Working on Smaller Projects

     I have at least 3 bed size quilt tops (Lego quilt,  One block wonder with tree and Devine Mystery ) waiting to be quilted but I have not taken the time to sandwich one to start quilting.  Instead I have spent a little sewing time each day piecing on smaller projects like the Day Bee Mystery.  I have all my small stars made and I’m ready for the next step of putting together star units that have 5 together like the beginning you can  see in the left part of the photo.

 I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest will come together. 

       This afternoon I decided to work on the guild monthly challenge of creating an oxymoron block.  I found a great list on the web and picked out several that I liked.  I pulled out crumbs and sewed to create fabric.

Then I used it as the background fabric and pieced what I’m calling “Good Garbage”.  It was made totally from my scrap bin.  It made me think of the saying, "One man's trash is another man's treasure."  Here one woman's trash becomes another woman's quilt block.

Lego Quilt Top Pieced

     I pieced together the last 2 rows and the border pieces so my lego quilt top is together and measures 72" by 86" so it is the size requested by the Warriors Walk unit at our VA hospital. Wednesday I will pick out backing and be ready to sandwich and quilt. 

    Tonight is Quilt Mavens meeting at my house.  It has been foggy all day, and we will probably have a small group because of it.  One person has already called to say the fog will keep her at home. 

Stack ‘n Whack Cookies

    I am hosting my quilt group Monday evening and I want to serve Stack ‘n Whack cookies.   I saved the directions from the QSC newsletter a couple of years ago.   They were written for Pillsbury Slice and Bake cookies with a holiday design in the center.   Several have been discontinued and I could not find any in the store since it is between holidays so I bought plain sugar cookie dough and got CREATIVE.  I added cocoa to 1/4 of the dough and kneaded it in.  I added red food coloring paste to another 1/4 of the dough.  

 

I made 2 chocolate rolls and 4 red rolls, placed them on the white dough and rolled them all up together (sort of like making a cane with polymer clay).  I put the big roll of dough in the freezer to get very cold and make it easier to slice. 

I cut the whole roll lengthwise into quarters and used one quarter at a time.  4 slices placed in a circle form one cookie. 

I’m pleased with how they turned out.  Next time I try they will look even better. 

Lego Blocks in Rows

I finished quilting and binding 2 small comfort quilts for SQG.  The center of the first one was cheater fabric.

The 4 patches were cut from a fabric and not pieced.

         Saturday afternoon I wanted something quick to sew on for a little while so I pulled out version of Lego blocks (using 2 ½” strip pieces instead of 1 ½”) and added sashing to the bottom and left side of each block.  This morning as I was on my knees on my design FLOOR laying out the rows, I wondered what I will do when I am too old to get down and back up.   I’m sure I will figure something out. 

    I got 4 rows sewn together, only 2 more to go, plus strips on the top and right side to frame.

Getting Back to Quilting

      Mother is making progress in her recovery so today I was able to get back to some quilting.  Sister Irene did not like the small leaves I tried out on the purple tree.  Today she helped me place new larger and fewer leaves.  The top is ready to sandwich for quilting. 

I finished quilting a small 36 by 48” charity quilt for Shandon Quilt Group and started quilting on another about the same size.  It felt good to have an almost normal day. 

Only Yo-Yos So Far in 2012

    After 11 difficult days dealing with my mother's health, my sister and I took some time to visit a couple of local fabric stores to enjoy looking.   We also bought a few small pieces.  I made many small yo-yo while sitting in the hospital but lost interest since I don't have an actual project in mind for them.  I have not turned on the sewing machine but hopefully will soon.
     The sister that is visiting and helping with Mother is such a talented artist that I love to have her input on my projects.  She took a look at the leaves planned for my purple tree inserted in the one block wonder and suggested a variety of shades.  When I bought fabric yesterday, it was 3 fat quarters for possible leaves. I will share a photo when I make some progress.

Bang for the New Year

     The New Year got off to quite a start!  The only sewing I have done this week has been by hand making some yo-yos while I sat at the hospital with my 91 year old mother whose hip joint broke spontaneously ( no fall) New Years Day.  We have been waiting for surgery and she is scheduled to get an artificial ball joint today.  She will be in the hospital for several more days so I'm not sure how much sewing will get done although today a sister is here and another will come to help.