And any other craftiness I can come up with!
Somehow I’ve managed to get a few Dear Jane blocks done since the last update. I realized when working on one of the triangles that I screwed the first one up – I didn’t check the size when I printed the instructions! So I’ll have to redo that one, but I’ve completed 2 of the applique ones. I’m definitely getting better at applique!
I know, it’s been awhile since I’ve posted. But I’ve been busy! I did manage to get some applique Dear Jane blocks finished though. And today I completed a couple more blocks. I have more in the works, hopefully I’ll get them done soon, as I’m almost at 50 blocks completed!
I don’t have any pictures yet, but I recently aquired a treadle sewing machine! I won’t go into the relationships as to who I got it from, but I have found out that it was manufactured somewhere between 1913 and 1920. It needs a lot of cleaning up and I need to replace a few parts before it will work. I’ll have to see if I can take some pictures in the next week or so to post.
I am on a roll this week! I’ve finished 5 new DJ blocks this week! I am really very happy with the way the applique blocks are starting to turn out, I think I’ve finally gotten the hang of it! Hope to get even more blocks done soon!
The biggest news this week is that I’ve been teaching! The Amherst Library has a mobile computer lab from the state for a couple of weeks and when the request went out to the guild, I said I’d be interested in teaching it. Today is my last class, 2 beginner and 2 advanced. Everyone is loving the class, and even ladies that have used it before said they’ve learned something new! I even think there are a few that will be upgrading to EQ6 soon! There is also a possibility that I may be teaching the same classes at another library in our area when they get the mobile lab, but I don’t know any details yet!
*sigh* I wasn’t planning on adding any more block of the months (BOMs) to my open projects. At least not right away. But of course, one blog links me to another blog and they are doing The Quilt Show 2010 BOM – Star Crazy. So I started thinking about what fabric I had in my stash that I could use. So, I decided to use my Moda Marbles collection that I started last year. I might not have enough to do the entire quilt, in fact I might need to get background fabric, but I’m hoping I’ll be able to use as much stash as possible! I have the first months blocks completed – I just don’t understand how you can be so careful cutting, sewing, pressing, etc and still not have the blocks come out the right size! My blocks almost NEVER come out the right size, but I always fix it later!
I also completed another block in my Dear Jane quilt. I just keep chugging along! I’m not sure I like how this one turned out, I think I picked the wrong fabric for it. I might redo it later, we’ll see.
I completed my first Dear Jane block of 2010! This one was pretty easy, I don’t mind paper pieced blocks anymore. I still have a few applique blocks prepped, but haven’t had time to work on them yet. Only 1 more block and I have all of the “A” row completed! I just have to figure out the right way to do the last block!
Somehow I managed to get 2 blocks done during the holidays – both were applique so I could work on them while we watched basketball games. I’ve started to get 2 packets a month, and I bought 3 yards of the background fabric so I can start putting the rows together as I finish them. Only 2 more blocks and all of row A is completed!
What is getting closer? Christmas! I’m frantically working to finish presents! I have 1 quilt and 1 cross stitch picture left to finish stitching…hopefully they will both be done today because I have a pile of pictures to frame! I haven’t had time to work on my Dear Jane blocks, big surprise there!
Had the ladies from Quilt Club over a few weeks ago, and I gave them all ornaments I made. These weren’t as hard as I thought to make, the machine does 98% of the work! They did turn out beautifully though!
I also can now post the Cross Stitch picture I made for one of my friends for her birthday. We celebrated with her last week even though her birthday isn’t until the 22nd. She loves anything patriotic, can you tell?
Remember when I posted that I entered an online quilt contest? Well it’s time to vote! Please go over to Quilting Gallery and vote for my quilt! It’s under Small Quilts & Projects called Holiday Stitchings. Thanks!!!
Well, I need to get off the computer and get busy on my projects, need to get them done!!! Be back soon, hopefully with some Dear Jane blocks!
I’ve been busy the last few days working on a quilt for Xmas for a friend. I’ve finally gotten the top completed, I’ll pin it Sunday and start quilting it on Monday. If I’m lucky I’ll have it ready for binding by the holiday and can be working on that after we eat! I can’t post any pics until after Xmas, I don’t know if she reads my blog or not!
The last 2 evenings I spent working on taking embroidery out of a jacket for my dad – someone gave him the jacket and the words just didn’t make sense for him to keep it on there. It was hard, but it looks pretty good – you can’t even tell the stitching was there!
I have about 8 DJ blocks I’ve completed in the last week, I’ve just been too busy to post them yet! I’m up to 33 blocks and 1 triangle (649 pieces) completed. The triangle was easier than I thought because it was paper pieced! Since I’m going to work on pinning the quilt Sunday, maybe I’ll work on more blocks tomorrow night after I get home. My mom, sister and I are going to Kidron, which is Amish country in Ohio. We’ve been making it an annual trip the last 3 years, The Amish Door has AWESOME food! You will never leave there hungry! I will be picking up some fabric at Hearthside Quilt Shoppe in Kidron for my DJ quilt that I will be using as the sashing. So I will be able to start putting rows together soon!
Time to go and relax on the couch until bed!
I’ve made some more progress on my Dear Jane blocks – I’m up to 26 blocks completed! Cutting and piecing such small blocks is making me be a lot more accurate. I have 9 blocks in row A completed, I’m debating putting them together with the sashing. Another 52 blocks and I’ll have the first 6 rows completed! I’m not sure why I waited for a year to start working on this quilt. I think it’s just thinking of all the blocks that need to be completed. I can’t wait to get the whole thing finished and take it to the guild meeting for show and tell. I’m thinking about sending an email to the shop where I’m getting the BOM from to ask them to send me 2 a month. Since I’m on such a roll, I don’t want to be waiting for more fabric to arrive!
I also can’t believe that I’m thinking about fabrics for another one. I’ve seen some very pretty rainbow ones that I’d love to do using Moda Marbles, now that would be a nice looking quilt if you find the right background (maybe there’s a white or cream Moda Marble?).
Something interesting happened yesterday, I was shopping at Joann’s and was trying to get past a couple of ladies looking at patterns. They were commenting on how hard it looked. I couldn’t help myself and asked “Can you sew a straight seam? If so, you can do this.” One of the ladies walked away to look at something else, but Janice stayed to talk to me for a few minutes. She asked if I taught classes. So I gave her my phone number and told her to call me after the holidays. I might just have something else to do during the days now!
Gotta run, time to get ready to meet the in-laws for drinks!
Yeah I know, I haven’t posted this much in a long time – but I’ve really been excited about working on this quilt – so much so that I’ve started to neglect projects I need to finish for Xmas. I have quite a few applique blocks prepped, so I’m going to see if I can start working on some presents today. Tonight is the guild meeting, so I’ll have to take a break for the meeting. I’m getting much better at the applique – I was trying to use freezer paper, but it wasn’t working well. I’ve been getting better at the needle turn applique – see what you think below 🙂
