Chickies Will Be Roosting...

Hi There!

Baby Chicky Quilt is finally quilted!

And I machine sewed 1/2 of the binding.



This evening?

We're watching a movie and I'll be doing the other half of the binding, by hand.

Susan, one of my regular commentators on my blog said the the chickies can come home to roost on my lap!

*grin*

Hope you're having an EXCELLENT weekend!

Rosa

Baby Chickies Now Have Faces!!!

Hi There!

Guess what?

All three borders have been sewn
on the "Chicky Baby Quilt"!!!



All TEN chickies now have faces!



Gilbert will probably custom quilt this one, this weekend even!

Then, we trim the edges and I get to work on "binding" it.

And YES, I will be hand binding it,
as, IMHO, it does a better job.

*s*

Hope you all have a nice (long) weekend!

Here in New Brunswick, most of us have Monday off - it's "New Brunswick Day"!!!

Rosa

Okay... EQ to the Rescue!

Hi there!

ALL chickies have been appliquéd!



All the blocks have been sewn together!!!

Yep! All blocks sewn together....

Now, I need to add some "borders".

And, I broke down and refreshed my memory with EQ (Electric Quilt).

Gives me an idea on what it will look like.

Hope you all have a Wonderful Wednesday!

Rosa

My Newest Favoritest Blog is....

Hi There!

This week I visited one of the blogs on my list and she posted THIS blog, on her blog post.

The Grumpy Goat Gallery

OH MY GOD - this is EXACTLY the kind of painting/sculpting/mixed media that I absolutely ADORE!!!

And her blog posts are SO comical!

All in all, it just makes me happy as well as it makes me smile, giggle, chuckle, chortle and makes Mr. Belly Laugh Out Loud!

They live on an island, in Newfoundland, Canada.

Hope you get a chance to read some of her posts and look at their art work....

MAGNIFIQUE!!!!
(said with a French accent)

Rosa

Heads Up!!!

Hi There!

Just a "Heads Up" - Yup, that's certainly an intended pun - that ALL the chickies have their heads on and appliquéd!!!



In fact, 3 or 4 even have their bodies machine appliquéd!!!

Once they're all done and the blocks are pieced together, I'll work on the embroidery part.

Rosa

The Chicks Have Hatched!

Hi There!

Well, this morning, I washed all my fabrics and hung them out to dry.



Then, I worked on some binding and restoration of a couple old quilts, for a client.

This afternoon, I started to work on the
"Baby Chicky" Quilt, working on the 4 patch blocks, first.



Then, I cut up the plain blue 6-1/2 inch blocks.



I then added the chicks-in-the-shell appliqués.

No, they're NOT ironed down and NOT machine appliquéd, yet. I just attached them there, with a pin... to see what it would look like.

And I like the look!

*grin*

Tomorrow, I will work on appliquéing the heads, first, and then the egg shells.

Rosa

It Ain't EQ But....

Hi There!

I had been asked to make a baby chick quilt and yesterday, Gilbert and I went to Mardens and picked up the main colors, of this quilt. I will probably be adding a couple other (minor) colors, as well. (Keep in mind that my camera color skills aren't the best.)

I've been told that when you have a blue quilt, you need to add a touch of green, to make the quilt "sparkle". *s*



Gilbert sketched it out on a note pad and yesterday evening, I filled in the colors.
Once again, the chicks will NOT look quite like these. This sketch was just to give me an idea on where to start.



Well, for a nano-second, I had hesitated on whether to try and use my EQ 5 (Electric Quilt 5) to do the design, but I just know the basics on this program and HONESTLY.... I wanted to sit back, relax, sketch and color... with my brand new box of Crayola Coloured Pencils!!!

LOL

I'm still not sure on the corners.

I might change it into corner blocks.

Not sure.

I might even add a blue and green hen, in each corner.

Dunno. We shall see.

"Baby Chicky" quilt's fabric is now washing, as I type this.

Gilbert and I have NO ERRANDS to run this weekend. We're supposed to hunker down. I'll be working on quilts and he's supposed to put a coat of paint on a door that's going in Bertha's room AND spend a LOT of time with Bertha, as well!

Should be a fun weekend!

Rosa

And Now, Onto Frummie's Wonderful Mind...

Hi There!

My dear friend, Frummie, sent me a mini quilt for Gilbert and "Bertha" - our Longarm quilting machine - to do their magic.

In her box, she included two cute gifties:

A beautiful sunflower ring pincushion!



Ooooops.... I forgot to mention that SHE and her embroidery machine made this!!!!

