Don't nap with a 3 (almost 4)-year-old on the loose!

You'd think after raising 2 daughters on my own, I would have learned my lesson!  My daughter dropped Alex off early Sunday morning, and silly me, stayed up way too late the night before so I laid down on the couch while Alex ate breakfast and promptly dozed off.  I'm a fairly light sleeper so I woke up when I heard him moving around, only to discover this!

He was obviously pretty quiet for awhile! 

His scissoring skills are coming along - he tried to cut out one of the circles!  It's funny how you gain patience as you age.  I didn't mad, but I did express my disappointment to him and he felt pretty bad.  He doesn't normally get into things, and it was the first time I've had to talk to him about doing something he shouldn't have done.  Not bad for almost being 4 and spending so much time at my home.  And I learned my lesson (again, after 25 years).

I took a day to think about how I was going to handle it - did I want to make a new block?  Of course, he had done this on one of the more detailed blocks. 

Ultimately, I decide to just repair the damage as I am not about perfection, but love family history and like the idea of having a story to go with the quilt. 

Turns out I didn't have enough fabric to make a new block anyway, but I did have a piece large enough to piece in a new strip.

First, I heated up the applique with the iron and gently peeled back the top row.  I had to pull the green leaf off as it had a small cut in it, and cut out a new one.

The background fabric had an off-set stripe pattern, which I was able to match up perfectly. 

I sewed the long edge first with a 1/4" seam on the new piece, and trimmed off the old after sewing it, leaving a good size seam allowance on the short side.

I then measured and folded over the seam allowance on the short side, and after pressing, used it as a guide for sewing it.

I was left with one small odd-shaped section that butted up to the appliqued ribbon.  I pressed it in the proper place and hand-stitched it down. 

Done!  And stripes matched perfectly. If it wasn't for the seam allowance, you wouldn't even know it was there and I didn't have to cut out all those little flower pieces again.  And, my quilt has a story!

Catching up! (Warning - wordy and long)

It's been ages since I posted, so I thought I would do a bit of a catch up - if for no other reason, to prove to myself I have accomplished something.

I had a bit of a setback a couple of weeks ago.  I was laid off from the one job that provided me a regular paycheque.  The slowing of the economy finally hit our area, and recent changes to mortgage regulations have led to a slowdown to the point there wasn't enough work for me.  I'm happy I still have two other sources of income, even if they are commission-only.  After taking some time to regroup, I am now ready to move forward.  In the meantime, when I pried myself off the couch, I did some more decluttering and sorting of UFOs, and worked on a few projects.

As I was going through my UFOs, I came across some very old projects.  Several dated back as far as my teens, and I was a teenager in the 70's!  This little bear is a perfect example - all complete except for attaching the head, which I couldn't figure out at the time without making a mess.  I've kept it all these years thinking there was too much work in it to just toss it.

I took a really hard look at it - it was a kit and is made from cheap fake fur.  Even if it was finished, it was not something I was going to love nor gift to anyone.  Given its age and the looseness of the fake fur, I certainly wouldn't let my grandkids play with it, so after 35 years I am finally ready to get this little monkey off my back and out it went! 

One show I watch regularly is Hoarders, which always inspires me to clean out a closet or drawer every time I watch it.  As I went through the process with my really old UFOs, I started to get an insight into how some of those people think.  Yes, I had invested time, money and energy into this little project, which was my rationale all these years to hanging on to it, but I am grateful that I am able to make those final decisions as to when to get rid of things.  Perhaps I hang on to some things too long, but that only applies to my crafts and sentimental items.

While I'm going through my UFOs, I'm taking pictures and deciding what the next steps are for each.  To keep track of this, I have set up a new page (click on the tab UFOs and WIPs) to record my progress on each.  Here is a sample listing:

Get the Featherweight up and running Accomplished - August 24/12

Leaders and Enders 2" Charms - ongoing

Vintage Valentine - started 2008 (?)

August 27/12: pulled 4 blocks to rip out machine applique done so far
August 27 - Sept 2: spent 1/2 - 1 hr each evening taking out all stitching done so far
Sept 4: Fixed block that Alex cut!

 next: finish fusing applique 4 blocks and medallion centre

I'm also going to add links to posts about the particular project as I go.  When I work on a project, I will post about it on the main page and then on the UFO page, just add the date, what I did and a link to the post.  Kind of like a quilt diary, only online.

And of course, I started another project :(

This is another cheater panel I purchased at the same time as the ones I made up last month for my brother and sister-in-law.

It was a simple kit from Hamels: panel, binding and minkee backing. I had full intentions of making it up as is, but it has sat for about 4 years still tied in its bundle.  None of the seams line up and are topstitched, so it would have made it challenging to quilt or even tie.

I pulled out my mini-twister, and after a modification, started cutting (I didn't bother with a border).  The blocks were too small to use the twister tool as is, so after a few trials, I cut a piece of cardboard and taped it to the bottom of my tool.  Worked like a charm!  My new twisted block is 3", which will finish at 2 1/2".  Teenie tiny twisters, for sure!

I discovered very quickly how important it is to keep track of how these little babies are cut out.  I have these great pins from Fons & Porter, and I have used a Sharpie on the back to number a bunch of them.

As I cut each block, I would pin it with an "UP" pin with the appropriate number on the top right-hand corner. 

Then, as I finished cutting a row of block, I assembled it right away (originally so I could reuse those pins, but realized that it was easier to keep them in the right order).

As I sewed each row, I moved the pin from the side to the top, but I've left the last pin in so you can see how helpful it was to keep these organized.

As I completed the rows, I label the left-hand side with the row number so I can make sure I add the next row to the bottom.

You'll noticed I haven't pressed the blocks.  Because they are on the bias, I am finger-pressing only.  Since the centres of the twist in the original block aren't lined up, I'm not too concerned about matching the new corners.  But for some reason, they are all lining up perfectly so far - go figure!

I have a third row cut and ready for sewing, but have put it aside temporarily as I have to make some more PJ pants for my grandson before tonight.  He won't wear any other pants to bed since I made him these, so we picked up more fabric at a great sale this week.

Have a great weekend,

Terri  in BC



UFO Sunday, Week One, Part Two

I'm baaaaack!  Since it was Sunday, and I posted early, I thought I would add today's accomplishment!

Tetris - Blocks put together and ready for borders!

The design is by Melissa of Happy Quilting.  Her version was made with 5-inch squares, but I decided to use what I had on hand from my charm packs, and made mine with 2 1/2 inch squares.  It measures 24 1/2" x 36 1/2" right now, and it is the perfect size for a playpen or stroller.  It will make a great baby boy quilt for any upcoming babies, or I can use it here at the house for the grandbabies.

This one didn't actually make the UFO list, but because it was covering my ironing board, I decided to finish it rather than put it aside.  I'm going to put a black border on it, perhaps two but I'm decided.  I'll let it percolate a bit.  It will now go on the list - hopefully temporarily.

I pulled another UFO out, Vintage Valentine. 

 I started this project about 4 years ago, and started doing the machine applique but I didn't like it.  After a good look at it today, I realized it was because I didn't like the buttonhole stitch I was using and the delicacy of the design needed a fine satin stitch instead.

It's really obvious in this block and it was at this point when I put it aside.  I have done the red and pink on three blocks at this point, so I brought it upstairs to 'frog' out the old.

While I was digging around, I found another UFO that never made it past the 'buy the fabric' stage.  The fabric is an old Debbie Mumm line, Noah's Ark.  I envisoned a nice crib quilt for a boy but could never settle on a design.  I think there is enough fabric to make two, including backings!  I going to choose a Bonnie Hunter pattern, like Princess Crown or something similar and use it as a Leader & Ender project after I finish the Thangles quilt.

Thanks again, Leah, for giving me the push I need to get some of this fabric out of here!

Some Valentines for you!

These are part of a UFO I've had in the pile for 3 or more years.

6 of 13 blocks fused.

Buttonhole stitching started.

And not much else.

Except these pretty blocks to admire!

I'm moving this to the Works-In-Progess pile as soon as I find the pattern again!

It's called Vintage Valentine and I purchased this as a kit from my favourite quilt shop, Hamels Fabrics.  It is a very generous kit, and included over 25 fabrics (mostly fat quarters) for the Valentines.  They are now offering it again and when I was there this morning, they had all the fabrics pulled to make up the kits - and even though they are slightly different, they are just as beautiful as they were 4 years ago!

I added a few more that I had in my stash (to the right) just for a wee bit more variety!

The kit also included everything I needed to finish it, but alas, that is missing too!  I know it is in this house somewhere, now just to find it.