ABC Table Scraps Challenge June

June Table Scraps Challenge had me scrambling. I’ve been finishing some quilts, getting some ready for a trip to the quilter.  I rearranged my sewing space, and then there was cooking, laundry, Father’s Day company. Etc. etc, etc.  June sped by. I didn’t even get my regular June wall decorations up. So Sunday I just got a head start on July!😀

I had been sewing blue crumbs! Will they ever be truly gone? I don’t think so!  I trimmed 6 of them, set them 3x2 with some ancient blue fabric, pieced some batting scraps together , constructed a backing, found almost enough strips for binding and this:

Please ignore my pink socked toes! Yes, I’m still wearing socks! 🥶

And because I was inspired by all the patterns in Kelly Young’s new book, Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs, this is my version of “Chunky”on page 56. I call it “Chunky Abbreviation”. 

So now you ask, “what about the ABC part, Judy?”  So I thought, and I thought and I thought some more.  

I think it is a :                  Definitely Defined Indigo Improv  tabletopper!

I'll link up with The Joyful Quilter when her challenge post goes live on the last Friday of the month. For now I'll just post so I don't forget. 😟

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

To-Do Tuesday! #116

I’m joining Linda at Texas Quilt Gal from sunny Northern California today. I’m hoping to keep up with “my playlists” , while away from my sewing machine.

Last weeks list, added late to that post! 🫤

Nov 22 - Nov 28

1. Help make pies and cranberry salad for Thanksgiving.✅
There was this!

Our son and a neighbor standing in front of the food.

2. Finish binding on I Believe in Angels table runner.✅

It is done!

3. Continue on Table Scraps Challenge project. And write a post for last weekend of the month.✅


My post is Here


4. Enjoy our visit with our son. ✅

The mountain

The king of the house and his human!

Visitors to the yard yesterday 

 My new playlist:

Nov 29- Dec 5

1. Work on cross stitch projects 

2. Start some shopping for Christmas.

3. Address some Christmas cards.

4. Find a new series to watch on TV

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy!

ScrapHappy Saturday~ Last Saturday of November

I linking my meager finishes with Angela at SoScrappy's ScrapHappy Saturday. We are away from home, so no machine sewing is happening. Some hand work has been done. I brought way too many scraps!

Dark Neutrals and Table Scraps Challenge for November. 

I gave some thought to portable, scrappy dark.  A mug mat came to mind. I have been wanting to do a Kawandi project after watching Linda's beautiful ones. Here is a link to her post about her first attempt.

Already hers are miles above my meager stitching. Maybe the dark fabrics isn't the way to go, to be true attempts at the Kawandi style. After all the Siddi women have fabulous, beautifully colorful fabrics to work with. But it does hide my inconsistent stitches. 

I’m using up small lengths of old embroidery floss, 2 strands, some darning cotton from my mom’s stash- 2 strands. Just winging it and learning as I go. 

For those of you who did not see this on a previous post, I did finish this seasonal table runner. 

It might benefit from some additional quilting in the center of the stars.  I wonder if I could do a big stitch outline ?

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

One Monthly Goal November Finish Link Up

In early November, I wrote:

My goal for November is to get it quilted by the time we leave for Holidays in California. Then I will take it with me in the car and have it bound by the end of November.

I did get it quilted before we got in the car on the 19th.  The binding was attached and clipped all around. Using the tiny pincushion from Turid.  It's the perfect travel size.

The stripe looks good from the back too!

And today, the 23rd of November, it is done and on our son's table. It won't stay in California. It's too feminine for him. I need to make him a square or round table topper in more masculine colors. With pine trees or mountains. 

 Striped binding all sewn down on the back, mitered corners, every one!

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal - November Finish Link-up

And at Finished or Not Finished Friday over at Alycia Quilts 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

To-Do Tuesday #114.

Last week my list was this:


1. Sew more red and white stars! ✅

This is my design wall at ending of sewing on Monday!

2. Quilt Angels table runner ✅


It is quilted . I echo stitched? in white 1/4 inch inside the edge of the stars. Then I attached my free motion foot and just did "swooshes" in each square. I used a light blue thread and it blended well with most fabrics. It's noticeable on the red fabrics, not perfect but OK. The binding is sewed onto the front. I can stitch the binding down as we travel next week.

3. Do some stitching on Christmastime Mystery. ✅

ready to thread the needle to finish Christmas

4. Check out the Amy Chappell’s Passport to Quilting Holiday Edition on Instagram. ✅
I did check out the Passport to Quilting Holiday Edition. I downloaded nearly every pattern. Will I make them all, certainly not. But I have options now!! :)

Bonus points: As I finished sewing white stars on Monday and arranging them on my design wall, I decided to “put my machine away”. My sewing table folds up some and I could better vacuum before we leave for the holidays! First though, I should clean my the bobbin space! 

Yikes! I always have trouble getting my bobbin race in the correct position! This time I took a photo so I could remember what it looks like. Before I cleaned it!⤵️

Now that’s all cleaned up and back together, sewing much more quietly! 😀

Next Week:

Nov 15th to Nov 21st

1. Laundry and packing!

2. Dr. appointment on Wednesday! 

3. Stitching group on Thursday and get another knitting lesson. 

4. Covid Boosters on Friday

5. Maybe sign checks at my old employer. He had shoulder surgery and his daughter (next in charge) is out for some “girl parts” surgery. So I’m it! 

My “To-Do Tuesday “ will be different in the coming month.  I’ll be doing mostly hand work in Northern California and taking pictures of that beautiful mountain ( again)! 

I’m joining all the other To-Doers over at Texas Quilt Gal. Thanks, Linda for hosting this fun and necessary ( for me anyway) event!

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

Scrap Happy Saturday..November 5th

I’m linking up with Angela at So Scrappy. Please take a minute or more likely an hour to check out what everyone else is doing in this new month. It’s sure to be fabulous! 

My week, not so much! 

It’s supposed to be dark neutrals~~ nope

Then, I should be finishing a quilt top ~~ nope,! 

Instead, a sort of unplanned project. 

A need to have a smallish project for my retreat. A promise made. Both resulted in a cute little table topper. 

I rummaged through my Christmas fabric. The reds  in most of my fabric were slightly different  than the reds in this collection from Bunny Hill Designs. It’s called “I Believe in Angels”

I settled on this very different but very pretty fabric for the back. And it could qualify for neutral! "wink"

It just need a tiny bit of straightening. And a chunk of batting was found, then just enough of this red and white stripe for binding.

Today, I hope to be able to move my car out of the garage, put an old plastic tablecloth down and spray baste. Then I can get to the quilting. I’ve made it my November OMG. We will be leaving home for the holidays,  so finishing anything bigger is not going to happen. If I can get the quilting accomplished and the binding attached to the front. I can sew the binding down in the car on our way to our son's for Thanksgiving. And I can post a finished OMG!!

Then:

At retreat, I had a lesson from a very able teacher on making socks using the Magic Loop method. I need to put her number in my phone….so I call if I need help! I have a video to watch too. We were tasked with having six inches done by Thursday the 10 th and I can’t remember which needle becomes my right hand needle! Duh! 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy!

Table Scraps for February ~ Improv and Aqua

 

Improv? ? What? ?  That’s terrifying!  I like aqua!  I’m unfamiliar with improv! It’s curved seams and colors that don’t go together, right? 

So I searched Google!      From The Quilt Show!

Improv Piecing is a piecing technique that takes quilt making in a different direction for the Modern Quilter. The Traditional or Contemporary quilter will have a plan with specific blocks and colors in each location pieced with precision 1/4" seams. Quilters using Improv piecing are not bound by those rules.  The approach is to let your imagination and intuition be your guide to choose random pieces of fabric, sew them together and just keep going.  There are no bounderies with this approach to piecing. A variety of fabrics can be pieced or appliqued with many different threads or yarn. Some quilters approach their project with a specific intention, while others just start to see where the quilt takes them.

There were lot of articles! Then I thought! I own my very own copy of Kelly Young’s book, Scrappy Improv Quilting! Why not use her technique? 

 

So I started building crumb/slab blocks.

I had many strips not very many bits and pieces. So I strip pieced and cut them smaller. Switched the directions, you know! Improv! 

I didn’t cut up Jasmine! I’ll keep that large piece for a special backing or ?”

I cut square, 2.5” of a pretty aqua solid. Bought to put in Noah’s quilt, but the color wasn’t quite right! It works here. 

Slabs of crumps ready to cut into 2.5” squares. Some light, some darker! 

I worked on zig zags as I laid out a plus design for a long skinny table runner for the top of a half wall between our foyer and living room.  

There was graph paper involved!  And teeny tiny templates cause my brain felt overwhelmed!

Some pieces beside the machine.        It needs to be 10 X 51! 

I even improv pieced the batting!

Quilted and trimmed! The quilting was a work in progress, I sort of changed horses in the middle of the stream. Imperfect?   NO!  IMPROV!! 

The view to the messy east end of my cutting table.

Now, the view to messy west end of my cutting table!!

Even the backing was improvisationally pieced!!

On the half wall!  I staged the small Christmas cactus because the pot is aqua, but you can't see the pot, my perspective is off. There is a birthday card in front!  

The binding is scrappy too, mostly because I had lots of 2.5" strips left in my Aqua/Teal basket! I am so pleased with how it looks here. Mr Busy hasn't said one word!  Either he hasn't noticed. Or he hates it and can't think of anything nice to say, so says nothing at all!  I think he hasn't noticed!  

I'm linking up with Joy at The Joyful Quilter and her Table Scraps Challenge Link Up, on Friday the last weekend of the month! 2-25-22!  I'm loving this palindromic week!

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy!