Thursday, December 19, 2024

Beating the Clock

Whew!  I whipped up another batch of  half-square triangles today, just in time for Bonnie Hunter's mystery Clue 5 tomorrow.  They need to be trimmed, but I'm now to my goal of half-done to this point.


This week has been so full of appointments and Christmas gift wrapping/mailing that I really doubted I would have any time to sew.  I still have gifts to wrap for the locals, but I have until the 23rd to accomplish that.

Guess what arrived today?  The new Baby Lock foot pedal!!!  


I had ordered a new one from a sewing machine parts place, but it was on back order from their supplier.  So I finally cancelled that order and went straight to Baby Lock.  You may have been wondering 1) why didn't she think of that in the first place? DUH ... and 2) how could she "break" her foot pedal? ...


Can you see what's missing?  There used to be a spikey connector thing (technical term) that broke off when I was raising the machine out of it's hole in the table.  In the meantime I've been making do with a Janome pedal that barely functioned, but if I put my foot in the "right" place (not always the "same" place) I could make the needle go up and down.

Time to wine down for the day.

Sunday, December 15, 2024

Decisions Decisions

I made sure I finished the last checkerboard for Bear Country II on Thursday so that I was ready for Clue 4 of Bonnie Hunter's mystery when it was released on Friday.


I think this is the final layout, but I'll have to complete Christmas prep before I can begin the assembly process.

Hmm, Clue 4 -- Remember, I said that I had not selected a third color ... I suspected this clue would include it and so it happened.  Time for decisions.

A little back story:  I went with Bonnie's turquoise and I was drawn in by what she calls "coral"  and my "soft orange" fills that bill -- except I've been using it where she used red!  Now, with Clue 4, I'm faced with making a decision for the third color.

My husband favored going with the red but the one we felt might work was a little too bold for my taste.  I looked at the inspiration fabric Fairy Dust and saw some lime green in there, but it was a little bland with the background fabrics.  Then I noticed a lot of purple in Fairy Dust and that's what I went with.  After all, purple is Kona's Color of the Year for 2025!


I managed to cut 8 sets with fabrics from my scrap bin.  I put a scrap between each set as I ran them under the needle.


Look at how neatly they piled up behind my machine ...


My problem is a shortage of that color/shade in my scrap bucket.  Time to send husband downstairs to find something on my fabric shelves.  Stay tuned ...

Monday, December 9, 2024

OTM Update and Other Things

After a binge of quarter-squares at the end of last week,


I'm happy to report I am now over halfway on all three mystery clues!  I'm running short of my soft oranges so I may have to shop.  Also, I have no plan on what I'll use in place of Bonnie's other red ....

I have a busy week coming up so I'm glad I won't be stressing over the mystery.  I worked on my second Bear Country quilt (formerly known as Shadow of the Bear) over the weekend.  


I threw in the towel on the last shadow block as I didn't have enough of the background fabric to finish it.  So instead of 13 shadow blocks and 12 checkerboards, I'll make one more checkerboard to complete 25 blocks.  I will need to work on the layout to balance the lights and darks, plus I have used a variety of background fabrics so I will attempt to have some logic in my block placement.

But first, it's time to get out the holiday decor!

Thursday, December 5, 2024

I've Been Doing It Wrong!

My least favorite unit/block to make may be flying geese.  No matter what method/ruler I use -- and I've tried them all -- they still come out wonky. 

Another least favorite activity is reading long instructions.  I've been quilting for at least 25 years and in that time I've just about done it all.  So when I see a familiar unit/block in Bonnie Hunter's mystery, I just forge ahead and do it the way I've always done it.  Clue One is a bunch of flying geese. I've always pressed the "goose" up to the "wings."


After making almost half of the required geese, I happened to notice that Bonnie recommends pressing the first wing down, and the second one up. 


I tried it!  And it does reduce the bulk at the intersection, just as she says.  But mine are still wonky ...



Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Old Town Mystery

Yes, I'm fully committed this time -- well, half-committed.  I am going small initially until I see where this is going.

Like I said earlier, Bonnie's colors really spoke to me.  So I went searching in the new "sewing annex" in the bedroom for possible fabrics, trying to avoid asking DH to bring piles up from the fabric shelves downstairs.  Indeed, I had a collection of fabric that I had pulled for another project that I have decided not to pursue.

Tula Pink's Fairy Dust is my focus/inspiration fabric.  I don't have enough of it to be the overall background fabric so I will supplement it with a solid light gray.  Aquamarine and soft orange will be my other two colors.

Clue 1 - I have most of the "wings" cut for half of the flying geese and four sets complete.  My goal is to finish one set each day.


Clue 2 - I toiled most of this morning and, amazingly, I am only 30 short of half the tiny 4-patches.  


You can see that my pieces will be scrappy.  I've had to dig deep to get enough soft orange.  I might need to go shopping!

Monday, December 2, 2024

Holiday Update

Normally we alternate Thanksgiving and Christmas between our sons' homes in Nashville (Son-1) and Conway, Arkansas (Son-2).  But this year we were able to have everyone join us at a state park halfway in between!  All contributed to the festivities with food, games, and lots of good humor.


Son-2 with family on the left, Son-1 with his bride on the right, SIL in between.  The other two grands are married and living in the Northeast.  We'll see them at Christmas time.

I think there's something sexy about men in the kitchen ...


Ash. the artist, helped me with an art project from a picture I saw on Facebook.  


Safely home now and ready to get back to Bonnie's mystery, Clue 2.  Hope y'all had a safe and festive holiday.


Sunday, November 24, 2024

I Said Never Again!

 And yet here I am starting another Bonnie Hunter mystery ..

I think her colors spoke to me, or maybe I'm just looking for a sewing diversion.



The foot pedal has been ordered but I was notified it is currently on back-order from their supplier.  So I stitch on...





Thursday, November 21, 2024

Nearing the Finish Line

I spent most of my sewing time on Tuesday making the corner blocks for Shadow of the Bear and I was whipped so I took yesterday off.  I finished the last few strips this morning.


Now I'm ready to square everything up and put the blocks together. I'm debating about a border and how big, if I decide to add one.  

I had hoped to have a quilt top by the end of today, but I decided to make headway on Quilt Two with the remaining SotB blocks.  


Well, I seemed to be thwarted at every turn--not enough of a certain fabric, lost pieces, wrong fabric on the outside corners of a checkerboard block...


Who could do anything with that mess?  Do you ever have projects/days like that?




Sunday, November 17, 2024

I Made a Block!

And started yet another quilt!

I'm trying so hard to wrap up some WIPs, but my foot pedal situation (see earlier post) is slowing me down.  Time to make a call for a replacement.

Friday I did manage to finish a fourth Shadow of the Bear (SotB) block for the center of my abbreviated version.  The foot pedal operates so sporadically, sometimes fast, sometimes stitch-by-stitch.  Add to that it's a complicated block, I'm just glad I got it done.  (sorry, the angle of the photo distorts it a bit ... it's really square)


Now all I have to do is make the corner blocks -- I already have a plan -- and then add borders.  I still need to make one more shadow block for the second quilt I am working on.

Serendipity:  A Smores friend brought me Trudie Hughes' book that has the original SotB quilt and I discovered there is also a pattern for a small quilt which is exactly what I have planned!

Yesterday our new Creative Hands group at church had their second monthly gathering and I spent my time turning the binding on a smallish wall hanging.  It's a moldy-oldy and I will be so thrilled to have it finished.  I'll take a picture when it's done.

I received a Connecting Threads order of precut strips in solid colors this week so today I sewed 2-1/2" squares to some strips and made 9-patches. I don't know yet how I will set them.  It will be a small quilt.

The Encore Azaleas are going crazy in the garden below my window.


And my Thanksgiving/Christmas cactus is starting to bloom.




