Final Row-by-Row hopping goodies

A 2 or 3 wks ago I visited 6 more shops here in N. Tx and had a great day out seeing some of the area where I hadn't been when I lived out here before.

Ended up with some really nice row patterns, and yes some fabric came home with me along with a purse pattern and a cute little handmade wooden box that I found in an antique shop.

Most of the fabrics I bought were either WOW's or COC's (Fat Quarters or Fat-Eights).   All ones that I didn't have in my stash and that will add more variety to my scrappy backgrounds.  =)  There were also two very stuffed scrap bags and a great license plate from the hop.

Gratitudes:
1. 4th week of work is almost done and I'm loving the job.

2. Records finally made it to the new hematologist and I have an appt with him next week.

Final Row-by-Row Hopping

Saturday I made it by 4 quilt stores as I headed south in I-35 - stops were made in Waxahachie, Killeen, Round Rock and Buda.    Row patterns are shown to the left.  

Pics below show the goodies I came home with.  Among the goodies were some Fairy Frosts so that I can finish my quilt for the contest, 4 scrap bags, a couple of FQ to make "pie" potholders out of, and some sky looking fabrics (both yardage and a scrap bag).

Gratitudes:
1. First three weeks of the new job have gone well and I'm enjoying the work.

2. Safe travels to Austin and back this past weekend.

Row-by-Row Winner....yippee...........

I finished quilting and binding my row-by-row quilt the middle of last week.   And this week when I was in Cheyenne decided to take a chance on being able to turn in the quilt there for the prize for finishing first (at a participating shop).   And as it happened, I was the first to turn on in at the quilt store there that I always shopped at.  My quilt will hang in the store till the middle or end of September, and then they will ship it to me.

the prize for being the first was 25 FQ's and I was able to go pick whatever I wanted to.  =)  So much fun to "shop" for them.

Gratitudes:
1. A friend has offered to let me stay with them for a short while if I have not been able to find a place to live before getting to Texas.

2. Packing is almost done here at the apt!

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.

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.

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

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.  =)

Row by Row Goodies, Part 2

Not a lot of sewing done this past week thanks to my travels.

Did get some sewing done after getting home and made up two of the rows that I'd picked up in my travels.  One of which I'm going to need to do a little bit of fixing on to make the correct length......and I need to get out my 9.5 inch ruler 'cause using the wrong sized ruler w/o thinking is what caused the problem with the too small row.  =(

My drive home from Texas was broken up by stops at several quilt stores along the way.  Picked up the patterns for each shop's row, and yes there were some fabric goodies bought - altho most of it all already has plans for it.  

Bargain of the trip has to be the sale bag of FQ's - a bag the size patterns come in, and all you can fit in there for $20.   I managed to get 13 FQ's....a much better price per FQ than the $3 they were normally.  =)  And yes most of them are for various swaps or for my alphabet fabric stash (found two with x's on them!).

I've got plans to visit 5 more shops here in Eastern Wyoming this week to pick up the rows they have.   There are several more I'd like to visit, but they are in the opposite direction in the state and many miles away from where I'll be.

Gratitudes:
1. Verbal job offer received, waiting on the formal job offer.

2. Safe travels over almost 4500 miles on my road trip.