I feel like I’ve been moving in slow motion this week, but at last I have a little progress to share.  Here is Jane Stickle triangle, BR 13, Argyle.  This one required my undivided attention and I had to keep putting it down and coming back to it.  Doreen’s tip to cut the outside edges of the units slightly larger than required so there was “wiggle room” to trim it up was a life saver.  Here is a link to her tutorial.

Country Hearts is also complete.  The pattern showed it embellished with a button in the center of every star, and I felt like it needed this touch.  I hate sewing buttons!  This little gem has 16 of them.  I am ever so happy it is bound, labeled and done!

Juggling Projects....

Yesterday ended up being a sewing day, and I completed two more Jane Stickle triangles.  Here are TR3, Checkerboard, and TR5, Michigan Dunes.  The one on the right looks somewhat distorted because I did not flatten it very well when I put it on the design wall.  However it just did not go together as cleanly as the one on the left.  I finally decided, after repeatedly trying to true it up, that “finished is better than perfect” and stopped ripping out the border and top seams before I damaged the fabric. Maybe I was just working while I was too tired.  If it ends up being too skewed I can always give it another try later. 

I also quilted my country hearts wall hanging.  All the machine work is finished and I am ready to begin binding, labeling and embellishing it.

Jacob's Ladder is Bound, Labeled, Done!

I finished the handwork on the Jacob’s Ladder quilt binding last night.  Since it was completed during bluebonnet season here in Central Texas, I’ve named it Texas Blues.  This was a relatively inexpensive project since everything except the backing and border fabrics came from my stash, and two of those were purchased on sale. 

Sewing With My Friends



Our house guests left early Monday and I had to scramble to prepare for Sit ‘N Sew Day Tuesday plus an additional 2-days of sewing Wednesday and Thursday.  The LQS sponsored an in-house sewing retreat where everyone went home to their own beds at night.  I don’t do well with complicated projects in a retreat setting so I pulled out a little wall quilt kit that I had picked up for a steal at the “Bits and Pieces” booth at a quilt show.  According to the envelope it came in, someone had purchased it in Iowa and it had lived in their stash until it arrived in central Texas and was donated to the guild.  I thought it had a cozy country feel to it and it was a relaxing project.  The pattern is by Little Country Quilts.

I had also kitted up some Jane Stickle blocks and managed to complete two. They are blocks H13 and J7.  I still have several more waiting in the wings.

No Quilting, but We’re Having Fun!

We are enjoying visits from family this week, so very little quilting will take place.  Activities yesterday included a long back roads ride to enjoy the wildflowers.  One member of our group had never been to the Central Texas hill country before.  As we were leaving I remarked (tongue-in-cheek) that I wanted to find a photo opportunity of a Texas longhorn steer in a field of bluebonnets.  Much to my surprise, we did!  To my mind, there are few things more iconic of this area.

Here are two more pictures. 

Another Jane Stickle Triangle



Quilting has slowed this week as we prepare for house guests starting Sunday.  I did manage to do my second Dear Jane® triangle, TR-2, named Australian Pine.  Progress!

‘Reen has a tutorial of this block on her Aunt Reen Quilts Modern site.

Belated Progress Report

Yesterday was busy with household chores, and I did not get around to making a Design Wall Monday post.  So, here is a belated picture of Strips That Sizzle on my design wall.  This is the layout I decided to use, and I have begun sewing the rows together. 

I have a small cut of the fabric on the right.  If I have enough and it looks okay pieced, I may make a narrow inner border order out of it to add a little punch of color before adding a wider outer border.

I’m also ready to start doing the handwork on my Jacob’s Ladder quilt binding.  It will be the project I take to at Sit ‘N Sew today, but I am a slow stitcher and it will take several days to finish.  Sometimes I like just taking handwork to my group sewing days.  There is less stuff to carry in and out of the classroom. 

And…it’s turtle season again.  I had to rescue this little one, which somehow got inside our fence but couldn’t get out.