deja vu all over again

Its like deja vu all over again, to quote the late Yogi Berra I even had to google Yogi Berra quotes to find the spelling of deja vu.  Nothing I was trying was being recognized by spell check thats a bad speller but it is a foreign word.  Same pattern, same arrangement, same fabrics, same quilting design.

 A different fabric on the back with the same Alexander Henry Dick and Jane winter print.  I like that fabric so much I had to share it on 2 quilts.  and now I have had more time to think about how to quilt the pink and black quilt  --Ann--

deja vu

I was planning to machine quilt a pink and black and white quilt but all my bobbins were full of red thread so to the next Christmas quilt its deja vu.  Or maybe emptying a couple bobbins was like finishing dinner before I could eat the ice cream.  Same pattern, same arrangement, same fabrics, same quilting.  --Ann--

another ta tea da done

 I finished another Christmas quilt.  There has been a day or two of perfect summer days when the temps are not too high and the humidity is low and the wind is just a breeze to keep the bugs away, then there are the rest of the days; hot, humid and windy or no wind at all but not quite missing a snowy day in December.  More machine quilting to do in the coolness of my sewing room.  --Ann--

How do you sew blocks together?

How do you sew quilt blocks together?  A long time ago when I took my first quilting class the way to sew blocks together was to sew them all in rows and keep adding rows until all the blocks were connected by a thread. Then sew the horizontal rows, handling all 63 blocks for each seam.  It was  like dealing with 6 clotheslines full of clothes with all the gaps between the horizontal rows. It worked but the gaps would get caught on the corner of the table or the arm or the chair.  Very cumbersome.  Now I sew 2 or 3 rows of blocks together vertically then horizontally for this quilt it was 3  sections of 21 quilt blocks.  It was so much easier sewing a section of 21 to 21 to 21 so I wasn't handling all 63 blocks until the last seam. Look at that there is sunlight coming in the window!! but its still close to 0 outside.   --Ann--

quilt blocks

 January is always catch up month, finishing projects and putting away the Christmas decorations.  If I had my way the tree would be redecorated with snowmen and then hearts and I wouldn't take it down until the end of February.  I like the lights when the winter gets long and bleak.  It took me all week to take things down and arrange the puzzle of boxes in the storage closet.   The Santas on the fireplace ledge were replaced with the snowmen.  There were a few days last week when the temps were in the mid to upper 30's so I left my mess and went for a walk, fresh air that didn't hurt my face.  Then its back to real winter with cold, fresh snow and temps below 0 again and wind.  Its a great day to sew.  I finished sewing the courthouse step blocks now to trim.
Hope you are staying warm and dry.
--Ann--
Linking to Em's Scrapbag

quilt top finish

Another quilt top done and I think I have strips cut for 2 more quilt tops. Let me sew, let me sew,  let me sew!  --Ann--

finished blocks

  Fresh snow outside and very chilly temps made for cozy days in the sewing room last week.  There's nothing like the hum of a well oiled machine and Christmas music to make blocks fall into place.  More Christmas music this week will help with the tedious task of trimming all the blocks to exactly the same size.  --Ann--  Linking to Em's Scrapbag

adding the courthouse steps

It was a busy week last week.  Christmas decorations came out in spite of the unseasonably warm weather.  Sometimes you just have to enjoy the weather and go for a long walk because one of these days it will be cold and windy and probably snowy like later today and the rest of December.  I sewed a few courthouse steps to go between the tri rec stars.  I'm not a matchy matchy quilter so the dark strips will be a combination of green and red strips and if they happen to fall beside a red or green background star so be it.  I thought I would go with dark on three sides for the outside round of blocks for the impression of a border.   This week I should mix up cookies and sew a few more blocks.  Don't forget to enjoy the Christmas season.  --Ann--  Linking to Em's Scrapbag

Second Finish for 2016

Am I starting a trend here? getting in a new routine!??! My second quilt finished in the second week of the new year.  Lets see I have...... how many quilts basted and ready to quilt?  I could........nahhh I'm on a roll here for finishing quilts........ but if I try to do one a week that puts pressure on and then its no fun.  Lets just see what happens in the weeks to come.  I just need to get a label on it by Saturday.  No pressure. Just enjoying the process --Ann--

Machine Quilting

It was a great weekend to machine quilt here on the snow covered prairie.  It was cold outside, really cold.   I have been stitching arcs in and around the stars, lengthwise stitches in the dark steps and diagonal rings in the light steps and star background.  I used a dark thread on the dark sections and light thread on the light.  Only a couple more sections to quilt and then the borders.  It is warmer today with a dusting of fresh snow.  Might be a good day to finish this quilt. --Ann--

Design Wall

I felt like I worked over the weekend because I finished these blocks and all the blocks for a super secret project then sewed them together and basted that quilt top and another.  I even started machine quilting it. Much accomplished! But its a secret.  These blocks have been sewn into strips they need to be pressed before I sew the strips together then add borders.  We have snow again its a good day to hunker down and sew some more.  --Ann--

Design Wall and 500 posts

I looked at the information on my sidebar and it said 499 posts so this makes 500!! If I were a super organized person I would do something monumental for this post but I'm not super organized so it will go down as more of a footnote.  I seldom  sew much in December but I need to get a couple wedding gifts done so I am sewing.  I'm about half done with these blocks.  I'm just alternating tri rec stars with courthouse steps and the tri rec stars should also alternate with the light and dark sides of the courthouse step blocks making a star burst of light and dark.  Our snow has melted and the forecast is for more warm days so I make get the garland on the front steps today.  Happy stitching.--Ann--

Design Wall Monday

 Not much change on the design wall since last week except the purchase of more turquoise fabric. How did that happen?!?  This week will be spent in the sewing room rather than the kitchen. And a quilt, Spring Blossoms, out of the cupboard and into the mail. I made this quilt before I started blogging so I'm posting pics.

It's a windy day here. This is just a tri rec star with courthouse step blocks, the top quilt I tweaked the color the others I did not because they really are a soft bunch of pastels, the yellows are buttery, the blues are like the sky on a sunny day if you look just above the horizon or maybe a faded robin's egg blue, the pinks have a hint of coral and the green is leaning toward chartreuse but with a little gray or sage, not the traffic stopping chartreuse of today. I extended the courthouse step blocks into the border with extra cornerstones.  I hope it likes its new home. Check out the quilts at Judy's Design Wall Monday and Stitch by Stitch.--Ann--