My Sand Castle runneth over

I have exceeded design wall capacity...

All my Sand Castle blocks are now trimmed and up on the design wall, though that wall, which seems really big when it's empty, has been overrun.  The blocks on that raggedy right-hand edge are hanging on for dear life, pinned to each other and air.

For now, the goal was to get them up and oriented, without worrying too much about what-goes-where.  I'll be spending some quality time this weekend, arranging and rearranging until I'm happy with the color/value distribution.  I can already see that I'll be wrangling some yellows right away.

The fun thing about all those blocks is that they should have measured 10.5" after squaring up, but all but two of them wanted to come out to a smidge under 10 3/8" instead.  Of course, the first one I trimmed was the correct size, and the second one was an "oh no!" as it came up short.  I set it aside, grabbed a third one - and came up short again. And again.  And again.
"Alrighty then," I said to myself.  "The only thing that matters is that they're the SAME size, not some imaginary 'correct' size."
(I was proud of myself for being calm and practical instead of freaking out)  (Even if I'm talking to myself out loud an awful lot these days)  (I'm sure it'll be fine)

In other news, I've got a back done for the Temperature quilt.

Though I may run a strip of that stripe down the left edge as well, just for fun.  There's still time to decide, as I psych myself up to get it basted.

I think I can, I think I can...  (Did I say that out loud?)

Cue the huzzahs - we have a flimsy!

The upper right corner is flopped over backwards because the thing is too big for my design wall...

When I started it, I really thought I was making a nice wallhanging.  This behemoth clocks in at 64x82, so more bed quilt than wallhanging.

This is what happens when I start a project with more enthusiasm than math. 

Now I just have to get a back made for it and I can start the quilting.  (I gave myself the rest of the day off to celebrate, though.  Plenty of time to get to the backing tomorrow.)

In the meantime, I pieced this little cutie as a leader/ender while I was attaching those border strips.

Not much to show for the RSC, but at least I'm not empty-handed!  (And yes, those are cat butts in that block.  What's a good buckeye without a cat butt or two?)

Linking with SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday and with Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!  Come see all the turquoise/aqua/teal fun!

Building Castles in the Air

Or rather, building castles in the sand.  In between the endless triangles for the Frolic borders,

I managed to make the final push for Sand Castles.

Allow me to introduce Block 63 and Block 64:

Yay!  The gang's all here!

I've started squaring up the blocks (the triangle corners are made oversized to allow for any wonkiness in the stringiness) and as soon as my temperature quilt is off the design wall, I'll be starting the grand dithering process of their final arrangement.

And speaking of the temperature quilt, I have a plan:

Notice the extensive calculations and attention to detail!  This is obviously going to work!  (Because we all know my plans always work, right?)  (Wish me luck!)

Linking with Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!  Come see all the scrappy goodness!

Goosey goosey update

Apparently I'm writing blog posts in my dreams but not in real life again, because I was sure I'd posted some of these pics with an update on my temperature quilt progress.

When last I'd made a non-imaginary post, I had most of my numbers together for running a legend across the bottom of the quilt, indicating which color stood for which temperature.

I finally got them all done and was quite pleased with how they were going to look.

But then I had A Better Idea.
With all those angles in the flying geese blocks, those squares ended up looking chunky and clumsy.  So I grabbed some background squares and did some quick flippy corners.

Oh, yeah.  Much better.

I sewed them together into a strip, then hung up some red background fabric along the bottom of the design wall, hung up the main body of the quilt, and centered the strip of numbers below, just to see how it would look.

Uh oh.

I really wanted the strip of numbers to be the same width as the columns of geese, and in my head it was going to work.  But here's a clear example of how estimates can differ from reality.

I spent a quality afternoon with my friend Jack the Ripper and started taking out seams so I could cheat out some of that width.  Slivering a quarter inch here and an eighth inch there can all add up.

Finally, ta-da!

There.  The bottom is done.  I still have to cut strips and sew the whole border together, but at least now it's going to fit.

Onward to the top border.  More numbers.  Yay.

Let's pretend I did some RSC sewing

Look!  Greens!

