Short (visit),but sweet

I got to see my daughter and her family a couple of days ago.

She was headed to Oklahoma for her 20 year high school reunion, which I think I mentioned in a post in the last couple of weeks.

It's such a long drive for them now, starting in Virginia, stopping over with us in Tennessee, and she suffers terribly with pain in her hips and back when she has to sit for that long a time.  In fact, she can't sit in one position long enough to do much of the driving, so Tim blessed her by taking over that chore.

They stayed overnight, and drove on for the other half of the trip the next morning.

My grandbabies are growing  up.  Zoe is nearly as tall as me (she's 12 1/2), Seth (7) is nearly as tall as Tim, jr., who is 9.

I gave the kids my bedroom, but Seth wanted Nana to sleep on the living room floor with him instead of on the couch or in the recliner.  So I lay down with him there until he went to sleep, and we enjoyed a good long chat of this and that.  So fun to finally 'connect' with my youngest grandchild.
















Tim, jr., and I bonded over coaxing Lottie dah out from under my bed, where she inevitably winds up spending any time that the kids, and especially Sophie, the Westie, are in the house.  She's declawed and knows it, so she hisses and scats when she sees what she perceives as a threat.

They should be driving back this way on the 3rd of August, heading home to start the new school year, with my daughter Kelley starting her new position as third grade teacher.  They've said that they'll spent TWO nights with us this time !

Finished all 63 string blocks

I put a rush on the final blocks, because my daughter and family are coming over the weekend, and I need the sewing space for sleeping. 

No photo yet, I'm still in the process of removing the papers from the back side now that the entire thing is pieced.  I even stay-stitched around the perimeter so that I can add borders without stretching out the bias edges of these blocks.

No one told me what a labor it is to maneuver the top through the machine as you're sewing the last of the long seams with all that  paper still attached.  I'm kind of enjoying removing it, though.

It now measures approximately 63 inches by 81 inches, so I'll probably try to bring it up to atleast full-size, 72 .x 90.

61 blocks made ! String Quilt

Was thinking of making 63 blocks.  I've trimmed these down to 9 1/2 inches, from the 10 square papers I started out with.  7 blocks by 9 blocks would give me a top measuring 63 x 81 inches before adding borders to make it fit a twin/full bed.

Not happy with the selection of strips I'm down to new, so I don't know that making more blocks would be a good idea.  Then, again, I don't really want to be left with a bunch of strips...........unless I want to make a piano-key border.

String quilt update

No photo tonight.............but I have string-pieced 29 more blocks.  That brings today's total up to 45 !

But the basket of strips is waning fast !  So, I don't think I'm going to get to make this top as big as I had hoped...........unless I enlarge it some other way than with string blocks.

Another note.........I basted the I SPY + quilt last weekend.  It  is just waiting on an opportune time to quilt it by machine.  I'll probably take it to quilting day and work on it there.  I backed it with flannel AND used a cotton batting, so it's fairly heavy for a baby-sized quilt.

Just a quickie..............

..............before collapsing into bed !

I've begun a new project.

After cutting strips for DAYS, I starting sewing strips onto these 10-inch foundation papers that I purchased from Missouri Quilt Company.  It is slow going, mainly because I am having trouble with the strips that are cut widthwise of the fabric, you know, from selvedge to selvedge.  They want to lump up, stretching ahead of the presser foot, and  a walking foot didn't seem to help.

MAJOR TIP:  Cut your strips on the lengthwise grain !   Why haven't I read this anywhere lately while doing my string quilt research?

Anyway, it's a GOOD START.  I'm dying to stitch together the 16 squares that I finished today, but I'm afraid that I will run out of these colors and have to add in a bunch of new fabrics, and then the next part of the quilt would be noticeably different.  So, I really need to wait until I've pieced ALL the blocks, and THEN put them together.  YUCK !

But, it's looking so good to me, that I really DO want to make it some kind of BED-SIZE.

So.............PATIENCE is called for. Praise the LORD, this is fun, though !

Well, I also mowed the yard today and cut the hubby's hair, so I'm done.

Night all !

I SPY + baby quilt top

I put together a small yard sale two weeks ago, and was disappointed that my fabrics and quilts and tops didn't sell.  My prices were RIDICULOUSLY low because I was desperately trying to free up some room in my sewing room and shed. 

I personally made a total of $68. at the sale, and some of that was not quilting-related.  This past Tuesday, I went to the senior center to quilt with the local gals, and I took my leftover yardsale goodies.  The girls were TICKLED PINK to get to purchase quilt stuff, and I came home with $76 !  And, even at that, I had slashed prices even further.

But, I still have quite a few leftovers from what I had gathered up to sell, so I spent the morning at the center cutting out pieces for a plus quilt.

I started out cutting kiddy prints, and without a specified size in mind, I wound up stopping at babyquilt size.  Because I have to lay out the whole design before piecing it, I always wind up stopping at that size.  I SO admire people who follow through all the way to making a BED-SIZED plus quilt !  But, that ain't going to happen as long as I don't have a wall or some other place where I could lay out something that big and be able to leave it until it was totally pieced. 

After finishing this one, I realize that it is way too bright and busy for my current taste anyway, so I am glad that it didn't grow any bigger.  SOMEDAY, I would like to make one in softer, low contrast colors.

Back to the fabrics.........
....I still have much more to go !  So I'm studying what shape to cut next, hoping to make better choices as I go !

In preparation for my quilting day with the gals, I finally bound this little quilt that I made from the piecing I bought at the Food Bank for $1.00.

I'm very pleased with how it turned out, but I hung it on the quilt rack in the living room to admire it, SO NATURALLY, I WENT OFF TO THE SENIOR CENTER WITHOUT IT !   Duh !

That's my Lottie - dah .....and the back of the quilt.