Design Wall Monday

Well, I might have been a bit ambitious when I said that I wanted to get all four Patriotic Rail Fences quilt tops pieced today. I had all of the strips cut and I planned on chain-piecing the blocks so it would go really fast, and I didn't have any plans other than to sew today! After a bit later start than I had planned, here is the progress so far.



I have 12 of 25 blocks completed for the first quilt. The strips are sewn for all of the quilts, but not cut apart and sewn into 12" blocks. Also, I have not cut any fabric for the star blocks because I wanted to see how the body of the quilt looked before I decided which fabrics to use.

Because I often need to see progress to keep motivated, I took 12 blocks and put them on the wall. I love how it looks! As I said yesterday, I'm using Mary's pattern for Patriotic Rail Fence. Thanks Mary!! You are very talented and provide so many complete and easy to follow instructions - all for free. WOW!!

Anyway, because of the late start and other things that have come up, I'm guessing that all four quilts will NOT get done today. I'll finish what I can today and get the rest done by the end of the week so they can be delivered to the appropriate people. Below is my inspiration for these quilts this Memorial Day. Thanks to all veterans and to their families for all they have sacrificed!


Francis J. Schwab, W8OK
Nov. 26, 1925 - May 30, 2003
Radio Man First Class, United States Navy
USS Ingersoll 1942 - 1946

The Star and Stripes, they flew forever
always in his heart.
He was loyal to his nation
and bravely did his part.
Always thinking of his brother
ever in his mind,
He stood for love of country
and most of all mankind.
Now gazing down with his Master
through a light and heavenly cloud,
He's still looking out for all of us
of whom he is so proud.
(Everlasting Memories)

I love and miss you Dad!

Check out what other quilters have on their Design Wall by going to Judy's blog.

Stash Report - Week 22

Ok, since my last report I've started quilting again. As a matter of fact, I called my friend Kare and said "Listen. Do you know what that is?" I was holding the phone up to my sewing machine and it sounded soooooo good. It had been close to three weeks since I had done any sewing because I just haven't felt good and I knew that mistakes are made when I quilt while sick.

Anyway, I was able to bust some serious stash this past week because I pieced two Quilts for Kids that had been cut but not accounted for yet, I added the final borders to two large quilts, and of course used up backing as well because they went right to Rachel, the quilter - check out her blog at Sew Behind. (I did have to buy backing for one of the large quilts, but that's ok because it came in and went out on the same stash report!)

While I was still in the productive mood, I cut fabric for four Patriotic Rail Fences (see the pattern instruction page on Mary's blog) that I hope to get sewn tomorrow. (I will be donating two of these for Quilts of Valor and two will go to friends who are veterans.) I won't count them until after they are pieced so if all goes well, I'll have a good report again next week.

Anyway, here's the report:

Fabric Used This Week: 24.25 yards

Fabric Used to Date: 151.875 yards

Fabric Added This Week: 3.0 yards

Fabric Added to Date: 79.5 yards

Net Fabric Used for 2010: 72.375 yards

Check the stash reports of other quilters by going to Judy L.'s blog.

Stash Report

Ok, I've not been feeling well the last couple of weeks so my stash report is simple and BORING:

Nothing In/Nothing Out

I'll tell you what, the picture below could easily be me but it's actually my granddaughter Quinn. I'm guessing she had a really rough morning and just threw the blanket over her head and said, "I'll get back to playing in a little bit." That pretty much describes how I'm feeling right now, and I can't wait until I'm ready to play again.



Here's the report:

Fabric Used This Week: 0.00 yards

Fabric Used to Date: 127.623 yards

Fabric Added This Week: 0.0 yards

Fabric Added to Date: 76.5 yards

Net Fabric Used for 2010: 51.123 yards

Stash Report - Week 19 and more

Not much happened in the sewing room this past week. :-( I have no idea where the time went, but I don't think I'll get much done today either.

I did pick up a bit of fabric to finish making 3 Quilts for Kids projects and I did make 4 pillowcases so it wasn't a total loss. Cross your fingers that I get something done today so I have something to put up on my design wall tomorrow!

Yesterday was an interesting day! I had to miss the guild meeting because Jack and I went to North Canton to see his 92 year old aunt and her family. Her son and his family were in from Dallas. (They are the family with whom Jack and I walked the Breast Cancer 3-Day, 60 mile walk last November. We haven't seen them since then and it was good to visit.)

While we were there, I got a phone call from Zach saying that while he, Nikki and Quinn were coming up from Cincinnati, Nikki had developed severe cramps, pain and vomiting. Because she's 7 months pregnant, he was worried she was in premature labor so he took her to the Mansfield Hospital where she was admitted with probable kidney stones. I don't know if any of you have ever had kidney stone, but I swear that mine were worse than any of my labor and deliveries!

Anyway, the ultrasound showed that everything was ok with the baby but that one of her kidneys was half again the size of the other one because of the blockage and that she was not going anywhere until she either passed the stone(s) or had surgery to get rid of it/them. Needless to say, she spent the night while Jack and I brought Quinn home with us. Nikki did pass stone and everything checked out okay this morning so she was released to come home. She and Zach got here around noon. YEAH!!

In celebration of Mother's Day, a number of quilts were hung in the Church today and it was just beautiful! Four of mine were there and if I can figure out how to get pictures off of Jack's phone, I'll post pictures.

