A quilt airing

Three things to be happy about:
(1) fresh breezes
(2) a song in the air
(3) free stuff

There's a new  phenomenon in my neighborhood, just 6 houses down the street from my house - Freedge!

When I first saw this "freedge" last month I thought it was something nice the home owner had done, but it's actually a free sharing space sponsored by Freedge.org.

I've seen items such as water, bread, cookies, yogurt and fresh fruit in there.  They're trying to go nationwide with this program, and the very first one in the DC area is on my street.

Go check it out!

I took two of my quilts for a stroll yesterday; I figured since I was going to be in Wheaton Plaza anyway, I'd see if I could get some "atmosphere" pictures.

Jasmine, a manager at DSW Shoes (my FAVORITE shoe store) very generously allowed me to pose my quilts in their store.  You can't see them in the picture but they had some really nice hats and bags for sale!

Same quilt, "X and Plus," in the pattern section at Joann Fabrics.

I like the way the colors in the books echo the colors in my quilt!

"Red and Black Passion" at Joann Fabrics!

I need to learn more clever ways to pose my quilts, but there you go!

I'm pleased to say I didn't buy one piece of fabric, tempting as some of them were!  On sale at 40% off, even!

That's it for now, I have a workshop today with Sandra, also known as Sistah Stitch a Lot - gonna learn how to make that portrait if it's the last thing I do!

Sew forth and sew on til later...

Scrap crystals top done

Three things to be happy about:
(1) Outlander tv series
(2) a new handbag
(3) an unexpected funny

You ever come face to face with something that was so funny you just had to stop and laugh?  Then take a picture of it?  The other day I was separating some Black Forest ham that I got from Costco; I looked at the pieces I'd just removed from the package and this is what I saw:

this little piggy is napping, LOL!

Moving right along....

I hadn't planned on posting anything else about the Scrap Crystals UFO til it was done, but I may as well share the last little steps.

My last dilemma, border-wise, was that I couldn't find the piece of yardage I remembered seeing.  I didn't quite like this fabric, I even let it sit awhile to get used to looking at it, but no dice.  I think it's the black background that's throwing things off.

I searched through every bin of fabric I have, looking for that elusive piece of blue-green fabric that I knew I had - couldn't find it!  So therefore I only thought I had it.

I did find a piece that was sort of blue-green with a faint yellowish swish running across it, but that's no good for this project.

You're probably thinking "oh my, she has a large stash!"  Yep, I do - but this isn't even half of it!  LOL

I located these two pieces that could have worked, at least they came closer than anything else I could find that was large enough...

Viewed through the camera there's only a subtle difference in the two, but I decided to go with the second one, just to get on with it!

So here's the top with the borders, finished and being check off my UFO list!


My guild's UFO challenge pulled at this month's meeting was #8.  I don't remember off hand what that was on my list, but I know I'd finished it already.  Running out ahead of the pack!

Well that's it for now, buy some new plants, find something to laugh at today, sew forth and sew on...

Scrap crystals UFO

Three things to be happy about:
(1) mint-flavored floss
(2) small quilts
(3) change

Well, one change I'm not too happy about is the acquisition of Target pharmacies by CVS.  I've never been a CVS fan, even when they were People's pharmacy, so I chose to get my prescriptions filled at Target.

I liked the color-coded bands around the bottles, and their meds were cheaper, ya know?  The water tight bottles were really good for holding mouthwash for an overnight trip.

Ah well...

I got all twenty blocks done for the Scrap Crystals UFO, yes!

My lazy side wanted to kick in and just set the blocks side by side, as you see them here.

But no, I went to the trouble of piecing sashing strips, so I may as well use em!

I thought about using 3-1/2" squares for the cornerstones, but that was too plain.  Green 4-patches might work!

I'll need 30 to go inside as cornerstones and also along the sides, top and bottom as part of the inner border.

After piecing a few 4-patches to test the design, I wasn't too crazy about the way it looked, blah!

There's already a lot of activity in the sashing what with the string piecing and all.

