Green Circle Selvages

Sometimes it is difficult to come up with a different pattern for using selvages. I've been wanting to try circles. I had the Tri Recs rulers for another project and it seemed like that would work.

I cut base fabrics 7" by about 28" .... that would allow me to cut 6 pieces out of each one...enough to make one circle.  after stitching selvages on it, i trimmed it to 6 1/2" wide and then cut out pieces with the Tri Recs ruler and then put 6 of them together to form a circle .... of sorts.

I sewed the circle to the background fabric. i am using feed sacks that i scored at an auction in the summer.

Then i finished them off with different trims that i had. that giant rickrack looks a bit funny....but i'll leave it. there's got to be one oddball in every relationship. hahahaha

I am making 25 circles, so i won't have enough green trims for all of them, but i guess i'll use brown or something else on the rest of them. 

Here is a closeup.  they are coming out pretty good. 

Instead of using a different selvage for every strip...like i usually do, i am using the whole strip...the same pieces, one after another until the strip is finished. so, some sections have 2 or 3 pieces of the same fabrics. and then when you cut them into triangles, some of the selvages wind up on 2 different pieces. and if the selvage is too short, then i just sew the next selvage to it and continue. 

I think this is going to be cool. don't know how long it will take to get it finished. it does go pretty quickly, but i get bored easily and go off onto something else. but i definitely have enough green selvages to make this quilt.....and probably 2 or 3 more.

What are you doing with YOUR selvages? ....  make something.

How to get your cardio workout in the snow

I guess the snow was good for something. i scraped snow off the deck rather than get on the treadmill today. lots more fun.

I push instead of lift and throw with the snow shovel. use the back of the shovel and push the snow off through the rails. much easier on back and arms. and if you work at an angle, the shovel doesn't get caught on the boards. 

Got to do the rail, too.

I did half of it yesterday and finished up today.

That deck wraps around 2 sides of the house...that was a LOT of snow.  10' wide deck.

Come on, more snow....i'm ready for ya.

The first day was still pretty cold....under 20. i had many layers on. don't you love my bright yellow Croc boots? 

Notice hubby was INSIDE the house while all this was going on. 

Snow days...December 2014

We have not had this kind of snow here in about 10 years. i was so surprised. been in the house now for a couple days. But i did get my cardio workout for 2 days....scraping the snow off the deck.

It started the night before...tiny flakes....nothing to worry about. hahaha

This is at 8:30 am...our deck

This is looking at at the pastures ...  8:30 am

Noon

Noon

4:30 

4:30  you can see the difference if you look at the fence and the post in the bottom right corner.

And, in the end....about 10" of snow. i did get some snow dyeing done. so it wasn't a total loss.

It would be nice if this could all go away before we got any more. hubby got the truck stuck today a couple times. might as well stay in the house.

Stay warm and stay safe.

Fit For a Hero quilt top...pattern by Judy Laquidara

I got JudyL's pattern, Fit For a Hero completed....at least to a top. a great quilt for a QOV. When it gets quilted, i will donate it to the local Veterans Home in St. James

This was a mystery type quilt....so we got a clue every week to make part of a block. apparently, i read the directions wrong at some point. the red in this block is supposed to be the same as the light blue next to it. but i didn't know it was wrong until i had all the blocks together. at that point...if you know me...i was not taking it apart. so, mine is a bit off from JudyL's pattern.  Sorry, Judy!!

This is the red block. i managed to get that one correct. 

Judy likes borders. most of her quilts have multiple borders....like 4 or 5 or 8 of them. hahahaha  these borders were very cool...i like them.

One more in the to-be-quilted cabinet. i swear, i am going to have to buy another cabinet. hahahaha

I need someone to quilt those up for me....but, you know.....for free.

Quit laughing.

Brown Selvage Quilt Top

When the selvage drawer won't close any more....it's time to piece a quilt top. brown selvages won out this time. 

Here is the whole top. 72x92"

I had some fabric that had little pictures of garden scenes. so i cut them up....4 together. that is the middle of these 10" blocks.

Just went around and around the center until i got at least 10" in each direction. i started out with any color, anywhere...then decided i liked it better with controlled color frames around the center. 

The borders are 6" wide....selvages sewn onto a base fabric. 

It used almost all the brown selvages. i put all the pieces that were less than 7" in a bag, so the remaining selvages are 'sort of' sorted. I love the dog bone fabric...this is the last of it, i think.  it says good dog on the bones.

One more to add to the already stuffed to-be-quilted cabinet. 

Next up is green selvages. wait till you see what i have planned for that.  it works in my head...hahaha....we'll see.

Tell it to the Stars .... January

This is our project quilt from Judy Laquidara for 2014...it is called Tell it to the Stars. 

Here are my fabrics...3 shades of pink, a rust with leaves and berries, a yellow stripe and a green that has some yellow/gold in it.

And here is January's block. we made 2 of them. i am not going to worry about the direction of the stripes. 

I think i will wind up with a pastel kinda quilt...which is so not me....but it's all about using the fabrics i have. 

Each month on the 1st we will get another block to make and by the end of the year....we will have a quilt top.

I am putting the last border on last year's quilt tonight. Judy makes some amazing quilts. you might want to check her out at www.patchworktimes.com   lots of patterns and recipes and funny stories about her life.

Now, a long wait until February first for the next block. but, not to worry, i have a couple other things to do. Like Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice....OMG...it has about a million pieces. i have a few steps cut out and working on cutting more. don't know when that will be finished. 

Back to it.

My Goal for 2014

I don't make New Year's resolutions...they only get broken. they were always the same as everyone else's....lose weight...save money....do whatever. 

I have been making and reaching goals for a few years in the quilting part of my life. keeping track of fabric yards used.....counting thread spools emptied...finishing UFOs.  i decided that a GOAL is what i needed for the new year for my life. i need a life's goal. i need a way to sneak up on some weight loss.

I have tried every diet and lifestyle change and every other quackery out there. yeah....i've lost weight. sometimes 50 or 60 pounds. the problem is not losing it....it's hiding from it so it doesn't find it's way back.

So i shall try a Goal this year. my GOAL is simple......EAT RESPONSIBLY. 

Sounds do-able, right? sounds easy. you see advertised...drive responsibly.....drink responsibly.  well, my problem is food. so, i shall eat responsibly. i'm not saying i won't eat potato chips....just not the whole bag. not saying i won't eat pizza....just not half of it. i shall be conscience of HOW MUCH i eat. and in doing so, will hope that will keep me out of the junk food continuously and i might actually lose some weight. 

I shall work on it responsibly....and.....EAT RESPONSIBLY.

For breakfast today i ate an orange. 
For lunch i had a bowl of cereal, 1/2 a banana, soy milk on the cereal, and apple juice. i used a small bowl, only filled the juice cup half full. only ate half of the banana. it's a start.
Dinner is home made chicken vegetable soup with dumplings. i will have 1 ladle full....not 2 or 3. no second helpings. Lord help me....it is in the crock pot and smelling good. LOL

2014 shall find me in the responsible lane. 

How about you?