Showing posts with label #SewcialBeeSampler. Show all posts

Why I Should Sew Alone, or, Don't Sew When You're Tired

I had high hopes for the amount of sewing I'd get done over the last week.  I was going to put the borders on the Gracie Girl quilt, make at least a top during the quilt retreat, and start putting together the Sewcial Bee Sampler top.  Plus I thought I'd quilt Gracie Girl too.  Ha!  Big HA HA!

 I put the borders on Gracie Girl yesterday.  I really wish there would have been a bit more fabric included in the kit so that I could have either 1. cut the borders the length of the fabric to avoid seaming, or 2. been able to match the pattern better for the seamed borders.  The border fabric has a pretty big, bold pattern and it is pretty noticeable to me where all the seamed parts are. They are only little chunks, under 12", so I feel like it's just a bit odd looking.  But it is now ready to quilt.  I'm not sure how I'm going to quilt it yet, but it is ready.  I have backing fabric.  It's not a super huge quilt, nor is it something that's going to be used a lot, so I think I'm going to try to piece some batting remnants together on this one.  The plan is that this will be a decoration or lap quilt as needed in our office.  It has similar colors to the blinds I made several years ago.  My husband thinks it's strange that I'm making a quilt for the office.  I think that every room is improved by having a quilt in it!
As far as the Sewcial Bee Sampler, I went back to JoAnn to find more of the background fabric I used.  The one they currently have is much more yellow that the original and the dots are slightly different.  Bummer.  So I got a background fabric that has similar base fabric coloring even though it has a different pattern.  Hopefully it will look okay.  I haven't done anything further yet.

 I packed two quilting projects and a knitting project for my guild retreat over the weekend.  Most of the time I just go on the Saturday, but I paid for the whole weekend this time.  What I didn't anticipate  when I signed up is that we would have a lot of things going on at home.  Or that there would be a big snow storm.  So it was pretty hard for me to relax.  I went to the place on Friday evening.  I worked on my cross quilt.  I got a very fitful, poor night's sleep.  I was really cold, there was a light outside shining in my window, and it was hard for me to block out noise from other rooms.  I got up and kept right on working on the quilt top.  By mid-afternoon I could barely keep my eyes open.  I kept working on the top.  I was down to pressing the sashing strips and adding the two outside sashing strips.  I got up to use the iron, decided I'd rather press it at home, and that I was just done.  So I just packed up and went home.  And slept 10 hours that night!  And nine the next!  So even though I really enjoy my guild mates, I think I'm better off just going for only Saturday in the future.  Tired, cranky Anne-Marie is not very fun.

 I looked at what I'd sewn at the retreat and noticed how pretty much nothing matched up.  So I've been doing a ton of ripping and reassembling.  It's so frustrating.  I don't think anyone enjoys ripping out stitches.  Lesson reinforced:  don't sew while you are super tired.  You will mess up. I'm not really sure how I want to quilt this or what backing fabric I want to use.  I made one with the same pattern for my mom a few years ago and wasn't really happy with how I quilted it. I attempted to do the same style as the original quilt pattern maker used, but it just wasn't for me. This is the cover quilt on issue 31 of Love Patchwork & Quilting.
It's really wrinkly due to the amount of ripping and resewing I've been doing.
My sewing room is inching along.  My husband has all the trim on the walls and is getting ready for painting.  We also added a new bookcase outside the door of the sewing room.  I think he has that primed and ready for painting as well.  I've been cleaning the floor and have mopped it several times, trying to have it as spotless as possible before trim painting. Anyone have tips on cleaning vinyl plank flooring?  I tried using a vinegar and water solution and a microfiber mop, but that didn't cut the construction mess.  I then mopped twice using Spic and Span, and that looks better, but still not totally ideal.

After the trim is painted, we (my husband; at this point I am basically only helpful in cleaning up) still have to wire the outlets, install one more light, install a drop ceiling in the big closet, install carpet in the big closet, install knobs and pulls on the desk and cabinets, clean all the cabinets and install the shelves inside them, finish the countertop, install shoe moulding along the cabinets, install a smoke alarm and wi-fi booster thing, put on the doors for both closets, install doorknobs, get some glass cut for one set of cabinet doors, finish up the crown molding, finish making the top for my cutting table, break down, move, and reassemble the long arm, and move all my stuff in.  Gosh, is that all?  I'm probably forgetting things.

 What new projects are you working on?  I want to finish up my works in progress.  I'm about halfway through my list now.  I wouldn't mind adding in something new, but I'm not feeling any inspiration either.
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Sewcial Bee Sampler Blocks

I have finished up all my #SewcialBeeSampler blocks and am considering what to do as far as making a top.  

 The pattern calls for sashing between the blocks.  My original plan was to use a pale aquamarine for the sashing and then something with the aqua/orange print that was my original color inspiration.  Now that all the blocks are done and I'm reminded how much orange is not really my color, I'm rethinking the aquamarine sashing.  I just don't think it would look that good.  In fact, I'm considering leaving out the sashing entirely!  Or maybe seeing if I have enough of the white polka dot left over to make the sashing.  
I don't know.  I don't love it anyway, so we'll see how long it sits here undone.  I made this with pretty much only what I had on hand; I added a few fat quarters from JoAnn to it, but mostly all from stash.  And, sadly, it barely made a dent in most of the fabric.  Check out the hashtag on Instagram though, because I love everyone else's but mine!  So many wonderful quilts!

 In other news, things have been rather busy around here.  We've been insulating the spaces in the basement.  We're just about at drywall time!  At that point, you're basically half done with the job.  But I'm halfway to a dedicated sewing room, so it's all good.  

 I've also been looking at new furniture for my living room.  The timing is not wonderful, but I am so over my 15 year old plaid sofas and 20 year old recliner whose second fabric covering has giant holes in it.  It's pretty embarrassing, especially since it's the first thing you see when you enter our house.

 And we're deep into preparations for our upcoming FLL season.

 Trimming a few of these HST is the only sewing I've gotten done lately.  I haven't even pressed most of them yet.  This is going to be a lengthy process!!!!
I had quite a bit of car time in the last week, so I've added a lot more stitches to the bluebird cross stitch.
Ooh, I've forgotten to mention something exciting:  I finally got someone to help me with getting the dampener plates for my long arm.  While I didn't get them for free (tired of fighting for that), I did get them for about half the cost I expected to pay.  We'll see how long it takes for them to come in.  They should make a huge difference with the vibration!
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Weekly Updates--Quilts, Cross Stitch, & Clothes

I didn't do too badly, all things considered.  I finished one of the tanks I was working on for my daughter.  I need to do a little seam ripping on the other in order to fix it.  Speaking of my daughter, she is a really super fast seam ripper and ripped out a ton of quilting for me on a quilt I made more than 10 years ago.  I had started quilting it on my domestic machine at the time and had two large tucks in the backing.  Stopped working on it, there it sat, etc.  So now I have that one ready to re-quilt.

 I did get the Windermere #2 onto the frame last night and am planning to work from the front of the machine to quilt it.  I also have a call in to the store where I bought my long arm in an attempt to order some dampener plates to help with the massive vibrations my Juki has.  I was kinda rolling my eyes when the first guy I talked to said it's really hard to get parts from Juki.  Big surprise there.  Anyway, we'll see what happens.

 I finished the cross stitch I needed to have done last Friday and we even got it framed.  It hasn't made its way to its new owner yet, but hopefully she will like it once it gets delivered.  This was a free pattern I found on the Internet.  It's well traveled since I worked on it on our trip this summer.

I had a lot of car time over the weekend, so I worked a little more on the bluebird cross stitch. It's a kit from Bucilla.

I even put in a very small amount of stitches on the never-ending project.
I put together my little Thimbleblossoms Vintage mini.  I used B&C Handmade for this one. 
I'm going to use some of the leftover charm squares and partials for the backing.
I also finished up all of my Sewcial Bee Sampler blocks.  Not sure what I'm doing with those as far as setting or finishing yet.

 I've cut just a few of the Fishline quilt HST.

 I added a picture of the pink and brown Valentine quilt to my 2017 finishes.

 Until next week...


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What I'm Trying to Work On & Row by Row Junior

I feel like I have a million things I should be doing right now.  And I've given myself all these abitrary mental deadlines on them.  Then I beat myself up when I don't get stuff done.  I've had the same group of stuff on my to-do list for three weeks.  :(  Both my kids have day camps this week.  I'm spending about three hours a day driving them because they start and end at different times.  Not much is getting done.  Frustration mounts.  Luckily I haven't had jury duty yet, but it looks like I could get called in next week.  Sigh.

 Here are some of the things I'm planning on for the week, although most of the week is gone. Even bigger sigh.
I'm working on a B&C mini for myself.  I need to sew these HST that were trimmings.
I'm three weeks behind on #SewcialBeeSampler.😩
I need to remake this tank for my daughter since I made the dumb mistake of serging
before having her try it on.
I also have to fix another tank we made her.
I need to cut all of these into HST and trim them all.
There are currently 140ish squares, so 520 HST.
Fabric is Fishline by Kristen Berger for Maywood Studio.
This is ready to get onto the frame and get quilted.
Fabric is Windermere by Brenda Riddle for Moda.  And Kona Snow.
This will be a gift.  I really need to get this one done today.  Probably won't happen.  :(
My daughter participated in the Row by Row Junior this year.  We picked up a pattern at Crimson Tate and she worked diligently on it.  She selected the fabrics from my stash.  I did the cutting and part of the pressing.  She did the sewing.  Then she decided she wanted to make the row into a pillow, so I marked quilting lines for her and she quilted it.  We figured out how to make an envelope pillow.  She also made the pillow form.  The first try was stuffed way too firmly, so she opened it back up and took some of the stuffing out.  Still too big.  So we made it smaller and she redid it a third time.  It took some doing, but we did manage to finally get the form into the pillow cover.  It may never come out again!  Then we made a trip back to the store so she could claim her ribbon.  They made a big deal about it, made her feel good, and posted her picture on social media.  She was just thrilled!
Fabrics L-R are Moda Bella, Cotton + Steel, Dear Stella, Moda, Dear Stella, and C+S.
Background is a Lizzy House print.

Crimson Tate embellished their Row by Row ribbons--Nicole of Modern Handcraft made the fancy parts.
The print is Heather Givans' (Crimson Tate's owner) fabric.
In other news,  I watched a baby red headed woodpecker learn how to come in to the feeder and eat.  There was an adult who came in with him and waited until he figured out how to land on the suet cage before flying to a nearby tree to watch over him.  In case you aren't a bird aficionado, it's the bird on the left that I'm talking about.  
Have a great week!
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Family Vacation & American Girl Denver

We enjoyed a week's vacation in South Dakota and Denver a few weeks ago.  We flew into Denver and then made the six hour drive to Rapid City.  On the way there, the GPS took us through Colorado and Nebraska and on the way back we went the more direct route of Wyoming into Colorado.  We spent about three days in South Dakota and then four days in Denver before returning home.

 Bear with me while I show a few of the highlights.  :)
Devils Tower, Wyoming--the first national park!
Mount Rushmore, South Dakota--see those dark clouds?
We got caught in a hail storm!
Dinosaur Park, Rapid City, SD--a WPA project!
The Badlands, SD
Denver Museum of Nature & Science 
Rocky Mountain National Park, CO
Alberta Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park
BTW, it's our 20th anniversary today!
Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park
Manitou Cliff Dwellings, CO
Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, CO
Garden of the Gods with Pike's Peak in the background
Souvenirs!
I like to buy artsy postcards for souvenirs.
My daughter's souvenirs minus her junior ranger badges.
My son's souvenirs--we did five junior ranger programs!
We also visited the Journey Museum and Reptile Gardens in Rapid City, Wall Drug, the Minuteman Missile site, Custer State Park, and Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota, Hammond's Candy, IKEA, American Girl, Lego, the US Mint (no photos allowed), the Federal Reserve, and the Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum around Denver.

 My son wanted to go to the Lego store and American Girl is at the same location in Denver, so we had to go there too!  It's a pretty small shop, but they had a decent selection of things.  I found the layout a bit odd and the checkout was not where I expected it to be, but I got what I went in for, so that's okay.  It was not busy at all when we went.  Here are my American Girl souvenirs.
I always buy the souvenir shirt.  And yes, the neckline does look a bit yellow.
I love pink flamingos, so made this unplanned purchase of Maryellen's Flamingo Swim Outfit.
It is adorable!
This is the Kamratlig heart pillow mini from IKEA, a steal at $.75!
With arms extended, it's about 12" wide.  The heart part is around 4".
I found this Life Science set at Target--haven't seen it in stock since before Christmas.
Even though we've been home for a week, I feel like I still haven't caught up on anything except laundry.  I'm now three weeks behind in the Sewcial Bee Sampler.  I did get my mini made for the B&C mini barn quilt swap; I just have to finish binding it.  I've made close to zero progress on my cross stitch.  I haven't touched the long arm since we've been home although I do have a quilt loaded on it.  My to-do list keeps growing and growing.  I suppose that's a typical summer!

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Just a Little Cross Stitch

I have gotten pretty much nothing done in the last week what with the end of school and Memorial Day weekend.  We traveled home to see family over the weekend and I took the bluebird cross stitch with me to work on.  I didn't have time to do much, but I've made a solid start.


 I have the S'mores quilt fully bound, but have to still tuck in what feels like a thousand thread ends.  Hopefully I can share that by next week.  We'll see how ambitious I feel--it is summer vacation after all!  ha ha

 I also need to make two #sewcialbeesampler blocks, finish putting on the borders of the mystery quilt I've been talking about for the last few weeks, get the Valentine's quilt onto the frame now that the magnets are ready, make some tank tops for my daughter (this one is the highest priority), and start on my B&C Barn Quilt swap now that I've received my partner assignment.

 Once I decide on a design, I plan to make a PDF instruction sheet for it and will share it on here for free eventually.  I'll announce when it's ready, and it will show up in the "Free Patterns" tab above as a link to download, along with my other freebies.

 I'm down 15 pounds now!  :)
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Sewcial Bee Sampler Update & More

I've been keeping busy lately, although I haven't really worked on anything much; not sure where the time has gone.  The end of the school year always feels that way.

 I finished the horse cross stitch last night, pulled out the frame, and noticed this:
What in the heck am I going to do?  The frame is a little too small for the stitching.  How annoying. Maybe this is a good time to start working on my unfinished-for-more-than-10-years-cross stitch houses project.

 I also pulled out this Kimberly Einmo mystery quilt from 2005.  It was published in the AQS magazine.  I think I quit working on it because I noticed I'd sewn part of the blocks wrong.  Looking at it now, I really don't think it will matter much.  I re-pressed the seams so that the blocks are a little flatter.  It should be interesting piecing this one together.  My seams weren't especially good/consistent back then.  I've improved a lot in 12 years!  I'm hoping to get this top put together in the near future.  I think it will be a good one to practice quilting from the front of the frame. Here are the two blocks that make up the majority of the top:
I'm having a sewing date with some of my friends this weekend.  I'm going to work on this project:
I haven't updated my progress on the #sewcialbeesampler in a while, so I thought I'd share the 15 blocks I've completed so far.  I took all these photos at the same time in the same conditions.  I find it weird how different they all appear in regards to exposure, etc.  Plus Blogger is fighting with me on how they will be displayed.  Sorry they're in such a long string.
block 1
block 2
block 3
block 4
block 5
block 6
block 7--I think this may be my favorite.

block 8
block 9--this one turns out dull no matter how many times I photo it.  :(
block 10
block 11
block 12
block 13
block 14
block 15
Registration for MQX Midwest opened Monday and I signed up for three classes--one lecture/demo, one hands-on class, and one trunk show/lecture.  I also signed up as a volunteer in my off-time. I'm a little nervous, but it should be fun.  I have four months or so to stew over it!  Ha!

I was looking for a video about using Leader Grips and found an excellent one by Seder Quilts.  You can search on You Tube and find the video.  As a result of watching, we bought lots of magnets over the weekend!

Have a great week.

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