Finished: The Lobster

Lobster tablerunner
Lobster tablerunner

I know I finished pretty fast considering the quilts were returned to me not that long ago, but, yes, I finished the Lobster. It is now on my dining room buffet protecting the surface. It also brightens up the space.

I want to use it for the July timeframe, but I still have so few non-holiday tablerunners that I will use it for awhile and then switch it out for another. I guess I need to work on tablerunners for all the holidays like I made napkins for many holidays.

Finished: The Lobster

The Lobster top finished
The Lobster top finished

The Lobster table runner did not take very long to finish. I struggled with the piecing of the Sawtooth Stars for some reason, but eventually got them together and was able to finish the top. As you can see, I added a border to contain the blue.

The Lobster back finished
The Lobster back finished

I also made a back and a binding and will take this piece to Colleen to quilt.

I cross this off my to do list with a great amount of glee.

Starting on the Lobster

I have had this project on my list for awhile. I show the original drawing in one post that also calls this piece part of a CQFA placemat challenge. I discussed working on it after I did some stitching. I showed it at a CQFA Art Walk. It seems that 2019 is the last time I worked on it.

The piece is small and I kept chiding myself for not just doing it. The muse, however, is a fickle mistress and she was not interested in this piece for a long time.

The Lobster with potential blocks
The Lobster with potential blocks

Finally, she allowed me a flash of inspiration and I ran with it. I have started piecing it into a table runner. I need more table runners for my buffet and I thought this would make a good one for summer. Also, I could admire my lobster more frequently.

I always like the Sawtooth Star block and thought it would work to make the table runner a little longer. I put some pinwheels inside the Sawtooth Star’s center just to make it a little more interesting.

I may add some pointed ends. We’ll see.

CQFA Saturday

As mentioned yesterday, I went to CQFA on Saturday as well. It was held at a different location, Needles Studio in Palo Alto, because A Work of Heart was not available. One of the reasons I went was the location. I am pretty much done with driving to San Jose on a Saturday morning after getting lost one time too many with an added dose of a Google Maps failure (Google Maps is not infallible, so have a backup plan).

Another reason I went was a number of people at the retreat asked me to go. That was odd and I hoped they weren’t going to give me a gift or something for organizing the retreat. They didn’t and I was relieved. I think, now, that they just wanted to see me.

Finally, Julie said she would come and we were able to go to lunch and catch up afterwards.

The space is great. It is partly a workspace and partly a retail space. The items available for purchase are tightly ‘curated’. There aren’t many, but they are nice.

Show and tell was great. I brought the bags I have been working on lately, the Running with Scissors Tote, the 4 Zip Organizer, and the All Rolled Up Tote. I think they were wowed by my explanations of what I did differently on the two Crafty Gemini projects. That made me feel good until someone said “oh, I could never do that”. That phrase makes me so angry. I wasn’t born knowing how to make bags. I learned. Ergh!!! I didn’t have any quilts or tops to show.

Sonja with her amazing fabric
Sonja with her amazing fabric

Sonja brought a suitcase full of fabric she has been working on for the Nancy Crow class she is taking next week. She explained a lot about how she dyed the different tones and hues. There were a number of colors I would have cheerfully taken from her.

I missed taking photos of Friend Julie‘s finishes. She is working with a Finish-a-Long group and finished 6 of her 10 projects!!! I was so happy for her. Some will be in upcoming shows.

Maureen has been working on her fabric postcards for some upcoming boutiques. She thinks that she won’t do this next year, but her stuff is great. She didn’t bring any work to show, but she passed out postcards of the upcoming boutiques.

Dolores talked about some sales she has had recently. That is pretty exciting. One piece was sold to a man from Qatar who showed up at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, UK!

There was a discussion of precious textiles. Bron brought a mola she found in a box of FabMo donations (she sells precious things from FabMo donations on eBay for the the group). Maureen showed Katangas from when she lived in Kenya. They were really interesting to look at and I loved hearing how they are used. Reva brought a Marsailles weave tablecloth her grandmother or great-grandmother was given upon the occasion of her wedding. It was in good shape, if a little stained. There was a note attached telling the provenance. I thought the overall design would have made a great wholecloth quilt.

