Blogtoberfest and Give away

Well it is here again and I first thought, I can't remember to post so why join? But then next thought was join and maybe just maybe this will kick start you into posting again. So yes I am joining in and I am going to host a give away with it.
Up for grabs 1st A Quilted Christmas from Quilters World it is last years magazine but unused and what a loaded issue it is. It is sure to please. 2nd is The Quilter's Home Spring, by Lois Krushina Fletcher .

So to enter for these, leave a comment. That's it, one chance per person. Of course I would love for you to follow and if you are a follower Thanks so much for sticking with me. This give away will run for the month of October with the winner announced NOV1






Gosh I am getting so confused on what I have been telling you and showing you that I can't remember anything anymore. I know I know if I would just tell you as things happen it would be easier. Well last month was my clubs quilt show and of course we make a raffle quilt. This year we were really late in getting it all together even though we started right after our quilt show last year. They picked out a Triple Irish chain and decided scrappy. Oh yes that will be beautiful BUT I commented on if you leave that big empty space some pretty hand quilting is a must. Are you prepared to do that. (I am not I repeat NOT a hand quilter) So I suggested lets applique a cute but simple flower. So that's what we did. Then since they were running so close they decided to machine quilt it. Um guess who did that! Yes yours truly. Oh how I didn't want to because now I am attached and want it but I won last years so I don't need to spend a bunch to try to win this one. Don't be greedy right. So I quilted it and it was a beauty and I bought $5.00 in tickets, asked the hubby if he wanted to buy some tickets and he scoffed like we need another quilt. So I let it go, resolved to never see my handi-work again. I had appliqued 3 of the blocks and quilted it so I felt as if it was mine but I took a deep breath and let it go. I do so get attached to many of the quilts I quilt and when I see them hanging in shows I feel like there's my baby and then poof it's gone again never to be seen.  Such is the life of a long armer. lol  So the Clubs quilt show went well, of course I had nothing of winning caliber, never do and that's ok, but walking in to pick up my entries my name is called. The hubby thinks I have won a ribbon I didn't even hear my name. Repeat on the PA system 'and the winner of the raffle quilt Susan Lesh" OMG

Isn't it a Beauty! It is going on my bed! See me doing the Happy Dance!








One of the clubs I am in went on a day trip to see the quilt gardens in the Shippsie area well I took pictures of one in Wakarusa but not sure where it went to. BUT I can find the pictures of all my goodies I bought that day. first up is in South Bend IN Erica's and A Stitch In Time

Then we have Middlebury and Wakarusa. Middlebury was The Quilt Shop and Wakarusa was  going out of business so I have erased the name from memory. Oh this getting old is...........

 Then this was a nice little Amish Store out in the middle of  nowhere (actually a fork in the road) and I can't even remember the town (not much town, 3 houses and this store) but the shop was Calico place or junction or something like that. I'd go again if I can find it.

Then this is a row x row I worked on. It has one more row to go then it goes to its' owner Suzy.








Well today is my Birthday and the hubby treated me to breakfast out. Yay! but he has hurt his back and I got a feeling the rest of the day is catering to him. A friend has offered to make me a birthday cake but I doubt if he will feel up to going out and visiting. So unless by a miracle a cake pops up at my door I guess it is stale chips and dip for me. But it is a beautiful day! and I plan on spending it sewing!
Sew by for now and Sew on

FNSI and Mystery

Alright sorry I had to rush off so quickly the other day. I have decided that I am trying to do to much. I work a full time job and then quilt for others part time and sew, design, take care of hubby, cook clean (OK so not so much of that) but now I have started going back to gym. OH Lordy what have I done to myself! I ache in places that shouldn't even exist. I tried a Latin Dance class and I tell ya it hurt to breathe. I have the Zumba DVD's but that doesn't mean I try hard at it,but being with others you always try harder and yes I strutted my fat stuff right into dislocating things I didn't have. But I am better now and even thinking that I might do it again. but enough of that lets get onto things you really came to see.
Friday Night Sew In was last night. If you want to check it out go to my side bar and click on the button. I sewed on some snowmen blocks for a swap. Bless Lou Ann's heart these should have been out already but I ummm misplaced mine. I had taken them to my retreat last NOV and no one did the swap so I tossed them, no I laid them in a pile of stuff to do later. Well thinking I didn't make them for no reason I put the swap back up on the group and this time there was one taker. So waiting till the last minute I go get mine and you know for the life of me I couldn't remember what I did with them. I finally found them and only had 6 pairs made. So in reality only 6 for the swap and 6 for me to keep. So I had to get a few more done.

I am sending these off today and now I have 24 for me and I cut enough out last night for 8 more. I really have no clue yet how I am going to set these. I don't think I like them by themselves so I was staring at them and thinking maybe an evergreen in between them. but that will a project for next NOV retreat. Yes you are right no sense rushing in to things. I mean this winter is on the backside and I won't feel like snowmen  in a week or two.
So off to the tote of blocks they will go till I am feeling snowy again. That is all I managed this FNSI but really that was enough, I got up at 5am and worked all day skipped the gym but manged to stay up till 11pm. Wow is that sad. I used to stay up till the hubby got up to go to work at 1:30am. I am either getting old or this working out is wearing me out. I thought it was suppose to make you more energetic?
Next on the list of things is what have I been up to. Well let me post some pics.

This is a baby quilt made for a co worker. Monica is expecting her first, little Alexa. We had a shower for her at work and I found out the week before the shower that her colors were pink, black and white. Well last year some time I did a pink and black block swap. Of course I do these swaps with nothing in mind so the blocks sit for months, Oh lets face it years. I put the blocks on the wall and didn't like them together, just didn't look baby to me.
!Light bulb! I have the accu quilt die cutter and the heart die. Yep looks more like a baby to me. I quilted it with meandering hearts and bound it in a pink/black fabric same as the back. With time running out I wanted to bring the back to the front and bind it that way but never had. So on the phone I went to a friend, Gail, that had demo'd this at club. first she said was to cut the front and batting off even but DO NOT CUT THE BACK So I carefully fold the back away and start trimming up the front and batting. Well you know what I did don't you? Yep I cut the back so quick call back to Gail "Umm thanks but I cut the back!"  So now I had to do it the hand method that I know and this was on MON night and the shower was on TUES got the binding done and at my first break I sewed on the label and wrapped it. DONE and on time!

This is the raffle quilt for one of the clubs I am in. If you have been following for awhile you will remember the other one I put together for a raffle. Well this is for the same club just different year. We were all given fat quarter of this black print. After all the blocks were turned in I took them and had hopes of making two tops for the same year but for some reason I couldn't get the second one done on time. Looking back at this pick I see I would have moved a couple blocks around but you know what they say 'hind sight is 20/20' Not changing it now. I am in hopes of passing this off to the member that has the quilting frame and in charge of getting the hand quilters together, MON night. Whew that will be a relief to have that check mark on the done column.
Check here for the other top I made. Sorry I couldn't find the pic of it anywhere on my pc even did a search for it. Probably another one of those things I lost when the computer crashed. Things that wanna make ya go hmmmmmmmmm.

This quilt was made by Margie. Yes her name comes through here quite often. I love all the different things that she does. Some of us get stuck in a rut but I have never seen two alike from her. Even when she did three fan quilts they were all different. This one I believe is upside down in the pic. She said that she loved the center fabric so much that she couldn't cut it. The simple sqs around the outside in coordinating colors makes a striking quilt. good job Margie!!!!

This is Diane V's this is a free pattern off the Internet and at our last MAR retreat we did this pattern. I believe it is called wicked easy. I am not for sure of anything anymore so please don't quote me on it. But you could search it if you wanted the pattern. I didn't do it so I don't have the patten handy to give you any of the information. The past four retreats that I have went to I have worked on UFOs and other stuff and none of the offered projects. Well this year I want to do some of the projects. Yep there I go again starting things. Yes more UFOs.But back to Diane's quilt. Love those colors don't you? so soft and pretty. I did an edge to edge panto on this one and it turned out great. Sometime I would like to use this panto on one of mine it looked so good on here. Great job Diane can't wait to see what you do next.

So the Mystery is next first I want to say I am going to get things together sometime this weekend so all the mystery can be found in one place.  But for now here goes.Last post I told you to cut 160 2½" sqs. of color 2. Be sure to keep the left over fabric for later.  Take your bckgrd 3" sqs and color 4 or z squares and on the lighter of the two mark a dotted line on the diagonal of the wrong side. Then mark a solid sew line 1/4" on each side of the dotted line. Layer one bckgrd and one color 4 or z  right sides together with your marks on top and sew on the sew line. Do this to all 40 of your squares. This is easiest if you chain sew one side then the other. Clip apart. Cut on the center dotted line and open and press to the dark side. Trim these up to 2½" square. You will have 80 half square triangles. Lay these half sq triangles right side up with the color 4 or z to the top left and your bckgrd on the bottom right. Place a color 2 right side down on top of your half sq triangle. Stitch across the bottom.  Do this to 80 of your color 2 sqs. Put the other 80 aside for later.                                                                                                          

Busy Busy

I have been busy,or shall I say lazy. Take your pick. I spent two weeks glued to the TV with the Olympics. I have so much respect for all the atheletes. It is such devotion and dedication to give up so much to persue that gold medal. Hats off to all of them. But while I was watching them I managed to work on some hand applique. I got it back out on the Friday night sew in and just stitched away. I have been so close to being done on this I could taste it but thenjust when I thought I was done I found I had skipped the cat on the middle row. This pattern is the Disappearing 9-patch. Looks different! I decided to put the four corners together and my first thought was to do some wonderful quilting in the blank spaces. Then I got to thinking that this would be a great time to practice my needle turn applique. I Still need lots more practice too. I have yet to embroider the noses and eyes on them but atleast I feel I have made some headway with it.

Here is the club quilt all put together. I still need to have it quilted by this Thursday. It turned out better than I thought or not what I thought. A friend came up with this idea of the gingham checked star sashing. She was going to put this one together while I put another one together, but as we all know things happen and I found myself doing them both. Each member of our club has made a block with everyone using a bit of the sashing fabric as a focus. When I first staarted this I thought it was way to busy. But when you stand back and look at it, it tells me that it is just one of those samplers. I hope everyone in club is pleased with it, whether or not I get it quilted could be another story.

This my row for Janets Row by row that we are doing at  club. She is doing a red white and blue them of each row being a different block. I chose the Spinner (Brave World) (It has other names too) block. I love the look of this block the way it moves. Blocks showing movement have been my favorite but I have to admit I am seeing the beauty in those blocks that form chains too.

These blocks are for a swap and the patter is called Trail to Treadleonia. This block is just one fourth of the Spinner block. Here is the same block but the small square is replaced with a 9-patch., I also made the large triangle corne into two pieces. These are very close to the same shade of burgandy. I had never even heard of the tradleonia's when I did this one. I had always loved the Spinner block (from Judy Hopkins, Around the Block book) and always thought that varying it would be cool. Here is another way to set the same block. This one is with the 9-patch corners too, but the large corner triangle is all one piece. this pile will make a cool scrappy one when everything is said and done.
I have more done but time is running short so till tomorrow. Sew On

Weekend doings

Boy oh boy, what a weekend. The youngest son calls hysterical, he had been stop by the police and they told him he was driving while suspended. They were threatening to tow the car but luckily they were not taking him in. He doesn't understand how, why or anything else  that deals with this. So needless to say my shy little boy has been pretty vocal these past couple of days. I know nothing from the BMV had come here since he has moved back home and that has been almost 2 years now. Drat it all he was going out this week to check out places of his own to move back out, but now with this unexpected turn of events, money could be a little tight for him to do that.

Sat. I had to work and my crazy employer starts work at 5am on Sat mornings so I spent a couple of hours Sat afternoon snoring on the couch, no it was in the chair. What a waste of a good sewing day. I didn't get started sewing until late Sat night and here are the two things I worked on. This first photo is of the club quilt that I (Have no clue as why) volunteered to put together. We were all given some of this black floral and told to make any block. Then there is a good 15 more yards of it. I still have 2 more rows to add to this but this is what I got done so far. I also have 12 blocks that were not quite the correct size, so I am going to make a second top for the club once I figure out how and what I want to do with them. Will keep you posted on that. I couldn't believe all the yellow in the blocks.I  used orange and green in my 2 blocks I made but look at all the yellow! I can count on one hand all the yellow fabric I have in my stash. So now you know what I think of yellow!

These two rows area row robin that I am doing on one of the groups I am on. They belong to Sharyn. I have always thought that this was to boring of a block for me. But I see now how wonderful it looks all put together that I may just have to make one for myself. She sent thangle papers for everyone to make the half square triangles. I had never done that befor so it was quite the learning experience. I have to say that I am not a very good student for I still had trouble with some of the triangles being off just ever so slightly. Guess I need to really stay on the line or just on the inside part of it. I did notice that I was sewing on the outside edge of the lines sometimes. So as I said in another post I need to be more detail orientated in my piecing. This is going to be a very striking quilt when it is all finished.