Oops! I Started a New Quilt

I started working on my resolutions.  I looked over all the scraps, ironed each piece and decided to cut them into 2", 2 1/2" and 3" squares.  Anything under 2" was tossed.  I like scrap quilts and I have a bunch of ideas for these size blocks.  I didn't want too many different sizes and I think this is what I use most.  I've gotten a good start, but still have far to go.

The triangles in the box were found in the scraps.  I haven't decided what to do with them yet, but it seemed a waste to cut then into 2" squares.  I did find another little bag of half square triangles and put them together into pinwheels.  Then I couldn't leave it, so I put them together with other bright squares.  I wasn't planning to make a new quilt, but sometimes it just feels good to sew stuff together.  It's only about 11" square.  My plan is to set it on point the put some more brightly colored squares as borders and eventually make it a baby quilt.  But, right now it's another UFO.

I also finished another Ladies of the Sea block.  This wasn't on my official list to do, but this is what I stitch on in the evenings while I watch TV with my husband.

The biggest accomplishment since my last post if getting the Iris quilt hand basted and into the quilt hoop.  Once I finally got the top completed, I avoided this step because I knew it would take a long time and would be uncomfortable.  I still baste quilts on my hands and knees in the kitchen floor.  For a quilt this big, I had to move the table and I still had one corner that wasn't flat on the floor.  Basting alone took nearly 6 hours.  But, I knew once I got that step out of the way, the quilting would be a pleasure.

Quilty Resolutions

I've been submitting quilt resolutions to Sandy's (of Quilting for the Rest of Us) blog for the past 3 or 4 years.  Some years I am successful in completing some of the tasks.  Some years I have completed none.  I don't think I have ever completed all I set out to do.  I tell myself that I set my goals high.  The reality is that I stop thinking about the resolutions a few months into the year.  Then life gets in the way and something else shiny catches my eye.  I don't think I am alone in this.

However, this is the year that I want to do better.  Overall, I am satisfied with my life.  But, there are some adjustments I want to make to accomplish more of my goals and be happier.

I started with getting more fit.  I joined Weight Watchers and has shed 12 pounds so far.  (I like shed rather than lost.  Lost sounds like it was accidental and would like to recover the lost item again.)  I still have more to go, but am working on it every day.

I want to improve my writing.  I always find writing difficult.  I'm a great writer in my head, but tend to freeze up when I have to put those thoughts to paper (or screen).  To practice, I am going to write a little each day; either long hand in a book (but not necessarily journal pages) or here in the blog.  So you may be hearing from me more frequently.

I want to be comfortable with sketching.  I used to draw when I was younger.  I remember my notebooks in middle and high schools were filled with quick drawings of teachers or other students.  I want to take the time to practice that again.

Quilt wise, what I have put into Sandy's official resolution form are these three things:

1. Baste and start quilting the Iris quilt.  This has probably been on the resolution list for two or three years, and is nearing 2 decades since I started it.  This WILL get into the hoop this year.

2. Organize my quilting fabric and scraps. the fabric is piled bu color on a shelf in my closet.  Every time I want to find something, I have to drag out a pile or two, sort through it and stuff it back into the closet.  I want to fold everything and set it into some sort of bin that will fit on the shelves.  My craft closet is pitiful and the scrap box is overflowing.  I do a lot of applique and will save scraps suitable for that as is, but the rest will be cut into some shape or size chunk for future scrap quilts. That I have to figure out.

3. Finish Stephanie's Green challenge quilt.  Last year for Christmas, my daughter bought me some green fabric and challenged me to make a quilt (because green is my not my favorite color.)  Last year I picked a pattern, bought some additional fabric and started cutting out templates.  I would like that quilt completed by the end of the year.

Optionally, Sandy suggested we choose a word of the year,  For this year, mine is ADAPT.  All-in-all, I am happy. I just need to do some tweaking (not twerking) to make life more satisfying.

All that should keep me more than busy for a while.

Birthday Gift

This is the project I've been working on obsessively for the last few months.  My mother in law turns 80 on Christmas Eve and this is my gift to her.  It is an entirely original design. The figures are her and my father in law from a picture I took  some time ago.  The sky will have the hand prints of her immediately family - 3 children, spouses, grand children and their spouses.  There are 12 in total.  

Right now, it is nearly complete - I have the last edge of binding to hand stitch down.  Then I can wash it, wrap it and deliver it.  This was sort of a stressful project because I didn't even think about doing this until August and the family wasn't exactly cooperative in getting their hand prints to me prompting me to send out a critical email reminder that ruffled some feathers.  But, I think she will love it.

Settling In

After a few months of travel (I think we were home for 20 days total in August and September) we are home and settling back in.  We've spent the last few weeks doing some stuff around the house - those mundane things that make being a responsible adult so much fun.  I haven't gotten a lot of stitching done, but I have to keep my hands busy in the evenings, so I've done some.

I finished my second block of Ladies of the Sea.  They are challenging blocks, but I am enjoying the process.  Once I had finished the first block, I decided to do the rest in order. This was an interesting choice since the first block was the Bluenose and we had seen her in our travels.  I still haven't decided if I will put the names of the ships on each of the blocks.  I think I probably will, but I don't know if I will ink or embroider them.  That decision can be made later.

I have a few tops that are awaiting their turn to be quilted.  I started on my Quilt-In-A-Box.  This will be a heavy quilt.  I am being frugal here and used a batting that I found in my stash.  I don't remember where it came from or when I got it.  It is very dense.  I am also using a damask on the back.  This fabric was given to me recently by a friend who bought too much for the drapes she made for her house.  This is also a heavy fabric.  I'm machine quilting each block with a different random fill pattern for practice.  I'm about half done with this.

My guild is running a star block exchange this season and this is my sample block.  It't a Carol Doak paper pieced star that I really like.  I haven't done paper piecing in quite some time because I really don't enjoy it.  I still don't.  I would much rather hand piece a complicated block than paper piece.  But, I still like the block.

Woosh!

Summer is flying by.  I just looked back over some of my pictures and we have been out and about doing all sorts of things and seeing all kinds of sights, but very little quilting going on.

I started the Ladies of the Sea applique in July (maybe June) and have completed my first block.  I started with this block simply because I love the shell applique at the bottom.  I think I'll do the rest of them in order.

I have not yet decided if I am going to put the names of the ships on the blocks or not.  These blocks are more detailed than I have been doing lately, but I am enjoying the process.

And I'm trying to finish up some tops that have been hanging around.  This one is a charity quilt for my guild.  I did not piece the top, but I wanted some machine quilting practice, so I brought this one home.

I wanted to try a Spirograph pattern on something and this seemed the perfect opportunity.  This was fun and I think effective.  I had to enlarge the pattern from the original drawing to fit the blocks better and be easier to stitch.  And I had to choose a simple pattern rather than the dense, complicated ones that I prefer.  I will use this technique again.

I'm not quite done applying the binding and will post another shot when it is completed.

We spent most of August on a motorcycle trip to Atlantic Canada (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI).  That three week trip went by very quickly and we went to some amazing places.  That deserves another blog post all by itself which I will do later.

Updates

It's been a while since I've blogged, so here is a brief update of projects I'm working on or completed, and some of the adventures.

Early in April we visited the Maparium at the Christian Science Center in Boston to visit the globe.  It's a beautiful glass structure which you walk through.  Unfortunately, photos are not allowed inside the globe.  But, the tile in the women's bathroom looked like it might make a wonderful quilt.

I've been doing a little bit of knitting and completed two pair of socks and a cat.  Not exactly sure that I love the pattern, but she's growing on me.

In sewing news, I made a messenger bag to haul the scorebook and other items with us to the baseball games, completed the top for scrap-in-a-box and completed my Polish Eagle wall hanging.  I was a little disappointed that it did not win any prizes for the guild challenge project, but I'm very happy with it anyway.

One thing that made me very happy at my last regular guild meeting in May is that my Florabunda quilt won best of guild and will be hanging in the New England Quilt Museum in an exhibition of the Best of the Region's Quilt Guilds quilts.  The show goes from July 30,  through August 15, 2015.  So, stop by if you're in the area.

And, we've done a little bit of traveling.  We were fortunate to spend part of a Red Sox game behind the scoreboard (aka the Green Monster).  A very interesting view and fun to talk to the guys who keep the board up to date with games and scores.  I even got to put one of the inning numbers into the slot.

On a trip out to Bedford, PA, we stopped at a few lighthouses on Lake Erie including this one at Dunkirk, NY.  We also stumbled onto the Oscar Mayer Wiener Mobile and this amazing mural.  It must have been a quarter of a mile long and made entirely from road signs.

And this is what I've been up to lately.

Ugh!

This is how I feel about a lot of things right now.  Just - UGH!

I'm plugging along on the Eagle quilt, but having to push myself to do it.  I've been thinking about why I'm not as excited about this project as I was initially.  This is the point in projects where I become disappointed and if I don't push through, it becomes a UFO.  I'm hand quilting around all the applique and I am looking at this closer than ever before.  This means I see every little flaw in my stitching, every errant stitch, every bump and pucker, every loose and too-tight stitch.  I need to take a step back and remind myself that no one will ever look at this quilt as closely as I am while quilting.  I still like the design and I think I have done nice work.

I have one wing and the background to quilt.  I have an idea for the background, but I have to mark out the dimensions to see if it will fit.  I will have this completed for the guild meeting on May 18th.

The other ugh is the weather.  We still have a lot of snow cover.  My daffodil, crocus and tulip beds are all still under a good foot of snow.  I usually have seeds started for my vegetable garden by now, but there didn't seem to be a any reason to rush.  I didn't even order seeds until last week. 

To somewhat fight the UGH, I've been working on a couple of new projects.  I went on a quilt retreat a few weeks ago and put borders on two UFO tops.  One is now ready to quilt and the other is ready for an appliqued border.  The applique border may be the next hand project I work on when the eagle is done.    (No pictures yet.)

I also started a new pair of socks.  This is a pattern I did before for a gift.  It is quick to stitch and has a lovely pattern.  These are for me.

I've also started a table runner for April.  I made another one for a friend and liked the design so much that I duplicated it in spring colors for me. 

So, you see, not much exciting.  Just plugging away and trying to find a better attitude.