Where did my weekend go? Another UFO completed, one that only needs the binding...and bread for the Professor......

Ok, had to share the photo of the African Vine quilt.... it now has a binding.... shame. I hunted all over the house...then in the studio..went through all of my fabric, just couldn't find that binding fabric, then began checking the less likely places... the laundry room with the Christmas stuff, the winter clothes storage, the oven!!! That is an inside joke with The Professor! *s* But couldn't find it anywhere, so i decided to put away the laundry, yep, there staring me in the face in the Linen closet... with the towels no less....not only the fabric for the African quilt binding...but two more UFO's. I swear they are multiplying! I can't have that many things still going. I have now finished, complete with bindings.....4 things! Most were small, but a few were larger.... and just finished machine quilting the string quilt.... think I am going to do a darker thin blue border...since I am way too lazy at this point to piece a border...though I do think that would look good. So that is number 5..... almost done. But since I did find a few more....think my target number should also reflect an increase. I had been shooting for 7, but hey there are some Christmas things which need working on...so maybe should stay with 7, it is almost October! With October, comes Autumn...the real deal with changing leaves, so I have decided I have to finish the Halloween Little thing...which is really in the fabric collected stage.... and not great stuff, no new fabrics purchased...all from the studio. I have decided that I will not move fabric, in fabric form, when we move, but rather will be happy to transport flimsy's or finished quilts. Not sure I can keep that resolve, but maybe that will motivate me to finish these things up. I have almost finished a little Christmas cheater panel.... that had to be for practice on my machine...and though I did buy it when my youngest was in 5th grade.... that makes it ALMOST my longest UFO. He is married with Children... so over 13 years ago! I also decided to follow Libby's example...and make up the professor some bread. I do it once in awhile..but thought I would actually IMMORTALIZE the event. It is just some kind of sort of wheat with grains added ...but we did eat the whole other loaf, the first night. Almost finished off the second. Now this is a close up of the string quilt, I decided that since it was for me...to make it a bit of a sampler.... and tried dwirling in the white border... then did free hand flowers in the center... and some wonky feather/swirls in the outer border.

I also painted my Bathroom.... over the weekend. It feels like I didn't have a weekend! Another week down...and several more to go. Hope you all had a great one.

A garden visitor.... more UFO's almost finished.....

Ok, we have had some fun the past few days..... just getting away. And while eating my breakfast.... the other morning...what did I spy in my garden?????? But this lovely little creature nibbling on all of my garden shrubs. I should have taken a picture of the almost gnawed bare little bush...I still haven't planted yet!!! Not sure how to dissuade him from eating them.... ???Any suggestions??? Sorry for the blurriness..but forgot I had been taking pics at night...and hadn't changed the settings. I was afraid that if I moved too much, he would run away...before I got the photo.

Today was a lovely day, I did finally put the final border on this little scrappy string quilt..... It is a double sized quilt, hope to load it tomorrow...and attempt to quilt a bedsized quilt..... for me. It should be fun. Think I will do a simple free hand pattern.... since I don't know how to do anything else.... *o* Shame! At any rate.... going to get this on the machine, get it quilted.... then will try to figure out what to do for bias binding??? Any suggestions will be duly noted. This little quilt was made from all the leftover bits.... that I scratched from all of my friends fabric leftovers. I got yellows from Peggy, Reds from Jean, The hot pink and orange and some blues from Ann, then the greens and dark blues from Enid. It was so much fun, going through their leftover scraps. I inititally made a little flowered machine appliqued quilt which is also not finished, with the first bits, then had so many cut strips left from the border of that first quilt, that I had to do something with....so Scrappy Strings was born!!!! Way different from most of the quilts I have made...but lots of fun. The professor and I are going to hear Colin Powell speak tomorrow evening so won't get much done .... but will show the progress .... and if this turns out...then may go ahead and do the scrappy flower quilt next. I have plenty of batting...but have to sort what to put on the back of these quilts.May just piece from the stash.... have plenty of that stuff around.

A quilted table runner (UFO) ...and more Nashville Quilt Show pics.

