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Post by choney2 on Jan 17, 2022 12:18:26 GMT
Good morning and Happy Monday!
All crafters are welcome here as we discuss crafting, life and our weight loss journey. Crafting includes actual hands on crafting, such as crochetting, knitting, sewing, quilting, needlepoint, painting, jewelry making, etc.....plus reading craft catalogs, craft blogs, watching craft you tubes or other crafting videos, chatting here about crafting,chatting with another person about crafting, reading craft emails, thinking about crafting, organizing crafting supplies, going into craft stores or the craft aisle in a store , attending craft fairs,or any other activity that inspires or directs your mind toward a crafting activity- even visiting us here to join in our posts!! There are plenty of days in which the closest we get to crafting is a visit here, so even if you have no time to craft, we would love to hear from you.
We welcome newcomers to our friendly discussion! So glad you are here!! Please feel free to stop in and say hello!!
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Post by choney2 on Jan 17, 2022 12:31:08 GMT
Interesting storm out there….rain , rain snow mix…and I would be silly to head out to clear the driveway just yet as more snow is predicted. It looks like if I go out after lunch all the snow will be done for my area. It is a little bit windy..
I am concerned about CJ- heard on the news that there were many power outages from this storm. I have not heard if her general area was hit severely. I hope she is ok and comfortable.
Guess at some point today I will figure out what I am doing with this play mat for my DGN. I am not all that enthusiastic about this project but it does give me a chance to use the walking foot (I have never used the Husqvarna walking foot, but used it on my singer). So the practice will be good.
Hope everyone is safe and crafting!!!
Ginny
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Post by gramma14 on Jan 17, 2022 20:59:35 GMT
I'm sure I mentioned that I bought a walking foot for my machine when I bought the machine. I thought the quilting instructor said you used it for machine quilting but then I found that that was wrong info. I guess you use it when you have thick fabric layers....is that right? I've never used it. Ginny, I hope you can either find some pleasure in making that playmat or that it's done quickly so that it's done and out of your mind. It's just no fun making something we feel an obligation to make and don't like doing it. I guess this will be your good deed for this month. We had planned to go out today for a little shopping but dh's back is hurting more today. I could have gone myself but I was happy to hear we weren't going so am using the time to relax and stay home. I started the new wrap I'm making for the other dgd. I won't say most but many pattern writers tell you to read through the entire pattern before starting. Do I ever do that? NO. Have I learned my lesson? NO. Do I need to learn? YES. I started this and got to maybe row 11 assuming that all the rows after that would be the same. Well they weren't. So I'm back to row 5. I'm just thankful that I didn't have to rip out to the beginning because I'm using the yarn called Shawl in a Ball and it's not easy to see the stitches on the first couple rows because it's fuzzy stuff. After those two or 3 rows it's easy going. ....if you follow the pattern. Ripping out is a challenge also because of the fuzz. I also did a little organizing in my craft room. If any of you need yarn come on over to my yarn store  Yes you're weather doesn't sound good, Ginny. I hate a mix of snow and rain because there's so much potential for ice. CJ I hope you're doing ok and have power. |
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Post by cj59 on Jan 17, 2022 22:05:59 GMT
Hello Everyone  Ginny - I hope you don't have any problems from the bad weather, your weather sounds like what I had yesterday. Hope the walking foot works well. Ruth - Your new project sounds interesting, and I'm glad you have the hang of the pattern now. I'm bad about not always reading through instructions for things first. The weather here wasn't too bad. We did get several inches of snow, it was the powdery kind but after that it turned to rain and most of it has already melted everywhere. It's nice not to have to shovel anything and it was pretty to watch. I did have some ice on my back steps this morning and broke some of it up and hopefully the rest will melt. And I'm very fortunate I didn't lose power and hope that continues now that we're getting some windy weather. I'm working on a new project that uses the leftover fabrics from the Happy Everything quilt. It's a pattern for a Jelly Roll, but I just cut the fat quarters up into 2.5 inch strips to use that way and I modified the pattern a bit. I wanted to test the pattern before I cut up one of my pretty jelly rolls  It's just a way to finish off most of this fabric. I still have about 9 fat quarters left, with some yardage that I thought I would use for a border on the big quilt. There were 35 fat quarters in the bundle I bought for this quilt and that's why I said I would try not to buy a fat quarter bundle again for a quilt along. There are just too many that you don't use - and my goal is not to add more to my fat quarters and scraps. But at least I'll get a few more quilts out of the fabric. Take care |
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Post by choney2 on Jan 17, 2022 23:11:38 GMT
Good afternoon,
CJ- as always you come up with the most creative ways to use fabric and give different patterns a test try! Hope that your experiment is educational and you get the feel for the pattern that you are looking for. I do not blame you for not wanting to use up a nice new jelly roll on a pattern that you are unsure of. I am hoping that I do not encounter the same problem with the fat quarter bundle that I was planning on using for the scrappy quilt I want to work on. And I hear you, its time to use of some of the other fabrics that we do not have plans for. And is also a reason why I want to make a scrappy quilt to use up fabric. Anyway, so very glad to hear that you came through the storm just fine . Hope that the winds die down and you keep power. You are so lucky- your snow was powdery and easy to clear.
Ruth, well I do not always go through all the directions first either. What a shame that you had to rip out to row 5. Shawl in a ball sounds like it would be a difficult yarn to work with. I give you a lot of credit using that to make a shawl. Congrats on getting your craft room organized a bit!! Nope, do not need any yarn either, but I am sure that you have more yarn that I do. Did you ever shop in an AC Moore when they were open?? The one area that had RHSS was probably 15 feet tall with all different SS colors. A yarn addict’s heaven for sure. What a shame that store closed. Hope that Dh’s back is better soon, and I bet you enjoyed having a quiet day at home.
Thankful that we kept power all night and day. I am unsure how much snow I got- perhaps 3-4 inches of wet snow on a rain base. What a mess to clean up. My snowblower would not start (and its got an electric start and should have started no trouble). Thankfully two neighbors helped me clear the driveway. I have the car at the mouth of the driveway now so I do not have to drive on it much should I have to go out. Its supposed to go into the 20’s tonight, and it should get rather slippery out there.
I did work on the play mat today, ironing it, trimming it and will bet the quilt sandwich put together shortly. Ruth, you are totally right about the walking foot- its used to allow the needle to ease over several thicknesses of fabric without bunching. I have mine out, and need to read the directions on how to use it. The last time I used the walking foot was on my singer. Jane has used my walking foot and said she loved it.
Hope everyone stays warm and dry tonight.
Take care and have a good evening.
Ginny
Phyl and Sue you are missed and we hope you are both well.
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Post by gramma14 on Jan 18, 2022 6:44:21 GMT
CJ, I'm glad you don't have to shovel snow. The last time I did that was two years ago. Most of the time I don't HAVE to be anywhere so if there's snow we leave it for the most part. We do shovel when we're expecting packages to arrive. The times that FedEx or UPS arrived before we shoveled they seemed to have no problem getting through the snow but I like to try to make it easier on them. It's great that you're going to be able to use some of your leftover fabric for a quilt you already have in mind. I hate to see leftovers wasted but right now I have so many various sized balls of leftover yarn that it's ridiculous and when I start a project I usually need to get entire skeins out. I need to go back to making the Pop of Color beanies and other similar ones to use some of those little balls.
I saw a video today where the youtuber tied all the leftovers together regardless of colors and thicknesses and just started crocheting a scarf and left all the ends so the scarf ended up looking like a porcupine with all it's quills sticking out. I didn't like it so I won't be tempted to use my leftovers to make that.
Ginny, I'm sorry to hear that your snowblower didn't work but glad that some neighbors helped you in clearing your driveway. It's so great when people help each other like that.Does your snowblower have some kind of trip function that turns it off then it gets too overheated maybe and just needs to be reset? That would be an easy fix but it probably isn't anything that easy. We all still have a bit of winter yet so hopefully you can get it repaired soon. And it sounds like you're already making progress on the playmat. And thank you for the info on the walking foot. Someday I might actually use it. Gee, maybe I could have used it to patch the sleeping bag I recently patched by hand.
I'm back to row 11 again but these rows are much longer than the ones I did before because I didn't know that in each row you increased the number of shells in each row. Now I'm up to 8 shells in each row along with about 34 double crochets and 2 trebles in each row so a lot more than the stitches I had while making that huge mistake. I have about 12 more rows to go. Pattern calls for 18 more rows but I don't want to make it that long. I really should be done tomorrow but who knows.I might do a few more rows yet tonight
Have a wonderful sleep tonight ladies. Hopefully you are both sound asleep and having pleasant dreams.
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Post by choney2 on Jan 18, 2022 23:33:29 GMT
Good evening,
Ruth, this shawl sounds like quite a project!! Hope that it is very pretty and that DGD loves it. I hope that the combination of pretty pattern and yarn makes it a pleasure to work on, for all the nonsense you have endured for this project. It will be great if you can finish this today, and get a few more rows done tonight. The snowblower issue is most likely the carburetor. I could not get the darned thing to catch, it has an electric start and I did everything right. I figure that the carburetor flooded somehow. I can try starting it again, or call where I bought it from. Its just absurd as its a very new blower and should start without any trouble. Doubt I will work on the play mat tonight. Just think I want to relax and if I do craft I will work on something easy. Putting the quilt sandwich together is probably my least favorite part of this process.
Ginny
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Post by gramma14 on Jan 19, 2022 0:25:11 GMT
I did, at least, get a bit of work done around the house yesterday. Today I did some things outdoors because the weather is really nice today.
Ginny, the quilt sandwich does sound like a challenge. Do you use the spray stuff to keep it together or do you pin it? Relaxing this evening sounds like a good plan to me...go for it!
I'm about to start crocheting for the evening. Dinner is all ready when we want to eat.
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Post by choney2 on Jan 19, 2022 11:02:39 GMT
Morning!!!
Ruth, well good thing you got some housework done yesterday. Sort of a necessary evil, right? Bet it also felt good to get outside a bit too.
Indeed making the quilt sandwich is a whole lot of a challenge, making sure there is no bunching. On a small piece it is not terribly challenging. As this is technically a crib sized piece its a bit more difficult. Will get back to it later on.
CJ- how are you doing???
See y’all later.
G
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Post by gramma14 on Jan 19, 2022 22:05:45 GMT
It does sound like a challenge to keep those layers as they should be but I have no doubt, Ginny, that you and CJ are great at doing that.
I'm pretty sure I'm only going to do two more rows on this triangle shawl to make it somewhere between a scarf and shawl and I have the yarn together to start the butterfly prayer shawl for ddil. Then I'll be caught up on birthday gifts. I did start a pair of fingerless gloves today but haven't got very far on those. I just wanted something different to work on for a few minutes. I'll finish the shawl/scarf for sure and will definitely start the shawl for ddil. The first part is always the hardest so I want to get that part done and the shawl underway. Once the rhythm is established things usually go pretty well. I'll also at some point in the future, be making more of this one I'm almost done with. It's easy after the first few rows and I have a LOT of the Shawl in a Ball yarn and want to make these triangle scarf/shawls for the girls here for Christmas. Hey wouldn't it be great to get Christmas gifts done this early? Of course there are birthdays in between now and Christmas so probably not many Christmas gifts will actually get done.
See ;you all later.
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Post by cj59 on Jan 19, 2022 22:50:01 GMT
Hello Ginny - I'm glad you didn't lose power in the last storm you had. Hope you can get your quilt sandwiched, I don't care for that part much either. Ruth - That's great that you are almost caught up on the birthday gifts. Hope you enjoy making the fingerless gloves. We had a mild day here today, with temps in the low 50s, but we're supposed to get some rain/snow overnight - they say it won't amount to much. I went out this morning and went in a few stores - mostly just to get my car on the road, I didn't really need anything. I finished making the small quilt from some of the leftover fat quarters/yardage from the Happy Everything quilt and I'm happy with how it turned out. It's pretty easy to piece, but lots of seams to nest. And of course, when I was making the last block before sewing them together, I cut the size of it wrong and cut off about 2 inches that I shouldn't have  Since that was the last bit of my fabric and I already had 15 blocks made - I decided to just sew that 2 inch strip to the side of that block to make it work. It looks strange and you have to really look close to see it (I think), but I'm glad I was able to save the top. I'll put a picture below. The new block for the Sweet Dreams quilt along came out today and it's a pretty heart block. I'm trying to figure out how I can get a lighthouse in this block. I'm thinking I can either use some lighthouse fabric for the 2 top tips of the heart or a lighthouse in the bottom tip of heart. I have to test it out and see. Pat Sloan is going to do a quick 3 week quilt along for this block from a layout she has in the pattern that makes a 40.5 by 40.5 quilt. I'm going to look through my fabrics and see if I can find some I'd like to use for this. www.ilovetomakequilts.com/2022/01/-sweet-dreams-block-3-and-a-valentines-sew-along.htmlTake care  |
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Post by choney2 on Jan 19, 2022 23:37:01 GMT
CJ- that quilt top is adorable!!!! Nice job using up fabric that you are not all that thrilled with.
