Crinkly Goodness

I love finishing a quilt... but it's not truly finished, imho, until it's washed.

That's when all the crinkly goodness appears...

...and the quilting really stands out!

Even the label gets crinkly...

...as well as the binding!

There... done!

Jacob's Ladder Quilt: Finished!

I finished the JL quilt yesterday and took photos.

To be honest, I thought I would never finish!

I'm quite pleased with how it turned out....

...however, I still can't take a decent photo to save me...   *lol*

Friday Foto

Between the pollen...   *achoo*   ...and work (busy season), I've not been able to work on the JL quilt as much as I would like....

...however, I should finish up today!

Three-quarters Done...

....with the quilting of the Jacob's Ladder quilt!

I've been stitching-in-the-ditch horizontally vertically, and now... diagonally.   Should be able to finish up tonight after work!

Let the Quilting Begin!

Finished pin basting...

...and started quilting.

I'll be quilting after work and hope to have this done within a week...    

The JL Quilt Sandwich

I figure its pretty boring for my lovely readers to watch me finish UFOs instead of getting into all sorts of mischief by starting new quilts.   Well, this blog keeps me honest... if I say I'm going to finish my UFOs...by jingo, I better get them finished!

Due to a no-sun Sunday, the best I could do is take photos on the top inside...

For the back, I selected this fabric...

The little roses are shades of rose but the background is more golden tan than this picture looks on my monitor.... and a couple of shades lighter then the "ladder" fabric on the front.

Finished JL Flimsy

Amongst the usual weekend chores, I finished sewing together all the Jacob's Ladder blocks into a quilt top.   I had noticed it seemed to be getting darker and wondered why until I got the top pinned to the clothesline and felt the first drops off rain.

The photo isn't the best but I'll hope for a sunny day tomorrow and a second chance at a decent photo!

Friday Night Sew In: Progress Report

Last night, I began sewing Jacob's Ladder blocks together...

....and have four rows of six blocks sewn into two rows of three 4-block units.   I have to say the blocks are starting to look pretty good... but am dreading finding yet another oopsie!

My goal this weekend is to get the blocks to flimsy stage and start working on the quilt sandwich...

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Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Blocks Done.....

...I hope!

Not a lot of sewing will be going on this weekend because the granddaughters are visiting.....  and their parents, too!

In Need of New Glasses - Part 2

I fixed four of the five blocks with oopsies and discovered two more in a thorough examination of every single block... 

I think I've found all the oopsies but will double check as I sew the blocks to each other.  Who knew this would be such a chore?

Of course, the sexiest person ever with a magnifying glass was Jeremy Brett...

...who was tres cute as Freddy Eynsford-Hill in My Fair Lady!

Yes, it is a wonder I get anything done given the ADHD....

I Need New Glasses

...or something!  

Walking by the design wall the other day I noticed a block that didn't look right... and then I found another.   I stopped looking after finding the fifth block with an oopsie...  if I removed too many blocks, I might forget the layout, which I like.

I was wondering why I'm finding so many oopsies in these blocks... but I'm thinking that the high contrast in fabrics for Cowabunga Florabunda made it easier to spot the errors...  both before and after sewing.

Oh well...   I guess I'll be spending some quality time with my trusty seam ripper...

JL Arrangement 2

I'm kinda liking this arrangement...

...altho I think I will move the red roses print away from the red mini-print.

Jacob's Ladder Finished Blocks

I finished the last four Jacob's Ladder blocks and put them up on my design wall.  The blocks were in a better arrangement until they started falling off the wall.... so I pinned them back up in a semblance of the arrangement I had at first.

I will be moving blocks around until I figure how to:  1) balance the lighter and darker fabrics, and 2)  not have so many obvious "L" shapes.

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 I don't keep peanut butter in the house because I like it too much.

So, when the grandbabies were visiting last weekend, I got a jar of peanut butter... what I thought was a jar of peanut butter, that is.

It was in the peanut butter section... and I picked the "reduced fat" because I like to pretend that peanut butter can be "healthier"...  see that big, bold "REDUCED FAT" on the label?


Do you see what is printed in a much smaller font on the label right beside the Peter Pan brand name???

 Yes!   It's not peanut butter... it's peanut SPREAD!  And right below the "peanut spread," in even smaller font, it says:  60% peanuts!  Yes!   ONLY 60% peanuts!   So, just what is in this so-called "peanut spread?"

Ingredients list from the label:   Roasted peanuts, corn syrup solids*, soy protein concentrate*, sugar, less than 2% of:  hydrogenated vegetable oils (cottonseed and rapeseed), salt, minerals (magnesium oxide, zinc oxide, iron phosphate, copper sulfate), and vitamins (niacin, vitamin B6, folic acid).  CONTAINS: peanuts, soy.  

See the little asterisk (*) beside the second and third ingredients?   The label addresses that:

* Ingredients not in regular peanut butter.

So... just when (and WHY?) did someone start messing with my peanut butter???

 

If I wanted "corn syrup solids" and "soy protein concentrate," I would have had those on my shopping list!    

You can barely tell there are peanuts in this stuff at all!  

 

Who would have thought we've have to start reading labels on peanut butter?


<\rant>

Poverty Fabric

While working on the Civil War BOW last year, I first heard the term "poverty fabric" to describe piecing scraps of fabric to make pieces large enough to use for a part of a block.  The term made me smile as I thought about our foremothers who made do... or did without.

In the beginning, I wasn't as careful cutting out the fabrics for the Jacob's Ladder blocks as I should have been and, as I got closer to finishing the 48 blocks, I started running out of fabric.  So.... I pieced some scraps to finish a block.... 

I had to get a bit creative with some of the piecing...

...but was able to use just about every bit of fabric from the FQs that I had selected for this quilt.   

I think my foremothers would be proud of me!

The Quilting Bee by Morgan Weistling

Jacob's Ladder QAL Progress

Long day at work yesterday but I was able to sew together the component parts of the next four Jacob's Ladder blocks.

I'll get the blocks assembled after work today.

Gratuitous early spring flower

Fritillaria meleagris,  F. meleagris; also called: 

Guinea Hen Flowers, Snake's Head Fritillary,

 the Checkered Lily. 

c. 1575

 

Jacob's Ladder Redux

It's been quite a while since I made a Jacob's Ladder block but was able to find where I had stashed 'em in December.  I had to do some figuring about just how to cut the FQs to maximize the fabric but was able to get a block sewn last night.

Quilt-along participants are finishing up their quilt tops and some have even finished quilting!  Check out those who have finished their Jacob's Ladder quilts or are nearing completion:

• Miki at Miki's Fabric Creations
• Debbie at Angel Scraps Quilting
• Patty at A Stitch in Time
• Roos at Quiltwerk in Uitvoering
• Mary at Hill Country Quilter
• Lillian at Lillian's Cupboard
• Cynthia at The Quilting Post
• Michelle at Daisy Hill Quilts

For more photos, you can visit the Jacob's Ladder QAL site on Flickr!

JL QAL Group Photo

...of the blocks I've completed, not our QAL group!

Thirty-one blocks completed, 17 more to go!

Is that right?  6 x 8 = 48 - 31 = 17...  yes, I think that's right!  

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A blog friend posted this video and I did indeed *LOL*... wanted to share and brighten your day!

Jacob's Ladder Block #8

I love purple anything and picked the purple mini flower print for the eighth JL block.

I think it's about time for a group shot, yes?

Jacob's Ladder Block #7

There are four mini prints that came with these floral FQs and I liked how the first turned out.... so I decided to make another mini floral for block #7.

This print is a dark blue-green flower and makes me think of moss peeking up thru a flagstone path.

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Without further ado, the winner of the 30K Views Give-away is...

Congratulations, Marianne!  I've emailed you for your shipping info!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

And congratulations to ME for learning how to use the Snipping Tool!