I'M SUPPOSED TO BE PACKING!

I've been doing some sorting in my sewing room, in preparations for packing some projects to take south.  Of course, I've stopped and stitched along the way!

Several years ago, a member of my southern quilt group gave me a bag of fabric, and cut wedges.  I started to sew the wedges into rings a while ago, but the project was pushed aside.  The wedges were cut from voile, and had almost see-through areas in the print.  Instead of pushing them aside again, I stitched all the wedges and was able to make 3 rings.   Since one of the fabrics was white, and any background would have shaded the fabric, I cut 3 white on white fabric squares. Included in the bag was a large piece of a funky stripe, so I used that to make the setting triangles, and binding.

The runner is completed, but needs more quilting.  I hope to get that done today, and then maybe I can concentrate on packing.  I think the only way to get that done is to pack up my sewing machine!!!!!

A FINISH FEELS GOOD!

Even though it is a small finish......  My Fiesta Runner is completed.

If felt good to get the few remaining parts from a 2 year old "one block wonder" quilt off my design wall, and into a project!

I used Superior Thread's Monopoly to applique and outline stitch the coloured shapes, and then Rainbows variegated thread to machine quilt the background of the runner.  

I'm trying to squeeze in a bit more sewing before I have to pack everything up for our annual trip south, but the days get filled very quickly.  The most difficult job is to decide which projects I want to work on over the winter months, and to try to remember all the fabrics, patterns etc., that I think I might use!  DH says that one of these years, we'll overload our van and the tires will pop off! 

Back to sorting......

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

I am in mid-pack for our winter visit in the south.  My machine is packed, ready for travel, along with lots of projects to work on over the winter.  My threads, rulers, cutters, and tons of other items too numerous to mention are packed into totes, ready to be loaded in our van.

I have 2 design walls in my basement studio.  This is the smaller one, next to my sewing desk.  I have pinned up some orphan blocks, and have been hoping for some inspiration.  The panel on the bottom left is a tiny "stack n whack" panel, made from leftover fabric.  I might have to finish it as a miniature, or a small wall hanging.
My larger design wall is in the narrow hallway opposite the staircase, and is almost impossible to photograph!

First is my hourglass leader and ender project - I'll continue with this next year....

 When I was making my table topper for my guild's Christmas dinner, it was just as easy to make 2, so the top is in waiting for quilting.

I found the bunny, eggs and flowers appliques in a bag, leftover from a previous project, and had the basket block from a shop hop kit.  I appliqued the parts, and hope to make it into a table topper in the spring.

I used this pretty floral stripe to make a mitered border on a quilt, and just couldn't throw away the cut-offs!

Leftover half units from the one block wonder quilt I made last year.  I'm hoping that inspiration hits, so I can use these pieces.

Right now, they all have to wait until spring, and by then, I'm sure I'll have a few leftovers from my winter quilting to add to the mix!



Fabric used this week  1.75 yards
Fabric used year to date  112.25 yards
Fabric added this week  0 yards
Fabric added year to date  52 yards
Net used 2017  60.25 yards

I'm linking with Small Quilts and Doll Quilts here, and Love, Laugh Quilt: Monday here!

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

I'm in mid pack, which means that there are piles of things everywere.  I brought some "kits" south in the fall with plans to complete them, but totally forgot that I had left several the year before!  I decided to sort through everything, and decide which ones were remaining again this time.I thought that pictures might help me to remember next fall, when I begin packing once more.  These are all baby quilts, mostly using panels I have collected over the years.  
Kit 1 is a narrow panel, and I've left an assortment of green fabric, along with a gold with colourful stars.  The fabric on the right will be binding, and the flannel is white with tiny green dots.

Kit 2 is a baby panel based on Twinkle Little Star.  It is very pastel, and the stripe on the left will be binding, with the baby print flannel will be the backing.

Kit 3 is a panel of calico animal toys, and shares the same binding and backing fabric.

Kit 4 is a panel with toys riding on a train, and the backing is a train print flannel that I've had for some time.  The binding will be made from the primary coloured stripe. 







Kit 5 is a cute panel  with pink gingham backing flannel.  I'll have to hunt for an appropriate binding fabric - I'll check my stash when I return north.

Hopefully I'll remember that they are here waiting to be made when we are ready to return next fall.

Check out all the creativity shared at Judy's blog, Patchwork Times.

STASH REPORT SUNDAY

Fabric used this week  16.625 yards

Fabric used year to date  109.375 yards

Fabric added this week  0 yards

Fabric added  year to date  33.75 yards

Net used 2016  75.625 yards

My last two finishes added to my "used" total this week.  

I have a neighbour who is packing up her home, ready for sale, and she gifted me with several bags of batting pieces, and fabric.  Instead of keeping any of it, I found a neighbour who is teaching sewing and quilting at a local Womens' Shelter, so the whole lot is heading her way!

I stitched my final blocks for my guild BOM yesterday, and now all the fabrics are packed into a large tote bag, along with the blocks.  I rolled them onto the tube that holds my slider for machine quilting, so they won't get crushed on the way north.

I'm slowly organizing my fabrics, and deciding which to leave for next winter, and which to return home to work on over the summer.  I keep a list of all the tools and rulers that stay here, and I'll be packing the rest.  

Of course, since we're leaving soon, there are lots of get-togethers with friends and neigbours, and I'm trying to use up the remaining meat and veggies before we head out.  We have several neighbours who live here full time, and they keep a good watch on all the Snowbirds' homes while we are north for the summer.

Check out all the progress shared at Judy's blog, Patchwork Times.

SORTING AND PACKING

Next week we'll be making our annual trek south to warmer weather.  This requires lots of packing - a quilter needs her stuff!

Of course, this requires a lot of guess-work, as I'm never quite sure what I want to work on for the next few months.  The pile of fabric at the back right consists of 20 pillowcase pieces, along with the coordinating border for each piece.  The heart print has been in my stash for a long time, and I think it needs to be made into a bright, happy kid's quilt.  The neutrals are for a project using scrap 9-patch blocks and a scrappy braid.

The right hand pile is made up of some panels for baby quilts, along with some flannel backing, and fabric for binding and scraps for extra blocks.  
The pastel pile is set aside to make some little girl quilts.  I usually make the bright quilts and "boy" prints to donate to my guild, but this fabric was calling my name.

Finally, there is my collection of blue fabrics.  I'm using them to use for my guild's BOM project for this season.

There are 2 different projects, one is a "modern quilt", but I'm doing the traditional one!

 This is the 3rd block that I have completed so far.  October there were 2 to complete, to leave time in the guild's year to make all the blocks.

I think it is time to pack up my machine, so I won't be doing any sewing for over a week!  I'm looking forward to seeing old friends, and new, including members of my southern quilt group.  The bad news is that I have to buy fabric for my son & daughter-in-law's king size quilt, ''Storm at Sea'', so my numbers will take a hit very soon!  I also have to get the publicity out about our pillowcase workshop day, once I confirm dates to use the clubhouse - my group often shares the space for part of each quilting day, but I'd like to have it reserved in the hope that more of the residents join us for the day.

Off to choose some books and patterns to pack.......

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

My design wall is empty!!!!  We had a great visit with our family for the past 4 days, so no quilting went on.  I just finished a vest to be donated to  my guild's boutique at the quilt show next June.

Of course, due to Murphy's Law, we had problems with one of the toilets when we had extra people staying in our townhouse.  DH had to remove the toilet for a day to make some repairs.  Couldn't leave it disconnected, so reinstalled it by night time.  Sunday after our family departed, I helped him to remove the toilet and the flooring (thank heavens for the vinyl floating flooring that we installed), and we have the dehumidifier and and a fan thoroughly drying the subfloor.  We'll re-install things back to normal tonight or tomorrow.

