What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

No change in the numbers.

I’d hoped to post a Short List this week, but that didn’t happen. Work continues to be all consuming, something I expect to last through the year.

I moved on to the next clothing project. I decided to sew a knit t-shirt, and then found I didn’t have a pattern. It was the first of what I’m sure will be many at a loss without Joann’s moments. I ended up catching a sale on the Love Notions site and bought the Laundry Day Tee and got the Classic T-shirt pattern ...

No fabric in this week.

I finished the shirt for fabric out.

The pattern is McCall’s M8042. I lengthened the sleeves and shortened the body.

It fits, but I won’t make it again. The construction is unusual, which made it very difficult to adjust while sewing.

McCall’s patterns tend to be out of proportion with my arms and shoulders. They just never sit quite right on me. I’ll chalk it up to experience and move on.

Fabric In: 0

Fabric Out: 18.375 yards

Net Fabric Out: 18.375 yards

How did you do this week ...

So --- did you give any thought to those almost completed UFOs that could be done in 60 minutes or less? 

I stared around Studio B, and oh boy—the number of projects I found in that category would blow my mind. I'm not even tempted at this point to group them. So this is what I started with. Two pet mats were sitting beside the serger; all they needed was one seam to close them up and tuck the ends in. 

Two pet mats - DONE

And now they are done and sitting in the Pony Express area. Seriously? That ...

No fabric in this week, a miracle since my Guild had their annual fabric sale. The fabric just wasn’t speaking to me. I bought this stitching frame instead.

I’m not sure how that ended up in the sale, but I’m grateful to have it.

At the thrift store later, I found this Hinzeit pattern with the charms. DH is an avid fisherman, and the charms made it too cute to pass up.

In the sewing room, work on the shirt continues. I’d really like to finish it this month.

Fabric In: 0

Fabric Out: 17.25 ...

Happy Mothers Day! I hope you do something nice for yourself today.

No change in the numbers.

I’m working on lots of projects. The afghan is close to a finish. Sorry about the weird sun spot in the photo.

Fairy Tales Live on Roofs is moving forward, slowly.

This shirt is in progress using this fabric.

And just because I wanted to, I started something new. Look at me stitching on 28 count lugana instead of aida.

All those projects and not a quilt in site. I may go back to a UFO once I finish the shirt. It ...

I saw some progress on sewing projects this week. I finished the boro bag.

I used fusible fleece instead of interfacing because I wanted the bag to have enough structure to protect the project inside. It added a lot of bulk, the trade off for getting what I wanted.

I also cut out a shirt. I must have washed that fabric a couple months ago. Let’s hope the sewing goes faster.

I didn’t add any fabric, but did make a final trip to Joann’s. My usual store is one that got a truckload of yarn. That took ...

Now you see why I'm not a gardener! I got the names of these flowers wrong. These are hyacinths, not hibiscus. Why did I do that? I know these flowers, but obviously had a moment. Oh yes - flowers - love them, but not my thing! I just enjoy the beauty! Thanks for catching that! I went back and changed it! 

Hyacinths!

And I spotted another TREE that's in bloom. What kind of tree? No clue! And I don't really care - it's just pretty! 

A blooming tree in the neighborhood

A lot of things happened yesterday! If you ...

No change in the numbers.

A lot of progress happened this week. I finished as much as I plan to do on the sewing room declutter.

I replaced the binding on a second blanket.

I finished a Craftsy class, 20 Things to Know Before You Sew. I’m taking a break on classes for now.

I turned the corner on the afghan. That puts me close to the halfway point.

I chose the next sewing project, washed the fabric, and made all the pattern choices.

I have a nice little rotation going with my three projects. We’ll see if ...

I've been totally lazing in bed this morning and not getting my butt up to write the blog! It's OK to be lazy every once in a while. 

My presentations went well yesterday, except that I brought the WRONG cable for the projector, so I had to run out at lunch time to buy a new one. That irks me as I have plenty of these cables at home. So it's a lesson, don't just grab and put in the bag - double check the ends! I have no one to blame but myself. 

At the end ...

No change in the numbers.

The week was a bit of a mixed bag. Busy work days kept me out of the sewing room more than I planned. I also decided to alter a shirt I made a few years ago. I wanted to wear it, but the drape was a little off. Once I figured out how to fix it, it didn’t take long. The figuring took a minute though.

Then I indulged in some browsing through kitted projects and WIPs, trying to decide what to work on this month. I bought some sock yarn last week and ...

