Measure, rip, fix, measure - done

Recently my niece Shell said that I was an amazing quilter and asked me questions to help her along. My other niece, Sarah, emailed me from Japan and asked me about a book to help her with her skills. Well, I am humbled that they think my sewing and quilting skills are good enough to help them along.

So, I wanted to share what I had to do today as I was working on my $5 quilt project. I need to put the floating border on each block and found that two of them are not the right size. So, me and Mr. Ripper became buddies as I had to take them apart. I thought you might want to see the process I had to go through.
This is one of two blocks, the same pattern but different colors - that are not 8 1/2 by 8 1/2 inch square.

Here is my first block, taken apart.

A little blurry but you can see the threads sticking out of the sides showing that I really did take it apart. :-)

All the pieces are laying there, ready to be pressed and then put back together. Another thing I made sure of is that my seam allowance - scant quarter inch - was what it was supposed to be. Since it was too small, I had to move my needle to make sure that the seams were correct. I am so happy that I have that option on my machine.

As I sewed each section, I remeasured each time so that it was 8 1/2 inches wide by the depth that it needed to be - in this case 6 1/2 inches.

This is the second block and if you look closely at this and the next picture, you will see that it is off by almost a quarter of an inch in places. Doesn't seem like much, but let me tell you - it will throw the rest of the measurements off and you will have to rip later. Better to adjust when smaller than try and fix later.

I didn't have to take all of the second block apart, once I measured I found that parts of it were ok.

Here is the second block back together. Measuring it again - did I mention that before?? - shows that it is just about on the mark - enough that I can fudge the seam on the next part to be sewed.

Finished blocks. Now I will be able to go to the next step of putting on the floating border.

So, my suggestion is: measure and if not what it is supposed to be - become like a frog and rip-it; rip-it; rip-it. You will be glad that you did it then instead of later.

Update on Sons

We had a chance to talk to all three sons this weekend. It is always a blessing to chat with them.

Kevin and Kerry are doing well in Chicago. Kevin had a plumbing question for his dad and they hopefully figured it out via telephone. Their garden is growing well, having harvested numerous items for their dinners. Bill McGill loves radishes so I am assuming he shared with them.

Greg is in the last few days of studying for the bar. He has been staying the course and will take it at the Breslin Center in Lansing on Tuesday and Wednesday. He found a typewriter - do they make those any more??? - to do the written exam (5 hrs long is too long to write) on Tuesday and then the multiple choice is on Wednesday. Keep him in your prayers as he takes those final steps in his career of study.

Nick called from the airport to say he had landed safely on Michigan soil. He had been in Georgia for Corporal training for the Marines. He said it was "an enhanced version of boot camp all over again on limited sleep". Well worth it but a grueling two weeks in the muggy heat of the south. He will rest up and then get back into the wedding plans that will happen in 12 days. Julie and I chatted a few times about the wedding agenda. She will be a wonderful addition to our family, joining Kerry in the wonderful daughter-in-law category.

So next week we will be traveling to MI to attend the wedding, maybe take a side trip to Chicago to finally meet Bill McGill and give Patterson a pat and then help Mom with her "project" that she wants Phil to do. Will be an exciting month of fun, laughter and plenty of hugs.

Heat Wave

The weather is HOT!!! We will have 100 degree weather today, Tuesday and Wednesday with the 90's the rest of the week. Thankfully the evenings are cool - well it doesn't really get cool until 3am the next morning - but enough that we open the house, put on the fans and the house cools down into the low 70's. I have a feeling that the window air conditioner will be our friend the next few days. It is already time to close up the house to keep the warm air out.

So, what to do on a hot day. While at the Quilt Show last weekend, I made a table runner and then appliqued fruit on it. I plan to quilt it this week and then take it back with me to MI to give to my EGA group. They have a tea and auction and I have made them quilted items since I moved here. So, since it is hot, it sounds like a plan to sew in between doing laundry - a necessity as the basket is over flowing again.
So, where ever you are, keep cool and have a great day.

