Busy day -

I got up early to wait for the delivery guy to bring a package that required my signature - BOB likes it when they ring the doorbell to let me know that I have something on the front porch waiting to be stolen - and they don't always do that - but if I have to sign for it - they ring the doorbell - and hand it to me - LOL - ;))

Then it was my regular Mail Call -

And I got some squishy mail -

I opened the package to find some 1/4 yard cuts in BLUE and YELLOW - one of my favorite color combinations!! - but I was good - I resisted the temptation to play with them - I just petted them and put them all back in the package - to wait until AFTER I finish quilting and binding both of the Interweave quilts -

Then after the house got cleaned -

My Scrabble friend/neighbor came over for a game -

By the time she left - it was dinner time -

And I hadn't sewn a stitch all day -

But now that all of my "chores" are done -

At least until Monday -

When I start over at the top of the list - again -

I can hereby designate Saturday and Sunday as PLAY DAYS - YAY!! -

It will be FUN to see how much I can get done -

When I don't have to worry about doing any "chores" first - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Sidetracked - again -

So no sewing progress to report today -

But I did some "chores" -

And revisited an old Squirrel -

So I made progress on a couple of other fronts - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

The first half -

Of the Dear William Interweave is quilted -

So maybe tomorrow I can quilt the second half -

Then -

After I layer/baste/quilt the Victoria and Albert Interweave -

I can make the binding for both and bind them - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Moving right along -

I got the Dear William Interweave pinned -

With the "pin moors" -

They are much easier for me to use than safety pins -

And I like how the pins sit on TOP of the quilt -

Making them easy to remove, too -

Then I found a cone of GREEN thread -

And unwound some on top of the backing -

The thread looks darker on the cone -

But the unwound pile blends in pretty well - you can hardly see it -

My RED chair has found a new home -

It's the perfect height for my "in-the-ditch" quilting table -

And I was able to get several vertical rows quilted this afternoon -

My back sure does like the "sit-down" sewing - quilting stuff -

Better than the "stand-up" pressing - layering - fusing - pinning stuff -

It's too bad I can't do it ALL sitting down - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

All pressed -

And fused -

The Dear William Interweave is coming along slowly -

Tomorrow I'll put some pins and "pin moors" in it to stabilize it a little more -

Even though it's fused -

Other quilts that I have fused tended to separate sometimes with handling before they were fully quilted - so the pins are extra security - and with the "pin moors" - they sit on top of the quilt and are easily removed as I come to them -

For those of you who are wondering how I plan to quilt it -

It won't be anything fancy -

Just "quilt-in-the-ditch" down the columns -

Vertical lines every two inches should be plenty -

I don't really think I need to quilt it horizontally, too -

But I'll see when I get that far - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Two chores -

Took up my whole day - ;))

The first one was assembling the BLUE Chair -

It went together pretty easily -

Once I figured out what the deal was with the casters -

The first two snapped on pretty easily after I wiggled them a bit -

But the other three didn't want to play nicely -

So - what's a girl to do? -

YouTube to my rescue - LOL - ;))

I found a video showing how to replace the casters - HERE -

And saw what I was doing wrong -

Then remembered my Dad saying - "Anything is easy if you know how!" -

So now that I know HOW it goes together -

I think I could fix my RED chair with a set of new casters and a new "lift" -

I found the "parts" on Amazon for less than the cost of a new chair -

But I wondered there for a minute -

Because - the last time I looked -

The chair WITHOUT the seat back was more expensive -

Than the one WITH a back -

So I would have to pay EXTRA for them to NOT include the back - LOL - ;))

That's like paying EXTRA for them to leave the sugar OUT of the cookies - ;))

===

My second chore was a LOT more time-consuming -

And took the rest of the day -

But I can now say that my "tax organizer" is on its way to my accountant -

So - with two more "chores" OFF my "to do" list -

I plan to get back to pressing and fusing -

The Dear William Interweave quilt - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Slowly -

