I don’t think I’ve sewn a thing since I’ve gotten back from the retreat earlier this month.  But I’ve been playing in my fabric.  My general rule of thumb is I don’t start the new Bonnie Hunter/Quiltville mystery quilt if last year’s is still in progress.  Well, I got the borders on the one from 3 years ago, completed the one from 2 years ago (OK, it still needs a label), and finished the top from last year’s mystery. There should be nothing stopping me from doing this year’s mystery. But before the retreat I just didn’t think I wanted to start another big quilt since I have several big quilts that I want to finish over the next few months.  But when I got home, there I was pulling fabric from my stash.

Pulling from my stash I ended up with turquoise for the blue, fuchsia for the red and at the moment I’m looking at purple for the green.  But I have subsequently found my stash of lime green fabrics, so I might go with them if there is enough of them.  Of course I could always go to the store, but I pretty much used up my fabric money on the road trip to Jackson back in June.

For the past few weeks I’ve been folding and sorting all of the fabric which has collected around here.  Anything bigger than 10″ x 12″ has been folded and put away — mostly sorted by color, but that’s still a work in progress.  Smaller stuff has been tossed into bags to be cut up into my version of Bonnie’s Scrap Users System. I’m finally getting around to dealing with the scraps I’ve been given over the past few years, my own scraps and those scraps that I bought. What was I thinking!

These bags are much fuller now. I think I’m down to maybe 3 boxes to be sorted, so I need to start cutting.  But my pre-cut boxes are stuffed. So, I’ve stopped and had to sort through those boxes.

This is the “shirt box” size. It was stuffed with 2-1/2″ strips.   I pulled them all out, pressed them, rolled them up by color then bagged them.  There’s plenty of room in the box now.  My 2″ strip box, which is “shoe box” size has even more room. But then again I did pull out anything shorter than 12″ and tossed it into the sacks to be cut up into bricks and blocks.  My brick and block boxes are also being sorted and straightened, although they won’t be put into bags.

I will continue working through this process and hopefully do a bit of piecing over the next week.  After Thanksgiving you’ll find me at my sewing machine. I have a Christmas wall hanging I need to finish, and who knows what else I’ll be working on.  I need to find a couple of simple projects to take with me when I visit my sister-in-law.  She’s learning to quilt. At this point I have no idea what I’m going to take. I suppose I need to give that a bit of thought as well.

This past weekend I attended my guilds Fall retreat.  It was held at the Unity Village Hotel and Conference Center here in the metro area.  It was a beautiful facility and the food was fantastic.  I’ve only been a member of the guild since June, so it was an opportunity to get to know the other members.

Unlike other retreats I’ve gone to, I didn’t get my packing done until the morning I was to leave — was because it was only 15 minutes way?  The good news is that I had everything I need, although in retrospect I wish I had taken my Sidewinder as I had to wind my bobbins twice to get the tension right.  I was sewing on my Genie.

When I travel with sewing gear, my personal rule of thumb is that it must all fit in these three bags.

The black bag holds my sewing machine extension, seat cushion, a 12 x 18 mat, a 12 x 12 rotating mat, and my larger rulers. The sewing machine bag has plenty of space since I purchased it to fit my big machine and now take my Genie. The square “serger” bag is my project bag. I’m so glad I was talked into buying it. It holds a ton of stuff.  This weekend I had the following projects in it.

• On Ringo Lake
• Allietare
• Candy Sunflower Seeds
• Now & Later
• Cascade
• Postage Stamp Leader/Ender
• Christmas Wall Hanging
• Kitted pillowcases and zipper bags

In addition to the above, I had my Ott Light, my stuffed Bionic Gear bag, travel iron and a few other supplies/notions in the serger bag and there was room for more.  But I refrained as the retreat was only from 10 AM Friday to 3 PM Sunday.

So what did I accomplish?

I finished assembling my On Ringo Lake top. It looks wonky, but that’s the way it’s hanging on the wall and there is an air vent behind it.

Next, I got the borders on Allietare.

Then I pulled out Candy Sunflower Seeds.  The center was done. I just needed to add the borders. Most of the border was pieced.  But I struggled turning the corner with my 4-patches, so I came up with another plan, which took all day and a 2 hour nap to implement.  At this point it measures 51 x 70, so I’m calling it DONE.  It also means I have some of that great brown print to use in another quilt.

I then pulled out something almost mindless. My version of Now & Later. The squares were already sewn to the colored rectangles, so it just needed assembling.  I got this far just as I needed to stop and pack up. This may actually be done, as it measures 48 x 60 and the border print that inspired the colors is way too busy for it.

Of course the whole time I was sewing I was working on my postage stamp quilt.  I sewed my 2-patches into 4-patches, then my 4-patches into 8-patches, then started making 16 patches.  I think there are enough pieces there for 8 more blocks which will bring my total blocks to 32. I’m aiming for at least 72 blocks (64 x 72), so I’m not quite halfway there.

