Sew forth

Three things to be happy about:
(1) music
(2) refrigerator oatmeal
(3) that there is always something to be happy about

Sometimes you're sailing along and hit a bump, you hurdle over it and hit another bump, then dang if there isn't another bump right in your face!

When we had all that hard rain a few months ago I had a leak in my sewing room, at the top of a window.  I made an insurance claim because there was a strong smell and I was afraid there was mold in my wall.  They removed the entire window wall (no mold, but mildew) and my deductible for "wind blown water damage" was $1000.  Buncha crap, when my "rain damage" deductible is something like $300.

Well it was determined that the rain problem was coming from the gutter, and I finally got it replaced last Friday, for just over $800.

And then this week I got a bad leak in the kitchen, coming from underneath the cabinet, which was also dripping pouring into the basement powder room!

Long story short, yesterday the plumber had to break into the wall and replace a corroded pipe. 

My pipe was almost completely stopped up and when I dumped a lot of water all at once (dishwashing) it flowed back up through the hole and onto the floor under the cabinet, and in turn dripped down through the floor into the basement powder room.  It had probably been dripping through that hole a long time and I never noticed it.  Nasty.

So now I have the pleasure of having to hire someone to repair the two lovely holes he left me, under the sink and in the two columns at counter height. 

Stumbling Moving right along...

The second row of the 12 Days of Christmas challenge is practically done, I just have to make a final decision about the piece of fabric for the space between the two ladies.  My instinct is to go with a large piece of what you see hanging there.

The wonky flying geese I made earlier in the week were sewn into the horizontal strip between the two rows.  I set the geese "belly to belly" to give them a diamond-like shape.

I was able to use the little free form stars I found, they look pretty okay in the grouping!  I'll most likely have this finished by Thanksgiving, but right now I don't even want to think about it. 

With everything that's been going on lately my horse is due to come in!  Except, I don't play the horses ... Sew forth and sew on.

Top row finished

Three things to be happy about:
(1) election day - finally!
(2) colorful paper clips
(3) Lindt chocolates

I especially like those little red chocolate balls that come in a large jar - delicious!  I don't buy them any more but ahh, the memory of how they would melt in my mouth!

I finished the top row of my 12 Days of Christmas quilt, I like the way it turned out!

I used the improv techniques we were taught at guild retreat to make two black and white strips.

I've made these strips before, but it's always good to get a refresher on this technique.

Now, on to the second row!

While I'm waiting for ladies 5 and 6 in the middle row to tell me how they want to be set, I made a few more flying geese to be used in a horizontal strip.

I like making these little geese, you're never quite sure how they'll turn out when you put them together - and that's good!  That's the beauty of these crooked geese.  The length and width of the geese affect the overall shape of each one.

Go out and vote if you haven't done so already, get that out of the way.  Sew forth and sew on

Silent Sunday

It's that time again...

Grab that extra hour!

Challenge quilt, top row

Three things to be happy about:
(1) reading blogs
(2) fresh croissants
(3) eating breakfast for dinner

Making the units, pieces and parts for this quilt is really tedious, it takes a lot of time! 

I pulled some of the wonky square in a square blocks from my inventory and made a 16 patch for the dancer on the right hand side. 

I also pieced a couple of improv strips that will fit in nicely!

Now I just need to add two vertical strips between the blocks, even out the bottom, clean it up a bit - the top row will be done!


I haven't even started looking through my stash for the Quiltville mystery fabrics, I want to knock this quilt out first. 

Distraction has a way of creeping in on little quilty feet!  Sew forth and sew on.

Slowly getting there

Three things to be happy about:
(1) a new sweatshirt
(2) colorful paper clips
(3) an accomplishment - any accomplishment

As I'm writing this the gutter people(?) are installing a new rain gutter at the back of my house, such a relief!  Been waiting a lonnng time; it had to be when it wasn't raining and, as you know, there's been a LOT of rain lately!

Can these cute little geese fly?

I created these in my EQ library, and I can print foundations for any width, any height.  Any time!

And there they are, at the top of the drummer!  I sewed them with their crooked little noses pointing toward the center

It's been slow going, getting these settings together because I have so many ideas that keep flying into my head.  The fabrics you see are not necessarily the final pieces, they're just added to stir my creativity.

The blocks will be set in three horizontal rows; I'll take the tallest block in each row, add a sashing or whatever to the top or bottom, then make the other blocks on that row the same height.

Sounds good in theory, right?  Sew forth and sew on til later!