Annie's Quilting Adventures

Taking a Break

2012-02-12T19:19:00.000-05:00

I'm taking a small break from my "Orca Bay" right now. Ssssoooo .... what am I doing?

I'm working on this .... isn't it cute?? It is an applique piece with stuffing in the flowers, stork hat & the baby's sling. An acquaintance brought this quilt top to me in hopes that I could fix it.

What is wrong with it??? Well ... it has spent the last 25 years or so in a basement wrapped around a homemade wooden quilt frame. Along with some discoloration, it had places where the seams had let go - the edges had frayed. I was asked if I could try and save the piece - she wanted to give it to her son who was expecting his first child. The quilt was actually started for the son but was never finished.

The quilt sandwich was hand basted & unfortunately, the back is not salvageable - it is stained to much. The batting is also stained beyond repair. So .... the first task at hand is to separate the layers and see if I can get the appliqued seams reinforced. Wish me luck!!

Until Next Time

~ Annie ~

Winter?

2012-02-03T07:49:00.000-05:00

Like most of the country ... we have been having a weird winter. Not too much snow, lots of rain and ice. Not too bad - makes it easy to get around. But ... it seems that there are a few bugs going around and I am getting them all. Enough already!!!

I am still working very slowly on my step 5 of the "Orca Bay". It seems to be a tedious step!! But ... I am plugging away. I have a whole, whopping 50 of the triangles completed. I have .... 300 to go!!

I got a new toy ...... a SideWinder. I hate winding bobbins - it's just the process of stopping what you are sewing and set up to do the winding on the sewing machine.

I wind a bunch at a time so I don't have to do it to often. I'm not sure what I think of the SideWinder. I'm not sure it was worth the money (even thou I used a 50% coupon on it!!). I'll have to use it a few more times before I know. It seems I have a lot of gadgets like this that sound so much better than they are!!!

Until next time

~ Annie ~

2012-01-20T07:29:00.000-05:00

It's been a slow week as far as sewing is concerned. I worked on cutting out the 700 triangle pieces from step 5 of my "Orca Bay".

Believe it or not .... here they are!!! Doesn't look like 700 of them, but there is. And these pieces go with ......

The 350 half squares we did a while back. Sssssoooo .... you know what I am working on this weekend. I hope I make so progress.

Until next time

~ Annie ~

My Favorite

2012-01-18T19:30:00.000-05:00

This is one of my most favorite things .... it's my kindle!!! When they first came out, I could not imagine how anyone could pay so much money for a "machine" to read books. Not only did you have to pay for the device, but the books too!!!

Sounded like another way to milk money out of you. After all I haven't paid for a book in years. I have friends that give me their paperbacks. And when my daughter worked at the local recycle center, she would bring me home all kinds of books. Good thing I will read anything ... it pays not to be to fussy. Although I will confess "who done it's" are my favorite.

Then one of my co-workers came in with hers. She let me play with it for a while and I was sold!! YUP ... I was coming into the 21st century. You have no idea how I resist technology!!!! I finally bought my kindle last spring.

Now ... I didn't dive right into using it. I had a ton of paperbacks to get through first. Sssssooooo, this fall I started to use the Kindle and I just love it. It so neat that you can take this with you anywhere you go and have as many books available to you as you want. No more having to take a couple of books on vacation in case you finish the one your reading.

Oh .... and how did I solve the problem of being too cheap to pay for books?? Well .... if you look around Amazon in the "Kindle Books" section, on the right side you will find the "Free" section. YUP .... I still haven't paid for a book yet!!!! I'm probably not the kind of customer they had in mind when they designed this!!!

My Kindle now has 95 books on it .... tons of reading material no matter what mood I am in. And I have been very happy with the quality of the stories they have in the free section. But, you need to look often and download when you see them, the books change constantly.

Until next time

~ Annie ~

**I haven't been paid for this post ... I wish they would!! Just a very happy owner of a Kindle.**

An Orca Turtle

2012-01-14T20:30:00.000-05:00

YUP!!! That's what I am ..... a slow whale!!! I guess the holidays got in my way and it has been difficult to get back to working on my "Orca Bay".

I managed to get my remaining red string blocks done yesterday. Ssssssoooooo ...... guess what I did last night?

Yes ..... I sat in my lazy boy chair and ripped the paper backings off of the red strings. It took me about 2 hours of steady work. I used phone books, so the paper came off easily of all 126 of them!!

I suppose the good thing about being very slow is ..... it's not a mystery to me any more. I know what the end is going to look like. I can decide to change something at this point if I choose too. I really like the design and have seen some really great interpretations as well as some very interesting color choices.

Now ..... it's on to step 5!!! Let's hope this step doesn't take me as long as the last one to complete!!!

Until next time

~ Annie ~

Getting Back to Normal

2011-12-31T13:54:00.000-05:00

YUP!! That is what I am trying to do. The week before Christmas I was extremely busy getting my son's girlfriends quilt done. It really looked like I was going to have to give her it still not complete. But ..... I managed to push and got it done!!!

And ... it was a complete surprise!!! YUP!!! Look at her face ...... WOW!! And the funny part was she thought the backing was it .... we had to tell her to open it up all the way to see what was on the front!!

She spent a good 20 minutes checking out all the coffee cups on the front. No two of the 56 are the same and they all represent her interests. It was like a great big I spy - what fun it was to watch her!!

As for where I am now with my "Orca Bay" mystery - I finished trimming the step 3 units. Not a small task by any means, but done!!

And I have 40 of these step 4 strings done and trimmed. I need to about 24 if I am not mistaken. I thought of jumping around, but I know if I don't do my steps in a row I have a difficult time backtracking and finishing up my steps.

Ssssooooo ..... I have seen steps 5-7, but really didn't check them out too closely. I will do that when I get to them. I don't want to overwhelm myself and have this become another unfinished project. I have way too many of those!!!

Until next time

~ Annie ~

Stuff

2011-12-16T13:37:00.000-05:00

I didn't get to far with my Step 4 of the Orca Bay Mystery quilt. I managed to get only 30 of the red string blocks done. I will continue to work on this step in hopes that I can finish it some time this week.

Ssssoooo ... What have I been doing??

Well ..... it's crunch time!!!

I do lots of baking during the holidays. I make a bunch of platters for everyone as gifts. At work they have been asking for the last 3 months what I am including in them this year.

The first "experiment" (called that since I haven't attempted these before!! Ya ... only I would do that!!) are Eggnog Snickerdoodle cookies. They are not too bad - and pretty easy to do. After this picture they hit the freezer - when I am ready to put the platters together they will get an Eggnog flavored icing.

And I have not neglected my sewing .... I have to get my son's girlfriends quilt done. I started this earlier in the year and it has sat in this condition since. Can we say "SLACKER"!!!

These are the fabrics I am using for the sashing & borders. It is an older fabric and very hard to find should I need more. I am hoping that I won't be in that predicament!!! So far so good .... I seem to have enough .... just have to see if I can get binding out of the darker one.

Here she is with all her sashing and border attached!!! Looking good ...... now I have to get it quilted!!

I thought this fabric was the "cat's meow" ..... doesn't it go great with the "cups" theme!!! My son's girlfriend is crazy about her coffee. Last year for Christmas, I bought her a Keurig coffee maker ... she was ecstatic about it. I am hoping this is going to be equally exciting. And my son has no idea this is coming .... can you imagine that ... I managed to keep it away from him!!!

Until next time

~ Annie ~

And We're Off ...

2011-12-10T06:39:00.000-05:00

YUP!!! We are continuing with the "Orca Bay" Mystery with Step 4 being released on Friday. And lucky me .... it's the red strings!!! I love doing strings .... I call it "mindless" sewing. You really don't have to think - just pull a string and sew it down. YES .... I'm loving this!!!

First ... I have to get my ironing station set up. Since my sewing table is so high due to how it hooks into my cabinets, I have to get my station higher also. Sssooo .... I just grab my small sewing drawers and put it on a stool. Lucky me .... this stool fits just between the wheels on the bottom. Put a small pressing board on top and it's an ironing station to the left of my sewing machine. This way I don't have to get up - just twist and iron and continue!!

Next ... gathered my red strings. I had to trim a lot of them since they are all geared to larger string blocks. I am use to using 1.5 inch to 3 inch strings. I'm a little worried that I don't have a good range of color .... I have a lot of the darker reds .... time will tell.

Next up .... cutting my phone book up. For this project so far, I have used up one whole phone book. I'm not from a very large area so my book doesn't have that many pages. And .... I still have many more to use if needed!!

Ready to sew!!! The weather is cold and it's spitting snow .... my kind of sewing day!! Too bad I have to split up between cleaning and sewing ... well at least I won't get tired of just doing one thing!!

According to Bonnie's directions, we are to trim the string block first - then cut it on the diagonal and trim it up with the Companion Ruler. Well ... I decided to try cutting out a step and I cut it on the diagonal first ... I know - I'm such a rebel!!

Then I trimmed it up to the 3.5 inch (or 6) on the ruler. It seems to work well ... you have to work from the back to make sure you are cutting within the foundation.

And there we go .... I have one block done!!! Only 63 more to go. I'm thinking this is going to take a couple of days since I have other things to do.

But ... that is OK ..... another step won't be released until next Friday .... lots of time.

And I still have to trim up about 100 of step 3 blocks. YUP .... lots to do this week!! Wonder if the Christmas cooking/baking will get done??

Until next time

~ Annie ~

Orca 3

2011-12-05T06:11:00.001-05:00

YUP!!! We are now on step 3!! And I have managed to keep up with no problem. Now .... I probably just jinked myself. Let's hope not ... it's been a long time since I have enjoyed sewing due to being ill this past year.

Step 3 consists of 350 - 2 inch blocks using the easy angle ruler. Bonnie loves this ruler along with the companion angle ruler and uses both regularly in her projects. I find they work adequately ... but I'm not in love with them .... yet!!

I have 15 different light fabrics and 15 different dark fabrics .... Lucky!! .... same number so they pair off evenly!! I was able to get 14 pairs out of a half strip ... sssssooooo .... I easily was able to get enough pairs out of 1 strip from each fabric.

And to help with the cutting I found it easier to use starch on the strips. I started using the "Mary Ellen's Best Press" starch spray but found it wasn't stiff enough. Then I pulled out the "Magic Sizing" which had more power and did the trick.

I started by cutting 2 strips at a time which was good, but slow. Then I did 4 strips and this worked out great!! I didn't dare go with more, worrying that I might distort my half squares.

It took me a couple of hours to get all my half squares cut out. Then I started to sew one set (14 pairs) at a time, and then iron them and trim them up. I found this was too tedious ... ssssooooo ..... I decided to sew a whole bunch!! Here in this picture in only 126 pairs which sewed up pretty fast.

It's the ironing and trimming up that is going to take me some time. Good thing today is only Monday ... the next step isn't due out until Friday. You know what I am going to be doing the rest of the week!!!!

Until Next Time

~ Annie ~

Strings!!

2011-12-02T19:10:00.000-05:00

Step 2 of the "Orca Bay" mystery quilt was 72 - 3.5 inch string blocks. If you read my last post, you know that I am use to doing my strings on muslin foundations. The directions on this quilt called for using paper - I used an old phone book.

Sewing them was no different than using fabric foundations. The only change is I had to take the paper backing off the blocks. It wasn't as bad as I had anticipated ..... it took me about an hour or so to do that.

Ssssooooo ...... I am done step 2 now!!!! Here is a sampling of my blocks. And NO!! ... the 72 blocks didn't even make a dent in my blue strings!!!

I love doing string blocks .... and the look of string quilts. They are so versatile and can be like a "I Spy" type of quilt. It really is neat to look at all the different fabrics in the quilt.

I decided to take a few of my past string quilts out to show you .... hope you don't get bored!!

This is a typical string quilt I did that has dark green centers. This is the type of quilt I do a lot of for donations.

Another one with red centers this time. String blocks are also fun when you aren't in the mood to match up seams and have things turn out perfect. It doesn't matter with string quilts!!!

Most of the time I usually don't add borders to the string blocks. But this purple centered quilt really "popped" when I added the pink and purple border. This one also was a donation quilt.

This yellow string quilt turned out kinda neat. Yellow isn't a color I use much, so this was a challenge. I was happy with the results and YES!!! - this was donated too!!

With this one I was getting daring with my strings. Someone gave me a bunch of 5 inch fabric squares that were not really good for patchwork. Ssssooooo ..... I used them as foundations for more strings. I played with darks & lights as well as placement.

Another string quilt I played with, it is amazing the endless ways you can shuffle the blocks and come up with different designs. I kept this one ... I am a green kind of girl!!

By far, my favorite string quilt. String blocks are the only quilt block my son has ever commented on. He was drawn to them every time he stopped by to visit me. So when I decided to make him a quil,t I knew it had to be a string one. And it's hard to see in this picture, but all the fabrics are fishing, woodsy or wildlife oriented. He loves this quilt and it resided on his bed in his truck .... he is a long hauler. This is his "bakey" even thou he is too old to have one!!

I even have made Christmas Stockings from strings!!! They are so "folk arty" and when hanging, they give the mantle a "homey" feel.

These are just a few of my string projects. String blocks are so easy and addictive .... as you can see!!!

Step 3 of "Orca Bay" was released this morning .... I'll let you see what that is all about next time.

Until then

~ Annie ~

Orca 2

2011-11-29T19:44:00.000-05:00

Step 2 of the Mystery Quilt was released on Friday morning .... I was too busy trying to rest from my "Black Friday" experience to check it out. By Saturday I had recovered enough to print out the directions and get a start on it.

And to my delight step 2 consists of 72 small string blocks. I just love string blocks .... but I have never made them this small - 3.5 inch blocks. I have always used foundations of muslin or raggy old sheets, but Bonnie's instructions uses paper backs.

That's OK .... I love to learn ways to do things!! Lucky for me I just never get around to throwing out my old phone books. I have 5 or 6 hanging around. Sssssooooooo ..... I grabbed a 2007 book and tore out the pages. Since the blocks are small I was able to get 4 per page. Didn't even make a dent in my phone book pile!!!

And as always .... when I do string blocks, I make a mess!! I have to set up my piles of strings and also grab a small table to use as an ironing board. The less I have to get up the faster the blocks go!! I set myself up so all I have to do is grab the strings, sew, twist and iron, grab, sew, twist and iron until I have a bunch done.

Now I know these blocks look awful when they are in the "raw" stage. And I just pull a string from the pile so there is no matching here. What ever is in my hand gets sewn regardless of what fabric it is. Otherwise you will just drive yourself nuts!!

They don't look so bad from the back. I found that I had to cut my strings down as all my strings from the binds were 1.5 inches wide and larger. They were just too wide for these. I am use to making my string blocks 9 & 12 inch blocks.

