My Sunshine invasion

After taking a few needed days off from My Sunshine, I picked it back up again after I got back from Sunday afternoon's board meeting.    The black framing rounds were e-sewn on the last remaining block on row 2 and the six blocks in row 6.  I finished up block 5 before I called it a night.

What I have done and attached is on the hanger.

Then we have the cutting station.  If I am going to take this to work on at Belles tomorrow, and I might, I need to get some of the strips cut ahead for row 3.  Get on a roll and keep going and do it in a pared down manner.  You see the log cabin ruler pressed into place.  The magnifying glass and the printout with the sticky notes are so I can isolate just one block across the row.  The pizza box is full of the strips laid out in the green side and the blue side of the logs.

The blocks with their strips---all numbered and 4 more to go.  I also opened up the pdf file and magnified it so I can follow which way the rounds start and rotate around the center square.  They are directional fabrics so I cannot just rotate the blocks on this Barn Raising set as one could normally do.  What you may not be able to see is that my sticky notes have arrows drawn on them to indicate where to stop and start the rotation.  While I needed that MORE with the black logs it is still helpful information so I don't start adding the print strips on the wrong side of the block.

My goal for today is to get this much ready of the top ready to sew, finish the last block of the 2nd row and then join the top two rows.  Then dismantle the next 6 blocks while I have decent light in the sewing room.  Some progress anyway.

And now for "something completely different"-----
last week I emptied out the books that remained on the little book shelf in the hallway that had been in that position essentially since 1997.  Look who cannot leave that spot alone!  If he thinks he is hiding, he isn't, LOL.  Maybe he just needs to add his scent to that little patch of the carpet??

We had some rain move into the area a couple times yesterday.  Earlier in the day I had questioned whether I would even be making the trip to Pell City since radar showed storms above and below us.  Which way were they moving??  They kept saying that the track at Talladega was okay and that was the general direction I was heading.  Fortunately we were done before the last NASCAR race let out so traffic was not a problem.  About  11-11:30 last night more rain literally blew in.  You could see it actually blowing up the lane south to north at angle and hear it hitting the south end of the house.  DJ said we had 1.25 in the gauge for the day so that will help the lack of rain situation a bit.

Guess that's it----quilt show pics next time out, promise!

what do you do if you are NOT sewing

Here is what I have so far on "My Sunshine"   10 blocks are done.  Yeah, two are almost invisible in this shot.  A 5th block for the 2nd two is half done and its neighbor is dismantled to re-sew the black framing logs.   The whole next row is also dismantled.  It will feature two birds. a section of the river and three squares with the Sisters range of mountains or whatever their correct name is.   It is also where I left off Tuesday evening about 9:30 p.m.

DJ says "it is not like you to make so many mistakes"  Just a miscalculation on the starts of the blocks, that's all.  A good bit of unsewing, yes, but it is also a learning experience---of what NOT to do, LOL.  Still I am seeing the bands of color are doing what they are supposed to do.

I had initially planned on sewing yesterday at least to finish up the 2nd row and join it to the top one.  That would be 1/3rd done since there are 6 rows of 6 blocks for a total of 36.  Did not happen.  Since the month changed, I switched out the wall hangings to reflect that it is May.  "Spring" came down as I needed it for a quilt show and something else is temporarily taking its place.  I vacuumed up the threads that were littering the sewing/computer room floor from all that un-sewing and sewing that stayed in..  Laundry was done.

I have 6 quilted pieces entered in the Golden Springs Baptist Church Car and Quilt show this coming Saturday.  I needed to get those in the pillow cases for the show and delivered yesterday morning.  This is catty corner from the church where we meet, some 20 minutes away from my home.  Our quilt batting order had come so I dropped that off.  66 yards of 48 inch lowest loft poly that we can get and crammed in a bag that is smaller than you would think could possibly hold it.  I tore the box open the rest of the way so we can wind it on the cores on Tuesday----let the wrinkles relax a bit.  I had other errands to run on the way home.

Once home, there were emails to write, blades to pack up to send in for exchange/purchase, bank and post office errands for quilt group matters.  By then I was looking at 3 p.m.  I balanced two checking accounts and then I started cleaning out a desk drawer that had reached saturation point.  I overworked my little paper shredder since I had stuff from back to 09 in there.  My waste basket is filled with confetti and so was the floor. By then it was 9 p.m and that means jammie time for this girl.  The Cardinals were probably going to win with a 10 run lead in the top of the 7th---probably safe to stop listening to the coverage.

While my husband washed and waxed my car, it was bagging up a bunch of books to take to the donation bin, dusting with all that book moving around, another post office stop, a trip to the recycle center in town and a long phone call re: a financial matter.  I vacuumed yet again for the confetti mess and the dusting aftermath.  We are getting rid of a small bookcase that has sat in the hallway since we moved here 15 years ago but it is also one of my decorating areas.  Oh well---don't need it anymore.  Less is more, after all.

This afternoon I read up on how to clean out an iron in a non-toxic manner as mine was heating but not steaming and the shot of steam was not working at all.  Rather than look for a replacement, I thought I better try cleaning it  out first.  Weird thing is, I forgot mine has a self cleaning button till after I had done what THIS ARTICLE  said to do----run some white vinegar through the iron's water reservoir.  Keep pressing or keep hitting the shot of steam.   I did this till the water had emptied out and then ran two "tanks" of water through the iron, the 2nd one through the self cleaning button over a 11-7 baking dish till I knew the water was clear.   DJ comes down the hall and says "what's that smell?"  I told him "hot pickles" and hit the shot of steam to demonstrate.  You can tell it is a cooler overcast day or I would have been complaining about the heat and steam.  I probably smell like a pickle too or my clothing does!!  I must remember to dump out the water when I am done sewing for the day---bad, Linda, bad!!  I do still need to track down some sole plate cleaner though since I do use a good bit of fusible stuff for applique though someone may have an idea and lately some starch products.

We just got some good rainfall for a little while anyway----I only see a quarter inch in our gauge.  A few thunder rumbles and Skyler was in hiding for a bit.  We have had very little rain considering it is spring and we are way behind on our totals.  According to the paper, we have only had .094 reported for the year compared to 20.47 last year for the same time period.   Normals would be 18.96 inches.  Not the severe drought they are having in Georgia and Florida especially but behind.   I don't want storms but some slow steady rain would be helpful about now.

Since I still don't feel like sewing today, I think maybe some handwork would be in order.  Think I'll get started on the handwork on the binding of  76 bow ties QOV---right after I dust this desk and keyboard.   This room is the dust and lint capital of the world!

And sew it goes----

FAB challenge---some progress

I have continued to work on the "My Sunshine" FAB challenge piece throughout the weekend and was pleased to get 4 blocks completed and attached before I quit for the evening last night.  Woohoo!  Finally got a little something I can show on the blog anyway.

But this morning I took a good look at it and realized that the 4th block of a barn raising set needed to start angling down the other direction if the chains are to be symmetrical.  Oh oh!  I knew I had directional prints at the centers.  That meant that I was going to have to watch  how the rings of color were placed.  The blocks cannot be rotated in quarter turn increments as one normally would do this set.    Here I had started ALL the black strips on the left hand vertical on all the blocks.  On closer inspection, 4th block starts on the top, 5th block on the bottom and 6th block on the top.  I caught it before I got too far in though and it wasn't all stitched together.  Minor un-sewing on the center I plan to use for the 5th and 6th.  I had a doctor's appointment so just stuff the mess in purse with a seam ripper and did it while I waited to be seen.

Here it is 2:30 or so and I am back where I was at 6:30 BUT fixed.  Well, make that a little bit ahead since the black frames are fixed on the end blocks.    That 4th block is NOT wonky---what sits behind it on the book shelf juts out so it is making it look like I messed up----AGAIN!   32 blocks to go!

I had all the colored strips cut out last week but elected to leave them as strips and cut them to size as I need them for each round, isolating one block at a time to follow the color placement around the cut panel pieces. I am liking the Marti Michell for 1 and 2 inch finished width log cabin ruler for doing this.  It is really easy to see where the length lines need to be cut as there are not cluttering lines.  Log cabins are a personal pattern favorite of mine so I can see using this again and again.   I've got tons of strips in the scrap bags!

This is how it started off life with some strips Cher included in with the panel gift.  The wider ones were cut down for this project but the red dot strip wound up in the Album blocks I was making last week.  I will feature the small panel pieces and the whacked up panel bits in the centers of the log cabins as you see above.  Even the three mountain pieces are cut apart!

I didn't get to Sisters on my Dream Trip to Oregon a few years back but I did see the Sisters peaks from the air!  Pat and her daughter were on the same flight as I was to Dallas but sitting a few seats up from me.  (We would take flights to BHM and WI respectively from there get home.) The lady that Pat was sitting with was either from Oregon or traveled there often.  She pointed the peaks out to Pat and then Pat to me.  Of course, there was Mount Hood on the flight into PDX as well.  Beautiful, just beautiful.   Maybe someday  I'll make it back that way---the dream continues.

I am hoping that I will get in a bit of a rhythm on the blocks because I would like to get the bulk of this pieced in the next two weeks time, rather than abandon another top like I did last week.  There is a quilt show this weekend and I have entries to deliver for that by mid week and the show itself is Saturday.  Other than that this is the quieter week.  Next week, not so much!

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