Sew-in date: quilts hiding in your scrap bag

What a fun day sewing with my Bama Belle pals yesterday! We had an extended meeting and everyone brought their machines ready to "hit it" along with cut 2 1/2 inch strips galore, cut 2 1/2 inch squares and nickel squares/charms. Everything was free game so dig in---take some for "homework".  Jane even had some yardage to share!

8 of us "regulars" were there but so were 3 of our gals who cannot come very often. We were happy that Pat's schedule allowed her to be with us as well as Linda C who was back down visiting from Tennessee. Nancy has a conflict in the schedule since her church's quilting day is the same as ours but they meet at the church catty corner to where Belles meet so she pops over occasionally. That is what Shawnee did later in the day.

Bev who is recuperating from major surgery did not want to be left out of the fun and had her husband drop her off for a bit. She brought her yo-yo bag of tricks to show us how to do it especially with some of the fun shapes. In the "pass it around to try it" mode, I was almost happy to see that someone else had made a few stitches sewing it to the disc, like had! LOL. Betsy and Gary also swung by----I think Betsy must have insisted they do so on their way back from the BHM hospital and an overnight stay after a procedure she had had on Monday! These two are dedicated!

We also had two other guests---Judy and Gladys. Judy is Teresa's sister and she brought her friend Gladys with her. Turns out Gladys knew Lois from square dancing! I hope they will come back when they can!

Between Lois, Beverly and I---and I think someone else had a bag to share---we had boxes, bins and bags of the aforementioned strips and squares.  There were books and printouts to share for ideas of how to use them.  I had not picked a sew-in block as I often do and asked the Belles to crank as many as they cared to make.  There's the supplies--come up with an idea.

I wish I had gotten more pictures but I was busy sewing!  Lois, Pat and Brenda got right into Bonnie Hunter's Scrappy Trips.  Marilyn had a 4 patch quilt already started but was looking for sashing supplies among the strips.  Beverly and Judy were making string blocks on telephone book pages.   Later Judy had switched to big 4 patches though.   Jane was working on at strippie heart and I need to ask her the designer as it is really, really cute!  I was doing the Granny Squares from the Blue Elephant blog but strip piecing parts of it.  (8 sections of the white and adjacent print can be strip pieced but you still need some single cuts for the nine patch in the dead center and 4 background squares).   Below the total of my day's output.

I didn't leave Teresa out!  Earlier in the week she had told me about some leftover Toy Fabric that she wanted to make a pro bono quilt with.   Her cut squares were 8 inches presently so what size should she cut it down to?  I said 5 inch and had suggested a Jewel Box or Buckeye Beauty quilt.   She could try the two for one method for both the 4 patches and half square triangles needed to accomplish that plus still have fabric leftover from the bulk of the cut down for another 2 1/2 inch strip.  I demo'd that to Teresa, Judy and Gladys.  Then later when Judy had giant 4 patches from the nickel squares Teresa suggested Disappearing 4 patches  so I showed them how to do that!  I like it a bit better with 6 1/2 inch squares so that little cut part in the middle is not so tiny and suggested that.   I love making Puss in the Corner blocks (uneven nine patches) from the 5 inch ones and walked them through the process since I had a print out of the Billie Lauder quick trick method in my nickel container.

I hope this gave the Belles some new ideas of how to work with scraps.  The pattern ideas are endless, in my estimation.  Scraps are like gold when you can discover the quilts hiding your scrap bag  We have a ton of cut 2 1/2 inch squares left so that might need to be the focus for our next sewing date.  Beverly had a picture in one of her jelly roll books of a clever idea that would use some cut squares and of course, there are always the blocks that incorporate 16 patches too.

I know I came home with considerably less in my strip container than I had and did not drag home more than I took with me IF you discount the cute fish yardage from Jane---and that's good!   The little wire basket I stuff odds and ends in is filling up and will need attention one of these days at this rate.

Good food, good fellowship and sharing, good learning experiences---does it get any better than that?  Girlfriend days are the best!  Yeah, I probably get more done if I sew at home but trust me, the company is better at a quilt meeting.   I appreciate the girls help getting the room back to its original configuration too.  We were the only thing on the church calendar when I booked it for an extended meeting but a church event had re-scheduled so we started packing it all in around 4.  I think I got home about 4:30 anyway.  

Again, I wish I had taken more pictures.  Linda C had been working with wool quite a bit and had a lot of penny rugs and such done.  Brenda and I were discussing the blocks you see below two weeks ago---and look how neat her Santa's came out!   She still needs to blanket stitch them down and add the eyes and such but the blocks were all prepped.  I showed my March Button Up, Bloom since Linda C passed on her pattern when she was done with it and my new purse/backpack.

Shawnee also attends the quilt group at the catty corner church but she came by to drop off this quilt she had tied.  It was one that Linda C had made and left for us when she moved to TN.  I love how the 4 patches chain on this one.  Simple squares, 4 patches and hour glass blocks---simple yet very effective.  Shawnee got some batting to go with three more tops of Linda's tops but no pinning, only sewing at this day.  We'll help her with that at a future meeting.  Note to self:  call and order the batting roll since we are almost out.  Lois and I both have tops to pin and that is even before we have finished tops that will generate from the sew-in!  Of course, I need to quilt a bunch too as a lot of our pins are tied up in the tops on my dresser.

