Monday Meanderings 10 - 3 -2022

 YIPEE!  

I'm so excited.  I'm going to a quilting retreat with my friends from Country Piecemakers today (or Monday depending on when you read this.)  It should be a wonderful week. So before I go let's see how I did do on my goals last week. I'm very pleased with it. 

9/26/22

✅Trim and bind turquoise quilt

✅Finish last 3 composition book covers

Make Sept BOM from A Quilting Life -- again not done. Oops! 

✅Get projects ready for next week’s retreat

✅Go to Virginia State fair; man VaStar booth

Oh that poor Sept BOM from A Quilting Life -- it's been on my to do list for weeks.  I just picked fabrics for it. I'm taking them with me on retreat and hope to get it made and maybe even the one that will come out on Thursday.  I'll let you know next week whether I've succeeded.  

But everything else was done and I'm happy at all the check marks. Here's what I am planning to do this week. (A week with no cleaning, no cooking and all the sewing I want to do!) 

10/3

Get Happy Blocks & string blocks to top stage

Make baby quilt top

Make all 79 triangles for Tumbling Triangles

Get other projects brought  moved forward 

Enjoy retreat! 

On to photographs.  First up is Ellie's Flowers on display in the Virginia Star Quilt Guild's booth at the Virginia State Fair.  I was able to get the card in the same picture.  Remember this was a challenge to use a card to inspire a quilt. She sent me a nifty 3 d floral arrangement card.

At the last guild meeting we made fast, easy pumpkins. Here's mine on my orange table runner. It was a lot of fun to make this pumpkin.  

And now, I'd like to share a big win for me. I cleared off the front of my cutting table.  Take a minute to look at it last March.  I don't think I ever got it cleaned off then. But look at it now. Some of the fabrics that were piled up here are going to be available for my fellow retreaters to adopt. A bit of the fabric has been safely stashed in the basket so I can deal with it when I get back.  

I don't think I've seen that mat for years.  It doesn't look like I ever cut on it. My goal is to keep that cleared off (more or less) for the whole month of October. (And maybe longer.)  One thing I'm trying to do is let go of the smallest scraps.  I generally cut 2" and 2.5" squares.  I definitely use the 2.5" ones.  I've got a plan for 2" squares too.  But what do you do with 1.5" squares?  I'm not sure I'll ever use that size!  Scraps are a never ending battle. 

So it's time to get this post published and for me to get to bed.  I've got a lot to do tomorrow.  Here's the list of my Linky parties.  I hope to spend some time this week surfing to see what quilters are doing. 

Oh Scrap

Monday Making 

Design Wall Monday 

To Do Tuesday 

That's it for now.  I'm packing tomorrow morning and heading off to retreat.  It's a new location this year that takes a bit longer to get to.  No problem -- we can't check in until 3 pm.  Should work well.  

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

What? Another Friday Finish?

Yes, I did have a finish this week.  It was small -- about 20 x 20" and it was mostly done by hand.  I finished Ellie's Flowers in time to turn it in to Virginia Star Quilt Guild.  It will be displayed with other "Card Challenges" at the Virginia State Fair that runs until Oct. 3, 2022. 

Here's a picture of the finished project.  I'm sorry but I didn't take a picture of the card that was my inspiration.  I will admit it was mostly the concept of flowers in a vase rather than my making it just like the card. 

I hand stitched all of the flowers, leaves and vase to the antique napkin. The napkin came from one of my grandmothers but I don't remember which one.  I made a couple of the flowers 3 dimensional.  Most were sewn with buttonhole stitches with a few whipstitched down. 

After the embroidery was done I hand sewed the lace to the black backing fabric.  Oh my goodness.  I stitched over every square of the first set of holes. Argh... it took forever.  But I felt it was important to get it stitched down evenly so no section would take the brunt of the weight. 

Next was sewing all the edges of the lace down. Those stitches were a bit farther apart. 

Once all that was done it was time to quilt and bind. I tried hand quilting using the big stitch concept.  Um, no, that would have taken me a lot longer than the time I actually had.  And, it didn't look all that good.  So I ripped out the hand stitches and did some machine stitching as seen above. I didn't stitch in the border. I bound it with the same black (that is more of a very dark grey and black mottled fabric.)  And, unlike what I normally do, I hand stitched the binding on the back.  

I added a little pocket on the back to hold the card from Ellie and a little card with the artist statement.  Both will be displayed with the quilt.  I was very pleased with the finished product.  Hopefully Ellie will be attending the Fair with us Saturday afternoon and will be able to see "her" flowers. 

I also have finished all three RSC light blue blocks over the last week or two.  I've also finished three lottery blocks for my retreat the first week of October.  I hope to make two or three more to enter in the drawing. 

Linda asked about the directions for the colorful star blocks.  I checked the info that was sent with our retreat information.  It is called Criss Cross Stars and you can find a You Tube video by Lori Holt here. I was tickled that I had two dies so I could cut these with my Accuquilt Go.  Whoop! Whoop! 

I'm linking up with the following parties: 

Needle and Thread Thursday

Finished or Not Friday

Beauties Pageant 

Soscrappy 

I'll link up to the RSC on Saturday when it is posted.  Take some time to visit these great parties.  You never know what you might see that will get your creativity revved up!  

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie