Another UFO surfaces

I've finished all of my blocks for the Mistletoe Manor Christmas Quilt, and I'm still in a sewing mood, as I wait to get batting and backing to quilt the recently finished tops. After the repetitive, yet extremely satisfying, construction of 99 triple 4-patch blocks, I was up for a little more challenging piecing.

 

This fit the bill!

 

 

I've revived another UFO. When I last left off in February of 2012, I had 21 blocks done, 15 more to go! (Now 14) I had begun the project as a gift, but when the gift-giving occasion came and went and I was nowhere close, I abandoned the project for the first time. I revived it at a craft camp, planning to buy more fabrics for it when I got home, and it, unfortunately, was abandoned a second time.

 

Now I've dug deaper into my stash and began pulling colors that weren't considered the first time around, when it was for someone else. These are a little brighter (orange, pink and lilac used in the single block above), and I think they're going to work in just fine.

 

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Emergency crafting

Does anybody else prepare an emergency craft kit? A little project that you always keep in the car or your purse? No? Just me?

 

Tatting seems to be the most portable craft I know. I love quilting, cross stitch, embroidery, crazy quilting, crochet.... But tatting fits into the tiniest little pouch. And the great thing is, since it is made of knots, it won't go unravelling if it sits for weeks (or months) and you can just pick up where you left off with no problem.

 

The bad thing is, it is made up of knots, and so if you make a mistake because you're dividing your attention while crafting, you might be tempted to roll the whole thing up and shove it in the glove box and let it sit there over the summer - punished and forgotten.

 

But then a beautiful fall day will roll around when you have 40 minutes of nothing to do while you're sitting outside and you might run to your glove box to retrieve the little pouch. A few determined snips of the scissors, a couple of tatted rings sacrificed, and you're back on track again. Why did it sit so long unloved?

 

 

Those of you looking close will see I have some more sacrificial snipping to come. How did I not notice that at some point I switched to a completely different thread size?

 

I have no idea what I will finally attach this lace to. Maybe a skirt or a pillowcase or a guest towel. For now it's doing its job of keeping me sane while I arrive early at band concerts or doctor appointments or when I'm stuck in the car.

 

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Quilting spree

Since I discovered Bonnie Hunter's Quilt Cam a couple of weeks ago, I've been on quilting spree.

 

I'm working on the binding for the secret, special Christmas gift, but I've been reserving this work for car trips, of which I have many over the next few months.

 

I finished the Crabapples top (worst photo ever), and am on hold until I get backing and batting.

 

I'm also making good on my resolution to "use the pretty stuff." I've finally broken into the charm squares, "Mistletoe Manor" by 3 Sisters for Moda.

 

I bought these years ago when I was on a quilting retreat and I've saved them, unsure of what to make. I ran across this triple four-patch pattern and knew it was a perfect fit. I ordered a back issue of the magazine and set to work.The strong lines help keep it from becoming hopelessly feminine, as I'm making this for our bedroom for the Christmas season, and so far DH hasn't commented on there being too much pink. I think the plaids and stripes also help. I've supplimented the charm squares with things from my stash, including some plaid from DH's "toss" pile. He didn't know I scavenge from there, and thought it was pretty cool when I showed him how I was using it.

 

 

So this will be Christmas quilt #2 - My son claimed last year's. Just one more to go for my daughter, although no promises that it will be completed for 2013. :)

 

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Digging into a UFO

The other day while I was working on a quilt for a Christmas gift, I tuned into Bonnie Hunter's quilt cam. What fun! I found out that she archives the episodes on her YouTube channel, so that weekend I loaded up another one while I finished quilting that project.

After that, I was inspired to dig out one of my quilt UFO's, which is one of my favorite Bonnie Hunter patterns, Crab Apples. This quilt I had designated for ME. I had completed the blocks and bought most of the setting fabrics, so I started putting the blocks into rows. I always underestimate the time this step will take. In my head, I sew a few seams and the quilt top magically appears. But no. There are cornerstones and sashig strips and it's easy to turn the little triangles around so they are facing the wrong way... Don't get me wrong, it's all fun, but what I think I'll finish in an afternoon usually turns into a couple of days. (Darn that pesky day job!)

 

I've decided on an olive-y green fabric for the inner border next to the checkerboard to compliment the trees, so I just have to cut and sew those strips on. Then I have to finish out the checkerboards (I made the quilt a bit bigger than the one in the book, so I'm adjusting). I haven't completely decided on the outer border. I had originally thought more of the pink, but that's not ringing my bell, and I don't think I have enough anyway. After trying several colors, I think I like red the best, but of course I don't have enough of the sashing red left, so I'll have to figure out when I can get to the quilt store next to match something up.

 

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Choosing a new project

I just finished quilting (still hand stitching the binding down) a quilt for my daughter, and now it's time to begin thinking of something new for my young man. I've seen some blue and brown quilts floating around the blog world, and it seems this would be just the right combination for my teenager.

I saw this quilt on Pinterest, fell in love with it and immediately downloaded it. I thought the pink and brown could easily be switched out for blue and brown. The little scattered stars give it some interest, but it's still unfussy enough for a boy.

 

Then I started to figure out how I would resize it for a twin or an extra long twin (that he could take to college in a few years). First I mapped it out using the orignial 2 inch stars and immediately chickend out when I realized it would take 115 of the 2 inch stars for the first layout I had in mind.

 

Then I started over using 4 inch stars. This looks more doable at about 40 sawtooth stars. It might work, adding a couple of stars to each corner to even things out.

 

 

I then reconfigured it so the 4 inch stars were again represented by one grid sqare each. And I started to try to figure out the square-in-a-square border (represented here by triangles). I kept playing with the borders to find a number that would work to jump up to the outer border of larger squares. At one point the area inside the square-in-a-square border was so large, it didn't need the outer border.

 

But I really like the floating square-in-a-squares.Maybe with less space in between the sawtooth stars?

 

 

After a couple of hours of this, I'm thinking I just need to find something else for the young man and make this quilt as per the pattern directions. It would make a cute throw or baby quilt.

 

It's a good thing I have one more quilt in line that I'm sashing and adding borders to while I let this gel in my mind a little bit more.

 

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Santa's Village Update

I continue to plug along on my Santa's Village project. I love how it is turning out, and I've been able to complete each one before I pick up the next pattern each month at my LNS. Hopefully I will be able to complete the last one with enough time to have it framed for the holiday season.

 

 

 

 

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iPad bag

If you stitch it, an idea will come.

 

Over the summer I stitched a couple of small cross stitch projects because I needed something portable: the bee from Blackbird Designs' Honeybee Hill and a parrot from Sampler and Antique Needlework Quarterly, Fall 2008. I had no idea what I was going to do with them, but I liked them.

 

Meanwhile, my iPad has become an essential tool at work. I take it to all my meetings. It's so convenient to be able to email people notes without transcribing them from a notepad. But it's a pain to juggle my iPad, phone and files from place to place.

 

So I decided to make a bag from my iPad. I took inspiration for the embroidery from Jardin reve, jardin brode by Cecile Franconie. This is the most gorgeous embroidery book I've ever seen. It's definitely worth the shipping price to order from Amazon France.

 

I combined the cross stitch with some batik 5" squares I've had forever. Unfortunately, it didn't put much of a dent in my baggie of squares. Many more projects in there.

 

It's hand quilted on one side with tatting thread that happened to be a good color, and machine quilted on the other. All of the lace on the parrot side is hand-dyed by me - more of my stash that was going unused.

 

 

I like carrying it around, and I like the fact that I made something usable instead of my work sitting around unfinished.

 

 

 

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