Back on track -

Wednesday afternoon -

When I cut the binding strips for both Interweave quilts -

But - then -

Don't laugh -

I got sidetracked a little -

Because I didn't want to change the thread color in my machine -

And knew that - since I already had the "innards" done -
Which seem to take me the longest time -

It wouldn't take very long to cut the "outer" part -

And then sew together a "middle" sized mask -

So I did -

Then I changed the thread color in my machine to a green -

And sewed the binding strips end to end -

For both sets of binding -

Tomorrow is Thursday -
Since I'm writing this Wednesday night to go "live" Thursday morning -

So - tomorrow I'll finish the binding -

And try to sew it to the back sides of both quilts -

I probably should be in a hurry to finish them both -

Since Thursday is the last day of the month -

But I'm not in any hurry -

Because I don't DO deadlines anymore -

And I don't have a monthly quota to meet -

So I'll take my time -

I'll do the best job I can -

I won't rush it -

And they'll get finished -

When they get finished - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Sidetracked -

AGAIN - LOL - ;))

I had planned to cut the binding out for my two Interweave quilts today -

But you know what they say about the best laid plans -

Well - one of my friends showed me that her mask was really too big for her -

And since I already had some mask "innards" partially done -

I figured that I might as well finish those up -

Then cut and make a smaller version of a mask for her -

As a test - ;))

I got that one together -

And didn't realize just how much SMALLER it actually WAS -

Until I took this photo - LOL - ;))

I emailed her and told her that I had it done -

But that it was a "test" version -

If it fits - fine -

If not - we'll go from there -

I'm guessing that it will be too small -

So I plan to make another one - a "middle" size -

Before she comes over -

I can make them ANY size -

It just takes a bit of "trial and error" -

To see what will work for her - ;))

Tomorrow I'm going to try to cut the binding -

BEFORE I make a "middle" sized mask -

Maybe then I won't get sidetracked AGAIN - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Binding -

Both the Victoria and Albert Interweave (on the left) -

And the Dear William Interweave (on the right) -

Are quilted now -

And since they both have the same backing -

I figured they could both have the same binding - ;))

I already know that I want to use the backing fabric -

For the "main color" -

Since I have plenty of it -

And it would "match" -

But I want binding with a "flange" -

And I only want to make one BIG batch of binding -

So the "flange" has to work with both, too - ;))

The "flange" only took two auditions - so I was lucky -

The first was a YELLOW - that I forgot to photograph -

And it would "go" with both -

But I would need to sew it with YELLOW thread -

And - although that wouldn't matter on the Victoria and Albert one -

Since I quilted it with YELLOW thread -

The Dear William is quilted with GREEN thread to match the backing -

And I don't want YELLOW thread showing on the back of that one -

So - long story short - or not so short - LOL -

I chose a lighter GREEN for the "flange" -

Two shades of GREEN - should work with the darker GREEN thread -

And if not - too bad -

Nobody's going to look at it that closely anyway -

And I don't care if the thread color shows on the front -

The flange will be tiny -

And the GREEN thread will blend in nicely with the backing on BOTH -

That's my story and I'm sticking to it - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Quilted -

The Victoria and Albert Interweave is quilted -

Finally - LOL - ;))

So tomorrow I'll audition fabrics for the binding/flange -

And see what's what - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Lazy day -

And no sewing until after dinner - ;))

I spent the day on the computer -

Checking Amazon -

And email "chatting" with a friend -

Just being lazy - ;))

Then - after dinner -

Because I felt guilty and wanted to show SOME progress for today -

I "ditch quilted" some lines on the Victoria and Albert Interweave -

I know it probably doesn't look any different to you -

But it is now HALF quilted -

And that's more than it was yesterday -

So THAT'S progress - right? - LOL - ;))

Maybe tomorrow I can get the OTHER half quilted -

That would be nice - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

No sewing today -

I decided to take a little break -

And sorted through some "older" projects - ;))

