Weekly Finish! Pillowcases and Curtains..

I promised the older grandkids pillowcases a month ago!  Snow themed - the three oldest chose their own fabrics....  those who know the kids can probably guess whose is whose!

My machine was in the shop getting its annual cleaning and tune-up for about three weeks... so it's been mostly handwork.  It's BACK and I am getting going again!

I am SO glad to get these done!   4 snowy pillowcases for the 4 oldest grands...

But wait there's more!!

Bathroom curtains....  for way too long we have had curtains that were too short!

and... whoops!  These are longer but still too short!

 I will leave them for now.....

I sense a design change coming.....

need longer curtains for sure....

What would you do?

WIP - Handwork - New Hexagon Rosette 1

I spend most of my evenings doing handwork and watching either television or dvds.  This year, my focus is more on sewing than crocheting.

Each week I am working on a different project trying to make headway on all of the ones I've stalled on.

This last week I spent on the Millefiore Quilt Along I started this year.   In a nutshell, I will be creating hexagons and sewing them together into rosettes.  All by hand.  the end result is a quilt that looks like a kaleidoscope (or one of those Venetian glass paperweights known as millefiori [which means Thousand Flowers in Italian]



The patterns come from Katje Marek's book New Hexagon and she also hosts the
 quilt-along

It's made in smaller sections - rosettes.  I've decided for each rosette - to choose a floral pattern in a similar color scheme as that in the instructions.  Hampered a little by choosing from my stash only!  This will be a "free" quilt made from leftovers or fabric unused for some reason...

So - for the first one, I chose a floral that I love... it's bright!  I've used it in a Lovers Knot (sandwiched but not quilted) and in the Sister's Choice quilt I made for my sister. 

 The hot pink was used in my granddaughter's dresses.. and the green came in a bag of scraps somebody gave me.

By the end of the week I got to the third round of four:

..and have the next round all prepped and ready to sew!  See the little sandwich bags?  Those are the prepared pieces for the next round of hexagons!

Fabrics:  Let's see.... the outer round.... center peach is a solid of an uncertain age :-) (I have no idea where it came from!), the darker peach I bought once when trying to add this color to my stash, the darker orange I bought for my grandson's quilt I made in 2015, and the fuschia is a recent purchase for Bonnie Hunter's latest mystery - En Provence.  I did it when it was a free mystery quilt and now it is available as a paid pattern!  (still working on it!  I will share another day)

I also have - ready for basting... the bags of pieces for the Rosette # 2 -

I keep forgetting to mention the WHY of so much handwork this year.... travelling!  I expect that we will be doing a good bit of travelling this year so I want to make sure that - at any given time - I have sandwich bags of things to work on.  As you can see from the note above - ONE week of dedicated work got me ALMOST through the first rosette.

Anyway - Handwork Progress!   Next week - the Hawaiian quilt project :-)

What are you up to?

How I Cut Up My Fabric Scraps....

Starting with a very odd shaped piece of BLUE.....

I have no idea what was made from this piece of fabric.... I think it was given to me....  but my first action was to press it very flat.

I looked at it with an eye to my end product..... squared off pieces with no irregular edges.  I want to end up with squares and rectangles I can use in scrap quilt projects.

I started by cutting off the tiny strips..  which might be trash...

.. or, once measured, might yield

an inch-sized rectangle for my collection... so there is ONE piece for me.  Set aside in a "Blue one-inch" sandwich bag.

Next....   still working to get that one big rectangle to the left...  I trimmed off the bottom piece...

Once I trimmed the selvedge edge (which some people don't :-), I had a 2.5-inch strip.  Assuming I have no specific project in mind.... I would put it into a "Blue 2.5-inch" bag.   If I DO have a specific project that uses 2.5-inch squares, I would go ahead and trim that up and allocate the remaining scraps to bags or trash...


..And then one more piece to cut off the bottom to square up the larger piece...

This one is 4-inches - again, I would either put the strip in a "Blue 4-inch bag" or,

as in this case, I had a project, so I cut it up into 4-inch squares.  Either way works and gets put in the bag (or with the project)

Oops!  One more little piece to trim off...

..which yielded another one-inch piece...

..and there  you have it!  That large irregularly shaped piece of fabric is now in usable shapes and sizes for the projects I chose in a prior post...

