End of May: Yardage Tracking and Books Read

Can you hear my big"yippee"? My end-of-month Yardage Tracking output total it an all-time high. No fabric purchases, and lots of hard work to get rid of 18+ yards of fabric!

In previous posts, you've seen my May makes using prints:

1. two, large pieced backings
2. a scrappy Diagonal Scrap Quilt top
3. three sets of six coasters

I also made an open-wide zipper pouch using confetti fabric (Open Wide Zippered Pouch Noodlehead tutorial here)

Using solid scraps, I hand-pieced eight more Inner City blocks, bringing my total to 164 blocks made. I need 218 for a big quilt top. 

Also in the output total is a fabric I donated at Big Cypress Quilters' monthly "I Don't Want It; You Can Have It" table. I decided to give away some novelty prints - Star Wars, Angry Birds, Minions, circus animals, helicopters, and such. I'm facing the fact that grandsons have outgrown those prints (the youngest is now 11), and that I'll never use them all myself. Donated novelty prints totaled 3.74 yards. 

In May I continue to listen to audiobooks, which I find especially enjoyable while round loom knitting.

Audiobook scores and titles/authors:

1. 4.6 - Counting Miracles, Nicholas Sparks
2. 4.5 - Be Ready When the Luck Happens, Ina Garten
3. 4.3 - Beautiful Ugly, Alice Feeney
4. 4.0 - The Missing Witness, #5 in the Quinn and Costa series, Allison Brennan
5. 4.0 - The Paris Dressmaker, Christy Cambron,
6. 3.9 - The Law of Moses, Amy Harmon
7. 3.7 - Saltwater, Katy Hays
8. 3.7 - Jane and Dan at the End of the World, Colleen Oakley 
9. 3.0 - One Last Breath, Ginny Meyers Sain 

The first three books are definitely worth taking time to read. I adored Counting Miracles and will consider listening to it again, even knowing what will happen. Such a wonderful story!

Ina Garten's book is just plain interesting, and even more so because she narrates it herself. This is her life's story, about becoming "The Barefoot Contessa" and cooking her way to success. Though I'm not a cook myself, I appreciate good food and like to bake. I want to make her lemon bars!

Beautiful Ugly is simply a fascinating read - sort of dark. Spooky. It takes place on an isolated island where legends abound. It has an "Oh my! I didn't catch on!" ending. Apparently rights have been bought to make this into a movie. 

The Paris Dressmaker - a couture dressmaker; WWII occupied France; loyalty, and romance. Do you need more summarization? 

A couple comments about those low on the list... 

Saltwater was tedious. I kept thinking, "So get to the point." While the ending was totally unexpected, the author took for-ev-er to get there. 

Initially, I thought One Last Breath would be good because it takes place in Florida - a spring, deep diving, alligators, and the long-unsolved murders of two teen girls. The book is categorized as a "teen romance." However, when the story became about reincarnation and unnatural relations, I finished it only to find out "who done it."

It's difficult to believe that tomorrow is June 1! On June 23 we will have lived in Florida for 13 years! That's also difficult to believe. Wasn't it just last month that we moved here from Iowa? Where does the time go?! Linda 

Another Diagonal Scrap Quilt

After much intense mess-making and print fabric cutting, I completed 72 scrappy blocks to make this 65" X 74" Diagonal Scrap Quilt. This is the second time I've used this pattern to make a scrap quilt, though the other quilt is a different design. Anyway, I couldn't be happier with it! It's sure busy-busy.

It used-up 5.7 yards of print fabrics! Hooray!

The 75" X 77" backing I pieced Sunday afternoon used 3.8 yards of print fabrics. I'm really working through stash, and noticing a difference in the size of the stacks. 

What's been most challenging is coming up with pieces large enough to do anything with! Most of the prints in the cupboards are about this size. Maybe you would call these "scraps"? They're my "stash." 

I actually used both of these pictured pieces in the quilt back. Except for the odd edges I trimmed off and chucked into a canvas scrap bin, these prints are gone. 

I'm rapidly reaching the point where I'll be hard-pressed to find print chunks large enough for a planned quilt. That's what I've been aiming for, so I guess that's a good thing. 

It took more than an hour to press the Diagonal Scrap Quilt top. So many seams! Wanting them to be as flat as possible, I used this "Quilting & Crafting Spray." Boy, does it work well! It makes everything lay flat without stiffness or any starchy-like residue. And there's no scent.

I won a bundle of these Magic Fabric Care products about two years ago, in an Instagram giveaway, and have been happily working my way through all of them. The Quilting & Crafting Spray is something I will definitely be buying. I think I need the one-gallon refill, though I'd like to find it locally so I don't have to pay for shipping it. I'm cheap frugal like that. 

In knitting news, I completed this shawl-scarf following a YouTube tutorial by Alison Russell. It was knitted on my 41-peg round loom! I love it!

Using super-soft "Baby Bee" yarn from Hobby Lobby, it turned out nice and squishy, and will make a good gift. 

Also, I'm using yarn from the donation table at 

"Boomer Loomers" to round loom knit caps. This toddler cap used-up some sea-green colored yarn. 

Recently, Jen Carlton-Bailey @bettycrockerass - of Curvelet-making fame - tested scissors to determine which ones best make a clean clip at the tip, for clipping tiny Curvelet and Ovalet curves.

She endorsed these serrated snips made in two sizes (4" and 6") by Sohmo of Australia. Jen offers a 10% discount with the code SNIPANDSEW, so I bought the 6" size. I've yet to use them, but they sure feel nice in hand. 

I recently came across an Instagram post/reel by @karleeporterdesigns that itemizes the cost of making a king-sized quilt,

The "grand total" items Karlee talks about don't even allow for the maker's sewing room tools, and expertise. 

I've come to the disappointing conclusion that many quiltmakers undervalue their work. For a long time, I was one of them. Now if a quilt I make isn't given away, I'd rather keep it than underprice it. Linda

Sewing, Knitting, and Flowers

Per usual I can't focus on just one project, so I've been satisfying my heart's desire by working on what I want, when I want.

I've been working on...

A Little of This

Cutting more strips, as many as possible, from scraps in my bin, to make 19 more Diagonal Scrap Quilt blocks.

Cutting and piecing scrappy squares and rectangles to make these 12" blocks for our Big Cypress Quilter's quilt-along. I sewed these three blocks while at Big Cypress Quilters on Tuesday.

I used my very portable, less-than-five-pound (weight) Janome Derby sewing machine. I bought it in June 2015 from MassDrop, an online shop that - at the time - sold sewing-related items, including fabric, at bulk rates. I think I paid about $55 for this machine. It's sold now for more than twice the price.

A Little of That

For the first time, I'm making a "flat" item on a round loom - a shawl scarf. I'm using a 41-peg loom to knit around, stopping one peg short of making a circle, and then reversing direction. This is the YouTube tutorial I'm following. I like knitting with this very pale pink, super-soft yarn.

I also started another double-yarn guy's cap. This is on a 36-peg loom using flecked gray and navy blue yarns. 

The best part of this week was when my friend Jody sent me pictures of her grandies wearing caps I'd knitted and given to her to give to them! 

This handsome guy is wearing a red knitted cap that came off my loom a couple weeks ago.

This precious girl is wearing a cap that came off my loom about four weeks ago. It's beige and pastel rainbow yarns knitted together.

Adorable children, aren't they?! I am so grateful for the photos Jody shared, and is allowing me to share with you. She also shared a precious comment from her grandson.

The two of them were trying to throw a Frisbee back and forth, and neither one of them could catch it.

He said,

"Wait a minute, Gramma. Let me put on my new hat. This is going to be my lucky hat!"

I love it! These are the pictures and stories that make gift-giving so easy, and rewarding. Thank you for sharing the love, my friend!

Here at home, even though we're in a drought, Florida blooms are abundant. These are some of the colors in front of our house.

Princess Plant

Fire Bush

Alamanda

Plumbago

Wishbone

I hope you're enjoying creating, and seeing some colorful spring blooms too. Linda

Post-Retreat Energy

I came home from last weekend's three-day quilt retreat so full of plans and energy that I haven't stopped long enough to write a blog post... though I did write a retreat blog post for our Central Florida MQG chapter. Go here to see lots of great photos of retreat quilters and their projects.

This retreat was our tenth anniversary retreat to Luther Springs Camp and Conference Center. Exactly ten years ago, WE were the first group of quilters to ever retreat to Luther Springs! And let me tell you, ever since, the word about Luther Springs has spread like wildfire among quilters! Several years ago, Luther Springs built a separate chapel where quilters can gather with all the amenities - good lighting, floor electrical outlets, wine fridge, and coffee bar. We love it.

For being on a modern quilt retreat, to my own surprise I find myself rarely working on modern projects. I think that's because I've learned that it's difficult to design and create modern without being in close proximity to my stash and personal design wall. So, I often make "kits" for myself, pre-cutting fabrics to piece blocks, or making something in particular. 

This time I pre-cut 4½" hexagons to make coasters, resulting in three sets of six coasters made from scraps. I used this free tutorial by Sew Mariana. 

Then, I mostly worked on blocks for the second version of a scrappy quilt from the pattern Diagonal Scrap Quilt by Maryline @mary_and_patch.

This block is much more labor intensive than the black and white blocks I made from the first version of the pattern, but I sure like the intensity of the scrappy design. It definitely has a maximalist vibe. I plan to make the quilt with 72 blocks, so I have 19 more blocks to make. 

