FIRE ENGINES, CLEAN IT UP & DUCKS

Our oldest grandson Elijah recently passed his National EMT training certification and has been working as a volunteer fireman with a local area while he waits for entry into the Fire Academe.  He jokingly asked me to make him a fire engine quilt.  Yah sure, but I did stumble across a picture of one on the internet and was able to duplicate it.  I thought it was a bit of a young child's quilt theme, but once the top was done I thought it came out really pretty good.  His 20th birthday is in November, so it is off to the quilter this week once the back I order arrives.

This is the final finished top of The Flower Pot quilt.  It is off to the quilters now. 

The sewing room got a good cleaning this past few days.  The carpet in there was a mess.  Overspray from Best Press and the path from the ironing board to my cutting table was pretty bad as well.  So I emptied the entire room and we busted out the rug shampooer and husband got to it.  I didn't expect much, but was pleasantly surprised to find it cleaned up almost like a new carpet.

As long as I was doing some major cleaning in there I managed a bit of overhaul in the closet with my wire basket storage system of moving the bins that I don't use much to one side of the closet and the fabric bins I do use to the other.  Gives one a whole new feeling in there.

Once I had everything out of the sewing room and carpet is drying for half a day and overnight I figured I could set up my travel sewing machine in the dining room and at least accomplish something.  I stumbled on a bin of cut squares and the patten so was able to sew a couple rows of a quilt destined for my guild's charity group.  So all and all the two days of wet carpet and cleaning worked out fairly well.

We had birthday celebrations out at my daughter's last weekend and snapped a couple pictures of the six little ducks she purchased two weeks ago.  They have grown a good deal and have graduated to their own little yard.  

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

MID WEEK MAKERS

   

CURIO AND PEACOCKS

This week has been especially busy High School Freshman Football games began on Thursday for our youngest grandson.  We try never to miss a home game.  Plus I made some good progress on a quilt top that is to be given as a gift in January.  I thought I had plenty of time, but by the time late October comes my long arm quilter is bound to be stacked up and weeks behind. 

A few weeks ago I did get this section done, it probably consists of about 1/5 of the finished top, minus the two borders. 

However, in looking at the pattern and directions I realized I had better get busy.  And the first thing was to somehow manage where each fabric color and print went.  

Part of the issue was after dealing with all the 36 different fabrics in the kit I realized I had to number the fabrics.  The pattern has a key as to placement of each fabric and trying to figure out matching the name of the fabric and the number in the layout meant I needed to do some organization. 

This second left lower section was so much easier to manage which fabric went where.  Once I do the three blocks that are placed between this section and the first one I will be half done with the top.  Then on to the right side.

Peacocks seem to be showing up everywhere.  As many of you know I have a daughter that lives on several acres out in the country.  She has numerous chickens, ducks, and yes peacocks.  This little lady showed up one morning and has insisted on staying.  My daughter already has 4 males and 2 females, that live in a large avery.  They have been trying to get her into it with the others without much success as of yet.  They are feeding her and she roosts at night in the trees and hangs out all day around the avery so it doesn't appear she plans on leaving.       

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

MID WEEK MAKERS

 

 
 

THE FLOWER POT QUILT

I have taken a good part of this week to complete my Flower Pot blocks.  This project has been hanging around for a good deal of time, as I started it in November of 2019.

This is the original pattern, but due to its size it is just too big for my purpose.The only four blocks I planned on doing are done at last.  Now the pattern has additional blocks for the top and bottom and a border as well.  I do not plan on adding them.  The quilt is designed for a wall in my dining room and it would be way too large to fit on it.

I often decide to make changes to patterns and this one was no different.  The pieced lattice should have been 2 inch finished squares.  They just didn't seem to make a statement so I increased them to 3 inches and left out the background piece between those two bottom pieced rows.

Now just to add 3 inch blocks down the sides of this second center block, sew the two together, and add the two long panels on each side.  Once quilted I will be binding it with the a bright orange print that was used in the top flower on the bottom block above.  

While all the photos of the project and sewing going on Zoey our Yorkshire Terrier found the entire process disturbed her afternoon nap, thus the rather bothered look. 

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MID WEEK MAKERS  

  
 

AUGUST BOM AND A POSEY QUILT

August has just begun and I am back to working on the 8th month of my Block of the Month Garden Party Down Under.  I got my Alex Anderson neutral quilt finished and it is off to the quilter.  So I should be able to breathe easier.  

I expect to be able to get this Garden Party block done within the next week or so.  After this block I have one more similar to it in September and the last four are 6.5 by 12.5 inches vases with vines and leaves or flowers in October and November.  December is supposed to be a diamond border.  However, the size with the border will not fit on the wall in my dining room so I do not plan to add it.

I told myself I would not start anything new.  However, this particular  book caught my eye.  I happen to have some fabric I purchased some time ago from Melanie Taylor that was in the same colors as on the cover of this book.

And this quilt in it and her sew along that started last week just would not let me escape.

The fabric is absolutely yummy and the pattern is perfect for it.  

The borders are all low volume white and off-white, some do have a bit of color in them as well.  I am not buying any fabric, just using left overs from other projects.

Block number 1 done and only 24 to go.  They are a bit fussy as those magic corners are cut 1.5" square and there are 9 white and 4 brown in each block.  All the centers will be that one brown fabric.  I expect to be doing a great deal of sitting in my chair in the evenings drawing diagonal lines on 1.5" squares.

My daughter sent me this picture.  This is what has greeted her every morning for the last week.  The reason for this gathering is a demand for wet canned cat food not their usual kibble fare.  Sandie the orange cat had a tooth issue that required a visit to the vet for an extraction.  The vet said to feed her wet canned cat food for a few days until she healed.  Normally she does not allow cats on the counter, but to keep the other four unaware of Sandie getting special food for a few days she allowed her to eat up there.  On the second day this is what she woke up to.  And if anyone believes that she is going to get away without their demand for special canned wet food you are very mistaken.     

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

MID WEEK MAKERS