I'm not backsliding

Really I'm not!  There's exception to every rule.  So I can start a new quilt if NEEDED, and this one is NEEDED.  Sometimes you need a quick quilt so whats quicker than a simple charm quilt.  I dug through my stash and came up with my own charm pack.  Okay so they may not match exactly but they'll pass.   Adding just a touch of applique will make even the simplest of quilts  more attractive.  Wish I could tell you why I started this quilt but I can't just yet.  Researching colors and how they effect people is what decided the colors in this quilt.  Looks like a Easter quilt, but its not.   Hope to have it pieced and quilted by tomorrow night.  Wish me luck!

 Since it needed to be quick the applique is invisible machine applique.  Quick?  Well it's quicker.  No its not fused.  They were freezer paper turned, stitched to quilt square with monofiliment thread.  The invisible stitch is hard to do because its such a tiny bite of a blanket stitch. (you can find my technique here, good instructions, a few pages long) Reading glasses and stitching v-e-r-y
 s-l-o-w was still much quicker than hand applique.   Hope to see you Friday morning with the finished product and the story behind the quilt.  And pictures of mommas quilt( that still needs the borders quilted!)  Its Crunch time!

Until next time "Quilt out of your Comfort Zone!"
Lea

Uncomfortable comfort zone

The last week hasn't been good for quilting.  A couple of days ago I tore apart my quilting machine and pulled out my hair for two hours only to find that it was operator error.  And then today I ended up calling customer service for my Baileys  Home Quilter.  Luckily it was something I could fix in jiffy.  But of course before I called I spent about an hour trying to figure it out myself.  Good news is I'm quilting again!  So during my break while the sun was shining in the window I managed to get a really go picture of the progress.  Don't look at my stray threads that still need to be buried. 

With all the frustration I decided I needed some comfort food.  This is a wonderful dish if you don't mind a ton of calories.  And its super easy and quick.

Ingredients:

1 (19oz) bag of frozen cheese tortellini 

1 small bag of fresh spinach ( I used about half of a 5 oz package)

2 (14.5 oz) cans of Italian style diced tomatoes, drained

1 block (8 oz) of cream cheese or neufchatel (less fat)

1 lb. of ground sausage or chicken/turkey sausage

4 cups of chicken broth 

Brown and drain the sausage and put all ingredients in crockpot,

chunking up the cream cheese.

Cook on low for 4-6 hrs.

I made this on the stove top on low heat and it cooked up in about an hour.  Severed with homemade Italian bread and homemade garlic butter.  Comforting and YUMMY!

Until next time "Quilt out of your Comfort Zone!"

Lea

Slow progress

The last couple of days has been spent finishing the border on the quilt in the last post and piecing these blocks that my momma made many years ago.  When asked she said "Its been so many years I don't know, all I know is that I bought them when we bought the house."  Well she's lived in the same house for almost 40 yrs!  Not sure if I should quilt around the yellow flowers or not...we'll play it by ear.

 This is my plan for between the blocks. 

...Played around with some of the 790 hst's

 I wasn't gonna show you this because I knew how jealous it would make all of you....LOL....my honey is such a romantic.  This was found on the kitchen counter yesterday morning.  6 years ago yesterday, at work, my sweetie(at the time a co-worker) gave me one single rose to let me know he was interested...and the rest is history

Until next time "Quilt out of your Comfort Zone!"

Lea

Here's the Plan

We all have them BIG plans and that's why there's so many UFO'S collecting in our closets and for that matter every other nook and cranny.  So I've decided to only work on UFO's or WIP.  Now that doesn't mean I can't make a new gift or commissioned work. Once I get them all done then I can start again! NO NO NO!  The PLAN would be to start and finish, start and finish...you know the way its suppose to be done(or so they say)  I want to be "A Finisher".  Now that it's out on the table the chances of success are much greater.  So here's what I pulled out of the closet today.  This was started last year sometime and I lost steam.  It was a build as you go project, no real plan, just an idea.  After a bad cut and a and some plan changing I managed to get it set on point with a border.  The next border is on the cutting table as I type.  Not stopping till its ready for the "Needs Quilted" Box.  

And looky here!  Yesterday I spent the day with momma doing the biweekly doctor visit with lab work and scans.  It was nuts, community hospitals....UGGG.  I begged her to switch doctors.  There's no reason to have so many tests and such....and then when we got there...we were there for 3 hours...I'm letting it go it's over.   Anyway look what momma bought!  We were getting enough batting for me to finish an old quilt top of hers and she said "Isn't it cheaper to buy it by the bolt?"  Well yes it is mom if the budget permits.  She promptly whipped out dads credit card and said "Your daddy's does, now get the bolt with your 50% off coupon!"  I'm thinking dad must have made mom mad, but I'm not complaining!

  Until next time "Quilt out of your Comfort Zone!"

Lea

A flock of Cardinals

  I spent the early part of this week recovering from the bedroom redecorating.  Seems my eyes don't like wallpaper dust.  For the first part of the week my right eye was red and swollen, so I thought it was a good time to just sit around and catch up on some applique handwork.   But before I show you that.....

