Sewing machine Woes

I was quilting on my machine and broke it! UGh I still had stuff to sew for Christmas presents. Oh well, I called my daughter to borrow her machine. She brought it over and it wouldn't work either! Getting other stuff sewed was not in my agenda apparently.
I took my machine in and they said it was the timing mechanism, and it would cost $89.95 to get it fixed. YIKES! oh well, I picked up the machine yesterday and it works like a dream now. And it is very quiet. It wasn't quiet before. I wonder if the timing has always been "out". Natasha's machine needed a new foot pedal. She picked that up as well. We both have working machines and are ready to sew again. She plans on making Elizabeth a baby quilt for the new baby (due in March or April - I forget which). I am very happy she plans on continuing with making quilts. Chuck & Penny were very happy with the quilt she made them for Christmas. (her first quilt she finished ever)

I will be sewing up a storm in 2007. I need to quilt all the tops I have in the garage just sitting there waiting for me to finish them up and give away. I think I have about 15 tops that need to be quilted! Then there is all the fabric I have that needs to be sewn into quilt tops....hee hee

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE

See ya.....Piece!

Brenda

Block of the month started last night

I passed out the instructions for the first block last night at the guild meeting. If you are interested in the BOM here is a link to where you can look at it and get info from there.
http://bomquilts.com/images/fun/BrendaBOM.htm


This should be a great challenge for all.

Brenda
See Ya - piece!

My F8 blocks

These are the blocks that the ladies in my group made for me. Aren't they great? I can't wait to get the other 4 done and make this wallhanging for my family room.

I hope eveyone is as happy with their blocks as I am with mine.

I was quilting away on my regular sewing machine last night (the sunburned zebra is still on the frame) and it broke! UGH It won't pick up the bobbin thread. So now I am finishing the quilting with the big machine but it has no feed dogs so I have to move it manually. At least I have that one so I can finish this quilt up.

I have been working so hard at finishing up Christmas presents but it still looks like I won't get them all done. UFO's are ok to give, aren't they? LOL. I think if I dedn't have to work I would get them all done....hmmm do you think hubby will go for this idea? NO!

see ya.....Piece!

the Fat Eighth Swap

Yesterday, to continue with my 20 minutes a day (at least!), I worked on one of the blocks for the BOM I am hosting for the guild. I also worked on and finished three (YES I SAID 3) blocks for the Fat Eighth swap I am also hosting. I made one with paper piecing a palm. It turned out so nice!! I can't wait to send these off, but will have to wait until Dec. 15 (or is it the 10th? Geez the mind is the first thing to go, ya know?) This swap is great. I am going to make a wall hanging for the office/family room with my blocks. I might have to make more though. I will only get back 5, as I am only in one group of 6 women. If I make 4 more blocks, then I can have a 3 block x 3 block wall hanging (approximately measuring 40" x 40") with a border and all.

I really need to get that quilt finished that is on the frame right now. I call it a sunburned zebra in the barn. It is black & white & red set in the barn-raising pattern. It is cute, but I just haven't the inspiration to finish quilting it. I just need to dive into it this weekend so I can put another top on the frame to quilt that one. And so the cycle goes. I have so many tops to quilt.

I think I will tie the quilt top I made for Amanda's graduation from college. And then there's Brandon's quilt I am making for his graduation...I was in a Batik Bento Box swap and I need to sew those boogers together to make his quilt top. Nice colors for a guy-quilt!

see ya..Piece!

Inspiration from quilting buddies

Last night I went to my quilting "class". It isn't so much of a class now as a get together of a few quilting buddies going over ideas and sharing new projects with each other. It started out as an actual class offered by the adult education department but has now turned into a time of getting together with friends.

I really enjoy the time I get to spend with my "quilting buddies". I can talk about a fat quarter or a paper piecing block that drove me crazy and it can be appreciated by those that I am talking to. Whenever I try to tell my husband or sons the frustrations I am having with a particular block I get a blank look from them. I was told that all they hear is "blah blah blah blah....Jeff....blah blah blah...Hans....etc"

Last night there was no sewing but I did get inspiration from my quilt buddies. One woman, Pat, brought in her quilted (but not bound) quilt of hand-dyed fabrics. She calls it her Easter egg quilt because the colors resemble the Easter eggs she made a couple of weeks before we dyed this fabric in the class. Just stunning. Now what am I going to do with all my hand-dyed fabric? I think I will just hold onto it a little longer so I can enjoy how pretty they all are.

