I was off from work yesterday afternoon, but did not attempt to do any quilting until later in the evening. Perhaps that was my mistake. Or trying to read the pattern instructions on my phone. Anyway, I stitched the side seam of my Bionic bag and found batting for the outer fabric. That’s when I realized I had a problem.  Not only was the outer fabric too wide (I gather this was to be expected),  it was too short.

Given that it was now late in the evening, I decided moving forward on this project was going to have to wait until I re-read the instructions a few more times and looked for hints and tips on the internet, maybe asking a few questions of people who have made this bag.

But not wanting to have nothing to show for my time at the sewing machine, I pulled out the fabric I had cut for another zipper bag.

At the quilt retreat last weekend we played Left-Right-Center. After losing all my FQ by the second round, I came out the winner. 21 FQs. I can’t wait to use them.

It’s been a long 2 weeks.  I’d love to say the silence was because “I was busy sewing and here’s what I got done” but alas, that’s not the case. It’s been a combination of things – the crud, reading, back out of whack, working, and my hosting server had issues.

Have you ever heard someone say “Could you repeat that? I didn’t have glasses on.” Well apparently for me “My blog and e-mail are down, I can’t sew.”

During this ‘down time’ I’ve read The Bone Labyrinth by James Rollins, Started reading Volume 2 of The Outlandish Companion by Diana Gabaldon, and read a ‘stack’ of romance novels — most if not all of them by Grace Burrows on — my phone.

The crud has run its course, the chiropractor re-aligned my back, I couldn’t find anything I wanted to read the other night, and the blog and e-mail are back up since I changed to a new hosting provider.

I’m getting back to the quilting. All of the light squares for the latest Disappearing 9-Patch are cut, and I’ve started cutting the dark squares. Friday evening and Saturday morning I worked on my Star-A-Day quilt and this afternoon/evening I’ve been playing in EQ designing a quilt for the LQS to use as a block of the month.

Up next – get the Disappearing 9-Patch done, work on the instructions for the BOM and get my sewing machine into the shop!  I need it to working to finish up the Cream and Green Swap quilt and the Compass Lone Star. I’ll use my Mini Ultra for the D9P.

Maybe tonight I’ll get to sew.

Since I took the Hardware Panel quilt off the long arm Saturday, I haven’t even turned on the sewing machine.

• Sunday was our 30th wedding anniversary, so we went out to dinner.
• Monday I ran around after work to see if I could find a backing for the Black and Bright quilt that I liked and was willing to pay for. I object to paying LQS prices at chain stores. When I got home there were some computer classes I had to finish.
• Tuesday more running around after work looking for the backing, grocery shopping and a stop at the library.
• Wednesday I thought I’d be smart and run to the LQS during lunch. Score! A fabric on clearance that will work. Sure I’ll have to piece it (2 seams) but it’s a better option than trying to stretch the fabric I originally had picked out. The green is nearly a perfect match in color to the sashing in the quilt top.

But still no quilting after work. Some computer work came in that had to be done – but I did flip through the library books looking for quilting ideas. I have no idea on how I’m going to quilt the quilt. I’ve got until the 19th to figure it out.

Would you believe I didn’t touch the sewing machine once last night? I can’t blame baseball, the Royals won the World Series on Sunday!

But all was not lost. I was doing quilting related stuff. A quilt needed to be boxed up and sent off and I needed to include washing instructions. So, I made a hang tag.

In our stash of cardstock, my husband found a folding ‘business’ card. We’ve not used them in part because there is not a template in our word processing software and the website listed on the packaging is defunct. But I figured it out.

Each gift quilt this year will get one of these tags pinned to the corner of the quilt.

Now, if I can remember to weigh the box and use the tare function on my scale in the future. The box and quilt weighed more than my little 5 lb postal scale could handle, so there were two trips to the post office — one to weigh the box and one to drop it off. I saved $12 by coming home to buy and print my postage over what it would have cost at the post office. I could have arranged for pick up, but not knowing which carrier was on our route today, I simply ran it back during lunch.

I’m not a big kit buyer, but when my friends and I were on our self-directed Iowa Shop Hop back in 2005, I spotted this wall hanging at Quilting Connections in Ames, Iowa. The pattern is Twisting Star Table Toppers from Quilt Tales. I knew I needed to make it for my mother as she was decorating her new home with magnolias. I finally got it made it in December 2006. This is the 24″ table topper.

A few years later when my first great-nephew was born, my friends and I traveled to Saint Louis to meet him and of course do a shop hop along the way. On that trip I spotted the magnolia and stripe fabric. I called my husband and directed him to the pattern in my sewing room — quite a feat given the state of the sewing room at that time.  He read off the yardage requirements and I bought enough fabric to make 4 more toppers. These went to my sister-in-laws and aunt from Mississippi.

Warm and Natural batting was used and my favorite khaki thread. I created pockets on the side for balsa wood stays and sewed plastic rings to the top corners for hanging.

This is a 13″ candle mat made from the same pattern made after I made Mom’s quilt. If was for a Christmas swap in the quilt club I was in back in 2006.

Linking up to Throwback Thursday over at Krista Quilts.

Earlier this week I added the Flickr app to my smarter than me phone.  I found all sorts of pictures dating back 2002 when I was still sewing garments and knitting. It also means I found the only picture I  have of the quilt which gave me the Quilt Pox.

Oh sure, my first full size quilt was done back in 1980, and I made a couple of quilts as ‘model garments’ when I was working at Northwest Fabrics & Crafts in 1990-1991, but it wasn’t until I made Pastel Pinwheels for my nephew that I the Quilt Pox took hold.

The pattern is from Quilt it for Kids for 2000. I thought it was a great pattern and collected pastel flanels to make it, but back then I thought you needed to know where a quilt was headed before you could start it. — I’ve gotten over that.  Anyway, the pattern and fabric sat until my nephew was born and then I went shopping for additional fabric.

I started the quilt on 7/28/2003 and finished it 8/2/2003.

Linking up to Throwback Thursday over at Krista Quilts.

Watched the baseball game instead of quilting — Go Royals!

Why is it the simplest of things take the longest?

A friend bought this fabric on a quilt retreat I think in April 2010. A year or so later while her sewing area was ‘under construction’ I got the fabric to quickly put it together. Here we are 5 1/2 years from the purchase.

The top didn’t take me long, but I guess I wasn’t looking forward to mitering the border. I found a solution – skip the miter. Of course it probably took just as long to do the 4 pieced blocks by the time I found enough fabric.

I think this quilt will get a shirting backing with blocks of the border fabric.