My Secret Shame

Today's post is kind of a mixed bag, so don't expect any organisation or coherence. I've finally finished a couple of new projects. Two of them come off my UFO list. The third is a bonus project (and test drive of a new pattern). And, I finished piecing the quilt for my parents. I even made their new bedroom curtains to match! Plus, I am almost finished the pillow shams.

A completed UFO: This is for my husband's cousin
who has a birthday this month. And who gave
me some beautiful paintings.

Another UFO and birthday gift for another of his cousins
having her birthday in August. This is from the book
"Not Your Grandmother's Log Cabin."
It is a variation. (Read that as my magpie syndrome
got the better of me and I skipped the complex borders.)

Detail view of  "Not Your Grandmother's Log Cabin."

The completed top of the quilt for my folks.  I had to lay it out on my
friends floor, mine isn't big enough. Dang king sized beds.
I even mitered the printed borders. I am wondering if
I need to add some applique to fill in the large
cream colored areas.
What do you think?

Test run for a new pattern and a birthday gift.
It is for, you guessed it: another cousin of my husband.
She turned fifty this year. Happy Birthday!

The forth female cousin (all from the same family) got her quilt for Christmas. The picture of that is in my December 22, 2010 post. Hers was a wall hanging while the other ladies are getting at least lap sized.

NOW FOR MY SECRET SHAME:
Okay, anyone who knows me realizes that housework is absolutely the last thing on my to-do list. The VERY last thing. I know things are getting out of hand when my husband (who asks only that the dishes be done and he empties the dishwasher) tells me its time to sweep my studio. Today he DEMANDED that I sweep. Yikes! So, I did. I got 5 of these, yes you read correctly FIVE of these dust laden things from one sweeping. I vow here and now to sweep once a week. (Okay, I'll try.) But to be honest, longarm quilting does generate a lot of dust. So does all that cutting and sewing. Yeah I know I am making excuses...

My Secret Shame.
I never sweep, and only  occasionally dust.
I use batting scraps on my Swiffer head to clean up with.
As you can see, when you use the danged thing
it works pretty well. The bonus is that batting scraps are
FREE!!

Question Of The Day: Are you getting any work done this summer? Do you live in the garden in the summer? I would love to see some pictures of your projects, both completed and in progress.

Evolution of a Quilter

The other day, someone asked me what inspired me to start quilting. After thinking about it I came up with these things.

1. Years ago, too many to count as I was only about 13, the family went on vacation to Nova Scotia, Canada. We spent a couple weeks there visiting relatives. At one house, their Grand Mother (Aunt?) was visiting and she was busy hand quilting a top she had made. It was lovely. Too this day I can see it clear as a bell. Lovely blue and green background with Sun Bonnet Sue, trees, a pond, ducks, a barn. It was a fabulous scene and kind of the inspiration for my Sundreams pattern.

2. Sewing clothing. I always loved sewing. So much so that my parents gave me a sewing machine when I graduated high school. We didn’t have much money then, and it was a huge gift! Thanks folks. But what I discovered it that I was short, had very short legs and a big chest, nothing I ever made fit quite right. I even took a pant-fitting course and had the instructor in fits trying to figure me out. Over the years, it only got worse as I blossomed (read as got fat). A huge percentage of my clothing attempts were failures, so I took up quilting. After all, if a blanket doesn’t fit, use it somewhere else. King becomes queen. Queen becomes double. On down the line it goes until it’s a wall hanging.

3. Babies! Yup. Twin girls. Tons of fabric scraps and still having the desire to create. I made quilts. When one of my daughters is sick (she’s 22 now) she still sleeps with the first quilt I made her.

4. Craft book sale. I joined a craft book club. For signing up I got 5 or 6 books for $1.99 You know how these things work. 6 Books only $1.99 but the don’t tell you about the $20 shipping. Sigh. Anyway, I ordered a couple of crochet books and a couple of quilting books. Older books. Nothing in them about rotary cutting, just templates and black and white drawings. I picked the nine-patch and I was off.

Now it should be noted that I am mainly self taught. I learned a lot of things the hard way as I went along. I mean who knew you couldn’t cut eight layers of fabric with dull kitchen scissors? Not me that’s for sure. Still I persevered. I a made a double quilt from poorly pieced blocks. Quarter inch seam? Never heard of it. I thought all seams were 5/8ths. It went together poorly, the blocks weren’t square. I layered it. Pinned it. Quilted it. Walking foot? I had two of those, one on the end of each leg, but not one for my sewing machine. Needless to say, the quilt has puckers. More than one and some of them are quite big. One was so bit that my husband taught the girls to flip up the corner and say “look at the hockey pucker.” Gotta love men!

So there it is in a nutshell. Yes I get it. That would make me the nut! I’m a quilting nut. I quilt everyday. I have to quilt every day. Two years ago I even burned the potatoes on Christmas day because I snuck into the studio and got distracted.

Do tell me, what inspired you to start quilting? What was your biggest quilting mistake? Next time, I’ll tell you about the twelve days of Christmas Quilt disaster.

To the right is Rabbity Long. One of my Long Fellas Series.