Making Progress - The Last Long Strips

As part of the grand plan for March I wanted to make the final two coloured strips for Betty’s quilt.

First up, the red strip, which coincidentally is the RSC colour this month.  My red scrap box didn’t have a great deal that was usable for this. Therefore, I did have to use part of a couple of partial fat quarters for the windmill blocks, to go with binding scraps.  The wonky star was a challenge, as I’m not really good at wonky.  It was made with some white triangle offcuts that were lurking in another tub,  As you can see, nothing much gets chucked out here.

Next was the orange strip.  This really was a challenge, as I have even less orange scraps in the tub.  However, a couple of years ago I bought a pile of orange charm squares at the Sydney Quilt Show from The Sewing Box.  They have been so handy for scrappy projects and I used most of the remainder in this strip.  The orange dividing fabric was from a partial fat quarter.

I’m not sure what I will use for the orange crumb blocks when they come up in the RSC month.

Anyway, that is the final two strips that were required and I will deliver them to Betty at Scrub Stitchin’.

It has been a fun little exercise to put them together.

Stitching Wishes for October

The weather is delightful and I am starting to feel a bit more like myself than I have for the last little while.  However, I am still going to keep my wishes (not goals) fairly simple and with a bit of luck there will be some bonus projects, like happened last month.

Firstly, Betty sent out the next fabrics for her group quilt.  The instructions were to make the prescribed block using the fabrics provided and select a contrast from the floral fabric.

No worries, I could quickly whip that up.  Job done……….then I read the instructions properly……. no green!  Blast!  Jack the Ripper to the rescue.  Oh, and we were to include an additional square of the contrast fabric and I had used a strip. Doh!  Lesson - read the instructions properly…..Well I had, but not when I went to actually make the block.

Here we go again.  Job done…..and sent off in the post this time.

It’s so nice to be able to tick something off nice and quickly.

Now to my other wishes.

The final number for the Chookshed Challenge is #3.  After all my swapping around during the year, this is:

“SASHIKO PROJECT - I have a couple of Sashiko panels that have been stitched.  It will be good to get at least one of them into a completed project.”

These are the two panels I am looking to play with.  I’m leaning towards the ribbon one.

I have a project in mind and bought this fabric while at the Braidwood Airing of the Quilts last November.  I’m thinking it will pair nicely with the ribbon panel to make a tote bag of some description.  I still have to decide on a pattern.  I think the design of the fabric will be too close to the scallop Sashiko panel to be effective.  I will have to come up with something else for that panel at some stage, and I also have a few other small motifs to use somewhere as well.  All in good time.  No pressure.

I don’t have anything on the go for Rainbow Scrap Challenge at the moment.  The colours for this month are brown and black.  Maybe nothing will happen.  Maybe it will.  Once again, no pressure.

I have made good progress on my knitted top.  It is looking very wonky here, so will need a good blocking once finished.  As it turns out, I will have oodles of yarn.  Up to just before the cream stripe only took two balls.  It is knitted very loosely, so I will definitely have to wear a cami underneath.  With a bit of luck this will be finished by the end of the month.  It is knitting up very quickly.  I have a few ends to weave in and need to work out what I am doing with a few stripes to transition to the cream yarn.  Hopefully, it will be something that I will wear.

Yesterday, I was at a bit of a loose end as to what to take to my stitching morning, so had a bit of a look in some project boxes and discovered where I had traced off a couple of the free patterns that Anni Downs provides each Christmas.  This one is from 2021 and I have 2022 traced off as well.  I have stitched 2023, but 2024 is still just the pattern.  There seems to be quite a few Christmas redwork pieces in the box, so I am thinking that at some stage they may be transformed into a Christmas quilt.  Not this year, but it would be nice to get at least this panel stitched.

You may notice that I have an embroidery hoop sitting with it.  I’ve never been comfortable using one, but decided to have a go when I stitched the little dog bookmark recently.  I just grabbed a small one that was earmarked to be used as part of a Christmas decoration.  Being so small, I didn’t mind it.  So, I thought I would have another go this time.  I even ratted around the drawers of odds and sods in my sewing room and found some cotton tape to wrap it, like Mum always told me to do.  I think the last time I would have used this tape was when making a lampshade in high school.  You never know what is squirrelled away and may come in handy one day.

We’ll see how much I end up achieving, but I am feeling inspired to get a wriggle on.

Spending Some Time With my Sewing Machine

When I look back at what I have done this year, it has become apparent that I have done very little stitching at my sewing machine since Scrub Stitchin’.  It’s time to get back into it.

So, what have I been up to so far this month?

Once we arrived back home from our latest trip to Baradine, my first priority was to make three shadow blocks for Betty’s group quilts.  These were July’s prompt, but this was the first chance I had to make them.  Fortunately, there was no real urgency for them.  The prompt was one to be brownish, one kid’s print and one a favourite print in blues or greens.

The next thing I wanted to work on was the Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks for this and last month and look at the Chookshed Challenge goal of putting together the Split Nine Patch quilt top.

It was time to bring out the Design Curtain again.  How to lay out the blocks?  I ended up grouping them by colour.  Now, I have just been making two blocks each month for the last three years, not thinking about the layout.  Of course, that has meant that I have six blocks, which make up one and a half big blocks.  To make it bigger I needed to make quite a few more blocks, which I wasn’t really thrilled about doing.  The alternative was that I could use what I had to make a smaller quilt with two blocks left over.  That seemed a much better idea, so no extra blocks were made.

It didn’t take too long to stitch them together.

While I was stitching away, I continued to make some more leader and ender blocks for “Bonnie Lass”.  I had stitched up what I had previously cut out, so it was time to dig into the scrap tubs and cut some more. There are now sufficient to keep me going for a while.  

Meanwhile, while the design curtain was up, I thought I would see what it was looking like and what other fabrics it would need.  This is 60 units and I will need 396, so quite a way to go.  Mmm.  Some brighter, clearer colours are needed, as it looks rather muddy at present.  I now have 110 units stitched, so a quarter of the way there.

Let’s make good use of the design curtain, while it is adding its decorating style to the sitting room.  Why not have a look at those Rainbow Scrap Challenge fish, now that all the blocks have been appliqued?

My plan has always been to make two smaller quilts, rather than one large. So a bit of juggling to work about the best colour distribution.

Next, to add some filler blocks.  I must say that being able to play with the blocks here, rather than the floor or bed, has been a game changer.  It works so very well.  

Then it was time to add the narrow border around them.  I wanted to have them not quite the same.

Today, I have added the border to the Split Nine Patch and the second border to both of the fish quilts.  That blue batik has been in my stash for about twenty years.  I think there is enough for the bindings and then it will be all used, other than some small scraps.  That is a big win in my books.

I’m so pleased to finally have these to the flimsy stage.  Now they have been added to the ever growing “To Be Quilted” pile.

While the design curtain is still hanging in the sitting room I am going to have a play with something else that has been hanging around for too long.

Did I say that I like the design curtain……

Stitching Goals for September

After quite a few months of our life being turned upside down, my sewing room is in utter chaos, with projects not put away, ironing to be done and quite a bit of Mum’s stuff to be sorted through.  Therefore, I will continue with the theme of this year by setting minimal goals and just going with the flow.  Having said that, a little bit of direction won’t go astray.

CHOOKSHED CHALLENGE and RAINBOW SCRAP CHALLENGE

This year has not been a good one for working on the Chookshed Challenge.  There are just two projects remaining and the one that came up this month is the Sashiko bag and I’m not even going to start to think about that at the moment.  The other is to make the Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt.  That is more achievable.  I have to catch up with the aqua blocks from last month, which won’t take long and the prompt this month is to add whatever you need to add, maybe a light blue or green.  I will pull out all the blocks I have made over the last three years and see what else is required.  I think, from recollection, that I only need to make six more blocks, so the aqua two and four more of whatever looks like it is needed.  Then, it is time to pull out my design curtain and have a play with the layout.  That may be a fun thing to do this month, that is not too onerous.  It would be so nice to have the quilt top for this made this month.

RAINBOW QUILTERS BLOCK

I have joined with Betty and her friends in making some group quilts.  The prompt in July was to make a couple of shadow blocks.  Now that I can start pulling out tubs of fabric it is a priority to get the blocks made and sent to her, as I hate holding up the project.

CROCHET CORNER TO CORNER RUG

I would really like to finish the rug this month before it gets too hot.

This is where I am up to today.  I have just started the fifth ball of yarn.  I think it will probably take seven.  The finished dimension for Wrap with Love blankets is 70 inches by 40 inches.  It is currently 55 inches long, so a little way to go.  Each row takes about 15 minutes at the current length of the rows.  That will get better once I start to decrease for the other corner.  It will have a few rows of trebles added for a simple edging.  I am finding it to be a nice mindless project to work on, particularly at my stitching days.

And that is it.  Anything else will be a bonus……It would be nice to have a bonus something worked on.  We will see how we go.

May Stitching Progress

It is time to have a look at all that I achieved on the crafting front during May.  You can pop back here to see what my grand wish list consisted of.

Firstly, the Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks were made.  Easy Peasy.

My Chookshed Challenge was completed.  Yay!

I have now joined in with Betty’s Rainbow Quilters and completed the nominated block for the month.  You received some feature fabric, in this case the batik centre piece and the small teal squares, and make the block following the pattern provided, in the colours requested and return it to Betty to be put into a quilt.  A bit of fun, but not too onerous.  This block is very effective and I look forward to seeing how the quilt comes together in the future.

During my short time at the sewing machine, I have managed to piece a further ten pairs towards the Bonnie Lass leader and ender quilt.  Only a squillion more to go.

I have made good progress on the crochet rug.  This is the first time I have seen it laid out.  As soon as I finish this ball of yarn, I will stop making it any longer and do the decrease rows to fill in the corner.  That will take a further two balls of yarn.  Following that, I will do a few rows of something around it as a simple border.  Watch this space.  I’m eager to get it finished, so Mick can use it and I can work on something else.  

I didn’t make a start on the hexagon panel and I have made no progress on any of the projects that I took to Scrub Stitchin’, and that doesn’t matter in the least. This is supposed to be fun. 

I managed to complete 15 minutes of crafting on 27/31 days.

119/151 days = 78.81%

I only managed to empty one thread spool. That is better than nothing.  I may have something to do with spending very little time at the sewing machine.  Who’d have thought.

Now to think about what to do in June.