Project Dreams

 

I’m in the best space - purses are done for the time being, I just made a pile of masks, the studio is clean, I’m finishing a hand project and happy to be starting a new one, and I have several projects I’m excited to start.  

        This pattern caught my eye.  It’s similar to Interwoven, one that I made last year.  This pattern uses 2.5” strips instead of 1.5” strips.  It ought to go together nicely.  Below are the fabrics I want to use

The above jelly rolls are going to be a chevron quilt.  Eileen gave me the idea and shared her Mr. Domestic chevron design.  And then I found the picture here.  This design spreads the chevrons out, and I think that’s what I want.

This backpack design intrigues me.  I don’t need another backpack, but they are great for sewing that demands a lot of concentration, a perfect diversion from the current political scene.  I’m appalled by Trump and his GOP Enablers. See?  time for a back pack.

Last - and this is sad - I have a pattern for a Retreat Bag.  Even though there are no retreats scheduled.  But a girl can dream, right?

As I’ve said before, I have never been personally happier and never more unhappy politically.  These days leading up to the election will be very productive for me. 

Goal for July? Check

My goal for July was to make a purse a day for SewPowerful.  And SCORE!  I made it.  Along with the ten I had before July 1, that means I have 41 purses ready to put in the mail.  Well, almost...

Every purse needs a notecard in it, a note of encouragement to the young lady who receives it.  Part of me just wants to gloss over this part.  But I have heard firsthand from Jason and Cinnamon Miles how much the girls treasure these notes.  Writing these heartfelt notes isn't quick or easy.  So I am going to tackle them the same way I did the purses - write one a day.  Except I have 41 purses.  You do the math.  My new goal is to get these in the mail just before or after Labor Day.

I love how these giraffe purses turned ourt

And check out the text on the bottom two!

These fabrics are perfect and will be the first ones I use for the next set of purses.

A funny thing happened on the way to Interwoven, a pattern by Lo and Behold Stitchery.   Because the blocks of this quilt are set on point, there was a lot of trimming and some lovely leftovers.  I began to play around with them. 

This is where I started.  And?

This is where I would up.  I loved it so much that I immediately stopped the Baptist Fan handquilting on the real Interwoven (pix to come...) and began working on this.  I started a spiral off-center and just kept going.  Instead of wool batting, I used Warm and Natural.  I am surprised at how much I like it and how beautifully it washed.  And quilting it wasn't difficult either.   This is my new favorite quilt!

Detail from the back

Detail

But this is pretty wonderful too.

While the leftover piece is finished, this one is not.  These quilting lines are 2" apart, and I'm thinking there should be another row in between.  I have no plans for this quilt and will be absolutely happy fondling it as I continue to quilt it.  

I'm pretty happy that the purses are off the design wall because I need it for Nikki's quilt.  This is a WIP of an inset for her quilt.  It's an aerial view of Manhattan from like 34th to 110th.  This part above represents Central Park.  It'll take me a while to get this going because it's hand-cutting the templates and then sewing the curves.  But I think it's going to be smashing!  Here's to August goals!

 And last but oh so not least, here is an Interwoven baby quilt for little Fiona Lee.  Holly and I collaborated on this, and we are thrilled with how it turned out!

What happened to June?

I don't know what happened to June.  All I know is that I'm busy both day and night with my quilting and I'm still dreadfully unhappy politically.  The only solution for me right now is to keep on with Sew Powerful purses. 

 This quilt top - 60 x 80 - is from leftovers of Interwoven, a quilt pattern by Lo and Behold Stitchery.    I like it so much that I dropped the hand quilting on Interwoven to work on this.

I started with an off-center spiral and am happily making my way.  It's backed with a muslin that has a nice feel.

Detail from Interwoven.  

Detail from the back

This quilt top is finally off the floor.  It's a layer cake by Zen Chic, her Modern Luster line.

July is all about Sew Powerful for me.  My goal - a purse a day.  So far I'm on target.  But it's early days.

I'm good through July 6.  Uh oh, it's July 7...  Lucky for me I have more fabric...
 

This final picture are possibly fabrics for my granddaughter Nikki's quilt. She just graduated from IU and has her first teaching job lined up. What an exciting time of life for her. I need a face-to-face with her to get approval on fabrics and also see if my idea is one that will suit what she wants. It's kind of a view of midtown Manhattan from 34th Street to 110th or so. Still tweaking the details...

All Blogging in a Day

Interwoven

Did you ever read the Ray Bradbury story "All Summer in a Day"?  It's a bittersweet little story about life on a distant planet that has only one afternoon of summer a year and a little girl who misses out on it.  For whatever reason, I've been way more interested in sewing than I have in blogging.  This post is mostly all pictures...just to document what I've been doing in the studio.  It seems my main adventure has now been taken over by hand-quilting, which I only work on at night.  In the studio I feel in love with Interwoven, a pattern by Lo and Behold Stitchery.  It's graphic, bold, and time-consuming - all strips are 1.5".  This is pin-basted and ready for hand-quilting - Baptist Fans will complement the linear dominance nicely, I think.  And check out the leftovers from Interwoven:

Leftovers from Interwoven

I'm not sure what this will be yet.  But it's fun to play around with them?  But I have to do something quick - I miss my design wall. 

#52blocks52weeks

Thanks to the wonderful world of social networks, I have some Canadian quilting friends who are participating in the 52 blocks a week Sew-A-Long sponspored by the Canadian Quilters' Association.  Every Tuesday morning, starting the 2nd week of January, a 6.5" block pattern is released.  And so every week I have been making one of these blocks from my scraps.  So far there are 16 weeks.  I'm already thinking that I want to join these blocks with sashing to make a quilt of a usable size.  It's kind of fun to spend 30 minutes a week and see how that time adds up.

7 in April

 And of course Sew Powerful purses.  I took 30 to the International Quilt Festival the end of March,  Those purses went to Paducah for that quilt festival and have since made their way to Washington state.  So I did seven more and sent them in for the May 1 deadline.  And now?  Here are two I've just finished for the November 1 deadline.  And as soon as I finish this post, I will begin more.

Two for May

                      This Noodlehead 3-2-1 Tote called to me, and I made it from an old pair
                      of my jeans.  A bit slouchy-looking but pretty handy.