Just Finished...well, almost....

Had to do a quickie post...I finished the mid-section of my backing for this quilt.

...and here it is!

I just need to add the white borders to the backing,,,,a little wider so I can trim when I finish actually quilting the sandwich..

Gotta go...food and church are calling...

In the Middle of the Beginnings......

I feel as if I am in the middle of everything..Have you ever had a point where you are still working on something and need to get it done (ie: me with my mystery quilt quilting....and my birthday wall hanging quilting), but also want to start on something else.. ie: a quilt-along top that has been folded up for it seems like ages! finally has a start on a backing.....

Not really impressive yet, but I did use my time in the twice-a-month sewing meeting of a church group to get a jump start on it...It's going to be sort of a patch-as-you-go backing, using pieces left over from the front.  I am constructing it as I go along.... As I told someone there who said why not just a normal backing?????.....well, I just wanted to see if I could do it and wondered what it would look like....

Also, I am still waiting for DH to find his stapler so I can convert this...

into a tote-along ironing mat....I plan to make another "softy mat" to iron on also..we'll see which I like better .......later.......

Finally, I hope to change this....

into some larger useable pieces of batting by fusing it together with the heat press strips I bought...

And finally, to answer the question, "Doesn't she ever work on quilt tops???"..

I practiced on doing wonky.....only I think I wonked too much on upper right corners...by the time I finish with the blocks, there will be no 3rd corner on one side...so,,,more practice.....

So.....  "The behinder I get...."     More later, I hope......

At a Standstill, but still Working...

I finished my Snack Mats a couple of days ago...I had made them to work on while on the trip...which I did, during stops and some in the evening.  I couldn't work while the bus was on the road...

I have had this fabric for about 3 years now,,,I bought it on ebay when I was new to quilting.  I have some other small novelty pieces that may turn into more mats...and I plan to make bigger place mats.  This may be a Place Mat Christmas....or at least partially....

When I got back, I had my fears confirmed....I am ironless....I had two (3, counting the small travel iron that I seldom use), and there were indications before I left that they might have bit the dust....I plan to throw one away (the one that fell on the floor and had a separation between pieces that was not there before) and keep the other one so DH can check out the cord...I would ask him to do it now, but he finished his job jar while I was gone and was so proud of the "0" number on the list, I haven't the heart to add to it for a couple of weeks....he is still sandblasting and I don't want anything unnecessary to weigh on his shoulders..

Besides, we are heading to see youngest GD and family this weekend, and can drop by a store and pick up another one (iron, that is, not GD)...

In the meantime, I feel I cannot start any of the many new ideas/projects I have whirling in my head without ironing fabric during the construction...So I am continuing to work on my room...

Pictures not here...must wait a little longer...

I washed and re-folded my new members of the clan of fabric and am picking up one thing at a time, looking at it and trying to decide where it should go...I figure I can stand another couple of days without sewing...although I have found in my stash/rubble some of DH's holey jeans that he wants cut off at the knees....so I could satisfy my longing with a small fix there..if things get really tight....

And then there is always ya'll to talk to ......

Early Birthday, Late Anniversary, Christmas in July....you get the picture....

This turned out to be a long post...Just got back Sunday evening from a weekend of fun, giggles, oohhs & ahhhs, sounds of  "I want this...Where did you find this...Will there be enough for me...I don't care, I'm buying it anyway...I've never seen this before...Perfect for my _____project..."  and so on....

We went on a 6 quilt shop bus trip over two days....links available on further down...I brought my camera, but was so wrapped up in myself that I didn't even take it out of the case...

But now that I am home, I took advantage of my sheetless bed and white mattress cover and took pictures of my loot!  See pictures further down....

We started Saturday morning at Lone Star Quiltworks in Bryan (all cities in Texas). The pictures in the link are at her new location...she just moved next door within the month and now has a lot more space and a lot more inventory and ideas!

..DH and I got up at 5:00am to get into Bryan, ate breakfast there and was at the shop at 7:30 as ordered (requested).. bus left at 8:15...and hit these shops....

Giddings  -  All Around the Block  (I googled and came up with this blog which had a great post on it)

Victoria  -  Quilter's Patch

New Braunfels - Quilt Haus

Spent the night,,, then the next day..

Lakeway  - Cotton Cupboard

Georgetown - Poppy Quilt 'n Sew

Waco - Tomorrow's Quilts

This was my first quilt hop EVER and I want to bend your ears back talking about it....Great fun! Great shops! Great people!  That Sat & Sun, 7 buses (one from each shop) took off with 40 quilters each, and made a round robin..we had about 1 1/2 hrs at each shop and stopped early enough to eat, relax in our motel rooms and get a good nights sleep before the next day....

and here is what I came home with ....don't ask me what came from where, I can't keep everything straight! 

