Anxiety Level: Warp Factor 8

It's a bittersweet time

This past week I've been saying good-bye to my long(ish) term clients.  Lots of hugs - a few tears - a couple of laughs - - I have this one guy, incredibly ill with bipolar that I've been working with fairly frequently in the last two years or so - - he came in Friday and we reminisced about all the good times we have had when he was manic.  A mom and son that I've seen from time to time to work on different issues dropped in the same day and brought me a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates.  The mom speaks almost no English at all, but told me "I love you".  I was so touched, because I recognize that this gift represents a big chunk of their income once the rent is paid - getting misty typing this story.  A woman that I've seen a half dozen times in the past six months stopped by the office and told our receptionist to tell me that she wished she could move to Waterloo so she could still work with me.  Ahh social work process - termination phase is an emotional roller coaster for everyone!

We were approved for the house we REALLY wanted to rent - I'm getting excited about settling into our new 'home'.  
We went to a town-wide yard sale in Mannheim yesterday, and I made a couple of purchases to feather our nest.  I've been on the look out for a headboard for Itty Bitty's bed for about five years, and finally found one yesterday for $5!  Nothing quilty - unless you count this jar that I am going to fill with buttons:

It's a Longaberger Blue Ribbon quart sealer.  I thought it might have a little bit of value, but I must say I'm shocked at the prices I saw on eBay for them.  I have a scrap of fabric printed with vintage pearl buttons on it that I will cover the lid with.

Okay - so some stash-talk.  I went to Quilter's Nine Patch in Elmira last weekend, and purchased some $5 bags of scraps.  I had a blast tearing them apart, and chopping them up, and piecing them together!  Here's one example of the contents of a bag that I brought home.

This month's Annie's Creative Quilters Fabric Club.  Yup - I'm cancelling my membership.  I haven't made anything with the fabric I've received - - it's just going in my swelling stash.

Itty Bitty has a "thing" for Batman.  I couldn't resist these two fat quarters that I picked up at Greenwood Quiltery.

On to what I've been sewing! From the bags of scraps I got a lot of Civil War reproduction scraps.  I pieced 59 nine-patches (finishing at 3") - I'm quickly filling my jar!  I now have 170 blocks.

 I am still making split nine-patches (finishing at 6 inches).  I think I have 91 blocks now.

Okay - so I couldn't NOT cut into the orange/pink/grey prints that I showed above.  I had this pillow pinned on one of my pinterest boards:

I can't say I "nailed it" - - there isn't enough contrast in the fabrics I have used, but I think if I quilt around the perimeters of each cross, it might highlight the pattern a bit.

Sunday is all about 'Slow Stitching' - I used up the smallest sock monkey scraps that remained from the bag of scraps I bought (yes, another $5 bag from Quilter's Nine Patch) to make a mug rug for a young lady at work.  I need to stitch down the binding.  I added some ric-rac as a "flange".  It didn't turn out as cute as I thought it would.  Oh well!  

I have two more blocks ready to go for "Love Blooms Here" - the series from Quiltmaker magazine.  I'll probably work on hand appliqueing tonight in front of the TV.  

Sunday: Reporting In

It's been a BRUTAL week.  So busy with work that all I want to do is take of my pants and flake out on the couch.  I haven't sewn a stitch.

Slow Sunday Stitching:  I'm ready to start the next block for "Love Blooms Here" (the Quiltmaker Series) that I'm doing in batiks

Put Your Scraps to Work 2014: not exactly a finish.  This is the pillow front of "Heart's Desire" from the Feb '14 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting, designed by Jen Kingwell

Sunday Stash: I recently joined Annie's Creative Quilters Fabric Club and received my first shipment this week.  I'll be able to use some of these batiks for "Love Blooms Here".

Proud as a Peacock!

I had the opportunity to try out several new techniques in this project: needle-turn applique, applying a zipper to the back of the pillow, making my own piping.  I couldn't be more pleased. And to think I only paid $2 at the thrift store for the complete kit tickles me even more!  I just need to purchase a pillow form, but it's Labour Day today, and nothing is open.

My eyes were nearly burning out of my head by the time I finished the echo quilting last night - - there was no way I was stopping until it was DONE. Hubby took a look at the finished pillow today and asked "is that all hand stitching?"

Yes it is!

Um...you sat next to me for HOURS and HOURS while I quilted this.  I sang the praises of the Clover Desk Needle Threader that you bought me six or seven years ago in Florida, but had never been used before (let alone been out of the package!).  You watched me mark the quilting lines with my Clover Water Erasable Marker, and wanted to know why I was drawing on my fabric....men...

