Orca Bay is finished

 I have another finish! I'm turning into a lean, mean finishing machine, well, maybe not lean, and certainly not mean. The binding went onto Orca Bay yesterday. It was pouring down rain yesterday, though, so I couldn't get any pictures until this afternoon. I wanted this quilt to be a bit bigger than the original instructions, so I added a couple more borders to it.








                                                                                    There is so much going on in this quilt that I
decided to use a very basic design for the quilting. I've been using this one more often lately, Square Spiral by Keryn Emmersen. I like the way it follows the strong diagonal lines in the piecing. I used one of the diagonal stripe fabric I keep in my stash for doing bindings, and again used a faux piping technique to sew the binding on completely by machine. For some people, doing the final part of stitching the binding by hand is one of their favourite parts of doing the quilt. I'm not of that mind. By the time I get to putting the binding on a quilt, I am usually more than ready to have it done, and don't want to take the additional time to hand stitch it down. There's a short tutorial on how to do this kind of binding here. Unless I have an irregular edge on a quilt, or piecing where the points would end up cut off, this is my go to binding .  I'm linking up to Finish it up Friday and Can I Get a Whoop Whoop in order to celebrate this finish.

Design Wall Monday, October 7, 2013

I still haven't adjusted to this whole October thing. The summer just flew past, and I think I missed it. It's even harder to believe that this coming weekend is the Canadian Thanksgiving! There will be turkey and stuffing and pies and all kinds of other good stuff cooking around here, probably on Saturday. We want to go to church on Sunday, something we haven't done in a large number of years. It was just too difficult trying to work 3-11, with all the body clock issues that in turn created. But, I've been retired for almost 3 months now, so the body clock is slowly readjusting itself.  So, if we do most of the cooking on Saturday, there won't be the frantic rush to get home and get everything in the oven. We'll get the meat off the turkey, and package it into aluminum foil and then all we'll have to do is throw it in the oven to heat up on Sunday. Noel will be here, too, which will be wonderful.

I have my Great Granny Squares up on the wall today. I want it to be 4 blocks wide by 5 long, so I need to do 2 more blocks, and then that part of it is done. I'm going to be putting coloured corner stones at the intersections of the sashing, and probably a pieced border of some sort, not quite yet decided.

And here is Orca Bay, all finished and ready to go into the fast track lane for my projects to be quilted. I have this one, and one other, also a full sized quilt, that need to be done before the beginning of December. I'd better get some more work order forms printed out, and get them into the line up.
I'm linking up to Judy's Design Wall Monday. Then I think I'll go back up to the studio and work for another hour, and then maybe get the last 2 GGS's done.

Design Wall Monday, Sept. 30, 2013

Well, today turned out a little differently than I had planned first thing this morning. I had a sewing day planned. I was going to put the last border on Orca Bay, and then lay it out on the lawn for pictures. But, sometime around noon, my husband had the weather network on, saw how beautiful it is supposed to be for the next few days, and suggested a day trip out to the Pinery Provincial Park to scope out and choose a campsite. I very enthusiastically agreed and off we went, and found a lovely campsite that we have booked for the next 4 days. We'll go up Tuesday morning, and come back Saturday. It's supposed to be warm and sunny all those days, and then turn wet and cooler Sunday.
So, all this means that, instead of a design wall, or a design lawn, I have a design ironing board.

I'm planning one more border for this, of about 4 inches, in the red.
Then, the other plan I had for today, was to start working on another UFO. I couldn't decide if I wanted to work on

Great Granny Squares,

Thanksgiving Leaves or

Meteor Showers.

So, I took my indecision, and texted Gail and asked her to choose one for me. This was before Scott turned on the Weather Network which prompted the impulsive trip to the Pinery. Her choice was Great Granny Squares. I was all prepared to go searching for it and start working on it, after I got those other borders sewn on.

