Down the Rabbit Hole (or how many projects can I work on in two days)

Welcome back, once again! I have been sewing, but neglecting to post - I must do better. Heads up, this is an extra-long post.

Thanks to an extra-long weekend, I was able to sew for two full days. I needed to finish the girls Easter dresses, so of course, I pulled out on old project to see where I was at! Talk about being a major procrastinator.

The project I pulled out was the 365 Challenge by Kathryn Kerr in Australia (https://www.365challenge.com.au/). This is what it will look like when it is finished - I'm doing mine in black/grey, red, and white/cream.

She started this challenge in 2016, and I did start it then, but intended it to be a long term project. Here's where I'm at so far - 35 3.5" blocks, and the centre medallion.

Each year she offers the same blocks, but sometimes in a different order. I decided to finish the centre medallion, so I started making the chevron/flying geese blocks when I realized I had some other fabric that would work perfectly with this project. .So far I have made two of the side strips. The fabric from the other project is the words on the right-hand side of the flying geese.

This is when I fell down the rabbit hole - that other project kept nagging at me - all of the fabrics would work so well in this quilt, so I pulled it out.

It was a kit I bought on sale for $25 at my local quilt shop, Hamels Fabrics, about 5-6 years ago. It was a panel and the two fabrics that make up the border. I had also bought some coordinating fat quarters and eventually a great piece of lime green from a different manufacturer/designer also called Wordplay - perfect to brighten up the black/white design.

First, I cut the panel into the individual blocks, then choose specific words from the lime green and raw-edge appliqued them on the blocks.

(my personal favourite...)

Once that was done, I placed strips varying in size from 1.5" to 2.5", log cabin style to bring the blocks up to approximately 13.5". 

Once I had the blocks done, I used my design wall (bed), added a few strips where a couple of blocks were short, and webbed the quilt. By that night, I had the top completed! (still need to press it and take a picture). Now all those fabrics are free to be used in my 365 project!

In between, I also worked on some leaders and enders - Step 4 of On Ringo Lake by Bonnie Hunter:

and 1.5" nine-patches:

 By now, it was Saturday night, and I still had to sew the facings down on the girls' dresses. I put the buttons on and set up their goodies for the morning visit.

We had an Easter egg hunt at the neighbours, and then it was warm enough to even pull out the small pool!

So how many projects did I end up working on? Five in all! If I could only do this every weekend, I'd make progress on my many UFOS!

A new beginning

All I can say is Depression Sucks. I've spent the last 3 months working, or vegging on the couch playing stupid computer games. Enough of that!

Yesterday, I finally did a recon in my sewing room and made a mental commitment to spend at least 15 minutes a day in there cleaning, and then if I can manage it, another 15 sewing.  First thing I did was to take "before" pictures:

From the door (looking south):

Better view of the south-east corner:

East wall (not really my happy place right now:

North wall (beside door):

West wall:

My room is on the small side - about 11.5' x 12', with an 8' x 2' closet with a 6' opening. Currently it has carpet but I eventually want to put in vinyl planking for ease of cleanup.

My goal is to have it completely cleaned and reorganized with a month. This also involves new shelving in the closet.

I spent about 2 hours in here on Saturday, about 1/2 hour making enough room on my ironing/cutting board:

I do the majority of my cutting on this table, as I mostly make scrappy quilts or cut from fat quarters. If I need more space, I use my dining room table. 

Once I did that, I cleared my sewing machines - I have two that I use, a 1947 Singer Featherweight 221 for piecing and straight stitching, and a Kenmore for zigzag and quilting. Now I can do my 15 minutes of sewing after 15 minutes of cleaning! I actually managed about 1 1/2 hours today!

First thing I sewed was a T-shirt dress for my oldest granddaughter, Zoey! She is turning 7 tomorrow.

I make these from youth-sized t-shirts by cutting the sleeves off, finishing the edge with a simple turnover of the hem, cutting about 4-6 inches off the t-shirt, and adding a cotton skirt of about 21". She lives in these all summer long.  This one has dinosaur footprints for my dinosaur-loving girl!  I had to leave before she got to open my gift, but apparently she was absolutely giddy when she saw it.

Check in tomorrow to see how I did on Sunday, and later in the week for a recap of Quilt Canada 2018!

Branching out

I've tried something new this year - sewing with knits! I found a great sewing pattern website, Love Notions, which offered a couple of free patterns for the kids.  I've now purchased a few, picked up some knits and started playing.

This is the Trendy Tunic, Size 5 and Size 7, for Mya and Zoey.  The patterns are a .pdf download, and I love that I can easily just print one size at a time, without having to sort through multiple lines.

Zoey loves to wear patterns! Sometimes she's head-to-toe cheetah print!  Mya was in twirly mood that day, so wouldn't wear hers.

I've always been intimidated by knits before, I'm not sure why now! They were so easy to make, and I even learned how to use the twin needle on my machine. My sister has now given me mom's old serger, so I can learn something else!

I got hit with that terrible flu just after my last post, so I haven't been sewing much. I hope now that I have fully recovered, I can get my mojo back.

I'm back!! Sunday Stash Report, Week 19 - 2016

Hopefully, for good this time. The last few months have been long and drawn out, but I have climbed over some personal hurdles and hopefully, everything is behind me now.

The last week I've been following the news closely - if you haven't heard, there are horrendous forest fires in northern Alberta, and I have had family and friends that are personally affected. My sister-in-law (ex, actually but we keep in touch) has 3 kids and their families who live in Fort McMurray and they and some of their friends have evacuated to her place near Edmonton, not knowing whether their homes have survived. She has 3 campers and a large tent now camped out in her backyard, with about 20 people and a number of pets for who knows how long.  More than 1600 homes have been lost, and thousands of people have been displaced, and the smoke has reached as far south as Montana and North Dakota (over 1000 miles away). If you are able to help, the Red Cross Canada has set up a relief fund specifically for Fort McMurray, Alberta.   I have, and my community has been amazing - 4 18-wheelers were sent full of the necessities: diapers, underwear and toiletries for the evacuees.

Here are some links to some of the news sites I have been following - the photos are incredible:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/fort-mcmurray-evacuation-creates-surreal-scene-as-wildfire-grows-1.3566370
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-36235175
CTV Edmonton Facebook Page
Global Edmonton Facebook page

Not much progress has been made on the sewing front. I'm working mostly on block-of-the month/week/day projects, but I have managed to squeak out a few finishes:

A tunic top for my 5-year old granddaughter,

2 nighties for her and her sister, and a pair of camouflage pants for the grandson!  About 3.5 metres out, but I have totally lost track of what has come in, so I'll update once I figure that out!

Added: ?? metres

Added Year to Date: 5.1 metres 

Used/Given away: 3.5 metres

Used/Given away Year to Date: 8.5 metres

Net used or given away in 2016: 3.4 metres

For other stash reports, check out the links at Judy's blog, Patchwork Times

Sunday Stash Report 2015, Week 24

I gave up on trying to rearrange my new sewing room.  The door, closet and window placement really only allow me to have it laid out one way.  Ce la vie!

So now, I am finally sewing - which means I have started buying fabric again.  I have a shipment on its way from Ozark Fabrics, a Facebook fabric store with the best prices!  I'll tell you more about her store when my package arrives, and I count that fabric in.

Added: 1 metres

Added Year to Date: 1 metres  

Used/Given away: 4.5 metres

 Used/Given away Year to Date: 20 metres

Added for 2015: -19.0 metres

Added: I'm starting planning my Christmas gifts, and I couldn't resist this!  It will be perfect as a liner for a basket or tote for some of my friends.

Used:  I've made some summer outfits for the grands.  It's Zoey's 4th birthday and later today, I'll be heading over for the party.  I made her and her little sister, Mya, coordinated outfits (Zoey loves it when they dress the "same", much to her mother's chagrin).

Zoey's:

Mya's:

And of course, Alex couldn't be left out:

Shark shorts! He had to have them right away to wear to the party.

Mr. Sassy strikes a pose:

Now I'm off to the party!  A pool full of 1 to 6-year-olds - wish me luck!

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!

My adorable granddaughter, Zoey, is 3 today!  We had her party on Saturday, and what a beautiful summer day it turned out to be.  My daughter had planned an outdoor party and set up a small pool and water table for the kids to play at.  Zoey is the only little girl in our circle of family and friends, so her party had 7 boys and her!

 

Of course, we had to make sure our little princess stood out in the crowd! My older daughter brought the tiara, and I made a Rapuzel dress-up apron.

 

 

At 3, I think the apron is a lot easier for her to put on and off than an actual dress, and easier for Mommy too!

 

 

I saw some on Etsy and Pinterest, but the design is so basic, I was able to create my own pattern and make it in a single day.  I plan on making a bunch in various designs, including Alice in Wonderland, a nurse/doctor, more Disney characters, etc.

 

I made the neck long enough and with elastic so it will grow with her (and present less of a strangulation hazard).  Right now, it reaches almost to her waist and we just looped the back ties through it. 

 

 

I think she was getting tired of pictures!  Poor thing had taken a tumble at daycare a couple of days earlier, so she has a big goose egg on her forehead and a bit of a black eye!

 

 

 

The kids had fun decorating cookies!  The apron came in handy and washed up like a dream!

All of the fabric came from the bags a friend gave me last year, all I had to buy was the pink ribbon for the puffs for the fake sleeves.

 

My son-in-law takes advantage of Zoey's birthday party to rope all the dads into helping set up the pool at the end of the party. 

 

 

Alex and his cousins, Kayden and Konner "helping" by making sure the bottom liner was flat - as one dad said, it would make a great "playpen"!

 

Happy Birthday, Zoey!

 

15 minutes....

Well, so much for shorter, more frequent posts!  I've been working a lot of overtime and any free time I've had I used for sewing, not on the computer (way too much of that at work).  I've also had a sweet 2-year-old's birthday to celebrate, a series of appointments with a sleep specialist, and just general busyness.  But I am resolving as of today, to take 15 minutes at least every other day to post here.  Why?  Because it keeps me accountable, it's a journal of what I've managed to accomplish and how I've spent my days and I just like doing it!

 

Zoey loved her I-spy quilt!  Of course, my bug-lovin' granddaughter picks out the spider!

 

And the water table I got her was a hit!

 

 

The simplest toys can get the biggest smiles!  From Auntie Jackie and cousins.

 

And can you see future trouble with the new swing set?

 

My other gift to her was a summer outfit made from a pattern that I used for my girls when they were little.  I made it reversible with 2 pairs of matching panties, but forgot to take a picture before I gave it to her.  I tried that day, but it was so bright and sunny, the picture was really blown out - here's the best I could get after adjusting it.

 

 

Now I'm heading out to enjoy the sunshine after 5 days of rain! 

 

Have a great weekend,

 

Terri in BC

 

 

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