I got the second Strippie cut and pieced this afternoon thanks to the storms passing us by. I pinned it up on the design wall after piecing the smaller strips – while it’s not a directional fabric, depending on where the cuts occur some sections do seem to have an up side!
I now have 3 of these to practice on when the new longarm arrives.
I won’t sew over the weekend since Keith heads out again on Monday – his travel schedule has been very hectic – but I’ll work on the shell afghan after he goes to bed and next week, I’ve got some binding to do.
The other day I mentioned I was going to piece a couple more Quick Strippies so I could use them for practice when the new longarm gets here and I pulled a couple “kits”. While I have a bin that I toss my novelty prints in, every now and then I go ahead and pull the coordinating fabrics from stash and put them all together so I can grab one and go. I decided I’d make these two.
I started with the animal print – it’s not directional but with such a large motif I wanted to decide ahead of time which way was up so I lined it all up on my design wall after I got the smaller strips sewn together.
I also got the last Maine Happy Block top loaded on the longarm. If I feel energetic enough tonight I’ll get that started, if not I’ll work on it tomorrow.
The little bow tie top is assembled but not with out help from my seam ripper! I almost walked away but didn’t and I picked out 3 seams so I could flip a section around. In spite of some problems with the assembly, I really liked making these blocks and I’m looking forward to using these dies again!
The lighting for the photo is terrible but that’s as good as it gets at midnight in my sewing room!
No borders on this one either … you might have noticed, I make a lot of quilts without borders both because I’m recreating vintage quilts that don’t have them a lot of times but also just because I like quilts without borders!
I also pulled the next top to be quilted – I decided on this 16 Patch UFO and when I went to look for fabric for a backing I found a green one already pieced in the backing cabinet. I have no idea which quilt I pieced it for but it’s the right size for this one so I’m going to use it. Most of the time when I piece a back for a specific quilt I hang it with that top in the closet so finding this one is unexpected.
I tell you, this thyroid cancer has really messed with my memory among other things. Sometimes I wonder if I’m ever going get back to normal again.
I’ve mentioned before how much I dislike sashing quilts but I do it when it’s necessary and I loved the wide sashing on my vintage inspiration quilt so I knew this one would get sashing from the beginning. By the way, those two corner blocks are darker but it’s the lighting that makes them look so much darker than the other blues in the quilt.
I’m very happy with this one! I was also happy that I was able to measure and pin the borders on my “big board” rather than crawling around on the floor.
There are just two weeks left in July and I’m traveling 5 of those days so my goals are pretty modest … first up was to assemble my July Precut Party HST top – I know it’s simple but it will make a nice donation quilt when done … no borders on this one so it’s ready for quilting but like all my tops, it will age a bit in the closet while it waits for it’s turn!
I mentioned when I started it last week that these fabrics are from stash but my inspiration was a pattern from a Craftsy kit I’d bought a while back. They used 10 inch squares but I cut mine using my 6 inch finished HST GO die from Accuquilt.
Also on the list for July is to finish this ripple – I might even get it done tonight watching the Tour de France. I don’t have any specific number of rows I do on these, I just spread it across my lap and stop when I think the proportions are right.
The remaining items on the list:
Bind a Happy Block quilt
start a Kite quilt
quilt a UFO
finish weaving ends in on the linen stitch blanket
Keith and I have been busy this weekend watching the Tour de France, biking, and even playing some Pickleball but I sewed a little each night after he went to bed and the Bento Box Half Log Cabin top has been assembled.
I like this top a lot more in person, the photo isn’t the greatest maybe because I snapped it at night and the lighting in my room isn’t the best for that. In hindsight, using a single background fabric would have been much easier with the fabrics in this Jelly Roll. I ended up pulling out some of the blocks that didn’t have good contrast and while the quilt is smaller than I originally intended, it’s still a great size for a lap quilt. In fact, I like a smaller quilt when I’m sitting in my recliner because I don’t get tangled up in it when I’m getting up and down.
You can find the instructions I used to piece this block from Jelly Roll Strips at this link. It was a quick and easy method but I don’t press my seams open unless I need to – it’s easy to press the seams in this quilt to the dark (or in some cases away from the light strip) and have them nestle nicely.
I don’t have big goals for this week – we’re cleaning up, doing laundry, and re-making all the beds after Chris’ visit because Adam and the kids will be here Thursday for a visit. I’ve got appointments Monday and Tuesday so my only goals between their visits are to finish this top (done), bind one of the Happy Block quilts, and make progress on the current crochet afghan. If I have time I might get the Precut Party quilt for July started – it’s half square triangles this month!
