The X Block Quilt

Here are a few pictures of another quilt i finished recently. i seem to be on a roll here on my tops....while customer tops fill the cabinet.

This is an X Block pattern. you need a ruler template to do it. you piece 9 patch blocks and then line up the X block template on your seam lines and cut off the edges. you will cut off long triangular pieces.  but there is no waste...you use the cut off parts for a border. it is really quick and easy to do. of course, i had to make a queen size quilt. i used up lots of stash...blues and whites, tans, beiges, and creams.

Here is a quarter of the top. i already had it at the house and didn't have anywhere to hang it for a full pic. and too lazy to take it back to the studio to do it. LOL

How about a close-up? i love those blocks...so easy. the only thing is once you start cutting with one side of the X block template....do NOT turn it over...your blocks will be cut in the opposite direction and won't fit together properly where the 2 different colors meet. i taped a piece of paper on the side i was using so i wouldn't get confused.

See that middle border there....the one with the same colors as the blocks. those are the parts that you cut off the edges of your 9 patch blocks. just sew 2 of them together into a rectangle...trim them down to the size you want and make a border. i should have made another border out of these. i had 80 blocks...so 320 pieces cut. and i only used about 1/4 of them for this one border. if i do this quilt again i will use multiple borders of the pieces with perhaps 1/2" dark borders between them. and i sewed the 2 pieces together that matched...you could certainly change it up and be more scrappy. yet another project to contemplate. hahahaha

And here is the back. i used the clamshell template from QZ...it sews 6 rows before you have to roll the quilt so it goes pretty quickly. and i have already washed the quilt so it is a tad wrinkly...just like i like them.

Go get you an X block template and give them a try. there is a book showing many patterns using this template. they are awesome. check it out.

Woodshed filling up

The woodshed is filling up nicely. even if we have a hard winter...we are ready. i am loving our wood furnace. last year we used less than half of the propane that we used in previous years for heating the house. so it is saving us a ton of money. but we won't talk about all the labor of getting that woodshed filled.

If you remember, a few months ago we had 3 trees taken down. we have now managed to take care of 2 of them...all but the thick trunks.

We cut off all the smaller branches and leaves and put them through the chipper/shredder. so far, i have gotten about 12 trash cans filled with mulch. i have 5 of them now waiting for me to distribute them. i have a plan but it won't get executed for a week or so.

Unless you cut up your trees yourself i don't think people realize what goes into getting the wood from the tree on the ground to the woodshed. we had to strip all the smaller branches for the chipper; cut the limbs into 20" segments for the furnace; cut the trunks into 20" segments; split the trunks into manageable chunks. the chainsaws have been busy for weeks.

Here's where we are now. this is a 5 foot tall pile of fencing and pieces of lumber no longer needed. the fencing came from my sister's house. do you notice how a lot of her stuff winds up over here? but she was just going to burn this...it was just half rotted wooden fencing from the beast...so i brought it home. it will make great fire starters. or when you just need a bit of a fire. it is stacked just outside the woodshed. we will cover it with a tarp for the winter.

Our 'woodshed' is 2 no longer used dog kennels covered with tarps. very redneck. LOL  the first 'room' is packed 4 rows deep and all the way to the ceiling. birds and bugs and snakes love it in there. me....not so much. but i stacked every piece of wood in there.

The second room is only half filled...still have room for 2 more rows. the shelving holds thicker branches picked up off the property...great fire starters. picture me driving around 40 acres in the pickup...stopping to throw branches in the back and then bringing them to the house to be cut up. such fun!  you should come help. hahahahahaha  see, if i had a helper it would be easier...you could sit on the tailgate and when i stop for a branch...you just hop down...throw the branch in the truck...and hop back on the tailgate and away we go to the next branch. my dog, Suzy, isn't much help...she just wants to ride shotgun in the truck.

This is what happens when you try to split wood that is not dry enough. it splits all funky and jim had to take the axe to break them apart. after doing one piece of trunk we decided they needed to dry out more.

So here are 18 trunk chunks (try saying that fast 5 times) that are drying out on the north side of the woodshed. hopefully next year we can split them up. jim got some logging tongs .... those things are awesome. these chunks weigh a ton. we put the tongs on the tractor pole and i hooked the tongs to the log and he lifted them onto the trailer and carted them home and unloaded them. it took 3 loads to get these here. and the trailer was not small...it was 12 foot...the trunk chunks are HEAVY.

We still have trunks from the tree by the house that we have to saw into sections and try to split and see if they are ready or have to dry out, too. Then there is the last tree laying out in the front yard that we haven't tackled yet. when i mow i have to go around it and the grass is about 18" tall in those tree branches now. at least there are no leaves on that tree to deal with. that won't be too much fun to get to......it may still be there for a while. we're waiting for cooler weather.

So, if it gets really cold this winter and your heat goes out and you don't have a wood furnace....come stay with us....we'll be toasty.

Pinwheels

Ok, here's one more for you. i really don't remember where this pattern came from. it was pieced years ago and had been marinating in the cabinet...just waiting for me to pick it next. so it's time finally came.

I have been doing so many Quiltazoid patterns and overall designs and pantos that it is a wonder i haven't forgotten how to do custom work. (in fact, i had...i'll explain later).

This is about 52" square. the center and border have dragonflies on them.

Here's a closer look at the dragonflies. this middle part was done with the QZ. 4 large spirograph designs in the corners and a different design in the middle. probably can't see much from the front.

You can see the quilting on the back much better than the front. i did different feathers in the outside border than i did in the middle.

And here i think you can see my boo-boo. LOL  in the feathers around the pinwheels i did one side at a time...traveling around the quilt. but i didn't pay attention to what i was doing and after i had quilted one side of feathers i realized i had them going in opposite directions....insert bad words here.....but i was NOT frogging that. so i just proceeded along and did the rest of them in opposite directions. UNTIL i got to the 3rd side.....and then i did them in opposite directions but OPPOSITE of what i had done previously in the last 2 sides. sheesh....this was fast becoming one whole mess. so i just finished the 4th side and didn't worry about it. no 2 sides are alike...nothing matches. but, hey, it is quilted...dang it!

Now that i see it off the frame and all finished....i realize that i should have quilted 1/4" inside the pinwheels also to frame them out a bit better. all i did was SID around them and i think they needed a bit more. it's sure a good thing this wasn't a customer quilt....i'd still be froggin'.

Oh, and that yellow sashing around the middle block and the outside...is a freehand kind of thing. i just went all the way down the row twice and then came back and went up and down across the row...no marking...no measuring...winging it. i kind of like it. do you think i just like it because it was fast and easy? i don't know....but i like it.

Now i believe everything in my cabinet of mine that i need to quilt are larger...all the smaller sizes are gone. see...poor planning again....i should have STARTED with the larger ones and the downhill slide to finishing up would have seemed quicker with smaller ones to do. will i never learn?

Now, learn from my goofs and go and quilt....correctly. LOL

Star Dance

This quilt is called Star Dance and the pattern is in the book Dancing Quilts from Straight Pieces by Debbie Bowles. there are so, so many cool quilts in this book that you will want to make them all.

I am using up my stash so this would have looked much different...and probably better...had i bought specific fabric. but i am on a mission to bust that stash. LOL

The bits of rectangles going around the border were supposed to go all the way around but i ran out of that fabric, so i improvised. i think it still looks acceptable. the yellow fabric was given to me by my sister. she had made plain curtains for her classroom a couple years ago and at the end of the year she gifted the fabric to me. i have finally used the last of that yellow. in fact, i was piecing tiny pieces together to get the last of that border done. had i realized i was running out i would have spread the piecing around a bit...but my overall planning is poor so one corner is a hodgepodge of pieces.

Here is a bit of a closer view. the pieces in the border and the 'dancers' inside the stars are from fabric that was brightly painted Easter eggs. i really don't know why i bought that fabric but it seemed to work ok here. and it is now all gone. LOL

And the backing is another Aunt Sophie inheritance piece. it is a pale blue of unknown parentage. it is thicker than a normal cotton but it quilted up just fine. i used the Star Swirl panto on this one....one of my favorite pantos.

The whole quilt is about 52" x 58"....good snuggly size for a munchkin.

I have to make more quilts from this book. some of the other patterns are: Line Dance, Electric Slide, Jitterbug, Cha Cha Zigzag, and Rock & Roll. gotta love those titles. There are 13 different quilts in this book. You might want to check it out....it's great fun.

Filled Churn Dash

I've been a bit lax in showing you what i've done lately and i apologize for that. sometimes there just aren't enough hours in the day. but i shall remedy that situation right now.

Here is a pretty neat quilt that i just finished quilting. at least, i think it is neat. it combines the churn dash pattern with a stack and whack type of design in the middle of the churn dash. i used the border fabric as the middle of the churn dash.

Here's a closer view for you. i love the designs that the 4 patches make in the middles.

Here you can see the border design a bit better. i had bought a bolt of this leave fabric several years ago because i just loved it. i am just now getting about done with all this leaf fabric.

Here is the back. i used my QZ baptist fan templates to quilt it. it is simple and goes quickly. even this queen size quilt can be quilted in a day.

And a little close up of the back. i almost hate to give this one away.

This pattern came from Marilea, our teacher at our quilting classes. Thank you, Marilea, for a great pattern that works up quickly and looks fabulous.

Give it a try yourself.....you can do it!

Stay tuned for more quilts.

An unwelcome nighttime visitor

Surprises are not always a good thing. i had an unwelcome nighttime visitor last night....of the 4-legged kind. yeck! i didn't take any pictures....i'll spare you that mess.

I went to get my checkbook this morning and when i opened the drawer i could hardly believe my eyes. mayhem!!  seems a little mouse had tried to set up housekeeping last night. i had just opened that drawer the day before and all was well then. this little dude (or dudette..whichever the case may be) had quite a party in a few nighttime hours.

I keep my 38 in that drawer, in a leather holster. there was a pair of wool gloves laying on top of it. the gloves were shredded....fingers decapitated....and the devil ate a circular pattern out of the leather gun holster. who knew mice like leather....must have been  a kinky little guy. LOL

Then he proceeded to chew through some papers and receipts that i had in a folder....knew i should have filed those. and there was a plastic bag with paper coin wrappers....my goodness...he REALLY liked those.  and a honey lemon cough drop had the paper mostly torn off of it and some little gnarly marks on it.....perhaps he just had a cough and was looking for medication.

Thank goodness he didn't get into lower underwear drawers or i might have had peek-a-boo bras and crotchless panties. LOL   So the first hour of my day was spent cleaning up his mess instead of writing out those checks for bills.

I hope he visits again tonight. i left him a little mouse poison buffet underneath the dresser. i sure hope he enjoys it and takes some home to share with his family, too.

Crossing my fingers for no more mousey parties at my place.

Today is Suck it UP Day!!

I know...i've been absent for a couple weeks. i've been busy...just not anything blog-worthy busy.....quilting up some of my UFOs...quilting some customer quilts....and cutting and stacking wood.

But, today i finished up a customer quilt about 11:30 this morning and thought....gee, i have the day to myself....what to do. it was too hot to work outside. well, in looking at my design wall....i see the same quilt that has been hanging there for about 4 months. in fact, this quilt was started about this time in 2008. which isn't all that old for UFOs...but still....it hung on the design wall in 2009 for about 4 months. i got sick of looking at it and took it down and hid it away. LOL

Some time back i came across it again and got it out. Finished piecing all the blocks and got 2 of the corners constructed. then it hung on the design wall in 2010 for about 4 months. all the blocks were done....i just needed to put them together. Procrastination was my first, middle and last name on this quilt.

Today i decided i had looked at it long enough. it was either finish it up or throw it in the trash.

So, today was Suck It Up Day.....just get the damn thing finished. i was thinking i could get it all constructed in an hour or so. good thing i didn't know better at that time or it probably would now be in the trash. but, 4 hours later....and the top is all finished. not quilted, mind you,....but pieced. i even mitered the outside border....LOL....and i never do that.

Now, who knows when it will get quilted....but i won't concern myself with that right now. the point is that it is pieced.....i have binding for it.....and it is off my design wall and in the cabinet with it's 20 other pieced top cousins.

And yes, i know it hasn't been ironed, either and looks all wonky. but trust me, it will be just fine. it just has to perculate in the cabinet for a while. here's what it looks like. also, as i was taking the pics, i realized i don't have the blocks all in the same place. oh well, it is staying that way. it's better than the trash. if i didn't have the borders on it already, i would probably take those two right hand corners off and switch them to make it right. but done is good here.....some of those blocks had a zillion pieces.

Hopefully in a few months (or years) i will love it again and it will get quilted. then it will most likely become a donation.

But now i can hang something else on the design wall....and that is good.