And the marathon begins..........

Ever get yourself into one of those situations when you aren't over booked, but you have something going on for days cause it just works out that way????

Let's just say that the next FIVE days are like that!!!

I have realized one thing - I need to have MORE people come to my house. I have been super motivated to get everything back to normal (if that even exists!). The quilts that we took down when the floors were done in MARCH are back up except one because I hope to upgrade the hanger it is on. Two pieces of furniture are moved back into their original place - only three more pieces to move. The kids moved all the stuff from the dining room/office that had to be sorted into the garage (ah - the benefits of a garage!!!)   But I am REALLY REALLY motivated to get it sorted. A few more pictures to hang up and then I think the house is pretty much ready for the party tomorrow night.

Then the studio has taken a beating as well. The last three pieces of design wall that has been sitting here FOREVER are almost ready to go up. OK - half is done. The tables are cleared - well mostly. And now just two quilts that are on the wall have to be sewn. Then I am ready for my sit n sew day on Sunday.

I "employed" the kids to help out. No free labour from teens these days.

Berke and M building an Ikea cabinet - the Alex

My two Ikea (Alex) cabinets. I had one built, but no time to do the other one

Stacks of stabilizers, interfacings  to be "filed"

Another container of stabilizers, interfacings. No wonder it was easier to go and buy more. They were jumbled together and I had no idea what I had. 

While they are still not perfect, at least like things are together in the same drawer, except the stabilizers where there is LOTS and LOTS. At least I know where to go when I want some. No more buying stabilizers - at least for a while.

Since I got my sewing machine back - I decided it was time to wind bobbins. I spent a LONG time this morning winding bobbins, but I won't have to do that job for a LONG LONG time.

Are you going to count them?????   There are 34 - I think!!!   That should last a month or two - depending on how much time I devote to the machine!!!!

And the bobbins in the "sewing away from home box!" - Yep - there is a retreat coming up!!!!   - I really really cannot wait!!!

And now for that design wall.......

Step one - gather the materials - 2' by 8' insulation boards - I buy the 1" thick ones. I use white flannel that has been washed. Masking tape. Then cut the insulation board with an exacto knife to get the proper height and cut out any electrical outlets or whatever. Then lay the flannel on a table and lay the insulation board with the writing to the top. Using the masking tape - upholstery the flannel to the board.  I start by roughly placing the masking tape.

Once that has been taped - I run another piece of tape - the full length alongside the first. 

Then pulling tightly - tape the other side. I tape in sections - pull about every two feet and go back and pull in between. Using lots and lots of tape. Oh yes - I know why I have put off this job. The pressure of pulling just kills my wrist!!!!!  I don't know why - the fabric isn't stretched that tight!!!

Then place another layer of tape over that entire section. Pull up the ends of the flannel and tape those in place and the panel is ready to screw onto the wall. I'll get to that tomorrow - I hope. I had better because we need to move these banquet tables to the kitchen where we are going to eat tomorrow night!!

FOR SALE - I had planned to make the design wall even BIGGER. But decided that I didn't need that. So I have TEN METERS of white (prewashed) flannel for sale. Any takers???????

And those two quilts that are currently on the existing design wall?????

Christmas Heart Light - the top half of this is together

One block of the Halloween - look how nice those orange sashes match up!!!   Thanks to all that trimming in the right spot!   Only nineteen more blocks to make!!!   A bit of a challenge to get the colours and the sashes (the in and out seams) in the right place. I know - I am anal about this!!!   I think that is part of the fun - more fun to figure out the logistics of sewing it together than the final product!   That must be why I am so good at solving problems for others - that is my favourite part or so it seems.

I spent a good part of the day helping the Halton Hills guild set up the quilt show.  This is what the room looked like when I arrived at 9 AM.

The room at 9 AM

And what did it look like when I left at 2`:30 PM?????????  

Well - it looked like this.......




HAH - of course -I am NOT going to show you. You have to go and see for yourself. It is an amazing show. There are some absolutely knock your socks off quilts - there are art quilts, traditional, big and small, machine and hand - a real variety. This is a GREAT opportunity to take lots of pictures for inspiration and for quilting ideas.

The members boutique was brimming with goodies for sale and very reasonably priced items which would make great gifts. After all - you know you will NOT get all those projects done by Christmas to give away.

There are two gorgeous raffle quilts which you can purpose tickets on - you should be very familiar with those two raffle quilts - I will have to find the pictures - one was log cabin and one was the birds. I will take pictures tomorrow and post them.

The little quilts in the toonie draw - I want them all - they are gorgeous. I know where all my money is going to go. You can decide which challenge quilt you like while you munch on goodies in the tea room and there are LOTS of vendors if you still have some money left!  And have a peek at what the outreach (community group) - lots of gorgeous quilts there as well.

I don't think you will be disappointed - well you will be disappointed if you do NOT go.

Where is it - Croatian Centre on Winston Churchill, a couple of KM north of 401.

Dates - Friday, October 14 - 10 AM - 5 PM
            Saturday, October 15, 10 AM - 4 PM



After I got home from setting up the show - I decided that I was going to send a reminder to my distribution lists to remind them of the show. WAIT A MINUTE - my distribution lists were ZAPPED in my recent Outlook woes!!!   Crap - can't put the recreation off any longer - so FOUR hours later - the lists were recreated and the e-mails were sent. I have printed out the lists (there are 10 of them) so that in future should this happen again - I won't have to go searching for them. But still a lot of work to reinput them.

I only have my calendar to recreate and then I think that issue will be completely put to bed. Let's hope something else doesn't go wrong. I just don't have time to redo that kind of thing!!!!

Well - I think I am going to go and ice my hand/wrist before popping into bed. Oh yes - I can play Scrabble on the iPad (haven't played all day!) and ice that hand.

Have a great day!!!!!


Ciao!!!!!!

In the Nick of TIME!!!!!!

Why oh why do I do this to myself?????


Got a big quilt finished yesterday and delivered.

Jewel Box Quilt

Jewel Box detail

Jewel Box detail

Yes - I had lots of time to get this one done and I am very happy with the results.

I delivered it to a quilt store. Yes - a QUILT STORE. Yes - I did buy something - WAIT - have a look at what I bought before you remind me of my rant yesterday!

f

Flannel backing for the minky animal print quilt - that was NECESSARY!!!!  

The last of seven prints required for yet ANOTHER bright exchange I am in. OK - so I bought a bit more than I needed, but it was the end of the bolt. The extra was about .5 M

So far - so good........

I was able to drown out the NEW FABRICS that were CRYING - "take me home - take me home". I did break down when I saw this novelty fabric and bought .5 m.

Novelty fabric - bread

But that was ALL I bought - so I did very well I thought!!!!   Hey - we can't learn new habits in just ONE day.

I even stopped at Indigo to look at the new magazines. BUT - I was in a hurry and didn't see much new. I have vowed to NOT buy any more of the ones published by Stampington. They are very expensive and take up a lot of room. And I have lots to browse through anyway. And I did vow to NEVER buy a magazine in plastic and there were TWO new ones in plastic. Hmmmm - got to find a friend who bought those ones. But again - probably nothing new in them.

At first I was thinking I need those magazines to keep up with new stuff - then if I never read them - that theory goes out the window. If I don't make quilts from them or read the articles - then I am buying them because????????   OK - so I am NOT a logical person.

Back home and onto the next quilt which the customer needed TODAY!!!!

So I got most of it done yesterday - had a bit of trouble when a smidgen of thread got caught in the thing the bobbin sits in - the technical term is GONE! I couldn't see it, but I could sure hear it!!!!   After a bit of searching I was able to get it out and keep going. Amazing how a little piece of thread could throw the tension WAY out of whack.

Customer Quilt

It was my stitching night with the girls - you know - our little Christmas redwork. So instead of staying home and making sure the quilt was 100% done - NO - I went out socializing!!!!

I did get another block done and I am pretty happy with the stem stitch.

SNOW block completed

Not bad for stem stitch if I may say so myself

I used TWO strands of Cosmo thread which is in fact FOUR strands of floss since each strand of Cosmo is already TWO strands. Does that make sense????   The rest of this block was done in one strand of Cosmo.

Anyway - progress is being made, but of course no progress on the Halloween stuff. I am like a bird - flit flit flit from one thing to another!!!!

And when I got home (instead of working on the customer quilt - OK - it was almost 10 PM by then), I decided to trace the next TWO redwork blocks.

Next TWO redwork blocks traced with blue mark b gone pen.

Now you are wondering - did the quilt get done????   Oh yeah - after I had physio this morning, the quilt got done. And a half hour to spare before the customer came at 11 AM. OK - that was STUPID. I will try NOT to do that again. Too stressful. Thank goodness no threads got caught in that bobbin case this morning!!!!

And I would like to say HI to those who leave comments. The comments come to my cell phone so I am in the middle of wherever and a comment comes in. I LOVE it!!!!!   Nice to know that I am not alone in getting up and sewing in the middle of the night, would like to know more about the trials and tribulations of binding a quilt with minky in it (should I be afraid?????) and well - we all just have so much to learn by sharing with each other!!!

Now I see that another quilt is waiting for me and it is another HUGE one. I better get started on it.

Ooops - for those of you in the Toronto area - there is a quilt show this weekend!!!!  As I have said before attending a quilt show is a great way to spend some time with friends or even by yourself. It is also a great way to pick up new ideas, new quilting patterns, new colour schemes. Grab a camera or a sketch book and be prepared to come home INSPIRED!!!!!!   Here are the details -

Halton Hills Quilter's Guild  Quilt Show

Friday, October 14   (10 AM - 5 PM)
Saturday, October 15 (10 AM - 4 PM)

Location - Croatian Center which is on Winston Churchill (a couple of KM north of 401). You can't miss it - the church is a massive building on the left. The show is in the conference center in behind the church!!!!!


I'll be there bright and early tomorrow for the setup!!!!!   I feel like I am an expert at setting up quilt shows.




Have a great day!!!!


Ciao!!!!!

Paralyzed!!!!

Ever note how you can have no problem starting a new project and the next one - you can't make a single decision. That's me!!!!

I am working on the small mystery by This & That. I mean it is a small project. Yet - I can't seem to decide what I am going to use for the center block. They just called for a focus fabric, but which one?????   Then I came up with another idea and hopefully later today - I can get my center block done and move on!!!!

Well what a gorgeous weekend. I guess I should have done my outside work cause it is going to get cold. Might go pull a few token weeds today!!  I doubt that - I am now WAY BEHIND with quilting and no time for goofing off.

And have you ever marveled at how we will procrastinate and procrastinate and then something happens and that adrenalin just pumps through and you can do anything???   Well we are having a big dinner party on Friday - that happens very RARELY in our house. And some are people that I used to work with including my old boss (whom I hated!!!! - I told DH to NOT let me have any wine!!!!)   So now all those tasks that I have been avoiding in the house are LOOMING and MUST be done this week.

I employed the help of M and her friend Berke. They built me my two bookcases that have been around forever. We got all the books on them and wow - I just kept going.

Added the small bookcase on the right. 

 I have decided that I CANNOT buy another book or magazine. I have run out of room. The only way is to get rid of some of what I have. ACK ACK ACK!!!!!!!!   I think the only way that I won't buy anything is to take all my money away from me. No credit, no debit, no cash!!!!!   I just love books and magazines. OK - if I loved them that much - I would USE THEM!!!!!!!    HELP ME!!!!!!

This is the other bookcase that got assembled last night. 

This is in the scrapbooking area and same thing. NO NEW BOOKS or MAGAZINES allowed. While there is a smidgen of room - I just do NOT need anything.

The scrapbooking table - almost clear. 

 Putting up that bookcase allowed me to clear the table - FINALLY. Just have to get rid of those quilts sitting on the table.

And you know how one things leads to another - then I got it into my system that I NEEDED to clean up the storage room that I have wanted to clean for months. I forgot to take a picture before - that's how excited I was. I mean you could not walk in this room - everything was on the floor - nothing was stacked. Doesn't it look amazing??????

Cleaned up storage room

As a result of this burst of energy - there are a couple of issues - good and bad.

The Bad:
1. Still have NOT located those missing quilt hangers. I mean there were three pieces and I think I remember putting all three pieces in a different spot (I know - stupid), but I can't even find ONE of them.
2. I found a LOT (I mean a LOT) of projects that I had semi forgotten about. How the heck will I ever get them done.
3. I LOST my glasses. Wearing the spares which I HATE.


