April Quilt Update

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:

Easy Street (ES) - quilted, bound - In la la land
Old Tobacco Road (OTR)  - Clues 4, 5 - still dreaming

Allietare (A) - Clue 6 sewn, back, label, binding, quilted, bound -  perhaps my goals are still too high
Double Delight (DD) - quilted and bound - haven't used the mid-arm all month
Row Robin #2 - back, label, binding made, quilted and bound - see above
Pop-up Made - YES
Second Valentine pillow finished - YES
Valentine Table Runner finished - YES
Round Robin (2)- finished and in mail - YES!!!!
Round Robin (3) - finished - YES but not mailed yet
Round Robin (4) - finished - Fabric finally chosen and cut - will do at retreat next month
Bargello - back made, label made - It's that same dreamland
Roll Roll Cotton Boll - Clues 1-4 YES

1st -  I am giving up quilting!  Yes, you heard that right.  I'm done.  Finished.  Caput.  What you're not buying it?  Perhaps because it is April Fool's Day?  Okay, you got me.  I could no more quit this art that I love than I could quit breathing.  It is part of who I am.  And --- I love that part of me.

I'm starting out the month trying to finish up the pop-up that I began in Telluride back in February.  I hit a few bumps and had to really work to move forward, but I think I'm on the right track now.  The first task is to make the ties.  Don'tcha just love sewing tiny things like this.   Not.

I started out using my pretty little Danielle, a Singer 185, but she has determined to get herself some attention from Mister so I have moved on.  Cocoa, one of my Singer LBOW 301's gets a turn to play instead.

In less than an hour, my pop-up is finished.  Yay me.  And yay for another UFO off the list.

Cleaning Up -- Instant Dog Bed

The days are flying by and I leave for retreat shortly with grands quick on the heels of that.  I am trying to get my house under control just a wee bit and as I'm cleaning up today, I come across a piece of fabric that I ordered for a round robin and it turned out to be canvas.  It's just sitting here -- ONE YARD of it.  I also have FOUR sack jammed full of the bits and pieces of fabric that are even too small for me to sew with.  You know, the ones we trim off when squaring fabric or the tiny bits left on strip sets, etc.  Today all four bags are going to be part of my cleaning up process.

My sister-in-law just told us that she got a new puppy.  Well, how about a quick dog bed?  I take just a few minutes (absolutely NO time spent squaring the yardage) and sew up three sides of the fabric (keeping the fold in place) and leaving a small opening to shove all the bits into.

It takes a bit of time to get all four bags emptied, but I do it.  Oh my gosh - this is dang heavy but I lug it up onto the table so I can stitch the opening closed with a machined.  This IS a dog bed, remember.  No fancy hand-closing required.

With less than an hour of my time, I have not only found a place for this piece of fabric but have removed four decent sized sacks from my studio, giving me valuable floor space.  YES!!!  It's a win, win.

It's pretty dang good sized too --- look at my shoe for size reference.  Woohoo.  Now, what else can I clean up today?

Roll Roll Cotton Boll - Clue 4 - Bonnie Hunter - Mystery Quilt

Yay, yay, yay and a whoopee thrown in there to boot.  I discovered that I have most of this clue already completed from class.  I just need to make less than half of these lovely little "twosie" units.  Oh, and don't forget the EXTRA squares.

I simply settle in and grab squares that are precut from various scrap bags AND my day with friends at Maria's a couple of weeks ago.

Seriously, in absolutely no time, my twosies are sewn and I am ready to move forward with clue 5.  Dang this one feels good.

Roll Roll Cotton Boll - Clue 3 - Bonnie Hunter - Mystery Quilt

Clue 3 is here and that means it is time to string.  I have not played in the strings to this extent since I made Virginia Bound way back when.  I am excited to dig in and get going.  The first thing I do is check to see how far I got in class.  Well, since I need 60 blocks and have found 5 finished and one partial, I have a some work ahead of me.  I cleaned the studio last week and while at it, cut out all the papers for this project and gathered up the strings.  I am ready for the clue release.

Leanne's Visit and Artscape with Mister

In addition to the Jennifer's inviting me to go play this week, I also was asked by Leanne W. if I would like a new person to come and sew with me today.  Absolutely.  One can never have too many quilty friends.

She is a fairly new quilter who has signed up for my beach retreat in September.  I am so glad to have this chance to meet her ahead of time.

I am working on clue 3 of Roll Roll Cotton Boll and you can read all about it HERE.

Leann is making a rag quilt and I am seriously considering doing one of these in the near future.  I have some gorgeous flannels that Mister loves.  Perhaps a cuddly for him is needed.  Time will tell.

Estate Sale, Antiquing, and a New To Me Quilt Shop

I haven't exactly been watching the estate sales lately, but for some reason I did this week.  I spotted this one with lots of machines and a ton of fabric.  After setting it up to meet Jennifer S. here today (and return the treasures I took from her by accident when shopping), I drop Mister off at work, find a cup of coffee, and head to Joann's to see if I can find a few necessities.  Yes, any excuse in a storm.

