Quilt top readiness

After kids #2 and #4 and I worked to make our crazy blocks, I can finally say that the flannel scrap quilt is ready to make into a quilt top.

Group Therapy

I am a big fan of group crafting. With many years of lone ranger crafting, I have really come to enjoy having company. Some people never had issues with groups. I have seen groups as risky -- I might reveal something or hear something that I wished I hadn't. But I like the camaraderie now. Maybe I've loosened up. Maybe I figured out how to be there without talking. I have no idea.

Progress check: the prayer shawl is now bicolor. I will probably quit when I run out yarn. I must save some yarn for fringe.

The quilt has not been stitched upon since I bought the new thread (two days ago). I finished stitching in the ditch for all the "vertical legs" that go around the individual blocks. Yeah, that reads clear as mud. I guess I'm saying that I have half the quilting finished. Next step will be to stitch the horizontal legs. Step after that will be to choose one shape near the center, the interior of the block. Shouldn't take too long.

Crazy Wonky Houses Quilt -- closer to done!

My progress:

I am halfway done with connecting all the blocks. I have *just* enough fabric to go in between the rows. The stripes will be oriented opposite of the sashing, and I'm OK with that.

Connecting the blocks into rows goes really fast. I'm pretty excited to say that a baby presented itself to me this winter. His baptism is this weekend, so I may be able to give this quilt to him on Sunday.

I also ripped out the blue Homespun prayer shawl that I started an embarrassingly long time ago. It was much too wide. I reworked it to fit on the needles better. Substituting R.E. with family movie night and watching Liberty's Kids for history every day means that we've a LOT of TV. So I've gotten this skein of yarn almost completely worked into a shawl. I'll need to get more by next Prayer Shawl meeting.

FREEBIRD IS HERE

Little crafty things going on here.

:: Figuring how many crazy quilt and wonky house blocks I need to fill out an entire quilt
:: Finishing the dishcloth I started oh so long ago
:: I picked up a large cardboard box from a screen door during 'junk day' on the east side of town. This will be for my magazine rack.
:: Buying thread to match the new Second Class Scout patch and sewing it on the left front pocket of "G" of GAIN's scout uniform.

And........FREEBIRD ARRIVED!!! 40 pieces of 10" x 10" color coordinated fabric by Moda. The colors are energetically lovely shades of brightness.  Here are my picks for two purses -- a red one and a green one. I am super-excited to add some color to my very conservative wardrobe.

The challenge here was to figure out a way to use the squares for a decent-sized purse. The lining might have to be non-Freebird because I think a solid color would be good. I am choosing the two fabrics that came in doubles. The pattern I use will probably be this one that I found at Sew, Mama, Sew a while back. I'll need to buy purse handles and interfacing, and I conveniently have a coupon for both. Gotta shop with coupons.

This layer cake I won from Adventures in Dressmaking has got to be the most expensive giveaway I have ever won. I will need to be extremely thoughtful in using all of it in order to have very little waste (have you looked at Adventures in Dressmaking? She's participating in Stashbuster April -- that's no waste) and to maximize the look of the beautiful prints. In fact, I LOVE the Outdoors squares from my layer cake so much that I wanted it for a purse, but I think it would be best shown off as an entire square instead of cut into rectangles.

Crazy House Blocks

 

I've been making 8.5" square crazy quilt blocks with backing. The backing is new for me, and was suggested by my older kids and a book. Using muslin to stabilize does add stability, but it also decreases my freedom somewhat. I liked the non-backing squares because I could "trim as you go" -- sew a seam to join, then trim the excess. With a backing, you just can't work that way.

Plans are to make the wonky houses from earlier into 8.5" squares by adding to the edges or trimming the edges. This means that the houses will have a lawn! Maybe I'll end up embroidering a tree or two as well.

Quilting plans

I have not really spent my Christmas money. With the weather, I just didn't get out during our usual Christmas break. Then regular, non-shopping life arose. I've bought one $30 pair of shoes. That's it. I planned to buy a walking foot in order to quilt at home. I'm sure I could just place a phone call to Midwest and get it done, but I haven't. Probably because I didn't have a project in mind.

