Sister's Choice Quilts

BOM Rehab Monday

Back on track this week with the BOM Rehab, I am happy to say!  I finished Block Eleven of the Peace on Earth Designer Mystery BOM over the weekend.  That project is definitely coming together and all that will remain will be the lattice, which involves a star pattern and is awfully pretty.

I've been seeing some seriously cute Strawberry Fields blocks in the BOM Rehab group, which is making me think I should do several of those blocks each week and get caught up on that BOM, which I have not even cracked open.  Since I am so deeply into my Fig Tree fabrics lately, it probably would be fun for me.  I need to order the finishing kit as well, before it is too late!

Thanks so much to all of you who left comments on how to make smoothies last week.  I sure did get some great ideas!  The one that I am incorporating immediately is to add some flax seed to my smoothies.  What I didn't ask is should I grind it up first, or does it get ground up in the blender with everything else?

BOM Rehab Monday

Luckily this block was the easiest thing in the world to make, or I probably would have missed the BOM Rehab deadline today!  Well, it is still Monday where I live, and I did come in just under the wire.

I was wrong about the name of this collection of fabric in a previous post.  It is Peace on Earth, not Grace.

I swear the 3 Sisters Christmas collections are one big blur to me--they all seem so similar!

Here are the other nine blocks I have made for this BOM.  Only two more to go!!

Thanks again to Sinta at Pink Pincushion for hosting this finish-it-up BOM Rehab.  This project could be languishing indefinitely without her spurring me on.

Glorious Weekend

What a glorious weekend we had here in my little neck of the woods.  Perfect weather in all ways.  A little work, a little play, some family time, some sewing, and some good food.  I got the binding on my T is for Thelma Schnibble and you can see it all pretty on my kitchen table.  Just so you know, those roses are fresh picked from my garden!  The kids came for a barbeque on Sunday night and my table is so festive.  Their last name begins with T, so I am expecting they will possibly want to take it home with them! 

You may notice the table is only set for three.  My husband works in a town 200 miles away, so he usually leaves on Sunday afternoon and isn't with me for Sunday dinner.  Or Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday dinner.  I miss him, but I know this won't last forever.  And at least he has a job!

Speaking of Schnibbles, I got started on the Doc Schnibble for May over the weekend.  At first I was all in a dither, super confused about the cutting instructions, sewing, and lay out.  I have some real spatial issues, it seems.  I figured I would be challenged by this project, since in the past I have really had a struggle with this sort of thing.  My Tessellations quilt comes to mind.

The Card Trick block is similar in that you have to pay attention to the adjoining blocks and get your colors arranged just so in order to make the pattern.  This Tessellations quilt nearly drove me Ca-Razy.

No problem though.  I guess Tessellations was my trial by fire.  I didn't have the same level of frustration with my Doc blocks.  After a bit of a dither, I sorted it all out.  What fun these blocks are!

These are possibly the cutest blocks EVER.  I cannot wait to finish this Schnibble and get it on my table!  The fabric is a Sandy Gervais group called Zippity Do Dah.  It is several years old I think, but you can still get it if you search online.

I don't have my BOM Rehab block done yet, but it is still Monday.  I may get it done yet!

BOM Rehab Monday

I rallied at the eleventh hour on Sunday and got my BOM Rehab block done.  This is block nine of the Mystery BOM featuring a 3 Sisters Christmas collection called Grace, that was sponsored by the Fatquartershop.

Finally, I seem to be over the miserable virus that laid me low last week.  I even felt well enough to go visit my family in the Bay Area yesterday, which I hadn't done since the beginning of April.  It was good to see everyone, and I am always reminded how much I enjoy it, and how I need to make the trip more regularly.  It is a two and a half hour drive though, so I have to pace myself.

A couple of readers emailed me to ask why I had taken down the photos of my grand daughter that I had posted last week.  I have such mixed feelings about posting pictures or other information about her.  On the one hand, since she is the light of my life, I want to share her with my friends and family.  On the other hand, I am aware that not everyone who may read my blog is in the category of friend or family, and could potentially use her image in ways that I would be uncomfortable with.   It is such a dilemma for me.

So, if I share anecdotes and photos of her, and then only leave them up for a day, I figured my regular readers could enjoy it, but I could remove the images so they weren't up there permanently for random people to see.  That may be faulty logic though.  I have heard that once something is out on the internet it is out there forever, even if you think you have removed it. 

