Keep Them Separated.

Some people have scrap systems.  I never really paid attention completely to what they do,  but for some reason I always keep my batik fabrics separated from my cottons. Not that I won't stoop to mixing cottons and batiks when I am sewing.

 Who's afraid of the Quilt Police?  Not me!

I was teasing the daughter's SO the other day because his sweatshirt pocket was hanging by a few threads.  I was reminded that her sewing machine spool pin was broken, and she had tried other things but it just wouldn't work.  The shop where you can get the part for the machine isn't far, but they are only open Monday through Friday and close by 5 pm.  So The Finn and I had a reason to have an outing, since his mom doesn't have the opportunity that often. 

We got the part for the machine, but there was a wee bit of fabric there and of course we had to make some purchases!

Some new scissors, and this cool pattern.  I had purchased some fabric several months ago, but had not purchased the pattern.  I dug the fabric out, now to read the pattern and figure it all out. 

Also some fun fabric.  Nightmare Before Christmas is the favorite movie of several members of the family.  While it may not be there by Halloween, they will have it to use next year.

Late Tuesday night it started raining, so there was no work for me on Wednesday.  So many things to do, and so little time.  :D  I wasn't too sure where to start.

I used the new fabric and made three of these. 

I tried to fussy cut the image with my kite ruler.  I think they will be loved.  Once I finish them. 

I got the borders cut and sewn for the Ripples and Reflections quilt.  Of course I had one that I cut incorrectly.  Each border is made up of 4 parts which are cut at 45 degree angles.   I then worked at getting the parts for the next border cut out. 

I still have a bunch of subcutting to do, but the main parts are cut out. Now to read the directions and get ready to sew.

I have still been working on cutting up scraps.  I have this little baggie with 1 inch hexies.

I have been working on sewing them when I do hand work while watching the kids.

I also have a little over 200 tumblers cut.  I am not quite 10% of the way with enough enough tumblers.  I think I need to work on getting some neutral/lights cut too. 

Do you mix batiks and cottons when you sew?  Do you have a scrap system.  Do you blend them or separate. 

Sewing Time

I haven't sewn much but I have done a wee bit.

Last block for the bag ladies group from my quilt guild.  I can't wait to see what I get back.  I actually ordered some more of the fabric which was in my bag so I have a tiny idea of what I am going to make.

Here is a wee bit of my yoyo quilt that I am making.  I have been working on the layout in EQ7.  I am slow though so I don't know how many of each color I am going to need yet.

I saw a table runner where they had empty spaces.  I started playing I think I have a rough idea, but it ended up being larger than I wanted, with not enough edge.  Obviously my quilt math needs some help. 

I finished sewing my turkeys.  I decided I wanted mine to be pilgrims.  

DH says my female turkey looks like Martha Washington.  The coif does kind of make her look funny. I can't decide.  Eyes, or no eyes?  I am thinking about just using some buttons.  I had some time to get the runner put together except for borders.

I think it turned out pretty cute.

We also made spearmint pears this week.

This is DH favorite way.  A light simple syrup, spearmint flavoring, and some green food coloring.  One half bushel of pears makes 7 quarts, and 7 pints.  After a weekend of stacking wood, and then peeling and coring pears my hands are shot for a few days. 

Using my evening to the best possible advantage I got the borders for the turkey runner cut, and sewn together.  I also got brave and started cutting and sewing the borders for my Ripples and Reflections quilt.

I am slowly getting there. 

What Were You Thinking?

I know there are times when some things seem like an excellent idea.  But upon further contemplation you start to think What Were You Thinking?

I worked a bit on my quilting for the charity quilt.  I had drawn a rough idea and finally settled on the idea.

I was going to put a star and continue them down the quilt on a diagonal.  But going up to the star I wanted some bars which looked like a ribbon twisting and turning.

I don't know if you can see it but when I started to quilt it up, the quilt actually started to spindle so I need to take it apart and do it again. Idea good, execution not so great.

I haven't sewn much lately.   All my insanity hinged on this problem.  Our main bathroom is downstairs.  Now don't get me wrong it is gorgeous, and it is big!  The laundry room used to be the bathroom.  But now the main bathroom which they remodeled a few years ago, takes up approximately 1/2 of the front of the house.  It is actually what they used to call the front parlor.  There is a big walk-in shower, slipper tub, and a huge vanity which is barely used.  :(

When they remodeled the bathroom, they also added a powder room upstairs.

