Field Trips in Fiber

The weekend list

We love the 4th of July around here! We are grateful every day to have been born in this great country. We don't celebrate in a big way. It's always a quiet day and we always grill burgers and one of our neighbors always puts on a great fireworks show! We had the added bonus of Mom visiting this year. She and her spoiled dogleft this afternoon so it was time to get back to normal. Chris is packing for a week long rip to Vermont so I will be sewing all weekend! Mom left with 2 QOV quilts. She volunteered to pu the binding on the QOV quilts after I quilt them. She brought me 2 more tops. I hope I have 2 more quilted be the time I see her again in 2 weeks. That will leave 2 to quilt for a total of SIX! 2 made by Wanda, 2 by me and 2 by Mom.

Time to review the list for last week:

• FINISH Alana's box - Done!
• Load and quilt Wanda's second QOV quilt - started
• Load my second QOV quilt - not done
• Freemotion quilting sample for the DSM (secret project #1) - started
• Write up instructions for secret project #2 - started
• Make another set of placemats - not done, that was a pipe dream!
• Drop of sewing machine for repair and visit with Mary! - DONE!

The week started off with great progress but then I had a bad allergic reaction at work Wednesday. That ruined about 24 hours. All is fine now! Mom and I went to Newport News Thursday and met Mary and her Mom. The primary purpose of the trip was to take our sewing machines in for repair. I called the place a week and a half ago to tell them I was coming. The person I talked to neglected to mention that the repair guy was going to be AWAY FOR A MONTH!!! We decided to leave the machines anyway. At least they will be the first that are worked on when he returns. So I had to rethink my list for the next month.

I set up my Janome Gem Gold and remembered that I had a reversible quilt UFO that I used when I was teaching a reversible quilting class at Quilting Adventures.  I decided that the next 4 weeks would be a good time to finish it. It's patriotic on one side and Christmas on the other. I think this can be donated to Alycia for her QOV quilts. So, I'm adding that to the list. This is the print out of my layout - it's both sides of 1 quilt.

In process at the moment I have Wanda's QOV on the frame being quilted, the reversible QOV and secret project #1. I'll share a photo of Wanda's quilt later this weekend.

Here's the list for the coming week:

• Finish quilting Wanda's QOV 
• Load my next QOV (I have 2 new ones from Mom too)
• Work on the Reversible QOV
• Saturday dyeing day - shirts for Chris
• Secret project #1 instructions and samples
• Secret project #2 instructions
• Quiltland Chronicles challenge - Helen issued a challenge to use some fabrics picked by someone else in a project. I sent Chris into my sewing room and here's what he came up with. These will surely be easier to work with than what Helen got from her husband!

Field Tripping the Web – Issue 5

Eye Candy – Projects people have recently completed

Andrea's scrap quilt

Wanda's quilted table runner

Quilts and Pieces new wallhanging

Liz Berg has posted some pieces in her color block series, and more here

Linda has LOTS of show and tell here, here and here

Vivian's latest art quilt

Sonya's appliqué and stack-n-whack quilt

Susie's Carinval quilt

Sandy shares 3 of her quilts that are in display

Corky's 4-patch swirl quilts

Mar's patriotic wall hanging

Julie's quilts for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initative

Mary's Mom's fish quilt

Helen's mini-quilt

Sandra's art quilt

Nicole's Opening Day quilt

Juliann finished 3 quilts

Karen's Birds in a Row wallhanging

Longarm –specific Eye Candy

Carrie's recent quilt

Fiber Art

Terri's mixed media greeting cards

Brigitte made her first paper quilt

Sue's latest journals

Elizabeth's new art pieces

Judi takes recycling to a new level

Garment Sewing

Vicki's June work capsule

Carolyn's latest dress

Erica B shared her favorite garment projects

Summerset is making a great summer school wardrobe for her daughter; this is just one of the outfits

Tutorials and On-line Projects

Amandajean posts a star block tutorial every week – this is week 10

The Sewing Diva's tutorial on hemming fine men's pants

Other Interesting Stuff

If you have not read the Quiltland Chronicle, check it out. Go to the beginning and read through.

Amy made a great quilt label that serves two purposes

You can keep up with the monthly Take It Further Challenge at this blog

Knot Garden's cute knitted bunny

Bird Watch - Independence Day

How appropriate that our last baby chicks are leaving the nest on our Independence Day! We have been watching the birds peeking out of the box today so Chris went to check. Here's the last one before it joined the rest of the family. They are flying among the trees now.

The season in review:

• First egg documented April 2
• 5 Bluebirds fledged May 7
• 3 Chickadees fledged between May 11 and 15
• 4 Tree Swallows fledged June 17
• 3 Bluebirds fledged July 4
• 2 nests of Chickadees lost to predators

The End - Until 2009

Let's Blame it on Mary

and my Secret Quilter.

Mom and I went to Newport News today to take our machines to Nancy's Calico Patch for service and repair. (You may remember that I've recently ranted about the two times I have taken my machine to my local dealer.) Anyway, Mary was in town visiting her Mom so they came to meet us. We had a fun visit and helped each other buy fabric!

My MQResource Secret Quilter sent me the Layer Cake for the Fresh Squeezed line. The shop had all of thefabrics in the line and they had this quilt on display. We decided that was the one that I needed to make so I bought the border fabrics. I forgot to get fabric for the binding so I will order that. Mary liked it so much that she bought fabric for it too! I also got a patriotic dot fabric on sale to use in a future QOV.

It was a fun day!

Now I have to get back to quilting a QOV quilt because Mom has offered to take all three that are done home to add the binding! Yeah Mom!

Bird Watch

They are almost ready to go!

Mom is visiting today so I also had to snap a photo of Casey. It's hard to believe that she's almost 14.