Steps and Stars Just Needs Hand Sewing

I know--the above picture isn't a quilt. But it is one of my lovely offspring! Wearing my cow apron! And my chef's hat. What is going on there? Cookie baking, of course. Just a pic for my post. I left my camera in GA last weekend so I borrowed this from my daughter's blog.

I did a lot of sewing this past few days. I machine quilted a quilt for a customer (Ruby Slippers) and made then sewed the binding onto the front by machine. Then I also finished the quilting on my Steps and Stars quilt. I have about 1-1/2 sides hand-sewn to the back, so that is coming right along.

I tried to get my ancient Singer free motion quilting machine up and running, but the thread broke after just a few inches of stitching over. and. over. and. over...very exasperating. I am debating about whether to try to get it repaired (again!) or just pitch it.

Anywho...pics to come when my camera arrives home. I wish I had taken a pic of the Ruby Slippers. I just did loop-de-loops on it, but it did look lovely.

~Joan

New Footwear?

Ruby Slippers...this is a two-color quilt. The pattern is from Atkinson Designs. I pieced this during several evenings of insomnia. It lacks an outer border yet. Soon...very soon.

This is "baby" size...with the border, it will be about 65" x 45", I think.

A close-up of the center...very fast and easy. The blocks finish at 6" square.


A busy day of laundry, weeding, cooking, and possible some painting later...if it all comes together!

~Joan

As The Stomach Turns

I am writing this post at 2:37 AM. Yes, that's right--AM. No--I don't know why. I think it has to do with the change of life. Seeing as I've been sleep deprived for nearly 22 years now, this hardly constitutes a change. Usually I am awakened during the night by someone or something. Now I just can't fall asleep. So I guess that IS a change. Any suggestions for making this stop would be greatly appreciated.

As I lay in bed earlier--much earlier--staring into the inky blackness, I kept thinking about Ruby Slippers. That is the name of the quilt pictured above. The one I have cut and pieced since midnight tonight. After I looked through all the patterns I have pulled but not made over the past ten years. The ones that live in clear page protectors in my bookcase in a magazine file. Now I at least have refreshed my memory and can dream of others that have suffered neglect for far too long. Like this one that I only had the pattern for 14 years or so before making it this fall.

I only cut up the red scraps still in a pile on my cutting table from the huge mother load I bought from my sister and the cream from a bolt. The quilt top is half-finished if it's a twin size. I might make it larger. This truly worked up sooooo quickly. The pieces are larger than I usually use. It's an Atkinson Designs pattern, so there is no pinning...all the pressing assures that the units just fall into place.

The reds run the gammit from pinkish to bright red to rust to barn red. One has tiny bits of green, but you sure can't see it from the distance from which the picture was taken. All Thimbleberries naturally. Gotta use what you have.

Instead of Ruby Slippers, this might be Insomnia Solution.

~Joan