Cotton Club Finis!

Things have been busy around here...for a while I was calling our home "The House of Yuck".  Even one of the pups was sick.  Thankfully, with the exception of a tendonitis issue, it's all behind us and today I can share a quick post about a finish - Cotton Club is done!  All that is left is a run through the washing machine.  Not a great shot below but I only had one quilt handler available and I really needed two.  Photos have been delayed due to rain and I didn't want to put it off any longer.  

Here is a little closer photo of the quilting.  It was quilted by the same longarmer that does all the quilting for Bonnie Blue/Red Crinoline Quilts (Paula Barnes).  They did a nice job. I love the way the braid looks with the triangles.  You probably can't see it here but each block has a different quilting pattern quilted on it.  The border had big feathers quilted on it.

I enjoyed every second of making this quilt.  I learned a lot while making it and it required a lot of precision from me.  It's also the first time I've ever sewn a mitered border.

It feels good to finish something and especially good that the finish is this quilt.  Other than this quilt I've been in a bit of a slump with the needle  Hoping to find a cure for that soon!  Wishing you all happy stitches!

Uh Oh!

I've slowly been working on assembling the rows on my Cotton Club quilt.  It's been really slow going.  A couple of weeks ago, I spent quite a bit of time in the sewing room and got my first row together.  Pretty, huh?  I decided to go ahead and get started on the second row which has different fabrics.  Greg was sitting in the chair in my sewing room and we were chatting. 

All of a sudden it dawned on me that I had assembled this entire row with one wrong fabric .  I've circled the fabric that was placed incorrectly in the picture below.  All of the light outside tan triangles should be chocolate brown.  Generally, I roll with the punches when this kind of thing happens but this time, it really hurt.  I couldn't breathe for a second which is a first for me.  Poor Greg, he didn't know what had happened!

Turns out, I'd labeled this fabric as E but erased it and changed it to F.  Unfortunately, I didn't erase thoroughly and from the angle I was working from that morning, my eye saw the E.   Ugh!  Thankfully, I felt like going back and ripping it all out about 30 minutes later.  

Happy Monday and Happy Stitches!

Is This Thing On?

I hadn't intended to be gone so long.  Blogging seems to be one of those activities that once you stop, it's hard to get the ball rolling again.  So where have I been?  Well, I traveled for work for two weeks with a week of vacation in between.  Vacation was spent in the mountains.  The two days it didn't rain, we spent a lot of time in a couple of parks.  Having picnics, chatting, and enjoying each others company.  For me, a bit of stitching.  For Greg, a bit of jogging.  Perfect.

Our Picnic Spot

The other couple of weeks I missed was just life and getting caught up after being out of my site at work for three weeks.  Things are returning to normal.  I'm tired though and hope that my work travel is over for the year.  At this point, it looks like it is!

I missed the August Theme-a-Licious update.  Better late than never.  The theme for August was :

Embrace the Olympic motto--Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger)--by elevating your mind. It's the perfect time to learn something new! Or maybe achieve some goals.. 

My goal was to get a knitting project on the needles and to make some progress on it.  The pattern called for a cashmere blend yarn but I wanted something "curl up on the couch cozy and warm" so I went with a bulky yarn.  Here is where I am at just less than 1 ball knit up.  This was really moving along until after vacation.  Not much has happened since then.    Septembers theme is about smalls - I'm going rogue and working on BAPs....more to come at the end of the month!

 On our last day in the mountains, I started a new stitching project.  Here's a peek.  I hope to show you more at the end of the month. 

Wishing you all a good week and happy stitches!

Cotton Club

Two Saturdays back, I came home from my Cotton Club BOM meeting and immediately sat down at the sewing machine and got busy. Unusual for me. I finished all of the 5 blocks I had left to piece. It went well, it didn't seem to matter that it took hours to get these last 5 blocks finished.

I put all my blocks in number order and stacked them in their Cotton Club box. Then I grabbed my finishing fabrics and got busy.

I first went through my blocks and found the blocks (they're not assembled in numerical order) I needed for my first row. I wanted to put them on the design wall to keep me focused.

First row up on the design wall. I can never seem to get good pictures in my sewing room.

I also cut out my finishing fabrics with the exception of two of the borders. I tend to label everything as I've learned it's in my best interest to do so. I didn't do the sub-cutting for the triangles yet.

Sunday I started making half square triangles and setting out the first row. My sewing machine then insisted that I had delayed her annual maintenance long enough. So I stopped and packed her up. I had really wanted to get the setting triangles for this row pieced but it was not to be.

See that block third from the bottom? I realized upon looking at this photo that it needed to be rotated to be positioned correctly. I did that right away so I wouldn't forget. Funny how something not so obvious in person is so obvious in a pic.

As luck would have it, my sewing machine repair guy was out of town. It felt weird not to sew this weekend. We were busy with putting our house back together (which went well thanks to the tremendous efforts of my husband). But I still really missed my sewing machine!

Wishing you all happy stitches!

Drive By Post

I'm traveling for work this week but I brought my personal computer. I thought I'd do a quick post....here are the latest Cotton Club blocks. Missing one but I hope to start it soon. I really enjoyed these three. When I sewed them I was just in a zen place. Not everything went well but even frogging didn't pull me out of my zen spot. I love it when that happens!

I've been fiddling around with those pesky flying geese. I still haven't decided if I'm going to keep working on them or trash them. For now, they remain alive and well and on my sewing table.

They measure 1 1/8" x 1 3/4".

See you on the other side of the weekend! Happy Stitches!

Thankful and Fortunate

Today in the United States, we celebrate Memorial Day. We celebrate those who have served, those who came back and those who didn't. The words Thank You aren't by any means sufficient.

Due to Tropical Storm Beryl, which made landfall nearby, we've had a quiet weekend inside due to the heavy rain and high winds. We watched a couple of movies and I sewed a bit when I felt comfortable having my sewing machine plugged in. We're fortunate that we're not experiencing the flooding or the power outages that some of the city (currently 22,000) is experiencing. We did have one downed tree limb but it wasn't one that caused any damage. We've been very lucky.

Here is what I accomplished this weekend - seven Cotton Club blocks. As you know, my mojo has been hard to raise lately - I think work is getting most of me these days. This weekend, I enjoyed the time I spent at the sewing machine. It felt good!

I'm now all caught up and even have this months blocks completed! It's been important to me to stay up to date on these blocks because they take so much time. They're only 5.5". I can't see sitting down and making all 40 something of them one after another.

For those of you stitching Ann Dale, did you see this post? Or this progress post from Lanie? Both have made me feel completely comfortable about stitching Ann as charted. Lanie made a change in the over one box but has otherwise stitched as originally charted making a few color changes. Both are absolutely beautiful! Expect to see a progress pic in the next couple of weeks.

Wishing you happy stitches!

Unintended Hiatus

I didn't intend to be gone so long.  Greg and I had to make an unplanned trip to Las Vegas where his mother, who was on vacation, was admitted to the hospital in septic shock.  She spent a week in ICU and was transferred to another hospital while we were on our way home a week later.  She's had some setbacks since we've been home and as of today, has spent two weeks in the hospital.  It was an exhausting week - too many nights with not enough sleep and a couple without any.  We did spend 30 minutes at the Hoover dam and spent one day with our niece and nephew.   At this point, we're not sure when she will be able to fly back home.  We're taking it day by day. 

Not much sewing has been going on but I did manage to get my Cotton Club blocks completed in time for our upcoming meeting next weekend.  This blocks are little - 5 1/2" - but they take loads of time it seems.  Not quick and easy for sure.  At least not for me!

My Wee Bee Learning Bee block is due out soon so I worked on that today too.  It's supposed to be an improv block.  Improve to me means unplanned.  I think I'm more of a planned improv kind of quilter.  The guidelines were very specific and detailed.  I worked diligently to meet those requirements.  It needs a good pressing.  It's untrimmed - I'll let my Bee mate do that.

 

Stitching has been minimal.  I did drag a big bag of it everywhere we went in Vegas including all 5 airports we were in.  Greg helped me carry it.  I only had energy for a few stitches and by the time we got home, I'd wished I'd never taken it.  I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things this week.

The new Blogger is giving me fits.  My page froze and it's taken me 15 minutes to get it worked out and only when I was willing to ditch the whole post.  Please tell me it gets easier!

I've visited all the blogs but left much fewer comments than normal.  All of you continue to inspire me every day and I sure enjoy your blogs and your visits here.  Thank you and may all your stitches be happy ones!  

Dropping In....

I hope you all had a good weekend. My weekend wasn't exactly what was planned (lots of time in the sewing room) but it was better (good quality time with my husband).

I wanted to show you my latest bee block for one of my bee mates at the We Bee Learning Beginner Bee on Flickr. She requested the Log Cabin block with a black center and pink. My guess is that she'll be using black elsewhere in the quilt. I thought the light and dark pinks from Ruby worked well.

I also finished my Cotton Club blocks for last month. They're giving me fits this time around and I realized upon taking this picture that I need to rip the one out again - the middle right one. It's as a result of me determining that I didn't need to read the directions - I could just look at the pictures (and do a poor job of it at that)! The photo isn't great here but you get the idea. Oh yeah, the top block? Too small. Good times.

I've pulled two projects out of my stitching kits and hope to start on one of them this week. Both of these efforts are related to the Theme-A-Licous theme for March - appropriately named March Madness! I also hope to pick up Anniversaries of the Heart sometimes soon. I'm at a point on a block that I'm not really enjoying and I just need to push through it.

I'd also like to invite all of you to visit The Azalea Sampler Guild and Friends blog where you'll see our group status on the Ann Dale SAL.

Wishing you all happy stitches!

Dipping a Toe In

I've never participated in a swap of any kind. I have been interested in the online quilting bees but just haven't felt like an established bee was a good place to start. And frankly, it's kind of scary. I stumbled on a bee that was just forming and was intended for quilters new to Bees. Perfect! It's called We Bee Learning Beginner Bee. Here is my block for the first month. Hayley chose the quilt block but allowed us to pick whatever fabric we wished. I'll send this off as soon as I get the signature block made. My month is August and I'm already thinking of it.

My design wall was empty so I put my bee block up along with the Cotton Club Blocks I sewed this weekend and my Farmers Wife blocks. I'm hoping that it will be a reminder to get back to making my FW blocks. Does that ever work for anyone? :)

I'm always amazed at how different a block can look when set on point. Here is an example from this months Cotton Club blocks:

It looks totally different and much more pleasing on point:

It's so hard for me to sew during the week. I was able to do some stitching early last week after work but as the work week progressed my energy in the evening seemed to diminish too. Sometimes it seems that I'm wishing the week away for Friday night and that's really not how I want to things to be. I need to use my time during the week more thoughtfully and efficiently. Tonights plan? I'll be multitasking. Stitching Ann Dale and watching the Downtown Abbey Season 2 Premier! Hope your stitches are happy and plentiful!

Dreary Weekend

It's been a dreary gray weekend and I've had a cold. I missed 3 events I had scheduled - all of which I was looking forward to attending. No Christmas shopping which may be a bit of a stressor later. I've made peace about not sending Christmas cards this year. That was easy.

Some people can sit and knit, stitch or sew when they're ill - I'm just not one of those people. So most of the weekend has been spent sleeping and in my pjs. I managed to get my 4 Cotton Club blocks done late this afternoon by working a few minutes at a time.

Another horrible picture but it was dark. I'm loving these blocks as they come together but they do take a bit of time. I'm getting a bit better at piecing and making things work. And while my blocks will most likely never come out perfectly square - I'm getting a bit better at that too.

This week will be spent scrambling to get the shopping done I need to get done to put packages in the mail. I also need to come up with a label for something I started in September. Nothing like last minute! You know, I always say that I'm going to have a less hectic holiday season. It never happens. What has changed though is that each year I'm a bit less freaked out about what has to be accomplished. It always manages to get done! In the meantime, I'm going to pick up a book and the box of Kleenex and spend some time in front of the tv.

The Generosity of Bloggers

I only made one Farmers Wife block this week. I'm not happy with my fabric selection so I'll probably make it again. I need to get some more solids in my stash - I'll hopefully work on that in the next couple of weeks.

Bat Wing

My last two Cotton Club blocks have been made too. They are not wonky in real life - I went back and checked! Twice!

A couple of weeks ago, I saw this lovely fabric in a couple of places within blog land and fell in love with it. I left a comment at Blue Elephant Stitches and Jolene ended up gifting me a yard. What a sweetie she is! Do stop by her blog and say hello - she is a beautiful modern quilter.

