Thursday again.. already???

Good morning, superfriends!  It looks like it's already Thursday again, and that means I haven't been by for a week!  What's wrong with me??

Well... nothing.  I've been busy doing all sorts of things.  Quilting, working, planning, prepping, cleaning.  You know... life. 

The quilting on BST is almost done - two more sections to finish and I can bind it and call it done!  Which is good, since I'm trying to get it done by Sunday, so it can be on display for my birthday shindig.  And, you know, take pictures and show it here and stuff!  I am looking forward to having it done - I'll have something DONE at that point.  Progress is good.

I was working diligently on BST the other night and had a random thought.  Which became another quilt to add to my list.  I'm up to 90 quilts planned/in progress/done now.  I'll never catch up!



So, having said that... how DO people keep on top of all their ideas for sewing/quilting/various projects?  I don't have a clue.  I don't think I can!  I know I want to make this new quilt, but I want to make ALL the quilts!  (Or at least all the ones on my list).  How do I catch up to myself? 

I love quilting.  I love piecing, (not so much basting), and I love the process of quilting.  I am learning to accept that applique is pretty - just not when I do it.  Yet.  But my brain is rarely silent and keeps feeding me ideas.  I wind up with massive lists of quilts, too many ideas, and not enough time to work on them all.  Not by a long shot.  And I feel like it's my brain's fault, not my time management skills (which are actually pretty good most of the time).



This is my brain on quilting



When I was teaching, one of the first exercises we did (at the beginning of a school year, at teacher inservice), we took a test to find out our thought patterns.  I was in a group of 2.  Out of all the teachers at the higyh school.  We were... I don't remember the name of the test or types, but... it was an eye-opening experience.  The largest group had a series of arrows in a straight line: linear thinkers.  Another group had arrows and dotted lines - the intuitive leapers.  I don't remember all the groups, but ours - that lovely small group of 2 - had a dot in the middle of the page and arrows going in every direction.  It describes my brain pretty well, really. 

But it's not much good for catching up on my quilting!  Anyone have any suggestions?  (And plugging away works only so far.  I am plugging away on BST has got me almost done.  But if it takes too long, I get bored and go on to something else!).

Don't get me wrong - I am in no way disenchanted with quilting or the time it takes to make wonderful things.  I just... wish I could get things done faster.

And this post has spawned another idea.... this is getting silly.... but it would certainly be scrappy.  A quilt of chaos... no symbols, no order, no color-choice.  Just random snatching of fabric pieces from the scrap bin.  Stitch, iron.  Stitch, iron.  At the end, quilt, square up and bind.  Hmm... might be able to get THAT done this weekend...  *tears hair*  Not.  Enough.  Time. 

Shay

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

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

We are starting a new series of quilts - all based on the same pattern pieces, so they could be considered colorways... but the two we have so far that are tone on tone are based on disasters that happened in the early 1900's in the United States.  The first is the Boston Molasses Flood, and the second is Isaac's Storm, based on the hurricane that struck Galveston, TX. 

More info and pictures will be forthcoming... the Boston Molasses Flood quilt is on the rack right now for quilting. 

The part of quilting that I seem to struggle with most is the border... what do I quilt there?  For BMF, it's taken me until now to figure that part out.  Isaac's Storm was easier... more on that one soon!  I've got the fabrics pulled, even the border and backing.  Just have to get BMF finished and start on Isaac's Storm. 

There may be another disaster quilt in the future, maybe the Chicago Fire?  Blacks, oranges, reds and yellows?  Hmm... may have to think on that.... hmm....  I think I know what the border quilting would be, too.... I think I may have to run with this one, too!

Anyway, back to the anvil! 
Shay