A Whimsy Hita day

 

I am reorganizing my sewing room. I was able to get wall shelving from IKEA. It's appox. 72" tall by 72" wide. And the cubbies are tall enough for the 11.5" mini bolts that I have been wrapping yardage. 

I couldn't put the mini bolts upright in the other cubby shelves.

However! I just found out that comic boards work great in these cubbies perfectly!  

I'm super excited that I can still use these shelves for my fabrics too. I really do need all of them!

Because, see? I still have fabric in boxes. Yes, next week is the two year anniversary of moving into this house.  Storing fabric in cardboard boxes is not ideal. It could contribute to discoloration. Or if there's any moisture, it causes deterioration or rotting of the fibers. Just something I need to keep in mind and get those boxes unpacked!

Look what turned up!!

It's a Block of the Month that Diane Keller was teaching us at Luanne Locks' 

Quilt Loft in WA. I noticed one of the block instruction papers had the year 2012! (This project never saw the Mississippi sunshine. We moved there in 2014!)

All twelve blocks are there. The last two are cut out and need to be assembled.

I contemplated why I might have stopped working on this quilt.

I placed the fabric that had been intended for the border alongside the blocks. I suspect that's why I didn't continue. Although the colors are all there, the border and the blocks don't quite blend together.

I'm determined to finish this one, all the way to quilted, bound, and labelled! It's just a matter of finding the perfect sashing/border fabric. Wish me luck!!

After the BoM, I found a plastic store bag of fabric strings. True fabric strings. The slivers that are cut  when squaring up yardage. Slivers that are even less than a 1/4" sometimes.  Other quilters throw slivers into the garbage...

Yep. Distracted from my task again!

I'm guessing the slivers are as old as the BoM.  And since I've kept them this long, I might as well put them to use, right?! I spent what must have been a couple hours twining the slivers that were long enough into fabric rope. Isn't it pretty? I have no idea what I'll do with it, but for now just seeing it on the shelf makes me happy.

j

Twining the fabric rope led me to picking up this little rug again. I had to take a few inches out because it had started bowing in the middle. Then I set it aside. 

Well, I picked it up again but I couldn't remember how to make the knot I was using to secure the coils. 

I untied a knot, inspecting it carefully as I deconstructed it.

Then wrapped my needle the way I thought it went.. nope

deconstructed another knot. wrapped my needle again... nope

finally I came up with a knot that felt as secure as what I had before, but it still isn't that knot.

Now that I am composing this update, I had the idea to look at a past update about starting this rug - Over and over and over.  There is not any description or directions for the knot, BUT! there is one single picture that shows the needle wrapped! I think it's the clue I might need to reproduce that knot. I was tempted to run to my room to try it out, but I know I wouldn't make it back to composing an update tonight. I'll try the knot tomorrow.

Today yesterday was dedicated to hand sewing.  I found a really cute pattern called "It's in the bag" by broderie.

 

Hand stitching is very much my thing!!

I stitched ALL day...

the pattern has 3 sizes.  I made the medium size.

I was so excited over this finished project that I forgot to get a picture of it before taking it to the store!

I got fabric from the Primrose collection for the next bag. It's soft pinks and blues, with little flowers. So very much my Whimsy! This one is going to be a store sample too. But I'll get a picture of the two together.

Ok! Time to get some work done. (I need to go over some calculations for a project at work tomorrow.) Then hopefully I might have a few minutes to mark and cut the pieces out. I can hardly stand making myself wait!

Thanks for stopping by to see what I'm up to! Wishing you much happy creating. See you soon!

It was 9-Patch Workshop day

I held a workshop at The Old Craft Store today.

It was quite fun. 

My purple scrappy 9-patch was inspired by a Pinterest pin that lead me to a tutorial by Red Pepper Quilts.  I wrote about making up my quilt in The Old Craft Store blog update Opportunities to create!

The funny thing is that the pin photo inspired me and I didn't actually read the Red Pepper Quilts tutorial until after I made my quilt top.  I mean, nine-patches are a basic quilt block. It was one of the first I learned how to make!

Red Pepper Quilts and I differed in our construction techniques! Red Pepper Quilts used strip sets and I cut each of my squares first before assembling the 9-patch. I tell you this because while their method is faster, the method I used allowed me to use more of my smaller scraps.

