This & That

I know, I've been MIA lately -- but, well, life hasn't been worth writing about lately. Not a whole lot of quilting has been happening, or much that I can show here yet (graduation gifts).

First up, as you can see by the picture above, Red & White Snowballs are DONE! Quilted, on the bed and doggie approved. Doesn't The Spotted One look cute? Reality is he would much rather prefer to be UNDER it than on top of it.

Last year Janet gifted me with some spotty dog fabrics to make a quilt for Arlo. Well, I finally got around to it.

 The border fabric, red & black were from Janet, "thank you Janet". All the rest came from my stash and we won't talk about the embarrassing amount of doggie themed fabric still awaiting use.......

 Do ya' think he KNOWS it's his quilt?!?!?

If you're reading this, send some good thoughts our way....we certainly need them.

784

Number of blocks = 169

Number of partial blocks in the border = 52

Total number of half square triangles = 784

Finished size = 96' x 96" 

Yup, that my friends is my completed (flimsy) red & white snowball quilt. Quilting will have to wait as there are some other priorities ahead of this one. What a nice feeling to have the piecing completed on that one. It was a good, mindless project to work on while keeping me from obsessing about the rest of our life the last couple months.

On the job front, the Bearded One has been offered a position back at Boeing with one of the contractors. Even though this is probably not the ideal job, going back to work at Boeing, he has accepted the offer. Meanwhile, he's started some heavy duty studying for some certifications which will help in the ongoing job search.

It's been an interesting, stressful few months. But it's also been a good time to reflect on where we are and what we really want. We've done some serious research about other areas of the country where we might want to live. We've come to realize that there are some other areas of the country that are high on our list where the cost of living is much more reasonable than here in the Seattle area. So, here we are, about to start down a new path. A path for which we don't know what direction it will eventually lead us.....

As far as this one is cares, as long as the dog treats and kibble keep appearing, he's not too concerned.....

Missed the Deadline

Back in October I joined the red & white snowball challenge.Unfortunately life got in the way. After I'd made just a few blocks I decided that I wanted to make my quilt large enough for the bed, that means queen size. Or, as it translates to this quilt: 169 blocks or 784 red and white half square triangles (includes all the partial blocks around outer edge.)

I also decided I'd put an outer border on this. You can see a red & cream floral in the centers of some of the red blocks. This will be the outer border.

Due to juggling several other things at the same time and being down and out with the crud for 3 weeks, I didn't even try to make this deadline. Instead I'm using this project as my leaders and enders in between other projects. First up is the high school senior quilt for church and those blasted "bitches britches" (doggie panties) for Mary-Lynn.

Years ago, back when we had an unspayed, female, show dog I bought her a pair of panties for when she was in season. Since my house is all carpeted it was either that or she lived in a crate for 3 weeks. After she promptly chewed a hole through that first pair we came to an understanding. She tolerated wearing them so she could be free in the house and only ever chewed one other pair. But, because she destroyed the first panties, I was forced to make my own. I redesigned them to fit better and the rest is history.....

in the mid 90's Disney released 101 Dalmatians with real dogs, not the cartoon version. this was soon followed by the sequel 102 Dalmatians. This created a Dalmatian craze and Dalmatians were in high demand. Due to this, the number of Dals in need of rescue skyrocketed. So, I spent several years making panties which we sold at Dalmatian Specialty shows. I donated all my time and materials so that 100% of the profits could go to Dalmatian Rescue. Now, 15+ years later I'm still called upon from time to time by breeder and show friends to re-supply their "bitches britches". By my guess I've probably made well over 100 pair. Have I mentioned that I HATE making them? They are tedious and not at all fun to make. Consequently I put off the task as long as I can....Yes M-L, I really AM working on them....albeit rather slowly......

I must be Nuts.....

I've been rather busy lately working on several projects. I wish I could share with you my latest. Alas, it is the QB Christmas Challenge and until the big reveal on December 22nd, it must remain a secret. I can say this, it involves this fabric, the challenge fabric for which I've taken a LOT of GRIEF. Sheesh, you'd think a bunch of ladies who call themselves the Quilting Broads would see the humor in working with the Fruit Ladies for a challenge!

I can say this, I started this project without a specific plan and, for awhile. I was worried that it wasn't going to come together but WOW -- I'm really, really pleased with it. With Janet's help, I overcame my block and worked it all out -- even the quilting worked out.

Besides everything else I'm doing, I've also embarked on two online quilt-alongs -- the Red & White Snowball Challenge is the first one. Naturally I'm going to do it "My Way". Since I like to make actual bed sized quilts, mine will be queen sized. For that I will need 196 -  6" blocks. In those 196 blocks I will need 784 r&w half square triangle blocks! What was I thinking?!?!? It's a good thing I have a large selection of reds, whites & creams. Here's my start:

The fabric in the center of the first block on the left will also be the border fabric. I'm randomly scattering it throughout the centers of some of the red blocks. 

Joseph's Coat is the other quilt-along. This is a portable project and as long as I can stay on top of the prep work for each block, it will be my "watching tv" project. I'm doing my petals a little differently than the method shown in the quilt along and they probably take a little more time my way, but I like the final look better. After Thanksgiving I'll try to take some pictures of my prep method. Meanwhile, here are 3 blocks in various stages -- 1 is complete, 1 is partially complete and one is just pinned.

The actual colors are a little more vibrant than they look in this picture. I'm using mainly purple fabrics with a little bit of pink and blue for sparkle and interest. So far it's still fun. I wonder what I'll think of it after 49 blocks?!?!

I will leave you with a picture of the Spotted One looking oh so cute sprawled on the Christmas Lights Mystery quilt. His eyes are such a beautiful amber color, but they are terrible to photograph as they always turn bright yellow.At least they match the gold in the quilt!