Good Morning, Texas!

Where All things Patriotic and All things Texas are one in the same!

It was a HAIRY day yesterday – I literally could have driven here in the same time it took me to get here if I had hopped in the car the moment I woke up at 4:15 am NC time.

Trust me – this was a day of “You’ve GOT to be kidding me!” 

If you throw in more than an hour sitting on the runway before turning back to the gate to wait for another hour plus – and you miss your connection.  It’s going to be a long day.

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Off We Go to Texas!

This machine makes me want to sing!

“Isn’t she lovely, isn’t she wonderful…..”

Some good ole Stevie Wonder!

She came out of hiding the other day – we moved her into bedroom #4 at Quiltville Inn – mostly to serve as a small desk in the corner of the room, but I also SO BADLY want to get her sewing!

She came as a gift from a fellow quilting friend who thought that Quiltville Inn was the perfect place for her to be enjoyed by many. 

Can you believe the copper detail?  How GORGEOUS! 

I had seen a similar machine, but in black with a textured finish – but this one.  Oh, my goodness!

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Ice, Ice Baby!

When Ice storms happen in the mountains -

They REALLY happen!

Was it really just Friday that I was taking photos of pink blooming trees, and posting them on Saturday?  And then Yesterday THIS!

Holy moly.

The temp for the day started out at 36 and continually dropped – the rain started in earnest when the thermometer had dropped to 31 – instant ice storm.

The big question of the day – would we lose power?  Would the new generator kick on like it should if we did?

We didn’t get a chance to find out.  Evidently the fact that we installed one means we’ll never get to use it.  LOL.

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Another Sew Saturday & More!

Wonderful things happen when we allow ourselves real PLAY TIME!

I reached my goal of finishing the needed Fireweed blocks.  I started playing with layout ideas – perhaps a zig-zag settng?  Maybe straight set with the blocks in strippy quilt style color rows of red and purple alternating?

I can spend a lot of time on my “design floor” just trying to figure out what I want to do.  What about on-point with red sashing?  Or what about purple?

Plain neutral was just TOO TOO much – but what if I did a pieced sashing with  squares on each end to become a secondary design?

*Side bar*  After taking this photo, I never noticed that there was one wayward bonus triangle hiding in plain sight until I was at the photo editing stage.  FUNNY!  Can you find it?

I think I’ve found what I want to do – and luckily there is a bin of recycled fabric and a bin of larger neutral scraps up here so I could dig in.

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Back in the Scraps Again!

My weekend project lies ahead!

I have a very simple attainable goal in front of me.

I need to make 12 more of these.  They will be mixed with the blocks that have purple bonus triangles around the outside edges.  I am just LOVING sewing with the recycled fabrics again.  They always call me back, you know?  It’s an instantly vintage looking quilt with all of those soft stripes and plaids and muted colors.

12 more.  By going home time Monday morning.  That’s the plan.

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All The Pretty 16-Patches! (And Quilt-Cam!)

A veritable mountain of 16-patch scrappiness!

This was hands down the most “brainless” quilty fun I have had in a long while – in my book things like 4-patches, 9-patches and 16-patches are just THE BEST and are right up there with string piecing.

Look ma, NO TRIANGLES!

And better yet – I am using up a bunch of OLD OLD blues – from 1980s and 1990s calicoes to florals and geometrics to recycled shirts and batiks.  It’s all in there.  And it is the mix – the complete and utter no rhyme no reason variety that makes me so happy.

By the time we started Quilt-Cam last night I only had the last batch of 10 to complete, I had 8 1/2 done by the time Quilt-Cam was over – I stayed and finished the last two after hitting STOP on the camera.  I just couldn’t leave them until they were all done and packed in a bin.

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On This Valentine’s Day, 2019

I am wishing you pretty patches and creative time!

Exactly what is on my own plate today!

More block kitting is happening – These are the Fancy Basket blocks from a 2016 Addicted to Scraps column with Quiltmaker, and I LOVE for once (or at least in a long while)  playing with a dark background in these blocks.  They feel like spring to me.  And a great way to dig in the scraps.

This block can be built in a couple of different ways.  You could use “chisels” with stitch-n-flip corners to do the long angled pieces instead of a 4-patch center, but I chose to do it this way so that my background pieces wouldn’t have any seams in them.  

Whatever method of construction your eyes see, this block comes from 2 widths of strips directly from my own Scrap User’s System thanks to my Essential Triangle Tool.  It makes kitting up the blocks so so so easy!

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Just a Bit Tanked!

I could have cropped this photo.

But I wanted you to see the entire perspective -

Does this remind you of the hot tub acrobatics from  year?? LOL!

It really wasn’t all that bad, but it was complicated a bit by a very squishy mountainside due to loads of recent rain, mist, drizzle, sleet and fog.

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Gettin’ Quilty ‘Round Here! (And 2 Winners!)

Top Done!  Yahoo!

I actually feel like I accomplished something – after a long dry spell!

I just love how scrappy and fun it was to make this quilt as our current Leader & Ender challenge project – Jewel Box Stars.  It’s not too late to jump in.  This challenge continues until July when we throw our NEXT project into the ring.  What will it be?  Just wait and see!

All of the 2’’ squares for this quilt came from my pre-cut 2’’ squares box – that’s what makes the variety so great!

All of the triangles were cut from 3 1/2’’ strips from my Scrap User’s System using my Essential Triangle Tool to cut matched pairs of triangles from strip sets already placed right sides together, so they are ready to sew.  This project was pure pleasure.

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