It has rained and poured here off and on all day. I made a throw quilt since my last post...but totally forgot to take a ph0to of it..before the college boy who asked me to do it...picked it up. He wanted it for a certain special someone. I just helped out...with much drama, all bias pieces which really should have been paper pieced.... but I just couldn't spare the time. Then ran out of brown bias.... which I had made from the remainder of the fabric..... and after a trip to the fabric store...they had sold out.... so had to be taken off, then another color...the only other one in quilt...had to be rebiased and attached. What a chore. Don't care to make another brown and gold houndstooth quilt again! But its done, picked up and he loved it. I decided to go to the store and post office today...and on the way the torrential rains began, as I walked into the post office, slipped on the floor, almost fell.... but shoe broke, while trying to catch myself...so carried it through while I shipped off a parcel to a friend in Houston. Shoe was trashed.... and just before that..... as I walked into the grocery store, I fell getting out of the car...my pant leg was wet up to mid thigh.... as there was about 3" of water running/standing in parking lot! Just not my day to be out and about! I did work on this little runner.... but after I took it off, decided it didnt' need the meander in the border...so sat and unsewed all afternoon. I liked the banana looking things.... but hated the other. Now it is unpicked, think I will just add binding. Someone gave me this runner....unquilted when we were leaving for South Africa.... so technically another UFO, almost completed.... minus binding. I have a finished South African quilt...that I can't find the fabric for the binding...had it when I was in Tennessee....just before the move...but can not find it anywhere. Who knows when I can put that on. Shame!!!! Had to post a photo of this colorful South African SUN batik print. It is dyed...then they lay the leaves out on the fabric to sun dye. I saw this at the Nashville Quilt show...it was so pretty. I must admit, I never saw these in SA as I definitely would have purchased one. I also share another quilt or two from the Nashville Show that caught my eye. I do love the red and green quilts. But there were many that just lit up the hall, and the patriotic ones were very nice also.

There are so many quilts that I like for so many different reasons. I feel like I am not a quilter who likes pretty much one kind of quilt. I haven't found a type of quilt I don't like...many I would never attempt...but none I don't like. DD and the Wee ONe came to visit a few weekends ago...and had to share this photo of him... he is certainly not an infant anymore. Time has flow since he was born. I am so blessed..... love my family and the lovely friends I have made along the way. Lucky me. Have a great weekend. Must start thinking about next weeks plans.... as the Professor is taking me away for an evening.... what a pleasure!

UFO's finished, and more Nashville Quilt show quilts...

The latest finished UFO's. I had started this little under the sea quilt...as part of a challenge for my guild in Texas. Moved away more than 5 yrs ago...so this is that long in the making. The challenge fabric is the busy print I used for the seaweed. We only had to make something, a block, a square.... whatever. So I made this little quilt...never quilted, but now finished... and only have to finish sewing the binding on... over the weekend. PROMISE! I put a few little closeup pics.This was fun to do. Hand appliqued, and machine quilted with a verigated thread. Then, had to finish up a little quilt, this one was on the John Flynn frame, before I got the long arm. I got it bound and sewed down today. Yeah, a couple of more little projects in the finished column.

In the background is the wood burner in our family room, that we hope to use this winter. I still have no idea how cool it gets here yet, but sure we will find out soon enough. The professor and I are off to the Auburn Mississippi State game tomorrow. Woo hoo! I do so enjoy the noise, and thrill of college gamesj! Hope the college kids are a little less throw happy.....course I did mull taking toilet paper into the stadium..... just for the "good old days" of it. But it might embarrass the Professor....and I have done plenty of that over the years....but that is a whole other story. Hope all of you have a lovely weekend.

I will leave you with a few pics of the Nashville Quilt show.Some of these were stunning. I definitely liked the colorful ones...but adored the Baltimore. They always speak to me. Mostly wishful thinking I think. Will I ever finish mine???? No one can answer that one?!!! Maybe before I get too old to hold a needle? *S*

UFO 's and other things......

Had to post my latest trial in longarming.I am showing it from the back, because the front was a rag basically, has rust spots left from old pins, and mildew where it sat exposed to the damp...for ... more years than I care to admit. I was trying out some free hand feathering...some small, some wonky ones. But lots of fun, and good practice. I will probably donate it to the Spca, or give it a tea staining.... and hang it on the porch! Then the crummy spots won't show. Hoping this will count as a UFO.... since it definitely wasn't finished. Will add some sort of binding...then it is done.!

