Sister's Choice Quilts

Eleven Into the Wind Blocks

Over the weekend I finished up a few more of my Into the Wind blocks.  I love the kind of water color effect the colors have.  Rather dreamy, with a touch of that red every now and then.

I have two more full blocks to make, and then scads of partial blocks.  the whole thing will be set on point for a very different look than you see on my design wall.

I am still adjusting to my husband being gone all week long at his new job.  I am busy attending to the chores he normally fulfilled, such as walking Ozzie at 6:00 every morning and hand watering all our plants outside.  I even remembered to put out the trash on trash pick up day!  I find I do sleep somewhat lighter, and wake up hearing odd noises I would ignore if he were home with me.  The other night I woke up around 3:00 AM, hearing a high pitched whining noise.  I could not for the life of me tell if it was something electrical, or perhaps water running through the pipes.  I got up and wandered around in the dark, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from, but was too scared to go outside and look around.  There could be critters out there, don't you know?

Turns out, in the light of day, I figured out the sound was coming from a hose that had not been properly turned off at the faucet outside.  Simple fix, but I sure did lose some sleep over it!

The main challenge I am having is trying to figure out what to eat.  Eating frozen Lean Cuisine dinners or heating up fish sticks or Boca Burgers gets old very fast.  Last week I made a pot of split pea soup, and by the third day of eating it was ready to pour it down the drain.  All five gallons of it.  This week I sat down with a couple of cook books and made a plan for both my lunches and dinners.  I made a small batch of chicken rice soup, which I can eat for either meal, and a Thai chicken stir fry, which will also serve me for a couple of meals.  It sure isn't as much fun just cooking for myself, but I have to say, if I have some decent meals prepared and in the refrigerator or freezer, eating alone isn't as bad.  And there is minimal clean up, which is great.

If any of you are on your own, what kinds of things do you typically eat for your evening meal?  I'd love some ideas.

 

Quilts Gifted

This past weekend I attended a baby shower for my nephew's wife.  This expectant mom received so many wonderful gifts, I know she will be perfectly set up for her new arrival.  I envied her the large group of friends she has, all who seem to have children of their own.  She will have an amazing support group, which is so important when you are a new mother.  My gift to her was two baby quilts, one large and one small.  You see her holding up the larger one in the photo above.  

My quilter did a terrific job selecting the perfect quilting design for this quilt.  It enhances the romantic feel of the quilt wonderfully. The fabric I used for this quilt was a vintage Robin Pandolph collection.  I wish I could recall the name of the pattern I used, but sadly, I cannot.  The over all effect is sun-washed and faded, which I think is so pretty.

The smaller quilt also is beautifully quilted, and the swirly pattern of the quilting is very nice against the more angular block design.  The block design is reminiscent of those crocheted afghans everyone's grandma used to make back in the day.  The fabric is one of Pam Kitty Mornings first collections.

My year of giving quilts is off to a good start!

Remy Approves

The miles of binding are completed, and Sara's Log Cabin quilt is installed on her bed.  Remy jumped right up on it and told us he thought it would be ok.  What is it with our pets and new quilts?  They always want to lie down on them to test them out.  How many times have you tossed a quilt top onto the floor to stand back for a better look, only to have your dog or cat walk right over it and lie down?

Here is a picture of the whole quilt, minus dog accessory.  Classic, but somehow modern looking.  It works very well with her bedroom decor, and Sara seems to be quite pleased.  

I have survived my first week on my own since my husband went back to work.  His job is some distance away from where we live, so he has to stay at the job location all week.  I miss his company, particularly in the early evening, when we have the habit of sitting on the porch with a glass of wine and discussing the day's events.  However, I am thoroughly enjoying being in charge of the tv remote control.  I can watch shows directed towards a more female audience, which I normally wouldn't subject him to.  Outlander is my guilty secret.

Our weather is becoming progressively warmer, and the sound of weed whackers is going on all day long in my neighborhood.  I think this weekend may be the one where we get our herb garden planted!  Whatever your plans for the weekend, I hope you are happy and safe.

Bindings

I recently got three quilts back from my quilter, and now my world is Bindings.  I live on the planet of Bindings.  I need to get two baby quilts bound by Saturday.  Sara has been waiting for her Log Cabin quilt for so long, I feel as if I have to get her quilt to her as soon as possible.  So every minute I have during daylight hours, I am sewing bindings.  Three quilts = miles of binding.

My husband went back to work yesterday, and reports that the company seems well run, and that he thinks he will be happy there.  As a former admin, I was glad to hear that his office space was perfectly set up, equipment all working and supplies all in order.  Only a good admin would be behind that, so hopefully he will have lots of competent back up to assist him as he finds his way in this new job.  People don't always realize how important it is to have intelligent and efficient back up staff.  Well, those who experience it sure miss it when it is gone!  It always made me proud to make my boss look good and to make sure all his/her ducks were in a row before an important meeting or event.

Eva and I had fun in the kitchen yesterday.  She wanted to "cook", so I let her mix up just about the entire contents of the pantry for her cooking project.  She had vinegar and baking soda (whew, it sure did foam and bubble), sprinkles, cocoa, paprika, coconut, raisins, bow tie pasta, breakfast cereal, jasmine rice...Seriously, everything in the pantry.  The lesson was, as much fun as it was to throw things together, the result tasted like crap.  Today we are going to follow a recipe for sugar cookies and see what a difference following directions can make.

 

Into the Wind-6 Blocks

Six blocks completed for Into the Wind, a Miss Rosie pattern I am making with Larkspur by 3 Sisters.  Thirteen more of these full blocks to make, and then about as many partial blocks, plus some in-between blocks.  This is a quilt with a lot of piecing.  I wasn't sure how I would like these colors together--but surprise, I really do!

I have been trying to put together a block a day.  Each block takes me around an hour to make, I am guessing.  The length of time is mainly due to the trimming up of the twelve flying geese units required in each block.  I am making the flying geese units a bit over sized and trimming them down for better accuracy in piecing.  The blocks are going together like a dream, but that trimming does take extra time.  I am using the Fit to Be Geese ruler by Monique Dillard.  The geese units are 2 1/2 by 4 1/2.

While stitching, I have been listening to an extremely engrossing audio book called A Thousand Naked Strangers: A Paramedic's Wild Ride to the Edge and Back.  The author is Kevin Hazzard, who spent 10 years as a paramedic in Atlanta's worst areas.  Whew.  This book is full of gritty details of the experiences of this medic during his nights driving an ambulance and treating whatever the dregs of Atlanta society dishes up.  You feel like you are right there on a ride-along with him!

Hope you all have a great weekend, sewing, reading, whatever your heart leads you to do.

 

Tumbler Quilt Finished

As part of my Year of Finishing Projects, I have just completed my Tumbler quilt.  I had previously thought this quilt was a finish, but after some reflection, decided it needed a couple of borders.  

I used some solid black for a narrow containment border, and cut up the fabric I had intended to use for the backing to be an outer border.  These additions did more than make the quilt look more "finished", they added on some dimension to the total size of the quilt, making it much more usable.  Now the quilt measures 56 x 67. A nice lap sized quilt, or one for the foot of the bed.  For a younger person with a modern color scheme, this could be dynamite tossed over the back of a sofa or chair in a living room.

This will be given to a relative at Christmas time.  Not sure which loved one.  If any relatives are reading my blog, feel free to chime in with suggestions as to who this should go to.

I am sure you all have noticed my lack of blogging lately.  There are a number of reasons for that.  Back in December, my husband became out of work and has been home 24/7.  It has been great on a lot of levels to have him around the house, mainly that he is happier than he had been in ages.  However, I just didn't seem to ever get anything done during the day while he was around.  It wasn't that he demanded my attention, it just seemed like I couldn't disappear up into the sewing room for hours at a time.   I also work part time in a local shop and take care of Eva 18 or more hours a week.  Consequently, my time for uninterrupted sewing has been impacted severely.  And of course, since this is a quilting blog, I haven't had a heck of a lot to share.

So, he starts a new job in a week or so.  We shall see if I use my new time alone for sewing!  I am not promising to blog daily, but will try for at least three times a week.

This has definitely been a year dedicated to finishing quilt tops.  I have just received three back from being quilted and will share those photos with you in a later blog.

SideTracked Again

Oh dear, I have to admit I got side tracked again over the weekend.  I was rummaging around in the garage and found a project box labeled Mystery Block of the Month 2013.  When I opened the box, I discovered 12 completed blocks of the month in the 3 Sisters Peace on Earth collection, along with a finishing kit.  I love it when that happens.

In an effort to embrace my 2016 Finish It and Give It Away goals, I pulled out the blocks and laid them out.  I  discovered that I needed to make the red lattice (which forms a fun star pattern) and get the pieced border on, and this quilt will be  a finish.  So naturally, that is what I did.  Made a good start anyway.

On Friday and part of Saturday I was able to get the lattice and borders cut out and the lattice units all made.  This week I will plan on sewing the rows together and get working on the border, which is a tone on tone green that also forms a star design.  

The weather was too perfect to sit inside sewing all day on Saturday, so my husband and I went off on a little driving adventure.  We drove through the countryside and ended up at an amazing little restaurant out in the middle of no where.  We had a delightful lunch and also enjoyed some yummy wine tasting.  I didn't want to eat for days, just in order to savor that last incredible meal!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend, and got a little bit of everything squeezed into it.

Ready When You Are

I have one test block made for my new project, Into the Wind, a Miss Rosie pattern.  The cutting for this project was pretty intense and took me a couple of days.  I decided to make all my flying geese units with Monique Dillard's Fit to be Geese ruler, with means I had to figure out how much larger to cut my fabrics.  With Monique's method, you make the geese units slightly larger, then trim them down to the perfect size.  You get a perfect Goose every time.  Because of using a bit more fabric, I ended up short on my lights for the project and had to order more.  They have arrived, so I have no more excuses not to start.

I've got Saturday free for a change, so I hope to buckle down and make a good start with this project.  I will let you all know Monday how I did.  It is supposed to be sunny and 72 here on Saturday, so wish me luck staying at my sewing machine!

Happy April to all you Fools out there!