SPIDER FINISH. . . It's not Weds., but. .

Hello!  As I don't expect to have Internet access on Wednesday, I will share my SpiderWeb quilt top finish now:

The poor little thing had it's pic taken on the tan rug, so the s.a. on the pale yellow stars are really shadowing through. It will be fine once the batting and backing are sandwiched together -- I hope.  This quilt measures about 30" square, which will be just fine as a table topper in my breakfast room.

For my "process". . . I decided to also string piece the final border corners and modified my original 4.5" block in EQ7 adding some lines and deleting others:

As you can see by the stitching lines, I only used this pattern as a general guide and didn't follow the lines exactly. I adjusted the lines based on the piece of scraps I had left to work with.  Here is a final corner block:

I sure wish I had more of that "stone or pebble" fabric.  . isn't it great?

Mitering the border corners didn't look right to me. . . I did lay one corner out and look at it. . . hmmmm, nope, don't think that's going to look right:

Because my strip sizes were so random, the corner didn't look good to me so I abandonded the mitering idea and created sort of a "fan" block for the corners.  It's not perfect, but it works.

Now I'm thinking about how to quilt it. On the machine, for sure with all the seams! Probably something minimal and not too fancy as there is a lot going on in this quilt already.

Thank you for stopping by to visit.  I hope where ever you are that you have the time and inclination to create something that makes you happy.  . . .until next time. . .

Hugs,

Cyn; -)

SPIDER WEDNESDAY. . . And: Strings, Strings, Strings!

This is my progress so far on the little Spider Block table topper I'm making:

Late last night I finished sewing the four pieced borders:

This is how I pressed it... with seams twirled inside the blocks, and s.a. pressed open block-2-block:

Yesterday was the meeting of our Tuesday Friendship Group. Many of the gals in this group are now making various versions of the Spider block.  This is Joy's block... what a cutie with the Pink ric-rack in the wedges:

Here is how Joy lined up the rickrack for sewing:

Deb sewing a triangle piece. A finished triangle sits on her machine:

Rosemary made TWO kinds of string blocks. . . Amish Shadows, and diagonal stripping:

Rosemary's layout for her batik blocks:

Our ever-smiling Renee', shows another version of stripping:

This is the pattern she drew [Renee is also a great teacher!]:

And some of Renee's blocks-in-progress:

An iron beside the sewing machine is a handy help with this kind of strip piecing:

Some 'lost' blocks found in Deb's Grandma's attic. . . trust me, Deb will do something wonderful with these rescued beauties:

Well, now that I've exhausted your eyes with 13 photos, I'll close for now. . .

Thank you for stopping by and I hope where ever you are that you have time and the inclination to create something that makes you happy.

Hugs,

Cyn; -)

PS: Want to see more Spider blocks? Click here for Katrin's blog -- she is the clever gal who started this whole "Spider Web Ring" thing.
On this side of the BigBluePond, Rosa is also making a Spider -- check it out -- nifty!

"Baby", Missy, 'n Me, go for a ride!

Finally got the RV out of storage and took it to Chad at Desert Sport RV in Vista, CA, for a little pre-season service and to replace the batteries. It was about time to get all new ones -- sometimes it's just best to "bite the bullet" and do something... so I did. Everything runs like a top now! Yippee.

Packed up Miss Diva, who wasn't too sure about the whole RV trip thing, a few fresh groceries, my new EQ7 manual [for some light reading...lol], and hit the road. Drove to the local Harbor where if one is lucky, one can find a camping space -- we were lucky and got one right on the water. The weather cooperated and it was beautiful.  I had a wonderful time, so relaxing and restful. Missy the cat? Not so much. She mostly stayed in the back bedroom. . . I think she just felt safer there. When I went to bed, she jumped up and in it with me like a shot and stayed there all night. She was purring away most of the time, so perhaps she did like the peace and quiet away from the dog afterall. Taking her on a couple more short trips ought to tell the tale if Missy will agree to be an RV kitty or not... we'll see. I can only be very patient and hope. Fingers crossed! lol

This is a quickie... I'll have more on Wednesday. Thank you for stopping by. I hope where ever you are that you have time to create and sew, knit, crochet. . . or ???., what ever makes YOU happy.

Hugs,

Cyn; -)

PS: "baby" looks a whole lot better after she's had a bath. She picks up a lot of grime while she's in storage. This photo was taken b4 her 'spa treatment'. I wish i had a picture of us at the Harbor, but I forgot the camera! Nuts.

SPIDERs - better late than . . .

Here it is Thursday already.  I missed posting on Wednesday Spider Day. . . have been out busy with my oldest son exchanging batteries on my RV. Sheesh! There are SIX batts in my rig. . . and the cost of batts these days. . . oh well, you get the idea.  Enough of that.


Nine blocks are stitched together. The connecting seams are pressed open as I think the top will press and lay better this way. The s.a. inside the blocks are twirled -- this set up opposing s.a. and made it easier to sew the blocks together.

 The pale yellow used in the center of each block will be repeated as a narrow first border, followed by a pieced border incorporating all the different fabrics used in the Spider blocks. I'm leaning toward a red binding to finish it off, but will make that final decision later. Are you making a Spider quilt? 

Here's Miss Diva who has wedged herself back under the covers. She's such a cute fluff ball. ; -)

Time to hit the 'rain-room' and get ready -- today is Guild day.


Thank you for stopping by. I hope where ever you are, you find some time to create and sew today. . .
Hugs,
Cyn; -)

It's NOT Wednesday. . . but here come more Spiders!

The little Spider blocks I've been making are becoming addictive! lol.  I made a few more today. So far I have nine useable blocks:

 It does cause quite a mess during the PPing process with scraps, threads, and paper flying everywhere. . . but that's ok.

A little squaring up; stitch blocks together, then perhaps just a simple little border and I'll have a topper for the breakfast table. What kind of border would you put on???

Wowzer, between these loud colors and a cuppa coffee, that should provide a good morning wake up! lol

Thank you for stopping by. . . I hope that where ever you are, you find some time to stitch and create.
Hugs,
Cyn; -)

Blooms 4 Thursday. . .

While grocery shopping yesterday, I came across a basket of Daffodils. Just laying there... all dry, no water! So naturally I rescued a bunch and brought them home -- a little water and voila! The buds opened into gorgeous blooms this morning. Yellow flowers are so "happy", don't you think?

This sweet purple orchid sits quietly in the north west corner of my living room most of the year, but come Spring it sends off a bounty of buds and blooms. I've had this plant for years and it faithfully says "hello" every Spring.  Don't ya just love it? No care, no feeding... just a drink of water now and then. Orchids thrive on neglect! My kind of plant. lol

The lovely cymbidium* orchid [below] 'lives' near the front window in my living room. Although it hasn't been here long, it too has sent up a bounty of lovely blooms.



That's all the pictures for today. I'm trying to finish up a couple more Spider blocks so I can work on the border... I'm thinking more scraps in a 'key-board' sort of layout.

Thank you for stopping by. . . I hope it's wonderful where ever you are!
Hugs,
Cyn; -)
*I just know I didn't spell that correctly! Ever have one of 'those' days?

Spidey Wednesday. . . a few more blocks

It's Spider Time!  The name "spider" gives me the shivers, but I love these fun little blocks!

A few more blocks have come together since I joined the Spider Web.  The current 'plan' is to make three more blocks from my 4.5" drawing and finish it up as a table topper for the breakfast room table.  I plan on switching to an 8" block to make a larger quilt... this small block has been a bit fiddley, but has allowed me to use up some very tiny scraps! That's good, ya?!

More Spider News: my Tuesday Friendship Group has been 'infected' since I shared my blocks with them yesterday. Next week when we meet we will share and exchange scraps. What fun!  Look at what you started, Cattinka! lol.  Thank you so much -- this is super fun.

It's rainy, windy, and cold here in So. Calif today, but any day we wake up is still a good day IMHO!  I hope you are having a wonderful day sewing and creating, where ever in the world you may be!

Thank you for stopping by and please leave a comment if you like the Spider blocks, or if you are making one, too. Thank you.

Hugs,
Cyn; -)

JUST ONE STAR. . . Will You Make Just One??

Moda is coordinating the receipt of  Just One Star blocks from around the Nation and the World, to be used in the "Quilts For Valor" project. They hope to create 100 quilts in 100 days.

JustOneStar

The DEADLINE to get your block to Moda is: MAY 1st, 2011.  Please don't wait until the end of April. Take just a few minutes -- like only 30 minutes! -- to make a block that will create a quilt of comfort for a hero... a Soldier.  They give so much to protect us, let's show them we care.  All the info you need, including the pattern, is only one click away. . .
Thank you for helping... please pass the word.

Hugs,
Cyn; -)

Hello ... and... SPIDER Virus strikes So. Calif!!

Hello Friends. . . It has been ages since my last post. It feels good to be back again. Thank you all for your kind emails and well-wishes.  Update: I am healing well. No more surgery until sometime later this summer.

QUILTY STUFF!!! . . . The SPIDER VIRUS is going around putter-land these days and now it has struck in Southern California! lol. Cattinka was my first 'exposure' to this disease, and when I mentioned this to Rosa, she became infected too! Now I have the virus!  Will YOU succomb to it? Go visit Catinka for the 'scoop'.  Below is first block:

Second block: [sewn together after its Photo Op]

And this is the MESS they leave behind!

I'm just a novice PPer and have a lot to learn. Practice, practice, practice... ya?!  For reasons still unclear to moi, I drew my PPing pattern as a size 4 1/2" block! Yikes! I must be crazy. Note to self: switch to larger size!

More pictures next time. . . thank you for stopping by.

Hugs,

Cyn; -)