November BOTM block done

Today was Buck-a-Block day: time to show off last month's completed block.

Finished it just last night.  Didn't realize until this morning that I put the strongest non-blue-colored piece right in the center of the block.  Oh well, it has to have some interest somewhere, right?

As one might say, "The fish appearing in the turquoise pinwheel adds that pop of color that makes the overall block more interesting."

Amen.  Done.

Catalog Xmas Ideas

So many ideas this time of year!  No time or inclination to actually make anything new (still haven't done this month's BOTM block), but I've been daydreaming up a storm.

The ubiquitous catalog season is winding down.  Idly paging through one of many almost-identical catalogs full of cute-but-unnecessary items, when I see an inspiring set of tiny bags.

Advertised for "giving small gifts, gift cards, candy..."  Tiny:  5" tall, 6" wide, 3" deep (front to back) with a 5" handle.   But priced to sell: six bags for $7.

Gingerbread Man - for giving cookies @ the office

Reindeer bag - checkered scarf and button nose

Noel - with a snowman face!

Joy - primitive tree in plaids and stripes

These bags are darn cute!  But for $7, I know the quality would be cheap, cheap.  They are made of polyester felt.  Do I even think the darling country-print plaid fabrics are cotton?  Oh well, it got me thinking about felt.

Felt, felt.  I don't work in wool felt, so bashing an inexpensive gift bag for being made of polyester felt is a bit unwise of me.  I did start to think about a "utility fabric" I collected recently: is it a reasonable felt-substitute for crafty items like these bags?

Bought a memory-foam mattress pad.  Rather expensive, but not as much as we would have spent on a new mattress; and it saves on chiropractor visits :)  However, this lovely item of bedding comes completely wrapped in a fiber/fabric/webbing concoction that I couldn't bear to part with.

Yards and yards of the stuff - how could I just throw it away?

Seems sturdy, like it would sew up well

Can this be used like felt?  Can it be dyed?  What sort of material is it made of?  Would it stand up to washing of any sort?  (Then again, could those little catalog bags be washed?  Doubt it.)

Sigh.  We are such a throw-away society.  What useful thing can I do with this windfall raw material?

Beach Bovine ideas

I have recently been introduced to modern quilting.  The fabrics and designs are so much different than what I've been around--and yet the brighter, clearer colors and clean designs suit my tastes more than not.  One local quilt shop, Piece by Piece, features tons of pictures of all their new fabrics.  I've been reading their blog... and the creative juices have been flowing.

The holiday placemats that were brought out this week got me started.

  Cute, winter scene, in non-traditional colors.

The photo doesn't do justice to the light, lime green.

Yummy polka-dot tree.  Doesn't seem out-of-place at all.

Graphic snowflake-print blue tree.  Just as Dr. Seuss would have imagined it.

Penguin salt-and-pepper shakers go so nicely with the placemats!  And this is where I made the leap from "isn't this all so pretty" to "hey, I've got a pattern idea".  Notice my little penguin friend: he is not black and white.  He is sporting an alternate color scheme.  And it looks fine.

So... what else have I seen recently that would look okay in unreal colors?  Oh yeah, a pattern by Amy Bradley designs called "Beach Bovines"

(Pardon the quality of this photo.)  The pattern is for a wall hanging, but I don't do wall hangings, so I bought it with the intention of making placemats.  I was just worried about how the bright jellybean colors shown in the pattern would work with any possible table decor.  But my little penguin friend has opened my eyes to the possibilities of alternate colorways.

Imagine a pink-and-maroon cow with brown-and-pink printed bikini.  A taupe sky and navy blue grass?  I think I might have a tendency to go overboard with colors.  I believe the solution is to completely copy the color scheme of something else I like.  (Maybe not the color scheme of the snow-scene placemats I already have, but at least I know I like those colors together.  Saves me from myself.)

 

Hey Good Lookin'

Turned over the page on my quilt calendar at work: and I'm smitten with this month's project.  A poinsettia quilt.  How cute!