On a more personal note:
I spent most of last weekend cutting for the FAB challenge sewing on Saturday plus tons of muslin for the sew-in.  I did manage to get the binding at least machine applied to 76 bowties but that is as far as it got with baking more cookies for sew-in, home duties and packing up the car.  Today I plan to make a few more granny square blocks and move that along a little further.  Cher said it was okay to get a jump start sewing on the challenge project.  I think Norma and I will sew together on Friday since she has the day off.   Mine is a large quilt so I could use a little head start, LOL.

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

meeting wrap

We had a good group yesterday at our Bama Belles meeting. With the holiday layoff it seemed as though some of us had not been together in ages! A few that have had schedule conflicts in recent months WERE with us including one gal who had moved up to TN. She and her husband were back in the area for a few days (house has not sold yet) and their visit coincided with our meeting.

We pinned up 7 quilts and 7 are about to be turned in---3 need labels so Beverly is taking care of two of them and Betsy will do the honors on her own. I realized when I was posting the following pictures that I didn't get a picture of her cowboy quilt but I will! Meanwhile the stack of ready to be delivered ones has grown a bit higher.  Said pile, last seen HERE, is even with the top of the armoire from the floor on up!  Lois had 3, I had two while Bev and Linda C has one.  Thanks to Teresa for seaming up the back for that last one!  I was helping someone square up some embroidery blocks and explaining how to do pre-sashing so I was no help in pinning the larger of my two tops.  The girls didn't care as there was plenty of help and went ahead with out me----thanks for that too!  Jane always is such a help as a binding volunteer so I can move on to the next quilt.  I appreciate them all.

Linda C brought several totes of scrap fabrics with her to share along with some patterns and such.  It was pretty much spread out over two of the 5 foot tables at the meeting spot so several of the girls were going "shopping" over there.  I guess the tote is staying with the remainders.  Marilyn also had some backing yardage to share as she is in the process of cleaning and organizing her sewing space.  I told the girls that at the next meeting I intend for us to go through the two fabric bins and decide what goes and what stays as we  just don't have room to store too much of it.  We just keep piling on more!!  It might help to know what sizes pieces we have and label it with a tag and hang it in some cases.  Other smaller bits can probably be used for blocks or cut into charms/strips etc.    What we don't want/won't use can go to another quilt group, someone in the group or the Salvation Army.  To be truthful, I am not even sure what exactly is in the bottom bin that is hard to get at in the stack.   That just tells me we don't need it if it hasn't seen the light of day for a couple years.

I have more group related tasks on my list, meaning probably no sewing again but that's okay.   We are almost out of batting and I have several piles of cutaways to seam which will be fine for some of my tops wider than the standard 48 width we buy.  Some paper pushing duties too.  Once I get that room clutter out of here then I can entertain the idea of doing something more creative.

So you probably are more interested in seeing the quilts than reading my prattling on, LOL.  Here we go!

Bev S.  Pineapple Blossom----I think she likes that block!  This was one of two tops she has made with it plus a pile of blocks at the sew-in too.  One top did not come with her this trip.

Linda C's Square in a Square.   One that I quilted in December during the quilting blitz.  Jane had finished the binding.

Linda C  not sure what I called this for the document----Double 4 patch Strippie maybe???  Again, another of the tops I quilted during the December blitz.  Jane did the binding.

Beverly H---Scrappy Rails.  Isn't it happy and bright?  Love the scrappy binding too.

Beverly H.  Romance Challenge.  I may have taken the picture of this before but it went back home with her to finish the labeling (and binding?).  Block is Patience Corner and Beverly took care not to decapitate any of the little figures from the challenge fabric.

Linda C.  Jacob's Elevator  (Trudie Hughes pattern).  She has this one professional quilted.

Linda C.  This one goes by several names but when it came on my horizon back in 99-00,  it was called Rainy Day Satisfaction.  No pattern really needed.  You can cut the center squares any size you want them to be.  Good two color quilt that is not labor intensive.

That's it for now------hope you have a good day.

a start

I reached my short term goals yesterday plus a bit of a start on another project to follow. When I quit last night (time to watch "The Closer" and "Rizzoli and Isles", after all) I had two blocks of first row dealt with. I did the other two this morning first thing. 5 more rows to go. I will have finished another Belles Scrappy Challenge top when I'm done.

I had a little light snafu in the sewing area this morning in that the light bulb in the halogen lamp I use on the left hand side of my machine table seemed to have blown. Well, I use the thing a lot and the original equipment had never been replaced. Nothing lasts forever. I had purchased a couple of replacement bulbs along with the lamp just to be sure that I had one on hand when I needed it.

You would think you should be able to just pop another one, right? The screws holding the lens on were factory tightened so DJ had to help me get it off as we didn't want to crack the glass. I would have felt better about using some sort of holder for the bulb like you do with my sewing machine--rubber thing to hold the bulb so you don't have to directly handle the glass. But it seemed to seat and the light worked, if temporarily. As soon as we put the lens back on, off it went. We tried the other replacement bulb---same thing. Phooey on that I said, I'll get another lamp. I had seen some desk lamps recently at Walmart that might work or I'll go see if Lowe's has another like this one in stock.

