Camping quilts and bunnies....

Well, after sewing 2 blocks that didn't fit together I have figured out that the PATTERN INSTRUCTIONS ARE WRONG!!!  So I now will have 2 blocks that will be smaller than the others but I think I can put a narrow border around them and make them the same size as the other 7 blocks will be.  What a relief to find that it wasn't me but the pattern layout!!!  Here is the one I sewed together today according to the instructions.  I haven't trimmed it or ironed it yet.

Did some painting of the underside of the basement stairs today.  It will need another coat.

Micaela came over and we had some time together too along with lunch.

While in the basement look what I saw out the window...

Sewing

Sewed all of the pieces together into 8 large pieces.  Tomorrow I will sew them into another block for the 2nd camping quilt.

One more day of unemployment.

Did an airport run with the folks this morning.  Easy to do not being employed...Got another set of pieces ready to be sewn into a "giant" block for the next camping quilt (and strung another string of beads).

Gave a second coat of paint to the small wall in the workshop so that is done.  Pulled out this mirror (from the workshop) which has a dresser that we are using as a TV stand.  Cleaned it up (thinking I would get rid of it) and I am not ready to part with it.  Decided to try something different and set it on the mantel.  I think it is really too big and too dark but Michael wants to leave it there for a while.  I think it would be cute back on the dresser and used in a guest room(someday).

Tonight I began to do some serious thinking about the dollhouse and where electrical outlets should go and how many.  I really have to figure out where furniture is going to go too.  So I dug out the kitchen furniture and figured out the placement.  Here is what the rough plan looks like in there.  It is an old fashioned kitchen.  I wonder if I could make a set of shelves to put by the cupboard for more storage.....

I could only locate this big chest for the studio on the 3rd level. 

Also met a friend at a little thrift shop this afternoon...

Monday Blues

Just have a hard time getting motivated on Monday nights.  Gave that piece of basement wall a second coat.  My gallon of paint is getting pretty low so decided to move one more rack out from the wall and give it a first coat. 

Not productive at all tonight....

Busy Sunday

I believe church was my peace in the day.  Worked a bit with Michael on his shop today.   Then moved the garment bag that holds my summer clothes and painted a first coat on the cement block behind it.  Here are the before and after photos.

It will need a second coat, but it already looks so much better!

This evening I made 200 copies which is all I should need to make the rest of the blocks for the 2nd camping quilt.  Cool thing is that all of that paper had been used on one side so I printed on the other.  I ran a bit short of that paper and printed on lined notebook paper left over from the kids spiral notebooks from their school days.  So all was recycled paper!

I did go through that garment bag and parted with about 13 pieces of clothing as I have a truck stopping by on Tuesday to pick up my donations.  Also re-read a great little book called "The Quilt" by T. Davis Bunn.

It was a fast read and a gal from my church quilting group loaned it to me.  When I began to read it I realized that I had already read the story (I have my own book) but it was worth reading again.

Laundryroom Improvements

Today we got the shelf up in the laundryroom on the long wall.  After we installed it I found another piece of short shelf we had found somewhere years ago!  Just needed 2 shelf brackets and there you go! 

Then Michael surprised me and installed a new floresent light!

Later in the day I moved into the new shelves and I love it!

Various things

Another day of unemployment.  Up at 5:30 am.  Removed everything from the wall in the laundryroom.

Then I wondered if it needed a new coat of paint or not...

decided that it did.  You can see how much better the top half looks with the fresh paint.

Caught up on all of the ironing, then had lunch with Michael.

Bought this chain and added a clasp as I didn't have anything to use this penant with.

Bought this penant and some chain and configured this double chain necklace.

Then picked up the sample block for the new camping quilt.  Really had a problem getting it together as nothing wanted to match!

Turns out that the pattern doesn't match!!  It was a free online pattern.  So I got it together the best that I could and this is what it looked like.

Once I squared it up here it is.

I am undecided if I will go ahead and do this pattern or not.

Pete wasn't much help today.

More of a chore than a craft...

Worked this evening on removing some more wallpaper from the familyroom.  Stopped when I lost my light.  Thus the poorly lit photo.

(I just can't face that quilt re-do yet.)

