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Post by choney2 on Apr 18, 2022 10:38:35 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 Apr 18, 2022 21:21:23 GMT
Had a lot of fun and games today (ha ha ha) finishing painting the bathroom. Half way through I thought I was nuts- seeing the old color and the new side by side. But its done now, and it looks so clean and fresh! Of course I am a bit achy now, having spent a few hours contorting myself to get in all the nooks and crannies of a bathroom. That checks off one more chore from my list- and gives me the freedom now to quilt.
I am in for a night of heavy Rain and wind. This might be the first test of my waterproofing system- which I hope works flawlessly. I also got a tiny amount of yard work done and straightened up the house a bit.
Hope to get a few more blocks done this evening.
Hi to CJ, Ruth, Phyl and Sue.
Ginny
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Post by cj59 on Apr 18, 2022 22:24:23 GMT
Hello  Ginny - I'm sure it feels good to get the painting finished in the bathroom and I hope you enjoy it. I also hope you don't feel too sore tomorrow. Good luck with the waterproofing system, I hope it works perfectly. Hope everyone else is doing well. It's raining and in the 40s here, so a good day to stay inside. I finished making the jelly roll quilt top. It doesn't look exactly how I thought it would, but I'm glad I tried the pattern and used the jelly roll. I think this pattern would look better with Christmas fabric or Patriotic fabric (which is how it's shown in the pattern and tutorial). I also could have put a larger outer border on this quilt, but I was ready to be finished with it. It was quick to make though. The pattern is Step Ladder and it's a free pattern from Jordan Fabrics, there is a YouTube tutorial too. The fabrics in the jelly roll are Crystal Lane by Bunny Hill. There are some really pretty pieces in this fabric line that I'd like to buy as yardage, but I don't need to buy any fabric right now  A few of the pieces have a small snowman design on them. Now I need to get the pieces cut for the 4 Sweet Dreams quilt blocks I need to remake/make. I hope I can get those done this week. And I hope you all get to do some crafting. Take care  |
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Post by choney2 on Apr 19, 2022 23:03:34 GMT
Hi CJ- what is the finished size of the Step Ladder quilt? We’re all the off white fabrics also in that jelly roll? I see what you mean about the fabric- that the pattern lends itself more to a patriotic or Holiday themed fabric ( even fall themed fabrics would look lovely). You did a great job putting it together and yes, there are some lovely fabrics used in that jelly roll. Agreed, neither of us needs more fabric at this time, so I will admire the fabrics from afar and admire your nice work. How long did it take you to put that together?
I did get to put a few blocks together last night cut additional fabric. I had a late day hair appointment and got home late. Not sure if I will get to any quilting today or not..
We had snow here last night and a tiny bit this am. Not enough to accumulate but just enough to see on the roadsides. Seems to strange for this time of year.
My cat is upset (and sitting on or near the keyboard because I was gone a bit too long today. So I guess its time for me to scratch his head and make him happy.
Have a good night all
Ginny
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Post by cj59 on Apr 20, 2022 21:32:51 GMT
Hi Ginny - My quilt ended up at 51x62, but I put a smaller outer border on it. I think this pattern might also be pretty in some florals with a larger floral border. All the fabric, except for the dark blue inner and outer border fabric, came from the jelly roll. The light fabrics and the small squares inside the two borders are all from the jelly roll. I'm glad you were able to get some of your blocks together. And happy you didn't have any snow accumulation. It's sunny and around 60 here today. I went out yesterday to do some shopping so I didn't get any quilting done. This morning I worked on cutting up my pink fabric scraps and finished everything but the blocks that will use the 1.5 and 2.0 inch strips. I'll get them figured out and cut (I cut them at 4.5 inches) and ready for piecing soon. I just need to finish them before the end of the month. Two new block patterns came out today, so I hope to get to those soon, but I want to get caught up with the remade Sweet Dreams blocks first. I'll need 4/5 lighthouse fabric blocks, and 2 floral fabric blocks. So hopefully I can get those, and the new Moda Blockheads block done over the next few days. Hope everyone else is doing well. Take care |
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Post by choney2 on Apr 20, 2022 22:15:11 GMT
Hi CJ! You did a great job adding in that additional fabric, that used for the inner and outer border to the quilt. Its a nice sized quilt- and would make a lovely lap quilt. As I know you are not thrilled with it- even though it turned out well- would you consider donating it to a nursing home or cancer ward. Which quilt did you cut the pink pieces for? I do not know how you keep up with the new blocks that are being assigned each month. But you do a great of it- are all your supplies in one room? Think even though I know your different projects are in different color schemes, it has to be a challenge to keep things separate.
