Patience!

Yesterday was Jonathan's day off so I spent a little time playing computer games and then decided to get out of his way and headed for my private haven and my hand quilting.  Wasn't sure I'd get anything done but I surprised myself -

Block 72 - Railroad - 28 pieces

I also managed to complete Row # 15, the lower left hand corner of the quilt top.  I will now work up from that point - I'm getting excited here, I have 6 more rows to complete the quilt top and only about 20 blocks that haven't been pieced....getting there....

Bottom left hand corner - Row # 15

Today started out very early, around 5:55 A.M. when I had to wake Jonathan for work because he couldn't charge his phone last night.  Worked out well because it's about the time I need to take a pill.  Back to bed until around 10:30 and then realized today is the day I get to machine quilt!!!  YEAH!

As soon as I did my crossword and had my brunch I set everything up, including the big ironing board.  I pulled out Bricks and Mortar and saw another mistake.  No problem, I can fix it - so I start unsewing.  Well, I only managed to totally mess it up and spent the first hour just fixing what I messed up......patience, another new "buzz" word for 2014!  Don't think I didn't contemplate, yet again, giving up on this quilt but determination is the name of the game.....

By 2:00 P.M. I had put on two more rows -

2 rows on - up to 4 rows, only two more to go

Liz called to say she was going to come over with some hand sewing.  Now, I have to say I was more than excited.....  I know that's weird, but you have to understand - First, I am home alone most of the time and I really do love company, but more importantly, Second - When Liz and I get together it's usually to go to a doctor's appointment, or chemo or out to run errands, we don't often get to just sit & sew and enjoy each others company.  I was really looking forward to this visit.  She came around 3:15 P.M. and stayed for about 3 hours while I got the last two rows together and added them to the quilt....

 Quilt center done - now the borders......

Liz was all packed up and just getting ready to leave so I got a quick pic

Liz had just been so supportive the past 7 months (longer when you include the store hours she put in), always there to take me to appointments and sit with me through the tough stuff....good news, bad news, all of it.  It was so nice to sit like two normal girlfriends and just chat and sew....what a treat!  I hope we do it more often- I really enjoyed this afternoon.

Now, back to the quilt!  She left me at an extremely crucial (appropriate) moment.  Here's the problem.  This is what happens when you return to those U.F.O.'s, the "oops" moment. I know I am not the only one who has this problem.  

The first border is pieced in 2-1/2" squares of which I needed 114.  I wasn't sure I had enough fabric!?!?!  Sure didn't look like it!  Turns out, after I worked it out mathematically (took 20 minutes) I would be able to squeak out 115 squares.  Of course I had to do quite a bit of fudging the blocks to make it work properly and the darker squares met up at the corners but by 8:00 P.M. I had the top and bottom border on.

Top and bottom borders

It was the side borders I really had to fudge, that took awhile, a little unsewing and resewing and voila - sides were on......

All four borders on - Yahoo!

Tomorrow Jonathan is off so I can relax and forget the mathematics because the outside border is also pieced and I really think that I am going to be short for sure.  However, after all is said in done, I really love this quilt!  I really like the pattern and did not expect it to turn out this nicely.....I even have a quilting plan!  I love it when that happens.  This will all have to wait until Saturday when I go back to figuring out if I have enough fabric to do the outside border....we can only hope....I can't wait to complete this quilt because I have another one waiting in the wings (my project bag) that I am really antsy to get to.

Tomorrow I will get to work on the Farmer's Wife and hopefully get a few more blocks done as well as a couple of rows.  I am definitely on a roll here and am extremely excited about the progress.  It's been such a long time since I've been able to say that....

Have a great day everyone!

Jo-Ann

Falling!!!

Thought it would work if I "publicized" my Things To Do list on my blog and to be honest, it has partially, but I also have to take into account the kinda day it's going to be and that is truly unpredictable.

