Glacier Star Techniques 5 and 6 Progress Report

Last weekend I was quilting again at Hood Canal with Sue and Ann. A nice relaxing weekend.

I got all the Feathered Star units sewn together and ready to attach to the Lone Star units.

They will go around the Lone Star like this --

I laid everything out to see what the finished center will look like.

I also started getting the material cut out for technique 6.

Quilting Weekend in Kent

This past weekend my former co-worker Ann and her sister Sue came to my house early on Friday afternoon to quilt. This time Ann sent us directions to buy material so we could all work on the same project which was something we hadn't tried before. It was Ann's second Strata Star and Sue's and my first. I learned some things that should make the next one mush easier. I really didn't know what to expect so I just bought some fabric all in the same line - Tapestry by Bonnie and Camille of Fig Tree Quilts from my local store Running Stitches Fabrics.

 I got my 1.5 strips cut several days before and the ruler taped according to the instructions.

Here is my fabric strips fanned out a bit more - I still can't figure out what it is going to look like.


It was a horse race with Ann in the lead (she had done it before and had gotten her strips cut out), me in the center (I had my strips cut out but didn't know what I was doing), and then Sue who had her material to still cut out - but at least we could show her what not to do as we did it.

Ann's Strips

Mine

Sue's

We had to sew together five sets of strips and then cut the triangles and sew them together. We took a break on Saturday and went down to The Quilt Barn in Puyallup. I picked up some more fabric for my Glacier Star quilt and Ann got a table runner to work on since she was just about done with the Strata Star.

Ann's Topper

Mine

Sue's Topper

I also got my backing fabric and batting cut out and pinned together - so it is ready to sew together. We also managed to survive 92 degree weather - which wasn't easy - we aren't used to it!

I Love High Tea!

My college friend Lynnette recently had a major birthday and six days later I turned one year older. Her daughter invited her friends and family to High Tea at The Secret Garden in Sumner. The food and tea was fantastic and they also had a very nice gift shop. I would definitely go there again.

Two years ago my sister Lisa celebrated our birthdays by taking us to High Tea at a shop in the Country Village in Bothell. Our first experience with High Tea was when my sister’s ex-husband Larry remarried almost four years ago. We had all known each other in college and I had found him on Facebook, told Lynnette and she started talking to him on Facebook. He had already asked my sister to attend the wedding and Lynnette managed to get the three of us invited. The wedding was at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC and they had a High Tea for the reception. It was my first High Tea and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We really, really liked his new wife Jan – she is a sweetheart!

 It was a beautiful wedding and the bride and the Empress Hotel were gorgeous!

A Sewing Weekend In Clatskanie, Oregon

It was wonderful driving out in the country again. I really hate city life. I have lived either in a small town or out in the country for most of my life.

I took Friday off and drove down that morning arriving at around noon. I beat Ann's sister by about an hour! Another co-worker Moe from the City of Longview joined us on Saturday and brought us a yummy breakfast. We had a great day visiting and sewing. Ann quilted this table runner and then put the binding on it. It was made out of scraps leftover from a quilt.

I convinced Ann to remove stitches from a quilt top from an attempt at using the quilting machine at Susie's shop about five years ago (she does a wonderful job with her sewing machine - she doesn't need a quilting machine.) It is so much easier to tackle these icky jobs that we put off when we are all together talking.

Sue started cutting and sewing strips for a new quilt and Moe was cutting and sewing on a block of the month that she had gotten behind on.

I spent Friday night cutting out additional material for blocks that I messed up on which has kept me from making any progress on the Carpenter's Delight Quilt.

On Saturday morning, I also cut out material to make a block for Julie Herman's wedding quilt and to make me a Rock Candy Table Topper which she designed. Julie & Law's block will be just out of the solid Kona fabric; my table topper will have some of the batiks also.

The wedding block will be a 6" finished triangle.

