More Quilting, Getting Closer to a Car

It feels really boring to just keep saying "I'm doing more hand quilting", but, I'm doing more hand quilting.  I had done at least 30 minutes of quilting every day this month except for Saturday.  We had a gathering at out house and overnight guests.  Between preparations and entertaining guests, I never found the time to sneak away to the quilt hoop.  If I average out the time, I have spent WAY more than 30 minutes a day doing some sort of quilting, but I was disappointed that I missed a day.  And, the way the rest of the month is going, I may miss another day or two.  But, we'll see.

I have finished quilting the 8th block on Florabunda and have 4 more to go.  I love making progress.

I may have found a car.  I found one on-line at a dealer 80 miles away.  I called to see if they would meet my price and they will.  I have an appointment to take it for a test drive this weekend.  We'll see how it goes, but I may have a new car in the next couple of weeks.

A Challenge Gets Me Going

I joined Beth's challenge and have successfully done at least what I promised every day for a week.  I wasn't sure I wanted to join because I have some commitments in February that will make it difficult to quilt.  We had folks over last Saturday night and on Sunday for the Super Bowl.  Since I do most of my quilting in the evening, I wasn't sure I could fit any in, but I managed.  There was also an evening that I was feeling less than cheerful and didn't really feel like picking up a needle and thread, but I remembered that challenge and did.

So far, I've put in about 14 hours and completed another block.  If I can keep this up and complete a block a week, I should have the quilting done by the end of March.  That seems like a doable goal.

I'm north west of Boston and was caught in the blizzard yesterday.  It looks like we got 25" of snow, but it's hard to tell because of all the wind and drifting.

I decided to use the front door this morning because I didn't have a shovel inside and the back door just wasn't accessible.

But, we're all shoveled out now.  I set up my BirdCam to take a picture once a second and DH converted it into a video.  Unfortunately, most of the snowfall took place after dark.  The video is less than a minute long and you can really see the snow building up against the bumper of the car after dawn.  And, it looks like we took no time at all to clear off the driveway.

I have a few more chores to complete today then it's time for more hand quilting.

Drop and Give Me Twenty Challenge

After much thought and flip-flopping on my decision, I'm making the commitment to this challenge.  So...

I, Mair (known more formally as Maryann), a quilter of reasonably sound body and questionably sound mind, do commit, for the month of February, 2013, to spend at least 30 minutes each and every day doing some quilting, piecing, cutting, ironing, or some other activity that will bring me closer to having one or more of my current projects completed.  I am planning to work on completing the hand quilting on my Florabunda quilt (which needs 12 more blocks quilted), adding borders to the S-Charm quilt (which will then complete the top), and preparing the backing and basting the iris quilt.  I may not finish any of these projects, but seeing them get closer to completion will be a huge  accomplishment.

If you want to enter, take a look at Beth Helfter's rules here, and her blog here.  Beth (AKA Quilting Hottie) is a funny, talented quilter and designer who is hosting this challenge for the second year.  Take a look to see what everybody has pledged to complete.

Completed Socks

Fresh off the needles.  I  enjoyed making these.  My knitting experience is limited and the rib stitch for the leg was just complicated enough to keep me interested but not so complicated that I needed to keep checking a chart.  This is only my third pair of socks and I'm still not totally confident in the heel and toe.  I think these socks will be very warm.

The next socks will be another over-all pattern on the leg and top of the foot.  But, it's time to get back to quilting.  This was a good diversion and now I'm itching to get back to hand quilting.

New Socks, New Car?

I have decided to give into my restlessness and start a pair of socks. I started them on the 8th and finished the first sock last night and cast on the second.  I figure it was like a craving - if I didn't give in to the urge, it would build and build and I would have spent more time looking at knitting and not gotten anything done on anything else.  At least that's my justification.

I was toying with the idea of delaying the second sock while I did some more quilting, but I want to do the second while the pattern is still fresh in my mind.  Another justification.

