Fiber by the slice

Pin Basting

2011-06-05T19:58:00.000-04:00

It has been a busy weekend with the grandchildren's softball games, yard work and gardening but I have found a little time for quilty stuff.

I have the next block of Bouquet for a New Day ready to applique. I put the previous six blocks on the design wall for motivation.

I also pieced the back and pin basted the Feather Stars wall hanging. I just have to trim the back and batting and then start machine quilting. If you have just found my blog, you can see the top on my design wall here

I also managed to find time to practice a little machine quilting. My quilting is much better when I try and practice a couple times a week.

Gardening has been at the top of my list the last couple of weeks; now that the weather is finally cooperating! Today I finished planting the raised bed garden. I used the square foot garden method. I can't wait to see if everything grows! I am sure some things are going to get crowded but I wanted to grow so many different things and I only had 48 squares. This is day one and if I think of it I will post pics of the garden's progress or lack of. :)

Found Projects

2011-05-29T20:02:00.000-04:00

While rearranging the sewing studio last week, I found a box I haven't opened in awhile and in it was a cross stitch project begun more than ten years ago. I was amazed to find that it was almost finished and yet I put it away and forgot all about it. Well I went upstairs and dragged my DMC floss out from under the bed, found a needle and grabbed the project and pattern and have now finished everything except one quilt square in the lower right side.
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As soon as I get it framed I'm hanging it in my studio. The pattern is by Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum under her Told In A Garden series. She has some amazing patterns out! I can't believe how much cross stitch has changed in the last few years. While ~~wasting time~~ using the computer I typed a Google search for cross stitch patterns and found this website. I can't imagine how long it would take to stitch some of these patterns.

In the box with the project was another project I meant to make, The Country Store so of course I ran out and bought the floss I was missing for the project, which will probably end up in a box I will find ten years from now....

What I noticed after going through my unfinished quilts (here) and the cross stitching and the art journaling and every other hobby including canning and baking is most of it came to a screeching halt when I went to work full time after being a stay at home mom for years. About the only thing I was doing while I was employed was sock knitting. Anyone who works full time while raising a family and yet still ~~finds~~ makes time to quilt has my admiration. When energy levels were handed out I must have been having a nap!

I am again looking for work because we need the extra income and I am a little concerned that I won't have the energy to quilt (or stitch or draw) as much. Maybe it will be different this time with only my college age son at home. I sure hope so.

Tomorrow I get to put together my window boxes and pots. I can't wait.

Worn out Quilts

2011-05-27T07:06:00.001-04:00

What do you do with the quilts that you or your family have loved to death? During a visit with my daughter we got to talking about quilts and she asks me if I could take a look at her graduation quilt. She says some of the hearts are falling off and the binding is coming undone. So she brings the quilt into the kitchen and I just about fell over laughing; the quilt is beyond repair. It's been lovingly used to death.
The appliqued hearts are falling or have fallen off. The binding is torn away from the quilt edge on one side and the quilt is very soft and thin. My hand quilting held up pretty good though!

In this picture you can see the torn binding on the left and some of the appliques are completely missing.

Here is a closer view.
My daughter wants me to "fix" the quilt and when I said there really wasn't much I could do and it was probably best to get rid of it she became upset. She said she wished she had never let her family use it. But to me looking at the quilt all I could see was the loving. Her kids would go looking for it to curl up on the couch with or when they weren't feeling well. Of course the more they used it the more it had to be washed and the softer it got. This quilt has had a wonderful life and that makes me happy.
So I told her I would see what I could do and brought it home with me. I think she just couldn't face getting rid of it herself.
What about your worn out quilts? What would you do?

Unfinished Quilts

2011-05-24T08:16:00.000-04:00

I rearranged my sewing studio a few days ago and one of the totes I opened contained all my older unfinished quilts and a few miniature quilts I don't hang up anymore. Every year or so I get out these quilts, look at them and put them back in the box. Some have serious problems, some I just can't see finishing, and some I just haven't found the motivation to finish; especially since I also have a pile of recent quilt tops I need to get quilted.

Mini quilts

Except for the bottom row these are all tops I haven't finished. For a few years I was into making miniature quilts. The log cabin quilt is the only one I paper pieced, the rest were cut out and sewn with quarter inch seams or one eighth inch seams. It's not that I don't like them, I just don't know what to do with them.

This wallhanging needs a couple more borders. I intended to hang this in my sewing room when it was finished.

This one only had a tiny bit more quilting. It was supposed to be a baby quilt for my neice who just graduated from high school on Friday. I know, right!?

The pattern from this quilt top is from Quiltmaker magazine Fall 1990. The burgundy fabric ran and I never cared for the mint green/pink fabric or the Hoffman that is between the lighter blue diamonds.

If you have been quilting for a few years you could probably figure out how old this top is! Mauve and green. 1980s. I ran out of fabric for the border. Today I would have used more fabrics and just found a matching value and hue to use in the border.

I know you are not going to believe me but in all the years I have been quilting I have never finished a quilt for my own bed! This was going to be a summer quilt. I wanted to use fabrics that looked summery and light. I like the design of this quilt but I used cheap fabric and it is kind of stiff.

This one breaks my heart. I designed this for my granddaughter Shayla. The batik fabric I used in the sashing runs every time a wash it. It left purple blotches on the pink fabric. Also, I forgot some of the freezer paper and the glue is so stuck I can't get them out without ripping the fabric. I tried soaking but that didn't help and it made the batik run more.

I like this. It just needs some borders and it will make a great Fall table topper or wall hanging.

I was trying to design a ribbon type border but I was having trouble with my applique where the ribbon twisted. Also, I am not real happy with the colors.
I hope you enjoyed the little show and tell. All the quilts went back in the tote. Maybe someday I will either finish them or pass them on.
Have a wonderful day.

Fading

2011-05-11T13:38:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I left this wall hanging up so long that the binding has begun to fade! I spent a loooooooooong time hand quilting this piece and I am just a little annoyed with myself that I let this happen. I only hung this quilt up during Christmas time for years and after New Years I careful put it away but a couple of years ago I just didn't take it down and now look at it. Life lesson learned....
It's hard to believe I have been absent from my blog for over a month. There wasn't any quilting worth posting about anyway. Just hand quilting on my Bear Hollow quilt when I had time. I have been keeping up with reading my favorite blogs though since reading what everyone is working on helps motivate me.
As I am writing this I can hear the birds singing, there is a gentle breeze blowing, there are leaves on the trees finally and the sun is shining! I am going to motivate outside to work in the garden. Have a wonderful day!

Hand Quilting

2011-04-08T07:57:00.000-04:00

No time for sewing the last two weeks unfortunately but I have spent a little time in the evening plugging away on this quilt. The hand quilting is all done except for the borders, which are taking for ever!

I do apologize for having disappeared for a bit. We helped my daughter and her family move from a second floor apartment to a house, and the next day we moved the sister-in-law from the house to a second floor apartment. My calves hurt soooo much!
This week I agreed to Spring clean my brothers house in town (large) and his house on the lake (small). The house in town took 22 hours total. Today I will do the lake house and I hope to be done in about six hours.
So I haven't been in the sewing studio except to do laundry. David's quilt is sitting next to the machine ready to be bound. Hopefully this weekend, but it is finally going to be nice out and the yard needs work. Sigh.
I promise not to be gone so long without an update. I know I get frustrated when I keep finding the same post everytime I check my favorite blogs.

Quilting Feathers

2011-03-22T21:48:00.000-04:00

Life has been interupting my quilting lately but that's ok, family first I always say. David's quilt is coming along nicely. I looked at it for awhile, wondering what the heck I should do with it. I even emailed Joan from Leschenault, a fellow domestic machine quilter, and asked technical question. You should see her machine quilting by the way! Rather than ditch quilt the whole thing or just meander over the top I decided to put a feather in the red areas.

Here is a close up.

In this picture you can see the meandering stars I did in the blue areas. You will probably have to click on it to make it larger in order to see the stars.This picture is actually the best one to see the true colors of the quilt.

It is so nice to be able to quilt without machine issues, thank you Sewing Machine Doctor! I am breaking thread every now and then, not enough get excited about, just a little annoying now and then.

I have been drawing in my sketchbook more. I really want to start working on more of my own designs. I do have my favorite quilt designers, and it is nice to have the hard stuff all figured out but there is something so satisfying about making a quilt from your very own design.

