First OMG Goal for 2018

This is a tough one to decide. But first, I want to thank Patty for hosting this one-monthly-goal Linky Party. I won the $25 gift certificate from fatquartershop.  My first goal will be to decide how to spend it. They have sales all the time. Will it be fabric? precuts? thread? a new fabric collection? Decisions decisions.

In the meantime,
Rainbow Scrap Challenge colour for January is light blue.  There is no light blue in my Dear Jane 2 quilt and the lightest blue I can find that I have not already used for Serendipity is this Jinny Beyer Pallet colour, so I will only be making one row of eight 3 inch flying geese.

Also,
the 2018-ufo-challenge  number is 10 so I should be working on this Biblical Blocks quilt that I want to complete this year, but there is so much to do on it and I am just finishing day 2 of 5 days of little grandchildren sleepovers. The parents all have to work or be in school and the school kids are still on Christmas holidays.


I had intended to switch this month's pick with the 1857 album and I just might



since I have a flimsy!!!!!

But then,
I just realized that it is the 300th birthday of the 1718 Coverlet that I started 3 years ago.
www.facebook.com/1718coverlet/
Why did I stop? I went to Australia, and a bunch of other places and was away 70 days that year, and started the first blocks of the Antique Wedding Sampler, was working on the Ben Biggs, GORF, BTCT, and trying to finish CCCQ. Oh yes, I was sick at least 5 different times with a  bronchial thing, was applying revisions to my book and had a new grandchild.

And why did I not put it on my ufo list for 2018??? I can still change that. Or will I?

Even though I had 17 in for a turkey dinner yesterday, I still found time to look over some of my ufo challenges for the coming year including putting Serendipity up on the design wall to see what blocks still have to be made and what colours  I have to choose from. I also took a few minutes to put in a few hand applique stitches on 3 BTCT blocks I had prepped back in Nov. Don't get too excited. I did not do much house work ahead of time and they helped set the tables, peel potatoes, brought salads and desserts AND washed up most of the dishes. I put all the bones on to simmer overnight and set them on the snow covered porch to chill at 6:30 this morning when the first of 5 grand children got up and the pot is still there probably frozen solid with the deep winter freeze here the past couple of weeks. 

We are having all our employees (at least 10) and most of our grand kids for our annual Maplehurst Farms staff Christmas party here tomorrow night. We order in pizza and play Pictionary to recall highlights from the past year and it is a lot of fun. There are little Paw Patrol pups, Chinese checker pieces, green tractors and cracker crumbs all over the house but, since all our grand children are somewhat OCD, we can get them to do all the pick up, vacuuming and maybe dusting if I remember to pull out the disposable duster thingies. My grandsons LOVE to vacuum and dust and the little girls are really over the top organizers. I could learn a thing or two from them. I can bribe reward them with pizza. 

So, yes, my OMG for this month will be to get that flying geese strip made for Serendipity. 

Blessings,

Chris

Linking with    one-monthly-goal  lovelaughquilt  mid week makers  BOMs Away  let's bee social  needle-and-thread-thursday  can I get a whoop-whoop  slow sunday stitching  needleandthreadnetwork  esther's WOW   patchworktimes 2018-ufo-challenge  pomegranateandchintz 2018-challenge/  

Top 5 Posts of 2016

Monica from  lakeviewstitching posted an interesting topic. So I took the time to check out my 5 top posts of 2016. You can find the linky party here at meadow mist designs.

1. http://holycowchris.blos-and-planes.html  

2. http://holycowchris.blogspot.ca/2016/01/new-little-boy-grand-baby.html  

3.  http://holycowchris.blogspot.ca/2016/10/india-october-2016.html 

 4.  http://holycowchris.blogspot.ca/2016/05/omg-june-quilting-goals.html  

5.   http://holycowchris.blogspot.ca/2016/08/ongoing-saga-of-gorf.html  

This pretty much wraps it up for 2016. 

See you in 2017.

Blessings,

Chris

2016 in Review

I did write a goals list for 2016. I tried to be realistic. That did not work. So maybe its time to get crazy. Maybe not.

My goals for 2016 and how I did.

     1. Publish my book. We got stuck in the second revision round for several months and it is now about to enter the publication queue so any day now.

     2. Complete at least 1 of my big applique quilts, quilt it and bind it. I choose Ben Biggs. I got 5 blocks completed. That's about all.

     3. Quilt my Dear Jane Quilt and bind it with narrow binding on all those scallops. Nada but I am now considering doing big stitch by hand with perle cotton.

     4. Lose the 22 lb I did not last year with  my goal of losing 40. Nope. but did maintain the loss from last year.

     5. Have fun more often. Oh Yess!!

     6. Spend more time with the grand kids. One more grand kid added to the pile so lots more time with them and the boys have moved closer so we see them more often now.

     7. Laugh more. Definitely. But cried some too.

     8. Sing louder. I turn the music up louder so no one can hear me.

     9. Buy less new fabric. I did buy less but still bought some.

   10. Do the 40-bags-in-40-days challenge for Lent. Managed to get to day 20. 

   11. Design a layout for each of the three $10 quilts and complete them. Nope but still thinking about it.

   12. Complete coursework for doctorate. Then the dissertation, but I will need some goals for 2017. I did not file any courses and started 2 more in August. 

 So it appears that I did not attain all of my goals but I did more than I might have without any goals and plans.

I started three quilts and completed three.

1.  The 1857 album sampler on impulse in Jan. I had a lot of fun but got bored with the double pinks and lime greens and will call it finished at 35 or 36 blocks not the whole 64. I substituted several blocks and will add my own date and a name.  

2.  GORF 2 a lime green and purple completed and gifted in May

3.  Started the Simple Simon in October. 

 Completed the Blue Roses that I started 2009.

Finally completed the original GORF in September.

 

Ministry trip to India in October.

 New grand baby boy David. He is beginning to take a few steps this week.

That's enough for now.
Blessings, 
Chris

31 Day Blogging Challenge Day 2

It 's Day 2 of the 31 day blogging challenge and I might already have writer's block. Seriously. Last night  I had a hundred ideas floating through my brain and this morning, after sleeping in until a normal 8.30, I have no idea what to write. But that has never stopped me before. I have a couple of keys sticking in my laptop. Makes it a challenge to log in with a password that has an "a" and no semi colons or colons are to be use for now. Mary of Quilting through rose colored tri focals   used an expression called at 6's and 7's. Her post got me thinking.

I posted this picture of my quilt room/office last winter. Some readers are interested in how you organize your stuff, but I will share what I am doing with some of my stuff. 

Here are some of the things I am working on this week. I had to check some cow information on line for my Farmer who does very little on the computer, except to check for  emails and facebook postings when I am away. This is the five year old net book I take with me when I travel so I can keep in touch and do some work. I had to get a new battery when I was in India.  Last night I was backing up five years of files so I could transfer India pictures to my lap top where I am trying to put together a power point presentation I will be doing in January at our son-in-law's church.

 Next to that is my journal, daytimer, Bible and pen. I try to do a bit of journaling often but it seems that I write more to-do lists than reflecting on my Bible reading. Beside that is the project box I took on our weekend away. I stitched for about twenty minutes total.  

 Behind me is one of my craft tables. The Bernina is in for servicing so I put the Featherweight in 

and have everything ready to do one more Bright Jane block. This was all sitting on another table 

since I got home from Shipshewana three weeks ago. The intent is to make one block. 

I will not be using that yellow thread on that fabric.

 Beside that is the other craft table with the Brother. I am working on a Simple Simon reproduction quilt from the retreat. I have quite a few very expensive mugs that I was unwilling to throw out when they got cracked or lost a handle so I use them to hold pens, pencils, pencil crayons, markers, etc.

If I do not see things, they do not exist.

 On the table in front of the design wall, I have the first blocks up. Lots of four patch units made and sewn to back ground squares waiting to be sewn into the next blocks. There is also some of the clutter I dumped out after the retreat. I put away most everything when I have the Quilting at the Farm girls come over but that will be mid January sometime. I usually put something different up on the wall then.

 Beside that, I have some project boxes for my grand daughters. They each have their own pair of razor sharp Dear Jane scissors that are too small for my large fingers but perfect for theirs. The two younger ones are still cutting thread and scraps but the older one is using the real machine. I had to eat a lot of cookies over the years to get those empty containers. They are about eight inches square. Again, I have to see things or they do not exist. I later discovered that those cookies are what had been poisoning  my body.

 One of my quilting friends loves to do laundry so she took home three fat quarter bundles of Moda French General fabrics to pre-wash 120 fat quarters for me. What a Blessing! I will be using some of these for a new GORF quilt this winter. The fabric has to be pre-washed before the heat-n-bond lite is ironed on.

 I want it to stay on forever.

 These fabrics have been pre-washed in preparation for Stonefields. I bought the entire pattern when I was in Australia last year and have been waiting for a good time to start. They are available over at Sentimental Stitches.   There is a facebook group and the first month patterns are going out this month.

 At the retreat, I got a tutorial on big stitch quilting without a hoop. It took me a couple of weeks, but I tracked down some creamy coloured Valdani pearl cotton 12 and some size 24 chenille needles. I plan to do a small sample piece of my Dear Jane fabrics with the wool batting I bought last summer to see if my hands can handle this. If they do, I was thinking that I could quilt one block a day (so not to overdo it) and have it done in 225 days. No wait - there are 56 border triangles, so 281 days. Maybe.

In the meantime, I have these to keep my busy. I had each course in its own box, but wanted the boxes for other projects. 

 My self paced online doctoral course with no deadlines is sitting on the desk in front of the desk top computer waiting for me to stay home for a few days. I have filed three out of twelve courses and these five are each half done. They are not hard. I just need to spend more time there than here.

Blessings,
Chris

Beyond the Cherry Trees Progress

Last week I  finally and completely finished GORF after I got home from India  
I attached the binding. That was simple. I did it throughout the day when I did my India blog post and uploaded photos for hours it seemed right in the middle of my jet lag recovery. We called the bride and groom and invited them over to pick up their wedding present. I will post pictures when they do. Should be simple. I hope.

I stitched the leaves and wreath on this block in India then did the circles after I got home.

This is another I prepped and took to India and did some more work and preparation last week.

I started this one by drawing the design on the back of the background block. 

The stems are all done by back basting. 

Another block started. I am valiantly trying to complete a couple of courses for school but must have some hand work to turn to. Well, I have done more handwork than school work. 

I had not touched this block since last winter but did get the fruit and some of the leaves done in India. The bowl was stitched on at home. I still have to do a bit of reverse applique on the bottom of the bowl. And the bottom of the bowl is in line with the edge of the block. It really is. I still have most of the grapes to stitch on, a few more leaves and some embroidery on the cherries. 

This block I started 2 years ago but could not decide what colour to do the bowl. I stitched the center of the bowl purple a year ago but am just now adding the light red fringe. The bottom fringe has to be redone so it extends to the edge of the bowl. 

 Another block I did 2 years ago but now have the bowl and the fringe stitched on.

 So this brings my total completed blocks to 11 with a whole bunch in process. I am hoping to complete at least 5 of these this month. In the meantime, I am packing up my project boxes for the Shipshewana Quilt Retreat next week. And I promise that I will only start 1 new quilt. If all goes well, I might even complete it at the retreat. We shall see. I am taking 2 workshops with Linda Collins from Quilts in the Barn in Australia and she will have copies of her new book. I can hardly wait. I will be taking about 15 Dear Jane 2 blocks to work on. They will all be foundation pieced. And I will be taking a few BTCT blocks.

Blessings,
Chris
 

Quick Update

Its been five weeks since I last posted. Hard to imagine so much time has passed. Here is what has been going on:

• I did not complete GORF after all. It is still in the machine awaiting more bobbin thread and a half a day to finish it. Have to get it done before we see the bride and groom next week.
• My nice digital camera jammed earlier in the week and I cannot blame any of the grandkids since I was using it taking a picture of the boys at the airport. The lens will not close and this is the same issue with the one I bought in England last winter. Must find a camera shop that does repairs. I cannot take more pictures of quilt progress.
• There has been very little quilt progress. I took eleven 1857 blocks with me to the East Coast and worked on several.
• I was In New Brunswick for two weeks. First at a nice cottage on the ocean where the mosquitoes eat small children for breakfast and the waves on the water never stop. Then a week at another cottage on the lake where the water is so still it reflects the trees and clouds.
• Visited Prince Edward island for a day trip and got to tour Green Gables, the home of Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery, the author of all the Anne of Green Gables books. I took pictures of all the quilts inside. They are in my camera.
• Looked after  little boys while Mom and Dad packed up their house in NB and moved to Ontario. Jonathan transitioned into a big boy bed and David started to crawl or rather crab walk. I have pictures but they are in the camera.
• We passed little David back and forth across the aisle on the flight to  Toronto and the flight attendant finally told us to stop that since we were soon to land. Jonathan had unbuckled his seat belt and Mom had to use two hands to get him in his seat and buckle him up and David did not want Gramma holding him this time. If you recall, he slept the entire two hour flight back in July.
• I took three textbooks with me and read them all. I spent three days reading the third one and hand wrote an eight page report only to realize I had the wrong book. Sigh.
• Took Jonathan on special adventures for three days while Mom and Dad moved into the new house and tried to set up all their stuff. The new house is almost twice the size of the parsonage they were in. It has a two car garage. Interesting that everyone on the street parks their mini vans in the drive way since the garage doors are not wide enough to park inside. Yesterday our adventures included visiting the local quilt shop, the Apple Seed in Lindsay; a walk in the park where we saw ducks and fish; ate ice cream; forty five minutes in Canadian Tire waiting for the young customer service guy to assemble the shiny red tricycle; the drug store to pick up a new soother and a quick visit to my college roommate's home to pick up an apple pie to take home to my Sweet Husband. Of course he asked for another chocolate chip cookie with all his manners turned on. My grandson not my husband. He was at home farming.
• I did the two hour drive from Lindsay to the Toronto airport late last night to pick up a friend at midnight, then the hour drive home and missed my own exit off the expressway. Sigh. Then next exit is 15 km further. Then could not get to sleep.
• Got the itinerary for my ministry trip to India in just three weeks. We will be doing a Vacation Bible School for one of the children's homes and then a two day conference with the former prostitutes. This is exciting since we met with many of these women on my last trip, so we can see how they are progressing. Then we will be attending a pastor's conference where the women will be sitting beside their husbands for the first time ever in a culture that has no value or status for their women.
• I will be hosting a Quilting at the Farm day Oct 1 to encourage the girls as they work on some of their projects.
• My book has been stuck in the second revision round now for more than two months and tomorrow I will proof it one more time and correct a couple of errors I found. How does one write the number 25? twentyfive, twenty five or twenty-five? I found all of these. Numbers less than 100 are written out in words. Higher numbers use numerals. I am getting so educated.

Blessings,
Chris

Ongoing Saga of GORF

After ten days of little girl grand children, sleepovers and surprise treats of ice cream, tractor driving and rain,  GORF is back on the docket. So, lets get started:

• Clip on the long sashing strips
• Make sure they are long enough 
• Change the presser foot back to the one with the seam guide
• Remember to put it in needle down position
• Find reading glasses b/c the computer glasses aren't strong enough
• Put on music 
• Fan in hall to draw the cool air from the kitchen air conditioner
• Fresh stash of chocolate
• Put away the Morrell blocks off the design wall to show my Sweetie what that beige circle thingy is
• Glass of water
• Clear work space of Ava's crafts 
•  Turn on iron - no steam

Okay. No children today and I feel the cool air on my feet now. I can do this.

I have to remember that I have completed a Dear Jane quilt top so I am no stranger to 1/2 inch sashing strips. Except that these have ended up being almost 3/4 inch wide.

Sashing strips sewn onto one half.  Now to measure then against the other half. Looks pretty good, but what you cannot see is that I have tweaked them a bit to line up with the other intersections as I pinned them to the design wall. Dear Jane also taught me to be more relaxed with errors. But these intersections glare at  me! Why did I decide to do this the first time with red and off white???

•  Make sure I have the correct sides together
• Line up those ends first

•  Line up the intersection

•  Check to make sure they really line up

•  Off just a tad
•  Do it again

Not enough clips to go the whole length, so stopped just past the middle.
So even though I had worked so hard to line them up,  when I got there, it had all shifted ever so slightly. Looks bad here.

 But looks good here. All my sashing strips were cut on the straight of grain to avoid stretching. But the back strip stretched ever so slightly when I got there. Got to be relaxed. There is such a small margin for error. After all, this is the center intersection in red and white. Would Jane Stickle care?

 I care, so out comes the seam ripper. I bought a couple of new ones recently and they were as dull as high school math class, so found one of the old sharp ones.

 A million loose threads later, they are straight now ready to be top stitched

• Change presser foot back to regular 1/4 inch foot

 But what is this??? A ripple!!

 Out it comes.

• Pause for more chocolate

Until this . . .

To be continued   . . .

Blessings,
Chris

Product vs Process

I have always loved process. Now a completed product is a wonderful thing, but I love to see how things are put together and use my words to explain it to others. I love figuring out the pattern and can spend far more time thinking about and planning a project then actually doing it. I originally started my first GORF quilt with the dream of making a Baltimore style quilt in a weekend. Well, I was wrong. First of all, this quilt is more in keeping with the Red and Green style of quilts of the 1850 than Baltimore quilts. Second, creativity cannot be forced.  If I am just copying patterns, it is easy to make up blocks quicky. But I had to make the first ones first. Not that most of my blocks are that original, but I had to make them. I had to choose colours and fiddle with placement. I thought the top border should be an original using left over flowers and leaves. hardest thing ever for me.  

Then they had to be stitched in place. So, with my first GORF (GO Real Fast) quilt, I got a bit ahead of myself. As I was connecting the machine quilted blocks together, I realized that I had missed machine appliqueing some of the pieces. Turns out that with using matching thread, I could not see which ones were done and which ones got missed so I pulled out a big magnifying glass. And marked the 8 leaves I  missed.

And the 4 flowers. These then had to be appliqued through all the layers using a straight stitch.

Now this gives me an idea for future GORF quilts. I had not enjoyed the process of machine quilting all those cross hatch lines and around all those leaves and flowers. Maybe I could quilt the blocks first, then fuse on the designs and machine applique and machine quilt at the same time. 

My task this week is to get all the blocks connected together. I googled this and found several tutorials online. None of them had the same measurements but most had the same process.As it turns out, I chose the measurement that was almost 1/4 inch too big. Guess I should have made a sample block first before cutting out all the red fabric I had. And I cut some of the print strips a half inch too short.

 I use these wonder clips for attaching bindings and now these connecting strips. It is much easier and neater than trying to pin through all those layers and there are too many layers to try to do with out.

Now, I started quilting 40 years ago. I started sewing at age 12. I have several sewing machines. And countless presser feet. But I did not know until recently that there are quarter inch feet with a seam guide!!!!
So I paid the $69 plus tax plus 2 trips to the Oakville Sewing Center to purchase one and I absolutely LOVE it!. I sewed on those strips through the quilted blocks very very nicely. Who knew? These things are now standard gadgets that come with new modern machines, but I had bought mine a few years back.

 I had to switch feet to do the top stitching. Good thing that is simple with my Bernina since I had to do this several times.

 Now to get back to work and complete the task. I still have to quilt the borders. I have not yet figured out how to do the ends of the swags but will see how they line up when the center is all put together. Stay tuned.

Blessings,
Chris