Since we will be heading south at the end of the month, I've been spending time making up kits for projects I want to complete over the winter.  I have some special ones for our first grandchild, due in January!  I've even dusted off my dressmaking skills and plan to make some baby clothes for the new arrival.  I have some older patterns for baby items, and while some of the things are very dated, there are some great patterns for basics, including sleepers.  I remember all the "stretch terry " sleepers that mine wore, but it seems like most of the commercial sleepers are is cotton knits.  Guess I'll have to dig out my ball point needles for knits too!

We have planned to visit the future parents in 10 days, to help set up the nursery (including shopping for some of their must have items).  I'll probably be sending items north all winter too!  We're excited to have our first grandchild - can you tell?

Check out the wonderful work shared at Judy's blog, Patchwork Times.

HEXAGON FRIDAY

This will be my last report for a while - we're on the road next week!

I managed to finish the first side border this week.  I did some stitching in the car on our road trip to Niagara, and in between checking lists, packing, and making my sewing room more tidy!

I still have 5 more units to stitch to the main quilt top!  I'm beginning to wonder if I'll have enough of the fabric I've been using for the outer edge, so I found two pieces that are the same colour and hue, and I think I'll use them for the top and bottom outer edge.
I'm hoping I'll get some sewing time in on our trip south, but I'm usually too busy looking at scenery, and watching for signs of interesting places to stop along the way!

HEXAGON FRIDAY

I managed to finish 16 of the 24 units for the 1st of 4 borders.  I decided to stitch them together first, then I'll have a marathon sewing session to add them to the side of the quilt.

I finished all my gifts that need to be delivered before we hit the road.  I made some neat luggage tags for some friends and family members who will be travelling in the near future. 
(Pattern found here.)  I could have designed my own, but there are so many available on the internet, it was easier following someone else's directions.  I plan to make more, to donate to my guild's boutique at the next show (2015).

DH gets annoyed with me, as I hate to pack up all my sewing stuff until the last minute - I might need to stitch something!

STASH REPORT SUNDAY

Fabric used this week  12.25 yards

Fabric used year to date  68.25 yards

Fabric added this week  0 yards

Fabric added year to date  33.25 yards

Net used 2013  35 yards

I managed to finish the quilting and binding on the 2 smallest quilts of the four that I had pin-basted.  I quilted in the morning and packed in the afternoons!  Pictures of the quilts, Noah's Ark and Paddington Bear are found by clicking the "Quilts 2013" link that is under the banner on my blog!

I also did basic stitch-in-the-ditch quilting on the next largest quilt, and added the binding, and quilted the borders on my version of Dawn & Dusk, and added the binding to it as well.  Quilts are much easier to pack when they have finished edges!

I still have one more bin to load, then decide how I'm going to pack the finished quilts.  We also have to pack clothing and our stuff for the trip north.  Our "motel" bag, my computer, my activity bag (books, sewing projects etc.,) and the cooler will be packed in the morning before we do our final walk through of the house.  DH made a "closing the house" checklist for friends and family who had used the place for vacations in years past, and it works well for us as well.  This prevents thoughts of items forgotten when we are several hours away!

Check out all the reports at Judy's blog, Patchwork Times.     

PACKING AND PLANNING

My packing has been going slowly - I still have my quilting group on Wednesday, and after that, I can sort the tools and begin some serious packing.

In the mean time, I've been doing some planning for the wedding outfit that I'll be making for my future daughter-in-law when we return north.  Her sister is an author and artist, and they sat down and sketched the dress, with front and back views.  Instead of a veil, she wants to wear a fingertip length cape with a hood.

When we were heading south, we stopped at Mary Jo's Cloth Shop in Gastonia NC, where I picked up several samples of laces to send for the bride's approval.  Some were more sheer than others, and she picked my favourite!  Now I have to figure out how to turn it into a cape with a hood.  I've done some internet research, and I'm off to Joann's to buy some bridal tulle to play with.  I want to have something to test fit, when I take her measurements for her dress.  The dress design is very simple and classic - it will suit her beautifully!  I can hardly wait to get started.