Leader-Ender Report

I'm getting into trouble with too many leader-enders, yet again. Time for one of them to hit WIP status so I can clear the decks of all these little trays of pieces. 

This And That has enough units for 30 blocks and 5 completed blocks; I need 56 blocks, another 104 units. I should be able to do that over a couple of days, if I have plenty of pieces prepared. I know I have enough 2.5" squares for that. I'll just have to find more HSTs in that size.

Then there's the Triple Treat blocks that I'm working on in the shed. I thought I just had a few kitted; turns out there are 55 blocks and another 30 kitted, and some more pieces in a box. I might get busy and get all the kits sewn into blocks, and then decide how many more I need. It's a lovely block to piece, but I haven't decided how I want to put them together. If I do it like Bonnie's then all the seams nest nicely.

If I make diagonal lines of colour I'll have to mash a lot of seams together.  I'm pondering that. (And also the fact that I'd like to do a multi-coloured one as well..)

Then there are the Terry Rowland scrap blocks. 

I will keep them as a side project, whenever I get those odd fabrics that would lend themselves to these.

 69 finished, more kitted. I'm a long way off the 300+ blocks I need, but I'm enjoying just making a few at a time. 

I also have these little cross blocks that are using up my repro 2" strips.

 (Blogger's being difficult and rotating random pictures. Thanks so much.) I've got a pile kitted up, but I'm tending to reach for easier leader-enders than these. 41finished,and 20 kitted. 

I think I also started a Four Patch Fun in blues, with 6" blocks. They are way down the list, so they can stay in the box for now.

And my latest start:

They already number 61 pieces joined in twos. I'm not even bothering to iron them, I just whizz them through the machine and toss them into a tray. I think every Sunday I will iron them and make as many blocks as I can. It's too tedious to do it as I go along.

Before Christmas Seonaid said, A Christmas Log Cabin would be Cute!  Then I found a scrap bag full of metallic Christmas prints, some quite beautiful. So I chopped them all into 2" strips and I'm building blocks a few at a time. 

She has a King size bed, so the blocks can be large without overwhelming the space. I just haven't decided how big to go. She only wants a 90" square quilt, and won't need it for another 10 months or so; this one can be added to 10 or so at a time. I'll quilt it with a cotton batt, there's no need for warmth in our summers.

Needs more light metallics, or maybe batiks?

What else? I'm bound to find something more in my organising efforts. Just need to get a couple done and dusted.

Read more...

A Favourite Colour Combination

 I dearly love pink and brown in antique quilts, and I'm loving putting together kits for more of these Flying Geese blocks. I will have to find out if they have  a name of their own. I worked diligently on cutting what I needed for each block, and I'm up to 23 kits now. I cut a whole block out of each fabric that I picked, and I intend to mix up the pieces as I make each block. There are plenty of leftovers if I want to repeat a fabric in a certain area.

I just cut the main shapes I need for each block. As I come to them I'll cut the big squares diagonally into triangles for the geese and the edge triangles.

Of course, seeing as I have 20 blocks on the design wall now, I have enough for 43 blocks, so once again I have overcut. It allows me to discard a less than ideal block, so I don't mind that.

Such a lovely little pile of trimmings.

I solved the mystery of my missing points. I was taking too scant a seam allowance as I built the arms of the cross, especially between the Flying Geese and the corner square. That made each cross piece longer than it should have been, so the big outside triangle wasn't able to cover the piece at the edge. 

I'm glad I worked that out, now I can go ahead and sew the rest of the blocks and keep an eye on my seams so they don't cause problems down the track.

Hot hot hot weather, tomorrow I'll be in the AC sewing together a skirt and maybe getting round to cutting out my blue shirt. I'm looking forward to some sewing that isn't quite so exact.

Read more...

UFO Progress

The hot weather scrambles my thinking, so I haven't decided what direction my sewing will take in the next month or so. I pulled a UFO from the shelf and started cutting kits for the blocks, ready for when I'm organised enough to sew.

I have no idea when I started these Antique Geese blocks, probably around 2020. 

I've had several attempts to get serious about them, but they've languished for years. The pink and brown fabrics for them were in stacks on the shelf, getting in the way, so I did some cutting and kitting yesterday.

They involve a lot of trimming ( Of Course they do) so I'm going to try spreading it out over time. I made about 6 blocks and decided it would be wise to kit as many as I wanted, but to leave the trimming till I'm ready to actually assemble the blocks.

I'm struggling with the points around the edge of the blocks. I can make the block measure what it should be, 9",  but the points get lost in the outer seam allowance. To me that means I'm making the internal units a bit too large, so I need to skinny them down by a smidgeon, but I don't know exactly which bit is at fault. It might be because I'm using a new machine that is taking a smaller 1/4", seam, maybe I'm cutting something a little wider than I should.

At this rate I'll have finished all 42 blocks without finding a solution! 

At least I'm sewing, kitting, and making progress. If I have to live with a few chopped off points, so be it.

I pulled out a heap of brown and pink fabric to add to it, and was aghast at the slim pickings in the drawer of brown repros. They're the ones I use the most of, but I haven't been able to replenish them as no shop near me stocks browns, or repros of any kind for that matter. As I'm slicing into my precious yardage I keep up a running commentary in my head; they're meant to be used, just have faith they'll start reprinting them, pat yourself on the back for finally cutting into this ancient fabric, it's been hoarded long enough, look at the fading on that one!! But it still hurts.

My string piecing is calling me, to use up more, sort it out, get rid of those containers of strings etc.  We're due another couple of hot days this week, so I will probably tackle those string bins in the air-conditioned workroom.

Read more...

Update

I went to Adelaide for a last visit before the kids went back to school. I won't visit as much in school time now, as their routines mean I don't get to see them for more than a couple of hours a day. Finn is a fulltime school boy in Reception, Thomas is Grade 2, Isla is unbelievably in Grade 5, only 1 more year of Primary school. They are all growing up so fast.

Of course school had to go back during a crushing heat wave, 45° to 47°C for 4 days.  I think 113-116°F is just a tad too much. The school has air-conditioning, but the kids have to stay inside all day, which can lead to frayed tempers. The teachers aren't enjoying it much either.

Where was I when I left? I think I was examining my scrap situation, as I do every January, and trying to make sense of my storage, or lack of. Seonaid had 6 of these big boxes for the kids Lego, and came up with another storage system so she gifted these to me.

Technically I haven't bought new plastic, because these were free, so no guilt attached 😁.

I went through roughly 7 random containers of  2.5" squares and bricks, and stored them all here. I know there's at least one more container of them lurking somewhere, so when I find it this box will be full. That means I need a leader-ender or new project to use them, because I don't want 2 boxes of this size scraps.

I found the leftovers from the Bitcoin top, and decided I needed something to use them up. I could make teeny tiny Potato Chip blocks, or Chinese Coins, or Lego blocks, but I think I'll stick with something simple.

SO many leftovers....

Mereth made a top from these tiny 4" blocks years ago, and I admired it.

I could turn all those little pieces into these blocks too.

But mine won't be as sophisticated.

They are so quick to piece, those scraps will be gone in no time.

Scraps for the bin, and a new project underway. Yay for scrap reduction, not good news for the WIP spreadsheet. I need to get busy sewing.

Read more...

What Next?

 10 days since the mystery reveal, and my top is finally together. 

What a lot of time and energy this thing has taken. Not a lot of fabric though, because it's all scraps and leftovers and some very ancient material. My decision to make it came about because I had precisely those colours already out from my latest top, and it made sense to turn them into a quilt rather than put them back in the scrap drawers.

Initially I didn't like the purple squares in the Ohio Star blocks, so I substituted HSTs.  

Then after the reveal I decided the pattern needed them, so I placed the 4 I'd made around the centre block to make it look like I'd done it on purpose. The colours are lovely, I'll see if either of the granddaughters would like this. Pink and purple are definitely trending as their favourites right now.

I don't even know what I want to go on with next, apart from a massive clean up, and getting stuck into de-clutter mode; there are far too many unnecessary things on the floor, making it difficult to get around. I really want to go and buy more plastic, as if that will solve the problem, but I know I just need to use what I have more effectively. Not as much fun, but a lot more economical.

I feel like doing something out of the ordinary, and made some Drunkards Path blocks to see if I'd like them. 

These are 4" blocks, and they went together easily. Mereth has larger templates, so I can borrow them and make more. There are lots of scraps that I think would look nice in this design. I will probably turn these smaller ones into a potholder with some spiral quilting. That would be fun and practical.

Read more...

Sewing, Sewing, Sewing

 It occurred to me, when it came time to trim those units, that I should be using the Martelli ergonomic cutter to minimise the risk of damaging my wrist again. So I trimmed them carefully over a couple of days, and no wrist problems. I can be really thick sometimes. The Olfa cutter is fine for cutting strips, it's the trimming that causes problems, So now I know I'd better swap cutters for the fiddly stuff.

Everything requires trimming 😩

On my trip to Spotlight I bought a Fiskars cutter since they were at a deep discount, so I'll see if I like that brand. I think it's useless to ask other people if I would like something, much better to just buy it and see if it suits me. We're all different, and we think differently. I've always liked experimenting.

I sewed in every available bit of spare time and all the blocks are finished. Now to join them into a top and complete the Flying Geese border. I saw someone's finished top, with a lilac border on the outside and it looked wonderful, so I plan to add that to my quilt.

We were off to Jamestown yesterday to pick up tops from our friend, and while I waited for Mereth to get to my place I sat at the sewing machine and pieced 50 HSTs for my leader enders project. I could have been reading more blogs, but instead I made a handy amount of units. I need to remember that next time I have to decide whether to sew or do a bit more scrolling. 

I have enough units now for 17 8.5" blocks; I think I need at least 64 for a decent size quilt, so there's a long way to go yet. It will use up a satisfying amount of scraps, which is the aim of the game.

Read more...

Cutting, Cutting, Cutting

 I got busy and cut a lot of what I needed for the mystery blocks. I was determined not to use yardage or FQs, so I really dredged through the scraps trying to find what I needed. That's what I love about mystery quilts; they use up so many dribs and drabs of fabric that have been hanging around. I may have to use yardage for that first little border, but first I'll try to make it out of various lengths of scraps and see if that's acceptable. I'll need a lot more of the Flying geese units for the border, but I'll deal with them once I have the top in one piece.

I have most of the needed units cut and pieced, but they all have to be trimmed to size. I've learned my lesson about that; I'll only do a few at a time to avoid any injury side-lining me like last time.

I haven't decided what I'll work on after that. There are so many projects that are at an interesting place, and I'm not ready for something new, though several ideas are percolating. 

These Hole In The Barn Door blocks are made from 2.5" HSTs and 3.5" strips. I make a lot of quilts that need 3.5" strips, so I have plenty to choose from.

                           

My problem is, light backgrounds or dark? Or some of each? I will continue making them on a whim until I reach a decision. I like both equally, so a design that uses both would be ideal. They are so easy to sew, and will be easy to cut too.

My modern fabrics are overflowing every drawer and box, so I will definitely tackle them this month. More storage, and some drastic strip cutting will help deal with that.  What I'd really like to do is a jellyroll quilt that uses 42 strips or more; what a great way to get rid of a lot of fabric without a lot of decisions. The problem there is choosing the right pattern among so many available.

I have good intentions of doing the Declutter Challenge, but the temptation to sew instead wins. I'm not hopelessly behind, so I'll start this week with one of the easy categories, like Squatters or Rubbish. And my sewing table and machine are still spotless, I'm glad to say. I'm really enjoying my new machine.

Read more...