Thursday, June 30, 2005

Too Hot!!!

It is so hot here!!!! And our old A/C just doesn't do a lot to help the situation. I can hardly manage to be in my room, much less than piece and iron. However, despite the heat, I did manage to finish the border on my son's dinosaur. Therefore the top is finally done and now I need to figure out what I'm doing for the backing and get the whole thing basted. I guess I will work on some cutting for the rest of the evening... at least I can do that in the living room where it is a degree or two cooler.
I'm just not sure what to work on. I've decided I don't want to sew any more of my charmed quilt until I have all of my fabric, otherwise I'm concerned I might actually end up repeating some of the fabrics. I have started a fabric swap locally and at the Quilts Your Way message board and I want to make sure I am able to include those fabrics as well.
I could go back to work on my Twisted Sisters quilt, but there isn't a lot of cutting to do before you have to start sewing. Most of the cutting is done in the third step.
Oh well, I'll come up with something to do, I just don't want to start something new... I have too many UFOs!
Okay, now as if I don't have enough projects going on, I've found another one that I can't wait to get started on! Jennifer Chiaverini, author of the Elm Creek Quilts series is putting up instructions to make blocks from "Sylvia's Bridal Quilt". It is just so sweet of her! I know I need to wait until I have some other things completely finished, but that doesn't mean I can't dream and plan. Now, I'm wondering if I should try to make this quilt from a large variety of scraps and fabrics from my stash, or if I should just buy specific fabrics to do it in. I'm kind of leaning to the first thought. For one, it would be kinder to my purse strings. Secondly, it goes a little bit more in line with the story of the quilt. Hmmmm... so many quilts, so little time! Don't forget to stop by Mrs. Chiaverini's site to check it out.

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Border Time

I finished the sashing today for the dino quilt and designed and cut the pieces for the border. I'm going to get my hubby's second opinion before I actually start piecing it together.
I also worked a bit more last night on that charm quilt.
I'm anxious to do even more, but my back has been really hurting for days and I just keep pushing it and pushing it. The last time I did that I ended up in pain for months and then finally the hospital. I don't want a repeat of that, but then again it can be so hard to stop when you are getting a lot done, and when you still have so much to do. :)

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Catching Up...

Okay, it has been forever since I posted! I have done quite a bit. I finally have a picture to post of the mystery quilt. It is still just a pieced top, I won't be quilting on it until after my son's quilt is completely finished.
Speaking of the dinosaur quilt, I have all blocks done and half of the sashing.
I have also completed the first six months of the new mystery quilt I'm doing. Both this one and the one pictured are from Kim Graham. You should really check out her site...
http://members.shaw.ca/kigraham/
I celebrated a birthday and my sweet sister gave me my choice of fabric. Naturally, I picked fat quarters from Jennifer Chiaverini's Cross-Country Quilters collection. I got my fabrics last week and not only are they of wonderful quality, but they are even more beautiful in person. She has a new collection now and it looks wonderful too.
I also got another package in the mail that was non-birthday related. My mother sent me over 650 scraps to use for my charms quilt. I started piecing on it last night and managed to finish 2 columns (out of 27), I can take my time since I don't have all 999 fabrics yet. But, thanks to mom, I'm off to a great start!

Monday, June 06, 2005

Final Class and more Dinos

The last week or so has been so busy! On the 1st my class finished up their mystery quilts and it was wonderful. I was so proud of everyone and I truly loved how all of their quilts turned out! Each one was as wonderful and unique as each of the ladies who made them!!! We now have 6 months to quilt and bind them for a display at our church. I'm also getting ready to teach a new one starting next month!
In the meantime, I need to work on my son's dinosaur quilt. The weather here has been so warm and humid and our A/C doesn't work well, so it has been way too warm to actually accomplish much in the sewing/quilting department. Even having the sewing machine turned on with it's little light seems to make it feel at least 5 degrees hotter, LOL! Despite the heat, I have managed to do a few more dino blocks, for a total of 5. Only 7 more to go. It takes me about an hour and a half per block, so I really only feel like doing one at a time. I'm going to back to ironing and trimming those half-square triangles for the remainder of my evening.