Some of This Some of That 10/20/19

Made some leader and ender blocks - 0.083 yards used.  Finished two rows of a seedlings block - used 0.030 yds.  Made 6 blocks for the next baby quilt top - 0.30 yds.  Made two Dear Dottie blocks for another 0.01 yds, and lastly 3 My Small World blocks  of 0.05 for  a grand total of destashing this week - 0.43 yards which bring me to my new YTD total is 49.56 yards destashed.  Here is my design wall showing all my current WIP except the My Small World blocks. I'm trying to keep up, however to much to do outside the studio. I probably won't have a finish for some time.

 And this is what I'll be hand  stitching today watching the Great British Baking Show:

This is a section of my current Bliss round.  These hexies are 4"s.  Off to watch Paul and Pru.
I'm linking to Sunday Stash, Design Wall Monday, Can I Get a Whoop, Whoop?, Slow Sunday Stitching, and Let's Make Baby Quilts.

Have a great week!

Some of This; Some of That 10/6/19

Sandwiched a baby quilt top - used 1.25 yds.  Finished a WIP top - used 0.25 yds.  Worked on the Seedling Quilt QAL - used 0.25 yds.  My new YTD total is 49.09 yards destashed.

Worked every day this week on quilty stuff!  So I know I have 7 of 7 days this week (100%) for 15 Minutes To Stitch 2019. And also 5 of 5 days so far this month (100%). I have no idea where I"m at for the year as I missed so many weeks of reporting.

Now for the finished WIP:

This is a pattern from Kay Mackenzie's Scrap-Applique Playground. I've had the book forever. When Lori of Humble Quilts chose to do a String Along, I decided I'd use some strings to make this sign for my sewing room. 

 Here's what I have left of those strings:  

I'm thinking of using them to bind this wall hanging. Do you find it hard to make them disappear? I do.

Linking to Oh, Scrap, Can I Get a Whoop, Whoop?, Sunday Stash, and others (see my tab above). Have a productive, quilty week my friends. Blessings to all.

Some of This; Some of That

Quilting a baby quilt - used a yard for the back.  Made 6 different blocks - used a total of 0.5 yd for those. Fussy cut a hexagon block - that only used 0.03 yd for a total of 1.53 yds. Not much, but that is much more than the zilch of last week - hehe. Net YTD out: 47.34 yards.

Here's that hexi block I made.  It's from Jodi Godfrey's new book, The Seedling Quilts.  She's having a QAL in October.  Here's her blog.  I would like to make all of the quilts, but that would be 11 more UFOs.  Instead, I'm going to make one block of each and make mini quilts out of them or maybe a sample.  I'll see.

After I cut out and prepped the pieces I sewed them together into a donut (as per Karen Howe's method at https://faeriesandfibres.blogspot.com/2014/03/sewing-hexagon-flower-video.html ) It makes it easy to audition centers and sew the pieces to the octagon with a continuous thread. I use Superior invisible thread to sew my EPPs together.

This is what it's going to look like when I've finished sewing in the center. Now to decide on a background.

I'm linking to Slow Sunday Stitching, Can I Get a Whoop, Whoop?!, Oh, Scrap (cuz this was made with two scraps), Sunday Stash , and Design Wall Monday. More parties under my tab above.

Blessings,

Some of This; Some of That 9/8/19

Doing some slow Sunday stitching prep work.

Got this block hand appliqued.  Front view:

Cut to size also.

Next block copied, templates cut, placement guide made.

First flower fabrics chosen and templates ironed on.  These still need to have edges turned under with starch.

And coming off my design wall:

What are you up to? Link parties linking to under tab by same name under header. Blessings!

I'm back from last Summer 2019 Vacation.

and almost nothing done with a needle.  What I did do was hand stitch a sleeve to this 2008 quilt.

It's my china plate quilt about 45" by 55".  It would have been longer,  but I forgot to put a white strip above each row of dishes.   Didn't notice till the top was all done.  I quilted the letter N in each center of the plates.  This was a quilt as you go project. Now it can hung on a wall.

