2013 Goals and Plans

I started making my list of things I want to accomplish on the quilting/piecing front last night....  I feel like I must be nuts.  Crazy, even.



BMF



On the "dear heaven I need to finish quilting this!" front, my goals for the year are:

1. finish quilting Boston Molasses Flood

2. finish quilting BST

3. quilt Crazy Diamonds

4. quilt my Dead Me quilt

5. My sister's quilt (need to do this one quick, too!)

Not too bad, except two are bed-sized quilts, and being done by hand.  *sigh*

On the "piece piece piece" front....

1. Molten Glass (currently in progress)

2. Wonky Sun Runner

3. Gatchaquilt (a brand new one that has leapt madly to the front of the line.  very pushy, it is).

4. Sun Phoenix (applique... why do I do this to myself??)

5. Hex Bird-Tree

And on the smaller scale list....

1. Complete all my block swaps in a timely manner

2. at least 2 more AAQI quilts.  (1 already planned....)

Now, looking at it, it doesn't seem like much.  12 items, 12 months.  But... I know me.  It won't work like that.  Even if it did only take me a month to hand-quilt a king-sized quilt (which is NOT going to happen).  We'll see if I can reach my goals.  If not, so be it, but I wanted to get it down in black and white so I can refer to it when needed.  And... it will keep me honest, I think.  I know other things will get added to the list, but this is my first of the year working list.

And of course, faire will be starting up soon.  The show starts in April, but we prep earlier than that.  And I will probably make a new bodice this year.  Nothing else garb-wise, but at least a new bodice.  And yarn things.  Because Penelope Weaver must have yarn things. 

So, we'll see how I fair on my goals.  Tonight - work on BST - it's smaller! and maybe on the Molten Glass.  We shall see.... (unless I pull greens and browns for the Hex Bird-Tree... See?  This is my problem.  Too many ideas, too little focus!)

Shay

Monday (deep breath) and duct tape

Whew.  Made it through the weekend!  No, it wasn't a bad weekend, just one that happened at light speed.  I spent most of my weekend in the forge, working away at a variety of projects - from piecing to cutting to sewing a gift dress, to... to... ugh.  I don't even remember it all!

Oh, and a better picture of Sea Glass.  I like this one.  We finally found something to drape the quilt over so we could get it out in the sunlight for a picture.  I'm much more pleased with this pic!

Let's see... I worked on Crazy Diamonds (both halves are pieced now... now to decide how to quilt them!).  I finished up the individual blocks for my Wonky Star Runner.... sometime this week (or next weekend) I will cut the sashing and borders and get that done.  Quilting it will be a breeze (she says boldly, once again using WAY too many parentheses). 

Here's a collection of the Wonky Stars.  There are a fair number of them, and I am looking forward to seeing the whole thing done!  I was a little surprised, when we went to find material for the sashing and border, that fabric with stars on it didn't look good.  I went with a muted blue instead - not what I expected to get, but it looked better with all the myriad blues already present.  Should have seen us there, laying blocks over fabric, turning them, muttering under our breaths....

And the other project took up all of Sunday.  14 hours' worth, anyway.  I won't post pictures yet - both because it isn't QUITE done yet, and because while it's a slim chance, there's still a chance of her stumbling across the pic.  So... no pictures yet.  Maybe after Christmas.  :)

Here we have Shay's duct tape solution to sewing problems.  The edge of my work space is... unfinished.  Rough.  It catches.  And on the project from previous paragraph, I couldn't afford for the fabric to catch.  (It's fabric that catches easily already, it doesn't need help!)  So out of sheer frustation, I duct taped the edge of the work top.  Y'know... it doesn't even look that bad. 

One of these days I will paint the work space.  Eventually.  Right now, it's not really that big a deal.  It works for what it's intended, and it kind of fades into the background.  But I never actually thought I would be using duct tape for sewing solutions.  Silly me! 

Saturday, round 2!

Got all the blocks made for Crazy Diamond.  Tomorrow... stitch 'em all together and start panicking about how to quilt them.  (Well, not really panicking... that would be silly.  But thinking really hard about it).