Ruth, you are so motivated to get these birthday gifts done!!! Hope you can get everything done in time to ship the items to your family.
Long day babysitting. Think I am going to put my feet up for a little bit.
G
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Post by choney2 on Jan 20, 2022 10:50:56 GMT
CJ- I did just take a minute to try to find the “problem” with the quilt….and while I did not go nuts looking for it, was unable to find it. Great job on that quilt top-
We have a rain snow mix this morning….hope I do not have to clear much from the driveway.
BBL
Ginny
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Post by cj59 on Jan 20, 2022 23:47:32 GMT
Hello - Hope everyone is doing well today We ended up with just rain today, I guess the colder air didn't make it hear before the precipitation ended. We were supposed to get a bit of snow, but I'm glad we didn't get any. Ginny - The "patched" block is on the bottom row, the 3 block in. If you look at the left hand side of that block you can see where I had to sew about a 2 inch piece to the block to get it to the right size. I'm glad it doesn't show that much I think I'm going to use this same pattern for all the 2.5 inch strips that I cut last year from my scraps. I did that each month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and now I can use all of them. I also have a bag full of 1.5 to 2.0 inch strips that I need to sort by color and make string blocks with - that was my goal. The color for January is Red, so I'm hoping I can get those 2 things done before the end of the month. I saw another little miniature quilt along that I thought about doing and then changed my mind and instead I think I'll make a small wall hanging of an "X" and "O" quilt that someone posted a picture of on Facebook. Here's a link to the pattern: my.modafabrics.com/webfiles/BH3_21_Lissa-Alexander_XOXO.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3PxQp-gl4SGhLwfIbzjayfHZzr8q7urvJ21WWyjgWmk0SjiH-UNQbWVPUI had pulled 3 fat quarters for the miniature quilt and I'm going to make this wall hanging with those 3 fat quarters. It will be a cute Valentine's quilt. I also finished the 3rd block for the Sweet Dreams quilt along and I ended up remaking Block 2, because I wasn't happy with the fabric I used in that block. I'm trying to narrow done the fabrics for this quilt. It's just easier for me this way. I'll post a picture below of my 3 blocks for the Sweet Dreams so far. The fabric that looks kind of orange is really gold. Hope you are all having alright weather and getting to do some crafting. Take care  |
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Post by choney2 on Jan 21, 2022 0:41:48 GMT
Good COLD evening !!
CJ- thanks for sharing the hugs and kisses quilt design. I admit it will make an adorable valentine wall hanging, and I am sure you will select the perfect fabric.v Nice job with the fabrics for the sweet dreams quilt along. I can see that the “orange” fabric is really gold, which is also in the light house fabric. Very cute…. So now the truth comes out, I actually thought that the patched in block was an ironing issue, and that it was a wrinkle. Nice job patching it in- and if you choose to quilt this quilt I am confident that the ironing issue (ha ha ha) can be camouflaged or distracted from. Are you supposed to get the super cold temperatures also? Glad you got rain instead of sleet or snow. I know for my area, we are in the historically coldest weeks of winter. I wonder if it is the same for your area.
So….worked this am, and really wanted a late start for this morning, but I had to go in early. Got through the high school /middle school portion , but for the elementary it snowed and the roads were a mess. I finished with the elementary almost an hour late because the roads were so bad. I came home and had to make some phone calls…and make a meal to take to some in church who is not feeling well. So I decided to do some errands while in that area. I did not get to craft today and am looking against finishing the quilt sandwich for the play mat, but I know I have to do that. Perhaps this weekend.
It’s supposed to be super cold for the next few days, with some very cold nights. Best time of year to be comfortable and at home crafting. Another lazy night here. I am rather enjoying being lazy.
Ginny
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Since that was the last bit of my fabric and I already had 15 blocks made - I decided to just sew that 2 inch strip to the side of that block to make it work. It looks strange and you have to really look close to see it (I think), but I'm glad I was able to save the top. I'll put a picture below.