treasures!

Ever since I got my own house I started becoming the repository for things that family members didn't want to store. I'm such an incurable pack rat. (You just never know when you might need it.) Since I sew my mother knows that if she doesn't want to store something and it has anything to do with either quilting or sewing that I will take it. Not that I am complaining mind you, but when it comes to packing up for a move I wish she was storing it instead of me.
While packing this weekend I found some pretty cool treasures that I had stored away and almost forgotten I had. Here are a couple of quilts that were my paternal grandmother's. I don't think she made them, but they were always in her cottage. When she died and my mom and dad started renting her cottage they didn't want to leave anything that anyone minded losing. We know from experience that some renters don't have much respect for things that don't belong to them. Neither of these are quilted. As a matter of fact I think all of the quilts I have that I didn't make are tied. I turned down the corner of this fan quilt to show the back which was pieced.
I also found this partially pieced double wedding ring. There are a lot of pieces cut and quite a few of these melon units all sewn together. I think this was made by my father's mother. She never was the most careful sewer and the stitching on this is pretty bad. There are some pretty funky fabrics cut including some so loosely woven they are almost like burlap. They are also pretty poorly cut. Some of the pieces have rounded corners and I'm not sure how I am going to put them together. I probably never will. I don't even have time to finish my own UFO's much less taking on some from previous generations. BUT..... I certainly can't get rid of it. You never know. I might just NEED to do a '30's Double Wedding Ring some day.
We got a lot of packing done this weekend. I do have to say I am very proud of how ruthless I was. We took 2 truckloads to the dump. I did get a little time to do something other than packing. I finished the 25-patch squares for my Sew Scrappy from Evelyn Sloppy's 40 Fabulous Quick-Cut Quilts that I have been doing as leaders and enders. I got close and I was so anxious to finish I just did them all at once. I also got the fabric for the double half square triangles and the border cut. I really love that quilt and I can't wait to finish it. I haven't gotten the background yet. Everything I have in my stash for backgrounds is either too light or too beige. I really need something with a creamy tone. I found the perfect one from the new Moda Rites of Spring collection. It was so expensive though since I need 5 yards. Paying 2 mortgages makes paying full price for fabric out of the question in large quantities. I'll have to go check out Marden's and see if they have anything I like that I could use. :>)

happy birthday dd

22 today at 11:17 am.
Wasn't she the cutest thing?

teenagers :>/

My quilting class finished. I managed to make it home pretty close to on time. Here are some of my students with their projects finished except for the hand sewing down of their bindings. They were all very happy with their progress and are signed up for a follow up class I am going to start teaching in a couple of weeks.

It has been a pretty sad week here in our small town. One of the boys from DS's football team, 15 years old, was killed over the weekend. It was first reported as a hunting accident, but it was soon discovered that he, a 14 year old friend and his 13 year old brother were out playing with loaded guns and he was shot by the 14 year old. It is just so sad and so tragic. DS has been quite moody and quiet all week long. He went to the memorial service today and funeral will be held at the school tomorrow. I just don't understand how teenagers can believe they are so truly invincible. I remember things like this every time my son complains when I want to know where he is going, who he is going with and what time I can expect him home. I would rather have him hating me now than be planning his funeral.

i fell off the wagon :>0

When I was pulling fabric for my Heart 'n' Hand block on Saturday night I had convinced my husband that I NEEDED to make a trip to Marden's to get a light fabric to go with my color selections. I promised to pack 'a bunch' of boxes and then we could leave to get there before they closed. We both worked hard getting things sorted, priced, packed and stowed categorically. I even went as far as to go get washed up and changed. I then had an attack of "do I really need it?". So I went back to my stash and pulled the fabrics you see in the block from my previous post. I was so proud of myself. :o)
Well, as you can see from the picture my willpower gave out on me on my way home from the office today. They moved the Marden's to right off the highway so it's just soooo easy to take that exit and stop in "just to see what they have". I ended up with these. All fairly light which will really enhance my stash since I tend to buy mostly darks. Can you hear the rationalization???

productive weekend!!!

I had a great productive weekend. We spent hours yesterday going through stuff and packing boxes for yard sales and to move into the new house now. Scott and Taylor went over and took a load when they worked on the closet. My house is now a disaster, but I feel like at some point we may actually get everything from this house to the other one. :o)
Our quilt group is doing a Round Robin starting this month. We are going to have 6 rounds so it's going to be pretty big when we get finished. Our group is Heart 'n' Hand so I made this for my center block. It's adapted from Dashing Around by Whimsicals. I love their stuff. This will be my last big project with this group so I am hoping it will be a good remembrance of the group here. I was one of the original members when our chapter started 7 years ago. I am definitely going to miss some of my quilting friends. :o(
We are supposed to provide our own documentation method ie. camera, labels, notebook, something to document it's journey around the group. Anyone have any creative ideas??

Here is the other quilty thing I got accomplished this weekend, the center portion done for the Advanced Beginner top I was making. It just needs borders and then I will quilt it up for a small lap quilt.
I was having a seriously spacey day and after it was all put together I noticed I had put one row on with the blocks turned the wrong way. So I diligently ripped out the seam, laid it out again to make sure it was right and went to the ironing board to press. I then carried it back to my sewing machine and proceeded to sew it back on RIGHT where I had just ripped it from. Very frustrating, but the third time is the charm and after ripping it again I did manage to get it put back on where I intended. :c/

monday night

I got out of class on time!! I was so excited I figured it was blogworthy. Here is one of my students project. She made what she thought was a daring choice with the dark purple batik sashing and border. I think it really adds a lot to her blocks. I didn't get pictures of the other students projects, but I will.
Next week we are machine quilting them and the week after binding. I also showed them tonight some of the quilts I have made that use the techniques that they have already learned. They have been asking what they could do with what they had learned. They were all excited to see that they could recognize smaller units that they knew within larger blocks, and how color placement can change the look of a block greatly.

isn't he handsome?

I can't believe my baby is so grown up. Here he is on the way to his Senior Prom on Saturday. He had a great time. I always love it when he puts on a tuxedo. He just looks so handsome. :o)
I had a very busy week last week. Monday night my quilt class ran late. They seem to do that every week. Tomorrow night we are putting on sashing. I gave them homework to get it cut so hopefully we can get out on time. I usually don't have time to eat between quitting time and the start of class so by the time I get home I am STARVING.
Tuesday I had to make the long drive to the office. I ended up leaving there late too so didn't get home until around 8. Starving again.
Wednesday we took a trip to one of the colleges Taylor is looking at. Looks like they have moved to the top of his list. They are giving him an academic scholarship as well as recruiting him for the football team He really doesn't want his football career to be over.
Thursday night my sewing group met and we ended up gossiping way more than sewing so I only got a little bit done on my toothbrush rug and one square for my penny rug. I haven't taken a picture of that yet. I will have to as soon as it starts to look like something.
Friday night I went to a Clost to My Heart party. I have managed to avoid getting into scrapbooking, but I haven't managed to avoid the parties. I have been buying a font to use to make labels and such for my quilts. I do like the way the stamps are put on acrylic blocks so I can do what ever I want with them.
After such a busy week I was really lazy this weekend. We got some packing done yesterday, but not a whole lot. Other than basic chores the only other thing I did was read a book. Shame, shame on me. :c/