Determination....

I'm thinking that is going to be my "buzz" word for 2014!  Yesterday I was expecting my friend Linda to drop by so I persevered all morning getting the living room back into a living space.  Just clearing the top of the coffee table when Jonathan takes over the house on his days off is a challenge in itself.  I refuse to take photos of this as it is more than embarrassing, however I totally managed to do it.....

Linda called to say that a dental emergency had waylaid her and she wouldn't be coming but we made plans for another day.  Today my other friend Linda came by to raid the thread baskets - now I only have a few thousand spools left!  She also brought some Show & Share, her beige on beige quilt which is absolutely stunning.....

Linda's Beige on Beige

She also brought her picture album of all the quilts and other quilted stuff she's made and it was fabulous to see!  Sandy (Lindal - Scrappy Gal Quilt Company) will be more than happy to get this quilt to quilt.

We had a great visit and I was able to set up my little hand quilting station so I began stitching Row 8 to my Farmer's Wife.

Everything all there and ready to go

While we chatted, I stitched.  Linda is Dana's mom, Dana is one of Jonathan's best friends and that's initially how we met.  Dana and Fiona (his girlfriend) came by the store last spring and I showed them the quilt I was working on.  They really liked it and I decided that it would be theirs.  Today I gave it to Linda to take to them.  It's one of my favourites and Sandy Lindal quilted it for me so it's been on the Cock A Doodle blog for sure, but here it is again.  My basket of quilts seems to be receding.....

Urban Pods - with the Quick Curve Ruler

Dana is a talent on his own.  Linda had me check out his phenomenal Facebook Page - Dana TheJeweler. You really need to check this page out - it has all of his jewelry designs (well I'm sure not all, but a lot).  He is extremely talented and if you ever need a custom jewelry piece made, you need to see this guy.  At the very least you need to check out his Facebook Page.

   

After Linda left I made lunch, a real meal - tuna fish sandwich and pickles on the side.  Sat down at the computer, played some computer games and ate lunch.

Looking good enough to eat...and I did!

Then I really got down to it!  I finally set up my machine for stitching.  Had to change the light bulb in the dining room too!  That took a bit of energy but well worth it.

Sonia - ready and raring to go....

I have also lost my pressing space in the process of storing boxes (soon I hope to have my storage locker?!?!) so I set up a temporary cutting/pressing space - I knew I bought that
cutting/pressing mat for a reason.....

 Cutting space

Pressing space

Now I have resewn all of my blocks, found another mistake on the other set of blocks, fixed that one and we were on our way.  After all is said and done I got the first two rows together.....YEAH!!!!

 First two rows together and I love it....

This is the pattern so you can see why I couldn't compromise

Tomorrow will not be a sewing day (machine) as it's Jonathan's day off.  I may get something done in the morning before he gets up but that would require me getting up early so we'll see how that goes.

Jonathan worked both today and yesterday in this cold and actually came home at one point today to say - he was getting his paycheck and getting on a bus to Florida to live on the street!!!!  Should I remind him he has a cousin living down there who would be more than happy to give him shelter????  Maybe not, because that would leave me out in the cold - not at all what I really want.  I'm selfish that way.....Chances are he'll enjoy his day off and go back to work on Thursday.

Hope to get loads done tomorrow too - I appear to be on a roll!

Have a great day everyone!

Jo-Ann

More, more, more.....

As I mentioned on Thursday, I needed to stitch.  It is where I go mentally when I need to think or not think, depending on the project.  It relaxes me when I have mindless stitching  to do and it fills my mind when I have to think about what I am doing....either way, it's great therapy.

I went home Thursday night and decided to "skip" that hard block I was having trouble with and move on to something I could enjoy.  Block #48 - Homeward Bound, is done.

Block 48 - Homeward Bound

I feel this great sense of accomplishment every time another block goes into the book completed.  I can't believe I let this project sit idle for so long - I'm enjoying it immensely.  I believe I dropped the ball in 2011, although I did do a lot of cutting back then and am reaping the rewards of that work by just sitting down to stitch the blocks that have already been cut.  Once I started chemo-therapy I develop neuropathy in my hands and feet and was unable to feel my fingers for quite some time.  My fingers are now much better and I believe my feet are also improving but it has been a long road.  At the rate I am stitching I will have to soon start cutting again - no complaints, it is progress in a good way.

