Question about flying geese

I have a QUESTION about pressing flying goose/geese units that I am making for the border of my mystery quilt.  When you join two units together (or many units as in my border) do you press: a) --> the way they want to go (which is away from the point of the goose)? If you press this way you don't have a guide when you sew the next border on and could loose the side points..

b) <-- towards the point of the goose?? It seems that when pressing them this way, you don't get as sharp a point at the top.

What do YOU do??

So, while I wait for your input I'm mending the big "T" rip in my grandson's sheets! That's just one little way for gramma to say I love you.

PS:  Because "t" asked, YES I have finally got my new glasses!!  I can see!!

Start of a new month

Thought I'd try another word cloud just to see how it came out this time.  Yay!! This one definitely looks more like it belongs to a quilter's blog. Wish I knew how to make the image larger.

By the way, I am STILL joining flying goose units for the borders of my Mystery Star Quilt! 

Taking Up The Challenge!

I was surfing around quilter's blogs and discovered that Finn at Pieces From My Scrapbag has organized a New Year's Eve Challenge. Since I seem to be very good at starting projects and not so good at completing them, I decided that I needed to join to get some of those many UFO's off the list and finished. My goal is to finish at least 3 items listed on my side bar by New Year's Eve.

Tomorrow (today actually but I have to sleep a little first), I will work on my first UFO and since the Mystery Quilt is on top of the pile, that will be my first challenge.

I have just discovered that the "Just Us Quilter's" list is back up!! Thanks Niki! Click on the link and list your blog today. Unfortunately, all the previous blogs listed were lost but, hopefully, everyone who had originally listed their blog will re-list!

Mystery Quilt and Glasses

It's been a while... did anyone miss me??  I have decided to take some time to do things that make me happy. One of those things is sewing - specifically quilting.

I joined an online mystery quilt weekend at The Quilt and Needle. This is something that they offer a few times a year and there is a forum on their website for members to keep in touch and to track progress during the mystery quilt weekends. Here is my almost completed quilt top. There are several borders to be added yet, one of which is made up of 148 flying goose units.

Here are some of the flying goose units waiting patiently to be joined into borders.  

I have an excuse for my tardiness in completing this task. Gotta hate it when this happens and you can't see well anymore without your bi-focals. 

I had to go to an optometrist to have my eyes checked and to see if I needed a new prescription. I had already thought that I needed stronger lenses as I've been having trouble seeing fine work up close. So now, my new specs are ordered and will be here next week. Until then, I have to struggle along by using drugstore magnifiers.

 

CBS News on Quilting

I found this CBS News report on quilting.. featuring Ricky Timms.  Be sure to check it out HERE. His work is just amazing! He is just like many of us, trying to get someone new interested in the allure of the quilt.

Oh, and I want to go to one of these huge quilt shows one day. Perhaps I can plan my vacation time around one.  My family's usual winter vacation spot is Fairmont Hot Springs in BC. Since I can no longer ski, I drag along my sewing machine and more projects than I will ever be able to finish.  I spend my days happily working toward finishing a UFO during that week and, of course, soak in the hot springs every night. It is truly wonderful.

Something Fun!

I went to Pat Sloans blog and found this test - What Flavor Popsicle are You? I tried it and I'm LIME... Best part is, Pat is GIVING AWAY FABRIC if you leave a comment telling her what YOUR flavor is. Did I mention that I really love lime colored fabric? 

You Are a Lime Flavored Popsicle

You are an outrageous person. For you, summer is all about going crazy - even if it means getting in trouble. You are daring and adventurous. You have a real taste for the edgier things in life. A true wild child, there's no hope of you ever slowing down. You've got too much sass and spunk to ever behave.

What Flavor Popsicle Are You?

Re-grouping

I have seen this word "toy" on a few blogs that I visited and thought it might be interesting to see what I got.  It rather surprised me.  

    My blog was supposed to be more about quilting and less about all the other stuff in my life.  It seems that it has gotten off of that track.  I know that those who are finding me are expecting more quilting content.  Perhaps it is time to re-group and get back to some quilting.

Dinner for One

Well... sometimes things have a way of working out... and sometimes they don't.  CJ has gone back to BC leaving me here to try to pick up the pieces and finish the painting etc. on the house.  I have not felt much like doing anything for the last 10 days or so.  I stayed a few days with my sister and came home again wednesday.  My other sister was here a while yesterday but, today I have been on my own.
I managed to drag myself out to the paint store to get some white paint to tone down the color that had been chosen for the walls.  That's it.  Maybe tomorrow.
A day at a time... an hour at a time... sometimes minutes...

Somethin's Stitchy

Here is an applique project I have started so that I can have some "TV" handwork to do.  It will be either a pillow top or I may frame it for on the wall. I had to go out and buy a whole lot of embroidery floss as I can't seem to locate my stash of those.  They are probably packed in a box "somewhere". I used to do counted cross-stitch so I know I have a bunch.  Oh well, gotta support the local enconomy.

After getting the main flowers arranged, I decided that it needed "something" so I added the little gold 5-petal flowers.  (I am still not used to documenting everything with pictures as I do it but, I will try to remember for future.) They are tiny.  I experimented with a few different stitches to attach them and finally decided on a teensy-weensy running stitch.  Thought it would take forever but, with the help of a set of magnifying lenses over my bi-focals, I got them done!

I have not even started on Lynette's Noah's Ark blocks yet but I did buy all the colors of floss I need in order to do them.  Then, I had to go back to the store to get the pigma pen to trace them. I found a strip of fabric that I hope will be large enough for the project and I have printed all the blocks out. I should be able to start soon....

And now,  THE RENOVATION UPDATE

Although renovations/painting are still continuing, and I fear it may be pretty boring to post pictures of another painted wall/door/baseboard, I am having second thoughts about the main color that we have chosen for the walls.  It seems quite dark to me compared to the "half-strength" primer that was on the wall first.  The room pictured here is in the basement. Seeing the color here in the picture, it does not seem quite as dark as when you are standing in the room. I wish the camera could show how I "feel" in the room with the color... 

Here is a bit of experimenting with color. The main color is the spot on the left and looks a bit more true to color than the photo above. The wall is done in primer which is half-strength of the main color. Then, we mixed equal parts of main color and primer to get a toned down color.

What do you think?? 

I am leaning more toward the "toned down" version at the moment but would love to hear your comments.

Thursday again

Something I need to remember at this moment in my life:
"When you look up at the sky and see nothing but dark, dreary gray clouds, remember that there is much more beyond what you can see.  Above those ominous layers of gloom, there are rays of sunshine streaming down gloriously.  The problem is that we don’t see the sunshine at all times.   Remember that this does not mean that it is not there.  Hang on and remember that the sun is always shining for you somewhere."