End of the Year

 Here's the progress so far on the rainbow log cabin. 

And not shown is the sewing room, where all the projects (except the log cabin) are organized and stored. Plus all the fabric is filed. The cats are very happy to have more room for their toys. The cats will be less happy when the sewing room slides back into chaos starting tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow...a new month (and year) will start with a fabric giveaway, so stop back if your year end fabric stash needs some new year renewal.

Yellow Log Cabin

 Making each log cabin block seemed to take forever until I figured out most of the time was spent figuring out which strip to use. So I sat down with the yellows and put them in bundles for each block. Much quicker. Of course, making the bundles also takes a while but much of the time lost is due to the cat infestation.

Hexies and Blue Log Cabin blocks

 I have a multitude of hexagons cut out and it always feels daunting when I start basting them...and then I fall into the rhythm of it and I wonder why I don't have more hand sewing projects. Especially because they are more compatible with nosy, disruptive felines.

I also started on blue log cabin blocks. 

I am also experimenting with writing this blog at various times of the day. First thing in the morning is definitely not a good time. If I turned on the sound for this blog, you would be asking what those horrendous background noises are and they are Molly calling for attention. 

Yellow

Here are the yellows for the yellow log cabin blocks. I cut more than I need, but who doesn't need extra one inch strips, said no one.  And oddly, at one inch strips, minions are minions. 

This means all of the colors have been cut: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.

Orange You Glad the Log Cabin Returns?

 I've been sewing a lot lately, but nothing I can show. So I was very happy to make four new orange log cabin blocks. That still wasn't enough to complete the diagonal, so I added the red blocks. I like them mixed in together. In the original inspiration, one of the diagonals combined pink, orange and red.

In the post about plaid shirts, a no-reply comment mentioned collecting pumpkin-colored plaids. I was going to offer to send the shirt to her, but...no reply. In any case, I will be having the fabric giveaways again next year...starting Jan. 1 for the first one. And yes, requesting orange plaid is an option.

Goodwill

Today I visited the Goodwill Bins for the first time, which is a bit odd given its about a fifteen minute drive. But I only went because a friend told me she would protect me from myself and would make sure to put back anything that I took out of the bins. Unfortunately, she soon became too involved with a humungous ceramic chicken and I now have eight too many plaid shirts. That said, they are so much fun to take apart. The bright purple plaid is the inside panel for the dark purple shirt. 

The Princess Tragedy

About two years ago, I bought Molly a special princess tent I saw on the shopping channel called "Kitten Academy." The princess tent has a 14 inch by 14 inch base and also has magical properties.

Peasants that pass by the magical tent cannot see the princess hidden inside despite the transparency of the tulle. While Buddy often takes over Molly's favorite sleeping spots, Molly has enjoyed the privacy and security of her special abode for two years.

However, this morning a terrible ogre descended on the magical princess tent...

and the magical properties of the tent disappeared as the paparazzi surrounded the ogre, ridiculed him and ruined his enjoyment of his spoils.

Review

 I don't have anything to show for today, so I thought I would review my favorite quilts that I made for Project Quilt. I used this as a cat carrier cover for Buddy on a trip to the vet and the vet fell in love with it. It lives with her now. (I still have Buddy)

I really like how this turned out and have plans to make a larger version...with a red racing stripe instead of half and half.

This is when I learned to love making quarter-triangle squares (hourglass blocks). 

I also like this quilt of kitchen timers and I seem to have forgotten the time crunch I was under trying to finish this quilt in a week. It's not advisable to hand appliqué and embroider when time is ticking (literally and metaphorically). And sometimes I think of taking off the pig kitchen timer and straightening it out...and then I just pretend its tipped because its ringing.

Bit of Orange

 Two orange log cabin blocks, about ten more to go.

Pretending to be adorable is exhausting.

Fur Stash

Most of the time I focus on the stash of cotton in the sewing room, but today I am switching focus to my stash of fur. I only have two colors: Cranky and Eddie Haskell.  

Orange

 Returning to the rainbow log cabin, here are the orange strips and centers. I suspect that the blocks will fall into three camps...peachy tones, in your face orange orange, and yellowish orange/brownish orange. 

And this time it was Buddy who "helped" me cut the strips by slumping across the cutting mat. Given the higher ratio of cat to cutting mat, it''s hard to tell that anything else is going on except Buddy.

Backing for the Lego Quilt

Here are the fabrics for the back of the lego quilt...puzzle pieces and a stripe...a nice respite for the eyes if the front of the quilt seems too busy. Although the lego quilt is small, I will be piecing the back with the puzzle pieces down the center and the stripe along both sides. I may use this stripe or another one as the binding.

