Is It Monday?

This is not all of them!

 So what is everyone up to? Sewing a like a maniac or not sure what to do? I find myself walking around my house and not being able to focus. I have done some sewing but not a lot. I decided that was going to change today.
I save all my orphan blocks. I also save all the snowball ends of blocks that become half square triangles. I have a lot of leftover blocks!

Yesterday I grabbed a bunch of them and layed them out. I did not have enough room! I have made an orphan block quilt a couple of times and I love them.

Half square triangles on the left and random patches on the right.

The funny thing is I am not sure why I even made these! They are not leftovers......but they were in the leftover box.

Once they were pressed I could see the potential.

Lots of these 4 patches too. I do know where these came from. I made too many, not necessarily a problem.

This one falls in the catagory, what was I thinking?????

I love these mini kisses. I had an idea I would make a bunch.....that did not happen.

Look! I had some 4 patches that would go with them and make a mini quilt! I love when this happens.

This was from a paper piecing demo. I am in love with it all over again!

Some old applique popped up. I need to figure out what to do with this....

Maybe it will play nicely with this block......

Or this block.......

I joined the Baltimore Applique Society when it first formed back in the 1990's. There was a swap. Truthfully I think these blocks are not very "me".

This one is kind of nice but I don't like the metallic gold. They may play together with those other "older" blocks. Lots of choices. Notice the date, 1995.

Are you making masks? I am making these for my sister in law who is a pharmacist. Tula Pink fabric, nothing but the best for her!

So here is a potential quilt that I made with some of my orphan blocks. It is just a suggestion and not the final product. As you can see there are a lot of half square triangles, I have hundreds!!! I like how it frames the composition.
For me stress is zapping my creativity. This is a fun and easy way to work that makes me feel successful. Baby steps. Are you feeling the same way?

So far all of my Corona Virus quarantine experiences have not been bad at all. I had to go to the grocery store last week. I went early, at 8:00 am. The lines went all the way to the back of the store, there were 20 cashiers. There were 50+ in line for the beer and wine aisle, it wrapped around the store and then some! Everyone was pleasant, no one argued and most went out of their way to be polite. That could all change.....we just found out school is closed for 2 more weeks (mid April) and we are now going to be on the next level of stay at home order by our governor where you can only go out for emergencies, food and medicine. It goes into effect tonight.

Maybe that quilt will get made! I'll be sure to post it if it does.

Kelly

Monday, Monday

I made this little mini quilt on Friday when I couldn't decide what to work on. I had a table full of stuff that needed to be cleaned off, so I took them and added some scraps from my newly cleaned out basket and came up with this. Sometimes it is just fun to sew without any idea of what you want to make.

I used plain white thread to quilt it up, using a #3 stitch length on my Bernina and random widths.

I am also working on a basket block in the laziest way ever! I found this from a start and stopped project that was in my leftover basket.

next I dug out 2 leftover HST that were in the same basket.....

added some sides.....

and trimmed it.....not too bad, especially with all my leftovers!

Now I am appliqueing the  handle free form to give it an organic look.

Happy birthday to my grandson Elliot! He is 9 today!!!

Kelly

Colorful Tuesday

This is one of the fastest quilts I have ever made! As I was cleaning up the other day I found all these flying geese blocks that I made a few months ago. There weren't enough to make them into anything but I did not want to lose them to the pile of UFOs. Finished size is 36 x 36.

I went through my leftover, extra, and mistaken blocks that I save and found some that went with the flying geese blocks. I didn't spend much time putting it together and found that the first composition was very pleasing to my eye. So I stopped and did not fiddle with it any longer.

I was ruthless and cut where necessary for all the pieces to fit as you can see at the bottom of the flying geese block. This was an exercise in joyful sewing, not precision piecing.

Sometimes things are just meant to be. I had 4 blocks to use for the corners that were perfect. Not the perfect size but the perfect piece. I made them work for me.

The only primping I did was to make sure the hot colors were spread out. I did not want them all in the same corner, other than that it was very spontaneous.
The quilting is simple various width straight lines. It feels contemporary and makes the quilt very flat which I like in a wall hanging.

I love the black and white striped binding, to me it works perfectly and defines the chaos. I did glue baste it down and love that technique. In this picture it hasn't been sewn yet. It will be super easy to do later today, no pins or clips to get the threads caught on.
My first large finish of 2015!

My vintage glasses are hard at work and are exactly what I needed. Now I have room in my drawer next to my machine for things I use all the time when sewing.
 The honey bear holds broken needles and pins.

Kelly

Colorful Leftovers

16 x 20

In my last post I showed  you some wonderful inspirational quilts from my friends. As we were sitting around talking we all agreed as soon as we got home we wanted to sew. That inspiration is contagious!

I needed to get a backing ready for a quilt that I am dropping off at the long arm quilter's house today. Once that was done I dumped out my box of half finished, leftover blocks. I just wanted to create something without spending so much time sewing. I wanted it done today!

So I started by just laying out what I had in the box. Color was of no importance, size a bit more but not exactly the same size. Close was good enough.

I pressed all the seams open which made it lie very flat. Look at all those threads on my pants.....

I chose not to quilt over the little flying geese. I wanted them to stand out and not be interrupted with a line of quilting.

I used a light gray thread  (Aurifil) and quilted it with random width straight (well almost) lines.

Instead of binding it, I used a facing technique. You can find the tutorial here . I have used a few different ones but I like this one the best. Even if you have never done it before you will be successful, just follow the directions exactly.

It felt good to just sit and sew. My favorite part is not knowing how it is going to look when I am finished. It could be a waste of time but overall going out on a limb can be fun too!

Kelly