Some scrappy happiness and other sewing

I'm writing my post late.  I had hoped to get another basket finished. But I did not.

This is as far as it is this morning.

Light blue, quilted and cut to size. The handle is on the one end piece. Ready to go together.

This little scrappy quilt came back from the quilter.  Love the pantograph she used. It's called Promise. I don't know the designer.  I love it flowers and hearts. And the name speaks to the life this quilt will have. I am donating to Jack's Basket! The binding is cut. I'll get it on today or tomorrow.

And a bit of a "squirrel" came about yesterday. My middle granddaughter texted and asked me if I would make her a face mask. She lives in Phoenix and has just secured a job with Amazon. Funny story...I asked her earlier if she needed masks. She declined, saying she had a box of disposable ones. But her son, who will be 10 in July would like one. She allows him to play Xbox on line, but only if his face is covered. So that was fine with me...I sent one to him and included a little pink one for his 3 yo sister. I know how sisters are...if brother has one, she needs one!
Now that Mom needs a mask at work, she wanted a handmade one. Better than the disposable she says, but was reluctant to ask, since she had turned me down earlier.  Her dad, our son, said, " Call Grandma! I'm sure she will be glad to!"  He was right, of course.  Cause that's what we as grandmothers do!  I was tickled pink!!

So these are cut out and ready to sew. I'll send them priority mail on Monday, she'll have them on Tuesday.  Just in time to start her job on Thursday!. One is purple with a grey lining, one is aqua flowers with a red lining, and one is coffee beans with a pale yellow lining. The red lining is interfaced with SF101,  the fabric is a bit light and not so tightly woven. I'm now out of elastic cord, a bit of flat 1/4" elastic is left and I have cut t-shirt yarn for the halter style ties.  I'm wondering if the t-shirt yarn has enough elasticity and hold to use in an ear loop. I may try one for myself. I haven't ventured out to Joann's or Hobby Lobby. They just opened up here in our county and I'm in the at -risk category. I have not gone out except to pick up groceries and take out lunch once in a while.
Maybe I'll don a mask and go see how crowded they are.

Here in NE Wyoming we are pretty safe. No new cases in the last 10 days or so, in our county.  No deaths at all in our county. Only 2 of the 17 cases we did have, were hospitalized. So we have definitely flattened the curve. In fact, when they weren't doing elective surgeries, our county hospital cut wages, furloughed nurses and even furloughed some traveling doctors. The CEO did not take his pay for the balance of the fiscal year.

Well, this turned into a long blah blah blah post.  Sorry.  It looks like Angela has given us Junes new color.....PINK!  So I will get busy on my pink basket, pink Geese Migration blocks and pink hollow nine patches.  I'm linking this post to ScrapHappy Saturday. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy.

Finished another Whoop Whoop

Well, this is my mindless sewing lately. You all know I made 2 green scrap baskets, and last week an orange one. This week ,in an effort to get caught up on the rainbow colors for 2020, I tackled teal/aqua/turquoise! My crumb blocks were already done. I only had to add a little bit to one slab to make it big enough.

Then I looked for lining fabric. I can’t stand to use fabric I might need sometime for a utilitarian application like lining! I know, I know ! It’s just fabric! I had some small chunks of some Winnie the Pooh fabric left over from this baby quilt.

This was my 2nd Great Grandson's New Baby quilt!

I’ve used it several other places.

This went to Jack's Basket last year!

 In fact, I gave some away to a friend and she returned the leftovers! So these were the last of it. I pieced and puzzled to get 2 pieces 10.5 x 7.5, and  2 pieces 7.5 x 7.5. I couldn't get the bottom piece. So, I cut 2 bottom pieces, one outside, one inside from a large multi floral.

This is all that is left of it now!  1 2" strip, 2-  2.5" strip, 10 2" squares and some skinny strips that will go into my basket to make a crocheted rug!  Whoop Whoop !


I quilted the slab blocks with a serpentine stitch running vertically. I had a scrap piece of fusible batting that had a flaw. It was lapped over and fused by almost 3 inches. When I discovered it in another project, I put it in my scrap stash thinking I’d use it in mug rugs or something. It works here.

So another basket done. And 3 plastic shoe boxes are empty. I still need to make a light blue one and of course there will be a new color for June! So 2 more on the horizon.

