Sunday, January 22, 2017

On My Wall

is Block 5 of the Pat Sloan 182 Day Solstice Challenge - Gramma Anna's basket.

Pat Sloan Block 5  Solstice Challenge diagram














It is suppose to have a basket appliqued in the middle, like this drawing on the right.
I did not really care much for the basket and I really didn't want to do the applique. So I decided to make a smaller paper pieced basket. It seemed too small so I was going to reprint the foundation papers at a larger size, but then I remembered the 6 inch basket block I had shown at the fair this summer. It has been pinned to my wall since then. Whenever I looked at it I wondered what I could with it.

It is made in batiks, not Civil War reproductions, but I think it will work. The colors match much better than the picture shows. I am glad to use it, but now I have a tiny basket block. Maybe it will sneak into the 365 Challenge. :)

Also, from this box of shirts...


... to counting and measuring ...


... a layout ...

This picture was taken this summer at the school where I work. It is a large enough area to lay out a quilt. All the classroom carpets go to the gym for a spa day. The stage doors are open in this picture. Half the stage is storage (to the left) and the other half is my work area. There are stairs to the right. It is easier to move things, especially big things like furniture/desks, on and off the open stage rather than the stairs. I am thankful to have this area to work. I used to work with students at a small desk in the hallway and had to store my materials in a cabinet drawer in the break room. This area is closed off, much more quiet (less distracting) and has plenty of room for a desk and other storage cabinets.


... quilting ...


... binding ...


... to finished.


This picture shows the backing.

I did not wash the backing before quilting so I decided to throw in a few color catchers.
The ones on the right were pretty dark so I washed it again.
The ones on the left, from the second wash, were darker than I liked, 
but there was no bleeding in the white shirts so I think it will be ok.


This is why I almost always wash fabrics before using them, even though I keep seeing reports that fabrics dyes today are set and bleeding shouldn't be a problem.


Monday, January 16, 2017

On my wall

More 365 Challenge blocks.

Yesterday afternoon I had these done.


Yesterday evening I was able to finish a few more- March 25 through 31, minus March 27.


I have saved what I had sewn for March 27 and put it away. I may come back to it later, but I don't want to work on it now.

Still quilting on the T-shirt quilt.
I am about half way finished.



I have accepted one more, but will only be quilting it. The Grandmother of the student is putting it together, which I am thankful for. I really am not enjoying making T-shirt quilts. I do have 2 more to make, start to finish, but they are for a family friend.

I have so many projects for myself, and that I want to give as gifts, that I am not taking projects for other people for a while. I am feeling too much stress, and guilt, trying to make things for people in the time they want them. I feel like I am not getting things completed as quickly as they, or I, think I should be. When I am working (kindergarten teacher's aide) I am too tired when I come home to work on quilting. Sometimes I sew, but not often. I do most of my sewing/quilting on the weekend. Besides, my son is wanting attention, and there is dinner to fix, etc., etc. so I just don't even try to be productive during the week.

Today is a drizzly, foggy day. I am thankful we did no get the ice predicted. It will be nice to see the sun and a little warmer temperatures later this week.

Sunday, January 15, 2017

365 Challenge

I am so behind with the 365 Challenge

It has started over for 2017 so you can join in if you wish. 
I guess I could say I am behind from last year OR ahead for this year!

I am contemplating putting together the blocks I have made into... whatever they finish up as.

Then, I see finished quilts and I think I want to keep going.

But, I am only finished up to March 26.


The top blocks here are March 25 and are 6 inches. I goofed (top block) and decided to just cut new pieces and redo the whole block. The bottom one is March 26 and is 3 inches.

I am working on the March 27 block. I am NOT enjoying it. At all. This is what has me thinking maybe I just need to be finished. I spend quite a bit of time yesterday evening working on this one. And, more time today. I am thinking I should just skip this one and keep going with the other blocks. If I remake some of the other blocks using different colors it is likely that no one will know except me. Also there are some bonus blocks so it may all work out anyway. After all, this should be enjoyable, right? And, I am not enjoying this one.


You can see see some finished ones at 

On a more positive note, I finished the latest block for the 182 Day Solstice Challenge by Pat Sloan.


Here are all 4 so far. I am using my Civil War pieces left from past projects.

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Tired...

Image result for hate housework 

I am sooo tired. It seems that the messes in my house belong to everyone except me.  

Some examples:
Pop cans. I have quit drinking pop; mostly quit. I have one every once in a while, but I am not the one drinking all this pop.

The bag in the recycle can holds more than the can and you can't 'waste' the bag.
When the recycle can is full
(the picture is sideways, but you get the idea)


this happens.





Half the top of the stove is covered. 
And, it continues until the stove top is covered and I can't use it at all.
I am refusing to deal with this because it is NOT MY MESS!
There have been discussions about it, but it doesn't get any better.

What you can't see on the right of the stove is the shelving unit that holds the cartons of pop. They are there so that when pop is removed from the fridge more cans can be put in. That doesn't happen very well. And, when the cartons are empty they are suppose to go to the recycle bin in the garage and more cartons are to be brought in so there is pop ready to go in the fridge. 
That doesn't happen well either.

Then, there are the counters in the kitchen. 
I don't have a lot of counter space so I am pretty frustrated by this.

The left side of the sink...



The microwave on the left has a stack of phone books that go back to 2008. 
We can't seem to throw those away because someone may have marked a number on one of the pages that we may need at some time. Then there are my husbands medications. This seems to be the easiest way for him to manage them. There are other things there he will use at some point. And, the cookies. There is always something open on that counter. I have tried putting them back into the cabinet every time I see them there, but they just end up back on the counter. I give up.




This is the right side of the sink. What isn't seen in the left of this picture is a carton of eggs. They are from our hens and I use them within 2-3 days so I know they are safe. 
Another box of goodies that keeps getting moved around when it is in the way, and then moved again. The spaghetti sauce will be used this weekend and the catsup is patiently waiting for the almost empty one on the fridge to get used up, which will happen very soon.

And, then there is the dining table. We don't eat at this table, we eat in our chairs in front of the TV.




I call this the 'Farm Office'. The only time this table is clean is during tax season. I will come home from work one day and everything except the calculator and some pencils will be gone. That lasts a few weeks before things slowly begin to pile up again.
One year I tried putting a nice table runner and candle on the middle. I have even tried removing the leaves so there is less surface space to leave things on. Neither worked. I give up.

I am not going to show you the whole house, but this is what I deal with.
I am tired of working so hard to keep this house clean and clutter free only to have it messy again in a matter of hours. I give up.

I do have my own messes. My quilting machine is set up to the right of that table. My sewing area is right in the other room, the TV room that we spend most of our time in. But, I do try to keep it contained and I do clean up at the end of the day.

And, here I sit at the computer at 9:00 on a Saturday morning, still in my pajamas. I feel overwhelmed and paralyzed by the mess. 
And, I think about the impression people who visit us must have. 
I feel like they think of ME as being lazy and not caring that my family has a clean, clutter free home.

But, I am tired. I am the only one who ever touches the dishwasher, the oven, the stove. I fix the meals, put them on plates and hand them to my husband and son. They put the dirty dishes on the counter, never in the dishwasher. They don't want to do it wrong they tell me. I tell them it doesn't matter how the dishes are in there, just put them in. They never put them away. 

My husband will do a load of his farm clothes when they get too dirty to wash with other clothes, but the rest of the laundry is on my. My son will wait until he has worn most of his clothes then bring me 2 laundry baskets that usually make at least 3 loads. I would make my son do his own laundry but the washer and dryer are in the basement and stairs and wheelchairs are not a good mix. He has to get his laundry baskets to the basement stairs and I do not fold his laundry. I make a nice neat pile and put it on his bed. Sometimes he folds and puts it away, sometimes he just wears it off the pile.

I know I am not the only person dealing with these mundane, everyday chores so ignore my complaining,  but I just needed to vent.

Now I am off to take a shower, start a load of laundry, run the dishwasher and QUILT.


I hope to finish this quilt this weekend.

Sunday, January 8, 2017

New Name

I have used Quilty Mama for... since the beginning. I have never been crazy about it so I decided to change it. This name isn't very creative either! :)

I finished up this little quilt.


Green bug prints, bright yellow and bright red (I think it looks pinkish) and royal blue on the front.


Label on the back.
 


So soft - Soft N Comfy - Minkee-type fabric on the back.
It is bright fuchsia pink.
Medium mottled blue flannel for the binding.

On My Wall

I know it isn't Monday morning yet, but I figured I better get this done now rather than wait until morning.

I am working on Pat Sloan's 182-Day Solstice Challenge. Block 3 was posted this week.
I is called Tide Pool. Here is mine.



And, here are blocks 1 - Churn Dash (top left), 2 - Day Into Night (bottom left) and 3 - Tide Pool (top right).

Saturday, January 7, 2017

On my frame

You can tell school has started and I am back to work again since I haven't posted since January 2nd. That really isn't that long for me, though.

I took these blocks off my wall....


I don't think I will making any more for a while, although I will continue to print out new ones as they are posted.

I finally got this T-shirt quilt loaded on my frame.


 It took a lot longer than I anticipated for the thread to get here. It seems that lately when I order things that start out with UPS or FedEx they get handed off to the 'local' USPS. According to the tracking information this order was stuck in a post office 50 miles south of where I live for 3-4 days. It then went to a post office 10 miles NORTH of where I live before being delivered to my house. Part of the reason it is taking longer when delivered that way is that the post offices in some of the rural towns around me are being closed, including my little town. I find it a little frustrating, but so far have not been willing to pay the extra shipping fee for quicker delivery.

I am lucky enough that both the UPS and FedEx delivery people know I work at the school and will deliver smaller packages to me there, even though they are addressed to my home address. Win-Win for all of us, I think. I know my package is safely delivered and they have less driving.




Monday, January 2, 2017

Design Wall Monday

My wall hasn't changed for a few days.





My Quilt Exchange group will be meeting again later this month to exchange our monthly blocks/bags. We will also me doing a flannel fat quarter exchange. Each participant is to bring 2 fabrics cut into fat quarters to exchange. Here are mine.


Since this meeting will fall during the first retreat of the year I decided I would find a project to work on using the flannels. I chose this one... Breezy Batiks by Moda. This and lots of other free patterns can be found here.


I was thinking of going scrappy for the background but was concerned there would not be enough lights in the flannel exchange so I got a light grayish piece for that. Then I added a few other FQs just because I liked them.





And, I am keeping it all organized in this cute little suitcase type storage box I found on sale at Joann's.





Isn't it cute?! I love sunflowers and it is a nice size and has a handle.