I enjoyed myself, though I was getting a little antsy as the clocked ticked away as I wanted to get to Sew Day.

Retreat Donation Blocks

Retreat Donation Blocks
Retreat Donation Blocks

I needed something for leaders and enders at the Retreat. While there, I made donation blocks for the Community Giving Project at BAM.

I didn’t have it in me to gather up and bring the pieces I needed for my new strips donation blocks, so I grabbed my bin of 2.5 inch squares and used those. Peggy always appreciates more blocks and I have been wanting to make more for her. Since I have been focusing on my strip quilts and improv quilts for the community giving project I haven’t made as many of the postage stamp donation blocks.

I had a slow start, but eventually ended up with 6. I made these while I worked on the Running with Scissors tote.

Lobster Progress!

Lobster progress - June 2019
Lobster progress – June 2019

Amazing, I know! I finished the stitching on the Lobster. It wasn’t really very much and I am kind of embarrassed that it took me so long. I thought it was much more, which kind of validates what I learned in Lorraine Torrence’s class a long time ago: Make visual decisions visually. This isn’t exactly a visual decision as choosing one fabric over another would be. It is a visual decision in that if I had looked at this piece carefully, I would have seen how little I had left to stitch.

I’m not done yet. I want to hand embroider the feelers on the lobster’s head. I have to finish it. I don’t think I will quilt it. I think that there is a enough stitching. I do have to finish it in some way. Framing seems the best, but I don’t have a spare wall to hang it. I am still thinking about what to do.

Undercover Maker Mat Goes Out to Play

Undercover Maker Mat on Retreat
Undercover Maker Mat on Retreat

I took the Undercover Maker Mat on the CQFA Retreat. I got to try it out. That was why I made it.

I thought the front pockets worked pretty well. I can see where a pincushion might be handy, but I don’t plan to transfer my pins from pincushion to pincushion every time I use the mat.

I think the pockets would be more in use depending on the different projects I might be working on. I might use the larger selvage pocket on the left for a 6.5 inch ruler as needed. For what I did at the retreat having my snips and seam ripper handy was fine.

I had a couple of issues. First, you can see that the snips sleeve is in the pocket. Without the snips sleeve, my snips kept getting caught on the inside of the pocket. I added the snip sleeve because I didn’t want to cut the mat. Perhaps I should have used oilcloth for the inside of the pockets?

I didn’t notice it at the retreat, but I did notice it at the Jen Carlton Bailly class. I couldn’t get the legs of my Sew Steady table level when using the mat. I may want to make another mat that is larger so the Sew Steady doesn’t have to try and deal with different heights (mat/table).

None of this is fatal or a problem with the pattern.

Maureen’s Pincushion

Maureen's pincushion
Maureen’s pincushion

In order to add a gift to Maureen’s bag, I made her a pincushion. Unlike the bag, the pincushion went together very smoothly. I had some of the pieces and parts from my last round of pincushion making on the cutting table. They weren’t crappy, just unused.

I picked out some other scraps from the unsorted pile on my cutting table and came up with a great selection. I am pleased with how it looks and don’t think it looks thrown together or disjointed at all.

Maureen's pincushion-with clips
Maureen’s pincushion-with clips

I saved time by not using selvages for the back. I just used a piece of the batik. As usual, I filled it with a combination of wool roving and Beanie Baby pellets.

I hope she likes it.

Maureen’s Bag

Maureen is stepping down from her role as Supreme Leader of CQFA. I decided that we needed to give her a gift, so I organized the bag gift that I do at BAM.

Maureen's Jane Market Tote
Maureen’s Jane Market Tote

I got started on it kind of late, so the bag I made is a simple Jane Market Tote. I thought I had some African Fabric, which Maureen would have liked, but I have been cleaning out my fabric bins and that must have gone to a better home in a recent purge.

