On Ringo Lake - Week #3

I didn't get all that much sewing done this weekend so I have only a small start on clue #3. The mirror image thing always slows me down a bit - especially since I usually have batiks involved and then can't keep track of which side to sew on. I only managed to finish 32 of each, so there will be lots of catching up to do on this step.

I decided to cut the neutral triangles from the mis-cut rectangles from last week. I can get two triangle from each with only about 1/2" of waste so it seemed like the best option for using those. I have used up a lot of my neutrals between cutting extra week #1 and screwing up week #2 so I want to do what I can to not run out before I'm finished.  Of course I am sure I could find more to throw in....

We had Wool Club this Saturday.  I had not been able to go in a long time - March, I think - so it was great to see everyone!  I was able to pick up some more yarn to finish binding my Old Settlement rug. It's the largest rug I have ever finished (not the largest I have started, of course!) at 6 ft long.  

I didn't manage to get completely caught up on the Triangle Gatherings blocks Lisa posted on Saturday, but I finished block 86 and started #87.  I think this one is one of my favorites so far.

Lisa's last post indicated there will be 98 blocks instead of the 90 we all thought.... I still love this project but have to admit I was a little bummed to learn that I am not finished prepping the HSTs with triangle paper.  I thought I was finished with that stuff for a while! 

I'm betting a lot of folks are a lot farther along on their clues than I am.... I'll be checking out Bonnie's link-up throughout the day to see how others are progressing. There are some really fun color combinations out there!

En Provence Week Two

This weekend was perfect for sewing and I was able to get quite a bit accomplished while catching up on my recordings on the sewing room DVR. I also had the pleasure of sewing along with Bonnie - I stumbled onto the impromptu Quilt Cam announcement when re-checking the number of four patches needed and was able to tune in and listen to Bonnie while I stitched!

I am happy to report that not only did I get all of Step 2 completed but also was able to make significant progress on Step 1...so much so that I am daring to think I will be completely caught up before the next clue! By the time I wrapped things up and headed downstairs to prepare dinner yesterday I was down to the last 30 four patches, all of which are cut and ready to sew.  The hubby has a dinner meeting tonight so I am planning on hitting the sewing room after work to finish those off.

Not much other progress to report for the week. I did manage to get quite a few hexies prepped on my flights and even pieced one flower in the small amount of spare time I had in the evenings. My flights were definitely not conducive to sewing, particularly the O'Hare to Kalamazoo leg. I actually timed it on the way home - 11 minutes from the time the 10,000 ft bell to the "prepare for landing" announcement. I glued hexies as fast as I could during that 11 minutes, though!

I have been trying to work on my Old Settlement rug a little every night. I've been doing mostly background so my progress doesn't look all that spectacular, but it is coming along.  The picture really doesn't do it justice - this half is 27" high by 36" wide.  It's a BIG rug.  Now that I have all of the motifs hooked in this half I am going to force myself to finish all of the background and grass on this side before moving to the right. The down side of that plan is that it will likely be difficult to keep my frame from tipping over when I try to do the other end!

I can't wait to see the next step of En Provence. I'm pretty confident that in six years of doing the mystery I have never, ever been caught up at any point...and while I realize it probably won't last, it's very exciting for now!  Check out the link-up on Bonnie's blog to see how others are doing - it's really fun to see some of the other colors being used (I think I even saw teal being used as the neutral??)!

BFF Birthday Bash 2016

Janice and Julie held their annual birthday bash over the past weekend and I was so happy to be able to attend this year. We had a full house - I think there were 19 of us - and the weather was beautiful. Amazing to see perfect fall weather - crisp, clear mornings and sunny afternoons in the mid 60s - in November!  I was very inspired by all of the beautiful work being done and had a great time seeing old friends and meeting a few new ones this year.

The food was incredible as always - Janice's butternut squash soup, Jim's delicious BBQ spread and or course his famous gumbo!  Everything was wonderful! I failed to get a picture of Jim's new lighted "Gumbo" sign above the studio door.  I will have to grab a shot of that next time.

I made good progress on my Maggie rug. I finally looked at the real name - it is called "Old Settlement".  I had the cabin and the bird hooked before getting to Janice's but wasn't happy with the bird wings.  Janice helped me come up with a color that looks a lot less "blob-like" and works well with my flowers. Maggie had also suggested I just use the browns and greens I was using in the flowers and cabin for the tree, acorns and grass but I wanted to mix it up a little more. Janice helped me select some very "tree-like" grays for the trunk and we blended several different yellow and blue greens with the other two in the flower stems. I love the tree and am really happy with my grass now.

The other thing I wasn't thrilled with was my porch on cabin #2. We decided the former bird wing would be a much better color for the porch so out came the dark brown and in went the silo silver.  I think it looks much better now.

I filled in a bit more background while I was there.  I need to keep plugging away at the background because there is a LOT of it in this rug and I hate to get everything else finished and only have background left to hook. I think I will focus on getting the rest of the tree on the left side hooked and then make myself stick to background for a while before moving to the motifs on the right side.

There were three of us working on this pattern this weekend.  I should have taken pictures of the other two.  It was amazing how different they all look!

I stayed at my daughter's house while in KC and enjoyed visiting with her, her husband and all the critters. They were puppy-sitting for Shin (the Corgi) so it was quite the zoo. Shin and Dipper (her Border Collie) had a good old time wrestling and slobbering all over each other. They are so cute!

I'm looking forward to FNSI this weekend. I am working hard to finish up my Allietare top before the 2016 mystery starts a week from Friday so that will be the first order of business. And then there are the Primitive Gatherings Magic of Christmas blocks - four more were posted yesterday and they are supposed to come at a "fast and furious" rate between now and Thanksgiving, so I am instantly way behind on those.

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