Saturday, September 23, 2006

For a mistake the block still looks ok, the rectangle was suppose to be vertical, it will make a nice little mini wall hanging. Maybe some blue & white half square triangles?? I'll have to do the math, or I'll let EQ do the math.

Finished the purse, did the zipper 3 times before I finally got something I was happy with. Next time I'll definitely read the pattern directions before I buy. It was hard finding zippers this the color I wanted, couldn't get the 16" zip length the pattern called for, used an 18" and tuck the excess into the lining.

Had a great road trip yesterday to NE Quilt Supply with Mary, Pat & Lillian. While we were picking through the sample they sell buy the pound a gentleman came out and said he open up the remnants room. It was like we hit the mother load. The remenants were huge pieces, some as big as 4 yards. I bought 2 bags weighing 20 lbs total, my pieces where half yard to 4 yard pieces. Now to make room...

Sunday, September 10, 2006

The shop received some 2.5inch fabric swatches and of course I took them home. Time to make something for me, a larger version of the bag I made Kate. I took out the Paris Flea Market samples and added a few with some soft yellow solid squares.

I love the fabrics but decided it looked to spring/summer to use now. But I still needed to find fabric for the top border, handles & lining. So I head over to one of my favorite Quilt Shops Stitched In Stone only to discover they are closing at the end of Oct. The owners husband is very ill and she needs to devote her time at home, it was too hard trying to run the shop from home. I did mange to find 2 fabric the went perfectly and bought more for a fall bag but trying out a new pattern.




The floral with the berries will be the top border and the small dots will be the handles and the lining. I'm putting that aside the awhile, mostly because I lent the magazine out that has the pattern.




I picked out these browns & yellows to make the new bag. I got home I read the pattern now I am in search of fusible flannel. This is the second bag pattern I've seen that calls for fusible flannel. Of course the shop is closed on Sundays and my shop doesn't carry it. Monday is a work day and Tuesday I'm crazy busy with appt at school, Mom's Dr appt and guild meeting in the PM. So I'm not sure if I have anything here that would be an acceptable substitute. Timtex??? I'll read the directions again and see if I can't work around it.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

It was sooooo busy at the shop yesterday. With the kiddies back to school everyone has time to sew again. Did a little babysitting today, my little buddy is Joe who's 4 and a very busy boy. By noon I had enough fun and picked up Spencer at school and he played with Joe.

Finally I got to sew! Put the tablerunner blocks together with borders. Picked up some variegated black, gray, white thread for the cats and bats. Maybe next time I'll use a gray thread instead, wasn't overly excited about the way the applique came out. In the 9 patches I used a black swirl from the Carol Doak Star Bright line. I arranged for her to do a workshop & trunk show with the guild in June and she gave me a bundle of 1/3 cuts for putting it all together. I use a lot of black and absolutely love this swirl fabric. Looked online and only found 2 shops that have it, its from 2005 and most shops are out of this. I will have to be one the look out for this one I love it.

I think Camille gave me the border fabric, she was cleaning out her fabric closet and she knows I can't refuse free fabric.

When I stopped by school today I forgot to bring the quilt ribbon to Spencers teacher. I misplaced it then found it again over the summer. In the past I would do a quilt project with Spencers class. In second grade when they studied the rain forest we did rain forest quilts. The kids were so proud of them, we donated them to David's House, the Ronald McDonald House at Childrens Hospital at Dartmouth Medical Center. I had to make wall hangings out of the blocks because some used fabric paints.


In third grade the studied light houses and they made a large light house quilt that was also sent to David's House. I entered it into my guilds quilt show,Seabreeze Quilt Guild and they won a Vendor Ribbon. They were so excited, we hung the quilt at school with the ribbon for all to see.


Sunday, September 03, 2006

It was a rainy, yucky Sunday. One of those days I was always doing something but didn't seem like anything we getting accomplished. Grocery shopping, made a lasagna, having a friends over tonight for dinner and watching a little of the race. Work tomorrow so probably won't be staying up late to watch the entire race...unless Robby is doing well them maybe I'll sleep a bit late tomorrow, nobody to get up for school.

Cut out appliques for the solid squares in the tablerunner. Don't have any thread that goes well with the pumpkins, hopefully work will have a color that works.

I would like to make another fish quilt to give to my father-in-law for his birthday. I think I will do a few photo transfers of his fishing trips to Rangley Maine. If I make a few of the fishing lines shorter the photos would look fine. Or maybe ('cause I hate making the same quilt twice) I'll make him a quilt with animal blocks to celebrate his 50th anniversary of being a veterinarian. I'll have to think on that one.

Friday, September 01, 2006


Semi-productive, semi-lazy day today. Slept in this morning, quilty friend Mary stopped in, swapped magazines to read, love the BGH Quick Quilts/Projects Mag. We each bought a McKenna Ryan pattern at the Machine Quilters Expo in Manchester NH, thinking we could buy a few batik piece and pull the rest in from our stash. What the heck were we thinking??? New rule, if its batiks...buy the kit. Bought some fabrics online and a few Hoffmans at Stitched N' Stone, SNS had them on sale so of course I bought what was left on the bolts. Will get together with Mary and go through the fabrics to see what we have and what we need. We also bought a few more Pineneedles patterns at the Keepsake Quilting tent sale, picked up a kit 50% off. I live for the Tent Sale, books, patterns, fabric & kits at least 50% off.

I pulled out this Join At The Hip wallhanging I made in last winter, machine appliqued blanket stitch around the stars, moon, stem and the cats hat. Can't decide on what to do for the quilting. Will leave it up on the wall and ponder what to do.


Picked through my yardage stash piles and found this piece of Halloween fabric and pulled a yellow, orange and black FQ's. Made (8) 6.5" nine-patch units in black & ivory and will alternate them with 6.5" squares of Ivory. Will applique a moon (yellow), pumkin (orange) and bats on the solid sqs, skinny border and wider border & backing with the blue Halloween fabric.

Then I washed the kitchen floor, mostly so I could point to something I did for housework besides the few loads of laundry and the dishes when hubby comes home. Now I'm sitting in bed with Opie watching Nascar Cup Qualifying in California, trying to keep him quiet. The Benadryl seems to be working, he wants to follow me around the house so I have to put in his crate at points during the day. Tomorrow I'm going to Joann's for 40% off batting and will pick up some foam to make him a cushion for his crate and a dog bed for the quilting room. Terri is joining me for quick shopping and lunch. But it might be a quick lunch on the road and maybe a trip to Marden's in Sanford if I can get out of the house early.