Friday, December 28, 2012

Last Friday in 2012

I've been sitting here since 6:30 AM doing this and that on the computer. you know checking email, paying bills, looking up how to do the Kichtner (SP) stitch for my sock that I finished MONTHS ago. Just the usual. I thought I would jot down a few more notes about my day.

I checked out Easy Street step 6 and it does look easy and fast. I also worked a bit on my trip around the world quilt yesterday, but I seem to be missing a strip. I have to figure out the borders w/o it. BC I have looked everywhere.

But first this AM I am taking one of my DGD shopping at JUSTICE For GIRLS. she has some $$ and gift cards to spend. I think we might go to Chick-Fillet also. Then she has a Dr appt so her mom is going to scoop her up afterwards. I think I'm going to be able to snatch her little sister for a quick trip into Target to keep her occupied while Big Sis sees the Dr. hopefully that will be fun.

This Afternoon then I'm going to work on Easy Street, and MAYBE start planning some quilts for the "WILD WOMEN" or the DGD's there are 4 that are about the same ages 9-10 and 5!

Well that was a fun 4 hrs! The younger of the two was great to shop w, calm and talkative. I have no idea what she was talking about 1/2 the time. But she really wanted to go into MICHAEL'S! I was surprised. Her mom said she likes the stickers and the beads. I found some marked down stickers, and 3 of those black velvet marker drawings. Maybe her mom won't totally hate me.

However on the way home from the shopping area (about 4 mi from my home) I called DH to ask if I needed to stop and pick up anything. 'NO just come on home'. I'm whooped so no problem from me. When I get home he says "We need to go get gas!" I didn't say it, but I could have done that, met you there... or whatever. But no about 1/2 hr after I get home, I'm driving back up to the same shopping center for gas. The lines were long and the gas was about 0.15 cents more than at another place. There was a method to his madness. He really wanted to go to that store, bc he had bought new Christmas lights at the other grocery (we get our gas at the Grocery too, they have a filling station) That's how he found out that the gas was cheaper else where. He just wanted to get more Christmas lights. I could have stopped, bought the dang lights for him, and then gone to the OTHER store for the gas.... BUT NOOOOO. We were able to fill up both car and truck and 2 gas cans for $2.50, bc we had points at the gas station store (gotta love Kroger!)

The other big reason to get gas tonight is there is a winter storm coming over night. We will get freezing rain then snow.... Lovely to drive in.

 I did get some time on Easy Street, w about 1/2 of the black on White Bricks accomplished. I have never used white on Black fabric b4 and am surprised at how interesting it looks!

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Snow day


Yesterday was a stay in doors day as we received inches of snow then frozen rain, then Freezing rain, and then more snow. We cleaned the drive and front walk in the late afternoon, but received MORE snow on top of that... Still it is 27 degrees this AM so anything was wet is ice now.
This is how I decrotated my sewing room for Christmas while I worked on Easy Street:
It's an old OLD UFO that I have yet to figure out what I want to make out of it. I'm leaning towards a table runner. but it would need boarders and maybe quilted in a swirly snow pattern.... it is still a UFO this yr.
 
I alternated my Easy St block 5 rt and lt, moving the center of the needle 0.5mm each time. it helped a lot. I also did the "Bonus Triangles" per Jo's country Junction. (click on the Blue)
 

I still find it easiest to mark the bonus triangels to keep me from being WONKY. But even w all of this, and pinning the first triangles I still needed to trim a little
 

As you can see it wasn't much.
After I finished this part of Easy Street I put it in my shoe box w all of the rest.
then i started finishing this
It is the Trip Round The World Quilt that is on Bonnie Hunters siteHere
I have the borders and the backing
 
now I just need time to get it finished.... and part 6 of Easy  Street comes out TOMORROW!!!!
 

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Amy's quilt

Now that Christmas has come... and almost gone, I can share a quilt I made this past summer for my DD3 It is a Bonnie Hunter class "Jared takes a Wife" or Blackford's Beauty. You can see the pattern HERE
This is my DD3 on the left, me in the center, and DD2 on the Rt.
I had made the quilt in patriotic colors bc DD3 is in the Army Reserve Band. But bc she is a "Girly Girl" I thought she would like something a little different on the back. So here is the back of the quilt draped over my Short arm. Boy they make a good display too!
This is her first look at the quilt!
And a close up of it  while I was binding it.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Changes

Thanks To my DGT I have a new Background and colors to my posts!
isn't she lovely!

Fat Turkeys

Well it has been an action packed week! I was able to get all of my 2000 128 purple squares cut out. There is not a lot of variety in my quilt, bc these are not colors I have had in my stash.

I also was able to sew two of the fat turkeys together. but you can see here I need to pin to prevent drifitng.
 
Dear Grand Teen (DGT) is spending the night (she is still asleep) but she is a reluctant quilter. Needs to see the end of something faster than a quilt takes. She and I are making a quilt too, but it is behind this production, and one other one.
I should be able to get the rest of the fat turkeys completed today.
 
DH is cooking the turkey, dressing and Cheese Ball that he is making for Christmas. I have no cooking responsibilties. I'm responsible for my BIL getting to the party, or not if hs baulks too much about going. (he is 70 and is MRDD so somethings are harder for him.)
Talk to you all after Christmas, Have a Merry Christmas.

Friday, December 21, 2012

I didn't get finished with part 4 of Easy street, close but not finished. Now Part 5 is posted, and I am under the weather. Plus my 3 Adult Children are coming over for cookie making today. Last night I was in Cookie Armageddon as my DD called it.
And this is what it looked like.... past tense bc I did clean it up before going to bed. I made doughs for Choc chip (w splenda) Snicker doodles w splenda and w/o 2 batches each, wedding cookies, Choc Snowballs, And plan on making 1 more batch of regular choc chip dough today.

After I finish some sewing, clean the dining room table, put stamps on the Christmas cards (no I'm delinquent there too don't care) and I have a Dr appt at 1:00.

Back to me being under the weather, every year I seem to get a few sinus infections that branch out into Bronchitis. This past summer I was sick for 2 months, on Prednisone twice, And lost my voice. So here it starts again. I saw an ENT in Oct and he said to come back when it starts up again. Offered me surgery for a deviated septum and bony process that is blocking my nasal passage on one side. Doesn't guarantee that it will fix the problem, so I opted not to at this time. BUT here I am sick again. I know me and it will linger and do the same thing with the holidays here I am more interested in getting an appt.

See you on Monday for the Linky!

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Winter cold

Yesterday I finsihed a project that I have been working on for months, I'll post a picture in the near future. I still have to do a little hand work on it.

I have Easy Street geese on my ironing board, but spent the day in bed reading a book. I seem to have caught a cold and if it goes like most of my colds, it will progress to  sinuse infection followed by bronchitis. All of which should happen this w/e when I know none of the 3 (yes THREE) Dr's I see for this problem will be in!

So I am drinking a lot of fluids, doing the saline nasal douche (comonly called netty pot) and taking my drugs and vitamins. I didn't sleep well last night so hopefully I will tonight.

Monday, December 17, 2012

Easy Street Part 4

So today is linky day with Bonnie Hunters EASY Street quilt. I seem to be very busy lately, and didn't get them completed as I planned. But I have a lot finished, still need to trim corners and square a few up. Even with all of the tricks to keep my seams straight I have a tendancy to DRIFT! Which throws the size off, rip and sew again then takes place.

