Registry - of sorts

Folks have been asking - as I knew they would.  So Amanda & Ned provided me with their wish list.  Here we go:

We know so many makers & artists. 

Obviously anything handmade would be 

loved & appreciated.

Stuff:

• A free standing ice maker

• Hot/Cold Watercooler

• Slow cooker 

• 3-D printer

• Ceramic kiln "doll" size

• Kitty cat accessories - https://www.catastrophicreations.com  (certificates available)

• Sous vide

• 3D scanner 

• Mortar & pestle 

• https://onefastcat.com/products/cat-exercise-wheel

• Staub 5- qt cast-iron pumpkin 

• Dry measuring cups & measuring spoons in glass, wood, or metal

• Fiesta ware - Bistro bowls of all sizes & Heart bowls

• Extra large drinking glasses (plain glass is fine)

And Things (for which we are saving up if you want to pitch in)

• Wide clawfoot tub

• Tile for bathroom/kitchen

• Home improvement/DIY's

• New pull out couch/one large enough for guests to sleep on

• Our eventual honeymoon in Japan

So there you have it.  Thank you for being part of Ned & Amanda's life. 

Much love,

sash

Quite Chuffed

First time I heard (read) it, I thought chuffed was like ticked or bugged - a bad, bent-out-of-shape kinda thing.  But it's not.  It's a good, tickle-with-myself kinda thing.

I admit it.  I'm feeling quite chuffed about how this turned out.

Starry Portal Bargello - Artisan Spirit fabrics with Handspray border

I still have to add the binding but otherwise it's finished!

I'm thrilled with the quilting work that was done by Just Quilting Pdx.  I told her what I sorta wanted & she gave me more than I could have hoped!  This thing is enormous (97" x 97") & she did a beautiful, border to border design that increased the motion, highlighted the fabric, & reduced the pixelated feel of the bargello.

I hope the newlyweds love it.  If not, the manchild will probably just bring it back home with him.  (He's chuffed too).

- sash

NB: Thanks to the kind words after my most recent post.  To those who said they can relate, I'm here any time you need to chat.  Really.  Even if you feel alone, you aren't ever alone.  XOXO - auntiesash.

Are we here to talk or are we here to sew???

Fortunately, I've done better at sewing than I have at blogging about it.

Thursday I cut a bunch of little squares making a negligible dent in my scrap pile.  Hey - at least it's a dent.  The designers on Project Runway could have used my scraps - their intimate wear was a mess.  The one that won? (2nd from the left) Seriously wtf?

Oh well.  It's just possible Katrina & I are not their intended market.

Friday I hit Fabric Depot & got the backing fabric (and some adorable elephant print minky that just HAS to become pillows!).  And more Mary's Best Press.  I love that stuff.

Saturday I had a head cold.  The best I could do was sort through and find more scraps for whatever this four patch project is going to turn into.  Then I took some Vicks and went back to bed.

Sunday I slept in and then, determined to make progress, I got ALL THE COLUMNS TOGETHER!!

Here's the first shot of the center(not ironed yet, clearly):

I think it's cool.  The Manchild likes it.  

Other folks have asked "what's it supposed to be" & "Did you make it offcenter on purpose?"  Harrumph.  

Troglodytes.

Monday I cut all the borders and got the first set sewn on.  There are 2 more sets to go - hope to get that done tonight.

On other fronts, the Quilting Guru embroidered a set of napkins and quilted a matching table runner for a wedding gift.  Impressive, no?  (Apparently so is the resulting mess in her sewing room)

Da Noob has reorganized the sewing area around the new table.  That's an endless task, but enough was done that a WIP was rediscovered!  A disappearing 4 patch project that is about 1/2 way finished.  That will be a fun project to tackle.  This coming week, all artistic effort is being tapped out on the job, so da noob gets a pass.  For now.

And what does Mr Jenkins think of all this sewing? 

 If only he could find a way to express himself.

xoxo

sash

Day Eight - holding steady!!

Another Day Of Sewing!

All the single columns are now in pairs.

All the pairs from this weekend are now sets of four.

And I've sewn a whole bunch of little four patches as my starters & enders.  Like, I actually need to cut more scraps up because I've burned through my stack of little pieces!  So that's cool.

The Manchild has ironing to do today to catch up.  Then I think I've got 2 more sessions of column joining.  It's hard to do too many at the end of a work day.  But having the whole center done before the weekend will be GREAT!

I didn't take any pictures, so here's a puppy:

Waiting to be discovered by a KISS cover band

xo
sash

Labor hath occurred

Got a big boost this weekend!

There was organization on all fronts.  

• Da Noob met the goal of assembling her sewing room.  She also may lose her title soon as more brand new quilters are joining our little sewing family.  

