The Ugly Sisters and a List

Hello...I am not sure how time gets away from me but it does. Started this post a couple of weeks ago.  Something came up and I didn't finish it.  I have made no progress.  So, I am sharing it now!

A few weeks ago I wanted to sew but didn't feel well enough to risk any "important" (read costly) projects.  I decided to work with some fabric I had bought a few years ago from Connecting Threads.  It had lost its appeal to me.  I thought I would whip out some quick projects and send them to charity.  Thus far I haven't completed them but they are growing on me a bit.  I have been referring to them as The Ugly Sisters.

I know this seems a bit odd.  I had used the strips from the jelly roll for "training" when I was helping my DILs learn to sew. I also used them when we were working on vintage machines.  None of them were perfect.  Maybe I should have called these the Homely Sisters.  I did take some of the 2.5" strips apart and fix them a bit but eventually called it good.  I do think they are a little be like me.  My husband and my parents all agree that I was a homely child but that I grew out of it.  I think these have the potential to grow out of it, too.  I am trying to help them!

The four pieced blocks are my "practice" blocks from last years BOM. I had the thought I could donate these to a nursing home and they would be suitable for a man.

I found another fabric for the other "sister".

I plan to put a narrow sash to frame the "ugly" part.  Then I am going to make a large pieced border out of the other scraps.  I am thinking maybe "bricks" of 4"x6".

As you can see, part of why they are ugly is because they seams don't match well.  I feel a little guilty about giving them away like that but the overall effect isn't too bad.  What do you think?  Too awful for charity?

I have read several blogs where people have lists and comment on their own progress.  I am going to try that.  Because of my oddball schedule I am making mine a five week list.  It takes 5 weeks to get through a full rotation of my schedule.  So, I will be at the same point on Sept 16.  We will be gone to NY state the week before that.  So, this list could have a lot carried over!

1. Finish Fun and Done quilt (would do Wednesday at its class but just asked to babysit my grandson!)
2. Complete Ugly Sister top
3. Quilt at least three quilt tops
4. Final border on 2012 BOM
5. BOM for August and September
6. Owl pin cushions for BOM
7. Use D9P for leaders and enders
8. Earth tones quilt completed to take to NY.

Okay, if you are still reading, what do you call earth tones?  I am just going to do a simple quilt.  Maybe a turning twenty or one of those large block stars.  Our friends asked for a quilt in earth tones (someday).  This year was their 25th wedding anniversary and we are going out to visit them.  I have the week of Labor Day off and plan to get it done then if not before.  I will be honest that earth tones for me are a lot of the fall colors. I am not sure that is what they mean. What do YOU include in earth tones?

Thanks for sticking with me this far! I have to leave for work again in a couple hours.  Better get back to the sweatshop sewing room and get something done or everything will still be on that list next month!!

Keep stitchin'!

Mary

Design Wall Monday: True Blue and Making Change

Hello, again!

Since my post this morning I have planted some lettuce and then moved to the sewing room.  I didn't feel like sitting so I worked on cutting all the triangles for a quilt I am calling True Blue.   It will be one of the graduation gifts for my best friend's daughter.  Her younger daughter best described our relationship one day when she told someone, "I don't have any aunts but that is okay because I have Mary and she is like an aunt only better."

The blocks are from an exchange I did last year on Homesteading Today.  They really are all shades of blue.  You know what photography does.  I have them laid out with blocks 2 and 11 in the middle now.  I am debating that.

When I am sewing I am working on my version of the stacked coins.  I think I like how it is turning out.

I think it is modern looking.

You will notice that I switched design walls floors  - see the different carpet?  I don't have enough wall space anywhere for things this big but I do have floor space when I am home alone....like today.


So, that is what is on my wall floor today.  What is on yours?   I am linking up with Judy. Hop on over to Patchwork Times to see more walls.  So much inspiration there.  Really wish I had won that lottery!


Keep Stitchin'!

Mary

Design Wall Monday: Crazy Quilt Jacket

I am still working nights.  Yesterday when I got up I managed to do a little cutting.  Today I did some placement.

Here is the story.

I have observed on a couple of different occasions a crazy quilt type jacket in pastels at The Stitching Post in Washington, Indiana.  As the years have passed I have found more interest in using my decorative stitches on the various machines and love this idea for that.  I made up my mind I would make one to wear when I fly to the quilting retreat.... next week!

I have hundreds of patterns and was sure I would find one that would work.  I did but it was not for the size I am now!  That is fine.  I have enlarged and reduced patterns for years.  I wanted to use poly batting for it so that it didn't distort with washing.  When I went to Rilleda's to get the fabric I need to finish various UFOs she showed me a beautiful poly batting from Quilter's Dream that felt like cotton.  I loved it. 

She also showed me the new Fig Trees collection, California Girls.  I will be honest that I generally am not a fan of this designer.  This time she has added a blue to her collection and that makes all the difference for me.  I was going to link to the collection but you can see it all in a picture below.  I bought a layer cake.

Today I finished cutting the batting and forced myself to randomly cut the fabric.  That is nearly impossible for me.  It offends my CDO. 

I began to put the fabric on the batting.  I was using a spray adhesive.  I discovered that I can't pick it back up off the batting very easily and that is good because it keeps me from rearranging for "perfect".

Here is how I started.

I found myself lining the straight edges up parallel/perpendicular with the pattern edges.  I made myself start working all over the piece.

