Teacher Links!

Stashbuster Alert! I used only fabrics I already had for these two classes!

Here's the start of the "Slice 'Em and Dice 'Em Gloriously Easy Scrap Quilt." The red is just felt I used for my design wall. I took the class from Nancy Brenan Daniel. What an inspiring teacher! Of course, I wound up doing something a little different than everybody else. Why? Because I'm special. Then I took "Power Cutting and Power Cutting, Too" from Debbie Caffrey. Oh, my goodness. My cutting efforts before now look like so much flailing around! And now I have banished one of my quilting fears: sewing on the bias. I have learned that not only is it possible, it's actually faster and even desirable in many cases. Woop-woop!

I made some sample blocks (churn dash and delectable mountains) but the fabrics clash so badly I'm afraid that trying to post them on the 'net would bring the whole thing down. (I just thought I'd be cutting, not sewing stuff together...)

Scooore!

Oh, boy! I went to the International Quilt Festival in Long Beach and had myself quite a time! I had a nice room to myself with my sewing machine set up on the bed and my knitting in the closet, took two classes, and shopped!

Books I couldn't live without.

Tools I couldn't quilt without.

My beautiful needle-case and my prize for being teacher's pet.

What I just couldn't resist.

Bunnies! Bunnies! It Must Be Bunnies! *

Oh, my goodness! I just saw the funniest online video: Dr. Horrible! I laughed so hard... and I finished my bunny. The bunny body, excepting ears and tail is made from a simple square of knitting. Cool, huh? Here's a link to the pattern. Tiny got "Eastern Lights" quilt today. She was so happy, she threw it over her head, stuck her arms out and hugged it. Yay!
*"Once More With Feeling"

The Flip Side

As you can see, the second side of Tiny's dress is moving right along. I had to pull out the straps a couple of times, but I think I'm on the right track now. I may even get the straps all sewn together by next Saturday and be ready to sew up the sides! Can I get a ya-hoo?I was at my knitter's group in Point Loma today. Gosh, there must have been eight or nine of us: what a nice bunch of women! Knitting in company really helps. There were three women (including me) working on the same project. Bev's working in burgundy, Maura in khaki.
Funny movie: Fido. It's a zombie movie in the style of a 1950's Lassie film. Both The Man of The House and Tiny enjoyed it.

Doing the Happy Dance!

Happy dance! Eastern Lights has been:

1. Pieced
2. Assembled
3. Bordered
4. Quilted
5. Bound
6. Labeled

I win! Tiny's turning fourteen in two weeks. She knows this quilt is hers, but I think she can wait until then to receive it. Happy day!

1. 

A Journey Begins with but One Small Step

...or something like that. I have to keep repeating that quote to myself as I work on moving my projects forward with the little goals I set. This is the progress made on the "Red Thread" project going at it 15 minutes a day.

However....
I did set aside my goals for a day and worked solely on cross backs for the quilting ministry. We like to have a cross of some sort on the back of each quilt. As the Scrap Queen, I want to use up some of those scraps filling four bins in my studio, so I scrapped the crosses! Here's the back (and the front) of a quilt we named "Tic Tac Taffy." Lynda did the front--the pattern's called "Barbara's Antiques." Yeah, I don't get it either.
There's a little more room in the scrap bins, now!

Detail of cross back

And look what little goals do: only a few inches left on this binding. And I came up with a name: "Eastern Lights."

Laundry Day

...and I've been a busy girl! I got some more work done on the Oriental Lantern quilt. Only got about 5' left on the binding so, at 1'/day.... well, you do the math. Then I've got to come up with a fabulous name, make a label, and sew it on.
I'm off to do the rest of my daily goal, kids. Wish me luck. Oh, and for those who like zombies, here's a little fun: zombie poll.

Goal Ghoul

Time to re-evaluate my daily goals:

1. Basketweave Dress: 4 rows/day (more is fine) That's working out well--I'm often above 4 rows and now have 142 rows to go--that makes 32 days!
   
2. Girl Scout Vest: 4 patches/day Done!
   
3. Fiction: read 10 pages/day (more is fine) Finished the book club selection, Mercy, this way. I think I'll keep it up but add in non-fiction as well.
   
4. Exercise: 30 minutes/day (more is fine) Ultimately I should go for 60 minutes
   
5. Bible: read a day's worth from the Victory Bible Reading Plan every day. Still working on it, but I am getting through this best-seller!
   
6. One housewifely chore a day. (more is fine, but puh-leeze!) (sigh)
   
7. Binding Oriental Quilt: 1'/day (I made that up just now; we'll see how it works out.) Haven't been doing very well here; must redouble effort.

You can see the dress is moving right along!

So, the new goal list looks like this:

1. Basketweave Dress: 4 rows/day (more is fine)
   
2. Fiction/Non-fiction: read 10 pages/day (more is fine)
   
3. Exercise: 30-60 minutes/day (more is fine)
   
4. Bible: read a day's worth from the Victory Bible Reading Plan every day.
   
5. One housewifely chore a day.
   
6. Binding Oriental Quilt: 1'/day
   
7. And a new one: 15 minutes of cross-stitch on something I already started