One of my Dresden plates blocks is done

Well, it has been a while that I have been able to sit and sew.  Two solid weeks of prepping my Mom's home for sale, and another week having my Mom over while the viewings were going on.  Monday just past, we all got together to review the offers.

Mom can now relax a bit.  Her house is sold firm.  Two big steps done, now we need to keep looking for another home for her.  Preferably something not too far away.

As today is my late start at work, I was able to sit down with Maddie/puppy sleeping and do some handwork.  I finished the second large block of twelve.  Ten more to go.

During the past weekend, between doing renovations at my own house, I also took out some more stitches from the diamond hexagon quilt.  I have about 3/4 of the last large diamond to take out and I can go gong ho with the quilting and get that one done.  My progress on my list has been pretty slow lately, but that is life.  Always things coming up and things to do.

This coming weekend I have to take my daughter out looking for a dress and shoes for her graduation, and also work on the bathroom renos before my Mom's house closes, so she will have a decent and clean bathroom to use while she is here, between moving to the new house when we find one, plus the garden still needs to be cleaned up.

Even with everything that needs to happen this weekend, I still want/need to find some time to quilt.  I can usually go for a few days, sometimes for a week, but after that I get very cranky, if I do not get some sewing time in.  Working on quilts is my form of stress relief.

Hopefully I can do enough quilting to write my post more regularly again!

**Progress on my top 12 list (which turned out to be 18 instead)**

Work in progress:  

3. Quilting - Lise's hexagon quilt (family)..........only one diamond left to frog...rip-it, rip-it

4. Quilting - Navy blue & cream quilt (my own)

7. Main work - Spools quilt (my own)..........first row done, taking a break to do quilting

8. Main work - Mel's romance & roses quilt (family)
9. Leader/Ender - 16-patch pinwheel quilt (my own)..........more done while working on Lise's DP
10. Handwork - Reconstructed Dresden plate quilt (my own)...........2 & 4 halves done, 10 left to do

11. Main work - Lise's Dresden plate quilt (family)..........all of the horizontal rows are sewn together

12. Handwork - Machine wall hanging (my own)

13. Paper piece - Pineapple quilt (my own)..........these are put on hold again for a bit

Total number of quilts completed - 9
Total number of quilts left to be completed - 9

Completed quilts:
1. Quilted Flo's hexagon quilt (commissioned).  

14. Sabryna's 16-patch pinwheel quilt (family)

16. Reversable crazy quilt & matching doll quilt (charity)

15. Log cabin quilt (my own)
18. Small wonders quilt (charity)
17. Scrappy stripes quilt (charity)

2. Michelle's midnight flight quilt (family)

6. Jean material quilt (charity)

5. Midnight flight runway quilt (charity). 

Working on the Dresden plate quilt

This morning I was working on the Dresden plate quilt for my cousin and her husband.  The plates themselves were already made and all the curves were also already turned under and pressed.  All I had to do was appliqué it to the white background.  Over the course of doing the appliqué, I was constantly playing around with various layouts.  Now I have settled on one.  The blocks are older, the quilting bee ladies and I are guessing they are probably from 1970-1980, based on some of the fabrics used.

This morning I was up at 6:00 am and wanting to start on my laundry room cupboard doors, but it would not make for a good neighbour, to be starting that early on a Sunday.  So, instead I started cutting the fabric for the sashings and cornerstones of this Dresden plate quilt. Yesturday, I had already trimmed down all the blocks prior to our appointment with the realtor for my mom.

It is slow going at this point.  The whole of last week was prepping my mom's place, to put on the market and the whole week prior to that, I was major sick with the flu that turn to an infection.  Now I am feeling better and my mom's place is ready.  I am now hoping to get some of my own things done.

This morning after my puppy duties were done, I went out to pick up the wood I needed to work on the doors.  I am writing this post while cooking a barbecue for lunch and hope to start the doors right after that.

While I am in the backyard doing a barbecue, I notice that my Eastern Redbud tree is now in full bloom.  It is gorgeous!  The top picture is a close up of the flowers.  These flowers are all over the tree branches.  The bottom picture is a close up of the pretty heart shaped leaves that are starting to open up.  This tree will take some time to mature.  I only planted it last autumn.

Later today after putting in some work time, I hope to get back to the Dresden plate quilt.  So far I have almost half of the centre top completed.

Enjoy your long weekend everyone!

Finished the Apple core quilt

I have finally had a couple of hours on Thursday morning to finish off the binding of the Apple core quilt.  This quilt is going to my sister.  This close up picture was taken while I was quilting it.

Here is the finished quilt.  My sister's couch is chocolate brown. And her accent colour is blue.  I picked all the fabrics from my stash that I felt would work, I went shopping for some accent colours to blend the mix,  I like how it turned out.  I just don't think I will make another one of these quilts, because I didn't like all the curves.  Not one seam, outside of the borders, is straight.

I went to look for the borders after I finished the top centre.  I don't think I could have found a better match.  This border has all the colours I am using in the centre.  It looks great.  At last minute, I added the little navy blue peek-a-boo border in the same fabric as I used for the backing.  It helps to bring out some of the blues in the centre.

For the quilting, I outlined each of the apple core pieces 1/4" on either side, as well as the first inner border.  Than I did a large stippling in the last border. 

