2016-03 part 4

Back in January I signed up for a postage stamp swap.  Cut a set of 25 different fabrics into 1.5in squares and mail it off to the swap hostess. You could make as many sets as you wanted.  

I was currently working on a quilt using pinks, purples, and aquas.  I dug through my scraps and easily cut up 12 sets so that I would have more than 1 block to play with.  I emailed the hostess for mailing details.  It was then that I found out a set is actually 25 pkgs of 25 fabrics!  Yikes! I needed 13 more! I dug deeper into my scraps and managed to get a full set.  

Well, Friday, a squishy arrived in the mail full of the 25 return packages of squares.  I could hardly wait to dig in!   I found time to sew eight of these little blocks together.  I absolutely love them!    They finish at just 5inches each so I will need a whole lot more to make some as yet undetermined project.  I can hardly wait until the next swap in the fall.  I will be cutting up a lot more scraps between now and the to add to this collection of little blocks.

2016-03 part 3

The 2015 stump/root removal project is now complete, with hole having been filled with composted leaves, top soil and the dirt we dug out.  As soon as the mud dries out a bit (if the rain ever stops!) I will be able to start planting!  

You can see the top of the root/stump that will be the summer removal project for 2016.

But first, some weeding in the flower gardens!  It's easier to do the weeding now while the soil is damp (muddy).

Doing laundry is loads of fun this time of year!

2016-03 part 2

My treadle is now repaired.... Ted came by to service it.  Turns out that because I have been sewing with the bobbin cover loose... I did not know how to lock it in place... the bobbin case and other inner parts have been moving around a bit. With all the sewing I've been doing on it, the innards moved around enough that correct stitching was impossible.  Ted fiddled with it, cleaned out some lint that I missed and put all parts in their proper place.  He showed me how to lock on the bobbin cover and now she sews better than ever! 

I spent my birthday finishing up a customer quilt, but mostly sewing away on the Trip Around the World wedding quilt for my niece.  I am now 3/4 done and very happy with the color pallet.  

I laid the quarters out on the floor twisting and turning to find the most pleasing layout.  I quickly discovered that the white print I had planned on being the center of the quilt.. isn't going to happen.  I apparently stitched the rows together in the wrong order.  I can have a pink center  (above) or a black center (below).

If I do put the the white print in the center, I get a totally different look! Definitely NOT a trip around the world... more like "X" marks the spot!  It actually isn't a bad option as I want to put a red block with their names embroidered in the middle.  Once I get the remaining quarter and connecting strips made I'll lay it all out again and ask her which option she prefers.

2016-03

http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2016/02/great-minds-great-solutions.html


Recently, Bonnie Hunter blogged about a solution to a common problem quilters have with the pedals on their featherweight sewing machines.  You can read about it here:



I too dislike the tiny button pedal as it makes my toe cramp after a while. So I showed the picture to hubby.... 

and voila!  I too have a new, easier to use foot pedal.

I've made a little progress on my Trip Around the World Quilt for my niece.  

I've completed the first quarter of the quilt and was working on the second when my treadle decided to hiccup.  For some unknown reason it decided not to stitch correctly.  I tried suggestions from my online treadle group to no avail.  I am now waiting for Ted, my Singer "doctor" to make a house call and diagnose the problem later this week.

The parish annual yardsale was last weekend and I worked all last week with the ladies of the parish getting everything set up.  The room was full, the tables groaning and when we opened the door at 4pm on friday we had 137 people (yes we counted) stream in the door.  By the time all was done saturday afternoon the tables were quite bare and our coffers were almost $4000 richer.  And we still had to haul off 3 pick-up trucks and a trailer full of boxes and bags to the local thrift shops.

I even came home with a few lucky purchases!   

another sewing table (although
I have no idea which or what
machine I will put in it.  I just
couldn't let it sit there or be hauled
off to the thrift shop
Also, a Jim Shore nick-nak... a cute
singing dog

While I was busy with the church yardsale my husband got busy working on that backyard tree stump/root again....  He has been cutting away at it since last July and finally removed the last remaining bit!  Once we get the piles of dirt back in the hole, I will plant myself a flower garden this Spring.   And hubby will begin work on the second stump (it's burried under the pile of dirt at the top of the picture!