What Happened to September?

It seemed like I was doing a lot of sewing this month, but I didn't do very well at completing my September goals.

I wanted to :

1. Bind Scrappy Mountains Majesty.  NO

2. Finish Scream House    NO

3.Finish Olga's Tart.  DONE!

4.  Keep up with RSC.  Since Red is this month's color, I should be able to make good progress on Talkin' Turkey.  

I got 6 more blocks done, but I wouldn't call it good progress.  Last month I got 15 done.

5. Sew strips to red flannel backing and get Geese In the Puddle to longarmer.  NOPE!

6.  Finish Emily's quilt top and get it to the longarmer.  DONE!

7. Keep up with Mod Bear Paw.

I made good progress on this one.  Stopped this one yesterday to work on Talkin' Turkey since I hadn't done any RSC block this month.

In October, I want to

1. Bind Scrappy Mountains Majesty.

2. Sew strips to Goose in the Puddle's backing to make it wide enough for quilting.

3.  Keep up with RSC.

4.  Keep up with Mod Bear Paw.

5.  Get the rest of  Talkin' Turkey blocks done.  Figure out the rest of the parts.  Decide if I have enough cut.

That's probably enough since I will lose a week of sewing to vacation this month.

Bad to the Bone

I found a Halloween ornament I started many months ago and got it finished this week.  Here is Sue Hillis' Bad to the Bone:

The back is a glow-in-the-dark skeleton print I had leftover in my stash from another project.

Linking up:  http://www.supermomnocape.com/2016/10/03/vintage-embroidery-monday-stitchery-link-party-78/

http://myplvl.blogspot.com/2016/10/tuesday-archives-134-halloween.html

More Mod Bear Paw

I got tired of making bear paw blocks, so I switched to the big bear.

My husband thought it was a jaguar.  I think it will look more like a bear when I get the sashing sewn in so that the proportions are better.

I have to put this away for a while because I've made next to no progress on my other September goals, and time is running out.

Stash Report, Mod Bear Paw

I got a few more Mod Bear Paw blocks done this week.

I have one more block almost done, but I need to rip out one section.  Do you see my mistake?

I got the cutting for the big bear done today too.  In the past, I would have labeled my pieces with letters written on flower pins.  I like using clips better.  There is enough space on the metal part to write a letter.

Used this week:  0 yards
Used year to date: 76.875 yards
Added this week: 4 yards (Mod Bear Paw, text print)
Added year to date:  84.125 yards
Net  Added:  7.25 yards

Linking up: http://www.patchworktimes.com/2016/09/25/stash-report-september-25-2016/

Blogger's Quilt Festival at Amy's Creative Side: ROYGBIV

I was poking around online today and ran across the Blogger's Quilt Festival over at Amy's Creative side.  I went to the ROYGBIV  category expecting to see at least one Gravity quilt there, but there were none!  So with apologies to my regular blog readers who have seen far too much of this quilt,  here is my entry to the ROYGBIV category, Gravity by Jaybird Quilts.

I made this quilt for my son for his birthday last year. Gravity was a dream to piece.  Jaybird Quilts' directions were clear, and the pieces were large, making it go together surprisingly fast. I was making this quilt as a Quilt-A-Long, but I cheated and did all the blocks as quickly as I could because they were so fun to make.

 It was professionally quilted by Virginia Longarm.  I am thrilled with the pantograph they suggested.  I think I like it even better than the custom quilted Gravities I've seen.  The quilting hides a few of my piecing imperfections.

The back is a wide back black and white print, so I didn't have to piece it.  I think it is perfect for this quilt.

I took the time to cross stitch a special label for Gravity.

Linking up: http://www.amyscreativeside.com/2016/09/19/bqfroygbiv-quilt-category/

http://myplvl.blogspot.com/2018/03/tuesday-archives-189-rainbows.html

Mod Bear Paw

We had lots of fun this weekend!  Dinner out, a soccer game, the Armenian food festival and a visit to the farm.  Our activities didn't leave much time for sewing, but I managed to get two Mod Bear Paw blocks done today.

These blocks are 7 1/2 inches square, and each block has 45 pieces.  I have quite a few more HSTs to make!

Used this week:  2.5 yards (Science Fair)
Used year to date: 76.875 yards
Added this week: 2.5 yards (neutral FQs)
Added year to date:  80.125 yards
Net  Added:  3.25 yards

Science Fair

I'm taking a break from Scream House.  I worked on it all last week and have only gotten 2 sections of the thing laced together.  I suspected the lacing would be bad.  I just hadn't anticipated how bad.  If I could do it all over, I'd backstitch the pieces over 3 or even 4 threads, not two.  It just isn't possible for me to do the lacing in the #5 perle cotton  the instructions call for. It isn't even possible for me to thread the 26 gauge needle with #5 perle. The thread is way too thick.  The instructions caution about using short lengths to do the lacing because there is so much wear on the working thread.  But there would also be a ton of wear on the backstitches if I tried to force #5 perle cotton through them.  So I compromised and decided to use #8 perle cotton, even though that seems too thick too.

