Card Trick finished

 I'm participating in a UFO challenge through Patchwork times I went through some of my UFO's back in December, and numbered them 1 to 12. Judy picked #6 for January, which was this Card Trick quilt. At the beginning of January, all it had was 12 card trick blocks. Last night, I put the last stitch into the binding, and so can cross this off my list, and call it finish #2 for the year. Yippee, woohoo, and happy dance! I quilted it with an allover pattern called Fay Feathers, I'm not sure, off the top of my head, the name of the designer of that pantograph. I used a variegated medium blue Rainbows thread. The quilting doesn't show on the full picture, but it does on the smaller pic below this one. And then there is a pic of the backing, which took 6 of those yards that I've bought this year.

 

Design Wall Monday Week 3

It's Monday morning, again. I love Mondays, for the opportunity to look at all these lovely walls at Judy's Patchwork Times but I'm not so fussy about the morning part. We don't get along too well, mornings and I. I've worked
3-11 for so many years, that, even though I would like too, my body simply won't sleep much before 1 am, and that only accomplished with medications. So waking up the next morning is always a long process. However, I have my second cup of coffee in hand, and can now think clearly enough to put down a thought or 2. My Card Trick quilt, which was my UFO challenge #6, is now a finished top. The picture is a little too much on the grey side, but I don't know how to compensate for that. I am really happy with how this turned out. I had somehow goofed, and ended up with too many 1/4 square triangle units, so I put them on opposite corners of the border, to use them up. I was going to add another dark border to it, but when I hung it up to look at it, it told me that it was done. So, I'll use the dark blue for the binding instead, which actually will add the finishing dark border that I originally wanted, just very narrow. So, my goal for today, provided work doesn't call and offer me a shift, is to get the backing fabric out and ironed (groan), pieced, and hopefully this quilt loaded onto the machine. I think it is going to get an overall type feathery thing on it, in blue variegated thread.

Design Wall Monday Week 2

I just looked at the design wall posts at Patchwork Times and the are already 71 different walls posted. WOW! These are really taking off this year. Tons and tons of eye candy and inspiration. What a lovely way to spend the time over a cup of coffee or 2 while my brain engines try to get into gear. I managed to get all the alternate blocks for the Card trick quilt, UFO #6 done last week, and they are on the wall .My job today, once my brain has cleared, is to figure out the math for the setting triangles. Both EQ5 and Quilt Pro programs show the setting triangles as partial blocks, and the are showing half square triangle units and quarter square triangle units made of the same fabrics. Somehow, that seems like a silly thing to do. So, I want to convert them over to squares and rectangles, which is where the math comes in. Subtract 7/8 inch from measurement given, to find finished size, then add half inch to get cut size, for the half squares. For the quarter squares, subtract 1 1/4 inch from given size to find finished size, ad then add half inch. It's one thing to know the formula, it's another to actually get it to work out.
The other thing on my wall today is the setting I am planning on using for the blocks for the 100 block challenge The idea for this setting came from a book by Judy Martin called "The Block Book" I need six of these to make a twin sized quilt, before borders, so I'm over halfway there with the 12 inch blocks. The nine patches are being done as leaders and enders. Today, I hope to get my next 2 challenge blocks done, and get the setting triangles at least started. But first, another cup of coffee, and some more wall browsing.

Design Wall Monday Week 1

Another Monday, and more design walls to see over at Judy l.'s Patchwork Times I really enjoy her blog, and all the different things she talks about, not just quilting. I think I'd like to start doing more of that, maybe. I'm doing her UFO challenge. The number she drew this month was 6, which is my Card trick, so I went to get it and start to work on it. DO you think I could find it? I thought I had put it into a bin all it's own, so that, when its number was called, I'd know where it was. But no, it was nowhere to be found. So I then had to apply my motto, that is "when all else fails, look under something". I looked under the pile on my cutting table, I looked under the pile under my long arm. Finally, I looked under some bolts of fabric that I remember as wanting to use for this quilt, and there they were, my 12 lost Card Trick blocks. All the people, Susan being one of the few, who have seen my studio, are now laughing, and shaking their heads at the thought of the chaos it contains. Anyway, back to the quilt. I've made good progress. All the pieces are cut for the alternate blocks, and 8 of them are completely together, with 4 more partly there. I need a total of 20 alternates, and then some partial Card tricks for the outside triangles. The other thing on my wall is the beginnings of the center block of a BOM that  Erin is doing at One piece at a time for 2011, called "my Tweets", since each blocks will have birds in it. I'm anxiously awaiting the first installment, hopefully once she gets her challenge quilt finished

Happy New Year!!