Good practice for me though. Still waiting for some patterns to come to try pantos. Had to share more silly signage... recently went to Tennessee to see DD and the wee one, and of course passed many political signs. I don't know about you but who wouldn't vote for this guy..... don't know him...but he would win by default in my book. Who could vote agaist Roy Rogers? And whilst in Tennessee... had to drive by Austin Peay ( pronounced Pea) University...well they have outdone themselves.... in the strange sign department!!! And I won't tell you what the Frat boys came up with for a school slogan!!!! Will post the other two UFO's I am just about to finish up. Woo HOO! It feels so liberating to know that something is getting finished!!! Finally!!!! Need to sort through fabric. I can't beleive that I filled 4 plastic drawers... full of strips and bits. I really need to start something with them...but know I must keep up with Finn's blog. Need to organize to keep up with the new stuff that will be arriving ....holding thumbs...next week...from South Africa. I have been informed that they were going to schedule the truck for this week...but with the weather it was postponed. So maybe my SHIP really will be in next week. Then need to unpack that stuff...so need to get with it. And all I really want to do is sew at the moment! I have even put scrapbooking on back burner. LOTS of catching up to do there. Have a great couple of days. I am hoping to. Blessings to you all.

I have decided to take up the UFO challenge from Finn's blog http://finnleah.blogspot.com/ and this weekend decided to start on a few simple ones. The first was made from these little orphan pieces.... I did use the seaming accurate, http://reannalilydesigns.blogspot.com/2008/07/its-finally-here-seamingly-accurate.html and my accuracy has improved. I put it together...into a new configuration... and made this little quilt. Then of course that got loaded on my new longarm..and quilted. The front turned out great for free hand quilting. But not sorted the little pokies that come up... I did adjust a bit...and they finally went away. But still not feeling too confident about the back. Don't know if any of you have suggestions but I am open to trying them .Now this being the weekend, and I am married to a college boy, living in a college town, we decided to brave the Mississippi State Ball game! What a trip, I guess the last time I was at a college game, I was about the age of most of the college kids going there. That has changed the past 30 something years...but I sure don't remember the kids dressing the way they do now? Most of the girls were wearing little sundresses, and the boys, many of them were wearing dress shorts or trousers. They didn't sit down except when halftime came, and lots of cups of drink were thrown every time MSU scored. We deliberately sat at the back of the student section, (I actually had to sneak into that section since my ticket was non student!) in order to minimize being hit by the projectiles! Must admit...at 3.00 for water...and small soda, don't know how they could afford to throw drinks. Back in the Professor's undergrad days... they threw toilet paper, maybe that is too expensive now too!!! MSU had some very serious tailgating going on, before and during the game. They also had RULES for the game, as in no smoking, no coolers, no umbrellas, and NO ARTIFICIAL NOISEMAKERS! This certainly wasn't enforced, there were more cowbells than I could see...... and they sure made noise! We walked from our house to the game, about 3 miles I think...but it was worth it, not to have to fight the traffic leaving the parking areas. I was so tired when we got home.... I curled up to watch tv..and woke up about 6:30 AM, the professor did too. We are just too old for all that excitement I guess. It was a night game...so maybe that is why we were so tired. Hope you all had a great weekend. Will post pics of the latest ufo's. Have one more almost finished and bound. Good thing these are little UFO's. Not near so intimidating!!!!

Men really are just born that way........

I had to share a picture of my new longarm..... So much fun to use these past few days. It is a NEWBORN ...after all, not even 4days here! I am suffering from "pokies" not sure exactly why, maybe I move the machine too fast???? Or maybe tension on bobbin...or the top. I will get it right. But it isn't stopping me from having a go. I did work on 2 UFO's.... just small quilts...one is only a Wee little wall hanging.... and the other is a top I tried to do using a Flynn frame....not too successfully I might add. Both were started at least 6 yrs. ago.... and have been in storage. They're both seen in the background of the machine being set up! The John Flynn frame is to the right of the delivery man. The "under the sea" ...or "finding nemo" is hanging on the left. But now....both are just waiting to be bound. We had company this past weekend...and DD jumped right into the machine.... she was doing stars and writing words and making faces. She was quite a bit more adventurous than I was. I am still a bit more intimidated.... though I can meander and do squiggles like a mad woman. I haven't researched pantographs yet...but definitely need some simple ones. Hope this machine will let me quilt some of my African flimsies, which have stacked up. A few more flat panels... and I think I will be ready to tackle at least one this next week. The Wee one came with his mom...and we discovered it really is genetic, men are born with the desire to handle remote controls!!!! We went for walks in between sewing ... and eating...and fighting over the remote! But it was a good family time. I hope you all have a great weekend. I am already sewing another baby quilt.... for a friend. Will hope to quilt Oh, just to clear up a misunderstanding...the blue and white quilt...was not mine...just one I greatly admired at the NASHVILLE QUILT SHOW. I love the fabric...and still am waiting for my ship to come in with my very own African schweschwe. Maybe someday soon. My South African friends couldn't believe it was made from their fabric. I don't think anyone I knew but me had used the stuff in a quilt. Hope that clears that up. Enjoy!