FNSI results

I am little slow on this but hey I got there. I really didn't get all done that I wanted to but you have to bare with me I am moving slow these days. Last week I had surgery and I have been dying to get into the sewing room so I thought FNSI would be a wonderful time to do that. Weeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllll I need to get two rows done for two row by rows that I am in and I spent all day Fri cutting and resting cutting and resting. I just can't believe how tired I still get a week after the fact but on to sewing. I did manage to get some sewing done. Not much but some.

See not one block done but they are all cut out and I do feel better about that. I wish now I would have picked an easy block but no I pick some start that has 30 pieces in one block yep a simple sawtooth star should have been on this girls mind but noooooooooooo.

I had wanted to get a pillowcase done but I didn't but I do have some on hand and may have to dig one or two up. Keeping the addy just in case this girl gets the strength to go on a hunt, or sew some up after I get these stars done.


Hubby and I got a new car the week before I had my surgery and isn't it a cutie.

It is a Chevy Sonic, nope not a hybrid, but it gets between 35 and 40 MPG and when I need to travel 750 miles one way to see my family I knew I needed to do something. I really haven't had much time with it since it was so new and I been laid up.








Well I need to get this row done so I better get to sewing.

Time presses on

Whether you want it to or not time keeps slipping right through our fingers.  I just don't know where time has went.When I last posted I was talking about winning, the FNSI and a door prize at a local quilt show. Well I went off to retreat and as I headed out the door I grabbed a package that came in the mail. It was the wonderful book that I won off the FNSI. I shared the book with all the retreaters and they sure loved looking at it. So go check it out yourself.
Here is a quilt I did for Rejena

I don't think I ever posted a picture of it. Rejena is expecting her first grand baby and this is her quilt. Of course if you can't tell her first grand child is going to be a little girl, and she should be arriving any day now.

On a winning streak

Boy oh boy, I am going to run out and buy some lottery tickets. Saturday I went to the Gathering of quilters and I won one of their larger door prizes, no not the sewing machine but this wonderful tote bag filled with goodies. Here is the bag and some of the goodies. One of those Snap bags and I put it to use right away. I got the new camera right after Christmas and needed a bag for it. So this Snap bag is nice a padded and just the right size. It is now a camera case. The little card holder is Vera Bradley, Fresh Apple butter and a coffee mug, there were other things pen note pads and gosh a few other things.

The tote is nice and sturdy front pocket and has a zippered pocket in side. It is big enough I can carry a quilt in or all supplies for a class. Just pretty pleased with my winnings.










Then on Sunday my name was drawn for one of the winners of the Friday Night Sew In. Now I have to tell you I have never checked to see if I have won in the past for I never win anything. I wouldn't have checked this time but some wonderful people emailed me congratulations for winning FNSI. so of course I had to go check it out. And by George I did win.

I get a copy of this new book. Wahoo more patterns to drool over. Once again Thanks to Heidi and to Bobbi for hosting this. I do this Sew In quite often and it seems to help me get some things done. The book is authored by another blogger here.Check out Amanda Jean she has some really cool stuff on her blog. Be sure to go to Heidi and Bobbi's to sign up for the next FNSI. Thanks again to both ladies for hosting!!!! and to random.org for picking me!









Nope it's not done but one step closer. This is Friendship flowers and yesterday watching basketball I
finished appliqueing all the leaves on. This is an original pattern. Last NOV at a retreat that I attend we had a challenge we had swapped out some Navy fabrics and were given the split 9-patch block and the friendship star block. We had to use the navy's and the 2 blocks. We could add any other color we wanted and we could use the blocks as many times or as little times as we wanted. This is what  came up with.





As I look at this I see this block to the left yes that black and pink one. It has been hanging there for years. It is a BOM that was given to me by a secret sister years and years ago. I really ought to take it down and make it. I wonder how long it will stay there? Well I have laundry to do so I better get to it.

Fri Night Sew in and I sewed

Well so many times I sign up for this sew in and then I forget or I sign up and then forget to report what I did do. OR I sew and report but I forgot to sign up. I managed everything this week. Signed up, check. Sewed, check. So now I am reporting what I did. But first I have to rewind to last fall the hubby changed satellite dish providers and in doing so we got the DVR. Yay I can record things to watch at a later date. Well that new series Revenge, I had a friend that loved it so I have been DVRing it. Well last night for my Fri night sew in I sat down in my comfy recliner and took out some hand work, and watched the show. Not bad I have to say, nothing I can't live without, but decent. Now onto the hand work. Needle turn applique.

It's hard to see just what I have done. I should have taken the other quilt down. But it is something that I am working on  too. Sometimes I get 4 or 5 things on the wall and I just have to make do. I am afraid if I take one down then I may not get back to it. So just keep it up and layer it. But back to the FNSI  I got all the vein appliqued and all the leaves  and flowers on one side stitched down. I think it was quite a bit considering... But when the dog had to go outside to do his thing, I went into the sewing room and worked on sewing up the back to my grandsons quilt. No I didn't get a pic of it but it is done and hopefully will get it quilted this weekend. I tried to use up a bunch of scraps on it so it is quite colorfull.
The quilt on the background here is Gail's Row x Row and I am working on the row I am adding. You know for a long time I was addicted to swapping blocks on the Internet but now I am into these  row x rows. I am in 4 of them right now so that is one row a week. Gosh then there is my full time job and then the quilting job and of course the things I want to do for myself. Then somewhere in there the hubby expects  me to cook. I just don't know what he is thinking!

These next three are Janet's. She's a piecing machine and always does a wonderful job. This first one shades of black with some cream. So elegant

One of the down falls of doing quilting for others is you don't get to know the name of the pattern or name of the quilt when I do them. So I dream up names for them This one I call Stairway to Heaven. For some reason it just reminds me of climbing up to Heaven. Now don't laugh at me. I think all quilts should have names and whether or not it is their real names that is how I associate with them while they are here.

This one I called Gardening. That center fabric is seed packages or what reminded me of that. I am not a Gardner and could care less about sticking my hands in the dirt but sure wish someone would come to my house and do that for me. Hmmm wonder if some bartering could be arranged.... now just with whom..... Will have to look into that. BUT back on track. This is a gorgeous quilt and the colors are more vibrant than what shows in the picture. I really do hate the hubby's camera. But I do have my new camera figured out so hopefully no more pics with this yellowed out camera. I had fun with this quilt doing something different in each border. Great Job Janet!!

I told you I was in 4 Row x Rows well this is one that just started and this is my starting row. The chickens are a 8 inch block and once I put them in a pen and a house they turned into a 12 inch block. Once this comes back to me I will add a row of the wood fabric to the top and down the right side thus finishing out my chicken house. I also have the chicken wire fabric that will be the borders so in reality I have a chicken yard when done.

These are blocks I did for Jane's row x row. She didn't want hers sewn together and she wanted fall colors. I thought I would have a hard time finding fall colors in my stash but I didn't so..................

 

I joined this row x row on the Internet that is the maple leaf block (like you couldn't tell that) and it is in fall colors. Everyone will be doing the maple leaf block and we use natural muslin as the background. There were only five people that joined this one so we are doing one row apiece and one block. For some reason I thought it was two extra blocks  and then the center loose block is my label. So with the extra loose block everyone will make a block and sew onto it so when this comes home it will be  6 rows by 6 rows.  Since I made that extra extra  block I am sure that I will add another row so I don't have an orphan block hanging around.  So with the green and cream one in the first pic you have seen the 4 row x rows that I am in.  I will continue posting pics as I make rows.  Well I better get to sewing some blocks or I won't get my rows done.

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.