0.807954 miles of thread...and more to go

Well I've used up one spool of Aurifil thread (1422 yards or 0.807954 miles of thread) and am working on the second for the Roll Roll Cotton Boll quilt.  I am working like crazy on this quilt and am still piecing blocks. I have no idea how some bloggy friends (Michelle, Karin & Kristie) have already finished their tops.

the never-ending quilt project

I'm also slowly getting back into the swing of things from Atlanta's 10-day weekend otherwise known as Snow-pocalypse. There are just a few patchy snow spots left after all that drama.  It was very strange going to work on Tuesday (Monday was MLK, Jr., holiday). It was weird being out of the house and in real clothes instead of sweats/pjs.  It was weird being around people or as my boss asked "did everyone lose whatever social skills they had?" LOL!  Tuesday was a very looooooong day (what no movies, snacks, quilting, catnaps, cats?????).  An amazing amount of work piled up while everyone was stuck at home (how does that happen?).  I'm not sure if the cats were happy about getting back to their usual schedule or if they missed having their people around all day. 

Sewing Like Mad Sunday

Very busy sewing day today!  The morning started with working on the Civil War quilt. Block one is done. 




I finally finally finally finished sewing 60 string blocks for Bonnie Hunter's Roll Roll Cotton Boll (RRCB) mystery quilt. Whew!  I am so happy to be done with these!!!!  I did use up a ton of random neutral scraps that more than likely would have moldered in shoe boxes or be tossed out in a cleaning fit but I was determined to finish these up today because it made such a mess.  Bits and pieces of fabric everywhere, bits of pieces of paper everywhere, threads and threads and threads everywhere.  Bleh! Now everything is tidied up and vacuumed and just better.

I still have 90,000 half-square triangles to finish piecing. Well really around 300 or less. I hope it's less.

I decided to work a little ahead and make the 30 center blocks just to give me an incentive not to give up on this marathon quilt.  I adore these centers.  Just adore them.   


Not to be forgotten is the le petite project for this month "Mon Ami" Schnibble.  I dug out an older Minick & Simpson line "Nantucket" and am going to work on this tomorrow.

Oh yes tomorrow is a holiday for me.  Why January 3rd?  Well originally state workers were to have Dec. 31st off but then someone discovered that we were given too many holidays for 2010.  And because the world as we know it would end people if GA state workers had one more holiday in 2010, they moved it to Jan. 3rd.  I took Dec. 31st off as annual leave just for spite and to have a four-day weekend.

So yes tomorrow is another sewing day. Perhaps another pj day too (I promise they are clean pjs. Really we do have some standards around here).

1-1-11

Happy New Year everyone!!  It is raining here in the ATL but that is fine because I'm staying in my pjs and sewing all day.  I hope you all are doing the same. 

Yesterday, I dragged took S. with me to Sweet Home Quilt Co. for the last day of Melisa's end of the year sale.  We walked in the front door and saw lots of friends with big bags of goodies and stacks of fabric waiting in line.  How fun!  Becky, Kristie, and Brenda were there as well as Jane, Sharon H., Sharon B-A. Needless to say, we stayed longer than the "real quick" time I had given S. LOL!  I signed up for a block of the month and bought a few yards of this n that.

Last night was quiet and I fell asleep before midnight for the first time in decades.  Oh no! I guess being wrapped in quilts, watching movies, and Prosecco will do that. I think it was around 11 or 11:30 oh well.

Today I am all excited because Judy at Patchwork Times posted the number for the 2011 UFO challenge (#6) which is my Clara Barton quilt.  I had to search my own blog to find out the last time I worked on this LOL! It was in  June. Here is the photo from June of some of the blocks.  Time to dig this project out.

Another exciting (well for quilters anyway--the term exciting is relative ya know) happening today is the announcement that Barbara Brackman is posting a block of the week commemorating the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War on her new blog.  She is posting history, historical photos, and a block each week.  I hope some of you will join me in making this quilt!  Or at least follow along to enjoy the stories and photos.  I'm a big fan of hers because of her dedication to researching quilt and social history.  Besides sesquicentennial is just fun to say.

And thirdly, I am excited because Bonnie Hunter posted Step 7 yesterday of her RRCB mystery and I LOVE this quilt!  It is worth all the gazillion of little pieces.  I started putting some blocks together (even thought I haven't completed all the previous steps) and will post some photos soon.   

OK I'm excited, at least for today right now 1-1-11 (that's fun to type), and I'm headed to the sewing machine.

Limbo Week (no not the dance...)

Yes it's the week between Christmas and New Year. I don't know why I've been so slack in blogging; I just it's just the slow-down-quietness of the week.  I've been one of the few people at the office this week (I love driving to downtown Atlanta during Limbo Week--no traffic :) Trying to get projects done before the end of the year when the phones and emails are quiet.  I love Limbo Week.

Let's see what have I been up to...

working on the gazillion of 1 1/2" finished half-square triangles for the Bonnie Hunter mystery. I have 240 of the 600 needed so far. I'm using Thangles to make these and it may never end...




Here are a couple of cool lucky wins I won right before Christmas
from Sinta and Sherri's Le Petite Projects of the Year monthly giveaway a gift certificate to Quilt Taffy.  Here's my loot with a sweet note from lovely Corrie.  You can visit her blog here and the etsy shop at the link above--great prices and fast shipping gotta love it!






and a giveaway from the most wonderful Alma of Blackbird Designs
Little bitty cutie charm packs of 2-inch squares of their new line for Moda called Antique Fair.  These are too cute and precious to open! 

Ah hem I also bought a wee little bit of a present or two for myself during those great holiday sales that kept overflowing my inbox (I have no willpower....)
A fat eighth bundle of "Morris Tapestry" (I CANNOT resist William Morris fabric especially in purple and especially with the Strawberry Thief design) and a couple of charm packs of the new Kate Spain "Central Park" (great new line love it!) from Crazyquiltgirl Fabric Shop (another great shop with super fast shipping!)  And a couple of patterns from Fat Quarter Shop's sale.

And lastly, a recommendation of an excellent book for history buffs.  I borrowed my copy from the library but lots of you bloggers out there got those spiffy new e-readers so you may want to check it out electronically. I really enjoyed Simon Winchester's previous books:  Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded;  The Meaning of Everything:  The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary; and A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906. If you like well-written, accessible, and interesting  history, science, natural phenomena, weather, naval history, military history, social history, oceanography, biology, anthropology, and many many other ologies, you will probably enjoy this book.  I like lots of ologies but that's just me.

OK I think I'm all caught up.  One more day of 2010 to go.

Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt RRCB step 3

Instead of working on my to do list yesterday, I goofed around and played with fabric and surfed around blogland before scrambling around to get the laundry, housework, cooking, and oh yeah picking up S and E at the airport.
I worked on my Le Petite project Saturday night and now just need to do the borders. 

I also worked on Step 3 which is 60 - 8 1/2" string pieced blocks.  I had two boxes of neutral scraps of all shapes and sizes so got those out....

and made a huge mess!!!  Poor Stella nearly got lost in it.

I am so happy to use these scraps up! What was I thinking saving crazy bits and pieces of all sorts of sizes???!!?? I now cut scraps up in usable sizes and sort by size rather than color. 

I have 10 blocks made (you can always tell when I take late afternoon photos in winter).
And 50 more to go...

Comfort and Joy

Even though today was a dreary, gray, cold, drizzly, damp day in the ATL, quilters at the Silver Thimble Quilt Club were comfortable inside and sewing with joy.  We snacked on tons of goodies from today's "Bring a Thing in a Dish" (other people may know this as a potluck but this is what Pat called it).  Quilters sure can bring lots of food--we had lots of ham, bread, rolls, desserts, munchies but no fruit or veggies (cracked me up!).

There's always great show n tell at Thimbles.  Here's Karin with her X-Block quilt.  Love the fabrics.

And this is a STUNNING Baltimore album block by (a different) Pat, who took a class from the expert Baltimore album lady Elly Sienkiewicz. The birds are made of silk ribbons and are just wonderful.

Some quilters were working on Bonnie Hunter's current mystery quilt including me. I did all the easy steps. Here is my step 4 blocks.  I'm doing different colors--purple, green, black, and something else that I haven't decided yet.  We all discussed the best way to make 600 half-square triangles for step 5 (face it, there isn't a best way to make 600 HST...).  

