Belated Merry Christmas everyone!

Just getting some time on the computer. I've had company since Sunday night but have been able to get a little sewing time in. I have a quilt top completed - green and tan pinwheels that is about 60x83. Just need to get that pinned and ready for quilting. I have the charity quilt all pinned and ready for quilting tomorrow. Did a few Christmas coasters.. which Aidan likes to play with. I also did a little more quilting in DH's quilt border so it was completely finished before Christmas! That just needs to get washed to get the kitty hair off it so he has a dander free quilt to snuggle with.
I did get a new camera for Christmas! So now I'll take some pictures of the above things tomorrow to post. Never did find my other one.....
Have a great weekend everyone!

1 week until Christmas!

Is anyone ready? I think I have all my shopping done...just need to pick up one gift certificate for a family exchange and then I'm FINISHED! The tree is up and decorated, some things are out but not all of them. I really need to finish that and clean the house up good before Sunday when my MIL flys up for the holidays. She is allergic to cats... and we have 2 of them.

I have gotten a little time in the sewing room... I have some pinwheel blocks into rows with the sashing on each row. Just need to zip those together and add the borders. I also have all the pieces for the black and white quilt done, just need to sew them together. Also will sew up a few coasters for some quick extra gifts this weekend.
I am hoping that I can get 2-3 quilts quilted while my MIL is here to watch Aidan. The two above and a charity one for the quilt guild that has been sitting as a finished top for a good 4 months! Then I can just work on the bindings by hand in the early morning hours... since I seem to be waking up really early (5AM yesterday morning) or for an hour or two in the middle of the night lately. I'm also considering 'marking' one of my tops for hand quilting. It is a bear paw quilt in white and blue that I did about 7 years ago that has never been finished. I really want to do a big feathered design in the open spaces but have been putting that off for years. Might as well mark it and pin it while I have the room to do it in.

I also need to get back to working on fixing the quilt for my Mom....I've hand sewn what I can but need to 'repair' blocks now. Just have not been able to figure out the name of the blocks to find a pattern. Guess I'll have to try and 'make' the design from the original and see how it turns out.
Hope everyone has a happy holiday season.

Pictures....

A few pictures for you. Here are some of the bib's that I made for Aidan.



Parts 4+5 of my mystery quilt... although I will bring the triangles into the shop to verify that I cut them correctly before doing the last 30. The instructions say the triangle lines should only go to the inside edge of the template....so I'll just verify that.


The last is DH's quilt. Pretty much finished and in use well before Christmas! That was one big quilt.

Another quilt I am starting will end 60x60 and be black and white and red. I started cutting the white pieces out on Saturday night. This will be a work in progress for a couple of months.


I also had time and energy yesterday to work on my fall chelsea bag....got it quilted and then read the directions. It seems I cut the piece wrong! Should be 21x36... and it is 21x23! Oops...we'll see if they have similar fabric at the store when I go to check the mystery instruction later today...or I might just add some fabric to get the size I need. We'll see.
The pictures seem a little dark....I'm not used to the fancy camera. I did actually 'pick up' the sewing room and still can not find my camera...maybe Santa will bring me a new one for Christmas.
Time to jump in the shower and then maybe dust and vacuum the house before we head out to storytime later this morning.
Have a great day everyone.

Long time no post....

I have misplaced my camera so have not had any pictures to share. I really need to find that soon, I've gone through most of the house, car, etc and have NO CLUE where it is. DH got his out and charged so I guess I need to use his until mine turns up.
Aidan had pictures taken on Thursday and this was one of them...

I did get some sewing done this last week. I have made a bunch of bibs for Aidan since the ones I have are small and the velcro is not holding up well... he can pull it off too easily. So, I found this pattern and have been working away on that project.
I have most of DH's quilt quilted and the binding sewn down on the front. I just need to go back and quilt the outer border and hand sew the binding to the back! I should have that done before Christmas, thank goodness!
I also did just a quick blanket for Aidan using some snuggle flannel...I did the quick turn method and just need to sew it closed and put some ties into it.... he loves playing with them on my irish chain quilt that lives on the couch.
Ok, time to go trim down DH's quilt so I can start the binding tonight after Aidan goes to bed.
Have a great day everyone. I'll take some pics and post them once I figure out DH's camera.

It's a GIRL!!!

Just a quick note to let you know the Ultrasound yesterday looks like Aidan is getting a little sister!

