Thursday: colors

I got all my pieces cut out for the next quilt. It was a little nerve-wracking though (or as nerve-wracking as cutting fabric can be) (which I guess isn't really that nerve-wracking).

The first three colors that I cut where bright orange, light blue, and bright pink. They do not match.

Then I cut out white. Things started to get a little bit better.

And then I cut out the base fabric. It's a fun paisley type pattern, but incorporates all the colors.

So this quilt might work out after all.

Sunday: finished quilt

I finished the next quilt today! I like how it ended up turning out. I still need some practice on the edges, but I will just try again on the next one.

The top:

The back:

The foldover:

The cat test (passed):

Saturday: quilt day

Today is National Quilt day. In honor of it, it spent way too much time working on a corner of my binding.

Now, I know that there are other ways to do corners, but my problem with this quilt is that the back is smaller than the front. (Don't ask me why.) So I had to be creative to figure out how to get on the binding without messing up the front. I figured it out, but the corners are still giving me problems. One of these days I'll get it figured out.

Here's how it turned out. Not great, but definitely the best I could get.

update: the next corner went much more smoothly...it looks better and took a normal amount of time. :)

Friday: black?

So I took a break from quilting the other quilt one night this week to make a block for one of my next quilts. I only made one block because I need some feedback. It's the black baby boy blanket...do you think the colors will work?

Here is the one block.

Here is a photoshop of four blocks together.

Friday: something I never thought I'd burn

Tonight I was making curry (and using up the potatoes). At one point, I need to heat some vegetable oil and then put flour in it. In the past when I've done this, little bubbles appear when it gets hot.

So this time I was waiting for the bubbles to appear. And waiting. And making sure the burner was on. And waiting some more. No bubbles. Finally I decided it had been long enough and started to put the flour in. It stank like burnt food, and the flour even looked burnt. So I threw it out and started again. It turns out that the little bubbles only appear when there is an "imperfection" in the oil...like a little piece of meat from the main dish. But when your pan is perfectly clean, the oil just starts to heat without the bubbles.

And the quilt progress - I've quilted about 1/4 of it.

Friday: snow and quilts

Today was a beautiful day! It snowed a thick sticky snow last night so this morning it was a winter wonderland. Actually, it was that way for most of the day. I braved the roads and went to work. It was a little bad, but thanks to our great four-wheel drive it wasn't too bad. When I got home I had to shovel the driveway before I could park though. Or half the driveway. Actually less than half...just enough to get the car in. There was about 12" of snow, but it didn't drift for once which was nice.

Like I mentioned, I finished the quilt top last night. The pattern called out for the colorful circles to also be in a cross between the blocks, but that was just getting way too busy. I looked at it with the green fabric, but that didn't match well enough, so I just took them out.

Here is the beginning of the back.

And my new fabric. Notice the black...I still cringe a little bit when thinking about making it into a baby blanket, but I want to try it. I'm hoping it will be better than I expect, and I really like the fabric.

And of course, Flurry.

Wednesday: computers, quilts, and elbows

Today I was putting together a computer (like the keyboard, speakers, mouse, etc) and looked at the keyboard to sign in. Someone had moved the keys around so that instead of 3-4-5-6-7-8-9 it said "GOTCHYA". Sigh. I go to change it out only to realize that I had already neatly twisty-tied all the cables back. So I decided it would be faster to change the keys back to their original positions.

The insides of my elbows were sore today. How could such a thing happen? They weren't very sore, but sore enough that I periodically noticed them. I don't notice the insides of my elbows very much.

And I started the next quilt. It would go faster if I didn't have to rip out so many seams. This is one square (although not completely together yet). There will be four or six squares.

Sunday: the quilt

It's finished!

This is the best corner. I used a new method that I found online and it worked pretty well, but I need more practice with it.

Here's the artistic shot.

Overall, I think it came out pretty well. I'm still having edge problems, but it's getting there. The actual quilting part was only ok. It was fun for the first few squares. I didn't see changes happening like I put the quilt top together, so it wasn't as much fun. I'm also not sure what I think of the satin edging. I really like the feel, but it is hard to work with and likes to snag.

Saturday: quilting

I started quilting the quilt today! The batting is a little "sticky", which has been great because the cloth doesn't move too much.

I know that it doesn't look perfect, but I kind of like the look actually.

Monday: quilt

I finished the top of the baby quilt! I think I like it better in real life...it has a lot of bright colors and in the picture it seems too busy. It's busy in real life too, but not so overwhelmingly so. (Or maybe just enlarging the picture helps. I might have looked at the small version for too long.) I ended up ordering some batting on-line, but it is going to take about a week to get here. :(

In the meantime, I realized that I have enough extra cloth of these colors to make a second baby blanket. Below are the two choices that I've decided on. I looked on the internet and saw a bunch that I liked, but either they required many more colors or were easier than I wanted to do. So please vote for your favorite! And I know it's hard, but try to picture the patterns with the above colors.

Christmas: Merry merry Christmas

Today was a busy but good day. We ended up spending time and opening presents with both sides of the family...something that has never happened before.

The day started out by packing up the car and hearing some runners with jingle bells go by. It was a nice way to start.

then we opened presents with Ben's family. I don't have any great pictures, but here is one cute on from afterwards.




Then this evening was spent with my side of the family. I got to give Nathan and Liz their quilt!



Here are the pictures I took at home last week. the first one is the front and the second one is the back.







I also got a donut maker today! I'm super excited to try it out. And Ben got me a 2-4 player card game that we played tonight. at first while he was explaining the rules I was a little bit leery, but it quickly started to make sense and was a lot of fun.

And throughout the times I remember the reason that we celebrate Christmas. This year I've thought a little bit more about the wisemen. They are often mentioned in the Christmas story, but never seem to get a lot of attention. Maybe because they didn't show up for three more years. But they were men of learning (I.e., smart) and they still chose to come and worship Jesus. So while I can identify with the shepards in some aspects, I can also identify with the wisemen and are glad for both sides of the spectrum.

Monday: quilt

The quilt (and pillowcases are finished)! I don't love either of these pictures, but they work.

I like how Flurry looks in this one.

Sunday: happy spring?

It snowed today. Not really unexpected given that it is only March, but still a bit sad.

And what I know you've all been anxiously waiting for...the four basic quilt blocks and another Flurry pic.

Monday: quilt

Flurry trying out the fabric to make sure it is good for lazing around on
The colors

The first squares put together.