I've gotten two of the house walls laced together, but I don't like the look of what I've done so far, and it has taken way too long to do!  Time to put Scream House down and think about plan B.  I have accepted the fact that it probably won't be finished for Halloween 2016, but I don't want it to become a UFO.  I'm just way too frustrated with it to work on it now.

So I pulled out an easy project:  a quilt for my niece for Christmas.  I chose Science Fair by Jaybird quilts, and the top is done already!

The colors in the picture are more subdued than they are it real life because it is so gloomy out today. 

This quilt will be for Emily, the niece who helped me remove paper from the Jamestown Landing string blocks.  I think she deserves a quilt for Christmas for all her work.  Emily turned 11 this week, and we already talked about colors she likes (pink, purple, blue).

In the design wall picture, the background looks white, but it is actually white with silver writing on it.  The writing reminds me of someone's homework or a lab notebook.

I love the background fabric!

Scream House: Fear of Finishing

I realized this week that I was putting off finishing Scream House because I was afraid of messing up all the work I had done cross stitching it.  It took me a long time!  Not because the pattern was so difficult but because there were so many color changes in ever piece.  The linen was unusually limp, and the margins of the linen were too small to let me use a q-snap for the whole thing.  If I had to do it all again,, I would have ordered linen that was 2 inches wider in every direction.  As it was, I ended up stitching a lot in hand, which always slows me down.

Yesterday I got up my courage and started the finishing.  The directions suggest using a lot of glue, which is something I usually don't do.  For this piece, though, I decided to what the directions said. I tend to get into trouble when I'm making up things as I go.

First I starched the pieces. I tried using Best Press, but spray starched worked better.

Then I cut a piece of fusible interfacing and a piece of skirtex the same size as each little shape.  The directions said they needed to fit just inside the backstitched lines, and I did my best.  Cutting these little pieces was a lot easier with my rotary cutter.  I don't think I could have done it accurately with scissors. Templates were provided, but my stitched pieces were not the same size as the templates, so I had to do some sliver trimming.  It took me about an hour and a half just to cut these pieces.

Next I fused the interfacing to the back of each piece.  I have found that fusible interfacing doesn't stick as well to unwashed fabrics as it does to washed, and I was surprised at how well the interfacing stuck to the back of my stitching.  

Cutting out each piece and wrapping each around skirtex so that the backstitching was just along the edge took me the rest of the afternoon and part of the evening.  I worked slowly and was careful with the glue.  I used my generic clover clips to hold the pieces together while they dried, and by the end, my technique had improved quite a bit.

  

 I would never finish this piece for anyone else.  It is too easy to mess it up!

By this morning, everything had dried.  I need to to the store and get the supplies for finishing the inside today.  

So far, I'm happy with my progress, but a little worried about the lacing.  The backstitching looks very small to me, and the pattern says to use pearl cotton for the lacing, which seems thick.  But my plan is to follow the directions and get this thing done before Halloween!

Linking up: http://busyhandsquilts.blogspot.com/2016/09/finished-or-not-friday-linky-party_9.html

http://www.supermomnocape.com/2016/09/12/vintage-embroidery-monday-stitchery-link-party-75/

Stash Report, September Goals

I'm late making my September goals.  This month I want to:

1. Bind Scrappy Mountains Majesty.

2. Finish Scream House

3.Finish Olga's Tart.

4.  Keep up with RSC.  Since Red is this month's color, I should be able to make good progress on Talkin' Turkey.

5. Sew strips to red flannel backing and get Geese In the Puddle to longarmer.

6.  Finish Emily's quilt top and get it to the longarmer.

7. Keep up with Mod Bear Paw.

Used this week:  0
Used year to date: 74.375 yards
Added this week: 2.75  (Jelly Roll)
Added year to date:  80.375  yards
Net  Added:  6.0 yards

Linking up:  http://www.patchworktimes.com/2016/09/04/stash-report-september-4-2016/

August Accomplishments

In August, I wanted to:

1.  Get two quilts (Joe and Daniel's graduation quilts) to the longarmer.  I need to get the red flannel backing ironed and squared up first.  Halfway done.  I got one of them to the longarmer, but it isn't back yet. I need to sew strips to my flannel backing for the other quilt.  This time it wasn't all my fault. The measurements on the pattern were off by 10 inches on the finished quilt top.  But I was too lazy to get the quilt out and measure, so I relied on the pattern and bought backing that was slightly too small.

2.  Bind Julianna's graduation quilt.  DONE!

3.  Finish Needle Guardian Stitching.  This is an easy goal.  Maybe I can start the finishing too. DONE and FINISHED!!

4. Start Scream House finishing. If I don't start the finishing soon, it won't be done for Halloween this year.  Completed all the backstitching around the pieces.  

5.  Work on Talkin' Turkey.   I have 30 more blocks to make.  I'd like to finish 15 of  them.  DONE!  Fifteen more blocks complete.

6. Get the borders on Jamestown landing. Maybe even get it to the longarmer! Completely done, bound, and will be gifted tonight!  Very happy with this quilt!

7.  Keep up with RSC.  Done!  Purple was the color this month.

I haven't really thought through my goals for September other than that I am feeling time pressure on Scream House and really need to finish it soon.  I usually start Halloween decorating in September, so I want it done soon and on display.