I did get some quilting time in this weekend and have 34 of the 35 blocks of DH's quilt quilted..... ran out of thread.... so used some of my birthday gift cards to Joann's yesterday to get more. Hopefully I can get the last block done.. then figure out what to do in the borders. I am thinking leaves in the small green border and possibly the big green border.... not sure what to do in the flying geese border.... may just do in the ditch up each side. We'll see. I ended up with just a meander puzzle stitch but added some 'surprise' things in some of the blocks like a couple of hearts, a pumpkin, a bat, a flower, etc. I also finished my mystery quilt homework. I need to take some pictures and post them. Will try to add that in later today.
Have a great day everyone.

November!!!

Well, it has been a while since I posted. Aidan is much better now and is over his bronchitis. He did get his third tooth last week, so has been sleep crying once or twice a night since last Wednesday.... I can't wait until all the teeth are in and that will stop!
I did bring my machine in for service and there was thread clogged in the tension area, so it is all better now and sewing great. She also told me a trick.... use a very used dollar bill (so it is soft), fold it and run through the tension to clear it of threads. Anyone ever heard of that or is it just a Quilt Designer Viking thing?

I have made progress on my mystery quilt from my LQS. I did buy a new tool, the Tucker Trimmer and it works great! Part of the blocks are hourglass ones that are oversized to trim down.... I tried one without the new ruler and decided to invest in the trimmer. Used it once and am in love with it. This is a Deb Tucker ruler... she actually was talking at our guild meeting this spring and has some neat patterns and tools. I'll try to take some pictures of the 'quilt in progress' later today to post.

I also started machine quilting DH's quilt... I only got 3 blocks done but that is progress. I hope to get a couple more blocks quilted today while Aidan is napping if I can get some quick outside stuff done... fill the birdfeeders, toss the pumpkins and take down the halloween stuff.

Today we are off to Church Street for lunch with Greg and then since it is nice out, Aidan and I will stroll around and do some window shopping this afternoon. Tomorrow, we'll travel down to visit with my parents since they haven't seen him in about 3-4 weeks. Boy has he changed in that time! He is walking while holding onto things now.....I am so not ready for him to start walking yet! He's not even 9 months until tomorrow!
This is him in the swing after our walk yesterday.

Two days ago in big boy clothes...he pulls himself up onto everything right now.



The next big thing..... our Ultrasound is Monday when we hope to find out if the next baby is a boy or girl!
Ok, time to get moving so I can get quilting!
Have a great week eveyone.
Deb

Sick kid....

Well, no time to play with the machine tension yet, hopefully tonight. I have done some knitting - finished another dish cloth and plugging away on some socks. A little tough to do though, since Aidan is worse than the cats with trying to get the yarn... so can only do it while he is sleeping.
I took Aidan to the doctor this morning and he has bronchitis! Poor little guy. He has been coughing for over a week and is not his usual self... although it hasn't stopped him from pulling himself up onto anything he can find! Got some medicine into him this afternoon and hopefully that will kick in soon and he'll start eating again.
I get a day out Sunday! Card making from 9-2 and then I need to prebowl for my Tuesday night league since G has to work late that night. I missed this week because I picked up Aidan wrong that morning and strained my lower back. Better now, but I need to be more careful when picking him up from now on.
Ok, will go try to play with the machine while he is napping.
Have a great weekend everyone.
Deb

Tension issues.....

Arrrgghhh! I had some tension issues last week when doing some sewing for my mystery quilt, but by changing the thread and rethreading everything and cleaning it got better.... for a little bit. Yesterday, nothing I did fixed it. Changed thread, bobbin thread, cleaned it, etc... So I think my Viking has to go in for service. I lugged out the old 'Craft and Sew' machine that has not been used in a couple of years. Cleaned it and then had to figure out where everything was. Took me 5 minutes to find the presser foot up down thing! I got spoiled with my Viking. Did a practice sew and boy does it sound awful! Very clunky and not smooth at all, but the tension is good. So, the delima is..... do I wait for the Viking to get serviced (they are not open until Tuesday and I have no clue how long it will take) or sew my homework on the old machine? It is not due until next Saturday so I have almost 2 weeks to get it done. Thoughts?

On a happier note.... I got some good pictures of Aidan last week outside. He has since come down with a nasty cough and cold that is finally getting better.

Progress.....

Well, I have managed to get a few things done... but none on my list!
We were starting to look at vans since it is a little difficult for me to get my 22 pound 8 month old in and out of my car, into his carseat without bumping his head.... and this without the pregnant belly yet! So, we started looking at vans.... and test drove one on Saturday and will pick it up on Thursday! Yea!!!!

I also finally got 2 towel tops crocheted for my Mom...
they are for Thanksgiving and I think she gave me the towel earlier this year. So, that is finally done. Just need to do a few more for her since it sounds like hers need replacing... and she always has one hanging on her stove in the kitchen. I'm going to let her put the buttons on though! These are quick and only take about 30 minutes to make.
I also got a few hours of sewing in on Sunday so I could get my homework done for my mystery quilt. I did 40, 4 inch blocks using my accent and medium background fabrics.... so yellow and green batiks for these blocks. Here is a picture of the fabrics that will be in this mystery quilt. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.
The fabrics are cut out for my autumn chelsea bag... just need to start working on that. So will sign off and get up to the sewing room while Aidan is napping and before I need to start dinner.

Old quilt.....

Well, our visit with Grandma from Florida went well and most everyone has gotten over our colds this week. I have gotten almost nothing done, since the boy is extremely mobile now and is getting into everything! Oh, to go back a month where he pretty much stayed where I put him.... but then he says 'Mama' and holds out his arms for a hug and gives baby kisses and all is better! He says 'Baba' (bottle) and 'Mama' all the time now and said 'granpa' on Monday! He sure was keeping an eye on Grandpa while we were visiting! Here he is this morning with his big bear.



I did get down to visit my parents on Monday with Aidan and my Mom asked if I could repair a quilt for her. This is a special quilt for her since it is the last one her Mom made (my Grammy M) before she died in the late 70's. My nieces and brother were living with them for a few years when he got his divorce and my niece J took a likeing to it. She asked if she could bring it to her new home and my Mom agreed she could borrow it for a little while. Well... 2 years later and my Mom bought a quilt bedding set for her room so she could get her quilt back. When they returned it...my parents were not home. When Mom took a look at it, one block has lots of pieces that are pulled up from fabric breakage, a few other blocks have places where the seam opened and the whole binding has a tear at the middle all around the quilt. Knowing that I got a box of my grammy's fabrics and her treddle sewing machine, Mom asked if I could try to repair it. We discussed what to do and I'll give it a shot. I will just put a binding over the existing one, blind stitch the little gaps/tears and will attempt to make a block of the same pattern using the fabrics from my box and fuse it down over the existing one and then stitch it in place. I hope I am able to do it without damaging the quilt too much.
The quilt. I am not sure of the pattern name.

Damage pictures.. and the binding.



I did manage to finally finish one sock I started knitting last fall! Now, if I can finish the other one before next fall, I'm doing good!

I've also been reading a lot. I have read at least 8 of the Jennifer Chiaverini - Elm Creek Quilt series of books. I am addicted! I am currently reading the Circle of Quilters.
Another series I read late this summer is the Emilie Richards - Shenandoah Valley series. I passed my books to my Mom, who passed them to both my sisters. Another set of good books I'd recommend.
Ok, need to make some phone calls while boy is napping.
Have a great day everyone.

October already!

Well, I did not get many things done on my 'to do' list for last month.
I did get a quilting hoop, finished my 'test' Chelsea bag and have the fabric cut for the 'fall' one. I started a mystery quilt at my LQS - have the fabric and am done the first homework assignment. Did my guild block for sharing and one for me. I also helped finish organizing a one day technical conference that was held on the 30th, so have been a little busy with that the last 2 weeks. DH and I also got 2 nights out for dinner by ourselves this week! We also started Aidan's water classes and those are going well. He was actually kicking a little bit last week in his third class... not bad for a 7.5 month old.
This is the reason that I get so little done... but he is worth it.


Aidan has been doing lots of new things this week.... he started crawling forward on Saturday morning. He can now go from laying down to sitting up (as of this afternoon!) and is getting into EVERYTHING! He is feeding himself puffs... most of the time. Yikes, he is growing up way too fast. We also have had my MIL visiting since last Friday so things have been a little out of the normal routine with that and the conference happenings.

My 'to do' list for this month.
1.) call the bulb company and see if they are going to ship my order or not... then plant if they ever show up. Arrghhh I hate mail order companies!
2.) close up the veggie garden and expand/till it so it is ready for next year. (this weekend!)
3.) go apple picking and make applesauce, pies and whatever else I can think of.
4.) Make a fall chelsea bag
5.) Make my Quilt Guild BOM block.
6.) Continue Mystery Quilt at LQS.
7.) Machine quilt DH's quilt... (since I don't seem to be hand quilting it.)
8.) Put together the pinwheel quilt top and machine quilt it... will need to create a top and bottom border to make it big enough to cover the inside front door to limit drafts this winter. Will try quilt as you go method.
9.) Quilt the charity quilt and finish the binding.
10.) Make black/white and red baby quilt ... need more fabrics.
11.) Work on some leaf blocks from a very old WIP... I think I need 11 more blocks to complete the top.
12.) Pumpkin wall hanging.
13.) Whatever else jumps in as a whim to get done.

