Wounded!

In my ongoing battle against the Evil Scissors and its army of sharp things, I have suffered a grievous  slight wound!

It has been many years since I last encountered the Scissors directly.  These quiet times have lured me into feeling I had successfully controlled the enemy.  I was wrong and they attacked me in a moment of inattention!

My first thought, of course, was to insure the safety of the fabric I was working on.  Thus, I stuck my finger in my mouth, carefully arranged the last piece of fabric, and headed for the first aid box.  I was half way up the stairs when the pain hit me.  Fortunately, Sarge was prepared to come to my aid (he said the little whimper alerted him) and had my wound dressed in no time.  I could have done without the laughter, though.

I do believe I'm feeling faint.  Perhaps I should lie down now.

Evil Scissors = 1, Liz = 0

Halloween Greetings!

Since the season/day is upon us, I thought I'd show you the postcards I traded recently.  I know a lot of people who are not fond of this holiday - but the images and fabrics associated with it are so much fun!

These are the two postcards I made.  I had some strips sewn together left over from my Halloween wall hanging and I cut figures out of another fabric.  Some fun with stitching and they were about ready to go!

This is the one I received from Gina in Australia.  Doesn't that background fabric look like a windy October night?  Brrrr!

And this one is from Mary Lou in Canada.

What a sweet little witchy poo!  The embroidery adds just the right touch.  Of course, my favorite part is the glitter!

Happy Halloween, y'all.

Wednesday WOW - October 28

I've been working on 3 or 4 things at the same time.  Feeling a bit disjointed!  Perhaps it is time to concentrate and finish something!!  This one is perhaps closest to that point.  Stay tuned for good pictures. 

What Would You Do?

One of the treasures from my MIL I acquired recently was this pieced top:

I think I'd like to finish it, but the questions of just what to do keep running around my head.  Maybe you can tell me what you think . . .

Does this top need a border?  If so, how wide?  Big, little, more than one?

All of the top has been pieced by hand.  Is it OK to attach the border by machine? 

Would the border be better as a solid color or cut from a multi-color print?  There are many different fabrics used here, no two matching (and no scraps!) so how do you choose fabrics for borders and/or binding?

And I'm not even going to think about the decisions to be made for quilting it!  Please help!

Ready for the last Goals?

Um.  That might be misleading.  This is not the last Goal Review, but at the end - when I post new goals - those will be the last ones for this year!  Oh my goodness!  Where has the time gone?

The past six weeks have really been busy.  If you remember the last review, I only set five goals this time because I was going to be on a week-long trip. I didn't do quite as well as I wanted on my goals, but then not too badly either.  Let's see how I did, shall we?

1.  TIF again.  High priority this time. DONE! 

At last!  This has to be the biggest/longest project I've ever done.  It was very educational and inspirational, but really stretched my patience!  I am not exactly the long-term project type.  So you could say I am pretty proud of having stuck with it and completed this project.  Go here to see my post about finishing, and select TIF under the labels to see all the posts!

2.  Begin working on challenges for quilt guild and doll club (both due in November).  Done. 

Since they are both WIPs, I count this goal complete - even though the projects are not.  Confused yet?!  Well, the quilt guild project is probably 80% competed.  I can't wait to show you, but we should wait for the guild "unveiling."  Next month, I promise.

3. Play catch up on the Block of the Month embroideries. Done. 

Of course this won't be completely done until the end of the year.  But I am caught up through October and I call that good!   I showed you some of these here.

4.  Do at least one Stargaze Tome page.  Nothing. 

Oops!  I guess this wasn't very high on my list.  I've had the front side of the page done for quite awhile, but can't seem to find time for the back.  I have lots of fun with these pages, so I will get to it eventually.  Hmm.  I had forgotten what the front looks like - maybe I'll get to it soon!

5.  Work on Christmas wall hanging.  Sorta done. 

Well, I did do some work on it!  And that was all the goal said.  If you count choosing a backing and pin basting the quilt sandwich as progress, then I am progressing!  This will probably move up on the priority list soon.  It's almost November after all!

You see?  I am learning to be careful how I word the goals.  That way I can count accomplishments even when the project is still on the worktable!  Cheating?  Who me?

OK.  I know I can't list wishy-washy goals this time.  Not when these are the last goals for 2009.  Of course, I realize there are more than six weeks left in the year.  I will be using the month of December to review the year's goals and how the process worked.  Along with enjoying the holidays, of course!

So!  Here's my plan for October 24 through December 4:

1. Christmas projects
2. Finish challenge pieces for quilt guild and doll club
3. Attach binding to finished quilts (3 so far, maybe more)
4. Practice free-motion quilting
5. Learn to use some PhotoShop features
6. Christmas projects

After the above paragraph on vaguely worded goals, perhaps I need to be a little more specific.  (Ya think?)  How about I will spend at least one hour learning PhotoShop on five occasions.  (It's PS Elements, by the way.) 

And, no, I did not make a mistake by listing Christmas projects twice.  I haven't decided all the projects yet, so that has to be part of the goal.  And I'm expecting whatever I decide on will take quite a bit of my time.   So goal 1 is to get them all lined out and started and goal 6 is to finish them in time to give.  Or something like that.  There's that vague thing again!

I'll try not to be vague when I do the review.  See you on December 4.

Wednesday WOW - October 21

Working on a couple of challenges.  Just how one should spend a rainy afternoon!

A Grand Finish!

If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you will have heard an awful lot about TIF - or Take It Further.  If you haven't been reading that long, just click on the TIF tag under Labels.  Be prepared for a long sit!  If you don't want to do that much reading, check Sharon's web page for the full run down.

