Winter Storms are here!

And the ocean is H*U*G*E!  We saw waves coming over Rainbow Rock a few times yesterday - and that is over 100 feet above the water level!  It's hard to decide where to look - so many sea stacks, so much ocean!!  Tee-hee!

DH is healing, walking over 2 miles a day - 20 minutes at a time.  We're both struggling a little with a healthy diet.  I'm not an adventurist cook!  And that is an understatement!  Rick and I used to tag team groceries and meals.  I've been on my own and I don't like it!!  Grocery shopping 2=3 times a week is NOT my idea of a good time!  But, life will get back to normal, or a new usual soon.

I can't believe I have left the Year's Review til now - but here we go!

There was a new addition last June!  Miss E made her appearance!

The boys came to the beach two times.  With their parents and their first "Camp Nana/Papa".  I love this tidepool picture!! Brothers do come in handy!!

                             

But it wasn't all fun and games - the Chetco Bar Fire roared down the mountains and we were evacuated!  Luckily for us, the wind changed at just the right moment to send it back on itself. 

 

The BigKids' Camp Nana/Papa was great fun and ended with a cousins sleep-over where they got to meet Miss E! We also got to share the Eclipse Event with with them!

Let's move onto Projects!!!

A&J's crew is designing their own stuffies - so besides my usual animal repair work, I learned to manufacture animals to very exacting supervision!! Here's our Saber-toothed tiger and some Anti-Hero who's name I can't remember!

I was active in MailArt fabric postcards.  I was in seven exchanges, creating over 30 postcards.

Valentine's Day fun with rubber stamps, "Love" stamps and my fancy machine embroidery stitches!

 Lighthouses.  Done by CY's method. Crayons and markers for details. Black lines are added by machine!

Quotes!  I had so much fun designing this card. Tracing a couch and then stitching in details.  Finding just the right font!  I may have been  my favorite!!

My favorite selvedges card.  I made a bunch of these - and I'm using them for the Birthday Fabric Post Card exchange in 2018!  Who wouldn't be cheered up by these!  And I draw a birthday cake on the other side!  Fun!

I used Riel's selvedge Mummies for my Halloween cards!  Love them!

Patti and I both have Italian penpals through The Quilt Show's Intl Miniature Exchange.  We turned the leftover lighthouses into Christmas cards!  I never heard whether my Penpal got hers - Rats!

My favorite postcard was the one I entered in the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show's Make a Card contest.  My little heart was picked to be framed and sold in their auction!  It was beautifully finished.  AND it sold for the maximum bid just the second day of the Silent Auction!  $250!!  Way above my budget to buy it back!

 

Favorite quilt projects were:

QOV mystery quilt.  We had several of these in the QOV presentation we held at the quilt show in May!  It was the first time we presented and it was so moving.  I ended up being the MC - and I was so nervous.  It was well attended, ran out of chairs twice!!  All those people ... too late to back out now!  So I simply focused on the front rows where the veterans were seated and talked to them.  We presented 17 quilts and it was so-o awesome!

L wanted some things in her etsy shop, we decided on baby quilts.  So I made/finished six of them.  Also gathered antique tops to "release into the wild!"

I found "Kelsey's quilt" on Pinterest.  Yep, I'm still addicted!  It uses charm squares, I love this one.

  

Girlie By the Numbers.  Great fun to put all sorts of squares and shapes together.  By cutting only certain sizes, they generally all fit together without much angst!

Baby Rainbow - one of my favorites.  Just love the colors and the scrappiness!  AND that it's asymmetrical!

Beach Baby was a design I came up with after making "Pies and Tarts"  I thought the circles looked like beach balls!  What do you think??

It's a Jungle out there! was an idea after seeing a fellow Stashbusters' baby quilt setting.  I saw lots of possibilities with this one.  I was on the lookout for some of my favorite kid prints!  The sharks! The monkeys!

Baby Checkerboard - another idea from Pinterest.  I look at the picture, Try to figure out what size blocks I need to make it the size I want.  Then follow their design.

This one turned out too small, so I had to add checkerboards too - trying to keep the pattern in sync was picky!!


The antique tops sold, but the baby quilts have just aged!  So - don't have to try that again!  I loved some of them and was counting my chickens before they hatched!!  Oh, well.

My favorite quilt I made was "Shhhh, It's low volume"  A quilt I started at Finishing School (I get the irony!) and entered into the Newport show.  I love it - it's on my side of the bed as I type!!

 

Last weekend a Brookings quilting friend and I went down to Napa for #CraftNapa.  What fun!  It was DH's first solo weekend and I'm not sure who was more excited about it!!  It rained the first 5 hours of the trip :( so we consoled ourselves with  lunch at Schat's Bakery in Ukiah.  We may have even bought some of their Chocolate Chip Cookies for the rest of our road trip! But not enough!!!  Never enough! For some reason I picture a LOT of trips now planned to go through Ukiah around noon!

But more about that later!!  And perhaps some links to the stories behind these pictures??  We'll see.  Definitely some "Book Talk" too!

March 1!?! Time Marches on - indeed!

Life is getting back to normal, Heaven help us all!! I'm back at TaiChi and in the pool too. (Transpore tape was approved to wear in the pool)

I have a mission this year.  (I know, I have a mission every year, but it's usually forgotten about by now!!)  And this year I'm still working on it!!  The mission is to FIT in my SEWING SPACE!

Now I'm the first to admit I'm a wee bit spoiled by DH.  When I'm cranky he sends me to my room.  - The sewing room!  And our dining space has 3 Ikea cubby-book cases with 22 bins chock full of stash. (I magnanimously gave him TWO whole bins for paperwork!!)  Most visitors don't notice the horizontal bookcases and never suspect they hold fabric until a blabbermouth (me) tells them.

But I'm not talking about that space!!!  I'm talking about the 10x12 'spare' bedroom (we only have 2!) that is the designated sewing space.  Or as I like to call it "The Staging Area"!  It is so crowded in there that I have to move things from one flat surface to another to come up with room to sew.  Then I have to clear anything off the twin bed in there every night in case beloved insomniac DH wants to sleep in there during the wee morning hours. And yes, fabric overflow, any that doesn't fit into the 22 bins, is in there too.

Here's the problem:  Stuff - I have too much!!

Here's the other problems:  1) I am QOV chair in my guild.  That means I collect the QOV tops, send them to the long-armers, receive them back, give them back to the guild members.  This involves shipping boxes; piles going out, piles coming back.  And keeping track of paperwork!!!  I need a designated area for this category.

2) We try to see our grandchildren every month or so.  But my DIL is a school teacher with 5 and 3 year old boys.  Yep, they are busy.   My DD lives 6 hours away and her 8 and 10 year olds are in music and sports teams ... also busy.  So during winter months between the flu, the mountain pass, and trying to merge our schedules, we see them less.  So I start stockpiling things that need to go to both families.  I need a designated spot to stockpile those things so I don't forget any.  At Christmas I forgot the whole box!!!  (sigh)

So my plan of attack is to 'fix' the stuff in plain sight first!  Last fall, I was doing the great stash clean out.  I actually cut 30 some pillowcase kits for the DGKs and the Million Pillowcase for Kids charity project.  Then I got sick, busy, bored (who knows) ... and didn't actually make them.  I have been moving that box here, there and yonder in that room for months!  Monday, during Guild Fun Day I started sewing them.  My friend U helped and I turned in 12 pillowcases that night at meeting.  I have 12 more ready to finish and I actually sent the sad, floppy box that they were in to the recycling bin!

Monday was also the box raffle at guild.  I made 4!  (1) A little black tray-like box with 3 spools of quilting thread; 1 spool of dark thread, the Christmas pin cushion I made this year for the PotLuck, a clear bobbin box, and a crochet-chain summer necklace.  (2) A small round red basket with  dark red FQs from my stash stuffed into it.  (3) A square cardboard box from $1 Tree filled with embroidery floss on the the little flat cardboard 'spools', another pincushion and embroidery needles. AND (4)a clear project bag filled with extra notions: a pin box of old buttons, needles, scissors case, tape measure, etc.  Felt good but did not noticeably help the problem!!  Must remember to take pix of these before given away!!!

