November Quilt Update

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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 -  a few blocks made, Block A all laid out
Bow-Dacious (BD) - In the FINISHED column
Orange Crush (OC) ripped out, quilted and bound - Ripping finished
Old Tobacco Road (OTR)  - Clues 4, 5 - Started on border piecing

Christmas blocks - Finished and delivered
Christmas Quilt (CQ) - Set, back and label made, ready to quilt
Block a Day continued (BAD) - nope
Grand Illusion (GI) blocks made and quilt set - YES
Friendship Nine Patch (FNP) blocks made and top set - YES and back/label made, ready to quilt
Chicken Quilt labeled and bound - yes

1st -  It's our last day at retreat and if I'm being honest --- I'm ready for some sleep.  Janet teaches me how to do the "color on fabric" thing for a Christmas block I am working on and dang, it is so easy.  Why was I letting this intimidate me?

Before leaving retreat, I get another Christmas block cut out and the applique ironed on.  I think I'm gonna LOVE this one.  It's time to head home from another amazing retreat but I only have three weeks til I'm back again.  Yep, life is just THAT good.

2nd -  Pulling fabrics for Allietare, the Bonnie Hunter mystery that starts on Black Friday.  I am still loving these colors and other than grey -- have all I need.  Woot woot!

Now to work on the chicken quilt for Kay.  I received it back from Glenda, who quilted it, right before retreat and now I need to make it a priority.  It looks so cute and she did a chicken wire quilt pattern in it.  Perfect.

I audition the two egg fabrics that I have and can't quite make up my mind so start polling other people in the group.  What do you think?

We have also had more changes in our group for November and that means changes in the Christmas quilt plans.  I am starting to wonder if this was such a good idea.  A new piece of graph paper, a pencil, and an hour or so gives me another "sample" layout to share.

3rd -  I want at least one finish this month.  Annie is putting the binding on BD and doing a mighty fine job of it too.  Once that is in place, I just move right into making the binding and label for the chicken quilt.  I am just checking things off my list all over the place today.  Thanks to Allison, the label turned out dang cute.

My day is far from over so I'm gonna just keep going.  Next up:  the dresden units for my Merry Merry block and more work on the present blocks.  They are coming together at last.

I also decide to bite the bullet and join a Round Robin for the next year.  As I don't feel I have the time to put into making a center before the deadline, I have opted to use a panel.

Check out this fun one that I am going to let the ladies have fun with:

4th -  More work on the present blocks.  Will I ever have 16 of these finished?  Time is rapidly moving on for me.

5th -  It's happened.  OH MY GOSH!  They are finally finished.  Well, at least I hope so.  One is questionable but I have an extra so all is good right now.  Fingers crossed that it all stays that way.  I need to move on to the other 34 blocks that I need to finish.

6th -  Started the "Ho's" today and have determined that I will do one color at a time.  Today is green.  I also have my angel to work on, so once the green is finished, I move onto it and do all the red, brown, pink, and gold that is on there - ending with gold so that the machine is ready for the next set of Ho's.

I am loving how the angel looks but now it needs the handwork to make it look amazing.  I take it and the stack of Ho, Ho, Ho's into the house to bury threads and embroider the angel.

7th -  Today's mission is to bind the chicken quilt and that mission is accomplished.  I am just in awe of how great our "Pointless Chickens" looks and cannot wait to present it to Kay.

8th - My day/evening is spent with Mister although I did go through some samples out back and find a few more Allietare fabrics.  Once home for the night, I work on burying threads and the embroidery on my angel.

9th -  Back out to the studio today to work on the gold "Ho's" and I have a new strategy.  I do 4 and then stop and work on friendship blocks.  Then 4 more and then more friendship blocks, repeating this 4 times in a two hour time period.  I also get the piecing finished on my angel block.  Oh she is dang cute now.

10th -  Today is a play day.  Can you see me jumping up and down with joy?  I called Allison earlier in the week to see if I could deliver her table that we picked up in Oklahoma last month today, and she said yes.  I am off for a nice morning with her and then lunch with Janet after.  This is a win, win day for me.  The first thing I get to do at Allison's is see her Ribbons of Love quilt and some others before having tea on the patio.  What a perfect start to our time together.  You can read all about my day HERE.  Her home is simply that -- HOME.

