and the rest of the stash

I know Judy posted photos of her stash-so, along with the stash room and the sewing room closet which shows one or two of the 3 wire basket towers all filled with both stash and ufos...are these tubs. Two live out in the sun room at the moment, and three live out in the garage.

My plan is to fold and do some organizing in the stash room and get these tub fabrics onto those shelves-think I can squeeze it all in?
I will eventually post a photo of the cleaned up sewing room, featuring a stack of 3 tubs that dealt with that jumbled mess on the floor of ufos and assorted fabrics. I still have a very full scrap bin - waiting to be cut into useful sizes. That will have to wait while I deal with these deadlines...if all else fails, I could take it on retreat in June with me to press and cut up :-)

it's all Finn's fault!

The shelving with fabric and books and such is known as the stash room. My sewing machine and small stash are in another room. And, these are before photos...at least the sewing room has been tidied up quite a bit from these photos. The stash room is a whole other problem area...as some of what is in there needs new homes...which I have not quite figured out yet! The extra computer stuff and long table will go away by the end of May. I have a plan...it's just so time consuming when there are other things going on lately. At any rate, I promised Finn I would share my mess so she could have some company and as we know, many of us share that clutter up time...and I am sure at some point you find it needs to change. I sure did, and have been getting some great quilting time in since cleaning up this room. Well, I promised Zoe a walk...and as she is scratching at the door, it's time to get off the computer and into action...stay tuned for quilt show photos, up next post.

finished rail fence top

Here is the first variation from Billie Lauder's book Beyond the Rail Fence.
It's 40 by 60 inches.
Today I went downtown to the NW Quilter's Guild quilt show. I took a lot of photos-and brought home the guide so I could give some credit. The quilter of interest is also a member in my guild MPS...she does stunning work. Jo Barry is her name. I took many of her quilts also. In fact I voted for one of her quilts as best of show. I didn't know it was hers until after I voted. Tonight I have been doing prep on the last part of the applique blocks I am doing for a member of my small quilt group. Once these centers are on-I will post a photo as well. So, it's off to watch some tv and applique away. It would be nice to get these done tonight. I have the weekend to myself-M is off to music camp and I plan on getting a lot of quilty stuff done! I still have some fun photos of Billie's class as well to post. At least this is something for now.

update

Yes, I have photos of Billie and projects...however, I had to take the usual computer in for some repair work and I have had no time to upload photos onto this computer. It was enough to get it all set up and working so I could be online today. Yesterday blogger was being difficult so I gave up. After errands today, I should be able to make time to do all the fiddling around to have some photos to look at.

Suffice to say, it was a grand time and I learned some new things-mostly I enjoyed sitting at a table with all my friends sewing and laughing and talking away. I did stay up until 3 am working on class related stuff the night before...all worth it in the end. Tonight is guild night where Billie will give a trunk show and make us all laugh some more. In a perfect world I would have at least the blue and white top completed...but lately my world has thrown a few unexpected detours so I don't know how far I will actually get on this top today. At least my sewing area is cleaned up and my sewing table available to work on. I have fabric spread out to be cut and I know what I need to do next on this top. A few errands are on today's must do list...and you never know what a ringing phone will bring next.

photo of some shopping

Jeanne-here is a little of what I bought-can't put up the grandbaby stuff until it is not a surprise :-)

oh, notice the buttons? someone within the blog rings has been a bad influence!

think...some type of primitive wall hanging with embroidered words....or maybe something else entirely!

I have cleaned up, cleared up my sewing area in here-so tonight when I get back, I can do all the prep for my class tomorrow. I am taking beyond the rail fence with Billie Lauder...so, part of that prep is finishing those blocks I made a while ago. I was up until midnight last night, tonight...who knows??? So, if you hear a sewing machine in your sleep, think of me.

quilty happenings

Shop hop day! My friend Amelia called and suggested we spend most of today driving from quilt shop to quilt shop. It is supposed to be our last sunny day for a while..but, who knows? I have made enough progress in the yards to go play without any guilt. And, thanks to her suggestion-I was able to finish appliquing all the petals on those two blocks. Centers left to do now. I have been doing some spring cleaning/clearing frenzy around the house-this room is looking even worse than it was! However, it is close to being next to work on. As, I want to work in it...*very big grin*!

Life is Good:
feeling positive energy in the doing
admiring results of the doing
just doing!

got to love the weekend

Just Chatting:

Saturday I met with Patti of Vancouver and stash ring member at a lqs shop south of where I live. She was a great sport and did some extra driving to meet up with me. We had a wonderful time doing show and tell of our quilts and then some stash enhancement time! Yes, it is all her fault I had to bring this fabic home with me!

