There's no Crying in Quilting---Right?

        Oh my gosh! All I can think right now is my favorite quote from "League of their Own"--"there's no crying in baseball". I had two days off this week and was off today. I spent all my quilting time working on a Row By Row block from Bear Paw Quilts in Coeur d'Alene. I just can't believe how many mistakes I made. I made the stupid tree trunks 3 times! I tore out as many seams as I sewed and made more stupid mistakes than I care to remember. When I'd get frustrated I'd do a little on something else just to get my mind straightened out. I wear a t-shirt every weekend that says "A bad day of quilting is better than a good day at work". I think today I would rather have been at work!.
         Then to top it off I set up the big table to layer a couple quilts.I managed to get the backs made in the midst of the chaos. I got out the giant roll of batting and spent a hot hour bent over the table pinning one of the quilts. As I put in the last row of pins I realized I had put the wrong top on that back!!! I wanted to cry, I really did. I just took out every pin and now I have to start over! Three days of quilting and all I have to show for it is one Row! I'm not going to show it here till the whole project is done because I am kind of excited about my plan.
       I will show my cute little block I made at Runamuck Quilters. It is a technique we learned called Sketch Stitch Applique. I'm going to use this block as the label on the quilt I attempted to layer today. It's the same colors. Well, I want to put the picture of the block I made but for some reason I can't get it off my phone. Boo hoo..black cloud again!! Just took me forever to get this picture--I had to get out the digital camera and find the cord and download...Can I just start this day over!!!  (Do you think I just used enough exclamation points in one blog?)

Sketch stitch block

Spokane Shop Hop #2 is in the books

      My friend Susie Long and I had a fun day of quilt shop hopping in Spokane! Last year's was such fun we had to do it again. A couple shops have closed and one has moved and another has opened up so we hit different parts of Spokane this time. We even tried out a new chicken place and explored the Hobby Lobby. We also wandered around the north side looking for a shop that had moved and came across an accident involving a deer. So sad. It was just sitting there in the road looking around.
      The first thing you have to do when you do a shop hop is to have a list. Then you have to accept that the list is a joke and just go with the flow. This was my list: Row by Row patterns, Moda fabric to finish my jellyroll quilts from Christmas, and 2 jellyrolls. Actually I did pretty well. I came home with 7 patterns which are giving me anxiety about doing them. I got 2 jellyrolls which I have already used and wish I had bought more. I took a picture of a quilt in a shop which I made with one jellyroll and want to do again in a different color scheme. I also found Tweety eyes fabric which made me so happy! I had just used up my last little piece of it and I love it so much in kids' quilts.
      You know you had a fun day of shopping when you get home and you feel like a kid the day after Christmas! So many new toys!
       I can't wait for next year. Sherri says she's in and I'm holding her to it!

     

A Row By Row--something to aspire to!

Add caption

We each bought a roll of Aunt Grace scraps to add to the stash.

Delicious

Tweety!

Thanks Susie for the pictures! Love ya!

The Quilter Bucket List--#1 is crossed off!

       Holy crap! I can't believe I never posted that last one. Oh well, I got a few pictures taken and added today so off it goes into the internet cloud. So today you lucky readers get two posts.
       It is now officially spring in New England. Driving around I failed to see a single snow pile so I think we can say now the winter from hell is finally over.
        I am happy to say I am no longer such a "lonequilter". I joined a local quilt guild called Runamuck Modern Quilt Guild. Runamuck Modern Quilt Guild Blog They are coming up on their 1st anniversary and I have enjoyed the 2 meetings and socials I have attended. I really am not a "modern quilter" but they are open minded so I was welcomed anyway (ha ha). Last week's social gave me a new catch phrase. "It's the canary's fault". One woman new to quilting was trying to put together the block of the month and it was quite frankly a disaster. At one point she stood up and was so exasperated and she blurted out "it's the canary's fault!" Apparently the canary was loose in her sewing room and was distracting. (For the record, she never did complete the block--just too many canaries I guess).
         The last week and a half I tackled the project on the top of my "Quilting Bucket List." It is a very large two sided Ocean Waves/Apple Core Charm quilt that I made before Emma was born. The black squares in the middle of the Ocean Waves needed hand quilting. I had machine quilted the  whole thing, quilted the border, quilted a lot of squares and setting triangles and put on the binding and then slept under it in its half finished state for a long time. I pulled it out for one of Emma's friends to sleep under and decided to try to finish it. I had quit before because I did not have enough light. But I discovered that if I sit in the chair in front of the windows in Emma's room during a sunny day I can see!!  Then I realized that the overhead light is good enough to see also. Who knew? All I did in my spare time for a week and a half was sit and hand quilt and watch "Top Chef". One episode of "Top Chef" = 1 block. In my mind all these years I had the number 8 in my mind as the number of squares I had to do.  WRONG! It was more like 28 including a couple setting triangles I had missed. It just went on forever! When I started what I hoped was the last square I realized I was almost out of thread and needles.. Luckily for me it WAS the last square and I had about 12" of thread and 2 unbent needles left over! I realized it had been close to 20 years since I hand quilted and it came right back to me like riding a bike. Yay, #1 on the bucket list is crossed off!

