2013 Totals June

June was a slow customer month with only 3 quilts completed.  Toward month end a large custom quilt came in and I began working on that after vacation.  It is a 20 block sampler and she wants each block quilted differently...my challenge for this summer!

We took a week-long vacation and I brought along my sewing to work on while hubby was off fishing.  The cabin porch overlooked the lake and it was a very peaceful and relaxing way to sew.

Matthew's Puppies quilt is now assembled and waiting it's turn to be quilted.  Easy Street is now a flimsy also!  
I moved Orca Bay a bit further along by doing some cutting for step 5, but forgot to bring parts with me on vacation so sewing had to wait. 
Disappearing 4-Patch blocks are now completed.  Now I have to decide how to assemble them into a quilt... with or without sashing?!?

Because I forgot to bring my OB parts on vacation, I ran out of sewing to do.  YIKES!  So a trip into town looking for a fabric store (none existed) but I did find some nice fabrics in WalMart ... a floral and two coordinating solids.  I planned to make pinwheels with the solids and alternate with a square of the floral. A new quilt is born, Florals&Pinwheels. But, once a few pinwheels were made and laid out next to the floral, I realized their bold color was too overwhelming for the floral square.  The new plan is to get some WOW and mix with the pale green I bought for a backing to make 9patches using the coordinating solids for the center square.  I think that will tone it down and play together better. The new name is now Florals&9patches!  (I'm so clever when it comes to names! LOL!!!)   to see pictures of the above projects go back to this post from a few days ago:  http://madakamom.blogspot.com/2013/06/lakeside-get-away.html

My handwork this month was mostly tracing to flowers for my spring wall hanging.  I did finish up knitting one more dishcloth.  A lot of my "free" time was spent helping care for the grandsons and helping my daughter move the rest of her stuff into her new home.

WORK COMPLETED INJUNE
 .....03.....customer tops quilted (YTD 36)
.....01.....customer quilts bound (YTD  10)
.....02.....flimsy completed waiting for quilting(Easy Street, Matthew's Puppies)
.....00.....quilted flimsy (YTD 9 )
.....04.....hand-work hours (66 YTD )

MY PROJECTS COMPLETED THIS YEAR:
Lucky Charms wall hanging (1/21/13)
Basket Sampler Welcome wall hanging (2/15/13)
Knitted afghan  (3/20/13)
Scrap Mania quilt (3/19/13)
Orange/Blue Jelly Roll quilt (3/18/13)
Hope Academy Banner (3/27/13)
Jaxson's quilt (3/22/13)
Baltimore Album (4/5/13)
Civil War Snowball (4/5/13)
Big Brother Quilt (5/7/13)

Projects Waiting to be Quilted
 Sloanie Christmas Star Swap
 Floribunda
 Easy Street
 Matthew's Puppies

Projects in Progress 
  Spring Wall Hanging....backing prepared.  preparing flowers for applique
  Disappearing 4 patch...blocks are completed, ready for assembly
  Sweet & Sassy.....9 blocks completed, sashed and quilt corner assembled
  Becky's Barn basket wall hanging...4 blocks completed, assembly to be decided
  Novelty Quilt... blocks cut, need assembly
  Happiness Key...background complete, needs applique/embroidery
  Floral & Pinwheels.... made 4 pinwheels then renamed.... Florals&9patch
 
Bonnie Projects in Progress
.....01.....cheddar bowties blocks hand-pieced (YTD  1  of  81)   ...  (81 of 162 in 2012)
.....00.....cheddar bowtie rows stitched (YTD  0 .... 9 of 18 in 2012)
...done....Orca Bay Step 1 hourglass blocks made (YTD 49  plus 21 in 2012) total  70 of 112 
....done...Orca Bay Step 2  3.5in string blocks made (completed in 2012 )
....done...Orca Bay Step 3 2in HSTs (YTD 55 plus120 in 2012)  total 175
.....done..Orca Bay Step 4 5.5in string blocks (YTD 08 plus 24 of 32 in 2012) total 32
.....00.....Orca Bay Step 5 cut 350 triangles and stitch to part 3 (0 of 175)
.....00.....Orca Bay Step 6 cut 2.5in squares and assemble Ohio Stars (0)
.....00.....Orca Bay Step 7 make flying geese (0)
..done.....Floribunda Blocks assembled into flimsy and ready to quilt!
..............Talkin Turkey..... 2 blocks complete plus parts
..............Midnight Flight....1 block complete plus parts
..............Winston Ways... 2 blocks complete plus parts
..done....Easy Street is now assembled into flimsy and ready to quilt

driveway

Some years before we moved here 10 years ago, the city came through, cut off the top of all the driveways in the neighborhood and installed sewer lines.  All has been well until the last couple years when we noticed the ground sinking across the front of the property. I've called several times and they just keep telling me that the ground is settling... nothing to worry about.  Last year it got so bad that the driveway started breaking on the right side.  We called to have the city come check out what is going on underneath and make the repair.  All they did was pave over the broken area and level things out.   

