Design Wall Monday 6/18/2012

It is really hard for me to post a Design wall...its seems it is always Dear Jane but what can I do...except for hurry up and finish them I suppose.

I was finally able to sew together rows B, C, D to that was really nice.  It finally feels like with all of this time spent on these blocks progress is being made.  I think once I finish the blocks for July (I only have 4 more to go) I will skip ahead and finish that one A block I have left so that I can sew that row on as well.

I even fixed my wall and put up the June wall hanging, figured it was finally time to take down April. I even brought down July so that maybe I can get that one up in time as well.

I also finished my Birds Eye View BOM blocks that I had originally cut double the amount.. I think it was month 9...so that one is on the back burner for awhile.

Yesterday I worked in the yard...I had to plant 3 lily flowers and then paint a sealant on 10 pieces of wood that we are using as the border for the yard. I found out today that I need at least 4 more which means more painting.  I am not too happy with that for sure.  I am still suffering with pains in my bum from muscles that I didn't know existed are becoming known.  I'm fine as long as I don't sit, stand or walk.  Oh well...it was worth it, the yard is starting to look a little bit better.

For more design walls head on over to Judy's.

Have a wonderful week everyone.

Come on back this week for more craziness from my humble abode.

Michelle

What was I Thinking

Do you ever have one of those moments when you ask "What was I thinking?"

I was cleaning out a section of my "OMG I gotta figure out what all of this" while I was procrastinating working on Dear Jane and I found this quilt that had the top, batting and backing all together.  So I figured I would put it in my pile to quilt.  Well lo and behold when I opened it up my only thought was "OH CRAP! What the heck was I thinking?"

Then I remembered...back before I purchased my mid arm I was always on the lookout for simpler ways to baste a quilt. It always killed me laying the quilt out and safety pinning the sucker together..to be honest I absolutely hated it. I had found this site (I don't remember it for love or money) and it had showed how to use DMC thread to baste it together so that is what I started to do. I then realized that I personally did not like doing it that way, it ended up being to hard on my hands and my back. So then, I found the nifty little "basting gun"..You know the one that comes with a bagillion of those plastic little do dads that you just shoot into the quilt and hold it together. Well that is what I ended up doing I shot a million or more of those puppies into this quilt.

Now fast forward..I have a mid arm...I can just load the quilt onto it, but wait...I have to remove all of that handy dandy work that I had done previously.  Well let me tell you...that was not a fun task.  I snipped and snipped and well you get the idea.   I started by snipping each one and putting the plastic in the trash individually, quickly realizing that at that pace I would be snipping until the next millennium.  So I just snipped with no care where the plastic went.  I finished an hour and a half later..not too bad if I say so myself.

Then the clean up came...I had those plastic things from here to next week..luckily a broom and a dustpan cleaned up the majority of the mess. I do think I will find those little plastic things floating around for months to come because I know I didn't get them all and the quilting fairies probably kept some for themselves.  I know this because hours later I was still finding them here and there.

Moral of the story...if you do something different in the past try and finish so in the present you won't be wondering what the heck you were thinking.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

On a side note I was on a roll last night...I finished 3 DJ blocks and even finished the applique on two of them....

Fat Quarter Shop Mystery BOM

I received my shipment today for the new Fat Quarter Shop Mystery BOM.  I told myself I wouldn't start on it til I had some other things done.  Well...I kept looking at all of that gorgeous fabric, vintage modern is one of my favorites right now.

I received block 1 and the setting kit.

Block 1 is finished.

My bonus HST from piecing block 1 together. Think I will save them til the end and see what I can come up with.  Don't know if or how many I will end up with.

My goal (hahaha) is to actually keep up with this one.  I might be able to do that because I love this fabric.

Since I took some time to play I am now off to start dinner then work on DJ...

Have a great one.

Michelle

You know you're behind

when this is still on the wall.

Yes..it does say April. I actually have all of them done but one month I think. I have only been working on them for about 8 years.  I really think I should take the few minutes to go find June or should I just skip ahead to July.

Off to sew but maybe..just maybe I will go find a new month to hang.

Have a wonderful day everyone.

Michelle

Design Wall Monday 6/11/2012

My design wall still looks the same but with more blocks.  I didn't do much sewing at all this week but yesterday I finished up some more Birds Eye View Blocks.  I finished month 7and 8 and am working on month 9.

Month 7

Month 8 - this one will be top stitched on to the completed top when sewn together.

For some reason I didn't think I had cut out month 9 so off I went to cut.  Once I was done I glanced over to the pile and realized month 9 was there. Since I cut out all of this fabric twice I decided I would go ahead and make all of the blocks.  So now I have 108 blocks I am sewing.  I figure I will have more options and the remaining 54 will go on the back or maybe a table topper or something.  Of course I  would rather a different (easier) block have been cut wrong than this one.  Well...it really isn't that hard just time consuming.

I only work three days this week so hopefully I can get these finished and move on to DJ again.  I must admit that I can not wait until after the first of the year.  That is when I am hoping to have all of my have to sews done and I can move on to more of I wanna sew.  I have been in a have to sew for the past year and it is getting really old.  So off to finish Dear Jane, Sylvia's and Birds Eye View.

For more design wall Monday's head on over to Judy's.

Michelle

On the needles 06/08/2012

I am a new knitter because I really needed another craft to learn...but I enjoy it more than crocheting.  I am just really slow at it. Of course I have a tendency to procrastinate and don't do it as much as I would like.  My intention is always to sit and knit or applique or crochet while watching TV but I admit there are many times I sit and do nothing or read a book.  Man..if I actually used all the "sitting on my ads" (ok my friend and I were texting back and forth about what we were doing and her auto correct said ads instead of aqq) I would have a bagillion things done completed..

Anywho..this is a free scarf pattern from www.purlbee.com that I found while procrastinating on the Internet.  I figured for me it would still be easy enough (it is just plain knitting) to get better at knitting and actually get something accomplished.

I figure this could be on my "on the needles Friday" every Friday for a very long time but I am hoping that knowing I have a semi-deadline it might help be to spend my time more productively.

I guess I really could have shown some major progress since I was unable to sleep last night. I actually went to bed, fell asleep for maybe 30 minutes then woke up hot...tossed and turned for an hour, got up for about 20 minutes, back to bed, got back up and finally went to bed at 530am, heard hubby get up around 630, and the next thing I know the birds are squawking me awake at 945.  Talk about making for a short day...now I am off to pack some projects to take to the pool. I am such a nice mother and told my kiddos we would go....What was I thinking?

Have a wonderful day everyone.

Michelle

Head on over to Judy's to see some more needle Friday fun.

Birds Eye Busy...

I have been real busy. I have done some sewing but also yard and house work along with working.  I seem to be on a never ending cycle of running behind.

I am up to block 7 on Birds Eye View...I can only put a few more sections together then I have to wait for the months to come up naturally...we are only in month 1...lol..guess I will have another long term project floating around.

These 3 blocks are really neat.  The diamonds are not pieced..they are set on top of the background square then on the diagonal they are sewn 1/8 in and then the sides and bottom get sewn into the seam allowance when the block is put together...thought it was a really cool idea.

The black squares on this block are not pieced in either...they are set on top corner to corner then top stitched 1/8" all the way around...love it as well..

As soon as I finish the piecing on block 7 - 9 then I will be back to starting on Dear Jane for July (which I get an extra week to do....yay) and Sylvia's and QOV...and....and...well the list goes on and on...

I may even show my progress on this hand pieced block...and my knitting...

Have a great day.

Michelle