I put each sorted size in a zip-top sandwich bag and then into a designated container for BLUE.    As time goes on, I will have quite a collection of the various sizes.

WIP Wednesday Sandwiches!! 9/23/2015

As you folks probably know... creating the quilt top with pieces of fabric are only the first step.... next comes a whole other thing.... the sandwiching and quilting itself...

This last week - because it's September, I am reminded of several projects that are hanging around waiting to be made into sandwiches....  That is, they need a backing and the batting in the middle with the quilt on top.

The is the fourth of a 4 panel piece I bought and started this time last year :-)  I completed and gave away two of them.... one is half quilted.. and this one was waiting for the backing and batting....  I have hand basted all of these on this page

One of the bird lattice panels I spoke about in one of the prior blog posts.  This is a small completed wall hanging that is now basted and ready for quilting.

My grandson's quilt... I LOVE the way this turned out....  I used half square triangles and came up with the design myself

This is the BACK of my grandson's quilt....  autograph squares from my daughter's shower....  This will be the coolest quilt ever when I finish it....  This one is the FIRST on the quilting list when I get started!

Lighthouse panel squares with a rail fence variation between....  Second on the list.. it is a wedding present for someone whose wedding was in May..  Most people who machine quilt use safety pins to baste their quilts but if you work in multiples like I do...  well, I don't even WANT to own all the pins these tops would require!

Another OLD one with finished piecing.  This is another of the rogue sets of blocks I started years ago when I first started piecing.  The color choices are not very good.. but I can see where I pulled from scraps and which were some of my first fat quarter purchases.  The stitching is awful and lumpy piecing in a few.. but I am pleased with the fact that I finished up the piecing in this last year and found a great fabric for sashing.   By the time I am finished, I think it will be great - I will put enough embellishment on the blocks to make them work!

The spring lattice panels..... too big for a wallhanging - for me - but will make a nice throw.... I am still tickled about being able to pair an old remnant I loved with a more current fabric.  Those birds have been in my stash for years!

 

This is a Sisters Choice block... last year I made a throw for my sister and have a thought in my head of making more of these for the chosen sisters in my life.  It's a long term project I have not worked on this year!  I made this particular one with one of my SOLE sisters in mind (I have several special women I WALK with in one way or another...) At some point, I will make a bunch of these blocks for the sisters in my life.  I made the block large - so this is almost table topper size... bigger than a placemat.  It's my first one and I can't wait to see how it turns out when it is finished.

 

And this is the last one from this basting party!  A full size jelly roll quilt.   When I do a batch of basting... I try to get all the smaller stuff, at least one OLDER thing, and at least one FULL quilt.  [I had 3 more fulls in the pile that I planned to baste but I think I will be lucky to get these done!  If I work through these quickly enough, I will baste the others]


I did hand baste all of these - which, if you need a photo, you can imagine me on my hands and knees on the floor!  I first tape the backing down on the floor to keep it from shifting while I work.... then layer and trim the batting (middle layer)... and then lay out the top.   and start making LONG stitches to hold it all together... an X from corner to corner and then a 6-8 inch grid over the rest of the quilt starting in the middle and working out.

All of these quilts now can be folded and can wait until I am ready to get stitching on my sewing machine..... or by hand.... wherever the spirit leads.....

Quilt Class and Decisions - Day 2 Hawaii

Excited and nervous this morning...

Hubs needs to go in to work..... and I need NOT to sit in the hotel room waiting for him to get back...  so after we shared breakfast (tried a malasada - which is a wonderful pastry!) and he left...... it was my turn to occupy my morning..

I located another quilting class besides the one I already registered for on Saturday... apparently there are several traditional classes around here at various places....  and I found one.  And it's not too far.. about a mile using the route we walked together yesterday.   You will laugh... where I live.. it is almost 20 miles to the nearest traffic light... so bear with me a little as I tell you how nerve-wracking it is to go a mile in the city!

But it's a friendly city with tons of crosswalks, lights for pedestrians and laid back drivers... so nerve-wracking.. but good!

The class was held in a food court in a lovely open air mall.  Open air is one of the lovely things about Oahu.....  many establishments are open to the sun and breeze... and birds. (More about the birds later!)

Two ladies.. I wish I had gotten their names!..  brought cushion kits.. with Hawaiian quilting motifs already cut out and basted.

It was amazing to me that these ladies worked with all of us - some participants had never stitched anything ever.  For all my concerns, I am definitely already experienced with a needle and thread!

