July Git 'Er Done Challenge Completed

It's time to check in with Judy over at  www.patchworktimes.com   and show that my July challenges were finished and report what my August challenges are. 

1.  Quilt red and white 4 patch top....DONE

2.  Piece ABC123 blocks into a top ....  DONE

3.  Piece red, white and blue strip blocks into a top....DONE  although this wasn't done as large as i first thought i was going to make it.....i'm saying this is good. done is good.

4.  Piece disappearing 16 patch blocks .... DONE

So, that means in July i actually quilted 1 top and added 3 more to the to-be-quilted cabinet. not exactly a way to get ahead.....but it is using up the stash. 

My 4 projects for August are:

1.  Quilt my friend Brenda's top. she wants to put it in a show in October. i've had it a week or more and so far it is still sitting on the table where i set it. sigh!!  i actually went to the studio yesterday to load it...and never touched it. i NEED to load that top.....then perhaps i will get it quilted. 

2.  Finish piecing my Alphabet Square blocks. i think i have 12 of the 26 letters done ....want to get all the pictures that i have fused onto the squares. i'll be searching for more pictures. this one will be a great challenge. a few of the letters have almost no pictures....i'm on the hunt. got any unusual pictures you want to trade with me? B and C are the only 2 letters that are completely finished.

3.  Paper Piece more veggie blocks. i have a book with patterns for lots of vegetables. i did a few some time back...tomato, corn, eggplant, bell peppers, etc.  need to finish those up. probably about 12 vegetables left to do. these are rather difficult to do. i guess that is why i gave them up. 

4.  Piece my Album of Memories top. i have about half of the blocks done. this is the pattern

here is the center

this is one of the blocks.  it was tough. i have 7 blocks finished so far....the top 3, the 3 on the right side, and the one in the middle of the bottom row. they are a bit complicated...lots to do. most blocks are a combination of piecing and applique...but i am fusing them...so it is do-able.

I am still on track.....so wish me luck to continue in that vein. August will be canning tomatoes month.....so that will suck a lot of time. but i'll be working it. who's with me.....is your challenge list getting done?

D, E, G

Alphabet Squares is really coming along. it rained all day.....is still raining....so, no yard work today. that made more time for alphabet squares.

D is for...

Donut

Donkey
Dog

Deer

why do all these letters have animals on them?  LOL

Dress
Doll

Duck
ignore that red thread on the big duck hahaha

And, Dinosaur

E is for ....

Eight
Eggs
Elephant wearing Eyeglasses

Eggplant
Engine

Eyes .... hahahaha
Electricity
Earrings

G is for ....
Gray background and letter G

Golf bag with Golf clubs
and Golf balls

Goat
Gown

Green beans
Grasshopper

Giraffe...i think he is shy...he is hiding
Guitar

Glasses
Gloves

I believe i have decided that my bad camera skills are just coming from shaky hands in old age. sheesh. 

OK....fabric designers.....listen up.....I need more alphabet pictures.....more unusual pics....not the same old dog and cat. use some imagination.  i have to go find more fabric. 

Floral Essence

The next block up in the Album of Memories quilt is Floral Essence. It's one that i like. i'm using a lot of Wonder Under fusible stuff these days. 

Those little circles will have embroidered stems on them. there were about 50 of them to cut out. i am pretty sick of little circles.

I think this quilt will be awesome when all put together. 

Back to Square One, Clue 7

This is July's clue for Judy's mystery quilt over at www.patchworktimes.com    this month it took me all month to finish it....i just got them finished today.

For Pete's sake....it was only 24 little log cabin blocks. I had them all cut out....and left them at the studio. i haven't been at the studio much at all this month. i would go over...see them...and say..oh, yeah, i have to finish those. 

Do a round or 2 and then go off and do something else. i don't know how next month's clue can be easier than this.....but i kinda hope so. i am not falling behind.....but this month came really, really close.

Next month will be canning tomato month....and that is all time sucking. so...you hear me, Judy.....next month has to be easy peasy........please!!

LOL

Studio Undergrowth

When you live in the midst of the Mark Twain National Forest.....the forest tends to take over if you don't fight it back.

As i am mowing the edges of the studio property i am constantly bending over under trees or going around something that is growing out of bounds. i hate to mow too close....i can't see if there are rocks or large pieces of wood or whatever under there. not to mention snakes or other creatures.

So, once a year i have to get out the machete and the flame thrower .... just kidding.....i get out the clippers and the cutters. this is what i started with last night. there is actually a fence in there.....and a creek. 

Here's what it looks like now. you can see tree trunks. i cut back about 3 feet of it. filled 2 pickup loads. now i don't have to bend under trees or wonder what is going to jump out at me. at least for a year or so. i have managed to fix almost half of it. another couple times out there and it should be done. this is only the side.....i haven't even started the back. this property is an acre.....so it will take me a while.

I have to do the same thing at the farm. i cut out the small trees and brush and try and keep the vines out of the trees. then i itch and scratch for a couple weeks with the poison oak.   price you pay. hahahaha

Pineapple pillow

I am making pillows for the Duck. i found 5 pillow forms at the thrift store...brand new, in the packages....now have to make the covers.

At a thrift store a couple months back....i found this pineapple pillow cover. it just needed a little stitching up on a corner. and it fit on the pillow forms that i bought. now i only need to make 4 more covers.

See that tiny 4 patch in the middle.....those squares are about 1/4" .  someone did a LOT of sewing on this baby.

It will give a lot of color to the bedroom. gotta search the stash for more fabrics for the other pillows.

Album of Memories block

I finished another block in Robert Callaham's Album of Memories quilt.

This one is called Oak Laurel

The center

The corners. there will be embroidery stems from the red berries to the leaves

The pieced border. the blocks are less than 3". but they seemed to come together nicely. usually i have trouble with triangles but the gods were smiling on me with this one.

I think i am half way now with the blocks. i like that they are a combination of pieced and applique (well, fused on my part). this is going to be a cool quilt.

Have the next block ready to go...perhaps tonight.

A, F and H

Since i am no longer waiting to get enough pictures to fill the whole block....i decided to do them in alphabetical order.  i just have to be organized. LOL

So, here is A

A is for ...

Acorn
Apron
Asparagus
Accordion

Airplane
and notice the background has Apples  LOL

Alligator eating Apples

Anchor

Ants in a jar
Angel

Apple

Artichokes

And F...

F is for ...

Fingernail polish
Flower

Fish ... embroidered on the embroidery machine
Football
Firefly

Flamingo
Flute
Five

Flip flops ... with a Flamingo and Fish
Fire truck
Fox

Four
Frog

Fruit

And H

H is for...

Helicopter
Heart
Hot air balloon

Hyacinth
Hat
Helmet
Hammer
Horseshoe

Hippo dancing the Hula
Hotdog
Hedgehog .... i didn't know what this was but my sis assures me kids know what a hedgehog is...because there is a video game with a hedgehog in it. i was thinking porcupine. hahahahaha

Hat for a cowboy
Horse...for same cowboy LOL

House

And since i have so many more pictures, i've been thinking of different ways to set alphabet blocks. this one came to me last night while i slept.

I will call them Alphabet 9 Patch.  i cut the squares 5". this is the same fabric....just using both sides. think i will do that with the other squares also. did F first because that is the letter i had at the house that had enough pictures for the block.  that bottom left square is supposed to be a fish....it kind of looks like a bird, though. there are fish on the 'fish'. 

I am enamored with the alphabet thing so no telling how many different alphabet quilts there will be before i run out of ideas or pictures. i already have another idea.

Gotta go....more alphabets calling me. hahahaha