The Windmills of Your Mind

When I finish a big project like Calliope Music, I give myself permission to start something new. And, boy howdy, have I ever jumped in with both feet! Thanks to last weekend's Bonnie Hunter quilter's yard sale and the Sew Far Sew Good Quilt Shop http://www.sewfarsewgoodquiltshop.com/, I have beautiful bundles of fat quarters in fine Civil War fabrics. And I subscribe to the Missouri Star Quilt Company's Youtube ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5Ixvjje310&feature=related ) tutorial series, too. So here goes!

I'm having a ball making these blocks that Jenny Doan demonstrated with permission from the Three Dudes quilt shop where it originated. Now, I know that a purist would point out that these are NOT authentic Civil War block patterns and maybe it is a waste of the authentic reproduction fabric designs. But I don't care! I've just been itching to dive into my Civil War stuff and I've been dying to try the 3 Dudes technique as well. So that's how it came together. I just love all the movement that these blocks have! To me, they look like windmills sort of. Hey, that's it! I'll call this one, "Windmills of Your Mind!"

Big Photo Op

After days of hand-hemming the burgundy binding, (I swear there is a fifth side to a quilt when you are binding) my ginourmous Patches & Pinwheels is finished except for the label. I'm kinda waffling on that because I'm unsure if I'll name it "Calliope Music" or just call it Patches & Pinwheels. The photo session was bright but windy. I want to say a huge "THANK YOU" to Bonnie K. Hunter for making this beautiful design available for free on her blog (http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2005/06/patches-pinwheels.html).

 You will notice that there is a piece added into the flannel backing that is unmatched. I plan on locating the label centered on that to frame it. I would like to sell this quilt, it is 92"X104" and I would price it at $475.00 plus shipping.

Binding the Snow Angel

Today was a wonderfully sunny day in spite of cold winds. I got down to the post office to send out my Criss Cross Civil War blocks for swapping and learned how to use the internet to track the Delivery Confirmation Receipt, too. I'm old enough to remember when there WAS no internet and the Post Office mailed you a post card signed by the recipient. Now you just haul up the www.usps.com and put in the delivery confirmation number!

I worked on that binding for Patches & Pinwheels and got it beautifully attached to the quilt. I had guesstimated the number of WOF strips and was just one shy of what I needed. No big deal, I noticed it early enough to stop and make one and add it onto the main.

 Felix and I made much more awesome progress on clearing out the pathway for the dryer swap today, too!
Here I am taking a break from that and just beginning the hand-hemming with my Ott light turned on to dispell the shadows on these dark colors.

I had gotten a great deal on the cabbage roses on navy fabric from Hancock's of Paducah and I loved it so much with my favorite pink tee shirt that I quickly made up a scarf to wear with it. I just love campy shabby chic florals! I'm finally old enough to wear whatever pleases me, teehee.

Raven was busy, too, making snow angels, or are they puppy angels?

After all that, it was a big yawn and naps on the futon!

Love that lady lab!

The Death of my Dryer

Right now I'm overwhelmed with the process of dealing with 25 years worth of clutter and hoarding that has accumulated around the front of my Kenmore electric dryer. Felix and I worked on this task together because in his own way, he is as much as a packrat as I am. Besides that, he is an old sweetie who always supports me.
This old dryer has died after 37 years of service!  And the motor STILL runs and it tumbles fine! But the heaters are dead and parts are no longer available, we called Sears to be sure.
I fought losing this machine. What I loved the most about my Kenmore dryer was the very generous lint trap that pulls up and out of the top of the machine. It de-lints and de-doghairs all our cotton jersey knits beautifully.
About ten years ago, I got a good deal on a lightly used Whirlpool dryer that has been stored out in the garage since I bought it. Now it will be pressed into service. But getting the two machines swapped into place is a huge chore that is ongoing. I can do sorting for an hour and then I get weepy with feelings of failure and despair. That's when it is best to take a break from it.

As for quilting, I was very cheered today to actually FINISH all 127 "winged string geese" units for Orca Bay. I got the last of them pressed and trimmed of their dogears, too. In between working on the geese, I knocked off one more scrappy happy house block as a leader/ender.

Oh yes, I did one other thing, too. This basket contains all of the cut and starched and ironed binding strips all joined and ready to sew onto the Patches & Pinwheels. It is a deep burgundy blender fabric that I bought last March on that trip to Marden's department store in Sanford, Maine.

Posting this progress has truly hauled my mood upwards, so thank you for listening! As I watch the news of all the tornado destruction, I pray for those less fortunate than I. I am sure they would like to trade problems.

