Collecting Tops

This happens to me a few times a year.  Somehow I end up with a STACK of finished tops needing to be basted and quilted.  Why is it this way?  Sometimes I think I'm only motivated to work on patchwork.  Its silly.  Most likely because basting requires the kitchen floor to be mopped.  We've had this talk before.

 The Scrappy Trip Along- from January- I JUST bought the backing for this quilt, so maybe I will get it basted and quilted soon.   

My Row Along- No backing yet... not sure what kind of fabric I would like for the back.

My Square Dance quilt- I pieced a backing a couple weeks ago- I should just baste the dang thing.

My Happy Go Lucky quilt top I finished last night.  Its kinda large- a double.  I want to order yardage from the Happy Go Lucky line for the backing.  I'll have to budget my allowance though so it might take awhile.  

In other news I'm ready to share the baby quilts I finished recently.  

Haley Baby Quilt

Becker Baby Quilt

Both nieces are due in the beginning of June.  I cannot wait to meet them!  And I really loved playing around with this Honey Honey charm pack.  Getting two quilts from one pack was pretty much awesome.  I love the simplicity of these quilts and they are feminine without being 'baby'.  Ya know?  

So I'll stay in touch.  You can pretty much assume if you haven't heard from me I'm probably procrastinating..... and don't want to talk about it.  

Great People

Have I ever mentioned how awesome my quilting friends are?  

 I got a fun surprise in the mail yesterday!  My friend Julie sent me a pouch!

 AND a drawstring bag!  Isn't that so nice??!!

 Last night at sewing Miranda gave me this fat quarter bundle.  Aren't those pretty fabrics??  I know!!!

Otherwise I've just been sewing away over here!  I finished my two baby quilts!  I'll share them after they are gifted to the expecting mamas.  I added the scalloped border to my Row Along quilt.  I need to add one thin white border, then somehow decide on a backing!  How will I decide??  

I made this pretty and simple quilt top. I'll have to pick out a backing for this one too! 

I have finally got myself in a groove on these big ol blocks.  I have ten or eleven of them finished and a bunch of them are partially assembled.  I need to make 20 total, so I'm getting there.

Maybe I've found my mojo??

Since Then.....

 Since the bad thing happened I went on a little trip......

 ...Flew all by myself...

 Visited with my cousin and her family.....

...Enjoyed the blooming springiness Georgia had to offer.....

 ...Went to an insane quilt shop and only spend 60 bucks!

 Then I flew home to the prairie....

 With my loot.....

Caught up with the Hubs and Monster

 Caught up with the Virtual Quilting Bee....

Then we got hit with two feet of snow!

I've been sewing, spring cleaning, building snowmen, pattern writing, white-washing the hubs, and baking..... But I am still pretty anxious about finishing a quilt or two or five.  I need a shot of mojo.  Can you score me some?

New Quilters and THE BAD THING

Recently its been a flurry of excitement over new quilt schools.... Kristen's mom had a crash course last month and a few weeks ago she started teaching Miranda.  

 This past week at sewing night she learned how to close her binding..

....And she finished her first quilt!  

 Our crafty friend Eva finally decided(with lots of peer pressure) she wanted to learn how to make a quilt.  So this week I've been going over after her boys are in bed to show her.  Monday we worked on cutting, pressing, pinning and the patchwork. 

She did really well and managed to finish up the last few rows on her own as homework.  Her top is really pretty!

Last night I went over to show her how to pin baste and get her started on quilting before I go away for a few days to visit Erin.  

So something, the likes of which I have never seen, happened last night.  She was going along, quilting in the ditch of her quilt.  Then I heard her gasp and the machine jumped a bit.  I think she said something along the lines of  "It got me" or "It's got me" I was like huh?  So I lean over to look and this is what I saw....

Obviously I'm no arteest, and obviously it wasn't a situation to say, Hey Eva hold right there while I snap some pics.  

Eva's index finger had been sewn.  

The needle went through her fingernail, out the bottom of her finger and it picked up the bobbin thread so essentially she had been stitched into her quilt. 

No shit people. 

So I turned the wheel to bring the needle up.  Her finger still had the needle going THRU it.  I guess I kinda thought her finger would come out when I lifted the needle but it didn't .. she had to pull her finger down the needle to remove it.  

No shit people.  

Not a drop of blood on the quilt if you were wondering!

So she had pulled the her finger off the needle pulled it back a bit and there are threads literally going through her finger.  She is still attached to the quilt and the top thread.  

No shit.

So I had to snip the threads. 

 At this point luckily Eva said, " you gotta take a pic of this" Otherwise how would we have proof?  She had band-aids nearby, I didn't watch her pull the threads out ( I might have had an issue seeing that), so she slapped on a band-aid. 

