Bits and pieces

I had to go and find breakers yesterday for the breaker box at the Duck. and took hubby with me to make sure i got the correct ones. but first we did the important thing and stopped for lunch...Taco Bell....not a bad start. and stopped at an antique store on the way home to look....i hadn't been in there before. didn't buy anything but lusted after a Hunter Cupboad. a huge cupboard with carved doors at the top...carved hunting scenes. and a plate rail with doors and shelves underneath. just beautiful ..... and huge....and $1400.  well!!

So, i never made it to the studio yesterday. but i had finished all the 'have tos' for the month so i was ok with that. i spent the majority of the day making crumb blocks. at 11:30 last night i was trimming up the last of 46 blocks. whew....what a day. piecing them all and then starching and ironing and trimming takes a bit of time but so worth it. i only need to make 21 more to have 500....enough for the quilt i want to make. it took me about a year and a half to get this far with these. i just threw tiny pieces into a tupperware container that came from other projects.....other people's throwaways. LOL   when the container was full i would piece some blocks. there are hundreds of different fabrics in these blocks....and some pieces are TINY....maybe a quarter inch shows. hahahaha   but i am saving more tiny pieces and will continue to make crumb blocks for more quilts.

I have been appliquing my home and hearth blocks....only have 1 more block to do. and then applique the borders and that top is finished.

I almost finished my February (blue) crazy quilt journal project block. still want to put a spider web and spider on it. i pieced the March (red) block and put a couple of things on seams but haven't worked on it in a few days.

Still walking on the treadmill...although this week i have more days of 1 mile than 2. but still making my goal of 7 miles a week. and still walking back and forth to the studio each day. good thing there is not snow and ice.

And tomorrow i am headed to the Duck. the weather should be halfway decent for the weekend....in the 50s....so my electrician is going to start my wiring. he says there will be hundreds of holes drilled and lots of wires run. i hope to find something there to keep me occupied while he works. gotta remember to pack that thermal underwear.

I have a 'free' day today so will wander over to the studio and see what i can get into. i have several smaller quilts in the cabinet that might be quilted. i want to use up my batting scraps ....long pieces maybe 5 to 8 inches wide.

So, stay warm, be safe, and i'll see you

Later

The January Section

By the end of the year i will have a couple more quilts....thanks to online projects that i have joined. i am in the CQJP...crazy quilt journal project....the idea is to make a CQ block each month and add it to their blog for all to see. there are hundreds of entrants from around the world.

I decided that just 12 blocks would not make a very large quilt. so i am making a 9 patch...centering my CQ block in the middle. then by the end of the year i will have 12 sections to put together to make a bed size quilt. pretty good idea, i think....sometimes i scare myself. hahahaha

Here is the January section.

I am trying to use mainly cottons on the outside blocks with a few of the CQ fabrics thrown in so they sort of match.

And they won't have any embroidered seams or embellishment.

This block (above) has an appliqued leaf...it was a practice piece from class last week. it's a bit of bright color in the darker fabrics. and that block under it .... see that gold and black piece of trim. it is really cool although it may not hold up to the washing machine. but i sewed it down a lot.

I hope it turns out as i envision it. it will be a busy mishmash of things. LOL

I'm thinking of putting some lace or something either around the middle encrusted block or on the corners so it stands out a bit.

What do you think....should i put something in the corners or around the middle block so it stands out more....or should i just let it blend in. maybe buttons in the corners. 

Come on people....i need ideas. LOL

Later

Blue Paths to Heaven

This morning i got the binding on another blue selvage quilt. i just made up this block to use smaller sections of selvages so i don't know if it is an actual block with a name. i am calling it blue paths to heaven. don't know why....it just seemed to be a path to somewhere.

And they kind of remind me of the rail fence block. my setting was to turn each one so they alternate directions.

And i didn't notice until i got the binding on it....but the first small border is the same navy blue polka dot as the binding. must have been fate.  i must have bought a lot of that....that same polka dot fabric is all over this quilt...check out the previous photo.

I used a panto on it called Botanical Blossoms...by Anne Bright. i made myself stick with it and got it all quilted yesterday. there were 7 rows. the only place you can really see the pattern is in that blue border. the rest is just too busy.

It is a pretty good size....88x100 inches. i have made 2 blue selvage quilts now and have enough left to make at least 2 more. most folks think it takes so many selvages to make a quilt...it really doesn't .... you would be surprised what you can do with a small bag of selvages. they go a looong way. trust me...i know this.

In the interest of getting more fabric out of this studio....i managed to find some fabric that i had 5 yards of to piece a backing. it even has some blue in it.

And they are cute little kitties in baskets playing with balls of yarn. so i feel that worked ok. but, in the future...don't be surprised if backings don't match the front of the quilt at all.....after all...they don't have to. and they might be a conglameration of ugly fabrics. but on a scrap quilt....that might be ok, too. the fabric has to go.....one way or another.

So, i am on to quilting the next selvage quilt....this one made of triangles....a few thousand of them. it marinated in the closet for several months before getting finished. it's time is now. LOL

What have you made with your selvages lately? go try it....make a few blocks....they are addicting though....don't say i didn't warn you.

Later

A list is essential

Since i have been trying to organize and use my time more efficiently, i have gotten so much done. a list is essential for this. i write down what i want to accomplish for the day....and i can almost always scratch everything off the list. that feels SOOOO GOOD. LOL

Today i accomplished the following...
...vacuumed the studio
...delivered a quilt to a customer
...finished quilting the blue selvage quilt and made the binding

...pieced the backing for the next triangle selvage quilt
...pieced 7 blocks for the yellow selvage quilt
...sewed together 4 rows of the UFO challenge quilt

...pulled fabrics to make crazy quilt blocks
...pieced 5 crazy quilt blocks (out of 8) to surround the January Crazy Quilt block.

It is amazing what i can accomplish when i stay off the computer. LOL   i am taking less computer breaks and when i do sit....i make sure it isn't more than 10 minutes.

And i figured something out today that made me smile. i have been walking on the treadmill every day...most days i do 2 miles. but i am also walking to the studio. it's only 1/10 of a mile there.....but..there and back....2/10s of a mile.....5 days worth...and i've walked another mile. so, now i have another mile to add to the weeks walking schedule. how cool is that. little things make me happy. hahahaha

Tomorrow i just have 3 things on my to-do list....
...put the binding on the blue selvage quilt
...load the triangle selvage quilt
...finish sewing the rows of the #5 UFO challenge quilt together and perhaps put on a border.

So, tomorrow might just be a half day at the studio. i might come back home and work a jigsaw puzzle or something....hmm...i could take a nap. haven't done that in a few weeks. been too busy taking care of those to-do lists.

Might have to chill out a bit tomorrow.

Do you make to-do lists?  does it help you?

Later

Selvage Bathmat

In perusing Karen Griska's selvage blog .... she showed a selvage bathmat made by The Quilting Violinist.....it can be found on her Etsy site. she used a bath towel that was 22x30". 

I loved the idea and had to try it. i found a bathmat at the thrift store for a dollar and brought it home and dyed it Caribbean Blue.

Then i pulled all my light blue and green selvages...since those are the colors for the bathroom at the Duck. someday...when i have a finished bathroom at the Duck....this bathmat will live there.

It is 20x35" and i finished it in 2 afternoons. but it could be done in a day if you stick with it. i sort of did this between other projects.

I used a variegated King Tut thread for the top...blue and greens. i thought since it was a thicker thread that it would wear longer. plus it was pretty. and i went around the binding twice also in the interest of better wear.

And don't you just love the cute little frogs. when i found them in the selvage box i knew they had to be the focus fabric. it is a flannel and will be cosy on the toes. and where would a frog live except in the bathroom.

I didn't have any problem with my machine sewing through the bathmat.

And the thread on the back matched perfectly and just blended right in.

So, the lesson for today is....selvages can be used just about anywhere. what will you make with selvages today?

Go on.....go make something.

Later

Put Some Selvages in Your Quilts quilt

I belive more people need to experiment with selvages. this is my advertisement for that thought. LOL

It just came to me one day that i wanted to make a selvage quilt with words...and this is what came of it.

I made it in rows and used different simple blocks in each row. adjusted widths to fit my words.

Mostly freehand quilting except for ruler work around words and ruler for the CC.

This also used up almost all of the neutral fabric stash.

I put squares of selvages together...about 7"....and then cut the strips that i needed.

I thought it would go together quicker than it did...but it is a rather large quilt. about 90x95.

It will be shown in my trunk show and class in February. who knows...it might inspire someone to make themselves a selvage quilt.

I love this background quilting. it is a pattern that goes quickly and can be made smaller or larger and fits any space. can't beat that.

The back was pieced from some yardage i had on hand....the only thing i had enough of.

Here's a closer view.

I have a couple more selvage quilts i want to get quilted up this month. nothing like a show to get the rear in gear. hahahahah

Have you made something with selvages?   NO????   what are you waiting for?  you are missing out on stress free fun.

Later

January Color Pallette Challenge

What do you get when you combine Judy Laquidara (www.patchworktimes.com) and Vicki Welsh (www.vickiwelsh.typepad.com)

Why, you get the 2012 Color Pallette Challenge. every month Vicki will give us a color pallette from a picture that inspired her and Judy is hosting our progress pictures on her site. We are to make something with those colors....we can make anything....a quilt,  a wallhanging, a table runner, a garment, anything.

Our pallette for January was this. I used my Kona cotton solids. the colors i chose were navy, windsor, turquoise, grass green, raisin and (?)..i lost the name tag from the last piece. LOL oops

Vicki's colors came from this tile. i thought i would do a tile piece, too. i found a block in EQ that i liked and made 6 blocks. i actually cut 6 base pieces and sewed them together but decided after the fact that i could have just cut it as one whole piece. ..next time.

I cut out all the pieces and fused them onto the base with Steam A Seam 2.  i like that you can just trace your piece on the SAS2, press it onto the fabric and then cut it out. easy.

Although in the pattern all the tiny pieces were cut out individually.... i learned from the base and i consolidated and cut them out together to make whole and half flowers. and the long green sections in the middle were done as one piece also.

This was rather fun to do. it wasn't colors i would have pulled together to make something on my own. and it didn't take a lot of time. one evening to trace parts and another evening to cut and fuse.

This turned out to be about 17 x 23 inches. although i am not going to quilt it yet, i consider this challenge finished for this month. my plan is to make each month's challenge the same size and combine them all together into a quilt at the end of the year. it will be the 2012 Color Pallette Quilt. LOL

I like that idea. OK, Vicki....what's next. 

Later