Week 7 Sewing Linkups

To-Do Tuesday

I completely forgot about To Do Tuesday! So while there are still a few hours left of Tuesday, here's a quick update. It has not been a good week, and I could just let the goals from last week ride the wheel until next Tuesday, but what fun is that?

Last Week:

1. Cut twenty-one yellow triangles and twenty-one blue triangles or rip out from spare blocks.
Technically, I did this, but as I said Sunday, I have to do it all over.

2. Choose blue, or maybe white fabric for outer border and inner triangles.
Got that, along with the backing fabric.

3. Repair wall behind cutting table.
Not done well, but at least it is sealed up again. Now I probably have to paint the whole wall though.

❌ 4. See if light fixture can be converted from plug in to wired in.

5. Set up embroidery machine table.
I set up a table and played with the machine a little. It is making a funny noise and I hope it's just a vibration because the table isn't very sturdy.

6. Cut remaining blue scraps into usable pieces.
I want to try another blue string block so I need to wait before cutting too much.
❌ 7. Sort green scraps into strips and squares.

❌ 8. Find stash of finished hexagons.

❌ 9. Put away Christmas decorations.

❌ 10. Rearrange sewing space and see if there is room for a bigger sewing table.

❌ 11. Reorganize my UFO boxes.

♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥ 

If I do one of my next goals, I'll be pretty happy because we are taking a short trip and I am not planning on taking any sewing with me.

Next Week:

1. Cut twenty-one yellow triangles and twenty-one blue triangles and forty-two white triangles.

2. Paint the repaired wall.

3. See if light fixture can be converted from plug in to wired in.

7. Sort green scraps into strips and squares.

8. Find stash of finished hexagons.

9. Put away Christmas decorations.

10. Rearrange sewing space and see if there is room for a bigger sewing table.

11. Reorganize my UFO boxes.

Y'all have a good week!

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Design Wall Monday

Beat me with a wet selvage, because Glory Be is getting the better of me. I made a test strip of triangles, pinned it to the quilt, and it fit perfectly. So I cut 85 triangles out of the border fabrics, and started sewing them together. At the end of the day, I started pinning it to the quilt, and something was very, very wrong. The triangles were too big. I remeasured and somehow I had cut them all 1/4 inch too big on the bias side. An aha moment when I realized the triangles in the quilt were sewn 1/4 inch on one side of the diagonal line drawn across the square. The next day, I started ripping all the triangles apart, and cut 1/4 inch off a few of them and put them back together. Once again I pinned them to the quilt and this time they were too small. Argh! I pulled out some scraps and carefully measured the triangles in the quilt and made a new template. I cut ten out of scrap fabric and sewed them together and put them on the quilt. They fit perfectly. Apparently, when I was cutting the first triangles, I picked up a different triangle template and made most of them using it. I don't really know why they didn't work when I cut them down. But now I had the right template and was ready to start over, except for one little big problem: I had used all of my matching fabric.

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Sunday Stash

After all the ripping out, my carpal tunnel was throbbing and kept me awake most of the night, so I gave it the next day off. I thought about going to some fabric stores to find fabrics that would blend, if not match, but it was cold and the wind was a steady 30mph, so I just did nothing. I don't remember when I bought the fabric, but it was in 2021 or before, so I knew I wouldn't match it. But the next day, I started with the nearest town and went to Walmart and Hobby Lobby, just in case. Then, I moved on to the next town where there is a Joann Fabrics. There, I found a beige fabric that will work with the one in the quilt and a dark blue that is either exactly like the one in the quilt, or very close. They must have been having a sale, because the fabric was $3.99 per yard. It was twice that at Hobby Lobby. I was disappointed that I had to buy fabric already this year, but pleased at the price. Now wish me luck when I cut it. First I had to prewash it and starch it, bless all those diagonals.

