Yes, Linda, I am quilting big time. Finishing up one of Bonnie's patterns: Blue Ridge Beauty. Started on Mar 17th and now have it to an "almost" floppy stage. Pulled the fabrics for a quickie baby quilt...in girly pinks, purples, etc. That excites me because it is not as involved as the BRBeauty. Not to mention the prepped fabric ready to cut for the CW quilt I keep experimenting with. Whew...

THX for asking!
Gwen

Since I put the Amish Diamonds together and am waiting for backing, I have had an 'itch" to sew. So earlier this week, I pulled out the blue bin. Yesterday I cut and started strip piecing. And am just now going to start putting blocks together. Not a complicated pattern, almost mindless, but at least I am sewing.
And hopefully cutting down on the blue stash.
Theresa

I finished one and now I am going to start on a "cheaters" quilt for great granddaughter than I have one to do for her sister. I haven't decided what hers will be. I got behind so she is a little older. i need to catch up on these baby quilts

Been playing in the fabric bins, but as usual, off to the quilt shop. I'm taking a class on Sunday and need a few fabrics for it. It's called 3-D Boxes and looks like fun. Finally got the floor in the upstairs room we've been finishing since we moved in, now I can start "furnishing" the space. Need some under 35" high pull out storage for the sloped wall and a table for cutting that sticks out enough so I won't bump my head.
Listening to all of you and your many projects makes me itchy to get going. You're all a good example!

Gwen~are you making Bonnie's BRB all scrappy? I admire those who have the dedication to making her quilts! I took a workshop with Bonnie, and sat next to a sweet very elderly lady in the early spring who yakked & yakked and I thought, she must never get anything finished. Well, let me tell you~she pulled out quilt after quilt of Bonnie's scappy quilts, all very large, including the Ocra mystery quilt that had started a few months earlier! And, she sews only on Featherweights!!!!! I have since been with her at other events and she is a hoot & very productive!

This weekend, we race - sailing tonight - pray for no thunderstorms....but we want wind :)
Tomorrow afternoon, I hope to sit in front of the TV watching the Olympics and make some blocks out of Batik charms to take to retreat using my Featherweight, since that is the machine I travel with.

Have fun Marsha!!! My BIL in CA loves to sail, I get motion sickness!!!

The Blue Ridge Beauty is really a beauty, it's on my 'to do' list.

I am still on my scrappy Irish Chain. I was going for 7x9 rows but I may stop at 7x7.
And of course THE OLYMPICS!
Rosa

Ah... Blue Ridge Beauty... its on my someday list, along with Shakespeare in the Park. Not sure what I'll work on this weekend but I will be sewing - while watching the Olympics!

I'm so excited I could explode. I took the plunge. After weeks of searching and trying out machines I decided that it would make the most sense to get a quilting only straight stitch machine and use my faithful Pfaff for anything else I need.

Today I dropped by the local sales place that carries Babylock and liked their price. I called the one in Folsom who had been fabulously helpful and asked their floor model price. It was much higher than the other place and I ended up going with the first place. So sorry to have to say no to the helpful place, but so happy to get an affordable price so I don't have to save up any longer! He gave me a great price on the machine "the Jane" and threw in a nice light that really does a great job! He gets another one on Wednesday and I'll take a class to get started. Yipee!

I appreciate all the input I got on my machine questions. I'd originally been interested in the Janome 6600 or 7700 for the big space, but got scared off by the price. Been reading mucho on all the options. I had trouble in my neck of the woods finding a Brother or Juki to try and I really liked the "Jane" I test drove, especially the see through plastic foot that some reviewers didn't like. Hope it works out, but for now I'm really stoked...does that sound old...oh well, I'm old!

Blue Ridge Beauty is also on my bucket list and has been for quite awhile. It is one of those 'looks harder than it is' quilts, when you break it down to the basics, but one you'd definitely want to progress with on a design wall. It has the same basic block pieces as a Jewel Box, or Buckeye Beauty quilt. Great leaders and enders project.

