Santa Came -

Hope you all had a VERY MERRY Christmas!!

We had a TERRIFIC visit “away” - and

Santa came - Santa came!!

We had presents and presents and more presents -

And FOOD - oh, man - the FOOD!!

I ate enough to last me a week!! ;))

We got a lovely new ornament for our tree -
Isn’t this the cutest little “Button” ball??
(The photo is a bit fuzzy - but it's still way cute!!)

My Other Half got a ton of fishing stuff -

And I got a ton of quilting stuff -

EXACTLY what I wanted!! ;))

Except for the die - so I ordered that this morning - ;))

When it comes in - I’ll be able to cut the 700 TRIANGLES for Part 5 -

In the meantime -

I’m going to try to cut the squares for Part 6 before Friday -

And finish up some more of the parts on my “Not Done Yet“ list -

Wish me luck - ;))

And -

Because BOB was having trouble getting to sleep the other night - waiting for Santa ;)) - she was thinking about Orca Bay - and just might have a solution to the mystery. She doesn’t want to share it here - just in case she’s right - she doesn't want to spoil anything - but you can visit her at Quilter BOB - here - if you want to.



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Design Wall Monday - Orca Bay - 12/26/11

DESIGN WALL MONDAY - ORCA BAY - 12/26/11

Those of us who are linking up with Judy L. at Patchwork Times - Design Wall Monday -
and -
Those of us who are playing along with Bonnie Hunter's ORCA BAY MYSTERY QUILT -
are linking up on Mondays.  Check out our progress on her blog - Quiltville's Quips & Snips!!
We are all working at our own pace - following along with her clues - it is NOT a race.  ;))

I'm linking up with them both -
And - since I am LEFT-HANDED - I'm also adding my LHQ blurb -
============
Note - these instructions are written in LEFTISH.
If you are right-handed - just reverse the directions.
============


This is Monday -

And I’m not home today -

I’m “away” for the holidays - ;))

So - I wrote this Friday night -

And scheduled it to go “live” Monday morning -

Anyway -

Thursday morning - Bonnie posted Part #6 - a day early -

As an early Christmas present to us all - YAY!!

An extra day to work on catching up - or getting ahead - or whatever -

Me??

I was still working on catching up on Part #1 -

All of those quarter-square triangles -

And - sure enough - just like I thought -

Bonnie decided to start building on Part #1 -

But that's OK -

I have 124 of them made - enough for 31 Part #6 blocks -

I still have 100 more to make - for the other 25 blocks -
They're all paired up - just need to be sewn together -
Shouldn't take long - haha -
Sure glad it's NOT a race - ;))

AND -

I already have the Accuquilt GO! Die for the 2-1/2” squares -

SO -

I had planned to cut the squares for Part #6 -
Before I went “away” - but I didn’t get the chance -
I/we had to get ready and pack instead -
And that is always more fun than cutting anyway -
So - I’ll play with those when I get back - ;))

In the meantime -

I hope that you all had a GREAT Christmas - and that Santa was very good to you!

I’ll tell you later if Santa brought me the die to cut the Part #5 triangles -
(‘cuz this is REALLY Friday night - and I haven’t got a clue what he brought me yet - ;))

But Sue said last week -

“I hope you have been good and get the cutter.”

So - I’ll tell you the same thing I told her -

“Oh I have been VERY good!!
And if Santa doesn't buy it for me -
I know where the credit card is. ;))”


Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Merry Christmas!!

Last year -

I shared a beautiful Christmas Card that I had received from a dear friend -

It is one of the most beautiful Christmas Cards that I have ever seen -

So I wanted to share it with you again this year -

Please click - here -

and Have a Very Merry Christmas!!



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta wrap some presents -

UFOs - 2012

I just updated my list of UFOs for 2012 -

And - rather than try to list them ALL here -

And then try to find this post every time I want to update the list -

I made another tab at the top of this post -

And called it - Ta Dah!! - "UFOs - 2012" - original, huh? ;))

I have quite a few - as you can see - around 70 give or take -

So trying to choose only 12 to work on this coming year -

Is just NOT going to happen - ;))

I like to work on my UFOs and/or start new projects as they strike my fancy -

And - as far as last year is concerned -

I didn’t really finish much in 2011 - just a few left-overs from 2010 -
(See the tabs - UFOs - 2011 and Quilt Journal) -

I spent most of my time moving stuff from one “Stage of Completion” to another -

BUT - that’s fine with me -

I made some progress - mostly on THIS ONE - 

AND - unlike most people -

I don’t mind my UFOs at all -

In fact - I actually LIKE my UFOs -

The really old ones remind me of other times - people - and places.

A lot of memories are tied to my UFOs -

And some are like old friends -

So what’s not to like?

Besides -

I’m a “Slow Poke Quilter” - and I have the badge to prove it - ;))
Gotta keep my membership card ACTIVE!!

And - as I like to say -

My UFO’s give me something to do -

And they keep me out of bars at night - ;))


Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Design Wall Monday - Orca Bay - 12/19/11

DESIGN WALL MONDAY - ORCA BAY - 12/19/11

Those of us who are linking up with Judy L. at Patchwork Times - Design Wall Monday -
and -
Those of us who are playing along with Bonnie Hunter's ORCA BAY MYSTERY QUILT -
are linking up on Mondays.  Check out our progress on her blog - Quiltville's Quips & Snips!!
We are all working at our own pace - following along with her clues - it is NOT a race.  ;))

I'm linking up with them both -
And - since I am LEFT-HANDED - I'm also adding my LHQ blurb -
============
Note - these instructions are written in LEFTISH.
If you are right-handed - just reverse the directions.
============

I must admit -

When Bonnie posted Part #5 on Friday -

I thought OH CRAP!!

Here she is - building on Part #3 -

And - I’M NOT DONE WITH PART #3 YET!!

WAIT - I GOTTA FINISH PART #3 FIRST!!

WAIT - I only have 192 MORE to make -

Hey - only 192 - no problem - right?? ;))

So - I worked on finishing them up -
And then looky what I found -
One of my favorites - from my working days - $$$$$ fabric -
Cute, huh??

And - I DID manage to finish them -

Yesterday -

And I made a couple extra just because -

So here’s the 350 HST - for Part #3 -

And - as far as Part #5 is concerned -

I asked Santa for the AccuQuilt GO! 1-1/2" Half-Square Triangle die -
 
Sooooo - I think I’ll wait to see if he brings me that -

BEFORE I try to cut out 700 of those suckers - ;))

I can do it with the Easy Angle ruler - but c’mon -

It would be soooooooooo much faster to cut 6 at a time -
Four layers at a time -
For 24 at a time -
Yeah - waaaaaaaaaay faster -

Sooooo - in the meantime -

I think that I’ll work on finishing up Part #1 -
(Before Bonnie decides to build on that, too ;))

And then there’s Part #2 - the blue string blocks - I have 4 -
I only need 68 more -

And then there's Part #4 - the red string blocks - I have 4 -
I only need 60 more -

And then there's Part #6 on Friday -
Who knows what Bonnie will do next - ;))

And then there's Christmas on Sunday -

And then...  ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Cherry Cheese Pie

OK - here’s another recipe you might like -

With photos - for those of you who complained last time - ;))

You will need -
a butter knife
a spatula
a hand mixer
a large bowl

1 pkg (8 oz) Cream Cheese
1 tub (8 oz) Whipped Topping, thawed
1 can (15-21 oz) Cherry Pie Filling
1 Graham Cracker Pie Crust (9 inch size) - or Shortbread - or Oreo (my fave) -

Cut the cream cheese into cubes -

Put the cubes In the large bowl - and beat until lumps disappear -

Add Whipped Topping -

And mix until smooth -

Spread into pie shell -

Top with fruit topping -

Chill for at least an hour before serving.

Enjoy!

The hardest part is waiting for it to set!!

So I take this opportunity to have a little snack - ;))

Oh - and - by the way -

Just because I DON’T cook anymore -

Doesn’t mean that I CAN’T cook -

I CAN -

I just don’t wanna - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

O Christmas Tree!

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!

It’s my FAVORITE holiday!!

We put our Christmas tree up a few years ago -

And have never taken it down!!

Seriously!!

Our Christmas tree is up year-round -

And I LIKE it that way!!

It all started when we bought a beautiful pre-lit fiber optic Christmas tree -
One year at Walmart

We took it out of the box -
Set it up -
Arranged all of the branches -
And decorated it with all of our ornaments -

The BEST part was -

We didn’t have to mess with the LIGHTS!!

The LIGHTS were already ON the tree!!

But -

When it came time to take the tree down -
We hesitated -

How were we going to get that HUGE Christmas tree -
Back into that little bitty box -
Without breaking some of those beautiful fiber optic lights??

The answer was - we weren’t!!

So - the decision was made -
We weren’t even going to try to get it back in the box -
We were going to just leave it where it was!!

And we did!!

That tree has been up for years -
And will continue to be up for as long as we live in this house.

The only difference between Christmas and the rest of the year -
Is that we turn the lights ON at Christmas.

