Hitting it hard

I stitched furiously last evening and made some major progress. I am now 45% done with the quilting. The right side is all quilted.

The center section with the different clothing fabrics - I didn't stitch any of that last evening so I am showing what was previously done.

I got started on the left side.

After I get all the quilting done I will be stitching on the back pockets on the jeans to embellish this. I also have a pair of bright red suspenders I need to add. That is going to be a challenge! This quilt is for my younger sister and is made from some of our Dad's clothes.

Recipes and quilting

I have been working on straightening up my recipes. I have a habit of printing them off and tossing them in a pile, thus having to dig thru that pile when I am looking for something. What a mess. I had a movie I wanted to watch; it needed to get back to the library so I straightened up my piles of recipes while I watched the movie. The movie? By the Sea. It was a bit odd and creepy. The scenery was gorgeous! I would love to go where this movie was shot! I had started straightening up these several days ago. I had some old file folders so now most recipes are in a category and duplicates have been tossed into the recycling.

I did find some time to machine quilt too. I am now 24% done.

Finishing mode

It stills seems strange to me that I not spending all my time stitching on the AC/DC piece. My mode now is to concentrate finishing projects that have been sitting for one reason or another and put a dent in my UFO list.

I finished my 15th quilt for the year. I just couldn't get a good picture of it. The lighting is so bad in my studio, but I got a good picture of the backing fabric when I folded the quilt up and put it beside the window. It is a Jay McCarroll fabric which I wish I would have more. It was the perfect backing for this quilt.

I finished knitted my red scarf. It measures about 6" x 72"

I finished this baby blanket. It measures 41" x 34"

I ironed fabric that I washed months ago. Yes, there are three vintage pieces that are 36" wide. There is at least 3 yards of the floral, 2 - 2 1/2 of the blue and white print, and maybe a couple yards of the blue stripe. I have no plans for this fabric. It came into my life from a friend.

The project I am currently working on is this quilt that I started quilting months ago, but got put on hold because the AC/DC and Harley quilts. This quilt is 74" X 87" or 6,438 square inches. I quilted a bit on it last evening and I am now 16.5% done. This quilt is for my sister and the strip in the middle is our Dad's clothes.

Quilt progress

I am now done with the off white area - the fabric is really a tiny striped fabric. Here is what the quilt looks like now.

I was on my way back from getting a perm and saw a lot of emergency and police lights. I wasn't sure I would be able to get past them, but they had the outer lane open. I counted at least three sheriff cars, a couple of state highway cars, at least four ambulances, and two or three fire trucks. I never did see any smashed cars, but eventually an ambulance did come by with their light flashing. This is a major intersection, but the officers kept the traffic moving while clean up was taking place. I didn't see anything in the paper about it so I have no idea what happened. I made it home safe and that I was grateful for!

This weekend I plan on finishing the baby quilt and figuring out what my next project is going to be. It funny to have to think about my next project when for 3 months I only had two to focus on. Now with these quicker projects I have to think ahead so I don't waste time once I get something done.

Have a great weekend!

Machine quilting ...

has begun! Here is what I have done so far using Kin Tut Parchment colored thread. I love King Tut thread. I use it in the bobbin as well as on top.

Slowly moving

Last evening was not that productive. I was still so tired from the heat and humidity from Saturday with helping to load and unload the equipment for the band. I did get a load of laundry done, baked a few cookies, and forced myself to pin baste the baby quilt before I went to bed early.

I am feeling better today. I think I will start the machine quilting tonight.

Exhausting Weekend

I finished embroidering the AC/DC quilt on Friday night as I watched the Indians game. I was up at 6 to start the finishing. I pushed as hard as I could and didn't even have time to hang it up to make sure it would hang straight. I had to drop it off by 1 p.m. when they first opened, because I had to drive to my brother's house to head for the fundraiser/gig with the band. The Art prize people will send me the professional photo of my piece, but for now here is all I have.

So we head to the gig and it is hot and muggy. It was a nice venue. The band was under a pavilion and we put up a tent for the merchandise booth. Then it rained. It stopped and rained again. I am so glad I spent the time to wash and fix my hair - not! I was a sopping wet rag by the time we loaded out. They sold lots of tickets for the Harley quilt - I don't know how much it raised yet. The winner was someone who really wanted the quilt bad. The winner was the bass player for the band! It was all legit too. He spent $20.00 on tickets and was so excited that he won. I got to bed at midnight.

Sunday morning I could hardly move. I spent the morning knitting while I watched a bit of TV. I got 9" added to this scarf which I haven't worked on in months. It is now 46" long. The finish length is 70".

Between cleaning the studio and doing laundry, I got the baby quilt for my SIL's friend ready to pin baste.

From 5:45 to 6:55 I trimmed and mowed the front yard and one side yard. I hadn't mowed in at least a month so the yard was a mess. It looks a lot better although the flower beds are still a wreck. After mowing I was done for the day and exhausted.

29 hours to go ...

until I have to turn in my AC/DC piece. Last night I did get done what I set out to do. I finished the "Done Dirt Cheap" lettering and border. The letters are smaller so there were a few times I had to use the stab method to get around the tight curves.

I still need to finish the stars. They don't take very long to do.

