Look at what I did today...

Basted!!! Woo hoo!!!!

Many, many thanks to The Needle & I for allowing me to come in and use their classroom and tables (for 4-1/2 hours!) to get it done.

Any bets on how long it's going to take me to hand quilt it? :)

Jane emergency!

Last week, I cut the long strips for my scallop border and 46 triangles. Then I ran out of fabric. Eeeeeppp!!! I was seriously freaking out. The boys and I made a little road trip to the shop where I bought the fabric. I bought it in 2008, so I wasn't expecting them to have it, but hope springs eternal. Alas, not unexpectedly, the fabric was no longer available. So I was left feeling sad and depressed for a few days.

After having had a little time to mourn my lost vision of 56 matching triangles, I am now feeling pretty darn good about my new vision of 46 matching triangles and 10 funky ones. I like that it is going to have a little randomness. Yay, for happy accidents!

Not just virtual any more!

It is real! Or, at least the center is...


It still needs a good pressing, but here is the completed center of my Jane Stickle quilt top!!! Woo hoo!!!

Holy cow. I still can't believe I have gotten so far.

Time for some borders!

One Thing, One Week Challenge :: 6

Woo hoo! It's time for another One Thing, One Week Challenge, hosted by the fabulous Amy!

I've decided that this week, my one thing will be completing the quilting in the center of my "Forest Canopy" quilt. I think this is a do-able goal. Of course, that is assuming I can focus myself on doing it.


I thought I'd share my little inspiration board that's in my quilting area to help keep me focused on my plan. Happy leaves!

Unfortunately (at least in terms of completing this challenge), right now my focus is almost entirely on my Jane. One more seam and the center will be complete! One seam! And then I can move on to borders. Sigh... I probably should have made that my one thing for the week. But I have this crazy notion that I really need to challenge myself for the challenge. So, quilting it is.

With more chunky goodness!

I'm continuing to make progress on putting my Stickle blocks together. I've assembled a few more chunks o' Jane:


G-10 to J-13


K-7 to M-9


K-4 to M-6

There was some seam ripping involved in these after I accidentally added bottom borders to all of the M blocks. I realized after they were complete that in order for the triangle borders to fit, there can only be a 1/4" border on the outside edges of the center. And since my plan is to do those outside borders as long solid strips, the wider pieced ones had to go. At least I figured it out before I got everything together.

I'm nearly ready to assemble the center! (And trepidation grows as I try to psyche myself up for the triangle borders... bias edges, here I come!)

Jane Stickle Quilt: TR-7, RS-5, & TR-11

Block number/name: TR-7 “Norway’s Fjord”

Date completed: December 30, 2010

Number of pieces: 22

Notes on block: It has been quite awhile since I worked on this project. The last block I worked on was finished on November 9. But I think the break must have been good for me, because it feels so awesome to have completed a block! And this was a fun one to work on too. I really love this fabric and the block design.

Only two triangles to go!

One of my goals in the New Year is going to be getting this quilt top together.

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Block number/name: RS-5 “Geisha Girl”

Date completed: December 31, 2010

Number of pieces: 27

Notes on block: As I worked on this block, all I could think about was that this is the second-to-last block. And then the blocks will be done. DONE. And it feels a little weird. Exciting! But weird.

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Block number/name: TR-11 “Phoenix”

Date completed: December 31, 2010

Number of pieces: 23

Notes on block: The last block!!! I was so excited after finishing RS-5, I had to go on and complete this one too. And even though I finished it at 2 A.M., I’m counting it done in 2010!

All the blocks are Done. I can hardly believe it. Now comes the task of putting them all together. Exciting!!! And what a cool way to start the New Year.

Sleepy blog

I just haven't been in that blogging "mood" lately. Frankly, I haven't really been in a crafty mood lately either (though I have managed to do a couple of things). Happily, the craftin' urge is rekindling. Thank goodness, because the holiday season is upon us, and I have lots to do!

So I still have those last 3 triangles to do for my Jane Stickle quilt. However, in lieu of working on them, I have been busily stitching blocks together. Here's another chunk:


It doesn't look wildly impressive, but this was probably about 5 evenings of work for me. Hand stitching may not be the speediest of methods, but I really enjoy doing it.

