Dining Room Remodel complete

It's been a long time since I've posted anything about my new house. I guess I've been so busy getting things done that I haven't had time to share my progress.

When I moved in this room , like the rest of the house, needed paint and new flooring. It had the same dirty mauvy/rose colored rug (YUK) as the rest of the downstairs. When I pulled it up in the dining room I discovered that there were two more layers of flooring underneath. I was discouraged and worried that I'd find a subfloor, not hardwood under those layers.

But you know me, ever the optomist, I decided that I would pull up the vinyal floor and the particleboard subfloor and uncover a beautiful hardwood floor. My family wasn't so sure, but I was convinced (mostly) that I was right.

I got an estimate from the first floor re-finisher which included $500 for removing the 2 layers of flooring from the dining room. He said it would be really hard to do and take him the better part of a day. I thought he was right about it being hard work, but $500? I wasn't so sure about that. So I grabbed the floor tool that my brother insisted I buy, (I didn't want to buy it, it was $30) and got to work. Well, I was right, it wasn't a $500 job. If I could do it with just a little bit of help from a friend with a power saw for the edges near the heater, I figure it was more like a $100 job. Anyway it took me 2 evenings and a morning, plus a trip to the dump and I saved myself $500.

When the second floor re-finisher came his estimate was lower and he was going to do more than the first guy, so I went with him. I'm going to remember that for the future, always get more than one estimate. So it took about 4 days to have the floors refinished and it was inconvienent for my sons because they couldn't walk on the floors most of those 4 days. I went and stayed at a friends house. I don't like being inconvienenced. LOL

I was pleased with the way the floors came out, they are the original floors so do show some wear, but they're clean and shiny and easy to keep that way so I really can't ask for more.

Dad painted the room, and it came out great. My daughter-in-law arranged the furniture and the few knick-knacs I have, I made the centerpiece for the table.

I love the way the room turned out.

I've recently become an affiliate for Artella. Artella is one of my favorite places to get images and ideas for my mixed medial art work and my ATC's. None of which I've been doing since I bought my new house. I'm hoping to get some time away from home improvements and home decorating projects soon. I really miss swapping ATC's.
Here's a freeby from Artella that I think you'll like and is very appropriate this time of year. It's an ebook on card making.
Follow the link and download your copy today.

FREE Giveaway: Stunning and Simple Seasonal Salutations eBook!
Download a FREE copy of Stunning and Simple Seasonal Salutations, an eBook featuring10 beautiful handmade cards, complete with photos and descriptive "how-to" instructions, showcasing a variety of techniques such as rubber stamping, collage, and innovative paper and mixed media arts. Download your copy at Artellaland.

Image Giveaway

Check out Take Ten Studios annual holiday image give away. Most of the people who download these images use them for paper crafts and mixed media art, but I was thinking the images could be printed on fabric and used to embellish quilts, bags and other "quilty"type things. Here's the link :
http://countdown.tentwostudios.com/

Quilt related Thanksgiving drawing

Visit Caron Mosey: Michigan Quilts to participate in a Thanksgiving drawing for a FREE copy of Contemporary Quilts From Traditional Designs.

Her site has lots of eye candy, definitely worth a visit.

I'm done moving!

It's October now and I'm all moved in.
When I had all the floors stripped down to the hardwood I found a floor refinisher. He stripped and sealed the floors in a week. They came out great! Well worth the time and expense.

I waited another week to make sure the finish was good and dry, then I started to empty the storage unit of all the boxes. I borrowed D's pickup every night after work and on my days off. It was hard work and it took me about 7 days, but I got all the boxes and some of the lighter furniture out all by myself. Boy do I have a LOT of stuff!! Too much sewing stuff, too many books!!

Last weekend, with the help of some friends and my sons we moved all the furniture and appliances out of the storage unit. I feel much better now. That was weighing on me. I wasn't sure I could get enough strong men together on the same day. That's me though, I worry about too much. I'm trying to stop that.

