Saturday, June 2, 2018

A whole family of squirrels


It's time again to link up our DrEAMis/Squirrels with Sandra. Even though I don't usually have an agenda for what I sew on any given day, there are definitely projects that feel like DrEAMIs, where I Drop Everything And Make It. This stained glass looking top falls squarely in that category. I recently had pulled out this jelly roll of Nicey Jane fabrics because it was taking up awkward space in a box. Then Vicki and I were having a conversation about jelly roll patterns and as I browsed through my folder of free patterns, this Moda Bakeshop one called Noteworthy Labyrinth grabbed my attention. A little modification to the pattern and three days of concentrated sewing later, I had this top. 


There were a lot of different steps in the Bakeshop pattern and I felt like I could use a leader/ender project to go along with it. Mister Domestic had posted a fun quilt made with striped knit fabrics so I decided to make something similar. These are just simple 5.5" squares of various stripes, sewn into a basketweave design. It used up some scrappy stripey pieces that were too small to use as bindings. About 80% of the piecing was finished as leaders/enders by the time the jelly roll top was done, so it was practically a two-fer-one deal! Kind of a baby squirrel.
 

While I was selecting, ironing, and cutting my striped fabrics, I kept picking up and moving my box of dog-themed fabrics. That darn dog box was just constantly in the way! Only one thing to do about that: open it, pull some fabrics, and make 20 Mendota blocks with pooches, pups, and pugs. This one is destined for Wrap a Smile, and I've named it Squirrel Chases Dog. Another baby rodent skittering around my studio, tamed and tethered.


But wait! There's more! More dog fabrics, I mean. After using up most of the red, blue and brown dogs, there was a nice stack of greenish canine fabrics left over. I pulled a few green blenders and did a quick-n-dirty on-point layout. I don't love this one, but it was useful to figure out exactly what size blocks to cut to end up with the 40"x50" size Wrap A Smile prefers. This was my first test piece to get the 4/5 proportions correct. Next time I'll cut slightly smaller blocks and add a border to contain all the bias edges and give it more finished feel. Once I started thinking about the quilty math, my brain wouldn't stop chasing that nut hoarder. So this is little baby squirrel number three!


And finally, when Val announced her new Eye-Spy fabric swap, I just knew I had to participate. It's no secret that I love (and hoard) kid-friendly novelty fabrics. So I had plenty on hand to cut into the required 4" squares. To be part of the swap, you send in 20 squares each of 10 fabrics. Val collects them all, then redistributes them to all the participants and you get 200 unique squares back. So fun! There's an option to send in two sets and get 400 back, so I signed up for that in 5 seconds flat. Honestly? I could have easily pulled 40 unique novelties to swap, but Val is an elementary school teacher and knows how to make it fair for everyone. (Don't be piggy, Louise!) The selecting, ironing, and cutting took about 2 hours for little baby squirrel number 4. I think that counts as a whole litter of squirrel pups!

24 comments:

  1. I've heard that Blogger is working on a solution for the email/commenting issue. Let's hope that gets resolved soon. Meanwhile, I'll try my best to reply to your comments. It helps me if you put your email address at the bottom of the comment like this:
    louise (dot) hornor (at) gmail

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  2. Hi Louise! LOL!! I enjoyed reading about all your squirrely projects! And am of course, so happy you are doing the swap...as you have a great eye for fun kid fabrics. My summer has started and it feels good to be home with plenty of sew time.

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  3. The other way to deal with no email notifications is to create your own first comment and check the box that you will be notified of all follow up comments . . . Dianne came up with that one. Your squirrel projects are wonderful -- for lots of reasons including getting boxes out of your way!

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  4. I love your family of squirrels! I often find myself making a whole new quilt as a leader/ender project in between sewing blocks together for the original one. I guess that's what leader/enders are all about! My idea to comment on our own published posts and click the "Notify Me" box worked to bring comments back to my email, but I still can't reply to them that way. So, I'm still searching out emails, too!

    diannbottrell@gmail.com

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  5. I see you are as busy as ever Louise! I love the stripe quilt very much indeed, so effective, I could see this one made with Kaffe Fassett stripes.