Then I won a give away from Mary Catharine at Warmth in the North who had just returned from Sewing Summit.

And included was......a Kona Color Card! I've been really wanting one of these! Thank you Mary-Catharine!

As you can see, it was a good mail week!

I still haven't blocked my shawl and I'll probably have a wrap finish within the month of November. I'm working on the next Anniversaries of the Heart block and took a stitching class but my camera battery was dead. I was very disappointed about that. I hope to get a beanie knit up for Jake soon too. What are you working on?

A Few Blocks and Some Family Time

It's been a busy weekend but not much completed in the quilting/knitting/stitching arena. I did get two Farmer's Wife blocks done. A lot of quilters aren't making the basket blocks (there are two variations in this quilt). I've never made one so decided to give it a go. I'm glad I left it in and will probably do the other one as well.

#3 Basket

The color placement is off within one of the smaller blocks that make up the block below. Since the red is more saturated than the other fabric colors, it's really not noticeable so I'm leaving it in. I didn't think it was worth ripping.

#4 Basket Weave

I also got two of the Cotton Club BOM blocks done for the 2nd month. There are a total of 4 for this month. These finish at 5" - smaller than the Farmer's Wife blocks.

Last weekend my brother and his family were visiting my parents. It's been a while since I've seen my nieces - I sure wish they lived closer! Saturday my husband and I along with and Chris and Jake went down and then Sunday Greg and I drove down alone.

Here are both of them sitting on my oldest sons back while Chris was doing push ups. He could only do about 4 with good form but they thought it was a good time. Lots of girl squeals!

Alex's birthday is the end of the month so we had a little gift giving. My brother and his wife gave her their big gift early - tickets to a Taylor Swift concert. She was so excited that she started crying. I'd love to go with her and her friends but that's one of the big drawbacks of living so far apart. It was SO good to see them!

November and December will be busy months and typically my quilting/stitching/knitting take a back seat to other activities. I have scheduled two days off in early December and I hope I'll be able to go to my LQS for at least one of those days to quilt.

In the meantime, I'm going to get some fun things in while I can! For those of you who sew, knit, or stitch after a long day at work, how do you do it? I'm usually so mentally wiped out.

May all your stitches be happy ones!

A Surprise and Progress

Yesterday, I was able to get a chance to stitch for a few hours, knit for a few hours, and quilt for a few hours. I don't quite have any knitting or stitching to show you but I do have some quilting. I was able to finish my last 8 Harvest blocks and play a bit with the arrangement. My design wall isn't crooked, the blocks are on there wonky As you can tell, my design wall is almost completely full.

And at the very bottom are the first 5 blocks for the Cotton Club BOM. These came together really quickly and easily. The instructions are fabulous! All the blocks will be set on point. I'd like to do the one on the far right in more modern fabrics one day and as a larger block. I think it would make a great modern quilt.

I received a wonderful surprise in the mail last week from Catherine. She sent me this cute stitched pillow as a thank you for a chart I'd sent her. It's my first fall stitched small.

Here's a closeup of the stitching. I love the thread! Thank you Catherine!

Wishing you all a good week and happy stitches!

Cotton Club Beginning

Happy Tuesday! Over the weekend, I started the Cotton Club BOM by Bonnie Blue through a LQS. I had hoped to have the first 5 blocks completed (this months installment) to show you but that didn't happen. There has been a flurry of closet cleaning instead. As I mentioned in a prior post, I'm using a Harriet Hargrave tip to get my 1/4" seam more accurate. While not perfect, it's much improved. These blocks finish at 5" and will be set on point. As you can see, it starts simple!

I've been playing around at drafting blocks - the tutorials by Lori Holt really captured my attention. I checked out the Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns and 5500 Quilt Block Designs from my library to see if I could draft a block in a size I wanted. I'm having some success! Both of these books will be purchased as the possibilities are endless!

Question for you all - Do you know how to convert a block sketch/layout to a paper pieced pattern? I'd love to learn to do that as well.

I've also become very enamored of all the Farmers Wife blocks I've seen in blog land. I think I'm slowly losing that battle!

I hope you all are having a great week. Thank you so much for your visits and your comments! I appreciate you and continue to be inspired by you!