The powder room was created by taking a closet out of one of the bedrooms.  I would have thought that when they did this they would have put a shower in.  But no.  Now most people when they shower, their clothes are in their bedroom just a few feet away.  Our house you either must carry your clothes downstairs to the bathroom, or you go traipsing through the house upstairs to get dressed which is really not very considerate when you get up at 4:30 am to go to work.  So we end up with clothes piled in the living room, or my sewing room.  My bright idea was "Lets put a dresser in the laundry room" where I can fold clothes, and also have some clothes so I am not piling clothes all over the house.  Starting that had a domino effect. 

I cleaned out my closet.  This pile needs to be washed and will be donated to a woman's organization.  These are all of the clothes that I wore for work, when I worked for one of the big 3-mostly business attire.

The next pile are from DH.  These will be taken apart to use to make a rag rug (I have a bug and am determined,  old T-shirts will work wonderful).  Also there are a bunch of John Deere shirts which DH has kind of hinted that he would like a T-Shirt quilt made. 

I think I bit off a lot to get accomplished within a couple of days, and I ended up creating another project for myself. I better get hopping I have lots of laundry to get done now. 

Talkin Turkey

I can't believe it has been a over a week since I posted.  Life happens!

I drove the front loader one evening, while DH loaded the bucket full of logs so I could take them over and dump them near the splitter.  Another evening, DH cut down an Elm which had died recently on the other side of the field.  Then one day I had to go pick up DH from his work because Boomer (the Cavalier) that I had been driving all week, broke down on his way to work.  I know it was not kind to say, but all I thought was better him than me. 

How cool to have quilty friends that send you gifties.  Makes all the other stuff seem like nothing.

Kris at Kris Loves Fabric sent me a book on making Kanzashi flowers and the clover template to make one kind.  I love making these, and they are fun to make for the grand daughters.

I also received these super cute fabrics for my turkey table runner from Barbara at Wont-To-Be Quilter.  Check out her turkey runner!

I have done a wee bit  sewing here and there.

 The patchwork which goes in the turkey runner was put together this morning.

Here is one turkey.  The feathers, body, and legs have all been sewn down using a blind hem stitch.  I still have the body, beak, and collar to sew down.  Then I have turkey number 2 to sew.  I decided that I wanted to make mine look more like pilgrims, so I changed up the collar, and will add a pilgrim's hat for a male, and female.

The other sewing I did was for my daughter.  She signed the boys up for scouts.  Her sewing machine is broken, and she tried to iron them on, but as we all know, anything iron on just does not always work out for the best.

I had two of these to sew!  I don't mind helping her out.

I know that we have not celebrated Halloween yet, but I am planning for Thanksgiving.  It will be fun to have my runner on the table. 

Great Big Smile

I have had another busy week.  I did accomplish a little bit though.

Thursday was quilt guild.  It was time to present my challenge quilt. 

Thirty people paid for the challenge fabric.  Unfortunately only 6 people met the requirements of a quilt larger than 12 inches on a side, but not larger than 40 inches.  The quilt must be quilted, bound,  labeled, and  have the focal fabric on the front.  The quilt must demonstrate your initials.  Mine was Churn dash, Sunset (colors), Links (CSL).  My quilt won first place.  OK I know not such a huge achievement with only 6 entries, but hey, I won which means I received a $20 gift certificate to the LQS. 

I worked on my block.  I want to call it bane of my existence, but it is done.  Let's just say I took it apart many times.  Sometimes you just have to call something good enough!  Don't look too close to my intersections or points. 

It is called a Split Drunkard's Path Star. 

While I have not had much time to sew, I have had time to shop. 

I have some Halloween fabrics and I wanted to make a small quilt, using a Halloween text for the background.  Of course I am always a day late or a dollar short. 

This is Boo Crew by Sweetwater for Moda.  It was out a couple of years ago.  I managed to find a yard on Ebay.  I think it will work for what I want.

I have also been contemplating a Thanksgiving Turkey table runner.  I saw this and had to have it.  Again from Ebay, it is Posh Pumpkins by Sandy Gervais for Moda.  Love the colors and think it will add a very nice touch to my table runner. 

Finally I like using the little mylar templates from Brandy's to do my handwork.  I finally found inspiration on Pinterest so I needed to order another baggie of 1 inch mylar hexie templates.  I also needed some triangles, and diamonds to execute what I want to do.  While ordering they have acrylic templates so I ordered one of each too to make it easier for me to cut, including the 1/2 inch hexies I have been working on. 

I think these are some mighty fine reasons to smile. 

Tiny Chunks of Time

The past weekend was the sale.  Let's just say we sold a lot which was great.  Bad thing is that it was cold, rainy, and I didn't have much time for sewing.  Sunday DH sent me home around noon so I had some time to myself.

I have been struggling to finish the blocks for this quilt.

I have had a tough time with this block.  So of course it makes sense to just put the whole quilt aside since I couldn't wrap my head around this one block.  Right? 

The pattern was made using an accuquilt drunkard's path template.  There are no directions for cutting if you do not have one.  I did realize that some of the pieces are two half units put together so I know that I will be piecing these.  I thought at one point if I started out with HST that it would work.  Lets just say giant fail.  I actually drew the block out several weeks ago to try again.

That way I knew where I wanted to put each color, and could figure out each piece I needed to cut.  I finally got brave and started cutting Sunday. 

Five hours later this is my pile of parts, nothing is sewn yet, but they are all marked so that they can have their halves put together.  I have a curvemaster foot which I need to use to put this together without massive amounts of pinning.  DH said he would move the machine I need this week so maybe I will get this one done. 

Tuesday I got home earlier than usual.  We had lots of little chores to do in the kitchen.  We eat a lot of salad because of my diabetes, and we have discovered that it is cheaper, and the food last longer if we prepare our own.  No bagged salads or cabbage for us.  We usually make a huge bowl of a green salad with baby spinach, romaine, and red leaf lettuce which lasts us the week for dinner. I made salad because we had not had the opportunity to go grocery shopping and do the salad over the weekend which we usually do.  Then DH started chopping cabbage to make slaw.  We have a cabbage type salad daily for lunch, so we chop up 1 very large head of cabbage, and a smaller head of red cabbage as well as 1/2 a large bag of baby carrots.  This usually yields us 3 half gallon jars, and one gallon ziploc which lasts us for the week. We vacuum seal the jars which helps  keep the slaw  for the week. While DH was chopping slaw I started cutting parts for this block, and while he sealed the jars I finished up sewing the block.  I had to take a few minutes to review a Youtube video on how to use a Tri Recs ruler set. 

I know this block as 54-40 or Fight, but it is also known as Grandmother's star.  This makes 15 blocks sewn together, one cut out, and I have patterns for 5 more.  I still need to choose 3 more blocks to have a total of 24 which I will need to make my quilt. 

Doesn't it seem silly to put a quilt aside because of one block?

October Goals

October 6, and I have not made any goals.  I have thought about many different things but just can't settle on anything.  I don't want to commit to anything new, but then I have a lot of projects that are in the stage where it is kind of boring.  I also know that my weekends are committed to doing wood so we have heat for the winter.  So not a whole lot of time for sewing, so maybe that is a good thing.

I am going to try to be good and work on at least finishing up some things to a flimsy stage.

1.  Ripples and Reflections BOM.  I am to the point where I am doing borders, but there are weird angles in it.  I would like to get all the borders on, and put it in the waiting to be quilted pile.

2.  My Quilt Place BOM.  I have been stuck on a block. It is more mental than anything else.  I would like to finish all of the blocks for this month.  I have 5 more connector blocks, and 9 more blocks.  I have special plans for the border on this quilt. 

3.  Farmer's Wife I would love to finish putting this together with the cornerstone, and sashing.

4.   Embroidery on the Barns.  I have one partially done. 

The next couple of things are related to the fact that I am trying to get a handle on my scraps.  I have been working at cutting them down.  I make 2 1/2 inch squares,

2 1/2 inch tumblers

3 inch squares to make yoyos if the fabric is red, white, blue, or red/white and blue. 

1 1/2 inch squares and 1/2 inch hexies.  These will be like a postage stamp quilt.  No pattern, just using up scraps. 

5.  I am also working on a Dresden turkey table runner.  All I have so far are some squares and a couple of dresden wedges.  Nothing to really show.

6.  I would love to work on the red and white drunkard's path.

I need to have a machine moved. 

7.  I have some Christmas presents to start. 
8.  I have a lot of quilting to do.  I just need the time, and decent light.  :D

I keep wondering how my time got so out of control regarding time to sew.