Stonefields Quilt – Chopin – A Passionate Quilter From Texas

May 3, 2021

Santa Fe Trail SAL and Other Projects

Greetings – from South Texas where we had 6 inches of rain in the last week – YIPEE! Now we can quit worrying about having to cut down a few more trees (hopefully more rain this month!)

I am participating in the Pieces of the Santa Fe Trail SAL with Melva. I have completed the 2 blocks and now on to other things (waiting for the next block).

I have also decided (for certain) to increase the blocks for A Bountiful Life quilt to 16 blocks rather than the 9 blocks I had decided to do previously and then add a border.

I have one of the blocks ready for applique and today I will start preparing the other 6 blocks to complete the quilt. Then there will be a border with vines and leaves – no flowers as I do not want to take away from the blocks. I have all 4 of the different versions of the pattern, including the original one by Patricia Cox entitled Folk Art City for Jean) that were sold for this quilt, but I really liked A Beautiful Life pattern the best.

Next I am contemplating whether to continue on with Stonefields, or just put the blocks I have completed together and go forward. The pattern was the most expensive I have ever purchased ($200.00) and will just hate myself for not making the entire quilt, so I will make that decision after I have the remaining 6 blocks for A Beautiful Life blocks ready for applique! I will change the border like Jaydee did on her Stonefields, as I am not in the mood to do all the hexagon flowers, but everyone knows by now that I tend to change my mind often.

I am working on Dresden Plates and finishing the button hole stitching on Sweet Stitches! Hopefully (HOPEFULLY) I can finish the Sweet Stitches this evening (just a little bit of stitching) and get back to the Dresden Plates and now A Bountiful Life!

Sweet Stitches – 6 more pieces to Button Hole Stitch

We are in the process of adding security cameras to our current system and adding a new front fence in the front of our property. We estimated the footage to be about 370 feet! Now we just need someone to take down the existing fence and putting up the new one. I have been enjoying doing whatever comes along each day and not in a big hurry, although I do wish I were 10 years younger – thing I might finish more quilts.

Let me mention the long arm situation. I have to set a date and just get a quilt loaded and do it! Here it is May and I have missed 2 months in PHD2021. This has to stop as it does not take that long to get them quilted! (I do not do custom only free hand since my is not computer driven!)

I do believe if I stayed away from the computer I would have more time! But, alas, sometimes we just have other things to do that take us away from playing!

Hugs and have a wonderful week!

Nanette

Linking To: My Quilt Infatuation; Confessions of a Fabric Addict; Finished or Not Friday ; Em’s Scrap Bag; BOM’s Away; Sew Fresh Quilts; Crazy Mom Quilts; Oh Scrap; Scrap Happy Saturday; Slow Sunday Stitching Quilt Fabrication Mid Week Makers; Peacock Party; Design Wall Monday, Scrap Happy Days, Quilting Patch Linky Party To-Do-Tuesdays;PHD in 2021;

April 13, 2021April 13, 2021

To-Do Tuesday – 13 March 2021 – OOPS 13 April 2021

Happy Tuesday! The weather in South Texas is really something this year. The Oak Pollen was up to 40,000 and it got me this time! The trees are blooming so pretty this year even with the horrible drought. There is a chance that the next 5 days will bring some rain and I am hoping for a gully washer! 10 inches would be fine with us as we have had about 2 inches all winter. We used to average 30 inches a year, but that stopped around 2006.

I accomplished a lot this past week. Life has been peaceful but the pollen caused me problems with my Meniere’s. I did complete the insurance problem so that is a DONE DEAL FOREVER!

Here were my goals for this last week:

Applique Jacobean Lights – The 3 blocks are win the trash drawer!
Sweet Stitches Borders and into a finished top – Goal 12 April. Completed
A Bountiful Life Border – Still working on X
Dresden Heaven – prepare fabric background grid – Completed
Stars Around the Garden – Begin working on Setting – Still working on X
Stonefields – Either finish the last 4 sections or forget them – May
Celebrating Brown – prepare 2 blocks for applique –May
Antique Blue and White Quilt – New Project – May
Kaye England’s Mystery Medallion – New Project – May
Quilt Autumn Jubilee – Still working on. X

The 3 blocks remaining for Jacobean Lights will not be finished, as I have had enough of that quilt. I will take all the finished blocks and put a top together. Hopefully it will come out nice without those puppies!

