Two-Step is a Flimsy

 In between Dear Jane blocks, I got the Two-Step blocks all webbed and sewn together.

I liked this pattern the first time I saw it, and I like it even more now that I see it in the bright daylight.

This was a random project at the end of the school year when I couldn't focus on something more detailed.  I'm not sure how I will finish it.  Just leave it or add a border of some sort or add more blocks.  No rush at all.   It was a great pattern and I'm glad I stepped out of my comfort zone to start something brand new.

Stash Report 071022

Fabric In:  Nothing in this week.

Fabric Out:  I finished the Two-Step top.  Nearly all of it came from the Scrap Users Drawers of precuts!  It's a good size for a lap blanket or large baby quilt.  2.1 yards  

Two-Step is a Flimsy

Fabric In This Week: 0 yards

Fabric Received as Donation This Week:  0 yards

Fabric In YTD: 37.46 yards

Fabric Out This Week: 2.1 yards

Fabric Out YTD: 29.32 yards

Stash Movement: 8.14 yards in

As far as time spent sewing ....... 

In total honesty I did not sew at all this week.  For a few reasons. 

1) This was Cousin Camp week when the young nephews come for the week and we entertain them.  Now that my older girls and the nieces have grown and gone it is less cousin and more aunt, but between my sisters and I and Little S it is still fun.  We take turns hosting and entertaining.  Having young kids around sure is different than having Little S, who is 0 maintenance.  It also makes me wonder how I make it through a school day with a classroom full of little bodies.  No wonder I need a break in the summer!

Cousin Camp visits Amelia Island

2) I had a mental goal of finishing the Dear Jane square blocks this summer. Then I would move on to the big girls' photo albums/scrapbooks since that is something that is difficult to spread out and do during the school year.  Since I really did finish the Dear Jane square blocks, July is dedicated to scrapbooking.  I have done that the days I did not have the boys.

Dear Jane Rows A-J.  Rows K-M didn't fit.

Since my summer sewing is taking a planned hiatus, I will not include a 15 Minute Report until I start sewing again. 

Linking up to quiltpaintcreate to stay accountable.

Rows L and M are Finished!

I was on such a roll when we got back from North Carolina that I just plowed through the remaining blocks on Rows L and M.  Here is where it was nice that I had randomly made blocks for years, so I wasn't looking at finishing entire rows!  

A few of them were pretty tricky.  In fact I even redid two since I kept thinking about how unsatisfied I was with my work.  They still aren't perfect, but I think they are better and I won't wish I had tried  harder.

There are just two more blocks to make!  For whatever reason I did not have a photo copy of those blocks from the book so they never got made.  So now I will go back and fill those last gaps.  I am so close!!!

Dear Jane Goes to North Carolina

I knew I would have uninterrupted time for hand sewing so I prepped blocks that needed hand sewing for the trip to North Carolina.  I also did some investigation on freezer paper applique.  Wow!  I sure wish I had done that earlier.

I had already prepped the large circles with minimal difficulty.  But I used the freezer paper method for the small circles, the melons, and the tiny triangles.  It sure helped to keep everything uniform and smooth.  Although I don't think anything could have helped those teeny tiny triangles - they were so small and difficult to work with.

Over all I am very pleased with Block J 10, which is one that I had been avoiding for years because of the melon shapes.  I knew that if they weren't uniform it just wouldn't look right.  I'm glad I waiting until my applique skills got better.

I think that there are only about 9 blocks to go now.  Then the center section will be finished.  My summer goal has been to finish those blocks.  I can work on sashing when school starts since that will not require such focus - I hope!

Stash Report 070322

Fabric In:  One more piece from the thrift store from my sister.  A cute flannel.   I need to make burp cloths for a friend whose second grandson will arrive in the fall.  This will be great for that.  1 yard

Fabric Out:  I made 4 masks for Teacher E and SIL for their upcoming 1st Anniversary trip to Disney World.  Then I had someone ask to buy 5 masks since she has a very small face and struggles with masks that fit and her workplace is fraught with poor hygiene and sickness.  0.8 yards

Fabric In This Week: 0 yards

Fabric Received as Donation This Week:  1 yard

Fabric In YTD: 37.46 yards

Fabric Out This Week: 0.8 yards

Fabric Out YTD: 27.22 yards

Stash Movement: 10.24 yards in

As far as time spent sewing ....... 

Summer continues to be productive.  Being trapped in the car for 2 days to pick up Little S from her sister in NC was great for some tricky hand sewing on Dear Jane blocks.   Being so close to the end of the center blocks has been motivation to keep working away on them as much as possible.

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing this week: 7/7

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing June:  25/30  July 2/2

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing in 2022: 151/183

Percentage: 83%

Getting better!

 

Linking up to quiltpaintcreate to stay accountable.

Dear Jane Row K is Finished!

Row K is finished!   

My design wall is full with Rows A-J, so Row K has to live in a plastic bag for a while.  I am hoping that by the end of the summer these little blocks will have joined their siblings with sashing.  If I can keep up at this pace and don't fizzle out, it is possible!

Stash Report 062622

Fabric In:  I found more fabric that my sister picked up at work and passed on to me that had not been reported.  Little S's school mascot is the shark, so maybe I will use that up on her.  I am really hoping she won't need masks again next year, but ...    3.95 yards

I am nearing the end of the main body of my Dear Jane quilt and am running out of variety.  So I actually made a purchase of my own at the thrift store.  $0.75 for 0.61 yards 

Fabric Out:  I made 2 masks from the Spider Man fabric for my SIL, but forgot to take a picture.  0.18 yards  Every little bit helps, right?

Fabric In This Week: 0.61 yards

Fabric Received as Donation This Week:  3.95 yards

Fabric In YTD: 36.46 yards

Fabric Out This Week: 0.18 yards

Fabric Out YTD: 26.42 yards

Stash Movement: 10.04 yards in

As far as time spent sewing ....... 

Summer is definitely helping my productivity.  Except for the day I was too sick to get out of bed, I have been sewing every day the last two weeks.  I thought I would start Part 4 of the Jubilee Mystery, but I am on a roll finishing the Dear Jane blocks, so I'm going to stick with that.  I finished Row K!!  Just Rows L and M to go!  Woohoo!!   We'll be traveling this week to pick up Little S from her sister in NC, so I will prep all that I can for hand sewing on the way.  Hope to knock out some of the dreaded melons!

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing this week (and last): 13/14

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing June:  20/25

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing in 2022:  144/176

Percentage: 82%

 

In the Works!

Since I was caught up on the Quiltmaker Mystery and school was taking all my energy, I needed something easy to work on.  I choose Two-Step from the book Scrap School by Lissa Alexander.   

I started with already cut squares in primary colors from the scrap users system.  Then I moved to the already cut strips.  Not until I had to did I cut from yardage.  I made a big batch of low volume 2-patches to get me started and that worked out well.

This was a good project to work on in dribs and drabs as I had bits of time.  I just kept sewing 4 patches without much of a plan.  I originally thought that an 8x8 layout would be good for a baby quilt, but that was too small.  Then I added turquoise to my mix and went to 10x10, but still not to my liking. 

Finally, I added lime green and went to 11x11.  I think this will work.  Also, I am ready to move on to another project.

Just a few more blocks to finish it up.

I am pleased with this project.  Just what I needed when I didn't have much brain power.  Super cute for a baby boy or girl.  I have to have the living room floor cleaned up by tonight, so that will force me to finish up the last blocks and get it at least webbed together.  I have something I think will work for the backing, so that puts it even closer to the finish line.

Summer Vacation is Here at Last!

Fabric In:  Considering I barely left the house except for school, an awful lot of fabric made its way in.  My sister has been volunteering and is now working at our favorite thrift store.  When she is working in the craft room, she gets to see all the new arrivals and has picked out a few.  The real problem is at the end of the month when the items that have not sold in their allotted time get thrown away!  Yes, thrown away.  So she is working hard to at the very least get those items to other thrift stores or to people who can use it.  That means the fabric comes to me.  I think I'm going to track it separately, since I did not choose this fabric.  I also need to aggressively find somewhere local to donate to.

I need a red & black idea!

Fabric Out:  At the end of the school year I gave a bag of fabric, trims, and thread to the custodian who cleans my classroom.  We have a good relationship speaking Spanish at the end of the day and I know she sews for her little granddaughter.  Had I known what was heading my way I would have given her a lot more!    

Fabric In This Week: 0 yards

Fabric Received as Donation This Week:  16.51 yards

Fabric In YTD: 31.89 yards

Fabric Out This Week: 4 yards

Fabric Out YTD: 26.24 yards

Stash Movement: 5.65 yards in

As far as time spent sewing ....... 

I can't believe it has been over a month since I have posted.  May just came and went.  All the end-of-the-year school tasks just snowballed.  I don't think it would have mattered if I had had projects prepped or not.  I just didn't have the energy with all that was going on for school.  It is good to get back into the sewing room and get creative again.  

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing May: 14/31

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing June: 7/11

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing in 2022: 131/162   

Percentage: 81%

Not as bad as I thought, but I'm definitely looking forward to more stitching this summer.  I have a fun project in the works already. 

I love the bright colors.

Linking up to Kate's Life in Pieces and quiltpaintcreate to share progress and stay accountable.

Stash Report 050822

Fabric In:  Nothing in this week.  Woo hoo!