The project didn’t go super smoothly. I had to rip out the whole thing once I had sewn the outside and lining together and done the topstitching. Sigh. Somehow the linking was way too large and was sagging on the inside. I couldn’t live with it, so I ripped it all out. I had to trim the lining and then sew it all back together. It wasn’t terrible, but not ideal either. I think I must have turned the lining the wrong way when I boxed the corners. Hopefully, I will remember to check next time!

The members will bring notes and gifts with which to fill the bag.

CQFA Retreat Projects

I talked a little about the CQFA Retreat a few days ago, which discussed a lot of the projects on which I worked. A number of projects were worked on and finished.

Drawstring Gift Bag
Drawstring Gift Bag

Angela, of course, made the bag in which they placed my birthday gifts. I was not suspicious at all, because I didn’t think anyone besides Julie knew about my birthday. I crack myself up sometimes. 😉

Bron's Elegant Wrap
Bron’s Elegant Wrap

Bron found a wonderful piece of fake fur at FabMo. It isn’t fur like a fur rug, but was like velour, but had longer hair. She made a shawl out of it and it looked elegant and fantastic.

A friend of hers is going to a wedding in St. Petersburg and will get to wear it. It is so wonderful that we told Bron to make sure she gets it back. I have to think of a place to wear it so I can borrow it. 😉

Julie’s first finish was an apron. She bought the pattern and fabric after seeing it at PIQF. She wrote about it on her blog. She did great fussy cutting on the pockets.

Lynette's batik squares
Lynette’s batik squares

Lynette worked on a batik quilt using squares. I love the sashing she worked on. I also think the lavender background was an innovative choice.

This is a good choice for a retreat project IMO, because it is something that takes a lot of time. It can just be worked on the entire weekend. It also doesn’t need a lot of attention to detail so the maker can pay attention to the banter around her as well. I know Lynette machine quilted one of her mom’s small quilts first.

Rhonda worked on a piece she started at Craft Napa and we all kibbitzed on that project. We also saw her finished Dropcloth Sampler squares. FANTASTIC!

Carolyn-Bron piece
Carolyn-Bron piece

Carolyn, one of our far flung members, sent Bron some squares. Bron brought them with her to make a quilt. She started out by redoing some of the squares in an Improv kind of way.

We all thought the fabrics were ‘very Carolyn’. Bron added a lot of the angles and worked to make the pieces around the same size. She got to about this stage when we had to pack up. Again there were lots of opinions about the blocks.

The quilting fairies were watching over Angela as she machine quilted a donation quilt for BAM. She ran over a safety pin without even noticing and there was no harm done to her, the quilt or her machine. WHEW!

Nancy worked on some embroidery for a class she is taking. Dolores worked on beading. Jen was putting together silk squares and was planning to applique’ some of her wool work on it.

I really like seeing everyone’s work and how they are working. Well worth the effort.

Creativity posts will return soon.

City Sampler in Process Again

City Sampler, January 2019
City Sampler, January 2019

I am back in the City Sampler saddle. I need a big finish to up my fabric usage numbers. Getting this top done is the first step.

One of the things I mentioned in recent 26 Projects posts was that I had to fix some blocks. I have been working on that and now have only about 20 blocks to go.

I am liking the way the top looks and am looking forward to putting it together.

Serendipity Lady Returns

Serendipity Lady -at the beginning of the Retreat
Serendipity Lady -at the beginning of the Retreat

The last time I worked on this project was back in January of 2015. I was stuck. It has been awhile.

I decided what I needed was time and some space. Since I would have 30 or so uninterrupted hours at the CQFA Retreat, I decided to bring it along. It wasn’t a UFO I was intending to finish, but it was a good opportunity and I grabbed it. Finished is finished, right?

I gathered up all the pieces and parts and looked it over before I left. I also brought a couple of drawers from my scrap cabinet and a variety of other supplies. Clearly, I got serious about this project.

At the Retreat. I started cutting out fabric to match the pattern pieces I had made from fusible. It wasn’t long before I had all of them done and the piece was ready to sew. I arrived at the Retreat at about 2pm and had all the fabric in place by the time we went to dinner at 6.