Thursday, November 14, 2024

Retreating with the S'mores and More

If you're new to my blog, let me explain that the S'mores are a group of my quilting besties who decided back in the early 2000s that we wanted to eat some more, laugh some more, and quilt some more -- hence the name.  We've been retreating at least once if not more times a year ever since.  

This week is our Fall retreat at Loucon, a Methodist retreat and training center near Louisville, Kentucky.  Because of my mobility issues, I didn't think it was wise to attend but, since most of them live in other parts of Tennessee and Indiana, I really longed to see them again.  So DH drove the 4 hours to take me to Mecca.  I took them a cauldron of my world-famous chili -- and a good time was had by all!

It was SO nice to see everyone and be inspired by their creativity.  I didn't take any photos, so I'm going to steal some that Kim has been taking.

Lisa's ginormous log cabins ..


Ruth's T-shirt quilt:


Sharon was turning out 3-Yard Quilts:


Donna's WIP:


Peggy's After Dan:



Kim's WIP



I sure miss these girls!


Monday, November 11, 2024

Help! I Killed My Machine!

Actually, just the foot pedal.  I broke it yesterday where it fastens to the machine.  Thankfully I have a second lightweight travel machine.  But I much prefer sewing on the big workhorse.  I had a vision as I lay in bed last night that perhaps the foot pedal on the little machine would fit on my favorite.  And it did!  Well, kinda.  I can only press it a little way to make the machine go at a normal speed; otherwise it ... just ... creeps ... along ...

About my current projects:  I think I have come up with two good plans for the bear paw shadow blocks and I've begun planning a new Geese Migration quilt.  But first, I need a design wall.  Ta-Da!


I decided to use the brighter/bolder of the scrappy-background shadow blocks in a variation of Shadow of the Bear to balance with the brighter/bolder scrappy uneven log cabin blocks.  Progress so far:


I need to make one more shadow block for the center.  And the arrangement of the ULCs may need adjusting.  I'm also working on a block design for the corners that will use some of the bear paw blocks I made for border that I may or may not do.  As is, the top will be 40x60".

I have a plan for the remaining shadow blocks, but I need to make at least one more to make my scheme work.  Stay tuned...

Saturday, November 9, 2024

Funny Thing

When I recently asked for suggestions for what to do with tons of 2-1/2" squares, Jan/Colorful Fabriholic suggested a pattern by Cynthia Brunz - Geese Migration - which I now realize is exactly why I cut those squares in March 2018!


I loved making that design and it is certainly worth reprising.  Thank you, Jan, for tweaking my memory.!

Friday, November 8, 2024

Project Updates

First, thanks for all the suggestions for what to do with my plethora of Asian squares.  Lot of good ideas.  Stay tuned to see what happens with all those squares.

I had planned to go with a down-sized version of the Shadow of the Bear quilt so continued making eight uneven log cabin (ULC) blocks with the larger dark side in the same style that I had made the eight larger light side ones -- using 1-1/2" strips.  I laid them out on the "design bed" -- note to Ace Assistant, we need to hang the design wall SOON -- and felt they really overpowered the delicate shadow blocks.  

SO, I thought about using the 13 shadow blocks in a quilt on their own, alternating the blocks with plain squares, and try to find a way to use the ULC blocks without having to make ANY MORE (can you sense I'm kinda tired of that process).

Then I looked at the photo I had taken on the bed ...


It ain't half bad!  But what would I do with the other five shadow blocks?  And Heaven help me if I have to make any more ULC blocks.

Tomorrow I will try the shadow blocks with an alternate fabric (if I can find one) and let you know what I decide.



Thursday, November 7, 2024

Looking for Ideas

I have a question for my readers:  At some point in time I cut the majority of my Asian fabrics into 2-1/2" squares.  I'm talking hundreds!  Once again, I have no notes about why I did this or what I had planned.  


I'm looking for project ideas.  I have them grouped by color, many shades within each color but enough I might be able to do a color progression.  Also thinking about "flagging" them onto light 2-1/2" strips for potential 4-patches (or 9-patches).  But what then?

HELP!