Besides, you can't even see the 4-patches!

It occurred to me that I could do a simple square in a square for the cornerstones, they would echo part of that star design in the middle of the block....

Here we go, I think I'll go with this option.  The original designed called for a 9 patch in the cornerstone position, with blue HST's sewn onto the sashing to carry out the star pattern.

I can't see myself trying that trick with these string pieced sashings!

So my mission for today [should I choose to accept it] will be to join the sashing strips end to end and cut them to size, and to make 36 more square in a square units for the cornerstones.

I'll need to decide what to do for the outer border, you guys put your thinking caps on!  Sew forth and sew on til later....

Showing, sharing and ufo-ing at the guild

Three things to be happy about:
(1) hush puppies
(2) brightly colored throw pillows
(3) oven mitts shaped like animals

Saturday was guild day, another month already!

There were lots of gorgeous pieces on display but for some reason my camera wanted to shake just as I snapped a picture ... or was it me?

Whatever...

Here are some pictures that I managed to capture:

An African panel by Nadine

Cynthia's hand pieced tumblers

But the one thing that really impressed me was the number of UFO's that were either completed or had been worked on as a result of the All People Quilt UFO challenge:

I call it impressive - and that doesn't even include the ones that weren't shown!  

The UFO number pulled this time corresponds to the Scrap Crystals quilt I started in 2013... I was working on it last year before it "went under" again.  Time to pull the pieces and roll it on out.  Maybe a good name for UFO's would be "undercover quilts?" Sew forth and sew on til later!

It's UFO time again!

As Andy Taylor of Mayberry would say, "yeah baw-ie". 

Did you all notice I changed my font size?  I decided I didn't really need it to be as large as it was.  Now, this means some of the pictures in my older posts won't be aligned the way I had them, but that doesn't really matter, does it?

I notice we have a 50th follower, yaaaaay!  I don't know who it is though... for some reason they're not in chronological order?  Welcome, earthling!!  Please step forward and identify yourself so we can all welcome you! :o)

This time UFO #2 popped to the top, which I've named The Story of Christmas: 

Of all the UFO's on my list, this is one needing very little more than creativity to finish it off.  Actually it was finished for the 2009 Scrapbagger's retreat, but I wasn't satisfied with it so I deconstructed parts of it.  I admit it - I was working at the last minute, running out of time, and I slapped it together to meet the deadline! 

These are the problem areas I want to fix - starting with the top left panel...

The panel was just too plain, it needs something else.  I decided to put a palm tree or two in there, maybe a little moon, a few stars or something.  Also, I need to outline those sheep with black thread, lest they be lost while he's playing on his harp.  And speaking of that harp, the color blends too much into his clothing, looks like he's eating a banana.

The middle panel is the angel heralding the Good News...

Once again, plain, plain, plain!  I need to outline her wings and the words - you can barely see them! - with dark thread.  Maybe I'll toss some stars or whatever behind her, but otherwise I think that particular block is okay.

The third panel - Mary and Joseph, and the Babe in the manger ...

I think Mary's headwrap blends too much into the background.  Maybe I'll put a low wall behind them, outline the headwrap in a dark thread.  To make the manger, I googled "wooden cradles" and found one I liked and made my applique pattern from that.  I sewed raffia in the the manger to similate straw but most of it has broken off by now.  Mary and Joseph were a couple at a clothing site, modelling African garments. 

And then we have the three wise men who brought gold, frankincense and myrrh...

There's absolutely nothing wrong with them, I'm just showing them because they're just so darned handsome!

As for the bottom right panel, I think Mary and Jesus are fine as is, but I might embroider the outline of buildings in the background and do something to the floor, maybe some stonework.

The striped fabric outlining the blocks will do for a border, I think I have enough of it left.  Then, a little quilting and it'll be done!

Sew forth and sew on til later...

Number 4! Number 4!

We're in the first week of a new month... and a new UFO rotates to the top of my to-work-on list!

This time it's lucky number 4, which I've named "house in the middle RR."  And here she is...

