Monday, January 15, 2018

Blog is quiet, studio is humming



I've been stitching every day and getting quite a bit accomplished, but you sure wouldn't know it by reading the blog. We're in a boatyard in Fort Lauderdale, "on the hard." That means the boat has been lifted out of the water and put on rickety looking stands so that the underwater part of the hull can be repainted.

It's a particularly messy procedure this time, since we were due to have 15 years of old paint sandblasted off down to the bare steel. Dust, sand, and bits of nasty old paint are everywhere outside, so I've been loathe to take my quilts outside for photos. Plus, the trip to the ground is down a steep ladder and I'm clumsy. So far, I've only dropped one bag of groceries 8 feet to the concrete. That bag had six glass jars of pureed pumpkin baby food in it, which exploded spectacularly, I must say. (We feed it to the elderly cat to keep her regular, works like prunes and she loves it!)



All this to say that I don't have many quilt photos to show for my effort. Here's a token sunset pic taken from our back deck, though. I made six pillowcases for the Thomas Fire Relief and forgot to take any pictures, dang it. I'm also working on two gift baby quilts that I can't show until they are received. Those two plus another gift need to be shipped out before we leave the country. I bound one yesterday and the second one is still being pieced.


I can share this finish, though. Most of these fabrics were donated to Covered in Love, so that's where the quilt will be sent to. The pattern is called "Five Yard Quilt" and is an oldie but goodie available for free here. My understanding is that it was given out free when you purchased five yards from a quilt shop that is now out of business. If anyone knows if there are copyright issues with it, please let me know.


The butterfly focal is so pretty up close. About five butterflies fit in each focal square and five fabric are used in the top. So I'm calling this one Cinco Mariposas. I did a simple big stipple in a bronzey thread to keep it soft and cuddly.

 

The backing fabric was also donated, this busy geometric in purple, light blue and brown. Super soft, lovely stuff. I'm quite proud of myself for how well I matched the seam. It hardly shows at all in this photo.


From a distance, the back doesn't look busy at all. I put this photo in mostly to show you the fresh, white primer coat on the bottom of the boat. Oooo! Ahhh! My poor quilt holder was anxious about not getting any dirt on the piece.


The Five Yard pattern was really fast and easy to put together, so I decided to use it again with some cute transportation themed fabric that was sent to me a while ago by Sue.  I cut and bagged the fabrics up into a kit, all ready to be pieced at some future date. I saw the idea of cutting your own kits from stash on Sandy's blog and had a real AHA! moment. What a great way to have fabric ready to go. Love it!


Another project I worked on this week was finishing up this flimsy. These are the left over fabrics from Cool Cats. I didn't use any of the black background designs in that quilt, so this piece has a distinctly different vibe. I've named it Night Cats.


I fussy cut the last few kitties from the panel and surrounded them with black, and put the rest of the black fabrics in the setting triangles. Except they aren't setting triangles! This was pieced in a straight setting, then cut into pieces along several diagonals and resewn into the on-point setting. Stitch on a border to contain the bias edges and ta da! The only tricky part was figuring out where to put the black squares so they ended up on the edges after all the magic switch-o change-o.


The latest block drive for Covered in Love is the annual String Fling in any color combo. I decided to try doing rainbow order this time. Wouldn't it be fun to do an entire quilt this way?


I enjoyed making the string blocks that I decided to join the Rainbow Scrap Challenge for 2018 using them. This month's color is light blue, which is my smallest scrap pile, so I only managed to squeak out three blocks and it used ALL my light blues. Yay!

And finally, I joined the Sunshine Online Quilt Guild. They sew for several great charities, and seem like a very kind, low key and supportive group. They have a block lotto each month if I just want to stitch blocks, and also donate flimsies and finished quilts in sizes that work well for my small studio. I'll still be sewing for Project Linus, too. And I'll be doing the Hands2Help Charity Challenge again this year. Oh, and I found a group that supports new parents of babies with Down Syndrome called Jack's Basket. They can use really small quilts, only 30"x36" which will stitch up super fast. I learned about this charity from Nancy at Grace and Peace Quilting. Check out the cute little pieces she made for Jack's already. It's nice to have a variety so that I can sew any quilt I want and always know there's a place to send it!

27 comments:

  1. I have been thinking that I need to make charity quilting a focus this year, and this post has been a very helpful resource. I will definitely make some of the string blocks for the drive. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. You've been very busy! I really like the butterfly and the cats quilt! Thanks so much for sewing for CoL :D

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  3. You are having an adventure aren't you? I wish you well climbing up and down that ladder, whew!
    I love the butterfly quilt and the kitties are very cheerful, they will be loved and appreciated.
    Great work Louise.

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  4. You certainly are keeping good and busy there... the making up the kits ready to sew is brilliant... I often have my fabric packaged up that way but not ready cut....
    Hugz

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  5. So many projects! I'm particularly intrigued with Jack's Baskets, having grown up with an aunt who had Downs Syndrome. I'm definitely going to look into that a little more...

