Work in Progress Wednesday & Trip Pictures

Today I feel like I have played shuffle the deck with things around the house.  I am moving stuff out of the way of the electrician and putting back things we had moved in anticipation of work by the contractor.  The electrical contractor is here today installing new lights and new circuits.  WooHoo! for new lighting on the outside of the house.  We have always had yellow glass in our lights which gives off a haunting glow.  Now we will have LED lighting and bright, so beware burglars.  When you lived in house for many years (26+) there comes a time when updating is a necessity.  It has been a long drawn out process over the last year and a half.  I will post pictures in the future.

 

We have just returned from a vacation in Washington DC and the contractors have returned to finish the work in our house. On our second day of our bus trip, we visited Gettysburg.  This view is from Round Top looking over the battlefields.

 

The South Carolina memorial. 

 

Rod at the Mississipi Memorial. 

 

Inside the museum is the Cyclorama.  This is an oil painting in-the-round. 

 

Another view in the Cyclorama.

 

We had been to Gettysburg before, about 15 years ago with our son.  They have built a new museum and visitors center along with the Cyclorama.  Its a beautiful place to visit.  We also ate dinner at the Dobbin House Tavern.  The Dobbin House was also part of the underground railroad for slaves.  They hid the slaves between the floors during the day.  The slaves came out and traveled by night.

They took us upstairs to eat.  It was tight quarters up there but the food was good.  Below is our beautiful candlelit dinner table with Joe and Kathy Olson.  We also enjoyed meeting many other couples on our bus, plus finding out we knew many other people in common.  It's a small world. 

 

Have a great day!  The sun is shining and its starting to warm up.  This weather is much nicer than what we dealt with last week. 

 

Yours in quilting,

Terry

 

 

Working on Wednesday

Visited Tanya Quilts in CO yesterday while posting.  She is a very busy quilter with lots of projects.  below is a link to one of the projects she is working on an Ugly Christmas Sweater quiltalong.  Check it out.

 

http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.com/p/ugly-christmas-sweaters-qal.html

Today I have been busy working on quilting a customer's quilt so that I can go play a small quilt retreat this weekend.

Yours in quilting,
Terry

Working on Wednesday

Just a reminder that Bonnie Hunter's Alletaire Mystery Quilt pattern is only available until February 1, 2016.  If you haven't printed off all the clues/pattern instructions, here is the link before its too late.

http://quiltville.blogspot.com/p/allietare-mystery.html

Click on each blue link, then click on the Printer Friendly version, followed by clicking on the printer icon that you see towards the bottom of the screen.  Bonnie gives detailed step by step instructions.  Don't feel bad that you missed the mystery or didn't sew along.  Its not a race, its about enjoying the process or the journey.

 

I collected my fabrics during the time the mystery clues where coming out.  I didn't start cutting out fabrics until after the reveal.

I have everything cut out except the golds.  Getting the many parts cut out does make the sewing go smoother.  Make sure you label the parts to eliminate confusion.  I have pressed my seams open which has reduced bulk on these small pieces.  If you choose not to press the seams open, read the instructions carefully as Bonnie gives pressing directions.

This is my "quilty" sister, Cathy.  She is close to finishing her Alletaire quilt. She is choosing to add an additional border using more gold and neutral four patches before adding the black final border.

 

Have a great Wednesday.

 

Yours in quilting,

Terry

 

 

Working on Wednesday

Headed down to work on my longarm shortly.  After the big update on June 15th, I have had many difficulties learning the new software.  I have classes scheduled for next week which should help a lot.  If you are a Handi Quilter owner with a Pro Stitcher, due not delay updating your machine when the updates are offered.  I put this off for two years and now I am lost because I have delayed four updates.  Procrastination is not your friend.  On today's agenda is watching YouTube videos, testing out my knowledge and possibly a call to Handi Quilter for assistance.  Ugh! Its my own fault.  Anyway, enough whining..

Yesterday, Harry Potter and I made our monthly visit to the Tiskilwa Public Library.  We had nine children show up for summer reading to Harry.

This means Harry heard about 18 books because everyone read at least two books. 

These kids amaze me with their talent.  Harry patiently listens to all the stories and the kids chatter.

The special reward for the kids was getting to hold and play with Tucker, if they read a book.

Tucker was wiggly when we got started, but settled in and chewed on a toy.  After playing with the kids, he curled up and took a nap on the way home.  We just might make a therapy dog out of this pup.  He would be such a nice size for nursing homes.  We will keep socializing him and exposing him to new experiences as training to see where it takes us.

 

I bought Vintage Farm Girl by Lori Holt earlier in June.  Last night I took a little "me time" to cut out and start piecing a 6" block.  Then someone walked down the basement steps and it was my husband home early.  Whoopee!  That was the end of sewing.  He has been coming home late (when I am in bed) for weeks.  What a treat for me!  He didn't call to tell me, he just came right home to surprise me.

 

Well it's time to quilt playing on the computer and get to work on the longarm.

Wish me luck!

 

Today I am linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced. 

 

Yours in quilting,

Terry

 

 

Work in Progress Wednesday

Today's work in progress will be learning the new update on my Handi Quilter Avante.  Monday, June 15th, Handi Quilter released a new Pro Stitcher update with skew 2 and 500 new patterns.  Before we left on vacation, I had updated my Pro Stitcher in order to be ready for this update on June 15th.  It was a huge change for me and I am having to learn to use my Pro Stitcher all over again.  I had a quick lesson from my friend who works for Handi Quilter.  Today I will have to go it alone and possibly watch some of the You Tube videos to understand everything.  I have also signed up for classes from Elaine Gilmore, National Educator for Handi Quilter, the first part of July.  The update along with the training will take me into a new adventure of providing custom quilting for my customers.

Last night I was the guest speaker at the River City Quilter's Guild in Fulton, IL. 

Carol and her mug warmers. 

Carol's quilt made from a layer cake from Missouri Star Quilt pattern.

Cute tote made from Iowa Shop Hop fabric

Red button mini quilt

Susan from Susan's Calico Creations' strip club, Dropping Diamonds.

Cute pillow sham and an antique quilt tucked under arm.  The antique quilt was given away to one lucky guild member.  This guild was busy preparing for their quilt show in September of this year.

 

Today I am linking with Lee at Freshly Pieced.

 

Yours in quilting,

Terry

 

Work in Progress Wednesday

 

First thing this morning, I sat down and sewed the final seam to the top of the blue log cabin quilt. 

Our guild has a sew day this Friday and its a good place to layout the quilt center to measure and add the borders.

 

Tucker is getting into mischief in his toy box.

Our second clematis is starting to bloom.  Look at all the buds just waiting to open.

 

Heading out to the Gems of the Prairie Quilt Guild meeting. Our guest speaker is from Schmetz needles.

 

 

Today I will be linking with Lee at Freshly Pieced

 

Yours in quilting,

Terry

 

 

Work in Progress Wednesday

Hello everyone!  How's it going out there in blogland?  It certainly has been busy here.  I know, I know I haven't been writing regular.  Honestly, I don't know how Bonnie Hunter accomplishes all that she does.  I wish she could bottle her energy and share it.  I just run out of steam by the end of the day. 

I have been having trouble with my cell phone.  I took it into Verizon to change some settings and the phone quit talking to my computer.  That created a problem with blogging because I couldn't retrieve my pictures for the blog without emailing each picture separately to myself and then downloading them.  It was too time consuming with everything else going on here at home.  Finally, I have seemed to resolve the issue.  Hopefully, things will work seamlessly again and I will have pictures to show.

The last three Fridays, my friends and I have had sew days.  I am working hard to finish my friend, Kelly's quilt.  The first Friday I worked on finishing assembly of the blocks.

 The second Friday  I finished the layout of the blocks and started adding sashing.

The third Friday, I continued to add sashing along with hosting the sew day in my dining room.

Even the sashing is added Log Cabin style.  It is coming together nicely. 

I have five of nine rows laid out on the couch.  I have six rows sewed together, three more rows to add sashing to.

Here is the quilting pattern we are planning on using.

Kelly raises purebred Shetland Sheep, thus the sheep pattern fits.  Also, in the fabrics there is a Moda fabric with sheep on it.  I will be happy to complete this lovely quilt for my dear friend.  She is a woman of many talents but she doesn't quilt.  It is so much fun making a quilt for someone who appreciates what goes into the making of the quilt.  You can read the story about buying the pattern and fabric HERE. 

 

Today I will be linking with Lee at Freshly Pieced.  Come back tomorrow and Friday, I already have those blogs planned and partly written.  We have a new family member and I will be introducing you to him tomorrow.  On Friday I have an announcement about an upcoming event with Libby Smith, a certified Marci Baker teacher, will be teaching and lecturing in Princeton at my guild.  Stay tuned for more information or email mail me at quiltcrazie@msn.com

 

Yours in quilting,

Terry 

 

 

Work In Progress Wednesday

How's your day going?  I got up with my hubby this morning and fixed breakfast.  Let me tell you my body was saying, "Whoa, No!"  I pulled a late night with friends getting home at midnight and finally turning out the lights at 12:30.  My friends and I attended the local Community Partners Against Substance Abuse (CPASA) meeting last night for Bureau and Putnam Counties.  I was able to
participate in a discussion about substance abuse and related issues among youth and young adults.
 about drug abuse in our county.  I stood up and spoke about hope.  After working 34 years for the Department of Human Services, Division of Rehabilitation Services I know there is hope for those in recovery.  My job involved helping people with disabilities return to work.  Secondly, I thanked the police, sheriff, first responders, medical staff and counselors for the difficult jobs they do each day.  We are quick with criticism but we need to be thankful for the lives they are helping and changing.  Third, please communicate with your neighbors, friends, co-workers, etc.  Drug dealers are out our back doors and in everyone's community.  Keep your eyes open and communicate so we make progress in beating this problem. 

This meeting was an eye opening experience.  I want to try to fit in next week's program about what drugs look like today.  Let's just say they're hidden in plain sight.  We all need to educate ourselves.  Ok, off my soap box....

After the hubby left for work I vacuumed, cleaned the bathroom, showered, carried the laundry down, let the dogs out, made an appointment and now headed the basement.  Someone is blocking the entrance to the basement, taking a nap on the laundry.  Skye pup is snuggled in for her morning nap while I do chores.

 

I am headed down to finish custom quilting this doll quilt.  This is one of my entries for our local quilt show. 

 

After this quilt, I have three more to get quilted by March 19th.  Say a little prayer for me that I can accomplish my goal of finishing all seven (7) quilts. 

 

Today I am linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.

 

Yours in quilting,

Terry

Work in Progress Wednesday

Good Morning!  Its warmer and its not raining, snowing or sleeting this morning.  I am hoping for slow melting or we will have a lake in the backyard along with lots of mud.  With three dogs in the house, not looking forward to wiping feet off.

I have been working on my own quilts this week.  I can't tell you how long this top has been hanging around waiting for quilting.  Its quilted!  Its only 18" x 24".  The full reveal picture on Friday.  Another small quilt is loaded and on its way to being finished also.  The big push is on to finish 7 quilts for our local quilt show March 21 & 22.

I bought this kit on the I-80 Shop Hop years ago.  The finished small quilt in their shop was framed beautifully.  We'll have to see if it gets framed, since that can be costly.  It will look nice hung in my new kitchen.

I hope you are having a productive day.  I have vacuumed the main floor, cleaned off the dining room table from all my quilting piles, cleaned off the counter tops from valentines decorations and put out Easter decorations.  The dining room table looks like a dining table.  Because I have not cleaned and organized my sewing area, I had moved upstairs to the dining room table which doesn't look so great when company stops by. 

The quilt on the table is called Window Box, pattern by Lynnette Jensen.

I made this quilt for Quilter's Garden Quilt Shop when I was their sample maker.

 

I have not posted the links for the free patterns I like lately.  So today is catch-up day.