It made it to the mid 50’s today- but I got a bit of a chill. Think I wlll take a warm shower, and then work on a few more blocks. I did get a chance to get some reading time in on the book I have been somewhat tortured to work through. (The book was given to me, so I do have to finish it). It was boring and has finally gotten a bit more interesting now, with only 30 pages to go!!!
\Hope I can sleep well tonight. I slept so poorly the past 2 nights.
Ruth, and Sue we miss hearing from you!Phyl, hope all is well with you also.
Ginny
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Post by choney2 on Apr 21, 2022 9:47:25 GMT
I did finish the book- and already started another new book (it was as though I had to purge myself from a book that I really did not care about by starting a book I prefer). And more importantly, I got about 5 blocks done last night and am drawing to the end of the first jelly roll. (I will be using two jelly rolls). Soon I will be cutting more backing fabric and the second jelly roll,
I slept well last night, but after 2 nights of not so good sleep, it was good to not struggle to sleep.
BBL
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Post by choney2 on Apr 21, 2022 19:13:54 GMT
CJ- I know you have a boatload of quilts to be quilted. Missouri has 20% off their long arm services for the next week. They did an awesome job on my quilt and highly recommend them.
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Post by cj59 on Apr 21, 2022 23:04:57 GMT
Hi Ginny - I'm happy to hear you slept well after some not good nights. I have a lot of nights where I struggle to get to sleep or else I wake up several times in the night. I'm always thrilled when I get a decent night's sleep since it's so rare. I'm glad you were able to finish the book. I always try to finish books even if I don't like them, but there have been a few that I just gave up on. I hope it was warmer there today. It was in the 60s here, partly sunny and a bit breezy. Sounds like you are making good progress on your jelly roll quilt. I hope you will post a picture of it when you are done. Thanks for the info on the sale for longarm services at MSQC. I'm not really in a place where I want to send out any quilts to be quilted, or donate any quilts. I keep my fabric yardage in a separate room, but all my other supplies and sewing machines are in one room. The fabric is just in the next room, so close to get to. I put all my ongoing projects in those large 2.5 gallon Ziploc bags along with the patterns. That helps keep me organized. The pink strips I was talking about are the scraps that I've been using this year for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge - each month is a different color. I take all those color scraps out at the beginning of the month, make those blocks that I've picked (the ones I've posted pictures of) first, and then I cut up what's left into 2.5 inch squares and 2.5 inch strips. The small 1.5 and 2.0 inch strips that are left are what I sew together to make a block of just a bunch of strips in three rows. I have the pink scraps arranged by width, but I need to cut them down to 4.5 inch lengths and figure out which ones I want to use to sew together for this block. By the end of this year's Rainbow Scrap Challenge I will have all of my color scraps gone through and cut up, so no more of them just stuffed into a bag like they have been I will still have some white/cream/floral/novelty scraps that I'll need to organize. This has taken me several years to get to this point, but I'll probably have made about 10-15 quilt tops doing this process, instead of just throwing that fabric out. I was able to get all the fabric pressed and the pieces cut for the 6 Sweet Dreams blocks I need to make, so I hope to get those done by the end of the weekend. I hope everyone is doing well and that you all get to do some crafting. Take care |
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Post by choney2 on Apr 22, 2022 17:23:27 GMT
Yesterday just ended up being a bit more chaotic than I had hoped.. sorry I never made it back here.
CJ- I am encouraged with how well you have organized your fabric scraps and that you have been able to use them to make so many pretty quilt tops! I had figured that each month was a different color. There is the conundrum over how to classify each fabric- is it blue, green, teal, turquoise? I would suppose if you know at the beginning of the year what colors will be called for that would help. I can imagine you have quite a collection of scraps, if you have that many different fabrics to choose from. Kudos to you for not wasting a scrap!! And it takes a ton of dedication and perseverance to be that organized.
Yes those large 2.5 gallon zip lock bags are wonderful. I first discovered them about 25 years ago, and think I need to pick some more up. They are great because you can see through them, and their flexibility to adapt to pieces of fabric. I figure I can order them from Walmart- do not think I have ever seen them in the store. This summer I need to really go through what I have here and see if I want to keep all the fabric I have. I do not have that much. My fabric is in plastic tubs (not that huge) that stack in the closet. I get the feeling CJ’s fabric collection makes mine look like a pure amateur assortment.
I saw that long arm sale, and really just wished that I had something ready to be long armed. But I do not, and just hoped that perhaps CJ would be able to use their service.
Yes its a bit warmer here today, although I have a light weight sweatshirt on at the moment. I think if I were outside I would be warmer, but at the moment am just trying to catch up on email and say hello. For some reason this week feels longer than normal. Its ok, I do not mind this weather and hope that it does not warm up.
