Old things, new things

 Old Things:
 A pinning session to prepare the pineapple top for quilting.  As I pin I tend to contemplate the quilting design.  Usually I am inspired and figure out what to quilt, but not this time.  So I haven't made a start to this one.
  The water color banner was pinned too, so I will quilt it up first.







 The wild geese are just hanging in strips on the design wall.  I lost my drive to see them fly.  But they do need to get sewn at least into a top.


  The Therapy Quilt of circles is waiting on binding....I will cut that today.









New things:
  Sir Old Man was heading out  to the Big Box store and I hitched a ride so he could stop at the quilt shop.  My excuse was that I needed a  new pair of machingers---gloves for quilting.  My old pair has holes in two fingers and are bad!

  A few fat quarters became the second excuse......just because they were purple!  And all fabrics were on sale, I just had not shared that tidbit of information with him.

  Marietta always a stack of flat fold fabrics too.  This older fabric with coffee theme panels caught my eye.   A perfect size  for small wall hanging and a few snack mats.   Buy now, and make for gifts through the year😉.












   The new adventure is under cover.   I got pulled in by the thought of
the aroma of fresh baking sourdough bread.

  It is Catpatches fault.   Barbara has been sharing her adventures and breads she is working on.  Then she shared details of starting some sourdough starter for a virtual bake at the facebook group..

    My starter has died and could not be brought back to life.  So I figured it was a good time to try again.    The first few days were touchy and nothings seemed to be happening.  I decided to hang on and then got the bright idea to put the bowl onto a cutting board instead of sitting on the cool granite countertop.  That helped a lot.  This is now day 4  and I have bubbles and it has begun to increase in size.  Today I will discard half and feed it....mix and let sit.    Hoping to get the yeasty aroma soon.  Baking begins next week, and I want to have plenty to share with the neighbors that have been so good to us especially this year.    I also plan to save an freeze some of the starter via method that Judy at Patchwork Times shared.
 
   And the last new thing is one to share......The Solstice Sew Along with Pat Sloan.   She is offering a new pattern each week--12'' block-- and the goal is 25 blocks in 6 months.  Make all of them or make the ones you like, just be sure to download and save the patterns.  They are very good.   There is a linky too and it is good to see all the color combinations being used.





 And that wraps up my year of 2016.
  My word was Enjoy.....and it should have been persevere. Next year I will move forward, being stronger and the best me I can.

Wishing all a Happy New Year and health for each one.
Happy stitching.  

Deciding on Geese

   These wild geese were flying every where as I pulled out several fabrics to try as sashing.  There a dark blue, a grayed-black, and a dark tonal green.  I tried a red, but quickly knew I would not be happy with it and put it away.  Of these 3, I liked the dark green best.  The black needs to be darker and truer with out the grayed splotches.  So since we were planning a quick trip to Fletcher, NC, a short stop at Foam and Fabric would solve the black dilemma.




   I did find a beautiful black tonal fabric I will use for the geese.  But I will save  photos of it until I get some geese strips sewn.  Nicki suggested the name of Flight in the Night if I used black.   We will see......
    I also picked up a couple of books at 50% off....I am such a sucker for quilt books.    The Color book is by Becky Goldsmith  of Piece O Cake fame.  Lots of great projects in it to entice me.   I am reading thru it right now and will share a review maybe of wisdom I gleam from it.

   Sir Old Man spotted this one on the flat fold table.  I did not need this, but loved all the sentiments/sayings expressed on it.   So one yard will make a ton of mug rugs and snack size mats for using, giving, or donating.  I love making the small size projects in between the big stuff.




   I will probably be silent for a day or two.....carpel tunnel surgery is tomorrow.  Thank you all for the support.  I will be back.  Happy stitching.  

Time for another re-do

Since our Thanksgiving will be quiet, we decided to use the time for a pantry re-do.  OK, it was my idea, and Sir Old Man is fulfilling it.  That is usually how it goes around here anyway.
  Our pantry closet is not large, but enough for us.  The original shelves were just too deep to be really functional.  So Sir Old Man took them down, and has cut the wire grids to 13'' from 18''.

   That means food items were moved to the garage and dining room too.
The photo has the additional wood shelves in the bottom left corner.  Sir Old Man devised shelves that are about 8'' deep that will go along the side of the closet .  They will be cleated and have a metal hook attachment to keep them attached to the wire shelves.

  The end result will be less wasted space, much more usable space, and nothing stacked on the floor!

   The nail holes from the supports have been filled.  And a couple of spills wiped up.  Today will be the painting and prep for the shelves to be installed tomorrow----we hope.







On the design wall......



 Wild Geese.......I have about 90 of these sewn.  They were spilling out of the box, so up on to the design wall they go.   The colors and prints are wild and varied.  Just lots and lots of scraps and gifted fabric.

    If I use this vertical setting,  I think I need  to use some solid gray (maybe) for the setting sashing.  Gray should help unify and settle all the bold colors.   I will play with a couple of other layouts over the next few days.  Suggestions, and thoughts welcomed.

   Giving thanks for a handy/capable/willing husband as he fulfills my wild ideas.

