Can I Get A Whoop Whoop cause I'm Not Quite Finished!

Summer is quickly coming to an end! I just learned the first day of school is August 21st.  ONE MONTH from tomorrow!

I don't have children or grandchildren who are school age, but our great grandson who lives here in our town starts kindergarten this year. It makes both Mr Busy and me feel OLD!

I have been working on my APQ Challenge for July!  I have a QOV that became a UFO last year after I had a great deal of trouble putting the blocks together. Now it should have been an easy quilt. Like a rail fence with a star detail at two corners.  See this post!.

I was surprised when I went to JoAnns that there was no gold fabric in the Patriotic section. So I looked, and looked and looked. Now, our JoAnns is a relatively small one. Not lots of fabric, no frame section, and maybe 3 employees that day. Sometimes there are only two working. I finally settled on a gold batick, yes it has "leaves" in it, but more subtle than the ones in my stash.

Next I had to decide how to do the corners. Cut a piece approximately 5 1/2 by 3 and lay it over the existing corner, sew it and then trim it. I pondered. I could not see that as a good outcome, with the bulk of the seam and the possibility for a larger more wonky star. So I started to "unsew" each triangle.

Painstakingly, I unpicked the first one. I have an Alpaca Pressing Mat and I love it!.  I pressed, then moved to my regular pressing mat, gave the cut edge a light spritz of Spray Starch, turned it over and pressed it again. It felt really stiff and stable. I added a rectangle of fabric, lined up the already cut line and sewed it on. Success!  I decided to do one corner at a time, to eliminate the possibility of distortion on the bias edge. When both corners are replaced, it is back to the cutting table and my 8 1/2 inch ruler and re trim the corners. There is some waste, but I will use those triangle is another project I have in my head!! That has been my task all week. I have 3 rows done and am starting on the 4th. Luckily I had marked each block with a small scrap of paper Col and Row, so they will go back in order. I did not want to have to rethink that!  I must have rearranged blocks for days last year before I was satisfied.

Here is the first one, Row 1 Column A with one new corner and one old corner, on my alpaca mat.

and the unpicking continued. It was a slow process, but I am happy with the results.

I am almost half way with the block re-do!

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

ps: I also finished reading Beartown by Fredrik Backman.  AWESOME!!!!  On recommendation from a friend in Texas, I picked up the sequel at the library yesterday, Us Against You!. I have a kindle book and an audio book that I need to finish, then I will start the sequel.

I'm linking this post at Confessions of A Fabric Addict . She is in the middle of her 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop, but I know she will get her Whoop Whoop Friday post up too.  I am glad Myra is back with Finished or Not Fridays! , so I will be linking up there too.

This week a little bit of somethin'

Last week, I posted about my many projects with nothing to show for it!  It least not in my mind! No completions, no tops quilted, no binding finished!  Nothin'

This week I have a little sumpun'!  I dumped my red pieces, then opened the tote of scraps that a friend gifted to me in April!

 I had to dig deep into this pile of yumminess, but I found enough scraps to make these 5 crumb slab blocks for RSC18. I only cut into my red pieces once. Then I took a piece that was in my stash for at least 15 years, and cut in up into 2.5 in strips for the 2.5" basket!  That felt good.

I have been struggling with my slab/crumb blocks resembling log cabins, so I used a suggestion from a fellow blogger. She suggested the Mile a Minute method. I checked out several You Tube videos and soon developed a method that made sense in my head!  I think they look pretty good!

I also finished putting the final 4-patch border on my En Provence quilt top!  I learned sooooo much from doing this one. I had never used a Tri-Rec ruler before!  That was a game changer for me. Also, took Bonnie's suggestions about measuring the block, not the seam allowance to make sure the seam allowance is correct!  Another light bulb moment!  And those 4-patches went on without a hitch and fit perfectly!

  The wind was blowing!  Imagine that!

  from Google= (Wyoming is very windy, we all know that. According to NOAA (National Oceanic Atmospheric Association) 50-60 MPH winds helps the Cowboy State hold the title of windiest state in the country. Wyoming easily produces annual wind speeds statewide of just under 13 MPH.Mar 29, 2017  )

So excited to select a backing and find an available long arm quilter to bring this one to completion!


I started to work on the QOV quilt debacle that ended up in the UFO box last year. I followed a pattern that left me with blocks that did not come out to the required 8.5 inches.  I am redoing the angled gold pieces on the corners to help with that. If you want the gory details about this particular challenge, read this post. 

I also repaired a pair of short for my great grandson!  He caught his behind on something sharp and literally ripped a slash in the seat of his pant!  I was able to find an almost match to the fabric in my stash and repaired it with that piece behind it and cut away the shreds. Then turned under the edges to create a sort of reverse applique look. It's not bad, and I'll keep them in my drawer for backup when he is here. 

I will link this post to Confessions of a Fabric Addict!   "Can I Get a Whoop Whoop!"

and to So Scrappy Saturday tomorrow after Angela post the Link up

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

I got Nothin' !!

All week, it seems I have run around in circles.   I made myself a list of things to do.

1. Download Jenny's Year in the Garden stitchery for July.  DONE
2. Post about July's OMG.    DONE
3. Check at Kat & Cat's blog for the new block for Covered in Love.  DONE
4. Download the printable July calendar from Connie at Freemotion by the River.  DONE
5. Read and decide if I will participate in Bonnie Hunter's Leaders and Enders project for the next year! DONE
6. Check out the challenge number for All People Quilt July selection! DONE
7. Pull some RED scraps!  DONE , TOO!


Results:
1. Started stitching January!

2. En Provence:

Ready for the final neutral 4 patch borders.

3. A bit of July's red color!

I'll make 7 more of these before the end of August to send to Covering In Love.  Very doable!

4. I have a homemade journal/planner. So these printables are way more fun than the plain Jane ones from a different site of the internet! Thanks, Connie!  I've attempted to hide the personal stuff!

5. I have decided to pass.  I am still working on Leaders and Enders Tumblers from 2015!

6. It's #7  My QOV that I must re-do.  See this post!

7.  Scraps are dumped!  These look more maroon here....I may have to invade my Christmas scraps!

But that is all I got done toward the RSC 2018 July color of the month!

Stay Busy and Stay Happy or at least Squirrely!

Oh, and I'll link this post at So Scrappy! 

 And I finished the audio book I was listening to. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.  It is listed as a YA book, but there is lots of language in it. Other than that warning, I recommend it. You might want to read the synopsis before deciding. It is a controversial topic. 

July OMG. Decisions! Decisions!

I was having a hard time deciding what my July goal should be. I have several things to finish and a few to get started.  I made a list.......and then it sort of sat and marinated!

 I finally settled on this:

Put the last 4-patch borders on En Provence!

This is the center done and there is a border of low volume four patches that needs to be added. It is not difficult, just time consuming. Lots of matching seams. 21 four patches on each side and 23 four patches at the top and bottom.  After that I need to find a backing and send it off to a longarm quilter. While it is gone I will made a binding. I think the pink, like in the star points, but I will decide after the backing is chosen.  Those last two steps for another months OMG, I think!  I'll check in at the end of July!

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Linking up at Elm Street Quilts OMG for July Challenge.  You can check out some other's One Monthly Goal.

July APQ UFO Challenge #7

Oh No!!! The July number for the APQ UFO Challenge is #7.  It is my least favorite one!!!

This project has a story!  A sort of long story!  One of the groups I belong to, made Quilts of Valor a year ago. We presented them last Veterans Day week. I wanted to make one. I found a (free) pattern online. I had a patriotic jelly roll that had been in my stash for years. So I set to it.  The pattern is set as a  rail fence, but has colored diagonal pieces added to the corners, giving it spinning stars.

I was using from my stash, and I cut the diagonal pieces double, thinking it would save a little time. All I got was a whole lot of backwards pieces that I could not use. So I substituted a different gold fabric in some stars. I painstakingly laid out the pieces so I could match the gold fabric That is so the stars were all the same, not 2 different fabrics.