The Good:
1. The space is looking AWESOME. And not just because DH will HAVE to show off the space even though he complains about how much stuff and room I take up!!!! There are 11 people coming to sew on Sunday so would have had to tidy up anyway.
2. I found a couple of patterns that I had misplaced.
3. And I feel energized. When the room is this clear it is easy to sew - no distractions!!!!

Bottom line - if I want to start a new project - I will shop at my house. I should ONLY be allowed to purchase stuff to complete a project. If I want a book or magazine- I will go to the library, borrow from a friend, purchase it as an e-book or do without. OR - get one from the shelf that I haven't read!!!!!


Had a great Thanksgiving dinner with Marian and her family. However I FORGOT to take a camera with me. Yep - I own two cameras and forgot both at home!!!

On that note - I have LOADS to do today and must get started!!!!!!


Have a great day!!!!!


Ciao!!!!!

Ups and Downs!

Don't you hate when you can't sleep? Not sure what was the problem - but anyway there I am - 3 AM and wide awake. I read for a bit - that didn't help. I decided I should get up and do some sewing. I know  - how wild is that!!!

Now the question was what to do???  I have learned that I am a GOOD prep person. Without blinking an eye - I cut out a new project. I know - how did that happen???   Perhaps I was sleep walking!!

I think you will like it -

This is what I started with - TWO scrap bags of fabric from the Moda Bake  Shop. 

I had purchased these scrap bags a while ago - can't even remember where. They are the ends from the jelly roll cuts perhaps???   Not sure since they were a consistent 31" long - not even the width of the fabric.

I had been puzzling as to what to do with them. They were NOT all the same width. Then I borrowed a jelly row book from the library and had a peek through. Ah - here is something that might work.

Sorted the strips - the ones on the left are at least 2 1/2" - the ones on the right - 2"

Trimming off the selvedges and making them 2 1/2"

All the strips cut - well just the 2 1/2" ones - I left the others for another day.

 As I was cutting - I was trying to decide how big this quilt is going to be. Do I have enough fabric - the usual thing except that I am working with a very limited amount of fabric and strips at that. After some trusty calculations which also caused me some angst. Why - well often I see people who have these neat design books. They have snippets of fabric - their pattern - the details. I decided that I want to do that as well. I needed to make all kinds of calculations and normally I just throw it on a piece of paper. Nope - let's do that in a book instead!!!

My NEW design book

Page 2 - with fabric snippets!!!!

As I was calculating, I realized that I needed some more fabric - not much - just cornerstones and binding. A quick peek on the internet revealed that there is NOT much of this line (Frolic by Sandy Gervais) around anymore. I managed to snag two fat quarter bundles - one in the light backgrounds for the cornerstones and the pinks for the binding. Everything was cut and ordered BEFORE 6 AM.  I had picked out a light coloured backing from my stash, but then decided it wasn't appropriate. I have chosen another, but will wait until the fabric comes so I can better match the light backgrounds.

Wow - where did that come from???   Anyway - it was fun. I am trying to get projects together for the upcoming retreat. This would make a good one - lots of sewing strips together. Perfect for mindless sewing.

My overflowing scrap basket. Got to find a bag to empty it into.

Then at 8 AM when I was about to blog - I crashed!!!   I was so tired, I could barely make it to the sofa for a much needed nap!!!!

However there is good news. After much perseverance, I managed to find that missing photograph. There were a bunch of quilt pictures in a folder and this particular folder got inside another folder labeled DUCK RACE. Who would have looked in there for quilt pictures??????   So I have added that to the FLICKR page. Yeah!!!!!   And I also have rearranged all the photos on my laptop into ONE directory. Wait - not ONE directory, but ONE central directory. There are hundreds of sub directories, but bottom line - they are all in one place, not THREE central directories as they were before. Yes - there is hope that someday I can get that cleaned up. Lots that need to be filed in the proper folder, and tons that need to be deleted. 

I was also missing some other paperwork. And it was right where I filed it!!!   That was nice to put my hands on that as I need to get working on an article and someone asked to borrow part of those papers. But if I had of thought of my philosophy of putting like things (and subject related together), I would have found it right off the bat!!!!

Now - I have been working on quilt stuff as well. A lot actually........