I'd love to know your opinions on the subject.  Do you think it is appropriate to share photos and stories about young children on a personal blog, or is it too fraught with potential dangers?   Has anyone heard of stalkers showing up on the door step of someone who posted photos of their children or grandchildren on their craft blog?  It is such a remote possibility that I shouldn't worry about it?  Or is taking any sort of risk foolhardy, no matter how unlikely the negative outcome?  My sister frets about me doing it, so I have been giving the subject a lot more thought recently.

BOM Rehab Monday

Honestly, I have come down with whatever virus Baby E has had, and feel like c&#p.  Tylenol helps, but not nearly enough.  (She seems to have recovered and is back to her happy self).  So, just  a short post to show you that I rallied and made my BOM Rehab Monday blocks.  It just about killed me, but luckily the two blocks did not take too long to make.  Not my best piecing efforts ever, but they will have to do.  I can see I need to get out my Mary Ellen's spray starch and press out some puckers.  Didn't really enjoy working with these fabrics.  There is a muddy pea soup quality to the colors I am not in love with.

Before I got sick I managed to make six eyeglasses cases, but ended up giving one away.  Seriously, when people see these things they get so excited.  "Oh, will you make me one?  Can I buy one from you?" My son has even requested one in camo to match his zippy bag I made him back in February.  Now this Michael Miller fabric collection really shouts "Spring" doesn't it?  I love the energetic feel to it.

The one on the bottom with the cute half daisies?  I measured wrong and it came out a bit narrower than the others.  But you know what?  It is perfect for those half readers that everyone my age wears!  You can really make these any size you like.  For most of them, my center strip is two and half inches wide, but you could go wider if you wanted to make a cosmetics bag, or narrower for the skinny eye glass case.  Any size at all works for these little bags.  And I know I have said this many times--DO NOT BE AFRAID OF ZIPPERS!  Seriously, they are the most fun step in constructing these little bags.  Check out my tutorial.   And any polyester zipper (eg Coats and Clark) works fine.  Metal--no, that won't work.

Hope you all had a marvelous weekend--it was hot as Hades here!  And if I don't start feeling better fast I just do not know what I am going to do.  I am wasting so much time languishing on the bed or couch, when I could be sewing!  With any luck I will get back to normal and crank out more zippy bags this week.

BOM Rehab Monday

I finished six filler blocks this week for the BOM Rehab project.  My block for next week will be a basket block for this same BOM, which is several years old and called Simply Sophisticated, fabric by Blackbird Designs.  Who knows, if I get the notion, perhaps I will make a block for my 2010 Designer Myster BOM as well!

If you are interested in joining in the BOM Rehab group, go to Pink Pincushion and tell Sinta you want to play. 

I decided after seeing Paulette's Winding Ways quilt that a checkerboard border was the way to go with my blue version.  If you don't follow SweetP Quilting and Creations, you might want to do that asap.  Paulette is just so creative and prolific!  Anyway, here is her quilt-

Is this not gorgeous?  Paulette did a combination of stitch in the ditch machine quilting and hand quilting the flowers with perle cotton.  I love how those big stitches stand out.  Yes, I am considering doing that as well!  The stitching on the darker blue fabrics in my quilt will be very Sashiko looking.

Here is my copycat version--

You can see where I am going with this. Right now I am really hoping I have enough of the navy left to make the outer border outside the checkerboard.

Such a miserable rainy week here last week.  I sure hope the weather clears up and so do the dogs.  Here are Ozzie and Remy in the Observation Chair--too bored to even bother looking out.  Remind me to wash that chair cushion and tuck it under the quilt.  Ahem.

 

Update

Hi there.  I seem to be off my posting schedule this week, due to family circumstances.  Grandpa is doing ok.  He is in the hospital, but they still have not been able to do his surgery because his blood levels aren't quite right yet.  With any luck, the surgery will take place today.  My husband says the nursing staff is taking good care of him and his spirits are pretty good. 

My spirits are not so good--as one reader commented--just as we seemed to be moving forward, to have this sort of a set back is just such bad luck.

Our little family is all Grandpa has.  My husband is an only child and all of Grandpa's brothers have passed away.  His wife of nearly 70 years of marriage died in September.  If anyone would be interested in sending Grandpa a card, let me know and I will provide a mailing address.  I know a show of get well cards would really mean a lot to him!

I'm stuck up here at home, 130 miles from all the activity, so I am not much help.  This week my daughter's in laws are taking care of Baby E, so I don't even have her as a distraction.  No worries, I am holing up in my sewing studio, listening to the rain pound down outside.  I'll make a big pot of corn chowder (complete with bacon for a garnish) and comfort myself with hot soup tonight. 

The progress on the Winding Ways blocks is coming along, but I have to say I have been quite distracted by the idea of finishing up my languishing BOMs as part of Sinta's Pink Pincushion BOM Rehab program!  The picture below is of six filler blocks for the Simply Sophisticated BOM of a few years ago.  The next block I plan to complete is a darling basket block, and I do love basket blocks!

If you are interested in joining this motivating group, put the button on your sidebar and send Sinta pictures of what you are completing.

 

This is Fun!

Just a quickie post today because I have to organize things for Grandpa.

Before leaving town to take him to the doctor, I scrambled to finish up one block from the 2011 Designer Mystery BOM, and am so glad I made the effort.   These blocks are fun.  And big too, so they go fast.

In fact, I got so carried away, I got down the Simply Sophisticated BOM as well.   Before responsibilities called me away, I got the units completed for SIX filler blocks!

Woo Hoo!  If you haven't gotten on Pink Pincushion's BOM Rehab bandwagon, give it a thought.  Let's join forces and encourage each other to finish up something!

Mixed Bag

My Easter weekend surely was a mixed bag.  On the one hand, we had glorious weather.  On the other, everything that could go wrong seemed to do that.

This was supposed to be the big weekend to move Grandpa into a little cottage on the nearby golf course.  He got through the day just fine, but when he was getting out of the truck at the final destination, he did something to his knee and has not been able to walk since.  Today we will get him to the doctor for xrays to see what he did to himself.  This is a disaster because I cannot lift him and my husband works out of town during the week.  I have a feeling Grandpa  may be going into a rehab center until he can walk again.  What a shame!  He hasn't even set foot into his new house!  I was there for awhile yesterday afternoon, directing the movers on where to place furniture and I know he will love the place once he gets into it.  His windows and back porch look out onto the golf course where one can watch both herds of deer and golfers enjoying themselves.

What little sewing I did took place during Eva's naps on Friday.

I am pretty happy with these Winding Ways blocks!  It takes me about 20 minutes to construct one.  Just look at the secondary circular pattern.  That is just so cool!

Here is something else I am planning on joining in on.  Sinta over at Pink Pincushion is hosting a BOM Rehab group.  Do I ever need that!  The idea is that the participants pick one of their BOMs that is sitting around gathering dust and make one block per week, and post about it on Mondays.  I have several BOMs to choose from (hangs head in shame).  In fact, have I ever finished a BOM?  "Why, I can't recall", she says, not making eye contact. 

Which one to choose?

Why yes, how about that one?

Henrietta Whiskers

 
There is a free applique Block of the Month program going on right now on Anne Sutton's fabulous blog Bunny Hill.  The pattern is called Henrietta Whiskers, and is just about the cutest thing I have ever seen.  The pattern is free to download right now, but when November arrives, the free link will disappear and you will have to spend a lot of money to purchase the pattern.  These block of the month applique patterns range from $40 to $65, so if you can get an original Bunny Hill design for free, I say jump on it!

I was visiting Prairie Queens not too long ago, and Eli was stitching away on a block from this Henrietta Whiskers pattern, and I fell in  love.  She was using some Lilac Hill fabric by Brannock and Patek, and her block was positively adorable.  Each block in the series features a frisky little squirrel (Henrietta) doing autumnal things like flying a kite made of autumn leaves, pulling a wagon full of acorns, checking out a black crow sitting on a big pumpkin, and so on.  Cute, cute, cute.

I went straight home and down loaded the first block and have checked in regularly on Bunny Hill Designs for the others as they have been released.  There are five of them available so far.  The project's basic instructions and block layout (minus the appliques) is shown below.

 

Once I get settled in my new house, I plan to stitch away on these blocks while my grandaughter naps!  I am going to learn the starch/freezer paper method of applique no matter what!