freehand quilting · machine quilting · quilt top · quilting · stash busting

Sunday Stash Reporting, December 7, 2008 (edited to add photo posting tip)


  • Incoming Yardage to date: 84
  • Outgoing Yardage to date:  114 & 7/12 yds.
  • Total Stash Busted to date: 40 & 7/12 yds.

I used 6.5 yards over the last two or three weeks. I can’t remember when I last posted a stash report.  I used 6 doing some tweaking with my machine, and I needed some fabric to play around on, and 1/2 yard was pulled to take to my guild party.  I have not brought any new stash in, except for the four Christmas fat quarters I had to buy to take to the guild party.  I’m not counting those. 🙂

I’m still not feeling 100% up to par.  I get tired really easy, and I have had lots of sinus headaches.  I did get our tree up and decorated yesterday, as well as set out a few other decorations.  I also finally got back to quilting on Anita’s quilt.  I worked on it a bit yesterday and today.  I finished up all the bugs, and quilted a loopy design with hearts and butterflies in the rest of the blue space.

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I used the ladybugs in Michelle Wyman’s Lotsa Lady Bugs pantograph pattern as the inspiration for this little bug.

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I am now working on the stars.  I have one done.

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I used my Circle Lord crosshatch template for the first time, and I do like the results, but I’m not sure exactly how, when using it from the back of the machine, you are supposed to be able to tell where to stop stitching, as the hopping foot is in the way.  So, I stitched from the front, and for every line, bent down under the machine to move the stylus to the next row.  There’s got to be a better way…..????

I am also using my swag templates from Tracey Browning for the first time.  (Anita, you didn’t know you were going to be such a guinea pig, did you?)  I like them, too, however these did not fill the border as much as I had hoped, so I will go back and add some quilting on the outer edge to fill it in some more.

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I really wasn’t in the mood for Christmas yet, this year.  And I was being grouchy about putting up the tree, as I am just feeling a bit behind in my quilting, my housework, everything.  Then, I checked in on a blog I’ve been following, ever since I read about it on Judy L’s blog awhile back.  This young 32 yr. old mother, Shawndra Turner, has been battling colorectal cancer, and seems to have really taken a turn f0r the worse.  I was so sad reading it yesterday.  I have really been touched by her writings.  As I put up the tree and fluffed the branches, which I really don’t enjoy, I had a whole different attitude.  I fluffed those branches and felt grateful for every blessed minute of it.  I listened to the Sirius holiday station, and am grateful to be celebrating the season.  I pray for this little family.

I want to thank everyone that sent me get well wishes!  I haven’t been good at keeping up with my replies this week, but I appreciated each and every one.  I am still doing my replies by email, for the most part.  Most of the comments I received when I asked, prefer them that way.  Also, when I think about it, I don’t always go back to blogs to see if a blogger has posted a reply to my comment on their comment page. 

This is the only new progress on my mystery quilt.  We will get more instructions in January.

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It seems like there was something else I was going to write about, but it escapes me just now.  Have a wonderful week, y’all!

(I’m noticing that since the new changes at WordPress, that some of the pics are not clickable anymore.  What’s up with that?) I wrote WordPress Support to inquire about the photos.  I got this answer and thought I’d pass it along.  I tried it out on the first photo in this post, and it worked.

“Make sure to click the File URL or Post URL button before you click the Insert into Post button. Once you’ve done this, your choice will be remembered for next time.”

 

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Thursday Thankfulness


I was going to do a post about Thanksgiving last week, but then I got sick.  I’m still trying to get all bounced back, so bear with me if my blogging is a bit lacking for awhile.  I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday! We did, even though DH & I were both sick.  We traveled to Nebraska to spend the holiday with my oldest stepdaughter and her family.  I was going to take  my camera, but I forgot it.  I was doing good just to get myself and all my medicine packed.  I was running over 102 fever Tues. night.  We left Wednesday morning, and got home Saturday night.  I have been EXHAUSTED.  Today is the first day I have felt a bit more energetic since we got home.  I get through my day at work, come home and CRASH.  Needless to say, I am behind on EVERYTHING.  We thought we should stay home, but my stepdaughter is an RN and told us to come anyway.  DH was past the contagious stage, and I had been on antibiotics for 24 hours.  I still have my tonsils, and they had finally had more than they could handle, and had begun to get really infected.  Anyway…I’m thankful for the great family time that we got to spend with them.  It had been a year since we had seen them, and we all would have been really sad if we had to miss it.  The kids are growing up so fast, and they were so looking forward to us visiting.  I got to have a nice “date” with my stepdaughter and granddaughter, on Friday.  We left all the boys behind, and spent the day together.  I’m thankful for the good relationship that we have. 

If I had remembered my camera, I would have taken a picture for Gayle.  I saw one of those pieces of farm machinery that she loves.  I don’t know the name, but it is red & yellow, with these cool looking circles.  She has put pictures on her blog before, because she likes it, and I will never see one again without thinking of her.  I also would have taken pictures of all the tumbleweeds we saw on the way home.  It was so funny watching them tumbling across the road and the fields.  Some were HUGE.  Of course, there would have been pics of the kids, too. 

That’s really all I have tonight.  I just thought I’d pop in and explain my absence.  Hopefully, I will be back to normal soon.  In the meantime, I’m taking it easy and taking care of me…lol.

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Recent Awards


I have rec’d some blogging awards recently, that I need to acknowledge and express my appreciation to those that bestowed them upon me.

Irene awarded me:

The rules of the award are:

1. The winner may put the logo on her blog.

2. Put a link to the person you got the award from in your blog.

3. Nominate 3 blogs

4. Put links to the blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees.
These are always hard for me, because there are so many of you I think deserve this award.  I think today I will pass it on to Beth, Maria, and Wendy.
So consider yourselves awarded, play along if you like, but don’t feel bad if you don’t! 🙂
Awhile back, Jan & Freda both awarded me:

The rules for this one are a bit more complicated, and apparently require more effort to pass on than I wanted to invest. (Bad Randi, bad, bad Randi)

1. Put the logo on your blog
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you
3. Nominate 10 other blogs for this award
4. Add links to those blogs
5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs
6. Give a reason why you consider their blogs cool.

So, thank you Jan & Freda for thinking enough of my blog to award me.  I’m just too lazy to do the work to pass it on. 🙂  And thank you to those of you that think it’s worth it just to pop in and see what I’m up to on a regular basis!

longarm quilting · machine quilting · quilt top · quilting · quilts · stash busting

Sunday Reporting and a shout out to Anita!


My stash hasn’t changed much.  2/3 of a yd out for binding.  Oh! I had to come back and add a yard I forgot about! I have gifted a yard to someone, they just don’t know it yet! So 1 & 2/3 yds out of my stash this week.

  • Incoming Yardage to date: 84
  • Outgoing Yardage to date:  118 & 1/12 yds.
  • Total Stash Busted to date: 34 & 1/12  yds.
Today’s post is mostly for my dear, sweet friend…Anita.  We became best friends in high school.  Life has kept us apart from each other, physically, for about 12 years now.  But the quilt I have on the machine now is Anita’s.  This is a very special project for me! Twenty-seven years ago, would you have thought we would be working on a quilt together? 🙂  A little sneak peek for you, so you can tell me if you think I’m on the right track.
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Now do tell me if you don’t like it! I’ll pick it out and start over! Really!
Working on this today got me thinking about this.
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This was my wedding gift (my first marriage) from Anita, her mother and grandmother.  Her grandmother made it.  I have forgotten a lot of things over the years, but I remember that the card that accompanied it said they hoped I loved it as much as they loved me.  The marriage lasted a whole five years.  I had to choose some things to leave behind.  This was not one of them.  🙂
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Tagged! And a blog commenting question.


This tag is definitely different from any I’ve seen before, and kind of a fun idea.  Carla has tagged me to grab the 4th picture, on the 4th month of your blogiversary, and post it on your blog. Tag 4 others to do the same.  So, if I did it correctly, this is the photo.  I was working on my cousin’s cattle brand quilt, and this is one of the pics.

I tag Jan, Deb, Suzanne, and Vicki!

Also, while I’m posting, I think that I may start answering most of my blog comments, on the actual comment page itself.  That way, if there are more than one asking the same question, I can answer all at once.  I’ve done replies both ways, but I always worry that I will reply on the post, and the commentor won’t come back to see it, and think I ignored them.  What is your favorite way to get blog replies? Or to give blog replies? I’d love to hear what you think!

longarm quilting · machine quilting · quilting · stash busting

Good Mail Day and Late Stash Report!


Good things come in these packages!

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I ordered this cute Laurel Burch drawstring bag from Suzanne’s store, Knots & Bolts.  I ordered it Saturday, and it was waiting for me on my front porch when I got home from work yesterday!  That was fast!

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I also ordered another marking pencil, and the fat quarter was a sweet surprise! Thanks, Suzanne!

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Quilting news of the week is that Joanna’s quilt is coming along quite nicely!

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My belated stash report for the week is mostly about what I didn’t buy!  I figure that I saved $516.32 by sticking to my guns and not purchasing more stash right now.  I allowed myself to shop a sale at an online fabric store I love, and put everything in my cart that I usually would have, but then emptied it all out after I got my total.  There was some good stuff in there, too!  Yay me!  I’m close to having saved enough for a linen cabinet I’ve been wanting to buy from Plow and Hearth.  🙂

longarm quilting · machine quilting · quilt top · quilting · quilts

I Got There!


I did get to the end on this one last night.  The pics aren’t the greatest, but it’s so big, and so busy, it’s the best I could get.

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Now the waiting begins.  The waiting until my customer comes to get it and I see her reaction.  I think she will love it, she has loved everything I have quilted for her, but will I ever quit being nervous and worrying about this part?  Ever? 

Longarming is a linty job…for sure.  This is what it looks like in the bobbin area, after just one pass.

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This is how much thread I used, just on the top of this one.  The cone on the left was brand new, and you can see how much is gone, compared to the new one next to it.  I used a complimentary solid on the bottom, so you can see that this one took a LOT of thread.

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This morning I gave my longarm, Corky, a thorough cleaning to get rid of all that lint.  Cleaned the table and table rails, wheels, and gave her a thorough oiling.  Put in a new needle, and she is all ready to go on the next quilt.  This one is going on next.  What nice bright change from the dark fall colors I just finished! Won’t this be fun?  This top belongs to Joanna

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And check out this sweet little surprise she had tucked in the box for me!  She tatted this little Christmas wreath.  It’s awesome and I can’t wait to hang it on my tree!  Thank you, Joanna!

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Lastly, I wanted to thank everyone for all the sweet comments about BunBun.  I found one final pic that I’d like to share.  This is right after I brought her home.  She thought she found a new mama. 🙂

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