I'm Back!

Wow, it's been 8 days since my last post! Sorry for the delay! I was supposed to get a picture of the fabric up for the 100th post giveaway. So without further ado...

This is a collection of 20s and 30s reproductions. Most are fat quarters and some are fat eighths. I'll leave this open until February 8. So just leave me a comment before then if you want your name put in the drawing! I'll announce next week. Your name is in the drawing already if you commented on my last post.

I have completed a couple of DJ blocks since my last post as well. This first one is called Coyote Chase, is paper pieced and appliqued and has 12 pieces.

This next one is quite similar in that the shapes are all the same, but they point in different directions. I have noticed that Jane Stickle did this a lot throughout the quilt. You can see very similar blocks in close proximity to each other in several places. Anyway, the method for making this one is different. This one is completely appliqued, has 6 pieces and is called Josepha's Jonquil.

I am still agonizing over a block in row I. It's I-12, Fred's Square Fair. It has tiny little pieces, but I'm not sure why this is causing me such trouble as it is very similar to the top right corner, which I don't remember struggling with at all! It seems funny to me that I can't recall working on some of these blocks at all. I suppose it shouldn't surprise me though between menopause and chemo brain so much seems to escape my memory these days!

Today, I hope to get my last triangle on the left side done. It looks fairly easy. Row J also looks to be very easy and after that, the whole quilt appears to get much more difficult! Yikes! Still heading for a June finish!

Until next time,

Melanie

100th Post Giveaway!

I've had this blog for a couple of years I think, but haven't been actively posting until about the last year. It has been a lot of fun for me and serves as something of a journal. I've really enjoyed it! Now I am coming up on my 100th post which seems like a good time to do my FIRST giveaway! I don't have anything purchased yet, but hope to have something to show you by the end of the weekend. You can count on it being fabric-y! Just leave me a comment on this post and your name will be thrown in the drawing! Oh, how fun!! I'm really excited about this! Hope you spread the word too!

In the meantime, I'll show you my latest Dear Jane triangle. It is RS-10 called Grandma Nan's Bodice. It was paper and regular pieced as well as some applique and has 17 pieces. It's always good to get a triangle done!

We have a bit of demolition going on here this weekend. Next week, we are having new carpeting put in our living/dining and bedrooms. So this is our opportunity to get rid of a built in bookcase in the living room that we have not ever really liked since we moved in here. Pete has torn the case out and now I need to go patch up some spots on the wall to make it blend it. I am also going to paint the bedroom before the carpet goes in so I have no shortage of projects! Anyone want to come help???

Don't forget to leave me a comment! We'll see you soon!

Melanie

Productivity!

Another DJ block done! This one is a repeat of this block I did back in December. It just wasn't going to work the way it turned out the first time. It really needed to be paper pieced. And so it was! this is I-4, called Stability, is paper and regular pieced and has 25 pieces.

The flash wasn't working on my camera so it is a dull picture. The focus fabric is much brighter than this shows. (I tried and tried to get this photo to load so that the little girl in the center was upright, but no luck. Sometimes, computers are so uncooperative!)

Earlier in the week I finished a purse that I made for a new friend I met at chemo who is battling ovarian cancer. The morning before I went to my last chemo, I was looking at a charm pack and trying to figure out what to do with it. I decided then I would make it into a purse. The fabrics are from the Cause for a Cure for ovarian cancer. Then that day, Debbie and I spent the whole time we were there (about 5.5 hours) chatting away. She is so sweet and is only 43. Please pray for her! Anyway, this seemed like the perfect gift for her. I hope to deliver it to her next week.

 

These purses are so fun to make!! Plus they are a great way to use a charm pack.

Today I am working on my Schnibbles quilt, Madeline, made with 2 charm packs and some yardage. Hope to have this done quickly. Only one week left before I return to work, so projects are being worked on at a steady pace around here!!

It is hailing outside here in normally sunny beautiful Central California. But I love the rain and welcome it.  It's a great time to sew! And I think it's still beautiful, even with the rain.

Until next time,

Melanie

Rainy Day...

Wow, it is really raining out there! My poor dog is huddled down and shaking behind the bed. She would really like for the rain to stop pelting on the windows! I suppose this would be a great excuse to wander down to the sewing room and hang out down there for a while. I know Kali would really like that. I have plans to clean out my closet today too!

In the meantime I thought I would share the block with you that I made yesterday. It is easiest one in row I in my opinion. It is I-3 called Family Album. It has 17 pieces and was paper and regular pieced.

Today I may get the last block in row I done! Or I may work on a triangle. Not sure which. OR, I might start work on a Schnibbles quilt. So many choices!! I better get down there and figure it out!!

Melanie

A Few New Purchases

I had a great sewing weekend with my three sisters! We gathered at my sister's home in Fillmore, CA. The weather was just perfect, hovering right around 65-70 and sunny. The hills were green and pretty! We walked, giggled, watched movies and rewound the funny parts so we could laugh even harder, ate and just generally had a good time. (Can you say "pants on the ground?)

On my way down there, I stopped at a little quilt store in Carpenteria, CA. The name escapes me at the moment. I bought these for my Dear Jane quilt.....

 and these...

Then when I got home, I had these waiting for me in the mail...

I have had a 6 x 12 ruler for probably 10 years, but it's been warped for most of that time and I finally just thought "why am I dealing with this?" and bought a new one! That is the ruler I use the most so it makes so much sense to have one that isn't warped. I don't know why I let myself become adjusted to such things....Anyway, I'm about to go chuck the warped one.

It's very rainy and windy here, which makes for a perfect day to sew! That's where I'm off to!

