Fall Wall Hanging

Finished this cute wall hanging I bought at PIQF this year at the ezstitching.com booth. 

Alaska Table Runner

Finished this finally, once I got past how I would quilt it. Purchased in Alaska in 2018. The kit makes two.

My new blog address is

www.stitchingcircle.com

Come on over and see what I've been up to!

Come visit me on my new blog

I know you haven't seen me post in awhile. Almost a whole month. That's because I'm working very hard on my new blog/web site. www.stichingcircle.com My son is now hosting my blog on his server so I can have my own web playground. I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet. But at the very least, I will be blogging over there from now on. I've already imported all my blog posts from here so I won't lose anything. And, I'm starting a separate page to display my finished quilts.

The new site is definitely under construction while I try to get all my links, blogroll, favorite sites, etc. moved over. I'm learning WordPress as I go so this is definitely a challenge. And, work is really busy for me right now, so I have little time to work on it.

So if you are looking for me in blogland, visit my new site and leave me a comment on how you like it so far.

Weekend update

Just a quick update. I finished piecing OTR. Yay. I actually had to make 10 more pinwheels, but I had plenty of four-patches. I realized when looking at the pattern today, I made all my pinwheels backwards from the way Bonnie did them. Oh, well, I'm certainly not doing them over. It is what it is. No one will ever notice but me. Oops, now I've told the world...

I've got about six long seams to connect the final few rows and the top middle will be finished. It won't all fit on my wall, so I'll have to take a pic when I can get it laid out on the floor.

OTR is all I worked on today, so nothing else to report on. Back to work tomorrow. Dont' know how much time I'll have to work on this during this week. I'll be out 3 nights and off to see my grandkids for part of next weekend.

Have a great week everyone.

Super Bowl Weekend Progress

Well it's the end of the day on Saturday and here's my progress. I've finished piecing and assembling my Double Delight. I'm really happy with it. But I'm going to take a break before I choose and attach the borders. I know I said in a previous post I wasn't going to use the on-point setting, but I changed my mind. The setting triangles are all the same pink. I really like the way it turned out.

So now I'm working on Old Tobacco Road. I've had a lot of the pinwheels and four patches done for several months now, so I started cutting the bricks and assembling the top from the upper left corner. Here's how far I got this evening.It's pretty scrap color controlled. I'm keeping it to the golds, browns, blacks, very dark reds, with a few dark blues and greens thrown in. It took me a long time to decide if I even wanted to make this quilt. Now, I'm glad I am; as usual with Bonnie's patterns.

I really want to join everyone tomorrow with a Strip Twist. But I can't decide if I want it scrappy or controlled colors. I pulled these batiks thinking they might work nicely in the Strip Twist pattern. I'd love to hear opinions from all of you before I actually cut into them.

More on my progress tomorrow.

I know so many of you are freezing, suffering power outages, ice, and snow. But, I just have to say here in the SF Bay Area, we are experiencing spring-like weather. I know I should be thankful we don't have the severe weather the rest of the country experiences, but boy I sure would like some winter. We really need the rain.

Warm wishes and prayers to all those who are suffering with the winter storms and power outages.

Super Bowl Sunday with Bonnie

Just added the Super Bowl Strip Twist logo to my sidebar. The rules are to work along with Bonnie on her Strip Twist (or any of her other patterns) on Super Bowl Sunday.

Haven't decided if I'll start a Strip Twist on Sunday or not. But in any case, I will be working on my Double Delight this weekend. I still have nine blocks to put together to finish the top. If I get all that done on Saturday, I may just start a Strip Twist. I certainly have the 2.5" strips cut to do it. In between, I'm working slowly on Old Tobacco Road. So with all of these, I'm certainly qualified to add the logo. Seems I'm working exclusively on Bonnie's patterns these days. I'm totally hooked on scraps or making scraps from my existing stash.

Added to Stash this Week...

I have to confess. I added to the stash this week. I couldn't resist a sale at Fabrics.com and of course I had to get free shipping so I spent more than $35. Way more, $56.56 to be exact. Here's my additions:

3 yards Kaufman Fusions Floral Ruby
3 yards Kaufman Fusions Floral Turquoise
3 yards Kaufman Fusions Floral Periwinkle
2 yards Kaffe Fassett Stencil Carnation Rose

AND, 3 yards 108" WOC backing

Can't say that I've used any more stash this week. I'm still working on Double Delight and all the pieces have been cut for several weeks now. I may use the WOC backing for the back of DD though. Haven't decided yet.

When I first started buying fabric just for stash, I was grabbing 1 yard cuts, and only sometimes 2 yards. Now that I've been quilting for almost 4 years, I realize 1 and sometimes 2 yards in not nearly enough. So, now, when I buy, especially blenders, I buy at least 3 yards. But I still avoid paying full price. I shop the online sales and only buy brands/lines I know. And, I rarely pay for shipping unless it's for a special fabric that I really need and can only find at that store.

I still shop my LQS (only one in my local area) but I support that store more by taking classes and BOMs, and buying specialty threads, etc. that I really need to see before I buy. JoAnn's and their great coupons is saved for notions, rulers, and books, etc. where I don't have to worry about quality. Occasionally, I'll buy some of JoAnn's better quality fabrics on sale or with coupons. Got great Christmas fabric there for 70% off at the end of the year.

That's it, that's my stash report for this week. 14 yards added and 0 yard used.

Double Delight Blocks Finished!

Yay! My Double Delight blocks are finished. Here's most of them on my wall. I've laid them out in a straight set. I'm not sure I want to put them on point as the pattern calls for.


I'll decide how about that and borders tomorrow, or maybe even Monday. I'm just so happy the blocks are done and I love how they turned out. Thank you Bonnie.

How are the rest of you finishing your Double Delight? I've seen a couple of people who are doing straight sets. Somehow, I like the chain blocks to be on the diagonal rather than straight. I did that with my Orange Crush as well.

Tomorrow, I plan to spend finishing up some quilting that I've been meaning to do. I've got some straight stitch grids to add to a small wall quilt that has been hanging around for almost a year. It's even got the binding on it. So, I want this one off my list. Then I've got more quilting to do on my Orange Crush middle before I mark and quilt cables on the border. And, last but not least, I decided to machine quilt the wall hanging for my mom in my previous post. I tried hand quilting it last night and the fabric and batting are just too tough. So I'll echo the star pattern by machine.

Wow, that's a lot to do in one day. We'll see how far I really get. I've got Monday off too, so some of it can roll over.

I'm still here...

Just a quick post to let you know I am still out here. Since I've been back to work after the holidays, I've had no time to post. Haven't even been sewing much. But this last weekend, I had to get this wall hanging put together for my mother's 94th birthday yesterday. I got as far as it being basted and ready for quilting. She loved it.

So I took it back and now I have to do the quilting. I think I will hand quilt it by echoing the star points. Something to keep my hands occupied while watching TV in the evenings.

Haven't worked much on my Double Delight, but I do have several of each block on my wall. I'll try to get a pic posted and more done this long 3-day weekend coming up.

That's all for now. Back to work...

Double Delight Slow going...

Spent most of the morning out running errands and catching some NY sales. So I didn't start sewing until about 12:30. I'm working on Part 1 and Part 2 of Double Delight at the same time. But it's slow going. I must be sitting at the sewing machine too much. I can only sit for about 15 minutes at a time without my back hurting. My chair is all wrong for the table height, but can't do anything about it right now.


As you can see, I'm making progress slowly. I sew a little, press those, sew a little more, then trim some, etc. I'm not going to move on the Part 3 until I have at least 80 units of Part 1 and Part 2 complete. But you can see my pinks waiting patiently on the left for me to finish. Ah, well, two more days until i have to go back to work on Monday. I should be able to get a lot more done by then. It isn't a race after all...

New Year's Quandry...

Happy New Year! I've been working on Part 1 and Part 2 of Bonnie's Double Delight today. After cutting out all my cheddar pieces for Part 1 last night and then Part 2 today, I'm totally bored with my choice. See it in the pic below.


So I raided my stash to see what else I had to liven it up. The closest thing I could find that excited me was the yellow in the pic below. So i made a block from each part with this color too.

After recently finishing my Orange Crush, I just couldn't work with that blah mustard in the first pic. But what does everyone think of the second choice before I cut up the rest of the yardage?

