Followers

I absolutely cannot get my Followers tab to work.  One time it is there and the next time it's not. It is so frustrating. I have asked google for help. A lot of help that was.  NONE ! I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling and that did not help.  So I am truly sorry that if you should want to follow my blog the only way to do it is from the tab at the very top of the page. It means that your profile picture won't be seen on my page at this time. I'm just sure that at some time blogger will get this glitch worked out.

If you have been experiencing the same problem and have figured it out, please let me know.  I would love to get it taken care of.

Julie

Days later same problem. BUT. But I did figure out that when I log in through Explorer the followers are there. It is when I use Firefox that they are missing.  I really dislike Firefox but have to use it on one of my other computers in order to print.  Nope, don't ask me that is. I don't know why.

On the Wall Today

This week I am still working on my Smith Mountain Morning quilt designed by Bonnie Hunter.  The wall doesn't look much different. But I am actually about done with all of the blocks.  There are still six green stars to be made and I need to finish up the border units. I've moved on to using the border pieces as my leader/enders while making the green star blocks. Pretty soon I will need to pull back out my bonus triangles from other projects to use as leader/enders as I can see that this top is about together.

Visit Judy Laquidara and all of the great design walls at 
http://www.patchworktimes.com/2011/09/26/design-wall-monday-september-26-2011/

Julie

A Good Day

Today I feel so blessed. Tired but blessed.  This morning I was at granddaughter Grace's soccer game in Topeka by 8:15. At three she is still unsure of what soccer is let alone whether or not she really wants to chase that ball around or just play with her friend Lucy.  Either way, she is just adorable and a pleasure to be with.

After hitting the grocery store to stock up on everything. I took a much needed and deserved nap.  Followed by an afternoon of my favorite pastime, sewing. 
This is what I have up on the wall so far.  It is starting to coming together. I feel like I'm making a lot of progress on it. I have been trying to decide if I want it to be predominately red or green. And after looking at this picture I'm leaning toward red.  We'll see.

This evening mom and I headed to the lake to spend the evening with son Jesse, Victoria and Grace.  Sister Joyce and Bill were there to share in the fun too.  What a great time.  We roasted hot dogs followed by marshmallows.  We all ate way more than we needed too and just generally had a great time.

Victoria and Mom

Grace and I taking apart and blowing Cattail fluff.

Well, now the decision, what will end the day?  TV, Sewing, Bed?  I won't figure that out til I'm off of here. Night all.

Julie

On the Wall Today

I had the opportunity to take a class from Bonnie Hunter last week in Holton, Kansas.  She taught her techniques for her quilt Smith Mountain Morning.  It was a great class. Bonnie is a super person with high energy and lots of great ideas. 

So this week I am working on my version of Smith Mountain Morning.  I wanted to do mine as a Christmas quilt therefore all the greens and reds.  I already had a great selection left over from last year when I did Judy Laquidara's  Walk In The Forest quilt from her book Weekend Quilts. So I just added a few more greens and reds and this is how it is turning out.

These blocks are the three blocks that I got done in the class and we were busy the entire time.  It was a lot of instruction using the rulers Bonnie suggests you use to make the block easier in the long run.  She uses the Easy Angle, Tri Tool, Rec Tool and the Companion Angle rulers.  And they do work.  It is worth the effort to figure it out.

And these are the 30 blocks I have been working on since the class.  They just need red on the lower side and then a green on the other two sides.  The pattern does not call for this many Cornerstone blocks but I will be making my quilt larger so it will be big enough for my bed.  I have been using the pieces to make the stars center pinwheels as my leaders and enders. So I end up working on both the star and the cornerstone blocks at the same time.

After Bonnie's trunk show she asked if anyone had brought quilts made from her patterns and three of us had.  Here is Bonnie and I showing my Roll Roll Cotton Bowl.  It was so much fun to be a part of her trunk show.  I also showed my version of Bonnie's Blue Ridge Beauty.  You can see a picture of that on a previous post.

Be sure to check out all the design walls at http://www.patchworktimes.com/  Have a great week.

Julie

What a day !

Bonnie Hunter was in town.  Okay, she was in a town about an hour from Burlingame but close enough.  I sure wasn't going to miss this opportunity and I'm thrilled to say I didn't.

Bonnie showed some of her spectacular quilts.  Her blog and books do not do them justice. The colors are just amazing.  And all the small pieces will just knock your socks off.

What was especially fun for me was that she asked anyone who had brought quilts made from her patterns to show them too.  So here are Bonnie and I showing off my Roll Roll Cotton Bowl. I asked her to sign the label and of course she graciously did.

And then my version of Blue Ridge Beauty.  I ended up naming my version Berry Bliss.  It just didn't seem right to call it Blue.  Here she is pointing out the variety of pinks.

It was just terrific to see a sampling of her quilts in person.  She gave a great talk that encouraged creativity and self expression.  I have no doubt that if she ever gets this close again I will be in attendance.  And I'm sure there will be more quilts I've made of her patterns.

On day two of Bonnie's trip to Holton she gave a class for Smith Mountain Morning.  This was not a quilt I was particularly interested in but since we have been doing pointy stars for our block of the month at Holton's Quilting on the Square it was the one chosen.  Unless you see the quilt in person you don't know how vibrant brown and blue can be.

Here are Mom, Bonnie and I standing in front of her Smith Mountain Morning.

Our class was a lot of fun.  But that is not as Bonnie would say an easy peasy quilt to make.  Before I left home I was just sure I would have half of my blocks made and be ready to sew the top together in just a few days.  NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!  I was lucky to get two of the star blocks made and one of the cornerstone blocks.

Here is a picture of my first star block.  I see now that it was taken before it was finished and no I did not take a picture of my own block after it was done.  Insert heel of hand to forehead here.

Here is a picture of Mom's.  Isn't that going to be great in red/white and blue.  My favorite quilt colors.  Hint, Hint.

It was a great workshop and I for one can't wait to finish my quilt. Especially since Bonnie used my pieces a couple of times for some demonstrations. (My stuff was just closest.)

Thank you Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville fame  http://quiltville.blogspot.com/ . And a big thank you to Mark and Connie of Quilting on the Square in Holton for hosting Bonnie.
http://quiltingonthesquare.com/ 

I had a great time. And now I'm off to work on my quilt.

Julie

Pressing and Cutting, Pressing and Cutting

Can you tell what color my next quilt will be? 

These are some of the materials I will be using at the workshop with Bonnie Hunter that is in Holton on Thursday. I was reading through the pattern this morning and just starting thinking that I was going to spend all my time pressing and cutting instead of sewing blocks.  I know that it is a workshop to learn a method and I intend to listen and learn but I also plan to be ready.  So after work today I am going to be pre-cutting some of the strips for the quilt.  I won't cut it all out.  After all I need to have something left so I can follow the directions.

So if you need to find me I will be in my sewing room pressing and cutting for what looks like hours and hours.  No doubt enjoying every minute of it.

Julie

What I'm Working On

My plans for yesterday fell through at the last minute.  But that was A-Okay with me.  I ended up spending a quilty morning finishing up the quilting on my table runner and sewing the binding on the table runner and my pink quilt.  All that is left to do on them is hand stitching down that binding.  Which is still the way I prefer to do it.  As I am typing this though, I realize neither of them have a label which is something I usually do before sewing on the binding.  So I will need to get off of here and get at making a couple of labels.

The binding I used for the runner is one of my favorite fabrics.  I love those black flowers on that brown fabric.  I am sorry to say that other than this one small scrap it is all used up.  I have no idea where I bought it or what manufacturer it came from.  There was nothing on the selvage edge to tell me.  Or if there was I used it up in a previous project.  Being a scrap quilter I have my go to favorites.  They could end up in every quilt I do, color permitting of course, and this brown was one of them.   Guess I'll have to stumble on to my next favorite.

Have a happy and safe Labor Day.  I will be heading to the pond to go fishing with family and then to dinner with all of them.  What will make it so good is of course family time.  And it doesn't hurt that I will get to sew all morning.  I love three day weekends.

                     Son Jesse and granddaughter Grace, fishing Memorial Day 2010.