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Thursday, October 25, 2012

Little Moo pics!

Work is kicking my buttocks recently.  It's the end-of-month tango of doom... happens every month, and I should be used to it, after 3+ years.  But it seems to get progressively more doomy, so it gets a little tougher each time.

At any rate, after going home and falling over for a while, all I managed to accomplish was a little quilting on Little Moo.  And...since I promised pics of Little Moo in progress, here are a few.  I've finished quilting the sky - and am remarkably proud of it.  The picture isn't fabulous (as usual), but the clouds show very well.  I am pleased.  There's a LITTLE quilting in the tree-top as well - not a lot, because it didn't show much and I got a little frustrated with it.  I may go back when the rest is done and play with it some - we'll see.

The grass quilting is going along just fine, except for those moments when the kitten decides to help! (she's very helpful).

I am looking forward to this weekend and time to sleep in, go estate sale-ing (if we find any good ones!) and working in the forge! 

Tonight will be time to move the little orchard closer to the house - maybe onto the enclosed back porch.  Time to see how the kitten likes the trees!  (Our little orchard is 7 or 8 dwarf fruit trees of various types... alas, we left our pomegranate behind in the ground when we moved last year).  So we'll get those moved in this evening after work and see how they like that.  It's better than leaving them outside unprotected when they are wee little things in pots, and the temp drops from reasonable to brrrrr. 

D took her cat to the vet yesterday for shots and to have her checked for kidney issues.  Vet doesn't think there's anything wrong with her, just needs litterbox changed more often.  So... there's good news there.  Also, her cat is going to be a big cat.  About 15 pounds, give or take.  And dense.  (in more ways than one).  But since my kitten is about 5 months old and half her size already, I think they will be fairly evenly matched!



Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Brief update. Very brief.


Here it is... a layout for one of the blocks for the BST quilt.  :)  It's bright, ne?  That was the idea, and I think it's succeeding.  I can start piecing tonight, which will be lovely! 

And yes, I am still working on Little Moo.  :)  Just not right at this second.

I have hopes of getting home at a reasonable hour tonight, which will mean more time to sew and more time to do other stuff.  Last night was go home, eat, work a little on Texas Daycare, and then crash for the night.  I would like to have a LITTLE more time to do stuff tonight!

Friday we're going to Screams - yay for Haunted Houses!  I am looking forward to it.  I haven't been for a year or so, (duh), maybe even more.  Since it's almost an hour away, I count that as travel.  :)  Especially since it's for fun!

And this weekend might have sewing company, and a chance to work for long periods of time in the forge.  Even if it will be cold!  Brrrrr.

I PROMISE I will try to get a pic up of Texas Daycare tonight.  I was just too tired last night.
Busily yours,
Shay

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

More forge work

Here's D's mug rug.  It's smaller than mine, since she has a smaller desk.  But I might be making myself one this size as well.  :)  I like this one! 

Last night was work on housework and Little Moo (Texas Daycare).  I am working steadily on the grass for him.  (oh, and the lawn guy came yesterday while we were at work and mowed!  Hooray!!)  So, after dusting and dishes and all that fun stuff, I got some quilting in after all.  It made me happy. 




I didn't manage to get anything cut on the nerd quilt (BST) - but I did pull the last of the material for it.  It's going to be... interesting.  I hope. 

Here are the colors - for the blocks.  The sashing material I am reserving for now.   I already have the quilting plan laid out, just have to cut and piece and such first!!  And when it's all pieced, the quilting should go quickly!  I hope.  I may quilt it with glow in the dark thread.  We'll see....  I want a little sparkle on this one. 

I wish I had more to show!!  Maybe tonight I will post another pic of Texas Daycare.... just to show progress!  And soon... soon the weather will change to cold (brrr!) and I can haul Boston Molasses Flood back out and start working on it again!  (For some reason, it seems to be a winter project... I duuno.)

There you have it!  Two posts in two days! 
Shay



Monday, October 22, 2012

Hooray Monday and finishes!!!

It was a productive weekend!  Friday left me with an inclination to crawl into a hole and pull it in after me.  So this weekend I went to the quilt forge and spent a good deal of time there, with the end result that things got done.  Yayayayayayay! (Muppet flailing arms)


I really need to get better pictures!

First up - I found some scraps of material that (gasp) went together very well, so I made a mugrug or two.  It was something I could quilt on my machine while D was setting up a quilt on Frank for her to do.  I forgot to get a picture of the one for D, so I'll have to put that up here later.  But the one for me:

I like the peacock colors, even though they aren't my normal choice, and not something I'd wear.  But for a mug rug... you bet!  I might even make another one, a little smaller, if I get my work desk adjusted.  Then I can take this one back home and use it for a placemat!
It's a little big, but I like it.  It will handle a couple of mugs or bottles (since I usually have a DP and a glass of water with me).  It's also less lop-sided than it appears in the picture, which is nice.  All in all, a success!  And pic of D's will follow this evening.

The other thing I did get finished (finally!!) is my Black and White quilt.  I'm still pondering a name for it - it's the Sea Glass pattern, but in blacks and whites (duh).   It's 72" x 72" - so a nice size. 

