirrels & Parks

by Karen on March 5, 2010

in quilts, weather

I did finish block 13 of row 10 for “Insanity Revisited” but I forgot to take a photo of it before attaching to the others in the row.  I will take a photo when I get this row attached to the other 9.  It is coming along nicely.  I still have not received my batting, I sent an e mail to find out when I would get it and they had run out of the twin size also and was expecting it in any day and would ship it out to me as soon as they got it.  Must be a lot of quilting going on for two places to be out of that size.  At this rate it will be another week before I get it.  Oh well, I have the instructions printed out for the Star Crazy March blocks so I guess I will work on those soon.

It got up to 61 degrees outside today.  Went to the park to take a walk out in the sunshine.  The park workers were doing a controlled burn in parts of the park and the area I was walking in I thought was going to be ok and it was for the most part but the very last part I had to go through smoke and now my allergies are driving me crazy!  Smoke just really tends to get in my eyes and sinuses and takes awhile to clear out.

Lake Dardanelle with Mt. Nebo in the distance across the lake

Lake Dardanelle with Mt. Nebo in the distance across the lake. On the top of Mt. Nebo is a state park - a very pretty park.

part of the nice scenery at the park today - what a sunny day

part of the nice scenery at the park today - what a sunny day

the final part of the walk today where I had to walk through the smoke! I really thought all the burning was at the far end of the park where I wasn't going to be walking.

the final part of the walk today where I had to walk through the smoke! I really thought all the burning was at the far end of the park where I wasn't going to be walking. The smoke made it a bit hazy at the park but the sun still felt good.

before I left the house this squirrel was getting seed under the bird feeder. I usually just see gray squirrels so seeing this reddish one was a treat - he sure was braver than the gray squirrels and didn't run while I was approaching to get his photo. The squirrels and birds have really ruined this one end of the flower bed this winter. I will need to do a bit of digger here and re-plant a bit. It is a shallow bed but I made the mistake years ago of putting peat moss mixture in this bed. I say a mistake because it is like one giagantic root ball now. It is very hard to dig it and I will most likely have to just about chop it up with a pick axe to get it so I can dig it up a bit.

before I left the house this squirrel was getting seed under the bird feeder. I usually just see gray squirrels so seeing this reddish one was a treat - he sure was braver than the gray squirrels and didn't run while I was approaching to get his photo. The squirrels and birds have really ruined this one end of the flower bed this winter. I will need to do a bit of digging here and re-plant a bit. It is a shallow bed but I made the mistake years ago of putting a peat moss mixture in this bed. I say a mistake because it is like one gigantic root ball now and it hard as rock. It is very hard to dig it and I will most likely have to just about chop it up with a pick axe to get it so I can dig it up a bit. I have been planning on remaking this flower bed for sometime now but dread attacking it because of how hard the soil is and how compacted it is.

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Springtime and sashing

by Karen on March 3, 2010

in gardening, quilts, weather

It got up to 54 today the sun is shining and it looks like early spring is in the air.  That doesn’t mean we won’t have cold days ahead but at the rate things are growing I know it won’t be far off.  I spent the last hour outside cleaning out a flower bed of all the dried up leaves and pine needles that had collected up over winter.  I found things growing!

This pink hydrangea that I planted last spring is coming back nicely, see all those leave buds!

This pink hydrangea that I planted last spring is coming back nicely, see all those leave buds!

I do believe these are hyciniths. I know I have some planted in that general area but I was disappointed in then last year as they didn't have good flowers on them. I will see what they do this year and if not many flowers again I will pull them out and re-plant

I do believe these are hyacinths. I know I have some planted in that general area but I was disappointed in them last year as they didn't have good flowers on them. I will see what they do this year and if not many flowers again I will pull them out and re-plant

Tulip greenery - the problem with tulips is that around here you plant them in December and they are usually pretty the first year and then you get nothing but green after that and rarely flowers. If I remember right I have been told that our summers are too hot and the winters not cold enough for a long enough period - this winter was colder and longer than normal so I wonder if I will have flowers this year?

