Two More Off The List, Superbowl Prep, and the 2020 Pet Peeve

Every year I make a list of projects that I want to complete.  I call it my DO-IT CHALLENGE.  The first week of January my new list for 2020 included "complete 3 UFO's".  Well, by golly, here it is just past the first month end and I've knocked that one out of the park already.   

APPLE CORE  The pieces were cut using JAWS, and I used a pattern from the Accuquilt web site.  I increased the size of the quilt by quite a bit - it's plenty big enough for DH to take a nap under.

This is for the living room, to replace a quilt that has seen better days.  My plan for the OLD quilt is to cut it up into smaller bits and donate the little quilts to the SPCA.  I need to contact them to see what size they'd prefer.

I really like this pantograph, it has a nice modern feel to it.

STRIPPY HEXAGONS  Using the 2-1/2" strip die for JAWS made this quilt a lot easier than you'd think.  I pulled out leftover bits of cool fabrics, along with yellows & cream/whites.  Sew three strips together, then use a 60⁰ ruler to cut triangles. This gets you two blocks from each strip.

The colours make me think of Easter.

Pretty, leafy pantograph.

Along with the star quilt UFO from my last post, there's my three UFO's done. 

As a little reward for myself, being so GOOD about my challenge list, I granted permission to me to start a new quilt tomorrow.  Tomorrow is the Superbowl.  I will stitch during the game, but watch during the commercials and the entertainment bits.  I know some people might think that's a little backwards.  They're probably the same people who think cutting up perfectly good fabric is weird.  What do they know.  Hmm?
The traveling sewing machine is upstairs by the tv, along with a prepped project and the necessary supplies.  DH still has to fetch the card table for me.   The quilt is very simple, using charm squares that I bought at Missouri Star Quilt Company a couple years ago, on one of Diane's bus trips.

Supper will be a frozen lasagne popped in the oven, and if I get really ambitious I'll make a salad.

THE 2020 PET PEEVE

Geez Louise.  Longarm is ONE WORD.  Long arm is an adjective and a noun.  I do not have a long arm, I am actually rather short.  Longarm is a noun or a verb, depending on it's use in a sentence.  I use a longarm quilting machine to perform longarm quilting (or "to longarm").
This is seriously driving me crazy, people.  I know that all of our "devices" change it to two words but if you persist, your device will eventually accept the new word.  Take back control - don't let the devices rule the world.

Christmas Quilts

Most years I show you my same three Christmas quilts - one for the King bed, one for the Queen bed, and one for the living room.  THIS year I'm showing you some customer quilts.

This is a gorgeous selection of Cardinal fabrics.  It's not exactly a Christmas quilt, but the birds always evoke winter.

This one's really cute - just squares of Christmas fabrics stitched into a throw.

There's a ton of work in this one - Round the Twist or Garden Trellis quilt.  This version used a lot of half-square triangles.

And a very Canadian hockey quilt.

Since I'm officially on vacation until Jan. 6th, this TFUQ is getting booted off the list.  The blocks were cut using JAWS (the Accuquilt die cutter).  I dragged this around as a UFO for quite a while, and finished it earlier this year.  With the curved Apple Core piecing I need to do some extra-careful perimeter measuring for the binding.  And the binding must be bias to maneuver around the curves.  For curvy edges I also like to cut the binding just a wee bit narrower - usually I cut 2 1/2", but for this I'll cut 2 1/4".  And I'm not foolish enough to try attaching this binding with the longarm.

I have a big to-do list that I really hope to complete.  I have a bad habit of writing things down, and feeling pretty virtuous because I wrote them down.  Note to self... that doesn't actually get anything DONE.  So far all I've crossed off is the quilting for one Quilt of Valour.  That still needs the binding, but I'm waiting for some QOV labels to arrive in the mail, since I ran out of them.  Bookkeeping is also on the list.  I've managed to tick off an hour per day three days in a row (fell down on day four, but getting back on that horse today!).

Tobermory Retreat Recap & Technology Mixed With Idiots & Scammers

I abandoned hubby for six days - he and the dog were feeding each other kibbles and bits for a week.  Although, a friend took pity on him and had him over for a roast beef dinner mid-week so he didn't starve.

I played THREAD CHICKEN and won.

The railing with completed projects.  This is always such a satisfying pic!  Debbie definitely took the prize this year - completing all those wee monthly quilts.  So cute.

Of course, cocktails.

