This evening while waiting for a call for work, I stitched a bit, finishing up the first 40 blocks for Sew Scrappy (the other 10 are on the design wall). I think I’ll go a head and add the sashing and cornerstones to these blocks before I work on the other set of blocks for this quilt.
The wet cool spring has turned into a hot muggy summer — at least for a couple of days — and I suppose those definitions vary by where you live. I didn’t fill up the water reservoirs last night and although not empty, they took considerably more water to fill this morning. I went out mid-afternoon and realized that tonight I get to drag the water hose out to fill up the reservoirs again.
The salad bucket looks rough — I gave the lettuce a good trimming last night for supper. The carrots aren’t due in for a couple more weeks. But look at that foliage. The spinach just looks tired. I planted a few more seeds last night, but it may be too hot for it now.
There are at least 4 beefsteak tomatoes on their way. There could be more up higher in the plant, but I haven’t found them yet.
The cherry tomatoes are doing nicely as well. I can’t wait for the first couple of bunches to ripen.
The Purple Cherokee has one tomato. There have been others, but they have had blossom rot. This one looks good so far.
The cucumber is coming along ok after the second sowing. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Lots of growth in the beans & peas bucket as well. The peas are also a second sowing. Perhaps instead of these folding trellises I should have gotten tomato cages. These are supposed to be bush beans and not need a cage or trellis.
Last but not least is my corn bucket. In the back there is a single bean plant to grown up the corn-stalk. At least that’s the plan. We’ll see what happens.
Now, if I can just keep the lettuce & spinach growing until the carrots & tomatoes are ready….
My sewing chair is next to my desk chair. I turned around earlier this afternoon and Butterscotch was keeping me company while I worked.
Well, actually, this was on the design wall at the retreat Friday night. It’s the small of the Disappearing 9-Patches. It does lay flat, but we here having trouble reaching high enough to pin it to the wall and it’s over the iron cord (It was only on the wall long enough to take the picture).
Now on my design wall here at home, I’ve put up the completed blocks from Sew Scrappy – an Evelyn Sloppy design from her 40 Fabulous Quick-Cut Quilts book.
This was the other quilt I worked on over the weekend. It doesn’t look like much, but I have lots of parts assembled – the modified flying geese were done previously.
This UFO has been hanging around for two years, but I want to finish it this year – hopefully get the top done this month and have it ready for quilting.
See what others are upto over at Patchwork Times.
My stash report is late this week. I got home about 4 PM from the retreat and I’m just now unpacking and taking stock. I was very good about not adding to my stash bringing home only 3 1/3 yards of fabric — less than I used over the weekend! A couple of FQs, yardage for a table runner, yardage for binding and Kansas Troubles scraps.
Fabric Added Since Last Report 3.33 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 181.44 yards
Fabric Used Since Last Report: 4.75 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 48.173 yards
INCREASE in Stash to Date: 133.267 yards
See how others are doing over at Patchwork Times.
Here it is the first of June and time to check on my quilting goals. Except for the Star-A-Day (my husband is calling Star-A-Week) I got everything done.
Finishing Eye Fooler allowed me to add to my Block Count over at Prairie Moon Quilts.
The UFO Busting Report with these finishes and starts looks like this:
So, what’s up for June?
Will I get everything done or get diverted by another project? Only time will tell.
I sometimes wonder what triggers my productivity. I started this quilt in April 2013. The flying geese like units I managed to knock out “quickly” and I started in on the 9-patches. I even took it to a quilt retreat that summer, but I can find no mention of me working on it since then until last week – although it’s been on the list of UFOs to finish for both 2014 and 2015.
Anyway, last week something was triggered and I’ve spent my sewing time working on the quilt top. It’s a similar feeling to when I finally was able to knock out Orca Bay – only this time, I’ve known all along who I’m giving the quilt to.
So, what have I accomplished. #1 figuring out where I left off. #2 sewing and cutting all of the strip sets for the 9-patches. Now I’m working on the strip sets for the 25-patches. I get up and press after I sew 10 strips. Hopefully this will keep me from getting stiff and it allows me to stitch another leader/ender. For the moment I’m using another part of the quilt as my leader/ender
Perhaps next week I’ll have a quilt top to show.
In the meantime, see what others are working on over at Patchwork Times..
Another week with lots of cutting but numbers not moving. I think I have everything cut for Sew Scrappy. If I don’t I just need 1-1/2″ strips and I’ll toss the extra that are cut into my project box. If I need more than that I think I’ll be in a good place to find something to add to the quilt.
With all of the cutting, I’ve been able to put my Kansas Trouble Quilters fabric box in order.
There’s enough fabric for at least 1 queen size quilt and I’d guess possibly two. Perhaps if I get all 4 of the quilts tops I’ve cut out finished at the retreat I’ll pull out my KTQ patterns and use some more of this fabric. But if I don’t, it’s nice and orderly for when I do get that far.
Fabric Added Since Last Report 0 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 178.11 yards
Fabric Used Since Last Report: 0 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 43.423 yards
INCREASE in Stash to Date: 134.687 yards
See how others are doing over at Patchwork Times.
I tend to over pack for retreats. As a result, I put a limit on myself. My Tutto Rolling Case, matching serger bag and the case with the Sew Steady table and seat cushion. Well this year, with the much smaller sewing machine, instead of the serger bag, I’m taking a bag which holds two project boxes.
The rolling bag of course has my sewing machine in it, along with things like spray starch, thread holder, light, notions box, leader/ender project (plastic bag on left) and the yardage for the DP9 quilts. There’s still a bit of room in this bag, but I’m confident the machine won’t shift in the case.
One project box is already packed. It has the squares for the 3 DP9 quilts I cut out before Memorial Day. But because I like variety when I go to retreats and this is a Kansas Troubles Quilters retreat I’m doing my best to prep the KTQ quilt that I’m working on that is on several of my UFO lists.
It’s Sew Scrappy from Evelyn Sloppy’s 40 Fabulous Quilt-Cut Quilts. Naturally, I’m tweaking the pattern, making more blocks and skipping the border. All of the not-quite flying geese blocks are made. Twenty of the 9-patches are made. I think I need 139. I also need 40 25-patch blocks none of which are made. So, between now and Thursday morning I want to at least get the strip sets done for the 9-patches & 25 patches as the KTQ fabric box won’t fit in my bag. Especially if Butterscotch is in the box.
Actually, it is more a realization that this quilt will not get made — that and I wanted to clear a project box. These are the first two blocks of the 2010-2011 BOM that my guild was doing. I managed to print off the first 4 blocks, but then between a computer melt down and dropping out of the guild I didn’t get the rest of the patterns. So, I’m crossing this quilt off my WIP list and putting the two blocks in my Orphan Quilt Block Box. One of these days I’m going to have to make something with all of those blocks.
