Bits and Pieces

Since I've not focused my energies on any one project in the last 5-6 weeks, I seem to have bits of news on several fronts. It makes perfect sense, then, to catch up on some of those items, then perhaps I will turn my attention to more focused objectives.

First, to update the previous post, I have delivered all the dresses to their respective homes, and have one picture of a granddaughter actually wearing her new dress - Reagan, our 19-month-old middle grandchild, wanted to wear hers straight away. It fits her perfectly and her momma requests more - with one addition. Add two pockets, rather than one. Reagan was totally pumped to put things in her pocket and kept searching her other side for another one. No problem! I can put two pocket on all future dresses!

In other activities around here, I've been continuing efforts at straightening up my sewing/quilting room. I've always had the ability to work in the midst of a fair amount of clutter, however the situation had gotten too far gone for even me and my loose standards. *grin* Finding a surface to iron, to cut, to sew, and sometimes even to sit had gotten near impossible. 

Things are looking a lot better now. Below is the table top where Sharon normally has her machine when we sew. Sadly, it's been many months since I've seen the top of that table. 

Most of that has been dealt with - sorted or finished or trashed. Here's a picture of similar haphazard piles on the floor.

I'd already made progress when I took this picture; the reason I know is because carpet is showing. There was a time when you couldn't see the carpet for the debris spread around. Clockwise in this photo: Grinch Christmas fabric at the top; Ohio State novelty fabric; more Christmas fabric at the 3:00 position; miscellaneous EPP at 8:00; a pillow cover salvaged from a pillow given to us as a wedding present (1979!); a pile of batiks at 11:00. In the center is a tub of floral scraps; from these remnants, I'm making random blocks hoping for inspiration as I stitch. All in this photo now has been put away in designated, well-labeled tubs. 

I had sevearal items that simply needed very minimal attention to have them completed and out of my way. I focused heavily on those as I worked through the clutter. It has been quite successful, thankfully, and the weight of it all feels lighter. I like knowing that I've seen the last of these and now can more eagerly look forward to new projects.

This table in my front room had gone without decor all winter. I found a stack of HSTs in the sewing scraps, and rather than hide them away in a drawer or bag, I went straight to the machine and stitched them together to make this wonderful little table topper. 

The HSTs were leftovers from Cotton Ridge Farm, which I made last summer. I knew I'd made extra for the double sawtooth borders; this table topper is a perfect way to use up the excess.  

One really easy item to check off my list was to find a piece of yardage from my bin of red fabrics that would be suitable for a slip cover on my front porch wicker bench. Since our shutters and front door are deep red/burgandy, I've always used rugs and pillows in the same colorway; I needed a slip cover to add to the look and I think this works nicely. 

Lord only knows how long I've had this fabric or what I planned for using it. The selvage says its Hyde Park by Jo Gregg/Northcott. I'd say it's very well aged.

I altered a pair of shorts for DH (no picture for that!), and I replaced a hatband on this thrift store find from Florida.  

I had a stack of some long-forgotten project bits that I seemed unable to toss. I made myself sit down and figure out what I was doing, and came up with this little fabric tray.

I will finish the other 7 and have a nice little gift for participants at our next retreat. I'm glad I had the mindset to keep them and not throw them away.

I know this will be hard to believe, but I also uncovered some long forgotten (and deeply buried) projects like the embroidery above. I have no idea why I stopped working on it; I located the book straight away and have taken some stitches on it. I hope I can regain my steam and finish it.

If I can make myself stay at it, I will have a nice addition to my autumn decor. Stay tuned for updates as I progress on that journey.

Finally, I will show you one box of scrap management. I've not done this in quite awhile, so I have a couple more boxes waiting to be done. Because space was so limited in the quilting room, I brought this downstairs to the kitchen island to be cut into my standard working bits - squares and strips in 3 sizes: 1.5 inches, 2 inches, and 2.5 inches. If there were any larger pieces available, I cut 15" X 5" - the size for the little card wallets I've been making. I enjoy making them and using scraps is perfect.

That completes the summing up of my sewing-related endeavors in the past few weeks. It's not all been drudgery of sorting and straightening. We've interspersed some fun visits with friends and little trips here and there. We've got a flooring project underway here at the homestead, so we're jumping on carpet removal today. (ugh)  

I hope all you moms had a wonderful Mother's Day! I spent time with my sweet momma yesterday afternoon, and either spoke with or had texts with all three of my children. We saw both daughters on Saturday, so my cup runneth over, indeed.

Have a wonderful week, and 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

Sewing With Sharon

While I don't often report on our sewing together, Sharon and I do still regularly meet to devote time to our projects. We both have plenty of UFOs, WIPs, new projects, and plans for new things. Typical quilters, right? UFOs (unfinished objects) and WIPs (works in progress), regardless of how diligently we work on them, seem never to totally disappear because the thrill of the new project or the project on the horizon is just too alluring.

And sometimes, the project of the day is simply something totally unplanned and spontaneous. Like the wall hanging Sharon worked on this week.

First, though, we need to revisit one of her projects from retreat a few weeks ago. She was in the midst of creating a small wall hanging for her daughter's new cabin. Using scraps from her stash, she came up with this sweet little piece, and stopped when she ran short on one of the fabrics.

While it is a scrappy project, she controlled the stem fabric and the borders. In the few weeks since retreat, she has finished this wall hanging and it looks spectacular. 

What a wonderful finish! Sharon's daughter will be lucky to have a freshly made piece for her new home. Sharon just sent this photo, and I will diverge from my topic momentarily to show you just how challenging it was for her to get a picture!

 

Any quilter with cats knows the uncanny way they gravitate to a project being spread out on the floor or the bed or a table! Their instincts are freakish.

 

Now back to Sharon's sewing - the spontaneous variety, in this case. After finishing this little leaf quilt, she still had so many fall-inspired scraps left over. What to do? Put them away for another day? Let them lay around begging to be used? 

 

NO! Make another quilt, of course! And this is what she worked on while we sewed on Tuesday. She was totally making up the design as she sewed based on a picture she'd seen online somewhere.

 

 

This would have used quite a good bit of scraps, wouldn't you say? She says she already knows where it will hang, and I am sure she is motivated to finish this off since autumn is fast approaching.

 

These 2 projects remind me of my own effort at fall-themed stitching. I had a quilt top hanging on the design wall for over a year, and just this summer quilted it. You may remember it. And yes, it contains a lot of scraps.
 

We all seem to have an endless supply of scraps. I always feel so good about using them; I just cannot stand the possibility of wasting fabric. And no matter how diligently we pull the scraps to use them up, they never seem to totally disappear. I didn't ask Sharon how deep her fall stash is now after these two beauties have been stitched. Hopefully she's seeing some stash reduction. 

 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Jayne 

Having Fun With Kaffe Scraps

Yesterday I worked for a time on some secret Christmas sewing. Since I cannot show that just yet, I will show you what I worked on after the secret stuff.

Initially, I was simply attempting to tidy up around my sewing machine and work table. Believe it or not, I'd allowed little stacks of things to clutter up the space. I know! Hard to believe, right?? (ha!) I thought maybe I'd try being proactive for a change. Deal with the little bits before it all became massive, overwhelming, unmanageable bits. 

I certainly did not have any plan whatsoever to actually sew any of it. Honest.

One of the bits needing put away was a small stack of 2.5-inch Kaffe Fassett scraps - maybe a dozen or so squares. I would add these to the larger collection of 2.5-inch squares. Even after all the sewing I did last winter in Florida, I still have a large tub of 2.5-inch scraps, within which all the KF fabrics are separated and grouped. 

Rather than put the little stack away, I instead pulled those KF scraps and began making 4-patch blocks. I ended up having a lot more KF squares than I expected. I did not need a plan; just make 4-patches. This was such an impromptu decision, I cannot even explain what brought it on. Maybe I just felt like seeing what I could make out of these gorgeous scraps.

You know, those tubs of carefully organized scraps are set aside for "someday" sewing. Perhaps I just had an incredible urge to have yesterday afternoon be that "someday."

Whatever it was, it was great.

I had such a grand time mindlessly creating 4-patch blocks out of these scraps. It was about as much fun as one could have in the sewing room. Makes working so hard to save, cut, separate, and organize all those scraps worth the time and effort.

I have only just begun whittling down this pile of KF squares. I will make as many as I can from what you see here, and then stash them until inspiration tells me what comes next. I have a couple of different ideas, and since this was such fun, I do think I will be returning to them ASAP.

Hope you are having fun in your sewing room. I highly recommend it!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

First Stitches

Actually, there are several firsts! First sewing of 2024. First sewing from Florida. First blog from our work-in-progress house. You must keep that last one in mind as you see the sewing room and my makeshift set-up.

Not wanting to set the machine up on the kitchen table and spread the mess around the house, I thought a rather ingenious table could be made from an ironing board lowered to table height. This worked perfectly well, too. I positioned it with my back to the closet and am (sorta') facing toward the door. The pic below is from across the room diagonally, basically in front of that shelf you see above.

In addition to being my sewing space, this room will be our guest room, so you see a corner of the bed. I have no other useful furniture in the room. The previous owner left the bed, the 2 bookshelves, the ironing board and a small chair which I am using while sewing. 

It still needs so much, but most of our efforts this first winter are being put toward bigger, more important tasks - new water heater, new door to utility room, furniture for the family room. I am chomping at the bit to buy all the stuff right now. 

It's hard being patient.

Back to sewing ... Last post I referenced the major sewing plan these next three months - mostly creating units for future projects. I have spent a couple of years being very diligent about organizing scraps, and it looks as if I've had some modicum of success!  I brought with me all the scraps that I'd cut into these specific sizes: 

• 1.5" squares and strips
• 2" squares and strips
• 2.5" squares and strips

I had a boatload of them! It completely filled a large tote. Without a doubt, I have more than enough to keep me busy through March.

My first accomplishment: 19 blue and beige 4-patch blocks made with 2.5" squares. It sure seems like I should try to make one more so that I will have an even 20, but I will have to come across more beige, because that's what made me stop. I have several more blue squares, so we shall see what develops.

I have promised myself that whatever will eventually be made with these units will be scrappy, so I am not allowing myself to get all fussy about everything matching or being exactly a certain number - that sort of thinking will only slow me down. Scrap quilts must be allowed to develop. No overthinking!

Humble as it is, that's my beginning for 2024. Let's see where it takes me.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Slow Sunday Stitching

While I've been slow stitching today and for the past several days, I find myself thinking about the scraps I am using to make these hexie flowers for an eventual Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt. 

One appealing aspect of making these flowers is that I am using lots of scraps. From just a two-inch square of fabric, I can make one hexagon. Once center piece; six center surround pieces; 12 outer surround pieces. Period. Not much required to make one flower; and perfect for using scraps.

This particular flower has an added bonus in that the outer print is a scrap from my grandmother's fabrics. Isn't it great? Grandma has been gone nearly 8 years now, yet I still am so frequently reminded of her as I work on various projects. I have no idea what quilt she made using this fabric, but I do know that she was exceedingly partial to blue. It's a sweet memory of Grandma when I come across pieces from her stash.

That pink center fabric is a leftover from a 2019 make I called Memoire a Paris, the same name as the line of fabric. Here is my introductory post. The fabric was rather pricey, and even though I took advantage of a sale I am glad not to waste this usable bit of it.

These two flowers have a very special pink fabric that I am pleased to be using in this quilt. When we learned that we'd be grandparents to a little girl, I went wild for buying pink fabric. I made our darling Cate a simple 9-patch quilt using this pink as the darker fabric. (see pic below) Matching the fabric with other colors has been sorta' fun, and I love seeing how the total effect works.

I am currently working on another flower in which I am using both of these fabrics. Fun! Someday years from now, I can tell Cate that her little 9-patch quilt has bits of leftovers sprinkled through the GFG quilt.

