WIP'S Wednesday 17Apr13

I thought I was going great guns! Saturday finished the tree blocks and the court house squares! Laid it out on the floor, played abit, looks good. Slept on it cause you never know if "it's almost done" makes it look good or you "just want it to be over". Still looked good on Sunday, yay! Started sewing some of the blocks together. Looking fantastic! I love it!

Then I remember I was to be making my Wee Bee Canadian blocks. Sewed them up. Things are looking good.

Screech! The bee blocks are not supposed to look like that, take them apart. And I sewed the tree blocks on the wrong side! Two days later and I am still in redo mode. Ach, curses foiled again!

Linking to Needle and Thread Network needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca and WIP Wednesdays.

2013 FAL - Q2

I was going to connect my WIP Wednesday to this 2013 Finish-A-Long with Leanne - she can quilt, however, on further consideration listing what is undone is not the same as making a commitment to finish. So on to a goal oriented post!

1. Must finish by May 15 Kelly's placemats for her March birthday. 2 are done, totally complete, yah. I need to sew the bind on 2 and hand stitch the binding on the last 2. I spent last night taking out the machine binding I had tried. It was a wonderful tutorial for a zig zag attachment from Sew, Mama, Sew, however, I had run out of binding material so had to make the material I had stretch. The binding strips were 1 inch wide. Tiny! I like to use 2.5 inch binding anyways and trying a new process....well the second placemat looked waaaay better than the first but not good enough. Besides I had finished the hand sewing and it was a toss up to machine sewing the binding on or taking out the other 2 so I had more hand sewing. Hand sewing wins every time!!!

2. Must finish Kelly's Trees and Courthouse Steps for her Cross the Bar ceremony on May 17. See a theme...I am going to Smithers and these FINISHED projects must come with me. It is also her first anniversary... I will buy something!

3. Morgan's Nevermore quilt must be finished by May 22, her birthday. I have the material and I have a  few sample blocks, which looks fabulous. Definitely number three to finish.

LOST!!! I've lost it! Okay I feel a LOTR post coming on. I was going to take a photo. Found the material, but cannot find the sample blocks. They are lost. Question: How do you know you have too much material? Answer: There is never too much material just bad organization.

4. My brothers quilt. It is a completed top and must be finished by July 6, his birthday. I can always down grade this to a Christmas quilt but I think he is going to be 49... for the first time. It would sure be nice to surprise him.

5. Jordan's big girl quilt. I would really like to finish this, however, (oh my Goodness, is it still a goal if they are howevered?) her birthday was in March and she is little and knows nothing about dates. She does know it is her material and she does know it is her quilt. When the fabric came in the mail she would not let anyone else touch the bags. "Jordan's Material". I was really unsure how she would take it when I started sewing the blocks but it just morphed into "Jordan's Quilt". Phew! Playing with fabric in plastic bags is waaay different than playing with unfinished blocks.

I have plenty more that need to be finished, however, I will save them for next quarter! Linking up with 2013 Finish-A-Long with Leanne - she can quilt. www.shecanquilt.blogspot.ca

Bee Blocks March

I am really enjoying being part of a Bee, or two. The stretch of doing something you would not usually is quite a kick. The March Bee Block for the Simply Solids Group

I did a paper piecing block for the first time. Super fun. My Bee mate picked great colours.

And these are my Bee Blocks! Aren't they fabulous! I asked for turquoise and red blocks. Wonderful blocks!!!!! Creative and fun. Was to go with the quilt for Kelly. My Wee Bee Canadian bee mates had no problem following the colour required. Why did I come home with green?

Don't they look so wonderful together. Love.

WIP Wednesday

Here it is months later and I probably still have the same stuff that needs to be finished.

Kelly's placemats for her March 18 birthday. Late. Grrr. However they are all made and the binding just needs to be sewn down. Love sewing the binding down!!!

The travel on transit project is very fun. Two rows of the hexies done. Love the hand sewing. Love EPP.

Still have the quilting to do on the baby blanket. If I don't get busy the babe will be too big.

Need a back for my brothers quilt. Very excited to get going on this one.

And a new start. For Jordan's 2nd birthday. Also in March.

Dratted eye surgery held everything up. Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Sewing with Star Trek

I have been planning this quilt for my daughter for the past month. Bought the material then Bam! Eye surgery needed. Fast forward to today and I am finally: one reading the directions; and two trying them out. Now I read the directions before without trying it out, there is a definite disconnect between reading and doing. The pattern is Figgy Pudding by Basic Grey which includes trees, for her Dad the Forester, and court house steps, for my daughter the new lawyer. Match made in heaven! Obviously channeling her Dad as I went in to buy turquoise and red and came home with tons of green, what happened there (not what I really wanted to say more... like WTF).

So started the first tree block and OMG!! What a wasteful block! The trees are all folded over themselves. So made one anyway. Love!

Made another. Double love! So okay they live in Smithers so it is cold a good portion of the year. Double thickness could be okay. So made the big tree. Super double wasteful tree!! That's okay still in love.

Half the trees are done and I am in Star Trek Kobayashi Maru heaven! These have to be the most forgiving blocks ever.

"The seams don't line up"
"The seams don't line up...Captain"
"The seams don't line up Captain."
"It's okay."

""The background isn 't square Captain"
"Don't worry"

"Should I iron the wrinkled material?"
"that's okay" cause the fold in the trees hide it anyways.

Cut the material the wrong size.
"I don't suppose this is a problem either Captain?" Oh yeah, this is a problem, sound effects of skreetching to a full stop. Time to get the concentration back on the cutting board.

Linking up with Let's Get Acquainted with Plum and June.
http://plumandjune.blogspot.ca

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WIP Wednesday

So I am writing this on the weekend. Am I the only one who was trying to do posts on Tuesday night? The light was bad, I did not have everything out, scrambling. I am such a bad forward thinker.

Enter the new me!!! Wonder how long it will last?

The baby quilt is quilted and the binding sewn on. I have never sewn so badly in my entire life. I did not tape my quilt back down thinking I could get away with smoothing and more smoothing. Not so! I have puckers in the back, the sides are not even, and I kept going. I kept telling myself a baby quilt that is finished is WAY better than one thrown in the corner in disgust. Besides now I get to do my favourite part, hand sewing the binding! Yeah!!!

No I am not showing a picture of the back!

Placemats - no movement

9 square blocks - nothing

On a personal note. I have been to my naturopath. And have been told, no more wheat. Now this is not a new thing, I have been gluten free and dairy free for years. No big deal. However, with grief came HUGE CRAVINGS for McDonalds Egg McMuffins! Yummy!!! Bad for me on so many levels, the wheat, the cheese, the nitrates and nitrites. Now I knew this was coming, I have swelling of the feet and lower legs, pitting edema actually, swelling in the knee, that makes yoga a real challenge, pain in my hip so I can'g lie on that side, and pain in my neck. The only bonus is I can still hold a needle. When I started down this wheat free path my hands were so sore I could not hold a pencil.

Ahh, to concentrate on the little things. Isn't life grand.