When I see the word “smalls”, I think of the 1993 movie ‘The Sandlot’. There’s a line “You’re killing me Smalls”, Smalls being a character in the movie, not a small cross stitch project. Here’s the Google explanation:

Where does the phrase you’re killing me Smalls come from?

You’re killing me, Smalls originates in the 1993 baseball movie The Sandlot. The movie revolves around a boy named Scotty Smalls who moves into new neighborhood and is taken under the wing of the local boys and taught to play baseball.

---

I have been seeing a lot of them in YouTube videos, smalls in dough bowls, baskets, just hanging out on a sideboard, mounted on wooden shapes, or in little frames. In my cross stitch stitching resurgence (started in July 2020) I have been mostly working on large pieces. I started with finishing the cat head, the floral circle and then it was on to Pet all the Dogs, Strawberry fields, Newcastle Bouquet, and Changed World. Fifteen months of stitching little X’s and a bit of stash enhancement, I haven’t really stitched anything small. Sort of like making lots of bed quilts and no baby quilts. Like I said, I’m beginning to think about a dough bowl smalls collection of my own. It would be satisfying to me in that I would be able to start and finish a cross stitch project in a few weeks, and have the thrill of a new start and finish in a short period of time. Right now, there are so many cute Halloween smalls available. Changing the “smalls bowl” out seasonally would be fun for me. The only hard part, besides choosing which one to make, would be explaining the concept to my DH, he doesn’t really get decorative art displays.

• 

• 

I have been slowly quilting on the Reflected Harmony quilt. I finished the Hungry Animals book quilt with a blue checkered binding. Today’s goal is to finish the block pieces for the Spider and the fly quilt. I need 38 more three stripe parts made, and then I can sew the 49 blocks together. This quilt is putting a dent in my Halloween Figs scrap pile. I ordered a few more yards each of the orange, black and white prints to do the borders of this quilt. The fabric line, All Hallows Eve, is getting harder to find. I started out with the BOM quilt scraps, and I have made a dent in that pile, but there are three solid borders on the S&F quilt, and I needed a bit of yardage. I was supposed to get the Halloween Figs quilt done/quilted this year, but I looks like it’ll be for October 2022. I did hang up my Baltimore Halloween quilt yesterday.

• 

• 

• 

I had a surprise package delivered last week. The first part of the BOM, Reunion, arrived. I actually had to look up the finished quilt, because I had forgotten all about it. I remember that I signed up for the BOM, A Ribbon Runs Through it, but that one starts in January ~ October 2022. It’ll probably be a surprise when it starts /arrives too.

• 

• 

Time to sew.

Be Kind.

When I started this project I thought maybe we would be further along on the road to Covid recovery, by the time I finished it. Well, I think the truck has pulled over to the shoulder and is taking a rest. Perhaps I should have stitched more slowly? This piece was done as a stitch-a-long with Judy at Patchwork Times, Denise at Just Quilting and Jo at Jo’s Country Junction. I started stitching on August first and finished September twenty-eighth. Just shy of nine weeks, 59 days. At first I didn’t stitch on it everyday, I was alternating every other day with the Newcastle Bouquet piece. Then I added another cross stitch project, a small free chart I found on the Aurifil site. These last two weeks I have been working exclusively on CW, and now I can concentrate on NB a bit more. I got the flower finished yesterday and a few letters started, who knows, maybe by Christmas that one will be done.

• 

The Purple Pineapple is a top, again. I had to take the errant block apart in order to make it right, not just a simple rip/flip/resew job. The center part of it was turned, it was unlike any of the others, poor thing, I kinda felt bad taking away its individuality. The quality control manager in me is smiling though. Still needs borders, I have plenty of lavender to use for them.

I started quilting the Reflected Harmony quilt. I was all set to do a pretty rose pantograph on it. I had gotten a 108″ wide piece of pink and white floral for the backing, but it clashed terribly. Then I remembered the Strawberry Thief print 108″ backing I got on sale, it works. I am using all the roller bars for this quilt, I usually float my tops. Floating is when you baste the quilt top to the backing and batting at the upper edge, and let the quilt top hang over the front of the frame. As one quilts closer to the bottom edge, some securing is necessary to maintain smoothness. I usually pin at this point or I have large pink fabric clamps. Once I got the quilt on the frame. I realized that I couldn’t do an all over design, because there is a half inch red fabric flange that separates the center from the borders. After a bit of searching through my collection of designs, I remembered seeing a Rose set on Wasatch quilting, it was a bit pricey, but I had some points saved up and I get 25% off being a club member. I bought it, downloaded it and had it stitching out in no time.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Speaking of downloading, I got the final block and finishing instructions for the Elefantz Simple days quilt. I have seven blocks made, two embroidered (finished) and two to start/make. I think I want to do something with the sashings or borders, maybe some piecing. I thought I would use up my stash of reproduction/ 1930s fabrics, but I ended up adding to it. This isn’t a very large quilt, but I think is more of a wall quilt than a lap quilt. So some interesting sashings might be just what it needs or not.

Linking up with Sarah at Confessions Of a Fabric Addict for the Friday Whoop.

Be Kind.

I got the four extra blocks made, and put the top together. I just noticed an errant block in this the photo, will fix later. I think I’m going to add a border, it needs something to corral all of its pineapple-y goodness. I’m still not sure if I want to make any more of the larger blocks, I have enough left over fabric to make at least three more. If I put four together it would be about 40 inches square, six blocks would be 60″ x 40″ probably a better lap quilt size.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Progress has been made on my Changed World cross stitch piece. I finished the trees and the border above them. Those little red flowers are a pain, because they are 4 green stitches and four red stitches. A lot of flipping back and forth to get the ends tucked in. I also did a few more inches of the side border flowers, I am running the thread between them, as it is a short distance and it doesn’t show through. I’m working on this exclusively for now, I really want to finish it before the end of the month. I have two pieces I want to do for Christmas gifts and I would like to finish the Newcastle Bouquet before the end of the year.