This is how it ended.

I think I like it.  The color in the picture isn't completely true.  The peaches seem very orangy.

Once again, my design is on my floor.  I have to do the rest of the pieces and start sewing.  I am seriously doubting I will get it done before Texas but I am going to try.

Going to link up with Patchwork Times for her Design Wall Monday.

Hop on over there and see what everyone is doing.  It will inspire you!

Keep Stitchin'!

Mary

Design Wall Monday

We had a very busy weekend.  That meant no time in the sewing room.  I spent all of my hours in the kitchen. We had 50 people in for Cajun food Saturday night.  Fun times but exhausting.

Today I am still trying to recover.  Thank God for leftovers!  I had a very slow start to my day.  My only real accomplishment is cutting out the fabric for my "special project" for my BOM club.  I really didn't know this was going to get so involved.  I thought I would show up, get the pattern for the next month and show what I made last month.  Nope!  There is a special project, show & tell and a story time (Civil War) each month.

This month's special project is a baby quilt from this free pattern.  The shop owner decided we could use any fabric in the shop for this project.  Since we get a 15% discount on fabric we buy for the special projects on class night AND I needed a baby quilt for a girl at work, I decided to participate. 

The girl at work has not "theme" for her baby stuff but she and her husband like sock monkeys and baseball.  This is their third boy after about an 8 year break.  Rilleda has some sock monkey fabric.  Yay!  Two birds with one stone and a discount! 

While buying the fabric I couldn't really decide about which fabric I wanted to use for certain parts.  So, I cut it both ways (two extra 6" blocks) and laid it out to see.  I still can't decide.  I only have a little bitty design wall suitable for about four blocks.  This is the floor of the loft in my house and the sun was shining strongly in the sky light.  Not perfect picture but the colors aren't too bad.

This was what I thought I wanted.  The blocks will be sashed with an off white color - not quite as dark as muslin.  The border is a brown, sock texture looking fabric.  I want to bind in the red.  But, I love red.  Perhaps that is too much red and this would be better:

I have enough of the brown fabric I could use it for binding if I wish.  Today I am all wishy washy.  Had a pretty bad migraine and medicated for that.  The rotary cutter was a really dumb idea and I am glad I didn't get hurt (again).  Perhaps tomorrow I will be clearer but today I just can't decide.

The blue and the red are both 30s repro fabrics.  The pring on the blue looks kind of like baseballs is why I chose it.  The red is just a vine/leaf print.  Nothing girlie on here.  What do you think?  Option one or option two? 

I am going to link up with Patchwork Times for design wall Monday?  Mine is on the floor but what is on your wall today?

Thanks for looking!

Mary

p.s.  I can't seem to get a service pack to load that will allow me to upgrade IE on this computer.  Therefore I cannot access certain things - like several people's blogs.  Please forgive me for not commenting on your blogs. I will when I can see them again.........Mary

No Design on the Wall Monday

Hello!  I really wanted to have something on my "design wall" for today so that I could link up to some more blogs for Design Wall Monday.  Yeah....that didn't happen.  I am working nights this weekend.  Being at work for 12 hours (7p to 7a) puts a real damper on productivity no matter how SLOW it is right now.

Today I got out of bed and went straight to my sewing room.  I didn't even dress.  People that know me would be amazed by that.  I had some big plans but once I was there other WIPs called my name.  So...I made some more pillows.

This is what my couch looks like.

Pretty boring, huh?  I live in a log home so it is always a little dark.  I prefer to think of it as warm and cozy.  The furniture was bought with three sons in mind.   Sons that hunt, fish, run distance and work on a farm.  It does hide dirt well but it is boring.  So, I decided to add some color in pillows.

I pieced this pillow top and embroidered two others.

I used a decorative stitch for a stitch in the ditch quilting effect and here are all three finished pillows.

The red ones have stuffing in them because the pillow forms I had weren't full enough.  The one on the right seems to have a tumor.  I will have to look at that again tomorrow.

Here is a really bad picture of them on my couch.  I like them but I am sure that couch needs a quilt on the back of it.  I am going to make one in the fabrics used in the pieced pillow top.

So, that is what I DID do.   I had other plans this weekend.  One of my sons and his wife came home.  Yesterday I cleaned up in the sewing room (it badly needed it) while she worked on a baby quilt.  In doing so I found some fabric I was gifted.

In the current Quilt magazine there is a pattern for snowman placemats.  I went to their website and could not find it there to link but here is another bad picture of the picture in the magazine.

Here are the fabrics I found yesterday.

My aunt, who LOVES snowmen, brought these to me when she came to visit in August.  Won't these work for those placemats?  Today I looked in my stash and found a red I like.  It isn't seasonal like the print in the magazine but I think it will work fine.

So, that is what would have been on my design wall if I could have managed.  Instead, I made pillows.  Tomorrow I am going back to working on my nephew's quilt that I am making for Christmas.  It will have its own post soon, I hope.

Btw, the red and white four-patch in the background is one my Mammaw made.  Someday I may do a post on the Mammaw's quilts that I have.  I just remembered that today I had the thought to make this post about my mom and what she did and did not (zippers) teach me.  The zippers are in the pillows but I still sweat when I do zippers.  On the other hand, Mom couldn't make a button hole and I can make them in my sleep.

Keep stitchin'!

Mary