The current verbal exchange around here:

Family member: Watcha doing?

Me: Cuttin’ stuff up and sewing it together.

Everyday I have been sewing, I am making progress on the Gloriana’s Dream kit quilt.  There is a whole lot of  cutting, piecing and chain stitching going on.  Make 96 of these, make 48 of these, cut 192 of these, I’m up to the sashing, which is also pieced.  The instructions are really well written, which I’m thankful for because sometimes, especially with kit quilts, this is not the way.  I do, however, modify most quilt patterns to use the easy angle and companion angle wherever possible.  I never had much luck piecing HSTs and QSTs with the cut a square on the diagonal method.

I have been keeping up with the EQ8 online classes I signed up for last year, in fact I re-upped for another six months.  Kari Schell at On Point Quilter runs/makes them.  They are a combination of videos and PDF’s (downloadable) that change from month to month.  The topic I chose for this month is ‘Specialty Rulers and Dies’, I have been working on learning to create blocks/quilts using my Accuquilt Qube dies.  There is also a Facebook page for members to share projects and monthly live question and answer sessions.  I don’t do the live sessions, but watch them later, because someone usually asks my question.

There is a mystery quilt-a-long going on at Laundry Basket Quilts blog.  It’s a block a day, well, it’s more like 4 or 6 a day.  I have been downloading and keeping the patterns.  I still have a bunch of the Sequoia fabric line from them, could look pretty in these blocks too.  Although, I really want to make three of her other patterns, including Alaska.  Its good to have options.

I am almost finished with the 5th Avenue shawl.  I need to finish it and get it in the mail Monday.  I have about 6 more rows, the beads slow me down a bit, so a row takes about 25 minutes.  I am already getting start-itis for a new project. I really *should* do the Fox-Paw scarf, I started it last year (?) and it took me a while to get the concept of the increase/decrease pattern. The learning portion of it looks kinda wonky and the gauge is all over the place until I got the hang of it.  I also found a video of how to do it, which, as a visual learner, is worth it to me, to watch.  The photo below is from Bluprint.

Linking up with Denise at For the Love of Geese today for ‘Put Your Foot Down”