Finally!

FINALLY got done with the bindings on the mug rugs. I knew it would just take some sit-down time, and it would get done. Yesterday was that day. And, the corners weren't so bad. Sometimes it's just the *thought* of something that holds you back. But when you finally take action, it's not as difficult as you thought.


Yesteday was cloudy, cold and blustery, so it was good to sit inside and work on these. Here's looking at the binding-sewing in progress.



Done! The green-bordered one already went to its new home, so these four are left to send out soon to THEIR new homes.



Retro prints.



Calico.



Red, white and blue.



Red and pink.



This was a fun project, I may have to make more! Sometime in the future, after I work on 493 (give or take) other quilting, crocheting and knitting projects.

Gaining

Today, I was finally able to send off the completed mug rug (that you see in the photo below) to its new owner. So ... I am gaining! However, I'm off on a knitting tangent, so the sewing and quilting have been a little neglected lately. But I haven't altogether forgotten it, just going through a "phase," and I MUST KNIT. But I'll get back to the sewing and quilting here after awhile. :) Meanwhile, those other four STILL need the bindings sewn!

Here are a couple of pictures of some early projects. First, is a baby comforter I made the first time I was expecting. Simple, big squares, and tied. I needed a "simple" project back then!




Two college friends gave me their mom's material scraps, so I made them each a quilt. This is the 9-Patch made for the younger sister. When Mom and I quilted there at home, we put it in Grandma C's quilt frame, and had it set over the dining table. Mom helped me quilt this one. I had fun putting the various materials together in the blocks.

I Am Procrastinating

And I think I figured out why.


The mug rug on the right is done. The four on the left are NOT. All they need is the binding stitched down on the back. But I keep putting it off. Because ...



... I think I would rather stitch binding on a big quilt with only FOUR corners, than these little mug rugs with TWENTY corners. It's the corners that are my undoing!

Spools

Grandma C was very "old-fashioned," and I loved visiting her house (only 2 houses away) as a little girl. She kept a few things on hand for kids to play with, geared towards raising her own kids in the early part of the century. She had a shoebox of buttons to string on a string (with a big darning needle), and if you found a BIG button, you could make one of those zinging "spinning button" things. She had marbles. She had dolls. And she had a shoebox of wooden spools that you could also string on a string. I found all of this very interesting, and to this day I LOVE WOODEN SPOOLS. I have some on hand that I've found here and there, and enjoy seeing them in amongst my "sewing stuff."


I finally finished putting together twelve "Spool" blocks. Today the sky has high, heavy clouds, so the light in the house isn't very good for taking pictures. That's difficult at best! So I hauled these blocks out to the yard to take a picture. Not sure what order I'll sew them together in, but it'll be 3 X 4 blocks, like this. So anyway, here they are in all their variety. Another small, fun project to work on. :)

Re-doing

I've been working on the Amish-style wallhanging, and it's coming along fine. But, the pieced part itself is ending up as big as what I wanted the whole thing to be. (Too many little blocks!)




So I made a couple of smaller blocks, to be each made into a smaller wallhanging that will fit better in the space I want. This is a "bars" pattern. I like it overall, but that green in the middle clashes with the other green, so I think I'll re-do this one.




This is a "churn dash" block, that I'll put a border around. I'll still do the big "trip around the world" one, but I'll also make another smaller version of that. So I guess I'll end up with at least FOUR small Amish-style wallhangings. Think that's enough?

Another Iron In the Fire

I only have *ahem* 7 or 8 or more different little quilting projects going on. I have PLENTY of irons in the fire! But lo and behold, I have one more I started the last day or so. Why?


Because this wall looked bare above my old-fashioned cabinet.





So, because I have an affinity for Amish quilts...


... and because I have this stack of plain fabrics on hand (I don't even remember where I got these! Auction? Thrift store? Hmm.) ...




... and because I like the "trip around the world" (or "sunshine and shadows") pattern ...




... I'm making an Amish-style wall hanging to fill in that bare spot above the cabinet. I have to say Amish-style, because I'm not Amish. I'm a Christian believer who is a member of a Mennonite Church, so kind of related, but not actually Amish. But still ... I have a deep appreciation of how the Amish live a life of faith and simplicity in a unique way. I really feel it speaks volumes in our "modern world."




So you see that little stack of blocks in the back? That's 12 sets of squares out of 15 for 12 more rows of little squares. What you see being worked on are 3 rows "at a time" so I can kind of save on thread between squares. Let's see ... 15 X 15 = 225 little squares. First, of course, I had to CUT OUT 225 squares, so many of each color. Then I had to LAY OUT 225 squares in the pattern I needed, and PICK THEM BACK UP AGAIN in rows. Now I have to SEW TOGETHER 225 squares. Then add some various borders, then quilt it, then bind it. It may take a bit, but I'm excited to have an Amish-style wall hanging on my wall!