Big Storm!

Well, the big news here is the big two-day snowstorm that has left us with slightly over half a foot of fluffy white powdery snow.

It was difficult to take good pictures of Raven in the snow because she was racing about with happiness! She acts like a puppy in new snow. It always makes us laugh to see her enjoying it so much and we cheer her on!

Her tail was wagging like crazy as I took these yesterday when we had about half as much snowfall as we do now, today. But it has stopped, so it is time to get Husband Wonderful to please plow us out!

 MY HERO!!!!

Looks like 7" but it has compacted a little, too.
As for being indoors and piecing, I'm proud to show off the last set of six Civil War Criss Cross blocks all made with their matching nickels! Yippee!

You can see that mine always need sliver-trimming to be perfect 5" squares. This fabric is a darling Judie Rothermel, "Inspired by Old Sturbridge Village" print from Marcus Brothers. It is quite a bright green background with red & white flowers and chrome yellow foliage. It looks rather Christmasy considering that it is a floral, doesn't it?

The Sale That Wasn't

I had an errand in Meredith, New Hampshire today, and it being a weekday and fair weather, I booked it the extra six miles to go to Center Harbor where the Mothership store of Keepsake Quilting is located. This photo was from last summer, so there are no flowers in February.

For all of February, Keepsake has had a "Show & Tell" promotion, so if I wanted to play, I was running out of February! I brought in my Sister's Choice flimsey and the clerk's loved it.

They presented me with my 15% off certificate. But it is only good on non-sale items. However, the sale prices from the outlet room are better than 15% off so I was very happy.
I got five fabrics in Civil War selections, mostly Judie Rothermel for Marcus Brothers, half a yard each, except for the red print, which I decided to get 2 yards of. That one is a Nancy Gere for Wyndham's 19th Century Reds.

I just love them all! I also decided to try out one of their specially made Charm boxes for keeping your 5" squares clean and unrumpled. It was $5 for the box which is exhorbitant but at least it is made in the U.S.A. I liked the fact that it has four very small breathing holes on the bottom.

I thought that I could use my coupon on the little charm box as it was regularly priced. But NO! My total needed to be a minimum of $25.00 of non-sale items to qualify for any of the Show & Tell discount. Sigh.

The only good deal was the ten scraps for a quarter each! I had great fun picking out the neutrals and you know what a sucker I am for florals! Bring on the cabbage roses!
At my request, the sales clerk at the register gave me a creamy neutral tie-up strip for my bag. So pretty!!

And I was able to pay cash because I kept it under $35. Not by much, but under!

The Next Set of Swaps

Life interferes sometimes with my quilting! But in spite of all the obstacles, I got to do a little squaring up trimming on the next set of Criss Cross Blocks so that they are finished and paired up with their 5" matching nickels for the swap. These were a rich indigo blue that photographs flat black.

They look ever so much better in real life!
I also got a bit of a start on the third set for the same swap, this time in a bright chrome yellow. The pieces are cut out and I'd just begun to sew them when it was time to feast upon Felix's homemade-from-scratch New England clam chowder. Here is as far as I got.

Now, after running Matthew back to campus, I'm too tired to sew! LOL! Never mind. It is all set up for the morning when I'm fresh.

Criss Cross Blocks

March 15th is coming up soon and that is the deadline for the last of the Civil War reproduction swaps of the Criss Cross Blocks. These will be for the "Across The Spectrum" quilt designed by Sherri Bain Driver that was featured in McCall's Quilting magazine in the Nov/Dec 2011 issue. The blocks are a tiny 5" unfinished! I find them very challenging. Here I am making them up with Moda's "Collections For A Cause" Civil War reproduction fabric in a medium sage green. Civil War greens are so muted usually, aren't they?

For the swap, (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nickelswap/) I make a set of eight blocks with matching plain 5" nickel squares and send in 6, keeping two for myself.
I confess that I am becoming a true fabric snob when it comes to the Civil War reproductions! Recently there was a sale on them at Hancock's of Paducah and I got some. When the Fed Ex truck pulled into my driveway, my heart beat a little faster; YES, it was my fabrics!

Aren't they wonderful? I call them, "Imported from Paducah!" LOL! I hope to use them in that medallion quilt that I saw in the most recent Quiltmaker magazine.
My policy on quilting magazines is very simple. I will ONLY subscribe to ONE at a time. That way, I have something happy to look at when I'm waiting in a Dr.s office or waiting for Matthew to come out of a class at his college. But now I also have the Hancock's of Paducah catalogue, too! Wow, it's nice and thick and colorful. Yippee!!!