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Thursday’s UFO Report

18 September 2009, 11:16 am

What, you say?  It’s not Thursday???  I’ve got to get my calendar fixed.

Quilts0005

I have actual UFO progress to report!!!  My 9-patch new antique quilt, a sew-along with Amandajean on CrazyMomQuilts, is FINALLY a completed top!!!  Now it’s off to the longarmer for quilting.  Oh, wait, that’s me.  This is the one I’m going to do the wonky freehand Baptist fans on, so I’m quite excited about getting this one done.  I’ve decided to use wool batting, and this will be the winter quilt in our guest room when we pop down the Murphy bed. 

I like the little border of leftover blocks framed with the navy.  Very cool!  I think the original design was 8 x 9 blocks, for a total of 72.  I did mine 8 x 10 for a total of 80 blocks.  It wouldn’t fit a traditional queen-sized bed, but I like how it fits on the Murphy bed, even allowing for a little “shrinkage” that will happen when it’s quilted.  This will be a nice contrast to the summer quilt (and full-time husband) in this photo:

Murphy_Bed

 I also did another 8 blocks on Judy L’s Shine On Bayou Cane quilt, which is slated for DS #3.  24 blocks done, 32 to go!!!  I really like the civil war reproduction fabrics in this quilt, and the secondary design the light and dark background fabrics make will make it pretty unique. 

Quilts0009
  • And on an unrelated note, is anyone out there planning on taking in the North Dakota quilt show next weekend in Fargo?  I am thinking about packing a bag and going up there for a couple of days.
  • –Sue
  • p.s.  Let us know how are you doing on your UFOs???
Filed under Thursday's Child Has Far to Sew.
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Wednesday’s Puzzle

16 September 2009, 7:30 am

One of my favorite quilts at the Minnesota State Fair was this beauty (and only a corner of the quilt is in this photo):

StateFairReduced

Of course this quilt is under glass so it’s hard to tell, but I’m quite sure it’s made out of wool.  The decorative stitching was so rich looking, coupled with the color depth of the wool, made this quilt a real stunner.  Here it is for your puzzling pleasure:

Click to Mix and Solve

–Sue

Filed under Wednesday's Puzzles.
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Telephoto Tuesday

15 September 2009, 7:59 am

It must be the shift in the weather, but I’m starting to think about going south to Texas!  That’s our winter visiting place, the Gulf Coast on Mustang Island.  We have a small condo down there that is rented the rest of the year, so soon we will be going down for a week or so to clean up, paint up, fix up.  Even though that week is a working vacation, it’s still a fun change of scenery.

For Telephoto Tuesday, I thought I would share some Port Aransas pictures.  One of my favorite places on the island is the Birding Center.  Here is the walkway; it shows how vast this area is.  (Actually, I just realized this is only about 2/3 of the walkway because the tower isn’t shown; I must be standing next to it.)

Birding Center

 DS Rob was with us this trip.  DS & DH were looking at something in the water…

BirdingCenterJimRob

They weren’t kidding when they posted the Watch Out for the Alligator sign at the entrance!  (And who would really think there would be an alligator in a birding center anyway???)

BirdingCenterGator

 This particular visit was the only time I’ve seen the Black Bellied Whistling Ducks.  This pair posed and posed for me.

Whistling Ducks3

Whistling Ducks

If we pretend we’re sleeping, maybe she will go away…Whistling Ducks2

The barrier islands of Texas (So Padre, No Padre, Mustang) are great places for bird watching because it’s a migratory path for many birds.  You never know what you’re going to see on your next visit!

–Sue

Filed under Telephoto Tuesday.
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Monday’s DESIGN WALL

14 September 2009, 9:39 am

Judy L started Design Wall Monday, and it’s good to take time once a week to reflect on what you’re working on and what progress you are (or aren’t) making! 

 DesignWallMonday0027

On my design wall are my quilt guild’s BOM blocks.  I have three additional blocks done (they’re in the center column).  This quilt needs to be done by the December meeting.  It’s slated to be a Christmas gift for DIL Lynn (if she still likes it when it’s done).  Obviously, it’s not a surprise, as she does stop by the MIL’s blog once in a while!  Three blocks to go.

Judy L’s Shine On Bayou Cane quilt, I’m still getting the blocks put together (some blocks are on the right-hand side of the design wall).  This quilt is designated as DS Rob’s quilt (30th birthday, months late!!!).  He’s been looking at houses, and I wanted to get it done by the time he finds a house.  That day is getting closer, by the sound of things.  Tick, tock, tick, tock…

 DesignWallMonday0030

Picture above on my “design floor” is my 9-patch quilt-along project from Amandajean’s site.  This quilt is reminding me of an antique quilt, and I’ve tried to keep that frame of mind while I’m working on it.  All but the navy is from the scrap bucket.  I pretty much just cobbled the fabrics together.  I didn’t lay them out on the design wall.  I just picked the blocks off a pile and stitched them into rows, and then put the rows together — even if I had reds next to reds, blues next to blues.  I imagined it’s the late 1800s, I am stitching this quilt up from the household scraps, winter’s a-comin’  and I got babies to keep warm!  Of course, the story will kind of get lost when I pin it on the long arm, but I have to finish the borders first. 

