Fall Quilting

I have been progressing steadily since August, sewing 2 7/8 inch squares into Half Square Triangles (HSTs). My container had been so full, that not another scrap of fabric would fit and still close the cover. Here is what is left! Still enough to make a twin sized quilt.



Enjoyed some of the pleasant Fall weather today with a backyard french fry and marshmallow char. Yes, that is the Christmas train in the back.



Leftover bunnies from Easter marshmallows can char nicely.

Here's an example of the crummy meander quilting I did on the Witch quilt. I have now taken all of it out and am in the process of requilting. If I had used orange thread, it would have looked pretty good, but the purple was just awful.

Finished 2009 Block of the Month

Takes me forever, but I can finish a block-of-the-month. This is the 2009 BOM from QuiltingAroundTheWorld.com. I got behind because of computer problems and then once behind, I just didn't get to it.  As part of this month's UFO challenge, I finished the remaining blocks and then the borders and it all looks spiffy now!  Yes, one block is wrong - but I would bet you wouldn't guess which one, so I'm not saying.   I totally loved that turquoise fabric, so paired it with purple.  This is a pretty large quilt roughly 85x101, so quilting will be a challenge. I do plan to put feathers into all those side triangles. Haven't yet decided on the blocks though.  Should I do stitch-in-the-ditch or plan on even more feathers?  Not sure.  Plenty of time to decide.  I hope to finish the binding today and then can put it in the To-Be-Quilted box. Yes, I now have a BOX of flimsies to quilt!  It's not that I have a lot (6?), but I am also making the binding as well as backing (when it gets made in advance) so needed somewhere to contain these parts.

New BOM

Not a lot on the crafting front to report. I decided that I hated the purple meandering on the witch quilt, so I'm taking it all out.  Since I had done about half the blocks, it's taking some time, but I still hope to finish the quilt before Halloween.  I hope to finish the assembly of the QATW 2009 BOM today. 

I just found out about a "There and Back Again" Block of the month.  I totally do not like paperpiecing because I can't get my head around it, but my interest in this BOM is so great, I will TRY my hardest to figure it out.  The BOM just started Oct 5 and the first block is Gandulf.  So, give it a whirl!  I'll be posting any finished blocks here.

Progress on QATW 2009 BOM

Posting during a break while sewing.  It's hot and humid today, so I'm not getting a lot done. Here's a photo of what's was done last night on the QATW 2009 BOM.  I changed the layout slightly (just switching two blocks).  All the flying geese were done long ago and those rows are in partial assembly.  I've sewn a row of flying geese to the first row and have started attaching triangles on the 2nd row.  I need to cut more, but have to wait for Polly to wake from her nap since her napping box is on top of the cutting table. This quilt is also large, so I'm going to be quilting it in several pieces.  Just trying to decide whether two pieces  is going to be too big to manipulate the fabric. Mrs. Trish, the original designer listed that this quilt is 83x101, so you can see why I don't want to do it all in one piece! I still have hopes of completing this today, although I admit, I always underestimate how long it takes to do rows.   The humidity seems to be going down a bit, so I'm hopeful that I might still get some quilting on the Witch quilt yet tonight.

Still Chugging On Old Quilt Projects

This is primarily a month to work on old projects.  I'm happy to report that I finally finished the last block for the 2009 Quilting Around the World Block-of-the-month (QATW BOM).  Happy dance, happy dance!  Still ahead is row assembly, but I should be able to get that done fairly quickly.  The goal is to have a completed top and binding before the end of the month. The quilting on this isn't planned until January.

The Witch quilt is pinned and I plan to start meander quilting on that tomorrow.  I still do a lot of HSTs when I get around to them, but I did start some assembly on the Zig Zag quilt.  All leftovers go into the Lady of the Lake Quilt. Yay! The Apple Core quilt (hand piecing) is chugging right along.  I have 5 rows now complete. I've decided to finish this top before the end of the year, so will start hand piecing while watching TV. I just have to find something I watch that is less action, more dialog oriented. 

Other than that, I've attended a couple of Masters classes for my Bernina.  Trying out more stitches and of course, there are those dozen feet I want (all expensive).  But, I am THRILLED with my machine. Tonight, I decided that the cats were finally over the new machine, so stuck the slide on table on. Sewing is even easier with this wide table.  The cats have a tendency to bite my new toys, such as the corner of my Netbook (the day I bought it).  My stitch card is still a little threatened, but I keep it down so as not to tempt the little creatures.

I have a tip for all of you Kindle owners. I adore my Kindle, but that screen is really delicate!  I was fortunate that Amazon decided to replace my damaged Kindle under warranty (almost a year old).  I tripped (over cat) and grabbed the edge of the Kindle so as not to drop it and it damaged the screen (sob!). It was in the nifty case I had made. Due to this, I am coming up with a new Kindle case design that includes handles.  For now, I will just add a short handle to the cow case because I do love my cows.

I have to mention that I think many of us will feel the loss of Steve Jobs. His visions have changed the world and I for one have benefited from that.  I bought my first Mac, a Mac Plus in 1987.   I still have my Mac Performa 6200CD. Yep, it still works, but I have no mouse now and don't play games any longer, so it's time for it to be recycled (sob).  I had planned to get an Ipad2 this month, but with the Bernina buy, that is on hold. I will just continue with my little Netbook.  (sigh)