I'll link up to Finished or Not Friday and
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop!


Stay Busy and Stay Happy and  Healthy

OMG May and OMG Finish

May has really been an Oh My Gosh month! Maybe finally there will be a lessening of the number of cases and deaths of this virus. We haven't had a new positive case in our county in 4 days and no death in our county at all.  Only 12 deaths total, but we are a low population state. Only 578,759. We are the least populated state in the US. 

I did finish ( to make a quilt top) my OMG for May is linked here!
               Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal - May Finish Link-up

My Tiny Tuesday sampler-like quilt.

I am really happy with it. Now to find a backing and make an appointment with the long armer.

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy

Oh Scrap Baskets

I haven't joined Oh Scraps for a long time. Sundays sometimes get away from me and I don't get a post written.  But I have been sewing scraps.......scrap baskets


Rainbow Scrap Challenge's color for May is Dark Green.

I sewed this basket:

But there were too many chunks and scraps:

So I made another:  this time lighter brighter greens: 

That's better!

Next I decided to do Orange.  I had used all my slab blocks in the making of Precarious last year. It still is just a top but I will finish it. So I set about to make more orange slab blocks. I had to make frankinbatting...then quilt the pieces. I had a old piece of plain orange in my stash that will work for lining. It was cheap fabric, purchased years ago to make clown costumes for Mr. Busy and me for a Halloween party. I didn't have lots of options in our small town. We had K-Mart! I haven't used the fabric in any quilts, the quality is not good enough. But I can't just toss it either. Glad I found a use for it here. I starched it heavily, so it wasn't so "thready"!

One small error....I was in such a hurry to get it done, so I could post, I forgot to put a piece of cardboard or poster board under the lining before I sewed the opening shut. OOPS!  I will cut something and just lay it in the bottom for now.  I'll fix it later!  

Now I want to catch up with the other colors from RSC20.  

                                             January :    Light or Bright Greens      check

                                             February :  Orange                               check        

                                             March  :     Teal

                                             April :        Light or Bright Blue

                                             May :         Dark Green                        check

I'm linking up with Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun than Housework and Oh Scrap!

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy. 

              

Scrappy Happy Saturday 5-23-20

Linking with Angela at ScrapHappy Saturday!



I made another green scrap basket.  When I made the first one, it was overflowing!

When I commented on The Joyful Quilters blog post on the May 9th Linky party,  Joy replied with a suggestion that we both make a green scrap basket. She suggested a race or a challenge.


On the 16th, I commented on her ScrapHappy Saturday post that I was going to make another basket and was she going to join me.  She accepted my challenge. So here is my basket.

This time I decided to make one in the lighter, brighter greens of the spectrum. That way I could sort the scraps, at least a little bit.

Here are both baskets, scraps sorted! Not quite full. A little  bit of growing room.

This week I worked on another scrappy project that I showed on Finished or Not Friday. So some of you will have seen this one already.  Apologies.

I pieced a backing and found a correct size batting, so now I just need to call my friend with a long arm machine. It will go to Jack's Basket.  All the fabrics were from stash!


Not sure what will happen in my sewing room this coming week. I have another batch of 9 patch and rails in more boy fabrics. Maybe I'll be able to find fabric to set them into a 36 x 36 quilt for Jack's Basket. 

Until next time
Stay Busy, Stay Happy and Stay Healthy

A “Finished” and an “or Not”

My first little finish is another scrap basket. I’ve had slab/crumb block in my UFO box for a couple of years. I always wanted to do these cute baskets. So this summer is the time!

Light or bright green this time.

Here it is next to it's darker cousin. Now neither one is overflowing.


I have participated in CiL’s block drive at Kat and Cat Quilts since January 2018. Currently Kat is taking a break. She’s catching up with all the Blocks from the previous drives. Though she didn’t say, I would assume her “Day Job” is taking it’s toll also. She is in the medical arena. So I made a little baby quilt to donate to Jack’s Basket.

Last week I posted the 5 pieced blocks ( are they chunky churn dash?) and two hour glass blocks asking for advice. I just looked back at my blog and these blocks were first made by Sylvia at Treadlestitches. She calls them Nine Patches and Rails. See her finish here!

Alycia suggested setting the hour glass blocks to frame the block. I think this is what she had in mind. I love it.

On my design wall with the top and bottom borders just stuck in place. You can see my original post with all the blocks here.  Lots of these scrappy blocks. More boy like in colors and fabrics. So I will be looking for setting fabric for them.

It wasn’t big enough for Jack's Basket so I added a cream 1 inch border then a 3 inch pink border. It’s just right now.  I wonder if I can quilt it myself ? I’m reluctant to try. I can do wavy lines, stitch in the ditch or some outline quilting. But I’d really like some  flowers or swirls or something more graceful. When I get the backing pieced...I think I’ll call my long arm quilter and see if she has an opening.

This is better, borders are done.  I am so pleased with the almost finish.





I'll link up with Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday.
And maybe because I am done before Friday, I'll link up with Can I Get A Whoop Whoop with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Stay Busy and Stay Happy!  And more importantly Stay Healthy!

Green Blocks and other signs of Spring

This week I was able to finally a geese migration block completed. And also 6 hollow 9 patches.

And it wasn’t without a struggle. All the geese pieces were laying on a portable design board. All cut according to directions using BH essential triangle tool. I didn’t take photos,  but there was some use of the seam ripper. As you can see above, the rows of 2 1/2” squares are attached to the left of the geese row,  that is an important step to remember! LOL

Cynthia’s Geese Migration pattern calls for 25 blocks. If I make 2 blocks for each color of the month that will give me 20 blocks. Angela usually selects colors for 10 months and the last two months are for finishing the quilt. So then I will lay out the blocks and see what other colors could be incorporated. I don’t have a lot of solids...by then I may be able to actually shop in a real store. I’m trying hard not to buy more fabric! 

This week we are having rain in Wyoming. A few tulips are blooming and the trees are starting to leaf out. There are robins and mourning doves all over my neighborhood. One bird that I don’t see in NE Wyoming is the Western Tanager. My brother lives in the a Black Hills of South Dakota and they have tanagers. 

At a feeder, of which there are several

My brother looking a little quarantine scruffy. He had been doing some woodworking, hence the safety glasses and the dust mask.

My sister-in-law is good with the camera.  

I'm linking up with ScrapHappy Saturday. at Angela's blog. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Stay Healthy

Finished or Not Friday - Flimsy Finish

I'm finishing flimsies/quilt tops. One of these days I'll be able to deliver some to my long arm quilters. My hold up is batting. My long armers are fairly new at the business and so they require that the quilter supply the batting. I have some pieces that I need to fuse together for some of my smaller finishes.

Tiny Tuesday is complete. I had to use scrappy white on white backgrounds and even a different white on white for the 2" outside border. It looks ok to me though. I promised Dianne at Little Penguin Quilts that I would leave my wonky fan block and my not so perfect owl and pig blocks. So they are included. I had to make one correction as I was webbing the blocks. One side of a block strip was cut at 1.5" not 1.75" as directed.  OOPS!  I don't know how I missed it when I made it, but I found it when I was sewing blocks together!  I had an extra red block that used the same fabric, so I took that one apart. It worked out fine.

I'm not fond of tiny, but these blocks gave me something to focus on that did not require large blocks of time last year when my sister was under going chemo for lung cancer and I couldn't be with her. One day at a time our mother used to say, and this helped me focus one Tuesday, one block at a time.


I didn't have enough blocks to set the colors in rows. And I wanted to be done, so I did not make extra. I used Angela's example of setting the colors in blocks of color. Angela set hers alternating straight sets with diagonal sets. I deviated from the directions and set some of my individual blocks differently. It did not cause a problem though. It may not be a organised, but it's for me. Now I have to decide on a backing.

I have another little quilt that I need your help with. The pieced blocks in the middle and the corners have a girly vibe. I want to send it to Jack's Basket.

 I have been holding on to the pink with tiny yellow dots, waiting to find a pale yellow to make hour glass blocks to go with it. This quarantine has made that kind of hard. I found a mottled cream,with pink and green in my stash. I thought it would work. I made one set of hour-glass blocks. Now I don't know if I like it. Do you like the hour-glass blocks or just the pink blocks?

Or maybe just the cream blocks?  It's so scrappy and busy, I am just not sure.  It will need a border to be 36 X 36 for the donation requirements.
Anyway, I'll consider all options. Thanks for your input.


Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Stay Healthy

    I'm linking up with Alycia's party Finished or Not Friday.