UFO update

Three things to be happy about:
(1) fish fries
(2) old fashioned values
(3) a childhood nickname

Mine was Tansie - don't ask me why, but mama called me that all the time!

My bee's Christmas swap blocks are now officially put together and ready for quilting!

I went with black for the outer border; didn't want red or green or gold or white -- or to think about it any longer!


As I mentioned, my guild is doing the All People Quilt UFO challenge, it's a good way to stir up those UFO's that are hanging around!  I want to do some more work on my Baltimore Album quilt blocks, but before I can do them I need to make scrap yardage!

Working on yellows and blues right now...

a bunch of blues done; I might need to make more, not sure at this point

and yellows!  a nice little pile of scrap yardage...

and next up - pink!

When I get some red and green and brown stockpiled I can start laying out more blocks.  What flower designs will I use?  I have no idea, I'm making this up as I go along!

That's it for now, sew forth and sew on til later...

Scrappy days are here again!

"Happy days are here again,
the skies above are clear again"...

at least til Monday, that's when we get more rain!  That's too bad cuz my sister is coming for a visit til Friday, looks like rain all week   :o*(

BUT... three things to be happy about:
(1) main course salads
(2) adopting one better habit
(3) recuperative strolls

"Scrappy" days are here again, and so am I! I've been working with my scraps and it can be a bit messy at times - how did a scrap of fabric get on the floor mat of my car??  It's fun making my scrap yardage and I'm getting some great pieces made. 

Since I'm using my 6-1/2" GO die to cut the half square triangles, I make the pieces at least 7-1/2" square to make sure it'll fit the entire area.  One thing I found out is, it's almost impossible to control where the seam line fits, as you can see in the piece above.  When I made my cut, I only got just a sliver of that red fabric... I think all but a teensy tiny piece will be caught up in the seam.

I really liked Marei's comment about using red, so I tried a few and boy how it makes my pieces pop!  Take a look at these two layouts I tried:

Because the pieces are so large, I'll be able to make a throw size in no time at all!  For sure I'll need to follow a layout sheet, I had fun trying to get the one on the right lined up correctly - it took leaning my head way over to the side and closing one eye!  Kinda pretty, though.

Well, that's part of what I've been up to, quilt wise.  I find myself back in the position of having to clean my guest room so my sister will have some place to sleep - where'd all that clutter come from in there???  I definitely need a quilt studio!

Also, I'm behind on my Doodles BOM, I need to make three to catch up!  And what about the Quilty Barn Along and the Hello Moon?? 

Have a great Friday, I might not blog again for a while but I'll still be scrapping behind the scenes.  Sew forth and sew on til later!

Another twist

Three things to be happy about:
(1) eggs scrambled with that substitute crabmeat stuff
(2) a matter of no importance
(3) spontaneous road trips

Well!  After a breffus of scrambled egg substitute and other substitute stuff, I went with Charlene and Pat to the new Costco in Wheaton Plaza (Maryland).  We missed the grand opening, and I wanted to check it out just because, so we went.  I didn't get a photo but it's a nice store, plenty of parking, and you access it from a mall entrance.  I had to go right in and check out the new ladies room (don't ask) while Pat and Charlene bought cards at the card store across from the entrance - different and handy!  It was a bit crowded - why are there so many people out wandering around on a Monday morning - don't they have to be at work??!

Whatever.

I woke a bit early yesterday morning and started thinking about the cut along I posted about, and how I was making even more scraps and crumbs every time I cut my shapes from the large scraps! 

Then I said - hey!  That star Rosa made is very pretty, why don't I make some scrap yardage and cut a few triangles from that too??!

Just to test out my theory, I made a couple big pieces and layered them with a light background fabric and cut them using the 6-1/2" die...

Here are a few layouts... I'm not so sure.  I only made four pieces and it's a bit hard to see what they'll really look like, but one question I'm asking is do I want to use that light background or should I go with something a bit darker or brighter (like red or gold)?  Definitely I should use something that reads as solid, a medium or large pattern would kill the design!

And another thing I need to be aware of is the size of the scraps - see that blue strip and the brown one?  They really stand out and could potentially change the shape of the block! 

I'm also wondering if I should try using a smaller HST die - I have a 4-1/2" that's part of a "value die" (three shapes on one die) and there's a 3-1/2", but if I use either of those the scraps need to be smaller.

Something to think about!  I need to think quickly because if I want to invest in another die right now, Joann's has them at 40% off until May 4th. 

