Bring it on!

 Bring on the winter cold and quilting!  I am prepared!

 

 

Last year I DVR'd and watched the initial 7+ seasons of NCIS and all of Burn Notice, watching most of them while sewing and quilting.  At one time I had 78 episodes on NCIS stored on DVR! Since then there have been issues with the DVR (piece of junk), but have been managing through the fall using on demand to see a couple series, entertaining me while sewing, but got inspired today and decided to branch out! 

 

In addition to jumping on the Downton Abbey band wagon, I also got season 1 and 2 of Game of Thrones.  After some research, determined that 'season 1' (Dr.9) is the place to jump into Dr. Who! 

BBC America graciously had a one hour special on what you need to know to watch the Dr. that explained enough that I think we are ready to go...  wish I had watched it first and I would have jumped in at Dr. 10, but I plan to watch Dr. 9 while sewing and if it is as good as its supposed to be I will bring hubby in at regeneration. 

 

This is the Arcadia quilt that I dug out and will be the first in the video series.  Just a note to myself and anyone else who may benefit, when setting aside a project for hiatus, make a little sketch or notes on what your plan was.  I spent 20 min looking at the blocks and trying to figure out what I was doing before being able to pick up progress.

 

 

Last,  a shout out to the serger, great little thing.  She will be headed to the sewing machine spa tomorrow for a long overdue cleaning.  Best I can figure I have had her close to 20 years and have never had her serviced/cleaned.  I have been using her to give a clean finish to quilt edges after quilting before binding. The spot on the front is glue from the name emblem that melted and dripped when we moved here 10 years ago.. I expect a little WD40 will take it off, but have never gotten around to it. My hope is that when I get her back in a couple weeks that will be gone and I will have 3-4 quilt tops quilted and ready for her to zip around.

New and Old

 

Well, after listing all my UFO's pending in my last post, I figured the most appropriate thing to do was start a new quilt!  I have been loving the giant block quilt and saw a couple this past week that inspired me (1 & 2).   This pattern is super easy, I got the star part pieced, cutting and sewing blocks,  in the second half of the 49'ers/Packers game. 

Its now hanging up on the design wall waiting to be sewn together.

   

I gave myself permission to go ahead and make this after finding the backing (field study by AMH) in a little shopping excursion last week. Don't hate me, it was $3/yard.  The Sandi Henderson next to it was $4.50.  I got 5 yards of each.

 

Here are some other new acquisitions.  The piles of cream and blue/grey are for a project I have been envisioning and started collecting for.   Below them are a linen found at Hancock Fabrics for $3/yard and the aqua is Essex Linen that I got for $2 yard.  

 

I love fabric shopping and I need to stop finding such great deals!  I used the linen in the star quilt after researching different opinions on use in quilts and pre-washing (didn't).  We'll see.

 

Those are the new, and this is the old.  I completed the remaining blocks for the 'cousin' low volume quilt.  It is cousin to the original made from squares that I then had strips left over, hence, once quilt with squares and one with strips!

 

Love, love, love this and hope to have it all done by end of the week. 

In the spirit of using up scraps I pieced the batting to use and rather than succumb to the temptation of buying a fabulous cream on white fabric that I found cheap, I used a fabric from stash for the backing.

 

Hope everyone is staying warm!  It was 12 F here this morning which I know is warm compared to some of you... but goodness, I live in the south!

UFO 2013!

 Its that time again, to see what I completed on my 2013 UFO list and what gets turned over to the 2014 list, and of course what new things I started in 2013 and didn't complete, adding to the list as well.

The good news is that I actually completed THREE quilts that were on the list last year!  ...  to of set those I have 3 too add:

 

Got this top completed 1/17/13, but never got it quilted.  I have the border on and the backing is ready, lets hear it for a completion by its anniversary!

Piece of cake 2, started in the Craftsy class, top and backing done, need to sandwich and quilt... see a trend?  The third one is the cousin to the low volume done in August, with strips, and I actually pulled it out and am working on it!

 



Swoon, started 1/2012, I have renewed enthusiasm for this and hope to get back to work on it soon!



 

Arcadia:  Hmm, for such a simple quilt, it sure has been around for awhile.











Rainbow Blocks: I started these April (2011), a late comer to Rachels quilt along. I have about 1/2 the color blocks still to go but I have the fabric ready to finish up. update from last year in the same...   only 3 blocks left! 





Chubby Stars: This one is TracyJay's quilt along that I started August 2010... ugh... The little chain squares are all cut of else I would have re purposed the fabric awhile ago. A finish on this one will be either completing it or re-using the parts for some thing else. update: Update on this one, looking for snowball quilt patterns to use the block in.




American Jane blocks: Also started spring 2011, this is all American Jane fabrics from different lines that I have about 1/2 the blocks done.






Hope Valley QAL: last.... this was Crazy Mom Quilts Round and Round QAL that I ran out of gas on... round and round, and I didn't want to make a twin, I wanted it bigger, so I need to review and get it done. 





