A Lack of Focus

You'd think that by the time one is approaching her 7th decade, she'd have a better understanding that focus on one or two projects brings far more satisfying results than flitting from one thing to another with no real plan or direction.

The most productive I've been lately was that week in August at retreat. I went with projects prepped and ready to sew. I finished the flimsy for the weather vane quilt I made with the Winnemucca fabric and went on to get quite a few stars made for Aurora. Click here to see visual reminders of those quilts.

The trouble is that new ideas present themselves far faster than I can finish making the ideas I've already committed to! 

The idea about using all the scrap HSTs continues to simmer in my brain, so I work on making those tiny block with even tinier pieces! But they are so darn cute, I just wanna' keep going!

I will need to adjust my focus and get going on this one. I know I will; just a matter of when.

I checked an easy quickie off the list by replacing a zipper on this jacket for my cousin. She'd given it to me while we were in Florida. Since I knew she wouldn't need it through the summer months, I didn't need to rush to finish it. Now that we are on the cusp of autumn, I thought I'd better follow through for her.

The one thing I have focused on more than anything has been making blocks for this pattern I borrowed from one of the Frankfort girls awhile back. I had no more of a plan for making this than I had for anything, yet here I am seeming to whittle away at it.

I typically try to avoid samplers. I've made several over the years and historically I always end up with a big mess of fabrics strewn all around my workspace. Samplers seem to lend themselves to messiness. Being a naturally messy person to begin with, this is problematic for me. Yet here I am, working on a sampler that was totally absent from my radar as this year began.

My blocks so far have been fun to make, and I don't have a terrible mess - yet. I had a FQ pack from about 20 years ago; maybe that will minimize the clutter. I will provide details on the fabric in an upcoming post. For now, we'll just look at the completed blocks thus far.

If any of you readers have made this quilt, you may be wondering about the outer border each block is supposed to have. I've elected to hold off putting those on because I don't know which neutral I want to use. I will also need a neutral for the sashing strips, so I will think about that when I have a few more blocks made.

Also, the quilt is rather large with 25 blocks. I am only going to make 20 blocks, setting them at 5 long and 4 wide. No rules, right? Just because a pattern is made one way, doesn't mean I can't suit my own purposes and make a smaller version. I mostly am interested in having a patriotic quilt.

You think I am done reporting all the flitting I've been doing? I'm not. I have had an idea to try making another item I might sell if I were to set up a table at a craft fair. I've made a gazillion of those snappy card wallets. Now I'm making tissue holders for a purse or briefcase.

These four are my prototypes; I've experimented with topstitching and with assembly line construction. I will continue to perfect my speed and see if I can mass produce 3-4 dozen of these little cuties.

And what are we NOT seeing? Any work on the long arm and any work on those quilts I took to retreat: Aurora and mini Trip Around the World. I DO still plan to make these, and I will get back to work on the long arm. 

Too many options - and I haven't even mentioned that it's soon to be time for me to take my quilting on the road to History Day next month. I always set up my hand quilting there for folks to see the old-timey methods of our ancestors. It's a day I look forward to, but it does require a bit of planning.

Hope you are checking items off your to-do list! I will find a way to return my focus; I think phases like this occur from time to time. I'll be on track soon; I'm sure of it!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne
 

Retreat Report #2

Retreat sewing. That's what y'all want to see, right? So let's get right into it! 

 

First up, we'll see what Sharon was stitching. She and I are doing the same pattern; it's by It's Sew Emma called Paris Flea Market Find. Sharon is using Etchings fabric by 3Sisters, augmented with some other 3Sisters lines from her stash.

 

Those sashing strips left a great pile of cut-away corners, so Sharon saved them for some eventual HSTs and a project yet to be determined. (I saved mine, too!)

 

Making the 25-patch blocks was lots of fun and so very satisfying as they came together quite speedily. 

 

Becky had two very different projects - one for machine piecing and one for hand work. Below is the book from which her applique pattern comes. It's hard to discern, but it's called Fresh Picked from Blackbird Designs.

Her other project is one that just boggles my mind in its intricacy. Circa 1880 Nine Patch by Pam Buda contains 6,268 pieces, many of which finish at 1/2 inch. Yowza.

Becky had completed this tubful of tiny uneven 9-patches, and her work at retreat involved attaching the setting triangles and forming the long strip of blocks.

 

 

 

The neat stack on Becky's table shows a significant portion of both her projects - the applique on tip and the strips of uneven 9-patches under them.

 

 Jan brought one project to this retreat, very unlike her normal mega-productivity at previous retreats. Her efforts were of the Herculean variety as she finished this overly-involved panel quilt.

 

Each panel required a rather extensive border; after gnashing her teeth on about 4 of these, she began taking short cuts which required fewer seams and fewer fussy bits. We all agreed that the simpler borders were actually better, as they did not deter from the cute panels.