Star light, star bright...
 

Got half the blocks made for my Wonky Star runner.  It's going to be quite nice, if I do say so myself!  I just need to finish the rest, pull fabric for the sashing and borders, and quilt and bind it.  (No problem, right?)

And, for the other sewing projects: got fabric for my Phoenix quilt (hooray Batiks Galore!), got fabric for a tunic for me (hooray Batiks Galore - I love that shop!), and got the pieces for a gift cut out and ready to sew tomorrow.

Oh, and I mailed out the block exchange blocks (finally!  The wait at the post office was silly long!) and my first AAQI quilt.  Working on finishing the quilting on #2 tonight.  Some.

And made a batch of dressing.  It was... okay.  Think I know what I need to do to tweak it.  Tomorrow, test batch #2!

And I should go to bed now.

*thud*

Saturday, round one!

More star blocks.  Yes, this one will be my humility block...  I stitched the white a little far out.  But, I think I like it that way, so I'm not concerned.  And since this one's for me, that's all that matters!

Today will be sewing and piecing and maybe a trip down to the Semi-local LQS for more fabric.  We'll see. 

And, if the sun co-operates, we'll take another good pic of Sea-Glass and get that on the pattern cover, and I can send that sucker off to pattern companies.  *fingers crossed* 


Oh, and I have to figure out how to make dressing for Thanksgiving today.  It should be fun!  (And a good thing D likes dressing!).  The biggest challenge is not the making of it, but making it tasty and as traditional as I can (for my father, who really wants a traditional Thanksgiving this year) and still making it vegetarian so my sister can have some.  So, kitchen playtime, here I come! 

I am also going to try to finish piecing Crazy Diamonds.  When I started this one, I swore it would be the project I worked on when I didn't have anything else going, or when I needed a break from other projects.  Somehow it hasn't worked out like that.  Somehow, it has become another of the "oh, I really need to get this one done!" projects.  So, if I can get it pieced today (only 24 more blocks to go!), then I am set - while I figure out how to quilt it! 

At any rate, there's the day as I have it planned.  Well, as much as I plan anything, really.  Wish me luck!

Thursday outside the forge

We looked outside the other day, and lo and behold, Texas has had fall.  Overnight, our lawn went from green green green to covered in the neighbor's leaves! 

In a way, it's nice.  Cooler temps are good, even if it meant moving the miniature tree orchard inside for a while!  And that's all right with the cats - means they get to explore new things and curl up in giant pots.  They seem moderately okay with that. 

We had class last weekend - unfortunately, a lot of people had to bail at the last minute, but that's okay.  We'll do it again, probably next month!  I can't wait to see how people's quilts turn out! I'll post pictures as soon as I dig the camera out of the pile of fabric it dived into.  Really.

This weekend will be hectic.  Not only is there quilting and piecing to be done, but Thanksgiving prep, and even working my day job on Sunday.  That part doesn't thrill me, but we're in a short business month because of holidays, and there's so much still to be done!  But... at home and in the forge, there are too too many projects happening!  I did manage to get enough pieces and bits to finsh up Crazy Diamonds - now I just have to do it.  And.... I pieced together blocks for the class, step by step to show how the block goes together.  And decided I really liked the color combo.  So.... need to get more material this weekend and work on that.  A lot more.  King-sized, even.

And mail my blocks to my partner in the block swap.  And then and only then (after Thanksgiving, probably) post pictures!  And finish my second AAQI quilt.  I'm working on the hand quilting now, and moderately pleased with it.  Moreso than the last one!

And I have projects to finish for other people before Thanksgiving rolls around (ack!  A week from TODAY!).  Wednesday will be work and then immediately hit the road and drive - leaving town to go see my parents and sister on the other side of the state.  Fortunately, D will be at the forge to keep the fires going!

