Saturday, May 30, 2020

SSSSQ on the Frame -- RSC20

I'm still working on my predominantly green quilt.  It's even on the longarm frame.  I'm so glad I decided to work on projects that have already been started instead of starting new projects for the RSC20 this go around.

This is SSSSQ.  It was a mystery quilt designed by Kevin the Quilter!

I am quilting it with my Circle Lord giant template board called Swirls.


I have to brag on my little helper (that isn't so little anymore.)  He'll be 13 soon.  He just LOVES to work.  I taught him how to use the attachments on the shop vac.  He really went to town cleaning the unfinished floors.


I'm linking up at Angela's blog, SoScrappy for the RSC20.  Looks like pink is the color for June.  I'll just keep working on this quilt.  Perfect timing!


Friday, May 29, 2020

The OHIO Quilt is a Friday Finish!

I am so in love with this quilt!  Check it out:


Looks like I got it finished just in time before the thunderstorm rolled in.  Look at those clouds.


I moved it to another section of the yard to try to get a better photo...  Look, I even remembered to put a label on it!!!

I longarm quilted it using my Circle Lord giant template board, Baptist Fan.It measures 95" x 104" to fit our California King bed.  I backed it with one fabric (I know--something unusual for me).  This may just be one of my favorite quilts.  I used Warm & Natural 100 percent cotton batting.  I love the weight of this quilt.  It is perfect for summer!  It will be on the bed tonight.

I LOVE the way the Baptist Fan design looks in the neutral background.  I did not have a pattern for this quilt.  I used graph paper to map out the blocks.  Blocks are 2.5" (2" finished) size.  Some of the major cities and cities important to us have the names hand embroidered on them.  This part of the project was in my sew-to-go bag while waiting with me at school, speech, bowling, swimming, the bus stop... It was a fun project.  As we stitch memories into each quilt, I think about the times I sat in a classroom as a substitute teacher.  I think about the students and teachers and remember some of the conversations I had.  I even remember who had to get sent to the principal's office the day I was working on the Marietta block and wonder where they are today with all this craziness.

I'm linking this finish to Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.

Slow Sunday Stitching

I love to quilt.  I am not a photographer.  LOL.  I'm surprised the chickens didn't come over and check it out while it was in the clover area of the yard that they love.  I must have been too fast with flinging the quilt around for a photo and scared them away.


I tried to do one of those "over the limb" shots.  Yep... still not a photographer.


It didn't fit on my makeshift clothesline either.


This was my OMG quilt for May (one main goal)  I'm linking up at Elm Street Quilts finish linky party.



I'm linking up with



Linking up with Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?



Linking up at Alycia Quilts for Finished Not Friday

Linking up at From Bolt to Beauty.

Thursday, May 28, 2020

WIP Wednesday on a Thursday Again

With the holiday on Monday this week is flying by me.  I did get a few quilty things done this week:

I added another side to the Unity QA (design by Bonnie Hunter.)  I'm still super happy with my soft neutrals.  I'm super happy with my churn dash round.  LOVING everything about this whole stay-in-place quit.  Some of the spinning pinwheels in the last round don't stick out as much because it doesn't have as much contrast.  I'll live with that.  Next to finish Clue #7 top and sides.  It's rainy and wet outside today.  It is officially the last day of school.  I plan to sew a little today.


I splurged and bought a wool pressing mat on eBay.  I shall miss my Aunt Irene's old, sentimental towel that had cuts in it that Owen did with my sewing scissors, but there really is a difference on how nice and flat the pieced blocks are after pressing on this vs. the old towel.  It will get plenty of use.  It fits the area perfectly!  I couldn't have got it to fit any better.


I made it to the top of my Ohio quilt with the longarm quilting.  It is my OMG for May.


I made a back for my SSSSQ (Kevin the Quilter design).  I can move this to the "to be quilted" pile!


I picked up this quilt from a customer to quilt.  I love how she uses her scraps.


