Do You Have This Fabric???

I worked on the borders for Secret Project 2 today (while Mom sat downstairs with dogs in her lap watching baseball).  OOPS! I ran out of this fabric.  I only need a fat quarter or a quarter yard.  Of course it's been discontinued.  I couldn't even find it on Etsy.  The selvage says "SophistiCATS by Partrick Lose.  I would gladly pay you for it, plus shipping.  This would be my first fabric purchase since I started "Making Do," but I did say I would allow myself to purchase fabric for book quilts, of which this is one.

If I can't find some of this FAST, I'll find another fabric in my stash to replace this.  All will be well in the end. :)

We have been busy bees today.  I helped Mom order somethings she needs on the internet.  After lunch we had our frozen custard (YUM!) and hubby drove us around campus.  We took her to visit Cam Newton as you can see above.  (Doesn't she look great for 82?!)Then we stood outside the baseball stadium and watched the team practice for a bit.  Later I took Mom to Dillard's to pick up a couple of things she needed.  We going out to eat in a little while.  Tonight:  I'll hexie!

Pillow Goodness

Aren't these pillows gorgeous!  They are for sale at a local furniture/design store.  I can see both of them turned into quilt patterns.  Hmmm....  Might be some complicated piecing, but may I can graph them out.

Obviously (since I'm sharing pillows) I didn't sew today.  Well, I did do some hand sewing on Secret Project 3.  Hopefully I can sneak up to my studio and put the final borders on it tomorrow afternoon.  And tonight I might do some Sue Spargo embellishing.  But no zigzags.  Our daughters have been here today so they could spend time with their grandmother.  We've all been camped in front of the TV watching football games and eating Chicken Salad Chick (I bought a pound each of Fancy Nancy, Buffalo Barkley, and Olivia's Old South), chips and hummus, popcorn, and Halloween candy.  What a nutritious day.  Oh well, we'll get some vegetables in our systems soon. :)

Mom says she feels like she's on vacation.  She's really relaxing and enjoying the family time.  I think tomorrow I'll take her for a frozen custard at Shake's.  Soft serve ice cream is her favorite!!!  Might have to try their Fall flavor of Spiced Pumpkin.  Yum.....

Hexies Galore

A little break in the zigzag action.  My mother is here!  Yay!  My brother had to come to town for a funeral and he brought her.  So good to have her here for a few days!  We're going to spend our time doing a little shopping since she doesn't get many opportunities to do that.  We'll get a few walks in (since she doesn't have a place to do that).  And we'll do a lot of RELAXING while I hexie!

Here's a little sneak peak at Secret Project no. 2.  I thought I'd have this top done by now, but I don't.  The end is near though.  :)

Zigs and Zags and a Studio Tour

I got my zigzag mojo back on today!  So good to be feeling better!  I'm very lucky that the Yuckity-Yuck didn't hit me as hard as it did hubby.  He went to work yesterday only to leave early.  But he finally went to a doctor and got TWO shots and a bagful of prescriptions.  He's home again today, but is doing MUCH better.

Yes, I made two zigs and zags!  And I figured out my mistake in sewing the blocks together and got it back on track.  These zigzag blocks can be tricky.  There are actually two different blocks (one of each shown above) and if one gets sewn in the place of another, the entire flow is messed up.  I have sewn the left half of the quilt together, which means that part is off my design wall!

I thought I'd share a couple of shots of my new studio so you can see where I sew.  The picture below is taken as you walk in the door.

You can see my design wall across the end of the room.  My sewing table is in front of that.  On the right side I have my HQ Sixteen Sitdown quilting machine, then a table with my Accuquilt Studio Cutter, and then my ironing table (with half of the zigzag quilt on it).  On the left side (in front of my primary sewing table) is my feather weight sewing table and then my cutting table.

And here's the view from the other end of the room.  That doorway is to the bathroom and closet.  The best thing about my studio is that I don't store my fabric in it.  It's all in the closet.  The bright white walls keep me focused on the project at hand without cluttering my mind with distractions or piles of stuff (as in my previous studio).  And three large windows give me lots of natural light and a wonderful view as I sew.

Since I cleaned off the design wall, I was able to hang this.  I know it looks like a wrinkly mess, but I really like it.  Once trimmed and quilted I think it will be just what I was going for.  I've decided that Gee's Bend is the perfect name for it, and it will not just represent the style.  It illustrates my Dad's (Gee's) bends over the years.  The bend in his back causing him to be stooped.  The bend in his mind causing his dementia.  Gee's Bend, it is!

No Zigs or Zags.....

Still a bit under the weather.  I'm sure tomorrow will be a better day!  Since I have no zigzags to share (glad I made two yesterday), I thought I'd share a future project.

I've been drooling, absolutely DROOLING, over the Kantha Quilt jackets sold at Material Obsession in Australia.  Have you seen them?  Take a moment and see what I'm talking about HERE.  The jackets are made from Kantha quilts, which in turn are made from old saris.  But they are pricey!

Not long ago I noticed a sale at Joss and Main on Kantha quilts.  So I snapped one up and was thrilled when it came in the mail!  Above is one side.

And below is the other side.

It is quilted by hand.  I wish you could feel how SOFT and CUDDLY this quilt is!  And I love that little patch quilted in place above - so real and beautiful.

I had the quilt for a few weeks before I found a jacket pattern to use:

I like this pattern because both sides of the quilt will be visible.  If possible, I'll make the jacket reversible, and a bit longer.  It says it's a two hour pattern.  Let's hope so!  The weather is cooling off now so I think I need to get busy on this!  I'm hoping to use the scraps to make pillows or bags.  Hope I get to it soon!

Two Zigzags!

The Yuckity-Yuck got me down last night and again this morning.  But this afternoon I felt a lot better and headed up to the studio.  And yes, I made two zigzags!  I stayed up there awhile and worked on sewing zigzag blocks together.  But then I made a mistake.  Grrrr.....  So I did some unsewing.  Still couldn't figure out what I've done wrong.  I hate to leave a mistake without fixing it immediately, but I did.  So tomorrow I'll have to do more unsewing and get back on track.  I'm hoping to get this quilt off the design wall within a couple of days, even if I have more border blocks to make.

Hubby is still struggling.  He stayed home again today, but I think he'll be able to go back to work tomorrow.  I think I'll be up for hand sewing tonight.  Secret Project 2, here I come!

Yuckity- Yuck....

Yup.  That funny feeling in my throat yesterday afternoon was indeed the beginnings of the dreaded Yuckity-Yuck.  Hubby's case is still hanging in there.  He's a bit better, but a long way from well.  Ugh.  So I know the next few days will not be pleasant.

This afternoon I felt well enough to head to the studio to get my zigzag on.  At first it took me twenty minutes to make one block.  Now I've got it down to about ten or eleven minutes.

I was still doing okay after that, so I forged on.  I made another border for the Gee's Bend quilt.  Yes, I even sewed it on.  So now that top is finished!  I can't get a good picture though until the zigzag comes off my design wall.  If that isn't incentive to start doubling up on zigzag blocks, I don't know what is!

That amount of sewing did me in.  Maybe I'll feel like hand sewing this evening.  Maybe not.  This too shall pass.