My Vow……I won’t start any new quilts until I have at least one that’s started completely finished.

We’ll see how my vow works out….I’m going to do my best to get some things finished before I start another new project. I am getting the itch to start something new, and I just can’t let myself do that. I did finish all 111 blocks from the Farmer’s Wife Quilt. I need to pick out the sashing and the cornerstone fabric soon. I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m a ‘piecer’ not a ‘quilter’…..I love piecing a quilt, I just am not too interested in doing the free motion quilting to finish it. I have to make myself do it.

 

My mini 1/2” hexie quilt has been very fun to work on. I’m ready to start the 4th color around, I’m enjoying this one more than the 1” hexie quilt I’m working on also.  My hand is in this picture so you can see how small these hexie flowers are. My next  color round will be green flowers. This will be a very special quilt when it’s done….all hand sewn!

This picture is of the larger 1” hexie quilt I’m working on too. I’m not sure how big this one will end up…..it will have white borders with some flower, vine and leaf applique in one of the corners.

Here are the four blocks that I’ve completed in my Primitive Garden Quilt BOM….I just got the 5th block in the mail yesterday and I’m ready to start on it. I’m having a wonderful time doing this quilt. And yes….I really do believe I’m obsessed with quilting, my house isn’t as clean as it used to be, and I could stay locked up in my sewing room for 10 hours a day and not think anything of it.I might come out every once in a while and get something to eat and drink, but other than that…..I could stay there forever!  This is an expensive hobby too. Fortunately, of the quilts I’m working on now three (both hexies and the Farmer’s Wife) are scrap quilts, so I don’t have to buy lots of fabric for them.

It’s time to go back to my sewing room and have some more fun!

Happy quilting, Kris

Vacation is over already….and I feel like I need another one

I really didn’t get too much done this past week except to visit my mom in the hospital every day…..so I made the 30 minute trek to Cambridge Mon.-Sun. So that doesn’t leave a lot of time to sew or make jelly. I did get a bunch more hexie flowers made since I could do that while visiting my mom.  And as you can see….I had to throw in some ‘Husker’ hexies. I am a huge Cornhusker fan! GO BIG RED!

I also got the chance to shop at Cottage Inspirations while in Cambridge. I returned a wool kit that I had bought with a gift card back in January……that gave me $50 plus $20 I had in bonus bucks given to me by my friend Kelly Kreft. It was enough money for a shopping spree, and boy did I have fun. I ended up getting a few spools of Valdani perle cotton and some wool…..the wool is a 5 inch square, with  5 pieces in a pack.

I also found some wool scraps I had while digging through my tubs of fabric. I felted it right away. This was an exciting find! Quite a few years ago, I was making wool vests with appliques on them, so I had bought a few pieces of it back then. I also did some tailoring with it. I think I have a wool skirt I made in the closet that I’m going to cut up and felt. My sister Val and I are going to try our hand at over dyeing also….We are kind of excited to give it a try.

And last, but not least…..I’ve made 5 more blocks for my Farmer’s Wife Quilt. I am cutting out number 99 this morning. Only 12 more to make! Oh Happy Day!

Well, work is calling me, and after the week I’ve had, I’m going with a smile on my face.

Happy Quilting, Kris

Vacation time!

It’s a great week to be inside…..very warm temperatures again this week. I’ve been sewing a little, making jelly and going to the hospital in Cambridge to visit with my mom. It’s been a good week to have a vacation just so I can be with mom. I would appreciate prayers for her, she’s getting old and is having a rough time with her memory and just getting around. My sisters and I have some tough decisions to make in a few days. It’s nice to be able to get lost in my quilting and to forget about the ‘hard’ things that we well be discussing and deciding about our wonderful mother. Mom is my sounding board for whatever project I’m working on, she definitely has opinions and ideas about any current project I’m doing…..I love you mom!

I made Strawberry/Rhubarb Jam and Pinecot (pineapple apricot) Jam this morning! Yummy! It’s fun to get some more jams and jellies put away in my basement. They are wonderful gifts and taste so good on toast or bagels. I’ll be making some chokecherry, and wild plum in the coming week……I think I can make jelly out of anything….I have an ‘eye’ for berries in the ditches!

I should be done with my fourth Primitive Garden Wool BOM in a few days, it’s going very well. I enjoy all of the handwork.

I am up to Block number 91 in my Farmer’s Wife Quilt sampler…..I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now. I am having fun with this quilt and will probably start on the Farmer’s Wife Pony Quilt Club Sampler as soon as this one is done.

This is a pattern I bought in Kearney on Monday, they had a sample of this made in the store and I really liked it. I thought it would be really cute done in wool. I wanted to go to the Wooly Mammoth and see what they had for wool and over dyed wool, and found out they are closed on Mondays during the summer. I was extremely disappointed since that was the main reason for my trip to Kearney. Hopefully I’ll get there in the next couple of months or so.

Happy Quilting! Kris

Farmer’s Wife Quilt

I’ve been working on my Farmer’s Wife Quilt this past week and I’m sure enjoying myself. When I look at the finished blocks hanging up on the wall it makes me happy! I will say that I’ve noticed that you make lots of half square triangles for these blocks, and tiny ones at that. When you figure that these are a little over a 6” block and then you start counting the pieces in each one….it’s kind of mind blowing. Since all 111 of them are different I don’t get bored and I’m always ready to start on the next one. I’ve got over 40 of them done so far, so I’m doing pretty good. I’ve done a couple of them over because I just wasn’t satisfied with the quality of my work…..second time around was a success!

I find it very interesting to see the different names of the blocks. I wish there was some way to label the blocks with their names. Sometimes I laugh when I see what the blocks are called! I’ve even kind of gotten used to using templates…..I don’t mind it near as much as I did when I first started this quilt.

I had a day off this past Wednesday and I used it to sew baby blankets and burp pads……I had a couple of special orders and I figured I might as well get it over with. I also used one of my pedicure gift certificates that my daughter Karmon gave me this past Christmas.  I’ve been watering the garden, so that’s why my feet look dirty!

I still haven’t got my Wool ‘Primitive Garden’ BOM for the month of June, I’m getting a little bit impatient. They told me they send the BOMs by the 15th of every month, so I should be getting it this coming week.  I’ve also been working on my Grandmother’s flower garden quilt and am slowly getting it done. Every stitch is hand sewn, so it’s pretty time consuming.

Well, hopefully it will rain this week, my garden is getting pretty dry. I’ve been watering every day.

Happy quilting! Kris