I got two desk lamps. As I recall, two of these were equal to what I paid for the halogen one. You see, the swing arm one I use on the right hand side would not stay up no matter how much I tightened the screws near the spring. I had to clamp it to my cone thread holder which worked but looked a little goofy and not very adjustable. That and the lamp shade kept dropping off. Well, naturally the halogen lamp is now working. Threaten it with replacement and it straightened up. Good! ...... I am keeping the back up just in case, LOL. Since the new one has a shorter extension I elected to keep it in the weighted base so it can be moved around on the machine table rather than clamped in like my old one.

While I was out I finally ran the Brother into town to the service place. Yeah, I was going to do that last week but I got busy sewing. The shop is not open on the weekend or Monday either. Hopefully it won't be gone for a couple weeks, not that I don't have others to use in the meantime. I really should be quilting but I don't feel like it---I use my Viking for that and buttonhole applique. Not bad for foundation piecing either since tends to sew a tighter stitch no matter where I set the stitch length. The Singer works fine for what I need it to do at the moment which is a straight stitch, forward and backwards. It has cams for some decorative stitches but I think I missed something in the instructions when I was playing with that in the past. I'll re-visit that or see if Lois can help me figure it out.

When I was doing the strip set piecing for the sashing and cornerstones unit, I also pieced the half four patch units for my next project, Prairie Stroll. I had kitted it up earlier this year and it is one of the many projects in the tower pull out bins next to the sewing table. The colors will not look a thing like this sketch! I am using browns, reds, greens and cream donation fabric mostly. When my mom sees it, she will recognize some of it as "Alice" fabrics. The pattern is from Quiltmaker magazine #81 September-October 01. They show it as a 9 inch block but mine is re-sized to a 6 inch finished block to better use my available fabric. Actually there are TWO blocks which alternate if you look at it closely and isolate the blocks. Yes, every other block is rotated a quarter turn to the right but the short strips are flip flopped too.

Part of the reason for drawing it up in EQ was to play with colors but also to verify what size to cut the strips since I was re-sizing it. Also I have discovered over the years that it is a good idea to leave a picture/directions/ notes in the kit so I would remember what the heck I was doing, LOL. I can't always find the magazine but I can print it off from my EQ files. Ask me (or my mom, LOL) why this step is important.

We have been blessed some with cooler nights lately and less humidity. The day time highs are still up there---high 80's, mid 90's by our thermometer and still no rain on the horizon. DJ was commenting that he was sort of surprised that we were not under a burning ban again. The yard gets more brown by the day and the bushes all have droopy leaves. I think the humidity was creeping back up today though as it just seemed hotter when I was out running my errands. More brow wiping on my part.

And sew it goes------I may have a t-shirt quilt to make for a friend on the horizon so I should buckle down here with this other stuff. Or not, LOL. Hear my husband saying "who give you all these jobs??" Me, that's who.

Short term goal: get a couple more rows of Scrappy Strings together. Half a top would be nice for a day's sewing. More, even better.

blocks done

Today's goal: 11 string blocks to go with the 13 I already have done.

I used what strings remained in the Belles scrap box, raided my scrap basket and grabbed a handful to 1 1/2 and 2 inch strips from their respective containers and went to work on pages from the old phone book for foundation. I see a lot of previous projects in these blocks, LOL.

And here is where I am headed with it. I use the print out to figure out how many strips of sashing I need to cut but it probably won't be this pretty aqua/turquoise color. Try muslin and a neutral for the cornerstones, LOL. I wish I DID have something that color but I don't, nor am I purchasing any.

I do NOT do the sashing they way they often show you in the quilting mags and books. They will often instruct you to make a long skinny string of sashing and apply that whole little thing to a row of blocks with sashing in between the blocks. Nope, I do what I call "pre-sashing" the blocks.

Let me see if I can explain this. Are you familiar with a block called Children's Delight? (Horrid coloring on the quilter's cache site but you can see the picture anyway.) Basically it is a Puss in the Corner block with the sashing and cornerstone added to two sides of the block. When I first saw that block, the light bulb went off and it changed the way I do sashing forever. Put a sashing strip on the bottom of every block. Then you can strip piece the cornerstone color to however many strips of sashing you need to cut. (Count it out from the picture) Sub-cut the strip sets whatever width you wish across the WOF. I prefer it cut 2.5---you should get 16 cuts across 40 inches of usable fabric. Usually I add the strips to the right hand side of each block. Whichever block I deem to be the first one in the row I add the sashing/stone unit to the left side. When I piece the top row, I put the sashing/stone unit on the top of it as well. Then just join the blocks to form rows. BUT you will need one cornerstone all by its self, no sashing to complete this. Treat them the sashing and cornerstone units just like part of the block---which they are. Way easier to get it all to match up across the long row, less worrying about the seams nesting across the width of the quilt.

I got a call from a reader (hi, Mom!) last night. She told me that she had thought about doing that Staggered Brick quilt in the past but she was sure that the rows were done horizontally. Maybe because there appears to be one long continuous strip of the same color across the quilt top for each band. She had it all drawn up but the piecing was a bit complicated so she had never tried it. I think HER lightbulb went off when I was trying to explain how I did the vertical rows, just staggering over other strip up a half step. I may need to edit those instructions I gave you to say "vertical" We both were giggling about it---laughing with her, not AT her. Here she is my mentor and the one I ask---how do you think "................(Fill in the blank)" was pieced. Easier than you thought.

And sew it goes------

unintended net break

 It is one thing to take some planned time off from blogging or your computer. That is not what happened in my case. I've got the pictures to show you why I was offline. First let me say, I know that this is so minor compared to what others went thru with the tornadoes two months ago. I am not complaining---it could have been worse---but relaying the story. 

DJ and I had just sat down to a bowl of homemade vegetable beef soup on Friday evening. As has happened fairly often this month, our area was under a severe thunderstorm watch/warning situation. It was getting darker and windy-er by the minute. A few bites in and off went the power and out came the candles. I don't know that I have ever eaten soup by candle light so I was just hoping that I didn't end up wearing more than I was ingesting, LOL.

About twenty minutes later our power came back on but the neighbor woman was knocking on the door. There is a tree limb from her tree in the back yard on our power line, cable etc. I don't know if you can see it or not, with the picture being so dark but that upright line in the middle of the picture above is the pole that is situated right on the property line. The other pole you see in the extreme right is across the road at the house you see in the distance. Back to the story..........

She had no power, no phone to call in the outage, etc. DJ's mind automatically leapt to the last time this happened, 5 years ago. (I probably even have a picture of it on here.) Why the tree assassin people did not cut half of this tree off, I do not know! They sure annilated many others around here. DJ said it was because it was in someone's back easement and they didn't want to drive their trucks back there. He may be right but there are a couple more limbs that come down and do this again---at 250 a pop and a 500 deductible on our house insurance so that is no help with the expenses. Again, he asks "what next?"

So anyway, the weight of the tree limb was pulling on our stand pipe. DJ was worried that it would break it off, tear up our roof and all that. We have cable internet and use Vonage for our phone---that is, when it is intact we do, LOL. The cable is broken off in all this mess you see in the picture to the right.

I was able to use my cell phone to get through to the power company on Stacy's behalf. I also got thru to the cable company but the out of state office. Typically, all bad repair things always happen on the weekend or when offices are closed, right?? We helped her out by stashing her things from the freezer into our chest freezer and found some refrigerator space so her food would be salvaged as well. She called her family to come get her so she didn't have to stay in a dark, hot house overnight.

Here you see the stand pipe bending over. The power company came in the wee small hours of Saturday morning to cut the limb free from the wire and get the neighbor powered up. This relieved a lot of the pressure on the line and kept this from bending clear over or snapping off.

Fast forward to Monday----still no cable guy, so still no phone, no internet. I was waiting and keeping the cell phone on my person at all times and charged up. I was promised that I was still "on the list" by the cable company. I was back up and running about 5 p.m., almost 72 hours without service. (and a 20 buck credit off my bill after the 3rd phone call reaching the local office, finally. ) Thank you, Mr. Cable Guy! He pulled out and the electrician guy pulls in to give us an estimate on what he will charge to fix the stand pipe.

Again, this is so minor compared to others without power, running water, no phone etc, no roof over their head. I did have a cell to use even if I missed being online. One more day and I would have gone into town to use the computers at the library. My biggest problem might have been my husband's impatience to have the phone back in service. I knew that I had done everything I could to get the cable guy out here. I was not the only one with this problem. The power company said they had about 35,000 people without power in a multi county area with that round of tstorms. Cable and the phone company, probably the same thing. We were guessing straight line winds, this time around?

Monday morning DJ used the cell to schedule the Power Company to be here on Thursday morning along with the electrician to repair the stand pipe. It does not appear that the shingles were damaged from down the ground anyway The neighbor's step-dad came and cut the tree limb into more manageable pieces but it is still on the ground on our property. We are still under a burning ban so I don't know if they will haul it away or what. DJ noticed last evening that there is another limb split on another of their trees but that one is actually planted right on the property line. We know it is theirs as the deceased home owner told us she planted all three of them from volunteers and nurtured them over the years. I am not even sure what kind of trees they are but none of them is in good shape.

The weather this year has been quite unusual for us. Something I read in the Sunday Anniston Star from Shane Harris, one of the extension agents for the Alabama Cooperative Extension System probably described this best in his gardening column. (He was talking about how it is hurting home grown tomatoes). He wrote "The first half of 2011 will be remembered as a time of crazy and weird weather. First was snow and ice in January. Then there was a very early spring in March, followed by record deadly tornados in late April. In late May, we had several days of very cool coat weather and frosts. Suddenly, the pendulum swung the other way, and June brought very dry conditions and extreme heat as if it was already August. Who knows what the next six months will be like?"

Got me but let's just say, La Nina was not a very nice girl!

Read more: Anniston Star - On Gardening Weird weather hurting home grown tomatoes

The next day's round of storms brought quarter sized hail. This morning's, just a little rain. Skyler is spending a good bit of time hiding under the bed with the alert radio goes off and the thunder boomers start. One bright spot, is that we are catching up with our rainfall totals a bit more. The grass is back and green from its earlier frying.