Have a great day, sew forth and sew on til later!

scrap happy again

Three things to be happy about:
(1) silent wishes
(2) the art of reading faces
(3) varying an old recipe

Have you ever clicked on the BlogHer  links on blogs that have ads?  You can find some interesting blogs that you might not otherwise get a chance to see.  Or how about this one:  try exploring with the "Next Blog" button at the top of different blogs!  I did that once and went to a quilting blog, then from there to another quilting blog, then that one sent me to an art blog(??!) then something relating to symphony music - hmmm...  It's almost like Forrest Gump's box-a-chocklits, you never know what you're gonna geyet.  I give you no guarantees y'all!

I'm still having fun playing with all my scraps!  I have an abundance that I'm playing with... scraps from Rosa and Charlene and Deb and Pat - I'm just plain ole scrap happy!

I've been using two methods for piecing them together: I sew scraps to a strip of fabric until I get a pretty good chunk, then I cut them into squares - or I set them aside as large pieces.  The other method is piecing as described by Victoria Findlay Wolfe in her book 15 Minutes of Play  whereby you sew scraps onto a central piece in a log cabin-like arrangement. 

string-o-scraps

pieced two-by-two

Both methods work beautifully; the second method is useful if you're working with odd-shaped pieces.

For a change I thought I'd make a few square-in-a-square blocks, just to see where it took me...

I immediately thought "star!"  Here's my test block:

I made the square in a square center block 6-1/2", then cut the side pieces at 3-1/2" x 6-1/2" to get a 12-1/2" star.  I also used scrap yardage for the star points... I'm making those points larger next time!  They're really cute on that star, but the scrap yardage I cut them from was something like 3", cut diagonally across.

Finished star...

see how small those points look?  I think bigger will be better in this case!  I'll cut the point pieces at 4-1/2" and cut them diagonally... make it worthwhile to fool with. 

The center was made larger than the outside strips on purpose, you know me... Miss Do-Your-Own-Thing!  And here's a tip... notice in the diamond above how the two outside edges are the same pink fabric?  If you have a really large scrap and you don't want that particular fabric to be all in the same place, just split it and sew a smaller piece in the middle of it.  Make sense?

That's it for now, enjoy your Thursday - the last one in March!  Time flies whether you're having fun or not, sew forth and sew on...

It's shaping up!

Three things to be happy about:
(1) friendly doormats
(2) turtlenecks
(3) wet snow for snowballs

The weather here in the District has been cold cold, but we haven't had any snow yet - they keep promising "maybe" though.  When I went out to start my car it took a few seconds longer to turn over, I hope I won't have problems because of the frigid temperatures!

While the electrician was here yesterday he isolated the problems and took care of all the faulty wiring, and I'm back up and running.  There's also an old breaker box that was in the basement when I bought the house that's being used as a junction; he thinks maybe there had been a fire at some point and the wires were re-wrapped or something.  He suggested that I get those wires replaced when I get the chance... no immediate danger but it's something that wouldn't hurt to get done - after 38 years!

I'm still working on the mini design boards that I'll take to my bee meeting on Saturday, I got a few done yesterday while the electrician was here.   Fortunately he only had to zap the power on the main level, I was doing my hot-gluing upstairs.

These boards work up quickly and are easy to make, and the fabric trim around the edges can make them really cute!  There are a few more pieces of trim to stitch, I can do that today or tomorrow and they'll be ready to roll out.

At our guild meeting on last Saturday, Pat gifted me with lots and lots of scraps!  As you know, I like "other people's" scraps because they're more interesting than my own.  Don't you just love digging into bags full of scraps?  It's like Forrest Gump's box o choklits - you never know what you're gonna get!

There was lots of good stuff stuffed in those bags!  A great mish-mash of scrappy goodness - I'm loving it!

 

Some strips that I already know how I'll use; I wonder what Pat was working on?  I think I recognize that bright striped piece!

Some good-sized trimmings that I can use for scrap yardage - hmmm, I need scrap yardage to make more of those "South of Baltimore" blocks, I really need to finish up that project.  Maybe this year for sure?


I love digging through scraps, and if I could just stay focused and finish up my short-term projects, I could play with my scraps with a clear conscience!  For sure I'll make some more of those tiny little colorful houses that I made with Rosa's scraps, they don't need much fabric.

Well that's it for now, have a great Thursday - sew forth and sew on!

My Festivus list!

Three things to be happy about:
(1) straight teeth
(2) overalls
(3) a foosball match

In a nutshell, the "Festivus" celebration was born on the Jerry Seinfeld show, where George Costanza's father wanted a celebration "for the rest of us."  He'd get a Festivus pole and gather the family around and berate them for their failures during the year.  The poorest performer would have to carry the festivus pole of shame.

