Quilted AND bound in one week . . . amazing!

 From the book, Nickel Quilts, page 42.

 Started about 10 or 12 years ago, then aged well in a baggie.

 Various pre-printed panels such as vest, bird house, duck and kitties used for backing.  All very good muslin and now it's out of the stash.

When you compare the picture in the book to my quilt, you'll realize that I paid little attention to value placement.  Very much a reflection of my life at the time, extremely chaotic.

 We're all enjoying these 70 degree days.  This is my oregano plant on the front porch soaking up sun.

Tomorrow we're going down to 28 though, so a bit more back to normal winter.

As the sun goes down on another year, Dolly and I would like to wish you all a truly wonderful 2016.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

Happy Christmas Ya'll

Dolly and I would like to wish you all the most peaceful of holidays, both here and around the world.

First the good news . . .

This weekend's weather of sunny in the 50-60s, allowed me to work on 3 more windows.

 I did this chore a few years back, all sanded and sealed.  However they need re-doing.

My newest Amish piece is a combination of blues, pinks, violets, and purples.  The hand-dyed fabrics really make it shimmer. I've enlarged it to twin size and by Sunday night reached the half way point. This is the kind of quilt where left over pieces of solid black fabric can be used.  The varying shades add to the glow.  I'm searching for stray fabric in baggies in an attempt to use up odd stuff.

Dolly wanted me to pass the word that Santa has delivered extra large chewies to the big box store. Over in the Christmas section.  They're good for keeping wee munchkins entertained while sewing.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

Oh my, it's been awhile.

I'm sure you knew I was up to something.  Several somethings in fact.

 In September 2014, I began "consolidation" of the sewing room.  A big word for a giant task.

 These 4 QOV tops came from one bin of a project I grew weary of.  It is now empty.

 Do you recall this one, made about 7 years ago.

 And this one, made about 8 years ago.  Both came out of the 18 gallon bins holding quilt tops.  There were 3 bins of tops, now I'm down to 2.

 After seeing a lovely quilt on Alycia's blog, I borrowed the concept and came up with this.  My big bin of 2-1/2" strips was too full and in total disarray.  I pulled out every red, white, blue and patriotic fabric to create 6 QOV tops.  Here you see 4.

  The strips were cut 11-1/2" long, combined into a vertical unit of 28 pieces (7 red, 7 blue, and 14 light), then trimmed down to 10-1/2".  Borders 5".  Finished size about 50" x 66".

Roy would be proud.

 And this week, I've consolidated the bins of 3-1/4" squares by making 4 tops.  12 squares across, 14 squares down, 5-1/2" borders.  A nice size for wheelchair bound vets with a vast array of colors and patterns to help keep their mind off of bone pain.

Did you know that trimming up leftovers into one size helps tidy the stash and allows for impromptu sewing on rainy days.  I've managed to get all remaining squares into one bin.

 Cigar label fabric makes for wonderful borders.

All 16 quilt tops will be going out to Alycia along with some backing fabric I've unearthed.  I'm proud to say this is a great way to consolidate.

To date, I've emptied THREE 18-gallon bins, TWENTY-FOUR 20 quart bins, SIX shoe box bins, ALL of the metal tins except 2, and more baggies than CARTER HAS LIVER PILLS.

To be fair, I did buy 2 clear 66 quart bins to re-group baggies so I can see what I need to work on.

Currently there are 3 tops pinned and ready to quilt, 11 tops with backings waiting to pin, 2 tops waiting for borders and about 10 tops waiting for backings.  Many of these are doll size, wall size, or crib size.

Do you remember me mentioning I was afraid to count UFOs, that it would be too overwhelming.  Well it's true.  I've yet to count them all.  But I did find one from 1974 so you know I'm years and years behind schedule.

This year there will be absolutely NO holiday baking or decorating at my house.  I've made an executive decision and relieved myself of the responsibility, time allowance, stress, and expenditure.

In fact, I'm going to quilt.

Feel free to do the same.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

Whew, it's been a week hasn't it?

However, I did get one thing done last Sunday.

 The core board insulation came upstairs and got cut into 2 pieces.

 80/20 cotton batting was folded over each edge, opposites first, and stapled snugly.

 These metal hanger whoie-whatzies can be found at Lowe's in the build-a-deck section.  I really have no idea what they're called.  But they work and that's what matters.

 3 extra large silver thumb tacks hold the bottom secure to the core board.  The top of the plate extends out a bit.

 Push pins through the top 2 holes secure each board to the wall.

 And wallah.  The back board to "save a wall from demolition spray starch" is complete.

