One Goal Done

Well, it took long enough, but I finally got Rhonda’s vintage quilt completely finished. Quilting, binding, and all.

It’s really big: 92” x 106”. You can’t really see all the fabrics in the photo, but they are all old. Nothing newer than 1930’s. I love those little pops of orange and red! Can you believe someone had such a huge variety of fabric that long ago?

The back and binding are the same fabric as the border.

Rhonda is coming today to get it. She doesn’t know I have the signature quilt finished. That will be a surprise!

I have three more big quilts to get finished. The patriotic one (94” x 94”) is on the frame now. I got the binding made yesterday evening so it will be ready to go. I also need to put borders on the disappearing nine patch and my church auction quilt. I ended up not liking the fabrics I had bought for the border, but Betty helped me pick something else from some of the yardage I have on the shelf, and I think it is going to work. I failed to take pictures of the different options, but I will get a picture of the final choices.

Midweek

I wish I knew something smart to say, but unfortunately I don’t know much. Monday was a holiday of course, but I worked all day. The only difference was that school was off for the holiday, so no grandkids to pick up. I got the border put on Rhonda’s quilt and got it loaded on the frame. 

Unfortunately, I had a lot of interruptions so it didn’t get finished. It’s very large, and of course, a little wonky, so it won’t go fast. It’s going to be pretty though.

I got some good feedback via the comments on my last post about the disappearing nine patch (spell check keeps wanting to change it to disappointing nine patch—LOL), so thanks everyone for the comments. I will use this guy for the border:

I also got the patriotic quilt sorted out. I repieced the pieced borders

after I cut down all the squares, and I got the side pieces put on correctly.

I still have three more borders to put on. Oh Lord. I should have been finished two weeks ago! The sooner the better on this one. As soon as Rhonda’s quilt is off the frame, this one needs to be ready to go on. 

I had meetings all day Tuesday, and I played Bunco yesterday. We moved our bunco day from Thursday to Wednesday. There were too many conflicts with Thursday. I won the prize for least games won! It’s a dubious honor, but the payout is the same as the other prizes. I bought Roger a Blizzard after I picked him up at school. I told him, “Mocha’s got Blizzard money today!” I was one of the hostesses for food at the game. I couldn’t think of anything to fix, and I didn’t have time to go to the store. I had black olives, green olives, and pickles in the pantry so I put together a relish tray. I also had an unopened container of humus and some pita chips, so I took that too. Three people brought sandwiches and there was a nice green salad and some chips and dip, so there was plenty! There were also a few desserts. 

We got a little rain yesterday—not enough, but any moisture is welcome! And that’s all the news for now. I hope to finish Rhonda’s quilt today and get the binding on it. She is wanting to pick it up tomorrow. Also, I need to quilt and bind the patriotic one. It’s good to have goals!

Weekend Wrap Up

I am happy to say I got my disappearing nine patch put together. 

This was a goal I had set for myself. It is current 72” x 72”, and I am trying to figure out the borders. I used the same white throughout, so I am thinking I will use that for an inner broader, and then I still need an outer border.

I was hoping this green might work. Or maybe it is too light. I’m not sure. I pulled a floral print off the shelf.

I think the background is too dark. Oh dear. I don’t want to go buy more fabric. I have lots of fabric. I just have trouble finding what is perfect. 😕

I have been working on a quilt that I am making for a church in Refugio. I make them one every year, and this year my they asked for a patriotic pattern. I have had nothing but issues wtb it. 

It has a pieced border which I cut wrong.

The hst’s should have been 4.5” and I made them 5”. Okay, take them all apart and cut them down to the correct size. And then this:

I put the side pieces on wrong. More seam ripping and resewing. I need to get this right! I will be so happy when then is finally finished and off of my to-do list!

How is your week shaping up? 

A Quick Update

Happy weekend everyone!

If I’m being honest, I was ready for this week to be over. It’s been a little too stressful. I’m hoping to put it all behind me and move on.

I did finish piecing another baby quilt.

I think it’s cute. The fabric has little blue and gray cats on it.

I have another vintage quilt to finish for Rhonda. She’s the one I did the vintage signature quilt for.

It’s small hand-stitched pieces. A lot of feedsacks.

She wants me to put a border on it before I quilt it, and I think that’s a good idea. The edges are pretty uneven and wavy, and a border will stabilize it. I’ll get it done probably this coming week.

My little kitty is doing okay after her surgery. She’s wanting to go outside, but I have been keeping her in. I plan to let her out today. When I got to my shop yesterday morning, she had eaten all her food and was starving. 

