Finishes......

Most of my time lately has been spent getting ready for the move down to the Dallas area, but there has been sewing going on as well.   Gotta do something to maintain my sanity through all of this, including having no success at finding a place to live before I get down there.

First up, pics of the blocks I made for the July round of the F2F swap that I'm a part of.   these blocks went to a swap member in France and have been received by her, so i can post the pics of them now.  Her requested colors were lime green, a red-violet (pics do not show the right shade of purple), and a cream background.

Next up was my row-by-row quilt.    I was able to get it finished this past week.    I'm planning on turning it in this next week in one of the shops in Cheyenne if they have not had a winner.   I'll be calling first tho before I make teh trip out there.  the fabric used for the backing was a 54" wide, with a border on both sides.   There are 9 rows total in the quilt - 8 on the front and the 9th on the back as my quilt label.   All of the stores are listed on it and I named the quilt "From Wyoming to Texas".

And there were several more scrub tops completed, bringing my total to 11 completed at this point.

Gratitudes:

1. Packing is going ok....and I'm making headway on what needs to be done.  

2. Had a great time in Idaho with friends this past weekend.

Goals and to-do's, July 29th

I know I've made progress....but sometimes it feels like I haven't done as much as I need to.   Gotta use these to keep me on track the final 3 weeks before leaving here.

Miscellaneous

1. Start getting boxes out of storage room and to Apt - Not done
2. Gather stuff for Goodwill and take to store in Cheyenne. - Second car load taken to Goodwill, third load of stuff in progress
3. Email with realtor about rental possibilities - Ongoing.........
4. Turn in address change at PO - To be done on the 5th..
5. Get labor for loading the moving van - DONE!
6. Reserve moving van - DONE!
7. Arrange for utility turn-on after getting rental house - Not done since I still don't have a place to rent

Rooms to Pack:
1. Bathroom - Almost done, just the basics left to toss in a tote at the last minute
2. Storage - Completed
3. Fabric Stash Room - Finished!
4. Kitchen - Not started
5. Pantry - Started, but I am using up stuff in it
6. Sewing Room - Just barely started
7. Living Room - Almost Done
8. Bedroom - DONE!

Chores:

1. Clean bathroom (tub) - Done
2. Email Ann - Still not done
3. Clean ceiling fan - Done
4. Finish cleaning floors - Will be done after everything is loaded on the moving van
5. Clean baseboards - Not started
6. Clean Window Sills
7. Clean Windows
8. Clean Refrigerator
9. Vacuum

Sewing/Quilting

1. Make at least 15 scrub tops to send to customer -  Have 12 tops completed, Hoping to get more made before I have to move
2. Make the 3 August blocks for the F2F swap - Finished and mailed off today
4. Quilt Row-by-Row quilt - Finished!
5. Turn in Row-by-row quilt for prize (turn in Wy or TX) - Still not done...but hopefully next week
6. Make the 54 'petal' units needed for the sashing on the final Mod Quilts quilt top - still only have 3 of 54 made
7. Make the final quilt for Mod Quilt Contest 
8. Make backings and bindings for quilt tops for Sunshine - not started
9. Work on flag block sections - 5 made, 8 sections left to go 

Gratitudes:

1. Platelets are holding at a low normal level!

2. Knowing that God will provide the right place for me to live, even if it doesn't come before I get to Texas.

Easy to Forget......

It is so easy to forget why I've made decisions and walked down certain paths in my life, especially when things are frustrating and life becomes filled with things I'd rather not have to fight.   And it is easy to not see progress made over the course of a few months or a year if you look at things

But FB reminded me of a picture that I had posted a year ago this morning of the 'paintings' that I'm using to remind myself to keep on plugging away at paying off my debt.   Three bills paid off, a fourth that will be paid off by the end of the year, Lord willing.  I knew I'd been paying off debt over the last 9 months since I've been here in Wyoming.......but it wasn't until I looked at the pics from a yr ago and now that the difference really made an impact.

Still a long way to go to be debt-free, but I'm so thankful to have this visual reminder of God's faithfulness and manifold blessings in my life.

Here's to making more progress over the next year as I move to Tx for my new job and to continuing to live on a budget in order to do so!

Gratitudes:
1. Packing is proceeding

2. Keys are turned in at school and everything is tied up there.

Winnings from May Design Contest

In the last couple of weeks I've finally received the prizes I won in the May block contest.  

Four new books - I'm planning on exploring the Patchwork Quilt Blocks book to see if there is anything interesting for the F2F swap blocks that I need to get made for August.

And then there is a really nice set of FQ's.   Haven't explored the Michael Miller website to see which line it is, but I'll do that one of these days.

Gratitudes:

1. Progress is being made on packing things up here.

2. My key for school has been turned in and I've nothing else to do there.

Goals - Week of 7/18

I know I've made progress....but sometimes it feels like I haven't done as much as I need to.   Gotta use these to keep me on track the final 3 weeks before leaving here.

Miscellaneous

1. Start getting boxes out of storage room and to Apt - Not done
2. Gather stuff for Goodwill and take to store in Cheyenne. - Second car load taken to Goodwill, third load of stuff in progress
3. Turn in resignation at school - DONE!
4. Turn in notice at the apartments - DONE!
5. Msg with friends about looking at rental possibilities for me - Done with one person, need someone else for a different town
6. Email with realtor about rental possibilities
7. Turn in address change at PO
8. Reserve moving van
9. Arrange for utility turn-on after getting rental house

Rooms to Pack:
1. Bathroom - Almost done, just the basics left to toss in a tote at the last minute
2. Storage - Completed
3. Fabric Stash Room - 2/3's completed
4. Kitchen - Not started
5. Pantry - Not started, but I am using up stuff in it
6. Sewing Room - Just barely started
7. Living Room - Not started
8. Bedroom - DONE!

Chores:

1. Clean bathroom (tub) - still not done
2. Email Ann - Still not done
3. Clean ceiling fan
4. Finish cleaning floors
5. Clean baseboards - Not started
6. Clean ceiling fan - Not done

Sewing/Quilting

1. Continue making Rows for the Row-by-Row 2016 quilt - Done!
2. Make at least 15 scrub tops to send to customer -  Still at only 7 total completed, aiming for at least 4 more for this coming week
3. Make the 3 August blocks for the F2F swap - Not started
4. Cut just received fabric for scrubs up (this will give me 33 total cut out) - DONE!
5. Put Row-by-Row quilt top together - DONE!
6. Quilt Row-by-Row quilt - Quilt is pin-basted and ready to quilt
7. Turn in Row-by-row quilt for prize (turn in TX)
8. Make and upload final block for the Modern Quilts block design contest - Done, but I didn't win!
9. Make the 54 'petal' units needed for the sashing on the final Mod Quilts quilt top - started, 3 of 54 made
10.  Make Mod Quilt Entry
11. Make backings and bindings for quilt tops for Sunshine - not started


Gratitudes:

1. Will be receiving full mileage for the trip to Purdue along with the stipend for attending the conference there

2. For the housing possibilities and knowing that God will provide the right one for me

Row-by-Row Top finished

Finished my row-by-row top today.....there are a total of 9 rows in the quilt - 9 on the front and one on the back that I'm using as the quilt label.  The top finished out at 45" wide by 72" long.

The rows are from:
Vertical row, upper left - Spool,
1st Row - Snowy River Quilts, Laramie WY
2nd Row - Stitches Quilt Shop, McPherson KS
3rd Row - Lickety Stitch Quilts, Lusk WY
4th Row - Around the Block Quilt Shop, Cheyenne Wy
5th Row - Watt A Find, Mesquite TX
6th Row - Texas Quiltworks, Rockwall TX
Vertical Row, Lower Right - Scrappy Shack Quilt Shop, Torrington WY
Row on Back (Label) - Quilters Connection, Dallas TX

I'm debating about what batting to use for the quilt - dig out some cotton batting (would have to move multiple totes out of the way in the storage room.....) or use the poly/silk batting that I have sitting beside my sewing machine..........sigh, I'm not fond of poly batting but I really don't want to dig thru what I've already packed and stacked......lol.

