Posey Pinwheel Progress

The main center of the quilt top is done. I really like it.  Now I have to decide what to do about borders.

I was playing with the left over HTs and think I’ll piece them together in blocks that look like the photo below and then decide what to do with them.

Now to figure out my borders.

Denise

Memorial Day

Thank you to all who serve in the military and the daily sacrifices made by them and their families.  One of my uncles earned the Bronze Star but the paper work was lost in a fire and many years later, just a few years before his death, it was finally presented to him.  A long time in coming but it was a lovely thing to see.

Today I hope to make up for all my puttering about yesterday and not getting any seewing done.  My errand I had to do has been done, the cleaning will wait until later this week, so I hope by the end of the day to be able to post a photo of all the Pinwheel Posey blocks completed at least, if not sew together.  Time to get busy.

I nearly forgot – it’s Design Wall Monday — here’s what’s still up there.

Denise

Who’d a thunk

that taking a photo to go with a quilt pattern would be so much of a ta do! 🙂  Seriously, they really don’t need to put my photo with it, I wouldn’t mind at all.  But after taking some myself – running back and forth from setting timer on camera to chair – and not getting decent ones, taking some at the office where it was too dark and still glare on the glasses, having a friend take some outside (and my hair sticking out and looking just plain bad), I decided to try once more after I colored my hair.  

So dried my hair, put on a little makeup and jewelry, changed clothes (well you can’t see the ratty cut off sweatpants I have on) LOL and I’m sure you will love my “photo studio.”   🙂

If you don’t have a camera tripod, I can rent you for a very nominal fee my hi-tech set up complete with the empty cardboard box and 5 hardcover books piled on top.  You may need to make adjustments if your bathroom counter is not as high as mine.

Yes I said bathroom… doesn’t your bathroom have the best lighting in it?  Mine does – everywhere else causes shadows or an off color cast.

I tossed a quilt over the shower curtain since I didn’t think my stripey shower curtain sticking out the bottom there would work too well – put the chair in there  – clearly when they put the toilet in they were not contemplating it being used as a photo studio since the toilet was just not in the right place to use for photo taking  (chair is not included in rental of box and book camera height adjuster package – it belonged to my great grandmother.  I could even have invited a friend since it’s a “two seater studio” with the chair in there.  So after many tries setting the timer, get back in chair, check photo, made adjustments and repeat, this is a photo that I don’t actually hate.  🙂   WHEW!

Which will end up getting cropped down to probably this

so I can now return to taking photos of quilts and knitting — much easier!! 🙂

Denise

Does she or doesn’t she?

Remember that old hair color commercial where they said that (at least I think it was hair dye) in any event, that’s what I’m doing at the moment.  Good thing there’s no web cam to see my dye laden hair piled on top of my head at the moment – a lovely sight I’m sure.  After I permed it last week, the gray was even more apparent (tho a couple of the gals at work thought it was highlighing I had done) ROFLOL.    So I’m squinting at the computer at the moment without my glasses.

The rest of today didn’t exactly go as planned.  I wanted to hit the sewing room and get the rest of the Pinwheel Poseys done.  I did go in the sewing room but I opened up EQ because I needed to come up with a project for The Quilting Post (an online group) to do in celebration of our 12th birthday — 12 years since the list was created by a friend which led to not only friendships on line but great quilting retreats to meet in person and solidify some of those friendships for life.   So I puttered and putzed with different ideas, discarded them, saved a few for later that weren’t what I wanted for this project.  Switched borders, recolored, switched more borders …. hours went by and no sewing was done and I had missed lunch and it was heading past dinner time too.  🙂   But in the end I came up with a design.  Whew!

Then finally some dinner and now the hair dyeing which I had planned to do much earlier in the day.  Good thing it’s a three day weekend so I can still get some of the stuff done I wanted to do!  Boring stuff – like a couple loads of laundry – did get done.  So tonight, top of my list is getting the binding hand stitched on the cupcake quilt for the auction so I can get both quilts delivered since the auction is just a couple weeks away.  Then probably back to the first shawl I was knitting and vegging in front of the tv — with plans to get in the sewing room and sew tomorrow!