 

Quilt Doodle Designs BOM 2015

http://www.quiltdoodledesigns.com/Marchs_Block_2015.pdf

 

McCall's Freebie Friday

http://www.mccallsquilting.com/blogs/?s=friday+freebie

Quiltmaker Bitty Blocks

February

http://www.quiltmaker.com/blogs/quiltypleasures/2015/02/qm-bitty-blocks-basket-block/

March – Row Quilt Options

http://www.quiltmaker.com/blogs/quiltypleasures/2015/03/qm-bitty-blocks-the-row-quilts/

March Blocks

http://www.quiltmaker.com/blogs/quiltypleasures/2015/03/qm-bitty-blocks-home-sweet-home/

Farm Chick Quilts ( used to be the Country Threads block of the month)

http://farmchickquilts.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/February-Block-PDF.pdf

http://farmchickquilts.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/March-Block.pdf

 

Hope you have a great day.  Today I am linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.

 

Yours in quilting,

Terry

Work in Progress Wednesday

I hope you are keeping busy inside this week. Baby, its cold outside. Most of the country is suffering from the brutal cold or snowy weather.  As I write this it is -2 F, -11 F with wind chill.  Pull up chair and get a fresh cup of coffee or hot tea as this might end up being a long post.

 

Monday night I traveled to Sandwich, IL, to share my lecture "Charting My Journey" with the Fair City Quilt Guild.  What a fun group of ladies!  It was a very interactive group.  I had fun getting to know them a little and giving away a few goodies.  Inside each triangle pouch was a spool of thread and some chocolate. 

I will be returning to Sandwich on Saturday to teach beginning quilting on your domestic machine. We will cover sandwiching, pinning or spray basting, different types of marking, stitch-in-ditch and basic free motion.  Just the basics to get started.  I provide fabric sandwiches for the student to practice on.  This morning I cut up muslin for the sandwiches.

This is the raffle quilt that was shown at Sandwich.  It will be raffled off at the Camp Tuckabatchee Quilt Show on March 14-15.  It is king size.

 

Yesterday I hit the floor running first thing in the morning.  Heading to the horse barn to feed Hoot and clean the stall.  We jokingly call the barn the "marble factory" during these really cold days.  The marble factory worked overtime, as there was a lot to clean out.  The more you feed, the more production there is! :)

 

Then I ran home to clean up and take Harry to the vet for yearly shots.  Actually, it ended up that he only needed the distemper.  We are trying a new type of dental care for him.  He gets one rawhide each day which is treated with a product that will help clean his teeth.  There is some improvement of the tartar build up.  We will re-check the progress in April.  I am trying to avoid putting him under anesthetic for the teeth cleaning.

 

Yesterday afternoon, Harry and I went to the new Tiskilwa Library for their afterschool program. 

We had seven kids at the library.  We talked about Harry, Australian Shepherds, herding dogs, and show dogs. The kids took turns showing Harry different parts of the new library.  The visit went so well, that we have been invited back next month.  I believe the kids will be reading stories to Harry.

I will let you know what our adventure in March turns out to be.

 

After getting home from the library, I mixed up oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip cookies.  The cookie dough chilled overnight and today got baked off.  I had set out frozen bread dough yesterday morning and it got baked last night.  The house smelled so good.

 

 

Now its time to head to the basement for quilting.  I need to make progress on quilts for the quilt show.  This quilt is now being loaded onto the machine. 

 

Today I have linked up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.

 

Yours in quilting,

Terry

Work in Progress Wednesday

So much to do, so little time.  How many of you feel like that?  I am busy trying to finish customer quilts for the Covered Bridge Quilt Guild's Bi-Annual Show on March 21-22.  It will be held at the Bureau County Fairgrounds in Princeton, IL.  I also believe they will be linking up with the Barn Quilt movement and have a tour of all the Barn Quilts that have been hung over the last two years.

This is my friend, Kath O.'s barn quilt hung last Friday before the big snow storm.



 

 

This quilt is loaded and is in the process of being quilted.

 

After this quilt, I have four more customer quilts to quilt.  Then I will move on to my own.  I have set a BHAG(big hairy audacious goal) of 7 quilts.  Only one of seven is already quilted.  I spent Tuesday, taking pictures of the quilts, cutting batting and starting the completion of entry forms.

