Flying Truck & Tractors

As usual, I found the driving part of the trip long (the Canada/Cape Cod route), but we did see some interesting things along the way! The flying truck & tractors is on Route 9 in Maine - near the Calais end (Route 9 can seem endless, but is beautiful with lots of hills, rocks, mountain views, old farmhouses, etc.). The farmers are burning the fields and you can see the smoke in the tractor photo. A good portion of the fields are already done but we saw some good fires as we drove by.

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So - now onward to the unpacking and getting re-organized after being gone for the past few weeks! More photos and news to come.

Spring Scraps

Well, another gray, snowy day here. To brighten things up a bit (at least in my sewing area!) - Scrappy Bargello - all in spring-y colors. Pattern from Bonnie at http://www.quiltville.com/ -

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Here is a photo of how it looked once my strips were sewn together... DH thought it looked like a huge kitchen rag rug! I just smiled and didn't explain... but, now I am done with 3 stratas and he can see the design emerging! To me - that is always a fun part - seeing the design come together.

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I was surprised at how much sewing it took to get to this point! Sew, sew, sew, but I am making progress! I am not as fast as you Bargello Bowl sewers, but ah - yes, you do see that certain Little Boy on my top... with an assortment of toys on the floor! And don't you know - he just LOVES this particular top. Has decided that it is the perfect size for him in case he grows as big as a certain uncle - he will still fit under it. How can I argue with that logic? So - it will be his.

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I've had people ask me before how I pick my colors... for this one -I picked anything that looked bright and springy. I used lots of odd-ball fat quarters that I bought last year and alternated them with some older fabrics especially those medium values that are so hard for me to use when I am looking for contrast. For this one I didn't try to "match" or keep track of what I was using. But I know I do a little, subconciously. So, I sewed the strips together in segments of 10 and then once all those units were together - made the 6 stratas of 40 from there - just to be sure there was a good mix.

Other quilts - I will pick all fall colors. Or I will use just blues, or just greens, etc. For my log cabins I've used only lights & darks but in every color you can imagine and most of my lights were pastel calicos. By doing a little bit of color planning before cutting out a scrap quilt I am usually pretty happy with the end result... without having to go to the fabric store and buy a ton of fabric. Once I decide on a pattern/color scheme - if I am near a fabric store I like to pick up a few newer fabrics to add in to the mix to keep it interesting for me. And I almost always have to buy border, backing and background fabric. But the main part of my quilt - almost always comes from what I have on hand. At least until I use up my fabrics!!!

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Oh - and here is a photo of the pile of strips it took to make this top when I first started sewing them together - a tiny little bit really when you think about it - to make a good sized quilt. Actually I have plenty of strips left over in this color combination so I just might have to make another Bargello or spring-scrappy top with another pattern. I keep picking away at my stash, you know? I think I am down to about 2 biggish sized Rubbermaid totes of fabric now, plus several small containers of pre-cut strips and 1 bag of strings (at least on this continent). I have a couple of totes in Austria too, but not that much because everything over there - I had to mail! And I swear - the totes are smaller over there too so they should only count 1/2 as much! On the otherhand - as my stash slowly shrinks - my pile of finished quilts is getting very large!!!

Anyway - I have 3 stratas all done now so hopefully it won't be much longer before I have the main part of this top finished. My schedule is pretty busy right now so I am not sure when I will get it done. I am anxious to see it all come together though because I am liking it so far!

Easy fleece hat

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Fleece hat - McCall's 4234. I need to make a few modifications and will make another, but overall, I am pretty happy with it. And Little Boy likes wearing it - which is the important thing! His favorite winter hat got misplaced (now found, phew) so I quickly had to make him this one...
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In case you are wondering about my future list of changes... next time I will TRIM the inside seam of the band so it isn't so bulky and add a row of topstitching ... also - the band goes up in the back - leaving the neck exposed, so I will bring that down. And the front of the band is a bit low - so will make that go a tiny bit higher to keep it out of the eyes. The bottom could be snugger to go around the ears better (we have lots of wind on the shore) so I will just cut the bottom a bit smaller next time around but leave the top the same so the crown will still fit perfectly. AND - this is the big thing here - there are no tassles at the top - got to add those!!! See, just a few little changes and it will be perfect!
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He is catching snowflakes on his tongue in this photo!
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The beach looked like this yesterday... we actually like the beach in the winter - we never have trouble getting front row parking, LOL. And yes, I do keep beach toys in the back of my car... year round.
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I've got to say - I LOVE being able to sew my son clothing in BRIGHT colors - makes him easy to spot! He has matching orange/yellow pants... and now he wants a vest too. We had some people in this week from NY and they were oohing and ahhing over his orange/yellow pants with big square pockets - they swore up and down that I could sell them in Manhattan. Who knew my son was so stylish!!!