Well, we are back from North Carolina and the fun of attending Quilt Con in Raleigh (the link is to just one of many reviews of the show). I was also able to get to attend a meeting of the Tar River Piecemakers Quilt Guild, my MIL's guild that I also joined as a member last year.
When we returned, I was surprised to see that not much remained of last weekend's Northeast blizzard which we thankfully missed. I had hoped that being away would be a lot like being home during a blizzard --- a good time to get some focused quilting done! That's not quite what happened but I'm joining in anyway with everyone linking up for "To Do Tuesday" hosted by Carol over at "Quilt Schmilt" to review a few of the things I did get to while I was away.
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| That's it in the bag on top and there's also another project down inside the box. |
2. I might still try for at least cutting out the next "Alaska" BOM blocks but that will depend on if time permits before we leave. Worse come to worse, work on this project will wait until our return.
And so it has! So I am hoping to cut the next block this week. Once again I have four to make so want to do an easy "one block a week" production schedule.
The good news is that I have a few pieces of the parts I need for them already cut, leftovers from previous cutting sessions.
After this, I only have two more blocks to make for the center of the quilt and a big bunch of border blocks so I can make an enlarged version of "Alaska" that I have a picture of. I had printed it out from Edyta's blog at some point but can't seem to find it there now.
Having missed working on blocks last month this means I'm a month behind schedule but I am looking forward to putting all the blocks made to date up on the design wall together after I finish the ones for this month. Then I hope I can stay on track from here on in and get this to a top by Summer's end.
We are scheduled to go back to my MIL's in September so I'm thinking now that this may be one of the quilts I'd like to take and try to longarm on that trip.
3. Working on the layout of the QOV top will likely be another "take with" project but I may start some of the cutting for the other parts before we go.
Unfortunately I didn't get any work done on this layout that I had pulled fabric for before I left.
However it turned out that it was a good thing I didn't! When we got to NC, I got more information about the grant that the Patriotic Bee of the Guild got for their Quilt of Valor efforts. The grant has allowed the Bee to purchase fabric in bulk that members can now "shop" and be given for the purpose of the making the QOV designs of their choice.
So I was able to pick up two sets of fabrics. I got the two additional fabrics I needed for adding to the layout to use for the background and for the borders. I also got a tone-on-tone that may replace the print I had picked out for framing the assorted prints in the center. I also picked up two prints to add to the fabrics I had already pulled and give me some additional options to make the choices for the final layout.
The second set of fabrics I picked up were for another design I wanted to do for the QOV ministry:
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| "Freedom Stars" |
I had hoped to get this completely made up while we were there so I could leave the top with my MIL to give to one of the Bee leaders. However I only managed to get the squares for it cut out, the star points pieced and I purchased a little more fabric to fill out the color balance in the layout. I managed to get four rows sewn up while the longarm was stitching out sections of the UFO I worked on. So now I will have to mail the top back down once I finish it. I am hoping I can also get the second one made up as well so I can mail both at the same time.
The way it works with the Patriotic Bee is that when you make a top you submit it along with $20 and one of the Bee members provides the backing and batting for it (which was also purchased in bulk with the grant) and will quilt it up. When the quilted quilt is returned to you, you are responsible for binding it and then resubmitting it for awarding at the guild's annual November Veterans event.
Since we are due to go back to NC in September and if I can send the tops down early, I am hoping they will have been quilted by then and then I can do the finishing work on them during that trip.
4. Continue the "Year of the Horse" cross stitching and hopefully complete it before we leave.
While I didn't get it done before we left, the good news is that I managed to work on stitching about 3/4s it while we were in NC. Then I was able to finish the last of it on the drive home during the stretch from North Carolina to about halfway through Virginia. After that I took over the driving from DH until we reached Maryland.
I've already picked out the fabrics I will use to "fully finish" it so am hoping that can get done this week as well.
5. Continue stitching the first "Hexie Snowflake" block to its background. The rest will be packed up to travel.
Before we left, I still had about half of this block left to stitch down to its background:
This is another of the things I didn't get to either before the trip or during the drive down. However, once there, I found time to finish up that block:
I also got about half of the papers pulled out of the next block while we were in NC and finished pulling the rest of the papers on the last leg of the drive home after DH took over the driving again. I worked on that during the stretch from Jersey to The Bronx. DH took the day off from work yesterday so while we cleared out the DVR, I got the block pinned to its background:
So now it's ready for the final stitch down. I was able to purchase something at the Quilt Con show that I'm hoping will help with an issue I had stitching the first block down:
When I had worked on the first block, I used a thimble on one of my fingers on top but found it cumbersome to use one on the fingers underneath. However doing so would really help to avoid the pricks to them and developing callouses on those fingers. I knew of these pads but had never purchased any prior to this for the hand work I've done so was all too thrilled to see that Colonial Needle had a booth at the event.
Colonial also had the "Sixth Finger" stilletto at the booth that I used to remove the papers on the first block:
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| "Sixth Finger" vs Cuticle Stick |
I had forgot to bring mine with me and although useful, they've gotten quite expensive since I purchased mine years ago. I really didn't feel I needed a second one so had to go find a tapered cuticle stick (which surprisingly wasn't easy!) to help pull out the papers on the other block I brought down. It was not as efficient in doing the job as it is thicker than the stilletto but I like the small size and plan to keep it in my little portable EPP supplies bag.
6. Make up the accompaniment to the gifts for my MIL and her friends.
Okay this is another one I never got to but no matter, my MIL and her friends appreciated the gifts I gave them!
The thread racks had been "free gifts with purchase" when I ordered some dies from Accuquilt back in December. The funny wood "Quilting Decision Die" had been something I saw in a Facebook ad and came all the way from Norway!! It says things like "Start A New Project" and "Buy Fabric". It was a "Buy One, Get Three Free" special that I couldn't resist since it provided the perfect number of gifts for my trip.
I had hoped to make little zippered pouches for the dies for everyone but as usual that intention became a victim of "More Ideas Than Time" syndrome!
7. The "something special" I wanted to make for myself for the trip will have to travel down with me and it's still a question if I can get to that one while away!
Nope, didn't get it done before traveling or in time to wear to the Quilt Con show. Quilt Con is well known for the maker fashion parade that happens at the event each year and I had big hopes to join it. I had purchased this pattern a while ago and found a sweatshirt the perfect size that my youngest son had left when he moved out:
However, before the show I was only able to get it prepped for adding the charm squares to it and we were too tired after attending the show days for me to work on it and try to get it finshed before the last day. So this one has come back home with me and I will try to get it done as a Spring project or at the least before the end of the year.
8. Lastly, I have no choice but to get the packing done for the "Mini Quilt Retreat" for our trip as it's almost time to go!
Well of course that did get done, and here is all the stuff I took plus the "additions" that came back home with me!
So the plans for this week is to:
1. Trim and bind the UFO I longarmed while I was away.
2. Continue quilting "Modern Twist" as this month's UFO Challenge finish.
3. Cut out the next set of "Alaska" BOM blocks and get at least one pieced together.
4. Finish piecing the "Freedom Stars" QOV top.
5. Continue working on the layout of the "Picture That" QOV top with the new fabrics for it that I picked up in NC.
6. Do the finishing work on the completed "Year of the Horse" cross stitch.
7. Stitch the second "Hexie Snowflake" block to its background.
8. Try to squeeze in some work on the "Charming Sweatshirt" I got started while away.
9. Work on two other projects I cut out while away (more on that in the next post!).
All in all it was a good trip! Whether or not you are in the Northeast and had to suffer through the latest storm, I hope you had some productive sewing days during last week. I look forward to catching up with everyone linking up for ""To Do Tuesday"" this week at Carol's "Quilt Schmilt". I'm expecting March to bring in a parade of pretty pre-Spring projects!