The small border next to the green/blue looks black, but it's a deep deep red with tiny black dots. You can see a little of it in this close-up:

So this is the quilt I'll not be finishing when I'm done not finishing the African ribbons quilt!  Right now I've got too many irons in the fire, as my Uncle Buddy used to say.  He'd say it like this:  too many arns in the far. 

I'm diligently working on a quilt but I can't show my progress on it right now; it's for Lady Scrapbag's retreat and I think Carolyn would bop me over the head if I posted it before the retreat! Well... did she actually say not to show it??  Hmmmmm.

Having said all that, I'll be deep undercover for the next few days, nose to the needle, pedal to the medal.  I scheduled postings through Saturday, so don't be surprised if I appear to have dropped off the radar   :o)

Sew forth and sew on til later...

Let's try that UFO thing again...

Three things to be happy about:
(1) a blog makeover by Madame Samm :o)
(2) something that just "clicks"
(3) a bowl of chili

Thanks everybody for your comments on my new banner!  I'm loving it, and I'm still amazed at how Madame Samm matched me so well [looking over shoulder].  She's truly amazing!

It's February already - where did January go??  So, a new month means I get to work on a different UFO, #8 according to Nancy's random generator.

My #8 UFO is from a jelly-roll friendly book by Kim Brackett, Scrap-Basket Surprises.  She's using Christmas fabrics and calling her pattern "Christmas Ribbons," but I'm doing my own thing here (surprise surprise!). Since I'm using African/ethnic fabrics, I've named it "African Ribbons."

Below you see parts laid out, the blocks finish at 8x8: 

Here you see four completed rows.  I just draped them across the table, didn't feel like decluttering my design wall!  Does the quilting world have an official name for a cluttered design wall??

There's not too much left to do on this one, including a border decision, but that's no big deal.  Almost any "non-busy" fabric will look nice with the variety of bright colors in this one!  I think the real advantage of using the beautiful African fabrics is that you just can't go wrong, no matter what combination you go with.

So that's my UFO project for the month.  I'll probably show more progress on this one as I go along... it's on the UFO list twice because of all the pieces! 

Am I ready?? No, I'm not!!

Hi there, Cheryl, I'm glad to see you.  I love your Rag Muffin dolls!

Well, I signed up for the 2011 UFO challenge sponsored by Nancy of Patchwork Penguin, here's my list:

(1)  Uneven 9-patch 

(2)  The Story of Christmas 

(3)  Christmas RR 

(4) House-in-the-middle RR
(5)  African ribbons 

(6a) Little Christmas tree 

(6b)  Snowman and Penguin 

(7)  Black and white sampler
(8)  African ribbons 

(9)  Raw edge drunkard's path 

(10)  School house

I listed African ribbons twice because that one has a lot of little pieces. 

Each month, January thru October Nancy will choose a number at random, and we're to work on the UFO associated with that number.  Well, January's UFO is ... #3!  Which happens to be my Christmas round robin.  I remember taking a border off that one to replace it because it had a food stain on it... here's what I have:

I never replaced the border and I swanee, I thought I had my stuff all together, I looked everywhere I could think of to find the rest of this piece. 

What you're looking at is the two outer borders, I have no earthly idea where the middle part is!  I know for a fact that it's NOT in the bathroom or the oven (see?  progress!)  So..... since this is a no-pressure challenge, I've made an executive decision to skip this one for right now, sooner or later I'll find the rest of it.

So that my searching was not in vain, while I was cleaning in my sewing room I found some leftover odds and ends that I assigned to the Parts Department, and I also found these New York Beauty blocks that I made from my time at About.com:

There was a large group of us working on this pattern, I don't think too many of us finished the entire quilt but we had fun with each other while we were working on it! 

I counted 15 of these blocks, I have no desire to make any more, so I'll put what I finished into a wall hanging.  In the photo below you can see how long I've had these!

Yesterday's weather was sunny and in the 40's, it felt really good outside.  Today is supposed to be in the 50's - heat wave!!

Linda