Fabric Out:  The Curtain Quilt is an old finish.  This was a quilt I made just for me.  You can read about it HERE.  I thought I had already reported the top as fabric out, but I can't find it anywhere on the blog.  That sure works in my favor now.     top: 5.45 yards all from curtains   back & binding: 4.95 yards from curtains, yardage, and sheet

 

Fabric In This Week: 0 yards

Fabric In YTD: 15.38 yards

Fabric Out This Week: 10.4 yards

Fabric Out YTD: 22.24 yards

Stash Movement: 6.86 yards out

As far as time spent sewing ....... 

Not my best week for a mix of reasons.  Company over the weekend, which was good.  Teacher E and SIL came!  It was her cousin's birthday and Mother's day, so that warranted a road trip.  It was a nice visit and very welcome after a long week at school for both Little S and I.

I did not get worked prepped last weekend and that sure made a difference this week.  I worked on an idea that had been in the back of my mind for a while, but my time was not as effective as when I have a specific project ready to go.  I'm not sure that is going to improve between now and the end of the school year, since it is only getting busier.  But it was a good lesson for me to learn about what works for me.

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing this week: 5/7

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing in May: 5/7

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing in 2022: 115/129

Percentage: 89%

Linking up to quiltpaintcreate to share progress and stay accountable.

The Curtain Quilt

This was the first quilt I finished when I had job security and made the decision to start "quilting by check" to get tops finished.  It is a personal favorite.  The top was finished back in February 2017.  It got quilted in 2020 I think, then bound in 2021, and is now finally getting documented.

I love the quilting design!

When we emptied and closed my parents' house years ago I kept all the curtains my mother had made.  Some were so old and worn that they disintegrated in the wash.  But I held on dearly to what survived.

I should have taken a before picture.  The curtains in the "pink" room were cream on the top 2/3s and horizontal 2.5" stripes of various fabrics on the lower 1/3.  They were lined, which may be why they survived the south Florida sun in somewhat better condition than others.

After much thought, I decided to cut the striped sections into as many uniform sections as I could and form a sort of Chinese Coin type arrangement stacking repeating sections of curtain.

By joining pieces of the cream fabric I was able to use it as the sashing between the coin sections.  I was not aiming for perfection, but for holding on tight to a memory.  So all the fade marks and stitching lines that didn't come out in the wash are still there.  

The back took another year, since I couldn't decide and then I couldn't face the math.  For the back I used 2 small plaid panels that were all that survived the wash from another set of curtains.  Combined with a blue print and a solid pink it works.  Both the blue and pink were oddly shaped pieces, but with a lot of math and creativity it worked out.  I did end up having to add part of a sheet from the "pink" room to bring it up to big enough.  The backing was finally finished in 2019. 

This will always be a favorite for me.  It hangs on a ladder in the living room where I can see it all the time.

Stash Report May 1

Fabric In:  This week there were some irresistible pieces at the thrift store! Our school mascot is the sea turtle and Grown Up R works for an animal rescue, so these are very likely to get used up for something and not linger in the stash.   0.88 yards for $1.00 

Fabric Out:  I finished Part 3 of the Quiltmaker Mystery Quilt.   I have been able to get the magazine digitally from our local library and that has been working fine so far.  The flying geese are not on the design wall yet, but they are finished.  1.85 yards out

Parts 1-3 except the flying geese.  It hard to tell, but most all of the darks are scrappy.

Fabric In This Week: 0.88 yards

Fabric In YTD: 15.38 yards

Fabric Out This Week: 1.85 yards

Fabric Out YTD: 11.84 yards

Stash Movement: 3.54 yards in

As far as time spent sewing ....... 

I missed one day that was just too full of afterschool activities to even try to climb the stairs in the evening.  Even so I finished up all the remaining blocks for the Mystery Quilt.  Since I am caught up with the Mystery Quilt, I pulled out a very old UFO to work on next.  I need to make a plan for exactly what I will work on this week and leave it ready to pick up easily each day.

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing this week: 6/7

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing in April: 28/30

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing in 2022: 110/122

Percentage: 90%

Linking up to quiltpaintcreate and Kates Life in Pieces to share progress and stay accountable.

Easter With Dear Jane

We had a four-day weekend for Easter.  Even with making 3 desserts and having a big family lunch and spending time on grading papers and lesson plans, I had a good amount of time to devote to Dear Jane.  

Missing blocks for Row I. 

I went ahead and pulled out the copies to complete Row I.  At first I thought I bit off more than I could chew, but by Monday I had them all complete.  I 10 was a bugger.  Even harder than the star in a star I thought.  

Hardest one so far.

Now I have rows A - J nearly complete.  There are a few random missing blocks and the inner corners that I have not decided which color to use, but the end is definitely in sight.

