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Sunday, February 10, 2008

On to my next project: Melissa Bula's Clematis

Start by buying and putting together a good design/work table.
New table ready to be put together!
An hour or so later: Design table ready to use!




Pretty Purple fabrics for making Melissa Bula's Clematis
Purchased from Connie's wonderful quilt shop with lots of help.
Thanks Connie! ;-)



Today has been a quilting day without doing any actual quilting.

The morning started with a trip to Davis to visit my friend Diane, you’ve seen her quilts on my blog before. She had some boxes of fabric she had for me to go through and I did, coming home with a box full myself, including a lot of good greens I can use in my next project. It’s always a thrill to go to Diane’s home as I get to see her recently finished or in progress quilts and they are always amazing! Today was no exception. Unfortunately I neglected to bring my camera.

I also had a stop at another woman’s home in the same town, who was selling some fabric and I picked up a bag full from her as well at very reasonable prices.

From there I went to the quilt store in my town and Connie and Patti there helped me pick out fabrics to match the huge color choices in the M. Bula book for the pattern I have decided to make. They are truly beautiful and I think will do this project justice. Fabric total: $53. That included background, backing, and binding and all the colors to make the flowers (purples, yellows, oranges.) Greens will be from my stash, and some of which is thanks to Diane, my quilter-extraordinaire friend, who gave me a pile of her greens today.

(I was able to show Connie, who is my first quilt teacher, my blog today on her computer in the store and she saw the quilts I have done in the past few months. Needless to say, I came home with another swelled head. I hope all this kudo-collecting won't be dangerous for my health! ;-)

I am sitting down for the first time today at 5:23 PM. My back is sore. My own fault, but I just put the work table together that I bought today at Joanne’s so I can start my work. What an ordeal that was. I was getting cocky about my mechanical abilities until I misplaced a screw, thought they had forgotten to include one, was about to head to the hardware store swearing up a storm, when I reached in my pants pocket and found the screw. When did I put it there only G_d knows.

Anyway. I got all the screws in and the frame of the legs put together, wheels on, etc. But when I got the table-top laid out and all the hinges and stoppers screwed in the frame the legs did not fit the stoppers correctly. This is when I had to stop thinking Joanne's should advertise this table as easy enough for a sixty-something year old woman to put together! I had to call DH and have him come help me.
Here's where I need to mention that I am abstractly-directionally challenged. I had the legs on reversed sides and when DH figured it out we reversed them and then they fit fine. Screws back in place, table flipped over (could not have done that alone either, too heavy) and wah-la, I have a design/work table. The sides flap down when not in use so it can be pushed to a side of the room (no idea where, as I have no space.), or to the garage I guess. But this one will be standing in my family room as long as I am quilting! Long gone the idea this would be a comfy room to entertain guests with its two chairs in front of the fireplace. I am laughing now thinking how much more room I would have it those chairs were never purchased. Who knew?

Whew. Then I laid out all the fabrics, gleaned, purchased, old stash and new; fine line pen, glass topped pins, new scissors, tracing paper, blueprints (the diagrams of the pictures that I took to Kinkos earlier and had enlarged 333% of the flowers I will be making; and Melissa Bula's book: Cutting-Garden Quilts;
and fusible web.

Now I am a little afraid of getting to the next step as I bought some really cheap/on clearance fusible web at Joanne's trying to save a few dollars. Well a lot of dollars. And I have no idea if it will do the trick, but I will try it before going to the quilt store to buy the real thing that Melissa recommended at a far higher price.


So I guess you could say I am ready to get started, but I am too tired right now to move. Anymore standing or bending would probably put me out of commission for the rest of the week. LOL So I will rest a bit. And see this as an ongoing after-work, day off-Friday and next weekend project and probably a few weeks to come. I need to learn to slow down.

But now you are at the beginning of the process. Let the fun begin!

11 comments:

  1. wow...I love the colors of the newest soon to be quilt. What size will this one be? You are on a roll. This is a serious roll too with new table and equiptment. Swelled head? You've earned it.
    Enjoy the journey. As I remember, when I did mine years ago, that it took quite awhile in the yardage shop with help picking out all the materials & coordinating them. So I considered that day one on my project. :)

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  2. Lynn, it was good to meet you today at A Quilted Heart! I'm looking forward to watching your quilt come together. You picked out some beautiful fabrics.
    Marilyn
    The Binky Patrol lady

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  3. Cris: this quilted wall hanging will be 28" x 21 1/2". Smaller than what I just did for FY.
    I am so stoked to get moving on it.
    I love the help I get picking out colors. I hope one day to be better and knowing which purples have blue in them and which have red. But in the meantime Connie and Patti there help with that and the values (shades of lights, mediums and darks). Remember I am still a novice.

    Marilyn, it was nice meeting you today too. And I appreciate your coming on to my blog. I hope you'll come often. I hope I can do these lovely fabrics justice. I'll do my best.

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  4. Hey Lynn! We have the same work table! and yes it is a bear to get it together (and very heavy) but I love mine and I think you will too...Thankfully in my new place I have room to keep it fully extended at all times instead of fighting it open and closed every time someone needed to walk by to the bathroom!lol

    Having a space to work where you don't feel you HAVE to clean it completely up every time you leave the area is a wonderful wonderful thing!

    Did you ask your quilt store gals about Sewer's aid?

    I've been a busy little bee this weekend myself and have posted a few new photos on the side of my blog...come take a look when you get the chance!

    :)

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  5. It's so much fun to start a new project, yours sounds great ( I love purple!). The worktable story made me laugh, I've had the same problem putting together "easy-to-assemble" things. Takes me 2x what it would take a normal person. But you'll get so much use out of that table. Thank goodness that I "let" Tony buy a ping-pong table for the basement - it's the best for rotary cutting (with a cutting pad) and for laying everything out.
    Look forward to seeing this quilt. I've used Misty Fuse on my last green quilt to hold things in place - expensive but worth it.

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  6. Lynn hope you got the ocmment i made on this post. Something odd happened to my igoogle page and it won't open with all the blogs. Well I cant even explain but things do not seem to be working right although I did a virus check and no virus appears.

    Yes, I did not go to oceanside. My friend A says he'll move my stuff to the storage unit for me. I do hope to go down if the deep freeze and snow every lessens.

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  7. The fusible web I got is Trans Web. Anyone know that brand? Please tell me it works. ;-)
    I can hope.

    Suki, how great that your friend is moving your belongings for you. That is a true friend! And good that you can wait till better weather for travel.

    Mim, a ping pong table, now that is an idea! I think what I have is smaller than a PP table though.
    Glad I gave you a good laugh.

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  8. Wow Lynn! The table is great and I love the violet /mauve fabric you show us here. You had a busy sunday, congrats on putting up this table so nicely, it looks really comfortable to work on this.
    Have a good day, with your project in mind,
    Andrea

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  9. Those purple fabrics are to die for! Have I mentioned that I love the colour purple?

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  10. i blink my eyes and trun away fro a second and you're right at it again, your energy is entirely amazing. these colours are wow! happy quilting.

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  11. Nothing more exciting than setting out on a new project - I cheer for you. I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT WAIT to see how this project progresses; I am excited for you. Roll on day-off Friday :-)

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Thanks for leaving your comments as I love hearing from you. Your words of encouragement are why I continue to draw!