You Would Think...

That I would be done with quilting after the hours spent on the t-shirt quilt last week...

FINISHES:

But as soon as the T-shirt quilt went out the door, Bunny and I were determined to finish his Sharpie Marker Roll Saturday afternoon!

And we did!!!!

I am actually so jealous to see all 26 colors that I want to make one for my own pack of 24!!!

He did such a fabulous job matching up the colors from my scraps, that I think I am going to have him help me with mine!


 Oh...I forgot...the T-shirt quilt. 

More pictures HERE!

IN PROGRESS:

Do. Good Stitches.

 

I am so excited to recently be included in this charity bee!!!  I am going to be a quilter for the Imagine at Do. Good Stitches!! Which means I am responsible for two blocks a month and a quilt every so often!  So now you will be seeing a blocks in my WIP posts!
This month includes this color palette

....at least I hope I have it right!

NO PROGRESS:

Retro Flowers QAL

Twin quilt for nursery

Christmas quilt 

Baby girl quilt kit 

Thank you quilt 

NEW PROJECTS:

Secret project. 
 I hate when I see this on other blogs because it is such a tease, but I don't want to ruin the surprise for this person!!!!  I finalized my design, worked out my cutting measurements, and ordered the fabrics this past Sunday!

Merry, Merry Snowmen (by Bunny Hill Designs)

 Yes...I joined my first Block of the Month. I had to have it.  I can't imagine a better fabric (French General) or style for my family room if you remember my change in Christmas decorations HERE.  It started in February, so I have to catch, up...

I am not exactly sure how all this happened...I am guessing I am a little crazy...

Linking up with the only other people that quite understand the crazy...

Quilters.  We are a strange breed, are we not?

Auction T-shirt Quilt

We couldn't stretch it out too much..the wind kept blowing it all over!

 93x93 inches of gloriously stained, stinky (perfume!) and colorful 8th grader t-shirts quilt is done!

Fits a queen bed beautifully with a nice drop of at least 12-18 inches on each side.

Blue minky backing makes it absolutely comfy! 

The picture above was sent along with a few others to the 8th grade parents Friday night.  I wanted to make sure that if they didn't like the idea of a bunch of t-shirts on their bed, they could always just fold it so all the memories were tucked up inside at the end of their bed!

Did I mention how heavy it was?

9 lbs heavy

 How do I know? 

I weighed it!

Why did I want to know?
When you spend 10 hrs on your longarm machine and halfway through, the crank stops working when you want to wind the quilt...it makes you wonder!  

Did I BREAK something?

 As soon as I unpinned the quilt off the leaders, Ole Betsy groaned in relief and the crank was back in action! 

I had to get at least a tiny bit of modern fabric on it, so dotted binding was the flavor of the day. Five hours to bind. Ugh.

The "Carnival" variegated thread by Superior Threads 

(purchased from sewthankful.com) sewn with a "popcorn" pantograph pattern.  Regrets?  I should have used an even larger pattern.  It was very dense, but I couldn't turn back once I realized it!

And I am now very "into" making borders for my printed quilt labels.  I am not sure if anyone else does this, but I always find a poem, if I can, to place on the label.  Especially if it an auction quilt for our school like this one. I also added in the 20th anniversary logo to commemorate the special year!

The only thing that I just didn't expect and want to pass on to you, my quilting friends, is the fact that certain t-shirts had an almost rubbery printing on them.  It was NOT very friendly with the foot of my long arm machine. I had to slow down, stop and go to get it "unstuck".  Sometimes it would even snap the thread.

I can say, however, the Pellon Tricot Stabilizer was AMAZING. 

All 15 yards of it! Yes..I used every single bit of the bolt except for an 18 x24 inch square.  A few asked about it and the one thing I must say is to make sure you read the directions that come with it very thoroughly.  There is a stretch to the tricot and you must make sure when you fuse it to the backs of the t-shirts, you iron it on the opposite direction of the t-shirt stretch.

And you can quote me about the following.

I feel confident that I will make more of these in the future....however, minus about 30 or so of the t-shirts.

Despite all the planning HERE, and all of the trouble Button caused during this adventure.  And thank you for all the encouragement HERE!  I am really happy with it!

 I am anxious to hear how well it did at the auction Saturday night, but it always seems to be a secret!

Are you surprised that I have three or four quilts on my mind and already have my studio closet cleaned up and ready to go for some projects?

I am.

My Number One Fan

Took this today....just 'cuz he is cute!  

I was laying out the quilt to do measurements for the binding and he ran over and said,

" WOOOW!"

Blurry picture due to the fact that he kept spinning on it!

 So, of course, I had to take a picture!

HOME STRETCH!!!

Battle?

I think I just may have won the war!!!!

In case you didn't stop by last week, I have been on a mission to finish one 8th grade Auction T-shirt Quilt by today.

It has gone from Beast to Mammoth!

I started out with a plan to do red in the middle and work my way out to blue, a bit of a rainbow effect.

But the pink threw me off.

So I tried to go random...I didn't even take a picture because it was so awful...the red and blue were such a large amount, that there was not a good way to embrace the random.

I let it sit for a day and did some odds and ends chores in my laundry room. 

I fiddled on EQ7.

  

I then decided that there was enough red and blue t-shirts to make a "border".  Then an inside row of whites and grays.  I then concentrated the very small, but very bold orange, pink, and yellow t-shirts in the center.

At that point I had to concede the battle to the shirts...not to mention Enemy number one:  BUTTON!

 Hands behind his back and one sock off...never a good sign.

TROUBLE!

 He loved to pull the shirts off the design board and try to throw them in the wash.  He is a tricky one, that young one!

I have made progress and have almost completely pieced each row, and the rows together.  

Today's plan is to finish the piecing...

...it is a breeze with the Tricot stabilizer! 

And I plan to have Mammoth on Ole Betsy by late morning/early afternoon.

The binding and backing await....

All other projects...COMPLETELY on hold in the meantime! 

The auction is Saturday!!

Linking up with Lee!

click on image

I just hope that I am alive by Saturday morning.  Check on me, okay?

In the Trenches

My Operation Orders

Task Organization: My mission is to finish one t-shirt auction quilt AKA "the beast" in 7 days with all the firepower I can use.

Taken earlier in the week...not the final layout.

I.  Situation: The school auction is set for the date of the 28th of this month. I have ramped up my due date to the 25th in case there are any diversions from the mission.


A. Enemy Forces
1. Weather and light data: the general forecast is looking good. No new rain in sight.  Could be distracting when any window gazing might occur.
2. Terrain:  Be prepared for piles of toys, dishes in the sink, backpacks on the floor, and shoes in the family room.
3. Identification of enemy forces: Four small males. Highly dangerous with weapons of mass destruction. 
4. Locations: Game room, family room, kitchen, pool, and driveway.  Don't underestimate school or extracurricular activities.
5. Activity: The enemy is in constant attack position.
6. Strength: A small platoon.   Ages 15, 12, 9, and 14 months.  Morale is low due to the absence of father-figure on a business trip.  Capabilities?  Unknown.  They are very inconsistent and can't be trusted. Do not underestimate their capabilities.
7. Probable courses of action when contacted:  They will fight, disperse, retreat, gather themselves, and attack again.


B. Friendly Forces.
Domestic Sewing Machine AKA Symphony.


C. Attachments/Detachments.
One Long Arm Machine AKA Ole Betsy on stand-by.

II. Mission:  

My mission is to finish one t-shirt auction quilt consisting of approximately 70+ t-shirts before the due date. I repeat, finish the t-shirt quilt!


III. Execution
A. Concept of the Operation:  They must be completely cut, pieced, quilted, and bound in 7 days.
B. Task to Maneuver Units: Avoid all distractions such as things like pincushion I made Sunday HERE, that I really don't need.

Cathedral Window Pincushion

C. Tasks to Combat Support Units:  Fellow bloggers and online sewing friends must be on FULL alert in case I am in need of advice.
D. Coordinating Instructions: I will email, beg, and plead for help, if need be.


IV.  Service Support
A. General: Good movies, good music, late nights.
B. Materials and Supplies: Rotary Cutter, Mat, Stabilizer, Thread, Pins, Pantograph, Batting....the usual.

Superior Rainbow Thread from sewthankful.com

C. Medical: Coke, Lemon heads, Laffy Taffies, Short Naps


V. Command and Signal
A. Command: Myself.
B. Signal:  Call sign: Crazy Lady   Code Word: PATCHWORK

Praying the troops can rally me at

 

 If you see any color smoke...please send in reinforcements.