Ok, boy is awake and dinner needs making.
Have a great week everyone.

It's officially Autumn!

and the weather feels like it. A bit chilly this morning... I just hope it did not get down to 32 or below, since I did not cover the pepper plant and herbs.

Did not get much done this weekend. Aidan did good in the pool again on Saturday. I did go to the first class of the mystery quilt and got all the cutting instructions. I was able to get my fabric ironed and cut yesterday during Aidan's nap...I just need to go pick out the inner border and cut that.

Had a baby doctor ultrasound screening yesterday, but won't know the results for a week or so. Have my regular checkup this morning... I think. I did not get a 'reminder call' so will check when they open at 8. Hope to go to the gym after and then really need to get groceries, since I have not made it there the last 3 days.
Also need to clean up the house this week, my MIL is flying up from Florida on Friday for a week.
No pictures this morning.... need to go feed the boy breakfast.
Have a great day everyone.

Guild BOM completed....

I got some sewing time in today and was able to make the guild BOM for the drawing and one for me. I was given the 'focus' fabric for the guild one... the print and had a tough time finding something to coordinate with it. I went with the dark brown and think it came out ok.


I decided that we really need a quilt for our bed that goes with our room - yellow walls and blue carpeting. So I found a bunch of this mottled blue and a few fQ's of a pretty yellow/gold that I think will look good as a quilt. The pattern is from Marsha Hahn's website and the pattern is called Chisholm Trail.



We did the first water class with Aidan on Saturday, who did great. No crying and he was good in the water, even kicked a few times! Of course he loved to slap the water with his hands too... to cause the splashing. I think grandma will have a blast in 2 weeks when she is visiting us from Florida. I told her to bring her bathing suit and she can take my place in the water that day. We did not get any pictures... maybe next week.

Oh, I finally went and picked out my fabrics for the LQS mystery that starts next Saturday..... all Batiks. I have never worked with batiks or done a 'real' mystery so it will be interesting to see how it turns out. The colors will be blues,greens, purples, and yellow. I hope it looks ok when it is completed. I had help picking out these fabrics from someone in the store. The print - purple with shades of green and blues goes well with the basic fabrics that I will get at the first class. The light blue and green are my light and medium background fabrics and the yellow I hope will make it pop, as that is the accent fabric. We'll see in a few months.


It has been crazy windy here last night and this morning... the remnants of Ike. No rain or damage just really windy.
Have a great day everyone.

Chelsea bag, completed!

I got the pattern for the Lazy Girl Chelsea bag last summer/fall and started making my 'practice' bag earlier this summer. I finally finished it last night!

So, two things checked off my list so far. I also bought a hoop for hand quilting and did a little bit last night after finishing the bag. I was going to cut out my shashings for the pinwheel quilt.... but was trying to work off my stash and really do not like the 3 things I pulled as possible. I think we'll take a trip to the fabric stores today and see what I can find. The pinwheel quilt is the 'leftovers' from my hubbys quilt using the Nickle quilts book patterns. I tried a medium and light beige and a mottled dark green but neither is looking good to me. I think I want a medium color pattern that has both greens and browns in it....lets hope I can find some today. I also need to select my fabrics for the mystery quilt that starts on the 20th.

The reason I got some sewing in last night - Aidan fell asleep in his high chair a little after 6 last night. He was sleep eating at the end, eyes closed but kept opening his mouth and was chomping and swallowing his food. I guess he had a busy day yesterday with only a 1.5 hour nap in the morning. We went to lunch with some former co-workers of mine (one of my clients as I was a consulting computer programmer) and he was so good at the chinese buffet. Just looking around and playing pick up with his toys while I ate and chatted.
After a crying in his sleep around 9, he was only up for 15 minutes and slept though the night until 6:15 this morning! Either a growth spurt, cold or he will reach a milestone soon.
Here he is this morning playing with his bus.


Mr. rolley has rolled across the living room, so I guess it is time to go make him breakfast. Have a great day everyone.

Thread...

Well, in between canning tomato's on Saturday I did do some errands/shopping. Groceries and just had to go to the big store so I could hit Joann's and the quilting thread place. They had sent out an e-mail to guild members saying that Saturday the thread was 50% off.... so I figured I'd stop in and try some 'good' thread. I got a King Tut, a Alex Anderson Master Piece and a Bottom Line. Just got neutral colors so will try them out over the next month or two.

Been busy this morning - baked some pears for Aidan food - some in the fridge for his fruits for the next day or two and some in the freezer. Also did some plums and hopefully those freeze ok. Folded a couple loads of laundry from yesterday and put some new loads in.... had to get the 12 months clothes out of the big box and get that washed. He is growing so fast... and that gives me the long sleeves and long pants we need now as the weather is getting chilly. Heading out to lunch with some friends so need to jump in the shower while he is napping.

Busy in the kitchen....

Well, I am feeling better finally. That bug was really energy sapping. Got out of the house on Friday and got a bunch of things at the farm stand... so Friday I made raspberry freezer jam and yesterday I canned 1/2 a bushel of tomato's. Need to check that the last few sealed and then will label them and put them in the basement. Today, DH got up with Aidan at 5:15 so I could sleep in! Wasn't that sweet! I am planning to head out to see a friend for lunch and a long walk on the bike path today. She lives a good hour away so it is usually a 4-6 hour trip. Maybe I can get a little sewing in tonight... depends on if I take Aidan with me or not, if I do, then I get sewing time!!!
No quilting pictures, so here is a couple of pictures of Aidan from a couple of weeks ago when DH was out of town all week. The first is him in his new rocking chair... he was getting to0 big for the bouncer with his 20 pound self.


The second is him sleeping while we were at the local fair with my parents, sister and her two kids. Don't you just love the pooh outfit from Gina.... it was chilly that day so it was the perfect outfit to keep him warm.


Hope you all have a great week.

A package!

I got a package in the mail from Moneik Tuesday. It was such a surprise and a lovely little bag from their out cut, out sew, out quilt month! Thank you so much. That will come in handy for sewing supplies in the living room until Aidan learns how to do zippers!


Thanks for all the congrats. I have a feeling my sewing time will be close to nothing for a few months after the baby arrives... but then I hope to grab a few hours each weekend while DH watches the 'kids'. It will be interesting to see if that works out or not! Guess I better get busy on my list for this month while I still have a sewing room.

Have a great day everyone.

September.....

Wow, where did the last month go? And Summer..... a few more days of unusually hot weather here and then the chill in the air will start again. I've actually seen a few autumn colored leaves fall to the ground already... It is way too soon for that.

Sadly, I only got one quilt quilted and bound this month and DH's quilt pinned for quilting... but nothing else! I'm blaming it on hot weather (too hot upstairs to sew!) and feeling a wee bit tired at night due to the pregnancy. Yup, pregnant again and due March 31st! So, the kids will be 13 months apart. I'll have my hands full next year. That also means I really need to get a few more quilt tops pinned (before a big belly make it difficult) and quilted this fall while I still have a sewing room to play in.

My plans this month.....
1.) find my hoop so I can start hand quilting DH's quilt. I'd like to do one block a day...but we'll see. Or.. go to Michaels/Joanns and get one! Done!
2.) Plant the new bulbs and flowers I have being delivered in the next couple of weeks and expand the flower beds a little. Also get another truck of mulch and spread among the 8 flower gardens.
3.) close up the veggie garden mid month and expand/till it so it is ready for next year.
4.) finish my chelsea 'play' bag in cream and blue.Done
5.) Make a fall chelsea bag
6.) Put together the pinwheel quilt top and machine quilt it... will need to create a top and bottom border to make it big enough to cover the inside front door to limit drafts this winter.
7.) Quilt and bind the black/red BOM quilt. freehand stars and loops I think.
8.) Start a mystery quilt at my quilt shop on the 20th.... Need to go pick out my fabrics too!
9.) Aidan's water class starts Saturday the 13th... First one down!
10.) Play with my thangles and make a fall tablerunner....
11.) Make the BOM for the quilt guild meeting on the 17th... one to share and one for me! Done
12.) Quilt the charity quilt and finish the binding.
We'll see how well I do.

Went out to camp on Sunday as the power company had cut down 6 trees my Dad had marked and the guys were busy cutting and splitting and shredding things all day. I got home and was sick as a dog for the night and was a little better if I didn't do much on Monday. I guess it was a 24 hour bug that hopefully is all gone. Will try to take it easy today, since bowling starts tonight and I don't want to miss it.
Ok, off to shower and then need to start some laundry and update the grocery list.
Hope everyone has a good day.

Checking in...

Another week with little sewing but I did get some work done on my Chelsea bag. Almost completed... but I sewed the straps wrong so had to take it out and was 'done for the day' after that. Will try to get back to it tomorrow morning and hopefully finish it.
We went for a drive this afternoon to check out trees... my MIL gave us money towards an Aidan tree when he was born... something to plant and then take his picture in front of every year on his birthday. We didn't see anything we liked... but have seen a few online so will order it and plant it next spring... which we will probably just get 2 trees since we will need it by then. I can't remember the kind of tree DH wants for Aidan.. but it will flower in the spring, have fruits (not edible but could be made into jams) in summer and changes colors in the fall. For the second one, I like the idea of a Hazelnut tree for the front flower bed we will hopefully be expanding on next year. We'll also get some blueberry bushes, yummy!
After we hit the garden center... we went to ToysRUs and got a new bouncy/rocker for Aidan that is good up to 40 pounds. His current one is almost too small for him... a whopping 19 pounds and 14 ounces at his 6 month appointment yesterday! Then DH was hungry so we chanced having a late lunch (2:30ish) in a restaurant and Aidan was such a good boy! We had a nice relaxing meal. Gotta love that.
Tomorrow I am going to a tea for a Longerberger Breast Cancer party with an old friend. I have been going to this for the last 4 or 5 years and it should be a fun time. This year it is a tea being held in someone's perennial garden which should be an interesting change of pace. I have never been to a 'tea' before so this is something new for me.
Hopefully I will be able to post a finished picture of my Chelsea bag tomorrow....
until then, happy quilting everyone.
Deb

Monday...

Well, it was a completely unproductive week. I did manage to go blueberry picking with Aidan on Tuesday and got a few of them frozen for tasty treats this winter. With the rainy week we had, I am sad to say I got no sewing done. I was a little under the weather this weekend.... just lazy I think and got a bout of heartburn that just keeps coming back. Then a splitting headache yesterday afternoon for a good 6 hours... not fun with a babbling baby.
I did order the 2 civil war diary books and got them from Amazon 2 days later! Gotta love that service. I don't think I will be starting that project this year but look forward to doing that sometime in the future.
I also signed up for a mystery quilt using batiks... something I have never worked with. I stopped in at my LQS on Friday and got the info and materials list. The ladies there were great helping me with ideas for the fabric choices and were having a great time talking to Aidan while Mommy browsed. I'll have to pop back into the store sometime and buy the fabrics I need but I have a good month before the class starts. I selected greens and blues for the colorway...and this might become a gift for someone who loves those colors. We'll see how it turns out first.
I need to go grab fabric from my stash to do the quilt that Beth at bzyqltr is doing on her blog. I am thinking I might do a scrappy version.. but have not decided yet. We'll see what I pick out for fabrics.
Hope everyone has a great week.

Chaos quilt completed!.. almost.

I did get a bunch of sewing time in this weekend (thanks hubby!) and was able to pin, FMQ and get the binding sewn onto the quilt. I just need to finish hand sewing the last side down to the quilt. I think Aidan already likes this one with the bright colors... he was staring at it yesterday as soon as I brought it downstairs... and was looking at it all night! I guess he likes the kitty faces in bright colors on the black background for the backing. Here is a picture of the front... sorry it is not flat but it is a big quilt! 70x70.

Now I know that is too big to quilt on my machine... way too bulky in the middle. I just used a black cotton thread for the quilting on top and bobbin. I am getting better at this but still not 'perfect'. Good thing I still have a good 6-8 tops that need to get quilted. I hope to get through them by the end of the year... since I will be losing my quilting room early next year... or rather relocating it somewhere else in the house.


The goals this week are to make a Chelsea bag and get DH's quilt pinned. I also want to go blueberry picking and possibly raspberry picking this week and get those frozen and possibly make some jam.... it looks like a rainy week so we'll see if that gets done or not. Oh, and will try to get back to my 'normal' gym schedule too, since I only made it there twice last week.
Ok, time for Aidan's breakfast. Hope you all have a great week.

Deb

Heathers star block .... completed!

Well, I have been very tired the last week or two so have not gotten too much done. Finally got in gear and got lots of things done today... including Heathers block. A bunch of us are each doing a block in red, white and blue and sending it off to Moneik who will assemble and quilt it. Now I just need to get to the post office and mail it off.

A second quilt completed!

Here is a picture of the quilt that I FMQ'd on Sunday and finished the binding on Tuesday night. It also has been 'christened' by Aidan... before the binding was finished. DH had him on the couch between us and he rolled over to his belly and spit up on it. I didn't have enough of the blue fabric for the binding since this was a true scrap quilt from stash, so I used the leftover green, pink and blue for a colorful binding.
It has been a busy week and I can't believe it is Friday already. This weekend I hope to finish another quilt (guess I need to throw the black kitty fabric into the wash since that is the backing for the 'chaos' quilt ) and would love to get DH's quilt pinned so I can start hand quilting that next week. I still have no clue as to what pattern I should quilt.... Any ideas?

A fully completed quilt!!!

I got lots of sewing time in this weekend (around 10 hours!) and finally got to play with the free motion quilting. Aidan's puppy quilt is quilted, bound and in use on the floor already... and has been cristened with baby spitup. I also pinned and quilted another baby quilt yesterday and got that quilted. I just need to finish the binding and put that on. Now that I have overcome my fears of FMQ, I have a feeling I will be finishing lots of those quilt tops I have sitting in my closet this year! Here is a picture of Aidan's puppy quilt with a closeup of the quilting in the second photo.


I hope to get the binding onto the second quilt today... but have a list of chores to do today with a few errands to run so may not get to that until tonight.
Have a great day everyone.

Update...

Aidan was a good boy at the gym and only got fussy about the time I went in to get him! We'll try it again this afternoon. Going to lunch with a friend today and then will hit a store or two while we are out before heading to the gym this afternoon. They close the play area for kids between 2-3, so I'll plan to get there for 3.... which will get me home about 5ish since the gym is 30 minutes from home. Stir fry for dinner tonight so that should be pretty quick to do and the wok should not heat up the kitchen too much. I did get about 20 minutes of sewing in yesterday and started FMQ on Aidan's puppy quilt.....the front looks ok but the back.... well, I guess I need more practice. I debated pulling it out, but since I am using warm and natural batting and figure this will get spit up on a lot I think I'll leave it and just consider it a 'practice' quilt. Hopefully the end stitches will look better than the beginning! Ok, need to get dressed and get the watering done before it gets too hot. Have a great day everyone.

Well, I did get about 4 hours of sewing in Saturday since Aidan must be going through a growth spurt and slept most of the day. I managed to cut and sew 5 curtain valances for the living room and sewing room. I still need to work on quilting Aidan's quilt and baste hubby's so I can start hand quilting that one. Those are this weeks tasks.... and I also need to do 2 more valances for the den. I got the green fabric for that yesterday at Joanns. Here is a picture of one of the curtains in the living room...
it is the Legacy line at Joanns... a blue on blue flowered swirl. It really lightens up the living room since I took the long dark blue drapes down for the summer.

Now a quick check in blogland to see how the 'challenges' are coming along then it will be time to shower and give Aidan a bath so we can get going. Today we'll attempt the gym this morning... hopefully he does better today. Thursday they had to come get me TWICE! He is never usually a problem for them... they always comment he is such a laid back happy baby. We'll see how he does.
Deb

Give away.....

Nope, not me but check out John at QuiltDad. He made some beautiful bags that he is giving away with goodies. Today is the last day to leave a comment before he pulls the numbers.

Finally got a break in the weather and the humid and hot weather is gone for now. It just gets too hot for me to want to do anything ..... I think we may need to think about getting an A/C for the downstairs if I am going to be home in the summer since I really can not stand the heat. Thank goodness it doesn't get that way too often. Have to hit the gym today and then 'hope' to cut and begin sewing some valances for the living room during Aidan's nap this afternoon.... of course I also need to weed the neglected flower beds and the garden..... it will be a busy day so I best get dressed and get started! Have a great day everyone.
Oh - here is a picture of Aidan this morning - he finally smiles for my camera.


Deb

Machine quilting!

Well, I finally tried it and this is the result. Not great, but I think it is pretty good for a first try!

Top completed!!!!!

I finally got all the borders onto the quilt and the top is completed, despite the 'help' from Maxie!
Now my plan is to hand quilt it (67x89) and I hope to have it completed for Christmas. We'll see how I do. I sewed two placemats yesterday out of the blueberry fabric I got at the VQF....and forgot how to layer for the quick turn method so had to rip all the seams out of one and redo it. Closed them up last night and just need to 'play' with some free motion quilting....will wait until later tonight for that and hopefully it cools down a bit so I can put a fan in the window and cool it down to a comfortable level in the sewing room. After that, I really need to quilt a couple of Aidan's quilts since he is rolling over and will start creeping soon. Better to spit up on them than the carpeting....
I hit Joanns sale today and got a 40 yard roll of the warm and natural batting. It was such a good price with the extra 10% off. I figured it would last me a while and it won't go to waste.
So far, 5 hours of 'crafting' this month!

Nothing quilty...

Aidan and I went out to my parents camp yesterday and he had his first pontoon boat ride! It was so exciting..... he fell asleep and had a good 30 minute nap on the boat! It was a beautiful sunny summer day. Not too hot, and not too cold. Perfect weather. He got a little overtired last night so Daddy got to bring him for a quick car ride to get him to sleep.
Today - lots of errands to run and I really need to go outside and water the wildflower seeds and care for some of the flowers that need dead heading. Then it is gym time, drug store, groceries and a Costco trip to pick up things for the 4th of July celebrations on Friday. We'll be going out to camp with the rest of my family and some of my sisters friends. It will be a house full... probably close to 25-30 people. I will enjoy the time out there but will be very happy to get home Friday night to a 'quiet' house.
No real plans for the weekend other than working outside in the gardens to weed and maybe add some new plants for color. My goal is to try and sew or do something in the craft room for 30 minutes a day.... we'll see how I do! I am inspired by the JJM challenge that is going on in July. It will be interesting to see all that they get done this month.
Ok, off to shower while Aidan is napping so I can get going this morning.
Hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th!

