Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Scrap Attack Tuesday - July Accomplishments

Welcome to another edition of Scrap Attack Tuesday!!  This week, I'm here to reveal how I did on  my goals for the month of July.  Meager.   That was the progress made during the month.

From my Scrap Attack list:


3. Thanks to Mel, Do SOMETHING with Christmas scraps:



CHECK!!

Meager, though it was...

Mission accomplished, as shown here, in this block to be added to my Holiday Block stash:



From the secondary list, in case I have extra time or enthusiasm:

12. Make mug rug out of random scraps. (All me!)

Photo currently unavailable... The baggie seems to have hidden itself.  The fabric scraps have already been chosen.  II suppose they MUST be hiding with DS2's missing birthday present!!!

The gift revealed itself.  The baggie of scraps did not...

Until two days AFTER the swap was mailed out!!!

Sew...

I chose more scraps in the colors/theme requested by my Swap Partner for the Rav Rug 2018 Swap:

Photo currently unavailable!!!  You'll just have to take my word for it, as it's in the mail and I don't want to spoil the surprise.

Here's the (previously) missing baggie:



Special thanks to Chantal, who gifted me the fabric for the backing.  I thought it was particularly appropriate, since the mug rug was headed for Canada!!

Until next time...
Attack Those SCRAPS!!

Saturday, July 28, 2018

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC18 - Week 30

Welcome to Week 30 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  Conditions are right for a whole lot of quilting.  Nothing but rain in the forecast.

In reality...

SUNDAY - Mt. Washmore was little more than a mole hill today, as I got a start on it yesterday afternoon.  :o))

With such a small amount of laundry left to do, I managed to get a bit of sewing done:

Photo currently unavailable!!!  (Sorry, but it's a secret swap.)

MONDAY - What happened to the weekend?  And... what happened to the sunny weather?  It was a beautiful day to be a duck!!  (Not so much, if you're not a fan of rain.)

I found MORE laundry to be done...

DS1's Creature Comfort quilt, that I completed in 2004, fresh from the dryer.  Just LOOK at all that crinkly goodness!  Ignore any tucks or folds that you think you see and focus on the dragonfly in the RED center square:



TUESDAY - My time was not my own.  DS2 was scheduled for oral surgery today.  It took longer than when DH had his wisdom teeth removed (last year!)  Probably because they removed twice as many teeth.  I didn't think of that beforehand.  I had a late afternoon meeting with my "knitting adviser", got home just in time for dinner, and when I blinked, it was bed time.

WEDNESDAY - Hoping for some quilting time!  Not today and I just found out that I won't be quilting with Needleb this weekend.  

I'm SEW sad!!!   :o((

THURSDAY - We're heading down the slippery slope to the weekend.  My thoughts are with Needleb and her family.  My heart goes out to them from across the miles.

FRIDAY - The weekend has arrived.  Mine started off with Knit Group.  Afterwards, I reintroduced myself to my longarm quilting machine.  Here is a (very) small portion of what awaits a dance with needle and thread:



SATURDAY - Join me for a tour of the RED projects completed by the RSC Quilters over on So Scrappy's LINK PARTY for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!  There may even be some monthly wrap-up posts to be found.

What's that?  YOU want to see the rest of Creature Comfort?  OK:


Until next time...
Get SCRAPPY!!!

Saturday, July 21, 2018

Scraphappy Saturday - RSC18 - Week 29

Welcome to Week 29 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  This week got off to a bang and then eased to a close.  Read all about it here...

SUNDAY - Mt. Washmore awaits, but first, I have to finish the binding on Dad's Ties for Molly.  In the photo below, I am attaching it, but I missed some spots.  Please notice the RED square, front and center, in honor of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge Color of the Month for July:



MONDAY - Tonight was Quilt Guild.  Guess what I took for Show and Tell?!?!  That's right, the tie quilt AND this newly completed donation quilt to turn it to our Charity program coordinator:




Approximately 45" x 65"

TUESDAY - It's Girls Night Out tonight and an old friend has finally agreed to join in the fun.  She's been promising to attend for MONTHS, but finally got around to a spare moment.  I also got a tour of her beautiful new home.  Congrats, Jenn!!  :o))

WEDNESDAY - It was a really good day.  DS1 came home for the day.  He had some business to take care of, but then headed back to Raleigh before dinner.  Did you know that he had moved out?  I thought that I mentioned it, but it's possible that I might have forgotten to share.  Either way, it was good to see him.  And...

