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Post by cj59 on Aug 4, 2022 21:25:32 GMT
Hello Everyone - Hope you are all doing well and staying cool. It's miserably hot here Ginny - Hope you were able to get on your machine today. I'm always surprised how little some people know about the states and regions in our country. Maybe it was easier for me because my job required me to work with people from all over the country so I had to know the regions and states. Ruth - Sorry to hear about the mistake on the Christmas afghan, but I know you can turn it around and make it right I did not sleep well again last night. It was 3:00 A.M. before I could go to sleep and then phone call woke me up before 9:00. Hopefully I'll be so tired tonight I can go to sleep at a normal time. I'm thinking that the heat and also my general attitude right now could be contributing to the sleep problem. I've been in a "down" mood recently and finding pretty much everything irritating Well, I finished my two Summer Camp quilt tops and I'm sad to say that I don't like either one of them very much. The color/tonal one just doesn't fit my vision of what I wanted when I started but I guess it's alright. I like the floral one a bit better but I wish I hadn't put the light inner border at the top and bottom, it makes the quilt look strange since it's two borders of the same fabric right together. I guess I could have either left it out or maybe put a yellow/green combination. It's very disappointing after all these weeks of work to not be happy with the final quilt top Hopefully when I put the Laundry Basket top together I'll like it better. I'll share pictures even though I thought about not doing that. I'm not going to put them on the Facebook page, I'm that disappointed. I am including a picture of my small medallion quilt that I'm hand quilting to show you that progress. I'm happy with this one. My goal is to work on keeping my stitches even, not worrying about them being small. Take care everyone!
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Post by Ruth on Aug 4, 2022 22:25:29 GMT
CJ, I'm so very sorry that, after all that work that you don't like the quilt tops. I like them both actually but you, as the quilter have to like them in order to be happy that you spent all that time. You are doing a seriously awesome job with that hand quilting. I'd never be able to do all those stitches and keep them even. Plus I have no patience and would never be able to sit and sew that many stitches either. Well I forced myself and got all 13 pieces of the dino done. The picture that is with the pattern shows a mouth and eyelashes embroidered on but I'm not going to do that...even that is too many stitches for me. I'm sure my grandson will never know the difference Ginny, I Hope you're able to do some things today that you love to do. CJ, I hope you are able to sleep well tonight. I've had nights like that and they are no fun.I'm sure this overbearingly hot weather is taking it's tole on you and that's why you're feeling so bad and not sleeping well and the not sleeping well in turn makes you feel worse. Thankfully here we don't have high humidity with our heat. It still is draining to a person though. Now I want to finish one more thing today crochet wise and that will probably be my knot bag. Oh and CJ, my mistake was in forgetting that there are 9 parts to this afghan so it didn't affect any of the part I have actually completed. Thank you for your kind thoughts
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Post by choney2 on Aug 4, 2022 22:37:48 GMT
You had me laughing Ruth. Its just so darned funny when people react the way they do without understanding that really NY (if you could sever the Hudson River crossings and airlift out Albany) is very sane, and lots of rural areas. I thought they used to look at me as though I was an IV drug user and would - well you said it best, infect them with the plague. The county I live in now used to be very rural, and now has developed a bit of a suburban feel. My town it still pretty rural. I know some coworkers when they first met me heard that I was from NJ and assumed the worst. After years of living here they have deemed me “normal”- my parents were grounded people and I learned how to be practical from them. THe Christmas afghan sounds lovely, and although the metallic yarn is scratchy its so pretty and gives such a decorative and holiday flair. I am sure as an all white afghan with metallic flecks its stunning. And you are absolutely correct, a white afghan in a home with cats might not be such a great idea. I am glad that you have a large bag of hats ready for donation. You are so right that these will be very welcome as so many have their finances pushed to the limit. Hope that you were able to stay comfortable in front of the fan crocheting. Are you supposed to have many more hot days?
