Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Wild and Windy Wednesday

Wow! Have we had some weird weather here in Ohio! Yesterday, it was in the 50's - not normal for January. Then we got thunderstorms, with lightning. Also not normal! The temperature fell to 10 degrees by this morning. And windy!! I thought the roof was coming off for sure. I was quite nervous that one of our big trees would soon be crashing into the house. But the trees are all still standing, minus a few branches and all the shingles are still on the roof. We lost power for a short time, the cable (and internet) went out several times. But all seems back to normal, or it will be after I've finished re-setting all the clocks.

I tried to sew today and was not very productive. A lot of "un-sewing" going on... Anyway, my sewing machine was acting up. It was unplugged for the storm; I value it too highly to risk a shock. I think it's time for a visit to the repair shop. I'm lucky to live near a good dealership that has a very good repair department; it's a bit pricey though. At least I kept my old one so I won't be without a machine. I'm so glad I finished my swap quilt before the problems started; and a custom order for my Etsy shop. I'll give it another run tomorrow to see if it continues to act up. Its due for a servicing anyway...

I just visited Flickr to have a look at all the swap quilts that have been posted. There are some really lovely ones; some are so creative and different. I enjoy looking at them. I can't wait to see what the mailman brings me!

Monday, January 28, 2008

Done!

The last stitch is taken, the quilt has been washed and dried and photographed. Now to pack it up safely and send it off to a land far away. I hope ??? likes her new quilt!


Here are a couple more photos:





This was a fun little quilt to make. I enjoyed working with these colors and the new quilting tool I bought. To cut the triangles from pieced strips, I used the smaller Kaleido-Ruler by Marti Michell. I'd like to try another quilt using the same technique. I had a few blocks come out a little wonky...I cut the corner triangles oversized and trimmed the blocks down to size. A few of the snowflakes' corners didn't meet up exactly with its neighbors' corners. I'd like to figure out where my squares went wrong. To make the binding, I used up all the odd width strips leftover from the triangle sets. I thought it might be too bulky, but it really wasn't that bad to work with.

I can't wait to see the rest of the quilts up on Flickr!!! I'm off the to the post office!

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Nearing the Finish!




I'm almost done with the Four Seasons Swap quilt! The top is finished, including borders. Now I've got to sandwich, baste and quilt it, and then get the binding on. And it needs a label. The quilt hasn't named itself yet, that usually happens when I sewing the binding on. The nicest thing about these little quilts is that it doesn't take much time to do these often time-consuming tasks. I should be able to finish tomorrow. I thought I'd be done today, but I bought "Warm and White" batting and forgot I need to pre-shrink it. So that added a step and slowed the finishing down a bit. It's in the dryer now. But soon, I'll be heading off to the post office to send it on its journey.

I've had some busy days lately, that haven't involved much sewing. But next week is looking like a good sewing week. I can't believe it's almost February...

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Random Ramblings....

Not to much to blog today, just a bit of this and that. I have finished all of my little snowflake blocks for the 4 Seasons Swap Quilt and must make a decision about the fabric to use for the little triangles that go on the corners and the border. I have never used white fabric to finish a quilt, but this one seems to be asking for it: maybe a white on white print to represent the snow on the ground that my little flakes will soon join. I don't know, but I'm planning on finishing it this week so the decision must be made soon.

My sewing plans for the week were relying on the fact the the Australian Open is on TV, or so I thought. I very much enjoy a good tennis match and they're not often televised. So I plan to be home as much as possible during the weeks of the Grand Slams so I can sit at my machine and listen/watch tennis on the little TV above my head. Kind of sad, but there you go. Anyway, I checked my local listings today to plan out my week and was quite dismayed. ESPN has elected to broadcast daytime coverage on ESPN Classic, which my local cable company dropped earlier in the year. ESPN 360.com is not available from my internet provider (same company as the cable company). So I called them a couple of bad names and tried to come up with another plan. I can TIVO the nightly coverage to watch during the day, but I can't watch the TIVO in my sewing room. It seems I can get a "tournament pass" to watch via the internet for $25. This irritates me, but I'm not sure I am willing to forgo my tennis -- I was SO looking forward to it. I'll stew on it and decide tomorrow.

And I really need to fix my blog. I've been visiting blogs around the internet and I see so many with nice backgrounds and headers. My header has a photo from one of my quilts that used to be centered, but now it's all wonky and I don't know why. I don't have the skills to do anything really tricky, but I'd like a nice header and background. I need some sort of Blogger for Dummies...Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

So busy week ahead. Hopefully some tennis on TV, a finished swap quilt, and a better blog. I've also promised to help a friend with some window treatments and the kiddies get the day off on Friday. And my Etsy shops really need some new stuff. I can't believe January is half over already. So, I'm off to get some rest so I can hopefully get started bright and early tomorrow.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

A Flurry of Flakes

I'm sewing snowflakes! And they're going together quite nicely. My Winter Swap Quilt is turning out to be a fun project so far. Just a few more little flakes and I'll be ready to put them all together. Less than 24 hours between the 2 photos, which is really fast for me.



Today marked a very sad anniversary for me. My mom died seven years ago today, quite suddenly. It seems like yesterday. She would have liked these little quilt blocks very much. She loved to sew and she loved blue. She left a few WIPs behind that I intend to finish someday, just not yet. It was good to keep busy with such a pleasant project. And if you are lucky enough to still have your mom, give her a call and tell her you love her.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Winter Blues




Does it look like winter to you? I'm pre-washing and pressing all the fabrics I've collected for my Winter Swap Quilt. I love all the purply-blues. Can't wait to start piecing the blocks. I'm trying something new this time.