Happy Independence Day!

Yeah!  I finally finished the piecing on my log cabin top :)











Now I'll be playing around with the back.  If you happen to have the day off (I don't) enjoy it!  A happy and safe holiday to all!

Slow Going

Putting the final rows together of my red and white log cabin has been going slower than I anticipated.  But it's summer and I am enjoying it! :)  You may have seen when I started these log cabin blocks way back in January, and again here.  And due to our being in transition between houses - space was just not available and it became very difficult to sew.  Fortunately we've moved into our new home, I've got my machines up and running, and you could see I was making progress again.

I finally got the rows pieced together - and numbered them with my Frixion Pilot pens so I don't get them out of order.  I love them!  A touch with the iron, and poof! the lines vanish.  [I have to be careful - I actually marked on something one time and left it lying on a spot of my work table that was touched by direct sunlight - I came back and the lines had disappeared on that section of my fabric!] 

Not a lot of time today, I have to get to work in a few, so I HOPE to finish up my sashing tomorrow.

In the meantime, I had a some time (and quiet) early this morning, so I sat on the porch with my iced coffee before the heat set in, and got on my laptop.  I have really been enjoying EQ7's Summery Drawing Series.  This morning was block 3.  It's been really useful in helping me get acquainted with all the bells and whistles of this wonderful software.  I worked with the "PatchDraw Block" this morning.

The possibilities are endless!

Also sharing a couple purchases :) 

  

These lovely hand dyed fabrics from Ruby Mountain Dye Works 













and these yummy fat quarters from Me and My Sister Designs - part of Ticklish Collection

Last but not least, I will be participating in Sew We Quilt's  Ho, Ho, Ho Blog Hop - part of a Christmas in July celebration.  So I've started pulling out fabrics to begin getting the idea bank churning to see what I can come up with.

I enjoy participating in the hops.  It gives me a chance to try some new things out, and it also pushes me to do a little more.  The hop will be July 31st thru August 9th.  My blog will be on the hop August 8th.  Hope you can stop by! 

Making Progress . . .

So I've finished the red sashing, and I have my parts lined up and ready to go!

Because I tend to get a little wonky putting things together, I laid all my blocks and sashing out to make sure everything was turned the right way.  Then I take a picture of it, so I can refer to it when I'm putting everything together.  If I take it off the floor and just stitch it right from there - no problem.  But it never fails, something always comes up and I've gotta stop, and I've either put things away - or it gets moved - and I come back scratchin' my head trying to figure out where I left off at. LOL!

And here you can see, I've started piecing my rows together. 

Pretty busy, with Father's Day weekend and all, so I've only got my 5 rows together.  Hopefully I can piece the sashing together Tuesday and get the top finished by next weekend.  Then on to the quilting next week (in between painting the house - hmmmm).

Finally Moved!

We've finally moved!  And now we are in the process of finding a place for EVERYTHING that we've accumulated!  Good grief!  How much stuff we acquire over time!  I have gotten rid of a lot of just ridiculous, unnecessary stuff - now we're down to the nitty gritty.  Some things will remain boxed up until we can get the paint and shelves up - etc.  You know, make it ours.  BUT I have unearthed enough of my precious sewing tools that for today, I decided it was time for a sewing break.  Well, a day.  A sewing day!

This is a breakfast nook.  Well, these jokers are gonna have to "breakfast" elsewhere - cause I have claimed this spot!  I have had my life in a box for 10 months!  Feels good to "feel" my toys again :)  Been pulling my threads and fabrics, and notions out all weekend.  I have to get my pegboards and shelves up - to hold this collection - but for now, I've found enough that I can actually remember where I left off at.

The last thing I worked on was the Dare 2 Dresden challenge.  I found my red and white log cabins, patiently waiting for their sashing to be done, so I dove right in!

I worked on the white sashing strips first, attaching the blue squares to make my star points.  Done one side, and on to the next!

Clip the corners, open and press . . .

Then on to the reds  :)

My daughter moved to Texas a couple of weeks ago, and decided she didn't want to take her Kenmore (and cabinet & accessories) with her.  So she gave them to me (grinning from ear-2-ear).  I wasn't able to try it out, so I thought today was the perfect time.

This baby is a real workhorse and sews BEAUTIFULLY!  It came with the cabinet (in excellent condition), and the original manual and accessories - I think she got it at an estate sale for $15.  When it came to the house, my husband says, "why would you take another sewing machine?!  good grief - how many do you need?"  Need?  Who said anything about Need???  Define "Need".

I mean really.  Sean Bean would know!

I don't know how much sewing I'll get done this week - but I definitely enjoyed myself today!  I'll be good and unpack some more.  Hopefully get to paint in another week.  Now. . .  we just have to agree on a color! LOL!

Brrrrr . . .

It's 17 degrees outside - windchill makes it feel like 4! Yikes!  I went out this morning with everything wrapped up but my eyeballs - and then I thought, dear Lord! My eyes are FREEZING! LOL!  What's a girl to do?  Start the laundry and sit down and sew!

My log cabin blocks are coming along nicely . . .

So now it's time to start my sashing, which will be white/white strips and red/red strips with blue points and blue intersection blocks that will look like this . . .

this will yield a star pattern making the layout look like this . . .

I hope to be done the sashing this week, so maybe actually start quilting this one by end of the month :)

I'm also playing with my dresden blocks that I'm doing for the Dare 2 Dresden Challenge over on Sew We Quilt.  I've never tried them before so this will be a first.  I've chosen a 9" block, and prepared my templates.

My blog will be on the hop on January 30th - so be sure to stop back and see what I've worked out ;)

It's definitely crock pot weather - so I've got to get my chili cooking.  Is it cold where you are?  How you keepin' warm?

LOG-ing Away :)

I started piecing my log cabin blocks together.  I prefer sewing the blocks onto long strips and then cutting/squareing up, rather than cutting out each of those pieces and then trying to sew them all together - like a puzzle.

They're coming along nicely.  After dinner, I was able to squeeze a little sewing time in before bed - so here they are so far.  They are actually closer to the red in the above picture, rather than the below picture.  My lighting is terrible. I've tucked them safely away, hoping I can finish them on Monday, and possibly start the sashing.

Happy sewing!

Welcome 2013!

A very happy and blessed New Year to you! :)

As a school bus driver I have had the last week off - splendid holiday, and some much needed down time.  When I wasn't here and there visiting with family - my FAVORITE activity has been playing with my Christmas present!  Hubby got me the EQ7 - and I just LOVE it!

In an attempt to better manage my time and limited space, I will be trying something new.  Since I am cutting and sewing all on the same small table area - it takes a great deal of put/picking up and getting out/setting up to plan, cut, or sew.  It's very frustrating and time consuming going between tasks.  So I thought if I could plan out what projects I'm interested in working on, say this month, then cut, cut, cut for the first week of the month, as many projects as I can - then I could put up my cutting mat, clear the area, and set up for sewing for the remaining 3 weeks.  I don't actually know if I can cut enough for 3 weeks - but then I guess there's always playing on my EQ7 if I run out of things to do until my next "cutting" session!

So, with this being week 1, I'm going to see what I can get cut and prepped for sewing this month.  First up is a red and white log cabin.  I saw this quilt a year ago on one of my favorite blogs Alycia Quilts.

I've been dying to make one ever since.  One of my first projects I toyed with on my EQ7 was this log cabin.  After getting the hang of the software I played with another version of the layout also.

So this is what I've cut out this morning, and I've got the foundation blocks cut for an applique project.  I saw the Rose of Sharon Block Challenge in an old issue of Quilter's Newsletter, and I remembered those blocks - and ALL additional blocks from the various quilters who participated in this challenge - were available for free download from the ElectricQuilt website.  

So my background blocks are ready, and I think I may applique 1 or 2 blocks each month making this a long-term project.  I don't know how many blocks were downloaded with the file - its all the blocks everyone involved in the challenge created - not just the blocks from the book.  I got dizzy after I got through looking at about half!  Really! Several hundred - just beautiful!  Just trying to just pick out a few to make a quilt!

Cut, cut, cut, cut, cut!

One thing I LOVE about New Year's Eve and New Year's Day - Twilight Zone!  I've got my little TV, and all those wonderful black and white episodes to keep me company! :)