Backing is done -

For the GREEN top -

Finally - LOL - ;))

It's just chunks of green but I like it -

Then I fuse/basted the top -

And added some pins and pinmoors to stabilize it until I get some lines stitched -

This one is for a special friend -

She likes GREEN -

And it's got some of that - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Backing -

For the GREEN top is in progress -

But I don't have anything photo-worthy yet -

So this will have to do - LOL - ;))

I AM playing with it -

S - L - O - W - L - Y -

LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Borders on the GREEN top -

Have been added -

Ta Dah!! - ;))

I think that I have mentioned before that I don't "measure" my borders -

I tore length-wise strips and laid the two side border strips out in the middle of the quilt top -

Pinned one (straightened/trimmed) end to the top -

And smoothed them both out down the length of the quilt top to the other end -

Then trimmed them to the length of the quilt top - ;))

The torn strips have "fringe" where the edges raveled after being torn -

Some people choose to trim the "fringe" - which I probably would do if I were entering this quilt in a competition - but since that is not the case here - I didn't bother -

I simply flipped the quilt top over so that I could see which way the seams were going -

And lined up the edge of the quilt top right next to where the "fringe" ended - pinned it - and followed the edge of the quilt top with my 1/4" foot -

After easing in the slight difference in length -

And pinning generously to keep the corner square -

Sewed and pressed open both side borders -

Then did the same thing with the top and bottom borders -

Pinned one (straightened/trimmed) end to the border on the right hand side -

And smoothed them both out across the width of the quilt top to the other end -

Then trimmed them to the new width of the quilt top -

With both of the side borders added -

And sewed/pressed them - ;))

Here's a shot of the "fringe" showing past the 1/4" seam that was sewn - ;))

I'm playing with the backing now -

But haven't made much progress yet - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Not much sewing -

Lately -

With my Spring Cleaning using the KonMaxi method -

Not to be confused with the KonMari method - LOL -

But I did play with the borders for the GREEN top -

And tore the strips that I need - ;))

I like to tear long border strips length-wise if possible -

It's faster and more accurate than trying to cut really long strips -

And this one worked out well -

I needed 60" lengths and had two yards of this Green -

So I was able to tear my 4 border strips -

And have a nice chunk left over that I can use on the back -

When I get that far - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Spring Cleaning -

I've been doing a little Spring Cleaning -

But - just so you know -

My version of Spring Cleaning -

Is sorting through stuff -

And shredding some old files - ;))

I am NOT into the "Marie Kondo" thing -

Side note - BOB thinks it's funny that people have just discovered it now that it has been on Netflix - when her book has been out for years - LOL - ;))

Anyway -

I'm much more into another method described by
Hannah Martin in her article -

A Maximalist's Response to Marie Kondo's Minimalist Mandate
Architectural Digest - January 29, 2019 - HERE -

Her article is terrific -

Especially the last part -
Emphasis added by me -

Those big piles of garbage might add to the before-and-after, reality show appeal, but so much of Marie's approach goes beyond purging: it's about appreciating your objects and living with things you love. Perhaps the lesson for maximalists is this: take your possessions, hold them in your hands, thank them for all they've done for you and then put them right back on the shelf where they belong.

I call it the KonMaxi method.

Hannah is a lady after my own heart -

I think we could be friends - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

All set -

That Blue/Green jelly roll is all "cut and kitted" -

And in the plastic bin with the rest of the ones in Autumn Colors -

All ready to go - ;))

I have had those sets of strips sewn into strata for about a month -

And finally got around to getting them cut -

I forgot they were there until I had to move them to get to something else - LOL - ;))

I guess that's one advantage of having a bunch of things going at the same time -

Sometimes I get nice surprises - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

One set of three -

Blocks in Autumn colors -

Was sewn together -

After being 'un-sewn" yesterday - ;))

Then I switched gears -

And ran this bunch through the strip cutter -

For the "cut" part -

Now I can sort and "kit" them in sets of three for the next top -

I put the baggies in a plastic bin next to the sewing machine -

Then when I want/need to sew a little something -

I can grab a bag -

Sort them out -

"Un-sew" them in stair-step fashion -

And make three at a time -

It's a pretty FUN way to make a 50" x 60" top -

With little to no fuss - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Some un-sewing -

Of another "cut and kitted" set of blocks in Autumn colors -

Was - again - about all I have managed to do in the past couple of days - ;))

I have been "spring cleaning" and sorting through stuff -

Which is not necessarily difficult or complex -

But it sure is time-consuming - LOL -

And I would much rather SEW - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

A bit of green -

Was needed for the borders and backing for the GREEN top -

So I pulled these from my stash - ;))

I have the MOST of the one on the right -

So that will be my best bet for the borders -

And I have the LEAST of the white/green diagonal stripe -

I had thought of using that for the binding - but I only have 1/4 yard of it - which isn't enough to cut it on the bias - besides - if I DID cut it on the bias - the stripes would come out straight - LOL -

I usually like to cut my binding on the straight of grain if it won't get a lot of heavy use - like a table topper that just sits there on the table - or a wall hanging that just hangs there on the wall - LOL - but this one will be a lap quilt - so I want/need to cut it on the bias -

I may even make it scrappy - ;))

After I play with the borders -

I'll play with the backing -

And make that scrappy, too - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

And another three -

Of the "cut and kitted" blocks in the Autumn colors - ;))

These are great for times when I need to sew something to post -

But my life is getting in the way and I don't have a lot of time -

They're all ready to go - ;))

Now the GREEN top is asking for some borders -

So I'll show you the GREEN fabrics that I pulled for that tomorrow - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Another three -

Of the "cut and kitted" blocks in the Autumn colors - ;))

THANKS to all of you who checked on me when I didn't post for a couple of days -

I'm feeling MUCH better -

But I got sidetracked with my dang paperwork again -

I've been sorting through stuff now that my brain is working again -

But not sewing much -

Then I realized this morning that I should sew something to post -

So I finished three more Autumn blocks - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Pressing -

And sewing together -

The three "cut and kitted" blocks in the Autumn colors -

That I had "un-sewn" the other day -

Was about all my still fuzzy brain could handle today -

I'm not quite out of chicken soup yet -

But I should probably stock up again -

Before I run out completely - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

A little experimenting -

With a fuzzy head probably wasn't the best idea -

But I did it anyway -

And called it PLAYTIME - LOL - ;))

I got out the fabric that I had set aside the other day -

That I had originally intended to use for borders because of the wonderful stripes -

And counted the lengthwise repeats in the far right column - 8 and a half -

And I wanted/needed 8 - so I ripped off a strip -

That will leave me four stripes to use for borders some other day -

Now - where to cut it for the repeat? -

This seemed like a logical spot -

So I did - to make 8 repeats -
Actually I snipped it - and tore it - but the effect is the same -

Stacked them - and did the "pin" thing again -

But this time I "stapled" them together instead of using fabric glue -
I think that the fabric glue works better than the staples -
But that's what experiments are for - right? -
To find out what works and what doesn't -

Smoothed them out - used a "flower pin" under the plastic sheet -

And ran them through the die cutter -

Don't tell the guys at AQ - but I figured that if it would take 8-10 layers of fabric - it should be able to take 8 layers and a flat pin - as long as I made sure to keep the pin AWAY from the die blades - and UNDER the plastic - and it worked -

But using a HST die for a 45-degree triangle - didn't work exactly the way I thought it would -

I have a hole in the middle -

And the tips need to be trimmed off to make an octagon -
Or I could sew a strip to every other triangle - and then square it off -

Here I spun it the other direction -

Then - just because - I put them in HST formation -

Interesting -

But not spinning because I don't have mirror images -
All of the fabrics were right side UP on the die -

So - I cut three more -

For a total of 4 - to play with -

Because - why not? -

I'm just playing -

Thought I might as well sew one together to see if the "sewn" piece still had the hole in the middle - and my fuzzy brain must have shorted out for a second or two or ten because that bottom one ain't right - LOL - ;))

I stitched it all together - and since I'm not a fan of pressing seams "open" - I pressed them in a circle and then tried to spin the seam - it's a little bulky - but not that bad considering how many seams are coming together at the same spot - so maybe that hole in the middle eliminated some of the bulk -

And from the front -

Up close -

The more I looked at it -

The more it gave me a headache - and I already had one - LOL -

So I laid out the last three in a QST configuration - figured they would have the dog-ear notches on the outside corners - but they would be a whole lot easier to put together -

Then I thought -

Why bother using HST to make QST -

When I did that with 4 repeats using the BLUE??? -

So I repeat -

A little experimenting -

With a fuzzy head probably wasn't the best idea -

But I did it anyway -

And called it PLAYTIME - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -