A Small Finish and Wildflowers

This afternoon I finished a quilt carrier.  I had admired a similar carrier that a friend made and decided I had to have one too.  I used batting and fabric that had been “maturing” in my stash for years.  The batting is not my preferred type for quilts and I really wanted to use it up.  As I considered the fabric and batting to be “sunk” costs, the only expense in this project was for the dowel that was cut into two lengths for the handles, less than $4.  Maybe I’ve satisfied the bag-making bug for a while and can resume work on my quilting projects.

 

We took a country drive today in order to see the wildflowers.  While the El Nino weather system this year has resulted in more moisture in the ground and more blooms, it has not been robust enough to recharge our aquifers and lakes.  But right now, the countryside is especially pretty.  The pictures below came from our excursion.

 

And, happy Easter.

Happy to be Home...Ahhh...Chooo!

 

Last week was our annual trip to visit with family in South Texas.  It was a good visit, except for both of us coming home with colds.  I expect to be laying low this week so as not to share it with others.  I did test negative for Covid.  

Unlike previous years, I did not take my machine for hotel stitching.  Instead, I only took handwork and managed to baste 100+ tumblers for my red and white quilt.

 

There was also a brand-new H*L* close to the hotel, so a little retail therapy happened both there and at a vendor’s booth at the Don-Wes Flea Market in Donna. 

 

My loot included a coffee mug, thread catcher for the chair I use while watching TV, a project box and several cuts of novelty fabrics for inclusion in my tumbler quilt.  After I got home, I realized that the red print was a duplicate I had purchased a previous year, sigh.

Yesterday we received a very welcome 1/2 inch of rain and today is breezy and cool.  I made an absolutely unavoidable quick trip to the grocery store this morning and am settling in to work on projects between sneezes.

National Quilting Day

March 16 is National Quilting Day and I thought it would be a good time to share a picture of the completed group project I participated in last summer.  Kits for the guild’s donation quilt blocks were distributed in June.  Some were for applique blocks and the others were foundation paper pieced.  I chose the latter because I thought it would be the quicker finish since I had just completed paper piecing my log cabin project.  Per usual, it didn’t quite work out the way I expected, but I did finish it and turn it in.  The post about that adventure appeared June 12, 2023.

 

Here is a picture of the completed quilt.  I think the block I made may be third block down on the left side.  I can’t be sure, however, because the committee handed out duplicate kits just to be sure they had all they needed by the deadline.  Those not included in the donation quilt were incorporated into smaller projects that will be offered for sale at the next guild quilt show. 

Since it’s National Quilting Day, I wanted to share the following response to the “Why do you quilt?” prompt from day 5 of Instagram’s annual IGquiltfest hosted by Amy Ellis.  The quote is taken from Elaine Poplin’s post and used with permission.

Day 5 of #igquiltfest2024 is “Why do you quilt?” So many reasons.

I quilt to silence the noise inside my head.

I quilt to silence the noise outside.

I quilt to process my feelings.

I quilt to respond to the world.

I quilt to pray.

I quilt to celebrate.

I quilt to grieve.

I quilt to remember.

I quilt to ask questions.

I quilt to answer questions.

I quilt to play.

I quilt to challenge myself.

I quilt to explore.

I quilt to amuse myself.

I quilt to find hope.

I quilt to express what I see.

I quilt so that the anger and frustration swirling inside has somewhere constructive to go.

I quilt so I don’t implode.

I quilt so I don’t explode.

I quilt to breathe.

I quilt because it’s important.

I quilt because I need to.

#messygoatsews

 

Taking Stock

It’s been a few months since I posted about my thimble/tumbler quilt and, quite frankly, I have let it rest for a while.  It’s time to take stock and make some decisions.

Currently it is 47 1/2 by 49 inches, much too close to square and not as big as I would like.  At the very least I want to add another five to seven rows which would get it close to 60 inches long.  There are 1,008 thimbles in it now and I will need to baste quite a few more as my inventory is getting low.  I’ve made no decision as to whether I will add a border.  If I don’t, that will make it narrower when I trim it after quilting.

It’s been fun incorporating novelty prints when I can find some that will fit a finished template that’s 1 ¾ inches tall and 7/8 inches at its base.  Here is one a Tuesday sewing friend gave me from the project she was working on that day.

And a couple more I've accumulated…

Needless to say, this is a very, very long-term project.

A Close Up of Sorts

Wanda suggested that I share a picture of the quilting I did on the log cabin quilt. 

 

I decided to go with a small edge-to-edge meander using a King Tut variegated thread called Nefertiti on top, and a neutral thread on the backing.  I’ve started using pre-wound bobbins as much as possible because I seem to be jinxed when it comes to using the bobbin winder that came with my Capri.  It took a little tinkering to get the tension between the two threads right, but I managed.

 

My patio pansies have been putting on a show for us this week.  The pink flamingos are sentimental keepsakes from a surprise birthday party a few years ago.

A Finish

I began work on this log cabin quilt late in 2022 and put the last stitch in its label last night.  It was paper pieced and the logs are just slightly wider than ½ inch.  It contains 154 4 ½ inch blocks and a total of 2,002 pieces.  Final dimensions are 49 X 63 inches and I logged about 11 hours on my sit-down quilting machine.

 

This was a project I turned to when I wanted to do mindless stitching.  My other current projects require too much attention, so I’ll need to think about what my next therapeutic machine project will be.  I certainly have enough scraps to keep me busy if I just make some decisions and get them cut up.

 

We are enjoying lovely weather here and things are beginning to bloom including our Mountain Laurel bushes.  I noticed the pollinators were happily feasting on the one in front yesterday.  We may have a chance for rain this week, but it is predicted to be very light in our area.