I have also had the urge lately both to do some charity work as well as use up some of my stash. This time, I'm working with flannels. I bought a bunch of'30s-style flannel prints some time ago... 2003, maybe? The original plan was to make a big ol' rag blanket. But I ended up making a couple of other rag blankets. And now I'm just kind of done with those. So, the flannel has just been sitting. Inspired by the amazingly productive and generous Evelyn, I decided to start by making a couple of swaddling blankets for Project Linus.


Evelyn has a great tutorial on how to make them. I did mine a little differently. I cut them smaller (36" x 36") and then cut some curved corners (just because I felt like it). It was fun using a couple of the fancy stitches on my machine, too.

I've also been busily cutting squares from my flannel scraps. My plan is to create a couple of blankets with those, including a disappearing nine-patch. At this point, I'm not entirely sure when this will happen, but it is the plan. And, if nothing else, having a plan is a good start.

Jane Stickle Quilt: BRC

Block number/name: BRC “Sarah Jane”

Date completed: November 6, 2010

Number of pieces: 13


Notes on block: Since it worked so well with the last block, I went ahead and used the English paper piecing and appliqué technique for the star on this block. In the original quilt, the star has a white center, but because I used 6 different fabrics for the flower, I wanted to use all 6 fabrics in the star as well.

I love the look of all the different prints! This is a happy block. I’m also thinking I may embroider my initials in this block somewhere.

Only 3 to go!

Jane Stickle Quilt: TLC

Block number/name: TLC “Sadie Rose”

Date completed: November 5, 2010

Number of pieces: 16

Notes on block: If it works for hexagons, why not octagons? So I went ahead and tried out English paper piecing for the first time (I used this video tutorial by Connecting Threads). I prepped all of the octagons and then whip-stitched them together and then appliquéd the group to the background. It worked really well!

Jane Stickle Quilt: RS-3

Block number/name: RS-3 “Epicenter”

Date completed: November 3, 2010

Number of pieces: 20


Notes on block: I love the name of this block. Not only does it seem to fit the block well, but it makes me think of natural disaster movies. I love natural disaster movies! My guilty pleasures include Armageddon, The Core, 2012, and The Day After Tomorrow. The key elements: over-the-top disaster scenarios, a sense of humor, massive special effects showcasing the awesome power of the given disaster, and happy endings. I especially love happy endings.

Other than this block, not much crafting has been going on this week. I’ve been sick, so my spare moments over the last few days have been focused on rest. I’m feeling better today—so maybe there will be another block in my future tonight!

Jane Stickle Quilt: BLC

Block number/name: BLC “Goshen”

Date completed: October 22, 2010

Number of pieces: 70

Notes on block: I think this block has the distinction of having the most pieces of any in the quilt. Fortunately, it wasn’t difficult piecing—just time consuming. And the end result looks so cool!

Only 6 blocks to go!

**In case you haven't done it yet-- there's still time to enter my 500th post giveaway!**

Jane Stickle Quilt: LS-7 & LS-8

Block number/name: LS-7 “Sally’s Steeple”

Date completed: October 17, 2010

Number of pieces: 14

Notes on block: Pretty! And it was fun to watch this one come together. I used the freezer paper/starch technique for the appliqué.

Meanwhile, I’ve also been putting together some chunks:


It is a lot of fun seeing this quilt start to come together.

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Block number/name: LS-8 “Northern Lights”

Date completed: October 19, 2010

Number of pieces: 17

Notes on block: I’m so glad I chose a dark fabric for this block. It has a great look to it. I used freezer paper/starch for prepping the melons and the center triangle. The tiny triangles were done freezer paper on top and finger pressed.

And now the left side triangles are complete!

And, in case you missed it-- there is still time to enter my giveaway!

Jane Stickle Quilt: K-6

Block number/name: K-6 “Ann’s Folly”

Date completed: October 13, 2010

Number of pieces: 37

Notes on block: My last center block. Wow. I realize I’m really nowhere near the end as there’s lots of putting together to do (not to mention quilting!), but finishing all these center blocks makes me feel like I’ve really accomplished something. It’s kind of cool.

Jane Stickle Quilt: K-5

Block number/name: K-5 “Passing Through”

Date completed: October 10, 2010

Number of pieces: 12

Notes on block: Tonight was an inadvertently epic feast night. I got the October issue of Cooking Light in the mail this week and immediately found some recipes that I wanted to eat. Since my in-laws were planning on coming to dinner tonight, I thought it would be a great opportunity to try those recipes. I started cooking at 2. We ate at 6. Holy cow! That was not the plan. But, it was really, really tasty. On the menu:

• Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto with Sugared Walnuts-- creamy, butternut squashy, cheesy goodness.


