Home for Christmas

As some of you know, Al and I are building a home (again). We had hoped to be in by Thanksgiving but had a few delays...BUT we WILL be in for Christmas! Our moving truck is scheduled for Dec 18th...plenty of time to unpack, put up a tree, bake cookies..

Right now we're laying hardwood. I've become an old pro at this. This is the third house we've done it ourselves. Only hiccup is, as we get more practice, we're also getting older and these old bones don't want to be kneeling on the floor hammering away at wood. I could barely get up off the floor today😬

We started by the master bedroom so that the carpet guys would have a place to put it up against. 

Now we're working towards the fireplace, kitchen and stairs. 

I wore out my carpenter/hubby. Slamming that hammer against the nailer is hard work. 

But the end is within sight. We need to be done with flooring, stair treads, a porch railing, garage railing, address needs mounting and a few other little things, in 9 days! And have the rental packed! Gonna be close...

Time marches on...

This past month has been hard...Dad is moving out of the family home and into a senior apartment, his decision.

The house is just too large for him.

Since mom passed away, he's been slowly giving her stuff away and BOY did she have stuff! Mom loved Lladro and Old Country Rose china... She loved crystal and Fitz and Floyd. So much stuff!

One of dad's solutions to who gets what, is to give items back to the giver. He gave me back the quilts I made her...there were 4. 

One was put in the casket with her because she was always cold...it was a flannel lap quilt. 

The second was admired by my daughter so I gave that to her. 

The third was always on the guest bed where my brother's stayed and he liked it...so that went to him. 

And the final one was this Eleanor Burns pattern, Magic Vine variation. 

It was used on mom and dad's bed for years. I gave this to my sister. 

This was made/finished in 2008 and is one of the few labeled quilts. The flowers are all appliqued and it was my first attempt at FMQ (sort of). 

It was fun to go through all these old memories but also hard....end of an era. That house was always the Holiday house...jammed with decorations, food and family!

Time for the next generation to take over. My daughter will be hosting Thanksgiving this year. And once our house is finished, we'll be able to have Christmas there.

With these two monkeys, it should be a fun party!

A final finish for 2019

After a long day of building shelves and trimming at the new house, I came home and finished the binding on my Kaffe quilt. So it's DONE! Another UFO to check off...I'm thrilled!

This quilt will be mine. It's sooo soft. I can't wait to be in the new house, cuddling up with this one.

These are all log cabin blocks (8") that I made using my Creative Grids Log Cabin ruler. It's a good one one. You all know how I love my rulers😉

Packing this guy up and then packing up my machine and all my sewing stuff. 

Al and I have too much work at the house...there won't be any spare time for sewing. 

Working on quilts and our house

Almost finished! The quilting on my Kaffe quilt is done. I just did simple lines...in the ditch. I didnt want to take away the softness of this quilt. I don't know if it's the pellon cotton batting or the Kaffe fabrics but this quilt is softer than usual. It feels SO good!

I was afraid if I quilted too much it might get stiff. All I have to do now is bind it. 

Al and I are SUPER busy finishing up the house. We do the finish trim, the painting and laying the hardwood. We also have a few plants to get in before the snow flys. We're waiting for the driveway to be poured so we can plant bushes near it. If that's not done in the next few days then the plants will have to be buried on our other lot until spring. I can't put it off much longer. 

Al trimmed out this set of windows in the greatroom. They look SO good! 

The cabinets are being installed as we work on the trim. Things are coming along!😀

Kitchen tools as quilting tools?

I'm working on my Kaffe log cabin star quilt ...getting the quilting done. I decided on straight lines. This isnt the fastest way but I've been dying to do this to a quilt and this one is a great one to try it on. There are plenty of lines to follow and it's not too big... 72" x72"

Where there aren't lines, I usually mark with a Hera marker...but I can't find it (same story, different day😉)

So I dug around in the kitchen (that's where my temporary sewing room is) for something that would create a nice line but not cut or snag the fabric. 

This little butter spreader works perfectly! I was able to stitch about 20 lines before it was time to get to the new house. I'm landscaping the one side where they've finished siding.

These colors are so ME...I'm really enjoying quilting this. Oh, and I decided against invisible thread on top...my old eyes just can't handle it. I couldn't see to thread it and then it broke and jammed...pulled it out, got out my aqua Aurifil.

So ....it's going to be slow going...a little here, a little there, as time allows. I sure hope I can finish by the weeks end. 

Basting my Kaffe log cabin star

I'm doing the Finish-a-long this quarter and have completed 2 of the 5 projects I had hoped to finish. This will be the third, if I can get it quilted and bound in the next few days.

I layered it and taped it to the floor last night...this afternoon I pinned it. Tomorrow I will start quilting. I'm undecided on what type of FMQ I want to do on it. I've used swirls on many quilts and really love the look. My favorite would be just straight lines back and forth but I think that might take too long. Either way, I'll be using an invisible thread on top and a teal on the bottom. 

My next project is...

This UFO is now a finished top. Next up...basting and quilting.

I spent part of yesterday trying to find the fabric i had put away for the border and backing of this quilt. I started this one...hmmm....no idea. It's pretty old. I drag it out every so often because I like it and want it finished but I can never decide how I want it finished. Well, I never did find the border fabric but I had enough of this feather fabric to squeak out a small border...3". 

