Get It Done -Results for August and new for September

Since I was a bit over confident in making out and finishing my August Get It Done goals, I'm being a little less aggressive in setting goals for September.  What I didn't finish on August's list, I'll roll over to September.  Here was my progress on August goals.

August Goals
1. Quilt String quilt - Done
2. Piece blocks for Autumn Plume - not done
3. Finish Easy Street top - needs 1 more border
4. Get liturgical quilt done - nope, did work on it though
5. Quilt RWB baby quilt - not done

Now for September Goals
1. Put binding on String quilt
2. Piece blocks for Autumn Plume
3. Work on applique on liturgical quilt
4. Quilt RWB baby quilt
5. Piece 20 QOV flag blocks for Alycia's block drive - New goal added to the rollovers.  It has a deadline, so I know this will get finished.

I have much more success with my goals when they involve other people.  When they are just for my benefit, I tend to procrastinate more often and they get done when they get done.  I guess because there is no penalty if they don't get finished. When others are expecting an end result, we don't want to disappoint.  Oh well, que sera sera.

You can see what what others are working on for their September goals over at Patchwork Times.

Design Wall 9/2/13

Here's what my design wall looks like today.

Blocks that will be leaving my house

The 3 blocks to the left are optional blocks for one of my quilting guilds that will be added to many others in the group.  We were given the pattern and told to use Fall colors. Some lucky person will win all that are donated in a drawing this week.

The 6 little blue and white 9-patches are for a friend at our block exchange group, Pieces of Friendship which meets this week too.   

My other design wall is still looking the same, except I did sew the outer row of bright blocks on the right side to the stained glass row.  Now I'm ready to start the applique in the middle, WHEN I figure out how big it needs to be.  Nothing was added to the hexies. 

Go on over to Judy's to see more design walls and be inspired.

More Floral Fantasy and On & Off the Needles

I'm late for "On the Needles" but better late than never.  I'm not too quick with my knitting projects when there is no deadline, but I did finally finish my blue/teal ruffle scarf this month..  Looking back to see when I started this scarf is really embarrassing --way back in November of 2012!  Of course I have been doing other projects not related to knitting.  Anyway, here's the picture of my scarf and next to it is my next little project-to make some old fashion knitted dish cloths.  I figure these should go really fast and I'll have my knitting groove down enough to try something a little more challenging.  One day I'd like to make something beautiful like the Dreambird that everyone is making with Judy and Denise.

And now for  a few more blocks and a view of the whole Floral Fantasy raffle quilt to delight and amaze you.  Don't forget to come see it in person at our quilt show in March 2014.

Side Border

And finally the whole "Floral Fantasy" garden comes into view.  

To see more of what everyone is knitting, go to Judy's Patchwork Times.

More Floral Fantasy Pictures

I have more beautiful flowers blooming on this raffle quilt that I'd like to show.  I must tell you all that I did not make this quilt, but had a hand in putting it together and binding it.  A few people complimented me on the quilting too -- if only that were true.  The quilt was custom quilted by Rosemary Cushman, one of our A-Team members.  Individual blocks were done by many of us on the team; and we had sew days to assemble it into a flimsy in our own setting design.  We also chose the name from suggestions the group made.  "Floral Fantasy" received the most votes.

Notice the 2 color reverse applique of the split buds at the top of this flower

Great ruching on this one

Baby yo yos for the centers

More yo yos turned into 4 petal flowers

I hope I am not boring you with all these individual pictures, but I'm so proud of this group effort I just can't resist.

Design Wall Monday - 8/19/13

Just a little added to the design wall since last time.  I'm starting to play with scrappy hexies.  Not sure if I want to just go with the flow and put them next to each other, or plan a constant color path running through them the traditional way.  Right now, I'll just keep making flowers.

And while I'm talking about flowers, it's a good time to introduce you to "Floral Fantasy".  This is our raffle quilt for the Bits 'n Pieces Quilt Guild.  It was made by a sub-group called The "A-Team", of which I am a part. The A stands for Applique, naturally.  These blocks are all done by the needle-turn technique. We have around 20 in our group when everyone comes to our monthly meetings.

I showed you a few pictures of the quilting from the back on an earlier post and now, as promised, here are a few more from the front.  I'll be showing a picture of the whole quilt later, but because of it's size 97" x 110", that shot doesn't even come close to doing it justice.  It's best seen up close and personal.  

