I really have accomplished a little bit during the last few weeks.

I added the final border to the Orca Bay Bonnie Hunter Mystery quilt that I started in 2011. Then I machine quilted about 2/3 of it and just stopped and let it sit on the machine--for about two weeks. I finally sat back down to it this evening and finished the quilting.

Now I need to pick up some black fabric for the binding and it will be finished. Not sure why I let it sit for almost two years almost complete. I guess some other project caught my attention.

I only have 6 more days of school left. I hope I accomplish more this summer than I did last summer.

Happy snipping, stitching, and quilting.

A Full Day Planned

My design wall has the Fat Quarter Star BOM on it waiting for the next block. So I am working off of my sewing table right now. I have three rows put together on the Orca Bay Mystery Quilt. I think it is going to be fabulous.

Most of the black and white fabrics I used are left over from the Orange Crush quilt, so they definitely will be connected by both the designer and the fabrics.

My sister is coming back over today so we can work some more on her daughter's wedding quilt. I have two quilts waiting requested that are waiting to be made. One is a quilt for my daughter-in-law to put on the back of her couch to protect it from the cats and the other is a quilt for a wedding gift for my niece.

I am designing the quilt for my niece. (If I were a good fabulous aunt, I would make here an applique wedding ring quilt. lol) The quilt is in my head but I need to get it into EQ so I can begin cutting. I haven't yet decided if it will be primarily applique or if it will be a mixture of pieced blocks and applique.

Be sure to visit Design Wall Monday and the Ocra Bay Mystery Monday Link Up. Beware, each week I find new ideas for quilts that I want to make.

Happy snipping, stitching, and quilting!

I learn from every quilt . . .

I make. 

Well, part 7 of Ocra Bay was posted this morning. So, I made forced myself to sit down this afternoon and finish those red string blocks. I was also able to sew a few of the red string triangles to the wing triangle units and, oh my, I quickly realized the mistake I had made.

Now, I am a spray starch fanatic. I love the fresh, crisp look I get when I starch. So what is the problem? I have found that starching works well on many blocks, but not so well on those with tiny pieces. I found that I had distorted the blocks as I starched and ironed. Or maybe the problem was that I was ironing and not pressing.

Anyway, I am not totally pleased with how the first 10 or so units turned out, but they will work. I remember I had the same problem with a similar unit in the Orange Crush quilt. I thought they were distorted and looked awful, but that quilt turned out fabulous.  And this one will to.

Happy snipping, stitching, and quilting.

A Couple of Relaxing Days

I stayed up Monday night until I completed step 6 of Ocra Bay. I tried playing around with the parts so far and have no idea of how it will be put together.

On Tuesday, I was able to catch up on the Fat Quarter Star Quilt Along.  I am participating in. Remember, that is the one where I pull fabrics out of the bag and use what I grabbed. The first one I did had me a little worried.

I love the green fabric. Not so fond of the flowered. But, that is what I pulled out. Here is how the block turned out.

Not bad. For the next block, I pulled out these fabrics.

This block was not one of my favorite to make. But I love the way it turned out. I think I would need to make several to get the hang of the block.

I thought I was only two blocks behind. Not sure what I was thinking. I kept seeing a block on the hosting blog that I didn't have. That was because I had missed one.

This one was a cathedral window block. It had me stumped for a little bit, but I finally figured it out. I think using this block and the one above in a quilt would make a gorgeous quilt.

I have two quilt requests that I do not have fabric for. So I need to order on-line or drive to the nearest quilt shop (about 45 minutes away). I guess I'll first check to see if they are open today since it is holiday time and then if they are text Larry and see what his plans are. He will be getting off of a 48 hour shift at 8 am so he may be sleeping all day. 

Happy snipping, stitching, and quilting!

It's really frustrating . . .

to have health problems that have the doctors baffled. But I still do.

I went in Thursday for an EGD (esophagus and stomach scope). My ENT thought that maybe I had something called EE (Eosinophilic esophagitis). But everything looked good--so I guess we are back to square one.

I guess I should just be thankful that I really am healthy and the breathing problems are bothersome but not life threatening that we know of. It was a day wasted except that I got a lot of needed rest. But then I laid awake most of the night because I slept most of the day. lol

On the home front . . .

I finished the Eagle's Wing Quilt just in time for Christmas. I kept the quilting very, very simple and I like it. I wanted the fabric and embroidery to be the focus. Pictures will follow later.

I am now 3 blocks behind on the Fat Quarter Block of the Month Project. But I'm not worried about it. I can easily get caught up next week.

I have steps 1, 2, and 3 completed on the Orca Bay Mystery Quilt. I only have 60 of 126 of the red string blocks for step 4.  This step is very slow going for me. I really enjoyed step 2 making the 3.5 inch string blocks. But I am tired of making these red ones. I think it is because they are larger and it takes more time.

So I have also started on step 5 and will go back and forth between steps 4 and 5 until I am finished. In the meantime, she has released step 6. I have seen a couple of sites where people are laying out blocks trying to guess what it will look like. I really like some of them, although, I doubt if they were even close.

Family . . .

Craig and Becca arrived last night and will stay through Christmas. Yippee. Kelsey works until 9:30 pm on tonight (Christmas Eve). Boo!!! She won't get home until after 10:30 and I am sure she will be tired. Larry also works today. But we will all be together Christmas Day morning. It is a tradition to start out the day with breakfast. This year we will do a brunch since Larry won't be home until 9 am. Then we will open gifts and Craig and Becca will be on their way to Becca's grandma's home for the day. 

Today . . .

I have a little bit of cooking to do. We will head to my in-laws around 2 and then off to my Mom & Dad's for the rest of the day.

Happy snipping, stitching, and quilting.

Design Wall Monday

Larry and I went Christmas shopping yesterday and other than 2 gift certificates he needs to pick up in our town today, we are finished.  Yippee!!!

I didn't have much sewing time last night, but I now have 40 of the 72 string blocks completed for the Ocra Bay Mystery Quilt.

I may have enough strings cut to complete the other 32. We'll see how far I get tomorrow evening.

Don't forget to drop by Judy's for Design Wall Monday. 

Happy snipping, stitching, and quilting!

Friday Night Sew In

I got a late start on my sew-in last night. But I was able to finish my half square triangles for the Orca Bay Mystery Quilt.  I was even able to get most of them sew together into squares.

This evening I sewed the rest of them together and then pressed them and put them into nice neat piles. I am excited about this quilt because I am comparing it to my Orange Crush. This time I am using the colors Bonnie did just because I have more red and blue scraps and fat quarters than any other colors.

I am starting Step 2 in a little bit. Only 3 steps behind. lol  But I have never made string blocks before so this could be fun.

Happy snipping, stitching, and quilting.