Recycle those signs again and update.

I am re-recycling part of an old post.  Right now is the time to replenish your stash of yard signs.  Clean up the landscape and put those signs to good use.

 

Mini-bolts!

  About 4 years ago, I began using the mini-bolts for storage.  When I first  began this, I was using a thin plastic insert.  Later I switched  to using  foam core board.  The foam core  can be purchased at the Dollar Store in the 2 foot by 3 foot size usually.  I cut the size-- that works best for me-- 11" to 12" high by 8" wide.    It's easy to cut with a craft knife.  I often end up with smaller sections of the boards and they work great for shorter cuts--- those under a yard. 

Today, I am even more frugal.....I use old  yard campaign signs or yard signs of any kind that I find....like house for sale, or other advertising.  They get knocked down or the wires rust out.  I collect them, wash them up, and cut  to the size I like.    I'm saving the land fill (if they would ever make it there) and keeping my dollars for fabric and thread.  

 Fabric is folded just like it comes off the bolt.  Then one more fold---bringing the folded side over to match the selvedge edge.  Roll it up and pin the end.  

     The mini-bolts make it easy to see what I have to work with.  I am  known to be pretty messy and scattered, so this really helps me neater.   And what fun to shop your own fabric store in your stash closet.

And one more idea.....portable design boards.  

  I use old yard signs.  This one is the plastic type 

of corrugated sign.  I cut mine to 12'' by 16'', 

along with a layer of batting and muslin about 

 1 1/2'' larger on all sides.    Grab the glue stick......

I use the glue stick for a temporary hold.  Run the glue stick along the edge of the board and fold the fabric over.  Press down with finger tips.

Remember the colorful duct tape?  

I found a good use for it here. 

 Pull off a piece long enough for the side.

  Lay the covered board face down onto the tape.  Put the tape around the edge and press down 

onto the back covering the edge of 

the fabric.   I trimmed the ends 

of the tape so that they were flush with the ends.

 

 Done!  A small work surface that

 easily moves from sewing table 

to ironing board....safely.


  What a time around here......we endured a hurricane, Halloween, and a blue moon,

and a time change.  Sir Old Man had a skin cancer removed from his nose and is 

healing.  One more to go and then we see if he needs the plastic surgery.  

  

                                                      

 I survived the stress level by sewing

 units and rows together......to make a top 

with borders out of the spool blocks!

  This is about 1/4 view of the top.

I had 3 extra spool blocks and hated to throw them into 

the orphan box of blocks.  Instead I used them to

extend the pattern to the outer border by inserting them

when I joined strips.  I also used up all the blue  fabric for 

that border.  
 

  

   

I continued making the hourglass blocks. 

 These are ready to be trimmed up. 

And I sorted, and sorted, and sorted 2'' squares

that I have been throwing into a box!

I have a new assortment of floral 2'' squares

to work with from my cutting block pieces.  

I found some inspiration and think it is time to return

to working with them for a while.  So if I don't

surface for a bit, that is where I will be.  

Happy stitching.  

    

Little progress on the spool blocks

  

  I finally decided I had enough spool blocks.  I am beginning to join the rows.  I did the arrange and re-arrange thing on the design wall, got tired of it, and just began to sew.  When it is so scrappy, you can spend a decade moving things around to make it perfect.  Not happening here..... I just need to see some progress here.

 

    And the leader and ender project continues.   For every 2 blocks I made of the spools, I put together one of the Easy/Breezy blocks.  I have a stack of them already.   So they will continue to be my L/E while I am putting together the hourglass blocks.  

    A few of the hourglass blocks from this week.  Again I am working very scrappy because I am using whatever I find  in my bin.  I will plan my placement a little bit with this in time to get some nice dark pinwheels to appear in the block on point.   

  FYI....I am beginning with 5'' squares sewn on diagonal.  The hourglass block shown here are 4'' unfinished.  

    We took a day trip to NC for apples and stopped for lunch.  Actually, it was the first time to eat out in 7 months!  What a treat!  The fall colors were appearing.    This year of 2020 has altered my perspective of so much.  It was nice to be somewhere other than here for a few hours.   

