A Bundle of Joy

Somebody left a bundle on our doorstep! So it's not the typical bundle with a crocheted blanket and a pacifier, but this I can handle! There was no note, no nothing, just a bag of maybe 100 spools of thread. I love this kind of mystery! This is how I think it will wind up:
"Hey, did you get the thread?"
"What thread?
"The bag I left on your doorstep about a month ago. I hadn't heard from you--"
"Oh, that was from you? I was wondering..."
"I told you I'd drop it off. I sent you an email, called you, told you in person, and mailed a card."
"Oh. " Long pause coupled with blank look. "Thank you!"

Trumped!

The baby blanket I've been working on has been trumped. I know, you're saying, "What could possibly trump a blanket made by a cousin who loves her very much?" And the answer is, "The very blanket made by DC's grandmother for when she was an infant." DC (that's dear cousin) was wrapped in it when her mom brought her home from the hospital. That's REALLY special. So I guess it'll go on the back burner for now. I'll put it away with the instructions and I can get it out whenever another baby pops up. It's almost half done...The good news is I can focus my knitting energy more tightly on the dress I'm making for DD. And, hey, she might actually get it before she graduates from high school! Here's the pattern:And here's the progress to date:

Good News

Yes! I finished the Old Sturbridge Village cross-stitch. Putting those two borders on took so long for something so simple. I worked on it in Texas and I worked on it with the Girl Scout Sewing Circle. But it's finished! Finished! Ooh, that's a fun word to type.

Now it gets to sit in my drawer until I can get it to the framers. I refuse to sign it until just before that happens. (Sometimes things wait a while.)
In other news, I got my confirmation for the Long Beach International Quilt Festival. I am taking two classes and I get to be the teacher's pet (tee-hee!) for one of them! (That means I pick up supplies and help at the door and stuff.) Also, I found a hotel two miles away for $80/night less! I could have gotten a room on the Queen Mary and I was tempted, (talk about history!) but TripAdvisor said the beds were terrible--maybe they're historic.

If you come and play, let me know!

The Boy

Here's the back for the larger Christmas quilt. For now, I'm calling it "The Boy." As you can see, the back is scrappy, too. Every single piece of fabric in this quilt was free! Neat, huh?

I decided to machine quilt it, but not bind it. I just sewed the "quilt sandwich" and "birthed it." (For you non-quilters, that means sewing the batting, back, and front together and then turning it right-side out, so that the batting is inside.)
Even the batting was free: leftover white felt from another project! I used two layers because one was just too thin.

What's this? Are there hundreds of colorful bugs eating away at my lovely quilt? Nope. These are safety pins with handles! I bought the handles and gave them and the tool to my DD, who happily attached them all for me. (But don't ask her to do more unless you're willing to pay--she's gotten wise to me!)

I have decided to use this quilt to experiment with pattern quilting. I drew a simple flower pattern on each block and will take it to the machine. Eep! I'm a little nervous about the whole thing. The markings should come off with water.

Twinsies!

Okay, so they're not identical twins, but still... It took some time to separate and resew the medallions. Also, the original borders I cut didn't really work. They were just too busy! So these simpler borders were called in. Now I've got to find backs and batting and pin 'em!

Frogging!

(Verb) to remove the thread from a seam, so called "frogging" because you "rip-it, rip-it, rip-it!" (also called Frog Stitch) Often accompanied by words not found in the Bible



So I was busily working on my Christmas scrap quilt, so pleased and proud that I'd actually gotten it out and was getting to work. I found that--wow!--I'd made 43 blocks. So I did the math: 6 blocks by 7 blocks... that makes 42 with one left over. Just about perfect. So I sewed 'em all up and started on the border. But I neglected the rest of the equation: the blocks are 10"--did I really want a 60 x 70" Christmas quilt? And that's not even including borders! So I had to take it apart and resew a bunch of seam ends ('cause they got pulled out when frogging!) and make one more block for a total of 44 blocks. That will make 2 lap quilts: one 4 x 5 blocks, one 4 x 6 blocks. (sigh) I'm not sure what I'll do with 2 nearly identical Christmas scrap quilts, but I have a few ideas...

Simple Life

Praise God, Emily's okay!

I'm stitching today: I hope to finish the April portion of The Red Thread...and I did! I don't know why the picture turned out so yellow; the close-up of the flowers is more true-to-life.

A very good activity for a quiet day. It was HOT today--that means my solar clothes dryer worked lickety-split! You know what a solar dryer is, right? Here's a picture of one: Take a look at the captions: it's wryly funny. If you click on the image to enlarge it, you'll be better able to read the words.

Kiwi Twist is Finished!

Kiwi Twist is FINISHED! Hip-hip-hooray! I FINALLY got the binding on. The same night I put the label on ("It's not finished until it's labeled!") and I'm so glad. I put it right on the bed. DH came and looked and was amazed by the quilting. Yes, Yuki, the quilt diva rocks!

Next news: I'm awarding myself yet another round tuit for getting out the batik and cream Jacob's ladder swap blocks and sewing them into a top. I just love the way they all set together, like facets in a jewel. I think that one-third of the blocks I made. The rest I sent out my blocks and received others in trade. Also, (stashbuster alert!) I pulled out five yards of fabric from my stash and put it together to create the back. There's an adorable fabric featured, but you'll just have to wait until I get it back from Yuki to see it!
You have GOT to see the new sewing machine: the short arm quilter! Take a look, even if you don't sew at all!

Finally, the red thread lives. These little kites are the March installment. I'm working on April. Perhaps I'll have it done tomorrow. You never know!
PS: Please lift up a prayer for the safety of Emily. Thanks!

Readin' and Knittin' and Stitchin'

Okay, Kids, I'm still working on that border for Kiwi Twist. I sit down and set a timer for 20 minutes. I've still got one side and one corner left. So it's moving along. I hope to have it done this week. Maybe I'll even make a label. Ol' Molly is sitting idle, waiting for me to do some more machine work!

The baby blanket is also moving along. I just measured and it's 14" long. That's about 1/3 done. I actually took it to the movies and knitted in the dark, slowly but without mistakes. No mistakes that I could find, anyway.

I thought I'd let you know about this fun site I've been going to: Paperback Swap. It works on a credit system. Each credit is good for one book. I got a credit for posting my first 10 books. I get a credit for each book I send out. (I've sent out over 30 books!) AND, if YOU sign up, using my link, I'll get another credit. Even if you forget to credit me, I still think it's a cool system and I'd love to have you enjoy it too. And if the book you want isn't currently available, there's even a wishlist--they'll contact you when it shows up in the system. If you're interested, there's a link under my photo.

Another Round Tuit

All right! So I'm awarding myself another Round Tuit today, for my work last night and today. I got out the binding fabric for Kiwi Twist, my king-sized quilt. I haven't done anything since Quilt Diva Yuki quilted it. (Yikes!)




See why I had Yuki quilt it? She did this freehand! What a woman!

What's been done:

1. Got out the binding (it was already cut.)
2. Drew the diagonal line on the end
3. Sewed them all together with a diagonal seam (it's stronger!)
4. Iron it and rolled it up on a TP tube
5. Unrolled it and creased it with the iron
6. Rolled it back up again
7. Cut the excess backing and batting off the quilt
8. Looked up the instructions in a Quilt-in-a-Day book
   
9. Sewed the binding to the back, around the quilt with 1/4" seam, leaving 8" free
10. Sewed the ends together, correctly (I think there should be a way to do it diagonally but I probably won't figure it out)
11. Finished sewing the binding down. (Phew!)
12. Got out needle and thread (It counts as a step!)
13. Started sewing the binding to the front by hand. I've probably done about 90" out of 400", but it's moving along

Still to Do

1. Finish hand-sewing the binding
2. Make the label
3. Sew it on
   

Ah, the Orient!

I finished the back for my Oriental Lanterns quilt. I used leftovers from the front and two yards of this blue "eternity" fabric. Hoop-de-doo! Now I can send it on to Quilt Diva Yuki. It's way too big for my humble machine. Besides which, she does an amazing job as opposed to my merely adequate work. I'm even sending binding fabric so she can attach the binding for me. (But I'll hand-sew it down. I like that part.)

It's going to be glorious on my DD's bed!

To the right are close-ups of the fabrics I used. I really like the dragon fabric. It's just right for her.

While we were on vacation in Texas, we went to a little town called Bandera. I was poking around in a shop and my DH surprised me: he found a quilt shop! Was I surprised! Well, I couldn't disappoint him by leaving with no fabric, could I? That would be ungrateful! So I made the supreme sacrifice and purchased these lovely fabrics.