So of course my stitching time has changed very little. Here goes:

15 minute days/week = 2/7 days

15 minute days/August = 12/17 days

15 minute days/2019 = 165/231

Success rate = 71.43%

 Destashed .03 yds with that sleeve, so YTD total is now 44.56 yards. I'm linking to Sunday Stash, 15 Minutes to Stitch, and Slow Sunday Stitching.  Hope you did better than I. PS had a great time in Colorado - will report on that this Thursday.  Blessings,

Some of This; Some of That 7/28/19

Coming out of a funk and a very bad reaction to a Shingles shot.  Haven't used the stash much - just made a 9 x 12" block for .07 yd.  So YTD destashing is at 44.53 yards.  Hope I at least make it to half way to my goal by the end of summer. 

15 minutes to Stitch in 2019 - I did get three days in this week.  Haven't a clue where I'm at really, so I'm going to guesstimate.

15 minute days/week = 3/7 days

15 minute days/July = 7/28 days

15 minute days/2019 = 139/208

Success rate = 67.00%

So my percentage has dropped way down in the last two months. But that's summer for you, and I've another month of it to go. I know already a week will be lost then - maybe this time I can take some hand work with me. Last time it just wasn't possible.

So here's the block I made:

Gwen Marston block representing Texas, c. 1996 seen in a Patchwork 1996 magazine issue.

And I'm hand stitching again:

Showing the back as you can see better how far I've gotten - just started the corner leaf.  Worked on it while watching Netflix's Another Life - too dark a Sci Fi for me.

I'm linking to Slow Sunday Stitching , 15 Minutes to Stitch 2019 , Finished or Not Friday , and Sunday Stash.  Lastly, I'm going to plug my daughter's mini quilt giveaway - it's on Instagram under #6miniquiltsin6months2019.  Post a mini you've made at the end of the month and you'll be eligible for a prize.  That's what my block was going to be, but decided to send it to someone instead. I'm making another mini - just have to bind it now.  Blessings!

Slow Sunday Stitching

Feels like winter outside, and so I'm hanging out in the living room enjoying the warmth and stitching slowly.  I've finished another unit for my Bliss project.  One more unit and I can attach this donut to the center.  Donut you ask?  That's how I learned to add a round to my hexie centers and use one continuous thread.  Learned it from Karen at Faeries and Fibres.

Making some progress on quilting SLOL - got most of the first row done. It's taking me a bit longer as I keep having to change the top thread.  I couldn't find an all over thread that I liked.

As to destashing, between adding a border to my Stars and Stripes Sampler wall hanging and finding a back for my next baby quilt, I used up 1.3 yards of the stash.  That's because I have been quilting more than piecing. My new YTD total is  71.71 yds destashed out of the 86 yards needed to meet my goal. Very little progress this past week.

And that special luncheon last Thursday?  DH and I went out to celebrate our 50th Wedding Anniversary.  It actually was on the 30th, but we both had so much to do that day, we decided to celebrate on Thursday so we could have a relaxing, no time constraint, lunch.  We tried a new restaurant.  The food was very good and there was no rush. It is called Habanero Mexican Grill .

c. TripAdvisor

Time to prep some more hexies.  I hope you have a fun and productive new week. Blessings,

Oh, yes, I'm linking to Slow Sunday Stitching, Sunday Stash and Design Wall Monday.

Some of This; Some of That

Back to the destashing.  In trying to empty some boxes filled with quilty stuff, I found 4.5 yards of fabric I am liberating from storage and to perhaps find its way into a project with another quilter.
That and the 1.41 yds from the start of a new baby quilt, 1 block and the back of another baby quilt gives me a YTD total of 46.51 yds destashed out of the 62 yards I need at this time to meet my year-end goal.  That's what happens when one spends over 2 months with little sewing and quilting.

