Summer Stitch In 2012

As Pat said on her blog, Summer Stitch In is the funnest fun that ever was fun.  About 35 quilters from our Silver Thimble Quilt club come for 6 days from 9AM to 9PM for non-stop sewing and laughing and sharing (and a bit of eating) and more sewing.  Check out her blog for lots more photos and a funny story (or 20).  It's like a retreat except you can go home and sleep in your own bed.

Because of my jobs, I don't get to go for the full week but this year I went for Friday and Saturday.  Let me tell you, I needed some fun time.  And after 72 hours of quilting, caffeine, chocolate, snacks, more caffeine, and more chocolate, my friends get really loopy fun.

I just realized that I didn't take many photos.  Must have been sewing too much.

First up. I FINALLY finished the borders on my Civil War Block of the Week.

 I love this quilt.  I love this quilt, not only because it has some of my most favorite fabrics and I thoroughly enjoyed Barbara's wonderful stories every week, but because 2011 was a rough year for me and this quilt represents my perseverance through all that craziness and sadness of last year.

Pat showed me how to miter the borders since I chose not only a stripe but a stripe with a complicated pattern. Yea me.  She has a great, easy method though and if you have her book Spotlight on Neutrals, it's in there.  Love this fabric though; it's Barbara Brackman's Civil War Reunion line.

Here's another view.

  

I also started and finished this quick jelly roll quilt from the wonderful Jelly Roll Quilts book.  It's called Spiral Strips and the fabric line is an older Holly Taylor for Moda called "Natural Garden."

And here is Karin's mostest fabulous Eventide quilt out of French General fabrics.  She made this quilt just for me. 

Karin and Becky with Karin's Eventide quilt

 I wish. 

I love it!!!  

I also got everyone completely hooked on Starbucks new Refreshers energy drinks.  Have you tried them?  They are completely and utterly THE BEST THING ON THE PLANET and you need to buy lots and lots and lots.  And I can say this because I work there and I am hooked to :)  Oh yeah and we get stock options.  Hee hee!

Hi! Yes I'm Still Here!

Hi! Long time no post!  I am sneaking easing into the new year.  After working beaucoup at Starbucks for November and December, I had a four-day weekend last weekend and caught up on some much needed sleep and got completely hooked on "Downton Abbey."  OMG this is the best period drama!  Season 2 starts tomorrow on your local PBS so if you haven't discovered it yet, you still have time to catch up (if you start right now!)

I also caught up on the Civil War Block of the Week quilt and finished all the blocks, sashes, sewed rows together and am deciding on borders.  Between CWBOW and 8 hours of Downton Abbey now you know why I didn't blog last weekend LOL!

Here are some of the blocks I made:

For one of the corner blocks I repeated the North Star block

Christmas Star

New York

Grapes of Wrath

Yankee Puzzle

West Virginia

As soon as I decide on the borders, I post the finished top.  I just love this quilt.  I think it is one of my absolute favorites and I can't wait to get it completely finished and quilted.   

Well now that it's well into January, I am, of course, already behind on quilt projects I want to do.  Sinta and Sherri are hosting Another Year of Schnibbles and I am joining in again to make these fun quilts.  For January, the pattern is "Full House" and I'm using some hoarded French General charm packs to make mine.  

 I also signed up for Judy at Patchwork Times' 2012 UFO Challenge. I had a dismal completion rate last year so I hope to improve this year by working on the same list.  For January, the UFO is number 5 on the list which is my "Stars of Provence" quilt. Here is one of the blocks I finished back in the Paleolithic era February 2007.  Now I just need to figure out where I left off nearly 5 years ago!!!

Remy, Royal Mail, A Gift, and a Block

A very awwwww photo of Remy with some of his favorite toys just because he is so darn cute and don't you just love those little toes???!!?? 

I was so very lucky to win a fun blog giveaway from Katy at I am a Ginger Monkey and this wonderful little bundle of mod fab goodness was sent all the way from England via Royal Mail.  I LOVE getting mail, especially fun mail, and Royal Mail with a gold sticker well that is even more better. Katy has a really cool, fun blog and she also is one of the designers/writers for the Fat Quarterly e-zine.  I signed up for a subscription and have a quilt all planned for these fat quarters--an out-of-my-box bright and solids mod quilt for when winter doldrums hit. 

    

I was so touched when I received a package from a sweet blog reader in south Georgia who sent me the most lovely note of encouragement and these gorgeous Civil War fabrics.  Quilters are the most generous thoughtful people ever. A proper thank you is coming and here's a public thank you too!

