Saturday, April 21, 2012

Quilting Again - Tumblers and Rags

I posted the Blog Hop winners HERE earlier on Saturday.

I have been "sitting" with the friend who is my camera man for my videos.  He had some surgery and needed someone to assist for a few days.  (Just so you know he is eating my cooking and is still alive.) Of course I looked on this as a chance to have a private quilt retreat. While the big guy is asleep, I am sewing away.

First a little "back story" :
I bid on and won a rag quilt die on eBay.  I was so excited to get it.  When the package arrived I opened it and went "Whaaaa....???"  They sent a 6 1/2" square die. Arrrgh!  So I contacted the seller thru eBay.  They didn't respond so I opened a case.  (I got a full refund.)  What I didn't get was the rag die!   So I found one on Amazon that I could get with QUICK shipping.  It arrived the day of the surgery.  That night I cut a LOT of rag 8 1/2" squares. I had already cut up the batting squares as soon as I won the auction. (note to self  "don't count your chickens.....")  I sewed up a nice rag quilt. See:
Front with raggy goodness
The back of the rag quilt

.And I took it to the deck and took a picture on one of the old rusty metal chairs, cause I love seeing "artsy" pictures.
Maybe I ain't so good at Artsy Photos
I also pulled out my big Tumbler die and cut a bunch of those shapes.  Then I sewed and sewed (when I wasn't playing nurse.) There are actually four rows of tumblers..but one is hanging on the back.
Do you see my humility block?
I don't know how that happened

I tried for artsy again by hanging this on one of the low branches in the persimmon tree.

The wind was blowing and the picture blurred....can you say "major photo failure" ?  Yeah, I thought you could.

I have to say that sewing is a great way to stay busy when you are patient sitting. With the good pain meds he is taking (hey they drilled through the bone!) the sweet sound of the sewing machine humming along doesn't bother him at all.

15 comments:

Maria Kievit said...

Don't we all need an oops in our quilts? Most quilts you look at there is at least one mistake. It's to prove that we're human. Good luck sitting with your friend. Sewing passes the time quite nicely then!

Unknown said...

It looks like a lovely quilt retreat sprinkled with some really good deeds!

Tangos Treasures said...

What a great friend u are!!! Love the quilts & bummer on the ebay seller!!!

Pat said...

Hope the foot heals quickly and with no problems. Sorry you got stiffed on the rag die on eBay but glad you got a refund. I love how those rag quilts finish up!!!

Unknown said...

Love the rag quilt, I have that die, maybe I should use it?

Unknown said...

What a great friend you are! Doesn't surprise me one bit, though! I love your rag quilt! Great colors! I've never made a rag quilt the "right" way . . . I'll have to try it someday. :)

Ann Marie @ 16 Muddy Feet said...

Looks great. I would definitely leave the humility block in there, it gives you something to really talk about. Almost every quilt I have made has one or more of those blocks in them.

Laura Wasilowski said...

I like that image of the quilt blowing in the breeze! Makes me think of lovely Spring day.

Barb said...

What a wonderful thing to do for your friend....and you actually get sew time as well...and sew time you did. Love both quilts.

Sue said...

Oh Gene, keep up your artsy photos, you really make me smile. Such fun quilts you've been making.

Snoodles said...

Love the raggy goodness....that is one I need to try for the crisis center baby quilts, I think. They look nice and soft. Hey, you and I both need some tips on the artsy photos --- I have epic fails there, too! :) But I do think that yours look better than mine.

Kate Brown said...

I think the humility block looks fine! I have been thinking of trying a tumbler quilt. I need to learn machine quilting first so I can finish all the progects I have going. You sound like a wonderful dear friend. I hope he appreciates your goodness.

Barbara said...

Pretty quilt, so cuddly I'm sure. I did see the humility block, and I love it! About the photo in the wind, I love that too! Thanks for sharing your imperfections, although I don't see them that way. :)

Eat Sleep Quilt said...

Gene, I like both quilts! Is the humility block the white one? I've put the rag quilt on my to-do list several times but so far I haven't gotten around to doing one. It looks great!

Susan Entwistle said...

I like your rag quilt. I should think about getting the die, as when I made my first one (which was pieced so the die wouldn't have helped with that one) I wound up cutting way too close to the stitching, which I found out when I got back from the laundromat. Maybe having the die would reverse all the 'never again!' oaths I took while mending that sucker. :)