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  6. Wow, you’ve really put your foot pedal to the metal! All your squirrel projects are so cute. You’re putting the rest of us to shame! No need to worry about replying. I’m sure we’ll all be catching up and getting back to business as usual when Blogger finally fixes this issue! xo

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  7. Oh, my gosh, I can’t believe how much you’ve accomplished, Louise! You put me to shame. I enjoyed this post very much this morning. Your work inspires me to try to get a little more done each day. I love each and every quilt!

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  8. Well Louise you have been squirreling away. I'm always impressed with your ability to churn out fun and lovely quilts. The striped one is my favourite. Dont' worry about replying.

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  9. Holy cow Louise~ I love how your Noteworthy quilt came out. That is the perfect background blue to use too:) The rest of your squirrels-wow you have been working your fingers to the bone girl, they are super! knitbug at charter dot net

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  10. Too funny, reading how each of your squirrels fit into the family!!! The stained glass jelly roll quilt is a real beauty! Great job getting so many tops out of the way, plus prepping for a swap!
    grace and peace quilting at gmail dot com

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  11. From squirrels to DrEAMIs, you always do so many fun projects. Have fun with all of those I Spy blocks.

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  12. You've been busy chasing squirrels - lots of finished flimsies to show for it. So productive, and so fun! ochterbeckj (at) gmail

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  13. Holy Toledo do you ever have a great family of squirrels going here Louise! I love it! I see them on a daily basis scrabbling after each other around and around on a tree trunk, once in a while catching each other and well you know… Making more squirrels LOL My favourite of your family is the first one, wow!

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  14. I haven't written a post until today . Does this mean I have to check my own blog continually for comments ? Yuck ! That's a great idea to leave yourself a comment first . And we can't reply in the normal way ? That really sucks . If it's not a "regular commenter" what do we do ?
    Anyhow , your second quilt reminds me I have a pack of moda striped offcut things . Must dig that out . And how big is your boat - a box if dog all for dog fabric !

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  15. oh my goodness.... you got heaps done and so clever with what you make...
    Hugz

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  16. Now who wouldn't love a pug quilt!!! Mine little pug is so sweet. On days where my husband feels horrible from chemo, she cuddles up with him on the couch buried under a blanket. Your generosity in charity work is awe-inspiring!!!

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  17. Pugs are such great dogs! I'm so glad your little one is so much comfort to your husband, Sue. The pug fabric on my dog quilt is the one with the very pale blue background. It's super cute :)

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  18. Fabulous post! Love your DrEAMI. The colours are so vibrant! Also love your striped quilt! Adore stripes! Oh and I definitely have monkey brain, sounds very similar.

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  19. Very fun squirrels! You did a wonderful job of getting all those contained. I really like the Basket Weave Strips, that one is so colorful. Happy Stitching.

    kthynn92@att.net

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  20. Hi Louise,
    Visiting from the DrEAMi Party.
    Love all your projects!
    Further to Dianne’s comment - although the emails you receive after clicking “notify” are no-reply try using “Forward” but you then need to write your comment and add the address yourself which is OK if you know the commentor. I think this seems to work. (Also explained on my blog)
    Barbara xo of The Flashing Scissors
    Theflashingscissors (at) gmail (dot) com

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  21. Oh, wow ! Louise, we are extremely impressed. Your quilts are fabulous - love the stained glass design ! Also, the squirrels are as cute as can be. You are an EXPERT at making the very best use of your time; and you're a great role model for all quilters such as myself, who are trying to be more time-efficient. Congratulations on all your productivity and your beautiful results ! Blessings from Daryl Lynn on behalf of Marina. 😊😊😊

    quiltinspiration at gmail. dot com

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  22. What mod did you make to the labyrinth design? Looks the same to me.

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  23. Oh my goodness, I have seen the Noteworthy Labyrinth a few times on the MBS. Did not grab my attention but your version - well, I can barely look away. it is absolutely captivating. I am adding this to my to-do list. As far as Squirrel pups are concerned, it would be so cruel to separate the pups. I am glad you did not :-)

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  24. WOW! You get so so much done. I need to follow your lead and get going. I have a ton of stripes to use and have had trouble deciding on the 'perfect' project to use them. Of course I probably have enough to make several stripe quilts.

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