Weekend Stitching

The heat continues, not surprising since it's August. Definitely wiser to stay in and stitch then go out and deal with the heat. I spent both weekend afternoons in the sewing room.  On the the to do list was to finish up a few more masks.  

Mask pattern from Laundry Basket Quilts 

This is most of what I planned to make. The darker pink and the multicolor dots on black are for the Scientist in Training.  The dark green and the dark blue at the top are reworked from the first masks I made with elastic.  

This was the original face mask pattern.  My Guy never really liked the elastic in these masks and much prefers the other version with ear loops made from T-shirt strips. This first set of masks were made in April of 2020. Who knew we'd still be wearing masks to work more than a year later?  The weekly epidemiology report for the state of Oklahoma showed a decrease in new cases for last week, hopefully that means we'll see things start to improve.  

All the scrappy butterfly blocks have been framed and are up on the small design wall.

Scrappy Butterflies
Block is available in EQ 8 Block Library

The strips are cut for the 9 patch alternating blocks,  assembling those blocks is the next step for this project.  

Linking up with Monday Making and Design Wall Monday.  

Stitching Stuff: Week 35 of 2021

 

Weekends always pass so quickly. Though I did get a few things checked off my chore list and managed an evening of stitching time on Saturday.  I need to tackle the laundry this morning, but I'm hoping for an afternoon filled with stitching time. There weren't any late work nights this week, so it was easier to get in my stitching time each evening. 

• 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
• 15 minute days/August = 23/28 days
• 15 minute days/2021 = 201/240 days
• Success rate = 83.75%

So it was a good week in the sewing room. If I can sew every day in September, I can get back to a success rate of 85%. That's the goal for this year. Hopefully life will be kind next month.  

How did your stitchy week work out?  

 

1. Julie in GA 2. karen 3. maggie f 4. Meloney 5. Ivani

6. Shasta @ High Road 7. DonnaleeQ 8. Sherrie 9. katie z. 10. Andre

11. Amanda 12. Quilting Gail 13. Carol @ Quilt Schmilt

Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.

Family Photo Challenge: Week 9

It was supposed to be a shorter week since we took Friday off, but spending most of Friday at the car dealership waiting on repairs wasn't supposed to be part of the deal.  Turns out about half the technicians were out due to COVID, so wait times were way up.  Add in an hour drive each way, that expedition took out most of our day off. 

When we finally got home, it was time to reveal our photos for this week's challenge:

I wasn't sure what to do, so I did a bit of Googling for ideas.  This idea looked like something easy to do, it wasn't.  Once I got it right, I really liked it. It's now the wallpaper on my computer.  

Kate: Computer Desk Double Take

My Guy pulled out his box of crystals and prisms to play with for this week's challenge shot. 

 

My Guy: Cross Crossword

The Scientist in Training had a lot of fun with this week's challenge.  She took several different shots to demonstrate the concept, here's her pick for the week. 

SIT: Bubbles 

I like all three efforts, so I can't pick a favorite.  Can you?  

It was my turn to pick the card for this week of the photo challenge. 

The SIT says she has a good idea and I have a thought to try out.  My Guy will come up with something unique, he always does. 

August One Monthly Goal

It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that August is almost over.  Just four months left in the year.  That's even harder to wrap my mind around. But it happens every year, you'd think I'd be used to it at this point.  As the month is just about over, it's time to talk about my August One Monthly Goal and link up with the end of the month linky party over at Elm Street Quilts.  

 

The plan this month was to get the Morewood Mystery Quilt prepped for quilting. 

The last step in the process was to press and clean up any loose threads on the back. With a white background, that's an important step to reduce threads that might show through after quilting.  

The loose threads weren't too bad on this project.

  

Then the final lint roll of the top, fold and bag. Now it's ready to box up. 

The batting, backing and quilt top were all boxed up and mailed out almost two weeks ago. In fact, Trudy's finished with the quilting and Morewood should soon be on it's way back next week.  Fingers crossed there will be another finish next month.  

So I checked all the boxes this month after bungling the same OMG for last month.  Linking up with the August One Monthly Goal Finish over at Elm Street Quilts.   

To Do Tuesday for the Week of 8/24/2021

It's been a fast, but productive week.  Last week's To Do List was pretty short and simple, but it still feels good to check off each line.  

To Do List for 8/17/2021

• Cabins and Fans: Work on row 7 ✔
• Scrappy Butterflies: Continue framing blocks ✔
• Unity: Make HSTs for Step 6 as leaders and enders ✔

I'm sticking with the same plan for this week's To Do List,  short and simple. 