But it was great providing different techniques to today's workshop attendees.

And they jumped right into making their 9-patches.

combining both techniques sometimes

one of my favorite sounds is the humming of sewing machines!

I, myself, got distracted with the crumb pieces. And my co-worker Doris happily contributed to my distraction by giving me some of her left over pieces.

I did get a few 9-patches done. Wow!! Is it too gold/yellow?! I'm not sure I'm ok with this. I'll need to make a few more to get a better look at my color choice. 🤞

Doris chose to use only blues and it's already very stunning!!

 Unfortunately, I didn't get photos of the other attendee blocks while up on the design board. It's really neat to see how color choices make the same block look so different! I do hope I get to see how their 9-patch tops turn out when finished.

Other piecing I've been working on...

A Pickle Dish pattern in the book "Quilt Romance" by Kaffe Fassett.
More about my Pickle Dish in The Old Craft Store blog update Stash builder doubles as stash buster

And I'm stitching a Cathedral Window!! Much of my stitching focus will be on this project now.  I'm machine piecing the foundation, then the rest is done by hand.  

I'll be doing a class in March or April, depending when the Chickadee collection arrives at The Old Craft Store.

Thanks for coming by to see what has been striking my Whimsy!

what does it mean??

 It's close to 4 in the morning.  Much too early to be awake!

Two things woke me. 

One was a full bladder.  This is not really anything new. My late Chewie pup was 15 or 16 years old and needed to go out at least once a night to go potty.  Since I got up with him, I went for myself as well. I assure you, I used the inside facilities. But you understand, years of routine is sometimes difficult to break. However, I am finding going back to sleep is really much easier.

The second thing is that I woke from a dream. I am a firm believer that dreams hold meanings/messages for me.  I am not a great dream interpreter. I often call my brother who has more knowledge on these things and he helps me sort it out. Or I do a "dream meanings" internet search 😄. I know, it doesn't sound very reliable, but it's surprising how often the meanings actually fit!

This morning my dream provided me with three words that repeated over and over as I became conscious... The fact that the rest of the dream faded but the words continued to repeat in my head has me asking "what does it mean?!?"

By this time, it became very clear that I was not going to get back to sleep. I might as well get out of bed and continue working on the store sample I'm presently stitching up.

The pattern is #179 Leaves by Corey Yoder. I am using prints from Corey Yoder's new "Cozy Up" fabric collection. Aww, these prints are truly COZY!

In the pattern the background and the leaf veins are the same color. I chose to make the leaf veins a different color than the background. But first I had to try it out and make sure it was going to work for me...

I started a scrappy Leaves quilt 😄 before starting the store sample.

Once I was satisfied that my plan would work. I got started with the real deal

I love making one block at at time. I like seeing a finished block rather than making the sub-units to all the blocks first. However, I was determined to follow the instructions (minus the little color option.)

 Cutting all the pieces out was the first step.

Here are all the background pieces... 

... ready for probably my least favorite part of piecing - marking the diagonal.

I did it though. I marked every single one of them before moving onto the next step.

  

One of the first two units is half square triangles (HST).
I was still following steps. And proud of myself for sticking with it!

Trimming HSTs is just this side of marking diagonals, in my opinion.

However, the best part of this method of marking and trimming is that it is a great way to make perfect HSTs. So "least favorite" means I still love the method just not as much as piecing the finished block.

This is where I diverted a little bit...

The growing pile of those tiny triangle corners that are trimmed off in the next unit got me!

 

yep, I started piecing those itty bitty pieces together!

I have no idea what will become of these micro blocks.

I just wanted to see if they could grow into something. And they did!!

now, back to the steps...

The last sub unit waiting to be pressed...

and trimmed...

and matched with the other units (that still need a little trimming too)

All in all, I've made good progress. Almost half of the leaves are made.

Do you care to know what the 3 repeating words were?

"a non-stop starter"

perhaps I was calling myself a non-stop starter?

That even when I am focused on one project, I can't resist trying (starting) something on the side 😋.

The thing is. I have been giving this some thought lately. At this point in my quilting journey, my end goal is not having a finished quilt. Meaning a quilt bound and labeled and ready to send off to someone, where I may or may not see it again.

If I have a goal, it's to experience the beauty of my creations. It's the pleasure I get from a new-to-me technique. It's daring to put two colors together that I normally wouldn't and being pleasantly surprised that the contrast is a perfect pairing. It's the continuous learning.

My end goal is loving who i am as an artist. 

Loving who I am and what I create

however far it's created, eventually it will become something, either by my hand or some new hand. I'm not worried about that.

Sure! I'll claim to be a Non-Stop Starter! (for now anyway)

Wishing you joy and happiness in whatever you do. I'm going to publish this update without proofing it, please forgive typos and what...  and I am headed back to bed 😉.

Unpacking Boxes

It's almost 2 years since we moved in to our Texas house. I still love it. We have a great community. I really like that the community has a Facebook page where we can connect with our neighbors easily. This week was actually Resident Appreciation week where there was an event to get us together every day, like "coffee and donuts day" or "movie night" or "bring your pet day..." Lots of fun.

Yes, 2 years here and I still have a garage full of boxes to unpack. Most of those boxes are crafting, fabric, books, yarn, fabric, projects, craft tools... and fabric.  K, don't judge! My Heartbeat has spoiled me rotten to the core. He's ok with it. And I'm OK with that!! 😜

I'm embarrassed to say, some of these boxes have moved twice with us. I don't really know the contents of those older boxes. My Heart's company hired movers for us. And just so you know... movers pack everything, no matter what it is. It could be obviously garbage, but they will still pack it. That's their job, not cleaning and throwing garbage away... unless you have told them not to pack it, they will pack everything. And sometimes, when you have told them not to, they get in a groove and just pack, pack, pack until the room is empty then move onto the next room and pack more... It's incredible watching them work.

I look at the wall of boxes in the garage and it's overwhelming. I've decided, instead of looking at the whole, I'm going to open just a box or two at a time... not per day, or per week, but "at a time!" It makes it so much easier to face 😋.

As it happens, today, I'm so delighted with what I unpacked that I had to share a tiny bit of the experience with you. This small packing box... (sorry for the logo, it's not a plug for the company. At the time, I just wanted to pre-pack my fabric before the movers came in and have all the same size boxes. I found out later, that the movers are actually supposed to repack into their own boxes... I'm surprise these have remained as I packed them.)

I have no idea how I got all this fabric in that box!  What's not shown in the photos are 3 widebacks in 3 yard pieces that I've already thrown into the washer! 😆 This is definitely proof that where there's a will there's a way.

This pile of home spun fabrics - I could pet it for hours.

I had participated in a home spun block exchange in (possibly) 2007.

I think I was collecting more home spuns to make more blocks for a bigger quilt and for the joining sashings. By the yardage of these pieces, I must have been working at JoAnn's at the time of purchase. I'm sure you know, I had to take advantage of the end-of-bolt discount. It was better than the employee discount!  

I'm pretty sure I've seen those blocks in my sewing room recently. I just had a quick look in my projects started pile. I wanted to get a photo of the blocks, but they couldn't be spotted. I'm going to make it a goal to finish this quilt top (yes, at least just the top.)

Besides the homespuns...

Even more amusing is that none of these prints go together.

Reproduction, novelty, whimsical, polka dot, blenders and brights... lol, such a motley crew!! 

Some prints make me think, "why? Just WHY!!" and others, "yep, I still love it!! 💕"

And yet, even though it's a total mod-podge pile, it makes me incredibly happy. 🥰

I probably sat here, on the floor, amusedly contemplating where I might use these lovely prints.

I think my Heartbeat was even amused with my Whimsy Hita joyous giggle as I considered where in the world am I going to fit these in my sewing room!

I also found a kitty my sister gifted to me several years ago.  Over 20 years, I believe.

Isn't she sweet? I think Kitty is needing (and deserving) a collar, don't you think so?

I know all the boxes in the garage that I have to go through will not be as fun. I've held onto so many "things" because I'm afraid of loosing memories? However, so many of those "things" will only hold my memories unless I share the stories of them with my kids. Like little Kitty here, how are Sweetling and our Son going to know why she is so special? I have to tell them my story...

My sister is meticulous in her sewing and crafting. She starts a project and doesn't stop until she has a finished item (I wish I was more like her in this trait.) Even though I was not there when she made this kitty, I can see her, with needle and thread, head bowed over her stitching, as she gathered along the neck seam to shape Kitty's face. My sister, sweet and demure, concentrating hard to get the stitches perfectly spaced. She may have been praying for me with every stitch. Sincerely, pouring all her love into this project hoping that I'm going to love it. I am filled with awe that she would do this for me. I am in awe that she loves me so. 

Yes, Kitty is very special. I'll keep a look out for the perfect collar for her.

The job ahead of unpacking the remaining boxes is daunting. Boxes that hold items from 25+ years ago. Items from 2 moves ago. Items that were packed because the move was sudden and there wasn't time to go through everything. Items long forgotten. Old toys, pet toys, broken toys, toys with missing pieces... Lots of things that need to be donated or thrown out. But from todays experience, it'll worth the effort if there's an item where a story needs to be told.

And, I love you, Sis 😍.

scrappy heirloom

This weekend I took some time for one of my favorite quilting activities,

hand-piecing!

I recently got the new Jen Kingwell book, "Quilting Recipes."

Someone had posted a picture of the Diamond Exchange quilt on Instagram. I fell in love with it and had to have the book. I was most certain I'd have my needle and thread busy stitching up Diamond Exchange.

As it happened, when I purchased the book, I didn't have time to really open and read. I flipped to the Diamond Exchange section and read through the instructions. The piecing assembly is a bit different than I've done before. I was excited to try it out!

When I had a moment to take a closer look, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I love every quilt in the book! And having a difficult time deciding which to make first.

There are 13 projects. Eight are quilts, then there's an adorable dog bed, an easy pillow/placemat, and a striking cushion.  I could see myself making every project in this book!

I decided that I might as well start stitching from the beginning of the book and work my way through to the end. 

And so I started with hand-piecing the first in the book, Wensleydale quilt.

This first block is very satisfying!

Hand-piecing makes perfect points. 

And I can use scrap pieces as small as approx. 4" x 6" for the second layer! I'm going to use up so many little bits I've been hanging on to!

The true magic of scrap piecing though is I give myself permission to put together prints that I would never have thought to put together. I can choose to carefully cut the fabric to get the perfect positioning of the print, as I did for the center piece in the next photo. Or I can choose to cut with the least amount of fabric waste, as I did for the outside corners.

So, this is block 2 cut out and waiting to be stitched. The book suggests 60 blocks for a 66" x 72" quilt top.

I'm not in a hurry. 

This one doesn't have a deadline. This one will probably stay with me and not be gifted. This one will have many of my favorite fabrics.

This one will also have many "I don't know why" fabrics.

This one, even as scrappy as it will be - a vintage scrap here, a brand new fabric purchased just yesterday there - is going to be an heirloom.

No room for the Blues!

 

I don't know what got into me this 4th of July weekend. I had the biggest urge to do some mindless sewing. The kind of sewing that you pick up two pieces of fabric, any pieces, and run them through the sewing machine. Mind you, I still have at least 3 quilt tops in progress for work, but those require mind work.

Crumb piecing and strings are perfect for mindless sewing!! The 1.5" strips in the picturse above are from a previous project, Tracks Herringbone Quilt. I pieced a few more blocks to add to that pile.

The crumb pieces practically fell together! Mostly blue, but also a piece of pink, green, purple or red snuck in. 

Lol, I think my camera is playing tricks. I was sure it's mostly blue!

The selvedge from this blue print says "Got the Blues." I had pieced without a plan, posted the above photo to Instagram and Facebook. My co-worker left a comment about seeing what these pieces become. 

And that inspired me to make these pieces into something...

... a fabric box...

... Because these threads need some thing...

... like this ☺️ - a 5.25" x 9.5" fabric box.  It actually turned out bigger than the 6.5" square I had planned, but that's ok. Looks like I need more thread to make it full. Purple and brown threads would fill it out nicely. Of

Here's more pictures of my fabric box. It's really not that bad for my first attempt. 

I might try making another one with stiffer interfacing. And maybe 6.5" that I first thought.

No room for the "Blues."

But always open to inspiration!!