The Squirrel Took a Turn

And then a rabbit appeared!

Last week I wrote about how I had come across some old fabrics that had been set aside for a project that will never be finished as planned.  So I began chasing squirrels, looking for ways to use up the strips, squares, and half-square triangles (HSTs) that had already been cut.

First I finished up some tiny 1" (finished) HSTs.

I really like these little beauties so they will go into something, if only a pillow cover.  Even though I don't enjoy Thangles™, I have plenty of the papers left and they really help with accuracy at this small scale.

Next I made some double 4-patches with the 1-1/2" strips and the 2-1/2" squares.  Then I added more simple 4-patches to create some breathing room.

I can see myself continuing with these blocks as leaders/enders and over time I should have enough for something.

Then while blog-hopping I came across SO many options using squares and HSTs, but one really stood out and tugged at my heartstrings.  Thanks to Gayle/mango feet and Cathy/Sane, Crazy, Crumby Quilting, I have jumped onto the Garden Mosaic bandwagon.  Check out the free pattern from Free Spirit fabrics here.

Since the pattern is called Garden Mosaic, I went through my 2-1/2" strip bin and pulled out all that had flora of any kind -- flowers, leaves, vines ... My units will finish at 4", rather than 3" as in the pattern.  I am also currently planning to make only one quadrant of the quilt so I only need 512 HSTs as opposed to 2048!  I got a healthy start on them yesterday at Devo and Sew.

The Rabbit?  During the Sunday cleaning/organizing binge I came across this wall hanging made from a panel that still needs quilting.

Sound of the Woods

Apparently I had planned to make snowball blocks with the remaining coordinating fabrics.  So I worked out a plan on EQ7 and got to this point.

My dilemma is that it would only be 28" x 35" as is.  Should I border/border, sash and border, or break down into pillow covers?

Linking with Cynthia/Oh Scrap.

New Studio

Coming together

Remember this pristine image of my new sewing room back in February?

And the fabric/cutting/quilting room?

I have been hesitant to show pictures of the studio lately as it has been piled high with boxes and cluttered with PIPs (project in progress).  Well, since I am expecting quilting visitors in the next few weeks, the time has come to make an attempt at decluttering.  I started with the fabric/cutting/
quilting room today.

View from the sewing room showing the cutting station:

Cutting station

You can see some of my scrap storage on the left, half of the quilting frame in the rear, and a general purpose "church" table in the center of the room.  I will use that table (assuming I can keep it clear) for measuring for borders and backing, as well as pinning for hand quilting. 

That cabinet on the left came from our kitchen two houses ago.  When we knew the buyer was a developer who planned to tear the house down (please don't be outraged; it made sense), we asked if we could keep the newly installed kitchen cabinets.  I will expand the quilt frame to a full 10 feet and maybe learn how to use it.

Planning station

The cabinetry on this side came from a pediatrician's office. I purchased it at Habitat Re-store for the last house and it was one of the first things we moved here.  Currently on the "planning table" are the potential fabrics for a quilt for our first king-size bed.

Shadow of the Bear Paw - Quilt Camp project

When/if I get the sewing room in shape, I'll share that with you.  At this point I am doing well to get to the sewing machine!

Squirrel Alert!

You know how it goes ...

In my last post I told you about sampler blocks I'll be exchanging with other quilters next month.  I think I also made a statement that at some point in the past I had started making smaller setting blocks to go with the sampler blocks.  My thought was now I'd just make some small things, like mug rugs or potholders, with the pieces and parts.

Well, on closer inspection, apparently I had only started organizing myself, with lots of little baggies to collect the bits and bobs required for the various blocks.  This is the sum total of my progress at the point I ditched the original plan.

Lori Smith Sampler blocks

I must have had good intentions, though, because also in the box I found 133 HSTs!

HSTs waiting to be trimmed to 2-1/2"

Apparently I was experimenting with the Magic 8 technique as these are all in sets of 8 (with one extra).  Also lurking in the box was a stack of partially finished 1" Thangles.

Thangles HSTs to finish at 1"

I am determined NOT to put that box back on the shelf (remind me of that next week) so yesterday I began finishing those tiny HSTs.  I tore the papers off while watching TV last night.  I think I'll combine them with some of the 2" (finished) HSTs to make these:

Those tiny triangles are a b**** to work with, though.  I've pretty much given up on keeping points; I figure at that scale who will notice.

My big push has been double 4-patches.  I started by strip piecing a bunch of 1-1/2" strips from the box.  I subcut those into 1-1/2" chunks and made 2" (finished) 4-patches.  I combined them with squares cut from the 2-1/2" strips from the box.

Double 4-Patches

Seeing them all together on the wall, I felt it looked a bit jumbled.  So I added some plain 4-patch blocks.

4-Patch combos

Not only is it now less jumbled, but it will be quicker to make something of a decent size.  Now, if I can just figure out how to work those HSTs into this piece ... hmm ...

Wildlife Wednesday

On Thursday

Charlotte was very busy last night.

The birds have become very adept at retrieving delicious bites while hovering.

Lookie, lookie

I actually sewed something!

Six days into a new Rainbow Scrap Challenge month and I have completed 1/4 of my red Loosey Goosey column.

And I have made the Squared Away sampler block for this month -- it was really easy.

I have also cut everything I need for a September retreat class.

Life's a Bear Retreat project

AND I have pulled fabrics for an October camp class.

Shadow of the Bear Paw - Quilt Camp at Cedar Lakes project

Both of those class projects have complicated cutting with lots of baggies and since I will be on the road a lot this month and next, I wanted to make sure my ducks were in a row.

Speaking of ducks, I wish I had been able to get a picture of the pair swimming in our fountain!

Oh, and in case you were wondering -- yes, the HVAC guys left the gate open and, yes, all the day lily buds and blooms are gone.  So I'll show you one that was blooming at House 1 the last time we were there.

Check out more scrappy goodness at So Scrappy and Quilting is more fun than housework.

Wildlife Wednesday

The human kind

Stranded visitors

Happy 4th!

Still in recovery mode

We had a delightful weekend celebrating the upcoming nuptials of this charming couple:

GS-2 and Fiance

Saturday's event was a down-home elegant affair in in an upscale Nashville condo building hosted by our DIL's card club friends. 

Casual dining at its finest

The club members provided all the food, including an assortment of home-baked pies.  But I have to say, the smoked bologna and pimiento cheese sliders were the BOMB!

Sunday's affair was a shower hosted by the church women where GS-2 grew up. 

The decor of travel-related items was over-the top!  It was so nice to see how the ladies felt about GS-2 and how warmly they accepted his bride.  Her parents from California also attended both events and it was such a pleasure to get to know them.

In between events we were loading my van with more boxes (we had overlooked a closet under the basement stairs with more quilt-related stuff) and I was waiting to see/hear from landscape/lawn guys to get some work done.  I am ticked (putting it politely) beyond tolerance for how difficult it is to get help, I won't even qualify it by saying "decent" help, in Nashville right now.

Soon after the wedding in August I have a quilt cruise and two retreats/camps, both of which have complicated cutting requirements.  What was I thinking!!!  I'll be lucky to even keep up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  At this point, I think the wedding quilt will become a Christmas present.