 

Sheryll had two main focuses - these intricate blocks for a quilt she's had under construction for awhile was one of them. 

 

 

 

Her other focus was making HSTs using Primitive Gathering HST papers. I should have asked how many she ended up making, but gosh, that stack was looking mighty intimidating! I think that Jacob's Ladder (above) is also for a Primitive Gatherings project.

Susan (who you met yesterday with her brand new machine) had lots of variety in her week at retreat. First, she made this owl quilt.

 

Next, she worked on this Ohio University table runner. I love the way this looks, and since I have an OU grad in the family, I would very much consider making something like this for her.

 

From the OU project, Susan moved on to this Folk Art/Patriotic house quilt. It was looking mighty fine as we finished out the week.

Susan also shared a 3-yard quilt finish from last summer's retreat. Several of us have made quilts from one of the many 3-Yard Quilt books.

Terry was a busy girl, too, with several finishes to boast. She already had a good start on this Civil War Legacies quilt called Remembrances. It is impressive with all those famous faces highlighted in the center of each block.

She then moved on to this quilt, but I can't tell you anything about its name or pattern. I do know that we discovered an error after this photo was taken, and she did get it all fixed before we left retreat.

Next, Terry moved on to making an OSU quilt for her grand-nephew who attends there. She used a sheet for the center of the OSU blocks, and a variety of theme-related fabrics to build this out. It is quite the impressive flimsy after just a day's hard work.

Our final seamstress is Helen, who worked so hard to get her Alpine quilt cut out. The thinking was that she'd cut here at retreat, then Becky could take the ruler home to cut hers later. Helen got far enough along in the process that she made one block just to be sure that she was on the right track with this project. I think she might have been more than just a little intimidated with these angles. I'm sure she'll get it all squared away.

Another project Helen brought to work on was this kit from Maywood Studio. It is going to look so happy and cheerful, with hints of vintage 30s sprinkled throughout.

And yes, Helen had one more kit - this happy little neighborhood called Farmer's Daughter by Moda. She has quite a bit of this finished!

Here are some final shots of my version of Paris Flea Market Find - I'm using (primarily) Paris Flea Market fabrics along with some stash yardage.

That's it!! A 4-day retreat at Needles and Pines in Nelsonville, Ohio, is all we need to have a fun and productive week. We highly recommend this facility to quilters in the southern Ohio area.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Several Irons in the Fire

"The busier I am, the behinder I get." I recall vividly both my mom and grandma making this silly statement at various times, yet my young brain didn't have a clue what they meant. Now, a retiree with seemingly unlimited free time, I am discovering that I do, in fact, know what they were talking about. 

To make matters worse, in my case anyway, I have a strange tendency toward inertia. I simply stop working on all the things because I feel tugged to try to work on them all. Too many projects needing my attention all at once, and I simply shut down. 

Quickly, I will share some of the things currently keeping me occupied.

First, I continue to make autumn leaf blocks. I do love how these look and I cannot wait to sew the quilt top together - which might be on the agenda for tomorrow. I've got all 72 blocks made, and the pretty little stack will now be laid out for some auditioning. I can't decide if I want the leaves going all the same direction, or "tossed" in all manner of directions. I will show you all my experiments when I lay them out.

Another project I started is a little dress for Cate. DDErin handed off a small stack of fabric she'd bought, saying she was never going to have time to make things for her, so would I like to have a go at them? 

Uh, that would be YES.  

Below, see the stack of fabrics  (I'm using the pink/cream first) and the pattern.

 

And yet another project from Erin has me "itching" to tackle it. She is making a growth chart that will travel with them when they (at some future time) move. Cate is getting very close to standing and will be able to have her height marked on a chart. Erin embroidered numbers on some linen, then handed that off to me for quilting and finishing. I've spent some time on it, and it will be so quick to do, but I need to really direct my focus when I do.

I'm currently in the sandwiching phase. My next step is to cut the pink for the backing, then settle in for some big-stitch quilting. The print shown in the picture will be the binding. This growth chart will hang from a dowel rod making it portable for whenever they make a move. 

And, of course, life does not exist solely in the quilting room. We hosted two gatherings over the weekend, both tons of fun, but took time away from stitching, obviously. Then on Monday, I joined some of the Frienzies to begin working on a wedding quilt. (You'll be hearing more about this.) And now, I need to close this post for a book club outing to Columbus!

I am definitely staying busy, yet when things get a little crazy from time to time,  I let the blog fall to the last thing on the to-do list.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Sewing Day!

It has been weeks since Sharon and I have had our sewing day. Maybe since before Thanksgiving?! 

Of course, family time and holidays always take precedence over sewing time, and between Sharon's family activities and my own, we just couldn't see our way clear to setting aside a day for stitching. Throw in the fact that I've been under the weather a bit, and it just wasn't to be.

