Sewing Buddy

I'm not sure what is is about cats, quilts, and sewing rooms, but they seem to be one of the most posted items out in blog land.  I am no exception!

Here is my helper today...

Warmest...

Color Dilemma

Please note that this is not a plug for my shop, but just some of the background of what goes into some of the decisions I make when deciding what colors to use with the different types of prints in the fleece fabrics I have used.

One of my top sellers is the pink camo fleece from Mossy Oak.  Last night, I pulled out another piece of fleece I need to work on, and then had to decide which color pink I would be using for the crochet edging.  All of the variations would work, but this time I am going to choose the fourth one from the left.

The favorite pink I used for the first six blankets I used a skein that was in a bag of yarn I purchase from Goodwill about 2 years ago.  The yarn was purchased from the store "Ben Franklin", which was a store from many years ago, and is no longer in business.  I have been unable to find anymore of this color, not even close.  So, now having to move on, I am up at 11:00 pm deciding which color to use.

That's the dilemma.  Small one, but still a dilemma.

Warmest...

UFO Project #2

When finishing up the last UFO Project, you can see it here, I was going through my massive collection of Thimbleberries UFO projects I came across one of the first Thimbleberries Clubs I participated back in 2003.  My involvement with the Thimbleberries craze began in 1999.

This club involved a project per quarter rather than a block a month.  The first picture is the advertisement of the collection of the four quarter projects.  I have it taped on the front of a three ring binder, which holds the collection of the documents and handouts that I received throughout the year.

Let me take a moment here, and say that I am a "Type A" when organizing my projects, fabric, clubs, BOM's.  I spend as much time organizing as I do the actual time spent sewing.  With that said, I have to admit I enjoy doing the "organizing" more than the sewing and putting the projects together.  I've been know to re-organize stuff more than once, just because I find that part of it very satisfying.  I call it my therapy, but some out there who are not the crafts kind would think I might need professional help (smile).  I don't think so, as it gives me a sense of contentment!

Here is the first quarter project, called Window Box.  I have put the ad for this project and a swatch for all the fabric used in the project on a piece of paper and then into a sheet proctor, so that I can add it to the Project binder.  

I completed the first quarter club project of 2003 in 2009.  This picture does not do it justice.  It is currently hanging in my hall, right between the master bedroom and bathroom doorway.  Not a day goes by, as I walk down the hall, or going to bed in the evening, I don't take the time to look at it and to run my hand over the quilting done on the wall hanging.  Again, it keeps me content!  

Below are closeups of the three blocks used twice in this wallhanging.  It also shows how I chose to quilt each block differently.  The border quilting was done in a cross hatching pattern.

Okay, now that we have the prelude all done, here is the next UFO project I am going to work on over the new week or so.  This is the second quarter project for the 2003 Thimbleberries Club.  This will be perfect for my kitchen, as it has many things garden related, including blocks that look like canning jars.  For those who don't know me well, I can several hundred jars of food either from my own garden or from local growers.  

When I found the Club of 2003 package, I found that I had already started on this project by getting all the pieces cut out.  And of course, I took the advertisement of the project and a swatch of each fabric used in the wall hanging and attached it to a piece of paper (recycled, see the printing in the upper right hand corner?)  and had already put it in a sheet proctor, and was in the project binder.

So, now I am ready to sit down and begin sewing it up for another "contentment" piece in my home!

Warmest...

Leftovers Design

Remember the zillion (only about 124 actually), flying geese from the UFO project I posted about yesterday?  Of course you do, I been complaining posting about them a lot, since the beginning of the project.


Here is that huge pile of triangles.  Made me think this is a lot of fabric just to leave alone or throw away as scrap.  Surely, I could do something with them.

I kept them paired up just as they were when I trimmed them away from the original UFO project, and stitched them on the long side of the triangle.  I chined stitched 248 triangles through my machine until my eyes crossed.