On Saturday I was finished cutting off the excess fabric from the paper pieced stars I did for the Joy Christmas quilt and then sewed the stars together. 

The next icky project is tearing off all of the paper on the back of the stars so I can sew them together and have another finished row.

I also sewed together some blocks for the Carpenter's Delight BOM quilt. I am so close to being done if I can just get these blocks finished.

Seahawks to the 2014 Super Bowl!

Go Seahawks!

My hometown of Winlock, Washington is famous for it World's Largest Egg by the railroad tracks. These tracks are the main north-south route for Burlington Northern Sante  Fe Railroad and Amtrak. Some townspeople recently got together and repainted the egg - at one time it also had a US flag on the side.

As my friend, Barbara Nichols Lewis posted on January 25th:

"Today was an amazing day in Winlock. Ron and Mason Gaul and Melody Reilley put so much time and effort into painting the Winlock egg with the Seahawk logo, and it looks fantastic! So many people came forward to help and at times there were so many cars going by and people getting out to take pictures, that it seemed like a parade! The sun came out to thaw the frozen egg ( helped along with hair dryers and a heater mounted on the scaffolding) and it all came together! Just a fun and wonderful day in Winlock!"

Photo by Trish Zee 

From June Bolden:

"For those of you who aren't familiar with Winlock's location, we are about 100 miles south of Seattle and about 70 miles north of Portland. Our Egg sits right next to the RR Tracks. Amtrak travels both North and Southbound 3 times per day so it will get a lot of exposure. We have people who live hours away who are driving here just to have their picture taken next to it!!! GOOOOOO HAWKS!! #PROUD"

And from Jeff and Cheryl Millman:

"12th Man in Winlock! What Fun!!

 

And from the Winlock Historical Society:

"Here's a look at the final product after volunteers spent the entire day painting. The rooster was finished about sunset ... and what an improvement!"

The Evans Sisters @ Hood Canal

I spent last weekend with the Evans sisters which is like spending time with the Tucker Cousins - we laughed and laughed and had a great time! I used to work with Ann seven plus years ago at the city where she still toils. Sue has been retired for 4 years and both Ann and I would like to be! We already scheduled our next get together at Ann's in Clatskanie, Oregon for the first weekend in April.

Here is my view as I sew:

Here is my new Singer Featherweight 221 in action - does a much better 1/4 inch seam than my Pfaff.

We all worked on old projects that we had been dreading working on again. If we had been working by ourselves, we probably would have given up.

My project was from two years ago. I started the center medallion at Ann's house January 21, 2011. I then finished a set of borders and corner stars the following weekend.

Off to a great start until I started working on the twenty outer blocks - problems, problems, tedious, tedious. So I just put them away and started two other quilts one of which I finished in August.

I managed to finish eight side pinwheel blocks - then I discovered that I have four more to do - the only difference being they are called center pinwheel blocks.

Sue finished three bags - from last April - and has a fourth almost done.

Ann's project was probably the most mind boggling to figure out but she did it! She hadn't worked on it since last April either.

She got everything pieced together and since she had an extra day there - started to sew the strips together. I offered to take it off her hands when she finishes it.

May 18th Uptown Glassworks in Renton

Val was not able to come over and use her Groupon so she sent Dennis. The Groupon had said we would be making a Santa Claus but they actually gave us the choice of making twenty or so different items including vases, bowls, flowers, etc.

Dennis and I decided to make flowers.

She is using a scoop device to help form the flower. In the pictures the furnace and flowers are white but in person they are red hot!

Any time the flower blob looks like it is melting into the fire you turn that side up and the it reforms so that it is circular again.

 While she is shaping the flower you have to blow into a tube to put air into the center.

The cabinet in the back of this picture is where things go to be slowly cooled down over 3 days.

I went back on Thursday to pick them up.

 Dennis' yellow flower for Val - and my red flower with yellow spots which is now in my mom's vase on the kitchen counter.