Journey 2 Nebula Seaside Progress

Journey 2 Nebula icon
Journey 2 Nebula icon
Seaside Table Runners in process
Seaside Table Runners in process

I made good progress last week on both Seaside table runners. I am moving forward.

I have to say, though, that I am out of practice with diamonds and my brain rebelled at the directions for this project. You can see from the photo that the rows point in different directions (look at the ends of the rows). This means the different units were not interchangeable and I had to piece them in different directions. My brain did not like it. Finally, I had to put the rows up on the design wall and look at them as I pieced. It took, what felt like, forever.

I also decided that 6 strips for each Seaside table runner was a better number so that the fabrics could be alternated. I was too late to add them to my red text table runner, but will add another fabric to Amy’s blue version.

Table Leaf Covers

Bookshelf fabric
Bookshelf fabric

Last Autumn we finally had MIL’s dining room table and china cabinet moved over to our house. Along with the table came 3 leaves and the associated pads. We didn’t want them to get any more scratched than they are so they have been sitting carefully in the dining room since last Thanksgiving. DH and I have been tinkering with measurements around making bags. A few weeks ago, after going through my backing fabric stash, I pulled out 6 yards of fabric that I don’t think I will use for a back. I took it to Tim and he quilted it for me.

Laying out fabric for table leaf bags
Laying out fabric for table leaf bags

Over the weekend, I put the first table leaf bag together. Getting that done required some visual pattern making.

I needed to see what the relationship was between the leaves and the fabric I had. One issue I knew I had was the width of the fabric. The fabric was standard 45ish inch wide quiltmaking fabric. 45ish was only just wide enough for making a bag if the leaves were arranged horizontally, but we wanted them vertical so the design of the fabric would be oriented the same way the leaves would be stored. This orientation brought up our second issue, we wouldn’t have enough fabric for 3 bags and the pads. I figured out how to make a bag for two leaves that would take up only one section of the fabric. Of course I could have used more fabric, but I really wanted the bags to match, if at all possible.

Single table leaf cover- finished
Single table leaf cover- finished

Eventually, we decided that the only way the project would work was to make the bags with the leaves horizontal across the fabric. Making the bags that way would ensure I had enough fabric and used it all most effectively.

I finished one of the covers over the weekend and moved on to the second one, which will hold 2 leaves. I am part way through it. It is going much faster than the first one, but that is to be expected. Of course, I haven’t gotten to putting it together yet.

Single table leaf cover- finished, showing one leaf
Single table leaf cover- finished, showing one leaf

I have some leeway in different areas because these will mostly be in a closet 11.75 months of the year. Still, I don’t want them to look crappy. They will most likely move on with the table so I want them to last.

Tim’s Pillow

Tim's Cushion
Tim’s Cushion

I visited Tim last week for another transfer of quilts, etc. He showed me this awesome cushion he made. I really love the color choices.

Tim used the All People Quilt Play It Cool pattern and took inspiration from their color choices as well.

Of course, there is a lot of turquoise, but the combination of the splatter print and the greys are really great. The darks anchor the overall design and the pink gives it a little pop. I just love it.

Tim's Zipper installation
Tim’s Zipper installation

I am so impressed with Tim’s zipper, too. Look how perfect that looks!!! I need to practice to do so well.

I am surrounded by people who provide excellent inspiration. I feel very fortunate.

Another Drawer

Some time ago, I lined one or two of my dresser drawers with fabric. Earlier this week, I heard a cracking sound as I rearranged one of my drawers. This led to the unloading, the sorting of clothes, the repair and eventual reloading of the drawer.

Forced Reorganization
Forced Reorganization

Fortunately, I am not rushing around early in the morning to get dressed and get to the office. Lately, my commute has been pretty easy, so the turmoil of my clothes being everywhere was minimal. It did look bad. I am also pretty sure the mess annoyed DH. There wasn’t anything I could do, however, until I had some time to sort everything out.

The dresser is old, but solid wood with dovetail joints, so worth repairing. DH was able to fix the drawer during one of his work breaks (we are both working from home) earlier in the week. It has been waiting for me to deal with.