A reason to keep a neat sewingroom

Another day of underemployment.  Beautiful rain today and wonderful promise of spring.  Did lots today.  Planned electrical wiring of the dollhouse with Micaela.  She gave me a coupon for my birthday to wire the dollhouse before she leaves for Yellowstone in June.  We read the directions today and I have a list of things I have to do/figure out/purchase before the job can be done.  We had egg salad sandwiches for lunch.  She left to work on items for her next sale.  I turned to the last church quilt for this year.  Got the first border on it.  Tonight while picking up some piles look what I found

So, I made a nice bit of work for myself.  I had so little of the border fabric left but found with the 2 extra strips a little bit more.  Hopefully, there will be enough to add on.  Geeze....

Also worked on the secret project.

Also strung 2 more strands of beads and look how nicely they go with my fabric!

Now I just looked at the photo of the quilt top and I have made

 a sewing mistake too.   Can you spot it?

For goodness sake, I am going to have to redo that entire top....

Monday, Monday

Mondays are tough...Got a second coat of paint on the wall behind the freezer.  Then sewed the last strip and added it to the last church top for this season.  It is kind of small so will try and add a couple of borders onto it.

Sunday's go too fast.

Full day today.  After church and saying good bye to our son going back to school, Michael did this for me!

A new garbage disposal in the kitchen! Ours hadn't worked in maybe 9 months or so!

Then I was able to move into the new shelves in the laundryroom.

Before I shove the freezer back into its place I decided to paint the cinderblock wall.

Here is the before and after.

Before and after.

I got all but one row sewed onto this church quilt.

Did a bit of beading too.

So goes the first rainy day of Spring 2011.  Wow.

Fancy Living.

My shelves are up in the laundry room!  It has been a year since my single shelf came down and this evening we were able to put up BRAND NEW WIRE CLOSET SHELVING!!!! I am so excited I can hardly stand it! 

Did some sewing on the last church quilt too.  Now have 8 rows together.

Thursdays' Blog

Busy day!  Drove out to Cokato to visit the folks.  Spent the morning at my mom's old church with her quilting group.  What a well oiled machine they are!  Everyone knew what they were doing.  They meet weekly on Thursday mornings from Jan. through May.  The rest of the year I believe they meet monthly.  They have already made 80 quilts!  There was one gal who was sewing around the borders of the completed quilts.

One gal ironed the labels on the backs of the completed quilts and baged and labeled the completed quilts for various donation locations.  There were 6 gals tying quilts.

There were 3 of us putting the backing batting and tops together and pinning them.  Most of the baby quilts then are taken to the nursing home in town where some of the woment that used to quilt work on tying them in the activies room.  How cool is that.  They even have one gal that makes a treat each week, makes the coffee and then washes the dishes so the quilters can get back to work.  It was amazing.  Here is the group taking a short break.

My mom is center and front in this photo.  All of the pieced quilts are made with 9" squares to a predetermined size and the backing are all a twin size flat sheet from Walmart.  Many of the baby quilts are whole cloth quilts.  One person does all of the cutting of the 9" squares at home and another does the sewing of the tops at home.  It was amazing.

Then I headed home for an evening of my craft group.  Two of the gals had been out of the country since we last met so we heard stories of their travel adventures.

Carol was working on felt Easter eggs for her grandkids school teachers, Verna did some work on some handmade greeting cards and I worked on my secret (heart) project.  Lois brought some fabric to show us that she had purchased on her trip.

Planning Stage

Spent some time tonight pulling together some beads for this "secret" project that I am working on.  Tomorrow night is Craft Night and I plan on doing some beading there.  Here is what I have pulled from my stash.

Exploring new horizons....

Went to a new consignment shop today with a dear friend.  Didn't purchase anything but saw lots of interesting and reasonably priced items.

Afterwards we went to Four Seasons Quilt Shop.  They had moved from their previous location and I had not been to the new one.  Lots more room here and so many beautiful fabrics!

This evening I had a small "fabric intervention" with my daughter and we pared down some of the 4 boxes and 2 bags of fabric to be cut into squares/strips etc.  This bag had been full and look at it now.

Also did some cutting of flannel for church quilts.

Finally did some more planning on another secret project....

Not a bad day of being underemployed...