what's going on...

Behind the scenes this is what's working...

I'm starting to pack up the sewing room.  We are moving next month.  Our big dream and all our work is finally going to pay off. We will be on a quiet gravel road amidst trees and wild life and I will have a HUGE sewing room...   We have packers and movers coming next month and they charge by weight...we figure we can take stuff every weekend and save some money.  The easiest thing to pack is my sewing room...I took two boxes last weekend and these are ready to go tomorrow.  Of course I already NEED something that I sent out last week.  lol

The sewing room is starting to look a bit bare..

all the shelves are cleared off...

all the walls are bare...

I've been reduced to radio only as I packed all my CD's..and I need a few tools to remove my thread holders and scissor hanger and my ruler rack...oh...and the radio shelf..   Then this room will be painted..a boring bland neutral.

I am already tired of packing...I can't imagine if I had to pack the whole house..  and so tomorrow I will be joining a few friends to sew....all. day. long.   Can't wait.. 

My ironing surface, sewing table and bed risers are ready...  I need to cut and pack a couple more projects and the sewing machine...


And I have been a terrible great-aunt... I have yet to see my new great nephew and hope to get there next week...I'll take dinner to make up for it...I have a great (from my daughter) chicken enchilada recipe that will travel well...

I helped move my Mom from one nursing home to another.  She did fine.

Have been trying to learn the new Facebook...BAH!  Why change something that isn't broke?

Nancy

Why all the hype?

I am still here...working on my StLMQG Habitat Challenge.  I have the top completely pieced now and pressed all my backing...and then...I saw them...all the extra blocks I made for this quilt and decided for one reason or another they weren't working...  So, what the heck...let's just use them on the back... 

There is the house block that was my first thought...you know HABITAT - HOUSE...{i hear crickets!}
and then I thought about a rail fence...so there is one of those up there, and then the rest is all the leftover fabric that would never be used in anything else so I pieced it all together and this is the result...  and it's now pressed...

and

UGH!  Who invented the idea of a pieced back?  I hated making that back.   I don't think it adds anything to the quilt as a whole...it was very time consuming..and frankly who is going to look at the back?  I don't see me doing this again.  But I do see pieced backs all the time so what is all the hype about?  Do you know?

Nancy



 

Modern Guild meeting... (edited to add more Jamie!)

Last Saturday was another great Modern Quilt Guild meeting.  We did our usual short meeting and then got right to the fun...  We had 5 wonderful volunteers do a round robin of learning..

Marianne taught us how to make continuous bias binding... 

Grace brought her machine and a couple of fabulous quilts and showed how she does free motion quilting...

She had tons of samples for us to look over...

Jamie showed us all how to make her famous hexagons...I am pretty sure that "hexagon" is her middle name...She loves them and is making tons of them for a quilt.  She has given herself 5 years to make it.
Jamie also contributes to Moda Bake Shop and has a quilt she designed featured in the current issue (April 2011) of Quilters World. The quilt was renamed for the magazine and is called Sugar & Spice.  Jamie named it Ruffle Quilt and it is featured as a Moda Bake Shop pattern  under that name. It also hung in the Moda booth at Houston last year.  She was beyond excited...                                                                           

Marsha showed us a bit about hand piecing...and I've been thinking about it...

Sally (not sure why I don't have a photo of HER)..showed us tube quilting...quite fascinating

I actually put my camera away for show and tell so I have no photos...but we saw some great baby quilts and a table topper and more...

Then we signed up for a mug rug swap.... they are due next meeting and I have been thinking of ideas...It's a secret swap so I will be able to show you the mug rug because no one will know ..

Nancy

First Challenge...

chal·lenge   /ˈtʃælɪndʒ/ Show Spelled [chal-inj] noun, verb, -lenged, -leng·ing, adjective

1.  a call or summons to engage in any contest, as of skill, strength, etc.

2.  a call to fight, as a battle, a duel, etc.

3.  a difficulty in a job or undertaking that is stimulating to one engaged in it.

My new (and most favorite) quilt guild has issued us a challenge.  We have the best president ever. She was given a hint to contact Robert Kaufman Fabrics.  The company sent us enough of these charm packs for each due paying member of the guild.  In return, we just need to give permission to use photographs of our work on their blog should they decide to honor us with a post.  So, our president has issued a challenge. 

As with any challenge there are rules..

Finished item must be able to hang on wall.  So no purses, bowls, clothing, etc.

Finished item must be between 120"-180" in perimeter.

We must use at least 21 of the charm squares.

Item MUST be quilted and bound.

We can add 1 or 2 other SOLID fabrics.  

Finish date is June 11th.

If we don't finish by June 11th, we have to pay the guild $10 for the charm pack.  That right there is a major incentive ...

 Oy vey... this IS a challenge for me.  I have been playing around with my markers and graph paper for a few days now and might have an idea.  It needs tweaking, but I think I like it...  

Want a sneak peak?

photo doctored by picnik.com

What? You thought I was actually going to let you see my sketch??  I don't think so.  I think even this photo shows a bit too  much.  I will promise to show some sneak peaks in the future and I might even show a good photo before June 11th...but don't hold your breath. 

Right now there is no judging or prizes, but that could change by June 11th...  Who knows, maybe Robert Kaufman himself will fly in to judge...crazier things have happened .. There IS a real live Robert Kaufman, RIGHT??

Nancy

done...

So most of you liked choice number 2, except for that one that just doesn't feel the PURE love...lol  She is in my guild and the swap so I guess I know who won't go home with my pincushion..  I finished both of them and have them all safely packed in plastic so they don't get dirty...

Why two?  Because the first one doesn't work..  Now a pin cushion has no moving parts, so you are probably wondering how could it not work?   The darker one on the bottom is the first one I made.  Deco weight fabric x 2 plus an iron on stabilizer means pins won't go through. hm... so I made the top one with PURE cotton with the deco weight patch and NO iron on stabilizer and I love it even better...  I think I will give it as a twosome...  We will celebrate the oops as Jamie would say...

Nancy