Two steps forward and one step back

The step backward - is this crooked finish on the butterfly bag.  Oops!!  A long zipper across the top of the bag is extended on each end with a casing that becomes part of the handle.  One end was perfectly straight and one end was NOT.  I’ll need to take this little extension off and redo it.

But I did finish the top of this little baby quilt.  It’s only about 36” square but that’s OK.  I’ll look through my stash to see if I have anything appropriate for a backing.  But for now it’s hanging in the closet.  And . . . Call me crazy but I pulled out the pieces for another bag.  I will at least cut all the parts and kit it up for future sewing.   

Progress - slow and steady

The butterfly Sew Together bag is ready for the final step which is adding that top zipper and handle.  I'm not quite sure why, but my pockets just want to "lean over" inside. 

I've set a goal of finishing this one by the weekend.  This will be #14.

Small projects

I took Monday off this week.  Some of it was spent sewing, some doing laundry, and some working on a puzzle.  My brain feels more rested today and I'll be working at both of my jobs.   Invoices will be processed this morning and online classes will be caught up this afternoon.

The bindings are done on both of these little table toppers.  The zigzag one is what I make from the leftover corners cut off the Barn Quilt project.  It's only 12 x 24" and I quilted some simple lines in the white zigzag sections.  The back is a scrap of a solid butter yellow found in the stash.  The other one is slightly larger and the final leftovers from the Eleanor Burns Day and Night blocks.  

The ziplock baggy holding the kit I made for this Sew Together bag was sitting on top of a basket of stuff on my sewing room bookcase.  So it seemed like the next best thing to work on.  Plus it's on my PhD and UFO lists, so it's a win-win if I finish it.  

The hard part of this bag pattern is putting those side panels on. That can't happen until the pockets and lining are all done and fitted to the quilted outside of the bag.  That involves 3 zippers.  I was determined to reach this stage before stepping away from my machine, and I accomplished that.  The bindings on both side panels are ready to hand stitch, which I like to do before I sew on the top zipper and handle sections. 

And last but not least, I did get the 2 long pieced sides of the spiral quilt sewn on.  The final thing will be adding the last 2 white strips and then this one will be ready for quilting.  Since I didn't remember this one even existed, it isn't on my UFO list.  But that's OK because I'll just count it as one of the "Pick a PIG" projects on the list once it's done. 

Design Wall Monday - spiral

Another "found" project.  On a top shelf in my sewing room was a shoebox sized plastic container that appeared to have more 2.5" squares in it.  So I pulled it down with the idea of merging all of the 2.5" squares together.  And this was also folded up  in the bottom.  I think it was going to be a baby quilt - how ever many years ago I started this.  

The white strips to continue the spiral were also in the box, along with 2 strips of squares sewn together in just the right sizes for the next 2 sides. It shouldn't take me too long to add those final strips to it now.  It will become a small donation quilt most likely. 

What is on your design wall this morning?  https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

Saturday Sewing

Two project boxes are now empty and ready to refill with something new to work on.  The hot pink binding strips were the last thing to come out of one box. I sewed that binding onto the Saturday Sampler quilt and am almost done hand stitching one side down.  I believe this is the last unfinished Saturday Sampler project from previous years that I had laying around. Yay!!

Diamond Tile is a Bonnie Hunter block from Quiltmaker magazine.  She publishes a block pattern in each issue in her Addicted to Scraps column.  This is the newest version of the block that I made, using a some scraps left from the binding on the quilt.  Amazing how the light makes it look orange in the photo above and dark red in the photo below.  In reality that pink is a bright fushia.  

 I have 12 of these Diamond Tile blocks made.  They square up at 7.5", so it will take quite a few to make a quilt.  But there are a few different possibilities for setting these - sashing, no sashing, on point.  I'll just keep making these as part of my RSC blocks in all the colors of the rainbow because they are quick and fun.  

Quilting designs

Thursday I blogged about waiting for some things to come back from the long arm quilter, and at noon on Thursday I got a call from her saying 2 quilts were ready to pick up.  I had even forgotten about 1 of them. 

This is the Happy Block quilt and it has the cutest quilting design edge to edge.  Bonnie told me it's called Double Bubble.  It's just so cute on this kid quilt.  Depending on what I might have for binding, it may end up with a scrappy binding.  I'm not sure yet but since it's a scrappy quilt that might work out just fine.

And the second quilt I picked up?  It was the aqua/pink/black Saturday Sampler mystery quilt.  I believe I have the binding already made for that one so I'll have to pull out the project box and see if that's the case. 

So now I have a lot of binding to keep me busy. 

More patriotic star blocks

Some random Thursday sewing produced a few blocks, some with a purpose and some with a promise of future projects.

I made 3 more 12" patriotic star blocks for future Quilts of Valor.  From the corner trimmings of each one I made a 4.5" pinwheel block.

These will go into the stack of QOV blocks I've been collecting from the ladies in our group.  And the pinwheels went into a small ziplock bag on my bulletin board with the others I've made along the way.  They will probably end up being another pillow eventually. 

There was also a large pile of corner trimmings from the Barn Quilt project finished over the weekend, just laying on my sewing table begging for some attention.  These were much too large of pieces to just throw away, so I've begun sewing them into HSTs as leaders/enders.  Then I can square them up to 3.5". 

What will they become you ask?  I have no idea, but they will be fun to play with.  There are 8 more green ones and either 12 or 16 more red ones to sew.  I think there are also 4 red and blue ones on the bottom of the pile.  Maybe a chevron table runner or a pillow top . . . 

April is a long month

It's been one of those weeks with lots of things hanging in limbo.  And frankly, April just has seemed endless.  I know it's because of the Covid-19 social isolation but like most folks I'm feeling the mental exhaustion.  And this week my spring allergies have kicked in which adds to my grumpyness,  Is that a word?  

I've worked a LOT of hours at one of my 2 part times jobs this week, which is good because it provides me money to support my sewing habit.  But I would rather be sewing than sitting at my desk.  I also finished puzzle #4 last night.

After finishing up some tops over the weekend it's time to either pull out another UFO to work on or to find a new project to play with,

These projects are all now dropped off at the long arm quilter.  I'm having to be patient as she is pretty busy as always, but none of these have a deadline so that is OK.  Both the Barn Quilt and Harvest Road are small quilts (36" and 48"), but the Happy Blocks quilt is closer to a twin size.  It will be fun to have that one back to bind in particular.  

This morning I have some time to sew finally.  Although as I was typing this I see a work email coming in asking me to work on something.  Bummer!!

Design Wall Monday - Harvest Road flimsy

Harvest Road was a project that began with a Sew Sampler box from the Fat Quarter Shop.  With the outer borders, the flimsy is 48" square.  The charm packs and pattern were in the box. The background was in my stash already.   I did order the dark blue dot fabric for the border when I started working on this one.  The actual fabric line is called Harvest Road by Moda.  It has an interesting blend of dots, plaid, floral, and other prints.  The pale blues and greens and browns are definitely outside of my usual palette of deep bright colors.

It's a terrible photo of what turned out to be a pretty quilt top.  No matter where (inside or outside) I tried to take a picture of it today the colors look so washed out.  The background is cream with tiny grey dots. And the light blue almost disappears in this photo.  This is another UFO that is now ready to quilt and bind.  And this makes 2 small quilt tops that I finished over the weekend.  Yay! 

Check out more Design Walls at  https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

Hayride Barn Quilt

I have a stash of 1930s reproduction fabrics, and yet I just had to go buy more yesterday.  Actually I went to The Pin Cushion to buy background fabric because I didn't have enough of any one piece to make this project.  But then I indulged in some retail therapy, as well as chatting with the ladies in the shop - all wearing our masks of course. 

The pieces for this 36" Lori Holt pattern had all been cut except for the background.  Then I came home with more red choices to audition, but I decided to keep the red that I started with.  This was my Saturday morning project - cutting the background and then sewing the whole quilt.

This is Hayride Barn Quilt from Lori Holt's book Farm Girl Vintage 2.  It's 36" square, so the pieces in here were no smaller than 4.5".  It was actually fun to sew some big pieces for a change since lately I've been working with little pieces.  Now, I need to decide how to quilt this one.

A Quilt of Valor presentation

We have to get creative in these days of social distancing.  And this creative effort was very well executed - by the boys in the photo below.

Since I could no longer go to Virginia personally to present this quilt I made for him, I contacted his wife and we put together a plan.  The quilt arrived safely and the box was quarantined in their garage for a couple of days to let any Covid-19 germs die off.  Then on Wednesday, they had Jim sit out on the deck and the boys did the presentation.  The older one read the presentation speech I sent, and the younger one wrapped the quilt around his dad and gave him the certificate.  His wife recorded video of the whole event to share with me and with other family members.  It was wonderful to watch it and I've cried every time I watch it - which is several times. 

Ironically - and totally by accident - the presentation happened 22 years and 1 day after what was probably the most momentous event of Jim's naval career.  

My cousin Jim is a US Navy veteran. He was on a ship in the Persian Gulf on April 14, 1988 when it hit an Iranian mine, and was nearly torn in half.  The ship managed to limp into a nearby port and was partially repaired enough to make it out into open water to be "picked up" - literally - by a lift ship and brought back to the US.  He remained with the ship and its limited crew until it docked in Maine.  I'm so very proud of my cousin and his service to our country. 

On a side note, this was the quilt that granddaughter Sophia helped me start between Christmas and New Years.  She sorted and counted squares as I cut the pieces for this quilt.  

Smack Dab in the Middle

It’s a finished top!!!  Hooray!  I love how this looks but will readily admit that I got so bored making all those tiny 4-patch blocks that form the outer border of this 24" quilt.  Rather than sandwich and try quilting this one right away, it needs to rest while I decide HOW I want to quilt it.  

To fix or not to fix?

A few days ago Quilt Digest posted a free pattern for 3 different 5" paper pieced butterfly blocks.  They were so cute that I downloaded the free pattern immediately.

Well . . . this morning I decided I wanted to do some HAPPY sewing, and grabbed that pattern.  I found lots of pretty pinks and purples in the scrap bins and went to work.  Once the actual butterfly section was pieced I picked out the paper foundation pieces and added a couple of borders thinking this would make a cute spring mug rug.  That's when I realized that the extra purple edges on the upper wings were supposed to be white background - not elongated wings.  

Oh well, it may still become a mug rug.  Or . . . I could take it apart and FIX it, right?

I planned to sew most of the day today because I don't have to work.  I'm trying to clear out some "in progress" tasks so I can work on something new.  I also got 25 of the 44 little 4-patch blocks made.  Sigh . . . only 19 more to go.   And I sewed the binding onto a small UFO project so it's ready for hand stitching.  And then I kitted up 3 Quilt of Valor blocks to sew later.  

I was on a roll, until a delivery guy called to say he couldn't find our "business".  His problem was he was looking for a business place and not a house - which is where my husband's business runs.  So I went upstairs to wait for the delivery.  And here's where it gets weird.  My husband ordered 2 identical office floor mats from Staples on Monday.  A semi truck delivered ONE of the mats and UPS showed up a half hour later to deliver the other one.  How inefficient is that?  And they came from the SAME place according to the shipping labels.  

Blue twinkle star blocks

I've often said that star blocks are my very favorite type of quilt block.  The Twinkle Star block is a bit fussier to make, but not difficult.  And it turns out so pretty.  These are for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  So, now there are 8 - 2 blue, 2 teal, 2 orange, and 2 bright green.  Time for more "warm" colors to add into the mix in the next months.

Design Wall Monday

Another Monday in quarantine!  Week 5 - it just doesn't seem possible that we've only been cooped up this long.  It feels like months!!  Easter Sunday was also my husband's 66th birthday.  And like for most people it was a quiet day.  I sewed and read, we watched movies, and worked on a very hard puzzle. And both girls' families did video chats.  And we watched it snow again.

Even under the Ott light my light blues have a grey look to them due to the grey snowy day we had.  The gingham block and the Diamond Tile block is done.  I have the pieces ready to sew this morning for a Twinkle Star block.  And I want to do another gingham block to add to the mix.  

Today I'm going to sew because I'm caught up with invoices for work - and the sun is shining and melting the snow.  So, life is good, right?

I'm linking up with Design Wall Monday:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

Snowy Easter Sunday

It’s a good thing we had nowhere to go today, because we woke up to lots of fresh snow. Now it’s beginning to melt on the street and falling off the tree branches. It made a dark grey morning that was ideal for spending at my sewing machine.  The Unity quilt is now ready for its new clue on Monday. Now it’s time to go back to work on the puzzle currently in progress on the coffee table. 

Progress on Unity

The second clue for Unity has 3 pieced rows/rounds plus a plain border.  The first one was basically flying geese blocks.  Then a round of square-in-a-square, followed by another round of flying geese.  My square-in-a-square round has been added and I'm working on the flying geese to finish it up.  I may have this done before the next clue comes out on Monday.  

Unity - starting the second round

It doesn't look like it makes sense quite yet, but the second clue for the Unity quilt has begun.

This quilt has a medallion center, so Bonnie Hunter reminded us Monday that each week will be a "round" and each week will have more parts.

My pieces are all cut and organized, with enough sewing done to see how each unit looks.  I  did put the first row onto 1 side.  The black background sections will ultimately make star points around those pink and lime green square-in-a-square units. 

Focusing on a couple of deadlines for work has cut into my sewing time, along with the mask making.  But I needed some "happy" sewing this afternoon after work, and these colors are definitely happy. 

Jumped on the mask band wagon

Last weekend I made 5 masks for the adults in my girls' homes, including Laura's mother-in-law who is living with them temporarily.  Then I made a couple more for Dave and I.  These are just the simple pleated surgical type mask with ties that we can wear to go to the grocery store or post office.

Then Laura had a coworker who needed some for her family, so today I made 6 more.  Three are adult sized and 3 are child sized.  I used batik for 2 more masculine adult sized masks. And the rest were made with what I had already laying on the cutting board.   These are going in the mail tomorrow.  

I sure hope the child sized masks work out OK.  I cut them smaller - using 5x7 rectangles.  I like the sail boat fabric, and am hoping it isn't too juvenile for whatever ages her smaller children might be. 

Design Wall Monday - Week 4

Here we are beginning Week 4 of social distancing.  Life has sure changed in the past month.  Like most everyone I talk to, my focus comes and goes along with the stress. 

I did make 2 blue Bead/Chandelier blocks this weekend.  The charm packs I've been using didn't have any blue in them.  Not a single square of blue. So I pulled a couple of blues out of the scrap bin.  I'm planning to make some of my other Rainbow Scrap Challenge blue blocks today.  

What's on your design wall this morning?

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

I also made 5 masks over the weekend but didn't remember to take any photos at all.  Those went to my daughter's houses on Sunday when we dropped off birthday and Easter gifts for the kids - and visited with everyone standing outside on the lawn from 10" away.  The masks will just be for going out to the store and such, as they have appropriate protective wear at work.  And I made 10 button bands for them to try out at work - to hook the mask elastic over and save pressure on their ears.  If those work out then I'll make them more.  

I've been working on this puzzle off and on all week.  On Saturday my husband sat down and started working on it too.  Two things in this photo caused my girls to laugh - his coffee cup and the evidence that he was actually working on a puzzle.  Both were probably thinking "who is this man, and what did he do with my dad?".  He rarely drank coffee until just this past year.  And he never had the patience for puzzles.  

And this . . . is the cause of LOTS of worry for this mama.  My oldest daughter is a respiratory therapist in a hospital.  They aren't overloaded with Covid-19 patients yet, but are anticipating those number will rise sharply in the coming days and weeks.  My other daughter is an occupational therapist in a VA hospital and they are preparing for future patients as well.  I'm proud of my girls and their career choices as they make a real difference in peoples' lives every day.  

Social distancing

We took a drive today - 70 miles each way to deliver birthday gifts for the twins who turn 7 this week. And we delivered Easter treats for the other kids, and an anniversary gift for one daughter and son-in-law.  But we were careful to maintain our social distance at both houses.  Jack even made chalk X’s on the sidewalk to mark where we needed to stand.  Guess we’ll give them extra hugs when this crazy virus is over. 

Working on a variety of projects

Thursday morning was a delightful mixture of on-going progress on a variety of things. No opportunity to become bored.  And 5 different projects saw progress made.

Light and bright blue is the color for April for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I didn't look too far into the stash but found some small pieces for the corners of this Shoo Fly block.  It's only 6.5" so not a very big piece was needed.  This block is one of Bonnie Hunter's Leader/Ender projects and I have begun a small collection.  It will take ages to have enough for an actual quilt.  But they are good mindless sewing.

Saturday Sampler blocks are one step closer to being finished.  These are applique blocks again and all they need is the blanket stitching.  One is dark green and gold and the other is in purples.

I did find a bright blue fat quarter and cut the pieces for an Ohio Star.  There are now 15 of them, and there is already a light blue one so I'm not sure if I'll make another or not.  

I made some of the teeny tiny 4-patch blocks needed for the border on the Simple Whatnots project.  These are made from 1.5" squares, and I need 44 of these blocks.  Sigh!!!

Last thing I worked on was cutting out 2 blue Bead/Chandelier blocks.  Notice how dreary that white background looks.  That's because it was snowing/raining/hailing today - all at the same time.  We had thunder and lightning, then the hail started bouncing.  And all was happening while we had a mix of rain and snow.  More snow fell about supper time.  I'm hoping that this is winter's last gasp.