Here's the block I made as mentioned above.  It is for my NSO (newly started object as of January) called Meadow by Michelle McKillop of the Jen Kenwell Designs Collective. 

I now have a corner's worth.

Along with another one, I  have 4 of 24 applique blocks done.  What I do is make a copy of the template page and then cut out the pieces leaving the outline of the shape as my placing guide.  Here's a sample:

Makes it easy to assemble the block.

Off to prep a block from Anna's Garden.  That one is hand appliqued so I'll be working on it today.  Don't think I"ll get much more than start it.  I'm off to Colorado for another short trip to visit DS#2.
I'll try not to forget my smart phone this time so I can post a photo now and then.

I'm happy to report the temps are near normal again for a little while ( 98- 104 degrees).  So much better. I'll be linking to BOMs Away, Slow Sunday Stitching, Sunday Stash, Moving it Forward, and Main Crush Monday
Blessings to you all.

Slow Sunday Stitching

Kathy of Kathy's Quilts and Slow Sunday Stitching shared a reflection today about how Sundays use to be days of rest.  We sort of do that here. We go to Mass and then come home and have a sweet with tea or coffee and read the paper.  This sets the tone for most of the day - taking it slow.  Are you resting?   Here you'll find Kathy's thought on Sundays and her Sunday stitching.

I'm going to be working on my Anna's Garden block - almost done and then it will be time to prep another block.  Then there's some machine quilting on a baby quilt and binding my Mod Mod quilt.

Have a restful day, everyone.

Some of This; Some of That on 3/25

With two days less to sew and quilt this past week, my destashing essentially came to a halt. And what time I had was spent  making bits and pieces for my two applique projects.  See previous post. So all I used was 0.10 of scraps and brought my YTD total up to 16.47 yds.  How about you?

This coming week will not be much different because we have begun Holy Week - a reflective time for us as we walk with the Lord during the end of His earthly days.

Today, I've spent making a couple of blocks - one for Covered in Love and one for Block Lotto (will do for RSC 2018 because it's the color for this month). Do you participate in any of these?  I like the challenge of sampling blocks and putting them toward a worthy cause or a quilter's cache.  

Today, I'm going to hand stitch another Anna's Garden block.  I'd mentioned (last Thursday Report) I didn't like how the background fabric is seriously fraying on these units. I finally decided to make a rolled hem.  Because I didn't want to subject the applique pieces to stress and feed dogs, I chose to protect them by hand.

 Beginning the rolled hem. I'm basting it with large stitches as it won't be on there long.

The finished new edge to the block is done.  Once I've hand appliqued all the front, I'll remove the thread, give it a good press, then add it to the pile of done blocks.  Next one to stitch at top of post.

This is my last prepped block.  I'll have to make time and cut out some more to keep on hand stitching.

And I did finish that unit for Sweet Land of Liberty.  I didn't like the cherries, so I added stars instead.

I'm linking to Sunday Stash, Oh, Scrap!, Slow Sunday Stitching, BOMs Away, and Monday Making. Linkys are so good for inspiration.

Some of This; Some of That

First the stash report. Made 2 baby quilt tops and found a backing for them. Used .25 for binding one of them. Used .10 for bias for Love entwined and .15 for SLOL, so that's 3.70 yards out this week.  This gives me a YTD total of 16.37 yds. Closer still to the 20 yds out I need to meet my goal.

Here's my progress on Love Entwined:

Doesn't look like much for 3 days of work.  Those 3/32nd bias stems take a while to make. Biggest are 1/8th. But I'm done with that part of the bouquet, and I was able to add the hearts. Now to add the vase, then the flowers.

I also got a bit done on SLOL.

Here it is on my design floor as this is much bigger than I thought.  I'll have to see if I'm going to make all of it.  It's already 50" wide.

Off to hand applique some more on my Anna's Garden block. Hope you got to quilt today.  I'm linking to Oh Scrap, Sunday Stash, Slow Sunday Stitching, BOMs Away, Design Wall Monday and a couple of others. You can check my tab under more in the header to see who else.

Have a wonderful week.

Some of this; Some of that

Made a few purple HSTs for my RSC 2018 challenge.  These aren't sewn together yet as they need to be interspersed with future ones.

As to the destashing, I used 2 yards (yeah!) for a St. Anne's quilt, .04 yd for the units above, .01 yd for the tiny pinwheels, and .26 yd for the charity quilt for Share the Love. That's 2.31yds - Much better! YTD is now 6.74 yds. (I'll be reporting this at Sunday Stash - have you got numbers for us?)

For my Slow Sunday Stitching, I'm work on this for the week while watching Jeopardy. 

What do you watch as you slow stitch?   Fat quarter giveaway still on. See last Friday's post.

I'm also linking with Sunday Stash

   

Slow Sunday Stitching

Half done with this one block from Sweet Land of Liberty's unit 2.  Words, star and laurel leaves yet to do.  Called for a feather stitch, but I couldn't make it work going on a curve, so I "winged" it.

What are you up to?  Go by Kathy's and link and show us or leave a comment here and I'll come take a look.  Blessings!

I've Been Somewhat Busy

It's been a quilty week - two projects I can't even show you because they're just off the germ stage at this point.  I did work on my scrap bag quilts.

Got this 30" top done by adding two borders. Sorry for the poor photo.  Hope to quilt it soon.

This second quilt from the scrap bag just needs borders now. Think I'll add two and miter the last one.  We'll see.  It will be a 36" one for St. Anne's.  Probably another member will assemble and quilt it. 

Got another 6 done!  Working on the last 6 now and I did have enough fabric (will be scrappier blocks than these). May sprinkle them among the others to see if they blend in.

Here's a project I forgot to update in my 2017 review.  Made 4 blocks in 2017!  40% done now - woohoo.

Last, but not least, stitched my circle of curvy hexies to its center. I like how the purple makes that circle shape.  However, I haven't a clue what to use next (fabric-wise).  Any suggestions?

I'm  linking to Amanda Jean's Finish it Up Friday, Sarah's Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?, Myra's Finished Or Not Fridays , and Jennifer's Wednesday Wait Loss. Do go by and see all the lovely postings. Blessings.

Sunday Stash Report

Made five blocks this past week which used .14 of a yard. Pulled a yard for an inner border on my RSC challenge quilt.  The 1.14 yds brings my YTD destashed to 64.20 yds.

I'm still working on that Anna's Garden block - it will continue to be my Sunday Slow Stitching.

And since I had all my applique paraphernalia out, I decided to work on my eagle block (another WIP to get done). I'm not happy with his head - can't get nice sharp points for his feathers and the copy lines show around the edges - think I'll try another method.

I'm linking to quiltpaintcreate's Sunday Stash and Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching.
Have you been destashing?

Back to the Hexies

My circle is growing.  The diameter is around 20".  Have a half of a seam on the one at the to sew, and then I can add the four I've done to my circle.  I don't add them to the former rounds til the whole 'donut' is done.  That's my slow Sunday stitching for today and Help for Hexie-aholics. 

And here's DG#4 (he's 6) with the potholder he made (mostly) for his Mom.  I'm so proud of him. I only did the cutting and ironing plus the changing of the feet on the machine.  He did the rest.

I'm linking to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, Oh, Scrap, Sara Did it, and others as Alan's project was just from scraps.  Linky Parties under tab More above.

What are you up to?  Let me know and I'll come by.

Hand Stitching Failure

Yes, it happens.  Some times we fail at what we set out to do.

