Remember this picture?

Here is what my scrap fabrics looked like on June 8th (see the last picture on this post).  Here is what they look like today.

Don't bother looking for a change - there isn't any, except for the large scrap of Schnibble border fabric I added to the top.  I am so ready to have this pile of ironed fabrics gone and my cutting table back.  There is only one way to achieve that.

It is time to put my applique paraphernalia back into the basket and start cutting pieces for more of these.

I'm more than ready to start creating something myself rather than following someone else's pattern.

Murphy's Law

Yesterday I decided to finish "Jack at the Gate".  I'd given up on the missing border fabric ever arriving, so I searched my stash for something that would work.  I figured there must be something on those shelves full of plaids.  I found several yards of the orange and off-white fabric you see in the picture, which looked very similar to the picture of the original.  Even though the color was more

 orange than the red-orange pumpkins on the quilt I decided it would tie in beautifully with the rest of the fabrics in the quilt.  I cut strips, sewed half square triangles, and had the top almost finished before I went to bed.  All that was needed was to applique the five stars across the top, which I finished today. 

And what do you suppose showed up in today's mail?

I should have been patient a little bit longer.  Notice the original red plaid is very similar to what I used except for the color.  The red piece will go on my plaid shelves to be used eventually in a different quilt.  I'm certainly not going to change borders now, especially as the stars overlap the top border.

I will chance something though - something I didn't see until I looked at the picture after inserting it in this post.  Two triangles on the bottom right are turned incorrectly!  That I can't tolerate!  So I guess the top isn't quite finished after all!

Another finished quilt top

"Summer in a Basket", designed by Jan Patek, 26" square

I am caught up!

My blog reader says I have "10 posts" to read.  One is a recipe I'm labeling as "unread" until I can copy it.  Nine are on the Electric Quilt blog that I'm saving until I have time to play with the program.

I promise to start commenting again now that I'm caught up.

What is wrong with this picture?

UPDATE:  I cut single-fold binding instead of double-fold.  This left enough fabric to make new corners of the right size.  Hooray!

The applique on this little quilt is all basted.  When I want an applique project fast - i.e. a last minute grab before going camping - all I need to do is pull this out of the "prepared tub.  I can do the stitching, sew it together, and have a finished top in no time.

Or so the theory goes.  If you look closely, you can see there is something very wrong with this picture.

 

Can you see it?  Look closely at the corner half square triangles.  Now do you see it?

The side and bottom borders are cut to size with a 1/4" seam allowance all around each one.  The corner half square triangles were made from squares cut 1/4" wider in both directions than what the pattern called for so I could trim them to size.  They have not yet been trimmed.

And they are too small.  The pattern is incorrect.  I've done enough quilts by this designer that I know I should always double check her math.  Several of her patterns have given incorrect sizes to cut a border or an applique block background.  This is the the first time I've found an incorrect measurement for a part of a pieced block.  Why didn't I realize that if the borders are 4 1/2" wide, then the squares cut for half square triangles should be cut at 4 7/8 instead of 4 3/8".  Mine were cut at 4 5/8" and are still too small - they should have been cut at 5 1/8" to allow for trimming.

Right now I don't know what I'm going to do about this.  As this was a kit, my remaining fabric is limited.  I think there is enough to cut new squares, but I'm not at all sure that will leave enough for the binding.

I am definitely done with buying kits for many reasons, and this is one of them.  So far one kit is missing the border fabric completely, another is missing the small wooden "button" for an eye, and another was missing something else (I can't remember what).  I love this designer's patterns, and don't understand why she can't have someone else double check her math.  I emailed her office about the missing border fabric, and was told it would be sent right away.  That was on July 2nd.  It hasn't arrived.  I sent a follow-up email last week and received no answer.  I call and all I get is a ringing phone - no voice mail so I can leave a message, and no one to answer a phone.  I've called at least 10 times on different days and at different times, and all I get is ringing.

So no more kits for me.  By anyone!  I need to use the fabric on my shelves.  If I can't get a pattern without getting a kit then I don't need to make the quilt.

OK - rant over.

Changing and rearranging

I like to be organized, as my regular readers know.  I'm always aiming for the perfect organizational system.  I will make changes that please me, and will feel that I'm finally "there".  Then time passes, my mind goes off in a different direction, and the organization no longer feels "right".  So I make changes and do some rearranging, until things feel "right with the world" again.

And so I've been reorganizing my left side bar AGAIN.  Putting projects in hibernation has never felt quite right.  It made me feel like I was "forbidden" to work on those projects.  I know - I can be very silly at times.  So I put returned the list to its former arrangement, and feel much better about it.

