Gone to WordPress

I'm increasingly less pleased with the changes that Blogger keeps applying, and am working with WordPress at work now. I'm enjoying the WordPress dashboard once again, and have actually had my blog imported over there for quite a while.

I'm not quite done sprucing up the place over there, but it's mostly done. Please join me at http://greycatquilting.wordpress.com.

I'll leave this blog up for a bit yet, but will be deleting this version of my blog come July1.

BOM Quilt Design

I'm an overachiever.

I'm an overachiever, and I like to take the less-beaten path.

...

Yes.

Yes, I am insane.

:)

Insanity, this time, led me to being determined to come up with a unique setting for the Botanical BOM blocks I'm making with the Stitch 'N' Bitch group.

Much easier said than done, obviously, as my mind regarded the blocks with a kind of blank pseudo-interest that said, "I'll make you. You're pretty," and left the blocks in pile in the corner of my mind, nary a quilt top design to be seen. In fact, my mind then went skipping off into making scrappy blocks, no matter how much I tried to rein it in.

And then a light shone in the darkness!

The mail carrier brought me latest Hancock's of Paducah fabric catalog! For a few days, my mental self crouched in a corner clutching the catalog, stroking each page, muttering, "My preciouses..."

I'm pretty sure had I looked into a mirror, I would have been balding and grey, with saucer discs for eyes better suited to a cave-dwelling lemur.

As I stared at the pages, an image advertising a quilt top/kit caught my (saucer) eye. The Women of Courage BOM quilt top made me stop and think.

And then I reached for my laptop.

I still need to find two more botanical themed blocks for the lower corners. I also am playing around with the idea of changing out the blocks that comprised that central 'plus sign'. However, I'm sticking with that pop of aqua. The quilt definitely needs it.

We'll see how much this design evolves as I stare at it!

More BOM Blocks

I wanted to get as many of these blocks done as as I could this weekend. Why? Because I have a design in mind! And I want to see it come to fruition. However, I felt scummy all Saturday, and spent most of the day napping.

I got a grand total of two blocks done, and one of those was a remake, so I really only ended up one block ahead of where I was. Still, I have tomorrow off!

Shasta Daisy, Version Two and still too small!

Yup, that's right. My second attempt  at Shasta Daisy was undersized. It came out too big the first time because I used my other sewing machine, which automatically sews a scant quarter inch seam. So, using that sewing machine, with the 'rounded up' directions from EQ7 resulted in a block that was too big. This second attempt was using my normal machine, which sews an exact quarter inch seam, using the 'rounded down' directions from EQ7. Yeah, 'nuff said, right?

I'll go back tonight and make the correctly sized version tonight.

Moss Rose

Once again, all prints are from Joann's. I love the whimsy of this particular gray print. Slightly undersized, because of the needle-placement versus instructions snafu, but I made enough adjustments while cutting to cover it.

And, of course, once I'd completed this block, I happened across a stash of about six gray and yellow prints that I'd purchased earlier in the year. Now I really want to piece more blocks, to get more variety into this top.

Catching Up

Earlier this year, the Stitch 'N' Bitch group started a new block of the month, designed by Sandi of Piecemeal Quilts. This year's theme is 'botanical', meaning the twelve blocks we make for it will all relate to flora.

I've been collecting fabrics that have black, yellow, gray and white in them for about two years, spurred on by the Eclipse fabric line by Exclusively Quilters. This particular BOM seemed like the project to finally use them.

I forget how far we're actually in - we didn't get started right away with the New Year, but I chugged ahead in a rush and got five blocks done. Well, four, really, because I have to re-do one.

Rosebud

The yellow fabric is from Eclipse. The gray is a print I picked up at Joann's.

Tangled Briars

All three prints in this block are from Eclipse.

Prickly Pear

Both prints are from Walmart. They're not as crisp as the other prints, but they'll blend in the final product.

Lily

The gray stripe is from Joann's, and the yellow print is from the Eclipse line.

Shasta Daisy

This is the one I have to re-make. It's (somehow) one inch too big all around, and I didn't rotate the white and black nine-patch sub-units correctly. All fabrics a re from Joann's.