..... At last this is ready to be quilted.  How many times have you thought you did the math only to find that your math skills are fading?  Really it was just an EQ error, no EQ didn't make the mistake I did.  There was supposed to be a flange between the green border and the log cabin border.  The only way to show that in EQ (that I know of) is to add a tiny border and remember that its really a flange.  Well I forgot...OOOPS!  So the flange became a tiny border of pale yellow.  It made me so mad that I made this minor error, so I shoved it in the closet till the mood past.  So it took a couple of months, I never said I was the most easy going person....LOL 

 The applique was designed by me with pencil and paper.  

Okay now here's what I did while in recovery... Block one of the Jingle BOM is complete.  I did a Hungarian chain stitch for the stems.  Might redo this block, this stem has a little wonky under the bottom bird.  Funny thing how Erin chose cardinals....Great minds think a like!  But I was first!....LOL....Actually I think this block inspired me to get out my cardinal quilt and get it done... Thanks Erin!

 This block is from an old BOM that I purchased when our LQS went out of business last year.  There was only 6 of the 12 blocks, but they were 50% off so it was a good deal that will make a cute throw or wall hanging.  

Until next time "Quilt out of your Comfort Zone!"

Lea

Something different

One of the BOM's that I'm working on includes hand emboidery.  Just wanted to share a link that was shared with me by Erin Russek over at Onepieceatatime.
Lots of free patterns, tutorials, and videos.  

Design Wall Monday and a TIP

A few months ago I began digging through my scrap box and sewing up HST's using Printable Papers found here.  Last night during the Super Bowl (By the way it was a great game!) I needed a project that would keep my hands busy but not my eyes, so I began ripping off the papers.  Here's the layout I came up with. It'll finish at 12".

Tearing off all those papers was a chore.  Even though I had my stitches set small the paper still wanted to pull my end stitches out.  So here's my TIP if you use printer paper to make these.

A jar with with a few inches of water, a dishcloth, wet and rolled.

Push the wash cloth down in the water.  Should it start to dry out just push down in the water and pull it back up.  Now I place these between my legs as I sat on the couch with a quilt draped over my lap(in case the game got exciting and I spill the water) I had the jar closest to me and then the bowl sitting behind that, with the box of HST's to my right and the finished ones to my left.

First fold on the seam, paper side to the outside

 

 Swipe the seam just as you would your credit card when buying more fabric.

 It doesn't take much to get it wet enough to work.  

Fold the paper back, creasing it with your thumb.

and rip

 and rip

For the most part, the paper came off clean, but some left behind very minimal traces of paper.

Finger press

   This box had 720 HST's, not sure how many I actually finished. 

Until next time "Quilt out of your Comfort Zone!"

Lea

Super Bowl Sunday

The chicken wings, dip and beer are in the fridge and ready for tonight.  As for me I'm still in my jammies, working on the spare bedroom.  Wanted to show you my step daughters little hand print.  She's now 24, yep this room was way over due for a make over.  You never know what you'll find under wallpaper.  And seeing how I didn't put this up I was really hesitant.  So far I've lucked out with no major spots to fix, only a couple that I made.  

Ross okay'd  the painting of this horrible walnut trim!  Yeah!  It was a real motivation to get busy with the wallpaper stripping.  

Well the breaks over and I want to finish this wall and get ready for the game.

Until next time

"Quilt out of your Comfort Zone!" 

Lea

Still working on the spare bedroom

I'm going about this room backwards.  The walls need to be stripped of wallpaper and painted.  The trim needs to be either painted or stripped and restained to a lighter oak color.  My plan was painted, but the man says wood should never be painted it ruins the natural beauty.  Men, why don't they quit shaving and cutting their so they have the natural beauty look?   Oh well we'll find a compromise.  But I figure all that can wait till warmer weather when I can have the windows open to let out the fumes.  Yes there's low odor paint at an extra cost, think I'll just wait.  A couple of years ago my aunt gave me a boat load of fabrics.  Most of it was Decor fabric. In this fabric was about 3 yards of the large blue gingham, and 2 FULL BOLTS of the white fabric in this valance.  Still one bolt of this stuff left !  The white fabric is also the backings on all the pillow shams to give them body since I was using quilting cotton and didn't want to quilt for body.  Today the plan is to make my shears to go behind the valance.

 Not only did I make the pillow shames but I made pillow cases that are on the bed size pillows and the small throw pillow forms 

 The plan is to make one more white pillow

 Behind these two pillows below is the fabric for my shears, another auntie freebie.  Another whole bolt!  Love the crinkle look of the shear fabric.  Might make the other white pillow for the bed with the leftovers.  The pillows here need to be recovered also.  

 The pillows match this hope chest seat which could be left as is because the same green is in the quilt or...

 Well I pulled out the scraps last night, not sure if I'll make a seat cover or pillows, for now it's just playtime.  

Now for those of you who know me you know that my sweetie loves nature and the outdoors, so he brings nature in the house.  This is whats currently on the wall with all my pretty blues and yellows, right next to the window.  It'll be flying south, or getting some buckshot, one or the other I don't care which.  

Until next time "Quilt out of your Comfort Zone!"

Lea