Ok, so much for my rambling....
Here's this week's stash report:

Fabric Used This Week: 4.00 yards

Fabric Used to Date: 127.623 yards

Fabric Added This Week: 3.5 yards

Fabric Added to Date: 76.5 yards

Net Fabric Used for 2010: 51.123 yards

Check out how the rest of the StashBusters are doing on Judy L's Patchwork Times!

Design Wall Monday

It's Monday and just as I thought, I have my Thimbleberries Twister quilt on the design wall/floor. I really didn't like the layout when I first finished piecing the top because the pinwheel designs in the center of the sides and top and bottom just ended. It was like I didn't finish the design. (If you look closely you can see what I mean on the bottom.)



Anyway, I decided to add pinwheels to the borders but I had to "play" because those blocks are 15 inches and I didn't have enough border fabric; plus I didn't really want to add 15 inches of a relatively plain fabric. After trimming the blocks on two sides, and adding another fabric, I like the results. I do have to do some tricky piecing to make everything work, but I think it's worth it.

Check out what others have on their design walls at Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

Stash Report - Week 18

I'm not done cleaning yet and NO it's not because it's that much of a mess. I started and then had to stop to run some errands. On Saturday afternoons, I visit with a woman for an hour or so as part of my volunteering for Stein Hospice. I get her something to eat, chat with her while she eats, help her check her sugar level, and do anything else that she might need done until the evening caretaker arrives. We had a wonderful visit and before we knew it almost two hours had passed!

I took food to Jack who was manning the library book sale and spend some time visiting with him and the other workers. I will admit that I did stick around for quite a while there because I was avoiding work, but I think they enjoyed my visit. Maybe it was my sparkling personality or maybe it was because I took them cookies! I didn't ask and have no intention of doing so. :-)

Anyway, when I finally got home and started cleaning again, inspiration struck and I took the time to sketch out a new border plan for my Thimbleberries Twister quilt. I had to check to make sure I had enough fabric for my new plan, (I didn't so I had to make ANOTHER change) and by that time, the game was on and I wanted to watch it. (Lynn was there, and like any good mom, I didn't want to miss it if she made it on TV!) I did do some cleaning during the inning changes but I WILL buckle down this afternoon and finish! (Unless something else comes up, like the game which started 15 minutes ago! I guess that I could turn on the radio or simply turn up the TV volume and only watch when I hear cheering.)

Maybe a picture of a CLEAN sewing room will come later (much later), but I'm not promising anything!!!

Here's this week's stash report:
Fabric Used This Week: 8.333 yards

Fabric Used to Date: 123.623 yards

Fabric Added This Week: 4.5 yards

Fabric Added to Date: 73.00 yards

Net Fabric Used for 2010: 50.623yards

Check out how the rest of the Stash Busters are doing on Judy L's Patchwork Times!

Clean Up Time

Okay, does anyone remember in January when I stated I was going to keep my sewing area clean? Well, it worked for quite a while, but it's not working now.



The top of my pressing/cutting station has at least 5 different projects on it right now ( my nickle quilt project, a Quilts for Kids project, binding for my Cool Cats/Twister, two pillowcases using fabric left over from a previous project-cut and ready to sew together, and my mini nine-patch swap blocks-all pieced and in the pressing stage. That doesn't include the tub of strips I'm adding to while I'm working. YIKES!! Now, in my defense, the nickle quilt project and the Quilts for Kids project are being made using the leader/ender method so they are always out, but they don't have to be HERE.

I know, it doesn't matter what excuses I give, it's a mess and time to clean it up! The pressing side looks pretty clean, doesn't it? Well, that's because I had to press the blouse I wanted to wear today and I moved stuff.



That's right! I had to move it to my sewing chair and I'll have to move it somewhere else when I want to sit down to sew. Of course I said to myself that I could just sew standing up for a while until I was ready to use these fabrics or move them back to the pressing station and move it again when I needed to press, and then...... That's when I knew it was time to clean! (You know, you've got to be really in tune with yourself and be willing to listen to your inner voice when you're making major, time-consuming decisions - like cleaning your sewing room!) :-)

It's not like I'm slacking and not doing anything. I've been busy (work-I did a special program twice this past week that took quite a bit of prep work, some sewing, the 5 woven blanket embroidery order, and volunteering for Stein Hospice). Of course, I'm not showing pictures of any other part of the house because I never promised to keep that clean! :-)

Anyway, quilt-wise I'm still working on quilting my Cool Cats/Twister quilt. I just have not taken the time to sit down and finish it because other things keep popping up. I hope to rectify that this evening, assuming the clean-up doesn't take too long. I'd like to be hand stitching the binding while I watch the baseball game.

I also have a partial Thimbleberries Twister quilt. Do you remember when I made my first Twister quilt and I said that I wanted to do a large one using Thimbleberries? Well I made one but wasn't sure how I wanted to border it. Also, I'm not completely thrilled with the final layout but it's growing on me and I know that adding the border will hopefully resolve that issue. My guess is that this is the project that will be on my design wall Monday so I won't include a picture today.

I'm quilting a raffle quilt for a friend of mine who is raising money for the Breast Cancer 3-Day. I have the project layered and have made my final decision on how I'm going to quilt it. After I get her permission, I'll post a picture here with ticket information.

I could just keep rambling all day long and put off the "BIG CLEAN UP, " but I won't. Wish me luck, and call my husband if you don't hear from me in a day or so because that means I have fallen into a fabric bin and I can't get up!