In the meantime, I did a little embroidery and read a couple of books. Sunday afternoon, parts of Monday, this morning, I worked on this Puss in the Corner or 4=9 uneven nine patch, as Billie Lauder would call it. (I am using her technique from her Quick Quilt Tricks booklet. )

I have a pile of blocks ready to add the last cut strip to them stacked by the machine. To keep from getting the sequence "messed up" and to keep my interest up, I did one row of blocks at a time and attached them. It is conceivable that I could have the top done or near done by days end if I wanted to push it. This one counts toward another Belles Scrap challenge tops for 2011. So does the diagonal 4 patch chain you see in the printout by the machine but I only have 2 rows of it completed (hanging under the PIC)

But in some ways, I really do not feel like doing much. You see, I have been having some balance issues again for the last two weeks almost. BPPV to use the medical name for it--benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. I wish it would go away like it has before but I guess that is the "paroxysmal" part of the deal. This time just turning my head or bending over is enough to set me off, rolling over in bed---ugh. I can't be driving and riding in the car is not any better, in fact maybe worse. Hills, curves and light strobing between the trees----not good. This has kept me pretty close to hearth and home especially if I have to take some meds for it.

I missed going out to the sewing date last Friday. Betsy said that the plans had changed for Ben's QOV anyway---he has one from another source apparently. We will make him one once he is home from the rehab facility, I guess. I can hang on to the blocks or use them in one of the veteran's quilts or the next QOV. I am also missing our field trip today to a quilt shop in Mableton, GA. :-(

We all have physical problems and such. I try not to dwell on this. If this is how life is going to be, I best adjust and get on with it. Thanks for hanging in---------

ready to roll.....literally

I feel like I am going to commit a quilt atrocity tomorrow but my scrappy strips are seamed and ready to roll in conjunction with the FAB birthday party tomorrow. I didn't measure to see if had 1600 inches but surely there is enough on that fat roll?? The fabric roll is two inches deep around the toilet paper core. The website says it will finish 48 x 64 but I don't want mine that wide as that means extra backing and maybe piecing batting.




Anyway I met my objectives with this latest cutting project.

• I can get the lid closed on the 2 1/2 inch strips containers and it is neatened up.
• Some pretty stuff that I might be able to coordinate with something else I pulled out of there along with some Oriental fabric strips. I know I tucked a few more someplace---no, I don't know what I am going to do with them.
• I cut for the Faux Log Cabin filling up the pizza box shown on the right.
• I pulled some fall colored strips that I need to foundation piece a few fall colored log cabin blocks for the Friendship Quilter's guild

I also found a stack of these pickets and stuck some strips in the 2 1/2 inch strip container. I am not sure how that block went together exactly but I believe that the light strips formed a star where they met??? This will involve a little research on my part if I am going to share the vision with whomever these bits came from. I am pretty sure my mom has made one of these in the past so I can ask her. I figured the extra angular cut stuff from that roll can become pickets too, should I be so inclined.

ED note: I found the Picket Fence block----on Alex Anderson's Block Party site HERE

I am not planning on sewing today. After all the cutting, my back and shoulders would be happy for a day's break. I think maybe I will start binding my kitty quilt instead.......or redwork.

I'll see how far I get with the Jelly Roll deal tomorrow and can share a picture of Pam's birthday gift too.

Progress

The pictures look a little dark and even fuzzy but I am not retaking them. So there, LOL.

I made a dent in the nickel container yesterday sewing simultaneously on the diagonal 4 patch chain and Puss in the Corner. There is a pile of PIC components ready to seam for the second step. I made one completed block to remind myself if you could use a different square in the giant 4 patches and have it wind up as the outer small squares. LOL, you can. Shooting for 35 blocks and I already have three done.

Also, my primary objective top: there is a small stack of seamed nickels for random 4 patches. Those will probably turn into 16 patches at some point but I have a whole container full of just plain 2 1/2 inch squares to also draw from. 16 patches grow to be Chiclets, Sunny Lanes, Road to St. Louis for example.

I also seamed enough seamed two color nickels for the 4 patch diagonal chain. I need 92 but doing two at once, 46 will do the trick. I wanted to see what one block looks like. The size I am doing needs 23 of this configuration so I have a ways to go yet! I'll slow down and let Sheila catch up. She is making 6 inch blocks while I am doing 8 inch ones so she needs lots more.


The FABS are supposed to do a version of the Jelly Roll Race on Saturday so I want to do a little prep work today. I remember something like this from years back when you seamed strips end to end and rolled it up on a toilet paper tube. (Looks like 3 1/2 inch strips would roll the width of one) I'll seam and I'll roll to keep the long strip corralled.

Finn does something just like this and her tutorial can be found HERE . My version will be like hers with short strips and random coloration. The stacked strips concept is the popular lasagna quilt too, isn't it? It might not be my first choice of a quilt to make but it does use up some of scrappy stash plus the birthday FAB asked us to make one for her party. That randomly stack strips block that probably uses Jelly Roll strips would be a take on that too. Can't think of the name or pattern source to link to it. Moving on...............

The small stack next to the overflowing 2 1/2 inch strip bin is the pile I cut from the Belles Scrap Challenge so those will be included in the Jelly Roll project. BUT I want to save out the shorter bits I uncover for Faux Log Cabin. The Belles and I made a ton of these at one of our sew-in's in the pre-blogging days (Translation: prior to 2006, LOL) I whipped one up this morning but will need 24 for WTIL sized quilt. Printout will remind me of what sizes of strips I need.