I've also (finally) decided on a setting that I want to use, but it provides setting places for a total of seventeen blocks. This is cool. I just need to pick and choose those five more botanical  themed blocks. Also, I ordered Stash Spring 2010, because the Eclipse line is in that EQ7 collection, and it was on sale. So, very soon, I'll be able to color in my design with my actual fabric.

Bwahahahahaha!

And, yes, I know that I could have scanned the fabrics in, and made my own previews. I always have issues with large scale prints when I do that. So there ;)

I Finally Sewed Something!

I've been on a small sewing hiatus. I started a new creative writing venture that has pretty much eaten my brain since the beginning of the month. However, I'm ready to take a step back from that brain spawn and get back to quilting and patchwork.

Also, the flash on my camera decided to randomly start working. *shrugs* Whatever. Just so long as I can take photos to post here. That's all I care about.

So, anyway, I sewed, and actually have a few more items to show off, but wasn't taking any more photos at 3:00 AM this morning (I've been suffering from insomnia lately). I joined a scrappy bee:

Our first recipient is May, of Confessions of a Fabraholic. Being the sleepless overachiever that I am, I made two versions of her block:

Version 1

Version 2 - In which the photo is blurry, but I refused to re-take it at 3:00 AM >.<

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not big on the whole wonky thing, but these blocks are cute. I think my first attempt came out way better than attempt two, but they're both going in the mail!

O.o I have to decide what to do for my month. My brain is just not coming up with a plan. However, I can at least get a bit ahead on blocks. I've a three day weekend coming up, and a lot of sewing I want to do.

I'm hoping to get at least one more post in today... I want to show off my Stitch 'n' Bitch BOM blocks.

Breaking My Silence

April has been an interesting month! I don't think I've ever spent so much time sick.

I started the month with a rotten cold - so rotten I should have stayed home from work, but didn't because my direct supervisor was on vacation. That lasted a week. I had a lingering, terrible cough in the weeks since.

I was finally in the stages of kicking the cough and reclaiming my health last week. I even went to the gym and increased my resistance on all the weight devices, as well as my level on the reclining bike. I felt awesome, as long as my esophagus cooperated and let me go without coughing.

I even hopped on the dieting wagon, and starting tracking my calories. I'm attempting to stay between 1200 and 1500 calories per day. It's been surprisingly easy to do so. My normal eating habits aren't terrible to start with. I just needed to reduce some of the carb intake and manage my protein better. I'd already been cutting the junk food out, because it's really just stupidly expensive for junk food, and no one in my family needs it. The occasional treat is all right, but we can make healthier, tastier treats at home!

I made it through two sewing days (yay!) and got started on the Stich N' Bitch BOM project. It's so pretty! I'm so happy! I even picked up the pieces on the Skill Builder Series Sampler. It's not a lot - about four blocks into the BOM, and just components into the Sampler. Really, really, really pathetic considering how gangbusters I was last month.

Then, yesterday... Well, all right. Tuesday at about 4:00 PM - my body decided to rebel.  My tonsils got swollen. I started feeling like I was attempting to swallow glass shards. My muscles started aching.

I tried to live in denial for a little bit. It was difficult. Hubby claimed he'd started experiencing the same symptoms the day before. I ended up waking up several times Tuesday night, feeling progressively colder and worse. Sometime around 4:45 AM I realized that there was no way in bloody hell I was making it into work.

So, yesterday morning, I texted my supervisor, letting him know I wouldn't be in. And then hubby, kiddo and I all trundled off to Urgent Care, with grandma in tow to keep an eye on Zeb while hubby and I got checked out.

Turns out, all three of us have strep throat. Yeah... I blame the trip hubby and Zeb took to the Madison Zoo, as strep has shown up in the family they went to the zoo with. I'd blame work, but I'm in an office by myself most of the day, despite being on a college campus.

So, yeah, here I am. It's almost the end of the month, and I've got very little to show for it.

Oh, and no pics. My camera's broken for my birthday. I already told the hubby that I want a new camera. I just have to decide on a model.

On the weight loss front... I'm down to 215 pounds, down from 220. It's slow going, but it'll so be  worth it!!

Fresh Sewing Day, April 2012 Edition

Um... I made a crazy number of blocks in March. Thirty-three of them! I also finished three hexie flowers, and basted enough hexagons for another five. The photos show five completed flowers only because I'd never bothered to photograph them before (at least that I remember).

In addition, I received the fabrics to participate in another quilt-along, Sandi's Ironwork* Quilt Along. She colored her sample in oranges and purples, and I suckered myself into spending the money and diving in. I also decided on colors and some fabrics for the Stitch N' Bitch BOM project - I'm going to finally do more than pet and stare at my Eclipse fabrics. I did some more work on my Double Wedding Ring piecing - lots more to do, but at least I did some sewing on it.

In the meantime, I've got the bits and pieces for a new project started. I have a lot of HSTs left over from piecing for The Farmer's Wife sampler, since I'm using strip methods. The plan is to use them, and scraps leftover from the neutrals used in the blocks to make a mini.

I got some new storage for my fabric! An office was being cleaned out at work, and I wandered in during the proceedings. The most awesome vintage and multi-colored cabinet was there! I claimed it on the spot.

Only after getting it home did I discover that the shelf slides out, making everything accessible. And, it locks!

I swear, that little feature is the best. Kiddo can't get into the thread any more!

I'll end up re-painting this  beast at some time the future - but not all one color, and only when I have some yard space so that I can sand and prime it first. Unfortunately, house hunting is going to have to
wait, even though I qualified for an awesome home loan - hubby's car decided to throw its exhaust and catalytic converter. I refuse to drop $500+ on parts into the thing, so we're going to look at vehicles tomorrow.

 

Check out what everyone else has posted for Fresh Sewing Day at Lily's Quilts!

Crawling Towards Completion

Thirty-seven more blocks to go. Three of them are do-overs, and one needs a m. I'm feeling an urge to actually quilt and finish something though, so I need to pick up some batting soon and finish out a top or two.

#105 Wild Goose Chase

I totally did not intend for the pink geese to be so perfectly fussy cut - the fabric has a tiling look to it, and I wanted to capture more pink than green. Still, it actually looks really good. I'm kind of sad that the 'sky' for the green geese looks more randomly cut, but I'm so not going back.

#106 Wild Rose and Square

I was not ready to do another red or pink block, and I've used too much gray for backgrounds lately. I let the squares in the corners determine my other fabric choices.

#013 Buckwheat

Paper-pieced,  and some old favorites from the fabric stash.

Sewing Progress

I know, I know. I haven't posted about the trip yet. Writing time since getting back has been very slim, and I'd rather do some justice to the trip, since the shopping was awesome, and the people more so!

I started this project on a whim months ago, and got the two blue-ish flowers done. Then I stopped. For a long, long time. Needing something to keep me awake, I pulled this project out right before leaving on Saturday morning. I had just enough time before Sandi arrived to cut some more hexagons with the Accuquilt GO!

I completed three flowers while on the drive. Clearly, I've decided to use brown for all of the centers. Why? I don't like using brown in my quilts, so I'm going to burn up what I have in my stash with this project.

Wait until you see the next flower! Let's just say it involves a certain *ahem* adult-themed fabric.

#040 Friendship Block

Slightly blurry photo, but, frankly, I'm too lazy to take another. It's way late :) Paper-pieced, by the way.

I used two coordinating prints from an older collection in my stash. I love this collection so much, but never cut into the majority of its coordinating prints out of fear. They're very busy, and I wanted to be sure about the project they would go into, as I'd never bought so much out of one line before.

#045 Grape Basket

I couldn't resist the fabric I picked up on the St. Paul trip, so all of the blocks I've pieced since getting back are out of what I purchased. This one came together easily. Again, I altered the sizes of the patches in order to make it rotary friendly. When it's not so late, I'll go back to Flickr and add patches sizes in the notes on this block.

#052 Hovering Hawks

Mmm... white and grey polka dots on yellow, and more grey. I swear, I was in heaven shopping on this trip! I ended up paper-piecing the large HSTs in the opposing corners, because my brain wasn't letting quilty math happen.

#101 Wedding Ring

Again, fabrics from the new purchases, except for the white tone-on-tone. This is probably the only block from this particular sampler in which I've nearly matched the colors as done by the author, but it's more grey and yellow, and I have so much more than I did :)

Again, I altered the sizes of the patches in order to make it rotary friendly. I'll go back to Flickr and add patches sizes in the notes on this block at a later time.

Seventy five patches into the Farmer's Wife. I have three more blocks in the Farmer's Wife that can be rotary cut easily. The rest, some thirty-four of them (one a re-make), I feel will be better served by paper-piecing. After that, I can turn my attention to the deciding which blocks to make to get to 122 blocks for my setting.

Last Week's Blocks

I actually pieced these all last week, on Thursday evening. I'd meant to post them during the day on Friday but then I got distracted with spending time with the family and cleaning before I disappeared for a road trip to St. Paul. More on the trip in a later post, because it was AWESOME!

#063 Ozark Maple Leaf

I've actually had the pieces for this particular block cut for a couple of weeks. I just kept skipping over it, despite its relatively quick and easy construction. Ah, well. It's done now!

#046 Hill and Valley

A very low contrast block - it's actually more attractive in person. However, I need a few blocks like this to make everything work well together. I'm still feeling these red-violet/raspberry colored fabrics.

#075 Rosebud

A bit of carelessness led to me having to re-piece one of the quadrants. Those big HSTs in the quadrants? Yeah, I sewed one on in the wrong direction, and then cut it, so I didn't have a rosebud in the end. No big deal. I caught the error before I cut all four quadrants.

#076 Sawtooth

I'm having a lot of fun picking fabrics for these blocks. I like to pair the unexpected. Here, a very contemporary print by Kate Spain with a Joann's Fabrics damask print.

Sewing and Sowing

Once again, some more Farmer's Wife blocks completed. Not as many as I'd hoped, by two. I used a batik in one, and the dye bled over into the white fabrics even with dry ironing. The other - I just kept sewing wrong. I got so frustrated it was safer to stuff the block in the waste basket along with the one with the batik fabric in it.

#001 Attic Windows

I think this was the final block I needed to remake to remove all of the cream from the quilt top. Much happier with this version.

#042 Fruit Basket

I'm officially into the blocks that are on a 5 X 5 grid. After working through one via paper-piecing, I decided to rework the patch sizes to that they'd work better on a six inch block. Click on the picture or block name to be taken to its Flickr page. I've made notes on all of the 5 X 5 grid blocks to indicate the finished size of the patches.

Fruit Basket is almost identical in construction to Grape Basket, which is one of the blocks I threw away. I'm hoping to get fabric cut for it later today.

#028 Duck and Ducklings

A couple of my favorite fabrics at the moment. That plaid, and some Michael Miller Cufflinks in green. Again, patch sizes adjusted to make the 5 X 5 grid work.

#050 Honey's Choice

Patch sizes once again adjusted to make the 5 X 5 grid work. The golden fabric is from the Joel Dewberry Heritage line. The spotty gray fabric is a Walmart print.

In addition to getting these four blocks done, I was able to work on my Double Wedding Ring top. I almost have two rows done. I need to sit down and complete a bunch of sub-units to make the DWR go faster.

Two More

Because I somehow forgot to post these blocks when I finished them five days ago...

A couple more blocks checked off, and a few re-drawn in EQ7 so that I can print the foundations for paper-piecing and have the blocks come out the right direction. If I'd remembered that I had the HSTs sewn, but not trimmed for another, there might have been three block finishes in this post, but my memory failed.
 

#067 Pine Tree

Not entirely thrilled with particular block, but I'm going with it. That dark green triangle is kind of throwing me off.

#051 Hovering Birds

I'm really liking this plaid fabric as a background. I almost wish I'd bought a couple of yards of it now.

Saturday Block Attack

This weekend is pretty much a sewing weekend. Today is Stitch N' Bitch. Yesterday, Zeb was super cooperative and independent, and I got to sew my heart out.

#027 Darting Birds

This is actually my second attempt at this particular block. I wasn't as careful as I should have been in the cutting steps, so it was considerably less than stellar, and definitely not up to my standards. Much happier with his second attempt.

#044 Gentleman's Fancy

Since I did Economy with black fabric, I decided to use white as the neutral in this one. If I'd been thinking ahead a bit more, I'd have gone with something other than orange. It wasn't until I uploaded the photos of the blocks I did yesterday that I realized that most of them had orange in them. *facepalm*

#023 Country Farm

Paper-pieced because I didn't want to figure out the math for the QSTs. Nice and quick to go together.

#087 Star Gardener

More 1" finished HSTs. I'm very ready to be done with HSTs this small. Speaking of HSTs, I have a lot of leftover HSTs from this project. I've decided to save them in a baggie. When I fill the baggie, I'm going to piece a scrappy HST top from them.

#014 Butterfly at the Crossroads

Some fussy cutting and a really fun black and white print. I initially paper-pieced this block, but was less than thrilled with how it turned out. So, I started over.

I ended up adjusting the size of the pieces so that the five by five grid worked better on a six inch scale. The patches in the corner quadrants all finish at 1.25" square. The sashing units, however, I did at 1" wide, to account for the extra .05" added to the corner quadrant patches.

I'll likely be doing this for all of the 5 x 5 grid blocks from the book.

Still Chugging Along

Despite the head cold migrating into my throat, making me lose my voice, and then feeling a need to sleep most of the day away on the couch, I managed to get some sewing done yesterday. I cut the fabric for eight Farmer's Wife blocks, and managed to piece three.

#080 Single Wedding Star

The points on this one aren't perfect, but I'm thinking they're within acceptable margins for the OCD side of my personality.

 #095 Temperance Tree

Now that I've done a few of these blocks with so many tiny HSTs in them, I'm being very selective about fabrics. I'm making sure they're thinner cottons, so that bulk is decreased, even though I'm already ironing all seams open at this size.

#085 Square Dance

I put this block off until I found the right fabric, because it looked so boring. I think I hit on just the right fabric with this print. It's a Kate Spain fabric, and I'm really happy with how it turned out. This way, it looks more like a pretty tiling.

With these three blocks, I think I'm at 59 total. That means I'm over the halfway mark if I decide to only make the blocks in the book. At this point, however, I'm pretty sure I want to do a different setting, and it's going to require 122 blocks. So, really, I haven't hit the halfway mark yet. Almost, but not quite.

It's a good thing I have so many block resources to refer to!

Feeding a Cold with Some Sewing

This stupid cold has my nose raw and irritated. I keep forgetting that the human body can produce so much freaking snot - I have tissues stationed all around the house, because at any moment, my nose will run like a faucet.

So, in between keeping myself hydrated and popping anti-congestion pills, I've been piecing blocks. Mostly just re-dos, to replace all of the blocks that had cream in them, because my eye kept getting drawn to them, and I didn't like their lack of cohesion with the rest of the blocks.

#056 Maple Leaf

This was the only non-replacement block today. I decided to experiment with a plaid fabric in the background. I'm really pleased, especially against the contrast of the delicacy of the green paisley.

#026 Cut Glass Dish

I was never really happy with his particular block when I first made it. The fabrics I used were too heavy for the smaller HSTs, leading to some cut-off points that made my eye twitch. Plus, I just needed to use the citrus-y fabric again. It's a great print for fussy-cutting.

#004 Basket Weave

I like this block much better now that it's brighter. And I'm really liking orange and pink together.

#081 Snowball

This is the third time I've made this block now. I had to go back and re-do it. Why? That second time I used some of the oldest fabrics in my stash. Every time I look at it, my eye twitched. So, I changed it out.

So, not a ton of actual progress, but I feel better about the blocks that I have. The only block I have left to replace is Attic Windows.

Four More Down

More blocks for the Farmer's Wife Sampler are done. Tonight was an even split between regular piecing and paper-piecing. I might have finished more, but a good number of the paper-piecing templates on the Yahoogroup don't seem to have been reversed correctly. I'll have to redraw a number of the blocks in EQ7 to get good paper-piecing templates.

#055 Linoleum

This was regularly pieced, using all Connecting Threads fabrics. I really do love that company's products. Their fabrics are so buttery soft!

#102 Whirlpool

This would have been a much easier block, but I under-estimated the thickness of the white and blue fabric. Still, it turned out pretty well, and I like the play of of the different shades of blue. This one was also regularly pieced.

#029 Economy

Another do-over, and paper-pieced for accuracy. The center is fussy cut, while I let the outer triangles be what they wanted to be. Very easy, very quick. Just my speed tonight.

#039 Friendship

I'm not in love with my choice for the blue quadrant, but I'm leaving it. It's a rather large print for this block, but I've got to use it somewhere. At least in a sampler I'll be less likely to keep staring at it and growing more frustrated.

I'm hoping to get more blocks done later today, as I have no intention of hitting the gym. I have one helluva sinus cold that's making me a congested mouth-breather. For now, though, I'm off to try and be productive.

A Kick in the Pants...

... for Generation Q Magazine.

If you've been following the Generation Q Magazine blog, then you already know what I'm talking about. GenQ launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the printing of their premier issue and to appear at the International Quilt Market in Kansas City this May.

If you've never heard of Kickstarter, prepare to be amazed. It's a way for smaller ventures to raise capital to attain their goals. The amazing thing is that this capital comes from you and me. See a project that you want to come to life? Pledge some funds.

And Kickstarter is an all or nothing deal. Either the base amount requested is attained, or the individuals who pledged money to a goal never spend a dime. As with most fundraising efforts of this sort, there are bonuses for different pledge levels. (Gen Q won me over by promising fabric - go figure!)

In an awesome example of how giving our online community of quilting bloggers is, the Gen Q Kickstarter campaign has already raised over $13,000 in the first 48 hours that it's been live!

I decided to pledge, because since its inception, I've enjoyed the content of the Gen Q blog, and would love to see a printed publication that appeals to a wider aesthetic. I love the way the Gen Q blog is written, and hope that carries over to the printed publication. Plus, I'm actually in a really good spot in my life, and why not share the joy a little bit? Especially when the people benefiting clearly have a passion for and commitment to quilting, which has been my creative haven for years!

So, anyway, check out the video. I'm not saying you have to donate, but maybe you will, and that would be pretty awesome. And, of course, there are many, many deserving projects on Kickstarter looking for funding. Maybe you'll find something that resonates with you. And remember, it doesn't have to be a fortune that you pledge. Pledges of any amount are appreciated.

Fresh Sewing Day, March 2012 Edition

1. The Complete Quilt, Front, 2. The Complete Quilt, Back, 3. The Quilt Label, 4. Not available, 5. Progress Thus Far, 6. #091 Strawberry Basket, 7. #069 Practical Orchard, 8. #103 Whirlwind, 9. #098 Water Wheel, 10. #089 Steps to the Altar, 11. #064 Peace and Plenty, 12. #107 Windblown Square, 13. #070 Prairie Queen, 14. #062 Old Windmill, 15. #061 Northern Lights, 16. #068 Postage Stamp

It's the beginning of a new month! Which means it's time for Lily's Quilts Fresh Sewing Day. I thought it would be fun to go over what I'd posted in February that was actually sewing-related, and not about stash enhancements.

Right at the beginning of February, I was able to post my first (and may only) finish of 2012! Cheating on the Farmer's Wife sprang out of my need to do something fairly simple to piece. It went along swimmingly, and quickly.

Until I got to quilting. Then I decided that I had to do straight line quilting throughout the entirety of the quilt, and only 1/2" apart. Still, I'm really happy with it, despite the stupid amount of hours I put into it.

Nine more Farmer's Wife blocks done through out the month. I'm nearly done with the blocks that are easily rotary cut. I think I have maybe a dozen more like that. After that, everything is either a paper-pieced block or on a grid that makes me go a little crazy. Those will probably end up being paper-pieced as well.

Pretty good progress. Now I need to get cracking on my WIPs and UFOs. It'd be nice so have something else finished this year.