Yesterday i washed up scrap fabric i had accumulated from different outside sources got it all pressed and the small pieces cut into the sizes i need and made some pinwheel blocks as i went....the larger pieces went into the stack on the back of my table that is climbing up the wall.
Later in the day i turned my energies to the little sq in sq blocks i am doing....i dont know why i am doing these so small...i started them a few years ago...i am not sure i had a
reason at all....here they are so far all 98 of them and the little triangles scattered all over and the last of the white centers sitting on the sewing cabinet ready to finish....then i suppose i will need to add another round to make them big enough to make a decent block...not sure i want to work with them today...
My idea for today is wash up all the orange, rust and light brown fabric that i have accumulated that needs to be put in the cabinet...i do have plans for that later when i tackle a challenge for my quilt group....and it will be a challenge if i use the plans i have in my head....there are i think 9 different pieces of fabric to deal with from 1 yard to 4 yard pieces so one load of wash but i will dry them a couple at a time so as not to wear out my shoulder that gives me trouble...i suppose it will take most of my day lol....but then its a nasty windy day so i wont be going out....i can play all day....more later.....
I have been a busy little bee this morning....i put the border on 2 quilt tops getting ready to box up to send to charity for kids....these are the six items i am sending...2 finished quilts and 4 quilt tops....that will about do me for awhile ...believe it or not my scrap pile is getting low on variety right now so until i get sewing fever again i wont be making anymore....
Here are the last two that i worked on that is in the stack to go to charity....
i will be glad to get the box off the table....its loaded again with sewing stuff and i am trying to get it cleared so i can lay out one to hand quilt....No plans for the rest of the day but i am sure there will be sewing in the middle of it...
I am not feeling too good this week...i seemed to hav picked up a bug so i might be laying down napping for some of the time....I would like to get the box mailed off as soon as i recieve my address where i have to send it so i am waiting on that...just maybe i might get that table cleared off this week lol.....got more things in the works when i feel better... so that is about it for now....more later....
I have been meaning to post about this for some time and i keep forgetting it unless my memory is jogged looking at color....
I have noticed in a lot of mags and shops that different shades of gray seem to be used as background fabric in quilts....I also noticed when i go to order at my favorite place that i cannot find many whites that are in stock....Now i know most fabrics are imported to the states so i am wondering if companies arent making whites or is the public grabbing them up as they hit the market....I also wonder if gray is taking the place of white or black because of lack of fabric on the market....I am full of wondering today lol....
I have a quilt started with a very light gray which i like...my preference is the cream color for background...my daughter , the one who like primitive says the cream color makes a quilt look old which she likes....i just like the blending making the quilt look softer....
I guess i will keep wondering about these things till someone can shed light on my thoughts...today though is off to a good start with getting things done so i can sew later....maybe pics later in the week.....always something going on here....more later....
I am a happy camper today so far....the quilt with the little square in square blocks and the bricks has gone together wonderfully...it was like they were planned to be together...i did have to make more brick blocks (6 in block) as i had been using them as leaders and enders so didn't have the 80 i needed so had to make 50 more...to the left are string strips but the brick blocks are similar that alternate rows with the square in square blocks so you can get the picture....
What made me a happy camper was the fact that i had 14 sns blocks left so i could add another 6 inches to the length which it needed...
Then after i added those i went to the big yardage bin to look for a blender for the border...i found the perfect one for that too so now to wash it up and iron i can add the border...its almost scary that things are going so well...lol....more later....
A couple days ago I had an echocardiogram at the hospital which I hope is the last test I will have for the winter....so far all the tests I have had revealed nothing...At least its telling me I don't have the big C or a lot of other diseases or problems...for that I am thankful.... All these tests are telling me I might be right that my food is going through my body too fast to get absorbed like it should hence I am not making blood as fast as I am using it over a period of years....there is more to story but I wont bore you...anyway I hope my family doc recognizes that this could be the problem...my gastro doc hasn't ruled it out....
Anyway---its been so cold here when I had to get out to go for this test that I actually dragged out my winter coat...ya know its cold when I do that lol...as I hate coats especially heavy ones but at least I was very warm against the zero weather...
A little sewing is being done but mostly working on the border of my daughters flower garden quilt...I am almost ready for the last side....then only have one more quilt to add a border to...I have been having a lot of pain in my arm that I hand sew with...I think all the repetition sewing is wearing on it...so I have been babying it somewhat...
I have gotten a couple fabric orders in the last 2 weeks so have to get them washed and ironed (another aggravation for my arm) ...I am waiting to use one of the pieces for the back of a childs oversized quilt for a family member...will need to hand quilt that one....