Probably quilter error, but as I laid them out, I realized they did not all measure 8 1/2 inches. Especially not where I had cut and sewn the diagonal pieces. UGH!  I bailed on the project, volunteered to head the committee to plan the presentation and food and put them away in a shoebox. 

In the mean time I had come across a post from Julie at Pink Doxies regarding a quilt she called Hurricane Stars.  See her post here. (Reaching the Summit of Scrap Mountain) I thought, "that will work for my QOV blocks!"  I commented on her post and she replied to me with encouragement to  give it a try. But other things were on my plate and the end of the year was approaching.  I printed out her email reply, made a note of the URL address for the post and put it in the shoebox with the "ugh" blocks.

Enter APQ Challenge list for 2018. I am forever an optimist and have great expectations.  So last week, thinking of the QOV blocks and having all my other challenge items complete. I dug out the dreaded "shoebox".  I un-stitched all the block that I had sewn together. 2 columns of 7 blocks and one partial column of 3 blocks. I thought, "at least I  started!"   Well today, APQ announced the challenge number for July!  Yup!  It's #7....the QOV Block re-do!  My plan is to purchase more gold fabric for the center stars......spinning, hurricane, or ??.  I do not have any more gold that is the right shade and not covered with leaves or pumpkins ( Fall not patriotic!).  But I am OK with that.  So that will be first on my agenda. Get some more gold fabric.....should be easy this time of year to come up with gold /patriotic something!   Wish me luck, and I'll hopefully get it accomplished by the end of July!

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Check out Julie's blog today. pinkdoxies.com.  She has a photo of the finished quilt, in all it's glory and struggles. It's amazing! 

June OMG Finish

My June goal was to get the binding on my daughter's quilt for her graduation, and to complete the stitching on the July Calendar Girl. You can check out my post here!

They are done!

 I decided to use the gray larger print for the binding. I had enough and I like the dark framing effect. The small pops of white, black and teal are wonderful too.

Even the label is done!  I tried a new technique of redacting the personal info. I had never tried that with a photo before, but I have a new iPad (since Mother's Day) and I gave it a try. I guess if you really want to know, you can still see it. I will have to refine that in the future. How do you cover up personal stuff in photos?


The stitching is mostly done on this little cutie. The original pattern shows a yellow button in the center of the hanging star, but I can't locate one locally that is the correct size and shade of yellow. I will keep looking! I am not sure what this stitchery will become. A pillow cover, a framed picture for my July Great Granddaughter's room, or maybe I'll put all the girl's stitching's in a wall hanging. This is the first, so I have a few to do!

I think she's pretty darn cute!

I am linking this to Elm Street Quilts, One Monthly Goal- June Finish Link up.


Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Gma Bag #3

Amy Butler Birdie Bag.

I have had this in a to-do basket since early 2010. I made a Zebra themed quilt for our very first great grandchild. I had tons of left over fabric!  I had an Amy Butler pattern!  Make a diaper bag!  Cut the fabric!  Out of interfacing!

After a few stumbling blocks, I put it away in a basket. I moved it around lots and lots!  That baby will be 8 years old next month!  Sheesh!!

I finally decided to dig it out of the UFO pile and see if I couldn't get it completed.  I had to retrace the pieces...I had cut some, so I know I had traced some, but they have disappeared,  Then I did not have fusible fleece. I made a trip to Joann's. They had one piece of fusible fleece on the shelf. It would work. I needed Pellon SF101 also. (no affiliation, I just use this interfacing a lot, and it was recommended on the patter)  I had a coupon, I bought a whole bolt!!

I cut more fabric and set to work. In no time, I had this finished bag.

My granddaughter made a comment a week or so ago, that she was going to have to get a "go bag". She carries water bottles for both kids and herself always. Now she is "potty training" Miss B, so there is a necessity of several changes of panties and shorts/leggings. I decided to give this bag to her last Tuesday. She was thrilled and put it to immediate use.

Her sister  has this bag!

Her mom has this bag!

So she is calling it her Gma Bag.  She has always referred to me as Gma when she writes it!  I am glad she likes it and the other bags are appreciated and used as well!  All that makes me happy.

Stay Busy and Stay Happy