Vestige by Bookhou fabric
Vestige by Bookhou fabric

Friday, I took a sick day off of work. I don’t have vacation, but my boss is pretty understanding about the need for rest and for the need to get paid. It is a bonus that it is a 3-day weekend. I have a lot on my to-do list including cleaning. This project was one task. The first order of business was to choose a fabric. I thought I had one selected, but I looked through some of my fabric and decided on a Anna Maria Horner print that Friend Julie gave me recently. I used this fabric, because it made me happy to look at and I couldn’t think of an immediate use for it. I still have a little of it to use in another project. I will definitely see it pretty often as I rummage around in my drawer.

Completed drawer
Completed drawer

I took the opportunity to cull some clothes I don’t wear or had forgotten about. Some will go to donation organizations and some went into the wash so I can actually wear them.

The execution didn’t succeed as well as my first effort, but since it won’t be scrutinized by judges, I don’t care. I am pretty happy with how it looks. Now I just need to get a boatload of sachets or potpourri or lavender to keep the mustiness out of the drawer and I’ll be all set.

Quilt Display

Recently, in a FB group, we were asked how we display our quilts. I thought you might be interested to see how I ‘display’ quilts at my house. Display is a pretty fancy word for storage, I think.

Quilt Display - April 2019
Quilt Display – April 2019

We have an open plan house. The living room and dining room can be clearly seen from the upstairs hallway. There is a stair rail preventing us from toppling into the living room and that provides an excellent place to store my quilts. We are getting quite a pile.

You can also see that one of the FOTY quilts is hanging on the wall behind the stair rail. I like to think I change out that quilt frequently, but the reality is that that one has been there for awhile.

Quilt Display 2 - April 2019
Quilt Display 2 – April 2019

We also have quilts on all the living room chairs and the couch. They get used, especially by DH for naps. The photo, right, is just an example.

DIY with Fray Check

New Sheers - March 2019
New Sheers – March 2019

Last weekend we hung new sheers.

We had great sheers from Crate & Barrel that I loved. They were more than 20 years old and starting to rot from sun damage. They were a good investment, I think.

My old curtains had multi-colored dots on them and I really wanted more of the same. Of course, because everything must be new, that style was no longer available. I found some curtains with silver dots and decided those would work.

We had never hung a real curtain rod and had some sort of jerry rigged system using one of those curved rods and a bunch of nails. When we moved in the YM was 6 months old and we were a little busy.

Various finials we did NOT choose
Various finials we did NOT choose

Several months ago, I started looking at curtain rods. We have a corner window, so needed a system with a corner connector. There were a few, but the finials in all of these were TOO MUCH. They screamed “Welcome to my curtains”. That was absolutely what I did not want.

For this sort of shopping, at least for me, online shopping is sub-optimal. I need to see the size and finish of what I am looking at.

Living room finials
Living room finials

DH was home last Friday for Cesar Chavez Day, so we went out and looked at rods. In addition to the crazy finals, we found that the diameter of the rods was too big. We went out the next day, again, which is some sort of miracle because it was Saturday and we don’t shop well together. I tried to think of it as kind of like a date, though. We found a great, subtle rod at Target with a corner connector! We hadn’t even planned to go to Target, but we parked near it and stopped in. Their selection of curtain rods and hardware was pretty decimated, but we found a finial we liked. They had all the pieces and parts we needed, so we bought it and left.

DH doesn’t have much time at home, so I was planning to have our handy man put them up. DH started moving furniture and measuring on Sunday morning and spent a happy, I think, 3/4s day putting them up. I had to help him at various points, which was great, because he was getting it done. I knew there wouldn’t be another half finished home project in our garage.

Fray Check DIY
Fray Check DIY

This style of curtain rod has supports. We did not want to use the rings designed to work with these curtains, so we cut the back of the curtain rod pocket, sealed the edges with Fray Check and hung them up. Nobody will see the cuts.

I hadn’t used Fray Check in a long time. I was pleased that my bottle was still good. I used too much on the first one and it took forever to dry. I used a hair dryer to be sure it was dry. Otherwise, the whole project went relatively smoothly.

I am pleased with how the curtains came out except, because of the online shopping aspect, they are much less sheer than our other sheers. I would have preferred more sheer to let more light in, but done is better than perfect. Now that we have secure curtain rods up, we can change them more easily.

 

Finished: Mod Lights

Mod Lights: Perfect Fit
Mod Lights: Perfect Fit

This tablerunner (buffet runner) is finished and I couldn’t be more pleased.

