IT WAS STRING DAY IN THE SEWING ROOM

This what I did today instead of working in the house....I wanted mindless sewing because I am having some kind of health flare....its started last night and now its still here today...I thought for sure it would be raining, its that kind of flare when the weather changes....but so far it hasn't ….its been cloudy all day though....

Back to the strings....my string box is overflowing and they do go fast and I figured I needed 112- 4 1/2 inch square string blocks to make a 8 inch big block to make a childs quilt....then add a border to it. Today I made 13 in no time so it wont take long to make them a few at a time....the part I hate is taking the paper off the back side...lol

Just about time for supper but that will be easy...port steak, mac salad, and buttered beets....most of it has to be warmed and the steak cooked so I wont be spending a lot of time in the kitchen....

I think I will be going to bed to watch tv tonight so maybe my aches and pain will settle down again....its always something as an obstacle in my way lol....more later....

SCRAP SEWING TODAY

I decided that i needed to work with strings today after looking in my scrap basket that i keep on the sewing table...it was overflowing with scrap....i really didn't want to do much as i was tired for some reason...I could have dumped it into the bigger tote but i didn't want that either as it can get out of hand very fast....

This is the result of my efforts....not sure i will work on more but i do have to go in and put things away if i dont...after my back rests for awhile i will see if i can do more....i really need to....

I had to take a break from working on the flower garden quilts today...I have been working on them steady for over a month and I am tired of them at the present lol....oh i will keep at it but not like i have been...well i gotta go lay down for a bit...got muscle spasms in my back and they need to quit....more later....

FROM STRINGS TO THIS---

On Sunday after sewing all those string blocks i decided to make a top out of some of them....This will go to an orphanage...I'm just sending the top....I don't machine quilt really good as i am basically a hand quilter so i think they could do a better job....

I have enough string blocks for 1/2 of another childs quilt...if i get ambitious and work on more blocks i could have another one for the ladies...I do have another quilt top almost ready to put together in the scrap basket pattern from using leaders and enders method of making blocks....those go so fast...

I am up early today as i have errands to do later and the fact is i didn't sleep all night....wide awake...if this keeps up i think i will see about a sleep study....its getting terrible....

Well i better be on my way...lots to do today....more later....

A WEEKEND OF STRINGS

This isn't the new project i have planned but it is something that was needed...my string box was overflowing again...so i spent the whole weekend so far making string blocks...anything that was too small for a block got made into piano key type for a border or something else later...

I also worked a lot on my granddaughter flower quilt...adding 5 blocks finishing row 14....it wont be long before i have the top done...

I still have the white fabric to wash for the Christmas project i want to make....i think i will add more white fabric for the hexes to the load also...i got through that so fast and there is another quilt top i want to use with the leftover fabric from the flower gardens....just so many ideas so little time and energy lol.....i think i need a crew to help me lol...

Well its bedtime for me but i think i will play a game on the computer before i go...it always makes me sleepy so we will see if it does tonight .....more later....

STRINGS AND MORE STRINGS

This is what I have been doing the last couple days when time permitted...digging in my 'string' bin and making 4 1/2 inch blocks to be joined and make a 4 block, block....I plan on making 35 big blocks of 4 to make a quilt...I think I have 20 so far... not sure on border or not there is time to think on that one...I cant sit and make many of these at a time as I start to get nervous and have to quit...

I would like that bin to get down to half before I stop making blocks from it...I only want 1 bin of those things lol....and it doesn't take long for it to overflow....

Well I survived the clean up day lol....I threw out more than I thought I would want to part with and it was a good feeling but very emotional on some things that were my 2 husbands but time for them to go....and now its time for me to go...errands to do....more later....

STRINGS ARE MAKING ME A LITTLE BUGGY

For the last two days I have been making 'string strips' for a border of one of my new quilts....

I haven't measured to see if I have enough made but it looks like I should have.....

I only worked out of my little basket that I keep close by to add anything under 1 1/2 inches wide...this picture doesn't show it overflowing...that is why I started making them this week...because the scraps weren't going in the basket anymore lol and I couldn't stand it...now the basket pretty much looks like the picture...almost empty....so glad I didn't have to get out the big box that has more scrap in it...that is always a huge mess if I get it out....

I will have more pics later more little stuff has been made and I have a quilt to show that you haven't seen yet ...it too needs borders ...in fact these strings is part of the border for it....

It turned off cold this week and I had to turn on the furnace...I didn't think I would keep it going but its cold outside and there is no sense of me freezing...my arthritis gives me enough trouble....

well I am off to bed its been a long long day and I am really tired.....till next time....more later....

MAKING A NEW 'CHALLENGE QUILT'

Finally I am posting....I have been busy with stuff here at home trying to get caught up with stuff I need to do that I haven't taken time to post much....