I've been working outside in the flowerbeds.  I LOVE doing this--and having the time to do it.  I only got a little spot of poison ivy on my arm this time.  Thanks to the advice of Patty the Quilt Lady I keep a bottle of rubbing alcohol and some cotton balls on my desk near my computer/sewing area and I dab it throughout the day.  It is drying up nicely!  Here's a portion of my weeded flowerbed.  I planted three plants that were on clearance for CHEAP at Lowes.  It was a big $15 splurge to add to my perennials for this year.  There were three plants.  Two of them are yellow daisy like flowers.  The other is another yellow flower.  I'll probably just call them yellow things from this point on out.


I transplanted a bunch of plants from the bed above to the chicken yard as an experiment to see how much the chickens mess with them.  They seem to nibble at the fern plants and the ornamental grass.  Many of the other plants are still doing surprisingly well.  I'd love for there to be more green in the chicken yard than the bare dirt.  I even transplanted some weeds on purpose.  Chickens and ducks LOVE to eat the weeds.  If I can get things like tiger lilies, hostas, iris plants, ornamental grass, and sedum to grow, that would be so awesome and look so much nicer.  I also planted mints and cora bells but protected them with fence for now.  Can't wait to see if they thrive there.

I currently have 67 on-going projects.   

Pieces Still Need to be Cut & Sewn
1.  Cheddar Jack cat pattern from Mama Spark's World 
2.  Digging up Bones (Owen's dinosaur quilt)
3.  Rock Island Campfire Quilt
4.  Picadilly Circle
5.  ...And Sew On BOM at Quiet Play (one block to go)
6.  Go Four It! -- Scrappy 4-patches started as leader/ender June 2017
7.  Patriotic Folk Animals (from Americana Quilts Book) -- hand work-- found the book 8/8/19!
8.  Parallelogram Strings -- 2019 String Along at Humble Quilts, started 1.31.19
9.   Leah Day Building Blocks QA
10.  Jelly Roll Rug
11.  Classic Meets Modern BOM
12.  Mod Mod QA (turning this one into a baby quilt) (from block Lotto, mostly circles w/lines)
13.  Owl's Well That Ends Well (RSC19 project started 1.26.19)
14.  Kevin the Quilter's Sapphire Stars Mystery (started Summer 2017) 
15.  Temperature QA (2019 block-a-day according to high and low temps--changed to table topper.)
16.  Kite Girl (RSC14)
17.  Amish Country BOM (from Lynn, Johnna's mom)
18.  Cabins at the Lake (from Fons & Porter Magazine) (only one house block complete.)
19.   2.5" Scraps from Dani making "cracker" blocks
20.  Sand Castles -- Bonnie Hunter string quilt started January, 2019 -- an RSC project
21.  Little Houses (3.5" blocks)
22.  Pumpkins & the Beanstalk (a second quilt.)
23.  Set of note cards and envelopes
24.  Simply Summer Sensational QA with Kevin the Quilter 2.5" blocks (started 6.27.19)
25.  Slabs with White Rectangle (RSC14 started -- need blocks each month)
26.  Bonnie Hunter Box Kite class from March, 2017 (Will make baby quilt.)
27.  Kevin the Quilter 2019 Mystery Quilt -- SSSSQ, 1.5" squares
28.  2015 Orange, pink, grey kite blocks (from Accuquilt die, RSC17)
29.  Maroon Sampler Quilt
30.  Gypsy Wife QA (started again with Angie at Gnome Angel, August 2017) (2019 QA)
31.  Kathleen Tracy’s 2019 Mystery Quilt -- Facebook QA started in March, 2019. 
32.  2016 Plus Blocks (from left over pieces of Soul Searching blocks)
33.  RSC16 Folk Art Birds
34.  Waffle Blocks (August 2019) RSC19
35.  Unity Quilt Along with Bonnie Hunter,  (started 4/1/2020.)
36.  Gingerbread Men pattern by Edyta Sitar started November, 2019
37.  Linen & Threads Mystery SAL, Started 1/1/20 for my sew-to-go bag.
38.  Dresser Scarf (my grandma's printed WIP from the 70's) 1/1/20 for my sew-to-go bag.
39.  Veggie Patch (from Katie Mae Quilts)

Blocks Still Need to be Made
1.  Bluepatch Mystery Quilt
2.  Scrap Crystals (working on blue pieces for RSC15)
3.  We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler
4.  Drunkard's Path Variation baby quilt
5.  Finding Nemo Scrappy Trip quilt (my seams don't match Julianne's seams...)

