Design Wall and Packing Monday 5/13/2013

I am getting ready to head north for a quilting retreat on Thursday.  I am so glad to be able to go again so soon after being there in March.  Remember, we were almost snowed in that time.

Living in Phoenix, we are not used to snow.  Our retreat is at Tonto Rim View Lodge and it is only about 3 hours drive from home.  Obviously a great deal of that trip is up hill!

Anyway, I am collecting my squares and strips and I plan on starting a new project, Bonnie Hunter's Oklahoma Backroads.  It will be a wedding present that I need for late July.  I have a mystery quilt clue that I plan to work on and maybe a UFO???  I plan on taking too much to work on.

I finished the mystery quilt from Quilts 4 Military, which was partially complete and on my design floor  last Monday.  If I decide to put borders on it, I will also take it along on the retreat.  I have a navy blue wide fabric for the backing so no need to sew on it.  If I put borders on it, I may use some of the backing fabric.  It looks rectangular in this photo but it is actually square.

I didn't get a chance to post a stash report yesterday so I haven't counted the fabric in the top.  Hopefully next Sunday I should have an extra good report after the retreat.

Here is a little treat for Judy L.  It's a shame it is so heavy or I would have sent it to her to accompany her solar oven.

Many years ago, possible 35 or so, my BIL sent us this ROCK POT for a gift.  We did a lot of camping and I guess he thought it would be practical.  He doesn't camp but he bought one for himself as well.

There are no actual rocks but rather 2 cement discs, about 8" in diameter and maybe 2" thick.  You heated them in your campfire and then put them in an insulated bucket.  Put your food/pan on top and closed the lid.

My husband was cleaning out his workshop and came across this gem from long ago.  It was never used.  I sent a photo to my BIL and he was surprised we still had it.  He had gotten rid of his 3 years ago when he moved.  I don't know why we didn't get rid of ours when we moved 25 years ago.

Anyway we all had a good laugh.  It has been given to Goodwill so maybe someone will actually get to use it.

On the Needles May 10, 2013

Remember last Friday when I reported a LOST sock?  Well, it should have been a lost mind!

I looked and I looked in likely and unlikely places.  No luck.  Then, I weighed the sock I had, all the remaining yarn (and the needles still in the unfinished sock).  DUH

Since then, I have finished the sock I was working on and started the other sock that was only missing in my mind.

Design Wall Monday May 6th 2013

I have been a member of the Yahoo Group, Quilts4Military for about a year.  This is the third mystery quilt I have completed with them.  These quilts will all be donated to Quilts of Valor.

I have slightly altered the layout of the current mystery.  I used scraps from my stash and tried to get a wide variety of red and blue fabrics into the quilt.

I have all the blocks complete and three more rows to add to the top.  This is a square quilt-I tend to like rectangular quilts better but I am happy with the way this one is looking.  The blocks were not complex to complete but it is taking quite some time to put them together with sooooo many seams.

Check out the other design wall reports at Patchwork Times.

Stash Report Sunday

Shopping again this week!   I had a 50% off coupon and I hunted down several end of bolt fabrics (each 20% off)-I feel so thrifty...BUT that's not what the total said.

I found some more neutrals for my collection and 2 different blue fabrics.  One of the neutrals I bought was a wide backing so that can go either way.

Fabric in this week 1 yards
Fabric in 2013:      32 yard
Fabric out since last report:   0 yard
Usage for 2013    11 3/4 yards
Total damage   +20 1/4 yards

Bit and pieces of sewing but nothing countable yet.  Check out the other stash reports at Patchwork Times.

On the needles 5/3/2013

Help, I have lost my other sock.  Where, oh where, has the other one gone???

I know I already made one sock for this pair.  The socks are for the pooling challenge and a birthday gift I need by next Friday!

No luck with pooling but I really, really like the look and feel of these socks.

I have not been doing much knitting as old arthritis has come to call and my hands have been aching on and off.  Maybe I need a project with bigger needles or a crochet hook?  However, at least I have been sewing a bit.