Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
I finally made progress on the Journey2Nebula projects. I had started Candy Dish right before the Big Blog Blow-up and then didn’t make much progress. I also haven’t started the last project, Gazebo, which is sad. I really like that project and wanted to do that one most.
I still have to trim Candy Dish and make it into a cushion cover, but I finished the piecing over the weekend in between working on FOTY 2019.
Nobody died.
It still has been a difficult couple of weeks in blog world. As you may have noticed, my site has been down. There are a lot of complicated reasons that are boring and not quilt related. Trust me, you don’t want to know.
The bottomline is that I have to pay more for hosting, but customer service was so terrible that I was able to negotiate several months for free.
Fortunately, I have still been sewing. Stay tuned for an update.
Friend Julie’s birthday is coming up. It is quickly followed by Christmas. I always enjoy making her a few things. She uses and appreciates (or seems to!) my efforts.
Last year, I made a list of what I had made for her. I am doing it again this year, because the list last year was so much smaller than my memory said it was. I worked hard at making gifts last year and really beefed up the inventory. I also came across a post that showed a few more items than I could actually find on the blog last year. I knew I wasn’t crazy!
While I began sewing FOTY 2019, I used some 2.5 inch squares as leaders and enders.
I realized as I was making them, that there is no rhyme or reason to the color scheme. I don’t have enough of one color to really do anything with the blocks.
The problem is also that making blocks when people can’t get a set at the meeting doesn’t help Peggy with Community Giving.
Looking at them now, I could make another 16 Patch Plus quilt top like I made for Peggy last weekend. I could use the black blocks for the outer legs of the Plus and a red one for the center block. The 16 Patch Plus tops turn out so small, though, and I really prefer making larger quilts.
I arranged the squares for Fabric of the Year 2019 to the point where I felt I could start to sew.
I started in the bottom left hand corner as I thought the dark part was mostly to my liking.
I wasn’t 100% happy with the center and the photo shows that I cleared out all of the Slate Grey squares in the center. I thought it might look better, but I am not sure I will keep it that way.
Rock Candy is finished so I am on to Candy Dish. This will be for my youngest niece since the others have gotten their cushion covers.
Candy Dish** has two ‘patterns’ included in the little fold up pamphlet. In reality, it is one pattern with two color arrangements. I believe the goal for the Journey2Nebula project is to make both pillows, but I am only making one.
I pulled out my pink bins and started going through them to find the pinks that would create the vision of the pillow that was in my mind. I found I have a lot of peachy pinks, which I no longer enjoy. 🙁 I’ll have to figure out a use for them. Another lesson in using fabrics up sooner than years later. I seem to be getting a lot of these lessons recently.
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I made this quilt to represent the rights I thought were in danger in 2016. I think they are in even more danger. The worst part is that most of them reveal that lawmakers are thinking too much about sex when they consider women.
Go Vote and think about what YOU want your future to be like. Don’t consider what others are telling you. You are smart enough to decide for yourself.
I have been looking at the Pop Parade fabric by Metro for P&B for years, but specifically recently as I rummage through my dots yardage. This week, I saw a quilt on Instagram and it called to me.
I have had this fabric since 2008, so it is past time to use it. At the time, I wanted to just use this fabric, but I think, now, I will add some tone-on-tones or solids to the mix plus a background. These are all fat quarters so I won’t be able to make some of the blocks in the size I want, because I don’t have enough fabric.
The problem with this fabric hanging around for years is that I don’t like it as much as I once did. I don’t dislike it, but it doesn’t use the clear colors I am now excited about. This is an advertisement for using fabric you are excited about when you get it.
The design of which I am now enamored is an X design. I made a pillow some time ago for Maria that I think has a similar design: lozenges. The thing I like about this design is the variety of sizes. I also think this design will go really fast.
What I have to think about is whether I want to start on it now or finish FOTY 2019 first. I could do both at the same time using leaders & enders.
My fabric usage was small for October as I didn’t sew as much as I expected. Still I am up to 92 yards used, which is 7 yards more than I used at the end of last year. Of that 29% is for charity quilts.
Finished 2020 Quilt Projects
Four quilts are now complete for the year. I am thrilled.
Finished 2020 Small and Non-Quilt Projects
This category covers bags, toys, aprons and knitting as well as other non-quilt projects.
I feel like I have made more of these small items, but I can’t find any others.
Doing Good
In Process
The ‘In Process’ is used to denote projects on which I am actively working or are on the design wall waiting for me to stitch. I am continuing to try not to put away projects. I find putting a project away ensures I never work on them, because I just lose steam.
Small Projects to Make or in Process
Most of my progress involves thinking or just cutting.
Handwork
I decided that some of my projects are in a different class because they are hand piecing or embroidery or beading. They take longer. Thus I created a new category and have moved some projects here.
Ready for Quilting
Nothing at the moment.
In the Quilting Process
In the Finishing Process
Nothing at the moment.
Still WIPs
I still have WIPs. Who doesn’t, after all? A project in the ‘UFO’ category means I am stalled. A nicer way of saying UFO is a WIP. The list is a lot shorter and the projects are newer, for the most part.