This Victoria and Albert Interweave still needs "ditch quilting" -

When I get that done -

It will need binding -

Along with the Dear William Interweave -

And the Imperial Bargello needs a border -

A backing -

Layering/basting -

And quilting -

If I'm a good girl -

And do what I SHOULD do -

These should be played with SOON -

BEFORE I start something NEW -

Maybe if I pretend that they are SHINY -

I can pretend that they are NEW SQUIRRELS - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

More pressing -

In batches of five - ;))

And another washer load of muslin was pre-washed - ;))

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

First batch -

Is done - ;))

I have already lost count of how many I have "in progress" -

Since I have some in various stages of completion -

So - to simplify things -

I'm only to count the ones that are "finished" - ;))

Here are the first two -

My "test" pieces -

The next three -

The next four -

And the last eleven -

So - twenty total - so far -

I think I'll make them in batches of five or ten -

They're much easier to count that way - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Pressed -

After I pressed a couple -

I decided to add a short strip of bias tape at the top -

To hold the plastic coated tie - nose piece -

Instead of "sewing it in" on the inside of the filter pocket -

For two reasons -

#1 - If I fold the tie in half - and bend in the sharp ends - it seems to be sturdier -

#2 - With the pocket on the "outside" - it should be easier to remove for washing -

Or to replace it with a pipe cleaner - or whatever the wearer chooses - LOL - ;))

So then I added bias strips to two more -

Using black bias tape for the darker "guy" colors -

And put the first two "completed" masks in separate baggies -

With "instructions" and info on where to find the video showing how to put it on and take it off - I'll demonstrate that to the recipients - but they may give extras to family members - and they might want to "see for themselves" -

Plus I added a disclaimer that the mask will NOT prevent the wearer from contracting any sort of respiratory illness - as stated in the video -
that they may or may not watch - LOL - ;))

Muddling through making the first few has helped me come up with my own little "system" to get a few at a time through various stages and on to completion -

I certainly don't want to turn into a "factory" -

But I do plan to make several more -

And if I can do that more "efficiently" -

I figure that is a good thing - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Clipped -

And turned -

But not pressed yet - ;))

I was on a roll stitching the tops to the "inner" parts -

When I realized that I didn't have any "guy" colors - ;))

They probably won't want the "flower" ones -

And some of the "geometrics" that I thought might work -

Are a little "girly" in the color combinations -

So I dug through some 10" squares for some darker colors and solids -

And cut some more tops -

Then went back to stitching the tops to the "inner" parts -

And clipped the corners -

And turned them inside out - ;))

I forgot that I need to cut cording -

So - tomorrow - I'll press them all nice and neat -

Cut the cording -

And keep on keeping on - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Mask parts -

This batch has the top sewn to the inner part -
And needs the corners trimmed - then turned inside out -

This batch is tops waiting to be sewn to the "inner" part -

I had already pre-washed a bunch of fabric -

Then pressed it all -

And made a batch of "inner" parts while I waited for supplies -

Cutting and sewing in "batches" seems easier to me -

I can do one step several times -

Then move on to another step -

Rather than try to sew them one at a time -

From start to finish -

Besides -

When I get to the end -

I'll have a bunch of them done -

Not just one - LOL - ;))

For those of you who are interested -

The pattern that I'm using is from this video -



No elastic -
No pleats -
No fiddly parts -
Straight sewing -

My kind of pattern - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

More block parts -

For my TT-Confetti quilt - ;))

And the last of the blocks -

BLUE and WHITE -

BLACK and WHITE -

That's it for this batch of blocks -

Now I need to decide what to cut next - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Some blocks -

RED and WHITE -

ORANGE and WHITE -

BLACK and RED -

And the first two masks - ;))

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

And more parts -

Of blocks -

For my TT-Confetti quilt - ;))

The cording that I ordered arrived yesterday -

So I chose another fabric for my first "test" ones -

And got part way through making two of them -

Before I ran out of gas -

And called it quits for the day -

Hopefully, I can finish them up tomorrow -

And show you some "finished" - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -