Sane Quilting Catch Up

I have a few projects that are waaayyyyy behind and when that happens, I can't seem to focus on new things. I feel guilty about starting new when there is so much old. These quilts really deserve to be finished and will allow me to play with a different slate and new ideas.

My purple quilt is the one that got the binding sewed on today. I have never bound a guilt of this size before. I am trying to do this one by the book and I suppose that is why it has taken me this long. It has been on my table for 3 years off and on. It is close now. My first attempt at mitering bindings too. That was my sample miter that a lady at my old group in Milford showed me and I kept it for reference. They say that the binding not only looks better but wears better too. Now for the last bit of hand stitching it down. I don't know how the quilting on the back will show up. I just piece them (so far) and a girl I met here in Baraga quilts them for me on her longarm.

The batik bear paw just came home. It got quilted last week and now needs binding. I am a batik freak and love the way Cindy quilted it with the leaves. It looks really feminine.

I also finished sewing the McKenna Ryan BOM ( block of the month) blocks together today. I really need to get that one done as now it is turning into BOY (block of the year). Sighhhhhh...

It is hot and humid for being up north (90's) and from what we hear, unusual for so early in the summer. My kitchen window box is loving it though and the sweet potatoe vines are going nuts. I may have to take out a loan on hummingbird food, too. I fill two 16 Oz feeders every week. I have yet to get a good photo of them.

All in all it was a good day. I am going to be taking the next block out that I have now for the CQ RR. This is Carrolls. Both she and Wippy did fabulous on them and I need to make my plan and start early on it. God, I hope I get better at it as I love it so much!

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Wippys Block

I have just finished my first CYOT CQ block of the Round Robin for Wippy. Her theme fabric had every color of the rainbow in it and without me having many things available related to her "sewing theme", I did my best to comply with beads and buttons. Wippy, I hope you like it!

I have been looking at all the photos of everyones work and wonder if maybe I have jumped in too deep. The Fairy Tale Blocks, Spring Flings, and Egyptian Motifs are stupendous! These gals have blown me away. Obviously everyone has their own style and my only hope is that with each block I do, I will get better at stitch placement, intricasy, and finding my own niche with this CQ needlework.

Tomorrow, I am sewing a binding on a sane quilt so I can take it with me Thursday to a stitch & bitch. I can sit and do the handstitching of it there.

I am finding a good group of quilters up here to hang out with!

What Can Happen in 10 Short Days

I can't believe it is mid June already but lots of progress has been made in a short time. By the end of the week we should be able to get the things out of the storage unit in town and out here into the new garage. Especially the items residing in the house that have no business being here.

Yeeaaaahhhh!! We have a garage.

We went to Marquette as planned last Saturday and got the last of our hardware items. We spent 2 1/2 hours in Menards working off the list... hinges, hooks, shelving, lights, towel rods, toilet paper holders , etc. We have gotten most of it put up except 2 towel rods.

On the way back we stopped in Michigammee to the Country Garden Quilt Store. I got some Perle Cotton and a couple fat quarters. I love that place in the middle of nowhere!

Dan keeps reminding me that we can't do it all in a day, that we have to eat the "elephant" one bite at a time. But we are getting a routine down now and a sense of settlement that we haven't had till now. I think the toilet paper holder had something to do with that !

The dogs are loving it here too as you can tell by their smiling faces.

True Springtime

We did a bit of treking today... Houghton and back...purchased stain for garage and checked out a few stores that we hadn't been in. Tomorrow we head for Marquette to bring out the "big guns" at Menards. We should be done with the house purchases and be able to get the doo dads we need from town here. A couple of weeks of hard labor lie ahead to get the yard defined and grass planted.

We ended up at the Slate Falls... the air around the falls with the cedar and balsam was heady. I saw some awesome wave patterns in the water that looked like batik and the texture of the mosses was as velvet. Nature has it all going on right now!!

The lupines we picked on the way home... they will be blooming on the roadside for the next month or so. I had paper pieced the little quilt some time back and it kinda looks like sane CQ to me, minus the embellishments. I am working with Caroles block and the new templates and having fun with some ideas. Photos to come soon. Thanks also to Crazy Judyth!! She was kind enough to make me up an awesome inspiration baggie and I can not wait to see it in person.

Ohhh, Blessed Springtime ! It is good!