!@$#%&^*!

Worked on Second Saturday blocks today....

grrrrr.... yes that really IS a one and one half inch finished quarter triangle square ~ or, octagon~ :( in the center of the brown one!

I'm "behind" on these blocks... to be caught up I need to make 4 more in the next two weeks. I debated about whether to make a Second Saturday quilt this year, because the blocks only finish to 8". I like to at least have the illusion that I will end up with a full size quilt as I make the blocks throughout the year... that's what motivates me to keep on.

I finally decided that at the end of the year, when they come out with the lovely awesome settings, I don't want to be empty handed and wanting to make all 36 blocks! But these are very intense, at least for me. There is NO margin for error, no even a thread width, it seems... so my very best concentrated effort ended up being wavy. I'd better get a bit more precise, or I dread to see the quilt. I do understand what I need to change...I just despise pinning at EVERY juncture.

:(

Then I moved on and worked on Eventide for a bit~ comparatively, what a blessed relief!!! That's my main project for tomorrow...

Big Red

This is my 2nd Saturday "Block of the Month" quilt from 2009. I finished it in January of 2010. My first quilt block, (with its directional horsies,) is in there, 2nd block from the right on the 2nd row. I love this quilt~ it is my favorite. It represents a lot of growth, fun and joy for me. Although it is not that "big," (72x72) it is a very big quilt in my life... my new avocation came to me with this quilt!

I made up the setting for this quilt, and it shows that I was a new quilter.... a straight 2" sashing and cornerstones... but I had finished "True Blue" by then, so I added Miss Rosie's piano key border from that pattern. It is lovely in my eyes! I'm also posting a pic of the backing, which I thought brought it all together... a revolutionary war toile, depicting George Washington's apotheosis! I'll never be thrilled with my choice for the inner border~ it is too "white" and has a glaring effect. Also, it is a paisley, which would have appeared in most American homes later. I decided to pretend I was Abigail Adams and had access to exotic fabrics at the time!

(learning, growing...) Big Red has Hobbs Wool batting to make it extra "crinkly" and is heavily quilted in a classic feather pattern. Block designs and quilting by the wonderful ladies at Quilts Plus, Indianapolis, In.

"For My Grandmas"

This is a quilt I made early in my quilting journey. The pattern is "For My Grandmas" by Brenda Riddle of The Acorn Quilt Company. My local quilt shop had a model of this quilt and sold a kit, and I was so taken with the stars that I plunged right in! Sadly, the model was stolen from the shop, along about a dozen other quilts, not too long after I finished mine.

I'm posting both the flimsy and the completed quilt, because there's a funny ( or not so funny) story about this one. I made a terrible mistake.... I washed the flimsy! I spent HOURS picking out fuzz, strings, and repairing seams... finally got it quilted and now I'm afraid to wash it, because the quilting fabrics have been washed and dried but the batting hasn't! When I get up the courage, ie., when I have to do it, I'll post the results. Needless to say, I have LEARNED not to wash the flimsy!

In process

Over the weekend, I cut out (and sorted!) all the pieces for "Eventide," and today I made my first five blocks. This is going to be a very pretty quilt!

I also worked on piecing the backing for "Dark Shadows." Yuk. Piecing the backing has to be my least favorite thing to do! The fabric gets so heavy.

I tend to be over a quilt top the moment I finish piecing it. Not long after I starting "quilting" I decided that in order to be able to call myself a "quilter" I needed to "quilt" something, so I made a very cute table runner, made the sandwich, quilted it on my machine, and made and applied the binding. It's still the one and only start to finish thing I've made! I decided to stick with what I like best, which is piecing.

It's a very rainy day here in Indiana... my sewing room is in the basement... and I took the pics with my phone...so the picture quality is poor.

I SHOULD go get the camera and use flash, but wrestling with piecing that quilt back wore me out!!!!

"Dark Shadows"... (aka "The Beast")

It's finished and ready to go the quilter ~the decks are now cleared to start work on Eventide!