Christmas Crazy Eights has been a long time UFO.  Years ago my friends and I went to Lexington Missouri to a quilt show.  Afterwards we headed to Quilters’s Harvest in Higginsville where I fell love with these Christmas Fabrics.  I couldn’t figure out what to make and had a limited budget, so someone suggested Crazy Eight.  The quilt top was almost immediately made.  But it sat waiting to be quilted.  I pulled it out a year ago when I first started the quilting on En Provence, but never got to it.   I finally quilted it in time to enter into the quilt show.

Pattern:  Crazy Eights by Bits ‘n Pieces

Quilting Design: Echo Holly by Urban Elements driven by Mach 3 on the Innova quilting machine

Thread:  Glide in Buttercup

Batting: Hobb’s 80/20

Size: After washing 48″ x 54″

Top Completed: 9/1/2009

Quilt Completed: 9/20/2018

The guild quilt show was the last weekend in September. Prior to the show, a guild committee selected the Best of Theme Quilts.  As mentioned previously my quilt Grandma’s Hourglasses placed 3rd. That’s the yellow ribbon on the right.

Visitors to the show got to vote for their favorite quilt in one of 7 categories.  I had quilts/projects in 5 of the categories.  Two of my previously blogged about quilts/projects won viewers choice ribbons.

Gift Wrapped placed 2nd (red) in Original Concept/Design.

My jelly roll rug placed 1st (blue) in the Miscellaneous category.

I have two more finishes I need to post about soon, so stay tuned.

The more I thought about it the more I decided I  needed/wanted more of the turquoise fabric for my JT2 quilt. $3 a yard is a great price and its on clearance so I if I didn’t get it now, I wouldn’t be able to get it later.  I bought the rest of the bolt (it was in 2 pieces). I’m confident that I have enough to finish the quilt top and whatever border I end up putting on it.  So much that I took the smaller piece and put it with my On Ringo Lake for the setting triangles.

Since I was there, I browsed the clearance rack to see if there was anything I couldn’t leave behind.  I found this abstract floral that I think will be a great backing for my Fairy Frost Sunset quilt.  I plan to bind this in the denim blue of the inner border.

After I got home I wondered how it would work with my On Ringo Lake.  It would be OK, but given it’s not a top yet and only OK, I did not go back to get more.

My speculative purchase was these two paisleys.  I couldn’t decide between 2 or 3 yards of the pink and white, so took the rest of the bolt which was a tad over 5 yards. I did show restraint only only purchased 2 yards of the pink on pink.  Again all $3/yard.

My final purchase which was NOT on clearance was a yard of a lavender which I will use for the binding on the quilt I’ve been working on this weekend.  I’m calling it  Daisy Dance since that’s the name of the pink floral fabric which was the inspiration of the quilt.  Here’s a picture of it up on the design wall prior to sewing the blocks together. It’s based on the Quiltville pattern I-Spy a 4-Patch.

I have the top finished and it is basted ready for me to do some simple quilting on it. I found something to use for the backing in my stash.

Now to clean off my sewing table.  There is no way I can quilt, or put binding on a quilt with it in this condition.

Way back in January 2012, I started Just Takes Two.  It was a BOM by Sentimental Stitches. The pattern is now available for purchase HERE.  Anyway, I did not purchase the recommended quantity of fabrics for a couple of reasons: 1 – would I stick with the project and 2 – the fabrics I picked were “basics” on the calico wall at Hobby Lobby.   As to stick with the project — well, not really – the last time I stitched on this was in January 2013. But I want to have it finished by this time next year, so there is hope.  As for the fabrics being available, I went back in May 2012 and bought a few more yards and periodically over the years checked to see if the fabrics were still available and they were, so I wasn’t worried.  Until now.

Last week on my way back from Hunter’s Fabrics in Centerview and their Fabricpalooza IV sale, I stopped in at Hobby Lobby.  I found the gray fabric, but there was no turquoise to be had. OH NO!

Today I sat down and added up the fabric requirements for the blocks.  The pattern doesn’t come with a border.  Did a best guess border estimate. Measured what I had in my box and what I got from the auction a few weeks ago. I could probably get all the blocks, but no border, binding or pillow cases.  I really need another yard or so.  Expecting to need to search destash sites, I took this photo:

Sky blue is the Crayon color. The DMC floss is # 3844 — but given the floss was bought in 2012, there is no guarantee the color is the same now.

After work I ran by the local Hobby Lobby and discovered they were putting out clearance fabric for $3/yard.  Perched on top of the basket was a bolt of my fabric!  I bought 4 yards.  I may be going back in the morning for the rest of it if it works with my On Ringo Lake — but I’ve got to locate it! I apparently moved that bag.

While I was there I bought the rest of the gray fabric they had (I still want/need 2 more yards) and picked up some bright white — which is what my original excuse to go to Hobby Lobby was. Hope to be able to show that quilt tomorrow.

It was a busy weekend, starting Thursday.

The end of September the city was working on the sewers in front of our house — specifically along the driveway.  They tore it up and were supposed to come out and replace the section.  But before they could get here, the rain came. It rained and rained.  So not only did the gravel wash out, the turned over dirt between the driveways washed out as well.

Then on Thursday it stopped raining, so the driveway got paved.

Of course this necessitates us parking around the corner.

