RRCB progress and critters (of course!)

I have been so very busy. And I know all of you out there can relate to even feeling whipped just because your head is full!

But I have a lot accomplished:

Christmas shopping is 3/4 done

Spent yesterday with Daughter#1 as moral support and driver in case she needed to "freak out".

Decided to make lots more patches for the Scrappily Irish Chain quilt. Pictures are here in the blog further down the page.

I keep fiddling with my bread recipies TRYING to get a good looking loaf. Luckily James will eat almost anything and the birds get all the crumbs.

And I have clue#1 all sewn (not cut) for RRCB the newest mystery being designed for us by Bonnie Hunter of http://www.quiltville.com/.



Here are my pinks and greens. Oh my I love this combination! I am also getting an "itch" to do a second quilt in this mystery in a different color combination. I have done this with most of Bonnie's mysteries. It is amazing how different a quilt can look just by changing the colors used.

 There is a food chain in the world we live in. I totally understand and I can appreciate this hawk's beauty and strength. It is a Coopers Hawk. And I have seen them floating in the air over the homes here. I am sure that they LOVE the birdfeeders giving them an easy prey option. But this one missed two times the day I took this picture. I can see his frustration. And they are so awkward on the ground. They even make a common chicken look as if they were dancing. They would never make it on Dancing with the Stars..........

 I had to buy a new printer. My faithful HP printer decided it was done being a useful tool. And the timing sucked. I had just replaced the ink cartridges....$$$$$$ down the drain. I wonder if having MaggieMae sleeping on it had anything to do with it expiring?????

 My strips are all cut for the neutral swap on Yahoo. And can you see how I have a large "logroll" of uncut fabric there in the background? The fabrics are all pressed and rolled to store. All I have to do to cut more strips is unroll the log, select a few and then smooth them out and cut away. I have really been happy storing my uncut fabrics this way. Little FQ's are pretty but all those folds then need to be ironed out...a pain. And I can still see all the fabrics at a glance. This works for me!

 700 more little 2-patches. I have all the connector squares done and will use these as the Leaders & Enders while I piece the RRCB. This quilt will be king sized when I get done!

 Here are some of the pinks I used. I pulled all these from one container. I pulled more this morning.

Hopefully I will be able to work these 1/2 square triangles into this quilt we are working on. Check out the date! I double sew corner triangles all the time and have many containers just like this in different color combinations. Only thing I did not do was count them! HA! Almost a year ago from the date. I believe these are from a Pink Smokey Mountain Star quilt.

I love neutrals!

 And it shows that I love neutrals. I invaded the dreaded quilting/storage room and harvested neutrals that have been buried and have not made it into any quilts or swaps yet.
I guess I was saving them for my next life!
I cut 1/2 yard hunks off 54 neutrals. Yes...you read that right 54! There was 2-3 yards from each fabric left. Once again these were purchased before I discovered scrap quilting.
And I did find two chocolate browns and added them to the group for cutting.
I think I wore out my iron and I used a whole bottle of spray starch!
Now all I need to do is cut into these lovelies. I will have two sets of 25 neutrals for my Yahoo swap! Yes!

 Love my Baby...she always gets into any container she can. Even if the container is too small.

 Here is one of the three baby squirrels. Their mother is the one that climbs the door. Stubbie allows them to feast here too. I watched the Mother bring each of those babies from somewhere in the addition. She carried them one at a time in her mouth. The youngin's curled around her body. She rested every few feet. And them climbed the spruce tree with each of the babies. I bet she was worn out! Then after a few days the babies ventured down the tree. They are still shy of me and the feeding ritual I have with their Mommie and Stubbie. I am looking forward to watching them grow. Their little tails are sooooo sweet! I think this one is a boy.

Here is Baby and Bess helping me to quilt. They always have to test drive the quilts. This one is destined for Grand daughter Zoey.

Irish Chain, failed bread and house critters

 Heaven, I'm in Heaven...to the tune by the famous dancer/singer Maurice Chevaliat (sp). I am in scrap heaven. I wore out a needle and emptied many half used bobbins.
I kept a log of the time and the name of each swapper's stack of squares I used.
(that was to avoid repeats and I do like to know how long it does take me to piece a quilt)
I now have the top done...but no picture in my camera yet. I am thinking I may make another whole set of blocks and make this quilt GIGANTIC for my own bed. It seems I have been churning out lots of lap size quilts and I do need another for my bed.

 I rotated my sewing area back to "winter" mode. The sun no longer blinds me when I sit in this position. Only problem is hubby has to back into the driveway because the sun reflection from his windshield hits me right in my left eye. I have been very light sensitive lately. Maybe it is growing older...maybe it is something else.
Anyway, here is the work area. Fun, fun, fun! And Baby on the back of the chair. She gives me back rubs when I am sitting in the chair. She also tries to kiss my neck...but I stop her...it tickles!

 Love the little baggies with their BEAUTIFUL patches. I have another swap on my Yahoo group going that is due by December 15, 2010. Then I am doing a neutral swap due in January 2011.

 This little clear napkin holder is the best for holding Bonnie's book. So I can admire her work as I work.
I do have an extra copy (autographed) of her book Adventures with Leaders & Enders if any of you are interested. E-mail me privately please.

I started another hand quilting project using Bonnie's Freehand Fan method.

 This is Stubby's spring litter female that Stubby allows in her territory. She also takes food from our hands now. But she does one trick that Stubby never did. She climbs the storm door and peeks in and I swear she knocks on the door. When I open the door with food I am afraid she will dash in. The kitties are hoping she dashes in! You can see just a tiny bit of MaggieMae's fur at the door. They sniff noses at the corner. Too funny!

 Poor Stubby. When it rains she gets so very wet. Her tail does not work like an umbrella. I worry so about her when it does get cold. Squirrels wrap their bodies with their tails to keep warm too. But we must be doing something right as she is starting her thrird winter with us!

 Before the turning of the sewing area after my return from Shipsee. Baby loves cubby holes.

 Macy says "hi". She is getting famous from her video. And I do believe that she has hubby trained!

Who could resist that belly?????

                                            
 We had a tornado warning. The sirens went off. So the kitties and I went under the dining room table and we all snacked on yogurt until the "all clear" sounded. Some areas very close to us had wind damage. I believe 10 tornadoes struck the area that day.

 My bread did not rise...it was edible but short.
I bought some fresh yeast and the next two loaves were great. Then I tried some wheat flour and was disappointed again. Anyway...it sure smells good baking.

My patch from Shipshewana retreat!

Baking Bread & Irish Chain

I am sewing away on the Scrappily Happily Irish chain from Bonnie's book "Adventures with Leaders & Enders".
I am using 1 1/2" squares from my last postage stamp swap. It is turning out GORGEOUS if I do say so myself. My blocks are 5 1/2" after sewing. And being the "control freak" I am, I have been writing down each swappers' name in my journal as I open their little bundles and add them to my sewing stack. I am NOT doing the Leaders & Enders method. This construction is all at the same time. I am using Kona Snow as my light constant. It behaves well for cutting and sewing but I think it is major "linty" while sewing. It covers my machine and my glasses. I am using Presencia thread which is practially lintless. The only blame I can see is the Kona fabric.
My camera is full of construction pictures but I am hurring to get back to the machine.
I opened up the bread machine and started a loaf of white bread to get my feet wet...my yeast was dated July 2009 as "best used by". We will see if it can lift the bread or not. It is bitter cold here and I have filled the birdfeeders and fed the squirrels. Back to the machine!!!!!!!!!
XOXOXOXOXOO Subee
P.S. I am gathering my fabrics for Bonnie's mystery. I will be using her colors as they are my colors too. I have been refilling my pink collection and it is all ready for cutting!