I've set my big ironing board on top of the new cabinet with newly washed cover and we're good to go.

And just FYI, my "big board" is actually fiber board framed on bottom with 1x2's.  The top is painted with wall paint after which I applied 2 coats of sealant.  Something I had on hand.  You know how fiber board can absorb moisture.  Thus the sealant.

Instead of batting, I use 2 large pieces of knit fabric under the custom made ironing board cover.  Again, it was something I had on hand.  Spray starch goes everywhere when I prep fabric and it does eat the paint off the walls, but now I believe I'm ready for anything.

 You could say I'm expanding my repertoire.  The big box store had these at a very reasonable price, so I bought some half yards to add extra wattage to the fabric cupboard.  I have big plans, yup, sure do.

Yeah, finally this morning was 2-quilt chilly.  And there are some leaves turning already.  Of course it could be that we need rain.  I think this year we're all looking forward to being snowbound.

As my good buddy, CC says, "how many months of August are we having?"

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

Ahhhh progress.

 First, I got busy and combined small blocks into bigger ones.  Then I started lining them up on the design wall.

At which time I discovered it would be easiest to combine one vertical half section of the top at a time.

To do this, I'm combining units as I go.  See the 2 thin horizontal sections on the right?  They will be elongated, then combined with the section on the left, to match the section above it.  I'll probably end up adding a string of pieces in the middle of the thin units on the right to get the length I need for the block unit on the left.  But that's okay.

Let's talk about scale.  It comes in 2 varieties.

And include these teeny tiny pieces to the right of the embroidery scissors.  Those tiny pieces were already assembled from a project done in 1995.  No piece is too small.

But . . .

They should be combined with bigger pieces.  By using lights, creams of varying print scale it gives the eye a nice place to rest . . . and in this case, read.  Even though it's upside down.

Also, there's a wide, very wide, variety of scale within the prints themselves.  This too is important, as it proves I've collected a nice variety of prints for the stash.  LOL.  You know what I'm referring to don't you?

 Sometimes I goofed and increased the scale too quickly.  This red bar unit won't work for me.  Too abrupt.  It stops the eye.

 It's important to add in "single blocks" of triangle units,

 Flying geese,

 Hourglass block, etc..

Single units again, give the eye a place to pause and reflect.  Multiple units together would create a bulls eye.  Which is what I'm trying to avoid.

 Fun prints are good.  The light background allows this piece to stay.

 I've REALLY had trouble balancing darks and lights.  Notice the darks on the right and top are softened by the area of lights and brights on the bottom left.

Because my stash is saturated with darks, especially small pre-cut pieces, leftovers, it's been a constant battle to find the balance.

If you have a stash full of brights, you won't have this difficulty.

There's still a huge variety of scraps to use up.  But for now, I must finish my vortex top, set it aside and CLEAN UP.  The chaos is making me bonkers.

I've learned a lot from this process.  It's been fun and actually quite relaxing.  Not as good as a spa vacation in Switzerland, but much, much cheaper.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

Is green your favorite color?

 Then you have several to choose from.  Here we have the "soon to be overrun with pumpkins" kitchen garden.  Thus named, as it can be viewed from the kitchen.  Clever huh?

This caption should read, "invasion of the south 40!"

Some pumpkin leaves have deep white veins.  I've no idea why.

 Perhaps there will be a lot of creamy pumpkins.

Do you remember the original vine in the south 40 garden?  This pumpkin is from that vine, so it's ahead of everyone else.

Today's heat index was 96 so I finally got outside to start the sprinkler, making everything green and growing very happy.

Meanwhile, Dolly and I have been hiding out in the A/C room, thinking cool thoughts.

Wherever you are in this summer's heat wave, please be sure to leave plenty of fresh water outside for your furry and feathered friends.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

It's turtle time.

 The assembly process is very slow going.

Mainly because I've decided to work from the center out, creating units as I go along.  None of which are the same size.  They will of course be the same width or the same length as the previous section.

I have managed to make a lot more blocks this weekend, still barely making a dent in the string bin.

In case you've forgotten, Connecting Threads is having their once a year thread sale.  Hurry up and order now, so you can get back to sewing.

My local library holds a craft sale to sponsor the spelling bee program.  A quilting friend moved, donating 30 boxes of fabric to the sale.

At $1.00 per yard, I decided to support the program and collect some brights.  Everything is now washed, dried until damp, had the ends torn to get straight of grain, and finally I'm getting it ironed.  There's a lot of very old fabric here, but nothing that won't work well for the new quilt.

 Quilter's can always use scraps right?

Until then, keep stitchin'  . . . .