Wedding Present Stars

While I ought to be spending my time piecing together frames around black blocks, I've allowed myself to get distracted by the appeal of a few wonky star center blocks. 

Would you believe these are only my second, third and fourth wonky stars?

Okay, I'm not thrilled with the yellow-ish one (my second) but I'm short enough on fabric I'm just going to have to learn to like it. That said, I can't decide which of the other two I love more. For comparison, the center blocks of the stars are: 2", 1.25", and 1 inch. I certainly can't go any larger and still fit within the finished size of 5" square, and I'm not sure my fingers or my machine are agile enough to go any smaller.

I'm not sure how many I ought to make. Three stars out of 110 black blocks seems a bit scant, but I don't think I have enough fabric to make a star for each row.

Hmm... I wonder if the couple has a special number. I don't think we do (I should ask my husband before I say that too factually!) but some people/couples do and that might be an easy way to determine how many stars I make. Unless of course the number is greater than the amount of fabric I have to make stars with...

Slow Thoughts

I usually enjoy running around, keeping one step ahead of disaster or keeping too many kettles in the fire. A part of me thrives in the rush and excitement. And yes, a part of me likes the stress.

But sometimes, I need to take an easier pace. Sit down with a cup of tea and just relax.

And today calls for a very big cup of tea and a long, slow evening.

Wedding Present Quilt

I must really have a thing against short cuts.

I didn't remember my own handwritten note about how to make this easier for myself until after I'd already cut the fabric into smaller pieces.

Don't get me wrong - there's something very satisfying about seeing all that fabric cut and ready to go.

I just wish I'd remembered my short cut in time to use it!

I'd intended to cut the black into 5" by 20" strips, then attach the two bright 2.5" by 20" strips, then cut the 20" into four 5" blocks. This would have made adding those first two strips a little faster and easier. But instead I cut all my black into 5" square blocks before I remembered I had easier options.

Guess I'd better pick up another audio book. Or pick up a new tv series. Any recommendations?

Wedding Present Thing...

After shelving Rainbow Road for the time being, I spent a while looking at other quilts for inspiration. Most of the quilts I have pinned or filed away for future inspiration are difficult for me to imagine as something other than a baby quilt - but I finally found some inspiration on Pinterest. Where else!?

Inspired by a pin of Freemotion by the River's Midnight Glow Quilt (click on over - it's beautiful) I've come up with a plan I'm much more confident I can finish - not only within my budget, but within my timeline and skill set.

Something more like this:

110 black blocks, framed by colorful borders. With a few wonky stars thrown in - if I have the left over fabric to do it. I know it sounds like a lot of blocks, but if each one's finished (sewn together) size is 8 inches square I should end up with a quilt about 80 by 88, which the internet tells me is a good size for two adults to share (and some sites tell me that's the proper measurement for a 'full' size quilt). This should be my largest quilt to date - another reason why simplifying the project is probably a good idea.

Thanks to some Labor Day sales, I went ahead and picked up the fabric. 

This is my first time working with batik fabric - but I loved the candy-like colors and the tie-dye appearance. And I think the recipients will too.

It's usually a toss up as to whether I'll wash the fabric before working with it or not. This time there's no question. I've already run the batik pieces through the wash once - and I'm debating whether I ought to put them through again.

I usually give my quilts some kind of name, even if it's a temporary name while I work on them, but I haven't come up with the right name for this yet. Maybe once I start working on it, the right name will come to me...

What I didn't share in August...

My parents and their suv took on a free range, highway-walking bull. My parents are completely fine, not even bruised from the seat belts! The car is another story.

Basil/Garlic/Cheese bread. This is actually what I had for dinner one night. It probably should be a side, rather than a meal, but it was delicious.

Random shopping finds - some space invader like fabric, metalic acorns for the future tree, pumpkin spice chocolate 'orange' (not as good as it sounds), and flannel fabric packs.

My basil plants are putting out a storm of growth. No one believes that I've gone out there and taken leaves several times.

Cinnamon butter crescents. I thought they'd be more like little cinnamon rolls, and I guess they almost were... but these weren't as good as the other crescent things we've tried.

September Goals

September Goals

• Read 5+ books
• Work on Pansy Patch
• Work on Wedding Present/Quilt/Thing
• Clean counter tops: kitchen (daily), bath (weekly)
• Hang out with my friend and my godson

I'm going to keep it very simple this month. While there are still a lot of things I'd love to get done, including everything left on the list from August, I'm concentrating on these few key things and anything else is bonus.