Here we peaked around 95 degrees. Its finally starting to cool down but will not go below 70- tonight which is warm. Think we are stuck in this weather pattern for a few days. I snuck in my walk this morning while it was still in the 60’s and will have to do similar tomorrow before it climbs into the 70’s much. Also fed the hummingbird and watered the garden. Got my first picking of green beans and I can see that I have some squash on. At least I think they are squash. Next trip summer I will need to be more organized with the garden and at least this year got the fence mostly figured out to keep the deer and the woodchuck out.
I did play with my machine today, and it took me awhile but I got the tension adjusted as well as I can and changed the needle. Its not perfect but is the best I will do and I hope that I can get the quilting done so that it looks good. Because I hope to get it all quilted in one sitting I will wait until tomorrow Its too late in the day for me to start quilting- I am too mistake prone later on in the day.
I did finish (sort of) straightening up the closet. Its far from perfect but is semi organized, and I feel better about that.
Hope each of you got some crafting in and has a good night. We are planning on attending a county fair next week- unsure which day as of yet- and they usually have a wonderful 4H quilt display. Looking forward to that.
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Post by choney2 on Aug 4, 2022 22:47:32 GMT
This is normal for me….but the site did not refresh until after I posted.
CJ- this heat has been a struggle for all of us and you have valiantly tried to not complain….but its been hot. That and a lack of sleep and well, it does not help mental outlook. CJ- both tops are very pretty- and being totally honest here, in the final analysis perhaps I like the tonal top a bit better than the floral one. Regarding the two borders alike on the floral one, I never would have noticed that unless you told me. Think the best thing to do is take a break from those two tops, put them aside and revisit them in a month. I guarantee your eye will no longer be drawn to all the things that bother you about them now. And I really hope you sleep well tonight. And the hand quilting project is stunning in its simplicity. I do love it
Ruth, nope DGS won’t notice that the Dino is missing eyelashes or a mouth. He’s just going to know that his grandma made him an awesome cool Dino and be very happy! Hope you are able to complete the knot bag this everning.
Sue and Phyl hope to hear from both of you!
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Post by Ruth on Aug 5, 2022 20:31:24 GMT
Hello everyone., Well it's a really hot day here. at 10:30 when I checked it was already 97.3 degrees on my thermometers.
I hope you're all having a good day and are able to really enjoy it.
Yesterday I did finish the dino as I already mentioned and the knot bag and most of the rest of part one of the Christmas afghan. I finished the rest of part one today. So now I'm going to start another knot bag and work on the basketweave blanket for dgd. Dh thinks I should put a mouth on the dino so I told him that the pattern picture actually showed a mouth and eyebrows embroidered on it and he thinks I should do that so I guess I will I'm just happy that it's all done otherwise. I still want to make that dgs one more thing but I'm not sure yet what I'll make. I saw a video last evening of a backpack made with crochet lego blocks so I might make that or I may go for something less time consuming. Making all those little circles would take a lot of time then you have to sew them on, sew the blocks together, etc.Maybe another time.I was also thinking of lego blocks blanket which I might do instead.
It will probably take me to Christmas to get this Christmas afghan done. This first part too two whole skeins of yarn. Luckily I have a lot of it.
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Post by choney2 on Aug 5, 2022 21:44:11 GMT
Ruth, I think the lego blocks blanket sounds adorable…I would hate to see you spend all that time on a backpack when you are unsure if he will use it.- plus that all those lego circles!! There has to be something with a lego theme that would be easier for you to make. Nice job finishing the Dino- and I hope its not too much of a headache to put a mouth on him. And I bet you are pleased that it is done, as you started that twice to reduce the size a bit. Bet that Christmas afghan is pretty!! How many skeins of yarn do you think it will take to complete it?? Were you able to stay comfortable in the hot weather? I know heat does not bother you, but 97 degrees is hot.
I put my big girl pants on and got almost all of the quilting done on the panel quilt. At the last minute I changed my strategy a bit, and used silver on the flag and clouds (silver top thread), brown on the eagle and blue for everything else. Is it perfect? No. But I am pleased with how its turning out. I am hoping by early next week to be done with all the machine work so I can get my machine in for routine servicing. Once I finish with the last 3 cornerstone corner stars I will take a picture of it. I have the rest of it all quilted except for the 3 corners.
Hot here again today, and it tires me and gives me a headache. Sorry to sound like a crab, but its the truth. I did get a walk in early this am while it was still in the low 70’s. Have a great night. Ginny
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Post by choney2 on Aug 5, 2022 23:53:11 GMT
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Post by choney2 on Aug 6, 2022 12:01:26 GMT
Good morning and Happy Saturday! Got a busy morning today, DD is dropping off DGS in a few hours, she has a bridal shower to attend and 14 month old little boys and bridal showers do not mix. I did try last night to make the patch with my brother in laws name and time of service in the army, but somehow I un programmed the text I had programmed. It was later on in the day- and I chose not to take on re programming the label. Now just have to make the label and the binding (which I already cut) and I am almost done. I am looking forward to the hand sewing of the binding on this project because it is smaller.
Another hot day here today.but it is supposed to be a few degrees cooler than yesterday. I really wanted to build a fire last night but it was just too warm and sticky. Perhaps in a few days.
BBL to see who checks in Ginny
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Post by cj59 on Aug 6, 2022 17:16:59 GMT
Hello Everyone - Hope you are enjoying your weekend and having nice weather Ginny - Your quilt/panel looks great. I really like the stitching in the clouds/flag, it adds movement and is just enough to set the panel off. You matched that thread really well in the eagle, I can barely see anything. This is going to be a wonderful gift - hope you can get it finished up soon. Hope you enjoy the time with your DGS and stay as cool as possible. Ruth - I'm glad to hear you finished your dino and hope you can get the mouth and eyebrows done. Hope you can get time to work on your other projects too. I think those knot bags were cute. Phyl and Sue - Hope you are well and getting to do some crafting. It's been warm here but I'm staying fairly comfortable as long as I don't do much. Last night I finally slept better and there was a block of about 5 hours that I slept and didn't wake up - that is just unheard of for me anymore. I do feel much more rested today. Sure wish I could get those 5 hours every night. I finished up my Laundry Basket quilt top (see picture). The designer has named this quilt pattern "Arizona" and I like that because my fabrics do have that sort of desert feel. This was an interesting project to do and I'm happy with the final quilt top. I don't think I'd ever do another quilt along with her unless it was for a smaller quilt and I don't think she does those. I did learn a few good tips from this quilt along, so that's nice. This morning I finished clearing up all the scraps from these three quilt tops I finished. I was happy to get that all done. Now I have some stacks of fabric that I need to get sorted back into my area where I keep yardage by color and theme. I'm happy I have the scrap system in place because it's easy to cut the 2.5 inch squares and strips and then some 5 inch squares too. I'm also keeping a bag of 4.5 inch strips that are less than 2.5 inches wide - maybe I'll make something with them someday. I ended up with 7 little pinwheel quilt blocks from the leftover extra half square triangles and I'm also going to make 5 keyhole blocks from some leftover strips of the tonal Summer Camp quilt. Finally I cleaned my sewing machine and changed the needle - like I do every month. There was a lot of lint in the machine, so I hope it runs better now that it's cleaned. I also wrote up my project sheet for August, so I have an idea of what needs to be done. I hope to get my Moda Blockheads block made tomorrow morning. Take care everyone!
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Post by Ruth on Aug 6, 2022 17:36:21 GMT
Ginny, the quilt looks amazing. Your bil is going to love this. He will be speechless when he sees it. The actual quilting on it looks really great to me. Have a good time with the little one. Now he's at that age where he's walking and curious.
CJ, the quilt top is really pretty and it sounds like, as usual, you have a good plan for the leftovers. All the scraps and yardage you have will keep you busy for a long time.I'm glad you got some good quality sleep last night.