Hazy Monday

    I intended to take photos outside this morning before the day got away from me.  But the smoke and haze from the wild fires north of us in NC put a damper on that idea.  We are at a lower elevation, and the mountains have a down slope effect that carries the haze from the fires to us.   The burning wood smell is blanketing everything.   Counties and towns are being evacuated, and arson is suspected.  We are all desperate for rain....a good soaking rain would be so welcome.

  So I snapped a photo inside......
 Pineapple Blossoms got sewn into rows over the weekend.  I added 2 plain borders to bring the size up to 45'' by 64''.   I am feeling the borders are too plain, but not sure if applique will distract from the center.    I will hang it up on a hanger for now----that will give me time to think about it and search out some ideas.

   A few string blocks, some applique and this table topper came together too.  The applique will get stitched down, and maybe some easy stipple quilting.










   For my finale......some flying geese units were sewn together just to see how wild they could be.  These are cut with the Go! Accuquilt and are 3 1/2'' by 6 1/2''.  Big fat geese will make a good donation quilt...lol.  I love the accurate cutting that makes for easy sewing.
   This afternoon I hope to start stitching on that water color banner.  Once the rows are sewn, I will decide on applique accents.

Happy stitching.
   

Fall blocks

  What says fall better than colorful leaves, pumpkins and geese!

   Pumpkin blocks to go with the leaves from Carole at From My Carolina  Home .  Another couple of leaf blocks were finished too.

And geese......colorful geese.  If you have been following my Pinterest boards, you probably noticed all the flying geese quilts I have been pinning.    I caught Bonnie's quilt-cam yesterday afternoon and did some cutting of scraps.  Then I sewed a few test units to see how they looked.








   So in an hour I whipped out this huge stack of geese parts.....large and small.  And if I get tired of geese they can become HSTs in two sizes.
 I am debating on the design layout....
I have two I am wrestling with.  Of course, I might have enough scraps for both of them.








   Oh, yeah.....I did not use the rotary cutter for these.  Life is too short for dull blades, and aching hands.  I broke down and claimed an early birthday present.   Sir Old Man did the initial test drive and proclaimed it safe and easy enough for me to use.    (Just wait until the apple peeler gets here that I ordered......he will get to crank that one.)





  I probably won't get much done this week in the sewing room.  I have another PT evaluation this week, as well as the nerve conductivity test on Friday.  The results came back from the neurologist that I have the antibody against the intrinsic factor for B-12......that means this condition is permanent and B-12 shots are forever due to the auto-immune disorder of pernicious anemia.  I expected as much, and accept what is to be.  So if an Accuquilt ---or any other tool----makes it easier for me.....go for it.

  In January, I claimed "Enjoy" as my word for the year.  This small  banner hangs on the design wall right in front of me as I sew.  I enjoy every minute in there.....and every minute of life.    I have some finds to share on Friday......till then, happy stitching.

Scrappy Pinwheels quilt

   Done!  A finish.....finally.
    The center section has been hanging around for about a year.  Nine blocks made using the "5 minute block" that I talked about last August. Click here for that post.
   Since it was square, I added a row of those leftover pinwheels from one of Bonnie Hunter's patterns to the top and bottom.  They sure have come in handy for finishing off quilts.  I probably have another 20 of them, so I am sure they will pop up again.
  I finished it off with a piano key border.  And the binding is whatever was in the binding bin!  I love mixing it all together.

   Swirly quilting around the pinwheels, which are the dimensional geese that are stitched down with a curved edge.

 Size finished is 48" by 65"....a small lap quilt that I am donating to Habitat for Humanity.

   And just a little more quilting going on.  This is the quarter log cabin that has the diagonal bands.  Right now I am quilting the light area with feathers.  I will use a large stipple thru the print fabric bands as little stitching will show.  Yikes, I could actually get this one finished this month, too!

   Guess you can tell the back is much better, even with the long ride last week. I am so glad to be stitching again.....I need the therapy of it.  :D

Happy stitching.

Insights

When my mind is cluttered,  I catch myself talking out loud.  Not to anyone....just to verbalize what I am trying to figure out.     It drives Sir Old Man crazy and he tries to answer or participate in the conversation.  So this post is to de-clutter my head.......it is really blocking my creative instinct.

   String geese.....some things work and some things don't.  I  added the background to a few those I had made.  Once I got them onto the design wall, I realized I did not want to make a large quilt this way.  I like them....but all those different sizes mean a lot of fussy piecing to make them fit together.   It is not something I want to spend time doing.   I have been looking at them for a couple of days.... I think I will play around with what I have completed, and maybe do a runner and some place mats, or just a small quilt.  .
   Insight:  Admit it when you don't like a project.   Don't let it  be a UFO.  Turn it into something small and useful.

 
  I needed to feel like I was making headway on projects, so I turned to some quilting.    Nothing like hands on fabric and going fast to make you feel better.  I  used the "Jester Hat" quilting motif from Wendy at Ivory Spring on the string quilt that was ready to go.    She taught this during our 2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge....and I finally got the hang of doing it all over, edge to edge style.
   Insight:  See practice is good!




