More random sewing

While waiting through a computer upgrade Monday morning, I spent a little quality time sewing. The last 4 rows are now complete and ready to add to One Block Wonder.  Then I’ll decide if I want to add borders, and plan those out.  Right now I’m thinking a couple of plain borders would be perfect, with the outer one lime green or hot pink.  This will be a girly looking quilt.

And while putting some things away I noticed that this pillowcase still needed the side seam (a French seam) sewn. I have no idea why I didn’t finish this back in June.  Actually I thought I had finished it.  This pillowcase matches the Jelly Roll Race II quilt that I finished in late June.  Now that it’s done I’ve put it with the quilt, so whoever ends up with the quilt will get the matching pillowcase.

Design Wall Monday - Old Glory

All of the parts and pieces for Old Glory came together Sunday with no problems. And the binding was finished while watching shark week programs Sunday evening.

This Kim Diehl Simple Whatnots (collection 7) mini quilt was a relatively easy one to make. But I tweaked the design just a little by putting the star rows on the ends. In the original pattern there were 2 rows of HST, then the stars, and then another row of HST at each end. That didn’t really work for me. It looked kind of broken up, so I put all of the HST rows together and finished with the stars.

Check out the other Design Wall Monday posts at http://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

What was I thinking?

I set some very unrealistic goals for July, and I didn't get very far toward reaching them either. Guess that means they can stay on the "to do" list for another month. Or go back into the cupboard with the other UFO project boxes.  I did make a couple more Garlic Knot blocks for our guild QOV project, but don't have much else to show for the month.

finish One Block Wonder blocks & be ready to set together - top is 3/4 complete

3 RSC Sampler blocks in July color of red - DONE

2 Saturday Sampler blocks, plus 6 alternate blocks -  Sampler blocks DONE, no alternates

patriotic Simple Whatnot - DONE

Urban Cabin - make 3 more blocks - not touched

make 2 Row By Row blocks/rows - not touched

It's that time of year when I often lose my UFO mojo.  Maybe it's the hot weather or just loss of forward momentum.  Currently I have more interest in digging into something fresh and new, which is why UFOs multiply, isn't it?

Friday sewing fun

The 3 red Squared Away sampler blocks for RSC18 are complete.  That makes 21 blocks so far, out of a final total of 30 I think.  They are all 10" finished, and in a rainbow of colors.  This block is called Round The Corner and is a Nancy Page block from about 1920.  I love the fact that the sampler blocks this year are old traditional designs.

 

 

Check out the link below for each of the sampler block patterns for Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2018.  http://academicquilter.blogspot.com/p/squared-away-bom.html

Old Glory progress

I have the day off today and spent most of the morning sewing. One of the projects that I worked on is Kim Diehl’s Old Glory.  When finished it will be a bit less than 20 x 30".  But as with all of the Simple Whatnots, there are a lot of pieces.  All of the HSTs are sewn and about half are sliver trimmed to 2.5".  There will be 3 rows of HSTs above and below the flag - all facing the same direction as the ones on the side.  Then a row of stars on each end.  

Two more 4" stars are left to make. Then I can work on putting it all together. Maybe it will happen over the weekend. 

Saturday Sampler block

This block is called Afternoon Siesta in our Saturday Sampler pattern.  It's really a variation of a log cabin, and we were cautioned to pay close attention as we made this one.  The pieces don't simply "go around" the center block in this variation. But the end result still looks like a traditional log cabin.

We only had 1 block this month, instead of the 2 we have been doing.  August will be our last month with 2 more blocks and then we'll have a reveal in September with the next Saturday Sampler previewed.  I'm not sure I'll have a quilt top to reveal in September because I'm still not sure I'm going to use the alternate blocks and layout in the pattern.  I just can't decide how I want to lay this out. 

Design Wall Monday

The cat did eventually get off my quilt, so I have most of the binding done.  Navy blue thread on a navy background demands daylight for me.  So I quit stitching with about a quarter of the binding left to finish.  I have an Ott light, but still find that navy blue and black are just hard to see.

I love how this Lone Star turned out. Bonnie (Pin Cushion) did a beautiful job quilting it with a meander and stars. 

Other Sunday sewing - while my husband played golf with SIL #2 - was pretty random.  I added 3 more vertical rows to One Block Wonder, and made one more row.  Two patriotic garlic knot blocks were made and added to our guild stack for the next Quilt of Valor. And on the Kim Diehl mini quilt, I made 2 of the 8 little stars and 16 of the 64 half square triangles.  Those stars are 4.5" square and the HST are 2.5" square - lots of little pieces to add to the flag block.

Check out what the other Design Walls at:  http://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

Binding assistance

I was about to start stitching my binding, but there is a 20 fur ball acting like a paperweight on top of the little quilt. I always hate to disturb his sleep since he only gets of 20 hours per day. 

Old Glory

I’m still working on my One Block Wonder but in between I’ve started Old Glory. This is the first mini quilt from Kim Diehl Simple Whatknots collection 7. 

This little flag is 6.5" by 8.5".  

Lunch hour sewing

After spending all morning working on spreadsheets and invoices, I took my lunch break at the sewing machine.  That's a benefit of working from home.  Two more vertical rows have now been added to One Block Wonder, plus I have another ready to attach.

The borders are now on the Patriotic Lone Star.  A blue with big white stars was waiting in my stash for just the right project.  I even found a great backing in the stash so now it's ready to quilt.  I love how this one is turning out and can picture it hanging above my piano.

Grandkids

Our oldest grandchild, Mason, just spent a couple of days with us. Yesterday morning he went golfing with grandpa while I worked, and then I received this picture asking if they could bring home a pet.  It must be a boy thing - this fascination with snakes. This was a dead bull snake they found on the course.  And I hear that grandpa had to pull him away while reaching into the snake den where they saw baby bull snakes disappear.  He said he just wanted to touch them. Bull snakes do bite although they are not poisonous. But this whole thing just made me shudder!!

After taking Mason home late in the afternoon and spending a little time with his siblings Olivia and Jonah, we then went granddaughter Sophia's t-ball game.  Her league is for 4-6 year olds, and each team has a mix of boys and girls.  They play 3 innings where every kids hits once and no "outs" are called so the kids get to run the bases.  It was the last game of the season so they all got medals for participating.  Next year she moves up to "coach pitch" level where they learn to hit a pitched ball instead of a ball sitting on a tee, and she'll be on a team with just girls.  Little brother Jack just turned 3 and was more interested in the snacks that mom brought.  Sophia is 6 and missing both front teeth. Love that toothless grin!



Sometime next week we'll have Olivia for a couple of days of alone time, without her brothers.  And then it will be Jonah's turn to spend time with us.  I love all of my grandkids, but will admit that I'm not very good at entertaining little boys.  So thankfully grandpa can take them on snake adventures.    

Sew Vintage

I forgot to post a photo of this little project for our Sew Vintage group challenge.  We were challenged last month to do something with the camper block from Lori Holt's Spelling Bee book.  These blocks are each 6.5" and I added a 2.5" border around them.  The camper needs a little embroidery to connect the step and to add a doorknob.  Adding a family name or some other words below would make a cute little wall hanging for someone's camper.

We aren't a camping household. Years ago when our kids were in elementary school, we rented a very small camper and spent a couple of nights in the Black Hills. The girls and I thought it was fun, but my husband hated every minute of it.  He hated that he had to sleep katty-korner across the little bed. He hated that the shower was too small for him to hardly turn around in. It just wasn't his idea of fun. 

On a sad note, our Sew Vintage group lost a beloved member yesterday.  Dorla was a lovely person who was a pleasure to have part of any group. Her quilting knowledge and experience was really valued.  All of her "quilting community" friends join her family in mourning her loss but will celebrate having known her.  She would have turned 84 in about a week.

Patriotic Lone Star

Wednesday night is league golf for my husband, so my house was quiet and I decided to sew.  I have the Lone Star part done after less than 3 hours of sewing time.  This could be a lovely wall hanging if I add a simple border all around.  Currently it’s 28" square, so maybe a 3" border would be perfect.

The other crazy thought I had is to put a border on it and then add Garlic Knot blocks all around it, making a Quilt of Valor.  Either choice gives me some options to play with. This was definitely a pattern I will try again.

And now - back to work on my One Block Wonder, while finishing ideas percolate through my brain.

Easily distracted

Can you guess what has distracted me today?  It's a Lone Star quilt pattern done with jelly roll strips.

Last night I was looking at random quilt ideas online and I saw this easy Lone Star pattern.  Bonus - it was FREE.  The Lone Star has been on my "someday" list for a long time.  And when I needed a break from the computer screen and invoices this afternoon I went into my sewing room to see if I had any possible jelly roll strips - with evening sewing in mind.  However, once I found these patriotic strips, I thought - "just sew one strip set" to see how easy it goes together.

You know what happened next.  One strip set became 3, then I just had to cut the 45 degree sections, and next thing I knew an hour had flown by.  One diamond unit is sewn and the other 7 are all ready to go. Maybe this evening I'll find a cream background in my stash. 

I need to get back to work or I'll never get these invoices out and the project budgets updated!! 

Check out the free pattern at the link below:
https://jordanfabrics.com/pages/free-lone-star-pattern

Almost halfway . . .

I've only spent short amounts of time sewing this past week although with the weather super hot and humid, that is exactly where I should be.  Instead I've spent time catching up with my online students, and processing invoices for my husband's company. 

So only 6 vertical rows are sewn together so far - out of 16.  I do have 2 more rows ready to add, so my OBW is nearly halfway. It's interesting to watch the full hexie shapes emerge as the rows come together.  I've been taking my time to make sure I have them aligned correctly before sewing.

Slow progress

I have 3 vertical rows put together so far. The rest are numbered and pinned into long strips. 

OBW layout

With just a few small adjustments I think this is my One Block Wonder layout plan. 

Now the transfer of my blocks from the family room down to my basement sewing room . . . Without messing them up.  Guess I wasn’t thinking ahead was I?

One Block Wonder

The blocks are all done for my first One Block Wonder.  Now I need to do some layout planning.

I've been looking online at how others have put these together and have seen some really unique layouts.  On Facebook I joined a OBW group, and on Pinterest I've set up a new board to save ideas. And wow - are there lots of ideas out there!  Some layouts appear to be totally random and there are other layouts where the colors are grouped in various ways.  Some of my blocks read very pink, green, orange, or purple.  Others don't have a dominant color. So I think I just need to play with them and see what happens. 

There is a chunk of the original fabric left that I could incorporate into the design, similar to using a panel.  That would make it larger.  Decisions, decision, decisions.

June goals met and July goals set

The prettiest finish for June had to be the Christmas Jelly Roll quilt.  The block has no name, but it's so cute and I know I'll use this block again in the future.  I cut up a matching layer cake for the outer border.  Red seemed ideal for the backing and I used leftover jelly roll strips for the scrappy binding. This one will be a Christmas gift.

For June, I had set the following goals for myself and did quite well, except for the UFO Challenge goals.  I should have added SURVIVE the guild quilt show and the family reunion.

• Play more golf - only played 3 times, BUMMER
• 3 RSC Sampler blocks in teal/aqua - DONE
• 2 Saturday Sampler blocks + 2 of the alternate blocks - DONE
• 12 red Ritzy Cracker blocks - made 5 red blocks
• 6 dark Ritzy Cracker blocks - made 5 dark blocks
• bind Jelly Roll Race - DONE
• bind Christmas Jelly Roll - DONE
• APQ UFO Challenge - Urban Cabin - not touched
• APQ UFO Challenge - past Simple Whatnots - not touched

The Ritzy Cracker blocks went to the family reunion for signing. More on that another time, but I'm excited to put these together.

My plan for July is to keep up with the BOM projects, and go back to more UFOs as time permits. I have a couple of new projects I'm dying to dig into, but those may be my reward for finishing something.

• finish One Block Wonder blocks & be ready to set together
• 3 RSC Sampler blocks in July color of red
• 2 Saturday Sampler blocks, plus 6 alternate blocks
• patriotic Simple Whatnot
• Urban Cabin - make 3 more blocks
• make 2 Row By Row blocks/rows

Outdoor art on a small scale

 

This was a pretty surprise on Monday morning - popping out of a flower bed just before the #1 tee box at a local golf course.  A large plain china plate, then a beautiful flowery china plate, and topped by a china rose. And it was all bolted onto a metal post in the flower bed.  

 

My husband plays that course at least 4 days a week and says he has never noticed that before. I just played there a couple of weeks ago and didn't see it either, so maybe it is new.  I just know it was a fun surprise to see it.

Survived

It is Monday and we have survived the guild quilt show and the huge family reunion going on at the same time over the weekend. 

Over 160 people were at the Saturday evening supper and little program. This was a reunion of descendants of my husband’s Swedish immigrant grandparents. They would be amazed and proud if they could see this group.