Let the Games Begin!

Yet another week of wandering and playing and not really finishing - but planning for sure!

This is another practice block and was remarkably easy and fast.  This is Ricky Tims' "Convergance" pattern and is made from four 15" blocks.   This took three hours start to finish and has only 24 seams. 

I want to make two more of these -- one in just two colors and another with a yard of the most gorgeous and colorful hand-dyed fabric I've ever seen.  It's a generous gift from Ms LogCabinQuilts when she went to hear Ricky and I wanted to make sure I knew how the fabrics would be playing together before I cut into any more fabric.  These are not-so-great fabrics that continue to multiply in the dark and may never disappear from my stash.  I had planned to work on the two color version this week but haven't had the spirit to do it. So, I'll wait. 

I did manage to get the blocks for RRCB assembled.  They went together well and it's just been too hot to take it outside for a picture. So, here's a snippet.  I've gone as far as I can until the borders are done.

And -- here's what awaits on the border.  172 of these little parallelograms must be assembled into the pieced border.  I was pretty far ahead on these and only need to put the final triangle on most of them.  That's the easy part and can be a leaders/enders project.

What's much less exciting is assembling them as you see here for the borders.  I'll plug along at it but certainly do not feel motivated to get this done.  The tote that had this quilt it in is almost empty which helps justify starting another project, don't you think?

That leads us to this little log cabin block and the pile of boxer shorts below.  These were "gifted" by a friend whose sons are 29 and 32 years old -- and these are shorts they outgrew in high school.  How lucky for me!  While boxers don't provide nearly as much fabric as a shirt, there's enough to make a quilt.  It's easy enough to toss the soiled or worn parts and only use the best fabric and not have a lot left over.  No emotional ties here.

So, I made another practice block to see if I like it and I do.  This will finish at 7" and has 1" logs.  I'm thinking 64 blocks set at 8 x 8 will make a decent size snuggle quilt and my goal will be to have it done by Christmas. We'll see -- and that's what leads us to the Olympics.

I think I'll make these log cabins my Olympic event for the next two weeks.  You see an incredible organization on Ravelry with various knitting events that start when the opening ceremonies begin.  I won't be quite so structured, but I'll work on them when I'm watching from my sewing room and we'll see where I am by August 9th when we leave on vacation.  I'm sure I'll play in other areas -- based on the last two weeks anyway -- but I hope to concentrate on cutting and sewing this pile of free fabric!

When I think about the Olympics, I consider this to be two weeks of some of the best our world has to offer!  It is my hope that they will be peaceful and embody the Olympic spirit - both in London and around the world.  If only we could hold on to it after the flame is extinguished.  

What about you, is there an Olympic event in your future?  Whatever the next two weeks bring, I hope it is peaceful and creative!  Jan

Wandering

Have you ever had a week where you wanted to sew/create but you couldn't find your groove and just the right project?  I've been all over the place this week.

I managed to find my place and finish piecing this little charity top.  Will fold it, put it up, and quilt/bind it when I have another one or two ready. I prefer assembly line when I'm working on these.

And what is this ugliness, you ask.   Good question.  All week I've been feeling the pull of my little bin of florals.  I finally segregated them (sans Kaffe, of course) because I found I wasn't using them.  They are 1/2 yard cuts, FQ, charm squares, and all in between.  Some I bought on vacations and others have been gifted or swapped.  Either way, I never seemed to pull them for a scrap quilt.

In my head, I want to make a disappearing nine patch out of them.  I'm hoping for a cacophony of color and a happy quilt.  For the most part, florals are happy fabrics and they should translate into a quilt of the same tone - if the design is right.  I think this is -- but needed to make a prototype block.

So, that's what this is.  I took some 3" squares and strips and made a nine patch and then sliced it down the middle to see what the proportions, dimensions, and color placement would be like.

This fuzzy shot is the finished project.  Here's what I learned.  I like the "dark" squares in the center and they way they break up.  I like the dimensions (block will finish at 7" with the squares at 2.5").  I liked the process -- sometimes a prototype is enough to tell me that it's not the right thing for me or the fabrics I was using.  I don't like the "light" blocks as the squares and will switch out the medium (blue) value with the light (white).  I don't know about you but playing with a sample block can save a lot of heartache and redo later.  It also lets me know how I should press for ease of assembly.  That wasn't abundantly clear on this block so I may just press seams open.  I pin anyway so I just have to be a bit more cautious.

But -- you know that small voice in your head that asks why on earth you would start another project when you have so many totes of in process quilts already?  My little voice was chattering away - particularly when I had to move a number of other totes to get to my florals.  But cutting new fabric and thinking about a new quilt is so much more fun than trying to figure out where you are in a "work in progress", right?

That's the case here.  This is Roll Roll Cotton Boll which is on my list to finish this year.  It was a mystery quilt at the end of 2010 and I have all the pieced blocks made and all the string blocks sewn into halves.  I just need to finish assembling the larger string blocks.

I started this quilt when we were working on getting the house in Chicago ready to sell and knew that I could do most of it from precut strips and my strings.  I was close to right -- there was plenty of cutting but it made a dent in a lot of my smaller pieces and used many of them up.  That's the spirit of cleaning up to get a house (or sewing room) more in order, right?

The suggested color palette was pink where you see blue -- and I didn't have pinks.  Unfortunately when you are cutting for a mystery quilt, you don't know how the blocks will go together and whether your color choices will work.  I don't think these did.  You also get in pretty deep sometimes and can't get out.  That was the case when one clue was to make 600 of the red/white HSTs and sew them into 120 strips of five.  Some of you know the feeling that comes when you read that and think "REALLY -- 600?".  I didn't get that clue finished until we got moved to Kentucky and I needed mindless sewing.  I had them pieced but not sewn into strips of five.

When making the string blocks, I committed heresy by foundation piecing mine.  The risk is that you don't know how they are going together and you could have a lot of bulk.  That is the case here.  Because the original blocks were cut in half and reassembled into a larger block of four halves, you have some bulky seams - even with lightweight foundation.  The good news is that you have stability.  When you look at this quilt, there are LOTS of pieces and lots of ways for things to get wonky.  These blocks actually provide framework and since I'll just be doing a large meander when I quilt it, I'll avoid any little mountains that might exist.  We'll see if I can keep motivated to do one row everyday.  If so, all the blocks will be pieced within a week and then we'll see if I can figure out where I am on the border.  I have all the pieces cut -- just have to sort and finish them.  Thank goodness I have that set of instructions.  The rest is being done by "feel" since I must have thrown them out!  Good grief!

I hope you are inspired and creative this week -- and a bit more focused than I am!

Jan

Uncensored

What happened?  Or better phrased, what didn't happen?  We're a third of the way through January and a tornado has hit my sewing room.  This is what I walk into -- and it's all my doing and I sort of like it (actually, I love it!).

 Disarray everywhere.  

 What have I been doing?  Throwing stuff in the floor to see how much it will hold.

 My Kaffe stash that I'm using to pull fabrics for a Lollypop that I hope to finish (the block -- not the quilt!) by the end of the month.

My Orca Bay that I'm a bit tired of. I like it but I don't love it and it's bulky with so many strings.  I'm thrilled that it's from my stash and most of this did not have to be cut at all as I already had strings, blocks, and strips in the right size/color.  I'll get it done....the borders are already finished and hanging in the closet.

 My little alcove.  Books, scraps, magazines, chair (not for sitting but for stacking more stuff on), a previous Lollypop that was a learning experience and will become a pillow, I think.  Strings/crumbs sorted by color in plastic drapery bags (unzipped). 

 Cutting table with Lollypop in process.  I'm trying the gluing down method that many wax eloquently about. Slower but may be more accurate.  Will know soon enough.

 My throne!  Two little charity quilts to be basted, quilted, and bound.  

Last year's mystery (Roll Roll Cotton Boll) that is staring at me from under the table.  One long day and it will be finished.  Just have to finish the border strips and sew strings.   Someday.  Not today.

My little stash -- paltry by the standards of most of you but I love every inch and scrap.

So what have I been doing besides flinging quilty things all over my little room...why, I've been sitting in my chair reading quilt magazines, making lists, dreaming, reading blogs on my laptop or iPad, looking at my fabric and planning....just not doing.

I hope you have had a more productive week and if not, I hope you've enjoyed not having anything to show for it as much as I have.  I'm sure I'm poised to get my act in gear.....

Keep piecing (or flinging!).  Jan

A week with Bonnie

Orca Bay Mystery by Bonnie Hunter.  Clue 3.  350 half square triangles.  Really?  After Roll Roll Cotton Boll and having to make 600 HSTs one week (month), this sounded manageable.   Not necessarily a walk in the park -- but not too bad.

And it was manageable.  After cutting the black strips, all the neutrals were already in my overflowing 2" tote and we were off and running.  At the end of the day (before sunset even), they were done, pressed, and double counted to make sure I really had them all.

So, what to do with the rest of the week?  I had expected a clue of epic proportion after getting by with the little 3.5" strings the week of Thanksgiving.  So -- maybe I should pull out my other mystery quilts from Bonnie and get them back on the front burner while waiting for the next clue?

The easiest was to get the binding on Carolina Christmas from two years ago.  We've actually been sleeping under it without binding once it got chilly before our furniture got here and one quilt wasn't enough.  I had been to Iowa to quilt this during a summer visit to a friend and hadn't even gotten it trimmed a before we started sleeping under it.  Once our island was installed, I could at least trim off the extra batting and backing. So Saturday was the day to get the binding on and get it washed.  It's back on the bed in proper order and I can mark it as COMPLETE!  Another finish before the end of the year!

Now what?  Oh dear....I know.  Roll Roll Cotton Boll.   Since I was sure I was pretty far along with the various steps, this should be a piece of cake.  Alas.  I am SO wrong.  I have two blocks done, all the strings complete and cut in half and most of the border pieces partially sewn into little strips but not even finished, much less assembled.  Basically, the quilt is cut out and each step has some work done on it.  Without instructions -- what was I thinking? Oh, yeah, I know -- that I was farther along than I was.

Last year at this time I was knee deep in the holiday stuff that we're all involved in but was also managing the acquisition and integration of a competitor and all the "people stuff" associated with it. A 12 hour day was a short day and a 15 hour day (with some weekends included) was more in order.  It was tough and they were cranky about all the changes. I was cranky too! Quilting was not on the front burner and staying up with the clues was impossible.  Apparently printing instructions was something I didn't think I needed..... we'll see about that in a few days.

So, I'll be spending the week with Bonnie after all.  Working on RRCB, sorting out where I am, and seeing what all needs to be done to get this top completed at the same time Orca Bay is looming.  I suspect there is a doozy of a clue coming since we haven't even gotten to touch the "red" or primary fabric and so much is needed.  I should put a new blade in my rotary cutter while I'm thinking about it and change my needle now!

I hope you're getting time to sew and making progress with whatever you're working on!  Jan

Postscript:  After putting 8 of the blocks together, I remain amazed at how well they go together and match -- so long as I pay attention to the 1/4".  Such a pleasure.  If you want to see what's going on with Orca Bay,  you can link to her post today and see everyone's progress.