no-name quilt & stash report (along with some cursing around technology)

Yeah, I'm sorry.  I have no idea what the name of this quilt block is.

But I love the colours.  Especially that pretty rose print.

The corner bits are not symmetrical, so figuring out the quilting there was a challenge.

The roses that were quilted in the border triangles started out as a free-motion design that I recorded on the IQ, then saved as a pattern.

I have a stash report for you, but let me tell you:  it was a serious struggle.  We got our new computer last week so I'm learning WINDOWS 7.  First I had to FIND my spreadsheets (many of which are in Corel) and then figure out how to get them into Excel.  I also seem to have lost my photo program, so in the interim I am (using the term loosely) WORKING with whatever the hell picture program is installed with Windows 7.  However, our nice computer man emailed me today that he will be popping round in the next week, so I will ask all my dumb questions when he shows up.

STASH REPORT
Used this month      7.2 m
Used YTD             39 m
Added this month  25 m
Added YTD           25 m
Net 2015               (-14 m) 

Saturday activities

Saturday was a day out for the Beach Girls.  We went shopping, and then we went shopping.  Ha ha ha...  Where else would you want to go, besides COSTCO.  On a Saturday.

By the time we got back here, it was cocktail hour and stitching time.  And a little bit of painting:

I picked up four more paint pens and two of those are already empty.  Since I cleaned out the store shelves I may need to go to another location if I still have space that needs to be filled.

Winterruption

All four of my longarm buddies have made it here for a few days of Winterruption.  Yes!  It is the Beach Girls, in the flesh.

Here are a few of the WIP's.

This is my WIP.  It'll probably scare the hell out of my mail lady the first time she sees it.  Sadly, my paint pen has run dry (although thankfully, my martini glass has NOT).  Tomorrow will be a trip to Michaels for about six more pens.

What's the Deal About Stitch-In-The-Ditch, Anyways???

DISCLAIMER:  I am a self-professed zealot when it comes to stitch-in-the-ditch (sid for short).  I occasionally will do custom quilting without it, but honestly, I have to grit my teeth.

When you finish reading this post, if you click on one of the pics it will open up a photo strip where you can see the pics more clearly.

This is my half-hexagon quilt, which has happily turned out really well, considering how sick and tired I was of all the blue and beige. In this first pic I have not done the sid, simply dropped in the bubble motifs.  Yeah, it looks ok.  Fine, in fact.  It's a little hard to tell that those bubbles are a motif, though.  They just look like a bunch of bubbles.

In this second pic I have outlined the hexies and added in the ghosts that run into the large separator strips joining the patchwork.  When I compare this to the first pic, the patchwork that I worked so diligently on just looks more...crisp.  And now those bubbles LOOK like a motif inside the hexies.

Now - look at the back of the quilt. The sid has MADE the hexies. Without that sid this would just look like a mass of bubbles.  It would have been a total waste of time dropping in the motifs - I'd have achieved the same effect with an edge-to-edge design.  But now?  Nice...

Here's a pic of the whole thing.

A little closer.

The back.  Leftover hexies appliqued for a bit of interest.  And really, what else was I going to do with them?

I'm not the only one who loves s.i.d.  So does Anita Zobens of Cottonmill Threadworks.  See her blog post HERE.

Can the Universe REALLY help you to lose weight?

We will get to the Universe in a minute, but first I wanted to show you the freeloaders that spend the winter in our front flower bed.

OK.  Here is how the Universe can help you lose weight.

Oh sweet Jesus.

Uh huh.  The snow was up to the windows. I know I said I like to shovel, but this is ridiculous.

How do you eat an elephant?

One bite at a time.

Yeah.  Have another bite.

Hoo boy.  Nom, nom, nom...

Are you full yet?  Want more elephant?

Finally.  Ninety minutes later.  Now the freeloaders have moved back on to the front porch where they REALLY like to live.

Well.  Back to work.