It was good to see him go (with another load of his stuff!!)  I say that with the utmost love for him!

THURSDAY - Today was a LONG day that didn't turn out the way I had planned.  I had visions of a pedicure in my schedule, but that didn't happen.  No worries!  Tomorrow is another day.

I did manage to squeeze in some quilt work before dinner, when I loaded the back of a client quilt onto the frame...



... And I went for a lovely walk with my DH after dinner.  I also released this week's Wonderful Wednesday post (a bit late.)

FRIDAY - Knit Group met this morning and I played with RED scraps in the afternoon:



SATURDAY - Nimble Thimbles meet today.  Here's hoping that I manage to join Angela's LINK PARTY before heading out the door!  If not, I will link up later and will catch up on all of the RSC Quilters tomorrow.

While at my Monthly Quilt Bee meeting, I shared my newly completed commission quilt, Dad's Ties for Molly:




Approximately 50" x 65"

People who have seen the quilt were astounded that I was able to get 6.5" of usable fabric out of men's neck ties.  (There were a few that were creatively pieced.)  LINK provided above.

Until next time...
Get SCRAPPY!!!

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Wonderful Wednesday - UFO Club Finish

Welcome to another edition of Wonderful Wednesday!!  WAIT, what??  I missed Wednesday, AGAIN?!  Whatever...

This week, I am pleased to report a (Ravelry) UFO Club finish.  Dad's Ties for Molly is FINALLY a completed quilt.  Care to join me in a happy dance?  :o))

This project has been in process for WAY too long!!  What I hoped to finish by the end of last Summer ended up taking an entire YEAR to come together.  I started with a box of men's neck ties:



I drew out a bunch of designs, but nothing felt right:



I even enlisted a friend (Thanks, Helena!!) to help stitch up the block mock-ups of the various designs.  I can't seem to locate them, at the moment, nor can I find the photos.  :o((

Found them!!  They were tucked away on a shelf behind the sewing machine:



These were made from tiny off-cuts from a group quilt that my Weekly Quilt Group made as a Thank You for our host at retreat a few years ago.  The mini quilts will be used in a future project.

After talking/texting/emailing back and forth with Molly, it was determined that she wanted the largest tie design showing as possible.  Hmm...  What better way to showcase the most of each graphic than with the humble square - accompanied by light sashing and dark cornerstones:



It surprised me just how long it took to create each Disappearing Nine Patch blocks, as each piece had to oriented correctly:



Of course, when working with silk ties, it's not as simple as sewing the pieces together!  Each tie had to be disassembled and lined with fusible interfacing prior to being cut and sewn.

Eventually, all of the blocks were done.

Well, except for the one made from the fish tie:



A sew day at Needleb's cemented the layout:



Another brought the quilt top together:




Ultimately, the quilt was quilted and only the binding remained:



The binding.  Oh, the binding!  Two-color binding was a great design idea:



Implementing that idea was more of a challenge than anticipated:



A Sew Day with members of the Unskilled Quilt Guild last weekend was just what I needed in order to put the proverbial icing on the cake:



Well, done, but not!!

Because of poor planning, I had sewn the two colors of the binding BACKWARDS.  The narrow color should have been wide and the wide color should have been narrow.  That meant that I ended up having to sew the binding on the front and flip it to the back.

Exactly OPPOSITE of what I would normally do for machine binding a quilt.  No worries!  I could catch the missed bits with needle and thread.  Right?

Wrong.

I thought I would mend any missed places by hand, but the toile decorator print on the backing really didn't lend itself to being hand stitched.  It was too thick and needling was nearly impossible.  I decided to give it another go with the sewing machine:



D-O-N-E.  Done, done.  DONE!!!


All that remained was a bag of scraps and these:



Spoiler Alert...

For those of you asking about the fish...

I decided to include only the tail.  You can find it in the very center of the quilt.  Sneaky, huh?


Linking up with Cynthia for Oh Scrap! on Sunday.

Why?

Because fabric that used to be neck ties, but have magically been transformed into a quilt certainly MUST qualify.

If not, the binding surely will, as it was made from the leftovers of another quilt!

Until next time...
Color me happy!!!


