Bloopers

I've got my Valentine craft on this weekend.  I've been able to finish up a few projects that have been in the works and I'm feeling pretty chipper about that.  So much so, in fact, that I thought it might be fun to host a little Valentine party this week.  I'm calling it LOVE LIVES HERE.  Each day this week I'll show a little Valentine project, and I even have one silly tutorial to share.  So tune in.

Meanwhile......

I was completely motoring on a Valentine table runner Friday night.  Full speed.  Pedal to the metal and loving the roar of the walking foot.  Paying way more attention to the episode of House Hunters than to my work, apparently, because believe it or not I quilted AND TRIMMED the entire thing before I ever bothered to flip it over.  And once I finally did this is what I saw....

OOPS.

My backing extended a good four inches past one side of the runner and didn't even cover the other side.  How could I have completed an entire project without noticing????????

Since the machine quilting was already done (and looked dashing from the front, I might add), I didn't want to add another row of stitching.  Of course, this backing was some random remnant from two years ago and finding more would be impossible, so I pilfered through my trash can, rescued some discarded trimmings, joined them, hemmed them, and got busy hand stitching them to the edge of my backing.

SHEESH.

On the bright side, I'm rather proud of myself for staying in the game on this one.  When I first realized my mistake I sat completely confounded, drawing long, hard sips from my Sonic sweet tea straw, trying to come up with a feasible solution.  Too often, when I hit a major road block on a project I "set it aside for later".  It's the crafting equivalent of a graveyard.  But this time I stuck with it and I'm glad I did.

Then, I was on to my BIG project.  The one that was intended to be quick and easy.  Fast and fun.  One should never, ever start a quilt with that mentality!!!  It's been nothing but bloopers from the start on this one.  Yesterday, I added to my list of troubles and woes when I realized that, no matter how I cut it, my backing was too small.  So, after my second third fourth trip to the quilt shop for a solution to the problem, I pieced my backing, and when I flipped it over I saw this.

Right side up birds fraternizing with upside down ones.

Grrrroooooar.

"I've spent so much time on this I should press on and make it right."

But.

"No one is going to notice the back since I intend to hang this on a quilt rack anyway."

But.

"I can spend an hour fixing it or a lifetime of regretting that I let it be wrong."

But.

"I should save the time and move on to another project...I'll accomplish more that way."

Anyone else hear quilting voices in their head?  Am I the only one??

So.....guess what I did??

You'll have to come back this week to see the finished project and find out the answer.  :-)

Y'all have a great day yelling at the TV and eating finger foods.  And if you decide to spend some time quilting....learn from me and pay attention to the back of what you're doing!  :-)

Hopping Down A Rabbit Trail

I always have a hand project going to keep me busy on car trips, at baseball practices, in the doctor's office, and so forth.  These projects don't ever move along very quickly because I don't usually get them out to work on here at home.  However, we had some family movie nights planned this weekend, so I settled in with my current embroidery endeavor, which is a Crabapple Hill pattern.

My color in these photos is completely wacky.  I should retake them all tomorrow in proper light.  But well intentioned plans like that have a way of never getting done, so I'm sharing the ugly pictures with bad color.  :-)  These are actually done on white fabric, not blue!

I originally bought all the DMC floss as instructed on the pattern, but I quickly abandoned the official rules in favor of picking whatever colors pleased me at the moment.  That way, I don't have to think (or plan) too hard.

I have three blocks completed so far and am working on the fourth.  There are five blocks total in this set.  I have not fully decided if I will construct a quilt to be displayed at Easter or if I will make a spring table runner for the dining room.  At the rate I go on these hand projects, I have plenty of time to decide!

I've also been stitching a label for my latest quilt backing.  This is for my Bliss quilt.  My original plan was to embroider a gnome by the little house, but now I'm thinking about leaving the empty space so I have more room to write.  In truth, I'm eager to finish the label quickly so I can get this layered and on the machine!

Hope everyone's week is off to a great start!

What I'm Loving This Week

I have two quilts going at once right now and I'm loving it!  My Bliss top is ready to be layered, but first I need to piece the backing.  I also started an impromptu Valentine project which has been a lot of fun.  I love piecing patchwork...simple, rhythmic, therapeutic.  I also love being awash in a sea of reds and pinks.  Just makes me happy.  And who doesn't need a little Happy on a Monday morning?  :-)

I Quilt for Sport

Last night I took my son and his friend to the ballpark.

We met some friends there and had a ball.  (No pun intended.)