There is a lot of waste to these blocks. The shorter the strip, the less waste you have. I never manage to do that .... I am always afraid I am going to short myself.

There we go .... not too bad looking now!!! It amazes me when you finally trim up the blocks how neat they really look. Sssssoooo .... I only have 71 more to go!!!

Until next time

~ Annie ~

Black Friday

2011-11-26T11:54:00.000-05:00

Did you participate?? I did but that is because I have a 15 year old daughter who loves the excitement of the "rush"!! Last year was the first time I experienced the "fun" and I could take it or leave it. I guess because I don't really have a lot of things they put on the "doorbusters" that I really want.

It was a given this year we were going, based on how much "fun" we had last year. And if you have been watching TV you know they moved everything up to midnight (and some before that). The problem for us ..... we live 75 miles away from the nearest shopping centers and you have to drive through mountain roads to get there.

Ssssssoooooo ..... we ended up leaving around 8pm on Thanksgiving armed for the "fun".

On my agenda .... a new TV. I still live back in the ice age as far as TV's are concerned and I wanted to update mine to a flat screen.

I had this 42 inch one scoped out at Best Buy for $199.00 - and so did everyone else. When we arrived at the store at 9:30 pm the line was already wrapped around the store and up the parking lot.

And to make matters worse ... they had to stand out in the weather. It was 35 degrees out with misting rain. NOPE!!! We decided not to do that .... bye bye Tv - your not worth it!!

We moved along to Target where I was looking for this camera for $99 (my daughter had her heart set on this) and they also had a few acceptable TV's I could go for. Well ..... guess what??? They were also wrapped around the building and up the parking lot about a 1/2 mile too!!! And they were all braving the elements!!!

Even though my daughter wanted this camera for Christmas, I was sure nothing would be left based on the size of this line at 9:45pm. The doors don't even open up until midnight!!! Needless to say, we both agreed it was not going to happen.

Sssssoooooo .... off to Walmart ... they have been open all day and at least we might have a chance here. Good thing I had alternate plans for each store!!

Walmart was packed .... we ended up parking in another store's lot ... you couldn't even come close. We were so sure that we were not getting anything here!!!

But much to my surprise, I went up the line and YUP!!! I was #71 of 105 in line for this TV. It was a 32 inch for $188. Score!!! The only problem .... you have to stay in line and it was 10pm!! If you had to go to the bathroom - they took your coupon back !!! I was glad I hit the restroom just before I got there. I was also pretty please I brought my kindle ... I read for the 2 hrs while in line.

My 27 year old son had asked if we could possibly get a laptop computer for his girlfriend. Apparently hers crapped out and life has been crazy without one. He was willing to pay up to $300 for it. I wasn't planning to be at Walmart, so I didn't give him any hope.

I sent my 15 year old daughter to that line and again .... YUP!! .... she was #68 out of 175!!! Sssssooooo at 10pm, she was in line doing her homework and I called my son and arranged just how much he is going to have to gravel to us!!!

The only problem was .... we were stuck in these lines for 2 hrs and all the other advertised sales were gone lone before we even got there. We did managed to keep shopping .... I even got the groceries for the month done while I was there. Nice thing ..... once I was ready to check out at 1:30am .... no lines!!! YUP!!! I move right on through the check out!!!

We headed over to Target to continue our shopping and my 15 year old daughter took off to do her shopping. About 10 minutes into this she came around the corner with .....

..... 2 of these in her hand!!! She said ... "You're not seeing this - and pretend I didn't do this" as she dropped them into my cart!! They still had tons of their doorbusters left!! Apparently they just kept refilling the shelves .... they were ready with mega amounts of them. When we left, they had just restocked and had lots of all the big electronics available.

I managed to even get some of the games on sale for $3.99 each. The selection wasn't great ..... I picked up 3 games and there was only about 10 left on the shelf. It wasn't imperative I get these ... but was nice, since it was for donation. It made my budget for my Christmas donation go farther!!

I even was able to pick up some of the $1.99 DVD's for fillers. YUP!! Even though I didn't haven't any thing set in stone .... I was very please I was able to pick up the things I wanted. The TV was for me so it really wasn't needed. My daughter got her camera ... no surprise .... but at this age it really is hard to surprise her.

We were done shopping at 7am and had breakfast. We were home at 9am and very tired. I did not sleep at all on Friday no matter how much I tried!! But .... I would do it again!! I think it's more of a bonding thing with my daughter and I .... not so much the shopping experience. I know once she goes off to college I will not do this.

Until Next Time

~ Annie ~

Blast from the Past

2011-11-24T10:04:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

While waiting for the festivities to get started here and my anxiously waiting for tomorrow (and the new Orca Bay directions to be released), I thought I would take you down memory lane.

Since tons of us are into the Bonnie Hunter mystery - why not show you my history with her mystery quilts. No cackling out there ... you'll see why in a minute!!

First mystery was "Carolina Crossroads" .... mine was called "Texas Crossroads". Reason for that is (1) it is hard to see but the stars are yellow & (2) it was a gift to my oldest daughter in ... you guessed it .... Texas !!!!

It was my first expereince with Bonnie and her "tiny" pieces. This was a stretch for me and I was really proud when I managed to finish it.

Second was "Orange Crush" .... and as you have guessed .... mine was not orange!! I did mine with 30's repros - I did several different quilts at this time to reduce my 30's repro fabrics. You can cackle now .... this is as far as I have this top at this time!!! Yup .... I haven't added the borders yet!!

The next quilt was "Tabacco Road" .... and why do I have Bonnie's picture here you ask??? Because mine is still in pieces!!! Yup ..... someday I will get back to the millons of pieces and get this done!

Next was "Double Delight" and so far my favorite. And yes ..... this is as far as this one is done too!!! I hear you snickering ..... I only have to add borders on this one too!! At least this is not in tiny pieces waiting to be sewn.

And last year's ..... "Carolina Christmas" ... YUP!!! You guessed it ... not even ready for Christmas!!! Actually this one has 3 rows sewn together and I need to get the 2 other rows added. Then it will need the borders. The good thing is this one never got put away ..... Sssssooooo ...... there is a chance that it may get done this year!!!

These are not the only Bonnie Hunter quilts I have done ..... only the mystery quilts. If you visit her site, you will see tons of other quilt patterns she offers for free. And she also has 3 books out if you need more of a fix!!!

Need to rest today ..... Black Friday is tonight!!! And I have a 15 year old daughter who is scoping all the adds right now. Me.... I will be the one in the middle of the mall with the hot chocolate & doughnut watching you all!!

Until Next Time

~ Annie ~

There's a Plus.....

2011-11-23T06:00:00.001-05:00

.... to being home on sick leave. I get to sew my little heart out!!! And Bonnie Hunter made sure that I had plenty to do!!

Well, it's not fair to blame Bonnie - I'm the one that decided to participate in her new mystery "Orca Bay". Over last weekend I managed to get the first part of step 1 done which consists of making half of the hour glass units.

On Monday I was able to finish getting the hour glass units sewn together. It was another session of sewing a bunch - doing some house work - sewing a bunch more - doing more house work and so on!! I just can't sit for long lengths of time sewing these tiny pieces. I do much better with small breaks in between the sewing.

And if the sewing wasn't bad .... how about the trimming?? YUP ..... I am a notourious trimmer!!! And it's all my fault .... I usually cut out my pieces with a few extra "threads". I would much rather trim then not making my units big enough.

Ssssooooo ....... as you can see - I have lots of trimmings on my cutting boards. But .... all my units are now the correct size!!

And now all 224 of my units are done and ready for step 2, which isn't due to be released until this coming Friday. Now .... don't except me to get the next steps done so quickly - I go back to work this coming Sunday. And I have to survive "Black Friday" first!!

Until next time

~ Annie ~

An Orca Weekend

2011-11-21T09:28:00.000-05:00

YUP .... I worked on the first clue of Bonnie Hunter's new mystery "Orca Bay". I was so excited - Bonnie's mysteries have a habit of doing that to me!!

First off .... I choose the same color scheme that Bonnie was using. It's a Red/Blue/Black/Neutral palette. I didn't have a ton of blacks, so I used some black/grey combos. I'm hoping the grey will have enough contrast with the other colors. I tried to pull mostly fat quarters and left over pieces of fabric from other projects. Of course, to get a good variety I had to pull some yardage.

The first step was to cut 1.5 inch strips into 448 half (quarter) square units. Ssssooooo .... my weekend consisted of cutting .... sewing .... put a load of laundry in ..... cutting .... sewing ..... put some dishes in the dishwasher ..... cutting .... sewing ....... taking my teenage daughter to the movies ... cutting ... sewing .... you get the idea!!!

Here is a batch of units that need to be sewn ..... this is only 100 pairs!!! Yup .... I need to do 344 more units.

It was actually an enjoyable weekend. The wind blew, the trees shook and it was kinda of cold. I half expected a little snow, but I didn't see any. I just lit a nice, woodsy candle and I was in my glory.

Next is to sew the 448 units into 224 hour glass blocks. And if you aren't doing the mystery ... the blocks are 2.5 inch unfinished.

Can't wait to see what is coming next if this is the first step!!!

Until next time

~ Annie ~

I'm Back .... Let's Try this Again!!

2011-11-18T23:25:00.000-05:00

After about a year and a half of not feeling well, I finally have relief!! Yup ... it took all that time for the Doctors to figure out what the problem was. And it was fixable .... I had surgery about 3 weeks ago and I am starting to get my strength and stamina back.

I have been able to start sewing again .... I am cleaning up some projects I have hanging around. I will show you some of that in the next week or two. I also have a quilt to finish up for a Christmas present ... I managed to get the borders on and now I have to just get it quilted.

And ..... YES!! I am a glutton for punishment ..... I am starting Bonnie Hunter's new mystery quilt .......

Until Next Time ....

~ Annie ~

Caught Me

2011-08-07T08:28:00.000-04:00

YUP!! You did .... I have been taking a break and just hanging out and relaxing. I will be back to sewing and quilting later on in the week.

Thanks for stopping by

~ Annie ~

How's Your Summer Going?

2011-07-24T08:45:00.001-04:00

My summer is ..... going way too fast!!! Anyone else feeling this way?? I'm trying to be calm but I am on an ~~mission~~ adventure at this time.

What adventure you ask? A little background: In my household there is only my daughter who is 14 and me. I am very lucky at this time that having a teenager - this home is actually on the calm side (her father died when she was an infant - no splitting authority here!!). I guess since she doesn't have any competition, we avoid a lot of power struggles. When I say no ... YUP!! .... no one else to ask.

This is the second summer that she has opted to go to a Summer Scholars program at a college 300 miles away. Last year I was on pins & needles to see if she would last the 3 weeks .... and she did.

This year the adventure is ..... to see what it's going to be like to be alone when she leaves for college in a couple of years. YUP!!! I'm testing the EMPTY NEST!!

I have been given the opportunity to evaluate my situation and where I need to change things so I don't fall apart when the time comes. So far, it's working out okay .... I have been going to the movies alone without problem. But ... I lost the interest to go out an eat .... I think I see ~~a few pounds~~ ordering out in my future if I don't want to cook.

The other thing that has come to light is ...... have you ever wondered ..... who makes what messes in your house??? Now ... I know her bedroom & bathroom is all her's!!! My bedroom is all mine except for a couple of things she leaves on the bottom of my bed. My bathroom ...... her!!! How many bathrooms does a teenager need to use/mess up??? Living room .... her - she has a "nest" that tends to spread through out the living room!! Kitchen ..... we are equal!! The garbage has cut down a lot ... guess we know who eats in this house. Of course I have to be fair .... I eat 2 meals a day at work. Laundry ..... HER!!

Sssssoooo ..... I am enjoying my ~~time alone~~ adventure. This hasn't been as bad as I had anticipated. But ... to be fair again, I know she is coming back the end of July. I am cleaning out closets and storage areas that ... you guessed it .... she has stored her stuff. I have a potential hoarder!!!! Wait until she comes home to find out that all her extra stuff from her elementary years has been recycled!!!! Do we really need 4th grade vocabulary!!

Of course a lot of things haven't changed - I still go to work 8 hours a day and come home tired!! Then I try to get motivated to clean a little and the to bed to start all over again!!!

YUP!!! I like this sign .... I think I just might get it framed!!

Hope you are enjoying your summer

~ Annie ~

There was a Time ...

2011-07-22T06:32:00.001-04:00

When I first started quilting I was so in love with fabric. I like all of the textures, colors and I wanted to have it all. There wasn't a piece of fabric I didn't want.

The only thing that stood in my way was .... Price!!! Yup .... I had limited funds so I started to by a yard of fabric - that way I could get lots of pieces. And so the stash began.

But this wasn't practical .... and it became quite obvious when I started to do projects. Let's face it ... there aren't to many quilts patterns that take a yard of one fabric. Hence ... I started to do scrappy .... and began to be more conscience of my purchases.

I started buying 2 yard pieces and it didn't take long before I fell into the philosophy I have now .... at least 4 yards or more if I can get it. I buy my fabric from sales, so I am at the mercy of what they have on hand. But 4 - 6 yards is now my standard.

And why is that a problem now .... WELL .... I pulled a 2 yard piece for my dark green fabric and that should have been enough. But when I came to cut my sashing pieces I found that I only had small bits and pieces left.

Ssssoooooo ... my only option was to sew these pieces together to get my sashings. I think the pattern on the fabric is so busy that it hides the seams pretty well. Hope there are not any quilt police around ... I'm sure this isn't an acceptable way to do sashings.

I have all my blocks done .... I have to finish cutting my sashings .... then off to putting the blocks together.

Thanks for stopping by

~ Annie ~

Change of Pace

2011-07-20T06:19:00.002-04:00

I tried it .... and I didn't like it. Paper piecing that is!!! I just found it too slow. Sssssoooooo .... I decided to try and put a block together without the foundations. And it worked!!

My pieces were cut a little over sized to accommodate the paper piecing. I had to be careful to size up my blocks after each step so the sizing was right.

Once I finished a test block and put it up to the paper pieced one .... no difference!! YUP!! I am dumping the paper piecing and sewing these blocks the traditional way.

What a time saver it was to not do these blocks by paper piecing. It didn't take very long at all before I had all 58 blocks done. Sashing is next.

Thanks for stopping by

~ Annie ~ 

Square in a Square

2011-07-18T06:51:00.002-04:00

From my last post I have decided to continue to piece my border blocks before I put the quilt together. The border is 58 square in a square blocks that in the directions were done as a paper piecing project.

