Charms and basting

Hooray!

The mailbox yielded a yummy treat yesterday--the Kate Spain Charm Swap package came! Thanks so much to my friend Michele @ Quiltsfrommycrayonbox.blogspot.com for organizing the swap and organizing all those charm squares!

These are just a taste of all that fabric goodness from my favorite designer. I love how most of the colors and prints throughout all of the collections go so well together.

Sunday, after starting an antibiotic on Saturday, I still wasn't feeling well enough to attend church meetings. Hubby had just gotten home from his fire shift, so he relaxed with Star Wars on the computer while I organized some of my stash. We bought some drawers last week (along with plastic bins and storage ottomans for toys and storage items--all part of cleaning and getting ready for the new baby).

I should have taken a before and after, but after is definitely better!

There are some PIGs (Projects In Grocery Sacks), tote bags, and boxes.

And I wrestled mightily and layered the Swoon quilt sandwich. I got a start on pin-basting. This is the largest quilt I have done myself to date!

Here's a sneak peak at underneath!

I use clamps and painter's tape from the hardware store to stretch and put tension on the backing, then layer the batting and quilt top, matching centers.

Then I smooth it all out, working from centers outward as each layer is placed. Then I start pin-basting with curved safety pins and using my Quik Klip, working from the center and radiating outward in rows. When the section is finished, I carefully lift the top layers and unclamp the backing, carefully shift the whole sandwich for a new section on top of the table, then start clamping the backing to the table again.

I got a good start, but I couldn't work for long. With the tendinitis and pregnancy swelling, I can't grip the pins well, and can't feel them well with my fingertips tingly and numb.  I called my neighbor, who is a nurse, and firefighter's wife like me, and who also loves to sew and quilt like me, and hopefully she will be able to help me tomorrow.

Lists

Not much going on around here.
My son started kindergarten yesterday.....6 hours of school and 2 hours of bus ride back and forth. Gonna take some getting used to for all of us; not to mention that I have to get to bed earlier to get up earlier!
My main project right now: trying to get my EZ Dresden Challenge mini-quilt done. Nothing else sewing or quilting is going on until that gets done, since I've got a week and a half before submissions are due. I'm about halfway done machine quilting. And yes, the freemotion stuff is coming last. Quilting flames....yikes! But I've got to get over my fears because I've got two other quilts that I want to do background flames for, that aren't going in a contest....so maybe I should practice with those before doing my challenge quilt ?

In no particular order: ongoing projects:
1--skirt for sister-in-law
2--quilting and finishing the two mini firetruck quilts (does this count as two projects?)
3--Patriotic sampler quilt: 25 blocks done out of 42.

Organizing wants and needs:
1-a plastic drawer cart for overflowing sewing patterns
2--a plastic file drawer cart for overflowing files and quilting stencils
3--stackable drawers for fat quarters or small pieces
4--more mini-bolt-like organizers www.thefabricorganizer.com I got mine at Clotilde, just to see if I like them. I do! I just need more. My problem with my stash is that it's mostly pieces, and mostly clothing-type fabric, not quilting fabric.
5--bobbin storage...need to keep quilting thread bobbins separate from everyday thread. I'm trying to transition from Coats and Clark to Gutermann and Metrosene.