It's cooler here today. Only 76 so far. It will get hot again though as the new weeks starts
I think this baskeweave blanket is going to keep me busy for awhile. I never did get to starting a new knot back or anything else for that matter.I probably will today. I have to make out my August list too.It's the 6th already. I did see some cute things to make for the great grandchildren esp the little girls.
Have a good day all
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Post by phyl on Aug 6, 2022 21:23:12 GMT
HI, I am here, not sure why I have missed a couple of weeks. we got the CRV back Thursday,they did a great job,even cleaned the inside and polished the wheels. of course mister is so proud.
I have been downstairs putting my fabric closet back in order, just had to do it.
found a few surprises, like extra panels, why did buy this book,what pattern was I going to make from it.
Maybe sometime next week I can do more cleaning, fat chance in doing a lot.
Monday is the Tuesday is lab work,might get little done,Wednesday we meet our friend in BaraBoo, Ruth knows them Thursday we drive 100 miles to take my machine in to get fix,the it's Friday and the weekend is here.
Cj I like your Arizona quilt. years ago she was here for a workshop,only wanted experience quilters, no beginners.least I think it was her.think she was just starting out.PHYL
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Post by choney2 on Aug 7, 2022 0:17:33 GMT
Phyl, good to see you here! That is neat that you found some surprises - like the fabric panels, which I hope that you will be able to use for a project or two.
Ruth, glad you are making lists of the projects you want to work on, which will provide nice distractions from the basket weave blanket when you need a break from it. And I am glad to hear that your temperature broke a bit. A welcome relief for sure.
CJ- the Arizona quilt is so pretty! And I remember it gave you some headaches with the directions but it turned out so pretty. ( I would quilt this one for sure!).I am glad you slept well, and are able to stay comfortable. It sure is a warm summer. Well to see the different thread colors you must have blown up my quilt picture. Yikes. But I am overall happy with it and am looking forward to finishing it
Hot here today and Dd stayed for a few hours after she came back from the shower she attended. I got housework done but no crafting. Tomorrow is another day.
Stay cool , stay hydrated. Ginny
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Post by Ruth on Aug 7, 2022 1:55:20 GMT
Phyl, it's great to find surprises when we're organizing things. Sue was here the other day and said that as she was going thru boxes of papers she found a couple sets of crochet hooks. I'd be happy if I found some. Tell your friend I said hello.I haven't been to that thread in a long time but it sounds like they are doing well or they wouldn't be able to meet with you.And It's great to have you stop in here.
Ginny, well visiting with family is very nice and to be able to spend time with our loved ones is a real blessing.
I didn't get to my list because I got sidetracked by a little purse pattern so I stopped and made it for one of the two great grandaughters. I'll make a different one for the other. I'm thinking of crocheting a little soccer ball for my greatgrandson that's just about 3 weeks older than your's Ginny.Maybe a football.Small children love to throw things so might as well make something soft for him to throw.
CJ, again, I hope you have another night where you get several hours of uninterrupted sleep.
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Post by choney2 on Aug 7, 2022 19:16:22 GMT
Ruth, you come up with the most adorable ideas! Think making a soccer ball for DGGS is a wonderful idea, and yes at that age they like to throw (or perhaps hurl!) stuff and a crocheted ball would cause no damage. And little girls and their purses…just so sweet. Hope these smaller projects are a pleasant change of pace from the Christmas afghan.
Well, I am procrastinating. Gotta get that binding sewn and I need to reprogram the machine for the patch. Maybe its a good idea to do that now. I am much more comfortable in the house so I will stay inside. Ginny
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Post by snowsaint on Aug 7, 2022 22:54:21 GMT
I finished the multi colored tweedy type neck scarf yesterday. I think the last bit of yarn was multiplying. I was ready to be finished!
The scarf will go with several jackets. I never get rid of jackets! Winter lasts forever here.
Yesterday we had some delightful rain, and the high temperature was sixty degrees. Tomorrow we'll be back to 90. Fall will be very welcome!
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