Some other projects

About a month ago, I finished the brown cardigan I had been knitting since January, but I really don't like the way it ended up.  The zipper I put in is too light and I can't find one the right color.  So it sits, waiting for me to remove the zipper and add buttons or something else.  As my mom used to say, "it's fine for around the house."  

I do like to have something to knit while I watch TV, so I made a gray scarf with leftover yarn and then a gray hat for Paul.  Both aren't photogenic, but my current project is.  I was roaming around Joann Fabrics one day and spotted some multicolored yarn on sale.  I decided to make a sampler scarf with different stitch patterns, and it's coming along fairly well now.  I also have a blue/green "cupcake" of yarn to make a shawl next.  

The current scarf and the last two I've knitted will go in my giveaway pile.  I already own four winter scarves, including two I knit, one that was a gift, and another I sewed of old cashmere sweaters.

Yesterday I made up a bunch of chapstick keychains.  These make great stocking stuffers and will also mail well.  It took me an hour to make 8 of them.  They only require a 3.5" x 9" strip of fabric, a keychain ring, and a chapstick.  It took me a while to perfect the "pattern" which I first saw online.

Today's project:  plaid flannel pillowcases for friends of Chris.   They seem to have adopted us into their family, so I have added them to my holiday list which I really need to get out and review soon.   

Table runners

 I am packing up a medium flat rate box to send to Mom tomorrow.  There are six mug rugs, three sets of four coasters, six reusable gift bags, a pair of Halloween socks (for fun), a Christmas face mask, and two table runners.  Phew!   I have to say, the latter turned out pretty well.  Most red and green Christmas fabric looks great together.  Log cabin is my favorite quilt block, and I return to it again and again.  Making the blocks with 1.5" strips, I ended up with 8.5" blocks finished.  The star runner's blocks are 12", starting with a 6" saw-toothed star block.

Mom can keep anything she wants or give stuff away to friends, neighbors, caregivers, etc. over the next few months.  It may seem early, but I wanted to get these done so I have time to make a few gifts, too.  In fact, I just made another table runner to keep and three sets of coasters for friends (maybe with a bottle of wine and a few other goodies).  And what can I make Chris' friends Ted and Marad who will no doubt overwhelm us once again with gifts?   Pillow cases?  Grocery bags?  We'll see!

I took a trip to Joann Fabrics yesterday for a grape vine wreath (on sale, of course) and some other things to make a wreath with dried hydrangeas from our little bush out back.  I have never dried hydrangeas before, but found via Google that it can be done fairly easily just by setting them out in vases with a little water.   Wait a week or so, and voila.  I usually hang a quilt on the front door but thought I'd try something a little different this fall.  And I can always change the ribbon to a Christmassy one if I don't put it together soon.

On my trip to Joann's I ran into Betty who showed me some nifty toggles for adjusting face masks.  She offered me a couple for the mask I made Mom, so I'll return to the shop today to pick them up.  Mom has been my mask guinea pig during the last few months.  If she likes the toggles, I'll order some online as it doesn't appear we're going to stop wearing masks for a long while.

Today, after grocery shopping, I'm hoping to finish sewing the neck down on my brown sweater and weaving in many loose yarn tails.  Then I'll be ready to tackle the dreaded knitted front ribbing.  This is definitely a complicated pattern.  I think I'll go back to scarves and hats for a while before taking on another year-long knitting project.

In holiday mode

 

Having delivered fall items to sell at the local florist/gift shop, I turned my attention this week to holiday/winter gifts for Mom.  She says she's not seeing many people now with COVID, but she seems to see more than I do!  I like to give her a bunch of small things that she can give people who do nice things for her, like take her out to lunch, give her rides, etc.  She also has a caregiver a few days a week and a cleaning person.   And then there are the helpful neighbors.

I bought a Moda "Chill" layer cake and mini charm pack on sale recently.  I don't know why I've been making so many blue things lately, but the glitz in this particular line of fabric wasn't as bad as some winter fabrics I've seen.  My nickname for Mom is "Mrs. Glitz" -- she often gives me sparkly t-shirts and other things.  

I started with a reversible table runner.  One side is made of log cabin blocks in blues and grays, and the other side is made with stars.   I ordered a little extra yardage for  borders and the binding via an etsy shop.  It's waiting to be quilted now.  So far, I like the result so much that I'm going to keep this table runner.  Sorry, Mom.  

Next, I finished 8 mugs rugs using tumblers and made 8 reusable gift bags.  The bags will be handy for cookies and other goodies.  Then, I made some of those criss-cross coasters my friend Suzy showed at a guild meeting ages ago.  I used some leftover layer cake fabric as well as some other holiday fabrics in my stash for those.  They are incredibly easy, and I'll make a few more for neighbors with whom we play croquet and socialize with afterwards.  I made a little tag for each set of four coasters explaining how to use them for wine glasses.  That's not wine in that glass - it's herbal iced tea!

Yesterday, I ran down to A Quilter's Garden, my local quilt shop, to buy a little more Christmas-themed fabric for a few more table runners, per Mom's request.  I'll probably make them out of log cabin blocks with my many holiday scraps.

That will be about "it" for holiday sewing, unless I get requests from family or friends, and I'm glad to have it out of the way.  Hmmm... wonder if I should make Mom a holiday-themed face mask?  Uh oh!

Whipping up little things

In an effort to keep members of our local quilt guild engaged during a time when we aren't meeting, I volunteered to coordinate the annual block swap and also the block of the month programs.  The person who usually does this is moving to New Hampshire by the end of the year.  I will miss her!

The block we'll be swapping this year is Bonnie Hunter's Scrappy Trips Around the World.  We usually have 6-8 people participating, but this year 21 people have signed up so far.  Guess everyone is looking for a good project.  We'll each make one block for each other person and hope to swap them in person next May.  The blocks are easy to make - here are my first four blocks.

The guild Block of the Month is going to be a little different this year.  Before, we got instructions for a 12" block and just made our own blocks to use as we wished.  Some people made whole quilts out of a block they particularly liked, and some (like me) made samplers.  This time, I am giving instructions for 6" blocks all year with an optional lottery.  If people want, they can submit one block for the lottery, and the winner will be mailed all the blocks.  This month's block is an easy nine patch with cream and any color.  I made up five blocks in an afternoon with leftover 2.5" squares I had already cut.

One will go to the lottery and the rest will join a batch of nine patches I have stashed away for who knows what.  I'm already planning October's block - a maple leaf for fall - and hope to make them more challenging as the year goes on.

Yesterday was spent sewing Christmas mug rugs.  I have a bunch of tumblers in holiday fabrics that I cut a few months ago when I made some Christmas stockings and a table runner.  Now I thought I'd make some mug rugs for Mom and me to give as little gifts.  They're quite scrappy but I have some nice yardage for the backs.  I made eight so far and will quilt them later today and tomorrow.  

A super day

My birthday always sneaks up on me, although I do look forward to it every year.  Yesterday, I slept late (til 6 am!), dilly dallied around, opened a bunch of cards and packages.  I love the fat quarters I received from my online quilting group - purple batiks!

These should go well with the swap blocks I'll be receiving by the end of September.  Everyone participating in the swap is making 6" blocks of their choice in the color(s) of the receiver's choice.  So I asked for purples on the cream background everyone will be using.  I thought I might use plain squares in between the pieced blocks in order to make the resulting quilt a little bigger.  We'll see.

I received some wonderful gifts also.  Mom and Jenny sent things they picked up at the Rocky Mountain Quit Museum gift shop, including two charm packs that I'll have fun using.  Mom sent an intriguing scarf that I had to ask her how to tie.  It turns out that it's a flowy vest to dress up a plain outfit... for whenever I need something dressy... after COVID?

Paul, who always knows what I like, gave me a gift certificate to A Quilters Garden, knowing I would use it immediately.  After our usual morning walk, I hit the road for my annual birthday spree.  Paula carefully tackled my stack of purchases - maybe 25 yards' worth of backgrounds, sashings, and fun fabrics, along with a quilt batt - and applied the birthday discount to those not already on sale at 1/3 off.  It pays to get older there where my discount this year was 36% (half my age)!

Once home, I sorted out the reds that I like to prewash and put away most of the rest before working on a few quilt blocks for the "Sisters Quilt Along."  It's a block of the month program that features a 12" and a similar 6" block each month.  I have only been working on my blocks for a couple of weeks, so I'm playing catch up, which is fine with me.  I really like quilts with different sized blocks, and these are a bit challenging.  Great for getting my mind off the rather upsetting time we are living in.

Paul got Chinese take out for dinner, Chris joined us, and it was a great end to a perfect birthday for this quilter.

Small projects

There's something to be said for making smaller pieces.  Because they get done quickly, there's a nice sense of accomplishment.  Yesterday, I finished two things - how often can I say that?!? 

First, there was a little wallhanging I made for Cindy to give Taylor, a new graduate of Cornell's School of Veterinary Medicine.  Taylor has a gray cat and loves horses, so I looked through my pattern books.  Couldn't find a paper pieced horse, but Janet Kime's It's Raining Cats and Dogs is always good for a cute cat or dog pattern. 

I had  a very nice Laurel Burch fat quarter that I used for the back, binding, and collars, and then I rummaged around for some gray.  I love the background fabric, and added the star just to give it a "wish upon a star" feeling.  Taylor really worked hard to get through a demanding curriculum. 

This was fun to do and only took a couple of hours.  Most of the time was spent changing out presser feet - sewing, walking foot, free motion foot, etc.  Gave me a chance to clean the machine in between, too.  I sewed two triangles to the upper corners so that it can be hung on a wall with thumb tacks.   And then there was the embroidery and beading - not my favorite thing to do, but done!

I was on a roll, so I made a little blue batik zippered bag for Polly's birthday tomorrow.  We're meeting her at Quechee Gorge for lunch May 8 and have a gift certificate to Keepsake Quilting for her.  The bag is just a cute way to wrap it.  I machine quilted the bag, which measures about 6" x 9". 

On tap today:  figure out how to set a bunch of  multi-colored 12" scrappy heart blocks.  Yes, another bigger project!

2016 draws to a close

Hope you all had a very nice Christmas.  We had a quiet day, which is as we like it.  I received some fun things in my stocking, including a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pez dispenser.  It took some putting together, and we discovered that the taste of Pez has not changed or improved.   My favorite gifts were a Supreme Slider which will be useful for machine quilting and a whole bunch of fat quarters from the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum shop.  Can't wait to dig into those.  We also received quite a few books which will keep us busy this winter.

Chris came over to open gifts in the morning and for our usual brunch - a cheese omelet, bacon, and homemade toast this year.  I had made a lovely Italian loaf on Christmas eve,  and it makes great toast, especially with homemade jam.  Although it was about 27 degrees out, the sky was bright blue, so we all took a walk afterwards.  As usual, I gave Chris a bag of groceries as one of his gifts, so he went home laden. 

We talked with Paul's brother Jim, my brother Axel, and my sister Jenny during the day.  In the Netherlands, my sister Jacqueline posted a photo of her wearing her new apron made (by me) of Indonesian fabrics.  I think she likes it!  I'm going to make Jenny a similar table runner when I get a chance - she uses them as a mat by her keyboard in her office.

With "everything" done on Christmas Eve, I spent the day working on some small projects - four mug rugs, a pin cushion, and the wool owl from a kit I started over the weekend.  I also made a few more 6" blocks out of selvages.  My stash of those is growing, and one of these days I'll put them all together.  Today we're going to do a little mall walking as we've eaten a few too many cookies and chocolates!

Recent projects

My sewing machine was smokin' last weekend with lots of little items finished and ready for gift giving.  I made seven mug rugs, six decorated bar towels, three star ornaments, and a little cosmetic bag.  Two of the mug rugs were made of napkins I found in an antique shop last week.  They are authentic Delft blue, maybe purchased by someone who visited Delft on vacation, bought them as a souvenir, and was downsizing.  Their loss is my gain!

I am going to a craft show this weekend (the one I'm selling wares in), so I hope to find a few other nice things to give to family and friends this Christmas.  I already have a pretty good collection of stuff, but the men in my life are still my biggest question.  I doubt I'll find anything at craft shows for them, but I keep pondering what might work.  I think a trip to the Carhart store is in my near future.

I also started working with my stash of swap blocks this week.  First, I used some 3" nine patches to make a small "Jack's Chain" center medallion.  It's a traditional quilt design but challenging since there are lots of "Y" seams.  I only had to add one more 3" block to the group to finish the medallion.  It took a lot of steam and some hand sewing to get it to lie flat.

I also have quite a few 6" churn dash and nine patch swap blocks, but decided just to add some of the churn dashes to the border.  At left is the medallion with some of the blocks on my design wall.  I now have surrounded the medallion with churn dashes but still need to make the finished quilt a little longer than it is wide for the Parkinson's Comfort Quilt Project.  When I finish the top, I'll put the remaining swap blocks together with sashing, perhaps on point.