Thursday, February 29, 2024

February flew by!

 I have been trying to make an effort to post mid month but that sure did not happen in February!  I do have lots to share.  Even tho' I've been busy in other parts of my life somehow I always come back around to sewing as my stress reducer and relaxation time.  Those bits of time add up!

After my last post I visited The Rainbow Scrap Challenge (thus the link in the sidebar)  It reminded me of how many baskets of scraps I have organised by color and maybe I should follow along with the monthly suggestions.   So January being "Green" I dug out my basket of green.

I had a lot of fun pawing through all my green scraps.  I already had a lot of scrappy units.  So I had a possible top laid out in no time!  But it was a little haphazard so I tried to pick out one part and build from there.
I liked the light and dark play in this section so I think I'll use it as my focal point and arrange all the other units around it somehow.
Of course January moved into February and that meant getting out my red scrap basket.  This one has quite a lot of parts further on in the design process so I won't get it together by today but I might get it assembled by end of March!
I have most of the units for the other two sides I just need to sew them together.  I think it still might need another border.  It's only about 34" square so far...

I'm also on a binge to try and reduce my Quilt Top UFO's.  I've been trying to have something pinned to the Long Arm all the time so that whenever the mood to quilt strikes me I can move on that empulse right away instead of having to pick a project, pin it on, choose a backing etc. etc.
Here are some Finished Finishes  I think I'm going to abbreviate that from now on: FF's,  hows that for an acronym?




Of course I couldn't let to much time lapse before diving into my Orphan Block pile. 
 This was made from 4 big improve blocks. 
 You take 4 fat quarters (or even larger squares) stack them all face up and then freestyle slice them up and sew them back together making 4 very large (about 15") block units.  
I find a lot of these UFO's in our guild flea market.  I think it's because while all of that wild sewing and cutting is fun;  once people get done they don't know what to do with the blocks.   
This one really just needed a little squaring up and some borders and bam an nice lap quilt for donation!
I thought the butterfly print was really pretty and all the back and forth movement of the other patches made it interesting.
Here's another one I found in the flea market.  This one came with some extra fabric and the wonky star block that I put in the middle...
The fabric definitely caught my eye!

And just to round things out...I have some baby quilts that Won't make themselves!
Here's what I've worked out so far:
or maybe this?
If you zoom in on the fabric you can see that it is a print of Tigers.
The Dad-to-be is nicknamed "Tiger" and somehow that has gotten to be the theme of the baby's room.
My daughter sent me this pic of these prints that are in the baby's room.
Seems kind of sophisticated for Baby decor.  It was hard to find any Tiger fabric that was not either cartoony or wild jungle.  Well I'll work on it...
Next Baby quilt is for someone who wants Whales in the quilt.  I found some incredible whale prints at Spoonflowers.  The shower for that Mom is not 'til mid April so I've got plenty of time to play with that Fabric!!!

I hope all is well with you !
Stay warm!
take care, cw

 

 









Friday, January 26, 2024

Happy New Year!

Hi all!  I know it's already the 26th of January but it's my first post in the New Year soooo,  Happy New Year!  

Not alot going on around here;  but we are still here so I'm counting my blessings!  

With all the stormy weather I've been getting in a fair amount of sewing!  

In December I showed a picture of a baby quilt I was making for my daughter's baby expected in March.  My daughter is very particular and I was worried she would not like the bright colors of the quilt.  So I made this quilt from a panel that my daughter had pick out a while ago as a possibility.  She liked it!  

Then I showed her the other one and she liked that too!  So I will finish it and give it to her at her shower next month.

Next up I have two bonafide finishes!  Bound and ready to be gifted.
and
And two Top finishes
 This one was several years in the making. First I made a bunch of blocks and it wasn't big enough and then I ran out of certain fabrics and had to find substitutes etc. etc.
Now I'm just agonizing over the border.  What do you think the dark purple or the teal?

This quilt top didn't take nearly as long as the last quilt but it was kind of a trick getting the lights and darks balanced (sort of).
But I do love working with these yarn dyed thread plaids.  they are so soft and have endless variety!
Well I ope you are having a wonderful New Year!
take care, cw











Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Fiddling Around

 I hope you are all enjoying this Holiday Season!

Holiday craziness is hard for me but I understand why people love it.  That said I've still found some time for sewing so here's the latest from my sewing room:

We had to make a quick trip to our family cabin.  I Wanted something really easy for a sewing project so I brought a bunch of pre-cut Squares.  I really like the way this one turned out.

It will be around 50" x 60" after some borders.

On a different note...My daughter and her husband are expecting their first child in March so I have been spending time pondering what kind of baby quilt to make.
Naomi likes everything Modern and neutral so she usually doesn't like my quilts which are so often loud and asymmetrical.
So I'm just going to have to punt.
I bought a panel of 'Monkeys jumping on the bed' a long time ago thinking I would make a baby quilt for one of my grand kids some time or other.  Naomi always loved that rhyme / chant.  
Here's what the original panel looked like:
I forgot that it was supposed to be one of those soft books.  I did not like the substitute of "funky" for "little". Which is the way I remembered the rhyme.  So I decided to dissect out the blocks I liked and write my own text.
Here's what I've got worked out so far:
I bought a packet of laserjet "printable fabric" from EQ.  It printed ok but it was very faint after the rinsing process so I just went over the print very carefully with a sharpie marker.  When I rinsed them again the printing stayed nice and dark!  Gotta love those Sharpies!
  I still need to figure out a border but it is coming along.
I figure if Naomi, really really doesn't like it I'll keep it at my house for when the baby comes to visit.

It's been cold and rainy the past couple of days.  That weather brings out the squirrel in me.  I've been trolling through my orphan projects for my own entertainment for about 2 days now. 
I think it's time I finished this project.
The rows are half sewn together.  I might have a fighting chance of finishing this one before the New Year!
The border is going to be tricky.  I would let it be; but it's not quite big enough.  You can see some of the fabrics I'm auditioning, I'm thinking the teal in the upper right corner?!  

I hope you all have Happy Holidays!
take care, cw