Sunday, November 27, 2011

Sunday Afternoon Fun

Finished the backing for my Christmas Tumbler quilt…Sunday112611 004

using up old fabrics that I have no idea how they got in my stashSunday112611 005

and then got the binding all made.Sunday112611 007

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Speaking of binding, I finished up the binding on a charity quilt.  It was a big quilt and will hopefully give warmth and comfort to someone.Sunday112611 003

For another charity project, ConKerr Cancer, I made this bright pillow case using some old Mary Engelbreit fabric.Sunday112611 008

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Every year I see this (tacky?) red, white and green Christmas yarn and every year I stick my nose up in the air and don’t buy it.  I’m much too sophisticated to add such cheap yarn to my stash, I think.  Well, this year I decided I was old enough to be tacky if I want and so I purchased a skein.  It has made me happy and I’m loving knitting it into a simple scarf.  It has a sparkly silver strand running through the yarn that shines and winks at me as I knit. 

Sunday112611 009

I hope you had a fun Sunday afternoon like I did, and that you find some sparkle and winks in your life too.

Bonnie

(P.S. – please visit my niece’s blog to see her wonderful counted cross-stitch stockings.)

Friday, November 25, 2011

Sewing Friday

First I dumped my Christmas fabric scraps onto the table….Black Friday 001

Then I cut them into 9-1/2 inch squares – 80 in all….Black Friday 003

Sewed them into columns……Black Friday 002

and then began the process of sewing the columns together.Black Friday 004

I should finish up this process tomorrow and have a backing for my Christmas Tumbler quilt.

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Also spent some time today working on my binding project.Black Friday 005

Today I was grateful for leftover turkey dinner, lots of sewing time, and some favorite old movies on TV.

Bonnie

Monday, November 21, 2011

Pretty Stuff

Yesterday the flowers from church were sent home with me.

flowers,Tumblerflimsy 002

The beautiful fall colors could inspire a quilt.

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Look at this rose.

flowers,Tumblerflimsy 003

And these oranges are so luscious.

flowers,Tumblerflimsy 005

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Today I worked on my Christmas Tumbler quilt and got the two borders finished.

flowers,Tumblerflimsy 007

Unfortunately the camera gives the forest green tumblers a grayish tinge.  In real life, the green of the tumblers actually matches the green in the border quite nicely.

flowers,Tumblerflimsy 009

Sure wish the pictures were better, but I am very happy with the quilt and pleased with the borders.  I’ll get it quilted some time this coming summer and then have a nice new quilt for next Christmas.

Bonnie

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Check it out……

Penny – my dear friend (and although we are not blood related, I consider her one of my cousins) – has started a blog.  YES.  I’m so happy.  She lives too far away to see her or what she is doing very often, so posting her work to a blog will give me (and you) the chance to see her work.
She does everything – and does it well.  Spins, weaves, (at one time grew silk worms), quilts, sews, makes bobbin lace, knits,  does punch needle and counted cross-stitch.  She is a wife and mother and grandmother. 
On top of all that, she is cute and nice and funny and delightful to be around.  My life is richer just knowing her.  And now you too can get to know her.  Please visit her blog – psminis.blogspot.com.   Tell her I sent you.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Update–stitching & tumbler

The Red Chair worked out in my cozy bedroom.  I stitched for a while last night, finishing up the pineapple leaves and getting a good start on the pineapple for block #6 of Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow.

XmasTumblerflimsy 002

It was nice being in a comfortable chair, my legs warm under a small quilt, good light for stitching, and some mildly interesting TV for company while I worked on my stitching. 

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My niece, who quilts and stitches also, has started a blog and I am trying to encourage her to show off her excellent workmanship.  Please visit her blog - Mustard Seed  (Mustardseed-Becky.blogspot.com)

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Today I sewed the rows of the Christmas Tumbler together.

XmasTumblerflimsy 003

I went through my limited stash of Christmas fabrics to find a good border.  I picked out a red stripe for a small inner border and a flowery Christmas fabric for the outer border.  There isn’t much of the Christmas fabric, so that border will be just 3-1/2 inches – if there is even that much!

XmasTumblerflimsy 008

If there is not enough for the borders, I’m not going to worry myself about it as I got an email from the LQS today announcing that all Christmas fabric is 30% off.  Sounds like a good deal to me!

Bonnie

Thursday, November 17, 2011

The Red Chair

This is my Red Chair

red chair 001

It was originally purchased to use in my kitchen.  I wanted a comfortable chair to sit in while I had my coffee and read the newspaper.  It was lovely at first, but it did crowd the table and sometimes made it difficult to fully access the refrigerator.

I moved it to my office, but it was crowded in the office too and there was no good lighting near the chair.

Company was coming, so I moved it to the living room and could then accommodate six people on comfortable seating – three upholstered chairs and a three-seater sofa.  I had a small TV in the living room, so the red chair faced the TV.

Then I took the TV out of the living room and decided to move the red chair so that it faced out into the room and towards the front door.

There is a point to this story, so stick with me…….

Winter arrived here today.  It was cold and windy.  When winter arrives, I don’t like to be in my basement quilt studio in the evenings.  I’m OK during the day with a good heater and daylight, but it isn’t as cozy as I would like it in the evening when the winter/cold weather seeps through the floor and walls.

I don’t want to get a TV for the living room, but I would like to stitch in a comfortable chair and watch TV in the evenings.  The rocking chair that resides in the bedroom works OK if I’m only sitting for an hour, but after an hour it becomes very uncomfortable. 

So…….I decided to move the red chair into the bedroom and the rocking chair to the living room.  Now I can sit in the red chair, watch my bedroom TV, stitch, and be very cozy and comfortable.

red chair 002

There was one big problem – getting it through the doorway and past the dresser.  I am persistent and strong.  Putting it on it’s side I was able to squeeze it through the doorway and then with all my muscles put to use, I lifted the chair over the bed and around the dresser, into the corner where it barely fits.  Yes, it is crowded and will be difficult to get to the left side of my closet, but this will be temporary.

I’d love to find a small inexpensive upholstered chair, but for now the red chair will do just fine.

Of course I didn’t sit in it yet and by the looks of the picture, there may not be much room for my legs. 

red chair 2 002

The walls in my bedroom are a deep red and it makes the chair look almost tan/brown.  (I hope you didn’t notice that the bed is not made – just pulled the quilt over to make it look like it was made.)

I’m going to go make dinner now and then spend a few hours in the Red Chair doing some counted cross-stitching.  I’ll let you know how it works out.

Bonnie

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Christmas Tumbler

The Christmas Tumbler blocks I cut a while back are now all sewn together in rows. 
Christmas Tumbler 003
The very dark green tumblers make the whole quilt look rather dreary so I think I will add a bright border to spice it up a bit.
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Have you ever purchased a whole bolt of fabric?  I was worried that I might not have enough of the main fabric for my cousins quilts, so I bought a whole bolt.  The bolt is not that big – only 11 yards – but it insures that I will have enough for the sashing and borders.  Any leftover can be used for pillow cases or part of the backing.
Christmas Tumbler 001
I wanted to cut into the fabric and make some sample blocks, but I restrained myself to make some progress on the Christmas Tumbler.  There are so many good choices of things to work on right now – and temptations to start other new projects. 
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My friend Penny is commencing on a new counted cross-stitch project – Quaker Christmas II Songs of the Season by ByGone Stitches.  It is huge and beautiful.  I will encourage her to not only “commence”, but to “continue” and finally to “finish”.
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Today I’m grateful for plenty of time to sew and read.
Bonnie

Monday, November 14, 2011

Old UFO Finished

Today I put the last stitch on the binding for this UFO from several years ago.  I’ve lost all the information about the fabric and the pattern, but I seem to remember that the fabric line was titled “Oak Leaves and Reel”.

Oak Leaves & Reel 001

 

My friend Moe quilted it for me and I love that she used red thread.

Oak Leaves & Reel 004

 

The back is pieced with stash scraps.

Oak Leaves & Reel 005

 

So nice to have this finished and ready for using on my lap.

Oak Leaves & Reel 007

 

It will live on the rocker in my bedroom where I sometimes read, stitch, or knit.

Oak Leaves & Reel 009

It is November and I am happy to discover that I have finished up 12 UFO’s in 2011 so far, threw out one that was a mess, and three are at the long-arm quilter right now.  (We won’t mention the 15 other UFO’s on the list, nor the promised two quilts for my cousin.  There will be plenty to do in 2012!)

Today I am very grateful for quilting blog friends who never fail to inspire me – Judy L.,  Bonnie H.,  Jeanne A. just to name a few.

Bonnie

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Old UFO

Before I start working on the quilts for my cousin, I am determined to finish up some old projects.  This quilt which I started two years ago, is intended for Quilts of Valor.  It wasn’t big enough so I had to add more squares and two borders, which I finished up this afternoon.  Now I need to piece a backing, send it off to be quilted, bind it, wash it, and it will at last be finished.

QOV 002

A very simple quilt and yet it took such a long time to get it this far.  The backing fabric is already picked out and will require just one big seam (I think), and hopefully I can get that done tonight and off to the long-arm quilter tomorrow.  YES !!!

Bonnie

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Shopping

My cousin asked me to make two quilts for her guest room.  I went to the LQS this afternoon where my friend Gail works on Tuesdays.  She helped me pick out some fabrics to get me started.  The bottom red and gold fabrics will be the sashing and corner stones. 

MB's fabric 001

I love these colors and will thoroughly enjoy making the quilts.  More fabrics will be added, but this is a good start.

Here is my EQ7 image of the quilts to be made.

MBquilt1

It was a rainy gloomy day here and shopping for these sunny fabrics gave me a happy smile.

Bonnie