Hope you are all having a productive week. With Spring here officially and sweet little surprises in the garden now, my thoughts are turning to this year's garden. I have found that a lot of quilters are also gardeners. Do you agree?

Another Top Done

2011-03-15T16:15:00.000-04:00

Just finished pressing the top. It doesn't quite fit on my design wall so it looks a little wonky. Now that its done I think I would change out the blue fabric for something different, although I don't know what. I kind of wish the burgundy fabric was a little darker too, but overall I think its all right.
Next thing on my to do list are to start quilting some of my tops. I have Trail to Eagle, Scrap Basket, David's quilt and now Feather Stars.
So Wednesday's goal is to baste David's quilt and start the stitch in the ditch quilting.

Signs of Spring

2011-03-11T16:55:00.000-05:00

Two signs that Spring is coming, Snowdrops and seed packets.

Hope you all have a great weekend. I'll be back with some actual quilting content very soon.

Design Wall Monday March 7, 2011

2011-03-07T08:18:00.000-05:00

Well I had promised to have the top done by this morning and unfortunately, despite my best efforts, I couldn't do it.

I made progress though. I made the triangle pieces the way Kim Diehl instructs in the book, which ends up making the "geese" four layers thick. I suppose she did it that way because the pieces are 1 1/2 inches square and could be a challange for more beginning quilters. I used to make miniature quilts and worked with patches much smaller than that and I will likely change the pattern to regular templates next time. Don't forget to go to Judy's Patchwork Times and see what everyone has on their walls today.

Center Block Finished!

2011-03-03T20:27:00.000-05:00

I have finished all the machine applique except for eight leaves and four teardrop shapes that I can't put on till the blocks are sewn together. I have high hopes of getting the top done before Monday.
My pile of tops is getting pretty big so I better get in a machine quilting frame of mind. Now that my Singer is working great I am really energized to get some quilts finished!

I'm Back!

2011-03-02T22:39:00.000-05:00

I made it back from Texas Friday morning at 6:30 AM after a twenty hour drive. Needless to say I was wiped out for the rest of the day. It was so nice to be outside without needing a coat, scarf, gloves and a hat! I saw green grass and daffodils in bud and did I mention I could be outside in just a tee shirt. Texas was nice but damn it's such a long ways away. We really pushed to get home before the big storm, but we ended up driving for hours in the rain and the last five hours we drove through blowing snow, but it was a fun adventure.

One of the best things we did was go to Hobby Lobby. We don't have any Hobby Lobby's here and I just thought it was like Michael's but holy cow! The Hobby Lobby in Longview is HUGE! I could have done so much Christmas shopping that day. Great store and the prices were really nice too.

Anyway, the laundry, cleaning and paperwork are caught up so back to the sewing room I go! Hopefully I will have some quilting to show in the next day or two.

Right now it's 10 degrees out, it's 54 in Longview, I miss Texas.

Design Wall Monday February 21, 2011

2011-02-21T05:00:00.006-05:00

Yesterday we delayed our departure for Longview Texas due to bad weather forcasts, but by the time you read this we should be on our way. I am still a little worried about that band of snow and ice but I'm sure we'll be fine. This is the same pic from January 3, 2011 post but it's what I was working on Sunday. I finished machine appliqueing all the red patches.

I also have the borders cut and the templates for the center block ready to go. On the knitting front I have another mitten that is coming along nicely. This pair is for my oldest daughter Siobhan. That's all for now but I am hoping to blog a little during my trip if I can do it easily from my phone. Be sure and head over to Judy's blog to see what she has been up to, along with all the other Design Wall Monday bloggers.

First Finish of 2011

2011-02-19T18:44:00.000-05:00

Finally something to check off the list. This is Lorelai's quilt, that I started before Christmas and would ve been finished but my Singer had issues so I couldn't machine quilt any tops. Since I wanted it to be a quilt to cuddle with I didn't quilt it too heavily,and after a wash and dry the quilt is nice and soft. I also machine finished the binding which I never do but Lorelai is only 19 months old and I know its going to spend a lot of time in the washer.

Look at this hawk! We have a bunch of bird feeders in our yard and I think he thought he was getting an easy dinner.

Design Wall Monday February 14,2011

2011-02-14T07:59:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentines Day!

I know my blocks sort of look the same as Wednesday's picture but I finished all the blocks and almost finished all the triangle blocks for the corners and edges.
Making dinner gets me every time! I would like to get the top finished by the weekend but I seem to have a lot of obligations hanging over me this week so I make no promises.
The tops are starting to pile up so now that the Singer is back I'll have to spend some serious time machine quilting instead of piecing.
On February 20th I agreed to ride with a friend to Longview Texas to help her daughter move back home. Traveling more than six to eight hours just totally wears me out and we are driving the 1387 miles (22 hours) down and coming right back so I probably won't be posting anything for the next two design wall Monday's but who knows maybe I can post from my Droid and let you know how the trip is going.

I will be bringing some sock knitting. I've never tried to do applique on a car trip, hubby's big truck is too bouncy to be using sharp needles, but I might bring my block and see how it goes.
Be sure and check out Judy's blog to see what everyone has been up to this week.

Design Wall Wednesday?

2011-02-09T19:03:00.001-05:00

Sorry for dissappearing for a week. My son came home from college with a nasty upper respiratory infection on Friday, Super Bowl on Sunday and a birthday party on Sunday. Then on Monday my husband and I both get the "bug". Thankfully we had a much milder case. But I have been plugging away on my quilt of the moment. All the orange/tan blocks are done and I only need two more green blocks and I can start putting the center together.

At night, while nice and cozy under my flannel quilt I have been working on a pair of reading mitts and my snowflake mittens.

The Singer is home from the repair shop and is working great! So hopefully I can be machine quilting my backlog of tops real soon.

Have a great evening.

Seneca Lake

2011-01-31T16:38:00.000-05:00

I just came back from taking a walk along Seneca Lake at the state park. For such a miserably cold day it was really quite pretty. Do you like to see pictures of where your favorite bloggers are from? I do.

Design Wall Monday January 31, 2011

2011-01-31T08:05:00.001-05:00

Not great progress on the quilt this weekend, just too much going on. I almost finished one more blue and green block but everyone was hungry. It was supposed to get -8 last night so I had Pat bring the flannel quilt that is usually on the couch, upstairs and we put it on the bed last night. So nice and toasty! I think another flannel quilt is going in the queue.

The mitten was supposed to be finished last night but I must have been tired, because I was decreasing in pattern and I kept screwing up, so I picked up my book instead.
I haven't heard anything about my Singer from the repairman yet, bummer.
Happy sewing everyone and be sure and check out what everyone else is doing over at Judy's blog

Quilt Progress Update

2011-01-27T16:39:00.000-05:00

Between gelled fuel and the D.O.T. it's a wonder I have anything done on this quilt. Monday morning in our area it was 10 below zero when we got up and my husband Pat's truck decided not to stay running, due to the fuel gelling up. Now he knew it was going to be cold and added fuel treatment and did other preventative things but the truck wouldn't start. Six hours later after hauling gallons of hot water and changing fuel filters and adding 8 jugs of Power Service Diesel 911 he was finally on his way.

Some sewing was done on Tuesday and then Wednesday I get an early morning call, he is about 30 miles away and his flashers quit working and his spare flasher didn't work and of course the DOT were set up doing inspections, so he got pulled in and put out of service till I could get there with the new part. I didn't take a picture, I didn't think the troopers would like it. Lol. He was good to go after plugging in the part. Meanwhile I am gazing south (home is north) realizing I am five minutes away from my favorite quilt shop! But I resisted the temptation and headed back home and did a little sewing, a little knitting, and a little reading

I'm reading The Lover's Knot a quilt related mystery. I am enjoying the book and plan to read the rest of the series.

The mitten is coming along nicely too.

Design Wall Monday January 24, 2011

2011-01-24T08:10:00.000-05:00

My applique block is almost done but you have seen it twice so I won't bore you again. While going through my EQ project files I came across a quilt I really like.

I'll make a few more and cut out some sashing before I decide if I like it enough to make. Right now the quilt is eighty inches square but I could add a row and make it fit my bed or leave and use it hanging over the couch this fall would be nice too.
The final border needs some tweaking, the proportions are off, I think the triangles should be thinner. Or even better would be an applique border!

