Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Two Civil War Blocks

 I've just about caught up with the CW quilt-along.  Before the weekend I had an evening to put these two blocks together, can't wait to start on the latest block now. 





Here are all my blocks so far, I'm quite pleased with the fabric choices overall.




With the other project Ive been working on, I'm very close to finishing a centre applique block and getting the last of the  small star blocks for this quilt done.  Pictures soon.

I am so pleased my little fire bug (10 yr old with burnt thumb,see previous post) has had the dressing and bandages removed and his thumb is looking very pink but healing well.

Happy stitching,
Rowena  





Friday, March 25, 2011

Civil War Blocks and a Quilt Top Finish

I made 99% of this quilt top for my 26 yr old son, Nicolas, last winter.  I only had one last strip of border to attach to call it finished but it sat and sat until yesterday.  It took me about 5 minutes to pin it on and a further 5 to stitch it!!  Why do we do that?  The fabrics were from a jelly roll of Japanese Indigoes with some neutrals and a Japanese terracotta dragonfly fabric plus the navy/indigo border.  I've looked at it a hundred times and thought "oh, I'll get around to that in a while" .  I have another quilt top in a similar condition, only a couple of hours work at most, I really love the quilt but I seem to have lost the momentum to finish it.  I never have a problem buying the fabric for a new project!!!  I know I'm not alone or the UFO would never have been invented ,LOL.  No one was home to hold it up for me to photograph and it was after nightfall so here it is folded in half and hanging on a door.  I have a couple of customer quilts to quilt then I'll put it on the longarm and give it to my son before winter arrives.....I WILL!


I have finished another of Barbara Brackman's Civil War quilt-along blocks.


I've always loved the Churn Dash block, in fact it was the very first block I ever made.  I only made one, sort of a test to see if I liked the process.  Apparently I did!  That poor lonesome block still sits in a tub with some of the first fat quarters I bought.

Talking of fabric.... these arrived in the mail a while ago.  They are a Bonnie Blue Basics III fat quarter bundle, gorgeous.


If you're squeamish don't look at the following pictures.  My 10 yr old son decided to see what would happen if he set fire to a square of kitchen paper towel!!!  What is it that makes kids do these things?  He has a nasty 2nd degree burn on his thumb.


One of the many joys of raising children!  After having 5 you'd think I'd get used to this type of thing but I was really appalled at his insanity. That was 2 weeks ago and after a visit to the doctors every 2nd day to change the dressing, the burn is looking really good with no infection and the dressing can come off next week.  Life is never dull!

Enjoy your weekend,
Rowena




Monday, March 14, 2011

Civil War and Catch Up

 My 94 yr old Grandmother passed away last Sunday after a bad fall put her in hospital a few weeks ago.  Unfortunately her age and frailty were against her and she succumbed to pneumonia.  She was such a character, she traveled all over the world, her most recent trip only last year and she was never afraid to speak her mind!  I hope she's in a place where she can surf to her hearts content (a favorite pastime into her seventies), play her best game of golf and win at bridge!  Betty Alice Findlay I will really miss you, the world was a better place with you in it!

I feel as though I have be away from blogland for ages, my computer got a really nasty virus.  If only the people who create those things put their smarts to better use, imagine what they could accomplish!  Fortunately we have a wonderful Chinese fellow who is a whiz at all things computer and he was able to put things to rights so I"m back, I'm back!! Yay! I think I had withdrawals.

Not too much sewing or quilting has been done with trips up and down to the city to see my poor Gran but I've managed to get these blocks done and I have the next ones ready and waiting for their visit to the sewing machine.


These are my blocks so far.


As you can see I've made several of one of the blocks and a couple of the star block.  I ended up with enough to make two blocks from my interpretation of the cutting instructions for Block One, then I decided to try a different colour way for Block One and the star block.

Happy stitching,
Rowena