Now ... I am not all that great at paper piecing. I can do it .... it's just not my favorite technique. I have a hard time calculating the size of the pieces I need to fit in the spaces. At least the author of the pattern did include the approximate sizes you would need. And they are working out great!

I am finding the paper piecing a little slow (can we say impatient!!) - but the blocks are coming out the right sizes. Maybe I shouldn't tempt fate but I may try and do a block the traditional way to see if I can speed up the process.

Thanks for stopping by

~ Annie ~~

Paper Piecing ....

2011-07-16T06:13:00.006-04:00

Is not for sissies!!! At least the way I did it. Usually I print my patterns off on a writing tablet I buy at the dollar store. I find the paper just the right texture for printing and it comes tears off easy.

But ..... I read where some people are using old phone books to do this. Well .... I have a ton of phone books so I decided to give it a try. What can I say .... Going Green!!!

Now ... it may be my printer, but it didn't really like the paper. I had a difficult time with jamming up the printer. It took me about half way through the blocks, when I discovered that if I put a sheet of regular printer paper and the phone book paper together it printed without trouble.

Good thing I figured this out .... I needed to print 58 of these blocks. Hoping the sewing is going to be a littler easier!!!

Oh .... what am I making?? The border to my "Road to Brownwood" ... it has a pieced border. I don't usually do pieced borders, but this time I decided to give it a try.

Thanks for stopping by

~ Annie ~

Pet Peeve

2011-07-14T06:46:00.000-04:00

Do you have a pet peeve??? I certainly do ..... I really hate it when I get to sewing and my bobbin runs out. It just ruins my rhythm!!! And what is even worse .... I hate, hate, hate it if I have to stop to wind my bobbins!! Can you hear my feet stamping??

I don't have a fancy side winder ..... I have to use my sewing machine. And it's not that it is really a hard thing to do .... it is just I am in the mode of sewing and now I have to stop.

And I have (~~find)~~ collect my empty bobbins. Sometimes that is easier said and done. I usually just throw them on my sewing table.

But, once it's done (after about a half hour) ..... I am good for a couple of weeks or months!!! Don't you like my bobbin holders? I bought them at a quilt show a couple of years ago .... I haven't seen them since. Each tube holds 11 bobbins .... Ssssssooooooo ..... I'm good for the next 22 bobbin changes!!!

Thanks for stopping by

~ Annie ~

OCD?

2011-07-12T06:22:00.001-04:00

I am continuing to work on my "Road to Brownwood" quilt designed by Judy Laquidara. One thing about Judy - she makes doable quilts that look difficult. She breaks everything down into steps that seem to move along.

Right now I am working on the log cabin blocks. I cut all the pieces the other night, so all I have to do is sew them together. There are only 12 of these blocks - I anticipate I won't be long on this step.

But .... one of the things I always wonder .... how do you finish your seams? I know that the "quilting ~~police~~ standard" is to iron your seams to the darker side.

Well ...... I very seldom do this. I think I suffer from OCD .... you see, I like my seams to be completely flat like this .....

Yes, I am from the generation of open seams ..... my mother was a seamstress!! I was told the reason quilters iron to the dark side has to do with batting leaking out of an open seam. But, I use 100% cotton batting and it tends not to shear through the open seams when washed.

Ssssoooo .... if you turn over my quilt blocks you will find open seams pressed as flat as I can get them. Can we say ..... OCD!!!! YUP .... that would be me!!!

Thanks for stopping by

~ Annie ~

Sometimes ......

2011-07-10T08:13:00.003-04:00

I don't always like to cut fabric for my projects .... I actually dread it. It feels like such a waste of time in which I could be sewing. I guess that would be why they invented the AccuQuilt cutting systems!! Psssst .... by the way - I would like one!!

But, every now and again - I just like to take a few hours and just cut fabric. And I did that the other night ... pulled out my fabric and cut my strips for my log cabin blocks that are the next step in my "Road to Brownwood" quilt top. I even went so far as to sub cut my strips into the proper lengths!!

I should be able to sew these blocks in no time.

Thanks for stopping by

~ Annie ~

Seeing Stars

2011-07-08T10:04:00.003-04:00

I am working steady on my "Road to Brownwood" quilt by Judy Laquidara.

I managed to get the first 6 stars done .... I do believe this is an Ohio Star. I really am liking my fabric choices .... I would never have put these colors together. The green/yellow/purple combination is pretty.

A few hours of sewing time and I was able to get these 12 blocks done. Of course .... not until I sewed one of the rows on in reverse. And I didn't notice it until I had all 12 ... yes all 12 of the blocks done!!! Lets just say .... I had spent some quality time with my seam ripper!!!

Thanks for stopping by

~ Annie ~

Brownwood Revisited

2011-07-06T10:26:00.001-04:00

Back in early May I had started to work on the "Road To Brownwood" by Judy Laquirada of Patchwork Times. Here is what this project looks like:

These are the fabrics that I pulled from my stash for this project:

When I first started this project, I managed to get some of the steps cut out. I didn't get too much sewing done due to the Row by Row swap I was participating in. The swap took the forefront due to the Row's having deadlines. Ssssssooooooo ... this is almost like start a project from the beginning.

It's not uncommon for me to have a ~~couple,~~ ~~several,~~ OK ... many UFO's (unfinished objects) going at one time!!! COME ON!!! I am not the only one ..... I know you have a bunch too!!

My progress so far includes getting my sub-units done for the stars. Not too bad for an afternoon's worth of work. I bet I will be seeing stars pretty soon!!

Thanks for stopping by

~ Annie ~

Carol's Row Done

2011-07-04T13:03:00.015-04:00

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!

Yup!!! Carol's bright row x row is done!!! It always feels great to have a project done and before the deadline!!!

Here is my row ..... all done and ready to be mailed. I think I was able to interpret Carol's row x row just fine.

And here is Carol's row (top), Juanita's row (middle), and mine (bottom). They are looking good together. This row will be heading to Helen in Massachusetts as soon as she is ready to work on another row.

Thanks for stopping by

~ Annie ~

More of Carol's Row

2011-07-02T12:43:00.002-04:00

Since my last post I am continuing to work on Carol's Bright row. I know that not all the colors are bright ... but it is a good mix since her blocks came from a previous swap or swaps. I am thinking that the blocks are a combination of a couple different swaps.
I didn't work up the remaining 4 blocks in EQ .... my thinking was they are simple enough to use a ruler and figure out the dimensions. And I was right!!!

Here is my version .... some nice bright hearts for the 1st block.

Next I worked on Block 4 - I like this block. My only problem was I didn't have a butterfly fabric with a light background. But .... I think this worked out alright.

My next block is number 3, which is this spinning star ... I think the fabrics are in the wrong places. I was thinking they should have been placed more like this .......

I am more into the symmetrical positioning of the pieces. But .... who ever did the original blocks did them differently.

And finally, block 5 which is the same spinning star done in brighter fabrics.

Again, my eye wants the orientation to be like this!!!! But I needed them to follow suit to the other two rows .... so I don't get to choose. Can we say .... control freak!!!

Thanks for stopping by

~ Annie ~

Lone Star Variation

2011-06-30T12:20:00.001-04:00

I am working on Carol's "Bright" row that I showed you in my last post. This row has been somewhat problematic ..... I can't find any patterns for the blocks!! I searched the web and EQ 7 for something that was similar and I only can up with 1 block.

I guess 4 of the blocks I can measure up and create a pattern for them off their dimensions. All but .... the lone star variation - if that is what it is?? It doesn't have diamond pieces, so I am not sure if it really is a lone star.

My solution is to draft the block in EQ. I know my dimensions are a little off .... the sizes of the pieces didn't make any sense to me. But .... I came as close as I could .... which ... is good enough!!!

EQ is great ... you can choose how you want to do your block whether it be rotary cutting, templates or paper piecing foundations. I am going with the paper piecing with this block .... I will get sharper edges ... at least that is what I am hoping for!! Don't you just love how messy it looks before you trim up your pieces?

Then, of course once you trim up your section it looks great. I love those nice, sharp sections.

And even thou I am not proficient at paper piecing .... the sections always seem to fit just right.

The only problem I had ... I forgot to mirror image my foundation pieces (groan!!)!!! OK ... it's been a while since I have paper pieced!! This means my colors are backwards. But it seems to have turned out OK - it's going to have to be good enough... I am not going to redo this!!

Thanks for stopping by

~ Annie ~

Bright

2011-06-28T11:56:00.001-04:00

That would explain Carol in a nutshell!!! YUP!!! She loves anything bright .... so her row was not a surprise to me.

Her row is the top on in the picture. She pulled her blocks from a swap that she participated in the past. Mmmmm ..... wonder how many of us did that? Both my rows are swap blocks ...... Juanita's "Sand Stars" were also swap blocks .... see a trend??

Well .... this row will be easy to figure out what I am going to do (Thanks Juanita!!). We are going to do the same 5 blocks in the same color ways Carol used.

I should be careful what I say .... easy!?! I have to search to see if I can find the patterns for the blocks. The one that is going to give me trouble is the 2nd one .... a lone star variation. Where am I going to find that pattern???? Any suggestions??

Thanks for stopping by

~ Annie ~

Butterflies

2011-06-27T11:50:00.000-04:00

Ta Dah!! My butterflies are finished. I think they came out pretty darn good!!! My red and green fabric choices are good .... it doesn't read Christmas, which is what I was trying to avoid.

The antennae were the only glitch - I couldn't figure out what do do for them. I didn't want to use a fabric marker. Ssssssooooooo .... I played with the stitches on my sewing machine until I found one I was happy with. And it turned out to be just a plain double straight stitch. Soft enough to not overpower the butterfly, but heavy enough to see.

The only negative is that my background is a little brighter than I had expected. It is a cream colored, but not enough and made worse by my block having more background space than the other two rows. Well .... if the owner finds this a problem they can always tea dye it to blend in a little better.

Believe it or not .... I have another row here that I need to get working on.

Thanks for stopping by

~ Annie ~

Garden Variety 2

2011-06-26T11:36:00.000-04:00

I seem to be hanging out over at Quilter cache lately ... searching for blocks. It really is a great site if you need some inspiration - and the directions are great!

I decided that I would go with the Easy Pieced Butterfly block. After all .... you do find butterflies in most gardens.

I am please with my fabric choices ....although I don't know how many green & red butterflies there are in the real world. But again .... who said this is the real world!!

I have to make (5) 12inch blocks which isn't too bad. Even thou each block has 34 pieces, this block is pretty easy. Just have to make sure your 1/4 inch seam is consistent.

See ..... I'm almost here!!! I need to get my rows together and my block is almost done.

Thanks for stopping by

~ Annie ~

Garden Variety

2011-06-25T11:16:00.001-04:00

A week or two ago I received another Row x Row to work on. It seems that they are coming fast ... or maybe time has just speed up!!!

When I opened it up all I could think of is "Christmas" - after all they are red and green. Upon further inspection and reading the card that came with the rows, the owner wanted a Garden theme for her quilt. It is going to be a gift for her granddaughter, who has many interests.

The original row is the Garden block. The second row is the simple block with the embroidery which are some of the interests of the granddaughter. I love this row .... I nnneeeeeeddddd a embroidery machine!!!! So cute!!!

I did things backwards .... I picked out the fabrics first!! It would be so easy for this quilt to become "Christmasy" looking.

Ssssssooooo .... I managed to find this red paisley. Has elements of green but not Christmas looking to me.

Then ..... I found this mossy green with elements of red. The green is a little lighter than what is in the other rows, but hopefully it will still mix OK.

Now .... I have to figure out what "Garden" theme block I will choose to do. Any ideas?

Thanks for stopping by

~ Annie ~

On a Roll

2011-06-22T14:16:00.001-04:00

YUP!! I am on a roll and need to get my "Sandy Stars" row done so it can go in the mail. I found this a hard project because I needed 5 different stars and they all needed to be made from all different fabrics.

And I didn't want to buy any more fabric ... kinda like a fabric diet. I really don't need any more fabric!! Oh wait ... this project almost proved otherwise!!! But alas .... I did manage to come up with the fabrics .... DARN!!! I would love a shopping trip right about now.

This is my fourth block and it isn't really a star. It is called "Arrows", but I thought that I could get away with it because of the points. My fabrics are on the sandy/yellow/beige side. From the picture it looks like some of the elements got lost, but in real life it isn't that bad.

My final block is this basic star. I don't know how I feel about this one. I think it's the fabric choices that are bothering me. Maybe I shouldn't have used a directional fabric ... but I am coming down to the end of my choices ... ssssssooooooo this has to do!

TaDa!! Here are the two rows together .... I guess it's not too bad. I guess it turned out better than I had anticipated. These muted colors are not my cup of tea so to speak. I am glad to get this on it's way .... I hope I get to see what the end results are.

Until next time

~ Annie ~

Sandy Stars

2011-06-20T14:15:00.000-04:00

This is the next Row x Row I am working on. It's called "Sandy Stars" and it came all the way from Australia. Can't you just imagine the warm, sandy beaches all the way from the other side of the world? Sounds good to me .... especially since our warm weather has been mixed with lots of rain and dark days.

Now .... who would have thought it would be so hard to come up with 5 different stars - and all the different "sandy" fabrics to accomplish this!!

I scoured the "Quilters Cache" sight many times over before I finally decided on my stars. Can we say .... indecisive!!

This is my first star .... pretty basic. The fabrics are more on the grey side - but still warm.

This is my second block - on the brown side. I'm sure there are beaches with brownish sand ... well I am hoping. I thought my stash was pretty packed with all kinds of fabrics .... wrong!!!! I am finding it hard to match up enough fabrics ... I really don't want to use any fabric twice since the owner's row didn't repeat either.

This is my third block and by far my favorite one!!! This one came together quite well and I am loving the fabrics.

So far, so good .... now I have to come up with 2 more blocks to finish this row and get it on it's way. Wish me luck!!

Until next time

~ Annie ~

2011-06-12T18:18:00.000-04:00

Now that I got the Beehive Row x Row out to the next participant ... I have another one I need to get cracking on.

This one comes all the way from Australia!! And the owner is hoping to get a "Beachy" feeling to her rows. She was asking for "sandy" types of fabrics. This is going to be a stretch for me.

Lets see how many fabrics I can come up with ... all the fabrics in this row are all different. I also need to figure out what 5 blocks I am going to do. I think I am going to do all different ones - that way everyone will get a wide range of choice and skill levels to work on.

Wish me luck ..... Until next time

~ Annie ~

Row Done

2011-06-07T09:02:00.001-04:00

I am done with this row x row. In the last post I showed you the first 3 pots of flowers I had completed.

These are my red flowers .... check out the flower pot. I had 2 "Bee" fabrics in my stash and I decided to use them both. Since the "Beehives" are done with 2 light & 3 dark, I did the same thing with my pots. I have 3 "dark" pots and 2 "light" ones.