One look at the overflowing 2 1/2 inch bin and you can see that there are a lot of quilts hiding in THAT container. I doubt that there are enough lights in there for many Faux log cabin strips but I may be delightfully surprised. I'll pull strips but not sew them for now concentrating on the toilet paper roll thing for today.

A haircut and a visitation to attend this afternoon will cut into my play time a bit but that's okay. DJ is taking advantage of a lovely day and took off to play 9 holes for the first time in what seems like forever. The only time he has played lately is when his pal from IL has come down. Herb's last trip, they didn't go as the weather was so cold. Skyler is sleeping in a sunny spot and I'm pecking at the computer keys enjoying the peace and quiet.


I'll conclude with this lovely sunset shot from last night. It was glorious in person but I didn't capture it near as well with my camera. You can also catch a glimpse of one of the neighborhood Bradford Pears in full glory.

THX for stopping by-------

checking in

LOL, this post will not fit either the design wall Monday or WIP Weds protocols. I have been busy here in the sewing room since I last posted but just don't have a whole lot I can show you.

The base for the "In Seasons" Spring piece was sewn. Machine applique was done on the FAB birthday piece with the deadline coming up by month's end. February JATH QOM is stalled out for now. I may jump ahead to March and finish February up later since this month is half gone now. For now the January snow man is still hanging and I'm cool with that.

Saturday I spent a big part of the day cutting my way through a stuffed to the brim grocery bag of scraps for the Belles scrappy challenge. My bag(s) contained a stack of some yardage that I didn't want to slice down yet as there were some piecing possibilities for some of it so I attacked the true scrap stuff. You know the drill--whatever you can squeeze out of the piece.

It turned out to be: 3 inch squares for an existing project in the storage drawers, 2.5 inch squares and strips, 2 inch x 3.5 and 5 inch for other scrappy projects and 2 inch strips. I also cut 5 inch squares if I could get them out and "true" strings--1 1/2 and up strips. In the end I got the stuffed grocery bag cut and contained in a 13 x 7 x 4 shoe box styled container. At least I have a better idea of what I have to work with now and can proceed with a couple of ideas for it over time. Actually you can see a bit of one of those ideas in the picture below---hanging on the hook above my work space for inspiration, LOL.

Here is the aforementioned FAB piece ready to quilt. Batting was pieced and I managed to pin it here at home. I did not think I had enough 505 on hand to spray baste it but this worked out okay since the piece is long but narrow. I did the "honors" on it yesterday but a search for thread to match the binding will continue today. (It isn't green and it isn't blue so nothing I have on hand will really work---odd color!)

In between I did a little of the redwork cornerstones stitching on my long time Bird Brain Santa project. I think I have 7 of those itty bitty motifs done now---13 to go??

Sunday DJ awoke about 0515 to the furnace making some racket and then a hot, burning smell. The whole unit had be replaced almost 10 years exactly 10 years ago. To complaints about "what next?" and "why does stuff like this always happen on the weekend?" we shut it off. No way was there anyone who was going to come out on a Sunday but he made the call to the answering service anyway.

Thankfully the house remained fairly warm as the outside temps hit the high 50's. We did okay till Sunday early morning hours but in bed, under covers, it was fairly cozy. The guy from the heating/air conditioning firm came about 930 Monday. He replaced the burnt out starting capacitor and removed a small sponge that had managed to get into the blower wheel. We don't have a clue how that got in there as 1) we don't own any sponges like that 2) he never used one around the grate in the first place. Weird! Hey, maybe those ants that shorted out the a/c part of the unit a few years back drug it in with them??

We didn't do anything special for Valentine's Day. Our anniversary in late January is far more important to us and that is what we chose to celebrate. When we were still single, yeah, cards were exchanged, flowers given and special dinner out. We just did all that about two weeks ago!

Today's plan: thread hunt shopping run and hand finishing binding. Maybe some more of it after this project is done too. I really, really want that stack on the armoire dealt with, once and for all. Two quilts are waiting for binding finish---that twin/lap sized Christmas log cabin which I have at least started and my queen sized Daisy Chain. And if I don't want to bind or my fingers need a rest, there are two smaller tops to quilt and 7 blocks of a full sized one to finish quilting. I will be due a BIG reward project when all that is done! I will have the illusion of being caught up anyway, if only I don't think about the tops waiting to be pinned in my closet, LOL.

THX for stopping by and hope you have a wonderful day in whatever you chose to do--------

WIP Sunday---huh?

Yeah it is customary to post this "work in progress" stuff on Wednesday---alliteration, after all. Who knows what I might be working on by then? Knowing me, this same top if I don't get busy on it this afternoon. ( I didn't get the whole thing in the picture---some is hanging below the sewing machine table.)

I was on loose ends a couple days ago--really didn't feel like working on the fusible applique "Be Attitudes" since I normally buttonhole and then quilt it right after I finish the applique---machine still in shop till probably months end.

What to work on instead though? Earlier in the week I had drug home a bag of stuff one of the Belles had brought. A few blocks that needed the sashing removed from a donation top--did that but will re-visit the piecing back together later. Also in the bag was a pile of appliqued floral blocks with pieced half star baskets. Hmmm, interesting-- but only 5 or 6 are completely done and a bunch more to work on. Not yet but possibly down the line---and with different fabrics if I have to do them. (Looks like poly-cotton which you know will not crease properly but I could be wrong about that fiber content)

When I went to stow those sections away in the closet, I pulled out a stack of 3 1/2 inch cut strips I had found at our meeting place at the church---that white, gold, striped and leopard looking print you see in the picture. At one point before it got put away, I had pulled some fabrics from my stash to pair with it: an gold pinecone looking print, black with stars and crescents, a stylized graduated rust landscape print with what looks flocks of birds on it, and so on. I think I had planned an old pro bono fav Snuggle Up top. Obviously judging from the picture, I got busy on a top.

There were 10 strips of that jungle piece--more than I really needed--or so I thought. I loved the cobblestone looking giraffe piece but alas, it was only a fat quarter and I had cut a big hunk out of that for an "I spy" section. With some piecing, I was able to squeeze out two strips. I could use another scanty piecein that set aside pile in between those. Once I started cutting the other yardage I had on hand, I had 5 strips available in 6 different fabrics. Perfect, I thought!

Well, actually it ended up being TWO tops I am making. At some point when I was sewing it occured to me that 30- 3 inch finished strips would make a quilt that was 90 inches long!! Not a bad idea if I were not making a donation top and we shoot for 40 x 60. DUH, 20 strips, not 30. Okay, 10 strips towards another top then. I raided my stash (again) and came up with a few other prints that will work with the greens, golds, brown tones--using some of the extra Hearth and Home yardage I got for my upcoming Strip Twist for the FAB retreat. Some cat and dog fabric Mom sent home with me will work too.

Actually the first top has 21 strips in the final strip set and the 2nd, 20. The 2nd is not shown but the strip sets are made, joined and looped and cut, just waiting for me to finish up the 1st one. I was able to squeeze out 11- 3 1/2 inch strips vertically from each strip set. I left off yesterday on Snuggle #1 with vertical strips joined in pairs. I plan borders on this one with that rust colored squiggles old Fons and Porter (I think) print but maybe a narrow inset of black between the top and the border. I only have one small square section left of that squiggle stuff along with a pile of narrower strips after I cut for the quilt (s) but I may have enough cut to border both. I'll find out soon enough! I might be back to piecing to squeeze it out but hey, if it worked for our quilting foremothers it will certainly work for me.

Stash busting is the name of the game, after all.

Oh, some final thoughts on this pattern---switching horses in midstream with the strip pairs, messed up the direction that I had pressed the strips. If you look at the strip sets when joined, on the back of the piece, the strips should appear to be raised up and them the alternating looks strip indented and narrower across the back of the yardage. Let me see if I can explain this better--every other strips has its seam allowances pressed AWAY from it. Pressing in that manner will allow the seams to nest perfectly when joining vertically. Actually the pdf file of the pattern has a good illustration of how the back of your piece should look before looping.

The other thing? When sewing strip sets, join the consecutive strip (or strip pairs) by starting your sewing line from the opposite direction or the piece will start bowing. You need the feed dogs to work their magic and ease the middle strips in. I think I may have picked up that tip in Billie Lauder's Bargello quilt----it also uses this loop idea as does Bonnie Hunter's scrappy bargello though I don't think she says to do direction switching.

Hope you have a good day with whatever you chose to do------

Sunday, its a fun day

…………..at beautiful US 30 drag strip. LOL an old radio ad slogan from my teen years in IL. Imagine the reverb.
But seriously what a gorgeous weekend we are having. What a blessing it is after the dreariness of winter days. It is downright balmy out as the warm weather pushes up from the Gulf instead of that Alberta Clipper and overnight temps in the teens a few days ago. We seem to have quite a bunch of crocuses up after a few appeared far, far too early last month. This is the time we expect them. The daffodils along the fence will be open soon as well. DJ made sure to point me to them when I was grilling up some brats for lunch. The camellia, as we feared, got zapped with the extreme cold with blackened blooms scattered on the ground.

Look who was surveying the scene as I was taking the flower pictures? Skyler loves it when the front door can be opened or even better, the windows. Currently he is up in the sewing room perch facing the front yard watching for birds and any of the neighborhood cats to come by. He has been chasing puff balls (pompoms) most of the morning and is a little worn out, thank you very much! He loses his ball, comes back meowing and hops up on the desk till I give him another from his container near the computer. In the mornings I go on Pom Patrol with the flashlight and yardstick to dig around under the bookcase, the couches and appliances for the ones that got away. No way is DJ going to do that for him!

I got the last of the scrap cutting tasks I mentioned in my last post finished up yesterday afternoon. 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3 as well as some 3.5 and a few nickel squares. Some of the two’s are cut to size for the rail fence blocks and Grandmother’s Scrap Bag. Amazingly there was room for most of them in their designated size containers, but just barely. The 2.5 didn’t have a home till I put them up in the large foundation pieced Pineapple Log Cabin bin. I decided that the smaller block PLC needs it own container since I have so many strips in the project bag---another 20 qt container on my next trip to town.

