License plate fun

I've added 2 more license plate blocks.  The blanket stitching still needs to be done but the pieces are all fused down to the backgrounds.

There are about 8 or 10 of these license plates from last year's Row By Row Experience and I'm hoping to collect a few this summer too. I haven't decided if I make a wall hanging using just last year's plates or go for a bigger quilt and mix the years. This will be a WIP and it's kind of fun to just let the project evolve over time.

The "blue screen of death" . . .

This wasn't in my sewing plans for today! I have no idea whether my lovely computerized machine can be repaired or not, but it sure changed my plans for the day. 

Guess it's time to pull out my ancient Singer, run a couple of new bobbins and see if I can at least finish what I was working on this morning.  Or maybe it's just a day to clean my sewing room.

May 22 - Status of the Stash

I realized this morning that the last stash report I made was April 24 - a whole month ago!  I've done a bit of sewing since then.

These 2 blocks are Centauris for May in our Saturday Sampler. The first one is my bonus block to enter into a drawing to hopefully win all of the bonus blocks. This month's them is batiks and I went for bright ones.

The second block is made with the Saturday Sampler fabrics, which are an over-dyed muslin. Very crisp fabric that sews like a dream. I don't usually go for these dusty colors but I have to leave my comfort zone once in awhile.

Over the past month I did finish a quilt top (elephants in 30s fabrics) and a table runner (Easter Sunrise). I've made a TON of blocks of various sizes that will have to be added in later to the stash used. And I've bought some background, sashing, and border fabrics to finish up some other projects. 

So here is the stash report for the past 2 weeks.

In this month: 6 yds

In this year: 56 yds

Out this month: 5 yds

Out this year: 53 yds

The stash is leading but not by very much. And I'm optimistic that I'll be bumping up those "out" numbers this summer since I won't be working full time. I have some major sewing plans.

Dark green Crown of Thorns

The RSC color for May is dark green and I finally settled on a batik for this latest Crown of Thorns block. Not much time was spent in my sewing room this week but that's OK. There is always the weekend . . . although I plan to play some golf this weekend too.  I did do a little sorting and cutting late this afternoon, and even pulled out a UFO that was given to me long ago to finish or pass along. More on that another time.  And I still haven't found the flimsy I posted about yesterday.  It's a mystery.

Throw Back Thursday - looking for old UFOs

I know this one never got quilted, so now I'm wondering what drawer or box this flimsy is hiding in. This was from 2010 according to my old photos.

I need to start looking deeper in that sewing room.

Weekend fun

We promised grandson #1 a new bike for his 5th birthday, which is in 3 weeks. He has had a strider bike (no pedals) since he was 3 and so do his little brother and sister.  But it was beyond time for a "real" bike and this was a good time to take him shopping.

Sunday we had lunch with the family and then grandpa and I took him shopping for his bike. His face just lit up with smiles as soon as he saw the bike display at Walmart. After trying out a couple of bikes he picked out the Spiderman version. And he rode it down the aisle, through the checkout lane, and out of Walmart with the training wheels on.

Once he was home he made one trip up and down the sidewalk with the training wheels while dad got out the tools. Then the training wheels came off.  15 minutes later he was riding all by himself and about an hour later he was even pushing off to start with no help at all. Mom finally had to make him come in for a break and to have supper.  The strider bikes help them learn balance and steering, so it was an easy transition. I'm a believer now that I've seen it happen.

This was a perfect kind of grandparent time with a kid - watching him smile and laugh while learning to ride a bike. So glad we could be part of the experience.

Just playing

An idea for using the license plates from the past Row By Row Experience.