Here are my purple flowers. I had a hard time narrowing down what colors I would use. I didn't want anything really bright - everything needed to be toned down to match the feeling of the beehives. I think I acheived that!!!

I think the rows go together just fine. I was worried about the blue pots being a little to busy, but it looks like they are alright. Now this row is ready to go on to the next person - I already have another row to do .... I need to get the lead out!!!!

Back to the drawing board

~ Annie ~

Potted!!

2011-06-05T08:32:00.001-04:00

YUP!!! That's what I am doing ..... potting my flowers. In my last post I told you my ideas for my addition to the "Beehive" row. I was going the way of flowers ...... and this is the pattern that I found on Fat Cats Patterns.

I hunted in my stash to find some Bee fabric .... you see the owner of the Beehive row is Connie B and she uses bees as her trademark. I found 2 fabrics that fit the bill, and I will be using them for the pots.

As for the flowers ... I am going to go scrappy since each beehive is made of different fabrics. I am trying to keep my colors all in the same "brightness" so they don't stand out any more than the beehives do. I don't want anything to get lost or to have your eye gravitate to any one spot.

Here is my blue set, which came out pretty good. I split my background fabrics just like the owner did on the beehive row. I did have the same green grassy fabric but declined to use it because it would be better that we all use all different "grass" fabrics. It would be awkward if two rows ended up with the same one ... at least in my mine.

I love this one!!! It is amazing what patterned fabrics can do when you cut it up. In the beginning I was afraid that it might be a little too loud, but it is working in just fine.

Here is my yellow/orange flowers. They are subdued as to not stand out too much. It was really hard to get all my flowers on the same wave length. Check out the Bees on the pot ..... pretty neat!!!

I had better get back to sewing the rest of this row ..... Until then .....

~ Annie ~

2011-06-03T15:19:00.000-04:00

I have been working on my Row x Row ..... it needs to be mailed out real soon!! Here is the "beehive" row that I received.

And I was thinking of doing something along the line of flowers. Here is a sneak peek ........

I'll have the rest of them to show you soon .... Until then ..... Happy Sewing!!!

~ Annie ~

I'm Late ....

2011-05-29T18:19:00.000-04:00

I'm late ... for a very important date!!! Well ... not yet but I need to get my butt in gear and get going on the Row x Row swap I am participating in.

Three weeks ago I received this row in the mail - isn't it cute!! It's a row of beehives and there is a "shop" with each of the girls in the swaps name on it. Mine is second to the last .... a flower shop.

Ssssoooo ... the last couple of weeks I have been brainstorming what I am going to do. Being the first has it problems. The biggest is that the first one sets the pace to what the others are going to do. Since the owner did 5 blocks with the same design I will also do 5 blocks of the same design.

I will also divide my background the same way as the owner did. I actually have the same green grass fabric ... but if I use it, then it will look funny if the others don't. So I am going to use a different green/grassy fabric.

Since I have the "flower shop" assigned to me, I feel very inclined to do something with a flower theme.

And the owner's goes by the name of Connie B, so I am going to try to incorporate Bee's into the blocks.

And I need to get going since it has to be ready to mail by the end of this week ..... You know what I will be doing this Memorial Weekend .... wish me luck!!!!

Until the Next Time

~ Annie ~

Is Anyone .......

2011-05-07T14:18:00.001-04:00

... Doing the "Road to Brownwood" by Judy Laquidara? In my blog hopping (and I wonder why I don't have time to sew!!), I haven't seen any posts about anyone participating. I'm sure they're are a few others - I'm just not on the right blogs.

If you don't know about Judy Laquidara, you can find her on her blog Patchwork Times. She is one of my favorite people ... love to read her posts. I also love her quilts .... she has a couple of books published as well as doing quiltalongs. Right now she is doing "Road to Brownwood" - I love the colors she is doing.

Ssssoooo .... I have decided to participate in doing this quilt. I am pulling all my fabric from my stash. Since I am not a big yellow fan .... I am going to be using gold/brown instead.

These are my fabrics I pulled from my stash. I know the dark fabric looks brown, but it really is a deep plum color. The really neat thing about the plum fabric .... it has green and gold in it!!! YUP!!! The fabrics are going to complement each other ... or at least that is what I am hoping for.

I'm a little behind, Judy started the instructions about a week or two ago ..... I had better get sewing.

Thanks for stopping by

~ Annie ~

Another Row x Row

2011-05-06T07:55:00.000-04:00

In the last post I promised to show you my second Row I am using in my Row x Row swap. I decided to use blocks from past swaps to use. The last one was a spring theme .... this one is a summer theme.

This block had nice, vibrant colors. I love the blue and green mixed with the yellow. YUP!!! .... This says "Summer" to me!

This is the block that I submitted to the swap that year. Flip Flops definitely say summer!!! Again it has the blue/green/yellow colors.

I love this kite in the clouds. The colors are so happy and warm .... YUP!!! .... says summer to me.

This block reminded me of all the pretty summer flowers which is why I included it in my row. It has blues/greens/yellows with some pinks and purples.

And what is a summer without water and a boat? This is the perfect block to finish off my row.

Sssooooo ...... this is my summer themed row. I thought it turned out perfect. I can't wait to see what all the other ladies add to the theme. Too bad it won't be back until fall. By that point in time my summer will be done ... but I'll have a nice quilt to remember it by.

Until Next Time

~ Annie ~

Swaps

2011-04-29T08:01:00.000-04:00

I love swaps!!! I find them totally addicting!! And since I come from a small town in a spread out and unpopulated part of the state, all of my swapping has been on the Internet. I use to participate in more .... but the cost of mailing has cut my taking part down a lot. Sssssooooo ..... now if I choose to do a swap, it really has to tweak me enough to pay the postage fees. Therefore, I bypass a lot of them.

But I have a soft spot for Round Robins ..... I can't pass one up!!! And I didn't when one of my Yahoo quilting groups posted a Row x Row this year. In fact .... I was so excited to participated, I offered to join more than 1 group if they needed a body to even out the groups. Which means .... I am doing 2 row x rows!!!

If you don't know what a row x row is .... it's real simple. You make a "home" row which is (5) 12.5 inch blocks that I make/put together. This gets sent to the person below me on the list. They will make (5) more 12.5 inch blocks that they think will fit the theme and then send the 2 rows on to the next person on the list. And so it goes until it makes it back to me. We have groups of 5 people - so I will end up with my row plus 4 other rows for a total of 5 rows to make my quilt. The rows are not attached which means ..... you get to choose the order the rows will go. I just love the element of surprise!!!

I decided not to make all of my blocks ..... I have a huge bin of blocks from previous swaps under my bed. Some of the swaps didn't produce enough blocks to make a quilt or I just didn't get around to putting them together.

Ssssooooooo .... I chose to do a Spring themed row. I did include one block in the row that I did do myself so I would have a piece of "me" in the quilt.

These are my choices for this row. All say "Spring" to me ..... mostly due to the fabrics they are made out of. I made the Butterfly block with the beaded antennae. I can't wait to see what everyone decided to do with their rows.

Now ..... since I am in 2 groups .... I will show you my second row in my next post.

Happy Sewing

~ Annie ~

Work!!

2011-04-22T07:45:00.000-04:00

YUP!!! This is a lot of work ..... moving in my new sewing room. First an update - all my cabinets are in (insert happy dance here!!). And my sewing table has been installed also. All that needs to be done now is to have the drafty window replaced ..... and that will happen sometime this week.

But I have to tell ya ..... moving in is HARD WORK!!!! I knew how much fabric I had strewed through out the house .... it's the fetching and lugging that is tough. Fabric is heavy!!! I moved it one laundry basket at a time. Let's just say my abds have never had such a work out .... forget the abds of steel programs .... just lift tons of fabric if you want to tone up!!!

Now comes the hard part .... organizing!!!! As well as moving (and remembering where it all is in the house), I have to figure out how to utilize my space efficiently as possible. Do I do it by color, quantity, theme ....... what a hassle.

When I first started out my stash I did it by color only. Then I started to put "special" cuts off together in another spot so when I wanted to use them they were all together. Then I just got too much and didn't have the time to sort them all out so ...... they just ended up on a shelf with no order what so ever.

Now I have the opportunity to sort them out the right way ..... it's just figuring out what is the right way for me ... NOT AN EASY TASK!!!

I have changed my mind several times, refolding and moving it. How would you do it????

Until next time

~ Annie ~

At Last!!!

2011-04-16T19:11:00.000-04:00

YUP .... I finally have progress at last in my sewing room!!! The carpenter came and installed one of the cabinets with the promise of coming in a couple of days to install the rest of them. I can't wait .... this means that I can now start to move into my sewing room!!! I am so tired of having everything scattered through out the house.

Now I know that my shelves are not anything to write home about, but I just love these cabinets. I love the look of natural pine with white walls .... so clean looking. And for the knobs, I have a slice of a branch with the bark on it. The cabinets do have a couple of coats of poly on them for protection. In time these will darken a bit like the cabinets on the opposite wall.

Now ... it did not take me long to start to move my fabric. As you can see I have a helper, he had to try out the space and see if it was up to his liking. He didn't stay long because I wasn't going to give up any of my space for him.

Wait until my carpenter comes back and sees that I have completely filled up the first cabinet. I am worried that I still won't have enough shelves to house my fabric stash. My goal is to get all my sewing supplies into this room. I do believe I may not make it!!!! Good thing fabric prices are going up ... not that I want to pay more .... more like ... maybe I will refrain from buying anymore!!

Until next time.... I'll be here ..... moving in!!!

~ Annie ~

Waiting .....

2011-04-09T09:15:00.000-04:00

Well ... I am still waiting on my sewing room. It still looks like this!! I know that my cabinets are being made ...I know I am feeling frustrated and being impatient.

And it would be the least cluttered room in the house. As for the rest of the house ... all the rooms still have Rubbermaid tubs storing the contents of my sewing room. And it feels like I am drowning - maybe more like living in a cave. It is really starting to bother me. To escape, I go into my empty sewing room and dream of how I am going to disperse all the stuff. I can't wait!!!

In the mean time, very little creative work is getting done. I did manage to get my March "Cuppa Joe's" appliqued down on their perspective backgrounds.

Dino's still waiting in the wings for me to get off my duff and finish appliqueing them.

Hoping for some cabinets soon .........

Happy Sewing

~ Annie ~

A New Project

2011-03-14T20:17:00.000-04:00

It has been so frustrating waiting for my sewing space to get done. I did manage to get the room painted, now I am waiting (ssssoooo impatiently!!) for my cabinets to be custom built. And having all the snow last week has not helped .... still can't get through the front door. I will worry about that when they tell me the cabinets are done and ready to be installed!!

My youngest daughter wants a new quilt. Being 14, you would think she would want something that says "Teen". Not so ...... she wants this one she saw in the April Quiltmaker magazine. I do believe my DD is regressing!!

Sssoooooo .... I won't tell you how long it took to trace and cut out the pieces. OK ... yes I will .... several days and a couple of numb fingers that resulted from cutting all the small, intricate parts!!

I decided to do what I usually do ..... use my scraps!!! YUP .... it all came from my scrap bag. And just like the pattern ... all the pieces and parts are from different fabrics.

Is it any wonder that I needed some coffee and a bit of time to make sure that I got all the legs where they belong ... I think!!! What has that child gotten me into??

I do have all of the dinosaurs placed on their backgrounds. Now the fun part ..... to applique' them down. Wonder how many thread colors/changes it's going to take?

Until next time

~ Annie ~

No Sewing

2011-03-08T15:59:00.000-05:00

There is no sewing going on here due to not having a space to sew in. I can't wait to get my new sewing room done.

In the meantime ..... we got .... are you ready for this .... 30 .... YUP!!! I said 30 inches of snow yesterday!!!

In case you can not imagine what that looks like ... here it is.

And in case you need something to kind of give you an idea of what these banks mean. My teenage daughter decided that she needed to get on top of the pile.

OH .... while you are up there I can give you a shovel and you can start to dig that door out.

Why you ask?? The carpenter needs to get the new cabinets in there - that is my new sewing room.

DD thought this was really neat - to touch the roof of the house.

Well, I had better go get the shovel since DD is not going to help shovel me out. After all the sewing room is going to be mine.

I hope there is no more snow on the way ... but unfortunately ... we live in an area that snow into April in not uncommon!!

Until next time

~ Annie ~

A Treasure ...

2011-02-28T11:22:00.001-05:00

... To me that is. I don't often purchase a lot of "dust catchers" in my travels. It has to really capture my eye enough for me to look it over. I was in a drug store that has a small gift isle. I was waiting for a prescription to be filled and what else are you going to do but wander.

First I checked out the quilting magazines ... I'm going to lodge a complaint - they didn't have a one!!! What is up with that??

And then I just happened to stumble upon this ...........

I love things that have been made to look old and battered. I thought it was just so rustic looking. They even clouded up the clock face to make it more tattered.

And the best part of the whole thing .......

YUP!!! You are reading that price right ..... $1.00!!!! I couldn't pass this up. Obviously ... they were expecting me!!!!

Until next time

~ Annie ~

I Have a Floor!!!

2011-02-26T11:22:00.000-05:00

YUP!!!! Take a look at that .... a really nice, shiny, wood (laminate) floor. I am so happy to get rid of that carpet. I don't know why I have rugs .... I really hate them. Not to mention that I have allergies ... I really shouldn't have them in my house.

It will be a couple of weeks now before my carpenter comes back. But we have brain stormed our little hearts to come up with a plan that will work in this space. He will be adding cabinets along the empty wall for my fabric storage. As if that is going to be enough .... I have a bet with the carpenter ... we'll see who wins!!!!

And a sewing table at the end of the room. I hope I will like sewing here. I have resisted moving into the bedrooms upstairs because I feel isolated away from the traffic.

Up until the holidays, I have done my sewing in the dinning room. Once I cleared everything off and out of that room for the dinners, we decided that we liked the dinning room being the dinning room. And I wasn't allowed to unpack any of my sewing stuff, so production is on the slow side. I do have my machine up but I can't seem to find anything else ..... it's all in Rubbermaid tubs piled in my bedroom. Now you know why I decided to change this room .... I need a place to sew!!!

Counting the days until I can unpack my stuff

~ Annie ~

Progress

2011-02-23T05:07:00.001-05:00

I have managed to make progress ... I got rid of all the junk in this space. I'm sorry ... it really doesn't look any better.

The carpet is coming out ... as you can see it is really stained. Thanks to my son the truck driver - he is no longer allowed to clean his truck in my driveway. It is always full of grease .... hence the dark stains on my carpet.

I had the cabinets added to this room about 2 years ago. Before that there was open shelving running the length of the room. I can't have open shelves .... I just clutter everything up!!! At least with doors I can hide my mess.

Ssssoooooooo ..... what do I have in store for this room you ask?? Guess you will have to stay tuned!!!!

Forgive me if I put my quilt projects on hold since this is taking up a lot of my time ...

Until next time

~ Annie ~

I Can't Believe ....

2011-02-21T17:00:00.000-05:00

That I am showing you this....!!!

What is this ... you say? Well, this is a room, that once was a porch measuring approximately 7 ft wide by 21 ft long. About 10 years ago I had it upgraded and winterized so it could become part of the house.

It is an odd space, which up to now has been used to house a desktop computer. And anything else that found it's way there as you can see!! I just haven't been able to turn the space into something that works.

And believe it or not, I actually cleaned it up a lot before I took these pictures. This is where I have been spending my time all week ...... cleaning!!!

Until next time I'll be up to my eyeballs in dust & dirt

~ Annie ~

Look What I Found

2011-02-13T07:36:00.001-05:00

Won't this be just the perfect fabric for the backing of my "Cuppa Joe's" quilt top (once it's done that is)!!! I did not find this in my stash .... I ended up going fabric shopping of course. I think the blue and brown colors have a really homey feel to it.

And I found this for the sashing. Isn't this just perfect too!! What better fabric then coffee beans to pull the whole top together. And it's done in a blending of tans/browns with a few punches of green/purples that kinda hide in the background. It really is pretty in person.

At first I was a little worried that the coffee beans might be a little busy .... but it does a really nice job of staying in the background and letting the cups take center stage. I hate it when the sashing and borders steal the focus of a quilt .... unless that is my intent. I am happy at how this is turning out.

I still have to find a fabric to do my border with. I am thinking of something that reads solid from a distance. I ended up ordering a fabric ..... I hope it is "the one" to finish this off!!

Happy Sewing

~ Annie ~

... Unfocused!!

2011-02-11T05:40:00.002-05:00

I bet that is how you feel I am every time you visit my blog. The posts are all over the board ... actually ... I am too!!!

Oh ... and beware ... More cups ahead!!

Trimming up my cups

I do jump from project to project. I don't know if I get bored or if I just like the feeling of starting projects gives you. I usually have several things going at one time. I think other quilters call them UFO's!!!

More trimming

Sssssoooooo ... I am back to my "Cuppa Joe's" that I am doing for my son's girlfriend. They are coming along nicely. I have finished all 56 cups.

I am happy how they all look together. I am going to be adding a sashing and border. I just not sure exactly sure what I am using for fabric. I will be pawing through my stash to see what I have that will go. If not .... can we say .... shopping!!! Don't we all look for reasons to go fabric shopping!!

I'll be playing with my stash ... hope you are too!

Until next time

~ Annie ~

Finishing a UFO

2011-02-09T05:25:00.000-05:00

Look what is on the quilting frame!!! YUP!!! Finally .... I am getting the "Princess" quilted. I am going to be giving it to my granddaughter for her birthday later on this month. I can't wait for her to see it. She isn't expecting it .... I'm sure she has given up on ever getting it!

I am really good at starting projects ... not so good getting them done. I really like the piecing process. I really don't care for the quilting part ... I keep hoping that I will suddenly "fall in love" with that part of it.

Anyway .... this is close to being done. I can almost cross this off my list!!

Sssoooo ... what are you working on?

Until next time

~ Annie ~

A Little Brightness...

2011-02-06T08:34:00.001-05:00

... In all this snow. Aren't these pretty!! My son and his girlfriend brought me these yellow roses in a vase for no reason what so ever!!! The card said " for being here for us". What a great surprise ... totally unexpected!!!

YUP!!! We are just getting slammed every couple of days with more snow ... we are almost buried. I am so glad that I don't have to go very far to get to work.

Until Next Time

~ Annie ~

Taming My Scraps

2011-02-05T06:00:00.001-05:00

Every so often my scraps get out of hand. I have to go into them and figure out how to reduce what I have on hand.

My dark 2 inch squares

Since I just want to do little, mindless stuff .... I decided to cut 2 inch squares out of my scraps.

My light 2 inch squares

Now, I didn't cut all of them .... just the small stuff that I could get the squares out of. If I had a larger piece I would whack off a 2 inch strip and cut how many I could get.

What am I going to do with them ?? I have been looking through my Bonnie Hunter books and trying to narrow it down. I am leaning towards the "Happily Scrappy Irish" from her "Adventures with Leaders and Enders" book.

Ready to sew

Ssssooooo ..... I have a bunch of my squares all mixed up in there baskets and I can sew them anytime my heart desires. That is what is so nice with Bonnie's patterns .... you can do small parts of them and build your blocks up.

Happy Sewing

~ Annie ~

Another Swap

2011-02-03T09:06:00.001-05:00

Actually this is not a new swap ... I started to tell you about this one a few weeks ago. I'm not even sure what the official name of the swap is, but it is being held in celebration of "Quilters Day". And for those who don't know .... that will be March 19th (and don't think I'm so smart - I had to look it up!).

Sssssooooooo ..... for my homemade item I made this little bag. I did it scrappy so it will go with anything.

Next I had to add something that wasn't more then $10 .... so I bought a small journal, a note pad and note and/or recipe cards all in a matching design. It was so hard to find something to put in this swap because the box is so small!!!! We are using the small flat rate box .... it's only 5-3/8” x 8-5/8” x 1-5/8!!!

And since I only had a little more space .... I squished one of my penny pockets into the box. I had to practically sit on the box to get it taped together. I used a good postal tape .... lets hope it doesn't burst open somewhere!!!!

Now I mail it to a central location and wait until March 19th to get a different box in return .... I just love surprises!!!

I'll be sitting right here .... waiting

~ Annie ~

January's Mugs

2011-02-01T08:45:00.002-05:00

Bet your tired of all these mugs. Well ..... here is the ones that I received from the swap. I love each one - they all have such different personalities.

And see ... I have kept my word ... I have appliqued them down as soon as I had them in my hands. I am doing good!!! Of course, this is only January ... let's see what happens around June or so!!!

Still working on my other mugs for my son's girlfriend. Yes ... even more mugs!!

And I have also finally gotten to quilting my granddaughters quilt that I started 2 years ago. I am trying to get it done for her birthday - good thing she still likes princesses!! Reasons your shouldn't procrastinate when making quilts for little ones!!!

I'll be here happily sewing

~ Annie ~

More of the Same ...

2011-01-29T06:36:00.001-05:00

YUP!!! I am still working on the 56 mugs for my son's girlfriend . I haven't decided exactly when I am going to give it to her ..... her birthday is in June & of course, we have Christmas too!!! I am not going to set a deadline .... I will work on it and decide later. All depends what is going on in our lives when the time comes.

Now, the girlfriend isn't really all that girly. She enjoys a lot of the same activites as my son, which include camping, boating and fishing. You can find them backpacking on the good weathered days and vacations are spent fishing and watching car racing around the country. I really love this girl - she can spend 4 weeks straight in the truck with my son (he's a truck driver) and still come back talking and laughing!!! She's a keeper in my book!!!

Sssssooooo ..... I searched through my scraps to find some fabric that would remind her of the things she likes - hence the hiking boots above. And of course the fly fishing lures!!

And then we have this one which is reminds me of the woods with the plaid - trees - moose - bears. Can we say "camping"!

OK .... now I don't know if she likes flowers but .... we have to have some don't we? This fabric actually shows one of my favorites .... Sunflowers!!

I'll be here sewing these cups down ..... Until next time

~ Annie ~

~ Mugs ~

2011-01-27T06:10:00.002-05:00

I received another mug last week, and true to my promise I appliqued it down to my background. It will be interesting to see if I can do this once a week for the 52 weeks this year. So far I have 3 mugs - which means that I am getting them right on time.

I have been thinking .... Yea!!! Imagine that?!? You know the 50 some odd mugs I traced that I couldn't use for this swap because I used the wrong sized pattern? Well, my son has a girlfriend who has been around for a little over a year and I think it's time to make her a quilt. I'm thinking that the coffee cups would be perfect ... she is crazy about coffee!!! You should have seen her reaction to the Keurig coffee machine I got her for Christmas .... she still isn't off the ceiling!!!

I spent a few days digging through my scraps and cutting out the cups ... it's so much fun playing with scraps. It's like going down memory lane with the fabrics from previous projects!!

I had to add 4 more cups to make the quilt a little more balanced. The blocks will end up being 6 inches finished - so I decided to use a 7x8 layout with a 2 inch sashing.

Ssssoooooo .... now that all 56 blocks are cut out and fused down to the backgrounds - I need to applique them down.

Looks to be a busy week .... how about you? What are you working on??

Happy Sewing

~ Annie ~

Small Bags

2011-01-22T09:26:00.000-05:00

The weather has been so crazy for the last couple of weeks here in New England. Lots of snow and cloudy days. Luckily, today the sun had decided to grace us .... we also are starting a very cold spell which will result in below zero temps.

Not to worry - I do have my comfy, woolly socks out and will not be going to far unless it is absolutely necessary. Actually, we tend to get lots of cold weather here .... this is the first cold snap of the season. And all this means is .... sewing time!!!

I have entered a swap at "The Scratching Post" over at yahoo groups. This one is really neat - we are exchanging mailing boxes. The requirement is to add something you make and the rest is up to you. They ask us not to buy anything over $10. And if that isn't mystery enough .... you mail your boxes to a central person and when the date comes, they just grab a box and send you one. Sssssooooo .... you have no idea who's box you are going to get. Doesn't that sound like fun!!!!

Mug Rugs are the talk of the list - as well as the web right now. I though maybe I could try that for my "made" project. I got all excited - went shopping (looking at) mugs and started to plan on a mug/mug rug set for the swap. Then I went to the post and picked up the box (we are using the small flat rate box) .... it's 5-3/8” x 8-5/8” x 1-5/8 .... no way a mug will fit in it!!!! Wwwaaaaaa .... there goes my cute, matchy, matchy idea!! I could make the mug rug - but I want the the mug to go with it, and if I can't - I don't want too!!

Ssssooooo ..... into my patterns I went. I keep tons of freebie pattens that I print off and save for that "something special", "I need an idea" or "I'm just clueless" project. Well ... this qualifies for clueless that is since my first idea was nixed!!

Well, I came up with these small bags .... equally as cute as the mug/mug rug idea, don't you think? They were so easy .... I made some Valentine's Day ones too!! Won't they be great to fill with some small gifts?? Wow!!! We are still a few weeks away from Valentine's Day and I already have something made .... this has got to be a record!!!

Now I am off the fill these cuties!!!

Until next time

~ Annie ~

New Toy

2011-01-18T06:00:00.001-05:00

It's no surprise, but in case you didn't know ..... I LOVE gadgets (especially the quilty kind)!!! Yup - I will wander down the isles of stores or surfing the web just checking out all the new, cool stuff.

I don't always buy the stuff (well not always), but I like to see and hear what everyone has to say about the things. Last week I came across the TrueCut Rotary Blade Sharpener by The Grace Company.

I have a rotary blade sharpener - it just costs too much to keep replacing them all the time. I do use the typical round sharpener with good results. Sssoooo..... it piked my interest when I saw this new fangled thing!!!

The really neat thing is you don't have to take you rotary cutter apart to use it!! I hate taking them apart and resembling - takes way too much time in my opinion.

I know it costs a bit more than the other rotary sharpeners, but I got mine on sale over at Joann's for a lot less. I haven't heard or seen any feedback on the product, but I am willing to try it and let you know.

Ssssooooo ...... has any one had any experience with the TrueCut Rotary Sharpener??

Until next time

~ Annie ~

Pennie Pockets

2011-01-17T06:00:00.001-05:00

Another project that I have wanted to do, but never had the time. Over at the Happy Zombie blog, she has a projects section on the sidebar. I have been eyeing the "Pennie Pockets" project - they are so cute and very easy to do!!!

My fabric choices - if you follow the directions and choose the 4 fabrics you will be making 4 pockets. I wanted to do them with a "Valentine's" theme, but I don't have any fabric that would qualify. Go figure!!! I'll have to dig further to see if I have any red/pink/whites that I could use.

But in the mean time, I have pulled these from my stash. They kind of look like "Easter" or spring to me. I guess that would put me in the early catagorie with my projects then - right!!

I was able to do these 4 in about an hours time. I know that I could do them even faster now that I know the process. It was fun to add the emblishments - and that was wherethe time was eaten. But they are just too cute and I have all kinds of thoughts of what you can do to fill these up and give away.

Happy Sewing

~ Annie ~

Snowy Week and Mindless Stuff

2011-01-15T10:16:00.000-05:00

So - was you week as snowy as the rest of us? Luckily, I have had the privilege of being able to be home all this week due to trying to heal. Which means: I could sit and stare out at all the beautiful snow falling, choosing when I would go out and shovel. I tend to be well stocked, therefore I really didn't have to go out at all. Good for me!!!
Now .... what do you do while you are sitting watching the snow? Yes ... I could do house work (boring!!) and heavens knows this house needs cleaning. But I'm not in the mood for that. I don't feel like working on any indepth projects, so it looks like mindless stuff for the week.

I decided to work a little bit more on my Cupcakes & Cuppa Joe's swap. Now, I do have all of my applique patches done and ready to mail out for the entire year. But I will need backgrounds for the returns. I am going to do a somewhat, controlled scrappy backgrounds. I picked 8 neutral fabrics to do this.

I think I will also use the same backgrounds for my Cupcakes also. Nothing like killing two birds with one stone!! After all it isn't all that much work to cut a couple of strips from the fabric while it's all out.

The Cuppa Joe's are mailed out weekly on Monday's, so that each swap member gets a mug a week. Having the backgrounds cut and ready will allow me to fuse them as they arrive. Pretty smart right!!!

My intentions are to sew them at the same time in hopes of not leaving them all to the last minute. And we all know what happens if I just let the Joe's stack up - they will never get done!!

So see - I have proof that I am starting out keeping my promise (in pictures too!!) ... for now anyway!! So far I have recieved 3 mugs and they are all appliqued down.

Ssssooooo ...... what did you do while it was snowing????

Until Next Time

~ Annie ~

2011-01-12T06:51:00.000-05:00

A year's worth of cupcakes

I've been home due to being ill just like most of the country. Although I am too sick to be at work, I am restless being stuck home. You would think I would enjoy the time being able to be home ... alone!!!! Well, that's not totally true - I'm not the only one in this household suffering from the coughy-coldy thing. But my teenage child tends to stick to her room and rest like a good child.

