all the news

Where does the time go? Lets catch up. I finished my swap blocks and mailed them last Saturday...just at the last minute again. I start them early in the month but my quilter's ADD keeps making me hop from project to project. I have started June's blocks..... hopefully I'll be done earlier in the month this time.

I took a quick photo of the log cabin I showed you in block stage. I  tried out some borders but they just were not talking to me. I was thinking that I would leave it without borders and tea dye it. (This started out as a few fat quarters and I ended up adding a lot of scraps to it along the way. Does that count as finishing a scrap quilt Katie? Cause the other one is so not done. ) BTW, does anyone have advise on tea dying? Should I do the top and back  and then layer and quilt, or should I quilt it then dye it?

I finished another little wool project. It was very quick and easy to put together. I still have a few small woolies all cut and ready to stitch. Sometimes I like to trace and fuse and cut out, so I will do a bunch of projects and then bag them up for when I feel like just hand stitching.

I finished the mini quilt for the store for June. I always forget to take a photo before I take it to the shop to hang. I have a new project I'm starting for the shop. It is a secret right now, but you will see it soon. The boss brought the pattern back from market. (Hint... it is a Halloween project)

I worked on my little snowmen for snowbound. Here they are so far.

Our weather has been kind of crazy, really hot, then rainy ,and last night it got cool. The cool was fine with me because the air conditioner could not be saved and the new one will not be here until next Monday. New furnace too..ouch$$. We have been lucky, the heat/air was not new when we moved in and we have been here 15 years. I have never lived anywhere for that long. The longest I ever lived in one place before this house was 5 years. My youngest was in first grade when we moved here. She went to school with the same kids from second grade all the way thru high school. To me that is just so weird... ( I have to confess that every couple of years I get the urge to move on). I guess that we will be here a bit longer.

Lastly.. my ongoing saga of the bent quilt frame. None of the local dealers were really able to help me with a replacement part. One guy says he called the warehouse and they are checking. That was about 4 weeks ago.When my boss went to Quilt Market she saw the after market sales rep and talked to her and got me another contact. SO I was so excited!!! I called and the guy was really not very helpful. He wanted me to fax him the parts list (REALLY?) you sell the frame and you need my parts list? Ok. I took the fax # but my hopes were deflated. On the same day I talked with one of my friends who had just returned from her home in Arkansas. Her husband offered to take a look and see if he had suggestions. What the heck I thought. I took the bent piece with me and went to visit my friend. While J and I sat on the deck and discussed quilting and books and kids, her hubby FIXED my bent frame piece. He is an experienced metal worker, so he pounded and unbent and even cut the metal. He was so sweet, he was worried that it had a couple of dents in the front. Anyway, I took it back home and put the frame together and put the carriage on and it seemed to roll on the frame fine. So I mounted the machine and it still seemed to roll fine. I have a quilt on the frame right now!!! How exciting is that??? I am having some trouble with threads breaking , but my friend D has the same machine so she will help me work that out.

Maybe I can  start reducing my stack of unquilted tops?

Happy stitching everyone.