Monday Meandering

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is over and the year is barreling along to the end.  The first batch of Christmas presents I ordered arrived.  And, I have no idea about the rest!  (Ok, I have an idea or two but I haven't made up my mind about any of them.  

With the end of November I realized I needed to see what I actually said about my goal at the beginning of the month:

My Goal for November, 2020 is to prep 15 t shirts by cutting, stabilizing and beginning to sew sashing on.  

So, nope, I didn't get this one done.  I've prepped the t shirts -- they are stabilized and rough cut but I have to trim them to their exact size. And, I just ordered the fabric so I'm going to be waiting until that shows up. Didn't succeed with this goal.  The t shirt quilt will be worked on during December and we'll see how far along I get on it. 

So how did I do on the rest of my goals?  Not too bad, actually. 

11/23/2020 

Quilt 2 more charity quilts✔️✔️Here's a picture of the last charity quilt. I finished it this afternoon . (I think I'd done 1 row at this point.) 

Quilt 1 of my quilts — not even started

Order sashing fab for T shirt quilt ✔️

Finish cutting out Dalmatians quilt blocks ✔️and I sewed one block together

After sewing this one together I decided I should make piles of the 4 fabrics for each block so I keep a balance of fabrics in each block.  I'll do that this week while I'm working on other projects. This is going to be a leader ender project for a while. 

Here are the new goals: 

11/30/2020

Quilt 1 of my quilts

Finish final cutting on t shirt quilt

Make Grands’ 2020 Ornaments 

Pick backing and quilt farm quilt 

Get back to work on purple basket 

I'll figure out my fabric usage statistics soon but I'll admit this is the first month in years that I haven't used up any of my fabric! (I only count fabric used after I finish a quilt as that helps me actually finish tops.)  Between the charity quilts and the T shirt quilt little of my sewing was for me.  I had hoped to quilt and bind a small quilt but I doubt I'll get it done Monday.  Somehow on Friday I woke up with my back out of whack.  Every day it's gotten better but it has slowed me down.  Sigh. On the other hand I finished reading several books which was good as I have several reserved books that have come in, again. 

I was happy to see my "Christmas" cactus became a Thanksgiving cactus this year. I think it mostly has to do with when I remember to fertilize it.  I'm tickled that it is still producing buds so I should have a pretty show for another week or two. It's sitting on an antique tea cart that had been my grandmothers. 

I'm linking up with my regular Linky Parties: Oh Scrap, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, and To Do Tuesday. I'll have to link up after the rest of these are posted.  That works for me as I'm pooped out so it's time for bed. (And a little more reading.) 

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

Monday Meandering 11 - 23 - 2020

Last week I asked what have I been doing? Time seems to slip away without much of an imprint on me. The question is valid this week too.  I haven't done much that is photo worthy, well unless you think a photo of me lounging on the couch reading a book is photo worthy!  Let's start with the goals list.  Overall it looks pretty good.

11/16/2020

Finish  cutting and stabilizing T Shirts - audition sashing fabrics ✔️

Border baby quilt✔️

Continue purple basket ✔️ well I sewed some more strips on 

Quilt a charity quilt for local guild✔️

Vacuum studio floor; clean off surfaces ✔️ everything but surfaces... 

Cut more Easy Breezy blocks & Snowball blocks to use as leader/enders Does 1 count? 

Not too bad considering I didn't feel like I got that much done.

11/23/2020 

Quilt 2 more charity quilts

Quilt 1 of my quilts 

Order sashing fab for T shirt quilt

Finish cutting out Dalmatians quilt blocks and start sewing 

What wasn't on my goal list last week was cutting the fabrics for the Dalmatian quilt. I'm about half way through but it looks like I'm needing to add some fabrics. No problems with the black and whites but I sure don't have much left in the reds. I hope in the next day or two to make a sample block so I know it works. (I assume it does since the person who posted the pattern info had also made one, but it's better to be safe than sorry.) 

