October Finish!

We had 20 mph winds on Wednesday Oct. 8. Guess who was golfing. It managed to get up to 50 degrees by noon, with this wind. Am I crazy, or what?? Wait, don't answer that. (If you do say I'm crazy, that only proves you know me.)

Things were blowing around. More naked trees now. Poor trees. They get to glory in their lovely colors for such a short time, and they get robbed early of their prettiness. So unfair.

That's a plant stand that is on our deck. Must have made a tremendous crash when it came down. I was out golfing. Guess it's way past time to get this cleaned up anyway. Just a gentle nudge from Mother Nature.

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Now I'll talk about my finish. Melons and Creamsicles is finished! Taa Daa!

These are after washing and drying. I had a good time making swirls thru out the creamy white background. I wanted the pin wheels to pop. Check out the back, where you can really see the quilting.

You can see my circles in a couple of the pics. I used a spool as a template. My wonderful Mr. LQ got me a template of all sizes of circles. It came today. So next time, I won't have to use a spool.

My "feathers" are a somewhat different species than I usually use. I borrowed them from LuAnn Kessi's blog. She calls them Big Leaves. I'm calling them Molar Petals. I think they are the shape of molars.

Statistics:

Melons and Creamsicles

Pieced in Florida, starting winter 2013-2014

Mirabelle Fabric 

Warm and Natural Batting

Size: 58" x 64.5"

Was 62" x 70" before quilting and washing.

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OK, now I'm asking for help. Does anyone know how to clear the thin applicator for Roxanne's Glue Baste It? I thought I washed it out completely last time, but one (you get two in a package, thank goodness) is sealed with glue. It is soaking in water, even as we speak. Does anything dissolve it once it is completely dried? The applicator is so skinny, I can't fit anything down it to work at the glue. 

Thanks,

Lin

Next Item on the Agenda

Next up for me is to quilt this baby. It has been sitting in the queue for a few months. It's time!

The pattern is called Dilly Dally from Thimble Blossoms by Camille Roskelley. Due to my color choices (this is Mirabelle), I've named it Melons and Creamsicles. It measures approx 64" x 72", before quilting. I'll have to measure again after quilting for binding, so it will be interesting to see how much it shrinks. I'm planning on quilting the ditches, then allover swirls in the cream. No idea now what I'll do in borders.

How much do you think it will shrink?

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Yesterday we went to a Renaissance Festival here in Michigan. First time we've done that. Lots of people, of all ages dress for the festival. We didn't. It seems to be requisite that the women have low-cut tops with lots of jiggle. I felt so overdressed...

Lots of crazy get ups! People carrying weapons--swords, hatchets, etc. Pirates, dancing girls. Very crowded! We didn't stay too long.

Thought we'd go to Frankenmuth, Michigan for a wonderful chicken dinner, but couldn't find parking. Lots of other people out enjoying the beautiful weather. So, OK, we'll head for home and find something along the way. After 2 detours, we decided we'd eat at a steak house about 1/2 hour from the house. It's closed. Ended up at Ruby Tuesdays.

It was fun being together, but not the kind of day we expected.

Thanks,
Lin

Official

It's official. Dilly Dally aka melon/creamsicle has now attained the rank of flimsy! Taa Daa!

I tried to get pictures outside, but the wind kinda got the one laying in the snow. But the sunshine on the flimsy looks good, doesn't it? Only in the 20's today, but with the sun shining, it feels so much nicer.

I needed a border and binding fabric. Mr LQ thought brown would bring out the brown in the quilt, but I couldn't find a brown I liked. I think the green sets it off very nicely. Brown might have been too bold for the soft colors in this quilt.

I went to Attic Windows Quilt Shop in Comstock Park and asked for help. Got several gracious people to help me. First Chris, the owner. Then Caroll, who blogs at westmichquilter.blogspot.com 
It was so nice to put a face with the blog. And Judy, who was taking a class (so was Caroll). 
I certainly appreciated all their help. I also picked out 13 fabrics for the triangle quilt along. (on my side bar)

Next up is Celtic Solstice. I put one block together.

Now that I have one block together, I can use that as a guide and make a ton more. I have to make 40 of these.

I linked today with Sew Many Ways, Patchwork Times and Anything Goes Mondays @ Stitch By Stitch, and Quilt Story and Let's Bee Social @ Sew Fresh Quilts

Thanks,

Lin

Feelin' Good

Well, I think I'm over the worst of it all. Crazy lady that I am, I scheduled myself to have an ingrown toenail removed on Thursday! Just so I could tell you I was "hurtin' from head to toe"!

The toe thing went just fine, hardly any bleeding even. And I was a big girl and didn't even cry. But they didn't even offer me a lollipop!

Once the antibiotic started working on me, my tooth pain got better fast. When I woke up this morning, I realized I wasn't in any pain  Woooo Wheeee!

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I'm still toying with ideas for setting my Figure 8 quilt. I'm waiting for YOU to respond and tell me how you like it, and which color way should I use. See here and here.

I've joined A Free Motion Quilting Adventure's McTavishing quilt along (afreemotionquiltingadventure.blogspot.com), so I got to practicing that today. Just drawing however. I still have Mom's quilt under the Sweet 16, and don't want to change thread and needle to (possibly) screw up my tension.  Here's my first attempt at McTavishing:

 It looks cooler in the picture than when I look at the actual page. The three darkest lines I drew in first, then worked on filling in. Some of the areas are "swoopier" than others. Karen McTavish says think of Superwoman hair. I guess her hair was more controlled that day. But I declare it "not bad" for a first attempt.

I have a sketch book that I use for quilting ideas. I follow Leah Day, and have taken several different Craftsy classes, all of which are represented in my sketch book. And documented who I got the idea from, I might add. In case I want to refer back.

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I'm trying out layouts for Dilly Dally, a Thimble Blossoms pattern by Camille Roskelley, with Mirabelle by Fig Tree for Moda. I think this is the layout I'm going to follow. Mr lq was just helping me move blocks around. We agreed that you could do that all day, and it might never really make a difference. So I declare this is THE layout.

 It's a very softly colored collection. In person, the blocks that look washed out in this picture, don't.

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I'm not ready to tackle a steak yet, but I'm getting better!


I've been trying to make myself a button, but can't make the html work right for me. I've followed several different tutes, but the best I can do is make the picture appear. This is when you need a teenager in the house. So frustrating.

Thanks,
Lin