(To that point, a quick outing to Fabric Depot happened on Saturday morning.  The Quilt Guru met me there along with a darling in-law who is relearning how to sew.  For now, she is working on clothing for her darling offspring, but soon she will be learning to quilt.  Turns out her gramma is a long arm quilter.  Huh.  It was meant to be!)

• The QG herself not only had the baby blanket ready to quilt (as I predicted) but this weekend she quilted it & bound it.  It's wash and ready for a label.  She also finished quilting ANOTHER project and has started the hand stitching on the binding!  Good work!

• And at my house?  It was full on sewing frenzy.  This quilt is 35 columns wide and each column has 32 pieces in it.  On Friday morning, I had 1/2 the column pieces in baggies and ready to go, and the other 1/2 listed out but not yet cut/sorted.  Last night, I turned off the light on all 35 columns finished & pressed, and the first 18 sewn into pairs and pressed again.

       So I went from about 600 pieces up to 1120 pieces then down to 26 sub-units.  
       Not too shabby, eh?

About 1/2 the columns - ironed

(also one of the most visually confusing pictures ever)

Here are some pictures:

The Manchild pumping iron
(and yes - that is a regular iron.
It just looks like a travel model when he holds it)

All the strips - you can see the pattern starting to form
(although 1/2 of them are upside down so not exactly)

I'm pretty excited about all the progress in this first week of September.  Keep it up, everyone!  And if you wanna join us for the rest of National Sewing Month, just leave a comment!

Gratuitous Cuteness (He's laughing at me - I'm sure of it!)

xo
sash

One stash becomes two!

     A Lovely Year of Finishes        T-Shirt Quilts 

    T-shirt yarn (but for heaven's sake use a rotary cutter!!) 

       Woot!                   POUF(except I'll knit one)

Happy cutting & quilting & knitting!!!

sash

Random Treasures

Unexpected finds on a cold, headachy day.

First: 
A package arrived from Melinda's Fabric Shop.
Oh yeah - They had some great batiks on sale the other day.

Sweet!

Second: 
I was clearing out my temporary files (a perfect project for a blechy day when I can't concentrate on math).

Not many treasures in there.  Random bids & plans - a picture or two.  Then I found an article that my awesome KT wrote for the zoo volunteer newsletter.  I read it back then and I'm sure I kept a copy for the manchild's scrapbook, but I haven't look at it since then.

Too cool not to keep at hand.  Too cool not to share.  We'll file this under the "book" heading.

A genuine treasure - don't you think??

- sash

Moving right along....

March was a blur of business and stress.  My sweetie quit his job (after 27 years!).  My work landed some big new projects.  The ManChild started another term of school.  Just a whole lotta life being lived.

Not a whole lotta quilting going on, however.  In particular, my March "A Lovely Year of Finishes" wasn't.  

Finished.  

At all.

Ah well.  

Moving Right Along!!!   

I will keep working on getting MC's Carpenter's Star quilted but that's not my goal for April.  I figured out that I can't really set a goal for creativity and inspiration.  I can work on it, but I can't guarantee that I'll find a pattern I'll love or decide on a final design.

I CAN set a goal that's based on putting in the time and effort.  That's something I can control - mostly.

My goal for April is to turn this:

Into a Broken Dishes quilt top.  Sorta like this:

I needed a project that I can just sew on without plotting or planning.  I had these great batiks from Connecting Threads and added some neutrals I had left from the Stonehenge line.  I got a start on it this weekend, cutting a lot of the squares and sewing some of them to make the HST's.  I think it will come together nicely.

So that's the plan for April's ALYoF2014.  Click here to check out these other great project and goals for the month.

One Very Soggy Lion

                                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                   

You would think - being a Leo - that I'd be ok with March blasting in with a big old roar.  Well a lion is an over-sized pussycat and I don't think they'd like all this water either.

I had a GREAT time at the quilting show in Puyallup.  Same weekend, my sweetie quit his job of 27 years (gulp) & my office landed an exciting new project.  Now Ash Wednesday is here.  Do lions always run this fast???

I promise to blog later about the great fabric & classes from last weekend.  (I'll even talk about my total fan-girl moments with two of my quilting heroes, Nancy Zieman & Tula Pink).  But the order of business today is setting my March goal for AYOLF.

This month is less about meeting a deadline & more about getting to an IMPORTANT project that isn't an URGENT project.  I mean, it's one thing to need something for a baby shower.  It's a different thing to find time to finish a quilt that has no deadline but is for someone really, really important.  Well - in this case - it's my precious ManChild.  He's quite aware that other people got quilts before he did.  I finished his quilt top (except for borders) for his birthday.  In October.  (I'm blushing right now - trust me).

