Design Wall Monday::Almost Sewing Again

On Saturday I finally got to spend a few hours in my sewing room.  Unfortunately, it was such a mess that I needed to spend quite a while just straightening up.  Under a pile of fabrics I had more or less just dumped on top of some project boxes, I came across these 20 blocks all finished and patiently waiting. I knew that I had bought some yardage for the lattice strips.  It took a few minutes to locate that.  Then I remembered that I had set aside something else for setting triangles.  That took a little more digging. I also found the few extra pink strips that I had designated for the cornerstones.

I printed out the plan for the quilt from EQ and started to calculate what I was going to need to cut.  I was scribbling my calculations on the back of an old envelope when I decided that it would probably be better to just put them in my quilt notebook so I wouldn't have to worry about losing the envelope.  It took a few more minutes to find the notebook.

And when I opened the notebook I found that I had ALREADY done the darn calculations.  Do you use a notebook?  This one is a graph paper composition book which I've been trying to keep for the past few years.  If I find a quilt design I like, I can sketch it out.  I also try to write out the plans for each quilt I'm working on so they'll be all together in a safe place.




Armed with all the measurements I needed, I started cutting.  I'm happy to say that all the lattices and cornerstones are cut.  I wasn't able to get to the setting triangles before I ran out of time, but at least I know what size they're going to be. 

And so....

I was finally able to get this thing laid out on the design wall. 

The pattern is Sister's Choice from Bonnie Hunter at quiltville.com.  As with all Bonnie's patterns, it has a nice efficient way of sewing the parts together.  And it's a great way to use a jelly roll, as all the strips are cut at 2 1/2 inches.  I needed a bit of extra yardage for the some of the background fabrics, but I was able to get 20 blocks made from a single jelly roll. 

Now all I have to do is find some time to get it put together.  No promises there...

You can check out what other bloggers have on their design wall today by clicking through to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.  I think you'll find that others have been way more productive than I have lately, but hey, any progress is good, right?

Not Sewing

It's been a really busy couple of weeks, and I'm regretting that I haven't had much time to stop and enjoy the turning of the season.  April and May are the best time of the year in this area.  After the grays and drab browns of the winter months, it's wonderful to see the trees leaf out, the lawns green up and the early spring flowers begin to bloom.

I'd like to thank everyone who commented on the last post about my changing work situation.  It took me a while to wrap my mind around such a big jump (going from teaching primary-aged students to middle school, if you haven't been keeping up), but I'm okay with it.  More than okay, even.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do much sewing these past few weeks.  There's lots I'd like to be doing, but by the end of the day I'm usually so beat that all I can manage is a couple of rows on a pair of socks it seems like I've been working on for months.  These are being knit with Plymouth Rockin' Sox yarn, a blend of superwash, bamboo, and nylon--which makes for a nice, lofty knit.  And I love, love, love this color which reminds me of raspberries.  The pattern is Wickerware.  I think this is the third pair I've knitted with it. 

I've got a mini-retreat coming up in a couple of weeks, so I need to start looking for something that I can work on.  Should I start a new project, or buckle down and get something finished? 

Somehow, April Just Happened

It's been a very busy month here, and sewing has had to take a back seat for several weeks.  I thought I'd try to get caught up with a bullet post. 

* Beginning next year, I will have a new job.

* I've been assigned to the middle school.

* Not my first choice.

* I have taught in elementary school since the dawn of time.

* I like teaching elementary, especially the primary level.

* It could be worse.  That's been my mantra.  It could be worse.

* Lots of teachers (all over the country, not just in my little corner of the world) are losing their jobs, due to big cuts in education budgets because of the economy.  If you know a teacher, especially a young one, give him or her a hug because things are really tense right now.

* It could be WAY worse.

* April is an extremely busy month at school.  Annual conferences for parents of special education students.  Retention conferences.  Final preparations for statewide testing next week.  After school tutoring.  Projects to finish.  More assessments to administer.  All this in addition to the regular schedule, which is pretty busy to begin with. I am definitely ready for May.

* My daughter ran in the Boston Marathon over the weekend.  My husband and I flew up to Boston to help cheer her on. I say help cheer her on because the people of Boston do a darn good job of cheering on the marathon runners all by themselves.  But, it's the Boston Marathon; we couldn't pass that up.

* She was running around 80 miles a week to prepare.  Anyone that dedicated deserves to have her own personal cheering section.  If you happened to be in Newton, Massachusetts last Monday, my husband was the one standing on the lawn chair trying to get a picture of her coming down the street.  I was the one yelling at the top of my lungs, standing next to him. I think we may have been doing a little dance, too, but that may be just in my head.

* He didn't get the picture because she whizzed by too fast. 

* We had a great time hanging out with family that lives in the Boston area.  We also had a great time eating at the wonderful restaurants in Boston. 

* Cannoli at Mike's Pastry?  The best. Simply the best.

* Sewing?  Maybe this weekend. 

Catching Up (Is Hard to Do)

This week has been my spring break and I really needed the time.  I was much more tired than I realized, so I spent the first few days just catching up on sleep.  And that extra sleep really has helped.  I got caught up on some neglected household chores and tamed the laundry mountain.  True, there may be an errant dust bunny here or there, but I've got a few more days to get things more or less under control.

In the meantime, I've been dropping into my sewing room just for brief visits.  The stars in the picture above are a hand sewing project.  I have 14 more or less complete out of a total of 18 planned.  These have been slow going, but now that I'm so close to the end, I'm beginning to feel the love again.  I'm not sure about how to set them in a quilt; that's a decision that I keep putting off.  The good news is that I have somehow managed to acquire quite a bit of the fabric I need to finish the quilt in a couple of different ways.  It's just a matter of making the choice.

While traveling around blogland, I came upon a treasure trove of basket block patterns at Sandi's Piecemeal Quilts.  Just lately basket blocks are especially appealing to me, and it seemed a good use for some nice bright fabrics I found on the remnant table a while back.  These finish at 10 inches and there are nine different patterns on Sandi's blog--just the right number for a spring couch throw. 

I also started working on the Civil War Tribute quilt.  This is the first block I tried.  It will be 18 inches and will have a smaller 12 inch twin.  I didn't like the fabric I chose for the side triangles, so I'm rethinking.  There are lots and lots of bias seams in this block, which called for some very gentle handling.  There was a little bit of stretch, despite my determined starching, but I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out.

Have a great weekend!

Design Wall Monday::First Day of Spring Break

After nearly a week of warm, sunny weather, the first day of spring break was cold and rainy--perfect for staying inside and sewing. 

My doll quilt jag continues.  I finished the setting squares for this one today and got the main part of the quilt put together.  Now I am auditioning fabrics for a narrow border.

The dark red?

Or the dark brown?  Or neither?  Something lighter?  I think it wants SOMETHING, but I haven't found anything that I really like.  (Sorry for the rather odd color-cast of the second photo, but the light here today is decidedly grim, and I photographed it with lamps ablazing.)

This little one measures about 11 1/2 by 16 inches, so adding a another couple of inches wouldn't hurt anything.  Anyway, I'm going to leave it up there for a while and I'll keep trying different borders until I find something I can live with.

You can check out what others have on their design walls this week by reading Judy L.'s blog Patchwork Times. 

Celebrate Quilting!

I'm still buzzed from our Quilter's Day Out celebration. 

We had hoped for a big turnout, and we got one.  More than 200 people came to sew, to see our demonstrations, to chat, and to have a good time with quilting friends.

I did get pictures, as you can see, but at the last minute I got a little worried about someone not appreciating having their photo suddenly show up on the internet, so I'm just posting shots of our guild's quilt display.  I had to wait until late in the day when the crowd had thinned out a bit to even get these.

I hope that you can see the wide variety of quilts and quilting styles we have in our little guild.  A group of very energetic ladies set up the quilt display racks and got the hall ready yesterday so that we worker bees could arrive this morning just minutes before the doors opened and take our assigned places at the registration table, the goody bag handout, and the guild information table.

It takes a lot of planning and organization to make something like this happen.  As I left this afternoon, this year's planners were already talking about NEXT year!

Happy Quilter's Day Out!

Our guild is celebrating Quilter's Day Out today at a local church hall.  We've got sewing demonstrations, door prizes, goody bags, a book sale, quilt displays, vendor booths, and food provided by the church ladies.  I'm working from nine to four, which is why I'm up and around this early on my first day of spring break.

If I can remember to take my camera and actually take it out, I'll have pictures later.

How are you celebrating today?