Gratitudes:
1. Everything is wrapped up at school in my office.  

2. May be able to take a small vacation to visit with friends this coming weekend.

Row by Row progress

I've now finished all of the rows that will be going into the Row-by-Row quilt that I have in progress.   Yes I have more patterns that I haven't made up yet, and there are more that I want to collect...but this quilt is now headed to assembly.   I have a dark brown mottled/spotted batik that i'm planning on using as sashing between the rows.

Row 8 was from Texas and features a mocking bird (state bird) and a nest in the shape of Texas.  All placed on the state flag.  The flag was pieced and the rest is machine appliqued.   I did a raw-edge, straight stitch around the edges to hold everything down.

Row 9 was from Tennessee and features a castle taken from Harry Potter.    I'm not into HP, and have never read the books or watched the movies, but I really liked the saying that was on the row.  The castle is machine appliqued with a buttonhole stitch, and the words were fusible transfer.  

And yes, the last word is upside down and backwards.....oops.    Oh well, gonna stay that way 'cause I can't redo it.   And it fits me since I've never marched to the beat of the same drummer as most everyone else.   This quilt is for me so it really doesn't matter anyway 'cause I still like it.    I really wanted this row in my quilt because it reminds me of my faith and where I have always and will always find the light for all of my days.

I'm now at the point where I can put the rows together into a finished top.   There are two layouts that I'm considering.   The first one is the one I'm leaning towards.   

And a closeup of the layout with the sashing fabric shown between rows.

And the second possible layout under consideration.

Gratitudes:

1. Last day of row-by-rowing went well for the most part.

2. Packing is going well with 2 complete rooms down, and a third one almost done.

Can't decide which to use...............

As I posted before I have 7 rows finished out of 8 for the row-by-row quilt.  

Most of the rows play nicely together, and the one that doesn't fit will be my quilt label.

I've got one more vertical coming from my friend Susan in TN, and several rows coming from my friend Susan in PA.   Not sure what orientation the ones from PA are.   I want to add another row or two from TX, but not sure which ones to.   What I have a choice of is shown below..........


The first possibility - a paper-pieced version of the dallas skyline.

 Then two applique possibilities - the first with a mockingbird, nest and eggs on the TX flag.   Am leaning towards adding this one.   Also have a row that features the Dallas skyline and other things from around Dallas.   Both are machine appliqued.

the last pattern is one from a store in Kansas.  I like this row and the pieced blocks in it, but think the coloring is too light to really fit well with the other rows.

What say you about the choices that I've got?

Gratitudes:

1. Everything went well when I turned in my resignation and notice at the apts today.

2. Final amt due for teh apartment is only for the rent for the days I'll be here....no penalty!   What a blessing.

Voting is open for the final Round of the Modern Quilt Block Contest

Voting is now open for the final round of the Modern Quilt Block Contest that I've been participating in.  I would love it if you voted for my block.   If you have a Facebook account and are logged into it, you can vote here - http://a.pgtb.me/MfCtTr/h5Cj1?w=36927840&e=130289515 .

This month's block was to be based on the traditional Jacob's Ladder Block.    I had fun playing with division of the traditional units into smaller ones.   5 colors of Fairy Frost were used in the block.

When I was uploading it, I forgot to put in a block name and the site used the name of the town where I live as it's name.....lol......

thanks in advance for voting for me if you do!

Gratitudes:
1. Setting for the contest quilt using all 12 blocks is already designed

2. It's summertime.  =)

Weekly Goals

I definitely need these weekly goals now.......without them I'm gonna forget something for sure over the next 4 weeks.   New items have been added, completed ones from last week taken off and completed as of today now marked.

