Plugging Away on Those Diamonds

Yes, in the odd moments here and there, I am still quilting on Erin's Diamonds. It pleases me immensely to be so near the finish, but sometimes it feels as if I will never get there! Here are pictures of a section I finished off this week. When I grow impatient to be finished with this, I try to remind myself that I enjoy the process of hand quilting, and this new experience with using Perle Cotton has been delightful.

Lately as I've stitched, I've been listening to a book on Playaway from the library. Do you know what that is? Instead of a book on CD, this little device is about the size of a deck of cards; you plug your own headphones into it and with a AA battery, you can listen to a book. Right now, I am listening to The Magician's Lie by Greer MacAllister. It's been okay; I was near to quitting it early on as one of the characters was so dispicable that I just couldn't stomach it; but as it was in a flashback, I held off thinking that his part in the story would be brief. Well, he's come back, and now I'm so far into the book, I really want to finish it off. What a dilemma, right?

I got a nice long list of book recommendations from a fellow quilt blogger, Nicole. Sister's Choice Quilts is one blog that I have followed rather faithfully for a long time. Awhile back she reviewed a long list of titles she'd read from the summer and fall, many of which appealed to me. Here is the link to her Summer Reading finds. You can search her blog for additional book-related posts.

So, I listen and stitch. What a great way to pass a late afternoon or evening. I hope to be able to do a bit of that at some point today, although we have a date this afternoon. We will be going in to Greenfield for the Pipes of Christmas - a pipe organ concert spread out over three locations. For a town our size to have 3 pipe organs is quite remarkable, apparently, and this concert will feature them in Christmas-y fashion. All the organists are native to Greenfield, some coming back home just for this event. I will be sure to tell you all about it.

The needle awaits! It's Sunday, so I will be linking up with Kathy at Slow Sunday Stitching. Go take a peek!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Renaissance Man

Remember back on Veterans' Day when a few of us met at Sherrie's to sew? She was not quilting; she was working on an outfit that her husband would wear through the Christmas season when he sang  with a local group of Renaissance singers. Click here to check it out.

Here's Dave! He's looking quite spiffy in his fancy duds, I think we would all agree! I sure hope I get to attend one of the groups' performances. Music is a sure way to get in the Christmas spirit.

Another Finish!

It feels good getting one more quilt done this calendar year. I will hopefully have two more before turning the calendar - those t-shirt quilts I'm doing for commissions. Let's see today's finish, for now. Actually, the finish occurred on Tuesday, and I'm just now getting around to posting about it.

This Buckeye quilt is for a baby, and is more of a lap quilt size than a baby size. It measures at 72"x48". It was created off an idea from my cousin Marilyn; she showed us a baby quilt the first weekend of November. I began sewing this at our Veterans' Day sewing on Nov. 11. Gracious! That's less than a month for a complete turn around! I quilted it Monday while Sharon was here. Then I did the binding on Tuesday evening. Whoa Nellie!!

These aren't the most flattering pictures. Maybe I should wash it before gifting it and get it all smooshy and soft. Right now it looks rather scraggly. Oh well, I know it will be loved and used. It's going to some avid fans. I hope they wear it out!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Frankfort Girls Round Up

On Friday, we met at Sheryll's for coffee, some delicious coffee cake and, of course, good fellowship. We also planned out our coming year, getting dates set and hostessing assignments cemented on our calendars.

Here's a quick look at what we worked on.

Sheryll proudly showed us this recent finish; it's life as a UFO is over. She machine quilted it, and was stitching binding while we were together.

Sheryll also had Christmas gifts to show us, thanks to Jan's embroidery machine. The top picture is one of several pillow cases that Sheryll  made for various members of her family. The lower picture is a hefty stack of tea-towels, also for various family members.

Speaking of Jan, she was binding this name banner for a daughter's friend. She'd made one previously for her grandson, so she is getting good at them!

Sharon O. was working on this holiday table runner.

Terry was prepping an applique project by tracing tiny little parts onto freezer paper. This is going to be a wool project for Christmas, I believe.

I worked on my diamonds, which I showed you a day or two ago. But I will show you again. It's no trouble. Really.  *grin*

I have had some time to continue working on it, and need to remain focused so I can call this a finish in this calendar year. Gotta' have goals, right?

Next time this group meets we will be celebrating Christmas with a little gift exchange at Jan's house.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Minimal Quilting Time

This past week has been hectic, to put it mildly. Consequently, I have had precious little time to work on Erin's Diamonds.

