Monday, February 26, 2018

Cheddar test block -


Started with a 10" square of "cheddar" fabric -

And my June Tailor Short Cut (renamed Shape Cut - HERE) -
That I got years ago - and is one of my go-to rulers -

First I made cuts at the 3-1/2" - 7" - and 8-1/2" lines -



Then I went to the LEFT end of my cutting table - and re-positioned the ruler to cut in the other direction - again at the 3-1/2" - 7" - and 8-1/2" lines -



And got this - ;))

4 squares at 3-1/2" x 3-1/2" -
8 rectangles at 1-1/2" x 3-1/2" -
4 squares at 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" -


Using 4 "crumb" blocks at 3-1/2" x 3-1/2" -
4 "cheddar" rectangles at 1-1/2" x 3-1/2" for the sashings -
And one small blue square at 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" for the center -

I made a simple 9-patch and pressed everything to the "cheddar" fabric -


And - from the front - I don't think the "show through" is bad at all -

I LIKE it! - ;))


Next up - the "alternate" block - test block -

For that I'll use the 4 "cheddar" squares at 3-1/2" x 3-1/2" -
One "cheddar" square at 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" for the center -

For the sashing "rectangles" - I need to make some strip sets -

So I'll play with those later - ;))

EDIT UPDATE - 6:00PM -

I found enough little 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" squares that I didn't need to make any strip sets - I'll make those tomorrow - but for now the test block looks good to me - ;))


A close-up doesn't show any "show through" -


And I think the two blocks together will work out just fine - ;))




Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -



Sunday, February 25, 2018

Corners are on -


And a little over-sized on purpose - I'll trim them later - ;))


Next up -

I want to make another one with "Cheddar" instead of the "Black" -

And it looks like the "show through" won't be that bad -

But we'll see - ;))


I only have some 10" squares and some 5" charm squares of the "Cheddar" -

Which will work fine for the alternate blocks and sashing -

And I could cut the corner HST from a couple of 10" squares -

But the side setting triangles are QST cut from 12" squares -

So I have to check my yardage to see if I have something that might work - ;))

It sure helps to have a "stash" -

I wouldn't want to have to go shopping - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -



Thursday, February 22, 2018

Puzzles -


Of any sort - jigsaw puzzles, in particular - can be very frustrating or very relaxing - depending on the design - the colors - or even the "cut" of the pieces -

When my friend came over yesterday, we chose another jigsaw puzzle to play with. Usually I put the coffee on, she comes over - we pull out a puzzle - then sit and chat the afternoon away. The first puzzle we chose was more frustrating than the last one we did so we didn't even bother to finish it.  After about an hour - we put it back in the box.  Then we pulled out a little one - from the CEACO - Our Colorful World - set of 10 puzzles - Colorful pieces of Chalk - 100 pieces.  It took almost no time at all and finished at a whole 7" x 9" - smaller than a sheet of paper - ;))


So we did another one - Marbles - 100 pieces - also 7" x 9" - ;))


That was about all we could handle that afternoon - so after she left - I went back to playing with my Crumb Squares - a puzzle of a different sort -

I did a quick sketch - a simple re-do of something I had seen on AllPeopleQuilt -
HERE - Inspired by Stamp Of Approval from Designer Tonya Alexander (EyeCandyQuilts - blogspot - com)

Nothing fancy - just to see how many I needed -


And then I made some more puzzle pieces - I need 36 of these -
For the "alternate" blocks -


And when I put my Crumb Blocks on point like this -


And made the "alternate" blocks -

I got this -


Here's a close up -


There are so many different fabrics in these blocks that I didn't even try to keep the "same" fabrics separated - and I didn't worry about getting some blocks upside down or turned around because there was no "pattern" to the blocks. All I had to do was sew a set of four - and press toward the black - ;))

It still needs to be sewn together and the side setting triangles and corner triangles added to square it up - and then I'll decide if I want to add a piano-key or wonky strip border. I'm leaning toward wonky - but I may change my mind - ;))

When I went to the APQ site to find the link to the pattern -


I found the other links to Tonya's blog - and then her quilt - Stamp of Approval. I thought that it was funny that because my Crumb Squares are smaller than the 16-patch blocks in the APQ version - I sketched my version out at 4x4 only to find that Tonya's "original" was 4x4, too. Of course, she added a terrific leaf and vine border that I'm not even going to try to duplicate - ;))

And since this one only took 64 of my 130+ Crumb Squares -

I have plenty to make another version with Cheddar sashes - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -



Tuesday, February 20, 2018

My #1 choice -


For sashing the Crumb Squares is/was BLACK - but I have a lot of blocks with black in the "edge" fabrics so I thought they might get "lost" with the black sashing next to them -

My #2 choice is/was CHEDDAR - I've wanted to make something "cheddar" for a time - and thought this might work -

And when I couldn't decide between the two -

I asked for help to choose a sashing color - ;))

You guys seemed to agree with me -

Because BLACK and CHEDDAR each got four votes -

Which didn't really help much - LOL -

But that's OK -

I might make one of each - I certainly have enough crumbs - ;))

So -

I started with the BLACK - and joined two sets of two with a sash-cornerstone-sash in the middle -


This way I can make them in sets of four and toss in a sash-cornerstone-sash between them to make either horizontal rows -


Or vertical columns -


But I have other another idea -

So stay tuned - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -




Friday, February 16, 2018

Help me choose -


A sashing color for my Crumby Squares -

I want/need something on the darker side so that when I press the crumb blocks TO the sashing - the fabrics won't "show" through to the top - or at least not "show" as much as possible -

So far the choices are -

#1 - Black -


#2 - Charcoal Gray -


#3 - Brown A -


#4 - Brown B -


#5 - Deep Red -
Deeper and redder than shown in the photo -


#6 - Cheddar -
And I know that Cheddar is a cheese - not a color -
But that's what "they" call it - ;))


Leave me a comment and let me know what you think -

I have a couple of favorites -

But I can't decide -

So I'd like you guys to help me choose - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -



Thursday, February 15, 2018

Crumb factory -


Moving right along -


In various stages of completion -


With some trimmed - and waiting to join their friends -


I pin them in sets of 10 - so I have 110 so far -
Plus the ones in the "trimmed" basket -


And I have a "plan" - ;))

I need to sketch it out to see how many I "need" -

But it can wait -

I'm having WAAAAY too much FUN making the blocks - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -



Sunday, February 11, 2018

Oh, what a Scrappy Day! -


That sounds much better than "Oh, what a Crumby Day!" -

But either way - after the "chore" of getting my taxes ready for my accountant - I was ready for some "playtime". The newest scraps were sorted though - "un-sewn" and put away. Then I pulled out the cookie sheets with my "crumb" blocks in various stages of completion -


The cookie sheets were sitting on top of a larger bin full of "crumbs" -



Which was on top of another bin full of baggies with miscellaneous scraps - ;))


For my next Free-Motion Quilting project - I chose Christmas Blocks - 6x6 - found the gold colored cotton thread that I used on the smaller version - and wound a couple of bobbins - so it's ready to go. I know it's not Christmas yet - but if I start now - I should be done by then - LOL - ;))


If you're here to check out my "quilty" stuff - you can stop reading now - the rest of this post is about the "ducks" that I want to take care of this week -

===

Ducks -

Along with my "playtime" I want/need to get my "ducks in a row".

It's not something we necessarily ever think about - but with the death of my husband three years ago - the sudden death of my neighbors in October - and the recent "Thomas Fire" and mudslides - I know that life can change in an instant.

If I suddenly get very ill, am comatose, or in an accident - someone will need to know my medical history (allergies/medications/dates/procedures/surgeries/hospitalizations/doctor contacts). If I suddenly die, someone will need access to my business/finances/health information. They will need to know my bank info - my debt payments (bills/utilities - who/what/when/how) - insurance info - etc. - in order to pay my bills and/or close my various accounts - including those online.

I had mentioned working on this before - so I checked back to my post - HERE - to see what I had shared so far. I think it makes sense to "reverse it" and start with what to do when I die - then add the I.C.E. (In Case of Emergency) information.

I might as well start with reviewing that file to see if anything needs to be updated. And I should probably make it a habit to review ALL of my "duck" information every couple of months or so - just to make sure that it is current. The changes will be in my head - but that won't help if I'm not here or able to communicate them.

After that I'll start on the rest - and keep you posted - ;))

In the meantime, if you're interested in some of what I did when my husband died - I have a series of posts on Quilter BOB that I called "Widowhood Wednesday". If you follow the link - read the post - then click on "Newer Post" at the bottom - you can read them all in order. There are eleven posts and I covered a lot of territory with a lot information. I have a disclaimer at the top that reads - in part - that it is NOT intended to be professional advice of ANY sort - but simply some of what I did - and it may or may not be what you want/need to do when the time comes - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -



Monday, February 5, 2018

Tidying up a little -


After finishing up a couple of quilts -

And looking forward to sorting through the scraps - ;))


Some people might consider this a "chore" - but I don't. I like to sit and "unsew" the batting bits from the fabric and sort the colors/sizes for the scrap bins. It gives me one last another chance to pet all of my pretty fabrics before I go off to my next "adventure" - or decide to chase another Squirrel - ;))

What IS a "chore" - is getting my taxes ready every year. It's funny - when I used to "do books/taxes" for a living, I actually enjoyed it. Now - not so much -

Now it's "work" -

And I was taught that I couldn't "play" -

Until my "chores" were done -

So if you don't hear from me for a couple of days -

It's because I'm "working" -

When I would much rather be "playing" with my scraps - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -



Thursday, February 1, 2018

Some friends are just plain AWESOME -


Last time I posted about my friend, Gene Black, and his video on Cutting Bias Binding - HERE. His video is Right-Handed - so - with his permission - I had done a Left-Handed tutorial - and listed it on my LHQ - Binding page/tab above -

He left me a comment -
The lefties could just watch my video and reverse it to cut left handed (Ouch! don't throw stuff at me!) If I can figure out how to make a video flip for a mirror image, I could convert all of my tutorials to "left-ish"
I replied -
Haha - I can't throw that far!! That would be cool if you could do mirror image videos!! For me, sometimes the "reverse" is mirror image - sometimes it's upside-down - but either way it's "backwards" from the way RH do it.
Earlier today he emailed me that he had figured it out - and gave me a preview -

Here's his NEW video - Cutting Bias Binding - Left Hand Version -





I think he's an AWESOME friend for taking the time to make a "flipped" version for us Lefties - and when this post goes "live" I'll add a link on the LHQ - Binding page/tab at the top of my blog - so we all can find this post and his video - ;))

I repeat -

Some friends are just plain AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! - ;))

THANKS, GENE!!!!!!!!!! - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -



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