Miscellaneous

1. Clean office at school out (bring stuff home) - DONE!
2. Start getting boxes out of storage room and to Apt
3. Gather stuff for Goodwill and take to store in Cheyenne. - Gathering in progress
4. Clean baseboards
5. Turn in resignation at school
6. Turn in notice at the apartments
7. Start packing up things in the apartment  - Started, itty-bitty storage room, bedroom and the stash room are mostly done - about an hr left to finish all three.
8. Msg with friends about looking at rental possibilities for me
9. Email with realtor about rental possibilities
10. Turn in address change at PO
11. Reserve moving van
12. Arrange for utility turn-on after getting rental house


Chores:

1. Assemble new vacuum - DONE!
2. Vacuum - DONE!
3. Clean bathroom (tub) - still not done
4. Email Ann - Still not done, but now I have lots of news to tell her....lo.
5. Clean ceiling fan
6. Finish cleaning floors


Sewing/Quilting

1. Continue making Rows for the Row-by-Row 2016 quilt - 7 rows  now completed, 2 more to go
2. Make at least 15 scrub tops to send to customer -  7 total completed, aiming for at least 4 more for this coming week
3. Make first one or two of the F2F swap blocks for this month - All 3 are complete! Pics to be posted later after they are received
4. Cut just received fabric for scrubs up (this will give me 33 total cut out) - DONE!
5. Put Row-by-Row quilt top together
6. Quilt Row-by-Row quilt
7. Turn in Row-by-row quilt for prize (turn in TX)
8. Make and upload final block for the Modern Quilts block design contest
9. Make the 54 'petal' units needed for the sashing on the final Mod Quilts quilt top
10.  Make Mod Quilt Entry

Gratitudes:

1. Not having to work while packing, much better than last October

2. For friends who've said they will help in my move and house search

Row-by-Row status

I've now finished 7 rows for my row-by-row quilt.  the last row completed being this one from the Stitches Quilt Shop in McPherson Kansas.

The bottom picture shows all 7 rows together.   The bottom row doesn't really fit with the others, so I will be using it on the back as my label for the quilt.   Lots of room on there to write out which stores the rows came from for documentation.  

And yes the one row that I goofed up on has been fixed even tho it doesn't show in the pic below.

I do plan on trying to turn it in, but will have to wait till I'm in TX before doing so because if I'm the first to turn it in at a store it has to hang there till the end of october before I get it back.   Can't manage to do that here in WY since I'll be 1200 miles away.

Gratitudes:
1. I'm not working a FT job at the same time as I have to pack!

2. I'll be soon away from the school here and all of the drama and headaches associated with it.

Excitement........

Lots of stuff going on around here - a lot of my time has been spent on going through stuff around the apartment and condensing, sorting out, cleaning, etc.   Can't believe how many bags of stuff I've hauled out to the trash already and I know there is more to come over the next 4 weeks.

The biggest news is that I have received the formal job offer for the job that I interviewed for back in June when I was in Dallas Tx.   I will start working at the company on 8/16, and will leave Wyoming on the 10th.   Should be unloading on the 13th into some sort of a house if all goes well.   Thankfully I'm workign with a realtor this move to find a rental, and have friends that have said that they would be willing to check out any housing possibilities for me since I can't make a trip down there to see them myself before I get there on the 12th.

In between all of the cleaning (and soon to be packing!) I've been sewing because that is how I handle stress best!   Some of the things I've finished up this week - include more scrub tops including 2 featuring dinosaurs and one in a patriotic print.

Next up were three kitchen towels embellished with pieced strips.  Two blue ones (someone gave me the pieced strip, but can't remember who).   And then a green check one embellished with a strip that I got in a scrap bag while in Dallas this summer.  All of these will end up as gifts at some point.













Next up was a zippered bag that I'm going to use to hold my cross-stitch to help carry it while traveling.  The pencil pouch I'd been using was too small to hold some of the kits I've got to make up, hence the need for a bigger one.    the fabric on the outside is a home dec (with the feathers) and a black quilting cotton.  Inside is a a black pre-quilted fabric from a scrap that I had laying around.  Added a couple of extra pockets to it so I'd have somewhere to put my needles and scissors.


Gratitudes:

1.   I received the formal job offer today and accepted it.   Now to get everything going needed for the move.

2. For the friends and family that God has blessed me with.

Row 6 is complete

Worked on Row 6 of the row-by-row today after cutting out 12 more scrub tops with the fabric I received yesterday via UPS from my customer.     All new fabrics that I haven't either had on hand or sewn up before - yeah!  Next up tho is top in one of the 'old' fabrics that I've for a long while so I can get it out of here.   Then I'll be working on one of these fabrics (doing two at a time).