I did finish Sweet Stitches. I did not like the fabrics that came with the blocks, so I found a black fabric with red, blue, yellow, and green tiny dots in my stash. I pulled some batiks that matched the dots and started with a different color for each block. I was hoping that by doing it that way when sew together the corners would pull them together. That did not work like I thought it would, so I ripped the corner squares out and decided to put a blue, red, yellow, and green around each block in the corner. I am very pleased with the outcome! (My colors remind me of the Microsoft image! LOL) The fabric used for the background and borders is a beige Crackle fabric, some of my favorites for embroidery. Today I will finish with doing a buttonhole stitch around the little add on’s that came with the patterns (i.e., Easter eggs, flag, etc)

For Dresden Plates, I have cut fabric and drawn the grids for 5″ blocks for appliquéing the Dresden Plates. There are 109 small plates and about 10 of the larger plates. If I become “dedicated” to it at night I might finish the quilt by the end of May!

My goals for 12 April – 19 April are:

A Bountiful Life Border – Select fabric and finish!
Dresden Heaven – prepare fabric background grid – Applique Plates to background
Stars Around the Garden – Begin working on adding borders and blocks
Load Autum jubilee on long arm
Start on Sewcialites – Maybe!
Make a block for Melva’s Santa Fe Trail

We will be traveling later this month, so my To-Do list is rather slim. But May will be a full month and I will be busy continuing on with UFOs and hopefully by June I can start on some new projects. Life and time will tell the story on this goal! LOL

In the meantime – have a wonderful week and enjoy stitching!

Hugs, Nanette

Linking To: My Quilt Infatuation; Confessions of a Fabric Addict; Finished or Not Friday ; Em’s Scrap Bag; BOM’s Away; Sew Fresh Quilts; Crazy Mom Quilts; Oh Scrap; Scrap Happy Saturday; Slow Sunday Stitching Quilt Fabrication Mid Week Makers; Peacock Party; Design Wall Monday, Scrap Happy Days, Quilting Patch Linky Party To-Do-Tuesdays;PHD in 2021;

March 30, 2021

To-Do Tuesdays – 30 March 2021

Greetings from South Texas where we are about to receive the last cold front of 2021. It appears after Easter that the high 80’s will be returning for the summer and of course gradually turn into the 100’s!!! I am not sure, but I do not think El Niño is going to visit like they thought! But that is OK after all, it is the end of March (well OK 1 more day to go)!

I have not set anymore goals this month because of the need for me to finish OMIGOSH! Today I finished the last of the 8 remaining blocks. There are 30 blocks all together. Each block is made up of 2 each 5” UF 9 patch blocks and 2 each 5” UF Shoo Fly blocks which make up a “block”. The 9 patches and the Square in a Square 4 patch blocks are 2” UF. I have no idea how to count the pieces and all the cutting I did for this project, but if I EVER sold it – it would be expensive as there a many hours spent in making it. I may get it appraised someday. They are all on the design wall, and so now I give you Nanette’s OMIGOSH Am I Ever Crazy Quilt:

I am pleased with the setting, so tomorrow morning I will be putting the quilt top together!

My goals for 29 March through 5 April 2021 will be to finish this quilt. If I am blessed enough to do so, I will be reviewing my UFO list again and see if it would be better to put Stars Around the Garden (SAG) together and start on the borders at night; put Sweet Stitches together, or just to save my sanity – start on a new quilt that I have been wanting to make. I have some fabric that will look great with this quilt from Missouri Quilt Company. I also have Dresden Plates to applique to background blocks, hand quilting on Indian Summer, oops, Mary Brown, Stonefields, and Jacobean Lights for applique. Talk about being so far behind in UFOs. Unbelievable I have a lot of money and time already invested in these UFOs and it looks like it will take me the rest of the year to complete them. This doesn’t include the 29 quilts that need to be quilted on the long arm…..No wonder I have high anxiety! LOL

Last Friday Clay and I went to the quilt store and I purchased some French General fabrics, and 2 end of bolts of 108” fabric for backgrounds. I will try to get pictures of all my French General fabric soon in another post. I have ordered a bolt of French General Favorites Pearl Linen. The FQS is a great on-line shop as they provide great service and when buying a bolt you get a discount. This bolt will strictly be used with all of my French General fabrics.

Maybe by next week I will have a list of To-Do’s and get back on track with life and quilting. I know one thing. I will NOT take any generics that have polyethylene glycol. Those 3 generic fluid pills I took last week because they quit making my Brand Name medication, activated my Meniere’s, increased my sugar, gave me 2 horrible Migraines with Aura, ended up with floaters in my right eye and activated my anxiety! That ingredient is in the lovely CHINESE virus vaccine. I believe this inactive ingredient is the reason that people are having bad reactions like extreme tiredness and headaches possibly Migraines. The Owner of the Texas Road House Cafe killed himself because he could not cope with the Tinnitus that comes with Meniere’s after taking the Vaccine!!! Horrible. Johnson and Johnson uses aborted fetus tissue. I will NEVER take this vaccine and NEVER take another Flu Shot. This is MY OPINION based on my PROBLEMS with inactive ingredients in medications and preservatives in foods.