Most of the weekend I read or knit and tried to stay warm.The snowflake mitten is coming along nicely.

Be sure and visit Judy's blog to see what she and everyone else have on their walls today.

What Are You Working On Today?

2011-01-22T17:11:00.000-05:00

It's Saturday afternoon and it's freezing out side! I don't know about you but when it's this cold out there is nothing better than something cooking or baking in the oven and I won't be tempted to keep turning up the heat, especially since I just paid my heat and electric bill yeasterday.Ouch!
So I baked bread and put a pot roast in the oven. I'll only have to make mashed potatoes and dinner is done.

I sort of took over the kitchen table today. You would think the person who lives here has ADHD with all the projects going on; a hat, a pair of socks, a pair of snowflake mittens, reading on my Ipad, looking at patterns in JB's book for a block idea to use with my charm packs.
My sewing room is in the front of the house and it's kind of chilly in there.So no sewing today.
Oh well it's Saturday...what are you working on today?

Yummy Granola

2011-01-21T14:51:00.000-05:00

I usually have fruit, toast, or oatmeal for breakfast but this morning I was craving some nutty, fruity granola. The recipe I use is not necessarily low fat or low in calories but boy is it yummy.! Feel free to substitute if you are not a fan of one of the ingredients or don't have it on hand. I had to use spanish pumpkin seeds instead of sunflower seeds. I like it a little fruitier and nuttier too so I add slivered almonds or walnuts or pecans. I also add craisins, and golden raisins too! A palmful or about 1/4 cup each.

Granola
2 1/2 cups oatmeal (any kind but instant)
1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 (4 tablespoons) stick of unsalted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsps vanilla extract
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1/2 cup of raisins

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
In large 11 x 17 inch lightly buttered pan or roasting pan add oatmeal, coconut, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds. Bake for about 20 minutes, stirring several times
While oatmeal is toasting combine butter, brown sugar, honey, and salt in a small pan and heat over medium low heat till it comes to a simmer. Off heat add the vanilla.
Reset oven to 350 degrees, and add the wheat germ to oatmeal mixture. Drizzle butter, honey mixture over oatmeal and toss lightly with a fork. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes then add raisins, stirring to combine. Press mixture firmly into an even layer and bake for another 5 minutes or until oatmeal is light golden color. Remove from oven and let cool for five minutes, using a spatula loosen granola from bottom of the pan into large chunks. Cool completely then store in airtight container.

Eight Point Star

2011-01-18T23:02:00.000-05:00

I felt in the mood for something different today. So I picked an eight point star block from my Jinny Beyer Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns printed out a basic eight point star from EQ and then drafted the rest.

I kind of like it.

Going to bed now. Maybe I'll make another one tomorrow.....

Sick Singer

2011-01-17T15:26:00.000-05:00

Well I just talked to my sewing machine repairman and the news is not encouraging. The first thing he asks is how much I am willing to spend on my 20 year old machine! Ouch. He said it's either a computer board or the motor and it will be around $150. (sigh) last year I had to replace a different computer board and that cost $300.
So I think this is it for the old girl, I really, really, really want a Bernina and I guess its time to start putting money aside for a new machine.
My Singer was one of the first computerized machines back in 1980 and I justified spending $1200 ($3000 in todays dollars) because I sewed all my kids clothes, shirts for my husband and my dad, and I made quilts, lots and lots of quilts. The first sewing I did with it was to sew a wardrobe for my mom to wear on a trip to Florida.
So I have gotten my money's worth out of her but I think I should be realistic; she is not the best for machine quilting. The tension discs are probably worn because I cannot use monofilament thread and the lighting really is awful.... See how I am coming up with reasons for a new machine? Lol
I will probably get her back and she will sew fine for another 10 years.

Sore Finger

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

Making good progress on my block and hopefully I will be starting the next one sometime this week too. Boy is my finger sore though! My middle finger looks like a pin cushion from my evening applique session.

Yesterday I wanted to start a couple of different projects so I could have something to work on that is not applique (machine or hand) so I spent time looking through some quilt books and working on designs in EQ but before I knew it the day was gone and I spent zero hours in front of the sewing machine. The Featherweight anyway, my poor Singer is sitting by the front door waiting to go to the The Sewing Machine Doctor.
Don't you just hate it when you want to do several things but you just can't seem to get started or even make a decision?
Maybe if I pull fabrics for the projects I would like to make and put together a kit with the pattern or name of the book and page of the project; or if it's a EQ project file I could print the quilt out. At least some of the decisions would already be made and I could just begin. Maybe.
Be sure and stop later in the week, I promise I'll have something else to show you besides the block above! There.... now I will have to make a decision. Lol

Block Progress

2011-01-15T20:15:00.000-05:00

Bouquet For A New Day block is progressing, I'll probably work on more leaves tonight while the football game is on. If you zoom in you'll see I appliqued two of the tiny circles. The larger one I tried using freezer paper, it came out too big though. The other small circle above the red flower bud, I used needle turn and that seemed to work a little better, so that is probably the process I will use. The other circles are larger and I will use my circles. If you have been following along it doesn't look like much changed but everything is stitched down now.

Still working on the Feathered Star blocks by Kim Diehl. My foot pedal came on Friday but it didn't fix my problem so I guess I'll be taking the Singer to the Sewing Machine Doctor on Monday. Very frustrating....

Sindy at Fat Cat Patterns has a new block of the month that I might make. Fiesta would sure look nice on my bed! She designed it for raw edge applique but you could make it anyway you prefer and she shows the quilt it several different colorways too.

Another pair of socks came off the needles last night! These are going to my sister-in-law. She had surgery last week, had some complications and had to have surgery again! Not fun at all.

Well the second game is about to start so I am going to grab my block and maybe some yarn and needles and stitch and knit for awhile.

Hope you have a peacful weekend. I'll be back soon

Design Wall Monday January 10th, 2011

2011-01-10T06:00:00.003-05:00

This is as far as I have gotten with my block, and it was all done on Sunday.

I like to get as much tacked down as I can, then I put together a to-go bag with my block, thread, needles, scissors, and thimble and any pieces that are not glued down yet. This block has some teeny, tiny circles. They are so small I don't have one in my circle set (Perfect Circles by Karen Kay Buckley).

Friday I went on a little shop hop with my friend Marie. We left about 9 AM and our first stop was at Golden Lane Fabrics; its a little shop in Himrod, NY. It's owned by a mennonite family and it is stuffed with fabric. Thank goodness she is about 35 minutes away or I could get in some serious trouble. Our next stop was at an even tinier shop in Dundee, NY called The Fabric Shop, her inventory was low since they just finished the season at The Windwill where they set up shop from April till December. If you are ever in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State the Windmill is a great place to stop on a Saturday.
Our last shop was in Watkins Glen, NY at O'Susannah's Quilt Shop. It was a fun day and some new fabrics found their way into my stash.
Today I have to take my son to the train station in Syracuse, NY for a trip to New York City to visit a friend. There are several quilt shops nearby that I would like to check out but I think I better behave (at least till Thursday, when I have to pick him up, hehe.)
Be sure and stop by Judy's blog and see what everyone else is up to today

Block of the Month

2011-01-04T16:16:00.000-05:00

I finally finished the June block of my Bouquet For A New Day block of the month. It is a Sue Garmen quilt designed just for The Quilt Show members (2 years ago!).

This one is going to take a little while to do But I need some hand work to do till my machine is working better.

I had to order a new foot pedal for my machine because its being crazy! I don't know why they did it, but my foot pedal is air operated and lately it either doesn't go when I step on it or it goes wide open! Not good for stitching around appliques. If that doesn't fix the problem I guess its off to the Singer people to figure it out. Of course it doesn't do it all the time so....you know what I mean if you have ever described a noise in your car to your mechanic! A noise that only happens when you are driving.

Birthday Time!

2011-01-03T20:26:00.000-05:00

Thursday December 23rd was my birthday. My husbands is Decemebr 28th. Today January 3rd is my son Ian's birthday. January 19th is my middle daughter's and February 3rd is my oldest daughter's birthday. When they were all at home they only wanted chocolate cake for their special day. I have to say that by the time February came around I was a little tired of chocolate cake. LOL.
But if you love chocolate you should try this cake. Its not hard to make at all, just follow the directions and use the right size pans ( I put parchment paper in the bottom of mine so the cake doesn't stick) and you'll get "perfect" chocolate cake.

