Choices

What do I want to work on today? There are no shortage of choices!  I did get a few things done since I last posted.  Mending job is done, carrot tops appliqued.  The Farmer's Wife Sampler block drawing project is done. I even have that to  "the quilt top stage" though I will probably keep tweaking it.  Some of those blocks just don't look right on point---sorry!

So do I---------

QUILT?  I got these pinned on Tuesday evening but haven't started doing the honors yet.  I could also put the binding on my 76 Bow tie QOV for some next week meeting(s) hand work.

CUT?  Friendship Quilters is having a sew-in April 12-14.  I have tons of things kitted up that I could sew on but there is also a class on making a purse that has straps that would convert it to a backpack.  I've got the cutting direction posted above the cutting/pressing table but still need to pull fabric.  I know it means a run for either Decor-Bond or heavy duty interfacing as I only have the lightweight variety on hand.  The supply list also asks for two zippers and D rings, which I may or may not have.

FINISH CUTTING?  Cher's bday is coming up and the FABS did not get to sew on her special day as the rest of us did once the cycle was complete.  Instead, she had sent each of us a panel piece "Nature's Symphony" from the 2011 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.  (Scroll down a bit to see the panel)  This was to be a challenge piece but we never really got it scheduled.  We are shooting for later in the month.

I know what I am going to do. I even purchased most of the fabrics last year with birthday money the Bama Belles and my husband had given me.  (THX again to all of you!)   I need just a tad more since my plan changed slightly but I cut up the panel that I must use.  Some of it must show up somewhere in the piece, in some fashion.  A little drawing in EQ verified how to proceed, once the order arrives.   But I could do some cutting in the meantime and get things kitted up for the sewing day.  I think Cher said we can get started sewing too if we want.  We just want a day or a few hours of sewing together and chatting!

SEW?   Some questions have arisen from a couple of the Belles about how to mark cross hatching for quilting as well as how to use bias press bars.  The two items are sort of related.  I have a basket block cut out that will either go on my Katrinka Designs "Multi-Seasonal Calendar Quilt" to cover May OR become part of a Basket Sampler since I have some fabrics friends have sent me.  Either way, this thing needs a curved handle and I need a demo piece for our meeting next week.   I spent some time yesterday preparing some hand outs and other general reference material that I think would be helpful.

APPLIQUE?  Well, there is always this one.  I piddle with it off and on since I am doing the April button up by hand.   It would be faster to just give up and machine button hole it but I have gone this far with it with only the letters fused down.  I did one raindrop last night and part of another before I packed it in----wooooo.

Chances are, I will go with a combination of things.  It may take longer to get something done but I don't get bored with any one thing.   My inclination is to do the little basket block first though.   BUT first, a foray to the kitchen.  I need to make a seafood pasta salad that will be our supper tonight and Skyler is parked by the keyboard waiting for me to give him a treat bite and/or play with him.

And sew it goes----------

at it again--edited

It seems that I cannot quite quit tinkering with my Re-vamped Oxmoor House quilt.  I'm at it again!  I am playing in EQ with the design.

Oh I did the boring stuff yesterday with the binding but it didn't get sewn on the quilt yet.   I still need to study up on how to program the sewing machine to do lettering for the QOV label if I go that route.  I didn't get the Prairie Window top marked yet either.   What's another day??

I have been thinking about this re-design for about a week and may have mentioned it as being a hold up to actually sewing on this thing.  I decided to bump up the width to 64 inches so maybe I could come closer to being able to use this on my bed.  I played around with it last night till almost 9:45.   Other than filling a 4 x 27 inch space with "something" I was satisfied with the arrangement when I went to bed.

Because I want to include a previously made redwork piece and a feathered star, I needed to add another 16 inches to the length.  The feathered star was made for a round robin but I set it aside when the moderator was not sharing my vision that it be set on point by the person who followed me, LOL. I eventually substituted with a fall theme that I DID put on point to start with.. The redwork was for a small wall hanging but I totally messed up the quarter square triangle that were to frame it.  Too pretty NOT to put somewhere, right??   It will also fit the bed a bit better to get up to 80 inches of length before borders are added.  This also gives me an opportunity to include some other blocks I had considered and did not have room for.

 EQ does NOT make it entirely easy to just adjust the the center rectangle and retain the sizing of the blocks that are in the rows above it in custom set.  The width might stay the same but the blocks elongate to fill the space meaning it ALL has to be adjusted and re-positioned on the worktable.  You might as well just start over which I did.  The photo above shows my progress in that regard and represents about an hour's work.

Before I actually get started back piecing/appliquing the sampler blocks, I need to know what size blocks I need, even an idea about coloration is helpful.   I have some of the foundation pieced sections printed off already but the sizes may have changed as I try to get the puzzle all put together.  Since I have a mixed bag of tricks going on here, it should be fun to work on this.  It contains some of  my favorite quilt elements all in one quilt plus it is Christmas!

So it would appear that seaming some binding is all the sewing I will get done at least part of this week too.  Oh you all know that won't last too much longer, LOL.   Hope you are having a good day in whatever you chose to do--------

ED. NOTE:   And here is what I am going with---ignore the wrong colored square in square feather star block.  Too lazy to try to replicate what it really is.  Blank spots are appliqued blocks and the lines on some of the blocks are to help me know what size to print the motifs.

WIP Weds. wk whatever

One more post and then I will hush, LOL. Three in one day! That doesn't happen much any more.

Other than putting a few stitches in my #12 redwork Santa block this is what has had my attention the last two days. I am working on the re-design for my Oxmoor House Christmas quilt. I gave my pattern book away but because I had no intention of making a duplicate of the original. I don't really need it.

Now, some of the blocks won't quite look like this---like the church and mittens for one. Some designs are placeholders for a different pattern from another source that I don't want to bother to draw in EQ--like the teddy bears will probably be gingerbread men if I can get them down to fit on 3 inch squares, that is. The colors are not etched in stone either.

So far I have only made some of the top two rows: the big pine tree block, those three star blocks and most of the flying geese. The church block is an entirely different block but finished. The big blue square is done too: an appliqued cupcake/stars/buttons thing. The smaller blank one you see, is a small redwork Santa that I re-sized to a 6 inch block from a transfer book.

I spent a good part of the day looking for gingerbread houses and gingerbread men. I remembered sewing Diana McClun demonstrate a gingerbread house on Simply Quilts some years back that she trimmed with giant rick rack and stitched over it with perle cotton. I did find a video of it but no pattern though I could probably make a stab at it if I want to use it. Sindy Rodenmayer has some really cute Christmas designs on her fat cat site that may well find their way into the quilt. I also have a stack of books and patterns piling up with flagged pages for other things I have spotted in my quilt library---Debbie Mumm flying angel, for one.

I also spent some time re-drawing a wreath I want to use from today's date on my 365 Quilt Blocks a Year calendar to foundation piece it to eliminate some lines. I did the same thing with the ribbon block from a few days ago, come to think of it. The train area was another spot that needed some re-work. It uses blocks from Sew Precise 3 with some adaptation---coupling between the cars, etc.

I am visualizing this and just need to make things fit into the available space. Some things that I put in the one I finished for my friend Betsy's family will go in mine, some already are in the design. Photo of that top is shown HERE. It all keeps me out of mischief.