Stashbusting and Peer Pressure

No, the peer pressure has nothing to do with the stashbusting.  I’ve used a couple yards of fabric this week but will wait to figure out the totals when the Pinwheel Poseys top is done – which may be today if I get in gear here.  I was at the quilt shop yesterday but only because I was shopping for some quilty goodies for a friend who has a birthday in June.   And other than what I got for her, my only other purchase was a new Pigma Pen so I did good.

While making the Pinwheel Poseys, there are a couple seams where you sew a square on the diagonal, and then flip it open to create a 45 degree corner – if I sew an extra seamline before cutting off the excess pieces, I get left over HSTs about 2-1/4″ or so once they are squared up.  It’s a bit slower going sewing all those extra seams but well worth it.  I’ve made 8 posey blocks so far and look at all the leftover HSTs I got from them.

And there’s still some that haven’t been added in with this and more to make.  Don’t know how I’ll lay them out in the end but they will be fun to play with.

As for the peer pressure — I have sucumbed —yarn store sales add peer pressure — the worst kind!!  I have been resisting and resisting but I was looking to find a simple cardigan pattern to make for my Mom and settled on this one.  Then the peer presure came into play – opening the Webs sale email.  Their yarns sometimes have excellent sale prices where bargains abound.  And yes, I found a cotton/silk blend that I loved (and since she’s in Arizona should be a good choice) on sale.

It’s this yarn – color # 48 is what I got.  Hopefully it will knit up as pretty as I picture it in my mind. 🙂  I think it will be my project to take along to knit on when they come to visit and we head to a Northwoods cabin for a week or so.  And while I was at it, they had some lovely colored Poems sock yarn on sale – bright multicolored so I felt “pressured” into getting a couple of those.  Don’t know that they will end up as socks tho – I’m thinking scarfs with those perhaps.   I have now put the credit card away!! but oh I can’t wait to get those new yarns!

I finished the purple shawl I was crocheting and hmmmm – that bulky chenile like yarn weighs a ton when it’s crocheted into a nice long shawl so it’s got me wondering if the intended recipient will really like it.  It is lovely and so soft and would be great to snuggle in on the couch on a winter evening while watching tv but definitely not the light and airy type shawl you’d wear while out and about.  Lots of tails to bury and I want to add some fringe to the edges yet but not bad taking a project from start to near finished in just 4 days. 🙂

Denise

More Pinwheel Poseys

Two more blocks are nearly finished – the two on the right – just have to sew the quarter sections together yet and more bonus HSTs from the left over corners that are trimmed off.  Still haven’t decided how I’ll use those but I’ve got another whole stack to press.  Three more blocks are cut and in various parts of assembly so I’ll just need to cut one more block  for this one.  Of the stack of fat quarters I picked up, I’m just one short to make all the main blocks so have to go digging in the stash for something to go with it.

The weather decided to turn a bit nicer early this evening.  A bit of sun, the wind died down, so I pulled out the grill and had my first grilled burger of the season. Delicious and I lucked out with the sweet corn and watermelon – both juicy and sweet.  And while that was cooking I managed to finally uncover the top of the breakfast bar that is the catch all for everything so at least there’s one corner of the apartment that’s tidy  – even cleaned out the fridge while I was at it. 🙂   Enough cleaning for one day.  So think I’ll cut a few more quilt pieces and press those HSTs and then go pop in a movie and work on my shawl for a while.

Denise

Another gloomy day

Mother Nature does not care that it’s a 3-day weekend – it’s gloomy and rainy looking and cool but I guess it could be worse.  I’ve been busy knitting on a shawl, that will be a gift, the past couple nights.

