Mini Finish

The Diva, through the insanity generosity of Gramma and Papa, will be getting an American Girl doll this Christmas.  This, for a child who firmly believes she's a boy...go figure!  Anyhoo, Wonder Mom (that'd be Gramma) is making clothes for the doll in question and I decided the doll needed a quilt.  Naturally.

I finished the flimsy a few minutes ago.  Hey, I'm having to pace myself since The Diva and I went out, against my better judgment, to Black Friday at Joann's.  Here's my finish...

I made it from scraps from the Christmas wreath I made.  It's wonky and imperfect and I love it. 

I'm linking up with the fine folks at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Richard Quilts and Sewing by Moonlight for TGIFF.

Happy quilting, y'all!

I'm With Stupid..Oh Wait I AM Stupid

Let me just throw this one out there for your amusement...

I am not the brightest crayon in the box, the sharpest tool in the shed, the brightest bulb in the fixture.

There, I've said it.

I was so excited at the prospect of participating in Saturday Morning Sew In, that I neglected to pay closer attention to the exact DATE of said event.  Please refer back to the second line of this post before I go any further.  I'll wait while you catch your breath from all that snickering.

Sigh...so, this now makes TWO online get-togethers I've utterly flunked: Friday Night Sew In (where I fell asleep) and Saturday Morning Sew In (on the wrong date).  Well, at least the Creator ensures there's plenty of fodder for the old blog, right...and they say He has no sense of humor!

Anyway, in my exuberance to participate, I managed to get this finished and I'm not backing down now!  Let 'em kick me out for being a ninny, but at least I'm no slacker!

Turbo-sewing the binding down

The whole premise is to sew in the morning, eschewing activities more responsible folks would take care of first like laundry or loading the dishwasher.  Sissies!  I say quilt now, wash later and that's exactly what happened.  Last weekend.  What a moron!



Anyway, my quilt 'Pretty Maids Row by Row' is all done and I love it.  The strips came from one of those Moda scrap bags.  Please don't ask which fabric line because I have no freakin' clue.  I can't even get the date right...you expect me to remember the name of the line, too?!  I wouldn't take those odds to Vegas, baby.  I did an allover quilting motif of flowers of various sizes.  I am quite proud.  And bright, too as it turns out.

Happy quilting, y'all!

Springing into Fall

The house may be decorated in all the luscious, vibrant colors of Fall but my quilt for Friday's finish seems to be heading in the wrong direction!

Doesn't this look Spring-y?

Wonder Mom purchased this prequilted fabric waaaay back...it was a huge chunk so I cut it into two equal sizes.  They'll make nice baby quilts or lap throws.  I *think* the designer is April Meadows for Moda but you know how my memory is, right?

Here's the other side...I looove me some yellow!

I've decided two things about prequilted fabric.  One, I hate it...the thread they used was awful and ravelly and I swear it was plastic.  Blech!  Two, trying to tack down the binding was like trying to drive the needle through concrete.  What a pain in the butt!  Is that why I only see duffle bags made out of this stuff?! 

I got totally spoiled last week being off work and getting all that sewing done so this week has been something of a letdown...NOT that I'm complaining about having a job, mind you!  Where's that sugar-daddy when I need him?  Oh, that's right, Himself said that's what he is.  Snort!

Soooo....what're you working on?  Did you finish something this week?  Didja, huh, huh!?!?  Sorry, Mama's had a little too much caffeine this morning...

I'm linking up to
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Richard Quilts
Crazy Mom
TGIFF

Happy quilting, y'all!

Friday Finish Too

I'm getting a bit desperate in my quilting as my vacation slowly winds its way down...nothing like seven straight days off to get stuff accomplished!

Here's what I finished up late yesterday afternoon...

I used the panel as a practice for free motion quilting on Wonder Mom's longarm machine.  I'm still toying with whether to make this a blog giveaway or keep it for my greedy little self.  It's a tad too small for a lap quilt, but would be perfect for a wallhanging.  Decisions, decisions...

Happy quilting, y'all!

Friday Finish 11/9/12

My week off is winding down (boo!), but I'm happy to say I've gotten quite a bit done.  Along with making our Christmas cards (yay!) and trying out some free-motion quilting on a home sewing machine (boo, again!), I got binding on one baby quilt and am in the process of finishing up another.

Here, modelled by a canine uber-babe, is what's done...


Lulu says 'I make this quilt look good!'

 Himself is headed to his second doctor's visit in as many days to see about his bum foot.  UPDATE: It's broken and he's now in one of those nifty black boots that come up to the knee.  He's already whining.  I'm already contemplating a felony.  Apparently, our clan just isn't very fond of our feet.  The Diva wrecked hers yesterday on the trampoline and is now milking it for all it's worth.  Yep, we hate feet!

Wonder Mom and I skipped town on Wednesday and headed to Quiltin Country in Killeen.  Pictures to come...can you say 'sale'?  So, I blame her for me not getting anything quilting done that day...never mind the fact that the whole trip was my idea.  Smile.

Himself kind of got his way as I spent a little (and I do mean little) bit of time cleaning out the storage building like he'd had planned for me.  He said it made him feel guilty me being out there all by myself doing all that work since he's been laid up.  Good, I can use that to my advantage!  And today, I'm transporting a car of rowdy third graders to a Baylor basketball game.  Have I mentioned my dislike for all sports except hockey?  Ugh!

But, I'll endeavor to persevere.  I can hear Wonder Mom whispering something about stars in my crown in heaven but, how I ask you, is it possible to sew while wearing a tiara?

I'm linking up to Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Crazy Mom Quilts and Richard Quilts.

Happy Friday y'all!

WIP Wednesday 11/7/12

Here's what's on my sewing table for day three of my vacation.   

I got the binding sewn onto this cute panel and just need to handstitch it down on the back.

The binding's cut out for the next completed top...it's navy, not purple.  Gotta love cameras and lighting and all that.

And while this isn't a WIP, it will be soon.  What's that make it...a WIP-in-waiting?  It's a Christmas present for.....who?  The pattern is from Quilts and More magazine.

This week I have several helpers to keep me company and soldiering on as I make my way through almost-done and half-assed done projects.  In no particular order, they are...

Coffee, and lots of it.  And if I find out who put decaf in my cup this morning, I'm gonna kill 'em.  Oh, wait...that was me.  Ahem...

My faithful, furry companion, (no, not Himself), Lulu FooFoo

And last, but certainly not least...

...because everyone knows grapes have antioxidants which are really good for you.  Heehee.  Ahem...

So...what're you working on this week?  I'm linking to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced to find out!

Happy quilting, y'all!

Make a List Monday 11/5/2012

Ahhhh, Monday, I can't ever recall looking forward to you until now.  My house is clean, the laundry's done, no one's sick (and won't be, thank you very much)...and I'm off the rest of the week!  WHOHOO!!

So, a recap of last week's Make a List...

* Don't fall  DONE!  No falling, slipping or sliding of any kind since the tub debacle!
* Quilt, bind and label the Albatross quilt DONE! And it's already in Captain Studly's possession.

This is only the second quilt I've EVER labelled

One big-assed label..like J Lo's butt

* Finish the 10 year cross stitch WIP  DONE! And already hanging up.

So, what's on the agenda for this week..?

* Make Christmas cards.  As the list is extremely short, this shouldn't be an issue, however, card lists are like fishing stories: the more time that passes, the bigger the list (or fish) gets. WHOOP!  As of 5pm, these are d-u-n...DONE!!

* Tie off threads and bind four quilts.  They're just sitting there all sad and lonely waiting for me to get off my duff and git 'er dun!  Sorry, I really love Larry the Cable Guy!

* If Himself has his way, I'll be helping clean out the storage building.  Um...NOT!!

So, what are you up to this week?  And don't tell me it's 5'6", okay!

Happy Monday, God bless bosses who grant vacation time, and happy quilting y'all!

The Albatross Takes Flight

I briefly thought of titling this post 'The SOB's Finished!' but that doesn't sound very nice.  Accurate, yes, but not nice.  Anyway, it's done, done, done!

What started out as this...

turned into this...

and finished up, thirteen months later, as this...

He nicely informed me he wouldn't be giving up the original quilt my mom made for him even though it's falling apart and she's been begging me to set it aflame just to put it out of its misery.  It's been well-loved.

I decided 'The Albatross' wasn't such a hot name for a quilt either so I opted for 'High Flight' after the poem of the same name by John G. Magee.  I love the poem and it fits with the theme since Magee was a pilot.

Here's the poem if you're curious.

HIGH FLIGHT

by John Magee

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings:

Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth

Of sun-split clouds--and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of--wheeled and soared and swung

High in the sunlit silence.  Hovering there,

I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung

My eager craft through footless halls of air.

Up, up the long delirious, burning blue

I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace

Where never lark, or even eagle flew.

And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod

The high untrespassed sanctity of space,

Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

Happy quilting, y'all!

Make a List Monday: The Tuesday Edition

I must've smacked my head in Sunday morning's shower debacle because it slipped my mind that YESTERDAY was Monday.  Sigh.  Smile.  Carry on.