I also bought pins and pins, and more pins, but these I wanted to showcase..I needed a new cutter so indulged myself...

Have you ever tried threading a needle on a moving bus?  One of the girls gave a testimonial about this needle threader, so I got one...I think a couple of others did the same thing...It has been around for awhile, as most of you know, but I hesitated until I heard about someone else's experience....It is great!  So good for these ole eyes...

I have been hearing about Heat Press for awhile and was able to find a couple of packages...hopefully it will help me use/get rid of a lot of larger batting pieces that I have...

I am a sucker for wood...when I saw this I had to have it...and it was the last big one in the shop...I think I might have barely gotten ahead of someone else who's eye was on it..she ended up with a smaller one...I didn't advertise I bought it..they even put it in a box, wrapped in bubble wrap for me...that's how much money I spent there!

My first layer cake.....I may just sew several together and make two quilts.....

This is the only book I bought...the fonts are great (has a disc inside) and I saw an ABC quilt made from it.....so CUTE!

I added to my collection of browns.....some from sale racks....

Fell in love with the tear drops.... humm, it does look familar...I wonder....well, if I have more, it is still a great piece of design.  This is one of my stripes I bought this trip... and I know I have a little of the orange left from my mystery quilt I am now quilting, but love the color and it goes so well with its' companions.....

A sale item which I would have bought full price...love it!  and more stripes....

And I added more to my red, white & black collection..with another stripe...don't you love those circles!!

...and I might also add the cell fabric to my w/b/r group...depends on how the blue/aqua fits in...

And finally, my only kit I bought....got the packet, read the pattern instructions, and realized I needed a smiggen more parts...Luckily I was able to run back into the store and get them before we left....

Always read before you leave......if possible....

Now, if I just don't goof in the cutting.....

So I am pooped!  My wallet is flat!  And I am happy!

Winners...in a hurry!

I have chosen 4 people to share the bounty......and here they are...real quick, because I am fixing breakfast (at 11:00 in the morning....we did sleep late!)..

I will e-mail these people after breakfast (those I have not heard from)...

Deb, Vrooman's Quilts, Sunnybec, and Natasha....

I will post another tidbit in a little while with more info..but didn't want to keep everyone in suspense...

Mini-Giveaway 13 - Embroidery Thread

Stats out the way first:

These are skeins of DMC thread, 6 strands, roughly totaling 8.7 yards per skein.

I bought these(price at the time: approx. 25 cents per skein!) at various times through years 2000-2004 when I was into cross stitching...

When I started quilting, I knew my cross stitching days were over (eyes, etc) and started using them to baste with...

The above pictures are just examples of what I have...

See what I want to empty?

I know I'll never use all of these, and want to give them to someone who could use them...

I have so much that there is a good possibility this time of multiple winners,, how many, I don't know yet. 3 or 4 maybe ...whoever wins will get random amounts & colors. I am  not going to go through and count...probably just grab a holder full, eyeball them re the amount,  and stuff them in a mailing container (well, nicely stuff.....).  I will probably keep the rings they are on... most of them are in their plastic baggies, although I will probably add a few that slipped out of the plastic...

Anyway, now to the ya-da, ya-da, ya-da.....comment please and be sure I can reach you...DH will draw names on Monday, July 18 after 10:00am, CST...I am going on a weekend (Sat & Sun) bus trip to visit 6 different quilt shops, so after getting back home about 8:30 - 9:00 the previous night, 10:00 on a Monday morning may come a little soon...Don't fret if I am a few minutes late.....

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I am still in the throes of the storm before the calm in my cleaning, filing fabric, etc.  Nothing pops out now for next time (August 1), but there will be a next time....

Bagless No More

In the past couple of weeks I have kept my eye out for my long lost schlep bag....still lost.

However, since I will be needing one this coming weekend, I decided I had better get on the ball and "under the needle" as someone once said...

I ended up with this: 

Now, if I can only find the other one, I can have two....if not, then one will do....

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RE:  Comments: 

Over the last few weeks I have been playing with the Comments Settings...Mr. Anonymous started lurking in the background of my blog and I found it too unnerving to keep the Comments wide open.  So I first changed it back to where you have to type in a series of letters to have your comment show up....

Now I am trying the other path I have seen some of you take.....where I check the comments before they are shown below the post...  This will cut down the time and effort on your part, and I can still have a little control over my blog. 

I love your comments and look forward to seeing them continue....

