October Rabbit, Rabbit

Rabbit, rabbit! It's October. Another month gone. It is moving way too fast, especially with all my responsibilities at work. When I get past Oct. 15 I should be able to get back to my sewing. Can't wait. I am posting about my progress on Fresh Sewing Day on Lynn's blog. (See the button on the right side of my site).

Progress on the houses...pretty slow. Just haven't had machine time.
Here it is. All the rows are sewn and I am assembling the rows in to big sections. If I actually had a day to sew I could have this done in no time.

The last two single rows are laying on the table, partially pinned, and waiting to join the rest of the bunch. Sigh.

On Saturday, Sept. 29 I went to a Bonnie Hunter class in Shepherdsville, KY. I couldn't get into the classes when she was in Lexington. That would have been much closer to where I live, but I also would have had to clear a whole day's schedule at work. It is actually a good thing that I didn't try to do that. So DH packed the car and drove me to Shepherdsville, unpacked the car, set up my stuff in the class, and spent the day looking for something to do. How sweet is that?

Taken from Quiltville.blogspot.com

Taken from Quiltville.blogspot.com

The class was great. I learned a couple really good tips that I will use in my sewing from now on. Turns out some of my obsessive compulsive behaviors actually end up wasting time. I have to form some new habits.

Here are all of my precut strips, and 2.5" squares, and my 4.5" blocks for my Blazing Stars quilt. I completed one 8.5" block just so I could say that I completed a block. I think I really got a lot of sewing done in that class.

DH took the picture when I was talking, not when I was smiling. Oh well.

The best part, other than meeting Bonnie, was having 6 hours of sewing machine time with no guilt. If I had been at home, I would have been working on my big project for work; I would have felt too guilty to sit at the machine. I got 90+ 4.5" blocks done. Four of these will go into a larger block. I will need 99 of these larger blocks for the quilt. All of my cutting is done. So, I have another UFO, but it is like a kit that is ready to go.

Oh yes, and the best thing that happened in September. Jordan Andrew made an early appearance on September 24. Here he is with Mr. Precious.

As a rule, I don't put identifiable pictures of kids on my blog. I broke the rule this time.

Progress on the House Quilt

I have the houses in large sections with 5 more rows to assemble. Here is a close-up of the large, center house.

I couldn't find fabric with a picture that was the right proportion for the window, so I drew in a cat. I found clip art of a cat silhouette and printed it out in several sizes. When I chose the size I wanted I traced it onto the block using my black Pigma pen. It adds a little something to that otherwise blank space. Here are the sections so far.

It's getting there. With my time so limited I have to sew in small chunks of time instead of marathon sessions. It all adds up and I am making progress.

Thanks for stopping by.

Getting it Together

I have made a little progress on my houses. This is my really busy time of year at work, so I don't have much time to sew.

The rows are sewn, but they are not all sewn to each other. I did get my center house block made. I tried to put a few details on it that make it similar to my house. I selected the fabric because my house is made with light colored bricks. I put my address on the front. My front door also has an oval window. We have some small trees in the front. I put a pot of flowers by the entrance.

Here is a closer look. I think the window looks very bland in the middle of this light colored house. I haven't actually sewn the large house to the rows yet because I think I still need to add something. It would be cute to have a cat in the window or something. If I come across the right scale of fabric before I absolutely have to have it sewn in I will make a change to that window.

That's what I have been up to. Thanks for stopping by.

August FMQ

I worked on this at the beginning of the month and then didn't get another chance to work on my sample until today. I had a lesson on a long-arm quilting machine and I used this pattern to practice. (FYI-I would LOVE to have a long arm machine.) I can't get the rhythm of FMQ. I forget which way I need to go and I can't get even coverage. More than once I backed myself into a corner. I love the look of this design on Wendy's beautiful samples. It is just too hard for me.

See What I Won!

Looky looky! I won a big ol' box of scraps from Minick & Simpson. The scraps are strips that are left over after the manufacturer makes the salesman sample cards.

I entered the giveaway on their blog.They gave away three boxes and I won one of them. Here they are all heaped together on my cutting table.

Here they are grouped by color. Aren't the colors fabulous? Creams and blues. The collection is called Indigo Crossing and it will be in quilt shops in February. In the meantime, I get to dream about what project I will use these little pretties for.
Thanks for stopping by.

I'm Getting There!

I have finished piecing 365 scrap houses!

I have started putting together rows of small scrap houses.

 I have one caution to offer if you ever try this project, or if you do another paper piecing project. For some stupid reason (emphasis on stupid) I thought it would be important to leave some of the paper on the scrap houses.

I thought it would help me piece the project together. WRONG! What a pain in the neck. I stopped doing this at some time in the process. Now, when I get to some of the earlier houses that I pieced, I have to take the paper off the back. It would have been no problem to put the houses together without the paper. I have a consistent seam allowance, so I don't need the paper. OY! Don't make this mistake.

I will keep working on this as much as possible tomorrow, but I don't know how much time I can give to the project. Classes begin on Monday and I have some more preparation to get done.

Thanks for stopping by.

Nearing the Finish Line!

I am starting a week full of meetings, etc. in preparation for the first day of classes next Monday. For me, today is the beginning of the new school year. I didn't quite get all of my scrap houses done. I have 342 houses done.

My little basket is getting pretty full. I have selected the fabrics for the large center house, but I haven't sewn that yet. I have seen some really nice ones that people have designed themselves to represent a special place in their lives. I am not that talented. I will put some details on mine that will represent the home I live in now.

I actually have 23 small houses to go. I am doing a batch of 24, just in case I mess one up or if I come across one I really don't like as I am assembling the quilt.

Here they are, all organized. I have completed the door walls. I am half done with the window walls. I will keep plugging away at this. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel...and I am pretty sure it is not a train coming.

Thanks for stopping by.