Friday Night Sew-In. Windmills #9 and #10

Thanks to the Friday night sew-in, windmills #9 and #10 are complete.  I absolutely love the blue one - the blue tulips on the white background were just spectacular when I unfolded the fat quarter.  I fussy cut it a bit so you could see more of the tulips.

I'm off to post my photos on the Friday night sew-in Flickr group.  Go there to see what other people were up to last night.

I was featured on Follower Friday

It's social networking on the internet!  I've been featured on Follower Fridays on the Gen X Quilters blog.  Please go over to Gen X Quilters and check out my profile as well as those of other followers.  Are you a Gen X or Gen Y quilter? Please sign up - there are lots of us out there and it is so nice to see what our fellow quilters are up to. 

I've taken a couple of days off of quilting for personal reasons - who knew I could be so dramatic about a simple dental procedure.  But, I'm back and plan to settle in for some Friday night quilting.  

Gen X Quilters Giveaway!

Gen X Quilters is having a giveaway!  Go to the blog and find out details, but if I do say so myself you will want to enter.  AnneMarie is giving away Gingher 4.5# thread snips and they look divine.  While you are there, look around for your fellow Gen X'ers (and Y's) and sign up to be part of the group.

Windmills - #7 and #8

Windmills #7 and #8 are complete.  These are a lot of fun to make which is good because I have about seventeen more to do.  Then I have to decide how to put them all together.  I know that I will be putting sashing strips in the quilt, but what color?  Black, pink, burgundy, green?  Do I use corner blocks?  Do I put in an outside border? I've got a lot of ideas jumping around in my head.  When quilters talk about quilting being an obsession, they are completely right.  This is really becoming an obsession for me - not that it's a bad thing.  I think of the process of piecing as putting together a very complex puzzle and it is so satisfying when the pieces fit together.  In this case, this puzzle needs to be decoded and put together.  I can't wait to see what the next step looks like.

Windmill #6

Windmill #6 is complete and I think looks smashing.  I started work on windmill #7, but as you can see in the following picture, I have been informed that there will be no more piecing to do tonight.  That boy had a determined look on his face.  That's okay, I rode a long way on my bike today and could use some time off my feet with a cat on my lap.  

Upper Big Quilcene and Invisible Bear

Here are some pictures from yesterday's hike at the Upper Big Quilcene trail in the Olympics.  The hike is 10.6 miles long with a 3500 foot elevation gain.  The guide book says the climb is gentle but steady and I think that is a fair assessment.  It was a beautiful walk through the woods along the Quilcene River then up, up, up to some very nice views of the surrounding mountains.  The picture above is from shortly after we emerged from the woods.  Right in the middle is the bear we saw munching away in the meadow.  He saw us, but wasn't horribly concerned probably because we were so far away.  Really, there's a bear in that picture.  For the first time, I will be adding an invisible bear to the invisible marmot series.

The wildflowers were also blooming along the trail.  Here is a wild orchid I spotted in the woods on the way up.  Spotting wild orchids always makes me happy.  I didn't notice the spider until I loaded the pictures today.

And, finally, here is a view of the Quilcene.  It was running fast and loud because of the massive amounts of melting going on up in the mountain.  All in all, a fabulous hike and a beautiful day to be out.  I have several more pictures of the hike here if you are interested.

Windmill #5

I just love stepping back from a block and saying, "wow, I did that and it really looks cool."  Seriously. Love. This. Project.

The Cat Army, however, remains ambivalent.

Windmill #4

Windmill #4 is a little exploration of the world of green and blue.  I love how these colors look next to each other.  I guess I've been and will by saying that a lot on this little project.  I had to recut one of the blue squares because I managed to cut it with a selvage attached.  I still don't know how I managed to do that or that I didn't discover that until I was pinning a triangle to a black strip.  Still, lots of fabric to go around.  The next windmill will be a flower pattern with peach.  It is cut, I'm just tired and don't feel like proceeding.  When I'm tired, I learn that I don't get everything right on point - like the center of today's windmill.

Friday Night Quilting

Let's get ready for some Friday night quilting!  On Friday, July 23rd, the blog Handmade by Heidi will be hosting a virtual quilting bee and I plan on participating.  It's like quilting with others from the comfort of your own home.  And, if you want to enjoy an adult beverage or two, there's no designated driver to arrange.  It's really a win/win situation. 


