Project Updates!

1. Table Project


This project is still not complete! I had to stop working on it last weekend because we were having people over for Mother's Day and I needed the paint to dry and harden a bit before being sat on and scuffed up. So here is the state of the table:

I applied polycrylic to the legs of the chairs and base of the table to protect against foot abuse, but still have work to do on the seats and backs. Appealed to fashion and convinced the hubby that the seats need to be green as well, but haven't had time to go back and apply primer, paint and polycrylic. The backs need to be touched up due to scratches from people sitting on them. I'm getting excited because the project is actually turning out pretty well despite the loooooong time it's taking.

2. Baby Girl Quilt

I mentioned a quilt I was starting in this post some time back. I've since finished it and given it to the beautiful girl in question! Here it is finished:

You can't see too many details in this pic, but I can sure tell that my stitching was a bit crooked on top. I fixed it after the pic was taken.

3. Baby Boy Quilt


Here's a peek at what I've been working on this week. This project will be done in short order because the baby shower is on Sunday! I hope my cousin is as happy with this symphony of beachy blues and greens as I am! This is just the quilt top, still need to make the quilt sandwich and sew it down.

4. Garden Project


Our pitiful progress on the garden is laughable. But at least we finally borrowed a truck and got it mostly filled with dirt!

I think plants are in the garden's future this weekend, but this is still a tricky prospect because we don't have a truck. I drive a Mustang which can barely fit people in the back seat. We really need a truck. This problems slows down so many of our projects.

Baby schtuff

I went to a friend's baby shower last Sunday, and finally handed over some super cute projects I'd been working on. The quilt was down-to-the-wire, finished the night before. Procrastinator style. I wanted to take pictures of it before it got marked with spit-up and other less pleasant bodily fluids, but the morning of the shower it was RAINING outside (whoa!) and I couldn't get good lighting. I will by no effin' means complain about that sorely needed rain, but I will say that my pictures are extremely lacking and unsatisfying because I had to use the flash. But still, here they are.

Stacked coins quilt

This project taught me many things, and also reminded me of one fact I seem to always forget:

1. Quilts are always freaking harder to make than they look, especially when you don't have a rotary cutter or mat or other essential accouterments that make things easier and you have to do things the old fashioned (less accurate) way. I think these things work like childbirth. Supposedly your brain just glosses over the pain of labor when you see your complete and fully formed baby. Same with quilts, I think. I'm ready to do more! 

2. If you are going to do any quilting AT ALL EVER, you need to invest in a walking foot for your sewing machine. When I first started quilting the vertical lines to tack down my quilting layers together with my regular presser foot, I was having a heck of a time keeping the layers from shifting. Even after peppering the thing with a zillion pins. In desperation I appealed to my local fabric store and they hooked me up with the most angelic device known to man: the lowly walking foot. After attaching the thing to my machine, the quilting portion sailed by and required a ton less pinning. Best $40 I ever spent.

3. Measuring and cutting fabric is what I'll be doing in Hell, so I better be good. I'm pretty sure this aspect will lessen if I had more accurate measuring devices. No matter how straight you think you're going to cut out a cardboard template, it's always going to turn out a little off. When you trace around your cardboard template with pen, it's going to get a little more off. When you cut that out, and then just fold your fabric square in half and cut across the crease things just might get a little wonky. The "it looks straight enough" philosophy is not terribly effective in quilting.

4. Binding is funner, but slower than it looks. Enough said. I was always afraid of separate binding before. I would always just cut the backing a little bigger than the quilt top and then fold the backing over the top. I actually quite like the look of separate binding, but it takes longer because you have to hand-sew the fold in the back with an invisible stitch all the way around. It's peaceful work.

5. Always search the internet before beginning to find the easier more effective way to cut and sew your particular pattern. Really enough said. This mostly pertains to my half square triangles quilt that is waiting in the wings.

All that said, I also present the lowly matching baby hat:

I hope these things and Baby Evan will be very happy together!

unrelated note: It is 5 AM. Shit.

2/5

I am starting to realize that this project might be a little too ambitious for my limited quilting skills.  Never stopped me before though, and I am so excited to see this come together.

Gatsby deems this project as nap-worthy

This morning as I walked through an imaginary cool breeze, I was reminded that knitting season is almost upon me again! Christmas time and a baby shower are approaching.  Gotta wipe the dust of the hooks and needles that I've stowed away unused basically all summer.  Time to be blissfully industrious.  

Half square triangles progress

I have 149 squares stitched together, and still need about 100 more.  While I don't like cutting fabric, I adore the sewing parts and the ironing.  The best part for me has been admiring the fabric colors.  All my faves are accounted for.  No purple in sight, just how I like it!

This afternoon after sewing and ironing a huge stack I had fun arranging them in different ways to see how I may want to arrange things in the final quilt.  I think my original idea still wins.  Here were the options:

Original Idea

Zig-zaggy

Diamonds

I think the finished quilt will have a higher percentage of pure white halves, but I got some cuttin' to do.  I think the zig-zag would work better with more white pieces, but I'm not sure it looks that great with the few reds I want to incorporate.  I will do this again when I have all the squares.  I am limiting my colors to just blues and greens, with a little splash of red thrown in here and there.  I am soooo tempted to tear through my stash and incorporate some of my other pinks, greens and browns....but I must use self control.  I think it will look better with my color scheme.

I have to admit, sewing has been damn good to me this year!

I've even been reading fiction books with sewing themes.  A couple of months ago I finished the Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas.  Now I'm listening to Oh My Stars by Lorna Landvik.  Both books take place in the 1930s.  Persian Pickle is from the point of view of Queenie, a young member of a small town depression era sewing club.  Talk of the club and its members frames a quaint murder mystery which plays out.  Oh My Stars is a little more complicated, and I'm not yet halfway through, so I will have to report back later on it.  So far, so good, though!

Quilting Plans

Boy am I excited.  I haven't done any quilting since 2007.  I also checked out a book from the library called "Getting Started Knitting Socks" so soon there will be man-socks in my future.  Happy, happy.