Blocks are made but need to be sewn together (and/or some sashing)
1.  Block Swap Adventure Orange/Yellow Sampler (2011-2012)
2.  Cruise blocks won from Libby
3.  Orange/Blue Fish Blocks (that I won)
4.  Split Stars (blocks won from Block Lotto; October, 2012)
5.  African Violet baby quilt (Block Lotto inspired)
6.  Tall Fly (blocks won from Block Lotto, February, 2013)
7.  Fortune Teller (RSC14 started)--It's not long enough...needs 4 more blocks
8.  Sonja's Windows string quilt 
9.   Block Swap Adventure (2013) Churn Dash Blocks 
10.  Tula Pink's City Sampler 100 Modern Quilt Blocks (New QA starting 5/7/17 Gnome Angel)
11.  Flower Baskets (blue and white with some applique) Block Lotto win 10/1/18
12.  Pre-printed cross stitch pillow sham (May, 2018 sew-to-go bag)
13.  Bonnie Hunter Garden Party (started 3.18.17.)
14.   Cathy's CRAZY BY DESIGN.  It's the Dot Dot Dash Bag. (new to the list April, 2018)

Quilts back needs to be made (tops are done) 
1. Card Trick (pink and blue) HUGE charity quilt for local quilt guild
2. Hunter green large (bubbly -- will be a challenge to longarm) charity quilt for the local guild
3. Bubble Gum pink and navy charity quilt for local quilt guild
4. Good Fortune -- A Bonnie Hunter Quiltville Mystery started Thanksgiving weekend, 2018
5.  Soul Searching -- Julianne sent it to me 8/29/19!!!


Ready to longarm
1.  O - H - I - O quilt 2.5" blocks (currently on the longarm frame)
2.  Wings of Spring -- Block Lotto win 3.31.19
3.  Kevin the Quilter 2019 Mystery Quilt -- SSSSQ, 2.5 " squares
4.  Farm Panel Quilt -- CM

I'm linking up with Susan at Quilt Fabrication for Midweek Makers.

Quiltfabrication

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Unity QA Progress

I've slowed down a little on making progress on my Unity quilt.  This is a quilt along with the amazing Bonnie Hunter.  I challenged myself to make six more blocks today (for a total of eight) of  Part 7 and attached the column to the right side of the quilt.


Although I am still playing with scrappy neutrals, I paid attention to where the light/dark HST pieces landed.  I also used pastels in the corners of each block in Part 7.  I'm hoping a pattern shows when I get all four sections attached. 

It's a beautiful 86 degrees at 10:30 am today in Ohio.  Owen's elearning assignments are getting lighter.  His last day of "school" is 5/28.  Looks like we will get to play outside today and add more water to our pool (Club Med.)  Have a great day!

Cleaning Out the Flowerbed Again & Club Med

I made a lot of progress on cleaning out the flowerbed again.  This is what it looked like at the end of
last summer.


This is how it looked at the end of March, 2020.



Here it is after Memorial Day weekend, 2020.


I still have some fine-tuning of pulling the weeds.  I need to keep in mind where some of the perennials are growing so if I keep up with it next year I'll know which ones to split earlier in the Spring.



And yes, SOMEONE is still stacking things in front of the flowerbed making it hard for me to get in there where the rocks aren't steep.  I got a little tired and sore by the time I reached the east end.  Can't wait until those peony plants bloom!


I'll be able to enjoy viewing the flowerbed from Club Med our little pool.  We decided to stay with the same pool again this year.  It's kinda small for us and the water only comes up to Owen's waist or so now.  It will be a great place to cool off and splash. 

Even though it was in the mid 80's on Memorial Day, 2020, the water coming in from the hose is BRRRRR cold!  We call this our Polar Bear Club photo.    I get elected to press down the glued seam once the water is this high.

My husband reinforced the seams with a vinyl sealant.  He says he was the first into the pool.