The tension on Kenmore/Janome is still strange - it holds well, but it looks funny. If I get that fixed, I'd love to work on some quilting. But it's less a priority this month than piecing together blocks for Pansy Patch and the Wedding Present Thing. Those lines of stitching can be hidden, so I don't mind if they are a bit odd looking.

Also, my book-tracking year turns over in October. I didn't read much at the beginning of my year, so I've got a lot of catching up to do if I'm going to hit my goal. Which is incredibly unlikely, but I do enjoy a pressure challenge. Kind of.

I'm not sure what I'll find to blog about - unless you want day by day updates of Wedding Present Thing and Pansy Patch progress! - but I'll try to keep something semi-interesting going here.

August Wrap Up

August Goals

• Read 5+ books
• "The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever" - Julia Quinn 
• "A Game of Thrones" George R R Martin
• "The Agency: The Traitor in the Tunnel" Y. S. Lee
• "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns)" Mindy Kaling
• "The Far West" Patricia C. Wrede
• "On the Way to the Wedding" Julia Quinn
• "Brighter than the Sun" Julia Quinn
• "Toward the Sunrising" Lynn Morris & Gilbert Morris
• Listen to 3 audio books
• "Behemoth" Scott Westerfeld 
• "Goliath" Scott Westerfeld
• "Terrier: The Legend of Beka Cooper Book 1" Tamora Pierce  
• Complete 1 Pansy Patch Face 
• Purchase some fabric for Rainbow Road Quilt - Well, I didn't purchase fabric. I did give up postpone this project for the foreseeable future. I'll either rework it as a smaller piece or come back to it when more of the called for fabric could come out of my stash. So, I'm toying with an easier and less costly quilt. 
• Get the Kenmore machine repaired
• White Car. Seriously. 
• Binding for Procrastination 1/2 Square Quilt 
• Make a better cover for the Singer machine
• Make progress re: sash fabric for the Jungle Blocks quilt
• Continue 1-2 quarts water or unsweetened tea per day
• Make something from the garden Basil Garlic Bread; Thai Basil Chicken - both made with home grown basil. I also helped make raspberry jam and applesauce from home grown fruits. 
• Clear off the chair in the reading nook (which sounds easy, but will not be, it's covered in sewing projects) Do I get double points if I had to do it twice? It's clear now. Oh, except the basket of laundry I'm about to fold. But, it will be clear in 15 minutes. 
• Start a second cross stitch
• Edit photos for Family C
• Continue working on Christmas projects
• 1+ sewing or crafting related Pinterest Challenge DIY Prairie Point Garland
• 1+ food related Pinterest Challenge The Basil Garlic Bread and Thai Basil Chicken all started from pictures I saw on Pinterest. Also: Red Velvet Cheesecake Cookies, and 2 Ingredient Cake again (actually twice, once with raspberries, once with about 3/4 the can of lemon), and Honey Chamomile Peach Pie and Whole Wheat Flour Pie Crust.  
• Clean out the car - Again, I think I should get dual credit, having done this twice now as well. Or maybe I should stop keeping so much garbage in my car!
• Set more mouse traps  - Done - but I still haven't caught any in a trap. Little buggers aren't won over by cheese or peanut butter. I think they're after water... 
• Get those plates on the wall this month or give up on the idea

IF I get the Kenmore back in time to do anything with it: - I did get it back fairly early in the month, but I didn't finish either of these two things. I think my machine is working well (though I still wish taking it in had resulted in my not hearing that noise again, I only heard it the first two times I used the machine) - but I'm having a hard time getting the tension set right for pretty stitches. I'm not going to machine quilt or piece binding until I've got that working right. And if I don't get it figured out soon, I'll be asking my friends who sew/quilt (or calling my friend the home ec. teacher!) what I'm doing wrong. 

• Quilt Procrastination 1/2 Squares Quilt
• Try my hand at sewing an article of clothing

If I don't? 

• Reading. 

In addition to these things, I also managed to take and edit photos for another project, catch more mice with my hands and feet than any of our traps (2:0), work almost every week day, go to my first ever quilt show/festival, do something social with friends every week, almost get a dog, and attend two family reunions. August didn't feel like a terribly busy month, but it sounds busy when I start listing everything! 

Time to start turning my brain in an autumnal direction. For me, August is still summer. But we've had a couple nights of below 50 degree temperatures - so now that it's nearly September, I'd better start adjusting to the idea of autumn again.