Brenda

see ya...piece!

The challenge continues...

Last night I made the effort to continue with the challenge of 20 minutes a day. I finished two blocks; then I had to undo some of the sewing because I wasn't paying attention and I sewed some of the squares on upside down. YIKES! Then I re-sewed the block correctly!

I finished writing the monthly newsletter for the local quilt guild, Piecemakers-by-the-Sea. Tonight I have a class (quilting class) so I don't know if I will get any sewing done, but I know I will be discussing quilting for at least an hour!! That should count for something, eh?

see ya....piece!
Brenda

20 minutes turn into 45!

Last night while my dear husband took Myka, our 11 month old "puppy" to the beach, I had time to do some quilting/sewing.

I sewed together some half square triangles (HST) for two blocks I am to send off to Sandra for winning the block lottery last month. I won in September, so I got to choose the block for October, the Weathervane. I love this block but it has a bunch of HST's!! I pledge 5 to send to the winner. Now to finish the rest of them!

I am also part of a Fat Eighth swap. We sent a F8 to each participant and in turn we received a F8 from each person in our group. Then we have a month to create a block from each of the F8's. I searched EQ5 for some blocks and printed them out then I cut out the fabric for Lola's last night. Corn & Beans is the pattern I chose. She sent in patriotic fabric. I should be able to cut out the rest tonight. Then sew them up by next week.

I also finished sewing the binding down on 1 pot holder and got half way through another pot holder. These are going to be Christmas presents.

WOW what a productive night, eh?

see ya - piece!

Brenda

November challenge

Ok ladies...and men if you so dare take the challenge!

How about we dedicate at least 20 minutes of our hectic life to quilting every day for the month of November. I know it is already the 6th but if we work hard we can get some of those UFO's (unfinished objects) in our DONE pile!!

I would like to know the progress each of you makes during this month, so please email me and we can encourage each other during the month!!

I can post your pictures, too, if you like.

see ya...piece!

Brenda

Quilting?? No, just piecing!

I still have a quilt on my frame that has been there for about 6 months. I started to quilt it but then we moved and I lost the umph to get it done! I really need to get it done so I can finish up some of the other quilt tops i have laying around. I think I have close to 15 tops laying around!! YIKES
With Christmas just a month and a half away I better get my toosh in gear and get these things quilted, eh?

I really think I am a "piecer" not a "quilter". I enjoy the piecing process much better than the quilting process. But then again, when I am actually quilting, I love the look of the quilts. And I especially love the feeling of getting them done! Then comes the sad part. I have only kept a couple of my quilts. I give them all away. Maybe that is why I don't want to finish them. I won't have them in my hands any longer if I give them away!!

That is a thought I never thought about before....hmmmm....

Anyway, I am wasting time here on the 'puter and not quilting, so, off I go. Hopefully to finish the quilt that is on the frame finally!! I will post pics once it is done!

see ya....piece!

BOM for my quilt guild

I am so excited. Tammy at www.BOMquilts.com has created a Block of the Month just for my quilt guild. I now need to "test" the fabric requirements and make some protocols for samples. How fun is this? TAMMY-THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

Quilt Show

This last weekend we had a quilt show. My "classmates" and I showed about 60 quilts (& tops) and had a real nice turn out. I will try to get pictures uploaded soon. I need to get them from those that actually took picutres (I forgot my camera).

We are planning to have another show next year as well.

My Round Robin

This is my Round Robin!! Isn't it gorgeous??!! I love what these ladies have done with my Mariner's Compass center. I still have to get it quilted but I think it will make a wonderful wall hanging or I could add another border and it will be a nice addition to my lap quilts!!
Thanks to all the ladies that worked on this. The Round Robin was a success!!

I have received my Row Robin as well, but I have to get my camera back from my daughter in order to take the pictures. (She borrowed it so she can take pictures of different hair styles they are rehearsing for the wedding).

I would like to do another of these Round Robins but will have to wait until after the first of the year!! I have way too much to do before the holidays get here!

Kathy's Row

I received Kathy's row on Monday. It is all blues and yellows. I have my blocks all cut out and ready to sew up and attach to the rows already here.

Hopefuly I will get this done on Sunday. I have been so busy with work and coaching girls softball and life in general, that I haven't had much time to sew. I told my husband that I would like to just stay at home on Sunday and work in the "sewing room" (the garage). I have commitments I need to meet and I should set aside some marathon time to get it all done.

Diane's Round Robin is finished

I finished Diane's round robin this weekend. I really wanted to try something new. So I thought I would use some bias tape and try a celtic knot. I practiced on one piece and it was a little too challenging, so I decided to tone it down by using one of my quilting templates and modified it a bit to come up with what you see here.

I went to Bakersfield to meet up with Darlene, Deb & Trisha. I took a picture of all of us with this round robin top but I accidentally deleted it before I downloaded it on to my computer. YIKES!
Trisha, Deb & I all worked on this round. Diane will have to send me a picture from here camera that has one of the photos of us all with her top. It turned out so nicely. I hope you like it Diane!!

Sharon's row is going out in the mail finally!!

Here is a picture of Sharon's row as it is ready to be mailed off to Kathy for the final round. YIPPEEEE

Sharon's row almost ready to mail off!!

This is Sharon's Row finally!!! I ran out of time yesterday to actually sew it on the existing row. I will get to it this week and at the latest, mail on to Kathy on Friday. This was so much fun to do. I love the Mariner's Compass.
This picture is from the camera that has no flash, so it isn't the best quality. I still have not found the cord for the good digital camera. Erich (DS#1) said he can get the pictures off the card if I need to. So After I sew this row onto the existing rows, I will take a decent picture and upload it for Sharon to see!!

Inspiration for quilts

Last night, I got Sharon's row robin out and spread it out  for
inspiration.  I had a light go off when I looked at the row again....
Oh you are gonna like what I am planning.   I  then searched my
stash for the perfect fabric...HA  I could not  find the color I want. So
I sheepishly told/asked my DH "I might need  to go get more fabric for
this row, if that is alright"....Do you know  what his comment was?  At
first he said ok fine, then he said,  "What about the ton of fabric you
already have?"  HA HA LOL   I just smiled and said I have been a good
girl for about 6 months now  and I NEED
(if you don't understand the NEED then you aren't a quilter)
to buy more fabric that is perfect for this row!

Thanks  Sharon for the excuse to buy fabric!!

So I am going to go buy some more fabric in the next few days
YIPPEEE

Sharon's row as I received it

This is a picture of Sharon's row from my Yahoo! group, Stashbuilders' ROW ROBIN. (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StashBuilders/) She has not seen it since it left her pretty little hands. I received this in the mail the day before we started moving so I had to put it on hold. It will be late mailing on to the next person. Isn't it adorable?
I kept telling her I would post a picture. First I could not find the camera. Today I found the camera and took some pictures for Sharon. When it came time to download the pictures I could not find the cable. UGH! I looked high and low. I found it...or so I thought. I found a cable to another camera. HHmmm. I know I saw that other camera around here....Found it! So now all I have to do is take more pictures with a camera that has no flash!! This is the best I can do for now. I will get another better picture once my row is complete and ready to mail off!!.

Natasha is raising money for Aids research at a Walk-a-thon

I received this email from my daughter, Natasha. She is trying to raise money for AIDS research & awareness.

Change The Course Of The Epidemic

Hey Mom,

I am writing to let you know that I have registered for AIDS Walk San Francisco and am very excited about the event. This is a very important issue to me so I have set an ambitious fundraising goal. I want to do as much as I can to make a difference in the lives of men, women, and children affected by HIV and AIDS. Even though there has been a lot of publicity about drug treatments which are prolonging some people's lives, they don't work for everyone and there is still no cure in sight. Moreover, young people are still getting infected at alarmingly high rates.

I want your help. Will you please sponsor me for the AIDS Walk? Just click on the website address below to enter my personalized web page and charge your donation. Thank you, in advance, for supporting this important cause and for showing that you join me in wanting to end this epidemic.


Follow This Link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support AIDS Walk San Francisco

******************************************************************************
Some email systems do not support the use of links and therefore this link may not appear to work. If so, copy and paste the following into your browser:
http://aidswalksanfrancisco2006.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=165792&u=165792-131924873&e=623714669
******************************************************************************

Natasha Scholtz

I am having quilting withdrawals!

I haven't had much time to do any sewing/quilting since we started the move from the old house into the new. I have a few commitments but they are manageable. I will be getting Deb's round robin center sent off to Diane by Monday. I wanted to get it out today (Friday) but I didn't get a chance to get it together. I have Sharon's (from CO) row to work on. I received it late so it made it even harder for me to work on it. I will be late in sending it on to Kathy. I will be posting a picture of Sharon's row before and after I work on it. She hasn't seen a picture of it yet. Sorry to make you wait a little longer Sharon!!

