Whew..........I have been busy!

First off before I forget, if your interested in another QAL, Angela over at Cut to Pieces is having one called A zig A zag. Haven't decided if I will participate or not in that one. Got a lot going on as usual, I bet that is a surprise huh? LOL!

Remember those bright beauties I had cut out, and sewn them into that itty bitty twister thing. Well I cut and sewed 3 more sets of those together this week. (well only had to cut one more set, and all the white squares) Need to sew the borders on them, and then start twister cutting them out, and sew them back together again. Then I will sash the 4 itty bitty ones, to have a lap size quilt. When this is done and over with, I won't be doing another twister for a looooooooooooong time!

One hanging on the board, one draped over the chair, and the 3rd one on the table. The finished twister hanging over the top of the board.



Let's see I have less than 10 string blocks left for RRCB, I was trying to finish them today, and Jethro and Ely Mae, would not get off and stay off my string pile, so I gave up on those and cleared the entire table instead.

See how tall that pile is getting, that is 50.......I have one or two others done sitting waiting to get to 10 to be added to this pile.......I will be soooo happy when these are done. Never again!

Now that I cleared the table.......I finished quilting, and got the binding on my Christmas table runner, washed it and dried it too!!!! Woo Hoo!! That is one off of my PhD list as well!!!

Then I dug out my snowman one since I was on a winter holiday in my head, got it all ironed, threads snip, pinned together to start quilting that one, and I only had one little spool of really really dark blue Navy thread. Dang that isn't going to be enough, so I had to put that one aside for now, will have to get some thread this week to get that one done too. It is also on my PhD list.


Then as I was blogging or reading blogs the other day I had seen a picture of a quilt I liked, sooooo I went stripping, 2 inch strips that is. Went a little nuts, haven't a clue if I have enough, or way too many cut. But I cut out 100 white strips (wof) and 200 turquoise/teal ones from fat quarters. I have 4 massive chain rows to do, then I can start cutting and piecing to see what I have in my head. Here is half of them 2 sets of turquoise and one set of white,

 Got row one of the massive chain rows done today as well. I am loving Super Sewing Sundays!!!! Here is that bunch 2 sets of white and one set of turquoise.

 Well it is late, and I do have to get up and go to work this week, YUK, and Boy does my back hurt! Kinda sucks I cancelled my Chiro appts for this week......till next time.

Is it really June already?

Wait, didn't May just start? Wow time is flying by waaaay to fast, wish I knew how to slow it down. It has been 12 days since my last post, really? Let me try and think, what have I been doing for the past 12 days?

I have sewn a few more blocks for the raven stars quilt I am making.

 I have been stringy along like crazy....

don't like string blocks at all! I make myself do some of those almost daily before I begin something else I might want to do, or on days when I ask myself, what am I going to work on today? and I don't quite have an answer, I string. I want them done more than anything else I have going on, because I hate doing string blocks with a passion! These are for the RRCB, when I get these done, I need 600 HST, don't remember how many of those I have done, not too many that is for sure. I have found a few ways I am going to try to do them up quickly, will see which way I like the most, and then give everyone my feedback on those different ways of doing them. Then when I get this whole quilt top finished, I might do one out of all HST!!!

Remember the bright beauties? Well this is what they look like now.

50 of those along with 49 white 5 inch squares, and a small border. Looks really cool, except it is little!!! Very disappointed in how much this technique shrinks. Plus it hurts my hand something awful to cute around the Twister template too. It is a thick template, plus there is little rubber feet to help it from sliding, and holds it above the crisscrossing seams, but it is so thick that you can't cut the left side (right-handed) pushing away, it is too thick to let the blade go up against it, you have to come from the top down, or go all the way around..........well I couldn't walk around that table, I could go on two sides, but man it tweaked my hand something awful. So since this isn't even big enough for a crib size....I am going to make 3 more of these (torture) and hook the 4 together to make a lap quilt. I already have the bright beauties cut for 2 more sets, so I need to cut 50 more of those and then 150-  5 inch white squares, good thing I bought an entire bolt of  that nice white fabric some years ago when I seen it on clearance someplace, nice and thick (not that see thru crap) and I think I only paid $1.00 a yard for it too!!!

I have 1/4 of my Christmas table runner quilted......

.it is on my PhD list, and that list needs to be cleared by the end of June!!! Whoa.......I had 6 months to do this short list, and now I only have 28 days left!!! My O' My! I will finish my 3, I will finish my 3, I will I tell ya, I will!!! I also have Turtle Bay pinned and ready to roll it out next,

Then the Black white & Red one is sitting and waiting to be pinned as well, along with the Monochromatic yellow one

even though that one wasn't on my PhD list, it isn't going to go on a list except the start to finished in 2011 list!!

Other things I have in the works....still need to make a back for the Red & White one.

.....still need to make a back for my Layer Cake Quilt Along one, I had a piece of fabric I was going to use, but now that the top is done, I don't like that piece of fabric for the back anymore..........has that ever happened to you before????

......I know there is still at least 2 BAP blocks I haven't finished, but I did buy the center fabric, and got 3 of the 6 GO! dies I need to finish the center,

so until I get the other 3 (birthday coming up in August) I am in no hurry to finish the other two blocks, what is the point if you can't finish the whole top, right???

Oh and then there is this little bucket I started cutting out 2 inch diamonds, purple and white ones for a scrappy quilt ......more to come on that one later.

 Want to take any wild guess what I might be making with all these, I am sure I will need more, lots more. These were but from one strip of each of the purple fat quarters I have, and all the white ones came from my scrap bin only!

I have another idea in my head for the other nine scrap bins for a really cool scrappy quilt I don't see many of, but I need a lot of white to go with it, and since I don't have much of that left (don't want to use that thicker stuff), I just need to buy a bolt....looking for a coupon and a good sale first though, no hurry since it isn't started.
Then I have this pile calling my name........

