Quilt-in Background Top

This is what I have worked on all weekend.  Well, not really allll weekend.  I did take a couple of naps and played games on the computer and read blogs and finished a book.  So, I don't want you to think I slaved over this one quilt top.  This small top - about 36 inches square - is the background for some applique.  Back in September I attended the Ogallalla Quilter's Society's annual fall retreat.  The proposed project for that retreat was applique.  Since applique is not really one of my favorite things, I decided to work on another project or three.  However, watching people at the retreat work on this project, I found it really intriguing.  I loved the concept, the story and the meaning behind the pieces along with the designer, Cinde.  My friend Kathy and I decided that we needed to do a project, also, but we would wait until the January quilt-in at our guild.  That quilt-in was this past weekend. 

Kathy got to the church with a sketch of what she wanted to make and an armload of her hand-dyed fabrics that she recently snow and ice dyed.  (way cool stuff)  She just jumped in - which we learned at the first of the school year is her nature (can you say North?) - and began working on her quilt top.  She got it all put together before we left Saturday afternoon.  (sorry, I didn't take a picture of it.  Maybe she will send me one and let me post it here later, hint, hint Kathy)

I showed up with my folder of the design elements, a couple of tubs of fabrics to choose from, another stack of fabrics that might include a background fabric and some steam-a-seam 2.  I also arrived with no clue as to what I really want to do.  My original intention was to use the light blue as my background.  However, Friday night I had changed my mind and decided I wanted a pieced background of subtle monkey wrenches. (or churn dashes)  I left the quilt-in Saturday with the middle squares put together.  Today, I added the borders.  I didn't know I was going to put those on there, but Saturday night while eating dinner I saw the two fabrics (waiting to go in the wash) and decided they would be the perfect borders for this quilt.

Now, I am making and cutting out all of my elements.  Hopefully, I will have everything ready to go later this week and can begin the designing.  Even though the quilt top could stand on it's own right now, it's just a work in progress, but I am pleased with my background. 

Scraptastic!

Our Bee Friends Quilt Group got together this past weekend for our third quilt-in of the year.  It was decided several months prior that whoever wanted would cut 149 light and 149 medium/dark - 6 inch squares and trade to make  really scrappy 1/2 square quilts.  I signed up to do this project.  Well, we all know how busy my summer was and I got my lights cut before Thursday night, but not my med/darks.  I took that fabric with me to the quilt-in knowing I had a few hours before we had to trade and I might just get all my squares cut.  Thank goodness one of my friends was a little bit late getting there that night because I finished right as she was walking in the door.   WHEW!!  Just by the skin on of my teeth I got all my squares cut and ready to trade.  However, before I even went that night I had decided that I didn't even want to make another 1/2 square quilt.  I have made one or two of them at other retreats and even though I like the looks of those quilts, I was ready for something different.  I was sitting at the computer working one night and knocked off a stack of papers that really, really need to be filed.  After I picked them up and stacked them again - what?  I don't have the energy or time to file them now!  I have other more important (and fun) things to do - like playing games on the computer or reading blogs - which is probably what I was doing when I knocked that pile over.  Anyway, in that stack was one of those patterns you get in the mail along with a solicitation for a quilt book or new magazine or to join something quilty.  I had saved this one sheet because I liked the look of that quilt.  I wasn't sure I would actually make it, but I could use it as an inspiration.  All it needed were 6 inch squares in light and medium/dark fabrics - hey, we are trading those at the quilt in.  Also, I needed 1 1/2 inch strips.  I have a large box of those since several of my recent quilts needed  that size strip.  I am set!!  In brief, easy terms here is how you get these blocks.  Cut your 6 inch square diagonally once.  Sew your 1 1/2" strips to the cut edges of your block.  Square up your block.  Now, the pattern says to square them to 5 inches, but I have been able to square mine back to a 6 inch block.  Here is what I have put up on my design wall so far . . .

There are a lot of repeats in there since when we exchanged, I picked up two of the same fabric blocks (we went around the table several, several times before we decided to pick up more than two - we were tired after going around about 6 times!)  This will look even more scrappy as I put in more fabrics.  I may have to make a couple of smaller quilts rather than a large one.  We will see how this all pans out later. 

The New Year Begins and other things

Back at school for two days and already I can tell that it is going to be an "interesting" year.  I am going to hope for the best, but we will have to wait and see what this year holds.  I am looking forward to my classes and what I am teaching, it's just the higher ups that are causing a dislike. 

Last week, being the only week to have completely off for the summer - no outside work - I planned on sewing, sewing, sewing and I got very little done.  I took a nap almost everyday and was a lazy bum for the most part.  I had lots of dog and me appointments - grooming, vets, doctors, etc. and got the majority of them taken care of.  I have a few more on my calendar for this month and I think the dogs are taken care of for a bit.  I really needed to cut my 300 - 6 inch - squares for our exchange tomorrow night and I got 150 light squares cut and ready to go, but I have to cut my darks tonight.  That may or may not happen.  It is thundering outside and I think I have more than the usual one dog afraid of the storm.  I may have to go back downstairs and cuddle with a couple of them to reassure them that the storm is not going to get them. 

A couple of years ago, a major thunder and lightening storm settled over the top of my house.  Being two story it seemed that it may come through the roof at any time.  This was at 2 in the morning and Taegan, Irish and I were fast asleep.  Then BOOM! BOOM!  BOOM!!!!!  Taegan was up and on top of me so fast that I couldn't figure out what was going on.  I thought someone might have broken in and he was protecting me, but no, he wanted my protection from the storm.  He had never been scared of storms before, but that was a scary one for sure.  Ever since then, if it is thundering or there are fireworks or other loud noises going on outside, he comes running for his momma and either climbs in my lap or sits as close as he can get for my protection.  That one storm really scared him.  He was probably fast asleep at the time and it scared him awake.  So, tonight, he has the other dogs stirred up and every time the thunder booms - not very loudly, but still a boom - he starts barking and the others join in with him.   I think Irish is just telling them to be quiet, since he managed to sleep through that storm a couple of years ago. 

Tonight is the final competition night on So You Think You Can Dance and guess what?  Our Fox station is not working!  BOO!!!!  I was looking forward to watching them dance tonight.  I am hoping that I can watch it later tonight on the computer.  I may have to wait until tomorrow night.  : (  That show is one of my favorite shows to watch. 

Well, so much for my rambling on.  I did take a picture of one of the only things I got made last week.  It is part of a new quilt design.  I had originally planned on this being a two color quilt and I wanted to see what it would look like using scraps.  I also want to see if I could make this block without getting technical and writing out all the directions, sizes, etc.  Because if it didn't work, I didn't want to be out all that wasted time when my time last week was spent . . well, you know, you read all the way down to here, now didn't you.  I love a good nap.  I really like the way this turned out.  I can't wait to make the rest of the quilt or at least a baby quilt using scraps.  

Liberating Weekend Quilt-In

This weekend was our first Quilt-In of the new year. Long ago, our quilt group voted not to have a traditional quilt retreat and instead we would have a stay at home retreat. We start at 3:00 on a Thursday and go until 3:00 (or longer) on Saturday. You sew when you can make it, come and go when your days are like that and run home to feed the dogs, family or just pick something up that you left. Even though we could, if we wanted, stay all night, we all elect to return to our beds and come back in the mornings. It has been a wonderful arrangement. Sometimes we have a planned project, but our favorite time is when we work on our own stuff. This weekend I worked on my Mon Ami quilt for the Le Petite Challenge. I have been meticulously squaring up every half-square triangle and it has been slow going. I should have never done that to the first one, because it turned out so perfect, that when I didn't square up the fourth one, I decided I didn't like how it looked and have gone back to squaring each one. Let's see that is 8 HST per block at 25 blocks that is 200 - 2 1/2" hst's!! I haven't even gotten to the sawtooth border yet! With having to finish up finals and getting my grades in for the semester, our meeting on Saturday, feeding the dogs and working on a rwb block (more later) I only got 10 blocks totally completed. I have the other squares sewn, but not squared. I still have a couple of weeks to get this done. If I sew a little bit each day, it will be finished in no time. hopefully.


Pictured below is my friend Diana's quilt she made in Debbie Caffrey's Stir Fry class in December. She used blocks leftover quilt blocks and made some during the year when I suggested patterns in our newsletter. She is having the best time quilting it. Just doing whatever the block speaks to her - machine quilting, hand quilting and tying. She is even going to do some machine embroidery on it! It was fun to watch her and Molly work on laying it out and fun to see the top as she quilts it.
Molly brought this quilt to show me because of all the bright colors. I love it!! Not only because of the brights, but because it is all blocks that are liberated and wonky. Molly and Diana made similar quilts using all the patterns from Gwen Marston's Liberated Quilt books. To hear them talk about their process, they each have the books, now, and they get on the phone and sew and quilt at their own houses, together! Too funny. It is a beautiful quilt. They were both jealous when I told them I was going to be taking classes from Gwen in March. I just love wonky and liberated stuff.



Speaking of which, I made a funky star block to donate to our ROTC raffle quilt. I had to add borders to get it to the right size. I had never made lopsided funky stars inside a funky star before. I was inspired by a couple of blocks from Molly's quilt. I will have to make a couple more of these for my stir fry quilt - still haven't blogged about that yet - just to have some more fun.