Actually, yesterday I was too busy sucking down painkillers to get my schmit together to even type, but it's amazing what a day of work i.e. no painkillers will do for your psyche.  Big whoo (twirling finger).

So, here's my 'to do' list for this week:

* Don't fall.  Anywhere.

* Get the label stitched onto Captain Studly's Albatross quilt.  YES, IT IS FINALLY QUILTED!!

* Finish 10-year WIP cross-stitch sampler

* Don't fall.  Anytime.

* Get The Diva's costume ready for Halloween.  I AM cutting it a tad close, aren't I?

* Come up with a Christmas gift for my Happy Stitchers quilting bee pal.  Any suggestions?

* Don't fall.  Under any circumstances.

With luck, I'll be able to accomplish the not falling thing.  Then again, I tend to be gifted in the klutz department.

Check out Confessions of a Fabric Addict for more Make a List Monday fun! 

Just pretend it's not Tuesday ;)

Happy quilting, y'all!

Froggy Flannel Finish

I honestly hate Texas weather.  Only in this great state of ours can temperatures range in the 80s to 90s in October.  It's just unnatural.  Thankfully, we're experiencing cooler weather since a front's blown in.  That ought to crank the mercury down to, oh I don't know, the 70s maybe.  Whoop-dee-do!

I'm finishing up the last of the flannel squares I'd cut up for rag quilts.  Oh, the joy of sewing flannel with these crazy temperatures AND hot flashes.  It's almost too much fun to be legal.  I wonder if this is what hell is like. 

Here's what I finished this week...

I keep hoping a quilt fairy (or a Co-Defendant) will happen along and offer to do all the clipping on these babies for me.  Luckily I'm not holding my breath.  I've discovered that nothing makes clipping go faster than having to sit through a movie of the Co-Defendant's choosing (think Balto or Snow Buddies).  That or baseball, take your pick.  After running this one through the old wash and dry, I discovered an entire row that missed getting the snip, so it was snip some more and back through the wash and dry again.  And voila!  It's done.

Still in progress:
* the cross-stitch kit that's been a WIP for ten years (no, I'm not joking) that lacks just a few more lines of alphabet to move from WIP to finished

* Captain Studly's Albatross quilt has been quilted and is waiting for me to get the binding cut.  Do I have any volunteers?  *crickets chirping*  I'll take that as a 'no'. 

On that note, it's back to the grind sewing machine for me.  I can honestly. never. die...there's too much still to sew!

I'm linking to Richard and Tanya Quilts ,  Confessions of a Fabric Addict and crazymomquilts :)

TGIF, y'all!

Ragtime Friday

Friday is finally upon us...unfortunately, I will be working the weekend.  On the other hand, Captain Studly will be home from his school sojourn to the south of Texas by this evening and chaos will once again reign supreme!  And I can (temporarily) quit worrying about stranger abductions, lost in the big city children and random acts of road rage.  I know, I'm odd.  Sue me.

For today's finishes I have two rag quilts.  YAY, I actually finished something!

Baby-sized rag quilt

Baby doll-sized rag quilt

The Diva got the bottom one for her doll.  For some reason she thinks she's getting the top one, too (it's going to charity).  If it's one thing both the Co-Defendants are rich in, it's quilts.  I don't think she'll miss it.

So, any quilty projects or neuroses you're working on?

I'm linking to Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict,  Richard and Tanya Quilts and Crazy Mom Quilts

Happy quilting, y'all!

Totally Tearful Thursday...Pass The Kleenex

This morning, Captain Studly and class left for two days of adventure in south Texas, including a trip to tour NASA.  'Excited' does not begin to cover how enthusiastic he's been for WEEKS about this trip and getting away, even for just two days, from the old Ball and Chain (that would be me and Himself).  I can say with total honesty that The Diva does not miss him.  The dog will park her furry white hiney by the door until he's home.

Y'all, it is horribly quiet around here.  Although, at thirteen, he's become a functional mute (unless you count the grunts he now employs in lieu of actual verbalizing), at least I know he's still in the house.  As much as I grouse about all the crap he pulls and his eyeball rolling and his snarky teenage comments, I miss my Beanie.  If this is a precursor of what's to come when he leaves for college, I fear I'll have to knock over a convenience store or two..or ten.. to pay for all that Xanax.  Then again, I get that same feeling when I think he may never leave home.  It's true what men say...women are never satisfied.

He'll be back tomorrow night and I'll be back to bitching about everything Captain Studly, but in the meantime I am a sad sack.  And no, I haven't had my Xanax.  I'm saving it for college.