There are many more intricate and difficult ones to come.  This will be raffled off in March, 2014 at our bi-annual quilt show.  More details on that later; stay tuned.

To see other design walls, visit Patchwork Times.

Stash Report and More

It's time for reporting my used and added fabric.  I am always amazed at how fast the week goes.  I didn't get a lot of sewing done from my stash; however I did use a yard for a pillowcase. Here are the numbers.
Fabric Added this week - 0
Fabric Added YTD - 73.95 yds

Fabric Used this week - 1 yds
Fabric used YTD -  66.66 yds
Net Enhanced for 2013 - 7.2 yds

On another subject, I was privileged to be a part of making this beautiful raffle quilt for our upcoming quilt show in 2014. Here are a couple pictures of the back to show off the quilting.   Come back tomorrow for views of the front.  You won't want to miss seeing all the beautiful floral fantasies we have included.   It is needle-turned applique and was made by our A-Team, which is a subgroup of our guild.

If you have time, stop by Judy's and see what others have done this week on reducing/enhancing their stashes.

A Little of This and That

This week has kept me busy with a little of this and that.  First, I finished quilting a quilt for a friend that made this for her granddaughter. It has cute black cats on a sparkly hot pink background, pink and lime green fans on a black background and lots of hot pink fabric (the granddaughter's favorite color).

Also long arm basted a Civil War quilt for a friend that is going to hand quilt it. She is a great hand quilter so I can't wait to see what she does.  I know it's going to be even more stunning when she finishes.

Also this week I finally finished my ruffle neck scarf that I started last winter.  I don't have a picture of it yet, but now I can try a new knitting project I've been wanting to start.

This morning found me in the kitchen instead of my sewing room hulling Persian Lima beans.  This is what they look like before you hull them.

The green one is not really dried enough for picking.  The next 3 are ready to harvest. They are so much fun to hull.  In fact, if you leave them on the kitchen counter to dry out more, they will actually pop open on their own and the bean inside will fly out.  Ask me how I know this.  One morning I came down and there were a half dozen or more little red beans all over the floor and in places that were not even close to where I had them drying.  The beans are a beautiful deep maroon color with black veining through them. They are shiny and smooth.  They almost remind me of a polished rock or stone.

When they are sufficient dried, the shells get real brittle and twist causing them to split apart.  When they twist real tightly, the seeds pop out and you are left with empty very tightly twisted wrappers.

Can you see a couple beans still inside the wrappers on the left. Those twisted curled ones in the front are empty of their seeds and it is almost impossible to untwist them open again. The beans will fly out of there if I leave them on their own; but I won't because I'll find them in the most unlikely places all over your kitchen later!

We like these to use in homemade vegetable soup.  They are a great substitute for meat if you are cooking vegetarian.  They swell up about 3 times their dried size after they are cooked.  Their flavor is sort of nutty, but most of the time they take on the flavor of the broth they are cooked in.  There are many recipes on the internet using these with Peruvian rice and dill weed, but I have not tried any of them yet.  

I also made up another batch of my steel cut oat hockey pucks.  See previous post about that process here.

Now I have two quilts that need the bindings sewn on, so it's back to the sewing room.   Hope you have a great weekend.  The weather is beautiful here and summer is returning next week.

Design Wall 8/12/13

It's been a bit since I've posted to DWM, but this exercise is a motivator for me, so I thought I'd get back to one of my older projects.  I've added more stained glass to the outside of the first panels that were completed.

Next will come the center and hardest challenge -- applique a cross with a heart draped over it.  Figuring out the dimensions and how best to achieve the look I'm after may be more than I am capable of doing.  Might have to call in a "real artist" to advise me on perspective and size.

To see what is on other design walls, go to Patchwork Times.

Stash Report - Aug 4

Not much change in my stash report this week, but I didn't add anything to it either.  A little was used from my red and blue scraps for my block exchange.

Totals this Week
Fabric Added  - 0
Fabric Added YTD - 73.95 yds
Fabric Used - 1/8 yd.
Fabric Used YTD - 65.66 yds
Net for 2013 -  8.2 yds. added

However, I did keep myself busy by quilting a couple quilts for my friends.  This was a simple 9-patch block and rail fence, but it really looks pretty set on point, don't you think?  She used all black and whites, although it appears gray.