The fabric I have stacked in boxes has been a haven for the kitties. They love the "tunnels" the boxes have created from using mismatched boxes. They also like to lay on the quilt that is on the frame. Especially Jake. He thinks that is his personal hammock. I have news for you Jake: It s NOT your hammock!!! LOL

Do you think he will hear me, or for that matter listen to me? NO.

I want this to be over soon so I can get back to creating wonderful things so people can cuddle in them. (ie: quilts)

(:

My round robin from last month

This is the only picture I have of my round robin. I have not yet seen what has been added to it since. I should receive it back in July. Just in time for my birthday!! YAY

I love what is done so far.

"A quilter will always keep you in stitches"
B-

Deb's center for the round robin

This is a picture of the round robin I am participating in through the Yahoo! Groups, Stashbuilders. This is Deb's center. I just finished adding my row to it on Sunday. It is looking real nice. I can't wait to get my center done. I am also doing a row robin in this group, but have not yet received this month's row. I will be posting a picture of that once received and finished!!

Almost there....

The first thing I moved into the new house was my Grace quilting frame and the mid-arm sewing machine. I needed to make room in the garage at the old house so I can put boxed up stuff in there. It was very exciting for me to get the first spot for the quilting ensemable into the new house.

Yesterday morning I finished working on Deb's round robin. I still need to square it up and take pics for posting. Maybe tonight I can do that. It turned out very nice. I hope her sister has lots of snuggly moments with it.

I can't wait to get my round & row robins back. We have another month or so for that to happen. I wonder what mine look like....I haven't seen pictures in about a month or so of either one.

Do I really have to wait for them to get back to me to see pictures?

No quilting for Brenda

I have had no energy to do anything around the house let alone quilt. I am having withdrawls!! I started to work on Deb's round robin last night, but had to stop because I had to go to softball practice. (I coach 7-10 year olds). By the time I got back home, ate and showered, I was beat. I just went to bed since hubby was at boys night out! But it will all be over as soon as we finish painting the new house and move in!! The best part is that I get most of the garage for my sewing/quilting equipment and stash!! YIPPEEEE!
Until next time....
"A quilter will always keep you in stitches"
Brenda

Kitties for Kari

One of my dear friends' 19 year old daughter has a nickname of Kat. She had a cat named Myst. Myst recently passed away. I started making this quilt for Kari ("Kat") last year. The blocks are from a Yahoo! groups (Prettykittyblockswap). The swap is handled this way. I made 6 identical kitty blocks that were 6.5 inches unfinished; I kept 1 and sent in 5. I, then in return, received 5 different blocks from women (& men) all over the world. There are kitty blocks in this quilt from Australia, New Zealand, England and of course the US!!
Once I laid them out without the borders, it wasn't big enough, so I added borders. All the borders are of fabric with kitties on them. Even the outermost border has cats on it. This picture was taken before I quilted it. I have since tied the quilt (the ties look like whiskers, in fact). Now all that is left is the binding and label. I have named this quilt "Kitties for Kari: in memory of Myst".

Brenda & Jeff

This is a picture of me and my new hubby on our way to Alaska for our honeymoon. We went on a cruise on the Holland America Line. I want to go back to Alaska and tour the inlands. The galciers were so nice. We went on some excursions including whale watching.

Quilts in progress

These are two of the many, many quilt tops waiting to be quilted in my home.
I made the Bento Box (the small picture) quilt for my mother-in-law's birthday. I have yet to finish it!! She chose the pattern and the fabrics. She has a liking to oriental fabrics. The traditional Bento box has light and dark within the same block but she wanted the blocks to be the same to make a square in a square. It is for a double size bed.

The larger picture shows a quilt top I made out of blocks that were swapped with other quilters. I have been saving some of these blocks for about a year now and finally had enough to create this wonderful top. It measures 95 x95! I love how the blocks all fit together so nice.
Some of the blocks were swapped locally with a group of us that meet weekly as a "class" through the adult education in our school district. Some of the blocks were swapped with on-line swapping groups, such as Stashbuilders, Mailblocks, and quilting2friendship. These are groups in the Yahoo! groups site. I have made so many friends through these online groups!!

My son calls the groups "cults" becasue he just doesn't get the power behind having someone know exactly what you are talking about when you say you are about to frog an entire row of blocks!