Laura Nownes

[Nancy R.]

Nancy, I hope you keep your coffee away from your computer too, when you check up on us! yuo don't want to do a 'Renata' with it.....

[Betty J.]

Yeay, just got on the computer to join in, so far I have managed to
1. hang out 2 loads of washing - we have a lovely sunny day today
2. put on 2 loads of washing.
3. worked out how to mitre the corners on my reels blocks
4. cut out a new work skirt
5. gone to the bank to deposit a cheque & get some money out for tomorrow :wink: (Great Northern Quilt Show)
6. also got some food stuffs for tomorrow's packup - serrano ham & chorizo anyone?

and now I am about to see if I can get my new skirt stitched up, I've taken the pattern off a bought skirt & the pockets are trying to argue with me - we'll show them whose boss! :lol:

Wonder woman! :lol: :lol:

[Nancy R.]

So far, so good! My spills aways miss the computer for some reason. Must be a software engineer gene or something. But they never miss my shirt!!

[wendy w.]

:lol:

How are you getting on Rita, are those needles smoking?

[Lois B.]

Rosemary, I am in the laundry business too. Nancy, I am soaking a white woolen lap robe in oxi-clean trying to soak coffee stains out of it. I miss my computer but not me or other things that stain easily. In the sewing room I've added a fabric that seems to me adds a resting spot to my conglomeration of blocks. Now I am looking for a way to add just a bit more spark to it all. Hopefully, that will be in the log cabin blocks. I am ready to start on the "1st pancake" as one of the recent guests on TQS called it. Let's hope the griddle is just the right temp and I don't have to do a ton of them to get it right.

[Betty J.]

OK, I cheated and got all caught up ready to put the quilt together. : :wink: Well, really, I found the bird blocks so compelling I wanted to use all of the ones I managed to get out of my old bird fabric, really I did. Anyway, I DID restitch my nemesis week three blocks, and, while they are somewhat better, they are STILL not fabulous. Here's the week three blocks as they are now:

And here's my week 4 blocks:

And here's my log cabin blocks...um, I mean week 5 blocks:


:lol: :lol: :lol:
NOW maybe I can put this quilt top together and I will enjoy seeing everyone else's precision piecing and my DIL Beth will help me do the traditional quilt blocks when I need them for my competition pieces. Her piecing is quite fantastic.

[Betty J.]

Rosemary, I am in the laundry business too. Nancy, I am soaking a white woolen lap robe in oxi-clean trying to soak coffee stains out of it. I miss my computer but not me or other things that stain easily. In the sewing room I've added a fabric that seems to me adds a resting spot to my conglomeration of blocks. Now I am looking for a way to add just a bit more spark to it all. Hopefully, that will be in the log cabin blocks. I am ready to start on the "1st pancake" as one of the recent guests on TQS called it. Let's hope the griddle is just the right temp and I don't have to do a ton of them to get it right.

Lois, I love your colors!

[wendy w.]

Betty Jo love your log cabins they are so accurate :roll: :lol:

It's going to be fabulous.

Lois that fabric should work great

[wendy w.]

Really BJ, (wags finger) if you were going to sub any blocks you should have subbed the Yankie Puzzle, at least with log cabin you don't have to match any points up, which makes it much, much easier. You could at least add a log frame around your dickie birds :wink: :lol:

Latest up date

7. 2 more loads out on the line
8. 2 loads brought in for sorting & ironing :roll: (shirts only, certainly not socks & pants!)
9. skirt pockets dealt with!
10. just helped DH wrap cling film around the handle of the canoe paddle he is making, so he doesn't get epoxy resin where he doesn't want it yet.

Now I need to find my interfacing for the waist band, and a zip, they are here somewhere :roll:

[Nancy R.]

Everyone is making such good progress!

Lois - I love your blocks!! The colors really talk to me! I think you get a lot of sparkle from the yellow fabric, so you might not need much more. But, then again, I'm looking at a picture which probably doesn't exactly represent the colors. But I'm definitely loving them!!

BJ - I think your Yankee Puzzle blocks look great! I don't see any problems with them. I think you're just hard on yourself. Your bird blocks will look great with the others! Can't wait to see it all come together!! Are you going to put it together this weekend or wait until next week when we have that lesson?

Can't wait to see Rosemary's skirt! Now back to the grind....

Nancy

[Lois B.]

Thanks for the encouragement with the colors, BJ & Wendy. I have nearly decided the color added in the log cabin block is the way its going to be whether I love it or not. I love the block, by itself. I am just now finishing the setting triangles. In other words, I am thinking the 1st pancake needs to stay whether I love it or not. No more road trips or $ invested in making this quilt. Okay, here it is:



And here it is with some of the rest of the blocks. I want to bring out the blue in those berries but the one I have just jumps out too much. I will re-examine my stash before I make anymore log cabin blocks. In the meantime, I will work on the setting triangles in the other blocks and have some lunch. I am starving.

[Lois B.]

Nancy, I think you are right about the yellow being enough spark. The blue has too much spark. I'll let it simmer for a while. I might think of something else.

[Lois B.]

Lois - how about the green in the middle of the log cabin and move the yellow to where the blue is? I love how your colours are coming together now. (trying to put off inserting the zip - my least favourite past-time in sewing :roll: )

By the way - can anyone work out why I really do not fancy making any drunkards path blocks or similar yet I have no problem with setting in a curved waist yoke onto a flared skirt panel? :?

[Betty J.]

Lois, I am going to finish getting ready for the PA quilt festival and then finish this little quilt. Meanwhile, I have three competition quilts already underway or close to underway:

the Nativity quilt, which is on hold until I see if I can find the right fabric for the mountain that holds the cave at the show;

A "blueprint" quilt that shows a home from the 20s floor plan and a drawing of the house. The floor plan will all be in white thread, the house is undecided---I may use colored thread;

and then there is a nice little folk drawing I found in Dover that I want to make an applique/embroidery/heavily beaded quilt. Well, that last one isn't really started yet, but close. None of these require a traditional point-matching block (thank the good Lord!).

All of this explains why I decided to sub the last blocks with the birds, especially when they are so "purty"! Not much time left for this little baby/lap quilt.

[Nancy R.]

Hi Lois - I agree that the blue might be a bit strong. I like having the yellow in the center, and would look at maybe using the slightly darker green that is the background in your other blocks as the outer log in your log cabin blocks. To my eye, that would keep all of the blocks having the same "flavor". I understand Rosemary's reasoning for moving the green to the center since that's kind of a background area for this block, but I think that moving the yellow to the logs will give the block a lop-sided look because the yellow is what really draws my eye, after the blue. I think if you leave that blue in, then you would need to put it in some other blocks, too, so it doesn't look out of place. And maybe use it for a narrow border or use it somewhere in the border to make everything cohesive.

Nancy