Weekend Notes

Let's see ... yesterday was a long day. I was up by 6 so I could be at WW at 7 (I decided to join - I've got a lot of weight to lose and the Dr. recommended them) for the 7:30 mtg. Then I was off to Ethics class at 10. Then to the store as soon as my test was handed in and graded (100 % :-)). Then home barely in time to pack for "all night quilt"
It started at 4, but I got there around 4:30. There were four other ladies. The owner of the shop T., an instructor for the shop, S., a lady by the name of J., and one by the name of L. Another L. arrived shortly after I did. It was fun.

We chatted and sewed and looked at fabric to see what would work for a new pattern (to me anyway) that she is teaching called "One Block Wonder." It is out of a book - I don't know if that is the name of the book or not. It is similar to a stack and whack method. You take 6 repeats of your fabric. Stack them up exactly on each other and whack away. You cut it into triangles and then put them together in hexagons so it's sort of like a kaleidescope pattern. She had two samples in the store and they looked really awesome. I might take the class if I can fit it into my schedule. It is Sat. Aug 18th and takes all day. Sweet, then the All-night quilt occurs :-).

We ordered pizza. The poor pizza place had to come three times. The 2nd L. made it too late to order with all of us as our order was already on its way. Then they messed hers up so they had to come back to replace it.

I was pooped from running all day and having a long week so by 9 I was packing up and heading home. It was cool though. I plan on coming every month. It is always the 3rd Saturday of the month. Several of the ladies meet on Thursdays to sew. Some of them are there all day. Some arrive after work and stay until the store closes at 7. I just might have to start doing that when I don't have class. Cool - more quilting time!!!

I got most of the stuff cut for the special one year old. This week I really need to work on his and on quilting (for the 3rd time) the 1930's blue/yellow quilt. That baby was born this past week. No, I still haven't uploaded pictures. I promise I will sometime soon though.

Shopping was good. I spent way too much of course. But I now have all fabrics for dad and sis. I got backing for special 1 year old and picked up a coordinating white to use as the train backgrounds. I also got backing for Pastor's baby girl and several F.Q.'s. I also picked up a Christmas panel. So now I just am looking for w.o.w. for SBS blocks (I completely forgot to look) and whatever novelty/coordinating prints I get for special one year-old's new baby bro, and coordinating fabric for the Christmas panel to make a throw.

My goals for this week are:
1. frog, baste, quilt, bind, and label 1930's quilt and give it away.
2. finish cutting, piece, baste, quilt, bind, and label special one year-old's.
3. shop!!!! - sbs blocks w.o.w, new baby bro, and Christmas panel coordinates.
4. Rest, relax, and have fun :-). I think I can do this one. Well, maybe the have fun part. I don't know about the rest and relax part. I never seem to find time for those :-D.

Well, I best get out of here (I came in to work some - but the printer is out of ink :-().
~~QB29

Just Because

This is a just because post. I'm looking forward to one or two hours of quilting before church tonight and one or two after. I've got June Baby Boy's ready to go - I just need a gift bag and a card. So I'll be making a quick run to the dollar store after work. They've always got cute stuff there.

I hope to get July Baby Boy's basted and maybe even quilted tonight. :-)

Bye bye,
QB29

Finished June Baby Boy!!

Last night I finished June Baby Boy's quilt. I took pictures but left my cable at home. I'll post them later this week when I have a chance to upload. Speaking of pictures, I also have some train ones from my nephew's quilt to upload. Hopefully I will get all those uploaded by the end of the week.

I cut all my fabrics for dad that I had. I was going for a red/brown/gold scheme, but I think some of the reds are too close too each other. I might add in some of the darker neutrals and just use the lightest neutrals for the outline/backing. I may also need to add in like a blue or a green. We'll see.

I dug through my F.Q. and found 4 that are suitable for sis's throw. I also had about 5 or 6 9" X 11" pieces that I can get some extra blocks out of to use.

I did get my labels for SBS and dad's blocks printed. I cut the SBS ones this morning and just need to finish cutting the ones for dad. To help me piece the blocks correctly, each fabric is assigned a number and each block is assigned a font. That way I'll be able to tell at a glance if everything is right. I printed off a 16 X 16 puzzle to use as my pattern.

Tonight I hope to baste, quilt, and label July baby boy. That will just leave binding to be done later this week. I also need to recolor my design for the special one year old and cut the rest of his fabric.