I arrive home to discover a truly fun gift waiting for me.  Melody B. has sent me a purse made from her Ribbons of Love fabrics as a thank you.  How cool is this?  I love it and will put it to use right away.

11th - In the studio finishing the red "Ho's" and 12 more friendship blocks before returning to the house and ripping on OC for two hours,  Not a very picture worthy day.

12th - With a cup of tea, I settle into my "nest" and put in two  more hours ripping on OC before heading out to the studio to do the red on my Santa blocks along with a few more friendship blocks.

I still have a few to go but I try a layout to determine the backing, binding, borders, cornerstones, and sashing fabrics.  I reworked the Christmas layout AGAIN and FINISHED BOW-DACIOUS.  Do I hear a "heck yeah, girl?"  I need to get Mister to take an outdoor picture of my finished quilt and then will post it.

13th - Starting the day once again with two hours of ripping on OC.  It's becoming routine now.  The Ho, Ho, Ho blocks are finished and I have half of the Santa ones finished as well.  All friendship blocks are complete and laid out along with border ideas.  I moved right into sashings for GI  and marked that off the lsit as well before moving back into the house and laying out GI blocks.  Whew -- a VERY productive day but I'm feeling the time crunch so need to have a few more like this one.  For more on this GI step, please check out this LINK.

14th - I'm spending the day with Mister and we are off to the Dallas Zoo and Oddfellows for brunch.  When we return home, I sneak out to the studio for a bit and web FQ along with making 4 GI blocks as leader/enders.  Nice.

15th - I love the weekends with my sweetie.  A walk at the lake, then our granddaughter's soccer game, and some shopping fill up our day.  More time ripping on OC in the evening -- almost there.

16th -  I am feeling a bit of pressure today.  There are only three working days left before retreat and I am not near ready.  Oh my.  As soon as my eyes are open, it's off to the studio today.  I start the rows on the FNP and switch back and forth between it and the remaining Santas.  I am taking the train to meet Mister this evening as he has located a new baby to adopt.  I truly NEED to have these Santas finished by then.

YES!! Happy Dance Time!!  The Santas are complete and I am off to for a ride.  While sitting in the subway waiting for my train, I run all the threads to the back and knot them.  Then, my ride consists of making french knot eyes in each block amidst many watchful eyes.  A LOT of pressure is gone now.

We do pick up a sweet new baby girl and to read about her, please check out this LINK.

17th - Yesterday was AWESOME!  I feel so much better having the dang applique and embroidery work behind me.  A quick trim of the blocks and they are all ready to go.  Whew --- one day to spare.

Turning my attention to the blocks for GI, I start on them as leader/enders while doing the rows for FNP but once that is finished, it is blocks, blocks, blocks.

Now what is still left to do before packing?  Oh I know.  I need to layout all of the Easy Street blocks so that they are ready to use as leader/enders while at retreat.

Settling in on the sofa, I set about doing just that.  It takes a whole lot longer than I think but soon there is a nice stack of Block A's.  I only get a couple of the Block B's laid out before calling it a day.  Wow, I sure have a mess to clean up.

18th - THE LAST DAY!  First things first.  Yesterday I found time to make a run to the store for supplies to make cute little candy sleighs for everyone.  So . . . . my morning project is just that.  Candy, candy everywhere.  Each one requires a Kit Kat bar, 10 miniature bars and two candy canes along with a glue gun and some ribbon.  They were originally pictures on Pinterest with a cute bow on top but I don't have any small ones so mine are getting tiny pinwheels.  That's more quilty anyway.  Less than two hours later, this task is complete and I am ready to sew again.

 Where to start?  I need to finish the top of FNP, the borders to GI and see what I can do with the back for FNP along with packing and loading the car.  Well, sitting her thinking about it all isn't going to get it done.  Sew, sew, sew.  My list is soon complete and it's time to sit and take a breath.  My heart is singing, "Tomorrow, tomorrow".

19th - The magical day has finally arrived.  EVERYONE is oh so excited and I, too, cannot wait to get there.  After dropping Mister at work, I am Brazos bound.  To read all about our amazing retreat, please check out this LINK.  I'm only going to write about the projects that I worked on in this post.