So, I have been looking for projects that are not too involved, so I can stop and go as I am able to. In December I decided to participate in 2 (not 1 ... but 2!!!) year long swaps over at Fat Cats. I like their swaps - we only exchange the applique patches so they are very easy to mail.

Of course I ran into a snafu ..... back in Dec I was being efficient (or so I thought!!), jumped the gun and traced all my cupcakes and coffee cups onto my Steam a Seam. Yes .... that would be all 50 or so of each one. It didn't take me very long to figure out that I need to incorporate "old quilting" technique - the template pattern. Yes, after tracing a few using a light box, it was obvious that I was going to be here all day doing this. Sssssoooooo ..... out came the cardboard and I made templates for each piece. I was done pretty much within an hour!!

A year's worth of coffee cups - don't worry the handles are included.

Now that I am looking over the pattern pieces and reading the directions, I realize that I traced the wrong sizes!!! YUP ... there was a special sized pattern for the swaps to make them fit in an envelope better.

You got it .... I spent another hour or so making new templates and tracing them on the fusible web. Good thing I buy my Steam a Seam by the 40 yard roll!! Once this was done, it was a "piece of cake" so to speak, to iron them on the fabric and cut them all out. It was really enjoyable - I decided to do my all scrappy and we all know that a day playing in the scrap bin is not "work" at all.

Ssssoooo ................ I have to mail one out each week to the participants and of course I will be receiving surprises of my own too!!! Just can't wait. OH .... and I need to figure out what I am going to do with the larger sized ones. At this point they are hanging in my sewing room - I'm sure I have a few quilts using these in my future.

Until next time

~ Annie ~

Neglected!!!

2011-01-11T06:59:00.000-05:00

Yup!!! That is what has happened to this blog. Don't feel bad, my life kinda resembles this too!!!

Sssssooooooo .... let me get a broom out and do a little cleaning up and I will be back to show you some things I am working on.

Until next time

~ Annie ~

~ No Sew ~

2010-08-21T16:27:00.000-04:00

I don't do too many swaps as the cost to mail them and get them back has gone up tremendously in the last couple of years or so. But .... every now and then I get the urge to participate. I belong to a chat/quilt group on the Internet, and they also have a website over at Fat Cats Patterns. Lately, they have been running "no sew" swaps, which are kinda interesting.

I watched them do the "funny cars" & then they just finished up the "thimble" one - I hadn't taken part in either. Everyone on the group just were overjoyed with what they received back. So .... when they decided to do a snow globe one I wanted to take a shot at it.

It's quite easy to do - I just had to decide how many I want to do. According to the instructions, you can make 5 sets of globes and only 5 can be out of one fabric. This means I will end up with swapping (25) 6inch globes that will go on a 6.5inch background of my choosing.

Sssssoooooo ........ first thing I had to do was to find fabric that would be appropriate for this project. I had tons of fabric that I thought would work and I pulled them from my stash. I found it very hard to decide from all my choices, still not getting a good idea of what they will look like. Then a light bulb moment - I printed an extra pattern and I cut out the globe part and used it as a window. This worked great!!!!

Next I had to trace all the pieces and parts - I didn't realize how monstrous a job this was until I started to do the tracing onto the fusible web!!!! I did end up with a hand cramp - and that was before I stared to cut them out!!! In reality, it only took about an hour to trace 30 snow globes with the bases. Why 6 - when I am suppose to do only 5 sets of 5 ...... well ..... I want a set for myself of course!!! Now, I will end up with (30) 6.5inch blocks which should make a decent size lap quilt.

Once they were all cut out - which happened to take another hour or so ..... it was on to the "no sew" part. I had to over lap the edges just enough to fuse them together, but leave the backing paper intact. Not as hard as it sounded - and I thought my snow globes came out cute. I am happy with the results ........

Ssssoooooo ..... if you have an urge to participate in this swap, just head on over to Fat Cat Patterns and go to the swap page and read the instructions.

Hope everyone is having a great end of summer

Until next time

~ Annie ~

~ Color by the Yard ~

2010-08-13T15:04:00.000-04:00

What an interesting name!!! It also happens to be a pattern that I found in one of my quilting books that I have in my book stash. I collect books almost as obsessively as I do fabric. My poor kids ....... they have already expressed .... "You had better not leave that stuff to me"!!!

Anyway, I didn't want to make another "twist strip" quilt out of my novelty fabrics - I wanted a little bit of diversity. So, I managed to find "Color by the Yard" pattern that I found in "Super Simple Strips" book. The book had many great, easy patterns .... but I choose this one to use my (42) 2.5inch strips on.

The pattern made up rather quickly - all I had to do was cut my strips at different vary lengths. Then just sew the ends on a 45 degree angle. You do that continuously so that all your strips are attached to one another!!! Makes for a very long strip!!! And then you cut them to the length you want you quilt top to be. I ended up with 2 baby quilts. Now I just have to decide if and what I am going to use for a border - then it will be time to quilt them.

So ... what are you working on???

Until next time

~ Annie ~

Where Did July Go??

2010-08-02T11:24:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that we are into August already - it seems like we were just being the New Year!!! And I know it seems that I have been missing in action - and I have at least in blogger land. I have been sewing despite the high heat we all are experiencing here in the northeast part of the United States.

First - I managed to get a new toy ( .... tool!!) to help me with my quilting. Ta-Dah .......... it's the upgrade to Electric Quilt 7!!!! I really haven't discovered what is different about it, but I have it!!! And I know I don't use this program as much as I should, but I do have fun playing in it. I mostly use it to try and audition fabrics for my quilts - it worth it's weight (price) in that aspect alone!!!

Second - another new toy .... it's the Shape Cut Pro by June Taylor. This is the full size one and is slotted for 2.5 inch strips. It accommodates up to 23 inches high (or 46 inches that has been folded in half) and 20 inches width (8 - 2.5 inch strips). Sssssoooooo ... if you are into cutting strips - this is the bad boy for you. I used it to cut my strips for the strip twist - and a few extras for the strip stash too!!!

And finally, I did manage to get my strip twist done done with all the kids novelties. This was lots of fun going through my novelties stash to choose the fabrics. I tried to stay away from really girly fabrics, but a few did sneak in.

This quilt top is definitely busy - but then I am told that kids really love all the bright and busy colors!!! Me - as an adult (at least I play one at home!!), found this one a little over powering for my taste. I have decided not to pursue the second one I had planned on. I am now on the search for another pattern that I can use with the 2.5 inch strips.

And yet to come, I attended a quilt camp in July and I will share with you the projects that I started there!!! YUP!!! ....... I did start more new projects!!!!

Until next time

~ Annie ~

Fun - Fun - Fun

2010-06-23T19:22:00.000-04:00

YUP!!! I am having some fun picking out a ton of novelty fabrics from my stash. For a while I was buying all kinds of neat fabric that pertained to basically what I would label as "kids" themes. I guess they really don't have to be for kids .... after all I really liked them enough to buy them!!

I enjoy strolling through fabrics that are not of the ordinary. Things like fish, trees, bugs, animals, faces .... pretty much any kind of novelty. I do buy a lot of yard or two pieces just to kind of oogle at them from time to time. I don't anticipate at any time when I might actually use them.

Now, I did use them when I was participating in a "Happy Block" swap and that did result in a few quilts. By the way .... I still have a couple hundred blocks some where in my sewing room. But for the most part, they just sit in my stash taking up space.

I work with a guy who is (well .... his wife is) having a baby. This is their second child - the first being a girl that is just a year and a half old. I didn't get the opportunity to make a quilt for their first child and now there are going to be two to them. Ssssooooo .... I am planning on making two quilts. One for the little new one and one for the older one. I think this would be great - the older one will get a little attention as well as the new one. Everybody will be included!!!

Problem: what quilt to make? As I mentioned before - I have a ton of "happy blocks", but I really don't feel like using those. After many days of deliberation, I chose to make a strip twist over at Quiltville. I love to do this quilt and it usually makes up in a jiffy.

I managed to pick out 24 medium/dark fabrics and 24 lights. And I still have a bunch more novelties if I want to do more. While I was cutting strips, I cut a few extras to add to my strip collection. Just in case I need more in the future.

At this time, I am sewing up the strips into blocks. It shouldn't be too long before I have enough to make the quilt top.

Until next time

~ Annie ~

Can You Say ........

2010-06-11T12:50:00.000-04:00

Neglected!!!! YUP .... that is what I have been doing to my sewing projects lately. We got an early blast of heat, so I have been working outside to get things cleaned up. And been working on the inside just a tad too!!!

I have been cleaning out my closets... Yes you heard that right!! Mind you - this doesn't happen too often. I think it has been at least 5 years since the last attempt. I really hate cleaning - I'll just use the excuse that I am allergic to dust and it always causes problems.

But I was forced this time - I lost weight!! And there is not a stitch of clothes that fit me .... Ssssoooooo ... it's time to get rid of it all!!! YUP - I said all. This has caused me a bit of feeling overwhelmed. I can't stand to waste or throw out something that is good, but I can't use what I have.

I did manage to find a co-workers Mom who was willing to take on my cast offs. I wonder how she felt when 5 30-gallon garbage bags came through her door!!! And that wasn't all of it. I did throw away anything that was stained or needed repair. And I saved a bunch of my cotton shirts - to cut up!!! Yes - I like to gather extra fabric from my wardrobe - it's Bonnie Hunter's fault - and I know there are others out there that do the same thing.

So I spent a day cleaning out my closet and another day cutting up a bunch of shirts - so now I have more fabric to use!!! Like I need more of that, but it will come in handy when I decide to do more of Bonnie's patterns from her books.

That is if I don't stop neglecting my sewing - I haven't even turned on my machine for two weeks ............ Yikes!!!
I had better get with it and start working on all my projects.

Until next time

~ Annie ~

~ May in May ~

2010-05-23T17:59:00.000-04:00

YUP!!! Finally I have caught up on this Row x Row project. I am doing May's blocks in May - Yippee!!!

Once again I had to stash dive to find appropriate (meaning not Christmas!!) red fabrics for my Santa Gnomes. It was challenging to find 8 different fabrics - thank goodness for my fat quarter stash!!!

Hey ...... wait a minute ........... I'm suppose to be using my scraps ....... not making more!!! OH well - I think my Santa's are going to look great. And now I have more reds in my scrap bins.

I had better get working on these guys - June is right around the corner!!! I just can't believe how fast this year is moving along.

Happy Sewing

~ Annie ~

~ Snow and Mittens ~

2010-05-11T19:47:00.001-04:00

April's pattern pieces - mittens

I think I jinxed my self by doing all these Winter/Holiday themed projects this year.

Why?? Well ....... I was happily tracing out my patterns pieces for April's row (last weekend), which just happens to be mittens. And what do I see out my window but ........ SNOW!!! YUP!!! It was snowing on Mother's day here.

Now mind you, it wasn't a ton of snow. But ...... it took a day or so for it to go away!!! Enough of that white stuff for now ........ please!!!

Fabric Choices

I was playing with putting the "Steam a Seam" through my printer - which did work. But, I buy mine in a very large roll therefore, I have to cut it down into pieces that will fit into my printer. I fiddled around with it and learned that it was just as fast to trace the objects by hand as it was to cut it into the right sized pieces. Ssssooooo ........ tracing wins .......... for now anyway!!!

Measuring and Spacing

Of course, then comes the real fun ........ playing in my scraps to pick out my fabric choices. I know in the pattern, they had three different fabrics and repeated them in the three blocks. Of course ...... I have to be different!!! I had to paw through my baskets to try and find nine different choices.

Needless to say .............. nope!!! I didn't have 9 different tans/browns to use. But all is not lost - that's what the stash is for. Not only do I collect fabric in yardage ........... I have lots of fat quarters too!!! So handy to have - and I managed to get enough choices to make it interesting.

Once the fabrics are all ironed and cut out, the hard part starts. I am very challenged when it comes to spacing - it's a depth perception thing ..... or lack of!!!

April's row done!!

It was evident early on in this project that the spacing was critical. Things just have to be in lines and edges have to be right or it will be all wonky. And me with my OCD - can't stand things out of line.

One thing I did find odd with my pattern - I was not able to cut my blocks down to a 8.5 inch height. I don't know if my printer was off, but once I put everything together, it was obvious if I cut the blocks down to the stated size - I will be losing parts of my appliquéd mittens in the top & bottom seams.

This really isn't all that devastating - I can make the height 10.5 inches like the other rows. But ...... I will have to compensate for the added space when the side blocks are made. Ssssoooooo ............ I will have to sew together my inside rows to get an accurate measurement for the outside blocks. OOHHH ........ this is going to require so MATH ....... YUCK!!!!

Until Next Time

~ Annie ~

..... And The Next One Is ........

2010-05-02T19:10:00.000-04:00

April's Pattern

Are you getting tired of me yet??? It seems this year I have been trying really hard to catch up. Of course the problem is I took on more projects than I can handle. But, I am having fun doing them!!!!

This is April's block from the SnowBound Bom that is going on over at Bunny Hill Designs. These snowmen are so cute and really easy to do. It really hasn't taken me all that long to complete them ......... I guess I just am not sewing as much as usual.

Again, this pattern as a few very simple pieces. I doubled the snowman so that the background doesn't show through his body.

The tree I choose to go with a green fabric instead of the white. Of course, I realized after I fused everything down that it was really hard to see his arms/sticks with the dark tree. Do you suppose that is why they went with the light tree in the first place ........... DUH!!!

April's block done!!

Sssssooooooo .............. after some moaning and groaning, I decided to use a satin stitch for the arms. It really made them stand out, but not really sure if I like them. Up until now I have been using a paint pen for all the arms/eyes/nose parts.

Good thing is ........ (I'm jumping for joy here!!) ....... April's block is all done!!!!

I do believe that I still have a April "Christmas Row x Row waiting for me - gluten for punishment I am!!!

Until next time

~ Annie ~

2010-04-28T19:05:00.000-04:00

March's Pattern

So ......... how is spring in your area? Here it has been extremely warm for this time of year. Not a bad thing, but when we get a day nippy weather with snow, we forget what time of year it is. Nice thing is the snow doesn't hang around long!!!

It's time to work on my Snowbound BOM since I only have January & February's done and it is now almost May!!! Where is the time going??? Good thing that these blocks aren't really labor intensive which means ............ I can get them done in no time at all.

As you can see in my picture - I have all my fusible webbing ready to go. Did you notice that I have 2 for the snowman?? Well ........... the reason for that is I found out with the first block the white fabric (as in snowman white) - regardless of how good the fabric is, tends to be a little opaque when put on a colored background.

March's Block done!!

