I am trying to finish a Comfort quilt for someone who works for my husband. I finished quilting it tonight, and have it squared - I need to bind it. I top stitch my french bindings, and they look best in matching thread - I do not have one spool of deep purple thread (not my favorite color).
I have to go buy some - and I opted not to buy any when I bought the fabric for the binding - because I was sure I had purple thread!
I would also like to bind another quilt for us this week.
And make a Lotto block or 3 - also need to buy more fabric.

I wish I was retired!

I've been working on an improptu quilt, I had never planned on making. Laughing, because that's how most of my quilts start. I saw a technique for making HST on a tutorial from the Missouri Star Quilt Company (awesome toots) and did one and was smitten. Had four fairly large lengths of left-over dark, smoky fabric, and decided to get them out of my stash. One is plaid, on striped and two solid. Making the design called light and dark, only in this case it's dark and dark, LOL. If I name it, it'll be called Men, men, men, men manly men..........because it's a very masculine looking quilt.

I finally finished the quilt for my Aunt and got it off in the mail yesterday. I have this top that I had completed last Spring and got it sandwiched yesterday. It's Chinese Coins. Now I'm trying to decide on how to finish it with quilting. If any of you have seen an excellent choice on this pattern, by all means share! After that I am free and clear on whatever.

Linda, that Hooterville is so cute! My dh has been watching the old Green Acres episodes and getting my ds (age 10) watching them, so that is the first thing I thought of when I heard the name. Too cute!!

magothyrivergirl, I wish I was retired, too!! So many fun thing to do and not enough hours in the day!

I'm still trying to play catch-up on my Dear Jane. I just started month 5 and month 6 was mailed to me yesterday. I was hoping to get caught up over the Christmas break, but I'm not sure where the time went on that one. I also received my "fringe foot" over the weekend, so I can work on another of my "Stitcher's Garden" blocks. I'm on month 8 of 12. That one has been fun because of all the new stitches, presser feet and techniques to try.

I have so many projects in process, they are scattered all over. Now that the holidays are over - and I must take those wreaths and quilts down - I might get time to devote to quilting again. I threw an old mystery quilt on the big frame and got that quilted (except the borders which I do on the table machine) and will do that again. They aren't much but would work for charity quilts and it gives me the practice I need to get better on it.

Today is my small quilting group to sew together so am scrambling to have something ready for hand work all day. I finally decided to do something with bias strips and make another wall hanging - just decided this morning - so who knows what I'll have by the end of the day. Who cares - it's quilting. These are my best buddies and we get so much gossip in that the quilting is just to keep our hands busy.

"Men, men, men, men manly men........" --- LOL!!!
Hooterville fabric --- adorable!
Wishing for retirement --- me too!

This week I've been working on future lotto blocks and pretty happy with the progress. More on that shortly.

I've got a project to finish making covers out of sunbrella fabric for ice packs for a neighbor friend who is going in next week for back surgery. After seeing the bowl cozies, I think I'll make him a couple bowl holders to match the ice pack covers because he won't be sitting at a table for a few weeks. The fabric resists stains, cleans up easily and never gets mildewy from the ice packs.

I'm at one of those points where I have a half dozen quilts spinning around in my head and want to start on them all. I'm not sure which one will be first but I know as soon as I get the sewing room cleaned up I'll be jumping into one of them!

Kate

Tonight I'm planning to get the final border on my 2010 Quiltville mystery quilt. I'm adding 2 extra borders to make it big enough to be a king-size bedspread.

I'm off Friday so I think I'll make a couple more Kindle covers that my guild can sell at our quilt show next year.

Donna

I think a barring went out of my year old machine... But until she is home from the doctor, I have a borrowed one :)

I need to finish: Feb. birthday blocks, 2 crazy blocks, lap sized quilt for donation and make a lotto block or 3. If all of this gets finished, I want to start a Snoopy quilt for one of my nephews baby that is due Feb. 29 and finish a Bunny quilt for a friends baby that is due in March. Then I will only have 4 baby quilts to finish by the middle of April and 4 graduation quilts by May 12th!

I need to get as much done as possible this week as I go back to school on Monday...

Happy quilting!
Marie

I am working on my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler blocks....28 down, 112 to go....lol
I am joining a group at the LQS to keep me motivated otherwise the fabric and book would just sit in a box and stay a UFO forever.

To break things up I think I will do a couple of birthday blocks so I won't be late.....M-I-L's 90th birthday at the end of Feb and I have been "voluntold" to organize the celebration.

Mary

I'm quilting a quilt called City Lights from the cover of the City Quilts book by Cherri House. The pattern is supposed to represent a skyscraper's windows. I am quilting vertical lines, never more than 2" from the next vertical line and often only 1" away. Am I making a mistake by never quilting a horizontal line across the quilt? I really like the way it looks with only verticals, but I don't want the batting to shift.

I intended to start the New Year out working on some anniversary quilts, but started out going back to my solid apron scrap fabrics. I was so excited to finally have those red ones done that I started on a bag of pale blue/grean/pink/peach ones and have them all sewed and cut into HST (1546 units!) and couldn't find my colored pencils to scribble layout ideas on graph paper for there pale fabrics, so last night I cut and paired up my bright fabrics to make them into HST units too.

Calliope - I'm so glad you said you're using the Missouri Quilt method of HST - that is the one I'm using too and I have a question. With the edges being on the bias, are you starching your units before you work with them (Press open, piece together?) and how are the holding up as you piece them together? Is there a lot of stretching?

Lois - I love that City Lights pattern. I don't think you need to worry about horizontal lines - the batting today does not break down the way it used to, and quilting every 2" should be more than adequate to hold it all in place.

Karlene

Lois~other than it being boring and stressful for you keeping all those lines straight, I think only stitching vertical lines on City Lights is absolutely the way to quilt that design. I am very familiar with that book and pattern. I looked at the book again yesterday as a matter of fact :).
(It is on my long list.)
Feel free to show us your progress-I am anxious to see your color palette.

Not quilting exactly but today I made two pillowcases for a friend who has a Chillow. Regular cases are too big and the pillow slips around too much. The ones I made are almost "custom" fit.
But I am looking through my to-do list to get started on my next project.
Theresa

I am working on transferring everything from my old computer to the new one. Windows has transfer ease and I use it some, but it will also transfer spyware and anything else lol!!!! I need to place some of my embroidery designs and quilt patterns on to CDs anyway. New computers are a pain in the butt, both are Toshiba lap tops, and the keyboards are different!!!!!

In my spare time I am working on the 'Christmas Tree' quilt.
Rosa