Like you CJ- I try to finish books, especially if it is an author who I usually like. This book started off so slowly (and painfully) that I would have not continued with it. I remember taking books back to the library after 100 pages- I would rather not waste my time on a book that I do not enjoy. I only stayed with this book because my friend gave it to me and am happy to move onto the next book.
Think allergies are starting to be a factor, so I did take an antihistamine.
Hoping I can get some quilting in later on. There is a meeting I want to attend later on regarding local politics. That is if I can keep my eyes open!
Have a wonderful day!
Hi to Ruth, Sue and Phyl
Ginny
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Post by cj59 on Apr 22, 2022 22:15:53 GMT
Hi Ginny - I'm glad to hear you are having some warmer weather. It's in the 70s and sunny here today.
I hope the antihistamine helps with the allergies. I noticed some allergies myself a few weeks back, so that must have been when all the plants were starting to bloom around here.
I buy the 2.5 gallon bags at Target, but I'm sure they have them in other stores.
I really have to organize my fabrics and scraps because I find that I can't work on quilting when it's a mess and out of order. There's a lot more I could do in my sewing room to make it better to use, but at least I have most things right where I can get to them and I know where they are.
This morning I was able to make all the half square triangles for the 6 quilt blocks I need to make for the Sweet Dreams quilts. There were a lot! Now I'm ready to start piecing the blocks - sure hope I can get them done this weekend.
Hope everyone else gets to do some crafting and that you have a good weekend!
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Post by choney2 on Apr 22, 2022 22:16:10 GMT
So, I did finish cutting all the backing fabric and should have enough fabric to make the quilt as large as I had hoped. That is encouraging. Now I have to cut the batting and second jelly roll, which I figure is a job for another day. This quilt so far is fun and easy. Think I better work on my PMQ this weekend and get those blocks done before I get behind on that.
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Post by choney2 on Apr 22, 2022 22:18:22 GMT
CJ- great minds think alike and we were posting within seconds of each other. Nice work getting those HST’s done for the. 6 quilt blocks for the sweet dreams quilts. Sometimes all that cutting is so repetitious but nice to get out of the way so that between tomorrow and Sunday you can bet the blocks pieced.
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Post by cj59 on Apr 23, 2022 22:03:01 GMT
Hi - Hope everyone is doing well today Ginny - What pattern are you using the jelly rolls for? I'm glad it's easy and your enjoying it. The weather here is in the high 70s today and sunny. I was able to get the 6 blocks made this morning. Whew-that was a lot of piecing and some of it was tricky. These 10.5 inch blocks are strange to make. So now I only have 2 more blocks left to make for the Lighthouse version of Sweet Dreams - and 3 block patterns to choose from (2 coming out over the next 2 weeks). And I have 3 more blocks to make for the floral version of the Sweet Dreams quilt. I had to add in a new light fabric for the background of the last 4 blocks I'm making for this version. I just don't have enough of the original light fabric. I'm glad I changed the background of the blocks for the lighthouse version, it really has made a difference and I'm very happy with how this is working out. I'm not as sure on the floral version, but as you can see in the picture I put the 4 blocks with the peach background on both sides and I'm going to put the 4 blocks with a light background at the top and bottom. I have enough light and floral fabric that I might add a small inner border of light fabric and a larger border of the floral fabric on the floral version. I may still change some of the placement of the blocks along the outer border of these quilts, but I wanted to lay them out today just to see how they look. I think these 2 quilts will have the most pieces of any quilt I've ever made  Take care!   |
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Post by choney2 on Apr 24, 2022 11:53:48 GMT
Good morning,
CJ the quilt tops are beautiful!!! Think I see what you mean about all the HST’s and how they are set into certain blocks. Its a lot of work, but both tops look great and are turning out really well. I do agree with you on the use of the cream/beige fabric for the background of the lighthouse quilt. A stark white would be too severe and the cream seems to complement the other fabrics well. I have heard of taking a black and white picture of a quilt top to assist in the final layout (I did this with my BOM). It does help determine where there is too much dark or light fabric use and reveals that in a way not obvious to the bare eye. Not sure if that would help you make a final decision or not where to place the blocks. Like I said, both quilts look great.
Like CJ , my weather has been good. Think today I am going into the low 60’s today. Its nice - absolutely not too hot, and pleasant enough. I made a fire last night in the firepit, which felt good. I also got a bit of gardening done, believe me not too much. Right now the yard looks overwhelming to me, but I know that I have to approach it little by little…it does all get done. I am hoping today to get back to the PMQ and get this months blocks done.
CJ- I am using the jelly roll to make a split rail quilt. I know, it takes me so long to get a quilt done at the pace I am going at! But I am looking forward to the quilt being done (which will be a long time from now). I love these fabrics so.
BBL
Ginny
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A few of the pieces have a small snowman design on them. 