And I do have a quilt project in mind for it too. At any rate, we then drove to one of my favorite places to eat-checked out the huge crowd and ended up trying a new cafe for lunch. We had a lovely chat, drinking coffee and waiting for our food. Then it was off to another quilt shop a block away-stopping at a fun import shop half way along (another shopping opportunity not to be bypassed) and another lovely quilt shop experience. I bought the rest of the bolt-not quite 3 yards of the yellow swirly batik I used in the wonky village when the owner said her suppliers told her no more yellow batiks for at least ten months...I mean, really, what is a quilter to do? but buy the rest of that gorgeous fabric. After all, I used every scrap from the fat quarter I had bought of it and was wishing I had bought more. So despite rain showers as we dashed from place to place it was truly a fun visit. I look forward to going up to her guild meeting and enjoying their program next month.

Sunday: sleeping in, a surprise breakfast basket left on our doorstep by a neighbor, the sun coming out and hours spent playing in the garden. And, to top it off, we went downtown to see the latest Cirque Du Soleil show, Varekai. It was by far our favorite one since they have been playing here in Portland. We bought the dvd so we can catch all those parts going on besides the main act in front of you...and the music was wonderful, and the costumes - fantastic!! The best part, our tickets were front row...so we really got to see the performers as close as possible. It truly was a WOW time-if you are ever able, do go and see a performance...it is a unique experience. http://www.cirquedusoleil.com

Life is Good:

my aunt did great through her surgery

a laughter filled evening with my son and his wife

buds on the dogwood tree

a very pink quilt

Here is the entire quilt-which now lives with my sister. An online group I belong to suggested sending me blocks when I said I was making one for her chemo time. I said, any block, make it pink. My friends did an amazing job of sending wonderful blocks. The pink ribbon block in the center I paper pieced thanks to LJ sending me the pattern. I know she helped another gal with it..but still she came through when I asked her. Plus she sent more blocks to help me out.

Isn't this a fun quilt? Setting them together took a bit of work and again friends came to the rescue in helping me move blocks around and get the best result..got to love sending digital photos of layouts and getting feedback! The applique and the paper piecing blocks are really special.

What was going to be a small lap quilt really grew...and when my mom read the label it made her cry. I let her know how much we all were supporting her and she was very touched at so many of my friends, strangers to her would go to so much trouble. I also made a double pinwheel, again thanks to LJ's help.

I managed to applique the third petal tonight. I am so slow....I am not finding it relaxing as I am struggling so much to come up on the fold and not have my stitches show...sure is a learning process. I am meeting Patti tomorrow at a great quilt shop and bringing some of my quilts for show and tell....guess I had better get some sleep!

what I am doing this afternoon

I finally pinned these on and started stitching. This is for a friend of mine in our small quilt group...though the colors work for me :-)

There is a two part center that goes on after these petals. I have two of these blocks to do-though another month to finish them up in.

I am not an applique girl...although I do see the charm of doing it-and truly appreciate the gorgeous work done by so many quilters.

Last night I joined a knitting group and worked on a project. It was relaxing and fun. I really enjoy knitting-I learned as a small child from my grandma and always enjoyed doing it off and on growing up. I learned to crochet at the same time-now my grandma could do those complicated crochet thread doilies and bedspreads. I have the double bed size one she made for my mom's wedding gift. Of course, my mom hated it. I thought it quite the treasure though I managed to spill candle wax on it :-( - as a teenager I was careless about stuff like that. My aunt also does wonderful crochet and I have a piece she made-my heirloom as she calls it. She made each of us family members something special a few years ago when she first had cancer. Today she is having surgery to remove a lobe of her lungs as it developed a spot of cancer on it. And, today marks the first birthday of my mom since she passed. It has not been a happy day. The gray skies above pretty much sum up my feelings. So....working on this cheery applique is my antidote to those feelings. I am ok with feeling sad, do not misunderstand...at the same time, I know my mom did not believe in being sad for too long...she was a very upbeat person, joking through her awful parts of chemo and even at the end so sweet with her brother. So, it's happy birthday Mom!

skip- no quilting stuff just a chat

Well, I have not dropped off the face of the earth- just immersed in life stuff ....still. When I find myself with the time/energy/motivation to pick up the quilty projects and have something to show...I will be back. In the meantime I am reading blogs and commenting here and there.
I do have several quilty deadlines...each day getting closer so I can't take too long a break from them or it will be "marathon" mode which truly is not my intent.

