Happy 4th and other stuff

 First of all, no, that is NOT my quilt but I know where you can find the pattern as this was posted on Facebook by Fons and Porter Love of Quilting.  I just borrowed the graphic, etc to wish you a Happy Independence Day as well.  

They said "Happy 4th of July from the Fons & Porter Staff. We are proud to present a Quilt of Valor design in each Love of Quilting magazine. This quilt is Unfurled Glory, which is featured in the July/August issue. To find out more about the Quilts of Valor Foundation, please click the link to visit their website. http://www.qovf.org/"

Pretty quilt, huh?

I have been busy getting ready to piece the August Button Up.  Actually, there were a few minutes yesterday where I thought I could start piecing.  Instead I prepped the applique elements as once the pieced elements are done, I would not want to wait to finish up.  I messed  up though.  Normally the designers have NOT reversed the applique elements so imagine my surprise when I realized I had wasted some of the black Belles challenge fabric on a crow that faces the wrong direction.   GRRRR  I usually turn the applique motif page over and trace the design off on the BACK side as I prefer to use either Pellon Wonder Under or Steam a Seam regular stuff.  I never have any luck with the paper staying where it is supposed to when I use Steam a Seam 2.   Stuff like the water melon seeds don't matter but it sure does matter on letters and apparently, crows, LOL.   I did not cut out the 30 watermelon seeds as I was sure those would get lost in the shuffle but they are marked.

Then after I had cut out all the pieces as directed I took a closer look at the design.  Why were they breaking up the darker green rind into three smaller pieces??  Well, I kind of knew why as they had you cut a larger triangle of lighter green to do flippy triangles instead of having you cut the larger water melon piece down and cutting a bias strip for the lighter rind.  This could be foundation pieced!

You guessed it----off to EQ to draw it up.  I knew the blocks were to finish 10 x 8.    I knew what they told me to cut the other sections.  Easy enough to draw up.  Only "bad" thing was having to tape 4 pieces of pattern together for 6 blocks.  By the time I got all that done, no sewing.

I re-cut the green and background pieces as today's task just to be on the safe side.  It helps to have a bit more fabric for trimming and folding back in foundation piecing work.  I had to seam a few of the pieces to make it happen but I don't think it will be too noticeable.  The girl that I have been giving the Button Up patterns to once I am done with them will get a little extra when I hand it off provided she likes my green choices, that is.  My friend Pat was so good to send me some darker greens recently to augment some I had on hand. While I did not use all the selections, I appreciate her sharing from her bounty.  I'll pay that forward especially since they are already cut to size.  

So other than seaming some of the darker green stuff together so I could cut a larger half square triangle, this is all the sewing that I got done so far today.  Three quilts worth of binding.  The red is for the button up while the other two go on Judy's pro bono quilts that she recently turned in.  

There have been some more thunder bumpers this afternoon so I am waiting to see if anything more comes of it before turning the machine back on.  Lord knows, I do NOT want to stand over the steam iron anymore today.

Other than that, I spent some time last night looking at the Marti Michell instructions for cutting out the Farmer's Wife Sampler blocks.  Just a reminder these are all 6 inch finished blocks.)  She has them broken down into groups that use her Perfect Patchwork Template system, according to which set.  The first bunch are are made from the 4 inch set (B) since it includes templates for 2 inch finished half square triangle, squares and quarter square triangles.  Turns out I am actually using most of the blocks on the first lesson or replaced with others that could use them.   She has also incorporated some of the line eliminating I had done when I drew the blocks up in EQ so that is a plus.  9 blocks to start with.  As soon as I finish up this Button Up top, I am cutting chart #1 out! 

Next week I will be gone a good bit since I have Bama Belles on Tuesday and the guild "Christmas in July" sew-in is coming up on Friday and Saturday (13th and 14th).  It starts on Thursday but we are only going the two days.  They are going to have some cool workshop sessions with an eye for making Christmas gifts etc.  Two I plan on taking are an iron caddy similar to the one in the link and a Christmas door pull/mug rug using a Lil Twister ruler.  Should be fun!  I'll take whatever project I am working on here at home as well.  

Busy, busy---most always something going on 'round here and more that probably SHOULD be worked on.  And sew it goes----------