This week I have to finish the Finishing School pin cushions.  But I have no wool roving to stuff them with!  I'm going to get them ready to stuff and pick up some roving on the way to FS and stuff them there!!  It simply isn't worth the 4 hour round trip drive to get the stuffing!  And having it mailed?? Small town to small town?? That's a whole 'nother crap shoot!  So-o they'll 'get what they get and don't have a fit'!!

I really wasn't going to make these fiddle-ly little things - but they begged me!! LOL! One week from today we retreat!  Nine crazy quilters headed for a retreat center above a quilt store!  Yep, it's heaven!!  We'll be there for FIVE days! (counting the travel day on both ends) It's going to be great.

I was busy last weekend trying to keep up the finishing of baby quilts.

Beach Ball baby is an UFO that I started after finishing my Pies & Tarts quilt.  It's quilted now and ready to make it's debut on my daughter's Etsy store! Pictures show front and the quilting from the back.

 "Mom, I need some fabric projects to show off the brass collections!"  That's how you get into this situation!

 

Jungle Babies is also completely finished.  5pointed stars in the large squares and simple diagonal lines through the 4patches. Front and pieced back shown above.

I also worked on the pastels Magic Numbers - including drawing up my own 'block' to incorporate the additional sizes I cut.  It still needs to be quilted. So stay tuned.

I machine quilted the squares and sashing baby quilt - waiting to be bound.

And  I machine quilted one of the Christmas log cabin table runners.  I love it, it still needs binding.

Add a 15" square Modern Design "Lines" assignment for ModSquad and I'm going to be busy this weekend too.

Ladies - time to party in the sewing room!!  Let the wild rumpus begin!!

Oh No! I broke my toe!!

Remember me telling you about stubbing my toe HARD last weekend?  I heard a weird little noise when I did it and said to myself, "Don't panic - that was your sandal."  It wasn't my sandal.  ICK!  I've never broken anything before and there's something in the movement of the part that makes you queasy!!

CY a good friend who suffered a broken toe last year came over with the right tape (3M Transpore) and showed me how to tape it.  But it's been a disheartening week!  Getting old - hard to ignore when you're hurting.  And trust me, when you're babying a certain part of your body ... everything else hurts!

People said, well, at least you can stay home and work on your 'little projects' LOL! Well, you are supposed to keep the affected area above your heart.  Hmmm, not even going to try to run the sewing machine in that position!! LOL!

A friend in Nebraska sent me pictures of the International Quilt Study Center's Nebraska Sesquicentennial Quilt contest - Inspired by Nebraska's Diversity. They brought back great memories of growing up Nebraskan!  Sure, it was a different time, but it's also a different place.  Isolated, yet central; plainspoken yet caring ...

Don't tell my husband, but I'm still Nebraskan in my heart - and I miss the clear skies. The Coastal Marine layer can sure grey things out, even when it's not raining - and the layer is flat!  Not fluffy clouds racing across a blue sky. 

In Nebraska I can remember going to the grocery store at sunset, pre-cell-phone cameras, and just sat and looked at a Cecil B DeMille worthy sunset over Holmes Lake. Yes, dinner was a little later because of sitting and enjoying that - but I can still see it.

I remember the sun sparkling endlessly off the snow - best enjoyed from inside the warm house, looking out, of course!  

I remember driving west at sunset and and watching the sun 'bounce' as I went up and down small hills! There - it's down, nope, there it is again!

And of course, the people.  Definitely people with the best hearts!!  

Although I couldn't go to the pool (tape in the water is a no-no) or TaiChi (I couldn't see all the twisting and balancing) I did get out to the other activities this week -  presented the idea of having a QOV presentation at the quilt show for the Vietnam Veterans meeting.  There were a lot of people at that meeting!  Looked like a BIG crowd through the nerves.  But it went well. I haven't heard back yet, but hoping for their support.  It went well enough that I'm presenting to the Marine Auxiliary today.

And our first "Mod Squad" was a success!  We had 9 participants (2 came in with reservations but we won them over!!) We did an exercise from the book - looking at a photo or magazine picture and studying the lines, colors, the shapes and the composition.  