   

  Days have warmed back up for the next week, night are cool.  I keep checking on the large hickory tree out front.  It has the most glorious golden yellow when our leaves hit the peak.  Otherwise, life is much the same.  

Happy stitching.                                                         

Catching Up

 Fall arrived while I've been quiet.   Sir Old Man finished painting the shed and it looks really nice.    I spent one day digging out fall wall hangings and table runners.....and washing those that came down.   I changed out the mini to this pineapple, which is a favorite of mine.  I like the variation in textures from the quilting too.  

    I posted about the problem with my hands and wrists which slowed me down.  The season change and a few clear days with no rain etc. helped that.  So I managed to sew a little bit for a few days.  Some spool blocks and the leader and ender, Easy breezy.  I even ordered some storage boxes/bins for projects.  

   They were from Amazon, and a bit bigger than I thought.  At just over 3'' high they are more than enough for the spool blocks.  Then I started stacking the leader ender blocks and.....

  Ok, I need the depth!   And I then filled one up with string blocks than were in a shoe box and rumpled.  So they got ironed and given a new bin.  

  

  I thought I was making headway, until I woke up one morning about 2 weeks ago with a very red, and swollen  left eye.  My good eye, not marred by the lack of B-12.  So off to the doctor.  He says it was a ruptured vessel between the tissue layers.  Could be from trauma or spontaneous.  Give it a few days to improve.   

   So tomorrow I return for another exam and check.  The redness is gone, but the vision is worse.  For example, we went out over the weekend to view the full moon and Mars.  I told Sir Old Man that I saw three dots, or Mars.  Which one is the real one?  Yep, I see triple images at certain angles.  I sure hope the doctor gives me a better explanation or I am searching for a new ophthalmologist. 

  So I have been quiet here, reading posts and keeping up as best I can.  Sewing time is limited to prevent  eye strain, neck strain , and general irritation.  I did begin joining the spool blocks into sets of 4 and seeing how they looked on the design wall.  

   Does anyone think blogger complaint department ever read our feed back?  Do they ever read any posts to see how they look?  This thing is so awful to use.  Just ranting about the useless new features that make writing a post difficult.  Another example of fixing what isn't broken.

   Our mornings have been quite cool and crisp.  Time to go pick up some apples from the farm, and a good time for a road trip to view the leaves.  Maybe next week.  Happy stitching.  

Making spool blocks

  After such a nice holiday weekend here, at least weather wise, I went back to the sewing room today for a while.  The humidity returned and the temps went up again.  We did enjoy about 4 days of cooler temps and Sir Old Man was motivated to begin painting the garden shed....under my supervision of course.  That part he wasn't crazy about, but he is such a good sport that he did not complain. 


   I had a nice stack of spool blocks to press and trim.  Once I worked thru the pile I ended up with 67 finished blocks!
  To review the summer project:   Now, they are only 5'' at this point.  I have a mix of light spools and dark background, and dark spools on a light background.  Very scrappy and pulled from my 2'' strip collections.  Florals, tonals,  batiks, and  mixed patterns..... I am using a big span of styles.






 
   So today, I am wondering if I need to begin working them into 4-unit blocks.  LOL....already I see ones I need to flip.  So I know I need to work the small blocks into larger ones.
  This layout is 4 dark background blocks together on the upper left.  Next and to the right  would be a large block of 4 with light backgrounds.
  The bottom group on the right got turned around wrong....very wrong.  That's okay, nothing is joined yet. 
 

   I have looked at lots of layouts with spool blocks.  And I like this spinning spools version the best.  My second question is whether I just mix them up and let things fall where they may.  I am fearful of doing that for the whole top as it will be confusing and not have any focus at all.  I may toss a few hodge-podge blocks into a little more planned version. 



 
 Between the spools, I am using the Easy-breezy leader and ender from Bonnie Hunter.  I have about 20 of these done....these 8 blocks were pressed.  This layout has all the dark going to the upper left for a diagonal layout. 



   But what if.....I switch a few directions and form a chain.  I think it will be oblivious which I will pick.  I love chain effects.    But this is a long term project and lots more patches to sew.

   And that is it  from the sewing room. 
Sending prayers to those facing fires on the west coast, and holding our breathe that the 5 storms forming stay far away from land.  2020 is still making people notice it!
Happy stitching.