Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Behind in the sock challenge

I joined in the "12 in 2012" sock challenge of Denise at the beginning of the month, or maybe it was at the end of December.  Anyway, the idea is to use up the yarn stash by knitting a pair of socks each month, OR a total of 12 during the year.

You can see that my progress is only covering the feet up to the ankle.  That gray line of waste yarn is where I will knit in the "afterthought heel" when the leg portion is finished.  So meanwhile it looks like tube socks.

My hope is that I will get a lot of knitting done in February when we are driving down to St. Louis and spending time with DD and her family.  First finish this pair, and then go on to another.

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Quilting event:  String Mania

I decided to pull out some strings from my String BIN to take along on retreat this Thursday.  I need to move some of those strings along to a quilt top.  The trouble was that when I had a pile on my table, I went on to cut them into 18" lengths, for no good reason other than the length of my cutting mat.  And then I started sewing "a few" together.  Until today I had 18" x 10" sections that were mixed colors, and all red, all black, all green, all blue.

Then I went on to cut a few into 8.5" squares and make HSTs.

But now I'm going to STOP working with these strings!


I need to organize my other projects for the retreat.
I need to go to the dentist.
I need to make treats for the group.
I need to go grocery shopping.
I need to pack.
I need to sleep.
I do NOT need to sew any more strings together!

Sara

Gratitudes:

A day with no appointments, never left the house.
I had fun with strings.
Charlie brought home BBQ rib tips for dinner 

Monday, January 30, 2012

Design Wall Monday = Bargello

Here is the state of the Scrap Bargello quilt.  The segments are sewn together and then I added a scrap neutral inner border.  Next will be the red strip hanging there, and then dark blue.

This is another of those projects that just "happen".  I found three strata and just took off from there.  First I thought it would become two neonatal quilts, but not so,  it's turned into a twin.

Before I leave for the RumpledQuiltKins retreat on Thursday, I hope to have the borders on and the backing put together.
[I also found some printed panels that are pretty awful, but could go together for a BACK.]

Sara

Gratitudes:

Leftover spaghetti for dinner, so not much cooking
Medical massage loosened up my shoulder
12-hour decongestant

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Finally looks like winter






And I don't have to go out all day!  I can sew or sit in front of the TV.











Sara

Gratitudes:

Sharp cheddar cheese
Making progress on the bargello quilt
Symphony concert tonight

Friday, January 27, 2012

Still another find

The beginnings of a Scrap Bargello showed up in a little basket.  I don't know how long ago the three strata were made, but today I cross-cut them into 2.5" strips and re-sewed them into these bargello sections.

I think it needs another section to make it wide enough and also to make it into a balanced "M" or "W".

Most of the strata is together; need to keep working so this does NOT become another UFO!

Sara

Gratitudes:

Swap box was mailed
Charlie provided a new dinner
Friday date night

Thursday, January 26, 2012

UFO progress

The Batik Charms quilt has gone to the LA quilter with the backing.  I have the binding here at home for when it returns.

This was #5 on my list of UFOs for the Judy Liquidara Challenge [finish one a month, according to whichever number she draws].

And the leftover scraps were made into a doll quilt which I finished quilting myself yesterday on my home machine.  It is about 24" square.

Today I put the borders on my second #5 UFO," Red and Brown Rectangles".  I have so many UFOs that I but a second one next to each number on the list with an asterisk.  If I have time I'm going to work on that one also.

I made these blocks last year while we were in Florida.  This is a Judy Liquidara design.  When we packed up to come home, I never opened the package again!  With 20 blocks made I decided this would be a good size for a lap/toddler quilt.

I'll see if I am willing to quilt this at home, or if I want to send it out.

Now to consider what I should pack in a Priority Postal box for the World Wide Swap on Liberated Quilters list.  I'm going to start my re-examining my Orphan box, and the pile of UFOs.  Someone else can try being "liberated" with things I'm tired of.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Day old sticky buns for breakfast
Taking a nap after lunch
More birds at the feeder

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Monday, January 23, 2012

Monday Design Wall

My "jelly roll" strips, which I constructed out of FQs and hourglass blocks, is now all sewn together end-to-end and pressed.  Photo shows them pinned to a wall screen with the insides showing.

The sewing did not take very long at all, but I unthinkingly always turned the strips all in the same direction as I laid them together.  This resulted in a spiral of 79 [approximately] twists in the one long strip.  I discovered this when I was pressing them, and thought, "Oh, I can line these up as I press so that they are already for that first loooong seam."  That made the twists show up right away.

Usually one can get rid of twists by simply holding the strip up in the air and it will slowly untangle itself.  This one was WAY too long to hold up.  So a lot of time untwisting by hand.

All done now.  Just need to put it away somehow for the retreat so it doesn't get tangled again!

Sara

Gratitudes:

In A.M. able to make up some lost sleep
ONE brownie a day
Medical massage took away some aches

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Jelly Roll Race preparation

I am going on a quilting retreat in two weeks, and one of the "exercises" is going to be a Jelly Roll Race.  Each person prepares  a jelly roll by sewing all the pieces together end-to-end.  When the race begins the two ends are brought together and the long edge sewn together, making a two-strip strata.  Then that piece is sewn together on the lang edge, making a four strip strata.  Etc. until we each have a lap sized quilt top.  And we race each other to get it sewn together.  The race takes 30 to 60 minutes.

So I don't want to spend the money to buy a Jelly Roll, about $30, when I have plenty of fabric in my stash.  I decided to use a set of eight Fat Quarters in bright colors, and I cut them into the 2.5" strips required.  Of course these strips are HALF the length I am supposed to have, meaning I need 80, therefore I added a few other fabrics to make up the amount I need.  And I am going to lose some length in the extra seams, so I added in some of the hourglass "parts" I made for Bonnie Hunter's latest mystery [which I have decided not to finish after making only two parts].

Now I need to sew all these strips together end-to-end.

It's a break from what I have been doing.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Got to church after missing two weeks
Lynne made chicken and dumplings for dinner
Peter and Lynne's company during the football

Friday, January 20, 2012

Another find

Moving the daybed out of my sewing room has resulted in finds.  "Lost" ancient artifacts appear in strange boxes and containers that I am now opening.  These triangles were once cut for a Kalidiescope quilt.  After I sewed a few sections into circles that had humps in the middle, I gave up and stashed the triangles away.

Later I found them and decided to sew them into strips for borders because the circles weren't working.  I didn't really need the borders, it was just another day that I needed come "mindless" sewing time.  Then they were put away again.

Now they came out of the bottom of a box that was only half full, so I was distributing the contents into OTHER containers.  [I call this progress!]

It looks to me now that this could be put together, not as borders, but as a baby quilt for our neonatal unit.  And now that I have taken a photograph, I have to put the photo into my album of UFOs, thus making my UFO list longer.

On the other hand, I HAVE finished [to the stage to sending it out to be long-arm quilted] my UFO for this month's Liquidara Challenge.  Therefore I can do whatever I want for the rest of the month!  Are these triangles what I want to work on?  Maybe.  At least if I get them together as a TOP I will have made some progress.  It might even be small enough to quilt on my machine......

Still thinking as I leave the room.

Sara

Gratitudes:


Good ideas about financial decisions
Quiet afternoon
Dinner at Tre Cugini with Peter and Lynne

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Monday, January 16, 2012

Monday Design Wall

Two quilt tops that I have recently described are now on the design wall so that I can imagine what will do for their backings.

I have two tops ready with their backings for my friend Catherine to run through her long-arm machine.   I want to add the toddler quilt to that pile for delivery this week.

And then I want to get the doll quilt totally finished and off my list.

Good news!  The Batik Charms top is all sewn together, and I found the backing that was bought for it a couple of years ago.  So that is one that is ready for Catherine.  This is my UFO #5 for the Liquidara Challenge.  I cut the binding, so that is ready too.

Getting to the stage where I need to make the backing is always a slowing down point for me.  I'm trying to get over the hump with these so they are really out of the way.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Woke up in my BED this morning, not the recliner
Made it through exercise class better than recently
Spaghetti, comfort food, for dinner

Friday, January 13, 2012

Doll quilt top from batik scraps


While I put the Batik Charms quilt together,  I have to take some of the batik charms and cut them for the cornerstones.  But they don't all get used.  As they began to pile up I started sewing them together into a small piece, and now I have added the borders.  Since it came out to be 23" square, it must be a doll quilt.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Cramps in my left thigh seem to be calming down after nine days
Charlie carried all the Christmas decorations down to the basement
First snow of the season with some staying power

Monday, January 9, 2012

Design Wall Monday

I'm working on UFO #5 from my list for Judy Liquidara's UFO challenge.  She drew the number 5 for this month.

This UFO top begun in 2004 from batik 5" samples was 7 x 9 blocks, and there is additional sashing fabric and charms.  So far I have completed 10 more blocks, and another 10 are in process.

My plan is to go on from here and cut binding and sashing strips from the charcoal fabric.  That will be the limitation on how big the quilt can grow.  I have PLENTY of batik charms to go on almost forever.


Sara

Gratitudes:

Medical Massage seems to have calmed my left thigh
Pot roast good for the third time
Energetic Chorus rehearsal tonight

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Using old HSTs

I found a number of green and neutral HSTs, and a smaller number of 3/4 STs [3/4 QSTs?]  all of which had to be squared up.  I started fussing with them and they weren't the same size.  The HSTs squared up to 4.25 inches!  What kind of a number is that for a quilter to work with??!

Well, I did.  And now "at the end of the day", I have a baby quilt center that about 26" square, but don't quote me on that measurement or that it's really square.

There were two different green fabrics used, but the tone was very similar.  One has stars outlined in white, which comes across as messy splotches.

Tomorrow I'm going to spiff this up with some colorful borders.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Physical therapy went well
The Christmas desserts are going away
Long conversation with DD re her health issues

Monday, January 2, 2012

Design Wall!!


So now I can really post about what is on my Design Wall!

Here it is between the bookcases:

 This is the completed top from the Planet Patchwork New Year's Day Mystery.  I think they called it "Chips and Strips".

And here is the whole thing, including the bottom edge.  The dimensions are about 54" x 72".
I changed their borders a little.  







Sara

Gratitudes:

Design Wall!
Other little jobs cleared up
Shrimp dinner to go with the Rose Bowl (family tradition)


Sunday, January 1, 2012

New Year's Day mystery & UFO plan

I chose from my Red fabrics for the Jelly Roll they proposed.  Starting at about 10:30 am I cut and sewed together 6 patches, 54 of them.



Then sewed light background strips on one side to make them square.



And they are now laid out like a Rail Fence; this is three rows out of nine.
I had to go rescue the pot roast from the crockpot for dinner.

And now that dinner is done and put away, I'm not very interested in this quilt.  However, the inner border is already cut, and the outer border, cornerstones included.  So I'll chug along to avoid leaving ANOTHER Unfinished Object right on the first day of the year!

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I have added a sidebar of the UFOs at the beginning of 2012.  Judy Liquidara has a challenge to finish one a month.  I'm listing TWO for each month with the plan that I will finish ONE and then do some work on the other.  Hope I'm not shooting myself in the foot here.

She drew # 5 for January.  So finish the Planet Patchwork mystery and then on to the Batik samples:


I wonder how many additional pieces there are in that bag.  I know I have a box of more batik charms, but maybe not that charcoal fabric.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Lions didn't look as bad as they could have! 
Pot roast success
Leftover cookies are mostly GONE