Stashbusting Sunday

At some point last year I cut out all these blue fabrics for this pattern - it is called Rainbow Around the World and the directions I am using are by Robert Callaham - don't you just love it when someone figures out the modern way to cut/measure/etc. and oldie but goodie quilt pattern? Because I sure wouldn't want to cut each and every individual square!!!

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The strip sets are on my bed - on top of my favorite little heart quilt.

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This quilt calls for 3.5 yards white (I am using a small scale red/white/blue print), 6 yards assorted prints (mine are all blue) and 2.5 yards green (red for me). It will finish at 83X83.

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Not sure when I will get a chance to work on it some more... work has been super busy and I've had long hours. I am tired. Too tired to think about borders or settings or even making blocks, so strip sewing has been good. Fills my little need to sew without being complicated. And tomorrow I have a good break in my schedule so Little Boy and I are going to make a run for it - we are going away for a short overnight trip - combining business with a bit of fun! I am really looking forward to it.

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Here is a photo from the magazine of the quilt I am making.

Crazy Quilts

Here are some photos of the beautiful old crazy quilts that were on display at our quilt show earlier this month. And a few close-ups of the detail - I liked the little chicken saying No Pie!

We also had some modern takes on the crazy quilt too - a cake! and wall hanging.

And finally - a little project I've been working on... I've made 12 of these 6.5" squares - foundation pieced on phone book pages. I won't be making any more this size because they get fiddly to work with when they are so big, yuck. But, I perserved to 12 and will call it good - these blocks are going to be centered either in sawtooth stars or hole in the barn door blocks. NOT my original plan, but you know what - it is always OK to change your plan! 12 will be just fine and by the time I add the rest of the block components, sashings and borders - the quilt will be bed size which is what I was shooting for anyway!

A little fabric shopping

I was lucky enough to have enough time to do a bit of fabric shopping this last trip away - Marden's and Joanne's. Most of the fabric is from Marden's. Here is a photo of my purchases...

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Left - hopefully this stripe will work for a current project. Thread, elastic (for LB's pants) and interfacing - boring I know, but all necessary! 2 fat quarters (I actually got 3, but 1 isn't in the photo for some reason), 1/3 yard cut of mottled fabric that LB liked and the bottom 2 (turquois and rainbow-ish ziggy zaggy) are fabrics for inner/outer borders of the big Scrappy Bargello I made this spring. Next row over - 3 small cuts of novelties (the helicopters and construction trucks - for LB - he wants either a strippy quilt or pillowcases), a nice stripped twill and cordoroy (both fabric for LB's pants). Last row over - 1 yard of the blue star fabric and I think 1/3 yard cuts of the red and stripped fabrics. Should keep me busy for awhile and add a few newer fabrics to my working stash.

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I am finding that I really like to buy 1/3 yard cuts... I learned a long time ago that it takes AGES to use up 1 yard of fabric. Then I started buying 1/4 yard and got wrinkly noodles everytime I put them through the wash. And since I am trying to USE up my stash and just add a bit of new stuff here and there - 1/2 yard cuts seem excessive. So, 1/3 works for me. The average price of a yard of fabric at Marden's is $2.88 so 1/3 yard cuts are VERY kind to the budget too - grin!

My Pinwheel Quilt

"Ooooh, it is pretty Momma! Is it for me???!!! Can I get on it? Can I? Can I? Can I?"

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Now, I know that some of you have a dog or cat that likes to get into your quilt photos... I have a darling Little Boy. Obviously he REALLY likes this little pinwheel quilt that just arrived from being quilted!!!... You might remember this quilt - I think it was last summer that I finished it up and then I was wondering about the small size, should I grow it, should I add borders??? Keeping in mind - I had pretty much run out of the fabrics I was using. Finally I decided that it was a fine size, all done - and sent it off. As these photos will show - finished is definately much better than on the closet shelf!!!
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Anyway - here is the series of photos I took this morning - trying to get a nice, flat photo of the small quilt - Hummm - not exactly nice and flat, but certainly 100% precious. LOL!

"Wheeeee!!!!"

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And then he just had to climb right under it to check out the snuggle factor. It passed. With flying pink colors!

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So what do you think? I am thinking that this quilt isn't leaving the house??
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And, a close up of the quilting/backing. Not even backed in his favorite flannel or fleece, so I am a bit surprised!

I actually had a few more quilts to photo too, but well - you see what happens! More to come later!

This quilt - all from SCRAPS except the solid blue and backing!

Many Miles

These 2 photos are on Route 9 in Maine.

