Organizing pencils

 My granddaughters each take a box or colored pencils and coloring books when they go places where they are expected to be quiet like church so I made them each a pencil roll with their name, it holds 12 pencils and is easier for their little fingers to get the right pencil out and put it back. I have several of these for my pencils and drawing tools and a couple have been recruited for knitting needles.  Sometimes I’m better at organizing my tools than using them.  But I have decided to use them!  Darling daughter turned 35 this month, she and college roommate have planned a fun weekend to mark the occasion because 35 is half way to 70.  Guess who will turn 70 this year!?! I have made the decision to use my art supplies with wild abandon ( as wild as I get but accepting there will be bad art days and just enjoy the process) because I cringe at the thought of DD filling the dumpster with unused art materials. I’m going to leave piles of filled sketch books.  If my kids want to tear pages out and frame them I will be thrilled.  Recently I have attacked my travel sketchbooks, those sketchbooks I buy special for a trip then do one or two pages and bring home a mostly blank book.  I have been sketching from my travel photos to fill the pages sometimes I add notes,  progress is slow but I see improvement.  Sometimes I jump up and sew a couple quilt blocks while the paint dries. 

Keeping busy—Ann—

Another one

 Sometimes I get carried away cutting pieces for quilts and sometimes I need to make two quilts. First baby was born just over a week ago healthy baby girl at 6 pounds 9 ounces. The next baby is due in June. 

The four point stars burst in the first quilt so in this quilt I’m going with the stars in the background three on each side.  Stars will either be offset in the middle of the quilt or let the background circle in the middle row.  I did polka dots in one and the dots were dominant so I moved them to the outside edge. Much quieter there.  The lower circle is a print with black and gray houses —a cul-de-sac. I still may rearrange some things. I like working with the string grid with this pattern but sometimes when I move a couple pieces I get the string too and all fall down. I had to cut many more background pieces  I have 4 leftover but enough of the colored triangles for a third quilt and I have ideas. —Ann—

How much did it shrink

Those seam allowances can really shrink a quilt and to really be able to see it on the grid I pinned on the design wall.  The quilt top is sewn!  I’m really glad I grouped the background fabrics together.

Now to decide on borders the plaid is out. Either the top or the bottom or dig through the pile of fabrics some more.  The weather has changed again from capris yesterday and temps in the 80’s to wool sweaters and the furnace running.  It’s a good day to sew. —Ann— 

Off the needles

 I finished this a couple weeks ago, a Petite Knits pattern with a round yoke. I used a hand dyed fingering weight yarn and a strand of mohair and silk. I had two skeins of pastel blue with yellow, white a pink and two skeins of slightly variegated light blue.  The mostly blue I used for all the ribbing. The upper yoke is the pastel multi colored yarn the I alternated the two yarns for the rest of the sweater and sleeves because I knew I would run out of the multi colored yarn.  I should have bought 3 skeins instead of 2.  It’s soft and cozy.

I knit this little sweater for a girlfriend’s granddaughter I bought the yarn in Ireland last summer. One big ball of fingering yarn is almost enough for a size 2 or 3 sweater hence the white ribbing. I paired this with a strand of mohair and silk.  I will be like wearing a hug from grandma.

—Ann—

Blissfully sewing

 

Blissful sewing……..this is the first piecing I have done since last year! It felt good and sounded good after oiling the machine.  The hummmmmm and then I saw the star!  The big four point star in the background fabric I liked it and it’s not too late to rearrange the background pieces for another four point star.  Those background fabrics really needed to be organized into puddles. —Ann—

Design wall

 I have been doing more reading and knitting than sewing of late, after reading Esme Cahill Fails Spectacularly by Marie Bostwick got me back in the sewing room but progress has been slow. I need to make two baby quilts one baby due the end of April and the other the end of June. First decision what pattern to use? I frequently sew a kaleidoscope pattern click kaleidoscope in the labels sidebar to see that pattern. Older sister of April baby has one of those quilts.

How about hummingbird by Darlene Zimmerman?  Click hummingbird pattern on the labels sidebar and scroll to see that pattern and a variation.  So I cut lots of pieces and onto the design wall……I want lots of bright colors with black and white background or should I say white and black since there is more white than black in all those fabrics.

 I’m having a hard time bringing order to the chaos.  Eight different white and blacks and throwing a couple oddball fabrics, random placement was just too busy so maybe 4 of the same print I each background square or puddle them together either way I need to place each and every fabric on the design wall before I sew a single seam.

I need to spread these out on the wall so I can rearrange things……..make a grid with string and pins. I have yarn I can do that…….

How do I want to do this?

This arrangement worked for the raspberry truffle quilt if you scrolled that far because the pinks were very similar and the background fabric was all the same.  There is just too much going on here. Over stimulation for tummy time.

I think this arrangement is best I’m still going to need to have everything in place before I start sewing to keep the diamonds between the X the same prints and puddle the prints together.  I found a couple more bright fabrics to add to the mix.  Making the grid made it so much easier to see what I was thinking. —Ann—

  

Baby towels

 My ‘just one thing today’ was to finish these baby towels for great niece’s first baby. Terry cloth on the bolt is no longer available, the craft store’s website says they have it but you have to order it on line is it nice thick terry cloth or the thin stuff that bar rags are made from? So off to the big department stores…….fortunately I found some 30 x 60  bath towels on sale and found wash clothes that were almost the same color and a few fat quarters in the stash to use for binding. Now to find a box and get them in the mail. Just one more thing today—Ann—