I Did...

...go shopping. I did find another green that I really like, and I did find a border fabric also.

Best part yet, all the fabric I bought was on sale. I think this tone-on-tone purple paisley is the perfect border fabric, it has almost all the shades of purple that are in the quilt. Have I ever mentioned that I don't really like purple? This quilt is going to be very large and very purple. I think it has a home already, someone who LOVES purple. All the sashing, corner stones, and borders are cut out. I ran out of the sashing fabric - I'm short 8 12.5" strips - so I'm sewing together all the odd left over pieces and parts. I think I will just barely have enough.

I finished two more civil war blocks. I don't know how to needle turn applique and I really didn't want to machine applique the stars. The stars on the block are wool that I will blanket stitch down, Barbara said there would be additional applique blocks, my plan is to do those in wool. I've never combined wool and fabric before, so making this quilt is going to be an adventure.

Decisions

I finally finished all my Jared Takes a Wife blocks. Now I need to make some decisions. I used the original fabric planned for the sashing corner stones in another quilt.

I like this green (although it looks a bit gray here), but I'd be stealing it from another quilt project. Should I use it or go shopping? Plus I have no idea what to do about the border...not a clue. I really like how the blocks turned out, but I think making the blocks may have been the easiest part.

I while ago I won a ruler at Oh, Fransson! The ruler is a template with Elizabeth's New Wave quilt which I love (It is on my list). There were problems with the mail, and I never received the first ruler she sent. Elizabeth was kind enough to sent out a second ruler...

And a copy of her book! OMG, you should see this book!

Elizabeth's book and her quilts, are very bright and colorful. This would be an excellent book for a beginning quilter as she has including lots of basic how to's shown with even more pictures. The quilt patterns are easy to follow AND she includes instructions to make a pieced back with each quilt pattern.

Thank you Elizabeth!

Out of Control

No body should leave me alone with a branch cutter. I trimmed the lemon bush...

This is what's left...

I now have three 35 lb buckets full of lemons. Does anyone have any suggestions what to make with them?

I also trimmed the roses back (there are 4 bushes in there somewhere) and dug up a plant that I hated. I probably won't be able to move tomorrow. See the shadow? We actually had sunshine and blue skies for little while today, it has been so overcast and dreary here this past week.

I'm also a little out of control in the sewing room. Remember the list I mention last week...these blocks are not on that list.

Barbara Brackman is hosting a block of the week to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. She is including stories and quilts from the era. I finished the first two blocks yesterday. I don't have very many reproduction fabrics (the top block is made from Thimbleberries fabrics), so making all 52 blocks may be a challenge for me, but I'm a sucker for sampler quilts.

Happy New Year!

Does Fred look comfortable?

Yes. A little overflowing, but comfortable. Does Obba look comfortable?

LOL. He thinks he's comfortable. I guess that's what counts. Am I comfortable?

NO!

Cleaning this room is at the top of today's list.

Do you make lists? I do. If I don't write it down I will forget it. Every year I write down 10 quilt projects I want to finish or work on during the year. This year I have more than 10 because I want all of the finished tops (13) I have to get quilted and I've included them on my list. Hmmm, I think three of the items on this year's list were also on last year's list.

Stop procrastinating is always on my list. That one never gets checked off.