BELIEVE THE DREAM

Earlier in the summer I decided to find a way to clear up some of my WIPs so I made a list and put the numbers in a jar.  Each time I asked my DH to pull one out for me.

In August he pulled a number from my WIP jar and it was to be completed that month. 
He pulled #8, which was a bunch of extra 9-Patch blocks that I had made for another project.  I had planned to use them for the backing of the first project and, then, I changed my mind.

I set them aside with the idea of making more blocks if necessary and to put them into another bed-size quilt.  The longer I looked at them the less I wanted to make that large quilt.

When I pulled them out after their number was drawn in August, I still was not inspired.

I tried several layouts and nothing was keeping my attention.  See my post at   http://frogpondstudio.blogspot.com/2012/08/wip-3-in-progress.html.

August was a very busy life month for us.  We had the Longest Yard Sale and my husband had his first hip replacement surgery.  This cut into my studio time and WIP #3 did not get finished so I carried it into September. 
I was still struggling with a layout.  I wanted something that was un-traditional with these traditional blocks. 

At first I put brown frames on the 9-Patches that were light in the corners and I put neutral frames on the blocks that had green in the corners.

This gave me an uneven number of blocks.  I tried the above layout and knew I would need more blocks.  This layout was predictable and not terribly interesting.

Here is another predictable layout.  Still not exciting.

So I tried these checkerboard squares and tried offsetting the rows.  Nope, not working!

Then I came upon a new layout.  I chose a lighter neutral fabric for the setting triangles to help "float" the interior pattern.  I also chose an asymmetrical arrangement of blocks.  It is not predictable; It is a little bit nontraditional; It is a bit modern.  I like it!

This time I used one fabric for the backing.  It has the word "Believe" on it.  I meander quilted it using an olive shade of thread, (Superior # 617), which blends well with so many fabrics.

    

Lil Bit helped me put on the binding.

She watched the needle very closely.  She didn't even mind when the quilt was piled on top of her.

Lil Bit and I are very happy with the finish of this WIP.  "Believe the Dream" has turned out to be a fun quilt after all.  We can snuggle under this to watch TV this winter.

                                            -sandi

IT'S BEEN AWHILE

My last post was on my birthday.  What a wonderful birthday I have had this year!  That was over two weeks ago though.

This has been a busy month. Since my hubby had his first hip replacement surgery about 4 weeks ago, I have been the official chauffeur for him.  I have driven him to therapy three times each week; then he went back to work Tuesday a week ago and that meant taking him and picking him up.  Reminded me of carpool days with my children when you could barely sandwich a load of laundry and maybe  short trip to the market in and it would be time to head for pick up again.

He officially passed his "driving test" on Saturday and will now be driving himself for a while.  At least until he does the next surgery in about 4 weeks. 

I took a look at my studio and could not understand why it was such a wreck since I have not spent much time in there lately.  Every surface was piled up with stuff.  There was no way I could even begin to sew.
Just look at this . . .

The most important two things on this chest are my rulers and my mug hot pad.  I doubt that you can see either one in this picture.  What you do see are some "fish" wine bottles that my DH brought home from a yard sale months ago to add to my collection.  You also see a Zippy Strippy bag that I just plopped down after my Pbees and I finished our workshop.  The rest is just a "duke's mixture" of things that were not put away.  This chest is immediately inside the door and always ends up being the catchall surface.

Now, doesn't that look much better?  I love that little mini 9-Patch quilt that a friend gave me.  It was hand pieced and hand quilted by Betty Hicks in 1994.  We were both members of the Hamilton County Home Demonstration Club at that time.  The pincushion that is set on top of a terra cotta flower pot saucer was another gift from a guild when I did a program for them.  I think it was made by the late Betty King.

This end of the room has my cutting table and another design wall.  Look at all that leftover batting and stuff piled up on that table and the little TV tray beside it and another stack of crates and on and on...

This is better.  Now I can get going on the project at hand.

Yes, there is a sewing machine back there.  Of course there is another Modern project on the front of this table and a hand sewing project on the right side plus a stack of stuff on the left that includes a bin of selvages.

Now, I am ready to continue on this September WIP and hopefully finish it.

Whew! what a day.  However, it does feel good to have a clean workspace again.

Here is another distraction I have these days.  She is so adorable and I simply have to stop and play with her all the time.

During this month I have worked on a few other projects which will be topics for future blogs.  Keep watching.

Thank you again for stopping by my studio.  I appreciate your comments, too.  When you comment I feel like we have had a special visit.

                                      -sandi

AUGUST REPORT

At the beginning of August my DH selected another WIP from the bowl with all many of the unfinished/in progress projects that I have in the studio.  The one he selected was listed as #8 on the master list.  It is a set of 9-patch blocks that  started with a Moda Jelly Roll.

I have tried several different layouts but did not choose one.  I still have to make a block or two more.  Inspiration has not been forthcoming on how to finish this quilt.  I kept setting it aside as other things began to happen during the month.

Early in August was the Longest Yard Sale and DH and I are vendors.  We were involved for two weeks with setup, selling, and breakdown.  It was a huge success for us, but indeed a lot of work.
These are our tents with twelve tables of merchandise.

Another thing that happened at the Longest Yard Sale was the purchase of a Yorkie Puppy.  Her name is Little Bit.

She was four months old when we brought her home with us.  Puppies require a lot of time and attention and she was no exception.  Now that she is a little older and trained, she is not a lot of trouble and she brings bundles of joy to our lives.

As the month progressed my life became a little more hectic.  I had a windfall.  An opening  occurred at a nearby retreat center and I was invited to go.  I accepted and thought I would work on this WIP there.  I love to work on a big project when I go to retreats. I went to Grand Oak Retreat in Scottsboro, AL.  I had a really great time and met some new quilters.

In the meantime someone commissioned me to make a quilt to give for a Christmas gift.  I thought I could use my time at the retreat to make the top for this customer.  Again I set aside this month's WIP.  So I spent my four days cutting and sewing on this:

I was really pleased with the way it turned out.  Scrappy quilts are so much fun.

During the next week after Retreat, I went to Birmingham for a day trip to visit my grandsons before school started and for Little Bit to meet the boys and their dog, Hoss.

This is Nick and he is nine years old.

Hoss is a Teacup Chihuahua.  He is a lot bigger than Little Bit.

A few days after I returned, my DH went to the hospital to have the first of two Hip Replacement Surgeries. 

 We spent two nights and three days at the hospital.  During that time I worked some on my Hexie project.  I almost finished one more section.

Our children came up and spent the weekend before surgery  with us celebrating our older grandson's sixteenth birthday.  What fun was that !!!

This is Preston and he is a Junior at Hoover High School.

During this month I taught a class making Zippy Strippy Bags with my Piecemakers Bee Group.  Still I did not work on the WIP.  I could not get any inspiration for setting it.

I have a full, rewarding, and exciting life!!!  I try to live each day to the fullest!!  This is not a dress rehearsal, life is the real thing!

This month's WIP will be carried over to September and will surely be completed during that month.  Somehow, I could not get it going for August.  Wonder Why????

                                        -sandi

WIP #3 Progress

This is where it started.  Some 9-Patch blocks, some squares, and some jelly roll strips.

First set of blocks framed out in neutral colors.  Will probably need to make one more block.

The brown blocks were framed out and put on the design wall.

Hmmm, I don't know about this. . .

Had another idea

Maybe I will offset the rows and make a pieced border of the red and cream squares.

It is improving, but it still does not sing!!

Okay, let's try another layout.

Starting to hum a little tune here, I think. . .   This will require two more dark framed blocks.

Enough for now.  I will post as I reach the finish line!

                                     -sandi

NEXT WIP NUMBER IS #8

I am ahead of schedule for this month's WIP.  It is finished and posted.

Since I have a very busy August coming up --  the Longest Yard Sale - another retreat - and DH's hip replacement surgery -- just to mention a few things, I decided to go ahead and have DH draw the number for August.

Number 8 is the lucky project for August.

Number 8 is some leftover 9-Patch blocks with some extra jelly roll strips and some squares that were cut for half square triangles.

I have completely changed my mind about what I want to do.

These blocks are very traditional and very muted in color and tone.

I have a little bit of a twist I want to use to complete this project.  Wonder if I can get something a little contemporary out of this?

Stay tuned. . .

-sandi