Friday's sewing time

Well, I finally got enough pieced blocks done and got the rows put together. Getting the rows sewn together is like a wrestling match. I remember why I like small quilts - not so much fabric to wrestle through the sewing machine. Now I need to go make my bed so I can lay the top out on it and see if it is big enough or if I need to add a border. Hopefully it will be big enough!

We are attending a going-away party tomorrow for the girl that commissioned me to make her this quilt. I had brief thoughts earlier this week of trying to finish the quilt in time for the party, but quickly realized I had lost touch with reality! Probably somewhere around the time that I found out I needed to make 7 more of the pineapple blossom blocks! Actually I think I could probably get the thing quilted by tomorrow but then getting the binding on would be a whole 'nother matter!

I also need to get back to the blue and brown baby quilt. Her shower is going to be on May 17th. I will be out of town (in Boston!) but I would like to be able to give it to her on the following Sunday when I see her.

What are you all up to?

Reasons I am not a math teacher!

Apparently I can't even count to 32. 32 is the number of pieced pineapple blossom blocks I need for the commissioned quilt. I realized a few weeks ago that I needed more of the pieced blocks and set to work piecing them. I finished them up and started assembling the rows. Last night I got down to putting the last two rows together. And yes, I was short 7 pieced blocks. I had started them at some point and then they got set aside. Fine, fine, fine. Finish them up. Nope - I don't seem to have enough of the fabric I was using for the triangles. UGH!!! I do a quick search of the internet and can't find it. What to do? I have one strip remaining and I have to get 8 triangles out of it. I was able to squeeze 6. So the last two triangles had to be pieced. This is the result.

Someday, a hundred years from now, Jessica's great-grand-daughter will look at this quilt and noticed these pieced triangles and wonder what happened!

Last week I pulled the kids out of school for a couple of days and we headed to Nashville to see my family. We missed out on spring break because me and Ian had the flu. My mom and I got to make a quick run up to Franklin Kentucky and go to a cute little quilt store. It was mostly Civil War Repro type fabrics.

I did manage to find a few fabrics to make a table runner for the annual Nina and Sarah birthday challenge. This year the table runner are going to other people, but I won't mention names in case she reads this blog. Nina - the person receiving your table runner already knows so you might not want to post any pictures!

Time to go get something accomplished - besides sewing that is!

April Showers

How am I supposed to get any sewing done when my work area looks like this? I kept telling myself I was going to clean it up today, but every time I went in there I just wanted to sew for a few minutes instead. So today I got my 150 4-patches done for Bonnie's Orange Crush mystery quilt. That took a lot longer than I thought it would. Since I had left-over pink and brown 2.5 inch strips scattered everywhere on my table, that's what I used. I cut then down to 2 inches. I need to sit down and re-read her fabric directions and figure out what else to use.

The left-over strips were from this quilt that I have been hired to make by a girl at church. The log cabin squares are actually going to Bonnie's pineapple blossom blocks. And the blue strips should be brown - but I am lazy.

Here are a few of the pineapple blocks to show you the colors I am using. All the pineapple blocks are pieced already - so now I just have to put everything together. I am hoping to have it done by the end of May - so I can have some spending money for mine and Nine's annual birthday get-together. We are supposed to meet up in Tennessee again this year. I can't wait to see her!

Another reason I love Nina!

I knew there was a reason I love Nina so much, a reason she is my quilting hero. It is because she points out the obvious things to make a quilt better. You will notice that I went back and flipped the four-patches to make the blue into a strong diagonal line. Her idea. All hers. So brilliant! I like it SO much better now. I wondered how I had missed this in the first place but I went back and looked at the original pattern and they do not have a strong diagonal color in their block either. The pattern is from the June 2008 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting. It is called the Big Block Beauty - because the block ends up measuring 18 inches.

Anyway - I just wanted to thank my dearest Nines for her very helpful suggestion. How would I survive without you? I tried to call to tell you thanks but of course someone was on the phone line!

What do you think?

I was tired of working on the project I've been plugging along at (32 of Bonnie's pineapple blossom blocks in pink and brown) - so I decided to make a test block of the next quilt I am making. It will be a baby quilt for Maddie's teacher, who is due to have a baby boy in the middle of June. Her due date is the 19th but I told her that the 17th is a great birthday! Mine!

Her colors are chocolate brown, the blue in the block, and then a sagey green (the cross-hatched fabric in the picture). I like the block pattern - it would only require 4 blocks, some sashing, and a couple of borders.

I guess my question is - does the blue stand out too much? Would it work better somewhere else in the block?

I asked Maddie what she thought of it. She said "I like it - make me a quilt just like it." Why isn't she always this easy to please?

So, what do you think?