Block #9 For Tram T.

This block is dedicated to one of my life-long friends. Tram and I met in college and we have been good friends ever since. It is hard to think that we have gone from late nights in the computer lab and staying up all night cramming for exams to joining the work force and moving to the ‘burbs. We have seen each other though the happy times and the sad times over the last 16 years.

We might go for awhile without seeing or talking to each other but at the end of the day, we will always be there for each other. 30 years from now, we will still know each other and instead of griping about work we will be arguing over who’s grandkids are cuter.

That’s my prediction: Growing old together – Grandkids

January 9, 2015
Block #9
Days on Project: 9
Blocks Made: 9

For Tram T.

Block #8 For Jill R.

When I was making this block today, I thought “So who in the world should I dedicate an all purple block to?” There was really only one choice: Jill R.. Jill loves purple. She has purple purses, clothes, coats, shoes…. I think her car might be kind of purplish. That kind of dedication to a color is commendable. But I have to be honest, it is one of my favorite colors too.

So I guess this is co-worker week for hummingbirds. I love working with Jill because she always makes me feel appreciated. Although I imagine she makes everyone feel this way as she has an affinity for showing up at just the right moment with yummy cupcakes. But seriously, she is always telling everyone how awesome I am and I am starting to fear that I won’t live up to it. And yes… I do like cupcakes. I like them a lot. I like cupcakes as much as she likes purple.

Thoughts on this block:

The dark purple fabric was very “floppy”. I really should have starched it first. Does anyone want to come over to starch and press 700 different pieces of fabric for me? Yeah… I didn’t think so.

January 8, 2015
Block #8
Days on Project: 8
Blocks Made: 8

For Jill R.

Block #7 for Heather W.

Heather W. is awesome. That is all…

Ok, so that is not all… Heather is dedicated to saving and loving animals. Anytime she sees a dog that is in trouble or needs a warm place to sleep she goes out of her way to rescue them and bring them to safety.

I often hear people say “Well… you can’t pick your parents…” And neither can they. These innocent creatures are pure love and would do anything to please their parents (owners) but are often neglected or mistreated.

This block was made out of a reaction to a post she made on Facebook that brought me to tears. She told of how a dog was stuck on a busy roadway and so many people were out there trying to help it get to safety; everyone except the owners. It was scared and ran into the path of a car. All of these people were trying the help and the driver that eventually hit the dog broke down in tears. Heather stayed with the dog comforting it until it passed.

This is a sad story, I know, and up until now I have kept it light on these posts. After I got over the sadness of the post I was amazed by the incredible people that were trying to save a dog they didn’t even know. There are still good people in the world and that is encouraging.

Thoughts on this block:

This is my first cheater block. I made it a couple extra over the weekend know that I would not have the time to sew every single night. I feel like a poser…

January 7, 2015
Block #7
Days on Project: 7
Blocks Made: 7

For Heather W.

Block #6 For Veronica M.

I am dubbing this block “Conflict Bird” because it was a pain in the rear to make. At first I blamed the fabric, it’s not sticking to the foundation paper, it’s too floppy… But later I realized that the problem was  me. Let’s just say I didn’t bring my A game to this one. I have made 9 of these blocks so far and I made more mistakes on this one than I have made on all of them put together.

1. I didn’t place the fabric correctly and had no seam allowance, and this isn’t on the pieces that flip, this is the first stinkin’ piece – quilters will know what I mean
2. I sewed the pieces on in the wrong order – they are numbered for goodness sake
3. I sewed the wrong side of the fabric on – twice
4. I used the wrong seam allowance when sewing the main sections together

And with a normal block this would be annoying, but because I was foundation piecing, the stitch length was so small I nearly went blind ripping them out.

The making of this bird mirrored my day at work: full of stress and frustration. Luckily, like these birds, not every day is like that.

SO…

I dedicate this Conflict bird to Veronica because she is with me in the trenches everyday. Together we will continue to “fight the good fight”. PM’s UNITE!!

And despite my experience tonight, I will continue to make birds. (I honestly didn’t intend for that to all rhyme)

January 6, 2015
Block #6
Days on Project: 6
Blocks Made: 6
Unforced Errors When Making Block: 5

For Veronica M.

Block #5 For Kristi H

This block is dedicated to Kristi H. Kristi has somehow managed to accumulate more quilts than anyone else. She has a grand total of 3 quilts from me. Well… she WILL have 3 quilts by the end of this week as I am binding one for her now. I only have 3 of my own quilts!

For Kristi’s first child, I made a small “twister” quilt. I was pretty excited about it and it went together super quick. I didn’t tell her about it or show it to her before I finished it. I didn’t discuss fabrics, I didn’t even match up to the stuff on her baby registry. A few days before I finished it we were chatting and she was lamenting on how she hated pink. She was having a girl and the fact that everything was Pepto Bismal pink annoyed her. You should have seen the look on my face! At the time of this conversation, I was putting the binding on the pinkest quilt known to man.

Thoughts On This Project

Reality has struck. I am back to working 5 days a week, 8 hours a day and trying to make these blocks. Planning and picking out fabrics ahead of time is becoming crucial and I am not really pleased with my color choices on this block. Even though its not my favorite – with 365 to do – it still counts. And I don’t feel bad about Kristi getting stuck with a block that I’m not 100% enamored with. She already has three quilts, she knows she’s special.

January 5, 2015
Block #5
Days on Project: 5
Blocks Made: 5
Quilts Kristi Already Has: 3ish

For Kristi H.

Block #4 For Dad

This block is dedicated to my Dad. He has the flu and I am worried about him. Sending prayers and thoughts to you Dad. Love you.

Dad is just as creative as my Mom. My parents owned a flower shop/bakery combo and thanks to them, I can make a bow better than anyone I know (including dad ;-)). I also know a lot more about house plants and flowers than anyone in IT should.  Several years ago, my parents sold their shop and moved away from our home town. I think it has had a couple of owners since, but it still bears his name. The current owners seem very nice and have named the shop dog after my dad. The story goes: they got so tired of people coming in and asking for Dad, that they got a dog, named it after him and now when people ask to see Andy, they point to the dog.

What I want to know is why I was never allowed to have a shop dog when I worked there. Seems a bit unfair.

Thoughts on This Project

I am struggling on how to photograph these guys consistently. I am almost ready to break out the tripod. Almost…

January 4, 2015
Block #4
Days on Project: 4
Blocks Made: 4
Quilts Dad already has: 1 Snuggly Rag Quilt

For Dad

For Brittany

This block is dedicated to my cousin Brittany. She is having a baby TODAY! And in honor of her, and for good luck, she is getting a bird.

Brittany is a wonderful person, beautiful inside and out. She is going to make a great mother and we could not be more excited for her.

Happy Baby, Brittany!

Thoughts on This Project

This isn’t exactly my first rodeo; I have paper pieced many times so I am mostly just frustrated that each bird is taking an hour. But today’s bird was even more difficult. Maybe its because it is dedicated to a woman that is currently in labor. Maybe…

Lesson learned for today: If you are printing your foundation  paper with your inkjet printer, double check that is it printing at full size and is not scaling. UHG. So this little birdie is, in fact, little. But it still counts…

January 3, 2015
Block #3
Days on Project 3
Blocks Made 3

For Brittany

Block #1 For Maimie

Why does everything have to be so hard…

Today is the first day on this project and it almost didn’t happen. At 9:00pm last night we lost power to my temporary sewing room, and I wrecked my back so bad early this week I can barely sew. But I did it anyway. After all this fuss, I certainly couldn’t miss the first day.

So today, I dedicate this block to Maimie. Maimie is my co-worker, friend and fellow quilter. From what I can tell, she has quite the stash (way more impressive than mine) and helped me out earlier this year by giving me the perfect fabric for a last minute quilt for my nephew who made a pretty sudden, unexpected arrival. I could not have done it with out her!

I call Maimie “The Finisher”. She finishes everything and has finished more projects than I have started. I, on the other hand, have more than a dozen projects that have never been finished (otherwise known as “UFOs”. This is for her, in hopes that by dedicating this first one to her, it will inspire me to finish this project and use 2015 to finish a few other projects as well.

Today was my first real test. I could have thrown myself a pity party and parked my butt in front of the TV, but I got up and got something done.

January 1, 2015
Block #1
Days on Project 1 (One Long Day…)
Blocks Made 1
For Maimie