Cupcake Quilt

It’s sashed and got the border now so it’s on to piecing the back.  I’ve got a large cupcake label to put in the backing so everyone who made a block can sign it when I take it in to the office to turn in.  Plus I promised the block makers real cupcakes to eat when I bring the quilt in. 🙂  Celebration of a job well done.

Ran out earlier this afternoon on an errand and thought I’d get blown away by the wind but now this evening it has finally died down so that I could open the window a bit in the sewing room to let some fresh air in without everything on the design wall blowing away!

But before getting to that backing, time to find some dinner. I’ve had a roast in the crockpot most of the day so think I’ll just make a salad to go with it.  Also made a german chocolate cake – two smaller ones actually so one is in the freezer.  So coffee and cake for dessert later perhaps.

Denise

What is it?

 

 When the snow melted I spotted this oddly white thing on the hill behind my house.  It’s behind a chain link fence in the woods so can’t get near it but zoomed in to see if it could figure it out since it looked like some kind of skull.  Still looks like part of a skull with two rows of teeth.  May totally be something else but that’s what it looks like to me.  No critter died back there, I would have noticed it, but it may have been dragged there by something else (like the really big raccoons I know inhabit the area) or maybe someone had it (like people who have old steer skulls as decoration) and got tired of it and tossed it over the fence.  Guess it will remain a mystery but soon the grasses and flowers will grow up over it so I don’t have to look at it every time I go outside and wonder about it. 🙂

I got the sock I was working on finished last night except for weaving the toe.  So now I can get started on the second one – yep actually making the mate right away rather than setting it aside with all the other single socks.

Also got started on the new sweater pattern last night and made a bit of progess.  I need to get some metal circular needles in the size I’m using tho.  The bamboo or whatever wood ones I’m using just don’t let cotton yarn slip across them as easily as the metal and it’s harder on the hands to knit with them.

But here’s how far I got.  And yes, the bottom is supposed to curl like that.  But it’s a controlled curl – as there are a few rows of ribbing above the stockinette stitch so it won’t curl up any farther than it currently is.

 I’m tempted to just sit and knit but think it’s time to get in the sewing room now, I think, and get working on that cupcake quilt.

Denise

TGIF

ah the weekend! 🙂  The cold is nearly gone except for a lingering cough.  I was supposed to go to a play tomorow night but don’t think whoever has paid for their tickets and ends up sitting next to me would appreciate hearing me cough all the way through it so told my friend she should invite someone else – a healthy person. VBG

So my plans for the weekend are to ge the cupcake quilt together now that I finally have the last block that needs to go in it. And get the binding done on the other auction quilt.  Once those are done, I can get busy on other projects of my own.  I also plan to dig through the tops boxes and pull out a couple to get pin basted so they are ready to quilt.  There’s just too many of them that have been sitting there for far to long.  So I may have a pin basting marathon to see how many I can get pinned before I run out of pins rather than procrastinating longer on the pin basting.

I finished the large quilt for the next Hoffman design but they also want a wallhanging design based on the larger one, so have that one left to write up sometime this weekend.

I’ve nearly got the sock I was working on finished – just a couple more rows before I can finish off the toe.  The green vest I was working on is way to big so I’ll be doing some ripping out on that.  In the meantime, I picked up a knitting magazine that had several cute little summer tops, sleeveless or short sleeved that would look great under a suit jacket, so have my eye on those.  But there’s one I decided to make that is very simple that I’m going to use the green yarn on because I realized it’s a perfect color to go with some linen pants I have.  Just raglan sleeves and the only decoration on it is a little cable that runs along where the ragland sleeve joins to the top.  Round neck and sleeves to the shoulder.  Should be a great summer cotton sweater.  Even got it cast on a  couple rows done earlier so I’m off and running… or knitting.

The whole apartment (other than my sewing room) is  a mess and needs cleaning but for tonight, I’m going to relax and sit and knit!

Denise

Send Sunshine

I’m getting tired of rain now.  I’m glad we haven’t had severe storms like so much of the country but just a day of sunshine would be nice for a change!

Haven’t gotten much sewing done this week but my cold is finally starting to subside.  This one little block got sewn because it was an odd size and I needed to figure out the measurements of the pieces.  My cold medicine addled brain wasn’t sure I was figuring it correctly so I stitched it only to find I was correct in the first place but better safe than sorry.

  A friend gave me the center fabric which I just love with it’s gold glitz accents.  I will have to figure out something to do with this block – maybe make a few more out of the left over fabrics.

