Monday, February 25, 2013

another one bites the dust

 I finished up this quilt over the weekend.  Only two to go!  This was the first one that I tried to mix it up a bit - different border and different designs in the squares.  I love how it turned out. 
I LOVE feathers!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

I can breathe!

My sinus surgery was a complete success and I'm happy to report that I can breath through my nose.  :-)  I still have a headache and my left eye hurts a bit but there is still a tube in there that gets removed on Friday and I suspect that is the culprit.  But it's almost over - a year of being sick.  I can't wait to start to feel better.  Hopefully I'll be able to stick to my running plan now.  I want to loose some of the weight I've gained over the past couple of years and I can't do it without exercise and running is my exercise of choice.  Over the past year, I haven't been able to find any momentum because I'm always sick.  I want to run at least one half marathan this year (targeting the fall) and lot's of smaller races.  I really enjoy it. 

 I didn't make as much progress as I was hoping to on my scissor case.  I didn't feel like stitching at all while recovering from the surgery.  Hopefully I'll feel like it soon.  I really want to get caught up. 
 Here is another quilt hot off the quilter.  This is the final JoAnn Fabrics BOM I had laying around.  This one is earmarked for a niece.  Thinking I might need a wedding shower gift in the next year or so.  I'll just put it away until it's needed.  I have two more that are quilted and just need to be bound.  They should be done in the next couple of days.  And the last top is on the machine already half quilted.  I can't beleive I have no more tops to finish. 
Not much progress has been made on my house over the last six months or so.  I havne't had a ton of money and time is always an issue.  But yesterday I got my front hall closet door hung!  I only lived with the gaping hole for 18 months.  :-)  It feels good to get going again.  Next month I'm starting work on my sewing and spare room.  All new oak floors and trim work.  Then I'll start working on the half bath attached to my bedroom.  Lots of cool plans there.  I can't wait!

Monday, February 11, 2013

Second Casket Project - Progress!

I've actually been making progress on my second casket project.  It's a tiny glove scissor case and this is the cuff at the top of the glove.  The size of the linen is giving me fits.  I just can't see well enough with even my best cheater glasses and even though I have progressive lenses in my glass, they are worthless for stitching this fine.  I broke down and bought the highest power cheaters yesterday but didn't have time to stitch last night.  I hope they work.  I think it's time for a Dazor light with magnifying lens.  I'll need it for all the fine work I need to do on the casket. 

I finished up a couple more quilts last week but only took photos of one.  Don't know how I forgot the second one.  This is another blast from the past - a Thimbleberries from about seven eight years ago.  I think it's called Bird House Quilt?  It was a block of the month club I belonged to at the time.  Still cute even though it, like so many other quilts I've finished lately, don't match my house at all.  But it's sorta spring like and it's on my couch.
Close up of the quilting pattern - like how it turned out.  As I said before, I finished two last week and I'll take a photo when I have a chance.  I have another quilt on the frame but as fate would have it half way though the quilting yesterday the machine started to misbehave badly so I quit for the day.  I already ripped a ton of quilting out and that is not easy to do so I walked away and I'm looking for advice from my Yahoo Group on my brand of quilter.  Sometimes I hate this machine.  I'll only have two quilt tops to go after that!  I can't believe I'm always done with almost 20 tops.  :-)

Think of me on Wednesday - I'm having a mass removed from my sinus and I'm quite apprehensive.  I've never had any sort of surgery and it's freaking me out.  :-)  I'm sure it will all end well but I hate not knowing what I don't know. 

Tuesday, February 05, 2013

My First Casket Project (and more quilts)

Here is my first completed project from my Cabinet of Curiosities class - the Butterfly Pinkeep.  We had a choice of two colorways, the bright original looking colors and the faded colors (or we could do our own of course).  I went with the bright colors based on what the ladies were using in the late 1600's.  And they are bright.  Love it.  Tricia has set up the course so we learn to use the silks and techniques that we will need to make our caskets.  And I'm really glad she has set it up this way.  I love the colors of the Soie Paris silk but I hate working with them.  And they are pricey and money is a concern for me so I'll be looking for substitutes for them.  I'm thinking Vicky Clayton silks will be a start.   And I can order variegated colors and that would be cool.  I'll then have more money to spend on some of the other threads that have been developed for the course. 

 And I've already started work on my second piece - it's a little glove - this is the band.  All tent stitch over 34 count linen.  Oh my eyes!  :-) 

I'm way behind right now.  We are currently on month 10 of lessons and instructions and have already received complete supplies and instructions for four projects and started on the instructions for the fifth.  And I still need to start work on designing my box panels.  And for that I need to learn how to use Adobe Illustrator and my Bamboo Tablet.  I don't want to draw and redraw the panels over and over again as I change my mind.  But the learning curve for my plan is huge.  My plan is to have all my casket panels more or less designed and colors and stitching styles selected  by the time this first course is over.  And I want to have most of my supplies gathered - stitching frames, linen, silks, extra bits, etc. by the time the second stumpwork course starts (nine months from now).  Then I start working on my box as the months of that course unfold. 

And don't forget I still need to buy my casket.  I'm sure it's going to be around $3,000+ or so but I'm pretty sure we can pay for it monthly with delivery after we are done paying for it.  For me that is in a couple of years.  :-) 

 I finished another quilt last weekend.  This was a Timbleberries quilt pattern with Timbleberries fabric from around 8 or so years ago.  It's called Paintbox Stars.  I did hundreds of flying geese.  :-)  But super happy with how it turned out and it fits my king size bed!  My first quilt ever to do so.  I'm glad the long arm quilter can do up to this size quilt because I want more!
 Close up of the quilting pattern.  I'm very happy with how it turned out.

 This is a quilt I finished up a couple of weeks ago.  Can't remember the name of it or the pattern line but love how it turned out.  Quilted it with black thread and happy with the end result.

Up for this weekend (already on the quilt frame) is another JoAnn Fabrics quilt of the month from around seven years ago.  That one I plan on keeping as the colors still work in my house.  Then I can start a French General that I made a couple of years ago!  Can't wait for that one.  French General are currently my favorite line of quilt fabrics.  The just one more top to go and I'm totally caught up with my tops.  I have my next quilt cut out - it's a smallish wall hanging - about 36 inches square but with lots of little pieces.  And the beauty part?  I'll be able to quilt it right away.  :-)  It's great having a long arm quilter.  I still have around a dozen or so quilt tops kitted up.  I really want to start to get to those also.  I hate buying more when I have tubs filled with uncut fabric.  And it's always been a goal of mine to be a finisher and not just a starter with everything I do.