Pieced

The Carpenter's Wheel is all pieced, thank goodness. I did this one a little different than others I've seen. If you look at the corners of the quilt you'll see it's a corner of the center star instead of the normal circle outward flow. For me it feels like an exploding Carpenter's Wheel. I've added the border, which brings the size to 55" square. I'm going to add at least another ring of purple around the outer edge, but I'm not sure how I want to do the corners on those.

I thought I wanted it to look like the border of purple was jutting down into the white, but now that I look at it, I think it might be cool to turn those corners into trapezoids like the rest of the shapes within the quilt.

For the back this will will have flannel (and thereby stay put on a bed). The flannel DH found for me is a blender that looks like you took every single purple in the quilt and mixed it together. Kinda neat. Of course there will be photos of that later.

How often are you hearing the ice cream man around your neighborhood? Right now I can hear him. I think it's the 3rd or 4th time today, and I was gone for a couple of hours in the afternoon. I was a suburb kid that moved to rural Arkansas so I went from having an ice cream man in the summers, to not having one ever. I missed that in my childhood, and I was certain as an adult I'd be the parent running to meet the ice cream man every time his music played.

Guess what? I'm not that mom. It's still early in the summer and I hear that all the time. Makes me a little twitchy. Sometimes he'll go around even AFTER I've put Jessica to bed! Maybe I've read to many bad "stories" about "ice cream men". While I enjoy a treat as much as the next person I can send DH to the "corner store" where he will spend less and be back faster because he doesn't have to wait in line, not to mention "safer". Isn't that awful? At least I'm still supporting the "little guy" as my "corner store" is owned by locals that live right around here.

G is for Go for Another

Yep I did it. I made a receiving blanket to match. It was the joy of the two to make. Went nice and easy and the fabric really is nice to work with. In the Applique Heart it says "Little One". That is my favorite part. It took all my scraps to make it, but I felt full filled when I finished, which is more than I can say for the ABC one, as I was so dog tired when I finished it.

I do hope everyone has had a good weekend. DH has been hard at work taking the Maple Tree down one huge branch at a time. It's quite sad really. The tree has been with us since we bought the house and while we most likely would have bought the house without the tree, it has been a wonderful addition to our home. I am currently researching dwarf fruit trees perhaps something will be able to replace it.

F is for Finshed

I'm so glad to have wrapped up the baby quilt today. It have some kind of disease or something. It's got to be some quilt infection! Just when I thought I was nearly done and the quilt just needed quilted... I go and decide to make the back nice too. A bit of a double sized number. Man on man was I feeling the heat around noon and I was still working on the back. All is well that ends well, the quilting was a breeze with the s curve stitch that I like and it matched the quilt too. As you know the top photo was the front, and this lower one is the back. Not bad for something I hadn't even given a bit of thought to until today. The photo is a bit dark so if you were wondering the block on either side of the star are blue on green hearts.

I am not thrilled with the extreme rotation of the letters, but I suppose it's to be excepted, and I did know, I just didn't full visualize it. The blue flannel is a snuggle flannel and feels amazing, even though the overall size of the quilt is 60" x 70", it is has the perfect nap to be a "Binky" I'd like to think this quilt will be loved for a long time to come. Just for the sake of a good book here is the lastest ones we've been reading to Jessica.

He cooks and bakes too!

For years now my husband has bemoaned that he can cook but he can't bake. Well I'm here to tell you that I have slowly been bringing him "around to momma's way of thinkin'" as just yesterday he made this - oh so yummy cinnamon rolls.

I've been in cohorts with Mary Jane's Row for the Row Robin. That is one quietly speaking quilt! And the things it has told me to do!!! All the same it's blocks are completed, and after putting sewing it all together I will of course post a photo. I believe after I wrap that up, I will work some more on my Carpenter's Wheel Charity Quilt.

This morning I went online flannel shopping, you see it's been so cold we have had one comforter and one quilt on the bed together. Considering the combination you can only imagine... They do not like being on the bed together at all. If the quilt doesn't give up the ghost and slide down off the top, the comforter will creep out one side and way. So I've been talking to my DH about making a quilt for "our" bed, such a crazy concept I know, but this would be a special flannel quilt that would resist falling off, because after all what else is flannel for. So I played around at one very nice website only to discover a 9 flannel bargello would run $45+/- for the top. ACK! If only I had a bigger fabric budget, because that is in no way "expensive". So then I started trying to find less expensive flannels from there. That is not an easy task, and I dare you to do better, looking of course for "adult colors" namely red and blue for it's strong and beautiful contrast.

I did not find anything cheaper... But what I did find is diaper flannel over at one of my new favorite fabric haunts, for only about $2 or so a yard! YIPPIE! Now I'm thinking can I dye it? Sure enough I can... I'll just need extra dye, and more fixative. Sounds great hu? So that's my plan for the future anyway.

While shopping for flannels, I started poking around for purples for Jessica's quilt. I found about 7 fabrics that would put her quilt top around $35, but I still think it would be cheaper and more fun to go to Joann's and pick around in there for a while. Who knows maybe Jessica will offer some insight without knowing it.