This took up the morning and I made some progress on my chosen project:

I learned a lot of little tricks about needle turn applique.  I think I will really enjoy putting this together.

Afterwards - since this was a food court, I planned on eating here... BUT... <deep breath>  I did not want to eat at a regular franchise I patronize at home..... but I couldn't figure out what to order at the others.  I slowly wandered from one to the next trying to decide....  the two that intrigued me the most were a PHO place and a Japanese curry place.  So many people though.. who knew exactly what they wanted.. and I didn't even know what was offered :-)  I just saw the very fresh veggies.... anyway, I was getting hungrier and a little more than frustrated so I left and headed back to a place and a different menu I knew.. Hard Rock.

I was a little disappointed in myself before I realized that I was eating at a restaurant ALONE and feeling quite relaxed and SAFE.  And that is a HUGE accomplishment in itself!  Does that make sense?

I am discovering quite a lot about me on this trip... and I need to give myself a few gold stars for getting out there and DOING IT!  NOT berate myself for what I DIDN'T do.

This was enough for me for one day though....  I spent lunch trying to decide what to do next.. I mean I SHOULD be doing something, right?  Maximizing my time and all that?  But as I searched inside myself - I came up with a dozen things to do.. but didn't really want to do any of them.  They felt like SHOULDS. 

So.... in the absence of a true desire to do something specific, I went back to the hotel and enjoyed some pool time!   I am determined to spend my time figuring out what I WANT to do.. and not run around doing what I SHOULD>

Since my husband is supposed to work again tomorrow, I DID go ahead and spring for a trolley pass for all 4 lines....  I am thinking that tomorrow morning, I will hop on one of the trolleys and ride it around seeing the sites... and then hop on another one...  and spend the day wandering around!  Sometimes I berate myself for being so afraid - but I have come to realize, I am NOT afraid - I like to have a plan.. I NEED to be prepared.  Once that happens, I don't care how things actually fall out.... it's kind a mental prep I need.

Got one postcard written and spent my afternoon sunning like a cat!  My husband is not a beach or pool guy.... and I AM!  The pool is close enough for him to reach me and me to get to him in a reasonable time frame so that is where I hung out before he got back!

He didn't get back til late and was bushed... so a quiet dinner and evening in the hotel.  I got more sewing done..... and he crashed!

and there ya go... Day 2 comes to a close...

Day 228 Work in Progress preparing for vacation...

This week has been a whirlwind!  Working on multiple projects daily as I do - planning for vacation always is a good thing... but a whole process in itself!  I must admit though - I do like putting a deadline on myself every now and then to clean up and reorganize and keep turning our finished projects!

First off are three priorities:  NO new projects, assess what I can finish in the allotted time frame, and choose and prepare supplies / projects to take with me.  This really does take a couple of weeks of prep as you've seen in the last week or so...   (though I DID squeeze that Japanese panel print quilt top in there!)

I am kind of tickled with all the progress I made on the "Roads" quilt for the grandboys' Christmas.  I LOVE making the blocks - a really good thing since I will need 120 of them (which means I am hand tracing and cutting out 240 each of 3 different shapes!)   I had cut several blocks for this.... my shapes fit on shapes I cut with my rotary cutter.... 4X7 for the gray road..... and then 2 other shapes that fit on a 6X6 and a 4X4.  Initially I went through my fabrics and cut a "width of fabric" strip to those measurements and prepared those sizes to work with.  As part of my vacay prep, I marked, cut and stitched everything I could.  So... at this point (I ran out of the gray pre-cut blocks..), I have 30 completed blocks.    Still a long way to go... but I am still having fun and see no reason why I can't have them for Christmas....

Here are some of the completed blocks randomly laid out.... I think they are going to make a wonderful quilt  And if I don't work fast enough, I will switch from bed-sized quilt to playmat..... I did find some wonderful train track fabric I can back it with....  mmmm...... seems I MUST make a trip to that quilt store again!

The hexies to go  are taking a lot of time.  making sure I have something to do on a 17 hour plane trip without overloading myself   so little zip loc bags with supplies for maybe 5 flowers.  That should give me enough to not get bored.... and of course I have a book on Kindle AND my husband to keep me occupied:-)

and.... I worked on my lovie project until the last minute!  I completed these 3 - except for the last edging rounds!  They will have to wait until I return!