Have a wonderful week. Thursday I will get a hair cut – have not had a real one for over a year (Between Clay and I we kept it trimmed). Tomorrow is Facetime with my friend Kathy. The time we spend together is so uplifting to me just to sit and sew and talk with another quilter is a gift from Heaven!

It seems that I am learning to deal with the new software for WordPress! I pay an annual fee, so I can get help and support if I run into a problem while writing a post. I do appreciate that! I learned a few more things tonight while writing this post on my iPad!

Hugs, Nanette (haven’t figured out how to change the color of my text – maybe next time!)

March 27, 2016

Happy Easter, Margaret Potts Quilt,Stonefields, and Civil War Bride QAL with Friends

I would like to wish all a Happy Easter. I do not remember having such an early Easter. Have a great day with family and friends.

I have been busy trying to play catch-up on Civil War Bride, Stonefields, and now I have added another project on my “to do” list. – The Margaret Potts Quilt. I am a member of the Baltimore Applique Society BAS and they are doing a BOM each month. BAS is a great organization for Appliquers’ to join even if we are miles away from the meetings. The Margaret Potts quilt BOM is a great way for BAS to reach out to their members who are do not live in the area but want to participate in the group projects. The quilt consists of 85 blocks. Doing a block a month will take about 7 years – think I can do this one? LOL. Since I have decided to not make the Farmers Wife quilt, I will be doing this quilt in the 1930’s fabric that was purchased for that “ex-project” (new terminology for not working on a pre-determined doomed project) LOL.

Of course I am 4 months behind the group because for some reason I had not read my BAS newsletters since November (hum wonder where my mind was)? My friend Jaydee just assumed I knew about the project because we are both members, but when dealing with an empty head sometimes…..we are now both working on the project needless to say after I did read this month’s newsletter and realized what was going on. We had a good laugh on that one.

My Civil War Bride (CWB) is coming along. I have 6 blocks ready to applique and today should have Block 1 completed today (if I can get away from this computer). I have made the changes I wanted to (so far and I am sure there will be many more) and ready to catch up with the group. My friends Cathy and Lynn from the DC area and hopefully Jaydee from Washington will be working on the quilt each month. Cathy has one more Lady who may be interested in driving herself nuts along with the 4 of us. We had decided to do 2 blocks a month, but boy that Lynn is really going to town. I will be posting our progress on the 1st of each month so stay tuned. It is so interesting to see the different interpretations of this quilt – each of us have changed things on the pattern and using different fabrics with unique outcomes. Hopefully I can finish Block 2 by Thursday and not start April behind the others. It is so much fun to have others working on the same project – always provides me a challenge and a reason to “get with the program” to start on a quilt that has been in the “que” for a few years!

Jaydee and I are working on Stonefields – well, let’s put it this way. I am in Segment 3 and Jaydee is in Segment 6 – She will have that puppy finished before I even get half way through. We worked on an Edyta Sitar quilt – Sentimental Scraps – that we made almost 2 years ago (purchased all the fabrics for the middle border) but I have not finished putting all the blocks together (shame on me!) Jaydee has her completed – in fact she completed it a long time ago! Turned out beautiful. The pattern was in a Quiltmania magazine I believe in 2014.

Here is a photograph of a quilt that my friend Jaydee Price made for President George W. Bush and it is now hanging in his Library – what an honor! Jaydee is a wonderful friend, quilter, and such a giver. One of these days she and I will tour the Library and just relish in the fact that her hard work has been honored. (Even if it is in our dreams!)

I leave you with thoughts of my Poor Dear Jane! I had illusions of grandeur the other day and set it all out on the cutting table to work on color placement…………Yup – still there but it is on hold for a few more days! I looked back at the 8 blocks I had finished about 18 months ago, and put it on hold when I realized how difficult this project would be and I wanted to really do it justice with a different selection of fabrics. Well, no excuse, just keep putting other things ahead of it. It is next in line! Although I think I am ready to do a “no-brainer” quilt – one that does not take a lot of thinking! One the struggles I deal with when I make a quilt is that nagging little thought that “this one may be a Show quilt” and that is when the perfectionist idiot comes out slows me down. Oh well what can I say!

Have a blessed day – Until next Blog!