I THINK I'VE FINALLY FOUND IT!

Well here we are back to Friday already!  I have had a busy week.  But a good one.  I have only quilting stories to tell today though, lol.  That's your warning for those of you who wish I'd get a new subject to stop reading now, haha.  So let's see, where did I leave off with my Civil War quilt? Oh yeah,  I had made the "new" block and thought I might finally have what I was wanting.  But as I looked at it again the next morning, and spent even more time dwelling on it, I knew it was STILL not what I wanted.  Soo I sat down and played with it again.  And as I looked at it I realized I just am not "scrappy" enough to like two completely different blocks right up against each other even if the colors all coordinate.  Or at least not on this particular quilt.  Soo I began to think, it needs some sashing to break up the blocks some (I was picturing a neutral color), and some corner stones maybe all of the same color (seeing a dark navy print maybe), and then maybe the same fabric to make borders with.  So after my hair appointment yesterday, I decided to take a drive out to Corona to the shop where I had bought a lot of the fabric in the first place, and see not only what I could find, but also hope that maybe some gal would be in the shop who might be able to help me with some suggestions.  I also wanted to see if maybe they did quilting and check out their prices if they did.  Well let me just say, it was one of my better decisions....I LOVE this store.  Stars and Scrapes.  Anyway, I brought along a few of the blocks and told the two gals who were there what I was "seeing" in my head, and between the 3 of us we came up with the PERFECT fabric to complete my vision....And I mean PERFECT!  I even purchased some for the binding.  They were soo helpful!   And if that wasn't good enough, listen to this!  I asked them as I was almost ready to leave (had forgotten in my excitement over the fabric!) if they did quilting.  Well the one gal did and proceeded to show me some of her work in the store.  So I showed her my quilt (the crummy pic on my phone) and told her the dimensions, and asked her what she would charge.  AND!!!  It was half of what the other store charged!  HALF!!!  And for the icing on the cake, she can have it done by the end of September which would give me 2 weeks to get the binding done, not 2 days!!  I was giddy, lol.  It did make sense as I thought on it, as at the other store the gals do their quilting right in the shop on giant machines.  They are independent of the store itself in that you pay them separately, but still obviously the store then has to get their cut, meaning they almost have to charge more.  It only makes sense.  Now I do have to drive further to this store, but trust me it is WELL worth it.  I have of course more quilts coming up in the future that will need professional quilting, and finding a MUCH more reasonably priced gal is such good news for me.  I do intend to do some of my own quilting EVENTUALLY, lol.  But for now I am concentrating on learning the piecing part of the quilt, and plan to learn more about the other later.  Except for little projects like pillows and runners.  Soo I rushed home and cut out some of the strips and squares I needed and went to work putting some of the rows together to get an idea of how this "envisioned" quilt was going to look in reality.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE it is the answer to that question, lol.  I think I've FINALLY found the look I've been wanting.  Now I have created for myself LOTS more work, but I know I am going to love it so it will be worth it.  However, let me just say this, I would NOT recommend doing what I ended up doing. Buying a bunch of fabric with NO pattern and just kind of making it up as you went along meant I spent a lot more on fabric then I should have.  Not that I can't do "something" with what was left I guess, lol.  To avoid such a thing in the future I think I will "try out" whatever main block I am considering with scraps to see if I like it or how easy/hard it might be to do BEFORE I go out and buy a bunch of fabric.  Or at least I will do that until I am much more confident in my abilities.  Soo OK, now let me show you what I have done so far so you can get a look at how this should come out.

THE COLOR ON THIS IS SOO BAD I REALLY SHOULDN'T EVEN SHOW IT TO YOU!  LOL  THE SASHING IS DEFINITELY DARKER THEN IT APPEARS HERE.  MUCH MORE OF A TAN THEN AN OFF WHITE AS THIS LOOKS.  I SHOULD DRAG OUT MY GOOD CAMERA IF I REALLY WANT YOU TO SEE IT, BUT I WILL WAIT UNTIL I AM DONE.  I LOVE THE COLORS IN THIS THOUGH WHICH HONESTLY THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN APPRECIATE FROM THIS PICTURE.  BUT YOU DO AT LEAST GET THE LAYOUT I HAVE FINALLY SETTLED ON

ANOTHER ANGLE.  IT WILL BE 6 BLOCKS ACROSS, AND 8 DOWN (I THINK) AND THEN TWO BOARDERS.  THE FIRST ONE WILL BE THE SAME AS THE SASHING AND ABOUT 2 AND HALF INCHES, AND THE NEXT WILL BE THE SAME AS THE CORNERSTONES AND 4 AND HALF INCHES.  DON'T REMEMBER WHAT I FIGURED THE FINAL DIMENSIONS WOULD BE, BUT PRETTY BIG!  LOL

JUST A LITTLE CLOSER LOOK

That's about it for now.  I need to put together the backing for the wedding quilt as I need to get to the gal who is going to quilt it on Monday.  And I want to do LOTS more on the Civil War Quilt but NOT until I get the backing done.  And I REALLY should do my nails (they are just a mess!) and I have my little 5 year old grand daughter Donatella coming for the week-end tonight, and we have some sewing planned too, so I will need to have my "mess" out of the way.  Soo much to do, and soo little time it seems.  Hope you all have a wonderful week-end full of blessings and joy!  Debbie

Had to show you some cute pics too....

LOVE THIS PICTURE!  THE BOYS AT PLAY WITH THEIR DOG BAXTER AND THE CHICKENS DAISY AND MINNIE THE CHICKENS ARE JUST DOING WONDERFULLY I GUESS.  THEY GET 2 TO 3 EGGS A DAY.  SAM IS BOTH FEEDING THE CHICKENS AND GATHERING THE EGGS EVERYDAY.  HE TAKES HIS JOB VERY SERIOUSLY.  BRINGS IT UP ON HIS OWN AND SAYS, "I NEED TO FEED MY CHICKENS MAMA!"  NATURAL BORN FARMER BOY.  HE TOLD ME THE OTHER DAY ON THE PHONE, "IT'S MY JOB GRANDMA!"  I LOVE IT.  

LOVE THE LOOK ON LUKES FACE...DON'T YOU JUST KNOW HE IS TRYING TO FIGURE A WAY TO GET THAT CHICKEN UP THERE WITH HIM?  LOL

MINNIE IS ON THE MOVE, LOL

I FOUND THIS LITTLE LINE THEY HAVE GOING HILARIOUS FOR SOME REASON...