Uncategorized – Page 4 – Time to Quilt

More dinos

I’m trying to get better at using strings, scraps, and leftover parts & pieces as opposed to “saving” them. Not only does it help with organizing and keeping things neater, but it’s also easier to use them while I still have coordinating fabrics on hand.

I worked on piecing this little quilt as a leaders/enders project while I was sewing other things.

I was a little tired of the dinosaurs after finishing the quilt below in July and was ready for a break. Focusing on a new project made sewing a pair of fabric together at a time for this one a lot easier and it was finished in no time.

The second quilt began with the “waste” triangles from making the quilt above.

I know how much little boys love dinosaurs so I’m hoping they might make give a little one somewhere a reason to smile and be happy.

Other than that quilt at the beginning of the week, I didn’t get anything else quilted. My long arm is out of commission for a few days. It’s only a year old so I don’t think it’s a mechanical problem, but it won’t pick up the bobbin thread. My husband tried to fix the clasp on top of the case, but it broke. I dropped the case a few days ago, and now the thread isn’t coming out through the hole on top; it’s sliding off to the side instead.

I ordered two new cases at $99 each. Yikes! These machines aren’t for the faint of heart. I’d never suggest getting one unless you’re committed to using it often. It might actually be more cost effective to pay a professional quilter to do them for you. It’s not about cost for me. I enjoy being able to do my own. Just as some fishermen would rather have the expense of owning their own boat rather than pay to go deep sea fishing. If it’s something you really, really want, then by all means – save and buy one. I did. Just don’t do it thinking it will save you money because it may not in the long run.

Sam, my husband, suggested getting a back-up for potential future problems, so I’ll be able can replace it and see if an issue is with the bobbin or something else. I know he’s right. For now, I’m only guessing it’s the bobbin until the new one arrives. Keeping my fingers crossed that’s all it is. && He’s a retired auto mechanic, sewing machines aren’t his specialty, but I’m really lucky he can fix almost anything around the house I manage to break!

This week has been frustrating. I ordered a pair of Sketcher Slip-Ons for sewing without a shoe on when I’m at either the quilt bee or a guild workshop. I figured it’ll make it a little easier to put it back on when it’s time to pack up from a day of sewing and go home.

The price was good compared to the store, but they sent me mismatched shoes—one size 9 and one size 7.5. One shoe is clearly larger with more laces so I’m curious how they got together in a box but I’ll never know. (I’m picturing and episode of “I Love Lucy” where her and Ethel were working on the factory chocolate conveyor belts…LOL).

I returned the shoes and am still waiting for the replacement.

Since I can’t quilt the patriotic string top I finished this week, I began piecing the second one. That one will probably be done tomorrow and then it’s on to the third. In the evening, I’m starting to gather ideas for the bright mix print strings and scraps I’ll work on next.

The little cut up pieces above are called “crumbs”. I don’t save these but I know a lot of quilters do. The bottom of my food chain ends with strings. 🙂

The plants are loving all the rain we’ve been getting. I’m not so sure the lawn maintenance guys are thrilled at how fast the grass and hedges are growing though!

I’m loving that it’s the peak of hurricane season and the ocean is quiet. Let’s hope it stays that way for the next month or two.

Patriotic scraps & strings

I realized a couple of weeks ago that I need to really focus on using my strings and scraps to make space for new ones as they accumulate. I know from experience that having a plan is essential for success so that’s what I’ve been busy doing.

I decided patriotic fabrics would be my first target. In this post on August 18th, I wondered how many string blocks I could create from two small drawers. I decided to clear out a bin of patriotic scraps in my cart at the same time as that was also pretty full.

You can see the full little patriotic scrap bin in the cart, second shelf down – on the left.

As of tonight, the patriotic strings and scraps are both empty. Yay!

It doesn’t mean the quilts are finished. Not yet anyway but, the hardest part is done, sorting, planning, and cutting up chunks and pieces.

I feel good about the progress and I’m looking forward to putting these together so I can tackle the next group of fabrics. Here are the 130 string blocks I made from those two drawers with just a little added from the scrap bin as I was cutting those up.

I have more of the adding machine tape strings to stitch but the last remaining pieces have all been cut to width and are ready to go. I’ll be adding bits and pieces as I finish the other quilts so this one be the last of the group finished.

You can see the plans I made in the photos below. Each “kit” is bagged up minus the large pieces of fabric I’ll need to go with them. Those are labeled and in a separate pile on one of my fabric shelves. These photos will help me remember what I was planning too!

