This week has been a little weird for me. Tatianna has been gone for a couple of weeks now. Perigrine left to go help her sister in Nevada for a couple of months and Kim is out of town on business yet again. It has been down to Killian and me here at the house and it is way too quiet to suit either of us. Plus we have to do all the chores. I haven't cooked regularly for the past 10 years and now I am fixing breakfast, packing lunches and making dinner. Plus doing dishes and Laundry. I miss my slaves, I mean children. I miss my children.
So with all the wedding stuff and because my slaves (yes I know "children") had a definite lack of incentive, the house is a mess. Now usually I don't mind living with the mess and just go about doing what I want to do because it is the children's responsibility to take care of it. But now, Dang it, it is MY responsibility to take care of it. So I am doing a little everyday. Usually I get home before Killian so I change my clothes and start dinner (frozen casseroles have been my friend this week). When Killian gets home we take care of the animals and do other chores (laundry, dishes, cleaning) eat dinner and the settle down for the night. Maybe watch a little TV. It has been a decent routine so far. Hopefully we can keep it up.
Because other things have taken priority, (I know. Sacrilege!!! but the animals and we have to eat) I haven't done much sewing/quilting wise. I did get my blocks laid out for my quilt top. I have them stacked up by rows neatly clipped together on the side is to be stitched. Last week I said I had 80 blocks. Well, I found some more background squares and made up an 81st block so I could do a 9 x 9 lay out. After laying them out I had 1 block left over. I must have miscounted. So I have an orphan block to add to my collection.
I managed to get three rows sewn and I have to say I am really loving the look of this quilt top. This quilt is really giving me a lot of pleasure. I think it is partly because it is using up stuff I've had for a really long time. There is something very satisfying about using up what you have. It seems to keep in line with the original spirit of quilting.
This week has been a change and a challenge for me but it also has been a little invigorating. I am not feeling as overwhelmed by the house and while the improvement is slow, it is happening. I plan to take some time each evening and work a little on the quilt before bed. I may make it happen, I may not, but I will always have the weekend to sew.
Life is about adapting and growing when presented with new challenges. I feel like this week has been a growth week for me.
How has your week gone?
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Why Have a Design Wall?
Finally the last of the wedding celebrations are over. No more wedding preparations and no more scheduled wedding events. Don't get me wrong it has been a joyous time for all if us, especially Tatianna and Zack (the Newlyweds) But the last 5 weekends have been tied up with wedding events. showers, bachelorette parties, bachelor parties, wedding travels, and receptions. It has been a whirl wind of celebrations and I am about partied out. Time for life to get back to normal. Or at least some semblance of what passes for normal.
This past week I was able to sew a little. I got all of the little 4 inch squares turned into 4 patch blocks. It feels good to be sewing again and really good to be at the block stage with this quilt. Next step laying it out on a design wall.
Before I got my 4 patches sewn, I decided I was really going to need to lay the blocks out. You see this is a very random and scrappy quilt. So I will need to make sure that the colors are evenly dispersed and the pattern flow is good.
As many of you know, a year and a half ago I made myself a design wall that I wasn't too happy with. (too flimsy) I did a little research on the google machine to see how others made their design walls. I am thinking I want it to be at least 72" x 72". Several had smallish design walls. Basically the size of a block. I didn't see any sense in a design wall that would be block size.
Then I started turning my squares in 4 patch blocks. I now realize that I have something in common with Jenny Doan of Missouri Star Quilts. I am direction-ally challenged. The four patch block is supposed to look like the top picture.
I started matching up the squares into 2 patch sets and wasn't paying attention to which way the white part of the block was going. So I had sewn about 130 sets and was kind of auditioning them to how they would look together. That's when I realized what I had been doing. Because I had a block that went together like this. (middle picture) While this is a really neat pattern (and I will probably do it one day) it is not the pattern I was going for.
As you all know this is not the first time I have done this. I did it when I pieced the ribbon dance quilts as well.
So I finish sewing the 2 square sets and about 1/3 of my sets are going the wrong way. Fortunately I discovered it before I had sewn any of the sets into the four patches. Even better, before I ripped the stitching out of the 50 sets, I realized that I just needed to match the sets up on the vertical axis and then rotate them to get the look I wanted. I did end up taking apart one of the sets but ripping out one seam sure beats ripping out 50 seams.
This got me to thinking about that block size design wall. I realized that if I had a visual of the block in sight, I may not have sewn so many sets together in the wrong direction. So maybe a small design wall isn't such a bad idea. One of the "make your own" design walls was made with dowels, pvc clamps, and batting. It just so happens that I have a small (10" x 16") pvc style needle work frame. I also have scraps of batting. Now I have a block size design wall.
Next up - a large design wall. I am currently toying with wood panels, hinges and wheels. I wish I could get my husband to design it. He usually comes up with a very workable idea. But his work schedule keeps him busy and out of town a lot these days. I am probably on my own. In the mean time I will lay out the fabric for my design wall on my bed and work from that. Making do with what you have isn't a bad thing.
What tools would you benefit from having? What have you created to meet one of your needs?
This past week I was able to sew a little. I got all of the little 4 inch squares turned into 4 patch blocks. It feels good to be sewing again and really good to be at the block stage with this quilt. Next step laying it out on a design wall.
Before I got my 4 patches sewn, I decided I was really going to need to lay the blocks out. You see this is a very random and scrappy quilt. So I will need to make sure that the colors are evenly dispersed and the pattern flow is good.
As many of you know, a year and a half ago I made myself a design wall that I wasn't too happy with. (too flimsy) I did a little research on the google machine to see how others made their design walls. I am thinking I want it to be at least 72" x 72". Several had smallish design walls. Basically the size of a block. I didn't see any sense in a design wall that would be block size.Then I started turning my squares in 4 patch blocks. I now realize that I have something in common with Jenny Doan of Missouri Star Quilts. I am direction-ally challenged. The four patch block is supposed to look like the top picture.
I started matching up the squares into 2 patch sets and wasn't paying attention to which way the white part of the block was going. So I had sewn about 130 sets and was kind of auditioning them to how they would look together. That's when I realized what I had been doing. Because I had a block that went together like this. (middle picture) While this is a really neat pattern (and I will probably do it one day) it is not the pattern I was going for. As you all know this is not the first time I have done this. I did it when I pieced the ribbon dance quilts as well.
So I finish sewing the 2 square sets and about 1/3 of my sets are going the wrong way. Fortunately I discovered it before I had sewn any of the sets into the four patches. Even better, before I ripped the stitching out of the 50 sets, I realized that I just needed to match the sets up on the vertical axis and then rotate them to get the look I wanted. I did end up taking apart one of the sets but ripping out one seam sure beats ripping out 50 seams.This got me to thinking about that block size design wall. I realized that if I had a visual of the block in sight, I may not have sewn so many sets together in the wrong direction. So maybe a small design wall isn't such a bad idea. One of the "make your own" design walls was made with dowels, pvc clamps, and batting. It just so happens that I have a small (10" x 16") pvc style needle work frame. I also have scraps of batting. Now I have a block size design wall.
Next up - a large design wall. I am currently toying with wood panels, hinges and wheels. I wish I could get my husband to design it. He usually comes up with a very workable idea. But his work schedule keeps him busy and out of town a lot these days. I am probably on my own. In the mean time I will lay out the fabric for my design wall on my bed and work from that. Making do with what you have isn't a bad thing.
What tools would you benefit from having? What have you created to meet one of your needs?
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