Tuesday To-Do #16: Toys!


Hello on this very wet and cold rainy morning
and welcome to another edition of

Last week's goals

1) Finish guild charity quilt #2

Quilt top made by guild.

Done!
By the way, this looks like it's just one big log cabin
block made with jelly roll strips.  Filing that idea away.
Would be a great quick project.


More pantograph quilting.

2) Quilt guild charity quilt #3

Quilt top made by guild; sorry, not a great pic.

Done!
On this one, I tried out some of my new toys and FMQ.
No practice, just jumped right in--because it
always looks so easy in the videos, right?

Well, not quite.
More on that under #3

3) Practice with rulers and FMQ
Done!


Like I said, it's just not as easy as it looks--yet.
I finally put a quilting glove on which helped a tiny bit.
I'm just assuming I'll get used to it but I have plans to
watch some tutorials...whenever I find the time.


I also discovered that with the ruler base on the longarm,
ruler quilting on the outer side borders is next to
impossible unless you leave yet another 5" on top of the
usual extra fabric down the sides.   Or you take the clamps
off, but that didn't work either.  I gave up with the ruler
and free-handed the sides.  I surprised myself there.


Though I was pretty frustrated and just flew through it,
the result wasn't all that bad.  I think if I slow down and
put more care into it, I could get those down pretty well.


Other than when trying out my first longarm, I haven't
really done FMQ for almost 5 years.   I really enjoyed it on
my regular sewing machine but once I moved to a long arm,
I couldn't get enough of what pantographs had to offer.  

Attending a couple classes and buying new toys and books
(and Lucey!) has renewed my interest in FMQ.   I decided to
play around with a few of Julia Quiltoff's designs in these
rows.  Note to self:  use visible thread when FMQ!  I feel like
I could've done a pretty decent job if I could only have seen
where I'd been!  LOL.  Ah well.  I'm happy enough with it.

**Side-note: Julia highly recommended to us these
disappearing ink marking pens after she shared her horror
story about Pilot Frixion pens.  Because I've heard other
stories, I only use the Frixions for marking cutting lines 
and anything else that won't show.  Btw, I don't get
anything for sharing; I'm just passing along good info.
At $10/12 pens, I've already ordered a pack, knowing that
when I do start marking for FMQ, I can be confident
my marks will not come back to haunt me.

4) Finish all HST's for Waves; continue piecing blocks
Not quite done.


Gracious, this is going slow!  I'm doing such a small amount
here and there but I am making progress on it all the time.
This bin is packed full of them and because I'm almost done,
I'm thinking this must be around 1,000?  (I need 1280.)


5) 3 QOV blocks (for guild)
Done! (Only two pictured)



6) Pick up cadet at the airport!
Done!  As evidenced by the presence of the
MMMP in the sewing room.

Military Mom Mending Pile
(I can play the acronym game as well as the army!)

He is home and enjoying some R&R, home-cooking
and especially seeing his Jeep that he purchased here
while he was up at school.   Hubs and I handled getting
 it home from the dealer so it was the cadet's first time
 behind the wheel--he is so happy with it!

Other things going on:

Fabric Tracking

I dropped off of posting weekly on this.
Probably something to do with guilt!  LOL
Regardless of how much I buy, I'm supposed to be
using more...but everything is just all off.  I've been so
busy learning new things instead of sewing quilts but
apparently I'm not that busy because I still find time
to peruse fabric sales.  I'll just come out with it:

Yards purchased this year:  150
Yards used this year:  115

Now, no need for words of comfort and consolation.
I can still get on top of this situation, especially
in the fall.  I just need to put my head down and go.
(And stop looking at sales!)
I have so much to work with!  So much to be inspired by!

This is my latest order:

Buttermilk Homestead by Stacy West/Riley Blake

Just look at that beauty!!
I canNOT wait to do something with that FQ set!


I also picked up a couple yards of this (above) one...


because it matches this orange that I already have.
This "vintage Halloween" look is a fave with me.

Truly, I could shop my own stash for a long time
and be really happy with it!  And so, I will try.

In the garden

A sample of the "before"

I spent a lot of time weeding the asparagus patch (it's big)
and it now has a thick layer of straw that will hopefully
keep out most of those weeds.  I didn't get an after pic
and since it has been pouring rain for about 14 hours,
I'll wait till next week for that one!

I've already picked a gallon of strawberries (in one day)
and they're calling to me now to pick more.
I'm slowly giving the remaining lettuces and spinach to the
chickens.  We've had so much salad already and it's about
this time of year that it starts to get a little buggy, or bitter,
or both and I'm done with cleaning it anyway.
I've pruned the peppers and the tomatoes (2nd time);
we have tomatoes setting on already!
I've also been pruning the fruit trees in the orchard--this
is definitely going to be a great year for fruit!
After the last 2 years of freezes, we're excited!

