July in the rear view mirror

Summer always goes by way too fast, and July flashed by like always.  My July goals were very ambitious - but I did pretty well - considering!!  The first half of the month I hardly worked any hours at all meaning I had lots of sewing time, but the second half my work hours mushroomed dramatically.  I just keep reminding myself that working part time brings me money to spend on my hobbies. LOL

• 2 Saturday Sampler blocks - DONE
• begin sewing sections for Saturday Sampler quilt - didn't happen!
• cut sashing for Patriotic Stars quilt -- DONE & at quilter 
• finish binding Oh My Stars (UFO) - DONE
• quilt at least 1 of the 60 degree runners I made in June - DONE
• make 1 of the Quick Strippee quilt tops (kits put together in June) - didn't happen!
• make last 3 blocks for the Lori Holt sew-along - didn't happen!
• Pick a PIG - Simple Whatnots project called Potting Shed - applique in progress
• put together the bright Ritzy Cracker blocks into a child size quilt (forgotten UFO) 
• - sewing blocks into pairs is in progress
• Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks - bright blue
• Ohio Star -  - DONE
• Diamond Tile - didn't happen!
• Twinkle Star - didn't happen!
• String block - didn't happen!
• Gingham - - DONE
• teal/aqua Gingham block from previous month (1) - DONE

And then there were things that didn't appear on my goal list that required sewing.  Like masks for my grandchildren to wear to school. And masks for a friend's kids. And masks for family.  Lots and lots of masks, and then more masks. 

Jackrabbit blue

  

My latest Ohio Star is Jackrabbit blue - royal blue.  The brighter and darker blues for Rainbow Scrap Challenge this month are not very abundant in my stash.  I'm not sure why either, because it's one of my favorite colors.  Jackrabbit blue and gold - I have lots of shirts in my closet in those colors for when I go cheer on my alma mater teams.  And royal blue and orange were the school colors where I taught and my kids went to school.  

There are 23 of these blocks now in my collection.  Some have white stars, but most have a white background and colored stars.  I plan to mix them in the quilt when I've made enough.  

Need some advise

I've had a request for one more mask made from this fish fabric - for an avid fisherman.  My remaining fabric strip is only 4" wide, so I would need to piece it.  I think I'll use more of a tan for piecing and put this subtle green stripe on the back so it will be reversible.

But my question is this - should I add the extra both above and below the fish?  Or just add one extra piece on the bottom?  Either way the seam will probably end up in a pleat.  Which would look better?

Design Wall Monday - July 27

How did it get to be the last week in July already?  Part of me wants time to slow down - and the other part of me wants to zip forward to summer 2021 and hoping that life has returned to normal by then.

What's on my Design Wall this morning?  Pieces and parts for masks are cluttering up my design wall, and my cutting station, and even the ironing board.  So my goal this week is to get those all made and in the mail to the various households.  

One of the things I've been searching for this month is a UFO that I wanted to focus on in August.  This is a Rail Fence, but the blocks are 20" square.  This is an OLD project that I maybe even started in the previous house, making it at least 14 years old.  There are 8 of them and I knew they were "somewhere" in my sewing room along with a dark brown that I had planned to use as sashing and borders.  But until last night, I hadn't found any of it. 

The whole project was folded together but not in a project box or bag.  It was sitting on the back of a shelf in my cutting station cabinet. And the really amazing thing is I had sketched a plan for this quilt, and that little piece of paper was also folded in with the blocks. 

So, this project will go onto my August goal list and it needs to be a priority before it gets any older. 

Check out a few more design walls today:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

Weekend sewing

Saturday was spent mostly making masks.  I made a set of 6 masks using this Minnesota Shop Hop fabric (I think) from a few years ago.  They will go in the mail this next week for some of my Minnesota family members and the ones visiting from Virginia.  What could be more Minnesota than mosquitoes?  I also made 10 masks for a friend and her kids.  And I cut out a dozen more for my grandkids.  I waited to see how the first ones fit before making any more, and it's good that I did because the first ones were too big for a couple of them.  

It's still really humid outside, and I don't feel well in the humidity, so I'll be staying indoors again today. I'm working on binding a quilt.  All Roads Lead to the Middle (formerly called 6th Grade which made no sense) has a familiar backing.  I've used this backing before on a Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt.  It's ideal for something multi-colored because . . . well, because it's multi-colored too.  I just think it's so cheerful and was very glad the shop still had this backing.  I'm using orange binding, not from the same fabric line but it is the right color orange.  I'll show off the finished quilt when it's all bound.

I can't wait for next weekend, because our guild plans to meet for the first time since March.  The plan is to meet in a park, bringing our own lawn chairs and lunch.  And bringing show n tell.  I'm guessing some of our members could fill a grain wagon with the quilts they've finished during this pandemic. Show n Tell should be amazing!! 

I actually missed both the February and March meetings because I was out of town, so I can't wait to see some of these gals again.  Sadly, we did lose one long-time member while in quarantine.  She passed from cancer, and will definitely be missed by the group as she always had something interesting to share.  

This n That

Very little time has been spent in my sewing room this week as I've worked a lot more hours than usual. But . . . a girl has to take a break sometime, and it was Crazy Days in town today.  There wasn't really anything I needed, except for some time petting fabric.  So my main stop was The Pin Cushion where I treated myself to a kit for a Quilt of Valor. I've been admiring - and coveting - this one since they hung it up as a display.  This will be fun to make.

And I returned home just in time to meet my mail delivery, and I had 2 packages.  One package was some football themed fabric I ordered for boys' masks. But the other was from Mari and came all the way from the state of Maryland.  We are both educators and quilters, and have discussed online that we've both been doing lots of puzzles during the pandemic.  Mari offered to send me a puzzle, and I think a trade is in order.  She also sent me a couple of cute pieces of fabric for more mask making.  Thank you Mari - and sometime next week I'll be sending a box in your direction.   

Clever readers

I'm so grateful for the clever readers who suggest ideas.  Thank you Nancy!!

Grandson Jonah had requested PLAIN masks because he didn't want to look goofy.  He's only 7 but concerned about looking good.  Nancy suggested making the masks reversible - what a great idea!!!

So, I had a bunch of this grey concrete-looking fabric leftover from a quilt back.  It's about as plain as possible, right?

Now the plain concrete grey masks are reversible with spiders and fish.  Neither of these fabrics are childish prints, so hopefully these will fit the bill.  I'll do the same with the golf print, and I can make the rest of the girl masks reversible too.  The previous ones all had plain white inside, but there is no reason not to use grey, or tan, navy, pink, etc.  Duh!! Why didn't I think of this earlier?

I also did more research online and found that a more simple rectangle works with no extra side pieces.  I just left an opening on the bottom to turn it, sewed in the elastic while sewing around the outside the first time.  Then I turned the rectangles, and top-stitched all around.  Pressed in the pleats and then another line of top-stitching down each side to hold the pleats - VOILA!!  Much faster.