Binding time =)

It was a successful day! Houses got quilted and a binding made and machine stitched on. Time to snuggle in and relax with some hand stitching.

This set of blocks from earlier this week...... which got trimmed and stitched together yesterday.....

is now at this stage with a red dot binding machine stitched to the top....... hey, there was lots of red in those chimneys and I didn't have enough brown for a binding. I even remembered to make a 10 inch square into a triangle and it got stitched into the bottom right hand corner as I was attaching the binding.

Linking up with Slow Sunday stitching and Oh Scrap. 

Slow Stitching Sunday....

I have been doing a little hand stitching therapy this week. Just like Kathy, hand work is my sanity!

The binding started to get stitched down on Wednesday while watching Emily at gymnastics.

I added a row of tumblers (started while waiting on Aidan at guitar on Friday) and got 2 sets of rows stitched together in the evenings. Darn it... I switched the placement when marking the sewing seams.  Now I need to make 2 of the up's. I'll be laying out 2 rows today, marking and making sure I sew them correctly as up tumblers to start this time!

I attached two rows of Dresden's together and hand stitched the back while the kids were working on dinner from a cookbook Saturday. A burger with cooked onion on top with a special sauce on grilled sour dough bread. Emily wanted my potato salad so I helped her make that. They also made a drink - a peach and orange smoothie that tasted just like an orange julius. Remember those Mom? A photo of the back of the Dresden's in the quilt as you go method.

I see myself hand stitching the last two sections together, and maybe even hand stitching some binding. What will you be hand stitching today?

Linking up with the other turtle stitchers at Kathy's Quilts.  I won't be stitching outside as Kathy suggested, a wee bit too hot for me so I'll sit in my recliner with the AC vent blowing on me!

Saturday in red.....

I got the last 2 sampler blocks completed this week so all 3 red blocks are done. Yes, I seem to have put that last row on wrong. Oops. A little seam ripper action is needed today I guess. Then I will be working on trimming the house blocks from the previous post.

Linking up with the RSC Challenge.

Playing with houses today.....

I 'found' those house blocks I made a few years ago while picking up the sewing room. Wednesday while on the phone with Mom - after working and before kid pickup/gymnastics/sams club run I pulled framing fabrics for the rest of the houses. I think I had about 15 of the 42 done before I started today.
Framing time..... uphill and downhills..... I think I finally figured them out! I used 3x11 for mine.

So nice to move along a project once in a while! These just need to get trimmed down and then sewn together into a top. I used the free pattern over at Quiltville - Scrappy Houses. I need to decide if I sash the houses or leave them like this..... thoughts?

I'll link this up Saturday with the RSC Challenge..... since I started the houses a few years ago with that challenge and there are lots of red chimneys!

Progress....

Well, with the kids in an active camp at a gym..... I have had nice and quiet to work and an extra hour or two to get a little walk in before starting and a little sewing time after working. Counting down the days until they go back to school on the 13th! I actually got my 10K steps yesterday for the first time in a while. Hopefully it will cool down a little tonight for another walk.... it is feels like 100 out right now.

I got a little sewing in today......

The little hearts quilt - abut 27x27 got a quick quilting and a binding made and sewn on today.  I had that strip of blue left over so just added to it so I had enough for this quilt. All set for hand stitching the binding tonight. I prepped some extra batting and found a backing for it yesterday.

I also stitched 2 sets of rows together for the dresden quilt. I just need to stitch that backing strip down to join them... then one last seam before I decide what color binding to finish it off with.

No red sewing today.... well....this explains that one! Don't touch my soft bed Mom.... I'm making sure these fabrics don't go anywhere.

I suppose I should go fetch the kids. They were exhausted last night.  The boy insisted he didn't want to go all day Sunday and was not going Monday morning ... on top of a Thunderstorm all night long Sunday night so he was working on no sleep. Turns out he had a pretty good time and other than being sore all over (did I mention it is a gymnastics facility so lots of trampoline jumping, running and playing and jumping into the styrofoam pits) he was ready to head back today. Emily loved it. They are both in different groups based on age, so that is good. They needed some away from each other time. I switched Emily's Orthodontist appointment to take off her one last band on her tooth (when they were removed she didn't want that one touched anymore!) from tomorrow morning until Thursday after I'll pick them up from camp. They indicated they didn't want to miss out on the morning fun =). That just leaves pulling Aidan for guitar on Friday a little before 2.... I'll leave Emily there and pick her up after he is done at 3. They have water day on Friday but it sounds like it is all morning not the afternoon.  I think this week of camp will let us make it though the next 2 weeks before school starts again.

Slow Sunday....

The kids are off to Grandma's for the day. I just put them into a camp for the week at a sports complex - where Emily does gymnastics .... cause they are driving me nuts not doing anything! Emily is excited to go... the boy - not so much but that is his reaction to everything. We will see how it goes.

That means a little grocery shopping (I am going back on the Atkins to see about kick start loosing the next 10 pounds over the next few months) and then sewing time! I really need to get back to my routine of walking morning and night as well.

I want to machine stitch the last dresden to it's row so I can hand stitch the back together tonight. If it goes well.... I'll also prep the 3 rows already done and get them ready to hand stitch the back as well. As long as I remember to read my tutorial I should be fine!

I did a little tumbler hand stitching last night while watching Hotel Transylvania with the kids. I did get a row stitched on Wednesday while at gymnastics with Emily too - well mostly done and finished up that evening. 4 rows completed of 16 with row 5 started. I should probably start sewing the rows of 20 tumblers together as well. These are my hand piecing project using almost 5 inch squares cut to a tumbler shape. I estimate the 16 rows of 20 tumblers will be about 72 inches square.

If time.... after playing with some red scraps I might try and pin the baby hearts quilt for hand quilting. Baby has arrived so I really need to get that quilt finished and shipped to it's owner!

Linking up with Kathy and the other Slow Stitchers and Oh Scrap.

Saturday in Red......

Alas.... I have very little to show but I have high hopes for a little red sewing this afternoon!

The cat Emily and I were working on last weekend (found a panel while going through fabrics) is mostly finished. I got a wee bit stuck on the attaching the head gusset to the neck last weekend... but took a shot and managed to figure it out. We need to work on covering the ball with red and getting the hot glue gun out and then making the red bow and attaching it to her neck. Emily is still working on a name.

The sewing room is sadly still not fully cleaned but.... it is looking a little bit better. I convinced one kid to sort one of the 4 buckets (big Rubbermaid containers.....) into piles on Thursday. I didn't get a photo of that but there are 3 more to go ...... These are the reds from that bucket. The greens were the biggest pile in that bucket.

Sigh, I promised so here is  a before photo. We have a finished garage (was a model home and the 'garage' was their office space). Behind the wall is my working office.

An after folding the stash on the wall photo. I need to make a few more piles from the neutral/darks in the upper left hand corner but ran out of room. Still more to do... but it is a little progress. I have a floor again.... turns out it is a cream carpet! =). All the yarn had to get put into a bag and put up high... the cats kept eating it and I had colorful kitty litter scoops.

I only found a few projects I completely forgot about! I'm sure more will pop up as I continue going through the area and boxes of stuff.

Linking up with the RSC Challenge and hope to have some reds to show next week.

Drafting a block....

Does something ever pop into your head and it just doesn't go away? I saw a quilt a few years ago (maybe 3? I remember I was up in VT visiting at the time) on FB - the hand quilting group. Someone was hand quilting a quilt for a friend/sister that they had found. No pattern or name given and I had never seen it before.
At the time I drew this on some paper....and finally found it in my photo's a few weeks ago. I do know that the corner part was a kite shape... I'm just not good at drawing it!

I found this block which is similar if I changed some of the colors around....but not the same.

Well, I saw it this morning and that prompted me to do some searching and no, I was not successful in finding the quilt photo. But... I do have The Block Book by Judy Martin with lots of fun shapes that people don't tend to use anymore.

Yes, I found a nice kite shape and cut it out on some paper... ok, I cut 8 of them then another 4 in the smaller size!

That led to laying them out on the counter, then tracing onto some paper (geez, why is paper so small? I had to add a bit to the bottom of the artist paper I found in the kids area!). I started with the kite in the middle - 4 of them. Then positioned 4 in the corner..... ok, not perfect but I made it work. I think I figured out how to make a 60 degree line with a ruler and the block took shape and is very similar to the memory I had of the quilt. It was done scrappy with the squiggle lines and the rest was a background in white or cream. I 'think' if I was to make templates, adding my 1/4 inch all around it might just fit together into a block.

Not sure if this will make progress anytime soon.... but at least I have a possible draft of the block to play with once it pop's into the 'must try this now' in my brain!

I have told myself I am not allowed to start anything until the dresden quilt is all put together..... oh so close to being able to add the last dresden to it's row and then put the 4 rows together.

Slow stitching ...

I have been watching a bit of the Harry Potter Weekend on tv and getting a little hand stitching in on the last blue Dresden block. This is the last part of the cross hatching getting stitched before I move onto the border squares. 

I did go through a few boxes in the sewing area after lunch.... but not much clearing or cleaning after that. It just feels like a lazy day (as thunderstorms are rumbling all around us for the last hour or two) with both kids away and a time for me to relax with some stitching.

I'll link up with the other slow stitchers once the link is up and running.

Saturday in red....

I finally found the sewing machine this morning after being home from vacation for a couple of days. I really need to clean out/clean up the sewing area... but that will start tomorrow while the kids go to Grandma's house for a few days. I'd show a photo.. but I'd scare you all away! Maybe you'll see the before with an after photo sometime in the next week... assuming I don't disappear in there never to be seen again!

I did manage to make one red squared away block this morning... photo by Emily.

I also found a panel that makes a cat stuffed animal while digging in the reds... and somehow Emily and I started making it. The top of the cat and bottom of the cat pillow are sewn together...but we took a break for lunch. The head and ears and bow and ball still need stitching and attaching and of course... the turning, stuffing and hand stitching closed.

Linking up to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge with a little red today. Head on over and see what other red projects are popping up.

Home Sweet Home....

We arrived safely home last night with no flight issues! We are all happy to be home... however I looked into my sewing area (can you say What a MESS?). I really need to do a deep clean, tidy and organize in there before I do anything!

I did get a little stitching done on the plane.. however since I did not lay out the first 2 rows when selecting the fabrics for the 3rd row in the airport... I got a couple right next to each other! I can leave it... I already turned it around to make the 2 matches into just one.... or move it down a bit. I noticed there are lots of lights in that row too..... the seam ripper might make an appearance, we will see. .. Time will tell. 3 of 16 rows stitched. Of course being back home... the cats needed to get in on the photo!

In other news.... my Mac computer died.... I am hoping it is just a new charger needed (ordered it yesterday) and have resigned myself to using Greg's. At least some of my things transferred due to the cloud. As long as I can save off my photo's I'll be all set (no, I had not run a backup recently.)

Slow Sunday stitching

I'm getting a few slow stitches in this morning while sitting on the porch in  Lake Elmore enjoying this view of the lake.

I am stitching tumblers that are cut from 5 inch squares of various green and creams from my stash. I cut 320 of them before I left on vacation. It will end up around 72 inches square eventually. Linking up with Kathy and the other slow stitchers.  thttp://kathysquilts.

Vermont....

Well the internet is fixed. But my computer, the old Mac died.  trying to post this from my kindle.... The photo part should be interesting. I have been reading  instead of hand sewing..... 4 books so far and one length of 20 tumblers. Just 15 more rows to go!

The kids were at Aunt Terri house yesterday and will return this afternoon. We will head to see the hot air balloons  in Stowe. The heat finally broke and since there is no air conditioning at camp i was happy with overnight temps in the 50's.

Blogger Comment fix! Yea - it worked!!!!

I was reading Kristie's blog and saw there is a solution for the blogger comment issue. I gave it a shot and it works great again!

Here is the link to the instructions.
Thanks so much Barb for figuring that out!

Essentially you go to settings and remove the email address you are or were sending it to. Then add your e-mail address back in to the settings. Looks like it needed a refresh for some reason.

Sorry for being away for a while... the Internet has not been working at the camp since we moved out last Tuesday (June 26th). It seems to be up right now so checking a few blogs and a post before it goes down again.
Happy July 4th everyone!