One of our friends is a HUGE sports fan.  Epic understatement.  These are her cute kids.

When I pulled out my little project and happily set to work my son gave in to panic.  "MOM!!!  Put that away!!  Mrs. Young is going to see you sewing.....at the BALLGAME!!!!"

What??  I'm a quilting nerd.  There's no big secret here.  He had his form of entertainment, I had mine, Mrs. Young had hers, and we all got to share cotton candy.

Is that so wrong??  :-)

(For the record, the old men behind us sided with my son.  It must be a boy thing.)

The Price Was Right

Do you ever purchase fabric based on price rather than pattern?  That was the case recently when I plucked a jelly roll of Moda's Arnold's Attic out of the clearance bin at my LQS.  It was a bargain, so I scooped it up without much regard to the various fabrics in the line.

It turned out to be quite a happy accident.  Once I started working with these fabrics I realized how much I really do like them.  Fall is my favorite time of year, and the colors and patterns in this line remind me a lot of autumn.

Now I'm ready for borders, and I need to order yardage online.  I think I want to do a narrow inner border of the rust color, but I'm stumped about what to use for the outer border.

At first I thought I wanted to go with the darker blue (on bottom right), but I was having trouble finding that fabric.  Then I considered the light aqua (bottom left) or the dark green (bottom center).  I like how the aqua gives a light, airy feeling to the quilt.  Then again, I like how the darker color seems to frame the design and add some warmth.

It's really hard to tell just from looking at a skinny jelly roll strip.  Anyone have a strong opinion they care to offer??

Here's my other quilting quandary.  The very instant I spread something on the floor my cat takes it as an open invitation and helps himself.  It makes laying out blocks oh so difficult.  I need a design wall!

The dog is equally interested in a quilty bed for napping, but she's a little more discreet.  Here she is at quilt's edge, patiently waiting for me to turn my back so she can launch a sneak attack.

Green?  Or aqua?  I may need to lay this one out a time or two before I'm able to make a border decision.  Am I on the right track with the large floral print?  Or do I need to go in a new direction?  My bargain fabric is giving me more uncertainty than I "bargained" for, LOL!

Scrappy Makes Me Happy

I'm working on my FIRST ever scrap quilt.  See, here's the thing.....when I finish a quilt project, do you know what I do with all my leftover fabrics?

I throw them away.

I know.  I'm like a quilting heretic.

I'm not much of a saver to begin with, and I don't have a lot of storage space in my sewing area.  So, I'm pretty selective about the scraps that I save.  (I do piece my backs to try to use as much fabric as possible in each quilt, so I'm not completely hopeless.)

Anyway, I admire stash builders and their ability to pull the perfect yellow print out of a hat.  I figure the guilt I feel from throwing away scraps may potentially be less severe than the guilt I'd feel hanging on to all of them and never using them??  That's why it was a little bit of a crazy moment when, at the Dallas Quilt Show this year, I bought an entire bag of scraps from the Bonnie Blue booth.

I carelessly toss my own scraps aside, yet I feel some sort of moral obligation to rescue someone else's scrap?  And to pay money to do it?   I don't know how to account for it.

Anyway, I'm crazy about Bonnie Blue's quilts and fabrics both, so I ironed up my new bits and pieces and I've been playing around with them.  Scrap quilts are really fun, and more than just a little addictive.  If I'm not careful, I might just find myself hoarding a little scrap stash sometime soon!!

I'll keep you posted on the progress of this one...

Snow Day = Sew Day

Last week winter came to town.  We had unusually cold temperatures, and a solid sheet of ice that relentlessly covered the city.  Local schools were closed for four consecutive days; a first in these parts!  Today we are enjoying snow day number five.  Amazing for the south!

My kids will be quick to tell you the injustice of being homeschooled is that you don't get snow days.  :-)  Of course, our neighborhood friends are all off school and eager to play, so the kids and I have struck some pretty savvy compromises.  They get extra breaks to play with friends, and that means a little extra sewing time for me too!

I gathered various Valentine-ish pinks and reds on my last visit to the quilt shop.  I started chopping them up rather arbitrarily with no real plan.  What emerged were two table runners; one for the kitchen table which is quite long, and another for the dining room table which is fairly wide.

Pieced runners don't count as finished projects.  The way I'm calculating it, I have a matter of days to get these babies layered, quilted, bound, washed, and on display.  I'm determined not to stash them away for an entire year.  I need this snow to stay on the ground just a tad longer.  I just love a good, tight deadline.

Almost as much as my kids love homeschooling on a snow day.  :-)