Monday, February 18, 2008

Somebody Help Me!

I don't even know where to begin! If you watch my quilting log at all, you've seen that I've spent a lot of time at my projects. I could easily spend all day, every day, sewing, planning, quilting and doing anything else that is quilt related. It's the most productive post-holiday time that I can remember having and I'm loving it!

I spent a lot of time this weekend pulling paper off of the back of the paper pieced quilt. I got the 2 inch muslin border sewn on and today the outer brown print border is going on. Yesterday, when the bulk of the paper was off (I had left the outer row intact until the border was on) I laid it out on my bed and was thrilled with the result. I will most certainly being doing at least one more quilt like this, as I really want to experiment a bit and try it with white and brights and possibly spinning the units that make up a block and see what happens.

I hope to baste this one in the next couple of weeks along with another top. The ring blocks are nearly finished and I hope to finish piecing that top very soon. Since I need to clear off my table to baste, I try to do more than one project if I can.

I finished my bags over the weekend, I made 15 altogether. There are 8 of the darker blue ones, 3 of the floral and 4 of the lighter blue, striped bags (these are heavier fabric, too, for those heavier items.) I keep one in my purse, that worked well over the weekend when I didn't want to wear my new suede shoes out in the weather...I wore my crocs with my heels in the bag, which folded up nicely in my purse until I needed it again.

This is my "bag o' bags", this quilting tote was given to me by a friend (who had it given to her some years prior.) It's made of an old quilt that had seen better days. The handles are a bit short, so it doesn't work for most of what I use my bags for, it made a perfect bag for my bags, though. It hangs on a hanger in my pantry for easy access and out of the way storage.



I've got the brown border sewn together and the binding is made, too. I've got one side pinned on and ready to sew. I'll finish the rest of those in short order. I'm going to make freezer paper foundation pieces for a quilt pattern I'm testing for my friend who designs patterns. I can't show any of it until it's published, but when it is you'll see it here. To see her website and her available patterns, visit http://www.tyquilts.com/

I had hoped to finish the ring blocks today, too, but with a big dinner on the agenda (my husband is home tonight because of President's Day) I'm not sure if that's realistic. These little blocks always seem to take me longer than I think they will. Still, I hope to at least make a dent, I think I have 4 blocks left. I also need to find the other blocks that are finished and the alternating blocks, I can't seem to locate them at the moment.

In looking for the ring blocks, I also found some blocks for a smaller project that are finished and ready to be sewn into a top, those (along with the border strips) are on my sewing table as well, that will be finished in the next couple of days, also.

It's time to run, I want to get as much sewing as possible done today and I have a sink full of dishes to tackle before dinner prep starts.

And as usual, a picture of Ruthie. Here she is snuggled up with her baby for her umpteenth viewing of "Elf"

Happy quilting and keep warm!
Sue

3 comments:

Marilyn Robertson said...

Here is a virtual pat on the back for all you have acomplished lately! {{{{pat on back}}}}}} Your quilt top looks wonderful!

Andrea said...

That is looking fantastic ! Well done Sue. My Patrick loves Elf too - he laughs his socks off at it - lol !

Jane said...

You've been a busy woman! Love your latest quilt. Do show your experimentation with the "spin" design on the next one. I saw the time log that you have on your side bar and see that it would be a good motivator for time management control. LOL