2 full days of travel to get there... 2 full days of travel to get back - so 4 days of our 7 day trip spent on the road. Sigh. It is a long trip. Oh but wait - this time around it was even longer because my truck window got stuck down. Yes it did. 1 garage along the way spent 2.5 hours trying to at least get it up for me, but no such luck. Finally they taped heavy clear plastic over it and then I had to listen to that thing snap and crackle for miles and miles at highway speeds. And then spent a good part of another day getting it fixed at the Chevy dealership... needed a new switch. And 1/2 of another day at another garage waiting on Big Boy (our RV). Except turns out that Big Boy needs a pretty major brake job so we ended up leaving him at the garage for a bit.

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A few trip observations...

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*Boston at 5 pm on a Friday is a bit congested. I don't mind driving in traffic (although I prefer to avoid it) and if I give LB the camera - it keeps him entertained! He captured some great images this time around (OK, so I had to delete a ton, but you got to take lots of photos to get a few good ones). Proof that he is the photographer - check out the mirror shot! I just love that bridge - isn't it beautiful?! Oh - tunnel and bridge photos NOT taken at 5 pm - no traffic in those photos. The 1st photo would be the 5 pm shot.

*Pizza Hut has a great personal pan pizza meal for something like $6.99 that includes salad bar and drink - cheaper than drive thrus!

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*Why is part of 295 in Maine closed in the summer??? That is just plain crazy.

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*Route 9 in Maine has about 20 miles of US flags on every other telephone pole. That's alot of flags!

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*Maine is a popular family vacation spot - on a Saturday the road is FULL of pop-up campers, cars with many bikes, kayaks, canoes. Fun to see!

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*The bad news is that all the hotels in Augusta and Waterville practically DOUBLE their prices for the next few weeks - it is summer camp time and lots of parents coming and going to drop-off/pick-up kids. The hotels are taking advantage of it to the max - even the dumpy little dive-y hotels are outrageous (I won't stay at a hotel with exterior doors anyway, so it is a little bit beside the point, but still)! We drove and drove and drove on the way north - all the way past Bangor before we got to a nice hotel with reasonable rates. Bangor was full because of a Bingo tournament - lots of tour buses from Canada.
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*The service plazas in Maine have nice restrooms, but horribly overpriced fast-food places - and NO picnic tables. The state information centers have great picnic tables which were loaded up with the families that plan ahead - toting coolers. Little Boy and I picnic the 1st day (while the food is still fresh/cool) and eat out the 2nd day on our trips. See Pizza Hut note!

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*Mass. has got to be one of the worst states ever for lack of rest areas with bathrooms. I already know this so plan ahead, but I just had to get my little complaint in here.

All this for a bit of family visiting time. And a bit of cleaning, shopping and cooking for my Dad. Oh, right and all that garage stuff too. But it is always good to see family and we had a good visit.

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Oh wait - that JFK guy isn't a part of our family, LOL!

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And we did squeeze in a bit of shopping too - so got some items crossed off our list! We were lucky enough to even hit Marden's for a bit of fabric!

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And, while the tomatoes and plants are certainly looking GREAT on Cape Cod - poor LB was sneezing and wheezing as soon as we hit Bangor and had to take allergy medicine the entire time. Plus - the bugs just ate him alive. He is covered in welts and despite wearing a hat most of the time - even has scabs on his scalp. Poor thing. He is one happy boy to be back home to our colder Northern climate... over 90 degrees on the Cape and a mere 60 along the Fundy Shore. All our fog probably does wonders for his allergies, who is to say? But, he is definately much better here. Thankfully. Although - our tomatoes are certainly pathetic because of the climate, but you can't have everything. Guess I can always buy my tomatoes at the store if it means my son can breathe better.

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And at the end of every journey, everyone should be so lucky as to have a rainbow waiting for them (not to mention a happy husband!) About that rainbow - let's just say it is a good thing that I got the windshield wiper blade replaced before heading back. It rained off and on from Portsmouth, NH all the way north, phew.

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I'm happy to be back. Did I mention, I am HAPPY to be back. Oh yes, I am very happy to be back. Today - I have plans to do very little!

June Sewing

As much as I love piecing quilts, I have some other very important sewing in my schedule. My son loves hand-made clothes!

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Here he is in his newest pair of Seersucker pants, running in a relay race for Canada Day! I was especially pleased that I actually remembered to match up the plaid on these!

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Does any fabric say SUMMER more than Seersucker? Seersucker is very cool against the skin to wear and I just love that I made LB 2 pairs of pants using it - keeps that precious skin protected against the sun! He was a bit overdue for pants, but I misplaced my pattern, whaaa! And just TRY to get this boy into store bought pants - trust me it isn't happening! But Fabricland was having a 99 cent sale on patterns this month and we just so happened to have Fabricland on our list of shopping this month, so I picked up the pattern again. While I was at it - I also made him a pair of fleece pants too.

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I've been using this pants pattern for him ever since he was 2 years old.... cordoroy, fleece, twills and now Seersucker. You know, sometimes I look through patterns and think that I will try a new pants pattern for him, but really, WHY? This pattern is easy for me to make and comfy for him to wear - and best of all - he likes every pair of pants I've ever made for him using this pattern. The only thing that he does not like are the low pockets so I've started to put them up higher for him. If I am using fleece, I usually will add a different color fleece scrap across the pocket for a fun trim. I also use a wider elastic than called for.

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In addition to the replacement pattern, at Fabricland we bought fleece, buttons, thread, cordoroy and another cut of Seersucker (I had 1 cut set aside that I bought last fall when it was on sale). And some floral to make a bag for Elmo. I also got some stretch twill for a skirt for me and knit print for a top for me... they were having this crazy sale where you buy 1 meter and get 2 meters of the same fabric for free. So, I have 3 meters of each! Now, as much as I do like the fabric I can't imagine making 3 meters worth of clothing of each... so I have decided to make my skirt and top, maybe a simple jacket (if so - got to add lining fabric to my list) and then make pillows with some of it. Got to get zippers! No quilting fabric at all purchased in June.

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June sewing was mostly for LB - 2 pairs of Seersucker pants, 1 pair of fleece pants, 2 pairs of flannel PJ's, fleece jacket, skirt for me, attach hanging sleeves onto 2 quilts for show, knit 1 pair of socks (LB's). No quilting! Still have to make up another pair of fleece pants, another fleece jacket, cordoroy pants and Elmo's bag. And he wants a fleece teddy bear too. But I am done with the "urgent" stuff!

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The flannel PJ's were an absolute MUST. I can't tell you how many times I've made up this pattern for him - he usually gets 2 pairs at a time, but with him growing and growing so fast - I only made him 1 pair last time around and then the previous 2 pairs - his legs were sticking out. Fortunately, my sister had sent me 1 pair of hand-me-downs from her son (we both use the same pattern!) so that bought me a little bit of time, phew! It is never hot here so he sleeps in flannel PJ's year round. This time around he picked out orange flower buttons for the yellow pair and I used snaps that you hammer down for the blue pair. I'm not sure I will use the snaps again because I am not sure the fabric will hold up to repeated pulling... but it was fun to try them out. I really don't like handsewing at all - I've even figured out how to sew buttons on with my sewing machine!

About that fleece jacket... he likes it; I don't. Ah well. I thought that the sleeves are a bit too poofy for a boys cut. And SHORT. I really should have held the pattern up to him to make sure of the length, but I didn't. So, I don't expect that he will be in it for too long and I really wanted him to have it through the fall... which is why I am going to make him another one - longer this time around, taper the shoulder a bit and bring in that sleeve top a bit. Maybe I should just try a different pattern for a fleece jacket. I bought the fleece at Wal-Mart (instead of Fabricland) and I noticed that it is already starting to show signs of wear - grrr! Usually I buy very good quality fleece for LB, but he really, really loved this print so I caved in. Lesson learned - for my hard wearing little muchkin - only good fleece!

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And - my skirt... I made this pattern last June out of duponi silk. This time around I used one of those slippery poly prints - I love it - never wrinkles! BUT - I was going to make a matching tank top and duh, cut the fabric wrong so now don't have enough fabric for that plan. Oh well, inexpensive goof as the fabric was only 99 cent a meter. Usually the thread/notions are more expensive than the fabric when I sew clothes for myself because I just love the 99 cent racks! I also cut out a pair of pants for myself, but have yet to sew them.

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So, that was my June sewing. NOT sure exactly how I managed all of that because my work schedule has been busy, I had that rotten cold (which finally went away) and LB was so sick with his ear infection. But then again, sewing IS how I relax! And you have to understand - when I sew something for LB - well, he stands at my sewing machine to collect the pins as I sew... he is so anxious for his new clothes to be done. So - no procrastinating once I start!

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Since we are now well into July - I have been working on a quilting project - 1 month away from quilting was enough!!! Here's a sneak peak - on my dark blue carpet so just imagine a lighter background, ok!