• Buttered Green Beans and Mushrooms-- best. green beans. ever.


• Roasted Breast of Chicken with Pinot Noir Sauce-- the sauce truly brought the chicken to a whole new level.

And for dessert, I made oatmeal cookies, a la Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook (yum!).

So, tonight after the boys went to bed, I just needed to sit. Costumes will have to wait another night.

In other news: Look at this pretty block! It is happy.

215/225—only 10 blocks to go!

Jane Stickle Quilt: L-12

Block number/name: L-12 “Sally’s Pride”

Date completed: October 8, 2010

Number of pieces: 27

Notes on block: I can’t believe I did as well as I did with those triangles! They are itty-bitty.

I feel like I’m on a little bit of a roll with my Stickle blocks lately. I think the excitement of getting to the final blocks is really driving me to get them done. But Halloween is ever-looming, and I really need to start on those costumes. So I may have to take a break for a bit as these blocks are way too distracting.

Jane Stickle Quilt: J-5

Block number/name: J-5 “John Jacob’s Windmill”

Date completed: October 7, 2010

Number of pieces: 13

Notes on block: Every time I look at the name of this block, that one song runs through my head:

John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt,
That's my name too.
Whenever I go out,
The people always shout,
There goes John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt.
Dah dah dah dah, dah dah dah

I guess there could be worse songs on repeat in my brain.

After the 53-piece monster block, this one came as a nice relief. I pieced all of it. The inset seams weren’t even bad.

Counting down: only 3 center blocks left to go! (And now I have another song running through my head...)

Jane Stickle Quilt: I-13

Block number/name: I-13 “Sweet Harmony”

Date completed: October 4, 2010

Number of pieces: 53

Notes on block: 53 pieces… sheesh! This one took me 3 nights to finish. At least it was rather straightforward, piecing-wise. And it is a nifty-looking block. In fact, I really like the look of this one a lot.

It is starting to become more challenging trying to pick fabric for each block at this point. I have a big pile o’ green fabric, and not many blocks left to go. Choosing the perfect fabric becomes an agonizing decision—but agonizing in a fun way. :)

Jane Stickle Quilt: BR-10

Block number/name: BR-10 “Nicholas’ Diamond”

Date completed: October 2, 2010

Number of pieces: 26

Notes on block: I really enjoyed working on this one. At first glance, I thought there were lots of inset seams, but upon closer inspection, not a single inset seam was required. Happy dance!

Only 6 triangles to go!

Yesterday the boys and I drove up to LaConner to check out Quilt Fest 2010. This year, quilts from The Applique Society were featured. There was some seriously gorgeous eye candy and tons of fabulous inspiration. I really wanted to go slower, but with two little ones, that just wasn’t in the cards. No photography was allowed, so I went ahead and purchased a show DVD so that I can really take my time and check out all of the fabulous quilts. As a bonus, I ran into my long-time friend Louise, who actually co-chaired the show. She was understandably busy, but was still able to take a little time out to chat and say hello, which was awesome.

I wish we could have made it to the museum exhibits, but it had already been a long afternoon of travel and walking about. Even so, I could not be happier. The boys were awesome quilt show companions. Both of them had great attitudes and I could not be more proud. I’m a pretty lucky mama!

Jane Stickle Quilt: L-10

Block number/name: L-10 “Nan’s Naiad”

Date completed: October 1, 2010

Number of pieces: 45

Notes on block: This block was definitely a challenge. Inset seams, bias edges, tiny little appliqué triangles... It didn’t help that I also pieced in the inner parallelograms the wrong way and didn’t even realize it until I had already completed the entire center section. I wasn’t about to go back and re-do it all, so I left them, and let the iron help me press them into submission. Astoundingly, that actually worked. In the end, this a pretty darn cool-looking block.

Can you even believe I only have 5 blocks left to make in the center? It kind of blows my mind.

Jane Stickle Quilt: M-6

Block number/name: M-6 “Simplicity”

Date completed: September 23, 2010

Number of pieces: 25

Notes on block: A happy block! It turned out really well, especially considering all those inset seams. And I love the leafy green-grey fabric. 209 blocks complete!