K of K 1, sample fail and Tractors!!

K of K!!!  What am I talking about??  Last summer someone made a quilt, and I fell right in love with it.  It was called Kaleidoscope of Kolor and I bought the pattern at Quilting Delights in OR.  The lady that had posted the picture of her finished quilt said it took her 18 months, not 12, but that did not bother me a bit.

Up until last spring I only belonged to one facebook quilting club, so I started one and invited anyone that I knew to join me.  We decided, as a club that we would work on this block of the month together.

About the same time my little sewing group decided to do a star block of the month.

When I received the pattern I was in love.  It was shown in both black and white.  I decided right
away that I was going to use bali fabric.  So one black one white I will make.  Then I read the pattern and it offered it in 2 sizes, 96" x 100" and the half size of 49" x 51".  Well that was just not a decision I was willing to make, so guess what I decided to do??  Anyone??

I decided to make a big one in black and off white and a little one on black and off white. All bali fabrics.

So for the last year, I have been working on 5 blocks of the months.  Sometimes there were crazy amounts of things to make.  I had to make 52 flying geese one month, yeap, times 4!!

So this is month 12 for all of them.  Sweet success!!

There is still lots to finish them, but I have been working away at the big off white.  When I got the top together I laid it on my bed and decided that it does need the 10" border that it calls for.  And if there is a big border like that, it will need the 58 appliqued stars around said border.  So there is still lots of work to be done.  So here it is.

I am co-hosting a quilt retreat in October.  We are all given the same piece of fabric and the challenge is to make something, anything from it.  I was not going to show it now, but I am really so tickled at how it came out, that I am going to show you.  Here is the little bit of fabric that I ordered to go with my fabric.  The dark brown is the challenge fabric

I made this piece about as minimal as I could.  I have been exploring modern quilts and I think this is much more along the side of my modern quilting than the last one I made.  I am going to quilt the hell out of it.  So I decided to go with the matrix pattern that I had already made a sample of.  It just consists of lines that are not straight, that go from one side of the fabric to the other.  Then you are to suddenly go the opposite way.  Like this.

I did not  like my first line, so I stopped half way thru and ripped that out.  Chalked a line for guidance, then I was off.  As I worked myself into my first corner, I realized that this is going to take for ever.  So I did not go back over the line.  I really guess this is step one of matrix, or an echo'd line :)
Anyway, I am happy with it.  Here it is

Not bad seeing I am still very much a new machine quilter.  Now I have had a ripping experience since I last posted.  I guess I knew it would happen eventually.  I am going to try to learn the swirl stitch next.  I got a sample out and I sewed the first 2 great, then I really am not sure what happened.  It is not that bad, but it certainly is not that good either.  I did take a picture of it before I ripped it out :)  Sample Fail!

Tractors!!  I love tractors.  As you know my son is pulling a 1952 Farmall C tractor in the antique pull in Maine this summer.  We drove off to Frenchville 2 weekends ago.  3 hour drive for us and our tractor.  The first pull I did not go, had to work.  Clay placed 5th in his class but won a 2nd on someone else's tractor.
In Frenchville he placed 2nd twice with his tractor and he won a first on another.  He won the first on a 400 propane tractor.  It runs on propane instead of gas, never saw anything like it before.  I have uploaded some videos of the pull under used name wsnapo on your tube, if you want to see.  I took 72 pics of one pull and then put them to music.  It is here.  Then there is also the first pull.  He got 2nd.  It is here.
Here is the proud kid!!
I noticed that I had already blogged about this,  guess I must be a proud mom!!!!

Until the next stitch!!

What a week

If I was one of those people that do not see the good in things, I would have to say that this week sucked!!  But really, I do not look at things like that.  So this week has been interesting, and bumpy, but good.
After I got the Modern quilt finished this week, I set it aside.  I have been doing 5 block of the months and this is month 12 for all of them.  Finishing, I have such a hard time with that.  I should be excited to get in there and have something to show.  But I just find it painful.  Makes no sense, I know. 
Oh and just a warning my loyal reader, do not get your hopes up here, thinking she got it done and I will get to see one in this post.  Nope. 
But....  I did get out the large white Kaleidoscope of Kolor blocks out. They went on the design wall, and they look great.  I read the pattern, or so I thought and started sewing away.  Then I released that it is put together a bit different, but logically.  Having it on the wall made me go back to the instructions and ripped out the 4 seams that were wrong.  Then I was down to 12 seams to finish.  This is really going together.  The pieces need to be pinned alot!  I hate pins.  But I have continued to work away at it.  There were only 2 days that I did not do something on it.  So we are down to 5 seams, then decisions on borders.  I will share in 5 seams :)
I still have the free motion quilting bug.I attached my first 2 samples together successfully.  I plan on making rows and then attaching them together, so I thought it would be a good idea to know how to do that.  It went well.  3 seams on the machine and only one by hand.
I decided to make my swirl sample.  I should of practiced more.  I did the first 2 wonderfully, then I kind of lost the shape.  So I ripped it out, and I will try it again.  I have doodled it over and over again and now I think I will be ready, but not until that K of K is together!!  I did take a picture of the swirls that went astray.

