Still Alive and OK

I ran into some friends today in the quilt shop and one of them told me she checks my blog and hasn't seen any action for a while. She told me I should just post that I am still here and OK. With nothing much going on I just haven't had anything to write about but am still here and I'M OK.

After the waterproofing project in the basement things came to a halt and I still have all my Christmas storage boxes taking up space in my sewing room. I took me a while to get things moved around and sorted out before I had any room to sew.

I found several 5 inch charm packs and an overabundance of small pieces left over from the last few quilts. I decided to cut the charms into 2 1/2 inch pieces and make 4 patches and then I sewed the 4 patches together in groups of 6. I am going to put borders around them and make placemats. They are not very exciting but it is something to do until I hit on something that excites me.

I went fabric shopping today for the border fabric. Actually getting out to the quilt shop was pretty exciting for me, especially when I ran into 2 quilting friends.


This is one of the placemats laying on top of the border fabric that I already had. Most of these checkerboard fabrics are from the wedding quilt I made 2 years ago.










This is one of another bunch of placemat centers laying on top of one of the border fabrics I bought today. Most of the small squares are from charm packs with a few squares of leftovers from my leftover bin.










 There are 4 of these placemat rectangles that Have a lot of grey squares from the fabric I used in the wedding quilt. I bought 4 layer cakes of "Fresh Cut" by Moda and I used a small amount of the the gray but I really wasn't fond of it so I had a lot left.










I bought 2 Fat Quarter bundles as well as the placemat fabric today. They were both cheerful and spring like and I am ready for something cheerful and NEW.
This is one of the bundles; I was drawn to the little birds and the pretty colors of the solid looking companion fabrics.

So..... we'll see if I am motivated to finish my placemat project. So far I have no plans for my fat quarters but they are cheerful and they are nice to look at and I like to pet them as well.

A Finish

I finished the binding today on a set of placemats.  Although I don't usually sew down the binding on the back of anything by hand anymore, I sewed these by hand. It has become increasingly difficult to do any hand sewing but I took my Advil  and bit the bullet and did it.  I wanted them to look good on both sides as they are to be a gift.
It took an hour for each one and I did not do them all in one sitting.

I also made some Log Cabin Hexie hot pads or pot holders or what ever the recipient wants to use them for.
You can find the tutorial  here at Sewshecan blog. the 2 center ones here are finish and will go with the place mats. I used 2 fabrics for the logs and  I like the swirl effect.The other 2 on either end are not finished yet; the one in yellow and green  has 3 fabrics for the logs and the one on the right has six fabrics that set will go with the table runner that I showed in this post.

I will finish the other 2 sets soon but first I  am going  to clean up my sewing space and get ready for company and a trunk show for family.  I am hoping to give away some of my quilts. Once again,there are too  many living in closets and chests and cabinets. I gave away about 20 quilts and wall hangings to my daughter and daughter in law 3 or 4 years ago and now it is time again.

Spring blooms and a bit of sewing

The flowers are coming along and all the trees in the yard are blooming.

 I took this shot from the kitchen door, looking north. The crab apple tree is right in front of the dining area window and the far tree is a maple.

This is a closeup of the blossoms that are right outside the window.

Keeping it real .... this shot, right below the tree, is the mess from replacing the leach lines to the septic tank.  That was done right before our first big snow and it has involved a lot of work cleaning up where the ivy vines were dug up and the rock wall and brick steps from the lower part of the yard were "disturbed". It is a work in progress.

This is the tree round the corner on the east side of the house. I took these photos from inside the house looking out my bedroom window. While the crab apple tree buds took almost a week to all open; the buds this tree seemed open all at once overnight.

Two close up shots of the tree 

I have no idea what this tree is; it has small red berries in the fall and the birds love both trees. 

The dog wood trees are also blooming but no photos today.

 This is a bush on the west  side of the house and below that the photo shows the giant Lily of the Valley plants that are blooming next to the bush. This bush was more orange when the leaves first opened and now it is gold but starting to turn green. It will be green all summer and turn orange again in the fall. Of course, we don't know what it is.

