Gettin' Stuff Done, But Not Fast Enough!

The list for this day is quite long, and I'm afraid sewing on my Snowflake blocks takes its spot way down on that list. Topping the list is getting my car in for some brake work, finalizing committee work for a group I belong to, and tidying this house for the quilt group who will be here Friday morning.

I did take a little walk out back just a bit ago, however, because I could see one tiny splash of color in the back of the flower bed.

A stubborn coneflower determinedly shows off the last of its colors here in the middle of Ohio.

The flower bed borders the front of a wooded area behind our house. DH has painstakingly groomed the backyard and has begun clearing some of the underbrush in those woods, so it is quite a lovely setting. I hope he continues to go further back into the woods, as it is such an inviting, picturesque part of the yard.

Standing tall against the November leaf cover.

I have begun to gather pictures of the 4 retirement quilts that my GFs have made since 2001. I've already shared a picture of mine, which they presented me at the end of May '09. Here it is again:

My retirement quilt made of Kaffe Fasset fabrics.

Here is Sherrie's quilt.

We always use the same pattern - a star quilt by Thimbleberries. It was featured on the cover of one of her books (North Bay Quilts. The pattern is Christmas Confetti.) 

Someone usually takes the lead in organizing the fabric selection and cutting. The necessary pieces for 2 blocks is then distributed to the rest of the group, and a deadline is established for returning the finished blocks. Usually we get a snow day sometime in January or February for stitching together the top, and then someone sets up the date with the longarm quilter. The retiree is roasted at a luncheon or after-school event (we are all teachers and retired teachers, in case I hadn't mentioned it.) This is all done in secret - secret from the soon-to-be retiree. Of course, we've done it enough times now that we know it's happening, but believe me, the finished quilt is truly a surprise!

I need to take pictures of 2 more - Kay's and Lyn's. I won't forget!

A Quilting Tradition

Every year since 2001 or 2002 (we discussed this to death! no one can come up with the definitive year), a group of good friends has met on Veterans' Day (when all of us worked, we had the day off) to quilt. Originally, the event was an overnight quilt, but since this Veterans' Day was mid-week, we went with a full day. Our hostess said she would be ready for quilters as early as 6am, and that breakfast would be served around 8am.

Each of us were to bring our sewing machines, necessary tools, our projects, and a dish for lunching or munching.

Here are a few pics of the day's fun.

This was breakfast.

Continued work on my snowflake blocks.

Kay is binding a quilt for her grandson.

Sharon is pressing some half-square triangle blocks.

Pam scrapbooked.

Sherrie stippled a wall-hanging for her grandson's nursery.

Linda's guilt quilt. (It's a long story.)

We always have such fun on this day. Several of us have loved ones currently or formerly in the military, so we always remember them. Since our first year, several of us have retired, so we don't often have a nice long block of time together like this. Reconnecting is wonderful, and we get so much done, too!

Tea With My Book Club

This afternoon, the Bibliomaniacs, a dear little book club I belong to, went on a most awesome outing. We drove over towards Cowan Lake, in Clinton County, to Lucy and Ethel's Country Tea Room for a delightfully indulgent luncheon. The photo above was taken on my cell phone and does not do justice to the beauty of the foods that were prepared. We had 2 flavors of hot tea, and one iced tea. There were at least 4 courses to our meal - but the meal was the tiniest of foods! The spread on the plates pictured here came after the scones and shortbread course, and the soup course. The bottom plate of the tiered server contains desserts. Our hostess had a "bonus" or surprise course even after that which consisted of homemade lemon cream ice cream! It and everything she served was just heavenly.

Instead of reading a book for this month's meeting, we agreed to bring and share a poem over our lunch. Each poem shared was lovely, and absolutely fit the mood of a sunny fall day in a southern Ohio tea room.

As we were leaving Lucy and Ethel's, we realized that we were just over 10 years old as a book club! What a nice way to celebrate. We have had a few changes in members since our inception, but we seven who are currently active have been very steady for most of those 10 years.

Stash Building!

Yeah, I know I've been blogging periodically about reducing the stash, but when this lovely new Moda fabric came out, I just had to place an order.

It's Rouenneries by French General for Moda. I fell in love with it when I first saw it on the web months ago. When Hancock's of Paducah came out with it in their catalog, I promptly put in a hefty order! It has been coming in rather piecemeal, but it's fun that way -- prolongs the anticipation!

Unearthing More UFOs

Oh, my.

How does one do so much work on a project and then put it away to be forgotten? This beauty was hiding in a project tub in my sewing room, waiting for at least 2 years for me to return to it!

