Lighting

The night lighting above my quilt stinks. I have two small spot lights. It is very fellow and makes the white on the quilt glare some. I went to Lowes Thursday night and bought some of the new daylight bulbs. They were great.

The first one burned out in half an hour and the second about 15 minutes later I was really upset. They are supposed to last for several years. I took them back today and then bought some at Walmart. I bought 75 watt. Came home and put them in. They did the same thing. I can only think that the wattage is too high. I don't know what has been in there but they have lasted forever. I can't find the wattage on them. I guess the daylight ones are out of the question though

Thimble Pads

Having a thimble when you quilt is a must, especially if you don't want sore holey fingers. I tried the tradional silver metal thimble. This one is a medium and it didn't come close to fitting my finger. It was also very bulky.

Next I tried a new one that is more like a side thimble. It was just too bulky. I couldn't turn it to the place I needed it even though it fit better.

In desperation I called my favorite quilt store and explained my problem and asked if they had any I could try on to see if they would work. She said that she used a product called thimble pads. They are small leather circles that have a sticky side to them. You place them on your finger where you need them. They are reusable. A package of 12 was just over $6. Since I have a queen quilt to work on it was worth it.

Came home and tried them. Took a few minutes to get used to it and adjust the spot, but I am in love. They are perfect for me. I went through the stick on the first one rather quickly. Evidently the sticky is not immune to the effects of menopause. Unfortunately I have most of my hot flashes at night. I did google these, And found that I can buy adhesive replacements for a nominal price so I can keep using them. Thank goodness for progress!

 

Quilting Bee

Today was the quilting bee. I had 5 ladies come. It was a lot of fun. Not quite the turnout I was hoping for, but it worked out. 6 was the most we could comfortably fit around the quilt.

I'm not sure what I anticipated that we would get done. Two of them were brand new quilters. And I haven't quilted in about 40 years. Regardless, we had a lot of fun.

The perks of having a teen driver is that you can send them on errands. Nathan went and picked up the ice and sandwich tray. I ended up with way too much food. Better too much than too little. The guys won't mind helping me eat it.

 

Quilt On

Chris and CJ helped me put my three layers together to get it ready. Started out on the table and it just wasn't big enough. Finally Chris asked me why I wasn't doing it on the floor. I told him I couldn't get down there. He said they would do it. We started over and it worked much better. I really like that spray basting. It worked really well. I'm going to buy some more to use for the placemats.

After we got it all sandwiched together, Nathan came in from work. He helped me put it on the frame. I was supposed to baste it, but it was easier to pin with the long quilters pins. That is what I did.

All set and ready for the quilting bee Saturday.

 

Quilt Frame Up

Not owning any quilt frames I borrowed some from my best friend Carol. She had inherited them from her sister Martha who bought it from Sears in the 60's. the boxes were in great shape and had never been opened. Brand new frames. When I opened the box last night there were no instructions. These are not the regular church plank frames I am used to. I didn't think that I could figure it out on my own.

This morning I Googled the company and called their customer service line. They faxed the instructions to me at work. Fantastic.

Nathan helped me put it together. Even with the instructions it was a bit of a challenge. I like how it is so compact. It will save a lot of room. I decided that the light downstairs was horrible. There is no way we could see down there. We are going to have to put up with it in the living room. It is parked in front of the fireplace and bookcases as you can see. We had to use the extender bars since it is so wide.

In the instructions you are to thumb tack some ducking to the bars and then baste your quilt to the ducking. I put in 10 tacks and my thumb was killing me, another 5 and I was done. Remembered one of my friends at work said she had a tool for setting and removing tacks. I asked her if I could use it. There is no way I can do the rest of these bars. There is another 45 or more tacks left to put in. I will have to invest in one of these.

 

It's Really Done

It's finally really done. I got both borders on. I have to admit I love it even more with the borders. They really set the sashing off. With the new borders it is just shy of being a queen size. Like I've said before, a little out of control.

I'm starting to feel a bit of pressure to get everything ready for the quilting bee. Time goes too fast, and even faster when you work full time.

 

Color Border

I got my color border on tonight. I have to say I really like the way it sets all of the blocks off. Can't wait to get the white on. Number one it will be done, and number two I want to quilt and get it together. Ill get the rest on tomorrow.

Quilt Mentors

Called my quilting teacher tonight to ask her if she would help me put it on the frames. I didn't think that I could do it myself. She asked me if I had put any borders on. I told her that I hadn't planned on it and she told me that I might want to reconsider since it would make it look more finished. I didn't think that it did. She also asked if I was going to quilt or tie it. I said that I was going to hand quilt it. Somehow we got on the subject of whether to quilt the sashing. I wasn't going to do that either. She suggested that I might want to go over to Gloria's and look at her quilt. She said that she had one with sashing that she was doing right now.

I hung up feeling a little disgruntled. I did call and arrange to go and see Gloria's quilt tonight. I have to admit tat I was wrong. I do need a couple more borders. I didn't even think of the fact that when I put the binding on the quilt it will take most of the outside stitching with it. It would not look right. Gloria suggested using all of the fabrics that I used in the top in some way. She also talked me into quilting the sashing. She told mt that I didn't have to, but that I would like it a lot better if I did.

Darn, back to the sewing machine for me. I won't need any more fabric for thr color border, but I will need more white for the final one.

Top Finished

I finished my quilt top tonight. I am so excited to be done. It hasn't turned out like the one I got the inspiration from in the least. It has taken on a life of its own. Here it is.

 

Sashes and Cornerstones

Tonight I started adding the sashes and cornerstones to my quilt top. I only got half of it done tonight. I love how this has changed the whole look of the quilt. I didn't realize it would make such a difference.

 

Cracker Barrel Earrings

I found the perfect type 2 earrings at work tonight. I bought two different ones. The first ones ate 2/1. They are just a tiny bit blingy.

The inner and outer rings in the second pair are a brushed silver. The inner ring was gold. I bought them anyway since they were teardrop shape.

Came home and used my silver nail polish over the gold ring. It turned out great. They look almost glittery, but I think it works well.