Another One Bites the Dust

I am very happy to say that I completed the Sampler Quilt I was working on last week, and it is now for sale in my Etsy shop. As usual, I had a couple of down days after getting it done, though I was really excited to finish it. I'm not sure exactly what is up with the let down after completing a project. I have another and another lined up afterwards, so it's not like I will never get to make another one! I am very happy with how this quilt came out - it was a pleasure I cannot describe to bring those forgotten pieces to life and come up with something beautiful and functional. Not to mention that this is one of the cuddliest quilts I have ever finished. Something about that old fabric makes it so nice to the touch. Or maybe it's just the fact that it was basted for a couple of years but not yet quilted making the batting relax? At any rate it's a wonderful quilt to touch and snuggle.

The current project is finishing up the gift quilt for my friend. We are supposed to put the borders on it, get the back finished and baste it this afternoon. I will be doing the quilting on it over the next couple of days and binding it. Then we will present it to them on Sunday. It's a little scary taking on this project with such a short time frame, but God willing it will all come together. I am just going to do a large stipple on it, which I should be able to do in 4 - 6 hours of quilting. The binding will be my usual machine work on both sides, so that will be done in an hour or two. Oh, we can get the binding cut, pieced and pressed today also. I need to let the other ladies do as much of the labor as they can, because the finishing looks like it will be all me!

Time to get busy and do my house cleaning, take a shower and get ready for the rest of my day - it'll be a busy one for sure!

P.S The third appraisal went well, we signed our loan, and hopefully the new windows will be in by the end of the month!

Time to Relax!

I am really ready for the week-end! After going through a whole week of getting up at 6:00 to get the girl ready for volleyball, three days of Ladies Retreat, then another whole week of 6:00 a.m., I am ready for a day to sleep in. I may even sleep until (gasp!) 8:00. Who knows? Not to mention that I worked all day today at the quilt shop. All I have to do tomorrow is hem a skirt. After that the day is mine. I had an idea for a little art quilt while walking yesterday, so I am eager to try that out.

Yesterday was quilting day - on Thursday afternoon I get together with a group of friends to sew and chat. We are working on a quilt to give to a friend of ours who is leaving. We actually only had the idea a couple of weeks ago, so we haven't had a lot of time to work on it. We decided to do a simple 9-patch set on point with sashing and cornerstones. The back has signature blocks so that more people can participate in the project since we didn't have enough time for a group sewing project. We actually got the top together yesterday. It took five of us - two sewers, an organizer (and ripper!), an ironer, and a fetcher! It was fun, and the top is very pretty - nice and cheerful. I think it's fun to work on a project like this, just quick sewing with very little thinking. We are planning to get the top and backing together on tuesday, then I will have a couple of days to get it quilted and bound, and it will be presented next weekend! I do love a challenge, and I will try to be graceful and not gripe about it next week when I want to do something else, but have to finish the quilt!

This is the quilt I finished last week. It has a story - but then again, don't they all! A man came down to the quilt shop, interested in having a nautical quilt made. After speaking to him, I told him that I would come up with a design, then we could discuss it the next week. I got so excited about my design, that I decided to go ahead and make the quilt, and if he wanted it that would be great, and if not I could hopefully sell it or use it as a gift. I talked to the man, and he decided that what he really wanted is for me to sew a cover onto his down blanket.

At this point I decided that I was going to try to get out of this job because it was definitely not going as I had planned, but I got talked into seeing it through. In the end it was a bit of a pain, but the look on this man's face when he saw what I had done was entirely worth it! He was grinning ear to ear at his recovered duvet with lighthouses on it and the matching pillow shams - it made me glad to be able to make his day! And now I have a lovely nautical quilt for sale in my Etsy shop! I'm sure it will end up in the right home for it also.

Happy week-end everyone - get some rest!

Quilting, Stress, and Denial!

This past month has been quite stressful, and as a result, though I have been quilting, I have not had the emotional reserves to write about it! All I want to say about the stress is that if you ever want to get a loan that has anything to do with your home check with me. If we are not getting one, you should be ok! Of course the summer we decide to refinance the old homestead so we can fix it up a bit is the summer that the housing bubble bursts and all the finance companies decide to go under! We had our third, yes third, appraisal this week. We have had two loans not work out for various reasons, and if this one is a problem I am calling it quits. We'll just have to put the new windows in and paint later. I am tired of dealing with loan people, tired of sending in just one more document, and really tired of underwriters.

Now that that is out of the way on the the great quilting stuff! My Hawaiian Star quilt won Best of Show at the Sand 'N Sea Quilt Show, and a blue ribbon at the fair! I have finished quilting two queen sized quilts, and have caught up on a lot of other sewing projects. I am currently obsessed with the idea of buying a Grace Pinnacle Quilting Frame. I booted the twin bed out of my sewing room, and it is officially now only a sewing room!!! (And I have room for the frame when I can get it.)

I have a ton of samples that came back from the quilt shop, but I can only quilt so much at a time, I am currently working on a Sampler Quilt that I finished from someone else's stash. Yes indeed, I am a Foster Quilter. Or maybe you would call it a Rescue Quilter. I take these poor unloved and abused projects into my home and make them into lovable quilts before adopting them out to deserving families. Hey, that could make a cute article if I would make the time to write it up! Another future project, among the many that I currently don't have time for. Yes I am in total denial about how much I can really get done in a day, and am driving myself into the ground. But I did get a walk in today, and am going to go relax and catch up on my quilting magazines tonight. I have three unread magazines! And I am the type that reads them as soon as they go throught the front door usually. I just want to get all these quilts done so I can get on to the next project, and there are not enough hours in the day for me to get it all done!

At least I feel like I am making progress, and I'm inspired and have plenty to do. I suppose that's better than spending hours playing Solitaire instead of getting anything done. Time to get off the computer and clean up the kitchen, then check out those magazines!