Quick Note

I know many of you think I am crazy, but I do have a plan forming in my gourd, head. Soon I will be making quilts to put away for my Grandkids for their future.

No one is really interested in learning or has the passion I have for sewing. Maybe one of the little girls will be interested. Taylor knows how to sew, but school, work, and friends are more important to her now. I remember those days. Course that was a century ago.

The boys will not have wives or girlfriend who will sew. It isn't a cool hobby. Well I think it is, but it can be very expensive. You figure your materials time and utilities it is very expensive. But the passion is here for me.  

The Note for today is to move forward at a speed that is comfortable to you, but productive.

Thoughts: call me crazy, call me obsessed, or call me happy with my hobby. Chris

Working at it

I have a table set up in my living room. This is a personal adjustable table. I can set it to the height I need it and I can sit to cut. I know others stand to cut. I have back issues so I found this table works for me. My husband is tolerant up to a point with the mess. I do move it, but as he says he didn't think quilting would take over the whole house. 

This is the small end pieces of the strips. You can believe it is a lot of strips at this point. Now they are squares. I cut for about an hour yesterday while cooking dinner. Then last night for about an hour and a half. This morning for about an hour and a half. My goal was 3 hours a week, but then I found all the small pieces I forgot I had. So I am on a mission to get things done. 

You ask why cut it up? Well I know others do strip sets them cut. If that works for your needs great. I want control of the combinations I have. With a strip set you have several segments that have the same pieces in them. Yes you pair it up with different segments. I just challenge myself to make different choices. There is no wrong way. You have to cut just as many times. So I have added lots to this container since I took the picture. 

My plan was to clean yesterday and it didn't get done. I have laundry to do and clean. Then as I find a few minutes I need to get some more denim squares stitched. I have several different things going on and I need to be focused to accomplish the things I have in the process. 

I found out Autumn the almost three year old is getting a twin bed for her birthday in March. I have a courthouse steps in the process. It is big enough so I need to get it sandwiched and quilted. She needs a dresser also. So I will be on the look out for a dresser that is suitable for a three year old. 

It is suppose to get light earlier in the day so maybe Spring is around the corner. The talk is the Polar Vortex is to hit this next week. I didn't need to hear that again ever in my life, but we live in NW Illinois so anything can happen. 

Going to start my day and get something done. Good, bad or ugly. Have a good one. Chris 

Yesterday afternoon sewing

After my shocking find and beating myself up because I wasted a year of no sewing. Well I had a few things on my plate through 

 out the year. I had 2 inch squares on the sewing table. I turned on the iron and the radio and started in sewing. This is some of the duplicates of the squares I used in the earlier 4-patches. So I matched them up and got 14 blocks so far out of it. They are 6.5 inches. After pressing them I thought now what am I going to do with them.

As I was cutting the cardboard box of Mom's fabric the other day there was a larger piece of red print that I thought could be used as sashing. I grabbed it this morning and thought about using it for a alternate block to the 16-patches. Simple setting, but it makes a statement also. 

Need some twin sized quilts for grand kids and thought I have enough of the red to do the top this way. Using up cut scraps also and it will be an extra quilt with little ones in potty training mode. Never have enough bedding when they are little. 

This is a Moda fabric from 1995. This was in my Mother's stash. If you can't read it it is a Linda Brannock and Jan Patek fabric. Still in great shape and enough for what I need. 

Some people feel they have to have new fabric. Well at this point I don't care if it is new fabric. I will make every effort to use up what is here at my disposal. 

Today I have to run the vac. The chunks and threads are getting deep. No not really just trying to stay ahead of the mess. Hope you have a good day. Chris

Went searching and about fainted

As my Granddaughter was packing things away I was sorting and pitching things that day. We spent hours in there going through things a pitched a bunch. I went looking for denim to make more of the 4-patch and square in a square block. Well I found denim and about fainted when I search through this very large container. It was under the cardboard box I was cutting from so I didn't pay much attention. The white item is a dust ruffle don't know how it got in there. LOL

As I dug down a layer I found all this much of it I forgot I had. Some was gifted and some was thrift shop finds. Well what was I thinking I had no fabric before I got my Mother's???

This was down a second layer and there is much more in the bottom. I have enough to make my sewing projects for the next 100 years. As I go through it I maybe will be donating some of it to the thrift shop. They help Seniors pay for their prescription drugs that they can't afford to buy.

Then I looked up and all those tubs have scraps to sew or be cut. Where was I that day? I think it was the day before Thanksgiving meal we were having and I had my mind on cooking. Mind you she didn't do a bad thing it is all good, but I guess I was blind to what I had. 

Then turn to this wall with all the cut tubs and I just keep thinking 48 hours in a day still wouldn't get it all sewn. Poor kids she asked me if she got everything I didn't get sewn and I said if she wanted it and she just rolled her eyes. I told her not to worry about it. Kids!!! off to get something done. Chris I guess I have to live forever.

More cutting and Wallpaper

Got up this morning and did some more cutting. Only about 1 1/2 hours this time. I am trying to sort out larger yardage pieces as I go. My Mother stacked her stash according to colors. Didn't matter how much yardage was on the pieces. Some are very suitable for sashing pieces or backings. 

