Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Hope every one's week is going well so far.  Mine has been really busy...but I treated myself tonight with a manicure/pedicure and a bit more.  I've been due for awhile now and finally decided tonight was the night.  I'm happy with the nice little massage my arms to my elbows and legs to my knees get...

Tuesday night as I mentioned in an earlier post was Sunshine Quilt Guild monthly meeting.  Crazy Jacks stepped out with a big bang!  YIPPEE!  It raised $67 for the evening.  There is one more selling night and the winner is drawn at the October monthly meeting.  We had our customary September meeting program to announce the officer for the coming membership year (I took on two responsibilities that were totally unplanned) and the Ice Cream Social.  We had lots of fun with two games and the ice cream with all the wonderful toppings was a nice touch to our earlier dinner at Outback Steak House. 

There is no right or wrong answer for the Nine Patch Retreat Packing Plan (which I took home a prize for a BINGO!).  There are right answers for the Quilting can be a Crime of Passion game.  I'll let you know them if you are interested in my Sunday blog post. 

I picked up the BOM for the month that will be due in October.  It is a traditional Quilters Cache pattern called Sweet Gum Leaf where we were provided a cream batik for the background.  We will choose a fall colored batik for the leaf.

I'm getting ready to take another doll making class at Country Loft in La Mesa.  It is scheduled for October 7th.  I ordered some wool from Primitive Gatherings Quilt Shop that I'm hoping arrives in time.  Wow...wool is much more expensive than cotton! 

I have a gray and black cat dolls already.  Kevin was my first and Koraline was last year.  So this time I wanted to have an orangish cat (like my cats Kaos and Komotion).  The pattern is KitKat Mama which has three kittens.  I'll be making Mama and one kitten in the orangish wool, and the other two kittens gray and beige.  Also picked up a couple of accent wools in indigo and periwinkle.  Wish me luck on everything arriving in time.  The orangish fabric is new and advertised as being available in September; we'll see.  Haven't named Mama or her kittens yet.  You do know that they'll all have "K" names :)!

Finally my Buggy Barn Crazy Cats pattern's first workshop is tomorrow at Amidon Quiltworks.  It was to be the second of two workshops for this pattern, but last Thursday's workshop was halted by the DARK SAN DIEGO power outage.  Looking forward to this workshop with the rescheduled second workshop on September 29th.

Yes indeed this has and continues to be a busy week!  Happy sewing to you all.

Design Wall Monday, September 12, 2011

I am continuing to work on Kolonial.  This is a Bonnie Hunter design called Jamestown Landing that was published in the Australian Homespun magazine "The Blue Issue".  I got my issue from Erica's.  Bonnie says that this pattern will be available in her next book, but if you can't wait as I couldn't...get a copy of the magazine.

So here's where I'm at today.  I am all pressed with the HSTs with a bunch still needing the "dog ears" trimmed off.  A few HSTs are yet to sew together.  About half of the strip blocks yet to assemble yet.  I set a daily goal to get a minimum of 10 sewn that is working out so far.  At this pace I should be putting blocks together during the week.

Tuesday night I have Sunshine Quilt Guild's September monthly meeting.  This is the first night of offering chances on Crazy Jacks bimonthly opportunity quilt.  Kerry and I put Crazy Jacks together as our donation to the guild's charity fundraising for the membership year.

Thursday night I have what was to be the second workshop of Crazy Cats.  I suppose it will be considered the first of the two workshops since we had a DARK SAN DIEGO for the first scheduled session.  Haven't heard anything about rescheduling the second day as of yet...perhaps we'll learn something on Thursday...

That's my sewing week; what's in store for you?

Sunday Stash Report, September 4, 2011

Crazy Jacks
Sunshine Quilt Guild Bimonthly Opportunity
September/October 2011

Didn't this pattern by Buggy Barn come out cute?  We'll be offering chances to win it in October at the Sunshine Quilt Guild's bimonthly opportunity quilt fundraiser.  Kerry and I pieced it over the last couple of weeks.  It's ready for quilting this week with a variegated orange thread in a swirly design.  If you are interested in the pattern it is in the Frightfully Crazy pattern book called Crazy Jacks.  The pattern book also contains three other great designs; the 3D If the Hat Fits with witches on brooms (their feet dangling off the broom stick).

Kandy Korn

Kiwiberry

Krimson Khat

Tomorrow I'll be dropping off three quilts for the San Diego Quilt Show that is this week September 8-10.  My entries are #146 Kandy Korn, #148 Kiwiberry, and #147 Krimson Khat.  I have all three for sale...interested?  Come check out the show if you are in San Diego.

I've been assembling Kolonial the Bonnie Hunter design called Jamestown Landing too.  I have more than half the 840 HSTs sewn, dog ears away, and pressed.  The rest have one half of the sewing done; waiting for me on my sewing table today.  I will also be working on more of the strip blocks.  I had a great Friday morning working on this project.  In two hours I went through two bobbins...love assembly piecing!  This will be the next project to report used.  Sure is helping me to close the drawer to my pink/red stash tote...

This week nothing purchased!  This week 10.75 yards used!  YIPPEE!  Hope you had a similar week.