I made this Carpenter's star in Northcott's Stonehenge line.

 

This is actually a miniature mock-up.  Why can't I find a photo of the quilt top??

Now it needs borders & quilting.  Well - actually - quilting & THEN borders.  The MC is not small.  His quilt is also not small.  King-sized (the MC & the quilt)  So I'm going to quilt the center first then attach borders & quilt those.  I have to piece the minky for the back anyway & I'm doing all the quilting on my Pfaff Ambitions sewing machine.

So - being realistic - my goal for March is to quilt

 the center section of this Carpenter's Star.

Check out the other lovely finishes this month at Sew Bittersweet Designs

(Hmm - this is sorta how I look when I go out...)

The ManChild will be so pleased & I'll be able to snuggle him up vicariously even after he leaves our nest.  
Or den.  (In keeping with the theme).
Rawrr.

- sash

                                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                  

  

Public Safety

My extended lapse has been the direct result of safety precautions implemented by my sweetie & the MC.  It was decided that, while narcotics and shingles go together well, narcotics and sewing machines do not.  Ditto for irons.

It's also an odd mix with internet fabric shopping, but I do love the fabric I received even if I don't, exactly, remember ordering it.

Moving on....

With adult supervision, I did make a bit of progress in the last 3 weeks:

1) I modified the Iron Quilt design to make it a little more interesting (to me anyway).  Then I set it all aside because even improvisational piecing was WAY beyond my drug addled skill set.

2) The Carpenter's Star was pieced in time for the birthday celebration, but stalled at that point due to fabric issues.  The MC wanted a BIG quilt.  When my gentle giant says BIG, he means BIG.  I had to order out the minky for the backing.  I have yet to track down the correct shade of Northcott Stonehenge that I want for the borders.  I also think it's time to negotiate long arm services with the quilt fairies to the north.  Did I mention this thing is huge?  Even with my new sewing area, this would be a TOTAL nuisance to quilt myself.

3) The anniversary quilts are pieced - Mostly.  

Border Audition (And WHY is this sideways??)

I finished piecing the candy squares & stitched together the pieced binding.

This weekend - while weening myself off pain meds - I made about 8,000 more blocks for the yellow/green.


OK maybe only 50 more but I also squared them up (I HATE squaring up blocks), did the layout, & stitched it all together! 

I like the results.

The borders I selected are Black swirls, Cheddar solid, Dark Green solid, Black Swirl binding.  That will tone the quilt down a bit, make it a bit more modern, and keep it masculine. Maybe.  

I'm hoping to slap the borders on tonight & get some sandwiching help from my sister Thursday night before Project Runway

And really?  Bugs?  I know it was Halloween, but I don't want to look at big old spiders - or dresses inspired by them - while tucking into my kit-kat bars. 

 

And tell me the center outfit doesn't look like the lamp from A Christmas Story.

3(cont) I'd hoped to have these two quilts done by this week but I think I can quilt them simply & quickly this weekend.  Considering the last month, being just a week late isn't too bad.

Alright then.  All caught up and now, for new projects.  In the interest of turning a fabric-purchaser into an actual fabric-sewer, I'm doing a buddy quilt.  She's in charge of thematic novelty prints.  I'm in charge of coordinating solids.  We're doing split rails, cut on diagonal.  Should be fun.

I'm also eager to make some smaller, instant gratification gifts.  Bags, Pillows, Table runners, Etc.  And I've found out nephew #1 is bringing his bride out for Christmas, so I may need to turn thoughts to a Texas Star quilt??

Who has time for shingles or pain meds??  I have sewing to do!!!

- sash

Doing the Numbers

Progress on the Carpenter's Square for Friday (yeah.  THIS Friday):

(Not the real colors - just place holders)

The center of the quilt will have 64 blocks (8 x 8).

I cut 32 squares of the background fabric and 32 squares of the miscellaneous colors.

1/2 of the background squares just stay as they are.  So YAY!  16 blocks finished!

The other 16 neutral blocks will become 32 triangles, which will blend with 32 colored triangles.  That's 32 blocks paired, pinned, numbered, & ready to sew.

The other 32 colored triangles will be joined together to make two-color blocks.  Sadly, those
16 blocks are in limbo until the others are sewn.  I want to do as much sewing as possible with squares instead of triangles, because the bias is going to be stretchy.  If I need a matching pair, I'll sew two squares using Tiger Tape as a guide.  If it's a singleton - I only need one square with that particular color combo - then I'm trying to keep one of the fabrics whole to minimize stretching.  It's a little bit more confusing to not have everything in triangles, but my organizational skills are way ahead of my sewing skills, so it's worth the trade off to have all my seams flat and even.

So here's my plan:

• Monday - stitch up ALL the blocks already pinned and maybe cut, press, and use the "extra" triangles from those blocks to line out the rest of the blocks.
• Tuesday - finish blocks and assemble the center panel.  And buy backing fabric.
• Wednesday - add border, piece the backing, and make the quilt sandwich
• Thursday - prep the binding & use it to tie the sandwich into a birthday bundle (since there's no WAY I'm getting this thing quilted before Friday - we're talking a king size quilt here!  The quilting alone is gonna take some time!)

Totally doable - right?

Progress without Sewing?

I know I'm on a crazy deadline.  MC's quilt (at least the top) by 10/11.  Two other quilts (completely done) by beginning of November.  The raffle quilt somewhere in between there.  Sometimes it's hard to go step by step when I feel like I should be SPRINTING AHEAD.

Last night was Project Runway with my sister.  She's still nursing a broken foot so we both needed some chilling-with-my-sister time.  Roaring fire, tons of candles, and a couple sleepy cats - it was just the ticket.

But that whole deadline thing.....

I have most of the squares cut for the MC's carpenter's star but I'm seriously dithering over background, borders, and color placement.  Since every half square triangle is unique, I can't just sew then position.  I had to get it all sorted before I could stitch anything.

I loaded up all my scraps, a print out of the design (Thanks EQ7!) and some scissors.  For every 9" square, I created a 1" stand-in.  Armed with a glue stick, I cut all the little squares into tiny triangles and glued them on the pattern.

Mock-up of ManChild's Carpenter's Star

I have to say, this was loads of fun.  I may have to make some Christmas cards or something this way.  Very satisfying - all those little bits of color & the instant gratification of glue.

It was also a GREAT process for my quilt.  I discovered that

1. I was totally over-thinking the color placement.  I have to be precise (so the triangles merge into diamonds) but those diamonds looked pretty great in a random arrangement.  OK - not exactly random.  I can't actually do random.  But the evenly-distributed-non-symmetrical arrangement that passes for random in my brain.  And
2. The scrappy background I planned was too busy for the design.  It made the star just fade away.  Using one neutral made the star really pop.

I'm so glad, in the race to the finish line, that I took time to get that sorted.  Now I can charge ahead with piecing and assemble.  Best part - I figured it out without having to take (or rip out!) a single stitch!

- sash

Make To-Do list: CHECK!

Seriously - it's been over a week and I don't get to update ANYTHING on my WIP list?  Oh - not true.  I finished the MCGF's quilt.  Phew.

I also started two new projects.  Finished one - start two?  Not what I'd planned.  But first, Missouri Star Quilts announced their Iron Quilter II competition.  I thought "Why not?"  So I've designed a quick, cute quilt.  I just got my "mystery ingredient" charm packs in the mail and I've played with the colors a bit.  I need a good long day of sewing to make progress on it.

The other new project is the result of (finally!) deciding on a pattern for the MC's quilt.  It works with the Northcott Stonehenge fabrics and I think it's simple enough to finish before his birthday.  Which is in 9 days.  So no pressure.

Tonight I got all his fabric ironed and about 1/2 of it cut.  I decided on the background color.  That all feels like progress.  My goal for tomorrow night is to cut the rest of the squares and maybe play with placement while watching Project Runway with my sis.  The belle-soeur is visiting this weekend, so between cleaning the house, visiting with her, a choir retreat, and the usual weekend recovery naps...

Yeah - I better at least get everything cut tomorrow night and final arrangements decided.

I can do this.  Who needs to sleep, right?

- sash

Such a productive weekend!

My newly designed work station is a dream.  My sweetie did a great job and the queen-of-folding-&-organization made it a warm, cozy, functional space.

This weekend, I finished ALL the quilting on the man-child's girlfriend's quilt top.  I finished the piecing in time for her graduation in June but, as often happens, stalled out on the finish.  But NOW I've got all the quilting done, the basting tacks removed, and the binding cut and pressed.  I just need to square it up, add the binding & tags, and pass it on.  Phew.

Hmmm - I guess I should add "Take Pictures" to that list.

The other big progress was on the Craftsy Candy Squares Quilt. I'd cut most the pieces and started assembling the blocks, but by last night all fifty of the 9-patches were complete, pressed, and attached to an alternate block.  Next step - figure out the arrangement of those sub blocks and stitch it all together!

I also played with making little snap bags.  The sample turned out pretty well (I know, where's the picture?) and I think these will be fun to make for the holiday craft sale as well as for little gifts.

So a great weekend quilting and enough progress to have me itching to hit the sewing room tonight.

Keep your feet on the ground!

- Auntie Sash