Pinking the Edges

The Pink HST project (still nameless) was ready to be bound. This is a before picture showing the binding next to all the different pinks in the quilt.

Deciding to go with a narrow 1/4" binding, meant 2" strips - which was fortunate as there wasn't a whole lot of the deep pink scattered seed print batik left for this. But it worked the best color-wise and I squeaked it out.

Binding's stitched down to the front.

I just rolled one edge tot he back, pinned it, just to see what it would look like finished. Liking it so far!

Nothing sewed on the back yet. More S-L-O-W progress from the weekend!

Cream Rising to the Top

I started machine quilting on the Pink HST project.  I have at least 4 or 5 different pink threads that would have worked well on the project - if I would have wanted the pink parts quilted.

BUT NO!

I have to quilt in the cream pieces.  So what, you ask? 

Well, I'll tell you - I was completely out of the cream thread that matched this cream batik.  ARGH!!!  I have natural, light golden cream, variegated tan/cream, buttercream, tan, etc., but no plain regular cream! Not entirely sure how that happened.  

No, that's not true - I used it all and didn't replace it! 

Bad Quilter! Oh, and second empty spool? I was out of black too! Really Bad Quilter!  Who doesn't keep basics on hand at all times?!

This quilting happened in s-l-o-w motion.  There was very, very little push in my sewing speed over the weekend.  The new meds I am taking are causing some interesting side effects, previously unknown to me, so it's kind of a crap shoot until we figure it all out. 

That most likely means I miss out on the June Focus Through the Prism project, and I haven't finished my May FTtP project yet either!  Sometimes a quilter can only do what she can! 

Pink, Pink, Pink and Some Cream

Zipping right along on the Pink HST project!  Wish I could say the same for the Focus Through the Prism project - more on that later.  Because it's about the Pink today.

I squared and sewed the 4 blocks. After some consideration, I decided on a cream border without a pink flange, to frame the blocks and keep it light.

The binding was a bit trickier. I auditioned six of the seven pinks I used in the HSTs before picking the medium deep with the lighter scattered seeds print. The binding has been cut, pressed and is ready to go.

In between work and doctor appointments, I got it layered and pinned.  Not a huge accomplishment, as it's only 21 inches square but I'll take it as progress.

Maybe now I can be inspired to move back to the Prism Project this weekend.  Hope you all get some stitching time, too!

Introducing...Summer Splash!

Deadlines are my friend!  The plan all along was to dedicate Sunday to machine quilting 'Summer Splash'.

And what a wonderfully, peaceful day I spent in the studio, doing just that!  Sure, I could have pushed harder and finished earlier in the day but didn't - I took lots of breaks, enjoyed my snacks, walked around outside, and just took my time.  And I still finished!

Introducing 'Summer Splash'!

Drake was by my side, as usual, all day - but decided not to show his cute face for the camera. 

Since this is a utility quilt, I chose to machine stitch the binding down.  The binding is made from the gray-toned strips from the pre-cut pack, that I originally excluded from the quilt.  I trimmed them down to 2 inches, pieced the strips into one binding - alternating colors, pressed them in half, attached it first to the back of the quilt, brought it to the front and straight stitched it down.  

Summer Splash has already been chucked in to the washer and dryer!

Love the softer look of the early evening pictures, after washing and I caught Drake in this one.

Crinkled up and ready to use!  Good thing - I need it tomorrow!

Quilting Start on Summer Splash

Summer Splash needed to be quilted this past weekend, due to a special deadline on this Thursday.  I had to find a backing.  I didn't want to bust into the brown 108" wide backing for this small quilt - it's only 48 inches square.  Digging into my other backing drawer, I found this.

The colors blend well enough and I had plenty to piece together, so the choice was easy.

I couldn't run out to Michigan to use the tile floor, not to mention crawling around on said floor is completely out of the question right now.  I had to use my sewing table for layering. 

I'm not 100% happy with the tension I achieve using the table but it will be fine in the end.  Here's Summer Splash all ready for machine quilting.

Stay tuned for quilting progress.

Trending Now...Triangles

There seems to be an emerging trend in my studio.

A few months ago, while making Bonnie Hunter's Grand Illusion mystery quilt, I ended up with this.

A bin of bonus half square triangles.

Which led to the explosion of blue and cream HSTs, that became this.

Until I did some un-sewing, that is, which gave me this on the design wall.

Those parts are still hanging there,waiting for me to figure out the new setting layout. Which led to the other night when I needed some non-thinking sewing machine time.  And that's when I decided to pull out the bin of black, turquoise, pink and cream HSTs.  Which now looks like this

Where did all the pink ones go?  Into these!

Not sure where this new triangle trend may lead but I'm  going along for the ride!

Branching Out

Since my activity level is restricted and I have several upcoming appointments in the near future, I decided a new hand stitching project is just what the doctor ordered!

When I was down to Paducah, I found a really great Tree of Life panel.  Love the bright colors! 

The other day, I layered it and hand basted it.

It's hanging on the design wall - set & ready to go! Up this weekend - machine quilting 'Summer Splash'.

Large, Non-Squishy Box in the Post

I received an AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL, MOST GENEROUS GIFT in the Post.

See - a LARGE flat rate USPS box, weighing in at NINE POUNDS!!!

Nine pounds of what??

Nine Pounds of BATIKS!!!