Y'all, I CLEANED OUT MY CLOSET TODAY AS A DISTRACTION.  Do you know there's actual carpet in there?  Is that a sign of a sick mind or what?!  I stopped myself before I snatched up the mop but it was a battle of epic proportion.

Okay, enough of that...here're some things currently in progress from my sewing corner.

That's me, before Captain Studly left, quilting the Albatross.  It's about 90% quilted and I cannot wait for it to be OH-VER!

I chose to quilt it with straight lines (I believe the modern quilters call them 'organic lines', however, I just call 'em straight...whatever works, right?) mainly because I can't free-motion quilt on my new boy-toy there in the picture.  Captain Studly's just grateful it's almost done.

I also have another rag quilt to snip and then it too will be finished.  Rag quilts are very forgiving and go together very quickly...love 'em!

Well, now that I've snivelled and whined a bit, I feel better. 

Happy Thursday, y'all!

A Dirty House Equals Quilting Fun



Although the castle is in desperate need of a good swabbing, a girl must have her priorities.  So in lieu of doing the whole dust/mop/vacuum routine, I did what any good housewife would've done.  I quilted.  Lucky for me, I married a man who cleaned his various college apartments one time each...when he moved out.

I finished a couple of rag quilts (photos to come once I get all that clipping done) and have blocks ready for another.  I had a few leftover blocks of the flannel to make The Diva a doll quilt for one of her Beanie Babies.  You'd've thought it was made of gold the way she carried on about it.  It's nice to know I still got it enough to impress at least one Co-Defendant.

The boy-toy (I'm really gonna have to come up with a good name for him) and I spent quite a bit of time together yesterday and in the wee hours of the morning working on Captain Studly's Albatross quilt.  No pictures of this one yet as Himself stole my camera so he could take pictures of his car engine.  Don't they all look alike?  Whatever... 

Charming, isn't he?

It's about 90% quilted and I am continually reminded of why I loathe quilting anything of significant size on a home sewing machine.  Geez, I hate rolling and scrunching all that fabric to get the darn thing finished!  But, as Captain Studly is so quick to remind me, it's for a worthy cause.  What a guy!

Happy quilting, y'all!

It'll Be Our Secret

Shhh...don't tell Lennie the Featherweight...but I'm having an affair.

I love Lennie...really I do.  It's just that we've been together for years now and I'm tired of the. same. old. stitch. day in and day out.  Faithful, like a good dog or that geyser...that's my Lennie.

My new man?  Oh, the things I've made him do for me today!  Zig-zag stitch, anyone?  And the way he zips through fabric?  Like butta.  It's tawdry and meaningless and probably won't go anywhere.  After all, he still lives with his mother.  But, oh the thrill of it all!

He's good looking and plastic like Barbie's boy-toy Ken, but, mercy, does he have himself some muscle.  Not at all like that lightweight, Lennie.  I don't even know his name; he's just somebody's Brother.

Have a stitchin' Saturday, y'all!

I'm BAAACK, Part 2

By now, I'm firmly convinced I should've taken the rest of the week off to recover from quilt retreat overload.  For those who think quilting is populated by blue haired lil old ladies sitting quietly and participating in conversational topics of the dignified variety, I say NOT!  It's also a seriously strenuous physical activity.  I hurt from my neck down to my fingers and my stomach hurts from laughing so much.  Do you think I could claim workers' comp for quilt related strain?  Eh, probably not.

I managed, in a leap of intellectual genius, to leave integral parts of my BOM kit at home so those didn't get done.  I am now four months behind.  Sigh.

I did a bit of embroidery and some cross stitch which I haven't done in an age.

This needle case is made from wool scraps that magically appeared in my stash.  Seriously, I've no idea from whence they came.  The pansy is crocheted (?).  (Sorry, I don't know knitting from crocheting.  Obviously, I don't do either one.)  My mom and aunt think my great-grandmother may have made it. 

Everybody wins a door prize at Nancy's retreats.  Thank you, Nancy!  What quilter doesn't like free fiber gifts?  I got to pick a King of the Ranch charm pack from Moda and made this baby-sized rag quilt.  After it's popped through the wash/dry cycle, it'll look way more raggedy.  Is that a word?  The brown border I cut a bit longer so it looks like leather fringe.  This was another one of those at the ass-crack of dawn finishes.

My aunt worked on this top over the weekend...it's made entirely of individually cut 2 1/2 inch squares.  No strip piecing on this baby!

I'm a huge fan of black and white quilts.  It took me two days to pick out the secondary pattern.  That's me...sharpest tool in the shed.