My pillow cases - all pressed and folded

Birthday pillow cases

Remember the animal prints???   - Well it is a kit that I bought this summer.  Pre cut strips of minky that you sew together to make a quilt top. The top is done - just need to get some backing (flannel) and get it quilted!

Finished little bag

This bag just needed to be serged together. I have several others to do, but only had time to complete one. 

Let's see - Oh yes - here is ANOTHER Halloween project. My third for this season. 

The bottom part of the project

My Witch!!!!   table topper

The little squares are fused onto the fusible grid. Now it needs to be sewn - then turned inside out and embellished. Still a lot of work. But I am trying to get all the serging done that is sitting here BEFORE I get the sewing machine back up. I can't hold off much longer - I have a TON of sewing to do and not much time!!!

Got some more hand work done while I listen to my mystery audio book. 

Spider web done

Spider web almost done!

As I do more of the stem stitch (which goes pretty fast), I think I am learning how to do the stem stitch better. The direction you stitch makes a difference!  How much you pay attention makes a difference and how big you make the stitch makes a difference!!!   By the end - I will have a perfect stem stitch.

Table topper  - still a long way to go, as I have stitching around the images as well as the spider webs. 

Marian, Jim, Jeffrey and myself (with the geodogs) were supposed to go geocaching yesterday. Well - we got off to a late start. The one we chose (one I have wanted to hit for a while, but didn't want to go alone because of the terrain) was going to be hard to get to. We get down the HILL - a wicked hill I went down last year. The one Sparky did not want to go down. This year - she was fine. The cache was 400 M from the bottom of the stairs along side the CLIFF. I get 70 M from the cache and we run out of time!!!!!    ARE YOU KIDDING ME????????    Should have taken my own car!!!!!!!   GRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!    And the worse thing - I KNOW BETTER. Stupid - stupid - stupid!!!!   All that clambering up and down over rocks for nothing!  Well - I did come home and iced my knee which was a tad sore, but I think we are finally past the worst of that injury. Yeah!!!!!

Kaylee leaning on her GUY!!!!    That dog LOVES to lean on people. 

This is going to be an exciting week as I have LOTS of stuff coming in the mail!!!!   

And now I have a quilt to finish and pies to make for dinner!!!

Have a great day!!!!

Ciao!!!!!!

Off to a slow start today!

Well not really - it has just taken me a few extra minutes to get to the blog. And what was I doing? I seem to be getting more requests (perhaps because Christmas is coming) for quilts made from T-shirts  or jerseys. How to show the potential customers what I have done before??  Since I do not have a web site (should look into that), I decided to download the pictures to Flickr. I am not that familiar with Flickr, so took a few minutes to figure that out. Then to figure out how to organize the pictures. And I spent a LOT of time trying to find a particular photo and I still haven't found it yet. But I did find others and did a bit of organizing while I was searching.

If you want to check out the pictures - here is the link (Note - there are still a lot of pictures missing especially in the tie quilt section)

My Flickr account


Anyway - there you have the reason why I am late!!!


Despite the fact that Marian and Kaylee did come over yesterday - I still managed to get a LOT done.

I had the serger out and going strong.

My serger

Yes - I am using PINS - I am doing the hotdog method of pillowcases and only one seam to add the header to the bottom part, so much easier to hold everything together with pins

Why do I love this serger - well there are NO tensions to play  with. It is completely automatic. I love it!!!!

I made EIGHT pillowcases. They need to be turned and pressed - I was waiting for the fray check to dry on the ends of the serged seams

And this - well you will just have to wait to see what this is. I hope to finish it today. Let's just say that it is NOT cotton. And NO it is nothing wearable!!!!!!    Wouldn't I look HOT wearing a pair of pants made from that!  Talk about being a courgar!!!!

Last night I was torn between working on the Christmas redwork or the Halloween table runner. Hmmm - Christmas or Halloween?  I finally decided to get to work on the Halloween.

Drew on the spider web and started the stem stitch with the Cosmos floss. Have to watch that I don't pull it out of shape!

Close up of stem stitch - while it is not bad - I wish I was more consistent with this stitch. I guess it is just practice!!!!!

And that's it for today - I am going to give my picture search one more try!!!!!   I know I did lose some photos a while back when my system crashed, but I don't think that one picture was among the dead!!   I'll see.


Have a great day!!!!


Ciao!!!!!!