My attention first goes towards finishing the back for FNP.  However, it IS retreat and many of these ladies contributed blocks to this top so I give a quick show and share of it as well.

I am short just a bit of fabric to finish the back and Allison comes through with the bright colored fat quarter at the bottom.  Thank you my friend.  It's now complete.  This one has been such fun.

The late evening is spent making a label and the binding for FNP and I am able to call it ready to quilt.  Oh wait, dang -- I forgot the fabric for the sleeve since I am hanging this one.  Drat.  Will have to do it when I return home.

Next up:  Laying out the Christmas top.  We have finished our block exchange with the exception of Stephannie, who is coming up tomorrow so I build as much as I can until then.  I am truly loving this and am so thankful for all the extra hours I put into making those additional blocks.

My late night adventure continues until after 4 a.m. and I spend most of it visiting while Allison and Maria work.  Every so often I walk back over to my machine and sew a few stitches. which nets me an inner border and binding for the CQ.  It's getting closer to being ready to quilt.

20th -  Good morning.  We are off to a great start and after our Ribbons of Love show and share, I ask for a group picture on the fence outside.  As a brand new designer --- this just makes my heart happy and it's not too bad for my ego either.

Before the day is over, I have completed my CQ, complete with flying geese borders.  I am in LOVE.

21st -  We are powerless so construction on everything has come to a halt.  One of our gang has to make an early departure this morning so I force everyone out into the cold and wind for a crazy group picture of the finished tops.  I know, I know.  Call me nuts.

I work on name tags and bling them out a bit before turning to my little project for Ophelia.  This turns into quite the enterprise as I have managed to bring the project with me and not a thing I need to complete it.  Smart huh?  I start scavenging on the swap table and come up with some batting to back the doll and clothes with and beg for some fabric adhesive from Joyce.  Soon, I discover that I need a piece of velcro -- and there is NONE to be found.  Wait -- there is a small piece on the band that holds the cord to my iron.  I sit down and rip that off to reuse it.  Yes, I am just that desperate.

After quickly sewing the velcro onto my project, I now discover that I need webbing for the straps.  Really?  The swap table does not yield up an abandoned bag, but Debi K.'s corner does.  I simply cut the straps off of her bag that is holding the chicken prizes.  I have one just like it so will replace it for her.  Now to make my straps.  Once I have those made, I sew the whole thing together and turn it right side out.  UGH.  I wanted to quilt it first so now rip it back apart, set up Annie for FMQ and away I go.  Yes, I do get this finished and back together.  What do you think?  It appears that Allison and Sherri love it as they find their way over to play awhile.

I turn my attention back to Grand Illusion and am determined to stay up until I have the top webbed at least.  My leader/enders are Easy Street blocks and several of them come together as I work.

It is 3:45 a.m. before Debi and I declare a break.  Not a long one for we are both determined to have TA-DA's before we leave tomorrow, but a few hours is required at the moment.  GI is WEBBED!!!

See you in a few hours girlfriend.  Even queens must sleep now and then.  Good night Crazy Chicken Lady.

22nd -  Technically it was the 22nd when we said good night BUT . . . you get the idea.  People are packing up all around me and I am thankful to have GI to work on as it helps keep the tears in check.  I do pretty well until Sherri says good-bye.  Hello leaky eyes.  I will miss you, pretty lady.  Let's get together sometime okay?

The rows get attached to either other, borders sewn, and I get a TA-DA.  Now to pack.  It's be a fantastic retreat and I am already counting down the time until I get to see these ladies again.  It cannot come soon enough.  It's so nice so say "my friends" --- so I'll say it again.  Stay safe, my friends.

23rd - It's definitely recovery day.  I sleep 14 hours.  Yep, you read that right.  Oh my.  I did receive a package while away and open it up.  It is the center of my first Round Robin to work on.  Oh my.  Once again, I am positive that I am out of my league.

24th - I am pretty dang worthless still today.  I'm callin it recovery day two.  A couple of hours in my nest ripping OC is the most I accomplish other than grocery shopping for Thursday.