Fellow blogger, Teresa Rawson, from  Fabric Therapy held her 2nd Annual Epic Quilter Sale recently.  Because of my surgery, I couldn't drive over to Michigan for it. Totally bummed out, I wished Teresa well but lamented my inability to attend.  Teresa and her two friends, took it upon themselves to stuff a box full of amazing, wonderful batiks and send it off to me!!! 

My heart is full of gratitude at their generosity!!  I had the best time unpacking the box - 1 beautiful piece of fabric at a time. Each one was my favorite until I saw the next piece.

There is some serious yardage here. How much yardage equals nine pounds, you ask??  Thirty-three yards of batik! OMG - talk about stash enhancement!

LOVE the color range.  I desperately needed purples and light values, along with some rich neutrals. And you know I LOVE blues & greens! These girls covered it all!

DH has been busy washing and folding everything before it goes into the stash. I just have to find some drawer space for it all. Then, I will be busy designing some new projects incorporating the new colors!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!! 

Summer Splash!

More Sitting Up & Stitching Therapy!

Saturday was National Sewing Machine Day, which I celebrated by cleaning and oiling the FWs.  I had recently purchased an original replacement bobbin case as Wild Cherry came without one.  I had been using Dot's in her to do all my recent piecing.  Well, when I tried the new replacement bobbin case in Dot - I had nothing but tension issues and broken threads. Oh NO!!!  Hmmm - what to do?? Of Course! Cross you fingers and try out the replacement in Wild Cherry. It worked!! Now each FW has it's own bobbin case. YAY!!!

On to sewing!  Well, not technically. I actually laid out the color grid for the Splash quilt on paper first.

Then it was on to sewing. Here is half of the actual blocks laid out on the table.

And the other half already sewn & hanging on the design wall.

A little more sewing and ... I have a finished TOP!

Introducing 'Summer Splash'

It still needs a good pressing and better pictures outside. Hoping to get this sandwiched and quilted by the end if the weekend. Fingers crossed again.

Small Splash Blocks

Friday was Studio Stitching Therapy Day!

First, I mended a pair of pants for DH.  This required a machine swap, (DH did it as it's probably over my 10 lbs. weight lifting restriction).  And some thread hunting....hmmmm, where on earth did that spool of regular black thread wander off to???  Oh, yeah - it's in Michigan.  And I hadn't bought a replacement one yet. Well, CRAP!  Thankfully, I found a black wound bobbin and a navy wound bobbin - close enough for the mending! 

And then it was on to the small Splash blocks.  I laid out the strips and squares and started swapping the centers around.

Chain stitching made relatively quick work of these.  I did have to completely un-sew one block because I got carried away and used an end square as a third center.  Can't do that as I had exactly, and only exactly, enough pieces to make the blocks - no extras!

Forty-eight small blocks pressed and ready to roll!  

Up next - the layout.  I need to fuss a bit to make sure there is an even distribution of colors and value across the top.  This is where pictures and the sketch will play a big role as I'm not dragging out the foam design panels. 

These blocks were just enough therapy for one day! 

A Splash of Color

Working on the Focus Through the Prism Challenge requires some intricate paper foundation piecing - something I seem to be having trouble focusing on.  No pun intended - just too intense for my current attention span.  In the meantime, I need to sit at the machine!  Not only do I want to stitch, the sitting up at the table is rehabbing the ab muscles. 

What I needed was a simple straight line, basic shape project.  What I had on hand was this Bali Pop - Splash.  I totally scored this precut pack on final clearance for 20% off the already marked down price. No way I could pass that up.

LOVE the bright, summery colors. And it's just what I need right now - a project with very little thinking. How little thinking?  This is my sketch.

Nope you aren't missing anything - it literally is just an outline of the quilt to scale with a few quilt math notes on block size.  Simple squares and rectangles will make a 48 inch square lap quilt.

The pack contained 40 strips and I only need 32, so I was able to remove the few gray toned colors I didn't care for. I want just hot pure color in this quilt.  This is the range that was left after editing.

The project has 8 large rectangle blocks so I pulled 2 non-patterned strips of each color family and started there.

One strip makes 1 large block.  One strip will make 2 small blocks and I need 48 of those.  Those will be my project for the weekend.  Stop back next week to see how much I get done. 

Have a great weekend.

Other Green Bits

I haven't hit the studio yet as the last two days had me out and about.  A visit to the Doctor, having 29 staples removed, was Monday's adventure.  Yesterday, I was able to finally retrieve the Element from the garage at work were it's been for two weeks, along with my files and laptop.

 Yep - I drove my own truck. It was a bit scary and so very liberating at the same time.

Today, I am hoping to drive the Featherweight for awhile.  and finish piecing the green project. The DH, was already quite busy this morning cutting the grass in the back yard. The temp is supposed to reach 90 today, so it was good to have this chore behind him early.

Given my current state of restricted activity for the next two months, this year's planting was limited to 12 plants - TOTAL! 

Sorry about the sideways pictures - they just didn't want to cooperate today.

I chose to go simple in the back yard - only 3 plants in each of two long planters. Geranuims, petunias, vinca vine and sweet potato vine. 

The rest of the plants are in the front pots.

And the shade garden I planted last year has become rather sunny when the HOA cut down the tree right outside of our fence.   

The hostas could probably use a splitting already this year but that will have to wait until next year.  They are thriving - to say the least! 

Hoping to share some fabric progress tomorrow.