out of my comfort zone

When I started cutting this block, I was planning to hand piece.  I made a template, traced each piece and then cut the seam allowance.  I put it up on the wall and thought, why not try to machine piece a few sections and see how it goes.  I had those traced lines to guide me so I pulled out some pins and went very slowly.  I had to unstitch a number of times but after about 3 hours - each half took close to an hour and I went for a run between one half and the other - it was done!  It is a bit smaller than the pattern calls for but it is part of a sampler style with lots of applique so I can adjust the applique panels to make it fit.  (From A Little Porch Time by Lynda Hall). 
We had snow yesterday that has turned out street into ice so I will be staying home for another day or so and plan to get some serious sewing done.  The fridge is stocked and we have videos to watch so it will be a great way to welcome the new year.

one resolution and a bit about drumming

I thought of one resolution that I want to make  -

I will not should my way through 2011

You know, I should do this or that or the other thing, even when it isn't what I want to be doing? 

Now, about the drums - many of you asked how that came to be?  December 2009 - our daughter and son-in-law were in town for Christmas and SIL is a drummer and jazz pianist.  His parents brought a set of drums over so he could play in my husband's concert.  When they went home, the drums stayed.  As we said goodbye, SIL said, "If  you ever want to take lessons on the drum set, you can use the drums we are leaving here."  Well, I had been taking lessons on the djembe (an African drum) for about 4 months so I asked my teacher and he said, let's do it!  It was so hard to begin, felt like something I was too old to learn. And the coordination/muscle memory stuff was tricky but with practice, I have come a long way. I am not fast. I don't do elaborate patterns and fills, but a few weeks ago, I played drums on a song for my husband's concert - I was the drummer!

I read recently that learning new things, especially things that are frustrating at first, is good for our aging brain so there you have it!  Of course, the block I am trying to piece today is pretty frustrating so maybe I am overdoing it?  More on that block tomorrow - I hope :)

End of the year messiness

Quite a few of my online friends have been talking about making or not making a list of projects for 2011.  I have been sporadic in setting goals for my crafts but it is good to see it in perspective.  And I had misplaced a stack of applique blocks so this exercise helped me uncover a few "lost" items. 
These are the projects that I think are most likely to be finished in 2011 but this isn't one of those lists of things to check off - just an accounting to see where I am.  As with most things in life - this is subject to change!
Knitted hats - my goal is to knit 52 hats between Dec. 1 2010 and Dec. 1, 2011.  Most of them will be for children or women at the two centers our church sponsors and I already have 5 finished and two on the needles so I think this is possible.
I really want to finish the last 2 of 9 Kim Diehl applique blocks and get them set into a quilt.  I am thinking of doing half square triangles around each block.
I have four Spencer Museum blocks and I would like to make some pieced blocks with gold and read to set them.
And my Mrs. Noah quilt (from a Janet Bolton pattern) just need to be framed - I am thinking I will follow Janet's example and put this one under glass.
Finally, I have my red and gold applique - I would say I am half way done with these blocks.  Most of the stems and blossoms are done but the blocks still need leaves and then I will work on the border which is also applique.
When digging in the closet, I found two molas that mom brought from a trip at least 10 years ago.  They would make great tote bags.
I also want to learn how to knit cables this year and really need to get a quilt on this frame so I would be more likely to do some quilting on a few of my larger pieces.  There are a few quilts that are in process - being machine quilted or needing binding. 
And then there are the three new quilts I have committed to this year - BOM or quilt along projects. 
And my drums that I need to keep practicing and the books I want to read and the running I want to do - it will be a full year.
Happy New Year!

enJOY!

Scrap bag quilts

This morning I dumped my bins of Civil War fabric on the floor and began to refold.  I put the lights in one box and all the colors in another.  In the sorting process, I found quite a pile of fabric that I would normally toss out (and before you ask, the pile on the left is my Civil War fabric, not the scraps!).  I don't keep little pieces - they haunt me.  I know that many quilters make quilts using these odds and ends but if it is smaller than 3" it doesn't get to stay long in my fabric stash.  I do keep bits and pieces for applique and I thought of cutting a bunch of circles to have some berries ready for an applique project but then I had the idea of making a few scrap bag quilts.  These would be part of my small quilt project and would put some of these little pieces to good use.  I started with reds and pinks, pairing them with cream fabrics and sewing half square triangles.  I now have enough 2 1/2 inch pieces to do a little pinwheel quilt - looking very much like Valentine's day.  I am going  to see if I can find a good stripe to make the border and then I will have another small quilt ready to go.  I put the rest of the pile in a bag and I am hoping to make some hour glass blocks in the next week.  2011 - the year of the small and the scrap bag quilt?

What is keeping you from making that quilt?

I have a mental "someday" list.  Quilts I want to make.  Sweaters I want to knit.  Books I want to read.  This weekend I have been wondering about the things that get in my way, the things that keep me from starting.  Often it is time.  Or the illusion of not having enough time.  There is a blog group that is fighting that not-enough time demon.  At one point, I was using that time before leaving the house in the morning to get a bit of stitching done (and I am an early riser so this works for me).  But often the stumbling block for me is the prep.  I do a lot of applique and I like to use freezer paper so I need to trace and cut the pieces.  Then there is the fabric - what fabrics to use can be a giant wall.  But this idea of small quilts might take away some of those delay factors.  A friend of mine likes to make kits, putting fabric, patterns, and pictures together in a bag.  I love that idea but I only do it once a year, just before our quilt retreat.  This morning, making the best use of my vacation time, I cut the pieces for this orange peel quilt from Remembering Adelia.  It is a small quilt which I am making even smaller (I reduced the peel by 75%).  I restricted myself to fabrics from my Civil War fabrics which I had already dumped on the floor to be ironed and refolded (see inspiration here).  I now have enough peels traced and just need to cut the background squares.  And, as I was digging through my fabrics, I found some blues that I had forgotten about but I know they will be perfect for another small quilt by Ann Hermes.

bobble head hats

In January, I picked up a Stitch a Day calendar for half price thinking it would be fun to learn some new knitting stitches or techniques.  My plan was to do one square a month and then stitch them together to make a blanket.  Well, as with many good plans, that one lasted only one month.  But, I did learn some new stitches which I mostly tried out on hats and scarves. This one is a bobble stitch and it really is pretty simple.  The grey hat is child sized and the blue one is infant sized.  They did not take long to make and used up some end of skein yarn.

