Obsessed with Handwork

I can't believe that it has been over a month since I last posted!  I feel like I am pedaling as fast as I can but still losing the race these days...  Things are starting to slow down a bit now, so hopefully I will be able to keep up with my projects and posts for at least a while. 

I am still working on the Lemoyne Stars and actually managed to finish both of my 12" blocks last month thanks to a couple of really long travel days to and from Germany.

I'm working on the 12th block now.  Our last meeting is Aug 3rd.  I'm pretty sure that I won't have my homework finished this time around, but I have kept up fairly well and only have about 5 more 12" blocks to finish (and several 6" blocks...I lost count on those).  I just hope I can motivate myself to stick with them after the classes end.  I think I will be really happy with the quilt when finished.  I am really in love with the colors.

I spent the weekend trying to catch up on prepping my Summer BOW and Summer Freebie blocks.  Week 7 arrived last week.  I am completely caught up on the prep work and have finished stitching two of the freebie blocks and am almost finished with the third BOW block.  At this point my goal is just to keep up with the prep...I will eventually get to the stitching.  I really need to figure out what I am going to do with the words.  I have decided to embroider them, but I need to decide on a font.

 

I am looking forward to wrapping up my LeMoyne stars (or the class, at least) so that I can get back to my hexies.  I am obsessed with English Paper Piecing right now and can't wait to have time to do some!  Chris Moline visited our guild in July and I had an opportunity to take an EPP class from her. I am fascinated by how many variations there are on the EPP technique.  In any event, one of the shapes she gave us to try was a clamshell.  I loved it!  I would really love to do a clamshell quilt one of these days. She also showed a quilt in her trunk show that is perfect for EPP.  I love the indigo - I really would love to make this one too!

Chris has an absolutely amazing quilt collection!  Her trunk show was wonderful.  I found several quilts I would love to make (all handwork, of course...I'm going to have to live to 200 to work all of these in!)

And then there are my rugs....I have so many rugs started and now I've signed up for another class this year!  I am on a mission to get my kaleidoscopes finished in two weeks.  It's an aggressive goal, but I am getting close.

I have one more row along the top and one column on the side plus most of the little corners to do.  And the border. A lot of hooking, but I am on a mission!

Sweltering at the Lake

I had big plans for a relaxing day sewing and/or hooking at the lake today.  I originally blocked the day as vacation so that I could take a workshop with my quilt guild but decided I would rather use the day to take care of a couple of things on the "to do" list and then just kick back and relax.  The day got off to a good start - I drove to Rolla in the morning and picked up the keys and completed the check-in inspection for my daughter's apartment and was back on the road on my way to the lake by 10 am. I got to Osage Beach just in time for lunch at one of my most favorite restaurants, On the Rise, and thoroughly enjoyed one of my very favorite meals...their Monte Christo. I then headed to the house to play - or so I thought - only to find that the air conditioner (which is only 4 years old) would not turn on.  And yes, it would just happen to be the hottest day of the year so far.  It was 95 F in the house most of the day.  And of course any service people available until Friday.  By the time I finally had a service appointment scheduled I was too hot and irritated to do much of anything.  So much for kicking back to relax!  It's still over 90 F in here at 8:30 pm.  I'm just hoping it cools off enough for me to get a decent night's sleep.

I did muster the energy to finish block one of the 2013 summer BOW.  It's called "Words to Live By" and is supposed to have a word inked on it but I haven't worked up the nerve to do that yet.  I'm not at all big on writing on fabric.  It never works out for me.

Pardon the wrinkles...no way I was heating up an iron in this sauna!  Block two probably arrived in the mailbox today.  I will have to get it prepped when I get home Friday - I'm going to do my best to keep up this summer!

And now for a couple of pictures of quilts from the show.  I completed the "carnival" quilt (pattern by Gudrun Erla) at one of our sleep in your own bed retreats. Shelly McClymont did a wonderful job quilting it.

And this is the quilt that I was lucky enough to win from my TAS group.  The quilt is called "An Applique Welcome" and is composed of blocks made by 17 members of our local TAS chapter. Jane Hair outdid herself with the quilting - it is gorgeous.  I was the luck winner of this beauty!  We had agreed when we came up with the idea to make the quilt that the winner would exhibit it in the quilt show. Not only did we win first place in our category, we were told by an NQA judge that visited the show that she would have chosen it as best of show!  I am so thrilled to be the lucky owner of this work of art that represents so many of my wonderful friends!

My Lisa's Garden quilt didn't end up hanging quite as smoothly as I would like - I should have taken more time to block it before finishing, but I was rushing.  I am going to try to correct the problem and will hopefully have a nice flat picture of the quilt to share soon.