25th -  There's a bit more "function" in me today.  I am kitchen bound.  Four hours yields me counters of wonderful food and a reduced amount of work for tomorrow.  I have prepped, prepped, and prepped some more.  There are even rolls rising.  Yum.  During Jeopardy with Mister this evening I FINISH ripping out OC ---- oh my.  Can someone please give this girl a cheer!

26th - Today is Thanksgiving.  Did you stop to remember all you had and be thankful for it?  I sure did and found that my list for this year is almost identical to the one from last year.  If you would like to see my gratitude post from a year ago, please check out this AMAZING LINK  My heart is full as we have Mom H with us and some friends as well.

27th - Allietare starts today and so I do the "get up and peek to see if the clue is there" routine several times during the night before just giving up and waiting for morning.  Oooohhh it is HST's.  Yay.  It's going to have to wait a bit though as I simply dumped everything from retreat and now need to put it all away.  At the same time, I am determined to do the annual studio clean.  After a couple of hours, I think --- no I know I made it worse.  Oh my, this is going to take several days to get it the way I want.  There is also a bit of a purge going on and I have already filled 3 boxes for the January swap. It is now noon and Mister I have Black Friday plans of a different sort.  The rest of this rainy day is his.  Water, water, everywhere from the rain.  Yep, that's a jogging/bike path next to us.  Where you ask?  Well under the water of course.

28th -  During my "clean" yesterday, I found all my gifts and goodies from retreat.  I cannot believe how spoiled I was. I LOVE everything and cannot wait to put it to use.  Why oh why did I not wear my shirt while there?  Crazy lady - that's me.  I am back at work in the studio again today.  Do I get it finished.  Nope.

29th -  We are off this morning to take a peek at White Rock Lake and the dam.  So much water has come down that it sounds a bit like a giant waterfall.  It is ROARING.  It is still a dreary day out, but the umbrellas keep it at bay.  The trees are finally starting to show their colors (yes fall in Texas takes a bit longer) and I am loving every soggy minute of it.  At least until I realize that I'm cold.  Now where?  Mister has a gift card he wants to use at a hardware store so that's the direction we head.  I find the supplies I need to hang quilts in the studio along with the paint cards for the next mystery.  Sure wish I could show you THAT picture.  Not.

After the hardware store, we find an antique mall that we have not yet visited.  As we walk in the door, the owner starts pouring champagne for us.  Well, cool.  We find a new Fiesta platter right away for $8 and a few other small things.  Two hours and three glasses of champagne later, We take our treasures and head out.  Here are a few pics of the things we did NOT take with us but that I thought were interesting.

A Martha-type cabinet and an old silk box.  How cool are these?  I also find the sweetest set of stacked drawers that I have ever seen.  I WANT these.  How do I go about getting them?  Hey Mister . . . 

It's back to the house and time to relax before Mister has to return to work tomorrow.  It's been so nice to have four days with him.  As I look around the office, it appears that the mini-studio has been lost.  While he watches a show -- I make short work of this mess and soon have a workable space.  That's much better.  Perhaps tomorrow I can actually work on Allietare, clue #1.

30th -  Wow -- it's the last day of November.  I definitely need to get my clue finished and get back on track.  There is only a month left in this year and so many goals not yet met.  Oh my.  Okay, first things first.  Today --- the clue!!  To read all about my day's fun, please click HERE.   Debi's first shipment arrives today as well.  Yes, I am now a storage unit for others.  Mary stops by with our batting circle and ruler order.  We are going to work on these at the January retreat.

While Mary is here, I enlist her aid in moving my hope chest so that I can put a few more machines into this room.  HAHAHAHA.  It works and I now have more usable machines in the house.  A project has been determined for each one of them.  The cabinet that has the lamp on it will house our new 66 after her spa treatment.  The two by the window are Danielle (185J) and Cocoa (LBOW 301A), respectively.  Loving this.

Well we did it.  Another month has come and gone.  It's been fun and I hope you can look back on yours and see great adventures as well.  I am the richest woman on the planet for I have a sweetheart who adores me, children and grands who light up my life, and friends that accept me for who I am.  I seriously could not be more thankful.

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
October Quilt Update