My Sentimental Rulers....

This is not a collection.....too few....but....

You've seen rulers like this.....

And we all have rulers we use when cutting....

But I have some rulers that I very seldom use, but like to have around anyway...

Don't ask me why I like these,,,the Garfield ruler just struck my fancy and I stole it.....from DH....

The other one,,,well, to be honest I have several of these....they are part of an carpenter's ruler, the kind that you unfold and the sections continue to snap together, making a ruler as long as needed....I found them on the ground,,,in our small city dump (ordinary trash goes in a dumpster, so there was no icky stuff around) I bought them home, cleaned them and just like the look...again why?  I don't know...

These are my special, really sentimental rulers...

These were all given to my by my mother...she had a knack of finding odd things....

The green one comes from a tin shop.  I liked the holder..

The round one unfurls and when all unwound, snaps straight by pushing in the middle of one end, making it curve upward a little. It has words on it:   Nicoletti's House of Fine Lamps in Houston, with the phone number and address... it also says, "Service measured not in gold, but by the Golden Rule".

The black one comes from a tire shop.... It has words also.... 

Denver Harbor Tire Co.

6309 Lyons Ave.

 Lanthrop East

1-10 East

phone #..

I am assuming this came from the Houston area also, but not sure.... The retractable feature on it is still strong...to take the last picture, I had to put the green ruler on top of the tape to keep it out...

One I do have, but can't find for a picture right now is a wooden ruler that is 13", not 12", long...

It has written on it...."Sometimes everyone needs that little extra inch" .

So

Do any of you have different rulers you cannot bear to part with? Do any of them have a story? Even if they don't, I would love for you to e-mail me a picture of them and sometime in the near future, I will put them all in a post... It will be fun to see the different types.....



Rearranging.....almost as bad as moving...

Having curtains on my windows changes my whole prospective....I am rearranging my sewing room...again...

Someone pointed out that the side leaves on my sewing table that can be pulled out, aren't pulled out yet.. and needed more room to do so..

I concurred, and, although they are still not pulled out...they can be now..

Also, I have decided to refine as well as rearrange "stuff".. So I am starting to take a hard look at items..

Since my sewing table has moved to the other side of the room, I have rolled (yes, isn't it lovely to have rollable) one of my shelves to the back wall and opened up the side wall for use..

I still may get rid (give away)   of my sewing machine cabinet (no sewing machine) you see in the picture.  It's a shame some of ya'll who might want it don't live close enough to warrant the gas to come pick it up...you might end up with other stuff too..

Gotta go and exercise....

Mini-Giveaway Winner

Congratulations, Pam! The remnants are packaged up and ready for mailing....send me the where and I will try to mail them either today or definitely tomorrow..

Thanks to all who participated and I am still looking something else for next time (July 15)...I have an idea in mind already....

Pluses and Minuses......Sewing Room, Ongoing Saga

+ curtains done


- ruffle flopped down, showing sleeve on back

- ripped out sleeve, put it in front, underneath ruffle

+ sleeve does not show


- hot today – 100 – 102

+ inside work for DH

+ curtain rods ready to put up

- sewing room in a mess

- moved “stuff” around to get to windows

- sewing room a catastrophe!

+ dust bunnies found and will be dispersed

+ DH ready to hang curtain rods

- hard finding backing wood to screw hooks into

+ molly bolts to the rescue


+ 2 hours later = curtains hung, awaiting tie-backs

- sewing room still a mess, needing energy to dust, sweep & mop portion of floor ordinarily under furniture…before moving everything back the way it was..

+ ..then I can start cleaning, sorting and maybe back to sewing …tomorrow….

Mini-Giveaway #12 - Remnants of a Boy's Quilt...

Welcome back to my Giveaways!  And thanks for all your comments wishing me well..hopefully, I am well on the way toward that road...

A while back, I finished a tool quilt for one of my GSs...some of you may have seen him wrapped in it after a dip in his shallow pool.  The back was made up of large remnants also..

And I had a few pieces left.......

These are pieces cut off the edges after basting the quilt.  I am very generous when I make the backs of my quilts to be sure I don't get too close to the edge, so most of these pieces run from 6" to almost 8" in width.. there should be enough fabric to include in a nice quilt...

Just comment and be available for notification, and DH will draw names on July 5 after 10:00am.  I am extending the time because of the 4th of July holiday... Ya'll have fun on the weekend and be careful out there..(I've been watching reruns of  Hill Street Blues...)

I am not previewing the next giveaway right now...have to look around some more for some more stuff.  But watch for another one on July 15th....

Have fun!