The quilt batting is wool.  That is why I did a loose quilting pattern.  With wool it is best to let the batting breath and fluff up, it helps with keeping you warmer.

I hope my sister likes it.  I made it to give her comfort.  She likes to sit and read a good novel or watch a good movie covered underneath a blanket.

Garden party by Bonnie Hunter, another great scrappy quilt

I am unable to do any quilting lately, with being sick all last week and now having to scramble to get my mom's house on the market.  There will be a lot of packing to do.  Forty years worth of accummilated stuff.

I am already missing some sewing time, but have to content myself with just dreaming of all the quilts I want to one day make.  This quilt here is one of them.  It's called Garden Party by Bonnie Hunter.  This will be another great scrappy quilt to use up all the bits and pieces that accumulate while making quilts.  Photo is also from Bonnie.

I like the saying that follows, but am posting it mainly for a second example of a Garden Party quilt.

Hope others are getting the opportunity to enjoy some quilting time.

My Mother's Day gift

Most recently, life has been very hectic.  Sometimes I don't know if I am coming or going, but this Mother's Day was for me and for visiting my own mom.  

I wanted to share with you the gift my daughter made for me.

My daughter spent the last few months down in the basement with busy hands trying to get this present for me done in time for Mother's Day.  She did an excellent job of it.  It is so beautiful!!!  

In real life, I think it is a bit brighter than the picture.  This is one of my favorite colour combinations.  Isn't it gorgeous!!!

She did this all by hand.  She found some inspiration online for the wording, marked her fabric and went to town on it.  It took her quite some time......I know, because during all this time I was not allowed to go into the basement.  She really worked hard on it and I can't believe she did this for me.  

Beautiful and gorgeous just do not describe it.  I am at a lost for works, I am stunned.

She did this all by hand, all on her own, and this is the very first time she has ever done any hand quilting!!!  She says she enjoyed it too!  Absolutely beautiful.  All of her stitches are tiny and even.  She did much better than I did.  I really mean it, her stitches look like she is a seasoned hand quilter, it's amazing.  AND she likes doing it too!!

My daughter quilted in the ditch of each border and around the wording in the centre and she made an X in each orange and pink square,  Baptist fans are in the last border, some random echoing hearts in the middle surrounded by lines going across the centre on a diagonal approx. 1 1/2" apart.

I absolutely love it in every way.  I wouldn't change a thing.  This will be my wall hanging in my quilt room each spring in May.

I know it is late, but still worth sharing.  I am sending out my daughter's message, out to all you mothers out there.  Hoping everyone had a lovely day.  

A mother's love is the heart of a family.

What have I done

This was one of my parting paragraphs in my last post:

What I have left, to finish cleaning out my quilting room, is a pile of mending for my daughter, finish ironing and trimming the purple and blue squares that I took apart,  put away the last of my scrappy strips and finish the Apple Core quilt.

What I got done was this last half square Dresden plate........but that wasn't on the list.

From my list I did put away the last of my scrappy strips.  I finished the centre of the apple core quilt and got the peek-a-boo border on too.

I even got the last two borders on the apple core quilt. Yay!!!

Before I headed to bed on Sunday evening, I ironed the backing for the quilt and pinned it all together, ready for quilting.  Another yay!!!  Monday I started doing some quilting.

The pile of mending for my daughter, the ironing and trimming of the purple and blue squares that I took apart......well they are still exactly where I left them......and they will still be there when I go back.  I can't do everything, but I did get a good amount done.

Today while taking a quick break, I went through my emails.  One of them was from Pinterest.  I thought this idea was neat.  A very innovative way of dealing with the rain water.

When I looked it up, I was amazed as to how many others were doing things like this.  Very imaginative, practical, environmentally friendly and ecstatically pleasing.  These people were really looking outside the box.  Way to go people!

Rainy day today means I get to play

This rainy day today means I get to play.  I am taking advantage of the rain by staying indoors, so no renos today.  I am in my quilting room working on this and that.  Getting things cleaned up and getting the things that get dumped in here out.

Yesturday, I made it to The Hobby Horse Quilt Shop to pick out some borders for the apple core quilt.   I also picked up the backing material.  As of this morning, all the fabric is washed and ironed.  Now I just need to finish the last four horizontal seams, to finish the centre of the quilt, and I can add on all the borders.

Yesturday, we also went to my Mom's place for dinner.  While she made dinner I finished another half square Dresden plate block.  The second one below it is the one I finished on Friday.

On Friday morning, on one of our many visits outside with puppy,  I noted my garden is really starting to come to life.  I took this picture of my Service Berry tree.  I like the soft pink of the new buds just before they bloom into white flowers.  So pretty.

I took this picture of my Eastern Redbud tree, which is just starting to bud out.  Another few days and this tree will be covered on flowers.  Can't wait!

I am just taking a break to have a cup of tea and write this post.  I needed a short break, from trying to remove the rest of the quilting on the diamond outlines of the hexagon quilt.  Taking out all the tiny stitches is tedious, but necessary.  I have one and 3/4 left to remove, so that will take me at least another two hours.

What I have left, to finish cleaning out my quilting room, is a pile of mending for my daughter, finish ironing and trimming the purple and blue squares that I took apart,  put away the last of my scrappy strips and finish the Apple Core quilt.

Let's see how much of it a can get done.  I will report my progress tomorrow.  Enjoy the rest of your day everyone and make the most of it!