The other thing that is now occupying  my thoughts is a new car.  My '97 Taurus turned over 200,000 miles in October and it was my plan to start looking for a new vehicle once I reached that milestone.  The car body is getting rusty and every time I take it to my mechanic he clicks his tongue and says " ... it's awful rusty under there...".  He's assured me it's still safe, but parts are getting fused together and it's getting harder and harder to repair.

This is the most miles I've put onto a single vehicle and, after having owned this for nearly 14 years (I bought it used), I've got to find something else.  The question is, what?  I've narrowed it down to small, 4-door sedan.  I took a trip to the library today to check out Consumer Reports and have a list of 4-6 cars that I need to check out.  I guess I'll go and do some test drives this weekend.  Honestly, the whole process of buying a new car doesn't excite me.  I'm hoping a test drive or two will help.

I'm Getting Restless (a small rant)

I've been quilting on the Florabunda quilt since March and I'm itching to do something else.  I have the center block and all the sashing around the center  complete, and 6 outer blocks and all the sashing around those complete.  I figure I'm 2/3 - 3/4 done with the hand quilting.  The fractions make me feel better - I usually count my quilt progress that way.  But, I'm getting really restless to do something else.  However, I know that if I take my attention off of this to start something new or work on some other project, I will put Florabunda down for quite some time.  (As an aside, I really need to come up with a real name for this quilt.)

That being said, I finished a charity quilt last night.  I picked up the package with a pieced top, batting, backing and cut binding from my guild in August with the idea  that I would practice some free motion quilting.  It got tucked away until the whole ordeal of new carpets on the main floor was complete.  Then I felt guilty for having this for so long (not that the guild minds).  Mostly it was an excuse to do some machine work.  Now that it is complete, I'm remembering how much I enjoy my Pfaff, and that I would love to spend some time working on my treadle machine making something beautiful.

And, I find myself browsing patterns and completed projects on Ravelry.  I've got yarn to make three more pair of socks and I'm dying to do those.

It's not that I'm not enjoying hand quilting.  It's just that I'm at that part of the project (and this happens on most projects) where I can envision what it will look like and it's not happening as quickly as I would like.  We all only have so much leisure time and I have to learn to spend it wisely.

So, I think it's time I stopped looking as pictures of other people's knitting projects and start working on my own.  I will still work on Florabunda, but I will cast on those socks and stop wasting time on the computer.

There, I feel better.

Book Review, Quilting Update

Sally Palmer Field may not have been a nationally known quilter, but she was certainly a local celebrity.  Nearly every quilter in New England has heard of Sally or experienced her influence.  Judy Buswick's latest book, Sally Palmer Field, New England Quilter, is a biography of Sally detailing her life from visiting the textile mills in Lowell where her father worked to her quilt store, the quilts she made, the classes she taught, the creation of the New England Quilt Guild and her influence in creating the New England Quilt Museum.  Sally had a passion for quilting that was contagious.

Judy's book details the quilting life of this energy-filled woman who insisted everybody learn the basics of quilting using cardboard templates and hand sewing, but also encouraged creativity as she urged quilters to explore their own designs and color schemes.  It is an interesting read of how one woman helped the resurgence of quilting as a craft and art form.

 Sally Palmer Field, New England Quilter is available on Amazon.com or local quilt shops.

Other than finishing this book, I continue to work on the hand quilting on the Florabunda quilt.  I've completed the center and 5 of the 12 surrounding blocks. I didn't expect the quilting to take this long, but I guess since I'm doing a 1" grid, it's pretty densely quilted.  So far, I'm quilting around all the applique shapes and doing the grid on the background and checkerboard sashing.  The only additional quilting I did was more grid quilting on the center basket since that was a large area to leave unquilted.  I'm toying with adding embroidery to some of the leaves and flowers as an accent.  I'm waiting until all the quilting is done.  I'm afraid that I'll get started on the embroidery not like it, or like it a lot and have to do a lot on the quilt.  First, I have to finish the quilting!