The project came to my mind this week. The wonky house blocks, combined with leftover and new crazy quilt blocks, will make a nice wonky quilt. My son began his second sewing class at school on Friday (insert dual enrollment love here) and I know that crazy quilt blocks for a pillow are on the syllabus -- my inspiration. Since the house blocks CREATE a lot of scraps, this should be an easy project.

So now I've got a reason to call Midwest, and new project to work on, and another shared thing to share with my kid. Life is good.

Crazy Quilt Done

The front. The back. I quilted a grid around the blocks with the walking foot from Cathy. The kids then tied a piece of white yarn in the center of each block. Since the batting package recommended a maximum spacing of 5", I also made little night time images in the outer corners. (It's a moon.)


You can see that I used a flat sheet for a backing -- soft cotton. I had to reckon with finishing. I decided to forego binding the quilt, looked to a quilt I had received for high school graduation for guidance, and ended up using the backing to finish.
Here is a little star.

Happiness

Happiness is today! It is St. Patrick's Day. We used our two shamrock cookie cutters for the first time ever after years of ownership. (Sara, Mom gave us one in that huge box of cutters for Christmas.)

Happiness as a crafter -- I have been able to use my friend's newer sewing machine with a walking foot to finish Caleb's quilt. I had to run to the fabric store tonight to get a vanishing ink pen, which I found. I also found fat quarters for $0.25!!!! Perfect for the Christmas gifts that I determined last month. I also got more suiting than I could want for $0.86 and a muslin remnant that I would buy anyway for $1.40.

Yes, I already know what I am giving people for Christmas, due to Sew, Mama Sew's Fat Quarter February. I think I will end up making my own bias tape for the first time in my life to get spiffy results. I am all about spiffy and being non-conventionally conventional, which is what my bias tape will be. At least in my head. In reality, we'll see.

I keep hoping that I'll find a fat quarter cute enough to make a Buttercup Bag with. I think I'm shopping at the wrong store. I actually know where to find that cute fabric, but the designer $9/yard price tag scares me! But comparing the cost of a cute handbag at Target to the price of materials for Buttercup may not show a downside to $9/yard.

Getting closer

I have one row of blocks left to go! I hope to shop for a backing cloth tomorrow. My gut tells me that I'll have to make 'sides' for the quilt top, but I think that work will pass quickly.

Looking back, I have learned that I can tolerate a certain amount of precision. The 'frames' around my blocks are an example of that. In the past, precision has been a deterrent for me. Now that I've had some success, I see perfection/precision as a non-issue. And it looks cool.

I also learned that a foundation may have been a good idea. I read about the foundation layer in the book that inspired me, but I didn't understand the idea king with a couple blocks in particular. There is really only one fabric that gave me trouble, making me wish I had used muslin behind it. In my next project, perhaps a string quilt, I will use foundation. Especially because I have a 40% off all muslin coupon :-) Anyway, I don't remember "A" of GAIN telling me to sew my pieces on a foundation layer, and she was my main mentor.

Crazy Quilt

Thought I would show you that my iron and board live in my living room until I am done. Fortunately, we do not "live" in the living room, so it's not in the way. This arrangement is much easier than endlessly walking between the laundry area in the kitchen and my sewing desk. I still need to decide how to finish this work. My current thought is it to use the last of my scraps to make more crazy blocks until I have enough half-height blocks to make strips along the long edges. My older two kids' quilts were finished in a similar fashion. And I need to buy a walking foot from the quilt store.

Crazy Quilting

This photo is from a couple days ago. It's probably half done now, so the length is half of a twin bed. I have no photo of it, but "I" of GAIN has finished her first nine patch quilt block. She is into Felicity, the American Girl, so sewing by hand has been her passion. You may rememer the pin cushion she made. She wants tomorrow to be as if we were in the year 1774. But maybe not the food.

Since I have identified a recipient, I am sincerely working every day on the quilt. I am also composing a letter in my mind to accompany the quilt. Here is the beginning:

Dear Caleb,

I am giving you this quilt because I want to pass happiness, fun, and warmth to you. I had a lot of leftover fabric from happy things. I wanted to keep all the leftovers for the happy memories they gave me. But what good would it be to keep them in a drawer where no one can see them?

Your quilt has a lot of happiness in it -- pieces of past Halloween costumes, pajamas, hot pad holders and placemats (food makes me happy), pillow cases to brighten my family room, table runners for decorating around St. Valentine's and St. Patrick's Days and Thanksgiving and Christmas, sofa and chair slip covers, and other quilts -- for my children and for your brother. You'll recognize the pieces that match Noah's quilt. Some of the pieces in this quilt I bought just for fun.

Finish work

I unstacked my blocks, spread them on Mr. GAIN's old bed sheet from high school (conveniently printed with a 2" x 2" grid), and figured that 54 blocks will work. I swapped seven or six blocks with a tiny edge of fabric for blocks with beefier edges. And the one block I had under the presser foot, I didn't finish. It would have looked very different from all the rest, but there is no need for another block on this project. Perhaps another project.

I then took a short amount of time cutting 2" x 2" blocks, mostly from two colors of fabric. Love the rotary cutter and self-healing mat. Very time-efficient and accurate. Bought them years ago as a special package. I knew that I had a great deal when people in line behind me were happy for me and congratulating me on my purchase. :-)

I rolled up the sheet with the blocks on it, and spent time looking at my leftover fabric to decide what "frames" I could have. Brown is what I had a lot of. A left over All Saints Day costume from long ago. Not a thrilling color, but my goal is to spend zero dollars. Or close to it. Especially since no one in my house currently needs a quilt. I just need to create something useful with all my junk.

As for the junk: My top drawer of remnants looks nice. My bottom drawer, not as nice, but not packed full like it was. Everything is still cramped in there, though. I have a darker brown fabric that could supplement, but I haven't much of it. I went ahead and cut brown rectangles. I'll hopefully get time to lay everything out tomorrow and see what my purchasing needs, if any, are. For some reason, I have a lot of batting. I'll have to see if there are scraps or untouched full cuts yet this evening.

I feel that I'm channeling my Great-Grandma Campbell and my Great-Aunt Shirley. It's a comforting thought. They made a quilt for my high school graduation. I treasure it. Since it's a one of a kind quilt and I'm such a messy person, I've rarely used it for fear that something bad would spoil it. I could never replace it.

Happy Scrappy Day

I spent ten hours working on scrapbook pages at New Life Church. It was a fundraiser crop (freewill offering) for their youth group's upcoming Appalachia mission trip. Although we have a new printer/scanner/copy machine, I decided to photograph my work from that day. Much faster.

I loved getting a bunch of pictures out of storage and into an album. I still have journaling to finish, but getting the pages laid out is the biggest hurdle to leap. Journaling is easy, doesn't take much space at home, etc. I finished 25 pages. I also started two big layouts, but found that each layout was missing one big photo. I think I must have been waiting to print the enlargements with the occasional Walgreen's "Free 5 x 7" special. I'm still waiting for that special to run, and I'll remember this time that I have images to print. I also organized some photos. Some photos from 2005 -- four years ago -- got stuck on a page (finally). Yes, I am pretty late.

Another notable detail about the crop I attended was that someone had just purchased a CriCut at WalMart (under $200) and brought it along. This weekend was the first time it ever saw use. I had never seen one. It was nifty and fun, even though we couldn't use cardstock with it. You can see some of the letters I cut with it here. It seems to have a lot more to offer than a Sizzix or QuicKuts.

I'm not finished embellishing all of my pages. With a self-imposed spending freeze of all craft supplies, I will pore over my idea book that I bought back in the days of yore, and create some awesome-ness that fits my style and current stock of supplies.

I also pumped out quite a few blocks for my crazy quilt and "I" of GAIN finished her pincushion on Friday. She plans to give it to a friend tomorrow during a play date. I made a few more after this photograph was taken. I recently saw a 'project improv'-style quilt where the stitcher made the back of the quilt with large scraps of fabric. I am considering the idea, but I like using a flat sheet, then tying it. The kids can participate in the tying, which is why our quilts are tied. (I have made two or three quilts that are not tied, and they weren't for our family to use.) I haven't made any decisions on finishing this, though. I don't even keep track of how many blocks I still need to sew. I may be done, but who knows.

Sign Me Up!

I'm a Gingermonkey is hosting a stash-busting giveaway! All of us hoarding crafters can volunteer to declutter somebody's stash (that sounds positive and not greedy, doesn't it?). My fabric drawer has recently seen a reduction in its contents, I want to make some fabric napkins, our youngest will need more fabric for her quilt, timing seems good, price seems great, why not? Join me in the fun! I'm sure I'll pay it forward in the days to come. That is how it works in bloggerland.

Crazy quilt update: I have a couple more rows of blocks to create. The small pieces of fabric are all used up. I broke out a few bigger remnants. Feeling good to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

"I" of GAIN update: I got a Felicity's Craft Book a while back. Unsure if it was donated to me or bought. "I" had to keep her feet up and rest yesterday (we'll be shopping for new snow boots), read through the book, and has done a couple crafts from the book. She has the pincushion almost done. Actually, she is waiting for me to buy some poly fill. I needed some in December for my Mr. Bluebird, but used fabric scraps. She wants soft poly fill because it is a gift. She learned the backstitch.

Her first quilt block is coming along nicely. She completed a row of 3 patches while I was out of the house yesterday. I was surprised, but really, it's not a difficult activity, so why not do it yourself instead of wait for Mom?

Prayer Shawl

Our parish re-started a Prayer Shawl Ministry in the fall, thanks to a high school alumnus. We're a small yet consistent group of people. Here is my current work in progress (WIP), created with Lion Brand Homespun. I am knitting a plain garter stitch on size 13 needles, using two skeins of the color Antique and one skein of Nouveau (the random stripe). Although our current request list is shawls for children, I would like this shawl to be for a man or woman. This will be my second prayer shawl for the ministry. I try to begin work with a prayer and think positive thoughts while knitting. When I complete it, I'll attach a nice tag and sign it, sending my positive prayers along with it.

I hadn't used Homespun since the godson hoodie sweater. Once you figure out the tension needed to use this yarn, knitting with it is a snap. Figuring out the tension can take a little while. In fact, I know a few people have thrown Homespun in the trashcan, never making it out of the "figure it out" period.

I want to talk a little about needles here. My last shawl was made with a pair of aluminum needles, probably the first ones I bought for "A" of GAIN Academy. That means I wanted a minimum investment until I knew the hobby was a lasting, not a passing, one. I can't stand them. The yarn slips off them and they make a noise that bugs me. I cannot say that I am a fan of plastic, but the needles in the picture here, also an early (cheap) purchase, are wonderfully quiet. They are warm and quiet. I think all of my wooden needles are wonderful to touch. However, I have no long wooden needles. I haven't shopped for long needles, but now I wonder if I have ever seen long wooden needles. I'll have to pay attention the next time I shop.

Two items of crafty news from the weekend: I am still crazy quilting, but I think I'm going to quit. An empty scrap drawer just won't happen right now. I want to be done and move on. I'll size up everything and think about a quilt top, batting, and backing this week.

I was able to finish my sister's drapes this afternoon. It was a quick job. If I can finish something quickly, I am very pleased. So I was happy. She and my SIL and my mom also gave me rocking birthday gifts this evening. I am multiple times happy.

Next potential WIP: cloth napkins. The goal is 25¢ per napkin. So I have some math to do before hitting the remnant baskets at the stores.

Crazy quilt

Picture this. I'm talking to my sister on the phone. She hears me using the sewing machine.

"Are you sewing?" she asks.

"Yeah," I say.

"What are making?"

"Guess!?" I am exasperated that she would even ask. My stash pile is LARGE. I think I'm up to 29 blocks. Someday, this will end. When the end of my life is near.

She guesses, "Crazy quilt?"

"Yes! (In my head I continue the thought, "For the rest of my life.)"

"Think of how cool it will be when you're done."

Well, I'm really not thinking that right now. Maybe that's because my medicine isn't lasting as long as I wish it would and I have headache out to here.

I found more scraps of past quilts, including a block that we created for the coming of Baby Noah (not a baby anymore, by the way). I found scraps from past table runners, the first quilt I made with my oldest, a potholder set that I made for our hosts in the Colorado cabin (I know you moved, so wherever you are now, thank you!), but strangely, not a shred could be found of the fabrics I used for the wall hanging that I made for my grandparents. Odd. Did I not overbuy for once in my life? Maybe not -- I think I may have used a pattern for that one. Mark that down as the only time I ever kind of followed directions.

Block count

I'm up to 18 blocks, 8 1/2" square, all of them are crazy. Although my oldest, again playing the role of the experienced quilter and being very proud that she never used the same fabric twice on her pillow, quickly pointed out that all of my blocks look the same.

Here are the fingerless mitts I made for G. They cover his wrist for a good length. He will test them Sat. while he is at a winter survival day with his scouts.

The latest new thing here is "I" making valentines. She got a papercrafting book from my sister (I think) and is having a hey-day with it.

Crazy quilt

Here is the quote of the day (actually from Friday) courtesy of my oldest:

"Mom, you're pressing after each seam aren't you?"

Hm. Role reversal.

Crazy, quilting that is

January means decluttering and organizing for many households. I am joining the bandwagon and decluttering my two drawers of fabric scraps. They are crammed and I get crabby every time I open one of them because I can't get anything out unless I dump the entire drawer (usually). The answer? A crazy quilt.

The solution of a crazy quilt came earlier this week when I was required to say what I would do should I win a quilting give away. The crazy quilt idea was solidified yesterday when I passed a shelf of new books at the public library. It was all about crazy quilts -- history, art, and how-to. I didn't check it out, but I read it for ten minutes. I remembered that my oldest had made a crazy quilt pillow top as an 8th grader. She told me how easy it was, knowing that I attempted and struggled and failed three years ago to make one. I came home from browsing the book at the library, studied her pillow, then tried to make a 8.5" square. It was so easy that I couldn't believe it. I have no idea what held me up in the past.

I ended up making five blocks yesterday and two today. I still have a heap of fabric on the ironing board to get through. Either I overbuy for the small amount of stitching that I do, feel extremely wasteful or guilty when considering the trash can for small pieces of fabric, or have a neurotic fabric attachment issue. Probably all three.

I have also given away G of GAIN's fingerless mitts to his paternal grandfather. Evidently his thick wrists are not accommodated by commercial gloves and mittens, and G's mitts stretch enough for him to wear. Whether he will use them is another question. But it is the thought.

To replace the mitts, I am making wristlets, thinner than the original mitts. These will be able to fit under his gloves to cover that patch of skin where his jacket and gloves fail to meet. I am finished with one wristlet, 2/3 done with the other. Small knitting projects are portable, so I was able to work an inch and a half at a family Christmas party today while watching a bit of _The Snowman_.

For information on the quilting giveaways, you can look at the ones I entered, listed below. There are many many more participants. You can view them all at the Whirl Into Winter website, here.

Zana's Ninis - I liked the look of things here. Her stash reports humored me. A lot.

Mid-Ohio Knitter -- A quilt giveaway on a blog with the word 'knit' in it -- right up my alley! I liked that she crafted across a spectrum of hobbies like me.

ART GIRL -- again, the diversity appealed to me. NaNoWriMo WINNER, artistic, and quilting -- all describe one woman. Wow.

Pat Sloan's Corner -- unsure if my entry was counted, so I'm not leaving an opinion.