Plan B for the next 4 days is to take the Thanksgiving leaves with me while camping. The only reason this one is going with me is because it as all together in one tote. I don't have to go looking for anything in order to work on it. (I really need to do this with all of my projects. It makes life so much easier) However, I will pull out the Great Granny Squares when we get home, and assign it as the next to be worked on until finished project. And somehow, it seems rather appropriate to take a project with fall leaf colours out camping in the fall leaf coloured campground. Although, truth be told, the leaves are just at the very beginning of changing. Everything out there is still mostly green, except for the sumac and the poison ivy, which are turning bright red. I had also hoped to be taking some new wool and a new sweater pattern called Pinery with me. But the new wool hasn't arrived yet, and that's probably a good thing. This way I will be forced to finish a couple of things before starting something else. Highly sensible, but no where near as much fun.
And now, I'm going to finish getting my sewing and knitting stuff together for leaving tomorrow, after I link up to Judy's Design Wall Monday.

On the needles.

This post was supposed to have been written yesterday. I had every intention of writing it yesterday. But, it was a gorgeous day outside, and I wanted to take advantage of it. So, I sat outside and knitted. I told myself that I'd do this after I came in from outside. When I came in, it was time for something to eat, so I said to myself, I'll write it after I have something to eat, after all, who can think when they are hungry. Then the pieces for the border of Orca Bay caught my eye, and I said to myself, I'll write the past after I do a few of the border sections. Next thing I knew, all the border pieces were done, which is great, and it was 11:30 at night. And this is how days go by without anything getting written here. So, today, before I do anything else, I will write this post.

 In my knitting, I am focusing on working on Dreambird. I did end up having to go out and buy another 50 gram skein of the grey for the feathers. I will keep going until I run out of either the pink or the grey. It's going faster now that I'm really familiar with the pattern, and there are too many hours invested in this thing to quit now, when it is over halfway done.

These pieces of a quilt to the left here are the culprits that distracted me last night, the border units for Orca Bay. Today, in addition to doing another feather or 2 on Dreambird, I'm going to start sewing these together and getting the borders onto that quilt.
I'm linking up to Judy's On the needles one day late.

Design Wall Monday, Sept. 23, 2013

Well, it really isn't a design wall. It's more like a design lawn? The lighting was good, and it was dry and sunny, so I got the pictures I wanted outside. Here is the Road to Brenham quilt in all it's wonderful finished-ness.

 I really enjoyed making this quilt. The instructions were clear, and in small enough doses to be able to finish each step in one day. I started this quilt around August 12th, and finished it yesterday, September 22. That's the fastest I've done a quilt in a long time, without getting sidetracked and putting it aside and starting something new. I think I like it. I wonder if I'll keep this up, finishing something before starting something else?




                                                                            Also on the design lawn this afternoon, is my version of Bonnie Hunter's Orca Bay. This one is going to get its borders on and finished in the next month. And I even know where the pieces are for the triangle borders, as well as the rest of the fabrics I need for finishing this one.
Unfortunately, this is as far as I've gotten today. Some very kind and generous person shared their cold germs with me about a week ago, and it's still hanging on and making me feel ready wrung out, with no energy. Even worse, it seems to be scrambling my thought processes. My brain feels like it's made of mush, not a great way to feel when using  sharp and pointy instruments, so I've spent today knitting. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
I'm linking up to Judy's Design Wall Monday. I must say that I've spent a lot of time browsing the fun eye candy over there today.

Design Wall Monday Jan 9

Like a lot of others today, Bonnie Hunter's Orca Bay is occupying my design wall. While browsing though the other design wall posts, I noticed that there are quite a few other Orca's posted today. I love seeing how variation in fabric choices and layouts can change the feeling of the same quilt pattern. I think that is one of the many things I love about quilting,  how personal a quilt pattern can be made, if so chosen by the person making a particular pattern. I stuck to the colours given by Bonnie, but I changed mine by not doing the string piecing, and I'm happy with the way it is looking. All of the stars are done, and about half of the red/black geese units are finished. I'm hoping to get the rest of those done, and then start assembling the quilt today. I'm linking up to Judy's Patchwork Times, as usual, where there is lots to see, on top of all the Orca's