Tonight... tonight... I will work on a runner for work - I almost have all the pieces cut out.  Once they're cut out... well, obviously I start putting them back together again!  And I'll post pics as I finish blocks.  Right now it's planned as 15 blocks.  We shall see!  One of these days I am going to post nothing but pictures!

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

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

Labor Day in the Forge

Finished Sea Glass!  Took it to one of the semi-local quilt shops, and owner there tried repeatedly to steal it.  :)  Gave me many compliments on it, and showed it to everyone who walked through the doors.... That in itself makes me feel amazingly good.

But even better in my mind - I love this quilt!  It is soothing and calm, and looks the most professional of all my quilts so far.  I am happy with this one.

So now I am making a second version of it, and D is making a different version.  The pattern shouldn't take too long to work up, and then it will be ready to send off as well!  (Hooray!)

I need to get a close-up shot of the binding - it's self-bound, using a hem stitch to sew it down.  I didn't particularly want to hand-stitch this weekend, and I liked the way it looked with the hem stitch.  (So did the LQS owner... he oohed and aahed quite a bit, said he'd never seen a visible stitched border he liked before this one!)

D got her Asian Blocks quilt done (except for the binding, which should happen tonight, I think), and picked up fabrics for the Sea Glass variant, and determined how she was going to quilt her Latticework quilt. 

I managed another twenty blocks for Crazy Diamonds (I really need to start piecing my strips of blocks!) making me almost halfway done with the blocks (yay!), and got further ahead on my homicide quilt.  (err... have I mentioned that one before now?  shrug).  Anyway, as soon as I figure out blood splatter I will post pictures and greater details. 

I'll leave you with the outside pic of Sea Glass... hopefully I can have pics of the variant blocks up soon, too! 

looks different in this light - I like it!

Hammering Out the Kinks

Crazy diamonds from the stash!  Colorful - no measuring!

Started two new quilts this week.  One won't be any sort of problem - it's as much a way to relax from my own designs (particularly when those designs fight back!)  It's a Crazy Diamonds quilt - simple and easy.  No measuring required once I got the base squares cut out.  100 muslin 12.5" squares.  Yay for stash of muslin!

Only 96 more to go!  It's a great way of using up the smaller scraps in our scrap bin.  We have so many scraps, I needed a way to clear some out.  Now I can make smaller scraps (in some cases).  For those really small pieces, I shred them and stick them in a mesh bag outside for the birds to make nests from.  I can only assume that we have some of the most colorful bird's nests in the area, based on the fabrics that go in that bag!

The other quilt I started is the one that's fighting back.  I shouldn't be surprised (and I'm not.  Not really).  It's an applique quilt - part of a series of Texas-themed quilts I've got planned.  At any rate, it SHOULD have been simple.  Except that it's applique, and my fusible stuff didn't want to fuse, and pieces fell everywhere... which is why I started on the Crazy Diamonds.  But.  I figure a picture of the quilt in progress - or at least a small section of it - is nevertheless called for.  So here it is.

Moo?

This one is an unfinished applique - he still needs horns and his tail, and a little detail work.  Then he will need details to the field he stands in.  The quilt itself is to be called "Texas Daycare" (as a working title).  This little guy will be a longhorn baby hanging out in a field in Texas with prickly pear and mesquite, just like a lot of the cattle in the area I was born in.  (Yup, born and raised in Texas, just south of the Hill Country).  He's the first in a very diverse series of Texas-themed quilts.  None of them will be Texas flags, and none of them (at this time) are going to scream Texas, but to me, it's Texas that links them all together.  They are sights and scenes from the Texas that I know. 

 So, today I'll go back into the quilt forge and start working on this guy again, try to hammer out the kinks in the applique process.  There will be more pictures to follow!  I hope everyone had a fabulous Fourth of July, and came through it healthy and ready to head back into work.  (Yeah, right).  If I am really motivated, there might actually be pictures of the outside of the quilt forge: see the mesh bag for the birds, the bird baths, the bird feeders....  And maybe some of the stained glass-type designs we're working on for the quilt forge windows...  just to take some of the glare out of the evening sun! 

As ever, busily!

Shay