The move went real well. D brought his cargo trailer and hand truck, B brought his pickup and a hand truck, J brought his pickup and his invaluable skill at moving, B
brought his strength and his "let's get this done" attitude, and M also brought his strength and willingness to work. We met at the storage unit at 10:30 AM and had everything unloaded at my house by 1 PM. That was only 2 1/2 hours! Much easier than I thought.

Now I just have to figure out where to put everything!

Home Improvement Update

Just a quick update on my progress. I will be posting some pictures soon. I've torn up the wall to wall carpeting in the living room, dining room, foyor ,stairs and hall. I filled the back of a friends pickup amd took it all to the dump. The house smells much nicer now. I still have to go over all the floors and pull out all the staples they used to tack down the carpet pad, and finish pulling up the tack strips. I had a hard time with those, they used some long nails and thry were difficult for me to pull out. One of my sons helped me with that.
My boyfriend cleaned out all three sheds, mowed the lawn, trimmed some shrubs and cut down a couple of shrubs.
My son, daughter-in-law and grandson did a bunch of stuff, cleaned out the fridge, cut some branches that were overhanging my "studio", cleaned off the roof, and tidied up the yard.
My handyman-for-hire built me some cellar steps so I can uses the bulkhead, replaced a couple of stairs on the deck and put deck hangers under the deck because there weren't any and the home inspector said that wasn't safe.
Let's see, what else? I called digsafe so I can install some fencing and plant some shrubs, Verizon so I can get TV, phone and most importantly INTERNET! They can't do it all in one day, I need to have someone at the house on 2 different days. That is VERY inconvienent!
I cleaned up all the stuff the former homeowner left on the deck and in the house, moped all the floors with Natures Miricle, a de-oderizing product for pet urine. I sure hope it will work. I know it works on carpets, but have never used it on hardwood flooring.
My brother primed the walls in my bedroom and removed the wallpaper border in the bathroom. He's going to come by today and help me choose the colors I'll be painting each room. He's great at that.
I've been to Lowe's several times buying stuff and I guess I'll be back there or Home Depot getting my paint. I'm tired of the hardware store already and I still have a bunch of stuff to buy. It took 2 trips before I got a working de-humidifier and the primer I bought from them stinks so I'm going to return the other 2 gallons and get the Kilz. If you need two coats you're not saving any money and you're wasting time. I have no time to waste, I have too much to do.
Another friend measured the yard for the fencing. I hope he can get to that ASAP, I hate tying my dogs out.
I'm feeling very tired and overwhelmed so I called Dad in Florida and cried HELP. So Mom and Dad will be coming up to help me as soon as I get my bedroom painted and the furniture moved in for them. Dad actually sound like he's looking forward to working on my house! Dad's sure are great!!
This morning I'm going over to the house and get cracking on thier bedroom. I have to wait for my brother to help me choose the color before I can paint the walls, I'll start with deglossing and priming the woodwork and painting the ceiling. I will have it ready by the end of the week even if I have to paint one wall every night after work.

Today's the Day!!

Finally!! I have a closing. Tonight at 6PM I sign the paperwork that makes me a homeowner again.
This house is perfect for me. Not too big, not too small, hardwood floors, lots of closets, wood stove, 2 bathrooms, laundry on the first floor, dry basement to store stuff, lots of light and a real cozy feel to it.
The yard is great also, 4 1/2 acres, some sun, some shade, lots of trees, a farmers porch in front, a little deck in back, enough paved parking for me and my sons.
Last, but not least......... a separate sewing studio!!
Now before you all think I'm either rich or got the bargain of the century, I have to say, it needs quite a bit of work. The studio needs insulation, a wall torn down, a wall built, sheetrock to cover the insulation, a new furnace, the wiring upgraded for my quilting machine and a new floor.
The house needs the carpets torn up, the floors re-finished, every wall painted, a cabinet in the kitchen moved, a new microwave over the oven installed, the cabinets sanded and painted, the windows replaced - all 13 of them! Oh yah, and the upstairs bathroom needs some remodeling too.
So, if I'm not posting or quilting you'll understand why.
I'll post a picture of my little castle as soon as I can.
Wish me luck!

Fairy Giveaways

Donna from DZFANTASY is having a couple of contests for her fairy dolls. The only thing you have to do to enter is leave a comment on her blog. Check out her blog and Etsy shop, you're going to love her dolls!

Disclaimer, I don't know Donna and am gaining nothing by posting this link

My Quilting Machine

I hate moving! I want to be quilting, but I can't because I don't have access to my quilting machine. I'm lucky to have a temporary sewing room at my friend's house so I shouldn't be complaining. If you'd like to see the old timer I quilt on check out my webshots album.
by cindynvb
I haven't updated my quilt photo albums in forever, but you can check them out here, Dear Jane
by cindynvband my 2005 quilts
by cindynvb
Here are my 2006 quilts, you'll notice I've used lots of scraps.

Quilts 2006

Obviously I'm a just a little behind on posting my quilt photos, haven't uploaded any pictures since 2006. Also I have at least 130 Dear Jane blocks made, but it takes forever to scan them so I don't know if I will upload any more of them. As soon as I do, I'll let you all know. I love to show off my quilts. Show and tell is my favorite part of my guilt meetings.

When Do you say enough to giving?

I have a dilemma. My guild has a community quilt program. We make and give quilts to people who, for one reason or another are having a hard time and need a little help.
My goal for the last few years has been to donate three quilts each year to this program. I’ve met or exceeded this goal each year. I’ve also helped run a couple of workshops where we got together and worked on community quilts.
This year I’m very busy, between house hunting, packing, moving and working overtime I don’t have a lot of free time. That isn’t really my dilemma though, I’m always busy. The real problem is that I’m broke and most of my family is having financial problems. I feel like my time and money would be better spent making quilts for my family and friends rather than strangers. Family does come first.
My goal has always been to make a bed quilt and a sofa quilt for every member of my family and some of my friends. I haven’t reached that goal yet. Big family you know!
With the economy getting worse all the time a lot of people will be forced to cut back on giving and then the people who do need help and don’t have family won’t get any. So that’s my dilemma, I want to make quilts for my family and am thinking of not donating to my guild’s community program this year. I’m feeling guilty about it, what do you think I should do?

Here's a quick way to use up your scraps

We all have one, a bag, box or pile of scraps we've been saving forever. We can't throw them out, and we never really use them so they keep piling up because. Why do our scraps keep multiplying? It's because they're so time consuming to cut and sew into a pretty quilt.

I was going to write up a tuturial on how I use up my scraps but I found that Patti from Quilting is my Passion had already written one, so figured I didn't have to. Check out her blog, read the tutorial and start using up those scraps!

We all have one, a bag, box or pile of scraps we've been saving forever. We can't throw them out, and we never really use them so they keep piling up because. Why do ur scraps keep multiplying? It's because they're so time consuming to cut and sew into a pretty quilt.

I was going to write up a tuturial on how I use up my scraps but I found that Patti from Quilting is my Passion had already written one, so figured I didn't have to. Check out her blog, read the tutorial and start using up those scraps!a>

How to save money on QUILTING for new Quilters

How to save money on QUILTING for new Quilters

Join your local Quilting Guild. You will find lots of support and information there. Don’t be shy about being a beginner; we all were at one time.
When you’re starting out resist the temptation to buy every tool, gadget and book on the market. The basics will be enough to get you started and keep you going for a long time. See my list of “Basic” quilting tools.

3. Check out your local Library – borrow books before you buy them. I love new quilting books, but much as I would like to I just can’t have them all. The library is a great way to stretch your budget. My library has quilting magazines and lots of the latest books.

4. Buy Used and discounted books and magazines. For books try half.com, Amazon, Mackenzie books and Ed Hamilton books. For magazines, E-bay, Craig’s list and Quilter’s Flea Market are my favorites.

5. Save batting scraps and cut them up to use as pillow stuffing. I
use some of my ugly fabric and make a pillow form, leaving one side open. I fill it as I go so I don’t have a big pile of batting to cut up all at once.

6 . Buy your piecing thread by the cone. I use a thin, lint free thread in a neutral color for piecing. Lots of benefits to this, first, the cost, you’d have to buy about 11 spools of thread to equal 1 cone of Bottom Line or Sew Fine, my current favorite piecing thread. I figure I save $10 to $15 on thread buying the cones. These threads make much less lint, which will save wear and tear on your machine Also fewer spools of thread makes for less clutter.

7. Find patterns online for FREE! See my list of favorite pattern and BOM sites. (coming soon)

8. Don’t know how to do something? Go online for free tutorials, but you knew that already didn’t you?

9. Buy your backing fabrics from the clearance bins of your favorite quilt shops. I always look at the discounted fabrics and when I find something I like I buy enough for a backing. Do you really need to spend $8.00 a yard for the backing? My local shop sells their older fabrics for $2 -$3 a yard and they have a good selection.

10. Shop for fabric online. Here area couple of my favorite discount shopping sites:

Quilter's Flea Market and Hancocks of Paducah.

Saving money on your quilting hobby is just like saving money on anything else. Buy only what you need, don't waste your "leftovers" , buy quality because it lasts and makes your job easier.

Basic Quilting tools

Must Have Quilting tools
Here's my shopping list of quilting tools for the beginner. If anyone see's something I've missed, let me know and I'll add it.

Rotary Cutter- buy the Olfa brand, I like the 60mm ergonomic one for cutting up to 8 layers. if that’s not in the budget, the 45mm one works well also.

Extra blades – a sharp blade will make your cutting much easier and more accurate

A cutting mat – but the largest one you have room for, it will speed up your cutting and get you to the fun part sooner.

Sharp scissors – I recommend the Gingher brand 8” sheers and a pair of 4” embroidery type for clipping threads. I keep my small scissors on a lanyard around my neck; otherwise I spend a lot of time looking for them.

An Iron – I like an iron that is a bit heavy and that will get very hot. I don’t worry about steam because I use spray starch. Your iron should be comfortable to use because you will be using it a lot.

A large ironing surface – I made a big ironing surface by taking a scrap of plywood , stapling a piece of cotton batting and an ugly piece of fabric to the underside of the plywood. (No stapler? Use duct tape, a girls best friend LOL) Then I cover it with an old beach towel that I can throw in the wash when it gets stiff with starch.

Rotary cutting rulers – I LOVE my ruler collection, probably have too many, but they really make the cutting and sub-cutting much easier- I like this brand the best because I can see the markings very well.
http://www.quiltknit.com/rulers/page15.htm
Olfa makes a good ruler also. Buy the brand whose markings are easiest for you to see.
I would start out buying a 6 1/2” by 24” and a 6 ½” by 12”. I would add these to my collection as I went along – a square ruler in the size block I make the most, i.e. a 6 ½”, 9 ½”, and/or 12 ½”- these are great for squaring up finished blocks. Then an easy angle for cutting triangles.
http://astore.amazon.com/quiltville-20

Notions – needles, pins, (buy good ones, cheap pins are not sharp, frustrating to use and can ruin your fabric) a pin cushion, extra bobbins, (wind a bunch of these before you start to sew) oil and a brush for your sewing machine, (it’s very important to clean your machine after), a seam ripper, I like this type the best:
HAVEL'S ULTRA PRO II SEAM RIPPER
http://www.hancocks-paducah.com/Item--i-C-18935
Or this one:
HAVEL'S SEAM RIPPER WITH Handle
http://www.hancocks-paducah.com/Item--i-C-18933


Thread – buy good thread, cheap thread is not worth your time and money. I like to use a thin thread like Bottom Line or Sew Fine in the bobbin, both produce very little lint and more thread will fit on the bobbin, saving you time.

