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

My Goal for June

I'm not sure if this will qualify for the Lovely Year of Finishes, but I have it down for my 2014 Finish Along Goal and so I'd really like to get it done. At least, get this step done.

These are my gatherings.  I've been getting fabrics together over the past year, found a backing fabric (the one with lasso ropes) and then I had to come up with a pattern. I know - kinda backwards thinking:  get fabric first, then find the pattern. Well, I guess that's how my feeble brain works because I do that all the time!

So as I was shifting through all my patterns, I decided upon this Dizzying Diamonds. And then I looked at it closer, and it's a pattern designed by our dearly beloved blogging friend, and co-host of this ALYOF, Melissa of Bittersweet Designs. So this will be a fun project!

The quilt is for my niece's wedding in August. She's a true cowgirl, and her fiance's a tried and true cowboy, so they should like it. See? It's high time I get 'er done.  But I have almost no opportunity to work on anything quilty in June, so my goal is to get all the pieces cut out. That's it. Get that step done, and then when I have 10 minutes here or there, I can sit down and start piecing it together. Good plan!

The remaining photos in this post are just random photos of flowers in my garden. The entire garden is doing so much better this year than last - bigger blossoms, lasting longer. Or so it seems. We had some hard frosts last year which I think put a damper on a lot of flowers. Crossing fingers that won't happen this June.

I'm not too prejudice - I let dandelions bloom once in awhile!

Here's hoping everyone enjoys their weekend. It's an excellent one for me - I've finished Seminar Week From H??? traveling the far corners of our state, and now our daughter has come for an impromptu visit from Seattle.  So I've got some quality time to go spend with her before she flies back tomorrow.

Barb

 

First Quarter Goals for Finish Along 2014

January is seriously a time to take stock of many aspects of my life. So what better way to do this than participate in another challenge that will help me organize my time and energy!

With the help of Katy from The Littlest Thistle, I'm going to outline the projects which I want to complete by the end of March.  I'm really trying to be realistic here, but I suspect I am biting off more than I can chew. Oh, well. Such is my life!

1.  Round and Round Quilt

First Block Completed - Six More To Go!

2. Quilt and bind my Christmas Tree Quilt

I've been waiting and waiting to get this quilted. If I do it now, it will be ready for next Christmas!

3. Scrappy Bar Quilt

Somewhere in the midst of this stash is the beginnings of a Scrappy Bar Quilt!

4. Chevron Quilt

These fabrics are just for me! It will be a cozy chevron quilt before you know it!

If, or rather, when I finish these, I will feel quite accomplished! Because I have a slew of other projects waiting in the wings for me.  It seems that fabric calls my name and I probably have enough to last my lifetime. A good problem to have, I do believe :)

If you'd like to set some goals for your Finishes, now is the time to Link Up with Katy over at Finish Along 2014.  You have just until January 17 to link up your goals. Join the fun!




And remember to quilt with a smile!
Barb
Linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday