look what came in the mail

So, last weekend, when I got home at about 4 in the morning from work, I decided to bite the bullet and put an order in to .connectingthreads, and ordered some threads, and a new book.  They have that web special where if you spend at least $50, you get free shipping.  So, I made my order and all of that, and guess what was in today's mail?

 This is a side view, I had already torn the box open. 

 My order.  I love all these threads, and hopefully my Janome 1600 will too.  I got the confections set, Americana set, and two each of the caramel and the slate. 

Modern quilting designs book by Bethany Pease.  I have glanced through it, and so far, I have found all of them to be able to do on my machine (it has a 9 inch harp).  I can't wait to load another quilt and try it out!








I spent the morning looking at the local quilt shops for any of Bonnie Hunter's books.  None of them carry them.  One lady even asked "who?".  I thought everybody had heard of her.  So, my birthday is next week, and I know what my family will be ordering for me. LOL.

One last thing before I get back to sewing:

 I AM GOING TO BE AN AUNT!!! I am so excited, this is such good news, after the last couple of months.  My brother and his wife are due this next valentine's day, which happens to be her father's birthday, and 2 weeks after out dad's.  Funny thing is, my youngest will be 15 the first part of March, so there will be almost 15 years between grandkids for my mom.  We are all so happy for them.  Now, I have several ideas for baby quilts, which one to make...

Happy quilting,
Marianne

Another finish!

I finally finished another quilt.  Ok, the binding needs to be done, but it has been quilted!  ( I wonder how long it will take for me to do the binding, the record is about a year or so:)).  Anyway, it's another quiltville pattern, the spider web pattern:

Here it is in the frame, I went ahead with a regular ol stipple quilting design on it.

Here it is fresh from the frame.

The backing fabric is a sunflower and pumpkin pattern.  I have no idea why I bought so many yards of this fabric, but I used a lot for the backing, and still have alot left over!  It will be showing up in future quilts.  :)
Here is the thread I used:

It's signature poly core light gold color.  I love it, it blended in perfectly!

Having a good day, so far

So, like the title says, I am having a good day so far.  Got my Old Tobacco Road quilt top finished last night:

This really is a big quilt top.  My sons were holding it sideways, it is really long.  Why so long? you may ask, well, when I trimmed down the sides, I cut a wee bit too much from the sides.  :).  It's for me though, so I don't really mind.  I will be doing an all over design when I quilt it though, there are a lot of seams!  It has gone into the To-Be-Quilted pile, which-gulp-seems to be getting bigger, and bigger. 
I finally got a quilt on the frame, it's another Bonnie Hunter design, the Spider Web pattern, I fell in love with the pattern, and it also uses a lot of scraps (notice a theme here):

Note all the boxes?  There are even more on the other side of the room. 

 And, while quilting it, my stitch regulator decided to stop working from time to time, so I pulled this out:

My handy dandy speed controller.  See the mark? That is the perfect speed for my style of quilting.  I am doing an all over stipple with this quilt, hopefully it will get done by the end of the weekend, and I can put it into the FINISHED pile.  :)

On the job front, I have started applying at other places for employment.  I have also sent my resume to one of the local hospitals, I will take anything at this point, just to get my foot in the door.  I have a lot of education, just not a lot of job experience.  Hopefully, it will lead to at least an interview.  Fingers (and arms, legs, and fingers ) crossed. 
I hope everybody has a great day!  We will be in the house, it's supposed to be 105 here today if you factor in the humidity.  That just so messes up my hair!
Happy Quilting,
Marianne

Dreaming of triangles...

I have gotten about halfway through with Bonnie Hunter's Old Tobacco Road quilt pattern.  It was a mystery from about 2008 (yep, I take my time with these things).  I started it about 3 days ago, and I can't believe I am almost to laying out!

one of the triangles I have been dreaming about!

So, it goes from the half square triangles to these:

Pin wheel blocks, lots and lots of pin wheel blocks

Also, 4 patches:

Did I forget to mention the unfinished size of these blocks, both sets, is 3 1/2 inches?

Using a lot of scraps for this one.

The above sets are how they are supposed to be sewn together.  I have been using piles of scraps for this, and I am not done yet.  Now the instructions call for cutting 108 3.5x6.5 brick shapes!  Now I will be dreaming of brick shapes!  Oh well, better than triangles.:)

This is one of my folders with my quiltville print outs in it.  Yep, it's really thick, and I plan on making every single one in there!  I am such a glutton for punishment! :P

 

And while doing all this sewing I am watching this:

On my new laptop.  Yep, my dear daughter took my laptop up to Alabama to visit her dad for the summer, and told me she dropped it, and the sound won't work now.  So, it's hers now, and I went and got a great deal on this one.  I needed it anyway, my classes this fall are all online, so I needed something totally dependable and transportable.
Anyway, back to cutting up bricks, and catching up on my DVD.  I hope everyone is having a very  good Thursday, and getting plenty of sewing and quilting in. 
Happy quilting,
Marianne

Heat and Humidity

It has been so hot and humid here, I have not really been doing much in the sewing area.  Oh, add in the fact that our house is up for a short sale, and we have been sorting and getting rid of stuff, and there really hasn't been time.  I informed my mother though that she is not to touch my fabric stash, it is not going into storage!  I will keep everything clean and somewhat organized in there, but no touching.  I think the fact that she sprung this sale on me the week after I got back from my father's memorial service has kind of upset me.  Oh, and the restaurant I work at has been sold so I don't know for sure about my job in the near future.  Yep, stress is at an all time high. So, I am trying to sew some more dresses up, and I am opening my Etsy shop hopefully this week.  My son's girlfriend is going to help me jazz it up so to speak. 
 I did finish the baby girl quilt last week, and got it to my coworker.  She cried, and said nobody had every given her anything handmade before.  I think everybody should have something that is homemade, different than all the cookie cutter stuff out there.  I don't know about you all, but I don't like everything being matchy-matchy. 
So, here is the quilt:

I wasn't sure about the colors when doing the blocks, but together they work great.

I did the frayed edge applique method.

This is the fleece backing, it's so soft!

When my brother and I were going through our dad's stuff, we found the very first quilt I ever made!  He had it in a suitcase, protecting some pictures:

I forgot about making this in junior high home ec.  I remembered the pillow, just not the quilt.

The back was an old baby sheet, and it was tied. 

So, apparently, I started quilting 12 years earlier than I thought!  I have been a quilter for almost 30 years now!  Wow, I think my stash should be bigger, don't you think so?

Well, time to do some sewing, there are clouds in the sky, so it's not quite as hot today, and the ac isn't struggling as much. 
Happy quilting,
Marianne