McCalls Perfect Chocolate Cake

So chocolaty, moist and delicious. Follow recipe exactly for best results.
• CAKE:

1 cup unsifted unsweetened cocoa

2 cups boiling water

2 3/4 cups sifted all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup butter or regular margarine, softened

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

FROSTING:

1 pkg (6 oz.) semisweet chocolate pieces

1/2 cup light cream

1 cup butter or regular margarine

2 1/2 cups unsifted confectioner's sugar

FILLING:

1 cup heavy cream, chilled

1/4 cup unsifted confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In medium bowl, combine cocoa with boiling water, mixing with wire whisk until smooth. Cool completely. Sift flour with soda, salt, and baking powder. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease well and lightly flour three 9 by 1 1/2 inch layer cake pans.

In large bowl of electric mixer at high speed beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla, scraping bowl occasionally, until light--about 5 minutes. At low speed, beat in flour mixture (in fourths), alternately with cocoa mixture (in thirds), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Do not overbeat. Divide evenly into pans; smooth top. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until surface springs back when gently pressed with fingertip. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Carefully loosen sides with spatula; remove from pans; cool on racks.

Frosting: In medium saucepan, combine chocolate pieces, cream, butter; stir over medium heat until smooth. Remove from heat. With whisk, blend in 2 1/2 cups confectioners; sugar. In bowl set over ice, beat until it holds shape.

Filling: Whip cream with sugar and vanilla; refrigerate.

To assemble cake: On plate, place a layer, top side down; spread with half of cream. Place second layer, top side down; spread with rest of cream. Place third layer, top side up.

To frost: With spatula, frost sides first, covering whipped cream; use rest of frosting on top, swirling decoratively. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. To cut, use a thin edged sharp knife; slice with a sawing motion. Serves 10-12. ( Not at my house !!! Lol )

Design Wall Monday January 3rd, 2011

2011-01-03T08:11:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

On my design wall today are some of the blocks for my Kim Diehl wallhanging "Feathered Stars" I still have to baste the center block. It will be nice to get back to doing some applique after the simple nap quilts for my grandkids. I'll show them when the machine quilting gets finished.

I have several UFO's I definitely want to finish this year, this quilt being one of them. Over the next week I will update the blog to show my projects and progress. I would like to have a separate page for each so you can click on the project and see my progress or lack of!

I do hope to accomplish a lot more than I did last year, including finishing Ian's Trail to Eagle quilt.

Be sure to check out everyone's design walls over at Judy's blog, thats where I'll be when I'm not in the sewing room.

Peppermint Pig

2010-12-29T16:02:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! I'm a little under the weather right now so I missed Design Wall Monday, although I did do a tiny bit of quilty stuff.

Our family has a new holiday tradition. The Saratoga Sweets Peppermint Pig . http://www.saratogasweets.com/peppermint-pig.cfm . The cute pig comes with it's own bag and a little hammer. The idea is to place the pig in the bag, tell everyone something you are grateful for this past year and whack the bag with the hammer. You then pass the pig around so everyone can take a turn. It was a lot of fun and the pig tastes delicious, just enough peppermint flavor.
The grandkids loved whacking the pig! Definitely on the list for next year.

Design Wall Monday December what!!!!!!

2010-12-20T21:02:00.000-05:00

Hello quilting friends! No quilty stuff on the design wall today, since they are being machine quilted and bound.

David's quilt was the last thing on my wall.

Just a few more squares and the border and I can put the binding on.

My Uncle David had his annual family Christmas party where I was able to have a five generation picture done. I need to figure out how to lose the background.LOL
From left to right is me, my mom, my grandpa who is holding baby Lilian, my daughter Caitlin who's holding Lorelai.Grandpa is 96!
We garden together and are waiting for the seed catalogs to come! He is amazing and I am glad for everyday we have together.

Baby Lilian.

Saturday we went looking for our tree. The guys led the way complaining that they needed to take a nap and would like to hurry up the process. I was thinking about my todo list amd just let them have at it. Here they have decided this one looks pretty good.

And before I could even say a word.....

the tree is cut, hoisted, and hauled home. Pat sticks the tree in the stand and drags it in the house. Job done! They congratulate each other and flop on the couch. But wait.... did you take a good look at the tree? Its a little on the skinny side. How am I supposed to work with that?

Obviously they don't care. Tree trimming is my job.

Good enough I say.

Since this is primarly a quilting blog I will share my only (so far) Christmas quilt. Machine pieced and hand quilted so long ago the tree block fabrics and the binding are starting to fade.

Have a wonderful week and thanks for stopping by. And if you don't get back here till next week have a very merry Christmas!

Be sure and visit Judy's blog too!

Design Wall Monday December 13th

2010-12-13T12:40:00.000-05:00

Nothing on the design wall today. I am machine quilting Shayla's quilt. All my projects will be finished this week or they become IOUs.
The knitting is on the back burner since my carpal tunnel decided to bother me again. It was the dumb hat (which is for me!) that did me in. Its a little better after 4 days off of knitting so I may have a little bit of sock knitting but no marathon sessions.
I thank my lucky stars that any kind of quilting doesn't bother my hands. I don't know what I would do.
Check back later in the week on my progress!
And don't forget to visit Judy's blog and see what everyone elso is up to this week.

I Won!

2010-12-09T07:28:00.000-05:00

Did any of you participate in the Henry Glass Blog Hop last week? I discovered it while catching up on my Google Reader posts and decided to play along. For seven days two or three designers were featured and gave out a free pattern plus a secret word. You needed to collect all the words and on the last day post in the comments section of their blog.
Each designer also had prizes of fabric or patterns and I happened to win a pattern from Linda Lum DeBono
This is her website http://www.lindalumdebono.com/. This is the pattern I won!
The deadline is tonight at 8PM and you still have time to get your name in for the big prize from Henry Glass Fabrics just go to the link at the top of my post, visit the designers blogs and collect the words and post them with your name and email. I hope I win the BIG prize! I need some new fabric... LOL

Wednesday Quilting Status Report

2010-12-08T20:00:00.001-05:00

Hello! I thought I would take a quick minute to show what I've gotten done since Monday (not as much as I had hoped).

Top is finished and pressed. Backing was purchased yesterday and washed, pressed, seamed, and pressed.

Tonight I have everything layered together to pin baste. I'll do that tomorrow morning. Evenings I have set aside for some knitting.

I am working on two pair of socks and a hat. It's going to be a bit of a push but I don't want to be working on anything after December 19th. Luckily Christmas is at my mom's house so I don't have to worry about that!

We have had quite a bit of snow this past week but the sun came out today and made huge icicles. Check out this one on my back deck.

Feeding frenzy

Let me in!

Design Wall Monday December 6

2010-12-06T05:30:00.002-05:00

Holy moly this month is getting away from me. I think its time to do a spreadsheet to keep ~~from losing my mind~~ on track with my handmade gifts. On the wall today is Shayla's quilt. All the blocks are pieced and sewn into rows. Only the bottom two rows aren't sewn on. I will finish the rows and add the two borders today .

I stopped downtown at Nancy's Sew and Sew (Waterloo, NY), Friday. It's a tiny little quilt shop, which is perfect for me because it keeps me out of trouble, if you know what I mean. Anyway she had the cutest fabric for kids, so I bought some yardage for a tote bag for my friend's daughter (the smiling daises fabric) and I picked up the farm animal fabric for my grandson Bo. I was going to make a primary color double nine patch here (scroll down), but I love the little farm fabric. EQ here I come.

I wish I had flannel fabric in my stash because the men around here just love the flannel quilts and I can't get anywhere near them!
The sock knitting is moving right along. I have one pair finished and two pair are half done.
I sure wish I could get motivated to start holiday gift making sooner. I would love to give everyone something I made but I can't even stand to think about it before late October or November.
How about you? Do you like to make gifts for people and do you give yourself plenty of time to finish?

Tomorrow is my one year blogiversary! I have had a lot of fun and "met" some great fellow quilters. Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas Projects

2010-11-30T21:45:00.000-05:00

Today I finished Lorelai's quilt top! It went together super fast.