So all in all lots of sewing to get going on...if winter sticks around I am sure I will be in the sewing room a lot more lol....maybe pics next time.....more later....
Ok, i admit it....i think i am going to commit the cardinal sin of fabric!....let me explain....
Years ago i bought this stripe fabric on sale with the idea to cut it up and create a new fabric....this fabric is a little heavier than normal cotton so the seams are a little bulkier...but i went ahead anyway...i cut squares then cut those into triangles then cut them again for triangles then cut 2 more triangles out of each of those...a lot of cutting and seams ..then sewing the 2 3/4 inch triangle blocks together into a 9 patch...i must have gotten bored or didn't like it cause i put it away for years.....
I got it back out 2 days ago and started working on it more...but as i was working on it and trying to get a good press on the blocks it wasn't working...and i really didn't want to cut up more fabric and go through all that again...i have 30 -9 patch blocks of these and no matter what i think could make out of them they are just too bulky and probably would break needles trying to quilt them soooo I am going to commit the cardinal sin of fabric...and throw them out!!!!....I am sure the fabric police will come and get me and throw me in fabric jail for this but rather than spend more time messing with them I think its best i get on with something else....
The fabric and the blocks have been in my basket of blocks for over 3o years and i think its time to deal with it....i must be losing patience cause really dont want to spend any more time of these....more later....
The other day when i was tinkering around in the sewing room i found a fat quarter and some leftover triangles sitting on the table...they kinda looked like they should go together so i scrounged around in the cabinet for a co-ordinating piece to make sashes out of....this is what i came up with.....
I think it will be a nice addition for someone next fall...and more important ..some more things off my table....i swear the table content multiplies over night.....
I also noticed that there are solid colors accumulating on the table....i am thinking i should cut some strips maybe 2 1/2 inches wide of lots of different colors to make a irish chain quilt....i love that pattern...its so simple but it looks so clean and striking with lots of room for nice quilting...this idea has been roaming around in my head for awhile....sooner or later i will make another one lol
Gotta get out today and see if i can get the garage door open so i can get out and get groceries....i am sure its stuck with the 'watery' snow we got last week and now cold weather...today it has moderated so maybe if i can get the snow away from the door it might open....Hope So!....more later....
Yesterday was a good day...at least in the sewing room....outside its cold and frozen snow...i say it like that cause of the water content and the single digit temps make it hard as ice....
Back to sewing....I made these 53 blocks that are pretty little..3 inches square...i am going to make blocks till the background light color runs out....I dont think it will be very big by itself so i am up for ideas on what to use with them to make it at least lap size....i didn't do a very good plan with this one...its been laying in my clothes basket of blocks for at least 2 years so i would like to see it done...
I may go in the sewing room today and scratch around...i really should put fabric away...i have stacks around in there that need put away...i would have more room wouldn't i??...I always get sidetracked when i go in with a purpose but i will try to stay focused today....lol...
Right now on my sewing table i have 3 partly done tops being worked on at a time....no chance for boredom here lol...who knows maybe i will get one of them finished this week and it can hang in the closet with the rest of them....yes i am being a little sarcastic at myself....but i hope to change that this year....work more on finishing the WHOLE quilt not just the top.....ok time to get dressed and get at it.....more later....
Instead of working on things i should have been this afternoon i made this block....i saw a quilt on line while i was 'roaming' around and i was fascinated with it...of course i dont have a pattern so i was winging it....i used some scrap and 2 inch stuff...well it worked out all except i should have had 2 1/2 inch pieces then it would work square...its a keeper though it will be one i will make in the future...
We had our quilt group meeting yesterday...lots of gabbing and exchanging thoughts about sewing etc....it was a good day weather wise considering its the middle of winter and we usually have at least some snow to put up with...now next month might be a different story lol....
I am working on one of these right now putting a border on it in light blue...these were the first that i made and my girls saw the others with the borders and now they want theirs to have one so here we go lol....the other one will have a medium green border on it which is next...i wonder if i will ever be done with the Grandmothers Flower Garden quilts lol....I do know that everyone will be tired of me talking about them lol....
It dont look like much on tv tonight so i just might go in and sew till bedtime....but then plans change dont they??...whatever i do will be a suprise i think....more later....
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....
Today seemed like Sunday....so much so that i tried to find TV programs that i watch on Sunday today....Finally figured out that it was Saturday....I just hate when i get my days mixed up...
It was a busy day though...I always work on the flower garden quilts in the morning and today was no different...got a lot done too...ready to turn the corner on the border and had to get out one of the others so i could get it set up they way it should be....Those corners are very tricky...
