SOME FRAME WORK!

Yesterday, I took forever to load a quilt and layer it up, arrange the panto and then to begin to quilt.  I felt so rusty and then realized it has been a long time so of course, I was rusty!

But like most skills, with the continued practice, 

it becomes more natural again and I got two rows done.  

I am slow but I did it.  I had earned my bed time!

 

MINKY MASTERED

Against all odds, Mary and I got her quilt loaded onto the frame!  We had to piece the backing which was a surpirse so took longer.  Then we couldn't get the back to piece nicely because the backing is minky fabric!  It is so stretchy and miserable to work with!  Once the quilt is finished, it will be a beauty but the construction can be tough!  

and then there is working with me-at times very forgetful no matter how many quilts I have done! lol  We loaded the backing on backwards and then we wound the fabric on the wrong way, etc!  If I was alone, I would've walked away but between the both of us we mostly laughed!  

While Mary was doing the actual quilting lines, I glued one of the Dotz hummers to a piece of canvas board--

I did cut it first to be square which the hummingbirds patterns are made to be.  I just trimmed the board on the jigsaw-a breeze! Today,  I will glue the back side and apply a piece of paper to the backing to hide the  canvas edges and glue the hanger on, also.  I will have two hummers on the wall

 by the end of the day.

I am hoping to spend some time on the lathe because I feel a big bowl coming on!

 

AT THE FRAME

I finally stopped whining and vascillating on what quilt design 

I should use, I just did it!

I chose a feather panto which I am calling seaweed 

to go with the clamshells! lol

I promptly loaded up one of the Quilts of Valor tops;  it is considerably larger than my usual lap size! 

Being a generous twin size, it maxes out my frame!

I am using a simple star and banner pattern for this one! 

 A good day in the studio!

 

CUT IT UP!

I tackled the new quillt kit--so much to read and figure out when you first open it up because there are lots of fabrics and you need to label EVERYTHING!  I cut out a few block worth of pieces so I could get the feel of the block.

There are 17 of each of these two blocks-one larger star and one smaller.  The center is different on the small star but is all the same fabric on the large one!  I'm already thinking how different it would look if I do the stripes in red and white and all of the stars in blue on the next quilt! lol

I have only two rows left to do on the quilt frame but my laser light needed charging and so I had to quit!

So I went and played in the garage --a new oak bowl is growing!  The wormwood screw broke on this piece and I had to figure out how to continue on this.  The answer is using a piece of wood that fits in the chuck which is hot glued onto the bowl!  My daughter and I worked with my two little craft glue guns to get enough glue in place at the same time--a lot of fun!  And it worked!  I am ready to use the heat gun to soften the glue and pull the bowl off so I can turn it around on the lathe and hollow out the center of the bowl!  I'm glad so many of my tools work in differnt genres!

 

INSTALLATION DAY!

A new quilt is on the frame-it is the last of the small quilts I've made earlier this year.  As soon as this one is done, the QOV on the design wall will go on the frame!

After loading the quilt, there were more shelves to be made!  Now four are finished and we will head to church to install them today.  Bill is going along for the muscle! lol

While I was waiting for different coats of stain or polyurethane to dry, I decided to play on the lathe! 

 This is a new bowl from a chunk of Magnolia! 

 The grain is amazing!  

I have the outside done and the inside will be hollowed out next. 

 Probably not happening today.

These potholders were made by my sister-in-law many years ago.  Tunisian crochet with cross stitch to add the design.  I wash them and lay them flat to dry and they look brand new every year!  Isn't is nice to put out old favorites each year for Christmas decorations:?!

 

ECCLECTIC SOUNDS BETTER THAN FLITTING!

Yay for December first!

I have so many Christmas Cacti in bloom or just about in bloom!

  I love the shades of fuschia/pink/red against the green. 

 This plant lives in a big pot with a spider plant 

and they get along very well together!

It looks like a stage full of ballerinas!

I loaded the star quilt on the frame and should be able to get that quilted today and off the frame so I can load the completed QOV.

I did a lot of 'finishing' little projects like putting these resin/shark's teeth on clips so they can decorate some student bookbags!

And I used most of a skein of the coral yarn in gradations by Red Heart. (their newer yarns are so much softer than the old ones!) The blue hat is just some leftover yarn from the stash. 

 I have used up more than 2 dozen skeins of yarn!  

And then I visited HobbyLobby and bought 6 new skeins of yarn which will become more hats in very short order! lol

 I am in that place of using up the last of the acrylic yarn and what I have is a lot of (boring) solids which I will just have to put into my favorite formula for brimmed hats 

which is 40 rows hat side 1... 45 rows brim... 40 rows hat side 2! 

 Skein to hat in 35 minutes including tags ,

pom buttoms and poms!  

 

WOOD FOR WEDNESDAY!

The quilt frame is going well-lots of colorful thread to go with the wild colors of the fabric!

The lathe has a bowl spinning around!  It is from a piece of Holly from my daughter.

It will have some bark and a natural edge.

I have the base ready to turn the piece around and grip it in the chuck!  I am sanding and using sanding sealer to help give it a good feel to the outside of the bowl! There will be quite a bit more sanding and shining before I move forward!

 

ALL IN A DAY!

I enjoyed piecing the puzzle blocks--very straight forward and no seams to match so that was nice!  Then I loaded this quilt--it's Mary's and she will be coming back to quilt it this week.

I've wanted to do this for quite a while and yesterday was the day!  We cut the plywood on the table saw and then I began sanding, painting and repeat to get it ready to use as a table extension for my sewing table!

It has a leg underneath that supports it when extended!  It will hold the weight of quilts when adding binding and might even hold the ironing pad for ease in piecing blocks!

I then spent several hours in the garage helping Bill do some more cleaning out.  While there, I finished sanding this cute little project--it is a squirrel, yes, but it is to push pans into the oven  under his chin and when you turn it over, it will pulls pans toward you with his ears!  Nifty, isn't it?!

Bill had a ton of  stuff piled on the table saw so my project instigated a cleaning binge!  We found a ton of floor space!

This door hasn't been opened in years--how cool is that?!

Oh, and to discourage more piles....I added a helpful note!  

This afternoon we got a huge T-storm which dropped 4 inches of rain on us!  In an hour!  See the white pipe-it was pouring that much water off the roof gutters!  We didn't loose power which was good --we enjoyed the break from our work!

 

TPT?

Since I haven't touched my embroidery since last week, I have tiny pins to show you this Tuesday!  They are made especially for quilters to number each block so you don't get them out of order when you walk from the design wall to the sewing machine--sometimes those few feet are just too much and the blocks get out of order or upside down! lol  Problems solved when numbered and if you put the pin in straight showing its orientation, no goofs should result!

I managed to load the table runner on a bit of scrap for a backing.  I didn't have the oomph to actually do any stitching because I've come down with a cold--a good old-fashioned one.  I spent most of the last few days horizontal.  

This was my snuggly--a new skein of yarn came in the mail!  I am working to finish up the blue sock so I can start another pair in this tropical looking yarn!  More info when I wind the yarn into a ball and actually start the socks.

  (or maybe a shawl like Meredith is knitting!!

I have to go today and get my final examination from the hand doctor to make sure I have reached his motion expectations.  I definitely don't have full range or stamina in the thumb, yet I can do almost everything I need to do so time will just yield better results will be my guess!  Bill is driving me so I can close my eyes and rest on the way.  And maybe even knit a bit!

 

SHOPPING FOR MATERIALS-

The men finished their work and took down the plastic which had covered everything BUT the cement dust was everywhere anyway! (it could've been a lot worse, I know!) I had to empty the linen cupboard and wash all the linens .  The medicine cabinets had to have all of the meds removed and cleaned.  I then waxed each cupboard to let the wood get a good drink!  That should be all of the super mess for this project!  Today, we will meet the contractor to purchase the supplies he needs to start the building of the walk-in shower!

I loaded up this QOV that a local woman made-I get to do the stitching!  I am getting a lot of tops done so that there is a frame-queue again! Today at quilting group, I will be making some more of the patriotic star blocks for my table runner.

 

THE GRAND FINALE

We moved in the quilting machine onto the frame; we rearranged and purged all of the piles! 

The cloth hanging on the front of the bars are the leader fabric panels to attach the quilt backing to the frame. They have to be trimmed and reattached.

While I rested, Marsel got a break with Nyki for company...Nyki doesn't like us to tan evenly!

David got an hour break from doing the welding for me when Grandpa needed some help repairing his tractor bucket!

Marsel trimmed plants on my front porch for me (because I can't use a pair of clippers yet, much to my frustration). While she was trimming, she discovered this little guy...look hard, you can see him!

On the way home from PT, we saw this beautiful display of amaryllis! The old Florida house is just a bonus for the photo. PT went well; I really liked the people a lot, which is great since I have to go twice a week for a few months! Today I am going to head to Gainesville for a custom orthotic for my hand instead of the cast. Exciting stuff!

(I have found out how to use speech-to-text to catch up on your blogs -- I've missed you all!)

SITTING UP!

 I found I could sit up for longer yesterday-definitely an improvement over sleeping 20 of the 24 hours a day. 

 I mostly sat but Bill and I fixed the timing on the APQS 

and I couldn't do it without him! 

What a date--we bonded for an hour and a half! lol

 I was up too long, but I finished the rest of that cursed row 

and then realized there is still another 6-7" to quilt! 

 I will try standing up to finish it today 

after another visit to the doctor's!  

I'm hoping for some answers and help;

 my breathing is something that needs some proper timing, too!

A LITTLE BIT OF UP

As soon as I was able, I finished the last few rows of the quilting on this quilt, trimmed the edges and then made the binding! 

 I hope to apply it today

 and put it in the washer/dryer for finishing!

When I was down for the afternoon, I added buttons to this sweater and made sure all of then ends were woven in.

  It is a pretty sweater without being too fancy. (Mom's request!)

I like the lacy yoke which is knit in such a way as to add stitches to the count without any obvious increases!  

The yarn is Premier DK ColorFusion in the colorway called 

Blue Jeans.  Knit on #6 needles.

The sweater is a girl's size 4.