WELCOME banner

This is all crumb piecing.  What FUN to sew it all together and have it end up kinda cute!  Didn't take long and I DID concentrate on these colors, all from the trash basket.  There is hand quilting around the letters.  The letters are outlined with black machine blanket stitches.  On the back corners, I sewed triangles into the binding, and inserted a short little dowel for hanging ease.

Renovations, and Crumby Blocks

I am moving forward with much-needed small bathroom renovations.  Best part is new shower, this time with beautiful Onyx walls and same material for counter top.    The shower is in a corner, not huge, but serviceable.  Yeahhhh, no longer looking like a cave.  I'm just featuring "the mess".  If you've done construction or remodeling, you know. 

I ignored the necessary mess and changed direction, and tried making crumb blocks, taking throwaways from my trash basket.  Yes, it IS great fun!  I kept it geometric and stayed with the pink purples, turquoise, light greens, and then I added the black with polka dots to spark it up a bit.  Didn't quite know what to do with the blocks when I was finished, but made 3 or 4 blocks, each about 9 x 12 in., then decided to make some letters and fuse them onto a WELCOME banner.  So far, so good!  That FUSING always ends up conFUSING me, as well as occasionally reversing letters, but it ended up OK.  

 Some letters looked a little pale so I did some blanket stitching around them in black.  I've had this machine for over 15 years and never used that feature!  LOL  Looks OK to me. 

 I think I'll chop up the leftover crumb blocks and make a border around each side of the banner.  That leafy pink blue strip will likely have to "go".  This is all experimental, but I'm having fun.  The letters are about 4 inches tall. 

A ROCK

Folks in my town are "finding" small rocks here and there, some painted, some decorated, some with words, etc., not sure how it started, but I found one at the Dr., another at H & R Block, just setting on a table.  The finder may keep, pass along, take home or whatever.  It kinda means "I'm thinking of you, whoever you are."

So today, I opened the door and saw "someone" running back to her car and off she drove.   I was pretty sure I recognized her.  I had run into her weeks ago, unexpectedly, and she hadn't known about my husband's death, but I had told her about his dear note to me, "Make Every Day Count" and ever present dorky Smiley Face.  I looked around the front porch and this is what I found, now on the counter, next to DH's note.  

One Step At a Time

This is a current project - bargello method of construction, and little bugs and fireflies are on/in the fabric.   Top only, so far.   The checks are on the top and bottom - photo was turned wrong way.

 Below is the REPAIRED hole in the Studio wall.   (Previous photo of HOLE was in prev. post.) I had planned to do it myself, ever hopeful, but real fears of running the drill thru my hand or falling off the table and breaking some part of my old bod, and wondering how to hold the drill, and hold the screw at the same time , and still hold the piece of pine block behind the plasterboard without drilling thru my hand/finger, brought common sense to my old noggin - I called the MAN.    My walls are lathe and plaster - thicker than expected.  He did one beautiful job, needing to come and go several times to recoat the plaster or skin coat or ?? , then sand it.  I repainted that area - no one would ever know.   DONE.  Thank you so much,  Heath!!!  Another step FORWARD. 

Quilt As You Go, in PINK, and a Hole in the Wall

I had a LOT of pink strips, and a lot of extra batting, and some pinkish FQs.  What are ya gonna do?  No quilt name yet, but I know where it's going.  This method might not be for everyone, but I sure had fun!  I learned how to get that backing sashing strip close to perfect, by heavy pinning, and then stitching in the ditch from the front, and slowly pulling out the pins as I sewed.  I'm happy with the result.  

New subject, below:  Plumber was needed, drain had been running slowly for months and I knew there was more then just a clog - something also wasn't correct about the pipe angle.  Mr. Plumber started with his snake, and then I heard, "Uh oh - that's not good"!  Yes, the snake itself broke in the pipes and was hopelessly stuck.  

There was no alternative except this decision, in the adjoining wall, yes, the wall in my new, clean, freshly painted Sewing Studio.  NO drywall guy is going to do this job, because you do a little at a time, let dry, a little more another time, let dry, etc.  So, I went to YouTube, and I think I can do it myself!  May take me a while but I'm game.   Worst part it that it's low on the wall   Best part is my drain is working perfectly, first time in many years. 

Blessings, and QAYG

This  unexpected blessing showed up at my door today, from dear members of my husband's family.  Looks like I need to balance them a little.  

I've been working on a little girl's pink QAYG.  In the past, I disliked finishing the sashing seam on the front, leaving forever stitches but recently learned a better method from Marti Machell.  Her sashing is finished on the front and with careful measuring and a lot of pinning on the back, and sewing in the ditch from the front, a pretty neat stitching line is the result on the back.  In this case a busy sashing and backing helps even better.  I know, you can't see anything.  There IS one visable vertical seam on that middle sashing.  

 Below is the stitching line on the back, stitched in-the-ditch from the front. 

 This is the pinning on the back, with a folded 1/4 in. seam carefully folded and pinned over the previous sewing line.  In almost all cases, I did NOT have to redo anything.  I stitched in the ditch from the front, carefully, pulled the pins out from underneath as the needle got close.  I would guess that each of us has our own version of 1/4 inch, in the ditch, etc., and I would advise a practice bit before you get YOUR measurements.  My sashing was cut 1 in., and my backing sashing was a 1 1/8 in, and then folded over 1/4 inch., then sewn to the back  These are MY measurements.  Also, in previous QAYG, I carefully pressed those sashings neat and tidy and flat,  whichever way seemed necessary.  But this time I did NOT press and just let the kissed seam allowances kind pooch up when they wanted to.  After all, this IS a child's quilt, and it IS machine quilted.  NOT a masterpiece, just a nice quilt.  I did NOT do any pressing of the sashing once it was sewn to the blocks. 

The finished project should be ready in a few days.  I'm liking it - not soft and sweet but pink and bold!