Moving Along

I have been quilting yardage to cut into table runner/placemat combinations. They don't take long to quilt, but I seriously underestimated the time required to put the binding on the separate pieces. I got this set done:

I think they're pretty cute, but I still have three more sets to bind! Hahaha....might as well laugh about it as I do it to myself. 

I also got borders put on the Oklahoma quilt. The pattern doesn't show it with borders.

This is what mine looked like before--without the borders. It’s not quite big enough to suit my purpose.

It took some looking to find a yard of coordinating fabric I could use for the border, but I finally did locate some at a price I was willing to pay. Here’s what it looks like with two borders added:

The picture is a little messy, but I really like the borders. It looks so much more finished. And, it’s 15” bigger. 

Three of the grandkids went back to school. Not sure about the fourth one. Nobody tells me much—I think I am on a need-to-know basis. Here are the obligatory pictures of my little darlings.

William with his new teacher.

Roger

Kathryn

Time is flying by. The oldest is driving, and the babies are no longer babies. 

What I’m Working On

Mostly, I’ve been working on my income tax, but the end is in sight! I need to simplify my life. LOL. I did have time time to quilt some more yardage that will be made into table runners and placemats. 

I got this one cut and started on the binding:

This is the table runner….just four placemats to go. All this binding is making me tired.

The heat is nuts. And, it is so dry. I have been filling the bird baths daily; not just for the birds, but for the bees and butterflies, and whatever else needs a drink. 

I’m pretty sure this is accurate, and it is every day. We need a break. I spend a lot of time indoors, not just sewing, but also crochet and cross stitching. Our church gifts a baby afghan to every baby that gets baptized. I checked the inventory the last time I had alter guild, and I noticed there were mostly pink afghans in the drawer. I came home and started a blue one.

I try to do a row or two each evening, but it doesn’t always happen. 

I’ve been working on this cross stitch: 

I last blogged about it here. I really don’t love it, but I didn’t want to put it in the trash, so here’s what I’ve done so far.

I am trying to finish it, but it’s slow as I don’t work on it a lot. All in good time, I guess.

To-Do-List Tuesday 8-8-23

It was a good week for sewing and quilting. It’s too hot to do anything outside, so I am spending a good amount of time inside. 

1) Bind July UFO quilt. Done.

2) Two more Water Color blocks. Done. 

3) Finish piecing baby quilt. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to work on it.

4) Start a charm square project. The book Just One Charm Pack Quilts is due back at the library next week, so I need to at least get started on one before I turn it in. Done. Quilt is started, and I renewed the book for another three weeks. LOL. 

Well, I actually started three,  but this is the one I am concentrating on for now.
5) Put a border on Oklahoma quilt. I got the borders cut, but not sewn on. 

All in all, a lot of progress was made. I know this week won’t (probably) be as productive as I need to work on taxes and get some reorganizing done in my bedroom—I spent more than a couple of minutes looking for my black sandals Sunday morning before church. No doubt, though, I will find some free time to sew. This is what I would like to do:

1) Put borders on Oklahoma quilt.

2) Finish charm square quilt and work on another one.

3) Two more Water Color blocks.

4) Finish piecing baby quilt.

It’s not a lot, and I’m not even sure it’s doable, but we’ll see. I am linking this post to Quilt Schmilt. Happy sewing!

Weekend Update

The weekend was good. It was productive, but I had time to rest too. I did a little cleaning, and a little laundry, and a lot of sewing. I worked mostly on some projects using charm squares. I started on this one earlier in the week: 

I made some hst’s, and some of the navy and white sashing strips. In my rush to get as much done as I could before the book was due back at the library, I opened the book to the wrong page and started making basket blocks. 

Oh well, they will both get done at some point. I already renewed the book for another three weeks, so I can slow down a little. 

At some point, I started making nine patches and made 42 of them.

The goal for these will be this quilt:

I got this far before I quit for the day:

On Saturday, I got another customer quilt done so that was good.

I’m getting caught up on customer work and hope to have some spare time to quilt my own quilts. 

A Little of This and A Little of That

No two days are alike here, and I guess that's a good thing. I've had this quilt hanging on the wall of my shop for a few months.

I like the warm red and gold colors of it. Anyway, some ladies came by Friday to see if I had a queen size quilt I could sell them for their church auction. I had a couple in mind that I had recently finished, but they asked to buy this one. It's a large queen so it fits their criteria. I really don't have a clue how to price quilts, but I totaled up the value of the quilting for a 90" x 90", the value of the binding, the batting and backing, plus a rough estimate of the fabrics used to make the top. I added $200 for my labor (for the piecing) and called it good.  They seemed happy with the price, and I was happy with the price, but I felt a little sad to let the quilt go. Not that I need it, and it is for a good cause. I hope it nets a lot of money for them.

The wall was looking a little bare, so I hung this one:

That's right--I finished my July UFO goal. I'm happy with the way it turned out, and it's another thing crossed off the list. The August one is hanging up, waiting for its turn to be quilted. 

I got a couple of customer quilts done in the last few days, and I have another larger one of the frame. This one

is one of the three yard patterns from Fabric Cafe. The lady has some old blocks her mother did, and she had piece on of them into the back as a remembrance.

I thought it was a cute way to use some of the older blocks.

This one was made by another lady for her granddaughter who raises chickens.

I really like all the chicken prints she used. They are quite pretty,

and, I love the back. It's gorgeous.

She's the same lady who gifted me all of the chicken potholders. I use this one as a trivet for my Healthy Choice frozen lunches:

I eat those frozen meals most days for lunch, and I was pretty excited to find a new one--or at least new to me. Carne Asada.

Do you think it looks as good as the picture? Haha. I don't think it does, but the taste is definitely not bad. Not as good as the Mexican restaurant across the street, but it's only 200 calories and full of vegetables like kale and squash, so it's healthier than anything from the restaurant. 

August UFO's

The July UFO still needs the binding stitched down....slowly, but surely, I am making progress on that one. In the meantime, the number for August has been drawn, and it is 12.

I have one list for quilting unquilted tops, and one list for piecing (tops started and not finished). Number 12 for quilting is Bohemia. I had to go look on the UFO shelf and try to remember which one is Bohemia. I found it:

It's been on the shelf for a few years--I'll have to steam it to get all the wrinkles out of it. I'm anxious to get it done though.

The number twelve goal for piecing is "Charity Quilt". That will work out pretty well since I need to finish up on the baby quilt I've been working on.

I'm hoping to get this one done this weekend. I have a couple of customer quilts to bind after the quilting is done, so I'm not sure how much time I'll have to work on my own stuff. 

Charm Square Quilts

This is one I quilted for someone else.

I think it works better with the coordinated colors or maybe the same fabric line, but I would probably try it in scrappy colors and see what happens. Here’s another made by a customer and quilted by me.

The pattern is from the Just One Charm Pack book that I currently have checked out from the library.

This one uses charm squares and a jelly roll.

I think I have the pattern somewhere…..I’m not sure where.

I am trying to think of what I want to make from 5” squares. I have cut so many, and can easily use some for a new project. I need to check Pinterest before I decide, but I am leaning toward doing something from the Just One Charm Pack book.