I finally finished something! This is my January “FP” finished project. It is considered a “squirrel” project because it was not on my already too full to-do list, but it raised my spirits simply because I have completed a project. This is “Firefly” it is about 11inches x 20 inches.
You know how messy it can get when you're looking for a special piece of fabric. You know you have it but you don't remember where you put it. That's how I've been spending my day.
This does not mean that I have to go buy more fabric.
I found lots of other fabrics that I don't need now but I'm sure I won't remember where they are when I do. Help! I need some organization here, but it doesn't look like it'll be coming anytime soon. 😞
Hourglass addition
I don't think I'll ever get finished with this top. That's what I get for not planning the whole quilt out from the beginning. I discarded my original plan (see previous post) because I didn't like the way it was turning out, so I thought of another way to use the HTS. Using the new design made the quilt too small for the intended project so I tried different things to enlarge the quilt top. Finding just the right combination is time consuming and hard work. This is what I've come up with so far, but it's not anywhere near being finished.
Far from finished
My hat's off to all of you ladies that design and make quilt patterns I know you put a lot of time, effort, and love into your designs.
After drudging through re-lining drapes, I am back to sewing on another quilt top. This top started out with an idea in place, but the more I worked on it the less I liked it. So out came the ripper and with that, a fresh start.
Pre-ripper top
Post-ripper Quilt Top
I have always loved geometry and working with squares and triangles is definitely my cup of tea. I love finding new ways of putting the blocks together.
After this top is together comes the scary part, quilting the three tops I made. Fingers crossed that I have my walking foot by then and can do this next step competently.
“I found it in the alley,” my children's code for “I've been digging in the neighbor's trash.” Yuck!
“So and so's mom was going to throw it out! So I brought it home.” So I would have to throw it out later. Good times.
These little gems came from one of the kids, Pat I think, and they are one of the few things I found useful. They are pieces of granite from a counter top sampler card and are about 2″x3″. They are hefty enough to keep fabric and pattern pieces in place and have come in very handy when working on large projects like curtains. If you run across some of these granite pieces don't throw them away, put them in your sewing room.
Where did the Summer go? Everyone is scrambling around getting ready for school and I’m having a hard time believing that school is starting in about 10 days. It’s been too hot to do much of anything except swelter outside this summer. Inside I make lists to do and then do something else. Squirrel! I tried being good this year and not add any fabric to my burgeoning collection, but I’m failing miserably, cute fabric=addition to collection. Yay! I found a cute line of fabric called Meadow Friends and fell in love with the frogs, turtles and insects. I had no idea how to use this fabric but I couldn’t pass up the cuteness. I checked through all my fabric at home to see if any of it would match this fabric line and I found a few, not enough for a quilt, too much for a bag.
Then I found some more of the line at another fabric store and ideas started forming, still a little nebulous but slowly forming into a plan.
My daughter/enabler/partner in crime, rightly thought that I would enjoy a quilt shop hop for my birthday and we did our best to buy something at every fabric shop we visited, including some more Meadow Friends. So much for not adding to the stash. We had a great time and plan to shop hop again next year.
Online I found this bright, colorful quilt at cluckclucksew.com and thought that the design would work wonderfully with my fabrics.
Source: cluckclucksew.com via Mary on Pinterest
Froggies and Bugs
So I started on what I thought would be an easy and quick quilt top. It wasn’t hard, but it was not as easy as I thought it would be. Isn’t that always the way of things.
Yay, finished!
After several weeks of sewing I now have two finished lap size quilt tops.
Now on to the next step.
As the saying goes, time flies when you’re having a good time, so I must really be having a great time this year! Wasn’t it April last week? I made an embroidery role and needle book for Amy using “a guess here” and “a borrow there” and “I think this will work” to finish this project. And here it is. I hope you like it, Baby. :~)
I am now moving on to the next project on my extensive list of things to finish this year, hence the panic in the title.
~mkp*|:~)