Still another finished flimsy!

I've done next to no sewing since my post last Sunday - until this evening. I've been working on catching up with my blog reading - I'm now on the "M's" in my Bloglines roll - as well as reading another couple books. I've been borrowing books from our son-in-law - thrillers by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I've not read any of theirs before, and I'm really enjoying them. I'm reading them in order - I don't know if it really matters but that's how I like to read just in case it does. I think I'm on book six now - "The Ice Limit".

Of course I spent two days with Joseph - this time Tuesday and Wednesday. I read a lot of blogs during two long naps on Tuesday - then he made up for it Wednesday by napping very little. It's so much fun to spend time with such a happy little guy!

My knee has improved enough that I spent today loading a huge king size customer quilt on Gandalf. This one is all stitch-in-the-ditch, so it will keep me very busy for the next few days. I didn't start the quilting tonight as I didn't want to push the knee too far, so I spent the time sewing borders on the red and white quilt. I decided in this case that simple was best, so I went for only one 5" border. I auditioned quite a few fabrics at the quilt store, fully expecting to choose a fairly dark red for the border. Much to my surprise I liked the brighter, medium tone red much better, and the folks in the shop agreed. So I bought three yards of this cherry red Moda Marble. I don't have a big enough place to spread out the whole top so these pictures were the best I could do. When I finish the two customer quilts I have waiting I will quilt this next. I'm so eager to have it finished. It's been a LONG time since I had a project that I felt as driven to complete as I did this one.

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Gratitudes:

1. Warmer sunny weather is back - at least for a few days

2. A nice dinner with friends

3. A husband home now until he goes back to school in mid-August

A big thank you - and another top finished

I've spent very little time on the computer this past week. I checked my personal email and that was about it. I guess I just needed to retreat into myself for awhile to rest and recharge. Once again I'm terribly behind on my blog reading.

I was so very touched by the dozens of comments I received after my last post. Thank you so very much to each and every one of you who expressed condolences and sent prayers and cyber hugs. They really meant such a great deal to me. The last week has been so hard - I see Shadow everywhere I turn, and find myself listening for the patter of his feet. It is getting easier day by day. The kindness and caring of my online friends has helped a great deal.

I have been doing some sewing and a great deal of reading. I believe I'm on my fifth or sixth book now. I've had sinus issues with some dizziness - thanks to spring allergies - and reading has been the easiest thing to do.

After I posted the last picture of my red and white quilt I discovered - by looking at the post with the picture - that I sewed a light sashing where there should have been a dark sashing. thanks so much, Paula, for pointing that out and putting me on the right track! I've taken out the incorrect piece and substituted a dark piece. I wonder if anyone besides Paula noticed that in the picture. I've bought a piece of red Moda Marbles that I think is perfect for the border - hopefully I can get that sewn on sometime this week.

Most of the sewing I've been doing has been appliqué. I chose fabrics and cut out the pieces for the fall and winter borders on "It's a Wonderful Life". I redesigned the winter border, redrawing the pomegranates, changing the shape of most of the holly leaves, and adding additional berries and vines. I used felted wool for the tiny round seeds in the pomegranates so I didn't have to turn under the edges when stitching them on. I added the final touches - stem stitch embroidery to define the panes of the windows in the houses. I feel so good that this top has been completed - another UFO to the finished flimsy stage.

I'm happy to report that my knee has continued to feel better since the cortisone shot, and I'm hoping to start longarming again this week. A good thing too - as I have two customer quilts to complete and two more to baste. Looks like I won't be able to do one of my own for a little while. The first quilt has a deadline of June 17th, so I'm going to load that onto the machine tomorrow and get it started. Lots and lots of stitching in the ditch, so it is going to take some time.

I also hope to get back to blog reading tomorrow - I'm missing everyone and am eager to see what you've all been up to in the last week or two.

The parts are complete!

Now all I have to do is sew together the last three rows of blocks and the last four rows of sashing. I couldn't get a picture of the entire quilt on my design wall because I kept running into the cutting table. It's a good thing this isn't larger - it fills every square inch of my design wall. I moved the big board and iron into the hall last Saturday so I could use the entire wall. I think Fred will be very glad to have them back in the room where they belong!

As you can see I didn't begin to use up my red and white fabrics. The first picture shows the stack I started with and the second picture shows what is left. Once I get the top together I'll contemplate border treatments. I may decide to add a half-square triangle square inner border, which would use a bit more fabric. I certainly have enough red to piece a back! What I'm pretty sure I don't have is a fabric for the last wide border. A shopping trip may be in order once I finish stitching the center together!

I never intended to finish this top so quickly - I thought I'd just make a few blocks here and there. Instead I got wrapped up in the project and couldn't stop. It will be nice to get back to my other projects - Dear Jane, the Civil War Diaries quilts, and all those UFO's.

Red and white progress

I've sewn 41 red and white blocks. 40 of them have been sewn into the first five rows of the quilt. There will be eight rows total so I need to sew 23 more blocks. I'm hoping that I can cut those out today and finish stitching them together tomorrow. I'm eager to cut out the last two border appliqués for "It's a Wonderful Life", but can't do that until I get all the red and white fabrics off my cutting table LOL!

