Tuesday, February 27, 2018

When the going gets tough...


...the tough get sewing. We are finally underway toward Key West after a much longer stay in Fort Lauderdale than expected. We were supposed to have been in the Bahamas a month ago but too many boat problems slowed us way down. If you're interested in the details, you can read our travel log, but suffice it to say that I've had plenty of time to sew while the clock went tick tock tick tock in the boatyard.



After my big push to get a bunch of quilts completely finished and shipped out before we left the country, what bubbled up to the surface in my studio was a bunch of little stuff.


First I stitched up some purple scraps for the February Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC). I made string blocks on muslin foundations to go with January's light blue ones.



Then I made a couple of square spiral blocks, one with light neutral around the outside and one with purple. If I make a pair of these in each color, the colors and neutrals should alternate nicely in the final layout.



Next I pieced some 3.5" purple squares into 12"x15" blocks. These will be the backgrounds for this simple cat applique.



The cats this month will be in bright yellows and my plan is to do each month's RSC color as the background with the cats the opposite on the color wheel. I'm going to try the Crafted Applique method for this, but haven't gotten that far yet. We had no running water in the boat for a while so I had no good way to clean up the Modge Podge used in Crafted Applique.



I recently joined the Sunshine Online Quilt Guild and they had a little challenge during the Olympics: sew some blocks in the colors of the Olympic rings.



I pulled out red, yellow, blue, green and black scraps and put together this fast and simple I-spy flimsy.



Since I don't have a lot of black fabric, I used more cheerful yellow. I just love this chicken fabric! This piece will eventually go to Wrap A Smile.



This mini featuring two cat panels was pieced ages ago and keeps getting buried under other projects. I finally sandwiched and quilted it. I FMQ outlined the kitties and did a bit of thread painting on their fur. The border got a simple stipple in variegated thread. A spring green binding finished it up.



It was designed to fit on the small counter right under the toilet paper roll in our bathroom. That surface collects a weird amount of dust, so this mini should hide that. Glamorous, huh? Keepin' it real, here.



And finally, this horizontal wall hanging was made from three leftover blocks from O, Star! I made that quilt for my Mom back in September from the Night Sky pattern by Jaybird Quilts. I just love the saturated brights against black.



Three Stars hangs in our pilot house, directly above the settee and under the air conditioner. I sit on the settee when we are underway. The odd piece of white plastic hanging above the quilt is an air diverter to keep the cold air from blowing on the back of my neck. The string holds it up so the air flows toward the ceiling. It can be removed when not needed. Normally this sort of a/c unit would be much higher, near the 8-10 foot ceilings of a house. But our ceilings are low and the settee is high so I need the diverter. The plastic is ugly, but I'm happy to have the cool air.


I quilted Three Stars similarly to my Mom's piece, with a loopy point to point design in the stars and a couple of FMQ fillers in the black. They are invisible since I used black thread. Oh well, it was good practice and I'm happy with this little finish. It adds a little spark to the room and reminds me of my Mom at the same time!

25 comments:

  1. Three Stars is so beautiful! I hope to make a Night Sky quilt some day. I've got the fabric, but I'm intimidated by all those points!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lots of great things happened while you waited!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love all your small finished! Great to keep your kind busy with all that’s been going on. Glad you are on your way. Happy cruising!
    Claudia

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow you have been busy.love those stars and those blocks are growing well!

    ReplyDelete
  5. You've made really good use of your ship yard time. Your scrappy projects all look great. Your stars are gorgeous. Brights against black are always such eye catchers. Hope the rest of your trip goes smoothly.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I noticed the stars in the first photo...they are so striking. Black just makes colors sparkle. Lots of small projects that fill a need and keeps us out of trouble:) Glad you are back underway!