Here's the charity quilt I'll be starting on today: 

It's an interesting quilt but not my color choices.  It's ready to be quilted after I get the quilting design entered into the computer.  Maybe some time today I'll get it started. 

Linky parties today: Oh Scrap!, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, and To Do Tuesday. (Hopefully I'll remember to return to link to this party.) 

Happy Thanksgiving

There's a sad tale of this cute turkey decoration...  Even though he was chained to the small tree he was vandalized.  All that was left was the chain and the legs.  This was pretty surprising since we live in an active senior development that has gates that are closed overnight. Maybe it was a mishap with a lawn mower rather than being vandalized.  

Happy Quilting All!   Bonnie 

What Have I Been Doing Recently?

Sorry, that isn't a rhetorical question.  Several days have gone by without doing a lot, or so it seems! The one thing I can show you is the charity quilt I just finished quilting for Virginia Star Quilters, the local Fredericksburg guild to which I belong.

The quilting design is a built in simple stipple.  I used a light green So Fine on it front and back.  The back is a overall floral design mostly in blue but with a little light green.  Surprisingly, I can hardly see the thread on the back.  And, it isn't really obvious even in the light squares on the front.  

I have two more tops to finish for them as soon as I can.  I'm hoping I'll have another one to show on Monday and later next week I can finish the 3rd one.  They hope to distribute them in early December. 

I've decided to start a new quilt. I hear you all saying, but what about the ones you just started --- such as the Cheese and Crackers quilt using your 30s fabrics?  Here's the problem with working on that one.  It needs to be laid out on the design wall which is currently filled with a commissioned T Shirt quilt.  My design wall is big but not big enough to hold both quilts!  So, a new start.  Here's the fabric pull. 

It all started with the cute dalmation fabric.  I received it as part of the novelty fabric bundle I bought on SewItsForSale.IO. You can sell and buy sewing items on it.  I'm sorry to say I tend to buy more than I sell.  (Although I have a few items I should try to sell!) The rest has been pulled from my stash.  (Oh how happy I am to use some stash!)  

The pattern I'm using is called Nest. It's available free from Martingale's blog at https://www.shopmartingale.com/images/marketing/freebies/2016-09/Nest-free-quilt-pattern.pdf  It is from the book Fast and Fun First Quilts by Sara Diepersloot. You do need to log in to access it.  Don't forget to look at the other free patterns available.  The Nest block finishes at 12". Heck, there are only 3 seams in the block. Can you say fast finish? I'll be using this as my leader ender for the T Shirt quilt. 

After a couple of days of cold weather (as in freezing overnight at least one night) it has moderated and we should be in the high 60s today.  I'll be out walking the neighborhood again to take advantage of the good weather. 

I'm linking up with Finished or Not Fridays, Beauties Pageant 106, and Whoop, Whoop Friday. I'm going to spend some time to see what folks are working on.  It's amazing all the wonderful projects you see. Hum, maybe too many as I keep saving ideas for later use! Not the best idea for working through what you have but it's fun. Grab a cuppa and relax while you surf. 

 Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

Monday Meandering 11 - 16 - 2020

I thought I was getting things done this past week -- but my to do list begs to differ with me.  What the heck was I doing this week? I don't really remember except I read a couple of books.  And yesterday I fought off a cold.  So I did nothing but read, sleep, and wallow yesterday.  But I did get a lot of sleep overnight and feel like the cold might be under control.  Time will tell. Wait, I do remember something else I did -- I
washed, ironed, folded, and tagged 16+ yards of fabric.   I still have a few smaller pieces to find some place to stash.  

With the thought I didn't get much done last week, I'll show you the state of my to do list from last week. 

11/9/2020

Cut and stabilize T Shirts - 2/3rds done; share pictures auditioning sashing fabrics with customer - didn't get this part done.

Sash baby quilt; find borders and backing (either stash or store) - Sashing is done, borders picked but not sewn on yet.

Start another basket - purple - sewed a few pieces together.

Vacuum studio floor; clean off surfaces - no.  

Actually the week wasn't as much of a bust as I thought it was.  But I can do better with this week's list that repeats a lot of last week's goals.

11/16/2020

Finish  cutting and stabilizing T Shirts - audition sashing fabrics 

Border baby quilt 

Continue purple basket 

Quilt a charity quilt for local guild

Vacuum studio floor; clean off surfaces 

Cut more Easy Breezy blocks and Snowball blocks to use as leader/enders

No pictures to share from the studio from this week's activities but I do want to share a customer's quilt I finished this month.  

Devra was using up leftover neutral fabrics.  She thought it looked blah.  I recommended a couple of quilting designs I thought it would benefit from.  She picked one and was tickled with the results. Voilá!  I look at it and think it is very sleek and sophisticated.  Hum, maybe I need to make one for myself ...? 

And the back....

Quilt made by Devra

Quilting Pattern: "Diane" from My Creative Stitches

Thread: So Fine 452

Linky Parties: Oh Scrap, Monday Making, and Design Wall Monday. How about some surfing?  You never know where you will find something that makes you want to start a new project! 

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

It's a Finish!

 A new finish.  It was done a few weeks ago but pictures were finally taken last week.  And, we decided to gift it to friends of Pat's from his barbershop group.  It arrived yesterday.

It's hard to see but the fabric in the center of the stars is owls.  I am happy to report all fabric came from stash. On the other hand, this is directly related to me buying the bright green at JoAnns when not many Kona colors were available in late spring. Once I got home I started thinking about what I would do with the fabric! You can see two choices here. Below is a closeup of one of the stars. 

And the back of the quilt....

The quilting design is Fern Gully.  It has become my new favorite. I like the way that design gives texture but doesn't detract from the quilt design.  I wish I had 3 or four designs that do that.  

Many thanks to my quilt holder.  He does a great job even when I take too long. Here's his response to my request to "Turn around." 

In other happenings this week I received a USPS medium flat rate box full of novelty fabrics.  Yep, I made another purchase from Sew Its For Sale.  And it was a great one.  Here are the darker of the fabrics waiting for their spin in the washing machine. Yes, I do wash every fabric that comes in.  I love the feel of the unwashed fabrics but I figure it is wiser to wash out whatever chemicals are used in the making of the fabric before they are stored.  

It is always fun to receive mail with a variety of new to me fabrics.  (One had 1997 date on the selvedge. But it looked like something I could definitely put to use.)  I am still in the process of folding it and marking amount of fabric, cost and date acquired.  I tried matching up a couple of the pieces with fabric on hand.  I can see some more sawtooth stars like the owl quilt in my future.  It's a fast and easy quilt since I have the AccuQuilt dies for 9" stars. 

I'm linking up with Can I Get a Whoop, Whoop?, Beauties Pageant 105, and Finished or Not Fridays. I'm looking forward to see what's being worked on these days. 

Public Service Announcement:  Folks, the corona virus is rampaging across the country.  Yes, we are close to a vaccine.  But, no, we don't want to risk more people getting sick and dying. I plan on staying home over the next few many weeks.  Our family has decided to not have a family Thanksgiving dinner.  Maybe it will be a Zoom gathering.  We had thought about an outdoor meeting at a park but considering how fast the numbers are rising -- nope, I am not going to do that either. Virginia hasn't gone to lock down but that's what Pat and I plan to do pretty much. We are tired of the restrictions.  But we also don't want more people dying, so we will be hunkering down in our house. (Honestly, we've been doing that for a while as we've only been going out for groceries and a few hobby related shopping trips.)  Take care of yourselves.     

Happy Quilting All. Bonnie 

Monday Meanderings 11 - 9 - 2020

Aren't you glad all the election ads are over?  And way to go Americans for getting out and voting.  Whether you voted on Tuesday or early you participated in the most important part of our life: democracy.  Everyone can vote, and boy howdy, did we.  So give yourself a big pat on the back. 

