When I started this blog I thought I would try to post something every couple of days. Well, that obviously didn't happen. It's been a while now and I feel like I should apologize or explain or something - so I'll try to show you (and remind myself) what I have been up to lately.
Basically, I have been just trying to get myself organized. I figure that the more organized I am the less time I will spend trying to find stuff and the more time I can spend sewing - and there is never enough time to sew!!
BUT - have you ever noticed that before you can do one thing - you always have to do something else first? Yeah, me too. So the motto for the past couple of weeks has been -
"But before I can do that I have to..."
#1 - I wanted to work on the quilts I'm making for my grandchildren (3+2) - five matching quilts (or kinda matching - not exactly the same) - all twin size - (I know, I'm nuts) -
"But before I can do that I have to..." finish cutting the fabric.
So I did that - see -
There are 200 "segments" in each of the two tall piles. The shorter black piles are 200 "accent" strips separated into sets of 10 each. Each quilt has twenty blocks - with six "segments" per block. So we're talking 600 pieces - all cut and ready to sew.
The pattern I'm using is "Big & Bold" - A Fat Quarter Pattern by Cozy Quilt Designs (TM) - from Connecting Threads. The fabric is the "After Hours Collection" - also from Connecting Threads.
#2 - I wanted to finish quilting three baby quilts that have been "resting" on my dining room table for months now.
"But before I can do that I have to..." get better at free motion quilting.
SO -
#3 - I wanted to finish sewing two sets of placemats that were to match a table topper I made a couple of months ago (and haven't quilted yet). The topper pattern is "Moving Violations" - from the book "Rule-Breaking Quilts" by Kathryn Schmidt - (c) 2010 - AQS -
by the way, my kitchen is blue and yellow -
I figured I could use the placemats to practice my free motion quilting. And I could get my 1/4" back in line. Somehow it got messed up on my last little practice table topper (Cottage Wall Hanging Kit - Connecting Threads) -
It's supposed to measure 3" from the left edge of the dark blue to the right edge of the white with blue. Looks damn close to me!! Close enough for me anyway. I am one of those who used to obsess about "perfect" but who now subscribe to the theory that "If you can't see it from a galloping horse ten feet away - it's just fine" - unless of course, if you want to enter some quilt show or competition where it will be judged - then it must be better than perfect!!
The pattern is "Take Four" by Something Sew Fine / Cary Flanagan. Think Ricky Tims "Harmonic Convergence" meets Karla Alexander "Stack the Deck". I can't show you the "in progress" photos because I don't want to violate any copyright laws and all that. (I do take pictures as I go along, though - I like to see the progress - then I add them to my scrapbook.)
So here is set #1 -
And set #2 -
And a close-up of the yellow and white with blue -
And a close-up of the dark blue - it looks black in the other photos - but it really is a navy blue with little blue flowers - really pretty -
And my favorite - the focus fabric - I really want to do a Kaleidoscope quilt with this print someday - it has some beautiful colors - and so much movement - I just love it!!
.
But then again, I may use all eight placemats to make a quilt top. Haven't decided yet. I'll see how they look on my design wall. Or I may try to work something up on my new EQ7 program -
"But before I can do that I have to..." learn the new features of the upgrade. Hopefully they won't get in the way of what I used to be able to do - just the simple stuff. Learning the ins and outs of EQ7 is on my "to do list" - along with about a gazillion other things!!
#4 - I got caught up in "The Bitchy Stitcher" blog - love that blog!!
#5 - I discovered Leah Day's blog - "365 Days of Free Motion Quilting Filler Designs" - that led me to surfing to find the best price on her "sewing table". Walmart - Sears - AllBrands - Nancy's Notions - Sewing Machine Outlet - etc. etc. - until I hit Jo-Ann's. Jo-Ann's had a sale and offered a free table with orders of certain other cabinets. COOL!! Only thing was - I didn't find this offer until Sept 29 - and the sale ended Sept. 30 - tomorrow!! I hate that "buy now or else" thing!! But who can pass up "free"?? So I thought about it -
"But before I can do that I have to..." figure out where the hell I'm going to put TWO new pieces of furniture in my already crowded sewing room. Bottom line - I decided to pass on the sale. I have no room unless I want to ditch my sewing desk - and I've have that desk since high school - it's not going anywhere!! And my Lily 555 is set up perfectly for piecing and applique.
#6 - I found (Yay!) - then lost (Oh, CRAP!) - then found again (Finally!!) - another blog - "A Few Scraps" - with more free motion quilting stuff. That took a while. I bookmarked the damn thing - but forgot the name - so didn't know which bookmark was the one I wanted - and had to check them all to find the right one. Now that I have found it again - I'm going to try to catch up with the "Quilt Along".
"But before I can do that I have to..." set up one of my other sewing machines for free motion quilting.
"But before I can do that I have to..." find a space for it. The dining room table was elected to become the new home for my Free Motion Quilting Workstation. (My serger is already there and I think it's lonely.)
"But before I can do that I have to..." make room on the dining room table. (Oh, no!)
"But before I can do that I have to..." figure out what I'm going to do with the "Orca Quilt" that is resting comfortably on top of it right now. My friend is working on it and it's fusible applique so I really want to keep it flat - hence the dining room table. I decided to hang it on the back of the door in my "Fabric Room". (More on that some other day - suffice it to say I have taken over one of the back bedrooms to store my fabric stash - "I am a quilter - and I have the stash to prove it!!) Anyway - here's the "Orca Quilt" in its new home -
And my newly semi-cleared off dining room table - all ready to set up.
#7 - I want to make my practice quilt and practice pads for the "Free Motion Quilt Along" -
"But before I can do that I have to..." choose some "ugly" fabrics. These should work -
#8 - I want to work this blogging thing into my schedule -
"But before I can do that I have to..." figure out a way to do it more often.
"But before I can do that I have to..." figure how to make the damn things shorter.
(Yeah, right!!)
Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew.........................
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