Design Wall Monday

Check out Judy's blog here.

This is what I have been working on lately:

Old Crow is on the frame. I plan to quilt it with Baptist Fan.

Almost finished is Smokey River in the Spring colorway.
It went from this:







To this:













To this:

I am slightly disappointed with this quilt. It is a kit - Smokey River Spring colorway. The kit contained jellyrolls of Stonehenge fabrics - neutrals or lights and jewels or darks. There was a lot of blue in these. And, it seems like some of the lights were too dark and some of the jewels were too light. I wish there was more contrast in some areas, but there wasn't really anything I could do. I wish the dark star points showed up better.
I still need to add the 9-patch strips to the top and bottom and the borders. Then it will go on the quilting frame.

Here is a finished quilt that I pulled off the web. 


























We are getting too much rain. This is taken from my front porch. There was a duck swimming around on this 'pond' yesterday. The ground is so saturated that the water has no where to go and there is more rain in the forecast for the next few days.

Design Wall Monday

I almost forgot today is DWM! Once school is out I have a hard time keeping track of what day it is.



I got the one kitchen counter and shelves reorganized. It is not perfect but it is better. I am not real excited about the plastic containers and lids being where they are, but they are lightweight and that is good for the shelves. It is just a pain to reach for anything on those shelves because of the water cooler. But, there is nowhere else in the kitchen to put the water cooler.






I finished this little quilt for a great-niece born in December.


It took so long because my husband wasn't crazy about it and I had other, more pressing issues to take care of.


I put it away for a while then decided that I liked it and it needed to get finished.


It was a little breezy the day I took this picture.




The backing is a minkee type fabric. It feels so soft and cuddly!


Now it needs to get in the mail!













I have completely cleared my design wall from all other projects and put Old Crow up.

My husband had seen this in the Keepsake Quilting catalog a while back and commented that he liked it.

So I began collecting Civil War type prints.

I have been working on this one here and there when not working on other projects.

I worked on it at the last quilt retreat, too.

I have all the blocks and the flying geese border pieced.

I started putting it all together. It has reached the point that it is too big for the design wall so I now have it laid out on the bed.  Guess I better get it pieced today!

But, that means going through the sewing area, through the front room to the bedroom. Lots of steps! I put the blocks in pairs and stacked them so I wouldn't have to make so many trips, but I keep getting them turned the wrong way and out of order. I think I need to pin them together before stacking them so I remember which side to sew.

These lovely flower are growing in my front flower bed.

I do not know what they are.

I do not remember planting them.

They have expanded to quite a big area but, I am not complaining.

I love them!

Here is a close up. 

To see what others are working on go to Judy's blog here. 

School's Out!...

Monday was the last day of school for our district. So glad to be done and ready to start my summer!
This was a challenging year - with students, with staff, with personal things.

I have a list of things I want/need to get done. I have also posted Pins to Try in 2015 on Pinterest. We will see how much gets done. Every year I have have big plans, long lists and I never finish.

Firstly, my quilt group meets once a month. The block exchange is star blocks this time.
Here is what was in the bag I received this month. I especially like this one - green is my favorite color. The owner of these blocks made the top, center block. It is called Rolling Star and is paper pieced. I like how many different fabrics can used in this block. I am planning on making a whole quilt using that block - yeah, in my spare time!

This is the block I made. It is called Solomon's Star. The blocks can be found here Rolling Star and here Solomon's Star.

 I have still been working on my Fire Island Hosta. I have completed the Leaves and Feathered Leaf Borders. I have also done ONE Clam Shell. And while I am really liking this quilt I decided that I am unwilling to give it the time needed to finish it for fair this year. So...

I have left it on my design wall, but got Old Crow back out. All the blocks are pieced. I finished piecing the Flying Geese borders today. Now to piece the top, add borders, quilt and bind.

And, in between all of that I am trying to declutter and reorganize this house - a never-ending process. One that needs lots of breaks! I am working on this post in between working on the reorganizing.

My son came home from school on May 26. He tells me he does not plan to go back in the fall. It is a decision I am torn about, but I am being supportive. When he came home he also brought along all of the things he needed and accumulated at school. Things that he doesn't have room for in his already overstuffed bedroom. Kitchen things that do not fit in my already overstuffed kitchen. My house seems to be getting small from the inside out as there are partially unpacked bags and boxes sitting around my house. He starts to unpack, can't find a spot for the things being unpacked and stops. He is slowly working at it, but this could take all summer.

I am working on the kitchen. My dad built a cabinet for me using old windows. I love it, but I noticed recently that one of the shelves is really bowed and I am concerned that it might all come crashing down. I am moving the heavier items off that shelf which means they need to find a different spot to live. I also have to keep in mind that certain items need to be easily in reach for my son who is a wheelchair user. I need a bigger kitchen; one that is horizontal, not vertical. The cabinet is unpainted, except for the windows, because I cannot decide on a color. :)

I have created quiet a mess. I also am finding things I had forgotten about as well as things that just need to be thrown away.

I am also working on reorganizing my sewing area and moving most of it upstairs to the attic room, as I call it. A finished attic that is not heated or cooled, making it uncomfortable for parts of the year. Hopefully that will changed once I get serious about moving some things up there. First, I have to move some things out. Moving things out is hard for me because I hate to just throw perfectly good things in the garbage.

Well, I need to get back to working on the kitchen or there will be no cooking tonight. On second thought, maybe I should just leave it like that until morning!