Wow, January 1st, 2011. That is a total freak out kind of thing. I just got used to signing 2001! LOL. Do you remember all the fuss about that year, and the comparisons to the movie 2001? Do you remember the fuss over the year 2000, and how everything was going to come to a stop? so, how did it suddenly go from that, to 2011?  The saying goes "time flies when you are having fun". Well, I must be having loads and loads of fun. (giggle). This past year was fun, starting with our daughter's wedding in June, and all the preparations that went into it. And it ended with finding out that we're going to be grandparents to a little boy, somewhere around May 22nd of this year. That's a picture of him, Done by 3D ultrasound on Dec 29. The technology absolutely blows me away!

On another note, it has been a year since I started this blog. I really had no idea of what I was doing, just thought that I wanted to chronicle some of life's moments, and keep track of the various projects I was working on. I've done that, and discovered, not very surprisingly, that I start an awful lot of things, but sure don't finish very many, if finishing counts as being quilted and bound. I've finished at least 6 quilt tops this past year, but they are still waiting to be quilted. But, one of the totally unexpected things that has happened is the people that I have met through this medium. So many kind, caring, thoughtful and talented people. I have one of those "feedjit" things on my blog, that tracks who is visiting, and from where. A lot of people come from the design wall monday posts, but there are a few that show up regularly, sometimes several times a week, just for visits, I guess because they like what they read, and are curious what is going on around here. I'm not sure if this is good "blog etiquette", but one of them is someone from Engadine, New South Wales. I would love it if you would introduce yourself, and tell me a little about yourself, my curiosity is killing me! There is something intriguing about a country on the far side of the world, whose summer is during our winter, where our today is already their tomorrow. And, anyone else, who visits regularly, please introduce yourselves. I would love to "meet" you.

I'm participating in the UFO Challenge sponsored by Judy over at Patchwork Times, and this morning she drew the first number of the project we are to work on, with the aim of getting it completed this month. I don't know if mine will get completed, but it will get to a stage further than it is now, which is all I'm aiming for, since there are customer quilts piling up, and grandson sewing to do as well, which should be so much fun. My number 6 project is my Card Trick swap that I did with the Canadian Quilt swappers which is a yahoo group for Canadian quilters, which helps keep it in the country, and therefore keeps postage costs down.

 This is the layout that I am planning on using, which I designed in The program "Quilt Pro" I am not fond of that program, but, since I have a Macbook, I can't run the Electric quilt software, which I love. This is a 2 block quilt, set on point. I really like this setting, because it makes it look like there is fancy sashing in between each block. All the card trick blocks are done, so I need to get the alternate blocks cut, and sewn. And, the bonus is, that it is a very simple block to make. Can you find it? So, that is my goal for today, before I go to work at 3. Pull the white and blue fabrics for the alternate squares and, if I can clear off the mess from my cutting board, get started on cutting the units for this quilt.

Design Wall Monday Nov 1

Wow! I can't believe it is November, already. On my design wall today, are a couple of things. I am doing Judy's mystery so, I've put my progress so far, up on the wall. Also, I participated in a Card Trick swap with an online group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cdnquiltswappers/  and I've put those blocks up, just to study and get a feel for them. I have a couple of ideas of how I want to put them together, and I've posted a picture here, of one of the ideas. If I do this one, though, I'll either have to make more blocks, since I only have 12, and I think I'd probably do plain triangles around the outside, Go on over to Judy's Patchwork Times to see more inspiring design walls

Design Wall Monday Sept 27

Whew, this is the last Monday in September, already. I've spent the morning quietly going through all the posts that are up so far at Judy's website showing all kinds of different design walls. They never fail to provide inspiration, and ideas to put into mental pockets. Of course, if they are only mental pockets, the danger is forgetting where they were put. So, I will remind myself here, that there were several good ideas on using scraps, crumbs and strings in this Monday's postings. I started a new project this week, which is, of course, the last thing I need. But, I've been haunting her website for weeks now, drooling over her patterns. So, while we were on vacation, I ordered the centre medallion of her pattern, Miss Hannah and actually hope to be able to make this entire quilt. It was love at first sight. I've posted this link quite a few times before. I have some of the pieces for the medallion prepped and glue basted down. I am totally in love with her method of applique, and, if you are into hand applique at all, her tutorial is well worth a read. I used to be a hard and fast needle turn girl, but, I've been converted. It is so nice to be able to pick up the piece and simply sew, since all the edges are finished already, without having to trace each shape individually, or cut out numerous pieces of freezer paper. In addition to Miss Hannah, I've been working on a swap for Canadian Quilt swappers of some 12 inch Card Trick blocks. The guidelines were for blue cards, with white on white backgrounds. When done, I will have 12 different blocks for a quilt. I'm having trouble getting the seams to play nicely together, though, and am a little frustrated with them. Lastly, I have all my unit 2's for the Nine patch pineapple quilt along finished. So, for the rest of the day, I think I am going to take the day off. I worked 6 evening shifts, in the past 7 days, so, today is mine. I'm going to enjoy the fire in the fireplace that my DH started for me, and continue to work on Miss Hannah, while have a chick flick day, starting, I think, with Dr Zhivago.