Each flower has the potential for another stroll down memory lane with whatever various remnant I happen to use next. 

Making hexie quilts obviously isn't the fastest way to use all the scraps, but it is one slow and enjoyable way to make them work. Like so many quilters, I have more scraps that I will ever be able to use, so you can be sure I employ some faster methods for using them. A balance of fast and slow sewing works; those gals at Slow Sunday Stitching see the value in slowing down every once in awhile, right? Go have a look at what everyone is working on this week. Thanks to Kathy for her weekly link-up!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

A Scrappy Rabbit Hole

 In a post from last week, I said, "Theoretically, all of these various strips and squares are separated into dedicated storage tubs or baskets. Truthfully, a lot of them are more-or-less stacked and simply corralled in a corner of my room." Click here to read the full post.

As I went about my day after tapping the 'publish' button, I found myself thinking about that corner with all my so-called organized squares and strips. I wondered just what kind of order I would find in that particular corner of the quilting room. As I said, theoretically, things were sorted - perhaps not neatly, but somewhat.

Oh gosh. What a rabbit hole. I had more of a mess on my hands than anything resembling order. You know how a simple task becomes an overwhelming JOB and you feel as though you've lost control? That's where this simple look-see took me. Golly.

The two containers in the picture above represent some of the corner's goodies. At the bottom of the picture a long bread basket contains 2.5 inch strips. That looks pretty neat, and besides the fact that the strips are toppling over the basket's sides, the organization is working pretty well.  Here's another view of the basket. 

That plastic tub, however, is an entirely different story. It contained stacks and piles of all manner of scraps. Maybe I toss things into it just to get it out of my sight? Like I would never have to deal with it if it couldn't be seen in my immediate line of sight? Ahem...

I know you want to investigate what all I found in this tub. I am not too proud to show you the mess - yes, I will share. 

These interesting blocks were among the buried treasures in that tub. I had to search back to 2017 to find the approximate date on which these were made. Claudia, my student from several years ago, had asked to learn about curved piecing, and this is from that day's lesson. 

Rather than just set them aside, I sewed some together, and now I need to figure out what I will do with them.

Three blocks with round centers. I have no idea how to proceed. So they join a ga-zillion other orphan blocks. I will show you that collection another day.

Moving on, this collection of related fabrics appeared. Check this post from last summer for details on the fabric and beginning the project. Check this post to see the finish. Shown in the picture was what was left over. Always the dilemma - what to do with leftovers!

I have a bunch of squares paired up for additional HSTs, and I really ought to go ahead and make them. I have no idea how they'd end up being used, but that would be a step in the direction of some sort of finish, right? 

For now, they are put aside while I think on it. Next up is a grouping of remaining orphan blocks and leftover bits from previous projects.

Besides these random blocks, I found a wide assortment of scrap fabric which I cut down into the prescribed sizes I have been cutting for weeks - strips and squares - and added them to the various tubs that are now actually pretty well organized by size, still in the corner of the sewing room.

I have talked a lot about scraps and controlling them, and when I read comments from followers, I see that I am not alone in realizing that controlling scraps is an ongoing concern for many a quilter. I love reading tips for managing the accumulation of scraps. Keep 'em coming!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

4-Patch Frenzy

For a couple of years now I have been making slow progress at taming the 30-year-old fabric scrap situation in the sewing room. What a task! For awhile, I will be very industrious, making great headway through the boxes, piles, tubs, and drawers. The job is so massive, and my commitment never seems to last very long. Another idea takes my focus away from scrap management; I leave the task unfinished and move on to something more exciting. Scrap management is drudgery work in comparison to a new quilt.

However, I am making progress, and having a specific quilt in mind for the scraps makes it so much easier to muster enthusiasm for the otherwise dull task.

This scrappy project has been in the works for over a year, and I have renewed focus on it since last week's quilt retreat. Those 4-patch centers have been my main focus this week.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I was up to my eyeballs in 2-inch squares! The bin they were stored in was quite full. I wanted to turn ALL the scrappy squares into 4-patches. Whew. Seemed like I'd never finish. But finish them I did.

The pile of chain-pieced 4-patches grew and grew behind my machine.

Finally, all were made. I took the pile over to the table to cut apart and stack. How many did I make?

As I cut them apart, I stacked them in groups of 10; the grand total came to 204. That means I started with 816 squares. Geesh. Next up: pressing them open.

The quilt I am making will not require 204 more blocks. Do you see how scraps work? The situation is ongoing. With each quilt I make, I amass more scraps that potentially will be cut down into 2" squares - the cycle never ends.

Well, it could end. 

I could stop quilting. Uhhh, no. End of that conversation.

I could stop saving scraps. Again, no. Fabric is too darned expensive; I can't bear the thought of tossing out a bit that still has potential. 

Mostly, I enjoy the challenge of using scraps to make pretty quilts. However, not all scrap quilts are created equal, in my opinion. Some are way too 'busy' or chaotic-looking. More and more I find myself subscribing to the 'less is more' philosophy. In previous posts, I've used the 'controlled scrappy' description. Yes, that is what appeals most.

Let's change topics real quick. Did you get snow this week? On Wednesday, we had about 2". Here's the maple tree in our front yard.

Tree leaves aren't out yet, but some of the undergrowth in the background is almost fully leafed out. The snow really clung to the branches and leaves. Made a pretty picture. It was all melted by afternoon. April in Ohio - snow is not frequent, but it's certainly not the latest snow we've ever had.

Happy Saturday!

Cutting Scraps

 With the price of quilting fabric getting so high in recent years, quilters are protective of their scraps. At least this one is. When cutting out a quilt, I try to conserve as much as possible, and I save pieces that some might consider discarding. Habits like mine, however, soon results in an overflow of scraps. And now, after 30-40 years of sewing and quilting, I have many boxes and tubs of scraps filling too much space in my sewing room.

Time to attack this problem!

It is not a new attack, however. I began 2020 with this same mindset, and I did make good progress. Then I stopped. My method, though, was working for me, so I am continuing it now as I return to scrap-busting.

 Whenever possible, I cut squares. I have determined that I am most likely to use 3 sizes: 2.5 inches, 2 inches, and 1.5 inches. Above is a tub of 2.5-inch squares. Some have already been sewn together in twos; they will eventually all be made into 4-patches for an as yet unknown quilt.

The 2-inch squares fill another bin - some have been stitched together (plus there's a 2-inch strip needing to be cut down).

I likewise have a tub dedicated to only the 1.5-inch squares. They are pretty small, but make a pretty block - I played around last year with these little guys, and came up with this pretty creation.

Now sometimes, the scraps I come across are bigger, and I really don't want all those 2.5-inch squares. When I happen upon larger pieces of scraps, I will cut 2.5-inch strips (like jelly rolls strips) or larger squares - 6" or 5" or 4" or 3".

The pile of strips is becoming quite large, and I really don't have a clue for using them at present. I will have to begin looking for a suitable project.

My bin of larger squares is not too full; I definitely have scraps that will be good candidates for these sizes, and since I am getting a bit overloaded with jelly roll strips. Maybe I should consider doing more of these larger squares as an alternative.

 Here are more jelly roll strips - Yikes! - that's a lot of scraps! And a lot of future quilts as yet untold!

It just so happens that I scrolled upon an Instagram pic from All People Quilt that dealt with fabric storage. I discovered to my delight that I am on the right track with some of my methods of storage. I think you might like to check it out.

I have been making pretty good headway on my newest start of 2021 - Lucy, a pattern by Carrie Nelson from her book Farmhouse Favorites. I plan to bring you up to speed on that soon. I chose a wide variety of floral fabrics for my Lucy; Sharon will be making one with me, and she has chosen French General reds and creams for her version.

Hope you are enjoying some sunshine where you are! After about 11 cloudy, dreary days in a row, we have had a couple of gloriously sunny days - so very welcome to we Ohioans!

Happy Quilting, Friends!