Miles of Binding

It's been a while since I last posted. I've been busy starting early this year. New job. Drama teen. House projects. Quilting.  Unfortunately, no flying though.

In the quilting arena, I have been busy binding THREE quilts, working on a fourth.  Strawberry Fields and Sweet Dreams and the humongous, gargantuan king-sized Celtic Solstice are DONE!  Mother Earth is ready for binding next. My sister has dibs on that one. It's only fair, as she is the last family member who doesn't have a quilt yet.

With stitching all the endless bindings, the following song came to mind. Enjoy!

Summer Update

Summer is halfway over but at least there are six more weeks until the big college move. Here is why I have been neglecting my blog:

1.  Ginormous Garden Growth

2. Fantastic Flying Fun

Congrats to local pilot Jason Flood who received FAA permission for an aerobatic training "box". Check out the video here and watch for Jason's smile at 2:38.  Jason flies an exciting aerobatic routine in the annual airshow at my local airport.

3. Wonderful Workout Walking (no pictures of me actually walking - you don't want to see my sweaty bod). YES - I was finally in first place at least once.

4. And finally - Quietly Quaint Quilting.

          Mocha Swirl is quilted and bound - DONE.

          Red Cross is nearly done, just a few more blocks to quilt. It's already bound.

          Colossal Celtic Solstice is now quilted, trimmed and ready to bind. [Loud TA DA]. It's actually a bit too big for my queen-size bed. Then again, it is a king-size quilt. Cindy, my longarm gal (machine, not her arms), said she only had a couple inches to spare on her leader. The quilting is perfect for this pattern - enhances without overwhelming.  Love it, love it, love it!

How is your summer going?

Celtic Solstice by Spring

The weather in my area has been brutal lately. Gray skies and cold temperatures made me want to sit by the fire and just read instead of sew.

So, let me catch up on my bloggin'.

On February 28, I missed sewing so much that I took a few minutes to finish my two pink blocks for February's Rainbow scrap challenge.  Not bad!

I recently traded emails with a fellow blogger and confessed that I was afraid to show my quilting space. My hubby had gifted me this nice cabinet which a friend recently assembled. I promptly filled it up and still had four bins of fabric leftover (well, five actually). I figured people would think I was showing the Before picture when this is really my After picture. This is the picture I'm not afraid to show.

We got EIGHT inches of snow on Thursday, March 5th. Snow can be pretty and although my area has not been inundated with as much snow as Boston, I'm really tired of it.  On Friday most of it melted in the sun.

Remember my frustration on Celtic Solstice, coming up just a little bit short on border fabric? After waiting a couple weeks, I decided to look for different fabric and made the trek to my new favorite quilt shop. Aha! Found a good substitute!  And check out the pieced border cornerstones; I changed my mind and created a broken-dishes block which fit so much better with the blue and orange triangles. FINAL BORDER IS ON!  The backing is ready to go, too! Boom - as of today this 14-month project is ready for quilting!

Call for Stripes

After a year of starts and stops, Celtic Solstice is nearing the finale.  I made the various parts for the missing (ahem miscounted) blocks.

The parts were assembled into 10 beautiful blocks.

The beautiful blocks were laid out next to the finished rows. Yikes! I need ONE more! Oh yeah, I needed 61 in total, not 60.

Thankfully I had a few parts left over and quickly assembled the final block.  Hallelujah!  

Today I finished the middle, then began on the borders.  

A quick burst of creativity resulted in four small corner units that became labels.

Final border to go.  Oh no! I don't have enough strips of green striped fabric to go around, even without mitering the corners.  I have about 425 inches of green stripe but I need at least 444 inches. How can that be? Oh yeah. I had originally planned to make the queen size for which I would have had plenty of green striped fabric for mitering the corners.  But now that I biggie-sized into KING, there just isn't enough and the fabric is no longer available. It's the perfect green coloring for this quilt.

Ok, calling all quilters.  Does anyone have any extra Connecting Threads "Holiday Elegance" dark green stripe fabric they might want to sell or trade?  I need a 3.5" strip 42" long (selvage to selvage) or at least 20 inches of a 3.5" strip.  

Please, oh please!

On a higher note, the weather cleared enough last weekend to go flying! A bunch of us flew to an airport about 45 minutes flying time south. We enjoyed a nice lunch and tour of the local airport museum dedicated to WWII memorabilia. We even got to climb inside a B-25 under restoration.  It was a glorious sunny day and I made a perfect landing coming home. The glider club even rated it a 10!  Nice finish to fun day.

Say it isn't so

Full of energy and resolve, I began assembling KSCS (king-sized Celtic Solstice). Wow, that's 121 blocks to sew together, plus three borders. Okay, I can do this.

Goodness, this quilt is wide. It stretched across the entire open area in my bedroom. Each block is being placed so that the dark corners are different blue prints. Looking good!

Had to take a break and see what it looks like with the modified orange triangle border. The green squares look like crystals, so I wanted the orange border to appear crystalline, too.  

Continuing the progress. I'm excited!  I'm finally getting this one done! Just a few more rows to go.

Oh no!  I only have five more crystal blocks but around 15 more stars. Where are the rest of my crystals? Could I have miscounted? Nooooooooooooooooo!  

After a frantic search and wallowing in mixture of disappointment and despair, I decided to persevere. Yep, my word for 2015.  I have eight full rows ready to sew together, so that's what I did.

Now I am resigned to digging out all those remnants and *gulp* make 10 blocks with chevrons and birds-in-the-air units. That's 80 half-square yellow/orange triangles, 40 chevrons, 40 birds-in-the-air, My hubby's reaction? "You've made them before, you can make just a few more." He is still alive. 

See that blank corner? I'm thinking I want an orange square on point with blue corners. Or maybe a little star made of several orange prints. We'll see what I am in the mood for, after making those last 10 blocks. Perseverance.

Fireside Chat

Baby, it's cold outside!  I know, I know. It's even colder in Wisconsin and the Dakotas. It's all relative, though.  I am dreaming of summer vacations and weekend trips to the beach. Instead, our fireplace is being used every day. It's warm next to the fire. Our tabby cat K.C. (for Kitty Cat), also known as Run KC, likes to stretch out by the fire. Unusual that he was not hanging out there when I snapped this pic.

After spending Saturday cooking and cleaning, including a sock drawer purge, my Sunday was clear for some power sewing. FINALLY finished the last 11 blocks for Celtic Solstice, as this king sized version has a total of 121 blocks !!!!

Here is a view of my Celtic Solstice with the inner and outer border. Oh no, can you see the flaw in the top row?  I will fix that - my seam ripper has been working overtime today - and begin assembling this week. Yes, I have the orange triangles ready to go, just forgot about them for the picture. Yesterday the backing was ordered from Connecting Threads, along with the backing for Grand Illusion.

Speaking of Grand Illusion, I made three more flower blocks, assembled the border, and laid out the pieces to see what it looked like. Hmmm....

If you squint to make the picture blurry, you can see the black grid pattern. I think my green is too dark to make it pop. I need your opinion, dear reader. Should I redo the checkerboard sashing with light green, or should I just put it together as is? Or should I substitute with solid yellow or neutral? It just isn't singing to me right now. The colors are so wonderful, and I really want to like this quilt. Not happening the way it is, though. Please, please, please add your comments to this post. I need your help!!!

Grand Illusion progress report 4

Santa's quilting workshop has been busy! I haven't made quite as much progress as many others on this mystery quilt journey, but I AM making progress. I am linking up to Bonnie Hunter's website. Here's what my table looks like right now:

According to my calculations, our last step will be revealed this Friday. I am SO curious about all those broken dishes blocks, how they fit together and how more yellow will be incorporated into the design. The green checkerboard pieces must be the border, I think. Oooh, the suspense is killing me!

Wait a second, I just figured out that I haven't made any of the broken dishes #3 block. What I thought was #3 is actually #2 turned a different way.  Maybe I should pay more attention to the layout. At least I didn't make too many of them.

At the same time I am trying to finish last year's mystery Celtic Solstice. Only 11 more crystal blocks to go and I can start assembling my KING size version.

On a higher note, the weather outside is frightful and the fire [inside] is so delightful. I should have gone flying yesterday, but I decided to cook Runzas (meat-filled biscuits) and Penne ala Vodka. Yummy!  Hope you are enjoying good food with family and friends, too!

Spring Break flight

Last week was Spring Break for my daughter, so we flew to Indiana to visit my brother, his wife and THE CUTEST BABY IN THE WORLD!  It was fun to play with my nephew and do my best to spoil him rotten.

The flight itself was a nice milestone. This is the first time I flew a long cross-country flight without another pilot next to me. The air was a bit bumpy but I managed it and arranged "VFR flight following" (voice contact with air traffic controllers who watch out for me) nearly the entire 5 hour journey coming and going. Wow, I flew 10.5 hours this week!

Tip to other pilots:  Do NOT fly with a hungry teenager. He/she will hound you to land at the closest airport with a restaurant or fill your cockpit with snack wrappers from the last airport's vending machines.

 Views from the air:

We actually had to delay our return flight one day after waking up to a freak snow shower when a cool front went through.

As for sewing, I returned to working on Celtic Solstice King and found myself needing to take a quick break to finish something---anything!  So I put together a Connecting Threads tote bag kit. I substituted the orangey floral middle section with a soft blue which is my favorite color. The bag is bigger than it looks and has pockets sewn to the lining. See the 2014 Quilts tab for that view.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

"Slow and steady wins the race".  It's like a mantra I have to keep repeating, reminding me that a quilt is a collection of blocks of time, not just a collection of fabric blocks.  In the past two weeks I have added to the Blueberry Hill / Jamestown Landing quilt and around 14 blocks for king-size Celtic Solstice.  I have also made four blocks for Block Lotto's March drawing. My fingers are crossed in hopes that I win some blocks this month.

Next I will be making a lunch bag as a gift for my sister-in-law, tweaking the design to make it a bit bigger and improve on the version I made for myself.  I also bought a tote bag kit from Connecting Threads to make another gift which I will not describe yet because the intended recipient follows this blog. 

I highly recommend Soft-and-Stable to give structure to bags. My first package of S-S (18 x 58 inches) went fast; I was able to line two lunch bags and one side of a larger tote bag and have just a 3 x 20 piece left over.  It is a thin foam with just the right blend of flexibility and stiffness.



The Long Haul

It is the last week of February and I had hoped to have another quilt done-done. Did not happen. But at least I have two flimsies ready - Red Cross and Royal Flush - and the backings are stitched and sized.  I have all the blocks for 1860s Revival ready to be trimmed and assembled. I made three blocks for Block Lotto.  And.....

I spent almost the entire Presidents Day cutting and sewing pieces for expanding Celtic Solstice to king-size.

  

I decided to resist the urge to start a new project and keep slogging away at this one and Blueberry Hill.  As for the two flimsies ready to go, I found spray basting works best for my rudimentary quilting apparatus (basic Singer sewing machine). Eventually the ground outside will be clear and dry enough to lay out the two flimsies for spraying. Then I can get some quilting done and FINALLY finish two more UFOs [and maybe start a new project!!!].

Life isn't all about sewing, thankfully. I spent yesterday with my daughter and her friend shopping for prom dresses. Yee gads.  Three hours and three stores later, they finally found their dream dresses. They posted their selfies online to 'reserve' the color and design --- no other girls at their school are supposed to buy the same one. Yeah, I hope that works!

On a higher note, the snow and ice are STILL blocking my hangar door.  We have dug out what we can but the snow keeps sliding down the roof, and drips inside the door keep freezing up at night. It was gorgeous flying weather yesterday, but not possible for me to get up yet. I am reading "Hawk and Me" by David Helms to pass the time. David shares his experiences of flying his beloved single-engine Hawk XP on a 10,000 mile journey across the US.  It's pretty good, a bit different than a couple similar journey books I have read. If you want a great one, though, I recommend Stephen Coonts "The Cannibal Queen". Coonts is an awesome writer; I felt like I took the trip with him in the 1942 Stearman.

And Many More!

Remember that Dr. Seuss book "Hand Hand Fingers Thumb"?  All those monkeys drumming on drums? As the monkeys multiply, one verse goes "Many more fingers, many more thumbs, many more monkeys drumming on drums".

Okay, why am I quoting Dr. Seuss?  Well, I have many more pieces, many more blocks, many more hours of sewing and watching the clock.  (Dum ditty dum ditty dumb dumb dumb.)  

My Celtic Solstice quilt is a faithful adaptation to Bonnie Hunter's latest mystery quilt.  I kept up with the clues and had all my blocks and borders ready to go.  Just when I was ready to assemble blocks and add the borders, my hubby begged me to make a larger version so it could be used as a bedspread.  OMG that is more than double the amount of sewing! But I'm glad he liked the design as much as I do!

So....I have enough of the colors and neutrals, and I even have plenty of green stripe for the outer border. Maybe a couple months later I will be able to report finally that I'm done. Just not now.

In the meantime, I am busy working on my UFO list and using up adhesive bandages. No, my sewing isn't hazardous. Just don't give me a knife.  Somehow I cut my finger while making peanut butter cookies. Dull knives do not cut plastic bags of brown sugar but they do cut fingers. (Ask me how I know.)  

Congratulations to my daughter for swimming in the final meet on Friday. Next up are the SATs. Oh boy.

I am a die-hard Broncos fan, after living in Denver for 10 years and marveling at the brilliance of John Elway and rejoicing with millions of fans in previous Super Bowls.  But Peyton Manning and the team sure did disappoint me tonight. <big sigh>  At least most of the commercials were worth watching. The Radio Shack commercial with all those 80s icons made me laugh.

2014 To Do List

As stated in my last post, my 2014 word is FOCUS. I have too many unfinished quilting projects, also known as UFOs.  I am focused on finishing these … so I can justify starting new ones!