Used this week: 10.75 yards

Used YTD: 192.50 yards
Purchased this week: 0 yards
Purchased YTD: 94.25 yards
Net Fabric Used in 2011: 98.25 yards

Did you reduce your stash this week?  See how others have done at Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday, August 29, 2011

My best friend celebrates her birthday today; my Mom!  She's without electricity this morning as she's been since Irene paid a visit to Abell, Maryland real early on Saturday night.  My parents had quite the night.  Woke to tree limbs all over the yard and a tree in their pool.  The worst of it was the howling wind from what Mom says.  Now when will the electricity be restored?  Hope it's soon for those in Southern Maryland.

On my design wall today is still Jamestown Landing which I've decided to name Kolonial.  I won't bother with a photo because there hasn't been a change since the post last week.

I did get Crazy Jacks backing sewn together.  Lot's of purples!  Ready for Kerry with backing, batting, and binding.  We may have a bit of final top assembly to do on Saturday, but I'm thinking quilting is in store for this project on the weekend.

I also finished putting the binding together for Komet.  I was somewhat perplexed on what fabrics to use.  The pink really changed the over all look.  Not in a bad way but made it difficult to decide how to go for the binding.  I ended up with a pieced binding of the batiks used already.  I'm pleased with the results.  I'll be showing you what I've done soon.

Last but certainly not any less important...probably more so!  My August UFO is started.  I've only sewn three of the 26 sections...but it is a start.  I'm not foreseeing any problems in a completion on Wednesday.

If you get the chance check out other Design Walls from other quilters today at Patchwork Times.  There are some very creative quilters among us.

Design Wall Monday, August 22, 2011

Good morning quilters!  Wish I had another day to spend in my sewing studio, but alas Monday is upon us.  That means the start of the work week for me. 

Crazy Jacks by Buggy Barn is one of three projects on my design wall.  This is a project that I am making with Kerry for our contribution to the new membership year's fundraising efforts at Sunshine Quilt Guild.  I had the "Jacks" (pumpkins) done on Saturday.  All that is left is to square them up.  Kerry is assembling the candy corn border.  There is another dark purple border after the candy corn which I have got a bunch of purples to start cutting into the proper size rectangles.  We might be in a position to assemble on Saturday.  Its a bimonthly opportunity quilts with September 12th the first chance to purchase that winning ticket!

Next up is Bonnie Hunter's Jamestown Landing.  It's a start in the first photo.  I'll be working to mix the HSTs up with more neutral variety.  You can see from the second photo that there are lots of pieces to work on yet.  I will be taking the neutral squares with me to draw lines through the centers during my lunch break getting ready for sewing the 420 sets into 840 HSTs.  The first row is the light row and the second row is the dark row.  There's to be three of each with lots of sashing rows between of the strip blocks.  I have been using my new Bloc Loc 2.5" square up ruler...loving it!

This is what I need to be working on...the August UFO which is the design by Linda Causee the Iris block of Kourageous.  Time doesn't stand still.  The end of the month isn't that far off...

So what have you been working on to show us today?  Visit other quilters in their sewing studio at Patchwork Times.

Sunday Stash Report, August 21, 2011



Kalm

I've been busy this week!  Friday was my OFF Friday...my sewing studio was my haven for most of the day...YIPPEE.  I worked on Bonnie Hunter's Jamestown Landing which is still at the cutting stage, getting the binding sewn on to Komfort Kove to be ready for hand sewing during today's Charger's game, and finishing Kalm.  I also hand sewed in place two labels on Koasting and Komfort Kove.  I'll be helping my Mom with a label later today for one of her quilts.

Kerry and I are working on the September/October Bimonthly Opportunity Quilt for Sunshine Quilt Guild that is our contribution for this membership's year of fundraising efforts.  We are making Buggy Barn's Crazy Jacks.  Kerry will be sewing the candy corn border and I will sew the pumpkins.  I had three of the nine "Jacks" (pumpkins) already sewn before I started on Saturday; now all nine are done and ready to be squared up.  Kerry will be working on the candy corn during the week.

Speaking of squaring up.  Have you seen the Bloc Loc square up rulers?  The company makes them for HSTs and flying geese.  I listened to the excitement at Amidon's about them, watched the video...and decided I must have the HST rulers.  I purchased the set of three that included 2.5", 4.5", and 6.5".  I'll be purchasing the 3.5" when I can find it sold individually.  It comes in other sizes that include 1.5", 5.5", 9.5" and 12.5" I believe.  I'd like to check out the flying geese square up ruler too.  It could be as functional as the HST square ups are to me.

For this week I have the fabric used to make Kalm to claim.  Almost all of it from my stash.  I did purchase two pieces to fill in, but they didn't collect any wrinkles in my storage bins!

Used this week: 9 yards
Used YTD: 181.75 yards
Purchased this week: 0 yards
Purchased YTD: 94.25 yards
Net Fabric Used in 2011: 87.5 yards

I did purchase the Bloc Loc HST square up rulers...but we aren't counting gizmos...and I'm not going to start!

How did you do this week?