Back to Patchwork

 Four quilts ready for binding.

I'm working on patchwork instead.  I wouldn't want to get those quilts finally finished.  Nope.  Still avoiding that.

I'ma Gonna

I'ma gonna finish quilting this thing today!

Progress and Patterns

I have been getting those tops taken care of!  I have three quilts ready for binding now, and one quilt literally in my machine halfway quilted.  To be honest a lot of my quilting time has been stolen lately because I've been doing stuff in the yard.  My hubby nearly cut his finger off a couple weekends ago so he has been a hand down and we have SO much work to do that I've been doing the labor.  Things hurt. I'm too soft for this stuff but its been happening.  And I have a farmer's tan. 

Recently during a rainy spell I was allowed to stay inside and fart around so I started writing patterns for a rainbow quilt along I'm hosting with my Facebook quilt friends.  This will be our.....fifth quilt along!  We started about a year ago....I just love this group.  

We are swapping rainbow fabrics- each of our eight girls are purchasing fabrics in one color... cutting them up, then sending them to me to divvy up and mail back out.   I wrote three patterns for the swap, but I'll just be hosting the chevron quilt along... the pinwheels translate easily enough... and any other lady that wants to use her rainbow squares for something else is welcome to.... I just get sick of the math.

 My local quilt friends and I went shopping last week to get started on our rainbow shopping.  We went to The Bakery Fabrics.... which is about an hour away, but always worth the drive.

 I may or may-not have picked up these little packs... Not sure what I'll do with them yet... I just wanted to play around with them.

 Sewing night was super fun as I got my rainbow squares cut....while enjoying a root-beer float!

 So I'm going to get the quilting on my row along finished up while I wait for these rainbow squares to come trickling in.  

Now that I laid the pathway in the backyard maybe I can be less of a landscaper and go back to cooking cleaning and quilting.

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!