As I consider my sewing options today, I can think of three directions I might go.

My first thought is to work with this Christmas star. I still have one block left over from my earlier effort in making a pillow for Christmas. I don't know if I will make another pillow, or maybe go in a different direction. But it is very likely that I will do something with this block.

A second option is to finish a UFO that could be a Christmas gift. I've not pictured it here because of it's potential as a gift. And you'll just have to wait until after the holidays to see it.

And my final option is to return to working on Temecula Baskets. I went great guns on it when I was making blocks. And now it's time to put the top together. I should not be dragging my feet on such straightforward work.  

 Which will win out? I guess I'll be back tomorrow to let you know!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Our Scrappy Exchange

The Frankfort Girls did something fun a few weeks ago that I have been remiss in sharing with you all. We are a group that does enjoy our little projects; the type of quilting-related activity that is fun, and easy, and also useful. We have done UFO Challenges, Block Exchanges, Sew Alongs (we all make the same pattern), and such. This most recent project was an exchange of 2.5-inch scraps.

We came up with the idea back in the late summer, and decided on a date in October when we would all be together for exchanging. The only rule was to cut scraps into 2.5-inch squares, stuff a gallon-sized freezer bag with them and VOILA! Ready for exchanging!

Now you know I have been very focused on cutting scraps lately, so this appealed to be from the get-go. I had nearly enough 2.5-inch squares already cut and had plenty more scraps to add, if necessary.

Above are pictures of the bag I came home with. This neatly packed bag of goodness was Becky's contribution to the exchange. She is a lover of reproduction fabrics, so I know I have many wonderful gems in here!

Just after we had our exchange, I decided to make that pillow which I shared last week. It was the first project for which I used the exchange blocks, and that was hugely successful! Here's the pillow panel during construction.

 And here's a couple of shots of my selection process from from Becky's donation bag. Diving into her over-stuffed bag was akin to a kid on Christmas morning!

We will continue to come up with fun little projects for our group as we move forward. We are tossing around the possibility of devoting 2022 to working on UFOs again. We did that back in 2016 and 2017. Believe it or not, as caught up as I was then, I have accumulated more UFOs these last 4 years. How does that happen?

Do you sew/quilt with a group? I highly recommend it. We love each other dearly, and we keep ourselves fresh and engaged with these occasional special projects. They are never meant to be burdensome; rather they are meant to be fun. Opting out is always an option; it is never a "requirement." Here are a few links to previous fun extra activities our group has enjoyed. There have been more!

Churn Dash Block Exchange

Ohio Star Block Exchange

9-Patch Block Exchange 

Sampler Block Sew Along

Harvest Pumpkin Quilt Sew Along

Happy Quilting, Friends!

A Saturday for Dabbling

Today I seem to be dabbling. A plethora of projects await me, and I'm having a hard time focusing. So I flit.  Eventually something will be finished, surely.

First up this morning, I decided I should cut out some more stars. Above are the parts for 7 Ohio Stars, and I had the neutral parts ready for a few more, below.

After about an hour or so (I lose track of time when I am in the sewing room!), I have about 29 star parts ready to go.

I need a total of 49 stars, so there's a bit more cutting and prepping to be done. I have 4 stars done, if you recall. Click here to see.

I've been sorta' procrastinating on this next project. It has been a bugger, for sure. About a month ago, I acquired this old cupboard from a distant cousin. It is in good shape, but needed a refresh. With 80 or more years' worth of furniture wax/polish build-up, it looked almost black. In the picture below, the very top is indicative of how the entire piece looked prior to my sanding efforts. But sanding was taking forever - the wax on the wood gummed up the sandpaper. So I switched tactics.

After consulting several YouTube videos featuring methods of furniture refinishing, I tried denatured alcohol applied with steel wool. It's messy, but it works. See my current progress.

My plan is to leave the wood in as natural a tone as possible. I'd given some thought to painting it, but no, I don't think so. Maybe the interior will get painted; undetermined on that at present. 

I am going through rubber gloves pretty fast. I don't know if the denatured alcohol is that strong, or if the steel wool is making little punctures in the gloves, but my scrubbing hand (left) is really taking some abuse. This process requires a good amount of elbow grease along with lots and lots of paper towels. I will go back for a second round of scrubbing and wiping later today.

Coming up next week, I have two events for which I am preparing. First, our book club is meeting on Tuesday, and I need to read the book, Last Bus to Wisdom. I have it downloaded and ready for listening. Then on Wednesday, I am hosting the Frienzies here for brunch. My menu is set; I must schedule a grocery visit, along with a bit of housekeeping. 

I plan to listen to my book while I work on the cupboard, wash windows and mop floors. This gal knows how to multi-task! *wink*

Happy Saturday and Happy Quilting, Friends!