The photo, left, shows where it will go in my house during Christmas. I am pleased because I had to adjust the pattern slightly and it worked! The runner fits perfectly on top of my buffet.

Mod Lights Table Runner
Mod Lights Table Runner

As mentioned, this is a quick curve mini-ruler pattern from Sew Kind of Wonderful called Mod Lights. The pattern has 3-4 patterns, so you wouldn’t just be getting this one.

I used some Free Spirit solids bought at QuiltCon in 2018. They were lovely to work with-not much fraying and great colors. The green is a Pointillist Palette ombre I have had for awhile and the background is the same background I used for Metroscape.

I also did the quilting myself. I don’t do much quilting, but I decided it was too small to take to Colleen and I could do it. Also, I wanted it done, so I spent a Saturday quilting it very slowly. My body is still complaining a bit from the exertion.

Mod Lights Table Runner - back
Mod Lights Table Runner – back

I had some tension issues, but learned a bit about my machine in working them out. I didn’t see the computer display change as I adjusted the tension, but I did see a difference in the stitching, so I guess it worked.

Serious Progress: Lights Tablerunner

Lights Tablerunner - quilted
Lights Tablerunner – quilted

It isn’t that long ago that I was sewing the blocks for this piece. Now the quilting is done and the binding is machine stitched. I am ready to hand sew the back of the binding and be finished.

Quilting - Lights tablerunner
Quilting – Lights tablerunner

I spent all day Saturday quilting it. It took me all day, too, to carefully straight stitch the areas I wanted quilted.

I really didn’t want to do it, but I also don’t want another UFO hanging around, so I bit the bullet and did the quilting. I am paying for my work as my arm and neck aren’t their usual selves. I tend to attach my left shoulder to my ear as I quilt. I tried really hard to keep it down so the pain is not as bad as it could be. I have Serendipity Lady to quilt, but that piece will have to wait for another day.

Lights tablerunner - quilting detail
Lights tablerunner – quilting detail

The quilting isn’t perfect, but I am pretty pleased with the way it came out. There are a couple of sections I might redo, but I don’t need to worry about that now.

What really helped me was listening to the Pearl Sister as I quilted. After a couple of enjoyable, but not well written books, this was a fantastic quilting book. It is the latest in the Seven Sisters series by Lucinda Riley and was really great. I am going back to read the first in the series, because it was so good and I want to be reminded of the details of the sisters. I just found out there is another installment in the series ready for me to read as well, The Moon Sister! Yay! Perhaps it is time for another quilting project? Definitely read the series in order.

Mod Lights Buffet Runner

I spent most of Saturday’s Sew Day working on the Mod Lights pattern from Sew Kind of Wonderful. When I say ‘working’, you have to take that with a slight grain of salt, because I can’t help but change up the pattern.

In this case, I am not changing a lot. The fabrics are different and the size is slightly different. I want it to fit my buffet and that piece of furniture is a certain size.  Otherwise, the layout and the way I put it together was the same.

Holiday Lights Buffet runner
Holiday Lights Buffet runner

I finished the top on Sunday, so now I have to make a back and find some batting.

I bought the pattern on a whim at Stitch in Ferndale.  I stopped there, as mentioned, on my way back from Portland right before Christmas. I love that store. I would drive up there for a class, if they had one I would enjoy.

Trimming the lights
Trimming the lights

This pattern required the small/mini Quick Curve Ruler, which I also bought at Stitch. I was slightly annoyed because I thought I could use the larger version, but I ended up happy after seeing the lights develop and how great the motif is.

As mentioned when I was making MetroScape, all the curved portion of the blocks require trimming. You might sincerely dislike trimming, but I like it as it sets me up for success. Some of the curved pieces I sewed together came out super weird looking. If I had tried to sew them together as is, I would have had a disaster on my hands. As it was, I was able to help fill a pet bed and be successful.

The pattern has a couple of different projects included so you are getting some bang for your buck. All of the projects include the light. I got some ideas on other projects in which I could use the light motif, so I might get even more bang.

Finished: Thanksgiving Tablemat

Finished: Thanksgiving tablemat
Finished: Thanksgiving tablemat

Last week was a week of finishes and I am just getting around to reporting on them. I am finally finished with the Thanksgiving tablemat. I bought the fabric in August of 2015 as I came back from dropping the YM off for his freshman year at college. I started working on it sometime around the end of 2016, worked on it at the retreat in 2017 and finally finished it a few days ago. It is 23 x 24 inches and fits perfectly (whew!) on my coffee table.

This is the final piece in Thanksgiving decorations. I may make more, but for now I am finished and I am glad to cross this project off my To Do list.

Thanksgiving Tablemap Progress

Sheesh, October already!

Thanksgiving Tablemap Retreat Progress
Thanksgiving Tablemap Retreat Progress

The last time I wrote about this project was after last year’s Retreat. I can’t believe I have done nothing on this project since then. Well, I really can believe it, because I don’t like to quilt. The Retreat is the only time I seem to be able to tolerate it.

I has some problems as mentioned yesterday, but got the binding most of the way on, so the end is in sight.

I don’t have my binding tool, but there are YouTube videos and other tutorials on joining the binding, so I had some hope I would be able to accomplish that at the Retreat, too.

I have high hopes that this will be on the coffee table for Thanksgiving, if not before.

Sunflower Napkins

Sunflower Napkins
Sunflower Napkins

These are also for the Grand President of the Native Daughters. The napkins will be placed in the bag I will show you later this week. Same fabric.

They go with her theme, which is sunflowers and with the dessert plates we got for her as a gift last year.

I put the label on as many people do not use cloth napkins at home and I wasn’t sure she would know what they are. I would hate to see someone wearing one on his/her head. 😉

Sunflower Napkins - full
Sunflower Napkins – full

I generally use 2 quarter yards – fat quarters – to make my napkins. I like generous napkins that cover my whole lap. I think I made these square.

Normally, I do a decorative stitch on the edge, but I wasn’t up for that with this project. I just sewed two lines of straight stitching and I think it looks fine.

They are done and I am pleased. Napkins are a great way to use up fabric, by the way.

California Pillow

California Pillow
California Pillow

I finally made the pillow I intended to make from the panel Mrs. K sent me.

I feel like such a slacker. This panel has been hanging around since …. I don’t know…. months? I do keep sewing, so I can’t be that much of a slacker, right?

We do not have to raise money this year at Grand Parlor, so I made this pillow for one of our friends who does not get support from his Parlor to attend Grand Parlor. He is running for Grand 3rd VP and needs all the help he can get.

California Pillow back
California Pillow back

Yes, I pulled out some Pointillist Palette fabric, after being inspired by my SIL. I can’t hoard it. I have to get the 4th Pointillist Palette quilt done and use this great fabric. Since I had it out to use for Kelly’s Color My Quilt piece, I decided this pillow would work as another effort at using it.

The back is pretty plain, but I do like that blue. I wish I had written down what it was (usually I write the brand and color on the selvedge) as I could look for more. I didn’t so, it will be a mystery.

New Pillowcases

I bought some flannel cupcake fabric to make a pillowcase.

Then I saw some great flannel cupcake fabric at another shop and bought it to make a pillowcase. It turns out the two pieces were the same. If someone had bought it for me, I would have said “great minds think alike.” Since I just bought both pieces, apparently forgetting I bought it the first time, I have to wonder. I guess I really liked that fabric.

Cupcake Pillowcases
Cupcake Pillowcases

I have been on a near-frenzy lately washing fabric. The pieces of flannel got caught in the madness. Since I am trying to stay in the black in terms of fabric usage, I decided to make some pillowcases. They are a quick and easy yard of usage.

I thought I would give these to a niece who has recently become engaged. I am not sure she would like the colors, though, so I may give them to someone else.

Skeleton Cuff Pillowcase

Skeleton Cuff Fabric
Skeleton Cuff Fabric

While plowing through fabric a week or so ago, I found a leftover piece of skeleton fabric with a note on it that said “pillowcase cuff”. Since I was preparing to send the YM a care package I sewed up a new pillowcase for him. I haven’t been making him one a month like I was last year. If I get inspired, I make one.

I used some stripes as the body since I also found them while I was plowing through that same pile of fabric. I figured I had enough stripes for binding and one more black and white length of yardage wouldn’t be missed.

DH asked me why I was sending the YM a Halloween pillowcase in February. Sigh.