I spent the afternoon binding the quilt blocks for the first row of my new quilt. It took me a while to settle on which fabric to use for the binding. My choice was this soft gray or a tone on tone white fabric. The white seemed to stark to me. I'm glad I went with the gray!
My allergies were really bothering me today, so I didn't feel like doing much of anything. I did take some time to quilt this afternoon, and I was surprised when I checked my progress to find that I have half of my blocks quilted. Yay!
I wasn't quite as tired when I returned home from school today, so I did some quilting. 13 blocks are quilted with 19 to go.
Tatting didn't happen last night. My hands just didn't want to work with shuttles and thread. I think they might have been protesting the number of books I've been moving around the past few days!
I was exhausted when I got home from school. The beginning of the year gets tougher every year. I took a nap, something I rarely do, and then I headed for my sewing machine.
I'm keeping the quilting design very simple for these blocks.
The fabrics are so busy that I think anything more complex would be lost.
Tonight I'll see if I can focus on some tatting!
I spent quite a bit of time working on quilt blocks today, and I managed to finish eight.
Since daughter Joanne and granddaughters Sophia and Kara are also working on quilt blocks, I took pictures of both the front and back of each block so that they could get some ideas for their blocks.
I have an idea for using fairy wands, so I put some more together this afternoon. Once my supplies arrive, I'll share what I've thought of doing... if my idea works!
Today is daughter Carol's 45th birthday. Happy birthday, Carol! To celebrate, we went to a new Italian restaurant in the next town south of us. The food was delicious, and the company was even better.
We thought there might be more storms today, so I started my day with quilting five more blocks for my next quilt. It did get a little dark for a while, but we never saw any rain. That's okay!
I really wanted to watch The Alamo today. I remember going to the movie theater with my sister on a Saturday afternoon. The deal was that when we got home we had to tell Mom all about it. I often wonder if we did a good job telling about the movie. I was only 8 years old when it came out. I've asked Mom, and she doesn't remember.
Anyway, it was easier to work on sewing two strips together for Joanne's quilt than to concentrate on tatting. My next step will be to add the final strip to these two. After that, I will join the first four strips with the last three. The end is in sight!
This morning I quilted five more quilt blocks. Each block has a different quilting design, which should make an interesting quilt.
I would have liked to accomplish more today, but we had some fierce storms this afternoon. Our mail lady came in and sat with us in the house for a good half hour until things calmed down. Luckily, we only had a few tree branches come down. Timing for dinner was just right. About 20 minutes after we finished cleaning up, our power went out for two and a half hours.
Obviously, the power is back on, but now it's almost time to head off to bed. Hopefully, I'll accomplish more tomorrow!
I accomplished a lot today. First, I finished tatting another bookmark, "Curds & Whey" from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior. This was the last of "Harvest Moon" hand-dyed thread from LadyShuttleMaker.
The glue basting dried for more than 24 hours, and the five blocks that I quilted went very smoothly. The only negative is that on the purple color on the left, the glue shows through. Out of all the squares in these blocks, that color is the only one that showed this. Since the glue is supposed to wash out, I think all will be fine.
Late this afternoon, I finished sewing the two sets of strips together. I only have three strips to go. I really like the way this looks!
I finished quilting and trimming the rail fence blocks for my next quilt. Tomorrow I will square up the single blocks, and then Joanne and I will decide on the layout.
We have already chosen the fabric for the binding, so I will probably cut that out tomorrow as well. This is so much fun!
Today's bookmark is "Vineyard" from Four Dozen Tatted Bookmarks by Robin Perfetti. This one took quite a while to tat, but it certainly was worth the time invested!
I love this bookmark! The pattern is "Inversion" from Four Dozen Tatted Bookmarks by Robin Perfetti. I had to follow the instructions step-by-step, but it was well worth it for me. The thread is size 20 Hakelgarn, hand-dyed "Granny Delicious" from LadyShuttleMaker. I'm really glad I've decided to use my hand-dyed threads. What took me so long?
I now have four rail fence blocks quilted. I had hoped to finish six today, but I ran out of steam. I don't have a deadline, so there's really no rush.
I finished adding the fourth strip to my new wall hanging. I only have one strip left to add!
I finished quilting the last of my 10" squares for my new patriotic quilt. This afternoon I laid out the strips for the rail fence blocks. Once I have those finished, I will decide on the layout and the method of finishing the blocks.
It was a rainy afternoon here, and it looks like it will be rainy again tomorrow... perfect crafting weather!
Today's bookmark is "Asymmetry" from Four Dozen Tatted Bookmarks by Robin Perfetti. This one took me all morning, about four hours. I feel like I get slower every time I pick up my shuttles!
This afternoon I worked on quilting five more blocks. I have five more to go, and then I will start working on my rail fence blocks. I have an idea for joining these blocks, which I will try out with some fabric left over from other projects. If my idea works, I'll be sure to share it!
We head a busy weekend with a family wedding. My brother came to stay with Mom. Dave and I left for the wedding on Friday and returned home Sunday. With all of the activity, there was no crafting!
Today I was able to get back to crafting, and I succeeded in reaching all of my goals. First I sewed two strips of my wall hanging together.
I emptied two shuttles in preparation for my next tatted bookmark. I often wonder if I'm wasting my time tatting up small bits of thread, but I keep on doing it!
I haven't decided which fabric I will use to bind the blocks. I think I will wait until all of the blocks are quilted. I'm excited to see how this one will turn out!
Today, I took the plunge and cleaned out my closet. It's not finished. I need Dave's help in getting down the items on the top shelf, and we need to go through his clothes. Still, going through my things was a major accomplishment, and the closet is much cleaner!
I finished the next strip for my wall hanging today. There are two more strips that I hope to finish tomorrow.
Today, Dave took me to a quilt shop in Morris, IL, about an hour west of us. I didn't need a thing, but I did find a few fabrics that called to me.
We're expecting hot and humid conditions tomorrow, so I don't expect to be outside much. I do have to get a few things done in preparation for a family wedding this weekend. Luckily, they don't require going out into the heat!
Today I sewed two strips of quilt blocks together for my wall hanging. I have three more strips to complete, and then I can sew the strips together.
I'm eager to see how this turns out!
Today I tatted another Braid: Four Rings from Four Dozen Tatted Bookmarks by Robin Perfetti. This one was tatted without the decorative picots. Again, the thread is size 20 Hakelgarn, hand-dyed thread from LadyShuttleMaker, "Patriotic".
I finally finished the final quilt block for my wall hanging project.
I just finished it a few minutes ago. Tomorrow I will decide on the layout and begin sewing the blocks together. By the end of the week, I should have a new wall hanging!
I didn't spend much time crafting today, but I did manage to finish one more quilt block.
I only need one more for my project, and I plan on finishing that tomorrow morning. After that, I will decide on the layout, and then I can begin joining blocks.