 

The row I finished tonite was from the Scrappy Shack Quilt Shop in Torrington WY.  Unfortunately this shop is going out of business.  I loved the city view in this row.   It is a vertical row which I liked.   Almost all of the fabrics came out of my scraps and most already had fusible webbing on them.  At this point it is still longer than the 36 1/2" it should be.   I'll trim it to size once I sew it to the three horizontal rows it will be next to.

Gratitudes:

1. Formal offer should come through tomorrow (or maybe the next day).

2. For the opportunity to trust in God's provisions as I try to find a rental place to live long-distance.

Latest Finishes

Pics of the latest finishes are below.

Row 5 of the Row-by-Row quilt is done.  This row is from the Watt A Find Store in Mesquite TX.   I made it iwth fabrics from my landscape fabrics and from my scraps.   The bluebonnet fabrics were scraps that I bought on the road trip.  Still to be done - two vertical rows and one more horizontal row.

Two more scrub tops were finished.   Both of these were St. Patrick's prints,

And last I finished off the tornado quilt.  The mottled brown triangles were out of my scraps, the rest of the fabrics were out of my stash.  The striped fabric is actually a light green and cream not the tan  and white that the picture shows.   The quilt is off to a couple who lost almost everything in the tornado that struck the Rowlett and Garland Tx areas this past Dec. 26th.  

Gratitudes:

1. Lots of material for scrub tops on hand............

2.Summer Vacation is here so I don't have to deal with the "mean girls club" at work

Progress.....

I know it isn't the end of the week but thought I'd post the progress I've made on the list of to-do's that I posted over the weekend.   As I mark things off I can see that I made more progress than I thought I had done.   But lots more to go as well.

Chores:

1. Assemble new vacuum
2. Vacuum
3. Pay Rent - DONE!
4. Dishes - DONE, multiple times, lol!
5. Clean bathroom (toilet & tub) - toilet is done....tub still to be done
6. Email Ann


Sewing/Quilting

1. Pin tornado quilt - DONE!
2. Quilt tornado quilt - DONE!
3. Bind tornado quilt - DONE!
4. Make 9-patch and heart blocks for hugs quilt - DONE!
5. Get blocks from #4 ready to mail - DONE!
6. Continue making Rows for the Row-by-Row 2016 quilt - 5 rows completed, 3 more to go
7. Make 4 or 5 more scrub tops - 2 completed over the weekend
8. Make first one or two of the F2F swap blocks for this month - 1 of 3 completed over the weekend
9. Cut just received fabric for scrubs up (this will give me 33 total cut out)
10. Put Row-by-Row quilt top together
11. Quilt Row-by-Row quilt
12. Turn in Row-by-row quilt for prize

Miscellaneous

1. Clean office at school out (bring stuff home)
2. Start getting boxes out of storage room
3. Collect stuff for Goodwill and take to store in Cheyenne.
4. Clean baseboards

5. Clean ceiling fan

Gratitudes:

1. for the opportunity to learn patience and stepping out in faith as I wait for the formal offer....nope I did not ask for it....lol.....

2. for the lovely fireworks that I was able to view last nite here.

Row-by-Row Shop Hop Goodies, Part 3

This past Friday I made a 514 mile drive around the south-east corner of Wyoming as I visited 5 more shops to pick up their 2016 Row-by-Row patterns.    The drive was split between interstate driving and several US Hwys.   Lots of beautiful country made more exciting by driving into the worst storm I've ever driven in.   Thankfully it eased after about 15-20 minutes and I was able to continue driving (I'd had to stop because I couldn't see out my windshield!) and did drive out of it.  

The patterns I picked up and the goodies that I got along with them are shown below.

First up was this stack of goodies from Snowy River Quilts in Laramie. Fabric at the top may be used for binding on the finished row-by-row quilt.  Row is already finished and will be in my row-by-row quilt.   At the bottom are three FQ's - left one is for my mittens quilt, right two FQ's are for my alphabet fabric stash (X and E).  =)

Next shop I stopped at was The Quilted Corner in Cheyenne.   Here I picked up the kit for their row (for myself and a friend), and a yard of a fairy frost that I've almost used up in making blocks for the block design contest that I've been participating in.  Also received a free FQ with more x's on it that will be going into my alphabet fabric stash.  This row most likely will end up in my quilt.

