How did it get to be Sunday already?!?

 I could have sworn that yesterday was Second Monday, and the day before that was Warbleday, but I'm being assured that today is indeed Sunday.  

So.  

Seems like I've got a photo or two of what I've been up to this week.

I've got a heart of cake stands,

and a handful of chips.

And two more Antique Tiles have joined the party.

There's even a new PSP20-22 block done.

I counted up my Hawk's Nest blocks (which I type as Hawk's Next every. single. time. and have to go back and correct), thinking I had 10 or 11 done. It turns out I'd just finished number 20, so I'd better get moving and clear that design wall.  Which means it's border audition time for my Jacks top.

I pulled out some likely candidates - two different stripes and a couple of batiks - and pinned them up.

I really like the second batik (the one on the left), but sadly I've only got one yard and it won't be enough.  I'll keep scrumbling and maybe an idea will pop out at me.  In the meantime, I'll start making the alterate blocks for Hawk's Nest (nest not next. nest nest nest) (dammit) so I'll be ready when Jacks flies off the wall.

Linking with SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday and with Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!  Come join the fun!

Hey, look! Another post!

 Already July is going better than the last six months.  Well, slightly more productive, anyway.

I got a couple of purple cake stands done for RSC,

as well as a couple of Antique Tiles.

I've got more of both of those blocks cut and ready to sew, which is what I've been doing in between sewing more Hawk's Nest blocks.

I lay out a block,

and stitch,

and lay out another,

and stitch,

and repeat, each time having a new block waiting in the on deck circle.

Luckily I've been sewing kabillions of those little HSTs right along, (I've been planning to do an Ocean Waves someday, as well as a pine trees quilt) so it's a simple matter of raiding the bag when it's time to lay out the next block.

And it's nice to have something ready to go when I first sit down at the machine.  None of that "where will I start" nonsense!

Can a Hawk's Nest be considered a squirrel?

Linking with SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday and with Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!  Come see what pretty purples are in play!

How I spent my summer vacation... err... my lazy fall

 I was going to do a catch-up post, but it started looming on me like one of those elementary back-to-school assignments.  (The teachers never accepted "I sat on the couch and watched cartoons all summer.") (Even when it was true.)  The only way to make myself stop procrastinating was to just gather a few random pictures, throw them onto the blank screen, and say a word or two.

So here goes.

I seem to have come unstuck from time somewhere in August - my last pictures show a few teal/aqua blocks.  Some Antique Tiles -

and a couple of cake stands.

Around that time someone seems to have stolen my batteries, 

because I don't have any orange blocks for September to show - which is a surprise since orange is always my favorite RSC month! 

I lined up my framed stars at some point,

and cut out at least one more.

(And does anyone know what this star is really called?  I've been calling it framed star for lack of anything better.  The newsletter I got the pattern from just called it block 5 or something...)

I started sewing some of my La Passacaglia blocks together.  This is a hand-piecing project that is going pretty slowly.  

I crocheted yet another afghan, but I haven't gifted it yet, so no pictures. 

I managed to cut quite a few pieces for Bonnie Hunter's newest Mystery Quilt - Rhododendron Trail -

and got a start on sewing them together.

And I was glad that I'd held off on sewing all those neutral triangles to the HSTs when Sally pointed out the easier way.  And then I remembered when Libby taught me a magic way of ending up with a large triangle sewn to the little winged triangle units without actually sewing any triangles, and I got a start with that.

I've only finished two of these Bonnie blocks so far, but it's a beginning.

and squaring up the little hourglasses is a nice end of the day activity while I'm watching a movie or listening to an audiobook.

There'll be another mystery clue tomorrow.  I'm ready to keep plodding on my Rhododendron Trail.

How can the year be 4378 days long and yet July has swooshed by?

 I've been lost in the doldrums most of the summer, it seems.  I'm getting some reading done, but little else to show for my days.  It hasn't helped that today is March 518th, 2020...

A measly bit of sewing got done - here's an Antique Tiles block in dark blues,

and an assortment of Cake Stands in dark blue and various neutrals.

I did a bunch of dark blue sewing back when we were supposed to be doing light and bright blues, so I didn't push too hard this month.

If you would have asked me what quilt I'm currently working on, I would have replied, "My Jack's Chain" but the fact is that I seem to have hit a snag with it.  I got this far earlier in the month -

and stuck, because it still looks exactly the same.  I only thought I was working on it.

When a project stops moving like this, I've learned to take it as a sign that this is not the quilt I want to work on.  I thought back to the last time I'd been excited about a project and realized it was Flutterby, so I grabbed some leftover flutter-bits and a couple of yards of a really fun batik and made a back for it.

I was having such fun planning the back that I finally had to reign myself in a bit before I ended up making a whole 'nother quilt to put on the back of the first one.  (Not that it would be a bad thing, but I'm really trying to prevent myself from Making Things Harder for Myself, which is a true character flaw)

I'm going to be having a good think about Jack's Chain.  For now I'll continue making 9-patches for it, since you can never have too many 9-patches, and work up a good plan that will let me carry it forward without dragging my feet.  

And I think I'm going to baste Flutterby for quilting because that's the one that is making my heart sing right now.  Gotta follow the tune!

Linking with SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday and with Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!  Come see what the last days of July are bringing!

 

A flimsy excuse

 Huzzah!  Flutterby is a flimsy!

It measures about 52" square, so a small lap quilt or a large baby quilt.  What with the Glitter flimsy last month, that's two Jen Kingwell designs in a row.  Time to file away her book and give another designer a chance, eh?  

Now to decide between finishing a project I've already started or going with one of the umpteen new ideas that are squirreling around in my brain.  What to do, what to do...

In between all the fluttering I got a couple more Cake Stands done.  Our RSC color for July is dark blue or dark neutrals.

I admit the gray above isn't actually "dark", but it's neutral so I'm calling close enough.  I love that feather print.  Since I did a bunch of darkish blues back when light/bright blue was the color, I should probably use this month to scrumble around in my browns, blacks, and grays.  I've got a lovely (though dreary) hoard of those just waiting for a chance to come out and play - maybe it will cheer them up!

Linking with SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday and with Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!  Come join the fun!

It's not all Glitter and Flutter around here

Though I'll admit that those two have pretty much sucked up all the energy lately.

A little bit of RSC piecing has been sneaking in here and there.  My Antique Tile blocks have happily multiplied, 

though as usual, I have a hard time getting purple to photograph true-to-color.  At least these look purple-ish, even if the color is a bit off.

I made a couple of Cake Stands, too.

There are parts for a couple more of these cut out and stacked near my sewing machine.  I should be able to get to them in the coming week.

Also squeezing through the cracks were a small stack of Chips, some nine-patches for my Jack's Chain, and a few more Easy Breezy Peasy blocks as leader/enders.  

Little by little by little, these blocks keep adding up.  They might even end up as quilts someday, if the squirrels don't get me first...

Linking with SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday and with Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!  Come join the fun!

Cherry cakes and fist bumps

 Well, despite an interesting week (I got my second dose!  I fevered up and had sludge for brains!  I got better!), I managed to get a bit of sewing done.

Another Antique Tile for my collection,

and more cake stands (polka dots!)

and even more cake stands!

I love that cherry print for the background on the right.  (You thought from the post title that I was talking about real cherry cake, right?  Nah.  Just cherry cake stands.)

And I got rows and rows of Glitter put together.

Here's the halfway point -

and here's all of the rows, absolutely overwhelming my design wall. 

I had a moment's panic concern when I was sewing pairs of pairs together (after making the eight trios that I'd need for the ends of the rows) when I had this pair left over.  This meant that I'd counted wrong by two, but was it two up or two down?

It was a real relief when I got the sets of fours sewn together and they came out even.  While I freely admit I could easily be off by 2, I was pretty sure I wasn't off by 6.  Sure enough, the rest of the rows went together just fine, and I have two little blocks that will probably end up on the back.  (No, I'm not going to save them for seed for another Glitter.  Much as I love these blocks, I am SO done with making them!)

I sewed the top two rows together before quitting for the day. 

While I was sewing blocks into rows, I decided that I was going to settle for "close enough" when trying to match those points on the edges.  We're talking a bunch of weird angles, y-seams, and some really funky bias here.   These blocks absolutely refuse to square up politely.  

It was even wonkier when it came to stitching together the rows.  For those top and bottom very pointy points, I realized kiss-me-on-the-mouth accuracy was never gonna happen - let's just go for fist bump vicinity.

I'm pretty sure that's the only way I won't end up gibbering in the corner by the time this thing is put together.

Linking with SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday and with Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!  Come see what all us little scrappers have been up to!