October Quilt Update

Links to Our Quilt World and  Our Quilt Blogs Facebook Groups.  Come be a part of us.  Both groups also can be found at the top of the blog using the tabs.  Any links that you click in this post will open in a DIFFERENT window, allowing you to continue reading this without losing the page.

I have moved the previous posts to the end of the entry.  I hope that you make it that far.

Goals:

BOM blocks (3) complete -  yes

Easy Street (ES) Clue 8 - hanging head in shame - no
Orange Crush (OC) ripped out, re-sandwiched, quilted and bound - no
Bow-Dacious (BD)  ripped out, quilted, labeled, binding on - YES!!!!
Old Tobacco Road (OTR)  - Clues 4, 5 - no

Christmas blocks - worked on but the amount of blocks increased
Block a Day continued (BAD) - I need to remove this 
ROL - YES!!!! BOTH!!!  and finished with reveal on Halloween

1st - I am going to have a hard time being creative about my day today.  ALL day was spent on bookwork, blog posts, etc.  To top off the mundane -- I went grocery shopping.  Wowser what a left brain day.  Perhaps tomorrow I can let the right side play a little too.

2nd - It's a play day!!!!  I love Fridays for two reasons.  First, I get the car.  Yes -- that is truly fun stuff for me.  But today, the second reason is waaaay better.  Lunch with the girls!! Shopping!!   To read all about our simply marvelous day, please click on this LINK.  Once home, my day just gets better and better.  Date night -- oh yeah.  Perhaps the day can get a wee bit better.  EARLY post on ROL ---- hope everyone has fun with Clue 6.  All Ribbons of Love clues can be obtained by clicking the tab at the top of the blog (just below the picture).



3rd - For some reason I feel the need to be a bit more organized.  Yes, it even happens to me now and then.  After attacking both the office and the studio, I settle in for some more retreat bookwork.  Want my exciting life?  AND, I'm doing all of this while it is a gorgeous day outside.  Go figure.

4th -  So -- I have peeked at the calendar and scared my self to death.  I have 28 days until the reveal and I'm still making BOTH tops.  Kick it in gear girl.  The rest of my sew time is devoted to ROL, scrappy version.  I am truly still loving it.

5th -  It's another ROL day. Scrappy version is on Clue 10 - yep I can say that now since this post is AFTER the reveal, lol.  The constant version made it through Clue 6.  It really is fun to watch them both come together AND to see the posts of all who are making them along with me.  I feel so honored that they are even trusting me with their fabric.

6th - After laying out the scrappy ROL, I want to take a break and do something else for awhile.  Mister is home today and gives me a wonderful suggestion for getting my shirting samples off the cards.  He says to just line up 2-3 at a time and cut right along the header.  I lose about 1/2" but I don't have to take the staples out and I accomplish my task in mere minutes.  Yep -- that's why I married this man.  Cos he's a problem solver to the max.

I also take some time to go through the scraps that Suzanne had given me.  For some reason I had not gotten to them since the beach.  Look at all these treasures.

Okay, okay -- enough play.  I need to get back to the task at hand.  Clue 8 for the constant.  Sew, sew, sew --- and watch these colors just come alive.  It is definitely MY pallette for it truly makes me smile with each combination.

7th - ROL. ROL, ROL.  That is my mantra right now.  The days are just clicking by and I have a couple of trips on the horizon.  I would really appreciate it if each day slowed down just a wee bit.  Please.  Clue 8 is complete and 9 in the works on the constant ROL.  I have pieces EVERYWHERE in the office.  No wonder Mister just shakes his head at me anymore.

8th - Oh my gosh!  I am on the final part of my constant ROL.  Am I going to pull this off after all?  One can surely hope.  The center medallion looks awesome as does the side sections.  That just leaves corners right?  Well guess what?  They look dang sweet too.  It's coming together.

9th - I have a top.  Well, I have a center of a top.  But I'm still doing a happy dance.   The addition of the inner white borders also takes place before I have to move my attention to this blog, laundry, bills, etc.  It can get so annoying when real life enters into my creative space.  However, we are leaving tomorrow for our anniversary trip and I certainly want things in order for that.

10th - Happy Anniversary to me!  It's been five years since this magnificent man came into my life and I will be eternally grateful for that.  I am, indeed, one lucky gal.  First thing this morning I am presented with a very cool gift.  This sweet little iron is COMPLETE.  The instructions are a hoot and if you can read them, you will smile tremendously.  It is all in the first person as if the iron is talking to you.

We are soon on the road to Oklahoma City for our little getaway.  Along the way, in Norman, we stop at an antique shop and discover a few treasures.  The little Sew Handy stays but we take down the information on the owner just in case.  As i round another corner, I come across this display case and spot some goodies inside.  Everything runs about $19.99 and there is a tag that says it is all half off right now.  Well --- let me look please.  I find some must have treasures and we find out that the person who has this display is the same as the Sew Handy machine and apparently he has a TON of stuff at another location.  I make my purchase and we call him right away.  We get directions and head for his house.  It's true -- they have so much stuff -- an absolute dream, but they really don't want to sell much.  Not yet anyway.  We do manage to find a 301 table for Allison though so it's not a complete bust. It's time to get back to the anniversary now.  Toodles.