Next up was the Scrappy Shack Quilt Shop in Torrington.   Picked up the row pattern, the store license plate and a yard of a cream colored batik. Everything was 20% off so I also picked up a couple of batiks with Wyoming motifs.  Lots of good fabrics here but unfortunately this shop is going out of business.  this row will be one of the ones in my quilt.  

The fourth shop I visited was Lickety Stitch Quilts in Lusk.  Also found a beautiful batik, part of which will end up being used in one block for the F2F swap that I'm taking part in.  I've completed this row and it will be in my completed row-by-row quilt.   All fabrics used in the row came out of my stash, altho I did not quite follow the same color progression.

My last stop of the day was at Prairie Stitcher in Douglas and I just squeaked in before closing.   This store was packed with fabric and other craft type items and reminded me of other stores that I've been in before where aisles were narrow and fabric was stacked everywhere.    Picked up their row pattern which features a car driving down a road in the country to home.  Fabrics for my row will come from my stash.   No pic of the completed row tho.   While there I also picked up 3 FQ's in creams for use in F2F blocks.

Gratitudes:

1. For my "401F" that I can shop from to make things like these rows.

2. For platelet counts that while not quite stable yet, seem to be staying in a normal range better.

2016 Row-by-Row Progress

At this point I've collected 15 patterns from shops participating in this years Row-by-Row shop hop.  Some of them I love, some not so much.    I'm hoping / working towards putting together a quilt with 8 rows in it so that I can turn it in for a prize here at one of the shops here in Wyoming.

I have 4 rows finished at this point, and will be starting on the 5th row today.  The rows that are done are these -

The top one is from one of the shops I stopped at in the Dallas area.  There be more rows from TX to join this one.   It is machine appliqued.

Row 2 is from a shop in Cheyenne WY.   Combination of machine applique and piecing.  Still need to go back and fix the end logs on both sides and the bottom fabric before putting the quilt together.  This row was one of the two kits that I've purchased in the hop.

Row three is from the quilt store in Lusk WY, the shop I was on my way to when I drove into the really nasty rain and hail storm last Friday.  Background is pieced and the rest is machine Appliqued.   Tents are 3D.

Row four is from a shop in Laramie WY.  I also bought the kit for this row because I really wanted the background fabric and they didn't have any by the yard.   Did substitute fabric forthe tepees because what was in the kit was too light to fit with the fabric used for the animal figures.

Still to come are two rows that will be running vertical, and two more that run horizontal.

Gratitudes:

1. Beautiful spring/summer weather at this point here in WY.

2. Never having unpacked all of the boxes I have stuff packed in.  =)

Goals for the weekend and coming week

My friend Susan of Desertsky Quilts posts goals once a week on her blog....and with all that I've got going on right now this is something that sounds good to me so that I can keep track of what I need to get accomplished.  

So I thought I'd post the list of what I need to get done this weekend and in the coming week and the status of where I am so far...........Because of what is going on at the present tho, I've divided my list into chores/work around the apt, and sewing/quilting goals, things however are not listed in any particular order.

Chores:

1. Assemble new vacuum
2. Vacuum
3. Pay Rent
4. Dishes
5. Clean bathroom (toilet & tub)
6. Email Ann

Sewing/Quilting
1. Pin tornado quilt
2. Quilt tornado quilt
3. Bind tornado quilt
4. Make 9-patch and heart blocks for hugs quilt - DONE!
5. Get blocks from #4 ready to mail - DONE!
6. Continue making Rows for the Row-by-Row 2016 quilt - rows 3 & 4 are done
7. Make 4 or 5 more scrub tops
8. Make first one or two of the F2F swap blocks for this month

Gratitudes:
1. Safety in the worst rain & hail storm that I've ever seen while out driving on a row-by-row shop hope this past Friday.

2. God's timing is perfect as I wait for a formal offer.