Happy New Year!

Just popping in for a quick new year's wish.  I promise I'll do a post just as soon as I do something interesting...

Happy New Year! 

Christmas sewing is done done done

I finished the last of the Christmas sewing yesterday, using the latest clue for On Ringo Lake as leader/enders.  (Yes, you can use leader/enders when making bags, etc, too.)  (And I do.)  I'll be joining the post-Christmas linky party at Bonnie's place when it goes live.

My foundation  paper-piecing went well.  Well, better than usual.  Well, marginally better than usual.  There was less swearing, but not no swearing, if you catch my drift.

I've already sewn this into the gift for my grandson (the new Star Trek fan), which I'm not showing until after the holidays.  I'm reasonably sure he doesn't read my blog, but why tempt fate?

So, flocks of flying geese gathered,

and joined stacks of gonnabe triangles.

After careful counting and recounting, they'll be added to this bin which is holding my progress so far.

And check out that picture.  At the top you can see the neighboring bin which holds the finished blocks for my checkerboard rails leader/ender project;  at the bottom, you can see a printout of a Blockheads block that I'm thinking might make a good RSC block for 2018.

Looks like the new year will be just as busy as the old...

And to all my readers - whatever holiday you hold in your heart, may it be the best it can possibly be.  May joy and goodness surround you!

Clue 4 - I get by with a little help from my friends

One of the first emails I read Monday morning was from my friend Chantal, letting me know about a nifty way to make the On Ringo Lake Clue 4 units.  And then later that day, Libby posted about using the same technique.
When great minds are inviting me to come play, how could I refuse?
I gave it a try and admit I'm totally smitten.  Not having to cut out a bazillion triangles?  Seriously? 

On the left is one of the units that get cut up into triangle blocks.  On the right are three triangles made this way, plus one made using triangles cut with the easy angle ruler and sewed to a square.  Results are identical.
Another plus to this sew squares and rectangles together?  I don't end up with stuff that look like this:

Ooops.

Speaking of oops, I'm playing with foundation paper piecing again.

Three seams forward, two seams back...


Linking with the other Ringoites.  Come see the fun!

Still pecking away at those geese...

 Continuing my adventures On Ringo Lake...

And now I've got diamonds to make.

Luckily for me, I still had all the neutrals and corals piled up on my cutting table, since I'd been cutting more strips to make geese with anyway.   (I still have a small pile of the little flappers to sew, but the end is in sight!)
Of course, this doesn't bode well for me wanting to turn over a new leaf and put things away the second I'm done with them.  Nothing like being rewarded for bad behavior!

It took a bit of juggling and experimenting, but I worked out how to cut my diamonds as diamonds for no waste, instead of cutting rectangles and doing flippy corners.  This pleases my mingy heart no end.
And now, back to that cutting table - I need a metric butt-ton of neutral triangles, between the diamonds and the remaining geese, but hey, who's counting?



Linking with Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework.  Come see what all the scrappers are up to!
Also linking up at Quiltville for the Clue 3 linky party.  Come see that one, too!

(I've got other projects going on, but can't share yet.  Hopefully I'll remember to take pictures before I get all gifty.  Not that I've ever remembered before, but it could happen this time...)

Goose, goose, goose

I've been stitching away at flying geese blocks for this year's Bonnie Hunter mystery -

Since that picture was taken, I've buzzed past the halfway point for how many I need.   So, I'm at a quarter-zillion out of the half-zillion, and am only moderately hopeful that I'll have them done  by Friday when the next clue is released.  (Can't wait to see what's next, ready or not!)

And since I can't live by flying geese alone, this also happened.

And I liked it enough to make an other one.

No idea what I'll do with them, yet, but I suspect there will be others.

So many four-patches, so many possibilities...

Linking with the other Ringo Lakers at Bonnie's house.  Such fun to see all the variations!