July in review

In addition to canning (strawberry jam, cherry pie filling, blueberry jam, blueberry butter, apricot jam, and shiro plum jam) and lots of reading & DVDs, July was spent like this:

Finally got &*%X# borders on
the QOV; still need to make the
pillowcase and get it sent off.

Went to a baby shower

Dealt with this mishap!

Pulled out a brown bag UFO from
...2000?

Used triangle paper for the first
time.  The jury's still out.

HSTs went into these LQS
 mystery pieces 'n' parts.

And I'm still dealing with more computer viruses
than I've ever seen since I've owned a computer.

Take care,

Sheila

Catching up

I’m working backwards through some pictures I’ve taken and not posted in recent months.

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Stash Enhancement--9.47 pounds

Connecting Threads had a scraps ‘n’ ends sale at their Columbus distribution center today.  It’s only about four exits from me on the outerbelt, and at $5 a pound, why not?   Luckily, I went in with a budget or I would have done some major damage.   Some of their fabric lines seem to me to have an inconsistent quality from one fabric to another, so it was nice to be able to feel the fabric before buying it.  Other than to acquire some more blues and reds for QOV quilts, I wish I’d had a project in mind.  As it was I mostly grabbed some pieces to add new life to the scrap bin.    

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Here’s Oscar with a recent shave, haircut and a paw-dicure.  I was amazed how brown-ish his fur was after all that long white hair.  He was sick for about a week before this (and did some major damage to the carpet).  Luckily he’s okay.   Am I the only person who’s never heard of the sick dog diet of boiled hamburger & rice?  After eating that, he will hardly touch his regular food now. 

***

A few months ago I took Grant to see the movie How to Train Your Dragon at the Movie Tavern near me which has a (very pricey!!) Flapjacks and a Flick feature for kids on Saturday mornings.  (My son warned me they were the worst pancakes I’d ever eat, and he wasn’t kidding.)  Grant’s become infatuated with dragons and Vikings since then and wanted a dragon cake for his 4^th birthday in May.  Isn’t this a cute idea?

 I’d be a bad Nana if I didn’t include a picture of my boys!  

***

My car finally hit 50,000 miles after 6.5 years.  That's an average of 641 miles a month and includes several round trips between Ohio and Texas.  I think I deserve an insurance discount, don't you?

***

The stocking below was a pattern I tested for Gudrun Erla in early March.  It’s from her latest QAYG book, Fast and Furious Holiday.  I’m not sure the plaids were quite what she was looking for, but I think it turned out cute in all its maleness.  This experience was a good lesson for me in how directions can be interpreted differently!

That’s all for now.  Tomorrow, an update on the QOV and maybe some finished jam.

Take care,

Sheila

The quilting stitch

I could look all day at how quilting transforms a quilt.  Keryn's Square Spiral panto is a favorite of mine ever since Anne used it on my spider web.  But look at the dramatic difference on a light fabric quilt.

More of the Memorial Day quilt

I didn’t meet Judy’s mail by June 6th deadline, but definite progress has been made.  I have three row-sets hanging here, but abandoned pressing open the long seams and sewing the final two seams in favor of cutting and piecing all the parts for the five borders. We’ll get back at it next weekend!

Memorial Day Quilting

I didn't really fall off the face of the earth, and I'm determined to blog more consistently.

I've taken Judy up on her offer to quilt and donate to QOV tops made according to her pattern.  On top of a hectic week, I struggled choosing fabrics but finally made a decision on Saturday night.  Step 3 was finished Monday (except for pressing), and I should have no problem meeting her June 6th deadline.

JSS 2010 Quilt Day

Saturday was the 6th annual quilt day for the all-volunteer James Stitching Sisters, and a first for me.  The goal of "210 for 2010" was exceeded, and I believe the  final tally was 369 completed quilts turned in since quilt day in 2009.  

While the group hosts weekly opportunities at the JSS center or in local quilt shops to work toward the same goal, more than 170 women set up shop this day in a church gymnasium to make tops toward next year's quilt goal.  Most attending were breast cancer survivors, family members, or staff of tOSU Medical Center or JamesCare.  While I don't fall into any of those categories, I'm just happy and blessed to be able to help in some way. The amount of organization that went into something of this magnitude was amazing.  There were areas dedicated to cutting, pressing, pinning, or making bindings.  There were more prepared kits available than people to make them.  Local girl scouts fed the troops.  More than 500 requests went out for door prizes and no one went home empty-handed.   It was just a really great experience, and I met so many fantastic people.

I posted a few pictures of the day, but this was my favorite:

Fight like a girl indeed!

Although she isn't pictured, one lady in attendance has survived breast cancer for 28 years.  That's amazing, considering how far technology and medicine have come in 28 years.

Labels

There was mention of how to make labels on the HeartStrings group this morning, so I uploaded a few pictures to a new webshots album of older ones I've done.  I like to use MS Word to create labels and occasionally use the WordArt feature.  Sometimes I use a picture of the quilt or fabric as a background for the text.  Stitching a small *binding* around the stiff label fabric helps when sewing it to the quilt.

labels

Sheila