Design Wall

To see what other quilters are working on go to Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

I have been busy. 

I spent three days last week visiting my son. A new bed was scheduled for delivery and he wanted me to be there to make sure everything went well.

 

It did and he is sleeping well. He also had a to-do list of things that he needed help with and there was some shopping that needed to be done. We got most of the things on his list taken care of and he is all set until the next time I visit. The deer quilt I made for him several years covers the top, but he would like a bigger one. This one is showing wear so a new one is on MY to-do list. On the list for this summer is painting. He is having a hard time deciding on colors. We picked up some paint sample cards while I was there. I taped them to the wall so we could see what they looked like during different times of the day and night. Colors that he insisted he wanted may not be his favorite now! It's funny how colors change with different lighting.

Before I left for his house I had loaded a quilt that I unearthed when moving things around in my sewing room.

It was a QuiltMaker mystery from long ago. I no longer have that issue so I can't look it up. Sorry. The design board is called Hearts Aflutter from Urban Elementz. I really like this design!

I took it with me and got the binding sewn down while visiting with my son. By evening we both were usually ready to just sit and visit. 

Since I have been home I got a couple more sets of blocks made for Stash Buster Challenge 2021.

I got a pile of things prepped to work on for phone time with Son. He still calls me at least once every day. These conversations can last a while so I like to put him on speaker and work on something while we talk.

On the top starting at the left are bonus triangles and more cut pieces for SBC2021 blocks, Hourglass units that need to be trimmed for the Quilter's Exchange Mystery my group is working on, scraps that need to be cut and put away. On the bottom are the parts for the next RSC block, a bag of kitchen towels for Son.

I got the Rainbow Scrap Challenge block pieced. This month is darker green.

These are kitchen towels for Son. There is another black one that matches the one in this photo.

I took one to him to see if he liked it. He said he wouldn't turn down more if I made them. He also requested an insulated pad to put on the counter for hot baking sheets right out of the oven. That is also on my to-do list.

I have been working on Coral Reef. I had good momentum going until I got to the applique part. Then I went to visit Son and am having a hard time getting back to this project.

I had the center units pieced.

I got the teardrops prepped for applique.

I tried machine applique and wasn't happy with how it looked. So...

I am appliqueing by hand. I usually like handwork, but this is tedious and frustrating. I really had planned to do this by machine so I followed the pattern instructions. I used the sticky-backed stabilizer provided with the pattern. I also glued the edges of the fabric to the back of the stabilizer and then used a spot of glue to glue the appliques in place as the pattern instructed. None of this is wrong and is actually quite helpful if doing machine applique. But, I wish I had not glued the edges down. The applique pieces are very stiff and the glued edges are hard to stitch through. But, I am determined! I am stitching all the teardrops of one color, then moving on to the next color. I did get one unit completely stitched.

I got all the hourglass blocks sewn for QE mystery Clue 2 and will trim them during phone time.

And, speaking of scraps, when I was looking for scraps for the RSC butterfly I decided to pull some pieces out of one of the bags to trim down and sort for easier use later. I cannot decide how to sort and store them. Nothing I have tried has worked well for me. I have two large shopping bags full.

I also have a 10 drawer unit mostly full. I have labeled the drawers according to size. I find myself not using all these sizes. I also find myself searching by color. I just can't seem to settle on a method that works well. I just know that all these scraps are causing me some frustration, but I don't want to just toss them. Any suggestions? What has worked well for you?

On another note, I noticed this time when visiting Son that more people seemed to be wearing masks than last time. That was encouraging.

Stay safe and well.