As many of you know, for years I was addicted to buying "kits".  Thus the list of 65 "Golden Hussies" on the sidebar, which really should be longer as I know there are some that never got added.  This list has been bothering me more and more.  I rarely buy "kits" any more - they defeat my goal to reduce the amount of fabric on my shelves.  And I have no place to store them.  Currently there are four large totes full of "kits" upstairs under the longarm, with more piled on top and to the sides of the bins.  I need this space to store yarn and fiber!  So one of the goals I've set for this year is to drastically reduce that number.

The majority of those "quilt kits" include applique.  So I've pulled many of the kits and prepared them so they are ready to be stitched whenever I pick one up.  I've already reduced the list by 23 kits!  Thirteen are currently sitting on the dining room table ready for tracing.  Since we rarely use that table any more - except as a junk mail catcher - I've set up a production station.  I'm thoroughly enjoying tracing and cutting out each pattern while I listen to audio books. 

So far, as soon as I prep half a dozen patterns, I've completed the applique and then the quilt top.  I will finish those currently in the sewing room, and then I plan to switch to quilting and piecing when I'm not preparing applique.  I've spent the last month doing little but applique, and I'm beginning to feel the pull of the machine.  I want to get back to my "shoofly" blocks, as well as my 30's baskets and my Civil War Diary.  I need to make blocks for another 30's swap.  Not to mention binding the five quilts that are currently waiting for their finishing touches.

Applique . . . . and a new "family member"

Most of my quilting the past couple weeks has been applique.  Here are the projects at the "show" stage.

"Where Liberty Dwells" - still needs embroidered words and borders

"Jack at the Gate" - still needs borders and stars appliqued

"Summer in a Basket" center block

 

"Summer in a Basket" four corners blocks

I've also started hand quilting another top, but it isn't close to being ready for "show".

And last but not least, I'd like to introduce the newest member of my quilting family -

my Pfaff Passport 2.0.  As soon as I heard about this new machine I decided I needed one, so started saving right away.  I brought her home last week.  She sews like a dream!  I will still piece on Miss Feather (my featherweight) but now I have a machine that will do a beautiful blanket stitch for machine applique.  My workhorse Pfaff is over 20 years old, and its blanket stitch isn't very pretty.  It also lives upstairs where it is currently very hot, which is why I have six quilts waiting for binding.  This beauty is currently sitting on our dining room table where it is much cooler.  With a walking foot downstairs the quilts should get bound this coming week.  It is very lightweight - much lighter than my other Pfaff - so will be much easier to carry to classes.  All the feet and accessories for the other machine fit on this one too, so I don't need to purchase any duplicates. 

If you haven't tried this machine, and are in the market for a new one,  I highly recommend you try this.  You will be glad you did.  (Oh boy - that really sounds like a commercial LOL!  Not affiliated in any way, just a happy, loyal Pfaff customer.)

We are back - again

This time we returned from four days of taking care of our three granddaughters - ages almost 3, almost 5 and 6.  We had a very lovely time with them, and especially with the two who weren't able to come camping the weekend before.  Our son and his wife are on a six-day backpacking trip in the Washington Cascade Mountains, so we turned the three over to their other grandma this morning.  It will be so nice to spend tonight in our own bed!  We have gotten so spoiled since we bought the Temperapedic mattress in April. 

I took much handwork with me, but was able to do very little.  Just a bit of applique, of which I'll post pictures later.  And a little bit of hand quilting, which I nearly forgot to mention.  With three lively girls in the house there was very little time to sit down much less do handwork!

I'm still catching up on blog reading.  I thought I could finish that in the evenings after the girls went to bed.  Unfortunately my new reader had a bit of a crisis and will be offline until later this week.  Rats!  At times like this I really miss Google Reader.

We had a lot of fun . . .

but really missed our DIL Chelsea and our oldest and youngest granddaughters.  Lily had gotten over the virus that caused her to miss our daughter's birthday celebration the Saturday before.  Both of the other girls had gotten it, however, and of course Mom stayed home with them.  All were disappointed - those staying home and those camping.

Our weather was good - cooling off at night and mid-80's during the day.  I'm sure it felt great to wade in the creek water!  (My balance isn't good enough to do it anymore I'm sorry to say.)

We played lots of games, ate good food, and enjoyed visiting with family who came.  Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

We are back from camping.

More or less unpacked and showered.  It was a great weekend but I'm really tired.  I need to eat something then take it easy for the rest of the evening.  Once again it is hotter than I like - 87 today.  Our weekend campsite location gets every bit as hot as it does here at home, and packing up the trailer and getting it hooked to the car is hot work that saps my energy.  I'll write a much better post tomorrow.