Tulip door hanger & other progress

You know how sometimes you make a project and don't like it very much?  And then it gets quilted, and you find out you really DO like it?

Well . . . I think this is the opposite problem. I liked it fine, until it was finished and hanging up. Now I'm not sure I like it at all.  There isn't enough contrast between the pale pink and the background, so the tulips are fading away.  This was a kit, so I used what was provided.  I did the quilting myself, and it looked OK while it was laying flat, but hanging up on the door it looks very limp.

Those hanging loops also allow it to droop.  If it were quilted more densely, it would help.  I may try a different hanging method, but that doesn't solve the color issue.  Even my husband, who almost never notices any of my quilts, said it looked too pale.  I'm quite disappointed.

Put a Spin on It (by Amanda Niederhauser) was the Riley Blake challenge block #15, released this week.  This block was so much faster and easier to make, possibly due to her directions.  She had us make 4 identical quadrants and then sew them together - rather than putting it together in rows.  I think that helped that center pinwheel come together perfectly.  I'm going to keep that technique in mind.

I had other progress on Wednesday, as I worked on several different things.

All 12 of the Saturday Sampler blocks are done.  The hard thing about doing Saturday Sampler is waiting for the next month.  LOL   So far with this SS program, we've been doing the "boring" blocks first.  Last month we did 12" HST blocks.  This month we just used black and white.  But the rest of this quilt will be a riot of color so I think it will be a lot more fun in the coming months. 

And I got binding onto 2 projects - the Elephant quilt and the sunflower vinyl bag.  The Elephant quilt is a UFO that was a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project.  The bag is all trimmed, but the quilt still needs to be trimmed before starting to hand stitch the binding.  

Saturday Sampler & more

Month 2 for Saturday Sampler will be 12 of these black and white blocks.  I had to buy a new iron before sewing these since my iron had died on Sunday.  The new one is a Hamilton Beach, and it's a heavy one.  I think I'm going to like it.  I don't put water in my irons, but I do like a good heavy one for my sewing projects.  
 

All of the pieces have been cut for the 12 blocks, and I've begun sewing.  The 4-patch units are done with strip sets, which are all sewn.  The HST are nearly all sewn.  I have 3 blocks totally done so far.  The remaining 9 blocks shouldn't take long to sew now that the parts are prepped.

When I got tired of looking at black and white yesterday, I quilted up the foundation pieces for the next vinyl bag.  The parts have been ready to go for a couple of weeks, so hopefully I manage to finish this one finally.  

The quilting is also finished on the tulip door hanger, and I've attached the binding.  I kept the quilting quite simple, with several vertical lines of serpentine stitching.  Since this is only 20 x 36, maybe I'll get the hand stitching done this evening on the binding and hanging loops.

The second Feeling Crabby mini quilt has been one of those small projects that has been shuffled from the end of the ironing board, to the cutting table, back to the ironing board, to the floor, etc. for over a month now.  So - it's now sandwiched with it's backing and ready to do some simple quilting while I'm on a roll with quilting small things.  

To Do Tuesday

Oh man - there are so many things this week on my To Do list.  I don't even know where to begin.  Some of those tasks involve projects that are on-going, but I have a couple of new things on the list too.  And some things have nothing to do with sewing.

 One of the things on my To Do list this week is to finish reading a book that I began reading while sitting in the airport "cell phone" parking lot last Friday afternoon waiting for my husband's delayed flight to arrive.  While clearing out some crates of books from the basement last week, I sorted out a couple of them to read again before donating.  Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral by Kris Radish (2006) is one of those books I kept for now.  I read more while eating my ham sandwich on the porch for lunch on Sunday.  It's a "laugh and cry" kind of book.  Reading does cut into my sewing time however.  LOL

It's time to find a backing for the next UFO in the long list.  This is Rainbow Connections.  It's 66 x 88, so it should work nicely for a twin bed.  My plan is to donate this one, possibly to our local Sleep In Heavenly Peace chapter.  But first,  a backing is needed, and quilting.

Monday went by without any sewing at all, but I did get the back deck all cleaned off, the furniture scrubbed and hosed down, and the small flower pots planted.  Once that was done, I spent a couple of very relaxing hours out there late in the afternoon - in the shade with my book, listening to the birds chirping and the girls giggling in the pool next door.  

On my list of projects to work on this week . . . I just hope for progress on a few.

* make the Saturday Sampler blocks for May

* finish quilting and bind the tulip door hanger

* put binding on the elephant quilt

* cut out patriotic door hanger project

* prep a mini paper pieced project

* finish second bag that has been cut out for 3 weeks!

* keep plugging away with the scraps & the decluttering

Design Wall Monday - May 13

Our Saturday evening was spent attending the school musical Beauty and the Beast.  One granddaughter was in the cast, and the other was sitting in the audience with us.  So much fun!! 

The costume worked out just fine.  They added some of the extra fake fur on the knees because she needed knee pads under there. She spent most of her time on stage on her hands and knees.

Olivia played Sultan the dog that turns into an ottoman.  I'm quite amazed at what 4th and 5th graders can do.  Olivia attends an A+ elementary school, which is a designation requiring a Fine Arts focus. Their academics are also pretty impressive.  

I began quilting the tulip door hanger project, and hopefully will be ready to bind it later today.  It will also get hanging loops so I can hang it from the hooks on my front door.  

My iron died, so before I do any more piecing I'll need to replace it.  The iron is a nice Black and Decker that was less than a year old.  It was working fine on Friday.  But on Sunday afternoon the light comes on but it won't heat up at all.  Do you suppose the solar storms got to it?  Not likely, but I guess I have no idea why it won't heat up.  Sigh . . . not what I want to shop for today. 

One of my projects last week came together quickly on Friday.  This flimsy is Ebb Tide, one of the Villa Rosa patterns in the pack I won during their blog hop.  I made a couple of cutting errors so this is not exactly like the pattern.  And I only wanted to use 2 colors instead of 5 or 6.  But this makes a pretty cute baby quilt, especially with the lions in that lighter print.  I know I'll use this pattern again but pay closer attention when I'm cutting the fabrics next time.

Well, once that door hanger project is quilted I'll be working hard on the new Saturday Sampler blocks, the next Riley Blake challenge block, and quite possibly a patriotic door hanger.  And I have a small handwork project in the works.

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

RSC24 week #19

 Oh my goodness, this year is just flying by!  Today is the big day for our granddaughter's school musical, and I'll finally see that crazy dog costume I made for her in action.  We'll miss 2 graduations and graduation parties this evening too, because we'll be at the musical.  It's that busy time of year.

On the sewing front this week, a bit more pink came out.  Two of the Dutchman's Puzzle blocks were first.  I'm using batiks for the colors, and scrappy white for the backgrounds of these, with some shade of aqua/teal in every block.  These are 12" blocks (finished), so I think 20 of them will make a good quilt, especially if I do sashing between them. So far I have 11 blocks.  

I chose this kit for the May PIG - because of the pink.  It's a Riley Blake door hanger kit recently purchased.  Now it's a finished top (and finished binding) ready to quilt.  I have another door hanger kit waiting, with a patriotic theme.  I might try to get that one made in May too.  I bought background fabric this week for another quilt kit that has a lot of pink.  Maybe a flip of a coin will determine which one to start next. 

Entwined Stars is a block that I began making for RSC, but then kind of forgot about.  There were only 4 of these hanging in the closet from 2023.  So now there are 5.  It looks like I used a floral in most of them so far.  Hmmm.  Maybe I had a plan.  The parts for this one came totally out of the scrap bins. 

A second strawberry block has also been made.  My plan for these is to turn them into a bed runner, so I'm thinking 5 or 6  blocks will be just right.  They are so cute, and look terrific out by my front porch planter.  Full disclosure - that planter is all silk flowers and greenery.  I haven't planted any real flowers yet because we were getting such cold nights.  

Today is also Saturday Sampler (10 am) and Sew Vintage (1 pm) day, which tends to be my favorite Saturday of the month.  We'll leave for the musical after I get home from Sew Vintage. 

I'm linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge . . .
https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/ 

Spring

Spring has finally arrived to stay around here - I think. 

Wednesday morning I saw these lovely tulips blooming along the fence at the old Carnegie Library here in Mitchell.  I was headed inside to a DAR meeting, and just had to stop to take a quick photo.  Good thing I did because we had heavy rain and some hail in the middle of the afternoon.  Those fragile blooms were no longer so pretty.

The Carnegie building is now a resource center for local history.  If you're researching history or genealogy for this locale, this is a great place to go.  Plus the building houses some wonderful exhibits of art and history.  Original art pieces of Native American artist Oscar Howe are located here.  The local historical society and genealogical society meet here, along with a few other organizations.

The Carnegie Libraries across the country are such beautiful example of architecture, and many have been preserved as similar historical resources today.  If you are visiting our community, this is worth a stop.  https://www.mitchellcarnegie.com/

Planning ahead

 Wednesday was a busy day with minimal time in my sewing room.  I used what time I had to do some prepping for more sewing.

Block #14 for the Riley Blake challenge was posted.  The parts and pieces are now cut, and I'm hoping to get this block made today when I get home from my dentist appointment.  I've kept up so far. There are just 3 blocks to go. 

Possible fabric plans have been floating around my head for the Villa Rosa patterns that I won in their recent blog hop.  The Ebb Tide pattern uses fairly large pieces of fabric so it would be great for a bigger print that you don't want to cut small and lose the design.  This cute lion print that was in my stash came to mind right away.  I'm going to see what else might work with it. For now the pattern is tucked in with the fabric.  

I cut the parts needed to turn this 16-patch unit into a churn dash, like the red one. Back in February at a retreat I made a bunch of the 16-patch units in various colors.  The pink ones have been finished this month, and the yellow ones in April.  I've been going back to finish up the previous month's colors as I had time.  Purple and red are done, and this green one will happen today I think.  I could see orange, aqua, and blue 16-patch units in the bag with the instructions and those will happen during the month those colors are chosen for RSC yet this year.  

The last blocks needed to finish the Rainbow Connections are layed out and ready to add to that quilt top.  I'm still hoping to get the top all assembled by the end of the week.  But I keep getting distracted with other things.  

One last thing that was prepped - cutting the vinyl pieces for the 2 zippered bags that had all the parts cut a couple of weeks ago.  The vinyl is laying out flat and weighed down on a design board to get the "curl" out of it before sewing.  The vinyl comes in rolls, so it really wants to keep that shape.  The bag parts still need to be quilted too.  

Tulips and more

 One of my goals this week was to get the flimsy done for the spring door hanger.

Ta Da!!!  The flimsy is assembled, the binding is prepped, and all of the leftover pieces have been cut into squares/rectangles for future projects, or put into the stash in the case of larger pieces.  This door hanger is 20 x 36, so it's a size that I could possibly quilt myself.  We'll see if that happens.

I've been working on the scraps again.  The pinkish purple was perfect for a Kitty block, and a large (3 x 6) Loose Goose.  There was a little of the medium pink from the door hanger, so another Loose Goose happened too.

Five inch string blocks pieced on phone book paper have been one of my Go To leader/ender projects this past month.  With all the scrap play, there were suddenly a lot of those string blocks, so I started turning them into String Beads blocks.

My plan is to alternate these blocks with the light frames next to a colored frame.  And they'll be set on point most likely.  

Don't you love getting mail?  A few weeks ago I was notified that I had won a pattern pack from the Villa Rose blog hop.  These 5 patterns arrived in the mail on Monday.  I'm excited to try out a couple of these fairly soon.  

To Do Tuesday

I can report some progress on the May goals.  

I'm determined to finish the top for one more UFO, and I've chosen the Rainbow Connection project.  The blocks are made with a rectangle of scrappy string sections with triangles added to the sides.  This is what my blocks look like before squaring up.  The string section is 7.75" by 17".  The triangles were cut from 7.5" squares, then cut diagonally.  The block is then squared up to be 11.5".  I think I need to start another set of these string sections for another future quilt.  

The final 4 blocks I need for the top are finished, so maybe by the end of the week there will be a completed quilt top.

Now - Do you know what this is?

If you guessed it's an empty Big Grey Tote, you would be correct.  It's now empty and in storage with another one just like it. The other one held strings of outdoor Christmas lights, which have been trashed after testing and finding they no long lit when plugged in. And nested together they don't take up near as much space as they did when full of STUFF. 

I can't claim that ALL of the things in the tote are gone, but the loose scraps are now living in a much smaller container.  And the level has already gone down since taking this photo Monday morning.  A gallon ziplock bag with yardage and misc leftover strip sets is set aside to be donated. 

I've also folded up some yardage and put it in the appropriate drawer.  So it's really just scraps, ready to be cut into my favorite size squares and rectangles.  This smaller container is also going to sit in the middle of my sewing room until it's totally empty.  Keeping it in my way seems to be keeping me task for dealing with the contents.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

Speaking of empty containers - I also went through one more container of books.  And that container is empty too, with the books set aside to donate. 

Design Wall Monday - May 6

 My design wall/floor this week has another UFO on it.

This is Rainbow Connection.  It's basically a rectangular string section with the white triangles added and then squared up.  That row on the left needs to be sewn together, and then on the top you can see I'm 4 blocks short.

The string sections were already pieced and hanging with the blocks.  On Saturday afternoon I cut the triangles needed to finish these up.  I'm toying with the idea of appliqued stars in those white areas. But then again it will be good to just check this one off as DONE, and the applique would slow me down.

The parts are also all cut for the Tulip door hanger project.  This was another Riley Blake kit.  I also have one that is patriotic for summer.  I'm hoping to at least get the tops of these done in May.

Sunday morning I took my husband to the airport.  He's in Arizona this week doing "golf school" for 4 days.  That was his 70th birthday gift to himself.  He'll have fun golfing, and I'll have lots of quiet sewing time - except for the dentist appointment, pedicure appointment, and a couple of other things going on this week.

What's on your design wall this week?
https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

RSC24 - Week #18

 The pink scrap bin has been overflowing, and the pink stash drawer won't even close right now.  And of course there was quite a lot of pink in the Big Grey Tote that was added to the mix this week. 

Therefore, there has been quite a bit of pink sewing happening here the past few days.  The Night Vision blocks look complicated, but are actually fairly quick to sew because the pieces are good sized.  The Kitties are really fast to put together, and so are the Zipper and Loose Goose blocks.  The string centers in the Beads block and the 16-patch centers in the Churn Dash blocks were already made, so the rest of both blocks came together quickly.  

Another set of RSC blocks has become a quilt top!  This one is Boxed Squares, all made with 2.5" squares and 2.5" strips.  It's 48 x 66, so a good size for a kid or a snuggle quilt on the sofa.

I did go back and made one of the red 16-patch churn dash blocks.  The 16-patch section was hanging with several others just waiting for the churn dash parts.  

I'm linking up with Rainbow Scrap Challenge today:
https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

Small finishes

Pillowcases have always been one of my Go To projects. I love making them and give a lot as gifts, plus I've donated many dozen over the years.
 

But in 2024 these 2 are the first pillowcases I've made.  There are several more kitted up and ready to sew.  The wine bottle print on the cuffs of these was from the Big Grey Tote, and there is just enough of it left to make one of those vinyl front zippered project bags.  The parts have been cut, along with one other set, and hopefully I'll get the project bags finished this month.

The binding was finished on 6 more mug rugs this week too.  The yellow ones are the same fabric as 2 I made a couple weeks ago.  The Christmas-y one is from a couple of random jelly roll strips as well.  And the square one - using a few of the zillion selvage strips I've been collecting for years.  That one may end up on MY desk.  And I'm pretty sure I'll make more of these because it's kind of fun.

Sewing leads to organizing - sometimes

As I have been working hard to finish some quilt tops and some small projects lately, I've also "stirred up" the fabric in various bins and drawers.  

Boxed Squares has been an on-going Rainbow Scrap Challenge project for a couple of years.  I've always liked mixing black with bright colors, and have collected a lot of black and white prints.  Every time I dug into the drawer full of black solids and black/white prints the contents of that drawer became a bigger and bigger mess.  Now that Boxed Squares is a finished top (48 x 66), it was time to organize that stash drawer holding those black and white prints so I could put them back neatly.

This is a 3-drawer unit, probably from Walmart.  The bottom drawer was black and white, the middle drawer was Christmas stash, and the top drawer holds part of the Halloween stash.  While I'm in cleaning and organizing mode this week it made sense to pull out all 3 drawers. 

While organizing all those black and white prints it made sense to cut the pieces for more of both the Night Vision and Pineapple Blossom blocks because I'm using brights and black/white prints in those blocks as well.  Once I had those cut, all the remaining black/white fabrics went back into the bottom drawer easily.

Next drawer to clean and organize was the Christmas one.  In the spirit of honest disclosure, this isn't the only drawer with Christmas stuff.  But it's a start, right?  The messy pile in front of the drawer is all the random Christmas scraps pulled out of the Big Grey Tote.  It all fit back into that drawer once it was folded neatly again.  I did pull out a small stack of Christmas fabrics to donate, about 2 yards worth that I know I'll never use.  

And I'm pleased to report that all 3 of those drawers have been tidied up, reorganized, and they all close easily now.  It took a good share of yesterday morning.

Mid-week check-in & May goals

A little bit at a time I'm whittling away at the scraps.  Here is the latest scrap project.
 

This cute print - chubby ladies wearing bathing suits that look like the fruit they are shaped like - was in the Big Grey Tote.  There was a strip of this that was 7" wide, and I managed to get 6 mug rugs out of that strip.  I know there is another chunk of this fabric in one of the drawers, that I think was set aside to make a pillow cover.  My 2024 project spreadsheet says I've made 37 mug rugs so far this year.  I think these will make cute gifts.  

May goals have been floating around in my head, but those goals seem to change on a daily basis when I see something else I should be finishing, or something I want to start.  

** keep up with Saturday Sampler

** finish Riley Blake challenge blocks

** assemble Rainbow Connection blocks into flimsy

** bind one UFO

** lots of pink RSC blocks

** finish 2 pillowcases & 2 project bags (partially done)

** choose one new project/PIG

And, my biggest goal?
** FINISH emptying the Big Grey Tote!