Now before you get too excited about this goal, most of the quilts are small.  If I don't get them done then I will just pull the entries.

 

Its snowing again.  They are predicting another 1.1" on top of the 15.3" we already have.

 

Today I am linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP-Wednesday. 

 

Yours in quilting, 

Terry

 

 

Work in Progress - Free BOMs

There is a group of ladies that I sew with that like the free Block-of-the-Month's available on several blogs or websites.  Today I am sharing the ones that have just started.  You need to print or download the patterns each month.  Most are only free during the month posted.  If you are late then you will have to pay a small fee to get that month's pattern.

 

Quilt Doodle Designs 2015 BOM

January Pattern: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-UGYD12TSr-b1BUcjNuaGotSGM/view?usp=sharing

Supply List: http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/quilting/home-decor/quilt-doodle-bom-2015-supply-list/125726

http://quiltdoodledesigns.blogspot.com/2014/12/quilt-doodle-bom-2015.html?spref=bl

Guess what?  I found another free BOM.  Last year it was created by Country Threads and they have retired and gone out of business.  Mandy has taken over for them and here is the January block. 

http://farmchickquilts.com/news/january-online-block-month/

I just discovered this Scrap-in-a-Box Free BOM

http://scrapitudequilts.com/hello-world/

http://scrapitudequilts.com/scrap-in-a-box-cutting-instructions/

http://1000needles.com/quilt-gallery/current-projects/scrapitude-2015-scrap-in-a-box/

 

I am working on Bonnie Hunter's Grand Illusion Mystery.  Since I spend most of my time quilting for others, I am very behind but I have all the clues printed out.  I have been working on cutting.

 Organization

 Chain piecing

 Along with a few units assembled.

Its a work in progress (WIP).

 

Today I am linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP-Wednesday.  Now I am heading to the basement to get a black and white quilt quilted.

 

Yours in quilting,

Terry

Working on Wednesday

With the prediction of the snow storm coming Monday night.  I have been working in the kitchen, yes the NEW kitchen.  It's so much fun with a place for everything and everything in its place.  I had a few things that needed to be cooked or frozen so they didn't spoil.  First, was a butternut squash that had been laying around during the remodel.  It got cut in half, and baked in a water bath.  Then I let it cool, scooped out the cooked center and froze it.

Second, I like having cooked chicken around for casseroles, chicken n' dumplings, and soup.  So while my husband was snowed in at work, I got extra busy.  I cooked six chicken breasts in the crockpot overnight.  They are falling apart tender.  I freeze two breasts to a bag for future use.  I also cool the broth, strain it and then put it in freezer bags.  I try to freeze them flat so they store easy in the freezer.

Third, I made a double batch of Chewy Molasses Cookies and put them in the refrigerator overnight.

I baked them off the next day.  Its tempting to eat the dough but I baked them.

Fourth and final, I browned up a large batch of hamburger.  Next I mixed up a double batch of chili.  This will be dinner one night this week and then freeze the rest for a sew day in the future.  I am to bring chili for lunch and then we will have a baked potato bar for dinner.  This chili will serve as one of the potato toppers.

I like to cook this way, once a week if possible.  That way I have easy meals to heat up the rest of the week.  Check out the book by Jennifer Wood, Jenny's Country Kitchen Making Homemade a Little Easier.  It's where I got the recipe for cooking chicken breasts ahead and the recipes on how to use them.

I have also started Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Quilt, Grand Illusion.  It will be my new shower curtain.

Here's a sample of the colors.

Have a great hump day!

Yours in quilting,

Terry

Yours in quilting,

Working on Wednesday

Hello everyone!  I know its been a long time since I have posted.  It feels like my house has been torn up forever.

Here is a sneak peak of the new colors in my kitchen and dining room.

 

Ah yes, the mess!  Packing everything up for the construction to begin back in October.

 

Kitchen all gone!

 

Stay tuned for more to come! 

 

Yours in quilting,

Terry