Thursday, January 31, 2013

Nipping at My Heels - A Lovely Year of Finishes

I awoke this morning knowing the end of the month was nipping at my heels and the one goal I most wanted to accomplish -- putting the border on my Easy Street -- was not finished.   So I got my energy going and added the border today.  I know it's a small finish but it was a goal I set and accomplished!  (Please forgive the dull photo.  I didn't finish stitching until about 8:30 tonight so I didn't have natural light - though I wouldn't have had anyway because it's been cloudy and snowy all day.)


The quilt measures about 48" x 70" which is a good lap quilt size.  Because the blocks are sewn on the bias the quilt is a little stretchy.  I thought about trying my hand at machine quilting but I don't think this is a candidate for my first try in that area.  In fact, because the quilt is so stretchy, I wonder if I should quilt it from the edges toward the middle....


I'm linking this to A Lovely Year of Finishes for January at Fiber of All SortsA Lovely Year of Finishes is a challenge encouraging us to choose one item to finish each month, then account for our success.  Thank you, Shanna, for hosting.


Happy stitching!
--Nancy.
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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Little Luxuries

One of the first posts I read by another quilting blogger was Claire Witherspoon's Blog Hop and Going Primitive at Cspoonquilts.  Claire explained that she had recently gone on a non-quilting road trip with her husband.  She wanted to quilt along the way so pared down the supplies she took to her featherweight machine and a bag of flannel scraps, plus a cutting mat, rotary cutter, and iron.  When she forgot the mat, cutter, and iron at a previous stop, she stopped at a store and bought scissors and a tape measure.  She was left to make a quilt with those simplest of tools:  tape measure, scissors, and sewing machine.  (And she did a fine job of it.  The quilts were so fun!)

At about the same time I read Claire's post, a young quilter taught an introductory quilting class to a group other young women at our church.  I was in another area of the large room working on something else when I overheard her telling the women that there were a few supplies that were essential for them to buy before they could make quilts. Her list included a sewing machine, a rotary cutter, an acrylic ruler, and a cutting mat.

I have made quilts since about 1974 (though I can't really call myself a quilter because the ones I've made have been few and far between and until just recently were tied quilts).  The first quilt I made was a Christmas gift for my grandfather.  It was a 9-patch for which I used a 3½" square of cardboard as a pattern and scissors to cut the blocks.  I cut each of the corduroy squares separately and stitched them, two pieces at a time, on my sewing machine.  (It is much-faded now and some of the corduroy has worn smooth after much use and many, many washings.)

I chuckled as I thought about tools that have become essential which in times past would have been luxuries or completely unknown items.  How times change.  My mind wandered back to pre-sewing machine days.  Oh my, what did the ladies do?  Of course they stitched by hand with a needle and thread.  But how did they get their quilts square?  And how long did it take to make a block, let alone make a whole quilt?

And then I thought of this couplet . . .

There, there, Little Luxury, don't you cry.
You'll be a necessity by and by.

. . . and realized how much in my life has moved from luxury to essential.  I remember going to a quilting class at church 25 years ago where the teacher showed how she cut with her rotary cutter and mat.  I wasn't quilting much at the time but what a handy tool!  I was on it the next day, off to the store to see if I could find (and afford) to buy one.

Isn't it amazing how, over time, luxuries become necessities?  What would we do without our sewing machines (and the electricity to run them), our cutting mats, acrylic rulers, and rotary cutters?  For that matter, how could I live without my cell phone these days?

How about you?  Do you own essentials that were once luxuries?

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Monday, January 28, 2013

Working on a Callous

I forgot how long it takes to develop a callous on my index finger when I haven't quilted for a month.  This was a few days ago. 

Today it looks like this.  It's coming along but it's still tender.  It will be a few days before I can quilt longer than half an hour at a time.  I can wear a thimble on my middle finger but not on my index finger.

My goal is to finish hand quilting a 72" x 90" High Five by the end of March. I have some serious quilting to do!
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Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Hand Quilting Threads and High Five - W.i.P.

I'm relatively new to hand quilting.  Really, I have very little experience.  Maybe 2 baby quilts and 2 medium-sized quilts.  My stitching is less than perfect.  But that's okay:  beginners are rarely perfect.

I'm happy to improvise the pattern.  I thought to do a Baptist Fan but I wanted to start in the center and work out.  I finally decided to start with a circular shape and work outward from there.  It looks a little like a flower but it will only look that way at the center.  I think once a quilt is finished and in use on a bed or couch, no one really looks at the quilting (unless it's another quilter), especially if the front of the quilt is bright with colors and patterns. 

I'm comparing quilting threads.  The threads I've used in the past are
  • DMC skeins.  They shrank a lot when the quilt was washed.  I mean a LOT!  I expect a quilt to shrink in the wash but this was surprising.
  • Americana Quilting Thread, 100% glaced cotton.  (On left in the photo above.)  I was surprised at how stiff it was, almost wiry, but it stitched fine.  I bought it at JoAnn Fabrics.
  • a spool of thread from John C. Meyer & Co.:  Meyer Hub D24.  (In the center, above.)  I found this at our local recycle center.  It didn't say 100% cotton on the spool but I tested it and found that it's all natural fiber.  It was thicker than the Americana thread but I liked it a lot.  It felt substantial, like it could withstand a lot of use, and it stitched pretty easily.
  • Essentials cotton thread by Connecting Threads.  (On the right, above.)  Others have used this thread and reported online that they liked it a lot.  When I opened the package I was surprised at how thin it was.  I think it's a 50 weight.  Somehow it just doesn't seem like quilting thread to me.  
Of the three threads above, can you see the difference in thickness?   Does the Connecting Threads on the right look like the thinnest?  Did I get it wrong when I chose any one of them?  Is it quilter's choice and anything goes or are there some threads that are better than others?  I'm wondering if the Connecting Threads thread is for machine sewing and not hand quilting.

If you hand quilt, please share your favorite thread and what you like/don't like about any threads you've used.  Please also tell me what threads you wouldn't use for hand quilting.  Thanks.

This is a W.i.P. (Work in Progress) post and I'm linking to W.i.P. Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Happy stitching,
--Nancy.

P.S.  I don't have anything to do with any of these companies other than buying their threads.
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Monday, January 21, 2013

Surprise! The Liebster Award!

What a big surprise to learn that my blog and I received the Liebster Award.  Thank you so much, Hilary!  Hilary's beautiful blog is Lemon Loves.  I encourage you to read her post about the award and learn a little about her.  You might also like to visit some of the blogs she chose for the award.

Liebster is a German word that translates to dearest, favorite, best.  The Liebster Blog Award is given to new bloggers who have less than 200 followers and is a way to recognize them, show that they're appreciated, and spread the word about their blogs. What fun!

The details of the award go like this:
1.  Post 11 random things about yourself.
2.  Answer the 11 questions given by the nominator.
3.  Create 11 new questions for those you nominate.
4.  Choose 11 new blogs (less than 200 followers or blogging for less than 6 months) and link to them in your post.   (To those who receive this award from me, will you please leave a comment on this post with a link to your Liebster post so I can learn more about you?  Thank you!)


Eleven random things about me!
~ Chocolate is one of my favorite vegetables.
~ I was a tomboy (or is it tomgirl?) when I was a child.
~ From spring to fall, I hang most of our laundry outside to dry in the heat and sun.  I love the fresh fragrance of sun-dried sheets and towels.
~ Going to the dentist and housecleaning are two of my least favorite things.
~ I'm a homebody and would rather sleep in my own bed than anywhere else yet I love to travel and see new places.  If only I could carry my bed with me.
~ I love light and enjoy watching how the light changes from morning to night and from season to season.
~ I'm more introvert than extrovert.
~ Family history is another love.
~ George Winston is one of my favorite musicians.
~ My husband and I foster abandoned, rescued Airedales.
~ Sewing seems like second nature to me, I've been doing it so long.


Eleven questions from Hilary

1. What gets you out of bed in the morning?
 ~ There's so much to do and there's already so little time!

2. Who do you admire?
~ I have a very dear friend - she's kind-hearted, generous, thoughtful, patient, with many other wonderful attributes. 

3. If I gave you £100 /$100 what would you spend it on?
~I'd probably sock it away until there was something I really wanted or needed.  A want might include fabric....

4. Sausages or prawns?
~I've never eaten prawns but if they taste like shrimp, that's my choice.

5. What is the last thing you read?
~The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett.  It was written in the early 1900s and tells the story of two sisters who go their separate ways and reconnect when they're older.  It covers their lives from their late teens in 1866 until their deaths when they're in their 60s.

6. What is the last thing you made?
~I finished hand quilting a quilt but still have to put the binding on it.

7. What is your favourite childhood memory?
~Spending time with my grandmother:  she always had time for me.  I visited her nearly every day after school and she always offered me Vienna bread and soft butter.  Butter was a huge treat because we ate margarine at home.  She also taught me to crochet granny squares and shopped for yarn with me.

8. What makes you laugh out loud?
~I can laugh while watching a movie or reading a book.  I first read Anne of Green Gables when my daughter was a baby.  I read while she nursed and my laughter often interrupted her.  She would look up, stare, wait till I quit laughing then start nursing again, only to repeat the cycle. 

9. If you had to choose a word to describe today – what would it be?
~melancholy (It's very grey here today.)

10. Mountain top or beach?
~Both.  Beach in the summer, though not sunbathing.  Playing in the water and walking on the sand.  Spring and fall, the eastern U.S. mountains with plenty of trees.

11. Why do you blog?
~It's fun to share my creative activities from the safety of a computer. (Did I say I lean toward being an introvert?)  When I share them in person people sometimes ohh and ahh and it feels really uncomfortable. 


Eleven questions for my nominated blogs

1.  What is your favorite kind of cheese?
2.  Do you prefer wearing pants/jeans or dresses/skirts?
3.  How long have you been involved in the topic(s) you blog about?
4.  Do you have a pet and if so, write something about him/her.
5.  What is your favorite season and why?
6.  What color are your living room walls?
7.  Are you an early bird or night owl?
8.  How did you choose your blog's title?
9.  What one thing can you not live without?
10.  What are your favorite color and color combinations and have they changed over time?
11.  What is your favorite movie and how many times have you watched it?


And now, the best part of this award... passing it on to eleven other blogs/bloggers 
Dieting on One Leg
Glinda Quilts
365 Days and Other Ramblings
Quilty Folk
The Patriotic Quilter
MADAKAMOM - Wife, Mom, Nana
Emily's Cupboard
Sami's Quilts and Crafts
A Handle on It
I Quilt for Fun
Quilt Mom

To the recipients of this award, please remember to come back to this post and leave a comment with the link to your Liebster post so I can learn more about you.  Thank you!

I hope you, my dear readers, will click over to these blocks, have a look around, leave a comment, and follow them if you choose.  They are lovely blogs and I know they would appreciate your visits.

Thanks again, Hilary.

--Nancy.


Saturday, January 19, 2013

Should I Be Concerned . . .

. . . that this bat isn't even?  It dips downward on the right corner.  (This is the Mountain Mist Cream Rose bat I wrote about yesterday.)
Is it common for cotton bats to be irregularly shaped? The cutting line looks "straight" but not perpendicular to the side of the bat.


I'd love to hear from you if you know more about cotton bats than me.  Thanks!

--Nancy.

Friday, January 18, 2013

Layering a Quilt

A softly printed off-white fabric for the back, plus
a Mountain Mist Cream Rose double sized bat

plus a 72" x 90" Sunday Morning quilt top
will become my younger daughter's quilt when finished.
She liked this pattern and wanted a cotton bat.

I stitched the pieces for the back together tonight.  I hope to layer and baste the quilt tomorrow.  My husband wonders how I will do it.  I wonder, too.  My  layout area is my living room floor.

I had foot surgery in October which was mostly healed.  But two weeks ago I started having a different pain in my foot.  The doctor tells me that if I don't rest and elevate my foot, I will have a stress fracture.   Nearly three months of rest with an elevated foot has been a long time.  I've read books and blogs, researched on the internet (all sitting with my foot elevated), stitched at the sewing machine a little, watched a few movies and when the doctor finally said I could go out, very carefully went to the thrift store and the grocery store.  Can I tell you that I'm bored?  I want my body and my mobility back!

I believe I could have had this quilt quilted if I'd been able to get it layered and basted before the surgery.  Now that I have to rest for 3 more weeks, I know I could get a good start on quilting it -- if I can only get it basted.  How much do you think my husband will help me with it tomorrow?  He will probably -- very kindly and generously -- help me smooth the layers out on the floor.  But I know he will not pin.  Do you think I can sit on the floor and pin-baste it?  Or can I bend over and do it?  We'll see. 

I'm looking forward to hand-quilting with this Cream Rose bat after reading a review at The Tulip Patch.  She says it shrinks more than some other cotton bats but, to be honest, I was concerned that this quilt was a little too large.  I hope it will be the perfect size after it's washed.  Lucy at Quilting with the Past said Cream Rose is very easy to quilt, which is just what I need as a newish hand quilter.  I'll report back later.

Happy stitching!
 --Nancy.
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Thursday, January 17, 2013

Lessons from Easy Street

I want Bonnie Hunter know how grateful I am to her for inviting us to participate in her Easy Street Mystery Quilt.  It's been an interesting and fun experience.  I love the blocks she created, appreciate her enthusiasm and energy, and am grateful for her generosity in sharing this quilt pattern with us.  Thank you, Bonnie!

Easy Street has been an opportunity for firsts for me. 
  • first mystery quilt 
  • first time have no idea the appearance of the finished quilt
  • first time using so many (small) pieces in a quilt
  • first time sewing flying geese
  • first time choosing only 5 colors for a quilt
  • first time choosing all the colors in advance
 
Trying something new is almost always a good thing.  It gives me a chance to learn, to see things from a different perspective, and is often an opportunity to decide I do or don't like something. So, I thought I would jot down some lessons I've learned on Easy Street, in no particular order.
  • Now I know I like working toward a finished image, either mental or visual, rather than not knowing the end result.
  • The more pieces of fabric in a quilt, the more chances everything won't line up in the end, even with very careful cutting and sewing.
  • Having all seams pressed to one side can be difficult.  At times there were 6 layers of fabric to stitch through.
  • Sometimes it's essential to pin if you want your seams to line up.  (And if the seams don't line up, the quilt  is less likely to come out square in the end.)
  • It's fun to stitch many elements and then play with them.  I intend to play with the leftovers from this quilt and can already imagine more than a few arrangements.  I may decide to make another small Easy Street quilt with the rest of the blocks or do something else with them.
  • When doing a mystery it's really important to notice both color and value when choosing fabric.  I heard Bonnie say this quilt was about color, and it is, but it's also about value.  When she first gave her colors, each color was in a separate photograph so there was no way to look at them together.  When she started stitching the blocks together, I wasn't thinking about value and didn't notice.  I'll notice value from now on.

Any of you who have been reading about my Easy Street progress know I thought the teal was a little strong and wished for more red.  I had thought about a red border and several of you left comments suggesting the same.  Is the red border now too strong?  I considered no border but the quilt looks bare without a border.  What do you think?

Happy stitching!
--Nancy.
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Friday, January 11, 2013

Easy Path Instead of Easy Street


I would have loved this quilt if the colors had been placed differently.  The teal could have been the army green and the red could have been the teal and it would have been perfect.  There's no telling the color placement with a mystery quilt, though.  Since there's just too much teal/turquoise, I've decided to make a small version of the quilt and be done.  An Easy Path  instead of Easy Street!