Well, I have an announcement.  (I feel like I need a drumroll or trumpet fanfare here.  Something!)  The TIF project is FINISHED!  (Bold, underline, caps, anything else I can think of.  How about color or size?)  FINISHED!

Ready to see pictures?  I'll try to keep it brief.

 

 

         The Cover

 

 

 

January

 

 

 

 

February

 

 

 

 

March

 

 

 

 

       April

 

 

 

 

May

 

 

 

 

            June

 

 

 

 

July

 

 

 

 

         August

 

 

 

 

September

 

 

 

 

        October

 

 

 

 

November

 

 

 

 

       December

 

 

 

 

Back Cover

 

 

The back cover has a pocket which will hold a printed booklet "documenting" the entire collection.  Each of the pages presented a challenge of some sort - beyond the challenge that Sharon had set for us, I mean - and I know I learned a lot about sewing and my strengths and weaknesses. 

Wow!  This project has been part of my life for almost two years.  I wonder if I will miss it.  If I do, I have this book to remind me!

BTW, each page is about 13" square.  I added a folded piece when I stitched each page together so there would be a place to punch holes for binding.  That adds 2 or 3 inches to the width.  It's a pretty good sized bundle!

And it represents a lot of my time.  Phew!

I Can Dance!

A while back I made a small art quilt and sent it in for the Quilting Arts Rock On challenge.  The winners have been chosen and published in the magazine - issues #38 and #39 - (nope, not me!), my quilt has been returned, and I can now show off my entry.

The challenge was to illustrate how Rock and Roll music has affected your life - or how it inspires you - or something in that general way.

I based my piece on the song, "Do You Love Me Now That I Can Dance?"  I grew up in the 60's and for one brief, shining moment (wait, that was Camelot!) I could actually dance!  Perhaps not well or often, but I danced with abandon!

My first step making this quilt was to remember all the names of dances from the "good old days."  Then I played with some Word Art.  The hardest part was thinning the list down to a few for an 8" x 10" quilt!

 

Then I took a photo of my feet - in dancing shoes of course!  I cut  out shoe appliqués and auditioned them onto a piece of hand dyed cotton.  My very first attempt at tie dyeing!  I can't believe I survived the 60's without trying this before!   

I printed out my Word Art and used it as a template and free-motion stitched the letters.  I also free motion stitched the background quilting, adding some notes and musical clefs here and there. 

I really like this piece, although after it has "aged" awhile, I wish I had added beads or some kind of bling.   Ah well.  This is a journey and I learned quite a bit on this trip.  And had some fun, too! 

Now, if I could just dance!

Wednesday WOW - October 14

I can't believe I forgot today is Wednesday!  I did not take a single picture today - almost unheard of! 

What I did today was go to "Stitch Therapy" at the local quilt shop.  This is a nice opportunity to work on something and enjoy some companionship at the same time.  If you are having trouble with your project, there is someone there who will help you figure it out.  Or, if you just want some uninterrupted time (like me) this is a good way to carve it out.  Plus we get lunch!

Since I didn't take pictures, I'll show an older picture of what I worked on today.  You will have to use a little imagination, OK?

Now, just imagine a white/cream print wherever you see that dark blue print.  Can you see it?  Yes, you should recognize this.  The last time I posted about it was in July!  You could say it's not very high on the priority list!

Folding Fabric

Last month I took a class on fabric folding at my local quilt shop.  We learned several techniques and ended the day with enough information to make a wall hanging.  You've seen glimpses of this piece and this is how it turned out.

The class sample was actually several of these blocks, but I have some different ideas for a larger piece.  Besides, if it takes a month for me to get this size done, how long would a big one take??? 

Here are a couple of close up shots.

The corners are four folded pieces of fabric basted down and then edges turned back to reveal the under layer.  The sides are two pieces treated the same.  I used beads to disguise some of the stitching - and to embellish, of course!

The center flower is a bit more complicated.  It involved cutting the square and stitching the folded fabric into the seams when sewing it back together.  Then the petals were folded again.  I free motion quilted each petal to hold it in place, as well as adding beads to the tips.  A large bead in the center hides the open space where all the seams come together.

Oh, the size on this piece is about 17" square.  I backed it with plain muslin since it is meant to hang on a wall.   The techniques used here came from the books of Jennie Rayment.   Check out her web-site.  Lots of fun ideas!

Three months . . . three blocks

Well, a little more than three months actually.  What?  Oh, I'm sorry!  Three months since I last posted my progress on Ellie's Block of the Month! 

Here's July:

August:

and September:

And now that I'm all caught up . . . it's October!  Well, back to the stitching chair!

Wednesday WOW - October 7

I'm sorting.  There is a lot of  'stuff'!  Maybe I'll be able to see the worktable again sometime soon.

The cabinet has been painted and put into place.  Some of the drawers have been filled and I've found some cool things . . . quilting templates, speciality rulers, rotary cutters. 

I just need time to use them all!

Stuff!

This weekend we went to visit my sister-in-law and help her clean up MIL's sewing room.  The main reason we went was to pick up this:

And here are the drawers, stacked and cleaned, almost ready for painting.

I am looking forward to setting this up and having easy to reach storage for the little things.  Things like thread, needles & pins, scissors, etc.  You know the sort of thing.

There is a catch, though.  The deal to get the cabinet included everything inside the cabinet . . . plus!

The trash bags are mostly drawer contents.  There is also some fabric . . . but it's mostly "stuff."    And someone will have to sort through it all and determine what is worth keeping.

Guess what I'll be doing for awhile!