I wish you could feel it.  It’s incredibly soft and feels similar to a thick chenille – I just can’t stop petting it.  It’s Patons Bohemiam and the color – is actually a subtle mix of purple and fuschia and it’s even more gorgeous in person.  I started out knitting a sort of open work shawl but the yarn is bulky so the design wasn’t really visible so why go to all that work if you can’t see it – plus it’s not the easiest to knit with so I decided on a simple double crocheted shawl.  You make great progress in no time since every row adds about an inch or more of length.  It will really be snuggly.

Went out for breakfast this morning with a friend, after having her take a photo of me that Quiltmaker needed for a pattern of mine they will be publishing.  I HATE having my photo taken.  Course that meant on Thursday night my long, scraggly, flat in dire need of something hair needed help.  I’d been procrastinating on perming it so pulled everything out and got busy.  Permed it, then took the scissors to it.  Yesterday  even curled, put some makeup on so I could have  one of gals at work try taking the photo for me but it was too dark in the office and my glasses kept glaring terribly in the flash.   So when I got home, I tried taking some myself.  Set the timer, run around, get in position… I finally gave up on that. – not working and even worse glare on the glasses.  So today had an outside shot taken – but my hair was barely dry and natural perm state (the scrunch and go look) so it looks a bit unruly.  I still don’t particular care for the photo but it’s the best it gets. LOL  There should be a sneak peak (just a block image) in the July/Aug issue of Quiltmaker for Let Sleeping Dogs Lie  and the pattern for the quilt will be in the issue after that.  (The sneak peak block is actually a block I stitched — I haven’t sewn my own version of the actual quilt yet) and then I’ve been getting the info ready today to send them for a second project that will be in the Nov/Dec issue.  So now that all that work is done, a quick clean up of the sewing table and I can get back to stitching on Posey Pinwheels.

Denise

Tuesday Fun

I got four more blocks set together of the Posey Pinwheel design.

   And check these out – Janet P has finished her baker’s dozen cupcake swap blocks.  If you want to join in this swap, there’s still plenty of time before the due date.  Check out the swap instructions at the link at the top of the blog header and if you want to join in, be sure to email me.

  Don’t they look yummy! Thanks Janet for sharing the photo.

Denise

Design Wall Monday

I’ve been sewing for a while tonight and in addition to the two blocks I made yesterday,  have two more blocks now ready for the final seams, pieces two others done but need to cut some more pieces so will call it quits for tonight.   All those HSTs are left overs where I sewed an extra seam on a sew and flip piece that would have otherwise have cut off and tossed in the trash.  For every block I get 8 of them so those may be incorporated into the border some how or maybe just put together some how in a little wallhanging.  The rest of the design wall still has the asian fabic quilt on it that I need to get finished – I’m running out of design wall room!

Denise

Two blocks down – ?? to go

   I did decide to sort out the winter clothes before heading into the sewing room and now have all those packed away – or at least I think all of them since there always seems to be something I miss.  Still have to go through the two storage tubs of spring/summer clothes to see if it’s all keepers or if there’s stuff to clean out and get rid of but that will wait for another day.

Finally I got into the sewing room and here’s the first two Posey Pinwheel blocks I’ve got done.  So now that I now they are working out the way I planned I can layer up some fabrics and do some mass cutting rather than cutting out each block as I work on it — too slow that way.  First tho I have to decide how I want to pair up the batiks.  I haven’t decided how large I will make this quilt but now that I’ve shrunk the size of the blocks  I could add more blocks to the layout.

It has been one busy day with all the cooking, baking and cleaning.  Need to check to see if I put the last load from the washer into the dryer, clean up the dinner mess (spicy roasted potatos, steak and corn on the cob) yum a real meal for a change tho the corn was disappointing.  I’ll just have to wait a couple months till I can get it at the farmers’ market.  But think I’ll go check out the weather outside – and maybe sit out there to read before it gets too dark – I’ve got a new knitting mystery (actually two in a series  I picked up at the bookstore yesterday).  I started and finished the first yesterday so on to the next.  And then there’s that rhubarb dessert that I’d better taste test a bit later to make sure it’s okay to take into the office. 🙂  Cup of coffee, dessert and a book on the patio – can’t get much better than that to wind down the weekend.

Denise