Gratitudes:

1. Good results from the cortisone shot in my knee

2. Front flowerbeds edged nicely and free of weeds

3. Iris blooming everywhere

4. Retirement!

5. A second granddaughter on the way!

Almost halfway there

I've finished 28 red and white blocks. I've decided I need to make 64 blocks, which should give me a quilt just under 100" square. My husband's only comment is "it's bright". He needs to get used to it, because this will be on our bed at least a month or two each year. It will certainly be perfect for February, don't you think? As you can see, I've run out of room on my design wall. I need to start sewing blocks and sashings together in order to fit an eighth row down the right side. So far I've pretty much flung the blocks and sashing strips up willy-nilly. I think it's time for some serious arranging so I can sew these together before I make more. I've used about 75% of my fabrics so far - the second picture shows the "used" pile. The third picture is of the fabrics I've not yet used. It's looking very much like I'll have red and white fabrics left over - time for a scrappy back ala Bonnie I think!

I've not shown any grandchild pictures for awhile, so on this Mothers' Day I'll post new pictures of Joseph and Sophie. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday today with their mothers, their children, or both.

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Gratitudes:
1. Showers of pink cherry blossoms blowing in the wind
2. Wonderful memories of my mother
3. Brunch out with my husband

Progress

I managed to make four more blocks today in between a doctor appointment and running some errands. I wanted to make enough blocks so I could start playing with settings. The barn raising setting required that I make some three-quarter triangle squares for the sashing cornerstones where there is a bend in the light-dark pattern. Once I figured out that was what was needed it was pretty easy to make the required parts. I think I'm going to really like this arrangement - no surprise, as this has always been one of my favorite log cabin arrangements also. Hopefully I can make a few more blocks this evening. The Mariners are playing so badly that it sure isn't worthwhile sitting in front of the TV. I can listen to them lose on the radio just fine.

A start

I finished only eight blocks today - but I did take a few breaks so I guess that's a good start. I made them two at a time so I could them as leader-enders for each other. The first picture shows the blocks without sashing and the second with sashing. I cut sashing pieces at the same time I cut the block parts because I'm pretty sure I'm going to use sashing. I just like how it looks - it makes the pattern looks much more complicated. I'm partial to the barn raising set so that's probably how I'll arrange the blocks, but I'll play with other settings too before making a final decision. I have lots and lots of fabrics I've not yet used - I don't think that one dark fabric will stand out nearly so much in the final quilt as I have several more dark reds to use.

I like how this is looking!

I'm up for a challenge!

Of course, you will probably think I'm nuts - starting a new project when I have so many others in the works. I completely agree. But then that's what we quilters do, right? Nicole at Sister's Choice has issued a two-color quilt challenge. I felt I had to take up her challenge, because I've been collecting red and white fabrics for four years now - ever since I saw this basket quilt at our guild quilt show in 2004. The quilt was made by a very prolific member named Mary Jo, and since we had similar tastes I always loved every quilt she made. Originally I thought I'd do a basket quilt also, but have since realized that I can achieve the same visual impact with many different blocks, and thus needed to take my own red and white path.

I have been in love with the quilt on the cover of Marsha McCloskey's book On to Square Two ever since I bought it in 1992. I loved the way she split this simple star block into dark and light halves, thus creating a new block similar to a log cabin block - a block that could be set together in dozens of ways, each one different. I knew that I wanted to make these blocks someday. So when I accepted Nicole's challenge I immediately thought about this quilt and decided it would be perfect.

The blocks consist of both half-square and quarter-square triangle squares, so I thought this presented a great opportunity for a little tutorial. I love Marsha's method because it creates precise, perfect blocks. I know some people think this method is a lot of work, but I find it fast and easy just because everything goes together so perfectly. The measurements I list are for this particular block. The measurements vary depending on the size of the triangle squares being cut. A good rule of thumb is to make the second and third cut as far from the first cut as the size of the squares being cut. For example, if you are cutting 2 1/2" half square triangle squares then you would make the second and third cuts 2 1/2" on each side of the first cut. The size of your initial square varies also, depending on how many half square triangle squares you need from the specific two fabrics.

Place a dark and a light right sides together, pressing to help them adhere together slightly while cutting. For this block I cut a nine inch square.

Cut the square diagonally from corner to corner. Separate triangles slightly and cut each triangle again 3 1/2" away from the first cut.

Sew the strips together, alternating light and dark. Sew the remaining small triangles together. Press to the dark side.

For this block I need four, 3 7/8" half-square triangle squares. I cut these first from the "strata". I also need three, 3 1/2" square triangle squares. I cut one from each of the small squares and a third from the remaining piece of the larger strata.

To make the four quarter-square triangle squares I match pairs of 3 7/8" half-square triangle squares together, alternating light and dark. Since all the seams were pressed to the dark the square "nestle" together very nicely due to opposing seams. I cut these diagonally, then stitch them back together with a scant 1/4" seam. (If you use a full 1/4" seam they will be slightly too small.) Press the seams to one side. This results in four perfect quarter square triangle squares - or hourglass blocks.

The resulting squares, along with one dark and one light 3 1/2" square make up the blocks. The rest of the construction is a simple nine patch construction. I press the final seams open to lessen bulk.

I love the way these blocks are turning out! I wonder how many more I can get done today?

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Gratitudes:
1. Hot tea with milk
2. A fun day with my grandchildren
3. Sleeping in
4. A happy ending to my daughter's mishap
5. Good health insurance