I work on my Double Wedding Ring for one day every year.  The Tobermory cottage is a great space for it.  This year, to my horror, I discovered that I used bad math when I had the pieces cut several years ago by a quilting buddy, using her GO die cutter.  The quilting buddy has fallen off the face of the earth, and of course I no longer have any of that white fabric.  (Non-quilters may not realize that there are a zillion different fabric versions of white, so yes, this will show in the end.)  I threw in the towel around 3:00, poured a glass of wine and curled up on the couch with a book, nursing my angst.

This is the top I pieced, I managed to get it quilted and bound this week.  So girly.  I used up lots of strips that I have been collecting through the Strippers Club at the Caledonia Guild.

Now we wait until Winterruption for our first retreat of 2020.

TECHNOLOGY MIXED WITH IDIOTS & SCAMMERS

Dear God.  Did you see this story?

Attempted sextortion leads to call for stricter phone porting rules

I do feel great sympathy for the idiot.  His cell phone number was stolen.  Once the scammer accomplished that, he gained access to the idiot's emails, personal files, credit cards, and (of course) his personal sex tapes.
Why do men think they need to make sex tapes of themselves and their partners?  Why does ANYONE think they need to have nudie photos of themselves and/or their partners on their phones?  Do they get bored while they're standing in line at Starbucks and think "hmm, maybe I'll pull up one of my sex tapes and jerk off while I'm waiting for my Grande Mocha Latte"?  Or, in a boring meeting at the office do they decide to get the conversation started by showing pics of their former girlfriend's boobs?  Seriously.  Get a life, idiots.
This fella has admittedly compromised his own reputation, but Dear God, also the poor people who were intimate with him.  They will be on pins & needles for the rest of their lives, wondering if and when their pics/videos will be shared all over the web.

Not that anyone cares what I think... but my suggestion would be that you don't take photos and keep them on your cell phone or send them up to the cloud.  Really.  Simple.

Drunkard's Path (or, I Am Not To Be Trusted!)

Part I

I used to teach an 8-week quilting class twice a year, and I always wrote my own patterns.  I have an Accuquilt die cutter (see JAWS tab above), so I designed a Drunkard's Path quilt.  I asked a friend to test my pattern instructions, and she made this quilt  That was, I think, in 2009.  When I was visiting her last fall the quilt was STILL flopped over her design wall.  Every time she's mentioned this quilt she would get an unhappy tone in her voice, which always made me think she was having a hate/hate relationship with it.  So when I was visiting in September I stole it. I figured I would quilt it, get it off her 'annoying' list and she'd be super happy with the nice surprise. I packed it in my suitcase and snuck it out the door.

Part II of the story... 

We have a UFO challenge every year.  Geez Louise - doesn't she decide that THIS QUILT is going to be her first project.  During our weekly phone call she tells me that she spent A WHOLE DAY looking for this top and couldn't find it anywhere. OMG.  I didn't know if I should fess up...then she mentions that she also couldn't find the preview papers with her quilting ideas.  I never saw them and didn't take them - I only pilfered the quilt. Knowing that she had no plan any more I decided to keep my mouth shut and get the darned thing quilted.  

I finished it, wrote a stupid poem to pack in the box with the quilt and shipped it back to her in the hope that she loved me enough to forgive the skulduggery.

Part III - delivery 

As she was leaving for her knitting group she saw a parcel thrown in front of her garage.  First, she thought it was for the neighbours, then realized that no - it was addressed to her, from me.  She threw it in the car and continued on to knitting.  When she got home a few hours later and opened the parcel, what she saw was the light blue backing. She didn't recognize the fabric, so that made her think I had mistakenly mailed a customer's quilt to HER.  Then she noticed the piece of paper and the poem.  She laughed and laughed.  I have been forgiven and have a new reputation of being very sneaky and able to keep a secret.  She loves the way it turned out and is quite happy to knock this off her UFO list.

I did s.i.d. around all the piecing, to outline the colour bands and the floral centers.

The straight line quilting nicely contrasts with the "Nemeshing".

There's also a lovely border design which doesn't show on the top stripe, but looks really pretty on the back.

Later today...

Well, yes, I'm cheating a little bit.  This is LAST year's photo, but I'll be doing the same thing with different fabrics.  Gotta watch the Super Bowl commercials!

Animal Quilts (and reflections on humiliation) & One of My Own

I've seen some of the cutest animals this fall...

It's almost enough to make me want to be a kid again.  But... um, no.  Maybe not. 
Highlights of my childhood involve lots of teasing over my name (surname of Marshall was always being translated into either "martian" or "marshmallow").  Also being called "four-eyes" because of the glasses.  And being the shortest kid in class meant I always had to be at the head of the line.  Being the worst at sports meant I was always the last one chosen for any sports team.  I remember school being let out early the day Kennedy was shot, and some asshole bully punched me in the stomach while I was walking home.  Then there was the bully-brat down the street who would not let me pass.  For God's sake.  I was in KINDERGARTEN.  I went home crying and mom had to walk me to school.  So...many memories of humiliation.  I'm happy to leave them behind me. 
In adulthood I'm often referred to as a snob (because at heart I am actually quite shy).  And I've had people get sooo pissed off at me and throw taunts of being "a hotshot" which was, in truth, the funniest one.  That came from a woman who got mad at me because SHE didn't know how to use word processing software (she should have - that was part of the skill-set required for the job).  After weeks of her interrupting my work by asking me how to do this, and how to do that, I finally called her on her poor knowledge and suggested she should spend some time learning this stuff HERSELF.  People can be lazy and stupid and mean sometimes.  I try to ignore it now, but sometimes I... just... can't. 😬  Several years ago I told an asshole in the grocery store to shut up because he was mad about the little old lady who was taking too long with the cashier.  She needed assistance, and needed her groceries to be double bagged because she had to take the bus home. All I could think about was my mom, and how she was probably in exactly the same boat on many occasions.  So, I told dickhead to shut up.
Wow.  Now I've put myself in a crabby mood with all these bad memories!

Anyhow. I managed to finish the Apple Core top.  All of this was cut using JAWS. Over the holidays this baby should get quilted.  I seem to have a growing pile of tops that need to be finished.

Fishies quilt and Quilting Retreat

This is a cute little fish quilt made for this gal's husband.  A perfect size for watching tv.

Fish were quilted in the setting triangles.

S.I.D. around everything, and scales in the fish parts.

A running school of fish in the border.  Variegated thread was used on the whole thing, including the s.i.d.

RETREAT
This past weekend was the annual retreat for the Binbrook guild at Crieff Hills in Puslinch, On. We stay in St. Luke building, arriving Friday morning and leaving after lunch on Sunday.  Our meals are included (Friday lunch/supper, Saturday breakfast/lunch/supper, Sunday breakfast/lunch).  As a rule we bunk double in the rooms.  For fourteen of us the total cost was about $250.00 per person.

I had this quilt top pieced by 4 pm on Saturday.  I had already spent Thursday getting everything cut out, so it was ready to go when I arrived.  A link to the pattern is HERE.  I made a smaller version than the pattern - twelve blocks instead of twenty. 

In the evenings I worked on hand sewing the binding on my table runner.  This was my January project using the Quick Curve Ruler.
 

Sunday morning was spent on a few more Tumbler placemats.  These four are made with the reds and greens and will likely go to Meals on Wheels. I have been piecing placemats from these tumbers since...February 2014 and I STILL have more pieces to work with.  The next batch is all browns.  These pieces were all cut by 'JAWS', the Studio Cutter by Accuquilt.  See the tab at the top if you'd like to rent JAWS and whittle down your scrap stash.

First Ladies Quilt and 2015 UFO Challenge

This was the last customer quilt I finished in 2014.  The pattern is First Ladies and was done as a block-of-the-month at Quilt Junction in Waterford.  You should know by now how much I love sampler quilts.

What a treat for ME with all that empty space.

I don't like to play favorites, but this is my favorite pic.

I did a basic cross-hatch in the dark blue floral because the quilting doesn't really show.

That cross-hatch sure looks pretty on the back, though.

The 2015 UFO* Challenge with Margaret & Nancy has been established.  Every two months Margaret will pull a number out of her ______ .  OK, we'll say HAT.  For Jan/Feb I have already told her I'm doing #1.  The quilting was done on my New Year's Holiday, so now the binding will be my big issue for the next two months.

Item & Challenge Details
1    Blooming 9-patch    Needs quilting & binding.
2    Bowtie Quilt    TFUQ.**  Fail from 2014.
3    Double Wedding Ring    Work on another row.
4    Piece ‘O Cake Applique    Hand applique.  Complete one block for the challenge.  Fail from 2014.
5    Apple Core by JAWS ***    Use the die and make something.
6    Charla’s 10" Asian batiks    Add triangles to opposite corners and make a top.

* If you don't know what UFO stands for, you are probably reading this blog by mistake.  If you are curious, though, it stands for UnFinishedObject.  We quilters usually have many of these, being creative-minded and all that.
** If you don't know what TFUQ stands for, see the sidebar on the right. 
*** If you don't know what JAWS is, see the tabs way up at the top of the blog.  You can rent JAWS, if you like.  He's cheap, and a real cut-up.  ha ha.

9-Patch Quilt, Stash Report, Zucchini Report

9-Patch - a beautiful, classic quilt pattern.

It was quilted with a classic pattern too - Orange Peel design.  Also called Pumpkin Seed design.  There is stitch-in-the-ditch along both sides of the skinny border, keeping that nice and crisp.  Then a pretty border pattern.  I made no attempt to line up the circles with the 9-patches - there is not enough vodka in the world to calm that kind of crazy.

Mmm, nice back!

This past week I had TWO outings.  Whew - the social life is picking up.  On one adventure I hit the new Village Square Quilt Shop in Burlington, which is where I bought the 2 fat quarters on my stash report.  The second outing was with my Red Hat gals - we went mini-golfing at the lovely Rock Chapel course in Flamborough.  It was nice that I did not win the award for Most Honest Golfer (also known as Worst Player EVER).

I have two quilts for the Quilts of Valour program quilted and washed, ready to return.  I get the tops, backs, & batting from the local QOV co-ordinator and do the quilting.  Up to 12 quilts annually.  Then I find some unsuspecting eager guild member and rope them into thank them profusely for doing the binding.  When I get them back I wash them and add the label.

 And on the personal piecing front, I'm working on scrappy placemats made with Tumblers (cut by JAWS.  See the page at the top if you don't know what JAWS is.).  I think I have nine mats pieced so far.  And that's a good thing.  DH slops all over a placemat as soon as it hits the table.

STASH REPORT
Used this month:  0  (but hopefully this will change soon... 2 projects almost complete!!)
Used YTD:          64.2 m
Added this month:  .5 m
Added YTD:         119.75 m
NET 2014:           up 55.5 m

Much to my surprise, and DH's horror, the zucchini is managing to push out a couple more fruits.
ZUCCHINI REPORT
Picked this week:  1
Picked YTD:        60  Ha!  What a nice, round number.

Another Pretty from MQX and the STASH REPORT

This wasn't an award winner at MQX, but I think it's so pretty.  I didn't photo the card with the name of the maker, so if you know who it is let me know and I'll update this.
I love the way she (he?) fussy cut the blades.

And here is my TFUQ - the Batik Cats.  Formerly the March/April Challenge.  Yay - it's on the frame right now being quilted.  Since it's Easter weekend I thought I'd take some time to work on my own stuff.

I dragged out my invoice from New England Quilt Supply and added up the yardage I purchased.  gulp.

STASH REPORT
Used This Month  12.25 m
Used YTD            36 m
Added This Month  110.75 m
Added YTD            113 m
NET 2014                77 m increase in stash.  Ick.

When Diane came to repossess her quilt, she brought Karen with her.  Karen is pumping up her mom's stash, so she's actually the one who used the 12.25 m on this report.  Two chunks of yardage were cut up using JAWS' new Apple Core die.  I cannot wait to see that project when she gets it finished!

Springtime Firsts that happened yesterday:

• I used the solar dryer to dry the sheets
• four daffodils are blooming
• no fire in my workroom fireplace

A coupl'a pages updated

I have updated the pages for:

• WIDE BACKINGS includes a new backing fabric in stock
• RENTAL OF 'JAWS' includes new dies to cut your fabric

Sticks And Stones quilt and more *&*!!$#!! snow

Mmm, yum.  This is one of the patterns (Sticks And Stones) that the Caledonia Scrappy Club is working on. Here's a LINK to the on-line pattern.  If you go to her link at the side of that post and check '52 week challenge' it will give you 52 different quilt patterns.  She was one busy gal for a while!!

This was quilted with a cute diagonal design - GEOMETRY using teal thread.

Purple backing matches beautifully with the front colours.

Snowbanks.  This was taken on the 15th, so... 3 days ago.  Last night we had another dumping of snow and I've had ANOTHER event cancelled.  Diane was coming today with a couple of friends and they were planning to rent JAWS and cut out a zillion tumbler blocks for their guild.  They have been sorting and sizing scraps and remnants so they'd be all ready to cut when they got here.  But there is too much snow and blowing on the roads.  Sigh.  I washed the kitchen floor for nothing because I like to keep a clean and sanitary cooking environment.  And since I was feeding them lunch I didn't want to scare them with all the paw prints and coffee spills.  Now DH and I will eat the whole pot of soup ourselves.  Maybe all at once.  Who knows?  Winter house-boundedness (I don't think that's really a word, but it certainly fits the season) will do that to you.  I guess I'll be painting the bathroom today instead of tomorrow.