But surely - ;))

The Dear William Interweave is layered with fusible batting -

And ready to fuse/press -

But I had to take a break -

To open the box for my BLUE chair -

Oh - goody!! -

It took me a minute to realize -

That I was missing the Allen wrench and screws -

But they were still in the box -

So it's all good - LOL - ;))

The diagram doesn't look THAT hard -

So I'll play with it later -

See if I can put it together myself - ;))

BOB thinks that -

If I can put a quilt together with lots of itty-bitty pieces -

I should be able to put together a chair with 6 main pieces -

5 casters -

And 5 screws - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

This -

Is as far as I got today -

After I finished my "chores" - ;))

I pressed the backing for the first Interweave quilt -

And I'm probably lucky that I got THIS far -

It seemed like I no sooner straightened out a section to press -

And the doorbell would ring -

I'd come back -

Press about two inches -

And the phone would ring -

I'd come back -

Press another two inches -

And it was the doorbell again -

So when I finally got it all pressed -

I basically gave up -

And took a photo for this post -

Tomorrow - I'll try to add the batting -

And one of the tops -

But don't hold me to it - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Not much-

It probably doesn't look like much -

But I got the batting cut into two pieces -

One for each of the Interweave quilts -

And I got the GREEN backing split into two pieces, too -

And that's more than I had done yesterday -

So I'm calling it PROGRESS - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

A carrot -

Dangled in front of me -

Sometimes persuades me to do something that I don't really want to do - ;))

I've been stalling when it comes to layering - basting - and quilting -

Those two Interweave quilts -

And I don't really know why -

So I found a "carrot" -

That will be my "reward" -

If I can get myself in gear -

A brand new flat-pack -

Island Batik - Glowing Embers -

I let myself open the package -

And I may pet the fabric -

And I may sort the strips -

But I'm trying to hold off on cutting them -

Until I get the Interweave quilts layered and basted -

After I do that -

I plan to do some "in-the-ditch" quilting -

And the batik strips will give me something pretty to play with for my posts -

Because the "quilting" will probably be boring -

At least that's what I told myself -

And it sounded really good in my head - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Batting -

Is cut for both Interweave quilts - ;))

I took a queen-size batt - 90" x 108" and unrolled it -

Seems like the unrolled length is the 90" part -

And I want it to be 64" -

So I cut off a chunk -

I still have to split it in half down the center -

That should give me two at 54" (108"/2) x 64" (already cut) -

But it's only batting -

So I didn't take a photo - LOL - ;))

By the time I finished my "chores" -

And measured and cut the batting -

I was getting tired -

So I didn't "tear" the backing -

YET -

It was all folded nicely in the package from the quilt shop -

So I took it out of the package and measured and counted the folds -

Then decided where I wanted to "tear" it -

But I don't trust my MATH when I'm tired -

So I put a paperclip in the edge -

At the point where I think I SHOULD "tear" it -

And will re-calculate it again tomorrow - ;))

The backing is 108" x 108" -

So I want to do the same thing that I did with the batting -

Cut off a chunk -

And split it down the middle -

To get one piece for each of the two tops - ;))

I also realized that I should tear it length-wise -

So the selvage will be at the top or bottom of the backing -

Since the jelly roll strips are cut that way -

The selvage ends of the strips are at the top and bottom of the quilt -

And I thought it would work out better -

If the length-wise and width-wise grain of the top AND back -

All run the SAME way - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Back -

To the GREEN backing that I set aside -

For the Dear William Interweave -

And the Victoria and Albert Interweave -

I still think the GREEN will work with both of them -

And that I'll save the BROWN for something else -

So -

After tomorrow's "chores" -

I think I'll tear up some backings - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Lazy day -

Sunday was a lazy day -

And I didn't sew a stitch - LOL - ;))

My friend stopped by to pick up her "re-covered" heating pad -

The fabric that I chose made her laugh -

And she likes it!! - YAY!! - ;))

===

On a totally different subject -

Way back when -

I told you about my New Chair - HERE -

I LOVE my RED chair -

The back broke the first time I leaned back in it - years ago -
But that's no biggie - it forces me to sit up straight - LOL -

And the seat is not padded -
It's made of "High Density Polymer" -
Translation - plastic - not metal - LOL -

But I like the "Comfort Molded Tractor Seat" -
It's REALLY comfortable -
For long hours of sewing and stuff -

And it "scoots" nicely between the sewing machine and ironing board -
On my laminated floor -

But - after all these years -

The pneumatic lift no longer works properly -

It has ONE height - the LOWEST possible position -
And it REFUSES to stay up where it's supposed to be -
Which is getting VERY annoying -

So I spent some time this afternoon looking for a replacement -

Shhh - don't let it know - or it'll stop "rolling" next -
Lately it likes to "shed" part of one caster wheel -
When I least expect it -
And I constantly have to "pop" it back on -

Anyway -

I found another one just like it on Amazon - in a Nautical Blue - HERE -

And I had to laugh -

The price differs according to the COLOR you want -

SAME chair + DIFFERENT color = DIFFERENT price -

I could order another Wine Red one for $51.14 -

Or I could get the Nautical Blue one for $41.84 -

And save about $10 -

The COLOR doesn't make it any more or less COMFORTABLE -

But it does make it more or less EXPENSIVE - LOL -

Then - if I want "expert assembly" -

It'll cost me another $70.79 -

For a $40 chair - LOL -

Nah - I don't think so -

I think I'll get the Nautical Blue one -

Save the extra $10 -

And pass on the "expert assembly" -

If I can't "assemble" it myself -

I'm pretty sure that I have some friends who could help me with it -

You know -

Maybe if I hemmed some of their pants -

Or re-covered a heating pad for them -

Just kidding -

My friends and I don't keep score - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Red Binding -

Thank you all for the kind comments on my binding yesterday -

It looks like everybody likes the RED! - ;))

Just so you know -

The separate joining of the RED and the GRAY is/was NOT my idea -

I learned it watching a YouTube video by Jordan Fabrics - HERE - ;))

I posted about my favorite binding methods - HERE -

And Jordan Fabrics has several videos with great techniques - HERE -

My favorite, of course, is the Flanged Binding - HERE -

And I LOVE the separate joining of the two strips -

It takes a bit more time -

But it is TOTALLY worth it -

It is the FLATTEST join EVER!! -

And I HIGHLY recommend it - LOL - ;))

So - after I stared at and petted my quilt most of the morning -

I had a friend over for lunch -

She bought lunch as a bribe -

Because she wanted to ask me if I would "fix" her heating pad -

It has three pockets filled with rice -

That she can put in the microwave to heat up -

As you can see - it was a bit frayed in spots -

So - rather than try to "mend" it -

We decided to just "recover" it -

And after she left -

I found some fabric that is PERFECT for those of us who are "of a certain age" -

It's a 1/4 yard piece - folded over -

And the size was PERFECT!! -

If you can't read it -

It says -

The Saturday Evening Post and Norman Rockwell -
© Licensed by Curtis Publishing -

It stitched up pretty quickly -

I just folded the fabric right sides together and stitched down the long edges - turned it inside out - slipped the old heating pad down inside - stitched across the two "flat" sections - like on the original - tucked in the ends and stitched it closed - easy peasy - IF you know how to sew - which most of my friends don't - for some reason - LOL. And like my Dad used to say - "Anything is easy - if you know how!" - and I do - ;))

Here's a close-up of the fabric -

Norman Rockwell was great at painting children -

I hope she likes it - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Bound -

My Floral Applique is bound!! -

Ta Dah!! - ;))

I finished the "join" this morning -

And you can barely see it -

But the RED is joined in one spot -
Just to the LEFT of center -

And the GRAY is joined in a different spot -
You can see the faint line closer to the RIGHT edge of the photo -

From here they are both virtually invisible -

Before dinner I got around the first two corners -

And was going to stop at this point -

And post the photos -

But then after dinner -

I got another burst of energy -

And decided to finish it -

It still needs a label -

But that is for another day - LOL - ;))

And now - as I look as these photos -

I'm second-guessing my decision to use the RED flange on the binding -

I thought it would bring some color to the edge -

But I don't really like it as much as I thought I would -

Not that I'm in the mood to redo it -

After all these years - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Happy Valentine's Day - 2020 -

Just for fun -

Here are some old photos of my Valentine's Day Sukoku Quilt - ;))

Yesterday was another day lost to "chores" -

And a leisurely game of Scrabble with my friend/neighbor -

But I did manage to "un-sew" both ends of the binding -

Back to the points where I plan to join them -

And that's farther along than I was the day before -

So I guess that it IS progress -

Just not a whole lot - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

The binding - Round 2 -

I was all set to start sewing down the second side -

But wanted to double check that the binding would fold over enough -

Before I went too far -

I didn't want to have to "un-sew" any of it -

Sewing it down once is plenty for me - LOL -

And this was the perfect place to stop -

Since I had to cut the thread and re-position the quilt anyway -

So I flipped over some of the binding -

And stitched a little bit - with a big old "basting" stitch -

And checked the back -

A stitch line just outside the binding is good enough for me - LOL -

So then I finished sewing it down to the back - all the way around -

And will "join" the ends next - ;))

I think it's going to be pretty -

But I'm not going to rush it - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Another day -

And the binding is still right where I left it yesterday - LOL - ;))

I guess I had more "chores" to do than I thought -

And when I finally finished them -

My "Scrabble" friend/neighbor came over to play a game -

Then - the next thing I knew -

It was dinnertime -

And I hadn't sewn a stitch -

AGAIN - LOL - ;))

Maybe I shouldn't make any plans for tomorrow -

Just sit back and wait to see what happens -

Might get more sewing done that way - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Testing -

Takes me some time -

But I'm usually in no rush -

And it almost always turns out to be time well spent - ;))

I really wanted to take advantage of the trimming that my friend did when she quilted my Floral Applique - and wasn't looking forward to trimming it down even just a "little" - she had already trimmed it a little "large" to allow me a "fully stuffed binding" - so why do it again and risk messing it up? - LOL -

So - knowing that my "normal" width binding would be a "little" too narrow -

I played with various settings to see what my options were -

First I stitched a "baseline" between her stay-stitching and the trimmed edge -
Lining up her stay-stitching under the left guide of my walking foot -
And using the longest stitch possible on this machine -
A big old "basting" stitch worked just fine -
And it would be "inside" the binding anyway -
So it didn't have to be "pretty" - LOL -

Then I used the "baseline" to line up my binding -
Instead of the edge of the quilt -
So that gave me a "little" extra binding width to roll to the front -

Then I tried various settings on my walking foot -
Still using the "basting" stitch for my testing -
Since it's easy to pull out the stitches if I don't like the results -

Far left -

Not bad - a nice seam allowance -
But it didn't leave enough to fold over -

So - I tried the middle setting -
Which is about 3/8" from the right edge of the walking foot -
And my "normal" setting for stitching down binding -
Same result - not that much to fold over -

And then the far right one -
Which is about 1/4" from the right edge of the walking foot -
It may look too skinny -
But it's not any narrower than the seam we use for piecing -
So I'm OK with that - LOL -

But I was worried - would this line of stitching cover the stay-stitching? -

YES - this last one covered the stay-stitching line on the back -

AND folded nicely to the front -
To give me a "fully stuffed binding" -

Bingo!! - LOL -

By the time I figured out my settings -

I only had enough mojo to stitch the binding down the first side of the back -

So - tomorrow - after my "chores" -

I plan to stitch some more -

And we'll see how far I get - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -