What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 Time to play with the new leader/ ender from quiltville - fish school. I have some cut, so I have been experimenting with how to use them as a leader/ender. Once the HSTS are sewn, I like to sew both the top row and the bottom row as a unit. And then, I can sew the two rows together at the beginning or ending of a row.

 Bonnie Hunter has a new leader/ender project for the next year called fish school. I have officially declared easy breezy blocks done, so, I can take the challenge and start working on this project. Bonnie is using 2 inch strips and HSTS, but, I have too many 2 1/2 inch strips, so, I am going to use those. I have a hsts die that I can use to cut 6 at a time. I started cutting strips to 9 1/2 inches to fit that die.  I went through a drawer and cut 115. By calculations I will ...

Tiny houses to sew, big house to clean for my daughter's visit next month. Purple is the color for June rainbow scrap challenge at so scrappy, and one of my favorites. But, there has been so much going on, that I haven't even pulled all the purple scraps out to look at them.

 

otherwise, I have been gardening, and preserving, and decluttering, and cleaning.

I ...

I have all the snails trail blocks finished for sea swept. And it was time to figure out how I was going to make the sashings without a pattern. The actual pattern is for paper piecing, and my blocks are machine pieced and larger than the pattern makes.

Linda's 3 and mine

I remembered a template I have from studio 180 and I could even find it... hooray. But, I wasn't sure how to make it a double square in a square. You tube told me,   I needed the technique sheet with a chart. While I was purchasing ...

I needed to cut more squares for easy breezy. I have found as many matches of 4 as I can in my 2 inch square drawer. Now, I have to cut from strips and chunks. I like this part. It can be done leisurely while watching TV in the evening. I take a 2 inch strip from the drawer, fold it in half, slice 2 inches twice, and the pile grows. I didn't count, so, I hope this will get me finished.

I am getting closer to having enough of these blocks. They have become a part of my ...

I still have 100 more easy breezy blocks to go for the size I want to make. I am slogging through them each day. I try to make at least 2 per day, but, sometimes I run out of any combinations, and, I go foraging in the scraps to cut for awhile, until, I am tired of cutting.  This may take some time. By now, I have a system for making them.

The tulips have been lovely this year, and, didn't mind the snow storm. I am trying to move the rock back from in front of the red ...

Daffodils are blooming and I have seen blue skies. I am really looking forward to Spring this year. I hope to out more and working on building back relationships. Although, I have almost forgotten how to be social. 

I've had a chance to make more blocks for a quilted twins free pattern called swingin checkerboard. It is a project that I am just adding to as time permits.

more blocks

I am trying to take stock on the leader/ ender challenge quilt easy breezy. I am not sure why I haven't made much progress, or what I need ...

Sometimes, I forget to show the slow progress of some on going projects. I have sew days that don't seem to make any dents in the quilt making process. But, I know they do. And that has to be enough.

I am still hunting for old projects as I am trying to reorganize and label boxes, it consumes me. I have been very creative at storage, I must say.

Maple syrup is done. Hubby has it all put away for another year. It was my first year to trek around the trees and help with the buckets of sap ...

While I am working on my focus projects, I do a little piecing as leader/enders. It helps break the monotony of millions of hsts, and adding loooong rows to tops I am trying to finish. I am bouncing between rainbow scrap challenge quilts, grassy creek mystery quilt, and country roads top. country roads isn't moving along as quickly as I had hoped. The mystery quilt takes time. I really like the piecing, so, I don't mind.

It has been a cold dreary week here, and we haven't been out and about. We need to get moving ...

The new litterbug - how many masks do you count?

I have just been working on my country roads quilt top - trying to get it together. I have 16 rows together so far. I think I will need at least 4 more. And these are the longest rows. In between rows, I can sew leaders/and enders. It keeps me happy.

I am using recycled shirt fabric to make these anvil blocks. I tend to sew the hsts for 3 blocks at a time as a quick sit at the machine. I trim and press them in the evening while watching tv. It is easy sewing the pieces together the next day. I am using a hunk of muslin that I want to leave the stash. Although, there is something lovely about muslin. It is just a simple fabric, but, it behaves so well. It is much like the second or middle child.

I visited with my endocrinologist, last week, and my diabetic numbers are down from the first part of the pandemic, but still need a little more help. We talked about how I haven't been exercising, with the pandemic rising and cold weather. I have been afraid to go to the gym. She said she thought it would be safe enough, since, they have more than likely been following protocols. hmm.. She is a doctor, so today, I will start going to the gym again. Wish me luck.... that I don't get sick, and that, I can do more ...

I just wanted to sew a little, so I grabbed the leader/enders near my machine, and made a few. I haven't felt well - it wasn't covid. It has been hard to want to sew.

stash buster

I think I am on the mend, and these cute baskets are part of good medicine.

lil beauty baskets

easy breezy

I am linking:

  I finally decided I had enough spool blocks.  I am beginning to join the rows.  I did the arrange and re-arrange thing on the design wall, got tired of it, and just began to sew.  When it is so scrappy, you can spend a decade moving things around to make it perfect.  Not happening here..... I just need to see some progress here.

 I had a chance to make easy breezy blocks, now that, the shoofly blocks are finished, Apparently, I am trying 2 sizes. The bigger one using 2 inch squares, and, the smaller one using 1 1/2 inch squares. So far, I am still using squares that I already have in my square bins. Eventually, I will have to cut from strips.

2 inch squares

oops, I see one turned wrong

It's official, I have used all the 1-1/2 inch hsts that I cut and made for shoofly. I have 170 blocks of last year's leader/ender challenge. Bonnie Hunter does a challenge every year. This year is easy breezy. I have a few sewn of easy breezy, but, I wanted to sew all the shoofly blocks before I get busy on those.

the last ones..finally

and a few easy breezy

I am linking:

midweek makers 

boms away 
Oh scrap

I am linking to:

creative compulsions

needle and thread Thursdays

 Fall arrived while I've been quiet.   Sir Old Man finished painting the shed and it looks really nice.    I spent one day digging out fall wall hangings and table runners.....and washing those that came down.   I changed out the mini to this pineapple, which is a favorite of mine.  I like the variation in textures from the quilting too.  

  After such a nice holiday weekend here, at least weather wise, I went back to the sewing room today for a while.  The humidity returned and the temps went up again.  We did enjoy about 4 days of cooler temps and Sir Old Man was motivated to begin painting the garden shed....under my supervision of course.  That part he wasn't crazy about, but he is such a good sport that he did not complain. 


   I had a nice stack of spool blocks to press and trim.  Once I worked thru the pile I ended up with 67 finished ...