Immediately after finishing the strips I headed off to the kitchen to pick pecan nut meats. My friend Marilyn had brought me a large paper grocery bag half full of cracked pecans from her mom’s trees. The mom has three trees which outdid themselves this year. I filled a 1 1/2 quart bowl twice for my efforts. Considering that I can buy a 6 oz. bag of pecans for about $2.50 at Dollar General FREE is better, LOL. Because I was so busy dealing with these, I somehow managed to convince DJ that he could fix the ravioli in the freezer and heat up some marinara from a jar just as easy as I could. He turned down the request to help me with the nuts so I figured it was the least he could do. I kept picking and I guess he thought if he wanted to eat last night, he best help me out. Trust me, that is progress! The man does NOT cook nor does he re-heat if I am home and not ill.

Other than cutting scraps for two days I finished up my 2nd redwork block as pictured. The golf club cover is finished but I still need to make the pompom for the top.

Also I got one dish cloth knitted and another started. My mom emailed me the directions but I just found the LINK for it. It looks pretty cool, like a square “on point”. It almost appears that you are knitting “sideways” in just two basic rows, increasing till you get it wide enough and then decreasing down on the other half. Little thinking involved which makes it a good project for TV viewing time. The yarn company wants you to use their product when providing the free pattern to make it but I am using Sugar and Cream (well make that Walmart’s Peaches and Cream) cotton. Mom says you can get three dish cloths out of 2 skeins of yarn. I made my first one a bit bigger and may knit a bit looser than her but I guess I will find out.

I think I will get out my “Be Attitudes” book and cut out the fusible shapes for the February block, Be Loving. MELINDA had read my post about working on this quilt and shared some pictures of one she had just beautifully quilted. It seems that Tiny Stitches where she works in Marietta, GA had done the quilt as a BOM last year. You can see the blocks “up close” on her blog. Thanks, Melinda! Naturally I will post my version when I am done with it but you can see where I am heading with it, LOL. I rarely try to duplicate a quilt exactly but I am as much as possible THIS time as I love the fabrics. My birthday/Christmas money made it possible too. I have already swapped out machines as I like the buttonhole applique better on my trusty Viking and prefer to quilt on it as well. DJ wants me to cut his hair tonight so I best get crackin’.

Hope that you have had a wonderful day where you are. Thanks for stopping by……..

Quilts Hiding The Scrap Bags

Yesterday after spending some time on my February Santa block, I could not decide what to work on after that. I just have a bit more to do with the heavier perle cotton and it will be done. Golf head cover is about done too but I would rather knit during TV viewing time so that would be a good project for tonight.
I ended up pulling a couple of projects out of the UFO hamper but nothing really excited me---too much cutting to be done, not thrilled about making pinwheels right now, don’t feel like doing HST’s either and other various excuses. How about those string blocks that Theramae had left behind? She had 31 made up so I would only need to make 4 more plus the sashing sections for a donation quilt. Ahhh, strings are just the ticket when you want to do some mindless sewing.
I got a good start on the top in the afternoon and evening. I always treat the sashing as part of the blocks as it is easier for me to NOT attach a long skinny string of sewn sections to a row of blocks. The sashing and cornerstone strip sets were counted up, cut, sewn and sub-cut. The bottom sashing piece is applied to all the blocks and two blocks for the top row are joined. Ugh on pulling the paper from the back of it but part of the process. BUT no sewing for a few more days as I’m setting it aside till I get some strip cutting done.

See that little wire basket? After I spent 4-5 days cutting my way my scraps several years ago I had promised myself that I would not let the scraps pile up. After all, it started rather benignly with that little basket once before. Over time it progressed to something like that shopping bag next to it. The bag was stuffed and ripping so it ended up in an even larger shopping basket. Finally the large hamper type basket shown HERE was stuffed to the gills. Push came to shove, LOL.
I was digging in both the bag and the basket yesterday to make those few string blocks. Problem is, that basket was again stuffed clear to the handle with scraps. Actually it also had some usable yardage that needed to go back with the remaining yardage in case I need it down the line in another project. The remaining contents are pressed and ready to be cut.
Now that bag is NOT “me” originated---it was Theramae’s stuff that we did not farm out to the other Belles. It has been riding around in my car since I thought we might use some of it at one of the meetings. We may still but it will be easier to just ask them to bring their machines and let’s sew some(Fill in the blank) blocks. I need the trunk space and the bag won’t fit anywhere in the house as it is. Not really anywhere in the closet at the meeting spot to just hold it either. Push came to shove again.
I’ve got plenty of ideas of what to do with the pieces. Theramae and I were making triple rail blocks and between us, I think I have enough blocks for about half of another donation quilt. (That link above shows you one such quilt in progress.) I want to make one like THIS down the line---Grandma’s Scrap Bag from Miss Rosie’s Quilt Company, my mom’s version. Come to think of it, I might have even cut strips for hers as well, LOL. Anyway, those quilts both take 2 inch strips. Railroad Crossing blocks like THIS would also make a dent in the strips and those can be any width. You know, I really should pull that quilt out and get back to the hand quilting!
2 1/2 inch---faux log cabin is one that would be fun to re-visit. We made a ton of those about 5 years ago but some of the new members haven’t used that pattern.
3 1/2 inch squares? My favorite 3-D bowties--the other ongoing project. That “Two of a Kind” quilt that intrigues me so much needs 3 inch strips— make that 3 x 5 1/2 rectangles and 3 inch squares but just as easy to just cut the strips out now.
Plenty of quilts hiding in those scrap bags, I would say! Back to pressing and planning. My back thanks me for the sit down job of posting, LOL.