Just a Little Making

It's been an argument with myself to get to the sewing machine, but there's nothing like a challenge to push that.

For the second year in a row, Big Cypress Quilters have given members a paint chip challenge.

Blindly we picked two paint chips. We're to use the paint chip colors (prints or solids) to make something. It doesn't have to be a quilt. It could be an apron, table runner, tote bag, or whatever.

We can add one color, and/or a neutral like white. The project is due May 5.

I selected several colors of Painter's Palette solids, my favorite brand of solids because of the nice, medium hand, and colors that never run when washed. Some colors were already in my stash; some I hoped to buy at QuiltCon. When that proved fruitless, I ordered several PP colors from Keepsake Quilting.

After auditioning different contrasting colors including eggplant and orange, I decided I liked fuchsia best.

 Colors I've used to piece the background are:

• Irish Spring (light green)
• Lime Mist (dark green)
• Sky (light blue)
• Cracked Ice (medium blue)
• Daydream (dark blue)

Arbitrarly, I thought to piece Drunkard's Path blocks using 12½" templates cut from freezer paper. 

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Thirty blocks later, I was shuffling to get a nice balance of darks, mediums and lights.

The background is 60" X 72".

Using fuchsia solid, I've made yards of ⅝"-wide bias tape. Yes, I have several sizes of bias tape makers, but this method allows me to make tape that's exactly the size I want.

Now I'm challenging myself to create a tape design. I'm struggling, but will keep playing with this. 

When I don't want to think quite as hard, or I'm ready to kick back with an audiobook in our new Florida room, I've begun a round loom knitting piece that's for me. Yarn is "Premier Flora" #5 chunky, color River, from Herrschners.

I'm knitting a Seed Stitch Poncho, designed by Denise of loomahat.com, hoping that: 

1) One day I will fit back into blue jeans to wear with the poncho; and

2) the yarn doesn't stretch too much, from a medium size to a large! Fibers are acrylic, bamboo, and nylon blend, making the yarn super-soft and somewhat stretchy. I don't know how it will turn out, but I'm enjoying making it.

Of course, it's getting warmer here (81F today), so even when it's finished, I won't be wearing it until 2027! Linda

Finished Rug and Tiny Dolls

For several weeks after QuiltCon, I didn't do much except focus on finishing my braided rag rug, and in the evenings, round loom knitting.  

I'm delighted to share that Sunday afternoon I completed the rug. Measuring 57" X 69" and made entirely from recycled clothing, home dec fabrics, bed sheets, and leftover fabrics from garment-making (my clothes), it's now on our enclosed lanai/Florida room floor.

How did I know I was finished? I completely used-up the last two men's XXL t-shirts ($1 each from a thrift store) that were lime green and yellow. It happens that I also finished using a cotton blend plaid sport shirts from my Dad, the last of aqua-colored four-way stretch knit that was leftover from making leggings for myself, and one of my stained blue knit tops. I like working with t-shirt knits best because there's little fraying. 

Mary, ZippyQuilts asked how heavy this rug is... so I weighed it when I finished. TEN POUNDS!

I enjoyed this "photo-finish" with only these sheet strips left over. 

Don't forget that if you'd like to learn how to make a Braided Rag Rug, Ilka White (who I learned from in 2020) is offering a virtual workshop on April 18 and 19 (USA dates). Go here to learn more.

Some of my blog-readers have already registered! 😀

As for round loom knitting, my focus has been on making Tiny Dolls. They're just so darned cute that whenever I'd think about donating them, my soft spot arose and I wanted to keep them! But I made myself a promise - when I'd made a dozen, I'd donate them.

So here they are... one last photo before I give them away. My basketful of tiny babies.

There's one Teddy Bear too. Had to try making a teddy, and learned that it has more parts than a Tiny Doll. I doubt I'll be making more.

I've gotten pretty good at making Tiny Dolls on a 24-peg loom following these instructions on YouTube which I've written on index cards. I've learned which yarns work best, which yarns need to be doubled, and I've memorize the steps. I can make a Tiny Doll in three hours or less, so it's a good in-front-of-the-TV activity. (Keeps me from falling asleep too!) I recently bought some leftover yarns at our local annual Quilter's Notions Sale, so I have some more happy colors to continue making them.

If you make any stuffies, I highly recommend using Cluster Stuff by Morning Glory, for stuffing. It's sort of piece-y, and fills nicely into smaller areas. I buy mine at Hobby Lobby. 

After well over a month, now I've returned to my sewing machine to begin my next Paint Chip Challenge with Big Cypress Quilters. Linda

From Lanai to Florida Room

We moved into our home in June, 2012. It took nearly six months to buy new furnishings, and really settle-in. On December 14, 2012, I blogged about what we'd done and the progress we'd made. One of the pictures shows making our 10' X 26' screened-in lanai a comfortable outdoor space with outdoor furniture. 

We had the concrete lanai floor painted to "match" 18" tiles on the inside of the house. 

Fast forward to 2025. We recognized that we weren't using the outdoor space for two big reasons:

1. it was too hot - more hot days than comfortable days, even though the lanai is on the east side of the house; and
2. it was always dirty. Mowing lawn turned up dust. Wiping off the table top always made the cloth yellow with pollen. I'd clean the furniture, scrub the floor, and a week later it was dirty again.

Last fall we decided to enclose the space to make it liveable year 'round. Beginning on September 11 the first of three contractors came to give us estimates on the cost and time frame. We went with the third contractor. A crew came October 24, 2025 to remove the black-colored screens and black framework. 

It was replaced with more sturdy white (our choice) framework. 

Then measurements were taken within the new framework for double-paned windows. Since a 2012 county code change, the new windows had to be more hurricane-proof with a higher insulating factor.  

After the framework was installed October 24, we waited until December 15 for windows. 

In the interim, insulation was blown into the crawl space above the lanai, and a young man spent an entire day sanding the paint off the lanai floor in anticipation of putting down tile. Let me just say that I'm really glad the windows were not yet in when the paint and concrete dust was flying! Hubs washed down the lanai walls and floor after the floor paint was removed. 

On December 16, windows were installed. 

Most of the windows (large ones over short ones) are stationary. On the left side, the swinging screen door was replaced with a sliding door with a screen. 

Also, at the end of the room, the upper window slides either direction with a screen. Check out the drooping fan! That's what happens to an outdoor fan that's been exposed to 12 years of Florida humidity.

Disappointingly, two lower window frames arrived damaged, so though they were put into place, they weren't permanent.

At least, with the room enclosed, we could move forward with having tile put down. I won't go into detail about the decision-making process choosing tile but it involved a lot of discussion! We chose 12" X 24" porcelain tiles. 

Laying down tiles happened December 23, so perhaps it's no accident that tile spacers were all green and red. 

The team returned the next day to spread grout. 

While we waited for replacement windows, on January 19 the drooping ceiling fan was replaced.

The new fan has a bigger motor, a changeable down light, reversible blades (the palm side is out now), and a remote control. 

After getting estimates from three different painters, on January 21 the interior walls were painted, and the exterior stucco was patched (damaged when black framework was removed) and repainted with the exterior color.

Previously the now-interior color was the same color as the house exterior. Now those walls are Sherwin-Williams "Welcome White."

Above the sliding glass door. 

 

As I "just knew" would happen, the two replacement windows arrived February 19 while I was at QuiltCon. But yippee!

After the replacement windows were installed, a county building inspector came to approve the installation, checking that all the framework window screws were in place. Then followed another visit from the window guys who put caps over all those screws.

On February 24, after four months of storing the lanai furniture in the house, we moved it back into the room... hours before houseguests arrived. 

In spite of the dirty windows, we enjoyed the space with company.

On March 7 windows were washed, compliments of the window company. 

What a difference! I can't tell you how much that improved my outlook.

Today, March 13 was the last step... shades installation. Again, we received estimates from three companies, feeling sure we made good choices that suited us. 

Tah-dah.

View from the kitchen. 

View from the living room. 

Though it took from mid-September to mid-March to accomplish, we agree that we have a nice addition to our home.

We're considering a cabinet for the end wall behind the chairs, and I will definitely hang something on that wall (hmm, a quilt? 😄. 

The braided rag rug I've been working on for months will (hopefully) lay on the lanai floor. It's a 66" X 53" oval thus far and will help define the conversation space. I'm nearing the end of my clothing and bedding strips, so it should be finished soon. 

All I can say is... Gosh, this room took a long time to make liveable, but I will happily spend time in it. Linda

QuiltCon Raleigh - Part 7 (Last)

When I attend QuiltCon, I'm primarlily there to see quilts, and attend lectures. Secondarily, I like meeting up with friends. Lastly, I'm there for browsing and shopping vendors. This year, for the first time, I didn't even take a workshop, though I was on a waitlist for a hand embroidery one. 

What little shopping I did happened mostly on Sunday afternoon, after the crush of people had headed home. 

Of course I made the obligatory purchase of the annual issue of QuiltCon magazine. My blogger-friend Patti Dudek @elmstreetquilts has a pattern in it - Lavender Marmalade - on page 90. I also discovered that some vendors offer discounts on Sunday, so I was able to pick up EQ Printables (for making quilt labels) for 30% off. The orange zipper was just 50¢ in Latifah Saafir's booth. A cone of Scanfil thread was full price at $55 - yikes. 

Fabric purchases: I couldn't resist the "Sugar Cone" print that will sew into a cute Cielo top for myself (Appropriate for wearing when I go to the new Twistee Treat when it opens!) The "Counter" print by ebond will be suitable for a new Sunshine Crossbody Pouch to go with the cork (above) and "Quilt Tattoo" fabric I bought from Salty Hippo. 

See the two orange fat quarters on the right? Salty Hippo prints lower and upper case alphabet letters - Ransom Mixed Letters - on Kaufman Kona fabric. I'm considering what I want to say on the side of my Sunshine bag. 

I would have purchased more fabric but QuiltCon vendors did not sell solid color fabrics by the yard. I specifically looked for Painter's Palette solids and Kaufman Kona solids, and none was to be found except in pre-made bundles. Only at the end of the show did I see several bolts of Riley Blake solids sold by the yard in the Modern Mashe booth. For this being a modern quilt show, and solids being used predominantely in modern quilts, wouldn't you think more vendors would sell solid fabrics?

My most exciting purchase was from LDH Scissors. This is a business that I like to call "mine" because LDH are my initials. Every pair of scissors from there have my initials printed on them. 😀

When I went to the booth and told owner Roy that my name was Linda and that, "I am LDH," he got a big grin on his face. He grabbed one of their tote bags for me, and invited me to pose for a photo with him. It was a fun moment.

Roy told me that though their business is based in Canada, they're now offering free sharpening services for LDH scissors (not rotary blades) out of Houston, Texas. Also I learned that LDH stands for: Love. Dedication. Happiness.

Honestly though, LDH scissors are the best scissors I have ever cut fabric with! Yep, they're better than Ginghers (Gingher shears are no longer sharpened in the US because that service isn't offered anymore.) I happily purchased 45mm and 60mm rotary blades (which I have yet to try); two pair of snips (if you were lucky enough to get a QuiltCon Swag Bag, a pair of LDH snips was included)... 

... 5" (end to end) curved blade scissors.

See my initials on them?! Ha, ha.

Since I missed my end-of-month (February) blog post where I share my monthly fabric tracking, I'll conclude my QuiltCon posts with that data. Incoming fabric totalled 3.50 yards, all purchased at QuiltCon. Outgoing fabric was not quite a half-yard of fabric used to make the Scrappy FPP Hexagon. 

I haven't been at my sewing machine since February 16, but I expect that to change soon. I have a paint chip challenge due in May! I see a bias tape project in my future. Linda