So this afternoon I added that on and am calling it good.

I found ONE of the backs I bought for this quilt. I know I also bought a Kaffee that was on sale at Rainbow's End quilt shop...35% off. Can't find that but this dot will work. And I did find this 1/2 yard of Kaffe stripe..it'll be perfect for binding. 

So Saturday or Sunday I'll start basting. Tomorrow, Friday, is grandson day. No time (or energy) for anything other that play!

Here's our other WIP....siding is going on...stone is coming any day. Drywall is going up, cabinets are ordered and ready for delivery and the electric company is hooking us up (finally!!).

Seems like we'll be in by Thanksgiving!🍂🍁

And it's DONE!

Finished! Done! Completed!

So happy to check this one off the list.

I spent some time reading my very old blog posts from 2009 when I won these blocks and first started on making this quilt. I came to one post where I was saying that I needed to concentrate on finishing up UFOs before making any more starts because I had 16....16! I wish that was all I had now😂

Well at least now I have one less.

Here's some close-ups of the wonderful blocks my quilter friends made me....

The FMQ is done on this UFO

Today was a washout. I spent plenty of time at my machine so I was able to finish quilting this UFO. 

Don't you love working on a sampler? It's not boring at all...it keeps me intetested. I fooled around with lots of different designs on this...meandering, ripple, flowers, leaves and vines...whatever I felt like doing in each block. 

The front has my initials and the year so no label will be needed....not that I would do one anyways. I usually forget.

Each of the blocks are signed by the quilter that made them. These are some talented ladies. I love that I'll have a signature quilt.

So the quilting didn't go perfectly...for some reason this happened:

I had to completely clean my machine and put in a new needle. That took care of the problem.

So now I'm cutting binding. By tomorrow it'll be done...maybe.

My project for this week

My project for this week is to quilt this UFO from 2009...yes, it's 10 years old...it's time, don't you think? 

The quilting was started at one time but then I put it away...no idea why. 

It really shouldn't take me too long to finish it now that it's out where I can work on it as I have a moment.

These scrappy blocks are done. I made 56 so that my quilt will be 7 blocks wide and 8 long. I'm still deciding how to set them...maybe with a very small white sashing. 

My other project is REALLY coming along! We have insulation done, the well is in and drywall has been delivered. The weather has really been nice this week. Last week we had a bunch of rainy, cold days but now it's back to the low 80's...so nice!

Al and I added some blocking in the walls where floating shelves will be going and where heavy pictures will be hung. There are so many little things that have to be taken care of everyday. We're trying to do as much as we can in between scheduled workers. I'm hoping to take lots of wall pictures before the drywall is hung so we know where plumbing and wires are before we start trimming and hanging cabinets. 

But everything will be put on hold tomorrow because it's grandson day💙...we'll be playing with this guy and his brother....my favorite day of the week!

Sewing hexies

It's a dreary, rainy day at the new house plus insulation is going in, so I'm sewing in the truck.

I love that EPP is so portable...I always have something to work on when I'm away from my machine.

These two hexie flowers will join my daughter Jenns growing pile. She's going to be making a scrappy hexagon quilt with solid Kona snow linking the flowers. 

When it isn't raining out, I've been building rock walls and planting bushes/perennials.

I'm getting so anxious to move into the house. Cabinets and appliances have been ordered and are waiting to be delivered. I've picked out most of the lighting and flooring. Once they finish with the insulation, we'll be ready for the drywall. Then OUR work really begins. Al and I paint, wallpaper, do finish carperntry and lay wood floors. There won't be much time for sewing soon!

When I get home at night or first thing in the morning, I try to sew a bit. Usually there's time to make one of these blocks...sometimes two. I have 42 done...loads more to go because these are 8"x8" and I'd like it to be a good sized quilt...at least a double. 

Break time is over...back to work!

Antique shopping and a find

My Labor Day weekend find! 

My daughter, Lisa, and I, went to some resale shops, garage sales and an antique mall here in Traverse City. 

I don't go to the antique mall very often... Usually just when company is visiting. We wandered through the 4 floors, me searching for old quilts and fabrics... She looked for mid-century items. I didn't find a THING until we were ready to leave. She had to use the restroom and when she came out, she spotted this quilt. 

It's perfect! I mean it's almost pristine! Well made, hand stitched, flat and the vintage fabrics in it?!.. 😱!! 

They were asking $75 dollars plus 10% off!! I couldn't buy the fabrics for that! So yes, of course I bought it. 

We, Lisa & I, decided this should become the guest room quilt. That's the room she stays in when she visits. She also said she would like this to be hers someday so, to make it official, "yes Lisa, it's your inheritance".

So now the only question is how to quilt it. I don't know if you're like minded but I feel like an old vintage quilt should be hand quilted. I like the feel of hand quilted quilts. They seem softer to me. I really need to find a nice batting though. Something that needles easily. Anyone know a good one? Maybe I'll call Hobbs?

The backing will be bleached muslin which is what my grandmothers both used. Im keeping it true to its age. The only thing I'll be doing differently is the binding...I'll be doing a facing instead. I love the edge and want to keep it exactly as it is. 

Wish me luck! This will be a 2 year project...AT LEAST!