Then later in the afternoon i quilted a table runner i just made...it was a fall pattern FQ and some triangles floating around on my sewing table forever...i had enough triangles to make 7 square in square blocks...i put them in rows of 2 using 6 and had one leftover for a potholder....i have the runner yet to sew the binding down but my fingers are getting sore tonight so will wait till another time....
I even got my bills cleaned up ready to mail... and the bar almost cleaned off....the dining table is almost cleaned off too...i have been working on that job for about a week...i want to lay out a quilt to sew or take to quilter...not decided which...
I just know i am tired and my back feels like a truck ran over it with all the sitting at themachine i did the last couple days...so i suppose i better turn in early with a tylenol chaser tonight....more later.....
While stitching on my daughters border for her flower quilt this morning i thought about a tip for working on the Grandmothers flower garden quilts....As most of you know that follow my adventures working on these quilts i have added borders to them to make them have more personalities....
The tip is when making the zig zag end of the quilt you can make them in a row before you join them to the quilt....you wont have to worry about if you are getting the right zig in the right spot if you sew starting in the down position and make an odd amount of them such as 5,7 or 9 cause when you turn it one way the first one is either up or down then the opposite end will be the opposite of the first....i hope that makes sense...but it is very helpful believe me so you dont have to guess all the time which way you should start if you are sewing away from the quilt say in a dr. office...
The last two days i have been busy looking for recipes and baking...well not baking but candy making...and i am not done yet....i will go as long as my energy lasts....here is one of the items i have made....Carol's
people chow is what i am calling it...hope the kids like it...its pretty tasty if i do say so....and the other one is homemade turtles....i would have liked to make the carmel from scratch as it would have been softer but i was afraid by the time i got the carmel made i would have stopped there...
I have also been working pretty steady on the borders of my granddaughters flower quilt and happy to say i am almost done...couple more days of steady work and i should be finished....then i can put the borders on both my daughters flower quilts....and in between i am working on the one i am making for myself with all the leftovers....that will be a slow going thing till i get those girls' done...
Well back to the kitchen to make some peanut brittle....i hesitate to say things are going along smooth today but they are and hope to continue....more later....
I have been doing more 'little' sewing from the scrap on the table...just minor things like these going to be potholders...I dont know about the rest of the family but i need new ones and they dont have to be fancy...these were leftover partial blocks that i have been chasing around on that table forever so now they will be done up this week sometime..
Also i have been working off and on, on these blocks...cant remember what the name of the block is but i would call it a 9 patch variation...they have all been made from the scrap on the table too at various times....been thinking of making a star block with background all the same with print star of other colors to alternate with these....not sure on that...i am not even sure how big i want the quilt...more on this later....
Healthwise....got more tests in January, added one more when i went for followup at the gastro doc...i have a feeling my insides are going to be recognized more than my outside if they keep going lol....but so far all is well....wish they could cure my arthritis.....
Well gotta run to the store to get some meat...didn't want to cook today but the restaurants will be busy this close to Christmas and i dont want to stand in line to wait to eat....soo....more next time.....
Isn't this pretty???? ...Beautiful Angel!... It's a topper made by one of my on line quilting friends for Christmas swap i joined....i am thinkng of putting a sleeve on it so i can hang it....i have just the spot for it and i think it would look nice ...
Yesterday wasn't a total loss...i washed up a small load of clothes and another load of dark fabrics and ironed them for my cabinet...
I just havent felt like doing too much...this past week i have had some sort of bug working on me...i think its a sinus infection but so far i am still going...very tired all the time though....so not much is getting done...
Today i hope to change that....i have a lot of fabric that needs washed up so it can be used so this is the game plan....wash a huge load of same color type fabric and dry a few at a time so when i iron them my arm doesn't get so tired....i think this will work better though its kinda slow process but workable...
I have already worked 3 hrs on my grand daughters flower garden quilt....this border is getting to me...for some reason its taking forever to finish...one reason is the Kona white cotton is very stiff to work with....i hate it....the last batch of it got was this way....
I ordered fabric for the background of the last flower garden quilt...MINE....it wont be Kona for sure....i am making sure i got something that is soft to hand sew....one note...when i went to order...it seems most of the other whites in all categories is sold out or has very little yardage...what is going on?????...is the companies not making any or is the public making quilts with all white backs?????.....unbelieveable!!!!
My sewing table is a wreck again...but what should i expect when i am working in there most of the time...i never stick with one thing very long so there is always 3-4 projects going on all the time....
I cant get anything done sitting here so off i go...maybe it will be a very productive day....more later.....
