What I’m working on

 I gave in to a tiny case of “start-its” this past week. I have a full bin of 2 1/2 inch strips of fabrics, plus an excess amount of orange fabrics that don’t really have a place to go any more. The project I bought them for didn’t use up nearly as much orange as I thought it would. So they have been sitting for quite a while. Time to move them out and use them up. I’ve started a Scrappy Trips quilt which is a free design by Bonie Hunter. I am using the orange in the same place in each block. I quite like the way this is looking. There are 9 blocks so far, each measuring 12 inches finished. I will be doing 20. I started this quilt because I needed a break from the quilt as I go Scrappy Stars. I have 2 rows of the stars all sewn together and quilted and 2 of the border strips added to those rows and also quilted. But I needed a break from it. I think I will get back to it today though. I want to get it done. Here is what it looks like now,

 along with a close up showing one block and the quilting. 

At our Prayers and Squares group we are working on a new project. This is just a sampling of the blocks. We have enough done to start putting them together. However the weather forecast for tomorrow isn’t going to cooperate with us getting together so it will have to wait for another week. 

I’m linking up to Midweek Makers and Wendy’s Peacock Party

 

Slow Sunday Stitching

 I’ve made good progress this past week on my very bright sock. I’m down to the toe decreases. The progress on the Quilting Bee cross stitch sampler is a bit slower. There are a lot of white work squares which require concentration and focus so they go slowly. I think I got 4 of them done this week. I just might focus on getting all of the white work squares done and then go back and finish the rest of the coloured squares.

We have family visiting this weekend, so I’m going to make this a short one and link up to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching

What I’m working on

 I have all the scrappy star blocks made and all of them have been quilted using the quilt as you go method. I had to lay them out to make sure the colours were all evenly distributed. I hadn’t realized I’d done as many blue stars as are there, but oh well, it works. I’m now in the process of adding on the long border sections in between the rows of blocks.  

I am still liking the quilt as you go method, even though I think I decided on too many lines of quilting in those borders. But it will look good in the end and it is still easier than trying to quilt it all at once. This is all I’m working on at the moment, so I will close this post and link up to Midweek Makers

Slow Sunday Stitching

 When doing Slow Stitching it is always so exciting to have a finish. And I have one. Noah’s Journey is done..... or at least the assembling of the top is done. This is a design by Crabapple Hill Studios It still needs to be layered and quilted. But all the embroidery and all the piecing of it is done!! According to this blog I started this project in September of 2020, 3 years and 5 months ago. For such an intensely coloured and stitched and pieced project, that’s not bad, especially since it sat in it’s box for almost a year, untouched. It was so much fun to do!! A photo....  you want a photo? Here you go... It can be clicked on for a biggie sized look.

So since that is done and the layering and quilting of it have yet to begin, I’m back to my cross stitch and knitting. I’ve finished 9 of the 25 “quilt blocks” in the sampler. These take quite a bit of time each as they all have intense stitching and designs in them. And then my knitting with the new yarn, The socks are turning out more rainbow than striped and I’m not sure how I feel about that. But I’ll keep going on them. I much prefer the fun stripes I get out of sock yarn than this melding of colours.

I’m linking to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching

What I’m working on

 I have a finish for this week. The red flying geese quilt we were working on for the prayers and squares group is finished and quilted and has the binding sewn on, although the binding isn’t on in this picture. It has gone to the next person in the process to have the binding hand stitched down and the label sewn on. 

The next block for the Civil War quilts BOM called Atlanta Garden came out today. It’s an easy one so I made up the floral version today. At the same time I did another 2 setting squares which means that the first row is finished. 

And then because my other scrappy projects were finished I started a new one. It isn’t really a new one though. It has slowly been growing as a leader/ender project, so it’s more like it’s been moved to an active project rather than a totally new one. In my quest to use only what I have I ran into a challenge with this one. I had enough of the floral background for the flying geese star points to do 15 blocks. So in an effort to use up 15 blocks I had to spend some time in the Electric Quilt computer program to find a layout that would work. Here’s what I came up with. And these are the actual fabrics that will form the long stripes between the rows of blocks shown in between a couple of blocks.

The butterflies are part of a border print fabric that was buried in my stash.I think it is going to work well.

I’m linking to Mid week Makers

Slow Sunday Stitching

 I am down to the last of the Noah’s Journey stitcheries and also down to the last of the sections that need to be assembled. All I have left to do is finish the body of the rooster. So the embroidery should be done today and the actual quilt top just might be finished this week. I am finding this so exciting!! I can get it layered and ready for starting the big stitch hand quilting. Here is the latest section I have finished.

I received some yarn in the mail this week for some fun socks. I cast on for the first sock and got the first row of ribbing done. I’ll be back to doing my cross stitch in the evenings from here on, so I’m going to need something to give my eyes and concentration a break, hence the new pair of socks.

I’m linking up to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching

What I’m working on

 The disappearing nine patch that I started a couple of weeks ago is now a finished top. I love how fast this pattern goes together. I can take it with me tomorrow to our sewing group, weather permitting, and get it pin basted and ready for quilting. I need to stay stitch around the edges to make sure none of the seams pop open before that. I’ve also finished another section of the Noah’s Journey quilt. It’s cold and blustery and snowy outside today, so it’s a good day to do some more work on Noah. I’m hoping to get the piecing done in the next week or so. I’m halfway through the last of the embroidered blocks, so if I can get lots of quality sewing time that goal of having this finished by the end of next week should be more than do-able. I’m linking up to Mid Week Makers and then I’m heading back to my machine.