2 hours of sewing this morning

2 hours of early morning sewing and lots of corners were applied to this stack of denim squares. I just kept sewing. Finally I ran out of bobbin thread so stopped. 

I did the squares on the corners and trimmed them down to 1 /4 inch seam allowance. Finger press and move onto the next side. 

Now all the pressing has to happen. Then I can add all the 4-patches. At this point not sure how many blocks will be completed. I have a whole tub left of jean legs so I can sew for a long time before I run out. I watched a couple TV shows I couldn't stay awake to watch last night. 

Yesterday in the area my son lives in there was a five alarm fire yesterday with all the wind. He was on the scene for 11 hours and 25 small town fire departments were called to the scene. They came from as far as 75 miles away.  

On a rural fire water has to be trucked in and so a steady stream of tank trucks were on the road. Hay bails caught fire out in the farm yard and it spread to the biggest barn. There were livestock involved. The farmer has his house and a couple tractors left. The wind was gusting to 45 mph and there was no control on getting this fire to stop. 

So last night I kept waiting for the phone to ring and it didn't until just after 2 am. He finally called me this morning and said he was wiped out, but he had gone to work. 

Now we are waiting for a huge storm to hit with 7-10 plus inches to start. We were getting the snow plow on the tractor and we moved the mowing deck to the shed. While trying to get it put inside it fell over and hit the top of my left foot. It is swelling yet. I didn't need that to happen, but it did. 

We are ready now just sit and wait. Stay safe. Chris 

More denim and 4-patches

More stitching. They take some time to get seams all right. Pressing  is a chore because of the denim in the seam allowances, but they are 9 inch blocks when done. Chris

I think I figured it out

2 inch squares sewn into 4-patches. Thsi is my hangup right now. They are colorful and small. 

Well here is the plan. I had a container with used jean legs in the container. I started cutting and now I have the whole container is empty. One of my goals is get this stuff used up. The 4-patches are 3.5 inches square so the denim patches are the same size. I then took my 2 inch squares and laid them on the colors and stitched diagonally and made the small blocks. Then I pieced then with the 4-patches. 

Of course the denim is different colors but all blue. 

This has the 5 4-patches and the four denim squares

This has the 4 4-patches and 5 denim squares. It is using and recycling, but using a lot of color to make these blocks. The denim adds texture, but the size of the patches doesn't add a lot of weight.

Tonight while watching TV I plan on making more 2 inch squares. I have the strips and I can cut them in to squares. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with these, but I think this is a cute little blocks. 

This might give you some ideas for smaller pieces. Chris 

Why am I so.......

 Why am I so stuck? I do not know. I guess I need to sew, but not getting anything done. Well Here is the latest fascination. 4-patches with 2 inch squares.

I got up and wanted to watch Netflix, but my computer was in the middle of an update. So I had to wait. So what does a person do when they have to wait? I got out the 2 inch strips I have cut and started to cut them into 2 inch squares. They pile up in a hurry.

They are a lot of strips cut and I have at least another tub full of strips in this size. So variety will be there. Many ask why don't I sew the strips together and then cut into segments. Well I like the individual piecing better. There is as much cutting if you use strips or individual cuts. I think it is a better variety if you pick up the pieces and not have two or four pieced alike. My preference. It isn't for everyone and your method works for you so use it.  

Yesterday I printed this out. I saw it on Pinterest and I believe it was just a picture on Flicker. Sorry if I am not giving credit for this quilt right. There were no sizes given for this quilt. I chose to make it with 2 inch squares for the 4-patches. I think denim will be the solid looking blue in the center of the square in a square block. It will be a leaders and enders thing. When I need to sew and just be in the mood to sew and not use my brain for figuring out sizes and also combinations. I have several of these 4-patches in this size already made. I will just add to it. 

Today I need to get some groceries. We are to have a break in the rain mid morning. So I will try and go out then. Tomorrow is granddaughters for a few hours and also an appointment for my husband. So today I will sew some and press some. Chris

Gray Gloomy and that is the way it is.

I picked up stuff that was laying around. Did a load of laundry. Did dishes and other than that knitted some more off and on today.

Last night and some of the time this morning I looked online at Pinterest at ideas for 4-patches. I printed off a couple ideas and had to change the ink in my printer. It is the most difficult contraption to change the cartridges in, but it is done.

Today we found out all the paperwork over my son's house has been filed with the court. It has taken over 6 years to resolve this mess. So glad it is over with.

My oldest Granddaughter just told me she got to spend time with her other grandparents today. That is so good to hear because they didn't get to do that with them living so far away.

So today has been a good day even though I haven't done a whole lot. I did find out the other room full of carpet is going to get installed the day after Thanksgiving. So I have time to get the clean up done and a goal is set to accomplish it now.

I am having our Thanksgiving on Sunday after the holiday. To many places for everyone to go to. We will have ham instead of turkey.

Some areas of the country are experiencing bad weather.. I hope you are safe. We just have a lot of rain coming down. Chris

Knitting

I went to a rummage sale this last summer late and found a lot of odds and ends of yarn. It was cheap. I have knitted three scarves out of it and can do several more.

This is for Kate it will be her first outside Winter. She was just a little baby last Winter. 

The pink one is yarn from the rummage sale and the white is yarn that was given to me. Always need a scarf so I thought use my time being productive since Winter is on it's way.

All of the hinges and handles are in place. My husband struggled getting them rehung so they were even which they weren't when we bought the house. I really like the look over the shiny gold that were here. Now onto picking wall colors to paint. We need to paint every room in the house/ That is a job I really like when it is done, but hate while it is going on. 

Rain is coming for the next 3 days. Denver is under a blizzard warning. I am glad we are only getting rain so far. Chris

Trying something

Crazy me. Not finishing anything, but I got onto my Pinterest albums and found this block. No directions at all, but just interesting. I tried a couple and lots of intersecting seams partially sewn.

 This gives a better look at it. I used 2.5 inch squares for the middle and 2 inch wide logs for the rounds. I tried sewing the logs together and adding the opposing strip at the end then sewing them into place. I tried sewing each round. Well the jury is out it is a lot of stopping and starting seams. I think maybe a table runner or a baby quilt with this block, but not a whole bed quilt.

This doesn't look like much, but I am excited. When we bought this house it had bright shiny gold handles and hinges on the cabinets. So 80's look. Well I didn't like it. Contemplated painting them, but it scratches off easy. There was a big sale going on and I found something I could live with. 

See how gaudy the bright gold looks. The hinges are a pain to replace, but my husband has been doing a few at a time and he is down to just the hinges. Something this small makes me feel better. The cost on the other hand wasn't cheap and I would have preferred a different handle , but it was twice the money and I couldn't justify the cost. Chris