 While on the topic of obscene numbers of blocks to make, our little swap group is making a quilt that takes 848 -1 1/2 inch squares.  There's another crazy number.  Kristie sewed 846 and realized she need to cut 2 more (this cracked me up too!)   


Lots of us were planning new projects for 2011 and making lists of UFOs to work on.  Karin was already moaning and complaining about doing applique in 2011 (she calls it heinous applique!). Melisa at Sweet Home is hosting Pat's new Block of the Month pattern called "Comfort & Joy".  Karin has signed up to make this quilt and she is going to LOVE LOVE LOVE doing applique in 2011. 

Comfort & Joy by Pat Wys, Silver Thimble Quilt Co.

Everyone is going to support her through it but we may end up as one friend said "jibbering in the corner" LOL!!!  If you want to join Karin's support group in on the fun, you can order this BOM via Melisa's website.  

I am so thankful to have such fun, wonderful, talented friends in my life.

This evening, I'm working on Le Petite project for this month in between catching up on blog posts.

One Day Done; Two More to Go

I am so excited about having a short work week this week.  I am really enjoying not being crazy working two jobs and dealing with Thanksgiving madness. I actually get to enjoy the holiday!  I have all the grocery shopping done and even though it's just me and S. (and the 4 cats who meow for whatever we are eating), I am cooking the turkey, dressing (in the South it is cornbread dressing never stuffing), mashed potatoes, yada yada all that, the whole nine yards, and pecan pie. I'm sure we will be eating leftovers for eons....

Oh I forgot to post my goodies from Saturday's trip to Little Quilts.  We had a great trip to Marietta with lunch at Williamson Bros.and walk around the square antiquing and a stop by the quilt shop.

Oh look there's Stella again....

A few new Jo Morton fat quarters and a free yard of fabric (earned by collecting receipts). I did look at every-single-last-thing in the store (just ask S. who was beyond patient).  


Yesterday, I watched four (count them--four hours) of the new AMC show "The Walking Dead" (Zombies!  In Atlanta!  Love it! and a friend of mine was a zombie in the first episode) and cut eleventy hundred 2" strips from stash for Bonnie Hunter's new mystery quilt. 


Here's Step one finished.  I changed the colors to purple and green instead of pink (not a fan!) and green.

I also started getting caught up on the U.K. jelly roll BOM (I'm a few months behind).  So that is the latest here. Two more days of work and then four days off. Yea! 

Monday's Questions

Question 1:  How did I not post this weekend?  Beats me. I was all over blogland but didn't stop by my own blog.  I had a very productive weekend though. 

Went on a walk to enjoy the little bit of local autumnal-ness after a too hot and dry summer



Worked on my Groovy Girls homework (need to get a photo though oops!)  Yes that Bad Melisa gives us homework and bribes us with punches in our Groovy Girls punch card (she is so clever!)

Made two Seuss-ful pillowcases

 And finished up Bonnie Hunter's Christmas Lights mystery from July 2009. Just in time for her next mystery coming up all too soon. 
I am proud to say that I made this all from stash. 

Also did all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, yada yada yada boring stuff....

Question 2:  What was the most overheard saying at my house this weekend?
Edgar! Edgar! Edgar! Edgar! Edgar!

Question 3:  Who was a bad puddy cat and got into all kinds of trouble all weekend? 

See question 2. 

PS:  I know he looks sorry but he's really planning his next mischief.
PPS:  We just love those bad ol' puddy cats.

Finally a Finish!

Oh finally a finished-finished quilt. Binding and all. It is the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt called "Orange Crush."  I made mine in Mardi Gras colors.  It is a HUGE quilt  and I had to use a fence as a quilt holder.

I adore this quilt and cannot wait to get it all washed and dried and snuggly.

The backing fabric is a Minick & Simpson fabric by Moda. If you click on the photo, you can see the wonderful long-arm quilting by Awesome Beth.

Gomez has already tested and approved this quilt for napping purposes. 

Waiting for a Refrigerator

First of all, hooray for September on the first day of September! We are just a little closer to Fall, my favorite season. I am home today waiting for the new refrigerator to be delivered. Unfortunately, a refrigerator appears to be a necessity in the modern age (especially in Hotlanta). While at home for the day, I decided to get my weekend chores done so I won't have to do them this weekend and spend the long weekend playing with fabric instead.