Serendipity Lady - redy to sew
Serendipity Lady – redy to sew

The fusible got too old, so I ended up using a Sewline Glue Pen. It isn’t ideal, but it keeps the pieces down long enough for me to sew them. All the fabric is in place and I just have to zigzag.

When we returned, I started to sew – zigzagging down the edges. The state of the fusible was one reason I started to sew down the edges. I didn’t think it would last long.

The pattern is a from an an Art Nouveau stained/leaded glass pattern book by Ed Sibbett.

CQFA Retreat 2019

Sidewalk art, Pacific Grove
Sidewalk art, Pacific Grove

The CQFA Retreat took place January 18-20**.  Angela organized everything. She is a great retreat coordinator. It was held at Asilomar (yes, the same place Empty Spools is held ) and I had a great time.

Since I live an hour north of almost everyone else in the guild, I got there somewhat later. The retreat started at noon and I got there around 2. I left at about 10:30 and drove straight through. I finally stopped in Pacific Grove. First, I went to Tuesday Morning to see if I could find a wheeled tote for my travel sewing machine. Amy of BAM got a great one at TM and I am desperately trying to find one. No luck. I may decide to buy one at full price.

Back Porch birthday purchases
Back Porch birthday purchases

Next, I went to Back Porch. I have been there a number of times and love that store. I wanted to get lobster clips, because I have a bug in my ear to make another Roadtrip Bag. I didn’t find them but I did find a few other things. 😉

I also stopped and got some Thai food since lunch wasn’t provided on Friday, then headed to the location. Friend Julie,  Angela, Rhonda and Lynette had already arrived and were working away. Once I brought all my stuff in and put my car away, I got to work also.

Pet Bed - olive and brown plaid
Pet Bed – olive and brown plaid

The first thing I did was make a pet bed for schnibble collection. CQFA doesn’t really do pet beds, but I really dislike seeing all that fabric (scraps) go into the landfill.

Then, I started in on Serendipity Lady. I really just needed some space and a chunk of time to fiddle with the tiny pieces. I had planned to just get her to the point where I could satin stitch  her later. The fusible I used was too old, so I ended up spending the rest of Friday and about 6 hours on Saturday satin stitching. Now she is ready to quilt. I have decided to baste and quilt her soon. I want her finished and have made so much good progress that I don’t want to lose momentum. I have limited wall space, but may frame her like Kissy Fish.

After getting as much done as I could on Serendipity Lady, I worked on the City Sampler. Yes, I am digging out UFOs and going to town. This was a good move. I just did something and while I changed some of what I did when I got home, it wasn’t wasted effort.

I continued to work on the City Sampler until we had to start packing up. 🙁 I could have used more days. Of course. I am happy – REALLY happy – with what I got done and, as mentioned, want to carry over the momentum to my workroom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**the weekend of my birthday! YAY! What a great way to spend my birthday!

Last ATCs

I made my last ATCs for awhile last week and forgot to take a photo. At the CQFA meeting on Saturday, I was the only one who brought them. It was decided that we weren’t going to do them going forward. I will kind of miss the rush of getting a small work of art done, but I will also not miss the stress.

Last CQFA ATCs - December 2018
Last CQFA ATCs – December 2018

Sadly I forgot to take a photo of the 4 together, but Julie brought hers along when we had lunch and I took a photo of one of them.

June ATCs

June 2018 ATCs
June 2018 ATCs

I threw together some ATCs for the meeting at almost the last minute. Not my best work, but not my worst either.

I thought of adding some handwork or beads, but didn’t get to it.

Group June 2018 ATCs
Group June 2018 ATCs

The exchange was good. People-Bron, Maureen and Rhonda- made really excellent ATCs.

Rhonda used the leftover handwork thread (Perl cotton?) for her circles. I love that look and wish I had thought of it.

Maureen’s animals were awesome. I actually took two of them by mistake, but Maureen wouldn’t take one back.

I love Bron’s use of the selvedges.

My prizes!
My prizes!

They aren’t really prizes in the traditional sense of the words, but I chose a nice selection. I love them all but the animals really speak to me.