Why yes, I am excited. It's my first retreat with my Mom's quilt guild and it's in a week and a half. First off, I'm going to have to travel, so Mom has suggested that I pack light - in other words - leave the cutting board and rulers at home. Okaaaaaaaaaaaaay. But what if I need them? To, I don't know, straighten a block? Trim something? Slit my wrists after spending an entire weekend with Mom? (Kidding. I would never)
She assures me that I can use hers if I need to, but suggested that I have everything cut before I get there. That? Makes sense. It makes perfect sense. So this week (and this weekend) I'm in prep mode. Last night I pressed a bunch of fat quarters that'll get cut (maybe even tonight) in preparation for a quilt I've been eyeing since 2008 (if the date on the front of the magazine can be trusted)
I need to cut out borders for my hunter's star quilt.
I read the instructions for this owl applique quilt and decided that I clearly need an engineering degree to follow her bizarre instructions so I set it aside for a weekend not filled with other people. When I read them, all I can think is, "Ok, but why?" Which sucks because I love the pattern. It's just so cute.
And I realized I need to get looking at supplies I'll need. For example: Thread. I. Need. Thread. Even if I wasn't sneaking off for a weekend of sewing, I need thread. I'm completely out of thread. No wonder I haven't been sewing at all lately.
I need batting for a 60" x 80" quilt.
I need to be realistic about what I really can finish in a weekend away. Because part of me wants to pack up everything quilty that I own. You know. Just in case I don't want to sew on borders. Or sew up that batik quilt that's been calling me for 3 years.
Maybe I'll pack some books in case I don't want to sew.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
I am still quilting
Not a lot of progress, but I'm building a pile of christmas hunter star blocks.
Slowly. the pile in the back are together and pressed, I just need to get this last pile in the front made up. Soon.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Postage Stamp Quilt along - top DONE!
So, it's been awhile since I updated. I just haven't been quilting or taking pictures like I should be. I finally got Mr. Moose to hold up the postage stamp quilt from the quilt along so I could get a good picture.
I'm pretty happy with this AND it's got a home. My Mother in Law (MIL) seemed very interested when I described it to her. Unless I decide to keep it myself because it looks awfully great on my red furniture.
I'm not sure why the photo is blurred, but there you have it.
I did have to trim up the blocks when I was done thanks to uneven strips. Here's a shot of the trimmings.
I just love how bright and colourful this quilt ended up being.
I'm pretty happy with this AND it's got a home. My Mother in Law (MIL) seemed very interested when I described it to her. Unless I decide to keep it myself because it looks awfully great on my red furniture.
I'm not sure why the photo is blurred, but there you have it.
I did have to trim up the blocks when I was done thanks to uneven strips. Here's a shot of the trimmings.
I just love how bright and colourful this quilt ended up being.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Random post of randomness
Well, it's been a week since I posted last. I have finished up my postage stamp quilt top. It looks rainbow-riffic, but you'll have to take my word on it. Taking pictures of it last weekend took a backseat to some other stuff.
The big thing that happened last weekend was a friend's 40th birthday. It's kind of a strange friendship that I'll try to explain. Mr. Moose and I play World of Warcraft. For what it's worth, this here is my character
Ok. so there you have my dirty secret. I'm a quilting, gaming geek. It does have something to do with the rest of this post, I swear. (Also, I'm not that angry)
In Warcraft, you can play in guilds. Basically a guild is a group of other people playing the game. The guild we're in, everyone is in because of personal connections to someone else in the guild which means most of the people actually live in our city, or not far away.
The birthday party we attended was for one of our guild members. I'll call him Thirsty. Mr. Moose and I had not met Thirsty (or any of the rest of the guild) before this. Hello - most awkward blind date I've ever been on.
It was so much fun. It was at a bowling alley in the city and we met four people we've only talked to online (almost daily) for the last two years. I was hugged by all of them. Of course I started the night off sober. Normally I'm not a touchy feely person. I like my personal space thank you very much. When Dex approached me and gave me a hug, my thought process was something like this: "What the? A hug? Noooooooooo!" But of course I hugged him in return. Ditto Nacht.
By the end of the night when Yerok and Thirsty wanted hugs? My thought process was this: "Woo hoo! Hugs!"
So, you may have guessed that much happened between the first two hugs and the last. Several hours and a lot of vodka, in fact.
Which is why there are no pictures of my postage stamp quilt top. I don't get painful hangovers. Mainly because I make sure I drink plenty of water before I go to bed. It took me until 4am to feel like I'd had enough water to compensate for the dehydrating alcohol. I got up about 4 hours later at 8 am. I spent a very fuzzy and lazy day. VERY fuzzy and lazy. Taking pictures of a bright and colourful quilt just wasn't even on my radar, which I regret now since I love it so much.
It didn't stop me from stopping Mr. Moose on his way to bed at 2am on Sunday morning to hold up the quilt I'd sewn up Saturday morning to make him look at it. It's got his approval, if that helps.
The big thing that happened last weekend was a friend's 40th birthday. It's kind of a strange friendship that I'll try to explain. Mr. Moose and I play World of Warcraft. For what it's worth, this here is my character
In Warcraft, you can play in guilds. Basically a guild is a group of other people playing the game. The guild we're in, everyone is in because of personal connections to someone else in the guild which means most of the people actually live in our city, or not far away.
The birthday party we attended was for one of our guild members. I'll call him Thirsty. Mr. Moose and I had not met Thirsty (or any of the rest of the guild) before this. Hello - most awkward blind date I've ever been on.
It was so much fun. It was at a bowling alley in the city and we met four people we've only talked to online (almost daily) for the last two years. I was hugged by all of them. Of course I started the night off sober. Normally I'm not a touchy feely person. I like my personal space thank you very much. When Dex approached me and gave me a hug, my thought process was something like this: "What the? A hug? Noooooooooo!" But of course I hugged him in return. Ditto Nacht.
By the end of the night when Yerok and Thirsty wanted hugs? My thought process was this: "Woo hoo! Hugs!"
So, you may have guessed that much happened between the first two hugs and the last. Several hours and a lot of vodka, in fact.
Which is why there are no pictures of my postage stamp quilt top. I don't get painful hangovers. Mainly because I make sure I drink plenty of water before I go to bed. It took me until 4am to feel like I'd had enough water to compensate for the dehydrating alcohol. I got up about 4 hours later at 8 am. I spent a very fuzzy and lazy day. VERY fuzzy and lazy. Taking pictures of a bright and colourful quilt just wasn't even on my radar, which I regret now since I love it so much.
It didn't stop me from stopping Mr. Moose on his way to bed at 2am on Sunday morning to hold up the quilt I'd sewn up Saturday morning to make him look at it. It's got his approval, if that helps.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
A fantastic tip from another blogger
As you may know, I'm "working on" a flying geese quilt. In all honesty, I was, until I realized how many small squares I would have to draw diagonal lines on and then sew. Line after line after line. It became daunting so I kinda stepped away and started working on other things. Until now.
A Little Bit Biased had a FANTASTIC tip she posted today. Go, check it out. You'll thank me. Or her. You should probably thank her.
Tuesday Tricks
Myself? I'm considering setting up a shrine in her honor. Should I ever get a sewing room that is.
A Little Bit Biased had a FANTASTIC tip she posted today. Go, check it out. You'll thank me. Or her. You should probably thank her.
Tuesday Tricks
Myself? I'm considering setting up a shrine in her honor. Should I ever get a sewing room that is.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Postage Stamp Quilt Along goodness
Oh yes, I've made progress on this. So much, that I have a name for it. Yes, yes I do. Here Comes the Rain. Why? Well, we'll start with it's giant rainbowness
Yup. Rainbowness.
I wish I had a better picture of the binding fabric, but it's a raindrop print batik.
You see it right? Pretty raindrops to go with a pretty rainbow.
The only issue I have is with the acid green backing. Note to self, do not pick fabric when I'm in a hurry. No matter how much I think they'll go with the rest of the fabric. I do like it, it just might be a bit much in the end. I suppose we'll see. Worst case, I break it up with a pieced back, fold it up and pretend the back doesn't exist while admiring the rainbow goodness of the front, right?
Right.
Moving on, then. More progress pictures.
And finally, cat tested, husband approved?
Well, husband approved remains to be seen. I think he thinks it's a bit too much.
I wish I had a better picture of the binding fabric, but it's a raindrop print batik.
The only issue I have is with the acid green backing. Note to self, do not pick fabric when I'm in a hurry. No matter how much I think they'll go with the rest of the fabric. I do like it, it just might be a bit much in the end. I suppose we'll see. Worst case, I break it up with a pieced back, fold it up and pretend the back doesn't exist while admiring the rainbow goodness of the front, right?
Right.
Moving on, then. More progress pictures.
And finally, cat tested, husband approved?
Well, husband approved remains to be seen. I think he thinks it's a bit too much.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Prairie Traditions
Posted for Quilt Story's fabric Tuesday.
Finally have pictures of my finished nine-patch which I've named Prairie Traditions thanks to the fabric contributions from my mother, grandmother, Mom's neighbor and Mom's neighbor's sister. And myself - I contributed a few of the nine-patches, all of the borders, binding and backing.
The whole thing started because a portion of my mother's stash looked like this:
That is just her scraps, fat quarters and a box of the fabric from my grandmother. She has much more in the basement. Every time I go home, it seems a tradition for her to haul out fabric, WIPs, magazines, patterns and all that good stuff. I'm pretty sure she was trying desperately to get me back into quilting and it eventually worked.
She never seems to make much progress using up this fabric, so I took it upon myself to start cutting and pieceing nine-patches for a pattern out of one of her magazines. This process took 9-10 years, I'm quite ashamed to say. I will say that I've come by my fabric obsession quite honestly.
The back is flannel from my stash that I'd bought for another quilt top that has mysteriously gone missing through several moves. It wasn't wide enough for a queen sized quilt, so I added a pieced strip down the middle.
The pieced strip is a chunk of leftover border that I suspect was meant to be used as the binding along with pieces of fat quarters I used in the quilt top.
I quilted it in the ditch as well as diagonally through the nine-patch blocks and the borders were quilted in the ditch with an additional line running down the middle of each border.
The binding is a yellow Debbie Mum print I had in my stash from a baby quilt I did years ago.
I really enjoyed piecing this quilt and now that my grandmother is gone, I love seeing the fabrics in there that I picked out of stash she'd given to my Mom. The quilt also includes bits of table toppers my Mom has made for me over the years. I get kind of sentimental about the fact that this quilt is now spread on my bed. It seems appropriate that Mr. Moose and I go to sleep every night under years of tradition passed down from generation to generation in my family as well as so many other families over the years.
Finally have pictures of my finished nine-patch which I've named Prairie Traditions thanks to the fabric contributions from my mother, grandmother, Mom's neighbor and Mom's neighbor's sister. And myself - I contributed a few of the nine-patches, all of the borders, binding and backing.
The whole thing started because a portion of my mother's stash looked like this:
She never seems to make much progress using up this fabric, so I took it upon myself to start cutting and pieceing nine-patches for a pattern out of one of her magazines. This process took 9-10 years, I'm quite ashamed to say. I will say that I've come by my fabric obsession quite honestly.
The back is flannel from my stash that I'd bought for another quilt top that has mysteriously gone missing through several moves. It wasn't wide enough for a queen sized quilt, so I added a pieced strip down the middle.
I quilted it in the ditch as well as diagonally through the nine-patch blocks and the borders were quilted in the ditch with an additional line running down the middle of each border.
I really enjoyed piecing this quilt and now that my grandmother is gone, I love seeing the fabrics in there that I picked out of stash she'd given to my Mom. The quilt also includes bits of table toppers my Mom has made for me over the years. I get kind of sentimental about the fact that this quilt is now spread on my bed. It seems appropriate that Mr. Moose and I go to sleep every night under years of tradition passed down from generation to generation in my family as well as so many other families over the years.
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