Here are some of the tubs with piles of strips. You can see the trash can with all the crocked pieces also. I have gone through several yards of fabric and cut into more usable sizes for my style of sewing. 

This is a jigsaw puzzle my husband started before Christmas and had to take apart and start over. We needed the table for Christmas dinner. It is a 2000 piece puzzle and challenging. It is done now and I will pick it up today. Lots of work, but he enjoys doing them.

We have debated for months what to do with our kitchen. The paper we had on it was about 6-7 years old and starting to show some wear and tear. so we went to Menard's because they had an 11% sale going on and yesterday was the last day. We had a rebate from them and so that bought a steamer to remove the wallpaper. Then we stopped by the mailbox on the way home and I had a refund check from a deposit in the mail. That paid for the rest of the stuff. The wallpaper steamer and paste plus scrapers we only spent out of pocket $10. Win Win. 

This is a rustic look of a plastered wall. It is a darker tan background and off white raised surface. This wallpaper is textured and it is paint able. I will use it the way it is for a period of time and then paint it later on. It is a forgiving paper because it is heavier and less likely to show imperfections in the wall. I know a lot of work, but a clean finish when done. 

The other thing we want to do is get the imitation looking metal ceiling tiles for the back splash behind the counters. I found a oil bronzed look and I think it will add to the look we are trying to achieve. We have another rebate coming so when it gets here we will use it for that. 

The shiny look of the paper is in plastic rolls. It is a matte finish on the paper.  Off to pickup the room the girls play in and change the bed in there. A little at a time and today should be done. 

My husband got up sick to his stomach this morning so it will be a quiet day here. Chris

Cutting for 3 1/2 hours today

I decided to cut today. I also talked about low volume fabrics. When we first quilted in the 70's talk was of neutrals or antique men's shirtings. Neutral were light grays and off whites, whites and tans. Most of us thought of bleached muslin, unbleached muslin and tea dyed muslin. Today they are called low volume. Basic light or pastel backgrounds with little prints on them or a light solid with a small print in lighter colors. I cut a whole stack of them into three sizes of strips. 1.5 inches, 2 inches and also 2.5 inches. They were stored in tubs with the sizes listed on the outside to be later cut into sizes of squares or logs to work up in blocks. 

  

This is printer paper case box. It was holding some of the fabric that came from my mother's. It didn't have room in a better tub so I used it temporarily. Because it was cardboard I wanted to get it cut up and stored better. The box was overfull and now has a small stack I will work into a better storage unit. 

These are the 2 inch stack and the 2.5 inch stack. These were mostly less than a fat quarter or not more than a 1/2 yard piece. 

I decided in one of my low moments that the stash wasn't doing anyone any good being stored and not used. I think having fabric is nice, but if it is collecting dust or getting faded from being folded and exposed to light what good is it. I decided I would start cutting a couple hours a week and start using it up. There is always more fabric to buy. Right????

In the next couple days I will get out another color selection and get more cut. At some point I will need to sew like crazy and get things assembled. I have several patterns in my head that will take many many blocks to complete. 

We went to the lumberyard and they had a sale on. Today was the last day. We bought flooring for the kitchen and we needed to do something with the walls. I wallpapered about 6-7 years ago and it needs replacing.  We have debated over what to do for about 6 months. Then life got in the way and we put it on hold. 

We bought a wallpaper steamer and also textured wallpaper that can be painted. It looks like rustic plaster. It will work with the flooring well and when I am tired of the color of it I can paint over it. That means I need to find new curtains for the windows and see if I can find something with a linen look to it. The wallpaper is unbleached muslin look over a darker tan color. It is a neat texture feel to it. So I am sure my husband will start on it tomorrow. Taking off wallpaper is not fun. 

I will take pictures and let you know if we are crazy or not. I am sure we are crazy. Chris  

Jan. 1, 2016

Ok I typed it right do you think I will write it right for about three months. No! it will be 2015 forever.

Today the girls went home they were hear all day yesterday and last night. Daddy came and got them. So after laundry and dishes and picking up I took a nap because I had a sick baby last night that wanted Grandma. so I didn't sleep well. After a nap which I didn't sleep well again I went in and did some pressing and some sewing. I made 60 4-patch blocks to make more of the 4-patch and denim blocks. I had a tub with cut 2 inch squares and the other day I sat and sewed after winding bobbins Today the pressing happened and then the 2-patches sewn into 4-patches.

I did Get them pressed. I need to make an effort to cut out the 3.5 inch denim  squares.  I think tomorrow is going to be cutting day.

I made out a goal list the other day and one of the top things was to cut scraps and fabric for three hours a week to stay ahead of the need. I really think this fabric sitting here needs to be cut. The other thing is nothing gets made if it isn't cut up in to different sizes. Stash is stash, but what does it do for you other than lay there and collect dust.

I thought about several different topics for future posts. Pressing, cutting, thread choices, needles and batting choices. So stayed tuned see where this conversation takes us. Chris