14 days to go....

I have a countdown for my 8th Grade T-shirt quilt I am working on!

I really can't focus on much else these next two weeks!

Finishes:

I hung up the Button Art I made a few weeks ago HERE!

In Progress:

A design wall!!

I want to finish it today so that I can use it for this t-shirt quilt.  It is too large to lay out on my bed or on the floor without Button "helping" again!  I bought the insulation foam boards yesterday and the batting this morning. 

I hope to have it all done by Button's nap time! 

 Or maybe DURING his nap time....

He is pretty uncomfortable today...on his second week of goopy, runny nose, teary eyed allergies!  Luckily, the pediatrician just called and said he can get a little-little-tiny bit of Zyrtec tonight.

In case you are wondering, I am using Elizabeth's tutorial at Oh, Fransson!.  It seems like it will be light and portable.  Flannel has never worked for me, the batting sounded like a good idea....at least I am hoping!

I will be sure to share it with you soon!

Retro Flowers QAL

I have not quilted, but I have been haunting other QALers' blogs to see what they are up to!  I was debating on what I was going to use for my templates, but finally came to the decision to purchase the Drunkard's path dies from Sizzix.  

Background

Quarter Circle

I have the Westminster Sizzix and why not use it!??!

 

 It is for a 4 inch versus 5 inch drunkard, and it is a bit more expensive than the templates, but I have a drunkard path quilt mockup for my Hawaiian fat quarter I bought in Maui.  

The other good thing?  The smaller size has solidified my decision to make a fabric choice change...so I will be shopping in the near future!

No Progress:

Twin quilt for nursery

Christmas quilt 

Baby girl quilt kit 

Thank you quilt 

Bunny's sharpie roll project

I never made an Easter outfit for Button like I had hoped last week...but I am glad I didn't because the day didn't really pan out the way I had envisioned it.  Does that intrigue you?  Read HERE to either commiserate or BRAG that you had a great Easter!!

Now off to link up with some of the ladies I like to think of as my quilting friends at

I swear, I add a new blog to my Google Reader every week!  No wonder I had 450+ blog posts to read since my scrapbook retreat!

Hope you have a blessed day and week! I am looking forward a lot of productivity until next week!

Whole lot of nothing WIP Wednesday

The week has proven to be unproductive, other than adding a label to the back of Hartley's quilt and going to a scrapbook retreat.  

(I know, I know...I DID get a few things done, but I am never completely satisfied with my progress)

Finished:

I was wrapping up Hartley's quilt to send it off Friday, and I forgot to do a quilt label?  I think I lost my mind.

Coincidentally, I fell upon a cute hexagon idea for a quilt label HERE.  It had to wait until I got home Sunday, but due to all of the chores I had to do HERE, I did not get a good start on it until yesterday. It will officially be in the mail this afternoon!

Photo taken before completely hand-stitched down.  I promise...no gaps right now!

I did mine a bit different because I did it post-quilting, printed fabric, and I used leftover binding that I had from the quilt.

In Progress:

The 8th grade auction t-shirt quilt bin is out and I am scanning the t-shirts today. 

 I have very little time to get it done now.  

But I WILL get it done, I promise Daniella!!!!

 

The rainy weather outside is definitely conducive to getting some work done.

  

As long as Button takes a nap through the current hailstorm!

Unfinished:

Twin quilt for nursery

Christmas quilt 

Auction t-shirt quilt 

Baby girl quilt kit 

Thank you quilt 

Bunny's sharpie roll project

New project:

Retro Flower QAL:  Not even started so it goes under the "new" heading.  I still haven't made my final decision about fabric and I am leaning towards buying the templates over making them with stuff I ever have.  

Which will motivate me more? 

Button's Easter Outfit:  I know.  Only a few more days...but I can't resist the urge ever since his bluebonnet outfit!  

Non-quilting projects: 

All at a halt.  Things happen when you go scrappin' people!

And I think I finally learned what it is like to be without a good camera.  My camera battery will not charge today.  It has been acting goofy for the last few months, so I should have seen it coming.  Now I get why all the bloggers lament when their good cameras are out of commission. 

WAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!

I am almost afraid to go check out WIP Wednesday links today.

I sure hope I have a better Wednesday next week!