I got the magazine ad of a Toucan.

I found that I look at colors as a whole.  And I saw his beak as 'orange' but there was yellow, pink and gradations in it.  Likewise, I didn't catch the greys shadowing his white chest. But I did notice his feet were blue!

Shapes included triangle beak, round eye, diagonal line branch, half circles body ..

Patterns - there are vertical lines in his bill as well as the horizontal opening.  There's wood grain in the branch.  And the background was mottled - great for stippling!

Descriptions included:  sun-dappled, speckled, opposites, spotted and 'birdy'!

Everyone shared their exercise and since our homework is just a 15" square composition - most, if not all, are going to go for it.  I told them to look at it as an opportunity to try out new ideas.  If they don't work ... you can throw away a 15" square without guilt!!  I'll let you know how many blocks come to the next meeting to be gently critiqued!

Three day weekend here - hard to tell when you're retired!!  But hope to get the jungle baby quilt finished.  Just have the borders left to quilt; and then que up the 'beach balls' baby quilt to machine quilt too. Those quilts need to be handed in a week from Monday.

And Finishing School (March 5) is headed toward me with the speed of light!  So I need to get those 9 presents done.  I always swear I am NOT going to wait until the last minute ... but every year it's a race to the finish!

We got 4 of the 6 QOV quilts back from the long-arm volunteers and I have 3 more handed in to be sent out.  We're hoping for 15 this year - double last years!  And since we're arranging a Presentation I'm toying with the idea of making one more - just in case anyone backs out.  I'm pretty much counting on ALL 15!!  But time is the problem, as always!

Well, that week didn't go as planned!

It was the best of times, it was the worse of times ... more of the latter!  Sunday night I had a little episode of "Keystone Kops get a let cramp!" Ended up bruising a rib and 3 other points on my body!  It's just ridiculous how getting old is not that fun!!

But I made the best of it.  I was unsupervised - DH was on a golf trip!  I had all this stuff already out from the retreat, so why not get ALL the rest of it out and stir it up a bit??  So out came to bags, bins, boxes and bushel baskets of scraps that live here and there in the condo!  And it just exploded from there!!!  By Wednesday, even I was appalled at what a mess I had made!!!

I had a short list of projects I started gathering for retreat. No I didn't get to all of them, still haven't!!!   - but now it's time to get organized (in order to create loads of chaos in our condo!)  If I'm going to get all the scraps out, I need a list of what needs to be cut.  There are 10 projects on my list and I need sizes from 10" squares to 2.5" squares!  So - cut cut cut! Stack stack stack and keep it organized!  We're going to need chocolate!

First up is a smaller version of that awesome asymmetrical rainbow diamond.  If I cut the squares at 5.5" then the HSTs will finish at 4".  That will work !!  Should I pair it with a white on white fabric again?  Or something with more pizzazz?  Time will tell!  First I have to find all those bright fabrics I used before.  Oh-oh!

Another project on the list is 'Slash a Stash'.  Sounds like fun, doesn't it!!  It's not what comes up with Google - I tried.  In fact, it's surprisingly hard to find online.  So I pulled out the blurry printed instructions from 2003, designed by Susan Fuquay for American Quilt Retailer Magazine. It was a free give away pattern at a Quilt Store.  Here's a link to someone else talking about it!  It's a scrappy asymmetrical Bento Box.  6" square surrounded by 3.5" strips of one fabric, like a Happy Block.  Make many of these blocks.  Then cut them asymmetrically - shuffle and rejoin.  Turns out darn cute - or at least I'm hoping it will!

The printed pattern just uses 6 pairs of FQs.  But let's face it - all fabric goes together, right?  So choose your favorites and start sewing them together.

There's Angles and Squares from the book "A Thread Runs Through It" by Barbara Dieges. A variation of Road to Oklahoma?

There's Many Scrappy Trips by Bonnie Hunter.  16 x 2.5 strips

There's a Moda Bake Shop pattern called Basic Math.

Most of what I like this year is asymmetrical!  Goodness - that's kind of quirky!!  But I'm going with it!

Big news - I also finished an UFO this weekend!!  Hoo-Rah!  I was Lady In Waiting #9 and headed toward UFO Queen at the speed of light!!  What a relief to be back in slacker heaven! Hmmm, I mean the bottom of the list!

This quilt is a QOV quilt.  Based on the 'Mystery at the Tea Shop' which our guild ran as a mystery this last year. (We didn't know the name of it at the time, of course!!)  The mystery was smaller than required by QOV so I made 10 extra blocks and put in sashing strips that made a secondary pattern.  

SS, a QOV long-armer in Eugene quilted it for me and I put the binding on it, ran it through the wash and labeled it.  Done-done!!  I even had a sunny day to take a picture of it outside!  I haven't said that very often lately!

Taken in the side yard of our condo building.  The sun was so bright off the ocean, I couldn't even get a good shot of the ocean as backgroud!

I also topped and made a back for this baby quilt for the famous Brookings Yearly Baby Shower - I'm sure you're tired of hearing about it!!

 

                                    Front                                                 Back

Made from some jungle prints I used in a strippie quilt for a great nephew's baby quilt years ago.  But a fellow Stashbusters member- a Yahoo online group -  posted this baby quilt.  That is one clever design!  I've already been thinking about the next one(s) I want to make!!

I used 8" blocks.  4 1/2" squares for the 4 patches. Top and bottom borders to lengthen it - easy peasy.  Yep, it's an addition to the cutting list!

This week is busy.  Haircut, Valentine's Day.  I have to make a presentation to the Veteran's Group here.  We'd like to make QOV presentation at the quilt show.  If anyone out there (yes, you my invisible friends) has done this before, please let me know.  I have a few questions!  AND just between you and me, this type of thing makes me very nervous!  I don't know enough about how QOV works to tell someone else, especially a room full of non-quilters!  Yikes!  

And Friday is the first meeting of "Mod Squad"!  Showing my age, but a group of us would like to learn modern design methods for quilts. And that name just makes me smile!!  When I was at Houston last fall, I met Deborah Boschert.  Her quilts are fabulous!  I bought her book "Art Quilt Collage" and talked a few like-minded quilters into working through the book as a workshop.

It's a case of the blind leading the halt!  But we have a few really good teachers in the group.  We'll take turns leading the sessions.  I lead on Friday!  We're going over page 20 - getting inspired from photographs.

Our goal is to make a 15 inch square example of the designated design each month.  We are to 'sneak' it into the shop where we meet before the next meeting.  The owner is going to keep our anonymity, hang them in the classroom area.  We're going to gently critique them and try to guess who made what!!  We'll see how long that lasts!  Next year we hope to have an 'endcap' at the quilt show showing our process and what we've created.  Another reason to be nervous - but of course, everyone in the class knows we're all beginners ... and hopefully will be bringing their patience along too.

The last new-to-me technique that I got hooked on this week is "Magic Numbers" quilt method.  Yep, it's also asymmetrical but 'cubist'???  I had hauled some leftover fabric and blocks from a YBR I did 8 years ago for a DGS. (8 years???) I wanted to use it up, it's darn cute, but not make another YBR.  

I love YBR - but the blocks are quite big for a crib quilt.  I wanted it the same but different!  This afternoon I had my second boo-boo this week. (I stubbed my little toe HARD putting furniture back in place. Yowzer! 

 I was just cleaning all the quilt supplies, piles and tools back into the sewing room before DH came home!!  Well, I had to ice the toe.  So I started playing with all the pieces I'd cut at retreat.  It's so very addicting!  I did cut additional shapes.  4.5x6.5; 3.5x3.5; 3.5x6.5; etc.  And yes, it is magic - they do all go together!  So fun!

See what I mean about 'cubist'?!?  It's currently 22 x 25.  Since I gave myself more part sizes, I haven't worked out a new 'block' pattern yet.  It's been fun to add to one side then the next.  I'm going to need more parts cut and ready to go!  I think I'll aiim for 36x45 for size.  Unless it's so darn cute I'll dump the baby shower idea and make it king-size for our bed!!!!

Oh, that is so me!!  Tee-hee!

Can anything "TOP" a great Retreat??

Just came home from an awesome retreat with our Brookings Quilt Guild.  It was perfect quilting weather because it was storming outside for 3 days!  When the rain broke today, we all ran out and loaded our cars like there was free fabric somewhere!!  There wasn't that many breaks in the rain ... gotta move those machines out to the car when we can!!!

On Friday, CY came up with her serger and we made 130 pillow cases from white sheets to transport quilts for our Memorial Day Show.  We were pillowcase sweat shop machines!!  For 5 hours we were cutting up sheets, hemming the parts that needed to be hemmed and serging those puppies together! WTG gang! Thanks for all the help!

My DH makes fun of us, because we leave our town - with 3 quilt shops and we retreat 25 miles up the coast.  And there isn't even a quilt store in that town, or a Dairy Queen!!  But we stay at the Gold Beach Resort and they treat us oh-so-right!

We take over the conference center but get to sleep in hotel rooms at night!  We provide the food. There is a lot of "crock pot" foods; salads and sandwiches.  I'm not going to describe the 24' table of Snackies we bring!!  We do not starve!  Not by a long shot!  And a washcloth creature in our room!  I think it's a slug - they are rampant here!!

Here are some tops I did at retreat.  They were less than half of what I packed and I thought I packed light!!  I really could have stayed there another week and still have projects to start!  And Lord knows, the Snackies Table would have supported us that long too!

I made the center panel after I finished my "Pies and Tarts" quilt a few years back.  I thought they looked like beach balls and wanted to check it out.  Yep, beach balls.  

I don't know why it was in "time-out" for so long.  I was looking for the perfect border fabrics, I guess.  Found them!  Hope to get it finished for the Soroptimist Brookings Baby Shower in March.

I saw this cutie online - gave you the source last blogpost.  I went with a white background instead of black.  I love it!!  It's 48 x 60.  A little big for a baby quilt!  Must work on my math skills!!  But good for a toddler bed??  Too cute to languish - hope to quilt it before our show Memorial Day Weekend.

This is the center of a Christmas table runner.  6" Fabric borders are added at each end.  It's going to be a great size 18.5" x 39".  

The pattern is "Split Log Cabin Table Runner" by Needle and Thread.  I made 24 green log courthouse steps-like blocks.  Then I turned them into a HST with light fabric squares.  

I didn't want to repeat blocks so I have enough HSTs to make one more.  Since I didn't follow the pattern (who me??) Next time I'll start with lights in the center.  You can choose your favorite.

This is a wonky 9 patch!!  The 9 patches are purposely off center with no lines  continuing from block to block "Wonky".  I found a baggie of the 24 blocks for $1 at a guild garage sale many moons ago.  I like it - it reads very modern!!  I have to find a splotchy fabric for a border.  It'll be another cute baby quilt!

So I'm home - DH is on a golf trip and I'm sitting here in front of the SuperBowl.  Not really paying attention to the game, but want to see the commercials!  It's very hard to "come to attention" when the commercials come on.  Goes against the grain!!  When do you head for the bathroom???

So far I like the talking yearbook ad the best. AND all the diversity / united together ads.  Hope they help!!

Report from the whirlwind March!

And I was worried that April will be too busy!!  Got lots of practice this week being too busy!

We went over to Medford for a dentist appointment and got to see the boys.  Mr D will be 3 next month and Mr K will be ONE!  Good grief ... how does that happen?  It was great to be able to spend time with them and get to know them again.  It had been since Christmas - way too long!  But with icky weather, busy schedules and the dreaded flu popping up here and there - well, it sure went fast!

Mr K sat in his carseat and looked very seriously at me.  Finally there was a great big grin - oh, yeah, I remember you!  It's Beach Nana!!!  So fun to see him scoot around in very fast fashion.  I put him down in the livingroom and went to the bathroom.  Before I'd gotten the toothpaste on my brush, Mr Curious had scooted thru two rooms and pushed open the door to see what was going on!!

The FuNnIeSt ThInG happened as we were leaving.  A&J are raising the boys using "Physics of Love" philosophy.  It involves a great deal of "this is what is going to happen" forecasting.  So here's what happened:

"D, Daddy has to study and put Baby K down for nap.  After Nana and Papa leave, you can watch a tv show" [big treat for D!]  Immediately D told us to "Leave NOW!"  It was expected, part of the process.