My July OMG was making a shirt from red fabric I bought several years ago. The pattern was Butterick 6170, one of my favorite patterns from the 1990s. I sewed a straight XS, no alterations.

It turned out fine, but I had a lot of trouble with the grown on sleeves. Machine hemming them trashes the drape and causes them to do unflattering things. I ended up hemming them by hand to work around it.

This pattern will go in time out for a while. I’d like to try some different styles.

For all the other OMG finishes, visit ...

I didn’t add any fabric this week, although I had many buying opportunities. I finished the shirt for almost a yard out. All the shirt details will be in a separate post.

We went to the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild Quilt Show yesterday. Hundreds of great quilts, plus a gift shop and vendors. If you live in the area, the shows continues today from 11am – 5pm at Washtenaw Community College.

While we were out and about after the show, I found a screen printing screen at a thrift shop. That was a first. I’ve wanted to learn ...

No fabric in this week. I pulled another yard of fabric to donate.

When I was digging through a closet looking for something I found another bin of fabric. I couldn’t bring myself to look through it. I’ll sort it when I do the declutter challenge again in 2025. That has to be the last of it.

In addition to quilting Remember Me, I cut out the red shirt and started sewing it. I need to buy more thread this morning. I use neutral thread for piecing and either rayon or polyester thread for quilting. As I use ...

It’s now the second half of the year. I’m happy with what I’ve completed so far, yet it feels a bit unbalanced. The rest of the year could use a wider variety of projects.

I finished stitching and framed Summer Flowers in June, then started a new stitch project.

I began The Short List many years ago to create short-term goals and a way to focus. I change things up as my priorities and interests change.

Project 1 (Stitching): Peace on Earth by Cottage Garden Samplings. This is the first I’ve stitched one of their patterns ...

FREEDOM!!!

OK -- so I'm not entirely off the hook as I have urgent paperwork to do this morning, but I spent most of yesterday just puttering and doing what I wanted, and it felt glorious! 

I am determined to keep things under control - OK - until the next crisis hits, but if I keep myself organized, those deadlines shouldn't be an issue? Perhaps I'm deluding myself. That's OK - I can live in a dream world. 

But the biggest issue for me is keeping the space clear. Why is that so hard? I seem to need a table ...

I’ve made baby steps forward pairing the shirt fabrics with patterns.

Although I chose a pattern for the blue fabric, I’m undecided. Looking at the view in the top left, the off the shoulder style concerns me. I’m not one to walk around with my bra straps showing. I would have to wear a cardigan or jacket and keep it on.

For the red fabric I chose an old favorite. It’s between one of the middle views, although I wouldn’t do the color blocking.

I’m also considering a long term stitch project, most likely ...

No change in the numbers.

There’s been a lot of thinking about new projects here. I pulled a couple cuts of clothing fabric out of stash for a second project to alternate with quilting Remember Me.

The red fabric is a woven from Fabric Mart. The blue fabric is a knit from Field’s Fabric. I have enough of both the make a shirt, but haven’t matched the fabrics to patterns yet.

I’m hoping a second project will motivate me to sew more.

Fabric In: 11 yards

Fabric out: 16.375 yards

Net Fabric Used: 5.375 ...

I had seen photos online of tote bags people had made from fabric, using men’s ties for the handles. I decided to go a little further and use one of my late husband’s shirts for the body of the bag.

Decide the approximate dimensions of the tote bag. I cut the shirt so that the front pocket was included, but in the end it became decorative only. I may adjust the tutorial in the future so that it would be a functional pocket. I now had two pieces of fabric of the same measurements.

Keeping the button placket ...

The challenge quilt has been my focus, but it no longer has a deadline. The group will not submit quilts to AQS this year after several members had a whole lot of life happen recently, not in a good way. Maybe next year.

My attention switched back to the pinwheel quilt, which should be finished in the next week. I will continue working on the challenge quilt (note to self – come up with a real name), but I need another project. The creative possibilities for the challenge increased when the time constraints disappeared. Sounds like an opportunity to experiment.

Sticking ...

I don’t usually do a plans post, but I definitely have them and decided to share. I’ve enjoyed seeing other people’s plans. They help motivate me to focus on what’s important to me creatively.

For better or worse, here’s the list.

Sewing Plans:

4 original quilts

2 garments

1 charity quilt

1 UFO

Stitching Plans:

Finish stitching 2 pieces

Fully finish 3 pieces (Frame, turn into a pillow, mount, etc.)

That’s an ambitious list for me based on how much I usually finish in a year.

Projects will fit into categories based on how ...