border challenged

No this is not a blog about anything politically current. I just realized as I was documenting more of my UFOs for Kim's what are you working on question, that I am border challenged. As you will see from quite a few of the photo's below, I get to the borders and finishing anxiety, the fear of long straight lines of sewing, the oh my goodness, what do I do now, if you finish it the Quilt Police will find all those corners that do not match, who knows what sets in.

Well, anyway here are most of the UFOs. The first is a Wheel of Mystery lap top in Batik's that I am using as my leaders and enders from Bonnie Hunter's technique. They are so distinctive and not like me that it is hard to get them mixed up with anything else.

Next is the unfinished Valentines day card for my husband. This is a Mickey Dupre design from her book Garden Whimsy Applique. It still needs to be satin stitched, borders added, quilted and bound. But hey, he probably will not remember that it was suppose to be a Valentines day 2007 gift and will be just as pleased to get it in six weeks. I know this is a total excuse but I had a single hole throat plate on my sewing machine and it took me until two weeks ago to remember where I had put my regular throat plate. (In the machine cover where it is suppose to be.)

Then there is another quilt for my husband, he gave me a quilt class at my LQS (50 miles away) as a gift. He selected the fabric that was for the border, that bright jewel tone print and when I got to class the rest of the fabrics to go with it had been chosen for me. Which was really interesting because when I saw the print initially, all I saw was cream, gold and black. When I got to class, there was turquoise and I love it. Again, it just needs borders and I have all three fabrics for that, quilting and binding. This one is simple enough I think I can machine quilt it myself.

And this lovely complicated thing on the right may some day be a summer quilt for one of the beds. We definitely need them here where it snows in the winter but yet we have 100 degree days in August. I have been using this as a disciplined personal challenge where the corners must match or frog stitch until they do. I am really getting good at that frog stitch. This was a mystery from the Quiltaholics website that I started when I was on the road somewhere and was able to purchase the fabrics at a local shop and get along. I have lost the instructions, but will get a top of some sort together as there are tons of blocks done in this one. It needs to have the queen size top finished, borders, quilting and binding.

This was also a started on the road quilt. I did this NYE 2005 and it may be an Ann Smith pattern. Not sure who. The funny thing about this is I decided to do it on NYE eve and drove to the nearest quilt shop which was about 60 miles away. I was staying in a bed and breakfast at the time for my work. Anyway, I got there 15 minutes before it closed, picked all the fabrics and had them cut in 12 minutes, cut it, finished on NYE and completely messed it up, I have the pattern reversed so whoever designed this will probably not recognize it either. But I like it. It does have borders, one for me, and needs to be quilted and bound. I will try to machine quilt this also.

This next one is a Details by Diane design I thought I could finish quickly. All the irises are cut out of that border print. Look Mom, it has borders. That is where I got, again it needs to be machine appliqued on then quilted and bound. It has been hanging on my sewing room wall for what seems like eons now.





And this next beauty is a Moda panel from a few years ago that I was going to make so I could practice machine quilting. Yes, those are pins in the border which are probably rusted with age now.

















And this is a flannel lap top quilt for me to use in the media room which is always way too cold for my taste. It is from a Fons and Porter Love of Quilting magazine. It is pieced, needs borders, quilted and bound. And I have to say this is my last flannel quilt for a long time. I bought the fabric from The Cotton Patch in San Francisco and pieces that were from the same manufacturer shrunk differently, shed differently, some became almost too thin to use after washing. But this too must be finished.








These are various blocks from various block of the month's I have been doing. One is the Saturday sampler from the Great American Quilt Factory in Denver, Co. It is called Rocky Mountain Wildflowers but is done in all the purples, greens and golds that are present here in the Sierra Mountain wildflowers. Those birdhouses are a pattern called Birdhouse village by the The Quilt Company. I have to finish the applique which I take with me when I travel I have about half of the 12 by 18 inch blocks finished. I hope to get the rest done in the next couple of business trips. The others I will talk more about another time.

This quilt here is from Beth Ferrier's (my favorite quilt designer) website. It was here 2005 block of the month called Simple Pleasures. It reminded me so much of my Mother. Most of those blocks will have applique on them. I am doing it in a beautiful floral collection from Moda. My mother had the greenest thumb of anyone I ever knew. And all the appliques remind me of here. My mitten block which is the only finished one with applique is missing. Isn't that always the way with mittens.

The next one is from America's Patchwork and Quilting about 1996 or 1997. I have saved it forever and made it this fall. It was a pattern called Witches' Candy. I just love that name but I did not love all those little bitty tiny pieces.


