This week is more than half done.  My plan for finishing three tops is slowly becoming a reality, however, probably not going to be finished this coming weekend.  I got the Playdate top put together, still needs borders though.  That freed up the design wall for the Minuet blocks.  Once I got them up there though, I realized that they needed to be put on the floor to really see how they work together.  It’s scrappy, but I only used seven fabrics and white, I have to shuffle the blocks around to avoid matching pieces where they join.

Mancuso has announced the theme for this years PIQF, it’s “Quilty Pleasures”.  They are also doing a Mid Century Modern theme again (3rd Year).  Entry info and forms are here PIQF.  QP is a pretty broad category,  my pleasures are lots of pieces, color and currently, triangles.  I recently bought the pattern “Alaska” from Laundry Basket Quilts.  It’s on my list of quilts I want to make, and I have been playing around with it in EQ8.  I want it to be a little bigger, so I added two more rounds of blocks.  This would be a challenge to get done before the August 27th deadline.  More thinking will be done.

 

Last night I was knitting on my Sea Gleam shawl and realized that my stitch count was off by two.  Normally not a big deal, and sort of normal for me, but when it involves lace, it looks bad.  I had to pull out ten rows, about 4000 stitches, sad face. On a bright note, I have memorized the lace motif stitches.  Curious Handmade just released the second shawl in the series, “Floating”, so no rush – eye roll.

Linking up with Denise at For the love of Geese for Put Your Foot Down #6 today.

 

Hmm, DWM, divorced white male?  Nah, Design Wall Monday.

It seems like last week I was pondering starting a new project.  I had just finished binding 5 quilts and feeling pretty productive.  This week I find myself in the middle of finishing up three tops.  The Play Date quilt is on the wall, it needs sashing and borders, but all the blocks are done.  I thought I would put it on the wall and see if there were any matching blocks near each other.  I can’t look at it for too long though, it’s too “crazy on the eyes”  It must be a quilt that one has to step back from in order to really appreciate it.

Then there is Scrap Dance Minuet, a mystery quilt from From My Carolina Home . The final step was released this past week.  I have put together half the blocks so far, I may have to finish them up before the Play Date quilt, as they are taking up my sewing table space.  Only 12 more to go, I’m making the twin size.

Finally, the postman brought me the twelfth month of the Christmas figs BOM.  Fabrics for the sashings and corner blocks.  Lots of sashing, this quilt finishes at 78″ x 96″,  which reminds me, I have to get a backing for it.  Lately I’ve been shopping at Backside Fabrics for my backings.  Good selection and fast shipping, plus their prices are pretty good too.

Oh yeah, I got the extra skien of hand dyed yarn I ordered to finish my Sea Gleam Shawl.  I got lucky and it is from the same dye lot as my first two.  The lace edging is requiring a bit more concentration, plus the rows are quite long at this point, about 400 stitches.  I breath a sigh of relief, when I get to the end and I have the right number of stitches left.  No one likes to un-knit that many stitches and lace too boot.

Linking up with Judy at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday this week.

This week I finished up four small quilts and one medium in a binding frenzy.  My LA is taking a rest, maybe I should load up another, after I give it a good cleaning and oiling.  This week’s weather hasn’t been conducive to the needle arts, too hot.  I got the June installment of Mrs. Millers Apprentice BOM done.  I realized that I hadn’t gotten the June installment of Christmas Figs yet, I gave them a call and now its on its way here. Yay!  I really want to finish that one.

I want to work on the Play Date quilt, I still have to finish the triangle blocks, the square blocks are done though.  Its very sparkle-y, I have a cute unicorn panto in mind for it, hope some 5 year old will love it back into pieces.  My good friends daughter turned 16 late last year.  When she was born I made her a crib size quilt, pretty water colored hand-dyes and off white kona.  This quilt is still used every day.  I repaired it once by quilting on a new backing and binding on it about 8 years ago.  It has since deteriorated to shreds held together with thread and some batting, (not very attractive).  I made a simple pillow case for it, with an envelope opening, out of minky.  Now she can keep it close to her at night and contain its “lovey” qualities.

I had to take a break from the Sea Gleam shawl knitting, as I ran out of yarn.  Luckily, it is made by a local (same town) yarn dyer  “Serendipidye” AND they had a skien of the same yarn/dye lot.  Don’t know what I was thinking when I started the shawl using this yarn, as the amount of yardage needed is clearly stated in the pattern and the yarn was labeled with its total yardage too.  My math was a bit off that day.

Linking up with Denise at  For the Love of Geese for “Put your Foot Down” today.

I am still working on the triangle quilt, I have to come up with a better name.  I got all the blocks together and the first border, red, on.  I’m determined to get the final border on it today, it’s a fabric I got recently that is quilt themed too.  I had to cut it on the long grain, while keeping the words fairly perpendicular.  Now to measure and sew it together.

Been thinking of my next project, trying to avoid looking at the UFO pile.  I’m thinking crib quilt, I uncovered this fat quarter pack while looking for something else.  It’s pastel fairy frost, so sweet it hurts my teeth.  I recently got this pattern from The Flemings Nine (Etsy Shop) called Play Date.  Thinking it will use up most of the FQ pack, and YAY! more triangles.

There is still a whole lot of the Sew Mama Said FQ pack left, might be used in a sampler type quilt. What was the name of that larger block quilt?, I think it was about two years ago, oh yeah “Swoon”.  That may work for the Sew Mama collection, EQ8 will be employed.

The last installment for the Christmas figs, (this post has block pics Sewing and more ) BOM is coming up, sashing for miles, and the final put-together.  I’m happy for that, it’s been a long year of Christmas blocks and fabric.  Not to mention lots of useable scraps from that project.  In the meantime, I am working on this months four blocks for the Mrs. Millers Apprentice BOM.

I’m linking up with For the Love of Geese for “Put your Foot Down” today, as I missed my usual link ups due to good weather.  Good weather makes me stay outside and garden.  Here’s a photo I took of one of this years dahlia crop.  It’s like a Dream Big panel, but in real life.

I am focusing on kaleidoscope quilts lately.  Something about those isosceles triangles, the octagons and the secondary patterns I am finding intriguing.  This quilt is a from a free pattern on the Moda web site called 2wenty-Thr3e .  I am using a huge fat quarter pack that has been languishing in my stash for a few year.  It’s a Moda line called ‘Mama said sew’.  The prints are red, black and grey with white, it is a nice assortment of pattern names, quilt blocks and graphic patterns. I added in the white and gray from my solid stash for the (right) triangles that make the octagons square.  I think I have enough to do  border or two.  I’m also using the Marti Mitchell Kaleidoscope ruler, so strips are quickly transformed into triangles.  Yay geometry!  Chain stitching these blocks four at a time, pressing and then pining them to the design board is calming to me.  I was going to say cathartic, but that word seems too serious and overstating the feeling.

The weather here has been rainy and cold, very unlike May in California usually is.  I’m itching to do things outside, gardening and outdoor maintenance, but have to fit it in between the storms.  The weeds are much easier to pull now and the soil is easier to plant in.  Once the summer really gets here, everything dries up and waits for the fall rain.  The good thing is that I don’t have to turn on the drip systems yet, the bad thing is that I haven’t been able to see if they are still in working order.  My container veggies are growing nicely, and I planted some peas in my raised beds that I should go pick.  Staying dry in the sewing room is better though.

 

I finished quilting three quilts this week.   The photo below is of “Curls for Mother” a Wasatch panto.  After this quilt was done, I loaded a long piece of backing on to the frame and I am now quilting four quilts on it.  I feel like I am getting my moneys worth out of this backing.  Using the same pre-wound bobbin color for all four, as it matches the back, plus not having to load four quilts separately has its perks.  I’m on the third quilt, it’s an Irish chain, I have a bunch of roses in the center of the chain and I am trying to figure out how to fit trailing leaves into the chain parts.  The digital pattern I have is made for 2 inch squares and my squares are smaller, 1 ½ inches.  I thought about it for a while yesterday, and I have a few things to try today.  Keeps it interesting, I must admit.

Linking up with Judy at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday today.