And I’ve been working on this sock

  Most of the rest of my spare time has been spent working on a new design for Hoffman Fabrics.  So once that’s finished I can get back to that cupcake quilt that’s on the wall and stitching down the binding on the Woven Ribbons – both projects on my agenda for the weekend.

Denise

Design Wall Monday

The cupcakes for the auction quilt are back up on the wall. I removed the old sashing which I didn’t like.  It will be this orange instead with lime green cornerstones of the same print.    It works much better with the bright blocks.

The borders will be this print.

Time for a break

Couple hours of quilting, and I’m down to just one short side of the outer border to finish putting the feathers in but my wrists needed a break and I’ve got to wind another bobbin.  The feathers aren’t perfect but they aren’t looking too bad.  I also need to decide which fabric to use for the binding and get that cut.

While I’m thinking on that tho, I’ve got some pineapple casserole to mix up so it’s ready to go in the oven later to go with my smoked pork chops.  Yummmm.

Denise

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!   It turned out to be a fairly nice day here – warmer than it has been so that I can crack open the windows and let a bit of fresh air in.  Even went for a quick walk since for a  change it isn’t raining or windy and cold.

As for the stashbusting report – some fabric actually used this week.  5.5 yards for backing quilt backing on the Woven Ribbons quilt.

YTD 59.75 used; 29.25 purchased; so 30.5 yards busted.

I hope to get the last two borders quilted on Woven Ribbons today and get the binding attached so I can hand stitch it down later this week.

Also as I was sitting here machine quilting yesterday, looking at the cupcake quilt on the design wall across from me (the one the gals at the office made the blocks for) I decided I really didn’t like the sashing fabrics I used or the large cupcake in the center with the pink ribbon frosting.  So I’m going to take it all apart.  it needs bright sashing to go with all those bright cupcakes and I’m going to stitch the big cupcake into the backing fabric and put the names of everyone who made a block on it.  So I’ll be taking that one apart to redo it.

On to more machine quilting….

Denise

Center is finished

After a short break, went back to machine quilting.  The center is completed, just the two borders left to work on tomorrow.  But why is it when you only have a little left, you of course run out of bobbin thread and it was the last one I had prewound. 🙂  With only about an eight inch square of space left to quilt, no bobbin thread left.  But got it finished and need to wind a few more before I start on the borders.

While I was taking a break, I did get the April Showers wallhanging all fused.  I like it but it’s sort of drab in color – but that’s how our days have been here lately so I guess it does depict a rainy day.  I have some other fabrics set aside to make a brighter colored  – but I may enlarge the pattern first to use as the center of a child’s quilt.  On this one tho, I plan to fussy cut some of the circular designs in the umbrella fabric to use for the center of the flowers along the bottom.

But enough sewing for one day or my wrists will really be complaining besides the quilting elves never made me dinner so I’ve got to go find something to eat since it’s going on 9 p.m. — no wonder I’m getting hungry.

Denise

Quilting Time

I don’t know why I procrasinate so much on layering a quilt – its not my favorite thing to do but put in a movie and get going and it’s done in done time.  So I got the quilt pin basted and started quilting – just a meander in the main section – haven’t decided yet what I’ll do with the borders.  But since I’ve been quilting for about three hours and the last of the three bobbins I had wound just ran out, thought I’d take a break since I can feel my wrists tiring. 

I’m about 2/3rds done with the center.

Tho I generally don’t use a lot of soft shades of colors, I love the muted patterns in these.  They are McKenna Ryans Sand in My Shoes collection for Hoffman Fabrics.  I’ve got enough of them to make another quilt for me to keep – which I will probably make larger than this one so it fits my bed.

The backing is one of the other fabrics from the line, a very soft colored seashell print.

Think I’ll go trace the April wallhagning pattern on my fusible and cut out the pieces for that  while giving my wrists a rest from pushing around the quilt.  I keep changing my mind on what fabrics to use for that but have settled on these for part of it.

The large print will be the umbrella – the green/white print her raincoat, and then there’s my mud puddle fabric.  Have to go see what I can find for the rest of it.

Denise

Sneeze sneeze cough cough

That’s about all that’s going on here.  I did get some knitting done yesterday evening, tweaked the Hoffman design and am just awaiting final approval.  But that’s about all I accomplished yesterday other than a nap.  But after steaming my cold in the shower this morning, I’m feeling a bit more human so plan to head into the sewing room and get the Woven Ribbons quilt pin basted so I can start quilting on it.

I’ve got some hard boiled eggs cooling — got to dye me a few eggs for Easter. 🙂  Other than that, will see what the day brings.

Denise