Friday night my husband and hiked out and went to dinner (have you seen the value of the 55+ menu at Denny’s?), then drove out to my sister’s so I could quilt.  Hubby worked on his computer and I quilted the string quilt.

I used the E2E design Overlapping Crop Circles.  It was midnight before we got home. Needless to say I decided NOT to be at Hunter’s Heirloom Quilting when the doors opened for their big sale.

On the list was a roll of batting, 8 or 9 cones of thread, bobbins, at least one backing, maybe some orange and yellow fabric for pillowcases, and a couple of Christmas FQs.

No pictures of the batting, thread (9 cones) or bobbins. The first time I went through the line I picked up 3 backings – the burgundy Kansas Troubles fabric is for the Alphabet BOM; the orange/pink  paisley is for Allietare; the red scroll is for the 2011 retreat mystery quilt — it’s the only one which is a complete top!  I have one of those brushes, but I want to put one in my travel kit.

Earlier in the week I ordered a gray backing for the larger black and white 4-patch stacked posies quilt but received the wrong thing (a gorgeous pink!). The correct backing was in route, but did not arrive on Saturday, so my husband suggested I get one since I was planning on quilting it when I got home. So, a second trip through the line was made.

I found this gray backing, which I think works better, a wallet pattern and clasp, and a charm pack with the intention of finding the matching layer cake.

On the way home I stopped by Hobby Lobby where I found the orange, yellow, and Christmas fabrics.

After the late night and all day shopping, I was exhausted so there was no quilting.  But we still needed groceries, so we hiked back to the cars with empty crates. Our plan was to load the groceries in the crates and toss them out at the curb. Hubby had the groceries in the house by the time I parked and hiked home.

Sunday I headed back to my sister’s and loaded up the quilt. I learned to put in a border on the quilt via the computer and started quilting the squares. Then I ran into issues with the sashing. I figured that out, then the machine made a weird noise – twice.  So I shut everything down and started packing up to come home.  Then the power went out.

Of course it’s still raining – misting really – and the temperature has dropped.  Fortunately hubby stood out on the curb so I could stop and unloaded my stuff so I didn’t have to drag it in from the corner. I really hope we can get back in the driveway on Monday, but with the rain, I’m not counting on it.

These “twin” quilts are made from recycled shirts.  I stumbled upon several shirts that I thought looked good together and decided to make a simple quilt for Project Warm Embrace. When it came to the backing, I found a peach fabric, but wanted something a bit more gender neutral. Digging through my stash, I found a great vintage cowboy flannel border print. So much for gender neutral. Anyway, I made the larger quilt to fit the backing fabric that I had, then with the leftover blocks I made the smaller quilt.  It got the original peach fabric.  Both quilts were bound with fabric from yet another shirt.

Cowboy Rails

• 46 1/2″ x 62″
• 80/20 batting
• Glide 60 wt in Mercury (top and bottom)
• E2E Stetson and Boots by Urban Elementz
• Started:  07/17/18
• Completed: 09/18/08
• Quilted on my sisters 26″ Innova with Mach 3

Cowgirl Rails

• 39 1/4″ x 46″
• 80/20 batting
• Glide 60 wt in Mercury (top and bottom)
• E2E Stetson and Boots by Urban Elementz
• Started:  07/30/18
• Completed: 09/20/08
• Quilted on my sisters 26″ Innova with Mach 3

As for my task list for the quilt show – I just need to put the label on En Provence and take pictures of it and the Hourglass quilt. The quilts will be dropped off on Thursday.

Here’s the latest progress.

• Gift Wrapped – new label, wash, and photograph
• Jelly Roll Rug – label and photograph
• Black & White Strip Twist – trim threads, label, wash and photograph
• Large Pastel Rail – trim threads, label, wash and photograph
• Small Pastel Rail – bind, trim threads, label, wash and photograph
• Christmas Crazy Eight – bind, trim threads, label, wash and photograph
• En Provence – bind, trim threads, label, wash and photograph
• Hourglasses – quilt, bind, trim threads, label, wash and photograph

Yes, I’m down to just finishing up En Provence and photographing the Hourglass quilt.  And the hourglass quilt — I  used Hobbs 80/20 batting and it crinkled up so nicely it feels like an old quilt.

Here’s a sneak peek of it.

After I get En Provence done and the quilts turned in, I’ll do posts on each of the quilts.

Here’s the latest progress.

• Gift Wrapped – new label, wash, and photograph
• Jelly Roll Rug – label and photograph
• Black & White Strip Twist – trim threads, label, wash and photograph
• Large Pastel Rail – trim threads, label, wash and photograph
• Small Pastel Rail – bind, trim threads, label, wash and photograph
• Christmas Crazy Eight – bind, trim threads, label, wash and photograph
• En Provence – bind, trim threads, label, wash and photograph
• Hourglasses – quilt, bind, trim threads, label, wash and photograph

I have a few spots on the Hourglass quilt which need to be stitched down, then it’s ready to be washed. I’m doing temporary labels for the show, so I’ll put the label on after it comes out of the dryer.  I have the strips sewn together for the binding of En Provence, but it’s not been pressed.  I hope to get it on tonight so I can wash it tomorrow before the guild meeting.