Quilt #24 - Robots

Last night, I finished this quilt for Regina. I used the Square Spiral pantograph and a medium to dark green variegated King Tut in the top and silver Bottom Line in the bobbin. This was the best thread and quilting combination I have had in a while!





I just love how this quilting looks on this quilt!

My 2,000th Post Giveaway!!

When I started blogging on the quilt specific blogging site in July 2007, I had no idea that I would keep blogging for so many years and I know that I didn't even consider writing 2,000 posts! It's amazing to me that I have done it!

I have made some amazing friends from the blog and even meet some of them in person - Regina, Jennifer, Amy, Ruth and Judy L. are the ones that immediately come to mind!

Having the blog was also an ice breaker with Jean who announced that she had read my blog when I met her at a Guild meeting. When I went to the first Shipshewana retreat, I met Donna and Vera and they knew me from my blog and it was like we already knew each other.

Having the blog helped secure my turn as a quilter for the Scrap Squad and you can read all about my quilts here.

Documenting my quilts and quilting on the blog has been a fantastic way for me to keep track of how long I have been working on a project and how many UFOs I have. It has also helped me keep track of goals and lists of things to do occasionally.

I think it is going to be a great way for me to keep track of my vintage machine collection. :)  And knitting projects.

Enough of this sappy stuff! It's time to get to what everyone has been patiently waiting for.... THE GIVEAWAY!!!

I am giving away QUILTING! Yes, I am going to choose a winner from the comments and quilt a quilt for her (or him). There will be restrictions, of course.

1. Maximum quilt size of 65" square. 
2. Winner pays for all other expenses - shipping, batting, and anything else that might come up.
3. Quilting will not be a custom quilt design, but I have a wide range of pantographs and free hand designs available.
4. This quilting is only available to US residents only because I don't want to deal with international shipping of a quilt. Sorry. :(

For those that want to celebrate with me but don't want or need anything quilted, be patient because I already have a couple of things picked out for my blogiversary on July 28.

Also, depending on how popular this giveaway is, I might be inclined to sweeten the pot, so to speak, so feel free to share the giveaway on your blog or facebook or twitter pages. :)

And now for what you need to do to be entered... Leave me a comment and tell me how long it has been since you finished a quilt or a quilted project. :)

I will draw the winner on July 31 so you have almost 2 weeks to enter.

And the most important part... If you are a NO REPLY COMMENTER, you must leave your email address in the comment. If you don't and I have no way to get in touch with you, I will delete your comment from the post. If you have ever left a comment on my blog and have never gotten an email response, you are probably No Reply. I will be responding to each and every comment that is left so if you don't hear from me within a couple of days, you are probably marked as No Reply.
If you are unsure if you are no reply, just put your email in the comment.

I will modify this post as questions come up or if there is anything that I need to clarify.

Thanks for sharing in this journey with me and for celebrating my 2,000th post with me!

Monthly Accomplishments - May 2012

Maybe this will give me a little motivation today... :)

1. Finished getting frame set up and tested it at the very beginning of the month
2. Quilted quilt #1 - charity quilt for the Guild - also finished the binding
3. Quilted quilt #2 - charity quilt for the Guild
4. Quilt #3 - another charity quilt for the Guild
5. Quilt #4 - a quilt for Lynn
6. Got some tools for the Avante - still loving the white tray that sits on the rails!
7. Quilt #5 - for Lynn
8. Quilt #6 - baby quilt for Emily
9. Quilt #7 - wall hanging for Jen
10. Attached the binding to quilts #2 and #3
11. Quilted #8 and #9 - For Regina's 4Patches4Hope
12. Assembled Moon Pie and started working on the borders
13. Quilt #10 - a table runner for Jen
14. Quilt #11 - finally one for me!
15. Went to New York to see Regina and her family and enjoyed a bit of soggy scenery and shopping at JoAnn's!
16. Cut out and pieced Sweet Treats
17. Made great progress on my second sock!

I also got a lot read this month!

1. Endangered Species by Nevada Barr
2. Spinning Forward by Terri DuLong
3. Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler
4. Starting Now by Debbie Macomber
5. Family Pictures by Jane Green
6. The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier
7. Touch & Go by Lisa Gardner
8. Last to Die by Tess Gerritsen
9. Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman
10. The Thorn by Beverly Lewis

This is a little motivating! I got a lot of quilting done last month!