And yes, again, I do manage to find an entire bag of fun.  Secrets -- secrets.  I'll never tell.

It's time to get my body to the sale or I will be so far back in line that there won't be a chance for me to even see the machines before they are sold.  As it is, a half hour early puts me this far back.

Shopping With Friends

Seeing that my plans to have granddaughters this week has been thwarted by the big bad storm in Denver, I put out a post to let friends know I am eager to get together and make the week pass faster.  Jennifer and Jennifer answered with a meet-up in the warehouse district if I could take the train.  Yes, ladies, I absolutely can.  I am picked up at home and soon on my way to Harry Hines and all of it's wonder.  Our first stop is at a bead shop where Jennifer M. is looking for supplies to make necklaces for the baseball moms.  I an on the hunt for our November retreat charms and we are happily able to find everything we both desire.

Now --- onto the fabric.  We stop at Perth Street for some wholesale therapy.  C&C provides some beautiful treasures for all of us and then we are onto the Fabric Wherehouse where more goodies manage to jump into my bag.  Ah, it's a good thing I have a mystery coming up --- this fabric fast is hard to do and I was allowed this purchase from the very beginning.

Drawstring Bag Tutorial

It's been awhile since I have posted a tute on anything at all.  So, today I am going to change that.  TA-DA -- my own little creation using only leftovers.  Are you ready?

I likely need to backtrack a bit so that you understand what all took place here.  I started with a gifted L'il Red panel and three sample cards from United Notion that my dear friend Allison found for my granddaughter, Ophelia.  At the last retreat, I used the panel to make the doll and accessories.  I decided while there that I would use the sample cards to make a dress and hat for her as well.  I cut the sample pieces into squares and then started  sewing those together to make my "fabric" for the dress.

Play Day with Allison (Oh and Bonnie too)

Faced with a quiet Friday, I made a call to Allison to see if she could play.  Yay!!  It worked out that she could and I'm so glad.  I have three things I hope to accomplish today thus, after finishing getting the house in order and making some cranberry scones, I do the last of the cutting for the first item.  I am just getting ready to start sewing when Allison arrives.  Now it's tea and scone time -- visiting always comes first.

Okay, okay.  Yes, we are going to sew.  My first task is to work on some more Roll Roll Cotton Boll (summary post is HERE) units that I found in the project box.  I have no idea when their clue will come about, but I know that I have over half of them already finished and bits and parts of the rest just need to be sewn up now.  That is my first task and soon I have a nice little stack and one chore marked off the list.

Allison is working on her Double Delight clue 1 square in a squares.  The summary post for that quilt can be checked out by clicking on this LINK.  I LOVE how her cheddar just pops.  Mine was a much paler color.

We use the phone and a speaker to watch a Quilt-Cam post with Bonnie.  Can you see her in the little screen?

Roll Roll Cotton Boll - Clue 2 - Bonnie Hunter - Mystery Quilt

It's Friday again and that means another clue is out.  This week we are doing the large HST's and mine are purple/brown.  As luck may have it, I dug through the project box from the class two years and ago and guess what I found?  I'm so very happy.  I made half the sets that I needed.  Oh yeah.  AND I have all the strips still in there to cut the rest so with a quick grab of the Easy Angle Ruler, my pairs are cut in no time and a quick stitch takes place.

Okay, okay.  Confession time.  I don't have clue one finished yet and am working on these three days before the clue comes out.  I am supposed to be flying on Saturday and will have granddaughters fora  week and know I won't have a lot of time to sew next week.  Thus, I am trying to get slightly ahead.  Is it cheating --- well I guess so, but so be it.

These sets go together like butter and within a couple of hours I am finished with the clue.  Now, back to clue 1. Remember that if you click on the summary tab at the top of the blog, you will be able to follow a link to purchase Bonnie's book if you wish to play along. See ya next week.

Roll Roll Cotton Boll - Clue 1 - Bonnie Hunter - Mystery Quilt

All I can say is Woohoo!!!  Another group quilt-a-long and the possibility for me to finish a UFO.  What more can I ask for?  Since this is a UFO one would think that I am ready to go on this --- wrong.  The clue releases today and I head off to the studio (which is in the most magnificent mess) to try and locate the project box for this which has sat quietly since December 31 of 2013.  Pretty crazy huh?  Where on earth does time go?  Even though this mystery originally debuted in 2010, I was not even aware that I wanted to quilt at that time, much less have a clue as to who Bonnie Hunter was.  As a result, this quilt start is the product of a Plano New Years Eve class and hasn't been touched since.  So sad, especially when I read the post from that day (the link to that post can be found on the Summary page which also has a link to take you to Quiltville, where you can purchase the book if you wish to play along.).  I had such high hopes.  HAHAHAHAHA

Okay, fast forward a little over two years and here we are.  Goodness.  Today's clue is to make a whole lovely stack of "threesies" which, for me, will be purple, green, purple.  I do some digging in the scrap user system bin of squares in the right size and find quite a few but not enough to complete the clue.  Now to the strips where I locate what I think will be enough.  It's time to cut and sew.  Oh wait, before I start cutting into my strips, I still need to check the scrap bins for fabric that hasn't been taken care of yet.  I am able to fill an entire paper gift bag with green scraps to take to the play day at Maria's tomorrow.