I'm still working away on Double Delight
Good thing I thought of someone to give this quilt to because it's just a little to pink for me. I like the quilt, just not all the pinky pink. Pink is my absolute least favorite color. In fact I didn't even like pink as a little girl.

I liked purple (Still do!)....

Back in the early 1970s when purple was hard to find....

Among all that avocado green, rusty orange, and mushroomy brown....(I think these colors are coming back though...)

In honor of September, which is one more month closer to October (my favorite month), I decided to prep a new Halloween project from Minick & Simpson's most delightful (and purple-y) Halloween line.
Can't wait to start working on this quilt!

Thimbles, Loitering Quilts, and Little Quilts To Go

Yesterday was an overdose of fun at Silver Thimbles Quilt Club. If you could bottle up the energy, creativity, friendship, and fun in that room, we could power America for at least a week. The usual Saturday gang was there and also some Friday people who I don't get to see much of outside of blogland including Karmen. (PS: I forgot my camera so you'll have to visit Pat at silverthimbletalk.blogspot.com for photos)

I finally figured out who to give my Bonnie Hunter Double Delight quilt to so I brought that to work on. This is one of my Loitering Quilts. You know the kind. One of those projects you always carrying around and work on for awhile, then put aside, then pick up again, then wonder why you started it in the first place, then work on again, then get annoyed with because it's always in the way and taking up space on your work table...a loitering quilt. Now that this quilt has a purpose, maybe it will finally get done.

I was somewhat dismayed to find out the Squaring Up Elf had not visited the project bag and finished squaring up all these square in a squares.
She is so fired. These are all oversized, which is a good thing since apparently I sewed some of them on Planet Crooked. So I had lots of trimming to do. Trimming is good at Thimbles because you can chat and trim better than chat and measure.
These are the two types of blocks for the quilt
Did you notice that there are nine-patches in here? One of the reasons for this Loitering Quilt is there are 500 million 3 1/2" nine-patches in this quilt. I have just finished making 900 million for Pat's Scrappy Nines (although if you ask her, she says there's 168 or some such number). I have 70 (!!!!) more nine-patches to make for Double Delight. So I worked on that too. yea.....

The project for Thimbles this month is a quilt I have already made (see Karin's in progress here). Since I am on a one-job budget now, I am trying to resist buying stuff at Thimbles. It was really difficult this month because Mary Ellen of Little Quilts brought the whole dang store to Thimbles and showed us all the new kits, fabrics, rulers, projects, etc. (Little Quilts To Go!) I remarked to Karin that it was like none of us had ever seen fabric before! I bought a little bundle of shirtings on sale. Whew! It was close!! Mary Ellen showed me a great ruler for trimming square in a squares and I resisted for now. If I ever make another quilt with a zillion sq.in a sq., it will be nice to have but I really try not to buy lots of specialty rulers because inevitability a newer, better, easier one comes along in a few months.

I also received the directions from math genius Kristie for our next swap. Not only is she a wonderful person but she figures out all the fabric math figuring the rest of us avoid. This is the third swap for our little group and I haven't started the last two. Yet, it still seems like I am busting stash if not really. We are swapping 5" square for this quilt from the book Nickel Quilts by Pat Speth. Kristie figured out we needed to each give 28.8 5" squares to each person but she rounded to 30. Although I first (jokingly) insisted that I was going to do 28.8 squares, I then realized this caused more math ( 0.8 of 5" YIKES!) and capitulated.

So today is more sewing and making nine-patches.

Starting the new year

I started off the new year busy sewing. Although I am not making it an official resolution, I am going to be diligent on getting UFOs finished. Starting off, I finally got around to putting the borders on my Mardi Gras quilt (aka Bonnie Hunter's Orange Crush mystery quilt).
(This is half of the quilt--too big to get the whole quilt in the photo--and the backing fabric). This will be the next quilt off to the long-arm quilter...

I also finished another quilt top (photo after it is gifted sorry!) So that is TWO quilt tops finished and it's only January 4th! Yea!

While I was in Michigan, I made a zillion of these for Bonnie Hunter's Double Delight quilt. Still need to make a zillion more I think. I also have pulled fabric for the Carolina Christmas quilt, got caught up on BOMs, and cut all the strips for my fabric swap. Whew! We are on a quilting roll so far!