I have a birthday supper tomorrow for my dear DIL so I'll spend a good deal of the day cooking and baking. If I am up too early to start on morning chores, however, I may work a bit more on my homespun flying geese quilt top. Twenty four blocks done with sashing and assembled together, and six to go. Whether I can finish that up Sunday will depend on how ripe the corn is in the garden. It's like waiting for the birth of a baby, when it's ready, you drop everything and get 'er done......and that means digging out the canner. No choice.

It sounds like everyone is going to be getting a lot done!

I haven't sewn in weeks, but plan to work on my skull quilt project tomorrow. I may have to get more fabric.... not sure I bought enough. The other thing is that my rail riding rotary cutter is skipping (and the blade is fairly new) and I can't find my good fabric shears that I've had for 12 years anywhere.... I may have to buy new ones. I don't use them often, but they were like an old friend and I can't sew without them!

Maybe I threw them out with the scraps since the handles were orange and I cut orange fabric with them last.... I did that with an orange vegetable peeler and some carrot peels once when I used to cook in a previous life. :o)

Have a fun weekend everyone and remember to trade that quarter inch foot out if you're using zig zag. :o)

It sounds like everyone is going to be getting a lot done!

I haven't sewn in weeks, but plan to work on my skull quilt project tomorrow. I may have to get more fabric.... not sure I bought enough. The other thing is that my rail riding rotary cutter is skipping (and the blade is fairly new) and I can't find my good fabric shears that I've had for 12 years anywhere.... I may have to buy new ones. I don't use them often, but they were like an old friend and I can't sew without them!

Maybe I threw them out with the scraps since the handles were orange and I cut orange fabric with them last.... I did that with an orange vegetable peeler and some carrot peels once when I used to cook in a previous life. :o)

Have a fun weekend everyone and remember to trade that quarter inch foot out if you're using zig zag. :o)

Q'hen - congrats on your new machine! Sounds like you made a great choice!

I'm awake at 2am because I just finished quilting and binding the silk painting quilt from the class I took. I think it's the best free motion quilting I've done so I'm pleased with it. Sleepy. Going to bed now. Pictures will be posted tomorrow.

Kate

I just added pictures to my blog of DD's purse she made while visiting this week. I am so enjoying her enthusiasm for quilting.She is working on a quilt and is very excited to see it coming together.
Linda OH

Here is a link that might be useful: Jennifer's purse

Congratulations Qhen...it's so exciting to get a new machine...have fun.
Marhsa, I hope the weather holds out for you...it's another Aug dog day inland, but it's always nice on the bay! have fun
Lindaoh: Love that purse...the colors and quilting are perfect!
Kate: anxious to see the silk painting

I hope to make a tote this weekend, I'll need it to haul stuff for the retreat...so that's my weekend project.
V.

Linda - your daughter's purse is very pretty. It is so nice she is following in your footsteps and the two of you can share this passion. The fact that she customized the purse to fit her needs proves she has indeed caught the bug.
What a nice way to spend her visit! I love your blog!

Qhen- what kind of Pfaff do you have? I have a family of Pfaff's ~lol~ the Grandma is a Pfaff 1222E --- when I bought a new one a few years ago, I felt like I was cheating! I had to force myself not to use the 1222E for a year, in order to bond with the Quilt Expression 2048.
Congrats on getting the new machine!

Kate~the wine you drank at dinner caused you to relax and FMQ better. :~)

mago...My Pfaff is a 6270. My quilting buddies were so glad when I bought this one many years ago, because I stopped swearing all the time since works so well!

Qhen, I am sorry that I forgot to congratulate you on your new machine! I know for me, a new sewing machine is more exciting than a new car, so even if you don't feel that strongly about it, I can certainly appreciate your enthusiasm. I hope you love it!