I don't have anything else on my knitting needles right now so maybe I will go through those stitch pages from the calendar and see if there is another one I can try on a child sized hat.

8:30 am - Christmas vacation begins

I am officially on Christmas vacation!  So I started the day by getting the triangle border on this little quilt.  It from a Lori Smith book and I started the applique ages ago.  I still need to add a few more applique pieces but I had time to do some machine work so I grabbed it.
I noticed that someone else got this book for her birthday so maybe we will see another version of it.

The wind is stirring things up outside but I have Christmas errands to run before I can come back and settle in with a cup of tea and a movie while I applique.

enJOY your day!

mailbox surprise

We have been having some very grey days here.  A few days ago we had some terrible wind and rain storms that knocked out power and felled some very large trees causing all sorts of trouble for folks.  We only had a few downed limbs in the yard and just a bit of damage to a small fence around one of my garden beds.  But the grey sky does start to get to you after awhile.  So this surprise in my mailbox yesterday afternoon was wonderful!  What a generous friend, or maybe she is an enabler?  Now I know I will be making small quilts in the new year.

more small quilts

I mentioned to a few friends that 2011 might need to be the year of the small quilt.  I have an ever growing "someday" list but if they are all large quilts, the list will go on forever.  This is one that I made using a charm pack a few years ago ( it is 24" x 30").  It is in my "ready for quilting" pile.  One quilting friend routinely shrinks down patterns to make wall sized quilts.  Which is a great way to try a lot of different blocks without committing to a large quilt.  There is plenty of inspiration out there.
I stumbled on this one that Lucy made.
Then there are these little quilts or this book, filled with lovely small quilts.  And there is plenty of inspiration right here. 
And today I read that Lori might be doing a small quilt for a quilt along after Christmas.
Let me know if there are other places to visit as I add to my "someday" list.

Orange sings of Hope

Finally got the quilting and binding on my Alzheimer's Quilt.  I made the center for this a few years ago in a challenge from Tonya.  Her new book is just being released so it seems fitting to get it done this weekend.  Now I just need to find those instructions about where to send it for the auction.

Thanks to all those who have been posting about the AAQI and supporting Alzheimer's research.  We have been living with the impact of Alzheimer's for three years now and while our experience has been mild, it is especially hard at this time of year. 

weekend stitching

I machine quilted my red and white quilt yesterday morning and got the binding stitched down last night.  This morning, I put it in the washer with some laundry - I wanted it to soften up a bit - and while I waited for it to wash and dry, I started a new kid's hat.  Our knitting group has been knitting hats for the local food bank. They have a basket and when kids come in with their families, they can choose a hat.  I am going to call this one bobble head because it has those little bobbles all around.  I think this would be a fun one to do in a skein of that magic yarn that make stripes.  This small quilt is now on the table with a nativity on top of it - too dark here for a picture.
I think 2011 needs to be the year of the small quilt.  I have an ever growing list of quilt patterns on my "someday" list and making them small would be a good way to do that.  Plus it gives me a chance to practice my machine quilting and precision sewing.  I was pretty happy with the way all the points and seams matched up on this one.

another small quilt

I think these small quilts might be the way to go.  They don't take too much fabric and they sew up pretty quickly.  This one finishes at about 18", the turkey track blocks are 6".  I made this one last weekend from a book titled Remembering Adelia by Kathleen Taylor.

At our quilt group dinner the other night, I received three fat quarters of some lovely fabric and then I pulled some other fabrics from my stash so I am hoping to make another small quilt and maybe get these machine quilted to have on my Christmas tables. 

Now, looking forward to 2011, I have signed up for two BOM clubs.  I have resisted these for a long time but I am at that point where I think the package of fabric and patterns arriving in my mailbox might be the only way I can actually get through these quilts.  One is the Sue Spargo wool quilt - a big splurge.  The other is the Jan Patek Bible quilt which has been on my someday list for a long time.  I recently went through my homespun and plaid stash and I just do not have big enough pieces for backgrounds anymore so this will be a great way to make this quilt.  Between those two quilts and my in progress applique quilts, I guess I will have a stitch filled year!

let the season begin

I had dinner with my quilting friends last night.  We did an ornament exchange and this is the angel that I made to exchange.  She was very fun to make and the only thing I needed to buy was the little bucket that she is holding.  This angel was a free pattern on the Liberty Star blog so hop right over there and get the pattern so you can make one too!

Today is knitting and we will be counting up all the items we have been making over the last six months.  I know that we have over 100 hats and scarves made and ready to distribute.  Some of those are preemie hats or hats for children that will go to a local hospital but we also have men's hats and scarves that we will give out in January when we serve dinners for a men's shelter group in our area.  I have been inspired by a number of online projects collecting quilts for a variety of groups and I am hoping to contribute some quilts as well as continue making hats and scarves for the homeless in 2011.

And finally, I got a new book in the mail this week.  I love Kim Diehl's patterns and with a coupon and my bonus bucks, I got this one for $8!  I have already tagged at least three quilts I want to make in 2011.