Thursday - free day....

Did I accomplish what I wanted.... no but, I did make progress! This is the log cabin quilt top with the borders. I'll press the backing and roll it on the boards this afternoon. I also need to piece the batting.... the quilt is 94x94 and my roll of batting is 90 wide. I'm sure I have an extra stip or two I can stitch together to make it big enough.

I also found and laid out some 3.5 inch bow ties. I added a couple teals and most of the greens this week. Looks like I need to add some red and just a handful of the blues. I think that will hit all the colors so this set of blocks is almost done and ready for assembly as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge little quilt. I think I started this one or two years ago. Right now they are just laid out.... I think they will be colors scattered all around once I sew it into a top.

Linking up Saturday with the RSC.

Slow Sunday....

After a whirlwind of a day yesterday, today is all about relaxing and for me that means sewing!

Emily really wanted a birthday party with friends.... so she invited her troop over. A few were able to make it and they had fun playing in the backyard. I have tons of Subway subs leftover.... so lunch and dinner are taken care of today... and tomorrow....! The house is actually clean so nothing to do but sew!

I will be playing with the machine to finish the last round of my log cabin blocks to make them 14.5 inches. Then.... I need to press and determine the setting layout. Always fun to throw the blocks on the floor and see what will happen! I plan to get them sewn into a top today and maybe.... pinned for quilting on Thursday. Bowling is done for the season and we had our banquet at Red Lobster Thursday so I have a full free day during the week while the kids are at school. It is a good thing....as once that one is done I need to 'start' the graduation quilt!

I'll need a break or two so will be hand stitching the final sashing to get the rows together on the Hand Pieced Quilt Along. I have them cut out and the stitching line drawn. I did have an oops, when I stitched 2 of the setting triangles they were put on the wrong way! They were picked out and reapplied the correct way on Friday. I hope to have this as a top tonight.... wish me luck. Guess I need one more 33 inch white strip before I can hand stitch this all together! I plan to hand quilt this one.... so hopefully that will be next week's post.

Linking up with the other turtle stitchers at Kathy's Quilts.

I was able to see this on my walk last week. This is the next street over from me - wild turkeys! Much better than the diamond back snake I saw last month on this street. It is right next to the forest.

Log cabins and the green mountains.....

This summer while up in Vermont, I offered to make a quilt for the Lake Elmore Lake Association to raffle off next year. A local quilt guild donated a queen quilt to them to raffle off over the summer of 2018. It went over well to raise some much needed money to help fight the invasive Eurasian Watermilfoil in the lake.

I have been thinking and thinking of what to make. They requested a queen size... as that is what they had this year. I love making scrappy quilts... I have a pile of bird in the air blocks to make an 80x80 quilt like in my header..... but I really want that one for me! I guess after 2 quilts I am done making those blocks... for now!

Thinking a lot on my walks and it hit me over the weekend.... how about a log cabin quilt - with a brown square center and scrappy greens on one side and cream on the other? I have a lot of creamy tan leftover from my 1857 quilt that will work for the 'light side'. Plenty of green scraps in the bin for the other side. It will be done in the fashion that I did this blue and white one , pattern here, and I think it will turn out well! If I have the blocks finish at 12 inches..... an 8x8 setting will give me a 96x96 quilt... which will get a little smaller with the quilting/wash so it should be around 95x95 or 94x94 for a finished size. Yup - I think that will work.

My inspiration - still miss this quilt. I sold it to a former friend.

Scrappy version in a different set.

First one I made while up in Vermont  - was donated to Milton Library.

This one got finished and gifted to my FIL... who did not have a quilt from me yet!

I plan to start on this one sometime next month. First  - I really need to get the kids quilts done for them. Emily's is close to being a top and Aidan's will just need some concentrated effort of just getting into the sewing room to work on it. I hope to make progress on both in the next 2 weeks..... so I can start playing with green scraps in November.... or as we say in Vermont - stick season (hence the brown center!).

A photo from Lake Elmore at night with the sun setting looking towards the general store and town hall and beach.

Christmas Eve

We did Christmas at Grandma's yesterday. They got this new fangled monopoly game  - no cash - it is all done by a charge card. Aidan loved it.... me, it made the tally at the end easier (maybe cause I won?) but I miss the old fashioned cash and figuring things out. 

In between cleaning and prepping for the in-laws to come over tomorrow for Christmas and finger foods, I will be putting some slow stitches into the binding of this log cabin quilt that got quilted up yesterday and the binding was made and attached to the front this morning. Just 258 inches of binding to stitch down and then I get to wrap it for Grandpa. We will see if it is done before he arrives tomorrow!

Linking up with Kathy and the other slow stitchers.

Sunday....

Kathy reminds us each Sunday to slow down, take a deep breath and let it out slowly. I really do need this reminder each and every week! My kids have 2 days of school left before they are off for 2 whole weeks for winter break. Yikes! Where did the year go?

I ran out to do some errands and last minute shopping.... I'll take the kids later this week to get Daddy done but others needed to get finished off today. =)

Sugar cookies got baked off for girl scouts tomorrow night. The girls liked decorating cookies last year and decided to do it again for this last meeting before Christmas. One of my co-leaders is making some too. Seems we have around 15 girls this year. It is hard to tell as people have been busy so we will see how many show up. They will be getting their cookie selling things tomorrow for cookie season pre sales starting on the 22nd!

I added borders to my log cabin quilt to make it a little bigger and made a backing for it. I just need to  pin it for some quick quilting. This will be a gift for my FIL so I have until the 25th to get it done! Anyone else seem to need a deadline to actually get things done? I find I do! That pinning and walking foot quilting is next up on my list.

The kids should be retuned from Grandma's soon - she is leery driving at night now so after their movie she will return them so she can get home before it gets too dark. We always offer to go pick up but she declines. That just means we have to feed them dinner.... think I can convince hubby it is his turn? We won't be hungry as we did Bob Evans for lunch today - he had his breakfast and I had the meatloaf.... and maybe a few of the sugar cookies that broke as I took them off the tray!

Off to the sewing room to unroll this and get it pinned.

With the borders it is now 58x70 - a good throw size I hope. I'm thinking I should be able to add the binding around 6PM and will be settling into my chair later tonight to hand stitch it down. Wish me luck.

A finish!

I finally finished the binding on my log cabin quilt on Sunday evening. I just went outside this morning and took a few pictures. This measures 82.5 x 82.5 after quilting and binding and washing.
Now to convince hubby I want holes into the wall so I can hang this puppy up on the huge wall that the kitchen and living room share. That will be Monday's project.

My first attempt at machine quilting feathers on my little domestic machine. All free hand. One must start somewhere.

I outlined the blue with a walking foot and did feathers in the cream logs. The border has a wavy line on the tan made with the walking foot and there are swirly circles in the outer blue border made from a template and a marking pencil. Then I free motion quilted them. I had this on me the other night in my recliner and both cats were curled up on it - one at my feet (Sophie - or the white one as my parents call her) and Maxie was on my lap/belly all curled up (the black and white one). It is cat approved!

Miss Emily loves pancakes and I make a puff pancake from this recipe. This is the second one I have made this week..... being on Atkins this week with my hubby means she will get this for the next few days for breakfast since I can't have any. Willpower is a good thing! After my two weeks (hey - down 4 full pounds since Monday morning!!) I am looking forward to trying this recipe out for sweet crepes. They look sooooo yummy. Time for a shower after the yard work this morning. A quick lunch for me and the kids and then it is bowling time this afternoon. I see the pool being exercised later this afternoon before dinner. Speaking of which... I'd better pull something out of the freezer for dinner!

Mom is home to camp as of yesterday afternoon and is doing ok. This is a picture for her of the fountain Greg added to the pool last week. Adds a nice sound as I am sitting out on the back patio. I was hand stitching some hexagon flowers in red while the kids were splashing in the pool last night.