Lol, after reading through everyone's posts I had to look up that Blue Ridge Beauty quilt, and I liked what I saw. It reminds me of the quilts one of my grandmothers used to make. Both of my grandmothers quilted (which may have a lot to do with my love of quilting) and so did one of my aunts on my mothers side. My paternal grandmother tended to make quilts like the BRB, using hundreds of small scraps of clothing her family had grown out of, while my maternal grandmother tended to make quilts with diamond shapes, again using clothing her family had grown out of. She used to have a gorgeous lonestar quilt on her bed, and I think my mom has it now. She also used to make dresden plate quilts. I have some blocks, both completed and incomplete, from both grandmothers, and some day I'm going to put them into a wallhanging. Gwen, thanks for starting a line of conversation which sent me down Memory Lane. I always like making that trip!

Linda, are you sure you didn't copy those purse pictures from a catalog? Your daughter did an excellent job! It looks to me like talent runs in your family!

Last night I took the plunge into making a wholecloth mini-quilt. I felt like a complete idiot when I was at joanns, asking about threads and needles, but it was well worth it. I traced out a large goldfish on my fabric, put it into the hoop, and started sewing. I first separated the strands in my thread, but didn't care for how thin it looked, so I discarded that step. Now I'm using the embroidery thread as is, and loving my results. The picture is of what I did last night. The rest of the outlining will be done with a multi-colored orange I'm hoping will give the fins a bit of movement. I'm planning on filling in a little of the fins with the same thread, then adding more of the solid orange to deepen the curves of the fish. Once I have this fish done to my liking, I'm thinking of adding a couple of smaller fish to give it some depth, and maybe some green seaweed. Once that's done, I'd like to use my machine to add some blue around the edges, following the lines of the grid. I was soooo lucky to find some white-on-white in a grid! I'll be sure to post pix as I progress.

Dan

lindaoh...forgot to say earlier. Fantastic job she did. Looks good and looks really functional too.

Linda that is a very professional looking bag. She is talented!
Rosa

Linda your daughter's purse is gorgeous! Marsha hope you had fun sailing. Is there a website or a book of quilt patterns authored by Bonnie? If so can you please provide a web link or a book name as I am curious and would like to check out her patterns. Dan love how your WOW wholecloth goldfish quilt is coming along. I usually use 3 threads of embroidery floss when I embroidery, but granted each project is different. Well off to work on my Lotto blocks, get some hand-quilting done on my Grandma's quilt, and may read a book this afternoon. :-)

Best to you,
Sandra

Sandra,

Here is her site. Bonnie also has mysteries and I can't keep up with her lol!!! She can sit for hours and sew! I usually keep a copy of them to go at my own (slow) pace.

I made her 'Random Ohio Stars' into a prayer quilt for a raffle and it was well received.

Here is a link that might be useful: BonnieHunter

VacuumFreak,
Why were you not there to remind me when I did this lol! I broke my brand new needle but nothing else, thank goodness!

Have a fun weekend everyone and remember to trade that quarter inch foot out if you're using zig zag. :o)
Rosa

thanks Sandra. I'm new to this whole thing and experimenting/learning as I go. the other night Linda was asking me about different stitches and whether or not I was using them. I had to laugh because I don't know the names of stitches, I'm just putting thread into a needle and sewing...lol! i guess i could learn the names of the various stitches, but somehow that just seems like more than i need to do. after all, my head can only hold so much knowledge, and what'll happen if i overload it, will some of it start coming out of my ears??? lol!

Thank you Rosa and that's a beautiful quilt! Will check out the link you posted. You're welcome Dan - I don't know the names of all the stitches either, but once I get a crazy quilt made I want to learn the herringbone stitch so I can do decorative hand-stitching on the blocks like my great-grandma did on the crazy quilts she used to make. Well off to sew some quilt blocks on the machine.

Best to you,
Sandra

Did you get everything finished that you planned to do this weekend? I did not get the B/W quilts loaded on the frame but I have been working on a wall hanging quilt that I cut out last month.
We had a thunder storm go through last evening. I always unplug my machines during storms, therefore, no sewing. We did get about an inch of much needed rain. We are in an area that is in extreme drought.
Thanks for all the nice comments on my DD's quilted purse. She is very happy with the results.
Linda OH

I got more than I had planed to get done~yippee~since I have not been sewing recently (boohoo). I did bond with my Featherweight, then switched back to sewing on my Pfaff this afternoon -- so much faster,although it is cool sewing on the FW. I set a table in front of the TV so I could watch the Olympics while I sewed last night-it was uncomfortable. I stopped sewing earlier this evening for the onset of some nasty storms--took down all my hanging plants and moved my boxes of Dragon Winged Begonias to a protected area as we are expecting 60 mph winds and hail. Not a drop of rain yet! We need rain badly.

I hope those in other areas are okay after those storms last night.

I'm another that unplugs everything! I did finish piecing my scrappy Irish Chain and my unclean home is proof lol!!!! We had rain and we need so much more.

Marsha I was so used to the weather in Florida and not having to bother with moving plants around.

Here I spend so much time moving them out of the wind and in and out of cover for the winter. BUT I love my plants!!
Rosa

Suzy Quinnell was the teacher today for the 3D boxes class I took. She was really great! The rest of those registered cancelled and I was the only one there. She very graciously pressed and did some of the cutting for me, so that pokey me got to finish the center section. Soon I'll have the borders and corners on and post a picture, but for now my back and neck say REST. So much fun, but the store's air was broken, so we did a lot of sweating since the outside temperature was back in the high 90's!
There's even a perk! The leftover triangles can be used in a table runner!

rosajoe...Pretty quilt and thanks for the link. It's really fun seeing what everyone makes.

I actually got quite a bit done today. I finished putting together 1930's blocks into a top. I used the dozen that I got in my Birthday blocks this year and added another 24 to them. I placed them 6 x 6 and added 10 inch white borders all around. I plan to applique vines and flowers in the borders using 1930s repro fabric. When I finish the applique I will send it out to be quilted. It will be a Christmas gift for my mother.

Jackie

I had a very productive quilting weekend and even did 2 loads of laundry. That was the extent of my housework I'm afraid. Had the TV on all weekend watching the Olympics. I wish I could stretch it to 3 days but have to save my vacation days for Retreat!

Besides the silk piece, I made dozens of HST for a valor quilt. I got a few of them sewn into pairs but still have lots left to do on that one.

I used a section of an old ironing board cover to make a small tabletop ironing pad. So then I had to make a travel pouch to hold the pad and the little iron.

Kate

Rosa,

I'm sorry that happened to you!

I should take my own advice... I wanted to sew in the living room so I could watch TV so I took the machine off the bedroom desk and put it on a table in front of the sofa... started to stitch and snap! The machine locked up and the display said "safety device activated"... at least I found the part of the needle that broke off and it didn't land inside the machine... my machine defaults to the left needle position when you turn it on, and if I'd been sewing in my normal spot I'd have remembered to change it, but with the moving to the living room bit thrown in to the mix, I simply forgot. Sometimes, mechanical machines that stay where we put them are best! I have a nice new gouge in my new quarter inch foot now... I guess it can be called a battle scar :o)

Bobbie~I put little reminder Avery dots & post it notes on my machine to remind me the single hole needle plate is on, bring the needle up before turning off machine, and if I have the the 1/4" foot on. This is so I hopefully do not break a needle the next time I sit down to sew.
The first gouge feels the worst!
We've all been there and feel like idiots when we do something stupid. At least you have an excuse, you changed your space and routine.

Thx for the comments on BRBeauty!

link below is Bonni Hunter's for today...now you know why Rosajoe says its hard to keep up with Bonnie...she is getting ready for a trip to Bali to teach! Whew!

Gwen

Here is a link that might be useful: Bonnie's blog