The rest of my "later this week" assignments are the same. :-P

All for now
~~QB29

Quilting Life This Week

I'll be pretty busy this week, but I hope to squeeze in a lot of quilting. Each evening this week I've got at least a two hour commitment (class/church/platelets) which will limit my sewing and quilting time. But I am trying to look at each project in baby steps (go FLYlady!) For June baby boy I just need to finish binding the quilt and then label it. I've decided on my "baby quilt label" -

A special baby, sent from Heaven above,
An answer to prayer, given in love,
A gift to be treasured, welcomed with love.

Made for _________ by __________ on (month year).
"Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord." Psalm 127:3a

So tonight I plan on getting that taken care of for June baby boy.

I also need to finish cutting the fabrics for my dad and label each one. His quilt is a sudoku style quilt. I still need two more fabrics for the blocks - I've currently got 14 but I'm doing a 16 X 16 version. One of the fabrics I'll actually get yardage out of so I can have a matching border. I may need to pick up some more neutral as well. I'm trying to decide if I should do a quilt as I go method, so I would have a 4 X 4 pieced back + borders, rather than just quilting after the top is finished. That idea is attractive to me, as I want to learn the method. Doing so would kill two birds with one stone so to speak.


Later this week I plan on:
1. basting/quilting/binding/labeling July baby boy quilt (the 1930's blue/yellow top)
2. piecing and basting the train quilt for the special 1 year old.
3. piecing a yellow-brick road girl's baby quilt for my preacher's little one due in Oct. I did all the cutting I could do before sewing last night.
4. cutting & piecing all the SBS blocks I've got fabric for (I think about 6 or 7 more - I need fabric for just one set I think)
5. Labeling and adding signature blocks to all my SBS blocks. I'll need 50 total.
6. Shopping!!!! Always a fun time. I need backing for the train quilt. I also need all the fabric for that little boy's new baby brother. I need to pick up a little bit for the SBS blocks. I also need to get the coordinating F.Q. that match Beth's fabric for her pillows. I think one or two from my stash will work out. Luckily the store closest to me is having a 30% off sale.
7. Washing and pressing all my new fabric.
8. Basting throw for mom. She's hinting that someone could make her a quilt. Well, won't she be surprised when she doesn't get it for her birthday. Hee, hee, hee. I want to give her the placemats for her birthday so she can actually use them this holiday season.

So I've got a busy week coming up!!!! Not to mention 12 hours of tax classes. :-D. Gotta love the off season. Luckily Saturday is the "All Night Quilt" at the store here in town, so I'll have some time to work.

Next Saturday we're going to see the cousins ... and you know what that means ... even more shopping ... the Fabric Shack :-).

All for now,
~~QB29

Sew-sew weekend

I had a sew-sew weekend. I ended up being lazy Friday so I really got nothing done. I finished knotting Bubby's quilt and gave it to him on Sunday. Sis was able to change plans with his daddy so I could see him :-D. He took his afternoon nap with it, so I'm hoping he likes it, lol. You never know with a nine month old.

This week I really need to get the 1930's blue/yellow baby quilt basted and quilted. July baby boy was due this weekend. I also need to get the top pieced for the special one year old. I still need to buy fabric for his new baby brother. I'm not sure what I'll do. A store in town here is having a 30% off sale Saturday so I'll decide in the store. I still need to finish June baby boy. I did work some on the binding, but I need to finish that as well as add a label. That I need to do tonight or tomorrow so I can leave it at church on Wednesday.

Saturday is the "all-night quilt" thing at another store here in town. I'm looking forward to it. This week I hope to get several things prepped to work on at it - the 1930's quilt to the binding stage, the special boy basted, the new baby brother cut. That will give me a quilt to bind, one to quilt, and another to piece on Saturday. That should keep me busy for a few hours :-).

Sis did pick out some fabric for her pillows. I hope to get coordinating prints to do a throw for Christmas. The pillows will be for bday.

Well, all for now
~~QB29

Worked on Swap Blocks!

Last night I finished two sets of my SBS swap blocks. Just eight more to go! Tonight is a free night for me so I plan on getting two to four more sets finished. I also plan on basting July baby boy tonight, machine quilting, and attaching the binding to the front. That will give me two quilts to bind/knot loose threads while away from my sewing machine on Sunday. Saturday is the all-day tourney for softball so I will be manning the concession stand all day long. No quilting/sewing for me :-(.

I won't get to see Bubby after all. He's already promised to his daddy and other grandma for the day. But sis said she'd be able to get together with me to go fabric shopping. I'll just have to give her the train quilt instead of giving it to Bubby (like he knows yet what to do with a quilt - the little guy will just be 9 months this weekend).