Last night was a whole other accomplishment.  I did not get to work on the Farmer's Wife - I worked on the Urbans.  When I taught the two classes last week I started a new Urban Pods and also an Urban Nine Patch.  I needed to calculate how much fabric was still needed to complete these two quilt tops as well as start the Urban Holiday quilt.  Since we close at 8:00 P.M. on Fridays I decided it would be a good evening to spend cutting and counting and it worked out great.  So expect to see some completed tops in the very near future.

I really am happiest when I'm busy.....speaking of which, an e-mail to all of my fabulous customers to go out about February's Calendar and I know there's some other stuff I need to get done paperwork wise and then MORE STITCHING!!!!!

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

Pleasantly surprised!

If you've already read the "store" blog then I've taken up too much of your time today and I would much rather you be quilting then just reading about quilting.....After all, it is what I wish for myself!  To have more time to quilt.

Last Tuesday I started teaching the Hand Piecing/Quilting class to two lovely women and in an effort to inspire I decided to bring along my Farmer's Wife binder.  Certainly it was an inspiration for these ladies but it also turned out to be the motivation I needed to commence work on this, somewhat overwhelming, project.  I finished Block 25 - Cups and Saucers the very next day (33 pieces).  I am now working on Block 26, hopefully to have it completed shortly.

This past Tuesday (the 22nd), I had the pleasure of teaching the Quick Curve Ruler technique in the Urban Pods class.  If you saw the store blog then you saw the Urban Pods quilt I completed (still needs a small top and bottom border) but since I was teaching the technique rather than a specific quilt pattern, I allowed each student to choose their pattern and I had two that chose the Urban Nine Patch.  I had to try a block and make sure the instructions were clear and now I only need to do another 24 of these blocks to finish the quilt.  I am so pleased with this block, I really can't wait to get the other 24 done!

As you can see I am really keeping busy and I have a huge list of outstanding projects, etc. that need to be addressed.  I am trying to stay focused on that list and even keep moving in an orderly fashion towards completing all these projects.  Of course, there are always those "priorities" that suddenly crop up and have to be looked after (like a mystery quilt I have to have ready for March 30th), but, if I stick to my list I think I can actually accomplish something.

Wish me luck and I'll be sure to post my progress as it goes.....

Have a great day everyone!

Jo-Ann

I am baffled......

First things first - just a funny little story I thought you might all enjoy.  There are pros and cons to writing two separate blogs!  The pros are that the store blog (Cock A Doodle Quilts) deals mainly with things going on in the store or things about the store, and the "personal" blog is a little more casual and includes just "stuff" about what I am up to including projects and samples I do for the store.  The cons are - I can very easily mix things up, because I am ME of course.  The other day I was writing away on the "store" blog, talking about new stuff and things that are happening at the store - when I went to "labels" to chose my subjects for the day I realized I was in the wrong blog, UGH!  Luckily, it turned out to be a learning experience.  I figured out how to copy and paste what I had written from one blog to the other - lost the pictures and had to reload them but that was just a small glitch in what could have been a huge time waster for me!!!!  I also think that I may have learned to be a little more aware of where I am!  Phewww!

I like writing the two blogs because on this one I feel I can be more candid with my readers and so now I will tell you why I am baffled, or maybe I'm dyslexic.....not really sure!  If you read the "Doodle" blog yesterday then you know I spent Friday night - unstitching  my Lithia Park.  Why - well here's the picture of the quilt -

You can see the pattern and how the flowers point in at each other, well somehow I had a whole row pointing in the opposite directions - DUH!  I mean how do you not see that?!?!  It's a good thing Cathie noticed before I put my borders on because I seriously did not see the problem....okay, must be dyslexia or something!  I was hoping to get it fixed today and get the borders on so it could go in the quilt pile, but, alas......

