Sewing Saturday....

 

wonky star with clocks and scissors

For this week's sewing round up, I worked on three projects. 

1. Table Scraps table runner in yellow for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge but using also B&W scraps

2. Made wonky star blocks and improv log cabin for my Stay at home Round Robin

3. Finished the improv log cabin blocks to go with the hand pieced diamonds, and that section is now able to leave the design wall! (sorry no pics today)

Let's start with the round robin... I am leaving options open on placement for now, but the stars and log cabins were this week's addition

I'm using some of my cute sewing fabrics and colorful scraps... I just love seeing these colors!!!!

love these fabrics!

see the sideways sewing machines?

Iron fabric, spools, Sew Love

Poodle playing in the thread

Next up is the Table Scraps challenge to make a table covering each month... I used scraps from my Black and White bin, and from the Yellow bin, my drunkard's path templates, and the design wall...

It's interesting how much I enjoy each stage of design. 

first choose pretty fabrics... and cut them out to be circles or backgrounds. Decide how much yellow to include. 

Sew the blocks, I use three pins only to sew the curves, press some seams to circles, some to backgrounds depending on placement so they "nest" 

Lots of decisions on where full circles went, where color went, which way circles faced. 

To me it's like the moon stages. 

top half

middle section

bottom left

I knew I wanted to interrupt the line with inserts, decided they should finish at 1/2" wide, and where they should go

chose a background and binding

Quilted each set with curves or straight lines, or both, or neither in the Chrysanthemum ones!

I did the binding differently by sewing it to the front, pulling to the back, machine stitching along the front edge and catching the back in that stitching. After it was done I wanted sparkle so I went over the binding again with mylar gold sparkle thread

 this shows how pretty the binding fabric is...

no pics of the star/log improv pieces... 

linking to:

Table Scraps challenge

off the wall Fridays
can I get a whoop whoop Fridays  

stay at home round robin 

 scrap happy Saturdays

oh Scrap Sundays 

design wall Mondays at smallquiltsanddollquilts
lovelaughquilt.mondays 

I Like Thursday #233

 

Welcome to this week's list of likes... from colorado where the temps are minus double digits to a high this week near 70F and the beautiful snow we got last weekend was melted soon after I took this picture! Much more to come overnight... the winds are picking up and the temps are falling (as of this writing on Wed night)

Quilt making

wonky stars for the round robin

I finished the top for my "table scraps" challenge and will reveal it on Saturday! 

color took center stage this week! Last week, I finished this one

and this one

I like finishing art and on time!

reading

finished with this one:

 now listening to this one,

 reading this one after finishing the one in series before it...lucky it was available

 Fine Dining

I liked making chicken fajitas this week, with more onions and peppers so that we not only had two days worth of lunches, but also an appetizer left over. 

 To make these we saute onion and pepper strips in olive oil, with garlic, wine fajita spices and chicken strips. I dice tomatoes, avocados, pull out jars of roasted peppers, grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, salsa, and tortillas. 

Layer and roll up, for the best lunch. I plan enough for lunch the next day with no prep but warming. 

before baking, the crumble full of butter looks like adobe!( after baking we cut into it before taking pics!)

 

I had some apples on their last legs so looked up a recipe for pie with caramel sauce. I had a fourth of a jar ofTrader Joe's caramel sauce left so I made this:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/caramel-apple-pie-2651741 

I had to cook it longer than expected as the store bought bottom crust was still soggy, and the butter really dripped off the topping but OMG it is so good y'all. Next time, less sugar and butter in the crumble topping, maybe less than the 7 cups of sliced apples called for too. We will make this again!

 

I participated in a lecture this week by Joanna Basford... in Scotland. I like the things I can do now that we are not meeting in person. She quoted Picasso

"The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away." Pablo Picasso

I love her take on life, her lecture was wonderful, she believes in hard work and being nice, finding how you can help your community not just looking for a way to make the biggest bucks. She is generous with free drawing and coloring videos that I always love. Her lecture done from Dundee Scotland will be available next week to the public.

 

***My sharp KKBuckley scissors fell off the ironing board this week, and merely grazed my foot instead of embedding themselves in it... thank you to my angels

 

watching online

Diane from Austin sent me this link of (live giraffe baby -cam  right after birth.) That started me watching more live cams... plus Chris Ameruosa playing guitar for critters, bros of decay showing abandoned castles in France and Italy, history shows, adopted dogs on DODO, and listening to Kevin Bacon, (LOVE the Bacon Brothers band) asking how much longer ??? (we're all asking that!)

that's about enough for now, right? now for Milo...

I liked this bit of sun to nap in this week... my chicken was tired too

Milo's Moments

so Mama and I have been playing a fun game... I wait in the talky talk room (family room) while she hides one of my toys like the lamb in the front room. 

can you see it?

then she says, OKAY! Milo.... SEARCH! and I come running to look everywhere til I find the toy!

 

NOW?? okay Mama here I come!

 

first I look where I found it before...

Or use my sniffer to find it since I left spit on it!

AGAIN??? I'm ready to play again

I am good at wait now since I am almost 4. I'm really good at finding too. Even outside when Mama says Milo search! I find toys, or other good stuff for her. I'm a good boy! 

Now sit, visit these aunties who have lists of likes too!

https://whataboutrheema.blogspot.com/  

grammajudyb.blogspot.com

   http://littlepenguinquilts

https://www.mmmquilts.com/

https://www.knitbygodshand.com/
  http://imworkingonaproject.blogspot.com/

https://canadianneedlenana.blogspot.com/ 

http://3poodlesandanana.blogspot.com  

 

 http://www.piecefulthoughts.com

 craftscaviescontras
https://scrapatches.blogspot.com/  

 

https://lavenderdreamstoo.blogspot.com/  
https://knittingquilter.blogspot.com/   

http://dreamworthyquilts.blogspot.com/

https://100sweets.blogspot.com/

 

the knitty quilter

https://quiltschmilt.wordpress.com/blog-posts/     

unable to post this week 

https://quiltingpatch.blogspot.com/

 http://livelylatte.blogspot.com/  

 

LINKING TO

Thankful Thursdays pet parade

http://goodrandomfun.blogspot.com
http://itsasmalltownlife.blogspot.com/ 

 

monday cuteness

 

like when my friend Cindy and I talk....

so good to have a friend, then after getting wound up with the ills of the country, calm each other back down! 

Milo: am I cute enough to get a whole cinnamon bun??? 

I admit squirrels are not my first pet but y'all.... this couldn't be cuter and some kind of lesson in love

linking to

https://comedy-plus.com/ Awe Mondays

Hearts and Flowers....paints, fabric and thread

 

 

Hearts and flowers...a while back I painted a heart onto muslin. Recently my local art quilt group met by zoom to discuss color from art quilting point of views.  

 

I love color, and feel colors... love to see how they react to each other in art. I am not paralyzed by the white page, or starting projects. I often enjoy the use of opposites on the color wheel because it is dynamic. 

 

I'll share some close ups while talking about how fun and easy this is... first off, I use a variety of  acrylic paints made for fabric with the medium already mixed in, like Seta, Jacquard, and some sparkly ones no longer sold here from England. I start with a plastic covered cardboard sheet, wet the fabric so the first layers will blend and migrate. I use big brushes. I often dilute the ones to blend with a bit of water, and often mix them to make my own colors

 

I love Seta shimmers consistency for stencils which I layer on after the first bits dry. Sometimes I use subtle darker tones of the same color, mix colors, enjoy a higher contrast and make sure to have dark and light. Yellow green contrasts with the pinks. I let colors dry before over stenciling more. Sometimes I turn the stencil over to rub the paint onto a piece in a reverse stencil!

In quilting, I repeat the shapes with free motion in different threads because repetition of a line or curve is pleasing.

I quilted in some vines, grasses and flowers, as well as outlining some painted flowers. 

When it was quilted I mounded some beads in flower centers, meaning I bring the needle out on one side, string some beads, and go back into the top shorter than the line of beads so they pop up when I pull the thread taut, over and over. 

I have long enjoyed 3-d elements on my quilts and added in a big pieced, and quilted leaf by rouching it to the finished quilt.

it was first quilted, then cut into a big leaf shape and as I hand stitched it to the quilt, I bunched it up, folded bits and gathered them, pushed it so that it would look somewhat like a real leaf might. Note the quilt was finished, and bound before adding this. Beads went on after to catch the light as highlights would on a dewy leaf. 

when I do that I don't go all the way to the backing, I trail thread thru the batting. Note a use of metallic threads and some 2 ply cotton threads to create texture without being attention getting. 

beads along the edge of the leaf were done like a blanket stitch

So, paint play is fun... layering color is fun... stencils and stamps and inks are fun... 

are you ready to play??? 

this one is on the mantel easel to enjoy during February!

and for Spirit Sunday

from http://www.planetofsuccess.com/blog/

  

and this quote by Buddha

your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it 

Linking to

http://www.inquiringquilter.com/ Wednesday wait loss

https://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/

can I get a whoop whoop Fridays   

oh Scrap Sundays 
 slow stitching Sundays

lovelaughquilt.mondays

Face the facts... challenge

 

the Project Quilting challenge this week, was to use the block snail's trail, & start and finish within one week. My quilt, called Face Facts is 14" X 18". 

I printed out elongated snail's trails blocks thinking to make them into a table runner... but when I finished two I thought, eyes... so I made one block with hot pink for a mouth and turned it sideways. 

this scrap of fabric became the center diamonds

and the eyes...

I chose borders to balance the three blocks, and quilted with metallic pink, metallic white, silver and black threads. It took a direction that I didn't foresee...

now that it's finished, I'm considering whether to add some details...

It's  very strong visually, almost hard to see. I am calling it either speak out! or Face facts! 

 but see her mouth the only source of color, as a focal point. How many times was I compelled to be silent, to accept what was done to me, or given me, with no power to reject it... 

As I worked on it, I thought of how I am tired of being quiet... of putting up with censorship and expectations that I just be "nice:" and go along with things...

It's done, but I have to decide if I want it to be more abstract allowing the viewer to see what they see... or impart a more personal direction with words... what do you think? (leaning toward loud artist)

amazing that this small work became significant

 I have started a table runner for the challenge Table Scraps, using yellow the RSC color of the month

My plan is to make drunkard's path blocks from my black and white scraps, and yellow scraps, and piece them into half circles. 

I have Betty Kiser's templates and have used them many times over the years to make the blocks. You can do a lot with placement and color. That's my rotating and two templates. I use three pins only. 

that's four blocks, not sewn. I expect they will be moved around a lot before I'm done.

A big finish for me this week was the little painted heart piece, but now I think this post is very heavy with pictures so I should wait to do a separate post tomorrow... for now, here is a detail pic

you can see some painting in layers, some quilting all free motion with many threads, and beads mounded up in flower centers. Complete post coming soon

linking to

Midweek makers wednesdays  

off the wall Fridays

 

design wall Mondays at smallquiltsanddollquilts
lovelaughquilt.mondays

oh Scrap Sundays  

 scrap happy Saturdays

https://kimlapacek.com/2021/02/12-4-snails-trail-challenge-4-of-project-quilting-season-12.html