And to answer the big question, did I get to sew today?  Yes I did! After sleeping in for eternity and then I had to hem four pairs of pants (hemming is not sewing! I hate hemming pants!!!) And then I got to sew this one block LOL!

Don't look to close because it's rather wonky with 50-11 set-in seams but here is another Civil War block of the week block. This was a difficult block but it's staying the way it is because I'm not revisiting it.

Well it's back to work for everyone in the U.S tomorrow. Lots of rain and colder weather is headed towards Atlanta, which means it is going to be really hard to get out of bed in the morning.

Civil War Block of the Week: Catching Up

 I was surprised to find out I was six (6!!) weeks behind on Barbara Brackman's Civil War Block of the Week.  Last weekend, I (mostly) caught up.

Port and Starboard

Union

Right Hand of Friendship

H is for Hospital

Order Number Eleven 

I also finished another Hocuspocusville block when I was in Michigan last month.  This is block #7. I only have 2 1/2 blocks left to stitch. 

Recent Blocks for this Week

 Hovering Hawks was the block for Barbara Brackman's Civil War block of the week. I tried to use fabrics that had the coloring of a red-tailed hawk against a blue sky with clouds.

It's kind of busy but that was the thought.

 A couple of Farmer's Wife Quilt Along blocks. This is Checkerboard. I just used little scraps of whatever was on top of the scrap bag.

 and Whirlpool.  I thought this dark blue with dots reminded me of dark blue water with bubbles.  The background just had lots of movement.

And this is block 10 of Hocuspocusville.  This is the sixth block I've finished so I'm over halfway done. 

Civil War Blocks

I'm all caught up on blocks for Barbara Brackman's Civil War Block of the Week. 

Ohio Star

 Confederate Rose

 Kentucky Crossroads

 Star of the West












Have you seen Barbara Brackman's new blog about the War of 1812 called Quilt 1812: War and Piecing?  Next year will be the bicentennial of that war and she is posting about the very few early quilts that date from the first decades of the 19th century as well as design and fabric traditions from the time period.  Barbara Brackman is my Quilt Idol--serious scholarship, wonderful writer, and beautiful fabric & pattern designer.  Who is your Quilt Idol?

Weekend Blocks

I worked on lots of blocks this weekend for CW and FWQAL.

 Civil War Block of the Week--Indiana Puzzle

 and Rosebud

 Farmer's Wife Quilt A-Long--Postage Stamp

 Snowball (love this indigo-y purple fabric)

 Spool

 Temperance Tree

and Weathervane


Edited to add:  I found a new-to-me blog by Lori Holt that has great tutorials for some of the FWQAL blocks. Check out the tutorial for Weathervane here and her other tutorials by clicking on the "Tutorial" drawer on her sidebar.   

Guess It's Wednesday Night

Well this week is flying by.  I thought I posted since Saturday but I guess not lol!    I did get some sewing done this past weekend as well as going to see "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2."  Loved the movie and very sad to see the series end.

Here's my Civil War blocks.  Carolina Lily

 and Empty Spools from the week before.

 I started working on Honeycomb (a Schnibbles pattern).  I was really worried about sewing these blocks together into a row because there is a lot of bias edges and potential for wonky blocks is pretty high (like at least an 8 on the wonkiness potential scale).  I think I'll keep my eyes closed and my toes crossed that this little quilt turns out OK.

Under my ironing board.  Stella found a box that was a bit too small for her.  I'm getting a box of stuff together to send to my mom so maybe Stella wants to visit Grandma?   Well I think Grandma will have to come visit Stella because it doesn't look like Stella is going anywhere anytime soon. 

Looks like I'll have to find another box to mail too.

I Can't Think of a Title Tuesday

I'm feeling under the weather this week so I don't have much to say.  Here's what I've been working on:

 Gomez helped me finish the Simple Times Quilt Along Quilt .  I'll be posting the completed top with the rest of the parade on August 4th.  I doubt I'll get it quilted and bound by then but I might.

 Barbara Brackman's Civil War block of the week. Peterson's Flag and

 Railroad Crossing.

 FWQAL Big Dipper (left) and Broken Dishes (right)

FWQAL Box (right) and Bat Wing (left)

Stealth Stella & Some Blocks

 So happy that I caught this photo just before she pounced.

That's my Civil War block of the week quilt she is hiding behind.

And yes, she wrinkled it all up but that's OK.






Here's last week's Civil War block called Irish Chain.
I used a poison green fabric with shamrocks to reflect the name.














This week's block is called Next Door Neighbor.  I'm not entirely happy with my fabric selection but that's OK.

 Another FWQAL block.  Block #4 Basket Weave. Love these fabrics together and I'll probably use this combination in another block.