I had other things I wanted to do also!!!!  Like finish my Urban Pods quilt top.  It is here we hit (BIG BRICK WALL!!!) the next reason for the bafflement!!!!  First, about two rows into the quilt top I realized I had mixed up the colours, so the grey is where the white should be and the white is where the grey should be.  Okay, no big deal - it still works with the pattern and it still looks good, so I wasn't going to go and re-cut all that fabric - I mean, seriously, what a waste.  Then, I had half the quilt top done and even had it displayed in the store yesterday with the Quick Curve Rulers and the really cool patterns and in all honesty no one else noticed the MISTAKE either!!!  Of course, it was only half a quilt so I guess I can understand somewhat why no one would really notice.

Let me set the stage for the EUREKA moment....When I originally cut the curves for the quilt I made a little mistake and needed to cut an extra strip.  I am at the point in the making of the blocks where I needed that extra strip, so I sat down to cut them.  At the same time I had a really good look at the pattern......the one below....

 Note that the images appear to be hourglass shaped until you hit the centre of the quilt where they turn upside down.  Guess, just guess what I did!  I had sewn them together in the hourglass shape all the way down - DUH!  This quilt is sewn in vertical strips UGH!  However, I was able to take out the 3 segments across because my seams matched so well - that's a good thing!!!  So I just spent the last 45 minutes unstitching yet again!!  Admittedly I have been a little preoccupied of late - what with the store moving and all that but still!!!! 

 

I am off to fix up the mistake and continue as if nothing was wrong - yet again!!!  Hopefully I will waste no more time on these dumb screw ups and just get on with the important stuff.

 

By the way - I started on the newsletter today so another day or two and we will have an idea as to what we'll be doing for the next few months.....hope you will all be joining me!

 

Have a great day everyone!

 

Jo-Ann

 

 

Back at it again!

I actually got back in the groove on Sunday and got back to doing some quilting!  I was up rather early having fallen into bed at 7:30 P.M. Saturday night, so at 5:30 A.M. there I was with a cup of coffee in hand and my Urban Pods calling me......

Last night after giving the machine a good cleaning (you can see the tutorial on the Cock-A-Doodle blog www.cockadoodlequilts.blogspot.com) I continued with section 3 of 6 which you can see sittion on Sonia's table.

 On the other side of the table is the cutting station, right next to Bernie and across from Sergio.....and there's my trusty Quick Curve Ruler.

 Below is one of two segments completed for the Urban Pods pattern.  Tonight I hope to get it put together into one piece and ready to be layered - I even have the back all planned out and it uses up any extra fabric I may have left over along with a lovely light gray Kona I just got into the store.  I'm excited about this quilt and I even know I want to quilt it....very much like the original done by the designer Jenny Pedigo.  Will it be ready by Saturday - well maybe if I stay up all night tonight and don't go in tomorrow so NO! but you may get to see the top done at any rate....I certainly hope so, I've been looking forward to finishing it.

Of course, I could have had alot more completed last night but I got side tracked - ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder).  It's just that with everything else going on - the move, etc. - my house looks like a bomb hit it and let's face it, Jonathan has never been much for keeping things clean, so while he was out in the early evening I tackled the 4 x 4 foot coffee table which was "drop junk central"  which took about 1-1/2 hours to clear up.

My kitchen, well I won't go into detail, but we had pretty much run out of dishes and cutlery!  I decided on War Tactics for that problem - this morning I loaded everything into Metro bags - put them into the car - took them to the store - and ran the dishwasher!!!!

I was desperate and really didn't want to be soaking and washing dishes, etc. for days so this was truly the easiest solution!  Needless to say it turned out to be more than one load of dishes!  But it gives me a leg up and if I can now keep on top of things in the kitchen at home I will have a shot at a clean house!

So tonight, I will haul it all back home and before I put it away, clean the countertops, stovetop, refrigerator and floors and then put everything where it belongs and start fresh!  Of course, as I said earlier, I also want to work on Urban Pods - so I guess I will be up all night!!!! 

At any rate - I really need to get those patterns sorted and hung today so I am off to organize!

Have a great day everyone!!!

Jo-Ann