Scraps

When I was rummaging through boxes and Ziploc bags and baskets etc, I came across a Ziploc bag with inch these 6 1/2 blocks. They are left over blocks from this baby quilt and there was also a bag of unsorted scraps of the same fabrics

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I was amazed at the amount of unsorted scraps I had shoved into bags or just shoved into the bottom of  my large laundry basket of scraps. I have decided that I need to tackle that basket by making improve squares. I pulled out an assortment of fabrics that are the same and similar and made a few blocks.

The larger piece on the bottom was intended to be  a larger piece from which I would cut 6 1/2 inch squares. After getting this far I remembered that I really would rather make squares approximately the size I want and trim them. I can use the smaller pieces or fabric (of which I have many many more) and I have more control over how the seams fall on the outside of the squares. I will probably cut a 6 1/2 inch square from this and use what I cut away as the start of another block.
I  am not sure if I will make another baby quilt similar to the one I made first or if I will use these as centers for wonky stars or some other kind of 9 patch block with a large center square. I am in no hurry to finish this so it will be an ongoing project. I need to control the mess in some way so I will probably sort the scraps by colors into shoe boxes. I can put the lids on  the boxes and stack them when I am not working on them.

I plan to take care of that before bedtime and then start tomorrow to put all the Christmas quilts and linens away. When that is done I will take care of taking down the Christmas tree. I know that Jack will call me Mrs. Scrooge, he really loves the Christmas tree and he always complains that I take it down too soon. He should be the one to deal with the cat and her shenanigans with the tree.

Merry Christmas

m

Ready for Christmas

I really am ready for Christmas. This year I realized that I was not going to be able to get out to Christmas shop.Being house bound for days and Jack's difficulty getting around in inclement weather wiped out the window of time I had counted on. When we finally got out we bought gift cards for most of the people on our list and I took care of the rest of it on the internet.

I finished the pot holders as I had planned to when the weather turned bad again. The finishing was much faster than the piecing because there was no more agonizing over the next fabric to add. They measure 10 inches point to point. I chose  not to add hanging loops because we don't hang our pot holders and they can be used as hot pads or even snack mats.

After I cleaned up my sewing room I hung some of my Christmas wall hangings on my design wall and bulletin boards. I don't have the same number of places to hang them as I did in our apartment. This is our third Christmas here and each year I have done something different. I like to have them up to look at even if there might not be anyone else who comes in my sewing room.

This is on the design wall. The two wall hangings were made different years  but the colors are almost exactly the same shades. The stockings were scraps from many different years and probably were scraps given to me by different people.The two blocks are just block flimsies from my odd block box. I filled in the spaces with left over fussy cut fabric hexagon  motifs that were from my Christmas pot holder project.

 When my mother in law was in a nursing home I made her small mini quilts that slipped over an 8 x 10 plastic stand-up sign holder. This is the Christmas one here with  the Mr and Mrs Santas that I made nearly 20 years ago. The little house was from an ornament exchange at work.This little  vignette sits on top of my printer.

This is the bulletin board and shelf over my sewing machine. The wreath is 22  inches square. I designed it in EQ after I saw something similar. My sister in law had made a Christmas tree quilt for her split level entry way and wanted a small compatible  wallhanging for an adjacent wall at the top of the stairs. I worked it out in fabric as I went along so I could write the instructions. The little mini star quilt was from a Square in a Square class at our guild with Jodi Barrows. Those 4 blocks were all I made. They were too cute to let sit in a box but not cute enough to make me want to make more. I made the 3 angels about 20 some years ago. That is a photo of Jack from 12 or 13 years ago; it sits on the shelf all the time. Once again I filled in with my fussy cut hexagon motifs.

This is a narrow bulletin board on an adjacent wall to the right of the one above. These mini quilts were made with left overs from other projects, one of them is in the photo above of my design wall. Right next to the bulletin board are the high windows above my desk and there is Lucy standing up looking out at the snow.





















Below is the yard she is looking out on. At 10 am the snow was coming down fast and heavy.
It was discouraging but I am getting used to being snowed in and I just went about doing the usual stuff that needs to be done.






And then... about noon I looked out and saw blue sky and shadows.  Much of the heavy snow had fallen off the trees I had a clear view of the barn and a building across the  road. I would be jumping for joy if I could jump.

Maybe we can get OUT tomorrow. 

Hexie Potholders

I finished piecing the last set of potholders and I fixed up the ones that I thought looked too much like  swastikas.

This is the way they looked before I fixed them..
I decided they might look better with another color but I didn't want to make them another round larger with 2 inch cut logs.








I trimmed the outer round of logs to 1 inch and added a round of green logs that were cut 1 1/4 inches making the round of logs 3/4 inch when finished.








 I decided that 3 colors look better than 2 so that is what I used for the last set of potholders.

I still have leftover strips but not enough of anything to make this pattern with 2 - 6 inch strips and 2 - 4 inch strips of 3 colors for one pot holder. I am going to make some using up the strips I have. I am not going to add any of these fabrics to my scrap bins.


We are expecting more snow tomorrow and it will be a lot colder so I will be staying in again and I am hoping to get these layered up and quilted and FINISHED by the time this round of snow is finished coming down. I hope that will not be next February.

Snow and More Snow so I Sew

Here in NE Ohio we are blessed with

From our bedroom window looking East toward the street

lake effect snow which started on Thursday and lasted until the area wide snow started. Jack and I  are essentially house bound. Other members of our household come and go but we weigh the consequences of getting stuck in the snow or dealing with a not so well plowed parking lot and we stay home.

From the living room looking west toward the back yard

I tell myself it is beautiful but these are not black and white photos and  to me the landscape just looks bleak,

Lucy doesn't seem to mind. she is napping here on her perch, which is covered ,for Christmas, with a small hand quilted Christmas wall hanging. This is one of her favorite  places to sit and watch the birds at the feeders.
Yesterday she managed to slip out the door and chase some of those birds. She came back after a few minutes and came in like a streak of lightning when I opened the door for her.

While I am housebound, I have been sewing, using up the last of the fabric strips from the Christmas table mats/runners. I have a lot of leftover strips and odds and ends of yardage; some from this year and some from years past. I recently divested myself of  shared a box of Christmas leftover strips and pieces and I am trying not to add more fabric scraps to what I already have.  So..... I am making Log cabin Hexie Potholders from sewcanshe.com.
The 2 at the top are different one has 2 fabrics for the logs and one has 3.
The 2 on the bottom are the same with 2 fabrics for the logs.

I have more strips and centers cut and I m pondering whether of not to use sets of strips that have as much contrast as the red and white. I am afraid they are more like swastikas than pinwheels.




I am not very fast sewing these because I have a helper. This is what I found when I turned back to my machine from the ironing board.
Lucy is not a lap cat, she never sits on my lap. However, she likes to hang out with me and she can often be found on my cutting table or sewing machine or ironing board.


She helps me keep my sewing room clean. It looks much neater than it used to. I have to put things away so she doesn't tear up my batting or eat shreds of fabric or  thread or remove the pins from my pincushion.

She keeps me more organized because there are almost no quick cleanups anymore, just putting things anywhere to get them out of the way. That lead to nothing in its place whereby I spent way to much time looking for things.

A Finish

I have a finish; a small finish that made a big mess.

I made these two Christmas table mats to cover my end tables. They go with the runners  for the coffee table and bachelors chest and a little hexagonal mat that I made last year. I wanted something that would pull everything together.

The one below is next to Jack's chair and it will usually be covered by a water glass and/or a coffee cup.

I had my sewing room all cleaned up before I pulled out previously cut  fabric strips and some new fat quarters and from there it was all downhill. Before too long all horizontal surfaces were covered while I auditioned fabric for each strip.
I am still working on putting things away in an orderly way so I can use them again without having such a big mess. I am almost there.