It's Friday

Because we were home by ourselves, and I wasn't cooking a big meal - yesterday felt like Friday all day to me instead of Thanksgiving Day.  We had a really good early holiday with our kids and grandkids on Wednesday.  Yesterday we enjoyed the leftovers sent home with us. And now it really IS Friday.

No Black Friday shopping is on my radar for today.  I plan to decorate the Christmas tree now that it's up in the living room.  I finished the December spools mini quilt yesterday, so it is on the family room hearth.  The one with 4 little trees will go on the living room hearth.  I really do enjoy these little 12-14" mini quilts.

I have a start on the 3-yard quilt called Splendor.  One complete row is done, and half of the next row is done.  Lots more to go but there is no deadline for this one.  

We're expecting winter weather to move in sometime in the afternoon.  What a shame that I might have to stay home the next couple days and sew.  And possibly bake the cookies I'll need to take to our DAR meeting next week. 

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Because we had our family Thanksgiving yesterday, my plans for today involve sleeping in, sewing and getting out the Christmas decorations. 

Just a little progress

 

It's not finished, but I can see the finish line from here.  This is the December mini quilt with the spool design.  The main part is now in 4 rows, so once I get a chance to sew those together and then add the narrow borders it will all go quickly. 
 

I really thought I might get it finished on Tuesday, but it just didn't happen.  After my haircut and manicure appointment, I planned to just go get groceries and come home and sew, and make the deviled eggs for Thanksgiving.  Plus we were on the edge of crazy winter weather with 50+ mph wind gusts, a little snow and sleet.  It would have been a good day to just stay home and sew, right?

So instead of going right to the grocery store or doing any sewing at all - I went and test drove a new vehicle.  Isn't that what normal people do in bad weather?  When they have lots of other things to get done at home?  My 9 year old Ford Edge has been having electrical issues for months, in particular with the key fobs.  I guess yesterday was just the day I decided I was tired of fighting with it.  My new RED Ford Escape should be ready to pick up on Monday!!  I'm very excited.  And the sewing will still be here waiting.    

Tuesday To Do list

Today will be pretty busy, with not much time left over for sewing, but maybe I'll get an hour or so late this afternoon.

This morning I'm headed to get a haircut and manicure.  I have a bunch of paperwork to catch up on at my desk when I get back.  And I have deviled eggs to make for our family Thanksgiving, which is tomorrow. Lots and lots of deviled eggs!  Because apparently I didn't make enough last year.  LOL

Yesterday I was up early, and got quite a lot done before noon - in my PJs, which is not normal for me.  The Dresden project is now a flimsy, but I won't be sharing that until the Saturday post of Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  It's now pressed and hanging in the closet, waiting for its turn to be quilted.  It's not a huge quilt - only about 50 x 60.

All the parts and pieces are cut and labeled for the December spools mini quilt.  It's so handy to use my little alphabet clips and my small design board to keep everything organized.  I even got the row with the bow sewn.  This should be a quick one to finish. 

Another task I wanted to get done yesterday was to cut the pieces for the Splendor 3-yard quilt, and get one block sewn as a test.  The pieces for the half rectangles are cut from fabrics 1 and 2, but not the pieces for the sashing from the 3rd fabric.  

Only one set of rectangles is actually sewn, not a whole block quite yet.  Twelve of the rectangle sets will be sewn like this, cut on the line and pressed to the dark.  The other 12 sets will have the light fabric tilted the other direction.  These will be blocks A and B, with C and D coming from the opposite sets.  

And of course - I wrote my To Do list on Sunday evening, posted it early Monday - and then promptly deviated from that list on Monday.  I hadn't decided whether or not to do the new Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt this year.  I always save her clues, and sometimes sew along, and sometimes don't.  But I really liked the colors she chose for Lupines and Laughter.  She posted a week early due to her travel schedule, and after seeing this first clue I couldn't resist diving in.  It was a shallow dive with only 3 sets of this first clue.  But I did pull out a few more pinks, blues, and neutrals I can use for a few more.   

Design Wall Monday - Nov 24 - Switching seasons

I've been sewing a LOT of red, white and blue lately and I love those colors.  But it's time to change seasons, and that means red, white, and green.  Time for me to begin some Christmas sewing!  There will still be some other WIPS getting attention this week too, but Christmas will be front and center. 

Using a 3-yard bundle of Christmas fabrics purchased at our quilt show in October made fabric choices easy for this 3-yard quilt.  Choosing a pattern is much more complicated, because I have several of the Fabric Cafe books.  But I've settled on Splendor.  Let the cutting begin!!

The kit for the December spools mini quilt arrived Friday afternoon in the mail.  Because there aren't too many itty bitty pieces, this one should go together quickly.  These all finish about 13" square, and I want it ready to use by December 1. 

There are a couple of Christmas gifts that I want to make, and one of them involves pulling out this Lori Holt book again. 

Another Christmas gift involves this adorable cat fabric. 

Other WIPs for this week? 
** Hemming a pair of jeans for daughter #2. 
** The Dresden project needs the final couple of diagonal rows attached.

** There are still lots of parts for QOV blocks on the design boards that will be perfect for Leaders and Enders.  

** There is plenty of binding waiting as well. 

We're doing our family Thanksgiving on Wednesday evening so our girls' families can celebrate with the other side of their family on Thursday.  We're pretty flexible so I'm OK with any day and time as long as we get a chance to get together.  It was firmly suggested that I make MORE deviled eggs this year than I did last year.  

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog        

RSC25 - Week #47

It's that time of year when we like to focus on finishes.

Another RSC project is showing progress - the Quarter Dresden project.  Four rows are now assembled, with row 5 sewn but not attached yet.  That leaves 3 to go.  Maybe by next Saturday this one will be a flimsy.  

There is the old joke about "how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!"  One elephant in my sewing room is scraps.  Lots and lots and lots of scraps, no matter how fast I sew.  They multiply at night in the dark don't they?  The main focus this week was a completely scrappy project - organizing, cutting and using lots of scraps from just ONE bin.  Not a rainbow bin of scraps, but red, white, and blue scraps. 

All week I worked on reducing the scraps in the Quilt of Valor scrap bin.  Because I've been very lazy again the past month or so, the canvas cube with scraps from QOV was overflowing and I just kept piling more stuff on top of it anyway.  The yardage in the bin next to it was even a mess.  Time to clean up this whole area so I can actually reach that dresser drawer behind it all.  Sorting and cutting parts for QOV blocks - lots of them - was a daily project the past couple of days. A little at a time, and I'm seeing progress finally.

These are parts for more 4-Patch Fun (Bonnie Hunter) blocks on the small design board.  Because I'm cutting 2" strips for these, the smaller scraps work great.  

Once the 6" units are made, I've been putting 2 red and 2 blue together into 4-sies.  There are 13 of the 4-sie blocks made so far, with the goal being 30.  

Gleam (Cluck Cluck Sew) is a new-to-me QOV pattern this week, and it's a great scrap buster.  I've sewn 7 Gleam blocks (12" finished) from the parts I cut, with many more to go.   So far all have come from that scrap cube.  That QOV scrap cube has been reduced to a manageable level.  It isn't empty, but it's manageable.  

I think my focus next week will be changing over to - Christmas sewing.  

Let's go see what else is happening with scraps . . .
https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/ 

Finished (or Not) Friday

I did finish some binding last weekend.  One side was done in the car on the way to a swim meet Saturday morning - after daylight arrived.  One side was done while sitting in a lawn chair in a noisy gymnasium at the swim meet, in between events and sessions.  And I finished the last little bit on Sunday morning at home.

This is one of the Churn Dash tops that I've made the past couple of years.  It's 48 x 60, so a nice size for kids.  The blocks are 12" finished, and use a novelty print paired with a solid.  Our guild did several baby quilts with this idea, and I just kept making blocks afterward.  There is one block near the center with 6" versions of the bigger blocks.  This is a pattern I'll do over and over again, and the quilts are great for donation.  When shop hopping, I tend to collect cute fat quarters of novelty prints to use in donation quilts for kids.  

The back on this one is fun, and uses up more leftover backing from a previous project. So bright and cheerful.  And the purple binding was cut from more leftover backing. 

When I finish something, it's nice to reward myself with a new START.  I rewarded myself with testing out just ONE new block pattern that our QOV group might use for a block drive in 2026.  This is a free block from http://www.patchworksquare.com called Star On Star.  This site has a whole section with just star blocks, and all of them have 3 finished sizes - 12", 9" and 6".  I've had the QOV scrap bin front and center this week, so it was a quick detour.

Check out more finishes at
https://alyciaquilts.blogspot.com/