Jingle Bells

 

I got my new tumbler die!

 

 

 I had some pieces left from table runners so  I got busy cutting more reddish and greenish fabrics and made me a new Christmas quilt. They are sort of shaped like bells, so that is what I am calling this quilt, Jingle Bells.

 

 

I found some more of this lovely flannel at Joann's to use for a backing.  I love this fabric for Christmas quilts.  I backed a few gifts with it last year and now I have one that I get to keep.

 

The completed size is 50 x 70 which is just right for me on the couch.  My husband can use the original Christmas quilt and I can have my own.... all is well.

Over the Wave

 

Wave quilt is done!

 

I had fun quilting it... after doing Granny is such a tight stipple, I did this larger than my normal.

I wanted to tone down the pink a little so I used a taupe colored thread on top.

 

The back is chocolate flannel and I used a matching thread to blend there.

 

This is going to be a late wedding gift for a young couple married this summer.  They live in Idaho so this should be warm and snugly on dark cold nights.

 

This is the second quilt I completed this week, I posted the Granny Squares yesterday.

 I tend to do multi quilts assembly line fashion so they all get done at the same time!

 

Sharing at Sarah's for  whoop and Amanda Jean's linky party. 

Ganny's Done!

About 6 weeks ago I posted this shot of my design wall taunting me with what I wanted to be working when instead I was sewing flags for the band.. which I also wanted to be doing, maybe just not so much of the time....

 

 

Well, its no longer on the design wall, I have finally completed the Granny Squares!

 

I am so happy with it,  it is so fresh and bright!

 

I made it from all fabrics that were in my stash, although not all scraps, there are some fabric lengths that now have a 5 inch square missing.

 

The back is a pretty yellow dot pattern that I had in stash and the binding was a MM graphic print that looks like a basket weave.

 

Its fate or irony or one of those coincidence things that I complete this quilt today and tonight is the ceremony for the band and my girls will receive their gold medal for winning the State Championships.... performing with those flags that were made while these squares taunted me.

12/5 WIP

 

I started a couple new things this week.

 

 

 

This is a Christmas Table Topper I made for a friend, all pinned to sew down the binding.

 

This is the one that I made for me which I added some coral and blues to the mix.

 

And this is how it looks in use.... that is a mechanical snowman that dances, a family favorite my husband got from a co-worker... hmmm... nuff said on that.

 

I will say that I love my tumbler Accu-quilt die, but it bent!  I am not happy about it, and it now either bows out in two places or just doesn't cut those spots.  I see that they are on sale 40% off this weekend and think I am going to replace it, though it ticks me off that I have to.  Again, nuff said.

 

 

And the Granny Squares and the Old-New Wave are both quilted and tonight I complete pinning the binding to sew down tomorrow.

 

Sitting quietly waiting for attention: Rainbow blocks, Chubby Stars QAL, American Jane blocks, 36 patch QAL, HST project, Pinwheel Sampler, postage stamp, Swoon, Round & Round

WIP 11/28

 

I made progress on a couple items this week.

 

 

My Old-New Wave top is completed and spray basted, ready to quilt.

 

 

 

 

Granny Squares got basted and are mid quilting... taking forever as I am using a rather tight meandering pattern ... I am so looking forward to getting it done and washed to savor the crinkly goodness.

 

And I pulled this out, my Round-and-round quilt from Amanda Jeans QAL ages ago and have it up on the design wall.  I have a plan to complete it, finally, without any further round-and-rounds. 

Sitting quietly waiting for attention: Rainbow blocks, Chubby Stars QAL, American Jane blocks, 36 patch QAL, HST project, Pinwheel Sampler, postage stamp, Swoon

Alabama VS Baylor

No, this is not about a football game, its about a quilt that I don't think will ever be made.

 

I had this stack building for a quilt for my daughter...

 

 

Crimson Red with Houndstooth, perfect for her first year of college at University of Alabama

 

Alabama has been her first choice college since her visit last July...  She applied and was accepted in August, accepted to the honors program and deposits were paid.  She also applied and was accepted at Oklahoma U (the reds would have been able to work if mixed with some darker reds as well) and Baylor....

 

Which has taken a fast trip to first choice following a recent visit... it hits many of her criteria, has an excellent honors program, is smaller which she likes,

and its colors are Green and Yellow .....

 

Glad I had not started cutting yet!

 

 

 

 

An Old (new) Wave quilt

I normally do not share a project as 'a finish' until it is all done, quilted, bound, washed, ready to snuggle.. 

 

I am making allowance this week because 1) it has been so long sine I completed anything quilty, and 2) when I look back I find that this was started sometime around April 2011...

 

 

 You may recognize it as the New Wave pattern from Oh, Fransson.   The pattern had already made its rounds on the web and was 'old' when I started it so by now I guess its a classic.  I enlarged the quilt by several rows and columns to make it a generous 68 x 72.  I have a thing about making quilts big enough to use...  I see a lot of 45"s going around I I wonder 'what do you do with it unless your a 4 foot toddler'.  Anyhow, just one of the thought that rattle around as I sew.

 

I am sharing today at Sarah's linky party!

 

WIP 11/21

 

Yea, I have something to share! 

 

 

I got my New Wave quilt almost completely pieced this week

 

And my Granny Squares are sashed, backing is pieced, batting is cut to size, all ready to baste

 

 

And just for fun, here is the 25 yard roll of batting I scored at Joann's this morning for $99!

Sitting quietly waiting for attention: Rainbow blocks, Chubby Stars QAL, American Jane blocks, 36 patch QAL, HST project, Pinwheel Sampler, Hope Valley round-and-round QAL, postage stamp, Swoon

Will I ever sew quilts again?

 

As noted prior, I have been consumed with sewing flags for our high school marching band show.   I thought I was done, but found that as the season drew to a close keeping the flags together became a full time activity.  Last week we traveled to San Antonio for BOA Super Regional followed by the Texas 5A (large school) state championships.

 

Here are the colorguard girls on the field waiting for the finals results for BOA where they ended up placing first.

 

We took a little break between fixing flags and costumes and visited the Alamo while the band was visiting local high schools to squeeze in practice time. 

The last performance was bittersweet.  I loved the theme and show as a whole this year, truly beautiful.  Here are the last set of flags, the ones in the back are 80" by 120"... that's a lot of silk and lame.

 

And in conclusion, my two band girls hugging upon exiting the stadium, State Champions for 2 more years.

(competition is rotates and is every other years, this will extend the band to 8 consecutive years)

 

 

 

What have I been doing?

This could also be titled What I did on Summer Vacation or Death by Flags

 

 

If you have visited my blog previously you may have seen something on my daughters being in High School Marching Band which is a big deal in Texas. One plays trombone and the other is in Colorguard, the group that adds visual dynamic to the show performances with flags, rifles, and this year spinning keys.

 

 The flags were my area, I lead the team of almost 40 that assisted in cutting, gluing and sewing  the 275 flags that we made this year. (only about 5 of them sewed)

 

We started in July with new flags for the half time entrance, fight song and parades... these were easy peasy...  red china silk and silver lame, only three pattern pieces, a good warm up...

 

 

Next were the first show flag, these not so easy due to the swirls and the points.  The fabric must be cut with a hot wood tool since it frays so easily, this fuses the edge a little and reduces the repair work

theoretically that is... this is a flag in for repairs after a game before use in a show the next day.  If you have worked with lame you know it frays if you look at it funny, so imagine what it does in 25 mph wind gusts on a 6 foot poll.

 

 

Theses were the flags that almost did me in... those little swirls are only about 3/4 inch wide and the flag in total is 6 1/2 feet wide and 7 1/2 feet long from point to point.

 

There are 38 girls, two flags each plus an extra set, that is 78 of these flags

 

 

 

They are beautiful, a full out gasp filled the stadium the first time they were used.

 

In case you think I have been loafing, that the above does not sound like much, there are three other sets of flags that were made as well but I can't share them yet as they have not been used in a full performance.  There is a band superstition that you don't show anything till its used... 

 

 

And just for fun, I made my daughter a flag for her Mum... if you don't know about Texas Homecoming Mums, they are quite the BIG deal.....  Hers is small....

 

So, that is what I have been up to.  Today I will complete the LAST flag and although I have enjoyed this project and love to support my daughters activities, this is one I am happy to see completed....  did I mention that last year the team made a total of 36 flags and this year we made over 275? 

 

 

 

 

A little cheating

This may be cheating, a little bit...

 

This quilt is done, and I have never shared it before...
 

 

but I actually completed it in June, before my life got taken over by sewing that did not include lovely fabrics like these.

 

So I am sharing today as a completed project, as I have completed it since the last time I reported anything as completed on a Friday... so is it really cheating? 

 

Sharing at Sarah's linky party.

Bloggy Break Over!

 

Its been 5 1/2 months since my last blog post. 

Summer has always been slow on my blog, but this is by far the biggest bloggy break ever! 

I do have a couple things to show for it, more to come on that in the next couple days ....

 

 

 

This has been my view for much of that time....  sewing on slippery shiny stuff,  my wonderful granny squares taunting me... just out of reach...

 

 

My stacks of lovely cotton quilting fabrics ready to be cut while I work with polyester...

 

As I am finish up the task that is keeping me from my quilting, my mind wanders, what should I do first, complete the granny square quilt, work on a parked WIP, maybe the Swoon blocks, cut into that big folded length of Neptune waiting for me?....

 

 

After much consideration I decided on a small project I can start and finish... its been months and I need to have something to show for my work in short order so I settled on a table topper from Camille Roskelly's book Simplify using a charm pack and yardage of Simple Abundance from my stash. 

 

My hope is that I can share it next Friday as a completed project!

 

In the mean time I will continue to work with polyester and will share this weekend what that's all about. ...  and I am slowly getting out to visit all the lovely blogs to see what I have been missing.