I had flipped it, don't know why it flipped back, sorry......but I haven't found "THE" pattern yet to use this wonderful pile of fabrics, got any suggestions, send me a pic via email, or post me a link to a picture, that is all I need to make a flimsy, a photo and I am good to go. Turquoise and chocolate!
My computer is still broke, hubby says it is in a thousand pieces out in the travel trailer........safest place to work on it, so all the pieces will still be there to put it back together. no cats, and no dogs out there :D  Just got his computer back up and running yesterday, finally, and this one I am using at this time had to be rebuilt too.  Looked at buying a new one, an IMac, but didn't want to spend the $2000-$3000 on a new computer right now, too many other things needing to be done. Garage doors, A/C fixed in my truck for starters! Breaking heat records again this year already, and I don't do heat well at all, so I am making an appointment to get the A/C in the truck fixed ASAP, and the garage door guy is looking for a place that stocks 1/2 doors ( only 4 feet wide ones)

Wow this post got long, I need to stop by more often and fill you all in, but I think without having my own computer is what is messing everything up, especially when I didn't have "A" computer at all for a little while, and this one only has one shift key that works when it wants too, drives me bonkers. Well I started this post at 3am and  it is now 5am, I am going to attempt going back to sleep now that my leg quit cramping and flexing all over the place, maybe I will be able to get some sleep before that alarm goes off in 3 hours. Wish me luck, I might need it.

Oh and I just remembered, sit n stitch is tonight too. Took about 10 minutes just now to locate my tin with my project in it..........my purple project from back in February when my husband was in the hospital.

Finally got the other notion I needed to finish that project, so I am going to shoot to finish half of what I have left tonight.

My UFO challenge for 2011 with Patchwork Times

I am going to be very busy this year cleaning out my sewing room but this is what I want done, needs to be done. This post is what I am going to challenge myself to do while following Patchwork Times UFO challenge 2011. 
1. This is a black white & red BOM that I started 7 or 8 years ago, 11 blocks are done, need to finish the 12th one, then sash it quilt and bind.

2.  This one the top is done, I just need to have it quilted and then bind it, I made it at a retreat Jan 2010 for my travel trailer bed, out of scraps I had on hand. I had to buy the fabric for the borders only.

3. This red white and blue one, I actually have 3 of these. They were BOM when me and both my daughters were doing that when they were young. This one needs borders then quilt and binding.
One of the others the sashing is done, just needs to be pieced together, and the 3rd one, only 11 blocks are made, so if I get at least one done, I will be happy.

 4. This is Roll Roll Cotton Boll looks like a big mess doesn't it? It is going together pretty quickly, well at least the parts I am caught up on are. I still have LOTS of string blocks to sew, and 600 HST's!

 5. This is my snowman lap quilt, I have to take off that god awful ugly green find new borders then I will get this one finished pretty simply. I think the reason this one never got finished is I hated that green border so I threw it in the corner. So I am going to take it off, otherwise I still won't like it.

 6. This is turtle bay. I remember this fabric, but don't remember making this quilt, but it is ready to be quilted and binding, which is all cut and folded together in a neat little pile I found in the corner when I was cleaning out my room.

 7. This is my twisted lone star quilt, you can see 8 of the 32 pieced diamonds that cover the 36" wide table. This one isn't finished because I haven't decided on what color to put in that space next to the star....yellow, light turquoise, tan or gray?? Any suggestions? Did just buy the backing fabric though yesterday with a 20% off coupon at my local quilt shop, so I will get this one at least pieced together this year, it will be way too big for me to quilt it, so that will depend on if I have the cash to get that done or not.

 8. This is Bright stars in the night. This one came to an abrupt halt when I went to buy more fabric and they had every color but the orange........8 years later they still have most of the colors but not the orange. So I will have to lay this out to see how big it is, the blocks are really big, maybe 18" ones. I do have some of the fabric left, but I might be able to finish it differently than first thought, since I haven't a clue how it was first suppose to go together anyways.

 9. This is Giraffe Park.... I loved making this top. Cutting out all those applique pieces and ironing them on, but that is as far as I went with it. So I am going to get those pieces sewed down before they all start falling off, then I will finish it. I am saving this one for our first grandchild, who isn't even a sparkle in any of our kids eyes yet!

 10. This is a Christmas table runner that I just found today, made it some 6 years or so ago. It is pinned together waiting to be quilted.

11.a & b These 2 quilts are scrappy quilts I am making for another challenge as well, they are pinned and waiting for machine quilting. They may look identical, but they are not. I am now realizing looking at these photos, I forgot to turn the light on on the otherside of the room, so they look dark and washed out. No 2 pinwheels are the same either, forgot how many different fabrics I used.

 12. This is MOONGLOW. I started this in Jan 2010 at a retreat, got 12 of the 25 blocks done. Now I just need to do the other 13. I am hoping to get this top at least all pieced together before the end of 2011. As these 13 blocks are very time consuming, I am keeping my fingers crossed on this one.

13. Yes I know there isn't 13 months.....but this is Christmas pickle, it has been in these boxes for years, It isn't too Christmasey it is done in pink, red, purple and blue, no two blocks are alike, it has like 50 different fabrics in it or soemthing like that. Cant remember. All the curved seams is what made me put this one away, was taking tooooo long I suppose.

My New Year's resolution early I know.......

I have made that New Years Resolution to clean out my scraps, stash and UFO's so over at   Myra's PhD  she is helping a lot of bloggers clean out their rooms of whatever they want finished.   See what I am committing too here.  Plus check the right side of my blog, all those little boxes are others that I am in the process of working on as well. Everything is coming along beautifully!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year too you and your family.

Ann Marie