Happy New Year!

In a little less than 5 hours, 2010 will be in the history books!  From a quilting perspective, I didn't accomplish much.  So my word for 2011 will be "complete"...I will finish the Amazon Star, If the Shoe Fits, Bali Wedding Star, Celtic Wave and Dragon Star quilts in 2010.  And do the Fabric is Better Than Food challenge for O.V.s Christmas party, which involves a piece of green fabric that looks like Fairy Frost. Oh - and the TNT quilt from Hoopsisters, which I am starting to hate.  Looking at this thing, I could have pieced, quilted and embroidered it in the amount of time months 1-6 have taken. Months 7-8 are not yet completed because the 830 is not loving the water soluble thread required.  I'll finish it because I'm so far into it, and it's name will be, "Most Expensive Wall Hanging Ever!"  At $30 a lesson, we're $240 in to it just for the monthly designs/classes. 

"Most Expensive Wall Hanging Ever!"

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better person. ~Benjamin Franklin

Playing Catch Up

It seems like such a short time ago I was bragging about being on time with the TNT block of the month ...now I am desperately behind.  We are on month eight...I finished month four tonight...I was going to try to tackle month five before I go to bed, but sleep is calling my name.

I have to tell you, I don't love this quilt.  I'm not feeling it.  Each block takes about an hour to complete, so you are looking at 16 hours out of my life, which I guess isn't bad.  18 more to go, plus putting it together time.   

And I did get Al to drive me to Intown yesterday. And they did not have ANY of the fabrics for the Amazon Star. But they did have a 40% off everything in the store sale!  Called out to Tiny Stitches and they don't have the pattern either.  So I ordered the pattern online today, and I'll just keep working on this one this week.  I am committed to catching up on this and the Ribbon Bargello while I'm off this week.  Given that the temp will be in the teens tomorrow, it won't be hard to stay home and sew! 

Art ISN'T Easy...White Christmas!

All the joys of the holiday season to you and yours!  We had a white Christmas yesterday!

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...just like the ones I used to know..."

Irving Berlin

LOL - I have never known a white Christmas in all my years.  It snowed all day yesterday, and some of it stuck. We stayed in all day...I worked on putting the Amazon Star together, and I messed up...big time.  I did a terrible job on the the center Mariner's Compass...it's so pretty, but I didn't press it correctly, and it doesn't fit.  Don't ask me why I didn't notice until I started putting it together.  Worse - I don't have enough fabric. I am going to try to talk Al into taking me to Intown Quilters to see if they still have any of this.  I don't want to drive, although I've heard that the roads are in good shape and aren't icy at all.  I've already looked online to no avail. Intown has the best selection of batiks in Atlanta, and it's where I got most of these batiks.  But I bought them in March, and I'm not holding out a lot of hope that nine months later they might still have them.  I also need another pattern, which they probably won't have. 

Since I didn't feel like sewing after my discovery, I cleaned up my sewing room. Al came in and said he couldn't see any difference from before, then he said, "What's important is that you can see a difference."  And I can!

Piece by piece...

Art isn’t easy.
Every minor detail is a major decision,
Have to keep things in scale
Have to hold to your vision....

I started sewing at 7 AM this morning and I am just finishing now.  There's no place I can lay out 104 x 104.  Big Momma is panting hard. I've really completed two quilts...there isn't a single seam on here that I haven't had to sew twice!  All the sections are completed, now I will start "putting it together."

Every little detail plays a part...

Having just a vision's no solution,
Everything depends on execution:

Putting it together...

That's what counts!  

(Still hearing Sondheim.)

 

The Art of Making Art....

...is putting it together.

What can I say?  It's Sondheim week in my sewing room.  As I sewed my final seam and started thinking about "putting it together," that song from "Into the Woods" kept playing in my mind.  The Barbara Streisand version. 

OK, so now all I have to do is put it together.
...Piece by piece...
...Bit by bit....

Getting Closer...

It's been a tough week at work...last night I was on the phone until midnight...but every other night I worked on the corner points for an hour or so.  Today I signed off at 7 and finished up the corner points to the Amazon Star.  The final part is the long spikes on the corner, which hopefully I can finish next week.  Tomorrow I head up to NYC to see Jeffrey, my youngest nephew, in a play.  Here are the corner points...I don't love the gold fabric here, but I'm hoping when it is quilted, it will tone down a bit.