I'll be busy sewing the light triangle on my blue centers for awhile before I have to decide for sure. I'd love to hear from you.

One Mystery Solved...

It's 5 pm and I've been at this QTMysteryQuilts mystery since a little after 8 this morning. I've completed all the blocks. Clue 11 is the layout. I'm out of steam for awhile so here's a pic of some of the blocks laid out on my wall. I really like it. Thanks Ann for letting us do this mystery. I impressed myself with my color choices. AND, that's 5 yards gone from my stash without even considering borders, backing, and binding which I haven't chosen yet.


I'm going to relax now and do something other than sewing to stretch my back. The problem is my cutting table is lower than it should be and that's where I cut and press. And, I don't think I have the right chair height for my sewing machine. So now I have an achy back. Ah, well such is life.

After I rest a bit, I will either sew the blocks together, OR start Bonnie's Double Delight. Either way I'll be working on my Double Delight tomorrow.

We've still got almost seven hours left in 2008. Happy New Year everyone.

Anxiously waiting..........

I'm anxiously awaiting tomorrow morning to start on these NYE mysteries. I doubt I will be up at 5 am. That's the problem with being on the West coast. Ann Smith will post her first clue at 8 am EST, way too early for me. And, Bonnie said she will post her first set of instructions when she gets up which could be as early as 6 am EST. Yikes, that's 3 am here in CA. Sooooooo, I will just have to be behind everyone else.

Went to JoAnn's today to pick up a quilting stencil with my 40% off coupon and walked out the door with 12 1/2 yards of fabric. I usually don't buy fabric at JoAnn's because I prefer the LQS quality, but they hit me right as I walked in the door with their Christmas fabric 70% off. How's a girl to resist? This is actually the better quality stuff from Cranston and Cotton Classics normally $8.99 a yard so I just had to buy it. Just had too! Excuse the poor pic, I took it with my phone.


In the meantime, my mom was poking through my stash the other day looking for light blues. She couldn't find any. When I asked her why, she informed me she wants a light blue and white wall hanging for her bedroom. Since her Birthday is on the 11th, I guess I better try to put something together. Good thing I don't go back to work until next Monday. I think I'll make a Carpenter's Star with a small border around it. That should be easy and will look great. The photo above is one I made for the center of another quilt that we are slowly working on at Quilts Your Way. It went together pretty easily. I'll do it in two shades of blue with cream as the background.

That's all for tonight. Can't wait for tomorrow and the mysteries to unfold.

Happy New Year!

I've signed the Stashbusting pledge for 2009!

Okay, I've signed Judy's Stashbusting pledge for 2009! I did it and I don't regret it. In fact, to show how serious I am, check my previous post from Friday. All the fabric for the two mysteries I'm doing for New Years is pulled from my stash. No new purchases!

I am a fabricaholic. A new one maybe, but a fabricaholic just the same. I don't have a huge stash but let's just say it's starting to creep from under my bed to under any space that an underbed storage container will fit (chairs, cabinets, you know what I mean), and now it's creeping into the garage.

Why do I buy fabric? Well I have to say I rarely buy fabric at full price. There is just no fabric I love enough to pay $10 a yard for. I will pay that much if I find the perfect piece for a special purpose but that is rare. I do buy fabric:

- Because the price is so good, I can' afford not to.
- To match something that I can't match from my stash, but that is rare also.
- And, just because I need to feed my habit. (Most often)

The reasons I want to join this Stashbusting effort are:

- I have some fabric that I really don't know what to do with that I bought early on in my fabric buying. I want to use it up. It's just not really my style now that I've been quilting awhile.
- I want to make room for more fabric.

I know, I know, that last one goes against my pledge. But, you have to understand, when I first seriously got back into quilting a few years ago, I bought everything I liked or that caught my eye. Now my stash is filled with this fabric and not enough blenders, tone-on-tones, and range of colors so I really can shop my stash everytime I start a new project.

So my goal is to get rid of the stuff that just doesn't work for me any more. That will mean some serious planning to figure out a quilt (or quilts) that will use this stuff up. Here's just a little pic of what I'm talking about. This is my bin of crazy wild fabric that is desperately looking for a project.

Oh, and there is more, this is just a sample.

Well, I've done it. Publicly committed to using my stash and to finding a quilt home for these wild and crazy fabrics.

Getting Ready

Happy Day After Christmas everyone. I spent the day getting ready for two New Year's mystery quilts. I was delighted to wake up this morning to find that Bonnie is surprising us all with a new mystery to start on New Year's Eve day, Double Delight. Of course, I'm going to participate. Here're my fabrics that I pulled all from stash. I'm also going to pull 1.5" strips in neutral or pink since Bonnie dropped the hint in her fabric requirements.

And, then, I'm also going to do the QTMysteryQuilts Yahoo group mystery, also on New Year's Eve day. Of all the other mysteries out there, this one sounded most interesting to me. I think because I haven't done one of Ann's patterns before and I only had to choose four fabrics.

Now, with this quilt I have to pre-cut the fabric and pre-sew a bunch a half square triangles. I'll work on that tomorrow.

I think I'm also getting my interest back in Bonnie's Old Tobacco Road mystery from earlier this Fall. I had a bunch of the pieces cut, and then lost interest. Maybe tomorrow I will sew all those little tiny HSTs together and see how far I get.

Saw this on another blog and looked interesting. Here goes. The things I've done are in Green.

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightning at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - SHHHHHH
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone - no, knock on wood
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited Brazil
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Lake Michigan
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Ridden an elephant

Happy Birthday, Mark and Billeejeanne!

Today is my son's 38th Birthday. Unbelievable. Do you know what that makes me? Anyway, I'll spend today with him and my grandkids and then stay the night while he goes out to dinner with friends. Can't get better than that.

It's also my DSIL's birthday today though she doesn't like to celebrate it. Happy Birthday Billeejeanne! We'll celebrate with her on Christmas Eve.

It's a beautiful, clear day today with the temp hovering at 48 degrees. I know that warm for most of you out there, but here in the Bay Area, that's COLD. Not much quilting going on for me today, but maybe tomorrow.

Baking is Done, Presents Wrapped...

Finally, Whew. Just finished my holiday baking. And while the cookies were in the oven, I finished wrapping the last gift. I'm ready. Which is good because I will be watching my grandkids for the next two days and I wouldn't get this stuff done while they are around. All I have left to do is make my broccoli rings for Christmas Eve, but I won't do that until Tuesday night.

Back to quilting. I've ben on a mission to get some of my tops ready for quilting. So, the first one out is my Orange Crush. I put the borders on a couple weeks ago. I just barely had enough of the purple to give it a 3 1/2" border. But I really like it. Here's a pic with the borders.

I've sandwiched it together and gotten some of the straight stitching done on it. I also used transparent nylon thread to outline inside the orange crosses. Not sure if I like it or not. Too subtle for me, but I didn't know what other color to use. Now I just have to figure out what else I want to do on it. It is so busy, it doesn't make any sense to do anything fancy.

Another picture I want to show you is of the six blocks from the Quilts Your Way Christmas in July swap. We only had six participants this year but I think the blocks are fantastic. I'm looking forward to putting a quilt together with these.



That's it for now. I'm on vacation until January 5th, so I'm determined to post at least once every other day about my progress on my quilty projects.

Happy Holidays Everyone.

Wow, I can't believe it's been over two months since I posted here. But, the reality is, I haven't touched my quilting in just about that long. I'm definitely starting to go into withdrawal. I was traveling most of October and it took me almost two weeks to get back to normal once I got home. So here it is almost Thanksgiving. I'll try to post some pics of my travels to Belgium and Paris once I get time to go through the 800 or so pictures I took. I'm one of those people that just have to snap multiples of everything.

I really like posts that include photos, of something, just to hold my interest. So, since I haven't really sewn lately, the best I can do for this post is to show you what I've received in the mail from my quilty friends at Quilts Your Way. And, I've learned a new trick. Embedding a slide show in my blog.

The first twenty blocks are the ones I made for all the swappers in our Squishie Swap this year. The second batch are those blocks that I received from each of the swappers. Hope you enjoy them.



I was also in a Tea Pot Block swap, but I haven't taken pictures of those blocks yet.

I promise to post more often now that life has settled down a little. I'm actually looking forward to the long weekends coming up around the holidays. I've got some tops I'd really like to get ready to be quilted. So keep checking back on my progress.