Summer Fun So Far

This summer has been very -- well, interesting I guess.  Weather-wise we've been all over the map.  Earlier in the week we were sweating bullets and the humidity was high enough to really sink my hairdo, and today is about 65 degrees Fahrenheit.  Ugh.

Miss A has been having Gramma's House overnights this week.  When her mom has to go to work early at the hospital Miss A sleeps over because it's really mean to make a kid get up at 2 a.m. and go back to bed next door.  But now I think she just wants to stay with me because she gets ice cream with sprinkles before she goes to bed!  And a back rub, and bedtime stories... hey, I'd like some of that too.  :-)

She's also zipping around the driveway on the bike on a daily basis.  She'd like to ride to the park, I know, but there isn't anyone except her big sister to ride with her.  This may sound like fun except when I think about putting my butt on a tiny seat for any length of time!  Here she is, zipping around... hair blowing in the breeze she creates.

I'm finishing up some UFOs, hopefully going to actually quilt and bind a few small projects this summer!  To that end I signed up for a McTavishing class at a LQS in August.  Wish me luck!   If you're not sure what McTavishing is, here's a link to the class book on the Amazon website. 

.https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Art-McTavishing-Karen-McTavish/dp/0974470619/ref=pd_rhf_schuc_s_cp_9?ie=UTF8&dpID=51VP3CFFNKL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_SL500_SR104%2C135_&psc=1&refRID=VHXPS3AC1RMKZH3FYVBW

I finished my New York Beauty blocks and made a few extras because I can't make a decision on the layout.  I kind of like this one that's pinned up on my design wall right now, but I don't have enough of the navy to complete the corners.  That's going to require some contemplation.  And maybe shopping.

 

 

I actually did complete a few other tops, some that were on a multi-year plan.  It's time to start layering and actually getting some quilting done, which as my dedicated readers know is not my favorite part.  But I'm working on clearing out some of the clutter in my resource center, and finished quilts would definitely contribute greatly.

 

So 39 and Holding (above) got a border of crossword checks.  The plan is for a 'bar code' backing and maybe black binding, or maybe bar code binding.  Jury's still out on that.

The quilt top below was finished too.  It came from the 5 inch scrap bin, nearly all of the browns and golds.  That is either going to be sent to a family member or become a donation quilt.

Last but not least is the holiday bed runner, started with fabric that I won at our LQG holiday party.
It's 30 inches by about 72 inches so it should cover the end of my bed with a nice overhang on both sides.  I think I should be able to get this done by November...  fingers crossed!!  I apologize for the small photo, I can only get so far away from my design wall.  And either the light's not good at the bottom of the picture or that's a shadow of me with the camera.

ooo -- I didn't notice until just now that both dark blocks are at the bottom, and the white sashing is not distributed very evenly.  Oh well, you won't see both ends when it's on the bed!  (Because you know I'm NOT taking it apart...)

Our annual family reunion is tomorrow.  It will be very nice if the weather cooperates and it's only in the mid-seventies and not ninety in the afternoon.  We're a large and diverse group.  The party is in a cousin's big yard and the food is pot luck so you know it's going to be good and interesting...

Miss E is baking something today for the reunion.  I think I'm in charge of potato salad.  That's my specialty.

Sew on...



I've Been A Lazy Blogger...

But I HAVE been sewing.

I love to take off the Friday before and the Tuesday after a Monday holiday.  It makes the weeks on both sides so much shorter-seeming!  Of course sometimes you still have to shove 40 hours worth of work into the abbreviated week, but still.

I started a circle project.  It's inspired by the bloggers who are doing the 365 circle project, but merged with a 'target' project I saw on someone's blog, maybe the Barrister's Block??  It was a while back.

Anyway, the church quilty ladies and I were working on learning various types of machine applique -- raw edge, backed with iron on interfacing, and the like.  When I taught sewing machine classes at JoAnn's I used to have the students sew a big fat paisley shape to get inside and outside curves, and an L shape to get inside and outside corners.

I made cardboard templates so I could trace around them with a marking pen.

So I started with three different sizes of circle on a square.  I made templates using a cup, a small plate and a jar lid.

 Then I cut them out of fabric.  Hint:  Starch the fabric first, it really helps.

The biggest circle is laid on a background square, centered as much as can be but don't get anal about it.  These are raw edge appliques.  I stitched around the outside edge at 1/4 inch.  Then I CAREFULLY cut away the backing from the big circle leaving about a 1/4 inch seam allowance on the inside. 

Here you can see how I sewed each successively smaller circle on, and cut away the back of THAT circle before stitching on the last smallest circle.

This is what results when you forget to trim away the last circle!  (you can leave them but it makes a thicker seam intersection to have four layers there instead of two.

Once they're all sewn together, you cut them into four quarters, right through the center of the smallest circle.  Cut even squares, don't worry if the center is not exactly in the middle.

I used a 9 inch background, so ended up with 4.5 inch quarters.

Sew two together, press seams open, then sew the two 'twosies' together. 

Make sure you mix up your quarters.  See where I have two of the same fabric coming together?  It's not a fatal error but I should have been more careful...

See how cool they are?  I can't wait to put a quilt together using these patchy circles. 

Sew on...