To Do List for 8/24/2021

Cabins and Fans: Finish row 7, work on row 8

Cabins and Fans, self designed

The row is almost assembled, I still need to cut the sashing piece between row 7 and 8, but the second half of the center is just about finished. There are 3 borders left to add, those always take loner than I think.  Even so,  I'm hoping this project can go out for quilting next month.  

Scrappy Butterflies:  Finish framing butterfly blocks

Unity:  Make HSTs for step 6 as leaders and enders

Face masks: Make a few to replace worn out masks

There are bits and pieces of all the projects on this week's To Do List all pinned and ready for stitching sitting by the sewing machine. Hopefully I'll have time tonight to stitch this set and prep another to sew Wednesday night.  

Linking up with ChrisKnits for To Do Tuesday.     

More This and That Stitching

We had a low key weekend.  Mostly stayed in to avoid the heat. It is a typical August in Oklahoma weather wise.  Staying in to stitch is just better for one's health when it's that hot outside.  

We are back to mandatory masking where we both work.  With infections continuing to increase, we'll be wearing masks for a few more months, at least till Halloween. I made a few new ones to replace the masks made with elastic, the t-shirt ear loops are much more comfortable.  

Mask pattern from Laundry Basket Quilts 

The other sewing activity was to frame the Scrappy Butterfly blocks

Scrappy Butterflies
Block is available in EQ 8 Block Library

Just over halfway finished with this step.  I also cut some strips and started assembling the strip sets for the 9 patch setting blocks.  Those should start showing up on the design wall this week.  

There was also a little progress on the next UFO on my quilt plan, Chocolate Marshmallows.  This project has been on the UFO list for awhile because I couldn't come up with a setting that used the fabric yardage left over from the blocks. 

 

Chocolate Marshmallows
pattern by Amanda Bergamin
of Sea Breeze Quilts

I really like the dark brown rather than the pink as the borders, but I don't have enough of the brown fabric left.  A bit of on line shopping yielded a tone on tone brown that should make a good substitute. 

It's not an exact match, but it won't be right next to the roses print, so it should work nicely as a frame for the sampler blocks.  Chocolate Marshmallows will be next up on the to do list once Cabin and Fans is ready to go out for quilting.  

Linking up with Monday Making and Design Wall Monday.  Have a great week.  

Stitching Stuff: Week 34 of 2021

It's been hot, which is typical for Oklahoma in August, and humid, which is not. It's just miserable to be outside if the sun is out.  So I've spent some quality time in my sewing room this week, other than a couple of nights when I had to work late. 

• 15 minute days/week = 5/7 days
• 15 minute days/August = 16/21 days
• 15 minute days/2021 = 194/233
• Success rate = 83.26%

So not a perfect week, but better than where I was the end of July.  

The Scientist in Training decided she needed something to help her relax and after giving my long term cross stitch project a go, she decided to try embroidery.  I posted back in February on her progress. The more stressed she gets, the more embroidery she seems to do, so she's finished a number of kits since then.  

Several of these ended up as graduation gifts for her friends. She's still working on kits, but she's also taken a stab at using her own designs to embellish clothing. 

The model of an atom on the gray sweatshirt was a graduation gift for one of her chemist buds. The rainbow heart she did for herself.  When she was home last weekend, she brought her embroidery up to the sewing room. I sewed, she stitched while we hung out together. It's been nice to have a shared interest.  

How was your stitchy week? 

1. Julie in GA 2. karen 3. DonnaleeQ

4. Meloney 5. Chrisknits 6. DawnyK

7. amanda 8. Shasta @ High Road 9. Carol @ Quilt Schmilt

Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.

Family Photo Challenge: Week 8

It was one very long week.  I'm so happy to see Saturday arrive.  We wrapped up the Week 8 photo challenge last night.  This week's challenge was photos of: 

We all went "Hmmmm" last week.  I went with the alternate meaning. 

Kate: Four Feet

My Guy did something artsy. 

My Guy: Signs of Passage

The Scientist in Training went more traditional. 

Scientist in Training: Hand and Foot

So three different perspectives on this week's topic. What's on tap for next week's challenge? 

Next week should be another interesting post.

To Do Tuesday for the Week of 8/17/2021

Hard to believe August is half over already.  There has been more sewing time this month than last.  Last week's to do list has lots of check marks. 

Weekly To Do List for 8/10/2021

• Morewood Mystery: Package and sent out for quilting ✔
• Cabins and Fans: Work on row 7 ✔
• Unity: Make HSTs for Clue 6 as leader and ender ✔
• Scrappy Butterflies: Start framing Butterfly blocks ✔

The biggest achievement was getting Morewood sent out for quilting.  That should be finish number 3 next month.  I need to get busy if I'm going to have quilt number 4 ready to go for quilting by the time Morewood gets back.  

Weekly To Do List for 8/17/2021

Cabins and Fans: Work on row 7

The last red violet block needs the papers removed and the sashing strips added.  I'm may need to make another small block, the upper right corner is more red than the other three segments, so it really sticks out.  

Scrappy Butterflies: Continue framing butterfly blocks

Now that I've worked out the math for the framing strips, I should be able to cut more strips and get these blocks framed pretty quickly.  I'd like to get started on the alternate blocks, but I need to press the accent fabric first. That's not on the list officially, but I'm going to try to work that in this week. 

Unity: Make more HSTs for step 6

All the background triangles are cut for the HSTS, now I just need to assemble them.  I've started sewing together the 4th block of the 9 needed for the last border for step 7.  I'm really ready to get to step 8.  

We are back to wearing face masks at work for the foreseeable future, so I may sneak in a couple more of those this week. The first ones I made using elastic are looking a bit worse for wear.  

That's my list for this week. Linking up with ChrisKnits for To Do Tuesday. 

A Bit of This and That

I'm definitely not ready for Monday, sometimes weekends just aren't long enough.  The Scientist in Training came home for the weekend. Classes start up tomorrow. She wanted to get in one more trip home before homework ramps up.  

I didn't get in much stitching time.  My allergies were in full force Saturday, so a long nap took the place of an afternoon in the sewing room. Necessary errands and other housekeeping chores kept me out of the sewing room till late afternoon on Sunday.  The first order of business was to make some new face masks. The governor has signed an order making mask mandates unlawful at public schools and universities in our state, but the SIT's university is recommending them.  The company we work for reestablished mask mandates just over a week ago.  I expect we will be wearing masks through at least Halloween as most of the models show cases increasing through September.  So it seemed worthwhile to make a few new ones.  

Mask pattern from Laundry Basket Quilts 

These three are for the SIT and her roommates.  I started some new ones for My Guy and I, but those aren't finished. 

The first scrappy butterfly block is framed. 

Scrappy Butterflies
Block is available in EQ 8 Block Library

 For some reason, EQ 8 gave me really funky measurements for the strips and I couldn't wrap my head around the math.  So before cutting a bunch of strips, a test run seemed wise.  I'm hoping to make more progress on these blocks this week.  

Linking up with Monday Making and Design Wall Monday. 

Stitching Stuff: Week 33 of 2021

We are halfway through August.  That doesn't seem possible.  I'm not sure where the last 2 weeks have gone.  At least I've been more productive on the sewing front this last week. 

• 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
• 15 minute days/August = 11/14 days
• 15 minute days/2021 = 189/226 days
• Success rate = 83.63%

My last stitching 7 out of 7 days week was three weeks ago.  There's been good progress this last week. I always forget how much progress you can make even with just 15 minutes each evening. Fingers crossed it will carry over to this week.  I'm off track on my goal of stitching 85% of the days this year, but not so far off track that I can't still meet that goal. 

How did you do at fitting in some stitching time this week?  

1. Julie in GA 2. Chrisknits 3. karen 4. maggie f

5. Meloney 6. DonnaleeQ 7. Andree at Quilting & Learning 8. Shasta @ High Road

9. Amanda 10. DawnyK 11. Quilting Gail

Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.

Family Photo Challenge Week 7

Thank goodness for Saturday!  I was ready for a weekend.  Our Friday evening after dinner activity was to decide what photo to submit for last week's challenge.  

This week's challenge can be visually interpreted so many ways.  We each did something just a bit different.  I struggled to come up with an idea for this week.  I was putting away scraps in the sewing room when I found my inspiration. 

Kate: Penciled Paisley

My Guy as usual had lots of ideas for photos but finally settled on this one.  It has some very nice texture to it. 

My Guy: Basket Flower

The Scientist in Training struggled a bit to find a shot.  She finally went with a more journalistic vision. 

Scientist in Training: Show Time

Since the SIT is home this weekend, she drew the card for this week's challenge.  

My reaction pretty much mirrored My Guys, "Oh. Really?"

To Do Tuesday for Week of 8/10/2021

It's been about three weeks since my last To Do Tuesday post.  To Do Lists were written, but nothing was checked off, so nothing really to post about. Finally this last week there was some action on the stitching front.

To Do List for 8/3/2021

• Morewood Mystery: Finish prepping quilt top ✔
• Cabins and Fans: Work on row 7 ✔
• Unity: Make HSTs for clue 6 as leader and ender ✔
• Scrappy Butterflies: Finalize quilt setting ✔

The biggest achievement was getting the Morewood quilt top pressed and de-threaded.  Now that's done, I can get back to piecing. Even better I can add another UFO to this week's To Do List. 

To Do List for 8/10/2021

Morewood Mystery:  Box up and send out for quilting. 

I found a shipping box last night.  Now I just have to tape it up and find time to get it to the post office to mail it off.  

Cabins and Fans: Continue assembly of row 7

The last orange block is just about assembled.  There hasn't been any progress the last few weeks on these fan blocks.  I'm hoping to get a few blocks assembled this week.  

Scrappy Butterflies:  Start framing the butterfly blocks

The butterfly blocks finish at 9". A 1" frame needs to be added so they fit with the 10" Irish Chain blocks.  That should go pretty fast. 

Unity: Make HSTs for Step 6

Just 6 more blocks needed to finish off the last border for Step 7.  I'm hoping to get in a lot of stitching time this week to get that far.  I'm ready to move on to Step 8.  

Any progress at all will be welcome, as that will be an improvement over the last few weeks.  Linking up with ChrisKnits for To Do Tuesday.  

Priming the Pump

It was nice to be home for the whole weekend.  After being on the road the last couple of weekends, mount laundry had reached significant heights, knocking that down was the first priority.  The main task waiting for me in the sewing room was to finish prepping Morewood for quilting.  Not my favorite thing to do. With the shoulder and back issues, I had to take it slow, just clean up one row at a time, then take a break.   With Morewood completely covering my cutting/pressing table, I couldn't really do much else in the sewing room.  So I did some virtual work during my "breaks".  

Scrappy Butterflies is the next UFO on the list. Back in July I posted this layout.  

 Scrappy Butterflies
Block is available in EQ 8 Block Library

I mostly like it, but it doesn't look complete because not all the butterfly blocks are completely framed by the Irish Chain.  So I played around a bit more and came up with this version. 

This version spreads out the butterflies and finishes off he chain by adding a half block as the first border.  As much as I love the border with the repeating Irish Chain blocks, adding it to this version would make it way too big.  I was aiming for a nice sized couch quilt, not a queen sized quilt. 

While I was playing in EQ8, I pulled up the file on another UFO on this year's quilt plan, Chocolate Marshmallows.  

Chocolate Marshmallows
pattern by Amanda Bergamin of Sea Breeze Quilts

These blocks are from a quilt along with Sea Breeze Quilts back in 2014.  It's another UFO that's not finished because I couldn't decide on a setting.  Like Scrappy Butterflies there are about 20 different layouts in EQ8, none of which I'm happy with. So I played around with a few more layouts. 

This is my current favorite.  The simple sashing floats the blocks in the center. Of all the sashing options, I like this one the best.  The dark brown borders work for me, the only problem is if I remember correctly, I don't have much of the dark brown left.  But if memory serves, there is plenty of the darker pink. 

I'm just not a fan of the all that plain pink in the border. Maybe what this quilt needs is a scrappy border?  Maybe a key board?  Any suggestions?   

Linking up with Monday Making and Design Wall Monday.  

Stitching Stuff: Week 32 of 2021

The first week of August is already over. By the end of this week, August will be half over.  The second half of the year really does pass at light speed.  I missed posting last week.  The intention was there, but moving the Scientist in Training took a lot more time and effort than we'd planned for. I just didn't have time to sit down with the computer and write a blog post.  The last couple of weeks have been spent babying my shoulder and hanging with family.  My stitching time metrics certainly show that I wasn't in the sewing room. 

• 15 minute days/week = 4/7 days
• 15 minute days/July = 23/31 days
• 15 minute days/2021 = 182/219
• Success rate = 83.11%

I'm off target on my stitching time goal. I did better this week than last week. Hopefully I'll get back on track with 7/7 days next week and can quickly work my success rate back over 85%.  

How did you do this week on working in some stitching time? 

1. Ivani 2. karen 3. maggie f 4. Julie in GA

5. Meloney 6. DonnaleeQ 7. Sherrie 8. Andree at Quilting & Learning

9. DawnyK 10. Amanda 11. Quilting Gail

Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.