INCREDIBLE!!!!



And, she also included the cutest machine embroidered rooster, with chicken coop wire fabric, as it's background!!!

All framed and ready to hang up!

I've decided that for now, it will stand up, on our china cabinet...

Thank you Frummie...
from the bottom of my heart!!!!

Rosa

My Mind Works in Mysterious Ways, Sometimes....

Hi There!

Gilbert and I went to Calais, Maine, to do some shopping!

I picked up some fabric for the back of that batik quilt that I was putting together. Remember that one - the one that I really don't really care for? *s*

Well, Gilbert was in the extra wide bolts of fabric area, I said, "How about we go with blue? Blue's a pretty universal color."

Soooo, we got a honkin' big piece of blue fabric, for this king size batik quilt.



Then, I picked up some fabrics for my latest baby quilt. I think I'll be calling this one "Baby Chicky Quilt".

Here's the colors that I selected.

Then, since I wanted to make some
"Eat, Play, Sleep, Repeat" quilts, I picked up these fabrics.
(NOTE: as I searched for this web site to share with all of you, I just NOW realized that the letters are ALL different colors!!!! DOUBLE GROAN....)

Oh well... doesn't matter.

I'll still go with my original plan!

On my way out, I saw THIS "Pez" fabric!

I just HAD to grab it!!!

(Ssssssshhh..... Don't tell anyone - it was speaking to me.... LOL)

The Pez fabric will probably go on the back of some baby quilt... some day.

Then, on my way to the cash, I looked in my carriage and realized,
"Look at all the blues!!!!"

And I'm not usually a "blue" fan, either.

I love ALL colors!!!

And those 3 blues truly ARE almost the same colors, too!

Okay, off to bed!

I promise I've got more interesting stuff to blog about, but it's getting late...

Rosa

Web Sites to Share....

Hi There!

Tonight, I don't have any pictures to share with you.

But, I've got some pretty neat Web Sites, though!

Here's.....

The 10 Minute Block Video

and ANOTHER

10 Minute Block Video

These 10 Minute Blocks are on my "To Do List", but I was dreaming about cutting ALL the pieces at 2 or 3 inch size squares, instead.

Hmmmm, I wonder if it's possible, eh?

Next on my list on wonderful web sites is....

Tube Quilting!!!

And some of you have seen the
Jelly Roll Strip Quilt
or the "Race Quilt" or "Lasagna Quilt".

Here's the written instructions.

Either way, it's quick and fun to do!
And you really don't need to go out and buy a Jelly Roll....
you can make your own strips!

And.........

I thought I'd finish off this email with pedicure info.

This one is a funny video that one of my favorite bloggers had posted, a month or so ago.

And this a a recent news article about a person in British Columbia, Canada that had to shut down her pedicure business.

And yet ANOTHER news article about this salon....

Eeeeeeewwwwwww....

(LOL)

Hope you all have a lovely week!

Rosa

Christmas Lasagna Lap Quilt

Hi There!

Finally got the "Yule Christmas Log" quilt top finished. Pulled out a back for this quilt, only to realize that it wasn't big enough.

*sigh*

I'll have to go to my favorite fabric store in the US....

*VBG*

Afterwards, as I had miscalculated the number of "strips" or "logs", I was left with an empty pizza box full of surplus strips!



Sooooo, I decided to make a Christmas Lasagna Lap Quilt!



This one doesn't look like much. And, I added a couple Santa Claus panel strips.

But, I've still got quite a few more strips to sew on it.

Have a great week!

Rosa

Yule Block # 16 !!!

Damn!

I thought I was on the verge of finishing my Christmas Log Quilt!

I have 2 more blocks finished, that aren't in the picture and that go at the top.... and I then realized that I'm missing 2 more and

DAMN !!!
*stamping my foot*

I can't seem to find those 2 errant blocks!

Either that, or I just didn't make 'em...

:-(



And I have a feeling that EITHER WAY, I'll have to make 2 more blocks...

*long sigh*

I've got a couple other things to make this week, before I can get back to these.

Rosa

Lasagna and Log Cabin

Hi There!

Friday after work, I added the 2 borders on my Baby Blue Bow Tie Quilt and quickly pulled out a jelly roll, to do a Baby Lasagna Quilt.

My first mistake? I didn't sew the strips on the 45 degree diagonal. After I had done many, MANY miles of sewing these strips, Gilbert noticed that I had not pieced them on the diagonal.

*groan*

Second mistake? I noticed that there were too many repeats in my jelly roll.

