My How Time Flies...

I didn't realize that I hadn't posted in a while.  Life has been busy with work, family (Grand baby #5 will arrive on the scene tomorrow) and being fully immersed in the holidays. Thanksgiving is a blur now as I prepare for Christmas.  I am making quilts for my dad, brother, son-in-law and my daughter's significant other of their favorite sports teams.  Unfortunately,  there is a heated good-natured rivalry among the men folk in my family.  My dad and son-in-law are devoted, die-hard (although somewhat unhappy) Washington Redskins fans.  My brother (they must have found him in the cabbage patch) is a boisterous, fun-loving Dallas Cowboys fan and so is my daughter's boyfriend.  So family gatherings are loud, raucous, and interesting to say the least.  They are each receiving a lap quilt.  I will post pictures a little later.

I am continuing to work on the Farmers' Wife Sampler quilt, although I have not completed nearly as much as I wanted to.  I did finally complete block #13, Buckwheat.  I put it together and it was wonky, so I took it all apart and re-sewed it.  It looks better.  It has a lot of pieces as most of the blocks in this series.  But I made a commitment to do it and I will see it through.  This is a photo of my second attempt.

I haven't started on the Dear Jane challenge yet because I  do not know where I want to go with it just yet as in fabric choices and design.  It is on the back burner until after the holidays and I can give it the time it deserves.

I completed the African Snowball quilt and my friend Carrie quilted it for me on her Tin Lizzie.  She did a wonderful job.  I am going to bind it this week,  but here are pictures of the front and back of the quilt.  It turned out quite beautiful.  I have a nice zebra print that I am going to use for the binding.  It should work well with this quilt.

I have a lot going on...everyone have a great week and thanks for stopping by!

Progress on African Snowball and Farmer's Wife Sampler

After surviving one of the rainiest and soggiest couple of weeks that I can recall in a long time, I had no choice but to stay in and work on quilt projects.  Good thing too...I completed the African snowball quilt top.  I opted to put on 2 borders with the outside border only on the sides.  I really like that border fabric but I thought it would overwhelm the other fabrics if I were to put it on the sides and the top and bottom   I have a backing picked out and hope to get this quilted over the next couple of weeks.    I also completed 4 blocks for the Farmers' Wife sampler.  I now have 10 completed and I only have 101 more to make.  This is my side project and I am enjoying it.  I am making the blocks with various shades of the Daiwabo taupes.  I think fall is on the way and I am looking forward to it.  Happy quilting.  Sorry for the quality of the pics -- lighting was not the best.

The Storm has Passed...

Irene has come and gone, thankfully. We are still getting earthquake aftershocks, (19 since last Tuesday) but I haven’t felt them, which is a good thing. My heart goes out to those who lost loved ones.  That is the hardest thing to deal with in all of this turmoil.  But, life has pretty much returned to normal if there is such a thing.

I know in some previous post, I said that I would not be doing another challenge for a while if ever again. I find them stressful and the pace somewhat unreasonable. Some people are so prolific in their quilt making and I just find it hard to keep up. Also, I get bored easily, so the challenge may be just that, but if it does not hold my attention, it’s off to the UFO bin, which is overflowing. I do plan to complete each UFO and donate them to worthy causes; it is just taking longer than I had planned.

To compound all of this, there is just nothing new and sexy going on in the quilt world right now. Remember, when the 2-1/2 inch strips were all the rage. There were all kinds of books and patterns out. There were tons of projects just for the strips with accompanying rulers and templates. And then someone came up with Bali Pops in all of the different flavors along with the various copy cats. Then there was the strip cutter and Accuquilt Go die cutters. Just amazing stuff… But I think we are experiencing a loll right now. Well except for the automated pin dispenser. I am still trying to figure that out.

So, I have decided to do another challenge…one that I chose for myself and a few of my friends (even though they are getting cold feet). To make it more challenging, there are no rules to speak of and a very, very long time frame if we complete it by then.

This quilt has been on my mind since well…1999. I purchased the book and the software when it became available. I even attempted once to piece what I thought was one of the easier blocks. The block was never completed. I wasn’t ready. But now I am…and I am going to do it along with all of the other projects that I have going on. And to make it more challenging I am going to do another quilt simultaneously (sp?), to keep my mind and hands focused and busy. I am going to start the Dear Jane (DJ) quilt that I have wanted to make for the last 10 or more years. The other quilt that I will work on is the Farmer’s Wife Quilt sampler (FWS). No,  I am not crazy…and that is all I am going to say about that for right now. Below is a picture of the FWS blocks that I have completed, so you will know that I am serious (for right now).  The DJ blocks are taking a little longer.  Check out the website and you will understand http://www.dearjane.com/ why.   I guess I also need to mention that the DJ blocks finish at 4-1/2 inches and there are 225 blocks; the FWS blocks finish at 6-1/2 inches and there are 111 blocks.  That is the real challenge.

I am finishing up the African snowball quilt top over the long holiday weekend and then back to the ocean waves. And in between those 2 projects, I will put together a DJ or FWS block or 2.