My kid got his report card this week in the mail.  He passed, but that is about all.  Too many D's, but seeing he does not enjoy school (that is me being nice) it is more important to focus on he passed!  He gets $20 for every A he gets.  He got an A, in cooking/sex ed!!  I must say that it has been worth the $20 I paid him!  The teasing hasn't stopped.  I went to grab his report card last Thursday morning, and upset one of those bottles of oil that has the wooden reeds in it to dispense smell.  I upset it onto my modern quilt that had the batting on the back.  2 large oils spots.  I separated them and run to the washer.  I pretreated it and hoped for the best.  It came back out perfect.  I did not dry it, and now it needs a big haircut, but it is going to be ok.
I did get some mail.  That is another story.  I knew I had things there but they had told my friend the day before I did not.  I ended up going thru every piece of mail they had there.  You have mail there Shel!!  Anyway, I left.  My work texted me and told me to go back.  They had put it out front.  But here is what I received.

And here is why I ordered it.  It will be the last post about this fabric until this fall.  It is the retreat challenge fabric and I think I will wait to show off my idea.

My gardens have been blooming and doing well.  Here are some pictures

Yesterday we drove to Frenchville, Maine and the youngin pulled his 1950 Farmall C.  This is his second pull and the first time he placed with his own tractor.  He got the first on another tractor!

Until the next stitch!

TUSAL, FMQP Samples, sewalong 3 and 20

I know that I just posted the other day, but I have lots to share.  Yesterday I turned over the calendar, so I remembered that I am participating in the TUSAL.  It is the Totally Useless Stitch-a-long.  Click here to check it out.  I have done this for two months now.  I miss read the instructions the first time, thinking I was going to save scraps, but when I went to post it, I read it was thread.  Well I was in luck, I had kept both.  So I decided to continue keeping both.  I did not go thru as much scraps or thread this month.  I learned how to not waste thread when I am quilting. 

 

After I tuned the calendar, I got out one of the many block of the months I am working on.  I worked on it a bit yesterday but today my mind was racing to Leah Day's machine quilting.  So I decided to listen to sewalong #3.  My partner in crime is skipping it, and after I listened to it I also decided to skip it.  I could use more practice stippling, but I have been doing the scale check.  I have already figured out that I| do not like to quilt big, about 1/4" is nice for filler blocks.  So I ran to the sewing room, remembering that I had made 2 practice sandwiches yesterday.  So I decided to make the matrix design.  I used the edge of my foot as my guild and it really went well.

 

 Here is the matching side

That makes 2 samples now

Then I went outside and worked in the vegetable garden.  I re planted a lot of the carrots, the beans are doing great and some of the cukes I replanted have sprung.  The lettuce is ready and I need to give some away already!!

My boys have the tractor in the shop.  They went to their first Antique tractor pull Saturday, and we are all going this Saturday!!  Can't wait.  

So I ran back to the sewing room.  It seems that the new Expert in the SewCalGal challenge wants us to quilt in tiles this month.  I am up for that.  I will link to it when I start.  But what to sew.  She posted this cute modern quilt that she had quilted using this technique.   Leah Day is doing a modern quilt sewalong.  Taa Daa!!!!

So I pulled a nice Jinny Beyer gray for background and used the Joel Dewburry fabric that I had left over from the jelly roll race.  And then I just made some blocks.  I do not work well this way.  I am the kind of person that has a plan and has it all mapped out.  But I made myself just do it.  So I made 6 blocks of one, 2 of another and 4 of another.  Then I cut out one block of the pink fabric for badness!!  And then as I was looking at all the big scraps I was cutting off, I decided to start sewing them together until I had another block.  I started laying it out, and decided to not even think about it.  I just started sewing it together.  I did decide I wanted to two floral pieces in between the row, so i hacked a border on them.  When I got it all together my first thought was nice!!  My second thought was what am I going to do with that???!!

Borders, decided to make them wonky, 3 different sizes and 3 different fabrics.  It balances it but up heaves it all at the same time.  I like it.  I will more than likely make another.  I will want to quilt something when I get to sew along #21!!

Until the next stitch!

Happy Canada Day and FMQP #2 and a sample

Happy Canada Day!!
I am so inspired to practice my free motion quilting that I am going to pretend that I did not turn my calendar.  I have a schedule that I am suppose to follow, so I do not get behind in my sewing.  So last night I decided to do my Free Motion Quilt Along #2.  Stippling.  I did not do a big sample but I am pretty happy with the results.  The blue thread is #2.

So I want to do up some practice sandwiches so I can practice different stitches.  I could not imagine just throwing them in a box when they are done, so I sat down last night and drafted what I wanted to do with them.  I am quilting one side the same color and the opposite side in contrasting thread.  Here is my stipple block.  I marked it out before I started but then I went off the line,  So I continued but ended in the middle so I just made a cirlcey thing!!

Here is the other side!!

Well now that I have that finished up, gotta take that foot off my machine and flip over the calandar!!

Until the next stitch!