last quilt show photo.....

ok..I have this pattern...in black and white- you can be sure I am going to print this and put it with the pattern (yes, I do know where it is) and add this to that less than 25 want to do before I no longer can quilt list! These are sooo my colors. So this is how I spent my day today....with a fun lunch out with my quilting pals and oh yes...I had my picture taken with another fellow stash quilter...I am going to let her post it (after all it was her camera) and she can add her comment-I will just say, the stunning hat I wore was purchased minutes before in their bazaar...it's felted wool and I had to trust everyone's opinion that it looked great, as there were no mirrors. Have I ever mentioned, I love wearing hats? I just don't get in the mood all too often.

Life is Good:
a new recipe that turned out to be a keeper-um, um, good!
going out for a new adventure
watching the blue, blue sky with flying clouds
Zoe leaping through the tall grass, kicking up her heels

quilt show day

Clark County Quilters
Show..

Barbara Yanno made this quilt...her last name has changed, but, I didn't note it-this is one quilt-it has the lightest weight of batting used and the most dense quilting-the close up tries to show how much. She teaches at a quilt shop not too far from me...and does amazing things with thread-those black plant shapes are all thread painted. I have one more quilt photo to share and then my card filled


up and it's been too long since I learned how to delete photos...so trust me- there were lots of fantastic quilts at this show-from beginners to one accepted at Paducah. I wish I had the time to go back and look at them all again. All styles were there-all colors...it was a wonderful feast for the eyes. I came home inspired.

new blocks

stash fabric-a simple selection of light,medium, and dark...this is a first step variation of the rail fence from Billie Lauder's book Beyond the Rail Fence. Of course, this is hardly anything new-however-like any basic block-playing with a new setting creates a different look/pattern. So some straight forward fun to be had. These blocks will finish at 9 inches. Of course, you will note I managed to come up with a maverick block. Note, I said simple, but certainly not free from human error *vbs*

The fun of getting together with quilt friends is sharing these jokes and teaching a technique that is new to someone else. I did a one on one string block lesson with one of the newest gals to join us. She was the only one that remembered my offer from the previous month! So, we cut a few phone pages into six and a half inches and I showed her a basic method of putting a strip on the diagonal and adding from the middle out, and the same thing to the other side...trim and we had one cute square. I gave my sample to another gal to take home as her visual lesson to copy.

I always think I have so much more I want to learn as a quilter- and then I meet a new quilter-and realize how far I have come in just seven years...I still think I have lots to learn-but then, what would be the fun in life if we stopped learning?

I promised myself I would not stay up all hours-tomorrow I have non quilty stuff that needs my clear head and focused energy. Seems like many of you had a good day-some quilty, some not.

Life is Good:

Zoe (the boxer dog) sleeping in

fresh baked oatmeal raisin cookies

more daffodils blooming each morning

unconditional love

March wrap up

I posted how I did in March towards my goals...then I made April Suggestions. This allows for possible life impact on quilt goals. I don't need to pressure myself. This allows for my changing my mind or priority of quilt projects.

Tomorrow is the monthly play time with my group. I have a quilt ready to sandwich and possibly start quilting on. I have strips I could sew together. I have fabric I could cut. I have friends to look forward to playing with and laughing with and being quilty with. I just have to remember when I wake up...it's already an hour later than I thought.

Life is Good:

being told I make a friend smile
digging in the dirt
eating a favorite meal at a favorite restaurant
being a big sister
playing with color

color theory class wrap up

This was a pretty standard type color class-we did a color wheel from a kit of fabrics provided. I like the fact that we used fabric..and we did lots of fun pages using these fabrics to show different relationships with color.
The last page is the one below the wheel. That color by the way is supposed to be red/orange. We then chose a postcard from a selection the teacher had and went out in the quilt shop and pulled colors to make a quilt that matched the post card. I pulled 11 bolts of fabric..choosing to skip certain elements in the postcard - and then each of us had to explain what type of quilt we would make using the fabrics. Very fun-one gal pulled 5 fat quarters for hers. It sure gave you a good time of playing with fabrics and colors and textures and design.

I have three blank pages left to work on that we did not get to in class. I have some new books to track down and study to further expand those color horizons.
I actually cut some strips from a scrap heap today. I have an upcoming class later this month and decided to buy the book early and do some playing to warm up for the actual class.