The last thing I started was a Moda Bake Shop kit that had one Honey Bun and three stacks of 2 1/2 inch squares.  I've quite possibly lost whatever's left of my ever lovin' mind with this one...

Oh, goodie, another WIP!

Poor Lennie the Featherweight...she worked like a dawg all weekend and didn't give me a bit of lip.  Do you think she could share that talent with the Co-Defendants?

Well, it's back to the real world for me now.  No one to cook my lunch and dinner today...boohoo.  I'm off to the grocery.  Or maybe I'm just off...

Happy quilting, y'all!

I'm BAAAAACK!

Photo courtesy of Bing

Well, at least I didn't lose my schmit during what turned out to be a week-long blogging absence.  Nah, I just spent it plotting packing for and then attending a quilt retreat with my mom and aunt.  I'm not sure who was more excited to see me pull in the driveway...the Co-Defendants, Himself, or the dog.  There's more mud in my house than out (thank you, God for the rain!) and I feel like I've been run over by a bulldozer from lack of sleep, but what the hell, it's only once a year!

I didn't get a ton accomplished, but I'd say I made a fairly respectable showing.

All Thursday afternoon I worked on this quilt top which was for the kids' school fundraiser...last year.  Ahem...I finally finished it at the ass-crack of dawn on Friday; that's roughly 2 a.m. in case you're wondering.  And yes, that's a technical term.

Considering the one I did get finished for the fundraiser only brought in a paltry sum, this one's gonna get donated to a local shelter.  No, I'm not still pouting about that.  Much.

Friday, in between breakfast, a nap, lunch, a nap and dinner, I managed to get a grand total of 338 sashing and print strips paired up and stitched for a bed quilt for me and Himself.  It helps I already had everything precut, but I was never so glad to put away those batiks and not touch them the rest of the weekend.  Hey, I'm pacing myself!

An aerial view

Side view

This is the pattern I'm using...

Himself vetoed the pink sashing by making some snarky comment about the connection between the color pink and gonad shrinkage.  Yes, I married myself quite a commodian.  That's a toilet humorist in case you're wondering.  And yes, that too is a technical term.

There's more to show and tell, but I am exhaustipated and I seem to be growing a 60 lb dog out of my armpit as I type this.  Lulu Foo-Foo is apparently feeling quite neglected. 

I'll be baack...


Photo courtesy of Bing



Bound and Determined

No, the title's not a reference to a new S&M book series...sorry.  Did you know Walmart is now selling the 50 Shades series in shrink wrapped packages?  LOL!  Don't want the masses gettin' all hot and bothered in the aisles, now do we?

Where was I?  Oh, yeah...

Nope, this is about good old fashioned quilting.  Yes, I did some quilting yesterday!  SWOON!  At the end of the month Mom and I are going to our annual quilt retreat and the theme is 'A Texas Christmas'.  Easy right?  Throw in Santa and some barb-wire and poof...a Texas Christmas.  Yeah, not quite.  And I'm not redneck enough to create a manger scene with baby Jesus wearing a ten gallon hat, although I'm sure someone somewhere in this state has done just that.

Now, you may be thinking that since I'm a Texan that I love all things Texas.  You'd be wrong.  First of all, brace yourselves, I detest football.  I'm sorry, but it's not a sport and not even tight fitting uniform pants can change my mind.  For the record, the only good sport is Detroit Red Wings hockey (or Dallas Stars if I'm in a pinch).  Armadillos, those armor plated rodents, dig holes in your backyard and you have to dodge the dang things when speeding down the road.  And the weather...ugh, don't get me started on that!  There's not much Christmas-y about Texas.  There are occasions (like autumn and winter) when I envy my Yankee brethren their weather patterns.  There, I've said it.

As it is only September, Christmas won't be on my mind until at least late October so coming up with an idea was a tad difficult.  Here's what I've got...

It you haven't had enough coffee yet, it's a mug rug.

I thought a red boot would be Christmas-y, but now that I think about it, I've only ever seen Santa in black or green boots.  Sigh.  I chose the boot fabric because it looks like leather.

I fringed the edges because I thought it looked appropriately rustic.  Oh, who am I kidding?  I just didn't want to do a binding.  I'm going to go back and add a rhinestone star as a spur and possibly, but don't hold me to it, some leather or twine accents at the corners.

It has been an age since I got anything quilt-related sewn.  Mending uniforms and taking in swim trunks just doesn't cut it in the creativity department for me.  I'm hoping to get more done this weekend.  The Albatross is still waiting...lurking on my table.

Lee from Freshly Pieced is back...yippeee!  I'm linking up with her.

Happy Wednesday, y'all!