Some things that are "in process"

I have been trying to get some things up here that are in the works. Who knows when they will get done, but they are so close, (mostly just borders, or putting blocks together), that I really need to work on them. Now is the time. The sewing room is clean (close enough) the house is clean (*SO* close enough) the laundry is almost done, (like, if EVER) and so, I can crawl back into my hidey hole and get to it, right? I am SO on it! Well, Monday for sure. Don't usually get that stuff done on the weekends when Bill is home, and there is too much "outdoor fall stuff" to do. Bring in the boat and dock, mow the grass, pull up the garden pump and hoses, get the campers winterized (that was done today, I believe) but you get the picture. He usually does that, but I will help tomorrow. So, here they are:

I wanted to do a blue quilt, don't really know why, my favorite color is purple. But, I do like 2 color quilts, and I had a lot of blue fabric, so this is it. I have done up to the light blue border. One more dark, the pieced, and maybe another dark, not sure yet. Pieced borders are done, so I just have to figure out the size of the next blue border and let er rip. Pattern: Pineapple Blossom-Bonnie Hunter over at www.quiltville.com.

                       

This is a string quilt out of Bonnie Hunter's book Scraps and Shirttails, called Virginia Bound. I have to do 3 more rows. I am really going to love this one, and cant wait till it is done, but it is an "ongoing" one, as it takes a while to sew a lot of stings, even tho they are easy. And of course I have enough stings for about 10 of these! Good thing because I have a friend who wants to make one, so she gets all the rest of the strings!  

This is a QOV (Quilts of Valor) for our local chapter. It wouldn't take much to get this one done. I could do it in an afternoon, so this might be my first one to finish.

 

This one is my Morning Splash, by Judy Laquidara over at www.patchworktimes.com. I will get her button on my blog, as soon as I can figure out HOW! It has a few more borders, one of them pieced, so it is a bit farther to the finish. I LOVE this quilt. Another one I really want to see done! She has a lot of great patterns (she is one of my favorite designers) and I suggest heading over there and checking her out if you haven't already. She has a lot of free patterns, and great recipes.

There are a few more (ha ha) things in the works. Another pinwheel string project, a trip around the world for Bill out of his Asian fabrics, and UFOs too old to mention. And, I have to start a Mariners Compass for my BIL and SIL, something I have never done before, so it will be a real challenge.

I will post as they are closer to getting done. And of course I have 5 quilts that have to go on the frame and be quilted.

This IS kind of like a diary. It will be interesting to see where things are at in a year or 2. I am looking forward to it, as I just came across a journal I "started" on one of our trips, but never finished. I used to do journals all the time on trips. You forget so many details. I wish I would have been one of those that used to keep diaries. I certainly forgot more of my life then I remember!

And for something ALMOST quilty...

Do you ever feel like you just can't function in your workspace? I feel like I have been cleaning for months, and not getting anywhere. Today, I decided that maybe I needed a bigger change. The room was not working for me. There was just a "path" to walk through, stuff was accumulating a bit too fast. This is not like me. I have my sewing room ready to go at any time, since I am usually doing so many things at once. So, I tore it all up and did it over. Moved all the machines, and (gasp) even washed the floor, something that hasn't been done in a VERY long time, since there is TOO MUCH STUFF, but, we all know, (at least the females in the group o.k., maybe some guys too...) that when you have to move stuff, you CLEAN the area before you put stuff back. So, it is not done yet, but maybe another day to get all the surfaces cleaned off. It might change again after using it, of course. I will have to start keeping better records. This is from 2008. It wasn't too much different, different sewing tables, and a couple more drawer stacks for fabric. Hmm, now that i look at the pictures, I guess I didn't change too much, just moved stuff to the other side of the room, opposite. Oh well, whatever works.

What you can't see in the last pic, is all the stuff piled up behind me. Hope I can get it done soon and start QUILTING! 

Another note about our trip.

So, it was a nice motel, older, but remodeled. Clean, which is good. But I had to laugh when I went to plug in my hair dryer (theirs was not very strong) where the plug in was! not only could I barely reach it, but it was UP SIDE DOWN. I hate that. But it gave us a few good laughs. 

Home at Last

We got home last night, and it feels really good. Except for the part about all the laundry, cleaning and running errands. I hate running errands. So, I will post a few pics and then be on my way, to finish up at a later date. Somehow, I thought this blogging would be easier....

First, we were bad, and bought a new car while in Ill. It is a Nissan Altima, and it is Bill's, but he let me drive it the last 2 hours home, and it is really SWEET. And now I get to go drive the Corolla. Not that the Corolla isn't a good car, it is a trouper, and has been extremely reliable, but it is nothing special. It does gets good gas mileage. This is much more special. I love it. That was the big news, now, just "things".  

There are a ton of parks in the St. Charles area. It is awesome, most have paved trails. This one in the Fox River, has a windmill. This day, it was open and running (It was very breezy) and we got to go inside, where they have restored it and actually have things running. If anyone can get there, I recommend it, it was very interesting.

My turn to check put the inside of the windmill.



Here are some pics of the parks:



And this was one of the coolest things that I have ever seen. O.K., I am not a city girl, and so we do not have dog fountains in our area, or anywhere that I have been, so some of you are laughing right now. But, I thought it was a GREAT idea, and you push the button to fill the "dish", and on the other side is a button for "us". I didn't get a pic of the dogs drinking out of it, because THEY had never seen one before either, and were not too sure about it. We TOLD them to get a drink, so Spot got a "faux drink" which was so funny! She PRETENDED to drink, tongue lapping and all! Wish I would have gotten a picture of THAT! Or a video! And this one wasn't even at the dog park!

Here is the dog park:

Buster, checking out the neighbors.

They had a large area with agility things set up, an area for small dogs only, and one by the "lake" so they could swim. I didn't get great pictures of it tho. The dogs loved it. (This is the one by the lake, it is on the left. That is Willow in the foreground.)

I guess that is all for now. We never made it to the city, it was mostly too hot to leave the dogs in the car. It was a great dog friendly couple of weeks tho, they only had to spend SOME of the time hanging out in the motel room with me sewing all day. But when Billy came home from work, it was all PLAY. 

I will try to do some more updating later tonight, or tomorrow. I do love the fact that we are home and it it 54 degrees!! YIPPEE. I feel a hot sauna coming on......now, off to get insurance on the car, taxes, tabs. Bill is going to get his very own vanity plates, so we can BOTH remember what it is! 

In the Last Week...

It has been a crazy week. I got back from my sister's (she loved her bag) on Friday night and turned around to go to Ash River on Sat. (30 miles so. of Int. Falls) For those of you who don't know, my husband is working on a new science project up there. Dont ask me to explain it. It is called the NOvA project, and it has something to do with neutrinos. After 16 years with him, I still dont get it. No, he is not a scientist, more of an engineer type, who is in charge of making things happen. They will put an experiment in here, and I will update pictures now and then. It will change a lot. This is to be a closed building, So Pictures will get harder to take. They were just starting to put some of the ceiling in.

Here is what is happening... LOTS of concrete. I love concrete. I wish this was my house. I could have one SERIOUS sewing room! Although, heating it would be deadly to the pocketbook! I want to go here in a tornado, or for a bomb shelter....each one of those little cubby holes in the wall holds a tension bolt, (some have been cover with mortar already) which is screwed down to a 40 foot pipe drilled into the rock and cememted (?) in. That building is going NOWHERE. And it is around 60 feet in the ground. I love watching projects, heavy machinery, and the people who operate them. Sometimes you swear they are so good, they could pick up a pin with those cranes or backhoes.

Me, on floor level. 

Anyway, then on the way home we stopped to check out a small lake on the Echo Trail. Short hike, but this happened:

Ouch. Porcupine. Poor baby. Not too many, thankfully, but we were an hour and a half away from town, but it was an emergency visit to the vet. $185 later, she was fine. Luckily the other dogs didnt even see it, so we got off easy, if you ask me.

Anyway, we are STARTING to think about our move up there, what we have to buy, what we will take and leave here. Whether to rent this out, or just have a house sitter. We should have just about everything we need. No wonder we have so much junk, we have enough for 2 houses!

I am STILL thinking about posting pics of QUILTS. Soon? hopefully...

Something done

Today (and yesterday) I was working on a Professional Tote for my sister. She bought the fabric, and I sewed it up. I really love this pattern, even tho it is highly labor intensive. No matter who does it, it always looks store bought. I used upolstery fabric, so it is heavy to begin with. I have an industrial machine, and would NEVER do it on my home machine. Well, with upolstery fabric, anyway. I have done 4 of them now, all on my industrial, and I dont know how people can do them on their regular machines. I would like to make one without any interfacing (and upolstery fabric) except for a few parts and see how it works. But for now, I will take a break and make some "other" bags. I have 2-3ring binders and a computer full to choose from!

My hope was to post a few pics of what else I have been working on, but I am not sure if I will have the time, as I leave for Mpls. on Sat. and have to pack. I will try to get them out in a week or so. But maybe....since i need to "see" what I have to get done!

Ely MN. Quilt Show-2010

Last weekend was our quild's quilt show. It was wonderful. The ladies did a great job, and the quilts are excellent! It was "viewers best", and I didnt even vote, I just couldnt pick one out. I dont know yet who won, but I will let you all know. I posted the pics on my webshots page here:
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/578351138YtXEXb

Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.
I will have to take some pics of my own in the next few days to let you all know what is happening on the quilting front here.