I signed up for the pillow class, but the supply list was not ready. The lady teaching the class is out of town 'til next week so I have to call on Wednesday to get it. I liked the sample pillow. I'll have Beth pick out some fabrics and just do some patchwork pillows for her. If I can find a similar/coordinating print I will make her one of the class ones. Who knows, I may be able to get enough extra fabric/coordinating prints to make her a throw for Christmas. That's an idea.

Since I won't see June baby boy until Wednesday I'm not worried about finishing his quilt tonight.

I did look into the rag quilt class that I thought was interesting, but it's a flannel/home spun type of quilt, which is not what I was wanting. Oh, well. The sampler class looks interesting, but it's $270!!!!!! You meet 1 on 1 with an instructor for your first session. After that you meet the first Thursday evening or the first Saturday morning of each month. Class time is devoted to discussing problems/issues/techniques. You hand-piece one or two blocks a month. You can finish in a year if you do two blocks a month. You pay $90 when you sign up. At that time you get 15 yards of fabric, which is enough to do a queen size quilt. Then after you finish the first 8 blocks, you pay the next $90. You pay the final $90 after finishing 16 blocks. So I will either be paying $90 every four months or every eight months. I'm thinking about it. It was a lot more than I expected it to be.

Well, I guess that's all my updates.

~~QB29

Not really about Qullting

VBS has been going well. We had about 48 girls ages 5 - 8 last night for crafts. They liked doing the frames. They had to decorate the foam frames with foam stickers and use an additional sticker to adhere the ribbon on the back for hanging. Each girl got a picture of the race car to put in the frame.

I did not get home until late last night so I got nothing done. I noticed last night in the car how the seatbelt hits R in the ear so I purchased two boosters seats after dropping them off so both R and F will have one to use in my car. After I got home I had to switch the car seat to the middle and put both boosters together and put in my car. I'm not sure if it will work or not. There's practically no space for a little hand to buckle :-(. F may just have to ride in the middle where there is only a lap belt while R uses the booster with the shoulder harness.

I talked to mom just a bit ago and it looks like I might get to see Bubby this weekend. Sis would like me to make her pillows, but wants to pick out the fabric herself. There is a class coming up down here that I would like to take but I'll need to get together with Sis beforehand to buy the fabric. If I can do that Sunday I will be very prepared for the class.

Since there are no crafts tonight I should have some time to work on the quilt for Little June Baby boy. I saw him last night as his momma was dropping off big brother for VBS. He's a cute little guy :-).

All for now,
~QB29

Binding Done!!!!

I finished the binding on the Train Quilt last night!!!!! Knotting it off will be my downtime tonight!!!

VBS went well. We had about 30 girls ages 5 - 8 for crafts. Two other ladies and I are doing that age group. Last night we had them make American flags out of construction paper and stickers. They liked it. Tonight they will be making book marks. We will have stickers and colored pencils/crayons/markers for them to decorate them. We also will have eyelets to use to make the hole and ribbon to tie on them. MJ is printing off the Bible verses for the week in several different fonts for the girls to glue on the book mark.

Tomorrow night we will do foam photo frames. I made 28 last week, but it looks like I will need another 10 or 15 more. I've got the supplies at home to make another 30. I will make enough tonight plus 10 for the number of girls we've got tonight. They will be putting foam stickers on the frames. Then we will hole-punch the frame and add a ribbon for them to be able to hang the frames on their wall. We are printing off a picture of Bro. D and the race car for each girl to put in the frame. BTW - it is a race car theme. Depending on how tonight goes I may have to stop and buy some more foamies. I may also buy some markers or other stuff to make it last longer. Craft time is about 30 minutes.

Back to quilting. My registration is in the mail for the camp in the fall. Four whole days of nothing but quilting (okay, eating too) - what a wonderful trip :-). I also called and found out about the all-night quilting a local store does. The third Sat. of each month they meet about when the shop is closing (3 - 4pm) and quilt until late. They take a break around 7 or so for supper. What fun!!! It's on my calendar. If it's a friendly group I'll plan on going every month :-D.

Tonight I plan on knotting off the train quilt. If I have time I'll start on the binding on Paddington. I'm having J and the kids over for supper before VBS so I won't have time to work on quilts between work and VBS, but that's okay :-D.

All for now,
QB29

Got some stuff done!

Well, I got some stuff done over the weekend. Only 1 more softball weekend and then we're done until the fall :-). I'll get my Saturday's back!!!!! Which means more quilting!!!!!!

Let's see, despite being at the ball fields about 6 hours, I did piece and quilt the Paddington Bear quilt for June baby boy. As long as I take my time basting and keep the layers smooth and tight, it turns out good! I've got the binding attached and just need to hand finish it. I also need to label that quilt still. Train quilt for my nephew still needs to knotted off and the binding finished. I've got both of those quilts with me, along with thread, needles, and scissors to work on this afternoon and tonight when I've got down time. VBS starts tonight so I probably won't get much accomplished quilt-wise.