Okay, not only am I enamored with the design (which looks very easy - squares and triangles), I started dreaming about fabric choices.  Not that I'm addicted to new projects or anything... Hey, there's just under 3 weeks left until Christmas, I could start making this now, right?

I'd love to have this design in a tablecloth.  Only I can't decide whether I would want only one wreath centered on the table, or 4 wreaths with the bow sashing in between (I have a very large square table).  And do I like the cream background?  Or would white be better?  Or a subtle print, to hide any eventual food stains?

Why am I spending mental energy on this non-starter of a project?  I don't have time.  I have several other half-finished Christmas-themed projects laying neglected in dusty corners (2 Santa dolls in a paper bag in the garage, for one).  I'm not planning on completing any of them, either.

Oh, the allure of the new, the shiny, the untried-but-very-achievable project!  They wink at me, these patterns and designs.  They call out to me, "Hey Baby, you know you want some of this."  Tragic how I will so readily give this new thing time and energy, ignoring my WIPs and UFOs.

Well, no harm in looking, I say.

Buck-a-block: month 3

Finally got around to playing with the fabrics for the latest buck-a-block.  Naturally, I didn't care for the combination of blue-and-red that was provided in the kit.

Even the blue on the bottom right didn't suit me: too much orange in it.  The pattern is "Old Windmill" from The Farmer's Wife.  The picture shows red pinwheels in the center, and blue half-pinwheels along the edges.  Not convinced I will stick with that (especially since I won't use red), but pinwheels are easy to maneuver as the block is being constructed.  Room for creativity!

To match my previous blue block, I looked for brighter turquoise shades to complement the navy.  Also went back to the clouds-on-ivory for my background print.  Very pleased with the undersea print--can't wait to get started sewing it all together.

A snail's pace

It's a wonder I can get anything done.  Ever.  I must be the slowest person on the planet.

And honestly, I don't know what happens to the time.  Why does it take me *forever* to finish something?  Daily examples: taking a shower; washing the dinner dishes; vacuuming the rugs; making my lunch.

The latest how-can-it-take-so-darn-long?  Curtains.

Nothing fancy, nothing complicated, just simple pocket-rod curtains.  From a larger curtain purchased in the "as-is" section of Ikea.  Just remove the top portion, cut it in half horizontally, hem all the sides, and add a rod pocket to the 2 new pieces.  Voila!

Ok, six hours later... Voila!

I am so happy to be done.  But six hours ?!?!  I can't explain it.  (I had breakfast and lunch, did 3 loads of laundry, and idly watched a movie as I was sewing.)  But I was at the ironing board or sewing machine the whole day.  I could not speed up or take even the tiniest shortcut: had to pin every hem every two inches.  No one is going to look that closely at my stitching, or my hem accuracy.  Why do I do it?  Is this some classic ADD symptom? 

Definitely why I don't enjoy sewing on a deadline--most of the time I don't pay attention to how long things take me.  I just plod along at my pace and enjoy the journey.  After all, I genuinely *like* sewing.

Finished: the curtains are done in the guest room just in time for sweetie's mom to visit.  Yay!

Buck-a-block: month 2

BOTM update:  The new block has been given out.  Still not excited about the fabrics...

"Americana" colorway - not my favorite

The block pattern is again from The Farmer's Wife book of quilt blocks.  It's called "Wild Geese".  I received the fabrics shown here, along with cutting directions and a diagram of the block.

I knew I wouldn't be using everything I got.  It was my intention to make all the blocks in blue--so I tried to match the blue here with various blues in my stash.  Alas... I just wasn't feeling it.  So I played a bit with the red.

Ended up using the red and cream provided; adding black (can you see the tiny stars in the black fabric?  It's from Moda) with pink accent fabric.  The directions said to use different fabrics on the North-South vs. East-West pink triangles.  Also, those were probably meant to be more neutral/pastel.  Oh well--I like it just fine.

Who knows what this will go with.  Or where it will eventually end up.  I can't really imagine it with last month's blue block.

Is the point of a BOTM to have a quilt top done at the end of a year?  Oh dear, I'm in trouble already...