If you recall, I'd moved it from the big frame and into a hoop to finish the last 5 or 6 rows. I prepped that at least a week ago. But the only stitching I've managed was done on Friday morning when the Frankfort girls met at Sheryll's house.

For the couple of hours that we stitched, I managed to get all the quilting in one frame-space done and then move the frame to a new section. That is what is shown above. I sure hope I can carve out some time later today to sit with in in my lap and quilt for awhile.

To get it to Sheryll's without getting it dirty, I smooshed it all up in this white trash bag. Those are just the perfect size for larger quilt projects that need to be transported. I have used them for years. I suppose a pillow case would work, too; they would be about the same size, minus the straps for carrying.

This final picture is a bit closer view of what I hope to finish off today. The tails of threads are what I will load back onto my needle to continue down the line from the previous section I quilted when it was still on the big frame. I had hoped this would be a time-saver, and yes, it is!

So what was my week filled with instead of quilting? Four groups that I participate in all had functions this week. Thursday morning - book club; Thursday evening - card club; Friday morning - Frankfort Girls; Saturday morning - Frienzies. To prepare for Frienzies I had to bake 7 items that I gave as gifts in our gift exchange. To prepare for book club, I had to finish a book.

And those weren't the only things that were pulling at my time. In between book club and card club, DH and I hurried to Chillicothe to order carpet for our family room. That took about an hour longer than necessary because no one seemed to be in charge of flooring at Lowe's.

The other big time-grabber is grading for the end of the semester. Rough drafts! Works Cited pages! Late submissions! All these issues regularly accompany the end of a semester, but it's still a bit of a stress because everyone has a burning question, and needs my answer right now.  Finally, I am seeing the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, so what is left - finals and grade submission - should not be quite so taxing.

Since it is Slow Sunday Stitching day, I hope to erase some of that stress with a needle and thread in my hands later today. Doesn't that sound nice? I am linking to Kathy's Quilts again today. I enjoy seeing all the variety that the other link-ups share; there are some pretty Christmas gifts out there, don't you know!

I keep saying that I will stitch later today. The reason it will be later is that this afternoon is the Greenfield Historical Society's annual Holiday Home Tour, and I am serving as hostess at one of the homes on the tour. After my stint is over, DH and I will make a quick tour of the other homes. It's always a wonderful day; we get to see lots of people we know, and it helps get us in the mood for Christmas decorating.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Binding Awaits

I'm really chomping at the bit to get my 2 t-shirt quilts back and get them finished up for my customers. In order to get straight to work on them, I have prepped the binding so that when I get them from the quilter, I will go-go-go.

Ready and waiting. I am rarely known for having things prepped ahead of time. It's aggravating to know that I am a last-minute sort of gal.

Thinking of binding makes me think about my little overflowing box of leftover bindings. I just can't bear to throw these excesses away, so all are stored in this little box. It's obviously time to find a bigger box, wouldn't you say?

I have tried thinking of a way to use these bits. I suppose I could stitch like-fabrics together to make a scrappy binding. I could open them up and cut squares or rectangles for blocks. So far, I've not been moved to do either, so they sit in their too-little box while I wait on a bright idea.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

December Has Arrived

Seems impossible, but the calendar doesn't lie - December is upon us. I have already listened to my fair share of Christmas carols both on the car radio and in my sewing room. I took a little trek out the lane last night to snip some pine boughs for decorating our front porch. Just little things to put one in the Christmas spirit.

Last year at this time I was working feverishly on 8 little quilts like the one above that I finished just in the nick of time to give to my Frienzies. This year, I'm not making anybody anything (almost). I decided that the pressure just wasn't worth it. I am simplifying my gift-giving!

As I look ahead to what is in store this month, I hope to get two quilts back from Terry and get them bound and delivered to the customers who commissioned them. I want to finish quilting Erin's Diamonds. And the OSU baby quilt. DD Erin has put in a request for help on a t-shirt quilt that will be given to her sister-in-law, and I am happy to do that. Claudia wants a class on making a bag, another project I am happy to do. I will be finishing up the semester next week with two finals, and all the grading that Freshman Comp naturally entails. DH continues to make his way around the family room with his trusty paintbrushes. I spend much time here in the sewing room to stay out of his way!

With all of this variety, I am also looking forward to various seasonal activities - gift exchanges, home tours, events here and there with all manner of family and friends. Today, for example, I have book club early, and card club late.

So bring it, December! Let's have a great month!
Happy Quilting, Friends!