And my Sunday Stash report looks like this:

2023 STASH TOTALS
Added Feb 12-18                       3.50 yards
Added year to date                     3.50 yards Used Feb 12-18                              0 yards
Used year to date                       6.50 yards
Net used in 2023 3.00 yards

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Stitching Stuff

I spent one day playing around with my embroidery machine and one day making shopping bags though I didn't finish any of them. I'd like to make some that will stand up on their own, but still fold for easy storage. I also spent a day mending, which is my very least favorite thing to do, but it had to be done. Can't have Hubby walking around with a ripped jacket and he loves that jacket. While I spent some time cutting and stitching this week, I have almost nothing to show for it. It was that kind of week.

My 15 Minutes to Stitch update looks like this:

15 Minute Challenge for 2023:
Feb 12-18                       5 of 7 days
2023 Total                  32 of 49 days
65% success rate

Week 6 Sewing Linkups

To-Do Tuesday

I decided to change my To-Do List from Tuesday to Sunday in the hope that it will calm my inner OCD and encourage my motivation to start at the beginning of my week instead of near the middle. So I may already be ahead or behind my weekly goals by the time I join the linkup.

Last Week:

1. Carry sewing machine and supplies upstairs. That wasn't a tough one.

2. Make one blue string block. I made a block, but didn't really like it. I used it on the pot holder and really didn't like it after quilting it, so tossed the whole thing.

3. Make one Crowning Glory block. 

I made three.

4. Make blue string block pot holder. 

Like I said above, made, but tossed it.

❌ 5. Cut remaining blue scraps into usable pieces.
I want to try another blue string block so I need to wait before cutting too much.

❌ 6. Sort green scraps into strips and squares.
Nope, just didn't do it.

❌ 7. Find stash of finished hexagons.

❌ 8. Put away Christmas decorations.

❌ 9. Rearrange sewing space and see if there is room for a bigger sewing table.

❌ 8. Reorganize my UFO boxes.

♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥ 

This week, I want to concentrate on the inner border for Glory Be. I just hope I have enough of the blue to make all the triangles. I haven't picked a fabric for the next border and those triangles either, so maybe I will have some fabric usage to show next week. I'd also like to spend some time working on my room.

1. Cut twenty-one yellow triangles and twenty-one blue triangles or rip out from spare blocks.

2. Choose blue, or maybe white fabric for outer border and inner triangles.>

3. Repair wall behind cutting table.

4. See if light fixture can be converted from plug in to wired in.

5. Set up embroidery machine table.

6. Cut remaining blue scraps into usable pieces.
I want to try another blue string block so I need to wait before cutting too much.

7. Sort green scraps into strips and squares.

8. Find stash of finished hexagons.

9. Put away Christmas decorations.

10. Rearrange sewing space and see if there is room for a bigger sewing table.

11. Reorganize my UFO boxes.

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Design Wall Monday

Last week, I focused on Glory Be. I made all the missing blocks, replaced yellow triangle corners on the old blocks, and sewed everything into the middle flimsey.


This was my original plan for it.


But somehow, between the last time I worked on it and last week, most of the white 5-1/2 inch pieces disappeared. And this is the reason I will never start another quilt and leave it a UFO. No notes on what I had been doing, and now missing pieces. For about three seconds, I considered making the rest of the Crowning Glory blocks out of similar colors, but I don't have a use for a full size quilt, and I can always use throws and they make great gifts. So now it will be a throw size. Hubby asked me the other day how I decide what size to make a quilt. I told him that it depends on who the recipient is. If I'm not making it for anyone in particular, I make a throw because that is what we use most. How do you decide what size quilt you are going to make?

I still haven't put up the new lights over my design wall and cutting table, so my pictures are still pretty disappointing. But I learned something this week about taking pictures with my phone. When taking a picture without bright light, you can touch the screen and a box appears under your finger. Beside that box is a brightness icon (a sun) and you can slide it up or down to improve your pictures. I have taken pictures in bright light that looked completely washed out and pictures taken inside at night that look like they were taken without any lights on at all. You may already know that, but if you didn't, try it next time you take a picture in a dark place.

