Parts is Parts

... or Maybe Just Pieces

I finally got enough pieces-parts cut and made to put some of "Ginger Belle" on the wall.

Ginger Belle in progress

I wanted to make sure I was headed in the right direction before I started cutting the larger pieces.  I can see that some of my randomly-made 4-patches are a bit distracting.  I think I have made enough to leave out the worst offenders.  Or I can deconstruct and rebuild them.




It's kinda big -- blocks will finish at 20 inches!  Would probably be better with 3-inch units but I am working with what I had, starting with 2-1/2" strips.....

The pattern can be found in Miss Rosie's Spice of Life.



That's my work-in-progress this Wednesday.

Changing Horses ....

... or Changing Streams

Sometimes -- no, OFTEN -- I back myself into a corner.

Such is the situation with my current project.  I received a roll of strips in colorful modern fabrics from my Secret Sister last year.  I pulled them out as potential contenders when working on the triangle log cabin projects last month, but they weren't quite right.

Determined not to bundle them back into a drawer or, worse, just shove them aside on my table, I used the majority of them for the 4-patches in Candy Dish, but there were a few on the light side that didn't play well in the dish.

So I paired those with the solids from another roll (oops, now another partial roll to deal with!) and made more 4-patches.  My plan was to put them on point in a strippy setting -- using nothing but fabrics I have on hand.

First issue was finding a fabric for the setting triangles.  After totally littering every surface in the sewing room, I settled on a lively yellow.  But, as you can see, it blends into the yellow solid.

Then, more trouble trying to find a suitable fabric for the separating strippy strips.  Time to change horses or pick another stream!



What if I omit the separating strip fabric and just put my 4-patch strips together?

Let's see, I had forty 4-patches.  Instead of four strips of 10 separated by another fabric, how about five strips of 8?

I have frequently admired strippy style settings where the rows are offset and the setting triangles create a zig-zag effect.  I still need to sew the rows and trim the ends, but ...

A perfect crib size with perfectly soft colors!


And the horse didn't drown ....

So that's what's on my design wall this morning.  Hop over to Patchwork Times to see what others are working on.

A Blessing in Red

Several bloggers I follow are bird watchers, as am I.  Just wondering .... do you feel that the appearance of an unusual bird is a special blessing?

From the kitchen window one day last week, I caught sight of a bright red blur among the trees.  We have tons of cardinals, but what caught my attention was the intensity of the red color.  Then I saw distinctive black wings.

Scarlet Tanager

I can't take credit for the photo.  He was too far away to photograph.  But there is no doubt I was looking at a scarlet tanager!  A first for me.

I see from my field guide that we live at the southern limits of their summer breeding ground.  And I also realize, after looking at the pictures in the guide, that I may have seen some at the feeder which I misidentified as gold finches because the males lose their color after the summer breeding season and the females are always yellow-green.  Now that I know what to look for, I may see more!

Keep Calm

and

Count Your Blessings

Linking up with Free Motion on the River.

What a Difference a Day Makes!

After a week or more of hazy, hot, and humid days, tonight we are able to open the windows and appreciate the breeze!

Between loads of laundry today I managed to spend a bit of time in the sewing room.  I'm happy to report that the rows of Candy Dish are finished!! I just need to put them all together into a top.  However, I needed the design wall for something else so Candy dish has gone into a phalata bag (that's a bag for later .... it's a long story!).  Needless to say, I can't count it out for June's stash status.

However I can count 9 Christmas table runners (3.75 yards) and their backs (4.5 yards)!

Weekly Stash Report - June 28, 2015
     In last week:                        0.00 yards
    Out last week:                      8.25 yards
     In year to Date:               121.25 yards
     Out Year-to-Date:             72.75 yards
     Net Used 2015                  48.50 yards 

Linking up with Patchwork Times.

A Triple-H Kinda Day

... another good day to sew

Candy Dish

Here in the South weather forecasters only have to say "triple H" and we know it's going to be a hazy, hot, and humid day.  And that's my cue to stay inside and sew.

Okay, I'll admit, it doesn't take much to encourage me to stay inside and sew!

I had so hoped I could report that Candy Dish is finished.  See those two holes in the last row?  As I got close to the end, the variety of fabrics in my already-made half-square triangles diminished.  I'd make a few more HSTs, put the foursies together, and I swear there were just as many holes to be filled as when the day started!

Do you ever have days like that?  Where you feel like you're sewing upstream?

Once I fill those two holes, all that will remain is putting the rows together.  That may have to wait till the August retreat -- we'll see.

On another front, I did finish the nine Christmas runner tops and cut the backs for all of them.  Pattern is Triangle Frenzy Swirl.  (Regular readers are probably tired of seeing this photo ...)

Triangle Frenzy Swirl

Assembly will take place at the S'mores retreat where I'll have a lot of flat space to make the sandwich.  The directions call for a knife edge finish, but I have difficulty getting a good edge when I turn inside out so I'm considering a traditional binding.  Tune in next month to see how it goes.

Being as it's Friday, I'll hook up with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

WIP Wednesday

Progress

Candy Dish

Candy Dish is half done.  I am currently working on the upper half (turned sideways in the photo). 

Almost all the units are made.  I need to make a few more HST units, and maybe a few of the 4-patch units.

I may have over-estimated!  But I have a plan for the remaining units, including the remainder of the roll of strips.

Leftover Strips fom Candy Dish

"Ginger Belle" from Miss Rosie's Spice of Life is my inspiration.  I will be using 4-inch units instead of 3-inch as in the pattern.  I drew a box around the two blocks to help me see how it will go together.

Ginger Belle

A cream Moda Marble Dot will be the background.

Limiting myself to leftover strips, supplemented by another roll of solid strips on hand, dictates that it will just be a 3x3 setting which will give me a 68" square quilt -- a good size for cuddling under.

More later ....

The Trouble with Tribbles ...

...er, I mean strings

"The Trouble with Tribbles" was probably my favorite episode of Star Trek.  As I recall, the Tribbles, furry little creatures, kept reproducing/multiplying, much to the chagrin of the Enterprise crew.

That's the way I feel about strings -- they multiply when you're not looking!

Side Table Mess

In an attempt to clean the cream/neutral strings off my side table, I decided to devote my time Sunday to making more 6-1/2" string blocks.    Here's the scenario (and it all boils down to my decision to make 6-1/2" blocks):  It takes a strip about 10" to cover the diagonal, and another strip almost as long to go on either side of it.  Most of my scraps are a LOT smaller, so I dug into my 1-1/2" strips.  Likewise, the corners are best done with triangles, so I dug into my squares.  Before I knew it, my pile of cream/neutral scraps was bigger than when I started -- and I made 21 blocks yesterday!!

Neutral Shoebox

I finally just stuffed all the leftovers into my "neutral" shoebox.   I want to use the right side table for leader/ender projects.  I'm tired of the mess on my sewing table.  I want to get organized .....

Candy Dish pieces on top of Twist of Lime project box
with strip rack in the background

Currently in progress -- "Candy Dish," (my variation on "Beach Party") and Twist of Lime.  As soon as I get these two projects out of the way -- or to a point where I need to take them to a retreat -- I plan to sew stripsets with all the 1-1/2" strips I cut for the log cabin project that I didn't use.  I've been looking through my books for projects that will use 4-patches, 9-patches, 16-patches -- anything that starts with a 1-1/2" strip.  Suggestions, Anyone?

In my free time I'm still watering ....

Happy to report the deer have not found the still-to-be-planted butterfly bushes at all tempting and the recently planted azalea is flourishing.

Stash Status last week:  nothing in, nothing out.  I'm close to finishing the Christmas table runners.  Six tops are finished and three more are cut and ready to stitch.  Then it will be on to final assembly.

Because it's Monday, I'm linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times.