And this morning before work I got the border started. I am using a variegated blue thread.

So what else is on the list for this piece? I need to put the date on two shirts, sew on the facing binding, add a rod pocket, and add a label. I will probably be up late tonight and early tomorrow to get it all done.

I had sent a text to the woman who is having the 6th poker run in honor of her daughter. I also sent her a picture of the Harley quilt. She got back to me last night and said "Omg it's beautiful ... crying" I am so glad she likes it. I will be looking forward to reactions on Saturday when it gets displayed for the fundraiser.

I just heard from Glenda of quiltswissy.blogspot.com. Her and her husband home was flooded in the floods in Baton Rouge. If you go to her blog she posted a picture of their belongings sitting on the curb - all damaged from the flood waters. Thru all of this her big worry is the animals that were displaced during the flooding including three shelters that were flooded. CAAWS.org is in need of donations to feed all the dogs and cats that need taken care of until they can be returned to their owners or the strays can be adopted. I know it would mean a lot to Glenda for us to pitch in.

Have a great weekend!

Progress pictures

First, the back of the Harley quilt. I took the picture this morning and even after turning on all the lights it is still a bit dark.

Here is the progression on the last AC/DC shirt that needs embroidered. I was up at 4:30 this morning. I just couldn't go back to sleep, so I got another hour and 15 minutes of stitching in this morning.

I am getting there! I have tonight, tomorrow night, and Saturday morning. I have to drop it off Saturday afternoon. If I had I another week, I would add more, but it is what it is.

Silly me

I forgot to take a picture of my progress on the last t-shirt this morning - silly me! I did get some clip rings so I could hang up the Harley t-shirt quilt and take a better picture of it. The quilt is 84" x 96". I will have to get a picture of the back for you.

Still stitching

Last night was a mix of laundry, washing dishes, baking off flatbread, and stitching. Sometimes I have to break down and do the domestic stuff. Here is the progress I have made so far on the last shirt.

Yesterday a package arrived with 12 FQ of cute fabric I won from Sally and Molly on The Objects of Design.

My friend Glenda and her husband, Frank, live in Baton Rouge and were flooded out of their home. Her blog is quiltswissy.blogspot.com. I can't imagine the stress of dealing with this type of devastation. I wish I was closer in distance that I could lend a hand, but I live 1,100 miles from Baton Rouge so all I can give is my moral support and be a place where venting can happen.

Weekend results - 13th finish

After getting some groceries early Friday morning, I did not leave the house the rest of the weekend. I had stitching to do! I got the Harley quilt done Saturday late afternoon - yeah! This is my 13th finish for the year. I went to hang it up and take a picture, but I had used all my rod clips for my living room drapes I made a few months back so I had no way of hanging up the quilt. So here it is for now.

I did find a little hole in the backing fabric after I had this over half quilted. To fix that I put a little patch over it and from a foot away you can hardly see it.

I then got back to stitching the AC/DC quilt. I got this section done.

The border I first added was just a row of backstitching and for me that was not enough. Here is what I did to add to the backstitching.

For this shirt I could not leave well enough alone. It just had a backstitched border and I thought it needed a bit more. Here is the before:

and here is the after

I now am working on the last shirt that had no embroidery.

I was up at 4:41 this morning and got started on the stitching. I have until Friday to get this done along with stitching on the patches, binding, and a rod pocket.

These are the movies I watched while I stitched along with the Indians' games. Indians swept a four game series against the Angels and are in 1st place in their division with at 5 game lead on Detroit.

8 hours equals ...

I machine quilted from noon until 8 p.m. yesterday and I am now 53% done with the quilting! Here is what I got done:
this

and this

and these

and in these two rows the brown shirt, the blue shirt, the white shirt, and the gray shirt. These two rows are now done.

Here is a shot of the other side of the quilt with a few of the shirts quilted

Now that I know what I can accomplish in eight hours and can now figure out my schedule for the next eight days to get this quilt and the AC/DC quilt done. Off the top of my head I have another 16 hours of quilting to do. It takes more time to go around the designs and lettering, and changing thread colors, but I still think 16 hours ought to do it. Throw in 6 for binding and a label and it should be done. I think I will be taking a day's vacation tomorrow so you will have to wait until Monday to get the next report!

Have a great productive weekend!

A change of pace

Yesterday I decided to give my hands a break from hand stitching and switch to machine quilting the Harley t-shirt quilt. Both the AC/DC quilt and the Harley quilt need to be done the 19th. My hands feel so much better today. The soreness is gone, but yet I still accomplished a lot.

I have gone from 8.6% done to 24% done on the Harley quilt. I did not work on teh AC/DC quilt at all yesterday. Here are the sections I got done

There is a lot of detail quilting in these shirts. I take the time to outline the letters and design which I think adds so much. I could never just quilt over everything. Here is an example on this shirt. I am working on outlining the Harley Davidson emblem with black which you can't even see on the front. I will then switch to gray thread to outline the rest of the lettering and then meander stitch the background.

Here is what the back looks like. I know it is hard to see with such a busy back.

This quilt is for a fundraiser. Andrea died in a car accident and her mother has this poker run in her honor. My nephew's band donate their time and provide the entertainment. I hope the quilt raises lots of money!