While I was working on this quilt top, I encountered some of my personal dark shadows... such as impatience... my tendency to get things turned upside down and/or backward...willingness to go back and correct things when I'm in a hurry.... and willingness to keep at it when I am just downright tired of the project. So I named it "Dark Shadows."

(Not to mention that Johnny Depp is making a movie based on the T.V. show I remember so well!)

However, toward the bitter end,

:)

I just kept thinking, this thing is a BEAST! (It measures 80x96, my largest quilt so far.)

So I guess it will always have a nickname as well as it's name!

It's a bit difficult to see the Log Cabin surround blocks and setting triangles in the picture... those were the main source of those upside down/backwards moments! They are really what make the quilt so special.

True Blue

True Blue, (pattern by Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Company,) was my first "full-size" quilt. It measures 80x80 and was so much fun to make! I really think, though there are so many quilts and so little time, that I will make this one again... just for the fun of it! It gave me such a feeling of early success... I KNEW I could make quilts!

I gave it to my husband for his bedroom at our farm in the country. The farmhouse is 125 years old this year... the room is done in old fashioned blues, and has an antique full size bed. True Blue fits the bed perfectly, and is right at home!

Also, my hubby is a very true blue guy~

:)

Sal's quilt

The third quilt top I finished was a very simple one. The Pattern is "All Aflutter" by the Pattern Basket. I loved the Morris Workshop fabric, and I had told my my sis I would make her a quilt, so I went for it. She uses it in her computer chair.

My first finished quilt

Right after I started making 2nd Saturday blocks, I went to Texas to visit my family. I found the coolest quilt shop in Arlington, Tx. ~ "Lone Star House of Quilts." They had a quilt pattern which I loved, with hearts on a brown background, by a designer named Betsy Cutchian. ( It's still available at their store and on their website.) I was inspired! I bought the pattern and fabric, and brought it all home in my suitcase. The result was my first finished quilt top...

"Hot For Chocolate"

This quilt eventually went to be with my Mother in Law, who was suffering from Alzheimer's Disease, and was her bedcovering when she passed away. It now belongs to my Father in Law.

My first quilt block

How well I remember~ it was made for the January 2009 2nd Saturday event at Quilts Plus, in Indianapolis, from a tiny kit with JUST enough fabric to make it happen!

My friend had advised I use a rotary cutter, so I went and bought a cutter and mat at Joanne Fabrics. I was terrified to cut those tiny fabric pieces! How to do it?

Now that I've been quilting for 2 years, I realize.... it's just fabric! Fabric CAN be replaced... but truly... this fabric had lovely little (directional) horse heads! Which way to turn them? So glad I figured it out... I was very pleased with the quilt... which I will post later.

Work In Progress

When Thelma (http://cupcakesndaisies.blogspot.com/) decided to head up a sew along for Miss Rosie's quilt, Eventide, I was so excited. This is a quilt I've wanted to make for a WHILE. I love the soft colors, and the quilt (and it's inspired name) seems to perfectly evoke the character of the fabric line, Luna Notte (~by 3 Sisters for Moda~)

I am so UP for this project!

However, I have a Work in Progress which I need to complete PRONTO to clear the deck for Eventide! It is the setting assembly for my 2010 "Second Saturday" blocks. My quilt store, like many others, creates it's own "Block of the Month" and we meet to get our new block on the 2nd Saturday of each month. This year, the setting I chose for my blocks is a whole 'nother quilt in itself!

I now have all the Log Cabin and Courthouse Steps surround blocks completed, and it's just a matter of assembling the sashing, cornerstones, blocks and setting triangles into a top.

Eventide has put the pressure on... on my way to a finish!

Joining in on "Eventide"

In hopes of jump starting my seriously derailed blogging career, (and creating a beautiful quilt!) I'm joining in with Thelma and friends as they stitch "Eventide," a lovely quilt pattern designed by Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Company.

Since I can't remember how to write HTML, I'll just direct you to Thelma's blog, http://cupcakesndaisies.blogspot.com/

where you can read all about it!

I'll be posting as I go... I look to get started in the next few days!