I put four little squares together, and formed a pattern called a pinwheel, and then sewed four pinwheels together as a start of playing around to see what I can make an end result.  I'm leaning towards using several of these somehow in a table runner????

                                     

UFO Project Top Completed

Yep, another UFO project bites the dust, meaning it is completed.  Well, at least the top is completed.  I had a short break today, in overcast Oregon, to hang the finished top on the fence outside.  The top finished out to be about 70" X 87".  Remember I did three extra center blocks, to make the quilt more for a twin bed, rather than be just a big square quilt.

I brought the finished top back inside and laid it on my cutting table (folded) and took a couple of close up pictures.

I really like the thin green border, and if I would have thought about it, I would have put one on the other side of the flying geese, but I just followed the pattern and it only called for one.  (Sigh)

Warmest...

BOM (Old) Update

This week I did some work on my ongoing older BOM's.  By working on three or four projects at a time, I don't get too bored with any one project.  Working on these older BOM's that I have had stored for a few years, also gives me a sense of accomplishment of cleaning up my stash.  

First up is the progress of putting together the Farmer's Wife blocks.  This has been somewhat of a struggle because the blocks are different sizes.  The reason my blocks came out different sizes is because when printing off the templates from the CD that came with the book, I didn't make sure the print came out at actual size.  This caused them to come out slightly smaller, and slightly smaller over many pieces can be 1/4" or more.  Then, someone in our online group decided to incorporate Marti Mitchell's acrylic templates for some of the pieces throughout the quilt.  So using the incorrect sized paper pieces and the correct sized acrylic pieces have caused some difficulty in matching up the blocks and the sashing.  I have just a little warbling going on.  I am fairly confident that this will work itself out in final pressing, and when the quilting of the top gets done.  But so far, I am liking how it is turning out.

Next up is the next block from the Land of Lincoln Sampler BOM.  This is block #5, called Road to the White House.

And finally, the next block for the A Civil War Tribute BOM.  If you recall, each month requires more than just one block.  This month called for a 18" block and a 12" block.  This is Month 4 of the program.  Between you and me, these two blocks, on their own, are just plain ugly!  Actually, they look better here as a picture than in person.  But, I imagine once worked into the rest of the quilt, they won't be so ugly, and fit right in as if they belong.

Warmest...

Busy Without Blog Interest

Yes, I have been busy in my sewing room, just not anything to blog about of any interest.  But here is exactly what I have been doing in my sewing room.

I did a really nice swim bag for my sister-in-law, but I only took pictures of the progress and not the final product.  Palm to the forehead moment!  I finished the bag late Saturday night, and packaged it up for mailing out on Monday.  I do this a lot.  I get ahead of myself on projects, and either miss a step or have to do re-work.  So,  here are the progress photos:

This is the main body of the bag, with a pliable plastic mesh for an outside pocket.  If you look at the top of the bag, there is a zippered inside pocket.  It was finished with boxed sides that I put purple binding on the outside of the bag, which completed the seams.  I added black webbing straps, both short handles and long ones to be carried two ways.

This is a close up of the design of the PUL fabric.  It is, I believe, a flowering cabbage, all over pattern.

This may be hard to see, but this lining is a "terry cloth" on one side and PUL on the other side.  I chose to line the bag with this to give it some more stability (the printed PUL was thinner than I have worked on in the past), and to give it a "towel" theme in relation to it being a swim bag.

Again, here is a palm to the forehead, because I can't give you a final picture.  SORRY!

I have also been super busy with these:

These are the cut outs of the fleece blankets that I sell on my Etsy shop.  I have sold most of my inventory, and needed to get some more done.  Two separate times, I would get one done, and post on my Etsy site, and it would sell within 24 hours.  One was a Winnie the Pooh pastel print, and the other one was John Deere green print. 

I sell more pink camo baby blankets that I had my husband get the whole bolt, because this fleece sells out fast in the local fabric store.  I also have had to order it on-line once in order to keep up with the demand.

So, to reiterate, I have been busy in my sewing room, just not much of the normal blog interest.

Warmest....