Maybe  a NewFO.......I still have a lot of strips....but then who doesn't?  What I need  to start is  an on-going/ kitchen sink/waste nothing project.  A project I am not compelled to finish in a season, but that can grow a lot or a little and still be something.  The best place to look for an idea was at Quiltville.

   My choice is the Scrappy Trip Around the World.  From my 2 1/2" bin, I pulled  strips that were long enough  for 6 blocks.   I will tackle the unsorted box for more long  strips later.  These blocks are 12 1/2"....so a couple of dozen could make a small lap quilt.

Insight:  Don't be compelled to finish this in a month.  Let it grow.  




   OK, now that I got all this out,  I feel so much better.   I think I am ready to move on and find that creative mojo.
 Happy stitching.  

Walking In Sunshine

Walking in Sunshine

  When this mystery quilt from Bonnie Hunter at Quiltville started at the end of last year,  I knew better than to expect it to be an easy stroll down Easy Street.   I am so gullible!  It was not hard.  It was time consuming.  There was that unexpected twist in the color selection that almost threw me into a panic.
 And it was that change in color that really puts the spark into this quilt and gave me its name, Walking in Sunshine.
   I also learned I need to count and then recount those individual units.  I ended up with over a dozen extra flying geese units!  I could not let them go to waste.....so they filled in the border.








I only made about one fourth the number of blocks.....and ended up with a throw quilt that is 50" by 70".   I never counted the number of pieces per block....I would run out of toes and fingers I know.





 

  Sir Old Man helped me drag this one around looking for shady spots for the photos.  With no leaves on the trees, that is almost impossible to find.  Finally we went to the wooded area and  I think this is my favorite with the bit of sun in the background.

 Then as we headed back to the house, guess what I saw.....the perfect yellow blooms to match the quilt.

   The quilting.....I used a large stipple over the pieced area.  Nothing was going to show anyway.  I saved the thread and effort for the purple border area.  Oh, and I used 2 different purple fabrics for the outer border....I did not have enough of either one for the whole thing.

  The border of dark purple got the feather quilting.  One sided feathery quilting I should say.  I used chalk and drew the basic "line" for the feather to follow.   I stitched  5 plumes on one side and the switched to the other side of the curve.

 This walk on easy street is done, and yes, it feels so good!
Oops....new challenge is posted for Project Quilting, so no rest this week.  It will be a small project for me as I am into the appliqueing on the ugly challenge quilt.  Also,  I had several questions in email  over the weekend, so I will be answering them this week.  Happy stitching.

Two smalls done

    We are having a little bit of an Indian Summer right now.  It was beautiful today, so some yard work beckoned.  Don't worry, I only acted as supervisor this time.  

    Remember the sample block from the demo on the one seam flying geese?  I added another 2  rows  of squares to make it longer and a border strip on the sides.......a quick doll quilt.  

 

 The rest of the sample blocks are on the design wall.  I  added strips of extra pinwheels and just need to add a border to finish this one.  I plan on donating this to our guild for the quilts we give to Habitat for Humanity for new home owners.














   
   And guess who dropped by for a early Christmas visit to see the latest doll quilt?
  I was going to wait to share this, but it turned out so stinking cute!
   Rudy just wanted to say......happy stitching.

Thinking Christmas and flying geese

   For the guild quilt show, I am demoing how to do the one seam flying geese block.   I learned this technique last year and did a journal quilt with the units.
    I recently ran across a You tube video with another variation of this.  Suzanne MeNeill does a 5 minute block that is really the same thing.   So I am not going to repeat her great tutorial, and  I did use one of her projects.  (Her book  on this is due out this month....got to get one!)
    First she showed a pinwheel block.....love  those curves!   They are just stitched down---no curved seams to sew.   I used scraps that were already pieced and leftover from an earlier project, instead of the strips she used.   I have 4 more blocks that I can put together.....why that's at least half a quilt size!   I may just cut some strips and make a few more to get a whole top.
    What is really great about this----any size you want to do----the math is easy.  I found this at
Connecting Threads -----scroll down to Method 4 for the one seam flying geese.

   On to the small project.....I call it ....

 10 days to Christmas.  Growing up, I knew that when my birthday arrived on the 14th of December,  there were only 10 more days to Christmas.  And there are 10 little pockets on this tree.....that could be filled with small gifts (for me, by me) or hold Christmas cards.  There is also a larger pocket at the base  that was added after quilting the main project.  The binding finishes it off and joins the two sections.  Of course you can leave off the pocket.
   This would be very cute done with more trees....maybe  3 of different  heights, or adding  a tall skinny house between 2 trees. Or a row of pinwheels, or.....you design it!
   I used 4 inch squares for this one  and the overall length is 32" and I made it about 10" wide.  It took about 1 hour to cut, sew, press,  stitch on the star and then pin for quilting.   So I do mean this is quick and easy.
   OK, so now I am beginning to think Christmas......it's still summer, and I am jumping to December.  Maybe I should do this in fall tones, too....that sounds more reasonable.
  Happy stitching.