Sooooooo, since I had to re-do all the strip sewing, I decided to go into my "Fabric Cave" again, and pull out all my lime greens, funky blues and a few yellows... so that I would have a good assortment of colored strips.

Here's a picture of the beginning of my lasagna quilt.



By 1 p.m. today, I had finished my Baby Lasagna Quilt.

It'll look 100 times better once Gilbert and Bertha have worked their magic on this one. *grin*



Third mistake of the day?

I re-read the instructions on that Christmas Log Cabin quilt..... the complete block placement, in the magazine, would have fit a KING SIZE quilt. The client that is asking for this quilt and will hopefully like it, wanted a DOUBLE SIZE quilt.

I had cut too many strips....

*slaps her forehead*

Well, I'll either make a table topper with the extra strips or .... whatever.

We shall see...

Snapped a picture when I had 3 blocks pieced.

Snapped another one when I had 6 blocks finished.

Now, here's where Gilbert said, "Supper's ready."

Otherwise, I'd probably STILL be at these cute blocks!

LOL

I managed to pump out 8 blocks.

Back to work tomorrow.

It was a REAL hot day today. Unfortunately, we weren't able to go anywhere. Gilbert and Bertha were busy and well..... I didn't mind. It was cool in the house and I was able to sew!

*grin*

Have a nice week!

Rosa

It Is What It Is.

Hi There!

Well, if you've been following my blog posts, then you KNOW I was in a frenzy to get this
Blue Bow Tie Baby Blanket
- sorry, I had to make it rhyme - "QUILT" finished, ASAP!

"Why?", you ask.

Well.... just because.

I have TONS of other projects I want to get to!



As soon as I got home, yesterday after work, I started working on the final borders of my Bow Tie Quilt. Gilbert snapped a picture of me and although I would have appreciated if he could have "Photo-Shopped" me into a much SLIMMER person.....

"It Is What It Is",
as my friend Frummie would say.

*s*

And IMMEDIATELY after finding a navy blue back for this quilt, I picked up a no-name brand, with few repeats, Jelly Roll.... cut up some of my own stash fabric that matches the colors in this jelly roll for more repeats and started making a Lasagna or Jelly Roll Strip Quilt....

Here's a blog on how to do this quilt.

And yet another example of this quilt.

Yes, yet another baby quilt.

No pictures yet.

Stay Tuned.

Rosa

One Baby Quilt.... Almost Finished...

Hi There!

Well, this quilt's almost finished - I can see the finish line!

I will be adding a 3/4" - finished 1/4" - DARK blue strip, on the border...

And then, a wider light blue strip.



Hopefully, this baby quilt will be adopted
and be much loved.

Today's Thursday.

Some people like to call it Friday Eve.

Some people ALWAYS go to "Spikes",
their favorite bar, on Thursdays.

My dear Mother likes to tease me
and tell me that EVERY day is like Friday to them,
'cause they're retired, of course!

LOL

I like to think of it as....
One more "wakey" till the weekend!
One more day of work, for TWO days off!!!

Do you have a special name or tradition,
for Thursdays?

Rosa

Colonoscopy One Liners

Hi There!

Managed to finish off my last Bow Tie Block.

I'm stopping at 48.

All the blocks are sewn - horizontal.

I still need to piece the rows together.

These are all done in 30's fabrics - blue.

For a baby boy quilt.

I'll be adding a skinny triple border to it, as well.



Yesterday, I was off for the day as I prepped myself for a colonoscopy, the following day.... which was today.

Do I need to tell you that I was TERRIFIED??!?!?!

It went a hundred times better than I had imagined!

So, I thought I'd finish off my blog with a few one liners that I've been accumulating or friends have passed onto me.

"Don't worry. It'll all come out at the end!"
(from Charlie.... LOL)

"To go where no man has gone before."

"There IS a light at the end of the tunnel."

"It's a crappy job but someone's gotta do it."
(I actually told that to my Doctor! LOL)

"The Captain's log really DOES exist!"

LMAO
(lends more meaning to that 3rd letter)

Okay, okay, okay... I give up!

I'm heading off to bed but if you can think of any more... just to make me "guffaw", then PLEASE post it, in Comments!

*grin*

I'm back to work tomorrow -
thank God!

Have a great Thursday!

Rosa
(oh... and in case you're wondering.... my "innards" are A-O-K!)

Repeat After Me.... "ONE Block Per Day"!

Hi There!

Got up early and Gilbert headed off to our longarm room, to quilt with "Bertha" and I headed off to my sewing studio.

