Becky's quilt obsession

The design walls are mainly empty this week. Everything is past the design wall stage except the flash frame. One quilt is completely finished, another has binding on one side, but will have to be hand-sewn on the other. The Cabin in the Woods is being prepared to use Judy L's method of sewing the back from the front, and borders are going on the "Ugly Fabric Sampler". The secret project is down the street, ready to go on the quilting frame. I'm trying to finish everything by the 15th, except bindings, and I will be cutting it close. I don't mind working on them later, I just have a lot of Dr appointments and go off arthritis meds that day. I'm really liking how the quilts are turning out. I will post better pictures when DH has time to help hang them and photograph them. Happy Quilting, Becky Email me

A while ago, I decided to use up all my flannel. I made the Big star quilt out of flannel, and used up all of the left-overs in the Cabin in the Woods. I do have a panel of houses that is flannel, and a bit of flannel to finish that with, but other than that, it was all gone. I even had cut out a flannel rag blanket out of baby fabric, and given it to MM to make. Yesterday I was quilting down at my friend's and she had decided to take care of her little "piles" of stuff. She decided she should look at the pile of flannels. She found one with a note (directions) on a piece, it was dated 2001. She decided it was time to get rid of that stack, then decided to get rid of the whole thing! She put it all in two bags and gave it to me - even carried it to my car. I think I need to have another kid sew-in and everyone needs to make rag quilts! I certainly have plenty of batting scraps they can use up. Hmmm, I wonder if I'll feel up to it for Martin Luther King Day.

What was I thinking last week? Where was my mind? I thought I could finish a Judy Martin pattern quicker than I could make J udy L's Freeze Frame? ?? The photo on the left is of the now UFO pieces for Celebration. I finished all the strip sets, and 200 of the 300 4 patches, but finally said Whoa! Too much!! I started Freeze frame on Saturday, worked a little bit on Sunday, I just need to make about 30 more border blocks, and then put all the borders on. I'm making a few extra blocks so I can put in wider center borders and outer borders to make the quilt a little bigger. I did make it down the street to the quilting machine yesterday. I quilted this quick Stashbuster quilt made for DGD#2. Her mother (DD) said she needed a soft, easy to wash "blanket" for her big bed. This one is from fabric left over from DD's wedding quilt, and all the "ladybug" fabric used in DGDs room. I backed it with very soft Minkee, and used a very thin batting inside.

The holiday has taken a toll on the design wall. The king-size of last week is down for "security reasons", and we are off in another direction. I finished the red, black, and white quilt top that I posted about last week. It, along with others, is waiting for a turn at the long-arm machine. Last Friday, I did indeed have a sew-in for the grands and cousins. The first picture is of them with their pillowcases. The length of the picture does not show that 3 of them made the second pillowcase for body pillows. This was a full day/evening adventure, and they were very proud of their accomplishments. Note the color of the pillowcases on the far left (she's not asleep, I just can't take good pictures). This is the Gniece this quilt top was being made for. The pillowcases were made to match the colors in her room! I asked a lot of questions, and ended up finding out that she doesn't like pink, her sister likes pink. I just wish I could keep the two of th

Ugly fabric quilt progress The Sunshine Ugly Fabric Stashbuster Challenge quilt has now grown too big for the design wall. The first plain 6" border is on, and two sides of the 6" block borders are on. Someone asked what my Ugly fabric was - It is the "fireworks" found in the center of many of the blocks. I picked it for the challenge as I don't work well with grayed (toned) fabrics, and I wanted to gain some skills with that. The Challenge also involved using a bit of orange and/or yellow in each block, also colors I don't use much. I have learned that most quilts need a touch of yellow to put the "sun" in them, but I don't pick it as a main color, which I have done in this quilt. I'm sure hoping the couple I'm giving it to for Christmas like these colors. They've wanted a large quilt from me for a long time (they have a large lap quilt, denim quilt, and lap Christmas quilts), but not one for their bed. The other two borders

Wow, I LOVE these giant templates. If I could quilt like some of you (Mary), I wouldn't need the templates, but with them, I think this quilting is so neat! The quilt above is laying flat; the hills and valleys are a result of the quilting and the tangential light streaming in the window. It was really nice when I walked in the "studio" and saw this. It's ready for trimming and binding. It's not a Christmas gift, so I will put the binding on the front, and save the turning to the back for something to do while elevating my knee in January. Happy Quilting, Becky Email me

All the blocks for the king size quilt I'm making from the Stashbuster Ugly Fabric Challenge are finished. I made 36 - 6" blocks, and 28 - 12" blocks. I'm tired of making blocks from this group of fabrics. The EQ drawing at the top is similar to the set I'm using. I haven't figured out how to make sashing in the borders in EQ. I decided I didn't want to have to deal with pressing points back with so many of them in this quilt. I'm putting about 1-1/2" sashing between each block in both borders, so I'm using one less block than it shows. I'm so ready to stop working on this. However, I'm going to persevere as this is a Christmas present. Giant Templates - Our giant zig-zag templates for the Circle Lord arrived late yesterday! I'm planning on playing with them this afternoon. They are my Christmas present, but I need to finish other Christmas presents with them so I didn't wait until the 25th to open them. I hope I lik

I must have Big Stars on the brain. Today I finished the center of the Stashbuster Ugly fabric Challenge quilt. This will be a king-size Christmas present. The center is 48" square. The other picture is of the finished blocks to surround the center. It will have a plain border, a border of 6" blocks, another plain border, then a border of 12" blocks. I need to sew a lot, as I still need about 12 more blocks of each size. I did go down to the long-arm and loaded the two charity quilts that were on the design wall last Monday. My friend wanted to try a pantograph on something before she tried to do it on a snowman quilt top she made. The first pass was a bit rocky. I left it for her to practice. I hope she finishes them soon, as I have 4 tops waiting that need to be finished by Christmas. I really wish I was better at the long-arm, but it takes constant practice, and I don't do that right now. Even just loading and helping her get started was rough on my j

Oh, the innocent-appearing shredded carrot. The restaurant I ate at (not for long) last evening garnishes their garden salad with them. Do you see how they curl a bit on the end? If you get a piece with that curly end down in your windpipe, it gets stuck! You, of course, have to cough, and cough, and cough, but every time you try to take a breath that thing gets pulled further into your lungs. The patrons of the (nice) restaurant look at you with wide eyes, the manager and wait staff come running, your daughter tries a Heimlich but you push her away because you've taught CPR so many years and you keep thinking no Heimlich if "they" are still moving air past the obstruction. You now understand about panic! When you finally cough that now nasty carrot and other contents up in your hand, no one wants you to go to the bathroom alone to wash - and an old OR nurse can't stand "contaminated" hands! After everyone sits back down, your 3-year-old DGD crawls un

Yesterday I started and finished the quilt kit for Quilts for Kids. They ask that you send another quilt made from your stash. I had this Disappearing 9 Patch cut out, so today I finished it. If I ever make it down to the quilting machine, they can be loaded together on one backing for quilting. It is much faster that way. I'll either send back their backing, or use it on another charity project. I haven't been quilting on the big machine, other than the small quilt for the railroad symposium. My stamina and pain tolerance aren't what they used to be, and one quilt on the long-arm usually costs me an additional day of rest (rather than doing the things I want). I only work 2-3 hours in a day, with a rest time each hour, but it still is a problem. I'm having my second total knee the end of the year, and I'm hoping things will be better. I think we have found the problem, and fixed it, that created the slow, and incomplete recovery with the first knee. I f

The train quilt was finished, and delivered to the Friends of the Nevada State Railroad Museum for their silent auction last weekend. It made $125, which I thought was good for a drag-around size. We had two grandparents striving for it, so it went higher than I expected. I did, however, tell my husband he had to buy it if it didn't go for at least $75. I didn't have to worry. It was won by a quilter / grandma for her grandson, and the quilt was being sent back to Missouri, but to St. Louis this time. People seemed to enjoy the back art big star, made from scraps, so I may have to rethink always using one-piece backs for my quilts. When I was quilting this quilt, I didn't have problems with the dreaded "baggy back". I did pay attention while loading it so I could center the star left-to-right. I deliberately didn't center it top to bottom. I'm holding it upside down, so the extra on the bottom would tuck in and still leave the whole big star on t

The picture above, left, has now become the picture on the right, so the back art is now finished. I hope I feel good enough tomorrow to load the front, bottom left, and the back on the quilting machine. I'm in a quandary how to quilt it. I was going to quilt it following the piecing lines, such as Mary http://blog.maryquilts.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/DSCN7803.JPG has done on the Heartstrings Happy blocks, but my center patches are 6" rather than the usual 4", so I thought I would have to quilt in the centers. Then the border is 8 1/2", so now what should I do? The train fabric has little swirls with 4 dots, almost like a bass cleft, including the border fabric. I suppose I could fall back on my swirls templates, but they will really mask the train blocks, and seem to make a quilt less puffy than I would like. Maybe I should try a panto?? Any comments /ideas would be helpful. DH asked if I was binding it all on by machine, but I think I want to hand tu

The train donation top is finished, and I started playing with the scraps for some back art. I don't know where I picked up this obsession of using up all the small scraps before I move on to another project. I'm sorry the train quilt picture is a little fuzzy, and the colors are closer to real in the backart picture. I hope to start quilting it tomorrow, so will have a finished picture in about 3 days (I hope). Backyard update I'm still playing in the back yard with iris transplanting. I became frustrated Saturday - I thought I would have the help of DGS - and he's such good help - but he had to go home too early. I was trying to hold an iris with my grabber in one hand, and use the hoe to pull dirt over the rhizomes. DH came home, and I asked him to come outside in about 20 minutes and help me stand up. Then I did what I call the "Mom Ackley" way of gardening. She sat on a cushion and inched her way down thru the garden area. She was, however, able

I'm not sure how blogger will put these, but let's call the far left one - A, then b, c, d, as they go down. I could use some help deciding on a layout for these blocks. They are happy blocks with train fabric in the middle, and the border fabric is also trains. There is a border for the bottom, I just couldn't reach it very well. It's a donation quilt for the V&T symposium - a group trying to rebuild the Virgina and Truckee Railroad, but they also are friends of the Nevada State Railroad Museum. We go in a couple of weeks, so I need to get this one finished. I can't decide on a layout. If you would leave a comment on which one you like best, I would appreciate it. It is easier to see now that they are in small pictures, so I would really appreciate your feedback. Thanks. Happy Quilting, Becky Email me

If you are expecting to read a quilting post here, now is the time to move on to another blog. I haven't been in the hobby / quilting room for about 2 weeks. I'm writing this posting to "journal" about the work we've been doing mainly on property that doesn't belong to us. Our Back Yard This is the view of our back yard looking west from near the east edge of our property. We have been here about 4 years; we were the first house on the cul-de-sac. The back "yard" was awash with mud and the hillside oozing down on us. We've put in all this "landscaping" for water control, and because I like flowers. The two retaining walls have flowerbeds that are my arm's length wide, so I can play with flowers while standing up, since I can't reach the ground anymore. This was the west side of our property during a rain storm, after we put in our landscaping. The developer did a lot of grading after this picture was taken, but the "

I'm working (slowly it seems) on putting together the Cabin in the Woods to use up all the flannel left from the Big Star Buffalo quilt. On the other design wall are some happy blocks I'm using as leaders / enders. They have train fabric in the center. Every October there is a meeting of the friends of the Nevada State Railroad Museum. I usually go with my DH about every other year. They have a silent auction at the symposium - donations from members - usually railroad related items. I thought I would donate the Happy Block quilt (if I finish it in time). The group is trying to rebuild the V&T (Virgina & Truckee) railroad from Virginia City to Carson City. It is now open to Mound House. DH is a speaker again this year, but we will have to make time to ride the railroad, and visit quilt shops, as well as attend the symposium. I don't think Carson City has any, but we fly in and out of Reno, and I know of some quilt shops there. Happy Quilting, Becky Email

A Stashbuster member asked me to put some pictures up on how I made my labels. This is NOT my idea - someone else came up with this quick way to do labels. #1 - I use Word to make the label to print on "Miracle fabric sheets". I start 5" down from the top of the page. As I add information, I make the lines shorter, and centered, so they will fit into a triangle. #2 - After printing the label on fabric, heat-setting, rinsing, drying and ironing the label, I fold it in half. #3 - I use a 6" bias square and line it up on the fold, then rotary cut it on both sides. #4 - You end up with a triangle of fabric 2 layers thick with the fold at the top. #5 - Put the label in the corner of the quilt you want to label, and sew it in with the binding. You can slip-stitch the top down if you want. Some people suggest adding some pieces of the quilt fabric underneath the flap before sewing it down - to have some for repairs if needed. Thanks to whoever first wrote about this m

We returned last night (early this morning) from visiting friends in Coeur d'Alene. The picture above is when we were out on the boat in the lake. It was so beautiful. The weather was overcast, which allowed me to take lots of pictures to use as examples of landscape colors in toned colors. It also made it very comfortable (temperature-wise), and it didn't increase my sunburn. I delivered the big star buffalo quilt to our friends, Chris and Patty. Chris said he moved to Idaho so he could have a buffalo ranch, but right now the only buffalo are in the various decorations around their house. Maybe someday. They both loved the quilt. We are holding it over the edge of the loft in their home, where you can spend the day just enjoying the view from the living room, as most of the two outside walls are huge glass windows. A few people have asked for directions for the Big Star, so I think I will do a tutorial, but not for a few days. Instead of a brief flight from Spoka