I do plan to try quilting it in Mary’s freehand Baptist fans.  Mary based these on Patsy Thompson’s free handout on her site.  This quilt will be my brand-new antique quilt, and I’m loving it.  It might even keep my “babies” warm this winter when they come to visit!

Added Note:  I own Patsy’s Free Motion  Fun with Feathers, Vols 1 & 2.  It was after watching one of the DVDs that I  quilted my challenge.  Love her quilting!

 A couple of small customer items I want to get quilted by Wednesday, and that’s my week in preview!

–Sue

Filed under Monday's Design Wall.
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A Sampler of Topics…

13 September 2009, 2:15 pm

First off, it’s Judy Laquidara’s Stash-Busting Sunday.  I didn’t report last week, so this is two weeks’ worth of reporting.  Nothing bought (well, I bought four kits at the fair, but they were all for gifts, and they are all given away).  4.75 yards left my stash in my what-did-Sue-eat-at-the-State-Fair give-away.  I’ve been sewing sashing strips and borders together (how boring is that???), which is great progress on the UFO front, but I’m not using any additional fabric out of stash.

  • Used this week:  4.75 yards
  • YTD:  159.25 yards used
  • Purchased this week:  Zilch
  • YTD:  164.5 yards purchased
  • YTD Net:  5.25 yards IN  — I’m getting close to where I started 8 1/2 months ago!

    • And speaking of my give-away, one of the winners, Barbara, was inspired to start a blog!!!  Stop by to welcome her to blogland, and please say “hi”.  It’s always nice to know somebody visited you. 

    This leads me to something else I’ve been thinking about mentioning on my blog, it’s a couple of great ways to increase your visitor count, and that is to sign up for some of the quilt blog lists that are out there.  Some to check out:

    They are a great resource if you’re looking for quilt blogs to visit, but they are also helpful ways to increase the exposure of your blog to other quilters.  On the Quilting Gallery site, you are able to search for quilt blogs by state (as well as search other ways), which is fun if you are specifically looking for blogs in your part of the world.

    And lastly, this has been a great bird-watching week so I will include some bird photos that made me smile.  We seem to be having three different hummingbirds favoring us with feeder visits.  One is a male:

    091309Hummer

    And this is the same guy perched on their favorite branch.  He looks chunkier in the tree.  His mama must have taught him to sit up straight at the “table”.

    091309HummerTree

    This is one of the females.  (We know there are two, because one has even spots on her throat, “No-Spot”, and the other one has one bigger splotch that stands out, “Spot”.)  This one has really gotten bossy, and now sits in the tree and chases off any other hummingbird that tries to steal a sip of syrup.  This is definitely No-Spot’s tree.

    091309Hummer2  

     

     091309HummerFemLeaving

    And this bird made me scramble for the bird book.  I thought it was some sort of horned bird.  Turns out the juvenile house finches can have these tufts, and the morning sun was really highlighting them.  Pretty cool looking.091309HouseFinch

     –Sue

    Filed under Out My Window, Stash Busting Sunday.
    4 Comments

    Multi-Tasking

    9 September 2009, 8:28 am

    I am so grateful to be living in the age of technology.  I’m feeling just a little bit *smug* this morning, as I am washing clothes, downloading 875 photos on the big computer, drinking my almost-latte’ coffee drink made in my precious Keurig coffee maker, having sewed two more long sashing strips this a.m. on my 9-Patch Almost Antique quilt on my secondary sewing machine (janome jem) that I can plop on the kitchen island and sneak in an occasional stitch or two, after having filled the hummingbird feeder with some new “juice” I cooked up quick in the microwave last night so it could cool overnight.  The clean dishes that washed overnight in the dishwasher are completing an air dry as I pulled out the rack when I got up this morning.  So here I sit at my kitchen table, sipping coffee, watching the birds out the window, typing on my netbook, feeling like I’ve done soooo much already…

    –Sue

    Filed under Miscellaneous.
    1 Comment

    Wednesday’s Puzzle

    8 September 2009, 10:43 pm

     StateFair20090159a

    Today is puzzle day, and this is a perfect example of what happens when you don’t have grandchildren:  you post a picture of a baby farm animal.  This is a newborn calf from the Miracle of Birth building at the now-over Minnesota State Fair.  And here he is as a puzzle:

    Click to Mix and Solve

    –Sue

    (Rats!  I just saw that I posted this picture last week.  Oh, well, I’m too tired to change it out for something new and I’m going to bed.  I’ll be more attentive next week.  Maybe.)  And Eileen, this picture makes me think of you and Roger!  Moooooo….

    Filed under Wednesday's Puzzles.
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    Where Does The Time Go???

    8 September 2009, 10:07 pm

    If someone has figured it out, let me know!  It does not feel like Tuesday to me.  I have lost at least a couple of days, I figure, and I have no idea where to look for them.

    I have my 9-Patch buffet quilt almost a sewn-together top.  The quilt got stalled out again this summer, and it was because I wasn’t loving the sashing fabric I purchased.  I unsewed the 25 or so blocks out of 80 that had the sashing strips attached (not 10 blocks like I previously thought), sewed on the new fabric, and I am loving this quilt again!  It kind of looks like a new antique quilt.   Pictures on UFO Thursday.

    Also I have spent a bunch of time at my kiitchen window watching the birds.  They must not have gotten the memo that I have better things to do and to leave me alone.  Pictures on Photo Friday.

    I also put together a photo album on the Kodak site of some of the pictures DH took at nephew Dan’s memorial in Seattle last week.  When this book comes in the mail, I will have to share my book-making experiences with you.  I previously did a big coffee-table sized book of our Alaska pictures with another publisher, and I am so pleased with how that one came out.

    And yesterday I made a pot of chicken and rice.  Mmmmm.  I have to remember to make it more often.

    Well, I guess that list has helped me figure out where some of my time went…

    –Sue

    Filed under Miscellaneous.
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    Thursday’s UFO Report

    4 September 2009, 7:00 am

    (Note:  Photos of most of these projects can be seen by clicking the UFOs tab at the top of this page.)

    Guild BOM in Asian Fabrics – Three more blocks done on my quilt guild’s BOM.  I guess this is a reverse UFO because I am working ahead to finish it up early.  I just want it done so I don’t have to get the fabrics out once a month any more.  Nine down, three to go. This one is slated for DIL Lynn’s Christmas present; can’t let it disappear into the closet!

    Nine Patch Buffet — This project stalled again for a month or so (too many vacations/finishing quilts for the fair/going to the fair), and I decided I’m not 100% pleased with the sashing color.  I am going to take the brighter blue sashing off the ten or so blocks that I’ve sewed it on, and replace it with a very dark navy sashing/border/binding.

    Shine On Bayou Cane — Eight more blocks to put together this week.  Have to keep working on this one, as it’s promised to DS Rob (if he still likes it when it’s done).  I’m going to a quilting get-together today, and we’re working on fall-themed projects.  I plan to finish my fall project early (small table mat) and sneak in working some of these stars!

    Posh Charm Squares Quilt     — This top is finished and needs to go on the Gammill to experience the miracle of quilting.  Friend Betty said she would bind it for me, so I really need to get it quilted!  Slated for SIL Marilyn.

    How are you doing on your UFOs? 

    –Sue

    Filed under Thursday's Child Has Far to Sew.
    3 Comments

    Contest Results…

    2 September 2009, 8:58 am

    What a silly contest — What Did Sue Eat at the Fair???  I was really worried for a while, because it didn’t look like we were going to have a winner.  A lot of you picked one of my food items, my dessert:

    KeyLinePie

     

    The Key Lime Pie on a Stick.  And it was delicious!

    A lot of you picked shrimp, which looked yummy as they were without breading with just a brush of butter, but I can get shrimp lots of places.  I heard that the pork chop on a stick was wonderful, but we have pork chops a lot at home.  Son Dave thought I would choose the nut roll because I love Pearson’s Salted Nut Rolls, but why waste a choice at the fair for something I can get at the store?  Hot Dish on a Stick?  No way, you would have to pay ME to eat that one.  A number of you chose the Fudge Puppies, which I might have tried if I hadn’t already had the Key Lime Pie.  So what did I eat? 

    Deep-fried LOBSTER!

    Lobster

    Only two people chose lobster:  my Aunt Bert, and Barb.  Bert paired it with the Mocha on a Stick (she knows how much I love coffee & chocolate), and Barb

    PAIRED IT WITH KEY LIME PIE!!!!  Congratulations, Barb!  But wait — there’s more!  Since I was fully expecting to give out at least two prizes, let’s do a randomly generated number from the rest of the numbers for a 2nd winner (I’ll do it over if Barb’s # 21 comes up…)

      RandomNumber0002

    #16 is Judy D, who guessed Fudge Puppies & Shrimp.  Thanks to all of you who kept me entertained for a few days by your comments, and as a bonus, helped me reduce a little stash!
    And would I have the lobster again?  Probably not.  I think next time I would go with the pork chop and then try a Fudge Puppy.  Ahh, so much food, so little time thanks goodness for elastic-waisted pants!  (By the way, they offered me melted butter to dip the deep-fried lobster into.  I passed on the butter.  As bad as my eating habits are, you have to draw the line somewhere!)

    I have a Moda Gypsy Rose (by Fig Tree Quilts)  jelly roll and a layer cake. Barb will get her first choice of the layer cake or the jelly roll, and I will contact the winners via e-mail as well.  Congratulations!

    Sue

    Filed under Miscellaneous.
    8 Comments
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