Here's how Friday night quilting works, on Friday, July 23, make yourself at home and quilt up a storm.  Then on Saturday post about what you worked on.  Want to participate?  Go to Handmade by Heidi and sign up.  It will be fun to see what people work on and Handmade by Heidi has even offered a mystery giveaway to sweeten the deal.  

Windmills - #2 and #3

Windmill number 2 and windmill number 3 are done.  I really like the gray/burgundy windmill and how the pattern of the fabric really shows up.  That one is a bit of a pucker city so I will have to investigate that.  Does anyone have any suggestions on why there is puckering? Could it be a machine setting that needs to be adjusted?  I will also accept operator error as an answer.  I don't know what the grayish blur is in the lower right hand corner and I am hoping that is just a reflection from the plastic bin.  I'm also watching a television show on ghosts caught on film so maybe one of the several mice who have lost their lives to the cat army may be making an appearance.

Windmills - Day 2

Today I finished windmill #1 and made excellent progress on windmill #2.  I've also become very good friends with my lint roller because the cat army is responding to two consecutive 90 degree days by doing their best to shed all their hair at once - preferably on my table and/or fabrics.  I have resorted to storing everything in a hard plastic tub that they will not get their paws in while I am away.  

Windmill city

It has taken me a lot of time and courage to cut in to the Dutch reproduction fabric I picked up in Amsterdam.  Tonight was the night to do it and my first windmill is near completion.  This will be about 12 inches square, although looking my cutting board, it would say closer to 13, and I plan on making at least 25 windmills altogether.  It will be a big quilt, but I really want to use this fabric and of course, I had to buy a lot of it.  The background is a black sateen which I purchased here in town - I was torn between white and black and ended up with black because I thought it would make the windmills pop a little more.  I do have some darker colors to come so we will see if that was the right decision.  You also can't tell in the photo, but there is a pattern to the white fabric.  I will try to see if I can get that to show up in another photo.

Arts and Crafts Squares Quilt - complete!

Success!  It is done!  I finished the binding last night and waited for my batteries to recharge to take a picture (literally and figuratively).  In case this looks familiar, the pattern is from one of Kaffe Fassett's books but instead of using his brightly colored fabrics, I went traditional.  I know  - I'm such a rebel.  At any rate, I wanted to use the center brown and tan flowered fabric in something that would really set it off.  I think I accomplished that.  I also think I did okay on the binding.  I ended up piecing the bits I trimmed off the backing and mixing it with some remaining brown fabric from the quilt.  It isn't perfect by any means, but I'm definitely getting the hang of it.

Off to turn off the sprinklers, drink a glass of wine and celebrate the first warm night here in the Pacific Northwest.  I even still have the windows open - miracles do happen.

Binding a quilt

I'm wrapping up on the binding of the Arts and Crafts quilt.  This was a lot easier to do when the cat army was hiding under a bed in protest to the fireworks exploding in the neighborhood.  It is quiet tonight and Scout had decided that her feet need some cleaning.  Don't think that I put these pictures up to embarrass her, she was sleeping until I took the camera out - her efforts to interfere with my wishes know no bounds.

So, the binding is going well.  I took a class on binding at Bayside and it really seems to be paying off.  As usual, I refuse to do anything by hand, but, even with that caveat, it is going well and I am mostly pleased with the results.  I can't finish this until Scout leaves. I could pick her up, but I won't give her the satisfaction of winning.

Hiking at Mt. Rainier - Chenius Falls

Here are some photos from yesterday's hike at Mt. Rainier via the Carbon River Road entrance.  The Carbon River Road has been washed out for a few years now, making it impossible to drive to the trailheads.  However, willing people can walk or mountain bike 5 miles over the closed road if they so choose.  Normally, hikes along former roads aren't that exciting, but this one is near a river and isn't so much of a road anymore.  All in all, we did about 11 miles yesterday.  We could even return to the Carbon Glacier if we were willing to hike in 5 miles, then 3.5 miles of trail and then hike back.  It remains to be seen if I want to hike 17 miles in a day. But, it is definitely possible.  More pictures are at the link to the right.

A day at the mines

I worked my fingers to the bone on the long-arm quilting this today.  At least I had my grande mocha frappuccino to keep me company.  Also, when I just googled frappuccino to check on the spelling the google search came up with "mocha frappuccino calories."  This is something I do not want to know.  Damn you, google search and your guilt trips.

I still have to bind this.  Either my allergy meds are wearing me out or I have consumption, but I just don't have any energy lately.  I'm going with consumption because it is retro and, I think, the next trendy disease.  Everyone will want consumption when I am done with it.