Some of the contrast in fabrics doesn't show up quite as well in the pictures as it does in real life.  There are 8 different fabrics in this one, and I am quite pleased with it!


So that was my weekend - setting up Frank with black and white, sewing, quilting, helping D set up Frank with her blue and green quilt (Twisted, I think....), and working on Crazy Diamonds. 

I have 14 blocks left to do on Crazy Diamonds, so this week I will pull 56 fabrics from our stash that I haven't already used and get those blocks finished up.  Then I can figure out how to quilt it, since it's going to be too big for Frank!  (Not to mention I have no clue what I am going to do as far as quilting design.  *shrug*  Burn that bridge when we get there!)

Also, I got fabric in for the nerd/geek quilt on Saturday, so I pulled the other fabrics from our stash and started measuring and cutting.  I'm halfway done with cutting the blocks.  Tonight I am going to shoot for finishing the cutting, and start the blocks.  If I can do that, I will be most pleased! (The abbreviation for the nerd quilt is going to be BST for now).

Aaaaand.... I worked more on Texas Daycare.  I am quilting the grass now.  Once I finish that, I'll do the tree trunk and the calf himself, and then lay down the barbed wire border... and then bind him and call him done!  Hooray!  (hand quilting takes me forever!)

Gosh, it HAS been a busy weekend!
Shay










Wednesday, October 17, 2012

More picture! And completely random thinking

First, a better and more true-color pic of the baby quilt finished for a co-worker!  It came out much nicer than I expected, to be honest.  I am not much of a pink and purple kind of girl, but it was not bad.  And I like the almost star-like arrangement.  More to the point, both grandparents loved it!

I've not been in the forge too much this week - 10 hour days at work cut into the time immensely.  However, I am still working on Texas Daycare, so all hope is not lost.  I've almost finished the sky quilting on that one, and when I do, I can go on to the ground!  Hooray!  (more pics when I finish the sky - maybe tomorrow??)  We can certainly hope so!

Started planning a new quilt - just because.  I think that's my main problem.  I don't have too many people I know that need or want a quilt, so I am making to see if I can.  Although I do admit I haven't exactly taken a poll, so I could be wrong.  There might be many among my friends who would like a quilt!  Anyway... the one I am designing now is definitely a techie/nerd/geek kind of quilt.  If I can get the proportions correct, it will be smashing!  (I spent an hour online finding the correct material for the sashing and border, so now I HAVE to get it done!)  And... if this one works, maybe I'll start taking design orders.  If the quilt is liked.  We shall see!!!

A month from tomorrow will be the one year anniversary of moving into the current house with forge.  I can't believe we've been here 11 months, and at the same time, it feels like we've been here for a long long time.  Don't know what that says! 

MUST put my Black and White quilt on Frank (no, I haven't gotten around to that yet....), so I can quilt soon.  And then work on the new quilt.  The diamond border is still in progress.  It would help if I had a quilt to put it around, I guess, although I don't want to spend THAT much time to see if it works! 


So, for my WIP list:

Planning
1. Geek quilt
2. Voynich MS quilt
3. the huge list of quilts in my notebook.... *sigh*

Piecing
1. Crazy Diamonds
2. Diamond border

Quilting (or to be quilted!)
1. Death By...
2. Black and White
3. Texas DayCare (in progress)
4. Boston Molasses Flood (in progress)


There's still so much to be done.... and I want to be in the forge, working there!!!  Updated my quilt list... only have 70 on the list (with 13 done or pieced).



Thursday, October 11, 2012

Baby quilt finished!

Cat nap, anyone?

Right now, sounds like a lovely idea!!  I stayed up late last night getting the baby quilt ready for the happy grandmother, and got it all done!  Quilted, bound, washed, dried, fluffed... the whole bit.  Presented it to her this morning and she was ecstatic (which made me very happy!)

The quilt itself is a 4x6 (so the baby can hang onto it for a while!  I was going to do bigger, but was halted by fabric constraints... but as long as the grandmother is happy, I am happy!  And I got to use up pink thread that normally would not get use except in those projects where it doesn't matter the thread color.  Even better.  (No, pink is not my favorite color....)


The picture is a little dim, since I took it this morning in the breakfast area... I will try to get a better picture posted (with happy grandmom, too!) 

One of these days I need to get a real camera!  And a place to hang my quilts up to take good pics of them!  (Hmm.... project for the next sunny weekend, maybe!)

Tonight there will be very little in the way of sewing, I fear... there are too many chores piling up!  D. is still on the sick list - hasn't been to work for more than a few hours this week... so there's lots of stuff to be done around the house as well!  Tonight is trash night (which is also going to include cleaning out the fridge - something in there is no longer good!), dusting, straightening, and sweeping... and maybe more.  We'll see.  It'll be a chore-laden night, that's for certain!

But that will mean that tomorrow I can come home and sew - finish my black and white quilt... maybe work on Little Moo some more... and work more on Crazy Diamonds.  Or... or... or....  Lordy... I have too many projects going!!  I could easily spend the entire weekend in the studio working away! 

