Update for Week ending Jun 19

SUN - Still sewing strings for tumbler blocks. My strings are getting real low, and the assortment of colors and fabric is poor. Will have to stop making strings until I get an influx of strings/scraps. Maybe I need to start begging from my friends. I have started cutting some fabric in my GO cutter, before I was just using scraps. Trying out the strip cutters, 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 strips. I have two of the Bonnie Hunter patterns that I want to try, they both take 2 1/2 inch strips. And have been going thru my scraps and cutting 1 1/2 inch strips for my string basket, although Bonnie's does have a pattern that takes 1 1/2 inch.

Reading - Had fun last week, so this week I am re-reading, L.K. Hamilton - Anita Blake series. There are currently 19 books in this set, all are worth reading. Best if read in order, you get more of the back story that way. Finished #1 - Guilty Pleasure, my favorite quote from this book has to be "An Atheist waving a cross at a vampire was a truly pitiful site." Also finished #2 - The Laughing Corpse, favorite quote "Coffee was my comfort drink. Better than alcohol, I guess." I can relate - I drink coffee all day long, and consider running out of coffee an emergency.

MON - Cut a few more strips in 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 inch. No sewing to speak of, weather is poor. I don't like to run my sewing machine when there is lightning around. Murphy's Law always takes effect around me. If it can go wrong it will at the worst possible moment.

Ordered more GO dies - bought the "Diamond in the Rough" bundle. Its has Applecore, Triangle in a Square, 4 in diamonds, and the Chisels die and also includes the cutting mat. Although the Applecore is over twice the size I normally work with - I think it would make a good signature block, might also work for strings. The Triangle in a Square is my all time favorite block, I grew up calling it 54/40 or fight. It can make the Tenn. Waltz, the 1904 Star and several other quilt blocks. The 4' diamond is great, I already use this size when making my 6pt stars. So i will not have to recut any of my diamonds. As far as the Chisels die, I have one pattern marked that could make use of this die. It's part of the Jinny Beyer - Block A Week called "Twin Sister". Will have to try and find some more designs that make use of this die. Should not be hard - I collect quilt patterns, like I collect fabric. If I live to be 200 doubt that I would get to them all. You know how it goes, collectors keep adding to their collection.

Reading - Finished #3 - Circus of the Damned. My favorite quote is, "I had been stabbed, beaten, shot, strangled, and vampire-bit in the space of four months. There comes a point where you just have too many things happening to close together. I had battle fatigue." Started #4 - Lunatic Cafe - late in the day starting this one, will not finish until tomorrow.


TUE - Got email from Accuquilt, my new dies should arrive Thurs. I have been going through my fabric looking for my next 54/40 quilt. This die is smaller than I normally work with, and I will be using both die cut blocks and ruler cut blocks. I love to mix two sizes of blocks together when doing this quilt, just looks better. The small size becomes part of the sashing.


Reading - Finished #4 - Lunatic Cafe. and started and finished book #5 - Bloody Bones

WED - Still going thru my fabric looking for the perfect fabric for a 54/40 quilt. My last one was done with scraps, in each star the 8 points are the same fabric, with the center square a contrasting fabric. I have been thinking about doing one completely of scraps, where each of the 8 points have different fabrics, but I'm running real low on scraps. Maybe all one color family - my stash is heavy on blues. So maybe blue with cream/tan, and make the background out of as many cream/tan fabrics as I can find. Will have to play around with this one. Might make the bigger blocks in blue and the smaller in purple or green, which are also heavy in my stash.

Reading - #6 - The Killing Dance. This is one of my favorites of the series, it plays a pivotal role in the series. Best quotes (yes more than one) - "My life was a cross between a preternatural soap opera and an action adventure movie. Sort of As the Casket Turns meets Rambo." and this one, "I'm your bodyguard. If you die under my protection, the other bodyguards will make fun of me."

THUR & Fri - Doctors appointment Thursday that took most of the day, the rest of the day spent in bed.
Reading - #7 Burnt Offerings, #8 Blue Moon, favorite quote - "Being Possessed by anyone would have scared me. Being possessed by a sociopathic nymphomaniac sadomasochist that I had killed personally was too frightening and to ironic for words" .
#9 Obsidian Butterfly, my favorite of the series. Quote that I enjoyed - "I hated to be in a plane being flown by someone I didn't know, who I had not personally drug tested. I just wasn't the trusting sort."
#10 Narcissus in Chains. This book introduces Micah. "Maybe they know what I know, that the true way to a man's heart is six inches of metal between his ribs. Sometimes four inches will do the job, but to really sure, I like to have six. Funny how phallic objects are always more useful the bigger they are. Anyone who tells you size doesn't matter has been seeing too many small knives."
#11 Cerulean Sins - started late Friday, won't finish until Saturday. Anita becomes closer to Asher, fights Belle Morte, and learns about the Mother of All Darkness (old, scarier than normal vampire)

SAT -

Started pre-cutting strips to use in my GO for the Triangle in a Square (54/40) and Diamond die. Going to try for blues and creams/tans. For the blue everything goes, if it is medium to dark and has blue as a main color I'm cutting one strip of my fabric. At the same time I'm cutting a strip for the Diamond as they both need 4 1/2 inch strips. Also cutting a set of strips from the 1 1/2, and the 2 1/2 die from each fabric as I have them out. I use a lot of the 2 1/2 inch strips. Anyone who is a fan of Bonnie Hunter at Quiltville uses the 2 1/2 and 1 1/2 inch strips. Finished cutting the strips and started cutting the 54/40 pieces - complete quilt cut out in less that 2 hours. So glad I got a GO, should not have waited so long.

Reading - finished #11 Cerulean Sins. Started #12 Incubus Dreams. will not get it finished today. My main goal is to work with the Go dies and get the 54/40 quilt ready to work on.