[Belated Post]
It sure is a busy time of year, isn't it? We quilty folks have been sewing up a storm, as well as doing all the other things that need to be done for the holidays and in everyday-life-as-we-know-it. I hope you've been productive and having fun, too!
Shortly after my last post (mid-October!?), the hubster and I headed out to San Francisco for some serious grandparent time. Loads of fun, but exhausing. With kids 5, 2-1/2, and 1 year old, not even a hand-sewing project got tackled. (And did I mention that my son's dog had, um, lower intestinal tract problems?).
But before we left home, I did manage to sew up a big chunk of the selveges that I've been saving for a few years. I finally figured out what I want to do with them. And the first step was to sew them onto a muslin foundation sized for the project that I have in mind.
First I sorted the strips by length and color. Little ones went into the bin that will eventually become stuffing for an ottoman.
Laying them out on a bed didn't work all that well. The old wood drying rack that I got for my freshman year in college was the perfect tool for keeping the sorted selveges organized!
It was so much fun going through the strips and sewing them up! There's some that Gina gifted to me from one one of her projects. There are some blues from Janice. Oh, that's from my Otsego Lake quilts!
All done for now trimmed and squared. This was a test piece that I'd started in Michigan. I downsized when I realized how many different length strips I'd need.
Once the project pieces were done, I didn't want the drying rack hanging around. Plus it's winter, and I'll need the rack for drying sweaters. But lo! What hanger through yonder closet shines? Perfect for keeping the selveges organized(ish) while taking up nearly zero space.
On the Small Project front, I made aprons for Christmas gifts. They were super-easy, just cut from a panel and stitched up. I did another stash-pull to line them. Didn't bother with photos, but perhaps I'll get a pic of one of the recipients wearing his.
As for Large Projects, I've continued to plug away at the Ringo Lake quilt (see prevous posts on the sidebar). I've been working on it exclusively at my Thursday morning quilt group, so progress has been slow but steady.
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| 50 blocks done! Now for the hard part -- squaring up. |
Unusual for a Bonnie Hunter Quiltville pattern, in my experience, the instructions for completing the final steps were not very detailed, at least not as much as most of her other patterns. Or maybe my intuition or experience failed me. I finally had to sit down with a blown-up copy of the quilt and trace over it to figure out how things were supposed to come togther. I'd already sewn sashing to several blocks incorrectly, so it was worth it to backtrack, unsew, and get it right before proceeding.
30 blocks with individual sashing strips added to two sides (A).
Remaining 20 blocks with no sashing (B)
A strips to the left, B strips to the right.
We're off to Memphis for Christmas week, so again a hiatus in stitching. Meanwhile, have a wonderful holiday. See you next year!
Update January 3, 2020
No sewing got done in the last 2-1/2 weeks, but today I wanted to power through and get SOMETHING (anything!) done. It was slow going, but by mid-afternoon I was getting back in the groove. Yay! I'm thinking that tomorrow I can finish sashing the sides of the Ringo Lakes A-blocks and make some headway on laying out all the blocks and the rest of the sashing strips. I love the colors and the pattern but I surely will be glad to get this quilt top done.
I hope you enjoyed your holidays, and HappyNew Year to all!