Then there was this beauty.  The colors reminded me of Tuscany. She requested a paisley design for the quilting.  It was a kit with the name Santa Fe in the title.

To see how others have managed their stash this week, go over to Patchwork Times.

UFOs for August

I have listed my goals for August in an earlier post, but they did not include pictures nor did I specify which were UFOs.  Since I signed up to participate in "Nothing But UFOs in 2013 Challenge", here are 3 UFOs that I hope to finish in August.

The first is my string quilt.  It was started at least 3 years ago as a leader/ender project.

The 2nd is Bonnie Hunter's  Easy Street.  I still need 1 more border and then to quilt and bind it.

The 3rd  is the red, white and blue baby quilt that just needs quilting and binding.

Updated with the correct picture.  Those tiny thumbnail photos start to look too much alike when you do this at 1:00 am!.  Sorry. 

I hope to get more things done in the month, but I will concentrate on these.    I'm linking up with Carrie of A Passion for Applique.  Hop on over there so see what others are working on in August.   

Get It Done - August

Well, it's been very quiet here on the blogging front.  It seems like the days roll by so quickly from the weekend to the next weekend and I haven't accomplished a lot in my sewing room.  I totally forgot to post my July Get It Done goals and here it is August already.  To bring you all up-to-date, here's my July list and the results and what I hope to accomplish in August.

August Goals
1. Quilt String quilt
2. Piece blocks for Autumn Plume
3. Finish Easy Street top
4. Get liturgical quilt done
5. Quilt RWB baby quilt

July Goals
1. Continue working on Autumn Plume - did not do anything on this project.
2. Finish Easy Street top - not yet
3. Quilt a charity Quilt - yes
4. Finish putting string blocks into a top - Done

I'm linking up with Judy's Get It Done.  Check it out to see what everyone else is up to.

Stash Report, Books & Baby quilts

It's been a couple weeks since I've reported any stash usage (because I haven't used any!) but I have been busy on another goal for the year.  Same numbers from two weeks ago.
Fabric Added- 0
Fabric Used  - 0
YTD Added - 73.95 yds
YTD Used - 65.54 yds
Still in the hole - 8.3 yds.

In my defense as to why I haven't moved any stash, I have been reading some long awaited books that friends have recommended.  Two of my recent reads were so enjoyable I didn't get anything else done. I would highly recommend them to everyone, and especially those that like historical romances.   The first was Promise Me This, by Cathy Gohlke. This starts out with the preparation and maiden voyage of the Titanic.  It follows several memorable characters through the voyage and through WWI.  Cathy is a prize winning author and does extensive research into the backgrounds of the settings and historical facts of the times for the development of her characters and their stories.  I didn't want this one to end. She has a new one out called Band of Sisters .  It's next on my list. A short synopsis can be seen HERE for both of these books.

Since I hate to do only one thing at a time, I got the next book from the library as an audio book so I could keep quilting customer quilts while listening.  It was Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford.  This is a story about an American born Chinese boy and an American born Japanese girl who find themselves in the same American school in Seattle in the early 1940s during WWII.  Their struggles to overcome the bitter feelings of a Chinese father toward all things Japanese and how these two young kids still manage to share a bond with each other will keep your attention.   Here are a couple reviews:

“A tender and satisfying novel set in a time and a place lost forever, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet gives us a glimpse of the damage that is caused by war--not the sweeping damage of the battlefield, but the cold, cruel damage to the hearts and humanity of individual people. Especially relevant in today's world, this is a beautifully written book that will make you think. And, more importantly, it will make you feel." 
-- Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain

"Set during one of the most conflicted and volatile times in American history, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an extraordinary story of commitment and enduring hope. In Henry and Keiko, Jamie Ford has created an unforgettable duo whose story teaches us of the power of forgiveness and the human heart."

Now it's time to get back to the sewing room.  I find it hard to balance my love of reading with that of quilting.  But I have some deadlines looming ahead and I must put down the books and get to work in the sewing room.

Also, during the last couple weeks I quilted some baby quilts for a friend that will be used for her church bazaar.  No fancy quilting but the fabrics were so cute.  Some little ones will love cuddling up with them.

Made with Minkee and flannel

Made with sock monkey fabric

Elephants and giraffes

Elephants and giraffes with stripe border.

Hope you all have a great week.  Check out what others did with their stashes at Judy's. 

I'm also linking up to Michelle's Romantic Tangle for Let's Make Baby Quilts.