I woke up this morning in pain and the meds just refused to kick in so the energy level is not the best.  With good intentions I wandered into the kitchen and since I have a self-cleaning oven, I turned it on.  (NOT)  It's been awhile since I used a self-cleaning oven, what can I say.... About two hours after I turned it on (I had gone to lie down) I came into the kitchen and found the oven was still cold.  Okay, so maybe there's something new here - it doesn't heat up!  Well everything was set so I sat down at the computer (I can see the stove from the computer) and just kept glancing over every now and then - until I had a EUREKA MOMENT!!!!  - duh, did you set the timer dummy!!!!  Nope!  Needless to say - 4 hours later, the oven is now clean.  It dawned on me that there are buttons on the stove that I know nothing about.....

Have not gotten to that freezer yet (there's still time) and the dishes are hidden behind a wall so I'm ignoring them for now but I may get a BURST of energy later...I'm saving my real energy for tomorrow's Sit & Bitch, so there!

I can, however report, that with Jonathan hogging the TV yesterday I settled down to some serious stitching.

 There are now 10 blocks done on Row 8.

 Block #76 - Sawtooth - 22 pieces

 Block #111 - Wrench - 17 pieces

Plus I have completed 2 more blocks.  These two blocks plus Block #58 completed previously make up the balance of Row 8.  I wish I could say I will get those attached tonight but the plan is to watch Blue Bloods and head for bed.  Need to conserve my energy for tomorrow.  Tomorrow I will be doing machine piecing for a long awaited change.  Don't even have to pack because I never unpacked from my last trip to Neilson Park where Etobicoke Quilter's Guild has their weekly Sit & Sew.  I'm working on two flannel quilts - may be able to take some pictures tomorrow.  I am really looking forward to seeing the girls and getting some sewing done as well....

Thought I'd share my last "read" with you all.  This book was a surprise for me.  It's been hanging around the house for awhile and I did try to read it at one time but got bored and put it down.  I usually don't pick a book up again if I can't read it the first time but I was desperate for something so....the story line is pretty good and once you get past all the technical jargon, the writer was in the Air Force, it's a pretty good book.  It is a great read for anyone (mostly men) who are into war toys and stuff like that....in the end I enjoyed it but I don't think I will go hunting for his other books.

 Dale Brown - Plan of Attack

This is getting scary - I've managed to blog 3 days in a row!!!  Like "Dear Diary"!  I've already picked up a book off the shelf at home to read but not sure how that's going to go.  I find when I have the need to be in bed, whether for pain reasons, to rest or it's just bedtime, I like to have a book close at hand even if I just get a couple of pages read.  I tried quilting books but that would perk me right up and motivate me to the extent I would jump out of bed and check my stash for fabrics, so it has to be serious reading material.  If this one gets good - I'll share it!!!!

Have a great day everyone!

Jo-Ann

OMG!

I had an amazing time on Saturday!  First, I was so excited the night before that I couldn't get to sleep.  That resulted in an extremely late start to the day.  I arrived just in time for lunch (perfect timing if you ask me!).  Since it was my first "real" outing in the car, I took the scenic route which took a little longer (no highways)!  Gail served a lovely salad with a fabulous lasagna and we had "West Coast" chocolate covered Nanaimo bars for dessert. (They were imported from the west coast!).

The girls (Cathie and Gail) had just come back from visiting Cathie's sister out in B.C. and so, our first order of business was Show & Share.  There are oodles of quilt stores out there and they really had a great haul to show.  You can see what was on Gail's mind while she was away.......

She did a bit of shopping for Halloween, the fabrics are great and I love the panel.  Her project for the day was also a cute Halloween table runner.  Of course there were other great purchases too......

The Laurel Birch cats are adorable and she's doing it in the pattern she's holding.  The cupcakes speak for themselves and the floral, well, that is just gorgeous!  I know I took pics of Cathie's haul too but I can't seem to locate them and I've gone through the whole disc of photos so I'll have to get those next time.

There was one more purchase which just blew me away!  Can you imagine making this miniature Christmas Ornament.  I don' think I would have the patience - and IT IS pieced!

Finally, after oooohing and aaaahing I had to really get down to work to catch up with these girls.  They were way ahead of me.....

Here's the quilt that I needed to make the backing for......a scrappy flannel quilt top which was completed in 2009 and then just set aside.....

The backing is made from the same fabric as the borders (I confiscated the bolt from the store...).  It took a fair bit of time to get this pieced, I had blocks left over that I wanted to use and I had already made a label which I wanted to incorporate into the back rather then sew it on later.....this is the result, thanks to Cathie's expert cutting!

FYI - If you are using flannel to back a quilt, take the measurement on the bolt selvage to selvage - this bolt measured 40" exactly and was tight, I had barely enough (Sandy's going to kill me!).  The quilt measures 68" x 79" so since it's being basted only she can put it on the long arm sideways where I gave her the extra inches.....

I have to say that is all I got done on Saturday but for me it was a huge accomplishment. I could have kept going but I didn't want to overstay my welcome!  It was a fabulous day, catching up with the girls and just having a great time!

This morning I dropped the quilt off to Sandy so I should be able to start hand quilting it some time this week.  Uh oh, another hand project!  I'll have to split my time between this and the Farmer's Wife so I can get them both done!

Have a great day everyone and happy quilting!

Jo-Ann

Getting things done.....

I spent the day at the store signing up for all kinds of social media - ugh!  Not really but it's a lot of work to keep up with all this internet stuff!  Who knew!?!?!

At home I'm stealing moments (between and during my TV shows) quilting or like this morning before I left for work I managed to get part of Block 4 done (Amish With A Twist), finished it when I got home.

I'm curious, "What kind of quilter are you?" I'd love it if you comment here, it's kind of a little survey.

I have been working on Amish With A Twist (as per www.cockadoodlequilts.blogspot.com)    but I like to do continuous piecing.  Since I'm working on one block at a time, continuous piecing doesn't quite work, unless you add another project and it's not like I don't have a few projects to work on (haven't touched the infamous 9 yet!).  I finished my serging of my Radical Rail Fence blocks (144) on Monday morning, so I figured why not.....

So far I have 8 blocks done - that's probably about 1/4 of the quilt top.  I'm thrilled, especially since I've been working on (not working on, meaning to be working on) this quilt for 6 years approximately.  Seriously, I started it in 2007, Barb will verify that since she cut all the homespun strips for me....

It feels good to be getting two things done at once, slows things down just a tad but it;s worth it.  Oh and do I make mistakes - yup!  Believe it or not I actually had to "unsew" three Rail Fence blocks because I sewed them together wrong - don't ask!  I couldn't have picked an easier project, a real no brainer, I mean I don't even have to match up blocks here but I still managed to get a few wrong.  It's all fixed now so I can continue, hopefully without making to many more mistakes....

Just have to focus!  Tomorrow, I am teaching hand piecing/quilting in the a.m. and Linda's coming in to work on her O Tennanbaum quilt which she was working on today, so it's going to be quite a busy day.....

Saturday is my god daughter's wedding - and Jonathan, as usual, has no clothes ready to wear so I'm not sure how we are going to rectify that new emergency, but we will!  Guess I have to find a Same Day cleaner near us, or near the store.  Gotta love the drama!

Sunday is the monthly Sit & Sew for the girls!   4 days off and right back into the fray!  Gotta get a newsletter done too!  That's the agenda.....never a dull moment!

Have a great day everyone!

Jo-Ann  

What???

What have I started????

This past Thursday evening was Scrapaholics/Stashbusters Club and I brought in my "scrap basket".  I'm not sure that that's all there is but it was certainly enough to get started with. 

Last weekend was my Birthday Retreat and I was inspired bu Chris O. who has all of her scraps organized so that she can actually work on many, many projects at a time.  Also, of late, I have been motivated by the Bonnie Hunter books available - String Fling and Adventures with Leaders and Enders.

I decided that Thursday nights class/club would focus on organizing scraps.  I had no idea that many of you already do this and was thrilled to get some more good tips.   

 The above picture shows the beginnings of my organization project.  From right to left, I have strips in similar sizes, above these piles are pre-cut blocks in the same sizes and the large pile to the far left are large pieces and strips of fabric that either need to go back into the stash if they are large enough or be cut up into strips or blocks for future use.  Now that I've got a start on this, I will press the strips and put them into "shoe boxes", the see-through kind and label them as to what they are so future projects can be made from them.

The above picture is what is left in my scrap basket that still has to be sorted.  I have decided, since time is a premium for me, that I will devote 1 hour a day to this until it is done.  Half the time to be spent pressing and putting away the strips - which will be "filed" by colour and value and the other half sorting through the rest of the scrap basket.  At this point it looks like I have salvaged all the strips and am now looking at mostly small pieces of fabric - i.e. blocks, triangles, etc.  Once all of this is sorted I will decide on my future projects.

I think one of the most fun portions of this excercise for me was remembering which quilts each of the scraps came from.  Some of them date back to the very beginning and if I'm not mistaken there are still a few piles of "scraps" at home that can be added to these to actually make complete projects....

As a quilt store owner, I have to say, it is hard to sell fabric this way.  But, I look at it another way.  I will still need borders, bindings and backings to complete these "scrap" quilts as will you so in fact - there is still a market out there for fabric......

If I have a little time tomorrow (the girls are coming from Barrie so I may have a few moments after lunch), I will show you one of the projects I have in mind.  I'm excited about it because it is my "own" idea and I think it will be really nice.  Possibly a quilt for Healing Heroes. 

For now - I have to get to the books!  Plus, I have some studying to do - I received the template for our new shopping cart/website so I have to hone up on my virtually non-existent computer skills.

Have a great day everyone!

Jo-Ann

Too much TV......

Obviously there was way too much TV watching last night because I managed to finish another two blocks.  The funny part is that there really wasn't that much on but once I sat down to hand piece I just kept going......

I redid block # 35 - Flower Basket and with the correction, everything went together perfectly.  I am really happy with how it turned out.

Block # 35 - Flower Basket

I then started on block # 41 - Friendship Star which went very quickly.  Usually I mess this block up especially when I am sewing it by machine but everything just fell correctly into place and it came out great.....

 Block # 41 - Friendship Star

I actually pushed myself to the limit and started a third block which has two pieces left to be added before it too will be done.  After about 5 hours of sitting and piecing I had had enough and decided to finally put it down.  Will check the TV listings for tonight and see if I can't keep this moving.  I really am enjoying the relaxation of the hand work and it keeps me busy while I watch the mindless "boob tube"!

Today I continued a bit of my Urban Pods - the new one, in greens and greys.  I am really loving the way it is turning out too!

I really have to get caught up on my 9 patch blocks and start that Mystery Quilt and machine quilt my Amish Shadow quilt but I'm sure I will find some extra time somewhere (NOT)!  You know what we quilters say - Sew Many Quilts - Sew Little Time!

Have a great day everyone!

Jo-Ann

First UFO ......

My goal this week was to finish the baby quilt I was working on - Little Lambs.  I also wanted to try the Borders Made Easy on this quilt.  Well I have to say that I am more than a little pleased with the results.  Let me know what you think?!

I remember trying this product many years ago when I first started quilting and I think it may have been relatively new on the market.  Seems to me I spent an awful lot of time taking the paper out and it required tweezers as well.  I was not impressed.

This time I very carefully read the instructions, applied the paper with the adhesive strips, quilted using the suggested stitch length and my walking foot, and it all worked out perfectly.  This is a relatively small quilt and it took about 1-1/2 hours in front of the television (could have been semi- distracted) to remove the paper without a tweezer in sight.  It came out very easily with very little resistance.

I am going to do a meander around the smaller white border and then the quilt will be completed.  I've already squared it off, labelled it and last night I sewed on the binding.
Once the pattern is written up it will be kitted and in the store ready for consumer consumption!  Can't wait to share it with everyone......

My next project(s) for this New Year of 2013 are to quilt my Amish Shadow - which has been layered, pinned and waiting very patiently.  My plan is to use Golden Threads Quilting Paper to do a half feather in the black triangles, straight quilt matching the colours in the striped triangles, feathers in the black border and two half feathers in the cornerstones.  It will take awhile but I hope to get started in the next few days.

Then I need to finish my Urban Pods quilt top - will be teaching the technique on the 22nd and 26th of January so it would be nice to have something to show.....

Mine looks absolutely nothing like the actual pattern.  First I used only two colours and two solids and I believe I had mentioned before that I cut it wrong.  However I do like the way it is turning out and in the scheme of things will like pretty awesome anyway.....

Last project for the time being is my Mystery Quilt for the end of March - I'm really excited about that one as it is my own design and I'm going to get to use up a fabric I had purchased years ago to make a quilt for my mom.  Unfortunately she's gone now but I will cherish this quilt for me as the colours are some of my favourites as well....

Will keep you posted on progress -except for the mystery quilt of course!  You'll have to wait for the end of March to see that one!

Have a great day everyone!

Jo-Ann

Shifting.....

It's that scary thing you do when you are trying to organize!  Yesterday when Rita was my legs and I was sorting all the "stuff" for Gillian to take to her church rummage sale and to drop at Value Village I had this horrible thought that I was just shifting the "stuff" from one spot to another.

I've set my mind at ease now because I know that anything that moved from the back to the front actually has to be at the front, whether there's room for it, well that's a whole other story.  There's still alot to do but it appears to be slowly moving in the right direction.

On Friday afternoon, after everything had been moved from the old "Doodle" to the new "Doodle" I sat in the chair by the books and picked up the phone to call my mom!!!!  I realized it had been just over two years since she passed away and I also realized how much I miss her!  I had a moment - she would have been so excited for me!  Needless to say I had a long conversation with her - and it's not long distance, and it sure helps!

My mom used to have a saying "Oh, my achin' back!"  It was something she used when she was overwhelmed or something crazy was happening.  When I said it yesterday - I meant it - my back really is aching!  Along with every other inch of my body!  The reward is that it will all be worth it in the end!!!!

I'm off to the store again to continue the "madness" and ruthlessly go through every single thing.  It's like that program "Hoarders" - it's almost laughable!!!!  But seriously - I am so limited for space that I have to really be ruthless!!!!

Have a great day everyone!

Jo-Ann 

I can't.....

I can't quilt!  I really, really want to but I just can't!  I look longingly over to the dining room table at Sonia (my Janome), at Bernice - Bernie for short (my Bernina) and at Sergio (my Janome serger) but I know I just can't do it!!!!

I am so exhausted from moving the store that I just know if I touch anything I will mess it up!  There will be plenty of time to quilt soon enough!!!!

Better I should take a long hot shower and go to bed!!!  Good night all!!!

Have a great day everyone.

Jo-Ann

Phew.....

Talk about a productive evening....Last night I was like the old "energizer bunny"!  When I got home, I made a quick dinner and then got right down to work.

First I completed my September and October 9 Patch exchange blocks.....

Then I started cutting for a new store sample and worked until about 9:00 P.M. on that....you'll have to wait and see more later on that one.

At 9:00 P.M. I decided I wanted to get down to some serious TV watching - Thursday is definitely my night for TV - Grey's Anatomy, Elementary, Last Resort, Person of Interest and last but not least Scandal.  Thank heavens for time-shifting.

On Wednesday night I had used up the last of my Soft Fuse so the project I had started working on could not be completed until I brought home some Wonder Under (second choice).  I dug this up out of my stash, I had bought the kit when I was on a retreat in Pennsylvania at Critter Pattern Works back in 2001 but it really seems appropriate now and will probably segue into a machine applique class.

With the Pandas coming to the Toronto Zoo I thought the timing was good so I started making up all the applique on Wednesday night while watching TV - only had two pieces left to do last night and then needed to put on all the markings and adhere everything to backgrounds......here they are -

All ready to do the outlining with the machine......here are the individual patterns!  They are all so cute!  I marked them all and placed them and then during commercial breaks, went out to the ironing board to set them in place.  Worked out great!

All of the fabrics were included in the kit which was amazing but I think I will still be adding some of my own fabrics for the bamboo bits around the edges, also I'm not sure there is enough to do the border and I will, of course, have to find a binding and a backing....

Debbie at Critter Pattern Works has a great tutorial on her website for her machine applique method so I will practice a bit before I tackle the edgings.  It's been awhile since I did one of her patterns.....will post my progress!

Tonight is Sit & Sew - NO MACHINES ALLOWED night and it's going to be a crowd....gotta go start dinner!  I am going to try to get the last 4 blocks of my Lithia Park done and maybe work on some blanket stitching on one of my Lori Smith patterns....will post pictures later.....

Have a great day everyone!

Jo-Ann