Quilted and Other Stuff

I got the quilting finished on the Cow quilt.

I had thought about switching to gray in the face area, but my machine made the decision for me. It didn't like me switching and kept having thread breaks. So it is quilted with the same thread througout. Husband says it looks fine and makes the cow look like it has curly hair on it's face - just like his bull does! 

I folded a bit of the backing around and pinned it to the front. I think I will use that for binding. There will be plenty enough once I trim it. 

In other news the geraniums are blooming. So cheerful in these blah winter months, even when it's dark outside.

We got a little snow the other day. It drifted around the ramp where a rabbit like to hang out. I am thinking this might make a snug little hidey hole for the rabbit. 

The next day it seems Rabbit made a doorway through the snow. 

When Rabbit isn't under the ramp, it is hanging out under this old bench.

 It's a good hiding spot. Can you see it?

 Maybe this will help.

This morning I got an even better shot.

I do enjoy the rabbits, except when they eat my flowers.

This morning I noticed these footprints in the snow. 

I hope they are from a cat. There is a stray tom cat that seems to make his way between several of the neighboring farms every few days. Husband hasn't seen him for a week, so I hope these are his footprints. He is a nice cat. According to husband he doesn't make messes in the barn or fight with the barn cats like other stray tom cats have done. Every once in a while I see him around the house or on the ramp. The mouse population seems to be less since this cat has been visiting. I hope he continues to visit us.

On the frame

I wanted to get this on the frame yesterday.

And, I did. I have made several passes. I am using Sulky Blendables (variegated) thread in Red Brick. It looks great on this quilt.

 

My dilemma now it that I am worried the red-gray variegated thread will not look well on the cow's face. The red really shows in the gray pieces of the 4-patches. 

I am debating whether or not I want to change to solid or variegated gray thread in the light area of the cows face. 

It will require a thread change at least three times. Hhhhmmmm. I might try one pass over the face and see what it looks like. That face is just so cute I don't want to distract from it with the wrong color thread.

Design Wall Monday

To see what other quilters are up to go to

Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

On my wall are more 

Stash Buster Challenge 2020 blocks.

I have a stack of 50 scrappy, random colored blocks. I need 118 more to make a quilt the size I like to make. 

I also have fourteen blocks in pinks, reds and oranges.

I have started cutting into my bigger scraps which I have stored by color. I grab a stack of one color and cut. Then I grab some more. Then a stack of another color. I got to thinking that I might like a more color controlled quilt. I'm thinking I can blend these from pink to red to orange. I need to cut more fabric!

I also am considering what to do with the Block magazines that I am accumulating. I have 30 of them.

Most, if not all, of these quilts are also YouTube videos under Missouri Star Quilt Company. I am subscribed to that so I get emails when a new video is posted. I really don't think I need to continue my subscription as fabric requirements are listed in the videos. I'm still debating whether or not to keep these. I know I can share them with my quilt group if I decide I no longer want them.

Decluttering

is what I am working on. I want my house to be free of unnecessary, unwanted and unused stuff. But, it's hard! Today I spent the afternoon going through my collection of QuiltMaker magazine. I had been given quite a few a long time ago. It included the very first issue. I have every, almost every issue up until March/April 2020. 

After much thought I had decided to let my subscription lapse. The library where the quilt group meets has a subscription so I can look at it there. If I find a pattern I really like I can have a copy made. I had not been finding much of interest lately anyway. 

So I started with the newer issues and carefully looked through each one to see if there were any patterns I wanted to copy. I quickly decided that I only needed to look at the pages I had marked to see if I was still interested in those patterns. Most I was not. I also realized that I could use my phone to take a photo of the pages I wanted to save. I have downloaded them to the computer as well as saved them on my phone and will either print them if I want/need to or work directly from my phone. Saves paper and ink. Some of the older patterns had templates so I did make paper copies of those. I found that a lot of the older patterns that required templates I was no longer interested in making. 

You can see from the photo above how many pages I had marked. Did I really think I would have time to make all those!?

I removed the page markers as I came to them. 

That is quite a pile.