I got the chart and fabric I ordered for the punch needle “tangential craft”. I am not sure I will open it and start it yet. I do have the beginner one all set to start, it has a preprinted cloth and all the threads. I thought this little Teresa Kogut Tuxedo Halloween pattern was cute. But I will show restraint.

I did start the Spider and The Fly quilt pattern yesterday. I need a bunch of 1/4 triangle squares, some black and gray, some black and white. It should keep me busy for a while.

Be Kind.

I was thinking of the title “The Future’s Uncertain”, but it seemed too ominous. I was thinking of the lyric from the Doors song “Roadhouse Blues” which is “The future’s uncertain and the end is always near”. How does it relate to quilting, well, in a loose way, I am not always sure how a pattern or idea is going to turn out. But, barring abandonment or disinterest (UFO status) the finish is always near-ish. To make this more convoluted, I was thinking of how I have been working on my Changed World cross stitch project, which is nearing completion. It is all I want to work on lately. It might be because of the impasse I have come to with the purple pineapple quilt. I have reached the top third of the CW piece, and I am almost done with the tree border. I haven’t stitched on the Newcastle Bouquet in a few weeks, but I can see it while I stitch everyday.

What I really want to start is a new quilt pattern from Bonnie Hunter called Spider and The Fly. I downloaded the pattern when it went on sale last week. I have a whole pile of left over scraps from the Halloween Figs sampler quilt, plus a jelly roll and some extra yardage I bought when it was on sale. I would like to get that quilt top quilted, I made it for me, it’s seasonal, and this Wednesday is the autumnal equinox. Summer is over, fall is in the future. I would like it to rain soon, it seems the weather has finally cooled down a bit here. The Halloween Sno-cone quilt is done, as is the Pretty-Ugly quilt. I started on the smaller hungry animals quilt, I had a piece of light aqua bumpy minky hanging around that I used for its backing. I have seven quilts that I want to get photographed and up on Etsy. Today might just be the day for that, the light outside is good at this time of the year.

Other projects I have been contemplating include a sewing room re-org. That’s a big one, I would like to regain some lost floor space and cull out some stuff I don’t need or won’t use. My stumbling block has been (lately) the purple pineapple fabrics that are spread out on my work table. I don’t want to put them away, because then I know I won’t take them out again. Better for me to have them out and ready to finish up. They are taking up a good amount of real estate on the worktable, which precludes any sorting of other things on top of them. I have decided that I will make four more of the smaller pineapple blocks and make a lap quilt out of them. Once this is done, I can see what is left over, and make a few more of the larger pineapple blocks.

With the cooler weather, I have been knitting a bit at night. I have been working on the Wild Bees shawl. I’m almost finished with the center square, about ten more rows to go. This shawl is a rectangle made of three squares. The Bee motifs are showing up nicely, and I really like the colors together.

I recently succumbed to a fabric sale at Fabric.com and got a kit and some yardage for a quilt called Cotton Couture. I like the colors and antique look of the sewing themed designs, and the price was good. I am hoping that it will combine with the Tim Holtz fabric collection I have in my stash, so I can use the scraps for a different quilt.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Be Kind.

I was trying to think of a title for this post, and when the above popped up, I thought of the scene in Charlottes Web (by EB White) where the spider spins the words “Some Pig”in her web. All the farm folk are excited more about the pig than a cognizant spider, but sometimes that’s the way life is. My last post, 8/28, doesn’t seem that long ago to me, not 17 days ago. I think I am slowing down bit now that summer is winding down. I am feeling the shortened days and longer nights. The weather here hasn’t cooled down much, still 80 degrees during the day. I just want it to rain, a good rainy day, I want to smell petrichor.

• 

• 

I have been working on the purple pineapple quilt. I hit a bit of a snag, I made an alternate block, in this pattern there are five alternate blocks and four pineapple blocks. Although I would have to say that they are all pineapple blocks, they are two different kinds. Block A consists of four smaller pineapple blocks and it is 20 ½ inches square. Block B turned out to be an inch too big. I’m not really sure how I can make it smaller without it looking like I cut it wrong (which I did). I am trying to decide if I want to use all the A blocks in their own quilt, or alter them to make them fit with the larger b blocks. I could add some narrow sashing to them, which may look okay. I could also make four more blocks and make a decent sized throw out of it. Then I would have the single B block to do something with.

• 

• 

• 

I have tested the long arm and it seems I have got it back together correctly. It is functioning well, although there is a squeak every once in a while. I quilted the coffee quilt (giant coffee beans)and the halloween Sno-cone quilt (pumpkins leaves and stars). Plus put bindings on the two snails trail quilts. I put the “pretty ugly” quilt on the frame, but haven’t started it yet.

I have been making headway on the Changed World cross stitch. I am nearing the end of the houses, and stitching the church. I have not worked on the Newcastle Bouquet in a while, since today is an even day, I should devote some time to it. But the little buildings on CW are so much fun. I recently bought a punch needle pattern called Tuxedo pumpkin from Teresa Kogut. I tried to take a beginning class on punch needle about 5 years ago. Something came up and I had to leave early, but I got the kit. Everything I need to complete it is in the bag. I would like to start it, but I know it will be another rabbit hole to travel down. Maybe a fork in the cross stitch rabbit hole, but still, I am willing myself to finish CW first(at least) and then do something new. Only so many hours in the day.

This morning I had a little time to stitch so I sat down to do so. My DH happened by and commented that I was “at it already”. I told him yes, that’s because I have been up since two thirty, so this is like mid day for me. He wasn’t impressed.

Be Kind.