Sssssoooooo ............ my first solution was to just double up the white for the snowman. It worked OK, but with a little bit more experimentation I found out that if you use a tan muslin, it looked much better. It kind of makes the snowman look really white and pops. Good enough for me ......... I am going to use this technique for all of my blocks. Live and learn - that's what it is all about!!!

This block calls for the word wish on the banner. I don't do embroidery - at least by hand!! My machine isn't all that fancy, but it will do a couple of alphabets. I wish that I could get the letters in a larger range of sizes. Guess if I want that I should invest in a better machine. Well ........ that is a dream at this point - I will make due with what I have.

My wish snowman look pretty good ........ now on the Aprils block.

Happy Sewing

~ Annie ~

~ I'm on a Roll ~

2010-04-20T06:00:00.001-04:00

Trimming up my block

YUP!!! Either I am getting faster at doing these Christmas Row x Row's, or they are getting easier. I'm not sure which one it is, but I managed to finish up March's Penguins in what seemed like record time. Maybe I am just getting in more sewing time and not realizing it.

These guys were kinda fun to do. I like it when I can grab a bunch of different fabrics ......... the more the merrier .... right!!!

Actually, the penguins are all done in a charcoal/grey strip fabric with the same white on white. The only components that are all different are the hats. I just grabbed from my scrap bag and put them together.

Since these rows are all appliqué, I am cutting the backgrounds larger than needed. I cut the block down once I have finished all the sewing. So far it had worked just fine for me except that the blocks are rather long. The penguins block is 10 1/2 inches by 24 1/2 inches. So this makes trimming them up a little bit difficult.

Penguins all done

I don't think they make any rulers longer than 24 inches - at least I have never seen one!!! So you know in order to cut the block correctly, I have to use 2 or 3 rulers together to accomplish this. This is the step I dread, because I have to play with the blocks, making sure that the spacing in even and they all line up. And because this row has 2 blocks in it, I have to make sure when I sew them together, all the penguins look like they line up.

I haven't sewn any of the rows together yet - can we say procrastination!!!! I have all of my blocks hanging up - I will sew the rows together when I get them all finished. It is easier to store them this way for now.

I think I only have two more rows before we start to work on the border blocks. Next is the Mitten Row - and you know what is great ............ it's April's row and I am actually going to be working on it in the right month!!!!! Imagine that - I am catching up!!!

Enjoy the Spring

~ Annie ~

It's Spring .......

2010-04-16T12:46:00.000-04:00

Penguin Wannabe's

And the spring rains are here. What a perfect time to be working on my Christmas row x row!!!! I am glad that it is not snow at this point - I think I have had enough of that even though we didn't get as much as usual. Things are starting to green up and warm up. Funny .... I would rather be quilting???

I am still working on my "Christmas Row x Row" that Sidney over at Fat Cat is doing as a monthly BOM. This is a little bit different than my usual fair - it is all done in appliqué. And I am having a blast doing it.

Sewing the Penguins down

Appliqué is fun to me because it is just like coloring except you do it with fabric. I use my scrap basket for my fabric choices, so it also is a treasure hunt to boot!!!

I am on March's row, which happens to be penguins. Sssssooooo ........... it looks like black is the color of choice. Not a color I have a lot of, and since there are 6 penguins, small scraps aren't going to cut it. I managed to find a dark charcoal with gray stripes in which I had a small chunk. And once I decided this was the fabric, I chose to make the stripe to be vertical. Just seemed to me that is the way they should go on a penguin. Hows that for logic!!!!

As for the hats - they all came from my scrap bag ....... and no two are alike!!! It was fun to see the combination that I could come up with. Now it's time to get everything appliquéd to the background .......... a task that will take me a while.

Think Spring

~ Annie ~

~ I'm Still Here ~

2010-04-05T17:57:00.000-04:00

And working on my "Christmas Row x Row" - February's row. This project is slow going since the weather has gotten nice, not to mention that I spent some time in Texas this month. Eventually it will all come together.

Blanket stitching the reindeer down

I chose to do all 9 of my "reindeer" (they still look like dogs to me!!!) with all different fabrics in the brown/tan color scheme. The antlers are all done in the same very dark brown fabric just to add some similarities among them.

I thought about making a "Rudolf" with a red nose, but in the end I resisted, since I am not really doing this as a "Christmas" theme with the holiday fabrics. I don't have a real problem with something that conveys a holiday flavor, just didn't want it to be real Christmasy. Weird ......... I know - Welcome to my World!!!!

The 9 reindeer done

I had to really dig into my scrap box to come up with all the fabrics. I think I need to get into my fat quarter stash and start using them for variety.

I don't really know why I think I need to save my fabric ........ it's not like I won't ever go shopping again!! I think the object of having the stash is .......... so I can have it on hand to use in my projects ........ right??? What is the problem!!!

Sssssoooooooo ............ While all you were doing the "Bunny" thing, I was working on this. I finished them up just in time for April's row to be introduced. I am still behind a bit .......... I have to do March's row which is penguins. They should be fun to do ................. and April's are mittens!!! I have better get the my act together if I am going to have this one done for the Christmas season.

Happy Sewing

~ Annie ~

On to the Next

2010-03-23T22:46:00.000-04:00

BOM that is ............... which would be my Christmas Row x Row which I started in January. It took me Jan & Feb to get the first row done ........... if I keep up this pace I just might have it done for Christmas - three years from now that is!!!!

Actually, I really like this project - I just hadn't anticipated all the small parts involved. I was drawn to it because it was cute - but when you start to count all those little eyes, noses, ears and antlers - it starts to take up a little bit of time. I'm sure they will be worth it in the end.

Well, I think in my last post I said these were "dogs" ......... my mistake!!! They are "reindeer" .......... I still think they look like dogs with antlers. I decided to do them all with different fabrics for their bodies. It wasn't too hard to find 9 different browns/tans in my scrap box. I just felt that I needed to add a little character to them - not that they needed it!!!

I went to my handy light box (my window of course!!), and I did remember to reverse the pattern so everyone is going the right way. It didn't take all that long to get everything traced onto Steam-a-Seam - I don't do hand appliqué, I do mine with a machine and a blanket stitch. I like that "homey" feeling that it adds to the piece.

But, I am ahead of myself ........... I am still trying to get the spacing down on these guys. I cut the backgrounds a little larger than called for to allow for shrinkage ....... so I will have to cut them down to size when I am done. I need to take that into account when I am auditioning the pieces - I need to leave enough to the seams. And it wouldn't look right if I don't space the 9 "reindeer" across the row!!! So this is what I am working on for the week .............

Happy Sewing

~ Annie ~

- - Catching Up - -

2010-03-17T05:25:00.002-04:00

YUP!!! That is the game I am now playing ........... and that is what I get for undertaking too many BOM's at a time!!! My problem is there is never enough time in the day to do all the sewing I want to do. I'm just like a kid in the candy store ........... I want it all!!!!

I can't have it all ....... Ssssoooo ........ I am in need of working on my existing projects. I have decided to start with the easier of the BOM's - SnowBound.

These snowmen seem to be on the simpler side and they don't have too many pieces. I just tape the picture up on my window (that is a fancy light box in case you didn't know!!) and trace my pieces. I just need to keep in mind that I have to turn the paper over or my snowman will be skiing the wrong way ....... can't have that!!!
These guys are fun to do ........ I get to go through my scrap box to figure out just exactly how they will be dressed!! Kind of like going to your closet in the morning when getting ready for work. You never know what I will come up with - it all depends on how I feel at the time!!!

This guy is ready for the slopes. I gave him red ski's and a nice striped scarf. He came out cute if I do say so myself!!

My only problem was ........ white thread. I have tons of thread colors in my sewing drawer, but white seems to escape me.

I only had white cotton thread in the large cone's ........... and these I use on my mid-arm to do the quilting. I don't have any place to fit the large cones on my sewing machine. All I know is to make it work, it has to be able to be pulled off the cone and then threaded through the machine. Ssssooooo ......... I jeri-rigged (is that even a word??) it up through my thread spindle using the thread thing-a-migs (you know - the washer like disc's that hold the thread on the spindle!!) and then threaded it as if it (or I!!) were normal. All I know is it worked - and that is all that counts.

Oh .......... did you notice that my snowman was skiing on a swirl of snow? Well, I have to make a confession - I don't hand embroider very well. And I really didn't want to leave out the snow .......... Sssssooooo ............ I decide to try and make it out of fabric. I think it came together just fine - my snowman seems to be skiing right down that slope with no problem at all!!!

~ Annie ~

~ I'm Just ........ ~

2010-03-10T17:27:00.000-05:00

........ A little behind. This year I decided that I was going to do several BOM's - this could be my downfall!!! YUP!! I just don't know when to say no!!! Not to mention that the Olympics sidetracked me ....... and I didn't even have any hand work to do while I sat glued to the TV!!! Can we say lousy planning!!!

I have managed to keep up with my Intermediate/Advanced swap. Of course, this is one that I signed up and I am swapping the blocks .......... therefore ............ I have a deadline on those. I would feel so guilty if I messed up that swap. And I am learning how to do very different blocks than I am use to doing - which was the whole reasoning behind my doing the swap.

As for the Snowbound ................ BEHIND!!!! I do have January's block done, but that is as far as I have gotten. I did print off February & March's ............ let's hope that I can hustle my butt a bit so I can work on those.

I just did not anticipate how labor intensive the appliquéing would be on my Christmas Row x Row. It's not the shapes are odd or anything like that - it's just that the snowmen faces have all those smaller circles that I was trying to rack my brain to figure out how to do.

I use the blanket stitch to do my machine appliquéing - I am self taught. I don't know how or what people do to anchor the stitching. I know that with other pieces which are larger I would just leave long tails and secure them by threading them on a needle and pulling to the back of the fabric and knot. But doing these small circles would take up a lot of time and energy. I needed to find a better way.

Sssssoooooooooo ............... I procrastinated!!!!! Until I got a DUH moment!!!! I just happened to look up at my sewing machine and saw a button that said "fix" on it. Well ........ what could that mean??? I looked it up in my manual ........... it means that every time you press that button it will anchor your stitching. Imagine that - I have this sewing machine that I have had for 2 years and don't even know what it can do!!!! That's OK - I've had my car for 5 and still don't know what all the bells & whistles are there either!!!!

Problem solved and I have just been sewing my little heart out. I have managed to finish up the first row (January's) which is the snowmen. Came out pretty good if I say so myself - I like how the snowmen are all sparkling like fresh fallen snow!!!!

Now on to February's row which is ......... dogs!!! I am off to the scrap bin to see what I can use......

Happy Sewing

~ Annie ~

--Snowmen--

2010-02-15T19:47:00.000-05:00

I have been very busy with all my monthly projects. I did manage to get February's swap blocks done. I am now back to working on January's "Christmas Row x Row" in which since it is February - I am a little bit behind.

It's not that this project is too hard .......... it just has a lot of small pieces, so it is time consuming to appliqué down. This first row consists of 2 blocks of 10.5 x 24.5 inches ........... the blocks are identical. Ssssooooo ....... spacing is important!!!

I need the snowmen to line up in both blocks in order to make them look approximately the same. I am so glad that I have a couple of long rulers - I just lined them up on the bottom and sides to help me with my placement.

I also added a half inch extra on each side - just in case I have a little shrinkage after I appliqué the pieces down. I am pretty happy with the results - the snowmen look just about how they should. Although I had to work it a little bit to get them to smile ......... but in the end they did!!!

I've just begun to sew all my pieces down - so I am looking at quite a bit more appliqué work before I am done with these blocks. And February's are already released ....................... sew, sew, sew!! ........................ this is what I am going to be doing for the next few weeks!!!

Happy Quilting

~ Annie ~

~ Intermediate BOM ~

2010-02-05T18:34:00.001-05:00

I should have started with the intermediate block instead of the advanced one. Maybe I wouldn't have been so frustrated at all my inept attempts to complete the block. I guess this is what I signed up for - to learn how to do more difficult piecing methods. And Yes!! ............ I got what I signed up for!!!! On this block, the lesson was mitered/set in seams.

This block ...... I think is also called the "White Cross" and it came from the Electric Quilt library. The only problem with the pattern coming from this source is, they don't tell you the steps on how to put it together.

Now ....... to be fair ........ the swap mom did send out directions on how to put this puppy together. Did I read it??? NO!!! I have a hard time deciphering directions without pictures!!! Sssssoooooo ........ I earned (and rightly so!!!) all my frustration.

One thing I can say for myself is ......... I don't give up. I will try until I get it done and quilt blocks are included in this.

This version of the "White Cross" actually went together pretty easily. I had already wasted my frustrations on the advanced version ...... so this one was a piece of cake. The fabrics are from my scrap stash - I felt like going the purple direction. Hope the recipient is feeling the same way. Reminded me of spring - something I am not personally experiencing at this time in this part of the country!!!

And of course, I did one for me in the fabrics I have chosen as my theme. I intend to make a sampler quilt top for myself out of these blocks. I don't know what I will do with the swap blocks I receive - might end up being a scrap sampler. I'll have to wait and see what I end up with.

Keep Quilting

~ Annie ~

- - Good Grief!! - -

2010-02-02T11:49:00.000-05:00

The last couple of days I have had a very bad potty mouth!!! Sorry if you were able to hear me ......... I am so bad when I get frustrated!!!

Why .... do you ask??? Because I just came across a block that tested my limits as a quilter. If you follow my blog, you know that I decided to join in an intermediate/advanced BOM swap being held by "The Quilting Sisters" Internet quilting group. For some reason, this year is going to be my year of doing monthly projects.

I signed up to do this because I wanted to test my "horizons (abilities!!)" as a quilter. Every so often, I get to feeling stagnate and need a challenge. I knew when last months block seemed a bit easy I was in trouble. You see ...... being easy - I just thought I was the cat's meow!!! WOW!!! ....... I must be advanced if I could do this one pretty easy!!! BOY!!! Was I wrong ........... February's block sure put some humility (obviously very sorely needed I might add!!) in my attitude!!

The block is called "White Cross" and is from Electric Quilt software. When I first peaked at it, I didn't think it was too hard looking. It has 4 set in corners - I've done those before (not my favorite technique might I add!!). SSSSSooooo ....... to my scrap bag to dig out some fabric to do my swap block. It took me a while to figure out how to put this block together - Electric Quilt doesn't give you instructions on how to construct blocks. But, I managed to figure it out after a couple of ripping secessions. Once I got it together, it seemed OK except that I wasn't too happy with on of the outside seams - it wasn't quite 1/4 inch ......... so this block is a reject for swapping.