Well, I love Christmas and I don't celebrate Festivus, but I thought it would be a fun name for this post.  Throughout the year I started things that for one reason or another I didn't finish; I don't mean UFO's, that's a whole different category!

So, this is my Festivus list, or "things that I dropped like a hot tater."

First up - Inspired by Toefeather, I wanted to make a 4-inch block every day for a year, then I'd have 365 blocks to make into a quilt.  Clever girl!

Seemed easy to do and it really is, but that daily block became a group of weekly blocks, then there were no blocks at all, doh!   After I made 35 blocks I discovered I wasn't sure I liked how they all looked together and I dropped that idea!  I'll make one more then set them in a quilt with sashing in between.

Another one - a slashed 9-patch block using African fabrics. 

Sounded like a good idea and the single blocks looked great... but when I placed several of them together on my design wall - yuck!  Not my idea of an attractive quilt.  If you stared at it too long it'd probably knock you down!

I could take the ones I did and set them with some kind of sashing (w-i-d-e sashing!) I suppose, but I'll not be making any more of these rascals!

Here's a good one - South of Baltimore!  I was using scrap yardage to make the flowers and leaves.

This actually should be considered a UFO because I can finish it by simply making two more blocks and setting them in a gigantic four-patch.  The blocks are 16" square so they'd make a nice wall hanging.  At this point I can't remember why I dropped this one - UFO!

And last but not least - my stash report!  Where did that go? Well, I found it tedious to try and figure out how much fabric I was using every week.  I stopped my wild fabric buying several months ago, I don't even look at the emails from Hancocks of Paducah or Thousands of Bolts or eQuilter (why haven't I dropped off those mailing lists??) and I think I've bought less than two dozen yards this year, so maybe the list did have some effect!  How much fabric did I use this year?  I have no idea but I know I used some, so that's a good thing!  So that's my story and I'm sticking with it!

If you had a quilting Festivus list, what would be on it??  I'd love to hear your hidden secrets!  Have a great Friday - sew forth and sew on til later!

Little bits and big bites

Three things to be happy about:
(1) caring friends
(2) the squish of soaked grass
(3) mascarpone cheesecake


What in the world is mascarpone cheesecake?  Oh well, if it makes ya happy, go for it!

While I was MIA I got a very nice email from one of my readers that really touched my heart:

Hi, I am a daily reader of your very nice blog and I miss seeing you post – I hope that you are not ill and that all is well at your house.  Hope you are just taking a rest from it and hurry back soon.

That was so sweet of her; it feels so good to know someone out there cares for me - thanks again, Marie!  :o)


Yesterday I pieced some scrap yardage to make my applique border for the crumb stars quilt; I already had some blue in my stash, so I made the red. 

I decided to make some over-large flowers with a slinky stems... or maybe just a winding stem with flowers scattered along the border?  In any case, I'd like to make a yellow piece, then I'll be ready to fuse and cut! 



The culprit

 You ever have a good idea and regret it later?  When I took a friend to Wegman's on her first trip, I got a carton of their butternut squash soup - good idea because I love butternut squash soup!   I wasn't too-too hungry for dinner so I thought I'd have a cup of that soup.

Well, it was so good without too many carbs, so I had another bowl... bad idea!

Just shortly after I finished eating it I became very very aware of a "secret" ingredient - garlic puree!  Ouch!  Talk about heartburn city, I was there!

Lucky for me I reached the border after a few hours, but I tossed out the rest of the soup.  Too bad, because it was good!

Well, that's my tale and I'm sticking with it.  Today I'm grabbing Feesha and we're heading out to the Faithful Circle quilt show - bye everybody, have a great day!

Sew forth and sew on til later

Never can say goodbye

Three things to be happy about:
(1) hardwood floors
(2) focusing your attention
(3) an old song on the radio

I had the tv on NBC 4 (as usual, tv had only a percentage of my attention) when they were doing a shpiel with Neil Diamond while his song "Sweet Caroline" played in the background.  It reminded me of a night on the cruise when the emcee in the Orpheum theater (don't ask me his name, it was the night "Juicy" from Philly did her thing!) was singing "Sweet Caroline."  At the chorus, the audience had to sing "bomm-bomm-bomm!" 

Sweeeet Caroline, bomm-bomm-bomm!  ahhhhhhh, I need another cruise! 


Yesterday when I posted the picture of all the leftover blue trimmings going in the trash, I looked at the pile and said "wait a minute, let's not get too hasty here!"  I started pawing through that pile and I was finding some usable pieces, shoot!  Lookit that bounty!

You have regular yardage, then scraps, then crumbs.  As some of you know, I use crumbs to make large pieces of  "scrap yardage"... my interpretation of a crumb may not be the same as others but that's okay - I understand Wednesday was dubbed as "No Judgement Day!"


I was able to make a lot of little crumb blocks like these...

then I kept sewing and attaching to each other and sewing more, until I ended up with three good-sized pieces of scrap yardage!

aren't these great?

I can cut up these pieces (just like "regular" yardage) to make units for blocks or applique shapes - flowers work really well with these.  See the "South of Baltimore" blocks that I did in August; the flower units were all made from scrap yardage! 

A lot of people may not have the patience to work with such small pieces and they just toss them out, but I like doing it.  It's another of those automatic things you can do without having to give it much thought... you get some sewing done - and you get your fabric fix! 

So, what size comes after crumbs??  Cooties!  I keep mine in a jar...

Sew forth and sew on

Just so...

Three things to be happy about:
(1) November's high clouds
(2) the CVS on the corner
(3) shopping on the internet

For some reason every time I go out and say to myself "I need to pick up some sun block while I'm out" - I have a mental blockage!  Three times I've meant to pick up some ... three times I've forgotten.  Thank goodness for the CVS close to me, I'll definitely get some when I go out today.  Hopefully...

Yesterday I did take two large garbage bags of clothing to the thrift store (it was good stuff, not garbage!) and that's out of the house, whew!  Why do we hold onto stuff we're never going to use??  With the exception of our stash, of course!  We'll definitely use that, sooner or later. 

But clothing that I haven't worn in 3-4 years??  Stuff two or more sizes too large for me?  Come on now!!  Out it went, and probably more when I get a chance to look at the bags in the basement.  If it's usable and still good and I don't want it, I'll donate it... if it's no good, I'll trash it.  Simple as that.

My only exception is non-stretchy blue jeans, I'll keep those to use in a quilt.

I was asked for closeups of my little candle project...

On this one you can see the cross-hatch quilting really well.  I didn't EVEN bother with fancy quilting or shadow quilting around the candle.  It'll fly with this simple design!

I wanted to show you the berries up close too...

I started out using a narrow zig zag around the edges, then I realized a very short, straight stitch would work just as well, and probably better!  In the top picture you can really see the difference in the fabrics, I used whites and off-whites to make the scrap yardage. 

Do you notice the green background I left around the leaves in the photo above?  I left it to avoid having to stitch around all those tiny areas, yeooow!! 

I joined four 6" blocks from scrap yardage to make the center of the piece; the borders were made by cutting 3" strips.  The batting was a fusible bamboo (Fusi-Boo), I'd never tried it before and it's super-thin!  I liked using it, no gluey lumps to deal with, as with some of the fusibles.

Well, today I have a medical appointment and I WILL pick up some sun screen.

 

 Oh yes - here's my cruise info, getting closer and closer!

Sew forth and sew on

Just a little bit more

Three things to be happy about:
(1) a basement free of junk
(2) adding to a penny collection
(3) the smell of coffee beans roasting

I wouldn't know about the junk-free basement, but the thought makes me happy!  Someone gave me a 5-gallon water jar way back in the 70's (when they were made of glass) that I used to put pennies in, I never gave away a penny in change.  I haven't been able to put any more in there for years because it's full to the top - there's no way I can even push it, let alone lift it!  We're talking about hundreds (and thousands) of pennies!

Thanks everyone for your comments; Carol left us a nice link for fusible applique - plus there's a cute basket tutorial on her blog!  And my quilters cruise is on November 3, just a week from now, yaaaaa!


Still working on my little wall hanging, among other things.  I attached two side borders and cut out more of the holly bits...

For the holly berries and leaves, I cut a large piece from yardage and ironed fusible to the back; then I just fussy cut what I want.  I think I need just a wee bit more to get enough appliques, though.  I also need to add a bit more length to the top and bottom outer borders before I can attach them. 

When I look at the candle all alone in the middle, it looks like it might have a lot of vacant real estate in there, but I don't want to think about that right now!  Later is better   :O)

And finally, on a kinda disappointing note, my local Hancock Fabrics is closing because they lost their lease, waaaah!

I don't shop there for fabric much, but I do find it handy when I need notions or I have to get my faithful Singer Touch n Sew serviced!  It's just a 15-20 minute drive from my house, so I'll really miss it. 

And it's amazing the reaction you get when a store is closing its doors!  I went in there for a light bulb for my Singer and the line was way long - and the reductions were just 20% on most items!  Two ladies had shopping carts full of non-fabric items that they could have gotten cheaper someplace else.  If there was fabric at 50% off, it was that junk you see on their "Manager's special" table all the time.  By the time the real sale comes, all the stuff will be picked over... oh well.

Sew forth and sew on