     

I'm back and promise to not let so much time pass between posts

My 5  1/2" novelty
stash

        I'm not much of a blogger, am I? I really have been quilting since Thanksgiving, I really have. Of course, a few Christmas presents had to take priority. I made cute Yo-Men ornaments (snowmen made of yo-yo's), which I forgot to photograph. I made Emma 2 pair of Adventure Time pajama pants. OK, I really can't make Christmas an excuse for not blogging--I really didn't do that much.
       My fall obsession has been to organize all my fabric. My totes were out of control. The novelty fabric tote was piled about 10" above the lid and had to be dealt with! So I decided to cut 5 1/2" strips out of each piece and stack them up for future projects. It is a thing of beauty! Then I tackled each tote one fabric at a time. I cut a piece off each fabric to make into a tumbler charm quilt. I have managed to get all the tumblers cut and have started piecing them together. I do love charm quilts.I also separated out each piece that was a yard or more because it is so frustrating to have to dig for a border or backing fabric.
      Of course after I did all this sorting and organizing it was time to sew again. So far I have made 4 crib quilts using my novelty strips. I was also inspired today by a quilt on Facebook so I know what my next novelty quilt will be.
      My most time consuming project has been the Triple 4-patch quilts. There is something relaxing to me about combining different fabrics. I have completed one top using the red to purple color scheme.I have also made a lot of extra blocks for another top. AND I decided to do the same pattern in greens. I am searching for a purple floral/green leaf print for the border. (If anyone finds something like this, please message me). After Rose gave me that box of fabric, I had lots of new fabrics to add to the collection so I am still sewing 4-patches whenever I just need to play with fabrics.
      Also, on Thanksgiving, Cindy introduced me to the Divided 9-patch. I've made 2 different tops using this technique. The first one I did was using a jellyroll I got for Christmas. I probably would never have bought these fabrics, but I sure am glad I got them for a gift! The roll had the same fabric in 2 color ways so I split it up into 2 different quilts with different patterns.

Divided 9-patch jelly roll

     The other Divided 9-patch was with my beloved novelty prints. I cut a 5 1/2" square off each strip, made nine patches and now I have enough blocks for several crib quilts. Easy!
     Today I was browsing Facebook again and saw an idea on 24blocks.com using jelly rolls again. So I grabbed the rest of the jellyrolls and have almost finished the blocks. I'm calling this my "Whiplash" quilt because I was watching "Whiplash" while I made it.

"Whiplash" jelly roll

     My daughter gets credit for my movie watching obsession lately. I used to work in a video store and loved to see all the movies and make my Oscar predictions. But who can afford to go to the movies, especially when there is so much fabric to buy? She turned me on to two websites for watching TV shows and movies and I am happy to share. One is http://www.cokeandpopcorn.ch/index.php which is great for binge watching TV shows. The one I use for some TV but mostly movies is http://www.primewire.ag. I have been binge watching Supernatural, American Horror Story Freak Show, Big Bang Theory, and currently am obsessed with Pretty Little Liars. But I am also catching up on all the big movies. So far I've enjoyed every one I've seen. I just set up my laptop in front of me and sew away!
       Now that Emma is at school again, I have my "command center" back so I have been quilting a couple crib quilts. Naturally, things don't go smoothly. I wrote a post once about threads and my favorite machine quilting thread is YLI Basting and Bobbin thread. I had bought it before on Amazon but it is not on there any more. So I searched and found some and ordered it and when it came it turns out it is not white, but natural color. So back to the internet where I finally found white and now I am waiting for it to come. I guess the natural will come in handy for the colored quilts. It sure won't go to waste!
      Anyway, that is what I've been up to the last couple months. I promise not to let so much time pass between posts!

There is so much to be thankful for

  Thanksgiving has come and gone. During the day I found myself reflecting on what I am thankful for. Of course I am thankful for my family, a warm home, a job, and quilting. But there are also a lot of other people and things to be thankful for.
   When I moved to Massachusetts in 1986 I left my family behind in Idaho. I have never spent another Thanksgiving with them and it is hard. But I was welcomed to join the Campbell family back when Mitch and I were dating. All these years later, Emma has been born, Mitch is married to Linda, and I am still a part of that family for holidays and birthdays and it helps me miss my "real" family less. Thank you, Campbells.
     For 8 years I was a nanny for a wonderful family, the Rokoffs. They welcomed me as a part of their family and I still consider them family. I have great memories of my time with them. Thank you, Rokoffs.
    I have been working at the pharmacy for 13 years with a great group of people (most of the time). There is Cheryl who would do anything for anyone, including picking up at the airport, and taking me whale watching for my first time. Thank you, Cheryl.
    There is also Rose, who gave me a wonderful gift this weekend. She is a former quilter (I didn't know those existed, but apparently they do). She went on a cleaning binge and gave me 2 boxes of fabrics. I am enjoying slowly sorting and adding to my project boxes. New fabric just makes me happy! Thanks, Rose.
   Then there's Amanda, who drove me to my surgery, waited for hours at the hospital, and was my "person".  (She's also letting me "borrow" her daughter to take Emma's place Christmas tree shopping next week.)Thanks, Amanda.
    Then there are my online "friends". Keeping in touch with family and old friends via Facebook has been such a blessing. I miss everyone but I feel a bit like I am still a part of their lives. I love seeing the pictures of new baby great nieces and nephews and cousins. I love seeing my high school classmates reconnecting and when I got to join them it was so much fun. I enjoy seeing pictures of Coeur d'Alene--old and new. I love sending birthday wishes and reaching out with a message to old friends. And when I am in Cd'A I am already caught up on what people are doing. Thanks, Facebook.
     Recently I met a new bunch of online "friends" via the Hay Day game. I am in a great "neighborhood" with wonderful people who chat and share and help each other out in the game. We give encouragement if someone is having a bad day and instant help if needed. Thanks, Lindy, Belle, Kalimae, PowPow, Wolf, Crap, Paris, and the rest.
    Of course I am also thankful for quilting. I have always done handwork, knitting, crochet, embroidery, macrame, sewing. I love putting colors together and creating something from nothing. I love looking around and seeing beautiful things that I've made. (I only hope Emma appreciates them when I am gone! )Thank you to all the quilters who have taught and inspired me.
     I also love visiting quilt shops. There is always someone wonderful to chat with and share ideas and each shop has its own personality and ideas to inspire. Sometimes I go in for no particular reason, just for a chat. Thanks, quilt shops.
    I am also thankful for technology and the enjoyment I get from my tech toys. I love my I Pod full of the music I love. I listen when I am going to sleep, while I am sewing, cooking or driving long trips. I would be very sad coming back from Emma's college without my playlist of "songs to sing in the car". I love my Kindle Fire, full of books and the easy access to Facebook and the internet. Of course I love my phone, mostly because of Hay Day, and the feeling of security it gives me. My latest love is a renewed love of my laptop which I use mostly for watching movies and TV shows. Thanks, PrimeWire and Coke and Popcorn.
     And of course I would be a bad mother if I did not mention how thankful I am for my beautiful, smart, creative and unique daughter. Without her I would be incomplete. Thank you, Emma, for being my Pumpkin.
   I call myself the Lone Quilter, but I am not really alone. I have a lot of wonderful people and things to be thankful for who are all a part of me. Thanks to you all.

"Flashback Sunday" --Think it will catch on?

       Since I live alone at the moment I find myself looking for ways to amuse myself so I came up with the idea of "Flashback Sunday". Now I know it doesn't have the ring of Throwback Thursday and Flashback Friday would be catchier, but Sunday is my only day off so I am going with it. I decided that one Sunday a month would be a Flashback day. I dug deep into the UFO bins to find projects that had been there for years. I carried it a bit further by watching movies from the 80's and 90's and listening to old music. I even made the ultimate flashback dinner--mac and cheese. I would love to get my ziploc bag projects out of the UFO box and into the UFO Tops box! In the process of digging I found quite a bit of fabric just sitting there waiting to be used on a project. Those are the projects I went for because I want to be able to use that leftover fabric for something else!
       Anyone who has followed this blog knows there is one thing I really don't enjoy doing and that is putting on borders. Yuck. I have one top that is thousands of half-square triangles and all it needs is this pieced border and another plain border. Most of the border pieces were already cut and even started piecing. I got the pieced border on and it is going to get a plain border next Flashback Sunday.
       Another quickie project was a small quilt made from 6 southwest color palate leftover log cabin blocks. (That word "palate" looks wrong but for the life of me I can't figure out what is right)

Southwest colors 

I found those blocks the same day I hit the pile of peach fabric in the bottom of the tote, which went with it. I kept staring at those peach fabrics and they didn't really look familiar. Some of them were quite sharply creased! It occurred to me that I hadn't thought of the color peach in ages. It is a nice size pile from a long ago peach trend and I hope peach comes back some day!

Leftover sample blocks

       The other project is a real trip down memory lane for me. I used to teach beginner and intermediate quilting classes at the Fabric Place and had decided to make all my sample blocks from the same color palate-bright purples, pink, blue, and green and black with lots of florals. I pulled out the blocks and couldn't believe how much fabric was in the bag. The blocks are a few sizes so I am doing a scattered setting. I have 2  small tops done and the 3rd is on the design wall and every day I walk by and put together a bit of the units. I really want that leftover fabric in the stash!
       Speaking of the stash--for the last month or so I have touched every piece of fabric in my stash. My totes are a thing of beauty which I would gladly show off to anyone who wanted to see! I cut a 6" square piece off every fabric which will eventually be made into

Flashback pic of myself, Emma, and the charm quilt

a charm quilt. One of the first quilts I learned about when I first started quilting was the charm quilt. I have made a bed sized apple core style, and Emma's baby quilt was a hexagon. I've also done a couple wallhangings. A charm quilt is made with just one shape and no two fabrics the same. A real challenge. This time I am doing a tumbler and every day I cut a few tumblers from the pile of pieces. I keep getting the itch to start sewing some together but I don't have enough colors cut yet. It is a real flashback project.

Emma's baby quilt. She called it Tweety because Tweety
was on the border.It's a hexagon charm.

So shall we rally around the idea of Flashback Sunday? Sounds like fun to me!

When are you finished?

        I definitely have a type of ADD when it comes to doing any project. I like to do one project for a while and then switch to another one and maybe another and then go back and repeat. I really can't just do one project from beginning to end without sometime going nuts, which I realized when I have done commissions. As a result I have an unbelievable number of UFO's.  BUT the thing I love about my method is that week when things all get finished. YAY! Big payoff.
        But are they really finished? What criteria should we use to determine when a quilt is finished and ready to move on? Is it when the binding is finished? Or is there something else we should do? I think there are a couple more steps after the binding is done.
    1. Final inspection
It is important to put the quilt under bright lights and go over it carefully checking for any puckers, skipped stitches, toe-catchers, hanging threads,  loopy stitching, missed areas. 
I have mentioned the pucker problem previously and that is something that needs to be checked out as you go along. Nothing worse than getting all done and then having to tear out!
The skipped stitches problem may only be my machine but for some reason it occasionally will start sewing and then skip an inch or two then keep going. HUH? You need to really look for this because you don't want the next problem.
Toe-catchers--These are loops of thread. I don't know if this is just quilting Urban Legend or what but I was told a story when I first started out about a baby getting a toe caught in one of these loops and he ended up losing a toe because it got caught and circulation was cut off. I don't know if it is true, but it could happen! So I go over the top with my hand going every direction looking for any loops that could be dangerous.
Hanging threads--They all have to be cut off at the end. No more needs to be said about this!
Loopy stitching-- Sometimes the tension gets messed up and when I look at the back entire areas are loopy and have to be torn out. Another reason to check as you go along
Missing areas--I've had this happen a couple times but the worst was the quilt I made for Kristi and Sam that I took to Cd'A as a gift. I had to finish the binding there and as I was binding I realized there was an area that still had basting pins! CRAP! I had to go to my sister-in-law's and borrow her machine, thread, and walking foot to finish it.
       2. Label it
Every quilt should have a label. You don't want your work to go out into the world without any identification. It may be just your initials in Pigma Pen hidden on a charity quilt or a beautiful sewn on label. I've embroidered on the quilt, embroidered a label to sew on later, made the label one of the blocks, but usually I print the label on muslin from my computer. I make my own "fabric paper" by pressing the fabric very smooth, then pressing to the waxy side of freezer paper, and cutting 8 1/2" x 11". After printing, I press again to set the ink and let it set a day before sewing onto the quilt. As far as I know these labels have survived!
I feel that each label should include: Name of the Quilt, who it was made for, if it is a gift, who made it and when and where. Then any other important info like maybe the birth weight and length if for a baby, or wedding date if a wedding gift. I make a lot of I Spy quilts so the I Spy poem is part of the label. The one I did for Jackson is a bug quilt and includes a cute poem about bugs. 
        3. Clean up
After I am completely finished, I run it over with a lint brush to remove all batting fuzz, and loose threads.

After all these things are done, THEN IT IS FINISHED!