Progress on the Jeff Quilt

I cut the fabric into the correct sizes for the Jeff Quilt - that is, the fabric that I have because I am short on most fabric. DOH! I figured I might as well work with what I have and figure out what I'm missing. It seems I'm only short on four fabrics, which is better than I thought. Now I'm debating whether I want to raid my stash for solid colors, or wait and buy the colors that are a perfect match. Decisions, decisions...

New Quilting Book

I was out and about doing errands and stopped at Hastings to see if they had Led Zeppelin bumper stickers - they did not, and I wept. I did, however, buy the Mothership CD at Wal-Mart so I am getting my Zeppelin fix. So I checked out the quilting books, starting at the bargain or clearance shelves. I found a book called Creative Scraps - Quilting with bits & pieces on sale for $7.99. A coworker has been bringing in one quilting book at a time and letting me look through them when we have down time. The two books she's brought so far are hardcover with spiral binding. I've decided I really like books with spiral binding so the pages don't get ruined from excessive use and page turning. The book I bought today has a hardcover and the spiral binding so I'm doubly happy.

I didn't work on any quilt projects today, but I did watch two movies, shopped (only had the patience for one store and then Hastings for fun), mowed the lawn, washed clothes, and bought some tulips and Asiatic lilies to plant. I'm going to plant them in a half barrel tomorrow. They are going to brighten up the boring and bland front yard... if only I bought a few solar lights, too. Maybe next paycheck. I want to work on a quilt project, but I doubt I'll have time tomorrow. There's just never enough time in a weekend.

Quilting under the influence of Mountain Dew, Led Zeppelin, and M&M's

I'm frustrated that I feel so... I don't know what. Bored? Lonely? Overwhelmed? Sad? Blank? Lazy?

So I worked on two little projects tonight. One, to experiment with a quick and easy method of making pinwheels that I saw on a Missouri Star Quilt Company tutorial video. I've never made a pinwheel, but with all the scraps and bits of fabric I have now, I want to just experiment with making different samples of blocks. Just because. I want to make so many things, I might as well settle for a project that is low commitment and offers the variety of experimentation and instant gratification that I want. The pinwheel turned kinda wonky when I "squared" it - but I don't mind wonky. I blame the sugar and caffeine... because listening to Led Zeppelin could never have a bad influence on me.

And two, I made a Block of the Month from the Desert Sage Quilt Guild. I like the idea of this block, but I created a Frankenstein block because I didn't have enough of the night sky fabric. The Frankie part isn't bad, it worked, but the corners don't match up and I'm in no mood for imperfection! Oh well. I will get over it by tomorrow when I wear bunny ears to work.

Memory Quilt

My uncle Steve passed away on April 4th after having a heart attack at work. My dad went to Illinois to sort out the estate and brought back some pots and pans for me, wrapped in Steve's old flannel shirts. When I saw the shirts I decided I would make a Memory Quilt. I've wanted to make a Memory Quilt since I heard of the idea, and now seems like the perfect time to make one. I want to use photos of Steve, and his shirts, and make wall hangings for his brothers and his parents for Christmas gifts. I'm washing the shirts tonight, but need to take time to plan the quilts. I also need to purchase the transfer paper to put photos on fabric. It will be an adventure.

Quilting 101 - Stash Building

Jamie brought more fabric from the Senior Center fabric sale on Friday. There was a box for Marcia and I to dig through, as well as a big plastic bag that has the smaller pieces of fabric. I adopted a lot of new fabric.


Way too many colors to take individual pics of them all!



Smaller bits and pieces of fabric.



Sir William providing the usual QC on new quilting items.



He really just wants to burrow in it and chew the plastic bag :)


I haven't done much this week due to laziness and overwhelm. I want to do so many different projects that I just have a difficult time focusing on one till completion! I was chatting with Jamie about the handquilting for the Man Quilt and she suggested I use wax for the thread to avoid having it tangle and knot. That little issue (knottiness) is a big discouragment for me and I feel the need to pull thread out of the Man Quilt where it knotted and made a mess. I stopped at JoAnn's after work and bought wax, so maybe I will gather the courage to attempt the handquilting again!

I was flipping through old quilting mazagines at work today and found a smaller project to try. It's an 14" pillow with a delightful Fall leaf. I want to try applique, and this is a small project compared to even a lap quilt, so I'm going to see what I can do this weekend.

And finally, a little funny I found in a quilt magazine:

Eureka!

On Friday the Senior Center hosted a sale on a fabric stash that was donated to them. I couldn't attend because I had to work but Jamie went and brought a huge bag of fabric to me when she came to work later in the day! I don't know how many yards it is, but it's a lovely variety of styles and colors... and only $20 (if you know anything about fabric prices you can appreciate how awesome this is!). There's even batik and Kona fabric, which I have never used before because I am cheap when it comes to fabric [poor would be a more appropriate descriptor]. I want to work on a Block of the Month project for the Desert Sage Guild and so many other projects this weekend, which means tomorrow since today was swallowed whole by an unexpected road trip adventure to Utah to retrieve a car from airport parking, but right now I don't feel well. I think I have allergies, or a ninja cold attacked on Friday around 3:30 p.m. and has been making my sinuses suffer ever since. I just started sneezing, got all congested, and my eyes were watering with no warning whatsoever.

I did take pics of the important things, like the new additions to my stash. Due to combination of family events tomorrow and feeling like poo, I may not accomplish anything tomorrow but reading and sleeping.


THE STACK!



These remind me of spaghetttios.





I see fussy cutting in my future to use these...



 

I have maybe 3 yards of this one!!

Jamie is my hero! I was giddy as a schoolgirl on Friday after work when I finally had time to look through the bag of fabric. It really made my day.

Relay for Life Quilt #2

The second Relay for Life quilt is now on display and raffle tickets are available. It's much fancier than the Man Quilt I was part of assembling, and they took the time to handquilt! Crazy, but it is beautiful. They went all patriotic with a red, white, and blue theme, too. I will buy a couple tickets next payday.

Very nice quality but it's not as fluffy as the other one :)