Cruise-in, Fly-in Breakfast

Yesterday was the annual Kiwanis Cruise-In, Fly-In Breakfast. The Sandy Quilt Show Committee always sells tickets there for the raffle quilt to benefit the Historical Society. So this year we took Isaac along with us to enjoy the morning of eating, looking at airplanes and vintage cars. Since I had to sell tickets, I gave Phil the camera and here are our photos.
We decided to ride the wagon to the site which was quite a distance and the heat was already upon us. However, we sat there for approximately 12 minutes waiting for four planes to land.

This is one of the planes we waited for. Really cool, but noisy, bi-plane.

Isaac was enthralled with the planes. Unfortunately, this is the only picture of him with any of the vehicles/planes.

We decided since it really heated up, that we would take the tractor ride back to the car. The pancakes were great, the sales of tickets were wonderful (didn't get a call so I guess I didn't win) and the morning was a great time with Isaac.

Exercise

Exercise! At his last check-up, the doctor told Phil that exercise will help with what he is concerned with. So, last week he purchased a punching bag and put it up in the garage. Hopefully the neighbors won't call the police on all the noise. So, here is Phil with his bag and doing a few practice punches for the camera. Look at that form!!!
He has to make sure the gloves fit right and wants me to alter them with shortening the thumb.

His favorite t-shirt. So far, no blood. :-}

2009 Sandy Quilt Show

Well, the 11th Annual Sandy Historical Society Quilt Show is finished. After all the hoopla of planning and worrying of things not going correct, it was a wonderful show. Friday was hot - just awful in the gym and the smell of roofing tar didn't help. Saturday was good and the attendance was up. Sunday was the best weather wise but attendance was low. All in all - a successful show.

Greg's quilt - Double Red and White Fun - hung nicely at the show.

Putting up the racks is always tricky, you have to have A meet B meet C, tying off so they don't fall AND meet code. With the man who knows how it is done not in attendance the rookies did a good job of getting them up. We were a little shy on the code part but there was plenty of room to walk and they didn't fall down. YEAH.

This is the picture of our Quilt turning. We ask for quilts with stories, put them on the donated bed and then tell the story to those who want to listen. A favorite of the show.

This is the blurry picture of our Home of the Brave Display. If you look at the miniature quilt in the upper right hand corner - this is my 22" quilt entitled "Patriotic Shining Stars" that is touring the nation in the God Bless America Tour. I received a third place ribbon at the last quilt show it was at in Oklahoma. A surprise and honor.

This is Charlotte and Sophie. Their Grandmother made these two quilts for their Mother for Mothers Day. She put them in the show and they won 3rd place in the nature/pictorial division. As I saw them there, I made sure to take their pictures of the one they helped Grandma make for their Mom. A sweet story.

This is my "Everlasting" hand appliqued entry that won 3rd place in that division. I also won a 3rd place in the Pieced/Medium with my "Kaleidoscope of Kolor" wall hanging. I am happy (but not of the blurry pics).

This quilt is the People's Choice in the Antique division. Wonderfully done, lots of little blocks.

This is the People's Choice of all the quilts in the show. It was beautifully quilted and nicely done.

This is the way we hang the quilts. As you can see, the poles are like a puzzle, necessary to tie them so they don't accidentally fall - actually happened one year.

Hope you enjoyed the Show.

Back to Blogging - Our garden update

Hi: The quilt show is done except for the debriefing today at 2 pm. a successful show - pictures will follow in another blog.

But here are pictures from our garden. We planted on July 5th and these pictures were taken about July 15th. I am amazed that they came up so quickly. We will have items soon - I hope.
tomatoes are doing well - they are growing and more blossoms coming on.

spinach here - it is starting to leaf out nicely. hope to have some before we come to MI>

these are radishes (no Bill you cannot have any) and peas. The peas are filling out and looking good. they will be yummy in the fall.

So, this was supposed to be the first picture - somehow I cannot get it to move to the top. Anyway, this is our three tiered boxed garden. The peas and radishes are in the top box; the tomatoes and carrots are in the middle; and the spinach and peppers are in the lower box. I think the carrots are coming up but am unsure as it looks like there is some grass coming up as well. I will have to get to it tomorrow morning - starting to get too hot to do yard work now. It is supposed to be in the 90's most of the week. So, look for more blog entries either later today or tomorrow or as soon as I can get them on.