 Someone donated this oh-so-cute fabric to St. Anne's.  Just love it.  And it is so soft!!  I took it home to fondle and put a crocheted edge to convert this piece of fleece to a baby blanket.  Well that was what I was going to do.  Actually, I learned it may be a micro-fleece.  It's not Minky - but it feels like it. Has no bumps. Can Minky not have bumps?  Any way, I cut the holes for the crocheted edge as usual after trimming the edges.  Got out my pink yarn and started - this was going to be my hand stitching project for today. Ugh, I had too large a hook.  It was making the holes big.  When I came to a corner the slit became a large hole to hold 3 stitches.  This wasn't working.  What could I do?  I tried using the holes to make blanket stitches - that didn't work either - it was too hard to keep the half inch turned edge from getting lumpy. Okay, I fell back to my machine finishing for fleece.  I turned over the edges and zig-zaged them.  That worked!

 Here is the front

 Here is the back

Ready to give to St. Anne's for a new Mom.  So much for hand stitching today.  Did you get some hand stitching done?  Visit Kathy for others who were successful with their stitching. Blessings!

Some of This; Some of That

Destashing:  One back for isolette top, 2 RSC challenge blocks, 11 blocks to finish other baby quilt top = 1.3 yds out - giving me  53.38 yds YTD out of my stash.  I'm linking to quiltpaintcreate's Sunday Stash.  I'll be linking to a few other parties. See my tab under the header. Click on more. 

Here are the RSC blocks (my BOMs Away for this week:

These are blocks Pat Sloan is sharing for her Summer Solstice she is sharing at I Love to Make Quilts site.  They're to the quilt top stage already - I'm behind.

Here is view from my front door to my DH's planting in the front of the house. Lol, we don't have grass.

The tall plant with the poofy flower heads is an Alluaudia procera from Madagascar. In fact several of the plantings there are from that country. People stop to take photos.  The one behind it is a Canary Island palm in our across the street neighbor's front yard. It got a recent hair cut. Personally, I'd have left all the leaves to give shade for this already hot summer. The three Washingtonia palms are also in their yard.  They must be near 100 ft. tall.

I hope you are having a nice quilty day with some slow stitching. I've prepped some more Bliss hexies to sew while I watch Father Brown tonight.  Blessings.

Slow Sunday Stitching & Some of That

I'll be finishing this one and hope to start on hand stitching the last two.  That is my goal.

As far as the stash report, I used only .03 yd this week by making an RSC block, little bits for my applique block, and that teeny, tiny sampan.  I did pull a piece, 3.25 yds worth, to donate to the guild. New YTD total of use/donations now stands at 10.08 yds destashed! 

Where I did use fabric was in putting together this top from another bag of scraps.  This one has mostly strips in it.  But since it is St. Anne's fabric, I can't count it toward destashing.  The three columns on the right aren't attached yet.  Need a few more columns to make it the right size - 36" square.  The letters are four the parish children colored at the June festival. So for now it is on design wall #2.

Off to bed - read that by getting an extra hour of sleep each night you can lose 10 pounds in a year. Sounds like an easy way to diet.  I don't get enough sleep - 6 to 6.5 a night is not enough.  

Nighty - night.

Some of This, Some of That

De-stashed about a 1/4 yard with leaders and enders and hexagons.  Then another 1/2 yard used for the baby quilt in process. So my last stash report for 2016 is 56.38 yards used - more than half of my 100 yard goal for the year.  Let's see what I do in 2017.  I want to do better.

It's Jan 1st and Judy has pulled the first number in our UFO challenge.  It's #3.  
  Make more blocks of Anna's Garden by Lori Smith

Here are the six I have done.  I'm using the freezer paper and starch method and hand appliqueing them. In total, Anna's Garden has 25 appliqued blocks and 4 pieced ones.  With how busy my months are, I'll be happy to  add one to these. We'll see.  I'll post my progress below at the end of the month.  You can see the first list here.  The other five will be added soon for a total of 17 (for the 17 for 2017 - see sidebar).

For this Slow Sunday Stitching, I'm continuing with my curved hexagons.  Have the last 5 for this round prepped.  Just need to sit down and start stitching.  Hope you have some time to stitch today. Happy New Year.