Vermont Quilt Festival!!!

Saturday started out with us going out to breakfast with the baby. He did great and we both got to eat our breakfast while it was hot, no crying at all! I think we might be able to work up to eating out for dinner sometime!!! I remembered on the way home that the quilt festival was this weekend in Essex at the fairgrounds (about 30 minutes from us) and I mentioned it to DH. He said, 'go ahead if you want and I'll stay home with Aidan'.... well, don't have to tell me that twice. As I was walking out the door that morning he said, 'see you tonight'! Gotta love a hubby who says things like that.
I had a great time walking through and seeing all the quilts and vendors. I even bumped into a few guild members at the show. Two had won ribbons, my friend Joanna's Mom and our past president of the guild. I did not get pictures of their quilts but they were stunning. Here are a few of the pictures I snapped at the Vermont Quilt Festival.














Can't go to a show without making some purchases.... so I got a FQ bundle of civil war prints, some blueberry fabric for placemats, some needles for hand quilting, quilting thread, and a thimble.

Sunday I 'had' to stop at Joanns before getting groceries to see if there was any fabric I liked for curtains in the living room. This has been an ongoing task for a few months and I can never find anything I like at the various stores in the area. Until, today! I finally found something that I like, so that will be made into some summer valances for living room and possibly my sewing room. I also found a possible fabric for curtains for the den, so will go back next week with the other coupon and pick up some material for that.

charity quilt

Here is the charity quilt I put together over the last couple of weeks. Just got the borders on yesterday and now need to machine quilt it. Will probably just do a basic quilt in the ditch on this one. I would not have chosen some of these fabrics to go together, but that is what I was given. I should have this one done by the end of the month, and can turn it in at the September guild meeting. I also have one set of borders on DH's quilt. I'll take a picture once I get the flying geese border on...hopefully sometime next week. I am thinking I will hand quilt that one and maybe he'll get it for Christmas.....just not sure how I want to finish it! It will be a twin size quilt, big enough to cover him while curled up on the couch.

Happy quilting everyone and good luck on all the challenges going on in blogland! I actually got to sew for an hour yesterday! I am hoping for the same today while Aidan is napping.....

Reading but no comments...

I have been reading everyone's blogs (just this morning as company is gone!) but am unable to comment. I'll keep trying but for some reason I am now unable to see the visualization part so can't type it in. This has happened to me before and seems to fix itself eventually...

I haven't been on lately since it has been a busy week. Sunday was my parents 45th wedding anniversary, my nephew's 16th birthday and Fathers Day. We had the whole immediate family (21 of us total)out to my parents camp for the day to celebrate. Aidan got a little overwhelmed (who wouldn't!) but was pretty good taking his naps and DH and I even got to go out kayaking by ourselves!!! That was a treat. Monday, my FIL and his girlfriend arrived from Florida and just left this morning. It was the first time they had seen Aidan and was a real treat to have them come up and spend some time with us. We hope they can come back soon. Today is trying to clean up the house a bit, change out the guest bedroom, and clear off counters and try to get rid of the ants that think they were invited to live with us! Tomorrow we have company again - a friend of mine from NY is driving over for the weekend with her two kids (ages 5 and 3) to see us. They get to meet Aidan tomorrow! Saturday is the cancer walk with my other friend Kelly... so I'll pop over there Saturday afternoon with Aidan to make our laps around the track for a couple of hours.
Next week.... I've decided it will be sewing time for me! Now I just need Aidan to cooperate for me, but he is getting better at entertaining himself so I think I can put him in the sewing room with me while I get some sewing done. Oh - he had his 4 month checkup last Friday and is a real chunker of a boy! 16 pounds and 9 ounces and 26 1/2 inches long. No wonder my arms hurt while lugging him in the carrier! He is in the 90% for both height and weight so he is a big boy. He'll be taller than Mommy soon (5 feet 3 inches). Here is a picture from his Sears photo shoot on May 28th. He did great with lots of smiles.

And last night on the floor with daddy...



I did sew together a charity quilt last week and just have to put the borders on. I'll try to do that later today and will post a picture at that point.
Happy sewing everyone.
Deb