Staying Inside and Getting Some Quilting Done

The extreme cold (it was -24 degrees this morning) is certainly motivation to stay indoors and get stuff done.

The compass star quilt pictured was started in a class with Judy Mathieson at the Vermont Quilt Festival this past summer. I got about 2/3 of the top pieced in class and finished it at home. I quilted it this fall, and finally, yesterday I put on the binding. This is the first time I have bound a round quilt. I used bias strips from a fat quarter and it worked perfectly - I usually have great beginners luck.

The whole thing is about 30 inches across. I figure it would make a nice holiday centerpiece for a table.

WIPping that Quilting Project into Shape

My guild WIP (Work in Progress) project for this year started as a box of 600 (yes I did count them) 2 1/2 inch half-square triangles that I had pieced at a quilt retreat last spring.

I bought all the fabrics as fat quarters maybe 4 or 5 years ago. I had gotten a gift card to a quilt shop for Christmas and bought fabrics that had patterns but to me read as either black, green, pink or beige. I had already decided I wanted to make a scrappy sort-of-color-coordinated half-square triangle quilt with them.

I have made other half-square triangle quilts, but for this one I used the Thangles method. Considering I made 600 in a weekend, the method was quick and accurate. But I will admit a bit of laziness - I did not trim off the little corner edges, but they all went together just fine for me anyway.

The layout/design was first drafted on graph paper - so I could maximize the number of squares used in this project (I think I only have about 20-some squares left - which I will use somehow on this quilt). I still need to figure out how to finish it - I plan on adding borders - maybe with applique. I may even set it on point.

Back to Quilting

Originally I thought I would primarily use this blog to document my quilting, but other things seem to have taken over (the garden, the weather, the dogs, etc...). So now it it time to get back to quilting.

One project I did finish this fall was an Amish inspired community service quilt. (Pictured) I came up with the design after cutting up some solid colored fabric and making half square triangle blocks with them, and sashed them with black. Carol Meier offered to quilt it on her new long-arm quilting machine this summer and gave it back to me to put on the binding.

Its been officially done since mid November but I didn't go to the December guild meeting so I will use it for show and tell at the January meeting.

Holiday Updates - Part 2 - New Car

I am starting the new year with a new car. I bought a 2009 Honda Fit Sport on Dec. 30th. The old Civic hatchback lasted 13 years, but I was beginning to wonder if I was pushing my luck with regular trips to Albany, Ogdensburg and places further afield with spotty cell service.

This time I did get the upgraded model, so now I have cruise control and air conditioning. It still smells like a new car. And I promptly put in the biggest floor mats I could find. I am hoping to keep the dogs out for a few months at least so I can enjoy it fur free for a while.

Holiday Updates - Part 1

Well it was a nice Christmas and New Years.

Everyone was thoroughly spoiled with all the gifts and food for Christmas. Everything fit (no returns - yeah!) and the food is almost all gone.

Ivan was thrilled with his flying chicken (see photo) it has a sling shot propelling system - there is a rubber band under the neck you fling it with, and then it makes all this crowing noise. When I look at it, all I can think is that it looks a great deal like the Great Gonzo (of Muppet's fame) - must be the bulging eyeballs.

New Years was a sedate affair. Damon was in bed by 7:30pm, as he had to do inventory on the 1st at 4am.

All Ready for Christmas

Well it certainly will be a white Christmas, but not as white as had been forecast. Yesterday's snow storm was a bit of a let-down, we only got about 4 or 5 inches - even Plattsburgh got more than that.

Here is a picture of our tree and most of our presents. I have a few more for Damon, but we still need to sneak past the tree to open and close the blinds and there just isn't room at the moment.

I finally baked the cut-out sugar cookies and Damon helped frost and decorate them yesterday. So we are now officially ready for the holiday!

A Shiny New Christmas - Faucet

I know, when you hear 'Shiny New Christmas ...' you don't usually end with the word 'Faucet'. But our old one in the upstairs bathroom was prone to developing a drip at least once a year and Damon was tired of replacing the washers, so he went out and bought a new one and while I was away last week he installed it. Maybe not as festive as the holiday decorations but still a joy that we will not need to fuss about dripping water.