And my favorite picture of the month... The pups!

On the Needles - 5/31

After being stalled for a few weeks on my second sock, I got to knit quite a bit last weekend.



Monday it was nice enough outside that Regina and I sat outside doing hand work - I knit socks and she sewed binding.

I almost got the leg done!



The yarn is Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Hickory. The second sock is just a tad darker. sigh And the color in the first picture is the truer color.

The pattern is Zora by Regina Satta on Ravelry.

Decision to make

I started unpacking last night from the trip to Regina's house. I still have one basket left to unpack, but I got Moon Pie back up on the design wall.

I need to pick a fabric for the outer cornerstones and binding.



I though that a darker blue would work, but I don't have anything in my stash. I cut these pieces out several years ago and I used the last bits of a lot of fabrics.

So I have two options up. A red.



And a lime green.



Thoughts?

Design Wall Monday - 5/27

This weekend at Regina's for sewing, I brought my Singer 301A. I love using this machine at home (when I was actually sewing) and figured that it would be easier to tote to the attic for sewing than the Janome. I was right! And she has been a joy to use all weekend.



So far, I have put a binding on a quilt, made the piano key borders for Moon Pie and pieced a lot on a new quilt. I am pretty sure that this will be my new traveling machine!

Saturday night, I cut out five fabrics for the new quilt I started - Sweet Treat, a free pattern from Judy L. Yesterday, I cut the rest of the fabrics and pieced all the blocks.



I added a row to the quilt to make it a little larger and I think that I am going to change the pieced border to make it a little easier to piece and finish. After I got the blocks made and on Regina's design wall, I got the sashing on 4 of the 7 rows.



This is really coming along nicely and I might just be able to have the center part finished before I leave!

See what is on other quilters' design walls here.

Stash Report Week 21, 2013

This weekend, Joann's had all of the Red Tag fabric on clearance for 50% off the clearance price and then we had a coupon for 10% off the total order. Last year, we shopped and got backings and this year, we did the same thing!

I got a lot of yardage that should be great for some of the quilts that I am working on or will be working on.



The fabric on the left is one that Regina put on the back of a quilt she made me. I see it all the time at JoAnn's and there must have been an entire bolt of it in clearance. I only got 6 yards.



There wasn't a ton of this cream and green plaid, but it was $2 a yard and it will work well for a fair amount of quilts.



I also got the backings ready for the two quilts for Regina's 4Patches4Hope so that I could deliver them this week.



So I may have gone a little crazy on the fabric, but it will all be put to good use eventually!

Fabric added this week: 27.71
Fabric added YTD: 68.70

Fabric used this week: 6.11
Fabric used YTD: 28.32

Net Fabric Used: -40.38

Adventures in Fairport

Yesterday, Regina and I ran some errands that took us into Fairport and right next to the Erie Canal. It was very cool and rainy all day, but the rain stopped long enough for us to walk around a little for pictures.

I forgot my real camera so these were all with my phone camera.

Here is a view of the canal. There was fog rolling along the water and in spite of the lack of sunshine, it was lovely!



We went into the local branch of the library and found this quilt. This isn't the whole quilt, but it was very cool!



And here is the info on the quilt. A Bicentennial Quilt from 1975. Very interesting!



In Cincinnati, they had flying pigs in 2000 (the Big Pig Gig) and there are still some pigs on display around the city. In Glendale, they had the Squirrels in 2004.

While we were walking to our first destination, I spotted this horse and told Regina that we were going to take a closer look.







And Regina was telling me about the golf balls that the area did for the PGA and LPGA tour being in town and I spied this over her shoulder.







It was nice to see a little part of art from the area!

Quilts #8 and #9 quilted

Regina has been working on her 4Patches4Hope quilts and I told her to send me what she had so that I could quilt it for her with the new Avante. Today, I got to those quilts!

#8 is the pink 4 patch quilt. I used a white-ish So Fine in the top and the light gray Bottom Line in the bobbin. I am going to have to get some more of that light gray Bottom Line!



I just did a stipple on both quilts.



And I used this from my stash for the backing. It's a St Jude's fabric so very appropriate for cancer quilts.



