I Spy "IT"!!

I was sitting at the school table yesterday correcting a math lesson (which is in the center of the sewing room) and said to my oldest daughter (sitting across from me), "There IT is!" You see, the chair I was in faced my overstock/seasonal/flannel fabric bookshelf. I've already shown you my main shelf, but this holds those that don't play nicely with the others. There IT is, on the far right.
Maybe I can sneak over and persuade it to come a little farther out of hiding...

On the far right--that's IT! "it" is my backing fabric for the Mennonite Mosaic quilt. The top is nearly boring with it's almost solid fabrics (none are true solids, but they sure read that way from a little distance). I wanted something for the back that was a little surprise compared to the front. I bought that bolt of Thimbleberries back when it was on clearance. I intended to use it for jumpers for my girls, but only one liked it enough to wear it. It's sort of a periwinkle/light blue/denim-colored background. it has tiny red dots and the little daisies (which are my favorite flower). PERFECT! Now I need to incorporate all my little scraps into the back. 1. to get rid of them 2. to make the backing slightly larger than 2 widths of this fabric.

A plan is in place. Since I finished the top, a "what fabric am I going to use for backing" track has been running through my mind (albeit on the back burner) constantly. On the outside it might look like I'm giving a math lesson or cooking or hand sewing, but I was really in search of that fabric. Now I can play another sound track.

~Joan

My Friend's Name in Print!

Someone sent me a box of their elderly quilt magazine discards. As I was leafing through a few of them this AM, I came across the applique border that I put on my last-year's-started Christmas quilt. The quilt had a different border that I did not like, and so I borrowed the one above. It was on a quilt called Nine and Vines, which is a neat pattern in itself. I happened to glance at the quilt designer, and it's my new b-friend, Kathie! Imagine, a celebrity corresponding with little ole me! Visit her blog, you'll love seeing her quilts.

~Joan

Apple Core Slightly Larger

This is my Apple Core quilt after today's addition. The vertical row on the far right is not sewn to the quilt, but the pieces are sewn to each other except the top two.

It now measures 18" x 15". Quite a step forward, especially considering that I'm ill, this is hand cut and hand-pieced. It would make a nice wall hanging, huh? Instead of a full-sized quilt, that is!

In search of more tissues...

~Joan

Sassy Blooms Top Finished

Here is the top for the runner. I don't think the dark purple strip shows up as much in person, but I've been wrong before. This finishes at 14" x 42-1/2". The colors are a little different, so I think I'll keep searching for a Pay It Forward gift. This will be on eBay in a few minutes!

~Joan

Potential Pay It Forward Gift

This is a little bit of a new project I started today. I will be participating in the Pay It Forward deal after I receive a gift from Tazzie. Most of you have probably heard of the program. You receive a gift from someone, and then you "gift" 3 other people who have promised to "gift" 3 others...

This is the beginning of a runner called "Sassy Blooms". There are 3 blooms in the runner. The colors are purples, reds, greens, and a gold print for the bloom centers and squares around the outside.

It's in the Spring 2008 issue of Fons & Porter's Easy Quilts. Easy, but I didn't spend much time on it...yet.

I found a neat place in our little downtown today. I stopped at the Bernina store for some Mettler quilting thread (this is the infamous store that I posted about earlier when I found THE magazine). As I was leaving, I thought I should stay out for health reasons. I got my hair cut moments before, and my husband was likely to have a heart attack when he saw how short it is. I was cutting through an alley in my little 5-speed when I saw a sign that said "Alley Quilts". So I zipped over the the curb and parked.

This business is ME. They piece and quilt customer's quilts, kits, etc. I wanted to ask so badly how much they charge. Instead I just eyeballed the many samples they had on the walls. They have a longarm machine that 2 of the 3 ladies that work there use. Ahhhh...did I have to leave? One invited me to their guild meeting tonight.

Marcie tagged me to share 7 weird or random things about myself a while ago, and I've been ignoring it. I don't think *I'm* weird at all! OK--one weird thing about me is that I am a loner. I don't even want to go to the guild meeting mentioned above. I don't belong to a mother's morning out, home school support group, or anything like that. I'm quite content being alone. I do enjoy being with people, but I'd rather be alone. Maybe because we have 10 people in our house, and being alone is a treat??

Last night I asked my family to tell me 7 weird things about me. You understand that to ME they are not weird, but entirely normal, because they are ME. One daughter said, "Only 7?" My DH said to share that although we nearly always eat home-cooked meals made from scratch, I have only recently (after nearly 20 years of marriage and a bazillion home-cooked meals) found a recipe worth buying an onion for, and I have made it 3 times in the last year. So the onion farmers of America would be in dire straits if depending on my onion consumption. I'll share others as I think of them, but truly, they are not weird things.

Off to sew a few more strips for the Sassy Blooms. Be ready to jump in there when I ask for recipients!

~Joan

Mennonite Mosaic Top is Finished

Good morning from a very chilly NC! 30 degrees...brrrrr...

Here is my Mennonite Mosaic top finished. It measures 88" square. I took these pictures outside, so they are a little over bright from the sunshine. I am now trying to decide what to use for backing. I'd like a small shirting print, but I really don't want to BUY anything because I have a whole bookshelf of bolts of fabric. I'm sure something will strike me (thud!).

Off to do some school with the children.

Just a reminder that if you comment, make sure your email address is in the text if you have your account set at NO REPLY. I can't answer you otherwise.

~Joan

Leaner and Meaner

One of my two sons above gave me the title for this post. Leaner and meaner. Which is which? LOL! I'll never tell. They had their Civil Air Patrol pictures taken in their dress blues tonight, so I had to get a shot to share and remember.

Above is the center of my Mennonite Mosaic. It probably has a lot to do with all the extra stuff going on in our house the past few days, but I'm burned out on piecing. What? You're not surprised? I haven't ironed the seams between the 16 blocks in this picture...maybe tomorrow. This part measures 66-1/2" square.

One of my daughters (who was very inactive yesterday and most of today because of the illness that's overtaken my family, except for me and one other) came down to the sewing room tonight and saw the top nearly complete. She commented that it's no wonder my blog readers are amazed at the number of tops I can piece in such a short time...she can't keep up and she LIVES here! Too funny.

I was planning to hand quilt this, but now I'm thinking that with the right shades of variegated thread, peacock quilting would look really neat. I'll have to think about it for a while.

Good night!

~Joan