Dear Jane Blocks 2

Another slide show of more DJ blocks I have completed.  Slowly but surely they are coming together.  Some of them are not the best...I havent decided if I will redo them or leave them in there as a reminder to myself that no one is perfect.

Enjoy

BR1 - Rosemary's Rainbow (the pink one)

C1 - Trooper Green's Badge

C3 - Rayelle's Fence

C9 - Jane's Tears

C10 - Patriot's Lantern

C11 - Soldiers and Sailors Monument

C12 - Family Reunion

D3 - Jason's Jacks

D4 - Crystal Star

D6 - Challenge

D7 - Meeting Place

D13 - Field of Dreams

I know the pictures aren't the greatest but it was the best I could do without standing on the mid arm frame.



Michelle

Dear Jane Blocks 1

I thought I would show some of the blocks from my long haul project.  We started this class in June, so I started making blocks in May,  and right now I feel like it is taking forever.  I am making blocks and some triangles at the same time.  We are not going in row by row order but rather by difficulty rating.

I am sewing the sashing on at the same time and then putting the blocks together as I am able. 

Some of these blocks don't look the greatest but I was trying to take picture from step stool stuck between all the bolts of fabric and my mid arm frame...not an easy task.

A1 - Pinwheel Gone Awry

A2 - One Two Buckle My Shoe

A3 - Hunter's Moon

A5 - Cathie's Campfire

A6 - Uncle Homer (one with the dk pink)

A7 - Dad's Plaids (brown one with applique)

A8 - Florence Nightengale (last one in row)

A10 - Which Points West?

A11 - Pebble's Post

A13 - Starlight Starbright

B1 - Batchelor Buttons

B2 - Sweet Tater Pie

B3 - Mirror Image

B4- Chris's Soccer Field

B5 - Hot Cross Buns

B12 - Starflower

B13 - Four Corner Press

They aren't perfect but they are mine and I guess that is all that matters.  I keep hoping the more of them I do the better I will get but I don't know.

I do know that starch and press applique is much easier for me than needle turn.

Michelle

Design Wall Monday 3

I of course still have DJ on the wall so my design wall these days is wherever I can put it, lap, table, floor, cutting table..you name it.

I spent the last two days working on my Orca Bay mystery from Bonnie Hunter.  I was really hoping with the long weekend I had with no work I would be able to get it done.  No such luck.  I spent two days just doing the red string blocks, and for the past three weeks I have been doing the "wings" section (I think it is the outside border) as leaders and enders.  Good news is I can start putting some blocks together though.  I am hoping to get to that later today.

My red strings. I can say by the time I was done with these blocks. I had very little strings left.  I actually had to duplicate more than I wanted and also dig into the 1 1/2' bucket.

I do love the way they look but I can say I am strung out for the time being.

I had to stop working on Orca Bay anyway because I remembered I have another charm school sample due soon...I like to have it ready for display as soon as the previous months class is done.  I have had the project for awhile but I have had other things to do.

After cleaning up my mess, well straightening up a little bit anyway I set out to work on it.  I love the pattern and I love the way it looks when it is done, but I can honestly say it is a little time consuming and has a lot of wasted fabric.  I at least can but them in my bucket of crumbs and use them another day.

The easiest part...laying the blocks out in a pleasing way.

Sewing the borders on---still easy.

Lining up the template on the seams and then cutting out.  Time consuming and a little painful.  You have to be really careful how far out you cut since you have to use the second row for the next set and the next row..etc. etc.  I cut it close a couple of times.

How the blocks look as you cut them..You really have to pay attention to the order you cut them so the pinwheels come out correctly, rotate block to the right and then sew the rows together.

How it looks before everything is sewn together.  I did get the rows sewn together but that is it.  Hopefully I will have it finished before this evening.

Below is the piles of scraps left over.  I used a really small template and I know that their are larger ones.  I can't imagine the amount of waste that accumulates with those.  I thought this was a lot especially since you cant really cut them up into uniform pieces ...so to the crumb box they go.

I ended up getting it sewn, cut up, and almost re sewn together yesterday. I only have to sew the rows together but I had to stop because my left shoulder was killing me. I am hoping to get the rows sewn, basted and quilted today. I figure I will hand sew the binding on this week or finish it up while teaching class on Friday.

I only have today left to play on my things then it is back to "work". I have a wool class tomorrow, then I have to work for 6 days straight before another day off. I probably won't get much done during that time but I am hoping to finish some more DJ blocks.

To see more design walls headover to Patchwork Times.
Well off to enjoy the day off and get some more sewing done.

Sew a little bit and enjoy.
Michelle

Stash Report Week 3

I did some sewing this week but not as much as I wanted, what's new right? I did get a finish which you can see here. So I guess this week wasn't a total loss. I did buy fabric for a backing which will be for a shop sample but I decided to do some me sewing. I also worked on some DJ blocks for next months class. I think I worked on 5 and 3 of those need applique. I also worked on my Owl embroidery. I only have a little bit of that left then I can square it up and put the borders on that although I have to find some fabric for that first.

I ended up spending sometime cutting up some kits for work.... I have over 82 bolts of fabric here and I am so ready to get them out of the studio and then maybe I can clean it up a little bit since it looked like a bomb went off in there.