Design Wall Monday Week 1

I have given myself 4 assignments for today, well, actually 5. Number one is to write this post.
Number 2 is to dig out my UFO #5, get it on the wall, and maybe take a new pic of it.I have figured out that I have 24 of the hexagons finished, and I need a minimum of 75 to get it in the area of 80 inches by 90 inches. So, I need 51 more finished hexagon units, which will require 308 string pieced wedges. I have 125 wedges already pieced, so I need 183 more, at least. That should tame some of my scraps and crumbs.
Number 3 is to dig out what I have done so far on Orca Bay, and get some of it arranged the way it is supposed to be, on the wall. I am waiting on an order of fabric that has more blacks in it, in order to do the black background Ohio stars. I like it with these fabrics, though, so I don't need to order any special red for it.
Number 4 is to do something about cooking something for supper. Some beef is out of the freezer, and will probably get done into some Swiss Steak.
And number 5 is to start in on creating order out of chaos in my sewing room. The only possible way to do it is in sections, so, today I concentrate on my actual sewing table. And then, if I want to be able to actually cut some fabrics, so that I can work on something, I guess I'll have to do something about my cutting table too. The corner of the cutting board is just visible under that mess. Why, oh why do I ever let it get this bad? So, I guess I'd better get off the computer, go plug my ipod into its new dock that my wonderful husband got me for Christmas, once I find a place for it, that is, and begin the process of cleaning up. I'm linking this post up to Judy's Design wall Monday at Patchwork Times and also to Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Monday linkup on her Quiltville blog.

Design Wall Monday Dec 26

I just have a couple of  things on my wall. I'm Participating in the Bonnie Hunter Orca Bay mystery. I have a few of the step 6 Ohio stars done, and I took them to my wall, and started playing around with the elements we have so far, and I like what I see.  I don't know if this is what Bonnie has planned, but the elements arranged this way fit together, and I like the way it looks. This is a short post, since I have to work this afternoon, and I want to get a little bit of sewing time in before I have to go. I'm linking up with Judy Laquidara's Design Wall Monday and Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Monday

Design Wall Monday Dec 19

I'm late posting this today, but I wanted to get some work done on Orca Bay part 5. I have a selection of the various steps, except for the red string squares, which, at the moment, at least, I am planning on cutting from yardage of some sort. When Bonnie gave the instructions for step 2, which involved 3.5 inch squares made from blue strings, she mentioned that "the direction of the strings adds so much play and motion!"  Well,  I found in my stash some large scale leaf fabric has lots of shades of blue, and lots of motion in it, so I'm planning on using that. I have found in the quilts that I've done lately, that I seem to make, for the most part, feminine, girly quilts, with some exceptions, of course. I am trying in this quilt to stay as gender neutral as I can. I was thinking, originally, that some of the border prints that are out there these days, would work in the place of the paper pieced stripes, but most of them are florally. I'm hoping to be able to find some sort of red stripe, to use in the place of the step 4 red strings. I'm linking this up to Judy Laquidara's Patchwork Times design wall Monday linky, and also to Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Monday linky., where there are lots of other people participating in this mystery. And now, I'm going back upstairs to play with some more triangles. I have lots more to do.

"Resistance is futile"

As the borg say, in the Star Trek series, "resistance is futile". I tried, and tried and tried, to resist, but as everyone knew, including me, I caved in. I've started doing the Orca Bay Mystery. After all, how can all those other people playing along be wrong. So, here they are, 92 quarter square triangles, in blacks and creams, with a navy blue one, thrown in just for kicks. Actually, it was my test square, and it worked, so I'll keep it in. I've also gotten the quilting done on Sweet Treats and the binding made. So tonight's job is to get the binding sewn on, and the quilt into its first wash and dry, so that it's all soft and comfy. See ya later.......