I cut some more "strips" or "logs" for that Christmas quilt. I'm coming along real good with it! I only a few more white logs to cut.....

And then the fun part - piecing the logs together!

Afterwards, I continued to work on my "Bow Tie" Blocks. It's called "Summer Bow Tie Quilt Blocks" and we're supposed to make "One Block Per Day".

Well, my friend, Elaine, kept reminding me this evening on the phone....

"Rosa, repeat after me. ONE block Per Day! ONE block Per Day!"

LOL

I now have 42 of these blocks made up!



I'm hoping to get this baby quilt top done, ASAP, so that I can move onto other stuff...

Have a great evening!

Rosa

5 More Bow Ties...

Hi There!

Took the afternoon off and decided to spend some time in my sewing room!

Got 5 more Bow Tie Blocks made!



And cut some more green "logs", or strips, for my Christmas Log quilt.

I've now got all of my reds and greens cut.... Just need to cut a whole bunch of white "logs".

Got the next 2 days off but I'm not sure if I'll get a chance to work in my studio.

We'll just have to wait and see.
*s*

Rosa

Baby Quilts and Christmas in July!

Hi There!

Last week I was asked if I would make a Christmas quilt and a baby quilt. The baby's sex will only be known in August and born in Jan/Feb and the Christmas quilt.... well, that's for Christmas.

As for the baby quilt, I will be offering her a few choices, in baby quilts. My "Snow Ball" quilt that Bertha and Gilbert will be quilting soon...



Today, Elly, in Scotland, sent me a link about a Bow Tie Block challenge and I quickly jumped in. One Bow Tie block per day.

I had 30's fabrics and decided to make this baby quilt in blues.



As for the Christmas quilt, I've been thinking and thinking what pattern I could do. I finally decided to make another log cabin quilt. I had made this one, for my sister Tina a few years ago, as a lap quilt and I just LOVED it!!!!

This one will be for a double size bed.

(picture taken from quilting magazine)


So, early yesterday afternoon, I started going through my stash, pulling out all my reds with gold and greens with gold.



And then, I started to cut "logs" or "strips".

42 X 5-1/2" red logs,
42 - 9-1/2" red logs and
42 X 13-1/2" red logs.

Logs waiting to be cut....



Here's my bundle of red logs, cut up and numbered.



And then, the green logs....

42 X 7-1/2" green logs,
etc, etc, etc.

All the red logs are now cut and I've got about 1/2 of the green ones cut....

And then, there's all the white logs - haven't touched those ones, yet!

Anyhow, that's a LOT of logs!
*grin*

But, I just love log cabin quilts and I KNOW that this time, with Gilbert and Bertha quilting this one, it will be DROP DEAD BEAUTIFUL!!!

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Rosa

Braggin' Buys on Canada Day!

Hi There!

First of all....

HAPPY CANADA DAY, eh!!!!!

Second, Gilbert and I went Yard Sailing, this morning and only went to one place but BOY, did WE hit the jackpot!!!!

Gilbert got himself a TWO dollar computer. Nope, he couldn't get it to work but he recuperated an 80 gig hard drive and a whole bunch of other stuff!

He was a happy camper!



Are you all sitting down?!?!??!

Guess what "I" saw, on the ground and in it's proper box?!?!??!

The cutest little Featherweight, for only $10.00!!!

But, since I picked up another item, I talked her down to NINE DOLLARS!!!

The box was a bit dirty and Gilbert's since cleaned it up.



There's 2 boxes of accessories and one of them had a receipt in it.

The original owners(?) paid $5.72 for one(?) of the boxes of accessories!

And it's dated the 1st of December 1951 !!!!

According to the serial number it would appear as if it was produced in Scotland, in 1951!

Here's another picture of the "box", featherweight and accessories.

Soooo, Gilbert and I did some reorganizing, with the surface of our china cabinet and I pulled out "Callie Elena" and we will be leaving these two out, on display.

Don't they both look ADORABLE!??!?

Nope, before anyone asks, we haven't had a chance to try it out but Gilbert says the motor's not seized - he turned it manually AND the lady that I bought it from said it worked the last time she sewed on it and YES, the bobbin case is there, too!

There doesn't seem to be any scratches or worn out spots - truly a wonderous machine!

*VBG*


This afternoon, I managed to sew some more frames and strips around my batik blocks.

We'll be Yard Sailing again, tomorrow morning... but I imagine by afternoon, I should be able to work on these batik blocks and finish off this King Sized quilt!

Hope you're having a good weekend!

Rosa