Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Day Behind, 16 and more Trees

I'm a day behind. My hubby worked last night, but decided he would drop by at some point in the evening to drop something off. So, I couldn't risk him discovering my little secret.
Tonight, however, I completed block 16 and have the first four rows completely sewn together. Only one row left and I managed to spend quite some time tonight planning the actual layout of the different fabrics, and drawing the lines on the last of the little squares that will become triangles. I'm going to the quilt group tomorrow and hopefully I'll be able to play a little bit of catch up then. My schedule doesn't actually include my doing any work on his project on Wednesdays, so if I finish a block tomorrow, I'll be all caught up.
For my "cover" work tonight I worked on sewing the remaining of my tree blocks together for the mystery quilt. I don't have much more cover work I can do regarding that project. So, hopefully I'll finish the True Lover's Knot quilt before then.
Maybe I can find a friend with a digital camera who would take a pic for me to upload here. I'll have to check into that.

Sunday, April 24, 2005

15, Sisters and Trees

Very productive day today. Block 15 done! And for my "cover" work I did another Twisted Sisters block and a bit of work with some tree blocks for the mystery quilt. I love having productive days! But I don't like working on multiple things... I would prefer to be able to focus on one thing at a time. Actually, that is not entirely true. Sometimes, I break from something that I'm not enjoying to work on something new and exciting can be very helpful. But working on multiple things tends to overwhelm me and things don't get finished as quickly. I guess the grass always looks greener on the other side!

Saturday, April 23, 2005

Block 14 and Heaven

Block 14 done! Each block completed gives me a little more relief. I can't wait for this one to be finished. Then I can start working on my son's next birthday quilt. This year my 3 year old said he wanted a "dinosaur" quilt. I couldn't find a pattern that I really liked, so I designed my own paper piecing block and quilt pattern and am looking forward to seeing how well it works out.
For my "cover" work tonight I completed that trying block from the mystery quilt. It isn't actually a block, more like a partial quilt. It looks wonderful, filled with various different star blocks... reminds me of a little piece of Heaven. I'm now anxious to teach this part to the class! It is always such a high when I accomplish something in quilting... not to mention having something beautiful to look at. I'm also feeling such a relief that it all came together properly!!!

Friday, April 22, 2005

Block 13

Yes! I completed the 13th block. I also managed to do some "cover" work. I am teaching a mystery quilt at my church and the instructions for the current block are off. It has taken me several days to rewrite and redesign everything, but I finally found something that will work. So, I pieced some on that tonight. I have finished just in time, as my hubby will be home shortly. Now I can enjoy some of my favorite reading by Jennifer Chiaverini. I just got her latest book, "The Sugar Camp Quilt" on Monday. It was actually a wink from God what happened. I tried to buy the book over the weekend, but sadly my usual bookstore was sold out. And while I was browsing at her site, I accidentally clicked on the events link and discovered that she would be making a one and only stop to my town on her book tour... and it happened to be that very same day. I rushed to the store and was unfortunately rather late, but I did get to hear her speak for a few moments and she did sign my book. :) I must say, she came across as very sweet and personable! If possible, I may even like her books more than before. If you love quilting and you haven't read her Elm Creek series, you are definitely missing out! Well, I'm going to go cut some more fabric for that mystery quilt. All of a sudden I'm feeling rather productive tonight. :)

Thursday, April 21, 2005

True Lover's Knot

I am making a True Lover's Knot quilt for my husband. It is supposed to be a gift for our 10th Anniversary. It is hard keeping it a secret. Every night while he is at work, I have to take everything out, work on it and hide everything away, before he gets home. In addition, I have to work on something else to show him what I've done. LOL! I know it will be worth it, but it is a bit much. And while it is looking really great, I must admit I'm getting a bit sick of it... I have 12 out of 20 blocks done... I try to get a block done each night he works. I still have tonight's to do. But the weather was hot today and my house feels like an oven!
On a more upbeat note, I made a new block yesterday (as my cover to what I'm really doing) and I loved it! I finally tried my first "Twisted Sister" block and so pleased at how easy and fast it was!!! Plus I love the fabrics, I chose them for myself. I've never made a quilt for myself before. I make one each year for my kids' birthdays. So, it is nice working with more "grown up" looking prints.
Well, I have procrastinated enough for now. And now that I have vented for a few minutes, I feel ready to back to work.