Sometimes you just need to say 'Uncle' to a project!

Tonight I ripped out a baby afghan that I had started in April. It was a sampler, which means different patterns of stithies alternating through out the blanket. I loved the cotton yarn that I chose, it's a Celadon green, very light and airy. This was to be for my Granddaughter who's supposed to arrive this October, they live in Hawaii at the moment so light weight was important.

I saw the quilt on the yarn shops web site and loved it, went in and signed up. the first class had us casting on over 200 stitches and then making a 2' ribbing pattern. This took awhile. the next class I missed because I was at MQX in Providence. Then the instructor realized that more time was needed to get this done so she put the last class off until after a trip abroad.

Today was that class, this pattern requires perfect attention, there isn't much repetition that you can just go over and over.

I had to un-knit the same row 4 times....enough said, I don't have the time or the concentration this pattern requires so I ripped it out and will make an easier pattern with the pretty yarn.

Mentally this is a load off my mind and work wise, I have more than enough on my plate.

It's okay to drop a project that doesn't work out, we shouldn't be beating ourselves up to finish something this is frustrating or time consuming.

So, feel free to rid yourself of that albatross project and move onto something that you will fully enjoy!

Happy Spring!

Dresden Plate Quilt back and front to show quilting.

Hello Spring and the quilting has been flowing. Once I got past all the stitch-in-the-ditch work on the Dresden Plate quilt everything leveled out!

My customer LOVES the quilting and how it made her quilt look. The blocks were a hand me down from a neighbor to another neighbor to my customer who sashed them in red and blue. The fabrics were all from the 30's and not reproductions & hand pieced. This was a use it up quilt as there was seersucker and rayons in the mix as well as the feed sack prints. While I am still not a big fan of the red & blue sashing I do think that the quilt looks good and I am so happy that my customer is happy after all the stressing that I did over this job!

I have been knitting & crocheting for my grandkids, Trevor who is now 6+months and the new baby that is due this October. I try, struggle actually with time management...there are so many things that I want to accomplish or create and I never seem to get as much done as I'd like to! Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

My guild, County Line Quilter's has a challenge every year, with the results shown during our November meeting. This year it's a get it done challenge, you have to finish a UFO or WIP and us a small piece of cream fabric provided by our challenge master, Gina. You can use the fabric in the quilt or as a label, whatever works. I've got many UnFinishedObjects or WorksInProgress and hope to actually participate in my first challenge! Wish me luck.

With the nice weather coming make sure to have some hand work ready to go so that you can sit in the bleachers, on the beach or in the car with something to do!

Is it Spring yet???

Have to wonder what's up with Mother Nature, we are still getting snow & sleet! This is the winter that won't quit! I'd love to have a normal spring with cool temps gradually warming up, time for the trees to bud out and the flowers to bloom without freezing.

The studio has been rather stagnant these past few weeks, I had a cold that turned into bronchitis, my husband had surgery on his foot so I had to pick up what he couldn't tend to and then just a general lack of motivation! I need a kick in my creative butt! Oh yes, I've been reading, a lot, many books. Reading is my first passion and can consume me to the detriment of anything else getting done! Time to put the books down for a bit, or my Kindle!

Today I will be cutting up Patty's wedding dress to make a Communion Dress for her daughter Katelyn. The gown is satin with a lot of trim and cut outs but plenty of fabric to make the simple dress that Kate wants. Pictures to follow.

I will be working on the quilt mentioned last time, yes it's still there. Turns out it's getting Stitched in the Ditch, very time consuming and boring for me. Must get it done, must get it done!

I did complete my grandson, Trevor's hooded knit sweater and will hand sew the zipper in today too!

Sew many plans, wish me luck!

Procrastinating.....

I am guilty of procrastinating in many things but nothing makes me wait more than a quilt that isn't speaking to me. It can be the design, the colors, the style of the sashing....a creative block ensues and I am on the fence.

I've had a Dresden Plate quilt for awhile now, it's been on the frame for over a week and it's just sitting there while design ideas percolate in my head. I've looked for other Dresden Plate quilts to see how they were quilted to no avail, they are almost all meandered! UGH!

The story of this quilt is that the actual plate blocks are old, given to my customer, Karen by a neighbor. They are 30's prints, hand pieced. Karen added a triple sashing with 9 patch blocks at the junctions. My problem seems to be the sashing---it's red & white, the 9 patches are red & blue, solids, all of them. The border is rather narrow for this quilt but also red. She asked for me to come up with quilting that will enhance the blocks, (the easy part for me) and do something that would go with the period to match in the sashing and border.

Today I will work on this quilt, I will bite the bullet and go for it. I know that once I get started it will flow nicely (usually), rarely will I start quilting if I am not sure about the design. I will draw it on my white board and maybe even on a clear acrylic square that I can overlay on the quilt to test my ideas.

Wish me luck! I will post pictures as I go on this one!

More snow coming and I am getting projects done!

The top photo shows the baby afghan that I've finished and Ashley's Just Desserts quilt which has gone home with her.

This past week I finished the borders on Ashley's birthday quilt, quilted it and sewed the binding on! It went home with her Tuesday!

I've been working steadily on Trevor v2's Hooded sweater and have the hood & cowl collar completed, now onto the sleeves and then sewing in the zipper. This one is a rush as he is growing so quickly!

Yesterday I went to my friend Gina's for a sewing day, which includes a fair amount of chatting and eating...we had a delicious soup and sandwiches. There was trail mix, cranberry bread biscotti & Pepperidge Farms Dark Chocolate Nantucket Cookies, my favorite!

I took several WIPs with me, Trevor's Owl quilt, a pajama outfit that needed some additions-a long story about ordering personalized clothing that arrives wrong and too close to change-snowballs on the union jack flap on the rear, the Golf diaper bag that I've been making for Trevor the Dad, it's made up with golf fabrics and looks really good but I goofed up cutting the lining and it's been waiting and a project from a class taken in 2005, Sweet Emma Rose quilt that I mis-cut something on but don't remember exactly what and have to find that to fix so I can go on with it.

I worked on the first 3, only Sweet Emma didn't get touched, if only I hadn't gotten stuck in so much traffic that one might have been put aright too! Oh well, next time I hope!

Hello 2011, it's been awhile since I've Blogged. So much has happened since September, my daughter was married, my cousin was married and my grandson arrived on November 4th. With all of those happy, glorious events I still managed to quilt all of my customer's quilts on time for Christmas and make some things for our new Trevor.

My son Trevor with his son, Trevor v.2

I don't believe in resolutions, like a diet it's setting yourself up to fail, I have however decided to straighten out my house, my files, my pantry, my fabric stash and projects.

I've had an overwhelming need to clean, which is so uncharacteristic for me! I don't believe that cleanliness is next to Godliness but the clutter and disorganization after so many huge events has got me down.

Do you have a great organizational tip? My favorite is to sort the mail as soon as it comes into the house, each persons mail, my bills, magazines, the recycling bag is next to me and then anything that could be used to steal our identities goes to the shredder. If you have a tip to share post a comment!

I like lists, shopping lists, to-do lists, Honey-do Lists (my favorite!) and now a project list. My need to create and to collect is a big part of who I am, always has been. So I have a list of my Works In Progress or WIPS, some are quilting related, some knitting and some cross stitch. I've promised myself not to start something new, a very overriding need of mine, until I complete 5 WIPs. Can I do it, or even remember where I parked my list? Time will tell but I am off on the right foot.

A crocheted afghan for Trevor is now done, Ashley's birthday quilt (from August) is ready to be quilted now, the borders complete. That's 2, sew far sew good!

Wish me luck and my next post will list my current WIPs, at least the most recent and then I will post pics of them as they get done.

I won't mention all the books I want/need to read, that's another story!

Enjoy the snow, winter will be gone soon enough, use the cold weather to get things done inside so that you can get outside when it warms up! Or you can be like our dogs and LOVE the snow!

September and it's finally cooler!

Hello, happy almost autumn, back to school or whatever it is you like about this time of year! I LOVE fall, it is my absolute favorite season, the smells, the colors, pumpkins & apples, shorter days and cooler nights when I can use my quilts again!
I've mentioned before that my daughter is getting married this fall and my son & daughter-in-law are growing a family. Our first grandchild is due to arrive in early November, right around election day! Our family is so excited!! We had a surprise baby shower this past Saturday and it really was a surprise! Andrea was shocked and happy, she settled into the baby's great-great grandfather's rocking chair to chat and open gifts. Our families and friends were exceedingly generous and the kid is off to a good start!
This is the Diaper Cake that I made for the shower, no calories and can be used for baby!

I've been spending most of my quilting time on baby items, a valance for the nursery, a dust ruffle for the crib and a diaper bag for my golfer son.

My friend Joyce just called, she was at the shower and gave me a beautiful brag book and storybook for me & the baby. She commented on how nice it was to watch my boys on Saturday, how they interacted with family and each other, all of the generations. It is nice to have everyone together, a lot of work but well worth the effort!

I had a dental procedure this morning which has caused quite a lot of pain so this is my limit for today, I promise to post some quilt pics next time!

Enjoy September!