Showing posts with label piecing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label piecing. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

wearing quilts and other goings on...

hello!  today is crazy busy, so I'm just going to show you a couple of quick pics of what I'm working on right now.  more info will follow as I {hopefully} find time to sew & make a bit of progress.  ok, here we go!


patchwork skirt in progress

I'm making a patchwork skirt, because who doesn't want to wear a quilt?  {and it's plaid!!}


1/3 of 144 cracker quilt blocks

these are 144 cracker blocks 1/3 of the way done.  I still need to cut 288 squares on the diagonal and sew 4 of the resulting triangles to each block {that's 576 triangles for all you math geeks out there :) }  I started these at the quilt retreat I went to awhile ago.

FYI, I'm super sizing this tutorial from the Moda Bake Shop.

Ok, I've got a full day of appointments, track & field, and two baseball games to get on with.  but first, I'm linking up with Sew & Tell Tuesday , Freemotion by the River, and Quilt Story.   have a great day!

edited to say:  now that it is Wednesday, I'm linking up over at WIP Wednesday, too :)

Sew Fresh Quilts

Thursday, April 4, 2013

my strings overfloweth

Scrap Attack {String Fever}
 
Have you heard about String Fever?
 
Well, I have this container of strings I have been accumulating for ages.  A few months ago I decided what to do with them, but told myself I needed to finish some WIPs first.  Maybe keeping my string box within sight of my sewing machine was a mistake, because every time I sit down to sew the strings are beckoning to me.
 
Most of my in process WIPs have hit a snag, and motivation to sew has been about nil.
 
Then Rachel posted about String Fever.  I couldn't resist any longer.  I opened up my string box, and it exploded!
 

quilting fabric strings

The lid actually did fit on before, but clearly these strings are not going back in!  Guess I have no choice but to sew them ;)    {I actually sewed two blocks before I stopped to get the camera}

This is going to be my wonky, stash cleansing, anything goes, ugly quilt!  All those fabrics that just don't play nice together, are going to be sewn together anyway.

If you have been around here for awhile, you may know I have a soft spot for ugly fabric.  But this is going to be an entire ugly quilt! You just can't imagine how happy that makes me :)

That box is {over}full of pirates, chicken butts, and chocolate chip cookies.  There are homespun plaids, modern prints like Happy Mochi Yum Yum, and batiks.  Quite a few have gold etching or sparkles.  There are traditional florals, solids, and polka dots. 

I'm having a blast sewing them randomly together!  It turns out an anything goes, no matching points, no pressure to look pretty project is just what I needed to get my sewjo going again :)

*while there are a few fabrics that I would affectionately consider ugly in their own right, most are just so different from their neighbors that they don't play nice together.

How about you? Are you stringing along?

Thursday, February 28, 2013

a hodgepodge...

Firstly, I should confess I have a serious love of vintage cookbooks.  My fav, go-to cookbook is a vintage Betty Crocker.  It is in a three ring binder binding, and falling apart from use.  So back in December I thought I'd peruse ebay, just looking you know. 

vintage Betty Crocker cookbooks

I wanted the hardcover binding this time around, but most of the listings were for the binder style.  Somehow browsing became a systematic search for the binding I wanted in good condition for a price I could live with {I mean, if I waited I might not get one, right? why take a risk?}.   Next thing I knew, there was a 'you are the high bidder' notice on my screen.  I went to bed with 20 min on the auction, totally confident.  Next morning, I went to pay only to find out someone had swiped my cookbook!  can you believe it?

Let me just say, there was no way the next one was getting away!  No more sleeping before the auction ended!  And look, a Cooky Book followed it home, too :) 

Maybe I should also confess that I'm a competitive shopper.   A bit aggressive, too.  I now avoid fabric sales at my LQS.  The horrified looks on the other shoppers' faces were making me feel a bit guilty.  Not guilty enough to let go of the fabric, mind you :)  {really sweetheart, move it or loose it!}

ebay brings out the same competitiveness in me, so I thought I had better quit for awhile after I bought these two cookbooks.  Even though there is one more I have my sights on {you don't really expect me to tell you which one before it is safely in my hands, do you?} :)

after the snow storm

Lots of snow around here lately has made for beautiful scenery in the backyard, but let me tell you it is heartache in the driveway!  And we are supposed to get more everyday through the weekend.  I've had enough shoveling, sunshine please come back again!

circle of geese

I used my Over The Rainbow Batiks charm pack {by Moda} and some shade of grey Kona to make HSTs, then joined them together to make flying geese type units.  I don't know precisely which Kona I'm using.  When I got to the shop, someone had cleaned out nearly every bolt of Kona, including all the greys!  Some lady was at the cutting counter with them all, so I was more concerned with getting a darkish grey than reading the bolt end.  {see above confession}

*No old ladies were harmed in the purchasing of this fabric.  There was plenty on the bolt to go around!*

You can see some strip sets for my Postage stamp quilt, my Madrona Road squares stacked up, and the pile of the rest of the geese in the picture also.  These projects are hanging out in plain view as I rotate through, doing a little bit of work on each one.  I thought about moving them for the picture, but hey, what are a few WIPs among quilters, right?

rainbow batik geese

If confession is good for the soul, I'll be doing fantastic after this post!  Because I have another one for you :)   I bought the grey background without really looking through the charmpack first.  I mean, it said rainbow, and we all know what that means.  no need to check colors, right? 

I certainly wasn't expecting the brown fabrics I found inside.  I don't claim to be all that smart, but as far as I knew the b in roygbiv stood for blue.  I tried to ignore it, in a 'just sew it and when it is all together it will be fine' kind of way, but those browns {especially with the grey background} really bug me.   Maybe I'll hide them on the back of the quilt...?

how 'bout you and me go crash some linky parties, 'K? :)
Really random Thursday
Vintage Thingie Thursday
Tuesday at the Table

Monday, February 18, 2013

rainbow HSTs

HSTs; kona mystery grey & batik

I'm working my way through the rainbow making HSTs with a batik charm pack my Mom gave me :) 

Such a welcome break from 2.5" squares, which I've been sewing like a mad woman.  I'll be back with more soon!

Linking to:
Little Quilt Monday
Design Wall Monday
Show & Tell Tuesday
Fabric Tuesday