Monday, May 25, 2020

Camera Roll This Week

My little garden is progressing.  I hope to get outside and move more perennials to the chicken yard today.  It's nice to finally see some green there.  They are busy digging bugs and worms from the garden and the divots I have been leaving while I plant.  It's a beautiful, sunny, 82 degree Ohio day!

These are my two favorite photos from this weekend (so far).  My husband's old dirt bike started after only two kicks.  He was so proud.  This thing is still a pretty powerful bike.  He was trying to get our son to ride his go kart up this hill because it was "fun".  I stayed on the ground with the 4-wheeler.


Owen did go up on the dirt hill one time.  He was not a fan.  He likes the paths that I mowed for him in the field with the extra bumps made by my husband's pan.  Owen especially likes spinning out in the driveway gravel.


He did get up the hill one time.  He drifted off the side and didn't want to go back up there.  


Here's one of his favorite spin out spots.  If I'm following him he knows he's out of my sight on the curve and gives it the gas.  ;)



Here's a bunch of the plants that I decided to move.  It doesn't look like much now, but I moved more than 60 plants.  Some are in wired areas so that they can get a better start before the flock starts to nibble at them.  The mustard seeds are coming up under one of the crates.  No squash or pumpkins under the others yet.  For the most part they are leaving the crates alone.


Because they ate the ferns in the above photo quickly, I moved a few into the kennel area coop.  This a coop where I keep young chicks if I have them.  The bottom is reinforced with a finer chicken wire and they can't run through the fence.  I don't have any chicks right now.  I continue to wait for one of my chickens to be broody, but right now nobody really wants to sit on eggs.


My husband had to work on the brakes of the old black dually.  This used to be his race-car pulling truck.  Owen learned the fine art of being the helper for bleeding the brakes.  It used to be my job, but I passed the torch.


Here he is in the cab.  He LOVES this kind of stuff!


Here's Wiggles my rooster.  He's such a gentle/tame rooster.  His spurs are about 4" long. 


Below is a pic of my "organic pest control" system.  There's a one minute-ish video on YouTube here.  My trick is that I run the rototiller between the rows of where things are planted.  They love fresh-tilled areas where shiny bugs and worms are exposed.  They flock to the area and dine.  The ducks are smarter and not afraid of the rototiller.  They are close behind me when I am turning over dirt.  The chickens don't like the noise as much and don't get the freshly turned bugs, but like to scratch for them after the tiller is turned off.






It was in the 80's yesterday.  It was hot.  Today more plant moving and flower bed weeding is in store.  Maybe I'll take a few more progress pictures.  I think I'll plant more seeds later in the week.  I need to do that when the chickens and ducks are still in their coops.  If they see my planting seeds they go behind me and pick them out.  Little stinkers -- some of the seeds are treated and I don't want them to get sick also.

Here's our "hot" selfie...  I have a feeling this is how my hair will be for the rest of the summer. Memorial Day is usually reserved for setting up our above ground pool.  We have really outgrown it.  It comes a little above my waist.  We are going to try to make it last one more season.  It will be a good place to cool off and "lounge" during our STAYCATION this year.  We are still staying at home.


Barn Panel Quilt

Happy Memorial Day!  Summer is finally here.

As I dropped off this quilt my friend had another quilt waiting for me to quilt.  I'm not sure which design I will quilt on this quilt yet.  I need to let it sit there while I am working on quilting my Ohio quilt so I can vision one of my edge-to-edge designs on it.


I'm really getting my use out of the large table that was in front of a lawyer's office with a "free" sign on it.  It's definitely used, but works GREAT for my purposes.  Quilts don't hang on the floor anymore like they did when I used my six foot folding table.  It makes it easier to cut from a roll of batting as well.

I told my friend that we were using my "curbside service" feature now.  I leave her quilt on the designated lawn chair in her garage.  She leaves payment and another quilt for me.  I surprised her with a fresh dozen of eggs from my chickens.  Can't wait until my garden produces and she will get surprises then as well.  :)  We have become good friends over the past few years.

Sunday, May 24, 2020

Slow Sunday Stitching -- Kinda


I don't have any "hand" work to show from this week, but I did make it all the way to the top of this sew-to-go bag quilt on the longarm this week.


This quilt has cities names hand embroidered throughout the quilt.  I remember sitting and stitching some of them while I subbed in science class.  I remember the student that taught me how to use Snap Chat that day.  I wonder where she is.  I think about the teacher that I filled in for the day.  Her life has drastically changed since then.  Memories are sewn into our quilts.

Linking up at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.

Slow Sunday Stitching

Saturday, May 23, 2020

RSC30 -- XL

It's a late Saturday post.  I didn't get much time to play with green scraps this week.  Today I put together this quilt back for my SSSSQ quilt (designed by Kevin the Quilter.) 

I used many green undesirable  available scraps that were in large chunks.



I don't know the process others use to make piece backs, but mine goes like this.  I actually make the bed.  LOL.  Then I put the quilt that I am making the back for on the bed.  (See the pink/green SSSSQ?  Then I start placing big chunks on it row by row.  I pick up the pieces that I want to use and take them to the sewing machine in the other room.  I sew on that strip.  You'd be surprised how many of the scraps I use that actually match up length-wise.  It's a fun process.  I try to not make it stressful.  These are fabrics that are from my green scrap bin.  Most of them wouldn't be enough to make a big quilt.  I picked out some that I wasn't totally fond of (wether the greens clashed or not) and sewed them together and ripped off the piece that was too long here or there and then pieced a small piece to make it the right size here or there.  Finally a quilt back is made.


It's a gorgeous Ohio day here!  It's 75 degrees and sunny.  I got a late start sewing today because I had to be a hunter, gatherer, forager go to Walmart and TSC to pick up our grocery order and get food for the chickens and cats because.  I was soooooo close to hitting the jackpot on Clorox wipes in my Amazon cart today, but while adding things to the cart to get free shipping (I'm too thrifty to be a Amazon Prime member).  The wipes went out of stock while I added two things to my cart.  Someday I'm going to get them!  I just don't get how businesses are supposed to open up if they can't get the products they need to disinfect everything.  I've been using a bleach mixture in a spray bottle, but the wipes are so much easier to throw in the trucks to keep next to our little "toucher".  I'll keep searching...

In other news, TODAY my husband finally found the missing keys to the RV.  We had two sets.  He hid one "just in case" we lost the other set while on vacation.  He hid them so good he forgot where they were...  He lost the other set (I still they they are at work where he has not returned--and probably won't.)  I'm still okay on that decision too!  I was so happy when he sent this picture to my phone.  I knew exactly what it was without an explanation.


Things are starting to open back up here in Ohio.  We are still very cautious.  I am still in that 9% of people that doesn't have a resolution to our very ancient unemployment system.  I do know that I now qualify and that they are working on it.  Woohoo.  There is a light at the end of this big tunnel.

I took our son out and let him pick carry-out food (that I thought was safe) yesterday to celebrate the end of the school year.  He is done with all of his academics.  All of his grades have been posted.  His last day of school is 5/28, but there are no more assignments.  They are just doing fun things online for the rest of the year.  We celebrated him getting ALL A's!!!  He really worked hard for this.  We did it! 

I'm linking up with Angela of SoScrappy for the RSC20.  Check out the linky party and ANGELA's SUPER CUTE PILLOWS here.

SoScrappy

Friday, May 22, 2020

Ohio Quilt is on the Frame

Finally.  I loaded my Ohio quilt onto the frame.  It is my one main goal (OMG) for May.  I should have time to finish it by the end of the month. 


I found a big piece of Amish country quilt quality fabric for the back.  I had enough to make a one-fabric back.  I remember buying this at a fabric garage sale a few summers ago.  I knew it would be a quilt back someday.  It's super soft like high-quality fabric is.  The lady that had the garage sale said her husband said she had too much "stuff".  She was selling her awesome quilting stuff and CANDLES...  I'm not a candle fan.  All of her fabric smelled like candles.  This fabric still smells like vanilla candles...


I'm happy to quilt the bright colors.  I am using my Circle Lord giant template board (15" Baptist Fan).  Now that I am using the template the way it was intended I LOVE this design.  I have put off using this template for so long.  I have quilted with it upside down for years and had trouble lining it up.  I finally did a customer quilt a couple of weeks ago and figured it out by accident.  You can read about it here.