(Uh oh!  I see a mistake!  Good thing the blocks aren't stitched together yet!)

This is a photo of the last side block laid out for sewing.  It's already stitched and is in place in the above layout.  Now I just have the corner triangles to do, stitch all the blocks together, then decide about borders.  I don't want to spend time on a quilt I don't love when I have other quilts in progress that I do love.

I'm linking this to Bonnie's Easy Street Link-Up of January 7 where others are showing their final quilt layouts.

--Nancy.
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Thursday, January 10, 2013

I Found...

...this box at the thrift store last Friday. I can always tell a box for a sewing machine but I can never tell what will be inside until I open it. I'm usually disappointed.

This time I was surprised.
A man standing nearby came over and told me that he had many machines at home and had repaired some of them.  He told me to be aware of any frayed wiring and be sure all the parts were there (though I wouldn't have known if they weren't).  He thought the machine was from about 1950.  It looked older to me.

This machine is not a Featherweight!  I picked it up - or tried to pick it up - to tote it to the outlets but it was so heavy I had to ask my husband to carry it.  There was a needle and a bobbin but no spool on the top.  Surprisingly, it stitched, though the dull needle poked holes into my fabric.  (No, I don't always carry scraps of fabric but I was looking for a specific color of fabric for a project.)  The price was $20.20.  My husband said, "Buy it!"  I deliberated a few minutes, then put it in our cart.  This evening I had time to pull it out and take a closer look at it.

As you'll see in the photos below, either the machine was well-loved but not properly cared for or it was mostly unloved.  Notice the speckling (from what?) and all the dust.  Ugh!  Where to begin?


The finishes on Singers seem to be very fragile and they don't all respond the same way to the same products. I don't think I should use water but I'm not sure what to use.

The cover on the bobbin case gave me an idea of the machine's age, though I wasn't able to read it till I took the photo. 

I looked on the Singer website and found that the machine was made in 1915.  I tried to get in touch with the Singer company to get the model number but haven't been able to get through yet.  I need the model number to order a manual.

The machine has been used recently enough to have a plastic bobbin and plastic tape guides near the needle.  Notice how the back of the presser foot comes down at an angle?  It looks odd to me.

I put a new needle in and put a spool of thread on top and threaded it how I thought it should go.  I plugged in both plugs -- one into the presser foot/knee pedal cord, the other into an electrical outlet.  Then I pressed the presser foot to stitch.  Uhhh, I had something wrong because the spool thread came out and got lost.  After threading it several different ways and changing the bobbin to unwind counter-clockwise, I was finally able to sew.  Looks pretty good....


... until you turn it over.

Is the problem the threading, the tension (which I don't know how to adjust), a mechanical problem (that will be expensive to repair), or is the machine unrepairable?  I hope it's one of the first two!

Here are photos of how I threaded it.  Any thoughts, anyone?  Aside from the obvious nail to hold the thread at the top, all the other parts look like they're there (to eyes inexperienced to nearly-100-year-old sewing machines).  It seems like it threads into the needle from the left.


If any of you who read this have experience with old Singers, I would be grateful to correspond with you.

Some other things I've noticed about this Singer sewing machine are that
  • it's belt driven
  • it has only one stitch length
  • it goes forward only, and
  • there's no obvious tension knob
 I wish I knew the history of this old machine.  I wonder if the lady who first owned it thought she was on Cloud Nine to be able to stitch so quickly and neatly.

Happy stitching to you!

--Nancy.

This is a Vintage Thingie Thursday post.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Stewing about Colors or, My Unsettled Heart

I truly thought I'd come to peace with my color choices for Easy Street. (The teal/turquoise is a bluer in this photo than in person.)

So I started sewing the blocks together.  I have three and a half finished.

And then I browsed through the photos I had of alternate colors and caught my breath at the beauty and lightness of the golden blocks.




But no, no! I am going to use the teal/turquoise as I originally planned.  There's still a chance I will love it when it's finished.

I think I like knowing in advance better than I like a mystery when it comes to quilting.

--Nancy.
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Saturday, January 5, 2013

Non-Conformists on Easy Street

I'm still trying to decide what to do about my possibly/probably too dark teals.  I've been browsing through the Easy Street Link-Ups looking for participants who chose colors other than Bonnie's lime/turquoise/purple route to see how their colors look and to see if others have similar-value colors.  Below are some of the quilts and colors I found.

I'm sorry there are no photos below.  I could have taken screen shots of the quilts but didn't want to infringe on the copyright of other bloggers.  You can click the links to see the images:  they will open in a new window which you can close when you're finished.

Pam at Hip to Be a Square Podcast used reds, greens, golds, browns, and creams.  Her greens look teal in this image of her finished block.

Vic at Park Hill Farm used red, greens, brown/golds, blue, and naturals in Civil War prints.  Her first finished block is beautiful!  Scroll down to the third photo to see it.

Cheryl of MO, Broker, My Creative Side posted a photo of several of her completed blocks.  She used red, gold, lavender/purple, and black.

Kim of QuiltMom used reds, brown, golden yellow (maybe cheddar?), white, and navy.  You can see photos of all the parts of her blocks, not yet stitched into the final blocks at Sitting Turkeys and Turkey Droppings?

Crystal of Quiltways is using pinks, roses, turquoise, grey, and white.  Click on December under 2012 in her sidebar and you'll be able to see the stitched parts of most of the clues.

You can see Curlyque Sue's colors at Easy Street Mystery.  She used yellows, orangy/peaches, browns, and blues.  

Kat of Rose Prairie Quilts and Farm chose navy/black, red/browns, oranges, tan, and cream for her colors.  She hasn't posted any finished blocks yet.

Green, light blue, medium blue, rose, lavender, off white are the colors and MADAKAMOM - Wife, Mom, Nana.  She shows several of her blocks together at Easy Street Steps 7 & 8 and a Partial Reveal.  Of all the quilts I've seen so far, hers is the one that makes me reconsider leaving my teals:  she also has low-contrast colors. 

Elaine at Emily's Cupboard chose brick reds, peachy reds, light blue, brown, and the palest peach/cream.  At Easy Street Mystery Clue 7 you can see a corner layout.

Maybe my teal won't be so bad.  I think I will do as one of my commenters, Nina, suggest:  lay out several blocks together and look at them for a few days before making a decision.  For me it comes down to whether I can live happily with so much teal (or give the quilt away to someone who can!).

Note added on January 7:  There are a LOT of non-conformist quilts which you can see at Bonnie's Easy Street Link-Up from this morning.

--Nancy.
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Thursday, January 3, 2013

Second Thoughts on Easy Street

I love, love, love the patterns created by these blocks. Absolutely love them!  It's the colors that are causing me to have second thoughts.

Based on the yardage needed according to Bonnie's first Easy Street post, I thought I chose red as the dominant color.  But it turns out - as you can see - that teal became the dominant one.  I like the teal but it's just a little too strong and maybe a little too dark, too. 

Since only squares have been cut from the teal and it hasn't been sewn to any other colors yet I could easily switch it out.  What do you think?  What other colors would work to replace it?  Could I use a medium/dark gold?  Maybe a butterscotch-y gold?  Or how about a pale olive green?  Or how about a lighter variation of teal?

I'd be grateful for any thoughts or suggestions you'd care to share.  Thanks!

--Nancy.

P.S.  Of the two photos above, the first comes closer to the colors my eyes see when I look at the actual blocks, or maybe somewhere between the two photos.
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Finish-A-Long

I'm relatively new to quilt blogging and I recently learned about the 2013 Finish-A-Long (FAL) at She Can Quilt and From Blank Pages.  Whew, do I need this incentive and encouragement!

