Saturday Sewing! What's better than that?

Some stashbusters are having a mini retreat today - the official retreat is in two weeks. After a walk along the beach this am I've been nose to the grindstone today. It feels great - and I got two sets of fabric postcards done. An online post card group I belong to kind of derailed this summer and we're trying to get back on track. So we still had the summer cards to exchange and the fall ones - I got both done-done today! Hooray - I'm ready for the partners to be assigned and then I can mail them - I usually mail by the deadline but I'm not usually ready before partners are assigned! Yay for me!

On to the guild BOMs due this thursday. This month the applique block and the pieced block go together in the same wall quilt - very cute. I don't always participate but this was really cute. You can see the blocks if you go to the guild website. Pick "Blocks" on the menu on the left.

This guild has a great method for hostesses too. I'm now co-chair of the Hostess committee - but it's easy. Whoever has a birthday during the month brings a snack - so nobody has to pitch in more than once a year. If you miss your month you might be asked to fill in during the next month we need someone - but if you brought snacks - you're not asked again til your birthday again!

A friend came over this afternoon to learn how to bind. Thankfully I was able to find my 'binding square' that I made in a binding class 'oh-so-many-years-ago'. A great quilter in Lincoln - who won many, many ribbons at the state fair, taught us a revolutionary way to bind! No pins! Of course, it's the standard binding method now - but I remember being amazed. I totally recommend making a binding square example of what ever method you use. I honestly don't remember all the tips from finish to finish so it's good to pull the example out and read my tips.

Here's some tips on my square:
No seams on binding at corners.
Best width is 2 - 2 1/4" depending on thickness of batt.
Start 4" from beginning of binding - leaving space to tuck in other end.
Stop 1/4" from corner; fold 45 degrees up and fold straight down next side; sew from edge.

Well, off to make the blocks - and to wash the charm squares fabric! Almost forgot that!

doni @ Oregon coast

End of Summer - how is it possible?

Rainy Sunday afternoons just seem perfect for thinking, blogging and reading! So, today you get a potpourri of thoughts.

How is it possible that next weekend is Labor Day weekend? Where on earth did the summer go? I was looking at a picture of a friend's DD and DGD at the Nebraska State Fair - they were in shorts, camisole tops and sandals - and my first thought was "My, they must be cold!" I'm sitting here in jeans, socks and sweatshirt - how quickly I can forget the dog days of summer in Nebraska. It's been alittle TOO cool here - I never thought I'd miss hot flashes!!!

I just finished reading a friend's copy of "A Year by the Sea" by Joan Anderson. I really loved it - it's a quick read. It's out in paperback with reading group questions in the back. I'd be interested in what you think. Do I love it because I'm starting a year by the sea? Do I love it because she describes me so well?? Read it and tell me "What do you think?"

My second week of the Olympics didn't accomplish much. We were babysitting 2 of the nights - and all those late nights were making me cranky!?! So we didn't watch it as much. I did finish the Prairie Schooler Santa from 2006 (!) and started the Santa for 2007. I'm pretty excited - I'm caught up more than usual! I found the 2008 Santa up by L's house and he's standing by at the ready! I've been known to marathon finish the Santas into little hanging pillows on New Year's Eve - one year - I finished 7 at a time! I do have everyone of them - and boy - I'm already trying to figure out where to put 23 of them in this space!

I finally bound the denim quilt owed to my Nephew in Nebraska. He graduated from college last May. I had tied it a month ago and there it was - sitting there - sucking all the joy out of my sewing room!!! Do you have projects like that?? LOL!! Well, I joined this GREAT quilting group here. They meet every Friday - for the day! 10 - 4! In the morning you bring your own project. You also bring your own lunch. And then after lunch we quilt on frames! I'd forgotten how much I enjoy quilting on a frame. The room we are in is big enough to have THREE quilts on frames. I love this group! So last Friday I took the denim quilt. I had the binding made - so in the morning I sewed the binding on and then, turned it and sewed the binding down with a decorative stitch - and I was done in 2 1/2 hours!!!! WOW - what a relief!

My goal this week is to border, tie and bind the 'I spy' quilt for my great Nephew in Nebraska; sew a Christmas stocking for a niece's dog(I know!) and have them all ready to mail to Nebraska the day after Labor day. There's a jazz festival here this weekend - we're kind of excited about it. It's the end of summer push!!!

First Week of Olympics done and large quilt bound!

It's been exciting watching the Olympics and I'm happy to report that my queen-sized bedspread is bound!!! This is the first quilt I made - 34 years ago! A baby blocks built in a pyramid! The back is a sheet!!! Ignorance is bliss - and this wasn't using the cheater's method of baby blocks - any seam on this quilt only goes straight for 4 inches!!! My MIL and her friends quilted it and she did a knife-edge binding on it. The whole quilt isn't holding up very well - but the binding really was bad! So I trimmed it and rebound it and it will look great on our new bed - if it ever comes!!! [whine, whine, whine] The bed has side rails so the sides are okay that short! We haven't had a queen size bed for at least 30 years! The quilt will be glad to get out of the closet!

Note the wonderful "bedside tables" in place - a suitcase on one side and a pile of boxes on the other!!! Martha Stewart, eat your heart out! Note it's also another foggy day on the coast - but still light enough not to use the flash!

Next week won't be as productive - we get to babysit Miss P in Portland tomorrow and probably won't be back til Tuesday evening. Next up for binding is an antique Grandmother's Flower Garden I had quilted last spring ... I'll need to research how to bind that! Rats! This is exactly why it's not bound yet - the need to research. Research and borders always slow me down!