So here are my numbers for the week.


Used this Week: 5.5 yards
Used year to Date: 10.125 yards
Added this Week: 3.5 yards
Added Year to Date: 3.5 yards
Net Used for 2012: 6.625 yards

Still on the good side which is good, of course it is only 3 weeks into the year...

For other Stash Reports head over Judy at Patchwork Times.

I am off to sew more on my Orca Bay.....one of these days I will get it done.

Michelle

Knitting...what was I thinking...

I have always wanted to learn how to knit.  I can quilt, crochet, cross stitch (although counted is not my thing) and embroidery (although that is new to me too), but knitting was always something I wanted to learn.  Why?  because I wanted to make socks...I love the way they look and they just seem awesome to me. Well...that may be a long time coming.

I took a beginner knitting class at Joann's back in November.  I came home and tried and tried and thought I had the hang of it, until I went to my next class and realized I was purling wrong.  I thought it looked good and maybe I was doing a variation on the purl, but needless to say I was wrapping the yarn the wrong way. First class was a scarf...I ripped it out and started it over about 100 times, and was getting really tired of the green I was using.  It was free supplies so I wasn't going to pass up using free yarn.  Then the next class is simple little fingerless gloves.  Ok...no big deal...well once I re-learned how to purl I thought I was good to go...not.  I forgot how to cast on...check relearned that.  Then I decided I am not coordinated with k1, p1..took forever to remember where the yarn was supposed to go....I mean come on...front or back....don't forget the pattern...slipped stitches...and the hardest part...what the heck did I just do because I can't get it in my mind the way the stitches look.  I mean with crochet I can tell what stitch is what, the rows are easy to count, and if I mess up....a little tug and I can go back to where I made the mistake...ez pz....after another month of working on and off I was really sick of the green and couldn't figure out for the life of me how to pick up a sticking dropped stitch. So back to square one every single time.

Finally about a week ago I gave up,  on the green scarf (which was really just knit a row then purl a row), between dropped stitches and not being able to remember if I knitted the last row or purled the last row. I found another yarn in a different color and a very simple pattern.

My husband laughed at me every time he saw me unraveling the yarn again, finally he asked if this would be a world record for the longest time to make a scarf.  I can admit he almost had a size 10 needle somewhere stuck somewhere unsafe.

Now, I have different sized needles, a different and very simple pattern (not like the first one wasn't) and different colored yarn.  I am happy.  I even figured out how to pick up a dropped stitch, my first time, and I am really hoping it doesn't happen again soon, that might send me into a fit....

I am really hoping that with time I will find my rhythm soon, there are too many things that I would love to make.  I also love the fact that knitting doesn't hurt my hands the way crochet does.  With crochet I am only able to do it for 15-30 minutes at a time because it kills my thumbs.  I can knit for a long time, of course I go at a snail's pace because I really don't want to mess up..It is kinda of hard when you don't know how to fix it.

Moral of this story...I don't think socks will be on my list of things to do for quit awhile.  I think knitting is a snail sport for me...but I am not giving up...

I also decided that metal needles are very slippery, guess wooden ones will be on my list next time I am out and about. Now to figure out the best way to hold my yarn, Continental is a no go since I can barely handle English...even if they say it is easier to learn if you crochet....I would like their definition of "easier" for sure.


Off to work to do some inventory.

Have a wonderful day everyone,
Michelle

Valentine Trio

I have my first completion for the year done.  Not too bad for the second week of January.  If only I could stay on this pace of finishing every couple of weeks.  I guess it may be a goal, a lofty goal none the less.

This was a simple project to do.  I made it to put in the shop to try and push some of the turnovers we have. I also love decorating for Valentines Day...why I don't know but it seems to be the holiday that I have the most stuff done....go figure.

These were made using a Moda Bake Shop Recipe, which can be found here, although she used Christmas fabric instead.  I think this would make a cute little gift for a girl. I don't have any of those so who knows what I will do with it when I get it back.

I sped through the table topper to get it finished.  The top was done and I basted it, quilted it and bound it (temporaily anyway) in less than an hour and a half.  Granted it was just simple in the ditch quilting but I didn't think that was too bad for a days work.

Good news is that I will have something to add to my stash report on Sunday....yeah....one project down a few thousands more to go.

Enjoy your day everyone,

Michelle

QOV challenge

I did it. I accepted Judy's challenge. I am going to make 12 QOV quilts in a year...not just tops but complete quilts...done....done..quilts.....





You can find more information here., and more information about QOV at Alycia's

Am I crazy? Probably, but hey what the heck.  I figure sleep is not needed and a clean house is overrated.

I figure I will give my self the rest of this month to get everything organized here, which in itself contains a long list. I have kits to cut, DJ to teach and actually do, and I won't even go into how many other things are on my agenda. 

The good thing about this is that the cause is so worthy.  As I am found of saying I am a Marine Corp veteran, Air Force Wife, and Navy mom, the military is in our blood. The soldiers no matter what the branch or how people  view the "politics" they are still proudly serving our country to make it a better place for those that will come after us.

I'm now off to work on some DJ blocks that need to be appliqued and to ponder what quilts I would like to make or even finish.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.