Also during retreat, I hand-pieced several more Inner City blocks, and finished round loom knitting another cap for charity. 

Overall, it doesn't seem like I accomplished much, but I'm very satisfied. 

Above all, I had a fantastic time! Several retreaters were in agreement that this was our best quilt retreat ever! That can be attributed to retreating with good friends who know how to poke fun at one another and laugh. I laughed so hard I cried. It was simply a marvelous time!

Here's the group photo of best friends demonstrating how quilters RULE(R)!

On Saturday, Sew Modern Chicky came to retreat from Jacksonville, Florida to set up a pop-up shop. While I had no intentions of buying fabric, owners Paula and Dave brought bolts of Sally Kelly fabric! How could I resist, when it's rare for me to see this fabric in person?! I bought two pieces of Twilight - one quilting cotton and one canvas - both to make garments. I also bought one Alison Glass piece.

After seeing my friend, Lora, wearing a Cielo top during retreat, I returned home to buy the downloadable pattern to make my own Cielo using the newly-purchased Alison Glass fabric.

I'm not counting any of these fabric acquisitions in my May fabric-tracking total. When fabric is for clothing, it doesn't count. There. See how I justify a purchase without damaging my fabric input total?

Lately, every day this week I've had my hands on three or four different projects - proof of how invigorating it is to retreat with friends. I hope you get to do that too! Linda

Gettin' er Done, and Ready to Roll

With a restock of some Wonderfil Eleganza perle cotton colors, I've been able to add more big stitch quilting to my Turnabout paint chip challenge quilt. Though the quilt is completely finished, even with facing, I'm adding more quilting to fill in a few "holes." A  couple evenings of stitching should nicely complete it.

After looking online at several tempting wide backs for my Black and White Diagonal Scrap Quilt, I bit the bullet and pulled prints from my stash for a pieced back. Inspiration came from Kelly Youngs' book Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs. It's my go-to when I need ideas, and this is Kelly's "Wide and Skinny."

The 76" X 82" back even included three extra blocks I unintentionally made. As always, making a back seems time-consuming, but the personal satisfaction of making from stash feels great!

 

I still have round loom knitting fever, which I am able to freely indulge in because I have a charity outlet for my creations. All three of these caps - infant, toddler, and pre-teen sizes - were donated last Saturday. For these caps, I experimented with a knitting pattern that begins with a round of purl stitches, alternating knit and purl rounds to form a brim, and continuing with knitting. Sometimes the cap seems like it needs a  for a pom-pom, but if I don't have enough yarn, it goes without. The blue cap and the pink/cream cap were knitted with two different yarns, used simultaneously. I like the sort of tweedy effect.

Using yarn I purchased, I made a pre-teen sized cap for a friend's grandson, and these little face scrubbies. I've gotten into the habit of using them myself, and like them. 

For three whole days, I'm retreating with friends from the Central Florida MQG. Of course it takes time and planning to prep all the projects I think I will work on (Ha!). Six are going with me:

1. Sunny, a FPP pattern by Tara Faughnan that I work on only while on retreats
2. Diagonal Scrap Quilt, a very scrappy pattern by Maryline of @mary_and_patch. This is another version of the Black and White Diagonal Scrap Quilt.
3. Inner City blocks to hand piece
4. Hexagon Coasters, a free design by Sew Mariana. Tutorial here.
5. scrappy blocks for a Big Cypress Quilters quilt-along
6. round loom knitting

I will sew with my Featherweight - a first for me to use during a quilt retreat. Thanks to my friend Courtney, my Featherweight recently had some spa time and is purring so beautifully that I had a difficult time hearing it run!

In the picture is my Featherweight in its aqua carrying case; my project bag with fabrics cut for Sunny blocks and the second Diagonal Scrap Quilt; and on the left are my always-ready-to-hand-piece Inner City blocks. 

Entirely from scraps, I've prepped three sets of six Hexagon Coasters to sew. 

These are scrap fabrics, cut to make the Quilt Along project with Big Cypress Quilters.

Gosh. I'm noticing quite a scrappy theme for this retreat! Though I'll also take round loom knitting. Using yarn that was donated to Boomer Loomers, this will become a teen boy's cap. Donated yarn is offered to club members to take and make whatever they wish, as long as it's donated back to one of Boomer Loomer's charities. 

Have you seen Little Jesus? He's becoming a social phenomenon... like painted rocks. A Little Jesus is meant to be a reminder that we all "need a little Jesus in our lives." He can be given to someone or left anonymously for someone else to pick up.

A friend gave me mine, and He's Lord of my sewing room. This picture of Jesus with my Lego sewing machine makes me smile. He looks as happy as I often feel when I'm sitting at my sewing machine. I am blessed.

I hope a little Jesus makes you happy too. Linda