Here is my list:

Ready for ME to Quilt (flimsy finished, backing prepared)

1.   “Autumn Leaves”  (Quilters Club mystery sewn in 2011) - COMPLETED

2.      “Halloweenie” (Connecting Threads 2013 mystery; had extra fabric so made it bigger). Need to prep the backing and deliver to longarmer.

3.      2012 Craftsy Sampler (lots of FMQ which is a bit daunting). Needs more 'oomph' in the border. Considering adding more white space between blocks and multi-color band, then finish with white outer border, then binding in medium brown.

Ready to be Longarm Quilted 

1.       “Chunky Churndash” (design by Bonnie Hunter) begun in 2012 for a bedspread.  COMPLETED

2.      “Bittersweet Beauty” (Quilters Club 2012 mystery) COMPLETED; gifted to cousin.

3.      “Bright Bali” (design by Kim Brackett) assembled in 2013. COMPLETED

Finishing Touches Needed (border / backing)

1.        “Crabapple Trees”  (adapted from Bonnie Hunter design, destined to be a wall hanging) begun in 2013. Checkerboard border is done, but needs outer border and backing.

2.      “Celtic Solstice” (Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt of 2013) needs borders & backing HUBBY wants larger size, so need many more blocks and border pieces!!! As of now, need 4 more stars, 11 more chevron blocks. Am switching the border to orange diamonds rather than arrows (saw great example online).

3.      “Sweet Dreams” (former Quilters Club mystery) sewn in 2011, need to piece a backing.

4.       “Mother Earth” (adapted from Mary Koval design) begun in 2013 needs borders, backing on hand

5.       “Beginnings”, my first quilt circa 1988, need to change the ugly corners and select backing.

Blocks Finished, Need to Assemble

1.       “Royal Flush” (Baubles & Beads design in purple) sewn in 2013, backing on hand (inspiration http://babyboomerquiltingbee.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-tiger-by-tail.html)  COMPLETE

2.       “Red Cross” (Greek cross in red and gray) sewn in 2013, backing ready (inspiration http://www.okcmqg.com/2013/01/win-red-cross-charity-quilt.html) QUILTING HAS BEGUN

Make More Blocks

1.       “1860s Revival” (goose & goslings block with retro zigzag setting; started in 2013) need 8 more blocks, toile backing on hand BLOCKS DONE - Need to assemble

2.      “Blueberry Hill” (Bonnie Hunter Jamestown Landing design) started in 2013, assemble remaining 11 rows and  border; need to decide on backing. Need 50 more string blocks, about 50 more Broken Dishes blocks, then it's time to begin the border.

3.      “Colorado Sunshine” (Bonnie Hunter's Floribunda design) started in 2012. Need 7 more blocks and a bit more border; need to decide on backing. Will use soft green between center and checkerboard border.

4.      “Pine Trees” (old Dimensions pattern now missing) started around 1988, need to count blocks and plan the finishing touches, need to decide on backing

5.      “Queen of Hearts” (disappearing 4-patch in red/white) started in 2013, need many more blocks, backing on hand

6.      “Lady of the Lake” (Bonnie Hunter design “Lady of Lake Erie”) need many more blocks plus backing

7. "Cocoa Craze" (Mocha Swirl pattern by Kim Brackett) NEW 2014 PROJECT. Need to find backing and send to longarmer.

8. "Sly as a Fox" (Quiltmaker - June 2014) NEW 2014 PROJECT; Ready to quilt!!!

 

9. "Broncos at the Crossroads" in blue & orange (Carolina Crossroads design by Bonnie Hunter) - Began Sept 8 2014 - Delivered to Longarm Service - Oct 21. Talk about power sewing! Back from longarm service Dec 11. Need to finish the binding and it's done!

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Gathering Fabric for Future Quilt (start only after finishing up several of the above quilts)

1.      “Road to America” (Bonnie Hunter design “Old Tobacco Road” in red/white/blue)

2.     “Smith Mountain Morning” (Bonnie Hunter design) – it’s not too far away, so maybe I will visit the actual site for inspiration and motivation

3.      “Double Delight” (Bonnie Hunter design)

4.      Kaffe Fassett 6” roll “Fire”; border with shades of teal

5.      Bright Christmas fabrics for Anita’s Arrowhead blocks

6.      Jewelbox blocks sewn in bright batiks and cream – started
7.    Carolina Crossroads (Bonnie Hunter design) - blue/orange combo
8.   Texas Tumbleweed (yet another Bonnie Hunter design)
9.   Bonnie's 2014 Mystery Quilt Grand Illusion (began Nov. 28) - started
10. Moth in the Window (Bonnie Hunter block) in plaids and solids.

Whew!  I finished 10 quilts in 2013, so hopefully I can do the same volume or better this year. Wish me luck!