Melanie

This Week's Triangle Done Early!

So, I didn't wait until the last day to get this week's triangle done. Actually, my sisters and I are having a much overdue sewing/quilting weekend so I really had to get it done early. This is LS-11, called Megan's Cathedral. It is paper and regular pieced and has 22 pieces. It was easy and fun. I needed that after the last two!!

Hope you are having a great day!!

Melanie

Another Block!

Wooohoo! Got my second block done for the week tonight! The 2 blocks I did this week were not easy, or at least not fast! This one was definitely not easy. It's not perfect, but it's done and I'm okay with it's flaws.

This little baby is I-10, called Iris's Medallion, was paper and regular pieced and has 25 pieces. This photo is on the yellow side. The focus fabric is a pretty bright pink. I don't think that really comes through here.

While sewing this block, I realized why these blocks are so addicting. It's that you just aren't sure you've got what it takes to make them (at least some of them), or you're not sure that the ones that are easier that you can make come out proportioned correctly or lined up correctly or any number of challenges. And then, at least most of the time, you look at your finished product and say, "Wow, I made a pretty darn good little block there! I think I need to make another!" And that's how it happens!

Have I already mentioned I've lost one of my triangles? Ugh, they take hours to make and one has gone AWOL. My sewing room is getting cleaner and cleaner as I search for that thing! My biggest fear is that I've quilted it into a quilt and it will never be found....Grrr!

Hope you are getting some stitching in!

Melanie

Today's Effort

I managed a couple of hours in the sewing room today and produced this triangle, RS-6, called Tumbling Blocks. As mentioned previously, it entailed the use of set-in seams,which is a method that I do not do well. I survived, but the block is not great. I can live with it though. So this was paper and regular pieced and has 25 pieces. If the picture makes it look like it tips over at the top, it really doesn't.

Now I'm working on the other set-in seam block, I-10 and then I can move on to funner things. Hope you have time for a thread today!

Melanie

I-9 Chase a Myth

I do wonder sometimes how these blocks got their names. This one is an interesting one! I put off doing this one for quite some time. I had cut out all the foundations and all the pieces of fabric and it made it look so daunting. The only thing that made me finally do the darned thing is that I couldn't stand having all those little pieces of paper and fabric falling off my table and generally just getting in the way of other projects. So this little guy as you might have gathered by now, was paper and regular pieced. It has 41 pieces, which I believe is one of the higher count blocks. If you aren't working on your own Baby Jane quilt (and even if you are), think about that for just a minute: 41 pieces in a 4.5 inch block. It really is crazy, don't you think?

I normally don't do this, but I have been looking at another person's site who shows front and back of her blocks and I think it's interesting. So here's the back of this one.

 

Perhaps it was working on this block that caused me to once again think about Jane Stickle as she designed and sewed each of her blocks back during the Civil War. She had no rotary cutter, mat or ELECTRICITY. She may or may not have used a machine (I don't know, but if she did it was a crank machine), or freezer paper and obviously she had no computer. To me it just seems so apparent that she was so distressed by the current events of her day that she designed the most outlandish (ooh, good word!) blocks that would distract her from the terror that was going on in this country. Come to think of it, I like it for the same reason! Well, maybe terror would be an extreme word for today, but the state of our country and world is certainly unsettling if you let yourself think about it for more than a few seconds.

You may be able to tell I'm working on Row I. I'm trying to get the hardest blocks done first. Next is I-10 with set-in seams and while I'm at it I'm also working on RS-6 which is the tumbling blocks one and also is full of set-in seams. It will feel really good to have these guys done!

I'll be back as soon as I have more to show you. Hopefully real soon! Until then, I hope you're finding time for a thread.

Melanie

Last Week's Triangle

Here is the triangle I got done on Sunday, which is last week's. This is the first triangle I've done in months and boy did it kick my butt!! This little didy took me HOURS and lots of sewing and unsewing! There is just something about paper piecing that is so brain twisting for me! But done it is. This is LS12, is paper and regular pieced and has 24 pieces. There is actually a VERY small diamond that is supposed to go on top of the top diamond you see here, but it was literally about 1/4 inch in length and width. How do you turn over an edge with that small an area to turn into??? I think it looks fine without the crazy little diamond at the top and unless I told you, you wouldn't know!

 I've been working since Sunday (off and on for a few minutes at a time. life is so busy!) on a block that is also paper pieced and am almost done with it. This little baby has LOTS of pieces. I think it is I-10. I should be able to finish it up and post it tomorrow. Then maybe I'll do an easier one for my second one this week.  Or maybe I'll do a harder one and get it over with. I'm thinking about doing a triangle this week that I've been putting off for a while. It's on the right side of the quilt and has a tumbling block pattern. Anyone know which one I'm talking about? It might be RS6?? Oh well, you'll just have to come back to see what I ended up doing.

Until then....

Melanie

It's Back to Jane!!

Okay, so I haven't been feeling well since about Monday. Nothing new or interesting, just the same old feel-bad-after-chemo stuff. Fortunately, this was my last one so things should be looking up from here. A couple of weeks ago I had prepped a few DJ blocks and finished all but one, which I stitched up last night. This is I6, has 9 pieces and was machine pieced and appliqued.

 As I was talking to a friend this morning, we realized that if I go back to my schedule of doing 2 blocks and one triangle each week, I could have the top done by June. I'm seriously thinking of having Sue Baddley of Summit Creek Quilts long arm it when I'm done.  She does a wonderful heirloom look and I'm not sure I'd ever get it hand quilted if I went that route. At any rate, the challenge is on for 2010! I better get to the sewing room!

Melanie