But.  I also have things to spray paint (a few shepherd's crooks, and the second half of a chandelier), so there are other things to be done.  And play with the kitten.  And... as far as the kitten... Joji is now top cat.  She apparently is the dominant cat in our house now.  I find that both funny and a little worrisome.  Harper is definitely submissive, so we'll see how it all works out!

So... no time to cat nap!  Time for work, and then chores!

Shay

 




Wednesday, October 10, 2012

More pics

So whilst sorting through the vacation pics and so forth, I found this one... the close up of a flower.  It's not too bad, considering that I am NOT a photographer.  I tend to rely more on my mind for memories instead of pictures.  *shrug*  But for whatever reason, this set of flowers stood out for me.  They were pretty, and the only color standing out from the myriad shades of green and brown.

I am considering using the colors as a quilt... but I am still hashing out the pattern.  (Naturally... too many patterns, not enough time!)  But right now... I am mostly working on the other one inspired by the trip.

While wandering across Arkansas, we drove through yet more mountains.  We came around a mountain and down (wheeeeee! like a roller coaster) and all of a sudden there was gorge and bridge.  Normally, no big deal.  Except that this bridge (and how I wish I had a picture, but I was driving, so THAT would have been a bad idea) was all patches.  It must have been old and/or well-traveled, because there were so many patches on that bridge it looked entirely unstable!  It was fine, but the crossing was a little nerve-wracking.  When we were safely over, I thought "hm... a patchwork bridge...."  So now in my head I have a picture of a quilted bridge with trees rising all around.  If I can translate that to fabric, I shall be quite happy!

But first....
1. Stained Glass pattern (in black and white) to be quilted.
2. Baby Quilt to be quilted
3. finish quilting Little Moo
4. finish quilting Boston Molasses Flood
5. finish piecing Crazy Diamonds
6. finish testing Diamond border

Gosh... there's a lot to do!

Shay

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Meh. But soldiering on!


Not here... but about the mood!

Today is a grey, dreary day...  Work is busy (that whole paying job thing), and it feels like there is little time for making things.  I know that's not true, though.  I've been busy enough that I really need to get out to the studio and quilt for a while!  I have three tops done that need quilting - I have the backs done for two of them, so the only thing slowing me down is me!  (and housework, and... and... other excuses).

D. is sick right now - not too bad, but bad enough that she doesn't feel like doing anything.  And... there's a new kitten now.  Her name is Joji - she's part Maine Coon and part whatsit.  She's a handful.  I've decided her nickname is The Kitten Without Fear.  She explores, jumps, wanders, runs, careens, and has an unholy fascination with my eyes.  Seriously.  She pokes them when I am half-asleep.  When I AM asleep, she stares at me.  How do I know?  I woke up to find her eyeballing me from about three inches.  Not much more to see than kitten head at that distance!  But she's cute, and lively, and is already helping the other cat (Harper) lose weight!  :)  (I feel sorry for Harper, a little).

I've got a border planned out - just no quilt to go with it.  :)  I've made a sample in fabric, but no pics of that yet.  So... here's the rough sketch.  I'll show it as it takes shape, see what folks think of it!  So here it is.  It SHOULD work out the way I want - but since I've only made one diamond so far, it's hard to tell.  I will make a few more this week and see if they stitch together quite as well as the paper fits...  We shall see!

I'm halfway done with a baby quilt for one of the women at work - she's got a new granddaughter, so she chose fabrics in pink and purple.  Fortunately, I had most of it on hand, so the cost can be kept low low low!  It's also a simple pattern, since it's a baby quilt.  Big patches and bright colors.  So far she loves it.  I will quilt it this week and get it to her, since she's going to see the new one next week. 

I know I said I would post pics from vacation... so now I will!  Only two to start, but it's a beginning, ne?  First is the cabin in which we stayed - to me it looked like a little caboose!  It was cute, and comfy enough for a weekend stay. 

The little windows up top are at a sleeping loft.  There was another one at the other end, where I slept.  It was nice and quiet here, except for the pet pig in the area.  Yup... someone had a pet pig, and it sounded big!

We hit a nice used bookstore in town while we were there.  It was amazing to find a used bookstore that wasn't part of the HalfPrice Books chain!  Not that I have anything against HalfPrice, but still... sometimes you can find the offbeat and old old books at the other kind of used bookstore.  (I guess next time we go to our not-terribly local LQS we'll have to hit the used bookstore up there!)

And last but not least... the mountains.  We went to the mountains a lot.  And took a lot of pictures.  (Hey, I live in Texas... we only have mountains wayyyy out west!  This is a big deal for me!)

So that's what's been going on.  Things have been rough, but they are getting better.

Now if I can scrape out a little time for quilting, things will be even better! 

Tonight - the fabric store for backing for the other quilt, and get things set up on Frank for quilting.  Then I can bind them tomorrow and start delivering!  (Or at least figuring out what I am going to do with them all!)

Oh, and I need to start set-up for the next class... and finish the next pattern....

*sigh*

Back to work!

Shay