Rows A-J.  Easter 2022

Sapphire Jubilee Gets a Design Wall

Fabric In:  Still no fabric in even though I saw some possibilities at the thrift store!

Fabric Out:  Nothing out either.  I made good progress on the Quiltmaker Mystery Quilt, but have not finished Part 3. 

Everything so far.

I got the flannel backed tablecloth up as a design wall.  All the completed blocks from Parts 1, 2, and 3 are up.  I am liking the look.  A few questionable blocks, but now that I can see them all together they are less questionable than before!  I can see which fabrics I need to include more of in the coming blocks.

Flying Geese for Part 3 are prepped for the coming week. 

I tried making the flying geese the way the magazine suggested and it worked well, so I prepped these for my sewing this week.

Fabric In This Week: 0 yards

Fabric In YTD: 14.5 yards

Fabric Out This Week: 0 yards

Fabric Out YTD: 9.99 yards

Stash Movement: 4.51 yards in

As far as time spent sewing ....... 

I worked on Dear Jane over the long weekend when I had longer periods of time for sewing.  Then slow and steady during the week on the blocks I had prepped for the Mystery Quilt.

Dear Jane I 10 nearly got the best of me!

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing this week: 7/7

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing in April: 22/23

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing in 2022: 104/115

Percentage: 90%

Linking up to Quiltpaintcreate and Kates Life in Pieces to stay accountable.

Sapphire Jubilee - Prepped for the Week

I was working so hard on Dear Jane over our nice four-day weekend that I almost didn't get blocks prepped to work on during the coming week.  I really needed to since I had completed every last bit that was already prepped as leaders and enders for the Dear Jane blocks.  Fortunately, I got my lesson plans done Monday morning and that freed up the afternoon for sewing and prepping.  

Sapphire Jubilee part 3

I got one block made as a guide and the other four prepped and four more ready to go.  I was pretty sluggish on this block because I didn't like the white start and cream background in the instructions.  With the gingham the star shows and I like this much better.  Onward! 

A Pretty Pillow

Fabric In:  I'm on a roll.  No fabric in again this week!

Fabric Out:  I had an impromptu sewing project with one of my students that you can read about HERE.  We made a super cute pillow.  0.57 yards out plus a pillow form !!

Fabric In This Week: 0 yards

Fabric In YTD: 14.5 yards

Fabric Out This Week: 0.57 yards

Fabric Out YTD: 9.99 yards

Stash Movement: 4.51 yards in

Slowly headed in the right direction.

As far as time spent sewing ....... 

I sewed through a boring ZOOM meeting on mute Monday evening!  I thought I had worked through too much of my prepped project to keep me for the rest of the week, but with making the pillow it all balanced out.

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing this week: 7/7

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing in April: 15/16

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing in 2022:  95/106

Percentage: 90%

Linking up to Kate's Life in Pieces to share progress and stay accountable.

Crafternoon With My Student

Monday:  One of my students told me that her younger stepsister was having a birthday party on Saturday and likes cheetahs and could I make her something!  Ummmm.  This is a child who helped make and then won the Spring Carnival Auction Quilt, so she is well aware that I sew.  She has also had a really rough year, so I thought about it for 2 seconds and said that yes we could come up with something, but it might not be an actual cheetah toy.  It's a 4-day week for us, so whatever it was had to be quick and with supplies on hand.  I told her we could make a pillow.

Tuesday:  I took a 12" square of muslin and the fabric markers so she could design her pillow front.  I was thinking of some animal print fabric I had saved (for 15 years!) for a special project, but if it would work for her backing that would be good.  Imagine my surprise when she starts drawing a rainbow colored heart with cheetah spots!  Looks like the animal print fabric is safe for a few more years.  She didn't know how to correctly spell the sister's name, so that part got put on hold until we had verification.

We had a good time after school with her drawing and chatting and me grading papers.  When I got home I had to figure out how to finish it.  I wanted to make it "girly" but in the absence of appropriate lace I made a long strip of rainbow colors and made a ruffle.  Considering I just cut whatever made the most sense from the scrap of fabric I pulled, it came out surprisingly uniform, which was not my intention at all.   

I had a small pillow form on hand, which guided my measurements.  One thousand pins later, the front had a ruffle.  Then I found the perfect backing and sewed that on. 

Wednesday: She had also thought of how to package this gift, and asked "if I happened to have an extra gift bag at home" so I choose a cute one from my stash.  As soon as she got to school, she was beside herself waiting to see what I had done for my part.   It was the biggest smile I have seen from her all year.  After school she added the name and more hearts and together we inserted the pillow form and stitched it shut.  She did the packaging herself.

She was so pleased with herself.  If she doesn't learn anything else this year, I hope these afternoons will hold meaning for her.  I know they were good for me.