Friday Finish - Borders

This has been at least 16 years in the making. Possibly more.

Last year I pulled out some finished blocks from my UFO drawer and got the center done.  Then back to the UFO pile.  

Strips that Sizzle

In my effort to finish things this year I pulled it out again, auditioned a few borders, did not agonize, cut them out and sewed them on.  Woo Hoo. !!!

Next up - quilting.  My machine is being really contrary so I'm at a standstill on this part.

Showing off finishes with Crazy Mom Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Last Stash Report of 2015

Oh My!  It has sure been a while.  I knew that working 5 days a week instead of 4 was going to make a difference, but I did not realize how much less time I would have for sewing.  I tried to keep track of the few projects I finished so that if I ever blogged again I would be able to report accurately.  Unfortunately I have very few photos.  Oh well.

Pillow Cover for Senor G's comfy pillow.   I just made it up as I went along using the fewest seams possible.  It works.  0.65 yds of an odd corduroy that was on its way to Goodwill

Basket with handles that Little S made for her Mama Cristy in Guatemala.  I had made this fabric basket
before and lost the instructions, but was able to figure it out on my own without too much trouble.  I did go back and find the link again for myself afterwards though.  0.17 yards

Davis Classroom Quilt.  For the 3rd year I am making a carnival auction quilt for Ms. Davis' class.  This year I had been given some bright fabric scraps that I worked right into the quilt.  So that didn't count in or out.  I do get to count the white squares the kids drew on and the few other blocks I added.  0.67 yds

Christmas Table Cloth for my SIL in Guatemala.  A pretty dark pink with gold outlines of holly leaves.  The image is stuck in my mind even if I didn't take a picture.  1.17 yds.


Strips that Sizzle Quilt.  Actually the last thing I posted about, but never did the stash report on.  A UFO that my mother got me started on and I finally finished.  Well kind of finished.  It is still a UFO since it needs borders, backing and quilting, but at least it has progressed.  I count fabric out when a specific step in the project is all done, so I get to count the center now.  9 yds

Work Aprons.  We had 4 new teachers so I made aprons for them and personalized then with their names.  My mother had made the original aprons about 4 years ago.   1.5 yds

Pet Rock Blankets.  We made pet rocks during our Pet Week.  The kids liked carrying them around so much that I cut out flannel blankets for them.  1.38 yds

American Girl Doll Bedding for Little S for Christmas.  Another project that I made up as I went along.  I got the bed frame when our school was flooded.  Anything that touched the water was thrown away, but I saved this.  Sure enough it was the right size for the AG dolls.  When the girls went to see the Nutcracker with my sister I quickly whipped up the bedding.  Lack of time sure helps me eliminate the agonizing decisions of should I or shouldn't I.  I just went with what worked and it worked just fine.  Little S wanted a fuzzy pillowcase for Christmas and her doll got one instead.  She was happy with that.  1.5 yds

American Girl Nightgown for Little S.  I found this link  for AG doll cloths patterns  a while back.  When I got the bedding done I knew the doll needed a new nightgown to go with it.  Unfortunately the doll chest has been covered up with College R's plants so there has not be an official modeling yet.  I will say that although it came out fine I was reminded of why I prefer quilting to sewing clothing.  I also was again impressed by the memory of my mother making 2 sets of elaborate Barbie Doll clothes for College R and Middle E many years ago.  What patience.  I made Samantha's nightgown with a few changes  0.5 yds

So here is my final report.  I had a goal of 100 yards, but that didn't happen.  But under the circumstances I am still pleased.

Fabric Used This Report:  16.54 yards 

Fabric In This Report:  0 yards 

Total In 2015: 7.02 yards
Net Used 2015:  65.12 yards

Linking up to  Patchwork Times  where others are giving a year end report as well!

Strips that Sizzle is a Flimsy

This is a 16-year-old UFO done.  YOu can read about it's humble beginnings here  and  here  and here .  It has been a flimsy for a while and I was ready to write up a post about this and some other finishes...

It makes me dizzy so I don't think it's a keeper.

Thinking I might add borders to enlarge it somewhat.

... when Whoosh.  A Pipe burst.  School flooded.  Water came from above over my class counter and cabinets.  Four inches of water in most of the building - and my cabinets.  Most furniture and supplies beyond hope.  First day of school 5 days away.

Not much we could do after emptying the building.  Reconstruction is still under way 3 weeks later, but we have a start day of Monday for teachers and Wednesday for kids.  So I need to take advantage of my last days and get non-school things done.  Most of our holidays will be used as make-up days, so not sure when there will be down time again.

You would have thought I would have really be sewing like crazy with my girls back in school, but me not teaching yet.  But the flood and all the unknowns about getting back in and what was lost and what wasn't really put me in some kind of limbo.  I did do a last minute job.  Monogram on a towel for one of Middle E's friends going off to college.

I had just finished making work aprons for the new teachers at work and was going to take a picture of them on the hooks at work, but now they are lost in the jumble of stuff.  I guess that gives me a guaranteed finish for a later date when I might not have a current finish!

I ended up working a lot on my Leaders & Enders.  I know they are supposed to be used while working on a larger project, but I just could not concentrate on anything.  The Leaders & Enders were perfect.  Mindless. 

Check out some other finishes at Crazy Mom Quilts   and Confessions of a fabric addic.

Design Floor

Made surprising progress on the Strips That Sizzle UFO this week.  Because of the initial mis-cut I had 4 distinct blocks to work with instead of 2 so my original design ideas would not work.  I ended up with this star. It makes me kind of dizzy but that's okay.

I have checked and rechecked to make sure I don't have the same fabrics next to each other and to make sure I have the blocks going in the right direction.  That was a big problem early on. 

This picture was taken several rearrangements ago and I am starting to web it all together. 

Head on over to patchwork Times To see some other design walls - and floors! 

And the winner was....

Strips That Sizzle

Last week I was trying to decide what project to work on next and it had to be from the UFO bin.  Strips that Sizzle seemed like a good choice since there was a nice stack of 60 blue blocks already made.  I just had to check the strip bins and see what other color I had the most of in order to make the opposing blocks. No big surprise there. - green.  

I made up a few blocks and then cut them diagonally and paired them w a blue that was also cut.   About halfway into the stack of blues I realized something was wrong.  I had cut them wrong so I did not have the strong visual effect that gives the quilt it's name.  Arrrrrgh 

No sizzle going on here.

Thankfully I had not sewn the pairs since I was setting up a Leader & Ender project pile.  So I correctly cut more blues to match up w the already cut greens   Then I made more greens to match up w the already cut blues.

That's more like it!

 Then I made even more greens to match w the remaing blues but I didn't cut either   That last batch I will save and cut after I have a layout and know which direction I need to make the layout complete

Now I can't wait to get them sewn and start playing w a layout.   This was a great way to use up strips and it was so nice to have strips already cut and ready to go!  

What did I use for L&E while I was sewing the green blocks?  The alternating blocks for the previous L&E project.  I had already turned lots of 2" squares into 2 patches, then 4 patches, then 16 patches.

There are lots more blocks than this but I can't reach over the table to put them up 

  and now I am working on a layout.

I am liking the look and working on getting a good variety before sewing more big blocks together.

Head on over to Patchwork Times  to see what others are working on.