11th - My day is with my sweetie.  What a fun time we have together.

12th - We are back home and back to reality.  Okay --- let's get this top FINISHED.  The outer borders go on oh so smooth and it is soon staring at me while I stare back and smile.  Oh yeah.  I like it.

The label got made as I set the quilt.  I had oh so little left to work with on this one.  There is still sewing time left today so I focus on making some belly bands for my sister-in-laws dog, and get my BOM's finished for October.  Woohoo.  Check marks everywhere for me today.

13th -  I am off to Utah this afternoon for some baby girl time (both my daughter and granddaughter qualify) but need to get the scrappy top set too.  I just kind of breezed past it with the constant one.  It's coming together while I pack and do laundry.

I received the cutest panel from Val while at retreat and have decided to put it to use in my friendship nine patch quilt.  I think I have an idea growing and hope it all works out.  Yeah, I know, crazy lady to even think about another project right now.  I have kitted up a few things to work on in Utah and am outta here.  See ya'll on the flip side.

14th -  One half of my suitcase was filled with my Bow-Dacious quilt.  Yes -- it needs to have one entire quadrant of the quilting ripped out (that is all the quilting there is) so that I can start again.  I find a spot at my daughter's house and put in a couple of hours before everyone else wakes.  This is the plan for the week.

During nap time, I am able to get the HO HO HO's written on my fusible applique whatever it is.  Paper?  I don't know.  That's good --- one more hand item taken off the list.

15th -  Other than my two hours in the morning rip, rip, ripping -- I get the layout for my Christmas quilt finished.  I hope.  There may be a few tweaks needed but I'm on track.

16th -  Two more hours on the frog project and then we are off for the day's adventures.  Today we make a pit stop at a wonderful little quilt shop where even Miss Ophelia fits right in.

It's a great store and I am lost in a matter of minutes.  In dreamland that is.  Oooohhh so many pretties.  I find some fat quarters for the game at retreat this month and continue wandering around.

Cassie and I spot the cutest little book/toy/? and decide to investigate further.  It is like a fold up bed room complete with dressing chamber.  I am reminded of paper dolls but it is a giant panel of fabric.  The price is right so a kit comes home with me to make for O.

How sweet is this?  Just look at all the lovelies that are included.  Fun, fun, fun.  I will quilt part of this one.

Today's treasures.

17th -  Nap time provides me the opportunity to finish drawing the remaining santa pieces for my blocks and select the fabrics that will be used with them.  Yes, the other half of my suitcase had a huge bag of Christmas fabric in it along with my roll of soft fuse.  I did bring clothes too.  Honest.

Mister sends a picture while I am here.  He has been crafty too.  He took the remaining fabric from the belly bands for Rockin' and made him a blanket.  Very cool Mister.


18th - I can't believe it BUT my ripping has paid off --- I have the top all part and ready to start over on the new frame and machine when I get home.  Can I have a Halleluiah please?  After ironing all the parts for my Christmas blocks, my evening project is to cut out Santas and Ho Ho Ho's.  Yep, relaxed on my bed cutting away.

19th -  I finish cutting this morning and have accomplished all the tasks I brought with me for this trip.  Woot woot.  I love it especially since it never took away from my time with Cassie and O.  Early morning hours, nap times, and evenings after bed.  Excellent.

20th -  Home again, home again -- jiggity jig.  Mister has issues with the internet today so once I land, I take the train to Mockingbird station where he meets me.  It's still fairly early and he is still working, so I head out to the studio to iron my parts onto their backings.  Looking good.

Now, in preparation for retreat, I cut the remaining small pieces of fabric into strips so that I can work on the nine-patch strips while there.  Yes, I am doing well for my first day home.

21st - Today -- no sewing.  It's a paperwork day again.  And I don't even want to write about this boring stuff.

22nd -  Goodness, I am now down to 7 days before I leave for retreat and I have NO completed quilts for the reveal.  First up -- finish the scrappy top through inner borders.  Take a deep breath.  Make a schedule.  NOW.

23rd -  Today the top MUST be finished.  That is what the schedule says so that is what must happen.  And it does - by 9 a.m. too.  A slightly larger label makes it's appearance as well.  With tearing this top totally apart, I have bits and pieces everywhere to use up.  They will go into the back as well, I think -- well one of the backs anyway.

I am now off to Jen's house for lunch and a visit.  I give her a sneak peek at the mystery tops as well as my now-ready-to-quilt-for-the-second-time Bow-Dacious top.  Lucille stops by to pick up treasures from a wonderful estate sale that Jen went to and it's fun to visit with her and her sweetie.  He's another keeper.  For more fun and smiles from today, please click on this LINK

24th -  Girls Day.  YES -- before you go scolding me.  It is on the schedule.  Breakfast a Mama's Daughter's Diner and then off to Harry Hines.  Here is the LINK for the post on today's adventures.