This Quilt Along was started in Feb 2010, but I am not sure when I joined in. I long since decided this was a life long project, but I would like to make some progress.

So, that it... my UFO list for the end of 2013...  I think it feels better to end the year with what I have not completed than wait until tomorrow and start the new year with what baggage I am bringing in!

Gifts x2

 

I have made my girls quilts for Christmas most years since I started quilting again about 5 years ago.

This year I decided to make them twin quilts from the Katie Jump Rope fabric that I had setting out...  I had no idea I had collected so much of this fabric, pretty sure I am going to end up with a total of 5 quilts from my  stash.

 

One was done using the layer cake lemonade, the other is a rail quilt since I had lots of strips.  Both quilts are done completely front and back with Denyse Schmidt Katie Jump Rope fabric, all of the prints except the green basket weave. snow Kona added as the solid.

 

 

My youngest had told me earlier in the week that she likes the quilts that have a more open quilting pattern as it makes them loser and softer, so I did hers in the figure eight loop that Denyse Schmidt often uses, figured it was appropriate.

 



 

I gave the quilts to the girls a week ago so they could use them on our Christmas trip and they both drug them on a 8 hour car ride and slept with them the whole time.  I think they like them!

In from the Ice - Christmas Quilts

 

The 2013 Christmas quilt is done!  I named it In from the Ice because the fabric line is Kate Spades In from the cold, and while it has been cold here, the major news was the ice storm last week, and while home bound due to closed roads I completed most of this quilt! 

 

 

Its made from a layer cake and a pack of charm squares and is backed in a quilting flannel found at Joann's.  The solids are Snow and Cardinal, both Kona Cotton, quilted in a lose meander and it finished up at aprox 80' x 90'.    I did the while thing using Aurifil thread. 
I am now a convert, love this stuff! 

 

This is the fourth Christmas quilt I have completed for our family. 

 

 It started with the

Christmas String quilt,

 

 

  then 12 Days of Christmas

 

and last years Jingle Bells quilt.

 

This was never meant to become a tradition, but after 4 years, I guess I need to start thinking early about what 2014's may look like.

 

 

Welcome Fannie

 

I  LOVE my Bernina!  It is now termed 'vintage' by the dealer, which means they can charge me extra for maintenance cleaning.  I love it so much I worry about it incurring a fatal flaw and leaving me which has me periodically checking ebay for a replacement. 

 

 

Last year I cringed every time we went on a band competition because I would have to deliver her to the logistics crew along with a bag of scraps, table and chair to be loaded on one of the trailers.  I would beg for them to put her in the back seat of a truck w/seatbelt on rather than stash in the back of a trailer.  And last year at every competition I would have to take her out and have them fire up the generator for power to fix stuff.   

 

 

This year was not as bad, better flag design, less rips, and I used my really old Kenmore that I brought home from the closet at the family cabin where I had stashed her for emergency vacation sewing.  Great, but I call her 'The Anchor' because she is heavy.  It would be a sad day if I ever had to lug this one across a parking lot to set up and use. And, I still used the Bernina for mid week flag action, which resulted in the last calamity... pretty sure I hit a small rock or turf pellet when fixing a hem resulting in a 4 week trip to Mr. Sewing Machine for the Bernina and the threat that if the gear was broke it was all over. Lucky it was just the timing that was thrown off and she is back in the rotation, but it was a scare.

 

 

Enter Black Friday sale at Hancock Fabrics.  Last year I spotted this little gem in the add but when I got there at 8am they were all gone.  This year I saw it in the add again, but at 5am Friday morning it did not seem like a priority, but at 10am when heading to Sam's Club for the college kid to stock up before returning to school I decided to stop and if they had any still in stock, well, it would be mine. 

 

They had a stack of 10 sitting there.  These were listed for @ $220 reg, Black Friday Sale $79.  

There was one set out and I took it for a spin...  she did ok, but how would she be on lame and china poly silk?    Uhm, SWEET!   In two years sewing flags on the Bernina and assorted other machines I have struggled with tension on these fabrics and that is the consistent complaint from the rest of the team, but this sews flat and beautiful with both the zig zag and the utility zig zag.  And it is super light, about 10 lbs max.  If I have any complaint it is that when I sew fast it jumps around because it is so light.

 I wanted to name her, make her a part of the family, and I got several recommendations, but I kept coming back to this one....  you know, as in Fannie Flagg? 

 

Welcome Fannie!

Pinwheels!

 

Looking back I see my first post on this project was Feb, 2010.

 

I have had all the blocks done for a couple years now, and I sashed it over a year ago.

Even after I quilted it, it took several months to get the binding on.  I finally decided to give it as a Christmas present which provided a deadline and not it is done!

 

I love this fabric, Chloe's Closet Hello Betty Retro and I mixed in a couple dots and solids. 

 

 

The weather provided a lovely ice covering (Ice, not snow) for the background don't you think!