"Laters Baby!"

I guess I have been engulfed into this Fifty Shades of Grey book obsession that has been going around.  My friendly librarian has supplied the books for me and I have just started on book # 3.

I can understand the uproar this series of books are creating.  There are some parts of the book(s) that, I believe, would make some people uncomfortable.  I usually don't read books like this but I'm pretty sure that there are a lot of books out there that are a lot worse.  I am certainly not into the subject matter of this book, but it really didn't bother me...it was VERY interesting, but I wasn't so repulsed that I thought it needed to be pulled off of library shelves.

Since reading has taken up much of my free time, I've accomplished little in my quilt making.  So sorry, no photos this time.  I been trying to catch up on the Just Takes 2 blocks and I'll post some photos once I have some finished.

Jane  <3

So Far Behind

The first day of May has come by and along with it is Just Takes 2 BOM blocks for the month of May.  I am sooo far behind that I'm setting aside my other projects, just for a little while, and do some catch-up work.

To start, I dove into a beautiful applique block.

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A photo of the 1/2 inch squares for the Omigosh quilt.  I've only gotten through the green, turquoise, and maroon squares so far.  Got so many more colors to cut!

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I'm getting deeper reading into Fifty Shades of Grey and I came across this:

"...My room is functional and cozy - sparse white wicker furniture and a white iron double bed with a patchwork quilt, made by my mother when she was in her folksy American quilting phase.  It's all pale blue and cream."

I had idea that I should have waited a little longer before I had drawn up Ana's quilt.  Now I realize that I was completely wrong.  I'll have to think of another design.

I've got a pretty slow morning and I'm looking forward to getting some more quilting accomplished before it gets busier later today.

Jane  <3

Another New Read With A Quilt

"I curl up in my white iron bed, wrap my mother's quilt around me, close my eyes, and I'm instantly asleep. That night I dream of dark places, bleak, cold white floors, and grey eyes."

author E L James from Fifty Shades of Grey

I've just started reading on Fifty Shades of Grey.  

And there is a quilt mentioned in the story.  Since I'm at the very beginning, it may never be mentioned again.


The quilt belongs to the main character, Ana.  At this point, I really don't know her personality, but this is a vague idea of what I think it may look like.

double click illustrations for a larger view
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When I'm not reading, I've been working on the Omigosh quilt.  The fabric squares are 2 inch square and I'm preparing them into 1/2 inch squares for the quilt.

I was thinking of using a cream/beige background.

                           

But after starting 50 Shades of Grey, I was wondering what it would look like with a grey background.

                        

Which color of background do you think will work better - cream/beige or grey?

Jane  <3

Book-based Quilts

I know that I shouldn't start on any more new quilts.  I've tried to keep it within my UFO's but sometimes a new idea just comes into my head.

I had recently had to make a trip to Indianapolis.  It was a long three hour drive.  I had asked my librarian if she could recommend an audio-book that I could listen to in the car.  She had pointed out a few Nicholas Spark novels.  She had said that she was the BIGGEST Nicholas Sparks fan.  He had wrote novels such as A Walk to Remember and Dear John that had been turned onto movies.  The Lucky One is currently playing at the theaters now.

I had chosen The Best of Me for my drive.  And I loved it!  I'm not ashamed to say that I was in tears by the time I had reached end of the novel.

After I had finished listening to all the cds, I had went back to get The Notebook.  I had watched the movie version so I knew that it had some tear-jerking moments.  To my surprise, the movie was slightly different from the original novel.  It was like I was listening to a new story line.

And as I had expected, tears had flowed.  I mean A LOT of tears!  To tell the truth, the tears would stop.  I have to admit that I really enjoy the literary works of Nicholas Sparks.

And a bonus - the story included a quilt.  It didn't possess a large part of the story, but I could visualize how it would have looked like.

I may never make this quilt.  If I'm lucky, there might be more novels that includes a quilt somewhere in the story (I can remember Bella having a quilt on her bed in Twilight).  I can fantasy what they may look like!

Jane  <3       

Some Sewing Accomplished

I am now finding myself sitting at a lot of practices.  Although I enjoy watching my son(s), I still feel that I have to be busy doing something.

That was the reason I had made so many hexagons.  It was something I could hand piece together and it goes fairly quickly.

I've gotten a few hexagon petals sewn together.  Once I get all of them sewn from this batch, I'll be choosing the centers for them.

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I've had this basket of fabric squares for years now.  Not really sure what project I had in mind when I first purchased them, but from time to time, I've tried different quilt ideas to work with them.  None of them never really stuck.

Today, I've come up with another idea.  I have seen this quilt pattern from Sue Garman and I love the intricate piecing and tiny pieces in her quilt.  I thought it would work well with the different prints that are in my fabric pile.

The quilt is mainly made up of small nine-patch and shoo-fly blocks.  But the tiny pieces used in the nine-patch are only 1/2 inch square!  That's about 3,200 tiny squares, and that's not including the fabric used in the background!

I can't wait to dig into the complexity of the quilt!!

Jane   <3

Help! It's Another Busy Day!

Just when I thought I would have some peace and tranquility for sewing and quilting, I realized that it was Teacher Appreciation Week at school.

So there goes my "quilt for the love of quilting" time for myself - at least for now. 

I spent much of the morning doing some research for teachers' gifts.  Each year, I try to do something for my sons' teachers.  I am very thankful for them because, with their help, I have two very bright boys.

I had found these cute owls made from paper lunch bags.  I'm going to add some kind of treat inside them - I'm undecided on what that should be at this time.  My son and I will need to finish them up so that he may be able to deliver them in the morning.

I'm still hoping to indulge myself in some quilting sometime soon.

Jane   <3

p.s.  My son ended up getting first place for his Science project!  I'm very pride of him but yet quite amazed of the outcome!!

Done With A Busy Month

It is already the middle of April!  I can't belief how fast the days seem to fly.  I guess that's what happen when you've been real busy, as it was the case with me recently.  Things seem to be settling down some now.  I say this with a sigh of relief!

The month of March was very busy for me.  The beginning was filled with preparing for my younger son's Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet and making decorations for it.  By mid month, banquet was over and then my older son needed to complete a Science project.

I don't know about you and your teenage son(s).  I love my son to pieces but he can be such a procrastinator.  He had to come up with an idea and have it approved by the Science teacher by the first of the month.  Once his idea was approved, we briefly discussed the overall look of his display board and... that was it!

Of course, it's basketball themed!

He put it off and put it off...and to sum it all up, I made him stay up late, the night before it was due, finishing up his Science project.

Now that things seem to be going at a slower pace, I have been able to work on some projects.  Although I have several blocks from the Just Takes Two BOM to catch up on, I HAD to start on the feathered star that was included in one of the units.

And I even finished piecing the quilt-top for my Runaway Quilt (from the Elm Creek Quilt book series).  It finished a little bigger that I realized, but I don't find that a problem.

So with a quilt-top done, I have an urge to pull out another UFO to work on - one that I haven't seen for a while.  We shall see...

 Jane   <3