Christmas Morning

The grandson came over early this morning and made a beeline for the presents under our tree.

We will be spending the day racing hotwheels and playing candyland

A Quilter's Dream

'Twas the night before Christmas,
And the quilts were not made.
The threads were all tangled, the cookies delayed.
The stocking weren't hung, the pantry was bare.
The poor weary Quilter, was tearing her hair.
Stacks of fat quarters, tipped over in streams.
Visions of Log Cabins, had turned into dreams.

When what to her wondering eyes should appear,
But a bus full of quilters with all of their gear.
They went straight to work with just a few mutters,
Sorting and stitching and brandishing cutters.
The patterns emerged from all of the clutter,
Like magic the fabrics arranged in a flutter.
Log Cabins, Lone Stars, Flying Geese & Bear Tracks
Each quilt was a beauty-even the backs.

Her house how it twinkled, her quilts how they glowed.
The cookies were baking, the stockings were sewed.
Their work was all done, so they folded their frames,
And packed up their needles, without giving their names.
They boarded the bus, and checked the next address.
More quilts to be made, another quilter in distress.

She heard one voice echo, as they drove out of sight,
Happy quilting to all and to all a good night!

~ Author Unknown
Found on Quiltersbee.com where you can read more Christmas poems

Wishing everyone a blessed Christmas and happy new year!

Celtic Solstice Update...

I've made a little more progress on this new mystery quilt by spending Quiltcam time cutting more blue triangle pairs!   

I've got my plan and am checking them off as I cut five of each pairing.

Here is my progress after my first cutting session

Last night during Quiltcam I marked off another 90+

This puts me at about half-way done cutting these blue 380 triangle pairs  needed for this king size quilt!  

My sewing time is very limited this year, so keeping up is totally out of the question.   I know Bonnie suggests doing whatever amount you can of each step as clues are revealed, but I find that too confusing... and I don't want to have piles of assorted parts scattered around the room... for who know how long it will take me to complete this.   I think it is much easier for me to work only one step at a time. 

More organizing!

I stopped at Goodwill on the way home from church today, just to check on more flannel shirts for the back of my Celtic Solstice.

While I was there I took a quick detour through the furniture section and found the perfect shelf to start unloading boxes and displaying my fabrics!

It is the perfect size to fit at the end of the bed and still have room to open the door!!  Instead of working on Celtic Solstice or finishing up customer work, I spent the afternoon unloading 6 boxes of fabric from the under-stairs closet and refolding to fit the cabinet.  This is some (maybe most) of the remaining yardage I collected when I worked at the LQS.  I got paid in fabrics and would "buy" 1 or 3 yds of coordinating fabrics I liked,  with no idea of what I was going to make.   I also have some pattern/fabric kits I put together for retirement work!

As you can see, my 90" roll of batting is too long to fit on the bed.  I thought about getting a heavy weight umbrella stand and standing the roll upright,  but the ceiling isn't high enough.  My daughter will eventually be "adopting" the bed to use for her youngest... so I must come up with a new method for storing and using these big rolls.

I've got some re-arranging to do and will continue my hunt for appropriately sized cabinets to store my collection of scraps and Goodwill shirts.

Celtic Solstice ... A little progress

Not much progress has been made on Celtic Solstice.  I'm still working on cutting Step 1... I've got all the orange and neutral base triangles cut and just a few of the blue triangles.  I couldn't wait to cut all 380 pairs... and began by  sewing a dozen blocks together... just to see what they would look like.  I'm glad I did.  I had trouble keeping the points and getting them to the correct size. I did a lot of frogging... multiple times!   I watched and read then re-watched and re-read the directions and finally figured out that my problem was that little notch.  My blues are mostly flannels and the notches weren't as obvious as they could be with a crisp cotton shirt.  Once I figured out that they were my problem, I was more careful about aligning the edges and the blocks went together smoothly.

Since then, I've been busy on the weekends with both grandsons (7months and 4.7 years) and again after school with the oldest grandson... crawling along playing cars and zookeeper and keeping him happy while Mom works.

I spent most of today baking cookies with Matthew.  Pfeffernusse (German spice cookies) and gingerbread men.  Tomorrow is my grandson's celebration of Christmas around the world and we are bringing these treats and will read the Gingerbread Man story to the class .... it was Matthew's favorite book when he was young!

I have also been busy working to complete customer quilts.  I finished this beautiful Orca Bay for Sara and I am almost done with her modified Trip Around the World.

Just two more customer tops must be quilted for Christmas and I will be able to get back to working on Celtic Solstice... or even quilt my Christmas quilt for me!... a swap made in January 2012 that has been patiently waiting it's turn on the quilter.   I love the Christmas dolls in the border fabric... representing my friends that contributed to this quilt.

Wishing you Merry Christmas and happy holiday season with friends and family.

Monday Linky

Monday was the day to link your blog to Bonnie's and report in on progress with Celtic Solstice. You can view and check the links to other blogs here:

http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2013/12/celtic-solstice-mystery-monday-link-up-1.html 

I haven't made any progress since some cutting on Friday (see my last post     here... http://madakamom.blogspot.com/2013/11/black-friday-play.html

But that's because I drove to Indianapolis this weekend with the family to see the Colts vs Titans game.  Unfortuantely for us, the Titans lost again.  But it was a fun trip spending time with family.

We did make a couple of very important stops...

First, on the way to Indiana was a stop at the Goodwill in Bowling Green, KY where I snagged another handful of blue plaid shirts for my backing, one yellow, one green and a couple of neutral shirts for my stash.

But, even more exciting... on the way home we stoped at an antique mall boasting over 600 booths! (exit 76B off of I 65)  I promised I would just make a quick run through to see if there was anything of major interest. An hour and a half later I hadn't  seen even half of the booths, but I did spy many antique quilts and sewing machines... several Singers.. some in bentwood cases, 3 treadles, one iron Singer treadle table, a Morse, several Whites and.... be still my heart... TWO featherweights!  They were both in excellent shape and locked behind glass doors.  I thought long and hard, consulted with hubby and finally decided one just had to come home with me!

I paid a little more than I would have liked, but it was in excellent shape and I've been wanting one for some time.  Her serial number is AH 435380 which indicates she is a model 221-1 born January 1948...she looks real good for a senior citizen!

2013 Totals - November

November has flown by!  The beginning of November we decided to finally replace the upstairs carpeting.  I spent several days packing up china and moving, sorting and organizing into boxes items that have accumulated in in all corners of the upstairs rooms.  Those boxes are now neatly stacked and stored in the guest room.  The new floors are in, the furniture is back in place just in time for Thanksgiving dinner!  Now I am taking my time sorting through the boxes of stuff to decide what we really need or what can be given, sold or donated!  Before I replace and reload the china cabinet in the dining room, I am going to finish painting the wall that was hidden behind it!

I spent the week before Thanksgiving preparing for and working at Santa's Workshop with the Cookeville Jr. Womens Club.   It is a lot of work, but all funds raised go back to community service organzations like Mended Hearts to buy defibulators, Happy Haven Home to buy coats for the orphans living there, and many other worthy causes.
Thanksgiving week was spent organizing, preparing, and hosting the family dinner.  

On a quilty note... 
I completed the remaining parts necessary for Orca Bay and assembled six of the fourteen rows for my half-sized quilt.
I shopped Goodwill and my stash to find 37 shirts in suitable colors for Celtic Solstice.  All the shirts were deboned, pressed and ready to go,  just in time for the Black Friday Step 1 reveal!


WORK COMPLETED IN NOVEMBER
 ....04.....customer tops quilted (YTD 66)
.....02.....customer quilts bound (YTD  20)
.....00.....flimsy completed waiting for quilting (YTD 13)
.....00.....quilted flimsy (YTD 11 )
.....10.....hand-work hours (156 YTD )

MY PROJECTS COMPLETED THIS YEAR:  12 !!!!
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)
Easy Street (7/22/13)
Matthew's Puppies (7/25/13)
Floribunda (9/9/13)

Projects Waiting to be Quilted
 Sloanie Christmas Star Swap

Projects in Progress 
  Spring Wall Hanging.... all my tulips are now stitched down, daffodils next.
  Disappearing 4 patch...blocks are completed, ready for assembly
  Sweet & Sassy.....9 blocks completed, sashed and aquilt corner assembled
  Becky's Barn basket wall hanging...assembled, needs final border
  Novelty Quilt... blocks cut, need assembly
  Happiness Key...background complete, needs applique/embroidery
  Floral & Pinwheels.... made 4 pinwheels then renamed.... Florals&9patch
  POTC swap blocks completed and sent..next swap will be in January
  Dresden Plate placemats
 
Bonnie Projects in Progress
.....06.....cheddar bowties blocks hand-pieced (YTD  6  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
.....done..Orca Bay Step 5 cut 350 triangles and stitch to part 3 to make winged triangles (175 of 175)
.....done..Orca Bay Step 6 cut 2.5in squares and assemble Ohio Stars (0)
.. ..14...Orca Bay Step 7 make flying geese (64 of 64)
.half done..Orca Bay Step 8  assemble quilt- 6 of 14 rows assembled
..............Talkin Turkey..... 2 blocks complete plus parts
..............Midnight Flight....1 block complete plus parts
..............Winston Ways... 2 blocks complete plus parts
......21...... Celtic Solstice... Goodwill shirts deboned (37 of 37)
......140... Celtic Solstice Step 1 orange base triangles cut (140 of 140)
......120... Celtic Solstice Step 1 neutral base triangles cut (120- 240)
.......00.... Celtic Solstice Step 1 blue triangles cut( 0 of 380 pairs)
.......00....  Celtic Solstice Step 1 star point units sewed (0 of 380)

Black Friday Play

I was up and at it early Friday morning...No, I didn't get out in all that shopping madness!  I have more sense than that!

I had set a goal at the beginning of the month to complete Orca Bay to the flimsy stage before starting Celtic Solstice.  I had all the parts completed and pinned and Wednesday was supposed to be the day to stitch it all together.  Instead I spent the day taking care of some church business and made sure that a local family would be housed, warm and fed for the holidays. 

 

So this morning I spent about 2 hours getting the first half of my Orca Bay stitched together.  I decided to cut myself some slack and when the first clue for Celtic Solstice posted I set Orca Bay aside and got started. 

First I need 140 orange base triangles.  
I have six different orange shirts and some quick math told me I should cut 24 triangles from each shirt so that I had an even variety of prints.

Next I need 240 neutral base triangles
Again I have six different neutral shirts and the math says cut 40 triangles from each shirt.  I've only gotten half (120) of them cut so far.

My grandson came over for the day so I had to split my time between playing with him and getting some cutting done. 

We had lots of fun driving and crashing cars all over the living room floor!

Then it was time to make lunch.  And while I was preparing it,I suddenly found myself tripping over lizards and dinosaurs that kept flying out from under the kitchen table!  

We were about to call for an exterminator when my grandson the zookeeper arrives and sets up a fenced in zoo in the corner of the dining room.  The lizards and dinosaurs had to be fenced in their own separate areas.

This was the first time he showed us his active imagination and it was a fun filled day for all.

After a plate full of Thanksgiving leftovers, I'm heading downstairs to finish cutting the remaining 120 neutral base triangles.

The last bit of cutting for this step is 380 blue pairs of triangles.
I have 7 different blue shirts.  With some help I determined that they can be paired into 21 different combinations.   Some additional math tells me to cut 18 pairs from each of the 21 combinations... but that cutting and the sewing will wait for another day.

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving

Yesterday I planned to sew my brains out and get Orca Bay finished before the start of the Celtic Solstice mystery begins tomorrow.  But I got a phone call from the church as I was preparing breakfast... a parishioner was in need of help.  I am a member of our parish outreach program.  We accept donations and use them to assist anyone in the community who is having a hard time making ends meet. So I ate my breakfast and jumped in the car to meet them and see what I could do to help.

This family was desperate.  A stay-at-home mom with three beautiful little ones.  A dad who hadn't worked in over a month.  No gas in the car to search for a job. Meager food supplies in the cupboard.  The utility and rent bills were overdue and scheduled for cutoff...but their savings was wiped out.  The trailer they were living it was patched with cardboard, plastic and duct tape to keep the freezing air out.  The heater was broken.  The trailer was cold and temperatures were heading into the teens.  The slumlord not making repairs and threatening eviction.

After consulting with other members of the group I spent most of the rest of the day fighting traffic, long lines and freezing temperatures. I arranged for the children to be placed on the parish angel tree to receive warm coats and a gift for Christmas.  I also placed them on the list for a Christmas food basket. I was able to gather some warm clothes for the children, buy a space heater, pick up some groceries to stock the cupboard, pay the utility bill and I ran home for my gas can to fill their car's tank.  By the end of the day I was cold and tired, but this family was going to be warm and fed through the holidays.   Oh and the rent... there was a small office located in the middle of the trailer park that looked as bad as the trailer this family was living in... and as I looked around... all of the trailers were in bad shape.  I found out the slumlord is never there... he just comes knocking on doors when the rent is due.  I'm sure he was in a much nicer and heated home!  Next week I think I'll make some inquiries as to what can be done about him and to help everyone living there.

So today, as I rush around and prepare my family's Thanksgiving meal I am thankful for many things...

My husband, who has been blessed with continuous steady employment that has kept our family housed, fed and comfortable for almost 29 years and has allowed me to be a stay-at-home mom to raise and care for our children and now our grandchildren.

For parishioners and community members who donate funds to our outreach program.

For my health and ability to help and serve others in need.

So today, I am wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

 

 

Setting Decisions

I think I am finally ready for the new mystery, Celtic Solstice, to begin.  I now have all my colored shirts (and a couple pair of pants) and a handful of neutral shirts deboned and ready to work with.  With two more Wednesdays before the 29th I will stop back at Goodwill to see if I can add to the variety, but I think I have enough.

Please pardon the bad photography.  I dropped and broke my camera (I got the phone call yesterday that it will cost more to repair than it's worth) so I have to wait until Christmas for a new one from my hubby.... unless he, hopefully, feels sorry for me and brings one home sooner!  In the meantime, I am trying to take pictures with my kindle.  The pictures are a bit off centered, blurry, and the color isn't quite right, but this will give you a rough idea of what I'm doing.

While I wait for the mystery to begin, I have been working... on and off... to finish up my version of Orca Bay.  Today, I got anxious and decided to lay out all the pieces to see what I have.

But as I sat looking it, I thought, what happens if I surround the purple blocks instead of the yellow blocks with the blue?  WOW!  A totally different look and a decision to make, which way do I go?

Treadle

 I'm getting ready for the new mystery and since Bonnie loves antique machines I have decided to do some practice stitching on my treadle.
 

According to the serial number she was made in 1921! The stitches are beautifully even for such an old girl! 

I can't wait to get my camera back from the shop so I can get some better pictures to show you.   

Now I need to develop some coordination skills if I am going to use this for the mystery.  Going to practice this week with some mindless stitching of strips.  We'll see what I end up doing with them later.


 

2013 TOTALS - September AND October

OOPs... This month will be a combined report of work for the last two months... I forgot to post an update for September!  

My grandson started Pre-K in August and I have been busy providing before/after school care as well as weekends while his mom works.  This has cut into my sewing time, but I try to cherish this time we have together while it lasts.

I made progress on my Spring Wall hanging... getting all of the flowers fused and have begun the process of hand-sewn blanket stitches around all the edges.  

I had two craft shows in late September and was able to finish several sets of placemats and tablerunners and some kitchen towels to sell.  I love doing the shows and meeting people... old and new customers too!

I am still working on Orca Bay... I have a few more (16) of Step 7 flying geese to make.  I hope to have this assembled into a top before the new mystery Celtic Solstice begins!

One "sewing" thing I can do with the grandson underfoot is sort through my boxes of  Goodwill shirts to find the colors I need for Celtic Solstice.  It's one way to help teach him his colors.  I was pleased to find I had most of what I needed.  A couple trips to Goodwill on $.99 day helped me fill in most of the gaps... I'd still like a better variety of the gold/yellow... but I think I can make do with what I have if I don't find any more in the next few weeks.

WORK COMPLETED IN SEPTEMBER and OCTOBER
 ....15.....customer tops quilted (YTD 62)
.....05.....customer quilts bound (YTD  18)
.....00.....flimsy completed waiting for quilting (YTD 13)
.....00.....quilted flimsy (YTD 11 )
.....40.....hand-work hours (146 YTD )

MY PROJECTS COMPLETED THIS YEAR:  12 !!!!
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)
Easy Street (7/22/13)
Matthew's Puppies (7/25/13)
Floribunda (9/9/13)

Projects Waiting to be Quilted
 Sloanie Christmas Star Swap

Projects in Progress 
  Spring Wall Hanging.... the flowers are now fused to the background and I have begun stitching them on
  Disappearing 4 patch...blocks are completed, ready for assembly
  Sweet & Sassy.....9 blocks completed, sashed and aquilt corner assembled
  Becky's Barn basket wall hanging...assembled, needs final border
  Novelty Quilt... blocks cut, need assembly
  Happiness Key...background complete, needs applique/embroidery
  Floral & Pinwheels.... made 4 pinwheels then renamed.... Florals&9patch
  POTC... swap blocks completed and sent..next swap will be in January
  Dresden Plate placemats
 
Bonnie Projects in Progress
.....06.....cheddar bowties blocks hand-pieced (YTD  6  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
.....done..Orca Bay Step 5 cut 350 triangles and stitch to part 3 to make winged triangles (175 of 175)
.....done..Orca Bay Step 6 cut 2.5in squares and assemble Ohio Stars (0)
.....50.....Orca Bay Step 7 make flying geese (50 of 64)
...............Orca Bay Step 8  assemble quilt
..............Talkin Turkey..... 2 blocks complete plus parts
..............Midnight Flight....1 block complete plus parts
..............Winston Ways... 2 blocks complete plus parts
......16...... Celtic Solstice... Goodwill shirts deboned

Some fabric choices

My new kindle arrived this week!   This one has a camera feature, but there is no viewfinder.  It was a bit of a challenge for me... there must be some techniqe to taking pictures with it, but I found it very difficult to use.  If I was into taking "selfies" it would be perfect... not so good at taking pictures of something else.  There were multiple failed attempts before I finally came close to centering the picture.   I can't wait for my camera to return from the repair shop!

I had some free time today while waiting for my grandson to arrive so I sorted through and organized my Goodwill shirts by color. 

I've got a bunch of neutrals deboned and ready to cut to size. I didn't bother to try struggling to take pictures of them!

I picked up my  paint chips the other day so now it was easy to go through the boxes and pick what I needed to match.  Some of the colors are too dark or too light, but it's the best I could do for now.  Hopefully these will work.

Tomorrow is $.99 day at Goodwill so I'll be stopping by again in hopes of finding more and better matches.  

My spare time for the rest of the month will be spent deboning these colors, and maybe some extra neutrals too.... Bonnie says you can never have too many neutrals.

 

OBW Challenge

OBW = On-track with Bonnie Wednesday.

There are many Bonnie followers (including me) who have started but not yet finished some (many) of the patterns Bonnie shares with us, both on her blog as free mysteries and in her books.
  
With the start of Bonnie's new mystery looming on the horizon (November 29) a challenge has been issued to make a list and finish up at least one current Bonnie project before the new start.

So here is my list of Bonnie Projects:

• Cheddar Challenge

This was Bonnies leader/ender challenge that I believe she issued summer 2011.  I first had to search for the cheddar fabrics and once found I started it as a take-along hand sewn project as I headed to California in November with Mom for a last visit with Uncle Tom. I carried it around with me and worked on it all through 2012 completing only this first quarter of the planned quilt.  I think I've sewn only 6 blocks this year.  I really need to start taking it along with me again and make some progress.

• Talkin Turkey

I started this in class with Bonnie august, 2012  Qultmakers Block Party in Williamsburg.  I love these French General fabrics that I pulled from my stash.  I'm not sure what project I had in mind when I bought these, but I think they are perfect for these blocks and look forward to getting it done!

•  Winston Ways

This is the second of the three classes I took with Bonnie in Williamsburg 2012.  They are made mostly from Goodwill shirts with only those white triangles coming from yardage pulled from my stash!

• Midnight Flight

This was the third class I had with Bonnie that weekend in Williamburg 2012!  These fabrics were also yardage and Goodwill shirts pulled from my stash.

I think I was nuts to start all three the same weekend.  I was a bit overwhelmed and exhausted by the time I got home...but it was so much fun!  All the fabrics and pieces just sit in their crates waiting their turn.

• Orca Bay

This was Bonnies 2011 Mystery Quilt.  At the time, both my daughters were going to TN Tech here in town so I chose the school colors purple/gold instead of the black and white.... and the blue/red were the colors of their high school so I thought it was a perfect match.  Unfortunately, they both decided college wasn't for them and I lost my motivation to get this done.  I have used it as a leader/ender as I worked on Easy Street and Florabunda.  I have all the Ohio Star blocks and several of the Flying Geese string blocks completed. 

This is what I hope to finish up for the challenge before the new 2013 mystery, Celtic Solstice begins. 
 

 

Just so you don't think I'm a total slacker and never finish anything Bonnie, here are some Bonnie projects that are complete!

• Oklahoma Backroads

This was begun March 10, 2011... I remember this one specifically because it was my birthday present to myself... an early morning drive over to Pidgeon Forge and my first class with Bonnie.  I made this into a small wall hanging as a Mother's Day gift for my Mom.  Completed May 2011

• Roll Roll Cotton Bole

This was Bonnie's 2010 Mystery... I watched as the mystery progressed, but because I was busy with other things, I didn't start until January 2011, after the reveal, when my niece announced her May wedding and I needed a pattern.  She told me she wanted something blue, green, purple and I could choose the pattern. I figured if so many could get it done in the 8 week mystery time-frame, I could get it done in time for the wedding.  HA!   this was my first controlled scrappy quilt.  I used yardage for the colors and Goodwill shirts for the neutral strings.  I really loved the finish and almost hated to give it away!  I tried to finish it in time for the wedding, but too many of life's challenges got in the way.  I completed it in July.. and with my nieces permission since she wouldn't need it til the cold weather hit, I entered it into competition at the fair and FCE cultural arts and came home with a couple ribbons! Completed July 2011

• Florabunda

This is one of Bonnie's free patterns listed on her blog.  I was gifted the floral material, the yellow fabric was left-over from a quilt I made my SIL and the red was from my stash.  With Bonnie's permission I cut up some block kits to teach at an FCE craft day July 2012... but I cut way more blocks than needed and this quilt was the result.  Completed September 2012

• Easy Street

This was Bonnie's 2012 mystery... and I kept up and followed along until the last two steps were revealed back-to-back just before the New Year when I had to travel.   Bonnie made hers in tropical blue, pink, purple and greens... I used my Civil War reproductions.  This quilt was for me and my queen size bed so I took some extra time to add an extra square-in-square border and it finished at 108x108!  It's a bit bigger than I expected, but I absolutely love it!

Completed July 2013

Mystery Time Again!

It's that time of year again!   Bonnie has just begun the release of her mystery for 2013.... Celtic Solstice!




Pictures and colors on screens don't always show the true color, so Bonnie uses paint chips to show us the colors that she is using!  What a clever idea!  

Read all about it on her blog here:

Quiltville.blogspot.com/2013/10/2013-mystery-time-introducing-celtic.html

I am off to Lowes to get my paint chips and then sort through my stash!

 

What I've been up to lately....

During the last few weeks I have been working on my Orca Bay quilt , in small increments of time (like 15 minutes).  I think I have 4 more seams to sew and I will be done with all of the Step 6 Ohio Stars. It is amazing how much can be accomplished in those short spurts of work!

I am hoping to complete the next two steps and have this quilt assembled by the end of October.... even better if I can get it quilted too!

I did complete and quilt my version of Bonnie Hunter's Florabunda!   I started piecing the blocks July 2012! and I was so happy to have all the blocks completed, I quickly stitched them together without referring back to the pattern.  Once the blocks were all stitched together and the borders added I realized that all the blocks were oriented in the same direction instead of alternating every other block!  UGH!  Well, it still looked good to me so I let it be.  It has a nice soft rose colored flannel backing and binding and will be nice and cozy to snuggle under.

But now, the fall cleaning bug has bitten me, and I am working my way through the house... deep cleaning... room by room.  The kitchen and two bedrooms are done... except for the new curtains that need to be made. 

Next room to tackle is the dining room/office!  I must sort through all the papers and stuff that have accumulated on the table and find a way to get more organized.  I feel the the purchase of a nice wooden cabinet with shelves and doors that can be closed to hide the clutter will be necessary in the near future.



 

2013 TOTALS August

Time seems to be flying by so fast! 

My grandson started pre-k in mid August!  He is growing up way too fast!  The first two weeks of school are only partial days, so I was on Nana duty till Mom got off work. :)  We had fun reading, watching cartoons, playing ball and eating ice pops to stay cool!  We even kept him on Friday nights and were able to take him on the rides and two county fairs!
 
A three-day trip with my family to OH to ride the roller coasters (the family not me-I went shopping at a LQS) and a couple of two day out-of-town trips for training meetings for community groups I belong to filled in the month.

While traveling, I brought along and made some progress on my cheddar bowties and Spring Wall Hanging and finished two of my knitted dishrags.  Now that I am home, I am working on sewing the Step 7 flying geese and cutting fabrics for Step 6 of Orca Bay in hopes of having a quilt assembled by October!


WORK COMPLETED IN AUGUST
 ....06.....customer tops quilted (YTD 47)
.....02.....customer quilts bound (YTD  13)
.....00.....flimsy completed waiting for quilting (YTD 13)
.....00.....quilted flimsy (YTD 11 )
.....20.....hand-work hours (96 YTD )

MY PROJECTS COMPLETED THIS YEAR:  12 !!!!
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)
Easy Street (7/22/13)
Matthew's Puppies (7/25/13)

Projects Waiting to be Quilted
 Sloanie Christmas Star Swap
 Floribunda


Projects in Progress 
  Spring Wall Hanging....backing prepared.  preparing flowers for applique, some fused to backing
  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
  POTC... a hand-pieced hexie swap project.
  Dresden Plate placemats
 
Bonnie Projects in Progress
.....06.....cheddar bowties blocks hand-pieced (YTD  6  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
.....done..Orca Bay Step 5 cut 350 triangles and stitch to part 3 to make winged triangles (175 of 175)
.....00.....Orca Bay Step 6 cut 2.5in squares and assemble Ohio Stars (0)
.....04.....Orca Bay Step 7 make flying geese (4 of 64)
..............Talkin Turkey..... 2 blocks complete plus parts
..............Midnight Flight....1 block complete plus parts
..............Winston Ways... 2 blocks complete plus parts

Yardsale Time!

It is yardsale time again over on Quiltville and I am linking up to particpate.  These are some fabrics I have had in my stash for a while and may never get around to using.   If you are interested in purchasing anything, email me at madakamom@aol.com with the item number you wish to purchase.  Be sure to include your mailing address.  I'll take your package to the post office and email you back with the total plus shipping costs.  If that is acceptable, mail me a check and I'll send your package.

#1.....Two pieces of what I call country fabrics $3.50 SOLD

Item #2......Here is a rainbow assortment of fabrics totalling approx 22 yards of fabric.  I believe this may be a poly/cotton blend of fabric but I'm not positive.    $20

Item #3......1 yard of an upholstery type fabric of assorted cats  $2

 

 

 

 

 

 Item #4.........Approximately 13 yards of assorted striped fabrics...may be a poly/cotton blend  $10

 

 

Item #5......These two coordinating animal prints 2 yards (large print) 3 yards (small print) $5.00

 

 Item #6....... Almost 4 yards of green/red striped fabric $3.50 SOLD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Item #7.......Approx 5 yards of Christmas novelty fabrics $5.00 SOLD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Item #8.....A panel of Sunbonnet Sue and friends $1

 

 

 

Item #9.......Two "front porch" panels... suitable for making into pillows. $1SOLD

 

 

Item #10.... 7/8 yard of bug fabric  $1SOLD

 

 

 

 

 

 

Item #11......2-7/8 yards of black cordauroy fabric $3.00

 

 

 

 Be sure to go visit all the other links on Bonnie's blog too. 

http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2013/09/labor-day-yard-sale.html

 

 

Cleaning Up

I belong to the local Junior Women's Club and today was our day for trash pick-up at the local park.  I wasn't sure if I would be able to attend as we keep the grandson on Saturdays, but, as you can see... he was happy to join in on the fun!

With the hard work done and temperatures in the 90's I thought I'd give him a treat and visit the fountain in the park. My grandson isn't one for taking showers... baths are ok, but and a drop of water on his face and screams of terror can be heard throughout the neighborhood.  I wasn't sure how well this would go.... He was a bit shy at first, but after watching some other young ones running through the water shooting up from the ground he totally enjoyed running around and getting wet... with an occasional run to the bench to towel off his face. 

If only bath time could be so much fun!