What's the next block, Callie?

Once again, my lovely assistant Callie has agreed to help me display my latest blocks for my kit quilt.

 

You may remember that I completed five quilt blocks last week. I need 15 blocks for the pattern or 20 if I want to expand to a queen-sized quilt. Thankfully, the kit included enough fabric for a queen-sized quilt, but I will need to come up with the additional 5 block patterns myself. I think I'm up to the challenge. : )

 

So this weekend, between going shopping for a new chick coop (pictures later - once we get it assembled!) and trading out our old brush-hog for a different old brush-hog, I was able to sew an additional 5 blocks. So here they are. Callie, if you please...

 

Thank you, Cal. This beige and red block lacks something since I made it with no green. It's the only block that has only two colors (although it still has the requisite four fabrics). I may decide to add green to it (depending on how it looks when I lay everything out) if it still looks out of place. Oh, and did you catch my comment about having four different fabrics? Can you find all four? One red - check. One pink/red - check. Two beiges - wait, TWO beiges? Yep, I thought I would be brilliant and use a very light beige and a slightly darker version of the same color just for shading. I should have known better than to trust to my brilliance. The second beige is a square and a half coming out from the pinkish HST on each side. See it now? No? Hmmm.... I may need to rip those pieces out and replace them with a light green...

Anyway, I like this next square. I'm back to a recognizable four fabrics again with this little pinwheel block. Isn't it cute? Okay, Callie, what's next? Callie? Oh my, she zoned out during my diatribe about the first block.

CALLIE!

Ah yes, there you are. This third block features a beautiful yellow-green batik fabric and some rather pronounced variations in color. Oops! Did you notice that I have turned a corner the wrong way on the upper-right hand side? Of course you noticed! And of course you would have been kind enough to point it out to me so that I didn't get the entire quilt finished before seeing it...Wouldn't you?

Since I just noticed it myself, I'll have to get that fixed tonight before I forget about it again. On to the next block.

Callie is glaring at me because she doesn't like that shadow creeping up on her from the bottom of the picture. I have no idea what was casting the shadow in this case, but it seems to appear in several of my photos. Something else on four paws or just my elbow sticking out? Regardless, this gold and red star block is actually one of my favorites. I do like gold. Cash is great too, of course, but there's just something about gold...toss in a diamond here and there... Sigh.

And the last block before I finished for the night. At least I got everything pointing the right direction in this block. It does look a bit Christmasy though. Oh well. I'm definitely not changing it.

And now for the grand finale for the weekend... drum roll please, Callie...

CALLIE! Please pay attention!

Thank you. You just can't get good help these days. I guess I'll have to start paying more than just tuna if I want competent help in the future.  : )

So with the five blocks above (one and maybe two of them scheduled for surgery tonight to fix "problems") and the five from last week...

I have ten finished blocks. I'm making pretty good progress. Half-way there!

And some by-the-way news... Mom called me at work yesterday to ask a favor. It seems that the program chair at her Pieces and Patches guild (which meets during the day, so I'm not a member) asked her to give a trunk show in June. And get this... They want her to do a trunk show of MY quilts! I still think it was just an April Fool's Day joke, but she swears not.

Oh dear! Do you realize how much cat hair that means that I have to get cleared off of my quilts before I can send them off with her? Oh my. I'll probably be able to build at least three more full-sized cats and a kitten with all that fur!

I guess I need to get started on that stack of binding, too. Six quilts waiting. Sigh. Mount UFO, here I come. Anyone want to help with binding? Anyone? Callie, come back here!

Later. I have to go corral a worker cat or two to help me with this binding. Here, kitty, kitty. See, I have tuna...

Debbi

And the winners are...

 

That's right! The judging is finished, and I got an authentic ribbon in this year's NWA Q.U.I.L.T. Guild's bi-annual quilt show. Hurray!!!

 

 

This ribbon (well, maybe not this specific ribbon), but it or one of its identical third place siblings is coming to live at my house, compliments of the baby quilt below.

 

Yes, that's right. This is Baby Lucy's quilt. Lucy was born on March 5, but has been struggling along without her baby quilt from her great-aunt (yes, that's me!) so that I could enter the quilt in the show. The show is in two weeks, so I should be able to send the quilt on to her soon.

 

I've tried to take a couple of closeup photos of the quilting that Mom put on this quilt. The judge must have liked looking for the little butterflies...

and dragonflies that Mom added for interest. I know that I've had fun looking for them. They're really hard to photograph, so you'll just have to take my word for it that they're cute. Great job, Mom. It's nice to have a judge recognise and appreciate your efforts.

 And now for Mom's triumph... she took SECOND place...

with her bunny rabbit baby quilt. I do not have a close-up of this quilt, just this photo that Mom sent in with her registration.

Congratulations, Mom!!! Neither of us is accustomed to winning ribbons -  we just like to show off our quilts. But it is nice to have someone professional like them once in a while. And by the way, this judge is with NQA and trains NQA judges.

So, what am I working on now?

Well, I should be binding one of those six or so finished quilts whose stares are boring holes into the back of my head every time I walk into the sewing room... or working on one of my 30+ UFOs that I swore I'd get done this year (does crossing my fingers behind my back when making this oath negate my responsibility to keep it? *Grin*)... or organizing my sewing room... or vacuuming... or cleaning the toilets... or...

But I'm not doing any of those. As I mentioned in a post a few days ago (March 22), I have delved into the realm of kits (thank you Sager Creek Quilts). Since I bought this kit in 2008, I've been very successful at out-of-sight, out-of-mind. But I've run out of hiding places for it, so I've had to start dealing with it.

I completed the first block last week, and this week I added several more completions. Here's last week's contribution.

And here are this week's. Callie, would you please help me with my reveals?

 Oh my. Where's your head, Callie?


Oh! There you are. Thank you, my furry sweet. Very nice pose.

This gold and green with a touch of red is probably my favorite block so far. I love the cream setting. It keeps the whole block nice and light looking.

With this next block, I went a little heavy with the strong colors. While the pattern and the fabrics are provided, I get to chose my combinations. I rather wish I had chosen differently. Thank you, Callie. The next one please?

Ah, yes. a Jacob's Ladder with a twist. I'm sure this block has a name of it's own - does anyone know it? Anyway, I like the way this block turned out. It has strong visual appeal in the center with an interesting, but not too distracting, floral pattern to draw the eye outward.

 



Here are the first four blocks side-by-side. They will have sashing and corner-stones when I set them. They look rather lonely without my lovely assistant to showcase them for me, but she got bored and wandered off in the direction of the heater. Go figure. 

And a late comer to the party - this interwoven star pattern. It was supposed to have single color outlining the stars, but I've always wanted to try the dual color version of this pattern. It was challenging to try to convert the colors in my brain while laying out this pattern since I had to determine the correct layout before ironing the half-square triangles. The seam allowances had to be ironed in the correct direction to keep everything nesting the way it should. Since the pattern showed the rectangles as all one color, keeping everything straight was a bit challenging that late at night. I should never try to adapt a pattern when I'm up sewing past my bedtime. : )

Since we're having thunderstorms today, I might not be able to do any sewing until they have moved through. I don't want my lovely Janome 6600 blown up by lightning! If I can't machine sew, I guess I'll just have to tackle that growing pile of binding before it topples on me from behind. ; )

Anything to keep from having to load the dishwasher... sweep and mop the kitchen floor... do the laundry...

Later,

Debbi

What I did on my Spring Break...

**Warning: picture heavy post.**

 

On my Spring Break I did...nothin' much. : ) 

 

Much like Maxie, I lazed around in warm spots much of the time. Here she is "babysiting" our newest acquisitions.

 

 

 Maxie has to prove that she's good babysitter and hasn't eaten her charges... "See, Mom, no chicks!"

Meanwhile, inside the box... Here is what Maxie was keeping safe. A few babies to keep the flock from getting inbred. That warming light you see is the reason the cats are taking turns sleeping on top of the box. Warm bellies!

And outside, in the yard, spring was attempting to emerge. The chickens, meanwhile, have been eating every sign of green they see!

The Golden Wyandotte below was almost killed by dogs last fall. You can barely see the injury anymore. There is just the slightest indention behind her head where her feathers will never regrow. That's one strong hen!

 

 And in the garden, the daffodils were beginning to bloom...

 

While in the house, the kitties were beginning to stalk...daffodils, of course!

 

The fields were turning green - at least the areas without chickens or cows!

 

The trees were beginning to get fuzzy looking, budding up for spring...

 

The calves were frolicking...at least those who had their land legs, which the littlest one below didn't yet. This was as close as Mama Cow was willing to let me get. When a mother cow growls, I listen.   : 0

The dogs had plenty to smell on our walks...

Even the spring got into the St. Patrick's Day spirit!

(Another random pasture shot.)

Inside the house, I was attempting to prep a backing for a baby quilt. No luck. A warm ironing board was too much for Sinnie to resist.

So I switched to another stack of projects - three quilts to be bound topped by a stack of fabrics for one of my many UFOs. My goodness, Sinbad sure can move quickly! No luck there either.

 

Fine. I'll just work on my latest Stashbuster quilt pattern. Yes, I know I'm supposed to be working on UFOs, but I refer you back to the previous two photos. : )

 

This Stashbuster pattern is due the first Thursday in April. I don't always make the patterns, but I liked this one.

 

 Each block is 8" finished and I made two at a time. Using 21 fat quarters, I made light-in-the-middle and dark-in-the-middle blocks.

I misread the directions and made 42 blocks instead of 48. I wanted it larger anyway, so instead of getting three more sets of fat quarters to make 48 blocks, I just remixed the remains of the day and came up with different combos to make 20 more blocks and get the quilt to a larger size.

Then it was time to plan a border. I like fancy borders, but the inside of this quilt is already busy. So I decided on a simple wide border instead. I was trying to test drive a small black inside border, but was having trouble with the "help." It's amazing how Maxie is so silky and shiny that she actually has blue highlights in photos. : )

 

Despite the help, I finally got the two borders finished. The photo below better represents the actual colors of the quilt. Unfortunately, it's still only a large throw in size. It'll have to be used on a couch instead of a bed, although it might fit a twin.  

And finally, my "Rest of the Story" photo. Here's a cute picture of Ladybug eating her breakfast on the outside ledge of the bathroom window.

And here's what's really going on... Maxie, who hates Ladybug with a passion, sits inside the window every morning and tries to intimidate her mortal enemy into forgoing food. Keep trying, Maxie. Ladybug hasn't seemed too impressed by your efforts yet.

Well, I've watched the sun set on my last free day. I still have the weekend ahead, but I always have weekends off anyway, so it doesn't really count. Spring Break is over. : (

I completed the Stashbuster quilt and backing (currently all at Mom's house for quilting), made a backing for a UFO children's quilt, sewed binding together for two quilts (both currently being slept on by Maxie so that I can't sew the bindings on), and started a new quilt. Oh, I didn't tell you about that one, huh? Must be because I still have about 30 UFO's I'm supposed to be working on. This one is not on my To Do List, but it should have been. It's a kit that I bought in 2008. It's the only kit I have ever bought, but I loved both the pattern and the fabrics. I finally started it tonight. Here's my first block. Pretty, isn't it. After five years, it's good to get started on this.

 

 

 

My goodness, it's my bed time (and I have a migraine), so I'm toddling off to join my kitties in slumber. Night all.

Debbi