Wedding Quilt Progress

I wasn't planning on working on this quilt this week, but in a strange turn of events, I was able to sew away to my heart's content!

First off, my laptop for my Day Job has been at the technicians office for almost two weeks now. And it's still not finished with the upgrade. To top it off, it's 150 miles away, so it's no easy task to hop in the car and fetch it when it finally gets all its upgrades. The net result of that is I am limited on what I can do with my Day Job. Funny how we're so dependent upon technology to function these days.

And then, Monday - wouldn't you know this would happen on a Monday - my Gammill longarm decided to take on a mind of its own. Right in the middle of quilting in some clouds on this lovely quilt, the computer board in the control panel decided it had had enough of being told what to do all the time. So it started stopping and going, all on its own accord! And then it wouldn't function at all. Please be fully aware that in my old age I do know how to throw around a vast array of explicatives when warranted! 

Laying out the sewn rows. Not enough room in my sewing studio, so I had to use the space on my longarm!

Then after becoming frustrated at not being able to connect with my sales rep in Salt Lake City area, I called directly to Gammill. Their  technician immediately told me that a new control panel was on the way - oh, joy! It should be here today or tomorrow and I'll be back in business.

In the meantime, I was able to get all the half square triangle blocks sewn in rows for this Wedding Quilt I'm making for my niece.  The big day isn't until the end of August, so I'm feeling quite happy that things are rolling along and it's not a total last-minute effort to get it quilted, bound and wrapped.

I always number my rows - saves a lot of headaches later!

And to top it all off, our son is coming to town today for a short visit. And he's leaving his dog with us for a few weeks. I love it when I get to sit my grand-dog. Big smiles this direction. Hey -  if you don't have grand-kids, enjoy the grand-dogs, I always say.

Quilting with a smile,
Barb

Linking up with Linky Tuesday

Third Quarter Finish Along Goals

I have been thinking about what I want to accomplish over the next three months, in terms of personal quilting projects. The first one is easy because it's a wedding quilt. But I'd like to do more than that. But what, pray tell?

Okay. Here goes. These are my goals to finish for the 2014 Finish Along by Katy of The Littlest Thistle.

1.  Completely finish piecing, quilting and binding this Cowgirl Up quilt for niece and her fiance. The wedding is Aug. 23, so I only have about a month on this one.  I have most of the half square triangle cut, sew, pressed and squared up. Counted last night and find I need 16 more before I can start arranging them.

2.  Make this cute fabric into a bag. I've never constructed a bag before, so I thought I should try. I love the colorful sunglasses, and the purses, too. I found this fabric at Material Girls quilt shop in Redmond. Dh just knew he couldn't keep me away from all the quilt shops on our trip last month. Nope - wasn't gonna happen.

3.  Make a pillow for my daughter. We picked out this pile of fabrics at The Stichin' Post in Sisters, Oregon. Not sure what the heck I'm going to do with them, but something will come to me.  I plan on making about four all together.  But we'll see how it progresses.  I told her to pick out six fabrics she liked, and then see chose the two neutrals on the bottom. But then she threw in the black flannels. What to do, what to do?  I love this PillowPOP book - lots of good ideas in there.

 4.  Nope - I don't need a fourth project to finish. This will be enough. Aside from the all the busy times of summer, this fall will hit and I'm busy with my Day Job. So realistically, this will be plenty.

Looking forward to seeing what you are working on this summer!

Barb

Strange Way to Spend Fourth of July

It began as a typical drive to the cabin where we were going to meet family and friends for a Fourth of July celebration. Except for one thing: fire.

We rounded a curve in the highway and saw the beginnings of a forest fire about 12 miles in the distance. Panic set in immediately because we knew the Sawtooth Valley in Stanley Basin so well, and we knew this fire was far too close to home.

The photo above was taken from the bluff above our cabin only two hours after we had seen the first trindles of smoke rising from the forest. Dry conditions and lots of dead lodge pole pines (due to pine beetle kill) have set conditions up for disastrous fire potential.  And this fire was only a mile from our cabin!

We watched the fire spread, and the wind whip it towards us and we could do nothing. Finally, about four hours later, air support arrived in the form of helicopters to drop water and a huge DC-10 that dropped fire retardant around the perimeter of the growing monster. Yeah for the cavalry!

There had been about 30 camp trailers set up at the base of this hillside, and they were successfully evacuated. Behind the fire is a popular hiking trail that let to high mountain lakes, and apparently rescue crews were able to get everyone out to safety as the fire closed the road to the trailhead and the trail itself!  We debated about whether or not to pack our belongings and leave, too, but after the fire retardant drops, the flames subsided somewhat and so we felt more comfortable staying.

WAY too close for comfort!  What was I going to take from the cabin if we had to evacuate? A photo album, a television, and my flannel quilt! Never gonna leave a good quilt behind.