I have these quilts to finish, several of which have been waiting for a few years:

1) a large churn dash (layer and quilt)

2) a double Irish Chain (layer and quilt)

3) a small churn dash (layer and quilt)

4) a High Five (layer and quilt)

5) a box variation (layer and quilt)

6) a String-X (binding)

7) a Sunday Morning (finish sewing blocks)

8) Easy Street (cut blocks, sew blocks)


Below are the rules for the 2013 Finish-A-Long from She Can Quilt

The Rules for the 2013 Finish-A-Long (FAL)


1. The FAL will run quarterly. You can join in for any quarter or for all of the four quarters in the year.

2. The basic idea is that you will identify and photograph unfinished projects (UFOs) that you want to finish in the upcoming FAL quarter. The concept of the FAL is to get those projects done and out of your sewing room. These need to be projects that you have actually started and are not finished. Finished projects are generally things that will finish into a finished item, not parts of projects like quilt tops or bee blocks: while a quilt top is certainly a UFO that can be part of the FAL.

3. You will prepare your list, blog about it, and add your blog post with your list to the link party at the beginning of the quarter. If you are not a blogger, you can link a flickr photo which has your plan in the description. This link will be open for a week at the beginning of each quarter.

4. Over the 3 months of the FAL quarter, finish those projects. Feel free to post about them on your blog and post pictures in the FAL flickr group. You can post your progress, your problems and your finishes.

5. At the end of the quarter there will be a new linky party where you will link a blog post (or flickr picture) showing off each finish on your FAL list. Projects must have been on your FAL list for the quarter to qualify and you will need to link to or reference the place you posted that list in your finish post. You will need to link each finish separately so that each project will be in the running for a prize. There is no penalty for not finishing a project that was on your original list. This link will also be open for one week.

6. Rhonda and I are talking about a special prize category too, and there will be more on that later. Maybe the oldest UFO that was finished, for example. If you have other suggestions let us know. For now, do include interesting details about your projects in your FAL list post.

7. During the week between the end of the quarter and the start of the next one, there will be tutorials on my blog from guest posters to enjoy as a reward for the finishes. If you would like to present a tutorial, please let me know (shecanquilt [at] gmail [dot] com).

8. There are also prizes, which will be drawn at random from the finishes that qualify. These prizes will be from the sponsors of that particular round of the FAL.

9. The FAL is open to anyone, anywhere in the world.

I don't know how many of my unfinished projects I can finish this year but I'd be thrilled to complete at least one each quarter.  That would be great progress for me!  Join in if you'd like.  Add the button to your blog if you'd like.  And learn more here, too.  You'll be able to link-up beginning January 7.


I'm linking this to Small Blog Meet at Lily's Quilts.


--Nancy.
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Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Now I Understand

Easy Street is my first mystery quilt.  As I looked at others' posts about their colors, progress, etc., I noticed that many of the quilters put their blocks in plastic bags and identified the step number on the bag.  I thought that was a good idea but perhaps just a little extra careful to protect the blocks.  I stored mine like this:
As I cut and stitched blocks for each step, I kept adding totals to a small piece of paper until I had enough blocks, stuck a pin in the paper and through the finished blocks, then put them in the box.

Today Bonnie Hunter posted the last instructions for the quiltNow I understand why others identified the step number for each block and put the finished blocks in plastic bags.  How much easier it would be to find the pieces by step number than by color and type (especially because I used different colors than Bonnie).

I've laid out all the clues I've finished (I couldn't keep up after Christmas because my family was here) and will add the step numbers to the papers.  I know it will make it easier to stitch the blocks together.
I still have some cutting and sewing to do before I can make any of the larger blocks.

I'm sorry my family has gone but sewing this quilt will, I hope, help me not to miss them so much.  My 6-month-old grandboy, Mali, is one of the people I will be missing.

Happy New Year, everyone.

--Nancy.
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Wishing you a Happy New Year

Happy New Year.

In the year that is coming, 
O friend tried and true,
You will find me unchanging,
As I know I'll find you.

--Nancy.
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