Sewing Machine – again not a place to skimp; Buy the best you can afford.
I would focus on quality rather than features. Lots of stitches and options are nice, but I’d rather a sturdy, reliable simple machine than one with a lot of “bells and whistles”. The reason for that is quilt making uses simple stitches.
The features you will need are a straight stitch, the ability to lower the feed dogs, and an adjustable zig- zag stitch. The accessories you will need are a ¼ inch foot, a darning foot and an appliqué foot. You will be happy with these features for a long time

BABY QUILT

It’s time to make a baby quilt again. The baby shower is next week and as you can see by the picture, the baby quilt is not ready! I don’t know what I was thinking; I just started the quilt last week. I should have started it much sooner. Oh, well, this won’t be the first time I’ve been late with my quilt giving.

I don’t have the right fabric for the inner border, but I do have a nice blue and green multicolor fabric for the outer border. I am planning on using the green fabric or something similar for a thin inner border. I believe the green I used was a Patrick Lose fabric which I bought at Safftlers in Whitman, MA. Hopefully they will still have some.


I seem to be going fabric shopping a lot lately. So much for my stash busting efforts! I think I’m buying as much fabric as I’m using!
I really hate it when I have to stop sewing because I run out of fabric or supplies. It really ruins my momentum. Part of the reason I’m having this problem is because my stash is all packed up ready for my much delayed move. If I had known the seller’s bank was going to take so much time to get their paperwork done I would have left out more of my UFO’s, WIP’s and fabrics. I can’t get the quilting done because I don’t dare load a quilt in my quilting machine in case I have to move before it’s finished, but I could have finished more tops. Well, I shouldn’t complain, I really have gotten a lot done lately and it really isn’t a hardship to go fabric shopping.

Floral Quilt

I'm still not in the mood to challenge myself, but I do feel like quilting. Here's what happened when I dug out a HUGE bag full of 6 inch nine patch blocks that I've collected in block swaps, or made when I felt like sewing but had no project in mind.

Instant (almost) lap quilt! This took me about 4 hours to piece.
It has no borders yet because I don't have a stash to shop right now. It's all packed up waiting for my move to the new house, Sure wish the bank and attorneys would get thier paperwork done so I can move and get my life settled again. Needing border fabrics was a good excuse to go to the quilt shop. You can see by my photo of my "loot" that I did buy a little bit more than just the border fabrics!!

I think having sets of blocks made up is like having a brownie mix in the pantry, much faster than starting from scratch and will always come in handy. I've made 3 other quilts from my bag of nine patch blocks and they're all different.

Here's the last one I made. This was a gift for a friend, Joe Cavana,who has since died. I'm so glad I made this for him, he really loved it and it gave him a lot of comfort.

Having some blocks in the "pantry" enables me to make a comfort quilt up real quick when I need to.

Quilting Tutural

Good Morning all,
I've been reading blogs about quilting this morning and came across this great tutural by Lynne at the Patchery Menagerie. It sound like fun. Check out her link to the flicker photos of the doll quilt swap she's in. There are some fabulous quilts being made. I think lots of them would make great baby quilts or wall art.

QUILT SHOP TRIP

I needed some fabric for a couple of baby quilts and the borders on a floral patchwork quilt I'm making as a gift. I also wanted a pattern to make a fabric handbag or tote. Since most of my stash is packed in preparation for my move I thought a trip to the local quilt shop was in order.
I always have a great time shopping for quilting fabric, patterns and tools, but today was an exceptionally good time.
I shopped at Emma's Quilt Cupboard in Franklin, MA. From the outside it looks like a tiny shop, but inside it's packed with fabric, patterns, tools, notions and books.