The string blocks for this layout are 12.5″. In the scrap bin were the 32 waste triangles leftover from the patriotic round robin I finished last month.I decided to set the blocks with a friendship star type sashing to use them. Most will end up in the outside border. I’ll need a few more than what I have but, I’ll use the sew & flip corners on the sashing pieces to make them rather than making separate HSTs.

These 60 string blocks measure 7.5″. They’ll be used to piece 120 large half square triangles for this setting. I made this quilt last year from thrifted men’s shirts using the same layout. I like how that quilt turned out so I decided to try it again with string blocks.

This set of 48 blocks measuring 9.5″. All of them were made with the same red center strip. When I was looking at the diagram I drew for the HST quilt above, I got an idea to try a similar layout for these blocks. I’ve probably seen it before but I don’t remember when or where.

The diagram was changed by rotating these two blocks in each corner.

Stephanie (who lives in western Australia) is a member of one of the online groups I’m in. At the beginning of each month, she pulls a paper out of the hat to chose a type of fabric for us to target using that month. They’re usually things like strips, fQs, charms, scraps, strings, orphan blocks, etc. It’s meant to encourage us to use stash that may we may otherwise tend to overlook. I don’t always play along but this month is “shapes” so I decided I’ll use my Go Cutter to cut 3/4 square triangles. I’ll be making 12″ red /blue stars to use with my string pieced units. I can work on my string project and play along with the “shapes” suggestion this month. 🙂

These string units measure 5″ x 12.5″. I plan to cut them in half so they’ll be 2.5″ x 12.5″. I want to use them to frame my blocks.

I’ll then add white sashing with cornerstones so they’ll end up forming 9 patches between the columns and rows. I’m really anxious to see how this one turns out!

My final string quilt will use those adding machine tape units made with the tiniest strings. They measure 13″ long and 2.5″ wide.

I’ll cut them in half to 2.5″ x 6 .5″. I’m trying to use wide pieces in the center of the adding machine tape where I’ll have to cut the strip in half. It seemed it might be easier to make 48 long strips than 96 short ones!

The string units will be center strip in a rail fence block. Half will be flanked with blue strips for the horizontal blocks and the other half with red strips for vertical blocks. I want to use a consistent red and blue for the blocks to showcase the string units better. I have plenty of red and blue choices from that big Joann haul just for times like this.

This project will need a border to reach my preferred size, and I have several pieces of American flag fabric leftover from backing cutoffs to use.

I purchased a bolt of flag fabric on eBay last year. The seller asked me what my plans were for it and whether or not I might be able to use a second bolt. I told her I make quilts to donate and I definitely would be able to use it for backings, if the price was right. She didn’t want to be paid for it and even covered the extra postage. She said her father was killed in the Vietnam war and she wanted to donate it to honor him.

I paid $25 and ended up with 30 yards. I’ve used it to back all my patriotic quilts and I remember her kindness every time I use it.❤️

Once I decided to use the patriotic scraps up too, I put aside the pieces that were large enough for the Evening star quilt until I was ready to cut the fabrics for it. I did need to add a couple of pieces from the red and blue scrap bins but, not many.

The squares are cut 8.5″ and the sashing 3.5″x 8.5″. To bring it to size, I’ll add a border because not only did I not have enough pieces to make more blocks but, I didn’t need to increase the size by 11″ in length or width.

I know what I’ll be using for the border but forgot to add it to the photo, however; it is labeled on on the stack with the other fabrics I’ll be using to finish all these quilts.

This will be the other scrap quilt. I was inspired by Robin Pickens’ Showering Stars pattern. I don’t own the pattern but I can tell from the description that the quilt would end up much larger than I wanted make. I didn’t see a viable way to downsize it and keep the original design elements so I decided to try something a bit different for the “showers” – French braid piecing.

I love the dark background in the pattern photo so I’m going to use a deep blue. My big 16″ stars will be red rather than white in order to use up several 4.5″ HSTs leftover from making the Transport pattern.

I have enough scrap pieces to extend the braid both over and below the star blocks. I’m not sure if I will make braid columns with the stars floating in them or, just use the braid either above some or below the stars. I’ll decide once I get the quilt the blocks on the design wall and see how it will look.

The braids need to have white center squares (like the gold ones in the photo above). Most of the scrap pieces I had to use wouldn’t result in wide enough braid sections unless I use the squares to lengthen them. I hope it doesn’t ruin the effect.

At the end of the day, the only thing left of these scraps and strings were a few partial binding bits and some 2.5″ wide strips I’d set aside for scrappy bindings. I’ve added them to the bin of kits to bind one or two of the quilts.

If you were keeping count, that’s a total of 7 patriotic quilts. I’ll have to remember when a drawer is even half full, it’s probably enough fabric to make a quilt top!

I have a few other commitments to work on in the next couple of months but, I’ll work on fitting in time for these too. Until they’re all finished, the bin of kits will live on my long arm table so they’re not “out of sight, out of mind”. 😉

Sable?

Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy

I plan to have used all of my fabric when the time I have on this earth is finished. Buying fabric at the JoAnn store liquidation sale might have made that more difficult, but I’m okay with it.

This is the photo I took back at the end of April after a very L O N G day of shopping at 3 different JoAnn’s locations within a half hour driving distance of each other.

I purchased 697 yards of fabric at an average $1.29 paid per yard. I am factoring in a $200 credit card bonus that I used to actually pay for the purchase in case you’re quieting thinking “no way!”. 🙂

Wells Fargo offered a $200 reward when you spent $500 in the first three months of receiving their card. I had anticipated the store would be closing soon so I applied for the card when I saw the offer and got it just in time for the last week of the store’s liquidation sales. I was actually a little surprised to get it. I think I took advantage of the same offer in 2019 and closed the card a year later. I suppose it had been long enough to not prevent the new card offer.

I’d also began tucking away extra mad money prior to the store closing so I’d be ready when the best sale prices were likely – the last couple of days that the store would still be open.

I agree that credit cards can be dangerous however; I never carry a balance on them, learning that lesson the hard way when I was young and dumb. I trust myself to pay the bill in full every month – and that’s exactly what I did this time too.

Back to the fabric…

I spent a week measuring/marking and folding fabric to fit my shelves. Prices were reduced further if you purchased the remaining amount on the bolt. I bought 19 bolts of wide backing but not all were full bolts. I also folded the backings that were 4 yards or less so I could try to use the smaller pieces first.

Here’s the photo I took the day I finished putting it all away. I was pretty tired but also happy that I could make it all fit neatly with the fabric I already owned.

I silently chuckle when family and non-quilting friends look shocked by all this fabric. If they only knew how modest it actually is for the length of time I’ve been quilting. 😉

You can see from the photo I took today that things have changed in the last four months and quite a bit of fabric has already been used.

Shelf space opened up move some of my string quilts from the guest room closet to the top of this closet. My goal is to eventually have more finished quilts here than fabric. I like to keep several extra finished quilts on hand for those times I want to give one away on before I’ve had time to make it from scratch.

I’ve also been able to return my travel sewing machine and case back to the bottom of the closet. Best of all, I’ve had fun using the fabric I was able to purchase at a great price to make quilts I wanted to make.

While it may seem like S.A.B.L.E. to some, to me it represents three to five years of quilt making at my average rate of about 300+ yards per year.

I often say that it’s lack of space that motivates me to keep my fabric accessible and as neat as possible. The truth is, to do otherwise would feel like hoarding which makes me anxious.

I bristle watching guilds spend more and more of their funds on storing donated fabrics, regardless of their justifications. If what’s coming in is not in sync with what’s going out, there’s a problem, or soon will be.

Am I worried about what happens in the future when I use all of this up?

Not at all!

Emma, my beautiful granddaughter. I think it’s a great photo to represent abundance. Okay, I’ll admit that seeing this makes me smile and that’s enough reason to share it. ♥

With faith, you don’t fear scarcity or live with the stress and limiting thoughts that come with it. I’ve seen people work to gather much more than they’ll ever use or need, only to struggle with keeping it all. That’s not how I choose to live.

To be clear, I do understand the difference between hoarding (a mindset) and a simple measurement of the amount you own. I know quilters with thousands of yards of fabric who completely enjoy it, use it, and share it with others. That’s not what I think of as hoarding. Not even close. Hoarding is holding onto what you have (regardless of whether it’s a lot or a little) with a fist clenched so tightly that you almost fear using it as much as you do giving even the smallest amount away.

When I read the Cambridge Dictionary definition, I realized it’s no wonder I was so uncomfortable with a guild that chose to use all their resources to store fabric that only a few had access to and most had never even seen.

Hoarding: the act of collecting large amounts of something and keeping it for yourself, often in a secret place

Faith means trusting in the promise of abundance and feeling content with “enough”. It allows your world to expand with new possibilities. Your efforts grow, you give to others, and you share, all without worrying about running out.

How you feel about what you own is far more important than how much or, how little you have. “My people” are those that choose to live with an open hand, not a clinched fist.

Progress

This week was as busy as last week. After my quilt guild meeting last Saturday, I was too tired to do my weekly reset. I thought it would take most of Sunday since my cutting table was cluttered. By 9:30 though, I decided to spend a few minutes tidying up so it wouldn’t keep me awake all night thinking about it. It only took 15 minutes to clean up but I didn’t like that feeling of dread so I need to make a change.

Aside from my weekly bee project and a leaders/enders, I want to begin focusing on one project at a time until it’s done. Easier to keep things picked up and put away and no risk of turning any of them into UFOs. The end of the year gets pretty hectic so the more I can do to simplify life, the better!

This week I did make progress on all four of my goals. I worked some on my inspiration quilt but nothing to show for it yet and on making more string blocks. I also quilted my hot air balloon quilt but still need to bind it and I quilted one for the guild’s Community Outreach committee.

For the hot air balloon, I used the free pattern from The Linus Connection website although I did make a few changes. Here’s the link to their patterns.

I made it one row shorter that the pattern so my quilt will finish at approximately 40″ x 50″ as that’s a pretty good size quilt for a kiddo. I also added half square triangles to the bottom of the basket because I thought it would look more like a basket. (It’s hard to tell in these photos but all the 5″ basket squares were cut from different black and brown check and tweed looking fabrics.)

Rather than cut a lot of background squares, I kept the large pieces in tact as much as possible and assembled the top in sections as you can see from my drawing.

I also made good progress on my patriotic strings. I know just how I want to set each group of blocks. So far I’ve made:

12 blocks 12.5″ square
60 blocks 7.5″ square
48 blocks 9.5″ square (still in progress)
8 strips 2.5″ x 12.5″square (these are currently the string leader/enders but I’ll use the rest of the small pieces up when there are no more blocks left to piece)

I also want to use everything in the patriotic scrap bin. Last night I was looking through all my 3 Yard Quilt books and found two ideas in the Make It Patriotic book that I can use the small and large half square waste triangles. I drew them out on graph paper, altering the patterns slightly, so they’ll finish at my preferred adult size lap quilt in the range of 50″ to 54″ wide by 70″ to 72″ long.

I have a few 2 1/2″ strips and leftover binding pieces that I plan to use for a scrappy binding for one of the string quilts.

I want to make a Morning Star quilt with the rest of the scraps. I may have to add a few fat quarters of larger stash pieces to the scraps but, I’ll be making an adult lap size, not the bed size you see in these inspiration photos.

The first time I saw the quilt was in Pat Speth’s 2002 book called “Nickel Quilts”. As you can imagine, that version with the colorful fabrics above is made using 5″ squares.

The quilt with the larger brown fabrics is from a 2016 Quilted Digest post. Becky has a version of the quilt on Quilted Twins website here.

Maybe I’ll start making the star sashing pieces as my leader/ender project.

Last but not least, my husband brought home some new flashlights from Harbor Freight today. The little minis are inexpensive and good to keep by the bedside if the power goes out. I especially like these by Braun though. They’re magnetic, they’ll swivel, have two levels of brightness, and they aren’t huge. My husband kept telling me he has several in his garage workshop that are much heavier duty and rechargeable. I do feel better though having these in the house and more prepared for hurricane season! Happy wife, happy life. 🙂

Baby it’s hot outside!

Today I made a trip to Hobby Lobby and it was so hot I just didn’t think I’d have any energy left to cook so I stopped by KFC on the way home. After eating, I went back out to pick up my grocery order. I think it was even hotter by then! 🥵

The Hobby Lobby trip was to get a crafty gift for someone and to pick up supplies for a Santa wall hanging workshop at our guild next month. I thought it would be hard to even think about Christmas as hot as it was.

I was wrong. Hobby Lobby had everything Christmas on sale 50% off. So many nice things. So, so tempting! I only picked up a couple of boxes of Christmas cards.

I haven’t mailed cards in the last couple of years. It’s a fun tradition that I miss so this year I have no excuse to procrastinate until it’s too late.

Sticking with my plan, on Sunday and Monday I made more patriotic string blocks. Still have lots of these strings to make into blocks so I may try to sneak in a few between other quilting projects.

I started my next inspiration quilt from a 24 strip Kona jelly roll I’d purchased from JoAnns a while back and some leftover strips of white fabric I’d mentioned wanting to use up in the plan I referred to above.

Hope to get some quilting done later in the week. Lots of rain in the forecast so it’s a good excuse to stay inside and sew.