I just love Halloween. So I started this one also, it is a pattern entitled Frieda by Sara Tuttle of Quilt Country. Yes, I got the pattern backwards, but it is my quilt and I am happy with it. Needs machine applique, borders, etc.

Anyway, there they are, including the Christmas quilt that just makes me smile every time I pull it out. Yes it has borders, those darling little presents. And anyone who quilts and has a cat, I think one is a prerequisite of the other, also knows that they are always tangled up in your Christmas ornaments. Again needing satin stitch applique, etc. but I do have my challenges in 2008.

Stay warm, Mary

Bouquets for a new day

Well, I may have to do this one. Everyone is talking about the block of the month that they are planning for next year. That is everyone that is not racing to sew the kazillion little block's together for Bonnie Hunter's Carolina Crossroads mystery.

I belong to the Quilt Show website and they announced a couple of days ago that they would also be doing a block of the month for members by Sue Garman. She is the wonderful designer from Quakertown Quilts in Friendswood, Texas that did the Mama Said quilt.

Here is the one she will be doing for the Quilt Show on her blog. Go down to the bottom of the page and look at her ladies of the sea quilt. I am so excited. Hers was one of the first block of the month's I ever did. It was all stars, I pieced and quilted it by hand, and gave it away with a picture. But this one is for me.

I love red and white quilts. I love finished quilts. Who knows, maybe I can do both. It doesn't hurt a girl to dream.

Stay warm, Mary

NYE Mystery

Well, I wasn't going to start a new project this year, in fact I had made a new years resolution to bare my quilting soul. Kim had asked for everyone to post their New Year's quilting resolutions. So to put the pressure on me, and I do succumb to pressure, I was going to pull out everyone of those UFOs, take a picture of it in its current (dilapidated) state and post it on this web page for the world to see were they to come looking. I was even going to pull out the ribbon projects.

A ribbon project is how I store my twinkle in the eye projects. You know those as the ones you have all the fabric for, pulled together with the pattern and all tied up with a ribbon. They are actually like little guilt presents. If I keep them in a closet, then there is not quite so much guilt but the guilt is there.

If there is a picture, it is much more of a confession/commitment than just a list in the sidebar of ones blog for me. I am taking pictures of these projects today and hope to get the whole ugly confession out there on the world wide web before midnight on New Year's Eve. And to start the story here is my oldest UFO:


I started this one the morning the Columbia space shuttle broke apart. National Public Radio was playing in the background and it took me a moment to realize that they were reporting actual events as they were happening. It was to be a full size quilt but it still needs a row on either side to be wide enough, then borders, quilting and binding. So that is number one.

But back to the tile of this post. I was not going to do another project but Ann Smith on a Yahoo group announced another NYE mystery and I could not resist. I have done a couple of her mysteries before (one of which will show up in the UFO confession I think) and she always does such wonderful projects, stash scrappy friendly and is the most encouraging designer out there in my humble opinion so I am hooked.

I was going to do the queen size, must use stash, must use stash but it called for five plus yards of background fabric. That took me a while to put together. So here is where I started. That Robert Kaufmann print will be my border and I found enough cream fabrics to make the six yards I need for the background. The medium and dark would be that Robyn Pandolph and Moda Marble. Cool, it sounded like a plan. Then I slept on it.

This morning I thought, why not make everything scrappy so I started pulling fabrics, must use stash, and here is what I came up with so it is a go. I have been buying those salmon colored fabrics every time I see them for a couple of years. I love the color and it must be out of fashion in quilting circles because it is hard to find, but as Ann always says, "Of course it will work, it is your quilt."

Today I cut, tomorrow I post pictures of all the UFO's and New Years Eve I add one more to the list unless I can make it all the way through. George, my quilting partner seems to approve. But then he approves of all things quilting. Wish me luck!

New Header

Okay, so I am a blog Luddite. I am trying to make my title a little more than plain white. And it has been plain white around here lately with the snow. So that reminded me of a picture of Davey, my 25 pound cat that left us last year, in the snow about a month before he died. It is still a white header and I will work on getting the words more readable. The Luddite will go away now.

Happy Holidays

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+..¸ + _/ /\____ + + +
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Happy Holidays....from our house to yours

Peace and love , hope and joy
Health and wonder to you and yours.

Mary

i am dreaming

Well, I just had to post this. We were checking the weather this morning and December 25 is now in range and this is what it shows for Christmas day!!!






Now I know that is a silly weather icon, but I am dreaming of a white Christmas. Christmas here in the mountains is always cold but snow on Christmas day. What a gift!!!!