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Sunday Stash

My Sunday Stash busting still shows no progress because everything I made this week was out of scraps, and that fabric has already been counted. Next week probably won't be any better if I continue with this UFO. Today, I start making the first border; I hope I have enough blue fabric for it since it wasn't part of my original plan when I cut the fabric.

2023 STASH TOTALS
Used Feb 5-11                            0 yards
Used year to date                   6.50 yards
Added Feb 5-11                           0 yards
Added year to date                       0 yards
Net used in 2023 6.50 yards

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Stitching Stuff

I finally had a productive week. Not only did I sew every day this week, but I made some good progress on Glory Be.  My overall success rate is not as high as I need it to be to maintain 50% for the year, because I will surely have 6-8 weeks of no sewing during the summer.

15 Minute Challenge for 2023:
Feb 5-11                        7 of 7 days
2023 Total                  27 of 42 days
64% success rate

Week 5 Sewing Linkups

 
To-Do Tuesday

Writing this late Monday night so it will be quick.

I thought the To Do List challenge would motivate me like it used to, but it seems to have the opposite effect. I can't seem to get motivated these days. I really want to be out in the backyard working on my garden, if I could just get the weather to cooperate.

Last Week:

1. Find a string block pattern or adapt a traditional block.

❌ 2. Make at least one blue string block.  

I didn't do it. I don't know why.  I just didn't feel like it.

❌ 3. Cut remaining blue scraps into half square triangle blocks. 

There is a reason why I couldn't do this.  I need to pick out the blue pieces for the blue block before I can cut up the rest.

❌ 4. Find stash of finished hexagons. 

I may have to give up and wait for them to turn up on their own.

5. Finish the binding on Sugar Pie.

❌ 6. Put away Christmas decorations.

❌ 7. Rearrange sewing space and see if there is room for a bigger sewing table.

❌ 8. Reorganize my UFO boxes.

♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

This Week

1. Carry sewing machine and supplies back upstairs. 

I had brought them down during our freezing weather last week.

2. Make one blue string block.

3. Make one Crowning Glory block.

4. Make blue string block pot holder.

5. Cut remaining blue scraps into usable pieces.

6. Sort green scraps into strips and squares.

7. Find stash of finished hexagons.

8. Put away Christmas decorations.

9. Rearrange sewing space and see if there is room for a bigger sewing table.

10. Reorganize my UFO boxes.



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Design Wall Monday

After looking at these blocks in my sidebar for the last month, I decided to dig them out and see what it will take to finish them. After I found the box though, I couldn't remember why there were a couple of odd blocks, and a page of instructions that I didn't remember. A look back at my last posts of 2021 brought it back though. This was the second life for these blocks and I couldn't salvage enough of them for a whole quilt, so had to work in some new blocks.





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Sunday Stash

I did spend several days working on the blue string block. It will be a 12 inch block, so I don't need more than one blue block, but I had hoped to use up more of the blue scraps. And then I did this. (see photo below)  Oops. So now I will make more blue strings and do more mending. Correction.  Sewing artistry.  This week I only used scraps.  I pulled some white cloth out of my stash for background on all the blocks, but can't count it yet, so no usage this week.

2023 STASH TOTALS
Added Jan 29-Feb 4                    0 yards
Added year to date                       0 yardsUsed Jan 29-Feb 4                     0 yards
Used year to date                   6.50 yards
Net used in 2023 6.50 yards



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Stitching Stuff

I can't believe it's already Sunday again. Where did the week go? Oh right, the weather. We used up our quota of this winter's freezing weather days in December, and this week we dug into the emergency supply. The source of the emergency supply is like the funding of the national budget, it's all imaginary. So where did my time go this week? We spent four days wrapped in quilts on the sofa, drinking hot chocolate, and watching our savings go up the chimney. I did a little hand stitching, really it was mending dog toys and pillows, but hand stitching sounds more artistic.

15 Minute Challenge for 2023:
Jan 29-Feb 4                  4 of 7 days
2023 Total                  20 of 35 days
57% success rate