Besides - it’s in the perfect corner of the living room -

People don’t even notice it when they come to visit -
Until they leave -

As they walk in -
It’s over their left shoulder -
Because the doorway is at an angle - (to the left of the tree) -
And they always head off to the right toward the family room/kitchen

It isn’t until they leave -
And head back to the front door -
That they even see the tree -
And that's when we tell them that it’s up because we couldn’t get it back in the box.

They think we’re kidding -

But we’re not - ;))


Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Mail Call - 12/14/11

Looky what I got in the mail yesterday!!

KatieM. sent me some thread bits and pieces -

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH My Precious - ;))

They are SO PRETTY -

And SO SHINY -

BEAUTIFUL!!

Almost made me want to stop and make a Thread Bowl right then and there -

Almost -

But I was a good girl -

I had a chore on my list for the day - and I did my chore -

I hemmed the curtains that have been hanging in our bedroom for the past who knows how many years - the curtains that have always been too long - just kinda “puddled” on the floor - and always looking “wrong” - not pretty like they do in all the magazines - and THAT was finally getting on my nerves - SO - down they came (with the help of Grandson #1) and to the sewing room they went. Now - don’t get me wrong - I don’t mind hemming curtains - I made the curtains for every window in this house (except THOSE) - but that was a LONG time ago - and I don’t wanna do that anymore -

I want to work on Orca Bay -

But I was a good girl - and I did my chore -

And THEN I played with Orca Bay - ;))

I’m still messing with the Part 3 - HST -
But - hey - I AM making progress -
And that’s what counts, right??

Now if I could just figure out a way to make the pieces sew themselves -
That would help a BUNCH!! ;))

Especially ‘cuz Part #5 comes out tomorrow - YIKES!!

And I have some PRETTY - NEW - THREADS - to sew -


Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew - SOMETHING!!

Oldies but Goodies - 12/14/11

OLDIES BUT GOODIES - 12/14/11


I'm SEWING again today -

so I thought I might post the links to some of my OLDIES BUT GOODIES.

Some of my readers may be new to this blog -

And I know that new readers don't usually go ALLLLLL the way back to the beginning of a blog -

They usually just start reading and try to keep up with the current stuff -

SO -

I'm thinking that some of you may not have read some of my earlier stuff -

SO -

If you're interested - take a look at the one of the tabs at the top -

Quilt Journal -

or -

Left-Handed Quilting -

You might find something you like - ;))


While you read - I'm going to SEW -

I'll show you what I'm making later -



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Design Wall Monday - Orca Bay - 12/12/11

DESIGN WALL MONDAY - ORCA BAY - 12/12/11

Those of us who are linking up with Judy L. at Patchwork Times - Design Wall Monday -
and -
Those of us who are playing along with Bonnie Hunter's ORCA BAY MYSTERY QUILT -
are linking up on Mondays.  Check out our progress on her blog - Quiltville's Quips & Snips!!
We are all working at our own pace - following along with her clues - it is NOT a race.  ;))

I'm linking up with them both -
And - since I am LEFT-HANDED - I'm also adding my LHQ blurb -
============
Note - these instructions are written in LEFTISH.
If you are right-handed - just reverse the directions.
============


For those of you who think my sewing room is too tidy -
You haven’t seen my dining room table -

Or the area next to it - ;))

The dining room table has books and magazines that I need to sort through -
And remnants of UFOs and demos/tutorials -

The area next to it has the stuff for the Floral Applique quilt that has now taken up residence on the hallway design wall next to WSong -

As far as Orca Bay is concerned -

Part 1 - B/W - QST - no change

Part 2 - Blue String Blocks - no change

Part 3 - B/W - HST

I’m using Triangulations™ for this part -
So I cut some black chunks -

And some neutral chunks -

And then I couldn’t resist -

After I paired them up -
(And sewed about a hundred of them) -

I had to set them aside -

‘Cuz when Part 4 - Red String Blocks - came out -

I HAD to make me some of those - ;))

LEFTIES - DON'T FORGET -

TURN THEM 1/4 TURN - LEFT OR RIGHT - BEFORE YOU CUT THEM!!

So now - it’s eeney - meeny - miney - moe -

At least until Part 5 comes out on Friday - ;))


Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Easy Cherry-Almond Coffee Cake

You guys know that I am not known for my cooking -

And that I would much rather SEW than cook - ;))

I cook maybe three times a year -

Thanksgiving - Christmas - and lasagna - ;))

Anyway -

One time when my sister-in-law and brother-in-law visited us -

I/we made this -
Pillsbury – Easy Cherry-Almond Coffee Cake

And my GOURMET COOK sister-in-law wanted the recipe!!

Yeah - I KNOOOOOOOOOW!!

She wanted one of MY recipes - WOW!!
(Actually it was Pillsbury's recipe - but you know what I mean - ;))

So I gave it to her - and I thought I would share it with you, too!!

The only thing I/we did differently was -

I/we did NOT - Place wire rack upside down over pan; turn rack and pan over. Remove pan. Place heatproof plate upside down over coffee cake; turn over.

That part is an accident waiting to happen in my house - ;))

I/we just served it in the pan I/we baked it in -

Next time -

I would just bake it in a “fancy” 9” round pan -

Try it -

It really is easy - and totally yummy!!


Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew - I am sooooooooo far behind!

LHQ - Rotary Cutting - Trick

LEFT-HANDED QUILTING - Rotary Cutting - Trick

============
Note - these instructions are written in LEFTISH.
If you are right-handed - just reverse the directions.
============

Here’s a trick I saw somewhere –
Wish I could remember where –
I would love to give credit to whoever/whomever it was –
So if you know – tell me – please!!

Say I want to cut 2 strips @ 2-1/2” –
a total of 5” to be cut

Instead of trimming the RIGHT end and then cutting 2 strips from RIGHT to LEFT –
2-1/2 and then 2-1/2 –
like I showed you before – try this –

Line up your fabric with the raw edge just to the RIGHT of the 10” line on your cutting mat –
with the bulk of the fabric to your LEFT -

Count over to the 15” mark on your mat –
(10” starting point + 5” total to be cut)

Cut off the 5” plus a little bit on the end that you will straighten in a minute -

Now move over to the 12-1/2” mark and cut -
(15” – 2/1/2” = 12-1/2”)

Next move to the 10” mark and cut the last strip –
And trim the edge at the same time

The strips will be under the ruler -
And won’t move until you cut them –
You just have to trust the markings on your rotary cutting mat.

Cool, huh?


Talk to you later – gotta go – gotta sew –

LHQ - Squaring Up a Panel Print

LEFT-HANDED QUILTING - Squaring Up a Panel Print

============
Note - these instructions are written in LEFTISH.
If you are right-handed - just reverse the directions.
============

I was looking though some old photos –

And found some that I had wanted to post –

But couldn’t – at the time –

One set was of the Wolf Panel –

That center square/panel was SO tweaked!!

I thought I would share with you –

How I handled its “tweakiness” –

First – I prewashed it –
To remove the sizing and whatever else was in the fabric -

Second – I pressed it –
Really well –
If it was going to stretch –
I wanted it stretched BEFORE I sewed with it -

Even after all of that -

Do you see how crooked the bottom of the print is?
Trust me - it wasn’t much better at the top -

SO – the question was –

How do you square up a panel print –
That doesn’t want to be square?

This Is How I Did It –

I cut a piece of freezer paper -

The same size as the “cut” square that I needed –

And I centered the freezer paper the best I could –
Over the Wolf’s face –

And then pressed the freezer paper to the panel print –

NOTE –
PLEASE BE SURE to press the freezer paper to the panel print –
ON YOUR IRONING SURFACE –
NOT on your cutting mat - ;))

Trim around the freezer paper -

Peel off the freezer paper -

See –

All nice and square -

NOTE -
I was lucky that the size I needed did NOT include the borders on the panel -
If it had - I would have had to trim them off -
and adjust the next border accordingly.

Add the new side borders first -

Then the top and bottom -

Ta Dah!!


Talk to you later – gotta go – gotta sew -

LHQ - EQ7 - Diagonal Blocks

LEFT-HANDED QUILTING - EQ7 - Diagonal Blocks

============
Note - these instructions are written in LEFTISH.
If you are right-handed - just reverse the directions.
============


Here are some diagonal blocks that I found in EQ7 –
Classic Pieced –
Simple Blocks

Just to show you RH versus LH diagonal cuts –

The RH diagonal goes from the BOTTOM RIGHT to the TOP LEFT
RH – Half-Square Triangle

The LH diagonal goes from the BOTTOM LEFT to the TOP RIGHT
LH – Half-Square Triangle 2

RH – Diagonal Strips

LH – Diagonal Strips 2

RH – Indian Hatchets

LH – Indian Hatchets 2

You can usually turn a RH diagonal block into a LH diagonal block –

By rotating the RH block –

1/4 turn to the RIGHT – COUNTER-CLOCKWISE -

Move the TOP LEFT CORNER to the BOTTOM LEFT CORNER – 
To keep the same light/dark orientation - 
(Ask me how I know! ;))

And then make your cut –

Some blocks may need to be turned CLOCKWISE -

Try it both ways - see what works for the block -

1/4 turn one way or the other should do it -


BUT - NOT a full HALF turn -

That will just get you back to a RH block!  ;))


 
Talk to you later - gotta go – gotta sew -