September

It's been a busy summer....where  has the time gone??? 
Well, I've got some good news and some bad news:  the bad news is that I started experiencing thread breaks again ...over and over again.... on the longarm.  Poor Frenchy.....he's been having some internal problems.  At least I HOPE it's his internals and not operator error!  On Monday, I completed two small projects that turned out perfect.....so nice; a real sense of accomplishment.  Then on Tuesday afternoon, after attending Tuesday Quilting Guild, I put another small project in the machine and time after time, I had a thread breaks....all within a 12" square.  Needless to say, I was mega-frustrated!  After a couple of calls and a visit from my local tech, Frenchy was boxed up and sent to Utah for a thorough examination.  That's the good news.  We will now find out if the thread breaks are truly his problem or my problem. 

In the interim, I have projects stacking up around me.  I have 3 projects for other people and a number of quilts I had hoped to complete before a scheduled "Antique & Art Show" in San Saba. 

August Progress

It's been hot and dry.... not much yard work to be done, so I've been spending a lot of time with my sewing machines.  In fact, I"ve been obsessed with sewing machines all month.  I started out shopping for a Singer Featherweight and found a plethora of them on eBay in all types of conditions with, and without. cases and other accessories.  I found one that had my name on it with all kinds of attachments and a pretty good case (at least the latches still work) and won it at a reasonable price!  While shopping for that, I kept finding toy sewing machines and ended up purchasing a couple of those.  Then I started counting how many sewing machines I actually own:  my original Universal sewing machine from the 70's; my grandmother's International; a Peerless (1959 era), a small Singer I bought to carry to classes, a Janome MemoryCraft 6600, a Handi-Quilter Avante 18 Longarm, aka French; and a new Janome 2030 that I recently won at the Grand Opening of Kelly's Quilting Korner...plus the Featherweight and 2 toy machines:  total 10!  That should be enough to keep me satisfied for awhile. 

I finally got the quiling completed on the Quilter's Puzzle.  This was a pattern that Sister Tricia shared with me.  We each started working on hand-piecing during a Caribbean cruise in 2008.  Due to the many quilt tops I had accumulated when it was completed, it went on the back burner until now.  The back is pieced with 2 different purple fabrics.  Hand-pieced, machine-quilted and hand-binding:

This is a Block of the Month from 2009.  Hand-pieced, machine-quilted and hand-binding:

And finally, a quilt I made for my grandson.  His mother's grandmother gave me the panels from her fabric stash and I found the border/backing fabric on sale a few weeks later.  This will be in his Christmas package this year.

If you've read this far, leave me an "anonymous" comment just to let me know you've been here.  You can add your name if you like. 

More quilts to come.......................stay tuned!

This is the HOTTEST July I can ever remember......

I've stayed busy piecing and quilting, but it is soooooo HOT!!!  The last couple of weeks I've been working on a pattern called "Crown Jewels".  I used 2 packages of pre-cut squares and some black remnants to make this modified top.  It still needs work to make it bettr proportioned, but time will take care of it.  Quilt Shop Hops are coming up and I'll be looking for just the right touch.  Stay tuned!

And, I've also been working on a quilt for my grandson.  His maternal great-grandmother cleaned out her stash and shared lots of fabric with me.   Within the treasure trove of material, I found two panels of animal theme prints.  I recently ran across a closeout on a jungle print fabric, and as luck would have it, there was enough to make some broad borders around the connected panels and to finish out the backing.  I am ready to bind but can't decide on how to proceed.....I'll sleep on it.

Sew Many Quilts...Sew Little Time!

Grand-daughter Lilli left on Sunday afternoon, and Sister Trish arrived Sunday night.  Trish brought six, count 'em SIX, quilt tops.  We got busy right away on putting one onto "Frenchy".  We ran into some problems with the Coats & Clark thread but I had some King Tut on hand that matched and it worked much better.  We worked until 4:30AM Monday morning and finally got to bed by 5AM.  We were up again about 9AM, but I had a splitting headache.  After a Motrin, a nap, and a light lunch, we headed back upstairs to tackle more quilting.  While she quilted her quilts, I intermittently worked piecing squares on my Janome.  We didn't stay up quite as late on Monday night but we didn't stop until about 1:30AM (Tuesday).  We completed 3 quilts in two days to the point of binding, which she plans to finish at home. It was a productive 36 hours. On Tuesday, she went to Quilting Guild with me and we had fun making an applique block with the group.  We had a nice lunch at the new Italian Restaurant on Commercial St. and it was time for her to head home. 

Since then I've been jumping from one project to another in different stages:  border on Red Roses in a Garden Maze (my rendition of a standard pattern); putting 30 blocks together for A Green Garden; piecing an unusual star pattern made from Walmart pre-cut fabrics; and readying myself to face a real challenge.....completing a vintage quilt for Grand-daughter Catie's other Grandma.  Now you understand my title:  "Sew Many Quilts....Sew Little Time!"

Lilli's Lap Quilt is Finished

Lilli came to visit on Thursday night and we've been working on her lap quilt daily.  In addition to learning about how to make a quilt, she's been learning how to sew on a machine:  a dual-learning experience.  She had to leave a day earlier than originally expected so I was finishing up the project while she packed to leave.  The finished product: 

Sistser Tricia is on her way to visit for a couple of days......more quilting fun!!!

Weekend With My Grand-Daughter

My fourteen year old grand-daughter is visiting for a few days and she's learning to quilt.  Last night I cut her fabric into 5" squares in preparation for a day's work today.  She began by using the design board to layout her squares in rows.  Then we began sewing the squares together into rows.  There are 10 rows of 10 squares....lots of purple! Here she is at the Design Board.  Watch for progress......

July

Frenchy seems to be working fine and since he's been home, I have 3 quilts 'under my belt'.  I'm expecting company this weekend.....a special granddaughter who has shown interest in quilting.....and we'll be working on a project during her stay.  Then, back to work again on more UFOs.