Working...working....

I have been absent a bit....but i have been working. a little of this and a little of that.

I have more Dear Jane blocks done. i just finished row J this morning. have 3 more blocks to do on row K...and then 2 1/2 borders.

Working on my June crazy quilt block for the CQJP. hard to get a pic of white. i still have more to add.

And making 16" patchwork blocks for a friends quilt. 122  2" square each. ugh!!  but it is working....very slowly.

And my candy paper project is coming along. i now have 8 blocks done.

Just got the borders on a selvage quilt. black and white selvages surrounding a middle square with red and pink flowers. this was ongoing for several months. now ready to quilt...someday.

Here's a closer look...somewhat fuzzy looks like.

I ran out of the middle fabric and needed a few more blocks...so i embroidered on 5 plain middles with pink variegated thread. necessity being the mother of invention and all that....LOL

And this is what is on the frame now. it is mine and it is large. i am changing colors and playing so it is taking a while. it is my UFO for this month's challenge so really hope it gets done in time.

I'm leaving town on Tuesday and will be gone most of the month. i need to get my rear in gear..

Later

Accomplishments in stitching

I haven't showed you lately what i have been working on.....but my fingers have been busy.

I am on Row H of the Dear Jane quilt. here are a few blocks. this is H13 (red background) and H12.

This is H11 (yellow) and H10

And H9  (red) and H8

I have 3 more blocks to make in the H row. i also did a couple more in the top border but didn't take a pic....my bad.

Remember the Home and Harvest wallhanging?  i have the last 3 blocks finished.

Falling Leaves

Leaves and Feathers ... love that little fat bird

Basket of Posies ... those were a lot of tiny pieces to stitch down. maybe those are pussy willows?

Now all i have to do with this is add these blocks to the rest and applique the borders. looking forward to finishing so i can move on to the next applique quilt.

I really loved appliquing with this wool felt and i really would like to use it again in my next quilt. but i want to use cotton as my background. so i am going to make a test block and see how it works and launders and wears. i decided to use a pale green flannel as my background. i will do a block and if it works out...then it will be a pillow to go with the quilt. wish me luck. everyone says you can't mix wool and cotton and wash it.....but i am a rebel. after all...everyone used to throw away selvages and look what i can do with them. LOL   i will let you know how that works out.

Our class quilt this year is to commemorate the secessation of states. our teacher likes the Civil War and history. the center block will be South Carolina...which she tells us started the whole thing. the blocks are 10" finished. i have trouble with these little pieces and it isn't as straight as it should be. and this is the center of the quilt. LOL

And surrounding South Carolina are 4 applique blocks....of which i have 1 finished. it has a cotton boll on it and tobacco leaves....which she tells us are on the state seal. where else do you get history lessons with your quilt lessons.....cool. 

All blocks will be set on point. i hoped the fabric in my tobacco leaves would look like veins in the leaves....but my sis says they look like turkeys to her. sigh!!  but my cotton boll has a cute dragonfly on it.

I am certainly enjoying all this hand stitching. but  don't worry...i won't be selling my sewing machines any time soon. hahahahaha

Gotta go.....quilting to do.....catching up to do....talk to ya

Later

The Duck is pretty...on the outside

The Duck is looking prettier on the outside. it would have been nice had i remembered to take a picture....but i didn't.

The yard guy that i hired to cut my grass during the summer is doing a fine job. this last weekend was the first time i was down there in about 2 months. it is so nice to go down and not have grass 12 inches high.

And i also spoke to him about cutting out those ugly shrubs along the front of the house. i just talked to him about those on Sunday.....and when i went down on Tuesday to take a load of furniture....he already had the bushes whacked down. fast....fast.  he still has to dig out the roots but it looks soooo much better. i filled a whole trash bag with the crap that was under those bushes. people!!

I really wasn't able to do much work when i was done there. on saturday i spent 2 hours and 3 hours on sunday. nothing exciting accomplished. just picking up trash and carrying it out to the garage. i did manage to get the vinyl off the back steps .... tacked on with about 100 upholstery tacks. and under that was green carpet....i think the indoor/outdoor stuff. it was glued to the steps so i couldn't get that off. but those steps will be replaced so it will disappear eventually.

I came home on Sunday and then turned around and did another day trip down there on Tuesday to take 4 pieces of furniture that i had stored in the barn here at the farm. i think dh was ready for me to get my stuff out of his barn. LOL

One piece was the barnwood hutch that i had gotten a few weeks back.

And i took 2 bookcases that i had gotten at a yard sale. this one is unfinished and heavy.

And this one is 7-8 feet tall with a curvy top. it is also heavy. i will paint it another color...not sure what yet.

But now i am home again for a while. i spent my morning picking up black walnuts....hundreds of them.....3 hours worth.  we throw them all in the driveway and drive over them until the hulls are smashed off. after i cleaned up the driveay of what was there....i picked up the last of them out of the yard and threw them in the driveway. i have a large trash can full of this years nuts...hulled and ready to dry out for next year.  and i am beginning to crack last years nuts for some good bread and cookies this season.

I have been working on my Dear Jane blocks some, too. i only have 1 more block to do and then rows A through E will be finished. i do have 4 or 5 of row F done, too.

I feel like i need a nap. my sleep is all disrupted lately. i go to bed too early....about 10....and then wake up at 2:30. i get up and sew for a couple hours then go back to bed for a few hours. somehow my internal clock is all messed up.

OK...gonna go be constructive.
Later

Trying

I'm trying to get back in the swing of things. i have spent the last 4 days mostly on my back....on the couch or in the bed. something in my back/hip area knotted up and made walking, sitting and generally doing anything impossible.

I've been through aspirin, ibuprophen, aleve, tylenol, icy hot, heating pad, and as a last resort....my husband's muscle relaxer medication from a few years ago.  yeah.....i know....don't take others medication......but trust me....that was my last resort. but i think that may have done the trick. i took 3 of them throughout the day yesterday and woke up this morning pain free. i have been walking around gingerly.....waiting for the pain to come back. but so far......so good.

I went over to the studio this morning for about 3 hours and loaded a quilt top and quilted just a little. once my back felt tired i quit and went back home. i just got up from a 3 hour nap. it's hard to believe i can nap for that long since basically all i've done for 4 days is sleep.....off and on.

But i'm still feeling ok.....so, i hope i am back to normal ...... or whatever is 'normal' for me. LOL   i'll still be taking it easy for a few days......but cross your fingers that all is well.

While taking it easy i managed to finish the Dear Jane blocks for row D and 6 blocks in row E. and 2 more border triangles.

Am now waiting to hear from Judy Laquidara as to the color for August's monochromatic challenge quilt. it will either be green or pink. my pink top is what i put on the frame this morning and started quilting. and the green top is on my piecing table....waiting for me to piece more blocks. so either way....i am ready. LOL

Gonna go work on a couple green blocks.

Stay cool

3 rows done....10 to go

I've been trying to take it easy lately and rest a sore hip.....so have been working on my Dear Jane blocks a bit.

I now have 3 rows completed and put together.

I am really liking this quilt. some of these blocks are rather challenging....trying to figure out how best to make them.

My sister is on the 4th row and i'm trying to keep up.

I have some of the 4th row blocks finished.

This one is going on my bed. i have no illusions of having it done for this winter....perhaps next year.

But it is coming along well and i am happy with it.  so far, C12 has the most pieces....49. a couple of the blocks turned out just a bit differently....either through my error in piecing or i couldn't figure out how exactly to duplicate it. but who will know.

You won't tell on me....will you?  LOL

Just June Janes

Say that fast 3 times....Just June Janes....LOL

Here are the rest of the Dear Jane blocks that i have finished in June. i didn't do all of these last night.....i just found a few that i forgot to post. but i have them together in rows so pictures are not as good as i would like. and, in counting, i have 27 blocks done for June...plus 1 border triangle. so, June's number is 28.  WooHoo!!   i exceeded my expectations. now i feel good about myself and my self esteem is up. hahahahahaha

Here they are:

A3...simple applique....by hand no less

A4...paper pieced


A8...paper pieced

A9...paper pieced...check out those tiny, tiny pieces.

A11...paper pieced. i sort of simplified this one. the middle should have been 3 pieces and i made it one. and some of the background white pieces should have been 2 squares instead of 1 piece. doesn't bother me to change it and make it simpler. it still reads the same and from a difference....who will know.

A12...paper piecing more tiny pieces

A13...applique...this one i stitched down with a stitch on my little Janome piecing machine. the stitch could not be made smaller and i think it might be too large for this. perhaps if i had used invisible thread. but it was an experiment. i won't do it again....but i'm not taking it out either. LOL

And that concludes the first 'A' row...i have this row all stitched together. you use 1/2" finished strips between the blocks.

Here are the B's that i have finished this month.

B6...was paper pieced all in one whack...from the middle out. BUT....i SHOULD HAVE cut it in sections and did the middle in 2 pieces. i did some creative folding under of seams and top stitched. may take that top stitching out and use a less obvious thread choice. we'll see.

B7...applique

B8...another applique...with hand dyed fabric

B9..block basically paper pieced with applique center piece. wasn't watching and stitched that center down with a dark thread. dang it. you know i don't take stuff out and re-do. LOL  and i cheated here, too. there were more pieces...with Y seams....so i just made it all one piece.

B10....more tiny paper piecing. i like this block a lot for some reason

I have one more block to finish and then the 'B' row will be finished.

And i did a few more.

D4....applique with fussy cut pieces

D11...more applique with fussy cut pieces....love those dots

And, that, ladies and gentlemen...concludes the Jane show for June.

My sis thinks i am wrong for not making the block as shown....that i shouldn't short-cut pieces or change things. but i do want this quilt done in my lifetime and don't want to put it in a bag because i am aggravated with it. so i think....all in all...having it get finished is better than another UFO. it works for me.....how about you? what do you think? i'll still like you if you think i'm wrong. LOL

July to-do list:
.. i have Laurie's quilt on the frame.
.. i am going to the Duck on the 8th and probably won't be back until the 13th.
.. Judy pulled Blue for the monochromatic color challenge this month.....i don't have the blocks pieced yet....shoot...i don't even have all the pieces cut out yet.
..Judy pulled #2 for the UFO challenge this month. i previously quilted that one but have substituted another in its place...just needs to be quilted.
.. quilt at least 2 customer quilts.

Dang.....that sounds like a lot. better go get started right now.

Now, that list was just the studio to-do list. we won't even count the home list. but hubby just came down to weed-eat the studio property....bless his heart....and gave me a couple things for my evenings to-do list.
.. trim grass around trees down driveway
.. cut up leftover lasagne to put in freezer for future dinners. we've eaten it for 2 days already
.. bake him a cake

Later

Jane and Laurie

Last night i glued some applique blocks together for the Dear Jane quilt....and this morning i machine appliqued them down. i did three...

B2

B3

and, C11

I am trying not to put the same color side by side....but am not doing too good at it. in the first row i have 3 or 4 browns next to each other. and now i have done B2 and B3 both in browns. sheesh!!   that is one reason i decided to start doing them in order....so each block would be a different color.....it doesn't seem to be working out yet. i better pay more attention.

This is what i am working on now.....a beautiful blue and white quilt from my friend, Laurie..

She always does a great job....

I'll show you the whole thing when i am finished with it....i just started yesterday. it is a pattern that my friend, Marilea, designed. it is called For My Sister, Jewel, Who Loves to Dance. all the different blocks have names of different dances.

This morning i went out while it was still cool.....about 6am.....and finished trimming up the trees so we can get the riding mower under them without getting whacked by a branch. every year i go around and whack off the lower branches. .... but they all just grow back. why doesn't the tree just grow taller and quit putting out those lower branches?  we have a hissy fit every year .... me and those trees..... but i am determined to win. LOL

I still have more yardwork to do....perhaps tomorrow morning. it took 2 hours to tame the trees today. maybe i'll tackle some flower bed weeds tomorrow.

But right now.......back to Jewel.

I need help deciding.....muslin or color

Whenever i get an hour or so.... and remember....i am trying to work on my Dear Jane blocks. it doesn't look like i will get my 25 blocks done for June....but i have a few.

This is A7. it is all appliqued.

This is A10....it is appliqued, also. still has pencil marks on it...but they will wash out. it looks smaller but is the same 5" as the rest. some of these seem to be sort of optical illusions...depending on the size of the pieces and how they are set. interesting.

B4....this one is paper pieced... quite easy

This is B5....the block was paper pieced and then the tiny diamonds appliqued on top of it.

D6...very simple. i actually reversed the coloring on this one. i didn't like it the other way.

D12...a simple paper pieced block with applique arrow shapes on top.

I1...another simple paper piecing...just tiny pieces.

This is I4...paper piecing once again. the middle piece is appliqued on top.

This is another of the border pieces....in blue....top row, second from left.  

This is the two border pieces that i have put together. i find it strange that she pieced the border pieces that point to the outside of the quilt but just used plain fabric for the pieces pointing to the INSIDE of the quilt.

Now i'm thinking.....should i use pieces of muslin instead of the plain fabrics....where the pink piece is?  i think i would like the muslin better......it would match the background of the blocks.

What do you think?
Would you use the muslin in place of the pink or different colored fabrics for each triangle....like Jane did?

Have you done a Dear Jane quilt?  have a picture you want to share?