At the event, I get the whole sack cut and am now ready to sew.

Most people who are working on this are likely using just strips and making the subcuts.  Me?  One square at a time, BUT it will be super scrappy.  Is that good?

Land O'Lakes Quilt Guild - Allison Presenting

While at Maria's yesterday, it was mentioned that Allison is presenting at the Land O'Lakes Quilt Guild in Lewisville.  Maria is the president of the guild and we have all been invited.  Well dang -- the first thing I did upon arriving home is ask Mister if we could go.  It would mean me taking the train to meet him after work and him having to come along.  Gotta love that man of mine, he said yes.  Not only did he say yes, but he suggested that we get there early enough to help Allison get set up.  No, he is not for rent.

We arrive a little more than an hour before the meeting starts and although Allison has already had help unloading the car, we pitch in and get the stage set up.  Beautiful machines everywhere.

Another Adoption in Our Home

We have been blessed with another baby.   She is a 403a needs some cleaning and loving --- more info to come later about her.

Play Day at Maria's

Event Day!!!  I love it when an event from our group finally gets here.  The anticipation builds FOREVER and then  . . . it actually takes place.  Woohoo.  I am on my way to Flower Mound today for a day with my gal pals.  Maria is hosting and we will be treated to seeing where all of her magic takes place.  Well, other than in her mind -- which I gotta tell ya, must be overflowing with creativity.

I'm a bit late in arriving since Jen spent the night with us last night and I didn't want to kick her out this morning.  When I arrive, Allison, Jen S., and Stephannie are already there.  Work in is motion and I have some catching up to do.  My task for today is to simply cut my green scraps into usable pieces as I am working on the Roll Roll Cotton Boll mystery that is taking place in the group.  Instead of using strips, I am trying to make scraps disappear and am cutting into squares.  (Any pictures without logos are compliments of Stephannie.)

Maria is quilting on a customer's quilt and it doesn't take me long to want to watch.  What she does scares me to death --- bowing down here.

Roll Roll Cotton Boll Summary

This is Roll Roll Cotton Boll by Bonnie Hunter and we are doing it as a mystery-style quilt-a-long in the Facebook group "Our Quilt World".  Please feel free to join along.  It is a  book required quilt-a-long and the pattern can be found in her book, "String Fling".  Please click HERE to go to her website and order the book.

I am gathering all of my Roll Roll Cotton Boll (Bonnie Hunter  2010 Mystery Quilt) posts and placing them here so that you can link up and find what you want easily.  They will each open in a new page, leaving you access to this post.  Please become a follower and you will always know when the new post is up.  Welcome to you all and comments are ALWAYS appreciated.  Please click on the post number.

Post 1:  LONG AGO CLASS I TOOK IN 2013
Post 2:  Threesies
Post 3:  Large HST's
Post 4:  Strings
Post 5:  Spacer Units and Corner Squares
Post 6:  Small HST's and Center Squares
Post 7:  Five-packs and Triangle Additions
Post 8:  Blocks and Setting the Center
Post 9:  Borders and Backing

Lunch With Valerie

I am fortunate enough to have the wonderful friends that I do.  Today, lucky me has been invited to lunch with Valerie and we are going to the Arboretum for a nice lunch and a walk.

Lunch is on the patio surrounded by the beautiful songbirds that make this place home.  After an hour of delightful conversation, I ask if she wants to walk and away we go.  This is day three in a row for me at the Arboretum and each day it is different.  So many of the beds are being changed out right now since the tulips and other spring flowers have finished the splendor of color.

NE Texas TOGA

Lone Oak, Texas -- here we come.  Mister and I are off bright and early this morning for a fun day in an area of Texas that is new to me.  Our destination is the Matthews Retreat Center and the TOGA -- Treadle On Gathering Academy.  I am so hoping to walk away with a new (to me) hand crank.  Fingers are crossed and here we go.

Upon our arrival, we are greeted at the door by Valerie, and she makes us feel right at home.  Name tags are on and we are ready to check things out.  There is someone at the registration desk, another manning a sale booth, and a room full of machines.  Some are being sewn on, some are being repaired, some are just to show off, and still others are hoping to find new homes.  Oh, the eye candy is everywhere.  Mister and I start moving around the room, checking each machine out and learning a bit along the way.  As he stops to check out a purple Featherweight, I can hear him say, "I have one at home that I need to paint."  Oh yeah --- he hasn't forgotten.