A Finish....

This morning I'm sharing this quilt that I finished the end of December.  Procrastination kept me from taking the pictures and posting them.
I made this with a bundle of Fig Tree fat quarters from a few years back....and it was quilted by Karen sometime last year.

It still doesn't have a label.....

On another note....the Man Shirt quilt is now up to 91 blocks...with 2+ shirts left to use.
Not sure if that will make it as large as I want it to be or not.  Hope to know by the end of the day today!

S

First (Real) Post of 2012

Just wanted to show you girls what I've been up to.
These are my Man Shirt blocks.  Last time I worked with blues, and this time I'm working with blacks and greys.  I'm really having a good time working on these blocks, but I do find it a little more challenging to find shirts I like.  Each time I go to the thrift store to get some more I end up coming home with another 1 (or 2) blue shirts...so there will be another blue quilt in my future.

Anyway, I wanted to show you how these shirts break down...I'm really getting a lot of yardage from mens XL and 2XL shirts.....and I feel like I have hit the jackpot when I find a mens 2XL Long.

After I cut them apart I starch them until they are as stiff as paper.  It helps me keep the stripes straight and makes the cutting easier.

Im loving the labels inside some of the shirts...and I intend to incorporate them (and maybe some of the buttons) into the quilt.

So these are the blocks I have finished so far today.  I'm hoping I can get at least 10 more done before I clean up for the day.....

That's it from me for now.....I really want to get back to work!
S

Too lazy to post my own work......

Have a great evening, chicks!
S

It's Been Awhile....

But here I am...
I finished a couple of quilts that I wanted to share.
First up is a Blackbird Designs quilt that I wanted to do from the minute I saw the pattern in the book.  I collected the reds, greens and blacks for awhile, and then one day, somewhere around LAST Christmas, I decided to get started on it.

Im glad to have this one all finished, and after I share it with The Quilt Chicks later this week at out Christmas get-together I will hang it up on my wall.

I also finished up this quilt....some Very Good Friends announced earlier in the year that they were going to be grandparents for the Very First Time....and I was so excited at the news that I just had to make a quilt....and as soon as they let us know that the baby-to-be was a boy I knew what I wanted to make.
I took a trip to the local thrift store, grabbed some striped mens shirts and mad this:

As you can see, Jasmine the Resident Quilt Inspector approves of this one.....But I'll put it in the wash, AGAIN, to be sure that it is hair and allergen-free for Baby Mason.
After I share this one with the chicks I will make a date with the new mom and take it over....before that baby is full-grown.

Also to share:
What I'm reading,,,,

And what I have on -the-needles:

Day one of a mystery dishcloth...
and:

A merino lace weight cowl.  Yarn from a shop in East Tawas, Mi.....

So that's it chicks.  Nothing more to chat about.  I have a couple other projects to get to, so I better split!

Give Me n Inch....

And I will take up the whole house.

A serendipitous turn of events left me with an empty house this weekend (as well as the rare opportunity to use the word Serendipitous!)
Friday included a trip to the farm, the airport, and a wedding.
A very nice wedding....with a beautiful couple and really, ReallY good food.
Saturday was mostly mine...

Two of the Silvia's, Claudette and Sue, came by to finish up Sue's quilt that she started at our farm retreat back in February.  It's is Sue's first quilt....and she plunged right into it fearlessly. 

We worked together to finish sewing down the binding....and now the quilt is set to be given to Sue's daugheter at her high school grad party next weekend.

After the girls left the day was all mine, and I proceeded to spread out.

I'm working on a scrap quilt....trying my darnedest to work my way thru parts of my stash that I want out of the way. Too many new projects waiting to be shopped for and started, but no space for them has forced me to clear this stuff out.

The problem with that is the more I cut, the more that scrap pile grows...and so I must continue to cut.

No telling how large this quilt will be.

I'll keep you posted.

p.s.....where are the pics of my quilt?  Trapped somewhere in my camera.

I probably cant blame the camera.

I Like A Challenge

Or I'm an idiot.  Not sure which.

I have other things I could tell you about.

Like opening my garage door Monday afternoon and finding a (pocket-sized) dog locked inside.

Or opening my BBQ and finding (another) birds nest (filled with eggs).

Or I could show you more pics of the trip to NC.

But I'm lazy....so I'm going to start with this instead and if I get up the motivation (at a later date) to show and tell the other stories I will.

But for now....the challenge.

I finished this quilt top this week.  I bought the kit from Guildcrafters many, many months ago.  I don't know why I bought it because I found working on it to be a dreadfull experience.  I hated the fabric choices, the lack of variety, etc.  I will NOT buy another one of these kits.  (Next time you see me with one in my hands you have my permission to SLAP ME SILLY.)

So anyway, weeks back I made the 1/2 square triangles, and this week I laid them out on the floor.

After laying them out I just dreaded the idea of sewing them together.  More precisely, I dreaded the idea of getting in and out of my sewing chair and walking back and forth to where I had laid them out......

So I decided, after leaving the blocks on the floor for a couple of hours that I didn't want to pick them up and stash them away for ever....that I would just set my old machine up on the floor and sew like I did when I was a kid SO lazy that I couldn't even clean off my desk top to do my homework and would just spread out and work on the floor.

So anyway, it took Monday night to sew the blocks into rows, and most of Tuesday to get the rows sewn and pressed, and here is is, Saturday, and I'm finally getting around to taking photos....
Of course, I couldn't take any photos until today due to rain and lightning and MORE FRIGGING  RAIN....but today it's  WIND that I am battling....And THAT is what today's challenge is.  Trying to get  a picture of the damn thing.

Like I said, I'm not in the least bit fond of this quilt....so I'll be finishing it myself and giving it away to the next charity in need.

And that's that.

Sometimes I make mistakes....

I did have a couple of pics from our overnight roadside stay:

 We look so well rested, dont we?

 Stray dog.  He actually looked both ways before he crossed the road. 

Our very scenic view.  Mountains.  Fog.  Semi's.

Our view has changed quite a bit since we arrived at Tom Johnson's RV Resort:

RV'rs like their tow vehicles to match their rigs.  (Photos loaded huge...click for correct image!)
This ain't tent camping, chicks.