And #9 is the blue quilt. I used the same thread combination for this quilt.





And Batman on the back. Again, from my stash.

They came bearing gifts!

When the Southern Invasion came up for the quilt show, they brought me and the pups goodies!

I know the group because Susan is Regina's sister and when the IQF show was here the first year, Regina came down from New York and Susan came up from South Carolina with Carolyn and Marj. This year, they brought June with them

Here is the group of us at the quilt show on Wednesday night. From the left - Sue, me, June, Carolyn and Marj.



And here are the goodies! FROG jam - Fig, Raspberry, Orange and Ginger. It sounds interesting! And some cookies that look very yummy for the pups!



A Quilt Diva bag with a snap top and some doxie napkins.



And a quilt!! Bright fabrics and quilted by Marj with dog paws and bones.





And the back is very cute, too! They all signed one of the blocks.



Max was enjoying the quilt until Lula started after him from the right...



Thank you, gals, for the great gifts and for coming to see me! Come back anytime!!

Lula agrees!

No Book Review Thursday - 1/24

Another week with very little reading! I am slowly getting into the Fatal Winter by G. M. Malliet and I think that I am almost halfway through The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon. But with no finished books, I can't write a review.

I can show you what has kept me from reading this week.



I got a new laptop. Sunday, I was on my old laptop and all was fine and dandy. Monday, the screen wouldn't do anything. I could tell that the laptop was running and it was making all the usual beeps, but the screen stayed dark.

I realized that it was time to put it out of my misery. sigh

So I did a little research, got some input from my computer geek neighbor and Regina's hubby and I picked up a Dell Monday afternoon.



I spent most of Monday late afternoon and evening setting things up. I think things are working well so far. I just need to get EQ up and running. :)

Tomorrow night, I need to get a quilt loaded on the frame and get it set up for quilting on Sunday. I also have to prep because I am going to a Sew In on Saturday at Kara's! I still have to cut the greens for the Easy Street mystery and that is what I want to take with me to work on. :)

Since I am giving an update, I will give a little work update. Since just before Christmas, things have taken a complete turn. I am going to start reporting to a new manager on February 11 (I finally have the date to start a countdown!) and I am going to meet with her on Tuesday so that we can get an idea of each other. I have had a discussion with the Director of our department (both old and new bosses' boss) and it has become *almost* a joy to go into work everyday! It is such a relief to think that things are going to change and there is no more waiting for it to happen!

I wrote up the blog post for my 6th and final Scrap Squad today and it should be live on the magazine's blog within the next few days. I'm excited to be able to show off this last quilt!

I also rearranged some things in my studio and I am thinking that the new arrangement is going to be awesome! There is just a teeny bit more room and I think it feels a bit more open. We shall see how it works when I try to cut my fabric tomorrow!

And now, I am off to bed to try and get a few pages read. :)

I'll leave you with this picture of the girls from last night. It is still a little surprising to me when I turn around and see Lula curled up with Max, but she almost never sits this close to Maisy!

Stash Report Week 52, 2012

I'm still in the black! I'm still in the black! I'm still in the black!!

Last night, after I picked up the new Singer 301 (Shirley, I think!)....



.... I stopped at Joann's and got border and backing fabric for the last Scrap Squad quilt.



I was hoping to come home and work on the finishing the top and making the backing, but I was too excited about the new machine! I was also straightening up the studio and when I came across the machine oil, I decided to oil Shirley. There are a lot of places to oil!! Do you see all those little arrows?



I also picked up some more heat resistant fabric to recover my big board.



And I got a couple of skeins of this ruffle yarn so of course I had to try it out. I'm still deciding whether I like it or not.



And this past week was Christmas and my wonderful BFF Regina got me a fantastic quilt kit!! Literary Lounger with the Bookish fabric line from Connecting Threads. She splurged for me and now my stash report is taking a hit! lol I love it, Regina!! Not only do I live books, but the colors of this line were made just for me!



I'm still in the black! I'm still in the black!

Fabric added this week: 14.63
Fabric added YTD: 145.40

Fabric used this week: 0.00
Fabric used YTD: 173.88

Net Fabric Used: 28.48

Lula thinks we should play with fabric today and I wholeheartedly agree!!