Saturday, July 14, 2018

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC18 - Week 28

Welcome to Week 28 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  I'm SEW pleased to be easing into a (hopefully) itch-free week.  Things are definitely looking up.

SUNDAY - Mari from The Academic Quilter has released this month's Squared Away Sampler block TUTORIAL.  Take a look and think about giving it a try.

MONDAY - I joined the Monday Knitters for tea at Reed's in Mebane.  I went last week, but that day was little more than an itch-induced daze!

TUESDAY - It was a long day, but I didn't accomplish much.  Well, except for layering Dad's Ties for Molly on the longarm

No photo.  :o((

WEDNESDAY - Good news...  I got a start on the tie quilt:



 And then I couldn't stop!!  :o))

It is FINALLY quilted!!!  Now, I just have to finish the binding (sometime between tomorrow and Saturday) so that it will be ready to send out in the mail next week.

THURSDAY - Enjoying a peaceful morning with my Weekly Quilt Group at Jean's house.  I wasn't able to join them for lunch, but it was good to spend time with friends.

FRIDAY - Knit Group in the morning was followed by cleaning up my sewing table in the afternoon.  I need to clear some space for starting a new project (once the tie quilt is complete.)

I did stop by my favorite resale shop to see what wonderful items I could find in July's Color of the Month...

Just inside the door, a RED couch:


A circular candle holder:


I was lured by the display or RED purses:


Hmm... this bracelet is too big for me:


As were the RED readers on the way out the door:


SATURDAY - It's LINK PARTY day over at the So Scrappy blog.  Angela hosts a weekly link-up for sharing our Rainbow Scrap Challenge progress.  This week, you are sure to be seeing RED.

With that, I'm on my way out the door to visit with members of The Unskilled Quilt Guild.  Should prove to be a FUN day!  Why?  Well... I basically invited myself (since I'm an honorary member) and the host's response was, "Sure!!  The more the merrier."  :o))

I'll report back about that on Wednesday, so come back soon.

Until next time...
Get SCRAPPY!!!

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Scrap Attack Tuesday - July Job Pull

Welcome to another edition of Scrap Attack Tuesday!!  This week, I'm here to reveal my goals for the month of July.

From my Scrap Attack list:


3. Thanks to Mel, Do SOMETHING with Christmas scraps:



From the secondary list, in case I have extra time or enthusiasm:

12. Make mug rug out of random scraps. (All me!)

Photo currently unavailable... The baggie seems to have hidden itself.  The fabric scraps have already been chosen.  II suppose they MUST be hiding with DS2's missing birthday present!!!

This month's tasks aren't terribly challenging.  Surely, I'll be able to achieve a modicum of success.  Wish me luck.

Until next time...
Attack Those SCRAPS!!

Saturday, July 7, 2018

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC18 - Week 27

Welcome to Week 27 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  I am sad to see the cool ocean colors of TEAL/TURQUOISE/AQUA go, but we have arrived at a new month.  That means that Angela announced a new Color of the Month.  July's color is:



Race through my week with me...

SUNDAY - The "official" release of the new Color of the Month.  I spent the day at Needleb's working on Dad's Ties for Molly.  I completed the last step prior to quilting... cutting the batting to size.  The quilt backing has been loaded onto the longarm and the top is waiting for the batting to be put into place:


Bits of the Color of the Month hanging from the rails.

The two-color binding was also prepared, but I seem to have misplaced it somewhere between Needleb's house and my own.

MONDAY - I ended up at Urgent Care after calling the Nurse Advise Line last night.  I've got a mean looking rash that has spread since I noticed it.  It burns and itches.  Probable diagnosis, prickly heat.  (That's right, the PA wasn't sure.)  Majorly  uncomfortable!!  :o((

I didn't do much today, but I posted the results the Spring 2018 (Ravelry) UFO Club.

TUESDAY - Back to the doctor today, as I was having an allergic reaction to the meds prescribed.  Back to the pharmacy, only to find that the NEW script hadn't been called in!!! :o((

While blog hopping this afternoon, I found that Bonnie Hunter from Quiltville released this year's Leader/Ender Challenge.  You can find it HERE.  It's one of my all time favorite patterns.  Here's hoping that I can get myself organized enough to participate!  (At least, the challenge runs for an entire year... even though it hasn't made a difference in the past.)  SEW many projects.  So little time!

If you haven't seen my Scrap Attack Report from June, it's been posted on the blog.