Tulip greenery - the problem with tulips is that around here you plant them in December and they are usually pretty the first year and then you get nothing but green after that and rarely flowers. If I remember right I have been told that our summers are too hot and the winters not cold enough for a long enough period - this winter was colder and longer than normal so I wonder if I will have flowers this year?

A little fern, these ferns are natural around here and grow every where it seems. I dug some up from down in the woods over the years and have stuck them in flower beds. They normally stay green all winter.

A little fern, these ferns are natural around here and grow every where it seems. I dug some up from down in the woods over the years and have stuck them in flower beds. They normally stay green all winter. This ground cover stays pretty green also and has purple flowers on it mainly in the early spring and I think again in the fall? I might be mistaken on that and only flowers once - either in the spring or the fall?

And the daffodils are all opening up now - this early varitey that is. I have seen them around town and the line of them that we have scattered along the front of our property are all starting to bloom now. I will start to find others around the yard more and more as the warm weather stays with us.

And the daffodils are all opening up now - this early variety that is. I have seen them around town and the line of them that we have scattered along the front of our property are all starting to bloom now. I will start to find others around the yard more and more as the warm weather stays with us.

Last night and this morning I worked on drawing the stencil design on the quilt top. I use a blue wash out marking pen that I did a blog post on a couple weeks or more about - "Mark-be-Gone". The top is now ready to quilt and I am just waiting on the batting to arrive. I sewed the backing together yesterday. I did not have a wide enough piece and had to sew several lenghts together. It was almost wide enough but missed by about 8 inches.

Last night and this morning I worked on drawing the stencil design on the quilt top. I use a blue wash out marking pen that I did a blog post on a couple weeks or more about - "Mark-be-Gone". The top is now ready to quilt and I am just waiting on the batting to arrive. I sewed the backing together yesterday. I did not have a wide enough piece and had to sew several lenghts together. It was almost wide enough but missed by about 8 inches.

I have one more block to make for Row 10 on “Insanity Revisited” and then it will be time to sew that row on to the others.  Then I will take a break from it once again and work on the March assignment for the “Star Crazy” quilt.  I got all that printed out yesterday.  I think I have pretty much decided that the “Little Brown Bird” quilt and the “Traditional Red and Green Applique” – each of which have only one block made will stay put aside for awhile while I get these smaller quilts quilted.  Plenty of time to work on them later.  It is more important to me to get caught up on quilt tops that need quilting.  I don’t like having so many things waiting in line not finished.  This time will give me time to put more thought into the “Little Brown Bird” I have decided there are many blocks in this quilt that I would rather not make and I am looking for blocks to substitute with.  I have found several “lacy” type of blocks to reverse applique and entwine with flowers like the one block I already completed.  I will most likely come up with a new name for the quilt because at this rate I don’t even know if there will be a bird in it!!  :)

EDITED: at 9:17PM  Odette from Chile left me a comment.  I follow her blog although she hasn’t been an active blogger we exchange e mail now and then.  The google translator doesn’t always do a good job but for any of you who occasionally go to her blog from mine I am happy to report that she and her family came through the earthquake well.  I think she is a bit north of where the damage was and close to the border of Peru.  I had e mailed her after the quake and was happy to hear from her, I had wondered of course if she was ok.

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quilting & buds

by Karen on February 22, 2010

in quilts, weather

We have a little touch of spring coming our way even though it feels very chilly outside and will get down in the twenty’s on Tuesday to Thursday I think from what the news said.  Here is a photo of our first daffodil blooms.

the first ones to open

the first ones to open

I also found a leave bud on one of the clematis!  Could it be that spring really is around the corner although it doesn’t feel like it :)

a little blurry but here is a leave bud.

a little blurry but here is a leave bud.

Thank you to all that have left me names of authors to look up at the library.  I have made a list and will start to look for them soon.  I will go through my shelves and make up a list to post on here too so maybe some of you will find someone new to read also.

I have spent the last couple of days quilting on my “Devil’s Puzzle” little top and it is coming along nicely.  I don’t know if you can see the quilting very well on this photo though but the center is done and I am almost finished with the first border around the center.  If you click on the photo it will go to a larger size to see the quilting on it.  Just simple quilting and I am not putting a whole lot of quilting in on this one.  Around the first border I used a simple braid stencil.  Around the outer border I will use a different stencil.  I’m not sure which one I will use but I have several to choose from.  This one will be done quickly.  I think when I am done with it instead of starting another applique block for one of my other quilts that I am making I might get another quilt ready to quilt.  I really need to get  caught up on the quilting.  Of course I have noticed in this top that I am working on that I have some of the red that bled in the applique block that I did last month it!!  I will have baste some of the color catchers on those areas to make sure it doesn’t happen on this one – love to use scraps but you never remember what has been washed and what hasn’t when you use scraps that are close to ten years old or whatever!

quilting

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Baking, reading, and Olympics

by Karen on February 15, 2010

in Baking/cooking, family, quilting links, quilts, weather

Today is a cold, dreary day.  We have had snow flakes spitting off and on all day.  It is the type of day where you really don’t go outside unless you are really and truly an outdoors person or if you need to run and errand – like go exercise (which I did).   Now though it is time to just sit back and enjoy the inside and hope tomorrow will be warmer.  I will tune in to the Olympics sometime today or this evening to see how it is going, I haven’t watched it today yet.

Yesterday we ran to Little Rock to meet up with daughter and her hubby to go to the Arts Center – the exhibit was nice but much smaller than I thought it would be and no gold and glitter among these Egyptian pieces.  All pieces were more of the ceramic and bead jewelry type of items and a couple of mummies.  Everything was great to look at although my husband and I both thought that the cards all of the information was written on could have been larger – is age creeping in here :) I hope not!

When we got done with the exhibit we left the kids (kids to me – not to them they are in their late mid-30′s) and headed over to Sam’s Wholesale and  Barnes and Nobles for a quick look before we left for home – wouldn’t believe the weather – snow flying everywhere – and it had been in the 50′s the day before – it was melting as fast as it was hitting the ground so no worries about travel.

At Barnes and Noble I always look through the quilt magazines to see what is new.  Now and then they will have an overseas magazine and I always look through them to see what is going on in the quilting world away from the states.  I found a great one from New Zealand — and the best – it had a quilt border in it that I love and I think I will use that one for the Little Brown Bird quilt instead of the one that comes with it as it is one of the main parts of the quilt that I thought was just a bit too fussy for my taste. (saying that I should actually mention although I love the quilt I find a lot of it a bit too fussy for my taste and I intend to change it a lot – when I get done it most likely won’t even look that much the same as the original as I am planning on substituting some blocks for others that I have found and making some of my own design also).    The magazine I found is simply “New Zealand Quilter”.

this issue has such a simple quilt on the front of it I was surprised - most magazines tend to put something a bit flashier on the cover. I'm glad I opened it up to look at it and found the border inside.

this issue has such a simple quilt on the front of it I was surprised - most magazines tend to put something a bit flashier on the cover. I'm glad I opened it up to look at it and found the border inside.

The is the border I liked. It is from an award winning quilt by Margaret Matthews (2007) called "Roses for Me" and in the magazine it was the final of a 10 part series. I'm so glad I happened to pick this issue up, it has the pattern pull out included.

The is the border I liked. It is from an award winning quilt by Margaret Matthews (2007) called "Roses for Me" and in the magazine it was the final of a 10 part series. I'm so glad I happened to pick this issue up, it has the pattern pull out included.

So that is news on the quilting part of my day (yes I have been busy with my applique border and I have 1 1/2 borders left to do).  Today was a baking day also.

Blueberry, Banana, Walnut Muffins

1 cup of quick oats
1/3 cup oil (I use canola)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 small carton of vanilla yogurt (6 oz)
1/2 cup milk
1 mashed banana
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
1 cup blueberries

Mix all ingredients together except the blueberries.  Stir them in after all is mixed.  Bake for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees.  Makes about 21 small muffins (this depends on the size of your containers).

some of the muffins - as you can see I use a variety of containers, the ones in the back are the aluminum foil toss away and the red ones are microwave/oven proof silicon rubbery things :) I found these awhile back and wanted to give them a try and they work great. You kind of just pop the muffins out. I had six more baking when I took this picture and they are in a muffin tin.

some of the muffins - as you can see I use a variety of containers, the ones in the back are the aluminum foil toss away and the red ones are microwave/oven proof silicon rubbery things :) I found these awhile back and wanted to give them a try and they work great. You kind of just pop the muffins out. I had six more baking when I took this picture and they are in a muffin tin. I have very large blueberries frozen from my little brother's berry farm as you can see in the photo - a couple berries and you have enough in each muffin! I have only about a cup of frozen berries left from the crop in June.

my afternoon snack - my very nutrious blueberry muffin and a cappuncino - of course and went and spoiled he nutrious part by having some chocolate afterwards :) can't be perfect LOL

my afternoon snack - my very nutritious blueberry muffin and a cappuccino - of course I went and spoiled the nutritious part by having some chocolate afterward :) can't be perfect LOL after all I was hungry I had gotten in an hour of exercise after lunch!

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Snowmen

by Karen on February 10, 2010

in life in general, Star Crazy, weather

Ok I haven’t made any snowmen even though we have enough snow to do so.    It would have made a good one a couple days ago but now it is starting to get kind of crunchy.  On my way home though I snapped this photo from the car – I was only a mile or so from the house but I had several cars coming up behind me and no safe place to pull out because of the snow so this one isn’t as great as it could be.  This photo of snowmen though will show you that we had plenty of snow available to make them!  I wish I had thought quicker to zoom in.

so unique - so tall and skinny, I don't think any children live at this house - maybe visiting grandchildren? or maybe the older couple that live there got out and had some fun?

so unique - so tall and skinny, I don't think any children live at this house - maybe visiting grandchildren? or maybe the older couple that live there got out and had some fun?

We still have plenty of snow, it has been cold and although it melted off of the roads it is still on the trees and grass.  Luckily we did not have to even think of shoveling out our driveway.  It is not all that long of a drive and we kind of just crunch it down with the vehicles and wait for it to melt.  I do shovel off a little path in the middle of the day though off of the decking so it won’t get slippery.  I say “I” because Mike is working long hours right now and we are only talking of a little bit of snow and a small area.

This afternoon I hope to start cutting out pieces for the Star Crazy February blocks.  I have everything printed out and ready to go.  Late start though as I had an eye doctor appointment earlier and then the fitness center so just got home a short while ago.  Did you all know that as you age it is not uncommon for your distance vision to improve but of course your close up vision gets worse!  I have been wearing glasses for almost 40 years and this is the first time he has ever seen any improvement in my distance vision and said that occasionally happens as we age.  Of course he needs to make the bifocal part stronger – can’t have it perfect!  I will pick up new glasses in about 10 days.  A little bit of a new style but not drastic.  Maybe I will be able to see my applique stitches better!

Oh well I am getting ready to go through fabric for the star crazy blocks I hope to have photos tomorrow.

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More Snow

by Karen on February 8, 2010

in weather

What a winter we are having.  The weather forecast said we would get some snow last night but it sounded like it would be just rain mixed with some snow and then turning to snow by late today.  Instead we woke up to 3 1/2 inches of very wet heavy snow.  It stopped but the news says it will start again in the afternoon and through the night.  I wonder how much we will get?  We briefly lost our power this morning so I hope it won’t be a lot more to make trees and power lines heavy.  What we have now is the heavy wet stuff.  I thought I would do a blog post this morning in case we loose power later.  We do have the generator but hubby is working today and I don’t know if I would be able to get it started – it has a pull cord on it and I am not good at those!

The last time I measured the snow I used one of my sewing rulers that is a little confusing and not clear and concise. I pulled out a different one (wavy edge) and it has the numbers marked really well. Just a tad over 3 1/2 inches right now.

The last time I measured the snow I used one of my sewing rulers that is a little confusing and not clear and concise. I pulled out a different one (wavy edge) and it has the numbers marked really well. Just a tad over 3 1/2 inches right now.

Our winter wonderland

Our winter wonderland

and another view

and another view

Of course this isn’t anything like what everyone out on the east coast got on Saturday.  One of my sisters and one brother live in Northern Maryland about 15 miles apart.  They had a whopping 30 to 36 inches.  Saturday was my sister Vicki’s birthday – here she is in the snow in front of their house.

Luckily a neighbor has a snowplow and cleared their driveway and here it is all piled up in the front yard!

Luckily a neighbor has a snowplow and cleared their driveway and here it is all piled up in the front yard! A birthday to remember! (Vicki in front of her house)

Thank you all for your comments on the border of my quilt that I posted yesterday. I have gotten started on the applique and though it will take awhile to complete I am having fun doing it.  I will need to make time this month to get busy on this months assignment for the Star Crazy quilt.  I have my instructions printed out and now to figure out what colors from my scraps to use and get busy making what they say needs to be done this month.

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It’s ready to applique

by Karen on February 7, 2010

in weather

After making more circles last night and earlier today the top is ready for the applique stitches.  I will be working for the next several week on this border to get it done.  I couldn’t lay it all out for you to see as I don’t have enough floor room so I had to fold it a little.

better than nothing but I wish I had room to lay it out totally flat.

better than nothing but I wish I had room to lay it out totally flat.

Here it is folded in half

Here it is folded in half

To work on it neatly and have it not end up a wrinkled up mess I fold it so that the border is on top.

To work on it neatly and have it not end up a wrinkled up mess I fold it so that the border is on top.

then I fold it in half again. This is an easy size to work with. As I get the applique finished I keep refolding it so that the border is always on atop.

then I fold it in half again and again. This is an easy size to work with. As I get the applique finished I keep refolding it so that the border is always on top. I have found from past experience that it works out best folding it like this - other wise you tend to start tripping over it when you get up to move and also it gets very wrinkled this way it stays nice and neat.

I periodically will bring it back to the sewing room to match up threads as closely as I can. Now you can see why I say this thread cabinet was one of my best quilting investments. I can't always find a thread to match but most of the time I can. When I do not have a thread that matches closely I use a beige color silk thread that usually doesn't show up with the tiny stitches that I use.

I periodically will bring it back to the sewing room to match up threads as closely as I can. Now you can see why I say this thread cabinet was one of my best quilting investments. I can't always find a thread to match but most of the time I can. When I do not have a thread that matches closely I use a beige color silk thread that usually doesn't show up with the tiny stitches that I use. I will probably match up thread for about 6 to 10 circles at a time and then I put the threads back in the cabinet and match up more. It will be time to refold it about then anyhow.

I tend to do more of my applique work in the living room while watching tv and I have a lamp that extends out over my work so I am comfortable and have a well lite area.

I might have a new photo to take of the daffodils tomorrow – they might be in the snow!  Yes they say winter is back tonight and we might be getting a little snow during the night and all day tomorrow.  I don’t think they expect we will get a lot though, most of that will be north of us.  I guess it will be a good day to make progress on the applique.

Our snow fall will not be anything like what one of my sisters and one of my brothers had – they both live in northern Maryland and they had about 30 to 36 inches of the white stuff the other day!!

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Going in Circles and Spring is coming!!

by Karen on February 6, 2010

in gardening, quilts, weather

First I will explain the “spring is coming” comment on the top.  I know a lot of you are under snow and getting more as I write – I’m talking about all of you out east – I know you are in the midst of a strong winter storm I imagine others of you in the northern areas are too.  But here – in north central Arkansas look what I discovered today when I went to get the mail out of the mailbox!  I think the groundhog of the south (located in Georgia) is right – spring is in the air (even if it feels like winter :) at times )

the earliest variety of our daffoldil bulbs are budding out. This always happens in February it seems, sometimes we have them popping open with snow around them. You always know that spring is really on its way when we see these.

the earliest variety of our daffodil bulbs are budding out. This always happens in February it seems, sometimes we have them popping open with snow around them. You always know that spring is really on its way when we see these.