I will be taking these, a few at a time, for the quilt group to look at. I really don't know what else to do with them. With so many patterns available on-line now I don't know how many people will be interested in paper versions.

On Tuesday I took a little trip with my quilting friends. We hit our favorite shop where I got backing for a quilt, an applique pressing sheet and a three FQs for the 365 Challenge. Great restraint again! I really am trying to get only what I need, not just because I like it.

Then we went on to visit my friend who had her shoulder replaced. She is doing well - feisty as ever and ready to get her therapy going so she can go home.

Wednesday I went to a dr. appointment with Husband. His breathing issues have worsened in the last couple of months. He now has several tests and appointments scheduled for the next several weeks.

Thursday was Sew Day. I worked on Circle of Life. 

I finished up the large New York Beauty spikes and the Star units. 

I am now to the outer pointy borders. I still need to sew the large New York Beauty spikes and Stars together, though. 

Tomorrow is Exchange Day and I will bring home a new bag of lovely fabric to work with!

Design Wall Monday

To see what other quilters are up to go to Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

I worked on more 365 Challenge blocks.

These are the blocks for May 21 - 31.

I have mentioned that I started this in 2016 and am very far behind. I do check daily to see if there are blocks that are different or new since then. This year there was a bonus block for February 14th.

The pieces for these quilt blocks are TINY!

And, just because I was curious and I hate to 'waste' fabric, I decided to stitch a few bonus triangles from one of the blocks.

And, because I am not totally insane I decided NOT to make any more of these.

Today I will be catching up on some other things that I have been putting off because they just aren't as much fun as sewing but still need to be done. Tomorrow will be a fun outing day with my quilty friends. Sew Day is coming up on Thursday so I will get a whole day with my projects and friends. 

Another Finish

The next Quilt Exchange is coming up, 

a week from tomorrow. 

CW has chosen beautiful purples and teals/aquas for her quilt. I got busy today and got my block made. This quilt has blocks in several sizes. Mine is 16 inches.

An Oops and a Finish

Well, an almost finish. Today I added borders to a top that has been finished (except the border) for a loooonnnggg time. I don't remember when I started it. I know there are photos, but I have been trying to organize my photos and haven't found it yet. It started out as a panel, I am thinking maybe for pillows, but it's been so long I can't remember. Anyway, I put some 4-patch blocks together with some plain blocks with fabric I probably had in my stash and came up with a top, but I wanted it bigger. Then I found this awesome border.  

Now it is 63 x 80, a good size.

The oops is that when I was sewing the borders to the top I found a small - 1/2 inch - cut in the fabric just outside of the seam line. 

If I sew a bigger seam I will lose the scroll design. So I fused a small piece of black fabric on the back where the cut is. 

I did a little bit of stitching to hold it closed before I fused it. Hopefully the quilting will help hold it all together, too. I know where it is and can find it easily, but I think it is hard to see. Can you see it?

Adventure

with my quilty friends is always fun. Yesterday we went on a quick trip because of the weather that was predicted for later in the day. We picked up my sewing machine after it had a cleaning at The Fabric Center, a lovely shop with friendly staff and then went on to Countryside Village, a nice place that had lots of interesting things and fabric.

I showed great restraint! 

At the Fabric Center I got one FQ. 

I love this texture, not quite a solid, and color, a lovely dark teal.

I enjoyed Countryside Village. They have lovely home decorating items, kitchen supplies, soup and dip mixes, jams and jellies, wine and a fabric room. I did find four FQs that will be used for the 365 Challenge. I cut fabric for some more blocks. 

Here are two of the fabrics before I cut into them.

The top right triangles and the triangles just below them are two of the other FQs from Countryside Village. 

Then it was time for lunch and home. We got home just as the snow started - good timing!

Before I went to bed it was still snowing.

The small dots are flakes of snow that are lit up by the laser light. Yes, it's still on. We like it.

This morning looks like this.

Not a LOT of snow, but enough to cause problems and slick roads. 

Two days ago the sunset looked like this.

I thought the clouds were interesting.

The colors became more beautiful as the sun set, although I can never seem to quite capture that with a photo.