Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Mid-month check-in for May

How can it already be May 21st?  I must be getting old, 'cause time really seems to be flying by!  I sure don't seem to be getting any more work done.
Of course, the following picture is proof that I am getting something done - at the beginning of the month, I had a pattern and a pile of blocks, and now I have most of the quilt top assembled.  I would maybe even have a finished top, if only I could find the fabric for the inner border of this quilt...
At any rate, I have the proof - I tried 5 times to get a pic of the whole top, but suffice it to say that one short person cannot take a picture of the entire top of a 60" square quilt when it's laying on the floor - there were no tall people available to hold the top up either, so you'll have to use your imagination to envision the whole thing - and I'll "book" a tall adult now, to make sure that the finished picture is more complete.  So, you'll only get to see part of it now, but the 16 blocks are all there!  Here's the picture:
 And now I'm off to bed - tomorrow's looking like a very long day, and I need my beauty sleep!

Sunday, May 5, 2013

...and it's May..... (my project for the month)

I'm sure that you're hearing the refrain that's common around around here - "It's May already?  Where has the time gone?"  I'm one of the folks saying it, because I plan my sewing and quilting (and knitting and crocheting!) projects for the week, only to find out that even though it feels like only a day or two has passed, actually the whole week has flown by!  Some weeks I seem to get something done, but other weeks have come and gone with little or no evidence of anything important happening.  Part of it is because my 84 year-old widowed father has recently given up his driving license, and that means that I can add chauffeuring duties to my list of activities.  Throw in a funeral and there goes another week...
At any rate, I do have a project for my "Lovely Year of Finishes" to share with you: it's my Reveille quilt top from the Schnibbles people.  It's fairly quick and easy, especially if you read the directions carefully! - but I got most of the blocks assembled, and then ran into a fairly big problem - the blocks have to be trimmed down to 17", and I had no way to do that.  I think that I finally have a way around that, so I'm good to go with that project.  I bought a layer cake of Vintage Modern from Bonnie and Camille for this quilt, and love every fabric in the line!

Once I get the blocks trimmed, I can assemble the top, add the inner border, and then the outer one - simple, right?  I sure hope so, because all sorts of other things are starting to pop up, like, the garden and yard work.  Our church craft group will be taking a few months off soon, as will our quilt guild, so I may gain an hour here or there, but then canning and pickling and freezing produce will take their place.  All too soon, I'm sure we'll be exclaiming, "September?  Where did the summer go?"  It happens - just wait and see!
I'm off to post my pic on Melissa's site!