New Year's Eve 2013

I don't know about everyone else, I'm real ready for 2013 to be over!

I've enjoyed my stay in the South so much.  Too bad I have to get back to the real world and leave all this beauty behind.

An example:  Sunday morning a fog had settled down over the bayou.  It was so quiet and peaceful.  A couple of fish splashing and a few birds chirping - no traffic sounds, people sounds, sirens.  I could get used to this real quickly!



Needing to head to the market to get fixings for New Year's Day.  I guess I need to coordinate that with my sister-in-law.  I'm looking forward to the traditional fare tomorrow of black-eyed peas and cabbage.  For health and wealth.  Could use both of those in 2014!

I won't post again until I get home but just wanted to remind everyone of what Mom always said ....

.... Whatever you do on New Year's Day, you do for the rest of the year!

Don't forget to take some stitches!

Happy New Year!!

Joyeux Noel!

I'm through with Christmas quilting, but I still have lots to do before I leave town.  I'm hacking away at the list a little each day.

Tonight's task was getting Penny a new bed to take to the kennel when she's boarded and a bag of dog food that I can leave there with them.  It's almost like getting a child ready to stay with grandma for two weeks!  At least I don't have to pack bottles!

I'm pretty stoked about getting way.  I know I was just home in June, but it's been a long six months.  I look forward to just relaxing and sewing.  A sewing machine was shipped there, so I plan on working on clamshells every night.

I probably won't post again this year unless I can figure out how to post pictures from my laptop.  I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!  We've all been very good this year, so I'm sure Santa will be dropping down everyone's chimney!  He came early to the Quilting Condo!!

Joyeux Noel et Bonne Annee!

Clams and Things

I worked a little each night this week on clamshells.  I have over 200 in the works.  The picture shows various stages of progress from pinning to trimming, then turning/pressing, and two sewn together to see what they will look like.  It's going to be a long process, but I'm really enjoying the mindless sewing.

There's a foot for the Bernina that I might explore getting.  It has a non-stick sole, which I think might make it move more smoothly over this fabric and serving on a curve.  If anyone has used this type of foot, I'd love to hear your experience.  Those darn feet are expensive!!

I went to Upland Sew yesterday in the downtown area.  It was cold and pouring rain.  When I turned to get to the downtown area, all of the streets were blocked off for the Christmas parade!  I'll tell you, the rain didn't deter anyone from going to the parade.  I luckily found a spot to park just a block away and, amazingly, had an umbrella in the car.  It sure was fun walking to the store and seeing the parade, catching candy, and singing along with the Christmas carolers.  Darn if it didn't put me in the Christmas mood!

There's one more project to work on before my Christmas holiday begins.  I'm having my cup of coffee, and then I'm going to jump right in feet first and see what I can get accomplished today. 

It was 32 at 3:30 this morning. Now it's 40 with an expected high of 53.  I hope all of Penny's walks today are as short as the one at 3:30!  She doesn't like being cold.  She's such a weenie!!  (And so is her Mommy!)

Well, I Did It

I committed to a new project.  I took it out, gathered up everything I'd need to do it, and dove it this morning.

I said I wasn't going to tell until I figured out if I could do it.  I can, and I will now tell.

Clamshells - a Moda kit from Collection for a Cause by Howard Marcus.

The first antique quilt I fell in love with was a clamshell.  I didn't figure I'd ever be able to make it.  Just cutting with all those clamshells with a template intimidated me to no end, not to mention the handwork involved.

Years and years later, I gasped when I saw the kit at the Fat Quarter Shop.  The clamshells were laser cut, and almost everything I'd need was in that box!  So I ordered it. I sat and looked at it for a couple of weeks, and this morning I decided to dive in and see if it was doable.

The one thing I needed to order to go with the kit was the Pellon lightweight stabilizer.  I couldn't find it around here.  I asked Kimberly at the Fat Quarter Shop if she could order it for me and she got a bolt of it to me last week.  She is just the most amazing person!  I know sometimes she must think, "What now?!!" when I send her a request, but she always finds what I need.

 

 

There's a plastic template that comes in the kit that I used to mark the back of the fabric.  You can see some clams marked on the right side of the picture above.  Then I put a 2.5 x 4 strip of stabilizer on the right side of the clamshell, stitched on the line, and turned it.  That's how easy it is.  You can see the stabilizer sewn on at the bottom of the picture.  I thought I'd sew two of them together to see how that went.  It took me a couple of tries to find "the spot," but that part will be easy, too. 

 

Once I got set up and going, I did about 25 clamshells in about an hour.  Some of those are in the top left of the photo.  I'm just going to concentrate on making the clams now and not worry about assembling them just yet.  I need to enlarge the quilt a bit but I won't know how much until I can measure the bed that it will end up on.  I'll do that over Christmas.  I'm also thinking about leaving the borders off.  The antique quilt I fell in love with didn't have borders and it was gorgeous.  That decision doesn't need to be made now.

 

I am so excited about making this quilt, although I think it's more sewing than quilting at this point.  That's okay.   Having it all laser cut took away 90% of the work. 

 

So that's it!  That's my next big project.  I'm pretty sure this one will be done before I get to The Home!



 

Thanksgiving Saturday Project

"Coming Home" pattern from the book Simplify by Camille Roskelley.  A charm pack and a half yard of Apron Strings fabric by Moda.  Kona Snow background, three-quarters of a yard.  C'est tout!

This quilt top was quick and fun to make.  I need to dig through the vast amount of books here more often to look for projects!  It's been a long time since I've made a top start to finish in one day.  I need to do this more often.  It's just what the doctor ordered!