For my Rainbow Scrap Challenge friends, I unearthed RED scraps to play with this month:




WEDNESDAY - Happy 4th of July! to my American readers.  Here's hoping YOU enjoyed a day of celebration with family and friends.

After a miserable (nearly) sleepless night, I'm a wreck.  I simply MUST find something that helps relieve the discomfort.  Before. I. Go. OUT of my mind!!!  Sigh...

After dinner, I was able to finish up the Wonderful Wednesday post I've been working on.  Read all about it HERE.

THURSDAY - I had really hoped to get to my weekly Quilt Group meeting today.  Uncertain if my frazzled nerve endings would allow the excursion...

Surely, a FEW minutes wouldn't hurt:



The Future Quilter and I made a brief appearance.  It was SEW nice to see my quilty friends - even if I couldn't get any hugs!  :o))

FRIDAY - The weekend has arrived.  With it comes Vacation Week... Or will that be STAY-cation Week???  Only time will tell.

For now...

Bring on the RED - Nails, of course:



Oh!  You can find my Summer 2018 (Ravelry) UFO Club post by following THIS LINK.  My goal is to finish ONE of these projects by the end of the summer.  More would be better.  Wish me luck!
SATURDAY - It's LINK PARTY day over at Angela's So Scrappy blog.  Head over to see what the other RSC Quilters have been sewing up with their RED scraps.  (I'll update the link once Angela has released her post.)

Until next time...
Get SCRAPPY!!!

Friday, July 6, 2018

Summer 2018 (Ravelry) UFO Club - The List

Sign-ups are now OPEN for the Summer 2018 session of the (Ravelry) UFO Club. Returning members and new friends are welcome to join The Club! ALL Club Members should post their 5 (or more) Quilting UFOs here or link to your blog. Share your progress in this thread. Sign ups will be open until July 7, 2018.
NOTE: Qualifying projects must be completed by September 30, 2018.

My list looks very much like it did for the last quarter.  I changed the order a bit but, all the items are the items are the same.

  1. Dad's Ties for Molly:  (DONE!!! 7/15/18)



  2. Rainbow Picnic:



  3. A6 Mystery:



  4. IMPROV Scrap Swap Challenge:



  5. Grand Illusion Mystery (2014):


 

  6. Like Deborah (Boschart) Only Not:



  7. Blue/Green Quilt for Parrish:



  8. The Birthday Quilt (Crazy Mom's June QAL):



  9. The Back/Front Quilt:



10. Where's Jackson?


At home

Nearly all of these have been on my UFO List for ages.  Eventually, they will be completed!!!  The goal is to finish ONE project per quarter.  I failed during the Spring session.  Hoping for better results this time around.  :o))

Until next time...
Wish me luck!!!

Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Sew Saturday in Clayton - The Extended Version

This week's Wonderful Wednesday post went incognito.  Enjoy!

Sew Saturday in Clayton - The Extended Version!!  You got the details last week about my sewing event.  What you didn't see was what came next.

In Garner!!

SEW...

My long lost friend, Kat, lives not far from where I spent the day sewing.  I stopped off in her town on the way home.  Shopping at a Big Box Store that I don't have in my town and getting a snack for the ride home was on the agenda.

Then...

I wondered if she even lived in the same house anymore and decided to drive over to check it out.  It's been YEARS since we'd seen each other and I've really missed her.

Well worth the risk, don't you think?!

Needless to say, she was surprised to see me at her door, but ushered me into the living room (just like old times.)  We had a wonderful chat and I got a chance to catch up on some of the projects I've missed since I've been away.

Quilts...

Kat completed her Roll, Roll Cotton Boll by Bonnie Hunter:




It is SEW gorgeous with the color balance switched up!!!

Next up was Quilt Show, a group project that I have yet to assemble my own.  I made the Honey Bee Block in the top RIGHT corner:



Finally, she shared a few of her recent projects...

This bag was made for Kat's Running Club:


It's got a HUGE pocket on the outside:


Watch as she folds the sides in and the bottom up...


And folds it, again...


Straightening the edges, as necessary...


Until only the bottom of the pocket remains:


Like magic, you've got tote bag the size of a clutch:


Kat's also making (knitting) project bags in 3 sizes:


Old friends with a new kitty:


Until next time...
Reunions are SEW sweet!!!