Had to Sidetrack the Quilting Train for an Express Run

Finished this flannel top yesterday and went to an LQS for the backing and batting today.  Will be finishing it this next week (tying it) so I can send it to its' recipient ASAP.  It will be keeping her warm during several necessary hospital visits in the near future...

Approximately 40" x 64"

Some of you might recognize the fabric from another quilt that I am Still HQing....

This may not be the last you see of this fabric combination. Whatever backing/binding fabric I have left over will be added to the remnants you see here and may be seen again in who knows what type of configuration next..

No, that white does not go on and on and on down the page....see I can type under the picture.....

Decision: Plaid Quilt - Maybe Two.....

Now that I have finished my Pinwheel Quilt...see picture further on...I have decided to tackle my plaids again..

I have so many and such variety....the only thing in common with all of them is that they are Plaid...

Big plaid, little plaid, lots of green plaid, I plan to use them all.....and probably won't even put a dent in the supply... I May want to get rid of the rest of them after I finish the (2) quilts I have in mind.  Or, I might want to wait until my eyes become uncrossed working with them first. 

And I haven't even dug into the container yet...

My first plaid quilt will be a repeat pattern that I liked and made...shown here with the first cuts.....

Don't know what the borders will look like, but the plaids will be in the middle section along with their white or light beige companions.  I thought a diagonal placement would work okay.  I plan to add one more row and make this a little bigger...it originally was about 50 x 50......Will be using my Easy Angle ruler...once I refresh my memory....

There is another pattern I have in mind.  It is on the cover of a catalog I received from Annie's....large light blocks with angled rectangles within....That is for later...if I still decide to use the plaids...

I promised myself not to start a mental list of to-do quilts....if I can help it...

Oh, the little piles to the right up above?  That is for my leader and ender bow ties.  I thought while I was cutting, I might as well cut a little more...they will be incorporated with the bow tie quilt I will Eventually make.

List, but not listing....

Now is there a conflict somewhere in the above two paragraphs????

A Finished Quilt

One you have seen in progress....

 

It is bathing as I type,,,,

Do ya'll cross your fingers and hope the quilts turn out looking okay after the first wash?  Color Catchers, of course, are in there doing their job.  I am hoping the pinwheels keep their shape and all is okay.  I'll pass this through the dryer very quickly so as not to drip and will lay it out to air dry after that.  Then into a box and away it goes...

 

Confessions of a Undisciplined Stash Hoarder

Situation:

I realize all quilters are hoarders in one degree or another.....it goes with the territory and is necessary.  We need the thrill of digging and finding fabric we forgot we had...

But when you dig and dig and dig, you eventually and inevitably end up with a mixture of colors, patterns, and styles that just don't go together....
 
When that happens, I often give up on "stash looking" and start buying fabric for whatever project I am contemplating...

A vicious circle...and Expensive!

Not only in fabric but containers as well....

 I admit to saving all the smaller pieces for future use in who knows what project, as well as taking advantage of free fabric from quilters who know their limitations in time and energy.
 
This is not new...I was aware of it before...remember my Mini-Giveaways in the past???...

 I have had an awakening this last week...never mind the details..

Fact of life and no Kidding:  I'm 73 (almost 74) years of age and most of this treasure in cloth will never be used by "moi".  I shouldn't be so Greedy!...

Conclusion:

I probably will continue to buy cloth...however...I have decided to Really Try and use what I have...

To no longer think of the recipient first then the quilt....Instead, I will make the quilt, or several, and then let the recipient choose which one is wanted.  This will allow me to pick freely any color combinations, styles, and patterns I want...

I will be free to try new things without constraints.....if no one wants the result, the charity/comfort/donated quilt pile grows...

This is not only saving money, but maybe in a couple of years, I will be able to tame this Mess on Shelves (aka: stash) to a slight degree.

First couple of ideas.....another plaid quilt And ....see the fabric..a Pink/Tan quilt.

Or....maybe I'll just take a container at a time and see what develops.....

I see a future of flurry of fabric flying freely ......(had to type this)...

Thanks for dropping by....

Border Change!

This is SO Much Better!

Softer, not so demanding, all in all, a better look than the last post.

Finished Top - Pinwheels

Size ~~ 32 x 49

8" blocks finished

Ya' know,,,,for a new block experience, these pinwheels were actually somewhat easy to make....a bit tedious while lining up the edges for the seam, but otherwise OK.  

Of course, I only made 8 of them..and my trusty 50+ yo Singer sewed through all the bulk!

Each pinwheel seam is double sewed....one when I attached the wing to each block and one when I attached the blocks together...I changed my stitch length to smaller so there would be holding power.

I am pleased with the color combo....

I taking this along tomorrow when I head to Giddings, Texas (about 2 hrs away) with my quilt group to Gerline's, a lovely quilt shop there. If time allows, we might even go to the other local LQS, Around the Block, which is in town. The thick seams need to nestle into the batting the best they can so it can be used as a quilt if desired...

Also, Really, I am happy with the colors, but look at the outer border...it does bring out the green in the blocks, but I am thinking some other fabric would look better....So I am keeping an open mind and an eye out. If I don't, I will always wonder.... It wouldn't take long to change.

Thanks for droppin' by........

Pinwheels Spinnin'

There was a stack of fabric on my shelves for who knows how long.  Almost every time I looked at them I thought to myself that I had to make Something out of them soon...they were tugging at me.

The chance came.....after tweaking the pile with some additions from a recent LQS trip, these will be joining their com-padres in a  baby quilt.

 I have all but one pinwheel block done (finished size 8") ...4 each....and will soon decide which one will be my 5th wheel,,,,,so to speak....have to see how they look when laid out.

Because of the thickness of the pinwheels, I plan to tie this quilt, using all 6 strands of embroidery thread....short strings....probably will tack each of the folded corners + a few other places....

Yes, there will be borders...

 

New Month, New Projects, and.....Finally! Progress on a Long Time Waiting....

Welcome August!

A LQS trip yesterday resulted in finding the necessary fabric to complete my stash hunt for this next project....

This will have to be a quickie...kinda..... and I will use, in part, these luscious looking goodies...

Peach and "Suede" colors.....makes me think of ice cream.....

At the same time, I am starting another Leader/Ender project....If you remember, I have also started a tumbler stash using my Go Baby...

I have a long way to go before I am ready to use these, ,,,

so I am kitting up some blocks and will be making bow ties out of some scraps and use them as my L/E project in the meantime... no, they aren't sewn yet....

Hopefully the bow ties won't become untied.

This is only about 12 blocks/to/be....and there is still so much of the same fabric left! I have only semi-small remnants and I could have made oodles more...I still am keeping what is left for something else....

Hopefully I won't be overrun by L/E projects instead of main ones....

Talking about a Main Project,,,,look here......

Yes, it has started!  the sewing machine saga has reached another chapter!  My DH is measuring the foam box so it can be smaller (and hopefully less $$ to send) and still protect the machine.  Won't go into detail, but he is going to cut out the excess space and "slide" the other edge next to the machine.  Oh, it is upside down now because the cover is on it and the latches bite into the foam a little.  It was easier and less messy than if we pushed the machine right side up all the way down into the box...we will be labeling the box "This Side Up."

Maybe we can send it soon.....

See Ya...