Two down (David's quilt),three to go. I played with EQ for some ideas for Shayla, who is ten and Bo, who is 3. I wanted the lap quilts to be simple and quick. I know they will get worn out in a couple of years, so I didn't spend too much energy on originality. The pink and black I think Shayla will love.

I pulled a pile of pinks and a black from my stash. The color is a little off in the picture.

.

Bo loves bright colors and with the navy background the reds, greens and blues just pop. A variation of this quilt is in EQ7's quick quilt projects tab: Amish Double Nine Patch project file.
I will try to get the four quilts done for Christmas and if I have time I'll make something for baby Lillie.

The weather was windy and rainy all day; a good day for sewing and hot tea.

Design Wall Monday November 29

2010-11-29T16:01:00.000-05:00

Wow this week went by in a blur. On my wall today is Lorelai's little quilt. She is 16 months old and just became a big sister last Monday. I am sewing the strips together today. The sun is shining on the fourth strip from the left, which is OK because this time of year we don't see a lot of blue sky or sunshine.

I also managed some sock knitting. Thanksgiving day my husband had to work so I said I would ride along and keep him company. Its kind of hard to knit a pattern when you are bouncing along in a tractor trailer, so I started the sock on the right when we left.

I still have to pick quilt designs for two grandchildren, machine quilt all five quilts and bind.... before Christmas. LOL

If you came by way of Judy"s blog, welcome and thanks for stopping by, if you found me by chance click over to Patchwork Times and check out Judy's awesome blog!

Thats all the quilt stuff for today, if you want to see some off topic pics scroll on down.

This is Lorelai and her new baby sister Lilian.

Delivering a load of beans to the Bronx. Great view, don't you think? See my sock on the dash to the right? Not bad progress for having started it a few hours earlier.

Getting ready to cross the George Washington bridge in NYC on our way back home.

I thought I could get a picture of NYC skyline from the bridge but instead just a nice pic of husband's handsome mug.

Lilian is here!

2010-11-23T09:43:00.000-05:00

Thank you to everyone for all the good wishes yesterday! Baby finally came at 8:30 pm. She weighed 7 lbs 10 oz and was 21 inches long. Mom and baby are doing great! Her name is Lilian
Here is a pic of mom, dad, and Lilian.
Grandma better get busy sewing!

Design Wall Monday

2010-11-22T06:28:00.000-05:00

I finished all the log cabin blocks for David's quilt and have them sewn into rows
Lorelai's quilt is cut out and ready to sew. But Shayla's quilt just doesn't make me happy. The top was in my UFO box and I thought because it had pink it would work but it just doesn't look like something for a sweet ten year old. Back to the EQ drawing board. Finished another applique block.

My beautiful daughter Caitlin is going to the hospital to be induced today. Hopefully my newest granddaughter will arrive early in the day! As soon as I can I will post a picture.

Progress of a sort

2010-11-19T08:40:00.000-05:00

I have been spending a lot of time sewing or machine qulting this week and I have made some progress on my projects. Twenty out of thirty log cabin blocks are done.

I finished quilting all the pink on Shayla's quilt and have started quilting the rest of the blocks. That will involve thread color change so it will take a little longer.
Notice my worn out gloves? There is actually a hole in the thumb and I have been going to buy some Machingers gloves but these are fine for now.

Do you listen to music while you quilt? I have a stereo in my sewing room too but I love listening to music on my Ipod. Usually its classical or new age like Enya or new jazz like Norah Jones. I try to keep my machine quilting music on the calming side so I stay relaxed.

Yesterday I cut out the pieces for a simple strippy quilt for granddaughter Lorelai. I should be able to get that done this weekend unless my daughter goes into labor. Actually, I hope she does because the Doctor wants to induce her on Monday if baby doesn't arrive!

I still have one more grandson who needs a little nap quilt... so some Electric Quilt time will be happening this weekend too.

Tuesday Update

2010-11-16T16:47:00.000-05:00

Didn't get too much done today. Some machine quilting and six blocks out of thirty for little log cabin. I may sew some more blocks tonight but I'll probably work on sock knitting. Five or six more rows and I get to start the heel. I just love knitting socks because just about the time you start getting a little bored its time to do something new!

Design Wall Monday

2010-11-15T12:53:00.000-05:00

I put my applique blocks on my wall to keep me motivated to finish them. They are from Sue Garman's Bouquets for a New Day pattern. The pattern was a free block of the month for The Quilt Show members. I am still plugging away.
The star blocks are from Kim Diehl's book Simple Traditions. The pattern is Feathered Stars.

Yesterday I cut the pieces for a simple log cabin lap quilt for my grandson. I am sewing that on the featherweight. Granddaughters quilt is being machine quilted on the Singer. I must be feeling real ambitious today!
If you want to see what some other fantastic quilters are doing head over to Judy's blog Patchwork Times ! If you have something interesting on your design wall put your name there too. We all love to see what everyone is working on.

There is also some sock knitting going on in the evening. The pattern is a simple twisted cable. K2,P2 for 3 rows then K2tog don't drop the stitches, K the first stitch then drop both. Just interesting enough without having to pay real close attention.
Now I am off to the dumb tire store to order a tire for my truck. Is there a reason the Mr couldn't have gone himself. Darn him cutting into my sewing time! Just kidding, he works very hard trucking down the road all week.

Pin Basting

2010-11-13T10:05:00.000-05:00

The little quilt got pin basted Thursday night and yesterday I was able to stitch in the ditch around the blocks. Hopefully when all my errands are done for today, I can start the freemotion work. My old Singer has been behaving so far!
If you have been following along you might notice I rearranged my studio again. I set up the featherweight so that if I got tired of machine quilting I could slide my chair over and do some sewing.

Thank You To All Our Veterans

2010-11-11T17:56:00.001-05:00

Hope everyone took a moment today to think about the sacrifice our Veterans made for our country. I am very proud to be the daughter of a veteran. Thank you dad!

My dad served during the Korean War and though he told us many stories about his time there I know there were a lot of stories that he never told to anyone.

So today, while thinking about our soldiers and my dad, I designed this quilt. If anyone wants the EQ7 file send me an email or leave a comment and I will send you the project file.

Weekend Projects

2010-11-06T15:36:00.001-04:00

I finally finished my small autumn wallhanging. I didn't know about Steam A Seam and used something that was really stiff, but I made lemonade out of lemons by using a pigma pen and drawing lines on the pumpkin.
The pattern is Fall Memories by Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts

I am also working on a small quilt for my granddaughter Shayla for Christmas. I have one more border to add and then some quick quilting. My grandkids wear out their quilts faster than I can make them.

Getting Organized

2010-11-06T09:00:00.002-04:00

Go see this post at Stash Manicure. I'll wait...... OK, how is that for being organized ? My sewing room might be neat. Things are in boxes and on shelves but if I had to find a quilting design I saved from a magazine I would be looking for a little while. I do rip out the pages of designs or projects I like in magazines but I tend to put them in one big folder. Teresa has some great ideas and great pictures of her "quilt cave".

Quilt Whispering

2010-11-05T23:37:00.000-04:00

Wow I am just finishing up my QuiltWhisperer Class with Carla Barrett of Feathered Fibers and I am so excited! I have been quilting for 30 plus years but I was still stuck in the hand quilting frame of mind, where you either stitch in the ditch or a quarter inch away and save your fancy stencils for large open spaces and the borders.Well now I am learning how to break the quilt down into different areas and finding and enhancing the focal point. I am finding designs all around me to use as quilting motifs and I am keeping them in a journal.
I am so glad I took this class. If you get the chance stop by the QW forum or Carla's blog and look at what she does. She really can teach you how to do it too! I won't post my homework yet because I plan to make the quilt but from now on if I post a new EQ design I'll try and show how it would look quilted.

What Shall I Do?

2010-11-04T14:41:00.000-04:00

I have some blocks that I made from patterns I drafted out of Jinny Beyer's Patchwork Portfolio. Some of these blocks I made a long, long time ago but I also made a couple more last year from bits and pieces of leftover fabric and some new fabric. I love eight pointed star blocks!
I'm thinking that nine blocks and some borders will make a nice wall hanging but I could make a beautiful bed quilt if I make a bunch more blocks. My problem is I am pretty sure that I won't have enough fabric to tie in the new blocks. The two blocks I made last year used old and new fabric. If I make the quilt with 30 blocks I could match the value but I would have to use new fabric.
Any suggestions?

I have enough border fabric to do 30 blocks but its all holey from cutting out exact match pieces. There is not enough to use for borders and I can't get any more.

Need a laugh?

2010-11-02T11:45:00.001-04:00

I have just spent the weekend caring for a sick hubby and a sick son. Hubby came down with the intestinal flu on Wednesday and was still not feeling at all well over the weekend. My son arrived home for the weekend from college and within 24 hours caught the same intestinal flu. And I dodged the bullet somehow. Monday hubby goes back to work still feeling a little puny. Son decides he'll head back even though he's not quite his normal self. He decides to wait till 7pm. He packs his car, checks the oil and antifreeze levels. No water in the radiator! He pours a gallon of antifreeze in and it runs right back out.
So Mom helps him load his stuff in the truck and we take off for the 1 hour drive to school. Well, we get chatting away and blow right by our exit!. The next exit is fifteen miles away... Meanwhile he is not feeling all that great and we have to stop at the rest area. Thirty minutes later I drop him off and drive back home. I arrive at 9:45 pm. I may have exceeded the speed limit in case you were doing the math.

I had intended to work on my Quilt Whisperer homework and I ended up just staring at the TV for an hour to unwind.
Today I feel wore out, yet I want to finish my QW homework, start cutting out a couple of small quilts for my grandkids, practice my machine quilting, clean my house and go fabric shopping!
So while I was sitting here at the computer instead of doing any of the above I went to Fatcatpatterns.com to see the new blocks and I clicked on this link. Oh I have not laughed so hard in a long time. If you need a good belly laugh go to Cindy's site and read the family dirt, you won't regret it!
Since this is a quilting blog I will show you a little wallhanging I designed last winter.

Now I am getting off the computer and starting something. LOL

Lost and Found

2010-10-23T09:14:00.000-04:00

I finished the basket quilt top, minus the borders, last night. I was sewing on the very last row and I could not find my triangle patch. Now, I am pretty good at math and more than a few times I have found a piece of fabric that was just large enough to cut out the needed patches. So as you have surmised I was down on the floor looking for that dumb last triangle! I even went through the trash can.... nope not enough to even piece one together. So I grabbed a fabric from my stash with the same value and cut out the triangle, sewed it on and pressed the top.

Guess what I found on the floor?

And now that its done I think I could have used a fabric just a bit lighter. Over all I am pretty happy with the top, nice and scrappy and Autumn looking.

I went ahead and used the pink basket even though it doesn't have enough contrast... it is a scrap quilt afterall.

Playing with Photoshop

2010-10-21T11:23:00.000-04:00

This is a photo of the willow that stands at the edge of the bank at our (in laws) cottage at Lake Ontario. It provides the only shade. The lake carves out the base of the bank every winter causing six to twelve inches of lawn to slide down the hill. Some spring soon the willow is going to lose the battle and fall over. No more shady spot.

This is the actual photo.

This is the edited picture. I used the cutout effect under the artistic tab in Photoshop Elements 6. If you click on the picture so you can see it larger you will notice how it simplified the picture into shapes and lines. I could see using this to create a wall quilt using raw edge applique.

Here is a picture of my granddaughter using the cutout button. Not that I am going to be doing this anytime soon, but I think it looks pretty neat!

Time to get back to my homework. I am taking a Quilt Whisperer class from Carla Barrett . Fun and challenging. If you quilt your own quilts and want to learn how to come up with better quilting designs this class is for you!

Design Wall Done

2010-10-18T14:36:00.000-04:00

Yesterday the weather was sunny and cool and I decided to get outside and clean up the garden. Well you know how it goes, next thing you know I am making a new vegetable garden bed and decide I have to go to Lowe's to price fencing....
Well I didn't buy the garden fence but I did come home with two pieces of one inch thick blue foam insulation to make my design wall. I talked about that in this post I bought two pieces of insulation board and a roll of Gorilla tape. I had some warm and natual batting and a can of spray mount.

I cut 12 inches off the longer end of the board so I could easily move my wall around. Then I took the board outside and lay them down on my patio. I sprayed one side with the spray mount and after finding the center of the batt, I smoothed it over the board. The excess batting was cut off but I left about 6 inches all around so I could wrap it around to the back and tape it down with the Gorilla tape.

I think they will work well and when pushed together they make a good size design wall.

2010-10-10T09:16:00.000-04:00

Finally finished all the flying geese sashing. I laid the quilt out on the floor to work on placement, then stacked them into rows and numbered them. The cornerstones and setting triangles still need to be cut out and I am debating whether to do scrappy look or something to tie the whole top together. Plus I am still deciding on the border treatment.

Sometimes a small change makes a huge difference

2010-09-30T15:40:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday I had planned on sewing most of the day and when I walked into my sewing room I just didn't feel like sewing at all. I have felt like that for a long time and I could not figure out what the heck the problem was, besides my sometimes cantankerous Singer. Well after looking and thinking a bit I pulled the large secretary out of the sewing room and stuck it in the kitchen. I put my cutting table where the secretary used to be which gave me room for my ironing board and access to my stash without having to get down on my hands and knees. Eureka! I can now cut, sew and press without bumping into or having to move anything.

As you can see the only "problem" is getting at my design wall. My machine is set up for machine quilting with two tables pushed together. If I was just sewing I usually make an L shape and face the window. I don't know about you but I find machine quilting (large quilts) very tiring and I like to do a little piecing in between. So my bright idea today is to get to Lowe's and buy 2 pieces of foam insulation, tape them together and cover with a quilt batt.Then I can put my Wall in front of the laundry closet (wooden bi-fold doors on the right) or on the end wall where I have it now.
And I would be at Lowe's right now if we weren't having torrential rains from that north tracking storm that is drenching the East Coast today!

So, I guess I'll just go sew.

September is for Sewing

2010-09-13T20:15:00.000-04:00

September is one of my favorite months. The cooler nights, the change in the light, back to routine, and cooking and baking. Days all to myself to garden or sew or go shopping . Except this year I am officially an empty nester. My youngest has gone off to college and even though I am use to his being away most of the summer, this is different. No more football practice or sitting on ice cold bleachers, no more concession stand duty. No more stinky practice clothes that need to be washed every night. No more ravenous appetite to keep satisfied, dirty dishes everywhere, homework nagging or just general all purpose nagging. I feel a little at loose ends, kind of sad.

Since DH is a trucker I have the house, the bathroom, the computer and the kitchen all to myself. I don't know what to do first! Quilt- sew-design...While I was deciding I designed a quilt in EQ7. I am calling it September Days.
I think tomorrow I better make a list.

2010-07-15T18:30:00.000-04:00

Haven't had a lot of sewing time so far this summer. Graduation was June 26, after which we participated in Project Graduation, a yearly event at a local college where the graduates get to eat and play all night long. After a very few short hours of sleep, we spent Sunday moving my DD and family to a new apartment the next town over. The graduate went off to spend the Summer working at the Boy Scout Camp as the director of archery and BB gun.
Since the weather has been quite warm so far we have spent time at the lake. Very nice. The rest of my time has been taken up with work, college for DS, canning and graduation party planning.

Wild black raspberry jam.

First time splashing in the lake.

Working on the sashing.

Upcoming quilting goals for next two weeks are to machine quilt some of Trail to Eagle and finish the sashing for the basket quilt. But if its 90 degrees out I'm going swimming!
Did you see Judy's new button on my sidebar? If things are pretty quiet on my blog go see Judy at Patchwork Times she is always busy sewing, gardening, cooking, canning, EQing. She makes my day!

Design Wall Monday

2010-06-07T09:14:00.000-04:00

I started this basket wallhanging to use up some of my smaller fabric pieces. There will be scrappy flying geese sashing, but I'm not sure what I am doing with the border yet. Not too sure about the pink basket, it doesn't have enough contrast.
I plan on cutting out some of the flying geese sashing today while I watch for the mail carrier. I sure hope he brings my Electric Quilt 7!

Bad blogger!

2010-06-04T22:15:00.000-04:00

I am such a bad blogger... 3 weeks between posts. So this is a quick update. I am working again at the canal side restaurant where I worked last summer. Check out the pictures under the family fun tab.Great place to work, and you can't beat the view.

I have been working on a wall hanging of baskets, with flying geese sashing and the Quilter's Dream Select batting arrived, so I can't wait to get the Eagle Quilt started.

We are counting the days till my son (the youngest) graduates high school. The time went way to fast. I am going to miss his football and lacrosse games and him when he leaves for college. Luckily he will only be an hour away for the first two years!

He's number 45 in this photo.

Well, I know this wasn't much but I am going to post at least something every week!

My thread has arrived!

2010-05-13T08:35:00.000-04:00

The Bottom Line thread from Superior arrived in last nights mail! I am excited and a little nervous to get started on the quilting for A Trail to Eagle.
This quilt is special and I want the quilting to turn out well. The size is good, about 71 inches and I have my table all set except for the vinyl cover ( see my very first post). I am going to mark the geese border with undulating feathers. I am not too sure what to quilt in the triangles in the star border.Also, I am thinking straight lines, perpendicular to the final borders, keep it simple. Somehow though, I think trying to quilt straight lines on a domestic machine may be challenging. I know I will never again try to quilt circles after ripping out all the nasty circles on my brother's quilt.

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T15:59:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms! We have had crazy weather here the last couple of days. Yesterday the wind seemed to blow half the new leaves from the trees. Pat and I were shopping for hanging baskets for our moms and the wind was just whipping all the nursery stock all over the garden center. This morning the heat was on again and I looked out the window and it was snowing!
It might freeze tonight but I haven't planted anything yet so I don't need to worry.
I've put a roasting chicken in the oven for dinner, and now I am going to my sewing room to play for a couple of hours.

EQ7

2010-05-08T14:46:00.000-04:00

Electric Quilt 7 is coming out in June. Every EQ update has been fantastic; with new features, more blocks and layouts. There will be an expanded section on working with and manipulating photos. I can't wait except... A few months ago my cd and my dvd drives quit working so I will have to get new ones before my software comes. Actually we should start thinking about a new computer since this one is 6 or 7 years old!

Trail to Eagle top is finished. The final borders went on without any problems and now I have to figure out the quilting designs. I belong to Quiltwhisperers a great yahoo group moderated by Carla of Feathered Fibers that helps those of us who struggle with choosing the perfect designs for our quilt. I posted pics and hope to get some great ideas. The quilt is too big for
my design wall so I pinned it onto the upstairs hallway, but
I could only get a portion of the quilt in the picture.
It feels so good to have the top done!

Eagles... his and mine

2010-05-05T16:43:00.000-04:00

My son's Eagle Court of Honor was Saturday May 1st! I gave my mom my camera and she was a little nervous so I only have a couple of pictures. I will post one later.

I finally finished the pieced border on Trail to Eagle. Woot woot!
I am out of wall space so my file cabinet and sewing machine are in the picture.Sorry.
It was easier to tear out paper before sewing to the green border pieces. I also pressed open the seams of each section hoping that the seams won't show as much.
I ordered my thread from Superior Threads today. I should be finished with the top by the time it gets here.
Just three plain borders to go.

Paper Piecing

2010-03-24T10:10:00.000-04:00

Do you ever lose your motivation in the middle of a project? Even one you love? After going days without any sewing on the Trail to Eagle quilt I finally figured out my problem . I do love the quilt but I don't like paper piecing.

While sewing away on the outer border of curved geese sections I feel the tension building up in my neck and shoulders. Being surrounded by threads and trimmings from the process of paper piecing makes me crazy.

My solution is to sew two paper pieced sections then work on a normal quilt block.

Ahhh, I feel better now. The block is Joseph's Coat. I drew the block in EQ6 then used the random recolor tool to come up with this color scheme.

I also designed the quilting for the center block of Trail to Eagle and marked it. Sharon Schamber has a free video on marking your quilt and she suggests marking in sections and using freezer paper to stabilize the section you are marking instead of wrestling with the whole quilt.

I bought the cheap bic pencils she recommends but I was too chicken to use them. They did erase I just didn't know if my machine quilting skills would be enough to avoid having to erase every mark where I missed the line.

Only one more border to paper piece. Yeah!

Happy sewing everyone.

"We say we waste time, but that is imposssible. We waste ourselves" Alice Bloch

2010-02-20T08:24:00.000-05:00

Or as I like to say... Shoulda, coulda, woulda. I should be done piecing the Eagle quilt. I could have finished if... and I would have finished if only... Blah, blah blah.

I have enough stars done for one top border but I wanted to get started on the paper pieced geese. Rather than make the geese into rectangular blocks I am going to sew them together and cut out long background pieces and sew them together.
I would rather piece the gentle curves than applique the geese to the border.

While unsewing one of the white triangles I noticed my Hera marker nearby and I had an ah ha moment. Now I can line up my pieces without holding it up to the light.

I like to block my star blocks.It is much easier than trying to press the little 5 inch suckers!

Wonky block

Pinned Pressed

Nice!

I dreamed a new quilt design last night, and I can't wait to start working on it... after the Eagle.

Perfect practice makes perfect.

2010-02-11T20:14:00.000-05:00

I have managed to finish two of the star borders in the Eagle quilt. Boy are they tricky buggers. If you want the stars to all face right side up make sure you triple check their orientation before sewing on the side triangles. Left side second from the top.

I have been thinking about the quilting designs and started looking around the internet for inspiration and I found Carla from feathered fibers. She has started a yahoo group called quiltwhisperers from a class she taught on how to come up with designs for your finished top. The class was offered here.

I decided to practice my machine quilting a little every day, so I fooled around with plain muslin, but I want to work on some pieced blocks too. I have run into issues when crossing seams.

I finally sewed the binding down on my Molly's Meadow quilt. The quilt is actually straight, I had to take the picture from the stairs. I'll try and retake the picture tomorrow during the day so the light will be better.

My husband and son are going camping this weekend so I am hoping for a marathon sewing weekend. I let them take the car ( we only have one) so I have to stay put unless I walk somewhere, plus, since the car is gone people think I am not home and don't stop by. I know that sounds terrible but I am really trying to get my quilting momentum back. Or do I mean stamina?
I just know that in my younger days I could cut and sew all day plus keep up with my kids schedules, clean, cook, ect.
Well I have blathered enough. Everyone have a good night. I'll be back.

Update on the Eagle

2010-01-27T21:07:00.000-05:00

My son is had his board of review and he is now an Eagle Scout! DH and I are very proud of him. The paperwork should be back from Texas in about a month or so and then we can have his award ceremony.

On the quilting front I have made decent progress. I turned Mr. Eagle's head so he is looking in the right direction, added the two borders and am in the process of putting the Scout Law around the green border. My thumb has a permanent dent from cutting out the letters.
If you have seen the first EQ drawing you will notice that I have made a few changes. The letters were way too small when I had them going around the center block. So I widened the border and placed the words around it.

The two boy scouts (DH was a boy scout) in the family decided they liked the five point star better. Sighing .... the star blocks are 5 inches with five set-in pieces and I will probably sew them by hand. I pieced a test block on the machine but I am sure that hand sewing will be faster.

I would like to get the star border done by the end of the weekend. We shall see....

Rats

2010-01-19T21:46:00.000-05:00

If you have done any applique you know that asymmetrical pieces have to be reversed or they come out backwards. I think we just went over this with the geese flying around my center star. Hmmm. Sometime between Saturday and today I seemed to have forgotten that lesson.
I think I will decide tomorrow if Mr. Eagle needs has to be looking to his right (probably) or if anyone will really notice (probably).
The paper has been removed and I have started cutting out the letters. The letters are pretty small so I will sew a few letters to scrap fabric before I sew them to the block so I can see what stitch to use and if I am going to have any problems.
I have a small amount of ease to work in but I'll wait till the letters are sewn on before I block it out.

Well I hope tomorrow's adventures in quilting are not going to involve reversals in any form. I'll probably spell something wrong, and only notice after I have stitched it down....

It's new day and I know the how and why of Mr. Eagles head turn. In Electric Quilt when you print a block it reverses it which is a very handy feature unless you are doing needleturn applique where you draw the template on the right side of the fabric.

