long time gone progress...

It has been a long time since I worked on Long Time Gone! Busy with other stuff that sometimes was and sometimes wasn't quilting related. These were the last blocks I worked on before setting it all aside.

One thing I did was go through fabric and put smaller pieces into color piles. I love the way they look. They are getting used in Long Time Gone and then I have more plans for them. That will have to wait for now.

Group shot of what is sewn together.

I started with the blocks that have the smallest pieces. Working my way up to the bigger and easier blocks. This plan is working out so far.

The Goodwill truck was in town, a good time to clean out the basement. I cleaned out another closet with quilt things and reorganized all that. Outside I have been sanding or staining or painting.

The old back door. The whole thing was in horrible shape and ugly and the weather stripping was gone. It let in a nice cold breeze in the winter. But no more.

I love that new door. On one hand, I'm very curious about how well it will keep out the cold. On the other hand, I am in no hurry to find out. The last several weeks have been pleasant for summer. 

The two flower beds out front needed new frames. 

20 years ago this was a sand box that I stuck flowers in. If you got too close with the mower the boards would fall over.

So tractor joe and I went shopping for the new door and wood for the frames. I wanted a mowing strip so I wasn't scraping up against the wood. His plan was to make the frames, take off the old and lay out the new. 

"How are you going to get that big heavy frame over the windmill?"

He had a plan for that too.

You lift it up....

and over....

New frames in place! Now I need to weed. I always thought I would clean them up after new frames were put on. I just didn't know it would take most of the summer to get that done.

The grass was so dry when this picture was taken. We have had just enough rain again to green up the yard. We mowed last weekend for the first time in weeks. 

All my projects that are going to the Blue Earth Valley Quilters and Woodcarvers Expo are finished. We set up this Thursday for the weekend. Until then I am going to work on those little churn dash blocks. It calls for 20-something of them. 

Here I go.....

something new started...

I fell in love with this pattern the minute I saw it. 

It wasn't on the radar of projects to start, but here I am starting another long term quilt.

I read through the book and decided that I would start with my least favorite blocks.

Paper piecing. Ugh....

I did 2 a day last week. I timed one and it took me an hour. That is just the sewing part. There is also the step of removing the paper from the back.

I need 8 more. I'll keep plugging away. I took my smallest chunks, and strips and cut them up. I went an 1/8 inch bigger and that seems to be working well for me.

The following stars are from Piece 'n Play 

by Judy Martin

 

This quilt is a stack of blocks again. I'm not sure how many more blocks I need.

Back to sewing the pineapple blocks!

tops done, almost done, and not even close......

Last year Turning Twenty had free star blocks for a new pattern coming out. I started mine and near the end fell behind. They sat in a box. I pulled them out and wanted to just finish this up the easiest way I could think of. I would turn the 6 inch blocks into 12 inch blocks.

Here are four of the small star blocks turned into 12 inch blocks.

I bought some gray yesterday to use for the sashing and borders. 

These blocks are "dud" block lotto blocks. 

There was a drawing many years ago that I won. 

I turned all the blocks into 12 inch blocks here too. Sometimes I added a frame, sometimes I cut them apart and used them as a frame and sometimes I cut them apart diagonally. 

I forgot how much I loved these blocks until I pulled them out of the drawer. I picked the green because I love it and had enough.

My memories quilt started so many years ago! Some call it Legos. Now a top. I could add borders. Not sure if I will. I like thinking of it as done.

This one went to the quilter yesterday. I had a ton of fat quarters that I wondered why I bought. Well, they were on sale....that's why. But they just sat there. It felt so good to put them to good use!

This morning I pulled out my blocks for Judy Martin's shadow star quilt.

I made ONE block and had to take a break. They are so taxing on my brain. Twice I had to get out the seam ripper. 

I love the block, but dreams of getting enough done for a top evaporated as reality set in. This is a long term project for me.

Spirit Lake camping...

Ozzy has a new cousin. A teeny tiny little thing. Her name is Kiwi. He wasn't sure what to think of her.  She reminds me of Brain, from Pinky and the Brain. 

