Some things I have managed to accomplish recently

Scrappy Heart swap (LOVE THIS PATTERN!) blocks from Quilt Patterns from Seattle

A Dandy swap blocks from Quilterscache


Potholder for Mailblocks swap pattern is from Judy Hopkins Around the Block



Canada Day Tablerunner Mystery from JoFigure.com



Lotto Blocks Attic Window from Delewarequilts.com

I can't talk right now, I'm battling crabgrass

I think that's what I should put on my voicemail, away message for email, Blogger and Facebook.

Like many other people, we decided this year we needed to focus on us, family, home, house and friends. To begin with we completed our renovation of the living room that was years in the making. Last year we did nothing to the yard, no pool, no weeding, no planting, other than an obligatory mowing, that's all that happened. So now this year we're starting all over again and now all the weeds have 2 years of roots to battle, and have previously dropped their seeds, so when you think you have an area clear you come back a week later to baby weeds starting to grow again. Grrrrr!

I did have a chance to do some sewing. A few finishes here and there, but mostly I focused on swap blocks. May retreat in North Webster was a blast as usual. New faces and new friends and many of my buddies from previous retreats. I had a really nice relaxing time. I didn't get a whole lot done, but that was fine with me, I really needed to recuperate more than anything else.

So this post is a bit of everything, consider it a catch up with a little of this and a little of that.

Our new window seat, the cushion is in the process of being made. I'm still looking for the perfect fabric. Gene says make it in muslin for the time being since the dogs like to sleep there, so that's what I'm doing, a denim covering for now. I think he did an awesome job on this seat and it has tons of storage underneath and little side tables for drinks.

This was the challenge for May retreat. An Undercover Crate using the free pattern from Laura Gunn http://lauragunn.typepad.com/paintinmyhair/ She shows hers with just two fabrics, but I pieced the sides of mine to stay within the challenge rules. We were each given an old pattern book and we needed to use an idea from that book to make anything excepts a quilt, wall hanging, table topper, etc. So the spools pattern was from the book and Laura's excellent and easy to follow pattern made the rest.

Crazy cool bag that Susan showed me how/made for me. Its hard to tell the dimensions from the pic, but its 24"x9"x18" with wood dowel handles. Its awesome! I think I might make a couple more, why not have one for fabrics and supplies?



Jamie finally quilted the top she started in December. Even her daughters Jessie and Julie got into the action. We still need to bind it, but I am very proud of her. She managed to zigzag around the edges and her family is using it until then :-)

Now I promise to be a good girl and try to keep up with my blog a little better. I have managed to finish a few things, I'll need to get some pics and get them posted. Its nice to be back! :-)

Stuff

So this is as far as I've gotten on the border for the fish quilt.... Because this is what's happening.....

First day of tiling. Standing in the center of the mess you can see, the front area.

Towards back yard.


Down the hallway towards bedrooms and bathroom.



Front entry.

That's about 500 square feet of tile folks. I will post more pics as we go along.

Current WIP

Here are my fish swap blocks from a couple of months ago with some free formed seaweed. I had planned on just bordering and being done, but after playing around with Tonya's at Lazygalqulting free form lettering on Emily's quilt, I have decided to border it with a little fishy saying. So I enlisted some creative brainpower from my buddies at Mailblocks and Kerry gave me the cutest little saying!

"Any old fish can just float along and dream but it takes a really special fish to swim against the stream."

Now to get started on those letters!

BOM at Harmonyquilts

I do not know where my fascination with sampler quilts that involve houses came from, but I must have thirty different "one of these days" patterns saved. This BOM was posted to a list I belong to and I just tought it was adorable and just couldnt resist doing this BOM from Harmonyquilts.

My first block:

Orange Crush done!

Front. I think I might have screwed up the orientation of a couple of the blocks....but its still cute. Lots of seams between pieced front and back, it made quilting a little difficult. Back. Swapped blocks and unloved fabric.

Those dogs are such camera hogs!

Giveaway at AverettLadyNana's Blog!

Be sure to check out AverettLadyNana's blog for a wonderfully generous giveaway!

Good Gawd get this quilt out of my house!

This is the Christmas gift for my son's girlfriend Emily. So I started it in September. Then I ran out of black. So I ordered more. In the meantime I started on something else. Then I worked on smaller Christmas presents. Then in December I finished the top and back and put it on the frame. Then I ran out of quilting thread and needed to order more. So in January I started back on it, only to find that something was going on with the machine and I couldn't get it to quilt more than 8" without the thread breaking. I fiddled with it and finally took the machine in to be serviced. Yesterday morning (Can you hear the whistling from High Plains Drifter?) I woke and told myself enough was enough and it would either be quilted or i would be dead by sundown. Woohoo! Finished the binding this morning, washed it this afternoon and its OUTTA HERE FINALLY!

Front Back made from orphan blocks with a little free form words done Lazygalquilting style.

Emily acting goofy but happy.
Added 2/27

DH said I should have told the whole story about this quilt from the beginning. OK, here goes. Emily asked for a quilt, she said she had some fabric from a project she did at school and would like for me to use it. The first was a red batik, the star points. The others were a couple of different brights but were such poor quality that I really didn't want to use them for fear the quilt would fall apart after the first washing. So I bought some other batiks and headed off to retreat with a basic plan in mind. (There was no pattern, just me, my graph paper and a desire to use my tri-rec rulers) Once I got there I was seated next to a really sweet lady named Sandy. I had seen her posts online but this was our first time to meet. We sewed and chatted and I was really glad we sat together because we were having such a good time. I soon realized there wasn't a whole lot of Emily's favorite fabric. I tweaked the pattern here and there, trying to find a way to highlight her favorite when Sandy said, "I have some of that fabric...as a matter of fact I have some of it here with me and you can have it!" Well if I didn't already think Sandy was just the bees knees I sure would have then! So DH is right, I really need to give credit where its due, if it weren't for Sandy, this quilt wouldn't have been made!

Just a few things

Angela's RxR with my addition on the bottom

Closeups of blocks....made by an embellishmentally challenged person :-)

Good thing she's looking for a folkart stlye of quilt huh?

Yellow and black churndash blocks for Judy's swap.

Sister's Choice swap blocks.

Going for a six pack!

As I drove home this morning listening to an Indianapolis talk radio station I heard the caller say he was rooting for the Cardinals today because Steeler fans are the most obnoxious and what will they be like with SIX Super Bowl rings?

Poor jealous Indy Colts fan, sucks to be you doesn't it?

Steelers version of the Lord's Prayer pre-playoff win but too cute not to pass on.

Our Father,

Who art in Pittsburgh,

Football Be thy Game.

Thy Kingdom Come,

5 Superbowls Won,

On Earth as it is in Heinz Field.

Give us this Day a Play-off Victory,

And forgive us our penalties,

As we defeat those who play against us.

But lead us into victory,

And deliver us to Tampa!

A-Ben

GO STEELERS!!!!!!!