Crafters Monday July 17 through July 23

Ruth, I am super glad to hear that your temps went down. It did not sound healthy being as hot as it is, and if you and DH do not have AC then it concerns

CJ- funny, Jane and i have gotten into a real hand quilting discussion over the past few days and how soothing it is…much less stressful than machine quilting. She is working on a hand quilting project that she started 2-3 years ago. Glad to hear that you are down to only 3 hours or less of work on the piece. Yes, you can always go back to quilt a project some more if it’s not machine done. Yikes I can see that the crab block is a lot of cutting and work. Do not blame you for only making one and taking a break. I know you said you were alright with the christmas mystery quilt. Do you think you will finish it? Yes, I can see that fabric selection when you have no idea what the final project will look like could be a struggle.

So…I worked this am and ran one quick errand. Yesterday I started looking at the video for the baby quilt and today called Missouri. They have had the fabric in a layer cake (10’ squares) for weeks, and everytime I check, it’s still on back order with an estimated restock date of June 2023. Well that date has passed. but they have the charm pack available. Now that I have seen the video and the pattern I am convinced that I can get along with a few charm packs (actually spending the same amount of money on 4 charm packs as one layer cake). The sales help (REAL sales help, instead of the nonsense I got 3 weeks ago from Annies crafts) and I had a long discussion….and we eventually came to the same conclusion that 4 charm packs should be just fine. The availability of layer cakes coming in is extremely limited and I want to start this project. Well then I went on Amazon….while on the phone and in conversation said that amazon had the layer cake (but quite a bit pricier). The sales help asked me to be on hold….of course I agreed. She gave me a 20% “custom discount” on the fabric, which saved me almost $10…..which I am very thankful for. Of course I placed the order. So glad that is out of the way, as I have gotten tired of looking for the fabric DD wants. Now I will have that fabric in a week. Yesterday I got a $25 coupon from the quilt shop (customer loyalty program) which I will use for the background fabric.

Ruth- so sweet of you to think ahead for sweaters for little ones- truly a way to continue the legacy of your crocheted gifts! It would be nice if one more cake of mandala yarn finishes up the lap afghan. Honestly I do not know how you keep track of your projects! You have so many “in the works”. Sounds as though you are in for some nasty heat. Do what you must to stay cool and safe.

Good question! I still have to make this quilt…. But I will most likely quilt it myself. The quilt I made for dgs I sent to be quilted because the design was simple, so a more detailed quilting design was in order. This quilt is the opposite- the design is more detailed and should be simple for me to quilt.

CJ- do you have plans for the weekend?

Hello Everyone - Hope you are all doing well today and staying cool. It's a bit cooler here today, only in the 80s

I've been sewing more of the starlet blocks for that quilt I started a few weeks ago. I should be able to get all the blocks done tomorrow and then figure out the layout and start sewing the rows together. I'd like to get this one done, I've already lost interest in it.

I really have a short attention span with my quilting projects. I think that's why just making one block a month for some of the quilt alongs is better for me

I saw that the next Moda Blockheads quilt along starts in September. This year they are breaking the quilt along into two parts - one from September to November and another from January to June. I think they saw that a lot of quilters preferred to make two smaller quilts instead of one large one. But you could still make all your blocks and put them into one large quilt. I hope to participate in this quilt along, since I really liked the way their patterns were done last year. I'll probably make two quilts, since I don't like makinglarge quilts.

Take care

Ruth, decluttering can be quite an endeavor, especially if Dh and you do not agree on what to donate. And it’s hard to know what to keep, in anticipation of possibly relocating. Sometimes it might just be easier to donate as much as possible and pick up the few items that we do actually need in the new location, I know that sounds crazy, but I think many times people (had this personal experience myself). I questioned my sanity moving stuff that I ended up never using or even unpacking. Are you able to find a good place to donate those items that you and Dh agree on downsizing? And that must feel great to already have the replacement pans! One good reason to hold onto stuff or getting good deals on items that you might need. Did you ever get to your crocheting project yesterday? And gee, I do that all the time….I think of something I want to post to you and CJ, then get here and poof! Out of my memory!

CJ- that sounds like a great idea to make two smaller quilts with the moda blockheads. It also enables the quilter to use different fabrics for each smaller quilt, possibly two distinctly different quilts. Another good thought is that if you have a time commitment that only permits working on a quilt for a few weeks…then a smaller project would be perfect. Hope that you can motivate yourself to put the starlet block quilt together and then be done with it! Glad you are enjoying more comfortable weather. It’s a joy to be comfortable without fighting extreme cold or hot.

Well, I was trying to do some minor straightening up outside, and heard a fluttering sound. I realized that a mourning dove had gotten stuck in a bird feeder (long story on it, but I had put it aside trying to repair it) that was on the ground. I tried assisting the bird out…and realized that I had to cut the feeder open out to help my little friend escape. Well the feeder was a problem anyway, and now its in the garbage, and the bird happily flew away. I did build a lovely fire last night outside, truly enjoying the cooler evening and lower humidity. My windows are open and I hope that the AC can stay off again today. I know as the week goes on, I will have to put the air on again. No crafting yesterday- I am now waiting for the fabric to arrive. I did clean and move the furniture in my sewing room. I thought I might not like the new furniture arrangement (which gives me a bit more room around my sewing table) but it actually looks pretty good. A few minor tweaks and it should be done. Perhaps later on I will view the quilt youtube again, so I am ready to start cutting fabric when it arrives.

well I'm done with that blanket. It's far from perfect. It's supposed to be square but it's a little off but no one that I give it to will ever notice because they don't know anything about crocheting so won't see mistakes. And it's a large lap size so will probably be used in their living room for watching tv or whatever. I'm really glad to be done with it because it was to the point where each round had 4 very long sides. Pulling it out which necessitated pulling two rounds out would have been a huge endeavor.

Hello

Ginny - I'm glad you've had some cooler weather too. Hope you enjoy the new furniture set up in your sewing room.

Ruth - I'm glad you finished the blanket, sounds like it was getting really big.

It's warmer here today and sunny. They are saying we'll have temps in the high 90s this coming week, so I'm not looking forward to that. Hopefully the house won't get too hot inside.

I finished the Starlet quilt top this morning. It really needs an inner and outer border, but I looked through my red and purple fabrics (these are the colors in the blocks) and nothing I have works with the fabrics in the quilt! It's crazy how many shades of each color there are.

I did some hand quilting last night and today too, so I hope I can finish that project up by the end of this coming week. Then I'll have two hand quilted pieces ready to bind.

Take care