What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

I have added a new word to my rsc project. I had forgotten how much I like to make letters. I use Lori Holt's alphabet book.

I am trying to prepare for next year and a new rainbow scrap challenge at so scrappy project. I want to do strings and crumbs by color so I have started sorting the big bucket into colors. I was afraid  I wouldn't find enough of each color, but, alas, I have plenty. And some have already been sorted into baggies. If I do a little every day, I may have it sorted ...

 Hi everyone! Holy cow, it's December. I feel like I lost all of November somehow, and I'm hoping not to lose December, which is far more festive than any other month. For Thanksgiving, we went off to see our older grandchildren, and we had more fun than you can imagine, including putting up the Christmas tree and having cake for the twins' birthday. We also got to draw pictures, play 'fetch,' and hear all about school and all the other kid things you miss when you're not around every day. It was super awesome. Also, there was ...

I have a finish -bonnie Hunter quilt zuckerwatte from her book string fling. It is a smaller quilt than I thought when I started it. It is about 58 x 70. I started working on this ufo in January at a retreat, I had started at the beginning of January with only string blocks made. I made the string blocks in June 2017. I cut a gazillion  HSTS - (half square triangles)... sewed a bunch together, and made  rows. and blocks. It is really pretty in person.

I used a plain pink sheet for the backing that I had in my ...

I have started the sashing for Elizas star. So far, I have sewn 2 inch wof strips to each side of 5 1/2 inch wof strip of gingham x 4. I subcut them at 2 inches. I didn't calculate the sashings between rows, so, I will have to make and cut more.

I wanted to see at least a few sewn together. Not all the blocks are exactly the same size ( how did that happen haha) .I have to do a bit of stretching or easing. Most of the pieces are on the bias, so, I can. 

Making the longer pieces for crossed strings, although challenging to find long enough pieces, is straightforward. sewing and cutting the side pieces takes a bit longer. I was aiming for 48 blocks. Once again, string piecing makes a mess. I grab a handful, and see if I can pull pieces to use out of the pile. 

Of course, the best part is seeing all the block variations with all the different leftover bits and pieces from other projects.

sew much fun -free instructions ...

I mentioned here that I was cleaning my scrappy work table and started a quilt.... just like that. This will be my third wonky courthouse steps. I haven't even quilted the first two. I have more strings and crumbs than I have time. These go so quickly and are such great fun. I am aiming for 63 blocks this time. I had a basket that I almost emptied, but, it is only one of several. So I filled it again with more.

lots of great leftovers in here

It's time in Indiana for maple syrup. We have a ...

I made shirt strings a while back aiming for a string x quilt for leftover pieces of shirts. This weekend I spent some time cutting fabric for the sides.

I cut the strips 1 1/2 x 10 1/2. I am making a 7 x 9 setting.

It starts innocently enough. I am digging through the string bucket for yellow for crumb stars, that I am making for the rainbow scrap challenge at so scrappy. I let the thought pass through my head that it is a big mess, and, then, I find a few half done wonky courthouse blocks. And poof, I am playing in the strings. My table is a scrappy mess, and my treadle is whirring. Such fun. And I believe if I just sew all these together, it will be clean.

On another front, I find a box of scraps that need to ...

What do you do when making a block makes more small scraps?

  Before I get emails checking on me, I thought I needed to stick my head up and do a post!  Days have run together as there is nothing to set forth a routine any more.  Regular household chores of cooking and laundry, time reading, and sitting outside in the sun, doing jig-saw puzzle fill in the hours between small bouts of sewing and making masks to fill requests.  I am now out of what little elastic I found hidden in the closet. 

I'm afraid I have lost my ability to chat and sew. I pretty much have a determined to get through this face right now. Hubby is recovering, and needs a bit of attention, and, I am tired most of the time. It isn't easy "resting". I am grateful for the timing of his back surgery. It gives us something to do, while we are hearing the news. If his surgery had been any later, It wouldn't have happened. Elective surgeries have been cancelled.

I had a friend from guild give a scrap bag to me. It was ...

I am not getting the comments in my email. I wonder if blogger is having a problem. I am sorry if I am not responding to comments. I think I may have fixed it.

I started sand castles early last year and have tried to stick to it until it is finished. It was a massive project to cut and sew 3648 pieces and a bunch of strings together, and, more importantly, to keep me on the same project.

Slowly, I have been making Bonnie Hunter's wonky log cabin quilt using my strings and crumbs bins. Her pattern calls for 120 blocks and I have one done already that size, but this one, I have started putting it together with 72 blocks. I want to see if 8 x 9 looks like a decent size. I am sewing into blocks of 4.

I have this pile of scraps, on the floor, near the treadle sewing machine, again. I wanted to get it sewn up and gone before the end of the weekend. I don't think it will make the room feel Christmasy at all.
I have started another wonky courthouse steps from Bonnie Hunter. I think I could make 10 with my collection of strings and crumbs. My first one isn't quilted yet.

I don't like instagram, but everyone else does. The new quiltville mystery quilt, frolic, will be linking up on instagram instead of blog today. When I look at instagram, I feel like I am looking at someone's vacation slides - boring. There is no substance or information to make it interesting.
I did find myself unmotivated to even start this mystery. This will be my 19th quiltville mystery quilt. I have a page of all of them here. I am glad I broke into it.  I have clue one finished. I had all the blue strips already in the ...

The next step for the Bonnie Hunter sand castles quilt, is cutting the sets for the center block.
I had several strips set aside, but, I miscalculated, and, I couldn't get the whole set. I need to forage some more through my 2 1/2 inch bin to find more strips to cut. It won't be hard to find enough. sigh...

I have been slowly working on bonnie hunter's sandcastles for most of this year. I spent the most time making 512 -4 patch blocks. The first step I took, was sewing the string blocks. I decided that I would cut them now and add the sashing strip.