In the picture below you can see the patch line where they repaired and leveled it out last year. That worked fine for a while, but this spring, it is sinking even more,and the corner is now totally breaking apart. So we began getting estimates on repaving the entire driveway and arranged to have the city repair the top part.  Today they arrived bright and early!

 First Dustin used a saw to make a cut between the edge of the driveway and the road.

Next, Justin came in with the back hoe and lifted up all the pieces of the old blacktop...I was amazed watching him move small pieces into position then scooping them up and dropping them into the dump truck.

 Nate came next with a load of gravel to fill in the hole.

Then back to Justin with the backhoe.  He just smoothed out the pile of gravel then rolled over it to pack it down some.    

Justin added a couple more scoops to fill in the edges nicely. 


 And Nate finished it all off with the wacker...yes.. that's what that thing is called.. says so right on front! ... packing it all together and smoothing it level.

A few finishing touches with rake and we are done!

Now we have to wait for the pavers to come in with the blacktop and finish the driveway.

Follow me to....

I have been informed, by my very good friend Sara,  thank you very much!  that Google Reader will be disappearing on July 1.  Yes, like many others, I've heard about it here and there, but didn't pay any attention because I had no idea what it meant or how it would affect me...   I figure, ignore stuff and deal with it later.... not necessarily the best plan of attack... but good tech savy friends like Sara hit me over the head, scare me with what is to happen, and keep things moving smoothly for me by telling me how to solve the problem before it happens!

Sara explained to me that Google Reader is what we have been using to follow all the different quilty blogs we love....who knew???  Not me!
That list of blogs will no longer be available!  YIKES!  How would I ever find all my favorites once they disappeared??!!! 

Thank goodness, Sara has done the research for me (YAY!!!) She has tested several other available "programs??" and decided that Bloglovin' is the easiest and best available alternative.  She put a link on her blog, told me to click it, and set up an account there. Magically (automatically) my blog list will continue to live on there!

SO.... if you would like to continue following my posts (and I hope you do!) click on the Bloglovin' icon at the top right of the page, follow the simple directions and we can still stay connected!

Love Entwined



I'm not sure how I got there, but I recently found myself on Esther's Blog.  She is preparing an 18month long BOM reproducing her version of an antique applique coverlet, Love Entwined.

There is no clear picture of what this will look like yet, but there is a lot of chatting going on over at her yahoo group about it.  So I have been watching and waiting and trying to decide whether or not to attempt this, or not.    Esther does explain on her blog that this is definitely NOT a quilt for the faint hearted (or beginner). 

Today, Esther posted this picture of the chintz fabrics she is using.  I LOVE these florals, but I have nothing in my stash that would come close.  So,  I was still waiting to see the pattern before jumping in.

Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, I stopped at Hobby Lobby today to get some Heat & Bond lite for a different project.  After locating it hanging on the wall, I turned around to find this:

My colors are a bit different, and I won't be sure they will work until the pattern is released, but I think I have now committed to do this project! 

I can still change my mind though. She will also be releasing a second BOM that will be simpler, which may be what I use these fabrics for instead. 

Hop on over to her blog and check things out. 



http://estheraliu.blogspot.com/

Lakeside Get-away

Last week we escaped for a week to a rented lakeside cabin in the mountains of East Tennessee.   Once off the highway we left all of life's stresses behind... as well as cell phone reception!  I drove up into the mountains on roads that were, at times, so curvey the 25mph squiggle signs didn't do them justice.  Often times I couldn't see what was around the bend.  The area borders on the Cherokee National Park and the views as we climbed were gorgeous!

 


Our first stop was to unload and launch the boat where the guys could then cruise across the lake to our cabin.

  I set up my sewing machine by the sliding glass doors with a view of the lake off the covered porch.  The weather was beautiful most of the week and I was able to slide open the screen door and listen to the birds and get the fresh air without all the bugs! 

The early morning view with the "smoke" rising off the lake and mountains was phenomenal!

 

I worked on several projects throughout the week... 
         

First... and most important to him... was Matthew's Puppy quilt.  He spent the past 8 months embroidering these puppies and I promised to help him get it assembled into a top and quilted to enter into the county fair in August.  I've got a white with black dots for the backing to match the white dots on the blue sashing and red cornerstones (I'll have to try for a much better picture later).

I thought I brought along fabric and parts (HSTs) for Orca Bay Step 5, but all I had was the fabric.  So I cut the 350 triangles...and the sewing will have to wait until I find time at home.

I did bring along my Easy Street fabric and parts.  I had the square-in-square pieced borders almost ready to attach to the center, and a few extra pieces to fill in the corners.  I was pleasantly surprised at how easily it all fitted together...there was minimal tugging or easing to fit.  I love how it turned out! 

 
















 
After adding the final border, I forgot to take a picture out on the porch deck.  Now that I'm home, my floor space isn't big enough to lay it out, and it's raining outside today, but here is a picture of one corner showing all the borders.

There was only one day that the weather didn't cooperate, so we went for a long drive and ended up in Elizabethtown where we did  some grocery shopping and enjoyed a nice steak dinner out to celebrate Father's Day.  

I also stopped and picked up some fabrics to work with.  Back at the cabin I cut and stitched some pinwheel blocks but wasn't happy with the results.  I think the pinwheels are too strong and overwhelm the floral print.   Plan B is to make 9-patches using some white on white and the matching green I was going to use for the backing and use the pink and blue as the center square... hoping it will all play together better.

The water was a bit on the chilly side for me, but that didn't stop Matthew from going for a swim.

  
The fishing wasn't exceptional, but we did catch a couple of bass... enough for dinner one night.

This guy came swimming by nightly looking for bread scraps.  He and three others were brought to the area when a gentleman from Florida relocated nearby several years ago.  His companions are gone and he refuses to stay in the pond he was relocated to.  So the locals and tourists feed and take care of him.

It was a very relaxing and much needed vacation.  

Totals 2013 May

The biggest and best accomplishment for the month of May was being there for my daughter and the birth of my second grandson.  Everything went better than expected and all are well.  I completed quilts for both the new baby and big brother... just in time!
I also helped her finish up the necessary sweat-equity hours with Habitat for Humanity and she will be closing on her new home in June.

My second nephew graduated high school last weekend in Baltimore.  The next day, the family drove over to Gettysburg to visit Pop's grave and see the stone in place.  The three grandsons presented a cross to the parish that my brother had made.  The cut squares on the cross depict the stations of the cross.  Father was so pleased to receive it and felt it would be perfect to carry during the stations ceremony next Lent/Easter!

 WORK COMPLETED IN MAY

 .....05.....customer tops quilted (YTD 33)
.....01.....customer quilts bound (YTD  09)
.....01.....flimsy completed waiting for quilting (florabunda)
.....00.....quilted flimsy (YTD 9 )
.....08.....hand-work hours (62 YTD )

MY PROJECTS COMPLETED THIS YEAR:
Lucky Charms wall hanging (1/21/13)
Basket Sampler Welcome wall hanging (2/15/13)
Knitted afghan  (3/20/13)
Scrap Mania quilt (3/19/13)
Orange/Blue Jelly Roll quilt (3/18/13)
Hope Academy Banner (3/27/13)
Jaxson's quilt (3/22/13)
Baltimore Album (4/5/13)
Civil War Snowball (4/5/13)
Big Brother Quilt (5/7/13)

Projects in Progress 
  Spring Wall Hanging....backing prepared.  preparing flowers for applique
  Sweet & Sassy.....9 blocks completed, sashed and quilt corner assembled
  Assemble Matthew's Puppies... blocks complete, needs sashing/assembly
  Novelty Quilt... blocks cut, need assembly
  Happiness Key...background complete, needs applique/embroidery
  Disappearing 4 patch

Bonnie Projects in Progress
.....01.....cheddar bowties blocks hand-pieced (YTD  1  of  81)   ...  (81 of 162 in 2012)
.....00.....cheddar bowtie rows stitched (YTD  0 .... 9 of 18 in 2012)
.....49.....Orca Bay Step 1 hourglass blocks made (YTD 49  plus 21 in 2012) total  70 of 112 
....done...Orca Bay Step 2  3.5in string blocks made (completed in 2012 )
....done...Orca Bay Step 3 2in HSTs (YTD 55 plus120 in 2012)  total 175
.....done..Orca Bay Step 4 5.5in string blocks (YTD 08 plus 24 of 32 in 2012) total 32
.....00.....Orca Bay Step 5 cut 350 triangles and stitch to part 3 (0 of 175)
.....00.....Orca Bay Step 6 cut 2.5in squares and assemble Ohio Stars (0)
..done.....Floribunda Blocks assembled into flimsy and ready to quilt!
..............Talkin Turkey..... 2 blocks complete plus parts
..............Midnight Flight....1 block complete plus parts
..............Winston Ways... 2 blocks complete plus parts
..............Easy Street Steps 1-8 Completed in 2012
...done...Easy Street  inner border cut and attached
............. Easy Street  2nd border: square in square blocks  (108 of 116 YTD
............. Easy Street final purple border

Floribunda

Last year, with Bonnie's permission, I cut kits and stitched up a couple of quilt blocks using her pattern, Floribunda, to offer as a class for  FCE Craft day.  The extra kits and fabric I have been using as one of several leader/ender projects.  I finally have 20 blocks complete and assembled the quilt several weekends ago... I've just been too busy to get around to posting this.  Unfortunately, I didn't refer back to the pattern before assembling and I slanted all the blocks in the same direction instead of alternating to make an "X".  Oh well,  it's done and I like it anyway!

Now I must find fabric for a backing. 

Quilting at the Barn

It's been about a month since I drove up to Clarkrange to Becky's Barn for a "Sweet & Sassy" class by designer JP Anderson.   Life sort of happened and posting has been delayed. 

http://beckysbarn.blogspot.com/2013/04/busy-beebs-quilting-beckys-barn-present.html

I forgot to bring my camera, but if you visit Becky's blog, I am sure she will have additional pictures up soon.


She made crockpot full of chili and a chicken casserole for our lunch break.  Delicious!

Here are some pictures of my project...  

I cut fabric strips from a plaid shirt and some lavender Kona Cotton I had in my stash that never got used for another project, and using the Sweet' N Sassy Templates by Creative grids I made the rhombus 4 patches. 

 The sashing and setting triangles were also cut from some Kona Cotton.

I wasn't too sure about my color choice for the setting triangles....

 
until I found this fabric for the borders and backing in Becky's shop!  Perfect!  It brings together all the colors from the shirting.

Thanks Becky and JP for a great day!

More Water Troubles

Two ago, we were forced to replace the waterline from the road to the house.  A very high meter reading told us we had a leak, but we had no visible signs of water anywhere!  Turns out, the leak was under the concrete slab and the water was draining into the ground under the house.    We located a plumber who dug up the front lawn and ran a new line and connection into the house, capping off the old line. Thankfully, that took care of the problem and our water bills went back to normal.

Three weeks ago I was out mowing the front lawn and and stepped into a big mushy puddle out near the meter.  UGH!  I called the water department, and sure enough, there was a leak... this time on the City's side of the meter and they would make the repair at no cost to us.  Since then, we have had day after day after day of rain until, finally, it was dry enough today for them to do the work.


Imagine my surprise when I returned from walking Toby to find them digging a hole across the street!  Turns out, the leak was under the road somewhere and they had to replace the section that runs under the road between my house and the neighbors.

They eventually got around to digging up my front lawn also.

They tied a rope and the new line to the broken line and used the digging shovel to pull the new line under the road and up on our side.

 
When they had everything hooked up and running again, they did "repair" my front lawn... but i fear it will never be the same again!

A new life

jaxson clay kulis

born may 9 2013

7 lbs 1.1 oz

19.75 in 

all are doing well

It's Time!

As this posts, we are heading to the hospital go get things started!

I completed the last stitches on the Big Brother and New Baby quilts.... just in time!



 

Big Brother loves to carry around his receiving blankets. And I have to tuck several of them around him when he sleeps over... So I used my AccuQuilt Studio Cutter and cut them up and re-stitched them with some additional flannels into one bigger blanket... easier for tucking!

For the new baby, I chose this sweet farm animal print.  Mom couldn't give me a color scheme, but I thought these "neutral" colors would match most anything she chose.