On Pins And Needles

I worked a bit on the Shaker Sewing Set yesterday afternoon.  Once I got started, it didn't take long to get the pieces all assembled.

The pincushion box only needed a running stitch added to the stitched piece to cinch it to the foamy cushion, then some craft glue to hold it to the lid.  I love it!  Now if I can just keep Digit from knocking it off the table as he is wont to do.

The needle book took the most time to put together, but still didn't take long at all.  Getting cardboard cut to the right size and glued in the right place for the cover was fiddly, but worth it in the end.

I used some beautiful felted wool as the pages.  Now I only need to add the trim and this is done.

The scissor fob took all of about 3 minutes to get to this point.  Just needed to add some interfacing to the stitched piece, then sew it to a backing and stuff.  As with the needle book, all that's left is to add the trim.

After getting those half square triangles cut down to their proper size, the bear claw square went together easily.  I pulled out the next square to work on and discovered that it, too, has size issues.  Only this time, the piece is too small and not too big.  A bit hard to create an applique square that is 12 1/2" x 12 1/2" finished, when the base piece is only 12" x 12" to begin with.  I won't be tempted to buy JoAnn BOM kits again.

 Finished another block for the Framed quilt too.

Sh Sh Sh Shaker

This morning I finished another of the Framed quilt blocks.  10 more to go.  Still loving the colors in this, but can't say that my photos are doing any justice to them.

While digging through boxes looking for all those quilt tops I made years ago, I came across 9 block of the month kit packages.  This one is from JoAnn's 1998 Classic quilt.  I don't remember getting these, so I'm not sure if I stopped buying them after the 9 I have, or if I've misplaced the other 3 in the various moves I've made in the past 17 years.

In any event, I decided to work up the 9 I have and make a lap quilt with them.  I sewed the triangles into squares; yes, more half square triangles!  All of the squares are 1/4" too big.  Odd.  I double checked my seaming.  Yep, they came out 2 1/2" square (more or less).  And the squares they are to be sewn to to make a row are only 2 1/4" square.  So, I spent some time cutting those down.  Hopefully, I'll have time either this evening or tomorrow morning to get this block finished.

I started feeling guilty about starting so many new projects, so I pulled out one that was all but done, and will spend some time finishing it up today and tomorrow.  My friend, Amanda, and I both started this sewing set in 2012.  I lost track of mine during my move in 2013, but pulled it out again last summer I think, and finished up all the cross stitch.

I take that back, I finished up my cross stitch in Spring last year, because Paul bought me the shaker box to finish the sewing box for my birthday.

I have all my supplies ready, including the shaker pincushion box.  I don't think finishing these pieces should take very long. A bit of glue for the pincushion; a couple of seams and a bit of stuffing for the scissor fob; and a few seams for the needle book are all that's needed.  Why do I get to this point so often, then put away projects?  It's insane!

In The Meadow We Can Build A Snowman

The postman brought me a nice package yesterday!  My last picture really didn't show the details of this very well, so here's a better one.  Can't wait to get started on this!  I think a trip to get supplies after my daughter's visit is in order.  I'm considering doing this in blue instead of the red.

I spied a quilt that really caught my eye in a magazine recently.  I normally like more classic, patchwork type quilts, and this one is definitely modern.  For some reason, this one caught my fancy, and i kept turning back to the page it was pictured on.  I'm not sure if it was the pattern, or the colors that grabbed my attention, but in any event, I gathered supplies and will be making this one for myself.  I chose colors very similar to those in the magazine; a light, medium, and dark turquoise, and a light, medium and dark blue.  That grayish looking fabric towards the bottom of the photo is actually light blue, and the muddy looking one is very crisp white.

I got all my pieces cut last night, and this morning I put together my first square.  11 more to go!

 Yesterday afternoon, I finally got around to working up my next Civil War Sampler block.  I'll be glad when the blocks composed of eleventy bazillion half square triangles are done.  No matter how carefully I cut, and no matter how slowly I stitch, I still have issues with the bias on these.

A Hole In The Head, Oh Yes Please

Friday I received the upgrade kit for my loom, but I wasn't able to actually upgrade the loom until Sunday.  I had already decided that I was taking a road trip on Saturday to get a couple more Row by Row kits.  

I was on the road fairly early Saturday and listened to an audio book on my drive.  The first shop I visited didn't have any kits left, so I settled for just the free pattern.  Also picked up a layer cake to add to my Civil War Sampler fabrics, and a kit for an applique table runner.  The second shop had the kit for their row, so I grabbed that, and I found a strip pack that will work great with that first pattern I picked up.  I think I'm done getting rows now.  I had initially picked out 12 that I want, but the 4 that I haven't grabbed yet are 6 hour drives from here.  Not sure I have it in me for 2 weekend long trips by myself, so I'm going to settle for using the 8 I have and call it a day.

Anyway, Sunday afternoon Paul and I finished removing the warp from the loom, then installed the upgrade kit.  Isn't it pretty in all its black metal glory?  The instructions for placing the earth magnet have much to be desired, and we wound up drilling 2 holes in the front and 3 in the back before all was said and done.  Very frustrating!

I spent the rest of the day Sunday redressing the loom, and last night Paul helped me get it wrapped onto the back bar. This afternoon I will probably spend some time getting them all tied to the front bar so I'm ready to start weaving.

As if I didn't have enough on my hands already, I got it in my head to do something to recycle these old bath towels.

Pinterest was consulted and I found myself cutting 1/2" x 5" strips like this.  If you choose to do this yourself, be aware that there will be terry bits and pieces everywhere.  And I do mean everywhere.  It appears to multiply.  The floor of my sewing room looks like 10 towels were run through a food processor instead of just 1/4 of 1 towel was cut into strips.

After cutting these strips, I am tying them to this rug canvas.  Once complete, this should be a cushy bath mat.  I plan to do this in a checkerboard pattern since I have 2 colors to work with.

 There were quite a few interesting ideas for recycling towels on Pinterest.  Good thing I have so many of them to recycle huh?

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Oh my goodness!  I never win anything, but I just won the most fantastic prize!  Karen from Karen's Quilting had a drawing to pass on her Winter Wonderland Quilt pattern and my name came up!  I'm so excited.  Here is a photo of the pattern package.  The center panel is all embroidery.  Can't wait to get started on this.  If you want to see a beautiful version of this, pop over to see Karen's on her blog.

I realized last night that I had completely forgotten to post a photo of this week's Civil War Sampler block.  I finished it this past weekend, but with all the hoopla with the loom, I forgot to show it off.  I had some issues with bias on this block, so I'll have to do some creative adjustments when I add sashing to this one.  I guess I need to slow down when working with these half square triangles.

This was the state of my loom yesterday.  Sigh.  Paul helped me get some of the warp taken off last night.  I was originally hoping to keep the warp on the loom and install the ratchet/pawl upgrade kit around it, but after looking at the instructions online, there's no way that is going to happen.  Now I'm hoping to get the warp removed and save it somehow.

I've been wrapping the pieces up on a shoebox.  In my mind, this will work out nicely.  We'll see once the upgrade kit arrives, which should be by this weekend.  Sunday afternoon will most likely be spent upgrading the loom.

I finished the quilting on this little 9 patch lap quilt.  I was going to do a spiral starting from the bottom right also, but once I finished the first one, I felt there would be too much overlap and decided against it.  I have a few ends to bury and the binding to sew down, then this is done.

I do like how this turned out, but ...

... I still think I like the back better.

Oh What A Tangled Web We Weave

No progress on the waffle weave towels to show.  Why?  Well, you see that thing in the photo below?  That's the ratchet on the back bar of my loom.  It's plastic.  The teeth bent.

See that bird shaped thing below the ratchet?  It's the pawl for the back bar of my loom.  It is supposed to be above the ratchet, not below.  The beak shaped part fits into the ratchet to hold the bar in place and keep tension on my warp.  I was merrily weaving along and POP. The pawl must have been in the ratchet at a spot where the teeth were bent, the ratchet gave way, and the pawl was forced under when the tension was released.  My warp quickly unwound and was on the floor.  The cat was watching the warp with huge black eyes.  The dog came running to see if he could "help".  Chaos ensued.

This particular loom is now sold with metal parts, and there is an upgrade kit available.  Wish I had known that before beginning this.  I would have ordered a kit, and waited to get started.  My warp now looks like this.  A bit of a tangled mess on the front bar.  I'm hoping to get an upgrade kit soon, have Paul help me get it installed on the back bar, spend many hours fussing to get the warp wound back onto the back bar, hold it in place with its pretty new metal parts, install the new metal ratchet and pawl on the front bar, and try again.  Whew!  I'm tired just thinking about it.

In happier news, the random number generator has chosen the convertible mittens I was making for Paul.  They were lost in the shuffle when I only had 2" of the first cuff done.  This is what happens when you cast on 17 projects folks.  I do not recommend it!  We watched two movies last night, during which I finished the first cuff, completed the thumb gusset, and worked within 3 rounds of separating for the fingers.  If I keep up at that rate, I'll get these done within a week!

It's just a jump to the left ....

Look what arrived in the mail yesterday!!

Look what I did last night!!

Any guess as to what I'll be doing this afternoon??

Wish me luck in my endeavor to master waffle weave.  Hopefully there will be enough progress to show tomorrow.  Even after warping the loom for 2 towels, and winding the shuttles, it barely looks like a dent has been put in the cones.  I think I'll get quite a few towels out of this!