And another clump - we still have a little bit of last weeks snow on the ground in places in the shade. I would not be surprised though to see a little more snow come our way before spring is actually here though.

And another clump - we still have a little bit of last weeks snow on the ground in places in the shade. I would not be surprised though to see a little more snow come our way before spring is actually here though.

I told you all I was going to be working on the border of my circles and four patch quilt which I am now naming “Going in Circles” I think it is appropriate.  I have been taking some photos as I go along with it to show how I do it.  I do not follow any particular rules this is just design as I go.

The first most important step in my opinion is protect your work surface especially if this is your dining table like mine is. I have a large cutting mat 30 x 36 and I use that for the protection.

The first most important step in my opinion is protect your work surface especially if this is your new dining table! I have a large cutting mat 30 x 36 and I use that for the protection. The table is being protected from any glue leaking through.

I start in a corner so that is what I lay in place first.

I start in a corner so that is what I lay in place first.

The supplies - the circles, vines, glue, scissors, and a photo of the border that I am using for inspiration.

The supplies - the circles, the nine patches, vines, glue, scissors, and a photo of the border that I am using for inspiration.

I forgot to take a photo of my first corner as I was doing it so this is a photo of the second corner - put your corner segments in place first - one corner is fine.

I forgot to take a photo of my first corner as I was doing it so this is a photo of the second corner - put your corner segments in place first - one corner at a time is best but you can do all corner first then go to the sides, up to you. These are glue basted in place.

put glue dots on circles as you are ready for them. I put about 2 feet of the vine out with glue dots on the back, press them in place with your fingers, curve them as you desire. Then I put a circle on each side of the vine, I wasn't going to measure but then I decided I needed to as some were to far apart (they peel up well if the glue is still damp), I am putting the circles about 3 1/2 inches apart on each side of the vine.

put glue dots on circles as you are ready for them. I put about 2 feet of the vine down first with glue dots on the back, press them in place with your fingers, curve them as you desire. Then I put a circle on each side of the vine, I wasn't going to measure but then I decided I needed to as some were to far apart (they peel up well if the glue is still damp), I am putting the circles about 3 1/2 inches apart on each side of the vine.

getting ready to lay out more of the vine - the vine is all in one piece on each side of the quilt border.

getting ready to lay out more of the vine - the vine is all in one piece on each side of the quilt border.

When I got about 2 feet from the end of the border I layed the next corner pieces in place and glue basted them down. This is so I know where I want my vine to meander. Then I cut the vine to the right length. I glue baste this portion of the vine in place and tuck the end under the 9 patch. The 9 patches also will be needle turned appliqued in place. Using the glue is an easy way to baste also if you need to make adjustments you can gently tug a piece up and reposition as you are working.

When I got about 2 to 3 feet from the end of the border I laid the next corner pieces in place and glue basted them down. This is so I know where I want my vine to meander and end. Then I cut the vine to the right length ( I will trim a little more off when I get it all basted in place. I glue baste this portion of the vine in place and tuck the end under the 9 patch. The 9 patches also will be needle turned appliqued in place. Using the glue is an easy way to baste also if you need to make adjustments you can gently tug a piece up and reposition as you are working.

One side of the border is done and the second is almost done. Enough done so I can take this photo so you can see what it will look like. Now back to making more circles - I thought I had plenty! LOL I ran out before I finished the second border!! I had at first done some circles in two different sizes but the larger size was too big I felt so I am going to cut those smaller to begin with and make them into the smaller size circles. That will let me finishe the second border but then I will be back to making more circles. Maybe I will get this done late tomorrow or Monday instead of today!

One side of the border is done and the second is almost done. Enough done so I can take this photo so you can see what it will look like. Now back to making more circles - I thought I had plenty! LOL I ran out before I finished the second side - talk about not judging correctly!! I had at first done some circles in two different sizes but the larger size was too big I felt so I am going to cut those smaller to begin with and use them to make more of the smaller size circles. That will let me finish the second side of the border but then I will be back to making more circles. Maybe I will get this done late tomorrow or Monday instead of today!

This sure adds a colorful finish to the borders doesn’t it!

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