On the golf course
After a couple weeks of trying out two specific clubs, I think
I've settled on the irons I'll be getting.  Like everything these
days, they will take weeks (months?) to arrive.  UGH.
I'll also need a new bag to go with those new toys clubs
so I've been doing a little searching there.  


I got my first birdie last week which was a great feeling.
My tee shot put me right here on this par 3.
No pressure, just putted it right in.
I've only been playing since last fall but from what
I have been told by several including the pro I'm working
with, I'm already doing better than 99% of new golfers.
I really don't know about all that;
I'm just excited to get better as fast as I can.

Golf v. Quilting--and v. the Computer!
It is, as I've said, my exercise and because we have a 
membership, I try to go as often as I can.  But working
that in with quilting (along with everything else in life!)
has been a real struggle.  I recently tracked an entire week's
activities between the hours of 8 and 5 and, not surprisingly,
I have a lot of work to do to gain more control of my time.
Golf takes a chunk but with the longer days, I can get on
very early in the day and be home by about 10:30.
I feel it boosts my energy for the rest of the day, too.
The biggest culprit?  Again, no surprise--the computer.
But I do feel like getting it all down on paper was a very
productive first step.  Now to make some changes.

Enough chatter.  Moving on to next week's goals:

1) Load up one of my own quilts--finally--and quilt it.


It's time I attack that pile of finished tops that I started
building back in January.  First up is my American flag
quilt--timely with the holiday weekend coming up.


Incidentally, it's the only top I didn't make a backing for
already so that will be a nice step toward evening out
those fabric tracking numbers.

2) Finish HST's for Waves of Blue

3) Complete Cadet's mending

4) Load up another quilt

5) Play with fabric

6) More golf

In summary, I've been making use of all of my new toys!
Except maybe the fabric--if you can call that "toys".
But a goal of "play with fabric"?  I'm pretty sure
I can make that happen too.  Especially with all this
rain.  Great for the garden and trees but I'm cold.
And it's muddying up the golf courses!
(Kidding--I'll never complain about rain!)

Happy quilting!

Comments

Hooray for a birdie! And beautiful new fabric, too! You shouldn't feel guilty about that - you also make beautiful quilts. Glad you have your cadet home for a bit, and how fun for him to have a new vehicle. Is he driving it back? Have a great week, Cheree!
piecefulwendy said…
You pack an amazing amount of activity into one week. Meanwhile, I'm honing my ability to keep my chair seat warm - LOL. Okay, I've had an excuse! Glad you have time to spend with the cadet. Even golf clubs are taking time to arrive?? Wow.
Sherrie said…
Hi,
Wow, great week....so much done.
Have a great day!
Sharon - IN said…
So much good going on here. And playing with new rulers too! I like your new toys. And hope you enjoy continuing to learn while you play with them.
chrisknits said…
Looks like you are having fun no matter what the activity!!! Enjoy your Cadet's visit!
I have never bought a frixxon pen - it seems you either love them or hate them - but I don't get the sense of using a pen you have to iron marks out for and then maybe have them come back in extreme cold weather -
Home Sewn By Us said…
Hi Cheree! Huh - a log cabin big 'ole block made with jelly roll strips. That's a good idea for a quickie quilt. I just love the MMMP and how nice is it to have him home?!!! How long does he get to stay? I can just imagine him enjoying the heck out of his Jeep! Great goals for next week. I am really looking forward to seeing some finishes on the ten tops you whipped up in advance of Lucey's arrival. I have no doubt you'll find time to play with some fabric this week, especially if the rain continues. Happy holiday weekend to you and your family. {{Hugs}} ~smile~ Roseanne
Ivani said…
Great quilting for the charity quilts. Can't wait to see your beautiful HST quilt. I can imagine how happy you are with cadete at home, so enjoy, but that mending pile...oh my!
Have a great week
Vicki in MN said…
Glad you had some ruler time with your machine! Have you heard about putting curtain rods under your clamp elastic to hold the clamps up so your ruler base can slide under the clamp?
Anne-Marie said…
I'll email you a picture of something to try with your clamps to make it easier for ruler work.
Linda said…
Congrats on the birdie - there's not much better than that feeling. So exciting about the new clubs! I used to like the lighter weight bags when we walked. How about making yourself a quilted bag - LOL!! How long is the Cadet home? I think your quilting looks beautiful, and your FMQ is amazing! Wow on the strawberry picking - I think we need a photo of your entire garden!
Thank you for sharing with To Do Tuesday!
Needled Mom said…
It does indeed sound like your days are full. Congratulations on your birdie. Next will be a hole in one! It sounds and looks like you and Lucey are becoming good friends. Enjoy your time with your son home. It’s never long enough.
Kate said…
Wow! I'm tired just reading all that's going on at your place. The quilting looks great, and it will get easier the more you do. Enjoy having your military guy at home for a bit and the start of summer. Have a great holiday weekend.