So that's it!!  Deep breath here... leaving all but my hexie bags and my sample Hawaiian quilting attempt to mess with while I am away!

What are YOU creating?  How do you prepare for a trip away from your normal crafting schedule?

Day 194 Summer Canning Adventures!

I do have to say that half the fun I am having with canning is researching new recipes.  Since I really started doing this more just last year, I don't have an arsenal of tried and true recipes (at least until pear season!  I DO have a plan for when they come in)  Somehow the challenge that comes with receiving more than I can eat of a given vegetable... turns on my creativity and sends me hunting for something that sounds interesting.

Again I will share my notes and links and I admit freely that while I am exact in my liquid measurements for safe canning... I have a free hand with my spices.  I use fresh when possible and store bought when it's at hand.... I also use a little more rather than less because for the most part I like things a little more flavorful than most.

First focus this week... carrots.   I like carrots... raw.  Sometimes cooked WITH something else.  Not a real fan of a main dish of carrots... though I may have to start looking in that direction soon with the abundance I have.

But for this week...Pickled Dilly Carrots.    I have NO dill product left from last summer and I made at least a case each of Dilly Beans and Giardiniera {mixed vegetable pickle).  So my plan (LOOSE PLAN :-) is to make at least 6 jars each of dill whatever this summer.  Just to try.

One batch got me 3 jars so I needed to make more!

Also because you really can't buy many dill vegetables in the store - like Dilly Beans or, in this case, Pickled Dilly Carrots.  Eleven big fat carrots got me 7 half pint jars of dilled carrot sticks.. and some ends and bits and pieces to toss in with some roasted veggies this week.  [8 more carrots came in my box this week.. so more hunting is on my agenda!]

BLUEBERRIES!  Okay I picked TWO GALLONS last week when I picked them so I really need to keep jamming!  Or something!  I packed 2 ziptop bags and tossed them in the freezer because I AM getting tired of making jam for now.  BUT I have MORE!  I found this recipe:  Blueberry Mojito Jam    And, since I have limes and a good crop of mint in my backyard, it seemed like a good pick.  And it IS yummy.... but only made 3 half-pints and a quarter-pint jar.  Plenty enough for me - but not enough for my Christmas gift closet.  I will make another batch somewhere in the week ahead on a day I am home.


So I made  Pickled Beets with Dill and Mustard   with the LAST baby beets (described in a previous post from 6/23).... until this past Saturday.  Turns out there's more beets..... so off I go to hunt down another recipe.

Most of my canning takes place early in the morning... first thing with that first cup of coffee.  And I am usually finished by 8am so I can start my day.  It's been a full week of running for me and I need a day at home to catch up!

That's it til next week!  Happy canning!

Day 193 Wednesday Works In Progress!

This has been a piecemeal kind of week.


I have been working on smaller projects this year in the hopes of completing some wall hangings.  Last week I showed you a Valentine quilt top that was written as a wall hanging.  I finished the top and put it in the closet with other pieces that need to be sandwiched (basted together with the back and batting in the middle).  While I was originally cutting it out however, I recognized that it was not at all what I envisioned on my wall.  It is too big!  It will be a great lap quilt or draped over the back of a chair but not for my wall.  So I made an extra pieced heart to work with in creating something smaller.  I've been working on that this week

Still a long way from completion, this is more the size I want for a seasonal wall hanging.

I started the actual quilting on the sandcastle top I completed last year.

The initial quilting stitches around the 5 printed panels went quickly!  I havent decided how to quilt the wave-looking blocks yet - or the inside of the printed panels - but will probably do that by hand.  Maybe.  Haven't decided, can you tell?  For now though, I need to finish the machine quilting and put on a binding so you will probably see it again on a WIP Wednesday

A special request for a rice neck pillow thing (?) came in from my pregnant daughter so I looked it up and made one.  Okay two - but the filling of rice is more challenging than I anticipated (and the cleaning up afterwards was entertaining!)

Once she okays it - or tells what she would like different, I will probably be back here making more.  Supposedly you heat it up in a microwave and use it as a heating/cooling pad.  When I get it right, I can see me making more for gifts!


Speaking of my girl and her upcoming baby - I started planning the back of the baby quilt.  We got autographed squares at her baby shower and I am working with how to place them.  I am still waiting on one square and will be able to put the back - and the quilt together!

Have I shown you the FRONT?  If not, let me know and I'll include it in next week's WIP post :-)

And.... working on an ancient project.... squares unearthed from '08... I put the top together earlier this year.... and added the blue borders this week.  I don't think I'm quite happy with it yet though.... I am thinking up more borders to make it a little bigger.

A narrow black border next and then I need to add one more color border depending on what I find in the quilt shop when I pop in tomorrow!  I don't have what I need in my stash... poor me....

My handwork hexies... I am still having fun with them!  I really need to put them down and work on other handwork projects!

I finished ONE!  This is how they all will go until one day (in the far distant future) I will have a quilt top!

It sure is fun choosing that second round for each flower.  I am making sandwich bags for the flowers in the different stages... one bag for the center +6 petals... and then bags for the small flower + 12 of the second round color and then 12 each cream and green scraps for the last round.  Add the thread, needle and small scissors and the bags are portable craft projects- just exactly the kind I need!


I worked on the lap robe for the Vets while I worked at the library the other day.  (It's a project for the needlework club at the library so that's fair, don't you think?)

Coming along slowly but surely.  I haven't been doing much crocheting lately.



And then..... because I couldn't help myself..... this new fabric came into the shop and I needed to work with it!

I looked up the company online and am using their suggested pattern to make a quilt top.  I bought the fabrics that the shop had and improvised on the ones they didn't.  I don't want everything to match anyway... what else is new?

Can't wait to add this to my next week's lineup!  What are YOU up to?

Day 186 WIP Wednesday

I am in a crafting place where I don't have any specific new project going on that is capturing my interest... so am using the time to work on some of those UFOs... unfinished objects.. that are lying around.  And I have a TON of those!

I wanted to work on finishing up some machine quilting.. so this happy garden quilt by Debbie Mumm was first priority.

And... the machine work is complete!  Now this project moves on to the handwork basket for embroidery and embellishment!


Next is piecing something OLD....  a project started around 2008.... before I had any grandchildren.  I had a dream that this would be for my first one.  Ha!  Not so much :-)  Anyway..I did most of the blocks back then and set them aside.  Over the course of this past year - as I have been cleaning out, I located them and finished the blocks.

This past week I cut the sashing and put the top together.  Still a LONG way from finished... at least it can move from the "unassembled blocks" collection... to the "unfinished tops" collection :-)

As I worked on projects, I tend to group them by thread color.  Most of my piecing is done with either white or natural... and I am working in natural this week!  A newer project - started 2015 - is a valentine wall hanging.  Well - the pattern called it a wall hanging but my personal walls need something a good bit smaller!

But I am going to finish it anyway and perhaps drape it over the back of a couch or something.  But for now - the top is completed.  It still needs to be squared up and put in the same pile as the toybox quilt.  This pattern is a log cabin version and from an Eleanor Burns book.  I did make one extra heart so I can still craft a hanging of a size I prefer.  Maybe a thin border and binding from the chocolate if I have enough.  The photo doesn't do it justice.. the neutrals are really subtle and pretty.

Crochet this week is edging for receiving blankets... one of the things my pregnant daughter most enjoys.

I do not enjoy this first part.... putting the base edging on the little thread border of the blanket!  I will share the finished product with you when I finally get these done.

AND.... I ended up with a library shift during the craft club meeting this week so I brought a bag of balls someone gave me and a hook and decided to work on a lap robe for the veterans hospital.   I'd say I'm about halfway through at this point..

More handwork in front of the tv....  I've gotten hooked on hexie flowers!  I always thought they would be so very tedious.... but am finding that I really enjoy them.  And they are small enough I may be able to transport them when I travel.

I will take better pictures later... but here is one of the flowers that I am beginning for what looks to be another years long project!


And, as a finale for this week's crafting, new kitchen curtains!

As a part of the new kitchen reno.. I decided to make new curtains...  I still like the old ones, but they are faded and it is time for a new look!  I found some butterflies that made me smile and have been putting off the project for a month or so...

I only know how to make one kind of curtain... I need to expand my repertoire!  BUT.. be that as it may....  I did get them done this week and they are hanging in my kitchen!

 The old ones, as I said are faded but the fabric is still good.  I am fairly confident that they will end up in my scrap fabric collection and into a project and no one will ever know!  [except you,of course and you won't tell, will you?]

What are you creating this week?