This is the Hosta border around the flower bed where the Lily of the Valley is planted. The hostas all need to be divided. We could probably plant them around the whole yard and have some left over.

The sedum is doing well too in several locations.                                                                                      There are grape hyacinths and Brunnera and creeping phlox and some other things coming up too. Violets are everywhere and the vinca ground cover is growing in the wooded area. 

                                                                     

 I have been pulling weeds and raking up debris around the yard but I have had sometime for sewing.

I made some spring place mats. They have a light sea foam green border and will have a yellow binding. I pinned it around one place mat to make sure I like it and to make sure I would have enough fabric for all 4. I would have had enough but I cut one strip wrong and I am an inch short of cutting another strip. So now I have 3 fabrics of which  I have "almost enough". Unfortunately, they are from 3 different quilt shops. One is for a backing so I will replace it with something I can get when I go back for more yellow binding fabric. I am sure I can get another piece of the same yellow but just in case I can't it will be OK because it has not been sewed on to any of the place mats yet. As for the other fabric I need, I might get more of it and I might not and that will be OK too.

I also made some log cabin hexie hot pads and I will save those for another day when I finish them.

More Placemats

I changed my plan to put the truck fabric on the back of the place mats for my granddaughter. Instead I made place mats for the three younger great grandsons. One of them was here visiting yesterday and today so I finished his for him to take home.
I got him to smile for the photo but he tried to hide behind the place mat.

This is the fabric on the back. I thought it might be to "little kiddish" but my daughter said they would like it because they all still like to draw and color.

Yesterday after dinner he wanted to know if I was going to go back to my sewing room because he likes to hang out with me there.
So we hung out and I printed some face masks from the Internet (he chose skulls) and we colored them and put them on and went outside to the family room door to scare everyone there. I wish I had a picture of it but I think I deleted it when my daughter sent it to me.

We had fun even though we don't have a photo to prove it

even if no one was scared.

A Finish and an Almost

I finished the "Take Four" placemats today. I think it is the first finish since the wedding quilt. I used the print with the white background for the backing on all 6 (like the dominant fabric in the top left placemat).

I made these according to the pattern and turned it pillow cover style. I had a little bit of a hard time doing the hand stitching to close the openings, holding a hand sewing needle really hurts my thumbs. Halfway through the 3rd one I took some Advil and took a break for a while and finished up after the Advil kicked in. I know I need to take something before I start any hand work but I don't always remember. Anyway the openings turned out good and would be hard to spot.  I have some extra fabric left and will make some Hex hot pads to go with these. they are a birthday gift for a granddaughter.















I am almost finished with the baby quilt. Yesterday I got the variegated thread for the sashings,  a nice pastel with all of the colors that are in the quilt border. I finished up all the quilting today and have  only the binding to do. I have white binding made and ready to go.

The closeup shows the colors in the quilt well, although the serpentine stitching with the variegated thread shows up better in real life. I think it was a better choice than either of the two threads I had considered..

It is a cheerful little quilt and it makes me happy to look at it. I hope the baby feels the same.

Placemats etc.

Yesterday, I got going on the "Take Four" place mats. I bought a bundle of 10 fat quarters and I had a hard time deciding which ones I was going to use to make 6 place mats. I finally decided to make the first 4, using the fabrics I thought worked the best. I made the other 2 from what I thought worked best for the 2.

The 4 on the left are the ones made with 4 fabrics, according to the pattern instructions. The other two on the right are the ones I made using the instruction's cutting sizes

I think if I do this again and need to make more than 4 I will skip the bundles and just purchase 4 half yards for the fronts and yardage for the backs. I might also just buy what I need to make them all the same.
After I finished trimming them all to the same size, I took them outside to photograph.

Then I took a walk back to the vegetable garden with my camera. I was hoping to get some shots of the squash blossoms (thinking quilted wall art). Yesterday there were several really beautiful blossoms, but not today. However, there are lots unopened blossoms and lots of squash in various stages of maturity.The top left is a tiny butternut squash with the blossom still attached. Top right, is a squash about 10 inches long starting to turn yellow. There are about a dozen large ones starting to turn yellow. It is hard to figure how many little one there are because they are hard to spot.
The 2 photos on the bottom are one of the cucumber plant,s showing one blossom and one 6 inch skinny cucumber; there are also some cucumbers ready to be picked (no photo).

I didn't get any shots of the tomato plants as it was really hot outside and I wanted to get inside. There are lots of green tomatoes of different varieties. I did pick 4 small red ones, after I washed them I ate them. Tomatoes are my favorite food especially fresh, ripe and home grown.

 I eagerly wait the ripening.

Placemats

My granddaughter told me that when she was visiting her sister there was a really pretty quilted center piece on the table..............


This is the one I made for her 2 years ago.

 ........but they were using Halloween place mats.

I made these in 2012.










So Monday we stopped at the quilt shop and I bought this bundle.
For her birthday, I am going to make 6 place mats from the "Take Four" pattern and a table topper of some kind.

I know I am going to use the 4 fabrics on the left. From the pile on the right, I will  use the red dot fabric and one of the 2 greens on either side of it, probably the solid looking fabric.









 I am going to use this fabric on the back of 2 of the place mats for her 2 boys. I have a strip 15" x 62 left over from making pillowcases for the boys almost 2 years ago.

Hmmmm.... maybe

 I should put it on the back of 3 place mats 

(one for their Dad).

 I think I will....

 Then, if their

 cousin comes for dinner, 

Dad can give up his place mat 

and use one of the floral ones.

A Finish

I finished the "Take Four" placemats and I really like them. I like the nice soft colors and the pretty floral prints and enjoyed working with them.
I used to work with floral prints all the time and  then I  decided that I wanted to do  something different and made up my mind to use up all my floral prints. I even gave away my whole collection of mostly floral colorwash 2 inch squares. I am not sorry about the 2 inch squares but I miss  floral fabrics in my stash.
Actually I don't have much of a stash anymore. I have been trying to use it all up and I am making progress.  I have been fairly successful at sticking to my resolution to only buy what I am going to use for something I am working on or plan to start as soon as I get home with my fabric.

Lately, I have been feeling as though I am in a rut 

 and I think I am ready to switch gears.

I wonder where this will lead,

 if anywhere.

Something a little softer

 After the bold bright Anvil project I needed something soft and pretty and more traditional. It is not that I don't like the anvil flimsy. it is growing on me, especially after Jack said he likes it and doesn't see what I am fussing about.  After I make something artsy or wild or modern I always have a need to do something traditional.
Last September I purchased a fat quarter bundle of Moda "Mimi" By Chez Moi with nothing in mind but the colors and patterns were calling my name.
When I decided that I wanted to make "Take Four" placemats, designed by Cary Flanagan  I went back a bought a yard of something for the backing. After Christmas I split the fat quarter bundle with my daughter ( I am hoping she will be bitten by the quilting bug). the bundle had 7 fat quarters so I needed one more and I was fortunate to find a small selection of half yard cuts at the same quilt shop. I chose the kind of quiet blue and green print.

This is the front of one of the placemats, it is the one I thought I was not going to like when I had only the horizontal strips sewed together. Now that the vertical strips are stitched in place I like it a lot. I will stitch in the ditch and then something else but I am not sure yet what it will  be.

This is the back of all of the placemats. I considered  using that pink/red fabric for binding but decided to just turn the placemats pillowcase style so I didn't have to go back and look for more of that fabric.  When I turn something pillowcase style I don't want to deal with closing an opening on the edge; I am never really pleased with the way it looks.  I always piece the back and leave an opening in the seam for turning and either close it by hand or a strip of fusible web. Well...If I have one seam, why not two seams and why not use the left over quarter yard of the blue and green leafy print.

  Voila, reversible place mats.

I seldom use patterns or make anything according to instructions but I followed this pattern to the letter. I like the design, it is easy to follow, it is fast, I didn't have to figure out how much yardage I needed and I knew it would turn out the way I expected as I have used the pattern before.



Placemats

I stopped in the quilt shop on Monday and picked up fabric to make another set of Christmas Take 4 placemats. I was having a little  problem with vertigo that started when I was  getting a haircut earlier. I knew I would not have another chance this week to shop so with Jack driving I decided  to go ahead and get my fabric. Beth, the owner at Cotton Pickers quilt shop was  so nice. I told her what I wanted and she brought out a stack of half yards that she had been cutting and then looked for  green fabric for me and I got what I needed.
Jack had his cataract surgery yesterday (he cancelled last Tuesday when they moved him back to late in the day). The surgery went well yesterday and we were home before 10AM. We had planned to stay in the rest of the day and all I needed to do was put drops in Jacks's eyes every 2 hours. It was a good time to do some simple sewing.
 
This is a nice quick pattern and I was able to get started on the place mats. This morning before Jack's follow up visit with the eye doctor I layered them up and got one of them quilted.
This is the front of the one that I have quilted so far. It is simple in the ditch and then horizontal lines 1 inch apart. I only quilted in the ditch on either side of the narrow light strip and the vertical inset strip. I am planning on quilting the rest of them this evening.

. This is the back of the quilted mat. I bought a yard and a half of the red fabric for the backs and the bindings. I bought half yards of the 4 fabrics for the fronts and I was  going to make 2 sets and get a different  back for the second set. I  decided to use the other 4 fat quarters for the backs instead because I get bored making a second anything of the same fabric. I use use the red for another set of Christmas placemats with different fabric or make something else with the red fabric that is left after make the binding for these.

Jack is seeing very well with his new lens implant and he will completely happy next week  when he gets new glasses and a new correction for his other eye. Right now his glasses are not right for either eye.

Place mat Backs

 I finally finished up  hand stitching the binding on the back of the "Take Four" place mats; that was a lot of hand stitching. If I had given it more thought I might have sewed it first on the back and turned it to the front to finish on the machine. Once I did the first 2 I just kept going and did them all the same. They look good and now that they are finished I am happy I did the hand stitching.  These are the backs of the mats for my granddaughters. I made 2 each of these for one of them and 2 with the pumpkins for the other one; the fronts were all from the take 4 pattern.

These are the front and back of the two that I made for my daughter with the leftovers. I had cut orange for the binding but decided on the green. I think that it was a better choice.

I have three 2 1/2 inch orange strips left over  and a little of everything else. I am putting it with my scraps where someday I will be happy to have them. Right now I am tired of them and want to work with something else. I know my daughter will like hers and I am pretty sure about one granddaughter too but I am hoping the other one will not be disappointed with the colors.

Thanksgiving etc.

We had a nice Thanksgiving; we went  to my daughters house so there was no big cooking worries for me. I made 2 pumpkin pies and bought a cherry pie. It was also a birthday party for our great granddaughter. This is some of the family wearing the sunglasses my daughter bought for all the kids. She didn't know that we would all want to wear them.  That is me on the right  with one of the great grandsons

I finished 3 place mats and they are all different sizes but that won't matter as they are not going to be used together. The one on the  right is the back of the place mat. I sew a  seam down the center with an opening in the middle for turning and stitch all around the outside. It is a better finish on the edge than trying to make it invisible when I  do the hand finishing on an edge after I turn it. If I put a narrow border around the outside it gives the appearance of binding and it is a lot less work.  

These are 2 mug mats I made from some small leftover pieces from past years projects; I  thought this was a good use for them. I have seen on other peoples  blogs. The one on the left is just the top. I made the other one for my husband  but he thinks it is too pretty to use where he  might spill coffee on it. I figure oh well........ so what, it is after all free as it is entirely made from scraps. I have a few more of these and that is about the extent of my Christmas sewing. My family and I have about all of the Christmas quilts and quilted  things that we  have room for.