Sloggin' Through Logs

There are not many blocks that I despise making as much as log cabin blocks.  Yes, they add a traditional look to a quilt.  Yes, they are great stash-busters.  But for me they are a boring pain to make. Not to mention difficult for me to make square.  However, I soldiered on with the uneven log cabins in Shadow of the Bear yesterday.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I don't have the pattern/instructions for the quilt I started in 2022, yet I have decided to make the quilt, if only an abbreviated version.  All I have is one page, a page that shows log cabin blocks.


You can see that to make the uneven log cabin blocks it uses a combination of 1-1/2" and 2-1/2" width strips.  So I began to make blocks with the dark strips in the wider dimension since I already had 14 blocks made with the larger light area.  But look at how I made those blocks two years ago:


At first I thought I could/should mix the two together, but the newly made blocks just look clunky with the others.


While cogitating on what to do, I noticed that page of instructions specifies only 8 blocks of each yet, by my count, I need at least 14 of each!  If I make the quilt smaller, I could get away with fewer ULC blocks so I will make at least enough of the alternate blocks to finish the center section.  

At least, that is today's plan ...


Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Getting the Lead Out

I sewed something!

I decided this would be the week I get back to sewing.  The new space in the bedroom is almost complete though I keep thinking of things for DH to bring up, like a rotary cutter or the machine extension table.  (Try telling a non-sewer what to look for in a 7-Y-O sewing "studio"!)

So I pulled a project box out of the 40+ UFO boxes in the cubes.  It was labeled "Bear Paw" and, indeed, the contents had 20+ finished bear paw blocks (some others cut, not stitched) ... but no pattern, no notes on the intended plan. 😏😕  When I recognized my collection of Asian fabrics in them, I had a vision of the classroom where I was making them -- Quilt Camp at Cedar Lakes in 2022.  The class was Shadow of the Bear, but what happened to the rest of the project ?

I found a picture on Pinterest of a finished quilt:


I also learned from the internet that the quilt pattern can be found in Log Cabin Quartet by Trudie Hughes; however, I don't have that book.  The quilt is lovely, but quite large by my standards (73" x 93")  so I think my plan was to take the three elements -- bear paws, shadows, and log cabins --  and develop a separate plan for each of them.  Indeed, I found project boxes labeled "Shadow of the Bear" 


and "Uneven Log Cabins."


There was photocopy of a pattern page in this box, but the directions differ from what I had already done (as well as what it appears past makers have done).  I made two sample blocks by the photocopied page today (no photo available) and was not happy.  So it looks like tomorrow will be spent making a dozen uneven log cabin blocks ...

Stay Tuned!

Thursday, October 31, 2024

Happy Halloween!

 The firm where I met my husband really got into the Halloween spirit every year.  We'd have a costume reveal on the front steps of our building.  I don't remember what year this was, but Alex and I were Ghostbusters.


Our building was on Music Row where all the country music recording studios are and there was a lot of tourist traffic.  Our receptionist was a well-endowed blonde so one year she decided to be Dolly Parton.  Stopped tour buses dead in their tracks!


Monday, October 28, 2024

Cathedral Window

Kate/Life in Pieces recently blogged about her first experience with the Cathedral Window block.  And that got me thinking about the Cathedral Window quilt my mother (a/k/a The Momma) made for me in 1975.

If I remember correctly, the last bits of it were completed in South Africa while my folks were visiting a brother who was living there at the time.  It must have taken most of the year to make as it is queen size (80" x 104") with 475 "windows."  I don't have any place to photograph the entire quilt; here's a bit of it:


The miscellaneous scraps are all from garments she made for me throughout the years  This little pink print is from an early baby dress.


There are several other small prints that were probably baby dresses and one that was an Easter dress.  Some of my favorites are these crazy characters that I think were probably shorts outfits.



I found a good U-tube video tutorial for making the block(s).  I don't know if the dimensions are the same that The Momma used, but the technique seems to be the same with one exception.  She let her stitches go all the way through the back which is essentially the "quilting."


I recently came across this photograph from the local paper of The Momma showing my niece how it's done.