These pictures illustrate several of my quilting preferences.

First, I do love handwork - I have always liked hand-quilted quilts, and have done several, so I know the commitment it requires. I love hand-piecing, too. Especially so when I am traveling because it affords me the luxury of being on the road, and still accomplishing a quilt-related task. I also like it when I don't particularly want to be hidden away in the farthest part of the house (my sewing room),  preferring, instead, to be engaged in family activities downstairs.

Second, I like paisley prints. A lot. There are countless varieties in my stash. This red typifies my tastes perfectly.

And last, I like 2-color quilts. The red will be consistent throughout the quilt top, but I have used a variety of 3 neutrals for a scrappy look, which I also like. All from my stash, I might add. Even 6 or 8 years ago, my estimate of when I began this project, I was trying to attack the stash.

It surprises me that I have so much done on this! The blocks measure 8.5 inches; there are 20 star blocks completed, and 23 stepping stone blocks completed. The 3rd picture shows the pieces that are cut out, and a few star 'points' that await completion! I will keep this project out and try to get more done over the course of the winter. It's begging to be finished.

Snowflake block construction

It has been my good fortune the last couple of days to have time for working industriously on my Snowflake quilt. I need 30 blocks and have 5 totally done, and several more in progress. That might seem like a slow pace to some, but I am pleased with that progress. For me, it's remarkable, believe me!

Here are the steps of construction. First, each block needs 4 4-patch units.

Next, there are 4 flying geese units.

Finally, these units are sewn together with a 4-1/2 inch center square in 9-patch fashion.

I am trying a technique I've never tried before on those flying geese units. Customarily, I cut away both excess fabrics when a the corner square is sewn diagonally onto the 2-1/2 x4-1/2 inch rectangle. This time, though, I am just cutting away the middle layer. This leaves the full rectangle intact, and really affords me greater precision when it comes to joining the two geese together with a crisp point. I like that. Since this quilt will most likely be machine quilted, I don't think the extra layer of fabric will make much of a difference, but it makes a huge difference in the accuracy with which my blocks are coming together. Here are a few shots of the flying geese units I've just described.

It's a bit hard to see the stitching on the back of the middle photo, but while I am sewing this step, I can see exactly where I need to place the needle to get the point just right.

One of my rules MUST be to use only the fabric in my stash. I prefer using what I have except in dire circumstances. In digging through the closets, bins, tubs and drawers, I found 2 fabrics that I might use for the alternate blocks and the side and corner triangles (blocks are set on point). Here is what I've decided for now. I figure I have time to change my mind, so it's tentative, but likely, I suppose.
 

The paisley will be the side and corner triangles, while the other will be the alternate blocks. If I change my mind on either, it will be the dot fabric. It is from a Christmas line by Robyn Pandolph by Moda, and while I have no problem with it on it's own, I think I would like to have little navy blue dot clusters as opposed to the green ones.  Also, my neutral in the snowflake block is more gray, and the dot is a bit more beige.
 
The jury is still out. Opinions welcome.

Fabrics in the snowflake:
Navy paisley: Faye Burgos by Marcus Brothers
Neutral: Peace in the Country by Carole Endres and Benartex

Fabric for side and corner triangles:
Paisley: Butternut and Blue by Brackman and Thompson plus Culpepper Courthouse for Moda (what kind of name is that?) 

Keeping Busy

I finally allowed myself to begin a new project. The work on UFOs had to be done, but I'm much happier when I get to start a new quilt. (Strange how I can start so many, and finish so few!)

Here is my cutting phase:

And, I just couldn't wait to make a block, so here it is:

So, the fabric is from my stash. I had 2 different cuts of the blue, which means I bought it twice. I must have really liked it! And I still do! The pattern is a Thimbleberries one, called Patchwork Snowflake, from the book Cottage Comfort, I believe. I've liked this pattern ever since I bought the book, and I am  happy to be making it, finally! My snowflakes will all be this blue paisley, whereas the pattern shows a variety of fabrics for a scrappier look. I will try very hard to make myself finish this quilt and not get sidetracked onto other stuff. I am notorious for starting things and never finishing them.

I do tend to get sidetracked...for example, I love to read, so if I have a good book going, the rest of the world might as well just wait, because there's no hope of getting much out of me until it's finished. Then, there's the usual mom-and-family stuff that tends to take priority, as it should. I imagine that I am no different from most quilters. The hobby has to be fit in around the obligations.

Walked 2 miles this evening with Vickie and really enjoyed that. We have only this week left before the time change, so we felt sort of pressed to make the most of the lovely evening.