Welcome back Summer!

Thank goodness summer is finally here!  We had a very cold spring, delaying planting the seedlings in the garden.  We will probably not have tomatoes until the end of July.  But that's okay.  We had an extra abundant harvest of greens, chard, and arugula and will have to harvest the beans this week.  Most special, though, was our cherry harvest!  Tuesday I was able to can eight half-pints of cherry jam from cherries grown on our own trees.  It may seem insignificant to some, but it was a magical moment to me.  

Another magical moment came when I finished this tiny scrap quilt.  I save all my scraps in baskets and sew them together in strips 14" long.  They vary in length and width and I usually sew them together as thread-savers.  This is an amazing catalog of the fabrics I have used in my quilts.  The backing is a large 1800s reproduction floral.  I love it!
 

Then there is this Road to California variation that I just finished this morning.  Once I've chosen the backing fabric, this one will be quickly quilted and bound and ready for use.  If you recognize the fabrics, this is made from the little corners cut off the rectangles that made the points in the stars from the Amy Butler stars quilt I finished a couple of months ago.  There are a lot of "mother/daughter" quilts in my collection as I don't seem to be able to throw away the little scraps.  I love this one, which is only 44 x 52, because it is so cheerful.  It makes me happy.  

 

So, once this is done, what will I do?  Frankly, I'm not sure.  I have only one UFO left and it just does not interest me.  I've always wanted to make one of those tops using 2-1/2" strips (jelly rolls).  But one thing is certain:  I will not be buying new fabric.  At this point I am thinking of listing some of my fabrics in my etsy shop.  

It is gratifying to see so many people wearing masks these days.  I love all the wonderful fabrics that people are using.  Personally, it took me a while to realize that putting lipstick on before putting on the mask was sort of useless.  LOL! 

Sew-shall Isolation

Phase one of quilting completed!  Now on to phase two.

Well, howdy.  It's been a while because I had surgery and I wasn't able to sew for a couple of weeks.  Even though I had to wear a brace to keep my arm close to my torso, I was still able to finish all of the blocks for this using Amy Butler fabrics, mostly from the Charm collection.  It is now done and phase one of the quilting is complete . . . vertical and horizontal.  Phase two . . . diagonal . . . will be next.  The final phase is quilting the border, then binding. 

I finished the quilting and binding on February's quilt earlier this month, as everything was on hold because of the surgery. 

Stay-at-home has not been hard for me.  I've had plenty to do and I have also added making surgical masks to my repertoire.  My husband and I would rather be together than with anyone else, so that's not a problem either.  I do miss occasionally lunching with friends but I've never been a shopper so I don't feel in the least bit "trapped".  The worst thing about all this is that the library is closed.

Be well and behave responsibly!  xoxo

February Project

102 blocks in seven color ways!

 Remember this?  It has become this:

February project 72" x 72" just needs quilting.

Love all the colors!  This is sort of a charm quit in that each block is made from a different fabric.  What's going to happen to this one?  I have officially run out of room to store all the quilts I'm making so I will have to list some on etsy soon. 

Everybody who sees my quilts says "You could sell these!"  The thing about selling quilts is that you can't really make a profit -- you either charge for materials only or you charge for labor only but not both.  For instance, I spent maybe 10 hours on this and seven yards of fabric (not to mention thread and overhead).  So here's the calculation if I pay myself minimum wage:  (10 * $7.65 = $76.50 labor) + (7 * $10/yd fabric = $70) + batting $12 + thread $3 + overhead $10 = $171.50 minus the listing fee, etsy fee, shipping costs and tax.  So, basically, I would have to round up to $200 to recoup my costs.   And this assumes supplies are all on sale 50% off.  So, where's the profit?  Good thing I'm doing this for recreation.

And good thing I love doing it!  What's up for March?  Not sure yet but it will be something new.  "Ta" and have a swell day!  xoxo

January's Quilt

What started out as random scrap threadsaver pinwheels.

January's finish is technically a UFO because it started with a small basket of scrappy threadsaver half-square triangles with which I created pinwheels.  I needed way more than were in the basket, so 3/4 of this is new sewing.  I have so many scraps . . . boxes and boxes of triangles, strips, squares, and baskets of odd little shapes and strings . . . there just will never be an end to these scrappy quilts.  I'm not buying new fabric and I'm not joining any block of the month clubs.  And I've always felt that buying a quilt kit is somehow cheating.  You don't really learn how to work with color and be actively creative, in my opinion.

If at first you don't succeed!  Although this is not entirely without merit.

 When I first started this project, I wanted the blocks to be arranged as per the photo, but apparently I wasn't paying attention and sewed them together differently.  This isn't what I wanted so I ripped seams and started all over again.  Nevertheless, the "fail" arrangement is not bad.  I kinda like it!

February's project:  blocks laid out on the back of January's project.

And now I am working on February's project, for which I had to make 100 blocks.  This is new; not a UFO.  Made from 2" rectangles, there was no complicated cutting or sewing and I think I must have used three different types of muslin.  There are no fabric repeats in the blocks so this is actually a "charm" quilt.  I love to use as many of my fabrics as possible (and I have plenty)!  By the way, the blocks and graphic are laid out on the January project's backing.  Love this fabric which I'm sure I purchased back in the 70's.  You can always tell vintage fabrics because they don't have those double rows of punctures on the selvages.

Hope you all have an excellent February.  We are having a bathroom remodel and it is always a trauma to be invaded every day.  But I have found that being in my basement sewing room is a wonderful respite from the noise and dust and travails.  The guys doing the work couldn't be nicer, quieter, more considerate and we really like what they're doing.  Another reason for all the indoor activity is so much snow!!  Seems like every Thursday and Friday we are having some type of wintry precipitation:  ice or sleet or snow.  That's getting old, I tell ya!  Be well!

Australia on Fire

I feel just dead inside knowing billions of Australia's creatures -- including humans -- have died in the bush fires!  If I lived there, I would probably volunteer to help fire fighters and animal rescuers.  Since I'm in the US, I'm going to make Joey Pouches.   I've got a huge stash and it seems these will do some good.  There are also craft groups here and around the world that are making these and sending them to make a little bit of a difference.  There are also groups that are knitting koala mittens, etc., so whatever skill you have can be put to good use.  I found a lot of information by searching "joey pouches for bushfire victims." 

Finished pouch from the Mood Fabrics website.  Link below

On the Mood Fabrics website you can find a self-drafted pattern and tutorial for this pouch and includes the address to send to in Lodi, NJ.  There might be a group in your area collecting these, so check that out, too.

Joey pouch in use.  Photo from Piccolo Studio website.  Link below.

I was able to get a free pattern download that includes the tutorial by visiting Piccolo Studio .

Please help the survivors and also consider making a donation to the World Wildlife Foundation.

xoxo