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  6. Jack's Basket - THANK YOU for sharing this link. One of our great-nephews was born with Down's and I would LOVE to make small quilts for Jack's Basket in his honor.

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  7. Your vessel certainly looks a different colour on the hard - more a pale yellow than cream or white. Such adventures! Love the five yard quilt, what a great pattern. And you certainly have enough activity to keep yourself busy, just lovely things.

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  8. I would never have guessed you could stay on the boat while they were doing that kind of work. Thanks for the lesson about life on the sea (well I guess on the ground at this point). You've got a lot of fun stitching going on. I love your Night Cats flimsy, very cute. Happy stitching this week.

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  9. I'm so pleased I don't have to clamber up and down your ladder!! Did you have to repeat the shopping trip for the pureed pumpkin?? What a lovely place to stop over to have the work done of your boat, 1962 I was in Fort Lauderdale but a rather larger boat than yours. Love all the quilts you're making, especially the string blocks and all for very good causes.

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  10. You have a generous heart Louise. I wondered if you were able to get your sewing one while on the hard, but I see you are doing lots. Kitting out of your stash is a great ides-I do it sometimes. Just be sure you leave yourself a note in the bag of which pattern you are using-don't ask my why I say that, LOL

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  11. UMmmm, I would avoid that ladder for sure. But you do manage quite well. I love your finish. The busy backing is perfect I think. Great plans laid out for all different size projects. You can't go wrong with string blocks:)

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  12. Well, at least you dropped those jars outside rather than inside. Haha. You really are a generous couple, giving of your time and talent so often. That is such a great thing! You have been busy and those quilts are lovely! Where did you get the info on pillowcases for the Thomas Fire Relief?

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  13. You’re amazing! I, for one, get so much inspiration from you. Thanks for the links, and the ideas! Stay safe! Be careful!

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  14. It sounds like you have another great year of quilting ahead of you. The online guild sounds like fun - especially when you are out to sea so much of the time.

    I hope the painting goes quickly and you are back on the water once more.

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  15. Thanks for sharing all the chariable links. I too am always inspired when I stop by....I love that your patterns are quick and easy...but always so great! Watch that ladder...ugh! I'm such a clutz, my hubby would be worried all the time! LOL!!!

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  16. I guess it's humming! You're a finish machine! Yes, I agree a quilt made out of rainbow string blocks would be striking! The cutting up kits ahead of time is a really great idea. I don't know why, but when I clicked to your blog and saw the picture of your boat, I started singing "Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale . . . " :D

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  17. I'd say "humming" is an understatement. You are out right singing! You have so many great projects to work on and really like that they are quick too. Thanks for the links and inspirations. You are keeping me entertained and loving to hear about your life on the water. Be careful on those stairs.

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  18. Wow! Humming for sure! Aside: I had no idea you could live on the boat while it’s strapped up to that frame. There’s so much to see here, I know I will have to read multiple times. So much to save—pattern info, the idea for kitting, and all the links for the different size quilt donations. I love how you name your quilts. Cinco Mariposas is a delightful name!

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  19. You are a busy gal. I've been drawn into quite a few ongoing things this year as well. So many creative bloggers out there with quilt-alongs, and monthly goals, and more and more! You have some great projects going on. I bag up pre-made kits from my stash for when I go on retreats. Gives me more time to sew when I'm there, and I don't have to think too hard so I can visit a lot.

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  20. Hey! I think that 5-yard pattern will work well for some fabric in my stash that I've been trying to figure out a good pattern that my son-in-law can piece up for one of his grandmothers. He's said he'd like to make a quilt for each of them, but he doesn't want just squares put together. This looks accessible for a newbie, and "fancy". :)

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  21. Wonderful and happy stuff!
    And I'll remember the pumpkin baby food tip for when I'm old and gray and might need it.

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  22. I hope your painting is finished soon, don't buy any more jars until it is. You have been so busy, love Night Cats, and what a great idea to cut your own pre cuts. Mind you I still haven't got round to cutting my scraps into usable pieces, they are still all in a big jumble, shame.

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  23. Love your photos, Louise! Thanks for mentioning Jack's Basket. Check out Amy Smart's recent blog post, too. She's featuring a different charity every month.

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  24. You come up with the best names for your quilts. I'm definitely jealous of your naming ability. I have no idea if the 5 yard quilt pattern breaks copyright. The version you shared doesn't have any copyright mark on it. I do know there are some patterns called 5 yard patterns - my daughter bought some and made a quilt for her first baby with them.

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  25. You've been super productive, Louise! I'll keep the pumpkin trick in mind! :)

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  26. Wow! Incredible amount of work.

    I helped someone haul out boat and paint bottom whilr he wirked on engines. It was hard work but so satisfying when done. Was scary to go up and down the ladder. But fun😃

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  27. I can imagine living on a boat, but not negotiating those steep steps with a bag of groceries (or even without). Here's to ya! Claire aka knitnkwilt

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