Quiltathon results

2010-01-17T20:20:00.000-05:00

Well I guess I am satisfied with my progress on Trail to Eagle. I finished appliqueing the circle to the background square and started the center applique design. Since I jumped in to Judy's quiltathon at the last minute I wasn't as prepared. I had to do some laundry and somebody (son) ate the last of the bread and I needed to make more for lunches. Next month's quiltathon I am going to be prepared for some serious sewing time.

I took this picture before I finished sewing the circle in case you look close and see the pins!

I'll cut the circle out after I finish the appliques. Once I have sewn the center circle on I'll cut away the back and remove the papers.
I think for the words that go around the square I am going to use fusible interfacing and a zig zag or buttonhole stitch.

Slower than molasses in January

2010-01-16T16:31:00.000-05:00

Judy is having a quiltathon this weekend and I sure hope I make more progress tomorrow than I have today. It is already 4:30 pm and time to start dinner and this is as far as I have got. While my sauce is cooking I should finish the last curved geese. I may cut out applique pieces for the center and the background square before I call it quits for the night.

I have a ways to go. I just noticed I forgot to reverse my pattern and my geese are flying in the wrong direction!

The faster I go the behinder I get

2010-01-14T13:52:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe it has been a week since I posted last. I am trying to have something to post about at least a few times a week..
I don't know how Judy does it but she manages to post daily and produce a lot of quilts too. But I intend to keep plugging away.

This is what I have been working on the last few days. This is the final border of Bear Hollow a quilt by Ann Seeely that was in Quilter's Newsletter in the nineties. I have worked on and off (mostly off) this quilt for like 15 years! In my defense, when I was working full time I did very little quilting. I was never good at sewing in the evening. I have two borders and the corners to quilt.

This is my slow progress on Trail to Eagle. Paper piecing is not my favorite thing. I should have just printed out the templates but I really want to paperpiece the curving geese border. Actually, now that the center pieces of the block are done I have it figured out. I will post and let you know.

2010-01-07T08:09:00.000-05:00

I do not make New Years resolutions but I have four sayings I try to live by

Stop buying useless crap.
If you get it out put it back.
Do it now.
Just do it.

Works for me most of the time.

I am finishing the border on Molly's Meadow finally. Way too many quilt interuptions in my life. The foot pedal on my Singer is so touchy that my stiches are horrid, big toe hookers and then so close together I couln't rip them out if I tried. Zoom, zoom, zoom. slow,slow,zoom. I am going to try and put something firm under the pedal and see if that helps.

This is what I am working on in Electric Quilt. I am still playing with the design and the colors.
I am calling it the Trail to Eagle quilt.

Hallelujah!

2009-12-30T16:11:00.000-05:00

Handel sound effect
I am feeling so much relief at this moment. If you clicked on the link above you know what music is playing in my head. My son completed his Eagle project and finished all the paperwork and got all the proper signatures in the proper places on the proper forms and dropped it off at the Scout office by noon today. He still has to go before the Eagle committee for his board of review which itself is stressful but I was so nervous that something would go wrong and we would run out of time. His 18th birthday is Sunday and in scouting that means you are now adult.
I think an Eagle quilt would be a nice gift. Stay tuned.
I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year!

I am not stressed she said as her left eye twitched spastically....

2009-12-21T08:09:00.000-05:00

I am trying to finish up my Christmas shopping today so I can start my holiday baking. I also want to clean up the house before Thursday so no quilting going on at this time. Hopefully you are all done and just chillin' out (yeah right!). I'll be back soon....

2009-12-17T18:31:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was one of those intense, mentally draining days. But when it was over three things were accomplished. My son finished work on two merit badges he needs for his Eagle award. In order to recieve an Eagle award one of the requirements is to earn 21 merit badges. You also have to plan and carry out a service project. All the requirements must be finished completely before your eighteenth birthday, which for my son is in 18 days! Procrastination has led to just a wee bit of stress and testiness on the scout and his mother and father.

The other project finished yesterday was the binding on my brother's quilt. I gave him this quilt for Christmas 2007! I had too many projects going that year and was unable to finish. If you have been following along you know about my cantankerous Singer. Well half way through the machine quilting with nylon thread the Singer decides it does not like Mr. Nylon thread (and still doesn't) so the quilt was stashed for awhile. To make a long story short I finally finished the quilting using So Fine. I am usually a perfectionist but this quilt is far, far from perfect but I forged ahead and tonight it is on his bed! The pattern is Judy Martin's Shakespeare in the Park from The Creative Pattern Book. And its on sale now for $9.95!
The third to-do done is the heel on my son's Christmas stocking. I had to take a break from knitting and I don't know if I was rusty or if the directions were a little vague but after ripping it out 3 times I finally figured it out. The foot part is a piece of cake so he should have it by Christmas Eve. (fingers crossed). I'll post a pic when I get a chance meanwhile check it out here Annie's Woolens.

Nuts and Bolts

2009-12-15T16:08:00.000-05:00

"Generalised anger and frustration is something that gets you in the studio, and gets you to work - though it's not necessarily evident in anything that's finished. "
Bruce Nauman

I spent over an hour and a half playing around with my old Singer machine last night. I even opened her up and cleaned the underside!

Normally after trying a couple of things I would give up in frustration and go look at Berninas on the internet. But last night I stayed calm and just kept trying different things. I ended up changing from the Superior titanium coated topstitch #80 needle to a Shmetz microtex sharp #90. I tweaked the tension to be a little looser and I was very happy with the stitches. No more shredded thread or skipped stitches. My Singer doesn't have a tension dial because the tension is supposed to adjust automatically but it does have a slider to tighten or loosen the tension.
Now I need to work on my McTavishing. I guess I should have practised on paper first but as you can see I didn't get very far on the border so I don't think it will show to much.

Well I am off to do some more Christmas shopping so the sewing will have to wait until later.

Some days are better than others

2009-12-14T08:43:00.000-05:00

Ten days till Christmas Eve! At least this year I am not trying to finish quilts. My granddaughter's quilt top was finished a few weeks ago and I might have tried to finish it but the batik I used for the sashing discharged color all over the quilt top when I wet it to remove the papers from the applique. I usually wash all my fabrics but I suppose this one slipped by. Once it is quilted it may not look as bad but for now I can't stand to look at it.

Saturday I finished quilting the blocks in Molly's Meadow and started ditch quilting around the applique. Because the border is red I chose a red 50 weight thread by Superior (John Flynn) and used a 50 weight cotton in the bobbin in beige. Lets just say the sewing session did not go well. The top thread started to shred and skip stitches. I tried all the usual: new needle, adust tension, clean the bobbin case, switched to a different red thread (sigh). Today I will try using the single hole throat plate, but I have had problems in the past using that. I'll let you know how it goes.
I have also been working on some new designs but I will save those for a another day.

Popcorn and a Movie

2009-12-09T08:30:00.000-05:00

I just received two of Karen McTavish's books The Secrets of Elemental Quilting and Mastering the Art of McTavishing and watched the DVD's last night.I think I like DVDs. Karen shows how she marks and demonstrates McTavishing on the long arm. She also interviews a hand quilter and a domestic machine quilter.The Secrets of Elemental Quilting is about choosing designs and placement for trapunto and whole cloth quilts.I enjoyed both and will use some of the techniques. Definitely worth the money.

After ChristmasI think I'll order some DVDs from Patsy Thompson Designs . Has anyone watched her DVDs?
I have almost finished machine quilting the center on my Molly's Meadow quilt by Kim Diehl . I am using Bottom Line thread in the bobbin and in the top and the new Titanium coated needles from Superior Threads. Sweet! One of these days I'll tell you about my struggles with my 25 year old Singer!

Cheap sewing table

2009-12-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

I have to thank Marguerita McManus for her video on building a cheap sewing table. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g14govA4pIM

I had become so frustrated trying to machine quilt at the kitchen table with a pile of books and a homemade plexiglass table. The table was too high the books slid around and the quilt got caught on the edge of the plexiglass.

I found Marguerita's video and was determined to make my own. I found my tables at BJ's Wholesale for $45 each ( I bought 2) and the insulation foam at Lowe's for $35. The vinyl I found a Walmart before they went "super" and got rid of half their stuff. So altogether I spent about $131.

The table works perfectly! It is the right height and size. The vinyl is nice and slick. My quilts slide so easy. No more pulling and wrestling. No more broken needles. Thank you Marguerita.