Wee Bee show and share

Three things to be happy about:
(1) auction catalogs
(2) writing a haiku
(3) a fresh pedicure

Pictures, I have more pictures!

I have show n tell from our Wee Bee meeting last Saturday...  First up is Shirley!

I love these colors and the layout, I think she made this in a class taught by Charlene at the senior center.  I have a bunch of red and yellow HSQ's that I cut out using my GO cutter and they're now resting happily beneath my bed.

Pat K (right) wanted to use her large print without cutting it too small to see the pattern:

Fear the turtle!  Loretta fell in love with this pattern when she saw it at a show...

Sandy was just doodling around and she made this one -

we were saying "workshop! workshop!"

And last but not least, Yetunde made this for a departing co-worker:

isn't it clever to use co-workers' pictures as a memory?  

I know the recipient will love it!

I wanted to share these pictures with you before I forgot - our bee is made up of some talented ladies!  

I also have pictures from this month's guild meeting but that's it for now, sew forth and sew on til later!

Uhuru's 20th anniversary

Three things to be happy about:
(1) scratching an itch
(2) kids playing tag
(3) being reminded

Okay okay, I was reminded that I hadn't updated my blog, then it was hinted that "I've been visiting but you haven't been putting anything new up there" ... then I was downright chastised by my guild members (again), so here's an update, LOL!

Our guild is celebrating it's 20th anniversary this year!

We had a three-day retreat at the Hilton Garden Inn in Hanover, Maryland, ending with an anniversary brunch yesterday.

I couldn't attend the retreat because of prior commitments, but I understand it was a success!

We had a few minutes to sit and chat in the lobby before the brunch started.  Everybody who attended the retreat was enthusiastic about the classes, the accommodations - and being able to sew without interruptions for this and that and this and that!

During the brunch we enjoyed visiting with each other, we ate a wonderful meal, we remembered the members who have passed away, and we congratulated the recipients of the Coordinator's Awards.

Carol, our founder, shared with us how the idea for a guild came about waaaaay back in 1994 ... isn't it wonderful how a small group of like-minded people can grow into a very large guild?

Here's to a successful 20 years, Uhuru!

Jennifer loves the sauteed veggies!

Shirley and Rosa served the anniversary cake

(Back row) Pat, Rosa and Nadine; Charlene and Debbra

nothing but crumbs left!

I'm sure Felicia (The Slow Quilter) will have more pictures to share later on her blog.

After the brunch Felicia, Pat, Charlene and I stopped by Walmart, where Pat and I found this fabric we just had to have!

Isn't this pretty?  We each got a half yard

That's it for now, sew forth and sew on til later!

My sawtooth star

Three things to be happy about
(1) bug zappers
(2) biscuit-crust turkey potpie
(3) leftover pizza

Such a lonely, sad sight!!

It's my Singer sewing machine cabinet, empty!!

I was winding yet another bobbin when it started making a clackety! clackety!  sound, so I took it to my regular repairman at Hancock Fabrics.  The good news is, it just needed the usual cleaning, oiling and adjustment, and she's back in business!   The other news, I'll call it "doh!" news, is that I really need to learn how to make my own adjustments, I've had the machine since 1970...

Yep, I sew facing a wall but it doesn't bother me in the least, though.  My TV sits on a shelf to my right, and if I turn my head just slightly I'm looking into my bedroom.

Still piecing my sawtooth stars!

Five sewn together, 1 more kitted up to sew, 3 more being fed through the machine, which hums like a contented lady.

The string units work up fast, and the star itself works up really fast once I get it laid out!

This view gives me an idea of how the quilt will look with three blocks across.

So far, so good!

Enjoy your day, it feels nice and cool out there!  Sew forth and sew on til later!

Cutting for a cruise

Three things to be happy about:
(1) bicycles on wet pavement
(2) the shape of an egg
(3) good health

When I saw these chopsticks in the dollar store the other day I thought they'd be just the thing for pushing my fabric through the needle.

The tip is a little too large to get really close up to the needle, so they won't do everything I need, pffft!  I guess I'll still have to use the skewers I get at the grocery store!

They're pretty, though...

I started cutting my fabric for the Caribbean cruise coming up in just a few short weeks!

I'm only cutting 72 of the 288 neutral and colored squares, and 2-1/2 x 4-1/2" bricks.

All 36 of the colored bricks (out of 144) are cut, just need 40 more squares and they'll be ready! Confused yet?

Nice mix of fabrics in this group!  During the cruise we're making "Texas Tumbleweeds," from Bonnie Hunter's More Adventures with Leaders and Enders.  I've been wanting to make this quilt, I'm glad she chose it for the cruise.

I pulled a lot of strips from my precut 2-1/2" box, thank goodness for the scrap user's system!  At this rate I may as well cut out the entire quilt, eh?

And now speaking of cruises, here's something I saw on Facebook that I thought was so cute - enjoy!

Post by Angelia Mitchell.

Sew forth and sew on til later!

Stars happen...

Three things to be happy about:
(1) orange flavored popsicles
(2) a three-hole punch
(3) gel pens

Yesterday Gene asked about the machines we need for the cruise - Sew Many Places arranges for the machines!  A Florida Janome dealer (I'm sorry I can't remember the company name) along with his nephew provides brand new, top of the line machines with all the accessories.  They wind our bobbins, rethread the machines, make adjustments - it's a great experience!  And best of all, after the cruise?  They offer you the machine you used at a tempting, VERY GOOD discount!  With free shipping yet.

Meanwhile,,, it's a cycle - a string-y cycle!

I sew...

cut...

depaper...

repeat...

That's how you get there!

Sew forth and sew on... and on... and on...

Caribbean cruise

Three things to be happy about:
(1) mint-flavored floss
(2) caller ID
(3) new bed pillows

Did I mention I'm going on another Sew Many Places quilter's cruise, to the Caribbean? This time it's to the western Caribbean, leaving from Galveston, Texas, with Bonnie Hunter, Kim Diehl, Pam Holland, and Catherine Redford.  For a few weeks I've been looking at the supply list, then looking at the calendar ...  looking at the supply list, then looking at the calendar... I better get cutting!

For her project, Kim has arranged for us to purchase a kit from The Country Spool, so that takes care of that one!  Pam's list isn't that long, won't take but a minute to assemble and Catherine will have a kit for purchase at the class.  But Bonnie ... well, we all know and love the many scrappy pieces in Bonnie's quilts, so there's a lot of cutting to do before the cruise!

For Bonnie's class I'm going to my stash, including batiks, and pulling medium, darks, and neutrals.

Reds, blues, greens, oranges, funny looking mixed colors - everything goes for this quilt!

I'm using a lot of batiks because Bonnie used them and I have so many pretty ones.  Bonnie used batiks because the shop where she first taught this quilt as a mystery in Plano, Texas specializes in batik fabrics ... have you guessed the name of the quilt yet?

Before I start cutting into my yardage I can go pull a lot of precuts from my 2-1/2" box.

As an extra bonus, I found a little container with a few 2-1/2 x 4-1/2" pieces  - everything can be cut from 2-1/2" strips, so I'm already ahead of the game!

I can also dig out my larger scraps - anything that will give me a 2-1/2" square, or 2-1/2 x 4-1/2" rectangle can be cut up and used for this quilt!

As a guestimate, I'll aim for cutting about one-fourth the amount needed for the entire quilt, no use hauling more fabric than I need to around the Caribbean!  

If I have time I may go ahead and actually cut out the entire quilt, though.

Well that's what's happening over here, what's going on in your studio?  I hope it's something that makes you smile - sew forth and sew on til later!

More stringy-star progress

Three things to be happy about:
(1) fruit dumplings
(2) udderly sMOOth cream (non-greasy; better than bag balm in the green container)
(3) Trident sugar-free gum

My procedure went well yesterday, thanks everyone for your well wishes and good thoughts!

I had to laugh at myself, though.  Safeway has this 13 oz. chicken broth on special for 88 cents and I got three of them.  After I drank one at breakfast (tasty, by the way!) I thought I'd better get some more in case I didn't have enough "stuff" in the house to last all day - so I went back and got 7 more!

Throughout the day I only drank one more, so now I have 8 (EIGHT!!) containers left over!  Oh well, I have until October 2015 to use em...

Does that remind you of how you sometimes buy fabric, then buy some more??  Reminds me of someone "who shall be nameless" who thought she didn't have enough fabric for the September hop and went into overdrive, LOL.  Okay, okay I'll whisper her name: The Slow Quilter.

While waiting for the fun to start on Monday I was still piecing string blocks...

That's a lotta blocks!

I've already done three stars and I have enough in that pile to make three more but not enough of the right combinations...

I'm doing a 3x3 layout, which will give me a 72x72 center, then I'll add borders to size er up.  Yep ladies - there will be some RED somewhere in that border!  I can just see it!

Need something like 5 more stars, I think...  

Meanwhile I'll just keep sewing away til I get the number of string blocks I need to make it happen!

Sew forth and sew on til then!

Two more stars

Three things to be happy about:
(1) new uses for old things
(2) fall catalogs arriving
(3) JoAnn's 50% off coupons

I made more string blocks for my stars, here's two more laid out on my design floor:

They play well together with the first block, don't they?  I'm thinking of separating them with neutral blocks rather than smack together, have to work on that because the blocks are set in a zig zag pattern.  Might be a bit tricky.

The phrase "balance the colors" flew through my mind for about 30 seconds... I think they'll pretty much balance themselves if I just put the blocks together!  I might want to avoid using yellow as the last piece on the points though, shows up as a light.

I'm scheduled for a colonoscopy tomorrow (Tuesday) so today is my prep day, yuck.  I'll have to keep busy so I won't think I'm hungry, just liquids all day doesn't sound too appetizing! Well maybe ... popsicles, jello, coffee, tea, Italian ices... I can swing it!

Have a great day, sew forth and sew on til later!

Stringing right along

Three things to be happy about:
(1) fresh batteries
(2) trolley tours
(3) learning through You tube

Isn't that a messy sewing space?

It's how I roll, it simply means I'm busy with my nose to the needle, my foot to the pedal!

I'm still working away on my string blocks; when I stopped to cut some of them out, I saw that I have more than enough of the dark blocks since each star only needs 4...

I have fewer of the all light and the light/dark mixture though.

So those are the ones I'll work on til I have enough for whatever size quilt I want to make!

Actually the GO die works really well for cutting these blocks - it's accurate and quick.  I can only do one at a time but it's still quicker than cutting with a ruler.

And as a bonus, I thought of a way to use more of that 6-1/2" size - slice a block across at the diagonal and you have an instant roof!

My goal here is to move as many of those strings and strips, as quickly as I can, and this will do it for me.

Meanwhile, I'll keep my nose to the needle in my messy work area til I know it's enough ...


Sew forth and sew on til later!