    ReplyDelete
  7. You whip up the cutest things! All those purple blocks are really going to be fun, your Olympic project was very clever, I love the dust catcher kitty mini, but the Three Stars -- oh my! So beautiful! I'd have to have a diverter too, I don't like cold things blowing on my neck and shoulders. Glad you are finally underway after all the snaffues (not sure how to spell that, but it's the right word!). Here's to clear sailing!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Boy you sure did use your time wisely and you now have new things in your boat home;) to enjoy while you are tripping again! Safe travels my friend.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I’ll bet your boat looks great with your bright little quilts all about! Safe travels!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Well done! Catching up on all those little projects! They definitely make a big impact in your space. Congratulations on catching up with your purple blocks, you encourage me as I have still not started.

    ReplyDelete
  11. You made good use of your wasted time. So glad to hear that you are back on the go again.

    Your purples are so pretty. I like the idea of using the opposite colors for the cats.

    Safe journey!

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a cute horizontal wall hanging! Makes for a real cheerful spot. I'm intrigued by those spiral blocks. Great job using your time to have some quilt fun!

    ReplyDelete
  13. being nosy, I love the inside shots of your boat, and an air diverter. I never knew.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi, Louise. I am intrigued by the craft applique method - I hadn't encountered it before. I thought it would be stiff, but apparently it's not. LOVE your wallhanging! It's so perfect right there above the sofa! Happy sailing! Glad you're finally able to be on your way again.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I’m loving the peak inside your home, not that I’m nosey of course, ahem..... beautiful bright happy stars and I love the spiral blocks too. Safe journey to your next stop.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Love your variety of projects (We could so be soul sisters!!!) I'm actually just trying my hand at applique using Heat n Bond Lite...as the the project I am working on has so many small pieces. (And I don't do well with under 2 1/2") Love your eye spy...using a similar pattern for my March OMG. Welllll happy travels. (Aren't you so very grateful we have our hobby to get us throught those long wait moments of life....I just hate to sit and waste time doing nothing.) Smiles being sent your way friend. :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love your 3 star piece. The colors are wonderful. You've done a great job of finishing a lot of projects. The purples are really fun -- I'm skipping RSC this year. I don't really need to start anymore quilts unless they get finished soon after starting! Safe travels. (I'm impressed you could keep pulling scraps of the needed colors!)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Arent we lucky to be sewer/quilters... there is always something to do..... Have a great trip and look forward to seeing where you are next...
    Hugz

    ReplyDelete
  19. You kept yourself very busy with all your pretty little quilts while you were waiting for the boat to be sea worthy again. Really like your purple blocks, the spirals are very clever and I love the idea of using the opposite colors on the color wheel for the kitties on your pieced backgrounds. That is a great idea. Safe travels now that you are underway. Loved seeing your horizontal backdrop stars behind your settee. Beautiful and very striking. I love black as background of bright colors too.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Glad you are underway! Ah Key West....the owner of the first B&B we stayed in, Eden House, told my husband about Key West, "What ain't fruits or flakes is just plain nuts." Hilarious. Have a great trip there. Wow, have you been productive! I just LOVE the above the settee quilt; reminds me of a certain kit I bought a year ago...

    ReplyDelete
  21. HI Louise, We LOVE the way you have decorated your boat's interior with your fabulous work ! The purple fabrics are especially beautiful. We admire your incredible productivity and your ingenuity in constructing the cold air deflector underneath the a/c/. Glad to hear that you are under way again and on to another chapter of your fascinating life. Thank you so much for all the lovely photos ! Blessings to you, from Marina and Daryl Lynn

    ReplyDelete
  22. Good to hear you’re underway. I hadn’t checked your other blog for a bit. It looks like you certainly made the best use of your time waiting for all the kinks to get worked out. I love all of your projects, but especially those purple bits! I’ll be paying close attention to your crafted applique. I’m sure you’ll have an interesting take on how to do that in a small space. I have all the things I need for a CA project but never worked up the courage to do what (for me) could be a bit of a messy task.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I envy your productivity, and love every project. Love the spiral blocks, and I guess I should add that to my ever lengthening quilt bucket list!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Joanne! It's nice to have the variety of lots of little projects :) You're a "no-reply" blogger, so I hope you cruise back over here.

      Delete
  24. Louise, what a fabulous blog! I love your tales about quilts and travel. Wow!

    ReplyDelete

Please feel free to leave a comment and I'll reply as soon as I can.