As I mentioned last week I'm moving my goals back to Monday but will be linking up with To Do Tuesday once it becomes available.  Hopefully I will remember to do that each week! 

So much better news on the goals front this week.  I succeed on most of my goals. 

11/3/2020

Design t shirt quilt ✔️and begin cutting and stabilizing (didn't get this started..)

Finish sewing snowball blocks together✔️

Get going on baby quilt✔️

Finish adding “stuff” to landscape quilt ✔️I think I'm done but will check in a week or so whether it needs anything else.  Sharon reports it takes a long time to quilt it as everything needs to be stitched....ugh.

Here's the snowball blocks all sashed. (I've already removed it from the design wall and hid it away in the to-be-quilted closet.  I'm not sure whether I'll add a border or not.  Usually I don't but I thought I would audition some in a few weeks.  I find it interesting that the corners that used light colors look so different to the darker corners.  I may have to do one where the sashing and the corners are the same. What do you think? 

The baby quilt has been started.  Next up I need to sash the blocks -- the best part is I have the fabric (from stash!) and fabric for the cornerstones. After that it is borders which I'll need to shop my stash or a store. It isn't going to be very big -- maybe 40" square. No pictures yet.

And here's what's being worked on this week:

11/9/2020

Cut & stabilize T Shirts; share pics auditioning sashing fabrics with customer

Sash baby quilt; find borders and backing (either stash or store) 

Start another basket - purple 

Vacuum studio floor; clean off surfaces

I've let my floor go for way too many weeks.  It's time to get all the threads off. And, if I'm going to do the floor than the furniture surfaces need to be straightened up and cleaned off too.  

What I forgot to add to my list last week was make the next set of blocks for FCQ Equilter.  Now, honestly, these shouldn't have taken 2 days but, yes, yes they did take 2 days.  I  kept making mistakes. Bummer.  

It turns out Sharon had actually finished hers yesterday.  She and I were texting about them and I couldn't figure out why it didn't sound like what I was doing.  She texted a picture.  Nope, I wasn't doing the right block.  Well, actually the block was the same but the color way was different.  THANK goodness we were communicating.  The pattern comes from Missouri Star Quilting so if you want to make some you can follow along with Jenny.  When I started Saturday, I chose to just search for Bear's Paw.  I came up with a whole different color way. White was actually used as the paws.  The triangles were made from jelly rolls.  What a difference that made in the look.  So Sat's effort was scrapped and Sunday's finally got done. (Hey, I was also enjoying some time just reading!) I've finally decided I'll save whatever pieces I can from my Sat efforts but I suspect most will be hitting the trash. (yes, I made lots of mistakes!) 

Today I'm linking up with 4 linky parties: Oh Scrap, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday and To Do Tuesday. (I'll be back tomorrow and Tuesday to link up the last two parties.) And, I hope to spend more time surfing than I have recently.  How about you? 

I leave you with this crazy azalea currently blooming in a house down the street from us.  I can't blame the azalea all that much.  We had freezing weather for a several days a few weeks back. And then temps popped back up.  We've been enjoying temps in the mid 70s for about a week.  No wonder it thought spring had come!  I saw several other flowers blooming when I took my walk today. It was 76 degrees and low humidity. And it's continuing for several more days.

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

To Do Tuesday!

Once again, I'm late to the party!  I was hoping to get my goals posted yesterday but, yea, that didn't happen, again.  So this will be my last post on goals separate from my normal Monday post.  I'll put all my goals there like I used to do. But, I'll be linking that post up with To Do Tuesday so we can see what's going on with goals across the internet. Now, the big issue will I remember this decision next week when I write my normal Monday post?  Ah the joys of getting older!

Here's what I wanted to do this past week.

10/27/2020

Continue to work on Cheese and Cracker nope

Quilt and bind one of my quilts✔️

Plan and begin cutting baby quilt✔️ design done 

Make more trees for landscape quilt  nope

Start another basket in purple (it's going to be a different style.) I didn’t even think of this one 

Not the best results but if I had said continue to work on the snowball quilt I would have had another dark check mark! I'm not sure why I said Cheese and Cracker when I had 42 snowball blocks all over the design wall and I couldn't lay out the C&C blocks.  Sigh. Maybe this coming week will be better. So here goes this week. 

11/3/2020

Design t shirt quilt and begin cutting and stabilizing 

Finish sewing snowball blocks together

Get going on baby quilt

Finish adding “stuff” to landscape quilt 

That doesn't sound like all that much -- we'll see whether I actually get everything on there done. (And, it'll have to be done by Sunday night when I normally write my Monday blog.) 

Did you wear your pearls in honor of Ruth Bader Ginsberg yesterday?  She was such an advocate for women.  I knew I wasn't going anywhere yesterday so didn't pull them out.  But while watching tv last night I grabbed a couple of strings and added the wine glass for interest... and maybe a small sip or two.  (Hubby came out of a Zoom meeting soon after I took the picture and downed the glass knowing I most likely wouldn't have drunk it anyway.) 

Yes, I have several strands of pearls some given to me and some inherited from my mom.  Mom always called the blue irregular shape pearl Biwa pearls. In the picture above they are the darker strand.  You can read about Biwa pearls here. I learned a lot about them. I don't know if any of my pearls are Mikimoto pearls but they could be.  Part of the reason Mom and I both had lots of pearls is my dad was in the Navy.  He had many tours of duty on ships that visited Japan.  Thus we received pearl jewelry over several years. My first pearls are small and short which fit me perfectly as a preteen to teen. Now I like the bigger and longer pearls.  When we were going places I used to wear pearls fairly frequently.  Now, they can grace the table with a glass of wine.  If you have pearls, do you still wear them?  

Back to actually quilting so hear are my normal linkups: To Do Tuesday and Midweek Makers. Go have some fun seeing what folks are working on this week! 

Happy Quilting All, Bonnie 

Monday Meandering Plus

Yea! It's November.  Tomorrow is Election Day.  Please VOTE!  There has been a wonderful turn out for early voting -- thanks to everyone who took this option.  Please be patient with getting results.  Because of the overwhelming number of ballots that have been turned in it is doubtful that we will have the outcome of the election on Tuesday night.  Be PATIENT.  Keep quilting! 

First up I'm sharing my October statistics.  What a month.  I don't normally have double digit fabric numbers both coming in and going out.  Getting 5 quilts finished last month is amazing.  (Don't worry I doubt if I'll keep up that pace!) 

2020	Fabric In Month	Fabric In Year	Fabric Out Month	Fabric Out Year	Total In or Out Year
Oct	13.250	72.125	16.750	86.50	14.375

This month I was worring that I had bought more fabric than I used.  Much of the fabric purchased early in the month went to backings.  Close to the end of the month I bought some solids, one for a T shirt quilt I am making for a customer but the other pieces are on speculation. But I did continue to use more than I brought in during October. 

Now my November OMG. 

 

My Goal for November, 2020 is to prep 15 t shirts by cutting, stabilizing and beginning to sew sashing on.  

Ok that's the goal I'm admitting to the world, but I would really like to get the top done and quilted.  (Don't hold your breath... but wouldn't that be wonderful?)  I've just measured the quilts and the widths vary in size by 8" or so. I will need to talk this over with the customer as some shirts don't have enough fabric to all be cut the same width so the sashing in between will be different widths.  Luckily only one has important info on the back so that shouldn't be too hard to incorporate.  I need to spend some time with a pencil and my quad ruled paper. 

That's my plan for this month.  Tomorrow or Wednesday I'll post my goals for the week. (First I need to figure out what those goals are!) 

I'm linking up with my regular Monday parties: Oh Scrap, Monday Making, and Design Wall Monday.  Let's surf! 

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie