Back in the studio again

I am finally back in the studio after about a week. we had an ice storm last saturday night that put a coating on everything. our house is on a hill and the driveway is treacherous when that happens. so we stayed in the house and fed the woodstove. 

We did consider that we might want to buy some skis to get down the hill when bad weather hits...but since we don't ski...we would probably just break something. don't have a sled. so we just stay in till it all goes away.

But during my forced hibernation i did manage to finish the selvage neutrals top and it is ready for quilting. i started with a plastic grocery bag of selvages and was surprised that i still had half of them left when i finished this top. it is truly amazing how few selvages make a quilt top. this one is about 82" square. i used muslin for a foundation for the block squares and the selvage border.

And then we got out yesterday to go to town and drop my truck off for repairs and drive about an hour away to Washington for some Christmas shopping. as my gift this year i chose that we go to washington and shop at thrift stores and Michaels and eat at our favorite place there...Miller's Grill.

The Goodwill in Washington was a little disappointing because we didn't find the recliner that we were looking for. but i did score 4 more men's shirts to be cut up for quilts. i am collecting stripes and plaids/checks.

And i found 2 books....one for me and one for Jim.

And these adorable little picture frames. my plan is to do a cross stitch picture for each month to put in the frame. the space is 4"x6"..then put them on the stand in my entryway in the studio each month.

Then we went to Michael's craft store. i have a triptych of Amish pictures that i want to cross stitch. so i found some Aida cloth and all but 4 of the colors of embroidery floss that i need. i started it last night. i worked on it for 4 hours. i think my cross stitch time will be 9pm each night that i can...and perhaps in about 14 years i'll be done with the pictures. LOL

And topped off the day with a trip to Miller's Grill for their fabulous bbq baby back ribs and a baked potato. oh, yum!!  when we used to live in washington we would go there about once a month. now we have to drive an hour to enjoy it. but sometimes you just gotta go there.

While we were gone we had to leave Suzy in the house since it was only about 20 degrees outside and too cold for her to stay outside all day. Here is what she looked like when we left....and when we got back. tough life for that dog. LOL  she has her own couch, her own quilt, her own pillows, and she is laying right in front of the vent from the woodstove. tough life.

Now i have to go do some quilting and try and finish up my Tokyo Subway Map quilt that has been on the frame forever it seems like. and do some more baltimore embroidery blocks for my sister.

Tuesday i go for the closing on my rehab house in Illinois. so say a little prayer to the weather gods for me that we don't get more ice....i appreciate it.

Merry Christmas














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UFOs committed for 2011 UFO Challenge with Judy Laquidera

OK...i am committed.        quit laughing...you know what i mean.

I quilted up a LOT of my tops in 2010 and busted hundreds of yards of fabric from my stash. but i need to do it all over again....even more.

So, i am committed to the 2011 UFO Challenge with Judy L. at http://www.patchworktimes.blogspot.com/    She gets so much accomplished in a day that she is an inspiration. sometimes it seems to me that i do a lot, too...but sometimes i feel like a slug compared to Judy.

The idea is to pull out 12 UFOs and number them 1 through 12. at the beginning of each month Judy will pull a number out of her hat...LOL....it may be 4...it may be 9...whatever. whatever number she pulls...that is the numbered quilt that you will finish for the month. i hope she doesn't pull 7 first....i am not liking that top any more....and it is KING size.

I have 7 tops just needing quilting and 5 more projects that are in various stages of stitching. here is my list for the challenge.

1. Blue embroidered blocks. these were embroidered by machine a few years ago and just never got quilted. it is probably queen size. i'm not liking it too much anymore and after quilting it will be a donation.

2. Black and red selvage top...just finished putting together a few days ago. it is a new top but i will quilt spirals on it...i think. should be fun. pick #2 Judy. hahahaha

3.  Carpenter's Star yellow and blue. i bought this top with yellow backing from a lady on MQR a few years back. i love it...just never got it quilted. in 2011 it will be done. thanks, Sharon.

4.  Class row quilt..Our Town. i like this one, too. but after i quilted about 5 of these for other ladies i lost interest to do my own. it's time has come.

5.  In Memory of Sarah..another class quilt from a couple years ago. i like this one, too but, also, quilted a bunch of them and never did my own. is that like the cobbler's kids have holes in their shoes?  LOL

6.  Metamorphosis....this is one i designed. the idea was for the blocks to change across the rows and down along the quilt. the end block is nothing like the first block. it has been percolating for quite some time so it is time to quilt it up and find it a home.

7.  King size pink embroidered blocks. this is at least 5 or 6 years old. i guess i was into embroidery then. LOL  it also has pillowcases. i really don't like it anymore either. funny how our tastes change. my intention was to put it on our bed but that is not going to happen. someone else is going to have to love it.

8.  4 patch posie. i like this a lot and don't know why it never got finished. it deserves better.

9.  North Pole Village.  this was sooo much fun to embroider on my machine...they are applique. it will be fun to get these together.

10. String Blocks. i have a couple hundred of these done...just have to put them together. plus i have enough strings to make about a thousand more. (let's not go there right now...ok?) i am a mess.

11. Take 5 top only needs borders and quilting. it's been hanging in the quilting closet for about 9 months now. i think it needs to be born.

12.  Another Take 5....of yellow, green and purple. but it is only cut out. but they really don't take long to stitch up so it will be good month for this one.

Now, please God....let me stay on target and finish these up.  after all...i am committed. LOL

After reading all my rambling...doesn't it make you want to jump on over to Judy's blog and sign up, too. it will be so much fun to work together during the year. i KNOW you have at least 12 UFOs hanging around somewhere... look in your closet...on that shelf...you know where they are. drag them out...number them...and play along. your UFOs don't have to be quilts...they could be table runners...pillows...whatever project you have that is not finished.

As your mother would say....it'll be good for you.

LOL

Patchwork Times 2011 UFO Challenge

Come join Judy L and me (and the rest of the world..LOL) in her UFO Challenge for 2011. it will be fun. tomorrow i will list my 12 UFOs with pics to be finished in 2011.

Go on over to her site and check it out.

You can click the button at the top of my blog to get there.

See you there.

Felize Navidad ???

NO....Felize NaviDOG....LOL

My sister is at it again. she cannot resist the cuties at embroidery library. in the last few days i have done these dogs for her....have to admit...they are cute.

I love the little guy with the laced up boots.

Next up for her are the Baltimore Quilt blocks from Anita Goodesign. they quilt up nice. there are 20 of them and they take an hour each...so it will be a few days to get all those done. here is the first one.

And in MY corner..the Tokyo Subway Map quilt is on the frame. i really thought it would go faster. i think that EVERY time...i need to quit that. LOL  i have gone around all the tracks and am now doing the background in a square meander type thing. there are LOTS of stops and starts and thread burying. i was going to quilt the tracks with thread to match each one but have now decided to just do them all in gray to save time and what's left of my sanity.

And i am definitely on a selvage kick these days. the newest brainstorm involves the box of neutrals. i cut 10" blocks and will do half of it with selvages. the difference this time is that i am going to use all of the same selvage on each block...as far as i can. i have 36 blocks cut out...that will make it somewhat 60ish inches square. then i will see if i go larger or just add borders. i know i have enough selvages for about 32,597 blocks. siiggghh!!

OK. break is over...back to work. it is now raining and the weatherman promises snow for tonight and tomorrow. not looking forward to that. i hope to get to Illinois tomorrow for a funeral...we'll see.

Stay dry and warm.

2 steps forward; 1 step back

In the last post i had a bit of a list to accomplish for December. some of it got accomplished since then.
..the contest quilt is quilted and bound...just need to send in pictures...that is on today's list.
..2 christmas tops not started yet....but i 'thought' about them. in fact, i put my tokyo subway map quilt on the frame yesterdy and got a lot of it stabilized. that is on today's list, too...to finish stabilizing that so i can take it off the frame for other things.
..my friends tops will be here tomorrow so i can start on those and try to finish for christmas.
..2 batches of chex mix have been made....really need 2 more batches...need more hours in my day.
..i cut my hair...a hurry up job...just don't look too closely at the back. LOL

Now, to add to all of that stress....my aunt sophie died yesterday. so i need to travel to illinois on sunday for a funeral on monday. i really didn't count on not having those 2 days here. i guess i need to learn to add extra days into my schedule. aunt sophie led a full and good life. she was a good woman and liked helping people. she had been bed bound for several months and i believe she was just tired and ready to go to heaven. when she got sick last year she had just learned that her youngest granddaughter was pregnant...after trying for years. her first thought was that she live to see that baby born. she did....and almost a year more. so, i'm sad that she is gone and i'll miss her lots but i'll bet she is crocheting cloud covers in heaven and making quilts up there and using clouds for batting.

It's only 8am but i need to head over to my studio and get started on my day.

Stay warm

Trying to keep up

Alhough my husband and i don't really 'celebrate' Christmas....no tree, decorating or craziness going on here.....it seems that december is whizzing by. i have a contest quilt on my frame that needs to be finished TODAY. pictures are due in soon.

And yesterday i agreed to quilt 2 tops before Christmas for a dear friend. ... but the tops aren't quite done yet....hurry Mary. LOL

And i have 2 customer quilts that i said would be done by the end of the year....might happen...might not.

And i have a house closing coming up in a week or so....which will require me to be gone from home for 2 days.  Yikes!!

And i like to make cookies for Christmas.

And my sister reminded me the other day that i usually make Chex Mix for Christmas and she was looking forward to some of it.  Sis, i made 2 batches last night. hopefully 2 more today.

And i really, really need to cut my hair...i look like something in a scary movie.

So, i better get busy and start my day. how is your scheduling coming along? stay sane.

Plan B worked!

But just in case it didn't...i had plan C in place.

What i am speaking of is finding money for my house in Illinois. i found the house i wanted the first day i went out to look...after just a few houses. how did that happen?  i'm not complaining mind you.

But then the fun part was finding a loan for 11K. had i waited another year i could have just paid cash....like my sister did....but who knew i would find a place i liked so soon.

$11,000 doesn't sound like a LOT of money...unless you don't have that much. i tried the credit union that i used to belong to....after 12 days of faxing back and forth and talking back and forth and cussing (just my part...LOL)...they finally told me no....that was too little an amount for a conventional mortgage loan. is that stupid or what? too many damn rules.

And i couldn't get a signature loan because i wanted the house in my name only and my name is on our current mortgage...so that put my loan 'ratio' too high. try explaining to a 'city' loan officer that your husband pays the mortgage and even though your name is on the deed.....you don't contribute any money to the payment. no go.

So, plan B was to go to the little bank in the little town where i found the little house. i explained my situation to her and she said that she had the authority to loan that amount and that she would.....but, she needed 4 more board members to agree with her and sign off on it. and she called me 2 days later......2 DAYS.....not 12 days.....and told me it was a done deal. how cool is that.

But i did have plan C in place...just in case....my small town banker here in the woods.

So, after a couple weeks of nail biting and cussing city bankers i now have financing in place and am just waiting for a closing date.

Then the fun will begin....probably in the spring.

The list is starting...
     .... new windows
    .... new doors
    .....new wiring
    ....new plumbing
.    .... tear out all that ugly paneling
    ....tear out the carpet pads from the bedrooms....no carpet....just pad
   ....tear a couple layers of vinyl off kitchen floor
    .... strip ugly paint off all woodwork
    ....etc...etc

So, i guess now i better get back in my studio and do some quilting.....i have mortgage payments to make. LOL