Half a success!

I'm behind! There's no other way to put that gently - I have my schedules and my TO-DO lists, and I'm not slacking off - things just take longer than planned! I had a plan for getting some major writing done, and I did get some accomplished. BUT, as I write, I think of something else to add (I need to STOP that), which involves a picture or two more and more editing. 

The bottom line is that I got one of five assignments done. And I've got pictures for the next two (well, most of them). It's all in a day's work! I'm also working on the homework assignments, and one of those will go out this morning. 

E-mails are waiting to be answered, but it'll all work out. I'm not going to lose sleep over it -- we're not talking rocket science or life or death! 

I signed up for my class at Quilt Canada. I can't wait as I don't usually take a class - I'm not a very good student. But this is a software class, and I'm good at those. There's so much for me to learn, and I hope to take full advantage of the opportunity (make new friends and potentially get some support buddies) and learn tons from this industry expert! And the even better part -- we're at the long arm the entire day. I will pay a kit fee and need to take NOTHING with me, and I love that even better. 

OK -- you're wondering how you can have half a success? I'll tell you! Remember my saga about my order from the US? The one that would be destroyed if I didn't complete the order and pay? That order arrived at the US warehouse on November 9, and it was delivered to my house yesterday. Technically, it was my fault since I didn't properly check the website to initiate the next step, and I now know how it works. 

I was waiting for a second notification that the order was ready for pick-up at their depot near me. Imagine my surprise when the doorbell rang, and I went to see what that was all about. WHAT?????  My package was delivered by FedEx to the door. Seriously??? Perhaps that's because of my closeness to the depot -- but I would definitely use the CrossBorderPickups again. That was excellent service. And they refunded the storage fees because of my error. Thanks for the recommendation, Laura!

At last, my package arrived

So what was in the package? It was the Cherrywood Challenge book for the Princess Diana challenge. 

Cherrywood Challenge book for Diana

Yeah -- at long last, the book arrived. Wait a minute ---I bought TWO books, and there is only ONE in the box. Sigh......................  And that's how you get HALF a success. 

I've already contacted Cherrywood, and they are sending me another one, and this time when I see that it arrives at the warehouse in Niagara Falls, I'll be on it to get it across the border. I had purchased one for Helen as she also has a quilt in the book, and I'll let her have this one while I wait for my copy to arrive. But what a saga this has been. However, it's been a good learning curve, and now I have a "permanent" US address so I can order anything in the US and have it delivered this way. It's certainly much cheaper than having things shipped directly to me, especially if they have FedEx deliver it to my door. I didn't pay to have it delivered by FedEx.  

Here's a picture of my quilt in the book. 

My Diana quilt

I'll post Helen's picture after she sees the book in person! 

OK - so what's with this weather? There was very light snow at lunchtime when I went for my walk. I only walked to the grocery store, adding an extra block or two, since the grocery store is only 1 KM away. Gosh --- when was the last time I took my car to the grocery store? Eons ago. I never thought that would ever happen in my lifetime. I think I only walked about 12 KM yesterday. No time for much craziness!  

Light snow at lunchtime

Then the flakes got HUGE. 

HUGE snowflakes

And then it looked like a winter wonderland out there! 

Winter wonderland

There was enough snow to make it necessary to shovel. I shoveled my sidewalk, and the two neighbor's on either side -- well, I shovel up to their driveways! Young men live at both addresses -- they can very easily shovel the rest themselves. That snow was WET and heavy. Thankfully, there wasn't a whole lot of it. Well -- a whole lot -- it was about 3 inches deep!

OK -- so I promised some show and tell. Here's my Wanderer's Wife quilt. 

After completing the homework, here's what's left of the background strips for the remaining sections. Nice to see some empty spots! And yes -- they are all back as neat as this -- well almost, after I tipped all the boards onto the floor -- by accident! Thank goodness they are labeled because they are cut for a specific spot!

The remainder of my background strips for Wanderer's Wife

All my blocks are sitting in a container, waiting to be sewn into the quilt. I think we have 7 blocks left to sew - something like that. I was going to be fussy and sort them by section, but instead, I put them in the container, and as I need a specific size -- I'll grab it from here. It worked for the first three sections -- the system will work just as nicely for the next 7. 

My blocks for Wanderer's Wife

And here are three of the ten sections sewn together.

Three of ten sections

YES --- for any eagle eyes, there is a mistake in the top section. Someone spotted it in class. I wasn't going to change it, but I have to because the strips are also out of order! DUH!!! 

I can't take credit for the colors in the quilt. Before starting the project, I looked online and found a quilt that I loved. Once I had that concept in my head, I've just been grabbing blues and yellows from my scraps and winging it. I love how it's turning out. It looks like a night sky, and those square in square units are twinkling through the blue. 

Here's the photo I used for inspiration. I'd give credit, but I'm not sure whose quilt this is. I thought the concept was brilliant. WAIT -- I found the owner.

 

My inspiration

This is the book's cover - remember, it used to be called Gypsy Wife, now changed to Wanderer's Wife. More politically correct. 

The cover of the pattern

I had originally started to make this quilt years ago but got discouraged. I love the pattern, but those prints are so busy -- it doesn't really let the quilt shine. That is partially why I was discouraged the first time I attempted to make it. And let's just say that this quilt is not for the faint of heart. The pattern leaves a LOT to be desired. Jen Kingwell's quilts are often referred to as puzzle quilts. That's not really a style -- it's her patterns that create the puzzle!!

And this is another version I pulled off the internet. I'm not sure if I even want to comment on this. It's definitely a scrappy quilt, but there's not much contrast between the blocks. 

A very scrappy version of Wanderers Wife

Trust me, we had major discussions in the class about the color of the background strips. Here's the issue with the original -- the background strips are cut from the SAME fabrics used in the blocks. Nothing wrong with that, but if you're already using busy prints and then put busy prints to busy prints -- it's all going to blend! I would be disappointed if my quilt looked like the one above. I'm so glad that I decided to abandon my original version and go with the blue and yellow. I think I'll comment on Sarah's blog and let her know how impressed I was with her colorway!

For the most part, we are attracted to a pattern usually because of the color, but sometimes the style. I have NO idea what is appealing about the cover quilt, but lots of us want to make it! Perhaps it's the overall craziness, or we wanted to struggle through the pattern. I'm glad we are doing this class, and thanks to ALL the crazies who are encouraging each other to get it done! For anyone in the class that hasn't kept up -- good luck attempting it on your own! 

We'll have a FULL show and tell at the end of June!! So exciting!

I shouldn't even remind people that we'll be starting up another sew-along(s) in the fall - we're taking the summer off! We need to get away from our sewing machines and enjoy the summer! At least that's my plan -- I'm trying very hard (and succeeding) in clearing my summer calendar of almost all quilting events. Note -- I say ALMOST, not all! There are still some classes and clubs, but not the intense sew alongs! 

If you happen to have or know of a quilt that would make a good sew-along (must have different blocks or neat techniques) to make it interesting, let me know. 

On that note, I'm off to spin class and then back home to sit at the computer all day!!! I will say that I've had to do some research for part of the writing, and WOW -- I'm going to be so smart when I'm done! I'll be sharing some of the writing with you when the time comes, and then you'll be equally as informed as I am. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!