This past week I had a water line break in the basement...thank god I was home or I would have had a flood down there....a lot of water sprayed all over as it is....plumber will have to come back to fix...he didn't have time that day to do the repair...I am glad he didn't have to have the water shut off all over the house just the line to the downstairs sink....

I have been working on string strips again trying not to let the scrap stuff get to far ahead of me....and I started a new quilt of stars and 9 patch...the original pattern for the block is in Quilters Cache....I made it for a challenge while back...here is that one in archives...I love this pattern....

 

 

Speaking of challenges I joined another challenge of sorts....the online quilt group I belong to posted a pattern for a 'scrap basket' quilt....and I am going great guns on it right now....here are some of the panels I have put together so far....I need 25 in all...

 

I have to put it aside today at least till I get the flowers fixed for the cemetery...Memorial day crept up on me again this year....I guess because I was raised with the holiday being the 30th weekend not before that ....so confusing sometimes lol...

 

My 'Dewey' blocks are put aside for the time being....and I dug out the 4 patches I had and putting a ivory triangle around each side to put them on point for a good size quilt....I have about half the blocks done for that....

 

I need to take more pics...I finally finished the small childs quilt I was hand quilting....don't know why I didn't finish before only took me 2 hrs to finish quilting and couple more to bind....grrr...lol....

 

Well this catches me up for now and just maybe I can get the camera wound up again sometime this week...I know there is more to show....

UFO GETTING ATTENTION TODAY

Today while drinking my coffee still trying to wake up I decided to look at the back pictures in my camera file to see if I missed anything....sometimes I take a lot of pics to use with posts here and I miss one now and then....well I am not sure but I think I found one lol....

This a UFO I started couple years ago...all it is lacking is the rust border maybe about 5 inches or so then it will be ready for quilting....I started it because I wanted a different layout for the string blocks...I call it southwest stars....it reminds me of the colors you would find there....the background looks white but it is a very light gray...these colors you wouldn't normally find together but they somehow work just like the sunsets in the southwest....it will be bed size when finished....this is on the agenda to finish before the year is up....

I seem to have a fascination with star blocks....

I keep going back to a challenge that I participated in while back and made this topper....I like the colors and the design of the topper ....I wonder if a large quilt would look good with them.....or something similar ....maybe more later on this one...

Update on the snowball quilt....I did get it to the narrow border stage after getting the rows done but didn't take a picture yet....I have been trying to decide on just how big to make the borders or how many....that will be the story for later this week lol.....

One of the first things I have to do today is do up the dishes and straighten up the kitchen....when I work on a project in sewing the kitchen always suffers ...I just eat and pile dishes and go back to sewing....so now it judgment time lol plus I gotta cook something today so I can do both at the same time lol....geez its a new week again....time is flying....and so am I lol....more later....

GETTING A LOT DONE THIS WEEK

Yes i am getting a lot of sewing done this week...from the 'old' bags of projects in my basket to the new one that i am going to show you today....

this quilt started because i wanted something more to show off the strings instead of just putting the strings side by side...so i thought maybe stars on the outside of them would be good....then i decided it needed more color than the rust so opted for the green in the white space....this quilt makes me think southwest u.s. or mexico....it is bright in person...my laptop doesn't show colors very well i dont think....there is a bright rust and a brighter green in the picture than shown....

i double stitched to make the triangles for the flying geese so i now have a lot of rust triangle squares and green ones too from the leftovers to make something more....

that makes very little waste in this quilt...the ends of the strips were about the only waste i had....as you can tell i started making pinwheels from the green ones so far just not sure where its going yet lol....

i have just 3 small   UFO quilts left to quilt and maybe will get 2 of them done today then the rest of the ufos will be bigger ones to work on....got to lay out another large batt to be ready as i want to put one of the larger quilts in the frame to hand quilt a diagonal feather design down throughout the quilt....

i made my new challenge item for my sewing group but cant show till they are all shown so that is out but i did finish a ufo topper and the little mini squares quilt i showed in last post ....did all this yesterday....so i hope today is just as productive.....more later....

ITS A STRING DAY

I have done nothing but think about the color variation in the 'asian garden' quilt that i showed in the last post...my first plan was to take it all apart and try to get the green blocks the same color....but 'holy cow' that is a lot of work, work i am not sure i want to do right now....

So today i had to quit thinking about that quilt and got out the bin of scraps and started with the string blocks again....

i made 18 this morning , some cut ready to go and others on the right have to be trimmed up but now on a break from them...not sure if i will make more this afternoon or not....i will make that decision later....i have 3 different yardages of fabric in the washer right now, one of them is the blue for the yellow &courthouse steps quilt border...i may work on that instead....

It seems like a nice day so far and after checking the forcast last night for today i just might get in the car and get out of the house for abit...i have been thinking quilts too long and need to clear my head....that might help me make a decision about the 'asian garden' quilt...

i still have to put all that fabric away and what did i do yesterday but i got out some more...grrrr...lol...today i looked up what i thought i was going to use for the back of the asian garden quilt but 'no go' its only 2 yards and i need at least 3+ sooo...i am going to have to look deeper in the green stack of stash...i do believe i have 1 piece that might be big enough....i sure dont want to go out and buy more at this point...

i am hunting for a new runner pattern to make another one...i was asked what i was going to do with all the runners i am making....well i am using them for practice with my machine quilting and when it becomes our family turn to host our reunion i will gather them all up and hope the family will want something i made...hopefully i will get better and better at machine quilting......well gotta either cook something or get ready and leave to find a late lunch or early supper....i like the last idea better lol...more later....

GRANDMOTHERS FLOWER GARDEN TIP

i learned something about adding blocks on the ends of rows of the gfg quilt on the left today....it is hard to know where you are with the blocks unless you lay it out and pin where you want the block....if i hadn't double checked myself today i would have sewn at least2 blocks in the wrong places and would have had to rip out...

i have been working on these quilts this week...in various stages...cutting more white hexes, yes again....cutting a couple more flowered print hexes and sewing hexes into flowers and finally working on the rows sewing posies into place....i sure spent the hours working on these quilts....

when i wasn't doing that i was string block making....i found out from my youngest daughter that she likes quilts of a lot of colors, no matter the pattern....i didn't realize this but i should have being she likes primitive furniture...no wonder she grabbed the old 4 patch quilt i made a long long time ago i was going to trash...all made from scraps from the clothes sewing i did for the girls back in the 60's....i thought it got threw out lol....i am sure she will like the string quilt when it gets that far.....my other daughter said she wasn't too crazy about string blocks...talk about 2 girls and different personalities lol

i am still waiting for the thread order before i can work on the mug rugs and i have been getting the boxes ready that i am sending to friends in Texas and i hope to send one to Georgia also if i can find the right thing....and i have one to send right here in Il too...the dining table is a mess of boxes and rug mugs and no room to sew...ugh....that isn't good lol....

and to top it off i wasn't feeling good today for some reason....i had planned on going grocery shopping and looking around today but didn't trust my body to co operate....going to eat light for supper so maybe things will settle down...its the wrong time to be sick for sure with Thanksgiving just 2 days away lol....

well not a lot to talk about tonight....just sewing when i feel like it....going to lay down for a bit and watch the evening news...sure hope there is some good news for a change.....more later...

2 QUILTS FINISHED

It's been a busy week here at home...this new sewing streak has me moving from one thing to another all day long but i am getting things done...

In the last 2 weeks i have made a little girls quilt with butterflies from irish chain pattern...hard to see the butterflies in the picture...

i have had the print fabric i know for at least 14 years...i remember where i bought it ...i am very suprised i haven't used it before this..the fabric is very pretty in person...the quilt is one width by about 45 inches....then while i was working on it and during the time when i got bored with it i started another quilt i mentioned in previous post...the red/blue hole in barn door quilt....well i am finished with it now...got it done this morning...

its the little boys quilt i decided to make when i found this combo staring at me when i opened the cabinet...i have just a scrap left of the very busy blue print....the color works in this quilt but i passed over it lots of times wondering what to do with it , it always seemed to busy to work in anything up till now and this time it seemed to be just right...

After all this sewing i been doing i have a stack of small pieces of batt ....i already has some stuffed in here and there in a shelf but now there is a whole lot more...looks like all those string  blocks i made will be made into bigger blocks and used for potholders....

 

this is just the smaller stack of small pieces of batt...the other one sits on the floor in family room behind the chair for now...this stack i will work on first i think it has the smallest pieces in it....the other stack has bigger pieces that maybe i can piece together for runners...without making too many seams...

got to take a break from sewing later today and buy some groceries....i think i will make out menus for this next week with things that i can make ahead so i dont have to stop sewing for long...good thing i like leftovers lol...

it is such a pretty day this friday that i should take advantage of it and go do a little other shopping....fall is really showing up now....hard to keep the house warm at night but i am going to be frugal and not heat the house i hope till late october or november....more later about that lol....

well its back to sewing after lunch....i have a table runner all pinned ready to machine quilt....i have been lagging in that department for awhile while hand quilting those quilts....so now its back to  practicing again....i also want to machine quilt that hexagon table topper i posted earlier for my daughter so most likely that will get done sometime over the week end...so for now its ta-ta....more later ....