And today's treasures:

25th -  It's time.  It's time.  I am oh so scared but am now down to four days until I leave.  Today -- Learn how to run the Pfaff and guide it through a test quilt sandwich.

It seems okay, still a learning curve and even with a stitch length regulator, it can still do different size stitches depending on how you start and stop and curve speed.  I'm getting it though.

I do discover that I can sit and guide it easier than standing.  There's a bonus.  Just rolling my chair along.  Here's my test piece front and back. Okay -- enough for today.  Tomorrow I quilt.

26th -  EARLY today I am out to the studio and loading my first true quilt into the frame.  It takes me about an hour to load it before I am ready to see if I learned anything at all yesterday.

It goes pretty smooth and after 3 1/2 hours of just a basic stipple, I am not getting weird stitches anymore.  I think I have this basic movement down anyway.  No fancy stuff right now.  Now to get it off and take a look.  What do you think?  Front:

And back:

Not too bad for a first attempt.  I'm pleased and it is soooo much better than it was before I tore it out.

Now to trim and see what we've got.  I gotta admit I am pretty dang excited and oh so thankful for this wonderful gift in my life.  Again --- thank you, thank you, thank you Val.

27th -  Today I bite the bullet.  Not only am I quilting the scrappy version of ROL BUT I am also centering a back.  Am I scared?  Oh heavens yes.  The quilt is loaded after all my mathematical calculations to get the back centered not just right to left but up and down as well.  I get started and things are going along swimmingly until I forget to put the presser foot down and break a needle.  After a needle change, I am back operating again but my thread keeps breaking and bunching up.  After analysis by my sweet Mister -- I have a burr inside the needle hole on the plate where the needle hit when it broke.  Using a fine grit sandpaper rolled up, we s - l - o - w - l - y sand it off and give it another try. Yes!  I am back running and a valuable lesson has been learned.  Presser foot DOWN when starting to sew.

Three hours later, the quilt is off and I am crossing my fingers that the back will look good.  Here is the front:

And after trimming:

Now to put together a back for the constant one.  I used up ALL the leftovers for a middle column between the two yardage pieces.  I needed just a wee bit more width.  This is NOT laid out smooth -- just a quick peek in the yard before loading it onto the machine right away.  I am not taking a break and work right into the night to get the second quilt finished and off the frame as well.  Yes, I am totally beat.  8 hours of solid quilting plus loading and unloading.  Whew.

I will admit, though, that some of the stress has lifted.

28th -  I head to retreat tomorrow.  Oh my.  That means that today I have to bind BOTH quilts so that they can be photographed when Mister comes home.  The final clue needs to be updated and ready to post.  Sew, Deb, sew.  Making binding comes first -- one scrappy of course and the other, the constant purple.  As soon as they are made, I attach one right after the other.  (As a side note, Bow-Dacious gets her binding today too.)  Now for the hand work.

I just land myself in a comfortable spot and stitch until my poor little fingers ache.  Goodness.  I am happy to say that they are COMPLETE!  Presenting Ribbons of Love:

Both back pictures are turned wrong but I just don't care right now.  They are done and I am one happy girl.  Now to pack and load the car.  

29th -  After dropping Mister off at work, I am on my way to Brazos.   I am the first one here and start to set up as Stephanie arrives.  Yay, help.  For the WHOLE story on this weekend, please click this LINK.  Today I am starting the Less Than Traditional quilt that Mary is teaching at retreat.  I'm kinda excited to learn something new and hopefully walk away with a completed quilt when I go home on Sunday.  Fingers are crossed for it anyway.  By the time I go to bed at 3:30 a.m. --- my circles are completely sewn, turned, and pressed.  I am ready for tomorrow.  Or is that today?

30th -  Between keeping everything running and enjoying conversations around the room, I am getting some sewing done as well.  My circles are first turned into duos and then quads.  I really liking this so far but the concept is really hard for my precise mind.

I am the last one up by the time I finish so I do a solo Ta DA on the design wall before crawling into bed at 2:30. Project complete.  Onto something else.

31st -  Happy Halloween.  The reveal is out and we have even had a finish here at retreat.  How cool is that?   Today my sewing focus turns to 9 patch blocks (strips) for the Christmas block exchange at next month's retreat.  I get them all finished and even find time to do my BOM's right after midnight (Nov. 1).  It's been a great retreat and I am sorry it ends tomorrow but ready for some sleep.  I call it a night (or morning) at around 4 a.m.  Oh my.

Thanks for checking up on me this month.  Check back in now and then and please check out the link to OUR QUILT BLOGS at the top of the page for many of the quilt groups are starting to restrict the posting of blogs into the groups.  If you want to still have a long monthly read and time for your tea, join the group.  Thanks for sticking around this long -- I appreciate all of you who read each month.

Links to Previous 2015 Monthly Update Posts

January Quilt Update

February Quilt Update

March Quilt Update
April Quilt Update
May Quilt Update
June Quilt Update
July Quilt Update
August Quilt Update
September Quilt Update