Not RSC January greens at all, though.  Those are more numbers for the temperature quilt.  (I'm really proud of that 7 in 70, by the way.  I just slashed a square with my rotary cutter at an angle that 'looked right' and it turned out really well.  I'm not usually that lucky!)

The other win was that I've got nine blocks done for Frolic, which is all I'll need if I decide to go ahead with a square setting.  If I dither myself into that lovely diagonal setting, I'll just need four more blocks and a bunch of setting bits.  (I've got some of that stuff cut out anyway, from when I panicked and thought I wasn't going to have enough parts for clue 7.)  (Or was it clue 6?)

At one point I had all the sashing strips in place between the blocks, but in the process of rearranging for value (because I couldn't help myself), most of those sashy bits fell onto the floor.  (I cropped them out of the photo)  (It's just as well)  (Who needs to look at a swathe of sashy bits on the floor, after all?)

So, I'm either done with the Frolicking blocks or I'm 9/13ths done with the Frolicking blocks.  We'll see what happens next.  (And can I say once again how happy I am with how my colors worked out?)

Great Frolicking Chaos, Batman!

Bonnie Hunter dropped Clue #8 this morning, so I printed it off and marched right upstairs like I knew what I was doing, and I turned this -

into this -

because I was well into the afternoon before I turned the page of my printout and saw that there was also a Part B to go with the Part A's that I had been sewing.
Wait, what?
I had two things working against me:  1) I hadn't printed off any of the other clues, and 2) I hadn't been making anywhere near the number of units that Bonnie is calling for.  Confusion was my new middle name.

The wisest course was to move on to other projects until I went back downstairs and printed off the other clues.  (The printer is happily humming along doing just that at the moment.)  I'll go back to it tomorrow with a fresh mind and a fistful of clues.

So obviously I moved right on to another project where I don't have a really firm grasp of what I'm doing. 
I've started making a temperature scale to go across the bottom of my Goosey Temps quilt, with each number made in the color that represents it.  Temps of zero and below are white, and temps between 10 and 20 show up in purple.  (Zero to 10 is gray, but my gray solid strip has gone temporarily missing (at least I hope it's temporary), so I'm skipping it for now.)

I haven't done this kind of lettering/numbering before, so it's a challenge.  By the time I get done I should be fairly good at it, but then I'll be done and it won't matter...

I still haven't decided what to do with the RSC this year.  I have several sets of blocks that I plan to roll over from previous years, but I've had way too much input of fabulous ideas lately (looking at you, Cathy) to make a rational decision about a new project.
Then I glanced down at my sewing table where I've been putting together those flying geese for Goosey Temps for the last year.  I have a LOT of triangles left over, cut in matching pairs.
Hmmm...  What could I do with pairs of triangles?
Aha!  I've long been admiring the quilts made by Lynn Dykstra at klein meisje quilts combining prints with solids.  And I've got a bunch of solids left, too...
So, before I was entirely sure what was happening, these two little cuties showed up on my table.

Not that I'm starting a new project.  Nope.  Not me.
I don't even know what to call these little doodads, so it's obviously not a project.  If I can't label a bin, it totally doesn't count.


Linking with SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday.  Come see all the scrappy fun!

Some assembly required

Now that the dust is settling on 2019, it's time to start putting together all those months of flying geese.

The geese blocks finish at 2"x4", and I'm inserting a 1" finished sashing in between the monthly columns.  In retrospect, I should have used a smaller goose to start with, because this quilt is going to be bigger than I had first visualized it.  I was thinking wallhanging size, but we're way into lap quilt territory and growing.  (This was increasingly clear as the months went on, but I firmly put my fingers in my ears and chanted la-la-la whenever I thought about it.  Just call me Cleopatra)

I've decided to put them together as quarters, then join the quarters together, just in the interest of reducing the goose wrestling a bit.  And I'm taking it slow and easy with frequent breaks, because that's a whole lotta triangle points goin' on.  My jaw gets tired from clenching my teeth...

Here you can see the first two quarters flying on the design wall.

Six more months to sew together, then it'll be time to put on headers and footers.  I have a plan!

And now that it's a whole new year, I'm trying to decide if I want to do another one of these things.

I'm trying to ignore the fact that last year when I bought a pocket calendar to record temps in, I could only find this one that was for two years.  I'm not taking that as a sign.  Really.  I'm NOT.

And here's what I'm using for leaders/ender while I'm sewing those long columns together.  (And when I need a break from all those goosey points)

I've got representatives of all seven clues we've had so far.  No way have I kept up with actual counts of each clue, but I'm still Frolicking along.  Even if I'm way back in everyone else's dust... 
Anyone else wondering when the neutrals are going to kick in?  The original list of fabric requirements called for buckets of neutrals and we've used hardly any.  Can't wait to see where this goes next!

What do you mean, December is almost half over???

Somehow writing posts in my head doesn't exactly equate to posts being posted on the actual blog.  Argh.  Though I guess it's just as well that my computer isn't reading my mind, come to think of it...

When last I typed at ya, my design wall looked like this -

Well, that was just a bit too chaotic, even for me, so when I finished piecing November's Goosey Temps column, I pulled the summer's columns and moved October and November to the left as I started December.  This gave me more room for the last Sand Castles as I build them.

And here's a good thing that I've been doing right along -

I write the month in the seam allowance of the top goose, so I don't get the months confused when I assemble the quilt.  THAT's a boo-boo I saw coming from a mile away.

And since it's Bonnie Hunter Mystery Time, I've been squeezing in a little bit of Frolic here and there.
Here's the start of Clues 1 and 2,

which left my cutting table looking like this -

and here's the first HST stacks for Clue 3 which just dropped this morning.

I'm basically just getting a few of each clue done, just to keep my hand in, as I pursue other sewing projects.  (Mostly of the gifty variety, since I hear there's a major holiday coming up soon.)  (Don't tell me how many days I have left la la la I can't hear you...)  When priorities allow, I'll catch up with the frolicking.

In the meantime, I'm linking with SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday (because I'm bound to finish those Sand Castles soon, no really)  and with Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!  I'm even going to post a photo or two to Instagram for the Bonnie Mystery, though I'm not a fan of Instagram at all at all at all.  (I'm mangofeet_on_ig if you're looking for me.  I've got one photo so far.  sigh)

Geese in the Sand Castles, possibly Frolicking

Or possibly dueling.  Tough call.  The design wall is definitely filling up.

Though I seem to have warped the space/time continuum as far as my Sand Castle blocks are concerned.  I counted them and found I needed four more.  So I made a whole bunch of blocks and counted them all up again, and I still need four more.
I'm starting to suspect the Sand Castle bin has a black hole in the bottom...

Eventually I'll have enough blocks.  Really.  I'm sure of it.

There hasn't been as much time to sew lately, what with Thanksgiving and other holidays crowding the calendar.  I've got a lot of gifty projects going on behind the scenes, but I can't show them off yet.  (If I remember to take pictures, I'll share them after the holidays.)

I did get some fabrics pulled and cut for Frolic.  I've been digging through my scrap bins and gathering strips and generally getting ready for the clues to start dropping.

Clue one appeared yesterday, and though I didn't get any time to sew, I did get some strips ready for assembly.

Tomorrow the stitching will commence!  Four-patches are always full of fun!

Linking with SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday and Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap.  I'm even going to try this new-fangled Instagram thing and post a pic or two.  Modern times, eh?

Well now, here's a surprise

That chunk of darker red solid finally turned up and I hung it up on the bottom half of the design wall to see which red I liked better.

I had really thought that I was going to like the dark better, but now I'm not so sure.

Here's a closer look at the dividing line:

and here's the light red:

and here's the dark:

Contrary to what I expected, I think the lighter brighter red is the one I'll go with.  It really lights up the colors of all those highs and lows, while the darker red seems to dull them down.

Here's one more look at the contrast, along with three more Sand Castle blocks I got done yesterday.

So if red is the new neutral, then bright red is the neutralest neutral?  Whichever, I'm going with the bright one.

There.  That dither is over.  Next!