Hung all over the shop were beautiful quilts showcasing the classes being held and patterns that they sell. As soon as I walked in a Piece of Cake design, "Stars in my Garden" caught my eye. I've wanted to make that applique pattern for years, but had forgotten all about it. Maybe I will dust off my book when I get settled into my new house...... we'll see
I thought that the two ladies who were working were the best sales clerks I've ever met. They were very friendly, knowledgeable and knew when to help me and when to leave me alone to browse. I took up a lot of their time, asking for this and that and they both made me feel as if they were really enjoying helping me. Now that's a rare experience in the retail world.
I got everything I needed and then some. I splurged a little (it's my birthday after all) and got the EQ6 upgrade. I found some very nice fabric for backings for $3.33 a yard, that's a real bargain for quilt shop quality fabrics. Emma's sends everyone who signs up for their e-mail birthday gift, a discount coupon good for a % off your total order. So I'm trying to justify buying all this quilting stuff because it was a good buy!
I highly recommend Emma's Quilt Cupboard http://www.emmasquiltcupboard.com/
The shop has a great selection, great service, great classes and reasonable prices. Well worth the trip.
.

Carolina Crossroads Mystery Quilt

My all time favorite quilting site is Bonnie Hunter's :

http://quiltville.com/index.html.

She is a very talented, generous and prolific quilter. I've used her patterns many times. I don't always use the exact "recipe", but her directions are easy to customize so you can avoid that cookie cutter look.

When she announced her Carolina Crossroads Mystery Quilt, I was eager to join in the fun. I don't make mystery quilts anymore because I've been disappointed with the results too many times.But I knew if Bonnie had designed it, the quilt would be well worth making.

Well, I looked thru my stash of pre-cut strips but didn't have enough pre-cut 1 1/2 "inch strips, but had a draw full of 2 in strips so decided to use those. I knew I could figure out how to convert any of the other measurements if it became necessary, which it did.

Lots and lots of stitching later, (and more cutting), I've solved the mystery and am very happy with it. I just have to cut and sew the borders on and quilt it.

That will have to wait until I get into my new house. Right now I'm waiting for a closing date on my new home and my current one is full of boxes. I thought I was going to be moving on June 1st, but the attorney ran into a glitch and I'm still waiting.

The only reason I'm able to sew at all right now is because a friend has very generously let me set up a temporary swing room in his spare room

Enough about me.
If you'd like to try your hand at a mystery quilt check out Quiltsville's latest mystery "Orange Crush". Get right over there before it disappears.

How to save money on QUILTING for long time quilters

Saving money on quilting boils down to three things, use what you have, buy only what you need and pinch your pennies when you do buy. Here’s a list of ways to do just that.

1. Use your scraps. For ideas on how to organize your scraps read this post by Bonnie Hunter.
http://quiltville.com/scrapusersystem.shtml

2. Use those ugly and “what was I thinking of” fabrics for backings.


3. Make a challenging quilt. It will take longer to make the quilt so you fabrics will last longer and you will have fun learning something new and stretching yourself.


4. Don’t buy a new magazine until you’ve used a pattern from an old one.


5. Don’t buy a new pattern until you’ve used one you already have.


6. Join a quilting guild if you haven’t already, you’ll have lots of quilting fun for very little money.

7. If your quilting guild has an auction,donate, attend and bid. The members of my quilting guild donate their unwanted items and most of them are sold for under retail. If your guild doesn’t have an auction, suggest having one. It’s a great fund-raiser and lots of fun.

8. Check out Quilter’s Flea Market, it’s a great place to sell unwanted quilting items and buy some new-to-you things for a less than new price. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/QuiltersFleaMarket/


9. Shop your stash - see Stashbusters online group for lots of great ideas to use your stash.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stashbuster/


10. Finish your UFO’s and WIP’s. Unfinished projects are a BIG money waster. Remember, it’s not a quilt until it’s quilted!



Please leave a comment with your favorite way(s) to stretch your quilting dollars, we all will appreciate it.

MONEY & QUILTING

Quilting has become an expensive hobby. If you make a large quilt you are probably going to use 15-20 yards of fabric, a batting, thread and needles. Then there are the non-consumable supplies that you need to have, the rotary cutter and mat, pins, books and patterns.
I’ve been quilting for a long time so I have lots of tools, some of which I’ve never used…ouch, and LOTS of fabric. I have a huge stash of quilting fabrics and I’m glad I have them now because as gas and food prices rise my budget for non-necessities is shrinking.

I recently read a blog post on how to save money quilting written by a non-quilter. While I agree with some of her ideas I don’t agree with all of them, and I think that her list is more relevant to the new quilter than the person who’s been quilting for a long time. If you’d like to read it this is the link:

http://www.quiltingandpatchwork.com/2008/06/20/10-ways-to-save-money-quilting/

The things I, as an established quilter do to save money on quilting will be different than the person just starting out.

So I’m going to write a couple of posts on money saving ideas for quilters. The first will be for those of us who have a “stash”, the second will be for the new quilter.
If you have any money saving ideas please post a comment and share your idea with the rest of us. I think we’ll all have to learn to be more frugal if we are going to be able to continue to pursue our hobbies as the price of gas continues to rise and takes a bite out of our budgets.

Flowers

This has nothing to do with quilting, but I'm so proud of myself for growing this Clematis I have to show it off.

I bought it three years ago from my friend Stephanie who has a plant stand on Rte 18 in Lakeville, MA. It was just a single, scrawny stick and now look at it! Stephanie said it would grow and she was right. Thank you Stephanie!

New Day, New Block

Still not feeling motivated enough to tackle the borders on the Carolina Crossroads Mystery quilt. I really need to get that one finished. It's a gift for a special friend who's done so much for me that he really deserves a quilt.

Here are the blocks I made for the September BOM for my quilting guild, the Bayside Quilters. As most of you know the BOM is a favorite and almost universal activity of every quilting guild. If you don't know how this works, each month we get pattern. Each member who makes a block puts it in the "kitty" and gets a chance to win all of the blocks.
I made three this time, one to keep and two to swap. I'm hoping that having two blocks will increase my chances to win.

A few years ago I was incredibly lucky and one several times. I used those blocks to make fours quilts as gifts. Having a ready made stash of blocks sure made my gift giving easy that year.

Quilter's Block

I'm still not ready to tackle any large projects, so today I finished a paper pieced star from Carol Doak's book "Fifty Fabulous Paper Pieced Stars". I started making this block two years ago, but I really don't like to paper piece so I set it aside. I like the colors (still) but don't know what I'll do with it, I'm not sure I want to make any more right now.
I think I need something easy and quick to finish. I just finished a king size quilt and I have 2 more king size quilts that I'm working on, but I'm at a standstill right now. They are both ALMOST done but I just don't feel like working on them. I guess I have Quilter's Block. Do you every get that? What do you do to get by it?
The Carolina Crossroads Mystery quilt just needs the borders sewn on, then the machine quilting, the scrappy one patch needs the last 3 rows put together, the border and the quilting. I love the machine quilting part, but hate sewing long seams, so I always have a hard time motivating myself to get the borders on. When I can get away with it, I don't use a border, but both these quilts are so busy they need a plain border so the eye has a resting place. Guess I will just keep working on little projects until I'm more motivated.

Latest quilting projects

Today I'm feeling tired and lazy, but not so lazy that I don't want to play with my fabrics. I'm not up to anything challenging so I decided to make the September community quilt BOM for my quilting guild.
It's a very simple scrappy string quilt.
Here is a picture of four blocks put together.
These look great when they're made up. I made one a couple of years ago on a muslin foundation using red as the center strip. It's one of my favorite quilts. One of these days I'll make another one .