I also frog stitched the yellow and blue 1930's baby quilt I started a few years ago. It was my very first attempted at machine quilting (way before my walking foot). I never finished it because I did not like how the quilting turned out. Now it's ready to be basted again. I rinsed out the top and backing to help the stitching lines disappear. I've got it piled on my quilt frame - along with the purple and white quilt and a cowboy themed quilt. Both of those I started by hand awhile ago and plan to finish this summer for two upcoming babies. The purple and white one will go to an Oct. girl while the cowboy one will either be an extra or will go to a Jan. baby if it's a boy. The dad's into cowboy stuff.

Besides finishing the Paddington Bear Quilt and the Train quilt for my nephew, I hope to get the yellow/blue baby quilt re-quilted and finished. That baby is due this week. After that, the next two quilts I plan to work on are train quilt #2 and green/black/yellow animal quilt. They are for a set of brothers. The younger one is also due anytime now. He gets the animal quilt. Big brother is just over a year. He gets the trains.

As for as non-baby quilts, I need to work on my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler swap blocks. I got the blue fabric washed and picked out for all but one block. I will need to stop by the store to pick up a white background though. Tonight, if I remember, I'll measure how much I need of it. I'm doing 10 sets of 6 plus 1 extra. That gives me 5 of each to swap, 1 of each to keep, and an extra for the author's quilt. I also need to check on the label directions and pick up fabric for that.

So that's the rest of my July. Finish three baby quilts, start two more, and make 61 6" SBS blocks.

~~QB29

Still Stitchin'

Well, I'm still stitching on nephew's train quilt. I need to finish tying off the knots and finish the binding. I did get the rest of the train fabric cut last night for another quilt. Now I just need to cut the sashing. I am one block short (or 5 if I do the bigger version) of what I need for train quilt No. 2, but I have a pattern for piecing a locomotive that I will use for the remaining block(s). The sashing will be pieced - black & brights.

Tonight/this weekend I am focusing on babies :-D. I am going to finish nephew's train quilt. I am going to piece the Paddington Bear top and prep it for basting. I need to lay out the batting some so it relaxes before I can actually baste. I am going to cut & piece train #2 and get that ready for basting as well. The other project I've got doing for this week is my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler Swap blocks. I'm signed up to do ten sets and need to have them in next month. The theme is blue and white. I hope to get four or five sets completed this weekend (thats 24 - 30 6" blocks - 5 each to swap plus one for me :-D). By Sunday night I hope to have the two baby quilts basted, nephew finished, and be at least half way done with SBS (or at least close to it).

Busy, but fun weekend :-). We've got VBS next week so I'll have to work extra hard this weekend since quilting won't be an option next week.

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. I'm going to camp!!!!! Yesterday in the mail I got info on a quilt camp I've been wanting to attend. They have three sessions each year and the fall one is coming up!!!! I'll be there four days/three nights just to sew and quilt and have fun :-D. Yeah me!!!!

~~QB29

Weekend Work

I was sick a little over the weekend (sinus infection :-() so my free time was spent sleeping, not sewing. I did, however, manage to finish the quilting on the train quilt. I also cut and pieced the binding. I will do the binding tonight when I meet my friend. She's been working on a quilt for her youngest and is to the binding point. I just need to show her how to do it. Then she'll be done!!!. I figured since I'm at that point I may as well use my quilt as an example and show her hands-on how to do it.

This week I hope to finish piecing the Paddington Bear quilt. I also hope to get 3 more boys quilts made up. I want to give one both the June and the July baby boys at church as well as give one to a special one year old and his new brother who's coming any week now. So that's four I need to do this month! However, the walking foot works great to machine quilt really fast. I just need to remember to very carefully baste and to go slow and smooth out the quilt as I'm quilting. I should be able to do it though.

After that I've got a full page list of projects to work on. I want to make some fabric books up for Bubby. I've got three panels (ABC, Paddington Bear, Shapes) and two applique patterns (Another ABC, Activities) to do. I also want to make him a growth chart that matches the quilt.

For my mom I'm working on her lap throw and placemats and a rooster wall hanging. For sister I want to do some placemats/pot holders/table runner for her kitchen and table. That will probably be the next project I do.

For dad I also want to do some new placemats. I also want to make him a bed size quilt but that may be pushing it. Same with my uncle.

Of course, I've still got my bed quilt to start.

It's gonna be a busy week!

~~QB29