getting up to date on things.....

Last weekend I put binding on Carissa's T-shirt quilt. Her party is next weekend and she will be able to have it on display. We were going to meet her in the parking lot of Kmart, down in Algona.

A friend of hers had free kittens. My Malcolm in the middle son wanted one of them. 

We would meet up and trade one quilt for a kitten.

I wasn't able to get a decent picture of the whole thing in the parking lot....so it was decided that it will get official pictures at Carissa's party. Besides there was a kitten involved and all my son wanted was to get it back home quickly.

This is my new granddaughter-kitty. Her name is Dusk of Oolacile. 

(heavy sigh)

It is from some dark video game he plays. He says she answers to her full name and calling her Lucy for short does not work. What the heck? 

Okay, whatever.

Amanda wanted to see a "so far" picture of her T-shirt quilt. Her uncle, tractor joe wanted her to see how her quilt was taking over his space and stuck his foot in the picture. My goal is to get a finished top this weekend. She won't have a finished quilt for her party next weekend, just a top.

She is okay with that. It took her forever to gather her t-shirts! 

I won BLOCK LOTTO again. I know, it seems like I win a lot. But I play every month, there is only one month I didn't. The block involved batiks and curves. The curves said take a break.

I laid the blocks on point to see how that would look. While I like it, I am not 100% sure this is how it will end up.

My brother-in-law received one of the envelopes in HIS mailbox and promptly brought it over. This has happened before, too. I suggested that maybe he should get the quilt, tractor joe totally agreed!

"Yes! Make my brother a quilt!" 

And last but not least....

Last weekend we went down to Ames to bring home a carload of dorm room things. It was all the stuff Crispy could live without for a week. He brought the rest home with him yesterday.

Next year he has an apartment. This may be his last summer at home. 

I better get busy sewing on those T-shirt columns.

tea towel challenge.....

I am calling it finished. My Iowa tea towel became a bag. A nice big bag.

It will be my quilt show bag. Lots of stuff will fit in there. I said to Karen that if i fill it, it could get to heavy to carry. She told me that we can always walk back to the car and unload.

Of course, why didn't I think of that?

I wavy stitched over everything. Nothing fancy or new there.

I was worried that doing that would obscure the towel, but it didn't. I was relieved about that. I used things I had on hand, like the little house blocks. Nothing new there.

So what thing would be new to me in putting this bag together?

Using selvage edges. 

I have never used them. I didn't even start saving them until recently. Most of mine have come from fat quarters. They were 18 inches. I needed to make them wider, so a column of the house blocks was added.

I stamped the words, Hey! Is this heaven? No it Iowa on some of the blank sections.

Then last night....

At the quilt guild meeting, a gal from New Ulm Minnesota came down to show us the buttons she makes. I bought the Minnesota themed button package and picked out the house one to use as a closure on the Iowa bag. Then I thought the house (kind of) went with the package and grabbed a flower instead.

My niece Amanda gave me her t-shirts over the weekend. I cut yesterday and have today yet to work on it. I have my doubts about it getting quilted before her graduation. But at least the top can be put on display at her party. Then sent off to be quilted.

mostly cards.......

Attic Window Quilt Shop posted THIS PICTURE!

 I knew right away I wanted to make cards based on it.

I made a bunch of these too.

So there wasn't much sewing going on.

Except for the latest block lotto blocks. 

(pattern and guidelines here)

my sister was here....

Jane was here last weekend. She brought along a cigar box she wanted to use as a treasure chest.

First some paint was added. Her favorite color is purple.

Based on a piece of paper, she wanted the paint added to recreate the look of the paper.

"light, medium, then dark" she said.

I didn't really notice this on the paper at first, but when you looked at it, that is what it was layered like. I learned from her that day....even though she thinks I am the one who knows everything.

HA! Not true.

We used stencils and stamps for embellishments.

She wanted mossy growth on it or.....Green paint applied with a sponge.

Paper was used on the lid and the inside.

It also needed to have an aged or old world look. So the whole thing was sealed up with mod podge and a few drops of brown paint mixed together. That seemed to do the trick.

She was SO happy with how it turned out! It is for a display at work to encourage people to sign up for some race/walk thing. I was too busy following her directions for paint and cutting paper that I never did quite understand what she talking about. 

In the middle of sewing the newest BLOCK LOTTO blocks. They are so spring like in color!

For the first time in a long time there is no mention of snow in the forecasts!!!

Maybe this is it, spring is here.

t-shirt quilt and bag.....

I am finished sewing this t-shirt quilt together! It will go to the quilters tomorrow. The final is a little different. I was able to get the spring track and field shirt to put in it. I was a little worried I wouldn't get it in time and sewed the columns up. It was easy enough to remove a shirt back that wasn't important and replace it.

So then I started thinking about all the rejected backs.

I cut them up. I am thinking about a tote bag.

...and sewed them in rows.

Then added plain red t-shirt to the sides.

There was still enough strips left to cut up and use for the handles.

And here is the finished bag......

I was going to box the corners, but decided to leave it as is.

Nothing fancy, just a tote for hauling stuff to track meets.

It is about 18x19 inches.

slow but sure.....

I finally cut the towel and sewed the flag sections to it.

Not sure when I did this, but I have been looking at it for awhile now.

I have thought about using selvages. Laid out what I had and thought it looked pretty cool.

Then I added some words to some of the plain strips....

And then everything just sat there with no real plan. More indecision.

My poor dog, Ozzy, got my attention one day. The winter has been so cold and long.

We never brought him in for a grooming. It was put off, thinking it would warm up a little AND THEN we could bring him in. It never ever warmed up. 

But enough was enough....we could stand it no longer.

He went in looking pretty shaggy and came out a new dog!

[kevin the quilter] is having a block drive for Quilts of Valor.

The blocks make an awesome and striking quilt.

(the colors used are gold, red, white, and blue)

I sewed up my five rather quickly and then packaged them up without even taking a photo of them. I want to make more. Maybe I will get a picture of those.

Yesterday I pulled out some of my tiny houses. 

I fell in love with the way these looked with the quilt so far. 

Nothing is sewn yet. It may sit a bit more until I decide what to do exactly.

The house blocks are based on the house pattern here.

tea towel challenge stalled......

[tea-towel-challenge-2014]

I started making things for my Iowa tea towel.

Corn and beans block

road to heaven block

USA flag

and some birds....

but I didn't love it all together.

So this project sat most of February while I pondered.

Then Sophie extended the deadlines!

Yes, more time to figure this out. 

One of the challenges is....use a new technique, something you haven't done before. My brain did a backup (beep beep beep) to things I haven't tried before.

Using a tea towel is new to me, but I didn't think that would count.

I may have a new plan!

The latest block lotto blocks are green!

I already have my quota. 

[link to directions is here]