Back to the scrap bag for more fabric!!!! I really should have just backed away from my sewing table. You know the feeling ............. nothing goes right!!!! And for me ...... nothing went right. I ended up ripping out several seams and then once I thought I had it all ready to do the final sewing ........... half of my units I introverted the colors. Which means .......... the block is all wrong!!!! Back to the table to cut all those half units out again, so I can get the placement right!!!! I did decided to give up at this point ......... I was in a very nasty mood at this time. Amazing how simple pieces of fabric can do this to me!!!!

But, luckily second time is a charm and the block did go together right. Not easily ......... but right. The dimensions were right on and I managed to end up with my seams a 1/4 inch from the edge ........ so I have a swap block!!!!

Ssssoooooo ...... by the time I cut out my block, I had the process down pat. Mine went together just fine. I don't think I want to be doing a whole quilt with this block though!!!!

I suppose my downfall was making the advanced block first ........ maybe I should have started out with the intermediate one. That one I still have to do ........... lets hope I have better luck!!!!

Happy Sewing

~ Annie ~

Christmas in January!?!

2010-01-28T08:29:00.000-05:00

YUP!!! That is what I said!!! I was cruising the Internet and came across several posts for the new Fat Cat BOM that started this January.

Of course, I have several other projects to finish, but I just feel like doing something new. Don't I always!!! And I do like to do appliqué - and a row a month isn't too much to ask for??? Right??? This makes the third monthly project I now am doing .............. I hope I don't come across too many more that catch my eye!!!

This project is also mostly made from my scrap bag, I only needed to pick out a background for the entire quilt. I found 4 yards of this blue with what looks like snowflakes on it. I think this is the perfect fabric choice for this project.

I have seen Fat Cat patterns before, but I have never attempted to do them. I do my appliqué with Steam-a-seam 2 and then edge the pieces with a blanket stitch. This pattern has a lot of tiny pieces- I wasn't looking forward to tracing and cutting out. Sssssooooo ......... I decided to try an experiment. Since the pattern is done in PDF form, why can't I print onto the steam-a-seam itself???? I had never tried this, but it's worth a shot.

I buy my steam-a-seam in a giant roll, so the first thing is I had to cut it down to paper size. Once I did this, I printed out the first sheet with no problems. The second kinda got stuck and the top sheet crumpled up - YUCK!!! Sssoooo ........ I took my iron and I just pressed the first 1/4 inch at the top of the steam-a-seam. This bonded the front and back sheet together so it wouldn't get caught in the printer ......... AND ......... it worked ....... went right through!!! I was able to print of all three sets of my sheets (need 2 of each since the first row is two of the snowmen blocks) ............ No tracing for me (can we say lazy)!!!!!

Now, it's just figuring out what piece goes to what. Unfortunately ......... the layout sheet isn't marked with the corresponding parts (if you look at the picture, I had to pencil the letters in) - do you like puzzles!!! Good thing I do ....... and it didn't take all that long to figure it all out.

Next step is to start getting everything laid out and begin to iron the pieces down.

Happy Quilting

~ Annie ~

>> Can You Believe It!!! <<

2010-01-21T19:57:00.000-05:00

Let me tell you .................. I decided it was time to get back to my "Carolina Christmas" quilt top. As I last left it - I had all the 4 unit blocks all done. I am at the stage to where I am putting the 4 unit blocks into rows.

Sssssoooo ............... I get my blocks down on the floor into the layout I am doing (Bonnie's original). And I put together a couple of blocks, and iron the seams out and do a couple of more blocks. Just minding my own business ........... getting eager ............. it seems to be going together good. Contemplating that I might even get this top completed a lot faster than I had anticipated ........... WHEN ............. as I am ironing some more seams ................ I come across this!!!!!

Where did this come from???? It looks like the tip of the scissors snipped it. Did I do this accidentally?? Or did one of my kids borrow my scissors and toss them back on my sewing table??

Regardless to how this happened ............ how am I going to fix it!?!? Can I patch it??? Do I just try to embroider some kind of design over the top so it isn't noticeable?? What quick fix can I do???

It didn't take long for me to realize .......... I need fix this the right way. If I want to quilt top to be half way decent - there is no short cut!!! I would have to get the seam ripper out and start to rip the seams all around the triangle so that I can remove it.

YUP!!! If you have been following my blog (an hundreds of others doing this quilt top), you know it has millions of pieces in it!!! OK, that's an exaggeration - but it does have a lot of pieces to work around. This triangle happens to be 3.5 inch half square ....... and lucky me!!! ......... I just happen to have only one left over!!!!

Sssssooooo .......... I placed the triangle in and sewed it into place, crossing my fingers that this is going to work out OK. Lucky for me, it went together much better than I had anticipated!!! I was so worried that the seams wouldn't match, or that I might end up with a wavy block.

But ........ the quilting gods were smiling on me!!! Once in place - it looked as good as new. You wouldn't even notice that I had to replace a piece. I really am happy that I was able to fix this disaster!!!

I now have 2 of my rows put together. I need to get the other 3 rows to complete this part of the layout. I am playing in Electric Quilt 6 to figure out what I am going to do for borders.

Ssssooooo .......... the end is coming to light!!!

~ Annie ~

~ SnowBound ~

2010-01-19T12:28:00.000-05:00

NO!! I'm not SnowBound ......... it is actually raining on our snow this week. Must be the infamous "January Thaw"!! Shoveling the slushy snow is back breaking ........... so I just step on the gas pedal and hope for the best. So far - it has worked, I haven't gotten stuck yet!! I'm sure it will freeze up soon!!

"SnowBound" is the name of the new, twelve months of Snowmen BOM that is going on over at Bunny Hill. I became aware of Bunny Hill BOM's last year, when they did the basket BOM. I didn't participate, but I saved the patterns to do one of these days!!! We all know how that goes ........... someday ....... one day!!!

Anyway, when this years design was released - I just had to do it!!! I like snowmen and I don't have any quilts with that theme .............. Ssssoooo ............... of course I am going to do it. I am always looking for new things to do ......... aren't you?????

It didn't take me very long to do this month's block. I really like how they keep the design very simple. I picked out a blue speckled background for all my blocks. This is the only common link I will have in the blocks - every thing else will come from my scrap box. Even thou they released the quilt layout, I haven't decided what other fabrics I am going to use. I'll wait until I get there to do that.

Keep Sewing

~ Annie ~

2010-01-12T15:28:00.001-05:00

I remember a time when I use to really enjoy participating in block swaps. A few years back I was quite active in them .......... I have multiple containers under my bed full of blocks to prove it!!! It's funny how none of those numerous blocks never became quilts. There are on my "one day" - "some day" list!!

If I had to take a wild guess as to why I stopped ........ it might be that the postal rates really increased. Along with the containers under my bed!!! How many blocks do you really need?

But, I have slowed down, and I am not doing as many projects as I use to. One is the time aspect ........ doesn't it always seem that there is not enough time in the day to do things? I am now trying to work on "quality" instead of "quantity", meaning I am taking my projects slow so I can enjoy them. I set no deadlines, sssssoooooo .......... there is no pressure.

On one of my internet quilting groups, one of the ladies introduced an Intermediate/Advanced swap. It sparked my interest because it's (a) one block a month, (b) it's scrappy & (c) it will push me to increase my skills by doing blocks I would never dare to try.

Of course I signed up. But, as usual, I can't just be happy to settle for one block a month. My thinking is ......... I want a quilt out of this in the end. So ........ I picked out 5 fabrics for me to make a "me" block each month and I will make the "swap" block to trade from my scrap box. I decided that I am going to do a combination of reds/blacks/whites for my quilt top. And of course, I will be getting a "swap" block in return for the one I am sending in ........ that will be the scrappy top.

OK ......... now you know why I have a bunch of boxes (did I mention they were rather large!!!) under my bed, with lots of swap blocks!! YUP!!! You would understand how that managed to build up - one of these days I will have to take a picture so you can see all of them. Someday I am going to put them together into a quilt top. OH wait!!! I think you have heard that one before!!!

At any rate ....... the first block is the "Grandmother's Cross". Now ..... I am in no way an expert quilter, but I found this block went fast. I have a sneaking suspicion that they are just easing me in and then are going to "pop" the difficult ones on me. For now ......... this one was good. I just had to follow the directions and the piecing was perfect.

I really liked my "reds" - the color combination is going to be pretty. I chose to do my "swap" block in blue - can't go wrong with that color. I can't wait to see what I get back in return!!! Yes ......... I forgot the fun of anticipation!!!

Happy Quilting

~ Annie ~

~ Fox & Geese ~

2010-01-09T09:08:00.000-05:00

And being in this part of the country ........ I wouldn't want to be either animal outside today!!! Check out our weather for today .............. you're not going to see this "Pampered Princess" venturing to far today unless it's absolutely necessary!!

Sssssoooo ............... let's get back to my Fox & Geese. If you are doing the "Carolina Christmas", which is another great mystery by Bonnie Hunter, you know that it's one of the blocks in this pattern.

It's really funny that back in step 1, I was simply cutting green & neutral triangles from 2.5 inch strips. Once they were sewn together, it created an average, everyday green & neutral 2.5 inch half square.

In step 2, I was working on putting "wings" on to the 2.5 inch half squares. After I managed to do that, came adding that piece to a green triangle cut from a 4.5 inch strip.

In step 4, (step 3 was making the units for the poinsettia stars), I put together the 2.5 inch red half squares with a neutral 2.5 inch square to make a 4 piece unit.

Step 5 brought together the step 2 units & the step 4 units to make the "Fox & Geese" blocks that measured out to be around 8.5 inches.

And if you agree ............ these have been very simplistic steps - taken slowly. OK!! ....... we won't count HOW many of each step we had to do!!!!

Good Grief!! What's a 104 pieces this, 208 pieces or that or even 598 2.5 inch squares??? Well, if I remember right .............. it looked like a huge mountain way back there when I was doing those steps!!!

I guess, what I find astonishing ......... is that I have managed to follow through all these simple steps and it is truly amazing at the final product. Who would have thought that I would be able to build such a intricate block with these simple steps!!!

I am happy with the results of these blocks. NO ......... not all my points line up "just" right, but with such a jumble of pieces, it's not so noticeable. I am glad that I am going with the original setting ........... BUT!! ......... it's going to be a very large quilt. I usually don't make quilt tops this large ........... I can feel the struggle now as I try to put this together!!!

YUP!!! This is where you will find me on this very cold day ...... wrestling with putting this quilt top together.

Now ........ what am I going to do with the border ....................

Keep Warm

~ Annie ~

- - I Have Heard - -

2010-01-01T07:44:00.000-05:00

........... That what you do on New Year's Day is a predictor of what you will be doing for the rest of the year. I'm not sure I like that wives' tale ............ as my plans are to be sewing (that's not bad!!!) ........ and to get the house cleaned up (that's the bad one!!!).

But as with all things ............ I have to get the "old" out and bring in the "new" (so to speak). I took the tree down last night (this is part of our family tradition and you can't mess with tradition!! - I tried - no one would let me!!!). Now, I just have to get everything back in it's own place and I will be back to a some what normal life.

And of course ........... I will continue to work on my "Carolina Christmas" blocks. Last night (along with taking the tree down) I worked into the night on putting my blocks together. It is surprising how a unit with so many pieces and seams is working up without too many hassles with the fitting them all together!!! I think that is why I tend to try and pick patterns with less seams ........ I really hate all that pinning!!! BUT ........ it is necessary if I want my seams to match some what!!!

So far, the poinsettia star blocks are made and sewn into the four part configuration. I know many others have and are doing alternate settings, but I chose to do Bonnie's original layout.

I am liking the gold that I picked out for the blocks. It's very sedate once I put it into play. In my pictures, it looks almost like a tan/beige ....... this is good ........ it is blending in. Doing that, I think the red fabrics (and green blocks when I get them done!!) may become the focus.

Time will tell ................ but at this point I will be working on the green blocks today. You know ...... if I start sewing now - there is a BIG possibility that I may never stop to finish up the cleaning!!! And then (according to the old saying) I will be just sewing the rest of the year ......... sounds like a plan to me!!!

Happy New Year

~ Annie ~

~ Poinsettia Stars ~

2009-12-27T18:34:00.000-05:00

....... Or pinwheels as I call them!!! I just can't get that out of my head - I guess if you are going to call a quilt "Carolina Christmas" ........ they are Pinwheel Poinsettias!!!

Last time I checked in, we were way below zero with our temps. Now, it has been raining and freezing everything into sheets of ice. It's not too bad if you don't have to go anywhere - especially if you want to walk (skate!!). Glad I only have to go up a block to get to work - I would really hate to have to travel in this stuff.

But ......... this weather is conducive to sewing!!! YUP - I've been working slowly on my step 5 which is getting the blocks together. Everything seems to be coming along beautifully ......... and the units are coming out the right size. Yippy!!! ........ it's great when they all come together!!!

Also managed to get my "Fox & Geese" blocks together over Christmas .............. I had a very productive holiday. I am liking my choices ......... can't wait to see it all come together. I think my using the light/plain background makes my color choices stand out. Time will tell shortly if it's to busy!!!

Happy Quilting

~ Annie ~

Annie's Quilting Adventures

Taking a Break

Winter?

My Favorite

An Orca Turtle

Getting Back to Normal

Stuff

And We're Off ...

Orca 3

Strings!!

Orca 2

Black Friday

Blast from the Past

There's a Plus.....

An Orca Weekend

I'm Back .... Let's Try this Again!!

Caught Me

How's Your Summer Going?

There was a Time ...

Change of Pace

Square in a Square

Paper Piecing ....

Pet Peeve

OCD?

Sometimes ......

Seeing Stars

Brownwood Revisited

Carol's Row Done

More of Carol's Row

Lone Star Variation

Bright

Butterflies

Garden Variety 2

Garden Variety

On a Roll

Sandy Stars

** Next **

Row Done

Potted!!

I'm Late ....

Is Anyone .......

Another Row x Row

Swaps

Work!!

At Last!!!

Waiting .....

A New Project

No Sewing

A Treasure ...

I Have a Floor!!!

Progress

I Can't Believe ....

Look What I Found

... Unfocused!!

Finishing a UFO

A Little Brightness...

Taming My Scraps

Another Swap

January's Mugs

More of the Same ...

~ Mugs ~

Small Bags

New Toy

Pennie Pockets

Snowy Week and Mindless Stuff

Neglected!!!

~ No Sew ~

~ Color by the Yard ~

** Where Did July Go??**

Fun - Fun - Fun

Can You Say ........

~ May in May ~

~ Snow and Mittens ~

..... And The Next One Is ........

~ I'm on a Roll ~

It's Spring .......

~ I'm Still Here ~

** On to the Next **

- - Catching Up - -

~ I'm Just ........ ~

Next

Where Did July Go??

On to the Next

Christmas in January!?!