A busy week

I didn't sew as much as I wanted this week, and I hope to make up for it this weekend.  This past Tuesday I drove over to Burlington to visit a friend at the hospital (she was in the ICU but recovering well) and to shop at Trader Joe's for a political gathering at our house on Thursday which went quite well.  Of course, I had to clean a bit to host the latter, but everyone appreciated the food and talk.  I also made it to yoga twice - once for gentle, once for chair - and I got some paperwork done, too.  

This morning I made the block of the month for this coming Tuesday night's guild raffle.  It was very simple, and I was glad to use scraps.  It should make a nice quilt in various shades of green.

Earlier in the week I made the state quilt guild's raffle block.  I had a heck of a time finding a pink floral print for the center, but then I remembered that I had a bunch in the box I have labeled "wild fabrics."  These are mostly Kaffe Fassett-like fabrics, and I found one that worked very well.  It looks good with the prescribed dark blue star points and light green background.

I made another state guild tenth anniversary block that worked better, at least for me, using paper piecing.  The one on the left is the first block I made using the 1989 directions.  The one on the right uses the paper piecing method.  As you can see, the points won't be cut off if I were to put them together with other blocks made with the same method.  I plan to try to make one using the "Peaky and Spike" rulers I bought years ago when they were popular.  We'll see how that goes.  I plan to make up instructions using the same 1989 colorway but offering all three methods.  It would make a nice quilt if we raffled the blocks off at the fall meeting, but I'm afraid the pattern will be too complex for beginning quilters., as some of our members are.   We'll see how the other board members feel.

Here and there recently, I did make seven more Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks in this month's pink, but I must say I just glanced the tip of the pink iceberg in my stash.   While working on all of these blocks, I have come to realize that I need to do a conscientious weeding of fabric I doubt I will ever use again.  If it doesn't "spark joy" for me, it may do so for someone else.   Will try to sift through the pinks this weekend and put what I can on the "free" table Tuesday night.

Sewing hit or miss

I finished the center of my Wensleydale quilt on Thursday, but I needed to find a light blue for the first border before continuing.  Yesterday, before attending the Calico County guild meeting, I found just what I need, and today I'll proceed to work on the stop (a/k/a skinny) border and outer border.  I'll be glad to finish the top and move on to other projects.  I need to make or buy a back for Wensleydale and get some batting, but that can wait for a week or so.  We have a busy week ahead so my sewing will be hit or miss.

Tuesday I'm heading to Burlington for a trip to Trader Joe's for wine and for lunch with my friend Pauline who is recovering from hip surgery.  The wine will be for a getting-to-know-you gathering with a candidate for the town board on Thursday.  Today we'll walk around the neighborhood with invitations.

Wednesday and Thursday, I'll attend yoga classes, and Thursday morning I'll also go to the genealogy group meeting.  The candidate gathering is at 4 pm, giving me time that afternoon to move furniture and make up cheese and fruit trays.  I don't think our candidate has a chance of winning because she's up against a well-liked incumbent/business owner, but this run may set her up for a win in the future.  Our town board has a history of irrational negativity toward funding the library, and we Friends would like to change that.

Hit or miss sewing will involve making blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (pink log cabin and traffic stop), the local guild monthly raffle, the state guild raffle, and another 1989 state guild block.   I pieced the latter a few weeks ago, but as you can see, the points didn't fit well.  I don't remember if paper piecing was "invented" by 1989, but I'm going to try to make the next blocks that way.  I also have plastic "Peaky and Spike" templates that I can use on a third iteration.  We'll see how far I get this week!

Rainy days = sew days

 We are heading into a period of rain every day until the weekend.  That's fine with me - more time to sew!   There are a few things we could be doing outside, such as picking up sticks that have fallen from our white birch tree.  We'll do those when the sun comes out.  

Because bears have been sighted already, I did take one bird feeder and it's "shepherd's crook" down the other day.  I left two up in the backyard, but they are out of food.  I'll get them inside as soon as I can.  I usually wash the feeders in bleach when the season is over.   I also need to rake up any seeds that have dropped onto the ground because they also attract bears.

I only managed to make two Wensleydale blocks yesterday, but I did cut out all the fabrics I think I need for the rest.  As I lay them out to sew them together, I may want to change one or two.  I found that the papers I bought are just a bit too long to photocopy, but I can make them work if need be.  The blocks measure around 7 X 11".  But, of course, the papers include outside seam allowances all the way around.  A package of 60 papers should make a nice sized quilt, and I plan to make only 56 blocks.  I've made 40 so far, working diligently almost every day in March (except while we were away for two weeks).

Today we have yoga, and I'd like to stop by the Opera House this afternoon for tickets we've ordered for two shows.  The library book sale is this weekend, with set up tomorrow, and we have plenty of helpers this time, which is great.