Cutting and Sewing

Cutting 

and sewing

and more cutting

and more sewing

and more cutting

The drawers in  my handy dandy cabinet work great
to hold long lengths of fabric while I cut.

and more sewing

and more cutting 

To get this...

all the pieces cut for Designer Star.

And, this lovely top!

Husband saw the fabric in a Facebook post and said 'get it', so I did. I didn't have a pattern, just an idea. So I did a search to find the fabric and ordered it. Then I got a message that the border fabric was on back order. Then I got another message that the border fabric was no longer available. By this time I had received all the other fabrics and had a plan. So I searched some more for the border fabric. I was fortunate to find it. My plan worked and I found I had bought enough of the border fabric that I was able to miter the corners. 

It is 70 x 90, a decent size.

I hope you are staying safe and healthy.

Because I forgot

When I started cutting Designer Star I had planned to cut a bit, sew a bit because I knew I would get tired of cutting. There is a lot of cutting - hundreds of pieces - 512 - 1 3/4" black squares, 108 - 2 1/2" white squares, 256 - 1 3/4" white squares, 256 - 1 3/4" x 3" white rectangles. 

And that is only the first two fabrics. 

Except for the diamonds these are for the outer border. There are 64 stars.

The remaining fabrics will have fewer pieces to cut, but by this time I was tired of cutting. I forgot that I needed to cut more pieces for Jack in the Box so I didn't have anything to sew.

I decided to switch gears. I needed to do some thinking, planning, calculating. I needed to make a sample block to make sure it was going to work. It did. 

I was so pleased that I kept sewing. 

Until they were all sewn together. 

Can you guess what project this is for?

So I still don't have anything to sew. I need to do more cutting - for ALL THREE projects that I am working on.

Did you notice the pile of elastic in the photos? I ordered elastic on April 7th from a US Etsy shop thinking it would be safer than from China and would arrive more quickly. It shipped on April 9th. I had been tracking it and it seemed to be stuck in transit between facilities. I contacted USPS and received a response that basically said they were sorry, but don't worry, the package was showing movement daily. What? Not according to the tracking info I was seeing. Anyway the package was delivered yesterday. My lovely mail carrier apologized, even though it was not her fault, and explained that the enveloped used was an Express Mail envelope, but had a 1st Class label on it. We are pretty sure the label was printed by the Etsy shipper but she said the first post office involved should have caught that and taken care of it on that end. Anyway, I now have lots of elastic. I  hope it isn't needed.

I hope you all are staying 

safe and healthy.

It"s Not My Fauilt

Really, it isn't.

Husband is an enabler.

I leave my Facebook page open all the time and I think he is on there more than I am. Occasionally something will pop up there that he likes and he thinks I will too

A few days ago this one came up and he left it there to see if I liked it. 

When I said it was pretty he said 'get it'. It's a panel called Butterfly Vortex by Studio E. Clicking will take you to Etsy. I found more fabric in the line at Fabric.com. I started looking for patterns that use panels and decided on Bevels by Mountainpeak Creations. Again, this takes you to Etsy.

A few days before that Husband saw the bright butterfly fabric, again. It keeps showing up on Facebook. He asked if I had ordered it yet. When I said I hadn't, he said 'get it'.

It is Unusual Garden. This link goes to Hancock's of Paducah which is where I ordered it from. Each panel has six different butterflies that measure around 16 inches. I don't have a pattern, but I do have a plan!

In other news I finished the binding on the Cow quilt.

I can't think of a clever name for it so I am just calling the Cow Quilt or Makenzie's Cow Quilt.I think she will love it. And if she doesn't Son says he will claim it for himself.

I've been looking at Pat Sloan's Crazy Quilty March Calendar every day and watching her videos. I haven't posted any comments though. I am not strictly following this calendar, but it does make me think about the prompt and whether or not I can improve in that area. I think it might be something to do every month just to stay on top of things.

I wrote the prompt for Monday-an Assistant. While the sewing room might be a mess, the assistants are pretty organized. 

Tuesday and Wednesday's prompts were about long owned Fabric and a Project needing attention. I chose Circle of Life for both those days because it needs attention and has been in my stash for a while. 

Thursday's prompt was Learning. a few weeks ago I purchased a Pineapple Trim Tool by Creative Grids.

The link goes to Amazon. I got mine at a local quilt shop. There is also a Mini tool. I got it out thinking I might make one block, but decided I did NOT want to start another project right now so I put it away for later.

Friday's prompt was UFO.

 Again, I chose Circle of Life. 

Today's prompt was Machine Love - clean your machine, change the needle, etc. My main machine was just in for service so I didn't do anything with it. I did clean and oil the MegaQuilter that is on my frame after I quilted the Cow. 

Pat's Tidy Up prompt made me think about my stash of cotton yarn I use for knitted washcloths. I got that out to see what I have and can use. 

I end up with a lot of little bits of leftovers that aren't enough for a whole washcloth but can sometimes be paired with other colors the make striped ones. I did throw some away GASP! because they just didn't go with any of the other colors I have. 

And, finally, I tried a new recipe. We ran out of coffee creamer because I forgot to get some last weekend when we made our grocery run.

I had these recipes, but had not tried any yet. It turned out ok. Husband hasn't said anything so I don't think he even noticed it isn't what we usually use. 

I washed out the empty creamer bottle and mixed up the recipe in it. I made the French Vanilla. It tastes a little different, but it's good. I will try some of the other flavors.