"Pinky, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

It's a kids show from years ago.

Tractor joe caught a nice bass off the dock. We debated keeping him and frying it up, but in the end we let it go.

While he was fishing, I was playing with rocks.

And my sister was busy painting them.

And we painted at the CreativeSpirits Okoboji Studio. Cows this year.

Not the easiest thing to paint.

We were the only painters for this class. That was kind of nice. We could have even changed our minds and paint another painting, but we stuck with the cow.

It looks so homey when you put quilts on the air mattresses.

Now that I am back home, I have been busy making quilt tops!

Half done stuff is getting put together.

I'm up to four now!

the sheep quilt...

I started a quilt a long time ago. It used last years blocks at block lotto to create Old McDonald's Farm. I started, but fell behind and then lost interest. Those that did finish them had really cool quilts.  I recently took out the blocks I had done.

Okay, these two blocks put together will make a cute baby quilt. I needed more blocks.

Slowly I sewed more blocks.

I was thankful when I had enough snail trails. I was getting tired of them.

Next up, flower blocks.

At this point I'm thinking....more flower blocks. How boring for me.

But what if I add something?

Something I have never made before. 

Then I wouldn't be bored.

A sheep from the book Farm Girl Vintage.

And baby sheep! 

Or as tractor joe reminded me, they are called lambs.

I was way more excited about this project with sheep and was excited to sew the remaining flowers I needed. That's when I started called it the sheep quilt.

This morning I put it all together.

My cousin Gwen has a granddaughter due this month. This will be her baby quilt!

Gypsy

Blizzard!

No school on Friday meant I could sew!

I love when that happens.
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I started this post a few weeks ago. For whatever reason I wasn't getting pictures to upload using the ipad. SO....here I am finally getting a post done on the laptop.

I sewed all the rows or months for my temperature quilt while it snowed and snowed.

This was a couple weeks ago. Since then we have had a wonderful warm up, including a thunderstorm one day. Then last weekend it was another snowstorm, and another snow day. This was followed by windchills below zero. March in northern Iowa!

Now I'm home because of spring break and sewing on my gypsy wife quilt.

This is sections 1, 2, and 7.

They all use the same strips. I am using what is long enough and sitting on top of stuff for easy access. I hope to get this top done before the break is over.

I have lost track of when I got this next quilt top done, I only know it was in the last few weeks.

All excited! Another top finished! Then I looked at the picture and saw it!

Dang, a block is upside down.

Out comes the seam ripper.

There. All better.

The temperature quilt just needs its black borders attached. They are cut and ready to go.

We had a VERY nice November. All of last fall was nice!

Block Lotto this month is blue and white stars. I should have made more for more chances to win. I love these blocks and think the quilt will be gorgeous.

That's it for now. Back to the giant puzzle of fabric called gypsy wife.

More paper and fabric that didn't get in previous post

A few weeks ago we had 9 inches of snow. Before it was all blown off the driveway by the snowblower, I stuck a yardstick in for a final measure.

This wouldn't be so bad, but Karen had a granddaughter born and she couldn't get down to the hospital to see her right away. 

I busied myself on the baby quilt I was making. It is made from blocks I won at block lotto last summer.

It's my very first attempt at quilting in a circle on my sewing machine. Except for the starting point with the tight small circles it went well going round and round. In addition to watching the previous sewn line, I had to concentrate on keeping my neck and shoulders relaxed. They were getting sore. It took a big afternoon and then some to finish the quilting. 

It still doesn't have the binding and this should surprise no one. 

And my sister's tree, doctored up in a photo app!

paper and fabric

My sisters and mom were down in January. We tried our hand at warm cool trees. They are small, the paper we worked on was about 6 inches and the squares were about a half inch. We used inktense pencils. They are sort of like water color pencils, but ink. 

The original is okay, but I loved it when I put in a photo editing app.

I started another quilt. It is from a kit bought a couple years ago. My youngest sister picked it out for her 50th birthday...which is this year. High time to get working on it. 

All the Dresden plates are cut and a few sewn. They are going well and I'm thinking I will work on them this weekend.