She gobbled a whole plate of food. 

Next week’s weather forecast looks too good to be true.

Do I really believe it? I don’t know. I’m hoping the rain part is real. I’ll find out today, I guess.

A Few More

Can you believe it’s September already? I can’t, but here it is. September and October are typically my busiest months and I am trying to stay caught up on everything. I know it is a losing battle, but I try anyway! 

My friend had picked me up Saturday and we went to Hobby Lobby to shop for fabric for baby quilts. We spent about an hour in there looking at fabric and waiting in line to get ours cut.

I found this cute fabric and ended up making two baby quilts with it.

I didn’t really want the 42” width so I cut it in half from top to bottom and added borders. The tops came out to 37” x 45”. Super fast and easy. 

I made a top with the same yellow and some bee fat quarters I bought.

 

Here’s a closeup of the bees:

I got some kitty fat quarters too, and I’m working on that, but I haven’t finished it. 

Speaking of kitties, this one isn’t pregnant any more.

She’s a tiny little cat, not to mention young, and the babies didn’t live. It’s sad, but maybe for the best. She is going to the vet today to get spayed, and she will stay inside my shop for a few days until her incision heals. I already got her a litter box and a little bed. I don’t know if she will sleep in it or not. 

In between working on baby quilts, I put a large piece of fabric on the quilting frame and quilted several runners and placemats.

Now I will have to bind all this stuff! 

Tonight I’m going to a program at church called “Cook Once, Eat Twice”. It’s being put on by the Agriculture Extension Program. My mom is coming too so that will be fun! 

We actually got a little rain Tuesday evening. It was some the fragments from tropical storm Eduardo. It only rained about 15 minutes, but anything is good. 

You can see how dry the grass is. I am praying for more rain. We need it badly.

A New Soup Recipe

I have been on a soup kick lately. When the weather is as hot as it has been lately, I am not in the mood to eat a heavy evening meal, and you can only eat so many sandwiches, so soup it is. 

I made this recipe three or four weeks ago, and it was really good. It was the chickpea soup that I made with cannellini beans.

It made a lot, and I froze some. I had thawed the rest out a few days ago and finished it. The same recipe site posted another recipe on Facebook this week, and I am anxious to try it. It looks so good.

It’s called Cowboy Bean Soup, and the recipe is here: https://theplantbasedschool.com/cowboy-bean-soup/?fbclid=IwY2xjawT1y4RwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMVh3UkhjMVM4eFRmMVptbWVzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeHkxiwXVr7iEqr8a6YiXymNjHF1LtyzkflLsHBgvkrmIK1EYmLsE0nTuk_Sg_aem_HUaIpwjaTFv-uuVFs_dVcQ

I thought I had all the ingredients, but I ended up having to stop by the grocery store for potatoes and smoked paprika. Here’s what it looked like:

It was a little soupy; it was thicker the second night. I froze two ziploc bags of it with about two servings each. It’s very good. The only thing I changed was to use fire roasted diced tomatoes instead of crushed tomatoes. 

Some Quick Wins

I have been getting tired of working on things that take forever to finish. I needed a quick finish! I got these four fat quarters from the “free” table at our quilt guild meeting. 

I thought the little sloths were cute. I ended up using only two of them and got this baby quilt pieced.

I should have adjusted the lighting on the picture, but you get the idea. I already had the gray—I bought it for something and ended up not using it. I think I still have enough for another quilt or two. I know I have enough nine patches made for another quilt this size. I went to Hobby Lobby with my friend and got a couple of fat quarters I can use, so hopefully I will be able to get another one done soon. Oh, I only used two of the sloth fat quarters so I have enough of those for another baby quilt too! 

I ironed all the green nine patches I made for a disappearing nine patch.

I started trimming them (I didn’t quite finish), and started laying them out so I can get the top sewn together. 

This is just half of it…..I’ll get the rest trimmed and laid out later this week. 

We had a UFO sew day at quilt guild. I couldn’t decide on a UFO to take—I have plenty of them but nothing was motivating me. I took some black and white strips and my box of 2-1/2” squares and worked on this (not my picture):

I honestly didn’t get very far, but I like it so far. I’ll have to see how it goes. My goal for today is to clean up my utility room. I park in the garage so it is the first room I enter when I come in the house. It is easy for it to be a dumping ground for mail and other clutter. It is starting to drive me crazy! It’s also where I keep the dog leashes and harnesses, etc. I want all the clutter gone today!