 So she sat back down didn't even have to re-thread the dang needle.  She back-stitched where it had left off and kept on going.  I kinda feel like the needle should have been replaced... but there wasn't any issue. It wasn't bent or anything.  Ill have her change the needle before the binding.  

What a crazy thing.  How scary for a newbie.  I guess I'll have to tell future students, don't get your finger caught in the needle, and tell this story to scare them.  

Despite this I think Eva will be a really great quilter.  I should text her and ask if she's had a tetanus shot recently.  Quilting sure isn't some boring craft grannys do!

With Plenty of Coffee

 Sewing nights have been really fun lately! 

This week Kristen and I had Miranda join us again while she works on her first quilt project. 

This week after she finished adding the last rows of her quilt top we showed her how to pin baste, then she started quilting!  It was great.  Kristen brought some cutting to do for her Marmalade project, and I was clipping my Happy Go Lucky hst units. Lots of Bonnie and Camille fabric lovin lately.   

 Miranda finished the quilting and she did a really great job!   No worrying or complaining, she just banged it out.  She did quilt 99% of an entire column without bobbin thread, which is probably the best way to learn a lesson to watch for that!  HeHe.   Next week will be the binding!  If we don't loose her to the hand sewing I think she will be a great quilter!

I seem to be working on alot lately.  Adding borders to my Row Along top and working on the Happy Go Lucky blocks.  This is the very last of my bolt of Kona White.  I'm so sad.  I went through the bolt so quickly!  I might need to go buy more just to get the projects I have underway finished.  I don't think my sewing budget can swing another bolt this soon.  

Since its snowing and I have laundry done I decided to bang out the new Virtual Quilting Bee block which was posted this morning. 

 It took all of thirty minutes to make.  I think this quilt is nicknamed ' the blueberry patch' quilt.  

Lame name??

WIPs

 Recently I realized I have quite a few projects going on!  

 Three tops.  One has a backing the others don't.

 LOTS of patchwork going on.  The three tubs on the left are all the same quilt. The top tub in the middle is a valentines wall hanging.  The top is pieced I'm just adding borders.  The middle middle tub has a traveling project I can take to sewing nights to piece on my little Juki.  Below that is my Happy Go Lucky project.  The tubs on the right side have the virtual quilting bee project and a dresden project.  

 I don't mind all of the projects.  It means I usually having something to pick up no matter what kind of mood I am in.  Yesterday I made this bee block.  Isn't it adorable?!  Its the quilt label for the row along!  Too cute, that Lori Holt is so talented!!

 I recently rearranged my sewing area.  What do you think?  I still have tons of room but I was able to make some room in this area... I am going to be homeschooling my monster next school year, so I needed to make some space for school stuff. 

 I still have lots of space at my cutting area.  

 My ironing area should work just fine.

I hope this set up will work.  I think I have sewn in so many different set ups that I'm pretty adaptable.  

Lots of work going on at least.  My boys are going to be out tonight so I'll have the whole evening to myself!! 

I am

 I am kinda tired from a late night of sewing last night.  A new sewing friend, Miranda came to sew with Kristen and I.  Her quilt school went really well  and she made good progress on her first project.  I really enjoy seeing how different ladies approach the new challenge differently.  In this case when we told her it was time to start sewing she replied something along the lines of... 'okay lets see if it explodes'.  Fearless. (later there was a sort of incident while I was trying to remove the machine's needle as the dog was sitting down on the machine's foot pedal!  Think about that.  The machine was on.  It was eventful and almost qualifies as an explosion in my opinion)

 Isn't it funny that you can only have one or two sewing nights before everyone's birth stories come out???  It doesn't matter who comes to sew, somehow the conversation always ends up with the 'what nobody told me about childbirth!' discussion.   It's always colorful. Almost as colorful as the dirty jokes Mary Burg tells at the Strip Teasers quilting group that meets in my hometown. (I've been practicing the blow up doll joke since your visit Julie!)

 I am relieved as heck to have my row along top sewn.  I need to trim it a little there, but it was quite a chore sewing these rows together.  All of those little seams meant I was pinning a ton... and saying bad words.  

 I am really happy with my first block for the Virtual Quilting Bee that Amy at Diary of a Quilter is hosting. 

 I am very sad that my bolt of Kona white is nearly gone already!!  Its only been three months!  HOW??

I am really lucky to be playing with this fabric.  Super lucky my husband didn't even comment about how my allowance didn't cover this splurge. 

 I am going to be here sewing these half square triangles for awhile.  Its okay I love this pretty fabric, it helps pass the time.