And to clarify yesterday's post: Project Quilting is hosted on Kim Lapacek's blog and is fashioned after the show Project Runway. A theme or prompt is given and then anyone can create a "quilt" based on that theme and post a photo of the completed quilt on the Project Quilting blog. There are random drawings for prizes and no one is eliminated in a career-crushing manner.

You can see more about this fun romp here: https://kimlapacek.com/project-quilting  Season 15 starts on January 7, 2024.

Getting the Blues

 My main focus in the sewing room is getting all fabric put away and projects sorted and stored. I want the chaos tamed slightly before the new year when the chaos known as Project Quilting begins. I have not lasted through an entire "season" yet. Last year I did all the projects except the last one.  

But I did start cutting strips and centers for blue log cabin blocks. Each block uses ten blue strips and I'll be making 14 blocks. I'm mixing up the blues to include turquoise/teal like the inspiration quilt.

Molly is helpful as usual, although she and Buddy had a rough morning. I squared away the fabric and began sorting through their massive stash of cat toys. Molly played with the twirling butterfly so it stays. Buddy just lay off to the side glaring at me until I pulled out an interactive feather toy. He was having a blast because he likes toys with artificial intelligence (me pretending to act like prey). 

I got rid of a lot of beaten up, broken and boring toys so now they are down to only have too many toys.

Red Blocks

 I made six red log cabin blocks...but two have errors in their ways. 

Also, I rechecked the size requirements for comfort quilts for my quilt guild and found that the legos quilt is large enough...without more sewing. 

Construction Completed

 Here's the Legos quilt up on the design wall after I finished putting it together. Once I square it off it will be roughly 45 by 54 inches...a bit on the small side. Molly suggested I make it into a sack for storing legos. But she's just cranky that I pinned the quilt up carefully so she can't climb around under it.

Legos Quilt Rematch

 Buddy was very happy with the progress I was making putting fabric away and clearing out his play area in front of the design wall. However, I launched into reviewing project bins and found (once again) the legos blocks I started back in 2014.  I gave up on the project because I feared it was just going to be a hot mess. But then I decided to try putting it in a diagonal setting, put it together and deal with it as a quilt top instead of a pile of blocks.

Here is the information for its origin story:  As a reminder, the original inspiration was an antique quilt  I learned about it on Tonya's Lazy Gal Quilting blog where she provides a tutorial. 

I have about five more diagonal seams to sew before its finished...and I am quite happy with how it looks on the diagonal, so this might even be quilt worthy.

Scraps from scraps

 What do you do with extra one inch strips that you used for a log cabin quilt?

More Hexies

 Today we traded rain for a bit of sunshine so I time outside instead of at the sewing machine. But I did spend some time sewing hexies to wind down the day. I have cut out about one bazillion animal images and I'm just basting them with thread. When I'm finished I'll figure out the layout and sew them together for a quilt. But for now I'm just enjoying the images and the wide range of design styles.

Plus Purple

 I always underestimate how long it takes to make a log cabin block. Twenty seams per block. Happily, I am not using the seam ripper as much as when I began.

I've Got Your Back

This is the backing that I will be using for...

 

More Green Blocks and a Winner

Here are the last four green log cabin blocks. And speaking of green (and red)...

The winner of the fabric giveaway is...

Julierose said...

I could use greens and reds....from your giveaway...those stacks are very low...how neat that you are doing this;))))

And here is Molly "helping" choose fabrics...I am picking out reds and greens in opposition to Molly's preference for the superior colors of white, gray and tabby.

Ten Green Log Cabin Blocks

 Here are the log cabin blocks I've made so far. Enough to see what the diagonal stripe might look like. I plan to make four more green blocks and then move to purple. This won't be happening tonight because Molly has already taken over the sewing chair. I have to be nice to her at least until after she has made the random pick for the fabric giveaway at midnight.

Other People's Stashes

 Let's start with my plan to show six more green log cabin blocks and how I haven't finished them yet. Molly suggested I show the area around the sewing machine and I declined because I didn't want anyone calling disaster relief agencies on my behalf.

However, I did pass by this photo which perfectly explains my "slight" obsession with quilters' estate sales. This was a bin of scraps I bought two years ago and sorting through it was so much fun. This is where quilters dump their experimental projects and strip misfires. So you get to see the fabric the quilter was using. And this is where I learned that I am not so much a quilter as one who likes to stroke fabric.

A few years before that I bought this scrap bin. So that shows the strength of the addiction...as long as I can find an estate sale every two years or so, I'm hooked on reading the listings each week. (And in both cases, these were downsizing sales).

Never Enough

 I began sewing more green log cabin blocks and after going around the center for six more blocks I decided I needed to add more fabrics. I like to have a lot of choices when I'm making a log cabin, and I hope this will be enough for the next day or two.

And in case you missed it, I posted a Fabric Giveaway on November 30. Signups are open for the next two days.

Rainbow Log Cabin: Green

 Here are four completed log cabin blocks for the Rainbow Log Cabin. And let me assure you that the top right block is not wonky...its my design wall. 

To make sure I got the steps in the black and white section, I make sure to start each log cabin block with either a black or white strip, then the color strip (in this case green). Because the white and black joins are hard to see, it gives the same look as partial seams. 

And I did have a few missteps. In particular, I found it hard to alternate the black and white because log cabins are often made half light and half dark. So I often added a white strip on top of a white strip, or a black strip on top of a black strip. Old habits.

December Fabric Giveaway

It's time to have another fabric giveaway so Buddy will have more room to store his cat toy hoard. In previous months I was moving flat folds of fabric and taking cuts from these for the giveaway. These are stored away so I will be digging into scraps, small cuts (up to 1/2 yard) and yardage. This will depend on what you want such as particular colors, 30s, batik, novelty etc.  I will fill a USPS envelope with that fabric and send it to you.

For a chance to win, leave a comment specifying what color/theme of fabric you would like. If you are anonymous, I will need you to include your email address so I can contact you to let you know you won and to get your mailing address. The comment collection phase will last through Dec. 4, 2023 11:59 pm, west coast time.  The random drawing will be conducted by Molly Kitten Emeritus, which ensures that the drawing will be corrupt, but entirely mysterious.

Unfortunately, participates are limited to those who live in the U.S. (or have a U.S. mailing address to use) due to international postal rates.

And no, that is not my stash in the photo, and I don't think I have any of the fabrics shown. This is a display picture from a local upcoming quilter's "estate sale." I put estate sale in quotes because it looks more like a downsizing sale or even destashing/quilt store overstock sale.. Hint: no set of china or Kitchen Aid mix for sale.

This is another photo for the same "estate sale." The other items highlighted are a sewing machine, a serger, several dress forms and piles of ribbons. 

Green Cuttings

I spent most of the day outside fighting with the last of the runaway blackberries. And their were quite a few neighbors out in their yard too, because our forecast calls for rain that may last for the rest of our lives. And yes, the Northwest can be a bit theatrical about the weather. Even neighbors out walking their dogs were keen to note that this was the last day to be out in the garden.

And for comparison for those who have real weather, the attitude was a bit like expecting the first snow day. 

So it seemed appropriate to cut more one inch strips for the rainbow log cabin...and I've decided to make it as a log cabin and not make it with partial seams. In the photo, the piles on the leftt are finished cuts...4 inch center and one inch strips. The pile on the far right are green scraps ready to be be cut. As I was cutting, both Buddy and Molly took turns getting out of their heated beds to stretch and lay across the cutting mat.

Spiderweb Look Back

 Here is Molly helping me with the first spiderweb quilt I made...a yellow and turquoise version.

Here Molly is checking to see if I need to change the needle...oh wait, no, that's just Molly getting on my last nerve.

And yes, the same bins of strips...just a bit less tidy. And I looked back to see that the last time I worked on the turquoise and orange spiderweb was November 2018.

Switching It Up

Switching it up refers to stitching up a quilt in progress that you find as you're cleaning up the sewing room. I have gotten most of the flat fold fabric settled in their new home.  And then I needed to find a place for this spiderweb quilt. Seeing it reminded me how much I enjoy string piecing. Especially because my other options involve more thinking.

Given these bins of strips were handy, I enjoyed a bright, happy, easy evening of sewing.

Preparation

In your mind, please assemble these one-inch strips into a log cabin block. Thank you.

My scrap bins are overstuffed and cutting fabric for the pseudo-log cabin quilt I showed yesterday is helping to make a dent. And using one inch strips means I can use up the thin misshapen strips. 

Size

I decided to take a longer look at this quilt and try to figure out its size and construction. 

Based on the usual size of a staircase, I'm guessing each of the blocks are about 8 inches which means the strips are probably one inch unfinished (half inch finished) like the block on the right. I also suspect that the center square is 3.5 inches finished like the block on the left. The center square on the right is 3 inches finished.

I don't really care so much about the final size of the quilt, but it seems that some of the quilt magic comes from the proportion of the center to the strips. Of course, some of the charm may also come from random fabric fading.

And as I was inspecting the quilt, I found that some of the blocks were not log cabin construction, but squares using partial seams. So that's how I built mine. 

While I was a bit persnickety in trying to understand this quilt, I think the actual quilt benefits from lots of haphazard. But it is also seriously missing orange.

But the highlight of the day was having Buddy teach me about having perspective.