 

June Goals - Mission Accomplished!

GOALS FOR JUNE 2013

• X 5 Grandmother's Choice blocks
• X finish ANY quilt
• X Sampler pillows
• X 4 Dear Jane blocks
• X start a Leader & Ender project
• + 3 hot pads
• + 3 dish towels
• + mini ironing table
• + Week 1 Scrappy Stars QAL

I'm pretty happy with my progress so far this year.  I haven't always completed all of my goals, but I am making progress. So I haven't always stuck with the idea of nothing but UFO's but anything new I have started, I have finished -- so no new UFO's are being created! That's progress!

Five Grandmother's Choice Blocks

This week's Grandmother's Choice BOW is Star of Hope

  

  

Finish ANY Quilt

Okay, so it's not a big quilt, but it is finished.  

Sampler Pillows

 

4 Dear Jane Blocks

I actually did many more than four.  I don't know if I took photos of all of them or not.

  

 

  

 

Start a Leader and Ender Project

I've had this bowtie quilt cut and ready to go for years.  It's about time I started stitching it together. I'm pretty sure I have a few more blocks than this finished.

3 Hot Pads and 3 Dish Towels from the Zakka 2.0 SAL

I only took a photo of 2 of the hot pads, but I did make three.  I gave the tri-coloured one to one of our admin assistants at the office.  The other two I sent out to Nova Scotia to Sailor Boy's girlfriend.  I was intending to send the dish towels out as well, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

 

Mini Ironing Table

This has certainly changed my sewing life.  It's so much faster to make a 90 degree turn and press a seam.  It was simple and inexpensive to make.

Oh My, Scrappy Stars QAL

(no photo - yet)

I spent most of last weekend cutting the fabric for this QAL, and have started sewing the parts together.  The instructions for this were posted on Thursday.  It's a tremendous amount of work - I hope I can keep up!

I guess I can think about my July goals -- the 2nd half of 2013! -- tomorrow.

Friday Finish - another UFO Bites the Dust!

A partner for this pillow:

The House by the Side of the Road

by Sam Walter Foss (1858-1911)

There are hermit
souls that live withdrawn
In the peace of their self-content;
There are souls, like stars, that dwell apart,
In a fellowless firmament;
There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths
Where highways never ran;-
But let me live by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

Let me live in a house
by the side of the road,
Where the race of men go by-
The men who are good and the men who are bad,
As good and as bad as I.
I would not sit in the scorner’s seat,
Or hurl the cynic’s ban;-
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

I see from my house
by the side of the road,
By the side of the highway of life,
The men who press with the ardor of hope,
The men who are faint with the strife.
But I turn not away from their smiles nor their tears-
Both parts of an infinite plan;-
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

I know there are brook-gladdened
meadows ahead
And mountains of wearisome height;
That the road passes on through the long afternoon
And stretches away to the night.
But still I rejoice when the travelers rejoice,
And weep with the strangers that moan,
Nor live in my house by the side of the road
Like a man who dwells alone.

Let me live in my
house by the side of the road
Where the race of men go by-
They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong,
Wise, foolish- so am I.
Then why should I sit in the scorner’s seat
Or hurl the cynic’s ban?-
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

Some Slow Sunday Stitching

I did a little bit of hand stitching today - there was a couple areas of appliqué on these two side tris: RS10 Grandma Nan's Bodice and LS6 Susie Q. 

I did do a little more handstitching on the binding on one of my sampler pillows.  This is the front and back of the same pillow:

The verse is from "A Child's Garden of Verse" by Robert Louis Stevenson (1885).  It's called Happy Thought.

I've got the front of the second pillow quilted - but I am all out of batting! Can you believe that???  Looks like a trip to the fabric store is in order before I can quilt the back of the second pillow.

And I have started one of my pre-cut quilt kits.  This one has 80 bow tie blocks.  I just used random scraps - no rhyme or reason to the fabric choices.

I'm linking to this post to

Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts

What Gibby and I Have Been Up to This Morning - a Saturday Morning Sleep-In/Sew-In

This is what Gibby has been up to this morning:

9:00 am

10:00 am

11:00 am

Noon

Yes, he has done nothing but sleep in Itty Bitty's back pack.

What I have been up to this morning:

Dear Jane LS4 Virginia's Kite

Grandmother's Choice: Art Square

Backing for one of the Sampler Pillows