Then when we finally got out the door, it was pouring rain.  We stood on the little porch pulling up hoods and finding the keys ... when BAM!!  the door slammed behind us!!  Well, we lost it - I was crying from laughing so hard!  A opened the door and whispered "Sorry!"  I guess we know where the expression "don't let the door hit you in the butt on your way out!!"  No one lets you know what they are thinking like an almost 3 yr old!!

Home for a day, then up to Portland to see the other Grands.  Miss P had an Anthropology shower curtain that she wanted made into a comforter.  I had L wash it; and find a backing while I gathered up batting and all the tools I was going to need.  We got there Saturday afternoon and ended up going to JoAnns for the backing.  Let me say that everyone had a very strong opinion of what was appropriate for the back!!  We finally settled on a beautiful green.

Back home, after washing the back, and dinner we framed it in the living room.  The only space big enough and vacant enough to work in.  My daughter was a huge help!  She remembered helping me with this process earlier in life.  My kids often had to help me stretch quilts on the frame!  Then she helped me tie it and even tied the knots with me.  Next step, turning the front to the back for the binding.  I just hope it wears well enough.  I did tell my daughter when it started falling apart, we'd have to put a real binding on it. Sunday morning, Miss P asked me why Mommy and I built a fort in the livingroom last night!

Is there a cuter 7 year old around??

Answer to the question "Do you like the quilt???"  Wheeee!

The quilt looked wonderful on the bed and we were D*O*N*E in time to go to movies Sunday afternoon! Miss P and I went to Frozen ... really laugh out loud good!  Papa and Mr M went to Lego Movie, not as good but a good time was had by all.

Returned home on Monday.  By Thursday I was headed up to Newport for the guild meeting, to pick up some ordered thread and two boxes of quilting goodies from a friend that just closed up a house and her sewing room.  I also picked up a new laptop because both our very old desktop and our ancient laptop are biting the dust at the same time!!  YIKES!  Not looking forward to that learning curve!

Okay - let's talk about ongoing projects.  We all have them.  We're excited about them, but sometimes we just have to stop working on them to make way for something else.  It might be a deadline thing, or just a rest from it.  How do we keep it all together; neatly and remember where we are in the process??

One of my projects like that is a mini-log cabin.  3/4" finished logs and made from all my absolute favorite scraps - you know the ones.  The ones you have to keep no matter how small, you just can't bear to part with them.  Mine got moved from NE in a box marked "too small to use, too big to throw away!"  So glad I did keep them.  My face is smiling all the time I work on them.

There's these handy storage cubes found in the closet organizer section of stores.  They go on sale quite often too!  This holds 200 blocks, 400 other partial blocks and trays of lights, darks and reds!  Easy to put away and even easier to get back out and start immediately!  Voila!

The finished blocks are arranged 'artistically' in the bottom of the crate - for your benefit only!  The wooden trays were from a sale.  Originally to store microscope slides!  Very sturdy and hold quite a lot of fabric strips.  Wish I'd bought more now!

                                 

All tucked in for the duration!  Blocks needing trimming on top - within easy reach!

Last week was 'gotta finish baby quilts' week!!  I had finished these tops at retreat.  My hairdresser was having a baby by appointment on Monday!  So I also whipped up a doll quilt for the big sister.  The theme of the nursery was Owls and I just happened to have the owl fabric.  It was going to be for pj pants for Miss P.  It was just the right amount for the quilts!!  Wrapped and delivered before baby was a week old!!  That might be a new record!

Doll quilt

Baby Quilt

This quilt was the leftovers from making 2 community baby quilts last fall.  It was a needed UFO to finish, my name was headed for Queen of UFOs like a rocket.  I added 2 rows to make it a little bigger - and now it's waiting patiently for the next baby boy to be born!  Love the orange binding!

When you take pictures of your quilts, do you fold it to show the back too?  I'm thinking that would be a good idea for future reference.  Now to remember to do that before I give it away!!

Happy National Quilting day!  Hope you got some quilting in today!