Where I'm At - Current Projects

I'm tired and recovering from all the intense work on the fair quilts....I've also had an intense week dealing with Wendy's 16th birthday and especially the complete mess up of her timetable, including missing classes, and an additional computer glitch where she lost an entire two credits from last year. That, and coaching and monitoring Scott's entry into first year high school.

So, I will sit and ponder what I've got in my definite would like to work on projects for the remainder of the year -

Quilting -

• Almost Log Cabin - I've started quilting this, and really only have about a day's work left
• Sally Post Floral Sampler - an almost queen size quilt that is ready for basting, and I would like to have ready for the church at the end of September
• Three small Christmas/Winter theme quilts - these are small wallhangings or table toppers that I started as gifts for my sisters and sister in law last Christmas, they're basted and ready to go - they're definitely headed out the door this year, but to whom I'm no longer certain
• Sudoku - this one I started quilting when my Sapphire came back to me, reincarnated as an 870. Practiced and got my faith back in using the Sapphire before starting the fair quilts - I'm in no hurry to finish this by any specific time

Piecing and machine applique

• Strippy Basket Sampler - this just needs wide borders added, to make it a bit bigger for my Mom, and needs to be quilted by Christmas!
• Redwork Christmas and Jelly Roll - I have to start giving this some serious thought - I have a machine embroidery disk for the Snowman Collector quilt by the Stitch Connection, and a winter themed jelly roll bought last year - should this be a lap quilt or a wallhanging? This Chrimas or next?
• Flannel peaks, the delectable mountain pattern that has the preliminary cutting done - I'd like this top done in January but its such an easy one to pick up the odd block or two I just might have the top done much sooner
• 30s sampler - long term project that I'd like to work a little bit on each week or two
• two BOM quilts - Jan Patek's 2008-2009 girl gang, and Liz Lois' Just Plain Nuts

For me, this list is too heavy on the quilting and too light on the piecing. I have a few other ufos and wips that I might get into this fall, and I certainly would like to make a new small (20 x 20) wallhanging for a certain area in my home; and also, a new Christmas wall hanging (36" square or so) to replace a wreath wall hanging that's been in use for too many years.

Handwork

• Applique - the Cherry Berry Sampler pattern book arrived, and I'm still in love with it. Some pieces look a bit challenging for needleturn, especially if not using the firmly woven batiks or handdyes. So I'm thinking about whether to indeed go with batiks, or stick with the fabrics I've chosen and do fusible applique with hand blanket stitch.
• Hexagons - yep, I'm still slowly working with those vintage fabrics and english paper pieced hexagons
• Hand piecing! - I would very much like to explore this a bit more, especially as I have a small collection Australian Patchwork and Quitling magazines that have a number of patterns that can really only be done well by hand piecing, and I think I'd enjoy learning

Okay, now I'm beginning to wish I never started this. I don't know if it makes me feel better to see how much I can do, or be thinking that I've set too many goals. Quilting is more than a hobby to me. As I am almost housebound, I have plenty of time to work on projects when the time is right. Despite being able to work only about a half hour at a time, and a doctor's rule of resting - one time rest for 2 times activity (meaning, 1/2 hour of activity means 15 minutes of rest); and often one time rest for one time activity; its amazing how much I can get done. Whenever I have the opportunity to try something new, or learn something new, I can. I'm studying Patsy Thompson's free motion dvds - fantastic - and I'm also taking a Quilt U class on Electric Quilt layouts.

Wish me luck - and please don't tell me how many days until Christmas!

Piecing Tops

Yesterday I actually got some sewing done. I pieced together the strippy rows of a basket and stars quilt that I haven't yet named. This pattern is from Fons & Porter, and it was intended to have applique in the centre strips, but this is the quilt I mentioned in a previous post that, in the end, I thought it was getting too big if I had continued to follow the pattern, and I actually liked it just fine the way it was turning out without the applique.



I also had a great time yesterday piecing the blocks for the sashings on the Folk Art Finery quilt top. Sometimes when I'm piecing, I can get in to a very calm, almost meditative state. Of course, this only happens when your pieces are cut and ready to sew, there are no calamaties with the sewing machine, and few interruptions. In the process of piecing, cut fabric to cut fabric, adding on one piece at a time, pressing, and continuing on the circle - I can get very quiet, and my mind can actually declutter itself - just watching the fabric feed through the sewing machine.



Pictures to follow later today, when Mike can help me by holding the finished top and the finished centre section of Folk Art Finery.



Canada Day!


Lists and surveys always create a lot of conversation. Of course there was published in time for Canada Day - what do we like most about Canada? or what are our symbols of Canada? I had to laugh to see Tim Horton's in a top 10 spot on the list - multiculturalism was number 1.



Our town has an annaul fireworks and party at a local park. We've been living in this town for 15 years - when we moved here it was still pretty much a rural town on the outskirts of Toronto. Now its a full fledged suburbian city with thousands of new homes, big box stores, a performing arts theatre being built, and numerous changes that go hand in hand with development. Our local fireworks continue, as the crowds continue to grow, and I'm so happy and thankful that our town continues this tradition, expands it to allow even more participants, and that all of us, those born here in Canada and those recently arrived, together can peacefully and joyfully celebrate Canada's birthday.

Do these instructions makes sense to you?

Sometimes even the best pattern designers, book editors, and testers can end up with mistakes in their instructions. I read the following - then proceeded as directed - despite a little voice in my head saying "something's not quite right here...."

3 pink prints
4 brown prints (one for the binding)

from each of the pink prints, cut
2 strips, 1 1/2" x 21" (6 total)
2 strips, 2 1/2" x 21" (6 total)

from 3 of the brown prints, cut
2 strips, 1 1/2" x 21" (6 total)
2 strips, 2 1/2" x 21" (6 total)

Pair a 1 1/2" wide pink strip with a 1 1/2" wide brown strip. Sew these together into strip sets; repeat to make a total of 6 strip sets. Cut the strip sets into 1 1/2" wide segments (40 total); you'll need 20 matching pairs of segments.

So, I'll do some math - because I have an awful lot of fabric left over - maybe even enough to make two of the wall hangings!

one 21" strip set cut into 1 1/2" segments - 21 divided by 1.5 = 14 pieces
six 21" strip sets cut into 1 1/2" segments - 21 divided by 1.5 x 6 = 84!!!
three 21" strip sets cut into 1 1/2" segments - 21 divided by 1.5 x 3 = 42

I will continue sewing up this wallhanging...and we'll see if I've made a math error.



Tomorrow we're hosting my Mom's birthday party - there's about sixteen of us that make up "my side" of the family. That's an awful expression - my side - makes me think of the Hatfields and McCoys! We've planned a bbq, with my sisters and brother bringing salads and sides - right now the weather forecast doesn't look too good - not very warm, and thundershowers or rain. But we live in the soutern Ontario, just north of Toronto, and anyone who has grown up here knows you can't count on the weather. It can change from hour to hour and day to day - I mean, really change - hot humid and sticky one afternoon, needing a coat the next day!


Its late afternoon, and I've finished this little quilt top -


And I do have leftovers....I might still have read this wrong - so if someone else gets a different result from the directions, please let me know. The books is Bits and Pieces by Karen Costello Soltys - I've made another top from her book with great results. I'd rather instructions be generous in their fabric cutting - nothing worse than if you make a mistake and cut a square too large, then end up with just a thread of fabric left, and still needing one more piece!

The pattern calls for buttons to be sewn onto the lightest squares - but I did some test sew outs of ominigrams on my D1 and placed them on those squares, I think I'm going to do that instead of buttons. I have soooo many buttons, it could take me days and even weeks to decide on what buttons to use.



I'll add these leftovers to their sibling leftovers. I made a full size quilt that was set with alternate strip sections of applique and pieced baskets and stars. I prepped fusible applique, then decided not to include it in the quilt. This little top I made today is from leftover fabric from the strippy quilt - and I'll add these leftovers to the applique and someday make yet another top. Here's a pic of some of the bits -