So while I was out shopping last week I was in The Fabric Shack www.fabricshack.com (Sorry I don't know  how to put a link in something I will have to learn more about) I was mentioning to my husband how I liked this one brand of ruller bc it doesn't slide on me. The EASY Angle (ruler does slip on me)
the clerk suggested this product:


I tried it on my Easy Angle Rulers and it worked really well

but it made flipping the ruler to the other side harder.
So I added one of the smaller inner circles to the opposite side. The Turquise on the green cutting board was no help either! However I was able to get all of  my 64 Flying Geese done, and here they are waiting to be trimmed and pressed. I still need to add the other flying Geese to it so I am far from completed.
There is another product that I have yet to test, but purchased when I read it on Thread Head blog.It is Glue dots. Tempary adhesive dots used in scrapbooking. She was using it to hold a quilting Template in place they were a lot less expensive, although a pit thicker than the  True Grips. they were easily accessable to me at Hobby Lobby. Compared to where the Quilt shop is located. I live in a limbo quilt store area!

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Shopping and Christmas Lights

 
 
 
Today was interesting I left the house at 8:45 AM for a Dr appt for myself and BIL, and didn't really get bakc home till 8PM! After both the Dr appts we were done at 11:00 so we left our house to do what retired people do, dropped off a birthday present to my oldest, talked to my sick grandteen told her to drink more teas! (I think she has the flu, or maybe a really bad cold) She's been sick all week. Then we went up to Lebanon, Oh to pick up some glasses that I had held for me.


Then it was on to Waynesville Oh to one of my favorite quilt stores The Fabric Shack. I wasn't planning on buying anything but maybe some remenants. I found 2,
Oh but I wasn't done. I found a WHOLE rack of reduced fabrics. I am planning some quilts (in my head so far) for my granddaughters the ones we call the "Wild Women". (ages 10 and 5) there are 4 of them when they are together they are really WILD! So I think Imight be able to use these to help me make those quilts.
But since we were antiqueing i also bought these:
 
to add to my salt and pepper collection. I think they are really cute. now I need a cute place to keep them! DH also bought something too. a Christmas ornament.
However we wern't done yet. Since we were so late leaveing Waynesville, we drove to Clifton mill to see the light show. Really nice. I have pics on my phone, but I'm not sure I can post them here.
It's learning as I go!

Monday, December 10, 2012

Easy street update

here's  my version of Bonnie Hunters Mystery Quilt  Easy Street! I used her colors because I am insecure in my own color choices.They are also colors I don't as a rule use. It was help the economy with purchasing lots of fabrics!
 
Part One was a billion 4 squares. Really 194 4 square sets It just seemed like a billion! They kept coming and coming!
 



Part 2 of Easy Street was a little simpler, just make Flying goose sets... Lets just say it right now there are MANY ways to make flying goose sets. I hate them all! I don't like the wonky bias, No matter what I tried, I was throwing away fabric (ok I was really storing it in my srap pile pictures to follow). Bonnie ahs a wonderful tute on the Easy street web. So I bought the EZ triangles and it was an EASY! they really went together well, and I only threw out 1-2 sets.... sometimes it is the user that is the problem:(




 
Part 3 WOW it really went together fast... After I threw out the First 64 triangles, because I read the directions wrong :( (well they went into my scrap pile) I cut the Strips then cut squares. I didn't use the EZ angle to cut the triangles.... OOPS. user error!! after that it went together very nicely. I did have to do some trimming because I was rushing to cut those triangles and I wasn't as accurate as i should have been I still need to trim the corners off.


I can see how the colors will blend and contrast together already! It is getting excited.
 

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Easy Street

I started this blog so that I could share my pictures of  Easy Street this link to Bonnies blog. So far I have finished part 1, although they are not all opened, and about 30 Flying geese of part 2. Bonnie also has a great tute that explains the easiest w the least waste of making Flying geese I have ever used!

Like all quilters this time of yr, I am very behind on some other things that I'm trying to get finished before the end of the year. There are also so many things to do this month. Displays to visit, Nutcracker Ballet, 3 nieces and 1 Grand Daughter are in it. it's also my DD1's BD month.