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

September now hath 30 days

Well, a quick check of the Weather Underground site (which is my source for my area's daily high and low temperatures) gave me the data for my missing September 30th flying goose.

Ta-da!

And after endless auditions of fabrics for sashing for these columns, I finally found a solution.  (I even dug out my January column and stuck it up on the right to make sure the winter months would look good, too)

I'd really painted myself into a corner with my color selections for this quilt.  Everything was in use:  gray, white, purple, blue, turquoise, green, yellow, orange, and red.  That left brown or hot pink, both of which looked awful. (trust me...)
I tried black, but the darker blues disappeared into it.
Dots, spots, and jots didn't work.
Stripes looked weird, whether I ran them horizontally or vertically.
And seriously, with all that color chaos, the sashing needed to be a solid of some sort just to calm things down.

I was really starting to despair when I had a sudden thought.  The only colors that I had to worry about were the ones representing the low temperatures because the 'geese' triangles stood for the highs and never touched the edges.  And since red represents temperatures about 90F, and because the nights (the lows) were never in the 90's (because seriously?  If the nights were in the 90's, I would have already moved to the north pole and I'd have had to start a whole other quilt anyway), that meant red was in play for a sashing possibility.

So, I gave it a try and it works!  And since the world is basically on fire nowadays, it seems like an appropriate choice.

I've got a darker shade of red somewhere in my stash which I'm going to dig out and audition before I start cutting.  But whew!  That's a load off my mind!

Goosey goosies and a pile of sandcastles

Here's a look at my design wall as of the first of November.  I've been plugging away at my Sand Castle blocks for the RSC, catching up with the colors that I got behind on over the summer.

And now that we've started November, I can complete the October column of flying geese for my Goosey Temps quilt.  Though when I hung it up next to September, I noticed a slight problem.  The September column seemed a bit short.  (It's the one next to last on right)

So, I counted up the blocks and came up with only 29.  Not right.  I even ran the old rhyme through my head to double check.  (Thirty days hath September...  yep.  Not right.)

Determined to fix that oversight, I grabbed the pocket calendar that I use to record the temperatures and checked September.

I think I've found the problem.

Did I sleep through September 30th?  It did seem like September was awfully short...



Linking with SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday, and with Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!  Come check out all the scrappy goodness!

October is for Catchups

(Ketchups?  Naw.)

My Goosey Temps quilt is now caught up through the end of September and I've started laying out triangles to get October rolling.  (That's June, July, and August on the right.)

And I've been puttering away with my Sand Castles - trying to get caught up with the pinks and blues that I got behind on.

 A lovely interruption to all this diligence was the Quilter's Guild show that took place last weekend.  My sister-in-law called to see if I'd even heard it was happening (I hadn't) and if I had any plans to go see it (I didn't), so we met up an hour later and headed on up.  (Life is short.  Get in the car and go look at quilts whenever the opportunity is offered.)

I dutifully brought my camera, then dutifully neglected to take many pictures, despite the fact that the show was loaded with gorgeous work.  Here's one of my very favorites, which was one of the first ones I saw going in, before camnesia set in.

Now you may be thinking, "yeah yeah, applique, how nice", but here's another picture that will give you an idea of the scale of this quilt.

The camera is about 6" from the quilt, and my fingers are hovering about 2" above the surface.  Those little grapey dots?  They're about 1/8" in diameter.  And needle-turned.  One at a time by the hundreds.  I wouldn't have even thought it possible.  I still don't even think it's possible and I saw it with my own eyes.

Another quilt I loved was this framed four-patch made with aboriginal fabrics.  The picture doesn't do justice to all the bright happy colors.

And this one caught my eye, with even more four-patches.  (I admit I'm a total sucker for anything four-patchy!)

I almost didn't get that picture, though.  As I was backing up to get more of it into the shot, I kept  watch in my peripheral vision for the quilts behind me, but wasn't thinking about the wooden bases that stuck out near the floor.

Ooops!  As I floundered for balance, I had a sudden vision of causing a domino-style disaster of all those quilt racks...





Luckily, I'm not actually THAT clumsy...


Linking with SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday (even though it's Sunday - oops again!) and with Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!  Come see all the colorful fun!